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The
university’s Waisman Center, in which CIHM is housed, has one of the
best laboratories in the world for the kind of brain imaging research
that Davidson directs. The lab has an impressive armamentarium of
hi-tech tools to study the brain, but overall the facility doesn’t have
the cold, clinical feel of a research institution. For one thing, the
scientists—starting with the youthful and jaunty Davidson himself—don’t
stalk the halls absentmindedly, looking at the floor. They’re cheerful
and energetic and they greet you with interest. Most of them engage in
the practices they’re studying. It’s also the only scientific research
facility that contains a world-class meditation room, complete with
comfy and sustainable cork flooring. Davidson wanted the center’s
facilities to convey the contemplative qualities of the practices that
are studied there. It does.
The Healthy Minds center has three aims:
Research—both
basic and translational, intended to lead to more widespread
incorporation of practices that nourish positive qualities of mind by
various parts of society;
Outreach—the
center conducts projects with members of the local community (including
educators, parents, and children) in the context of doing research, and
globally communicates about the work through talks and the CIHM website
(investigatinghealthyminds. org);
Training—conducted for postdoctoral fellows and senior scientists on site, as well as for participants in research conferences.
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