Most forms of meditation claim to transform us, but how do different practices actually change one’s heart, mind, and behaviour? In this episode of the Buddha Pill podcast, Miguel Farias explores the science and spiritual traditions that show us how meditation can unlock authentic compassion and love. By speaking to experts from clinical psychology, Islamic meditation, cognitive science, neuroscience of meditation, and philosophy, we revisit ideas about the importance of the heart as a source of knowing, and look at the empirical evidence for how meditation can modify our brain and social behaviours.
Miguel Farias is a writer, teacher, and researcher. He holds a doctorate in Experimental Psychology from the University of Oxford, where he has lectured and tutored for the past twenty years. He is the co-author of
The Buddha Pill: Can Meditation Change You? and the lead editor of
The Oxford Handbook of Meditation. He has written for the BBC and New Scientist.
The Buddha Pill Podcast is produced by the Academic Podcast Agency and has been funded by the
Templeton World Charity Foundation. The episode features contributions from:
A philosopher of religion who has worked at Bristol University and the University of Oxford. He holds a PhD in the Philosophy from Cambridge University and is currently working on a book about ‘Heart Intelligence’.
Tallon, Andrew (1997).
Head and Heart: Affection, Cognition, Volition, as Truine Consciousness. New York: Fordham University Press.
Steinbock, Anthony J. (2021).
Knowing by Heart: Loving as Participation and Critique. Evanston, Illinois: Northwestern University Press.
Erickson, Robert A. (1997).
The Language of the Heart, 1600-1750. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
Steinbock, Anthony J., (editor) (2022).
Phenomenology and Perspectives on the Heart. Cham: Springer.
A social neuroscientist, psychologist and world expert on empathy and compassion. She has a passion for creating bridges between fields that typically never interact such as linking neuroscience with economics, science with arts or science with spirituality.
Linz, R.; Puhlmann, L. M.; Engert, V.; Singer, T.:
Investigating the impact of distinct contemplative mental trainings on daily life stress, thoughts and affect – evidence from a nine-month longitudinal ecological momentary assessment study. Psychoneuroendocrinology 142 (2022)
Trautwein, F.; Kanske, P.; Böckler-Raettig, A.; Singer, T.:
Differential Benefits of Mental Training Types for Attention, Compassion, and Theory of Mind. Cognition 194, 104039 (2020)
Here is a
full list of her published scientific papers and for more information on the Resource project click
HEREWhat is The Buddha Pill Podcast?
A documentary series hosted by experimental psychologist and writer Miguel Farias exploring the phenomena of meditation.
Miguel interviews many world-leading historians, psychologists, neuroscientists, philosophers, and practitioners from diverse backgrounds in an attempt to understand this uniquely human discipline.
Funded by the Templeton World Charity Foundation