Alex is a Ph.D. student in the departments of cognitive science and anesthesiology at UCSD. He received a bachelor’s degree with honors from Columbia University and currently researches the neurophysiology of pain, meditation, and mystical experiences. Alex is also a trained cultural anthropologist and has done fieldwork on shamanic, new age, and other spiritual traditions across the globe. He is originally from Mexico City and enjoys surfing in his free time.
Dr Joe partnered with Dr Peta Stapleton at Australia’s Bond University to study meditation’s effects on 900 primary school children over a 10-week period. This is the largest study on kids and meditation ever conducted.
My path to meditation was born out of necessity and curiosity. As an entrepreneur in the fast-paced world of cybersecurity and as mom of two children, I found myself constantly running from one challenge to the next, always in a state of high alert – much like the systems we were protecting. It was during this time that I realized I was living in what I now call a ‘panic room’ – a state of constant stress and reactivity.