Concurrent Session 3 – Integration and Engagement: Personal and Professional Practice in the Lab, the Clinic, and Education

In some visions for contemplative studies, considerable importance is given to the integration of personal and professional practice. How might this work in practice, and what challenges and potentials does this entail in the laboratory, the clinic, and other contexts of research and application? Drawing on examples from our research projects and interventions, we offer reflections on our own experiences as scholars in the cognitive, health, and social sciences; as educators; and as practitioners in different contemplative traditions bringing practice into the lab, the clinic, and education settings. What does practice bring to our research in cognitive science, in neuroscience, in anthropology, and
psychiatry? And how do interdisciplinary engagement and scientific research inform our practice? We envision the panel as moving towards an open exchange with the audience to explore key issues around the links between the personal and the professional, between scientific/scholarly practice, and contemplative practice.