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Jan 31, 2024

"The brain is neither immutable nor static but continuously remodeled by the lives we lead." --Richard J. Davidson

How Mindfulness Changes the Emotional Life of our Brains

"Why is it that some people are more vulnerable to life's slings and arrows and others more resilient?" This question has propelled Dr. Richard J. Davidson of University of Wisconsin-Madison along a unique journey that spans hundreds of research articles and multiple books on emotions, mindfulness, and the brain. In 1992, another question directed his trajectory further -- the Dalai Lama asked him, "Why can't you use the same tools of modern neuroscience to study kindness and to study compassion in addition to studying anxiety and fear and depression and stress?" From distractibility to loneliness, the effects of a wandering minds to depression, Davidson researches the neuroplasticity of the brain and conditions for wellbeing. "Our brains are constantly changing, constantly being shaped by the forces around us." He outlines four components of a healthy mind: awareness, connection, insight, and purpose.