Brains On Purpose™

Open your conflict professional mind: University of Massachusetts Med School holding its annual conference on the science of mindfulness

Researchers and practitioners will gather in March to discuss the science of mindfulness, as well as many of its applications. Some of the workshops may be informative for conflict professionals. For example, those still doubting that mindfulness has real and provable benefits will be able to learn the latest in research. Topics such as anger and forgiveness will be covered, too. And one of the stated goals for the conference: "Participants will discuss how mindfulness meditation practice influences attention and emotional reactivity to social transgressions."

Take a look at the conference brochure [pdf] to see if any of the programs would be helpful to you in understanding conflict and possible methods of resolution. Let's be more interdisciplinary as we look at what others outside our field have to offer.

Image credit: jpkwitter.

Professional Artistry of Mediation: Accessing more of your brain and the knowledge of your body

The people offering this workshop are on the same wavelength as I am, but they may not know how aligned they are with neuroscience. In the past, I have posted about using images to access different parts of the brain and of finding ways to access the body's knowledge, both of which can add much, including creativity, to dispute resolution.

That's why I was delighted to learn of the workshop Professional Artistry of Mediation [pdf] [note from 9/22/12: link no longer works]. It will access the image nuggets in the brain and discover what the body knows, all in service of redefining how mediators see conflict and their roles as resolvers. From the workshop description:

This workshop is designed to challenge and inspire you! The workshop provides an experiential and reflective space for participants to engage in creative processes and conversations to reflect on the artistry of their practice.

Participants will explore in a playful and hands-on way the art of what we do, our identities as mediators, how we think about conflict and its resolution, and where we might like to take our practice in the future.

The workshop will include a range of arts-based activities including improvisation, drawing, storytelling and working with artifacts.

A workshop like that would certainly facilitate the kind of shift I recommended to mediators in my last post, don't you think?

Note (added September 22, 2012): Here are a couple of links related to artistry in mediation:

• "Standing on the Shoulders of Giants: Artistry, Expertise and Professionalism in Mediation and the Role of Higher Education" (Working Paper)
• The Making of a Mediator: Developing Artistry in Practice

Image credit: ppdigital.

Upcoming conference on neuroscience and conflict resolution

Jeff and I are happy to be delivering the keynote at this year's conference of the Southern California Mediation Association. The organization has titled the conference

The New Frontier
Science of the Mind: Tools for Negotiators

Some of the seminars, in addition to our presentation, will address brain-related topics:

• Brain Biology of Fair Behavior
• Solution Focused Mediation: Quantum Mechanics and Neuroscience: The Power is in the Focus
• The Neuropsychology of Conflict—How the Brain Works in Mediation

Sounds like a very worthwhile event; the organizers have been very creative and cutting-edge. For a more complete list of the seminars, click on over to idealawg. For all the information about the conference on November 8 and the dinner and program the night before, click for the brochure [pdf]. We hope to meet some of you there. Please let us know if you are attending.

Jeff Schwartz will be interviewed tomorrow (August 4) on the topic of neuroscience of leadership

Added August 5, 2008: To hear the interview on neuroscience and leadership, click here.

You may either listen live tomorrow at 9 AM or 9 PM Pacific here. (As readers of this blog may recall, Jeff was co-author of the seminal and very popular article "The Neuroscience of Leadership.") I will also post here the link to the recording of the interview when it is available. More below.

 

Upcoming conference on neurospirituality: California in October

Neuroscience & Spiritual Practice will be held October 12-14, 2008, in Claremont, California. From the conference Web page:

What happens to the brain during spiritual practices? Recent neuroscientific studies suggest that meditation, contemplation, and prayer may change the brain and neurosystem in identifiable and possibly predictable ways. What are the implications of such findings for spiritual formation? For science? For theology and philosophy? For life?

For conflict?

In addressing such questions, this unprecedented conference will gather an international group of renowned scientists, philosophers, theologians, and contemplatives to probe the relationship between neuroscientific understandings and the contemplative practices of Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. The conference will offer presentations, conversations, and opportunities to engage in and reflect on spiritual practices from each of the religious traditions represented.

