Steven Laureys
on the Beautiful Connection between Science and Spirituality
When he was a little boy, Steven loved watching boxing with his dad, curiously observing Muhammad Ali in action.
Today, Steven Laureys is the crazy one brave enough to step up and discover the deepest secrets of the human brain. Be it scanning the brilliant minds of top athletes, world champions, astronauts or serial entrepreneurs. Be it researching near-death experiences, cognitive disorders or locked-in syndrome.
Fueled by the desire to come up with answers to the questions he had when he was a teenager, like “What is the purpose of our life on earth? Why do we think?”, Steven grew up into an insatiably curious adult who knows he doesn’t hold the absolute truth: “When I read that a certain method is the only authentic one, I go into alarm mode. I didn’t learn about neurology from one single book. Looking at different perspectives enriches the learning experience, it shields us from any form of dogmatism. A scientific mindset should not, however, overshadow our sense of spirituality.”
Steven Laureys is a neurologist, neuroscientist and author recognized worldwide as a leading researcher in human consciousness. For over 25 years, he has studied neuroplasticity, now wearing many hats such as being the Director of the GIGA Consciousness Research Unit at the University of Liège or an invited Professor at CERVO Brain research centre or Harvard Medical School.
An unconventional speaker, Steven even took his newborn on stage to deliver a speech on consciousness in babies! The TED that changed his trajectory was a chance encounter with Matthieu Ricard, the charismatic Buddhist monk who said ‘Yes, with pleasure!’ when Steven invited him to his lab in Liège to study his mind on meditation. The perfect “guinea pig” of mindfulness!
Why would a neuroscientist study the brain of a master in meditation?
Maybe because Matthieu shares his view that “our mind can be both our best friend and worst enemy”. Maybe because Steven knows that “we don’t tend to tell ourselves a story about how good life is; we just think about all our disappointments. We notice everything that’s wrong in the world, so we tend to be captured by a story of deficiency.”
His “The No-Nonsense Meditation Book” dares us to create our own relationship with meditation and encourages us to carve our unique path of brain gym exercises, a world without constraints, where nearly “everything is allowed as long as you act in full awareness.”
Read Steven Laureys’s answers for Inspirators and contemplate the world in “an open-minded and inquisitive spirit, full of wonder, awe and gratitude, because the idea that we are all here on earth as unique human beings, yet all linked to one another in this vast universe is just fascinating!”
Thank you, Steven, for being a Brain Reader!
#INSPIRATORS QUESTIONNAIRE
Name: Dr Steven Laureys
Company / Institution: CERVO Brain Research Centre, U Laval, Canada; GIGA Consciousness, U Liège; Brain-NM Clinics Antwerp & Amsterdam
Title: Professor of neurology and neuroscience, Research Director Belgian National Fund for Scientific Research
Website: www.drstevenlaureys.org
LinkedIn profile: www.linkedin.com/in/drstevenlaureys
Country of origin: Belgium
Country you currently live in: Canada
Your personal definition of Regeneration: As a neurologist and brain scientist, regeneration is for me a concept that applies to cognitive, emotional, and neuronal flexibility, emphasizing the ability to recover, adapt, and grow in the realms of thought, feeling, and brain function. It underscores the importance of renewal and growth in these domains, leading to enhanced adaptability and resilience in the face of life's challenges and changes.
Main business challenge you face: Keeping a balance between personal development (as a trustworthy husband, father and friend) and professional development (as an inspiring academic scientific mentor, medical practitioner, author, speaker, and consultant).
Main driver that keeps you going: The joy and freedom of searching!
The trait you are most proud of in yourself: Creativity, curiosity, courage (up to craziness)!
The trait you most value in others: Kindness (more needed in the competitive academic world), reliability, loyalty, honesty, empathy, flexibility, and a big sense of humour!
Passions & little things that bring you joy: Being out in nature, eating together with the family, going for a run.
The #inspirators who determined you to take the regenerative path: My five rebel children and the many inspiring rebel students… the younger generations! But also, many inspirational colleagues, the many patients (who faced severe brain damage or disease) and their incredible families.
