Chasing Consciousness

Why do complex systems self-organise? What is cellular uncertainty and stem cell plasticity? Can we create artificial digital life that’s subject to the same creative adaptability that nature and life demonstrate? Today we have the extraordinary phenomena of self-organisation in Complex Systems to look into. We’re going to be looking into the conditions for a system to be considered complex, how a certain amount of randomness in the system releases the creativity required to permit adaptability, and how the feedback loops within that adaptability lead to a self-correcting organisational principle that keeps the system’s order and randomness in balance as it evolves. We’re going to be seeing how that self-organisation is operative at almost every level of scale in the universe and in life and death, and trying to get our heads around what that means for the nature of reality and consciousness. So who better to discuss this with than stem cell biologist and diagnostic pathologist Neil Theise. Neil is is a professor of pathology at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine and a pioneer of adult stem cell plasticity research. In 2018 the news of his discovery of the interstitial, a vast communication network throughout the human body went viral and was featured in the New York Times and Scientific American among many others. Theise is also a long term student of Zen meditation and Kabbalah. And his studies of complexity theory, summarised in his new book “Notes on Complexity: A scientific theory of connection, consciousness and being”, have led to interdisciplinary collaborations in fields as diverse integrative medicine, consciousness studies and the science-spirituality interface. Since speaking with biologist Michael Levin on Cellular cognition, and cognitive scientist John Vervaeke on collective intelligence, in the last series; I’ve been keen to speak to Neil about stem cell plasticity and self-organising systems, as their elegant sophistication begs so many questions about the nature of reality and consciousness. So without further ado, let’s go! 00:00 Intro 05:45 Livers have stem cells, Neil’s first of many discoveries 13:50 “Cellular Uncertainty” - Stem-cell plasticity. 17:43 Heisenberg’s ‘Uncertainty principle’ analogy. 20:20 Cellular sensitivity 22:00 The TechnoSphere - interacting with virtual creatures 26:20 Emergent bottom-up structure, self-organising inside the game 27:20 Artificial Life. 29:20 Complexity Theory explained by Ants. 34:20 Randomness allows the creativity to adapt to changes: in the environment Divergent ants. 35:20 A minimum of elements are needed over time to become self-organising. 36:50 Cells, ants and humans all self-organise: micro macro phenomena. 38:40 No planning or top-down intelligence managing complex systems. 42:55 ‘Wholarchies’ not hierarchies. 47:50 Living systems and complexity arise at the boundary between perfect order and fractal chaos. 49:55 Extinction is also part of complexity, as much as creative adaptivity. 50:30 “What makes you able to be a living system, inevitably, given enough time will lead you to die. You can’t separate life and death”. 53:10 Self correction 55:50 Cancer, economic crashes, extinction events: Pruning away the corrective negative feedback loops leads to collapse. 57:30 Every scale of nature adheres to complex system behaviours. 59:50 Complementarity exists at all levels of scale - Niels Bohr. 01:01:40 Biological complementarity. 01:04:50 Breaking down the separations between discrete organisms. 01:10:50 Not upward or downward causation but complementarity. 01:35:50 Zen meditation insights which led to scientific insight. 01:18:20 The risk of over-rating our personal experience. 01:23:20 Where you find mind, you find life. References: Neil Theise, “Notes on Complexity: A scientific theory of connection, consciousness and being” Evan Thompson - Deep Continuity (of Life and Mind) Francisco Varela - (Evan Thompson’s...

How are traumatic memories stored in the body? How has Somatic Experiencing helped thousands of people release the symptoms of trauma through bodily practices rather than talky therapy? How did Peter resolve his own devastating childhood trauma? What will a trauma aware society be like? In this episode we have the fascinating question of the different ways traumatic memories are stored to think about, and how the body itself and not only the brain is instrumental in the way the memory’s are made and processed, and so in how we might ease the symptoms of the trauma later on. We’re going to delve into the brain-body connection in traumatic memory, looking at the way trauma can influence our bodily states and so in turn the way we can use bodily methods in a bottom-up approach, to re-train the brain to feel safe and integrate traumatic memories. For this there can be no better person than the psychotherapist, Dr. Peter Levine, the creator of the Somatic Experiencing therapy method, founder of the Institute of Somatic Education and author of many books on trauma and therapy, including “Waking the Tiger”, “Healing Trauma”, “Trauma Through a Childs Eyes”, “Trauma and Memory” which we’ll be discussing today, and his brand new book, which this episode is happy to celebrate the release of “An autobiography of Trauma: A healing Journey”. Minus 1 minute What we discuss: 00:00 Intro. 06:00 Conscious memories start earlier than we might imagine. 07:00 Descartes was wrong, better “I move, I sense, I feel, I have images, I have thoughts: therefore I am.” 07:30 The mid-1960’s session with Nancy that started it all for Peter. 14:20 The 3 different nervous system bodily states: fight or flight, freeze and social engagement. 20:00 Body/Nervous system bi-directionality: Influences between Polyvagal theory and Somatic Experiencing. 26:00 Exercises to switch the hyper-aroused message coming from the body. 29:00 Animal kingdom research into ‘shaking off’ daily life threatening experiences. 31:00 The very sensations that help animals release, are scary to us so we block them. 31:40 Vitality, movement and exuberance VS a disembodied society. 33:20 As children we learn to limit our exuberance, so as not to disturb adults. 35:30 Different types of memory and the role of the body in recording them. 36:00 Declarative conscious memory. 36:45 Autobiographical conscious memory. 38:30 Emotional unconscious memory (associative). 39:00 Procedural/body unconscious memories (to protect oneself). 39:45 Peter as Chiron “The Woundd Healer” archetype. 45.10 Being heard, witnessed and listened to: why reflection and mirroring are important. 47:00 “I don’t think there is consciousness without being mirrored”. 47:40 A trauma aware society. 51:00 Being heard and mirrored leads to resilience. 54:00 Peter’s devastating childhood trauma and shame: “An Autobiography of Trauma” 57:00 Confronting shame tends to intensify it. 59:30 Why share such a personal vulnerable story with the world? 01:01:00 The dream that helped him choose whether or not to publish this deeply personal story. 01:02:20 Encouraging others to tell their stories: cathartic sharing. 01:04:45 Sharing vulnerability with the compassionate other. 01:05:30 Is trauma required to transform or is it just an inevitability of life? 01:07:00 Trauma is a rite of passage towards being truly compassionate. 01:07:40 Gabor Mate, “Compassionate Enquiry”. 01:08:00 Curiosity can’t co-exist with fear, use it to shift the process. References: Peter Levine, “An Autobiography of Trauma: A Healing Journey” 2024 (Available at Ergos Institute, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Amazon UK, Inner Traditions, Books A Million, and Bookshop.org) Somatic Experiencing https://www.somaticexperiencing.com/home Peter Levine, “Trauma and Memory” 2015 https://g.co/kgs/vAzjvB2 “Hand in Hand: Parenting by connection” episode, Listening...

