https://www.contemplativesciencelab.com/

Rupert Read is an environmental philosopher, public intellectual, and activist. He was formerly an associate professor of philosophy at the University of East Anglia in the UK, was a leading figure within Extinction Rebellion, and now leads the Climate Majority Project. His books include "Why Climate Breakdown Matters," "Deep Adaptation: Navigating the Realities of Climate Chaos," and "Parents for a Future". Today we discuss why spirituality and philosophy are crucial for understanding ecological breakdown.

David Loy is a Zen teacher, author, and scholar whose work bridges Buddhism, social justice, and ecology. He is a founding member of the Rocky Mountain Ecodharma Retreat Center, near Boulder, Colorado, and sits on the advisory boards of Buddhist Global Relief, the Clear View Project, Zen Peacemakers, and the Ernest Becker Foundation. He's the author of many books, including Ecodharma: Buddhist Teachings for the Ecological Crisis, and ecodharma is the topic that we explore today. https://www.davidloy.org/

In this AMA I answer questions on fear of death, wearables, healing in traumatic environments, bitcoin, & procrastination

Tony Nader is a neuroscientist and leader of the Transcendental Meditation movement, one of the most influential spiritual organisations in the world. Founded by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the movement has had many prominent members, from the The Beatles, the Beach Boys and Mick Jagger in the 60s to Filmmakers David Lynch and Martin Scorsese, and comedians Eric Andre and Jerry Seinfeld. Dr. Nader took over the leadership in 2008 after training as a doctor in his native Lebanon and gaining a PhD in neuroscience from MIT. He is the author of several books that aim to synthesise the ancient Vedic teachings of northern India with our modern scientific understanding of ourselves and the world around us. His books include Human Physiology: Expression of Veda and the Vedic Literature, Ramayana in Human Physiology and, most recently, One Unbounded Ocean of Consciousness in which he argues that consciousness is all that exists. He also hosts a podcast titled Consciousness is All There is. As many of you will know this is not a stance that I agree with but I believe it is important to explore these ideas given their popularity amongst people who have had unitive mystical experiences.

For the 100th episode of the podcast, I attempt to lay out the broad strokes of my worldview from start to finish. I address why there is something rather than nothing, my opinion on the nature of existence, the place of consciousness in the natural world, and the implications of our nature as living beings for how we can improve our situation socially.

David Nichols is a legendary psychopharmacologist and world-renowned expert in psychedelics. HIs research career began in 1969 and he was a professor at Purdue University until his retirement in 2012. Today we discuss the psychopharmacology of substances like LSD, psilocybin, MDMA and DMT.

AMA: Marxism, Ayahuasca & Anxiety around trying psychedelics

This week I share some thoughts on whether Google's LaMDA AI conscious.

Blake Lemoine is a software developer and AI researcher at Google who has been working on their artificial intelligence system called LaMDA. He was recently placed on administrative leave for stating his belief that the AI has become conscious and should be considered a person. Today we discuss LaMDA and whether we can say if it is conscious or not.

This week I share some thoughts on integrating nondual insight into everyday life.

My guest this week, once again, is Richard Doyle. Rich is the first guest to appear on the podcast twice, which should be an indication of how much we enjoyed speaking the first time. Rich is an author and Professor of English and of Information Sciences and Technology at Pennsylvania State University. He also goes by the alias Mobius. Today we had a loose unplanned discussion that centred around nonduality as well as personal and social transformation.

In this AMA I share thoughts on wonder and curiosity as well as guilt and shame.

This week on the podcast I'm speaking again with Daniel Ingram. Daniel is a physician and meditator and is the author of the influential book Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha. He is the co-founder of the Dharma Overground and of The Emergent Phenomenology Research Consortium. Today we discuss awakening and the role of interpretations in the mind, as well as the dark night of the soul and other related topics. If you're interested in any of these topics, you can go to innerspaceinstitute.org to explore my guided practices there.

