Dharma Lab

Dharma Lab
  • 0,0 (0)
  • SCIENZE
  • OGNI SETTIMANA

Modern neuroscience meets ancient contemplative wisdom, with Dr. Richard Davidson and Dr. Cortland Dahl dharmalabco.substack.com

  1. DL Ep.22: The Neuroscience of “Aha” Moments

    5 GG FA

    DL Ep.22: The Neuroscience of “Aha” Moments

    We’ve all had moments when something suddenly clicks. A realization that doesn’t arrive gradually, but all at once. Cort remembers walking out of a movie theater on a humid summer night after seeing Schindler’s List, suddenly knowing what his life should be about. Richie recalls preparing for a talk that sparked an entirely new way of thinking about neuroplasticity and the social brain. In this episode, we explore what those “aha” moments really are, why they feel so emotionally charged, and how they can reshape the course of our lives. Drawing on a fascinating neuroscience study, we look at what happens in the brain when insight arises—and why these moments are remembered so vividly days later. We also reflect on how insight and wisdom once sat at the center of human flourishing—from Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle to Buddhist psychology—yet are largely absent from modern models of wellbeing. In fact, as Richie points out: “No current model of psychological well-being that is in the psychological research literature includes insight, except for the model that we’ve developed.” Dr. Richard Davidson, Dharma Lab Ep.22, speaking about The Healthy Minds Framework This leads to a deeper question we explore together: What if insight isn’t rare…but simply unnoticed, forgotten, or unsupported in daily life? Episode Highlights * Why what we feed our minds matters: the raw materials of insight come from the conversations we have, what we watch and read…but only if we create space to digest * How we likely have many insights each day but lose them in distraction; and how contemplative practice acts like a glass enclosure around a candle, helping us notice, remember, and stabilize insights before they flicker out * Why psychedelics are often effective at igniting insight, but not always at helping it become a durable way of seeing * Why insight is deeply emotional, not just intellectual * The difference between a fleeting epiphany and a lasting shift in how we experience life If you enjoy these topics, check out our new book Born to Flourish, available for pre-order (arrives March 2026). Related Posts From the Archives: Reference Notes: Becker, M., Sommer, T., & Cabeza, R. (2025). Insight predicts subsequent memory via cortical representational change and hippocampal activity. Nature Communications, 16, 4341. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-59355-4 The Healthy Minds framework Podcast Chapter List 00:00 – We Likely Have Many Insights but Don’t Remember ThemThe “candle in a hurricane” metaphor and why awareness matters 00:01 – A New Paper on Insight & WisdomWhy this study immediately caught our attention 01:25 – Cort’s Life-Changing Epiphany After Schindler’s ListCompassion, meaning, and a sudden shift in perspective 03:18 – What an “Aha” Moment Feels LikeSuddenness, emotion, and deep certainty 04:17 – Why Insight Is Deeply EmotionalWhat contemplative traditions have always known 05:01 – Richie’s Scientific Epiphany at UW–MadisonNeuroplasticity, sociology, and a radical shift in thinking 09:02 – Insight as an Energizing ForceWhy these moments feel alive and motivating 09:16 – Meditation & Non-Dual AwarenessThe flame that illuminates itself 10:50 – Why Insight Leaves Lasting MemoriesEmotion, memory, and meaning 11:30 – Insight in Ancient PhilosophySocrates, Plato, Aristotle—and what we’ve lost today 13:47 – The Blind Spot in Modern Wellbeing ModelsWhy insight is missing from psychology 15:13 – Why Insight Is Hard to Study ScientificallySuddenness, unpredictability, and experimental challenges 16:42 – The Mooney Images Experiment ExplainedHow scientists trigger “aha” moments in the lab 18:28 – Insight Predicts Memory Days LaterWhy recognizing meaning changes the brain 20:50 – The Brain During InsightAmygdala, hippocampus, and emotional salience 23:25 – Why We Remember What MattersEmotion as the gateway to memory 26:21 – Meditation, Memory Reconsolidation & InsightHow inner landscapes change 28:21 – Why Insights Usually FadeEpiphany vs. memory of epiphany 28:56 – The Glass Enclosure Around the CandleHow meditation helps insights last 30:21 – Psychedelics & InsightPowerful sparks, fragile integration 31:50 – Can Insight Become a Trait?From episodic moments to lasting change 33:03 – The Dog in the Mooney ImageWhy once you see it, you can’t unsee it 34:24 – Awe as a Trainable StateBeyond episodic wonder 36:16 – What We Feed the Mind MattersWhy insight depends on raw materials 38:01 – Creating Space to Digest ExperienceWhy insight arises when attention relaxes 39:03 – Why Most Insights Go UnnoticedReturning to the hurricane metaphor 40:09 – Curiosity as the Gateway to InsightBecoming a student of your own mind 41:41 – Using Simple Affordances to RememberThe finger counter as an insight cue This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dharmalabco.substack.com/subscribe

