The Contemplative Science Podcast

Why do people across cultures report encounters with spirits, deities, ancestors, demons, angels, or other seemingly independent beings? And how might the science of predictive processing and active inference help us understand these experiences without simply dismissing them as “mere hallucinations”? In this episode, I speak with Zach Buck about spiritual entities, psychedelic experiences, and the predictive mind. We explore why the brain may sometimes model invisible agents as real presences, especially in altered states of consciousness, ritual contexts, contemplative practice, and emotionally charged moments. Rather than reducing these experiences to pathology or treating them uncritically as literal encounters, Zach offers a middle path: an active inference account that asks how perception, culture, expectation, embodiment, and uncertainty work together to shape experiences of spiritual agency.

In this conversation, Humanistic Integrative Psychotherapeutic Counsellor Nicholas Buscall and I explore why establishing a “good view”—a clear, grounded orientation to what meditation is (and isn’t)—can make practice safer, steadier, and more transformative. We talk about how meditation training can drift into confusion or unhelpful striving, and how a therapist’s perspective and regular check-ins can help you track your development, notice red flags early, and keep practice aligned with well-being, values, and real-world functioning.

n this episode of The Contemplative Science Podcast, I’m delighted to welcome back Brother Phap Linh, a Buddhist monk ordained at Plum Village in 2008. Before monastic life, Brother Phap Linh studied at Cambridge and worked as a composer, chef, and math tutor—bringing a rare blend of creativity, analytical rigor, and lived practice into his contemplative path.
Inspired by the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh, Brother Phap Linh entered monastic life as a response to global suffering, grounding his work in mindfulness, ethical living, and community practice. Today, he finds deep joy in guiding others—both monastic and lay—toward greater presence, compassion, and collective well-being.
Our conversation explores the evolving relationship between Buddhism, spirituality, and science: how mindfulness is studied, where scientific models illuminate practice, and where lived experience resists easy measurement. Together, we reflect on what contemplative traditions can genuinely offer modern science—and what science can responsibly contribute to the deep work of inner transformation.
A thoughtful, grounded dialogue at the meeting point of practice, theory, and lived wisdom.

In this episode, we explore the role of goal-setting and purposeful behaviour in Buddhist contemplative practice. While many traditions emphasize letting go, Buddhist training is also deeply structured by intentionality, effort, and purposeful cultivation. Nadav Amir brings a computational neuroscience perspective to these questions, examining how minds generate goals, how agency emerges, and how these processes relate to frameworks from early Buddhist epistemology and ethics. Together, we discuss paradoxes of striving, the tension between effort and non-attachment, and what modern neuroscience can tell us about intention on the contemplative path.

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Paul Condon to explore his new book How Compassion Works and the science behind cultivating compassion that lasts. We discuss what compassion really is, how it can be measured and taught, and why sustaining compassion matters for individuals and communities alike. Paul shares insights from his research on compassion training, its impact on mental health and social connection, and how these practices can be taught in a rigorous, evidence-based way without losing their heart.