Loch Kelly is a meditation teacher and author. He teaches a nondual approach to relieving suffering that he calls Effortless Mindfulness. This approach is based in the Mahamudra teachings of Tibetan Buddhism, and Loch has studied with two great teachers of this tradition, Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche and his son, Mingyur Rinpoche. He has also studied with the American meditation teacher Adyashanti, who first suggested that Loch teach others. Today we talk about Loch's approach to the direct path of awakening.

Evan Thompson is a philosopher and professor at the University of British Columbia. He specialises in the philosophy of mind and cognitive science, as well as in cross-cultural philosophy, with a particular interest in Chinese and Indian philosophy and the dialogue between Buddhism and the Western philosophical tradition. He's the author of several books including Mind and Life, Why I'm not a Buddhist, The Embodied Mind, co-authored with Francisco Varela and Eleanor Rosch, and Waking, Dreaming, Being. Today we discuss the idea that all life is conscious, known as biopsychism, and the issues it raises form a philosophical perspective. http://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/20323/

In this AMA I discuss the the neurobiology of trauma & the ethics of obtaining illegal drugs.

Rick Hanson is a psychologist and a Senior Fellow at UC Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center. He is the best-selling author of several books including Buddha's Brain, Hardwiring Happiness and Neurodharma. Today we discuss mediation and its relationship to the brain.

James Maffie is senior lecturer in philosophy at the University of Maryland and an affiliate of their Latin American Studies Program. He is the author of Aztec Philosophy: Understanding a World In Motion, a book that details the nondual metaphysics of the Aztecs and other Mesoamerican peoples.

David Nutt is a neuropsychopharmacologist specialising in the research of drugs. He is the chairman of Drug Science, a non-profit which he founded in 2010 to provide independent, evidence-based information on drugs. He is professor of neuropharmacology at Imperial College London is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, the Royal College of Psychiatrists and the Academy of Medical Scientists and was formerly the President of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology. He has worked closely with the UK government to provide an evidence-based approach to classifying drugs based on their harms and was famously fired for stating the facts of drug harms as they are known to science. He has written several book on the topic, Drugs Without the Hot Air: Minimising the Harms of Legal and Illegal Drugs, Drink?: The New Science of Alcohol and Your Health and most recently Cannabis: Seeing through the smoke. In addition to this work he has been a key figure in the revival of psychedelic research across the world. Today we discuss the harms and benefits of alcohol, cannabis & psychedelics as well as both rational and irrational approaches to drug policy.

In this AMA I discuss the martial arts, boxing & brain injury. Research paper discussed: https://rb.gy/dtw6pj Reviews from 2020: https://rb.gy/arbhza https://rb.gy/eqvnt6

Liz Carlisle is an Assistant Professor in the Environmental Studies Program at UC Santa Barbara, where she teaches courses on food and farming. She's the author of three books, Lentil Underground, Grain by Grain, and Healing Grounds: Climate, Justice, and the Deep Roots of Regenerative Farming, all of which explore regenerative agriculture and agroecology.

Richard Doyle is Professor of English and of Information Sciences and Technology at Pennsylvania State University. His books include On Beyond Living: Rhetorical Transformations of the Life Sciences, Wetwares: Experiments In Postvital Living, Darwin's Pharmacy: Sex, Plants, and the Evolution of the Noosphere, The Genesis of Now: Self Experiments with the Bible & the End of Religion, Into the Stillness: Dialogues on Awakening Beyond Thought. His work integrates a wide range of subjects, incorporating non-ordinary states of consciousness, ecology, technology and rhetoric, all of which we discuss today.

Keith Frankish is a philosopher who specializes in the philosophy of mind, psychology, and cognitive science. He has affiliations with the University of Sheffield and The Open University in the UK as well as the University of Crete in Greece. He is known for arguing that consciousness is an illusion, which is what we talk about today.

Ask questions for the next AMA via patreon or the youtube channel membership community: https://www.patreon.com/DrJamesCooke https://www.youtube.com/DrJamesCooke

In this AMA I discuss the the psychology of money at the personal and societal scales. Ask questions for the next AMA via patreon or the channel membership community (click the "join" button above): https://www.patreon.com/DrJamesCooke

Mark Vernon is a psychotherapist and writer whose work focuses on spirituality in the Christian tradition. He has a degrees in theology and physics from Oxford and Durham University and also has PhD in ancient Greek philosophy from the University of Warwick. Today we discuss mysticism and its relationship to Christianity.

