Chasing Consciousness

What can psychologists do the make pilots and astronauts’ decision making better under duress? Can we anticipate the psychological issues of planned long distance space missions to Mars? How can we shift the shame culture for pilots and astronauts around reporting unidientified anomolous phenomena?In this episode we have the unique field of Space psychology to look into; So we discuss the psychology of military pilots and astronauts working under such extreme conditions; and the intuitive skill sets developed under such high pressure, split second decision situations; we discuss the cognitive engineering required to match the design of instruments to the cognitive needs of the pilots and astronauts; we get into alternatives methods of expertise exchange apart from the usual text book approach which have had extraordinary decision making results for pilot and astronaut performance. We also discuss the issues for pilots around reporting of UFO encounters, and the implications for space psychology of the new bout of main stream interest following the New York Times 2017 expose of military incidents.So who better to help us understand the minds of pilots and astronauts than space psychologist, cognitive engineer, astronaut instructor and Director of the Centre of Space Medicine at UCL in London, Dr. Iya Whitely. She’s helped design training programs and conducted studies for the European Space Agency, The Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre in Russia, and presented he research for the USAirforce and Nasa. Dr. Whitely is also a pilot, rescue scuba diver and competitive sky diver! She’s written 11 scientific papers, and three books, “Toolkit of a Space Psychologist, to support astronauts on exploration missions to the moon and mars”, “Earth Designs” for toddlers, and her new book “Born Knowing”, which we get onto at the end.What we discuss:00:00 Intro.05:30 Iya’s path into Cognitive Engineering.18:35 Decision making research.28:00 Iya’s method led to 200/cent increase in decision making speed.21:40 Professional intuition.43:00 Surgeon expertise transmission study55:45 Astronaut psychology - Alexei Leonov, first space walk near-disaster, 1965.01:06:00 ESA human, long-distance space flight study.01:13:00 Nature solves problems using resources available locally - Biomimetics, Dr Olga Bogatyreva.01:27:10 Mars 500: 520 day simulated Mars mission trial.01:31:30 Space colonisation psychology.01:40:40 Difficulty reintegrating with terrestrial society after missions to space.01:43:00 “The Overview Effect” when earth is seen from space.01:50:30 Taboo around reporting of anomolous phenomena for pilots and astronauts.01:53:15 Ryan Graves is speaking out in congress about repeated UFO safety concerns.02:01:00 Astronauts can’t risk to speak about this as it will affect their careers.02:13:00 Navy have implemented a new reporting protocol and office, AARO.02:21:30 Iya at the Sol Foundation: Garry Nolan & Diana Pasulka.02:29:30 Pilot Jake Baba - reporting issue with the phenomena.02:39:10 Telepathic autistic children, called ‘spellers’. Diane Hennessy Powell research.02:47:00 These telepathic kids are also interracting with non-human intelligences.02:51:15 Non-verbal communication with toddlers.References:Iya Whiteley, “Born Knowing”.Iya Whiteley & Olga Bogatyreva, “Toolkit for a space psycholgist”.Iya Whiteley, “Earth designs” toddlers book.Gary A. Klein - professional intuition book “The Power of Intuition".Dr Olga Bogatyreva - ‘Biomimetics - its practice and theory’.Frank White, “The Overview Effect”.Whitley Strieber, “Communion”.Rick Srassman, “DMT The Spirit Molecule”.All domain Anomoloy Resoltions Office, AARO.2024 Paper on the UAP reporting system Occupational Safety and Reporting Guidance: Reviewing UAP ...Sol Foundation of Garry Nolan at Stanford, Scientific UAP research.Ky Dickens, Telepathy Tapes podcast and documentary film.

