Mind & Life Europe Calendar
Upcoming Events and Activities
2023
18:00 CET February 9th, 2023 | Webinar with Wolfgang Lukas "Visions for Contemplative Collaborative Cultures – in Science, Academia and Beyond" (exclusive access for MLE Friends) | online |
18:00 CET February 15th, 2023 | MLE Mind Matters webinar series with Bruce Clarke & Sébastien Dutreuil "Gaia’s Voices: The Scientific Collaboration of James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis" Click here to register for live Zoom link! This event will also be live-streamed on the MLE YouTube channel. | online |
18:00 CET February 22nd, 2023 | Semester 2, Session 1 on the Embodied Mind Exploring chapter 1 with Dr. Marek McGann - definitions of ‘cognitive science’ and ‘human experience’ | online |
18:00 CET March 8th, 2023 | Semester 2, Session 2 on the Embodied Mind Exploring chapter 2 with Dr. Philippe Blouin - the phenomenological tradition and its relations to science | online |
18:00 CET March 22nd, 2023 | Semester 2, Session 3 on the Embodied Mind Exploring chapter 3 with Dr. Marieke van Vugt - computational mind and the presuppositions of the cognitivist perspective on mind | online |
18:00 CEST April 5th, 2023 | Semester 2, Session 4 on the Embodied Mind Exploring chapter 4 with Dr. Antonino Raffone - what is Self? | online |
18:00 CEST April 19th, 2023 | Semester 2, Session 5 on the Embodied Mind Exploring chapter 5 with Dr. Giuseppe Pagnoni - enaction, the alternative paradigm to the classical cognitivist understanding of mind | online |
18:00 CEST May 3rd, 2023 | Semester 2, Session 6 on the Embodied Mind Exploring chapter 6 with Dr. Bronwyn Finnigan (TBC) - cognition not as computation but as embodied action | online |
18:00 CEST May 17th, 2023 | Semester 2, Session 7 on the Embodied Mind Concluding discussion with participants and guest speakers from CE sessions 1-6. | online |
18:00 CEST May 31st, 2023 | Semester 2, Session 7 on the Embodied Mind Bonus discussion with participants led by Dr Evan Thompson | online |
Previous Events and Activities
2023
January 25th, 2023 18:00 CET | 'Caring for Life': 2023 Inaugural Panel This event was live-streamed on the MLE YouTube channel. | online |
2022
December 14th, 2022 18:00 CET | MLE Mind Matters webinar series with Martine Batchelor "The Art of Meditative Listening and Speaking while Standing at the Edge" This event was live-streamed on the MLE YouTube channel. | online |
December 8th, 2022 18:00 CET | EVA Alumni talk with Nina Vollbehr "Yoga for depression: effects and potential working mechanisms" This event was live-streamed on the MLE YouTube channel. | online |
December 7th, 2022 18:00 CET | Semester 1, Session 7 on Geneaology Discussion with Dr. Luisa Damiano, Dr. Bruce Clarke, Dr. Tom Ziemke, and Dr. Evan Thompson This event was live-streamed on the MLE YouTube channel. | online |
November 23rd, 2022 18:00 CET | Semester 1, Session 6 on Geneaology "Autonomous systems" with Dr. Evan Thompson This event was live-streamed on the MLE YouTube channel. | online |
November 24th, 2022 18:00 CET
| EVA Alumni talk with Josipa Mihic "Towards a Caring & Mindful Schools Model" This event was live-streamed on the MLE YouTube channel. | online |
November 10th, 2022 18:00 CET | MLE Friends webinar "Neuroscientific and phenomenological insights on different forms of Buddhist meditation" with Antonino Raffone (exclusive access for MLE Friends) | online |
November 9th, 2022 18:00 CET | Semester 1, Session 5 on Geneaology "Autopoiesis" with Dr. Juan Carlos Letelier This event was live-streamed on the MLE YouTube channel. | online |
October 26th, 2022 18:00 CEST | Semester 1, Session 4 on Geneaology "Autopoiesis" with Dr. Tom Ziemke This event was live-streamed on the MLE YouTube channel. | online |
October 20th, 2022 18:00 CEST | EVA Alumni talk with Michelle Carr "Experiencing and Healing Nightmares" This event was live-streamed on the MLE YouTube channel. | online |
