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- [Driver] We're about 2 minutes
away from the main entrance.
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00:00:51,760 --> 00:00:56,560
- How far away is the Syrian
border from here?
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00:00:56,600 --> 00:01:00,480
- Syrian border is about
17 to 18 kilometres,
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north of the Za'atari camp.
- Yeah.
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00:01:04,080 --> 00:01:06,920
- The border is completely
sealed off.
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Jordan is no longer accepting
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or able to take
any more refugees
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00:01:12,400 --> 00:01:15,360
because of security issues.
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Unfortunately we cannot
film the main gate.
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- [Shannon] Ah ha.
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- So we will have to
turn cameras off.
12
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- [Shannon voiceover] When
I started my experiment
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to see what would happen to
my mental wellbeing
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00:01:46,120 --> 00:01:48,680
if I meditated every
day for a year,
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00:01:50,120 --> 00:01:52,160
I didn't plan to end up
in the Middle East,
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a region which is the front line
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of a global humanitarian crisis,
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and the heart of so
much suffering.
19
00:02:03,760 --> 00:02:07,160
None the less it was
here, on the dusty streets
20
00:02:07,200 --> 00:02:10,360
of one of the biggest
refugee camps in the world
21
00:02:10,400 --> 00:02:13,360
where the psychological
scars left by war
22
00:02:13,400 --> 00:02:16,000
and homelessness
are in plain sight,
23
00:02:16,040 --> 00:02:20,760
that the importance of my
first question finally hit home.
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But my story actually begins
half a world away,
25
00:02:27,240 --> 00:02:28,800
and more than a year ago.
26
00:02:42,680 --> 00:02:44,880
In my work as a journalist
and film maker,
27
00:02:44,920 --> 00:02:47,880
I had started to research
a new documentary
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on what can only be described
as a mental health crisis.
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00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:54,200
And I don't just mean
the wellbeing
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00:02:54,240 --> 00:02:56,000
of the 70 million people
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who have lost their homes
to war and famine.
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00:02:58,800 --> 00:03:02,280
Despite living in a time
of unprecedented progress
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00:03:02,320 --> 00:03:05,360
in science, technology,
and medicine,
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00:03:05,400 --> 00:03:08,240
according to the leading
medical science journal,
35
00:03:08,280 --> 00:03:12,120
The Lancet, every country
in the world is facing
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00:03:12,160 --> 00:03:16,120
and failing to tackle a host
of mental health disorders.
37
00:03:17,840 --> 00:03:20,600
- If economic affluence
was a recipe for happiness
38
00:03:20,640 --> 00:03:22,720
and freedom from
pain and suffering,
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00:03:22,760 --> 00:03:24,000
then the developed
world should be
40
00:03:24,040 --> 00:03:25,400
about as happy as it gets.
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00:03:25,440 --> 00:03:26,800
But it's not.
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00:03:26,840 --> 00:03:28,160
- [Nick Van Dam] The rough
estimates suggest that,
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something like 20 to 25%
of people will experience
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mental illness within
their lifetime.
45
00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:35,000
So we're talking about
one in four people.
46
00:03:35,040 --> 00:03:37,160
And there's even more
interest in data more recently
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suggesting that that might
even be an underestimate
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00:03:39,720 --> 00:03:41,440
which I find shocking.
49
00:03:41,480 --> 00:03:44,440
And if you think one in four
people, that's huge, right.
50
00:03:44,480 --> 00:03:45,800
And if that's an
underestimate, you know,
51
00:03:45,840 --> 00:03:47,480
what are we talking about?
52
00:03:47,520 --> 00:03:50,800
- Around the world there
about 300 million people,
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00:03:50,840 --> 00:03:53,040
right now, suffering
with depression.
54
00:03:53,079 --> 00:03:56,200
And if you think
about depression as
a recurrent problem,
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00:03:56,240 --> 00:03:58,640
that means it's a
1 billion person problem.
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00:03:58,680 --> 00:04:02,200
- The statistics on kids
who are in college,
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00:04:02,240 --> 00:04:04,080
who are taking
anti-depressant drugs.
58
00:04:04,120 --> 00:04:06,560
And it's almost so
high, it's unbelievable.
59
00:04:06,600 --> 00:04:08,960
It's a kind of
pharmaceutical madness.
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00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:13,080
- We are definitely in an
epidemic of chronic stress.
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00:04:13,120 --> 00:04:17,120
And we are not meant
to be under stress everyday
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for years at a time.
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And that's when
the damage occurs.
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- Because the number one thing
determining health is the mind.
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It affects us directly
because what goes on
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in our mental and
our emotional state
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00:04:27,400 --> 00:04:29,120
influences us psychologically,
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00:04:29,160 --> 00:04:30,840
but there's the indirect
affects, as well.
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00:04:30,880 --> 00:04:33,120
So when we're not feeling
good in ourselves,
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00:04:33,159 --> 00:04:35,640
we are not likely to look
after ourselves well,
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00:04:35,680 --> 00:04:37,800
eat well, exercise
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and so everything's impacted
by our state of mind.
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That's why I say it's the
number one thing
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00:04:42,240 --> 00:04:44,360
and we're just not
taking it seriously.
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- [Shannon voiceover] Above all,
there was one fact
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I couldn't get out of my head.
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Unless we change course,
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by 2030, depression will
overtake heart disease
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00:04:57,040 --> 00:05:00,480
and be the single biggest
health problem we face.
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00:05:09,840 --> 00:05:12,000
And it wasn't just my
future I was worried about.
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00:05:13,360 --> 00:05:15,120
I wanted to be able
to teach my kids
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how to prepare themselves
for the world that is coming.
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00:05:19,520 --> 00:05:22,960
As they faced a future of
disruption and uncertainty,
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00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:27,000
how could they protect, nurture
and nourish their minds?
85
00:05:27,040 --> 00:05:30,680
The single filter through which
they will experience the world.
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00:05:33,320 --> 00:05:34,880
While there was
tonnes of information
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00:05:34,920 --> 00:05:37,240
on what we should all
be eating and drinking,
88
00:05:37,280 --> 00:05:39,320
how much sleep we
should be getting
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00:05:39,360 --> 00:05:41,720
and how much exercise
we should be doing,
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00:05:42,960 --> 00:05:45,120
when I looked for
a widely accepted,
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00:05:45,159 --> 00:05:49,120
evidence-based recommendation
for our mental health,
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00:05:49,159 --> 00:05:52,200
the brain's equivalent of a
30-minute jog around the block,
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00:05:52,240 --> 00:05:56,440
or the mind's daily serving
of five fruit and vegetables.
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00:05:57,920 --> 00:06:01,640
There was nothing.
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00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:25,560
So I guess I just, I
wanted to show you this.
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00:06:25,600 --> 00:06:29,360
These are my health records
since I first got sick.
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00:06:29,400 --> 00:06:33,840
I had constant pain
all through my body.
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And I had insomnia.
99
00:06:37,360 --> 00:06:40,280
Yeah emotionally, I was
in a pretty dark place.
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00:06:41,640 --> 00:06:43,200
This is the first letter
that was written
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after I was diagnosed.
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00:06:45,480 --> 00:06:47,760
I thought I was
seeing this doctor
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because he was going
to tell me that I needed
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to take a couple
of weeks off work
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and put my feet up.
106
00:06:56,800 --> 00:06:59,880
But actually, he told me
that he suspected
107
00:06:59,920 --> 00:07:02,960
that I have an autoimmune
disease called lupus,
108
00:07:04,920 --> 00:07:06,960
for which there is
no known cause
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00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:08,760
and there is no known cure.
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- [Interviewer]
How old were you?
111
00:07:12,200 --> 00:07:16,000
- So I was 24, then, 24.
112
00:07:17,680 --> 00:07:20,120
When you've got a chronic
disease and you're desperate,
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00:07:20,160 --> 00:07:23,000
you will like, I would
hand over my money
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00:07:23,040 --> 00:07:26,760
to anyone and everyone
who offered me a cure.
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00:07:28,320 --> 00:07:31,520
I spent thousands and thousands
and thousands of dollars
116
00:07:31,560 --> 00:07:33,840
trying to find something
that would cure me.
117
00:07:37,800 --> 00:07:41,680
One of my symptoms was that I,
thought I had food allergies.
118
00:07:41,720 --> 00:07:44,960
So I went to this place called
Advanced Allergy Elimination
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that promised I would be
able to cure my allergy.
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00:07:49,040 --> 00:07:52,080
I think I spent $700
with these guys.
121
00:07:52,120 --> 00:07:55,600
And yeah, here's this
news release from when
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00:07:55,640 --> 00:07:58,400
the government took
them to court
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00:07:58,440 --> 00:08:01,240
and they were found to
have misled consumers
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00:08:01,280 --> 00:08:03,800
about the efficacy
of their treatments.
125
00:08:03,840 --> 00:08:06,200
And I was one of the
victims of that.
126
00:08:07,880 --> 00:08:10,640
And that's when I started
basically turning to science.
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00:08:12,120 --> 00:08:15,680
[pensive music]
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00:08:28,680 --> 00:08:30,680
- [Shannon voicover] Experiment
notes.
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00:08:30,720 --> 00:08:33,400
If there's anyway that I
can prevent my kids
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00:08:33,440 --> 00:08:35,880
from suffering in the
same way I have,
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00:08:35,919 --> 00:08:37,520
I want to find it.
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00:08:37,559 --> 00:08:40,080
And I suspect if
there is an answer,
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00:08:40,120 --> 00:08:44,080
it will buried in the
latest scientific research.
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00:08:44,120 --> 00:08:46,120
To me, any realistic solution
135
00:08:46,160 --> 00:08:49,040
has to meet some
key requirements.
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00:08:49,080 --> 00:08:53,680
It has to be available to any
one, anywhere, at any time
137
00:08:53,720 --> 00:08:58,240
which means, it has to be
free or at least, low cost.
138
00:08:58,280 --> 00:09:00,960
It has to be available
to anyone regardless
139
00:09:01,000 --> 00:09:03,560
of their education
or life circumstances
140
00:09:03,600 --> 00:09:05,440
and it has to fit
into the busy schedules
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00:09:05,480 --> 00:09:08,320
of people living
in the real world.
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00:09:08,360 --> 00:09:10,800
My other key requirement
is that it has to be based
143
00:09:10,840 --> 00:09:13,560
on a solid foundation of
scientific evidence.
144
00:09:14,760 --> 00:09:16,680
Now all that sounds
like a lot to ask
145
00:09:16,720 --> 00:09:19,920
but there is one thing
that ticks all my boxes.
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00:09:19,960 --> 00:09:22,720
Mindfulness meditation.
147
00:09:24,200 --> 00:09:26,640
I know we have decades of
research informing the advice
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on exercise, food and sleep.
149
00:09:29,520 --> 00:09:31,200
But in the last 10 years,
150
00:09:31,240 --> 00:09:34,680
new technology has enabled
scientists to peer inside
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00:09:34,720 --> 00:09:37,520
our brains and bodies
while we sit quietly
152
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with our thoughts and feelings.
153
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In other words, meditate.
154
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And contemplative
science has exploded.
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Whilst there are a number
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of popular forms of meditation,
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mindfulness in particular has
captured scientific attention
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and gone from a few hundred
peer review papers
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to almost 6,000.
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From what I can tell,
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00:10:01,360 --> 00:10:04,920
it's a simple yet adaptable
form of mental training
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00:10:04,960 --> 00:10:06,600
that seems to work on a range
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of different
psychological levels.
164
00:10:09,080 --> 00:10:11,360
And in a similar
way to exercise,
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00:10:11,400 --> 00:10:12,880
can sit quite comfortably
166
00:10:12,920 --> 00:10:16,920
alongside the best of
current medical practice.
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And this is what I find
really interesting
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00:10:19,480 --> 00:10:22,120
in the context of my question.
169
00:10:22,160 --> 00:10:25,200
An eight-week programme
underpinned by mindfulness
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00:10:25,240 --> 00:10:28,520
has repeatedly been found
equal to medication
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00:10:28,560 --> 00:10:31,080
for preventing
recurrent depression.
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00:10:34,600 --> 00:10:36,880
Given the mental health crisis,
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should we all be practising
mindfulness in the same way
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00:10:39,920 --> 00:10:43,680
that we should exercise
and eat our vegetables?
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00:10:43,720 --> 00:10:46,160
Or is this evidence too
good to be true?
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There's only one
way to find out.
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I'm going to do an experiment,
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My Year of Living Mindfully.
179
00:11:01,200 --> 00:11:04,160
Hi Marc. Okay, so you're
across what--
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00:11:04,200 --> 00:11:06,680
You're across what the
film is, obviously?
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00:11:06,720 --> 00:11:10,720
[Marc faintly talking on phone]
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Yeah.
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00:11:19,040 --> 00:11:23,360
Specifically in a nut shell,
specifically, it's meditation.
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So, you probably maybe, unless
you've been under a rock,
185
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you've probably heard that
meditation is being sold
186
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as this cure all panacea.
187
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And so, this is kind of
a project that's looking
188
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at you know, is meditation,
189
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is it just self-report
quality of life that changes?
190
00:11:42,920 --> 00:11:45,240
Or is there something really
interesting that happens
191
00:11:45,280 --> 00:11:46,680
on a biological level?
192
00:11:47,680 --> 00:11:48,920
- Hey.
- Neil. Hello.
193
00:11:48,960 --> 00:11:50,960
- Welcome.
- Nice to meet you in person.
194
00:11:51,000 --> 00:11:52,760
- Yeah, come on through.
195
00:11:52,800 --> 00:11:56,280
- Well go down to this
lab, straight ahead here.
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- [Shannon] I'm thrilled that a
whole heap of scientists
197
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have come on board.
198
00:12:00,240 --> 00:12:02,200
Two neuroscientists,
I've got somebody looking
199
00:12:02,240 --> 00:12:03,520
at my telomeres.
200
00:12:03,560 --> 00:12:07,360
We're tracking my
stress hormones.
201
00:12:07,400 --> 00:12:08,880
That's where you
guys come into it
202
00:12:08,920 --> 00:12:11,280
with the gene expression
side of things.
203
00:12:11,320 --> 00:12:12,600
Especially from the perspective
204
00:12:12,640 --> 00:12:14,520
that I have an
autoimmune disease.
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00:12:14,560 --> 00:12:16,120
Here's the sample.
- Excellent.
206
00:12:16,160 --> 00:12:18,360
Throw it in the freezer
to keep it nice and cold.
207
00:12:18,400 --> 00:12:20,480
- And then she has 30 minutes
208
00:12:20,520 --> 00:12:22,240
from when she's taken that blood
209
00:12:22,280 --> 00:12:23,640
to get it back to the lab.
210
00:12:23,680 --> 00:12:25,240
Has this ever been done before?
211
00:12:25,280 --> 00:12:27,920
- So, not at this
sort of intensity,
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00:12:27,960 --> 00:12:29,640
in terms of the
scheduling of testing.
213
00:12:34,240 --> 00:12:37,800
- It says saliva.
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00:12:41,120 --> 00:12:43,720
Who has saliva on
their to-do list?
215
00:12:45,360 --> 00:12:47,840
So that's why I'm so
grateful that
216
00:12:47,880 --> 00:12:50,160
you guys came on board
and said you're interested
217
00:12:50,200 --> 00:12:52,000
and I'm fascinated.
218
00:12:53,880 --> 00:12:55,680
Experiment notes.
219
00:12:55,720 --> 00:12:57,960
It's been a wirlwind
but I think I'm ready
220
00:12:58,000 --> 00:13:00,240
to put my hypothesis
to the test.
221
00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:04,600
I first got sick 13 years ago,
222
00:13:04,640 --> 00:13:07,520
during an especially
difficult time in my life.
223
00:13:07,560 --> 00:13:09,120
Although specialists have given
224
00:13:09,160 --> 00:13:11,520
my autoimmune disease
various labels,
225
00:13:11,560 --> 00:13:13,680
if the science is
anything to go by,
226
00:13:13,720 --> 00:13:15,600
then regular
mindfulness meditation
227
00:13:15,640 --> 00:13:17,280
should have positive affects
228
00:13:17,320 --> 00:13:20,360
on my mind, body and health.
229
00:13:20,400 --> 00:13:21,960
I've set up interviews with 18
230
00:13:22,000 --> 00:13:24,360
of the world's top
mindfulness scientists
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00:13:24,400 --> 00:13:26,160
to guide me over the next year.
232
00:13:27,480 --> 00:13:29,680
And I now have
six researchers onboard
233
00:13:29,720 --> 00:13:32,360
to track every biomarker
linked to mindfulness
234
00:13:32,400 --> 00:13:35,000
as well as my
subjective wellbeing.
235
00:13:35,040 --> 00:13:39,040
Step one is to be poked,
prodded, scanned and screened
236
00:13:39,080 --> 00:13:42,720
to establish a baseline
before I start to meditate.
237
00:13:42,760 --> 00:13:44,320
- So we've already
done this scan once
238
00:13:44,360 --> 00:13:46,040
and now we're going to do
it with the meditation.
239
00:13:46,080 --> 00:13:47,200
- [Shannon] Okay.
240
00:13:47,240 --> 00:13:49,080
- So we have comparable data.
241
00:13:50,000 --> 00:13:51,520
- [Shannon] And how
does the brain look?
242
00:13:51,560 --> 00:13:54,280
- It looks great.
- There's a brain.
243
00:13:54,320 --> 00:13:56,280
- We were commenting on
it that there's a brain.
244
00:13:56,320 --> 00:13:58,960
It's very nice, well formed.
245
00:13:59,000 --> 00:14:01,520
No abnormalities.
246
00:14:01,560 --> 00:14:04,560
This part is the hippocampus.
247
00:14:04,600 --> 00:14:06,960
And it's one of the
regions we're interested in.
248
00:14:07,000 --> 00:14:09,080
And we're interested
in the hippocampus
249
00:14:09,120 --> 00:14:11,600
because it's one
structure in the brain
250
00:14:11,640 --> 00:14:13,480
that we can measure
very well.
251
00:14:13,520 --> 00:14:15,840
It's sensitive to stress.
252
00:14:15,880 --> 00:14:18,520
It shrinks more with ageing.
253
00:14:18,560 --> 00:14:23,160
So if we want to see whether
some interventions decrease
254
00:14:23,200 --> 00:14:26,360
the effect of ageing,
that's one place we look at.
255
00:14:27,880 --> 00:14:30,320
- [Shannon voiceover] The theory
behind meditation's effect
256
00:14:30,360 --> 00:14:32,680
on the brain is that
when we do something,
257
00:14:32,720 --> 00:14:34,640
there's activity in our
brain and over time,
258
00:14:34,680 --> 00:14:37,160
if it's done over
and over again,
259
00:14:37,200 --> 00:14:40,440
those networks become stronger.
260
00:14:40,480 --> 00:14:42,600
It's the old neurons
that fire together,
261
00:14:42,640 --> 00:14:45,400
wire together catchphrase.
262
00:14:45,440 --> 00:14:47,520
And it doesn't matter if
I'm learning to navigate
263
00:14:47,560 --> 00:14:50,200
London's streets in a taxi cab,
264
00:14:50,240 --> 00:14:52,080
practising the piano,
265
00:14:52,120 --> 00:14:55,240
or training in
mindfulness meditation.
266
00:14:55,280 --> 00:15:00,160
If I do my exercises, my brain
should theoretically change.
267
00:15:01,400 --> 00:15:04,600
So far, several studies
have used MRI's
268
00:15:04,640 --> 00:15:08,200
to look at the brain structure
of long-term meditators.
269
00:15:08,240 --> 00:15:11,040
And there are
noticeable differences.
