Interpersonal Neurobiology: A Systems-Thinking Approach to Optimal Health – Dr. Dan Siegel #587

In this episode of Bulletproof Radio, you’ll find out how interpersonal neurobiology looks at the vital connections among:

• Our mind;
• Our embodied brain (meaning the functions of our body, biochemical functions, physiological functions, neural functions); and
• Our relationships (with other people, with nature, with the planet).

These, say Dr. Dan Siegel, “form the foundation for how we try to understand what life on Earth is about, what human life is, and how we can try to direct it in a way that supports well-being.” Putting identity, attachment, and survival together literally shapes the health of your body.

Dr. Siegel comes to Bulletproof Radio fresh off the stage at the 6th Annual Biohacking Conference at the Beverly Hilton where he gave an exceptional presentation on the science and practice of presence. For more than two decades, he’s taught clinical psychiatry at UCLA and is a best-selling author and co-author of more than a dozen books. He’s the founding co-director of the UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center and the founder and executive director of the Mindsight Institute, as well as the medical director of the Lifespan Learning Institute, and the founding editor of the Norton Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology.

The particular field of neurobiology he discusses with Dave is dedicated to understanding the brain, subjective experience, and the ways in which the brain is altered by experience. It stays grounded in science but not limited to what any given scientific field suggests, he explains. “We try to combine all the fields of science, from math and physics all the way to sociology and anthropology, into one framework.”

Two established realms of physics, Newtonian and Quantum, get a lot of attention in today’s show. Nine domains of integration do, too. Why? In a nutshell, we need to stop being isolated nouns and start being interconnected verbs. That’s the only way we’ll reach optimal health. And three pillars—focused attention, opened awareness, and kind intention—actually slow aging. Research proves it.

As with life and biohacking, “When things are going well, they’re in a state of harmony,” says Dr. Siegel. “When things aren’t going well, they’re either in chaos or rigidity or some combination of both.”

In today’s far-reaching conversation, the science of the mind meets the science of the body. Take a listen to find out more about the Wheel of Awareness and how to live, lead, love and learn from the Plane of Possibility.

Enjoy the show!