In what way is beef in UFOs religious-like? Is there evidence for collective visions of these objects and entities, or rather for their objective reality? In what way could the experience have elements of both? In this episode we have the ever more mainstream story of UFO experiences to assess; Not necessarily the important questions around the existence of the phenomenon, which the office of the US director of National Intelligence confirmed in an official 2021 report that they were, in fact, a ‘population of objects’ (see show notes below)- but rather the belief in the phenomenon, in 2008 polled at around %37 of Americans, but by no means confined to the US. This widespread belief, along with less ridiculed beliefs bolstered by the high probability of extraterrestrial civilisations more advanced than our own existing out there in the cosmos, has had a huge sociological and cultural influence on western society. So in this episode I want to put into a sociological context all of this quasi-religious belief; understand the role of our perception of technology; get our heads around a rare example of a modern myth forming in real time; look at the ways a phenomenon can be both physical and psychological at the same time; and examine various scientific, academic and even philosophical doors into this confounding phenomena that no matter how much the sceptics deny, just won’t go away. So when we study belief we have to turn to a religious studies specialist, and who better to call on than Professor of Religious studies at the University of North Carolina, Diana Pasulka. She’s also the author of 3 books, “Heaven Can Wait”, a book about purgatory, “American Cosmic” on scientists who believe in UFO’s, and her new 2023 book “Encounters” on multi-disciplinary academic approaches to the UFO phenomenon and experiences with non-human intelligence. Don’t forget listeners, that we talk about all the science in more detail with Stanford medical School’s immunologist, pathologist and inventor Garry Nolan in this series so check that out too. What we discuss:00:00 Intro.13:08 Meaningful events propel people towards religious belief.21:30 Heidegger’s warning about underestimating the influence of technology on our culture.27:00 Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” - A just government and the control of information.34:40 Nietzsche, the risk of assigning causal power for synchronicities to higher powers.44:00 Perspective change: The creation of a modern myth, to a real physical phenomenon.45:50 Looking for UFO crash parts in the desert with Garry Nolan, taken blindfolded by a Space Force scientist.49:00 The ‘Antenna’ hypothesis: the brain as a receiver and transmitter.56:00 Physical data analysed by top scientists, and government “management” of information.01:01:00 Where the physical and non-physical meet: idealism or VR hypotheses.01:05:00 Humans may be a sophisticated type of biotechnology.01:06:00 The use of intuition protocols to find technological solutions: intention and visualisation.01:11:30 New Encounters book: a “reorientation”.01:14:00 Iya Whitely: validating pilots experiences. Diana Pasulka, “Encounters”. https://g.co/kgs/tFfG3Mx Diana Pasulka, “American Cosmic”. https://g.co/kgs/MbQ1tXQ Office of the Director of National Intelligence Assessment on UAP, June 2021, John L. Ratcliffe https://www.dni.gov/files/ODNI/documents/assessments/Prelimary-Assessment-UAP-20210625.pdf Martin Heidegger essay, “The Question Concerning Technology” https://g.co/kgs/ed5JVEW Iya Whitely “Trusting and Learning from Pilots”, Lecture at the SOL Foundation symposium at the Nolan Lab at Stanford Medical School https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HR09GHQ5AwA Beyond UFOs: The Science of Consciousness & Contact with Non Human Intelligence - Rey hernandez et al. https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-UFOs-Science-Consciousness-Intelligence/dp/1721088652

Does the use of computer models in physics change the way we see the universe? How far reaching are the implications of computation irreducibility? Are observer limitations key to the way we conceive the laws of physics? In this episode we have the difficult yet beautiful topic of trying to model complex systems like nature and the universe computationally to get into; and how beyond a low level of complexity all systems, seem to become equally unpredictable. We have a whole episode in this series on Complexity Theory in biology and nature, but today we’re going to be taking a more physics and computational slant. Another key element to this episode is Observer Theory, because we have to take into account the perceptual limitations of our species’ context and perspective, if we want to understand how the laws of physics that we’ve worked out from our environment, are not and cannot be fixed and universal but rather will always be perspective bound, within a multitude of alternative branches of possible reality with alternative possible computational rules. We’ll then connect this multi-computational approach to a reinterpretation of Entropy and the 2nd law of thermodynamics. The fact that my guest has been building on these ideas for over 40 years, creating computer language and Ai solutions, to map his deep theories of computational physics, makes him the ideal guest to help us unpack this topic. He is physicist, computer scientist and tech entrepreneur Stephen Wolfram. In 1987 he left academia at Caltech and Princeton behind and devoted himself to his computer science intuitions at his company Wolfram Research. He’s published many blog articles about his ideas, and written many influential books including “A New kind of Science”, and more recently “A Project to Find the Fundamental Theory of Physics”, and “Computer Modelling and Simulation of Dynamic Systems”, and just out in 2023 “The Second Law” about the mystery of Entropy. One of the most wonderful things about Stephen Wolfram is that, despite his visionary insight into reality, he really loves to be ‘in the moment’ with his thinking, engaging in socratic dialogue, staying open to perspectives other than his own and allowing his old ideas to be updated if something comes up that contradicts them; and given how quickly the fields of physics and computer science are evolving I think his humility and conceptual flexibility gives us a fine example of how we should update how we do science as we go. What we discuss: 00:00 Intro 07:45 The history of scientific models of reality: structural, mathematical and computational. 20:20 The Principle of Computational Equivalence (PCE) 24:45 Computational Irreducibility - the process that means you can’t predict the outcome in advance. 27:50 The importance of the passage of time to Consciousness. 28:45 Irreducibility and the limits of science. 33:30 Godel’s Incompleteness Theorem 42:20 Observer Theory and the Wolfram Physics Project. 50:30 We ’make’ space. 51:30 Branchial Space - different quantum histories of the world, branching and merging 58:50 Rulial Space: All possible rules of all possible interconnected branches. 01:19:30 The Measurement problem of QM and Entanglement meets computational irreducibility and observer theory. 01:32:40 Inviting Stephen back for a separate episode on AI safety, safety solutions and applications for science, as we did’t have time. 01:37:30 At the molecular level the laws of physics are reversible. 01:45:30 Entropy defined in computational terms. 01:50:30 If we ever overcame our finite minds, there would be no coherent concept of existence. 01:51:30 Parallels between modern physics and ancient eastern mysticism and cosmology. 01:55:30 Reductionism in an irreducible world: saying a lot from very little input. References: “The Second Law: Resolving the Mystery of the Second Law of Thermodynamics”, Stephen Wolfram “A New Kind of Science”, Stephen Wolfram Observer Theory Article, Stephen Wolfram

How has the evolution of cognition led to homo-sapiens being such effective collaborators and how is the collective knowledge and wisdom of the society distributed and passed on to later generations? How can we apply the amplified wisdom of distributed cognition to solve some of humanities biggest problems? Today we have the important fields of Collective Intelligence and how we can use it to solve our problems as a society, to try and get our heads around. We’ll be discussing the relevance of difficulties arising from cognitive science and physics research that for some put into question the consensus story that embodied feelings were fundamental in the development of reasoning and consciousness; We also discuss the relevance of the work of Carl Jung on the Collective Unconscious; of Neuroscientist Anil Seth’s Controlled Hallucination and Don Hoffman’s User interface theory; of Iain McGilchrist’s split brain research and of Michael Levin’s take on cellular cognition. There is of course only one polymath who can hold that many topics in a single conversation and that’s the Cognitive scientist, and philosopher John Vervaeke. Vervaeke is the director of UToronto’s Consciousness and Wisdom Studies Laboratory and its Cognitive Science program, where he teaches an Introduction to Cognitive Science and The Cognitive Science of Consciousness. He has been a leading intellectual observer of the modern meaning crisis: the loss of a spiritual worldview in the West, and the decline of wisdom traditions that help individuals find meaning in their lives. His online lectures and practices integrate teachings from many different disciplines, including philosophy, psychology, religion, and cutting edge cognitive science. He is the author and presenter of the YouTube series, “Awakening from the Meaning Crisis” and his brand new series, "After Socrates." What we discuss: 00:00 Intro. 05:35 Losing faith without losing a taste for the transcendent. 15:30 The difference between intelligence and living cognition. 18:40 Relevance realisation: What to attend to in the sea of info available. 21:00 Cognition “cares” because its life is on the line: Salience landscapes. 24:15 Humans VS persons. 30:05 Distributed Cognition explained. 30:30 ‘Reason is monological’ framework. 33:15 The rise of individualism. 34:30 Distributed computation and problem solving via the internet. 36:30 ‘Reason is dialogical’ framework. 38:00 Your best self-correction ability is with other people. 42:30 Life builds collective intelligence without language. 45:50 Issues from neuroscience and quantum physics. 50:30 Predictive processing to identify salience. 52:30 The imaginary VS the imaginal. 53:40 Imaginally augmented perception. 58:00 Causality is not the same as causal relevance: Acausal phenomena. 01:00:30 Determinism VS fractal probability. 01:03:50 A hierarchy of cognitive selves: Michael Levin. 01:06:50 There isn’t just bottom up emergence but top down emanation. 01:07:20 Deep continuity - Evan Thompson. 01:09:30 Hierarchies of selves: Michael Levin. 01:15:30 Could we be part of single selves greater than our individual organisms? 01:17:30 Cognition is a continuum but differences of degree eventually make differences of kind. 01:19:30 Solving collective problems via distributed cognition and practices of connectedness. 01:25:20 Left/right hemisphere considerations for distributed cognition: Iain McGilchrist. 01:32:30 Adaptivity: Self-transcendence VS self-delusion. 01:35:15 Narrative bias and the Left Brain interpreter: Mike Gazzaniga. 01:37:00 Extended naturalism 01:40:24 The Collective Unconscious - Carl Jung. 01:46:25 A lot of the unconscious contents are not narrative like or persona like. References: “After Socrates” You Tube series “The meaning Crisis” You Tube series Michael Levin - Cellular cognition episode Evan Thompson - Deep continuity hypothesis “Mind in Life: Biology, Phenomenology, and the Sciences of...

