Adventures in Awareness

In celebration of Bernardo's upcoming book 'Idealism in a Nutshell,' we're releasing two lectures, originally filmed 22nd June 2020 as part of a four week course. This is Lecture 2, in which Bernardo outlines the case for Idealism. Lecture 1, Refuting Materialism, was released last week.

Our next discussion series with Bernardo starts 29th Oct. 2024 and features as guest the celebrated neuroscientist Christof Koch: ⁠https://dandelion.events/e/y54ag⁠

For future iterations of the open Q&A and discussions visit ⁠https://adventuresinawareness.com/⁠

Bernardo Kastrup's work has been leading the modern renaissance of the philosophical position, ‘metaphysical idealism’ that reality is essentially mental, an appearance in ‘mind.’ Bernardo has a Ph.D. in philosophy (ontology, philosophy of mind) and another Ph.D. in computer engineering (reconfigurable computing, artificial intelligence). As a scientist, Bernardo has worked for the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) and the Philips Research Laboratories (where the 'Casimir Effect' of Quantum Field Theory was discovered). Formulated in detail in many academic papers and books, his ideas have been featured on Scientific American, the Institute of Art and Ideas, the Blog of the American Philosophical Association and Big Think, among others. Bernardo's most recent book is The Idea of the World: A multi-disciplinary argument for the mental nature of reality. For more information, freely downloadable papers, videos, etc., please visit www.bernardokastrup.com.

In celebration of Bernardo's upcoming book 'Idealism in a Nutshell,' we're releasing two lectures, originally filmed 22nd June 2020 as part of a four week course. This is Lecture 1, in which Bernardo refutes Materialism, discussing its origins, pitfalls, and misconceptions. Stay tuned for Lecture 2, in which Bernardo defends and dives deeper into Metaphysical Idealism.

Our next discussion series with Bernardo starts 29th Oct. 2024 and features as guest the celebrated neuroscientist Christof Koch: https://dandelion.events/e/y54ag

For future iterations of the open Q&A and discussions visit https://adventuresinawareness.com/

Bernardo Kastrup's work has been leading the modern renaissance of the philosophical position, ‘metaphysical idealism’ that reality is essentially mental, an appearance in ‘mind.’ Bernardo has a Ph.D. in philosophy (ontology, philosophy of mind) and another Ph.D. in computer engineering (reconfigurable computing, artificial intelligence). As a scientist, Bernardo has worked for the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) and the Philips Research Laboratories (where the 'Casimir Effect' of Quantum Field Theory was discovered). Formulated in detail in many academic papers and books, his ideas have been featured on Scientific American, the Institute of Art and Ideas, the Blog of the American Philosophical Association and Big Think, among others. Bernardo's most recent book is The Idea of the World: A multi-disciplinary argument for the mental nature of reality. For more information, freely downloadable papers, videos, etc., please visit www.bernardokastrup.com.

Mark grew up in the UK as an atheist, but then spent a year as a monk in India after a powerful and unexpected spiritual awakening. He now teaches insight meditation inspired by the late Rob Burbea, with a focus on understanding the emptiness of all things and the ways in which changing our ways of looking can reduce suffering and enhance the beauty of life. He offers teachings freely, living frugally in a caravan in the UK, from donations from those who appreciate what he offers.

He'll be teaching a freely-given 6-week course on Loving Kindness Meditation online in October: https://dandelion.events/e/e92bd

In this episode, we discussed:

Mark's background and awakening

The phenomenology of the awakening

Having no sense of self

Going beyond non-dual awakening

Meeting the guru: Rob Burbea

Emptiness

Why you should care

+ A guided lovingkindness meditation!

To find out about joining future events check out: https://adventuresinawareness.com

If you would like to support future content, contributions are greatly appreciated at:

⁠Patreon⁠

⁠In the UK⁠

One-off ⁠PayPal donations

This was an excerpt from a 5-week discussion series with Bernardo Kastrup, Nov 2022, with guest Federico Faggin.

