Center for Contemplative Research

Center for Contemplative Research Integrating ancient contemplative methods and cutting-edge science to fathom the nature of the mind. https://linktr.ee/centerforcontemplativeresearch

05/08/2026

Watch or listen to our full podcast episode with Prof. Michel Bitbol on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts! Find all the links in our bio.

🌏 For all who live in East Asia, Australia, and New Zealand—we’re happy to share that you will be able to join Ghatika M...
05/04/2026

🌏 For all who live in East Asia, Australia, and New Zealand—we’re happy to share that you will be able to join Ghatika Monthly live this weekend!

How do we distinguish between our projections and what reality is actually presenting to us? How do we sharpen our discriminating awareness to see through illusion and falsehood?

This Saturday, May 9th (Sunday, May 10th for Asia-Pacific timezones), Martin Ström will explore cognitive intelligence in the CCR’s Sixfold Matrix of Mental Balance as the cultivation of clear, undistorted knowing free from projection, omission, or distortion. He will examine how cognitive deficits, hyperactivity, and dysfunction obscure our experience of reality, and how vipashyana offers a practical path of inquiry through mindfulness of body, feelings, mind, and phenomena.

Alongside the theoretical framework, the session will include guided practice and highlight practical applications in everyday life, showing how these teachings can deepen self-understanding, enrich our relationships, and help us respond to life with greater clarity, balance, and wisdom.

We hope you’ll join us this weekend! Please see below for exact start times for the Americas and for Asia-Pacific timezones

📆 Event details:

🌎 Americas: SATURDAY, MAY 9, 2026
🕔 5:00 p.m. MDT / 4:00 p.m. PDT / 7:00 p.m. EDT

🌏 Asia-Pacific: SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2026
🕘 9:000 a.m. AEST / 7:00 a.m. CST / 11:00 a.m. NZST

🔗 Please find the Zoom link to attend in our bio. This session will be online only!

04/17/2026

In this talk for the Center for Contemplative Research, B. Alan Wallace, Ph.D. diagnoses the nature of the “metacrisis” our world now faces, as well as a practical set of remedies, captured in the Sixfold Matrix of Mental Balance. We offer this message now to summarize the root causes of our compounding global crises (including political polarization, toxic nationalism, declining mental health, environmental pollution, and climate change), and to invite you into a clear framework for cultivating the ability to skillfully respond to the challenges we face.

The Sixfold Matrix is a framework developed by CCR founders Dr. B. Alan Wallace and Dr. Eva Natanya, and is a product of decades of scholarship and research. Through conative, ethical, attentional, cognitive, emotional, and spiritual intelligence, individuals and communities have the power to mitigate the mental afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion, which are the root causes of the metacrisis.

Check the link in our bio to watch the full talk, sign up for our newsletter, enjoy over 70 hours of free talks and guided meditations, and support our mission!

đŸȘ· Tomorrow: Timo Pieters will be back to lead our April Ghatika Monthly session–this time, to teach the four core medita...
04/10/2026

đŸȘ· Tomorrow: Timo Pieters will be back to lead our April Ghatika Monthly session–this time, to teach the four core meditations on the Sutrayana Buddhist path.

When people first encounter meditation today, they often meet a highly simplified version, such as in modern mindfulness practices. Or, at the other extreme, they may encounter a very traditional form that lays out the steps and stages of a Buddhist path in great—and perhaps even overwhelming—detail.

Tomorrow (Saturday, April 11), Timo Pieters will guide us through the four core meditation practices of the Sutrayana Buddhist path in a way that is accessible, while still doing justice to their original depth and intent: to awaken us step by step from our habitual state of unawareness and dissatisfaction.

Whether you are religious or not religious, Buddhist or non-Buddhist, a beginner or a seasoned meditator, this sequence of practices will help you get a taste of the Sutrayana Buddhist path in one session, and give you accessible tools to further cultivate your own experience of genuine well-being.

Please see below how to attend online and in-person!

📆 Event details:

Saturday, April 11, 2026 | 🕙 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. MDT 

Check the link in our bio for ways to attend online and in-person! This session will include four 15 minute meditations which are core practices of the Sutrayana Buddhist path
* The determination to be free (nge-jung)
* The altruistic spirit of awakening (bodhicitta)
* Serenity (shamatha)
* Insight (vipashyana)

What does it mean to truly know what is beneficial and what is harmful, and to act on that knowledge with both wisdom an...
03/11/2026

What does it mean to truly know what is beneficial and what is harmful, and to act on that knowledge with both wisdom and compassion? 

At Ghatika Monthly this Saturday, March 14, Martin Ström will explore Ethical Intelligence as a foundational dimension of mental balance, emerging not from externally imposed rules, but from a genuine cultivation of discernment and care.

We will begin with the shared ground of our humanity, our universal drive to pursue happiness and be free from suffering. This happiness takes two distinct forms: hedonia, the pleasure derived from sensory experience, and eudaimonia, the genuine well-being that arises from cultivating inner qualities such as compassion, patience, and ethical integrity. It is this deeper eudaimonic flourishing, rather than the pursuit of sensory gratification, that forms the natural basis for a truly universal ethics.

Drawing on contemplative psychology and the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, we will examine how Ethical Intelligence develops through the integration of compassionate intention and refined discernment, and why patience, compassion, and inner discipline are essential capacities for navigating the ethical complexity of modern life.

We hope you’ll join us this Saturday!

📆 Event details:

This session will be online only!
Saturday, March 14, 2026 | 🕙 4:00 p.m. MDT /
Sunday, March 15, 2026 | 🕘 9:00 a.m. AEDT
🔗 Please find the Zoom link to attend in our bio.

We are all seeking happiness and freedom from suffering in our lives, whether we are religious or not religious, and whe...
02/10/2026

We are all seeking happiness and freedom from suffering in our lives, whether we are religious or not religious, and wherever we are born on this resplendent globe we call our home. It is the singular purpose we all share with even our most distant animal relatives. 

And yet, while we labor so arduously to find this freedom and well-being, we rarely gain a taste, and even when we do, it tends to fade quickly like dew on the morning breeze. Could it be that we are looking in the wrong place for our welfare? Could we be overlooking our untapped potential within?

At Ghatika Monthly this Saturday, February 14, Timo Pieters will guide us through an experiential exploration of the deeper roots of our suffering and dissatisfaction, and whether it is possible to find lasting freedom and well-being for ourselves, drawing together teachings from early Buddhism, the Nalanda tradition as taught by the His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and the expansive view of the Great Perfection.

We hope you’ll join us this Saturday!

📆 Event details:

This session will be online only!
Saturday, February 14, 2026 | 🕙 10:00 a.m. MT 
🔗 Please find the Zoom link to attend in our bio.

We are honored that Dr. Nicholas J. Matiasz, Scientific Program Director at the CCR, has once again been invited to deli...
02/03/2026

We are honored that Dr. Nicholas J. Matiasz, Scientific Program Director at the CCR, has once again been invited to deliver a lecture at the International Contemplative Science Series hosted by Les CĂ©dres Bleus.  The full title of Dr. Matiasz’s talk is “The Continuity of Consciousness: A brief introduction to the substrate (ālaya) and substrate consciousness: Opportunities for future research.”

His talk is one of six that will center around the series’ theme this year, which is “States of Consciousness and Beyond: Daily Life, Dreams, Death and the Nature of Consciousness.” This global event will bring together researchers, meditation practitioners, clinicians, and artists to explore how contemplative and scientific approaches can deepen our understanding of the mind, consciousness, and human flourishing. Register below for an inspiring journey toward a more conscious and compassionate world.

Event information:
When: Sunday, February 15, 12:00 p.m. MST
Where: Online via Zoom (registration link in bio)

Many are entering this new year of 2026 with a sense of anxiety, fear, and perhaps even hopelessness for the future of o...
01/05/2026

Many are entering this new year of 2026 with a sense of anxiety, fear, and perhaps even hopelessness for the future of our planet. Now more than ever, it is clear that humanity is staring down a daunting gamut of complex challenges, including climate change, political polarization, increased geopolitical conflict, and declining mental health.

How can we rise to meet this moment in human history with courage and wisdom, and work as never before in support of authentic human flourishing?

Despite the complexity of what some are now calling the “metacrisis,” its causes—and solutions—lie in a place rarely considered in public discourse: the human mind.