    43 min

  2. 13 GEN

    DL Ep.21: The Neuroscience of Conscious Habits

    On today’s episode of Dharma Lab, we take a closer look at the mechanics of healthy habit formation. Building on a framework we’ve outlined in previous posts—inspiration, intention, action, and repetition—we explore why each step matters from a scientific perspective, and how the process tends to break down in real life. Discussion Highlights: * How monks we encountered in Nepal had trained habits by way of intense practice * Why exceptional capacities are built through training and practice, not innate talent * How small, repeatable actions strengthen the executive network so we are “in the driver’s seat” of our mind, emotions, and impulses * The distinction between unconscious habits and consciously trained habits * A neuroscience-informed framework for habit formation: inspiration, intention, action, and repetition * Where habits most often break down, and how to use moments of everyday life as affordances for practice * Malcolm Gladwell’s framework for exceptional performance: Practice, Practice, Practice, and starting at small levels daily to achieve a compounding rate * How Flourishing is contagious If you enjoy this topic, there will a whole chapter devoted to it in our upcoming book Born to Flourish (available for pre-order now, arriving March 2026). We will deep dive into the 4 stages of developing conscious habits - inspiration, intention, action, repetition. A framework as a recipe to develop a conscious habit. Recent Posts: · From the Archives: Podcast Chapter List: 00:00 – Intro: The “Tomorrow” Trap of ProcrastinationWhy inspiration so often gets postponed — and how habits stall before they begin 02:20 – What Meditation Masters & Peak Performers Have in CommonPractice, not talent: how extraordinary people are trained, not born 04:55 – How Small Daily Practices Change the BrainNeuroscience shows even 5 minutes a day can create measurable change 06:10 – What Are “Conscious Habits”?The difference between automatic habits and habits built with awareness 08:45 – The Four Stages of Building HabitsInspiration → Intention → Action → Repetition (a science-backed framework) 10:20 – Inspiration: Finding the Spark That Sustains ChangeWhy inspiration must be renewed — not assumed 13:10 – Intention: Turning Vision Into a Clear PlanWhy vague goals fail and specificity matters for habit formation 16:00 – Action: Why Small Steps Beat Big PlansLetting go of grandiosity and taking one doable step now 18:50 – Repetition: How Habits Rewire the Brain“Neurons that fire together wire together” — the science of consistency 22:05 – Why Habits Often Collapse (Even When We Care)Busyness, breaks in routine, and the missing role of inspiration 24:40 – Using Everyday Life as an Affordance for PracticeHow brushing your teeth or doing chores can become training moments 27:10 – The Neuroscience of Flourishing as a SkillWhy wellbeing isn’t circumstantial — it’s trainable 30:00 – From Autopilot to the Driver’s Seat of the MindHow conscious habits strengthen emotional regulation and awareness 33:20 – Final Reflections: Practicing Wisely, Not Forcing ChangeWhy flourishing grows through patience, repetition, and care This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dharmalabco.substack.com/subscribe