October 19th, 2022 18:00 CEST | Semester 1, Session 3 on Geneaology "The cybernetic origins of Varela’s Enactive Approach" with Dr. Juan Carlos Letelier This event was live-streamed on the MLE YouTube channel. | online |
September 28th, 2022 18:00 CEST | Semester 1, Session 2 on Geneaology "The cybernetic origins of Varela’s Enactive Approach" with Dr. Bruce Clarke This event was live-streamed on the MLE YouTube channel. | online |
September 22nd, 2022 18:00 CEST | EVA Alumni talk with Terje Sparby This event was live-streamed on the MLE YouTube channel. | online |
September 21st, 2022 18:00 CEST | MLE Mind Matters webinar series with Willem Kuyken This event was live-streamed on the MLE YouTube channel. | online |
September 15th, 2022 18:00 CEST | Webinar with Marieke van Vugt "How to work with a ‘sticky’ mind? Recent findings from contemplative neuroscience" (exclusive access for MLE Friends) | online |
September 14th, 2022 18:00 CEST | Semester 1, Session 1 on Geneaology Introduction by Amy Varela, Luisa Damiano, Valérie Bonnardel and John Protevi This event was live-streamed on the MLE YouTube channel. | online |
August 26th - 28th | MLE Retreat: Contemplating Connection Location: Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, Pomaia, Italy | in-person |
August 22nd - 26th | ESRI 2022 | Learning with Others: Living Connection and Transmission Location: Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, Pomaia, Italy | in-person |
Colloques de Cerisy August 15th - 19th | Colloques de Cerisy Location: Château de Cerisy-La-Salle More information about the event here | in-person |
with Tergar Meditation Community August 11th, 18:00 CEST | Dialogue with Mingyur Rinpoche, Antione Lutz and Marieke van Vugt "Natural Qualities of the Mind" Location: Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg, Germany This event was live-streamed on the MLE YouTube channel | hybrid |
July 13th 18:00 CEST | Webinar with Thorsten Barnhofer (exclusive access for MLE Friends) | online |
July 4th - 8th | ENCECON | ICP Workshop "Embodied Experience of Intersubjectivity: Exploring the Boundaries Between 'Self' and 'Other'" Location: Domaine de Fréchet, France | in-person |
June 15th 18:00 CEST | Francisco & Friends: webinar with Sergio Neuenschwander "The highs and lows of gamma oscillations: what neuronal synchronization tells us about the brain" | online |
June 8th 18:00 CEST | Webinar with Fabienne Picard "Epilepsy and Ecstatic Experience" (exclusive access for MLE Friends) | online |
Varela International Symposium May 28th - 29th | Varela International Symposium co-organized with Upaya Institute and Zen Center Laying Down a Path in Walking (Mind in Life) - Interdependence and Enaction | online |
May 25th 15:00 CEST | MLE Mind Matters webinar series with Barry Kerzin "No Center, No Edge: Letting Go of a Fixed Identity" This event was live-streamed on the MLE YouTube channel. Click here to watch the recording now! | online |
MLE Friends / CCE May 18th 18:00 CEST | Community of Contemplative Education: webinar with Anna Bornstein "Bringing Calm to Kids: the ‘Dream of the Good’ Project in Sweden"
| online |
May 11th 18:00 CEST | Francisco & Friends: webinar with Adam Engle (with French Interpretation) This event was live-streamed on the MLE YouTube channel. Click here to watch the recording now! | online |
May 4th 18:00 CEST | Francisco & Friends: webinar with Richard Davidson (with French Interpretation) "Francisco: In Love with the World" This event was live-streamed on the MLE YouTube channel. Click here to watch the recording now! | online |
April 27th 18:00 CEST | Webinar with Luisa Damiano "Social Robotics: On the Edges of the Brain, Body, and Environment" (exclusive access for MLE Friends) | online |
April 20th 16:00 CEST | Francisco & Friends: webinar with Tsoknyi Rinpoche "Francisco, Integrating Life, Work and Dharma" This event was live-streamed on the MLE YouTube channel. Click here to watch the reocrding! | online |
April 13th, 18:00 CEST | Beyond Confines webcast Track Philosophy Series 2 Q&A on 'Consciousness East and West' with Michel Bitbol (exclusive access for MLE Friends) | online |
April 6th, 18:00 CEST | Webinar with Giuseppe Pagnoni "In-active Inference: The Epistemic Value of Contemplative Practice" (exclusive access for MLE Friends) | online |
March 23rd | Launch of MLE Beyond Confines webcast, Track Philosophy, Series 2 with Michel Bitbol Exclusive access for MLE Friends | online |
March 11th - 13th | MLE Online Retreat 2022: "Standing at the Edge in Contemplative Life: Integrating personal, professional, and spiritual aspects of our path"
| online |
March 9, 18:00 CET
| MLE Mind Matters series: "An Ethics of Uncertainty" with Stephen Batchelor. This event was live-streamed on the MLE YouTube channel. Click here to watch the reocrding! | online |
February 23, 18:00 CET | Francisco & Friends: webinar with Clifford Saron, "The Little Black Dog and Other Tales - Travels with Francisco and Science in the Foothills of the Himalayas" This event was live-streamed on the MLE YouTube channel. Click here to watch the recording! | online |
February 9th 18:00 CET | Theme: Walking at the edge: A psychiatrist's practice of Zen and Mindfulness (exclusive access for MLE Friends) | online |
January 26, 18:00 CET | 'Standing at the Edge': 2022 Opening Panel with Roshi Joan Halifax, Father Francis Tiso, Marieke van Vugt, John Dunne, Andreas Roepstorff, Catherine Bastien-Ventura, Martijn van Beek. This event was live-streamed on the MLE YouTube channel. Click here to watch the recording! | online |
2021
MLE December 13, 18:00 CET | MLE Mind Matters series: "Teaching Mindfulness-Based Programs with Quality and Integrity" with Rebecca Crane. This event was live-streamed on the MLE YouTube channel. Click here to watch the recording! | online |
December 9, 18:00 CET | Francisco & Friends: webinar with Valerie Bonnardel "Why is color still a good case study of embodied cognition and enaction?" (avec une traduction simultanée en français) This event was live-streamed on the MLE YouTube channel. Click here to watch the recording! | online |
MLE Friends December 2, 18:00 CET | Webinar: "Politics of Being: Wisdom and Science for a New Development Paradigm" with Thomas Legrand (PhD) (exclusive access for MLE Friends) | online |
December 1, 18:00 CET | Annual Ouroboros Sessions: Life and Work of Francisco Varela Lecture by Amy Cohen Varela; discussion on: Varela, "Intimate Distances" (2001). This event was live-streamed on the MLE YouTube channel. Click here to watch the recording! | online |
November 25, 18:00 CET | Francisco & Friends: webinar with Wolf Singer "Why would a neurobiologist become interested in Buddhist Philosophy?" (avec une traduction simultanée en français) This event was live-streamed on the MLE YouTube channel. Click here to watch the recording! | online |
November 17, 18:00 CET | Annual Ouroboros Sessions: Life and Work of Francisco Varela Lecture by Natalie Depraz; discussion on: Varela, Depraz, "At the Source of Time" (2005). This event was live-streamed on the MLE YouTube channel. Click here to watch the recording! | online |
MLE Friends November 16, 18:00 CET | Webinar: "Implementation of mindfulness and SEL skills into public schools in Finland" & "Learning from the religious and ethical critiques of mindfulness in public schools" with Prof. Salla-Maarit Volanen and PhD student Ville Husgafvel (exclusive access for MLE Friends). | online |
November 10, 18:00 CET | Francisco & Friends: webinar with Amy Cohen Varela This event is open to the public and was live-streamed on the MLE YouTube channel. Click here to watch the recording! | online |
