Edge of Mind Podcast

In this highly provocative podcast, Christopher Bache discusses his 40-year journey exploring LSD as a practice, and entheogens as an actual path. Twenty years taking 73 high-dose journeys into the nature of mind and reality, and twenty years digesting what he discovered. Chris talks about the difference between spiritual awakening and cosmological exploration during his adventure in consciousness, the promise, the peril, and the pain.  What is the risk of “high-altitude sickness,” and are psychedelics a short-cut to enlightenment? How valid is “chemical mysticism,” and how do you know what you experience is true? What about replicability – would someone else experience the same things over twenty years? Andrew introduces the notion of entheogens as a form of tantra, where body (in this case chemistry) is as important as mind. When the body/mind opens to this degree, what does one do with all the energy that is released, and can that much energy be dangerous? Trungpa Rinpoche said that “LSD is super-samsara.” But can the heightening of samsara be used in an “al-chemical” way to accelerate the transformation into nirvana, bringing unconscious processes into the light of consciousness? Chris bravely shares intimate stories of his 73 sessions, the intense and often painful purification, the revelation, the vision, and the vast potential. Is this modern-day shamanism? Can anybody do this? What is the role of meditation in preparing and stabilizing this kind of journey? Can LSD show you the “species mind,” and even the “mind of the universe”? Is there a universal intelligence guiding things, and a final purpose (teleology) to creation? As a professor of religion, Chris discusses how his sessions showed him a new form of education, where one becomes the object of study. How about the risk of sharing this intimate journey, and the bigger risk of alluring others into it? This conversation with a rare individual, possessed with a penetrating intellect, a generous heart, and disarming humility is one of the richest interviews ever offered on this podcast. Be prepared to have your mind blown open, and your heart expanded to the limits of the inner and outer cosmos.  

Join Swami Sarvapriyananda for a deep and vast dive into the world of Advaita Vedanta, and its relationship to Vedanta, Tibetan Buddhism, and Kashmir Shaivism. Swami-ji shares what he has learned from Buddhism, and how emptiness relates to pure consciousness.  Is the no-self of Buddhism the same as the irreducible Self of Hinduism? Is reality on a sliding-scale, or does it eventually bottom out? Why is the dream analogy so central to Advaita Vedanta, and what role do dreams play in this tradition? Swami talks about nonduality – what it is and is not – and how dreams can help us discover nonduality. Why are the three wisdom tools of hearing, contemplating, and meditating so important? What are the strengths and weaknesses of Advaita Vedanta and Kashmir Shaivism? What are the paths that lead to the discovery of nonduality? The conversation moves to the promise and peril of science, and the place of psychology on the spiritual path. Why is materialism and scientific reductionism such a problem, and how can an integral approach help? The centrality of light, or luminosity, and its relationship to emptiness and pure consciousness is explored, along with the principle of contraction, and the pulsation of awareness. Discover why Swami-ji is one of the most sought-after teachers in the world, and why his infectious enthusiasm is so contagious.

Join the popular lucid dreaming author Charlie Morley for our second interview with him, and discover why he is in such demand. Andrew and Charlie discuss his latest book, “Wake Up to Sleep: 5 Powerful Practices to Transform Stress & Trauma for Peaceful Sleep & Mindful Dreams.” The conversation begins with an extensive exploration of the importance of breath, and how it profoundly affects our lives – and our sleep. Charlie shares some practices for how to engage Coherent Breathing for optimal mental and physical health. He also shows us how to use breathing to work with insomnia, and to prepare for sleep. Charlie offers data from a number of studies on the importance of proper breathing, and the benefits in terms of sleep and dreams. The discussion then ties this topic into the inner yogas, and how the inner winds (lung, chi, prana) relate to outer respiration. Trauma is then explored, and how East meets West in working with the undigested experiences buried deep in our body-mind. Where do the samskaras fit in, and how about PTSD as “post-truth stress disorder” – a trauma that has its origins in the bardo. The conversation peppers in riffs on yoga nidra, nightmares, liminal dreaming, pranayama, vase breathing, and a host of very practical tips for enhanced sleep and dream. Charlie is a treasure trove of inspiration and information, and his passion is contagious.

