Expanding on Consciousness

Well known for his controversial work with quantum theorists Roger Penrose, Dr. Hameroff suggests that consciousness originates in quantum states, and then interacts with neural microtubules indicating that the brain actually still has something to do with consciousness while at the same time, introducing the idea that quantum field theory holds that consciousness is fundamental and exists outside of the brain.“ When I learned about microtubules, back at Hahnemann in 1972. I wondered, how they knew where to go and what to do and what was their organizing principle? Did they have intelligence? I believe, microtubules are both the skeletal structural support and the nervous system within the cell, because cells are much too intelligent to be simple on off states.” Some may believe that the brain is a computer processing information, and consciousness is some kind of output but, that’s not how it works. In fact, people in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and neuroscience, consider the brain as a computer of say, 100 billion neurons 10 to the 11th neurons but, Dr. Hameroff feels, you got to consider the neurons, what's inside the neurons, and you got to go deeper more like 10 to the 27th, to even be close to the human brain or consciousness.

Conscious awareness happens at the level of Planck scale, which is the most fundamental (energy) level of the universe. Consciousness is out there having these proto conscious moments much like musicians warming up. It sounds like noise but, once they’re orchestrated it becomes music. That's exactly what the microtubules do orchestrate these random quantum moments of consciousness into a full, rich, conscious experience.

Robot Koch is an award winning artist/producer/composer and devoted meditator from Berlin, living in Los Angeles. He has been steadily crafting a mature and original sound that expertly combines a deep and cinematic atmosphere, emotional reflection and forward-thinking production of dialogues between technology and nature. He explores the spaces between ambient sounds, venturing into the unknown—the quantum field of pure potential—to create healing sonic oceans in which to float.

This buoyant conversation includes topics such as Robot’s watching dreams as though they’re movies and “rescuing” melodic segments upon awakening. Does inspiration come from the subconscious, or something greater? Being a clear-channel conduit by giving the ego’s endless thought engine a little break. Setting intention for nuanced frequencies and energetic vibrations and creating music that can “trick people to heal.” A single reverberating, decaying note on a piano awakened Robot’s passion for sound at a very young age. His fascination shifted from piano to the intensity of drumming, and the enjoyment he found programming beats with early digital samplers. His love for the surreal storytelling of science fiction moved him to venture further into otherworldly mysteries. “The unknown is where true wisdom lies.

Robot’s music described by one reviewer as "artificial intelligence discovering religion.” Host, Mark Certo, plays a sample of “Foam and Sand,” showcasing Robot's ongoing musical oscillation between nature and technology. Koch resists the constant drive to grow, and champions the beauty of downsizing and simplifying; taking care not to just outsource and externalize one’s hopes and dreams, but learning to tap the inspiration to explore the outermost regions of the inner self. His ultimate fascination is sparked by the unknown, and his music is intended as a trusted, warm embrace in dark places—dark as in merely unknown, not threatening.

An amazing synchronistic meeting resulted in his discovery of the unique power of combining signals with sound, and his ultimate collaboration on projects with Monroe Institute. For Robot Koch, science, meditation, and being surrounded by nature creates the space that fuels inspiration and ultimately opens the channel for the gift of his uniquely healing sound to pour through.

The information Robert Temple reveals in this episode has the potential to kick our beliefs about “the heavens”— the sun, moon, stars, and space itself—into radical revision.

Modern physics addresses only the world of matter, excluding the greater reality. The developing science of plasma physics reveals that the heavens are made not of atoms, but of subatomic plasma. Our sun: plasma. The stars: plasma. Space: plasma. 99.99% of the universe is actually plasma, the fourth state of matter from which gas, liquid and solids emerge. From this basic premise things get wild beyond prior imagining.

A 1961 discovery of two giant space clouds—each one nine times the size of earth, and positioned between earth and the moon—challenged conventional astronomy, and so was shelved for decades. The extraordinary significance of these massive “dusty complex plasma" clouds is now becoming known. Dusty complex plasma—the “dust” is important—can self-organize and emerge with rudimentary consciousness, then go on to evolve to become intelligent entities. Certain gnostic texts revealed awareness of the clouds, describing them as two giant divine beings. Might these clouds be agents of our much larger sun? Should we consider that Moses’ burning bush was actually a messenger plasma ball? Or Ball lightning and orbs—data-gathering plasma drones? Is plasma the medium of information exchange throughout the universe in some grand experiment? This episode weaves ancient wisdom, cutting edge plasma physics, and universal consciousness into a wondrous fabric of a vast, ever-evolving living essence.

