Clinical relevance of awakening

David Vago, PhD and Lisa Dale Miller, LMFT, LPCC, SEP tackle the traditional Buddhist concept of "enlightenment" from their modern clinical points of view in a stimulating and fun discussion. Part 2 focuses on S-ART, David's neurobiological framework for describing the positive effects of meditation on self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence; Theravada, Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna notions of awakening and not-self; secular mental training; different interventions for different psyches; selflessness/emptiness in psychotherapy; translating the dharma into neuropsychological terms, vedanā (craving and aversion); decentering, embodied cognition; aggregates and seeds of habit mind; other-centeredness and not-self; non-referential compassion; empathy fatigue; refuting self-compassion; clinical Tonglen practice; neurobiological evidence for not-self states; developmental model of awakening; dynamic responsiveness; neurotherapeutics.

David Vago, PhD is an associate psychologist in the Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory (FNL), Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) and instructor at Harvard Medical School. David has previously held the position of Senior Research Coordinator for the Mind & Life Institute and is currently a Mind and Life Fellow. David’s research interests broadly focus on utilizing translational models to identify and characterize neurobiological substrates mediating psychopathology, to better predict outcomes and potential biologically-based diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for those suffering with mental illness. David has been specifically investigating brain networks supporting self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence in order to clarify adaptive mind-brain-body interactions and their therapeutic relevance in psychiatric disorders. http://davidvago.bwh.harvard.edu/

Lisa Dale Miller, LMFT, LPCC, SEP, is the author of "Effortless Mindfulness: Genuine mental health through awakened presence", a new textbook on Buddhist psychology. She is the creator of Awakened Presence Psychotherapy™ and is a private practice psychotherapist in Los Gatos, Ca. She specializes in mindfulness psychotherapy, Buddhist psychology and is a certified Somatic Experiencing Practitioner. Lisa trains clinicians in the application of mindfulness interventions and practical Buddhist psychology. Lisa has been a dedicated yogic and Buddhist meditation practitioner for four decades. http://www.lisadalemiller.com