Know Thyself

Dr. Caroline Leaf is a cognitive neuroscientist and bestselling author who has spent over 40 years studying the relationship between the mind and the brain. At a time when neuroplasticity was still emerging as a field, she was already building clinical tools to help patients recover from brain injuries, trauma, and conditions that conventional medicine had written off as permanent. In this conversation, we go deep into a distinction that changes everything: the mind is not the brain, and once you understand that, you stop being a victim of your own biology.What We Dive Into:1. The brain does not generate thoughts. It responds to the mind. Everything you think, feel, and choose originates in the mind and then gets coded into the brain and body. 2. Depression, anxiety, and other mental health labels are not diseases you have. They are signals pointing to an underlying thought that needs to be found and restructured. 3. You cannot change what happened, but you can change the impact it has on your present and future. Through a process of deconstructing and reconstructing toxic thought networks, the grip of the past loosens. Know Thyself, but not by yourself. A guided space to return home to yourself.https://www.knowthyselfcollective.com✨THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS:https://www.bioptimizers.com/knowthyselfUse code KNOWTHYSELF to save 15% at checkout___________00:00 Intro03:11 The Difference Between Mind and Brain07:17 Why the Brain-Is-Boss Model Gets It Wrong12:25 Consciousness Beyond the Physical Body14:25 Quantum Physics, Microtubules, and the Mind21:24 Science and Spirituality Converging23:41 Early Research: Neuroplasticity and Traumatic Brain Injury28:50 Mind-Driven Change: Telomeres and Cellular Health31:56 Working in South Africa: Healing Through Mental Frameworks34:31 The Origin of the Neurocycle40:13 The Non-Conscious, Subconscious, and Conscious Mind49:35 How Thoughts and Memories Build Into the Brain and Body51:59 The Five Steps of the Neurocycle57:01 Step One: Gather Awareness01:00:24 Step Two: Reflect01:02:10 Steps Three to Five: Mindstorm, Recheck, Active Reach01:09:28 Community Questions: Fear of Losing Your Identity01:14:32 Working Through Shame, Grief, and Emotional Signals01:15:46 Retroactive Causation: Changing the Past Through the Present01:19:28 Intelligent Design, Choice, and the Source Behind Life01:22:45 Mindsets, Patterns, and Teaching Children01:25:58 Stress as Intelligence: The New Book___________✨MORE FROM DR. LEAF↳Website (for books, courses, 1:1 coaching): https://drleaf.com/↳Neurocycle app: https://drleaf.com/neurocycle-app↳Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-dr-leaf-show/id1334767397↳Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DrCarolineLeaf↳Neurocycle Certification: https://drleaf.com/certified-strategist📜MORE FROM KNOW THYSELF↳Spotify: https://spoti.fi/4bZMq9l↳Apple: https://apple.co/4iATICX↳Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/knowthyself/↳TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@andreduqum↳Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/knowthyselfbyandreduqum/↳https://knowthyselfpodcast.com/👁️MORE FROM ANDRÉ↳Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/@andreduqum↳Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/know-thyself-podcast↳Book recs: https://www.knowthyselfpodcast.com/book-list

Joscha Bach explores the nature of consciousness, free will, and reality through the lens of computation, cognitive science, and philosophy. Rather than treating the mind as a mystical entity, Joscha frames consciousness as a constructed dream—a model generated by the brain to make sense of the world and coordinate behavior.We examine why beliefs should remain provisional, how the self functions as a useful fiction, and why suffering emerges when internal learning signals misfire. Joscha explains why free will feels real even if decisions arise before awareness, how meaning exists beyond the individual ego, and why wisdom is not simply knowledge but the ability to orient oneself within larger systems of value.BON CHARGE - 15% off red light therapy products I personally usehttps://www.boncharge.com/knowthyself[Code: KNOWTHYSELF]André's Book Recs: https://www.knowthyselfpodcast.com/book-list___________00:00 Intro: Josha Bach04:24 Agnosticism, Evidence, and Logical Alternatives11:20 Reality as a Mental Simulation13:00 What Physicalism Actually Claims16:55 Telepathy, Rituals, and Distributed Minds19:45 Consciousness Does Not Make Decisions22:55 Free Will as a Post-Hoc Story24:00 Consciousness as a Trance State26:00 Meditation and the Illusion of Self29:10 Out-of-Body Experiences Explained31:07 Ad: BON CHARGE36:30 Why the Brain Fills in Missing Reality39:50 Dreams, Selves, and Narrative Identity43:20 Intelligence, Models, and World-Building47:10 Why Reality Feels Stable51:00 Meaning, Agency, and Mental Compression55:10 Why Consciousness Feels Central (But Isn’t)59:30 The Psychological World vs Physical Reality1:04:10 Intelligence Without Awareness1:08:45 The Cost of Believing the Self Is Real1:13:30 Waking Up From the Narrative1:18:40 What a Cognitive Science View Really Implies1:23:30 Final Thoughts: Living Inside the Dream___________Episode Resources: https://www.cimc.ai/https://www.instagram.com/andreduqum/https://www.instagram.com/knowthyself/https://www.youtube.com/@knowthyselfpodcasthttps://www.knowthyselfpodcast.com

