Advertise on podcast: Adventures in Awareness

Ravi S. Kudesia, PhD, is a professor whose research integrates contemplative science and organization theory and who works to preserve indigenous systems of meditative practice from the Indian subcontinent.Bernardo Kastrup & Sthaneshwar Timalsina in dialogue 14th July, join live here: https://dandelion.events/e/g71v4To join future events, newsletter and access ad-free event recordings go to: https://adventuresinawareness.comYour contributions support future content, and are greatly appreciated:- https://adventuresinawareness.com/membership- One-off PayPal donations: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/adventuresin Follow the Adventure:- Subscribe to us on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@adventuresinawareness- Twitter: https://x.com/AdvInAwareness- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adventuresinawareness- iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/adventures-in-awareness/id1535917754- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2jiebSpdVu9YbpLOtWlKYU Banner art by https://www.instagram.com/jadewade/ 0:00:00 Addressing crisis of attention and materialism0:05:00 Reality is not a problem to escape 0:07:10 Freedom from suffering or freedom to fully live 0:11:50 Is kashmir shaivism based on reason or faith? 0:12:30 rational buddhism is a reaction to colonialism 0;15:50 history of realisation techniques 0:16:20 Kali is terrifying deity of time0:18:30 power of ritual and mantra0:20:50 philosophy articulates insights from ritual0:29:00 What is truth & realisation in kashmiri shaivism? 0:34:10 Sthaneshwar Timalsina unique authenticity 0:35:30 Nepal retained the lineage0:39:30 Tantra philosophy lineage in Kashi0:45:30 Value in comparing traditions0:47:20 Bernardo Kastrup on manifestation and time0:51:30 Is consciousness inherently dynamic & self-aware?0:58:30 what neo-advaita gets wrong0:59:30 Practising with desire 1:03:30 The powers of shiva and kali (consciousness & time)1:05:30 Recognising yourself as shiva with the same powers1:07:30 The world is your body1:10:30 Enlightenment in shaivism vs buddhism vs advaita1:15:30 Don’t misinterpret the dream1:17:30 Compassion follows naturally1:18:30 Bernardo Kastrup | Sthaneshwar Timalsina 14th July This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit adventuresinawareness.substack.com

The physics of a living universe - with Oxford trained Jude Currivan PhD MSc Dr Jude Currivan, (PhD MSc CMA), is a cosmologist, planetary healer, futurist, and author. She has an master's in physics from Oxford, a PhD in archaeology, and senior business experience ranging from the UK Stock Exchange to international corporations including HMV and Scholl. Based on research in multiple fields, she contends that the universe is a finite, has purpose, and you're part of it! A thought emerging from eternity, and holographic such that there are patterns guiding both the planets, the atoms and our lives, the microcosms of the wider mind. She will be joining Bernardo Kastrup in conversation which you can join live here: https://www.withrealityinmind.com/entropy-and-purpose/ Or as a one-off event here: https://dandelion.events/e/u3tc6 The discussion paper mentioned can be found here: The Unitive Science of a Living Universe https://www.clubofrome.org/publication/the-unitive-science-of-a-living-universe/ also published by the World Academy of Arts and Sciences: https://worldacademy.org/the-unitive-science-of-a-living-universe/ and UNESCO: https://bridges.earth/news/post/fifth-elements-discussion-paper-series-unitive-science-living-universe To join future events, newsletter and access ad-free event recordings go to: https://adventuresinawareness.com Your contributions support future content, and are greatly appreciated:- https://adventuresinawareness.com/membership- One-off PayPal donations: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/adventuresin Follow the Adventure:- Subscribe to us on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@adventuresinawareness- Twitter: https://x.com/AdvInAwareness- iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/adventures-in-awareness/id1535917754 - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2jiebSpdVu9YbpLOtWlKYU - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adventuresinawareness 00:00 Jude's recent work with Iain McGilchrist 02:16 What links your diverse studies and work? 03:56 The moral implications of emerging physics 06:27 How materialists distorted Darwin 08:55 How random mutations have been debunked 09:45 Confirmation from Michael Levin's work 12:36 The scientific revolution recognised by the Club of Rome 14:12 What is your personal experience of non-duality? 18:00 Why Jude always speaks her truth 20:00 Heartbreak leads to heart opening 24:20 What’s the evidence for a living universe? 30:20 Do the laws of thermodynamics indicate an evolving universe? 36:50 Entropy is the story increased complexity, not chaos 48:00 Is the universe coming to an end? 52:43 The universe as a thought emerging from eternity 1:02:48 Interdependence as the key for global and local relations 1:05:59 Communication with other realms? 1:10:22 NO evidence for infinites in physics 1:14:00 Take love seriously This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit adventuresinawareness.substack.com

