Chasing Consciousness

• OUT OF BODY EXPERIENCES: THE ANTHROPOLOGY - Samantha Lee Treasure #75

  What are the contents of Out of Body Experiences? How closely do they map the actual physical world? Is it possible to induce them purposefully? How do modern practices compare to indigenous shamanic ones?In this Episode we look at the scientific, religious, cultural and historical contexts of Out of Body Experiences, also known as astral projection - so the experience in which an individual appears to leave their body and be able to travel around the world and into other dimensions, often meeting other worldly entities, similarly to DMT psychedelic experiences, (see Episode #73, “DMT Entity Experiences”). So, we get into the phenomenology- the various things people experience; potential neurobiological explanations; and the possibility of inducing the experiences on purpose and of exploring alternate realities; we get into indigenous traditions of ‘Shamanic flight’ and which people might be predisposed to these alternate states of consciousness; and we end up talking about a potential connection between OBE, sleep paralysis and ludic dreaming.To discuss this slippery topic, we have a researcher who is also a lifelong experiencer, who has devoted her career to trying to understand these phenomena, the medical anthropologist and author Samantha Lee Treasure; she has an MA in Medical Anthropology from SOAS university in London, has been a brain science research assistant at the University of Liege, and has just released her first book on the topic, “Out of Body experiences”, the release of which this episode is timed to coincide with.What we discuss:00:00 Intro.11:30 What is medical anthropology?16:00 OBE entity research.22:15 Samantha’s New Book - getting beyond preconceptions.25:50 OBE vs Astral projection - bypassing the taboo.30:00 Common reported OBE experiences.33:00 Mental body schemas and projected models of the world.37:00 Do OBE’s map the real world accurately?45:00 Olaf Blanke - the Temporoparietal junction discovery.48:45 No sense of smell during OBE nor processed by the TPJ.49:40 Techniques to induce OBE’s intentionally.53:45 Bob Monroe’s perspective switching technique.55:30 Shamanic flight practices in Tuva, Siberia.59:35 The sonezen - the perceiving mind self.01:01:00 This is not for everyone, it can be scary.01:05:00 The predisposition for some to have these experiences.01:10:45 Crossovers between NHI Contact and OBE entity experiences.01:14:20 Genealogical predispositions.01:18:25 “Reality Shifting” and the role of intention in OBE.References: Samantha Lee Treasure, “Out-of-Body Experiences: Explorations and encounters with the astral plane”.Stephen Le Berge, “Pre-sleep treatment with Galantamine stimulates lucid dreaming” paperOlaf Blanke, “Linking out-of-body experience and self processing to mental own-body imagery at the temporo-parietal junction” paper. Charles T Tart - 6 Studies of OBE.Graham Nicholls, “Navigating out of body Eperiences”.Yurgan Zeiwe - “Multi-Dimensional Man”.RosalieYoga, Monroe Sound science guided meditations,You tube channel. “Out-of-body experience in vestibular disorders – A prospective study of 210 patients with dizziness” paper.Celia Green & Charles Mc Reery, “Lucid Dreaming: The Paradox of Consciousness during Sleep”.Anthony Peake, “Near Death Experiences”.

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• INTELLIGENT LIFE ON OTHER PLANETS, WHAT ARE THE CHANCES? - Adam Frank PhD #74

