The “Complete” Perspective on Meditation According to Research, #1

Meditation is often dismissed as abstract or outdated. This view oversimplifies its value. Some see it as “wishy-washy,” but meditation offers real potential for change.

Neuroscience shows meditation improves focus, relational habits, stress, pain management, and emotional health, among other effects. But what connects these benefits? Is there a theory that explains how meditation changes the brain?

A 2021 study, From Many to None: Meditation and the Plasticity of the Predictive Mind, explores this question. The hypothesis builds on predictive processing, a key brain function. Its goal is to explain how meditation transforms the brain.

Authors Ruben E. Lakkonen and Helene A. Slagter proposed this new framework. By linking meditation to science, it can guide deeper mindfulness practices.

What Is Predictive Processing?

Predictive Processing explains how the brain understands the world. It uses past experiences to predict what will happen and compares this to sensory input.

This process, called “Free Energy Minimization,” reduces errors and helps with adaptation. However, it can also create rigid thinking and reinforce bad habits.

Meditation helps break these patterns and opens the mind to new ideas. Predictive processing shows how past experiences shape thoughts, emotions, and actions. Sensory input triggers emotional responses, creating cycles of thought and behavior.

This cycle is based on survival instincts that aim to reduce suffering and prolong life. Yet, Buddhism teaches that suffering and death are unavoidable.

Meditation helps people observe these patterns and make better choices. This awareness reduces automatic responses. Buddhist texts call this awareness “liberation.”

Three Core Meditation Techniques

The study highlights three meditation techniques: Focused Attention, Open Monitoring, and Non-Dual Awareness. These techniques form a continuum, each step reducing future-focused thinking. The ultimate goal is to reach pure awareness.

1. Focused Attention (FA)

Focused Attention involves concentrating on a single object or sensation. Practitioners stabilize their attention to disrupt thought and emotional cycles.

This technique is common in the West. It is the foundation of the mindfulness industry, which earns billions yearly.

Focused Attention reduces stress, improves memory, and supports emotional health. Even so, it is only the first step. Ancient traditions see FA as a gateway to deeper transformation.

2. Open Monitoring (OM)

Open Monitoring expands awareness to all thoughts and sensations without judgment. Practitioners observe experiences as they arise, stay briefly, and fade away.

This practice increases awareness of mental, emotional, and physical patterns. OM encourages non-judgment and frees the mind from attachments.

3. Non-Dual Awareness (ND)

Non-Dual Awareness removes the boundary between the self and the world. Practitioners experience pure consciousness, free from the illusion of separation. In Buddhism, this state is described as seeing through the illusion of self.

Some traditions also include cessation, where consciousness temporarily shuts down. Cessation is an advanced stage of mindfulness practice. It allows the mind to reset and promotes long-term well-being.

Studies show cessation can last for hours. Historical accounts suggest it can last days or even weeks.

Meditation and the Predictive Mind

Meditation links to predictive processing by keeping the mind in the present. As abstract thinking decreases, ideas like time and self fade into the background. Practitioners often describe timelessness, self-dissolution, and the fleeting nature of reality.

Meditation also reveals habits, allowing for new ways of thinking and acting. By tapping into the brain’s plasticity, it changes behavior and perception.

Focused Attention is a good starting point, but deeper stages offer greater transformation. Exploring Open Monitoring and Non-Dual Awareness unlocks the full power of mindfulness. These stages reshape life itself.

A Framework for Future Understanding

This framework provides useful insights, but is not an ultimate truth. More research is needed to validate these findings and refine the framework.

Meditation teaches that all frameworks are, in the end, illusions. Still, combining ancient wisdom with modern science gives practical guidance. Meditation does more than reduce stress—it changes how we experience life.

What’s Next?

Stay tuned for the next section in this series. It will explore predictive processing and its deeper links to meditation.

This blog series will follow the structure of the study:

1. Introduction to the Study
2. Predictive Processing
3. Meditation and Predictive Processing
4. The Unifying Framework of the Many-to-None Model
5. Key Empirical Predictions and Support
6. Final Discussion

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