Healing and the Nature of Self with Karl Friston
New Thinking Allowed Audio Podcast
Intro
This chapter examines groundbreaking concepts from a leading neuroscientist, focusing on the connections between neuroscience, psychology, and emotions. It also discusses frameworks such as the free energy principle and their implications for understanding human behavior, attachment, and the role of play in well-being.
Healing and the Nature of Self with Karl Friston
Karl Friston is widely regarded as one of the most influential neuroscientists of our time. Some peers consider him the foremost neuroscientist in history. As a professor at University College London, Friston has made groundbreaking contributions to neuroimaging and theoretical neuroscience. His most significant contribution is the Free Energy Principle, a foundational framework in neuroscience stating that biological systems minimize surprise (or uncertainty) by continuously updating their internal models to predict and adapt to their environment.
From predictive coding and attachment theory to affective neuroscience, meditation, and nonduality, Friston explores how the brain builds models of the world—and how those models shape our experience of suffering and liberation. He discusses early developmental imprinting, the SEEKING system in affective neuroscience, and the possibility of parapsychological phenomena, all through the lens of self-organization and synchrony. This conversation bridges science and spirit, offering insights into healing, transformation, and a return to the ground of Being.
00:00:00 Introduction
00:06:19 Exploring existence and beingness
00:11:13 Dual aspect monism and the embodied brain
00:19:08 Safety, uncertainty, and development
00:27:36 Resilience and coping with change
00:31:17 Yoga, meditation, and uncertainty
00:38:28 Consilience across disciplines
00:49:13 Optimizing human systems through education
01:04:26 Parapsychology and synchronization of chaos
01:08:20 Final thoughts
Definitions:
Free Energy:
Free energy is the difference between what we expect and what we actually experience—it measures surprise or uncertainty in a system.
Markov Blanket:
A Markov blanket is like an invisible boundary that separates a system (like a living being) from its environment, allowing it to sense and act while maintaining its own integrity.
Bayes Optimal:
Being Bayes optimal means making the best possible decisions based on all available information and past experience, continuously updating beliefs as new information comes in.
Active Inference:
Active inference is the process of taking actions that reduce uncertainty—constantly adjusting what we perceive and how we behave to better match the world around us.
Epistemic Motivation:
Epistemic motivation is the deep drive to seek information and reduce uncertainty, like a built-in curiosity that helps systems learn, adapt, and survive.
New Thinking Allowed Guest Host Leanne Whitney, PhD, is a depth psychologist and transformational coach based in Los Angeles, CA. Her website is https://leannewhitney.com/
Producer: Elena McNally
Editor: John Hartmann
(Recorded on March 12, 2025)
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