Exploring The Nature Of Mind And Reality With Neuroscientist Ruben Laukkonen

Edge of Mind Podcast

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 Laukkonen
Ruben 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/