Where We've Been and Where We're Going: Reflecting on the Original "Destructive Emotions" Dialogue Panel Discussion

SUMMIT SESSIONS

Daniel Goleman, PhD, Richard Davidson, PhD, Paul Ekman, PhD and Matthieu Ricard, PhD

Where We've Been and Where We're Going: Reflecting on the Original "Destructive Emotions" Dialogue Panel Discussion

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About Daniel Goleman, PhD

Daniel Goleman is an internationally known psychologist and science journalist. His 1995 book, Emotional Intelligence was a bestseller and has been translated into more than 40 languages. His most recent book, Altered Traits, was co-authored with Richard Davidson and reviews the best meditation research. Dan has also organized a series of intensive conversations between the Dalai Lama and scientists, which resulted in the books Healing Emotions, Destructive Emotions, and Ecology, Ethics, and Interdependence. For the Dalai Lama’s 80th birthday Dan wrote A Force for Good: The Dalai Lama’s Vision for our World. He is a former board member and a Founding Steward of the Mind & Life Institute.

You can learn more about Dr. Goleman's work on his website.

About Richard Davidson, PhD

Richie Davidson’s research is broadly focused on the neural bases of emotion and emotional style and methods to promote human flourishing including meditation and related contemplative practices. He has published over 465 articles, numerous chapters and reviews, and edited 14 books. He is the author (with Sharon Begley) of The Emotional Life of Your Brain, published in 2012, and co-author with Daniel Goleman Altered Traits, published in 2017. He was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2017 and appointed to the Governing Board of UNESCO’s Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP) in 2018.

To learn more about Dr. Davidson's work you can visit Center for Healthy Minds.

About Paul Ekman, PhD

Paul Ekman, PhD is a world renowned psychologist who pioneered the field of studying human emotion as well as truth and deception. Paul was greatly influenced by Darwin's belief in a universality of emotions among humans and dedicated three decades of laboratory research to exploring these ideas. The 2000 meeting with His Holiness drastically altered Paul's research and world view, producing a series of academic articles on emotion and contemplative practice, co-designing the cultivating emotional balance training with Alan Wallace, and co-authoring a book with the Dalai Lama, Emotional Awareness. Paul and his daughter created the Atlas of Emotions at the request and with the support of His Holiness from 2014-2016.

You can find online training tools for emotion recognition and Global Compassion Webisodes with Paul Ekman on his website.

About Matthieu Ricard, PhD

Matthieu Ricard is an author, photographer and translator. He first visited India in 1967, where he met many of the great spiritual masters from Tibet. After completing his Ph.D. degree in cell genetics in 1972, he moved to the Himalayan region where he became a Buddhist monk and has been living for the past 45 years. His books include Altruism: The Power of Compassion to Change Yourself and the World. He devotes all the proceedings of his activities to humanitarian projects in Asia, through Karuna-Shechen, his organization which benefits over 350,000 people every year. Matthieu has been part of the Mind and Life Institute since 2000.

You can learn more about his work by visiting his website.

About Eve Ekman, PhD

Eve Ekman is a contemplative social scientist focusing on emotional awareness working in health care, wellbeing, and technology. Eve draws from interdisciplinary skills and first-person experiential knowledge from clinical social work, integrative medicine, contemplative science, and meditation. Eve is a Senior Fellow at the University of California Berkeley Greater Good Science Center, Director of Cultivating Emotional Balance Training Program, and volunteer clinical faculty at the UCSF Department of Pediatrics. Eve is a second-generation emotion researcher and has collaborated with her father, Paul Ekman, on the Atlas of Emotions project. Eve shares her dad's deep love of bagels and is a devout practitioner of cold water ocean play.

To learn more about her work you can visit the Atlas of Emotions, an online website for emotional awareness commissioned by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and co-created by Eve and Paul Ekman. You can also learn more about a contemplative science training for learning emotional balance that was founded by Alan Wallace and Paul Ekman and is currently lead by Eve Ekman and a global teacher network at Cultivating Emotion Balance.