  How do astronomers detect the conditions for life and techno-signatures on exoplanets many lightyears away? What conditions on earth give us clues to how life might have formed elsewhere? How do intelligent civilisations evolve to technomaturity before they destroy themselves?So in this episode we have the mysterious arising of life and eventually intelligent life on our planet to try and explain, to then apply that to our search for other intelligent life in the cosmos. So to explain that we’re going to be getting into the co-evolution of the geosphere and the biosphere on earth and their corresponding feedback loops; the possibility of planetary level intelligence; the difficulty of laying a technosphere on top of the geo and biosphere, and the risk of civilisations wiping themselves out before learning how to harmonise the technosphere with the biosphere; We’ll be looking at the changes in the field of SETI (the Search for Extraterrestrial Terrestrial Intelligence), since we can now identify potentially life sustaining exo-planets in nearer parts of the galaxy; we’re going to get into the newly funded search for techno signatures from advanced civilisations, and potential space junk from the many civilisations that presumably didn’t make it; lastly we’re going to discuss recent claims of ancient and alleged present visitations to earth by extra terrestrial intelligence.Fortunately to face these tough and complex issues, our guest is a world specialist in astrobiology, with a talent for making these topics fun and imaginative, an astrophysics professor at the University of Rochester, Professor Adam Frank. He’s the author of over 200 scientific papers and 6 books for the general public including, “The Blind Spot: why science cannot ignore human experience” and “The Little book of Aliens” which we’ll be focussing on today. He’s also an award winning science communicator, on a mission to raise public awareness about existential risk and science in general.What we discussed:00:00 Intro.05:20 The importance of experience.07:00 The limits between the expressible and the inexpressible.09:10 Semantic Information: life as self organising, autonomous agents.15:00 There’s stuff you can’t talk about - there’s only the silence16:20 The Basian probability of other life in the universe.20:00 The ingredients for life on this earth.22:30 The codependence between Geo and Biosphere.22:60 Gaian feedback loops. 27:00 The earth is not conscious but it is an agent.29:45 Mind is a process, it’s not just in the head.33:25 The fluidity of individuality.34:30 Distributed Cognition - bacteria, fungal networks etc.38:30 A fundamental reimagining of what we mean by ‘Nature’.39:30 There is no disembodied perspective.41:00 Geosphere to Biosphere to technosphere maturity.47:30 The biosphere offers a model for what planetary intelligence looks like.48:00 The history of search for extra terrestrial Intelligence, SETI49:00 The Drake equation - 7 requirements for intelligence life.53:45 We’ve never looked - a tiny amount of the sky has been studied.54:00 Exoplanets: searching for biosgnatures and techno signatures.56:00 Technospheres: Kardeshev scale and Dyson Spheres.59:00 Techno junk from dead civilisations.01:02:30 UFO’s need more data to be taken seriously.01:08:20 UFO’s could be surveilling their spy tech.01:10:00 Pros and Cons of solar system settlement.References:Adam Frank, Evan Thompson, Marcelo Gleiser, “The Blind Spot: Why science cannot ignore human experience”.Adam Frank, “The Little Book of Aliens”Adam Frank, David Grinspoon, Sarah Walker - Intelligence as a planetary scale process.Lynn Margulis - Evolutionary Biologist.David Krakauer et al, An information theory view of individuality Frank Drake - ⁠Project Ozma⁠Jason Wright - SETI meta-analysisExoplantets.orgAdam Frank - New York Times ‘I’m a Physicist Who Searches for Aliens. U.F.O.s Don’t Impress Me’ article"The Expanse", Apple TV series

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• DMT ENTITY ENCOUNTERS, A QUANTITATIVE STUDY - Dr David W Lawrence #73

