Living Mirrors with Dr. James Cooke
163 episodes - English - Latest episode: 24 days ago -Join neuroscientist Dr. James Cooke as he explores consciousness, science and spirituality with scientists, philosophers, spiritual practitioners and key figures in the psychedelic renaissance.
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Episodes
Second dialogue with Richard Doyle on nonduality and personal & societal transformation | Living Mirrors #95
May 28, 2022 18:00 - 1 hour - 48.7 MBMy guest this week, once again, is Richard Doyle. Rich is the first guest to appear on the podcast twice, which should be an indication of how much we enjoyed speaking the first time. Rich is an author and Professor of English and of Information Sciences and Technology at Pennsylvania State University. He also goes by the alias Mobius. Today we had a loose unplanned discussion that centred around nonduality as well as personal and social transformation.
AMA: Wonder & Curiosity vs. Guilt & Shame
May 24, 2022 17:14 - 20 minutes - 12.3 MBIn this AMA I share thoughts on wonder and curiosity as well as guilt and shame.
Loch Kelly on Effortless Mindfulness, nonduality & Mahamudra | Living Mirrors #94
May 20, 2022 17:00 - 1 hour - 32.5 MBLoch Kelly is a meditation teacher and author. He teaches a nondual approach to relieving suffering that he calls Effortless Mindfulness. This approach is based in the Mahamudra teachings of Tibetan Buddhism, and Loch has studied with two great teachers of this tradition, Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche and his son, Mingyur Rinpoche. He has also studied with the American meditation teacher Adyashanti, who first suggested that Loch teach others. Today we talk about Loch’s approach to the direct path ...
Evan Thompson on the philosophy of biopsychism | Living Mirrors #93
May 06, 2022 12:00 - 1 hour - 38.5 MBEvan Thompson is a philosopher and professor at the University of British Columbia. He specialises in the philosophy of mind and cognitive science, as well as in cross-cultural philosophy, with a particular interest in Chinese and Indian philosophy and the dialogue between Buddhism and the Western philosophical tradition. He’s the author of several books including Mind and Life, Why I’m not a Buddhist, The Embodied Mind, co-authored with Francisco Varela and Eleanor Rosch, and Waking, Dreami...
AMA: The neurobiology of trauma & the ethics of obtaining illegal drugs
May 04, 2022 18:23 - 16 minutes - 9.95 MBIn this AMA I discuss the the neurobiology of trauma & the ethics of obtaining illegal drugs.
Rick Hanson on meditation and the brain | Living Mirrors #92
April 29, 2022 14:30 - 1 hour - 54.8 MBRick Hanson is a psychologist and a Senior Fellow at UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center. He is the best-selling author of several books including Buddha’s Brain, Hardwiring Happiness and Neurodharma. Today we discuss mediation and its relationship to the brain.
James Maffie on Aztec philosophy & nondual metaphysics | Living Mirrors #91
April 21, 2022 15:30 - 1 hour - 33.4 MBJames Maffie is senior lecturer in philosophy at the University of Maryland and an affiliate of their Latin American Studies Program. He is the author of Aztec Philosophy: Understanding a World In Motion, a book that details the nondual metaphysics of the Aztecs and other Mesoamerican peoples.
David Nutt on the harms and benefits of alcohol, cannabis & psychedelics | Living Mirrors #90
April 15, 2022 13:00 - 55 minutes - 29.1 MBDavid Nutt is a neuropsychopharmacologist specialising in the research of drugs. He is the chairman of Drug Science, a non-profit which he founded in 2010 to provide independent, evidence-based information on drugs. He is professor of neuropharmacology at Imperial College London is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, the Royal College of Psychiatrists and the Academy of Medical Scientists and was formerly the President of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology. He has work...
AMA: Martial arts, boxing & brain injury
April 14, 2022 18:15 - 14 minutes - 10 MBIn this AMA I discuss the martial arts, boxing & brain injury. Research paper discussed: Reviews from 2020:
Liz Carlisle on regenerative agriculture | Living Mirrors #89
April 07, 2022 15:00 - 57 minutes - 31.4 MBLiz Carlisle is an Assistant Professor in the Environmental Studies Program at UC Santa Barbara, where she teaches courses on food and farming. She’s the author of three books, Lentil Underground, Grain by Grain, and Healing Grounds: Climate, Justice, and the Deep Roots of Regenerative Farming, all of which explore regenerative agriculture and agroecology.