On today's episode I share some thoughts on the war in Ukraine and how we can move towards a global culture of peace

Ask questions for the next AMA via patreon: https://www.patreon.com/drjamescooke or the YouTube channel membership community: https://www.youtube.com/drjamescooke Topics (in order addressed): Ukraine Pivotal mental states Credits: Animations by Janko Pješivac https://vimeo.com/user22957416

Richard Lang is the coordinator of the Shollond Trust, a charity that promotes an approach to self discovery known as the Headless Way. This approach was developed by British Architect Douglas Harding and, after studying with Douglas since 1970, Richard committed himself to sharing this work as widely as possible. He is the author of two books on the headless way, Seeing Who You Really Are, and Open to the Source - Selected Teachings of Douglas Harding. You can also find teachings on this subject on Richard's Youtube channel. Today we discuss this unique approach to gaining insight into the nondual nature of our experience.

Sam is an ecologist, researcher and science writer, working at the intersection of ecology and psychedelics. He has conducted ecological field research around the world and also has extensive experience of working in the psychedelic field, at the Beckley Foundation, Synthesis Institute, and the psychedelic music company Wavepaths. He is currently a Project Manager with Norfolk Rivers Ecology and a collaborator with the Centre for Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London, with a research interest in the capacity of psychedelics to influence our connection to nature. Today we talk about the science of how psychedelics can help us discover that we are part of nature.

On today's episode I share some thoughts on psychological attractors and their significance for the future of human society. Credits: Animations by Janko Pješivac https://vimeo.com/user22957416

Ask questions for the next AMA via patreon or the YouTube channel membership community: https://www.patreon.com/DrJamesCooke https://www.youtube.com/DrJamesCooke Topics (in order addressed): The legitimacy of psychoanalysis Neurological risks from psychedelics Credits: Animations by Janko Pješivac https://vimeo.com/user22957416

Antonio Damasio is a neurologist and neuroscientist and is currently Professor of Psychology, Philosophy, and Neurology, at the University of Southern California. His research focuses on the role of emotion in mental processes, with a particular focus on consciousness. He is the author of many books, the most recent of which is Feeling and Knowing. Today we discuss consciousness and how it relates to the brain and the life process.

Chris Letheby is a philosopher of mind and cognitive science who works on issues arising from the use of psychedelic drugs in psychiatry and neuroscience. His doctoral research, conducted at the University of Adelaide, presented the first systematic analysis of the psychedelic experience within the framework of 21st century philosophy of cognitive science. He is currently Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Western Australia and Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Adelaide. He is the author of a wonderful new book entitled Philosophy of Psychedelics. Today we talk about how to reconcile psychedelic experiences with naturalism.

Viivi Jokela is an awakening facilitator. She had a spontaneous awakening in 2022 which she subsequently integrated to reach abiding no-self realization. I find her descriptions of what she calls "the natural state", and the process by which it can be realized, to be incredibly accurate, and so it's a real pleasure to bring you my conversation with her today. We speak mainly about what it's like to go through no-self realization, as well as other aspects of awakening. https://www.sensingradiance.com/

Peter McCoy is the co-founder of Radical Mycology, a grassroots movement that teaches ways to work with mushrooms and other fungi for personal, societal, and ecological health. Peter teaches mushroom cultivation internationally and online at mycologos.world. He is the author of Radical Mycology: A Treatise on Seeing and Working With Fungi and the new book Mycocultural Revolution: Changing the World with Mushrooms, Lichens, and Other Fungi. Today we talk about fungi and their relationship to society. Credits: Animations by Janko Pješivac https://vimeo.com/user22957416

On today's episode I share some thoughts on unaccountability and the collective shadow.