Delson Armstrong is a meditation teacher and author of A Mind Without Craving, known for his detailed experiential knowledge of advanced meditation states, including jhāna, samādhi, cessation, and TWIM practice. His knowledge spans early Buddhist meditation, Kriya Yoga, and contemporary conversations in contemplative science, where advanced absorption states are increasingly being studied through phenomenology and neuroimaging. In this conversation, Delson brings a rare depth of first-person insight into meditation and awakening in the context of modern life. He also contributes his views on the debate between idealism and emptiness. Is consciousness primary, as is posited by Advaita Vedanta and similar non-dual traditions, or is it empty of inherent existence, just like everything else, dependent on causes and conditions, as argued by some Buddhist schools. https://www.delsonarmstrong.com/events The cessation meditation mentioned: https://youtu.be/P2kHWJd2jX4?si=Xl6GbzSnAU8HiCyF To join future events, newsletter and access ad-free event recordings go to:https://adventuresinawareness.com Your contributions support future content, and are greatly appreciated:- https://adventuresinawareness.com/membership- One-off PayPal donations: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/adventuresin Follow the Adventure:- Subscribe to us on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@adventuresinawareness- Twitter: https://x.com/AdvInAwareness- iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/adventures-in-awareness/id1535917754 - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2jiebSpdVu9YbpLOtWlKYU - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adventuresinawareness Banner art by https://www.instagram.com/jadewade/ 0:05:00 Dogma and tradition0:09:40 awakening0:10:00 questioning tradition 0:14:20 Rob Burbea0:17:30 the path is individual0:21:30 emotions & awakening0:25:00 Delson’s path0:38:00 idealism vs emptiness0:58:00 cessation vs anaesthesia vs nirvana1:05:00 cessation vs jhanas vs wisdom1:10:00 no-self = no agency? 1:15:00 is self needed for motivation1:21:00 permanent realisation?1:27:00 spiritual bypassing in early buddhism1:30:00 the future of dharma This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit adventuresinawareness.substack.com

To join future events, newsletter and access ad-free event recordings go to:https://adventuresinawareness.comDr Sarah Stein Lubrano https://www.sarahsteinlubrano.com/https://sarahsteinlubrano.substack.com/https://www.instagram.com/sarahsteinlubrano Sarah has a background in feminist, mutual aid, and other local organising as well as teaching in prisons. She holds a PhD from the University of Oxford and a Master’s degree from the University of Cambridge. Her thinking often reaches the public through the Sense and Solidarity Initiative and the Future Narratives Lab. She was previously the Head of Content at The School of Life and wrote obituaries. She regularly appears on public radio and a variety of podcasts. Her first book is, Don’t Talk About Politics: Changing 21st Century Minds is out now with Bloomsbury. Your contributions support future content, and are greatly appreciated: - https://adventuresinawareness.com/membership - One-off PayPal donations: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/adventuresin Follow the Adventure:- Subscribe to us on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@adventuresinawareness - Twitter: https://x.com/AdvInAwareness - iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/adventures-in-awareness/id1535917754 - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2jiebSpdVu9YbpLOtWlKYU - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adventuresinawareness Banner art by https://www.instagram.com/jadewade /0:00:00 Sarah PhD & academic background 0:03:30 Identity and politic views 0:04:00 why facts don’t change minds 0:08:30 friendships change minds 0:09:40 experiences change minds 0:11:00 the problem of social isolation 0:15:20 enemies of social infrastructure 0:17:00 towards a healthy democracy 0:18:00 the contradiction of liberalism = individuality 0:22:00 shared activity reduces prejudice 0:25:44 technology & women’s rights 0:31:00 developing new language for new rights 0:32:00 how we rationalise being forced 0:39:00 predictive processing & politics 0:44:00 Isolation restrict our ability to think 0:47:00 the internet increases isolation 0:49:00 shared goals is fundamental to shared reasoning 0:53:00 democracy must involve thinking in action 0:55:00 dangers of social isolation This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit adventuresinawareness.substack.com

