The Science of Mindfulness: A Research-Based Path to Well-Being

Overview

Learn how practicing mindfulness techniques can radically transform the mind, the heart, and your everyday life with this course taught by a Harvard psychologist.

Ever noticed that trying to calm down often produces more agitation? That trying to change bad habits can seem impossible? Or that real fulfillment can be elusive, despite living a successful life? Often, such difficulties stem from the human brain’s hardwired tendency to seek pleasure and avoid pain. Modern science demonstrates that this survival mechanism served our earliest ancestors but is at the root of many problems we face today, such as depression, compulsive behaviors, chronic pain, and stress and anxiety.

For thousands of years, people have used mindfulness practices to effectively deal with a wide range of life challenges. But how exactly does mindfulness work, in scientific terms? How can the human brain, which gives rise to so many of our problems, actually provide a solution?

In the 24 fascinating lectures of The Science of Mindfulness, Professor Siegel, a clinical psychologist at Harvard Medical School, reveals the science behind mindfulness in compelling detail and demonstrates its application to various psychological, social, and medical issues. You’ll examine the neurobiology underlying ancient practices that are now profoundly influencing the contemporary world.

This course offers practical ways to use mindfulness techniques in your own life, demonstrating the effectiveness of mindfulness in responding to many of humanity’s fundamental existential problems.

Course Outline

01: Why Mindfulness Matters

Explore the nature of mindfulness practice and its remarkable range of psychological and physical benefits.

Duration: 34 min

02: Our Troublesome Brains

Discover how our brains are predisposed to psychological distress and learn about the human “negativity bias.”

Duration: 31 min

03: Informal, Formal, and Intensive Practices

Investigate ways of cultivating mindfulness during daily activities and understand the benefits of formal meditative practice.

Duration: 31 min

04: Who Am I? The Perils of Self

Observe how the human mind creates the illusory sense of a “separate” self and how this conception causes suffering.

Duration: 31 min

05: Mindfulness or Psychotherapy?

Delve into the implications of mindfulness practice for psychological well-being and how it diverges from traditional psychotherapy.

Duration: 32 min

06: Attention and Empathy in Relationships

Learn how mindfulness practices cultivate empathy and mental flexibility, positively affecting our relationships.

Duration: 32 min

07: The Science of Compassion and Self-Compassion

Explore how compassion for oneself is associated with desirable psychological outcomes and learn exercises to cultivate it.

Duration: 31 min

08: Tailoring Practices to Fit Changing Needs

Consider criteria for choosing mindfulness practices that fit your life and the psychological material you wish to address.

Duration: 32 min

09: Modifying Our Brain Function and Structure

Review studies showing how mindfulness practice activates areas of the brain that regulate emotions and facilitate learning.

Duration: 31 min

10: Solitude – An Antidote to Loneliness

Examine how mindfulness fosters the ability to be alone, a capacity essential for intimacy and connection.

Duration: 31 min

11: Connecting with Children and Adolescents

Discover how mindfulness training helps caregivers connect with children and teaches young people mindfulness techniques.

Duration: 30 min

12: Seeing Sadness and Depression in a New Light

Learn how mindfulness practice can change our relationship to thoughts, moods, and feelings, allowing us to see them as transient.

Duration: 32 min

13: Befriending Fear, Worry, and Anxiety

Investigate the roots of anxiety and fear, and how mindfulness training can help us face our fears while grounded in the present.

Duration: 31 min

14: Transforming Chronic Pain

Discover how mindfulness practice offers an effective approach to dealing with physical pain by changing our relationship to it.

Duration: 32 min

15: Placebos, Illness, and the Power of Belief

Explore the power of the mind to affect our subjective experience of the body and how mindfulness can aid in treating various conditions.

Duration: 31 min

16: Interrupting Addiction and Troublesome Habits

Learn how mindful awareness can dismantle compulsive behaviors and allow us to tolerate feelings and urges without acting on them.

Duration: 33 min

17: Overcoming Traumas Large and Small

Study how trauma affects the mind and how mindfulness techniques can help process and integrate avoided feelings.

Duration: 32 min

18: Groundbreaking Mindfulness Programs

Examine pioneering mindfulness programs in healthcare settings and their benefits for mental health and well-being.

Duration: 30 min

19: The Neurobiology of Self-Preoccupation

Explore how experienced meditators can step out of self-preoccupied thought streams, benefiting their ability to deal with pain.

Duration: 31 min

20: Growing Up Isn’t Easy – Facing Impermanence

Assess how mindfulness practices offer a different way of relating to aging, sickness, and death, allowing us to enjoy all life stages.

Duration: 29 min

21: Toward a Science of Wisdom

Investigate current experimental models for studying wisdom and how mindfulness practices can help develop it.

Duration: 31 min

22: The Promise of Enlightenment

Grasp the nature of psychological transformation known as “enlightenment” and the challenges encountered along the path.

Duration: 32 min

23: Mindful Ethics as a Path to Freedom

Consider ethical precepts as tools of inquiry to observe actions that lead to suffering for ourselves and others.

Duration: 32 min

24: The New Science of Happiness

Learn how mindfulness practices foster paths to happiness, challenging common assumptions about what produces fulfillment.

Duration: 39 min

Bonus Meditation: Breath Awareness Practice

Duration: 28 min

Bonus Meditation: Loving Kindness Practice

Duration: 26 min

Bonus Meditation: Mountain Meditation

Duration: 27 min

Bonus Meditation: Breathing Together

Duration: 28 min

Bonus Meditation: Stepping Into Fear

Duration: 29 min