Podcast Episodes

December 17, 2021

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.

[ More… ]

December 3, 2021

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.

[ More… ]

November 19, 2021

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).

[ More… ]

November 5, 2021

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.

[ More… ]

October 22, 2021

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 meditation;
• support and resources for those struggling with meditation-related difficulties (Cheetah House);
• scientific research on meditation-related adverse experiences;
• changes in perception and anxiety that can happen with meditation;
• how the same experience can be positive or negative depending on context;
• how the causes of adverse effects may be the same as the causes of benefits;
• the science of measuring harms in meditation research;
• what we know (and don’t know) about these effects—who’s at risk, how frequent they are, and how they show up for people;
• whether or not these difficulties are “part of the path” of transformation;
• grounding care in compassion and inclusion;
• and aligning practices with the outcomes you want.

[ More… ]