Mind & Life

Tania Singer – The Power of Two

In this episode, Wendy speaks with social neuroscientist and contemplative researcher Tania Singer. Tania is a world leader in studying empathy and compassion, and her pioneering work explores the interpersonal aspects of the brain and contemplative practice. This conversation covers many topics, including:

• her lifelong fascination with social interactions;
• foundational studies on empathy in the brain;
• distinguishing the physical vs. emotional aspects of pain;
• a chance meeting with Mind & Life and critical insights from a Buddhism-science collaboration;
• the difference between emotion contagion, empathy, and compassion;
• exploring the trainability of empathy and compassion;
• schadenfreude in the brain;
• empathy burnout and compassion as an antidote;
• the importance of correlating subjective reports with brain scans;
• a landmark longitudinal study of training different aspects of meditation;
• why what you practice really matters;
• contemplative dyads and the power of practicing with another person;
• the benefits of dyads for the negative effects of COVID lockdown;
• moving dyad work into schools and hospitals;
• shifting from studying individual change to systems change;
• and the role of contemplative science amidst current societal challenges.

Full show notes and resources

Melissa Rosenkranz – Mind, Body, World

In this episode, Wendy speaks with contemplative scientist Melissa Rosenkranz. Melissa's work examines the mind-body connection with a focus on how inflammation interacts with our brains and emotions, and how meditation might help. This conversation covers many topics, including:

• her interest in the mind-body connection;
• pros and cons of inflammation in the body;
• bidirectional links between inflammation in the body and our emotions;
• how inflammation can lead to hypersensitivity in the brain;
• inflammation and dementia;
• misperceptions around stress causing asthma;
• meditation's effect on inflammation and our immune response;
• meditation in asthma management (emotional and physical);
• studying whether mindfulness can protect against inflammatory damage to the brain;
• integrating meditation with medication;
• polarization in society and the power of building weak ties;
• increasing the safety signal to our bodies;
• seeing the fuller humanity of the people in our world;
• lovingkindness practice in action;
• links between inflammation in society and in our bodies;
• and a reminder that there's always a place to start when making change.

Full show notes and resources

Otto Scharmer – Changing Systems

In this episode, Wendy speaks with action researcher, changemaker, and thought leader Otto Scharmer. Otto is a world leader in systems change, and his work across disciplines highlights how awareness and the quality of our relationships are critical for the change we need today. This conversation covers many topics, including:

• regenerative farming, social change movements, and the "social soil";
• inspiration from Francisco Varela;
• presencing and the role of awareness in systems change;
• three divides that contribute to our current crises;
• the untold story of regeneration and renewal;
• action learning and action research;
• trends towards goodwill and lack of agency;
• institutions vs. individuals;
• the blind spot of the mindfulness movement;
• speaking and listening across ideologies;
• non-doing, action vs. reaction;
• the need for holding spaces and building trust;
• leading by letting go and letting come;
• releasing old ways of thinking (ego) and shifting to more integrated mindsets (eco);
• sensing and engaging with future possibilities;
• fourth-person awareness;
• the influence of Mind & Life on his career trajectory;
• and resources for learning consciousness-based transformation.

Full show notes and resources

Neil Theise – Everything is Connected

In this episode, Wendy speaks with pathologist, scientist, author, and Zen Buddhist, Neil Theise. Neil's pioneering work in human anatomy has revolutionized our understanding of interconnectedness at the level of the body and beyond. This conversation covers many topics, including:

• his interest in medicine & Buddhism;
• pathology as contemplative practice;
• how a mystery from the wall of the bile duct led to a new understanding of our bodies;
• overview of the interstitium;
• how the interstitium may relate to fascia, energy systems, chakras, meridians, and other traditional systems of healing;
• connecting healing traditions through a cultural interstitium;
• a meditation to visualize the interstitium;
• studying living vs. dead tissue;
• cell doctrine and reductionism;
• complexity theory and interconnectedness at all scales;
• Buddhist ideas of emptiness, interdependence, impermanence;
• randomness in a complex system and adaptability;
• and the power of an interconnected view.

Full show notes and resources

Molly Crockett – Changing the World is a Group Project

In this episode, Wendy speaks with psychologist and cognitive scientist Molly Crockett. Molly is a leader in studying moral cognition, with an emphasis on ethics, knowledge, and power in the digital age. This conversation covers many topics, including:

• the limits of quantitative (scientific) ways of knowing;
• the importance of narrative in shaping ideas and behavior;
• moral outrage on social media;
• who benefits from a culture of outrage;
• the role of scientists in our narratives about human nature;
• how artificial intelligence influences what we consider as human;
• using artificial intelligence for compassion;
• a Dalai Lama chatbot vs. the real Dalai Lama;
• the importance of embodiment in human communication;
• studying transformative experiences at Burning Man;
• technology and "Paleolithic" emotions;
• epistemic injustice;
• and the critical importance of valuing multiple ways of knowing.

