Miguel Farias
Writer, Speaker, Teacher
My writing, research, and teaching explore two central questions: what is the self, and how can it be transformed? These questions have led me to study the many forms of belief and meditation experiences across cultures, the effects of rituals, and indigenous ways of knowing.
Projects and Research
Projects
I have worked on various projects exploring meditation, rituals, and belief. From testing heart-centred meditation practices to learning about Indigenous knowledge from the Amazon, I investigate what is there in the ‘limitless depth of the human soul’ (Heraclitus, fragment 232)
Publications
My research explores the science of spiritual exercises and belief, from meditation techniques to rituals, including atheism and modern spirituality. Drawing on a variety of methods, from field experiments to cognitive neuroscience and ethnography, I investigate how beliefs shape experience and how meditation and rituals can affect or deeply change the self.
Music
I have the great fortune of collaborating with very talented musicians and composers, and I have written various songs over the years.
Books
Speaking and Mentoring
I speak regularly across the world at many venues, from Science Festivals, pubs, and business companies to Buddhist monasteries.
I also offer individual mentorship session focused on matters associated with meditation practice and its existential goals, and I lead a 10-week course on the Science and Art of Meditation at Oxford University.
Media
