Nonduality and the Ego with Jake Orthwein

Nonduality and the Ego with Jake Orthwein

From Deconstructing Yourself by Michael W. Taft

September 21, 2025 · 1h 2m · Episode 107

About this episode

Michael Taft discusses the nature of the self and ego with filmmaker and dharma student Jake Orthwein.

Host Michael Taft talks with Jake Orthwein about the self as a construction, the distinction between no-self and emptiness, the crucial difference between having a functional ego and being identified with it, psychedelics and meditation and ego dissolution, the Buddha-nature vs. the True Self, dereification vs. defabrication, Taft’s distinction of nondual one vs. nondual two, and the importance of a healthy ego. Jake Orthwein is a filmmaker based in Brooklyn, NY, and a dharma student of Michael Taft’s. His most recent film, “Unraveling the Dream,” was produced in collaboration with the Waking Up app and focuses on the history and neuroscience of psychedelics.  Jake's website You can support the creation of future episodes of this podcast by contributing through Patreon . See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

People in this episode

Host: Michael Taft

Guest: Jake Orthwein

Topics covered

  • nonduality
  • ego
  • self
  • psychedelics
  • meditation
  • Buddha-nature
  • True Self
  • dereification
  • defabrication

Keywords

  • ego dissolution
  • healthy ego
  • Waking Up app
  • Unraveling the Dream

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Waking Up app, Unraveling the Dream

Books & works: Nonduality and the Ego, Unraveling the Dream, Waking Up

Places: Brooklyn, NY, California

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