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99 Comments

  1. Nicola May 7, 2021 at 9:29 am - Reply

    We are watching you all from Spain and sharing these ideas and these techniques within our educational communities. Thank you for the impact you have made and continue to make in lives, especially the young, so they may grow up with more self-awareness and compassion than ever.
    Gracias!

    • Siobhan Horton May 9, 2021 at 11:03 am - Reply

      Eve. I just love your verbal and non verbal interaction with your Dad.
      Thanks you all, I have loved and really value this summit.
      Siobhan. Wales, UK

  2. Beta França May 7, 2021 at 10:34 am - Reply

    This month is the 10th anniversary of Mind&Life in my own life, so I’m also celebrating! It was after His Holiness’ visit to Ireland in 2011 that I ‘accidentally’ bumped into the videos of M&L dialogues and within a few months I had watched all of the videos available – over 100 hours! – and read the books of the dialogues not recorded. I felt I had been graduated! It changed my life…
    Watching this panel now I felt as moved as if I were part of the team 🙂 <3
    I'm taking this opportunity to express my profound gratitude and admiration for your generosity and persistence of your work which, along with the Dalai Lama's, illuminate human consciousness in this time of such an urgent need for change!
    I'm filled with love and hope. Thank you!
    "May the road rise to meet you
    May the wind be always at your back".

  3. Dr. Jaya Mohan May 7, 2021 at 10:40 am - Reply

    Greetings from India!
    Thank you and Congratulations ! Eve for putting together such a brilliant summit. Gratitude to all the panelists and all those volunteers who must have worked day and night to put this up to perfection, in these difficult times. We need more and more scientific deliberations on emotional well being in the coming days, months and years. There is a felt need to let the masses become more aware of the outcomes of these deliberations and also ways in which they can include and practice them in their daily lives. Looking forward to read ‘Destructive Emotions’.
    Prayers for more compassion and kindness in the world.
    More strength to the organizers. May your tribe grow!

    Warm regards

    • Sabine Kaspari May 8, 2021 at 4:31 am - Reply

      Thank you for summarizing everything up, which is in my mind and heart as well:-)
      I would like to add just one thought to the last speech of Dr. Richard Davidson: Maybe also our experience with meditation, compassion and all the “positive” emotions are genetically written down and given to our children, grandchildren…
      So let us go on doing these exercise, spread it as much as each of us can in order to make this world worth living for all creatures.
      Thank you!

  4. iris Lieber May 7, 2021 at 11:04 am - Reply

    Very important the cultivation of joy, of compassion, goodness, constructive emotions ,and you are all an inspiration to continue in that path, to obtain genuine happiness and avoid suffering.
    Thank you very much for all your ideas and for the contribution of the welfare of humanity and of the planet.

  5. Kar Man May 7, 2021 at 11:22 am - Reply

    Love your work. Really enjoyed throughout the whole summit. I really appreciate it and thank you for organizing it.

  6. Sarai Abasi May 7, 2021 at 11:46 am - Reply

    I am from Iran, So thank full for every thing.

  7. Beena May 7, 2021 at 12:06 pm - Reply

    Sincere Gratitude for this Amazing Opportunity – Thank you to the entire Team for this Gift of Awareness – It was a Beautiful Reminder to know that the Life is Beautiful and does bring its share of Ups & Downs disguised as “EMOTIONS” and that the IDENTIFICATION of our Emotions as to how they impact and govern our Behaviors can be studied and trained through various form of Meditations and that there are many ways to REACH our TRUE POTENTIAL which is that “We are all Beautiful Souls & Compassion is our TRUE IDENTITY ” – Wishing you all Happy Celebrations of LIFE !!!

