2012 Mind and Life Summer Research Institute
June 16-22, 2012 at the Garrison Institute , Garrison, NY
APPLICATIONS FOR THE SUMMER RESEARCH INSTITUTE WILL CLOSE AT 7:00 PM EASTERN STANDARD TIME ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2012
To apply for acceptance to the 2012 Mind and Life Summer Research Institute (MLSRI) please review thoroughly all of the information below. It is critical that you complete ALL PARTS and that they reach us on or before 7:00 p.m. EST February 19, 2012.
- PART ONE is an online application form containing your contact information with a payment of $45 nonrefundable application processing fee.
- PART TWO is your electronic submission of the required application documents by e-mail.
- PART THREE (Research Fellows only) is the postmarked submission of your letters by February 19, 2012 of recommendation to be submitted by mail.
NOTE: Your application does not ensure acceptance, as participation is limited by facility size, program guidelines, committee review of your application information and your letters of recommendation.
APPLICATION AND REGISTRATION SCHEDULE
- January 18 – Applications open
- February 19 – Applications close and materials due
- March 26 – Notification of applicants
- April 22 – Registration and payment opens for accepted applicants
- May 6 – Last day for payment of fees
PART ONE: The Online Application Form
To apply for the 2012 Mind and Life Summer Research Institute, you must first complete an Online Application Form which will provide us with your name, mailing address, email address, and other pertinent contact/personal information. Please complete this Online Application Form at the URL link below as soon as possible. We will need this information in our database to continue processing your application.
Click here to fill out the Online Application Form.
PART TWO: Application Documents You Must Email
After submitting the Online Application Form, to complete your application for the 2012 Mind and Life Summer Research Institute, you must also e-mail ALL of the following documents for your application to be complete. Please send all required documents, either as Word documents or .pdf files, attached to ONE e-mail message to sri@mindandlife.org . The subject line of your e-mail message must read in the following format: ‘APPLICANT CATEGORY – LAST NAME, FIRST NAME: 2012 MLSRI APPLICATION’ (e.g. RF-Doe, Jane: 2012 MLSRI APPLICATION. Your first and last name must appear clearly on every page of all documents.
- An essay of no more than 400 words describing how this program will foster your research and/or career goals – specifically, how this program interfaces with your current or previous work and/or studies, and how you anticipate it impacting your future research or professional goals. Please use a 12 point font and 1” margins. Please respect our request and limit your essay to 400 words. Essays in excess of this limit will be disqualified.
- An NIH Biosketch or comparable format Curriculum Vitae (CV) or Resume (2 pages maximum length). If you do not have an NIH biosketch, you may provide an abbreviated CV that includes educational history and training and previous and current positions. NOTE: The NIH Biosketch format can be downloaded here . An example biosketch with instructions can be downloaded here .
- (Optional) Please also include a list of up to 10 publications that have influenced your personal and/or career path. (These are books, articles, etc. written by others.) This list should be included in your Biosketch/CV but can be in addition to the 2 page limit if necessary.
- (Optional) Poster Presentation: If you are interested in participating in a poster session at the 2012 MLSRI, please also send a separate Word document containing the title and a very brief description of your proposed poster. This should be approximately 3 sentences and no more than 100 words.
PART THREE : Application Documents You Must Mail (postmarked by February 19)
Research Fellow Letters of Recommendation: All Research Fellows must mail two letters of recommendation postmarked by February 19. The letter of recommendation must be in a sealed envelope with the recommender’s signature written across the flap. The recommender’s name, title, email address and telephone number must also be included in the institution letterhead. Your name should appear clearly in the letter of recommendation. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure contact has been made for the letters and to submit all documents in order to meet the submission deadline.
Letters of Recommendation should be mailed to:
- Mind & Life Institute
Attn: 2012 MLSRI
7007 Winchester Circle, Suite 100
Boulder, CO 80301
NOTE: Senior Investigators are not required to submit letters of recommendation.
NOTE: If you are unsure of your categorization (see “Who Should Attend” for descriptions), please consider yourself a Research Fellow and submit your recommendation letters as indicated above.
Deadlines for Your Application
The online application form (Part One & Two) must be completed and submitted by 7:00 p.m. EST on February 19, 2012. All mailed application documents (Part Three) must also be postmarked by February 19, 2012. NO EXCEPTIONS will be permitted due to the program schedule.
Conduct Guidelines
The MLSRI is intended to be a novel experience unlike other science conferences that you may have attended. The MLSRI takes place in a quasi-retreat environment that is intended to promote exploration and understanding of contemplative practices both on the intellectual level (through presentations and dialogues) and the experiential first-person level (through formal meditation practice and periods of introspection and silence). This type of experiential learning requires both courage and sensitivity and, therefore, requires a safe “container” and community to nurture this process.
In order to maintain this safe and nurturing container, we require that you adhere to the following Conduct Guidelines:
- Abstain from Intoxicants. This includes all alcohol and illegal drugs, for the duration of the MLSRI. These substances tend to cloud our introspective clarity, and they alter the affective processes that we are learning to observe and work with through contemplative practice. This policy also extends to any time during the week when you are not on the premises of the Garrison Institute.
- Respect Silence. Garrison Institute has a general policy on silence that seeks to preserve and cultivate a contemplative atmosphere. In accord with this policy, please do not use any portable music devices without earphones. Cell phones also should not be used or turned on in any of the common spaces in the building. For the duration of MLSRI, silence will be observed from 10:00 pm through morning meditation each day. In addition, silence will be observed for a longer period during the full day of practice on Tuesday, June 19th. The aim of silence is to foster an environment conducive to contemplative practice.
After careful review of these instructions and the information found on the 2012 MLSRI webpage , if you have any questions about this application process, please contact sri@mindandlife.org .
