[hannibal5]

>The logical conclusion is not that meditation specifically reduces brain activity, it's more that any lack of sensory stimulation will cause brain activity to slow down because less neurons are firing, this can be achieved with other techniques as well, simply staring at a wall will do the same thing.

This is gross misunderstanding of what happens when people meditate. Of course, the whole word meditation is very generic term. Saying that you meditate is like saying that you do sports.

Most traditional meditation techniques the meditation is exercise in concentration and awareness. You are active and constantly doing something with your mind even if you are relaxed.

[xerophtye]

As far as i understand, traditionally, meditation isn't about simply shutting down your mind as a whole. it is about: 1) Concentration (shutting down NOISE) 2) Shutting down thoughts from one source (or chaotic sources) to open up your mind to a particular source (some traditions mean opening up to ur inner self while others mean opening up to a higher source)

So the aim is to stop thinking random thoughts not for the sake of "no brain activity" but for a SPECIAL form of brain activity, which some traditions call "revelations"