Mind and Life Europe

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Mind and Life Europe

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Mind & Life Europe builds and supports Contemplative Science and Contemplative Studies

Mind and Life Europe builds and supports Contemplative Science and Contemplative Studies at an international and interdisciplinary level. Established in response to increased interest from individuals and institutions, Mind and Life Europe assesses needs, implements strategies, and facilitates programs to help advance study of consciousness and contemplative practices, specifically in Europe.

19/10/2026

What do we really mean by contemplation, and why exactly do we do it? 🪷

Dr Edel Maex will be exploring these very questions in our upcoming Making Room for Contemplation session on Tuesday 27th October, at 19:30 CEST. This Mind & Life Europe series offers a free, online space for contemplative practice on a monthly basis, open to anyone and everyone who might be interested.

In each of these sessions, Edel will deliver an introductory talk about contemplation, followed by a silent meditation and/or dialogical practice, and conclude with a Q&A and discussion.

🧘 Learn more and register here: https://ow.ly/quxW50ZXvrM

17/10/2026

“Once these desires can be relinquished, a space is opened up for mobility and receptiveness, notably a receptivity to what is unfamiliar to us,” shares Ms Amy Cohen Varela, Chairperson of the MLE Board. “When this open space is achieved within us and between us, dialogue becomes transformative, giving rise to insights that may derive from the dialogue partners, but that are novel inventions springing from the nature of the conversation itself beyond what one single mind can imagine.”

Acknowledging the critical times in which we are living, and the rapidly shifting social orders and ecologies of our planet, Mind & Life Europe remains committed to fostering a space for such dialogue and transformation, rooted in the vision of shared humanity and bond of friendship between Francisco Varela and the Dalai Lama nearly 40 years ago.

🎥 Learn more about the origins of Mind & Life and true dialogue in Amy’s talk here: https://ow.ly/cHFL50ZXv3n

15/10/2026

Announcing our very first Call for Papers! We’re excited to offer not only one, but two editions of Hyphae open to all of you to launch Mind & Life Europe’s new academic journal. Our featured topics include “Enacting the Symbolic: Dream, Myth, and Ritual” and “The Embodiment of Love in Transformative Experiences”.

The first edition dives into the dream world as it relates to waking life. For instance, by emphasising neurophenomenology, we hope to explore how first-person dream narratives and third-person neurodynamics might mutually inform one another. And, we also engage with diverse wisdom traditions on the topic of dreams, myths, and rituals. How do they symbolise life and contribute to our world-making?

The next issue will explore love. How does love transform us? What about the ‘dark’ aspects of love, such as grief, obsession, or dependency? This may of course relate to contemplative, reconciliation, and ethics. This rich theme promises to give us an enjoyable and meaningful discussion.

👉 Authors are welcome to send in papers for both of these issues now! See our page for details: https://ow.ly/6kGZ50ZXtUH

14/10/2026

In his talk exploring “Common Humanity & Fundamental Human Values” at European Parliament, Prof Andreas Roepstorff advocated for increased transdisciplinary dialogue, particularly between Western scientific approaches, traditionally rooted in concrete, third-person experiments, and contemplative practices, which often involve first-person experiences. He highlighted the value of such dialogue for understanding the relationships between the mind, body and brain, as well as conceptualising compassion, consciousness, and knowledge.

This is at the heart of Mind & Life Europe’s mission, which acts as a home for unconventional interdisciplinary encounters, where researchers and practitioners enrich one another in their understanding of mind and life, through the rigour of scientific inquiry, the openness of philosophical investigation, the edginess of artistic exploration, and the depth of contemplative wisdom traditions.

🎥 Learn more and watch the full talk now:https://ow.ly/2ytC50ZUbI2

13/10/2026

We Are All Lichens traces biology’s shift from gene-centred explanations to a science of relationships, processes, and mutual dependence.

The book’s chapters revisit fertilisation, embryonic development, childbirth, immunity, evolution, and metabolism, challenging familiar accounts that make DNA determinative and treat the organism as a bounded individual, as well as arguing that neither science nor religion can confront climate change alone.

