The calm of mindfulness has become the exemplar for the science of contemplation. The quietude of this secularized version of Buddhism appeals to western scientific affective biases, is relatively accessible to contemporary research methods, and its effects on stress and inflammation seem uncontroversially beneficial. Yet, a focus on low arousal practice has left a large swath of mind-body practice underexplored. Research on psychedelic experience helps fill this gap, but behaviorally induced experiences remain largely unaccounted for. Here we will explore the Neuroscience of Jhana meditation, a Buddhist concentration practice that joins strong emotions (e.g. raptures of joy, pity) and deep calm (i.e. absorption states). While there are many phenomenological similarities between Jhana meditation and the psychedelic state, one major difference is the degree of control that practitioners have over the experience. Based on research with 30 of the worlds most skilled Jhana meditators and inspired by the similarities and differences between the phenomenology and neuroscience of jhana and psychedelics, this talk will explore (A) to what extend different contemplative states of mind are constructed or pure? (B) how complex system inspired metrics can inform the relation between neuronal flexibility and rigidity to wellbeing? and (C) what the neurophysiological and cognitive mechanisms underlying both Jhana meditation and psychedelics can tell us about the possible benefits and challenges of combining these practices?

Jonas Mago:

I am a cognitive neuroscientist and wellbeing aficionado, interested in the cognitive mechanisms underlying human flourishing. My research investigates contemplative practices that aim to bring about wholesome states of mind – from meditation and prayer to collective cultural rituals and psychedelic therapies. I work from an interdisciplinary perspective, combining cognitive, neurobiological, computational, and phenomenological approaches to shed light on mechanisms of self-regulation. I am currently pursuing my doctoral studies in Neuroscience at McGill University,
supervised by Dr. Michael Lifshitz and co-supervised by Prof. Dr. Karl Friston. Previously, I completed a master’s in Mind, Language, and Embodied Cognition at the University of Edinburgh (UK) and undergraduate studies in Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University College Maastricht (Netherlands).

I’m grateful to be supported by the German Academic Scholarship Foundation, Mind and Life Europe, and the USONA institute.