I wouldn’t consider myself a Buddhist or a card-carrying zealot at all. My first commitment is as a scientist to uncover the truth about all this.

Most people still don’t think of qualities like happiness as being a skill, that can be enhanced through training.

Our brain is continuously being shaped – we can take more responsibility for our own brain by cultivating positive influences.

Mindfulness – moment to moment non-judgemental attention and awareness.

Meditation gives you the wherewithal to pause, observe how easily the mind can exaggerate the severity of a setback, and resist getting drawn into the abyss.

Most people still don't think of qualities like happiness as being a skill, that can be enhanced through training.

We need a different conception of happiness, more enduring and more genuine, not dependent on external circumstances.

Our brain is continuously being shaped - we can take more responsibility for our own brain by cultivating positive influences.

In meditation you experience time slowing down because you can notice more things per discreet moment and you're more open... The word 'meditation' in Sanskrit comes from the word 'familiarization' - as in familiarization with one's own mind.

Buddhist monks have known for centuries that meditation can change the mind. Now we are inspired by His Holiness to examine with our technology the precise brain changes that occur with practice... The unique collaboration on meditation is just beginning.