John Prendergast on Non-dual Awareness and Wisdom for the 21st Century

John Prendergast, former adjunct professor of psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies, joins Lucas Perry for a discussion about the experience and effects of ego-identification, how to shift to new levels of identity, the nature of non-dual awareness, and the potential relationship between waking up and collective human problems. This is not an FLI Podcast, but a special release where Lucas shares a direction he feels has an important relationship with AI alignment and existential risk issues.

Topics discussed in this episode include:

-The experience of egocentricity and ego-identification
-Waking up into heart awareness
-The movement towards and qualities of non-dual consciousness
-The ways in which the condition of our minds collectively affect the world
-How waking up may be relevant to the creation of AGI

You can find the page for this podcast here: https://futureoflife.org/2021/02/09/john-prendergast-on-non-dual-awareness-and-wisdom-for-the-21st-century/

Have any feedback about the podcast? You can share your thoughts here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/DRBFZCT

Timestamps: 

0:00 Intro
7:10 The modern human condition
9:29 What egocentricity and ego-identification are
15:38 Moving beyond the experience of self
17:38 The origins and structure of self
20:25 A pointing out instruction for noticing ego-identification and waking up out of it
24:34 A pointing out instruction for abiding in heart-mind or heart awareness
28:53 The qualities of and moving into heart awareness and pure awareness
33:48 An explanation of non-dual awareness
40:50 Exploring the relationship between awareness, belief, and action
46:25 Growing up and improving the egoic structure
48:29 Waking up as recognizing true nature
51:04 Exploring awareness as primitive and primary
53:56 John's dream of Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
57:57 The use and value of conceptual thought and the mind
1:00:57 The epistemics of heart-mind and the conceptual mind as we shift levels of identity
1:17:46 A pointing out instruction for inquiring into core beliefs
1:27:28 The universal heart, qualities of awakening, and the ethical implications of such shifts
1:31:38 Wisdom, waking up, and growing up for the transgenerational issues of the 21st century
1:38:44 Waking up and its applicability to the creation of AGI
1:43:25 Where to find, follow, and reach out to John
1:45:56 Outro

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