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In this episode, Wendy speaks with mindful policy advocate and contemplative teacher Jamie Bristow. Jamie co-directs the Mindfulness Initiative in the UK, an organization that bridges contemplative practice and public policy, championing the inner dimension of social change. This conversation covers many topics, including: why he first started meditating and the surprise that came with it; his commitment to climate work; integrating advertising talent into policy work; mindfulness in the UK government; development of the Mindfulness Initiative; the nuts and bolts of mindful policy work; policy advances in health, criminal justice, and education; mindfulness as a foundational capacity (not just a skill); how the mind relates to the climate crisis; consequences of our failure to see the interconnectedness in the world; how mindfulness and compassion can help with reconnection; two modes of operating (holistic intuitive vs. verbal conceptual); and where to go from here. Full show notes and resources

In this episode, Wendy speaks with clinical psychologist and contemplative Amy Cohen Varela. In addition to her work as a psychoanalytic therapist, Amy is also the widow of Francisco Varela (co-founder of the Mind & Life Institute), and continues to share his vision and work through the offerings of Mind & Life Europe. This conversation covers many topics, including: her dual interest in biology and literature; the contemplative aspects of psychoanalysis; skills learned from listening deeply to yourself and to others; how she met Francisco Varela; enaction, meaning, and participatory sense-making; links between Francisco's ideas and Buddhist philosophy; subjective and objective viewpoints, and how we oversimplify Buddhism and science in that dynamic; how more than a decade with Francisco has changed her; the power of curiosity and openness; doing and undoing the self in psychoanalysis; Francisco's reflections on the Chilean civil war, and implications for polarization; the need for systems to be able to "undo" themselves; and Mind & Life Europe's latest offerings. Full show notes and resources

In this episode, Wendy speaks with renowned clinical psychologist, researcher, and co-developer of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), Zindel Segal. Zindel's work has brought relief to many who suffer from depression, by sharing the tools and skills of mindful awareness. This conversation covers many topics, including: his early experiences with meditation and psychology; the development of MBCT and its evolution; seeing thoughts as thoughts; the power of curiosity, kindness, and an attitude of letting be; clinical research on MBCT in depression; staying with difficult experiences; the latest thinking about how antidepressants work; a short guided meditation; the importance of sense foraging; using digital platforms and increasing accessibility to mindfulness skills; adapting practices for the challenges young people face today; how MBCT can shift the sense of self and identity; and how practice has changed him. Full resources and show notes

In this episode, Wendy speaks with Randima (Randy) Fernando, co-founder of the Center for Humane Technology. Over several decades, Randy has worked to integrate technology, mindfulness, and social impact, trying to find ethical solutions to some of our most challenging issues. This conversation covers many topics, including: how the strands of Buddhism and technology have woven together throughout his life; the challenges we face with tech today; parallels between mindfulness and humane technology; understanding the "race to the bottom"; breaking the myth that technology is neutral; looking at technology through the Buddhist lens of dependent co-arising; problematic incentives in the tech space (e.g., advertising as a business model); the attention economy; how technology trains our attention, emotions, and even our values; technology's impact on the way we view our "self"; customized realities, echo chambers, and polarization; how to avoid tech traps; the core principles of humane technology; building values/ethics into AI; understanding dukkha; the pros and cons of using technology to teach mindfulness; and the latest resources from the Center for Humane Technology. Full show notes and resources

In this episode, Wendy speaks with contemplative scholar and Indigenous activist Yuria Celidwen. Yuria has worked across many sectors to bring Indigenous ways of knowing into conversation with Western approaches, particularly in contemplative science. This conversation covers many topics, including:  the importance of Indigenous languages; her roots in a lineage of mystics, healers, and explorers; insights from the Mayan calendric system; bringing Indigenous ideas into a dualistic culture; her own experience of othering; the role of contemplative practice amidst today's challenges; opening our awareness to interdependence; bridging and safety as we come together across differences; kin relationality and ecological belonging; subtleties of language and what they reveal; implications of the term "mechanism" in the scientific approach; Indigenous contemplative science; and an inspiring closing poem. Full show notes and resources  

In this episode, Wendy speaks with contemplative researcher Norm Farb. Norm was one of the first people to study how meditation impacts our brains, and his broader work incorporates emotions, body sensations, and present-moment awareness. Their conversation covers many topics, including: his initial research on meditation, neural networks, and modes of self; predictive models of mind; reinforcing vs. updating our model of the world (and implications for political polarization); the default mode network and its role in cognition; how meditation can help shift our habitual patterns; what happens in our minds when we learn to meditate; the concept of mental foraging; interoception and how sensing the body might reduce conceptual processing; depression & interoception, and getting stuck avoiding difficult feelings; the self as the current model of the world; a deeper look at the idea of no-self; the ethics of updating our self model responsibly; localization vs. distribution in the brain; and the state of research on meditation and the brain. Full resources and show notes  

