In this episode, Dr. Andrew Litchy recounts his journey from life as a monk to becoming a naturopathic doctor.

He shares his insights on how meditation helped him manage ADHD and how it has become integral to both his personal life and professional practice.

The conversation spans topics from the daily life of a monk and the experience of ordination to practical tips on integrating mindfulness into a busy life. 

Dr. Litchy also discusses practical strategies for training the mind in a hectic world and provides top wellness tips, making this episode a rich resource for anyone interested in meditation and holistic health.

FitMind Neuroscience-Based App: http://bit.ly/afitmind Website: www.fitmind.org

Show Notes

0:00 | Introduction to Andrew Litchy

9:02 | ADHD in Meditation

12:18 | How Meditation Clicked

13:25 | Straight Mindful Vipassana

19:05 | Jhanas Defined

23:42 | Experience of Ordaining as a Monk

27:40 | Day in the Life of a Monk

45:25 | From Monk to Med School

47:20 | Study on Meditation and HRV

55:20 | How to Train the Mind in a Busy Life

1:02:14 | Sticky Notes

1:10:17 | Homebase for the Mind

1:13:32 | “Waking From the Dream”

1:21:10 | Time Is a Construct

1:25:44 | Meditation Training for Children

1:31:05 | Top Wellness Tips

1:36:40 | Most Common Problems Treated in a Naturopathic Doctor’s Office

How does the mind shape our reality? What happens when the conceptual mind turns off?

The answers might be found in the depths of meditation.

Doug Kraft has delved into the complexities of the mind from various perspectives: as a psychotherapist, writer, minister, meditation teacher, and through the lenses of bio-energetics and neuroscience.

In this episode, we discuss consciousness and the mind's role in constructing our reality. We explore how to train our brains to achieve lasting contentment.

FitMind Neuroscience-Based App: http://bit.ly/afitmind Website: www.fitmind.org

SHOW NOTES

0:00 | Introduction to Doug Kraft

1:20 | Home Retreat Experience

8:15 | Dependent Origination

14:23 | What is Consciousness?

23:31 | How the Mind Constructs Reality

36:24 | The Man Who Lost $100,000

45:04 | Exercise for Glimpsing Deep Awareness

47:48 | Practice Insight - Redirecting Attention 

LINKS

• Doug's website: https://easingawake.com/
• Doug's retreat talks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DutrLDZo1Yk&t=2403s 

How does the brain work at its deepest levels? And to what extent can we radically upgrade it, creating neuroplastic changes?

Ruben Laukkonen, PhD is a cognitive neuroscientist, contemplative, speaker, and poet.

His eclectic background includes competing semi-professionally in Muay Thai Kickboxing, founding two businesses (including the first online market for bitcoin in Australia), and intensive meditation training.

Dr. Laukkonen is currently a principal investigator and lecturer at Southern Cross University and holds honorary fellowships at VU Amsterdam and The University of Queensland. He uses methods such as behavior, neuroimaging, machine learning, and phenomenology to empirically investigate some of the rarest states of human consciousness.

This episode is a full tour of the mind, including a deep dive into some of those rare states of consciousness and what they reveal about achieving the highest levels of human happiness.

FitMind Neuroscience-Based App: http://bit.ly/afitmind Website: www.fitmind.com

SHOW NOTES

0:00 | Introduction to Ruben Laukkonen, PhD

2:02 | Early Experience 

10:45 | How the Mind Makes Itself

22:18 | Predictive Processing & Agitation

25:30 | Why There's Always Something Wrong

31:28 | Chain of Causality in the Mind

36:00 | The Mind Rebuilding After Deepest Levels of Meditation

38:25 | Meditation for Reconditioning the Mind

52:06 | Doing Nothing Very Well

53:14 | Stages of Meditation & Predictive Processing

1:08:28 | Cessation & Awakening Research

1:17:12 | Jhanas - Stages of Deconstruction

1:24:22 | Rapid Fire Questions

LINKS

• https://rubenlaukkonen.com
• https://fitmind.com/give 

Dr. Anna Abraham is a psychologist and neuroscientist who investigates creativity and how we can optimize this key trait. She’s also a leading scholar on the study of human imagination.

On this episode, we discuss the key ingredients of a creative mind, how to become more creative, and how the brain can tell the difference between real and imaginary worlds.

