Richard Davidson, Ph.D., was posed an interesting question and subsequent challenge by the revered Dalai Lama when he made the observation that our Western culture put all of energy on studying imbalances of the mind like alzheimers, depression and anxiety instead of studying the componenets of a healthy mind and trying to mimic those characteristics.

And thats exactly the work that’s being done at the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin under the direction of Dr. Davidson. The mission statement of the Center is “to scientifically determine how healthy qualities of the mind develop and to investigate interventions to cultivate those qualities in children and adults.”

This is exactly the perspective we have to take if we are going to cure depression and anxiety.

Kudos to Dr. Richardson and the Dalai Lama.

In May 2010, the Dalai Lama traveled to Wisconsin for the grand opening of the Waisman Center at the University of Wisconsin, where some of Dr. Davidson’s research will be conducted. Dr. Davidson had been inspired by his holiness the Dalai Lama many years ago when the Dalai Lama posed an interesting question of him. The Dalai Lama had noticed that our Western culture put a lot of emphasis on studying diseases of the mind, like anxiety and depression. The Dalai Lama asked Dr. Davidson what does our Western science say about a healthy mind, and what are the characteristics of a person with a healthy mind. Dr. Davidson didn’t have an answer.