The Science of "Self" with Dr. Jud Brewer

Being Well with Forrest Hanson and Dr. Rick Hanson

Being Well

Education, Self-improvement, Health & Fitness, Mental Health

4.8 • 2.7K Ratings

🗓️ 14 March 2022

⏱️ 76 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

One of the underlying threads that runs through many of our conversations on Being Well is our relationship with our “self”. On this episode, Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson talk with neuroscientist, mindfulness researcher, and bestselling author Dr. Jud Brewer about where we can find the “self” in the brain, and the benefits of relaxing our attachment to it. About our Guest: Dr. Jud Brewer is the Director of Research and Innovation at the Mindfulness Center and associate professor in Behavioral and Social Sciences at the School of Public Health and Psychiatry at the School of Medicine at Brown University. He is the executive medical director of behavioral health at Sharecare, and a research affiliate at MIT. His bestselling books include Unwinding Anxiety and The Craving Mind. Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube. Key Topics: 0:00: Introduction 1:45: What is a “self”? 5:10: Distinguishing consciousness, person, and self 7:25: Can there be a unified sense of self in an everchanging psychological process? 11:50: Selfing and what triggers a sense of “me” 15:20: Evolutionary speculations about the origins of selfing 18:50: Predictive processing and personal associations 21:55: How Jud responds to selfing 28:10: The unicorn metaphor of self and relief in sensory experience 36:45: The experience of addiction and anxiety 40:50: Somatic markers and distinguishing healthy vs. unhealthy desires 41:40: Letting go vs. straining to create a self 45:40: Underlying neurological components of the self 56:30: The fluidity of awareness without self 58:30: When and how does the default mode network become functional? 1:03:00: Neuro-psychedelic research and unlearning 1:07:15: Having a self vs. taking ourselves personally 1:11:00: Recap Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link. Have a question for us? Email: contact@beingwellpodcast.com to submit questions or potential topics you'd like us to explore in future episodes. Sponsors: Visit athleticgreens.com/BEINGWELL to take ownership over your health, and pick up the ultimate daily nutritional insurance! Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription. Discover your full genetic potential by uploading your existing DNA test results at genomelink.io. No trial period, no credit card, and no hidden fees! Connect with the show: Subscribe on iTunes Follow Forrest on YouTube Follow us on Instagram Follow Forrest on Instagram Follow Rick on Facebook Follow Forrest on Facebook Visit Forrest's website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome to Being Well, I'm Forest Hanson.
0:10.2	If you're new to the podcast, this is where we explore the practical science of last and
0:14.4	well-being.
0:15.4	And if you've listened before, welcome back.
0:17.5	I'm joined today as usual by Dr. Rick Hanson, so dad, how are you doing today?
0:21.6	Excellent, and thoroughly psyched about our topic today.
0:24.4	Yeah, absolutely.
0:26.0	One of the real threads that runs under so many of the conversations that we've had on
0:30.1	the podcast is our relationship with ourselves.
0:33.3	We've talked in the past about the value of having a view of our self-concept as something
0:37.3	that can grow and change over time, and we've explored many aspects of Buddhist thought connected
0:42.7	to how a narrow attachment to the perceived self can lead to a lot of suffering.
0:47.6	But what is that self exactly?
0:49.8	Where can we find it if anywhere in the brain and how can we use this inquiry to both understand
0:54.6	ourselves a bit better and help us address a variety of psychological challenges?
0:59.8	To help us hopefully start to answer some of those questions, we're joined by a psychiatrist,
1:04.3	neuroscientist, New York Times bestselling author, and returning guest Dr. Judd Brewer.
1:09.6	So Judd, how are you doing today?
1:11.1	I'm doing well, thanks for having me.
1:13.7	We've been really looking forward to this one.
1:15.4	It's like such a deep topic, I'm going to start by just giving a little extra bio for
1:18.9	you.
	...

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