Craig Pearson is Executive Vice-President of Maharishi International University (MIU) in Fairfield, Iowa, and a leader in Consciousness-Based education. He has spoken around the United States on this unique approach to education as well as on Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's programs to create world peace.
He has held a number of positions at MIU, including Dean of Faculty, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Dean of Students, Director of Freshman Composition, and Director of MIU Press.
Dr. Pearson holds a Ph.D. in Maharishi Vedic Science from MIU. He is the author of two books, The Supreme Awakening: Experiences of Enlightenment Throughout Time - And How You Can Cultivate Them, available through MIU Press (free chapter available for download) or Amazon. and The Complete Book of Yogic Flying.
He is also the co-author, with Brad Moses, of Peace on Earth, a collection of songs about enlightenment and world peace (available on iTunes). For video versions of these songs, see their YouTube channel. He lives on the MIU campus with his wife Melissa and son Soren.
Transcript of this interview
Interview conducted January 31, 2015.
YouTube Video Chapters:
00:00:00 - Introduction to Buddha at the Gas Pump
00:04:23 - Panning for Gold in Unlikely Sources
00:07:42 - Seven States of Consciousness and Higher Spiritual Development
00:12:01 - Description of the Indescribable
00:16:47 - Profound Transformation and Universal Experience
00:22:38 - Wordsworth's Experience at Tintern Abbey
00:26:42 - Rest and Deep Rest
00:30:20 - The Universal Experience
00:33:59 - The Transformative Effects of Meditation
00:38:01 - The Link Between Coherence and Intelligence
00:42:50 - The Benefits of Brain Integration
00:50:14 - Transforming Consciousness for Harmony with the Planet
01:01:36 - Settling the Waves of the Mind
01:13:01 - Cultivation of Mind and Brain
01:26:05 - The Condition in Which I Function
01:38:45 - A Veil Lifted: A Vision of Glory and Universal Love
01:49:10 - Universal Love and Amma's Hugs
01:53:40 - Experiencing the Underlying Silence
01:57:21 - The Experience of Oneness
02:01:14 - Glimpsing the Higher States of Consciousness
02:04:45 - The Importance of Looking Within
02:09:01 - Researching Cosmic Consciousness through Brain Measures
02:12:39 - Understanding the Neurophysiology of Transcending
02:15:48 - Different Techniques and Brain Functioning
02:18:37 - Universality of Meditation Techniques
02:22:01 - Broadening the Possibilities
02:26:14 - The Special Atmosphere of Iowa City
02:29:26 - The Realities of Personal Growth
02:32:48 - Finding the Self Within
02:36:41 - Cultivating Transcendence
02:40:19 - Craig's Page on BatGap