270
00:15:11,080 --> 00:15:14,840
Professor Nicolas Cherbuin
who's studying my brain
271
00:15:14,880 --> 00:15:17,520
was involved in one
experiment which found
272
00:15:17,560 --> 00:15:21,240
that at age 50, the brains
of meditators were seven
273
00:15:21,280 --> 00:15:24,360
and a half years younger
than non-meditators.
274
00:15:25,800 --> 00:15:28,720
This has huge implications
because brain ageing
275
00:15:28,760 --> 00:15:32,160
or atrophy is linked with
everything from dementia
276
00:15:32,200 --> 00:15:36,160
and alzheimers to
depression and addiction.
277
00:15:36,200 --> 00:15:39,600
So at first glance,
I'm thinking, younger brain?
278
00:15:39,640 --> 00:15:40,720
Sign me up.
279
00:15:41,680 --> 00:15:42,920
But there's a catch.
280
00:15:42,960 --> 00:15:45,480
Their findings led
to more questions,
281
00:15:45,520 --> 00:15:48,160
crucially were their
brains different
282
00:15:48,200 --> 00:15:50,880
because they were
long-term meditators?
283
00:15:50,920 --> 00:15:53,920
Or were they more inclined
to stick with meditation
284
00:15:53,960 --> 00:15:56,680
because they had different
brains to begin with?
285
00:15:56,720 --> 00:16:00,040
The missing link here
is scientific data
286
00:16:00,080 --> 00:16:03,400
that tracks people like
me over time.
287
00:16:12,240 --> 00:16:15,080
So, yeah, so I've just been
lying in bed thinking
288
00:16:15,120 --> 00:16:16,640
that maybe...
289
00:16:19,200 --> 00:16:24,040
Doing another low budget
feature documentary
290
00:16:27,280 --> 00:16:30,880
is a really silly idea.
291
00:16:32,440 --> 00:16:34,240
And I think to myself, okay,
292
00:16:34,280 --> 00:16:36,120
insomnia is back,
293
00:16:36,160 --> 00:16:39,200
it looks like my autoimmune
disease is presenting.
294
00:16:40,240 --> 00:16:41,600
Like, is making this film
295
00:16:41,640 --> 00:16:44,720
just the stupidest
idea in the world?
296
00:16:44,760 --> 00:16:47,240
Like, am I gonna pay
for this with my health?
297
00:16:48,400 --> 00:16:49,880
And I start catastrophising
298
00:16:49,920 --> 00:16:52,200
and I start thinking,
oh my God, like,
299
00:16:54,080 --> 00:16:56,800
how can be sick and
be a good mum?
300
00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:08,920
So, like I have been
chronically stressed lately.
301
00:17:08,960 --> 00:17:11,520
I've probably taken on a
bit more than I should have.
302
00:17:11,560 --> 00:17:13,160
- Hmm hmm.
303
00:17:13,200 --> 00:17:16,200
- If I was to keep this up
304
00:17:16,240 --> 00:17:19,119
and you know, my
insomnia has returned.
305
00:17:19,160 --> 00:17:22,680
would you think that
my symptoms could
306
00:17:22,720 --> 00:17:24,920
become worse?
- Yes.
307
00:17:24,960 --> 00:17:27,440
But I think we've talked
about this before.
308
00:17:27,480 --> 00:17:28,480
Having realistic expectations
309
00:17:28,520 --> 00:17:29,960
of how you manage that as well.
310
00:17:30,000 --> 00:17:31,240
I think--
- What do you mean by that?
311
00:17:31,280 --> 00:17:33,040
- In a perfect world,
312
00:17:34,040 --> 00:17:36,360
we'd all be stress-free but,
313
00:17:36,400 --> 00:17:38,840
today's society, we're all so,
314
00:17:40,360 --> 00:17:41,640
have so many
different pressures.
315
00:17:41,680 --> 00:17:43,480
You as well, like you're
working full-time,
316
00:17:43,520 --> 00:17:44,480
you've got two young children,
317
00:17:44,520 --> 00:17:46,320
you've got a lot on your plate.
318
00:17:46,360 --> 00:17:49,720
It'll be interesting to see
this year of stress management,
319
00:17:49,760 --> 00:17:51,480
whether that's possible.
- Hmm, yeah.
320
00:17:51,520 --> 00:17:52,760
- And--
321
00:17:52,800 --> 00:17:53,840
- [Shannon] You're not even
sure it's possible.
322
00:17:53,880 --> 00:17:54,680
- No, no, no, I'm
not saying it's not.
323
00:17:54,720 --> 00:17:56,120
I'm not saying it's not.
324
00:17:56,160 --> 00:17:57,800
I'm just saying, you know,
like I think,
325
00:17:57,840 --> 00:18:00,760
it'll be interesting what
you achieve from that.
326
00:18:03,160 --> 00:18:04,680
- [Shannon] You're a scientist,
327
00:18:04,720 --> 00:18:07,880
but you're also a
working mother.
328
00:18:07,920 --> 00:18:11,560
Do you have any idea
how I am possibly going
329
00:18:11,600 --> 00:18:15,480
to find the time to
meditate everyday?
330
00:18:15,520 --> 00:18:17,480
- I think of this very similar
331
00:18:17,520 --> 00:18:20,120
to what dentists
say about flossing.
332
00:18:20,160 --> 00:18:21,680
Floss one tooth.
333
00:18:22,920 --> 00:18:25,640
If you can commit to
flossing one tooth,
334
00:18:25,680 --> 00:18:29,480
your dental health
will improve, why?
335
00:18:29,520 --> 00:18:31,400
Because nobody
flosses one tooth.
336
00:18:31,440 --> 00:18:32,720
You're there, you're
ready to go.
337
00:18:32,760 --> 00:18:35,600
You're going to do
the full routine.
338
00:18:35,640 --> 00:18:39,320
Just taking the
posture of practicing
339
00:18:39,360 --> 00:18:40,920
even if you get up after that,
340
00:18:40,960 --> 00:18:43,840
with that as your requirement
for your day,
341
00:18:43,880 --> 00:18:46,120
I think that you're likely
to have a lot of success
342
00:18:46,160 --> 00:18:47,160
with this in the next year.
343
00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:00,560
- [Shannon voiceover] Experiment
notes, methodology.
344
00:19:00,600 --> 00:19:03,880
To start, I'm aiming for 20
minutes a day using an app
345
00:19:03,920 --> 00:19:05,960
and I'll slowly
build from there.
346
00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:08,080
I've also signed up for
an eight-week course
347
00:19:08,120 --> 00:19:09,960
and a 10-day silent retreat.
348
00:19:11,640 --> 00:19:14,080
Apart from that, nothing
else will change.
349
00:19:14,120 --> 00:19:16,400
I'll still have my usual
parenting duties
350
00:19:16,440 --> 00:19:18,160
and full-time work commitments.
351
00:19:18,200 --> 00:19:20,280
As a journalist, that
means researching,
352
00:19:20,320 --> 00:19:22,400
writing and travelling
for interviews.
353
00:19:22,440 --> 00:19:25,000
And I won't change
my diet or exercise habits.
354
00:19:26,560 --> 00:19:28,480
As for the actual practice,
355
00:19:28,520 --> 00:19:30,000
I'm turning to the experts.
356
00:19:32,160 --> 00:19:35,880
I just want to get on tape
your definition of mindfulness.
357
00:19:35,920 --> 00:19:38,320
- [Jon Kabat-Zinn] So my working
definition of mindfulness,
358
00:19:38,360 --> 00:19:40,640
this is what I call an
operational definition
359
00:19:40,680 --> 00:19:43,720
is that it's the
awareness that arises
360
00:19:43,760 --> 00:19:46,680
from paying attention on purpose
361
00:19:46,720 --> 00:19:48,920
in the present moment,
non-judgmentally.
362
00:19:51,040 --> 00:19:53,640
And the non-judgemental
part is the kicker, so to speak
363
00:19:53,680 --> 00:19:55,600
and people need
to understand
364
00:19:55,640 --> 00:19:57,720
that non-judgmentally
doesn't mean
365
00:19:57,760 --> 00:19:59,560
that you won't
have any judgements,
366
00:19:59,600 --> 00:20:01,840
it means that you
will be mindful
367
00:20:01,880 --> 00:20:04,920
of how many judgements you have.
368
00:20:04,960 --> 00:20:08,640
How attached we all are to
wanting things to be this way
369
00:20:08,680 --> 00:20:10,880
and not wanting them
to be that way.
370
00:20:10,920 --> 00:20:12,680
So this is kind of,
371
00:20:12,720 --> 00:20:14,920
it's an operational definition
372
00:20:14,960 --> 00:20:17,160
because when you
put it into operation,
373
00:20:17,200 --> 00:20:20,280
then mindfulness
arises within you.
374
00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:24,280
- [Joseph] You can begin the
meditation by settling
375
00:20:24,320 --> 00:20:26,840
into a comfortable posture.
376
00:20:26,880 --> 00:20:29,440
You begin to feel
your body breathing.
377
00:20:29,800 --> 00:20:32,080
- Mindfulness is a sort
of state or capacity,
378
00:20:32,120 --> 00:20:33,840
a way of being.
379
00:20:33,880 --> 00:20:36,760
And meditation is a
whole family of practices
380
00:20:36,800 --> 00:20:39,480
that are in the service
of cultivating mindfulness.
381
00:20:39,520 --> 00:20:41,160
So in Pali and Sanskrit,
382
00:20:41,200 --> 00:20:43,160
the word for meditation
is bhavana,
383
00:20:43,200 --> 00:20:45,600
which means to develop
or to cultivate.
384
00:20:45,640 --> 00:20:49,000
And so meditation is in
the service of cultivating
385
00:20:49,040 --> 00:20:50,240
and developing mindfulness.
386
00:20:52,000 --> 00:20:53,520
- [Joseph] You become aware
of predominant sensations.
387
00:20:53,560 --> 00:20:56,680
- So mindfulness is
not a way of relaxing.
388
00:20:56,720 --> 00:20:58,920
When we pay attention
and look at our mind,
389
00:20:58,960 --> 00:21:00,240
we discover all sorts of things,
390
00:21:00,280 --> 00:21:02,400
which may be anything
but relaxing.
391
00:21:04,080 --> 00:21:07,600
- [Joseph] As we end the
meditation, you can open
your eyes.
392
00:21:07,640 --> 00:21:10,560
As you re-engage with
your life and the world,
393
00:21:10,600 --> 00:21:13,680
you can always come back
to the very simple feeling
394
00:21:13,720 --> 00:21:15,360
of the body.
395
00:21:15,400 --> 00:21:18,880
The body sitting, the body
standing, the body walking.
396
00:21:18,920 --> 00:21:21,920
In this way, we see that
meditation is not simply
397
00:21:21,960 --> 00:21:25,680
about sitting, it's not
simply about one posture.
398
00:21:25,720 --> 00:21:27,840
It's bringing awareness
and mindfulness
399
00:21:27,880 --> 00:21:30,440
to every aspect of our lives.
400
00:21:30,480 --> 00:21:33,480
- The brain is changing
wittingly or unwittingly,
401
00:21:33,520 --> 00:21:36,480
constantly, and the
invitation in all this work
402
00:21:36,520 --> 00:21:40,080
is that we can actually
take more responsibility
403
00:21:40,120 --> 00:21:42,840
for the shaping of our brains
404
00:21:42,880 --> 00:21:45,920
in ways which may underlie
positive qualities
405
00:21:45,960 --> 00:21:47,800
of the mind and wellbeing.
406
00:21:56,800 --> 00:22:00,200
- [Shannon Voiceover] Experiment
notes, day 14.
407
00:22:00,240 --> 00:22:03,600
I'm getting the gist that
mindfulness is essentially
408
00:22:03,640 --> 00:22:06,040
a three and a half thousand
year old technique
409
00:22:06,080 --> 00:22:08,720
to teach me how my mind works.
410
00:22:10,480 --> 00:22:12,960
I'm really grateful for
the expert advice
411
00:22:13,000 --> 00:22:16,160
because there's just so
much mindfulness on offer
412
00:22:16,200 --> 00:22:18,640
that it's hard to know
who to trust.
413
00:22:18,680 --> 00:22:21,880
It's available in classrooms
and boardrooms,
414
00:22:21,920 --> 00:22:24,280
in studios and online.
415
00:22:24,320 --> 00:22:28,680
There are mindful books,
apps, gyms, buses
416
00:22:28,720 --> 00:22:32,000
and even mayonnaise.
417
00:22:33,840 --> 00:22:36,640
Meditation is now the
fastest growing health trend
418
00:22:36,680 --> 00:22:38,720
in the US and has transformed
419
00:22:38,760 --> 00:22:41,160
from an ancient
Buddhist practise
420
00:22:41,200 --> 00:22:44,880
into a 1.1 billion
dollar industry.
421
00:22:44,920 --> 00:22:47,480
I'm starting to realise,
there's a big difference
422
00:22:47,520 --> 00:22:49,440
between the mindfulness
for mental health
423
00:22:49,480 --> 00:22:50,880
that I'm reading about
424
00:22:50,920 --> 00:22:53,760
in the most prestigious
science journals
425
00:22:53,800 --> 00:22:56,480
and the chicken pot
pie-based meditation system
426
00:22:56,520 --> 00:22:59,720
that promises to nourish
my mind and body
427
00:22:59,760 --> 00:23:03,200
that was developed by the
rather cheeky marketing
department at KFC.
428
00:23:03,240 --> 00:23:07,360
- [KFC Character] A system
that will ease your suffering.
429
00:23:07,400 --> 00:23:10,400
And your hunger.
430
00:23:21,960 --> 00:23:24,400
- So I'm on the road at the
moment doing some interviews
431
00:23:24,440 --> 00:23:28,680
and I've just been sent
a scientific paper
432
00:23:28,720 --> 00:23:32,040
that's been published
in a respected journal.
433
00:23:32,080 --> 00:23:34,160
The paper's called,
Mind the Hype.
434
00:23:34,200 --> 00:23:36,920
So, listen to this.
435
00:23:36,960 --> 00:23:40,680
As mindfulness has increasingly
pervaded every aspect
436
00:23:40,720 --> 00:23:42,440
of contemporary society,
437
00:23:42,480 --> 00:23:45,720
so have misunderstandings
about what it is,
438
00:23:45,760 --> 00:23:49,800
whom it helps and how it
affects the mind and brain.
439
00:23:49,840 --> 00:23:53,760
At a practical level, this
misinformation and propagation
440
00:23:53,800 --> 00:23:57,640
of poor research
methodology has potentially
441
00:23:57,680 --> 00:24:01,800
led to people being harmed,
cheated, disappointed
442
00:24:01,840 --> 00:24:03,880
and or disaffected.
443
00:24:07,240 --> 00:24:09,960
So I'm just going to try and get
in touch with the lead author
444
00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:12,360
of the paper, Nicholas Van Dam.
445
00:24:12,400 --> 00:24:14,960
He said he's available
to talk to me over Skype.
446
00:24:18,520 --> 00:24:20,840
- The main story or the
main sort of thing
447
00:24:20,880 --> 00:24:25,680
we want to convey is that
a lot of the portrayal
448
00:24:27,080 --> 00:24:28,360
of meditation and
mindfulness research
449
00:24:28,400 --> 00:24:31,320
is probably overly positive.
450
00:24:31,360 --> 00:24:32,680
That's not just the media,
451
00:24:32,720 --> 00:24:36,120
that's also a lot of
scientific researchers
452
00:24:36,160 --> 00:24:40,920
and you know, promoters of
mindfulness and meditation.
453
00:24:40,960 --> 00:24:44,440
There's this sort of, this
idea or this sort of sentiment
454
00:24:44,480 --> 00:24:46,960
that it can be used
as sort of a solution
455
00:24:47,000 --> 00:24:51,080
or a treatment or a fix
for just about anything.
456
00:24:51,120 --> 00:24:55,080
And there's been this massive
growth in the marketisation
457
00:24:55,120 --> 00:24:56,560
of that idea, you know,
458
00:24:56,600 --> 00:24:58,760
that there's lots of
people now selling products
459
00:24:58,800 --> 00:25:01,600
that promise and
offer mindfulness.
460
00:25:01,640 --> 00:25:04,640
And one of my sort of, the
things I teach my students,
461
00:25:04,680 --> 00:25:05,800
you know, when I'm
training clinical students
462
00:25:05,840 --> 00:25:07,480
how to do psychotherapy,
463
00:25:07,520 --> 00:25:08,840
I always tell them
essentially you know,
464
00:25:08,880 --> 00:25:11,480
if someone tells you that
this new intervention
465
00:25:11,520 --> 00:25:13,160
will fix everything,
466
00:25:13,200 --> 00:25:14,800
then you know, ask
them hard questions.
467
00:25:14,840 --> 00:25:16,960
Because anyone who's
trying to tell you
468
00:25:17,000 --> 00:25:19,080
that one thing works
100% of the time
469
00:25:19,120 --> 00:25:22,320
for 100% of the people, is not
telling you the whole story.
470
00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:27,800
- So, do you think that the
public appetite for mindfulness
471
00:25:27,840 --> 00:25:31,360
is outpacing the evidence
base that we have?
472
00:25:31,400 --> 00:25:33,880
- Oh yeah, yeah.
473
00:25:33,920 --> 00:25:35,600
That's for sure.
474
00:25:35,640 --> 00:25:37,960
- There is absolutely
hype that's exacerbated
475
00:25:38,000 --> 00:25:39,880
by many press reports
476
00:25:39,920 --> 00:25:42,880
that aren't necessarily
doing responsible delivery
477
00:25:42,920 --> 00:25:44,960
of research findings.
478
00:25:45,000 --> 00:25:46,640
- It's one of the struggles
of mindfulness science
479
00:25:46,680 --> 00:25:48,400
is just coming to
terms with the reality
480
00:25:48,440 --> 00:25:52,480
that we are trying
to catch up
481
00:25:52,520 --> 00:25:56,800
to what's happened
in terms of a dissemination
482
00:25:56,840 --> 00:25:58,160
and implementation of
mindfulness practices
483
00:25:58,200 --> 00:25:59,000
and interventions.
484
00:26:00,440 --> 00:26:02,880
- It's interesting to see
that a lot of these very popular
485
00:26:02,920 --> 00:26:05,440
mindfulness training
programmes don't particularly
486
00:26:05,480 --> 00:26:06,840
have the science
behind them.
487
00:26:06,880 --> 00:26:09,960
And also don't
particularly get
488
00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:11,800
at the core mechanistic
underpinnings
489
00:26:11,840 --> 00:26:13,400
of how mindfulness works.
490
00:26:13,440 --> 00:26:16,920
Maybe I'm just a scientist
but I really think
491
00:26:16,960 --> 00:26:19,720
that that's a core piece
that we would want to bake
492
00:26:19,760 --> 00:26:20,720
into the trainings.
493
00:26:20,760 --> 00:26:22,000
If we're developing a pill
494
00:26:22,040 --> 00:26:23,400
to help people lower
their blood pressure,
495
00:26:23,440 --> 00:26:25,040
I would want to understand
496
00:26:25,080 --> 00:26:27,880
how people's blood pressure
is rising in the first place
497
00:26:27,920 --> 00:26:30,320
so that I could design a
pill specifically for that.
498
00:26:37,360 --> 00:26:40,360
- [Shannon] Is this still
a worthwhile experiment?
499
00:26:40,400 --> 00:26:42,200
- [Marc Wilkins] I think,
I mean, part of me says that
500
00:26:42,240 --> 00:26:44,400
as a scientist, I want
to know what will happen.
501
00:26:44,440 --> 00:26:46,000
I'm excited by this.
502
00:26:46,040 --> 00:26:47,720
I think it's really,
really interesting.
503
00:26:47,760 --> 00:26:49,880
At the same time, we know
that there's a limitation
504
00:26:49,920 --> 00:26:52,640
in the design of what
we're going to do.
505
00:26:52,680 --> 00:26:54,480
But we'll need to work
with that as best we can
506
00:26:54,520 --> 00:26:56,160
to see what the
data tells us.
507
00:26:58,680 --> 00:27:00,040
- [Shannon] So I'm in
a situation now,
508
00:27:00,080 --> 00:27:03,360
where I have committed tens
of thousands of dollars
509
00:27:03,400 --> 00:27:07,920
towards lab time but I'm
seriously questioning
510
00:27:07,960 --> 00:27:10,600
whether or not it's actually
going to tell us anything.
511
00:27:10,640 --> 00:27:12,480
- At the end of the day,
the biggest limitation
512
00:27:12,520 --> 00:27:14,000
and the biggest problem is,
513
00:27:14,040 --> 00:27:15,800
it's hard to know whether
or not the findings
514
00:27:15,840 --> 00:27:19,360
that you would get from
one person will tell you,
515
00:27:19,400 --> 00:27:21,120
you know, anything about
a different person.
516
00:27:21,160 --> 00:27:22,600
Because essentially,
with one person,
517
00:27:22,640 --> 00:27:24,040
we just can't draw
that conclusion
518
00:27:24,080 --> 00:27:26,280
and that it'll generalise
to everyone.
519
00:27:26,320 --> 00:27:27,920
And that's not to say
it's worthless, right.
520
00:27:27,960 --> 00:27:30,440
I mean, there are lots
of case studies out there
521
00:27:30,480 --> 00:27:32,720
and case studies are often
really important starts.
522
00:27:32,760 --> 00:27:34,680
You know, what you
will typically observe
523
00:27:34,720 --> 00:27:36,480
in most scientific fields
particularly in,
524
00:27:36,520 --> 00:27:39,120
you know, the applied
sciences and medicine,
525
00:27:39,160 --> 00:27:41,600
is we often start
with case studies.
526
00:28:06,160 --> 00:28:08,480
- [Shannon] Today's interview
was all about interviewing
527
00:28:08,520 --> 00:28:10,680
the people who are all like,
528
00:28:11,920 --> 00:28:14,800
we don't know anything,
the science isn't there.
529
00:28:14,840 --> 00:28:16,480
...like...
530
00:28:16,520 --> 00:28:19,480
so, basically I left
today going,
531
00:28:19,520 --> 00:28:22,680
hang on, why are we
doing this again?
532
00:28:32,960 --> 00:28:34,440
- Well, let me just say,
533
00:28:34,480 --> 00:28:36,680
this film certainly has
a lot of question marks.
534
00:28:59,120 --> 00:29:01,880
- Oh God, I don't know
what we're doing Jules.
535
00:29:01,920 --> 00:29:03,120
I think we're idiots.
536
00:29:04,760 --> 00:29:07,800
I think the only way
forward here is
537
00:29:08,840 --> 00:29:11,080
to accept that the scientists
538
00:29:11,120 --> 00:29:13,320
might not have all the answers.
539
00:29:14,600 --> 00:29:16,720
I think I need to go and find
some real life case studies.
540
00:29:19,720 --> 00:29:24,680
♪ I have been searching
all of my days ♪
541
00:29:24,720 --> 00:29:29,080
♪ All of my days
542
00:29:30,280 --> 00:29:32,960
♪ Many road you know
543
00:29:33,000 --> 00:29:35,440
♪ I've been walking on
544
00:29:35,480 --> 00:29:39,800
♪ All of my days
545
00:29:40,840 --> 00:29:45,360
♪ And I've been trying to find
546
00:29:46,320 --> 00:29:50,080
♪ What's been in my mind
547
00:29:51,680 --> 00:29:55,680
♪ As the days keep
turning into night ♪
548
00:29:57,120 --> 00:30:04,520
♪ yes even breathing
549
00:30:06,200 --> 00:30:07,840
♪ Feels all right.
550
00:30:07,880 --> 00:30:11,680
So it is just past one
o'clock in the morning.
551
00:30:12,920 --> 00:30:16,920
And tomorrow I have got
552
00:30:16,960 --> 00:30:21,280
one of the more important
interviews for the documentary.
553
00:30:21,320 --> 00:30:25,640
My alarm is set to go
off at 20 past four,
554
00:30:25,680 --> 00:30:27,880
so in about four hours from now
555
00:30:29,400 --> 00:30:32,200
and I haven't slept a wink.
556
00:30:32,240 --> 00:30:33,680
I just can't sleep.
557
00:30:34,600 --> 00:30:37,080
I really wanted to be,
558
00:30:37,120 --> 00:30:39,720
I wanted to bring my
A-game to this interview.
559
00:30:41,320 --> 00:30:43,200
I've been really looking
forward to it
560
00:30:43,240 --> 00:30:47,400
and I'm really well prepared
561
00:30:47,440 --> 00:30:51,440
and in my mind,
I had all these great ideas
562
00:30:51,480 --> 00:30:53,640
as to how it's going to flow.
563
00:30:57,960 --> 00:31:01,680
And instead I am
going to be a zombie.
564
00:31:13,760 --> 00:31:15,640
So, let's start at
the very beginning.
565
00:31:15,680 --> 00:31:18,880
How many million people
saw you lose your mind
566
00:31:18,920 --> 00:31:20,640
on television?
567
00:31:20,680 --> 00:31:22,960
- 5.019 million,
568
00:31:23,000 --> 00:31:24,920
according to the
Nielsen ratings.
569
00:31:29,000 --> 00:31:32,800
I started in television and
news when I was 22
570
00:31:32,840 --> 00:31:35,320
and then when I was 28,
I got a job at ABC News.
571
00:31:35,360 --> 00:31:37,640
Shortly after I arrived,
9/11 happened
572
00:31:37,680 --> 00:31:40,160
and I ended up
spending a lot of time
573
00:31:40,200 --> 00:31:43,320
in Afghanistan, Pakistan,
Israel, the West Bank, Gaza.
574
00:31:43,360 --> 00:31:45,160
I went to Iraq six times.
575
00:31:45,200 --> 00:31:48,480
And I didn't spend a
lot of time thinking
576
00:31:48,520 --> 00:31:50,760
about what the psychological
consequences might be.
577
00:31:50,800 --> 00:31:55,160
And so when I came home,
I kind of bottomed out.
578
00:31:55,200 --> 00:31:56,720
I got depressed,
579
00:31:56,760 --> 00:31:58,440
although I didn't even
know I was depressed.
580
00:31:58,480 --> 00:32:00,440
I was having trouble
getting out of bed.
581
00:32:00,480 --> 00:32:02,760
I felt like I had a low
grade fever all the time.
582
00:32:02,800 --> 00:32:05,720
I went and consulted
a bunch of doctors.
583
00:32:05,760 --> 00:32:09,440
And before I actually got
a diagnosis of depression,
584
00:32:09,480 --> 00:32:11,360
I did something very dumb,
585
00:32:11,400 --> 00:32:12,880
which is I started
to self-medicate
586
00:32:12,920 --> 00:32:15,400
with recreational drugs
including cocaine and ecstasy.
587
00:32:15,440 --> 00:32:18,120
The bottom for me was
588
00:32:18,160 --> 00:32:20,160
freaking out on
national television.
589
00:32:20,200 --> 00:32:23,480
June 2004, I was reading
the headlines.
590
00:32:23,520 --> 00:32:26,360
May also lower their
risk for cancer,
591
00:32:26,400 --> 00:32:28,440
but it is too early
to prescribe statins,
592
00:32:28,480 --> 00:32:29,960
slowly for cancer production.
593
00:32:30,000 --> 00:32:31,160
My lungs seized up.
594
00:32:31,200 --> 00:32:32,680
My heart was racing.
595
00:32:32,720 --> 00:32:34,720
I just couldn't talk
596
00:32:34,760 --> 00:32:36,800
which is a problem
597
00:32:36,840 --> 00:32:39,320
when talking is what you
need to do for a living
598
00:32:39,360 --> 00:32:40,840
and it's a vicious cycle
599
00:32:40,880 --> 00:32:43,400
between the thinking and
the physical manifestation.
600
00:32:43,440 --> 00:32:45,400
So your body starts to mutiny
601
00:32:45,440 --> 00:32:47,160
and your mind picks
up on that, obviously.
602
00:32:47,200 --> 00:32:48,440
And is like,
"What the fuck is this?"
603
00:32:48,480 --> 00:32:50,040
And you start thinking,
604
00:32:50,080 --> 00:32:52,440
"Oh my God, I'm freaking out,
I'm having a panic attack
605
00:32:52,480 --> 00:32:53,720
and I'm on television."
606
00:32:53,760 --> 00:32:55,360
And then the body
reacts to all of that
607
00:32:55,400 --> 00:32:56,920
and starts freaking
out even more.
608
00:32:56,960 --> 00:32:59,560
The fight or flight response
was useful in the context
609
00:32:59,600 --> 00:33:02,040
of when we were being chased
by saber-tooth tigers,
610
00:33:02,080 --> 00:33:03,880
but in a modern context,
611
00:33:03,920 --> 00:33:06,120
we are both the person
being chased by the tiger
612
00:33:06,160 --> 00:33:07,520
and the tiger.
613
00:33:07,560 --> 00:33:09,000
You know, we're doing
it to ourselves.
614
00:33:13,520 --> 00:33:15,400
- People are worried
about the future.
615
00:33:15,440 --> 00:33:17,200
They're worried about
the economy.
616
00:33:17,240 --> 00:33:19,360
They're worried about
their personal finances.
617
00:33:19,400 --> 00:33:20,600
They're worried about
their children.
618
00:33:20,640 --> 00:33:22,160
They're worried about
everything.
619
00:33:22,200 --> 00:33:25,080
We're living in this
inner mental world
620
00:33:25,120 --> 00:33:28,920
where we're constantly
creating trouble for ourselves.
621
00:33:28,960 --> 00:33:31,080
- And now we're seeing
anxiety problems
622
00:33:31,120 --> 00:33:33,600
and mental health problems in
younger and younger age groups
623
00:33:33,640 --> 00:33:34,960
and some people
could argue, well,
624
00:33:35,000 --> 00:33:37,800
it was there but we just
weren't diagnosing it before.
625
00:33:37,840 --> 00:33:40,160
But that only explains
a small part of it.
626
00:33:41,760 --> 00:33:43,960
- So for people at risk
for depression,
627
00:33:44,000 --> 00:33:47,360
sad mood and negative
thinking can be very powerful
628
00:33:47,400 --> 00:33:48,880
and very potent.
629
00:33:48,920 --> 00:33:51,720
Just a small negative thought
can very quickly spiral
630
00:33:51,760 --> 00:33:55,040
into a downward spiral
of depressive thinking,
631
00:33:55,080 --> 00:33:57,760
withdrawal and
depressive relapse.
632
00:33:59,120 --> 00:34:01,960
- Evolutionarily, we
needed to stay safe.
633
00:34:02,000 --> 00:34:03,560
So looking for threats,
634
00:34:03,600 --> 00:34:05,200
the ability to
focus on problems
635
00:34:05,240 --> 00:34:07,320
and hopefully either
avoid them or fix them
636
00:34:07,360 --> 00:34:09,840
was actually very good
for our survival.
637
00:34:09,880 --> 00:34:13,840
So, the fact that we
spend so much of our time
638
00:34:13,880 --> 00:34:17,000
criticising ourselves or
thinking about what we did wrong
639
00:34:17,040 --> 00:34:18,600
or what we might do wrong
640
00:34:18,639 --> 00:34:21,000
actually comes with a
very wholesome desire
641
00:34:21,040 --> 00:34:22,639
and that's a desire to be safe.
642
00:34:23,960 --> 00:34:26,040
- The stressful
experience may be
643
00:34:26,080 --> 00:34:28,120
for let's say five minutes
644
00:34:28,159 --> 00:34:31,400
an exchange you had with
a colleague or your boss.
645
00:34:31,440 --> 00:34:34,199
And if it were only
those five minutes
646
00:34:34,239 --> 00:34:36,120
that the stress had
an impact on us,
647
00:34:36,159 --> 00:34:38,400
we probably wouldn't be
having this conversation.
648
00:34:38,440 --> 00:34:40,199
But the way I think about
it is that the brain
649
00:34:40,239 --> 00:34:43,760
is actually wonderful
at mental time travel.
650
00:34:43,800 --> 00:34:46,159
And we can rewind the
mind back to experience
651
00:34:46,199 --> 00:34:48,679
that event for days and weeks.
652
00:34:50,239 --> 00:34:52,800
- [Elissa Epal] In general
in stress research,
653
00:34:52,840 --> 00:34:57,400
it has been found that
exposure to a situation
654
00:34:57,440 --> 00:35:00,440
doesn't really determine
mental health,
655
00:35:00,480 --> 00:35:02,600
let's say depression,
656
00:35:02,640 --> 00:35:05,880
as much as how someone is
interpreting the situation.
657
00:35:05,920 --> 00:35:08,720
So feelings of stress
are important
658
00:35:08,760 --> 00:35:11,800
and what happens to
people is important too
659
00:35:11,840 --> 00:35:13,640
but if I were to put
my money on one,
660
00:35:13,680 --> 00:35:17,440
I would say it's
the psychological
response to situations
661
00:35:17,480 --> 00:35:19,600
not just, does a
situation exists or not.
662
00:35:21,640 --> 00:35:24,880
- So the first thing is to
realise that it is affecting you
663
00:35:24,920 --> 00:35:28,640
and the second is that
there is something actually,
664
00:35:28,680 --> 00:35:31,200
there are many things
that you can do about it
665
00:35:31,240 --> 00:35:34,040
and the potential is
666
00:35:34,080 --> 00:35:37,800
of resolving it and coming to
a very different kind of place
667
00:35:37,840 --> 00:35:41,480
where we look squarely
at the real dangers
668
00:35:41,520 --> 00:35:44,680
as opposed to the
illusory dangers to us
669
00:35:44,720 --> 00:35:46,480
and we start dealing with them.
670
00:35:47,960 --> 00:35:50,120
- [Dan Harris] I came
home one night
671
00:35:50,160 --> 00:35:53,920
and my wife gave me a book by
a guy named Dr. Mark Epstein
672
00:35:53,960 --> 00:35:56,800
who I liked right away because
he had actual credentials
673
00:35:56,840 --> 00:36:00,200
as opposed to some of
these self-help folks
674
00:36:00,240 --> 00:36:02,920
who don't, to put it kindly.
675
00:36:02,960 --> 00:36:04,440
Epstein writes about the overlap
676
00:36:04,480 --> 00:36:06,000
between psychology and Buddhism
677
00:36:06,040 --> 00:36:11,400
and it was this very dry-eyed
to common sense diagnosis
678
00:36:11,440 --> 00:36:12,960
of the human situation.
679
00:36:13,000 --> 00:36:15,200
Buddha uses this term that
we have the monkey mind,
680
00:36:15,240 --> 00:36:17,640
hurling ourselves from one
hit of pleasant experience,
681
00:36:17,680 --> 00:36:21,480
one movie, one vacation,
one latte to the next
682
00:36:21,520 --> 00:36:23,280
and yet never fully satisfied.
683
00:36:23,320 --> 00:36:26,360
The Buddha's description
of a human situation
684
00:36:26,400 --> 00:36:28,480
was very compelling.
685
00:36:28,520 --> 00:36:31,280
His prescription was repellent
686
00:36:31,320 --> 00:36:34,160
which was that he says
you should meditate.
687
00:36:34,200 --> 00:36:36,440
I did not want to do that.
688
00:36:36,480 --> 00:36:37,880
I thought it was ridiculous
689
00:36:37,920 --> 00:36:39,560
To the extent that I even
thought about meditation,
690
00:36:39,600 --> 00:36:41,400
I thought it was for
people who are really
691
00:36:41,440 --> 00:36:44,920
into you know, kombucha
and crystals and Enya.
692
00:36:44,960 --> 00:36:47,160
But for me what changed
my mind was reading
693
00:36:47,200 --> 00:36:48,480
about the science.
694
00:36:49,960 --> 00:36:52,920
- For example, mindfulness-based
cognitive therapy
695
00:36:52,960 --> 00:36:56,560
has been shown now to be as
good as gold standard treatment
696
00:36:56,600 --> 00:36:58,440
for the treatment of depression.
697
00:36:58,480 --> 00:37:01,560
It's only been around
for about 15 or so years,
698
00:37:01,600 --> 00:37:03,080
whereas the medication
developments has been
699
00:37:03,120 --> 00:37:05,480
around for 50, 75 years.
700
00:37:05,520 --> 00:37:07,520
And so it's already caught up.
701
00:37:07,560 --> 00:37:09,600
So I think there's
a lot of interest
702
00:37:09,640 --> 00:37:11,720
in helping people develop
703
00:37:11,760 --> 00:37:13,960
their own natural
capacities to heal.
704
00:37:14,960 --> 00:37:17,840
- And my study was one of
the first to look at whether
705
00:37:17,880 --> 00:37:20,680
you could use MBCT to
treat active depression.
706
00:37:20,720 --> 00:37:22,480
And we were really
interested in mechanisms,
707
00:37:22,520 --> 00:37:23,840
so we looked at
stress reactivity.
708
00:37:23,880 --> 00:37:25,840
And so one of the best
ways to stress people out
709
00:37:25,880 --> 00:37:28,160
is make them stand up
and give a speech.
710
00:37:28,200 --> 00:37:31,280
And we found that the group
that received meditation,
711
00:37:31,320 --> 00:37:33,440
they still had a stress
response which is good
712
00:37:33,480 --> 00:37:35,440
because you want to
have a stress response
713
00:37:35,480 --> 00:37:37,280
but they recovered more quickly.
714
00:37:37,320 --> 00:37:39,840
And the control group were
probably still kind of thinking
715
00:37:39,880 --> 00:37:42,280
about like, oh that was
the worst experience ever
716
00:37:42,320 --> 00:37:43,920
and like really
ruminating about it
717
00:37:43,960 --> 00:37:46,800
whereas the mindfulness group
had learned to let go of that.
718
00:37:46,840 --> 00:37:49,360
- And so one of the ways
that mindfulness works
719
00:37:49,400 --> 00:37:52,840
is by reducing that
reactivity, that automaticity
720
00:37:52,880 --> 00:37:54,280
of the content of our thoughts.
721
00:37:54,320 --> 00:37:55,880
So it's really amazing.
722
00:37:55,920 --> 00:37:58,800
An amazing thing about humans
is the impact of language
723
00:37:58,840 --> 00:38:01,200
and linguistic symbol
and verbal thought.
724
00:38:01,240 --> 00:38:02,280
I am unlovable.
725
00:38:02,320 --> 00:38:03,880
I'm fat.
726
00:38:03,920 --> 00:38:05,480
I am all sorts of things.
727
00:38:05,520 --> 00:38:08,480
And just that content can
trigger other thoughts,
728
00:38:08,520 --> 00:38:09,800
can trigger physiological
responses
729
00:38:09,840 --> 00:38:11,680
like I can feel in my body now,
730
00:38:11,720 --> 00:38:13,280
emotions and so on.
731
00:38:13,320 --> 00:38:15,600
And so reducing
that identification,
732
00:38:15,640 --> 00:38:16,880
with those passing expriences,
733
00:38:16,920 --> 00:38:19,600
just as events in
our consciousness
734
00:38:19,640 --> 00:38:21,680
is one of the most
important ways through
735
00:38:21,720 --> 00:38:24,120
which mindfulness
leads to wellbeing
736
00:38:24,160 --> 00:38:26,440
and reduced mental
health struggles.
737
00:38:27,800 --> 00:38:29,360
- [Dan Harris] I would
say it was a couple weeks
738
00:38:29,400 --> 00:38:32,400
before I started to
notice some differences.
