Hi there,
I interviewed Delson Armstrong recently, who gets studied by neuroscientists thanks to his incredible facility for entering deep states of meditation at will, from cessation (the complete loss of subjective consciousness) to nirvana (a bliss state that he explains in the chat) to non-dual awareness - experience of awareness of awareness with no other content…
So it was great to get his perspective on the debate you probably know I've been interested in for some time: is consciousness just like every other phenomena - dependent on particular causes and conditions to manifest, ("empty" of inherent existence, as the buddhist would say) or is it a special case, primary to existence, the fundamental groundless ground from which everything else emerges, as Advaita and other traditions say?
His answer is nuanced and humble, and based on considerable meditation experience as well as familiarity with ancient buddhist texts.
He also talks about awakening as an individual path, the legitimacy of questioning tradition, and the fallibility of teachers.
You can find the conversation on youtube:
or substack - click here
As ever, If you get a chance to listen, I would love to hear your thoughts!
Amir
Some upcoming events:
Online
London