A hint or starting point for companies or professionals that are taking the first steps in the regeneration journey: Invest in ecology, emotional value, and employee kindness, take the first small step today. Walk the talk. Reconnect to your humanity.
Most used and abused clichés in sustainability that bother you: "It's Too Late to Save the Planet", "Buy My Product and Save the World", “Sustainability is Just a Trend", “AI (or other High-Tec) is the only answer”…
An honest piece of advice for young people who lose hope: Look at the world with amazement and gratitude. “Optimism is a moral duty” (quoting Kant and Popper), "Fear is not a good advisor", “Follow your Heart”, go out, care for others (there is enough to do…), and enjoy the love!
Books that had a great impact on you: There is always something inspiring in nearly every non-fiction book or biography book I read! Most relevant to the current topic, I’m currently enjoying Deep Purpose: The Key To A Better World by Ranjay Gulati (we just met at the Consciousness- Science, Spirituality and Social Impact conference at Harvard Medical School where we both gave a keynote).
Must-reads for any regenerative professional: Read, listen, and learn from as many as possible, also from outside your field of interest, from everyone and on everything that amazes you, from scientists to CEO’s. I like to learn from history books, from the wonders of nature and the latest science and tech. And, please, don’t take it all too seriously!
Movies or Documentaries you would watch all over again: I rarely watch again – curiosity drives me to new and other discoveries… (I did see “Apollo 13” and "Forrest Gump" several times with the kids).
Blogs / Websites / Podcasts you visit frequently: News and social media (LinkedIn), but prefer to avoid screentime-neurotoxicity.
Music that makes you (and your heart) sing: The sound of the waves, trees and birds when I open my window (Spotify classical piano improvisations when I can’t open the window).
Places you travelled to that left a mark on you: Every visit somehow marks, from wild nature hikes to buzzy polluted cities, a discussion with the locals or the amazing life story of the taxi driver - special thoughts for China, India, Japan, Indonesia, Canada, USA, Peru, and so many parts of Europe – very much depending on who one travels with and unexpectedly meets…
Global Regenerative Voices you recommend us to follow: Avoid the personality cult. Check out all those you feel connected to – the more the better… especially those who combine loving kindness with high-tech, I think we need both.
Trends in Regeneration we should keep an eye on: How AI can help us – while reconnecting with our own humanity and ethics.
Best places for business networking (online or offline): All discussions one can have – hopefully not all from behind a screen...
Events we should attend: For the past decades I had the luxury that my schedule brings me to where I get invited…
Associations, business clubs, tribes you belong to – and why: Many academic and medical associations, of course (to stay updated within my fields of expertise), but also non-profit partnerships (such as Conscious Planet, Mind & Life Europe) and commercial/industrial partnerships (to do good while being paid, see website for update). I also co-founded the Mind Care International Foundation.
Reasons to feel optimistic about our future in 2030: Youth Activism, Education Access, Global Collaboration, Environmental Awareness, Advances & Innovation in Science & Technology.
Reasons to feel pessimistic about our future in 2030: I try not to put mental energy into negative thoughts. While doing the utmost possible for future generations, we might also need to accept that as a species we are not going to be here for infinity.
Regenerative Leadership qualities much needed today: Kindness, Purpose, Compassion, Courage, Cognitive and Emotional Flexibility. Reconnect to our emotional needs, those of others and the wellbeing of the planet.
The ways in which you are an Inspirator to yourself: By practising self-compassion and gratitude; introspection, goal setting and self-motivation. I strongly believe in the possibility of personal change (as translated in our brains by what is called neuronal flexibility or neuroplasticity) appreciating the learning opportunity in every new encounter, experience, challenge, success, and in every drawback, pain and failure making me richer and stronger in the pursuit of my dreams and ambitions for the bigger good.
The Inspirator you are endorsing for a future edition of the newsletter is: Helene Langevin - Director of the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health at the National Institutes of Health.
The quote that inspires you:
"Le talent, c'est d'avoir envie de faire quelque chose." / "Talent is the desire to do something." (Jacques Brel - Belgian singer and songwriter)
Your own quote that will inspire us:
Our lab’s credo:
