MindfulNEXT: The "Why" of Worry and How to Fix It

NOTE: This is an IN-PERSON ONLY event.

The Mindfulness field is continually evolving with new research and types of practices being studied.

MindfulNEXT examines the latest research in the field, taking attendees through both the science and techniques, while also discussing what these new findings might mean for both researchers and mindfulness practitioners.

This year, our topic is Worry.

Trouble concentrating? Forgetting whether you ate lunch?

This year mindfulness researcher Dr. Julie Brefczynski-Lewis will discuss new findings about “worry” and research related to mindfulness’ effects on worry and anxiety, including the brain mechanisms of these processes.

Find out how the brain has two distinct systems – one for fear of a present danger and one for assessing (and worrying about!) a potential threat.

The latter, worry, sets up a "threat simulation system" that hijacks the brain’s attention and working memory systems, often to the exclusion of other needed tasks. Research has shown that these processes are all about our concept of self, which meditation practice knows a thing or two about.

We’re sure to have an interesting discussion as well as guided versions of practical exercises that can center your mental stability and help free up your brain for creative approaches to life’s troubles (worry is expensive to the brain, mindfulness meditation reduces brain drain).

Dr. Julie Brefczynski-Lewis will describe her own research at the University of West Virginia as well as teach exercises now being studied as the "next frontier" in Mindfulness research.

TICKETS for this COSI Science Festival event will be available starting Thursday March 27 through 7PM on Thursday May 4. Tickets are free!

ABOUT DR. JULIE: Dr. Julie Brefczynski-Lewis is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Neuroscience at West Virginia University. She received her PhD in Cell Biology, Neurobiology, and Anatomy from the Medical College of Wisconsin. Brefczynski-Lewis has been practicing mindfulness for more than 20 years and researching its effects for the past decade.

ABOUT LAMA KATHY: A student of buddhism since meeting Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche in 1977, Lama Kathy participated in the first 3-Year Retreat conducted by Khenpo Rinpoche in the United States. Since graduating from retreat in 1996, Lama Kathy has served as the Resident Teacher of the Columbus KTC.