Wise Brain Bulletin

I edit the Wise Brain Bulletin, which is published monthly by the Wellspring Institute for Neuroscience and Contemplative Wisdom.

The Bulletin offers skillful means – from psychology, neurology, and contemplative practice – for personal well-being, relationships, work, and spiritual development. Each issue contains major articles as well as lots of nuggets about the brain, inspiring quotes, links to awe-inspiring pictures and websites, and much more.

You are also invited to contribute to it yourself. You retain the copyright, and we will happily highlight your own work or organization.

To subscribe, or to submit an article, just email me.

(To read a Bulletin, click on one of the links below, which will open the issue as a pdf. If you need a free copy of Acrobat Reader to read pdf files, you can download it here.)

2010 Bulletins

Volume 4, 7 (7/10) – How to support your well-being even when you are ill (or are dealing with other difficult conditions) using tonglen, the Tibetan practice that “turns straw into gold.” Starting an interfaith group: building bridges of connection after 9/11 to help bring peace to the brain’s ancient tendency to separate “us” and “them” as the prelude to fear and aggression toward “them.”

Volume 4, 6 (6/10) – The neuropsychology of resilience – with numerous effective practices – grounded in a deep model of the integrating functions of the prefontal cortex.

Volume 4, 4-5 (5/10) – An exploration of what mind, brain and God could be, how they may interact, and what studies on the neuropsychology of moral or spiritual experiences can and cannot tell us. Practical tools from a combination of mindfulness perspectives and grounded wisdom to help your kids heal from fear and pain.

Volume 4, 3 (3/10) – Moving beyond “masculine” and “feminine” in the brain; two distinct modes of being linked to two different neural networks (medial and lateral). Ways to practice and deepen mindfulness.

Volume 4, 2 (2/10) – The benefits and pitfalls of applying neuroscience to psychotherapy (and to personal growth and spiritual practice in general): The benefits of offering an organizing framework, increasing individual motivation, highlighting the most useful ideas and methods, and suggesting new tools; the pitfalls of over-simplifying, claiming authority, and underestimating the mind itself.

Volume 4, 1 (1/10) – An exploration of how mindful empathy can help us hold and heal the sense of failure, rejection, and shame that catches us in the suffering of the belief that we are bad or unlovable. Practical advice for concentration. The Brain in a Bucket.

2009 Bulletins

Volume 3, 12 (12/09) – The deep embedding of the brain and the mind in nature; modern reflections on the ancient practice of vision questing; the wholesome use of power. The power of intention in couples; key intentions; drawing on both top-down influences from the prefrontal cortex and bottom-up motivation from the limbic system. Thinking outside the box – and beyond it.

Volume 3, 11 (11/09) – Relaxing the Self [excerpt from Buddha's Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom]: The conventional notion of the self – “me, myself, and I” – is that it is the unified, enduring, and independent owner of experiences and agent of actions. Yet in the brain, the opposite is actually the case! There, representations of self, self-related functions, and even the elemental sense of subjectivity are distributed and compounded (not unified), variable and transient (not enduring), and come and go based on changing conditions (not independent). The chapter concludes with a number of practical ways to take things less personally, relax possessiveness, and feel more at one with and at peace with all things.

Volume 3, 10 (10/09) – The Self-Transforming Brain [excerpt from Buddha's Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom]: The historically unprecedented intersection of brain science and contemplative practice; the relationship between the mind and brain; suffering as a result of evolution; the power of using your mind to change your brain to change your mind; being on your own side: if you can change your brain, you can change your life.

Volume 3, 9 (9/09) – Healing and transformation through the lens of nature and neuroscience. Stress, creativity, and brain science. The neuroscience of leadership. Words of wisdom on love and change. Stunning pictures and videos of transience and renewal.

Volume 3, 8 (8/09) – What is nondual awareness? The interpersonal neuropsychology of laughter. Recovering from a stroke or other malady: healing in the midst of adversity. Zen Master Dogen on “The Time Being.”

Volume 3, 7 (7/09) – Mindful motherhood. ADHD and mindfulness. Your brain on Starbucks. A shout-out for the people of Iran.

Volume 3, 6 (6/09) - Mindfulness and the environment; being present in yur own world. The psychology of financial well-being. Nutritional supports for memory. Emily Dickinson on the brain and God. Extraordinary technology – and none at all.

Volume 3, 5 (5/09) - Making good use of all of the world’s enlightened wisdom; the integral perspective. Integral life practice. The three faces of spirit. Stroke and the family: healng into possibility.