How does breathwork interact with our nervous system, access memories and help integrate traumatic memories? How has it got results treating auto-immune disease, addiction, agrophobia, PTSD and depression? How can it help sleep, detoxification, digestion, immunity, and taking control of negative thought patterns. In this episode we have the hugely popular practice of Breathwork to look into. After millennia of it being used in bodily practices like martial arts and yoga, conscious breathing was launched into our modern scientific world view by the work of psychologist Stan Grof, who developed Holotropic Breathing in the 1960’s at Harvard, see our Transpersonal Psychology episode for more on that; Breathwork continued to gain in popularity following the focus on the lungs and breathing in near regulation proposed by Dr. Stephen Porges in his Polyvagal Theory, see our devoted episode with Dr. Porges for detail on that; And gained further in popularity with Dr. Pete Levine’s development of Somatic Experiencing, who I am delighted to announce will be coming on the show in the next series, so look out for that. So having been present for some time in the trauma community, in the last few years the practice has exploded onto the wellbeing scene as well because of all its benefits both physiologically and psychologically. So who better to talk to about this than expert in a wide range of Breathwork and body-based therapies, Rebecca Dennis. She facilitates workshops, events and retreats alongside her public speaking and individual sessions. She is a gifted speaker and coach, specialising in breathwork, trauma release, somatic modalities, polyvagal theory and nervous system regulation. Part of her wide popularity is due to her having written three successful books on the topic, the latest being a new edition of Let it Go, “Let It Go and Breathe – A Practical Guide To Breathwork” which has been featured in Amazon and Sunday Times Best Sellers, and which we’ll be discussing today. And she has also collaborated with Google, BBC, Stylist magazine and Sweaty Betty. What we discuss: 00:00 intro. 05:15 Breathwork explained 09:00 Repressing and controling emotions changes breathing. 12:00 Sympathetic vs parasympathetic nervous system. 20:50 Long deep breaths don’t necessarily calm you down. 23:50 It’s NOT hyperventilation or hyperoxygenation. 29:00 How traumatic memories can be brought up by the breath. 38:00 Rebecca’s crisis that brought her to breathwork. 43:30 Benefits: Depression relief, confidence, sleep, detox, digestion, immunity, taking control of thought patterns. 46:00 “Let it go” book: the foundations of the breath in daily life, tips and methods. 47:40 Breathe yourself calm - lower abdominal breathing. 49:00 Anxiety is higher now than ever. 52:40 What’s the right way to breathe? 59:00 Accessing altered states of consciousness without psychedelics. 59:45 Unlocking traumatic memories: Breath, psychedelics, EMDR. 01:01:00 Easing the symptoms without re-living the memories. 01:02:45 Some of her darkest memories have been her greatest teachers. 01:05:00 Increased resilience emotionally, physically and mentally. 01:07:20 Anti bacterial/anti viral Nitrous-oxide produced, improving immunity. 01:08:00 Gut-brain-cardio vascular system axis: anti-inflammatory effects. 01:11:45 Telomere length in meditators (caps on the end of chromosomes) Elizabeth Blackburn 2015 study. 01:13:30 Treating auto-immune disease, addiction, agrophobia, PTSD and depression using breathwork. 01:17:00 New book coming soon. 01:17:50 Her own new training school in Nov 2024. References: Rebecca Dennis, ‘Let it Go: Breathe yourself calm’ www.Breathingtree.co.uk Polyvagal theory, Stephen Porges, CC Episode #5 Deborah Dana, ‘Anchored’: how to befriend your nervous system’ Elissa Epel, Elizabeth Blackburn 2015 ‘Can meditation slow rate of cellular aging? Cognitive stress, mindfulness, and telomeres’

What role does bioelectricity play in the formation of new organisms? How do cells connect to form a hierarchy of ever more advanced cognnition, preferences and goals? What are the implications for regenerative medicine, sense of self and consciousness? In this episode we have the extraordinary role of bio-electricity in the orchestration and elaboration of organisms to look at. I became interested in this topic in the nineties when I read a book that was controversial at the time: ‘The Body Electric’, by Dr. Robert Becker who had been studying the bioelectric fields around salamanders as they regenerated limbs. I’ve been hoping to hear about it again ever since, but I thought the research had died out. That was until my guest Zhen Xu at the university of Michigan, spoke about the work of my guest today, in our episode #37 on her work “Histotripsy: Ultrasound for destroying cancer cells”. He is the award winning Biology professor at TUFTS Michael Levin, in the department of regenerative and developmental Biology, although he started out as a computer engineer. His specialisations are in how cells form bioleletrical networks, used for storing and recalling the pattern memories that guide morphogenesis. He then applies that to next generation Ai to help understand a top down control of pattern regulation in the new field of the bioinformatics of shape. He is also a visionary in how all this can be applied to regenerative medicine and bioengineering and his work obliges us to re-examine our approach to morphogenesis. I have been longing to find someone to talk to about the implications of this work for the biolelectric nature of collective intelligence, and how that builds up ever higher levels and layers of collective cellular agency, cognition and sense of self, culminating perhaps in collective intelligences greater than single organisms. For that answer you’ll have to listen to what Michael says in the episode. What we discuss: 00:00 Intro. 06:10 Bioelectrical fields are responsible for which cells become which body parts. 07:30 The cognitive ‘glue’ that binds collectives of cells to goals, agency and preferences. 09:30 Morphogenesis explained. 11:00 Self-organising cellular adaptability. 12:30 Cells also communicate using electric signals, not only neurones. 16:00 How are cognitive memories encoded in the electrical field? We don’t know yet. 16:45 “Electric face” present in the field: copy it, apply it elsewhere and it grows there! 18:30 The bioelectrical pattern is instructive. 20:15 It’s a simple information encoding. 20:30 Competent active cellular material. 24:30 DNA vs Bioelectricty: Analogy of Hardware vs Software with reprogrammability 28:00 Where is the location of the forms stored, memorised and encoded in the bioelectric field? 30:30 “We really have to redefine what me mean by “Where”“ 32:21 We don’t know where the truths of mathematics reside. 38:10 Bioengineering: Training competent materials VS building passive materials. 40:30 Agential’ material: Cells have agency and preferences. 44:30 Zenobots: cells re-program themselves in days, with no training only influenced by their environment. 50:40 Highly regenerative, cancer resistant, immortal: Plenaria asexual worms. 55:40 Gap Junctions: bioelectric gates for cells to network memories and agency 01:01:50 Cognitive hierarchy of selves within selves, with increasing levels of advanced complexity and agency, each with subjective experience. 01:08:00 Collaborative collective intelligence between organisms VS ever larger selves as one unified intelligence. 01:09:00 Testing agency at any level: Perturbative experiment over only observation. References: https://drmichaellevin.org/ https://thoughtforms.life/ Voltage movie of an embryo developing “Electric face” - Dany Adams, TUFTS Agential material Nature paper Zenobot researchWerner Lowenstein book - the discovery of Gap junctions

