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5th Anniversary Issue • The Medicine of the Moment APRIL 2018 • volume 6, number 1 • mindful.org science from our June 2018 issue

THE MAGNIFICENT WILD MYSTERIOUS CONNECTED AND INTERCONNECTED BRAIN Our brain is like a wild, raging electrical storm that wondrously enables us to make our way. Yet a lot of mindfulness literature makes it sound like a very simple machine. Two leading neuroscientists suggest better ways to think and talk about the brain and the mind.

Illustrations by Aaron Piland

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FOR SOME TIME AT MINDFUL, We are in the middle of an epidemic We are in the middle of an epidemic spread we’ve been concerned that discus- spread of BS about the brain. Some- thing new comes up just about every of BS about the brain. Something new sions of the brain—particularly in week that grossly oversimplifies both what science currently knows about comes up just about every week that grossly the context of mindfulness and the brain and how the brain might meditation—have become sim- actually work. Trainers and coaches oversimplifies both what science currently and keynote speakers frequently plified to the point of distorting make extravagant claims about “brain knows about the brain and how the brain the truth. They often present the change,” “growing the brain,” or “adding gray matter.” Forbes recently might actually work. brain as a set of building blocks or published “6 Brain-Based Leader- Lincoln Logs, each with its own ship Game-Changers for 2018,” by an author who writes about “leveraging function. The goal of meditation neuroscience to create remarkable f leadership.” The first diagram illus- in this model is to strengthen trates the reptilian brain, the mam- certain parts and suppress others. malian brain, and the supposed new- that you can use science to rewire Amishi Jha, PhD, is associate pro- While Saron and Jha are separated est part of the brain, the neocortex, your brain. Among its claims: You can fessor of psychology and the founder by a continent and different research When we asked neuroscientists where “meaning is made.” A quick “overcome PTSD without medication and head of the Jha Lab at the Univer- goals, they see eye-to-eye on the need doing actual research about these internet search will let you know that by strengthening neural circuits in sity of Miami. Her pioneering work, to be cautious in making assertions this hypothesis, known as the Triune Brain 3.0, making your emotional much of it funded by the Department about long-term alterations to the notions, the answer ranged from Brain, “is no longer espoused by the immune system stronger.” of Defense and carried out with the brain. They collaborated with a few “that’s very, very simplistic” to majority of comparative neuroscien- Let’s be clear. This is not science. military, students, and athletes, shows others on an important paper that tists in the post-2000 era.” It’s been It is snake oil. how mindfulness can protect atten- provided a preliminary model for “that’s nonsense.” debunked for almost two decades. The problem, scientists and tion and working memory. The lab distinguishing a variety of mental A newsstand publication called science educators point out, is not is also working on how to scale up factors involved in a range of medita- Mindfulness Made Simple contains a that people are being coached and mindfulness for larger populations tion practices. ABOUT THE AUTHOR two-page spread on “How Mindful- coaxed to “use their brains better.” and make its effects long-lasting. She Our several conversations lasted Barry Boyce is Editor-in-Chief of Mindful and ness Physically Changes Your Brain” The problem is using pseudo-science is working to find accessible train- many hours and ranged far and wide. Mindful.org. He is also author of The Mindfulness that points to mindfulness causing as evidence for the effectiveness of ing that can be broadly adopted by Here are some of the highlights of our Revolution, an anthology of applied mindfulness growth in the presumed good parts a practice or to present outmoded high-performance and high-demand exploration of brain and mind. instructions from leading teachers and experts. of the brain and shrinkage in the models of the brain and mental expe- groups, including first responders, bad parts. It takes some preliminary rience. These models are often taught police, and firefighters. research out of all context and states to children in school, who go home Cliff Saron, PhD, is a researcher Barry Boyce it pretty much as fact. Any honest and tell mommy and daddy that the at the Center for Mind and Brain and Editor-in-Chief neuroscientist will tell you that we amygdala is bad and the prefrontal director of the Saron Lab at the Univer- simply do not know this much about cortex is good. Is it fair to reduce sity of California, Davis. He is known how the brain is affected by mindful- something so wondrous as the brain for directing the Shamatha Project, a ness, since we don’t even have a single to a couple of parts—even if this multiyear investigation of long-term definition of what mindfulness means. mythology helps children to notice intensive meditation. Findings so far And what we feel we know today will their reactivity and calm down? indicate that the practice sharpens and be eclipsed by findings after our life- To delve into the state of the brain sustains attention, enhances well-being time. Humbleness is the watchword science surrounding meditation, we and empathy, and improves physiologi- when it comes to assertions about invited two neuroscientists to join cal markers of health. Saron is inter- how the brain and the mind work. in conversation with Mindful about ested in not just what the brain is doing A book from a major publisher sells how to effectively talk about the when attending to a task, but what’s itself as “Mind-Hacker’s Guide to brain when presenting mindfulness happening on a moment-by-moment Shifting into Brain 3.0.” It promises and meditation. basis as we construct reality.

