Dr. Jonathan Cerna received his B.S. in Dietetics from Iowa State University in 2018, followed by an M.S. in Nutritional Sciences (2021) and Ph.D. in Neuroscience (2025) from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He currently directs the Mind-body Integration & Neurophysiological Dynamics (MIND) Laboratory. His research takes a multidisciplinary approach to investigate the neurophysiological mechanisms …
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Jay Van Bavel
Jay Van Bavel is a Professor of Psychology & Neural Science at New York University, an affiliate at the Stern School of Business in Management and Organizations, Professor at the Norwegian School of Economics, and Director of the Center for Conflict & Cooperation. He is also an Associate Editor of the Proceedings of the National …
Contemplative and Ecological Education
What if the solution to our most pressing environmental, educational, and emotional crises was hiding in plain sight—in the trees, the silence of a forest, or the stillness of our own breath? As a researcher and educator, I’ve spent years exploring how contemplative practices and nature, two ancient sources of wisdom, can come together to …
(Dis)Entanglement & Meaningful Relationships
How are human minds intimately entangled with artificial minds? What ethical considerations emerge from the deep entanglement of human and machine? What are the potential benefits?
Minds
What is intelligence? What distinguishes living minds from artificial minds?
Welcome and Opening Remarks
The 39th Mind & Life Dialogue, held in Dharamsala in 2025 under the theme “Minds, AI, and Ethics,” brought together scientists, philosophers, contemplatives, and educators to explore how artificial intelligence reshapes our understanding of consciousness, intelligence, and compassion. Opening remarks recalled His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s lifelong mission to bridge modern science with Buddhist wisdom, …
Bridging Science and Buddhism: The Dalai Lama’s 100 Year Vision
It was a starlit winter evening in southern India as we barreled down a rural road through a Tibetan settlement village in our tuk-tuk, a three-wheeled motorized taxi. The sputter of the motor was interrupted only by the joyful laughter of our Tibetan Buddhist monastic friends as they raced us in their own tuk-tuk on …
Continue reading “Bridging Science and Buddhism: The Dalai Lama’s 100 Year Vision”
Embodiment and Intersubjectivity: Empirical and Phenomenological Approaches, Pt 1
Two themes that have become prominent in studies of consciousness and cognition: embodiment and intersubjectivity. We will begin by discussing recent work in embodied cognition, informed by both science and philosophical phenomenology.
Results of the Shamatha Project
We will explore recent findings from our work at this interface between contemplative and research traditions. Together with Alan Wallace and three-dozen collaborating researchers, we are investigating how attentional, emotional and physiological processes change over the course of three months of intensive training in meditative quiescence and emotional balance, in a study known as “The Shamatha Project.”
Attention-Emotion Interface, Pt 2
Can meditation practice increase our capacity to understand the primary role of emotion in cognition and attention?