739
00:38:32,440 --> 00:38:34,320
The biggest one is mindfulness.
740
00:38:34,360 --> 00:38:37,360
We spend so much of our time
just kind of yanked around
741
00:38:37,400 --> 00:38:39,880
by the malevolent
puppeteer of our ego.
742
00:38:39,920 --> 00:38:41,800
You know, where
the thought pops,
743
00:38:41,840 --> 00:38:43,920
some neurotic obsession
pops into our head,
744
00:38:43,960 --> 00:38:46,480
you know, I need a
sleeve of Oreos
745
00:38:46,520 --> 00:38:49,640
or I need to say the
thing that's going to fuck
746
00:38:49,680 --> 00:38:51,880
up the next 48 hours
of my marriage.
747
00:38:51,920 --> 00:38:54,640
And we just do it, you know,
748
00:38:54,680 --> 00:38:56,280
there's no buffer
between the stimulus
749
00:38:56,320 --> 00:38:58,080
and our blind reaction.
750
00:38:58,120 --> 00:39:00,720
Mindfulness, it's like
this inner-meteorologist
751
00:39:00,760 --> 00:39:02,000
that can see, oh, yeah,
752
00:39:02,040 --> 00:39:03,960
there's a hurricane
about to hit land
753
00:39:04,000 --> 00:39:08,640
but I don't need to get carried
away by it automatically,
754
00:39:08,680 --> 00:39:10,200
reflexively, habitually.
755
00:39:10,240 --> 00:39:11,680
I have some choice.
756
00:39:12,840 --> 00:39:14,080
I'm still the same
person, right?
757
00:39:14,120 --> 00:39:17,200
So I still have a predisposition
toward anxiety
758
00:39:17,240 --> 00:39:18,800
and depression, panic.
759
00:39:18,840 --> 00:39:22,120
But what I find is that
I'm less likely to believe
760
00:39:22,160 --> 00:39:24,920
the bullshit that the
ego coughs up.
761
00:39:24,960 --> 00:39:28,720
So what could be a
several day long trudge
762
00:39:28,760 --> 00:39:31,000
through mopiness and despair
763
00:39:31,040 --> 00:39:33,880
actually can be truncated
quite dramatically
764
00:39:33,920 --> 00:39:36,160
to a couple hours, a couple
of minutes, who knows,
765
00:39:36,200 --> 00:39:38,080
depending on how mindful I am.
766
00:39:38,120 --> 00:39:40,320
- Does the critical
thinking journalist in you
767
00:39:40,360 --> 00:39:44,720
ever worry that you've just
bought massively into a cult?
768
00:39:44,760 --> 00:39:47,080
- I mean I called it
10% Happier.
769
00:39:47,120 --> 00:39:48,920
If the book was called
Be Happy Now
770
00:39:48,960 --> 00:39:51,400
or like This Is The Solution
To All Of Your Problems,
771
00:39:51,440 --> 00:39:53,240
yeah, I'd worry about that.
772
00:39:53,280 --> 00:39:56,800
I think the vast swathe
of humanity could benefit
773
00:39:56,840 --> 00:39:59,360
from this very simple
thing of just sitting down,
774
00:39:59,400 --> 00:40:02,080
closing your eyes or not,
775
00:40:02,120 --> 00:40:04,600
trying to feel your breath
coming in and going out
776
00:40:04,640 --> 00:40:06,000
and then when you
get distracted,
777
00:40:06,040 --> 00:40:07,800
start again, and
again and again.
778
00:40:07,840 --> 00:40:11,800
The lessons there from this
really simple little thing
779
00:40:11,840 --> 00:40:14,640
are incredibly rich.
780
00:40:14,680 --> 00:40:17,440
What follows on from
that is an empathy
781
00:40:17,480 --> 00:40:19,480
with every other human
782
00:40:19,520 --> 00:40:21,600
who has the same
process going on.
783
00:40:21,640 --> 00:40:23,240
And so now when
you see other people
784
00:40:23,280 --> 00:40:25,920
who are losing their shit at
the aeroplane ticket counter
785
00:40:25,960 --> 00:40:29,320
or whatever, you're like,
"Oh yeah, that's me, too."
786
00:40:40,560 --> 00:40:44,560
- [Shannon] Okay, so this
feels utterly ridiculous.
787
00:40:44,600 --> 00:40:48,440
I am about to
speak at an event.
788
00:40:48,480 --> 00:40:50,240
And I thought I was running late
789
00:40:50,280 --> 00:40:51,240
and I'm feeling rushed
790
00:40:51,280 --> 00:40:52,280
and there was traffic
791
00:40:52,320 --> 00:40:55,360
and people relying on me.
792
00:40:55,400 --> 00:40:56,680
So I'm about to take
a mindful minute
793
00:40:56,720 --> 00:40:59,240
in the bathroom.
794
00:41:02,320 --> 00:41:04,280
I'm really worried
somebody's going to come in.
795
00:41:04,320 --> 00:41:05,600
I'm going to look like
an absolute bloody idiot.
796
00:41:19,920 --> 00:41:21,680
- [Sharon] In this meditation,
797
00:41:21,720 --> 00:41:24,680
we're going to add the
element of recognising
798
00:41:24,720 --> 00:41:27,680
and noting those
things that arise
799
00:41:27,720 --> 00:41:28,800
which are not the breath.
800
00:41:30,920 --> 00:41:33,640
- So day 51 of my
year of living mindfully
801
00:41:33,680 --> 00:41:38,560
and here I am meditating
on the sidewalk.
802
00:41:40,440 --> 00:41:42,680
- [Sharon] It may be
thinking that comes up.
803
00:41:44,680 --> 00:41:46,880
It maybe imagery,
it may be emotion.
804
00:41:48,560 --> 00:41:50,920
It may be sensations
in your body.
805
00:41:52,840 --> 00:41:54,920
Whatever it is, it's
simply not the breath.
806
00:42:01,120 --> 00:42:04,000
- There we go. A mindful minute
807
00:42:04,040 --> 00:42:06,600
in the bathroom before an event.
808
00:42:11,080 --> 00:42:13,720
Experiment notes, day 38.
809
00:42:15,160 --> 00:42:17,680
I've realised that science
is only a small part
810
00:42:17,720 --> 00:42:19,200
of this story.
811
00:42:19,240 --> 00:42:20,880
Since meeting Dan Harris,
812
00:42:20,920 --> 00:42:24,360
I've become aware of an
incessant mean voice in my head
813
00:42:24,400 --> 00:42:26,960
that took up residence
sometime when I was a kid
814
00:42:27,000 --> 00:42:29,240
and drives so much of what I do.
815
00:42:30,920 --> 00:42:33,760
And it's making my meditation
practise almost intolerable.
816
00:42:35,400 --> 00:42:36,960
Like I know this sounds crazy
817
00:42:37,000 --> 00:42:38,880
because we're pretty
deep in already.
818
00:42:38,920 --> 00:42:40,800
But I...
819
00:42:41,920 --> 00:42:44,480
To be honest, I've been
hating it.
820
00:42:44,520 --> 00:42:47,880
I'm struggling to find
the time to meditate
821
00:42:47,920 --> 00:42:50,960
and I'm not like, it's...
meditation is not pleasant
822
00:42:53,160 --> 00:42:55,760
until yesterday
823
00:42:56,680 --> 00:42:58,600
where something changed.
824
00:42:58,640 --> 00:43:01,400
And I was doing it because
I was on a plane
825
00:43:01,440 --> 00:43:02,680
coming back from Melbourne
826
00:43:02,720 --> 00:43:04,400
where I'd just been
doing a presentation,
827
00:43:04,440 --> 00:43:08,720
but for a very brief moment,
828
00:43:08,760 --> 00:43:12,480
it was like just peace
829
00:43:13,720 --> 00:43:15,320
and I just sort of held it
830
00:43:15,360 --> 00:43:18,160
and it wasn't like it
switched off suddenly.
831
00:43:18,200 --> 00:43:23,080
It was like there was this
slow winding down of it
832
00:43:23,120 --> 00:43:27,000
until eventually I was back
833
00:43:27,040 --> 00:43:29,600
to just how I am normally
which is you know,
834
00:43:29,640 --> 00:43:32,600
lots of thoughts going on, lots
of crazy thinking happening.
835
00:43:35,240 --> 00:43:38,520
So I feel like that moment
was this kind of,
836
00:43:39,960 --> 00:43:42,320
it was a beat of interest
837
00:43:42,360 --> 00:43:45,800
that makes me think that
I want to keep going.
838
00:43:49,120 --> 00:43:53,000
I interviewed the French-born
Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard
839
00:43:53,040 --> 00:43:56,640
right at the end of what
was a four day,
840
00:43:56,680 --> 00:43:59,240
whirlwind tour for
him of Australia
841
00:43:59,280 --> 00:44:03,000
and yet he still sparkled.
842
00:44:03,040 --> 00:44:06,480
In order to have
that somethingness,
843
00:44:06,520 --> 00:44:08,960
do I need to move
to the Himalaya
844
00:44:09,000 --> 00:44:12,120
and meditate for
months on end?
845
00:44:12,160 --> 00:44:15,200
- No, I don't think
you need to meditate
846
00:44:15,240 --> 00:44:17,720
in any specific place.
847
00:44:19,440 --> 00:44:22,800
What I do believe based
on my own experiences
848
00:44:22,840 --> 00:44:25,560
as a practitioner as
well as a scientist
849
00:44:25,600 --> 00:44:30,400
is that, that kind
of ever-present joy
850
00:44:31,440 --> 00:44:35,360
and lightness and spontaneity
851
00:44:35,400 --> 00:44:37,680
really comes from
long-term practice.
852
00:44:37,720 --> 00:44:39,640
- There's a saying in
the Tibetan lore,
853
00:44:39,680 --> 00:44:42,640
Matthieu who's
been in that tradition,
854
00:44:42,680 --> 00:44:45,320
they call it being
happy for no reason.
855
00:44:45,360 --> 00:44:48,160
That is to say your
set point is joyous.
856
00:44:48,200 --> 00:44:52,200
I saw Matthieu go into an MRI
857
00:44:52,240 --> 00:44:54,200
when they were trying
to develop the protocols
858
00:44:54,240 --> 00:44:56,120
that Richard Davidson used.
859
00:44:56,160 --> 00:44:57,600
He was the first subject
860
00:44:57,640 --> 00:44:59,560
but the thing was they
had some glitches
861
00:44:59,600 --> 00:45:02,800
and he stayed in the MRI
for about three hours.
862
00:45:02,840 --> 00:45:05,120
The MRI is a human cigar box.
863
00:45:05,160 --> 00:45:06,920
Some people can't bear it.
864
00:45:06,960 --> 00:45:09,400
He came out after three hours,
865
00:45:09,440 --> 00:45:10,720
sat up very cheery and said,
866
00:45:10,760 --> 00:45:13,320
"Oh, that was like a
little mini retreat".
867
00:45:13,360 --> 00:45:15,680
In other words, it didn't
affect him in the least.
868
00:45:15,720 --> 00:45:17,800
- My brain is nothing special,
869
00:45:17,840 --> 00:45:21,600
different than any
other one except that,
870
00:45:21,640 --> 00:45:25,600
what I've trained in
shows in the brain.
871
00:45:25,640 --> 00:45:26,600
Doesn't matter.
872
00:45:26,640 --> 00:45:28,200
It's not about Buddhist monk.
873
00:45:28,240 --> 00:45:29,720
Please give us a break.
874
00:45:29,760 --> 00:45:32,640
It's about human beings
training their minds
875
00:45:32,680 --> 00:45:34,360
and they have a
very common pattern
876
00:45:34,400 --> 00:45:36,120
for instance compassion,
877
00:45:36,160 --> 00:45:39,800
if you train a long time in
loving kindness and compassion,
878
00:45:39,840 --> 00:45:43,200
when you are asked to do
so you activate your brains
879
00:45:43,240 --> 00:45:45,120
in a very strong way.
880
00:45:45,160 --> 00:45:47,640
And if look at the control
group that did one week,
881
00:45:47,680 --> 00:45:50,080
a little bit, it's
not their fault.
882
00:45:50,120 --> 00:45:51,480
They have not trained their mind
883
00:45:51,520 --> 00:45:53,920
so why should they
get the result?
884
00:45:53,960 --> 00:45:58,080
It's like if you train
in running or whatever,
885
00:45:58,120 --> 00:45:59,440
you know, if you're a beginner,
886
00:45:59,480 --> 00:46:01,200
you're not going
to run a marathon.
887
00:46:01,240 --> 00:46:03,960
So that means it is
the result of the training
888
00:46:04,000 --> 00:46:05,600
not of coming from
here and there,
889
00:46:05,640 --> 00:46:06,680
being a monk or not monk.
890
00:46:06,720 --> 00:46:08,200
This is irrelevant.
891
00:46:08,240 --> 00:46:09,600
You're training the mind.
892
00:46:09,640 --> 00:46:13,000
What the matter the
colour of your dress.
893
00:46:13,040 --> 00:46:15,480
- [Richard Davidson]
Matthieu and other
long-term practitioners
894
00:46:15,520 --> 00:46:18,920
have helped us tremendously
in establishing
895
00:46:18,960 --> 00:46:21,600
what our minds and our
brains are capable of.
896
00:46:21,640 --> 00:46:23,480
We wanted to begin there
897
00:46:23,520 --> 00:46:26,080
because if we tested Matthieu
898
00:46:26,120 --> 00:46:30,120
and other individuals like
him and didn't see very much,
899
00:46:30,160 --> 00:46:32,640
there'd be no point in
evaluating beginners.
900
00:46:32,680 --> 00:46:35,400
And what we saw is
something quite remarkable.
901
00:46:35,440 --> 00:46:37,800
Their brains are
really very, very different.
902
00:46:37,840 --> 00:46:40,160
And what was really amazing
903
00:46:40,200 --> 00:46:43,000
was that these dramatic
differences were present
904
00:46:43,040 --> 00:46:46,640
not simply when these
practitioners are meditating
905
00:46:46,680 --> 00:46:48,880
but also during
their baseline state.
906
00:46:48,920 --> 00:46:52,720
That was the clue that
this is an altered trait.
907
00:46:57,720 --> 00:46:59,560
- So is this one
rolling now, Jules?
908
00:46:59,600 --> 00:47:00,800
- [Julian] They should
both be rolling.
909
00:47:00,840 --> 00:47:01,760
- Both be rolling, okay.
910
00:47:01,800 --> 00:47:02,960
You don't want to see,
911
00:47:03,000 --> 00:47:05,960
I have this lamp like
balanced on my computer.
912
00:47:06,000 --> 00:47:07,560
- You know what,
I can't see it on camera.
913
00:47:07,600 --> 00:47:10,120
So therefore it
doesn't exist.
914
00:47:10,160 --> 00:47:11,400
- Perfect.
915
00:47:11,440 --> 00:47:15,320
- So like I don't know if
this is complete placebo,
916
00:47:15,360 --> 00:47:18,880
but my insomnia
has just disappeared.
917
00:47:18,920 --> 00:47:21,160
- Before you started meditating,
918
00:47:21,200 --> 00:47:22,480
what was your insomnia like?
919
00:47:24,160 --> 00:47:26,440
- Once or twice a week, I would
be going through the night
920
00:47:26,480 --> 00:47:27,480
unable to sleep.
921
00:47:27,520 --> 00:47:29,400
- And your mind racing,
922
00:47:29,440 --> 00:47:31,920
you know thoughts, thoughts,
thoughts, thoughts, thoughts?
923
00:47:31,960 --> 00:47:34,440
Yeah and one of the
simplest things that I give
924
00:47:34,480 --> 00:47:38,360
to my patients who
have clinical insomnia
925
00:47:38,400 --> 00:47:39,640
is a body scan.
926
00:47:39,680 --> 00:47:42,800
So if you think of
the habit loop,
927
00:47:42,840 --> 00:47:44,440
there's the worry thought
928
00:47:44,480 --> 00:47:48,280
that triggers getting
caught up in that anxiety
929
00:47:48,320 --> 00:47:50,320
and then you start looking
at your clock and saying,
930
00:47:50,360 --> 00:47:51,680
"Oh no, I can't sleep"
931
00:47:51,720 --> 00:47:53,000
and then it just
gets worse and worse.
932
00:47:53,040 --> 00:47:54,320
- Exactly.
933
00:47:54,360 --> 00:47:55,600
- I don't know if
that's your case.
934
00:47:55,640 --> 00:47:56,760
- That's exactly it, yeah.
- Yeah.
935
00:47:56,800 --> 00:47:57,880
So what are you
noticing with mindfulness?
936
00:47:57,920 --> 00:47:59,880
Are you able to notice that
937
00:47:59,920 --> 00:48:01,120
and then let go of it
938
00:48:01,160 --> 00:48:03,000
or is it not even coming up?
939
00:48:03,040 --> 00:48:04,880
- Like, I'm really aware.
940
00:48:04,920 --> 00:48:07,240
"Oh my god, I've got all
these anxious thoughts".
941
00:48:07,280 --> 00:48:08,760
And so I'm kind of,
942
00:48:08,800 --> 00:48:11,480
before I'm going to bed, I'm
kind of mitigating my behaviour.
943
00:48:11,520 --> 00:48:13,920
- So how was that placebo?
944
00:48:13,960 --> 00:48:17,320
You're describing an
actual behaviour change,
945
00:48:17,360 --> 00:48:20,480
catching that worry
thinking, not feeding it
946
00:48:20,520 --> 00:48:23,480
and by not feeding it,
not having insomnia.
947
00:48:23,520 --> 00:48:25,640
So you can see a
causal link there.
948
00:48:28,400 --> 00:48:29,680
- [Shannon] What I think is
really important
949
00:48:29,720 --> 00:48:33,080
is that mindfulness does
not cure your illnesses.
950
00:48:33,120 --> 00:48:34,760
But what it does is it helps you
951
00:48:34,800 --> 00:48:37,200
to change your relationship
to the illness.
952
00:48:37,240 --> 00:48:38,720
- Well, and it's also,
953
00:48:38,760 --> 00:48:42,680
I think another important
potential mechanism
954
00:48:42,720 --> 00:48:46,280
is in helping people take
better care of themselves.
955
00:48:46,320 --> 00:48:47,760
Having a healthier diet.
956
00:48:47,800 --> 00:48:49,280
Getting enough sleep.
957
00:48:49,320 --> 00:48:51,120
Getting enough
physical exercise.
958
00:48:51,160 --> 00:48:52,800
All of these things
that are known
959
00:48:52,840 --> 00:48:57,000
to be really important
aspects of being healthy
960
00:48:57,040 --> 00:49:00,080
and that we all struggle
with actually doing.
961
00:49:00,120 --> 00:49:02,760
That's one of the things
that were studying.
962
00:49:02,800 --> 00:49:06,280
How mindfulness training
could be an element
963
00:49:06,320 --> 00:49:09,240
in helping people
change their behaviours
964
00:49:09,280 --> 00:49:11,920
to healthier lifestyles.
965
00:49:13,320 --> 00:49:14,560
- [Judson Brewer] It appears
that these trainings
966
00:49:14,600 --> 00:49:16,320
can help people
change behaviour.
967
00:49:16,360 --> 00:49:19,200
The other thing that we
can say is mechanistically
968
00:49:19,240 --> 00:49:20,880
it seems that mindfulness
is helping
969
00:49:20,920 --> 00:49:24,200
to decouple the
craving and the behaviour.
970
00:49:24,240 --> 00:49:26,400
So that piece we've seen
multiple times as well.
971
00:49:26,440 --> 00:49:29,440
So we've seen replicability
in that as well.