Full show notes and resources

Jim Coan – Our Social Baseline

In this episode, Wendy speaks with psychologist and affective neuroscientist Jim Coan. Jim is a leading researcher on how social connection impacts our minds, brains, and bodies, and he's also pushing the boundaries of impactful science communication. This conversation covers many topics, including:

• studying relationships and emotions in the brain;
• how a confusing research finding changed his career;
• how holding hands impacts our bodies and minds;
• understanding energy regulation and prediction;
• social baseline theory;
• the prefrontal cortex and self-regulation;
• implications for the default mode network;
• social support as energetic resources for the body;
• effects of hand holding on pain processing;
• introversion and social support;
• the two things all his students must memorize;
• the costs and benefits of social interactions;
• implications for loss of relationship;
• sense of self, belonging, and the importance of supporting others;
• communicating science through comics;
• and surviving—even flourishing—through climate change.

Full show notes and resources

Chuck Raison – Ancient Practices & Conscious Experience

In this episode, Wendy speaks with psychiatrist and mental health researcher Chuck Raison. Chuck’s work centers on understanding how ancient practices can change our conscious experience. He’s a leader in studying the links between inflammation, stress, and depression, and how meditation and other practices can influence those dynamics. This conversation covers many topics, including:

• ancient practices and conscious experience;
• Tibetan tummo practice;
• the role of inflammation in depression;
• sickness behavior;
• links between stress and inflammation;
• the placebo response;
• psychedelics as a novel treatment for depression;
• investigating the role of memory in transcendent experiences;
• body temperature and emotions;
• and the precious gift of awareness.

Full show notes and resources

Quinn Conklin – Mind-Body Connection

In this episode, Wendy speaks with contemplative researcher Quinn Conklin. Quinn's research examines the interconnection of mind and body, and the effects of stress and meditation training on biomarkers of health and well-being. This conversation covers many topics, including:

• her interest in mind-body connection and how that led her into meditation research;
• understanding meditation retreats;
• advantages and challenges of studying meditation in a retreat context;
• how personality can influence the effects of meditation;
• telomeres and cell aging, and impacts of stress and meditation;
• creating safety and support for practice (on retreat);
• oxytocin and various theories of its function in social connection;
• effects of meditation retreat on oxytocin;
• allostasis and prediction;
• studying community responses to COVID and how meditation provides support;
• increasing diversity in contemplative science;
• and making research findings accessible.

Full show notes and resources

Zev Schuman-Olivier – Mindfulness, Behavior Change, and Health

In this episode, Wendy speaks with psychiatrist and contemplative researcher Zev Schuman-Olivier. Zev has been working for more than a decade to integrate mindfulness and compassion into health care, with a focus on addiction, depression, and chronic illness. This conversation covers many topics, including:

• weaving mindfulness and compassion into clinical settings;
• lessons from his own experience of chronic illness;
• the key role of behavior change in health;
• balancing individual responsibility for health with systemic factors;
• mindfulness and addiction;
• making interventions trauma-informed, inclusive, and broadly accessible;
• how signals from the body help motivate action and emotion;
• how mindfulness enhances trust in the body and changes the brain in depression;
• Internal Family Systems and the critical role of acceptance;
• and next steps for integrating mindfulness and compassion into complex healthcare systems.

Full show notes and resources

Eve Ekman – Building Emotion Awareness

In this episode, Wendy speaks with social scientist and meditation teacher Eve Ekman. Eve's work integrates contemplative practice and modern psychology to help people learn about and work with their emotions. This conversation covers many topics, including:

• her early exposure to Tibetan culture and Buddhism;
• emotion regulation vs. awareness;
• reappraisal and self-compassion;
• labeling feelings & being seen;
• handshake meditation practice;
• mapping an emotion: trigger, experience, and response;
• the complexity of what shapes each moment;
• becoming more sensitive through meditation;
• constructive vs. destructive emotions, and the complexities of anger;
• understanding equanimity;
• leveraging technology to help awareness and tracking of emotions;
• helping Apple incorporate well-being practices into its platforms;
• teaching meditation through the Cultivating Emotional Balance program;
• the Atlas of Emotion (free online resource);
• and life lessons from surfing.

Full show notes and resources