Mind & Life

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;...

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...

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 contemplat...

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; lo...

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 wi...

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 fo...

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 t...

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; ne...

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...

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...

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 successfu...

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 be...

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; conduc...

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 v...

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 Hea...

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...

In this episode, Wendy speaks with clinical psychologist and meditation researcher, Willoughby Britton. Willoughby is a pioneer in contemplative research and one of the only people dedicated to understanding the possible negative outcomes from meditation (so called meditation-related adverse experiences). This conversation covers many topics, including: how she came to study the negative side of m...

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, inclu...

In this episode, Wendy speaks with law professor, author, and meditation teacher, Rhonda Magee. Rhonda's work has focused on bringing contemplative approaches into the practice of law, and the fight for social justice. This conversation covers many topics, including: her path to contemplative practice from roots in the American South; mindfulness in the fight for racial justice; embracing equanimi...

We're back with Season 3 of the show, starting with renowned meditation teacher, author, and creator of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), Jon Kabat-Zinn. This spacious and personal conversation is full of insights on a wide range of topics, including: what drew him to meditation; his development of and vision for Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR); the mystery of the line between t...

In this bonus episode, we're sharing a special presentation from environmentalist, physicist, and eco-feminist Vandana Shiva. This session is from our Summer Research Institute, held in June of this year, entitled The Mind, the Human-Earth Connection, and the Climate Crisis. We're adding this to the podcast feed because Vandana speaks powerfully about how the mind contributes to so many of the wor...

In this bonus episode, Wendy speaks with evolutionary biologist David Sloan Wilson. This episode is being released in conjunction with Mind & Life's new film, Evolution of the Heart — a short documentary covering conversations between the Dalai Lama, David Sloan Wilson, and social scientist Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela from a 2019 Mind & Life event in Dharamsala, India. The theme of that gathering was...

In this episode, Wendy speaks with environmentalist Dekila Chungyalpa about her views of nature, the climate crisis, and her unique collaborations with faith leaders. Their conversation covers many topics, including: growing up in the Himalayas and being interconnected with nature; the dominance of dualistic thinking in the West, and the dangerous separations it creates; embracing a framework of i...

In this episode, Wendy speaks with clinical researcher Peter Wayne about his work on mind-body and movement-based interventions like tai chi. Their conversation covers many topics, including: how a background in ecology informs his research; embracing multiple causes of any outcome; how to do non-reductionist science; removing the hyphen from the mind-body system; harnessing the wisdom of the body...

In this episode, Wendy speaks with Tibetan Buddhist teacher Mingyur Rinpoche about how contemplative practice can lead us to awareness, compassion, and wisdom. Their conversation covers many topics, including: his involvement in early contemplative research; translating concepts between Buddhism and science; what Buddhists mean by "emptiness"; non-conceptual meditation, open presence and foundatio...