Robert Temple is a professor, an independent scholar, and author of more than a dozen provocative books, including the most recent, A New Science of Heaven.

Prepare to re-evaluate everything you thought you knew about these ancient monuments, and so much more! Author, professor, deep researcher and self-proclaimed “arch skeptic of traditional thinking” Robert Temple shares his provocative reinterpretations of how and why they came to be, and how they’ve been used—and abused—at various times in history. Discrepancies in dating are often ignored, and manipulation or misinterpretation of new evidence protects ancient Egyptology's status quo. The pyramids at Giza are said to have been built by slaves using ropes and ramps to haul tons of massive rock that came from many miles away. Our guest says no, and offers his theory. How can stones be carved to fit together so exactly that a blade cannot be wedged between them? Whose face is on the conspicuously small head of the Sphinx... and who, or what, was the Sphinx modeled on, originally? Ancient civilizations often practiced deception to protect their discoveries, inventions and goods. How ancient, amazingly perfect "Viking lenses” made with crystal-carving technology ruffled the establishment years later. The riddle of Atlantis and how the pre-dating megalithic culture may be involved. Phoenicians—the first successful arms dealers? And what about the West African Dogon Tribe’s mysterious cosmology involving a visitor from the distant, invisible star, Sirius B? These are mere samples of ancient mysteries we spotlight in this thought-provoking episode. Our conversation continues in Part 2. Robert Temple has authored more than a dozen books, including the international best-seller, The Sirius Mystery, and the most recent, A Science of Heaven. He has done archeological dating work and intensive exploration of closed sites in Egypt with the permission of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities. Robert is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, and an abiding member of the Egypt Exploration Society and numerous other academic societies. His research into historical accounts of the Sphinx is the first comprehensive survey ever undertaken.

Why does the Law of Attraction often not “deliver the goods"? Is there a better map for this journey? Continuing from Part 1, Dr. Bullard brings further clarity to the high art and deep science of physical manifestation.

Foundations must be built before you add the roof to your Temple of the Self. Introspection and subconscious cleansing are a good start. Pop culture encourages self-entitlement and gratification. Learn to discern positive, balanced ego from narcissism and direct your focus into the collective higher good. We each contribute to all that happens through the quantum field. Learn to see how you think. Accept the revelation; revolutionize the life. You are part of an inherent Oneness. God is within … and beyond.

We are "grounding rods" for divine activity on earth, and sticking with a coherent plan optimizes results. A multidimensional blueprint is here. Step up, step in and activate this co-creative initiative through your life. Create and experience peace, beauty, an "edenic reality." Books can help, but wisdom must be lived for life to progress through ascension. Handle powerful teachings responsibly. We’re all in this together, we each affect the whole.

Theresa Bullard is an author, world-renown speaker, Mystery School teacher, and host of Mystery Teachings on Gaia TV. Studying Jung, New Thought and Alchemy synchronistically led Dr. Bullard to “Life Activation” sessions, which in turn led her to one comprehensive path taught through the New Mystery School. Here she found powerful applications for activating the inner plane and catalyzing shifts that brought pieces of her search together into an accelerated journey of empowered living. 

Theresa Bullard, PhD, is an author, world-renown speaker, Mystery School instructor, and host of Mystery Teachings on Gaia TV.  How do science and spirituality work together to expand consciousness personally and collectively, leading us to accomplish the Great Work? The power is within, magic is real, the tools are available. Our role is to acknowledge the eternal essence that unifies and lifts us beyond egoic perspectives and excuses to align with the flow of the cosmos and manifest heaven on earth. Our guest considers it her primary role to remind us that the power resides within.

Dr. Bullard was raised to keep an open mind and explore the nature of existence without indoctrination in any one system. After focusing her education on physics and earning a doctorate in that field, she felt moved to balance out her highly intellectual life and turned her attention from physics to metaphysics. Studying Jung, New Thought and Alchemy synchronistically led Dr. Bullard to “Life Activation” sessions, which in turn led her to one comprehensive path taught through the New Mystery School. Here she found powerful applications for activating the inner plane and catalyzing shifts that brought pieces of her search together into an accelerated journey of empowered living.

