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Upekkhā: The Science of Equanimity

A 12-week journey integrating Buddhist contemplative wisdom with modern neuroscience

12
Modules
30
Hours
50+
Practices

Three Principles of Transformation

This course develops upekkhā, the capacity to remain strong and serene regardless of circumstances, through a structured integration of ancient wisdom and modern science.

I

Understanding Before Practice

Deep comprehension of why practices work increases both effectiveness and long-term commitment.

II

Body Before Mind

Physiological regulation must precede cognitive techniques. The nervous system is the foundation.

III

Practice Before Theory

Each session includes experiential components. Knowledge becomes wisdom through direct experience.

12 Modules of Mastery

Each module builds upon the previous, creating a comprehensive framework for developing equanimity.

Part I

Foundations

Understanding consciousness, self, and emotional experience
01

Consciousness and the Nature of Experience

Understanding what consciousness is and how experience arises

Learning Objectives
  • Understand consciousness as the witness of experience, not the generator
  • Distinguish between what arises in consciousness and consciousness itself
  • Experience the difference between narrative and experiential awareness
  • Recognize the constructed nature of experience
Core Concepts
  • The Two Arrows teaching (Sallatha Sutta)
  • Consciousness as the torch illuminating experience
  • Joseph LeDoux's hierarchy: biological → neurological → cognitive → conscious NYU
  • The observer and the observed
  • Impermanence of mental states
  • Vedanā (feeling tones): pleasant, unpleasant, neutral
Practice Components
  • Basic breath awareness meditation (15 min)
  • "Noticing the noticer" exercise
  • Feeling tone recognition practice
Discussion Questions
  • What is the difference between pain and suffering?
  • Can you recall a time when your reaction to a situation was worse than the situation itself?
  • What does it mean that consciousness "witnesses" but doesn't "generate"?
02

The Constructed Self

Understanding how the self is built and how this creates suffering

Learning Objectives
  • Understand the self as process, not thing
  • Recognize the Default Mode Network and its role in self-construction
  • Experience multiple selves across contexts
  • Begin loosening identification with the self-story
Core Concepts
  • The narrative self vs core self (Damasio)
  • Default Mode Network and self-referential processing Marcus Raichle
  • Thomas Metzinger's phenomenal self-model
  • Multiple selves across contexts (William James)
  • Anattā (non-self) teaching
  • Self under stress: simplification vs rigidification
Practice Components
  • Meditation on "Who am I?"
  • Observing the self-narrator
  • Defusion exercise: "I am having the thought that…"
Part II

The Stress Response

The neuroscience of stress and why we react
03

The Evolution of Emotions

Why we feel what we feel and how emotions serve survival

Core Concepts
  • Emotions as action organizers, not irrational noise
  • Panksepp's seven systems: SEEKING, RAGE, FEAR, GRIEF, LUST, CARE, PLAY
  • Lisa Feldman Barrett's constructed emotion theory Research
  • Subcortical origin of emotions
  • Somatic markers and decision-making (Damasio)
  • Why body work comes first
Practice Components
  • Body mapping of emotions
  • Tracking emotional signatures in the body
  • Breath awareness during simulated emotional activation
04

The Neurology of Stress

Understanding the brain's threat detection and response systems

Core Concepts
  • Amygdala: the alarm system (low road vs high road)
  • Timing: amygdala 12-25ms vs prefrontal 500-800ms
  • Hippocampus: context and memory, vulnerable to cortisol Sapolsky
  • Prefrontal cortex: the conductor that goes offline under stress
  • Default Mode Network as rumination generator
  • Neuroplasticity: the elastic brain
Practice Components
  • Timeline of a hijack demonstration
  • Identifying personal hijack patterns
  • "Interrupt the cascade" breathing technique
Part III

