ABSTRACT
When people consider the power of meditation they frequently conjure up examples of memorable feats. So how do we explain the ability of a 46-yearold Hindu, an expert in meditation, to survive for over 5 hours in a sealed metal box? A box not big enough to contain sufficient oxygen to keep a fit person alive for more than 2 hours. During this time he was measured as using less than half the amount of oxygen that is normally needed to keep someone alive, and during a 1-hour period he used less than one-quarter of the amount! This is an example of how powerful the state of meditation can be, yet what is it? And does it perhaps have a less situation-specific role to play? Is the state of meditation to be found somewhere along a continuum of normal relaxation responses or is it a unique state of mind? Does meditation produce beneficial effects for the body and mind and, if so, are they unique in the range of self-regulated and altered states?
