Polly Young-Eisendrath came to psychology and psychoanalytic training through the doorway of Buddhist practice, taking formal Zen vows in 1971. As a psychoanalyst and a mindfulness teacher, Polly is optimistic about the gradual emergence of a fresh view of the human mind from the dialogue between psychoanalysis and Buddhism. Along those lines, Polly directs Enlightening Conversations, a nonprofit organization that sponsors conversational conferences between esteemed psychoanalysts and Buddhists teachers in different cities in the United States.