Monash Centre for Consciousness & Contemplative Studies (M3CS)

🔗https://www.monash.edu/news/articles/new-study-reveals-why-your-mind-sometimes-goes-blank

🔗https://www.cell.com/trends/cognitive-sciences/fulltext/S1364-6613(25)00034-8?utm_campaign=Press%20Package&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=357279461&utm_content=357279461&utm_source=hs_email

🧠 What happens when your mind goes blank?
New research paper from @monash-m3cs.bsky.social members exploring mind blanking - those moments when thoughts vanish and awareness fades. A collaboration between our team and European colleagues, sparked during @antoinelutz.bsky.social year with us.
Link 👇

📣Free Event📣
🤔Can being more mindful help us think more clearly?
🤨Can sharper thinking make us more mindful?
Join Craig Hassed & @andymckilliam.bsky.social in this free lunchtime webinar to find out.
🗓️ 8 May | 🕛 12–12:50pm AEST | 💻 Online
🔗 events.humanitix.com/mindful-crit...

How does seeing Earth from afar reshape our understanding of human significance? 🌍
👇Read the article below from our very own Tim Bayne.👇

Mind vs Brain: Is There More to Consciousness? A Conversation With Andy Karr Get tickets on Humanitix - Mind vs Brain: Is There More to Consciousness? A Conversation With Andy Karr hosted by M3CS. Online. Thursday 1st May 2025. Find event information.

Register here: events.humanitix.com/m3cs-seminar...

Join us for our May Seminar!
We’re excited to welcome Buddhist teacher & author Andy Karr in conversation with @kevinberryman.bsky.social for a thought-provoking discussion: Mind vs Brain – Is There More to Consciousness?
📅 Thursday 1 May 2025
⏰ 12:00 – 12:50 PM AEST
💻 Online & free - register below

New episode! In this episode we are joined by Dr. Saurabh Sonkusare to learn about Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) 🧠 We hear about how DBS works and its uses in psychiatry and research 🔬

links in 🧵

@monash-m3cs.bsky.social

Have you ever wondered how the built environment effects your mood? 💭🏘️ Is it true that red rooms make you angry? 😡 This week we sit down with Dr. Isabella Bower to discuss her on research on how the built environment can impact our mental health 🌇
(links in 🧵)

@monash-m3cs.bsky.social

📣Free Online Event:
Join us this week as @amishijha.bsky.social & Prof. Craig Hassed explore the science of focus & how to reclaim it.
🧠Peak Mind - The Power of Attention
📅 3 April 2025
⏰ 12:00 - 12:50 PM (AEST)
👉 Register here: events.humanitix.com/peak-mind-wi...

@hohwy.bsky.social #Neuroscience

🤔Ever wondered how mindfulness influences your mind? Here is a chance to find out & be part of the research! We’re looking for participants for a free online study with our colleagues @victoriauniversity.bsky.social
Find out more👇https://monash.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0lIFxAdCJJ7qA2G?Q_CHL=qr

📣New research alert! A fascinating study by @andrejevic.bsky.social @hohwy.bsky.social and Linda Barclay exploring the distinction between dignity and respect and why it matters! 👀👀

Dignity Is Distinct From Respect: How Treating Others With Dignity Entails Accounting for Their Self-Conscious Emotions - Milan Andrejević, Jakob Hohwy, Linda Barclay, 2025 Dignity is prominently endorsed in health care, organizations, and law. However, humanities research casts doubt over the utility of this concept, disputing tha...

Dignity is a very important ethical concept, but a dangerously fuzzy one, which puts into question whether and how we can honour our obligations to treat people with dignity! Our new study detangles dignity and respect, by showing dignity has specific ties to humiliation.

Psychedelics: New Uses for Ancient Practices Get tickets on Humanitix - Psychedelics: New Uses for Ancient Practices hosted by M3CS. Online. Thursday 6th March 2025. Find event information.

register here: events.humanitix.com/psychedelics...

