Just this week a paper was published in the American Psychological Association Journal, Emotion, regarding a study conducted by researchers in Montreal Canada. Joshua Grant, the lead researcher, described the way in which they measured the brain thickness of 17 Zen meditators and 18 non-meditators using MRI scans. They examined in particular specific areas of the brain that regulate emotion and pain and what they discovered was that these areas are significantly thicker in meditators than non meditators.
This finding has received a great deal of publicity as it is the first direct evidence of a physical and neurological change produced by meditation.
Previous research had unearthed differing health outcomes, but this actually looks at the way in which meditation starts changing the shape of our inner organs. This greatly affects our understanding of our ability to improve ourselves – even at a level of altering the anatomy of our brains – and it provides ample encouragement to the world of personal development in general and contemplative/meditation based self help in particular. Stillness and presence is a far more powerful tool than any of us had previously known. (My Italics)
The author presents a lovely conclusion:
So the next time you see someone meditating or practicing yoga, or you are doing it yourself, know what is going on inside as a result is a process far more profound and transformative than you may ever have realized.
Via Technorati.
Great to see this kind of research being done, but even better to experience the transformation myself! 