Federico Faggin is an Italian-American physicist, engineer, inventor and entrepreneur. He is best known for designing the first commercial microprocessor, the Intel 4004. In 2010, he received the 2009 National Medal of Technology and Innovation, the highest honor the United States confers for achievements related to technological progress.

In 2011, Faggin founded the Federico and Elvia Faggin Foundation to support the scientific study of consciousness at US universities and research institutes.

Bernardo considers him ‘probably the most well-rounded Idealist alive today.’

He has a new book just released available here.

We discussed:

Federico's journey to his model of reality

How science must completely change to incorporate consciousness

How quantum states make sense when viewed as descriptions of experience

How consciousness and life are nothing like computers

How meditation, spirituality and science relate

Access all 10 hours of recorded material here.

To join the next edition please visit our Events page.

If you would like to support future content, contributions are greatly appreciated at:

Patreon

In the UK

One-off PayPal donations

An excerpt from a 5-week course with Bernardo Kastrup & Rupert Spira.

We discussed:

Self Enquiry as a direct way to know reality

Experiential vs. philosophical approach to understanding reality & reducing suffering

Why the universe dissociates

How idealism increases empathy

What psychedelics imply about death

Language as a model

& much more!

To join the next course please visit our ⁠Events page⁠.

If you would like to support future content, contributions are greatly appreciated at:

⁠Patreon

⁠In the UK⁠

One-off ⁠PayPal donations⁠

In both Buddhism and modern neuro-science, you may hear the notion that there is no “Self.” No central entity that is separate, makes decisions or is continuous through time. That however real the “Self” might seem, it is merely an illusion.

It is one of the most misunderstood, ignored and confronting propositions to come out of philosophy or science, so I spoke with Dr Daniel Ingram who says he experiences an embedded perception of there being no "Self" on an ongoing basis, following several years of careful meditation.

We chat about what it means, how it is noticed, what it feels like and why anyone should care! If this sound intriguing at all, have a listen...

You'll thank your Self for it 🙂

This episode is supported by The Psychedelic Society, as part of a series of conversations on meditation, consciousness & enlightenment.
For upcoming events check out https://psychedelicsociety.org.uk/events​
https://www.adventuresinawareness.com​

Listening is free, but your support is appreciated! If you would like to contribute to this initiative, donations are gratefully accepted. You can support via Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/adventuresinawareness
​or make one-off PayPal donations here:  https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/adventuresin

Podcast #5: Daniel Ingram - Experiencing No-Self Part 3

Daniel is an emergency room physician, author of ‘Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha,’ founder of Dharma Overground and holds an M.D., M.S.P.H. in Epidemiology, and B.A. in English Literature all from UNC Chapel Hill.

In both Buddhism and modern neuro-science, you may hear the notion that there is no “Self.” No central entity that is separate, makes decisions or is continuous through time. That however real the “Self” might seem, it is merely an illusion.

It is one of the most misunderstood, ignored and confronting propositions to come out of philosophy or science, so I spoke with Dr Daniel Ingram who says he experiences an embedded perception of there being no "Self" on an ongoing basis, following several years of careful meditation.

We chat about what it means, how it is noticed, what it feels like and why anyone should care! If this sound intriguing at all, have a listen...

You'll thank your Self for it 🙂

This episode is sponsored by The Psychedelic Society, as part of a series of conversations on meditation, consciousness & enlightenment.
For upcoming events check out https://psychedelicsociety.org.uk/events​
https://www.adventuresinawareness.com​

Listening is free, but your support is appreciated! If you would like to contribute to this initiative, donations are gratefully accepted. You can support via Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/adventuresinawareness
​or make one-off PayPal donations here:  https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/adventuresin

Podcast #5: Daniel Ingram - Experiencing No-Self Part 2  

Daniel is an emergency room physician, author of ‘Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha,’ founder of Dharma Overground and holds an M.D., M.S.P.H. in Epidemiology, and B.A. in English Literature all from UNC Chapel Hill.

