In recent years, significant advances have been made in the cognitive neuroscience of conscious experiences, including contemplative states, sleep, and dreaming. A wealth of evidence suggests that contemplative practices influence processes of attention, emotion regulation, and brain plasticity. On the other hand, sleep and dreaming have been consistently linked to memory, emotion regulation, and brain …
Continue reading “Concurrent Session 3 – Dream Neurophenomenology and Contemplative Sciences”
Current theories of mindfulness (Pali: sati) emphasize attention, emotional regulation, and meta-awareness. This interpretation de-emphasizes an original association of sati with remembrance in relation to cultivating virtue. Recovering remembrance reconnects mindfulness with narrative traditions of loving virtue. In practice, this occurs through cultivating both (1) affective awareness of the source of love, or ultimate reality; …
Continue reading “Concurrent Session 3 – Heartfulness as Mindfulness: Affectivity and Perspective in Abrahamic and Dharmic Traditions”
The exploration of non-ordinary states of consciousness can have a potentially deep impact on our understanding of ourselves and the world. These states, however, are difficult to bring into a scientific discourse due to issues connected to their properties of reproducibility and ineffability. But these obstacles do not pose impossible challenges. Recently, there has been …
Continue reading “Concurrent Session 2 – Exploring Sleep Paralysis”
Research suggesting beneficial effects of yoga on myriad aspects of psychological health has proliferated in recent years, yet there is currently no overarching framework by which to understand yoga’s beneficial effects. In this session, we provide a theoretical framework and systems-based conceptual model of yoga that focuses on self-regulation. We begin by contextualizing yoga in …
Continue reading “Concurrent Session 1 – Yoga’s Self-Regulatory Functions in Promoting Psychological Health: A Proposed Model”
How can we advance true compassion in an increasingly pluralistic society? My paper will examine some possibilities in the light of ideas postulated by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in his book Beyond Religion, in which he stated that we are born free of religion but we are not born free of the need for …
Continue reading “Concurrent Session 1 – Engaged Compassion: Humanizing the Sacred and Secular”
As neuroscience and contemplative studies “come of age,” researchers are increasingly inquiring into non-Asian traditions, particularly Abrahamic ones. This paper addresses some of the methodological concerns implicated by this westward turn, focusing on Jewish contemplative practice. First, it provides an introduction to the major phenomenological types of Jewish mystical/contemplative practice. Second, it addresses the nature …
Continue reading “Concurrent Session 1 – Can There Be a Jewish Contemplative Studies?”
Recent research in the fields of neuroscience and emotional intelligence point to the importance of authenticity, self-awareness, and interpersonal awareness for effective leadership. However, development of these qualities in leaders has been elusive and difficult to achieve through conventional means. Contemplative practices such as meditation, reflective inquiry, mindful dialogue, and various embodiment disciplines offer specific …
Continue reading “Concurrent Session 1 – The Role of Contemplative Practice in Developing Authentic Leaders”
Buddhism, Behaviorism, and the Brain: Towards a Better Understanding of the Mechanisms and Mitigation of Craving, Grasping, and Addiction The seemingly intractable behavioral cycles and suffering of addiction offer a vivid and painful illustration of the necessity and challenge of behavior change. Decades of tireless research on the nature of, and mechanisms underlying, addiction have …
Continue reading “Master Lecture – Buddhism, Behaviorism, and the Brain”
One of the major debates in classical Indian philosophy concerned whether consciousness is present in dreamless sleep. Advaita Vedanta, Buddhism, and Sankhya-Yoga argued that consciousness is present in dreamless sleep, whereas Nyaya denies this. Consideration of this debate, especially the reasoning Advaita Vedanta used to rebut the Nyaya view, calls into question the standard neuroscience …
Continue reading “Master Lecture – Dreamless Sleep and Consciousness”
How can we re-envision and reform educational institutions based on our personal and collective aspirations, intentions, and motivations as awakened educators? We will collectively explore issues at the intersection of contemplative practice in education (e.g., mindfulness and compassion), applied research on those practices in school settings, and educational transformation efforts aimed at equity, social justice, …
Continue reading “Pre-Conference Workshop – The Awakened Educator: On Contemplative Practice, Applied Research, and Social Transformation in Education”
