Your Brain On 34,000 Hours of Meditation: When Science and Tech Meet Spirituality

Brian is not only extremely smart, he is open minded, kind, and simply nicer than most of us. This topic is important, and I am glad he is taking it on without dismissing the topic as intractable.

From a Buddhist perspective, the desire to "get to the good stuff" in meditation is counterproductive. We believe grasping is the cause of suffering. Thus grasping after meditation states is also such a cause.

It’s really a significant part of this conversation to recognize that Sakyamuni Buddha was really a scientist, analyzing and exploring the inner psyche. He said not to believe anything, but to analyze and figure things out for yourself, to take Truth for a path and make yourself a lamp. Ritual all came long after.

I hesitate to be too reductionistic and hedonistic, but for me the draw meditation has is the sheer pleasure it produces within me.

I sometimes think any situation where a large crowd of people gather for a shared purpose feels like a spiritual experience (concerts or even some sporting events).

You can meditate and still be in awe with the universe.

Loving this conversation. In my 65 years I've gone from Christian to militantly atheist to born-again Christian to pagan to agnostic to deeply spiritual but non-religious. Now I cannot separate my scientific rationality from my spiritual transcendence. It is All One.

Karen's book, Sacred Nature, moved me to be a more spiritual person in the hopes of bettering my world and the people around me everyday.

Ritual = To Perform, Spiritual = To Self Actualise, Intellect = To Acquire. A ritual could be as simple as holding a stone. Self actualise could be as simple as excepting that everything moves on a true path. Intellect could be making an observation and drawing a portrait. Have you ever found yourself moving somewhere, thinking about a bunch of words, and exactly as you think a word, you see that word in a billboard sign or something. A synchronisation between mind and matter. In the evolution of the human mind, and evolution of the physical world, it's going to be imperative to be synchronised. And materialism will not play a part. Excellent podcast.

It is a complete privilege to sit here at ten at night with my cat, in my jammies on my couch, and watch this for free.