How do astronomers detect the conditions for life and techno-signatures on exoplanets many lightyears away? What conditions on earth give us clues to how life might have formed elsewhere? How do intelligent civilisations evolve to technomaturity before they destroy themselves?So in this episode we have the mysterious arising of life and eventually intelligent life on our planet to try and explain, to then apply that to our search for other intelligent life in the cosmos. So to explain that we’re going to be getting into the co-evolution of the geosphere and the biosphere on earth and their corresponding feedback loops; the possibility of planetary level intelligence; the difficulty of laying a technosphere on top of the geo and biosphere, and the risk of civilisations wiping themselves out before learning how to harmonise the technosphere with the biosphere; We’ll be looking at the changes in the field of SETI (the Search for Extraterrestrial Terrestrial Intelligence), since we can now identify potentially life sustaining exo-planets in nearer parts of the galaxy; we’re going to get into the newly funded search for techno signatures from advanced civilisations, and potential space junk from the many civilisations that presumably didn’t make it; lastly we’re going to discuss recent claims of ancient and alleged present visitations to earth by extra terrestrial intelligence.Fortunately to face these tough and complex issues, our guest is a world specialist in astrobiology, with a talent for making these topics fun and imaginative, an astrophysics professor at the University of Rochester, Professor Adam Frank. He’s the author of over 200 scientific papers and 6 books for the general public including, “The Blind Spot: why science cannot ignore human experience” and “The Little book of Aliens” which we’ll be focussing on today. He’s also an award winning science communicator, on a mission to raise public awareness about existential risk and science in general.What we discussed:00:00 Intro.05:20 The importance of experience.07:00 The limits between the expressible and the inexpressible.09:10 Semantic Information: life as self organising, autonomous agents.15:00 There’s stuff you can’t talk about - there’s only the silence16:20 The Basian probability of other life in the universe.20:00 The ingredients for life on this earth.22:30 The codependence between Geo and Biosphere.22:60 Gaian feedback loops. 27:00 The earth is not conscious but it is an agent.29:45 Mind is a process, it’s not just in the head.33:25 The fluidity of individuality.34:30 Distributed Cognition - bacteria, fungal networks etc.38:30 A fundamental reimagining of what we mean by ‘Nature’.39:30 There is no disembodied perspective.41:00 Geosphere to Biosphere to technosphere maturity.47:30 The biosphere offers a model for what planetary intelligence looks like.48:00 The history of search for extra terrestrial Intelligence, SETI49:00 The Drake equation - 7 requirements for intelligence life.53:45 We’ve never looked - a tiny amount of the sky has been studied.54:00 Exoplanets: searching for biosgnatures and techno signatures.56:00 Technospheres: Kardeshev scale and Dyson Spheres.59:00 Techno junk from dead civilisations.01:02:30 UFO’s need more data to be taken seriously.01:08:20 UFO’s could be surveilling their spy tech.01:10:00 Pros and Cons of solar system settlement.References:Adam Frank, Evan Thompson, Marcelo Gleiser, “The Blind Spot: Why science cannot ignore human experience”.Adam Frank, “The Little Book of Aliens”Adam Frank, David Grinspoon, Sarah Walker - Intelligence as a planetary scale process.Lynn Margulis - Evolutionary Biologist.David Krakauer et al, An information theory view of individuality Frank Drake - ⁠Project Ozma⁠Jason Wright - SETI meta-analysisExoplantets.orgAdam Frank - New York Times ‘I’m a Physicist Who Searches for Aliens. U.F.O.s Don’t Impress Me’ article"The Expanse", Apple TV series

What are we sleeping less and less? What are the benefits of getting a good nights sleep and the risks if we consistently don’t? How is sleep linked to memory, cognitive performance, blood sugar regulation & stress hormones? How is young people’s development affected by sleep?In this episode we have the surprising data on the science of sleep to get up to date on; so, why there’s a sleep deprivation epidemic; how sleep works and what it’s required for; dreams; and importance of sleep for learning and for immunity. We’re also going to discuss the wide range of serious health issues that arise with even a small sleep deficit, and the vast benefits of getting sleep right; and the lifestyle tips we need to consistently get the sleep we need. And of course, sleep and mental health, and the importance of sleep for development in young people.Gratefully our guest today is a psychologist and neuroscientist that specialises in sleep, mental health and dream research, particularly in young people. She’s the Scientific Director of Psychology at the University of St. Thomas, Minnesota, Roxanne Prichard! She’s the author of over 40 highly citied scientific papers, and her TEDx talk “Addressing our Childrens Sleep Debt” was featured in the lecture series: Transforming Education. She’s quoted regularly in the press, inlcuding the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Teen Vogue, and USA Today.What we discussed:00:00 Intro.05:00 The Sleep deprivation epidemic.07:15 Shaking off prejudice about resting being laziness. 08:31 Glymphatic system for toxin removal.10:00 Synaptic plasticity: Learning & unlearning.11:10 Learning & memory require sleep.14:00 The hippocampus processes memory during sleep.15:00 Late night cramming for exams blocks learning.15:50 Lack of sleep appears to the body as a threat out in the world.17:40 Blood sugar regulation is affected by sleep.18:00 “Sleep! Like diet and exercise only easier!”19:10 Immunity and sleep deprivation.21:00 Cancer & regularity of circadian rhythms.22:00 Evolution, daylight, circadian rhythms & learning.23:45 Sleep delay of morning stress hormones in teens. 26:15 Light Vs Deep ‘Slow Wave’ Vs REM sleep.30:00 REM Sleep explained. 33:00 Dreams: The top theories.36:30 The electrical nature of sleep & brain waves.40:00 Alpha Waves and biofeedback for insomnia.42:00 Insomnia & the health risks of sleep deprivation.46:00 Sleep is within our control.47:15 The inflammation link with sleep.49:30 The mental health risks of sleep deprivation. 50:00 Catastrophising and attention deficit.50:45 College students mental health & sleep as a crucial marker.57:30 Persausive technology, screens & sleep.01:02:30 How much sleep do we need? 01:04:25 Avoid external stimulants & go to low light.01:06:00 Avoid internal stimulants like caffeine and alcohol. 01:07:40 Sleep and wake at regular times every day.01:08:40 Core temperature dropping signals sleep.01:10:00 Roxanne’s campaign points.01:12:00 The shame around rest. References: Ya Chai at al, ‘Two nights of recovery sleep restores hippocampal connectivity but not episodic memory after total sleep deprivation’ paper.https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-65086-xN.I.H. article, 'Sleep on it - How snoozing strengthens memories' (40% drop in learning after sleep deprivation)https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2013/04/sleep-itU. Chicago Medicine article, 'New study helps explain the link between sleep loss and diabetes'.Trisha Hershey, ‘the Nap’ Bishop. - “Rest is Resistance” book.