To be continued in part 2 with Dr. Bullard.

Dr. Bruce Greyson is Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences at the University of Virginia and author of several books on near-death experiences (NDEs).In this podcast, we look into themes commonly present during NDEs, such as:

These phenomena lead to a deconstruction of the concept that the brain and mind are inexplicably linked. An NDE slows the brain, while the mind processes clearer than ever. If the brain can stop but the mind keeps going, what does this indicate about the nature of consciousness?

Ego trip as a “good tool for self understanding.” Consciousness is both knowledge-based and intuitive. These are a few of the topics in episode 30 part 2 with Dr. Raymond Moody. Fate and consciousness—Dr. Moody recalls a string of meaningful coincidences where synchronicity abounds. Next he moves on to psychomanteums and ancient Greece. Do we live in several planes at once?

The common sense theory: “Common sense draws a very sharp impermeable line between life [this life] and death.” Explore. What motivates Dr. Moody is things that don’t make sense and the profound spiritual component they offer. The art of critical thinking and the art of science requires an open and discriminating mind.

In part 1 of our conversation with Dr. Raymond Moody, we discuss what potential exists beyond the physical, and is there such a thing as a precise moment of death—or is it more a waning of “residual biological activity in the body on the atomic level?”

After years of researching near-death experiences (NDE), Dr. Moody found common patterns existing among people who’ve experienced them. For example, an out-of-body experience (OBE) commonly occurs during an NDE. They also report feeling comforted, at peace and in a state of absolute love. They also come to realize no matter what we may be seeking—wealth, power, knowledge—the most important thing we should be cultivating in this life is how to love. Why is love such an important lesson to be learned? Our earth-based notions reflect a lack of the true understanding of the nature of love. It simply is. Love is beyond language; it's expansive, much like the universe itself.

A giant in the field of consciousness research, Dr. Moody feels “consciousness has a narrative effect to it.” What is your life story, and what is the subject of its narrative? To be continued in part 2 with Dr. Moody.

Don Miguel Ruiz Jr., author of The 5 Levels of Attachment and The Mastery of Self, followed his Mesoamerican grandmother’s passion as a healer.  “She passed away in 2008 and is still the spiritual head of this family,” he recounts. His journey began as her apprentice, translating her teachings into English. When he reached his mid-20s his father intensified his training and instructed him to find his way out, go home, and master death by becoming life.

After experiencing a rite of passage through ceremony, his assemblage point [energy] shifted, and he realized “there is no such thing as faking it until you make it. Your truth is always with you.” Facing the difficult truth that he wasn’t the person he'd been pretending to be his entire life, he needed to start anew.  "You cannot bring your distortion into that [channeler] world." So, at the age of 27, he began and do the real work required to become a true healer and channeler.

“My greatest teachers are my kids, my wife, my family, ...the barista at the coffee shop. Life. Every consequence. Everything has something to teach you. The thing is, you have to get your self out of the way to hear it.”

Toltec wisdom is about healing with spirit, and Toltec practitioners serve as an extension of the divine Mother Earth. The fire within is there to protect us from ourselves. Follow that fire. The Toltec of today has evolved as the world has evolved—kept alive not with blind faith repeating traditional beliefs, but by how the world is dreaming right now. There are many challenges to unlearn. Toltec is an ancient common sense where you know the truth. It's an autopsy on the illusion of today.

Don Jose speaks of two types of consciousness: personal consciousness—a personal dream—and impersonal consciousness. A field of interaction includes all life on Earth and all life in the cosmos. “We have the ultimate respect for the ultimate dance of detachment, which dances with the angel of death in the music of life. And from this point, we live with gratitude, not with a fear to hold on and miss everything that is around us.”

Expanding on Consciousness' guiding principle is integrity—the same guiding principle of the Monroe Institute and our guests. We have an incredible line-up in Season 3 including Rupert Sheldrake, Dr. Raymond Moody, Geneen Haugen, Don Miguel Ruiz Jr., Dr. Bruce Greyson, and many more "truth tellers and explorers."

We are seeing an emerging pattern in our conversations so far, of interconnectedness and synchronicity. There's more to consciousness than the personal narrative. Once an explorer experiences that revelation, an expansion begins which opens the gate to synchronicity as a beacon or intuitive map, letting you know you're on the right path.

