Lee Beaumont frequently contributes new book reviews to Wisdom and the Future. Here is his latest on Altered States: Science Reveals How Meditation Changes Your Mind, Brain, and Body: 

"Two giants of science journalism and neuroscience research, Daniel Goleman and Richard Davidson, collaborate to separate fact from folklore about the benefits of mediation in this important, factually intensive, and readable book.  Their research has been guided by the idea that: "Some of what you know about meditation may be wrong. But what is true about meditation you may not know."

Fair warning to hippies and new age practitioners; this is a well-researched book about science.

In 1970 Dan travelled to Bodh Gaya India where he met an elderly Tibetan monk, Khunu Lama. Dan was so impressed by the monk's attentive, peaceful, and compassionate qualities that he returned to India later that year and studied with the esteemed Maharaji Neen Karoli Baba.

Three years later at Dan's encouragement, Richie and his wife Susan traveled to Dalhousie India for a ten-day meditation retreat with S. N. Goenka, a teacher with whom Dan had earlier studied. By the third day of the retreat Richie had learned to overcome intense pain through mental discipline. He became convinced that powerful methods that transform minds in healthy directions could be learned.

While both were Harvard University students in the early 1970s, they shared an interest in meditation. Despite sober warnings from their advisers to resist the lure of mysticism and avoid the career ending path followed earlier by Timothy Leary, they both chose to study meditation-related topics for their Ph.D. dissertations. They have been good friends and life-long collaborators in the practice of meditation and scientific study of contemplative science ever since.

During the several decades of their collaborations, these researchers have debunked the false claims of charlatans while scientifically confirming the surprising yet subjective reports of many skilled meditators. Their collaborations have engaged: Ram Dass, Krishna Das, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Matthieu Ricard, Mingyur Rinpoche, and the Dalai Lama.
The varieties of contemplative practices described collectively as meditation rival the wide range of athletic activities described collectively as sport.  These include: mindfulness, compassion, attention, insight, loving-kindness, monitoring thoughts, deconstructing and reappraising pain, integrating experiences, and other methods and outcomes. They recognized the importance of clearly differentiating among these varieties of mediation to allow careful study.

They continually improved research methods, including: determining the total lifetime hours of meditation practice of each person studied, use of comparison conditions by the control groups in each experiment, rigorous operational definitions of mindfulness, and other experimental disciplines. They dismissed studies that did not meet their strict standards for scientific research so they could to draw more reliable conclusions.

As suggested by the book's title, they emphasized the distinction between short lived mental states and enduring mental and physical traits. They recognized that "After the high goes, you're still the same schmuck you were before." They endeavored to study extremely positive altered traits. "It is not the highs that matter. It is who you become."

Many chapters end with a concise summary of the key findings of the chapter conveniently presented "In a Nutshell". These findings include: 1) experienced Zen practitioners can withstand higher levels of pain, and have less reaction to pain, 2) loving-kindness meditation increases the likelihood practitioners will provide help to those in need, 3) as little as ten hours of mindfulness meditation over a two-week period strengthened attention and working memory, 4) long-term practitioners can deconstruct the default narrative we interpret as our "self", 5) mindfulness training can decrease production of cytokines-the molecules responsible for inflammation, and 6) combinations of mindfulness and cognative therapy are well-validated treatments for some mental disorders. While meditating on empathy a yogi master with a remarkable 62,000 hours of mediation practice was able increase his EEG signature of empathy by 700 to 800 percent compared his levels at rest. Gamma wave EEG activity, which occurs for only a few seconds when novices attain a satisfying "A Ha" insight, can be sustained for minutes at a time by the most experienced yogis.

As research continues, the authors are enthused by the possibility of validating attainment of many positive altered traits. These include: generosity, ethical conduct, patience, concentration, wisdom, and others. The authors boldly envision a world where "... by transforming our minds we could improve not only our own health and well-being but also those of our communities and the wider world."

The book ends with a helpful list of resources for the study and practice of mediation and extensive reference notes.

This important book is well researched, well argued, and well written. Sound arguments based on valid logic and representative evidence are presented with a narrative flair resulting in an enjoyable read. Interesting stories and rigorous research meld into this readable and authoritative treatment of an important and enduring topic.