Benson, Herbert: - Herbert Benson, MD, is the Mind Body Medical Institute Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School. He is the author of the mega-bestselling book, The Relaxation Response, as well as ten other trade books. His groundbreaking work established the modern field of mind body medicine. Dr. Benson is the Director Emeritus of the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Thurman, Robert: - Robert Thurman is the Jey Tsong Khapa Professor Emeritus of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at Columbia University. After his education at Philips Exeter and Harvard, he studied Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism for fifty years as a personal student of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. He has written both scholarly and popular books, and has lectured widely all over the world. As president of the American Institute of Buddhist Studies, he convened the first "inner science" conference with His Holiness the Dalai Lama at Amherst College in 1984. He is also founding trustee and president of Tibet House US, and co-founder of Tibet House's Menla retreat center in the Catskills. Recipient of the president of India's Padma Shri award, he has dedicated his recent efforts to translate into English the unique Tibetan treasures of ancient Indic scientific and spiritual resources in order to heighten the scholarly and general awareness of India's ancient Sanskrit Buddhist heritage.

Dalai Lama: - His Holiness the Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people, a Nobel Peace Prize recipient, and a beacon of inspiration for Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike. He has persistently reached out across religious and political lines and has engaged in dialogue with scientists in his mission to advance peace and understanding in the world. In doing so, he embodies his motto, "My religion is kindness."

Gardner, Howard: - Howard Gardner is the John H. and Elisabeth A. Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Senior Director of Harvard Project Zero. Among numerous honors, Gardner received a MacArthur Prize Fellowship in 1981. In 2005 and again in 2008, he was selected by Foreign Policy and The American Prospect magazines as one of the 100 most influential public intellectuals in the world. Most recently, Gardner received the 2011 Prince of Asturias Award for Social Sciences. The author of twenty-eight books translated into thirty-two languages, and several hundred articles, Gardner is best known in educational circles for his theory of multiple intelligences, a critique of the notion that there exists but a single human intelligence that can be adequately assessed by standard psychometric instruments.

Goleman, Daniel: - Daniel Goleman is the bestselling author of several books, including Emotional Intelligence, Focus, and Optimal. He was a science journalist for The New York Times, received the American Psychological Association's Lifetime Achievement Award, and was honored by Harvard for his contributions to education, business, and society. He lives near New York City. Find out more at DanielGoleman.info.