In the spirit of H.H. the XIV Dalai Lama’s secular approach to unifying the human race around common ethical principles and fundamental truths of reality, in this talk Dr. B. Alan Wallace will offer a roadmap for not only mitigating the negative impacts of the metacrisis, but also ushering in a new era of human flourishing. In stepping back to take a radically empirical approach to the nature of consciousness, Dr. Wallace will question the absolute nature of modern barriers placed between fields such as science, ethics, and contemplative practice. He will then offer an alternative framework through which we can approach both our individual lives and collective challenges: the CCR’s Sixfold Matrix of Mental Balance. As Dr. Wallace will explain, the Sixfold Matrix offers a thoroughly secular approach to individual and societal well-being that is accessible to those of nearly any spiritual or philosophical persuasion—all without sacrificing the depth of thousands of years of contemplative inquiry, and hundreds of years of discovery in Western science.

Please join us for this talk which will strike to the very heart of the CCR’s mission and vision for a new era of human flourishing—a future toward which Dr. Wallace hopes to empower you to work, precisely through the tools of the Sixfold Matrix.

🛜 For those attending online: please sign up for our Ghatika Monthly email list (link in bio) to receive the livestream link prior to this talk.

“There came a point when I clearly recognized that the very survival skills I had relied upon to navigate challenging ci...
12/30/2025

“There came a point when I clearly recognized that the very survival skills I had relied upon to navigate challenging circumstances had become a kind of bo***ge, shackling my ability to heal. The very skills that were once essential to my resilience had now become obstacles to cultivating inner peace and contentment.”

Sitatara is a full-time contemplative at the CCR North America—dedicating hours a day to plumbing the depths of her own mind, for the benefit of all beings. And while meditation is widely accessible today, the transformation she’s experienced is uniquely possible in long-term retreat.

But Sitatara—and the thirteen other retreatants currently practicing at the CCR’s Mind Lab in Crestone, CO—need your support. Maintaining our Mind Lab in Crestone for retreatants like Sitatara requires investment and the heartfelt care of staff.

Your end-of-year gift ensures the durability of this world-class retreat environment for years to come—giving retreatants like Sitatara the chance to discover genuine well-being from within.

The incredibly conducive environment for her practice—the CCR’s Mind Lab in Crestone, Colorado—relies the generous support of people like you.

“When I began to make the effort to stop coping through the challenges of retreat, and my mind and body gradually released their reliance on crusty, old survival patterns, an abundance of opportunities began to arise. By taking the daunting yet transformative step of moving beyond habitual coping, one accesses the grandest opportunity available: genuine well-being."

The transformation that retreatants like Sitatara experience only happens through the incredible generosity of people like you.

If you haven’t already—please give the gift of genuine well-being to even more retreatants through an end-of-year gift to the CCR. Find the donation link in our bio!

With so much gratitude for your support,

—The CCR Team

The CCR’s own Dr. Anita Milicevic will lead our November Ghatika Monthly session—this time, to teach on the intersection...
11/04/2025

The CCR’s own Dr. Anita Milicevic will lead our November Ghatika Monthly session—this time, to teach on the intersection of Buddhist practice and trauma recovery.

Through meditation, introspective reflection and in-depth discussion, this talk will explore the four Buddhist heart practices—the cultivation of loving-kindness, compassion, empathetic joy, and impartiality. These ancient contemplative skills provide a practical and compassionate way to transform suffering. In this session, Anita will share insights from her therapeutic and research work on trauma, and provide an introduction to the notion of post-traumatic stress and complex trauma and the path to recovery, resilience and flourishing. The Ghatika will shed light on ancient wisdom —the ground of courage and boundless love — that has often been neglected in clinical treatments. 

The overall aim of this session is to enrich the skills of professionals who work with trauma and to benefit those on a personal journey of transformation and growth. Participation reaches beyond mere intellectual knowledge and delves into the heart of experiential learning and knowing. Through this experiential learning, Anita invites us to recognise that, to heal the world, we must first heal ourselves.

Please see below how to attend online and in-person!

📆 Event details:

Saturday, November 8, 2025 | 🕙 10:00 a.m. MT 

Check the link in our bio for ways to attend online and in-person. This session will run for approximately 90 minutes, and will include:

✅ An introduction to the concepts of post-traumatic stress and complex trauma
✅ An experiential learning approach, combining both modern psychological research and ancient contemplative skills for transforming suffering
✅ Guided 24-minute meditation session (ghatika) and Q&A on topics covered in this talk.

Address

1 Carmelite Way
Crestone, CO
81131

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