Amishi Jha

Date: 2021-10-21 | Duration: 2h 25m

Episode Overview

Dr. Amishi Jha, neuroscientist and author of Peak Mind, joins Joe to explain how attention works in the brain and why it's the most valuable resource we have. She's spent her career studying the science of focus — how we lose it, how we rebuild it, and what 12 minutes of daily mindfulness practice can do for even the most overwhelmed mind. They discuss her eight-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program and its measurable effects on military personnel and high-stress populations, the spearfishing analogy for hyper-focused attention (when your life depends on the exact right spot), the futility of trying to listen to someone while also rehearsing your own response, and how peak performers can access and maintain the focused state that separates good from great. The conversation is practical, scientific, and genuinely mind-expanding.

About Amishi Jha

Dr. Amishi Jha is a distinguished professor of psychology at the University of Miami and the Director of Contemplative Neuroscience for the Mindfulness Research and Practice Initiative. With a keen focus on the science of attention and mindfulness, she has authored the highly acclaimed book, "Peak Mind: Find Your Focus, Own Your Attention, Invest 12 Minutes a Day," which empowers readers to enhance their cognitive abilities through mindfulness practices. Known for her groundbreaking research on how mindfulness can positively impact mental resilience and well-being, Dr. Jha combines rigorous scientific inquiry with practical techniques, making her a sought-after expert in the field. Her insights not only resonate with academics but also captivate a broader audience eager to reclaim their focus in an increasingly distracted world.

Key Moments

– Peak Mind — why attention is the most valuable resource we have
– 12 minutes of daily mindfulness that measurably improves focus
– Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction — 8-week program for military/high-stress
– Spearfishing analogy for hyper-focused peak attention
– The futility of listening while rehearsing your own response
– Peak performers and how they access focused states
0:00:00 – Peak Mind — a whole life studying how attention works
0:20:01 – She did it and screwed it up — learning the 20-minute mindfulness practice
0:37:54 – Rehearsing your response while listening — you're not actually listening
0:58:39 – Spearfishing analogy — when success or failure depends on exact focus
1:21:01 – 8 weeks of MBSR — suite of practices studied across many populations

Transcript Excerpt

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Joe Rogan Experience. Train by day, Joe Rogan Podcast by night, all day. Hello. Hello. Thanks for doing this. Absolutely. Peak mind, huh? That's right. Starting point is 00:00:18 Yeah. How long have you been working on this? My whole life. Your whole life? But the actual book, a couple years. And the idea of improving all aspects of the way the brain works, is this something that's always fascinated you? Absolutely. Yeah? Yeah. Starting point is 00:00:35 The book isn't necessarily about all aspects, but a very important one that drives a lot of other aspects, which is the brain's attention system. Yeah, that's a thing a lot of people have a problem with today, right? With phones and distractions and screens and nonsense. Yeah, but it's always been a problem. So meaning you can look back to medieval monks and they report, you know, I abandoned my family, I've devoted my life to God, Starting point is 00:01:00 and I still keep thinking about lunch when I'm supposed to be praying. So this is not only a modern problem, it's actually a human problem. Where does it come from? Is it just a natural function of having a lot of things to think about in the world if you're trying to survive? Where does what come from? Distractibility. Distraction. If you think about it, if you're a hunter-gatherer, you kind of have to multitask mentally, right? You can't just concentrate on picking these mushrooms. You also have to think, is that a sound of a branch snapping behind me? Starting point is 00:01:35 Is someone sneaking up on me? Like what's that smell? Like you have to always be aware of so many different things. It seems almost like a natural part of being a person to be distracted. Absolutely. Our brain is built for distractibility, exactly for the reasons that you said. It advantages us to be able to not just focus when we want to, but scan as we're still engaged in a task. And as I just mentioned, it's not really only a modern problem because of...

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Who was the guest on Joe Rogan Experience #1723?

Amishi Jha was the guest on JRE #1723. This page includes the episode overview, topics discussed, and related resources.

What topics were discussed on JRE #1723?

On Joe Rogan Experience #1723 with Amishi Jha, topics include Peak Mind — why attention is the most valuable resource we, 12 minutes of daily mindfulness that measurably improves, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction — 8-week program for, and Spearfishing analogy for hyper-focused peak attention.

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