In this episode, Wendy speaks with contemplative educator and researcher Patricia (Tish) Jennings. Tish has been a pioneer in bringing mindfulness and compassion into school settings, with a particular focus on helping teachers. This conversation covers many topics, including: her experience as an educator and a meditator; how teacher stress contributes to the classroom environment; how contemplative practice can help bring awareness to automatic responses, and help shift them; the process of attunement and our core as social beings; how teachers can be sensitive to students who have experienced trauma; problems with the industrialized model of education; how teachers can be a force for change from the inside; yoga and body sensation as mindfulness for young children; somatic awareness and understanding emotions; and what young people need most right now. Full show notes and resources

In this episode, Wendy speaks with renowned and beloved meditation teacher Sharon Salzberg. Sharon has been teaching meditation in the West for over 40 years, and is the co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society. Their conversation covers many topics, including: finding Buddhism and meditation as a teenager, and where it led her; her experience as a woman in the early contemplative movement; loving kindness & metta, and their relationship to prayer; love as an ability; the role of narrative and story-telling in our world and minds; a call for balance and self-compassion on the path; the role of the body in meditation; why contemplation matters for societal change; and living into our interconnection. Full show notes and resources

In this episode, Wendy speaks with Buddhist scholar and author Robert (Bob) Thurman. Bob is one of the foremost scholars in the world on Tibetan Buddhism, and played a major role in bringing Buddhism to America. This conversation covers many topics, including: his entry into Buddhism, and befriending the Dalai Lama; links between Buddhism and science (and why Buddhism is 1/6 religion); problems with scientific materialism; enlightenment and emptiness; stories of the Buddha leaving home; four friendly fun facts (noble truths); realistic vs. right approaches on the path; jumping into bliss prematurely; Buddhist ethics; practices to push against essentialism; the key role of compassion in enlightenment; how he thinks about reincarnation and continuation of consciousness; the role of science on the contemplative path; and Bob's parting fun fact. Full show notes and resources

In this episode, Wendy speaks with social neuroscientist Lasana Harris about his work on flexible social cognition—the variable ways that we perceive others. This conversation covers many topics, including: his accidental entry into psychology; what flexible social cognition is; schemas and predictions about others' minds; dehumanization and why we do it; the role of propaganda and implications for the war in Ukraine; how these processes scale up from individuals to societies; bias and prejudice, and the key roles of threat and safety; the inseparability of cognition and emotion; how contemplative practice might help reduce dehumanization; information overload and echo chambers, and what to do about them; and looking at the concept of self to change social bias. Full show notes and resources

In this episode, Wendy speaks with meditation teacher and co-founder of Inward Bound Mindfulness Education (iBme), Jessica Morey. Jessica has been working with the contemplative path through the lens of attachment theory, and shares how she blends these approaches for healing. This conversation covers many topics, including: her long roots in the contemplative path; meditation retreats for teens through iBme; the basics of attachment theory; contemplative approaches to healing attachment wounds; subtle body and trauma; developing embodied safety; grounding practices with the earth; why it helps to examine your own lineage; benefactor practices and imagining perfect parents; links between Buddhism and attachment theory; and the joys and opportunities of working with teens. Full show notes and resources

In this episode, Wendy speaks with contemplative researcher and social activist Juan Santoyo. Juan's work sits at the intersection of basic neuroscience and community-based programs; his central interest is in understanding the factors that are needed for peace and healing—both in the brain, and in the world. This conversation covers many topics, including: his path into contemplative research; neurophenomenology; life in Colombia and reflections on the peace process; working with ex-combatants through community engaged research; Indigenous practices to connect with land and ancestors; working with difficult emotions; self-forgiveness; the lack of land and ancestor practices in the West; how oppressive systems impact the sense of self; why contemplation matters for justice and equity work; integrating basic neuroscience with healing in the world; and investigating what is needed for peace. Full show notes and resources

In this episode, Wendy speaks with psychologist, contemplative researcher, and Zen Buddhist teacher, Al Kaszniak. Al has been in the contemplative science space since the earliest days, and his work has shed light on how meditation impacts our thoughts, emotions, and sense of self. This conversation covers many topics, including: his parallel interests in Buddhism and neuropsychology; research on meditation, emotion, and attention; how our view of self impacts what seems relevant to us; cognitive effort and emotion regulation; how his own experience of self has shifted through practice; attention and early emotion/affective tone; shifting out of the conceptual mind; the relationship of attention and emotion; how decades of practice have changed his daily life; free will vs. free won't (meditation as inhibition); increasing access to contemplative ideas and practices; mind as process, interaction, and context—and what that means for science; and the value of interdisciplinary dialogue and the "in-between" spaces. Full show notes and resources  

