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We all have an emotional thermostat. There is an emotional ‘set-point’ around which our daily mood swings. For some people, the setting is low and they experience mostly darker moods. Others have a higher set-point that allows them to experience sunnier moods.
I’m lucky because my set-point is in the ‘happy’ range. Where is your set-point?
Of course there are moments when we register emotions that are outside our natural range. Maybe we get thrown into a life crisis and the world turns dark. Or maybe we fall in love and our spirit soars. But sooner or later we will return to our emotional set-point.
The question is: can meditation make us happier? I mean: not happier for the moment – but long-term. That is, can we alter our set-point through meditation? Spiritual traditions, such as Buddhism, maintain that meditation can make us happier. But is that really true?
I want to introduce you to some research that has been done as a collaboration of scientists and meditation masters. In 2001, a conference took place called “Transformations of Mind, Brain and Emotion: Neurobiological and Bio-Behavioral Research on Meditation”. Amongst the participants were Richard Davidson, professor for psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and his Holiness the Dalai Lama. Davidson said:
Our scientific lives have been deeply affected by these interactions with His Holiness…This dialog has motivated us to vigorously pursue research on contemplative practice because we believe it can be beneficial. We hope eventually to take techniques involved in various kinds of meditation out of their Buddhist context and apply them to secular training that may improve mental and physical health.
The Dalai Lama concurred:
All human beings have an innate desire to overcome suffering, to find happiness. Training the mind to think differently, through meditation, is one important way to avoid suffering and be happy…Science shows us that there are practices that can make a difference between a happy life and a miserable life.
However, the Dalai Lama warned that “…the real understanding of the true nature of the mind can only be gained through meditation.”
Present at this meeting was also Fr. Thomas Keating, a Cistercian priest and founder of the Centering Prayer Movement. He said,
We are talking about spirituality, which is the interior aspect of religion, and on this we are at one with our Buddhist brothers and sisters. Scientists will find mystics are not so stupid after all, and we will find scientists are on a spiritual journey, too, whether they realize it or not.
You can read more about the meeting here
(If you want to delve deeper into this, read Daniel Goleman’s book Destructive Emotions. It’s based on the papers presented at the Transformations of Mind, Brain and Emotion conference.)
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison conducted an interesting experiment. They taught one group of students how to practise mindfulness meditation and paired it with a control group that didn’t do any meditation.
Let me remind you. Mindfulness meditation means sitting quietly with attention to the present moment. Everything – thoughts, emotions, sensory experience – is accepted in soft awareness without judgement. It’s a form of meditation that deepens the awareness of the present moment, and develops skills of focused attention.
Back to the experiment: The group of students who learned to meditate did a 7-hour workshop and then had to practise for an hour each day. This went on for a couple of months. A control group did not practice meditation at all.
The results showed a strong biological impact of meditation.
- The meditation group showed an increase of brain activity in the left-side part of the frontal region, which is associated with lower anxiety and a more positive emotional state.
- These students also showed a better immune function than the control group. I.e. the body was more resilient.
You can read more about the experiment here
The interesting point is that the changes I describe above were tracked after the experiment had finished. They show that lasting changes are possible through meditation. Yes, meditation can make us happier. Or, more precisely, some forms of meditation can make us happier.
Next week I’ll be writing about the practice of compassion – which is one of the meditation forms that definitely lifts the happiness thermostat!
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© Mary Jaksch 2008
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
This is a fascinating subject. I don’t doubt the research for a moment. Meditation has made a real and measurable difference in my emotions, mood and ability to function. I love reading about scientific research and finding which confirm my personal experience. Thanks for a great post!
@Sarah
Thank you for your comment. Yes, I too am fascinated by the way science and spirituality seem to move closer together!
This research shows us that mindfulness meditation creates positive physiological changes. The question is, can you draw a conclusion that this creates “happiness”?
I would agree that meditation creates calmness, clarity of thought, increased creativity, reduced stress, etc. For some, this could equate to “happiness” but it may not. I hate to be such a pessimist, but I think it’s safe to say that meditation can help relieve the inevitable suffering of life. As to whether it can cause happiness … I think that’s up to each individual to determine.
