Researching how mindfulness changes the emotional life of our brains
Dr. Richard Davidson — Psychology and Psychiatry Professor/Author and Founder of the Center for Healthy Mind — has a unique way of pushing the frontiers of knowledge, through his work researching the neurological effects of meditation and cultivating well being as a skill.
His passion for this work was catalyzed after a conversation with his friend and confidant, the Dalai Lama In the words of Davidson, the Dalai Lama challenged him, “He said you’ve been using the tools of modern neuroscience to study negative qualities of life stress adversity anxiety. Why can’t you use those same tools to study positive qualities like kindness and compassion and flourishing?”
Thus began the initiative of founding the Center for Healthy Minds based in the University of Wisconsin- Madison. Davidson’s mission manifested in the Center is geared towards exploring the mind to learn how to cultivate well-being and relieve suffering. The Center postulates how our brains are constantly shaped wittingly or unwittingly — most of the time unwittingly.
Through the Center’s research, Davidson leads the incredible endeavor of intentionally training our brains to improve well-being.
Davidson pursued his undergraduate in Psychology at New York University before going on to receive his Ph.D. from Harvard University in Personality, Psychopathology and Psychophysiology.
His research is broadly focused on the neural bases of emotion and emotional style as well as methods to promote human flourishing, including meditation and related contemplative practices. His studies have centered on people across the lifespan, from birth through old age. In addition, he’s conducted studies with individuals with emotional disorders such as mood and anxiety disorders and autism, as well as expert meditation practitioners with tens of thousands of hours of experience.
-The Center for Healthy Minds: Our Founder
Davidson says, “What’s at stake is nothing short of the flourishing of humanity and the planet. It is absolutely critical that we get along more cooperativity and more compassionately. I feel like I am totally and thoroughly dedicated to doing this for the rest of my time.”
Richard Davidson has published more than 275 articles, many chapters and reviews and edited 13 books. He is the author of The Emotional Life of Your Brain and The Mind’s Own Physician. He blogs at http://richardjdavidson.com.
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