In this conversation, Reggie Watts explores creativity not as a skill reserved for a few, but as the fundamental way human beings relate to reality itself. From comedy and music to improvisation, paradox, and play, Reggie reflects on how we’re constantly creating our experience of life—often without realizing it.We talk about absurdity as a doorway to truth, humor as a form of instantaneous awakening, and why laughter momentarily dissolves identity, ideology, and certainty. Reggie shares how improvisation shapes his philosophy of living, why structure exists to be transcended, and how playfulness restores a sense of freedom in a world that often feels rigid and over-defined.BON CHARGE - 15% off red light therapy products I personally usehttps://www.boncharge.com/knowthyself[Code: KNOWTHYSELF]André's Book Recs: https://www.knowthyselfpodcast.com/book-list___________00:00 Intro - Reggie Watts04:54 The absurdity of being human07:21 The insight gained through self-reflection11:34 The philosophy of improv19:06 Realizing the artist in you24:27 Ad: BON CHARGE25:44 Reggie’s form of death meditation38:14 Altered states as a reference point46:09 Not all transpersonal experiences are equal52:43 Reframing anxiety after altered states1:03:25 It’s all an illusion1:12:44 Service to self vs service to others1:19:28 Building community1:23:15 Closing thoughts___________Episode Resources:https://www.reggie-watts.com/https://www.instagram.com/reggiewattshttps://www.instagram.com/andreduqum/https://www.instagram.com/knowthyself/https://www.youtube.com/@knowthyselfpodcasthttps://www.knowthyselfpodcast.com

This final episode of the year is a special compilation reflecting on the lessons, reminders, and moments that shaped 2025. It’s a curated journey through insights from across the year—designed to help you slow down, take stock, and step into 2026 with greater clarity, presence, and intention.This episode is less about doing more and more about listening—reflecting on the growth, challenges, relationships, and inner shifts that defined the past year. It’s an invitation to notice what wants to be released, what wants to be integrated, and what seeds you’re ready to water moving forward. Sometimes all it takes is a one-degree change in direction to alter the entire path ahead.Momentous: Best Creatine in the gamehttps://livemomentous.com[Use code KNOWTHYSELF for up to 35% off]2025/2026 Reflections and Intentions: https://www.knowthyselfpodcast.com/yearinreviewAndrés Book Recs: https://www.knowthyselfpodcast.com/book-list___________00:00:00 Intro00:01:37 Review 2025 Instead of Planning 2026 (E166 – Tim Ferriss) 00:05:27 The Most Important Practice of 2026 (E152 – Mark Manson) 00:10:11 There Is No Wealth Without Health (E128 – Mindy Pelz) 00:12:26 The Importance of a Bedtime Routine (E143 – Michael Beckwith) 00:17:59 How To Grasp The Opportunity of Life (E119 – Marianne Williamson) 00:25:16 The Power of Entrainment (E145 – Dr. Theresa Bullard) 00:31:01 Be Careful With What You Desire (E160 – Aaron Abke) 00:35:18 Explore Your Relationship With Money (E140 – Lewis Howes) 00:41:59 Ad – Momentous 00:43:14 Happiness is an Inside Job (E149 – Dr. Thema Bryant) 00:48:16 The Unique Opportunity of Our Times (E154 – Sadhguru) 00:53:25 How To Discover Your Dharma (E155 – Dr. K) 01:01:11 Living The Moment You're Meant To Live (E164 – Dr. John Demartini) 01:07:53 The Problem With Manifestation (E118 – Aaron Doughty) 01:13:29 Finding Stability in Surrender (E135 – Yung Pueblo) 01:16:23 Relaxing Into Instability (E146 – Cory Muscara) 01:20:42 Looking Back To Plan Ahead (E158 – Tom Campbell) 01:24:35 A Different Perspective of the Future (E165 – Dr. Iain McGilchrist) 01:29:04 The Unlimited Potential of Being Human (E134 – Peter Crone)___________Watch the Full EpisodesTim Ferriss: https://youtu.be/NxmUCGuapNwMark Manson: https://youtu.be/to-APJvffFQMindy Pelz: https://youtu.be/pgWnbRg5-cgMichael Beckwith: https://youtu.be/r3wrUmE1L3wMarianne Williamson: https://youtu.be/AQzKagUJGvIDr. Theresa Bullard: https://youtu.be/mrKiH4J0_5UAaron Abke: https://youtu.be/zXMKj8fNnYQLewis Howes: https://youtu.be/PTPjCtF9es4Dr. Thema Bryant: https://youtu.be/ItRCT_L2kpASadhguru: https://youtu.be/FMoXXb-wKE8Dr. K: https://youtu.be/zj40FT631P4Dr. John DeMartini: https://youtu.be/dVR01alAe8oAaron Doughty: https://youtu.be/79INohJ7KTwYung Pueblo: https://youtu.be/bwom9Y6ybcgCory Muscara: https://youtu.be/IrxFMkYUBFgTom Campbell: https://youtu.be/IoGSWLuH2JsDr. Iain McGilchrist: https://youtu.be/LZ5C11mlTH4Peter Crone: https://youtu.be/VCi93m9lloMEpisode Resources: https://www.instagram.com/andreduqum/https://www.instagram.com/knowthyself/https://www.youtube.com/@knowthyselfpodcasthttps://www.knowthyselfpodcast.com