November 3, 18:00 CET | Annual Ouroboros Sessions: Life and Work of Francisco Varela Lecture by Hanne de Jaegher; discussion on: Varela, Depraz - "Imagining - Embodiment, Phenomenology, and Transformation" (2003). This event was live-streamed on the MLE YouTube channel. Click here to watch the recording! | online |
MLE October 27, 18:00 CET | MLE Mind Matters series: "Contemplative and Scientific Ways of Knowing" with B. Alan Wallace. This event is open to the public and will be live-streamed on the MLE YouTube channel. Click here to watch the recording! | online |
October 25, 18:00 CEST | Webinar: "Awareness-based Wellbeing in Schools" with Kevin Hawkins (exclusive acess for MLE Friends). | online |
MLE October 23,14:00 - 22:00 CEST | Science Day online public event: "Appearance & Reality - Quantum Physics meets Buddhist Philosophy" a dialogue with Prof. John Dunne, Dr. Michel Bitbol, Dr. Carlo Rovelli, Geshe Tenzin Namdak, and Scott Snibbe. This event has been organised in conjuction with Science and Wisdom Live. | online |
October 20, 18:00 CEST | Annual Ouroboros Sessions: Life and Work of Francisco Varela Lecture by Andreas Weber; discussion on: Varela, Weber, "Life after Kant - Natural purposes and the autopoietic foundations of biological individuality". This event was live-streamed on the MLE YouTube channel. Click here to watch the recording! | online |
October 13, 18:00 CEST | Francisco & Friends: webinar with Antoine Lutz and Jean-Philippe Lachaux "The Francisco Varela experience: are you experienced?" This event was live-streamed on the MLE YouTube channel. Click here to watch the recording. | online |
October 6, 18:00 CEST | Annual Ouroboros Sessions: Life and Work of Francisco Varela Lecture by Claire Petitmengin; discussion on: Varela, Depraz, Vermersch, 'The Gesture of Awareness' (1999). This event was live-streamed on the MLE YouTube channel. Click here to watch the recording. | online |
September 23, 18:00 CEST | Francisco & Friends: webinar with Roshi Joan Halifax "Continuous Groundlessness, Continuous Discovery: Meeting Francisco in Practice" This event was live-streamed on the MLE YouTube channel. Click here to watch the recording. | online |
September 15, 18:00 CEST | Annual Ouroboros Sessions: Life and Work of Francisco Varela Lecture by Michel Bitbol; discussion on: Varela, 'The phenomenology of Sunyata'. This event was live-streamed on the MLE Youtube channel. Click here to watch the recording. | online |
September 9, 18:00 CEST | Francisco & Friends: webinar with Jon Kabat-Zinn "Where is the Ground? Reminiscences on Early Conversations with Francisco on the Gesture of Awareness, Embodiment, and MBSR" This event was live-streamed on the MLE YouTube channel. Click here to watch the recording. | online |
September 1, 18:00 CEST | Annual Ouroboros Sessions: Life and Work of Francisco Varela Lecture by Antoine Lutz; discussion on: Varela, “Neurophenomenology. A Methodological Remedy for the Hard Problem” (1996). This event was live-streamed on the MLE YouTube channel. Click here to watch the recording. | online |
MLE June 17, 16:00 CEST | MLE Mind Matters series: "What's Beyond Mindfulness?" with Mingyur Rinpoche. This event was live-streamed on the MLE YouTube channel. Click here to watch the recording. | online |
June 16, 18:00 CEST | Annual Ouroboros Sessions: Life and Work of Francisco Varela Lecture by Hugues Bersini; discussion on: Varela, 'A Cognitive View of Immune System' (1994). This event was live-streamed on the MLE YouTube channel. Click here to watch the recording | online |
June 14, 18:00 CEST | Francisco & Friends: webinar with Evan Thompson 'What is Enaction? ? A New Relationship Between Our Mind and the World'. This event was live-streamed on the MLE YouTube channel. Click here to watch the recording. | online |
June 9, 05:30 CEST | Francisco & Friends: webinar with the Dalai Lama 'Dialogue for a Better World ? Remembering Francisco Varela' This event was live-streamed on the MLE YouTube channel. Click here to watch the recording. | online |
