Altered Traits

One bright fall morning, Steve Z, a lieutenant colonel working in the Pentagon, heard a "crazy, loud noise," and instantly was covered in debris as the ceiling caved in, knocking him to the floor, unconscious. It was September 11, 2001, and a passenger jet had smashed into the huge building, very near to Steve's office.

The debris that buried Steve saved his life as the plane's fuselage exploded, a fireball of flames scouring the open office. Despite a concussion, Steve returned to work four days later, laboring through feverish nights, 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m., because those were daytime hours in Afghanistan. Soon after, he volunteered for a year in Iraq.

"I mainly went to Iraq because I couldn't walk around the Mall without being hypervigilant, wary of how people looked at me, totally on guard," Steve recalls. "I couldn't get on an elevator, I felt trapped in my car in traffic."

His symptoms were classic post traumatic stress disorder. Then came the day he realized he couldn't handle this on his own. Steve ended up with a psychotherapist he still sees. She led him, very gently, to try mindfulness.

Mindfulness, he recalls, "gave me something I could do to help feel more calm, less stressed, not be so reactive." As he practiced more, added loving-kindness to the mix, and went on retreats, his PTSD symptoms gradually became less frequent, less intense. Although his irritability and restlessness still came, he could see them coming.

Tales like Steve's offer encouraging news about meditation. We have been meditators all our adult lives, and, like Steve, know for ourselves that the practice has countless benefits.

But our scientific backgrounds give us pause, too. Not everything chalked up to meditation's magic actually stands up to rigorous tests. And so we have set out to make clear what works and what does not.

Some of what you know about meditation may be wrong. But what is true about meditation you may not know.

Take Steve's story. The

Daniel Goleman, Ph.D., known for his bestselling books on emotional intelligence, has a long-standing interest in meditation dating back to his two years in India as a graduate student at Harvard. A psychologist who for many years reported on the brain and behavioral sciences for The New York Times, Dr. Goleman previously was a visiting faculty member at Harvard. Dr. Goleman has received many journalistic awards for his writing, including two nominations for the Pulitzer Prize for his articles in the Times, and a Career Achievement award for journalism from the American Psychological Association.
 
Richard J. Davidson, Ph.D., is the William James and Vilas Research Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry, director of the Waisman Laboratory for Brain Imaging and Behavior, and founder of the Center for Healthy Minds at the Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in psychology and has been at Wisconsin since 1984. Davidson has published more than 320 articles, as well as numerous chapters and reviews, and edited fourteen books. His research has received many awards.

A happy synthesis of the authors remarkable careers, which grew from the intuition they shared as students that there was something deep and transformative about meditation, Altered Traits tells the story of what has been discovered since and why it matters critically at this moment on the planet.
Jon Kabat-Zinn, author of Full Catastrophe Living and Mindfulness for Beginners

"This exquisite duet between a down-to-earth science writer and path-breaking neuroscientist is a tour-de-force, revealing how training the mind can transform the brain and our sense of self, inspiring us to create a greater sense of well-being, meaning, and connection in our world. Bravo!"
Daniel J. Siegel, M.D., author of the New York Times best sellers, Mindsight and Brainstorm
 
"This is a book that really can change your life. Daniel Goleman and Richard Davidson not only show the power of meditation, but also the smartest way to practice for the maximum possible benefit. Altered Traits is your roadmap to a more mindful, compassionate, fulfilling life who doesn t want that?"
Arianna Huffington, author of the New York Times best seller The Sleep Revolution

"Here is a message that is both powerful and joyful. Daniel Goleman and Richard Davidson reveal groundbreaking science showing how mindfulness and compassion practices can help each of us individually and thus the entire planet.  One of the most exciting books I have read!"
Chade-Meng Tan, author of the New York Times best sellers, Joy on Demand and Search Inside Yourself

"In this engaging and well-researched book, Goleman and Davidson help us sort out the many claims now being made about the benefits of meditation. Drawing on their own long personal meditative experience and the ever increasing number of scientific studies, Altered Traits breaks new ground in illuminating the power of meditation to transform our lives."