The Science of Meditation: How to Change Your Brain, Mind and Body

　　A radical reinterpretation of mental exercise from two New York Times bestselling authors - "What if we could exercise our minds like we exercise our bodies?" - backed by state-of-the-art scientific research

　　More than forty years ago, two friends and collaborators at Harvard, Daniel Goleman and Richard Davidson were unusual in arguing for the benefits of meditation. Now, as mindfulness and other brands of meditation become ever more popular, to fix even more about our lives, they reveal the cutting-edge science of how smart practice can change our personal traits and even our genome for the better.

　　Drawing on the kind of cutting-edge research that has made them giants in their fields, Goleman and Davidson sweep away neuromythology and reveal what we can learn from a one-of-a-kind data pool of world-class meditators. They share for the first time remarkable findings that show how meditation can cultivate - without drugs or high expense - qualities such as focus, selflessness, and compassion.

　　For beyond the pleasant states that mental exercises can produce, purposeful, sustained mind training can create altered traits: sustained, beneficial qualities of thinking, feeling, and acting that are accompanied by lasting, supportive changes in the brain.

　　Demonstrating two master thinkers at work, The Science of Meditation explains precisely how and when mind training benefits us. More than daily doses or sheer hours, we need smart practice, including crucial ingredients such as targeted feedback from a master teacher and a more spacious, less attached view of the self, all of which are missing in many versions of mind training. Exploring, too, how new technologies can really help with meditation, this is the truth about what meditation can do for us today.

　　Gripping in its storytelling and grounded in new research, this is one of those rare books that has the power to change us at the deepest level.

作者簡介

丹尼爾．高曼（Daniel．Goleman）

　　著名心理學家，四度榮獲美國心理協會（APA）最高榮譽獎項，於1980年代獲頒心理學終生成就獎。他同時也是優異的科普記者，多年為《紐約時報》（New York Times）撰寫行為科學與大腦研究的報導，並因新聞寫作榮獲許多獎項，兩次獲普利玆獎提名。他有多本重量級暢銷鉅作，包括《EQ》、《EQ II：工作EQ》、《領導EQ》、《綠色EQ》、《情緒療癒》、《專注的力量》等。

　　他是「心靈與生命學會」的創立元老、「組織EQ研究協會」（Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations）的聯合主席，也是「學業、社交與情緒學習組織」（Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning, CASEL）的共同創辦人，致力推動全球從幼兒到高中的情緒教育運動。

　　Daniel Goleman, PhD, covers the behavioural and brain sciences for the New York Times and his articles appear throughout the world in syndication. His latest book, Destructive Emotions: A Scientific Dialogue with the Dalai Lama, was published in January 2003. He has taught at Harvard (where he received his PhD) and was formerly senior editor at Psychology Today. His previous books include Vital Lies, Simple Truths; The Meditative Mind; and as co-author, The Creative Spirit. He was also a contributor to the business reference work, Business: The Ultimate Resource.