Consciousness as Lived Experience
Alongside the scientific program, TSC 2026 offers guided experiential sessions—movement, contemplative practice, and sound—inviting participants to explore consciousness directly rather than only in theory. Early-morning sessions run 7:00–8:00 am Monday through Friday, before the first presentation, and a lunchtime sound session runs Monday through Thursday. All sessions are open to every registered participant; no experience or sign-up required. See the detailed program for daily placement.
Confirmed Morning Sessions
TennisCentric 2026: An Experiential Study of Flow and Consciousness
Join us for an hour of morning tennis where the court becomes a living laboratory for exploring consciousness in action. Through instruction, drilling, and guided play, participants will experience how contemporary ideas in neuroscience and consciousness studies may illuminate skill acquisition, training, and peak performance. Players of all levels welcome. Led by Mark Valladares, USPTA Elite Professional, PTR Pro High Performance Coach, Amherst College, and TSC presenter since 2016. Monday–Friday, 7:00–7:45 am, on the resort’s tennis courts. Meet at 6:30 am in the Paradise Lobby (by Conference Registration), then walk over together or order the golf-cart service.
MAHP — Mindful Awareness Healing Practice
An interdisciplinary contemplative session created by Kai Silva (PhD, Philosophy/Metaphysics) and developed in collaboration with the UC San Diego Stein Institute for Research on Aging. MAHP integrates breathwork, gentle mindful movement, meditation, and heart-centered awareness into a single guided sequence, inviting participants to approach consciousness not through theoretical discussion but as a direct, embodied experience. Open to all experience levels — no prior yoga or meditation background required. Monday–Friday, 7:00–8:00 am, before the official program; Monday–Thursday on the Executive Lawn. Full session description (PDF).
Quest for Presence — Synchronistic Morning Sessions
These synchronistic morning sessions combine light dialogue with contemplative practice, simple qigong, and guided visualization based on participants’ aspirations and needs for integrating conference content, presence, quiet, and community. Based on Quest for Presence, we will share experiences of surface and deep time as they show up in our soulful aspirations, personality, daily life, and aesthetic and transcendental experiences. Wear comfortable clothing. Chairs are set in the round with plenty of open space in the middle for sitting; floor chairs and cushions are ideal but not expected. Co-facilitated by Joel Bennett, PhD, CWP; and Keyaunoosh Kassauei, MD. Monday–Friday, 7:00–8:00 am, Dockside Room.
Confirmed Noon Sessions
Binaural Beats — A Sound Medicine Session
An experiential sound treatment exploring how binaural beats—two slightly different frequencies presented to each ear—may entrain brainwave activity and guide listeners into relaxed, meditative, and altered states of consciousness. Participants are invited to settle in, listen, and observe the direct effects of sound on attention, mood, and awareness. Led by Elizabeth W. Krasnoff, PhD, of Sound Medicine. Monday–Thursday, 1:00–1:45 pm, in the Garden Room.
More experiential sessions to be announced.