Training Programmes & Scientific Research

Training Programmes

Shamatha and the Four Immeasurables: Each year the Phuket International Academy Mind Centre will hold at least two eight-week intensive training programmes in the practices of shamatha and the four immeasurables. The Sanskrit term “shamatha” refers to an array of meditative practices designed to enhance one’s attentional and meta cognitive abilities. Three methods will be highlighted during these training programmes, namely, mindfulness of breathing, observing the mind, and awareness of awareness. Training in the Four Immeasurables is comprised of the meditative cultivation of loving-kindness, compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimity. The physiological and psychological effects of this combined training are being scientifically studied in the 'Shamatha Project,' co-sponsored by the University of California, Davis, and the Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies (http://sbinstitute.com/research_Shamatha.html).

Regarding the 'Cultivating Emotional Balance Teachers’ Training Course': Beginning in the year 2000, psychologist Paul Ekman and Buddhist scholar and contemplative B. Alan Wallace devised a 42-hour training programme called Cultivating Emotional Balance, which has been scientifically studied by a joint effort from the University of California, San Francisco and the Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies. This training programme draws from meditative practices in the Buddhist tradition, focusing on the cultivation of attention, meta cognition, mindfulness, empathy, and compassion, combined with evidence-based methods drawn from modern psychology focusing on the cultivation of emotional regulation and mindfulness. The six-week training for those wishing to become qualified instructors of this programme will include both theoretical and practical instruction in the meditative and psychological aspects of this programme. For more details CLICK HERE

Scientific Research

Whenever possible, the training programmes offered at the PIA Mind Centre will be conducted in conjunction with rigorous scientific studies, using the methodologies of clinical and cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience, to assess the physiological and psychological effects of these trainings. These studies will be conducted in collaboration with the Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies (http://www.sbinstitute.com/) and major universities from around the world. We anticipate collaboration with such universities as the University of California, Mahidol University, and the University of Oxford, to name a few.