Join nutritionist, yoga instructor, and breathing specialist Amanda Morley for a deep look at the power of respiration, and how to exercise coherent / resonant breathing. Breath is so central on the path that even the word “spirit” derives from a root that means “breath.” Breath is our most critical form of nutrition (you can go weeks without food, days without water, but just a few minutes without breath). Its role in preparing us for good meditation and healthy sleep is often overlooked. Ninety percent of us do not breath properly, and the consequences are far reaching. We’re breathing 70% faster than we were a hundred years ago, and rapid shallow breathing is taking a toll. Amanda brings her expertise to illuminate the many benefits breathing brings to body, mind, and spirit. How does mantra tie into breath, what is “email apnea,” and how can we practice optimal breathing? “Lucid breathing” leads to lucid living. By making this previously unconscious process more conscious, we can bring heightened lucidity and awareness to all aspects of life. This nuts-and-bolts discussion will invigorate your relationship to one of the most aspects of life.From amandamorley.co.uk: "I’m so grateful to have studied the inner workings of the body – to understand the fine tuning of how they function to keep us alive and well. When we understand this we learn to look after ourselves a little better and, most importantly, trust that our body will always try to work in the best way that it can.I am also grateful to have learnt about the brain to understand why we are the way we are, how much we can get caught up in unhelpful loops due to the messages we are constantly sending to our brain. And how much these messages are influenced by our words, reactions, body and breath…<a href="https://amandamorley.co.uk/about/">More&gt;&gt;&gt;</a>

Join the neuroscientist, contemplative, and poet Ruben Laukkonen on a breathtaking tour of the nature of mind and reality. Why is it so important to know the mind, and how does one do that? What is the role of deconstruction on the meditative path, and how do dreams fit into all this? Exploring Ruben’s seminal work on meditation and the plasticity of the predictive mind, this is a wide-ranging exploration into the science of meditation – both diurnal and nocturnal. Why does crises spark evolution? Why is “chaos extremely good news”? The conversation covers topics like predictive processing, how resting in the present moment is annihilation, the illusion of time and space, naïve realism and noncontextual realism, representationalism, and how the meditative path is death in slow motion. Is it even accurate to take about “mind,” or is “minds” more appropriate? Is the brain a reducing valve, and how does mind relate to brain? How do dreams help us discover the power of “top down” (vs “bottom up”) processing, and why is it so important to discover all the “forces of the dark side” as embedded (almost literally) in the unconscious mind? Is reality radically relativistic, or does it bottom out somewhere? The conversation turns to what’s left after all the cutting, negating, and deconstructing. Are there wholesome constructs, and how can lucid dreaming help us work with “generation stage” meditation? Ruben shares a remarkable lucid dream, and the implications behind what he has discovered in the dream world. You will quickly see why Dr. Laukkonen is a shining start in the new and exciting field of contemplative science. This is one of the deepest and most comprehensive interviews to date, with a rare liminal being.More about Ruben LaukkonenRuben is a scientist, contemplative, writer, speaker, kickboxer, and poet. He has authored the first unifying scientific theory of both meditation and insight. Ruben’s mission is to know the mind in order to uncover simple and effective empirical paths towards peace. Visit his website https://rubenlaukkonen.com/

