Mind & Life

Marieke Van Vugt – Finding Balance

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In this episode, Wendy speaks with cognitive scientist, contemplative practitioner, and ballet dancer Marieke Van Vugt. Marieke is a pioneer in studying mind wandering and meditation through computer modeling, and is also advancing participatory research through her collaborations with Tibetan monastics. This conversation covers many topics, including:

  • her braided interests in meditation, dance, and cognitive science;
  • computer modeling of mind and meditation;
  • exploring distraction, mind wandering, and becoming aware;
  • how thoughts can get "stuck" in our minds;
  • creating a meditating computer;
  • the relevance of stuck thoughts to various mental disorders;
  • trauma through the lens of predictive models of mind;
  • analytical meditation and Tibetan monastic debate;
  • collaborating with monastics in research;
  • humility and fluidity of mind;
  • re-thinking the tasks used in cognitive science;
  • the phenomenon of brain synchrony;
  • dance and embodiment;
  • the roots of thinking in the body;
  • problems with abstraction in science;
  • curiosity vs. the critical mind in ballet;
  • flow, responsiveness, and compassion;
  • and advice to young scholars.

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    Mind & LifeBy Mind & Life Institute
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