Summary of Mark Epstein's The Zen of Therapy

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.

Book Preview: #1 I first tried to meditate in 1973, between my sophomore and junior years of college, when I was working as a research assistant for a cardiologist at Boston City Hospital. meditation was given scientific credence by the work of Dr. Herbert Benson and his coauthor Robert Keith Wallace.

#2 I was happy to have a prestigious summer job working with Dr. Benson, who was open to my abstruse interests. I knew that he was doing my father a favor by taking me on, but I surprised him by talking at length about the placebo effect, a subject I had explored and written about during the previous semester in my psychophysiology course.

#3 I did not feel engaged by the meditation technique that Dr. Benson was using with his patients, and I did not see how it could be the be-all and end-all of what meditation was about.

#4 The placebo effect is when a patient believes in a treatment, and that belief helps them recover. I was drawn to meditation for the same reason I was interested in placebos. The placebo effect points to the body’s capacity to heal itself, helped along by some combination of trust, faith, and human empathy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Mar 9, 2022
• ISBN: 9781669357605

IRB Media

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Insights on Mark Epstein's The Zen of Therapy

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

I first tried to meditate in 1973, between my sophomore and junior years of college, when I was working as a research assistant for a cardiologist at Boston City Hospital. meditation was given scientific credence by the work of Dr. Herbert Benson and his coauthor Robert Keith Wallace.

#2

I was happy to have a prestigious summer job working with Dr. Benson, who was open to my abstruse interests. I knew that he was doing my father a favor by taking me on, but I surprised him by talking at length about the placebo effect, a subject I had explored and written about during the previous semester in my psychophysiology course.

#3

I did not feel engaged by the meditation technique that Dr. Benson was using with his patients, and I did not see how it could be the be-all and end-all of what meditation was about.

#4

The placebo effect is when a patient believes in a treatment, and that belief helps them recover. I was drawn to meditation for the same reason I was interested in placebos. The placebo effect points to the body’s capacity to heal itself, helped along by some combination of trust, faith, and human empathy.

#5

Dr. Benson was interested in how the mind could affect the body, and he wanted to meet with the Dalai Lama to see if he could document the esoteric Tibetan practice of meditation.

#6

In 1981, I participated in a study with the Dalai Lama and his personal physician, Dr. Benson, to see if monks could raise their peripheral temperatures. They were able to, which was a major finding.

#7

I was not interested in the monks’ temperatures, but rather in investigating what they were doing in their meditations. I was not interested in turning them into objects of medical investigation, treating and following them with blood tests, X-rays, and invasive procedures.

#8

I had immersed myself in a sacred environment before meeting up with Dr. Benson. I was Dr. Boy now and excited to continue my investigations. I was curious about the esoteric Tibetan practices and surprised that Dr. Benson seemed not to be.

#9

The monks practicing heat yoga were practicing one aspect of the Six Yogas of Naropa, an ancient