  What’s the architecture of a DMT experience, who are the entities that regularly interact and what’s their message? How can DMT therapy facilitate positive mental health outcomes?In this episode we’re going to learn about the bizarre types of experience that users of DMT have; DMT being the most powerful hallucinogenic molecule on the planet. So we’ll be getting into the background of psychedelics for mental health; and the particularities of DMT, the active ingredient in Ahyuasca and the psychedelic that most often presents entities that interact meaningfully with the experiencer; we’re going to discuss the different types of entities: from mythological creatures, to Gods and Demons, to machine elves and aliens, and the significance of these same characters appearing significantly often without an obvious primer; we’ll also discuss the importance of mystical experience and teacher /guide experiences to positive mental health outcomes.Fortunately our guest was the head researcher on a 2022 paper that looked at exactly this topic, the medical doctor and sports scientist professor at the University of Toronto, Dr. David Wyndham Lawrence. He’s published over 35 scientific papers across sports science and psychedelics for medical use.What we discussed:00:00 Intro05:20 Concussion, sports mental health & psychedelic therapy.08:10 Bringing in Robin Carhartt-Harris on the gaps in sports mental health treatment.12:06 Why psychedelics for those already in psychological difficulty?14:04 Serotonin receptor - neuro-protective mitochondria function.15:00 DMT is endogenous to the brain. 18:20 Medical institution meets shamanism.23:50 David’s DMT phenomenology paper.30:10 The architecture of the DMT world.32:60 Mostly positive, interactive entity encounters.37:05 Occasionally negative encounters.38:40 Negative psychedelic experiences study - Jules Evans.40:05 How much “Primers” from pop culture influence experiences.44:00 Alien encounters in %16 of participants.45:30 Medical procedures by entities in 9% of participants.47:05 Mystical experiences in %70 of participants.49:00 Familiarity/ sense of home in the experiences.52:20 Default Mode Network is less active during altered states.48:35 Ego dissolution Vs mystical experience.01:00:00 5meoDMT Vs DMT.01:03:20 Wise teacher experience in 32% of participants.01:05:20 Death bed palliative doses to alleviate fear of death.01:09:50 ‘You’re not ready for this experience’ message.01:11:05 Theories of DMT experiences evaluated.01:12:20 ”All models are false but some are useful”, anonymous statistician.References: David Lawrence, “Phenomenology and content of inhaled DMT” David Wyndham Lawrence and Robin Carhart-Harris, “Sports Medicine, Mental Health & Well-Being, and Psychedelics” Benny Shanon,  “Antipodies of the Mind”Matthew W. Johnson - Johns HopkinsAndrew Gallimore - “Death by Astonishment”Jules Evans et al, “Extended difficulties following the use of psychedelic drugs”Similarities between DMT and Alien encounters paperDavid W. Lawrence, “DMT Occasioned Familiarity and the Sense of Familiarity Questionnaire”Roland Griffiths, “Psilocybin produces substantial and sustained decreases in depression and anxiety in patients with life-threatening cancer”

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• THE SLEEP DEPRIVATION EPIDEMIC & SOLUTIONS - Roxanne Prichard PhD

  What are we sleeping less and less? What are the benefits of getting a good nights sleep and the risks if we consistently don’t? How is sleep linked to memory, cognitive performance, blood sugar regulation & stress hormones? How is young people’s development affected by sleep?In this episode we have the surprising data on the science of sleep to get up to date on; so, why there’s a sleep deprivation epidemic; how sleep works and what it’s required for; dreams; and importance of sleep for learning and for immunity. We’re also going to discuss the wide range of serious health issues that arise with even a small sleep deficit, and the vast benefits of getting sleep right; and the lifestyle tips we need to consistently get the sleep we need. And of course, sleep and mental health, and the importance of sleep for development in young people.Gratefully our guest today is a psychologist and neuroscientist that specialises in sleep, mental health and dream research, particularly in young people. She’s the Scientific Director of Psychology at the University of St. Thomas, Minnesota, Roxanne Prichard! She’s the author of over 40 highly citied scientific papers, and her TEDx talk “Addressing our Childrens Sleep Debt” was featured in the lecture series: Transforming Education. She’s quoted regularly in the press, inlcuding the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Teen Vogue, and USA Today.What we discussed:00:00 Intro.05:00 The Sleep deprivation epidemic.07:15 Shaking off prejudice about resting being laziness. 08:31 Glymphatic system for toxin removal.10:00 Synaptic plasticity: Learning & unlearning.11:10 Learning & memory require sleep.14:00 The hippocampus processes memory during sleep.15:00 Late night cramming for exams blocks learning.15:50 Lack of sleep appears to the body as a threat out in the world.17:40 Blood sugar regulation is affected by sleep.18:00 “Sleep! Like diet and exercise only easier!”19:10 Immunity and sleep deprivation.21:00 Cancer & regularity of circadian rhythms.22:00 Evolution, daylight, circadian rhythms & learning.23:45 Sleep delay of morning stress hormones in teens. 26:15 Light Vs Deep ‘Slow Wave’ Vs REM sleep.30:00 REM Sleep explained. 33:00 Dreams: The top theories.36:30 The electrical nature of sleep & brain waves.40:00 Alpha Waves and biofeedback for insomnia.42:00 Insomnia & the health risks of sleep deprivation.46:00 Sleep is within our control.47:15 The inflammation link with sleep.49:30 The mental health risks of sleep deprivation. 50:00 Catastrophising and attention deficit.50:45 College students mental health & sleep as a crucial marker.57:30 Persausive technology, screens & sleep.01:02:30 How much sleep do we need? 01:04:25 Avoid external stimulants & go to low light.01:06:00 Avoid internal stimulants like caffeine and alcohol. 01:07:40 Sleep and wake at regular times every day.01:08:40 Core temperature dropping signals sleep.01:10:00 Roxanne’s campaign points.01:12:00 The shame around rest. References: Ya Chai at al, ‘Two nights of recovery sleep restores hippocampal connectivity but not episodic memory after total sleep deprivation’ paper.https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-65086-xN.I.H. article, 'Sleep on it - How snoozing strengthens memories' (40% drop in learning after sleep deprivation)https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2013/04/sleep-itU. Chicago Medicine article, 'New study helps explain the link between sleep loss and diabetes'.Trisha Hershey, ‘the Nap’ Bishop. - “Rest is Resistance” book.