Ecodelia & the Evolution of the Noösphere | Living Mirrors #87
April 01, 2022 14:30 - 1 hour - 52.7 MBRichard Doyle is Professor of English and of Information Sciences and Technology at Pennsylvania State University. His books include On Beyond Living: Rhetorical Transformations of the Life Sciences, Wetwares: Experiments In Postvital Living, Darwin's Pharmacy: Sex, Plants, and the Evolution of the Noosphere, The Genesis of Now: Self Experiments with the Bible & the End of Religion, Into the Stillness: Dialogues on Awakening Beyond Thought. His work integrates a wide range of subjects, incorp...
Ecodelia & the Evolution of the Noösphere | Living Mirrors #88
April 01, 2022 14:30 - 1 hour - 52.7 MBRichard Doyle is Professor of English and of Information Sciences and Technology at Pennsylvania State University. His books include On Beyond Living: Rhetorical Transformations of the Life Sciences, Wetwares: Experiments In Postvital Living, Darwin's Pharmacy: Sex, Plants, and the Evolution of the Noosphere, The Genesis of Now: Self Experiments with the Bible & the End of Religion, Into the Stillness: Dialogues on Awakening Beyond Thought. His work integrates a wide range of subjects, incorp...
Richard Doyle on Ecodelia & the Evolution of the Noösphere | Living Mirrors #88
April 01, 2022 14:30 - 1 hour - 52.7 MBRichard Doyle is Professor of English and of Information Sciences and Technology at Pennsylvania State University. His books include On Beyond Living: Rhetorical Transformations of the Life Sciences, Wetwares: Experiments In Postvital Living, Darwin's Pharmacy: Sex, Plants, and the Evolution of the Noosphere, The Genesis of Now: Self Experiments with the Bible & the End of Religion, Into the Stillness: Dialogues on Awakening Beyond Thought. His work integrates a wide range of subjects, incorp...
Keith Frankish on consciousness as an illusion | Living Mirrors #87
March 25, 2022 17:30 - 1 hour - 37.6 MBKeith Frankish is a philosopher who specializes in the philosophy of mind, psychology, and cognitive science. He has affiliations with the University of Sheffield and The Open University in the UK as well as the University of Crete in Greece. He is known for arguing that consciousness is an illusion, which is what we talk about today.
Keith Frankish on consciousness as an illusion | Living Mirrors #86
March 25, 2022 17:30 - 1 hour - 37.6 MBKeith Frankish is a philosopher who specializes in the philosophy of mind, psychology, and cognitive science. He has affiliations with the University of Sheffield and The Open University in the UK as well as the University of Crete in Greece. He is known for arguing that consciousness is an illusion, which is what we talk about today.
AMA: The psychology of money
March 24, 2022 17:30 - 16 minutes - 9.86 MBIn this AMA I discuss the the psychology of money at the personal and societal scales. Ask questions for the next AMA via patreon or the channel membership community (click the "join" button above): https://www.patreon.com/DrJamesCooke
Mark Vernon on mysticism in Christianity | Living Mirrors #86
March 18, 2022 17:30 - 56 minutes - 27.5 MBMark Vernon is a psychotherapist and writer whose work focuses on spirituality in the Christian tradition. He has a degrees in theology and physics from Oxford and Durham University and also has PhD in ancient Greek philosophy from the University of Warwick. Today we discuss mysticism and its relationship to Christianity.
The war in Ukraine and building a global culture of peace | Living Mirrors #85
March 11, 2022 17:30 - 18 minutes - 10.6 MBOn today's episode I share some thoughts on the war in Ukraine and how we can move towards a global culture of peace
AMA: Dealing with anxiety around the news from Ukraine & pivotal mental states induced by DMT
March 07, 2022 17:30 - 16 minutes - 9.81 MBAsk questions for the next AMA via patreon: or the YouTube channel membership community: Topics (in order addressed): Ukraine Pivotal mental states Credits: Animations by Janko Pješivac https://vimeo.com/user22957416
Richard Lang on having no head | Living Mirrors #84
March 04, 2022 17:30 - 1 hour - 42.1 MBRichard Lang is the coordinator of the Shollond Trust, a charity that promotes an approach to self discovery known as the Headless Way. This approach was developed by British Architect Douglas Harding and, after studying with Douglas since 1970, Richard committed himself to sharing this work as widely as possible. He is the author of two books on the headless way, Seeing Who You Really Are, and Open to the Source - Selected Teachings of Douglas Harding. You can also find teachings on this ...