The Hero's Journey. The evolution of humanity not just on an individual level yet it is deeply personal. There was a time when we were in our own private Garden of Eden, our Mother's womb. "We have been sent from this place of Oneness and we are always making decisions. Consciousness means we now have choice and that's a responsibility."

Everything is a subjective experience of an objective reality. On one level of reality. On another level, everything is reality. "Imagination becomes reality when we bring it into manifestation." Using meditation to realign. The body and psyche are self-regulating systems There is a consciousness there that will realign and naturally come back into balance. "I look at the biographical material unique to each human being and link the cosmological and dream work." Break up the ground and till it to plant new seeds of possibility.

There is a schism of sorts between the mechanistic clinical psychotherapy and the Jungian approach. Jungian Therapy is a lens through which we look at the world in the search for meaning and wholeness, individuation. Jungian brings in that archetype eye. “CG Jung refers to archetypes as a mode of thought present in the unconscious. A universal pattern of energy and how it manifests.” Archetypes are living energy that is ubiquitous and symbols are likely to change depending on the humanity searching for a connection to that archetype.

Dream work is a gateway to active imagination. “These are your own images. Dreams are giving us information.” The dream messenger is bringing us information.  When we don’t write down our dreams then the dream messenger will leave.” 

Dream work, astrology and imagination and thought through that realm we are drawing down all that energy and creating something. It’s a psycho-spiritual process.

Author and scientist Dr. Shamini Jain discusses her book “Healing Ourselves: Biofield Science and the Future of Health” and evidence of energy healing. The power of the Psyche and new discoveries in subtle energy and Biofield healing. “The psyche is a powerful part of Psychoneuroimmunology research.” Exploring the realm of emotion and its relationship with health. Gratitude, Nondual Awareness from the spiritual to the physical. “It’s about perspective, we’re a system and seeing effects on multiple levels.” Psychoneuroimmunology it's consciousness applied—a space where science and spirituality meet.

Self-actualization is a function of consciousness where the inner-self is recognized and expressed in one's life. When conducting a pea plant experiment to test associative learning, Dr. Gagliano used a classical conditioning experiment similar to the "Pavlovian Dog" experiment to reveal the pea plant was capable of projecting into the future, imagining dinner. "I was doing a process called the Deitas, a deep plant meditation, and during that time I was literally dictated this experiment. I found myself writing down notes in my diary and realized, oh my god, this is an experiment. The plants gave me details about everything." You'll never look at your house plants the same again.

We're all part of this greater consciousness. How does that extend to nature? Initially interested in plant communication Dr. Gagliano discovers that plants are aware and behave in ways we never imagined. Plants are capable of memory, stimulus response, learning experience and awareness of environment. "I can certainly tell you that Mimosa Pudica can remember for at least a month." Is a brain critical for any form of cognition? "We have evidence to the contrary. I feel it's a very superficial take on what's happening. No it [cognition] doesn't arise from any brain or neuron. It is the brain and neuron who are informed by cognition."

The Universe comes to know itself through our being. “I think the unification of physics and the unification of science and spirituality may both be possible.” Consciousness informs the body/mind complex. The physical and non-physical which exist within the same frame work. “Consciousness is beyond classical physics it exists in a reality which is purely quantum. …A quantum system that is in a pure state is conscious of its state. That’s the definition of consciousness.”

So how does free will effect probability? “Free will is the ultimate cause of reality. …Consciousness allows you to understand. Free will is what allows you to choose based on the understanding of reality and what you want.”

Free will is a choice, a direction of conscious decision. “Consciousness has to be from the beginning. It has the exact same properties of experiences, the privacy and the indefiniteness are the exact same properties of the pure quantum state [system].” With an infinity of possibilities. Theories are using math to make predictions. The math must be deterministic and in deterministic. Quantum Physics simply describes the probability of events not the events themselves. “A special Quantum System is private because it cannot be copied. Quantum information cannot be copied so it has the same characteristics of an inner experience because my inner experience "Qualia" can only be known to me.” The symbolic expression of Qualia takes form in meaning to symbols and symbols to meaning.