But the answer for you (and for me) is Yes! (and therefore, I assume this is the “right” answer?)
my answer is yes and thanks so much for the post!!
@Mike
I agree that we can’t necessarily give a clear-cut answer to the question. However, I’m interested in these and other research results because I do think we can conclude from them that meditation can make us happier. The key point is that the physiological changes recorded relate to a lasting increase of neural activity in areas of the brain that are shown to correspond to positive feelings. In other words, more activity in those areas mean an increased feeling of wellbeing or happiness.That’s why Positive Psychology is so excited about meditation. That particular movement of psychology is keen to find interventions that change the emotional set-point.
Of course there is no absolute measure for ‘happiness’; it’s an individual sense of wellbeing.
An interesting question is whether ‘less suffering’ means ‘more happiness’?
@Zenator
Thank you for your comment and support!
Most definitely yes!
I am interested in the many textures, colours, heights and depths of happiness. It used to be I would only call myself happy when I was soaring at the top of the mountain.
These days I recognise moments of happiness even in the valleys.The other day I was in my office working late as I do too often, and I was fretting about the days events. Then I looked out the window watching people rushing to get home – saying goodbye to friends, running after the bus – and I just felt an immense sense of happiness and joy to be just where I was.
Without meditation, I would not have stopped to look and listen. I would not have noticed other people around me.
@Deb
Lovely! I like connect ‘happiness’ with attention. Your example shows how ‘happiness’ can relate to ordinary moments. I think that’s a very useful.
I think that my emotional set point is quite low. A year ago when I suffered an acute bout of depression after having meditated for years my faith in zazen was shaken. I don’t doubt that meditation can improve the overall mood of some people but I am not sure that it has had that effect on me. I am more content as I get older but I think that may just be my testosterone level going down. And I agree with Maurine Stuart: “We are not here for tranquilization or some sort of pleasant effect, but for something much deeper.” (Subtle Sound Pg 47). Zazen is a means by which we can look into the mystery of life.
Interesting article~ Thank you
I’ve found out it has sharpen my perspective on the external world. I see things with a wider access to move gracefully and peacefully to connect with others in a non-separation level, to ground naturally to what is. Before I had taken interest in meditation, it was an endless inner emotional turmoil. I felt sorry for everyone. But mindful meditation brought be up a level of non-judging, to except things or events as they are. To be the observer.
Namaste
I think that meditation can definitely make us happier. Some years ago I used to think that happiness was just laughing and be completely happy about something, but after some short period of meditation and after some life experiences I realized that happiness is more than a few moments laughing or having fun, is about inner peace, inner fullfilment, it’s about loving and accepting our life as it is, about enjoying every minute with our friends, family, it’s about doing the things that make us happy and comfortable. So thanks for this great post…
@Nick
I agree with you that zen practice is not a ‘cure-all’. I do think that meditation gives us a different perspective on ‘happiness’. It’s not just the blazing joy of the moment but something deeper, more serene. I’m tempted to say that a full view of ‘happiness’ must contain some sadness and grief as well. Otherwise, as you imply, it can just be a tranquilizer that stops us from going deep into the mystery of being.
I’d be keen to see whether the set-point of your mood does actually in time.
@Terry
I’m especially interested in your observation:
“I’ve found out it has sharpened my perspective on the external world. I see things with a wider access to move gracefully and peacefully to connect with others in a non-separation level.”
I read that as ‘wisdom’! That would mean that you’re connecting ‘happiness’ with ‘wisdom’. Now, that’s really interesting! I wonder, how do others see that?
@Yin
I love the way you define happiness:
“happiness is more than a few moments laughing or having fun, is about inner peace, inner fullfilment, it’s about loving and accepting our life as it is, about enjoying every minute with our friends, family, it’s about doing the things that make us happy and comfortable.”
Maybe be it is the ultimate gift of meditation practice to realise that this is what happiness is all about.
Thanks a lot for the warm welcome and all the really interesting posts. Keep on the good work Mary and I’m glad to be in this community