    36 min

  3. 6 GEN

    DL Ep. 20: Why Willpower Isn’t Enough - The Neuroscience of Sustainable Change

    REMINDER: Live Q&A with Richie and Cort TODAY at 8pm ET on Substack. Over the next two weeks on Dharma Lab, we’ll be exploring the science and practice of meaningful change—why it so often breaks down, and how small, intentional habits can gradually reshape how we live. In today’s episode, we explore a key insight from neuroscience and psychology: our behavior is shaped less by willpower than by the affordances around us—the cues, routines, relationships, and environments that quietly invite certain actions while discouraging others. Rather than asking why we “lack discipline,” we look at how everyday contexts—from our physical surroundings to the people we spend time with—continually nudge our habits, often outside of awareness. When those affordances stay the same, even the strongest resolutions tend to fade. We also explore a more hopeful possibility: that working with affordances doesn’t have to feel rigid or effortful. Approached with curiosity, it can be creative—even fun. Experimenting with small changes, playful rituals, and supportive friendships can turn habit-building from a struggle into something that feels alive and sustainable. Next week, we’ll continue the conversation: * discussing conscious habits, and * the four steps make flourishing a habit: Inspiration, Intention, Action, and Repetition. You can read more about these in our recent post, as well in our upcoming book Born to Flourish (available for pre-order now, arriving March 2026). Recent Posts: Podcast Chapter List: 00:00 – Approaching New Habits with Curiosity and CreativityWhy motivation fades, even when intentions are sincere — and why willpower alone isn’t enough. 01:00 – Introducing Dharma Lab & the Science of Habit ChangeDr. Richard Davidson and Dr. Cortland Dahl on the neuroscience and contemplative science of lasting behavior change. 02:35 – A Daily Ritual for Motivation (Bodhicitta Practice)Why small rituals help anchor habits — and why remembering to begin is often the hardest part. 04:15 – The Brain Is Sensitive to ContextHow habits are shaped less by intention and more by environment. 05:20 – What Are “Affordances” in Neuroscience?Why cues in your environment quietly drive behavior — often outside awareness. 06:45 – Why Changing Intention Isn’t EnoughWhy resolutions fail when the environment stays the same. 07:40 – Causes and Conditions: A Buddhist Psychology ViewWhy behavior change depends on assembling the right conditions, not forcing outcomes. 09:00 – Practical Example: Supporting Healthy EatingHow what we listen to, read, and talk about reinforces or undermines habits. 10:00 – Small Steps Repeated Many TimesWhy modest, sustainable habits outperform dramatic transformations. 11:20 – The “Too Much, Too Fast” ProblemWhy ambitious resolutions (like 45-minute meditations) rarely last. 12:45 – Designing a Baseline You Can SustainHow to choose habits that are “almost too easy” — and why that works. 14:00 – Planning for Lapses (The Road Goes Up and Down)Why setbacks are not failure — and how awareness means the practice is working. 15:30 – Working with Low Motivation & the DipWhy the real practice happens when motivation disappears. 16:00 – Impermanence & MotivationWhy planning for fluctuating motivation is the wise approach. 17:20 – Three Core Principles for Lasting Habits * Create supportive conditions * Take small, repeatable steps * Plan for difficulty and setbacks 18:20 – Curiosity, Patience, and Creative Habit DesignWhy approaching change with lightness and curiosity makes it sustainable. 19:50 – Everyday Life as PracticeHow meals, exercise, chores, and daily routines can become training for awareness and compassion. 22:10 – Turning Mundane Activities into MindfulnessWhy boredom itself can become interesting — and transformative. 24:10 – Feeding the Mind: What We Consume Shapes HabitsHow reading, listening, and information diets support long-term change. 25:30 – The Power of Community & Social SupportWhy habits rarely last without relationships that reinforce them. 27:15 – Closing Reflections & What’s Next on Dharma LabPreview of upcoming episodes and the habit-change model from Born to Flourish. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dharmalabco.substack.com/subscribe

    28 min
  4. Recording of AMA #4 with Dr. Richie Davidson and Dr. Cortland Dahl

    2 GEN

    Recording of AMA #4 with Dr. Richie Davidson and Dr. Cortland Dahl

    This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit dharmalabco.substack.com Thank you to those who tuned into our 4th live video with Dr. Richard Davidson and Dr. Cortland Dahl! Join us for our next live AMA on Tuesday, Jan 6 at 8pm ET / 7pm CT. The discussion covered a lot of ground not limited to: Brain activity during meditation, Expectations / Non-attachment, Neuroscience of desire, Journaling + Meditation, Meditation dosage…