The Serpent, the Eagle, the Labyrinth and the Dragon I get story-teller Andreas Kornevall to draw out how the images of Norse Mythology can guide the big moments of our lives, from depression to transcendence and beyond. I love how he breathes fresh life into familiar stories, integrating their wisdom with contemporary life, Buddhist dharma and nondual understanding. Northern European mythology is rich with symbolism and wisdom to navigate the journeys of life; the journey of soul represented by the serpent, confronting life’s shadows, upheavals, challenges and wounds, and the spirit journey, represented by the eagle, in which we find transcendence, and their eventual integration. Andreas Kornevall is a Swedish author, storyteller and ecologist whose work brings Norse myth, folklore and landscape-based storytelling into contemporary life. He has told stories for BBC radio, collaborated with organisations including the Sussex Archaeological Society and the National Trust to “re-story” local places, and has lectured on myth and Norse traditions across UK learning settings. He directs the Earth Restoration Service charity and is the author of Waking the Dragons: Norse Myth, Runes and Magic.https://www.kornevall.com/Eagle, Serpent, Spirit, Soul: Life’s journey in Norse mythology0:00:00 The Serpent & Eagle Journeys 0:12:00 The Dragon: Symbol of balance and integration0:18:30 The Labyrinth: Navigating life’s initiations0:20:00 Wounding0:28:00 Learning from grief, depression, & love 0:36:00 You are never lost in the labyrinth 0:40:00 Power of symbols0:42:00 Meditation, shadow & integration 0:46:00 The mythic images constantly re-enliven0:50:00 Why religions change0:58:00 Buddhism, Nonduality & Norse myth1:06:00 Course in Norse mythology1:19:24 Labyrinth vs Maze1:20:00 Departing prayer This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit adventuresinawareness.substack.com

Dr Shamil Chandaria is a senior research fellow at the centre for Eudaimonia and Human Flourishing, University of Oxford. He is also a research fellow at the Institute of Philosophy, London University, where he focuses on philosophical issues in neuroscience and well-being; a research fellow at Imperial College in the neuroscience of psychedelics; and a bye-fellow at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge University. He has multi-disciplinary research interests spanning computational neuroscience, machine learning & artificial intelligence, and the philosophy and science of human well-being. He is currently working on computational theories of consciousness and meditation. Shamil has been a meditator for 38 years and has contemplative training in early Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism, Advaita Vedanta and Kashmir Shivaism.To join future events, newsletter and access ad-free event recordings go to:https://adventuresinawareness.comYour contributions support future content, and are greatly appreciated:- https://adventuresinawareness.com/membership- One-off PayPal donations: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/adventuresin Follow the Adventure:- Subscribe to us on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@adventuresinawareness- Twitter: https://x.com/AdvInAwareness- iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/adventures-in-awareness/id1535917754 - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2jiebSpdVu9YbpLOtWlKYU - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adventuresinawarenessBanner art by https://www.instagram.com/jadewade/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit adventuresinawareness.substack.com

To join future events, newsletter and access ad-free event recordings go to:https://adventuresinawareness.comYour contributions support future content, and are greatly appreciated:- https://adventuresinawareness.com/membership- One-off PayPal donations: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/adventuresin Follow the Adventure:- Subscribe to us on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@adventuresinawareness- Twitter: https://x.com/AdvInAwareness- iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/adventures-in-awareness/id1535917754 - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2jiebSpdVu9YbpLOtWlKYU - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adventuresinawarenessBanner art by https://www.instagram.com/jadewade/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit adventuresinawareness.substack.com