What did Jung mean by ‘The Shadow’? What did he mean by making the Unconscious conscious? What is integrating the shadow so useful for us and our relationships? In this episode we cover the fascinating topic of Carl Jung’s concept of ‘The Shadow’ in analytic psychology; a term that has become overused in pop psychology and seems to be understood in many different ways depending on who you talk to. To clarify the mystery, our guest today is one of the worlds most published and respected Jungian analysts, teachers, authors and commentators, Dr James Hollis. After a career teaching literature, he then retrained to become a Jungian analyst, and is still lecturing, writing books and giving psychotherapy at 83. He has written 19 books on Jungian themes, among which ‘Why good people do bad things: understanding our darker selves’ which we’ll touch on today. What we discuss: 00:00 Intro. 08:00 ‘The Shadow’ according to Jung. 08:30 A Reluctance to face what contradictory, disturbing or challenging. 11:00 4 ways the shadow manifests: 11:10 1) Unconsciously: everyone else deals with the consequences. 11:40 2) Projected onto others: we disown what we don’t accept in ourselves. 12:00 3) Being possessed by the shadow. 13:00 4) Consciously: this takes a lot of work and is a social responsibility. 13:50 Projected onto children: "The greatest burden a child must bear is the unlived life of its parents”, Jung. 16:00 “Why good people do bad things: understanding our darker selves” Hollis’ book on the shadow. 18:30 Being accountable for our actions and their consequences. 19:50 Making the unconscious conscious. 23:00 Making decisions as if we were still 8 years old. 24:50 What am I expecting the other to do, that is mine to address? 26:45 Storification and oversimplified narratives, become complexes. 31:43 Changing our relationship to our complexes. 32:30 We don’t solve these complexes we outgrow them. 35:50 What does your complex make you do or stop you from doing? 36:20 Meaning is the goal of life not happiness. 38:00 “The least of things with meaning, is always greater the the largest of things without meaning” Jung 39:00 An inner sense of purpose and satisfaction, and what to do if it’s not there. 40:20 The role of suffering, failure, and challenges in learning and meaning. 42:30 “Relationship is finding one special person you can annoy for a very long time” Mrs. Hollis. 43:45 The trickster overthrows our expectations: life’s way to force us to look in a new way. 47:00 Life is change, yet our nervous system and ego respond badly to ambiguity and the unknown. 49:30 The Ego’s complex is control - understandable but life rarely collaborates. 50:30 Ageing and mortality: an example of a summons to the ego to let go and go with it. 51:00 The ego is like a wafer thin boat floating on the vast iridescent sea of the unconscious. 52:20 “The unconscious is as vast as nature, you carry the human race inside of you”, J. Hollis. 56:45 Leading a life more examined = asking where I can change, improve and grow. 01:00:00 Most of our habits are protective, but stand in the way of our growth. 01:01:15 ‘Soul Heal’ Joe Enrique Pardo, a film about men being cut off forms their inner life. References: James Hollis, “Why good people do bad things: understanding our darker selves” James Hollis’ 18 other books! ‘Soul Heal’ film, Jose Enrique Pardo, with James Hollis, a film about healing the issues of men Bernardo Kastrup, Jung’s Metaphysics CC episode Monika Wikman, Collective Unconscious CC episode Laura London’s, Speaking of Jung podcast

How close are we to a scalable quantum computer? How do they work? Why is it so difficult for women in science? Is that changing? In this episode we have the fascinating new technology of Quantum Computers to get our heads around. They’ve been in the news a lot recently for the extraordinary computing power they could offer if harnessed properly; and also in conjunction with misleadingly named ‘teleportation’ technologies that can encode information in a quantum key and have it appear at the destination almost instantaneously and unshackably using quantum entanglement. But how do they work? Our guest today Shohini Ghose explains beautifully, she studies them as a professor of Quantum Physics at the Wilfrid Laurier University in Toronto, Canada. She is also a Senior Fellow at TED and her TED talk, ‘A beginners guide to Quantum Computers’ has been viewed almost 5 million times. She’s a passionate advocate for women in science which she’s just released a new book on, ‘Her Space, Her Time’ and which we’ll be getting into around the 45min mark, and she’s the Chair for women in Science at the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. She is also the author of the 2019 book ‘Clues to the cosmos’. I couldn’t let such a brilliant since communicator get away without asking her what the measurement problem means for the nature of reality too. Fascinating stuff! What we discuss: 00:00 Intro 06:50 A beginners guide to quantum computers 09:50 The difference between binary 0/1 opposite and quantum superposition ‘probabilistic’ states 13:20 Integrating sensitive quantum systems into a practical computing technology 15:00 Harnessing cubits connecting them via entanglement for processing power 15:30 Avoiding the ‘noise’ of entanglement with external particles: near absolute zero conditions 20:40 The applications of quantum computing 21:30 Encryption via ‘no cloning’ keys 22:10 A quantum enhanced internet - more security 25:40 Developing new chemical compositions via quantum simulations 30:10 Quantum ‘teleportation’ 35:40 Clarifying the role of light photons in quantum teleportation - it isn’t instantaneous 40:30 The limitations: When will we have a practically useful quantum computer (VS Neural network computers, see Vitaly Vanchurin episode) 45:30 Women in Science throughout history and the appropriation of their success by men 47:10 “Her Space, Her Time”, Shohini’s new book 47:40 The Mathilda effect: When men get credit for women’s work 52:30 Skew in The Nobel Prize and awards in general, and the risk of tokenism now 56:10 There is a lower ratio of women choosing science careers, but is that culturally biased data? See study 01:03:10 “Clues to the Cosmos” Shohini’s first book 01:05:10 The way new experiments force us to update our theories step by step 01:09:05 The implications of non-local probabilistic quantum phenomena 01:12:10 Matter is not fixed, reality is fluid 01:13:55 Measurement problem’s meaning: Even the separation between classical and quantum scale is fluid References: Shohini Ghose “Her Space, Her Time: How Trailblazing Women Scientists Decoded the Hidden Universe” 2023 https://g.co/kgs/bt9h63 A Beginners Guide to Quantum Computers, TED talk https://www.ted.com/talks/shohini_ghose_a_beginner_s_guide_to_quantum_computing?language=en Nobel prize for experiments confirming non-local realism and entanglement https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-universe-is-not-locally-real-and-the-physics-nobel-prize-winners-proved-it/ Vitaly Vanchurin - Neural network computers https://www.chasingconsciousness.net/episode-38-vitaly-vanchurin-the-world-as-a-neural-network A celebration of women scientists, TED talk https://www.ted.com/talks/shohini_ghose_a_celebration_of_women_scientists_and_why_we_need_more_of_them Scientific Careers and Gender differences, A qualitative study https://jcom.sissa.it/article/pubid/Jcom0701(2008)L01/ Shohini Ghose, “Clues to the Cosmos”...

Why do we have a negativity bias that predisposes us to focus on bad things in the world? How can we channel that natural tendency to learn and improve, rather that be afraid and depressed by it? What are the implications of negativity bias for the functioning of our society ongoing? In this episode we’ve got the important topic of the inherent Negativity Bias in human psychology to assess. This is the tendency for bad events, experiences and emotions to have more impact than good ones. We see this in relationships, social patterns, traumatic events, the media and learning processes. Research shows that bad impressions and stereotypes form quicker than good ones, that the self is more motivated to avoid bad self-definitions than to pursue good ones, and even that bad impressions are more thoroughly processed than good ones. This all plays out in out in the media, in the consumer markets and in politics and thus defines our culture ongoing. Is this natural? Is there anything we can do to mitigate it or use it for good? And do we even want to? Fortunately for us our guest today is a specialist in these matters, one of the most prolific and cited psychologists in the world, with over 650 publications, Professor Roy Baumeister. His 40 books include the New York Times bestseller Willpower. His research covers self and identity, self-regulation, interpersonal rejection and the need to belong, sexuality and gender, aggression, self-esteem, meaning, consciousness, free will, and self-presentation, some of which we cover today in connection with negativity bias. In 2013 he received the William James award for lifetime achievement in psychological science (the Association for Psychological Science’s highest honor). In 2001 He co-wrote a seminal paper on the very topic of today’s episode in, called ‘Bad is Stronger than Good’; and one of his latest books, co-authored with John Tierney, is called “The Power of Bad: How the Negativity Effect Rules Us and How We Can Rule It”. What we discuss: 00:00 Intro 10:00 Negativity Bias Explained 12:00 Evolutionary reasons to focus on the negative 15:45 “Life has to win every day, death only has to win once” 17:45 We process the negative more thoroughly than the positive 18:45 “We learn a lot more from bad events than from good ones” 20:10 The Pollyanna principle VS Bad memories being good for learning 27:30 Negativity bias in the media, fiction and entertainment 31:50 Ai algorithms tracking our engagement with negativity, making us feel the world is worse than we it is 33:10 “The world is getting better on every index except hope”, John Tierney 35:30 Older people are happier than younger people, Laura Carstensen 37:00 Polarisation as a consequence of algorithmic driven negativity bias 41:50 Using fear for profit VS using fear for control 33:15 Tendency to see the outsiders as threats 47:30 Belonging: our need not to be thought of negatively, hence not to be thrown out of the group 49:50 Theory of mind: Primates understand how other people think of them competitively but humans also collaboratively 50:40 We act ethically because we need people to cooperate 53:50 Negativity bias leading to a sense of belonging in the camp against the ‘other’ 55:30 Self control and regulation: taking control of negativity bias, we’re good at getting better 56:30 Not doing the bad things is what makes the difference 58:50 4:1 Ratio of good things to bad things required to swing the balance 01:03:40 Ego depletion confirmed: self control fatigue over time References: Baumeister and Tierney “The Power of Bad: How the negativity effect rules us and how we can rule it” ‘Bad is stronger than Good’ Paper, 2001 Baumeister and Tierney, “Will Power: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength” Full Show Note References on CC.net

