The FitMind Podcast: Mental Fitness, Neuroscience & Psychology

Mind Nuggets are mini-episodes on how the mind works and how to apply it for the best life possible. They are taken directly from the FitMind meditation training app.  The Ego talks about how we can begin to let go of constructed "self" images that cause us a great deal of suffering. Topics covered: • How we form an Ego • Why Ego stories are often harmful • The default mode network (DMN) FitMind N...

Diana Winston is the Director of Mindfulness Education at the Mindful Awareness Research Center (MARC) at the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior. She co-authored with Susan Smalley, Ph. D. a book called Fully Present, the Science, Art and Practice of Mindfulness. Diana has practiced mindfulness for over three decades, including spending a year as a Buddhist nun in Burma, and...

Mind Nuggets are mini-episodes on how the mind works and how to apply it for the best life possible. They are taken directly from the FitMind meditation training app.  Mental Programs talks about the three programs that determine all thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. Understanding this will give you more control over your mind as you recognize the forces that are driving it. Topics covered: • Evo...

Dr. Judson Brewer, MD, PhD is a psychiatrist, neuroscientist, author, and Founder of MindSciences, Inc. Dr. Jud, as he's known, has spent over 20 years at Yale, MIT, and Brown University researching how the brain forms negative behavior patterns, bad habits, and addictions, and has developed meditation-based techniques for creating lasting change. His work has received funding by the National Inst...

Jiro Taylor is the Founder & CEO of the Flowstate Collective, a company dedicated toward helping leaders, CEOs, and entrepreneurs achieve self-mastery. He spent two years studying Zen Buddhism in Japan and instead of becoming a monk went into the corporate world where he was making millions in London and Hong Kong. Jiro's path took another radical turn when he reached a breaking point in 2008 and...

Mind Nuggets are mini-episodes on how the mind works and how to apply it for the best life possible. They are taken directly from the FitMind meditation training app.  Inner Chatter talks about that voice in your head that can prove so challenging sometimes, offering a skillful method for understanding and relating to it. Topics covered: • Mind-Wandering • Where do thoughts come from? • The first...

Dr. Willoughby Britton is a neuroscientist at Brown University studying the neurocognitive effects of mindfulness-based interventions for mood and anxiety disorders. She's currently the Director of Brown's Clinical and Affective Neuroscience Laboratory and has research service awards from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). As a clinician, Dr. Britton has been trained as an instructor in Mind...

Mind Nuggets are mini-episodes on how the mind works and how to apply it for the best life possible. They are taken directly from the FitMind meditation training app.  Modern Survival is all about our newest challenge as a species: the struggle for fulfillment. Topics covered: • Innate psychological needs • The modern meaning crisis • The evolution of happiness • Meditation as an antidote FitMind...

Dr. Ash Sangoram is a neuroscientist, neonatologist, former assistant Stanford Golf coach, and the founder of GoaLoGolf, an elite performance training company. Ash trained under two National Academy of Science neuroscientists and implemented this understanding of the brain into his golf practice to drop his handicap by 15 points while rehabilitating from a spinal cord injury. Ash is also an experi...

Mind Nuggets are mini-episodes on how the mind works and how to apply it for the best life possible. They are taken directly from the FitMind meditation training app.  Attention Economy is all about the value of attention and how to use it skillfully throughout the day. Topics covered: • Attention engineers • Subconscious programming • Attention Deficit Disorder • Eliminating low-quality, dopamine...

Loch Kelly is a meditation teacher and psychotherapist who combines western science and psychology with ancient eastern methods for training the mind. He's the Founder of Open-Hearted Awareness Institute and author of Shift Into Freedom and The Way of Effortless Mindfulness. Loch served on the New York Insight Teachers Council, studied extensively with Mingyur Rinpoche, and was invited to teach by...

Mind Nuggets are mini-episodes on how the mind works and how to apply it for the best life possible. They are taken directly from the FitMind meditation training app.  Pleasure vs. Fulfillment is all about why we ought to aim for lasting happiness in an age of instant gratification. Topics covered: • Psychology of YOLO • The Downstairs Brain • Struggling for fulfillment FitMind Neuroscience-Based...

