Episode 32: Mental Health and Buddhism
Episode 32 of M3CS’s Contemplative Science Podcast saw Dr Elli Weisbaum come on to the show to talk about the potential benefits (and limitations) of pursuing Buddhism for the sake of our mental health.
For the full podcast, check out the episode here.
In this episode, we cover...
The influence of Thich Nhat Hanh and his mindfulness centre Plum Village.
Why there is no single modality or “catch-all” for our mental health.
The power of integrating mindfulness into healthcare and the wider community.
Dr Elli Weisbaum is a mindfulness practictioner and Assistant Professor for the Buddhism, Mental Health and Psychology programme at University of Toronto. Since attending her first retreat with Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh at the age of ten, Elli is passionate about the translation of mindfulness practice into everyday life.
Here are some of the key insights from the conversation...
Plum Village represents a meeting place for academic and Buddhist thought to unite.
”The scientists presenting on their recent findings and predictions, having the input from the Buddhist scholars... it was so congruent, they were all seeing new things in their own training and their own research. So I think that was the most, maybe not surprising, but delicious and delightful thing. It all enhances each other and there’s so much congruency. Everyone’s studying the same phenomenon, whether it’s academic contemporary science or contemplative Buddhist thought!”
Elli is motivated to integrate mindfulness with the wider population.
”I’m really interested in what we say in the literature is a ‘settings approach’ - how are we really meeting the setting and the population and what are the schedules there? And how does mindfulness truly integrate with that? When I think about bringing it into healthcare for leadership, clinicians and patients, I’m really interested in the barriers that can exist, eg. time and also putting the burden of wellness on the individual versus the system.”
Mental health matters!
”As scientists, we keep our tools in excellent condition that we’re going to use for an experiment... If the tool that you’re using for the job you do is your own mind, then mental health really matters.”
The best place to find Elli is here.
See you next week!