June 2, 18:00 CEST | Annual Ouroboros Sessions: Life and Work of Francisco Varela Lecture by Mog Stapleton; discussion on: Varela, 'Whence Perceptual Meaning' (1992). This event was live-streamed on the MLE YouTube channel. Click here to watch the recording. | online |
May 25, 18:00 CEST | Webinar "The no-nonsense meditation book" with Prof. Dr. Steven Laureys (exclusive access for MLE Friends). | online
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May 20 | Les Colloques Cerisy - Tribute Day "Francisco Varela, a Thinker for Our Time" (Francisco Varela, Une Pensée Actuelle) In cooperation with Les Colloques Cerisy (France). Click here to watch the recordings. | online |
May 19, 18:00 CEST | Annual Ouroboros Sessions: Life and Work of Francisco Varela Lecture by Ezequiel DiPaolo; discussion on: Varela, 'Organism: A Meshwork of Selfless Selves' (1991) and Varela, 'Patterns of Life' (1997). This event was live-streamed on the MLE YouTube channel. Click here to watch the recording. | online
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May 14-16 | Varela International Symposium - An Exploration of Uncertainty and Emergence in Self and Society In cooperation with Upaya Institute and Zen Center (USA), Nirakara (Spain) and ADM (France). Click here to watch the recordings. | online
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May 5, 18:00 CEST | Annual Ouroboros Sessions: Life and Work of Francisco Varela Lecture by Adrian Palacios; discussion on: Varela, Thompson, 'Color vision: A case study for the foundations of cognitive science' (1990). This event was live-streamed on the MLE YouTube channel. Click here to watch the recording. | online
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April 28 | Webinar "Embodied Critical Thinking" with PD Dr. Donata Schoeller (exclusive access for MLE Friends) | online |
April 21, 10:00 CEST | Annual Ouroboros Sessions: Life and Work of Francisco Varela Lecture by Tom Froese; discussion on: Varela, 'Autonomy and Autopoiesis' (1981) and Varela, 'Steps to a Cybernetics of Autonomy' (1986). This event was live-streamed on the MLE YouTube channel. Click here to watch the recording. | online |
April 20, 18:00 CEST | Q&A Session based on webcast "Beyond Confines - Following our Tracks" (Education, Series 3) with Katherine Weare on the topic "Emerging & Challenging Areas and Next Steps for Contemplative Education" (exclusive access for MLE Friends) | online |
April 7, 18:00 CEST | Annual Ouroboros Sessions: Life and Work of Francisco Varela Lecture by Evan Thompson; discussion on: Varela, 'Not One, Not Two' (1976). This event was live-streamed on the MLE YouTube channel. Click here to watch the recording. | online |
March 24 | Webinar "Meditative Practice and micro-phenomenology" with Prof. Dr. Claire Petitmengin (exclusive access for MLE Friends) | online
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March 17, 18:00 CEST | Annual Ouroboros Sessions: Life and Work of Francisco Varela Lecture by Louis Kauffman; discussion on: Varela, 'Calculus of Self-Reference' (1975) and Varela & Goguen, 'The Arithmetic of Closure' (1978). This event was live-streamed on the MLE YouTube channel. Click here to watch the recording. | online |
March 17 | Annual Ouroboros Sessions: Life and Work of Francisco Varela Start of the bi-weekly series; all sessions were be live-streamed on the MLE YouTube channel In cooperation with Sebastjan Vorörs, Metanoia (Slovenia). Click here to watch the recordings. | online |
March 10 | Release: MLE webcast "Beyond Confines: Following our Tracks" (Education, Series 3) with Katherine Weare on the topic "Emerging & Challenging Areas and Next Steps for Contemplative Education" (exclusive access for MLE Friends) | online |
MLE February 17 | MLE Mind Matters series: "A Plea for All-Inclusive Altruism" with Matthieu Ricard (open to the public); click here to watch the recording. | online |
