Dave Vago – Meditation, Neuroscience, and Self

In this episode, Wendy speaks with psychiatrist and mental health researcher Chuck Raison. Chuck’s work centers on understanding how ancient practices can change our conscious experience. He’s a leader in studying the links between inflammation, stress, and depression, and how meditation and other practices can influence those dynamics. This conversation covers many topics, including: ancient practices and conscious experience; Tibetan tummo practice; the role of inflammation in depression; sickness behavior; links between stress and inflammation; the placebo response; psychedelics as a novel treatment for depression; investigating the role of memory in transcendent experiences; body temperature and emotions; and the precious gift of awareness. Full show notes and resources

In this episode, Wendy speaks with contemplative researcher Quinn Conklin. Quinn's research examines the interconnection of mind and body, and the effects of stress and meditation training on biomarkers of health and well-being. This conversation covers many topics, including: her interest in mind-body connection and how that led her into meditation research; understanding meditation retreats; advantages and challenges of studying meditation in a retreat context; how personality can influence the effects of meditation; telomeres and cell aging, and impacts of stress and meditation; creating safety and support for practice (on retreat); oxytocin and various theories of its function in social connection; effects of meditation retreat on oxytocin; allostasis and prediction; studying community responses to COVID and how meditation provides support; increasing diversity in contemplative science; and making research findings accessible. Full show notes and resources

In this episode, Wendy speaks with psychiatrist and contemplative researcher Zev Schuman-Olivier. Zev has been working for more than a decade to integrate mindfulness and compassion into health care, with a focus on addiction, depression, and chronic illness. This conversation covers many topics, including: weaving mindfulness and compassion into clinical settings; lessons from his own experience of chronic illness; the key role of behavior change in health; balancing individual responsibility for health with systemic factors; mindfulness and addiction; making interventions trauma-informed, inclusive, and broadly accessible; how signals from the body help motivate action and emotion; how mindfulness enhances trust in the body and changes the brain in depression; Internal Family Systems and the critical role of acceptance; and next steps for integrating mindfulness and compassion into complex healthcare systems. Full show notes and resources

In this episode, Wendy speaks with social scientist and meditation teacher Eve Ekman. Eve's work integrates contemplative practice and modern psychology to help people learn about and work with their emotions. This conversation covers many topics, including: her early exposure to Tibetan culture and Buddhism; emotion regulation vs. awareness; reappraisal and self-compassion; labeling feelings & being seen; handshake meditation practice; mapping an emotion: trigger, experience, and response; the complexity of what shapes each moment; becoming more sensitive through meditation; constructive vs. destructive emotions, and the complexities of anger; understanding equanimity; leveraging technology to help awareness and tracking of emotions; helping Apple incorporate well-being practices into its platforms; teaching meditation through the Cultivating Emotional Balance program; the Atlas of Emotion (free online resource); and life lessons from surfing. Full show notes and resources

In this episode, Wendy speaks with contemplative neuroscientist Dave Vago. Dave has been studying the brain, meditation, and the self for over two decades, and has developed several models of how mindfulness might work from cognitive and neurobiological perspectives. This conversation covers many topics, including: his intertwined interests in brain, mind, self, philosophy, and religion; the temporal nature of memory; mindfulness for fibromyalgia and chronic pain; unconscious attentional bias; sticky thoughts and how they change with meditation; the role of the self in contemplative practice (S-ART model); meta-awareness and decentering; the centrality of inhibitory control in contemplative practice; dissolving the self/other divide; integrating wisdom to create meaning; how meditation can shift attentional bias at very early levels of processing; the deeply interconnected nature of brain function; self-pattern theory and (in)flexibility in the mind; mindfulness and the glymphatic system, and implications for sleep and neurodegenerative disorders; and the new academic society for contemplative research (ISCR). Full show notes and resources

In this episode, Wendy speaks with biocultural anthropologist and Tibetan medical doctor Tawni Tidwell. Tawni's research focuses on living—and dying—with greater awareness and well-being, and integrates multiple biological and cultural perspectives on mind-body systems. This conversation covers many topics, including: merging interests in biology, culture, ecology, nature, and medicine; how our minds shape our bodies; the holistic approach of Tibetan medicine; understanding constitutions and individual proclivities; the subtle body and consciousness; studying monastics who are able to extend the death process (Tukdam project); implications for life, death, and the nature of consciousness; individual differences and determining which practices might be best for someone; studying Tibetan medicine's approach to treating COVID; and coming back to our bodies, our communities, and our environments. Full show notes and resources

In this episode, Wendy speaks with neuroscientist and trauma researcher Brian Dias. Brian is one of the pioneers in understanding how trauma can be transferred between generations. Research in this space has helped fuel a major revolution in biology, because itmeans that not just our genes, but some aspects of our experiences can be inherited. This conversation covers many topics, including: his path into studying trauma; how trauma can pass through generations; links with the Buddhist concept of karma; understanding epigenetics & the interplay between genes and environment; implications for inheritance and evolution; whether such intergenerational transmission is helpful or harmful; epigenetic clocks in our cells; how trauma affects brain development; sociocultural, developmental, and biological pathways for transmission of experiences; creating legacies of flourishing; lessons learned from collaborating with Tibetan monastics; providing resources to parents to try to halt legacies of trauma; impacts of stress on our mitochondria and microbiome; and scientists as humans first. Full show notes and resources

In this episode, Wendy speaks with neuroscientist and mental health researcher Jyoti Mishra. Jyoti has been investigating how mindfulness and attention training affect our brains, and can help in the context of mental health challenges related to climate disasters and other trauma. This conversation covers many topics, including: her intertwined interests in neuroscience, meditation, and mental health; understanding climate trauma and its unique impacts on mental health; community resilience and action in the face of disaster; the rise of mental health issues worldwide; studying the mental health and brain function impacts of the deadliest fire in CA history; healing broken relationships with nature through mindfulness and ecotherapy; social justice issues around climate vulnerability; how childhood adversity affects brain circuitry for emotional awareness; developing contemplative tech interventions for disadvantaged youth, and impacts on brain and daily life functioning; nature and the sense of self; regulating the stress response through mindfulness and social connection; and empowering youth through the Climate Change & Mental Health Initiative. Full show notes and resources

In this episode, Wendy speaks with psychologist and contemplative researcher Simon Goldberg. Simon uses tools drawn from psychotherapy research to better understand the therapeutic processes and outcomes of mindfulness and meditation-based interventions. This conversation covers many topics, including: coming to practice through one's own suffering; what we know from science about whether and how meditation "works;" the nuts and bolts of meditation research, and the importance of control groups; the file drawer effect and publishing negative findings; common factors in healing interventions; working with the self in psychotherapy vs. Buddhism; the critical role of acceptance; some challenges when measuring effects of meditation; individualizing contemplative practice to suit the person; delivering and studying meditation interventions through apps; and the possibilities of AI to help support meditation practice. Full show notes and resources

In this episode, Wendy speaks with educational leader, writer, and climate activist Diana Chapman Walsh. Diana had a long and successful career in public health at Boston and Harvard University, and then became the president of Wellesley College, a position she held for 14 years. Diana has become an icon in educational leadership, and advocates that education can be both an intellectual and a spiritual journey. This conversation covers many topics, including: her path into contemplative practice and leadership; the importance of knowing and questioning oneself; vulnerability and responsibility in leadership; how the qualities of a leader influence the system they are leading; hierarchical vs. inclusive systems; the five principles of trustworthy leadership; interconnectedness as an underlying truth; building community amidst the climate crisis; how feedback loops can accelerate harm or spur change; and encouragement to tell our stories. Full show notes and resources