Since its launch in April 2020, the Mind & Life podcast has been a space for deep inquiry—where rigorous science meets lived wisdom, and where fundamental questions about the mind, human experience, and our shared humanity can unfold across many lenses. Drawing from psychology, neuroscience, philosophy, anthropology, and first-person experience, the show has created a …
Continue reading “A New Chapter for the Mind & Life Podcast”
The 39th Mind & Life Dialogue, held in Dharamsala in 2025 under the theme “Minds, AI, and Ethics,” brought together scientists, philosophers, contemplatives, and educators to explore how artificial intelligence reshapes our understanding of consciousness, intelligence, and compassion. Opening remarks recalled His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s lifelong mission to bridge modern science with Buddhist wisdom, …
Climate change is both an environmental and psychological crisis, with college-aged youth (Gen Z/α) especially vulnerable to climate distress. While climate education can foster resilience and engagement, most studies rely on self-report, limiting objectivity. This proposal introduces an innovative approach by integrating cognitive and neurophysiological measures to evaluate climate resilience interventions. The study has two …
Jay Van Bavel is a Professor of Psychology & Neural Science at New York University, an affiliate at the Stern School of Business in Management and Organizations, Professor at the Norwegian School of Economics, and Director of the Center for Conflict & Cooperation. He is also an Associate Editor of the Proceedings of the National …
What if the solution to our most pressing environmental, educational, and emotional crises was hiding in plain sight—in the trees, the silence of a forest, or the stillness of our own breath? As a researcher and educator, I’ve spent years exploring how contemplative practices and nature, two ancient sources of wisdom, can come together to …
It was a starlit winter evening in southern India as we barreled down a rural road through a Tibetan settlement village in our tuk-tuk, a three-wheeled motorized taxi. The sputter of the motor was interrupted only by the joyful laughter of our Tibetan Buddhist monastic friends as they raced us in their own tuk-tuk on …
Continue reading “Bridging Science and Buddhism: The Dalai Lama’s 100 Year Vision”
Two themes that have become prominent in studies of consciousness and cognition: embodiment and intersubjectivity. We will begin by discussing recent work in embodied cognition, informed by both science and philosophical phenomenology.
We will explore recent findings from our work at this interface between contemplative and research traditions. Together with Alan Wallace and three-dozen collaborating researchers, we are investigating how attentional, emotional and physiological processes change over the course of three months of intensive training in meditative quiescence and emotional balance, in a study known as “The Shamatha Project.”
Can meditation practice increase our capacity to understand the primary role of emotion in cognition and attention?
