I'm a bit late coming across this book - I knew there had been scientific (REAL scientific studies, not POTUS45-isms on social media) studies into the benefits of meditation, but I had considered they were all like the ones I had seen - short term states of mind, health benefits, ability to work harder as a cog in the economic machine (yes, that last point's sarcasm), etc.
I've now found that wasn't the case.
The book "Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Changes Your Mind, Brain, and Body" (pub. Penguin, 2017 , ISBN 978-0-241-97570-1, Amazon) by Daniel Goleman and Richard J. Davidson is aware of the progression of meditation, that more important things than mindfulness (which I was taught as a prelude to meditation) such as loving-kindness meditation, and that there are long term aims from meditation (on that, I have been wanting to get back into more serious meditation for some years; a retreat might be useful, but just having the time would be a great start - roll on retirement! Mind you, it is my crankiness now that tells me I need to do more now 😇 ). The book also covers the shortcomings of drugs (there are also dangers: I haven't come across details in the book - only a brief warning - of that yet, but I haven't read the entire book yet), attitudinal problems, and a certain amount of overlap with emotional intelligence (one of the authors appears to have popularised the term). They're clearly aware of the importance of compassion, so I haven't yet decided whether or not they've fallen into the trap of not considering that the world needs to be made a batter place at least as much as people need to learn how to cope in it - in fact, much of the learning/change that this book covers would be more readily achievable in a better world, which is one point they sort of make when discussing "things that have been left behind" (my term).
If I'd has this book way back when I was struggling to identify, let alone express, some of these concepts, I would have been so much better off. However, the authors appears to have been doing the same as I was, albeit a few years ahead of me. Now, I am glad the book exists - the terminology alone is a brilliant addition to the world, but the support for the fact that mindfulness is not the be-all and end-all, and that meditation (I'm using that word in a broader context than the authors) is about personal change is also invaluable.
I strongly recommend considering buying this book.
