What happens when we stop seeing the mind as a computer and start seeing it as an emergent, relational system? In this episode, Erric sits down with Amy Cohen Varela, Chairperson of Mind & Life Europe, to discuss the past, present, and future of contemplative science.

Recorded following their meeting at the European Summer Research Institute (ESRI) at Gomde, this episode moves beyond the "history" of the Mind & Life Institute to explore what these teachings mean for us today. Amy shares her unique perspective on:

• The Origin Story: Witnessing the first meeting in Dharamsala between Francisco Varela and the Dalai Lama.
• Enactivism Today: Why the "mind-as-computer" metaphor fails and how consciousness truly emerges.
• The Science of Kindness: How "Ethical Know-How" turns abstract philosophy into a lived, compassionate presence in the world.

Join us for an Amy-centric look at the intersection of deep science and the kind heart.

Amy Cohen Varela is Chairperson of the Mind & Life Europe Board and involved with Mind and Life since its inception. She is also a clinical psychologist specialized in psychodynamic therapy and philosophy. Amy studied comparative literature at Brown and Columbia Universities before moving to Paris in the early '80s, where she received her degree in clinical psychology at the University of Paris 7, with a specialty in psychodynamic theory and practice, and in parallel, completed psychoanalytic training.
Click https://mindandlife-europe.org/european-summer-research-institute-esri/ for information about the next ESRI at Gomde in Austria
You can find more about Mind & Life Europe at: https://mindandlife-europe.org/