Mind & Life Podcast

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Tanya Luhrmann – How Social Worlds Shape Our Minds

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July 8, 2020

In this episode, Wendy speaks with anthropologist Tanya Luhrmann about how practices embedded in social realities change our minds and our experiences. They discuss:

Tanya Luhrmann, PhD
  • her research on unusual spiritual experiences (voices, visions);
  • her work with magic practitioners and evangelical Christian communities;
  • the boundary between reality and imagination;
  • local theory of mind;
  • the psychological constructs of absorption and porosity, and how they relate to these spiritual experiences;
  • how mental training and mindfulness affect the way we relate to our thoughts;
  • the impacts of a relationship with the divine for self and society, and other topics.
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Amishi Jha – Attention, Mind Wandering, and Stress

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June 24, 2020

In this episode, Wendy speaks with cognitive and contemplative neuroscientist Amishi Jha about using mindfulness to help improve our attention, and its usefulness particularly in high-stress situations. Amishi takes a broad and nuanced perspective on attention—arguing that it’s much more than just our ability to focus on the task at hand. Rather, attention is foundational for capacities like decision making, emotion regulation, and even empathy and compassion. Their conversation covers many topics, including:

Amishi Jha, PhD
  • her own experience of high stress and how that brought her to contemplative practice;
  • her research on how mindfulness can train attention and working memory;
  • the relationship between attention and stress;
  • bringing mindfulness to military populations;
  • the pros and cons of a wandering mind;
  • mindfulness during COVID;
  • the state of contemplative science, and current issues around gender and racial diversity.
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john powell – Othering and Belonging

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June 10, 2020

In this episode, Wendy speaks with law professor and civil rights expert john a. powell about his work at the intersection of social justice and spirituality. This conversation was recorded during the 2019 Summer Research Institute. They discuss a wide range of topics, including:

john a. powell, JD
  • the problem of othering;
  • the roots of whiteness;
  • recent changes in the world and how we react to them;
  • how our minds create mental schemas;
  • implicit bias and how to change it;
  • the importance of narrative and bridging stories, and the role of leadership;
  • the self as a construction;
  • spirituality and interconnection;
  • the roles of science and religion in society;
  • identity politics, and more.
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Willa Blythe Baker – Meditating with the Body

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May 27, 2020

In this episode, Wendy speaks with meditation teacher and Buddhist scholar Willa Blythe Baker about her work, and how the body is relevant in meditation. They cover many topics, including:

Willa Blythe Baker, PhD
  • the roots of her interest in Buddhism and early experiences of Buddhism in action;
  • a research study about meditation and real-world compassionate behavior in which she was involved, and various interpretations of the results;
  • how qualities like curiosity and compassion that we develop toward our own mental states in meditation might transfer to others;
  • the most relevant outcomes for contemplative scientists to be measuring;
  • role of the body in contemplative practice;
  • three natural metaphors for what she calls “somatic mindfulness” practice;
  • the role of letting go, and the importance of trust and how to foster it;
  • implications of these ideas for how we view ourselves, and our interconnection with others and the world around us.
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Anil Seth – How Our Minds Predict Our Reality

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May 13, 2020

In this episode, Wendy speaks with cognitive scientist Anil Seth about his work on consciousness and the mind. They discuss:

Anil Seth, PhD
  • the idea of the brain as a prediction machine,
  • how perception is a kind of “controlled” hallucination,
  • the self as a construction, and implications for psychiatric disorders,
  • connections between this view of the mind and Buddhist ideas,
  • how these views might inform our subjective experience,
  • the important role of the body in perception,
  • the connection between life and mind (and his views on panpsychism),
  • emotions as prediction and interoception,
  • the question of free will,
  • communicating science to a public audience, and other topics.
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