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BARRY BOYCE: Many mindfulness parts of the cortex. Huge amounts teachers like to use a model of the of the brain are involved in even the brain that pits the so-called emo- simplest of tasks. tional center deep inside the brain, the amgydala, against the reason- Barry Boyce: These models are ing center of the brain up front, the meant to provide children with a prefrontal cortex, which carries out way to think about emotionality as a our “executive function.” In the battle natural brain process—to help them between these two, mindfulness is depersonalize it and find calm and on the side of the executive function, composure. Is it such a problem if it’s coming in to help when the amygdala a cartoon-like oversimplification? is out of control. How do you feel about this characterization? Jha: It’s an open question whether using a model of brain function actu- Amishi Jha: I understand the good ally helps them calm down. These intentions of smart and kind-hearted kinds of models are not limited to people when they use overly simple presentations to children. I’ve heard models of the brain in an attempt to Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduc- make brain functions broadly acces- tion teachers talk about the reptilian sible, even to small children. They’re brain needing to be overcome by the trying to help people understand modern-day frontal lobes. That’s the something about problems they’re “triune brain hypothesis”—a 1960s- encountering with their emotions or era story of a battle between the older their attention. I’m trying to do the and newer brain not widely accepted same thing when I work with first in neuroscience today. It’s not part of responders or soldiers. No one wants the curriculum for MBSR, but it’s a to make costly mistakes. kind of freelancing that people do. However, we can do better than We don’t really have any evidence using a misleading model that implies that you would get any less benefit that a part of the brain, the amygdala, if you didn’t use a model of the brain misbehaves or “goes bad,” causing us in teaching people meditation. Why to freak out, and that to control this mislead if you don’t need to? The mod- reactivity—fear, anxiety, inappropriate ular view of the brain—with a specific behavior—we need to use the “good” function separately housed within a part of the brain up front that comes particular chunk of the cortex—is like in and tamps down the bad guy. a holdover from phrenology, when people thought brain functions were Cliff Saron: The “good brain, bad tied to bumps on the skull—a bumpy brain” idea gets things off on the forehead meant someone was more wrong foot completely. You can err on intelligent. We can do better than this. the side of complexity or simplicity. If you’re trying to simplify things, you Barry Boyce: Why does it matter if want to do it in such a way that you’re we’re using notions of the brain that still on the side of accuracy. Amishi make it easier for us to understand is exemplary at getting to the essence what this thing inside of us is doing? while still being truthful, using a model that scales up to something Saron: As someone who tries to think that represents a better understand- and teach carefully about the brain, ing. Locating all emotion in the one of the things I grapple with is the amgydala belies what we know about difference between feeling like you the powerful interconnectedness of understand something and having the the brain. Pictures of the anatomical experience that something is beyond connections of the amygdala to other one’s grasp. Fully understanding the parts of the brain, even from 25 years human brain falls into the latter cate- ago, show an incredibly dense level gory. To think otherwise is a carica- of interconnectivity with almost all ture of what neuroscience is about. →

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I’ve developed a six-day workshop parts and more, and she needed them Not So Fast! called “The Buddha, the Brain, and to move together in a pattern that Bach” with senior meditation teacher results in a cartwheel. A few “facts” about the brain that are Sylvia Boorstein and my wife, Bar- That’s a pretty good way to think misleading or downright false. bara Bogatin, a cellist with the San about how the brain works. All of Francisco Symphony. We explore the these different parts talk to each other intersection of contemplative practice, and they need to act together for us to neuroscience, and musical creativ- accomplish something we’re trying to ity. We touch upon fundamentals of do. She seemed to get that you can’t WE ONLY USE I MUST BE CROSSWORD THE BRAIN NEURO- fMRI IMAGES such as mea- brain structure and function as well just think of the parts in isolation; you 10% OF OUR “RIGHT- PUZZLES DEVELOPS PLASTICITY PRESENT suring electrical as complex dynamical aspects. It’s a always have to think of how they work BRAINS BRAINED” WILL KEEP INTO ONLY PICTURES activity, the data is curriculum designed to use the deep together with other parts and with the extremely tricky to awareness cultivated in contemplative whole. So I think you can be simple Amishi Jha says SINCE I HAVE MY BRAIN ADULTHOOD, OCCURS OF HOW interpret, requiring practice to foster a sense of knowing and accessible and also correct, with- she still hears this A CREATIVE FROM AGING AND THEN WITH THE BRAIN a lot of complex and wonder, showing that it doesn’t out introducing a lot of distortion. all the time. Yet it PERSONALITY