The Nature of Mind Project explored the nature of mind through a variety of perspectives. It included a series of conversations with neuroscientists, philosophers, psychologists, and Buddhist thinkers, and delved into topics at the intersection of neuroscience, Buddhist thought, and psychology. The project culminated in August 2022 with a retreat held at Adhisthana.
Your mind is your most valuable asset and most dangerous possession. It can be amazingly creative or terrifyingly destructive. Every experience you have, or could possibly have, is mediated through your mind. The health of your mind is the health of your life.
Conversations and Meditations
Amishi Jha: Peak Mind | click to expand
A professor of psychology at the University of Miami, Dr Jha serves as the Director of Contemplative Neuroscience for the Mindfulness Research and Practice Initiative, which she co-founded in 2010. She received her Ph.D. from the University of California–Davis and postdoctoral training at the Brain Imaging and Analysis Center at Duke University. Dr. Jha’s work has been featured at NATO, the World Economic Forum, and The Pentagon. She has received coverage in the The New York Times, NPR, TIME, Forbes and more.
interview
Dr Amishi Jha in conversation with Amalavajra about owning your attention, emotional strength, and mindfulness.
Seminar
Maitreyabandhu and Amalavajra discuss Jha’s work and the role of paying attenttion.
Meditations
Note that the video above is part of a playlist – there are four guided sessions.
Bernardo Kastrup: Mind, Matter, Metaphysics | Click to expand
With a Ph.D. in Computer Engineering specializing in artificial intelligence and reconfigurable computing, Kastrup has worked as a scientist in some of the world’s foremost research laboratories, including the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) and the Philips Research Laboratories (where the “Casimir Effect” of Quantum Field Theory was discovered). He has authored many academic papers and books on philosophy and science, including More Than Allegory, Brief Peeks Beyond, and Why Materialism Is Baloney.
interview
Viryadeva interviews Kastrup about materialism, mind, and oceanic consciousness.
Seminar
Viryadeva and Danayutta explore the implications of Kastrup’s work; what is life for if we are but whirlpools in cosmic consciousness?
Meditations
Note that the video above is part of a playlist – there are five guided sessions.
Carol Bowman: Past-Life Memories | Click to expand
Internationally known author, lecturer, counselor, past life regression therapist, and pioneer in reincarnation studies, Bowman’s books, Children’s Past Lives (Bantam, 1997) and Return from Heaven (HarperCollins, 2001) are now classics in the reincarnation field, and have been published and read around the world in 22 foreign editions.
interview
Vajratara interviews Carol Bowman on past life memories.
Seminar
Satyadasa and Ksantikara in conversation about children’s past life memories.
Meditations
Note that the video above is part of a playlist – there are five guided sessions.
Iain McGilchrist: The Divided Brain | Click to expand
Former Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, where he taught literature, McGilchrist then trained in medicine and working as a psychiatrist. He is committed to the idea that the brain can be understood only by seeing it in the broadest possible context of our physical, cultural and spiritual existence.
interviews
Note for more interviews with McGilchrist, see The Divided Brain with Jnanavaca and The Making of the Western World with Maitreyabandhu.
Seminar
Jnanavaca reflects on McGilchrist’s work. Note that the coversation between Jnanavaca and Maitreyabandhu took place on the Buddhism: The Big Questions retreat.
Meditations
Note that the video above is part of a playlist – there are five guided sessions.
Paul Gilbert: The Compassionate Mind | Click to expand
Prof. Paul Gilbert OBE is a British clinical psychologist and founder of Compassion Focused Therapy. He is the author of the bestselling guide Overcoming Depression, and The Compassionate Mind.
interviews
Prof. Gilbert, in conversation with Maitreyabandhu, exploring the compassionate mind: its strengths, its enemies, and why we resist it.
Seminar
Saddhanandi and Ksantikara discuss Gilberts work on compassion and the ‘curse of the self’
Meditations
Note that the video above is part of a playlist – there are five guided sessions.
Penny Sartori: Near-Death Experiences | Click to expand
Dr Penny Sartori worked as a nurse in a British hospital for 21 years, including 17 years in Intensive Care. She has conducted unique and extensive research into the near-death experiences (NDEs) of her patients.
interviews
Dr Penny Sartori (PhD in Near-Death Experiences) in conversation with Maitreyabandhu.
Seminar
Jnanavaca and Maitreyabandhu explore the implications of Dr Sartori’s work, looking at the Buddhist vision of rebirth and the menace of nihilism.
Meditations
Note that the video above is part of a playlist – there are five guided sessions.
Talks + Retreats
talks from
Subhuti and Padmavajra
change your mind,
change the world Retreat
buddhism:
the big questions Retreat
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