Podcast Episodes

March 23, 2023

In this episode, Wendy speaks with biological anthropologist and contemplative researcher Jenny Mascaro. Jenny’s work weaves together meditation, compassion, psychology, and healthcare, and moves us toward a deeper understanding of interconnectedness. This conversation covers many topics, including:

• her interest in social cognition in animals – and humans;
• what compassion is, and how it’s different from empathy;
• biological basis of compassion, and the role of oxytocin;
• how social factors and context shape compassion;
• training compassion and the skills underlying it;
• understanding self-compassion;
• the under-appreciated role of hospital chaplains;
• compassion training for chaplains;
• preparing for interpersonal interactions;
• how compassion shows up in language;
• how compassionate care can help anxiety and depression;
• responding to healthcare provider stress;
• how meditation has changed her;
• and building awareness of interdependence.

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March 9, 2023

In this episode, Wendy speaks with contemplative health psychologist and stress researcher Elissa Epel. Elissa studies how mindfulness, meditation retreats, and breathing techniques can help buffer stress processes, biological aging, and promote both physical and mental health. This conversation covers many topics, including:

• her early roots of interest in the mind-body connection;
• bringing contemplation into health and stress psychology research;
• two key aspects of stress;
• learning to deal with uncertainty;
• uncertainty in the body;
• acute vs. chronic stress response;
• why we might want to intentionally induce acute stress to boost our health;
• cell aging systems (telomeres);
• contemplative practices as a way to reduce stress;
• how our minds influence our cells;
• the concept of cellular safety;
• rest, retreat, and vacation;
• how contemplative benefits can transfer to the next generation;
• what it means to have a sensitive nervous system;
• and the importance of focusing on joy and gratitude.

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February 23, 2023

In this episode, Wendy speaks with the renowned Buddhist practitioner and author Matthieu Ricard. Matthieu was integral to the founding of contemplative science, serving as both a participant and co-investigator in many early studies, and has deep expertise in compassion, altruism, and well-being. This conversation covers many topics, including:

• his roots in both science and Buddhism, and his appreciation for rigorous inquiry;
• his role as a participant and collaborator in contemplative science;
• lessons from research on compassion vs. empathy;
• how the self shows up (or doesn’t) in compassion;
• links between self-focus and vulnerability;
• hedonia, eudiamonia, and self;
• altruism and our current crises;
• reconciling three time scales of concern;
• sentience, life, and interdependence;
• caring for our whole interconnected system;
• the practice of awe;
• using photography to share basic human goodness;
• balancing fame and monastic life;
• and a poignant example of his own personal experience of care.

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December 16, 2022

In this episode, Wendy speaks with mindful policy advocate and contemplative teacher Jamie Bristow. Jamie co-directs the Mindfulness Initiative in the UK, an organization that bridges contemplative practice and public policy, championing the inner dimension of social change. This conversation covers many topics, including:

• why he first started meditating and the surprise that came with it;
• his commitment to climate work;
• integrating advertising talent into policy work;
• mindfulness in the UK government;
• development of the Mindfulness Initiative;
• the nuts and bolts of mindful policy work;
• policy advances in health, criminal justice, and education;
• mindfulness as a foundational capacity (not just a skill);
• how the mind relates to the climate crisis;
• consequences of our failure to see the interconnectedness in the world;
• how mindfulness and compassion can help with reconnection;
• two modes of operating (holistic intuitive vs. verbal conceptual);
• and where to go from here.

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December 2, 2022

In this episode, Wendy speaks with clinical psychologist and contemplative Amy Cohen Varela. In addition to her work as a psychoanalytic therapist, Amy is also the widow of Francisco Varela (co-founder of the Mind & Life Institute), and continues to share his vision and work through the offerings of Mind & Life Europe. This conversation covers many topics, including:

• her dual interest in biology and literature;
• the contemplative aspects of psychoanalysis;
• skills learned from listening deeply to yourself and to others;
• how she met Francisco Varela;
• enaction, meaning, and participatory sense-making;
• links between Francisco’s ideas and Buddhist philosophy;
• subjective and objective viewpoints, and how we oversimplify Buddhism and science in that dynamic;
• how more than a decade with Francisco has changed her;
• the power of curiosity and openness;
• doing and undoing the self in psychoanalysis;
• Francisco’s reflections on the Chilean civil war, and implications for polarization;
• the need for systems to be able to “undo” themselves;
• and Mind & Life Europe’s latest offerings.

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