Having a senior moment? Conventional wisdom holds that we are born with more brain cells than we ever use but that still they tend to degrade and deteriorate over time. But a new book by Sharon Begley, "Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain," sure is making me think differently.

The book is Begley's account of the Dalai Lama's "Mind and Life" conferences, where scientists and Buddhists meet to explore the links between the brain and the mind with the goal of guiding research in medicine, psychology, education, neuroscience and human development.

Early in the book, and contrary to our old fixed notions, Begley writes that the brain is subject to continual change. "Yes, the brain can change, and that means that we can change. It is not easy...But if the will is there, the potential seems immense."

One thread of research in the book concerns "happiness." Richard J. Davidson from the University of Wisconsin says that "happiness is not typically regarded as something trainable...what we are seeing, however, is that happiness can be conceptualized not simply as a state or as a trait but as the product of trainable skills, skills that can be enhanced through mental training."

Like athletes who train for events, or musicians for concerts, the brain is something that we can train not just to improve our Sudoku or crossword skills, but also to actually optimize our emotional states.

Shockingly, even scientists are coming around to the point of view that meditation is a free and simple tool that can allow us to enhance the brain. When we meditate, activity is measurable in the part of the brain (the left prefrontal cortex) where, when activated, people report having more energy, joy and a sense of well-being

It's mind over matter over mind. That's a big idea.