White Robed Monks of St. Benedict

4.0000 Cognitive Sciences and Psychology

4.0001	Applying the Principles of Non-Dualism in Psychotherapy CarolMarcy, StevenBerns, LCSW; Jan Nicholson, Ed.D. Applying the Principles of Non-Dualism in Psychotherapy We will be illustrating how we use the principles of direct perception, heightening awareness, becoming aware of awareness and the three kayas in a heart-centered approach to psychotherapy. We will show how helping clients become present to the Field of Awareness through their own experience of energy in their bodies, helps promote a feeling of peace and relaxation, of connectedness, relatedness and centeredness, as well as an expanded experience of the self/Self. We would like also to provide some experiential demonstrations of this work. Steven Berns, LCSW, Carol Marcy, Ph.D. and Jan Nicholson, Ed.D. are experienced psychotherapists in the Washington, D.C. area. We are a part of the ongoing Wednesday morning seminar at the Washington Center for Consciousness Studies under Rudy Bauer, Ph.D. We are long standing students of Dzochen in Tibetan Buddhism. C 5
	Return to Index
4.0100	Artificial intelligence; robotics
4.0101	Emotive Energy Behavioral Diagram - an integrated model of the brain/mind JAK Keeran, John A. Keeran Most non-dualistic philosophies dwell upon extinguishing "ego" and promoting simple awareness to achieve "bliss" or "nirvana". When achieving this state, all desires and volitions as well as emotional suffering slip away and expose a natural inner source of happiness and peace. Yet, all of these non-dualistic traditions have not been supported by science ... until now. My poster presentation will present a simplified model of the brain/mind based upon compelling new knowledge as well as robust scientific knowledge of the past. This model, the Emotive Energy Behavioral Diagram (see www.theoryofmind.org/EEBD.html), will integrate the works of Gregg Henriques, Christof Koch, Bernard]. Baars, Victor S. Johnston, Erwin Schrodinger, Paul MacLean, Walter Cannon, B.E Skinner, Abraham Maslow, Charles Darwin, William T. Powers, Richard Solomon, Stuart Kauffman, Dominic Masaro, Robert Plutchik, and many others. This integration will be done through the fundamental concepts of systems and energy — the common denominator of the universe and the proof of non-duality. From the EEBD model, I will show how Buddhist and other non-dualistic practices achieve peace and euphoria (nirvana) by maximizing Internal Control System (parasympathetic nervous system) activities. However, I will also show why the stressful External Control System (sympathetic nervous system) is necessary for growth, creativity, and survival. Finally, the EEBD model forms a design for neural competitions, a design favored for Artificial Intelligent Systems (robotics).
	Return to Index
4.0200	4.0200 Cognitive architectures
4.0201	Embodied Realism and Perceptual Symbol Systems: Contributions to the Mind/Body Dilemma Igor Dotgov (Psychology, New Mexico State University) One of the many contemporary manifestations of the mind/body dilemma is the debate over whether cognition is amodal or embodied. Whereas the mainstream psychological paradigm models cognition as a medley of processes that operate on symbolic mental content which is purely abstract and amodal, in recent decades embodied cognitive theorists like George Lakoffhave made the claim that cognition is grounded in the body and inherently perceptual/modal in nature. Lamentably, this dialectic has thus far been bereft of an adequate delineation of mental symbol types. I propose a potential solution to the epistemic disputation over the nature of mental symbols that entails a comparison of presentational and representational symbol profiles in light of their common embodied origin. I further suggest that the embodied model is more aptly suited for constructing a robust theory of cognition than the prevailing amodal formulation, and elaborate on embodied realism as a tenable solution to the mind/body problem.
	Return to Index
4.0300	Cognitive development
4.0400	Emotion
4.0401	Holofeelings: Experiencing the Infinite World within You Robert M. Anderson Jr., Ph.D (American School of Professional Psychology, Argosy University/Hawaii) What are emotions and feelings, and what purpose to they serve? Emotions and feelings have many aspects: subjective, behavioral, and physiological. We know that they give the world value and meaning. They help us determine the importance of things and make decisions. Feelings and emotions are survival oriented. They originate in more primitive parts of the brain as representations or monitor images of the hypothalamic, homeostatic mechanisms governing thirst, eating, escape, and aggression (Pribram, 1971). These images are not images in the same sense as visual images. They do not have a spatial expanse or location in the same way that visual or auditory images do. They are amorphous and often seem to be vague bodily feelings or unclear feelings at the border of conscious experience (holofeelings). Any aspect of experiencing has very complex "unfinished" order (Gendlin, 1997). As emotions and feelings become more tacit, they can provide us with a pathway to non-dual consciousness. As we go deeper into our mind, we begin with surface emotions such as fear, joy, anger, and love and may notice deeper feelings which are difficult to name. As we continue to go deeper we may encounter felt meanings. If we go deeper still, through a flash of awareness or through meditation, we may "encounter" non-dual awareness. Through holofeelings (i.e. subtle feelings at the edges of personal awareness), through flashes of insight, or through deep contemplative states of awareness, we may experience a depth of being and consciousness that extends beyond what we recognize as our everyday personal consciousness. The experience of non-dual consciousness is described as a feeling of oneness with everything. The experience and holistic nature of reality encountered in non-dual consciousness is mirrored in the holistic nature of quantum-relativistic reality (interbeing) (Hahn, 2001).