Sam Gandy on psychedelics and nature connection | Living Mirrors #83
February 25, 2022 17:30 - 1 hour - 59.2 MBSam is an ecologist, researcher and science writer, working at the intersection of ecology and psychedelics. He has conducted ecological field research around the world and also has extensive experience of working in the psychedelic field, at the Beckley Foundation, Synthesis Institute, and the psychedelic music company Wavepaths. He is currently a Project Manager with Norfolk Rivers Ecology and a collaborator with the Centre for Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London, with a resear...
Psychological attractors & the future of humanity | Living Mirrors #82
February 18, 2022 19:52 - 19 minutes - 11.6 MBOn today's episode I share some thoughts on psychological attractors and their significance for the future of human society. Credits: Animations by Janko Pješivac https://vimeo.com/user22957416
AMA: The legitimacy of psychoanalysis & neurological risks from psychedelics
February 11, 2022 17:30 - 18 minutes - 11.2 MBAsk questions for the next AMA via patreon or the YouTube channel membership community: Topics (in order addressed): The legitimacy of psychoanalysis Neurological risks from psychedelics Credits: Animations by Janko Pješivac https://vimeo.com/user22957416
Antonio Damasio on consciousness, feeling & homeostasis | Living Mirrors #81
February 04, 2022 15:30 - 43 minutes - 25.1 MBAntonio Damasio is a neurologist and neuroscientist and is currently Professor of Psychology, Philosophy, and Neurology, at the University of Southern California. His research focuses on the role of emotion in mental processes, with a particular focus on consciousness. He is the author of many books, the most recent of which is Feeling and Knowing. Today we discuss consciousness and how it relates to the brain and the life process.
Chris Letheby on naturalistic psychedelic philosophy | Living Mirrors #80
January 29, 2022 11:40 - 1 hour - 39.4 MBChris Letheby is a philosopher of mind and cognitive science who works on issues arising from the use of psychedelic drugs in psychiatry and neuroscience. His doctoral research, conducted at the University of Adelaide, presented the first systematic analysis of the psychedelic experience within the framework of 21st century philosophy of cognitive science. He is currently Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Western Australia and Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Adelaide. H...
AMA: Jordan Peterson, “supernatural” psychedelic experiences, Seasonal Affective Disorder
January 24, 2022 17:30 - 23 minutes - 15.5 MBAsk questions for the next AMA at or at https://www.youtube.com/DrJamesCooke by joining the channel membership community. Topics (in order addressed): Seasonal Affective Disorder / winter depression, thoughts on Jordan Peterson, “supernatural” psychedelic experiences
Peter McCoy on Radical Mycology | Living Mirrors #79
January 19, 2022 17:30 - 1 hour - 46.9 MBPeter McCoy is the co-founder of Radical Mycology, a grassroots movement that teaches ways to work with mushrooms and other fungi for personal, societal, and ecological health. Peter teaches mushroom cultivation internationally and online at mycologos.world. He is the author of Radical Mycology: A Treatise on Seeing and Working With Fungi and the new book Mycocultural Revolution: Changing the World with Mushrooms, Lichens, and Other Fungi. Today we talk about fungi and their relationship t...
Unaccountability and the Collective Shadow | Living Mirrors #78
January 12, 2022 17:30 - 25 minutes - 17.4 MBOn today's episode I share some thoughts on unaccountability and the collective shadow.
AMA: The ocean of suffering, meditation advice, alcohol, OCD & psychedelic integration
January 05, 2022 17:30 - 23 minutes - 15.5 MBAsk questions for the next AMA via patreon or the channel membership community (click the "join" button above): Topics (in order addressed): The ocean of suffering, meditation advice, environmental triggers for conceptual thinking, alcohol, psychedelics for OCD & psychedelic integration Credits: Animations by Janko Pješivac
AMA: the origins of collective trauma, panpsychism, the ayahuasca experience, the therapeutic potential of different psychedelics
December 22, 2021 17:30 - 37 minutes - 24.7 MBAsk questions for the next AMA: Topics (in order addressed): the origins of collective trauma, panpsychism, the ayahuasca experience, the therapeutic potential of different psychedelics Credits: Animations by Janko Pješivac
Philip Goff on panpsychism | Living Mirrors #77
December 15, 2021 22:53 - 55 minutes - 32.1 MBPhilip Goff is a philosopher and consciousness researcher at Durham University in the UK. His research focuses on how to integrate consciousness into our scientific worldview and he is an advocate for panpsychism, the view that consciousness is fundamental and widespread in the universe. He is the author of an academic book on the subject, Consciousness and Fundamental Reality, and a book aimed at the general public, Galileo's Error. Today we talk about the place of consciousness in our uni...
