Many people view mindfulness as an emptying of the mind, but this is not entirely true. Mindfulness encompasses the body, observing thoughts, and being situated in the world around us. In today’s episode we are joined by Dr. Bassam Khoury to explore how mindfulness and compassion work together in a dual approach to improve our overall wellbeing and our personal productivity. 

Dr. Bassam Khoury is an Associate Professor in the Department of Educational & Counselling Psychology at McGill University, and he heads the McGill Mindfulness Research Lab, where he and his team conduct research to advance the theory, research, and applications of mindfulness and compassion. Dr. Bassam Khoury has published numerous papers on mindfulness and compassion in leading journals in the fields of clinical psychology and physical and medical health. His work includes 77 journal articles and 9 book chapters - he has gained international recognition and has been cited over 8,500 times. Dr. Bassam Khoury has also been recognized with multiple awards, including the Association of Psychological Science Emerging Scholars Rising Stars Award and the William Dawson Scholars Award.

In this episode, Dr. Bassam Khoury stresses the importance of setting intentions for a mindfulness practise, and asking yourself what you want to get out of it. Is it to improve yourself, your stress, your relationships, or perhaps your interactions with others? 

Together, Sarah and Dr. Bassam Khoury discuss how meditation practices should focus on the body, not just on the mind. While observing your thoughts is important, so is connecting with your environment. Dr. Bassam Khoury’s own research also touches on compassion towards others, such as building compassion towards animals. 

Follow Dr. Bassam Khoury’s work via the following links:

McGill University: https://www.mcgill.ca/education/bassam-khoury 

Google scholar: https://scholar.google.co.th/citations?user=AFwUJWEAAAAJ&hl=th  

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