<p>What it is, how beginners can get a taste, the dangers of striving, and whether tech can make it easier.</p> <p> </p> <p><a href="https://meditation.mgh.harvard.edu/sacchet/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Dr. Matthew D. Sacchet, Ph.D</a>., is an Associate Professor and the Director of the Meditation Research Program at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital (Mass General). Since 2012, he has authored more than 120 publications, presented more than 150 times at international, national, regional and local conferences and speaker series, and been cited more than 8,000 times.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><strong>In this episode we talk about:</strong></p> <ul> <li>What Matthew's learning about advanced states of meditation, and what they do to the brain</li> <li>What relevance advanced meditation might have for the rest of us</li> <li>How we might get a taste of these states ourselves</li> <li>Whether technology might ultimately help some of us advance more quickly</li> <li>The psychological risks of practicing deep end meditation</li> </ul> <p> </p> <p><strong>Related Episodes:</strong></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.danharris.com/p/daniel-goleman-dr-richard-davidson-923" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Dr. Richie Davidson, Daniel Goleman – Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Changes Your Mind, Brain and Body</a></li> <li><a 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Episodes</strong></a></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Additional Resources:</strong></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://meditation.mgh.harvard.edu/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Meditation Research Program at Harvard</a></li> <li><a href="https://secure-web.cisco.com/1lCi8ezxKKZBEIITBc1JXOQnP0IiHhKd6RO1y9BejJnnITCgFfOcEoEBYSIEBun_FYpl5hXQNcysvJZt8vpQa8rTkW9Fuxr9uBf_WEfv3Otg0f-jxZq1IpCC_Yv7T-XUfdqrjF0qnuNJdF0vsLZh4jSjkdZywP5IOeAkXrY4FoaD1imR2YzaYFHFlFcJzLo0pSi1vglBlhEtPHl8SNF2PyHZsgZXjF4I3Am4eBfFZAhlgbTFjV5WahSd65aGhQlFu8KFN8B8iO8ehKvL0epHQFjFDeqjcQZ4SwToFqWyFZZT0X2DacckAeKxoGchRpWfKLOn2K0YPRezDfqGIxKY39Q/https%3A%2F%2Fx.com%2FMatthewSacchet%3Fref_src%3Dtwsrc%255Egoogle%257Ctwcamp%255Eserp%257Ctwgr%255Eauthor" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Matthew Sacchet on X (Twitter)</a></li> <li><a href="https://secure-web.cisco.com/11LcUQR2n9PaerYNBVBCj2ZhvOk2r51N0LcgI0Hmn8trlozo-LUnqU7JttLcR9lMV-sEWzAMSd191eirTJkxtnjMGKpnVfWXnFXPMNuipObTFP92KIs13rSOb7PXQOQigyM88aYgarEQm4ZShn619lxmZbPzoIMNQ3uVhOz4Vux95Vu4XdMwOcdUgjLQmyy2hnQBa4gxUuq_OXm1xK1SuZgQaal4lm_Xq9MkkJ6-7Bd-B5C3KyfTTgCd7Sd1mN6SEQIlKkx5djsPUdhYqeWSOGtRy2havyv2o9jkvCLZk3_NN82xM71K3-Iz-09qiHhU2JmRLbtJlYDaNbQQhrfsjCA/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fin%2Fmatthew-sacchet" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Matthew Sacchet's LinkedIn</a></li> </ul> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p>
Actionable Insights
1. Practice Daily Mindfulness
Engage in meditation for a little bit daily-ish (e.g., 10-60 minutes) to experience profound benefits like reduced emotional reactivity, increased focus, and greater warmth, even with a busy life.
2. Don’t Obsess Over Progress
Avoid fixating on or striving for specific meditation outcomes or stages, as this ‘practice assessment tapes’ mindset can hinder progress and lead to suffering; instead, focus on simply doing the practice.
3. Consider Intensive Retreats
Explore shorter, intensive meditation retreats (e.g., 7-10 days) as a potential path to access advanced practices and experiences, challenging the assumption that only long monastic retreats are effective.
4. Engage Concentrative Absorption
Practice advanced concentrative absorption meditation (ACAM) by focusing intensely on a single psychological object, such as the breath at the nostrils, to achieve states of deep absorption and potentially access Jhana states.
5. Cultivate Investigative Insight
Engage in advanced investigative insight meditation (AIIM) by closely observing the nature of phenomena in one’s experience to gain deep insights into the mind.
6. Anticipate Deep Practice Challenges
Recognize that deep contemplative practice, regardless of tradition, may involve challenging psychological stages like the ‘Dukanyanas’ or ‘Dark Night of the Soul,’ which are considered part of meditative development.
7. Prioritize Safety in Deep Practice
Approach advanced meditation, especially intensive retreats, with informed consent, understanding the potential for psychological difficulties and seeking guidance on how to work with or avoid them. Do not abandon meditation due to potential difficulties, but rather develop nuanced approaches to safety and support.
8. Motivate with Potential Outcomes
Use the understanding of potential profound outcomes from meditation, such as ecstatic bliss states or deep insights, as a motivator for practice, balancing this awareness with the need to avoid counterproductive striving.
9. Explore Low-Tech Practice
Investigate existing or improved low-tech meditation instructions and practices, as they offer significant potential for deepening understanding and access to advanced states without relying on technology.
10. Open to Future Tech & Practice
Be open to future technological advancements (e.g., neuromodulation, neurofeedback, combined psychedelic-meditation practices) as potential tools to accelerate or deepen meditation practice, provided they are backed by rigorous science.
11. Use 10% Happier App
Download the ‘10% with Dan Harris’ app to access a library of guided meditations for stress, anxiety, sleep, focus, self-compassion, and to engage with a community through weekly live Zoom sessions.