Join the astronaut, author, and humanitarian Ron Garan for an out of this world discussion about the power of perspective. We show clips of Ron’s remarkable life as a fighter pilot and International Space Station inhabitant, and then turn to the power of the “overview effect,” and its implementation as orbital perspective. Andrew ties this into the lucidity principle, and how evolution itself is defined by increased perspectives. From ego-centric to tribe-centric to world-centric to cosmo-centric – from ego to eco -- we evolve as we continue to open to new views on reality (a notion deeply connected to meditation as “habituation to openness”). Ron shares how Plato’s Allegory of the Cave is central to his life, and how his many months in space have inspired him to now spend his life helping others, and the planet. The discussion turns to fear, and how to work with it; how darkness is often the source of growth; the relationship of outer space to the inner space of the mind; the role of witness awareness; and how the film technique of dolly zooming is a powerful metaphor for holding multiple perspectives. We are at an inflection point in human history, and seeing what’s really going -- what Buddhism calls Right View -- is central to our survival. Ron’s view is inspirational, and completely resonant with the wisdom traditions: we have more power than we think, and with every thought, word, and deed, we can help this world. Ron is uniquely situated to talk about the power of right view, and how we are all crewmates on the spacecraft called Earth. Watch this clip of Ron reading excerpts from his latest book, “Floating in Darkness.”https://vimeo.com/504892442  

Join anthropologist and intrepid explorer Ian Baker for an exploration of the mysterious world of the “hidden lands,” or beyul. These extraordinary places are geographical power points where mindscape and landscape merge, and where spiritual practice is accelerated. “Here you can accomplish in one day what would otherwise take a year.” Dreamlike in nature, and absolutely mind-bending in essence, these terrestrial pure lands are an ineffable interworld between mind and nature. Here facets of the landscape act as fulcrums where perception turns into revelation, and gates open to a previously inaccessible space that defies categories of inside or outside. Ian explores the outer, inner, secret, and ultimately secret dimensions of these places, and how if we open our mind and heart we can discover these hidden lands tucked within the present moment (as the timeless “fourth moment”). The conversation turns to how these magical places relate to terma, symbolic guru, and liminality, and how the language of metaphor is necessary to describe the indescribable. The esoteric becomes exoteric when the teachings that surround beyul are connected to the current ecological crises, and our divorce from nature. Ian and Andrew share their experiences around nature coming alive in these power spots, and how surrendering to the mystery opens us to their blessings. This is one of the most mind-stretching interviews Andrew has conducted, sure to challenge and expand your vision of reality. In the end, the way to find these hidden lands is to stop looking, and to realize that the path is perceptual not actual – it’s a path to nowhere, or now-here. As Proust said, “The real journey of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”

Join Clare Johnson for a deep dive into the world of nightmares, as we explore her remarkable new book, “The Art of Transforming Nightmares.” Clare proclaims that nightmares are gifts in ugly wrapping paper, and learning how to relate to them as gifts is the first part of transforming them. Her approach is resonant with the tantric or alchemical traditions, where obstacles are opportunities in disguise. The worse the nightmare, the greater the transformative potential. We talk about what causes nightmares, and how to work with them at relative and absolute levels. What is the essence of “nightmare principle,” and how can nightmares “wake us up” spiritually? Dr. Johnson has dozens of practical exercises in this book, and she shares her favorite ones. The book is essentially about fear, and how we can follow our fear to authentic growth. Nightmares allow us to effect a peaceful (but not always pleasant) transfer of power back to its rightful source, empowering us as the authors of our lives. Not only can we re-script a nightmare, we can re-script the very egoic processes that give rise to all nightmares – including samsara itself. “Right View” is everything when it comes to these unwanted dreams, and this conversation will deliver that proper view. Joining the proper view with practical exercises, this conversation will leave you with tips and tricks you can use right away to bring unwanted dreams onto the path. You will readily see why Clare is the Queen of Lucidity.