This episode is sponsored by The Psychedelic Society, as part of a series of conversations on meditation, consciousness & enlightenment. For upcoming events click here.

Listening is free, but your support is appreciated! If you would like to contribute to this initiative, donations are gratefully accepted. You can support via Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/adventuresina...​
or make one-off PayPal donations here:  https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/adven...​

Podcast #5: Daniel Ingram - Experiencing No-Self Part 1  

Daniel discusses his personal experience of realising the truth of there not being a 'Self'  Daniel is an emergency room physician, author of ‘Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha,’ founder of Dharma Overground and holds an M.D., M.S.P.H. in Epidemiology, and B.A. in English Literature all from UNC Chapel Hill.

This episode is sponsored by The Psychedelic Society, as we continue a series of conversations on meditation, consciousness & enlightenment. For upcoming events with Psychedelic Society check out https://psychedelicsociety.org.uk/events
https://www.adventuresinawareness.com

Listening is free, but your support is appreciated!
If you would like to contribute this initiative, donations are gratefully accepted. You can support via Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/adventuresina...
or make one off PayPal donations here:  https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/adven...

Podcast #4: Richard Lang - Headless Way Community & Culture  

Headless Way is not only a unique form of self enquiry, but a community that has successfully maintained an open, non-hierarchical and non-dogmatic culture which many spiritual communities could take inspiration from. Richard Lang discusses what makes this approach unique amongst the many ways humans have sought to discover answers to life's most fundamental questions.

In collaboration with The Psychedelic Society, Amir Giles is hosting a series of conversations on Psychedelics, Meditation & Enlightenment. For upcoming events find us at https://psychedelicsociety.org.uk/events https://www.adventuresinawareness.com

Listening is free, but your support is appreciated!
If you would like to contribute this initiative, donations are gratefully accepted. You can support via Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/adventuresinawareness
or make one off PayPal donations here:  https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/adventuresin

Podcast #3: Dr James Cooke   

Oxford trained Neuro-scientist, James Cooke shares his early life awakening experiences, his healing and embodiment journey through psychedelics, and his recently published theory on how consciousness and life are two co-emergent properties of the universe and what that means for living an enlightened life.   

00:52 - Necker Cube
3:00 - Religious crisis to awakening to the present moment
8:20 - Tibetan Dzogchen  
10:00 - Unintegrated enlightenment, and choosing academia over the monastery
14:00 - Experimental psychology at Oxford and choosing science over philosophy
17:00 -  Science, nonduality and democratisation of psychedelics
19:00 - The collapse of all thought into the present moment
20:00 -  Psychedelic experiences as genuine mystical experience  
22:00 - James Cook’s understanding of Enlightenment                    
 Consciousness as a co-emergent property with life - and to exist is to strive
29:00 -  Different from idealism  
30:00 -  Enlightenment as being close to death, enlightenment not the goal
35.30 -  Balancing enlightenment with life
41:40 -  Many centres of experience
49:23 -  Nondual states including being and striving
56:55 - The value of science as a gateway and grounding to the mystical
1:07:40 - Views on metaphysical idealism  
1:16:30 - Islands don’t exist
1:21:00 - Distinction with pan-psychism
1:23:00 - Organisms made out of many organisms  1:30:00 - All life is conscious  
1:34:00 - Psychedelics, mysticism, embodiment and healing
1:40:00 - The power of redemptive love and psychedelics as party of healthy human culture
1:49:50 - The distraction of visuals in psychedelics, and the healing power of different substances  

In collaboration with The Psychedelic Society, Amir Giles is hosting a series of conversations on Psychedelics, Meditation & Enlightenment. For upcoming events find us here.

Listening is free, but your support is appreciated! If you would like to contribute this initiative, donations are gratefully accepted. You can support via Patreon or make one off PayPal donations here.

