[sengan]

Meditation changes your brain structure which changes your experience. This is in the domain of science, not faith: it is measurable.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090512134655.ht...

At the beginning it reduces the impetus of your emotions. Your emotions do not change, but you do not feel you have to follow them. The biological change is more inhibitor neurones from your neocortex to your hyppocampus.

http://www.cogsci.uni-osnabrueck.de/%7eleggert/lucas_eggert_...

Further down the path, it changes the left/right balance of your brain functioning leading to a more pleasant and holistic experience. This can also occur with a left-brain stroke, but you lose brain functionality that you don't with meditation. Eg:

http://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=...

While there is a lot of superstition, it is foolish to assume that all pre-scientific experience is invalid. Just like many people with high school science believe in a "scientific religion" (i.e. it doesn't fit with theory therefore is wrong, rather than doesn't it fit with theory? hmm. how interesting!), many Buddhists believe in a Buddhist religion. That does not mean that there is no valuable knowledge gained by the best practitioners of Science or of meditation.