YOUR BRAIN MEDITATION WORKS statistics. It also make sense to rely on narratives that is entirely made Crossword puzzles CELLS JUST opens the door to tie things up neatly. Barry Boyce: I appreciate that, since science is supposed to be an honest up and has, in While lateralized may be fun (for DIE OUT Neuroplasticity Magnetic Reso- a trap in thinking fact, never been brain regions are some, anyway), refers to the nance Imaging is called “reverse Jha: I agree with that, but in my work exploration of what’s going on, not espoused by any involved in specific but doing them is More than 100 brain’s ability to a breakthrough inference”: looking I also find it helpful to orient people to simply a way to find easy explanations scientist. processes such as not protective for years of neurosci- reorganize its technology that at apparent brain what’s happening with their attention for things that are hard to under- aspects of lan- the brain. This is ence failed to find neural connec- has allowed more activity shown when they get off task and bad things stand. In that regard, let’s talk about guage, and it is well because the puz- brain cell birth and tions and func- precise anatomical by the fMRI in a result. Naturally, one of the first “executive function.” known that certain zles engage only growth in adult tions. This can pictures for use in particular region things we think of in trying to keep As discussed above, strengthening brain structures a specific set of humans. Then in occur in response medicine; func- and making an something simple is how would you this function—the inhibition, problem differ in size in the processes. While 1998 the discov- to physical injury tional MRI is imag- assumption explain that to a child? solving, decision making, reasoning right and left sides doing crosswords ery was made that to the brain, such ing that moves about what is Coincidentally, that occurred for activities identified as the work of the of our brain, the idea may make you bet- new brain cells do as trauma, tumor, through time and going on there me with my daughter. She was seven “upper brain,” the central lobes—is an that creativity vs. ter at them, there form in specific stroke, or dis- has been used based on what at the time. She jumped up on my lap attribute often ascribed to mindful- rationality in one’s is no evidence brain structures ease, as connec- extensively in brain other research while I was working on my computer. ness. Is that a fully accurate story? personality is driven that there will be within the adult tions between activity research. has shown about She ended up picking up a model brain by a “right-brained” broader benefits to brain, such as the cells change to While the images that region. It’s an I had sitting around. Not surprisingly Jha: You get into trouble when you or “left-brained” other processes, hippocampus, a compensate for it puts out are educated guess, she took the whole thing apart. She imply that what some people call the dominance remains such as mem- structure involved missing or com- flashier than more but it does not lifted up one piece after another and “upstairs brain”—referring to execu- unsupported. The ory or problem in storing mem- promised brain direct methods, qualify as conclu- asked, “What does this do?” tive function—does all this beneficial brain’s hemispheres solving. ories. Thus, it regions. Neuro- sive evidence of a With the occipital lobe, I said some- regulating and balancing. Treating are highly intercon- seems that at least plasticity also particular kind of thing like “it helps you to see”; for the the frontal lobes almost like a char- nected and work some parts of the occurs in response brain activity. In temporal lobe, it helps you hear; for acter in a story—the good guy, the together for com- brain can regener- to new experences short, fMRI must the cerebellum, it helps you coor- white knight—can lead to the view plex processing. ate cells through- or situations, be interpreted dinate what’s coming from all your that everything that flows from strong out the lifespan. such as learning cautiously. What senses, and so on. I was just giving her executive control is beneficial. The a new skill. you see is not what simple answers, because I was trying reality is that someone with high you get. to work. At some point, though, I said, working memory capacity and very “No, let’s not do it this way. Let’s talk good executive control could do some about how this actually happens.” very bad things. Just because a par- Then, I talked to her about how all ticular brain network can do “good of these parts never work alone. They things” doesn’t mean that what it does always work together, but they work is always for the good. in specific ways together. As an anal- ogy, I asked her to think about what Saron: I would like to drill down a body parts she would use to do a cart- little deeper and ask what’s implied wheel. She said, “I need my hand, and by “executive function.” We need that’s connected to my arm, and that’s to foster a critical perspective and connected to the rest of my body.” As always pay close attention to the nar- I coaxed her through this investiga- ratives that emerge from the words tion, she realized she needed all those we use. In the history of science, →

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Evolution resulted in attention as a solution to the brain’s problem of information overload. How do we best utilize this resource? What do we do when it’s hijacked? Does meditation have a role to play?

