Chasing Consciousness

The podcast explores the Fractal Brain Theory, connecting neurons, brains, and intelligence to genes, evolution, and life. Topics include symmetry in science, updating the book with new research on dendrites, self-similarity and recursion in evolution, the presence of binary trees in nature, and the unified solution of fractal brain theory to the easy problem of consciousness. They also discuss meta consciousness in AI and the study of the polar frontal cortex.

What evidence is there for a connection between the microbiome and the chronic inflammation and mental health problems on the rise in western populations? Do we need to rethink hygiene practices to benefit from this new understanding? In this episode we’re going to be getting our heads around the idea that while Hygiene has revolutionised health, too much hygiene, actually weakens our immune system’s development. To understand why, we need to understand how the complex community of microbes in our intestines, on our skin and in nature around us has evolved for thousands of years, in symbiosis with our immune system; we’ll be mapping out how, as our hygiene practices and food processing have increased, so the diversity of microbiota has dropped, eventually leading to the explosion of inflammatory disorders, mental health issues and auto-immune disfunction we’re now seeing in western communities. But how to solve this problem, without loosing the great advances in health care achieved by the application of Hygiene theory? Who better to answer that question and explain these subtleties than professor of medical microbiology at University College London, Dr. Graham Rook. Rook is a specialist in infection and immunity, and has spent his career unfolding how the young immune system is ‘programmed’ by the microbial background, identifying all the medical conditions that have been worsened by the failing immuno-regulation associated with our impoverished biomes, and developing ways we can update our lifestyle to restore the diversity required to sustain healthy immune response. In his new book ‘Evolution, Biodiversity and a Reassessment of the Hygiene hypothesis’ he explains all this and his 2003 Old-Friends hypothesis, which seeks to correct the over-stretching of the Hygeine hypothesis. We have got a show from the second series with phytotherapist Alex Laird, about the dietary aspect of the microbiome and inflammation called ‘Mood Food: Inflammation, the gut and diet’ should anyone want to get into the food side of this. What we discuss: 00:00 Intro 08:30 Bacterial diversity in the human body and the evolution of the immune system 12:00 The symbiotic co-evolution of internal bacteria and humankind 13:30 The ‘programming’ of the adaptive immune system by diverse bacteria: Lymphocytes 16:30 Most of our genes evolved in micro-organisms  20:55 Modern western microbiomes compared to our hunter gatherer ancestors 21:40 Variety of diet and contact with nature 22:10 Microorganisms from mother and the natural environment 24:00 The socio-economic factor: Urban poverty VS exposure to microorganisms and diverse diet 26:00 Antibiotic over-use in children contributing to allergies and obesity 26:25 Immune regulation, and how it changes with hyper inflammation 30:00 Background high inflammation in the west 31:20 Microbiota transplants in mental health, allergies and obesity experiments 33:50 The difficulty in using biota transplants to treat biome related issues  39:00 Microbiome/inflammation research into Autism, Parkinsons and Alzheimer’s  46:00 ‘Trained Immunity’ - raising immune alertness epigenetically  50:00 Reassessing the hygiene hypothesis, good diet and minimising antibiotics References: G. Rook, ‘Evolution, Biodiversity, and reassessing the hygiene hypothesis’ book G. Rook, 'The Old Friends Hypothesis’ paper ‘Pediatrics Consequences of Caesarean Section-A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis’, maternal microbiota paper ‘Association between antibiotic treatment during pregnancy and infancy and the development of allergic diseases’ paper ‘Gut microbiome remodelling induces depressive-like behaviour’ paper ‘Long-term benefit of Microbiota Transfer Therapy on autism symptoms and gut microbiota’ paper 'Pet-keeping in early life reduces the risk of allergy in a dose-dependent fashion’ paper

What is Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprogramming therapy? What could be the mechanism by which its bilateral stimulation relieves the disturbances from trauma? In this episode we have the fascinating technique of EMDR psychotherapy to look into. This is another show, like the Parenting by Connection episode #18, that’s close to home, as I personally have had extraordinary results with this method. Developed from the 80’s onwards by Francine Shapiro, Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing uses a bilateral brain hemisphere stimulation, similar to the pre-REM sleep state, to lower the physiological reaction in the present, following traumatic experiences in the past. The reason I was so struck by the method and wanted to share the science of it here, is how the model works physiologically on the reprogramming of traumatic memories, with more or less instant results - results that might take years using traditional talky therapies. Why this ‘straight to the point’ method works though is still not clear to scientists, so it will be interesting to hear the different theories. Who better to tell us all about it than EMDR therapist ex-president of EMDR Europe and the president of EMDR Italy, Dr. Isabel Fernandez. As well as more than 20 years treating patients with EMDR and training tens thousands of therapists, she sits on several boards of organisations studying science of psychotraumatology, like the Society of Traumatic Stress Studies. She has written various scientific papers, books and chapters on EMDR and trauma too. What we discuss: 00:00 Intro 06:10 Trauma with a big ’T’ (threat to life) and a little ’t’ (interpersonal) 09:20 The risk of a ‘victim’ complex, lowering resilience if we focus on even little ’t’ trauma 10:00 You reach resilience through addressing and integrating trauma  11:20 Our innate ability to process adverse experience information and the overwhelming of that in PTSD  15:30 Bilateral eye movement stimulation helps the completion of our innate memory integration ability 18:25 You do need to remember the memory to work on it, but often it arises by association rather than actively remembering it 21:00 Bilateral stimulation of the left and right hemisphere: visual, sensory and auditory versions 23:00 Pre-Rem Sleep is similar to the EMDR state 26:30 Proved to be faster than other therapies, therefore more cost effective for the state health services 28:15 Its functioning is not yet completely understood: the leading theories  32:40 Iain McGilchrist’s left right hemisphere interpretation (See Episode #15)  36:45 A meta analysis - Bilateral stimulation much more effective than non-bilateral stimulation, just therapy  39:30 Adaptive information - 1. Processing of the past 2. De-sensitisation of disturbance the present 3. Imaginal future events  50:15 EMDR for kids with traumatic experiences from 2 years old 51:45 Applications for collective mass trauma: war, pandemics, floods and earthquakes 52:45 The key is to work with bilateral stimulation during the acute phase of the trauma 55:00 Bringing EMDR to the Police, the military and the hospitals   References:  Frontiers in Psychology: Slow Wave Sleep/ Pre-Rem Sleep similarities with EMDR State American Psychological Association: Neural Basis of EMDR Therapy Nature: Neural Circuits involved in EMDR suppressing fear response American Psychological Association: Chris Lee, Meta-analysis of efficacy and speed of EMDR PubMed: Meta-analysis of treatment of sexual abuse in children and adolescents EMDREurope.com EMDR.com EMDR.it 

Dean Radin, a PhD researcher delving into psi phenomena, shares fascinating insights on telepathy and precognition. He explores over a century of peer-reviewed research that challenges conventional physics, and discusses the psychological nuances of belief and emotional connections in experiments. The podcast also addresses mind-matter interaction and the intriguing cases of remote viewing in military contexts. Radin argues for a shift in scientific attitudes towards these phenomena, linking them to emerging perspectives in quantum mechanics.