📣 Free online event: Join @pliknaitzky.bsky.social (Monash Clinical Psychedelic Lab), as he discusses the role of psychedelics in therapy & their potential for transforming treatment at our seminar:

🗓️ Thursday, 6 March 2025
⏰ 12:00 – 12:50 PM AEDT
💻 Zoom
👇 Register via the link in the comments 👇

Followed by a celebration from this wonderful group of current M3CS PhD students, with bon voyage to recent graduates departing for new postdoc adventures.

Lars Sandved-Smith giving a presentation

Shawn Prest giving a presentation

Beth Fisher giving a presentation

A fabulous day of M3CS PhD presentations - Lars Sandved-Smith on pure awareness, @shawnprest.bsky.social on defabrication in meditation, @bethfisher.bsky.social Fisher on optimism and gratitude. All done brilliantly with active inference and FEP modelling.
#neuroskyence #philsky

Check out this fabulous paper led by @bethfisher.bsky.social with @christopherjwhyte.bsky.social on optimism bias!

@monash-m3cs.bsky.social

Solving the relevance problem with predictive processing The frame or relevance problem is a classic problem in cognitive science and philosophy. We attempt to resolve this problem by appealing to predictive processing, a growing theory of cognition. As ...

Frame and relevance problems from the perspective of predictive processing - new paper led by @monash-m3cs.bsky.social's Tom Darling #philsky
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

New episode!! We sit down with Dr. Nina Rajcic to discuss her work using LLMs in her art practice giving us a new perspectives for thinking about AI 💭🤖 We share our thoughts about the future of AI in art and its connections to tech 🎨 #philsky #ai

@monash-m3cs.bsky.social

🚀 New paper alert! 🚀
A fascinating paper on optimism bias led by @bethfisher.bsky.social with @christopherjwhyte.bsky.social.
👀Check it out!

Why do we dream? 🤔Are they just random neural firings, or do they serve a deeper function? M3CS researcher & lecturer, Dr Manuela Kirberg, joins 'The Briefing' to unpack the science & philosophy of dreaming. Listen here: open.spotify.com/episode/0jo3...

The Mindful Way to Insight and Coping with Adversity with Libba Granger Get tickets on Humanitix - The Mindful Way to Insight and Coping with Adversity with Libba Granger hosted by M3CS. Online. Thursday 6th February 2025. Find event information.

Register here: events.humanitix.com/the-mindful-...

🌟 Start 2025 with some mindful inspiration!
📣Free online event:
Join Elizabeth Granger & Craig Hassed as they explore mindfulness, resilience & stress management in our first seminar of our 2025 series:
🗓️ Thurs, 6 Feb
⏰ 12:00–12:50 PM AEDT
💻 Zoom
👇Register via the link in comments👇

📣Congratulations to our M3CS Director, @hohwy.bsky.social for being awarded Monash Graduate Association Supervisor of the Year! Voted by students, this award reflects Jakob’s mentorship & the positive, supportive environment he’s created @M3CS. #Leadership #Mentorship @monashuniversity.bsky.social

As the year winds down, we took a moment to pause, reflect, & enjoy some creative mindfulness. 🎨🖌️ With a day of painting & delicious food, we created a way to be present, connect, & contemplate together.
We’re looking forward to what 2025 will bring!

A single dose of psilocybin leads to long-lasting optimism boost in animal study A single psilocybin dose increased optimism and engagement in rats for two weeks by enhancing reward processing and reducing loss aversion. These findings suggest psilocybin may help address depressiv...

www.psypost.org/a-single-dos...

Exciting research by @bethfisher.bsky.social shows that psilocybin boosts optimism and engagement in rats, potentially offering insights into its use for treating depression.
Just some of the wonderful research our PhD students are doing.

YouTube video by Centre for Consciousness and Contemplative Studies Session 10: Exploring Consciousness | Jakob Hohwy | M3CS Seminar Series

Watch the full episode below:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbZi...

So much to unpack in our latest seminar (exploring #consciousness) with @hohwy.bsky.social and Prof. Craig Hassed on how we can influence our awareness to shape our experiences.
#metaawareness #attention

Find out more about the award here: www.monash.edu/vc-excellenc...