In the last twenty years, meditation and mindfulness have gone from being kind of cool to becoming an omnipresent Band-Aid for fixing everything from your weight to your relationship to your achievement level. Unveiling here the kind of cutting-edge research that has made them giants in their fields, Daniel Goleman and Richard Davidson show us the truth about what meditation can really do for us, as well as exactly how to get the most out of it.
Sweeping away common misconceptions and neuromythology to open readers' eyes to the ways data has been distorted to sell mind-training methods, the authors demonstrate that beyond the pleasant states mental exercises can produce, the real payoffs are the lasting personality traits that can result. But short daily doses will not get us to the highest level of lasting positive change--even if we continue for years--without specific additions. More than 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 widespread versions of mind training. The authors also reveal the latest data from Davidson's own lab that point to a new methodology for developing a broader array of mind-training methods with larger implications for how we can derive the greatest benefits from the practice.
Exciting, compelling, and grounded in new research, this is one of those rare books that has the power to change us at the deepest level.
Author of Emotional Intelligence and psychologist Daniel Goleman has transformed the way the world educates children, relates to family and friends, and conducts business. The Wall Street Journal ranked him one of the 10 most influential business thinkers.
Goleman’s Emotional Intelligence was on The New York Times best sellers list for a year-and-a-half. Named one of the 25 "Mo...
- 本书基于神经科学实证研究，澄清冥想并非万能灵药，而是类似健身的大脑训练。作者指出短期冥想仅能产生愉悦状态，无法改变人格特质，只有长期、高强度且正确的练习才能引发大脑结构性改变，从而持久提升专注力、同理心等心理特质。
- 书中详细拆解了冥想的多种类型及其对应的脑区影响，如专注冥想锻炼注意力网络，慈心冥想增强情感同理心。作者批判了市面上夸大冥想功效的伪科学营销，强调必须区分短暂的心理状态与持久的人格特质，拒绝将冥想作为逃避现实或快速治愈的捷径。
- 作者揭示了健康心态（如平等心、平静）与不健康心态（如焦虑、愤怒）在大脑中的互斥机制。通过科学数据证明，冥想能抑制杏仁核等压力中枢的活动，提升自我接纳与个人成长能力。书中强调，修行的目标是让健康心态成为默认反应，而非仅在打坐时有效。
- 对冥想、正念感兴趣，但希望了解其背后神经科学原理的读者。适合那些被市面上夸大宣传误导，想要辨别真伪，寻求基于实证数据的心理训练方法，而非盲目追随宗教或灵性潮流的人群。
- 心理学、神经科学领域的学生或研究者，以及关注大脑可塑性、情绪调节机制的专业人士。本书提供了大量关于冥想对大脑结构影响的研究综述，有助于理解意识、注意力及同理心的生物学基础。
- 希望改善自身心理健康，但缺乏正确指导的普通大众。适合那些试图通过冥想缓解压力、提升专注力，但不知如何科学练习的人。读者需具备批判性思维，能接受作者严谨甚至保守的科学结论，而非寻求速成技巧。
- 本书侧重科学原理与数据综述，缺乏具体的冥想操作指南。读者若期望获得冥想步骤或练习技巧，可能会感到失望。建议搭配其他实操类书籍或课程使用，不要将其作为冥想入门手册，而是作为理解冥想机制的理论参考。
- 书中涉及大量神经科学术语及研究伦理讨论，阅读门槛较高。作者对部分研究方法的局限性进行了严厉批评，读者需耐心阅读，理解科学研究的严谨性。不要因作者对伪科学的批判而感到被冒犯，这恰恰是本书的核心价值所在。
- 请注意区分“状态”与“特质”的概念。书中强调，短暂的冥想体验不等于人格改变。读者在阅读时应反思自身对冥想的期待，避免陷入“速成”误区。同时，书中关于达赖喇嘛等宗教人物的内容较多，若对此不感兴趣，可跳过相关章节。
- 读者普遍认为本书是市面上最权威、最科学的冥想科普读物，彻底颠覆了“冥想包治百病”的迷思。大家赞赏作者严谨的学术态度和对伪科学的揭露，认为其提供的科学视角极具价值，有助于建立正确的心理训练认知。
- 多数读者批评本书缺乏实践指导，认为其更像是一本学术综述而非自助指南。部分读者表示，虽然理论部分令人信服，但无法直接应用于日常生活，因此建议寻找其他补充材料。这种“只讲原理不给方法”的做法导致部分读者评分降低。
- 读者对书中涉及的宗教内容评价两极分化。部分读者认为这增加了文化深度，但更多人指出宗教色彩过重，与科学主题不符，甚至认为这是出版社为了销量而进行的误导性包装。总体而言，读者认可其科学价值，但反感其营销手段。
本导读基于书籍简介、目录、原文摘录、短评和书评生成，不等同于全文精读。
- "a model of well-being with six arms: - self-acceptance, being positive about yourself, acknowldgeing both your best and not-so-good qualities, and feeling fine about being just as you are. - personal growth, the sense you continue to change and develop toward your full potential -getting better as t"
- "The amygdala, a key node in the brain's stress circuitry, shows dampened activity from a mere thirty or so hours of MBSR practice."
- "Brain research tells us of three kinds of empathy. Cognitive empathy lets us understand how the other person thinks; we see their perspective. In emotional empathy we feel what the other is feeling. And the third, empathic conern or caring, lies at the heart of compassion. GOD, grant me the serenity"
- "相對之下，健康的狀態包括平等心、平靜、持續的正念和務實的信心。有趣的是，有一組健康状態的子集合，同時可用於心和身：輕快（buoyancy）、柔軟（flexibility）、適業（adaptability）、練達（pliancy）等。 健康的狀態會抑制不健康的，反之亦然。我們日常生活中的各種反應是否轉向健康的心態，是修行道路上進展的標誌。我們的目標是把健康的心態發展成主要的、持久的内心素質。 禪修者只要沉浸在深定當中，不健康的心悲態就被抑制了一但這就像市集上的那位修行人，定力消退的時候，不健康的心態可能強烈浮現。對比之下，根據這門古老的佛教心理學所述，達到深觀時，會引發全然的轉化，禪修者的心最終"