Workshop with Andrew Holecek 4th Sep: https://dandelion.events/e/w0dr9 Full discussion here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcUOXFASQm4 To join future events, newsletter and access ad-free event recordings go to:https://adventuresinawareness.com Your contributions support future content, and are greatly appreciated:- https://adventuresinawareness.com/membership- One-off PayPal donations: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/adventuresin Follow the Adventure:- Subscribe to us on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@adventuresinawareness- Twitter: https://x.com/AdvInAwareness- iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/adventures-in-awareness/id1535917754 - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2jiebSpdVu9YbpLOtWlKYU - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adventuresinawarenessBanner art by https://www.instagram.com/jadewade/ 0:00:00 Blindspots of highers states Jhanas | cessation 0:10:00 Enlightenment is expansion 0:14:00 Questioning awakening 0:15:00 the goal posts are always moving 0:18:00 How to stay open and focus0:26:00 abiding in the light 0:31:00 dealing with pain 0:39:00 suffering = pain + resistance 0:49:00 total equanimity in pain 0:50:00 plans for workshop on luminous awareness 0:55:00 idealism vs emptiness 1:07:00 one vs none 1:10:00 cessation vs idealismaduality vs nonduality Jay Garfield vs Bernardo Kastrup This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit adventuresinawareness.substack.com

Workshop with Andrew Holecek 4th Sep: https://dandelion.events/e/w0dr9To join future events, newsletter and access ad-free event recordings go to:https://adventuresinawareness.comYour contributions support future content, and are greatly appreciated:- https://adventuresinawareness.com/membership- One-off PayPal donations: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/adventuresin Follow the Adventure:- Subscribe to us on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@adventuresinawareness- Twitter: https://x.com/AdvInAwareness- iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/adventures-in-awareness/id1535917754 - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2jiebSpdVu9YbpLOtWlKYU - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adventuresinawarenessBanner art by https://www.instagram.com/jadewade/00:00 Intro6:40 Schools of Tibetan Buddhism10:00 Buddhism as a description of reality10:40 3 Turnings of the wheels in Buddhism14:00 Pixilated nature of reality = reduce suffering17:40 Andrew’s path into Tibetan Buddhism23:20 The value of understanding before realisation31:00 Three Year Retreat35:00 Lucid dreaming and sleeping38:40 Are the best teachers in the east? 46:00 Blindspots in the east48:00 What is the goal of life? Waking / Play55:00 Path of freedom vs Path of fullness56:00 Limitation of radical nonduality 58:00 Transcend and include59:00 You both need therapy1:01:00 Scandals and abuse in spirituality This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit adventuresinawareness.substack.com

