We just released a new episode of The FitMind Podcast that goes deep on how meditation actually works in the brain.
In this conversation, Josh welcomes PhD researcher Shawn Prest from Monash University to explore the mechanics behind meditation—not just its effects, but the neural processes that make letting go feel relieving rather than vague or mystical. Shawn explains how long-term meditation changes the way the brain models the world, reduces self-related processing, and supports greater presence and flexibility.
I listened to this earlier today and found the explanation of “letting go” as a shift in how the brain models experience really helpful. It clarified why practice can feel relieving even when thoughts and emotions are still present.
The discussion about reduced self-related processing also aligned with what I’ve noticed in meditation. Experience doesn’t disappear, but it feels held with a bit more space and flexibility.
I’m still learning to understand how insight practices and absorption practices relate to these changes, and I appreciated that the episode stayed grounded while still acknowledging the limits of what neuroscience can explain.
I thought this episode was fascinating (and I usually hard time with podcasts longer than an hour lol).
I liked that letting go wasn’t framed as making experience quieter or having something disappear, but as changing the relationship to what’s already there. That matched my own sessions, where nothing really goes away, per se, but the experience is less affecting. (Effecting?)
I agree with @laurence, I also appreciated how careful he was about the limits of the science. It felt grounded rather than overselling, which made the explanations easier to trust.
I listened to it over a couple of walks, which actually worked well for this one. It’s long, but in a way that rewards sticking with it and it’s easy to listen to.
What I found most useful was how concrete the explanations were. Not in a “here’s the magic mechanism” sense, but in showing why letting go isn’t something you do once and then have forever. The brain just gradually stops insisting on certain interpretations being so important.
The part about long-term practice changing the way the mind predicts what’s coming next is interesting. It explains why daily annoyances don’t hook as hard anymore, even though they still show up. The predictions just don’t escalate in the same way.
I also appreciated that the episode didn’t try to motivate anyone to meditate more. It felt more like an honest look at what practice actually does over time, unevenly and without guarantees.
Listen now: https://fitmind.org/podcast-collection/science-of-letting-go-meditation