  8. KARIN AUBERT May 7, 2021 at 12:07 pm - Reply

    I am really touched by Paul Ekmans the testamony, about his meeting with the DL, as I experianced the same thing when the DL just walked close to me two times .I feel it must be a real devotion and a direct connection to the nature of mind

  9. eva May 7, 2021 at 12:29 pm - Reply

    sending a very heartfelt thankyou from germany for this incredibly enriching, awareness-widening, compassion-fostering, connecting thoughts, meditations, concepts, and wise words. thank you all so very much!!!!!!!!!!

  10. Adriana May 7, 2021 at 1:32 pm - Reply

    Me encuentro en San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, México; para mí este encuentro es transformador, gracias a Yuria por la invitación, realmente conmovida, se abre una oportunidad al conocimiento del ser. Gracias

  11. Pratigya Sharma May 7, 2021 at 1:49 pm - Reply

    i am so grateful and truly blessed to witness the summit. There is so much to learn and i feel so good to know that so many people are working towards such a good purpose. I am so blessed. Thank you for organizing this.

  12. Nanci McVillw May 7, 2021 at 2:05 pm - Reply

    I am sending peace, love and gratitude to this panel of enlightened and inspirational speakers from my home in New Orleans. I was reminded of a time in San Francisco where I met Jaques Cousteau, guest speaker, after a prayer breakfast. I was one of many in a group surrounding him after his talk. He just looked me in the eyes, reached out and touched my hand. I felt the “peace” that he had in his heart. He asked us to clean up the oceans… with all of the love and compassion he could radiate. I was transformed. Thank you, Paul, for putting in words what I had felt. I felt “peace”. Thank and bless you all as we work together to realize our dream!

  13. Nanci McVille May 7, 2021 at 2:07 pm - Reply

    I am sending peace, love and gratitude to this panel of enlightened and inspirational speakers from my home in New Orleans. I was reminded of a time in San Francisco where I met Jaques Cousteau, guest speaker, after a prayer breakfast. I was one of many in a group surrounding him after his talk. He just looked me in the eyes, reached out and touched my hand. I felt the “peace” that he had in his heart. He asked us to clean up the oceans… with all of the love and compassion he could radiate. I was transformed. Thank you, Paul, for putting in words what I had felt. I felt “peace”. Thank and bless you all as we work together to realize our dream!

  14. Peter Fowelin May 7, 2021 at 2:32 pm - Reply

    Time stops when Paul recalls to mind the impact the Dalai Lama made on him in Dharamsala 2000. It was so moving and such a privilege to get the possibility to share that moment. And I love the final dialogue about our responsibility for the planet and future generations. It has become obvious that you all are passionate about the bigger world, not just the brain and mind. It’s been amazing to listen to you these four days.

  15. Tania Tsakun May 7, 2021 at 2:54 pm - Reply

    Thank you all for the summit and speeches! This is a true gift for each seeking soul and for all hearts willing to flourish love, kindness and compassion.
    Thank you once again for all the lessons and your wisdom.

  16. Tania T. May 7, 2021 at 3:03 pm - Reply

    Thank you all for the summit and speeches! This is a true gift for each seeking soul and for all hearts willing to flourish love, kindness and compassion.
    Thank you once again for all the lessons and your wisdom.

  17. Marcella Bueno Alves from Brazil May 7, 2021 at 3:07 pm - Reply

    Thank you very much for this beautiful event! I’ve watched most of the talks and enjoyed them immensely, but I was specially touched by this panel. How Paul described how he felt at the meeting, how Richie showed appreciation for Matthieu and his ideas going forward made me cry a little, also of joy. Thank all of you and the other speakers and people involved in the organization of the summit for this opportunity and all the work you’ve done so far and will continue doing! I’m frankly inspired. Much love, Marcella

  18. Juliana May 7, 2021 at 3:52 pm - Reply

    No sound

  19. Luiza May 7, 2021 at 4:13 pm - Reply

    Deep gratitude to all organisers, for the initiative, emotions are indeed such an important subject that we tend to ignore or suppress most of the time… the practical advices in the Summit are of immense value and also meeting and knowing the pioneers of this field and their precious memories about how all this study and interest started… Embracing you all with gratitude from Israel

  20. m May 7, 2021 at 4:36 pm - Reply

    Thank you all so so much for this inspirational discussion…I would love everyone to hear this!! with much gratitude

  21. David May 7, 2021 at 5:25 pm - Reply

    Thanks very much from Europe to Eve and all the organisers, speakers and participants in this beautiful summit!

