Mind & Life

Larry Barsalou - Habits of Mind

In this episode, Wendy speaks with cognitive psychologist Larry Barsalou about his work on grounded cognition, concepts, stress, and habits. Their conversation covers many topics, including:

• a historical look at how psychology has viewed and studied the mind;
• simulation and prediction in the brain;
• what a concept is, and benefits and harms they can bring;
• stereotypes, implicit bias, and how we might change them;
• the "situated action" cycle that drives our behavior;
• understanding habits, and the role of mindfulness in breaking unhealthy habits;
• how humans form self-concepts, and how meditation can help us move beyond them;
• the importance of context (situatedness) in cognition, and how to study it scientifically;
• and how he got interested in contemplative science.

Full show notes and resources

Sona Dimidjian - Bringing Relationship into Research

In this episode, Wendy speaks with clinical psychologist and contemplative researcher Sona Dimidjian. Sona's career has focused on using contemplative practices to improve mental health, with a focus on systems of inequality. Their conversation covers many topics, including:

• her path to contemplative practice and research;
• using collaborative teams in science to reduce bias;
• how she applies mindfulness to help with postpartum depression;
• working with young women around stereotypes about appearance;
• embodied practices delivered through peer instruction;
• community-engaged participatory research, working "with" and not "for";
• creating digital platforms for more equitable dissemination of contemplative programs;
• and how she brings a lens of anti-racism to her research and teaching.

Full show notes and resources

John Dunne - At the Crossroads of Buddhism and Science

In this episode, Wendy speaks with Buddhist scholar John Dunne. John has interfaced with contemplative scientists for over two decades to help advance rigorous research on meditation by incorporating a nuanced Buddhist perspective. They touch on many topics, including:

• his path to integrating Buddhism and science, and the early days of contemplative research;
• defining "meditation" for research purposes;
• focused attention vs. open monitoring meditation;
• a deep dive into meta-awareness;
• subject/object duality and whether anything really exists;
• the different ways we experience the sense of self;
• hallucinogens, ego dissolution, and non-dual practices;
• decentering and dereification;
• and where he thinks the field should go next.

Full show notes and resources

Eric Garland - Working with Addiction & Pain

In this episode, Wendy speaks with clinical researcher and psychotherapist Eric Garland. Eric has spent his career developing effective ways to use mindfulness and other contemplative approaches for problems like addiction and chronic pain. Their conversation covers many topics, including:

• how early mystical experiences led him to a contemplative path;
• the power of meditation to heal and restore well-being;
• self-transcendence and non-dual states of consciousness;
• the features of his intervention, Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE), and its application for addiction and chronic pain;
• how reappraisal can help in difficult situations;
• the role of savoring and reconnecting with natural rewards;
• deconstructing pain;
• a large clinical trial showing how effective MORE is, and how it might work;
• and the biggest lesson he's learned from his work so far.

Full show notes and resources

Anne Klein - The Wisdom of the Body

In this episode, Wendy speaks with Buddhist scholar and teacher Anne Klein. They speak about the role of the body in practice and transformation, and touch on many topics, including:

• her interest in Buddhism as a lens on the mind;
• the role of the body in contemplative practice;
• the dangers of not being embodied;
• microphenomenology;
• Eastern conceptions of the subtle/energy body;
• the construction of self and other;
• how the body can help us break out of rigid self-concepts;
• the power of the imagination;
• why we think things will always stay the same;
• and how studying the feminine sheds light on interdependence.

Full show notes and resources

Lisa Feldman Barrett - Your Emotions Aren't What You Think

We launch our second season featuring a conversation with psychologist, neuroscientist, and emotion researcher Lisa Feldman Barrett. She and Wendy discuss a broad range of topics about the mind, including:

• her unexpected path into studying emotions;
• how our brains construct and predict our reality;
• the brain's essential role in regulating the body;
• emotions as interpretations of our bodily state;
• how our past shapes and filters our present experience;
• the difference between affective feelings (mood) and emotions;
• our capacity to influence our own emotions;
• deconstructing our experience through mindfulness;
• how to improve our emotional lives;
• connections with Buddhist theories of mind;
• implications for our understanding of the self;
• how we regulate not only our own, but others' nervous systems;
• and how stress and modernity might lead to clinging to entrenched views.

Full show notes and resources

Jack Kornfield - Wisdom For Our Times

As 2020 draws to a close, Wendy speaks with Buddhist teacher, author, and psychologist Jack Kornfield in a special episode. Their conversation covers a wide range of topics, including:

• how he's interpreting our current moment, and what's needed most;
• his path into Buddhism & psychology, reflecting on family and coming of age in the 1960s;
• the value of going on a meditation retreat;
• links between Buddhism and psychology in terms of healing and self;
• the problem of spiritual bypassing;
• how to work with difficulties through allowing and gratitude;
• the role of Buddhist ideas in activism and social justice work;
• and the most important thing researchers can measure as an outcome of meditation practice.

Full show notes and resources

Adam Hanley - Taking Your Mind Off Autopilot

In this bonus episode, Wendy speaks with psychologist and contemplative researcher Adam Hanley. Adam studies mindfulness-based interventions for addiction and pain, seeking to understand how they work, and how they can best be applied in these populations. In this conversation they discuss:

• how he became a contemplative scientist;
• automaticity, habits, and addiction;
• his research showing how mindfulness may help us de-automatize our thought processes, and stay more in the present;
• self-transcendence and how he's beginning to study it;
• and the importance of understanding the nature of self, and moving beyond egocentric views, as we seek to build a healthier society.

Full show notes and resources

Andreas Roepstorff - Interacting Minds

In this episode, Wendy speaks with anthropologist and neuroscientist Andreas Roepstorff. Andreas has been a pioneer in integrating these two approaches, examining how social context impacts the mind and brain. Their conversation covers a range of topics, including:

• navigating academic training in two disciplines, and how he bridges the different perspectives of neuroscience and anthropology;
• how being a research subject changed his view of subjective experience;
• intersubjectivity, and his work to bring together first- and third-person perspectives;
• research on fire-walking;
• meditation and microphenomenology;
• studying playfulness;
• predictive models of mind;
• the power of mindfulness to help with rumination;
• and the importance of exploring how two minds can process and respond differently to the same experience.

Full show notes and resources

Evan Thompson - Expanding Our View of the Mind

In this episode, Wendy speaks with philosopher of mind Evan Thompson about embodied cognition and contemplative science. Evan is one of the earliest contributors to advancing the dialogue between Buddhism and Western science through his work with Mind & Life co-founder Francisco Varela, and he's spent decades exploring how the human mind extends beyond the brain, throughout the body and into the world. In this conversation, they discuss:

• his unique upbringing and educational path;
• his work with Francisco Varela and the beginnings of the conversation between Buddhism and cognitive science;
• why philosophy matters;
• the project of neurophenomenology and the integration of first- and third-person methods;
• the problem of neurocentrism;
• 4E cognition (that mind is embodied, embedded, extended, and enacted);
• the “self” as construction vs. illusion;
• how predictive models of mind line up with the enactive view;
• whether or not meditation is a special avenue to reveal the nature of the mind;
• the need for more thought systems and religions at the table in contemplative science;
• and why it's critical today to understand the human mind in nuanced ways.

Full show notes and resources