In this episode, Wendy speaks with meditation researcher and clinical psychologist, Nicholas Van Dam. Nicholas is the Director of the Contemplative Studies Centre at the University of Melbourne—the first such center in Australia. His work explores how meditation and mindfulness can support well-being, and help with conditions like anxiety and depression. This conversation covers many topics, including:
how an existential crisis led him to meditation practice;
bringing loving critique to contemplative science;
the complicated realities of mindfulness, how we measure it, and its impact on the brain;
looking at effects beyond just the individual who is meditating;
insights from a year of daily practice;
balancing personal interest vs. research objectivity;
the freedom that comes from letting go;
how skills learned on the cushion transfer to daily life;
deconstructing the self;
mindfulness and meditation for anxiety and depression;
getting out of your head and into your body;
connecting with Indigenous and other non-Buddhist contemplative traditions;
and advancing evidence-based research on meditation.
Full show notes and resources

Nicholas Van Dam - Nuancing the Narrative

Exploring frontiers of contemplative science—discussing mind, meditation, and more.

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In this episode, Wendy speaks with neuroscientist and mental health researcher Jyoti Mishra. Jyoti has been investigating how mindfulness and attention training affect our brains, and can help in the context of mental health challenges related to climate disasters and other trauma. This conversation covers many topics, including:
 
 
her intertwined interests in neuroscience, meditation, and mental health;
 
understanding climate trauma and its unique impacts on mental health;
 
community resilience and action in the face of disaster;
 
the rise of mental health issues worldwide;
 
studying the mental health and brain function impacts of the deadliest fire in CA history;
 
healing broken relationships with nature through mindfulness and ecotherapy;
 
social justice issues around climate vulnerability;
 
how childhood adversity affects brain circuitry for emotional awareness;
 
developing contemplative tech interventions for disadvantaged youth, and impacts on brain and daily life functioning;
 
nature and the sense of self;
 
regulating the stress response through mindfulness and social connection;
 
and empowering youth through the Climate Change & Mental Health Initiative.
Full show notes and resources

Jyoti Mishra – Mindfulness and Climate Trauma

In this episode, Wendy speaks with psychologist and contemplative researcher Simon Goldberg. Simon uses tools drawn from psychotherapy research to better understand the therapeutic processes and outcomes of mindfulness and meditation-based interventions. This conversation covers many topics, including:
 
 
coming to practice through one's own suffering;
 
what we know from science about whether and how meditation "works;"
 
the nuts and bolts of meditation research, and the importance of control groups;
 
the file drawer effect and publishing negative findings;
 
common factors in healing interventions;
 
working with the self in psychotherapy vs. Buddhism;
 
the critical role of acceptance;
 
some challenges when measuring effects of meditation;
 
individualizing contemplative practice to suit the person;
 
delivering and studying meditation interventions through apps;
 
and the possibilities of AI to help support meditation practice.
Full show notes and resources

Simon Goldberg – The Shape of Healing

In this episode, Wendy speaks with educational leader, writer, and climate activist Diana Chapman Walsh. Diana had a long and successful career in public health at Boston and Harvard University, and then became the president of Wellesley College, a position she held for 14 years. Diana has become an icon in educational leadership, and advocates that education can be both an intellectual and a spiritual journey. This conversation covers many topics, including:
 
 
her path into contemplative practice and leadership;
 
the importance of knowing and questioning oneself;
 
vulnerability and responsibility in leadership;
 
how the qualities of a leader influence the system they are leading;
 
hierarchical vs. inclusive systems;
 
the five principles of trustworthy leadership;
 
interconnectedness as an underlying truth;
 
building community amidst the climate crisis;
 
how feedback loops can accelerate harm or spur change;
 
and encouragement to tell our stories.
Full show notes and resources

Diana Chapman Walsh – Contemplative Leadership

In this episode, Wendy speaks with psychologist and author Daniel Goleman. Dan has been fostering and contributing to contemplative science since the very early days of the conversation between science and Buddhism, and his long experience with meditation helped shape his notable work on emotional intelligence. This conversation covers many topics, including:
 
 
his interest in both Western and Asian systems of mind;
 
his relationship with the Dalai Lama and involvement in Mind & Life dialogues;
 
how the conversation between science and Buddhism has influenced both sides;
 
when emotions become "destructive;"
 
the birth of contemplative science;
 
social emotional learning (SEL) in education;
 
links between emotional intelligence and contemplative science;
 
"McMindfulness" and the varying goals of practice;
 
nonconceptual states and dissolving the self;
 
navigating the complexities of science communication;
 
the latest research on emotional intelligence in organizations;
 
how awareness is (or isn't) showing up in the world;
 
and how he relates to meditation now.
Full show notes and resources

Daniel Goleman – Beyond Emotional Intelligence

In this episode, Wendy speaks with neuroscientist Robin Nusslock. Robin has long been interested in the mind through both scientific and Buddhist lenses, and he trained with Richie Davidson. His work focuses on the brain's role in our emotional life, how stress impacts many of our bodily systems, as well as social determinants of health. This conversation covers many topics, including:
 
 
his long interest in mind & Buddhism;
 
basic pathways of how stress gets into the body;
 
how the brain learns threat and safety;
 
effects of early life trauma on brain and behavior;
 
our brain's reward systems and relevance to Buddhist ideas;
 
craving and addiction;
 
pathways toward change, neuroplasticity and pause;
 
social and environmental determinants of health;
 
epigenetics and intergenerational trauma;
 
biology is not destiny;
 
how we can intervene and promote flourishing;
 
family-level interventions;
 
reducing exposure to adversity;
 
economic interventions (e.g., universal basic income);
 
teaching science and research to Tibetan monastics;
 
studying lucid dreaming with monks;
 
and fruits of the exchange between Buddhism and science.
Full show notes and resources

Nicholas Van Dam - Nuancing the Narrative

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