In this episode, Niall speaks with Liam McClintock, a Yale graduate, former Buddhist monk, and founder of FitMind, a meditation training platform that helps people move beyond stress reduction into deeper states of awareness and well-being.
After leaving a career in finance, Liam spent three years training in monasteries across Asia, studying under Bhante Vimalaramsi and learning advanced meditation practices, including jhana states and forgiveness meditation. He recently published his first book, “FitMind”, which brings together neuroscience and contemplative practice in practical tools for everyday life.
In this conversation, they explore:
— Why happiness supports meditation, not the other way around
— How predictive processing theory helps explain why meditation reduces suffering
— The neuroscience of jhana states and their role in reshaping the mind
— A forgiveness practice for letting go of emotional baggage
— The four-step framework for training attention: recognize, release, relish, and remain
You can learn more about Liam’s work at https://fitmind.org.
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Liam is the founder of FitMind, a mental fitness training platform that provides evidence-based programmes for individuals and organisations, including Uber. After studying history at Yale University and briefly working in finance, he left his career in 2018 to become a certified yoga and meditation teacher in Bali. His interest in the mind grew from a childhood diagnosis of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), leading him to explore psychology, lucid dreaming, and a wide range of contemplative traditions. His training has included Theravada Buddhism in India, Sri Lanka, and Malaysia; Indigenous shamanism in Peru and Mexico; Boabom, an ancient Tibetan martial art, in Chile; Hatha and Ashtanga Yoga in Indonesia and Nepal; Tibetan Buddhist practices in Bhutan; and Dzogchen, Mahamudra, Qi Gong, and other contemplative disciplines in the United States. Liam later completed a Master of Science in Applied Neuroscience at King’s College London, where his dissertation examined the neural correlates of advanced nondual meditation.
Liam has since become a Buddhist monk to deepen his meditation practice and has participated in consciousness research at Harvard University. He has also advised on advanced meditation training for Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. Drawing on both scientific research and first-hand contemplative experience, Liam’s work bridges neuroscience and ancient wisdom traditions to help people cultivate greater mental fitness, resilience, and wellbeing. He believes that making mental fitness an accessible and enjoyable part of everyday life has the potential to improve both individual lives and society as a whole.
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Timestamps:
00:00 – Intro
02:20 – From Finance to Meditation
08:36 – Becoming a Buddhist Monk
12:08 – How Practice Changes You
15:06 – Rethinking Success and Purpose
18:02 – The Practice of Smiling
21:13 – Predictive Processing Explained
28:02 – How Meditation Rewires the Brain
32:25 – Is the Brain a Filter for Consciousness?
34:03 – How the Brain Builds Reality
36:40 – Upgrading Your Mind
37:54 – What the Harvard Research Found
42:10 – The Four R’s of Transformation
47:06 – Healing Through Grief and Forgiveness
53:17 – Learning to Let Go
58:10 – Daily Practices for Transformation
01:01:43 – The Future of Deep Meditation
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Interview Links:
— Liam’s website: https://fitmind.org
— Liam’s book: https://amzn.to/3RJGOum
— Fitmind Courses: https://fitmind.org/module
— Fitmind Podcast: https://fitmind.org/learn
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