Why are religious and mystical experiences important to our sense of meaning and purpose in life? What is a spiritual emergency and how can it actually help us in the long run? Are transpersonal experiences illusions of the mind or can they tell us anything about the nature of reality? In this episode, we have the extraordinary topic of Transpersonal Psychology to learn about. With the steady rise in popularity of western secular spirituality, meditation, psychedelic research, altered states of consciousness and embodied practices in general, during the 60’s some psychologists felt there was a part of psychology missing from the old humanist and behaviourist models. It was as if the overwhelmingly materialist scientific view of humans, that sees our bodies and brains as fundamentally separate from other beings, the natural world and any hypothetically transcendent reality, was missing out a huge source of data about the way our minds work. So a bunch of them coined a new term, Transpersonal psychology, and with it came a new field of study and practice.  It’s a really wide field and at its cusps starts to get into areas that science can’t actually study using the method; some of which we’re going to touch on towards the end of this episode. But above all it makes a place for the importance of the transpersonal that crosses those boundaries between our bodies and brains and everything else out there, both known and unknown. So fortunately today’s guest has over 25 years of experience both as a psychologist and a workshops leader, David Lukoff. Dr. Lukoff has published over 80 articles on spirituality and mental health, and is an active workshop presenter internationally on spiritual competency, grief, death, recovery, and spiritual crises. He is a Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the Sofie University, previously known as the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology in Palo Alto, in CA and previously served on the faculties of Harvard University and UCLA. He is also the co-founder of the Spiritual Competency Academy, that offers mental health professionals courses on the skills and knowledge to become more spiritual competent. What we discuss: 00:00 Intro 05:30 A psychedelic psychotic episode and a spiritual crisis 07:00 Spirituality and religion as resources and practices 07:42 The history of transpersonal psychology  14:00 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs VS behaviourism 16:45 Spiritual emergencies  18:00 Jospeh Cambell’s ‘Hero’s Journey’ and Jung’s ‘Compensatory psychosis’ 22:30 David’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) entry 24:00 The post scientific revolution meaning crisis, and spiritual assessment as a solution 29:45 Ceremonial, shamanic and plant medicine approaches 32:30 Bringing altered states into mainstream psychology 37:00 Holotropic breathing: simulating an LSD-like research after LSD research was banned 40:15 The strength of the mystical experience correlates with positive outcomes 41:15 Stan Grof: NDE, OBE, psi, afterlife and interdimensional communications 45:00 The Spiritual Competency Academy: forgiveness, compassion, mindfulness References: Spiritual Competency Academy Journal of Transpersonal Psychology Rick Doblin - Founder of MAPS - Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies ‘Spiritual and religious problems’ included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of mental disorders Jung’s ‘Compensatory psychosis’ The Spiritual Emergency Network Johns Hopkins and NYU studies - Intensity of mystical experiences correlation with positive clinical outcomes.

Physics researcher Vitaly Vanchurin, exploring the possibility of the world being a neural network. Discusses fine-tuning in the universe, application of learning dynamics to physics, and the reconciliation of quantum mechanics and general relativity. Explores the concept of life and consciousness as technologies. Connects the dynamics of the universe with biological systems. Examines the distinction between non-trainable and trainable variables in neural networks and their association with gravitational equations and quantum mechanics. Considers the emergence of observers in the universe and proposes learning dynamics as an explanation. Explores hidden variables and deviations from quantum mechanics, suggesting further experiments are needed. Explores the concept of subsystems of conscious learning and collective consciousness.

