Edge of Mind Podcast Edge of Mind

Join the neuroscientist Christopher Timmermann in a wide-ranging discussion about psychedelics and their role on the spiritual path, as well as in preparing for the end of life. How can these agents be used to remove the fear of death, and how do they relate to near-death experiences? Is it true to say that death is a psychedelic journey? Chris shows us how we can find death in life’s experiences, and how the psychedelic trip and death are both processes of radical deconstruction. If someone is afraid of death, what’s the best way to use these agents? Is duality and the sense of self a construct, and is this what falls apart in reports of ego dissolution with psychedelics? Do these drugs also construct experiences, and are the experiences merely comforting delusions? How do we know the experiences are true? Dr. Timmermann talks about the “entropic brain,” and the heightened connectivity that takes place with psychedelics. Are psychedelic experiences due to a reduction in brain activity (the “reducing valve”), or an enhancement of brain activity? 
Chris talks about the importance of “set and setting,” how these substances can be used to explore the nature of mind and reality, and the promise and peril of the psychedelic renaissance. What are the contra-indications for using these medicines, and where do “false memories” fit in? The conversation turns to the importance of preparation and integration, and how to avoid becoming a “state junkie.” How does one transform states into traits? What is “psychedelic-assisted meditation practice,” and how valuable is psychedelic apprenticeship? Chris discusses the clinical and therapeutic implications of his research, and why he is so excited about the future of this field. See why Dr. Timmermann is one of the brightest voices in this cutting-edge field of scientific research.

Join Andrew and the esteemed dream scholar and prolific author Robert Moss in a vast journey into the underworld of dreams. The conversation begins with a State of the Union address concerning the world of dreams, and a look at how Robert’s relationship to dreams has changed over decades of work. “Dreaming is traveling,” he says, and we can bridge inner and outer realities with our journeys, bringing gifts from the dream world back to waking life. 
What is “Kairomancy,” and how we can we learn to read the sign language of reality by paying attention to synchronicities? Can you navigate through life with this form of divination, and when does the derivation of meaning cross the line into the imputation of meaning, as typified in paranoia? Where do lucid dreams fit in for Robert, and why is “conscious dreaming” a better term? Is it dangerous to try to control our dreams, and what are some of the shadow sides of lucid dreaming? Robert discusses the importance of daimons in our lives, the place of meditation in the world of dreaming, and why shamans are essentially dreamers. What about the place of imagination, the power of the unconscious mind, and the phenomenon of anamnesis? How can we use dreams to awaken to the dreamlike nature of reality? 
Robert and I share a number of personal reflections about our dream lives, and how our views have evolved over the years. See for yourself why Robert is one of the leading statesmen for dreams in the world today. 
About Robert Moss: Robert has been a dream traveler since doctors pronounced him clinically dead in a hospital in Hobart, Tasmania, when he was three years old. From his experiences in many worlds, he created his School of Active Dreaming, his original synthesis of modern dreamwork and ancient shamanic and mystical practices for journeying to realms beyond the physical and growing creative imagination. He has led popular workshops all over the world, including a three-year training for teachers of Active Dreaming and online courses for the Shift Network. A former lecturer in ancient history at the Australian National University, he is a New York Times bestselling novelist, poet, journalist, and independent scholar. His many books on dreaming, shamanism, and imagination include Conscious Dreaming, The Secret History of Dreaming, Dreaming the Soul Back Home, The Boy Who Died and Came Back, Sidewalk Oracles, and Mysterious Realities. His latest book, Growing Big Dreams: Manifesting Your Heart's Desires through 12 Secrets of the Imagination is a passionate and practical call to step through the gates of dreams and imagination to survive hard times, travel without leaving home, and grow the vision of a more abundant life so rich and strong that it wants to take root in the world. He has lived in upstate New York since he received a message from a red-tailed hawk under an old white oak. His website is mossdreams.com

Join the author Frank White in a rich exploration of the Overview Effect, and all its implications for inner and outer evolution. The conversation begins with Frank’s entry into his study of this transformative effect, before turning to why it is that not everybody who has the Overview is affected by it. What is the common denominator behind the effect, and can you have it on earth? We discuss the role of the “space principle,” both inner and outer, as a transformational tool, and how evolution is largely about increasing perspectives, which are brought about with more openness, and hence more space to perceive. 
What about the “underview effect,” and the change in perspective brought out from within? How does all this relate to Right View in Buddhism, and why did Frank turn to Zen Buddhism? Where does meditation, as “habituation to openness,” fit in? The conversation turns to how expansion and openness is central to evolution, as embodied, for one example, in human development from homocentric to ethnocentric to cosmocentric world views. What about the “Cosma Hypthosis,” and “space philosophy”? Where do vantage points come into play, and how about the place of virtual reality in opening the aperture of our awareness? When brought to earth, the real issue is not what we see, but how we see it. Terranauts, psychonauts, and oneirnauts can see just as much as astronauts – you just need to introduce more space into your mind and heart to see. The Overview Effect is needed more than ever to help people here on earth, and the earth itself.