	Return to Index
4.0500	Ethology
4.0600	Implicit and explicit processes
4.0700	Intelligence and creativity
4.0701	Expressing the Self: Creative Onquiry and Exploration from a NondualPerspective Prema Maja Rode (Open Gate Sangha) This presentation will offer participants an opportunity to (1) learn the 6 fundamental elements of nondual creative expression (2) discover their innate capacity to express the truth, wisdom, and beauty of the nondual perspective (3) explore the relationship of creativity and self-inquiry and (4) learn fun and rewarding creative processes that nurture the spontaneous expression of Self in everyday living. Cultivating the capacity for direct creative expression of truth, beauty, clarity, and insight is a practice of living the nondual perspective — to whatever degree is available to the individual. The central intention of this presentation is to offer participants a lived understanding of their potential to creatively express the nondual perspective and demonstrate simple yet engaging creative processes that can easily be shared with others. This 1-hour experiential presentation will include a mulri-sensory guided meditation, hands-on creative processes, and discussions on the relationship of creativity and nondual living.
	Return to Index
4.0800	Language
4.0900	Memory and learning
4.1000	Mental imagery
4.1001	How do we subjectively perceive 3D Shape? This study investigates the processes underlying the brain's ability to construct a 3D percept in our field of awareness Chetan Nandakumar (Vision Science, UCBerkeley) The human brain has an amazing ability to make sense of the visual world. It instantly translates the pattern of light falling on the retina into a subjective percept of the physical world. In our field of awareness, our visual perception is quite rich — we recognize the objects and the materials present, and we also accurately estimate the 3D volume subsumed by each element. This 3D percept can even be constructed from static monocular images. In this study we investigate the mechanisms and processes that underlie the brain's ability to construct a 3D percept. Using a gauge-figure paradigm similar to Koenderink et al. (1992), we degrade natural images along different dimensions to measure the selective influence of different image features on shape perception. Through a custom built computer interface, subjects make local assessments of shape perception at various locations in the image. After doing targeted analysis on subjects' responses, we identify an interesting relationship between memory and past experience on our ability to perceive 3D shape; we demonstrate that good contour alone is sufficient to mediate 3D depth perception; and we demonstrate the striking robustness of the brain's ability to perceive 3D shape in degraded conditions.
	Return to Index
4.1100	Miscellaneous
4.1200	Neural networks and connectionism
4.1201	Biodynamic craniosacral therapy CarolAgneessens Biodynamic Craniosacral therapy is based on the somatic belief that cerebral spinal fluid is the carrier of liquid light and is the highest known element within the body. William Sutherland, DO. the founder of cranial sacral therapy, felt this dynamic quality expressed through his hands. In later years, Sutherland experienced the movement of something he called the Breath of Life, which he referred to as the true therapeutic 'force of change' within all healing. The Biodynamic Craniosacral approach emerges from the pioneering insights of osteopaths, AndewTaylor Still, William Garner Sutherland and currently, James S. Jealous. Through the science of EMBRYOLOGY, it is now understood that our existence emerges from a liquid stream that transforms into a solid body and that arises out of no-thing. The very beginning of life carries wholeness and health that is never lost. As a biodynamic practitioner cultivates the perception of the underlying consciousness prior to conception and the ability to sit in stillness within this expansive matrix. The vortex encapsulating a client's trauma and pain has the possibility of dissolving. The presence we bring to this therapeutic interaction brings us closer to our own source of existence and embodied sense of connectivity which is the underlying fabric of wholeness. Biodynamic craniosacral therapy cultivates the perception of the therapeutic forces of Dynamic Stillness and Primary Respiration. Through an embodied perception of these therapeutic forces, as well as the cultivation of a gentle and receptive physical touch, the practitioner of this approach engages the transformative power of healing presence. As a movement educator and body work practitioner (for over 35 years) and as a registered instructor of Biodynamic Craniosacral trainings in the US and abroad,this brief overview will emphasize the role of embryology in biodynamic study. C 5
	Return to Index
4.1300	Positive Psychology