Confirmed speakers:

Fr. Thomas Keating - ( St. Benedict’s Monastery)

B. Alan Wallace - (Santa Barbara Inst. for Consciousness Studies)

Evan Thompson - (University of Toronto)

Daniel J. Siegel - (Center for Human Development, UCLA)

Richard Davidson - (University of Wisconsin)

Nahid Angha - (International Association of Sufism)

Michael Spezio - (Scripps College)

Monica A. Coleman - (Claremont School of Theology)

Shauna Shapiro - (Santa Clara University)

Thandeka - (Meadville-Lombard Theological Seminary)

Cassandra Vieten - (California Pacific Medical Center)

John B. Cobb, Jr. - (Claremont School of Theology; Center for Process Studies)

Clifford Saron - (Center for Mind & Brain, UC Davis)

Andrew Dreitcer - (Claremont School of Theology)

Steve Padilla - (L.A. Times)

Frank Rogers, Jr. - (Claremont School of Theology)

Roland Faber - (Claremont School of Theology; Center for Process Studies)

Rick Hanson - (Wellspring Institute for Neuroscience & Contemplative Wisdom)

Martinez Hewlett - (University of Arizona)

Petr Janata - (Center for Mind and Brain, U.C. Davis)

John Buchanan - (psychologist)

Ben Johnson - (Columbia Theological Seminary)

Richard Mendius - (Wellspring Institute for Neuroscience & Contemplative Wisdom)

Steve Odin - (University of Hawai’i)

David E. Roy - (Center for Creative Transformation, Fresno)

Mustafa Ruzgar - (California State University, Northridge)

Marvin Sweeney - (Claremont School of Theology)

William S. Waldron - (Middlebury College)

Are any of you planning to attend?

Values and Empathy across Social Barriers: A Neurocognitive Approach to Fairness

A conference with that title will be held later this year. From the New York Academy of Sciences Web site:

What makes suicide bombers capable of sacrificing themselves for a belief? Why do members of one race believe they are superior to another? How do subliminal messages affect the outcome of political polling? Using the tools of neuroscience and social science, researchers have learned a great deal about the brain's role in human behavior and interactions. This November, international scientific leaders and young investigators will convene for the first Barcelona Social Brain Conference, an exciting two-day event featuring talks, poster presentations, and a public lecture on the interdisciplinary field of social neuroscience. Through a neuroscientific lens, participants will examine the human qualities of empathy, sacred values, and cooperation, and focus on the ways in which what they learn can be used to understand human conflicts.

The program includes some excellent presenters, including Kevin Ochsner, Elizabeth Phelps, and Susan Fiske.

Zen neuroscience program in Santa Fe - January, 2008

Some of you may find this announcement on Joan Halifax's blog of interest. Below is an excerpt of the post about the Zen Brain, Selfless Insight Retreat being held January 16-20, 2008.

Popular and scientific interest in the relationships between Buddhism and neuroscience has dramatically increased, accompanied by the publication of both theoretical proposals and new laboratory investigations relating Buddhist practice to the brain. In this important retreat/seminar, Joan Halifax Roshi and four renowned scientists who have contributed to this growing field of research, and are each long-term Zazen practitioners, will interactively share with participants their perspectives on what has specifically been learned about Zen practice and the brain, how this research is relevant for practice, and how experienced practitioners can help sharpen the research questions being asked. During the retreat, discussion will be integrated with Zazen practice throughout each day.
 
Clinical neurologist and neuroscientist James Austin, M.D. will provide an overview of  brain structure and physiology with high theoretical relevance to understanding many of the phenomena of Zen practice. His books, Zen and the Brain, and Zen-Brain Reflections, have been an extraordinarily rich source of hypotheses for neuroscientists who study long-term meditators. Dr. Austin will also provide retreat participants with a new speculative neuroscientific account of “what may have happened 2500 years ago under the Bodhi tree,” as well

Listen to Jeffrey Schwartz and me on Tuesday evening: "Leading Your Brain Instead of It Leading You"

From the Brain-Based Coaching Web site . . .