Ask questions for the next AMA via patreon or the channel membership community (click the "join" button above): https://www.patreon.com/DrJamesCooke Topics (in order addressed): The ocean of suffering, meditation advice, environmental triggers for conceptual thinking, alcohol, psychedelics for OCD & psychedelic integration Credits: Animations by Janko Pješivac https://vimeo.com/user22957416

Ask questions for the next AMA: https://www.patreon.com/DrJamesCooke https://www.youtube.com/DrJamesCooke Topics (in order addressed): the origins of collective trauma, panpsychism, the ayahuasca experience, the therapeutic potential of different psychedelics Credits: Animations by Janko Pješivac https://vimeo.com/user22957416

Philip Goff is a philosopher and consciousness researcher at Durham University in the UK. His research focuses on how to integrate consciousness into our scientific worldview and he is an advocate for panpsychism, the view that consciousness is fundamental and widespread in the universe. He is the author of an academic book on the subject, Consciousness and Fundamental Reality, and a book aimed at the general public, Galileo's Error. Today we talk about the place of consciousness in our universe with a particular focus on panpsychism. @Philip_Goff https://www.philipgoffphilosophy.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/MindChat

Topics (in order addressed): Changing the political system, connecting with nature, the neuroscience of dreaming, paranoia & cannabis, trip sitting advice

Peter Sjöstedt-Hughes is a philosopher of mind who specializes in the thought of Whitehead, Nietzsche, and Spinoza, and in fields pertaining to panpsychism and altered states of mind. Following his degree in Continental Philosophy at the University of Warwick, he became a Philosophy lecturer in London for six years, after which he pursued his PhD on Pansentient Monism at The University of Exeter – where he is now a research fellow and associate lecturer. Peter is the author of Noumenautics and a new book called Modes of Sentience. Today we discuss panpsychism, psychedelic consciousness & nihilism.

On today's episode I share some thoughts on individual and societal suffering and their basis in the denial of disorder.

Chris Timmermann is a neuroscientist based at Imperial College London's Centre for Psychedelic Research. He completed his PhD in the same centre where he investigated the effects of dimethyltryptamine, or DMT, on the human brain. Today we talk about how we can take both a scientific and contemplative approach to understanding the DMT experience.

Ask questions for the next AMA via patreon or the YouTube channel membership community: https://www.patreon.com/DrJamesCooke https://www.youtube.com/DrJamesCooke Topics (in order addressed): Depression, podcast recommendations, ayahuasca, understanding our motivations, self care & helping others.

Judith Herman is a psychiatrist, researcher, teacher, author and a leading expert on the healing of traumatic stress. She is Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and is the author of many books on PSTD, most recently Truth and Repair: How Trauma Survivors Envision Justice. A lifelong activist, she brings deep insight and understanding to the societal context in which trauma occurs, from the personal to the political, and these are the themes we discuss today.

Sarah Rose Siskind psychedelic comedian and science comedy writer. She hosts a monthly comedy show in New York City about Psychedelics and other drugs called Drug Test. She was the lead comedy writer for StarTalk with Neil deGrasse Tyson, a TV show on National Geographic, and has written comedy for an artificially intelligent robot called Sophia at Hanson Robotics. Sarah is the co-founder of Hello SciCom, a company that combines science communication and comedy to help people in science communicate their message more effectively. Today we talk about the intersection of psychedelics, comedy and science. She is @srsiskind on twitter.

Darren Le Baron is an organic horticulturist, food enterprise tutor, educator, and event organizer based in the UK. He is a keen mushroom cultivator and has been growing gourmet and medicinal mushrooms for over a decade. He teaches an online Shroomshop Master class where he teaches the art of mushroom cultivation and he is the mycologist in residence at London's Somerset House. Darren is also a qualified Permaculture teacher and facilitator and supports businesses and communities in creating sustainable working systems and environments. He is a member of London's Psychedelic Society where he presents regularly, and is also a chair and committee member for the psychedelic conference Breaking Convention. Today we talk about psilocybin mushrooms and what humans can learn from mushrooms in general.

In this episode of the podcast I share some thoughts on absolute perspectives and the overview effect.