Mari Frank Interviews Mark Waldman, Author, Researcher, and Therapist

Mark Robert Waldman is a therapist and an Associate Fellow at the Center for Spirituality and the Mind, University of Pennsylvania (http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/radiology/research/labs/csm/), where he currently conducts research with Andrew Newberg, MD, on the neurological correlates of beliefs, morality, compassion, meditation, religious experiences, and spiritual practices. He is adjunct faculty at Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, where he is developing communication tools for the Executive MBA program. He lectures frequently at conferences, colleges, and churches on topics relating to the neuropsychology of stress, relaxation, emotional control, relationship dynamics, conflict resolution, mediation, communication, weight management, and the neurobiological development of personal values and business ethics (neuroeconomics). His research has been featured in Time Magazine, Washington Post, Oprah Magazine and Radio, USA Today, The New York Times science section, and his interviews have appeared on dozens of radio and television programs, including Oprah and Friends. Mark is the author of eleven books and anthologies, and his professional papers have been published throughout the world. He was the founding editor of the academic journal, Transpersonal Review, chairman of the Los Angeles Transpersonal Interest Group, regional coordinator for the Spiritual Emergence Network, and he holds a ministerial credential in pastoral counseling. He coathors a monthly column on "Science and Spirituality" for Science of Mind magazine. His most recent book, coauthored with Dr. Newberg, is How God Changes Your Brain: Breakthrough Findings By a Leading Neuroscientist. According to Time, Newsweek, and the Washington Post, Mark and Andy are the world's leading experts on spirituality and the brain [see, for example, the February 23, 2009 issue of Time Magazine] and in this book, they use their state-of-the art brain-scan technology and research surveys to document how different forms of spiritual practice, secular meditation, intensive prayer, and positive affirmations change the function and structure of the brain. They show how these changes improve memory, cognition, and compassion while simultaneously suppressing activity in those parts of the brain that generate stress, anxiety, depression, and anger. Their book features a dozen simple exercises that anyone can do to achieve these neurological and psychological benefits, and it only takes a few minutes a day focusing on your innermost values and goals. In just eight weeks, the brain-scan studies show significant improvement, and if these simple exercises are incorporated into short-term therapy (which Mark does in his counseling practice in Camarillo, California), most people can dramatically reduce their dependency on psychological counseling and anti-depressant medication. Why? Because you can then remain stress-free for many, many years. Mark's and Dr. Newberg's research documents how the religious climate in America has shifted toward a more optimistic and less theologically-oriented spirituality that simultaneously embraces science. Their research also documents how negative thinking and speech can actually damage important parts of the brain. But if you focus on your deepest positive values, such as compassion, love or peace, this will have beneficial effects on those parts of the brain that regulate emotions and enhance social awareness and empathy.