A conversation with Dr  Ruben Laukkonen—cognitive scientist, neuroscientist and meditator —exploring the cutting edge of contemplative science and the mysterious experience of consciousness coming to a complete stop - cessation. - https://rubenlaukkonen.com/To join future events, newsletter and access ad-free event recordings go to:https://adventuresinawareness.com/Ruben completed an award-winning PhD on the cognitive science of insight at The University of Queensland in 2019, followed by post-doctoral research at the Vrije Universiteit of Amsterdam on the computational neuroscience of meditation. Ruben is now a Senior Lecturer at Southern Cross University where his lab uncovers empirically grounded and experientially authentic models of meditation, insight, psychedelics, and consciousness. Using a combination of methods including neuroimaging, machine learning, and phenomenology, his team is investigating some of the rarest states of consciousness available to human beings- https://adventuresinawareness.com/membership- One-off PayPal donations: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/adventuresin- https://adventuresinawareness.com- Subscribe to us on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@adventuresinawareness- Twitter: https://x.com/AdvInAwareness- iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/adventures-in-awareness/id1535917754- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2jiebSpdVu9YbpLOtWlKYU- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adventuresinawareness00:00:00 Introduction00:04:54 What Makes Meditative Cessation Unique?Defines how intentional cessation differs from sleep, anesthesia, or trauma.00:10:52 From Mindfulness to Advanced States: A New Wave of ResearchIntroduces a shift in meditation science toward rare and transformative states.00:21:08 EEG Findings: What Happens in the Brain During Cessation?Reveals broad changes in brain activity linked to deep meditative absorption.00:41:09 Computational Reset: - reduce grasping by resetting deep mental patterns.00:44:08 Have You Personally Experienced Cessation?00:45:55 How Science Informs Meditation (and Vice Versa)00:47:04 Predictive Processing and the Present Moment00:48:33 Understanding the Four Selves in Meditation00:49:39 Science vs. Philosophy: Are They Really Separate?00:51:00 Why All Maps Are Just Maps00:52:23 Meditation, Science, and the Mystery of Insight00:54:08 Did Science or Meditation Come First?00:55:46 Balancing a PhD with Deep Practice00:57:28 Is Awareness Just Another Dependent Arising?01:02:08 Did Ramana Maharshi Experience Cessation?01:04:02 Grasping at Awareness: A New Kind of Samsara01:06:44 Emptiness, Insight, and the Path that Keeps Unfolding01:08:17 Is the Goal of Buddhism Reducing Suffering or Knowing Reality?01:10:46 Wisdom and Compassion as Two Wings of the Path01:13:36 Could We Ever Measure Clinging in the Brain?01:17:02 Using Brain Flexibility to Detect Reduced Clinging01:18:50 Can Meditators Adapt to Reality Shifts Faster?01:21:45 Does Meditation Increase Mental Model Stability?01:22:04 Does Cessation Challenge Idealist Philosophy?01:24:46 Why I No Longer Start From Consciousness01:26:08 Consciousness: A Useful Concept or an Assumption?01:28:32 Cessation Undermines the Idealist View?01:30:12 Just Before Cessation01:32:00 Investigating the Nature of Awareness Itself01:34:00 Not Everyone Needs Cessation – And Why That Matters01:36:59 Reuben’s View: Emptiness Over Idealism01:38:38 On Being Misrepresented by “Metaconsciousness” Critics01:41:03 The Subtle Dualism of “Everything is Consciousness”01:44:14 Open Audience Q&A Begins01:45:05 What Meditation Practice Leads to Cessation?01:47:15 Why Integrity and Sincerity Matter More Than Method01:51:03 Upcoming Conference Appearances (Europe 2025)01:53:04 What Is Cessation Really? And What Is Emptiness?01:57:11 Emptiness as the Lack of Essence in All ThingsVideo editing by https://www.willbourchier.com/Banner art by https://www.instagram.com/jadewade/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit adventuresinawareness.substack.com

Christof Koch was the president and chief scientist of the Allen Institute for Brain Science in Seattle known for his interdisciplinary approach, combining insights from neuroscience, physics, and philosophy to tackle the complex problem of consciousness, published in over 350 scientific papers, significantly shaped modern understanding of the neural correlates of consciousness and visual perception.In collaboration with Francis Crick, Cristof initiated the modern search for the neuronal correlates of consciousness. In collaboration with Giulio Tononi, he co-developed the Integrated Information Theory of consciousness.To join future discussions live, watch ad-free recordings and extended Q&As, find us at: https://www.adventuresinawareness.com/events/Your contributions support future content, and are greatly appreciated:https://adventuresinawareness.com/membershipOne-off PayPal donations: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/adventuresin 0:00 Intros0:08 Bernardo’s appreciation of Christof’s work: how neuroscience is critical to understanding mind12:40 Christo’s appreciation of Bernardo’s work:the mechanisms of the boundaries of consciousness 17:00 the metaphysics of Integrated Information Theory (IIT)21:00 IIT might be most direct modelling of true states of nature24:50 IIT and Free Will26:40 how IIT models the noumenon and AI consciousness 30:00 the cerebellum doesn’t contribute to consciousness32:50 IIT and meta-consciousness34:50 dreams are not meta-conscious38:40 IIT and scale and speed of the system (galaxies and atoms)42:30 IIT and defining the boundary of a system45:00 IIT, dissociation and the origin of life50:20 consciousness in the sun and mind meld55:30 Internal family systems therapy & the daimon58:30 clarifying definition of free will1:08:00 why IIT assumes consciousness 1:11:30 what is information in IIT (it’s not shannon information - its meaning, aristotelan ‘in form’)1:15:30 what is integration? (it means its not reducible. You can’t break it into parts without losing something)1:20:30 mind at large integrated? (no, because of speed of light and expansion)1:23:00 why is integration in space but not time? how do parts of the system know which system they are part of1:37:10 how IIT accounts for mind at large - the dance of dissociation and reintegration: actively enforced dissociation and non-actively dissociation. Mind at large is fragmented, and markov blankets are considered1:43:30 Mind at large is not conscious in the way we are1:50:00 everything is conscious vs everything is consciousness1:51:50 IIT disagrees with computational functionalism; that consciousness is just a function and any mechanism that can do that function must be conscious. IIT starts with consciousness instead of with function. 1:56:00 Christof’s psychedelic experience and change in perspective2:01:40 the similarity between the universe and the brain2:08:25 is death re-association? the parallels between chemistry and emotion2:13:30 is mind at large expanding like the universe? (questioning the big bang)2:17:50 do psychedelics increase or decrease connectivity 2:22:30 neural correlates of consciousness or meta-consciousness (implications of blindsight)2:28:50 IIT and the block universe2:38:30 Life and meaning can be mapped by Markov blankets, cancer, enlightenment, reincarnation 2:48:00 becoming another - thought experimentFollow the Adventure:- https://adventuresinawareness.com/- Subscribe to us on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@adventuresinawareness- Twitter: https://x.com/AdvInAwareness- iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/adventures-in-awareness/id1535917754- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adventuresinawarenessBanner art by https://www.instagram.com/jadewade/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit adventuresinawareness.substack.com

