In you repeat silent wishes of goodwill toward yourself and toward others, and the claim is that this produces real generosity. To test it, one group learned it in a six-week online course while another took a course of light . What separated them?
Very little. Both groups improved wellbeing, and the compassion group showed a slightly smaller rise in anxiety. On most measures the differences were not large. Which puts the practice inside a fair comparison rather than against nothing at all, and leaves open how much of the gain belongs to the content and how much to keeping any six-week commitment.
Most of what has been written about loving-kindness meditation rests on a comparison against nothing. Someone who took a course reports feeling better than someone who did nothing at all, which is barely a finding.
This trial is built differently. Eight hundred and nine participants were randomly divided between a six-week online course in loving-kindness meditation and an online course of light physical exercise. Both programmes demand time, commitment and follow-up.
The result: both groups reported improved wellbeing. The compassion group showed a slightly smaller rise in anxiety, and on most measures, among them, the differences were not large.
This is not a finding against meditation but one in favor of precision. It suggests a large share of the improvement comes from the regular practice and the framework rather than from the distinctive content. And the measures rested on self-report, with the courses taken online, so nothing here settles a lasting change in character.
wat. Both groups rose in wellbeing, and the advantage of compassion meditation over light exercise stayed small.
wat wat
The result places meditation inside a fair comparison: sometimes it helps, and part of the improvement may come from the regular practice and the involvement in a programme.
How do we know?
809 adults were randomly assigned to a loving-kindness meditation course or to a physical exercise course. The researchers measured wellbeing, emotions and donating behavior before the intervention and after it.
What is still unknown
Participants reported their own feelings, and the courses were taken online. This does not prove that compassion meditation produces a lasting change in character or in morals.
Learn something?
Where to next
Does meditation actually change the connections inside the brain?meditation
Meditation against chronic pain: real relief or an overstated promise?meditation
Can a month inside a dense crowd actually improve how you feel?wellbeing