The experimental films created for The Wellbeing Summit 2022 are now posted on my website portfolio. See trailers for Who Am I; Essence In | Essence Out; and NeuroReflections.
Each experimental film was screened in an immersive, interactive workshop conducted at the Summit. The workshop introduced participants to the key concepts of Dr. Richard J. Davidson’s laboratory findings, known as the Four Pillars of a Healthy Mind. These are: Awareness, Connection, Insight, and Purpose. Studies show that each are related to specific networks in the brain that can be strengthened for greater wellbeing.
Giving expression to these four pillars for wellbeing inspired the creation of the experimental short films. Since collaborating with Dr. Davidson on The Wellbeing Summit presentation, I have very much been contemplating Awareness, Connection, Insight, and Purpose.
Of the four pillars, Insight is the one that very much captivates me at the moment. Who Am I is the film that most explores this and it was screened while Dr. Davidson led his “Who Am I?” immersive interactive practice.
Learn more here about the Summit workshop he led, following this below talk he gave at the conference:
To summarize the definitions:
Awareness is where we put the practice of mindfulness. Awareness includes the capacity to regulate one’s attention to one’s environment and internal cues such as bodily sensations, thoughts and feelings. It also includes meta-awareness, that is, knowing what one’s mind is doing. It is the condition or process that underlies transformation. We need meta-awareness for beneficial transformation.
Connection is a feeling of care and kinship toward other people, promoting supportive relationships and supportive interactions. This is built on qualities that are important for healthy social relationships, such as appreciation, gratitude, kindness, compassion, empathy. These can be strengthened through mindfulness practice.
Insight is curiosity about how one’s mind works, especially one’s narrative, internal dialogue. The goal is to deeply understand the narrative and change our relationship to the narrative. It is self-inquiry concerning how one’s emotions, thoughts and beliefs shape experiences and one’s sense of self. It is not about fixing, but more about being curious and understanding the narrative at a deep experiential level. If one holds a negative narrative and self-belief as veridical descriptions of who one is, this is a prescription for depression. Wellbeing is developing a healthy relationship to one’s narrative for self-transcendence.
Purpose is identifying a sense of direction in life, along with one’s core values and motivations, which give life meaning. It is not about changing, per se, but about clarifying and finding meaning in the things we are already doing. It is not about fixing; it is about discovering what is already there and nurturing it.
I have found that Insight can significantly and beneficially change one’s perspective on everything. Developing deeper Insight can lead to a paradigm shift that I often describe as looking at the same familiar landscape, and then suddenly, it appears different! You see the landscape as more than just scenery. It appears as full of phenomena all interacting together, constantly altering from moment to moment. For example, plants grow because there is water and sunshine, and bees help facilitate pollination. Plants, water, sunshine, and bees come and go at different times, but there is deep causal relationship. Everything exists in relation to each other. Nothing exists solidly in-and-of-itself. In Buddhist philosophy, this is called dependent arising or dependent origination, colloquially referred to as Emptiness.
If this topic is of interest to you, I suggest reading the article Understanding Emptiness and Interdependence by Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje for a more detailed description by an adept practitioner and leader of Insight. This is a great start to understanding that Insight about Emptiness or No-Self does not lead to nihilism. Insight supports meaning, collective unity, and wellbeing.