If you’ve got a Netflix account, you can watch an acclaimed documentary about brain research at UW-Madison for free. Free The Mind, a film by Danish filmmaker Phie Ambo, looks at the groundbreaking research that world-renowned neuroscientist Richard J. Davidson is doing on the beneficial effects of long-term meditation at the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds. The film, which played at Sundance Cinemas in Madison in 2013, is now streaming on Netflix Instant. It looks at the effects of meditation on several people, including a preschooler with rage issues and two veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. “The brain is the organ that’s built to change in response to experience,” Davidson says. “We can shape our brains in ways which are more beneficial, increase happiness and well-being, and also promote pro-social behaviour.” Davidson is also featured in November’s Scientific American. He writes about the benefits of contemplative practices.