How Can Ultrasound destroy cancer cells and even increase immune response elsewhere? Are there any implications for a resonant field based understanding of matter? In this episode we have the fascinating invention of Histotripsy (https://histotripsy.umich.edu/), the non-invasive destruction of cancer cells using ultrasound to look into. Alongside the other headline news that bioengineers are also using acoustics to pattern replacement heart tissue, makes the field of bioacoustics one of the most exciting for the future of medicine.  It is of course the implications of this for the resonant vibrational nature of matter that make this of interest to us on the show, as we attempt to get closer to a true understanding of the nature of reality through our shows on the implications of Einstein’s ‘matter is energy’ findings and quantum mechanics. We get into this after 45 mins or so. We are lucky enough to be speaking today with one of the inventors of Histotripsy technology, Zhen Xu, Associate Professor and Graduate Chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Michigan University. She’s won many awards for her research, including from the American Heart Association and from the National Institute of Health.  00:00 Intro 07:25 Destroying Cancer Cells with Ultrasound  08:50 Issues with tissue heating and toxicity in other non-surgical techniques 09:50 Cavitation: the creation, expansion and collapse of bubbles - gas pockets in the tissue 11:40 Ultrasound propagates through the vibration of tissue particles 13:36 Acoustic Scalpel: Cavitation bubbles are highly visible on ultrasound imaging, for high accuracy treatment 14:45 No spread of tissue heating, so no healthy tissue damage 16:00 The discovery happened by mistake 19:45 She developed new devices for a new phenomenon  21:40 Toxicity of the destroyed tumour is removed from the body in a few months 24:30 Immune response to tumerous cells after treatment, possibly from the debris 25:40 Live cancer cells alter signal pathways to confuse the immunes system 28:00 But once dead the the debris can are noticed by the immune system  29:45 Future tumours or relapses in different locations are picked ups by the immune system 33:30 Treating neurological disease, brain blood clots and epilepsy too, across the skull protection 40:30 Patterning and forming new cell structures using sound (Stanford Med research): Structuring vs destructing using sound 44:30 Resonant frequency in various types of matter and biological tissue 45:00 No evidence from the lab for a resonant theory of tissue/organ health 48:50 Nikola Tesla, “If you want to find the secrets of the Universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration” 52:00 The implications of a wider wave-length fields, for the creation and maintaining of matter and biological life’s structure 56:30 Bioelectric component in organ development (TUFTS Study): The formation of life depends on more than DNA 1:01:00 A field based understanding of physical matter, rather than matter generating fields   References: Dr Zhen Xu 'Histotripsy: the first noninvasive, non-ionizing, non-thermal ablation technique based on ultrasound' Paper Dr Zhen Xu - Histotripsy Group Cosmos Magazine Article on Histotripsy Dr Cliff Cho, Dr Zhen Xu - “...Immune responses that enhance cancer immunotherapy” Paper Sean Wu and Utcan Demerci, Stanford Medical School, Engineering Heart tissue using Bioacoustics Havana Syndrome Nikola Tesla quote, “If you want to find the secrets of the Universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration” Micheal Levin, TUFTS university, “changes in bioelectric signals cause tadpoles to grow eyes in back and tail”

What are the benefits and risks of transhumanist technologies, and why are they so taboo? How do we legislate to avoid existential risks, without holding back too much the enormous possible benefits? How do we secure the mental health, rights and equal access of the public as it inevitably rolls out? So today we have the tricky and somewhat taboo topic of how to ethically guide the ever-increasing application of transhumanist technologies. With the recent advances in bio-technology, and some technologies already making their way into our bodies, it seems that the move towards a transhumanist vision of how to improve our standard of living is already well under way. So the question now is how do we educate ourselves the public and legislate tech corporations and governments, to be sure that people’s mental and physical health, access to opportunities, and personal freedoms are not being compromised in the gold-rush.    Fortunately our guest today is a sociologist and bioethicist with over 25 years of debating exactly these kind of questions. He is the executive director of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies or IEET, and he is the Associate Provost for Institutional research, Assessment and Planning at the University of Massachusetts Boston, James Hughes. He is a Buddhist and techno-optimist, and was executive director of the World Transhumanist Organisation from 2004-2006. He argues for a democratic transhumanism in which human enhancement technologies should only be allowed if available to everyone, with respect for the rights of the individuals to control their own bodies. He’s the writer of many articles and papers and the author of the book,“Citizen Cyborg: Why democratic societies must respond to the redesigned human of the future”. He is currently working on another book about moral enhancement, tentatively titled “Cyborg Buddha: Using neurotechnology to become better people”. Being a techno-optimist and futurist myself, yet extremely cautious of mankind’s reckless and often blind curiosity when developing technology, I felt it was an important time to take a balanced multi-perspectival look into the ethics and policy development of transhumanist technologies. The interview offered me a process of re-evalutation of my own preconceptions and triggers, so I hope it helps you question your own opinions on this complex topic.  What we discuss: 00:00 Intro 08:00 Difficulty accepting our inevitable transhumanist future 14:00 The taboo of transhumanism and debating toxic issues 19:45 It’s not the tech that’s the risk but the way we use it and legislate it: Max Tegmark 33:20 The History of Transhumanism 44:50 Is Eugenics connected to Transhumanism? 51:00 The roadmap towards markets rolling out transhumanist technologies  52:30 The Kurzweilian paradigm: Smaller, smarter and faster  55:45 Backing up memories - replacing and supplementing brain function 57:00 Instantiating brain backups in robot bodies, cloned bodies or computers 58:45 The Metaverse and brain-internet interfaces assessed 01:03:00 Augmented reality will be more popular than virtual reality 01:06:00 Technology interfering with the evolution of brains and culture 01:10:00 Selective scientific publication about the negative mental health outcomes 01:21:00 Neurolink: brain computer internet interfaces assessed 01:27:00 Gene therapy assessed: the risks of yet further inequality of wealth and power 01:43:50 The Singularity explained 01:56:20 Inequality leads to dangerous conflict VS Transnational collaboration leads to peace References: James J Hughes ‘Citizen Cyborg’ Nick Bostrum - ‘A History of Transhumanist thought’ paper The Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies IEET

