Basic sciences in higher education confront a paradox, reaching the minds of many and the hearts of few. Compulsory requirements for graduation or professional schools push a high course demand, large classes, and a culture of Darwinian grading that contribute to student performance anxiety, fear of failure, intellectual disengagement, and a test-driven approach to content. …
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Concurrent Session 2 – Buddhist Meditation and Psychophysical Actor Training
This panel explores relationships between meditation, Buddhism, and psychophysical actor training. Despite the flourishing of research into the effects of meditation in health, education, and other contexts, there have to date been few reports on the contribution of meditation to the performing arts, and even less attention paid to the ways in which acting and …
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Concurrent Session 2 – “Interaction First”: How Gendlin’s Process Philosophy Grounds the First Person Perspective
Eugene Gendlin’s “focusing” is frequently referred to as a Western form of meditation. Attention toward “felt meaning” and the experiential effects of verbalization enable a deep sense-making process. It is used in psychology, pedagogy, qualitative research, creative work, and in meditation retreats. Besides his acclaimed research in psychology, Gendlin is also a philosophical “pioneer” (Petitmengin) …
Concurrent Session 2 – How Contemplative Practice Infuses Clinical Practice with Serious Illness
Physicians and nurses who work with patients dealing with serious, life-threatening illness experience stress, empathic overload, compassion fatigue, and burnout. In this qualitative study funded by the Mind & Life Institute and the John Templeton Foundation, we are conducting extended qualitative interviews with at least 25 clinicians with an established contemplative practice in the Buddhist …
Concurrent Session 2 – Transforming Moral Distress: Lessons from Philosophy, Neuroscience, and Contemplative Practice
For clinicians exposed daily to pervasive suffering, death, and moral conflict in their work, maintaining composure, courage, and resilience is especially difficult and can lead to moral distress. In this experiential, interactive workshop, we will present collaborative work, supported by the Mind & Life Institute, between clinicians, philosophers, and leaders in contemplative practice and neuroscience. …
Concurrent Session 2 – The Social Side of Mindfulness: From Lab to Life
Traditional contemplative perspectives emphasize social benefits of mindfulnessand meditation, yet little research has investigated their social implications. Social situations involve distinct challenges for regulating affect, including the involvement of others’ emotions. This presentation briefly summarizes our prior lab-based work demonstrating that trait mindfulness predicts neural and behavioral responses consistent with efficient top-down attention to and …
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Concurrent Session 2 – Mindfulness in Education for Teachers and Students
Early childhood is an especially sensitive period in life, and a time when the brain undergoes rapid development. As such, training during this period has the potential for significant and lifelong impact. Educators of young children play a pivotal role in shaping student outcomes and success. Therefore, we are harnessing mental training techniques that have …
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Concurrent Session 1 – Can We Measure Mental Balance? Scientific and Contemplative Perspectives On Equanimity
In light of a growing interest in contemplative practices such as meditation, the emerging field of contemplative science has been challenged to describe and objectively measure how these practices affect health and well-being. We recently proposed that equanimity could serve as a measurable outcome of contemplative practices, both in basic science investigations and in clinical …
Concurrent Session 1 – Philosophical Foundations for Contemplative Pedagogy in Higher Education: New Research in the Field
As the field of contemplative education in higher education enjoys unprecedented growth and more and more faculty across disciplines are integrating contemplative pedagogical practices in their classrooms, it is vital to continue building the relatively new theoretical foundations for the field. This panel brings together five of the most innovative academics who are developing new …
Concurrent Session 1 – Investigating the Phenomenal and Neurocognitive Matrix of Mindfulness-Related Practices
Mindfulness meditation practices can be conceptualized as a set of attention-based, regulatory, and self-inquiry training regimes cultivated for various ends, including the training of well-being and psychological health. This panel discusses conceptual issues related to the construct of mindfulness in psychological research and reviews recent, nonclinical work in this area. Instead of proposing a single …
