This time on the Mindrolling Podcast, Dr. Dan Siegel shares a conversation with Raghu around the exploration of consciousness and the intersection between science and awareness.
Dan Siegel, MD, is a clinical professor of psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine and the founding co-director of the Mindful Awareness Research Center at UCLA. He is also the Executive Director of the Mindsight Institute which focuses on the development of mindsight, which teaches insight, empathy, and integration in individuals, families and communities. Learn more at drdansiegel.com.
Links from this episode: Wheel of Awareness | Mindsight Institute | Love Everyone
Show Notes
A Journey to the Heart of Being Human (Opening) – Dan shares his background and the circumstances that led him to the possibilities that contemplative practice has to offer society and the individual.
“When I went to teach in Hawaii recently, someone asked me to go visit Ram Dass. It was really fantastic to share with him this journey of seeing the origin of consciousness as emerging from an aspect of energy that certainly could include the brain, but wouldn’t be limited to the brain – from there you could see the mind as an emergent property of energy.” – Dr. Dan Siegel
Wheel of Awareness (16:45) – We are introduced to Dan’s wheel of awareness practice. He shares his process of integrating consciousness into healthcare and the data that confirms the efficacy of this integration.
“Back in the late 90s I had a number of patients that were experiencing different things – trauma, anxiety, depression, all sorts of things – I thought maybe if we integrated consciousness, maybe that would do something. If integration is the basis for health and consciousness is needed for change, what if you integrated consciousness?”- Dr. Dan Siegel
Explore the wheel of awareness further with Dan and Francesca Maximé on Ep. 27 of the BHNN Guest Podcast
New Pathways to Mindfulness (25:45) – Dan examines secular approaches to contemplative teachings, like his wheel of awareness practice, looking at the new pathways towards mindfulness they offer to people who are resistant to their non-secular origins. He and Raghu talk about the science of loving-awareness and the idea of understanding ourselves separately from our bodies.
“I am really hopeful for the idea that culture can evolve by tapping people into this place of pure awareness. A place where, once we help people get there, you don’t have to tell people what to do – it is more a matter of letting the natural capacity towards love and connection emerge.” – Dr. Dan Siegel
The Movie of “M’we” (49:35) – How do we get to the point of awareness that allows us to shift our focus from “me” to “we”? Raghu and Dan close the show with a discussion about moving beyond our patterns, aversions and desires.