    4 min
  5. DL Ep. 19: The Science of Self-Reflection

    30/12/2025

    DL Ep. 19: The Science of Self-Reflection

    At certain moments in life — the end of a day, the completion of a project, or the turn of a year — we naturally begin to reflect. But without intention, self-reflection can quietly slide into rumination, self-judgment, and stress. In this episode of Dharma Lab, we explore the science of self-reflection: why it’s such a uniquely human capacity, how it supports learning, empathy, and wellbeing — and why it so often goes off the rails. Drawing on neuroscience, contemplative practice, and lived experience, we explore how self-reflection can be guided by intention rather than left on automatic — and how moments of awareness restore the capacity to steer the mind. Episode Highlights: In this conversation, we explore: * Why self-reflection is one of the most unique — and potentially troublesome — capacities of the human mind * How the prefrontal cortex enables “mental time travel” into the past and future * The difference between healthy reflection and toxic rumination * How stress impairs intentionality and leaves the mind running on autopilot * Why curiosity and intention are key ingredients in constructive self-reflection * The role of meta-awareness in restoring choice and flexibility * How perspective-taking supports empathy and compassion * Why self-reflection is central to psychotherapy, learning, and creativity * How analytical meditation trains reflection without losing awareness * Simple ways to practice healthy self-reflection in daily life In the coming weeks, we’ll continue exploring how reflection, when held skillfully, can begin to shape the habits and patterns that guide our lives. We’d love to hear from you: What are ways you’ve learned and grown over the past year? What methods help you engage in self-reflection in a positive way? Warmly, Cort + Richie As you reflect on the year, consider our recent post on turning resolutions into habits: From the Archives: Podcast Chapter List: 00:00 — Why Self-Reflection Is Uniquely HumanHumans’ unparalleled capacity for self-reflection — and how it can help or harm us. 01:53 — Natural Moments of ReflectionWhy reflection arises at transitions: days, projects, and years. 02:23 — When Self-Reflection Goes Off the RailsHow reflection turns into self-judgment, negativity, and rumination. 03:27 — The Neuroscience of Mental Time TravelThe prefrontal cortex and our ability to reflect on the past and imagine the future. 05:35 — When Reflection Becomes RuminationHow negative reflection hijacks the mind. 06:11 — The Salience Network and Emotional “Charge”Why rumination activates threat circuitry in the brain and body. 07:30 — Self-Reflection as an Umbrella TermWhy healthy and toxic reflection can feel radically different. 09:23 — Intentionality: The Missing IngredientHow lack of intention leads to runaway mental loops. 10:48 — Curiosity vs. Judgment in Self-InquiryWhat distinguishes healthy reflection from toxic rumination. 12:03 — Stress, the Prefrontal Cortex, and Habitual MindWhy stress shuts down intentional control. 13:10 — The Sailboat Without a RudderA metaphor for the mind on autopilot. 14:11 — Meta-Awareness: Finding the RudderWhy awareness of awareness is the starting point. 15:16 — Everyday Examples of Meta-AwarenessReading, driving, and the moment we “wake up.” 17:05 — Flexibility and the ‘Eye of the Storm’What continuous meta-awareness feels like in daily life. 18:43 — Expanding the Aperture of AwarenessHow presence widens experience rather than narrowing it. 20:46 — Why Meta-Awareness Enables ChangeWhy we can’t change the mind without knowing what it’s doing. 22:15 — The Benefits of Healthy Self-ReflectionWhy reflection is central to therapy, recovery, and growth. 23:42 — Perspective-Taking and EmpathyHow reflection helps us see beyond our own viewpoint. 24:48 — Training Empathy Through ReflectionCort’s retreat experience and learning to take other perspectives. 28:31 — Why the World Needs This Skill NowSelf-reflection, polarization, and social division. 29:06 — Building on Innate CapacitiesWhy these qualities are already within us. 29:33 — Small Moments, Not RetreatsHow to practice reflection in everyday life. 30:12 — Curiosity as a Driving ForceBecoming a student of your own mind. 31:13 — Analytical Meditation and the Dalai LamaIntentional self-reflection as a contemplative practice. 33:58 — Combining Awareness and ReflectionWhy this combination is “magical” for daily life. 34:36 — Closing Reflections and A Question for YouInviting healthy reflection at year’s end: “What have I learned this year? How have I grown?” This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dharmalabco.substack.com/subscribe

