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We’re so grateful to everyone who joined us for our very first Dharma Lab AMA with Dr. Cortland Dahl and Dr. Richard Davidson in early September. You’ll find in the recording two guided practices (one each from Cort & Richie), as well as the full recording of Q&A.
Below you’ll find a summary of the conversation, written up in a Q&A format so it’s easy to follow. It’s not a perfect or complete transcript, so please forgive any typos and brevity, but we wanted to capture the spirit of the dialogue and share the key insights with all of you for those who prefer to read rather than watch the episode.
Podcast Chapter List
0:00 - Intro
3:12 - Opening Guided Practice by Cort to set intention for the session
8:28 - Questions & Answers with participants. Question 1: where do you draw the line between mental health and social health? Is it where your epigenome is modified by social interactions, no matter how you perceive them? Or is it where your perception is modified, no matter what state your epigenome is in?
16:03 - Question 2: Cort, how did you go from a socially anxious teenager to an executive director and overall friendly happy being?
21:44 - Question 3: When practicing analytical meditation—examining a difficult situation through words, sensations, emotions, images, and beliefs—do physical sensations and images enhance the process? And if someone can’t access those, is it related to trauma, like PTSD?
37: 39 - Question 4: Judd Brewer talks about the trigger–behavior–reward cycle. How do we interrupt undesired behaviors?
42:31 - Question 5: Please say more about holding and being with the first arrow from Buddhist psychology, particularly for worry or concern about the health of a loved one and not shooting that second arrow yourself.
50:03 - Question 6: Why do retreats often show stronger measurable effects than the same number of hours practiced as short daily sessions? Could sleep or changes in everyday habits explain that difference?
56:26 - Closing Practice with Richie
Transcript Q&A Summary
Q1: Dear Richie, where do you draw the line between mental health and social health? Is it where your epigenome is modified by social interactions, no matter how you perceive them? Or is it where your perception is modified, no matter what state your epigenome is in? Since the epigenome can be modified by food, drugs, social interactions, and spiritual experiences, is social health determined by social relationships?
A (Richard Davidson):This is a wonderful and complex question. It’s so rich that I plan to write a Dharma Lab essay about it. But briefly:
* The epigenome refers to parts of the genome that can be modified by environmental or internal factors. These modifications affect whether a gene actually produces its protein.
* For example, in animal studies, researchers have bred strains of rats to be highly anxious or very relaxed. But if an “anxious” rat pup is raised by a nurturing mother (one who does a lot of licking and grooming), its gene expression changes. Despite genetic predisposition, that nurturing care alters its brain chemistry and activation, and the rat becomes less anxious.
* This shows that the old split between “nature vs. nurture” is outdated. Social interactions—how we are cared for—literally modify biology.
So mental health and social health are deeply interwoven; the line between them is blurred.
Q2: Cortland, you’ve mentioned before that you struggled with anxiety when you were young. How did you get from being that socially anxious young man to leading an international nonprofit and becoming the friendly, grounded person you are today?
