Hi there,
I caught Shamil Chandaria last night between two science conferences on consciousness. He observed thinking is converging on a striking insight: waking up may not be just a metaphor.
When we emerge from sleep in the morning, there's a measurable increase in cortical excitability, and information is distributed more widely in the brain. Remarkably, "spiritual awakenings" seem to continue the same pattern - bringing greater levels of brightness, clarity, lucidity into our lives.
Shamil will be covering all the details in his course starting Thursday. Its an incredibly unique privilege to have the most recent scientific thinking translated to a more general audience, with the practical applications for meditation and life.
He's excited, I'm excited, and we hope to see you there!
Earlier this year I had the pleasure of speaking with Dr Ruben Laukkonen about how advanced meditation can bring consciousness to a complete stop. Paradoxically, “cessation” may reduce grasping, reset deep mental patterns, and contribute to the awakening described above.
You may already know, Shamil collaborated with Ruben on their paper a Beautiful Loop. Ruben completed an award-winning PhD on “insight” and his lab models meditation, psychedelics, and consciousness.
The conversation is now on on Spotify and Youtube. It includes a presentation on cessation and its implications for awakening and the primacy of consciousness.
Do email me your thoughts, and I hope to see you at an upcoming event.
Warmly,
Amir
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“Awakening might not be a metaphor”Science-informed guide to insight, awakening and human flourishing. |