If you use a computer, a cell phone, a video game or any number of devices with a microprocessor, you owe [our] guest today a debt of gratitude. Federico Faggin is the father of all of these. "How does that transformation occur, to go from electrical signals that are generated by explanation the scientists were giving, into sensations and feelings?" With no principle in physics known, Frederico Faggin turned to consciousness. "A computer can eventually be conscious. If the computer can do it, let me try and figure out how." Soon, a personal transcendent experience revealed the light and love of which everything is made. "It would have been all an intellectual process reading books and opinions of others. [Once] you have an experience of transcendence, there is no way back, you know because you became what you knew. This is not the way to know, through reading a book. Consciousness allows to know. A certainty, same as I am certain that I exist."

Listen in as Tom answers questions about the out-of-body experience, synchronicities, conscious computers and the larger consciousness system. From thought to physicality. Why synchronicity occurs as opposed to instantaneously truth. "The system can do that sorta nudging as long as there is always plausible deniability that anything paranormal ever happened.... It verifies to you the realness and the fundamentalness of all of this so a lot of synchronicity are to wake people up...you just need the information." Will technology allow enlightenment to go mainstream? "Consciousness is growing. It is being affected by our choices. We make all these choices and the consciousness evolves...Things we do can indirectly modify consciousness. ...I think we're entering that place where the good things can happen."

What is the nature of reality and how is consciousness interacting with it? "Science is not fundamentally mathematical. Science is fundamentally logical."  Tom's "evolutionary model" is based on logic. "The MBT (My Big Toe) trilogy, I made specifically as an on ramp for left brained and logical thinkers. ...It builds on a logical process....and they [the MBT books] tend to be a little hard to read for the right brainers."

"The mystics and right brainers get it. ...They intuit the answer... and get to the end [of the book] and say 'well you needed all that to get there? I got there before you started.'" People who are rational, who like science and who want to have logical process...it [MBT trilogy] will lead them to the mystical result...because that's where logic takes you."

"Mostly I was trying to understand those questions...of how it all worked [time, consciousness, free will]...trying to understand through experimentation." Exploring the relationship between past lives and current realities, "I'd go into that past life...and I'd not only watch...I'd go in and make a change and I'd look and see how that change would change other things. I'd observe...I realized that these were probability distributions of possible things that could happen...this was the type of research I was doing." Experimenting with a lot of different topics, "I'd get to the point that it's all about information."

Listen in as Tom explains that reality is information based. Consciousness is awareness and the physical world is a subset of that information.

Mark Certo opens Season 2 reflecting on the amazing guests and conversations in Season 1 of Expanding on Consciousness. His opening dialogue asks the important question, how is consciousness evolving and expanding as a collective [species]. "Are we at the forefront in a shift in consciousness? ...Perhaps the acknowledgement of this interconnectedness of life is part of this evolving consciousness. ...and we're at the forefront of a shift in our understanding of the nature of consciousness and how it effects the reality we experience.  ...Season 2 guest and quantum physicist Frederico Faggin seems to think so."

Joseph McMoneagle, Remote Viewer 001 in the Army’s Stargate Project, recounts his distinguished military career. Referred to as Anomalous Cognition, Remote Viewing proved to be a viable espionage tactic during the Iranian hostage crisis. “Just about every agency in America that had an intelligence agency wound up giving us targets.”

How is Remote Viewing different than premonition or bilocation? “Remote Viewing is a specific protocol designed in the early 70’s at Stanford Research Institute International, and is defined as the ability to perceive a person, place, event, or thing that is remote, to which they have access via psychic functioning under strict scientific protocol.” So what is behind the ability to remote view a target or not? “All research implies it is the [level of] intention for the target.”

Accessed through deep meditative states, fragments of input are analyzed. Too much analysis forces people to make leaps of logic that in all probability are going to be wrong. Too little analysis means the Remote Viewer will not be able to make sense out of the information they’re receiving. High energy targets and breaching the concepts of linear time, Joe has remote viewed past, present, and future events.

Interested in learning to remote view? Be prepared for some pretty dramatic changes in your belief systems!

In this episode of Expanding on Consciousness, host, Mark Certo, discusses energy healing with Lisa VanOstrand, Dr. Of Medical Qigong, former Dean of Advanced Studies at the Barbara Brennan School of Healing, Core Energetics Therapist, and Clairvision Practitioner.

