October 23, 2020
In this bonus episode, Wendy speaks with psychologist and contemplative researcher Adam Hanley. Adam studies mindfulness-based interventions for addiction and pain, seeking to understand how they work, and how they can best be applied in these populations. In this conversation they discuss:
- how he became a contemplative scientist;
- automaticity, habits, and addiction;
- his research showing how mindfulness may help us de-automatize our thought processes, and stay more in the present;
- self-transcendence and how he’s beginning to study it;
- and the importance of understanding the nature of self, and moving beyond egocentric views, as we seek to build a healthier society.
Adam Hanley is a Research Assistant Professor at the Center on Mindfulness and Integrative Health Intervention Development (C-MIIND) in the University of Utah College of Social Work. His work focuses on increasing the effectiveness and accessibility of mindfulness-based interventions for individuals struggling with pain and addiction. He is a licensed psychologist in Utah, having completed a postdoctoral fellowship in addiction science at the University of Utah College of Social Work and graduating from Florida State University’s combined School Psychology and Counseling Psychology program.
Resources
Website: University of Utah (faculty page)
Research on de-automization: Mindfulness Training Disrupts Pavlovian Conditioning (2019)
Measuring self-transcendence: The Nondual Awareness Dimensional Assessment (NADA): New tools to assess nondual traits and states of consciousness occurring within and beyond the context of meditation (2018)
View or download a transcript of this episode