June 6, 2014

What is Mindfulness?: 15 Talks on Mindfulness

LearnOutLoud.com answers the question, “What is Mindfulness?” in this collection of 15 talks on Mindfulness and Meditation. Over the years, we’ve given special attention to teachers and thinkers dedicated to making Mindfulness a part of every day life. From these resources, we’ve showcased guided meditations, dharma talks, conscious living lectures and other methods to help you change your mind, so you can change your brain. Speakers, teachers and lecturers featured here include Jon Kabat-Zinn, Jack Kornfield, Dan Siegel, Sharon Salzberg and more. Learn about healing power of mindfulness and find guides to help you achieve a sustained, authentic happiness by clicking any of the links below:

1. Jon Kabat-Zinn: Coming to Our Senses

For decades now Jon Kabat-Zinn has been teaching mindfulness meditation as a technique to help people cope with stress, anxiety, pain and illness. Along with his teaching, he’s also written the classic Wherever You Go, There You Are and most recently Coming to Our Senses. In this lecture from UCTV, Kabat-Zinn speaks about reintroducing you to yourself, and developing an awareness of this moment in a fast-paced, technologically advanced world. This video lecture is available to stream through YouTube.

2. Mindfulness as a Foundation for Health

Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh recently led a 3-hour workshop on mindfulness at the Googleplex and this entire workshop can be viewed on YouTube. After about an hour of music and introductions, Thich Nhat Hanh gives a talk and answers questions for two hours. He provides many insights of how people can incorporate mindfulness into their daily lives from walking to eating to washing the dishes. Listen to the wisdom of 85-year-old monk Thich Nhat Hanh and his message of mindfulness and peace.

3. The Science of Mindfulness

One thing you might want to think about doing in the new year is starting a daily mindfulness practice. Long recognized for its benefits to well-being in many wisdom traditions, mindfulness is now being looked at by neuroscientists with the research-based conclusion that it can reduce stress and produce many other healthful outcomes. In this 45-minute program from Sounds True, five of their top mindfulness experts weigh in on the benefits of mindfulness in regards to the brain and neuroscience. Included in this program is the teacher who brought mindfulness meditation into the mainstream of medicine and society, Mr. Jon Kabat-Zinn with an excerpt from his Sounds True program Mindfulness for Beginners. Also on the program you’ll hear Dr. Daniel Siegel, Dr. Tara Brach, Dr. Rick Hanson, and Dr. Kelly McGonigal. Learn about the science of mindfulness with this excellent introduction on MP3 audio download from Sounds True.

4. Ceaseless Society: Is 24/7 Good for Us?

In this lecture from MIT, author & meditation teacher Jon Kabat-Zinn shares his perspectives on a society that is busy all the time. He provides insights into how we can regard time from the perspective of mindfulness, and suggests that in our effort to be technologically connected to everyone, we often lose connection to our true self. This lecture is available on streaming video.

5. Jack Kornfield’s Dharma Talks

Listen to dharma talks by Buddhist meditation teacher Jack Kornfield offered through DharmaSeed.org. On the Dharma Seed website you can stream and download any of the 50 talks and we also feature the latest to stream and download on our page. In recent talks Kornfield discusses lovingkindness, the importance of joy in spiritual practice, and the freedom from attachment. He tells many wise stories throughout the talks. They’re all available on streaming audio and MP3 download from DharmaSeed.org.

6. Mindsight: The New Science of Personal Transformation

In this hour-long talk delivered at Google, author and brain researcher Dr. Daniel Siegel explains his definition of the what the mind is. He takes us on a quick overview of the functions of the brain, from the spinal cord all the way up to the prefrontal cortex where he argues that the uniqueness of humans stems from. From his research and experience Siegel lays out nine integral functions of this part of the brain including reflective awareness, empathy, morality, and more. He then talks about his discovery of mindfulness and how the practice of mindfulness cultivates all these functions of the middle prefrontal brain. Dr. Siegel expresses his hope that along with reading, writing, and arithmetic, the 4th “R” of reflection would be taught in education to help cultivate mindfulness and healthy brain function. This talk is available from Google and can be watched on YouTube.

7. Mindfulness with Jon Kabat-Zinn

Watch this popular talk with Jon Kabat-Zinn author of Full Catastrophe Living and many other books on the benefits of mindfulness. In this talk at Google Kabat-Zinn discusses what mindfulness meditation is and then he leads the group on a mindfulness meditation practice where he provides guidance into the practice. After the meditation is over he fields questions about the experience and covers things such as the issue of falling asleep and much more. This talk is 1 Hr. 15 Min. and is available on streaming video through YouTube.