What evidence is there for quantum effects in biological systems? What are the implications for life in general? Today we’ve got the relatively new field of quantum biology to assess. For years the idea of quantum effects in biological cells was dismissed because live cells were ‘too warm and wet’ to host these sensitive quantum phenomena. But new research into quantum coherence in avian navigation, quantum tunnelling in DNA mutations, in enzymes, even in smell - has brought new interest and study to the field of Quantum Biology. One biochemist, saw all this coming and wrote a book about it 20 years ago called, ‘Quantum Evolution’. He is none other that than Professor of Molecular Genetics at Surrey university, JohnJoe McFadden. His mainstream research is in microbial genetics, particularly in developing new systems biology approaches to infectious diseases. He is a keen promoter of public understanding of science and has given many popular science talks on subjects as varied as evolution and GM food. He also writes popular science articles, particularly for the Guardian newspaper. His specialties are broad including: systems biology, microbiology, evolutionary genetics, infectious diseases, tuberculosis, meningitis, and bionanotechnology. He’s written many books but in this episode we’ll be focussing on material from his newer books, ‘Life on the Edge: the coming age of Quantum Biology’ with physicist Jim Al-Khalili, and ‘Life is Simple: How Occam’s Razor Set Science Free and Unlocked the Universe’. What we discuss: 00:00 Intro 04:30 ‘Too Warm and Wet’ Dismissing quantum consciousness in microtubules 08:40 Roger Penrose: Consciousness may be a field 14:28 The macro universe must be quantum in some way 17:30 Nobody understands the cut-off point between classical large and quantum small 20:20 Quantum coherence in Photosynthesis, enzymes, DNA mutations and avian navigation 23:00 Life ‘amplifies’ the dynamics of stuff going on at the quantum level a to classical level 49:30 University of Surrey ‘Quantum Biology’ PHD graduate program 54:30 Science is becoming more and more interdisciplinary 57:00 Biologists sometimes need to go to quantum mechanics to understand their phenomena 01:12:00 The brain is a receiver and a transmitter: Conscious Electromagnetic information theory 01:16:00 William of Occam’s ‘Razor’ explained 01:22:00 Any sufficiently advanced science would look like metaphysics 01:27:00 Simple models aren’t an ontological claim about the world being simple 01:28:30 Bayesian likelihood reasoning makes sharper predictions References: ‘The Emperor’s New Mind’ Roger Penrose Greg Engel, Quantum Coherence in Photosynthesis paper (2011) Judith Klinman, Quantum Tunneling in Enzymes paper (2006) Thorston Ritz, Avian navigation paper (2004) Johnjoe McFadden, Consciousness: Matter or EMF paper  (2022) 

Philosopher and author Bernardo Kastrup discusses the metaphysics implied by Carl Jung's theories, including the collective unconscious, archetypes, synchronicity, individuation, and the mind at large hypothesis. They explore topics such as dissociation, perception, and the influence of Jim Hollis. The speaker reflects on personal experiences of realizing separateness and the illusory sense of control. They delve into teleology, idealism, the collective unconscious, anomalous phenomena, and the importance of self-awareness. The conversation also touches on books, writing, and future interviews on related subjects.