Kasley Killam

As my plane landed at the Toronto Pearson International Airport on Thursday, I looked out the window and saw large letters spelling “HAPPY” on the main terminal wall. The sign struck me as a foreshadowing of the days ahead.

Seven hundred people attended a 3-day event on Contemplative Studies including early morning yoga, guided meditations, keynote addresses, panels, master lectures, and posters describing research projects. With hundreds more on a waiting list, the magnitude of the event demonstrated the fervor emerging in the scientific community around contemplative practices.