UF Mindfulness 2017 - Glenn Hartelius

Body maps of attention: How a whole person approach may inform the neuroscience of mindfulness.
Glenn Hartelius, Ph.D., Director of the Integral and Transpersonal Psychology Program in the School of Consciousness and Transformation, California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco, CA.
Mindfulness meditation involves a change in state of consciousness that may not be adequately captured by cognitive definitions. Yet state of consciousness remains a problematic construct given the fact that correlations between mental actions and neural measurements are typically poor or nonexistent. Phenomenal markers of attentional posture - that is, specific sensate cues within lived experience that indicate where the experience of attention arises in within the body - may be a way to describe and control for states of consciousness, including mindfulness. Pilot work using EEG measurement of attentional postures suggests that phenomenal markers may correlate with neural measurement more sensitively and reliably than other approaches to date. This approach may offer a way to develop measurable definitions of states of consciousness, which in turn may open entirely new domains for research - especially into whole person approaches to psychology.
Glenn Hartelius is focused on bringing whole person approaches closer to neuroscience. His concept of what attention is and how to manage it within oneself is designed to simplify complex skills such as meditation, sustained focus, and leadership presence. He is Founding Director of a new online PhD program in Integral and Transpersonal Psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) in San Francisco, where he serves as Associate Professor for the East-West Psychology Department. He is also leading an initiative to develop a new research facility at CIIS for research in whole person neuroscience. Glenn is the main editor for the International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, a peer-reviewed academic journal. He is also co-editor of The Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of Transpersonal Psychology, and Secretary of the International Transpersonal Association. His research on the definition and scope of transpersonal psychology has helped to define the field.