The Diagnostic

Schemas, defense mechanisms, and memory
05

The Autonomic Nervous System

The three states and how to shift between them

Core Concepts
  • Sympathetic (fight-flight) vs parasympathetic (rest-digest)
  • Three states: immobilization, mobilization, social engagement
  • Stephen Porges and polyvagal theory Indiana
  • The vagus nerve and vagal tone
  • Heart rate variability as biomarker
  • Neuroception: unconscious safety/threat detection
Practice Components
  • Recognizing your current autonomic state
  • Vagal toning exercises
  • Introduction to resonance frequency breathing
06

Schemas, Defenses, and Memory

Understanding the mental structures that shape perception

Core Concepts
  • Schemas as mental filters (Jeffrey Young's schema therapy)
  • The four mechanisms of schema maintenance
  • George Vaillant's hierarchy of defenses
  • Emotional memory and the amygdala
  • Fear conditioning and why fears persist
  • Memory reconsolidation (Karim Nader's research) Research
Part IV

The Toolkit

Practical interventions for lasting transformation
07

The Foundation: Nutrition and Sleep

The physiological prerequisites for emotional regulation

Core Concepts
  • Blood sugar volatility and "anxiety"
  • Protein and neurotransmitter synthesis
  • Gut microbiome and mental health
  • Inflammation and emotional regulation
  • Sleep architecture: deep sleep and REM Matthew Walker
  • What sleep deprivation does to emotional regulation
08

Exercise and Breathing

Using the body to change the mind

Core Concepts
  • Exercise as stress hormone depletion
  • BDNF and neuroplasticity
  • VO2 max and stress resilience
  • Zone 2 training and intervals
  • Finding your resonance frequency Paul Lehrer
  • CO2 tolerance and the Bohr effect
  • Nasal breathing benefits
Practice Components
  • Finding your resonance frequency
  • Box breathing
  • Physiological sigh technique
  • Extended exhale for acute calming
09

Somatic Awareness and Meditation

Developing interoception and training attention

Core Concepts
  • Interoception as the foundation of emotional awareness
  • Body scanning practice
  • Brain changes from meditation Sara Lazar, Harvard
  • Different meditation styles and their effects
  • From altered states to altered traits
Practice Components
  • Full body scan (30 min)
  • Emotion mapping in the body
  • Seated meditation instruction
  • Walking meditation
10

Nervous System Regulation

Practical protocols for real-life application

Core Concepts
  • Cold exposure as autonomic training
  • The six principles of working with hijacks
  • Creating personal triggers (Pavlovian conditioning for calm)
  • The RAIN protocol (Tara Brach)
  • Affect labeling research
  • Cognitive reappraisal Kevin Ochsner
Part V

Integration and Beyond

Applying equanimity to life, purpose, and ānanda
11

The Nature of Upekkhā

Understanding equanimity and personalizing your path

Core Concepts
  • Upekkhā defined: not indifference, suppression, passivity, or bypassing
  • The three layers: physiological, psychological, spiritual
  • Temperament differences (high-reactive vs low-reactive)
  • Trauma-sensitive modifications van der Kolk
  • Attachment styles and practice
  • Creating personal protocol
12

Integration, Purpose, and Ānanda

From practice to life, and the joy beyond equanimity

Core Concepts
  • Ānanda: the joy beyond equanimity
  • From absence to presence
  • Purpose as mastery of mind, body, and time
  • The four pillars: self, family, work, society
  • Sankalp: solemn intention
  • Connection and social baseline theory James Coan
  • The never-ending path
Final Reflection
  • Once you're calm, then what?
  • What do you have agency over?
  • What is the purpose of your life?

Recommended Reading

Essential texts that complement and deepen your understanding of the course material.

Primary Text

  • Upekkhā: Your Purpose in Life

Neuroscience

  • Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers — Robert Sapolsky
  • The Body Keeps the Score — Bessel van der Kolk
  • How Emotions Are Made — Lisa Feldman Barrett

Practice

  • Altered Traits — Davidson & Goleman
  • Why We Sleep — Matthew Walker
  • Radical Acceptance — Tara Brach