Exploring the Essence of Consciousness

A conversation with Dr  Ruben Laukkonen—cognitive scientist, neuroscientist and meditator —exploring the cutting edge of contemplative science and the mysterious experience of consciousness coming to a complete stop - cessation. - https://rubenlaukkonen.com/To join future events, newsletter and access ad-free event recordings go to:https://adventuresinawareness.com/Ruben completed an award-winning PhD on the cognitive science of insight at The University of Queensland in 2019, followed by post-doctoral research at the Vrije Universiteit of Amsterdam on the computational neuroscience of meditation. Ruben is now a Senior Lecturer at Southern Cross University where his lab uncovers empirically grounded and experientially authentic models of meditation, insight, psychedelics, and consciousness. Using a combination of methods including neuroimaging, machine learning, and phenomenology, his team is investigating some of the rarest states of consciousness available to human beings- https://adventuresinawareness.com/membership- One-off PayPal donations: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/adventuresin- https://adventuresinawareness.com- Subscribe to us on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@adventuresinawareness- Twitter: https://x.com/AdvInAwareness- iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/adventures-in-awareness/id1535917754- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2jiebSpdVu9YbpLOtWlKYU- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adventuresinawareness00:00:00 Introduction00:04:54 What Makes Meditative Cessation Unique?Defines how intentional cessation differs from sleep, anesthesia, or trauma.00:10:52 From Mindfulness to Advanced States: A New Wave of ResearchIntroduces a shift in meditation science toward rare and transformative states.00:21:08 EEG Findings: What Happens in the Brain During Cessation?Reveals broad changes in brain activity linked to deep meditative absorption.00:41:09 Computational Reset: - reduce grasping by resetting deep mental patterns.00:44:08 Have You Personally Experienced Cessation?00:45:55 How Science Informs Meditation (and Vice Versa)00:47:04 Predictive Processing and the Present Moment00:48:33 Understanding the Four Selves in Meditation00:49:39 Science vs. Philosophy: Are They Really Separate?00:51:00 Why All Maps Are Just Maps00:52:23 Meditation, Science, and the Mystery of Insight00:54:08 Did Science or Meditation Come First?00:55:46 Balancing a PhD with Deep Practice00:57:28 Is Awareness Just Another Dependent Arising?01:02:08 Did Ramana Maharshi Experience Cessation?01:04:02 Grasping at Awareness: A New Kind of Samsara01:06:44 Emptiness, Insight, and the Path that Keeps Unfolding01:08:17 Is the Goal of Buddhism Reducing Suffering or Knowing Reality?01:10:46 Wisdom and Compassion as Two Wings of the Path01:13:36 Could We Ever Measure Clinging in the Brain?01:17:02 Using Brain Flexibility to Detect Reduced Clinging01:18:50 Can Meditators Adapt to Reality Shifts Faster?01:21:45 Does Meditation Increase Mental Model Stability?01:22:04 Does Cessation Challenge Idealist Philosophy?01:24:46 Why I No Longer Start From Consciousness01:26:08 Consciousness: A Useful Concept or an Assumption?01:28:32 Cessation Undermines the Idealist View?01:30:12 Just Before Cessation01:32:00 Investigating the Nature of Awareness Itself01:34:00 Not Everyone Needs Cessation – And Why That Matters01:36:59 Reuben’s View: Emptiness Over Idealism01:38:38 On Being Misrepresented by “Metaconsciousness” Critics01:41:03 The Subtle Dualism of “Everything is Consciousness”01:44:14 Open Audience Q&A Begins01:45:05 What Meditation Practice Leads to Cessation?01:47:15 Why Integrity and Sincerity Matter More Than Method01:51:03 Upcoming Conference Appearances (Europe 2025)01:53:04 What Is Cessation Really? And What Is Emptiness?01:57:11 Emptiness as the Lack of Essence in All ThingsVideo editing by https://www.willbourchier.com/Banner art by https://www.instagram.com/jadewade/