Podcast #2: Stephen Reid  

Stephen Reid discusses his personal journey and mystical insights through the intersection between quantum field theory, complexity science, meditation and psychedelics.   Stephen is  a cultural change maker, co-operative technologist and founder of the Psychedelic Society. He completed a Masters in Complexity Science at the University of Bristol as well as a Masters in Physics specialising quantum field theory at the University Oxford University.   

He was also the youngest ever board member of Greenpeace UK, and selected as the Green Party parliamentary candidate for Totnes. As well as quantum field theory and Complexity Science, Stephen has training in software development, meditation, plant medicine, and political activism.

Discussion points include:
0:40 Mystical Experiences and Quantum Field Theory at Oxford University
4:00 David Bohm - Physics may be infinite
7.30 Physics, metaphysics and mystical experience - the limits of understanding
9:30 Complexity sciences - self organisation & emergence as a bridge to psychedelics
8:30 Science as a platform and context for useful psychedelic experiences
14:00 From Bohm to Krishnamurti - from physics to meditation
15:30 Tao Te Ching as a resonance with complexity sciences
16:20 Zig Zag zen and vipassana
20:00 The value of skepticism around psychedelic trips
22:30 Meditation on Tao te Ching, Seeing that Frees, Reger Rey
24:30 The value of meditation as a support for psychedelic trips, a buffer against bad trips
26:50 The motivations to meditate and to take psychedelics: there is only enlightened action           
            Balancing insight & compassion

https://stephenreid.net

In collaboration with The Psychedelic Society, Amir Giles is hosting a series of conversations on Psychedelics, Meditation & Enlightenment. For upcoming events with Psychedelic Society click here.

Listening is free, but your support is appreciated! https://www.patreon.com/adventuresinawareness

Podcast #1: Dr Daniel Ingram

Daniel Ingram discusses to what extent psychedelics can either help or hinder in persistent shifts in consciousness and spiritual type awakenings, and is it possible to access the kind of perceptual shifts common on psychedelics in other contexts, and in day to day life? 

Daniel is an emergency room physician, author of ‘Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha,’ founder of Dharma Overground and holds an M.D., M.S.P.H. in Epidemiology, and B.A. in English Literature all from UNC Chapel Hill.

TOPICS

1:13    Background to Daniel Ingram’s experience
4:31   On the lack of formal research on psychedelics and spiritual awakening
7:13    Formal approaches and maps leading to awakening
8:38  What do psychedelics do; gateways, mystical experiences, damaging and very occasionally permanent transformative awakenings.
13:33 Distinction between spiritual experience and permanent awakening. DMT, psilocyn, salvia, ketamine.
14:50  Psychedelic experiences don’t last long enough for new brain structures to form

MAPS AND STAGES OF AWAKENING

17.03  Maps and stages of awakening; Arising and passing away, Dark night, Equanimity, Formal awakening
21:45 The unitive experiences of equanimity
21:30 Psychedelics vs meditation retreats
22:20 Research comparing psychedelics and meditation
22:46 Formal awakening and stream entry vrs temporary experiences

PSYCHEDELICS AS PART OF THE PATH

27:30 Psychedelics as part of the path; the parameters of the debate
   As a gateway and a motivator
   Difficult to integrate & sometimes damaging
    As a clarifier

33:30 Micro-dosing; potential for habituation
35:13 Opportunity costs and risks of meditation
39:26 Awakening in indigenous, shamanic and magical traditions
44:30 To trip or not? You have to do your research, know your options.
47:13  Fire Kasina & non substance psychedelic experiences
50:43 The risk, speed and cleanliness; meditation vrs psychedelics  
53:30 Handling the weird - psychedelics as the meditation retreat audition
54:43  Is the hero's journey required for the end of suffering?

FUTURE RESEARCH AND DIRECTIONS

59:00 Other voices to follow
1:01:13 Taking your wider life into consideration; responsible spirituality
1:05:03 Prospects for future research: Emergent Phenomenology Research Consortium - categorizing the experiences that people have, clearer diagnostics and practise recommendations.

Daniel Ingram’s website  
Erowid
Manual of Psychedelic Support