Drawing on 2,500 years of mental techniques for paying careful attention to the workings of their own minds, Buddhist meditators deploy their brains with exceptional skill. They have basically develop expertise in controlling the flow of their mental life, avoiding the emotional squalls that often compel us to take personal feelings oh, so personally, and clearing new channels for awareness, calm, compassion and joy. This is a good example of the possibility that we can choose to regulate our emotions, modulate our moods and increase cognitive capacity. The good news is that you don’t have to become a Tibetan monk to enjoy these advantages of meditation. Meditation is now out of the closet. The word is, it eases stress, drops blood pressure and helps put that bad day at the office in perspective. Scientists have recently begun to map the brain regions related to positive emotions such as empathy. When they hooked up EEG sensors on subjects meditating on compassion they found a striking activity increase in the left side near the front of the cortex – the region that also becomes active when we feel happiness and enthusiasm, and joy. Anxiety and  sadness stimulate the right side. Happiness can be generated from within, either through formal meditation or by informal “thought focusing” while going about the business of daily living. There are many types of meditation, and they can be used to develop a variety of mental skills. With meditation it’s possible to cultivate a longer attention span, develop emotional stability, understand the feelings of others and release yourself from the constraints you place on your own happiness.