972
00:49:29,480 --> 00:49:31,920
Where we might be able
to start applying this
973
00:49:31,960 --> 00:49:34,960
is to other types of behaviours
974
00:49:35,000 --> 00:49:38,160
where we're seeing similar
types of habit loops,
975
00:49:38,200 --> 00:49:41,640
whether it's smoking
cigarettes, drinking alcohol,
976
00:49:41,680 --> 00:49:44,720
smoking crack cocaine,
using heroin,
977
00:49:44,760 --> 00:49:48,840
eating food or even
going on social media.
978
00:49:48,880 --> 00:49:50,600
That's been shown to activate
979
00:49:50,640 --> 00:49:53,120
the same dopaminergic
reward system
980
00:49:53,160 --> 00:49:54,800
as all these known
drugs of abuse.
981
00:49:54,840 --> 00:49:57,880
So, for example, we got
five times the quit rates
982
00:49:57,920 --> 00:50:00,120
of gold standard treatment
in our smoking programme
983
00:50:00,160 --> 00:50:01,960
when we did a
randomised controlled trial.
984
00:50:02,000 --> 00:50:04,200
And mechanistically
we could see
985
00:50:04,240 --> 00:50:06,920
how the mindfulness training
was decoupling the craving
986
00:50:06,960 --> 00:50:08,160
from the behaviour.
987
00:50:08,200 --> 00:50:10,160
- Sorry Jud, just stop.
988
00:50:10,200 --> 00:50:12,800
You got five times the quit rate
989
00:50:12,840 --> 00:50:16,200
on gold standard treatments?
- Yes.
990
00:50:16,240 --> 00:50:18,800
So when we looked at four months
after we started treatment
991
00:50:18,840 --> 00:50:21,560
with folks, so they got about
four weeks of treatment.
992
00:50:21,600 --> 00:50:23,680
And we looked for months later.
993
00:50:23,720 --> 00:50:25,960
We found that they were
five times more likely
994
00:50:26,000 --> 00:50:28,280
to quit smoking than
gold standard treatment.
995
00:50:48,200 --> 00:50:52,720
- Ah, so, welcome
everybody.
996
00:50:52,760 --> 00:50:56,040
It feels really good to
actually be here in the flesh.
997
00:50:56,080 --> 00:50:59,760
- MBSR is basically,
was a proof of concept
998
00:50:59,800 --> 00:51:03,560
and a kind of model for
how we could catch people
999
00:51:03,600 --> 00:51:06,400
just regular people, no
interest in meditation,
1000
00:51:06,440 --> 00:51:07,800
but major suffering
1001
00:51:07,840 --> 00:51:11,360
because the people
we were targeting,
1002
00:51:11,400 --> 00:51:13,920
those who were falling through
the cracks as I like to say
1003
00:51:13,960 --> 00:51:15,520
of the healthcare system.
1004
00:51:17,800 --> 00:51:20,920
- [Shannon voiceover] Experiment
notes, day 123.
1005
00:51:20,960 --> 00:51:24,680
I've stepped up to 45 minutes
a day for my MBSR course
1006
00:51:24,720 --> 00:51:27,000
mostly practising a
body scan technique
1007
00:51:28,240 --> 00:51:30,840
and I'm really noticing
a dose effect.
1008
00:51:30,880 --> 00:51:33,720
I'm now even more
aware of my mental habits,
1009
00:51:33,760 --> 00:51:36,800
the same thoughts happening
again and again
1010
00:51:36,840 --> 00:51:40,120
and I'm getting better at
noticing my emotions arising
1011
00:51:40,160 --> 00:51:43,520
without automatically
reacting to them.
1012
00:51:43,560 --> 00:51:45,920
As intriguing as this is
anecdotally though,
1013
00:51:45,960 --> 00:51:48,120
I'm surprised that
there's hardly any evidence
1014
00:51:48,160 --> 00:51:51,760
that tells me how
long I should practise for
1015
00:51:51,800 --> 00:51:55,400
or even what specific
techniques work best.
1016
00:51:55,440 --> 00:51:57,960
One recent study by
Harvard neuroscientists,
1017
00:51:58,000 --> 00:52:02,000
did directly compare
the mindfulness in MBSR
1018
00:52:02,040 --> 00:52:05,800
with another popular technique,
relaxation meditation.
1019
00:52:05,840 --> 00:52:07,920
They split people
into two groups
1020
00:52:07,960 --> 00:52:10,440
and taught them
both a body scan.
1021
00:52:10,480 --> 00:52:14,120
But while one group was taught
to systematically relax areas
1022
00:52:14,160 --> 00:52:15,080
in their body,
1023
00:52:15,120 --> 00:52:17,440
the other was taught mindfulness
1024
00:52:17,480 --> 00:52:21,200
being aware of each area without
trying to change anything.
1025
00:52:21,240 --> 00:52:24,640
Although both groups reported
feeling less stressed,
1026
00:52:24,680 --> 00:52:27,160
it turned out this tiny tweak
1027
00:52:27,200 --> 00:52:30,920
in the mental training resulted
in noticeable differences
1028
00:52:30,960 --> 00:52:32,600
in their brain activity.
1029
00:52:32,640 --> 00:52:34,160
In the same way that swimming
1030
00:52:34,200 --> 00:52:37,800
and running are both called
exercise and can be good for me,
1031
00:52:37,840 --> 00:52:42,280
different meditation techniques
might actually matter.
1032
00:52:42,320 --> 00:52:46,560
And I suspect that particular
contemplative practices
1033
00:52:46,600 --> 00:52:49,640
will one day be prescribed
to different people
1034
00:52:49,680 --> 00:52:51,960
for specific reasons.
1035
00:52:52,000 --> 00:52:53,800
When I look through
the current evidence
1036
00:52:53,840 --> 00:52:57,480
on high-quality mindfulness
programmes like MBSR,.
1037
00:52:57,520 --> 00:53:02,160
they seem to be particularly
effective for chronic pain.
1038
00:53:02,200 --> 00:53:03,440
Given that we're in the midst
1039
00:53:03,480 --> 00:53:05,320
of an opioid addiction epidemic
1040
00:53:05,360 --> 00:53:07,840
on top of all the other
mental health concerns,
1041
00:53:07,880 --> 00:53:09,600
this is no small thing.
1042
00:53:09,640 --> 00:53:11,880
And I find the idea that
mental training
1043
00:53:11,920 --> 00:53:15,440
could be a drug-free
option really interesting.
1044
00:53:16,680 --> 00:53:19,880
Can I get a brief explanation
1045
00:53:19,920 --> 00:53:23,200
of what it is like to
be in your body today?
1046
00:53:23,240 --> 00:53:26,920
- A doctor would describe
my medical diagnosis today
1047
00:53:26,960 --> 00:53:30,160
as having incomplete
paraplegia, paralysed bowel,
1048
00:53:30,200 --> 00:53:31,960
paralysed bladder,
1049
00:53:32,000 --> 00:53:35,160
having chronic neuropathic
and musculoskeletal pain.
1050
00:53:35,200 --> 00:53:39,600
So my lived experience of
being in this body today
1051
00:53:39,640 --> 00:53:41,160
is I've got pain all the time.
1052
00:53:44,040 --> 00:53:45,880
So I was brought up in
New Zealand,
1053
00:53:45,920 --> 00:53:50,120
very beautiful, free,
active childhood.
1054
00:53:50,160 --> 00:53:51,840
I was very sporty.
1055
00:53:51,880 --> 00:53:54,840
Then when I was 16, I was
doing life-saving practice
1056
00:53:54,880 --> 00:53:56,920
and I lifted someone out
of the swimming pool.
1057
00:53:56,960 --> 00:53:59,160
And it turned out that
I had a condition
1058
00:53:59,200 --> 00:54:00,320
called spondylolisthesis
1059
00:54:00,360 --> 00:54:02,840
and that my vertebrae
had fractured.
1060
00:54:02,880 --> 00:54:06,080
So then in the beginning
of my 17th year in 1977,
1061
00:54:06,120 --> 00:54:07,920
I had a spinal fusion operation.
1062
00:54:07,960 --> 00:54:10,200
Then when I was 23,
1063
00:54:10,240 --> 00:54:13,800
I was in a car and we ploughed
into a telegraph pole.
1064
00:54:13,840 --> 00:54:16,600
[ambulance siren wailing]
1065
00:54:16,640 --> 00:54:18,840
I'd fractured the middle
of my spine.
1066
00:54:18,880 --> 00:54:22,320
So I ended up in a neurosurgical
intensive care ward.
1067
00:54:22,360 --> 00:54:24,720
The medical team
made it clear to me
1068
00:54:24,760 --> 00:54:27,800
there was not a
medical magical cure.
1069
00:54:27,840 --> 00:54:29,560
My spine was a very,
very damaged.
1070
00:54:29,600 --> 00:54:32,600
More surgery was wasn't
going to be helpful
1071
00:54:32,640 --> 00:54:35,560
and that I needed to learn
to live with it, somehow.
1072
00:54:35,600 --> 00:54:38,200
I had, I suppose literally
a dark night of the soul.
1073
00:54:38,240 --> 00:54:42,480
So I had part of my mind
saying, "I can't bear this.
1074
00:54:42,520 --> 00:54:44,640
I'm going to go crazy."
1075
00:54:44,680 --> 00:54:46,360
And another part of
my mind saying,
1076
00:54:46,400 --> 00:54:47,960
"But you have to."
1077
00:54:48,000 --> 00:54:51,200
And at a certain point,
another voice came in
1078
00:54:51,240 --> 00:54:53,720
and said very, very clearly,
1079
00:54:53,760 --> 00:54:56,320
"You just have to
live this moment".
1080
00:54:56,360 --> 00:54:58,400
And my experience
changed from one of this,
1081
00:54:58,440 --> 00:55:03,120
you know, being in a
vice to greater ease.
1082
00:55:03,160 --> 00:55:06,360
I still feel that that has been
the most profound moment
1083
00:55:06,400 --> 00:55:08,640
of my life and everything
that's followed since then,
1084
00:55:08,680 --> 00:55:10,800
all the meditation,
becoming a Buddhist,
1085
00:55:10,840 --> 00:55:11,960
founding Breathworks,
1086
00:55:12,000 --> 00:55:14,320
is still trying to make
sense of that.
1087
00:55:14,360 --> 00:55:16,960
I came across the work of Jon
Kabat-Zinn around that time
1088
00:55:17,000 --> 00:55:18,960
and also the work
of Stephen Levine
1089
00:55:19,000 --> 00:55:20,800
and what they both
talked about was turning
1090
00:55:20,840 --> 00:55:22,720
towards your direct experience
1091
00:55:22,760 --> 00:55:24,920
rather than trying to
escape your pain.
1092
00:55:26,680 --> 00:55:29,080
- Why does mindfulness
works so effectively
1093
00:55:29,120 --> 00:55:30,560
with chronic pain?
1094
00:55:30,600 --> 00:55:32,880
- Well, the thing to
understand about pain,
1095
00:55:32,920 --> 00:55:35,480
acute or chronic,
but especially chronic,
1096
00:55:35,520 --> 00:55:38,880
is that we experience
a sensation
1097
00:55:38,920 --> 00:55:41,840
and then there's all the
mental and emotional reaction
1098
00:55:41,880 --> 00:55:43,120
to the sensation.
1099
00:55:43,160 --> 00:55:44,480
And so with the same stimulus,
1100
00:55:44,520 --> 00:55:46,640
the brain fires off more
pain messages.
1101
00:55:46,680 --> 00:55:48,360
The person is not making it up.
1102
00:55:48,400 --> 00:55:49,960
It's not like a person's
imagining the pain.
1103
00:55:50,000 --> 00:55:51,800
The person's experiencing it
1104
00:55:51,840 --> 00:55:53,400
but there's an amplifying effect
1105
00:55:53,440 --> 00:55:56,680
because of the mental and
emotional reaction to to it.
1106
00:55:56,720 --> 00:55:58,680
Now where mindfulness
seems to help
1107
00:55:58,720 --> 00:56:02,040
is it helps a person to
gently notice the sensation
1108
00:56:02,080 --> 00:56:04,320
but to be less
emotionally reactive to it
1109
00:56:04,360 --> 00:56:06,720
and to re-engage the
attention with what's going on
1110
00:56:06,760 --> 00:56:08,320
around the person.
1111
00:56:08,360 --> 00:56:11,120
- One of the reasons
that we likely evolved
1112
00:56:11,160 --> 00:56:13,400
to have a human
attention system
1113
00:56:13,440 --> 00:56:14,960
is because the
brain faces
1114
00:56:15,000 --> 00:56:17,800
an incredible
computational challenge.
1115
00:56:17,840 --> 00:56:19,680
There's far more information
in the environment
1116
00:56:19,720 --> 00:56:22,080
than can possibly be processed.
1117
00:56:22,120 --> 00:56:23,720
Attention biases,
1118
00:56:23,760 --> 00:56:26,200
virtually all of the
information processing.
1119
00:56:26,240 --> 00:56:30,840
So for example, if you show
somebody two circles on a page
1120
00:56:30,880 --> 00:56:32,760
just on a regular piece of
paper and you say to them,
1121
00:56:32,800 --> 00:56:34,280
those are eyes of a face.
1122
00:56:34,320 --> 00:56:35,880
Now all of a sudden,
1123
00:56:35,920 --> 00:56:38,200
you can get face processing
systems that are engaged.
1124
00:56:38,240 --> 00:56:40,520
So it's incredibly powerful
1125
00:56:40,560 --> 00:56:43,200
to change the way
information is processed,
1126
00:56:43,240 --> 00:56:45,720
even at the earliest stages
in our visual system.
1127
00:56:47,040 --> 00:56:48,560
- So when one study looked
1128
00:56:48,600 --> 00:56:51,640
at mindfulness
compared to placebo,
1129
00:56:51,680 --> 00:56:53,440
but they also did
MRI of the brain
1130
00:56:53,480 --> 00:56:55,960
to see which areas of the
brain are active in placebo
1131
00:56:56,000 --> 00:56:57,320
and which ones in mindfulness?
1132
00:56:57,360 --> 00:56:59,680
The area of the brain
that the mindfulness
1133
00:56:59,720 --> 00:57:01,480
was mostly working on
were the areas the brain
1134
00:57:01,520 --> 00:57:03,480
that decide whether or not
to let the message through
1135
00:57:03,520 --> 00:57:05,560
to the higher centres.
1136
00:57:05,600 --> 00:57:06,920
We often do an experiment
with people
1137
00:57:06,960 --> 00:57:09,360
when we're teaching
them mindfulness.
1138
00:57:09,400 --> 00:57:12,880
And you can set a person down
or a group of people down
1139
00:57:12,920 --> 00:57:16,640
and you can just sort of
notice maybe some persistent,
1140
00:57:16,680 --> 00:57:19,200
obvious noise, doesn't
have to be loud,
1141
00:57:19,240 --> 00:57:20,480
but an obvious noise.
1142
00:57:20,520 --> 00:57:22,160
And you sit down and
close your eyes.
1143
00:57:22,200 --> 00:57:24,000
Now, I want you to
listen to that noise.
1144
00:57:26,240 --> 00:57:28,160
Now, I want you to
block that noise out
1145
00:57:28,200 --> 00:57:29,320
so that you can't hear it.
1146
00:57:29,360 --> 00:57:31,400
Make that sound go away.
1147
00:57:33,640 --> 00:57:34,880
If you can still hear it,
1148
00:57:34,920 --> 00:57:37,360
I want you to try even
harder to block it out.
1149
00:57:37,400 --> 00:57:38,800
And of course what people notice
1150
00:57:38,840 --> 00:57:40,640
is the harder they
try to block it out,
1151
00:57:40,680 --> 00:57:42,120
the louder it becomes
1152
00:57:43,240 --> 00:57:45,160
whereas in mindfulness,
1153
00:57:45,200 --> 00:57:46,800
there's no need to
block anything out.
1154
00:57:46,840 --> 00:57:49,320
But if the attention is
going to something else,
1155
00:57:49,360 --> 00:57:52,080
the other thing just
recedes into the background.
1156
00:57:52,120 --> 00:57:54,720
So it's like the brain
decides what messages
1157
00:57:54,760 --> 00:57:57,120
to let through and
which ones not to.
1158
00:58:06,880 --> 00:58:08,760
- Welcome to the
class everybody.
1159
00:58:08,800 --> 00:58:09,920
Very lovely to see you all.
1160
00:58:09,960 --> 00:58:12,560
I have a very
effective life now.
1161
00:58:12,600 --> 00:58:14,080
I travel globally.
1162
00:58:14,120 --> 00:58:15,440
I teach globally.
1163
00:58:15,480 --> 00:58:16,400
I've still got chronic pain.
1164
00:58:16,440 --> 00:58:17,880
I'm still disabled.
1165
00:58:17,920 --> 00:58:19,600
I've still got a paralysed
bowel and bladder.
1166
00:58:19,640 --> 00:58:21,440
My legs don't work properly
1167
00:58:21,480 --> 00:58:23,680
but I have a really good life.
1168
00:58:23,720 --> 00:58:26,880
My story isn't one
of a miracle cure.
1169
00:58:26,920 --> 00:58:30,400
It's a story of healing
rather than cure.
1170
00:58:30,440 --> 00:58:32,160
And I think this is
very, very important
1171
00:58:32,200 --> 00:58:34,680
because for many, many years,
I felt I was a failure.
1172
00:58:34,720 --> 00:58:36,720
Can't manage to earn a living.
1173
00:58:36,760 --> 00:58:38,960
Can't manage to
sort my life out.
1174
00:58:39,000 --> 00:58:40,640
And I can't cure my pain.
1175
00:58:42,280 --> 00:58:44,880
And you know, meditation
isn't going to unfuse my spine
1176
00:58:44,920 --> 00:58:47,520
but meditation has enabled
me to profoundly heal
1177
00:58:47,560 --> 00:58:49,840
of my response to life as it is
1178
00:58:49,880 --> 00:58:52,040
and for me, that's a
much greater miracle
1179
00:58:52,080 --> 00:58:53,880
because we've all got
bodies that will age.
1180
00:58:53,920 --> 00:58:56,160
We've all got bodies that
things will go wrong.
1181
00:58:56,200 --> 00:59:00,720
And if the paradigm is
you're only succeeding,
1182
00:59:00,760 --> 00:59:02,640
if you can have a
perfect body at all times
1183
00:59:02,680 --> 00:59:05,720
through all stages of life,
we're all going to fail.
1184
00:59:05,760 --> 00:59:08,560
So I'm not actually
very interested in cure.
1185
00:59:08,600 --> 00:59:11,080
I'm interested in learning
to live with my life,
1186
00:59:11,120 --> 00:59:13,360
with whatever arrives in any day
1187
00:59:13,400 --> 00:59:16,000
and we can't control
what arrives in our life,
1188
00:59:16,040 --> 00:59:17,200
but we can control
how we respond
1189
00:59:17,240 --> 00:59:18,680
to what arrives in our life.
1190
00:59:22,200 --> 00:59:27,200
[bell chiming]
1191
00:59:29,360 --> 00:59:31,200
- So, welcome everybody.
1192
00:59:32,840 --> 00:59:33,840
Our last class.
1193
00:59:36,480 --> 00:59:39,480
So maybe we'll just
take a moment to arrive.
1194
00:59:42,800 --> 00:59:46,760
Just feeling into what
it feels like to be here.
1195
00:59:49,600 --> 00:59:52,560
- [Shannon] Today, I'm having
a seven out of ten day
with pain levels.
1196
00:59:52,600 --> 00:59:55,640
I'm having an arthritis
flare through my body.
1197
00:59:55,680 --> 01:00:00,080
I found the body scan
enormously difficult.