Don't miss the Brain Based Coaching Special Interest Group call Tuesday, 9/18/07 at 7:00 EDT.

We will have the opportunity to hear from and talk with two very important people in the world of emerging neuroscience.

Bridge no: 1-212-457-9879 PIN 700827#

The talk will be: "Leading Your Brain Instead of It Leading You."by Jeffrey M. Schwartz, MD and Stephanie West Allen, JD.

This is going to be so good you'll want to invite everyone you know!

Dr. Schwartz is author of the seminal books on neuroplasticity: "The Mind and the Brain: Neuroplasticity" and "the Power of Mental Force"co-authored with Sharon Begley, and the bestseller "Brain Lock: Free Yourself from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder".

He is a psychiatrist and research professor at UCLA.

Stephanie West Allen is a lawyer, speaker, trainer, author and personal strategist. She writes what has been called the most comprehensive blog on understandable neuroscience, www.brainsonpurpose.com.

One of her specialties is neuroscience and conflict resolution. Together Jeff and Stephanie have authored several widely-quoted articles which make neuroscience accessible to the layperson (find links on the www.brainsonpurpose.com blog site.

Make sure you are there for this incredible call

Click for instructions on how to listen to the call.

Applied Improvisation Network—November, 2007, Banff, Canada

Last post, I mentioned some benefits of learning and practicing improv. In November, the Applied Improvisation Network is holding its annual conference. Here's a quick overview of the sessions (PDF) and detailed information about each session (PDF).

Looks like a great event for both those beginning and those experienced in improv. Are any of you attending?

Hat tip to Johnnie Moore.

Note: Here's the Applied Improvisation Network blog.

Upcoming seminars in Denver, Portland, and Washington, DC

Our upcoming seminars will always be listed on the Schedule of Events page which can be accessed over to the right under Navigation.

Perhaps you would like to attend a seminar near you? If you have or can recruit a sponsoring organization, we will be very happy to come to your city. Please contact Stephanie about this possibility.

To update you about what is scheduled so far . . .

October 24, 2007

Denver, Colorado — 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM. The location is Holland & Hart at 555 17th Street in downtown Denver. Contact Stephanie for registration information.

• Six-hour program — Brains on Purpose™

November 15 and 16, 2007

Portland State University, Portland, Oregon — online registration

• November 15 — One-and-one-half-hour evening program on leading your brain instead of it leading you (self-leadership)
• November 16 — Six-hour day program — Neuroscience of Conflict Resolution

March 1, 2008

Smithsonian Institute, Washington, D.C

• Day-long program — Brains on Purpose™ (Web site will be posted on the Schedule of Events just as soon as it is available)

For more information or to arrange a program in your area, please e-mail Stephanie.

Jeffrey Schwartz to speak on the mind and brain at 2007 Idea Festival™

This year's IdeaFestival™ speakers include physicist Dirk Brockmann, lawyer Shirin Ebadi, author Ray Bradbury, Webby Awards founder Tiffany Shlain, Apple founder Steve Wozniak, and many more in this unique and stellar lineup. Jeff's presentation The Mind and Brain is described . . .

Recent advances involving our understanding of the brain particularly as it relates to its “plasticity” are having a profound affect on how we think about everything from brain injuries and disease to human creativity and education. Leading neuroscientist and author Jeffery Schwartz will discuss his work and ideas surrounding the mind (which he argues is not an illusion) and the brain and how “…the human mind is an independent entity that can shape and control the functioning of the physical brain…not just in childhood but throughout life”.

2007 IdeaFestival™ (IF) is being held September 13 - 15, in Louisville, Kentucky.

Other IF links:

• IdeaFestival™ Blog (latest post Wired tests crowd journalism joins some other interesting IF Blog posts)
• IdeaFestival™ Podcast featuring speakers from 2006 IdeaFestival™
• History and purpose of IdeaFestival™