Metta Hour with Sharon Salzberg Ep. 241 – Zindel Segal & Norman Farb
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Jun 3, 2024 
Psychologist Zindel Segal and neuroscientist Norman Farb discuss their new book 'Better in Every Sense' with Sharon Salzberg. They explore sense foraging, the Default Mode Network, and the importance of equanimity in the Sensory Network. Topics include solving problems through sensory experiences, developing empathy, and a meditation breathing practice led by Zindel.
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Scale Contemplative Gains With Low Barrier Practices
- To reach more people, extract core contemplative elements into low-bar practices that don't require formal meditation training.
- Zindel compares this public-health approach to adding fluoride to water: small, scalable exposures can have wide impact.
Sensory Input Breaks The House Of Habit
- The Default Mode Network (House of Habit) runs self-referential predictions and can become overactive, trapping people in rumination and stagnation.
- Sensory networks bring raw, updating input that can break habitual predictions and signal that life is changing, enabling movement out of languishing.
House Of Habit Helps Goals But Hinders Emotions
- The House of Habit is valuable for planning and automating goals but fails at emotion regulation by reifying negative feelings into thought loops.
- Turning to sensation offers a different lens: the sensory signature of emotion creates space to hold feelings without conceptual concretization.