8. Health at Google: Sharon Salzberg on Real Happiness

In this talk Sharon Salzberg looks at meditation not as a religious practice but as a skill that can be learned much like any other skill. She tells many stories from her over 20 years of teaching meditation and creating the Insight Meditation Society. And she looks at studies on meditation which often conclude that meditation is a skill of the mind. She talks about lovingkindness meditation which focuses on friendliness, benevolence, amity, friendship, good will, kindness, love, and sympathy. This 50-minute Google Talk is available on streaming video from the YouTube.

9. Goldie Hawn and Dan Siegel at TEDMED 2009

The TEDMED conference brings together leading thinkers in the areas of medical technology and the healthcare industry to participate in a conversation as it relates to personal and public health. Much like the popular TED conference, TEDMED features brief presentations from speakers in diverse fields addressing some aspect of health and medicine. In this talk actress Goldie Hawn introduces her Hawn Foundation, which she founded to teach children the practice of mindful awareness and to educate them about their brains. Dr. Dan Siegel joins her half way through the talk to discuss the scientific reasoning behind bringing these practices into schools. His findings at the Mindful Awareness Research Center at UCLA have demonstrated that mindful awareness practices can be more effective than prescription drugs when it comes to confronting many difficulties kids are facing in school. While these practices of reflection have previously been confined to religious traditions, Dr. Siegel feels that due to the scientific evidence backing their effectiveness they should now be incorporated into education along with reading, writing, and arithmetic.

10. Change your Mind, Change your Brain: The Inner Conditions for Authentic Happiness

French Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard talks about his interesting life in which he left his career as a scientist after getting a Ph.D. degree in molecular genetics and he went to practice Tibetan Buddhism in the Himalayas. He talks about the Tibetan Buddhist practices for achieving happiness. Since his 35 years of practicing as a Buddhist monk he has returned to the science of the mind and the brain to study happiness and presents many of the recent scientific findings. This hour-long Google Talk is available on streaming video from YouTube.

11. Health at Google: Dr. Daniel Siegel on Taking Time In

Dr. Dan Siegel spoke at Google recently on mindfulness and the importance of “taking time in”. Dr. Siegel is the director of the Mindful Awareness Research Center at UCLA. He talks about some of his latest finding in neuroscience and mindfulness. He leads the group on a 30-minute wheel of awareness meditation which guides you into awareness of all parts of your body. This talk is available on streaming video through YouTube.

12. The Meditation Experience

Sounds True is currently offering a free self-guided course entitled The Meditation Experience: Eight Pathways to Open the Heart and Mind. This eight session course features readings and guided audio & video meditations to teach you various methods of meditation. The course is taught by excellent meditation teachers including Shinzen Young, Jack Kornfield, Mark Thornton, Arjuna Ardagh, Rick Jarow, Anodea Judith, Kim Eng, Reggie Ray, and Lama Surya Das. It requires you to register on SoundsTrue.com as you will go through the stages of the course on their site. The audio & video meditations are available to stream and download.

13. Consciousness, Creativity and the Brain

Filmmaker David Lynch shares his passion for Transcendental Meditation (or TM for short) in this lecture released on downloadable audio from WGBH in Boston. In a style uniquely his own, Lynch explains how the creativity displayed in his work over the years has been a direct product of TM; arguing that expanded consciousness necessarily leads to expanded creative insight. It is his impassioned belief that if more people used these meditation techniques, the effect would rub off on everyone else and consequently much of the world’s turmoil would cease. This talk is available on streaming audio & video and MP3 download from the WGBH Forum Network.

14. The Healing Power of Mindfulness

Pioneering mindfulness researcher Jon Kabat-Zinn delivered this recent 2-hour talk at Dartmouth College. In the talk he describes mindfulness and its many applications to mind/body medicine. He leads the audience on a brief guided mindfulness exercise in the middle of the talk. At the end he answers questions and gives some inspiring words on how to kick start mindfulness programs in schools, hospitals, and political offices! Take time out of your busy life to learn about another mode of being with Jon Kabat-Zinn.

15. Transform Your Mind, Change Your Brain

In this lecture provided by Google Talks, Dr. Richard J. Davidson details recent scientific research on how neuroscience is beginning to learn a great deal about how the brain works with meditational practice. Davidson says research shows that the brain is designed to change in response to experience and that it is clear that the intentional deployment of specific meditation strategies can transform our cognitive and emotional health. After “coming out of the mindfulness closet” and revealing to his colleagues that he had an interest in Eastern spiritual practice, Davidson has effectively devoted his career to merging cutting-edge neurology with contemplative traditions.