287 - Mindfulness: It’s Not What You Think with Harvard Researcher Dr. Ellen Langer

Episode • Jun 19, 2024 • 1h 9m

In today's episode, we welcome Dr. Ellen Langer, a pioneering researcher and the first woman to become a tenured professor of psychology at Harvard University. Often referred to as the "mother of mindfulness," Dr. Langer has spent over four decades revolutionizing our understanding of the mind-body connection.

The bestselling author of books like "Mindfulness," "The Power of Mindful Learning," and "Counterclockwise," Dr. Langer presents ideas from her latest work, "The Mindful Body," revealing how our mindset can significantly impact our physical health and offering practical advice for leading a more conscious and intentional life.

Join us as Dr. Langer discusses her groundbreaking research, the extraordinary potential of mindfulness, and how embracing this approach can be a catalyst for profound personal transformation. This conversation is packed with insights that could change the way you think about health and well-being!

“When you have a notion of dualism, mind and the body, the main problem is how do you get from this fuzzy thing called thought to something material called the body? And without figuring that out, research had been sort of stalled for centuries. And then I started to think about it and I realized, well, mind, body, these are just words. And that if we put the mind and the body back together and see it as a single unit, then wherever we're putting the mind, we're necessarily putting the body. And you realize of all the things you can think about, the amount of control you have over your health becomes enormous.” - Dr. Ellen Langer

What we discuss in this episode:

- The astonishing findings of the Counterclockwise experiment and their implications.

- How satiation and fatigue are primarily psychological constructs.

- What mindfulness is and how to practice it.

- The difference between mindfulness and meditation.

- Overcoming limitations.

- The impact of changing perceptions of aging on our biological age.

- Stress and mindfulness.

- How practicing mindfulness can alter others' perceptions of you in a positive way.

Resources:

- Dr. Ellen Langer: https://www.ellenlanger.me/

- Instagram: Dr. Ellen Langer, Ph.D. (@ellenjlanger) • Instagram photos and videos - https://www.instagram.com/ellenjlanger/?hl=en