1198
01:00:00,120 --> 01:00:03,560
The word that's on the tip
of my tongue is unbearable,
1199
01:00:03,600 --> 01:00:05,840
but I was just so
conscious of the exercise
1200
01:00:05,880 --> 01:00:07,400
that we did a few weeks ago
1201
01:00:07,440 --> 01:00:11,640
where we connected with
the catastrophising story
1202
01:00:11,680 --> 01:00:13,240
that happens.
1203
01:00:13,280 --> 01:00:15,160
And I you know, you just
mentioned Vidyamala Burch
1204
01:00:15,200 --> 01:00:16,560
and it just so happens
1205
01:00:16,600 --> 01:00:18,080
that we interviewed Vidyamala
1206
01:00:18,120 --> 01:00:20,960
for the project that we're
working at the moment last week
1207
01:00:21,000 --> 01:00:23,560
and she talks about
learning to be with
1208
01:00:23,600 --> 01:00:25,200
that emotional response
to the pain
1209
01:00:25,240 --> 01:00:29,040
which I've never in my
life been taught to do.
1210
01:00:30,080 --> 01:00:31,840
So um...
1211
01:00:33,600 --> 01:00:34,400
Yeah.
1212
01:00:36,560 --> 01:00:39,400
Do you think that in many
ways part of the problem
1213
01:00:39,440 --> 01:00:43,000
is that we're not taught
how to suffer?
1214
01:00:45,400 --> 01:00:46,440
- Wow.
1215
01:00:47,960 --> 01:00:49,960
We're not taught how to suffer.
1216
01:00:57,760 --> 01:01:00,240
You know, it's
really interesting.
1217
01:01:00,280 --> 01:01:03,120
Maybe, I think in some ways,
1218
01:01:03,160 --> 01:01:05,560
we are taught how to suffer
1219
01:01:05,600 --> 01:01:08,520
but sometimes it doesn't
necessarily mean
1220
01:01:08,560 --> 01:01:10,960
that what we've learned
and what we've been taught
1221
01:01:11,000 --> 01:01:13,880
is the most adaptive way.
1222
01:01:13,920 --> 01:01:17,080
Mindfulness meditation and
these other interventions
1223
01:01:17,120 --> 01:01:21,000
aren't necessarily
about alleviating
suffering completely.
1224
01:01:22,400 --> 01:01:23,960
Maybe alleviating
unnecessary suffering
1225
01:01:24,000 --> 01:01:25,880
is one way of thinking about it
1226
01:01:25,920 --> 01:01:29,080
'cause I think that not only
but I think many people think
1227
01:01:29,120 --> 01:01:32,040
that meaning, meaning,
1228
01:01:33,200 --> 01:01:34,280
gratitude,
1229
01:01:35,280 --> 01:01:37,280
compassion,
1230
01:01:37,320 --> 01:01:38,880
good things
1231
01:01:38,920 --> 01:01:41,600
also come from suffering
and gives us perspective.
1232
01:01:41,640 --> 01:01:43,560
And so I think even this idea
1233
01:01:43,600 --> 01:01:45,440
that we should be
free of suffering,
1234
01:01:45,480 --> 01:01:48,720
maybe is just not the case.
1235
01:01:48,760 --> 01:01:52,600
♪ I blame you Hollywood
1236
01:01:52,640 --> 01:01:56,360
♪ For showing me things
you never should ♪
1237
01:01:56,400 --> 01:02:00,200
♪ Show a young girl
1238
01:02:00,240 --> 01:02:04,640
♪ In this cruel world
1239
01:02:04,680 --> 01:02:10,360
♪ 'Cause life's not
a happy ending ♪
1240
01:02:10,400 --> 01:02:11,560
♪ Sure there are some
1241
01:02:11,600 --> 01:02:15,360
♪ Like Johnny and June
1242
01:02:15,400 --> 01:02:19,120
♪ Maybe other people too
1243
01:02:19,160 --> 01:02:22,640
♪ Like me and you
1244
01:02:26,680 --> 01:02:29,120
- [Shannon voiceover] Experiment
notes, day 143.
1245
01:02:30,960 --> 01:02:33,680
MBSR may have finished
but I have no doubt
1246
01:02:33,720 --> 01:02:36,400
that the experiences
and friendships
1247
01:02:36,440 --> 01:02:38,280
it kindled will stay with me.
1248
01:02:40,000 --> 01:02:42,720
And I'm now so aware of just
how powerful my attention is
1249
01:02:42,760 --> 01:02:45,640
in every aspect of my life.
1250
01:02:45,680 --> 01:02:49,480
Attention is one of my
most precious resources,
1251
01:02:49,520 --> 01:02:51,600
but I've never valued it before.
1252
01:02:51,640 --> 01:02:54,040
I feel a bit like
Neo in The Matrix
1253
01:02:54,080 --> 01:02:55,880
after he's just woken up.
1254
01:02:55,920 --> 01:02:58,000
I can see all the forces
around me trying
1255
01:02:58,040 --> 01:03:00,040
to hijack my attention.
1256
01:03:01,720 --> 01:03:04,200
Despite all the benefits
of new technology,
1257
01:03:04,240 --> 01:03:07,200
we now live in a world
full of distractions,
1258
01:03:07,240 --> 01:03:11,320
on our streets, in our homes
and at our very fingertips.
1259
01:03:12,920 --> 01:03:15,080
Has being distracted
become my default setting?
1260
01:03:16,600 --> 01:03:19,920
What would it be like
if I turned it all...
1261
01:03:21,120 --> 01:03:21,880
Off?
1262
01:03:32,400 --> 01:03:34,640
So here we go,
my first silent retreat.
1263
01:03:34,680 --> 01:03:36,120
I'm not scared.
1264
01:03:36,160 --> 01:03:40,680
I am maybe trepidatious,
could be the right word.
1265
01:03:40,720 --> 01:03:44,280
I've never in my life
been in a situation
1266
01:03:44,320 --> 01:03:46,440
where I haven't had
a book to read
1267
01:03:46,480 --> 01:03:48,240
or music to listen or
a movie to watch
1268
01:03:48,280 --> 01:03:49,720
or people to talk to.
1269
01:03:50,840 --> 01:03:52,560
I've never, ever experienced
1270
01:03:52,600 --> 01:03:55,800
that kind of
sensory deprivation.
1271
01:03:55,840 --> 01:03:57,720
- [interviewer] So what day
will you lose your mind?
1272
01:03:59,440 --> 01:04:01,880
- Well, hopefully, I'm
not going to lose my mind.
1273
01:04:01,920 --> 01:04:04,440
The good meditation teachers
can recognise the signs
1274
01:04:04,480 --> 01:04:05,640
of people who are in distress
1275
01:04:05,680 --> 01:04:07,560
and hopefully guide
them out of it
1276
01:04:07,600 --> 01:04:09,480
but I'm not going
to lose my mind.
1277
01:04:11,000 --> 01:04:12,520
I'm not going to lose my mind.
1278
01:04:14,000 --> 01:04:17,280
- When I was doing my
psychiatric internship,
1279
01:04:17,320 --> 01:04:19,880
two people the same
year were hospitalised
1280
01:04:19,920 --> 01:04:23,560
at my hospital from a 10-day
meditation retreat centre.
1281
01:04:23,600 --> 01:04:27,600
So it seemed like
as a responsible
clinical psychologist
1282
01:04:27,640 --> 01:04:30,840
something worthy of
following up with.
1283
01:04:30,880 --> 01:04:33,000
The variety of the contemplative
experience study
1284
01:04:33,040 --> 01:04:34,400
was an interview-based study,
1285
01:04:34,440 --> 01:04:36,360
about various difficulties
that can arise
1286
01:04:36,400 --> 01:04:38,120
in the context of practice.
1287
01:04:38,160 --> 01:04:42,120
The most common reported
category was increases in fear.
1288
01:04:42,160 --> 01:04:45,800
You can also see people
who lose all emotional tone
1289
01:04:45,840 --> 01:04:49,720
altogether including like
feelings for their children.
1290
01:04:49,760 --> 01:04:52,440
And then sense of
self almost always
1291
01:04:52,480 --> 01:04:53,880
at least the people that call us
1292
01:04:53,920 --> 01:04:55,640
are reporting with some
kind of disturbance
1293
01:04:55,680 --> 01:04:56,880
in their sense of self.
1294
01:04:56,920 --> 01:04:58,560
They don't feel like
they own their emotions
1295
01:04:58,600 --> 01:05:01,640
or their thoughts.
1296
01:05:01,680 --> 01:05:02,840
- [Shannon] So that's
depersonalization, right?
1297
01:05:02,880 --> 01:05:04,160
- [Willoughby] That's
depersonalization, yeah.
1298
01:05:04,200 --> 01:05:05,600
- You know,
I'm partly doing this
1299
01:05:05,640 --> 01:05:06,960
because I want to
be a better mother
1300
01:05:07,000 --> 01:05:09,600
and a better person, a
better wife, a better friend,
1301
01:05:09,640 --> 01:05:11,440
a better daughter,
a better sister.
1302
01:05:11,480 --> 01:05:13,040
Like I wanna be a better person
1303
01:05:13,080 --> 01:05:15,640
but what you're telling me
is that there are people
1304
01:05:15,680 --> 01:05:21,000
who are reporting experiences
of losing those relationships.
1305
01:05:21,040 --> 01:05:22,440
- Yes.
1306
01:05:22,480 --> 01:05:24,640
I mean, one of the
more encouraging things
1307
01:05:24,680 --> 01:05:27,160
about experience-dependent
neuroplasticity,
1308
01:05:27,200 --> 01:05:29,000
which is basically the
idea that you get good
1309
01:05:29,040 --> 01:05:31,680
at what you practise is
that it's fairly gradual.
1310
01:05:31,720 --> 01:05:34,440
You can monitor yourself.
1311
01:05:34,480 --> 01:05:37,640
And I think a lot of the
quote-unquote adverse effects
1312
01:05:37,680 --> 01:05:39,360
are really about mismatches
1313
01:05:39,400 --> 01:05:41,600
between the practises
and the teachers
1314
01:05:41,640 --> 01:05:44,200
and the programmes
and people's goals.
1315
01:05:44,240 --> 01:05:47,000
You know, they don't want
to lose their sense of self,
1316
01:05:47,040 --> 01:05:49,120
but that's what certain
practises are designed to do.
1317
01:05:49,160 --> 01:05:50,680
So don't do those practises.
1318
01:05:50,720 --> 01:05:53,920
Do ones that cultivate
positive emotions,
1319
01:05:53,960 --> 01:05:55,920
you know, there are
practises like that.
1320
01:05:55,960 --> 01:05:57,760
Those are some of my favourites.
1321
01:05:57,800 --> 01:06:02,240
Going on a retreat can be
a very intense experience.
1322
01:06:02,280 --> 01:06:03,840
It's called a retreat.
1323
01:06:03,880 --> 01:06:06,840
That makes it
sound like it's a spa
1324
01:06:06,880 --> 01:06:09,040
but it's actually
really difficult.
1325
01:06:25,480 --> 01:06:28,080
- My agreement with the
organisers of the retreat was
1326
01:06:28,120 --> 01:06:30,200
that once other people
started arriving,
1327
01:06:30,240 --> 01:06:32,720
I would stop using
the camera in public.
1328
01:06:32,760 --> 01:06:36,360
So I think yeah, the
arrival of that car there,
1329
01:06:36,400 --> 01:06:40,280
it pretty much symbolises the
arrival of the other people.
1330
01:06:40,320 --> 01:06:43,200
So, I guess for now,
1331
01:06:43,240 --> 01:06:46,800
it's going to be signing off
1332
01:06:46,840 --> 01:06:50,680
and I'll just be using
the diary cam in my room
1333
01:06:50,720 --> 01:06:54,120
and maybe during the chats
that I have with Patrick,
1334
01:06:54,160 --> 01:06:55,520
the teacher.
1335
01:06:57,000 --> 01:07:01,080
From seven o'clock tonight
when we start silence,
1336
01:07:02,440 --> 01:07:04,680
until the end of this retreat,
1337
01:07:04,720 --> 01:07:06,640
in 10 days time,
1338
01:07:06,680 --> 01:07:09,400
it's just going to be me
in the contents of my mind
1339
01:07:09,440 --> 01:07:12,720
and I guess that's really
just starting to hit me now.
1340
01:07:36,000 --> 01:07:38,640
- The resting state is a topic
1341
01:07:38,680 --> 01:07:41,360
of tremendously increased
scientific interest.
1342
01:07:41,400 --> 01:07:44,360
So, if you put a person
in an MRI scanner
1343
01:07:44,400 --> 01:07:47,040
and instruct them
to simply rest,
1344
01:07:47,080 --> 01:07:51,360
we see a pattern of brain
activity that is non-random.
1345
01:07:51,400 --> 01:07:54,920
What you actually see is
that there are circuits
1346
01:07:54,960 --> 01:07:58,800
which emerge as being more
activated than other circuits
1347
01:07:58,840 --> 01:08:02,960
and those circuits have been
called the default mode.
1348
01:08:03,000 --> 01:08:05,600
And one of the characteristics
of the default mode
1349
01:08:05,640 --> 01:08:08,800
is that it seems to
play some role
1350
01:08:08,840 --> 01:08:13,640
in the kind of self
narrative that we have
1351
01:08:14,840 --> 01:08:16,319
occurring in our
minds all the time.
1352
01:08:16,360 --> 01:08:18,200
And meditation seems to change
1353
01:08:18,240 --> 01:08:20,319
that in very interesting ways.
1354
01:08:20,360 --> 01:08:22,840
And so the parts of
the default mode that
1355
01:08:22,880 --> 01:08:26,360
may be particularly important
for this self narrative
1356
01:08:26,399 --> 01:08:28,880
become less strongly connected
1357
01:08:28,920 --> 01:08:30,399
to other areas of the brain.
1358
01:08:30,440 --> 01:08:32,680
And so what it suggests
1359
01:08:32,719 --> 01:08:35,680
is that the self narrative
is not hijacking
1360
01:08:35,719 --> 01:08:38,000
the other brain circuits
in the same way
1361
01:08:38,040 --> 01:08:40,840
where we can learn
through specific kinds
1362
01:08:40,880 --> 01:08:43,520
of meditation practises
like mindfulness
1363
01:08:43,559 --> 01:08:46,120
to regard the self
narrative for what it is.
1364
01:08:46,160 --> 01:08:49,360
They are thoughts rather
than getting hijacked by them
1365
01:08:49,399 --> 01:08:52,760
as if they are reality.
1366
01:09:04,719 --> 01:09:06,960
- The posterior cingulate
cortex is actually one
1367
01:09:07,000 --> 01:09:09,440
of the hubs of the
default mode network.
1368
01:09:09,479 --> 01:09:12,479
It seems to be a marker
of the experiential self
1369
01:09:12,520 --> 01:09:14,399
at least that's our hypothesis.
1370
01:09:14,440 --> 01:09:17,600
So the idea is there's
something in our experience
1371
01:09:17,639 --> 01:09:20,120
that says this is going
to set a boundary
1372
01:09:20,160 --> 01:09:22,680
between me and the
rest of the world.
1373
01:09:22,719 --> 01:09:24,440
When somebody's meditating,
1374
01:09:24,479 --> 01:09:27,440
those boundaries
start to dissolve
1375
01:09:27,479 --> 01:09:29,800
and on an experiential level,
1376
01:09:29,840 --> 01:09:32,399
we feel this often as
an expanding quality
1377
01:09:32,440 --> 01:09:34,000
of our experience.
1378
01:09:34,040 --> 01:09:37,120
And if that expansion goes
all the way to infinity,
1379
01:09:37,160 --> 01:09:41,440
we start to lose that boundary
between our self and others
1380
01:09:41,479 --> 01:09:43,840
and what we found was the
posterior cingulate cortex
1381
01:09:43,880 --> 01:09:45,160
gets really quiet
1382
01:09:45,200 --> 01:09:46,639
when we're meditating
1383
01:09:46,680 --> 01:09:49,200
or being curious or
even being grateful.
1384
01:10:08,120 --> 01:10:11,240
- The curriculum of mindfulness
is whatever is arising.
1385
01:10:11,280 --> 01:10:12,840
Now, you see that
more on, let's say,
1386
01:10:12,880 --> 01:10:16,120
a 10-day retreat because
like there's nothing going on
1387
01:10:16,160 --> 01:10:18,520
except in your mind,
there's a lot going on.
1388
01:10:18,559 --> 01:10:21,080
So, how are you going
to be in relationship
1389
01:10:21,120 --> 01:10:23,600
with whatever's running
through your mind?
1390
01:10:23,639 --> 01:10:26,320
And that's where the
liberation comes in,
1391
01:10:26,360 --> 01:10:28,080
that's where the
insight arises.
1392
01:10:28,120 --> 01:10:31,320
That's when you realise
that you are much bigger
1393
01:10:31,360 --> 01:10:34,880
than your narratives and that
changes the brain activity
1394
01:10:34,920 --> 01:10:38,240
in these narrative networks,
the default mode network.
1395
01:10:38,280 --> 01:10:40,840
And as I alluded to,
1396
01:10:40,880 --> 01:10:43,520
I think metaphorically
at least, we need
1397
01:10:43,559 --> 01:10:46,880
to do a lot more science
before we can know the degree
1398
01:10:46,920 --> 01:10:48,440
to which it's literally true,
1399
01:10:48,480 --> 01:10:50,080
we're shifting the default mode
1400
01:10:50,120 --> 01:10:54,760
from one of mindlessness and
mind wandering to mindfulness.
1401
01:11:09,120 --> 01:11:11,360
- [Shannon] I'm experiencing
these moments
1402
01:11:11,400 --> 01:11:14,360
of deep awareness.
1403
01:11:14,400 --> 01:11:17,440
How can I possibly
keep this going
1404
01:11:17,480 --> 01:11:21,320
in the craziness of the
so-called real world?
1405
01:11:21,360 --> 01:11:23,639
- You can't.
- You can't.
1406
01:11:23,680 --> 01:11:25,440
- You need all the
conditions to come together.
1407
01:11:25,480 --> 01:11:27,160
That's why people
do retreats.
1408
01:11:27,200 --> 01:11:29,440
Now, insight is interesting
1409
01:11:29,480 --> 01:11:31,200
in that it has
the characteristic
1410
01:11:31,240 --> 01:11:34,080
that once you see
something, you've seen it
1411
01:11:34,120 --> 01:11:36,400
and that never goes away.
- Okay.
1412
01:11:36,440 --> 01:11:38,160
So I'm not going to forget.
1413
01:11:38,200 --> 01:11:40,240
- You will forget your insights
1414
01:11:40,280 --> 01:11:44,320
but the effect that it has,
"Oh, this is what's going on",
1415
01:11:44,360 --> 01:11:45,639
that stays.
1416
01:11:45,680 --> 01:11:47,559
I like to call it the
Santa Claus effect.
1417
01:11:47,600 --> 01:11:49,600
So when we we're young
1418
01:11:49,639 --> 01:11:53,120
and every year this
magical figure turns up
1419
01:11:53,160 --> 01:11:57,120
and we always left out
some beer for him
1420
01:11:57,160 --> 01:11:59,160
and some cake because
you know by the time
1421
01:11:59,200 --> 01:12:00,960
he gets to Australia,
he's pretty tired.
1422
01:12:01,000 --> 01:12:03,440
And then one Christmas Eve,
1423
01:12:03,480 --> 01:12:05,480
you hear sounds
in the living room.
1424
01:12:05,520 --> 01:12:08,600
So you creep out
and have a look.
1425
01:12:08,639 --> 01:12:10,639
And there's your father
scoffing the beer and the cake
1426
01:12:10,680 --> 01:12:12,040
and you mother laying
out the presents.
1427
01:12:12,080 --> 01:12:13,719
But Christmas can
never be the same
1428
01:12:13,760 --> 01:12:15,559
because you've seen something
1429
01:12:15,600 --> 01:12:17,040
and the world is different now.