Join neurologist Kulreet Chaudhary for a rich tour of the role of sound on the path of healing and spiritual practice. As a Western physician and Ayurvedic practitioner, Dr. Chaudhary is uniquely situated to bridge the best of the ancient East with the modern West. This conversation focuses on the magic and power of mantra to wake us up spiritually, and to heal us physically. What exactly is mantra, and how do they work? Can anybody engage a mantra, and what’s the difference between “over-the-counter” mantras and “prescription strength” mantras? How do you prescribe a mantra, and then use it? The discussion explores the origins of sacred sound, and how vibration works with the subtle and gross body. Kulreet addresses the trans-cultural aspects of mantra, and how they work as audible acupuncture needles, to “penetrate the vital points” of the chakras and channels of the subtle body. Because the outer gross body is an expression of the subtle inner body, what we do with the subtle body profoundly affects the gross body. Authentic integral healing is the result, healing so foundational it can transform karma itself. How important is devotion, or the principle of surrender, to increase the efficacy of a mantra? Are there any dangers to mantra recitation? Dr. Chaudhary is a ground breaking cultural translator, uniting healing systems that go back nearly 8000 years with modern scientific discoveries. This conversation will change the way you relate to mantra, and inspire you to engage in this ancient practice. MORE ABOUT DR. KULREET CHAUDHARY:Dr. Kulreet Chaudhary’s combined expertise in both modern neurology and the ancient science of health known as Ayurveda has uniquely positioned her as an expert able to pull from the broadest possible base to treat her clients. She is passionate about raising awareness for the need of a paradigm shift in contemporary medicine that focuses on patient empowerment and a health-based (rather than disease-based) medical system. Dr. Chaudhary is a regular guest on the Dr. Oz show, where her teachings about Ayurvedic medicine have been applauded by a national audience.Dr. Chaudhary was the Director of Wellspring Health in Scripps Memorial Hospital for ten years, and remains a pioneer in the field of Integrative Medicine. Dr. Chaudhary has successfully developed a powerful system to manage chronic neurological disorders such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and migraine headaches, by incorporating fundamental changes in diet, behavior, and stress, in addition to the standard allopathic approach to these issues. This program has been so successful that many patients now use it not just for neurological issues but also for a wider range of health concerns, including weight issues and chronic disease.Dr. Chaudhary is the author of The Prime and Sound Medicine and has appeared as a medical expert on numerous programs including The Dr. Oz Show and Home & Family.  She is also a neuroscientist and has participated in over twenty clinical research studies in the areas of multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, ALS, and diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Her research includes groundbreaking work in stem cell therapies for diabetic peripheral neuropathy and drug development for the treatment of ALS.Dr. Kulreet Chaudhary spends her time doing research in Siddha Medicine in Tamil Nadu, India and seeing patients for Integrative Medicine consultations from San Diego, CA.  To schedule your virtual consultation with Dr. Chaudhary, please visit www.drkulreetchaudhary.com. 

Join neuroscientist Benjamin Baird for a “state of the union” look at lucid dreaming in the scientific community. Is this a good time for a young scientist to pursue the study of lucid dreaming?  If so, what’s the best way to go about that? After sharing his personal story about studying consciousness via lucid dreaming, the conversation turns to a brief but deep dive into the nature of reality, and the explanatory power of idealism (it’s all mind) vs. materialism (it’s all matter). Naïve realism and the mistake of representationalism take center stage, followed by a look at Ben’s study on meditators having more lucid dreams. What is the role of meditation in cultivating lucidity? How feasible is it to find a magic bullet for inducing lucidity, by either targeting sweet spots in the brain through pharmacological means (galantamine), or transcranial electrical stimulation? Based on another study he conducted with Stephen LaBerge, Ben shares his tips for the use of galantamine. Is it scientifically accurate to profess that lucid dreamers are leading the edge of human evolution? The conversation then turns to the radical study Dr. Baird is currently undertaking: trying to substantiate the claim of lucidity in deep dreamless sleep. If proven, this study would revolutionize the mind sciences. You will quickly see why Ben is one of the leading voices in the scientific community currently studying the nocturnal practices.Dr. Benjamin Baird is a research scientist at the Center for Sleep and Consciousness at the University of Wisconsin - Madison specializing in the study of human cognition and consciousness. His work uses a range of behavioral and cognitive neuroscience methods, including electrophysiology and neuroimaging techniques. His areas of research include internally generated thought and perception, such as mind-wandering and dreaming, self-awareness and metacognition, and the neurobiology of consciousness. He also has a particular long-standing interest in the phenomenon of lucid dreaming, which he has focused on in his recent research.