In this episode Andrea Samadi revisits a popular interview with Dr. Dawson Church about his book Bliss Brain and the neuroscience of meditation. They explore how simple, evidence-based practices can quiet the brain's default mode, trigger blissful neurochemicals, and reshape stress and happiness networks.
Listeners learn why happiness must be trained, how meditation helps people live more in the present, and practical tips to start a daily meditation practice using guided tools like the free Bliss Brain meditations.
Welcome back...
In this episode Andrea Samadi revisits a popular interview with Dr. Dawson Church about his book Bliss Brain and the neuroscience of meditation. They explore how simple, evidence-based practices can quiet the brain's default mode, trigger blissful neurochemicals, and reshape stress and happiness networks.
Listeners learn why happiness must be trained, how meditation helps people live more in the present, and practical tips to start a daily meditation practice using guided tools like the free Bliss Brain meditations.
Welcome back to SEASON 14 of The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we connect the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning and emotional intelligence training for improved well-being, achievement, productivity and results—using what I saw as the missing link (since we weren’t taught this when we were growing up in school), the application of practical neuroscience.
I’m Andrea Samadi, and seven years ago, launched this podcast with a question I had never truly asked myself before: (and that is) If productivity and results matter to us—and they do now more than ever—how exactly are we using our brain to make them happen?
Most of us were never taught how to apply neuroscience to improve productivity, results, or well-being. About a decade ago, I became fascinated by the mind-brain-results connection—and how science can be applied to our everyday lives.
That’s why I’ve made it my mission to bring you the world’s top experts—so together, we can explore the intersection of science and social-emotional learning. We’ll break down complex ideas and turn them into practical strategies we can use every day for predictable, science-backed results.
For today’s Episode 369, we are moving forward on our journey of the mind, to our next interview review, with our goal of building off of our past reviews, and sharpening our saw for improved well-being, productivity and success in 2025 and beyond.
To review our last 3 episodes, with our interview with speaker Bob Proctor, we learned that “If we want to improve our RESULTS, we must focus on the six faculties of our mind—reason, intuition, perception, will, memory, and imagination.” “Devoting a year to developing each one would be time well invested, elevating us to greater heights and setting us apart from others.”
Next, we looked at how we need to become extremely clear with our vision of “what we really want” and keep in mind that….
Our External Environment Reflects Our Internal World
What exactly does this mean? It means that if we don’t like what’s happening in our external world—whether it’s in our job, relationships, results, or any area of our life—we must first look inward. Our circumstances mirror the beliefs and thoughts we hold within. As James Allen reminds us in As a Man Thinketh: our outer world is always a reflection of our inner state.
For today’s Episode 369, we’ll turn inward—sharpening our inner world so that we can transform the outer one.
Today we go back EP 98[i] our interview with Dr. Dawson Church, that was recorded back in December of 2020, where we looked at the science behind implementing meditation into your daily routine. This interview is currently our most watched YouTube interview with over 11K views.
This week, in our review of EP 98 with Dr. Dawson Church and his book Bliss Brain, we will explore how meditation can rewire the brain for happiness and presence.
We will learn:
✔ Since happiness didn’t evolve naturally, we must train our brain to achieve it.
✔ Our brains default to the past or future, constantly scanning for threats, instead of resting in the present moment.
✔ Extreme states of happiness are possible for all of us when we implement meditation consistently.
✔ How to commit to a daily meditation practice using the free meditations that come with Bliss Brain, or explore other guided programs until you find one that resonates with you
Just a reminder-Dr. Church is the author of the book called Bliss Brain: The Neuroscience of Remodeling Your Brain for Resilience, Creativity and Joy.[ii] He’s an award-winning science writer who blends cutting-edge neuroscience with the stories of people who’ve had firsthand experience of brain change. Neural plasticity—the discovery that the brain is capable of rewiring itself—is now widely understood. But what few people have grasped yet is how quickly this is happening, how extensive brain changes can be, and how much control each of us exerts over the process of our thinking.
It’s been almost 5 years since this interview, and it feels like yesterday to me. I remember at the time, one of my dogs was barking in the yard when the landscapers came, and I was worried it would distract our interview. It didn’t. I don’t even think Dr. Church could hear them. There were also two other things that stuck out in my head from this interview (other than the fact I was wearing glasses trying to prepare for Lasik surgery and couldn’t really see the questions) but I’ll also never forget that American entrepreneur and biohacker Dave Asprey, who’s well known for his interest in helping others achieve these elevated brain states, wrote the Foreword to his book.
