Making Transcendent Experiences More Accessible w/ The Institute for Advanced Consciousness Studies (IACS)

10/05/23 • 55 min

Today’s guests are Nicco Reggente and Leo Christov-Moore from The Institute for Advanced Consciousness Studies. The IACS is trying to make these life-altering experiences available to more people by better understanding what goes into meditative and entheogenic experiences so that we can find additional, more accessible entry points using modern technology. Through a better understanding of both the mechanics of what creates these states from how our brains change, to traditional components like the role of a facilitator and set and setting, they hope to make attaining positive behavior through these states accessible to the masses. Right now their research focus is on enhancing meditation, neuromodulation, and technodelics.

This conversation is wide-ranging and builds upon past conversations I’ve had on the latest Neuroscience of Meditation. Some highlights include:

Why their research lab is set up like a startup vs. typical academia
The current state of using ultrasound to induce altered states
What Technodelics are and why they are exciting
Where they see the biggest opportunities to make entheogenic experiences more accessible
Their principal first approach to understanding the deeper why behind the impact these states create
What they learned as researchers at a week-long Joe Dispenza event
Considerations for the early exploration of “shared consciousness” capacities

For full show notes: https://blog.scottbritton.me/s/evolutionfm-podcast

This conversation is wide-ranging and builds upon past conversations I’ve had on the latest Neuroscience of Meditation. Some highlights include:

Why their research lab is set up like a startup vs. typical academia
The current state of using ultrasound to induce altered states
What Technodelics are and why they are exciting
Where they see the biggest opportunities to make entheogenic experiences more accessible
Their principal first approach to understanding the deeper why behind the impact these states create
What they learned as researchers at a week-long Joe Dispenza event
Considerations for the early exploration of “shared consciousness” capacities

For full show notes: https://blog.scottbritton.me/s/evolutionfm-podcast

Previous Episode

Navigating The Mystery of Soul Initiation and Embodiment w/ Brooks Barron

Today’s conversation dives deep into the realm of the soul and the initiatory experience.

Brooks Barron is a leadership coach and wilderness guide. One of the reasons I was excited to chat with Brooks is the formative role nature plays in his work helping people make contact with their soul and bring its expression into reality.

In this conversation, we talk about the pan-cultural tradition of the initiatory process and why it can be so impactful in our growth journeys. We explore how multi-day fast vision quests in nature can create a container for soul initiation.

Full episode notes and links https://blog.scottbritton.me/s/evolutionfm-podcast

Next Episode

Navigating The Dark Night and Shifts In Identity With Neuroscientist Mona Sobhani

Today’s guest is a fascinating and inspiring example of expanding beyond an old identity to step into something deeper.

Mona Sobhani was a hard-charging neuroscientist who at one point looked at spirituality as a coping mechanism for people who couldn’t cut it in the real world.

Through an unforeseen series of direct experiences and deep exploration of scientific evidence, she gradually transformed her worldview and began to embrace the ineffable mystery that is spiritual life. Her book Proof of Spiritual Phenomena shares her experience as well as the mountain of scientific evidence that substantiates what many ancient wisdom teachings have been saying all along.

In this conversation, we talk a lot about the interplay of scientism and spirituality. Some interesting talking points for me include:

Why much of the science community continue to overlook or turn away from the compelling evidence surrounding spiritual phenomena and their potential impact on the human experience
How to skillfully navigate shifts in identity and transformational conflicts
Making it through a dark night of the soul
Finding your tribe as you make these changes
How Science and spirituality can exist harmoniously

For full show notes: https://blog.scottbritton.me/s/evolutionfm-podcast