Explorations of the Crossroads between Neuroscience and Buddhist Meditation
| Date | January 12-19, 2008 |
|---|---|
| Time | 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM |
| Location | Namgyal Monastery, Ithaca, NY |
| Instructors | Deana Bodnar |
| Cost | $55 each Saturday, or $110 total (see details below) |
| Registration | Pre-registration required, see details below |
| Prerequisites | None. These teachings are suitable for both beginning and advanced students. |
During the past decade there has been considerable research on the benefits of meditation practices on physical and mental health. At the same time, there has been wealth of research on the neurobiology of addictions, emotions, and social cognition. In the presentations outlined below, we will examine the intersection between research in western neuroscience and Buddhist meditation practices. The primary goal is to provide participants with a practical understanding of neural functioning and how this relates to meditation practice. We will examine neural basis of behavior related to various areas of experience including emotions, memory, and social relationships. Each session will provide participants with a basic understanding of the neural structures and processes related to an area of discussion, how these likely relate to different aspects of meditation practice and information on the current research available on effects of meditation. No prior knowledge of neuroscience or Buddhism is required.
Deana Bodnar is a former researcher in neuroscience with a PhD in Neurobiology from UC Berkeley. During her career in neuroscience her research focused the neural encoding of animal communication signals. In her second career as a social worker, Deana routinely reads research literature on clinical interventions and the neural basis of behaviors related to health, mental health and substance abuse.
Location
Aurora Street House, Namgyal Monastery, Ithaca, NY (address and directions.)
Cost
The cost for each Saturday Teaching is $55, or $110 Total.
Senior Discount
15 percent
Registration
To register, please contact Namgyal with your full name, address, telephone number, and email (optional).
Payment
Please make your personal check, money order, or bank cashier's check payable to “Namgyal Monastery” and send to our mailing address.
For payment by credit card, please register first and then process your payment through the “Donate to Namgyal Ithaca” link on our Supporting Namgyal page. In the Comments field of the Payment Form, enter the name of the event for which you are paying.
Schedule of Activities
Saturday 1/12
1:00 - 2:45 PM: The Basics of Neurobiology and Research on Meditation Practices
*Overview of neural structure, processing and function at the cellular level
*Relationship to basic meditation techniques: mindfulness, mind training, etc.
*Overview of research on benefits of meditations
2:45 - 3:00 PM: Tea Break
3:00 - 5:00 PM: Emotions, Memory, Mood and Affect
*Neural processing of positive and negative emotions
*Roles of implicit and explicit memory in processing and working with emotion *Research on using meditation to treat negative mood and emotion
Saturday 1/19
1:00 - 2:45 PM: Attachment, Relationships and Social Cognition
*Neural structure and processing related to attachment, social relationships and self
*Research on effects of meditation and mind training related to empathy and compassion
2:45 - 3:00 PM: Tea Break
3:00 - 4:00 PM: Motivational and Addiction Systems
*Basics of neural structures related to core motivational / behavioral systems *Neural processing / conditioning and addictions
*Research on using meditation to treat addictions
4:00 - 5:00 PM: Sensory and Cognitive Processing
*Basics of cortical structures involved in sensory and cognitive processing *Research on effects of imagination / visualization