Join us! Apply for #ESRI2018

The application period for the European Summer Research Institute 2018 (ESRI) is now open. We invite you to join us at this unique gathering on the Fraueninsel in Germany from 20-26 August. This year's theme - Kinship, Conflict and Compassion - will cover the evolutionary story about the development of a capacity that is probably unique to humans: the ability to connect. That ability, however, also comes with a tendency to create an “other”, and often create biases and conflict - as we can now witness at national and global levels. We will explore how to overcome this tendency and to enhance ...
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‘Social change needs to come from changing educational contexts.’

In the run up to the 2017 European Varela Awards we highlight some of the work of our 2016 awardees. Carlos Garcia Rubio and Catherine Andreu received a European Varela award for their research into the effect mindfulness in schools has on the self-regulation abilities of children living in highly vulnerable areas in Latin-America. ‘Schools can be an ideal place to carry out mindfulness-based socio-emotional programmes to promote healthier development.’ Carlos and Catherine first met each other in 2014 at the European Summer Research Institute (ESRI). A couple of years later they met again in Spain, in a school where ...
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‘Thinking at the edge opens up new perspectives into the amazing fabric of meaning‘

At the European Summer Research Institute 2017, held in Germany in August, Donata Schoeller led the 'Thinking at the Edge' sessions. By following simple steps participants explored the tacit dimensions of the very issue they research. ‘For me as a philosopher, 'Thinking at the Edge' opened up new perspectives into the amazing fabric of meaning, which inspires my thinking continuously.’ Current science, social policy and human relations tend to exclude the intricacy of the individual's experience. 'Thinking at the Edge' (TAE)  is a way to think and speak about our world and ourselves by generating terms from a "felt sense".[1] ...
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ESRI 2017: ‘Exploring experience brings us to the heart of contemplation’

Andreas Roepstorff (chair of the planning committee) and Nathalie Legros (chair of the community building committee) are both at the heart of Mind and Life Europe’s European Summer Research Institute (ESRI). We got them together to talk about this year’s edition ‘Exploring Experience’. When did you join the European Summer Research Institute? Nathalie: I’m rather new to ESRI. In 2016, I was invited as a speaker to share my experiences of contemplative practices in a working environment. This year, I am involved in the planning committee and in the community building committee because I believe in the community dimension and ...
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