  22. Emma Stedile May 7, 2021 at 6:04 pm - Reply

    Thank you so much! What a delight meeting. I would like to express my deepest gratitude for all the work you all have done and I am really moved by the words of Paul Ekman about His Holiness . May Compassion and Loving Kindness grow in people’s heart.

  23. Ingrid Otepka May 7, 2021 at 6:05 pm - Reply

    Deeply thank you

  24. Cynthia May 7, 2021 at 6:57 pm - Reply

    Thank you All for this incredible event in such a challenging moment of the history, gratitude and Love for making it so available and open to anyone !
    Big hug from Buenos Aires, Argentina!

  25. Aisjah Cassidy May 7, 2021 at 8:19 pm - Reply

    This has been very educational and provided many insights especially the history of how studying emotions came about with the intervention and collaboration with all the scientist and His Holiness the Dalai Lama asking for more investigation into emotions.

    Everyone on the panel brought something special to it and all worked harmoniously together and that came through. Have enjoyed all the meditations which had a deep effect on me, especially the beautiful monsters one. It changed how I view those rough diamonds and can see their beauty and function now. But the most important thing for me is knowing there is nothing to do, or to get to or obtain. Simply just be! What a relief. There is a lot of freedom in that now for me and kind of makes me want to sit in stillness more often and know that life is the meditation. Thank you all…j

    Just one more thing…I love the idea that you may investigate the quality of “Goodness” that has been in our past ancestors, that has been forwarded to future generations through genes and epigenetics.

    I know this to be true from my own ancestors and our family tree…but there are many influences and many layers and we all make our own choices in life. This summit helps my life in many many ways. And it gets closer to genuine happiness all the time now. Many blessings to you all!

  26. Nadine May 8, 2021 at 4:07 am - Reply

    Intergenerational goodness …great idea.

  27. Andreea May 8, 2021 at 4:21 am - Reply

    Thank you so much for organising and making this summit available worldwide for free. So inspiring and heartwarming to see speakers who fully embody the goodness and wisdom. Deep gratitude!

  28. Bhoomikumar Jegannathan May 8, 2021 at 5:17 am - Reply

    Thanks very much. Beautiful, emotional and insightful sharing. What Rev. Mathew underscored of not to forget the 83 million other beings is apt in the rea of anthropocene.

    Bhoomikumar, child psychiatrist, Cambodia

  29. Toni May 8, 2021 at 6:58 am - Reply

    Thank you all so much for the work that you have put into organising and presenting this event. I am so grateful for the time to be able to turn up. All the speakers were just wonderful and inspirational.

  30. nuria ortega May 8, 2021 at 7:40 am - Reply

    What a wonderful panel and what a wonderful summit! I love the idea of dreaming big and dreaming what is possible (in politics, environmet and social life). Listening to you all has been a moment of totally joy. Nuria from Buenos Aires, Argentina.

  31. Caren May 8, 2021 at 8:56 am - Reply

    I cannot hear this talk. I can hear all but one of the others.

  32. Christine May 8, 2021 at 9:02 am - Reply

    Is it also the intospection of the emotion which arises in the other person while watching? We had the case here that a person was smiling to another and this one took the smile very sadly as an offence and harmed the other person because of the feelings which were comming up observing this smile as an offence not a gift. The meaning of an emotion can change in the mind of the person while sending and reciving it. Also with a pure intention emotions can be recived in different harmful ways in other persons. Compromising positiv emotions for others as destructive… This is for me very sad to observe.

