Behind the Ivy - Summer 2018

SUMMER ISSUE |  BEHIND THE IVY

22

Meditating in the North Quad. Photo Michelle Koshy

M E D I TAT I O N A N D H A P P I N E S S SWANEE DOUGLAS

Matthieu Ricard, French biochemist turned Buddhist monk, has been described as “the happiest person in the world”. His 2004 TED Talk “The Habits of Happiness” has been viewed by millions and his books are best sellers. How did Matthieu Ricard become the happiest person in the world? Meditation. Upon completion of his doctoral thesis in 1972, Ricard left the world of academics to study Tibetan Buddhism. After years of practicing meditation, he

participated in a university study on happiness and his score was off the charts. He has since been involved in studies on the brain of long-term meditators and is a board member of the Mind and Life Institute. So, how does meditation alter the brain? There have been many studies examining the effects of meditation on the brain. Studies often cite more gray matter volume throughout the brain as a result of meditating. For example, Harvard neuroscientist Sara Lazar examined the

effects of meditation on the brain and found differences in brain volume in four different areas of the brain after eight weeks of meditation. Namely: 1. The posterior cingulate (stimulates mind wandering and self-relevance); 2. The left hippocampus (controls learning, cognition, memory and emotional regulation); 3. Temporoparietal junction (responsible for empathy, compassion); and 4. Pons (where regulatory neurotransmitters are produced). She also found the amygdala, the area that is