Workshops this weekend, 28th/29th June 2025 with Dr James Cooke in London: https://dandelion.events/e/n8hokJames Cooke has three degrees in experimental psychology and neuroscience from Oxford University, including a PhD in neuroscience. He has conducted research into the brain basis of consciousness at such institutions as Oxford University; the University of California, Berkeley; University College London; Trinity College Dublin; and Riken Brain Sciences Institute in Tokyo. At the University of London, he achieved the theoretical breakthrough that forms the basis of his new book, The Dawn of Mind, first publishing his findings in the prestigious Journal of Consciousness Studies and later in Entropy. Outside of academia, he directs the Inner Space Institute, a platform for promoting understanding around science and spirituality.Previous talks with James:https://youtu.be/VRw4aJZWJiMhttps://youtu.be/HcmIcGxGHPEMore on James:https://www.innerspaceinstitute.org/To join future events, newsletter and access ad-free event recordings go to:https://adventuresinawareness.comYour contributions support future content, and are greatly appreciated:- https://adventuresinawareness.com/membership- One-off PayPal donations: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/adventuresin Follow the Adventure:- Subscribe to us on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@adventuresinawareness- Twitter: https://x.com/AdvInAwareness- iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/adventures-in-awareness/id1535917754 - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2jiebSpdVu9YbpLOtWlKYU - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adventuresinawarenessBanner art by https://www.instagram.com/jadewade/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit adventuresinawareness.substack.com

To join future events in this series, and access ad-free event recordings go to:https://adventuresinawareness.comTo join weekly meetings with Bernardo Kastrup: https://www.withrealityinmind.com/This event was recorded Dec 2024.Jay Garfield is a world specialist in Tibetan Buddhist philosophy, leading classes everywhere from Harvard Divinity School all the way to the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies in India. He was one of six scholars who participated in a conference with the 14th Dalai Lama on "Mapping the Mind: A Dialogue between Modern Science and Buddhist Science. Bernardo Kastrup is leading the the modern renaissance of metaphysical idealism - the notion that all reality is consciousness, as well as having two PhDs and having worked in some of the world's most esteemed scientific institutions. Your contributions support future content, and are greatly appreciated:- https://adventuresinawareness.com/membership- One-off PayPal donations: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/adventuresin Follow the Adventure:- Subscribe to us on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@adventuresinawareness- Twitter: https://x.com/AdvInAwareness- iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/adventures-in-awareness/id1535917754 - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2jiebSpdVu9YbpLOtWlKYU - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adventuresinawarenessBanner art by https://www.instagram.com/jadewade/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit adventuresinawareness.substack.com