Lisa shares her personal path to becoming an energy healer with a particular focus on her working with Barbara Brennan School of Healing techniques. In her presentation on how energy healing works, Lisa shares that “it's not about me healing your condition, it's about you healing your condition, this is your path. This is your journey, I'm your witness and your ally and your support, but it's really all about you”.

Along with the aspects of healing that Lisa shares an understanding of she also suggests that “we could never really, totally understand why something is happening. There is our ordinary mind that wants to plan, that wants to understand. Then there is the divine mind that is operating at a higher level that we could not possibly understand.” Expanding beyond personal healing, Lisa elaborates on how we can heal society and larger planetary systems. “What are we doing for the ancestry, not just the past, but also for the future? And, how can we just stop and consider how we can leave the world in a better place for our ancestry.”

“There are vital truths there that people need to know about. And if in my role as an educator, I can point people in the direction of finding that stuff out. I'm very pleased.” In this archival episode, host, Mark revisits a conversation he had with psychologist, educator, intrepid consciousness explorer and researcher Dr. Charles Tart in 1993. Dr. Tart highlights the differences between science and scientism, expressing how you can test your beliefs and understand how the world works. “I'm proud to consider myself both a very tough-minded scientist and a spiritual seeker." Dr. Tart presents that while we may not find a single unifying Truth, “we can have fewer falsehoods, we can have fewer delusions… we can learn about the ways in which we fool ourselves... [for] a greater opportunity to learn what's really going on with ourselves, with our spirits, with our minds, with our worlds, that is something we can definitely make progress along. …I'm a long, long way from being enlightened, whatever that means. But I'm not as badly deluded as I used to be 20 years ago”. As Mark shares “If this is the first time you've ever heard of Dr. Charles Tart, I hope this interview inspires you to learn a lot more because there's a lot more to learn”.

In episode 10, Mark speaks with author, clinical psychologist, and international psychokinesis trainer Dr. Joe Gallenberger. Early childhood “Oneness" experiences led to Joe's curiosity and study of Christian mysticism, eastern religions, and meditation. “[Humans] have a tremendous desire for transcendence.” Experiencing expanded states of consciousness can be therapeutic and healing. “Exploring altered states without drugs or alcohol is a good way to get a [life] overview beyond the daily grind, for self-empowerment.” 

After finding the Monroe Institute and completing Gateway Voyage, Joe became curious about belief systems and the power of manifestation. “It put me on a path for manifestation,” which led to his first two books and a workshop. After participating in the first Lifeline program at Monroe—which assists those needing guidance for their transition to the afterlife—he was faced with his beloved brother’s suicide. Using tools learned in Lifeline, Joe reconnected with his brother beyond the veil, and penned these experiences in the books “Brothers Forever” and “Heaven is For Healing.”

Mark revisits an extraordinary interview from 28 years ago with Edgar Mitchell, Apollo 14 astronaut, sixth man to walk on the moon, and founder of the Institute of Noetic Sciences. While returning from the moon, Edgar had an epiphany while looking out at the cosmos. “I realized that the Universe was an intelligent process. It was an insight. It was accompanied by a euphoria, an ecstasy if you will, and I realized that our science was incomplete in its cosmology.” After his return to Earth, Edgar founded the Institute of Noetic Sciences to investigate his new understanding of the universe.

Mark and Ed discuss 25 years of IONS research and understanding, and cover a range of topics including quantum physics, space-time, nonlocality, Akashic records, precognition, determinism, resonance, intention-setting and creating your own reality, shifting belief systems, ego structures, DNA coding and evolutionary process, environmental sustainability and nurturing one’s self. “Increasing knowledge is one thing and increasing self-awareness is another. Start to explore individual potential. Recognize that the ego structure that we consider ourselves is not the highest form of knowing and understanding—that we can transcend far beyond that. And, when we do transcend beyond that, we start to see all the right answers. We start to see what we each need to do, personally, in order to contribute more fully to the stewardship of the Earth and to contribute more fully to the whole.”