How much can a change in diet influence symptoms of mental health disorders? Why are a diversity of plants and whole foods so important to include, and ultra processed foods so important to remove? Why are inflammation and microbe diversity in the gut so key to this question? What does this research mean for the life-style medicine movement and to world food policy?In this episode we have the exploding new field of nutritional psychiatry to get to grips with, that is the way our diet can influence and even treat mental health conditions. We’re going to be discussing the historical separation of mind and body by science, which has led to scepticism that diet could influence mental health outcomes; the new understanding of the importance of diversity in our microbiome and inflammation to our mood and mental state; our main topic which is going to be the radical results of recent trials showing large changes in cognitive and mental health outcomes when diet is altered; we’ll get into the foods that can bring about that change and why they work; and we’re going to be getting into the reasons for the broken industrialised food environment that has contributed to the current mental health epidemic in the west.Fortunately, to understand this complex new field, our guest today is the very scientist that risked her reputation to conduct the first trials, facing considerable pushback, only to shift the consensus remarkably quickly with some top science, Felice Jacka. She is the Deakin University Distinguished Professor of Nutritional Psychiatry in Melbourne, the founder and director of the Food & Mood Centre, and of the International Society of Nutritional Psychiatry; She has been cited in over 100 institutional directives for food policy including the World Health Organization and UNICEF; and she is also the author of two books on this for the general public, the children’s book “There’s a Zoo in my Poo” and for adults “Brain Changer: How diet can save your mental health” which we’ll be covering today. Her impact has been so high on public health that in 2021 she was awarded the Order of Australia for her services to nutritional psychiatry.What we discuss:00:00 Intro08:50 The historic separation between mental and physical health. 10:35 People with mental health die about 20 years earlier. 13:30 The connection between the immune system and mental health. 16:20 New microbiome & chronic inflammation research’s influence on psychiatry. 20:00 Epigenetics, mitochondria (energy generation) & neurotransmitter influences. 21:15 Gut brain axis & oxidative stress response.33:30 The SMILES trial results and their integration into the consensus. 38:30 Using the Press to shorten the usual 20 year gap between results and policy change. 43:00 Industrialised food is the leading cause of chronic disease & biodiversity loss. 45:00 ‘We’re not going to tell people what to eat’: the food lobby’s ‘nanny state’ argument. 50:00 Soil depletion and the soil microbiome. 50:50 The life-style psychiatry movement: Diet, sleep and exercise. 01:05:30 Take out ultra-processed foods - even the nutritionally balanced ones. 01:12:30 Cognitive ability and memory reduced by processed foods. 01:14:45 Nutritional and energetic equivalent foods have totally different outcomes for the microbiome. 01:19:15 Put in a variety of plants - 30 a week. 01:20:20 The mediterranean diet. 01:24:50 Polyphenol science so far. 01:27:00 Emulsifiers and artificial sugars - the mucosal lining of the gut. 01:30:15 Fermented foods - the waste products of the bacteria are beneficial. References:Felice Jacka, “Brain Changer: The Good Mental Health Diet”Felice Jacka, “There’s a Zoo in my Poo”Melissa Lane et al, ‘Ultra‐Processed Food Consumption and Mental Health: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis of Observational Studies’ paperFelice Jacka’ et al, ‘A randomised controlled trial of dietary improvement for adults with major depression (the 'SMILES' trial)’ Paper

Why and how do we store certain memories and not others? What lifestyle elements influence memory for better or worse? Can traumatic memories be reframed and lead to reduction in symptoms?In this episode we get into the most recent research into memory. So, how we store memory; the different types; the way we actively construct it rather than simply receiving it; it’s importance to our sense of self and framing of the world; to our attention and motivation; to our openness and updating our beliefs; and to Deja Vu. We talk about the influence of screen time and multi-tasking on memory; some unexpected life style factors that influence the quality of memory function and how they can feed into memory disorders; and we discuss traumatic memories and how we can reframe them, and the psychedelic research on that too.Fortunately, our guest is one of the world’s most fun and knowledgeable authorities on memory, psychologist, neuroscientist, and head of the dynamic memory lab at The University of California Davis, Dr. Charan Ranganath. He’s the author of over 120 scientific papers on memory and has recently released a fascinating book for the general public on all this, “Why We Remember”. Charan is also a rock guitarist with several bands so a man of many talents. What we discuss:00:00 intro. 