NEWS

Our recent US trip brought us into dialogue with researchers across the meditation and neuroscience community.

… 

Science begins with the right questions.

In San Francisco, we met Dr. Cliff Saron, Research Scientist at the UC Davis Center for Mind and Brain and lead investigator of the Shamatha Project — a multidisciplinary longitudinal investigation of the effects of intensive meditation on physiological and psychological processes central to well-being.

The discussion focused on scientific rigor — experimental design, signal interpretation, and the caution required when working with complex brain data. His perspective was direct and constructive, pushing us to clarify what the data can support and where interpretation must stay limited.

…

Meditation at scale requires more than practice.

We also met Dr. Philippe Goldin, clinical neuroscientist at UC Davis and a founder of the Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute — a mindfulness-based emotional intelligence program now operating worldwide.

The conversation expanded into application: how structured mental training can be deployed in education, organizations, and vulnerable populations — and how scientific frameworks can help evaluate and scale such interventions responsibly.

Meditation is not only about individual well-being or performance. It is about building psychological resilience in the face of global challenges. 

…

Measuring what was once immeasurable.

Our trip continued to Los Angeles, where we visited the Institute for Advanced Consciousness Studies — an independent non-profit research laboratory using neuroimaging, neuromodulation, and altered states to study consciousness — and spent time with Dr. Nicco Reggente, its Research Director and co-founder.

The exchange centered on methodological alignment — how different approaches to neuroimaging and altered states research can be connected, compared, and strengthened.

…

Across these conversations, there was significant interest in the AllHere Index — including measures of attentional stability, reduction of mind wandering, and depth of absorption — and the concrete avenues for collaboration it opens.

…

Not agreement. Engagement.

Different perspectives, different methods — yet a shared willingness to examine the same fundamental question: how can we study meditation in a way that is both scientifically rigorous and faithful to the contemplative experience itself?

We are grateful for the openness, critical thinking, and depth of engagement in each of these conversations. They did not just reinforce our direction — they helped sharpen it. 

Science does not replace meditation. It provides tools to observe, test, and communicate it with precision. That’s where AllHere sits.

…

Building the evidence base for contemplative practice?

We are actively looking to connect with scientists and institutions advancing meditation neuroscience. Rigorous collaboration is how this field moves forward.

If you are a researcher working at the intersection of neuroscience and meditation, we want to hear from you. Methodological questions, collaboration ideas, critical perspectives — all welcome. 

Write to us → welcome@allhere.org