Applications for the 2008 Mind and Life Summer Research Institute (MLSRI) --
to be held at the Garrison Institute (www.garrisoninstitute.org) in New York
from June 6 (mid-aft.) to the morning of June 12, 2008 -- are now being
accepted. The application period will close on Friday, February 29, 2008.
To apply now, please go to:
http://www.mindandlife.org/sri08.application.process.html. This is an online
only application process -- no paper applications, either mailed or faxed,
will be accepted.
The purpose of the Mind and Life Summer Research Institute is to advance
collaborative research among behavioral scientists, neuroscientists, and
biomedical researchers based on a process of inquiry, dialogue, and in some
cases, collaboration, with Buddhist contemplative practitioners and scholars
and those in other contemplative traditions. The long-term objective is to
advance the training of a new generation of behavioral scientists,
cognitive/affective neuroscientists, clinicians, and contemplative
scholar/practitioners interested in exploring the potential influences of
meditation and other contemplative practices on mind, behavior, brain
function, and health. This includes examining the potential role of
contemplative methods for characterizing human experience and consciousness
from a neuroscience perspective.
The 2008 Summer Research Institute will be devoted to the theme of attention
and emotion regulation. It will bring together researchers in basic science,
clinical science, contemplative scholarship and philosophy, and
contemplative practice to investigate the relation between attentional
processes and emotional self-regulation.
In recent years, emotional self-regulation and attention have emerged as
central themes in psychology (clinical and developmental) and neuroscience
(affective and cognitive), yet little work has been done to link findings
about attention in cognitive psychology and neuroscience to findings about
emotional self-regulation in clinical and developmental psychology and
affective neuroscience. This gap reflects a longstanding separation of
cognition and emotion in the brain and cognitive sciences -- one that has
become increasingly untenable.
Contemplative mental training, including the psychological and philosophical
theories of mental functioning that inform this training, open new avenues
for investigating the complex relations among emotion, attention,
meta-cognition, cognitive appraisal, affect and feeling, and the voluntary
self-regulation of mental states. Contemplative practice not only offers new
psychological phenomena for scientific investigation, but also and more
importantly provides new resources for advancing scientific theories and
models of cognitive and emotional functioning and subjective experience.
Through scientific, contemplative, and philosophical presentations, as well
as intensive group discussions, the 2008 Mind and Life Summer Research
Institute aims to break new ground in our understanding of attention and
emotion regulation while fostering collaborative research in the newly
emerging fields of contemplative neuroscience, contemplative clinical
science, and humanistic contemplative studies.
The scientific emphasis will include developing rigorous experimental
designs to evaluate both state and trait effects of contemplative practice,
clinical trials methodology for evaluating the impact of meditative-based
interventions, and potential experimental designs for incorporating
"first-person" contemplative methods into cognitive/affective neuroscience
research on consciousness. We will encourage the active collaboration of
scientists, contemplative scholars and contemplative practitioners in all
phases of research. Examples of findings from such collaborations will be
provided.
Attendance at the program is based upon a competitive application process
which opens January 15, 2008 and closes on February 29, 2008. This is an
online only process in which you will submit a CV/NIH Biosketch (max 2
pages), a short essay (max 400 words) regarding your interest in attending
and two letters of recommendation. Once all applications have been
submitted, a Selection Committee will review the applications and
approximately 130 participants will be selected to attend. To learn more
about the application process or to apply, please go to:
http://www.mindandlife.org/sri08.application.process.html
The MLSRI is a novel kind of experience unlike other scientific conferences
that you may have attended. The MLSRI takes place in a quasi-retreat
environment that is intended to promote exploration and understanding of
contemplative practices both on the intellectual level (through
presentations and dialogues) and the experiential level (through formal
meditation practice and periods of introspection and silence). This type of
experiential learning requires courage and sensitivity on a personal level,
and therefore requires a safe "container" and community to nurture this
process. In order to maintain this container, participants will be required
to adhere to the following Conduct Guidelines:
1) Abstain from intoxicants, including alcohol and illegal drugs, for
the duration of the MLSRI. These substances tend to cloud our introspective
clarity, and they alter the affective processes that we are learning to
observe and work with through contemplative practice. This policy also
extends to the use of alcohol and illegal drugs any time during the week
when you are not on the premises of the Garrison Institute.
2) Respect Silence. Garrison Institute has a general policy on
silence that seeks to preserve and cultivate a contemplative atmosphere. In
accord with this policy, please do not use any portable radios, CD, or tape
players without earphones. Cell phones also should not be used or turned on
in any of the common spaces in the building. For the duration of MLSRI,
silence will be observed from 10:00 pm through morning meditation each day.
In addition, silence will be observed for a longer period during the full
day of practice on Monday, June 9th. The aim of silence is to foster an
environment conducive to contemplative practice.
The registration fee for Research Fellows is $325; for Senior
Investigators, $625. This fee covers room and board for the program. In
addition, each participant will be expected to cover his/her own travel
expenses. There is no application fee. Fees will be paid by accepted
applicants at the time of registration. For a more detailed overview of the
MLSRI, including information explaining applicant category (see "Who Should
Attend") please go to:
http://www.mindandlife.org/sri08.ml.summer.institute.html
To apply now, please go to:
http://www.mindandlife.org/sri08.application.process.html
The application period closes at 7:00 PM EST on Friday, February 29, 2008.
Interested applicants are advised to apply early. Applications submitted
after February 29th will not be accepted.
Again, we'd appreciate you forwarding this message to anyone you know who
might be interested in attending the MLSRI.
Very best regards,
Mary Ann McCarty
MLSRI Project Manager
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David R. Vago, PhD
Senior Research Coordinator
TEL: 720-891-4292 ext 814
CELL: 801-647-5906
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http://mindandlife.org
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