Physicist, consciousness researcher, author of the "My Big TOE" trilogy and international lecturer Tom Campbell talks about his early out-of-body experience as a child and the role it has played in his life’s purpose. He explains what led him to meet and eventually work with Bob Monroe to research and explore expanded states of consciousness. A pioneer in audio-induced expanded states, he, Dennis Mennerich (an electrical engineer at UVA) and Bob patched together a lab at Bob’s residence, Whistlefield (1972), and began experimenting with sound signals. “I was spending hours every day in [the] nonphysical space. ... We tried everything, … to see if we could interact with this process, to see if we could teach other people how to do it.” They eventually engineered the first binaural beat tape (3.78 Hz), mixing different frequencies and amplitudes to facilitate an out-of-body experience and the sustained exploration of expanded states of consciousness. “We were the guinea pigs.”

This week's guest Eileen Hall is an Ecuadorean/Scottish artist, explorer and the founder of Tayos, an organization supporting the protection of endangered habitats in Ecuador. Inspired and ignited by the work of her late father Stan Hall, Eileen's research into psychology, consciousness and wellbeing is embedded into all her work, particularly in her work as co-director of the Tayos art project which explores the role that our environments play in healing our psyches. "My art is here to give a voice to the elemental intelligences that exist in nature." Exploring the depths of her own psyche and collective consciousness, Eileen seeks to understand and embrace the primal intelligence that directs human evolution.

"Consciousness is the origin of everything... I believe every element has some sort of sentience, some sort of consciousness you can speak to, and you can form a relationship with it." Her collaboration with musician Jon Hopkins on his latest release, Music for Psychedelic Therapy incorporates healing sounds from the Tayos caves.

It began with an early interest in not just the science of the mind but, the science of the extent of the mind. "My students were interested in doing experiments in telepathy, psychokinesis and esp ... so I monitored them but of course I was in the process of learning what they were learning. Roger Nelson Director of The Global Consciousness Project discusses is there such a thing as group consciousness and how random number generation is used to research and test field consciousness. Information and structure ... the mind ... has a role and functions in the real world. We are sources of active information. "There is an effect of my [our] intentions in the world." For more information about the Monroe Institute and our programs, visit https://www.monroeinstitute.org

Helané Wahbeh's personal interest in the rare form of trance channeling, "the process of expressing or receiving information and energy from beyond our conventional notion of time and space," began at a very early age. "My mother did it, my grandmother, [I have] multiple people in my family who've experienced trance channeling." Now, as the Director of Research at IONS she's developed the IONS Channeling Research Program which studies whether psychic [channeling] abilities are genetic. "All humans have the capacity for this intuitive noetic wisdom."

Mark Certo originally recorded this casual conversation with Bob Monroe in 1994. Bob talks about his early spontaneous out-of-body experiences and how they spawned a curiosity for the non-physical realm and the study of expanded states of consciousness and ultimately the Monroe Institute. Bob shares his thoughts on why we are here [in this life] and unconditional love "where no reward what so ever is expected from it. Love is a band of energy...the creator line." For more information about the Monroe Institute and our programs, visit www.monroeinstitute.org

Always inclined towards science and technology, Dr. Dean Radin was drawn in particular to Psi research. In this episode of Expanding on Consciousness, Dean discusses parapsycology and the scientific rigors of research on the edge of the unknown. "A friend joked that I must have been born with an extra set of Y (why) chromozones. ...I was always asking why." The study of Psi looks at experiences that are not explained by known physical or biological mechanisms. It is the study of consciousness. The role of consciousness in the physical world and what it can do. For more information about the Monroe Institute and our programs, visit www.monroeinstitute.org

In this opening episode of Expanding on Consciousness, host, Mark Certo invites you to join him and his guests to explore views, understandings and explorations of consciousness. “We’re going dive into to some very deep mysteries of consciousness on this podcast, all of this we do to to encourage you, to explore your own sense of consciousness more deeply. Through these conversations, you might begin to ask some very deep questions about yourself”. Mark reflects on his passion for the subject, his decades of experience interviewing “giants in the field” including Edgar Mitchell, Dr. Charles Tart and Joe McMoneagle. Mark shares a heartfelt appreciation for his work with Bob Monroe and the Monroe Institute as a sound engineer and host of The Gateway Radio Program. Enjoy this first episode of Expanding on Consciousness, and stay tuned for upcoming, weekly conversations with Dr. Dean Radin, Dr. Helané Wahbeh, Dr. Roger Nelson, Dr. Charles Tart and other leading researchers, scientists, artists and dreamers! For more information about the Monroe Institute and our programs, visit www.monroeinstitute.org