    36 min
  6. DL Ep. 18: The Neuroscience of Giving

    23/12/2025

    DL Ep. 18: The Neuroscience of Giving

    In this episode of Dharma Lab, we explore the neuroscience and contemplative practice of what it means to truly give. Recorded in the middle of the holiday season, our conversation begins with a familiar arc many of us recognize: the childhood excitement of receiving, and the gradual (and sometimes surprising) shift toward the deeper satisfaction of giving. Together, we explore what’s really happening beneath that shift, psychologically, biologically, and experientially. Drawing on neuroscience, Buddhist contemplative traditions, and lived experience, we discuss: * Why giving leads to more sustained well-being than receiving * How generosity cultivates an inner sense of abundance rather than scarcity * What the brain reveals about extraordinary altruists, and their ability to detect suffering * How generosity is a trainable capacity * How small, everyday acts — including giving your full attention — can become powerful micro-practices Discussion Highlights From Getting to Giving As we grow older, the thrill of receiving often fades, while the joy of giving deepens. Neuroscience helps explain why: the brain rapidly adapts to getting what we want, returning us to baseline, while the “warm glow” of giving tends to linger. Giving and the Brain Across many studies, people instructed to spend money on others consistently report greater and longer-lasting increases in happiness than those who spend the same amount on themselves. We also discuss how our brains are prediction machines, and receiving tends to meet expectations and quickly normalizes; whereas giving often involves situations with a higher discrepancy between what you predict and what actually happens. Extraordinary Altruists and the Detection of Suffering We explore research on “extraordinary altruists” — people who donate a kidney to a stranger — who show heightened sensitivity in brain systems involved in detecting suffering. Compassion, it turns out, may begin less with moral reasoning and more with perception. In contrast, psychopathy appears to involve reduced sensitivity to others’ suffering — not necessarily cruelty, but a kind of blindness. This comparison reframes generosity not as virtue versus vice, but as a capacity that exists along a spectrum and can be cultivated. Generosity as an Inner State In Buddhist psychology, generosity is defined less by outward action than by an inner sense of abundance. Fixation on getting reinforces scarcity; giving evokes the feeling that there is enough to share. That inner shift may be one reason generosity is so nourishing. The Gift of Attention One of the simplest and most powerful forms of giving is attention. Putting the phone away. Listening without planning a response. Being fully present, even briefly. Attention communicates care — and people feel it as a gift. Micro-Practices of Giving Generosity doesn’t require dramatic acts. We explore small, repeatable practices: doing routine tasks as acts of service, offering presence in everyday interactions, reframing ordinary moments as opportunities to give. Over time, these micro-practices can turn generosity from a fleeting state into a stable trait. Counterintuitive Practices: Tonglen We also discuss tonglen, the Tibetan practice of breathing in others’ suffering and breathing out care. Though counterintuitive, practitioners often report feeling stronger, less fearful, and more abundant. Rather than depleting us, generosity appears to dissolve deep fears of inner poverty. Flourishing Is Contagious When we cultivate generosity — even briefly — it changes how we show up. Those changes ripple outward, influencing relationships, families, and communities. As we like to say: flourishing is infectious. A Simple Invitation Rather than asking how much you can give, we invite a quieter question: Where can generosity enter your day — through attention, presence, or small acts of care? Warmly,Cort & Richie Podcast Chapter List 00:00 – Opening reflections: from receiving to giving01:45 – Childhood memories and the holiday shift toward generosity03:15 – Why giving feels more nourishing than getting05:10 – Abundance vs. scarcity as inner states07:00 – Giving as a contemplative practice09:10 – Flourishing is contagious11:00 – Micro-practices and everyday generosity12:40 – Attention as a gift14:20 – Research on giving and sustained well-being17:00 – A personal story of generosity and the “warm glow”20:00 – Prediction, expectation, and why pleasure fades22:15 – Tonglen: the counterintuitive power of giving25:30 – Detecting suffering and compassion27:00 – Extraordinary altruists and amygdala sensitivity29:30 – Psychopathy, blindness to suffering, and compassion32:00 – Plasticity: generosity as a trainable capacity34:30 – Compassion without overwhelm37:00 – Rituals of giving in daily life39:30 – Imagination and generosity practices 41:30 – Dedication and carrying generosity into the world42:30 – Closing reflections This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dharmalabco.substack.com/subscribe

