Posts Tagged ‘neuroscience’
Practice Circle 4/26: Love is the Antidote to Fear
There is the liberation of the heart by loving-kindness; frequently giving wise attention to it — this is the denourishing of the arising of ill-will that has not yet arisen, and the decrease and weakening of ill-will that has already arisen. — SN 46:51 There is much fear in the world now. Most of us…
Read More8/26 Practice Circle: Getting Out of Default Mode
I have tended to give concentration practice short shrift. To me, devotion to intense concentration – jhana practice, long sesshins, and the like – seemed like spiritual calisthenics, meditation for its own sake, another skill to attach the ego to. Coming out of the vipassana-influenced MBSR tradition, I thought the tangible benefits of exploring the…
Read MorePractice Circle: Cultivating Compassion
This is to be done by one skilled in aims Who wants to break through To the state of peace: . . . As a mother would risk her life To protect her child, her only child, Even so should one cultivate a limitless heart With regard to all beings. Khuddakapatha 9, trns Thanissaro Bhikkhu…
Read MorePractice Circle: Relax
I think every contemplative technique I’m aware of involves at least some degree of relaxation. The practices I was taught in MBSR all begin with bringing awareness to areas of tightness and holding in the body and inviting them to relax; the Body Scan, which is the first technique one learns in MBSR, consists of…
Read MoreWaking Up: A Review
I still remember my excitement on encountering, in Sam Harris’ first book, The End of Faith, the suggestion that it would be possible to enjoy many of the benefits which people had traditionally sought from religion without the need to embrace religion itself. Buddhist meditiation was one of the practices Harris mentioned as a specific example of wisdom that…
Read MoreWhat is Metta?
With good will for the entire cosmos, Cultivate a limitless heart: Above, below, & all around, Unobstructed, without hostility or hate Whether standing, walking, Sitting, or lying down, As long as one is alert, One should be resolved on this mindfulness. This is called a sublime abiding, here and now. This is from Thanissaro Bhikkhu’s…
Read MoreBruce Hood "The Self Illusion: How Your Brain Creates You" TAM 2012
Psychologist Bruce Hood explores how the brain creates the illusion of the self. Live on stage from TAM 2012. With a special musical introduction from TAM emcee George Hrab. Bruce Hood “The Self Illusion: How Your Brain Creates You” TAM 2012
Read MoreEpisode 133 :: Ginger Campbell and Dana Nourie :: Consciousness and the Complex of Mind
Dr. Ginger Campbell Dr. Ginger Campbell and Dana Nourie speak with us about the complex interrelated processes we refer to as consciousness. What is self? Is it your body, so if you lose your left pinky finger, is that really losing part of you? Is it your memories? Or some other aspect of mind, like…
Read MoreIf Not-Self Then What?
The Buddha’s teachings on not-self truly are impressive, especially when you consider those were times in which people were immersed in beliefs about the supernatural, an essence of self that is everlasting, and a multitude of gods. For Buddha to point out the parts of the body as not self, the emotions as not self,…
Read MoreEpisode 124 :: Ginger Campbell :: Are You Sure? The Unconscious Origins of Certainty
Dr. Ginger Campbell Dr. Ginger Campbell speaks with us about science of the brain, and about the unconscious origins of certainty. How often have we been absolutely certain of something? We remember it clearly, we know it in our gut, it’s a sure thing. Only it’s not a sure thing. We’re fallible creatures, us humans,…
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