1430
01:12:17,080 --> 01:12:18,240
Insight works like this.
1431
01:12:18,280 --> 01:12:20,160
You forget your insight.
1432
01:12:20,200 --> 01:12:22,680
but there's a sense in which
your insight never forgets you.
1433
01:12:31,160 --> 01:12:32,200
- Hey.
- Hello.
1434
01:12:32,240 --> 01:12:33,719
- How you doing?
1435
01:12:33,760 --> 01:12:35,200
Welcome back.
1436
01:12:35,240 --> 01:12:38,080
- Thank you.
- How was it?
1437
01:12:39,000 --> 01:12:41,440
- It was extraordinary.
1438
01:12:41,480 --> 01:12:44,800
You know, what's in my
head right now, don't you?
1439
01:12:44,840 --> 01:12:46,320
- No, not all of it.
1440
01:12:46,360 --> 01:12:48,840
No, I get where you're
coming from.
1441
01:12:48,880 --> 01:12:51,360
- So are we going to see
that on a brain scan?
1442
01:12:51,400 --> 01:12:52,920
- Well, should we go
take a look?
1443
01:12:52,960 --> 01:12:53,639
- Let's go.
1444
01:13:02,200 --> 01:13:06,600
I've been home from the silent
retreat for just over a month
1445
01:13:06,639 --> 01:13:10,200
and I can honestly say
I feel amazing.
1446
01:13:10,240 --> 01:13:12,559
I feel amazing in my head
1447
01:13:12,600 --> 01:13:14,320
and I feel amazing in my body.
1448
01:13:14,360 --> 01:13:18,639
I have no symptoms of
my autoimmune disease.
1449
01:13:18,680 --> 01:13:21,360
The changes are so
monumental for me
1450
01:13:21,400 --> 01:13:23,960
that I can't help but wonder
1451
01:13:24,000 --> 01:13:28,960
if this is simply that I feel
differently about my illness
1452
01:13:29,000 --> 01:13:30,920
or if there's something
more going on
1453
01:13:30,960 --> 01:13:34,760
like under my skin
and in my cells.
1454
01:13:36,160 --> 01:13:38,639
Now, I do understand
that it's early days.
1455
01:13:38,680 --> 01:13:41,440
But, do you think this
research holds promise
1456
01:13:41,480 --> 01:13:44,360
for autoimmune diseases?
1457
01:13:44,400 --> 01:13:46,320
- It's a good question Shannon.
1458
01:13:46,360 --> 01:13:50,559
I think that mindfulness
and mind-body activities
1459
01:13:50,600 --> 01:13:52,760
are helpful to the immune system
1460
01:13:52,800 --> 01:13:56,639
regardless of whether it's
being overactive or underactive.
1461
01:13:56,680 --> 01:13:59,360
While genetics plays a huge role
1462
01:13:59,400 --> 01:14:03,120
when you want to know who's
living well to a hundred,
1463
01:14:03,160 --> 01:14:06,840
we think lifestyle plays
a tremendous role
1464
01:14:06,880 --> 01:14:09,960
and it's the
interaction of lifestyle
1465
01:14:10,000 --> 01:14:11,840
and experience with genetics.
1466
01:14:11,880 --> 01:14:13,880
It's not one or the other.
1467
01:14:13,920 --> 01:14:16,440
The action is in
the interaction.
1468
01:14:16,480 --> 01:14:18,840
- Whether or not mindfulness
actually cures a disease
1469
01:14:18,880 --> 01:14:19,880
remains to be seen.
1470
01:14:19,920 --> 01:14:21,480
There's some hopeful signs.
1471
01:14:21,520 --> 01:14:24,240
A study that Richie
Davidson did actually,,
1472
01:14:24,280 --> 01:14:28,840
where advanced meditators
in six hours of meditation
1473
01:14:28,880 --> 01:14:31,440
turned off or down
regulated the genes
1474
01:14:31,480 --> 01:14:33,800
that create inflammation
in the body.
1475
01:14:33,840 --> 01:14:35,680
Whether that's clinically
significant or not,
1476
01:14:35,719 --> 01:14:37,600
it's too early to say.
1477
01:14:37,639 --> 01:14:39,800
- And that does have important
health implications
1478
01:14:39,840 --> 01:14:42,880
because we know that
inflammatory processes
1479
01:14:42,920 --> 01:14:45,200
are at the root of
many chronic illnesses,
1480
01:14:45,240 --> 01:14:48,240
cardiovascular disease,
arthritis,
1481
01:14:48,280 --> 01:14:51,960
asthma and if meditation
can reduce inflammation,
1482
01:14:52,000 --> 01:14:53,960
that's a really
important finding.
1483
01:14:54,000 --> 01:14:56,200
- That's very exciting though
1484
01:14:56,240 --> 01:14:59,760
as somebody with an autoimmune
disease, I have to say.
1485
01:14:59,800 --> 01:15:02,400
- We're very interested
to see what would happen
1486
01:15:02,440 --> 01:15:05,600
if someone like you with
an autoimmune disease
1487
01:15:05,639 --> 01:15:08,120
were to become a very
serious meditator
1488
01:15:08,160 --> 01:15:12,080
and track what goes on
during that time genetically
1489
01:15:12,120 --> 01:15:14,240
and in terms of symptoms,
of course.
1490
01:15:14,280 --> 01:15:16,760
But that hasn't happened yet.
1491
01:15:18,880 --> 01:15:20,960
- [Shannon] What I'm
starting to realise is
1492
01:15:21,000 --> 01:15:22,960
how frontier this science is.
1493
01:15:23,000 --> 01:15:26,360
And that at the end
of my experiment,
1494
01:15:26,400 --> 01:15:31,080
I might not have scientific data
1495
01:15:31,120 --> 01:15:36,080
to explain my own
transformative experience.
1496
01:15:36,120 --> 01:15:38,760
How do I reconcile this?
1497
01:15:38,800 --> 01:15:40,080
- That's a hard one,
I don't know.
1498
01:15:40,120 --> 01:15:41,480
I mean, I think our assumption,
1499
01:15:41,520 --> 01:15:42,960
our default in science is often,
1500
01:15:43,000 --> 01:15:44,559
"Oh, we want to know whether
1501
01:15:44,600 --> 01:15:46,160
or not mindfulness
meditation works."
1502
01:15:46,200 --> 01:15:47,639
Let's hook the person
that's doing the meditation
1503
01:15:47,680 --> 01:15:49,400
up to every possible
thing we can think of
1504
01:15:49,440 --> 01:15:52,440
and it may be that the effects
1505
01:15:52,480 --> 01:15:54,240
are on the person as a whole
1506
01:15:54,280 --> 01:15:56,559
and that you may
have best observe those
1507
01:15:56,600 --> 01:15:58,200
in that person's life.
1508
01:15:58,240 --> 01:16:00,440
So the really cool studies
that I've seen have looked
1509
01:16:00,480 --> 01:16:03,600
at cases where they
randomised therapists
1510
01:16:03,639 --> 01:16:06,400
in training to either get
Zen meditation practice
1511
01:16:06,440 --> 01:16:08,120
or just relaxation.
1512
01:16:08,160 --> 01:16:10,639
So they taught the therapist
either to be more present
1513
01:16:10,680 --> 01:16:12,360
and more mindful
1514
01:16:12,400 --> 01:16:15,240
or just to relax and they
then looked at the clients
1515
01:16:15,280 --> 01:16:17,400
and what they found
in this study is that
1516
01:16:17,440 --> 01:16:21,520
the clients of the therapists
who got Zen training
1517
01:16:21,559 --> 01:16:24,960
got better faster and
stayed better longer.
1518
01:16:25,000 --> 01:16:27,200
And so I think for me,
1519
01:16:27,240 --> 01:16:29,240
we really need to
think carefully
1520
01:16:29,280 --> 01:16:31,280
about where are we
looking for the effects?
1521
01:16:31,320 --> 01:16:32,760
Where would we notice this?
1522
01:16:32,800 --> 01:16:34,600
If this is working, where
would we observe it?
1523
01:16:34,639 --> 01:16:37,880
And it might not necessarily
always be biology.
1524
01:16:45,400 --> 01:16:48,080
- [Shannon voiceover] Experiment
notes.
1525
01:16:48,120 --> 01:16:50,320
I'm now only starting to realise
1526
01:16:50,360 --> 01:16:54,639
what the last 283 days
have been about.
1527
01:16:54,680 --> 01:16:57,680
When I sat down to
meditate on day one,
1528
01:16:57,719 --> 01:17:00,760
I thought I was making a
film about getting happier.
1529
01:17:00,800 --> 01:17:04,480
But I've actually been
learning how to suffer.
1530
01:17:04,520 --> 01:17:07,440
I call this being
discomfortable,
1531
01:17:07,480 --> 01:17:11,600
comfortable with all of
life's inevitable discomfort.
1532
01:17:11,639 --> 01:17:13,440
I'm also coming to
terms with the fact
1533
01:17:13,480 --> 01:17:16,200
that I might not find any
black and white answers
1534
01:17:16,240 --> 01:17:18,680
and that the scientific
process is actually made up
1535
01:17:18,719 --> 01:17:20,680
of shades of grey.
1536
01:17:20,719 --> 01:17:22,680
I guess, I'm no longer
under any illusion
1537
01:17:22,719 --> 01:17:25,440
that my experiment alone
can possibly answer
1538
01:17:25,480 --> 01:17:27,639
my starting question.
1539
01:17:27,680 --> 01:17:29,840
Could mindfulness be
part of the solution
1540
01:17:29,880 --> 01:17:32,440
for the mental health epidemic?
1541
01:17:32,480 --> 01:17:36,480
Can it really ease the
suffering of anyone, anywhere,
1542
01:17:36,520 --> 01:17:39,120
in any circumstances?
1543
01:17:39,160 --> 01:17:42,639
As an educated white woman,
living in a peaceful country,
1544
01:17:42,680 --> 01:17:44,880
I don't know.
1545
01:17:44,920 --> 01:17:46,840
I've received a film
grant that allows me
1546
01:17:46,880 --> 01:17:50,600
to make one final trip
before the project finishes.
1547
01:17:50,639 --> 01:17:53,240
And while there are examples
of mindfulness being used
1548
01:17:53,280 --> 01:17:57,360
to help people in situations
far worse than my own,
1549
01:17:57,400 --> 01:18:01,559
in prisons, in disadvantaged
schools and communities,
1550
01:18:01,600 --> 01:18:04,760
my attention has been
drawn to the Middle East
1551
01:18:04,800 --> 01:18:08,760
and to the front line of the
global humanitarian crisis
1552
01:18:08,800 --> 01:18:12,040
that has caused more people
to be displaced by conflict
1553
01:18:12,080 --> 01:18:14,160
than after World War II.
1554
01:18:14,200 --> 01:18:17,680
If there was ever a place to
put mindfulness to the test,
1555
01:18:18,559 --> 01:18:20,680
this would be it.
1556
01:18:38,960 --> 01:18:43,760
- [Shannon] I am currently in
the Za'atari refugee camp
1557
01:18:45,280 --> 01:18:48,080
which is one of the largest
refugee camps in the world.
1558
01:18:50,600 --> 01:18:55,559
And it's really one thing to
read about places like this
1559
01:18:55,600 --> 01:18:59,360
on the Internet and to see
the images on the television,
1560
01:18:59,400 --> 01:19:01,559
but it is a completely
different thing
1561
01:19:01,600 --> 01:19:03,559
to actually come here
and see this for myself
1562
01:19:03,600 --> 01:19:06,960
and to meet the people
1563
01:19:07,000 --> 01:19:08,960
who now call this place home.
1564
01:19:35,280 --> 01:19:39,240
- [Shannon] When I met
Om Hamze today,
1565
01:19:39,280 --> 01:19:42,559
she is the single
mother of six children.
1566
01:19:42,600 --> 01:19:45,440
She told me that this is home
1567
01:19:45,480 --> 01:19:47,800
because there is no home
for her to go home to.
1568
01:19:49,040 --> 01:19:49,800
I really,
1569
01:19:51,160 --> 01:19:54,840
I can't see how
teaching meditation
1570
01:19:56,360 --> 01:19:58,920
is actually going to
change anything.
1571
01:20:02,200 --> 01:20:05,680
- There's no doubt that when
you have tens of millions
1572
01:20:05,719 --> 01:20:07,320
or even millions or even
hundreds of thousands of people
1573
01:20:07,360 --> 01:20:08,960
that are forcibly displaced,
1574
01:20:09,000 --> 01:20:13,120
there are governmental and
non-governmental organisations
1575
01:20:13,160 --> 01:20:17,760
that leap in to provide
assistance and care
1576
01:20:17,800 --> 01:20:19,480
and they have to deal with
all sorts of things like,
1577
01:20:19,520 --> 01:20:23,200
you know, housing, food, water
1578
01:20:23,240 --> 01:20:27,000
and later education,
all sorts of legal
1579
01:20:27,040 --> 01:20:29,920
and immigration, residency
issues and status.
1580
01:20:29,960 --> 01:20:31,920
And those things are really
important, there's no doubt,
1581
01:20:31,960 --> 01:20:35,000
they're critical but then,
you have those same hundreds
1582
01:20:35,040 --> 01:20:38,440
of thousands of people who
endured unimaginable pain
1583
01:20:38,480 --> 01:20:41,719
and experience of trauma
and ongoing chronic stress
1584
01:20:41,760 --> 01:20:45,320
of uncertainty about
what this means
1585
01:20:45,360 --> 01:20:47,680
and we can't see those scars.
1586
01:20:47,719 --> 01:20:52,600
And in terms of access
to mental health care,
1587
01:20:52,639 --> 01:20:56,680
it's just a tiny, tiny
fraction of the millions
1588
01:20:56,719 --> 01:20:58,680
who need care receive any care
1589
01:20:58,719 --> 01:21:00,800
and among those that
receive some care,
1590
01:21:00,840 --> 01:21:02,559
the truth is we don't
have a good understanding
1591
01:21:02,600 --> 01:21:04,160
of what they need.
1592
01:21:05,200 --> 01:21:08,800
- [Jim Gordon] So what happens
is people are living
1593
01:21:08,840 --> 01:21:10,080
with all this anger,
1594
01:21:10,120 --> 01:21:14,240
all this fear, all this
worry about the future
1595
01:21:14,280 --> 01:21:19,240
and if you wait these
patterns of extreme stress
1596
01:21:19,280 --> 01:21:23,680
become fixed, fixed in
physiology and biology,
1597
01:21:23,719 --> 01:21:27,400
fixed psychologically,
people's fear and anxiety
1598
01:21:27,440 --> 01:21:30,320
and depression,
fixed in behaviour.
1599
01:21:30,360 --> 01:21:32,960
So the best time to
work with people
1600
01:21:33,000 --> 01:21:35,639
is when the trauma is
actually happening.
1601
01:21:41,400 --> 01:21:43,760
- [Shannon voiceover] Experiment
notes, day 328.
1602
01:21:45,440 --> 01:21:49,120
There are over 75,000
people in the Za'atari camp
1603
01:21:49,160 --> 01:21:51,040
and 70 million displaced people
1604
01:21:51,080 --> 01:21:53,280
in similar situations worldwide.
1605
01:21:55,680 --> 01:21:57,719
What I just can't get
out of my head
1606
01:21:57,760 --> 01:22:01,559
is that only a tiny
minority are even in camps
1607
01:22:01,600 --> 01:22:05,440
and being supported by
organisations like the UNHCR.
1608
01:22:08,160 --> 01:22:09,520
Across the border in Israel,
1609
01:22:09,559 --> 01:22:12,559
in the ghettos
of South Tel Aviv,
1610
01:22:12,600 --> 01:22:14,480
there are thousands
of asylum seekers
1611
01:22:14,520 --> 01:22:16,400
with the highest
rates of trauma
1612
01:22:16,440 --> 01:22:18,559
and other mental health issues
1613
01:22:18,600 --> 01:22:21,480
ever recorded in a
community sample.
1614
01:22:22,680 --> 01:22:25,400
In the face of all of this,
1615
01:22:25,440 --> 01:22:28,960
how can mindfulness
possibly be anything more
1616
01:22:29,000 --> 01:22:30,960
than just a band-aid solution
1617
01:22:31,000 --> 01:22:34,200
for people who are
bleeding out on the inside?
1618
01:22:34,240 --> 01:22:36,559
I found a team of researchers
1619
01:22:36,600 --> 01:22:38,200
from the University of Haifa
1620
01:22:38,240 --> 01:22:40,080
who are asking the
same question.
1621
01:22:41,800 --> 01:22:43,760
What makes you think that
mindfulness could help?
1622
01:22:46,160 --> 01:22:47,920
- So it's a good,
it's a fair question.
1623
01:22:47,960 --> 01:22:50,320
Here in Israel, we've
been studying the refugees
1624
01:22:50,360 --> 01:22:53,800
that have come here,
asylum seekers from Eritrea
1625
01:22:53,840 --> 01:22:56,639
and from Sudan mostly.
1626
01:22:56,680 --> 01:22:59,080
And when we began,
1627
01:22:59,120 --> 01:23:02,080
we needed to identify
intervention approaches,
1628
01:23:03,480 --> 01:23:06,520
that there's evidence already,
1629
01:23:06,559 --> 01:23:08,960
that they're effective
for stress-related
1630
01:23:09,000 --> 01:23:11,240
and trauma-related symptoms,
1631
01:23:11,280 --> 01:23:13,240
that are low cost.
1632
01:23:13,280 --> 01:23:14,719
You have to be
able to deliver them
1633
01:23:14,760 --> 01:23:16,840
by like people in the
community, paraprofessionals.
1634
01:23:16,880 --> 01:23:19,360
You can't have a psychiatrist,
1635
01:23:19,400 --> 01:23:22,200
one or two or three or even
twenty treating a hundred
1636
01:23:22,240 --> 01:23:25,719
and fifty thousand
refugees in a refugee camp.
1637
01:23:25,760 --> 01:23:27,639
You can't do that.
1638
01:23:27,680 --> 01:23:31,760
And mindfulness
interventions, not a panacea.
1639
01:23:31,800 --> 01:23:36,440
But meet each and every
one of those criteria
1640
01:23:36,480 --> 01:23:40,000
and so we had a number
of good reasons to think
1641
01:23:40,040 --> 01:23:43,040
that it could actually work.
1642
01:23:46,280 --> 01:23:50,440
- My name is Mogos and I was
born in Dekemhare, Eritrea.
1643
01:23:50,480 --> 01:23:55,840
I left in 2009. The political
situation of Eritrea
1644
01:23:55,880 --> 01:24:00,440
it's one party, one president
almost for 28 years.
1645
01:24:01,440 --> 01:24:04,360
And there is no election.
1646
01:24:04,400 --> 01:24:05,960
There is no free press.
1647
01:24:06,000 --> 01:24:07,680
Your future is very dark
1648
01:24:07,719 --> 01:24:11,120
because you are
like their property.
1649
01:24:11,160 --> 01:24:12,719
You are not safe.
1650
01:24:12,760 --> 01:24:14,800
- So you left?
- Yeah.
1651
01:24:20,800 --> 01:24:22,840
There was someone, a smuggler,
it's all the same.
1652
01:24:22,880 --> 01:24:24,639
We paid him money.
1653
01:24:24,680 --> 01:24:26,320
They treat you very badly.
1654
01:24:26,360 --> 01:24:28,440
They only care about the money.
1655
01:24:28,480 --> 01:24:30,840
It's not that they
care about you.
1656
01:24:30,880 --> 01:24:34,559
For example, on the desert
you don't have water.
1657
01:24:34,600 --> 01:24:37,360
They put some
petrol into the water.
