Podcast Episodes

March 12, 2021

In this episode, Wendy speaks with clinical psychologist and contemplative researcher Sona Dimidjian. Sona’s work applies contemplative practices to improve mental health, with a focus on systems of inequality. Their conversation covers many topics, including:

• her path to contemplative practice and research;
• using collaborative teams in science to reduce bias;
• how she applies mindfulness to help with postpartum depression;
• working with young women around stereotypes about appearance;
• embodied practices delivered through peer instruction;
• community-engaged participatory research, working “with” and not “for”;
• creating digital platforms for more equitable dissemination of contemplative programs;
• and how she brings a lens of anti-racism to her research and teaching.

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February 26, 2021

In this episode, Wendy speaks with Buddhist scholar John Dunne. John has interfaced with contemplative scientists for over two decades to help advance rigorous research on meditation by incorporating a nuanced Buddhist perspective. They touch on many topics, including:

• his path to integrating Buddhism and science, and the early days of contemplative research;
• defining “meditation” for research purposes;
• focused attention vs. open monitoring meditation;
• a deep dive into meta-awareness;
• subject/object duality and whether anything really exists;
• the different ways we experience the sense of self;
• hallucinogens, ego dissolution, and non-dual practices;
• decentering and dereification;
• and where he thinks the field should go next.

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February 12, 2021

In this episode, Wendy speaks with clinical researcher and psychotherapist Eric Garland. Eric has spent his career developing effective ways to use mindfulness and other contemplative approaches for problems like addiction and chronic pain. Their conversation covers many topics, including:

• how early mystical experiences led him to a contemplative path;
• the power of meditation to heal and restore well-being;
• self-transcendence and non-dual states of consciousness;
• the features of his intervention, Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE), and its application for addiction and chronic pain;
• how reappraisal can help in difficult situations;
• the role of savoring and reconnecting with natural rewards;
• deconstructing pain;
• a large clinical trial showing how effective MORE is, and how it might work;
• and the biggest lesson he’s learned from his work so far.

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January 29, 2021

In this episode, Wendy speaks with Buddhist scholar and teacher Anne Klein. They speak about the role of the body in practice and transformation, and touch on many topics, including:

• her interest in Buddhism as a lens on the mind;
• the role of the body in contemplative practice;
• the dangers of not being embodied;
• microphenomenology;
• Eastern conceptions of the subtle/energy body;
• the construction of self and other;
• how the body can help us break out of rigid self-concepts;
• the power of the imagination;
• why we think things will always stay the same;
• and how studying the feminine sheds light on interdependence.

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January 15, 2021

We launch our second season featuring a conversation with psychologist, neuroscientist, and emotion researcher Lisa Feldman Barrett. She and Wendy discuss a broad range of topics about the mind, including:

• her unexpected path into studying emotions;
• how our brains construct and predict our reality;
• the brain’s essential role in regulating the body;
• emotions as interpretations of our bodily state;
• how our past shapes and filters our present experience;
• the difference between affective feelings (mood) and emotions;
• our capacity to influence our own emotions;
• deconstructing our experience through mindfulness;
• how to improve our emotional lives;
• connections with Buddhist theories of mind;
• implications for our understanding of the self;
• how we regulate not only our own, but others’ nervous systems;
• and how stress and modernity might lead to clinging to entrenched views.

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