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• GLOBAL FIELD CONSCIOUSNESS THEORY - Roger Nelson PhD #71

  Can intention alone cause changes in physical systems? Can the collective attention of a large group of people to an event cause changes in the coherence changes in physical systems, despite that lack of intention to do so?In today’s episode we’re going to be exploring a field consciousness hypothesis: so a variation on the idea that consciousness may extend beyond the body and interact casually with physical systems and the consciousness of other beings, in some kind of resonant field phenomena. We’re going to be learning about the experiments with random number generators used to test this hypothesis; how human intention and attention has been proved to be able to affect these random outputs in a vast backlog of positive results and meta analyses; We're going to hear about how these experiments have been taken global, looking at collective effects on RNGs of particularly important world events that many people are attending to; we’re going to be looking at criticisms of the statistical analysis and a potential experimenter effect; and we’re going to be talking about the contrast between some seemingly non-local effects with other localised effects; and as always we’re going to be getting into the implications, in this case of whether the ‘field consciousness’ effect the data seems to point to, is more likely to be a unified field of consciousness, so in some sense a single mind, or simply the aggregated sum of all individual consciousnesses. Now fortunately to guide us as we carefully test the thickness of the ice on this genuinely alternative world view of consciousness, we have the cognitive psychologist that has pioneered these field consciousness experiments since he founded the Global Consciousness Project at the Princeton University PEAR labs, Roger Nelson. Roger worked at Princeton’s PEAR labs in the department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, initially under Bob Jahn, for over twenty years until his retirement in 2002. He is also the author of the book “Connected: The emergence of global consciousness”.What we discuss:00:00 Intro.07:30 Random Number generator ‘mind-matter interaction’ experiments at Princeton PEAR labs.21:10 Bob Jahn - Dean of Engineering at Princeton.28:45 Emotional and passionate group events saw coherence in the RNG experiments. 33:00 Contrast between apparent local and non-local effects.37:55 David Bohm’s Implicate / Explicate order concept.38:55 “Pilot wave” and “active information” link between the implicite and the explicate.43:55 Statistical results generation and analysis of significance.49:05 The sceptics criticisms.51:45 The Global Consciousness Project methodology. 53:05 Pierre Teilhard de Chardin’s mind sphere, called ‘Noosphere’.57:45 Measuring the group coherence of Princess Diana’s funeral.01:00:25 The 9/11 Results.01:05:55 The emotional component in coherence.01:18:40 The quantity of people and strength of the emotion, whether positive or negative, raises the effect size.01:11:10 A single collective consciousness VS an aggregate of all individual consciousnesses. 01:14:50 Different levels of collective consciousness above individual bodies.01:16:55 The analogy of individuals being like neurones in a cosmic brain.01:20:55 The Experimenter effect criticism.01:26:10 The Helmut Schmidt “Unobserved tape” experiment.01:29.10 The indeterminate state before observer ‘collapses of the wave function’ analogy to explain results.01:37:25 The Schmidt ‘retrocausation’ hypothesis.References:Roger Nelson, “Connected: the Emergence of Global Consciousness”Robert Jahn And Brenda Dunn, “Margins of Reality”International Consciousness Research Laboratories (ICRL) Publishing.Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, “The Phenomena of man”

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