What data supports the idea that Oumuamua could have been space junk from another civilisation from another civilisation? Why is it so important that the Galileo Project at Harvard looks for more such objects? Why is science finally taking the UAP Phenomenon seriously? Today we’re going to find out about new developments in the SETI discussion (Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) that has been prompted by the anomalous interstellar object Oumuamua, that passed through the solar system in 2017. Since the cosmologist, sceptic and TV presenter Carl Sagan helped normalise the topic for serious scientific consideration, SETI has been a thriving, if underfunded, scientific endeavour with multiple techniques being used, not just listening for radio signals; but which until recently hasn’t found anything to write home about, despite a few false alarms. Until the arrival of Oumuamua, today’s guest, Avi Loeb wasn’t really involved in the SETI debate, but his SETI interpretation of the data on this object, and his impeccable reputation as former chair of the astronomy department at Harvard University has brought him into the debate with a bang. He is the Frank B. Baird Jr Professor of Science at Harvard, author of over 700 scientific papers, and receiver of so many awards and accolades I won’t list them there. Avi is also the author of 4 books, of which we’ll be discussing two today. First his New York Times bestseller ‘Extraterrestrial’ about Oumuamua, and second his new book that’s just out “Interstellar: the search for extra terrestrial life and out future in the stars”. To add further taboo to this newly invigorated debate, we’ll also be talking about the 2017 NYTimes story on military UFO encounters, which revealed that the US Government had not only been secretly studying the UFO Phenomenon, but also covered the extraordinary ‘TicTac’ case around the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier, witnessed by multiple pilots and including radar blip confirmation. All of which has led to Congress passing a new law obliging military witnesses to testify about these incidents and alleged black projects working on this kind of technology, and to the June 2021 report form the Director of National intelligence (see show notes). Having never known this was even a real confirmed phenomena, and knowing Avi has since become involved in the scientific debate on this topic too, this interview was particularly curious. What we discuss: 00:00 Intro 12:45 6x anomalous data points on interstellar object Oumuamua, Oct 19th 2016 21:45 Technological relic VS natural object hypothesis 24:00 Natural origin: Solid hydrogen/nitrogen hypotheses 27.30 Avi’s New book “Interstellar” 32:00 Our star is younger than most in the galaxy so younger star’s civilisations are probably more advanced 36:00 The Galileo Project: Looking out for interstellar objects, in 3 ways 39:15 1. Exploring impact sites on earth, Finding the next Oumuamua sooner, Study of UAP 48:00 Imagining seeding of planets, creating species and creating universes in labs 01:12:30 “Science is not zero sum game its an infinite sum game, because basically everyone benefits from knowledge” References: Avi Loeb 'Interstellar: The Search for Extraterrestrial Life and Our Future in the Stars '(2023) Galileo Project @Harvard University Office of the Director of National Intelligence Assessment on UAP, June 2021, John L. Ratcliffe VICE Magazine, Experiencers brains and Anomalous materials magazine article NY Times USS Nimitz ‘Tic-Tac’ article, Dec 2017

What is the protocol for psychedelic therapy? How does it work? Who is it appropriate for? Today we have the interesting topic to look into, of how psychedelic compounds are now being used in psychotherapy. With promising results in clinical trials from Imperial College around the mid 2010’s, a flourish of trials at other medical schools across the world has seen a renaissance of the psychedelic movement for treating, particularly depression and PTSD, that was started by transpersonal psychologists like Stan Grof in the 1960’s before then being banned. Along with this renaissance has come interest from pharmaceutical companies and psychonauts, psychotherapists and members of the general public suffering from treatment resistant conditions. With all this activity there is confusion about what the results from the studies actually show, how the treatment should be done safely, ethically and with lasting results and who to be contacting if you want to try it out. So I thought it was important to speak about these matters here for anyone interested in getting a data led picture of the fast evolving situation, among all the noise out there on the internet. Fortunately my guest today is a clinical psychologist who’s been at the centre of the field since the beginning of the renaissance, and not just as a researcher but as a hands on psychologist in the therapy room with the subjects at all stages of the process, Dr. Rosalind Watts. Dr. Watt’s work as the Clinical psychologist Lead for Imperial College London’s psilocybin trials, have made her one of the most prominent voices and minds in the field of psychedelic research. She has been named as one of the 50 Most Influential People in Psychedelics; however, what sets Dr Watts apart is her focus on integration, harm-reduction and inclusion in the psychedelic space. Apart from treating she also builds tools and structures to foster connectedness after psychedelic experiences, finding inspiration for their design from nature. The most recent of which is the integration community she’s created - ACER Integration. What we speak about: 00:00 Intro 04:30 Clubbing community 07:40 The psychedelic therapy process: step by step 08:40 1. Screening: for people it could suit VS cause problems for 09:50 2. Preparation: Building trust and safety in vulnerability 11:15 The psychedelic experience is the beginning not the end of the work 13:05 Sharing meals; music and essential oils used to encourage relaxation and surrender 16:50 At least two guides needed for ethical and practical reasons 19:50 The ‘Pearl Dive’ analogy, deep down to the hidden traumas 26:50 3. The therapy session itself 28:50 A non-directed approach to the journey from the guides 33:05 4. Integration: after the experience, maximising benefits 35:10 Planting the pearl of insight to nourish and nurture them 35:40 6 months later the depression was back 44:20 The role of ritual and ceremony in effective results 46:20 Appropriated from Mexican Mazatec tradition of psilocybin for healing 49:50 How to talk about the ceremonial without deities and religions 54:50 Opening up to the sacred wound VS numbing the feelings 58:50 Ros’s first experience: Fear before and transformation after 01:07:35 The ‘brain reset’ analogy and the expectations it created 01:12:05 Mystical experience’s importance in the transformation 01:18:05 Adverse psychedelic effects: actively facing the hardest places References: ACER Community Integration Group Dr. Rosalind Watts, A.C.E. Accept, Embody, Connect model Maria Sabina, Mexican shaman - Life magazine 1957 Gaia Hypothesis Adverse effects trial at Greenwich University: Jules Evans and David Luke Increased brain connectivity following psilocybin treatment Little Pharma (Dr. Ben Sessa)

