Mark Gober is a best-selling author, a Partner at Sherpa Technology Group in Silicon Valley, a former investment banker with UBS in New York, and former captain of the Princeton tennis team. His worldview was turned upside down in late 2016 when he was exposed to world-changing science which suggested that, contrary to mainstream assumptions, consciousness is not produced by the brain. After researching extensively, he wrote An End to Upside Down Thinking: Dispelling the Myth That the Brain Produces Consciousness, and the Implications for Everyday Life to introduce the general public to these cutting-edge ideas -- all in an effort to encourage a much-needed global shift in scientific and existential thinking.
Mark's book has been endorsed by leading thinkers such as former Harvard neurosurgeon Eben Alexander, Nobel Peace Prize nominee Dr. Ervin Laszlo, Pixar founder Loren Carpenter, Institute of Noetic Sciences Chief Scientist Dr. Dean Radin, University of Virginia professor of neurobehavioral sciences Dr. Ed Kelly, Dr. Rupert Sheldrake, Guru Singh, Chicken Soup for the Soul author Jack Canfield, actress Goldie Hawn, and many others.
Website: markgober.com
Summary and transcript of this interview.
Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group.
Interview recorded February 16, 2019
YouTube Video Chapters:
00:00:00 - Introduction to Buddha at the Gas Pump
00:04:30 - Background and Transition into Writing
00:08:09 - A Shift in Worldview
00:11:50 - Paradigm Shifts and Anomalies
00:15:15 - Anomalies in Science
00:18:58 - The Fundamental Nature of Consciousness
00:22:42 - Understanding the Limits of Our Perceptual Systems
00:26:22 - Studies on Psychic Spies during the Cold War
00:29:55 - Repression in the Scientific Community
00:33:29 - The Importance of Publishing Studies on Psychic Phenomena
00:37:08 - Assumptions about Reality and their Impact
00:40:35 - The Illusion of Materialism
00:43:45 - The Connection between Materialism and Spiritual Practice
00:47:10 - The Consciousness of the Brain
00:50:37 - Reflection and Settled Mind
00:54:19 - Anomalous Occurrences and Spiritual Practices
00:57:53 - Humility and Open-Mindedness
01:01:36 - The Qualities of Consciousness
01:04:56 - Modulations of Consciousness
01:08:32 - Awareness independent of biology
01:12:20 - The Play of Consciousness
01:16:16 - Evaluating Anomalies and Questioning the Paradigm
01:19:56 - Free Will and Consciousness
01:23:58 - Research on Reincarnation at the University of Virginia
01:27:30 - Reincarnation and the Continuity of Consciousness
01:30:52 - Reincarnation and Continuity
01:34:32 - The Nature of Altruism
01:37:56 - Is Time Linear?
01:41:25 - Discussing Predicting the Future and Psychic Phenomena
01:45:02 - Nonlinear Effects and Shifting Consciousness