I also won’t ever forget Chapter 1, of Bliss Brain, where Dr. Church shares how he and his wife lost their home and pets in the 2017 Santa Rose Fire, yet they chose to focus on gratitude and rebuilding their lives with joy. This story highlights his teaching that even trained minds struggle under pressure, but with meditation and practice, we can shift into a bliss or flow state. Church’s EcoMeditation method, (that he covers in his book) supported by science and praised by Dave Asprey in the Foreword, helps quiet the brain’s Default Mode Network[iii] and quickly releases calming, pleasurable chemicals—in as little as four minutes.
Dr. Church has a strong following, and there are many powerful testimonials at the start of his book. One we spoke about in our interview was from Toni Tombleson who wrote:
After a week of putting out a handful of mini-fires that often accompany the start of a new school year in my world, I can see why these lessons to handling both major life crises and everyday challenges, by learning to cultivate a “Bliss Brain” should remain a top priority for resilience, productivity, and well-being, for all of us.
VIDEO 1 Click Here to Watch
Which brings me to Video Clip 1 of our review. Watch video clip 1 with the link in the show notes.
Historical Context:
Dr. Church begins by reflecting on The Buddha, who over 2,000 years ago sought to relieve human suffering. He also reviews other spiritual teachers, including Plato, who grappled with the same question.
Biological Explanation:
Dr. Church emphasizes that suffering is a biological problem, a feature of how the human brain evolved. How our lives have become easier than they were 2,000 years ago. He explained to me how people are 3x as wealthy now, than they were 40 years ago. In terms of longevity, our lifespans have doubled in the last century. There are many markers like this that show us that we live in a much more secure and safe world than we used to.
Key Point: While we live in a safer environment today, than 2,000 years ago, our brains were not designed for where we are today. We are not suffering he reminded me because we are bad people, we lack will, or haven’t read enough personal growth books…
“We simply didn’t evolve to be happy because there was no survival benefit in being happy.”
Tip #1:
Since happiness didn’t evolve naturally, it’s something we must train our brain to achieve.
Practical Application:
This is the basis of his book Bliss Brain, where he explains how meditation helps us train the brain to reach a bliss or flow state.
It’s in his book that we learn how to achieve this state that will change not only our brain, (our internal state) but our outer results in our everyday lives.
In Chapter 2, he shows us why most people find it so hard to meditate. The difficulty has nothing to do with willpower or intention. It’s simply due to the design of the human brain. When you understand this clearly, you’ll be equipped to work around it.
Chapter 3 describes the ecstatic states that you can achieve in meditation. He examines the regions of the brain that you activate, and what each one does. He also lists the extensive health and cognitive benefits that you get from activating each of those regions.
In Chapter 4 you’ll hear the story of his own personal failed meditation experiences. He learned many different styles of meditation, but could never establish a consistent practice. His breakthrough came from science. When he combined seven simple evidence-based practices together, found a formula that puts people into deep states automatically and involuntarily. No effort required. When he and his colleagues hook people up to EEGs and MRIs, they find that using these seven steps, even non-meditators get into profound states in less than 4 minutes. Sometimes in less than 50 seconds. Historically, the secrets of these states have been available to only about 1% of the population. Thanks to science, they’re now available to everyone.
Chapter 5 he goes into the seven neurochemicals of ecstasy. We learn how each one is like a drug that makes you feel good. But combine all seven together, and you have a potent formula that takes your brain into bliss. Meditation is the only way you get all seven at one time. The star of the show is a neurotransmitter called anandamide, aka “the bliss molecule.” When you trigger these ecstatic states daily, they change your brain.
Chapter 6 is about the extensive brain remodeling that occurs in seasoned meditators. Stress circuits shrink, while happiness networks grow. But you don’t need to be an adept to trigger this rewiring. It begins the very first week you meditate effectively.
Chapter 7 is about post-traumatic growth, and how the brains of meditators make them resilient to the inevitable upsets of life. Medical crises and financial disasters included. It provides practical examples of how meditation can make you resilient even during global upheavals like the coronavirus panic that was happening at the time of this interview. Whatever challenges confront us, we will be well equipped to handle large and small life challenges.
If we truly want to find happiness, then we will need to rewire our brain to accomplish these states.
VIDEO 2 Click Here to Watch
Watch video clip 2 with the link in the show notes.
Question asked: “How can we learn to be more in the present moment, instead of somewhere else?”
Dr. Church’s explanation:
- The brain is hardwired to identify threats for survival.
- Today, most of us don’t face immediate threats, but the brain’s Default Mode Network (DMN) keeps scanning for danger.
- Without real threats, it replays past negative experiences (even from years ago or childhood) and projects fear into the future (“what if it happens again?”).
- This keeps us stuck in the past and future, not the present moment.
Monks & meditation:
- Monks, after years of deep meditation, trained their brains differently.