What does symmetry and self-similarity between life and intelligence mean for the nature of reality? How are neurones like genes? Today we have the extraordinary Fractal Brain Theory to discuss. After episode #38 about the World as a Neural Network, with Russian physicist and computer scientist Vitaly Vanchurin, i’ve become more open to a unified theory of universe that reconciles quantum mechanics with general relativity, as Vanchurin’s equations seem to offer. So when I was recommended today’s guest’s Fractal Brain Theory by one of the wonderful listeners, I was curious if a little sceptical given all the psychedelic hype about fractal geometry. So a symmetrical theory of repeating self-similar, self-modifying behaviour in the universe is not so far from the vision of the universe as a thriving, adaptable neural network. And according to today’s guest the symmetry directly connects the often divorced worlds of neurones, brains and intelligence with the world of genes, evolution and life. He is multi-disciplinary researcher, computer scientist, musician and author Wai H Tsang. A self-taught thinker in the world of neurology, evolutionary biology, consciousness and philosophy of mind, Tsang is in the unique position of combining these traditions into a single theory of brain, that promises to solve even the hard problem of consciousness. Trained in computer science at Imperial college, he wrote the first version of his Fractal Brain Theory in 2016, in his book of the same name, and it was picked up by quantum consciousness theorist Stuart Hameroff, who invited him to the Science of Consciousness Conference, alongside heavy weights in the field like David Chalmers, Roger Penrose, Sue Blackmore, Donald Hoffman - many who’ve been on this show already. This recognition catapulted his theory into the field, so it’s with great pleasure that I include it on the show for us to compare alongside the theories of many of the giants. What we discuss: 00:00 Intro 07:10 Symmetry explained: Variance and non-variance; change and resistance to change 11:00 Genomes work like tiny fractal brains 12:30 The symmetry between intelligence and life, neurones and genes 13:00 Junk DNA, neurones and boolean algebra 17:45 Dendritic structure, processing and artificial intelligence 19:00 Self-similarity and recursively nested symmetry 21:30 Evolution and ontogenesis algorithm: differentiate, select, amplify 22:15 Fractal Mathematics and Benoit Mandelbrot: Approximate self-similarity 25:45 Binary trees generating life and intelligence 29:00 Mitosis and progenator fields 30:00 Allocentric and egocentric mapping (Nobel prize) 34:40 Goodwin and cell division VS epigenetic mutation/adaptation 36:00 Recursive modification IS intelligence; evolving evolvability 40:15 A new calculus: analytic geometry 47:00 The soft and hard problem of consciousness 51:00 Time symmetric quantum mechanics and problems with causal chains 58:00 David Chalmers: Identity cosmo-psychism critique 01:11:00 Is self-reflective conscious Ai possible? 01:19:30 Penrose: Quantum mechanics is incomplete until we understand the collapse of the wave function 01:21:00 The ethical debate about the future of Ai References: ‘The Fractal Brain Theory’ Wai Tsang Wai Tsang You Tube Channel Wai Tsang Core Live shows Boolean Algebra Yakir Aharonov, ‘New insights into time-symmetry in quantum mechanics’ paper David Chalmers, ‘The Singularity: A Philosophical Analysis’ paper David Chalmers, “Idealism and the mind body problem” paper

What evidence is there for a connection between the microbiome and the chronic inflammation and mental health problems on the rise in western populations? Do we need to rethink hygiene practices to benefit from this new understanding? In this episode we’re going to be getting our heads around the idea that while Hygiene has revolutionised health, too much hygiene, actually weakens our immune system’s development. To understand why, we need to understand how the complex community of microbes in our intestines, on our skin and in nature around us has evolved for thousands of years, in symbiosis with our immune system; we’ll be mapping out how, as our hygiene practices and food processing have increased, so the diversity of microbiota has dropped, eventually leading to the explosion of inflammatory disorders, mental health issues and auto-immune disfunction we’re now seeing in western communities. But how to solve this problem, without loosing the great advances in health care achieved by the application of Hygiene theory? Who better to answer that question and explain these subtleties than professor of medical microbiology at University College London, Dr. Graham Rook. Rook is a specialist in infection and immunity, and has spent his career unfolding how the young immune system is ‘programmed’ by the microbial background, identifying all the medical conditions that have been worsened by the failing immuno-regulation associated with our impoverished biomes, and developing ways we can update our lifestyle to restore the diversity required to sustain healthy immune response. In his new book ‘Evolution, Biodiversity and a Reassessment of the Hygiene hypothesis’ he explains all this and his 2003 Old-Friends hypothesis, which seeks to correct the over-stretching of the Hygeine hypothesis. We have got a show from the second series with phytotherapist Alex Laird, about the dietary aspect of the microbiome and inflammation called ‘Mood Food: Inflammation, the gut and diet’ should anyone want to get into the food side of this. What we discuss: 00:00 Intro 08:30 Bacterial diversity in the human body and the evolution of the immune system 12:00 The symbiotic co-evolution of internal bacteria and humankind 13:30 The ‘programming’ of the adaptive immune system by diverse bacteria: Lymphocytes 16:30 Most of our genes evolved in micro-organisms 20:55 Modern western microbiomes compared to our hunter gatherer ancestors 21:40 Variety of diet and contact with nature 22:10 Microorganisms from mother and the natural environment 24:00 The socio-economic factor: Urban poverty VS exposure to microorganisms and diverse diet 26:00 Antibiotic over-use in children contributing to allergies and obesity 26:25 Immune regulation, and how it changes with hyper inflammation 30:00 Background high inflammation in the west 31:20 Microbiota transplants in mental health, allergies and obesity experiments 33:50 The difficulty in using biota transplants to treat biome related issues 39:00 Microbiome/inflammation research into Autism, Parkinsons and Alzheimer’s 46:00 ‘Trained Immunity’ - raising immune alertness epigenetically 50:00 Reassessing the hygiene hypothesis, good diet and minimising antibiotics References: G. Rook, ‘Evolution, Biodiversity, and reassessing the hygiene hypothesis’ book G. Rook, 'The Old Friends Hypothesis’ paper ‘Pediatrics Consequences of Caesarean Section-A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis’, maternal microbiota paper ‘Association between antibiotic treatment during pregnancy and infancy and the development of allergic diseases’ paper ‘Gut microbiome remodelling induces depressive-like behaviour’ paper ‘Long-term benefit of Microbiota Transfer Therapy on autism symptoms and gut microbiota’ paper 'Pet-keeping in early life reduces the risk of allergy in a dose-dependent fashion’ paper

What is Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprogramming therapy? What could be the mechanism by which its bilateral stimulation relieves the disturbances from trauma? In this episode we have the fascinating technique of EMDR psychotherapy to look into. This is another show, like the Parenting by Connection episode #18, that’s close to home, as I personally have had extraordinary results with this method. Developed from the 80’s onwards by Francine Shapiro, Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing uses a bilateral brain hemisphere stimulation, similar to the pre-REM sleep state, to lower the physiological reaction in the present, following traumatic experiences in the past. The reason I was so struck by the method and wanted to share the science of it here, is how the model works physiologically on the reprogramming of traumatic memories, with more or less instant results - results that might take years using traditional talky therapies. Why this ‘straight to the point’ method works though is still not clear to scientists, so it will be interesting to hear the different theories. Who better to tell us all about it than EMDR therapist ex-president of EMDR Europe and the president of EMDR Italy, Dr. Isabel Fernandez. As well as more than 20 years treating patients with EMDR and training tens thousands of therapists, she sits on several boards of organisations studying science of psychotraumatology, like the Society of Traumatic Stress Studies. She has written various scientific papers, books and chapters on EMDR and trauma too. What we discuss: 00:00 Intro 06:10 Trauma with a big ’T’ (threat to life) and a little ’t’ (interpersonal) 09:20 The risk of a ‘victim’ complex, lowering resilience if we focus on even little ’t’ trauma 10:00 You reach resilience through addressing and integrating trauma 11:20 Our innate ability to process adverse experience information and the overwhelming of that in PTSD 15:30 Bilateral eye movement stimulation helps the completion of our innate memory integration ability 18:25 You do need to remember the memory to work on it, but often it arises by association rather than actively remembering it 21:00 Bilateral stimulation of the left and right hemisphere: visual, sensory and auditory versions 23:00 Pre-Rem Sleep is similar to the EMDR state 26:30 Proved to be faster than other therapies, therefore more cost effective for the state health services 28:15 Its functioning is not yet completely understood: the leading theories 32:40 Iain McGilchrist’s left right hemisphere interpretation (See Episode #15) 36:45 A meta analysis - Bilateral stimulation much more effective than non-bilateral stimulation, just therapy 39:30 Adaptive information - 1. Processing of the past 2. De-sensitisation of disturbance the present 3. Imaginal future events 50:15 EMDR for kids with traumatic experiences from 2 years old 51:45 Applications for collective mass trauma: war, pandemics, floods and earthquakes 52:45 The key is to work with bilateral stimulation during the acute phase of the trauma 55:00 Bringing EMDR to the Police, the military and the hospitals References: Frontiers in Psychology: Slow Wave Sleep/ Pre-Rem Sleep similarities with EMDR State American Psychological Association: Neural Basis of EMDR Therapy Nature: Neural Circuits involved in EMDR suppressing fear response American Psychological Association: Chris Lee, Meta-analysis of efficacy and speed of EMDR PubMed: Meta-analysis of treatment of sexual abuse in children and adolescents EMDREurope.com EMDR.com EMDR.it

