Matthew D. Sacchet
@matthewsacchet.bsky.social
Associate Professor and Director of the Meditation Research Program at Harvard Medical School / Mass General (MGH)
https://meditation.mgh.harvard.edu/
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=ckejHQkAAAAJ&hl=en
https://meditation.mgh.harvard.edu/
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=ckejHQkAAAAJ&hl=en
The full interview can be found here on our and the New Scientist website:
meditation.mgh.harvard.edu
meditation.mgh.harvard.edu/media
meditation.mgh.harvard.edu/files/Sacche...
www.newscientist.com/article/2501...
May our work benefit many 🙏
meditation.mgh.harvard.edu
meditation.mgh.harvard.edu/media
meditation.mgh.harvard.edu/files/Sacche...
www.newscientist.com/article/2501...
May our work benefit many 🙏
Meditation Research Program
Select Publications
meditation.mgh.harvard.edu
November 10, 2025 at 11:34 AM
The full interview can be found here on our and the New Scientist website:
meditation.mgh.harvard.edu
meditation.mgh.harvard.edu/media
meditation.mgh.harvard.edu/files/Sacche...
www.newscientist.com/article/2501...
May our work benefit many 🙏
meditation.mgh.harvard.edu
meditation.mgh.harvard.edu/media
meditation.mgh.harvard.edu/files/Sacche...
www.newscientist.com/article/2501...
May our work benefit many 🙏
Thanks so much to Claudia Canavan and New Scientist for making this interview possible.
November 10, 2025 at 11:34 AM
Thanks so much to Claudia Canavan and New Scientist for making this interview possible.
Personally, when studying a heretofore unstudied advanced meditative state, I feel we’re on the cusp of something incredible: to give more people a chance to stand in awe of their own awareness 💫
November 10, 2025 at 11:34 AM
Personally, when studying a heretofore unstudied advanced meditative state, I feel we’re on the cusp of something incredible: to give more people a chance to stand in awe of their own awareness 💫
Neuroscience alone may not have all the answers. But I hope this work continues to inspire more people, across disciplines, to safely explore how human experience can be radically good, extraordinarily plastic, and mind-blowingly beautiful.
November 10, 2025 at 11:34 AM
Neuroscience alone may not have all the answers. But I hope this work continues to inspire more people, across disciplines, to safely explore how human experience can be radically good, extraordinarily plastic, and mind-blowingly beautiful.
In a not-too-distant future, we may even have neuroscience-informed methods, perhaps biomarkers or brain stimulation, to accelerate meditative development and democratize access to deep transformation.
November 10, 2025 at 11:34 AM
In a not-too-distant future, we may even have neuroscience-informed methods, perhaps biomarkers or brain stimulation, to accelerate meditative development and democratize access to deep transformation.
The possibilities this all hints at, what might be experienced if we realize these latent, powerful capacities, feel both hopeful and suggestive of a new beginning for what it may mean to be human.
November 10, 2025 at 11:34 AM
The possibilities this all hints at, what might be experienced if we realize these latent, powerful capacities, feel both hopeful and suggestive of a new beginning for what it may mean to be human.
And some of our most unhealthy desires and impulses may not be flaws hardwired into biology, but conditioned psychological patterns that can be seen through and transformed as we develop toward new ways of being.
November 10, 2025 at 11:34 AM
And some of our most unhealthy desires and impulses may not be flaws hardwired into biology, but conditioned psychological patterns that can be seen through and transformed as we develop toward new ways of being.
— Massive reductions in suffering can be learned.
— Experiential distance between ourselves, others, and the world is profoundly malleable.
— Experiential distance between ourselves, others, and the world is profoundly malleable.
November 10, 2025 at 11:34 AM
— Massive reductions in suffering can be learned.
— Experiential distance between ourselves, others, and the world is profoundly malleable.
— Experiential distance between ourselves, others, and the world is profoundly malleable.
— The “self” is a fluid, dynamic process, not a fixed entity.
— The mind can be reset, similar to a computer rebooting to cleared settings.
— The mind can be reset, similar to a computer rebooting to cleared settings.
November 10, 2025 at 11:34 AM
— The “self” is a fluid, dynamic process, not a fixed entity.
— The mind can be reset, similar to a computer rebooting to cleared settings.
— The mind can be reset, similar to a computer rebooting to cleared settings.
Some of these ideas about who we are, and what we might be capable of, include:
November 10, 2025 at 11:34 AM
Some of these ideas about who we are, and what we might be capable of, include:
We are learning, empirically, that the brain and mind can be rewired, reconfigured, healed, and transformed in ways that challenge what we thought possible.
November 10, 2025 at 11:34 AM
We are learning, empirically, that the brain and mind can be rewired, reconfigured, healed, and transformed in ways that challenge what we thought possible.
If the science of advanced meditation continues to explore the depths of the mind, alongside other bold frontiers of consciousness research, I believe the data will eventually speak for itself.
