A closer look
Meditation isn’t the only door inward. Across history, mystics have sought altered states—whether through spinning dances, chants, or gazing at candles until visions swam into being. Neuroscience now suggests many of these states share one thing: the default mode network in the brain, basically our 'daydream engine,' gets quiet. That silence feels like dissolving into something bigger. Today, apps sell watered-down versions, but you can still experiment safely: try rhythmic breath or slow chanting, not to escape life, but to feel yourself more fully inside it. Mysticism supplies what our hyperconnected world keeps stealing—stillness with a hint of the infinite.