4.1301	Time to get serious: A call to finally begin empirically investigating nondual consciousness in a way that will be accepted in the academic mainstream Jeffery Martin (Harvard University, California Institute of Integral Studies) Despite its wide acceptance as a phenomenon since James' early commentaries, Stace's later categorizations, and Maslow's widely referenced research virtually no foundational work has been done in the area of permanent nondual consciousness that is acceptable to mainstream psychology. Episodic and permanent nondual states have been studied with a variety of phenomenological and hermeneutical techniques in the humanistic section of the APA, and the transpersonal psychology movement. The temporary forms of them have been examined empirically in the psychology of religion division, and by others, who found correlations with other altered states of consciousness. And, of course, psychophysiological and neurological studies have been sporadically measuring advanced meditators for a few decades, though largely without collecting (or, at least, publishing) accompanying phenomenological data. The fact remains that there are virtually no studies that can be cited that empirically examined permanent/long term non-symbolic consciousness. One notable exception is a series of three studies from researchers associated with Maharishi University, the results of which clearly demonstrate the benefits of applying empirical measurement to the problem. Without these types of studies, this important form of consciousness will remain firmly outside the mainstream appointment/tenure, lab, and grant systems. These systems contain resources that are vital to making substantial progress in this area of inquiry. This presentation will briefly address the current state of academic/scientific nondual research, followed by specific recommendations for the studies and structures that are necessary to move it into the academic mainstream.
	Return to Index
4.1302	Freeing the Dark Inside the Light Stephan Bodian Contrary to popular spiritual misconceptions, awakening to our radiant, boundariless, nondual nature is just the beginning of an often prolonged, even lifelong journey of fully digesting and embodying what we realize. Glimpsing our true nature, or even clearly recognizing it in all its vastness and mystery, doesn't seem to prevent us from lapsing back into reactive, unconscious patterns of behavior or acting from old, distorted beliefs about life. No matter how clear our realization of the light of truth, we may be shocked and dismayed to find ourselves periodically returning to stumble in the dark of separation and identification. These are often the issues that motivate chose who have had genuine awakenings to seek counseling from therapists with a nondual orientation. They're pained by the apparent discrepancy between the radiant awake-ness they know themselves to be and the persistent inner conflicts, contractions, and reactivity they experience on a regular basis. How and why is this happening, they wonder? How do I keep getting caught believing that I'm separate when I know that separation is merely an illusion? And how can you help me allow the light of truth to penetrate and illuminate every dimension and aspect of my life? In this presentation, I will describe the stages of embodiment that generally follow authentic awakening and how we, as nondual therapists, can help our clients negotiate them. From the absolute perspective, of course, there is never a moment when the light of consciousness is not fully embodied. But from the relative, individual perspective there is a journey of unfolding in which the life is more and more fully animated and guided by truth. In particular, I'll focus on the ways in which the ego reasserts its control by denying or co-opting awakening and on the split-off parts of the psyche that may be completely unaware that awakening has occurred. NDC 1 TR>		Return to Index
4.1400	Self-consciousness and Metacognition
4.1401	Kicking a bad habit Kenny Johnson Kenny Johnson decided at the age of 14 that he'd take his chances with the law enforcement system rather than with his mother's wrath. He spent the next 30 years cycling between enrollment in and release from institutions most people have no desire to visit. In 1997 he left prison for the last time. Kenny will speak briefly of his experience of grace — of release from the prison of his mind while still incarcerated, and share the presence which informs his life and yours, in deep dialogue. He honors the spiritual lineage of Ramana Maharshi, H.W.L. Poonja, and Gangaji. Through informal, compassionate conversation, and guided by intuition, Kenny will engage participants in direct, honest, and clear inquiry. You will come to see yourself as he does, timeless and essential goodness — regardless of your history. THERE IS NO TWO!!!
