Consciousness and Faith: A Personal Journey

In this episode I am joined by Dr James Cooke, Oxford-trained neuroscientist, spiritual teacher, and author of “Dawn of Mind: How Matter Became Conscious and Alive”. James recounts how, at aged 13, an existential crisis driven by fear of hell saw him emerge into a profound mystical opening. James shares the radical changes he experienced and traces his subsequent years spent exploring and integrating this spiritual breakthrough. James recalls his improbable journey to winning a place at Oxford University, discusses the remarkable overlaps he found there between cutting-edge neuroscience and his own awakening, and reveals the social structures of elite education in the UK. James details the arduous and often overlooked post-awakening work of surrendering egoic structures and releasing attachments, explains why enlightenment is both a gain and a loss, and reflects on the challenges of teaching nonduality as a natural mystic. … Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’. 01:07 - Why did James write Dawn of Mind? 03:43 - Making consciousness science accessible 04:41 - Catholic upbringing, an overly conscientious child 05:49 - Disturbed by hell 06:38 - Existential rumination, a crisis of faith 08:27 - Spiritual awakening at age 13 09:54 - Aftermath of James’ awakening 12:59 - Life affirming vs death affirming phases of awakening 15:16 - Letting go of attachments 17:24 - What happened to James’ excessive conscientiousness? 20:00 - Two mistakes about the no-self 21:15 - Freedom from extremes, letting go 23:39 - The dissolving self 24:44 - Is therapy necessary? 26:44 - Meditation as a gradual path 27:15 - Meditation vs therapy 28:37 - Practice in life vs joining a monastery 30:11 - Can a natural mystic really teach others? 32:37 - Alienation through spiritual language 33:21 - Enlightenment as loss 34:27 - 3 types of spiritual teacher 36:30 - James’ profile as a teacher 37:47 - Self-aggrandising nondual teachers 38:38 - Spiritual influences 40:40 - Adyashanti & the end of suffering 42:08 - Buddhist progress of insight model 43:59 - Volatile teenage years 44:57 - Extreme somatic tension 36:25 - Difficult integration phase 47:39 - Oxford University, dealing with pressure 50:26 - How James got into Oxford against all odds 54:07 - Social context of elite education in the UK 56:52 - The Oxford wound 58:11 - The mystic’s mistake, post-awakening 01:00:15 - James’ research path at Oxford 01:01:39 - Opening a path for others + psychedelic experimentation 01:04:13 - James’ last psychedelic trip 01:05:12 - Working with Beliefs 01:07:29 - Unravelling resistance & faking it 01:10:40 - Is there an end to post-awakening work? 01:13:54 - James’ experience of intimate relationships 01:17:25 - Charlatans and why awakening can be off-putting for friends 01:19:30 - Alienating terminology 01:19:48 - Feeling isolated after awakening 01:20:33 - Mimicking awakening, the nondual teaching circuit 01:22:05 - Why did James wait so long to go public 01:25:57 - Reaction of James’ family 01:26:51 - Moral perfection 01:30:37 - Why James doesn’t like the word “enlightenment” 01:31:10 - The problem with “awakening” 01:32:31 - Language phases, changing the lingo 01:33:20 - The Borg and analogies for awakening 01:34:42 - Siddhi, intuition, supernatural powers 01:36:48 - Insecure rockstars, kundalini 01:38:39 - The language game 01:39:11 - Hearing voices, the dramatising brain 01:40:58 - World as a shared hallucination 01:42:45 - Does James suffer? 01:44:56 - Gross vs subtle suffering 01:45:52 - An experience of physical pain 01:47:08 - Meditative austerities vs life practice 01:50:46 - Trainings in equanimity 01:51:49 - Ideas in Dawn of Mind 01:53:20 - An instinct for empowerment 
… To find our more about James Cooke PhD, visit: - https://www.drjamescooke.com/ - https://www.innerspaceinstitute.org/ … For more interviews, videos, and more visit: - https://www.guruviking.com Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James