The Science of Letting Go

In this episode of The FitMind Podcast, Josh speaks with Shawn Prest, a PhD researcher at the Monash Centre for Consciousness and Contemplative Studies, about what meditation is actually doing under the hood.

Shawn’s work focuses on perception, action, and cognition, and how long-term meditation reshapes these systems over time. Drawing on predictive processing and active inference, he explains how the brain constantly builds models of the world and how suffering can arise when those models become overly rigid, abstract, or outdated.

A central theme of the conversation is letting go. Rather than framing it as a vague emotional release, Shawn describes letting go as a measurable decrease in confidence or “precision” at higher levels of the brain’s hierarchy. When this happens, perception naturally shifts downward toward more direct sensory experience, bringing with it relief, openness, and equanimity.

The discussion explores:

• Why the brain simplifies reality for survival and how meditation temporarily relaxes this process
• The difference between jhāna-based and insight-based routes of meditative development
• How reduced self-related brain activity may explain long-term changes in well-being
• What cessation experiences reveal about how consciousness is constructed
• Why equanimity is not emotional numbness, but a different way of perceiving

Throughout the episode, Shawn emphasizes care and nuance, especially when discussing trauma, anxiety, and mental health. Rather than prescribing techniques, he outlines a framework that helps explain why certain practices work and when they may not be appropriate without support.

This conversation is especially relevant for meditators who want a deeper scientific understanding of their practice, as well as anyone curious about how the mind updates, adapts, and sometimes learns to loosen its grip.

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P.S. — If you’re serious about starting or deepening your meditation practice, check out the FitMind meditation app.

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