	Return to Index
4.1402	Reconsidering Body: Recognizing and eliciting intelligence in both the personal body and larger systems Kelly Larson (Center for the Study of Yoga and Health) As a human, we are fascinated with the nature of life. On a fundamental level, we identify ourselves as singular bodies, part of larger systems. This presentation argues that we as humans are a part of larger living systems, or larger bodies. These larger systems are not only conscious and physical, but also intelligent — in some fundamental ways, more intelligent then the humans within them. This presentation revisits common ideas of ecology, consciousness, and intelligence. Integrating science and philosophy to reconsider the definitions we tend to put around life, this presentation will take people on a journey through cosmology and ecology to rediscover the intelligent on the macro level. As this is established, we will look at the next obvious question - how can we elicit intelligence in these larger bodies? How do we elicit intelligence in our personal bodies? There is evidence indicating expanded awareness with long-term practices such as Yoga. This expanded awareness may be indication of accessing the intelligence within and beyond a personal body. Practical approaches such as the permaculture movement are examples of Yoga happening in the larger body. Permaculture clearly illustrates humanity cultivating the functional intelligence of ecosystems. From collective unconscious or consciousness, to timeless practices of Yoga, to the Gaia theory, to deep ecology, this conversation is not new. This presentation weaves a transdisciplinary approach to the topics of intelligence, body, and consciousness.
	Return to Index
4.1403	The Relationship Between Experiencing Our True Nature and Psychological Healing Processes Lama Palden This workshop will explore didactically and experientially the nature of the true experience of the emptiness of self and its clinical usefulness. When what is "true nature" from a Mahamudra/Dzogchen Buddhist point of view is experienced and understood, the inherent wholeness of oneself and one's interconnectedness with all that is, also comes into experience. This intersection of Buddhist practice with deep psychological work can be very fruitful. Learning Objectives: 1) Understand intellectually the teachings on true nature, emptiness of self and phenomena, "form is emptiness, emptiness is form." 2) Understand the relevance of this in healing deep psychological issues 3) Learn how to work with this with clients who have a meditation practice, and how to introduce the idea of this work to clients new to meditation.
	Return to Index
4.1404	Science and Psychotherapy in the Play of Nonduality Kaisa Puhakka, Ph.D. When the scientist asks, "how does nondual awareness relate to the brain?" dualisms instantly proliferate, showing up between the question and the one asking the question, between nondual awareness" and the brain, and so on. Likewise, when the psychotherapist asks, "how shall I point to or facilitate nondual awareness in my client or embody it myself?" dualisms arise between the one doing the facilitating and the one for whom the facilitating is done, between what is facilitated and whatever is not, and so on. Many names try not to name the nondual, but to no avail. The nondual plays in and through us, and dualisms are its beloved toys. These take different forms in science and psychotherapy due to their respective orientations around objectivity and subjectivity. When the nondual seeks to discover itself through our two disciplines, the play can be a most exciting game of "hide and seek." We will explore this game with the more detailed illustrations drawn from psychotherapy. As scientists and psychotherapists we are the "seekers" who go deep into the hiding places to find or actualize the nondual. So far, we have not found it however close we may seem. But every once in a while, miraculously and almost in spite of ourselves, we leave the serious business of seeking and come out to play...
	Return to Index
4.1500	Sensory modalities
4.1501	Neural Correlates of Object Indeterminacy in Art Compositions Alumit Ishai (Institute of Neuroradiology, University of Zurich) Visual indeterminacy occurs when subjects view suggestive images that resist immediate or easy recognition. Indeterminate artworks invoke an unusual state of awareness in which the formal aspects of perception (form, color) become dissociated from the semantic aspects (meaning, association). Indeterminate state of perception is therefore a non-dualistic experience, in which the world appears real yet devoid of distinct objects. In this lecture I will discuss several studies in which we used fMRI to investigate object recognition, memory and aesthetic judgment of art paintings. We found that subjects identified familiar objects not only in representational paintings, but also in indeterminate compositions in which objects are only suggested. The images rated as more aesthetically stimulating were also more likely to be recalled in subsequent memory tests. Art paintings evoked activation in a distributed cortical network. Coherent scenes activated more the temporoparietal junction, which mediates the binding of visual features and spatial locations, whereas meaningless, scrambledpaintings evoked imagery-related activation, which reflects the strategy subjects used to resolve the object indeterminacy. We also found that a short training session on object recognition in cubist paintings resulted in significant behavioral and neural changes. Trained subjects recognized more familiar objects in more paintings and showed enhanced and differential activation in the parahippocampal cortex. Moreover, trained subjects were slower to report not recognizing any objects, and their longer response latencies were correlated with activation in the fronto-parietal network for spatial attention. Trained subjects, thus, adopted a learned visual search strategy and used contextual associations to perform the task. Taken collectively, our studies suggest that the human brain is compulsory object viewer that automatically segments indeterminate visual input into coherent images, and support the "proactive brain" framework", according to which the brain uses associations to generate predictions.
	Return to Index
4.1600	Sleep and dreaming
4.1700	Temporal consciousness
4.1800	Unconscious/conscious processes