Volume 3, 4 (4/09) - Eddies in the stream: how physical and mental phenomena have the same deep nature as swirling and dispersing patterns in a ground that is effectively unconditioned and free; how the quieting of mental eddies in the approach to Nirvana could explain some of its profundity. Skillful ways to deal with stress and trauma, using the mind-body connection; many practical tools. Pantoum on neurodharma. Eddies in space.

Volume 3, 3 (3/09) - Spinning on uncertain ground: creativity, uncertainty, spiritual practice, and our currently wobbly times. The power of intention: how to use the neuroaxis in your brain to establish powerful intentions and sustain the commitment to see them come true. The union of modern science and ancient wisdom.

Volume 3, 2 (2/09) – The hard parts of motherhood amidst the rewards: the stresses, depletion, health risks, relationship issues – and how to nurture the body, mind, and intimate relationships of a mother. Deep teachings about your true nature. Great videos of people “going for it.”

Volume 3, 1 (1/09) – Love! Balancing intimacy and autonomy; feeling it’s safe to be “me” supports being “we”; helping yourself speak your truth. The Great Love. Words of wisdom: heart to heart. Bubbles in outer space – light-years across.

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2008 Bulletins
Volume 2, 12 (12/08) – Stories and your brain. The soul of parenting. Seeing over the edge. Celebration. At home on Mars.

Volume 2, 11 (11/08) – Understanding the four kinds of “self” in the brain. Oxytocin: how it helps you. Wisdom for: “no self, no problem.” Book review: “Beyond Happiness.” Awe-inspiring pics and videos: humanity is a small frog in a very big pond.”

Volume 2, 10 (10/08) – In • Spiration: Creativity and the brain in art and poetry. The art of teaching. Neuroscience perspectives on spiritual practices: strengths and weaknesses.

Volume 2, 9 (9/08) – Your brain in mystical transport: an EEG study of a meditator in the 8 jhanas (samadhis). Reflections on aging and renewal. Elephants painting and other joys.

Volume 2, 8 (8/08) – Practicing with perception, delusion, and reality: the implications of knowing what’s forever unknowable.

Volume 2, 7 (7/08) – The neuroscience of intimate connections. Phillip Moffitt’s new book. A fresh take on Dr. Jill Taylor’s My Stroke of Insight.

Volume 2, 6 (6/08) – A wounded brain. Uprooting chronic worries. Affirmations and self-esteem. A Stroke of Insight (book review).

Volume 2, 5 (5/08) – Peace of Mind; the limbic system, equanimity, and breaking the chain of suffering. Consciousness of beauty. Emotional balance in intimate relationships.

Volume 2, 4 (4/08) – The brain in lust and love: bonding, dopamine, oxytocin, and the dark side of romance. Balancing joining and separation. Lovingkindness for the whole world. Caring for the dying: a lawyer’s view.

Volume 2, 3 (3/08) – Two wolves in the heart: The evolution of empathy and aggression, of “us” and “them.” From anger to peace. The biochemistry of feeling strong.

Volume 2, 2 (2/08) – The neurology of awareness and self: Darwinian and nondual perspectives, and tools for transcendence of the “self.” The evolution of awareness. Nondual perspectives on awareness. Taking the body for a walk. The neurology of self. Evolutionary origins of self. Transcending the self.

Volume 2, 1 (1/8) – The power of good intentions, from neurological, contemplative, and practical perspectives. Research on meditation. Great quotations on charting your course.

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2007 Bulletins
Volume 1, 12 (12/07) – Gratitude. Generosity from an evolutionary and contemplative perspective.

Volume 1, 11 (11/07) – Your wonderful brain: summary of features and activities. The enlightenment factor of investigation.

Volume 1, 10 (10/07) – Is the “mind-body problem” a problem at all? Empathy. Methylation and mood.

Volume 1, 9 (6/07) – Estrogen and the menopausal brain. Coping with loss (Part 2)

Volume 1, 8 (5/07) – Coping with Loss: Implications of Neuroscience and Contemplative Wisdom (Part 1)

Volume 1, 7 (5/07) – Smile like the Buddha. Your biochemical foundation.

Volume 1, 6 (4/07) – Relaxed and contented (Part 2). Three neurological vignettes on “reality.” Amino acid stress relief.

Volume 1, 5 (4/07) – Relaxed and contented: Activating the parasympathetic wing of your nervous system (Part 1). Neurology of feeling strong. Food allergies and the nervous system.

Volume 1, 4 (3/07) – The perfection of wisdom. Smell and memory. Hormones and neurotransmitters.

Volume 1, 3 (3/07) – Seven facts about the brain that incline the mind to joy. Optical illusions. Inner clocks. Natural treatments for depressed mood.

Volume 1, 2 (2/07) – The two wings of psychological growth and contemplative practice. Help for insomnia.

Volume 1, 1 (1/07) – Generosity. Good nutrition.