Category: Neuro-Science

Gross National Happiness Conference Panel One: How do you govern for Happiness?

How do you measure and govern for happiness? Harvard Divinity School hosted an international conference on April 13, 2019, inspired by the Gross National Happiness policies of the Kingdom of Bhutan. During this conference, academics, practitioners, politicians, corporate leaders and spiritual leaders sought answers to the question of universal happiness. This panel covered the Bhutanese statecraft on Economics and the Spirit of GNH. Panelists included Dasho Karma Tshiteem, Professor Sophus Reinert, Professor Wolfgang Drechsler, and Professor John Helliwell.

Decoding the Brain

How does the brain retrieve memories, articulate words, and focus attention? Recent advances have provided a newfound ability to decipher, sharpen, and adjust electrical signals relevant to speech, attention, memory and emotion. Join Brian Greene and leading neuroscientists György Buzsáki, Edward Chang, Michael Halassa, Michael Kahana and Helen Mayberg for a thrilling exploration of how we’re learning to read and manipulate the mind. The Kavli Prize recognizes scientists for their seminal advances in astrophysics, nanoscience, and neuroscience – topics covered in the series “The Big, the Small, and the Complex.” This series is sponsored by The Kavli Foundation and The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters.

The Art and Science of Meditation

What is Meditation? How do I Meditate? What are the different types and schools of Meditation? I have difficulty sitting still for even 5 minutes – how can I Meditate? What does it do for me and how can it help in my life? What happens to my brain in Meditation? Will my mind transform through Meditation? How far can I go with Meditation? Is Meditation only for mystical or religious people or can anyone do it? Universal Quest founder, teacher and filmmaker Raja Choudhury, Dr. Karan Singh, Brahmachari Prasanna Swaroopa, Monish Verma and other Guests explore this complex subject at the india International Centre on 1st November 2015

Bob Roth and David Lynch ‘Strength in Stillness: The Power of Transcendental Meditation’

Every day we face a growing epidemic of stress that is damaging to our physical and emotional health. While there is no one single cure, a simple practice dramatically changes how we respond to stress and life’s challenges: the Transcendental Meditation technique. Bob Roth, a world authority on Transcendental Meditation for forty-five years, joins us to present wisdom from his book Strength In Stillness: The Power of Transcendental Meditation. He is joined onstage by Oscar-nominated filmmaker David Lynch, founder of the David Lynch Foundation for Consciousness-Based Education and World Peace. Together they outline meditation’s scientifically proven benefits—improved focus, sleep, resilience, creativity, and memory to name a few—and demonstrate how this five-thousand-year-old technique can have a clear and direct impact on our very modern problems. They highlight the three distinct types of meditation—focused attention, open monitoring, and self-transcending—and showcase the evidence that the third, Transcendental Meditation, is the most effective and efficient way to reduce stress, access inner power, and build resilience. Join Roth and Lynch for a simple, practical, and straightforward guide to the healing and stress-reducing potential of Transcendental Meditation.

Bob Roth is one of the most experienced and sought-after meditation teachers in the world, with 45 years experience teaching Transcendental Meditation to billionaire CEOs, Hollywood celebrities, combat-scarred veterans, and inner-city youth. He currently serves as the CEO of the David Lynch Foundation, and also directs the Center for Leadership Performance. Bob is the host of the SiriusXM radio show, Success Without Stress, and speaks frequently about the science of meditation to industry leaders at such gatherings as Google Zeitgeist, Aspen Ideas Festival, Wisdom2.0, and Summit.

Three-time Oscar-nominated director David Lynch is among the leading filmmakers of our era. From the early seventies to the present day, Lynch’s popular and critically acclaimed film projects, which include Eraserhead, The Elephant Man, Wild at Heart, Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive, INLAND EMPIRE, and Twin Peaks are internationally considered to have broken down the wall between art-house cinema and Hollywood moviemaking. He is founder and chairman of the Board of Trustees of the David Lynch Foundation for Consciousness-Based Education and World Peace.

This CIA Document Literally Explains Time Travel (practical steps included)

This is one of the most interesting reads I’ve come across. It’s rather complex and takes a while to digest but it’s 100% worth it. It’s an official declassified CIA document and a terrific analysis of consciousness and beyond – known as the Gateway Process. While it’s an older document and declassified for a while now, the fact that modern developments in science, quantum physics, psychedelics, and neurobiology confirm what’s written within those pages is nothing short of outstanding. It explains consciousness in a profound and analytical way and merges knowledge from mystics from Hindu, Buddhist, and Tibetan cultures to contemporary scientific knowledge of Planck distance, Einstein’s theory of relativity, and the works of Nils Bohr. The cosmic spiral & torus is everything, and everything is one. It seems as though individual consciousness is pulled from the collective consciousness using the frequency/vibrations of the being. This applies to humans, whales, fungus, and amoeba. Mystics of past and present including all ancient religions understood these concepts thousands of years ago. Still, it takes much to open the minds of the most pragmatic, self-conscious, and uptight people.

Dr. Robert Sapolsky: Science of Stress, Testosterone & Free Will | Huberman Lab Podcast #35

 

In this episode, I interview Dr. Robert Sapolsky, Ph.D., Professor of Biology, Neurology & Neurosurgery at Stanford University. We discuss stress, what defines short-term versus long-term stress, and how stress can be beneficial or detrimental, depending on the context. We also discuss stress mitigation and how our sense of control over stress mitigation techniques, including exercise, determine health outcomes. Dr. Sapolsky explains some of the key effects of the hormone testosterone — how it can amplify pre-existing tendencies for aggression or sexual behavior, but that it does not produce those behaviors per se. He also explains how testosterone impacts our social hierarchies, sense of confidence, and willingness to embrace challenges of different kinds. He also explains how our behaviors and perceptions shape testosterone levels. And we discuss estrogen and the powerful role it plays in brain development, health and longevity. Finally, we discuss free will, what it means to have free will, and if we have any free will, including how knowledge alone might allow us to make better decisions for ourselves and society.