when there is no integrated theory, Barry Boyce: But don’t models also off-task, we’re leaning on findings someone comes up with a term that have a role to play? from my home field of cognitive simplifies understanding. That’s how neuroscience. Many studies have a phrase like “executive function” is Jha: I understand what Cliff is getting found that the brain organizes itself born and comes to mean our capacity at, and I agree that as scientists we into functional networks that vary to maintain behaviors in line with a need that kind of awareness of the in their activity and in their interac- goal. It becomes a convenient con- big picture and a humble acceptance tions over time. struct in institutionalized education, of the limitations of what we’re For example, we have the central which began with an agenda of an embarking on, but I also want to be executive network, which has to individualist society needing work- clear about why I think it’s useful to do with the ability to harness our ers. You wind up with this fuzzy describe the brain to people at all. resources to control what we’re pro- warm feeling about accomplishing My attempts are not an abstract cessing more fully. goals and being productive. And educational exercise. They’re always The salience network involves what’s the important thing we need meant to help people address the way being aware of what’s happening, to teach kids? they’re suffering right now. I recently internally and in the environment. To do what they’re told! met with a military leader who was The default mode network we think To attain goals someone else sets! trying to understand what was going of as what the brain defaults to when Contemplating, examining—those on with his own mind wandering. He you’re not attending to a task. (See may go by the wayside. had a clear and present need, because sidebar on page 53.) the wandering was causing problems. These three networks—and Barry Boyce: So, when we choose My interest in attention speaks to specific networks within these to call this brain activity “executive when people hold goals in their mind. networks, and other networks as function,” it’s loaded with all sorts of How does the brain create goals and well—are part of the landscape we’re assumptions that go beyond what’s hold those goals? We can start by going to have to deal with when going on in the brain. saying that the brain has an attention we consider how our brain’s infor- system because there’s far more in mation-processing resources are Saron: Yes. “Executive function” is the environment than the brain can utilized for the task at hand—and not a fixed thing. It could be called fully process. Evolution resulted in what might be going on when some- by many names that would take attention as a solution to the brain’s one experiences rumination, worry, your imagination to different places. problem of information overload. It or flashbacks due to PTSD. It’s not It’s fractal. Labels and handles constrains what we deal with so we about good guys and bad guys. It’s can sometimes obscure as much as can more fully process it. about the dynamic, interactive ways elucidate. Science is a human social Given that, how do you best utilize various networks function in relation activity that undergoes changes this resource and what do you do to each other as we experience and based on the zeitgeist of the time. when it’s being hijacked by rumina- navigate the present moment. And the less and less we know about tion, mind wandering, or distrac- something, the more room people tion? When we talk about the brain Saron: That’s very clear, and I can see have to fantasize. networks involved in being on- or how that can be helpful. It’s several →

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NETWORKS VS. MACHINE PARTS

notches closer to reality than what you associations. Do we now label that can’t common sense prevail? Do you We often hear people say that SALIENCE choose to place in hear so often in popular depictions. bad meditation? Or is it merely a part really need brain imaging to tell you one sub-organ of the brain is NETWORK (SN) working memory What I think we can add to that pic- of the introspective terrain being that if you stop and smell the roses, responsible for x function and (what we need to ture, though, is that a very large pro- traversed in that sitting session? you may suffer less? Brain imaging another for y. However, obser- The SN has been hold in mind to portion of the information processing When you give yourself over to the results are loosely coupled to individ- vations of brain activity have likened to an air stay on task), and we are doing is unconscious yet intelli- full depth of the intention behind your uals’ actual experience. They can’t be shown that this idea that dif- traffic controller. problem solving. gent. It’s awe-inspiring to appreciate meditation practice­—what motivated used as a promise for what outcomes ferent parts of the brain work Our nervous sys- When we say we’re that we function with most all of our you to do it in the first place—it’s not will result from practice. My 44 years independently to perform a tem is bombarded “thinking hard” processing of the world below the level likely about scoring points for