Melissa Falb

Melissa Falb joins us to speak about her research on Buddhist coping techniques for end of life caregivers. We also speak about Melissa’s upcoming study on meditation’s effects on implicit association, particularly as it may relate to our attitudes about others.

As we find ourselves in this very early stage of the scientific exploration of the mind, studies which have to rely on self reporting techniques often get a bad wrap. Human beings are not always perfect in our perceptions, especially when that’s a perception about… us. But self reporting can be used as a helpful indicator of what might be a promising line of inquiry.

Melissa Falb is a Vipassana meditator and Ashtanga yogini, although she has dabbled in other traditions and welcomes wisdom from every source. Her primary practice of late is parenting her 8 month old son. In her spare time, she is a doctoral student in clinical psychology at Bowling Green State University, where she studies the intersection of spirituality and psychology. She has researched and written on a number of topics, including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, positive psychology, religious coping, pornography addiction, and forgiveness. Her M.A. thesis investigated the relationship between Buddhist coping and psychological well-being in end-of-life caregivers and her dissertation research will be on the topic of relational/interpersonal mindfulness. She is also currently working on a project comparing implicit associations toward minorities among non, novice, and experienced meditators. Please contact her if you would like to take part in this latter project, or for other reasons, at [email protected].

So, sit back, relax, and have a nice Shark Bite Ale.

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Music for This Episode Courtesy of Rodrigo Rodriguez

The music heard in the middle of the podcast is from Rodrigo Rodriguez. The track used in this episode is “Sangha” from his CD, Traditional and Modern Pieces: Shakuhachi.