  33. Glenda Bissex May 8, 2021 at 12:18 pm - Reply

    What I am taking away from these sessions, above all, is HOPE–hope for us human beings in all our ignorance and our ability to learn and change. Hope because of the great heart/minds I’ve been given the opportunity to experience over these days, and can continue to experience as I’m buying the recording. Great gratitude.

  34. Hema May 8, 2021 at 2:14 pm - Reply

    Thank you so much for this beautiful summit. What a lovely way to spend the weekend. I am so filled with hope, for myself and for the world. The highlight for me was watching the messages from His Holiness The Dalai Lama. Thank you all for putting this together, it is much appreciated.

  35. Nicole DECOURRIÈRE May 8, 2021 at 5:48 pm - Reply

    Your mind, your heart are large, full of insight and dreams in the alignment of His Holiness the Dalaï Lama ‘s wisdom and goodness. May we all act, talk and think in the light of those qualities for the benefit of ALL sentient beings and those to come. Daniel said Ignorance is a big piece to overcome, Matthieu said compassion can be the intention. Paul said feel the goodness and practice awareness. And Richie said: “WE have a DREAM” let’s start to make it come true. That can make a song! THANK YOU SO MUCH HIS HOLINESS And ALL PRESENTERS. Nicole from Nepal, Belgium and Canada.

  36. Shelly May 8, 2021 at 8:43 pm - Reply

    Passion and interest in the study of emotion is palpable in all of your discussions and discourse. Grateful to listen and be inspired especially as chaotic and difficult emotions are rampant in our new worldwide challenges. Heart warming to hear Paul describe how he physically felt goodness envelope and transform him. Beautiful and life affirming. That unspeakable goodness traverses the physical plane, and has the power to awaken the goodness already within us, is pure uplift.

  37. Luisa Castro May 8, 2021 at 10:30 pm - Reply

    You are wonderful people. Thank you very much for sharing your inspiring experiences and ideas, and for allowing us to access to some valuable knowledge.

    I wish you all the best in your future investigations. Much wisdom and compassion in this new stage of the science of emotions, which will surely show us an increasingly positive reality about human nature.

    I also believe in intergenerational well-being.

    Thank you! 🙂

  38. Natasha Nichols May 9, 2021 at 4:13 am - Reply

    Hi from Sweden…. Love this initiative and all the talks I had the time to listen to 😍❤️🙏
    Please make more talks for free in the future, and I love to share your insights about emotionsawareness and a happy humanity 😃🤗🙏
    Natasha 😊

  39. Martyna May 9, 2021 at 7:09 am - Reply

    Thank you very much for this beautiful and transformative event❤️

  40. Rodica Zimbru May 9, 2021 at 12:58 pm - Reply

    Thank you all!!!

  41. Vicki May 9, 2021 at 2:14 pm - Reply

    Thank you so much for this beautiful summit – it has been so inspiring! I love the idea of investigation the transition of compassion across generations, from Richard Davidson. Thank you.

  42. Leonor May 9, 2021 at 5:45 pm - Reply

    Thanks Eve, Richard, Paul, Daniel and Matthieu for this remarcable meeting! Was so inspiring . Paul your story about your physical experience of kindness got under my skin and brought tears to my eyes. I hope all of us, everywhere can choose the way to the constructive emotions every day and we cultivate seads of really compasion everywere. Thanks! Leonor from Argentina.

  43. claudia May 9, 2021 at 11:08 pm - Reply

    Palpable goodness, what a moving and transformative experience! Thank you so much for sharing the impact of the first meeting, for your life commitment to research and making a difference in people´s lives as well as making this summit available all over the world.

  44. Suna Altan May 10, 2021 at 5:03 am - Reply

    Thank you so much for this wonderful event and for making it available a little longer. I would love to be able to watch also the “original” destructive emotions conference but couldn’t find it online. Could you maybe post a link to it? Kind regards,

  45. Cristina Nicolet May 10, 2021 at 5:39 pm - Reply

    So much joy in listening to all of you, great minds and kind beings… thanks so much from Santiago, Chile.

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