The Contemplative Science Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Meditation and Psychotherapy: with Ian Singer Jan 10, 2023

Show notes

“Start from where you are.”

This is underlined as one of the foundational lessons for starting meditation in a psychotherapy context, by today’s guest Ian Singer.

Psychotherapist and vastly experienced meditator, Ian has dedicated his career to working with thousands of clients and students across the world.

In our conversation, he shares his philosophies on creating a compassionate space for therapy, some differences in therapeutic approaches and the ways in which his career has evolved his own spiritual practice.

Join us to dig down into an increasingly important topic, on the journey to build bridges between our practice and everyday life.

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This podcast has a single purpose: to help its listeners integrate the practical lessons of contemplative life. If you enjoyed the episode and you’re interested in finding out more, check out ⁠⁠‘Training For Humanity’ ⁠⁠- M3CS’s exclusive short courses, including Mindfulness for Wellbeing and Peak Performance, as well as Maintaining a Mindful Life.

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Soul and Interconnectedness: Dr Anna Yusim Jan 03, 2023

Show notes

How do you live an authentic and meaningful life?

According to today’s guest Dr Anna Yusim: by connecting to your soul, regardless of your spiritual or religious beliefs.

Anna is an author, psychiatrist and spiritual teacher whose research focuses on the intersection of science and spirituality.

As founder of Yale's Spirituality & Mental Health Centre, she talks passionately about the deeper issues of the human experience.

Covering the interconnectedness of emotion, reason and intuition, misalignment of the soul and misconceptions about the relationship between science, psychiatry and spirituality - our discussion uncovers the practical edge for living a full and happy life. ------

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How To Be Human: 2022 Pod Review Dec 21, 2022

Show notes

Humans are incredibly complex. Spiritual practice is incredibly powerful. But do contemplative frameworks show how to be a human in full?

Welcome to our inaugural review of the year.

Hosts Jamie and Mark reflect on some key lessons learned from picking the brains of nearly 40 academics, scientists and spiritual teachers over the course of 2022.

Join us as they share anecdotes from their own contemplative paths, emphasise the virtue of patient practice and offer a sneak peek into what you can expect to learn from guests going into 2023.

Stay tuned! ------

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The Dark Night of the Soul Dec 06, 2022

Show notes

The Dark Night of the Soul is a unique, scary and transformative experience

On a quest to track the history and improve the resources on the Dark Night is Nathan Fisher, PhD student at University of California Santa Barbara.

Nathan is an expert on the texts and phenomenology of these states in Abrahamic traditions and Buddhism, diving into the intricacies of how mystic traditions meet with modern day clinical practice.

Today, he outlines how these experiences occur, the potential for empirical research and the crossover of the different religious discussions - getting to grips with the complexity of the matter! ------

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Constructing Our Lives: with Dr Shamil Chandaria Nov 30, 2022

Show notes

Meditation is about getting to grips with the way we construct the world.

Today we are delighted to welcome Dr Shamil Chandaria from the Centre for Eudaimonia and Human Flourishing at University of Oxford.

An expert in his field, Shamil leads us on an investigative journey into predictive processing and its implications for perception and spiritual practice.

Touching on Bayesian models, priors, dereification, Buddhist philosophies, Amor Fati and homeostatic control - our conversation today is packed with delicate and refined observations on the different ways we construct reality. ------

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Spirituality and Psychic Abilities Nov 22, 2022

Show notes

What links spirituality and psychic ability with diet?

Here to explore the topic of his pioneering PhD is Michael Daw of Northampton University.

Michael outlines a long history of the connectedness of dietary practice (veganism, vegetarianism and fasting) with spiritual tradition, from Shamanism to the Abrahamic religions.

Talking us through different types of psychic ability and the prevalence of scientific research, our conversation uncovers details about Extra Sensory Perception and spirituality - referencing quantum physics, his own empirical research and more along the way. ------

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Jhāna and Peak Experiences Nov 09, 2022

Show notes

Let's talk about Jhāna, some of the peak experiences on the spiritual journey.

Here to lead us on a journey into these peak experiences is cognitive neuroscientist and wellbeing aficionado Jonas Mago.

Jonas is currently pursuing doctoral studies at McGill University, diving into the various cognitive mechanisms that underlie human flourishing.

He reflects on findings and anecdotes from his pioneering research: exploring Jhāna as a refined ability to ‘slip into a pocket’ of deep concentration, with huge potential for positive habit-building and self improvement! ------

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Mental Health and Buddhism: with Dr Elli Weisbaum Nov 01, 2022

Show notes

Will Buddhism improve your mental health?

Dr Elli Weisbaum is a Toronto based mindfulness practitioner and teacher who attended her first retreat with scholar, Zen Master and Nobel Peace prize nominee Thich Nhat Hanh at the age of ten.

Today, she takes us through the potential benefits (and limitations) of pursuing Buddhism for the sake of our mental health, the suprising misconceptions around around Buddhism and shares her story of spending time at the famous Plum Village. ------

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The Dark Side of Meditation Oct 18, 2022

Show notes

Meditation does not always yield positive results.

Joining today to talk us through the ‘Dark Side of Meditation’ is Christine Kupfer.

Medical anthropologist and expert in Rabindranath Tagore's philosophy, Christine breaks down how meditation practice is often perceived as a cure-all for productivity, happiness, spiritual fulfilment.

In reality, people can suffer from experiences of non-shared reality: spiritual crisis.

We explore its many facets, incorporating Buddhist, Christian, Jewish and clinical perceptions to illuminate the significance of improving the literature on these experiences. ------

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Psychedelics and Spiritual Traditions Oct 11, 2022

Show notes

What exactly is the role of Psychedelics in the development of the world's spiritual traditions?

Joining today is researcher and co-founder of Eudelics, Dr Richard Chambers.

Richard illuminates a history of psychedelic traditions, its suppression over many years by religious groups and governments, and its potential for exploring higher consciousness in safe and mindful settings.

Touching on neuroplasticity, his particular interest in psychedelics for leadership development, and the cross-over of Hindusim and Buddhism, our discussion leaves no stone unturned! ------

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