To learn more, join us at our online Mind Matters Book Launch, featuring the author Prof Emer Scott Gilbert in dialogue with Prof Emer Donna Haraway, who wrote the book’s forward, moderated by Prof Emer Bruce Clarke.

📅 Taking place on Wednesday 21st October at 18:00 CEST.

👉 Register now: https://ow.ly/bvoX50ZWN2p

11/10/2026

In this very special Mind Matters Book Launch, we have the pleasure of welcoming Prof Emer Scott Gilbert and Prof Emer Donna Haraway for a generative dialogue celebrating the release of Scott Gilbert’s forthcoming book, We Are All Lichens: World-Making through the Strange Alliance of Science and Religion, and his lifelong intellectual friendship with Donna Haraway, who wrote the book’s forward. In a year in which we are meditating on themes of power and care, this conversation will offer some surprising perspectives to help revise some of our standard narratives about the ethical, religious, and biological grounds on which we form worlds together and can enact more caring futures for the planet. Prof Emer Bruce Clarke will moderate the event, helping to draw together their many threads of wisdom.

📅 Taking place on Wednesday 21st October at 18:00 - 19:30 CEST.

👉 Learn more and register now: https://ow.ly/EULJ50ZUbto

09/10/2026

“At the same time, we are all different, we are all equal,” shares MEP Mr Leoluca Orlando.

Well known for his innovative approach to human rights, immigration, and Palermo’s political involvement with the mafiosi back in the 1980s and 90s, Mr Orlando generously hosted the “Compassion in Action” conference as a tribute to one of the most authoritative contemporary moral voices–His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Having welcomed the Dalai Lama on several occasions whilst acting as Mayor of Palermo, Mr Orlando acknowledged his unwavering attention to the journey of liberation from the Mafia subculture and celebrated the Dalai Lama’s commitment to a culture of peace rooted in compassion, respect for life, and the rejection of all forms of violence.

🎥 Watch the full talk now: https://ow.ly/RIMX50ZSH8F

Photo: John Singer Sargent (1908); Wild Olive Tree Roots, Valldemosa, Majorca; courtesy of the National Gallery of Art.

07/10/2026

“We must work together and our capacity for this is innate, both in the form of our biological need for protection and nourishment by others, our related innate capacity for compassion and kindness, and our capacity for critical and rational reflection,” says Prof Martijn van Beek, experienced scholar-practitioner and MLE Board Member.

At the “Compassion in Action” conference, Prof Martin van Beek remarked upon His Holiness’ advocacy for interreligious harmony, his commitment to a shared humanity and interdependence as the two pillars of secular ethics, and his assurance that compassion is the key to happiness.

🎥 Watch the full talk now: https://ow.ly/oVyQ50ZSBJl

And a huge thank you to Jonny Drury for his invaluable video editing support on this project!

05/10/2026

“Culture can only become richer by coming into contact with other cultures,” shares Mr Calo Luyckx, Vice-President of European Buddhist Union (EBU) and President of the Belgian Buddhist Union (UBB).

In his welcoming remarks at the “Compassion in Action: A Global Ethic of Care for Life” conference at European Parliament, Mr Luyckx emphasised the importance of genuine dialogue and the global impact of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s vision for peace and compassion.

🎥 Watch the full talk now on YouTube: https://ow.ly/vh8E50ZSis0

Photo modified from Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1989), The Visit – Couple and Newcomer. courtesy of the National Gallery of Art.

02/10/2026

In her welcome address, Ms Amy Cohen Varela, Chairperson of the Mind & Life Europe Board, reminisced on the first meeting between Francisco Varela and His Holiness at the European Forum in Alpbach in 1983.

Ms Cohen Varela spoke fondly of their meeting, which led not only to an enduring bond of friendship but also the first official Mind and Life dialogue in Dharamsala in 1987, subsequently launching the field of contemplative science.

🎥 Watch the full talk now from our “Compassion in Action” conference on YouTube: https://ow.ly/cWnc50ZS95S

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