MLE February 12-14 | MLE Retreat (by application) | online |
MLE Friends February 9 | Q&A Session based on webcast "Beyond Confines - Following our Tracks" (Education, Series 2) with Katherine Weare on the topic "Contemplative Education - The Rocky Road to Implementation" (exclusive access for MLE Friends) | online |
MLE Friends January 18 | Release: MLE webcast "Beyond Confines: Following our Tracks" (Education, Series 2) with Katherine Weare on the topic "Contemplative Education - The Rocky Road to Implementation" (exclusive access for MLE Friends) | online |
2020
| December 10 | CCE Presentation by Nava Levit-Binnun Theme: The Sagol Purple Schools Program - can we go both DEEP and BROAD with a mindfulness-based whole-school program? (exclusive for members of the CCE). | online |
| November 24 | Q&A Session based on webcast "Beyond Confines - Following our Tracks" (Education, Series 1) with Katherine Weare on the topic of "Foundations of Contemplative Education (CE)" (exclusive access for MLE Friends) | online |
| November 12 | MLE Mind Matters series: "Well-Being is a Skill" with Dr. Richard Davidson (open to the public) | online |
| October 28 | Release: MLE webcast series "Beyond Confines: Following our Tracks" (Education, Series 1) with Katherine Weare on the topic of "Foundations of Contemplative Education (CE)" (exclusive access for MLE Friends) | online |
| October 20 | Q&A Session based on webcast "Beyond Confines - Following our Tracks" (Philosophy) with Michel Bitbol on the topic of "Quantum Mechanics - A Theory with no View of the World? (exclusive access for MLE Friends) | online |
| September 22 | Launch: MLE webcast series "Beyond Confines - Following Our Tracks" (Philosophy) with Michel Bitbol (MLE Association Member) on the topic of "Quantum Mechanics - A Theory with no View of the World? (exclusive access for MLE Friends) | online |
| September 17 | MLE Dialogue with the Dalai Lama: "Cultivating our Common Humanity amidst Uncertainty" Presenters: Amy Cohen Varela (Chairperson of MLE), Matthieu Ricard Honorary Board Member of MLE), Andreas Roepstorff (Professor, Interacting Minds Centre, Aarhus University and Board Member MLE) | online |
| September 9 | Webinar "The Subtle Mind: Essence and Interdependence" with Diego Hangartner, Pharm. D., PCC (exclusive access for MLE Friends) | online |
| August 10-14 | European Summer Research Institute (ESRI) (by application) Theme 2020: Grounding Knowledge in Uncertainty | online |
| August 1 | MLE Mind Matters series: "Standing at the Edge" with Roshi Joan Halifax and Amy Cohen Varela. Click here to watch the recording. | online |
| July 8 | Webinar "The Power of Compassion - Lessons from the ReSource Project" with Prof. Dr. Tania Singer (exclusive access for MLE Friends) | online |
| June 20 | Webinar "The Mindful Brain" with Dr. Elena Antonova (exclusive access for MLE Friends) | online |
| May 27 | Webinar "Meditation and Pain from the Lenses of Phenomenology and Neurosciences" with Dr. Antoine Lutz (exclusive access for MLE Friends) | online |
2019
| October 27-29 | MLE Retreat (following the ESRI tradition; by application) | Fürstenfeldbruck, Germany |
| October 25-27 | Contemplative Science Symposium (CSS) | Fürstenfeldbruck, Germany |
| June 11-15 | ENCECON, 2nd Workshop (by invitation) | near Frankfurt, Germany |
| May 13-17 | Initiative for Contemplative Phenomenology (ICP), 2nd Workshop (by application) | near Vendôme, France |
| February 16-17 | General Assembly Meeting | Paris, France |
2018
| October 26-28 | Association Members Meeting | Brussels, Belgium |
| September 14-16 | Community for Contemplative Education (CCE), Inaugural Meeting (invitational) | Rotterdam, The Netherlands |
| August 20-26 | European Summer Research Institute (ESRI) (by application) | Chiemsee, Germany |
| February 24 | General Assembly Meeting | Brussels, Belgium |