being on of exposure to meditation teachings given function—the modular with a massive about something, of conscious awareness. We open our your breath. A rich view of the “pres- and practices has been essential to paradigm—is inaccurate. The volume of sensory there is major eyes and we just see, without having to ent moment” encompasses the ways my understanding of myself, the ways story we frequently hear that inputs. The SN fil- involvement from consciously construct what we see. we work with the temporal and spatial I connect with others and engage in the amygdala is the emotion ters and sorts the this network. aspects of experience: times and research. And that didn’t require any center and the prefrontal input, operating Barry Boyce: What’s your view on places that are not in our immediate scientific data. cortex performs executive at two levels. The DEFAULT MODE The investigation using brain measurement equipment sensory field but are nonetheless very functions unfairly depicts the first, described as NETWORK (DMN) to assess meditation, to detect when significant for our sense of well-being Barry Boyce: We commonly hear brain almost as a collection “fast, automatic, has only just we’re in a good meditation zone? and connection to the world. that “mindfulness changes the brain.” of machine parts. It may bottom-up,” pro- Perhaps the Don’t lots of things change the brain, have some usefulness as a cesses features of trickiest of the net- begun, and the Saron: These attempts present big Jha: We’re nowhere near to under- since neurons that “fire together, wire metaphor for how different our environment works to describe tools we have, problems for me. There was a plan for standing the many facets of the suite together”? types of brain function might we’ve learned or and understand, a program in Taiwan whose mission of practices we are all introducing interrelate, but it presents a instinctively know the DMN is often while relatively was to find brain signatures for com- to people. The investigation has only Saron: That’s the fundamental law very limited mechanical view are important talked about as passion and then measure how well just begun, and the tools we have— of neuroplasticity: Repeated activity of the brain—which misses (i.e., salient). For what the brain advanced, are participants in a contemplative train- while advanced compared to decades makes it easy for the same activity to the dynamic quality of brain example, quickly “defaults” to when ing program were achieving that. To ago—are still too primitive to serve happen again. You could say the brain activity and is not good sci- noticing ice on it doesn’t have still too primitive rely on neuroimaging to assess what is as definitive measuring sticks for only works by changing. So if you ence education. a sidewalk that a task at hand. to definitively essentially our humanity is preposter- achievement in mind training. Fur- repeatedly do something crappy, you A metaphor that’s more might cause us to It processes ous and scarily misguided. thermore, we don’t have any way of get better at that, too! prevalent among neurosci- fall down. At the self-monitoring, measure I also find research using scans to positing a “mindful brain.” We don’t entists today is the network second level, the autobiographical assess meditation quality similarly have brain signatures for something Jha: If you keep ruminating about view of the brain: “dynamic salience network information, and achievement in suspect. Who decides exactly what called “mindfulness.” There are just your worst experience, your brain will interconnected sets of allows us to focus social cognition is impermissible in meditation? How too many processes at play to have be very efficient at calling to mind systems (subsystems, and our attention in (roughly speaking, mind training. do we know which forms of mental one simplistic label. that episode. Throughout the history neural nodes) that work order to achieve determining rela- activity in an individual are deleteri- That doesn’t mean we can’t use of neuroscience, we’ve known brains together to carry out certain a goal. tions with others). ous and which are not? current neuroscience to help people alter and transform. The seminal kinds of activity,” in Amishi Spontaneous Let’s say the machine deter- get some insight into processes in studies of brain damage tell us the Jha’s words. CENTRAL- mind wandering mines you’re having self-referential the brain that may be problematic for brain changes when you destroy The networks consist of EXECUTIVE and self-talk are thoughts. If that is true, perhaps you them. The goal is not to see what a parts of it through stroke or injury. relationships between an NETWORK (CEN) associated with internalized many different repre- mindful brain looks like but to deter- These patients recover in some cases, array of brain regions formed the DMN. The sentational stances toward reality— mine how information processing meaning reorganization enables brain through repeated communi- The CEN’s role has fact that the DMN ways you think about yourself to (e.g., within systems like attention) function to adapt in a better direction. cation among the parts as we to do with high- includes internal yourself —and because there’s noth- may be altered and perhaps improved What’s novel and innovative about navigate through life. Three er-order cognition dialogue and mind ing to do as you sit on your medita- by training in mindfulness exercises brain training in general—and in large-scale brain networks and attentional wandering has tion cushion, these thought patterns over days, weeks, or years. particular for us, mindfulness medita- are talked about in the liter- control. It’s what’s caused it to be start bubbling up into awareness. tion—is that beneficial changes don’t ature today as they relate to at work when we described as both All the ways you’ve avoided psycho- Saron: Why do we need empirical always have to be in response to some meditation: make decisions a font of creativity logical issues in your life start to validation for meditative experi- insult or injury. You may actually be about focusing and the locus of emerge in consciousness. You have ence, anyway? When it comes to the able to engage in training to help opti- and sustaining problematic rumi- a memory, and that memory causes benefits of stopping and pausing, why mize certain abilities. → attention, what we nation.

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something we will ever find in a brain scan. Also, as Anil Seth points out in EMBODIED are engaged and how these networks such as we read about in the autobiog- age everyone to look at something BEYOND When you mind- his TED Talk, we The brain operates interact with each other. raphies of great practitioners. Differ- National Geographic did with the THE BRAIN are not passive within and through- wander with ent goals yield different regimens, and work of Jeff Leichtman and his lab recipients of a out our body. Saron: It’s also possible that a person different kinds of attention will need at Harvard. It’s very high-resolution world that is being awareness, you could get to similar places practicing to be paid to those who take part. 3-D images of teeny tiny portions of WHERE IS shown to us like a EMBEDDED value the content some other skill with tremendous mouse visual cortex. It’s breathtaking movie; instead we That bodily sys- dedication to achieve a high degree Barry Boyce: In training people, it to look at all that’s going on there in a MY MIND? “actively generate tem is embedded that emerges— of mastery. Think about the years of seems very important to keep ambi- 4-minute video narrated by Jeff. He the world.” The in, connected to, intense physical and mental training tions in check. If we have a program talks about coming to a point where simplest study of and part of an discovering things for an Olympic-level skier or a world- trying to help the average person take you relax and say “OK. I don’t get it!” While the study optical illusions environment. class violin soloist. The line between mindful pauses in daily life, we don’t When Leichtman asked his stu- of thought and easily demon- you didn’t know you formal meditation practice and other say this is suddenly going to lead to dents to consider if knowing every- thinking has been strates that we EXTENDED were looking for. focused activities blurs, but medita- astounding life changes. Modest goals thing possible about the brain is a dominated by neu- are making up the That environment tion can certainly be a complementary are fine. The more you elevate the mile, how far have we traveled? Their roscience in recent world as we go extends through component. My wife says her cello promise, the more attention must be answers tended to range from a quar- decades, in a talk along. time and space, practice and meditation practice are given to the protocols, because you ter-mile to three-quarters of a mile. at TED2017, Anil Cliff Saron meaning it doesn’t like two sides of the same coin. We don’t get the benefits of training for His answer: 3 inches. Our mandate in Seth, professor emphasizes that have fixed bound- have much more to learn about that. I nothing. Results are in proportion to life as scientists is to be drenched in of Cognitive and when we are aries and it keeps Barry Boyce: How is training your also think there are styles of practice time and effort. noncomprehension and to be sus- Computational talking about the changing. attention with meditation different that may be more prone to fixation. picious of when we really think we Neuroscience brain and the from an off-the-shelf brain training There are many stories of people com- Saron: That’s a principle that should know how things work. at the Univer- mind, it helps to ENACTIVE program designed to help you pay ing out of retreats unable to attend to become widespread. That points to the irony of con- sity of Sussex, not limit our think- We are not better attention? Or from engaging in daily living effectively. Neuroplasti- forming mindfulness training to a talked about ing to activity that passive cognitive a psychotherapy program to help you city is a two-way street, and you can Barry Boyce: Some people say mind tinker toy version of reality, instead how the study takes place in an processors of a with your emotion regulation, such as maladaptively reorganize so that daily wandering is our biggest problem; of something that could suggest the of human