New research reinforces that it's a mind-altering, dynamic state that promotes focus, learning, and well-being. If you've ever considered practicing meditation, you might believe you should relax, breathe, and empty your mind of distracting thoughts. Novices tend to think of meditation as the brain at rest, but a new international study concludes that this ancient practice is quite the opposite: Meditation is a state of heightened cerebral activity that profoundly alters brain dynamics. Researchers from the University of Montreal and Italy's National Research Council recruited 12 monks of the Thai Forest Tradition at Santacittārāma, a Buddhist monastery outside Rome. In a laboratory in Chieti-Pescara, scientists analyzed the brain activity of these meditation practitioners using magnetoencephalography (MEG), technology capable of recording with great precision the brain's electrical signals.

Imagine looking down at your hands and knowing what the future holds. For centuries, people have professed to have the ability to read palms, analyzing lines, hand shape, finger length, texture and other details to predict what's coming. This pseudoscience of fortune telling, known as palmistry or chiromancy, claims to interpret lines and creases on the hand to predict aspects of your life, including love, health, creativity, intelligence and emotions. Followers of the ancient practice believe every mark and groove has a meaning that can differ based on length, curvature, and depth. Even the intersections of lines supposedly add up to a detailed analysis of a person's character and potential future outcomes.