November 10, 2025 at 11:34 AM
If the science of advanced meditation continues to explore the depths of the mind, alongside other bold frontiers of consciousness research, I believe the data will eventually speak for itself.
But what may be even more radical and profound are their philosophical, scientific, and cultural implications.
November 10, 2025 at 11:34 AM
But what may be even more radical and profound are their philosophical, scientific, and cultural implications.
It’s true that our findings, including that meditative states like extended cessation and non-dual awareness are real and track meaningfully to measurable brain activity, are groundbreaking in their own right.
November 10, 2025 at 11:34 AM
It’s true that our findings, including that meditative states like extended cessation and non-dual awareness are real and track meaningfully to measurable brain activity, are groundbreaking in their own right.
Many people wonder why we study advanced meditation, why we believe we’ve only begun to scratch the surface of its potential, and how such research can make a real difference beyond the Meditation Research Program at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital.
November 10, 2025 at 11:34 AM
Many people wonder why we study advanced meditation, why we believe we’ve only begun to scratch the surface of its potential, and how such research can make a real difference beyond the Meditation Research Program at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital.
After decades of research on meditation, we still have so much further to go. The inner frontier runs deep.
November 10, 2025 at 11:34 AM
After decades of research on meditation, we still have so much further to go. The inner frontier runs deep.
Check out the preprint on our homepage and from the preprint server
meditation.mgh.harvard.edu
meditation.mgh.harvard.edu/files/Ehmann...
osf.io/preprints/ps...
meditation.mgh.harvard.edu
meditation.mgh.harvard.edu/files/Ehmann...
osf.io/preprints/ps...
Meditation Research Program
Select Publications
meditation.mgh.harvard.edu
October 29, 2025 at 10:47 AM
Check out the preprint on our homepage and from the preprint server
meditation.mgh.harvard.edu
meditation.mgh.harvard.edu/files/Ehmann...
osf.io/preprints/ps...
meditation.mgh.harvard.edu
meditation.mgh.harvard.edu/files/Ehmann...
osf.io/preprints/ps...
A huge congratulations to Sebastian, Brian, Erica, Tucker, and Jay, and the entire team, including Henry Brookman, Joaquin Roces, Shinzen Young, and John Allen.
What an extraordinary time for contemplative science and the future of human potential and flourishing!
What an extraordinary time for contemplative science and the future of human potential and flourishing!
October 29, 2025 at 10:47 AM
A huge congratulations to Sebastian, Brian, Erica, Tucker, and Jay, and the entire team, including Henry Brookman, Joaquin Roces, Shinzen Young, and John Allen.
What an extraordinary time for contemplative science and the future of human potential and flourishing!
What an extraordinary time for contemplative science and the future of human potential and flourishing!
and rigorous scientific inquiry to converge and collaborate like never before in exploring the farther reaches of human nature and our vast untapped potential for well-being and flourishing.
October 29, 2025 at 10:47 AM
and rigorous scientific inquiry to converge and collaborate like never before in exploring the farther reaches of human nature and our vast untapped potential for well-being and flourishing.
Just as in our prior research on the synergistic possibilities between psychedelics and meditation, the time has come for contemplative practices, modern technology, mind-manifesting substances,
October 29, 2025 at 10:47 AM
Just as in our prior research on the synergistic possibilities between psychedelics and meditation, the time has come for contemplative practices, modern technology, mind-manifesting substances,
A shortcut? Perhaps not one that replaces meditation, or bypasses the path, its challenges, or deeper potentials, but rather one that enhances effective and efficient training. This is just the beginning, more research is needed to replicate and expand on these current initial results.
October 29, 2025 at 10:47 AM
A shortcut? Perhaps not one that replaces meditation, or bypasses the path, its challenges, or deeper potentials, but rather one that enhances effective and efficient training. This is just the beginning, more research is needed to replicate and expand on these current initial results.
Even more intriguingly, the stimulation appeared to help participants engage their own psychological challenges and practice-related barriers, suggesting that tFUS might amplify and perhaps accelerate the mind’s natural unfolding toward meditative growth and skill.
October 29, 2025 at 10:47 AM
Even more intriguingly, the stimulation appeared to help participants engage their own psychological challenges and practice-related barriers, suggesting that tFUS might amplify and perhaps accelerate the mind’s natural unfolding toward meditative growth and skill.
Qualitative results suggested improvements in equanimity, concentration, sensory clarity, shifts in self-perception, and even cathartic emotional releases.
October 29, 2025 at 10:47 AM
Qualitative results suggested improvements in equanimity, concentration, sensory clarity, shifts in self-perception, and even cathartic emotional releases.
Amazingly, the ten-day meditation retreat taught by Tucker Peck and two brief tFUS sessions led to significant quantifiable increases in trait mindfulness as well as state and trait nondual awareness.
October 29, 2025 at 10:47 AM
Amazingly, the ten-day meditation retreat taught by Tucker Peck and two brief tFUS sessions led to significant quantifiable increases in trait mindfulness as well as state and trait nondual awareness.