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If you had told me as recently as a few years ago that I would someday become a traveling evangelist for meditation,
如果你早在幾年前告訴我，有一天我會成為四處傳播冥想的布道者，
I would have coughed my beer up through my nose.
我會對此嗤之以鼻。
In 2004, I had a panic attack at work.
2004年，我在工作中出現驚恐發作。
Unfortunately for me, that meant in front of millions of people, as I was delivering the news, live, on ABC's Good Morning America.
對我來說不幸的是，這意味著當我在ABC電視臺的《早安美國》節目現場直播新聞時，面對千百萬人時突發狀況。
In the wake of my nationally televised freak-out, I learned that I had undiagnosed depression.
在這之后，我得知自己患有未被診斷出的抑郁癥。
For months, I'd been having trouble getting out of bed in the morning and felt as if I had a permanent low-grade fever.
幾個月來，我很難在早上起床，感覺好像一直在持續低燒。
The panic attack ultimately led me to embrace a practice I had always dismissed as ridiculous.
這次驚恐發作最終使我接受了一種我一向認為荒謬的做法。
For most of my life, to the extent that I'd ever even considered meditation, I ranked it right alongside aura readings and Enya.
在我生命的大部分時間里，當我想到冥想時，我把它與靈氣閱讀和恩雅相提并論。
Further, I figured my racing type A mind was way too busy to ever be able to commune with the cosmos.
而且，我覺得我那飛馳的思維太過繁忙，無法與宇宙交流。
And anyway, if I got too happy, it would probably render me completely ineffective at my hypercompetitive job.
不管怎么樣，如果我太過高興，可能會無法勝任我那競爭激烈的工作。
Two things changed my mind. The first was the science.
有兩件事改變了我的想法。首先是科學。
In recent years, there has been an explosion of research into meditation,
近年來，對冥想的研究呈爆炸式增長，
which has been shown to reduce blood pressure, boost recovery after your body releases the stress hormone cortisol,
研究表明冥想可以降低血壓，在人體釋放壓力激素皮質醇后促進恢復，
strengthen the immune system, slow age-related atrophy of the brain, and mitigate the symptoms of depression and anxiety.
增強免疫系統，延緩與年齡相關的大腦萎縮，減輕抑郁和焦慮癥狀。
Studies also show meditation can reduce violence in prisons, increase productivity in the workplace,
研究還表明，冥想可以減少監獄里的暴力行為，提高工作效率，
and improve both the behavior and the grades of school children.
改善學生的行為和成績。
Things really get interesting when you look at the neuroscience.
當你審視神經科學時，事情就變得很有趣了。
In recent years, researchers have been peering into the heads of mediators,
近年來，研究人員一直在研究冥想者的大腦，
and they've found that the practice can rewire key parts of the brain involved with self-awareness, compassion, and resilience.
他們發現冥想可以重新連接大腦中與自我意識、同情心和恢復力有關的關鍵部位。
One study from the Harvard Gazette found that just eight weeks of meditation
《哈佛公報》的一項研究發現，僅八周的冥想，
resulted in measurable decreases in gray matter density in the area of the brain associated with stress.