FitMind Neuroscience-Based App: http://bit.ly/afitmind Website: www.fitmind.com

SHOW NOTES

0:00 | Intro to Anna Abraham, PhD

1:44 | Imagination More Important Than Knowledge?

4:45 | Imagination Defined

7:53 | How We Experience Real vs. Imaginary Worlds

17:20 | Fiction Crossing Into Reality

21:35 | Overlap of Memory & Imagination

29:28 | Ingredients of a Creative Mind

42:08 | Ways to Build Creativity

48:35 | Predictors of Creativity

58:12 | Rapid Fire Questions

Nick Littlehales has been an elite sport recovery coach for nearly a quarter-century and is the bestselling author of Sleep: The Myth of 8 Hours, the Power of Naps... and the New Plan to Recharge Your Body and Mind.

On this episode, we uncover the common myths and misunderstandings about sleep. We also discuss the circadian rhythm, chronotypes, polyphasic sleep, and treating sleep as recovery.

FitMind Neuroscience-Based App: http://bit.ly/afitmind Website: www.fitmind.com

SHOW NOTES

0:00 | Intro to Nick Littlehales

1:42 | Sleep Tips

3:45 | Becoming a Sleep Coach

7:28 | How the Pros Optimize Sleep

9:38 | What to do Before You Sleep

19:36 | Understanding Circadian Rhythm

26:10 | Polyphasic Sleep: Importance of Naps

28:58 | 7 Key Sleep Recovery Indicators

37:27 | How to Improve Sleep

43:54 | Microrest

45:20 | Rapid Fire Questions

Donald Hoffman, PhD is a cognitive scientist and author of The Case Against Reality: Why Evolution Hid the Truth from Our Eyes.

He is currently a professor at UC Irvine, where he studies consciousness, visual perception and evolutionary psychology.

On this episode, we “take the red pill” and hear Dr. Hoffman’s theory on why reality is not what it seems. He explains this complex topic by comparing reality to a user interface.

We discuss many topics, such as his mathematical theory of consciousness, questioning beliefs, and how the mind forms new mental models.

FitMind Neuroscience-Based App: http://bit.ly/afitmind Website: www.fitmind.com

Show Notes

0:00 | Introduction to Donald Hoffman, PhD

2:23 | Why Reality Isn’t as It Seems

7:30 | Reality as a User Interface

13:51 | Adapting to Evolving Technology

16:06 | Creating New Mental Models

18:31 | Moving Beyond Spacetime

23:06 | Consciousness is Fundamental

25:26 | Ancient Wisdom & Science of Consciousness

30:00 | Conversation with the Dalai Lama (starting at 54:40)

30:15 | Reality Transcends Concepts

36:39 | Questioning Beliefs

38:56 | A New Worldview

45:04 | Mathematical Theory of Consciousness

45:39 | Rapid Fire Questions

Andrew Holecek is an author and meditation teacher with decades of intensive practice experience, including a 3-year silent retreat in the Tibetan tradition.

Andrew’s work combines ancient wisdom with modern science.

We discuss the insights gained from his lengthy silent retreat, the 2 vectors of enlightenment, how our minds construct our realities, and much more.

FitMind Neuroscience-Based App: http://bit.ly/afitmind Website: www.fitmind.com

SHOW NOTES

0:00 | Intro to Andrew Holecek

4:55 | In the Presence of Meditation Masters 

10:10 | 3-Year Silent Retreat Experience

18:58 | Insights Gained from 3-Year Retreat

22:50 | Unsticking the Mind

30:06 | Enlightenment Defined 

38:58 | Waking Up & Growing Up 

44:23 | How Our Minds Construct Our Realities 

54:20 | Deconstructing Mental Constructs

62:23 | Rapid Fire Questions 

Miguel Nicolelis, MD, PhD is a Brazilian neuroscientist and physician famous for his pioneering work in the field of brain-machine interface (BMI) technology.

Dr. Nicolelis’s extensive research with brain-machine interfaces blurs the lines between real life and science fiction. 

In the episode, we discuss neuroprosthetics, monkeys controlling robots, brain-to-brain communication, and the key implications of these wild, futuristic technologies for us all.

