Podcast 628 – “Investigations of Life from Origin to End”
Oct 21, 2019
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Scientific researchers Bruce Damer and Charlie Grob discuss a wide range of topics in this podcast. They delve into the origins of life, virtual worlds, and avatars. They also explore the personal and professional journey of rewriting the rules about the origin of life. The speakers share their experiences communicating with ethereal entities and the significance of nonverbal knowing. They highlight the importance of community and mentorship, as well as their personal journeys into psychedelic research. Additionally, they discuss their experiences with regulatory agencies and express optimism for more open-mindedness in the younger generation.
The significance of Terence McKenna's personal logo and letters in preserving his legacy.
The possibility of the origin of life on Earth occurring in pools on land instead of the sea.
The concept of collaboration as the key mechanism of creation and evolution, challenging the idea of competition in the origin of life.
Deep dives
Bruce Damer's Spiritual Flight Suit
Bruce Damer explains the meaning behind his unique flight suit, which features patches that represent significant experiences and identities. One patch, taken from Terence McKenna's personal logo, holds special significance as it symbolizes Terence's personal identity. Bruce also shares how he acquired a collection of Terence's letters, which were saved from destruction and discusses their importance in preserving Terence's legacy.
Bruce Damer's Journey to Discover the Origin of Life
Bruce Damer describes his lifelong fascination with the question of how life began on Earth. He recounts a visionary experience at the age of 14 where he received a response to his inquiry about the origin of life. This led him to spend years studying computational simulations of complexity and eventually partner with a renowned membrane biophysicist, Dave Deamer. Together, they developed a theory and conducted experiments in which they simulated the conditions on early Earth and observed the formation of the key building blocks of life. Their work challenges prevailing theories about the origin of life in the sea and suggests that the process may have taken place in pools on land.
Bruce Damer's Space Exploration Projects and the Future of Space Travel
Bruce Damer describes his involvement in space exploration projects, particularly with NASA. He highlights his role in designing virtual reality experiences that allowed NASA to visualize and plan space missions, including a mission to an asteroid surface. He also discusses a radical new spacecraft design that could enable human settlement and sustainable space travel. This design involves creating a membranous enclosure around an asteroid, extracting water for fuel and resource mining, and 3D printing structures in space. Bruce also shares his insights on the search for life on Mars and the potential for finding evidence of life in rocks on the planet.
The Importance of Community and Cooperation in the Origin of Life
The podcast episode explores the idea that the origin of life was not a result of competition, but rather collaboration. According to the speaker, life started as a common community and collaboration was the key mechanism of creation and evolution. This perspective challenges the traditional notion of life originating from single cells that competed for survival. The implications of this theory are profound, suggesting that the concept of individuality is a human construct and that we are all interconnected in a network of collaboration.
Advice for Young People Interested in Various Fields
In the closing of the podcast, the speaker gives advice to young people who are uncertain about which direction to take in their careers. The advice is to trust their own imagination and visionary experiences, but also to test and verify them. The importance of finding mentorship and guidance is highlighted, as mentors can help shape ideas into something real and provide support in testing and refining visionary experiences. The speaker emphasizes the need for objective validation and the avoidance of creating new religions or unfounded beliefs. Additionally, it is suggested that finding older mentors can be beneficial in guiding individuals towards meaningful work in various fields.
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Guest speakers: Bruce Damer and Charlie Grob
Terence McKenna's logo, Bruce Damer's flight suit, Lorenzo and Charlie Grob
PROGRAM NOTES:
These lectures were recorded on Orcas Island during March of 2019.]
This podcast features two interviews that I conducted last March at the Orcas Island Convergence. The first is a conversation that I had with Dr. Bruce Damer, and that is followed by my interview with Dr. Charlie Grob. Between them, their scientific inquiries span a wide range of inquiries. Bruce, with his work for NASA and his research into the origins of life, works with mega issues. And Charlie, whose human research work includes studies using MDMA, psilocybin, and ayahuasca, works with human-sized issues.
"I think a lot of people don't realize it, but in the fifties and into the early sixties psychedelic research was the cutting edge of psychiatry." -Dr. Charles Grob
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Bruce Damer's Website
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Charlie Grob - Publications
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