AMA: My psychedelic healing, trip sitting advice, the neuroscience of dreaming & cannabis paranoia
December 09, 2021 17:23 - 33 minutes - 22 MBTopics (in order addressed): Changing the political system, connecting with nature, the neuroscience of dreaming, paranoia & cannabis, trip sitting advice
Peter Sjöstedt-Hughes on the philosophy of the psychedelic experience | Living Mirrors #76
December 08, 2021 19:57 - 55 minutes - 33.5 MBPeter Sjöstedt-Hughes is a philosopher of mind who specializes in the thought of Whitehead, Nietzsche, and Spinoza, and in fields pertaining to panpsychism and altered states of mind. Following his degree in Continental Philosophy at the University of Warwick, he became a Philosophy lecturer in London for six years, after which he pursued his PhD on Pansentient Monism at The University of Exeter – where he is now a research fellow and associate lecturer. Peter is the author of Noumenautics a...
Order & disorder | Living mirrors #75
December 01, 2021 17:21 - 24 minutes - 16.1 MBOn today's episode I share some thoughts on individual and societal suffering and their basis in the denial of disorder.
Chris Timmermann on a contemplative & scientific approach to the DMT experience | Living Mirrors #74
November 24, 2021 21:00 - 43 minutes - 26.6 MBChris Timmermann is a neuroscientist based at Imperial College London's Centre for Psychedelic Research. He completed his PhD in the same centre where he investigated the effects of dimethyltryptamine, or DMT, on the human brain. Today we talk about how we can take both a scientific and contemplative approach to understanding the DMT experience.
AMA: Depression, ayahuasca, understanding our motivations, self care & helping others
November 23, 2021 18:38 - 24 minutes - 15.8 MBAsk questions for the next AMA via patreon or the YouTube channel membership community: Topics (in order addressed): Depression, podcast recommendations, ayahuasca, understanding our motivations, self care & helping others.
Sarah Rose Siskind on comedy, psychedelics & science | Living Mirrors #73
November 17, 2021 21:17 - 53 minutes - 31.3 MBSarah Rose Siskind psychedelic comedian and science comedy writer. She hosts a monthly comedy show in New York City about Psychedelics and other drugs called Drug Test. She was the lead comedy writer for StarTalk with Neil deGrasse Tyson, a TV show on National Geographic, and has written comedy for an artificially intelligent robot called Sophia at Hanson Robotics. Sarah is the co-founder of Hello SciCom, a company that combines science communication and comedy to help people in science commu...
Darren Le Baron on psilocybin mushrooms, horticulture & permaculture | Living Mirrors #72
November 10, 2021 17:30 - 53 minutes - 34.6 MBDarren Le Baron is an organic horticulturist, food enterprise tutor, educator, and event organizer based in the UK. He is a keen mushroom cultivator and has been growing gourmet and medicinal mushrooms for over a decade. He teaches an online Shroomshop Master class where he teaches the art of mushroom cultivation and he is the mycologist in residence at London’s Somerset House. Darren is also a qualified Permaculture teacher and facilitator and supports businesses and communities in creatin...
Absolute perspectives and the overview effect | Living Mirrors #71
October 27, 2021 17:30 - 18 minutes - 34.9 MBIn this episode of the podcast I share some thoughts on absolute perspectives and the overview effect.
Ruth Kinna on Anarchism | Living Mirrors #70
October 13, 2021 17:30 - 59 minutes - 37 MBRuth Kinna is a professor of political philosophy at Loughborough University in the UK. She gained her doctorate in politics from the University of Oxford and, since 2007, has been the editor of the journal Anarchist Studies. She has published many academic papers and books for the general reader, including Anarchism: A Beginner's Guide and The Government of No One: The Theory and Practice of Anarchism. Today we discuss the intellectual tradition of anarchism in general as well as particul...