Just how much evidence for psi phenomena is there today, when we put together the data from all the studies? What theory of reality could account for such phenomena? In this episode we have the baffling results of the scientific study of psi phenomena to get our head around. Broadly speaking psi can be broken down into four categories: telepathy, precognition and clairvoyance, and mind-matter interaction. The mere mention of these words immediately conjures images of magicians, charlatans and soothsayers duping a susceptible public; so combine that with the fact that nothing of these experiments and results have ever been properly covered in the scientific press, except by sceptics to dismiss them as physically impossible, as they would defy our current conception of the laws of physics: and the consequence is that scientifically educated people like us may have had absolutely no idea that there was more than 100 years of serious scientific peer-reviewed study on these effects from credible institutions like Princeton University and Stanford Research Institute, with debate and disagreement like any other field of science. Still, you can understand why professional scientists that are interested do this research out of the public eye, and the difficulty of other main stream scientists opening up to the results; as not only would it mean opening up to an alternative understanding of the laws of physics and mind, but also to be accused of believing pseudo-science. So I ask listeners that you sit through this presentation of the evidence patiently and just stay open to the possibility, as let’s face it the testimonial evidence for these anomalies is overwhelming. So who better to speak to about this baffling data, than one of the world’s leading psi researchers for over 30 years, psychologist Dean Radin. Dean got his degree in Engineering with Physics at the University of Massachusetts, and his PHD in psychology from the University of Illinois. He’s the head scientist at The Institute of Noetic Sciences and has worked in R&D for AT&T and GTE, as well as holding positions at Princeton University and SRI international. He has written many books on these topics for those who want delve deeper but the ones we’ll concentrate on today are ‘The Conscious Universe’, ‘Entangled Minds’ and ‘Real Magic’. 00:00 Intro 07:35 4 types of PSI experiments: Telepathy, mind-matter interaction, Precognition and Clairvoyance 10:30 Typical scientific response: delusion, illusion, mental illness, ignorance of the scientifically possible, and often that’s true 11:30 The Ganzfeld telepathy experiments: 5000 experiments with a 25% chance, result shift to 30% (6 sigma - a billion to one chance) 23:00 These phenomena may be bubbling up from the unconscious, so best to avoid conscious reporting methods 32:14 Mind-matter interaction: quantum random number generator experiments (4.5 Sigma result) 40:20 Dean’s ‘non-local connection/ observer effect’ theory for how psi works 44:80 Evidence for quantum coherence in the brain (See episode on ‘Quantum Biology’) 51:45 Robert Jahn, Princeton University Dean of Engineering, founder of PEAR Labs 56:30 A shift in openness to PSI 59:30 The Stargate remote viewing program at SRI: Dean’s role 01:07:00 Sceptic Ray Hyman: the strongest evidence for psi comes from Dean Radin and Jessica Utts 01:15:00 What’s being studied at IONS, that Edgar Mitchell founded following his mystical experience 01:35:00 Journals with editorial prejudice and psi research friendly publications References: Dean Radin 'The Conscious Universe' Dean Radin 'Entangled minds' Telepathy Gansfeld meta analysis of 29 studies (1992-2008) Precognition experiments meta analysis of 90 studies (-2011) Mind matter experiments eta analysis of 216 studies (1959-2000) Stargate Remote viewing program 1974-1996 Documentary ‘Third Eye Spies’ Evidence for quantum entanglement in the brain

Why are religious and mystical experiences important to our sense of meaning and purpose in life? What is a spiritual emergency and how can it actually help us in the long run? Are transpersonal experiences illusions of the mind or can they tell us anything about the nature of reality? In this episode, we have the extraordinary topic of Transpersonal Psychology to learn about. With the steady rise in popularity of western secular spirituality, meditation, psychedelic research, altered states of consciousness and embodied practices in general, during the 60’s some psychologists felt there was a part of psychology missing from the old humanist and behaviourist models. It was as if the overwhelmingly materialist scientific view of humans, that sees our bodies and brains as fundamentally separate from other beings, the natural world and any hypothetically transcendent reality, was missing out a huge source of data about the way our minds work. So a bunch of them coined a new term, Transpersonal psychology, and with it came a new field of study and practice. It’s a really wide field and at its cusps starts to get into areas that science can’t actually study using the method; some of which we’re going to touch on towards the end of this episode. But above all it makes a place for the importance of the transpersonal that crosses those boundaries between our bodies and brains and everything else out there, both known and unknown. So fortunately today’s guest has over 25 years of experience both as a psychologist and a workshops leader, David Lukoff. Dr. Lukoff has published over 80 articles on spirituality and mental health, and is an active workshop presenter internationally on spiritual competency, grief, death, recovery, and spiritual crises. He is a Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the Sofie University, previously known as the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology in Palo Alto, in CA and previously served on the faculties of Harvard University and UCLA. He is also the co-founder of the Spiritual Competency Academy, that offers mental health professionals courses on the skills and knowledge to become more spiritual competent. What we discuss: 00:00 Intro 05:30 A psychedelic psychotic episode and a spiritual crisis 07:00 Spirituality and religion as resources and practices 07:42 The history of transpersonal psychology 14:00 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs VS behaviourism 16:45 Spiritual emergencies 18:00 Jospeh Cambell’s ‘Hero’s Journey’ and Jung’s ‘Compensatory psychosis’ 22:30 David’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) entry 24:00 The post scientific revolution meaning crisis, and spiritual assessment as a solution 29:45 Ceremonial, shamanic and plant medicine approaches 32:30 Bringing altered states into mainstream psychology 37:00 Holotropic breathing: simulating an LSD-like research after LSD research was banned 40:15 The strength of the mystical experience correlates with positive outcomes 41:15 Stan Grof: NDE, OBE, psi, afterlife and interdimensional communications 45:00 The Spiritual Competency Academy: forgiveness, compassion, mindfulness References: Spiritual Competency Academy Journal of Transpersonal Psychology Rick Doblin - Founder of MAPS - Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies ‘Spiritual and religious problems’ included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of mental disorders Jung’s ‘Compensatory psychosis’ The Spiritual Emergency Network Johns Hopkins and NYU studies - Intensity of mystical experiences correlation with positive clinical outcomes.

