Edgar, Of course I have no disagreement and I'd like to believe the conclusion of this article, but do you agree with it that the tests they ran could be called 'scientific'?
...Bill! --- In [email protected], Edgar Owen <edgarowen@...> wrote: > > > > > > > > > Can meditation make you a more compassionate person? > > April 1st, 2013 in Psychology & Psychiatry=20 > > > > > > Scientists have mostly focused on the benefits of meditation for the brain = > > and the body, but a recent study by Northeastern University's David DeSteno= > > , published in Psychological Science, takes a look at what impacts meditati= > > on has on interpersonal harmony and compassion. > > > > Several religious traditions have suggested that meditation does just that,= > > but there has been no scientific proof-until now. > > > > In this study, a team of researchers from Northeastern University and Harva= > > rd University examined the effects meditation would have on compassion and = > > virtuous behavior, and the results were fascinating. > > > > The study > > > > This study-funded by the Mind and Life Institute-invited participants to co= > > mplete eight-week trainings in two types of meditation. After the sessions,= > > they were put to the test. > > > > Sitting in a staged waiting room with three chairs were two actors. With on= > > e empty chair left, the participant sat down and waited to be called. Anoth= > > er actor using crutches and appearing to be in great physical pain, would t= > > hen enter the room. As she did, the actors in the chair would ignore her by= > > fiddling with their phones or opening a book. > > > > The question DeSteno and Paul Condon - a graduate student in DeSteno's lab = > > who led the study - and their team wanted to answer was whether the subject= > > s who took part in the meditation classes would be more likely to come to t= > > he aid of the person in pain, even in the face of everyone else ignoring he= > > r. "We know meditation improves a person's own physical and psychological w= > > ellbeing," said Condon. "We wanted to know whether it actually increases co= > > mpassionate behavior." > > > > Meditation works > > > > Among the non-meditating participants, only about 15 percent of people acte= > > d to help. But among the participants who were in the meditation sessions "= > > we were able to boost that up to 50 percent," said DeSteno. This result was= > > true for both meditation groups thereby showing the effect to be consisten= > > t across different forms of meditation. "The truly surprising aspect of thi= > > s finding is that meditation made people willing to act virtuous - to help = > > another who was suffering - even in the face of a norm not to do so," DeSte= > > no said, "The fact that the other actors were ignoring the pain creates as = > > 'bystander-effect' that normally tends to reduce helping. People often wond= > > er 'Why should I help someone if no one else is?'" > > > > These results appear to prove what the Buddhist theologians have long belie= > > ved-that meditation is supposed to lead you to experience more compassion a= > > nd love for all sentient beings. But even for non-Buddhists, the findings o= > > ffer scientific proof for meditation techniques to alter the calculus of th= > > e moral mind. > > > > Provided by Northeastern University > > > > > > "Can meditation make you a more compassionate person?." April 1st, 2013. ht= > > tp://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-meditation-compassionate-person.html > > > ------------------------------------ Current Book Discussion: any Zen book that you recently have read or are reading! Talk about it today!Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Zen_Forum/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Zen_Forum/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
