Mark Robert Waldman is a therapist and an Associate Fellow at the Center for Spirituality and the Mind, University of Pennsylvania (www.spiritualityandthemind.org), where he currently conducts research with Andrew Newberg, MD, on the neuropsychology of beliefs, morality, compassion, and spiritual experiences. He lectures frequently at conferences, colleges, and churches on the topics of relationships, dreamwork, creativity, transpersonal psychology, and the biology of religious experience.
Click here to see Tavis Smiley's interview with Mark Waldman
which aired on PBS Television on Friday, April 10, 2009
(or go to http://www.pbs.org/kcet/tavissmiley/archive/200904/20090410.html#.
His most recent book, coauthored with Dr. Newberg, is How God Changes Your Brain: Breakthrough Findings By a Leading Neuroscientist. According to Time and Newsweek, Mark and Andy are the world's leading experts on spirituality and the brain [see, for example, the February 23, 2009 issue of Time Magazine] and in this book, they use their state-of-the art brain-scan technology and research surveys to document how different forms of spiritual practice, secular meditation, intensive prayer, and positive affirmations change the function and structure of the brain. They show how these changes improve memory, cognition, and compassion while simultaneously suppressing activity in those parts of the brain that generate stress, anxiety, depression, and anger. Their book features a dozen simple exercises that anyone can do to achieve these neurological and psychological benefits, and it only takes a few minutes a day focusing on your innermost values and 
goals. In just eight weeks, the brain-scan studies show significant improvement, and if these simple exercises are incorporated into short-term therapy (which Mark does in his counseling practice in Camarillo, California), most people will dramatically reduce their dependency on psychological counseling and anti-depressant medication. Why? Because you can then remain stress-free for many, many years.
Mark's research, along with Dr. Newberg's, has also documented how the religious climate in America has shifted toward a more optimistic and non-theological spirituality that simultaneously embraces science. This is important, because their evidence shows that focusing on negativity, or a punitive and wrathful God, can actually damage important parts of the brain. But if you focus on a compassionate value or spiritual image, such as love or peace, this will have wonderful effects on very important parts of your brain.
Mark and Andy have also developed a new form of interpersonal meditation, called Compassionate Communication, that integrates mindfulness exercises with intentional dialogue. In workshops conducted in churches and schools, they have proven that this strategy rapidly facilitates social intimacy and cooperation between any two people or groups of individuals, in less than fifteen minutes. It can be learned in a single afternoon or one-day intensive workshop, which Mark and Andy now offer schools, hospitals, mental health associations, and religious/spiritual organizations around the country. Along with a growing network of psychologists, social workers, research scientists, and religious leaders from various spiritual communities, Mark and Andy are continuing to document how these simple techniques can help resolve conflicts with couples and families. In fact, they can even be used in corporate meetings to improve sales and organizational cooperation.
Compassionate Commuincation was created from various aspects of well-tested stress-reduction, relaxation, and mindfulness strategies, and is the cornerstone of Mark's and Andy's vision to help people find a little more inner peace, and to bring that peacefulness into dialogues with others, especially those who hold opposing systems of belief. Thus we believe that a combination of neuroscience and spirituality can be used to bring a little more peace into the world. It begins with a postive idea, and if you consciously hold that vision in your frontal lobe (which is the most recently evolved part of your brain), it will change the structure of an ancient limbic brain that was originally designed to protect us from impending disasters and fears. This is why we say that anyone can use meditation, in either a religious or secular form, to actually change his or her brain.
The programs and counseling we to individuals, churches, and schools - and which we are now presenting on PBS television, radio shows, and in newpapers and magazines like Oprah and The Washington Post - can be used to train the newest and most vulnerable parts of your brain to remain neurologically calm as you develp a greater capacity for awareness and social empathy. These, we believe, are the hallmark elements of personal and global peace, and we would love to bring these programs to your organization or school. If you or your group is interested, please call 805-907-1181 or send an email markwaldman @ sbcglobal.net. For a list of topics and upcoming programs, click on the "Lectures and Workshops" tab on the
menu bar above.