FitMind Neuroscience-Based App: http://bit.ly/afitmind Website: www.fitmind.com

SHOW NOTES

0:00 | Intro to Dr. Miguel Nicolelis

4:20 | Monkeys Controlling Robots

10:30 | Mirror Neurons & Brain-Machine Interface (BMI)

13:02 | Advances & Applications of BMIs

17:50 | BMIs for Parkinson’s Disease

21:36 | Upgrading the Human Mind?

24:50 | Why Machines Will Never Think Like a Human

29:56 | Brains are Changed by Digital Systems

32:50 | Limitations of Computers

37:07 | How Nature Shaped the Brain

40:15 | We Only Experience a Sliver of Reality

49:45 | Viruses of the Mind

59:30 | Rapid Fire Questions

Edward Slingerland, PhD, is a Professor of Philosophy and Associate Member in the Asian Studies and Psychology Departments at the University of British Columbia. He's an expert on the cognitive science of ancient philosophies.

On this episode, we discuss the science of ancient concepts like Wu Wei (”effortless action”), hot vs cold cognition, ways to alter consciousness, the paradox of trying not to try, and much more.

FitMind Neuroscience-Based App: http://bit.ly/afitmind Website: www.fitmind.com

SHOW NOTES

0:00 | Intro to Edward Slingerland, PhD

1:39 | Wu Wei & Flow State

9:34 | Hot vs. Cold Cognition

13:45 | How to Get into State of Wu Wei

17:35 | When to Not Use Wu Wei

19:30 | Paradox of Trying Not to Try

26:40 | Wu Wei in Daily Life

30:10 | Microdosing Psychedelics

32:28 | Alcohol and Ways to Alter Consciousness

38:06 | How Much Effort is Needed to Become Effortless?

40:00 | Rapid Fire Questions

Dr. Susana Martinez-Conde and Dr. Stephen Macknik are neuroscientists who specialize in the science of magic and illusion.

Both are professors of ophthalmology, neurology, and physiology & pharmacology at the Downstate Medical Center.

Together they pioneered the study of various aspects of magic such as perception, cognitive illusion, and attentional misdirection.

On this episode, we discuss how magic tricks fool the brain, why everyday life is an illusion, what neuroscientists and magicians can learn from each other and much more.

FitMind Neuroscience-Based App: http://bit.ly/afitmind Website: www.fitmind.com

Show Notes

0:00 | Intro to Stephen Macknik, PhD & Susana Martinez-Conde, PhD

8:00 | How Magic Hacks Our Minds

13:00 | What Neuroscientists Learn from Magicians

15:54 | What Magicians Learn from Neuroscientists

17:24 | Testing Attention Manipulation 

22:25 | Cognition & Calculation

25:36 | How Our Brains Construct Reality

28:27 | Vision Produces Our Changing Realities

29:53 | Microsaccades Explained

32:58 | Brain on Autopilot

35:50 | Expertise as an Unconscious Process

40:46 | Magic for Kids vs. Magic for Adults

43:43 | Is Magic Still Enjoyable When You Know the Tricks?

48:24 | Rapid Fire Questions

Dr. Elena Antonova is a neuroscientist and senior lecturer in psychology at Brunel University London.

Her research focuses on the effects of long-term mindfulness meditation practice in the hope of promoting mental wellbeing in the general population.

On this episode, we dive into the different approaches to meditation and the 4 levels of meditation practice development. 

We also discuss what goes on in the brains of elite meditators and what it takes for the average person to reap the benefits from a meditation practice. 

FitMind Neuroscience-Based App: http://bit.ly/afitmind Website: www.fitmind.com

Show Notes

0:00 | Introduction to Elena Antonova, PhD

4:28 | Categorizing Meditation Practices

7:15 | Why Breath Focus is Fundamental

10:19 | Constructivist vs. Innateist Approach to Meditation

12:08 | 4 Levels of Meditation Practice Development

17:12 | Mental Fitness Defined

20:19 | Brains of Mental Olympians

24:10 | Default Mode Network Differences

32:00 | Field of Awareness Described

35:45 | Habituation of the Attention System

46:45 | Eye Movement Paradigm Study

54:00 | Balancing Brain’s Predictive Nature with the Present Moment

57:10 | Measurable Changes with Just 10 Minutes a Day

59:14 | Rapid Fire Questions