Join the esteemed author Bruce Tift in a cross-pollinating discussion about the interface between psychology and spirituality, the developmental and fruitional paths, or the paths of Growing Up and Waking Up respectively. Bruce discusses the importance of holding opposing, and even contradictory, views simultaneously, without any hope or desire for closure and resolution. We’re all a collection of limitations, so how can we best work with these limits? What constitutes a real obstacle in this view, and how can we work with obstacles? What about the difference between “recovery practices” and “achievement practices”? The conversation turns to the distraction value of our problems, and how ego, as an arrested form of development, is invested in maintaining struggle as a way to maintain itself. Bruce then talks about anxiety and fear, and the importance of an integral approach in relating to both. Not all fear and anxiety is problematic. 
On the spiritual path, anxiety can lead to real growth, and fear can be a sign that you’re doing something right. How about the place of shadow work, and why doesn’t Bruce favor that term? How do we best work with blind spots? The practice of relationship is explored, and how we unwittingly “hire” partners, over and over, to play out unconscious processes and avoidant tendencies. How does he sustain his enthusiasm for providing therapy after decades of clinical practice? Does Buddhism need therapy – in both senses of that phrase? Is his view exhilarating or intimidating? Bruce’s wide-ranging approach gives you permission to be human, and to delight in this wonderful and terrible thing we call life. See for yourself why he is one of the most sought-after therapists in the spiritual community.  

Join the physicist, and inventor of the microprocessor and touchpad, Federico Faggin, in a wide-ranging exploration of the relationship between science and spirituality. Federico starts with a colorful rendering of the four phases of his life, and his transition from a hard-core materialist into a deep student of consciousness. He shares how a single experience, lasting less than a minute, changed his life forever. Federico then relates a number of eye-popping experiences, all of which proclaimed that consciousness, not matter, is the foundation of reality – and that that foundation is expressed as love. What triggered this opening, and what did he do to cultivate his experiences? How did the nondual traditions, and other forms of transpersonal work, help him understand his experiences?
Dr. Faggin then turns to his quantum information-based view of panpsychism, whether this theory can be tested or not, and its remarkable implications for both science and spirituality. What does “quantum” mean in this context? “Science and spirituality are both right, and both wrong,” he says, but what does that mean? Is mathematics the supreme language of communication these days, or just the best way to talk to the “high priests” of science? What is the relationship between artificial intelligence and artificial sentience, or consciousness? Can a computer ever be conscious? His theory completely overthrows materialism, and offers an entirely new direction for science. Can this theory, based on his experiences, lead others to those experiences – is it psychoactive and prescriptive? What does it mean to say that matter is merely a symbol? What role does light have to play in all this?
Federico talks about “consciousness units,” the place of free will, what happens after death, and why spiritual practitioners might be interested in his work. He then discusses his path of practice, and why he doesn’t adhere to any single tradition or teacher. What does he see as blinds spots in the wisdom traditions? Behind his amazing life is the deep quest to know; to understand the nature of reality and consciousness – and to help the world.

Note: This is the second of two conversations Andrew had with Sean Esbjörn-Hargens on Exo Studies. Join the polymath Sean Esbjörn-Hargens in a rich exploration of how Exo Studies – the study of what is outside our normal sense of reality ­­– leads to Endo (inner) discoveries. What is the relationship between inside and outside, and just how psychoactive is the Exo view? Sean talks about being constantly defeated by larger views of reality, and the importance of Right View in opening ourselves to seeing so much more of the world. We are highly contracted beings, afflicted by all manner of centricities, held under the rubric of ego-centricity. Exo studies is integral to the path of Opening Up, and expanding our horizons and potentials into dazzling new dimensions. What is the role of the subtle body, and how many subtle bodies do we have? Are these subtle bodies inside the gross body, outside of it, or both? The relationship of the subtle body to the unconscious mind is explored, and how things like mantra and visualization work to transform the subtle body. How about shadow work in relationship to these subtle bodies? Where does Bardo Yoga fit into Exo studies, and how about the central role of emptiness? Is it dangerous to explore these inner dimensions and states of consciousness; where does protection come into play?
Sean talks about the trikaya (“three-body”) principle of Buddhism, and the “interstate commerce” that we can open between all three bodies: gross, subtle, and causal. All this study and practice is about establishing intimacy with reality, and creating a “united states” of consciousness. The conversation turns to the psychedelic renaissance taking place, and how we can use these agents for healing and wholing. Growth occurs through differentiation and integration, and opening the aperture of our awareness to encompass this Wild Kosmos. We live in a multidimensional multiverse, full of magic and wonder. Exo studies shows us how can we become a meta-person, or super-experiencer, and open to these wonders. This is real Edge of Mind material, sure to leave stretch marks on your mind.
About Sean Esbjörn-Hargens PhD (from metaintegral.com) Sean is a global leader in the application of integrative thinking to leader development, organizational design, and mixed-methods design. In 2011 he founded MetaIntegral a social impact network that supports change leaders around the world in applying integrative principles. Sean’s passion lies at the intersection of design, integral theory, and embodiment. He has published and edited numerous articles, chapters, and books. His most recent book is Metatheory for the Twenty-first Century. 
The MA/PhD Program Sean runs which includes a concentration in Anomalous Studies for interested students - The School of Integral Noetic Sciences: https://www.cihs.edu/school-of-integral-noetic-sciences Sean's websites: www.metaintegral.com www.exostudies.org www.whatsupwithufos.com