Much of the research around meditation and mindfulness has serious flaws
I have practiced meditation for 20 years but I still don&#x27;t understand what is the purpose of emptiness (I mean I used to think I did but now I&#x27;m not so sure). What would be the purpose from a reinforcement learning point of view? A state where I have no likes or dislikes, no goal, no reward signals, where I feel no attraction or repulsion, where the distinction between self and other disappears. An uprooted agent drifting in the world, trying to be &#x27;nothing&#x27;.<p>Would that make me better? I have had many colleagues who dedicated their life to meditation and ended up alone and without a career. I don&#x27;t think they are particularly happy now, and that is because they prioritised the spiritual ideals above anything else, ignoring other legitimate needs. Is it even a good idea to exist as a pure witness detached from anything around you, or to think that you are not really a person?<p>What I approve of is being more aware, in the present moment. This practice clearly has a purpose. It can lead to less impulsive reactions &#x2F; more adaptive actions, without so much internal struggle. But the rest is just playing with your mind - mantras, chakras, Kundalini, they are just side effects of the nervous system. They feel transcendent but are just a bunch of feelings.