Matt Segall on the pan-experientialist process philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead | Living Mirrors #69
October 06, 2021 17:30 - 1 hour - 41.6 MBMatt Segall is an Assistant Professor at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) where he teaches courses on process philosophy and German Idealism. He received his doctoral degree from CIIS in 2016. His dissertation was published as The Physics of the World Soul and it offers a synthesis of the process philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead and the work of the German Idealist philosopher Friedrich Schelling. He also blogs regularly at footnotes2plato.com and has a youtube chann...
James Hollis on the psychology of men | Living Mirrors #68
September 29, 2021 17:00 - 1 hour - 37.3 MBJames Hollis is a Jungian psychoanalyst, author, and public speaker. After gaining a PhD from Drew University in Madison, New Jersey in 1967 he worked for 26 years as a lecturer in the Humanities. In 1977 he retrained as a Jungian psychoanalyst at the C. G. Jung Institute, in Zürich, Switzerland. For many years he was Executive Director of the Jung Educational Center in Houston, Texas and was the Executive Director of the Jung Society of Washington until 2019. He still runs a private practice...
Andy Letcher on Deep ecology, Animism & Dark Green Religion | Living Mirrors #67
September 22, 2021 16:36 - 58 minutes - 34.3 MBAndy Letcher is a writer, lecturer, and musician with a doctorate in ecology from Oxford University, and a second doctorate in religious/cultural studies from King Alfred's College, Winchester. He is currently a senior lecturer in ecology and spirituality at Schumacher College and is an expert on contemporary alternative spiritualities, especially modern Paganism, neo-shamanism and psychedelic spiritualities. He is the author of the book Shroom: A Cultural History of the Magic Mushroom and ha...
5-MeO-DMT & NN-DMT | Living Mirrors #66
September 15, 2021 17:30 - 27 minutes - 18.2 MBThis week on the podcast I discuss 5-MeO-DMT & NN-DMT.
Mellody Hayes on individual and societal transformation | Living Mirrors #65
September 08, 2021 16:40 - 1 hour - 53.7 MBDr. Mellody Hayes is a physician, writer and speaker, who focuses on psychedelic medicine. She is a graduate of Harvard and UCSF medical school, and was a cofounder of Decriminalize Nature, a leading force behind psychedelic decriminalisation. Her writings have been published in Scientific American and Los Angeles Times and she’s been behind multiple projects in the psychedelic space including a ketamine clinic that provides psychedelic psychotherapy. We discussed the role of psychedelics in ...
David Berceli on recovering from trauma through tremoring | Living Mirrors #64
September 01, 2021 17:00 - 1 hour - 37.4 MBDavid Berceli is an expert in trauma intervention and conflict resolution. He is the creator of the Tension & Trauma Release Exercise program and is the founder and CEO of Trauma Recovery Services. He has a background in social work, psychotherapy and therapeutic body-work and spent two decades living and working in the Middle East and Africa, providing trauma relief workshops and designing recovery programs for international organizations. Today we talk about the embodied nature of trauma an...
Mike Jay on Mescaline | Living Mirrors #63
August 11, 2021 17:30 - 1 hour - 43.4 MBMike Jay is a writer who has written extensively on the history of science and medicine, with a particular focus on psychoactive drugs. His books on the subject include Emperors of Dreams: drugs in the nineteenth century, High Society: mind-altering drugs in history and culture, and Mescaline: A global history of the first psychedelic.
Bia Labate on global psychedelic culture & ayahuasca | Living Mirrors #62
August 04, 2021 17:30 - 1 hour - 37.7 MBBia Labate is an anthropologist who specialises in the study of psychoactive substances, drug policy, shamanism, ritual and religion. She has a Ph.D. in social anthropology from the State University of Campinas in her native Brazil and is author, co-author and co-editor of over 20 books as well as many peer-reviewed articles. She has organised many important conferences in the psychedelic space and is the founder and chief executive of the Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines. S...
My approach to psychedelic healing | Living Mirrors #61
July 28, 2021 17:00 - 21 minutes - 12.6 MBThis week on the podcast I discuss my approach to the intentional and therapeutic use of psychedelics.
Anil Seth on the neuroscience of consciousness | Living Mirrors #60
July 21, 2021 17:00 - 1 hour - 41.2 MBAnil Seth is a professor of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience at the University of Sussex and a leading expert on the neuroscience of consciousness. He is the editor-in-chief of the journal Neuroscience of Consciousness and is also the co-director of both the Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science and the Canadian Institute For Advanced Research’s program in Brain, Mind, and Consciousness. He has a new book coming out called Being You.