Matthew Immergut, Ph.D., was co-author of the highly successful meditation classic, 'The Mind Illuminated,' and works as an Associate Professor of Sociology at Purchase College, SUNY where he has developed a minor in Contemplative Studies, and teaches classes on meditation, happiness, social theory, and new religious movements.We discuss how the systematic approach presented in the book has supported countless meditators, while also addressing the complexities that emerged around his co-author Culadasa (John Yates). We'll discuss Matthew's perspective on navigating teacher-student relationships and the broader challenges of translating traditional Buddhist practices for contemporary audiences, and how teachings on emptiness aim at a fearless capacity to love.To join future events, newsletter and access ad-free event recordings go to:https://adventuresinawareness.comYour contributions support future content, and are greatly appreciated:- https://adventuresinawareness.com/membership- One-off PayPal donations: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/adventuresin Follow the Adventure:- Subscribe to us on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@adventuresinawareness- Twitter: https://x.com/AdvInAwareness- iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/adventures-in-awareness/id1535917754 - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2jiebSpdVu9YbpLOtWlKYU - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adventuresinawarenessBanner art by https://www.instagram.com/jadewade/0:00 Intro4:30 Matthews background: wilderness survival and chassidic judaism 10:30 Goenka vipassana & addiction19:00 Departure from messianic Judaism23:30 Meeting John Yates (Culadaca)30:25 Publishing & crafting the Mind Illuminated42:00 The strengths of the book47:00 Whatever you do has the same obstacles 48:10 The downsides of the book: progress isn’t linear50:20 Striving, meditative ego and burnout 55:30 Just assume you are bypassing59:39 On the awakening and behaviour of Culadasa, John Yates1:17:00 waking up vs cleaning up1:22:30 Bypassing vs indulging1:26:30 Best practice going forward1:28:10 What Matthew would change about the book1:30:30 Seeing emptiness to induce a fearless capacity to love1:35:00 Cessation, awakening, immoral behaviour and emptiness of consciousness1:42:30 Morality as the starting point for enlightenment?1:45:30 Wisdom, Morality and Insight1:47:30 what to do when you need a break from meditation?1:51:30 the future of the Mind Illuminated?1:52:30 the power of meeting saints - perfection vs imperfection This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit adventuresinawareness.substack.com

Join Shamil's 4-week course at:https://adventuresinawareness.com Dr Shamil Chandaria is a senior research fellow at the centre for Eudaimonia and Human Flourishing, University of Oxford. He is also a research fellow at the Institute of Philosophy, London University, where he focuses on philosophical issues in neuroscience and well-being; a research fellow at Imperial College in the neuroscience of psychedelics; and a bye-fellow at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge University. He has multi-disciplinary research interests spanning computational neuroscience, machine learning & artificial intelligence, and the philosophy and science of human well-being. He is currently working on computational theories of consciousness and meditation. Shamil has been a meditator for 38 years and has contemplative training in early Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism, Advaita Vedanta and Kashmir Shivaism. Your contributions support future content, and are greatly appreciated:- https://adventuresinawareness.com/membership- One-off PayPal donations: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/adventuresin Follow the Adventure:- Subscribe to us on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@adventuresinawareness- Twitter: https://x.com/AdvInAwareness- iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/adventures-in-awareness/id1535917754 - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2jiebSpdVu9YbpLOtWlKYU - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adventuresinawarenessBanner art by https://www.instagram.com/jadewade/ 0:00 Teaser 1:00 Introduction 2:30 Transcendental meditation 5:40 Science as the language of our time 7:20 the universe has multiple perspectives 11:35 coming to spirituality through suffering 15:40 the goals of the many kinds of meditation: abiding, deconstruction, reconstruction 22:40 everything that arises is a mental construction 31:40 adrenaline can be excitement or stress 42:40 what science can add to ancient wisdom 50:40 why to cherry pick from traditions 51:44 science is on a level playing field with tradition 1:01:40 the science of perception supports meditation 1:04:40 the science of perception has reversed 1:16:40 meditation techniques keep getting better, and science is helping 1:39:40 our experience is a dependent co-arising 1:47:40 Overview of Shamil’s course 1:59:40 Waking up to the game then reconstructing it This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit adventuresinawareness.substack.com