What do machine learning, physics and biology have in common? What maths emerges when we apply learning dynamics to physics, and can it reconcile quantum mechanics and general relativity? If we see all nature as neuroplastic and constantly learning, like a neural network, what can this tell us about the fine tuning in the universe and the emergence of life and observers? In this episode we have the fascinating possibility that the world is like a neural network to consider. On the show we’ve already deeply considered the way in which particles and sometimes even minds seem to be inter-connected in the universe, even beyond the apparent causal links in space and time. We also covered the brain science of neuroplasticity, for listeners who want to understand how that works. Applying that idea to the universe, that in some way the dynamic evolution of systems in the universe, over time adapt depending on the requirements could explain the extraordinary fine tuning we see in the universe, that permitted the arising of life in the first place. Along the way it could potentially fix some of the other gaping holes of disagreement in our best theories of physics. Our guest in this episode, the Russian physicist Vitaly Vanchurin, has not only developed this theory from the ground up, apparently reconciling quantum mechanics and general relativity, but is connecting it with biological systems and even developing a new type of computer processor to model it. After many years at the University of Minnesota, he’s taken a position at the National Institute of Health, and has more or less simultaneously launched a new multidisciplinary company ‘Artificial Neural Computing’ that connects physics, biology, and machine learning. What we discuss: 00:00 Intro 05:21 The world as a neural network 06:00 Deep learning in the systems of the universe, neural learning and machine learning 09:00 The universe is learning as it evolves 11:30 Cosmic storage of learning, leads us to a cosmic consciousness model 12:40 The efficiency of learning defines its level of consciousness 13:30 A super-observer 16:00 It’s a useful model, but it’s likely how the universe actually works too 18:20 Fast changing non-trainable variables VS slow changing trainable variables 20:00 When the trainable variables change they could modify the laws of physics 21:20 Trainable variables in machine learning, are similar to genetic adaptation in biology 22:00 Connecting machine learning, physics and biological adaptation 31:40 What experiments could confirm this model? 42:00 At large scale entropy’s actually reduced by learning. 43:00 The emergence of life has a low chance of emerging by chance, more likely by pursuit of learning 44:50 Learning theory explains fine tuning in the universe 49:20 Neuroplasticity at a cosmic level: increasing efficiency and collective consciousness 54:30 The observer problem solved - hidden variables are trainable variables learning 58:30 Getting comfortable with variances from our best theories: models are only mental constructs 01:01:30 Vitaly’s new company 'Artificial Neural Computing’ - an interdisciplinary method marrying machine learning, physics and biology 01:11:00 What is emergent quantumness? 01:13:15 The implications of neuromorphic machine learning technology 01:17:30The implications for AGI 01:18:30 Self-driving car efficiency 01:21:00 Biology is a technology 01:27:40 You can think of space-time as many communication channels or neural connections 01:28:30 We are like one organism, a super-consciousness References: Vitaly Vanchurin - The World as a Neural Network Paper Vitaly Vanchirin - Toward a theory of evolution as multilevel learning paper Vitaly's new company, Artificial Neural Computing Anthropic principal Stochastic (Adj) = Random and predictable only using probability distributions Learning equilibrium = when learning in a system equalises with the level of knowledge in the wider...

How Can Ultrasound destroy cancer cells and even increase immune response elsewhere? Are there any implications for a resonant field based understanding of matter? In this episode we have the fascinating invention of Histotripsy (https://histotripsy.umich.edu/), the non-invasive destruction of cancer cells using ultrasound to look into. Alongside the other headline news that bioengineers are also using acoustics to pattern replacement heart tissue, makes the field of bioacoustics one of the most exciting for the future of medicine. It is of course the implications of this for the resonant vibrational nature of matter that make this of interest to us on the show, as we attempt to get closer to a true understanding of the nature of reality through our shows on the implications of Einstein’s ‘matter is energy’ findings and quantum mechanics. We get into this after 45 mins or so. We are lucky enough to be speaking today with one of the inventors of Histotripsy technology, Zhen Xu, Associate Professor and Graduate Chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Michigan University. She’s won many awards for her research, including from the American Heart Association and from the National Institute of Health. 00:00 Intro 07:25 Destroying Cancer Cells with Ultrasound 08:50 Issues with tissue heating and toxicity in other non-surgical techniques 09:50 Cavitation: the creation, expansion and collapse of bubbles - gas pockets in the tissue 11:40 Ultrasound propagates through the vibration of tissue particles 13:36 Acoustic Scalpel: Cavitation bubbles are highly visible on ultrasound imaging, for high accuracy treatment 14:45 No spread of tissue heating, so no healthy tissue damage 16:00 The discovery happened by mistake 19:45 She developed new devices for a new phenomenon 21:40 Toxicity of the destroyed tumour is removed from the body in a few months 24:30 Immune response to tumerous cells after treatment, possibly from the debris 25:40 Live cancer cells alter signal pathways to confuse the immunes system 28:00 But once dead the the debris can are noticed by the immune system 29:45 Future tumours or relapses in different locations are picked ups by the immune system 33:30 Treating neurological disease, brain blood clots and epilepsy too, across the skull protection 40:30 Patterning and forming new cell structures using sound (Stanford Med research): Structuring vs destructing using sound 44:30 Resonant frequency in various types of matter and biological tissue 45:00 No evidence from the lab for a resonant theory of tissue/organ health 48:50 Nikola Tesla, “If you want to find the secrets of the Universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration” 52:00 The implications of a wider wave-length fields, for the creation and maintaining of matter and biological life’s structure 56:30 Bioelectric component in organ development (TUFTS Study): The formation of life depends on more than DNA 1:01:00 A field based understanding of physical matter, rather than matter generating fields References: Dr Zhen Xu 'Histotripsy: the first noninvasive, non-ionizing, non-thermal ablation technique based on ultrasound' Paper Dr Zhen Xu - Histotripsy Group Cosmos Magazine Article on Histotripsy Dr Cliff Cho, Dr Zhen Xu - “...Immune responses that enhance cancer immunotherapy” Paper Sean Wu and Utcan Demerci, Stanford Medical School, Engineering Heart tissue using Bioacoustics Havana Syndrome Nikola Tesla quote, “If you want to find the secrets of the Universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration” Micheal Levin, TUFTS university, “changes in bioelectric signals cause tadpoles to grow eyes in back and tail”

What are the benefits and risks of transhumanist technologies, and why are they so taboo? How do we legislate to avoid existential risks, without holding back too much the enormous possible benefits? How do we secure the mental health, rights and equal access of the public as it inevitably rolls out? So today we have the tricky and somewhat taboo topic of how to ethically guide the ever-increasing application of transhumanist technologies. With the recent advances in bio-technology, and some technologies already making their way into our bodies, it seems that the move towards a transhumanist vision of how to improve our standard of living is already well under way. So the question now is how do we educate ourselves the public and legislate tech corporations and governments, to be sure that people’s mental and physical health, access to opportunities, and personal freedoms are not being compromised in the gold-rush. Fortunately our guest today is a sociologist and bioethicist with over 25 years of debating exactly these kind of questions. He is the executive director of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies or IEET, and he is the Associate Provost for Institutional research, Assessment and Planning at the University of Massachusetts Boston, James Hughes. He is a Buddhist and techno-optimist, and was executive director of the World Transhumanist Organisation from 2004-2006. He argues for a democratic transhumanism in which human enhancement technologies should only be allowed if available to everyone, with respect for the rights of the individuals to control their own bodies. He’s the writer of many articles and papers and the author of the book,“Citizen Cyborg: Why democratic societies must respond to the redesigned human of the future”. He is currently working on another book about moral enhancement, tentatively titled “Cyborg Buddha: Using neurotechnology to become better people”. Being a techno-optimist and futurist myself, yet extremely cautious of mankind’s reckless and often blind curiosity when developing technology, I felt it was an important time to take a balanced multi-perspectival look into the ethics and policy development of transhumanist technologies. The interview offered me a process of re-evalutation of my own preconceptions and triggers, so I hope it helps you question your own opinions on this complex topic. What we discuss: 00:00 Intro 08:00 Difficulty accepting our inevitable transhumanist future 14:00 The taboo of transhumanism and debating toxic issues 19:45 It’s not the tech that’s the risk but the way we use it and legislate it: Max Tegmark 33:20 The History of Transhumanism 44:50 Is Eugenics connected to Transhumanism? 51:00 The roadmap towards markets rolling out transhumanist technologies 52:30 The Kurzweilian paradigm: Smaller, smarter and faster 55:45 Backing up memories - replacing and supplementing brain function 57:00 Instantiating brain backups in robot bodies, cloned bodies or computers 58:45 The Metaverse and brain-internet interfaces assessed 01:03:00 Augmented reality will be more popular than virtual reality 01:06:00 Technology interfering with the evolution of brains and culture 01:10:00 Selective scientific publication about the negative mental health outcomes 01:21:00 Neurolink: brain computer internet interfaces assessed 01:27:00 Gene therapy assessed: the risks of yet further inequality of wealth and power 01:43:50 The Singularity explained 01:56:20 Inequality leads to dangerous conflict VS Transnational collaboration leads to peace References: James J Hughes ‘Citizen Cyborg’ Nick Bostrum - ‘A History of Transhumanist thought’ paper The Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies IEET