Peter Reiner takes on a difficult task in attempting to illuminate a few of the more substantial scientific findings that seem to point to the efficacy of meditation. Why difficult? Because meditation is, as Reiner alludes to, a subjective activity. Even though the presence of "sustained gamma activity" on EEG tracings is widely acknowledged to accompany a meditative state, Reiner goes on to demonstrate that empirical data on meditative practices remains somewhat elusive. That said, I thought this was an excellent overview in short form of the progress being made in exactly this direction. By encouraging scientific investigation into meditation, the Dalai Lama himself is acknowledging the realization among modern Buddhists that meditation is a natural activity, like breathing or speaking, with nothing supernatural or metaphysical about it. Studying the process of meditation will certainly bring about a beneficial understanding of what many meditators already experience.