- Brain scans showed structural changes—the brain literally began to shrink in areas related to stress and overthinking.
Key Point:
Our brains are not naturally wired to live in the present moment—they default to the past or future, scanning for threats.
Tip #2:
Get serious about meditation. Example:
- Australian astrophysicist & TV journalist Graham Phillips remodeled his brain in just 8 weeks of meditation practice.
VIDEO 3 Click Here to Watch
Watch video clip 3 with the link in the show notes.
In this clip, Dr. Church explains how “meditation changes everything” and why “20 years ago, he decided to make this commitment to daily meditation” sharing how his whole world changed after this. These are noticeable changes that were behind his motivation to write this book, Bliss Brain, to show the world how they too can reach these states of extreme happiness. He told us to go back and study historical figures who were clearly in altered states of being, like the Italian Catholic Preacher, Saint Francis of Assisi, who appears in a blissed-out state as we see in a drawing, where it looks like he is communicating with God or something divine. This beautiful blissful state, that goes beyond happiness, is available to all of us.
We will cover more about the changes our brains undergo with meditation as we go back to review our interview #28 with clinical professor of psychiatry from the UCLA school of medicine, Dr. Dan Siegel[iv], on a later episode, but for now, we can conclude that we can in fact change our outside world, in a significant and powerful way, by dedicating ourselves to a daily meditation practice.
Key Point: We can ALL reach this state of extreme happiness by implementing a daily meditation practice.
Tip 3:
We can get started with our own meditation practice (if we are not currently implementing one) by using the FREE mediations that come along with the Bliss Brain Book
Or use whatever meditation program resonates with you.
REVIEW AND CONCLUSION
Episode 369 Wrap-Up:
Bliss Brain Review with Dr. Dawson Church
This week, in our review of EP 98 with Dr. Dawson Church and his book Bliss Brain, we explored how meditation can rewire the brain for happiness and presence.
Key Point from Clip 1:
Although we live in a safer world than 2,000 years ago, our brains weren’t designed for today’s environment.
“We simply didn’t evolve to be happy because there was no survival benefit in being happy.”
Tip #1:
Since happiness didn’t evolve naturally, we must train our brain to achieve it.
Key Point from Clip 2:
Our brains default to the past or future, constantly scanning for threats, instead of resting in the present moment.
Tip #2:
Commit to meditation—like astrophysicist and TV journalist Graham Phillips, who saw powerful changes after just 8 weeks of his daily practice that helped him to focus in the present moment.
Key Point from Clip 3:
Extreme states of happiness are possible for all of us when we implement meditation consistently.
Tip #3:
Start small. Use the free meditations that come with Bliss Brain, or explore other guided programs until you find one that resonates with you
I highly recommend watching the full interview with Dr. Church[v]—especially if you’ve struggled to stay consistent with your own practice. Even Dr. Church himself shares moments where he lost momentum, which is a reminder that this is a journey for all of us.
Personally, I’ve cycled through different meditation programs—starting with John Assaraf’s work, then moving on to Dr. Dan Siegel’s Wheel of Awareness, using Dr. Church’s Bliss Brain meditations, and now practicing Dr. Joe Dispenza’s chakra-focused work. The program you choose matters less than your ability to make it a consistent daily practice—that’s when the real brain changes occur.
We’ll see you next week as we continue exploring the Journey of the Mind, working on connecting practical science to improve our inner and outer world.
See you next week!
RESOURCES:
VIDEO CLIP 1 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/DkeDGwbShwU
VIDEO CLIP 2 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/a5O3eI7qKro
VIDEO CLIP 3 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Zatnfj4MPok
FREE ACCESS TO BLISS BRAIN RESOURCES, MEDITATIONS https://blissbrainbook.com/
REFERENCES:
[i]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE 98 “Dr. Dawson Church: The Science Behind Using a Meditation: Rewiring Your Brain for Happiness, Resilience, and Joy” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dr-dawson-church-on-the-science-behind-using-meditation-rewiring-your-brain-for-happiness-resilience-and-joy/
[ii] FREE ACCESS TO BLISS BRAIN RESOURCES, MEDITATIONS https://blissbrainbook.com/
[iii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE 204 “The Neuroscience of Happiness” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-the-neuroscience-of-happiness/
[iv]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE 28 with Dr. Daniel Siegel on “Mindsight: The Basis for Social and Emotional Intelligenvce” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/clinical-professor-of-psychiatry-at-the-ucla-school-of-medicine-dr-daniel-siegel-on-mindsight-the-basis-for-social-and-emotional-intelligence/
[v] YouTube Interview with Andrea Samadi and Dr. Dawson Church https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bH8yVKHjFN4