1658
01:24:37,400 --> 01:24:40,240
In order, not you to drink.
1659
01:24:40,280 --> 01:24:45,080
And everyone is screaming,
crying, vomiting
1660
01:24:46,480 --> 01:24:48,559
and most of it I
tried to forget it
1661
01:24:48,600 --> 01:24:50,680
because it's very bad memories.
1662
01:24:51,760 --> 01:24:53,719
But sometimes,
1663
01:24:53,760 --> 01:24:55,960
on the border
1664
01:24:56,000 --> 01:24:58,600
and on the Gulf.
1665
01:24:58,639 --> 01:25:01,400
And the Suez Gulf, I
remember it sometimes
1666
01:25:01,440 --> 01:25:04,240
because it was very
hard on the the sea.
1667
01:25:05,480 --> 01:25:07,200
So I remember it sometimes.
1668
01:25:09,680 --> 01:25:13,400
- [Amit Bernstein] Up to 70 or
80 percent of a given
East African population
1669
01:25:13,440 --> 01:25:17,000
in Israel has either survived
torture or witnessed torture.
1670
01:25:17,040 --> 01:25:19,440
Half of the population
has either suffered
1671
01:25:19,480 --> 01:25:21,559
or witnessed sexual
assault for example.
1672
01:25:21,600 --> 01:25:24,000
It's extraordinary high numbers.
1673
01:25:24,040 --> 01:25:25,520
In some of our samples,
1674
01:25:25,559 --> 01:25:28,719
these are community samples
not treatment seekers.
1675
01:25:28,760 --> 01:25:30,760
We're talking about rates of
post-traumatic stress symptoms,
1676
01:25:30,800 --> 01:25:34,600
elevated symptoms between
like 55 to 80 percent
1677
01:25:34,639 --> 01:25:38,840
and the consequences for them
in anxiety and depression,
1678
01:25:38,880 --> 01:25:41,240
not to mention the
consequences for generations
1679
01:25:41,280 --> 01:25:44,960
of that kind of damage to
human psyches, so yeah,
1680
01:25:45,000 --> 01:25:47,880
we have to act now.
1681
01:25:47,920 --> 01:25:51,400
- Things like psychological
stress, trauma, abuse
1682
01:25:51,440 --> 01:25:55,559
will actually not just change
us in terms of the brain
1683
01:25:55,600 --> 01:25:59,000
but will actually change the
way our DNA expresses itself.
1684
01:25:59,040 --> 01:26:01,680
So for example,
Holocaust survivors
1685
01:26:01,719 --> 01:26:06,400
and in very precise ways the
experience of that trauma
1686
01:26:06,440 --> 01:26:08,880
changes the DNA in ways that
are different for people
1687
01:26:08,920 --> 01:26:12,240
who experience, say child
abuse or other forms of trauma,
1688
01:26:12,280 --> 01:26:15,520
but those changes are
passed on directly
1689
01:26:15,559 --> 01:26:17,960
through the DNA not just
through the brain change
1690
01:26:18,000 --> 01:26:20,639
but through the DNA
into the offspring
1691
01:26:20,680 --> 01:26:23,920
leaving them more at risk
of mental health problems.
1692
01:26:23,960 --> 01:26:26,960
So it's not just about
helping somebody now.
1693
01:26:27,000 --> 01:26:29,080
Everything we do to
help somebody now
1694
01:26:29,120 --> 01:26:31,200
is also an investment
in the wellbeing
1695
01:26:31,240 --> 01:26:35,000
of future generations or when
we traumatise somebody now,
1696
01:26:35,040 --> 01:26:37,120
it's not just that
person that suffers,
1697
01:26:37,160 --> 01:26:38,520
it's the offspring as well.
1698
01:26:40,880 --> 01:26:43,920
- So yeah, we developed
what we're describing now
1699
01:26:43,960 --> 01:26:47,080
as a mindful trauma
recovery intervention
1700
01:26:47,120 --> 01:26:49,040
or program for refugees.
1701
01:26:49,080 --> 01:26:53,800
And we are now in the midst
of a randomised control study
1702
01:26:53,840 --> 01:26:55,760
of that intervention.
1703
01:27:00,760 --> 01:27:04,680
- Refugees here, we're
facing a lot of problems,
1704
01:27:04,719 --> 01:27:07,480
especially with the deportation.
1705
01:27:08,600 --> 01:27:10,639
It is the mind
that gets me crazy,
1706
01:27:10,680 --> 01:27:12,200
that gets me to be depressed
1707
01:27:12,240 --> 01:27:14,360
because all the time
think, think, thinking,
1708
01:27:14,400 --> 01:27:15,680
I'm addicted to it.
1709
01:27:15,719 --> 01:27:17,320
I don't know how to stop it.
1710
01:27:17,360 --> 01:27:18,880
When I stop it, I got peace.
1711
01:27:18,920 --> 01:27:21,440
When I not know how to stop it,
1712
01:27:21,480 --> 01:27:23,719
I got crazy or I get depressed.
1713
01:27:24,920 --> 01:27:27,680
It's like after you meditate,
1714
01:27:27,719 --> 01:27:29,639
you become like new person.
1715
01:27:29,680 --> 01:27:32,800
You start to ask
yourself, is that me,
1716
01:27:32,840 --> 01:27:34,800
that I'm walking on the street
1717
01:27:34,840 --> 01:27:37,800
like I had no problem.
1718
01:27:37,840 --> 01:27:39,760
And then after so many
hours so you get back,
1719
01:27:39,800 --> 01:27:42,600
where you have been,
it's obvious. But for some
1720
01:27:42,639 --> 01:27:46,440
more minutes, you become
someone very new.
1721
01:27:46,480 --> 01:27:48,320
I hope so, it
will be distributed
1722
01:27:48,360 --> 01:27:52,080
to all of the people and then to
1723
01:27:52,120 --> 01:27:56,800
become part of
the refugee system.
1724
01:28:01,400 --> 01:28:04,559
- So our first groups have
finished the intervention
1725
01:28:04,600 --> 01:28:07,200
and the feedback has
been pretty amazing.
1726
01:28:08,600 --> 01:28:12,120
People, men and women,
saying things like,
1727
01:28:12,160 --> 01:28:17,080
I relate to my experience
in a totally new way.
1728
01:28:17,120 --> 01:28:19,400
I didn't know
I was on autopilot.
1729
01:28:21,639 --> 01:28:24,639
And the preliminary
data is promising.
1730
01:28:24,680 --> 01:28:29,240
Compared to controls, we're
seeing an almost 50 percent drop
1731
01:28:29,280 --> 01:28:30,920
in stress and
trauma-related symptoms
1732
01:28:30,960 --> 01:28:32,920
after the nine
week intervention,
1733
01:28:32,960 --> 01:28:37,400
which means that it looks
like this intervention works,
1734
01:28:37,440 --> 01:28:38,880
for even the most vulnerable
1735
01:28:38,920 --> 01:28:41,600
and traumatised
people on the planet.
1736
01:28:41,639 --> 01:28:43,680
It's pretty amazing, it's
pretty amazing.
1737
01:28:45,000 --> 01:28:46,760
- [Shannon] This is incredible
for me, I have to say
1738
01:28:46,800 --> 01:28:49,760
because like you've
got so many worries
1739
01:28:49,800 --> 01:28:52,440
like meditation is
almost like a luxury.
1740
01:28:52,480 --> 01:28:53,800
- It's like a medicine for me.
1741
01:28:53,840 --> 01:28:55,840
Maybe a luxury for you,
it's like a medicine for me.
1742
01:28:55,880 --> 01:28:59,840
It's a different way of
interpretation for it.
1743
01:28:59,880 --> 01:29:02,760
I use it like a medicine.
1744
01:29:05,600 --> 01:29:08,719
♪ We could be the healing
1745
01:29:08,760 --> 01:29:11,120
♪ When you're
feeling all alone ♪
1746
01:29:11,160 --> 01:29:14,240
♪ We could be the reason
1747
01:29:14,280 --> 01:29:17,160
♪ To find the strength
to carry on ♪
1748
01:29:17,200 --> 01:29:20,160
♪ In the world
that's so divided ♪
1749
01:29:20,200 --> 01:29:22,320
♪ We shall overcome
1750
01:29:22,360 --> 01:29:25,360
♪ We can be the healing
1751
01:29:25,400 --> 01:29:27,920
♪ We can be the
flower in the gun ♪
1752
01:29:27,960 --> 01:29:30,960
♪ We can be the healing
1753
01:29:31,000 --> 01:29:34,360
♪ We can be the
flower in the gun ♪
1754
01:29:44,160 --> 01:29:49,040
- [Shannon] That's it, the
last EEG for the whole project.
1755
01:29:49,080 --> 01:29:50,080
We're done.
1756
01:29:51,480 --> 01:29:53,800
I don't know if these
little nodules
1757
01:29:53,840 --> 01:29:56,600
sitting on top of
my skull are able
1758
01:29:56,639 --> 01:29:59,320
to actually measure
those changes,
1759
01:29:59,360 --> 01:30:00,520
but I can tell you that
1760
01:30:01,680 --> 01:30:04,760
my experience is
different, yeah.
1761
01:30:10,280 --> 01:30:13,120
After more than
100 scientific tests,
1762
01:30:13,160 --> 01:30:17,960
365 days and 453 hours
of meditation practice,
1763
01:30:19,680 --> 01:30:23,880
I now know the results of my
year long self-experiment.
1764
01:30:23,920 --> 01:30:28,120
Using an EEG, we did seven
scans to test my attention
1765
01:30:28,160 --> 01:30:29,719
and working memory.
1766
01:30:29,760 --> 01:30:31,600
Whilst there were clear
differences between
1767
01:30:31,639 --> 01:30:34,559
my resting state and
meditating state,
1768
01:30:34,600 --> 01:30:38,440
there was too much noise in
the data to see any trends.
1769
01:30:38,480 --> 01:30:39,920
My conclusion?
1770
01:30:39,960 --> 01:30:42,160
You just can't meditate
away the impacts
1771
01:30:42,200 --> 01:30:46,360
of things like sleep
deprivation, jet lag or the flu
1772
01:30:46,400 --> 01:30:48,680
but my brain did change.
1773
01:30:48,719 --> 01:30:51,480
The MRI scans showed
structural changes
1774
01:30:51,520 --> 01:30:53,600
in a number of key regions
1775
01:30:53,639 --> 01:30:56,960
including the fact that while
most brains start shrinking
1776
01:30:57,000 --> 01:30:58,960
when we reach out early 20s,
1777
01:30:59,000 --> 01:31:02,240
areas in my brain that
relate to self-awareness,
1778
01:31:02,280 --> 01:31:06,760
memory and dealing with emotions
did the opposite and grew.
1779
01:31:08,320 --> 01:31:12,080
- What is very interesting is
that in the right hippocampus,
1780
01:31:12,120 --> 01:31:17,080
in your brain, there's an
increase in hippocampal volume
1781
01:31:17,120 --> 01:31:19,360
and quite a substantial one.
1782
01:31:19,400 --> 01:31:24,160
The hippocampus is used for
the modulation of emotions.
1783
01:31:24,200 --> 01:31:25,960
And so for instance,
1784
01:31:26,000 --> 01:31:28,440
those people who have depression
1785
01:31:28,480 --> 01:31:30,320
tend to have a
small hippocampus.
1786
01:31:30,360 --> 01:31:32,240
So it's an important structure.
1787
01:31:32,280 --> 01:31:35,840
- In terms of my experience
of what has been changing
1788
01:31:35,880 --> 01:31:38,760
as a result of the
meditation practice,
1789
01:31:38,800 --> 01:31:40,800
it's my emotion regulation.
1790
01:31:40,840 --> 01:31:43,000
So what you're saying is that,
1791
01:31:43,040 --> 01:31:47,040
that subjective experience
1792
01:31:47,080 --> 01:31:49,280
is being reflected there.
1793
01:31:49,320 --> 01:31:50,559
- That's right.
- In my brain.
1794
01:31:50,600 --> 01:31:52,400
- It's consistent with
what we see here.
1795
01:31:54,200 --> 01:31:56,000
- [Shannon voiceover] The
frontier of mindfulness science
1796
01:31:56,040 --> 01:31:58,320
is whether or not doing
something with our mind
1797
01:31:58,360 --> 01:32:01,320
could have downstream
effects throughout our body
1798
01:32:01,360 --> 01:32:03,480
and the answer is yes
1799
01:32:03,520 --> 01:32:05,480
but where and why?
1800
01:32:05,520 --> 01:32:07,480
That's where it
gets interesting.
1801
01:32:07,520 --> 01:32:10,400
My blood tests showed
that my autoimmune disease
1802
01:32:10,440 --> 01:32:13,840
hasn't vanished and
whilst there were trends
1803
01:32:13,880 --> 01:32:18,040
in my immune function,
inflammation and stress markers,
1804
01:32:18,080 --> 01:32:21,600
this experiment didn't occur
in a sterile laboratory.
1805
01:32:21,639 --> 01:32:23,080
The ups and downs of life
1806
01:32:23,120 --> 01:32:25,719
created a lot of
noise in the data.
1807
01:32:27,240 --> 01:32:30,200
At a cellular level when
we looked at my telomeres
1808
01:32:30,240 --> 01:32:33,160
which are the caps
on the end of my DNA,
1809
01:32:33,200 --> 01:32:36,960
the last sample showed
that they may have grown
1810
01:32:37,000 --> 01:32:39,719
which is interesting
because shorter telomeres
1811
01:32:39,760 --> 01:32:42,960
are associated with a
host of chronic illnesses
1812
01:32:43,000 --> 01:32:46,240
and while it's tempting
to sell this as good news,
1813
01:32:46,280 --> 01:32:49,600
we actually used three
different measuring techniques
1814
01:32:49,639 --> 01:32:53,520
on each sample and they all
showed different results,
1815
01:32:53,559 --> 01:32:57,880
which tells me that it's very
early days for this science.
1816
01:32:57,920 --> 01:33:01,240
As for the more than 17,000
genes that were analysed,
1817
01:33:01,280 --> 01:33:03,680
the blueprint of our body
that we often think
1818
01:33:03,719 --> 01:33:06,240
of as fixed and unchangeable.
1819
01:33:06,280 --> 01:33:08,440
Well, maybe it's not.
1820
01:33:09,719 --> 01:33:12,880
- There was something
which came up.
1821
01:33:12,920 --> 01:33:15,920
Out of the seventeen thousand
three hundred or so genes
1822
01:33:15,960 --> 01:33:17,480
that we looked at,
1823
01:33:17,520 --> 01:33:20,080
this was the one that
showed the biggest change.
1824
01:33:20,120 --> 01:33:22,800
The thing which I found
absolutely fascinating
1825
01:33:22,840 --> 01:33:24,920
is that this one happens
to be a master regulator
1826
01:33:24,960 --> 01:33:27,800
of inflammatory processes
1827
01:33:27,840 --> 01:33:29,840
on which you're showing
this greatest change
1828
01:33:29,880 --> 01:33:32,040
throughout your
mindfulness process.
1829
01:33:34,000 --> 01:33:36,000
- That big dip there.
1830
01:33:36,040 --> 01:33:38,800
That's the first sample after
I did the silent retreat.
1831
01:33:38,840 --> 01:33:40,200
- That's correct.
1832
01:33:40,240 --> 01:33:42,600
- And is that, that's
showing that that gene
1833
01:33:42,639 --> 01:33:44,639
is effectively switching off?
1834
01:33:44,680 --> 01:33:46,360
- It's being what we
call down-regulated.
1835
01:33:46,400 --> 01:33:47,719
That's right, it's
being turned down.
1836
01:33:47,760 --> 01:33:49,559
So if I was going to
do another experiment,
1837
01:33:49,600 --> 01:33:51,080
I'd certainly be saying well,
1838
01:33:51,120 --> 01:33:53,480
let's keep a careful
eye on this gene.
1839
01:33:53,520 --> 01:33:55,440
Because it did show some change.
1840
01:33:55,480 --> 01:33:57,000
The change isn't
what we would call
1841
01:33:57,040 --> 01:33:58,639
statistically significant,
1842
01:33:58,680 --> 01:34:00,719
but I think there's an
interesting trend there.
1843
01:34:02,240 --> 01:34:03,880
- [Shannon voiceover] But for
all the objective
1844
01:34:03,920 --> 01:34:06,320
biological markers I've thrown
at this project,
1845
01:34:06,360 --> 01:34:08,960
I now realise there's only
one measurement
1846
01:34:09,000 --> 01:34:10,080
that matters to me,
1847
01:34:11,719 --> 01:34:13,680
how I feel.
1848
01:34:15,400 --> 01:34:17,320
- If your subjective
experience of your life
1849
01:34:17,360 --> 01:34:19,520
is that this is
good for you,
1850
01:34:19,559 --> 01:34:22,240
do you need something,
someone else to tell you,
1851
01:34:22,280 --> 01:34:23,200
"Yes, it's good for you".
1852
01:34:23,240 --> 01:34:24,880
- No, I don't--
1853
01:34:24,920 --> 01:34:26,520
- That's the point of
subjective wellbeing research
1854
01:34:26,559 --> 01:34:29,680
is that it actually, the
subjective is so valid.
1855
01:34:29,719 --> 01:34:32,240
In fact, you could argue
it's the only valid tool.
1856
01:34:32,280 --> 01:34:34,240
If the person themselves
1857
01:34:34,280 --> 01:34:36,080
is having a better
experience of their life,
1858
01:34:36,120 --> 01:34:37,960
well, then that's
actually all we need.
1859
01:34:38,000 --> 01:34:39,680
- [Shannon voiceover] Over the
course of the year,
1860
01:34:39,719 --> 01:34:44,000
my subjective wellbeing
score went from 69.4
1861
01:34:44,040 --> 01:34:47,639
or just below average to 93,
1862
01:34:47,680 --> 01:34:50,160
well above the average
person's happiness
1863
01:34:50,200 --> 01:34:52,719
and wellbeing set point.
1864
01:34:54,880 --> 01:34:58,040
As I head out of the lab
and into the real world,
1865
01:34:58,080 --> 01:35:01,320
I can't help but wonder how
different my life would be
1866
01:35:01,360 --> 01:35:04,639
if I'd been taught this
skill at a much younger age.
1867
01:35:06,200 --> 01:35:08,840
And what the impact would be
for my children's generation
1868
01:35:08,880 --> 01:35:12,800
on things like education,
healthcare and politics
1869
01:35:12,840 --> 01:35:17,639
if more people learned to notice
deeply and respond wisely.
1870
01:35:19,240 --> 01:35:21,920
Now, I don't think
for one second
1871
01:35:21,960 --> 01:35:25,400
that mindfulness will solve
all of the world's problems,
1872
01:35:25,440 --> 01:35:27,480
but it is a simple skill
1873
01:35:27,520 --> 01:35:31,160
that helps us to understand
how our minds work
1874
01:35:32,280 --> 01:35:34,880
and that changes everything.
1875
01:35:39,639 --> 01:35:41,600
I started this
looking for something
1876
01:35:41,639 --> 01:35:44,480
that I could do
every day to protect,
1877
01:35:44,520 --> 01:35:47,680
nurture and nourish my mind.
1878
01:35:47,719 --> 01:35:50,800
It's now day 543 of
what was supposed
1879
01:35:50,840 --> 01:35:53,680
to be a year-long experiment,
1880
01:35:53,719 --> 01:35:55,559
but I don't think of
this as my year
1881
01:35:55,600 --> 01:35:57,960
of living mindfully anymore.
1882
01:35:58,000 --> 01:36:01,960
It's simply living mindfully,
every day,
1883
01:36:02,000 --> 01:36:04,040
for the rest of my life.
1884
01:36:09,000 --> 01:36:14,000
♪
141946
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