In this exercise, you will be exploring relations between four of your senses and your external environment. Therefore, unlike some attentional fitness exercises, which require a quiet place, in this one you need to find an outside environment. This could be under a tree or in a garden, in a café or waiting room—any place that […]

In this guided meditation, you’ll have a chance to explore what happens when your mind reacts to the meanings it associates with particular words. Think of it this way: when you drop a pebble in the water, it creates ripples that spread outward from its point of impact, affecting everything in their path until they […]

In this episode, I will introduce you to one of the most fundamental and popular types of meditation available—the basic breath meditation. You can use this technique to increase your ability to focus, to manage stress, and to develop some clarity of mind around your intercultural experiences (or any other kinds, for that matter).

Have you found your Self yet? Based on his research into the anatomy and functioning of the human brain, neurobiologist Antonio Damasio proposes that we actually have three selves—the protoself (repository of the living organism’s “primordial feelings”), the core self (the fundamental sense of “I” and “mine”), and the autobiographical self—the sense of self that arises […]

Neurobiologist Antonio Damasio, in his fascinating book, Self Comes to Mind: Constructing the Conscious Brain, postulates that our brains generate three levels of self. The first and deepest is the protoself. The next tier he calls your “core self”—that sense of “I-ness” and “mine-ness” that separates you from what is not you and not yours. In […]

According to the neurobiologist, Antonio Damasio, our brains generate three levels of “Self.” The first is the protoself, your repository of “primordial feelings”—or, to put it another way, the collection of sensations associated with just being alive. In this episode, you will try your hand—or, rather your mind—at discovering your protoself.

In this episode, we are going to witness first-hand how the Default Mode Network, or DMN, functions. The DMN is a constellation of interacting regions of the brain that activate when your mind wanders—you might call it your “daydreaming device.” How much control do you have of your DMN? Well, this guided meditation will help you […]

In this podcast, we explore linguist Daniel Everett’s concept of “experiential liminality,” which is a term he coined while studying the language and culture of the Pirahã of Amazonas. According to Everett’s account, these people seem focused on the present moment and fascinated with the appearance and disappearance of phenomena in their field of awareness. […]