expe- organ in our skull. predetermined anger management? life actually becomes more complex. others say it’s just our mind at play. possibility of motivating people to rience crosses Mental activity reality; we “enact” investigate the vastness of their own many disciplines, joins us together reality through Jha: Right now there are no estab- Jha: That’s why when we’re devel- Jha: We need to be careful with the mind. As Francisco Varela suggested, including “neuro- with the world and the actions we lished brain training programs that oping programs, we need to think in terminology. When I refer to mind that is where science and contempla- science, physics, its inhabitants in perform. have been able to overcome a really terms of a suite of practices. How do wandering, I mean having off-task tive practice can meet: as complemen- virtual reality, a vast web of con- big problem: generalizability. You play you set a program up so that it doesn’t thoughts during an ongoing task. That tary paths of deep inquiry. mathematics, nections. As Anil In very simple a “brain-training” video game over cause people to hyper-fixate on cer- can certainly have deleterious effects. Vinod Menon once said to me at psychology, psy- Seth says, when terms, the reality and over again to improve memory, tain practices that may become prob- The other version is when you’re not a UC Davis MIND Institute talk in chiatry, neurology, we study how you experience right? What seems to happen is people lematic for them? Jon Kabat-Zinn did trying to complete a particular task Sacramento that “as our methods cognitive science, minds and brains and create in dif- just get better at that game, but no one a really good job in developing MBSR. at hand, but rather you are allowing improve, our models will completely and philosophy,” work, we quickly ferent settings—in has shown that it increases general He didn’t just put in concentration the free flow of conscious experience. change, and our current models will to name a few. see that we are a meditation room, memory capacity, for example. practices. He has open monitoring That can look an awful lot like what I look infantile.” Having been part of When we “part of, not apart a busy airport, a You don’t meditate to become an practices in there. He’s got not just just referred to, but there is a critical right brain/left brain dogma 40 years range beyond from” the world forest, an office Olympian breath follower, so we hope breath awareness and sitting, but body difference: It’s consciously engaged ago, I can attest to that. the pure study of around us. There- building—will be to find out whether there is something scan, and the sequence it’s offered in and doesn’t have the kind of negative “the brain,” we fore, in contempo- very different. The about focusing on the breath that may may correct against fixating tenden- outcomes that can occur when you’re Jha: My son, who is a big physics enter the realm rary philosophy of brain shapes and generalize to being able to focus better cies. In my lab, we take a very similar asleep at the switch. kid and appreciates all that we’ve of the mind and mind, many people is shaped by our on things other than the breath. approach. Since the networks them- learned in the long history of physics, consciousness. like to empha- bodies and our Meditation seems to be categorically selves are complex and their inter- Saron: This is where creativity comes asked whether I think we’ll know While the brain size cognition as surroundings. different in that the brain-changing relationships are equally complex, it in. You’re allowing for the emergence everything there is to know about the and the nervous something that Therefore it does and performance benefits do seem to seems unlikely that a single kind of of that unconscious intelligence I brain in 200 years. If I tell him “no,” system are part of doesn’t simply not make sense generalize. We give people an attention training would be the silver bullet. referred to earlier. You don’t cut off his response is something like “Why anatomy, the mind reside in one to talk about your test after they’ve completed a mind- access to it. That’s mind wandering are you bothering?” And yet, we do cannot be found. organ in our head. brain apart from fulness training program and they Saron: I advocate a balanced perspec- with awareness. You value the content bother, because it’s like a practice: You How it is that we And they shift the the environment it perform better than people who got tive on practice goals: There’s a whole that emerges along the way—discov- hold in mind those open questions all are conscious— emphasis using a is intimately part some other type of program. Perhaps spectrum from getting a little more ering things you didn’t know you were the time, as you continue to focus on that we experience schema known as of and the ways we mindfulness training promotes alter- focus and control of myself to achiev- looking for. It gets back to the awe I learning what you can as it presents and know—is not 4-E Cognition: interact. ations in how specific brain networks ing altered states of consciousness was talking about earlier. I encour- itself to you now. ●

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