Anne-Laure Le Cunff is the Founder of Ness Labs, a venture studio dedicated to products that help people be happier and healthier. Previously Anne-Laure worked for Google on their digital health products team, and she is currently completing a Master of Science in Applied Neuroscience at King's College London. Her work has been featured in WIRED, Forbes, The Rolling Stone. Anne-Laure is also a cer...

Dr. Nichols is a scientist, activist, community organizer, and author of the bestselling book Blue Mind: The Surprising Science That Shows How Being Near, In, On, or Under Water Can Make You Happier, Healthier, More Connected, and Better at What You Do. He is a Research Associate at California Academy of Sciences and his work has been broadcast on NPR, BBC, PBS, National Geographic and Animal Plan...

Neil Pasricha is the bestselling author of six books including The Book of Awesome, The Happiness Equation and most recently You are Awesome. His books are New York Times and #1 international bestsellers and have sold millions of copies across dozens of languages. He also has a 100 million-hit award-winning blog called 1000 Awesome Things, a very popular TED talk, and has spoken at places like Goo...

Ben Pakulski, a.k.a. BPAK is the CEO of Muscle Intelligence and a former IFBB professional bodybuilder who won the Mr. Canada competition in 2008. In this episode of the FitMind Podcast, we discuss how Ben got into yoga as a 320-pound muscle man, achieving mental fitness through meditation, covert influence, the attention economy, and tips for optimizing the mind. FitMind Neuroscience-Based App: h...

Dr. Keely Kolmes is a psychologist with over 20 years of experience providing psychotherapy. They are also the founder of Bay Area Open Minds and consult nationally and internationally on digital ethics and technology issues for clinicians. In this episode of the FitMind Podcast, we talk about the psychological impact of the Internet and the nuances of forming genuine relationships and community i...

Dr. Frates is the Founder of Wellness Synergy, an award-winning professor at Harvard Medical School, and co-author of Life After Stroke. She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College and then Stanford Medical School. We discuss a family tragedy that led Dr. Frates into the wellness field, taste bud rehab, the Harvard healthy plate, the sugar cycle, how to make a healthy habit change and, over...

Dr. Home is the Founder and CEO of MindKind Institute and has over 20 years of experience in personal leadership, mind-body practices and executive coaching. He is a consultant at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and teaches MBAs at Columbia and Yale. FitMind Neuroscience-Based App: http://bit.ly/afitmind Website: www.fitmind.com

Dr. Kauffman is a licensed psychologist with a PhD in counseling psychology from Stanford. She specializes in working with kids, teens and parents. We talk about the challenges of raising children in the digital age and the effects of technology on a developing brain. FitMind Neuroscience-Based App: http://bit.ly/afitmind Website: www.fitmind.com

Jevan earned a masters degree in Mind, Brain and Behavior Research, worked as a brain trainer and lived with indigenous Amazonian tribes. He wrote The Awakened Ape: A Biohacker's Guide to Evolutionary Fitness, Natural Ecstasy and Stress-Free Living. FitMind Neuroscience-Based App: http://bit.ly/afitmind Website: www.fitmind.com

Dr. Gackenbach is a dream researcher whose focus is lucid dreaming and other altered states of consciousness. She holds a Ph. D in Experimental Psychology and her most recent research focuses on video game players and the development of consciousness. FitMind Neuroscience-Based App: http://bit.ly/afitmind Website: www.fitmind.com

Richard Lang is the primary teacher of a popular meditation technique known as Headless Way. He was a close friend of Douglas Harding, the philosopher who first invented this method, and is also coordinator of UK charity Shollond Trust. FitMind Neuroscience-Based App: http://bit.ly/afitmind Website: www.fitmind.com

Dr. Cortland Dahl is a leading scientist at The Center for Healthy Minds, the top meditation research lab in the world. He also has decades of meditation experience and is the Co-Founder and Chairman of Tergar International, a global network of meditation groups and centers. We talk about what science has to say about unlocking the mind's full potential through meditation. FitMind Neuroscience-Bas...

At the age of 21, Tami Simon founded Sounds True, a large multimedia publishing house with a mission to disseminate spiritual wisdom. She is also a renowned meditation instructor and wrote Being True: What Matters Most in Work, Life, and Love. FitMind Neuroscience-Based App: http://bit.ly/afitmind Website: www.fitmind.com