Mark and Andy's previous book, Born to Believe: God, Science, and the Origin of Ordinary and Extraordinary Beliefs, (and the hardback version, Why We Believe What We Believe), focuses on how our brain generates every type of belief: personal, relational, political, and spiritual. We document how and why each human brain constructs a unique vision of reality, and why that reality colored and biased by a vast network of perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social beliefs. Thus, our brains can only grasp a limited view of the reality that actually exists "out there." This book explains why the placebo effect neurologically stimulates the brain to heal itself of virtually 25-95% of most of the physical and psychological symptoms we experience. But please don't try it to cure yourself of a bacterial infection; instead, use your doctor as a guide who can help you to exceed that placebo effect to enhance your health and your life. We look at the placebo effect as the power of optimism to heal. Religion has a word for that form of optimism: Faith. And in our newest book (How God Changes Your Brain), we share with you the hundreds of studies that have led us to say that faith, hope and optimism --i.e., the irrational belief in a positive future outcome - is the Number One best thing you can do to maintain a healthy brain. But don't take our word for it; check out the 1500 references that are included in these books, and judge for yourself if our interpretration of the research is correct. We have confidence that both skeptics and believers will come to the same conclusion we have reached: Life is good. Religion is good. Science is good. Peace is good. Compassion is good. And spiritual practices are particularly good because they strengthen the best parts of our brain that generate logic, reason, positive emotions, consciousness, and hope. As Tavis Smiley, on PBS television likes to say at the end of his show, "Keep the Faith." And faith is what we need the most: to maintain a healthy brain, a healthy relationship with others, and an optimistic vision of a conflicted world that will someday be filled with acceptance, kindness, compassion, and peace. At least, that is what Mark and Andy believe.
Counseling
Mark has an innovative counseling practice for individuals and couples, with offices in Camarillo and Woodland Hills, California. In conjunction with the law offices of Heidi Tuffias in West Los Angeles, he co-mediates marital problems and dissolutions in a conflict-free environment. Mark also specializes in family business counseling. For appointments, please call 805-907-1181. Telephone consultations are also available for those who live outside of the area.
Mark is the author of eleven books and anthologies, and his professional papers have been published throughout the world. He was the founding editor of the academic journal, Transpersonal Review, chairman of the Los Angeles Transpersonal Interest Group, regional coordinator for the Spiritual Emergence Network, and he holds a ministerial credential in pastoral counseling.
Writing and Editorial Services
For writers who are interested in publishing nonfiction books for the general public or professional audiences, Mark offers a comprehensive consulting service covering all aspects of the field: book proposal development, manuscript editing, creative writing development, and agent/publisher advice. He has served as a developmental editor to New York publishing houses and literary agents. His editorial specialities include psychology, science, religion, spirituality, and complementary medicine.
Mark Robert Waldman Counseling, Research, Workshops, Lectures, and Editorial Services
1601 Carmen Drive, Suite 203 Camarillo, California 93010
805-907-1181
markwaldman@sbcglobal.net
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How God Changes Your Brain: Breakthrough Findings by a Leading Neuroscientist by Andrew Newberg, MD and Mark Robert Waldman Ballantine Books, March 2009  Born to Believe: God, Science, and the Origin of Ordinary and Extraordinary Beliefs by Andrew Newberg and Mark Waldman (October, 2007) | Why We Believe What We Believe: Uncovering Our Biological Need for Meaning, Spirituality, and Truth by Andrew Newberg and Mark Waldman (September, 2006) |
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| . | | The Art of Staying Together: Embracing Love, Intimacy and Spirit in Relationships by Mark Waldman (February, 1998) |
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| . | | Love Games: How to Deepen Communication, Resolve Conflicts, and Discover Who Your Partner Really Is by Mark Waldman (February, 1998) |
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| The Spirit of Writing: Classic and Contemporary Essays Celebrating the Writing Life by Mark Waldman (August, 2001) |
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Dreamscaping: New Techniques for Understanding Yourself and Others by Stanley Krippner and Mark Waldman (Sept 1999) | |
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In addition the the above books, Mark has edited a series of literary anthologies, Archetypes of the Collective Unconsious: Shadow, Seeker, Lover, and Healer:
Links to Related Websites:
At the University of Pennsylvania, the Center for Spirituality and the Mind was established to develop, organize, and coordinate research, scholarship, education, and dialogue, both locally and globally, that focuses on the relationship between spirituality and the brain. The Center fills a major gap that was specifically identified by University President Amy Gutmann, and it establishes a University-wide interdisciplinary program that is highly relevent to the health-care professions, education, and society. The Center seeks to increase public and academic access to recent research in this multi-disciplinary field. By developing courses, teaching materials, lecture programs, and local and internet outreach programs, the dialogue regarding the relationship between the mind and spirituality will be available for all interested individuals. The Center also creates an interdisciplinary group of faculty throughout all of the departsments of the University.
www.spiritualityandthemind.org
For more information on spirituality, beliefs, and the brain,
visit Andrew Newberg's website at:
And don't miss the interactive slide show on the
"Book Excerpts" page (click on the icon at the top left of this page).
You'll see what happens inside your brain when you sit down
to meditate or pray.
Mark Robert Waldman Counseling, Research, Workshops, Lectures, and Editorial Services
1601 Carmen Drive, Suite 203 Camarillo, California 93010
805-907-1181
markwaldman @ sbcglobal.net