In this episode, Wendy speaks with Buddhist scholar, contemplative teacher, and social activist Brooke Lavelle. Brooke is the co-founder and president of Courage of Care, an organization that seeks to build transformational practice communities rooted in compassion, healing, and counter-oppressive frameworks. This conversation covers many topics, including: her trajectory of work from mindfulness to compassion to relational practice to social justice; relationality as the starting point for contemplative growth; Courage of Care, and the CourageRISE framework; routes to understanding oppressive systems; the body as culture; the skills needed to build multicultural community; applications in climate work; the non-dual frame as an antidote to othering; and love as an organizing principle. Full show notes and resources  

In this episode, Wendy speaks with addiction psychiatrist and contemplative researcher Jud Brewer. Jud is one of the leading figures in the use of mindfulness for addiction and anxiety, and his work emphasizes the brain's habit cycle, and how to change it. He's also developed a number of smartphone apps to deliver contemplative interventions widely, which research is finding to be highly successful. This conversation covers many topics, including: his own use of meditation to relieve stress, and where that led; the failure of willpower for treating addictions; the benefits and downsides of the brain's habit mechanisms; commonalities between Buddhist philosophy and modern psychology; the key role of awareness in changing habits; the basic "habit loop" (trigger - behavior - result); anxiety as a habit; mindfulness for habit change; divisiveness as a bad habit; research on the effectiveness of app-based interventions; next steps for digital therapeutics; insights on communicating science to the public; and the power of kindness and connection as the ultimate reward. Full show notes and resources  

In this episode, Wendy speaks with Zen Buddhist teacher and author Roshi Joan Halifax. A pioneer in the field of end-of-life care, Roshi Joan was instrumental in developing the dialogue between science and Buddhism, and has been an advocate for engaged Buddhism, social activism, and compassion in response to today's crises. This conversation covers many topics, including: the birth of dialogues between the Dalai Lama and scientists; how our minds are "enactive"; compassion as emergent and dependent on context; the trainable factors that set the stage for compassion; the importance of embodiment in health care; non-referential compassion; interdependence, compassion, and climate change; working with dying people; how letting go is safe; clinical use of psychedelics; and reflections on the field of contemplative science. Full show notes and resources  

In this episode, Wendy speaks with neuroscientist and contemplative researcher Cliff Saron. Cliff is a pioneer in studying the effects of meditation on attention and emotion, and has been deeply embedded in the field of contemplative science since the earliest days. This conversation covers many topics, including: his winding path into contemplative research; drilling down and pulling back; conducting research with Tibetan monks in India; how brain signals can predict behavior, and implications for free will; the importance of context in meditation research; effects of intensive meditation on attention, markers of cellular aging, and purpose in life; community-engaged participatory research; communicating the nuance and uncertainty inherent in science; Ubuntu, and living into our interdependence. Full show notes and resources

In this episode, Wendy speaks with professor and Episcopal priest, Bobbi Patterson. Bobbi's work integrates Christian contemplation, Buddhist meditation, contemplative pedagogy, the role of place, and adaptive resilience. This conversation covers many topics, including: contemplative Christian traditions; the power of silence; dialogue between Christianity and Buddhism; a Christian contemplative view of mind; women in the church; how to listen to a place; bringing students into nature and urban settings; the role of the body in contemplation; understanding burnout; and adaptive and land-based resilience. Full show notes and resources

In this episode, Wendy speaks with researcher, translator, and Buddhist teacher, Cortland Dahl. Cort's work integrates science, psychology, meditation, and Tibetan Buddhism. This conversation covers many topics, including: how meditation helped with his social anxiety as a young person; benefits and challenges in the dialogue between Buddhism and science; customizing meditation practice in the Healthy Minds app; understanding the diversity of contemplative practice; analytical meditation; meditation as a treatment for mental health problems; transcending the conceptual mind, and loosening concepts of self; seeing the limits of science; looking at well-being through the lens of learning; the key role of social connection; and moving forward with intellectual humility (knowing that we don't know). Full show notes and resources  

In this episode, Wendy speaks with author, Zen priest and Buddhist teacher, Zenju Earthlyn Manuel. Zenju's work highlights how the various facets of our identity can become "fertilizer" for growth on the path of spiritual and personal development. This conversation covers many topics, including: growing up in the Christian church, and the questions it raised for her; her unusual path into Buddhism; how to work with your identity while moving beyond the self; the truth of interdependence and cause & effect; two truths (relative vs. absolute) in relation to identity; bringing together spirituality and social justice; the central importance of embodiment; integration with nature; how contemplative science should proceed; and the dance between delusion and enlightenment. Full show notes and resources