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Toward the First Revolution in the Mind Sciences
"Toward the First Revolution in the Mind Sciences" on Google Video
Google TechTalks
August 8, 2006

B. Alan Wallace, Ph.D. has been a scholar and practitioner of Buddhism since 1970. He is currently seeking ways to integrate Buddhist contemplative practices and Western science to advance the study of the mind. He is the founder and president of the Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies ( http://sbinstitute.com ).

ABSTRACT
Galileo took a seminal role in launching the first revolution in the physical sciences, and a key element in this revolution was the rigorous, sophisticated observation of physical phenomena. Darwin likewise launched a revolution in the life sciences on the basis of decades of meticulous observation of biological phenomena. Although scientists have been studying the mind for more than a century, no comparable revolution has taken place in the mind sciences, and the missing element that may account for this delayed revolution is the absence of rigorous, precise observations of mental phenomena. By integrating the third-person methodologies of the cognitive sciences with the first-person methods for examining the mind that have been developed in Buddhism and other contemplative traditions, our present generation may bring about the first revolution in the mind sciences.

/* After a long string of people saying they listen to various bands while they meditate */

Meditation is a meaningless term at this point in the conversation. Mindfulness can be practiced in any activity, but meditation, as in Samadhi Bhavana is quite specific in most branches of Buddhism.

In the 8-fold path there are Right Concentration and Right Mindfulness. Mindfulness is the ability to keep the mind present and aware in all activities. Concentration (Samadhi) refers specifically to a type of formal meditation. Different schools have different techniques for practicing concentration, but the result is the same: a still mind that can be used to investigate your experience.

Music, unless it is the object of your concentration (as in the guitar player's example), is just another distraction. Turn it off.

When the wind blows through the trees, it appears the tree is dancing, but no dancer can be found. We are no different.

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