07:20 The remembering self vs experiencing self. 09:30 We forget a lot, we’re supposed to.11:00 Autobiographic memory.13:30 Episodic memory.14:20 Emotional intensity brings attention, which is linked to motivation.18:20 Association, cue and prompts, and the hippocampus.20:30 Memory athletes and training memory.21:51 Storifcation, mental schemas and ‘scaffolding’ new memories with old blueprints.24:40 Preconceptions, bias and prejudice is baked into new memories.27:00 Imagining the past (re-membering) and imagining the future are very similar in the brain.29:15 The brain is not linear, rather a global network of dynamic interaction between brain regions simultaneously.31:29 Prediction error, goals, and memory enhancement.37:00 Dopamine drives our attention, interest and curiosity, multiplying remembering.43:20 Mental flexibility, youthful neuroplasticity, and openness to new experience.46::00 The ‘Stage of Life’ theory of memory.49:00 The young brain needs to struggle to get the information they’re curious about.50:15 Deja Vu research and familiarity.54:20 The environmental and social components of memory. 58:15 The act of remembering can change that memory.01:00:00 Collective memory - shared memories support sense of self.01:01:20 Life style factors: good for the body = good for the brain, so good for memory.01:02:00 The importance of vascular health and inflammation.01:06:30 Depression inversely correlates with memory.01:08:45 Screen time, focus and memory.01:10:20 Multi taking is actually switching, and leads to fragmented memories.01:12:30 Traumatic memories and reframing them.01:19:20 Psychedelic reframing of memories. 01:20:20 Extinction learning - learning to suppress memory prompts and re-write them.References:Charan Ranganth, “Why We Remember” Daniel Kahneman, “Thinking Fast and Slow”Hermann Ebbinghaus, “Memory: A Contribution to Experimental Psychology” 1885Endel Tulving, ‘Mental time travel’Frederic Bartlett, 1930 ‘Imagining the past and constructing the future’Mathias Gruber and Charan Ranganath, “How Curiosity Enhances Hippocampus-Dependent Memory: The Prediction, Appraisal, Curiosity, and Exploration (PACE) Framework” PaperAnne Cleary, Deja Vu experiments article

Where is nature’s memory of its evolution encoded? Is there evidence for extended mind occurring beyond individual brains? How possible is it that the sun is conscious? In this episode we’re going to get up to date on Rupert Sheldrake’s extraordinary theory of Morphic resonance: so Morphic fields, the unfolding of nature’s ‘habits’ and the ‘memory of nature’. We’ll examine the possibility of levels of consciousness larger than our own brains - scaling up in a hierarchy from cellular consciousness right up to planetary and perhaps even stellar consciousness! We’re also going to get into examples of consciousness beyond the brain like ‘the sensation of being stared at’ (clearly a useful skill to evolve) and other phenomena Rupert has reported in his experiments. Rupert Sheldrake is a Cambridge PHD developmental Biologist whose published over 100 papers on topics as wide as Cellular Biology, telepathy, Pets who know when their owners are coming home, and after-death communications. He is also the author of many books like “A new science of life”, “Science set free”, and “Ways of going Beyond”, among many others. What were discuss: 00:00 Intro. 06:10 Morphic resonance explained. 08:15 Polar Auxin - death in the midst of life. 09:15 Genes make proteins, morphogenetic fields determine form. 11:30 Nature’s “memory” spread across time. 13:25 Something that has happened before is more likely to happen again. 14:15 Collective memory, like Jung’s collective unconscious. 17:15 His scientific education engrained materialism and atheism in him.. 18:15 Asian philosophy, psychedelics, Neo-platonism and Christianity. 20:30 Questioning of scientific dogma came before his faith. 22:00 Thomas Kuhn’s paradigm change, an analogy for him breaking with science. 23:50 Rupert’s work denounced as ‘Heresy’ by the editor of Nature in 1981. 26:30 Measuring Morphic fields in experiments. 