    43 min
  7. DL Ep. 17: Trauma, Memory, and the Brain's Capacity to Change

    16/12/2025

    DL Ep. 17: Trauma, Memory, and the Brain's Capacity to Change

    REMINDER: Live Q&A with Richie and Cort TODAY at 7pm ET on Substack. Why do certain memories feel like they still live in our bodies years after they happened? And why do some difficult experiences become turning points for growth while others leave us feeling stuck? In this episode, we explore the neuroscience of trauma and the contemplative tools that help us reshape old emotional patterns. A central part of our discussion is the role of plasticity in both trauma and healing: “Trauma wouldn’t happen if there wasn’t plasticity. The same quality that allows experience to wound us also allows us to heal.” We look at how emotional memories are encoded in the brain, why they can resurface with such force, and how memory reconsolidation creates a natural opening for change each time a memory returns. We also share a powerful experience from a recent meditation retreat, where a long buried emotional imprint surfaced and released through simple, spacious awareness. Again and again, we come back to one insight:Our emotional past is not fixed.Each time we remember an experience, the mind updates it. The state of our mind and body in that moment influences how it is stored again. Meditation helps create the conditions for this shift. A calm and open nervous system changes how old patterns settle in the body. Presence and care make the difference between a memory that stays tight and one that begins to loosen. In this episode we explore: * Why trauma exists on a spectrum and why we are more resilient than we often believe * How emotional memories form and how sensation, context, and meaning become linked * The science of reconsolidation and why remembering a memory makes it editable * How meditation supports emotional release and re-patterning * What happens in the hippocampus and amygdala during emotional release * Simple practices that help us reset between activities or at the end of a day * How offering ourselves the same caring presence we offer others can shift deep patterns A final takeaway: Reconsolidation shows that nothing in our emotional history is final. Each encounter with the past becomes a chance to update it. When a memory returns in a calmer mind, it settles differently. Warmly, Cort + Richie Podcast Chapter List 00:00 Why memories change every time we recall them 01:21 Opening greetings & Center for Healthy Minds 02:34 Introducing today’s topic: trauma & old baggage 03:00 How neuroscience defines trauma 04:03 Trauma, neuroplasticity, and brain change 05:40 Trauma as a spectrum, not a binary 07:44 Innate resilience and basic goodness 09:11 When difficult experiences become patterns 10:55 PTSD vs. post-traumatic growth 11:52 Personal stories of challenge and insight 12:58 Why some adversity overwhelms us — and some transforms us 13:32 Growth mindset & the belief that change is possible 15:33 Why we get “stuck” with old emotional residue 16:07 Cort’s retreat experience: when old pain resurfaces 17:20 Open awareness and effortless presence 18:00 Memories, emotion, and bodily release 19:08 What’s happening in the brain during emotional release 20:06 Consolidation vs. reconsolidation 22:03 The hippocampus and encoding emotional experience 23:53 Retrieval, reconsolidation, and the chance to reshape memory 25:36 Why memory is always an interpretation 27:08 Re-encoding old memories in a calm body 28:40 How meditation creates a new emotional context 29:38 Care + presence: the healing alchemy 30:52 Can reconsolidation be disrupted entirely? 32:22 What animal research shows about memory deletion 33:00 Emotional memory without emotional charge 34:06 How meditation alters hippocampus–amygdala pathways 36:00 Updating anxiety and old narratives through practice 37:05 Practical tools: daily resets 38:30 Micro-pauses between activities 39:33 Mealtime gratitude as nervous system reset 40:53 Finding small spaces for awareness in busy lives 41:33 Shifting from “doing” to “being” 42:00 Final reflections & gratitude This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dharmalabco.substack.com/subscribe

