The Australian Institute for Consciousness Studies has been established as a nexus for advancing interdisciplinary understanding of consciousness that combines scientific and contemplative investigatory knowledge. It is a non-sectarian organization that reaches out to the scientific and academic communities, a variety of contemplative traditions, and the general public. AICS activities focus on research and education into the nature, origins, and potentials of consciousness.
Who we are
In affiliation with the Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies, AICS was founded in January 2010 by the Australian Buddhist monk—Clarke Scott. With a strong interest in bringing the full vitality of Buddhist theory and practice to modernity—and at the request of Alan Wallace from The Santa Barbara Institute—Clarke began AICS while working on his Ph.D thesis on Buddhist philosophy at the University of Tasmania—Australia.
What we do
The aims and overall direction of the AICS closely following the Santa Barbara Institute: to bring the contemplative traditions such as Buddhism into conversation with the modern world by establishing scientific research projects on meditation and its effect on brain functioning. AICS has three main objectives:
- To establish collaborative research projects between scientists, psychologists, philosophers and contemplatives.
- To provide retreat facilities for people from around the world to learn meditation and engage in short and long term retreats.
- To create educational programs to facilitate integration of the findings from our research projects.
The AICS research projects emphasize the integration of scientific approaches to the study of consciousness with contemplative methods. By expanding the studies of consciousness to include first-person investigations, science will have access to an entirely new set of data from which to study the nature of consciousness. Thus science will, for the first time, have access from an entirely new perspective. Moreover, the AICS educational programs focus is on the cultivation of human flourishing through exceptional mental health and balance, bringing the physical and psychological benefits of training awareness to ever-broader segments of the community.
We are also in the process of securing land for retreat facilities. These facilities will provide support contemplatives as they engage in the refining their meditative practices. In return for this support, these contemplatives will undergo rigorous research into the effect and affect of meditation of the brain and nervous system.
Just like the Santa Barbara institute, the AICS’s activities focus on three inter-related fields of endeavor:
1. first-person observation of mental states
2. third-person exploration of mind/brain correlates
3. third-person study of mind/behavior correlates
Why we do it
We find ourselves on the cusp of a new era, poised for a revolution in our understanding of consciousness. As first-person modes of inquiry of the contemplative traditions are integrated with the third-person methods of modern science, new data will become available to better our collective understanding of our cognitive faculties. Both science and the contemplative traditions can only benefit from such an exchange. AICS is, therefore, dedicated to furthering such interdisciplinary and cross-cultural investigation of the nature and potentials of consciousness.