28:30 IQ tests have got easier for people over time, The Flynn Effect 30:00 Video games have to make new versions harder each time. 32:10 Is subtle energy field research beyond science? 37:00 Bioelectric morphogenetic fields & Michael Levin. 41:20 Bioelectric fields are the interface not the explanation. 42:30 Where are morphic fields recorded in nature? 44:50 Platonism doesn’t explain evolution and change over time. 47:00 Different levels of collective consciousness, up to planetary, stellar and even cosmic consciousness. 56:40 The feeling of being stared at: examples of extended mind. 01:02:55 Mystical experience - being part of a greater consciousness. 01:09:40 Are spiritual & scientific insight compatible? References: Rupert Sheldrake, “A New Science of life”. Michael Levin - Bio-electric morphogenetic fields CC interview The Sheldrake.org Staring App. Polar Auxin QUOTE: “Morphic resonance leaps across time and space, It’s not stored anywhere it’s a direct connection with the past.”

Why are we seeing such a rise in youth mental health diagnosis? How do we relativise this against the rise in mental health awareness? What’s the best approach for parents seeking solutions? How can social-connection and loneliness completely change trauma integration? What role does the recent explosion of persuasive technologies in young peoples lives play in the changing situation?In this episode we have the important topic of Youth Mental Health to get ourselves up to date on. Today we’re going to try and unravel these often divisary issues in a balanced way; we’re going to be discussing the importance of threat and safety to a child’s state of mind as they develop; the power of the parent or carer’s own unresolved issues to transmit to young people, creating symptoms in the child; the importance of going to the root of the problem rather than just treating symptoms; the role of escapism as an emotional avoidance strategy, and how digital platforms and device providers have taken advantage of that tendency, and the parenting strategies to guide this; and we’re going to discuss the role of shame in us avoiding facing these issues.Fortunately, considering the nuanced and potentially triggering topic of the mental well being of the children we parent and teach, today’s guest has just released the paper back version of his new book on exactly this topic, “How the world is making our children mad and what to do about it”. As a hugely experienced child psychotherapist and founder of the charity “Apart of Me” that supports children to transform their loss into compassion, he is perfectly placed to give us un update on this, and is filled with excellent stories and advice to help us face it. He is of course Louis Weinstock, a transpersonal psychotherapist and mindfulness specialist, who has worked with a wide range of sufferers from the criminal justice system, to drug addicts, to homeless people, to troubled teens and their parents.What we discuss:00:00 Intro.09:00 Our mental life is inseparable from our environment.11:45 ‘Fetal programming’ is applied in utero by the mother’s environment.14:10 Improvements in kid’s mental health, simply from parents doing the work.18:45 Children having behaviour issues at the same age as their parent’s had trauma.21:20 The evolutionary history of shame.25:40 The difference between shame and guilt.28:00 Rupture & repair: conflict in relationships is bearable and repairable.29:25 Is psychotherapy worth it for kids, considering the stigma?34:15 Mental health awareness can exaggerate our negative view of ourselves.38:30 Massive jump in recent stats on youth mental health.41:00 ‘Roots’ of mental health issues and ‘fruits’ we can learn from them.45:20 Suffering and transformation: post-traumatic growth.49:50 Escaping into virtual realities: Dissociation.53:00 The ‘freeze’ response - shutting the body down.01:00:40 Resilience explained - fragile vs anti fragile.01:04:00 The connection between loneliness and trauma. 01:05:25 Youth mental health and device/internet addiction. 01:07:25 ‘Variable reward’ strategy taken from gambling slot machines.01:12:30 Clear differences in kid’s moods and sleep after too long on devices.01:14:20 Parenting solutions to regulating screen time peacefully.01:16:40 No devices in the bedroom, particularly in the evenings before bed.01:20:30 Awareness: they’re capable of reflecting on their behaviour.01:24:20 Unsupervised play outside and in nature.01:25:40 The world is safer rather than less safe than in the past.References: Louis Weinstock, “How the world is driving our kids mad”https://louisweinstock.com/Apart of Me mental health charity (please donate) Jonathan Haidt - “The Anxious Generation”Let Grow movement for childhood independence