    43 min
  8. DL Ep. 16: Mingyur Rinpoche - Meditation is Easier Than You Think

    12/12/2025

    DL Ep. 16: Mingyur Rinpoche - Meditation is Easier Than You Think

    Mingyur Rinpoche has spent his life immersed in meditation practice — beginning a three-year retreat at 13, and eventually logging more than 50,000 hours of formal training. He was also a central participant in some of the earliest research Richie conducted on advanced meditators, work that helped open the door to much of the scientific exploration of meditation that followed. Yet despite this extraordinary background, the way he teaches is remarkably simple and down-to-earth. In this week’s Dharma Lab conversation, we look at one of the biggest misconceptions people bring to meditation: that it should feel calm or peaceful, and that difficulty means something is going wrong. Episode Highlights * Why early meditation often feels harder — and why that’s actually progress * The monsoon river: a powerful metaphor for understanding the mind * The “road to Lhasa”: how ups and downs both deepen practice * What science shows about the first four weeks of meditation * Why even 4–5 minutes a day meaningfully changes the brain and body * How to stop fighting distractions and use them as support * Mingyur Rinpoche’s “anywhere, anytime” approach to awareness * How difficult emotions become some of the most transformative moments * A gentler, lighter, more playful way to practice A conversation filled with warmth Sitting with Mingyur Rinpoche always leaves us lighter. There is a quality of ease in the way he teaches — a reminder that meditation isn’t about achieving particular states, but about recognizing the awareness that’s present in every one of them. We’re grateful to share this conversation and hope it offers a moment of spaciousness in your week. Warmly, Cort + Richie REMINDER: Join us for our next Ask Me Anything live with Cort and Richie on Tuesday, December 16 @7pm Eastern Time. Please send us your questions in advance! Chapter List 00:00 – Learning from difficulty: Why “down moments” matter01:22 – Introducing Mingyur Rinpoche: A lifetime of meditation03:26 – Why Rinpoche inspires Dharma Lab04:15 – Setting intention: A short compassion micro-practice06:42 – “I’m bad at meditating”: The common misconception07:33 – Rinpoche: Meditation is easier than you think08:40 – The myth of “empty mind”09:34 – When practice feels worse before it feels better10:31 – The “waterfall experience” explained11:03 – Scientific data: Why anxiety rises in week one12:03 – How Richie measures this in studies13:00 – Even 4–5 minutes a day changes the brain14:09 – Biological markers & inflammation15:07 – Cort’s early struggles with practice15:31 – The monsoon river metaphor: clarity reveals the mind17:05 – Using everything as support for awareness18:25 – The road to Lhasa: Ups and downs in meditation20:01 – Why down periods help us grow21:20 – Two categories of meditation experience22:25 – How emotional difficulty becomes insight23:59 – Awareness shifts, not experience24:58 – States vs. traits in meditation26:03 – How awareness becomes more spontaneous over time26:18 – Practical tips for everyday practice27:06 – Rinpoche: How we learn from obstacles28:08 – Connecting with the “background of mind”29:10 – Richie: Bringing compassion into busy daily life30:59 – Cort: Using transitions as practice cues33:02 – Anytime, anywhere meditation34:23 – Final thoughts from Rinpoche34:44 – Closing gratitude This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dharmalabco.substack.com/subscribe

    35 min
Elenco completo (25)

Descrizione

Modern neuroscience meets ancient contemplative wisdom, with Dr. Richard Davidson and Dr. Cortland Dahl dharmalabco.substack.com

Informazioni

  • Creatore
    Dharma Lab
  • Anni di attività
    2025 - 2026
  • Puntate
    25
  • Classificazione
    Contenuti adatti a tutti
  • Copyright
    © Dharma Lab, LLC TM
  • Sito web del podcast
    Dharma Lab
  • Fornitore

Potrebbero piacerti anche…