Ten Zen Questions

Meditation

Letting Go Is Hard

Susan Blackmore Ph.D. on September 28, 2020

The remote Welsh farmhouse where I learned to meditate 40 years ago, will have no more retreats. Saying goodbye was hard, but then much of what we learned was about letting go.

The remote Welsh farmhouse where I learned to meditate 40 years ago, will have no more retreats. Saying goodbye was hard, but then much of what we learned was about letting go.

Neuroscience

Illusions of Self and Consciousness Explored With DMT

Susan Blackmore Ph.D. on September 22, 2020

DMT has the strangest, most variable, psychedelic effects. We should combine personal experiences with neuroscience to understand how it upends our illusions of self and the world.

DMT has the strangest, most variable, psychedelic effects. We should combine personal experiences with neuroscience to understand how it upends our illusions of self and the world.

Neuroscience

Psychedelics and Consciousness

Susan Blackmore Ph.D. on September 14, 2020

Are psychedelic experiences a fount of marvellous insights or nothing but the ramblings of a poisoned brain? I think they could be both.

Are psychedelic experiences a fount of marvellous insights or nothing but the ramblings of a poisoned brain? I think they could be both.

Parapsychology

Psychedelics and the Out-of-Body Experience

Susan Blackmore Ph.D. on May 29, 2020

Can psychedelics induce a classical out-of-body experience, or OBE? A new film and online debate from the psychedelic society suggest they can, but what does the evidence tell us?

Can psychedelics induce a classical out-of-body experience, or OBE? A new film and online debate from the psychedelic society suggest they can, but what does the evidence tell us?

Fear

Was Boris Johnson Changed by a Brush with Death?

Susan Blackmore Ph.D. on May 20, 2020

Coming close to death can make people more loving and compassionate. Could Boris Johnson have been transformed?

Coming close to death can make people more loving and compassionate. Could Boris Johnson have been transformed?

Coronavirus Disease 2019

COVID-19, Near-Death Experiences, and Boris Johnson

Susan Blackmore Ph.D. on May 3, 2020

After nearly dying from Covid-19, Boris Johnson is said to be a changed man. We know that close brushes with death can cause deep life changes, so could it be true?

After nearly dying from Covid-19, Boris Johnson is said to be a changed man. We know that close brushes with death can cause deep life changes, so could it be true?

Coronavirus Disease 2019

Can You Predict Next Week?

Susan Blackmore Ph.D. on March 30, 2020

The pandemic is changing our lives so fast that we can no longer rely on familiar assumptions. Writing down my predictions is fascinating — and teaching me a lot.

The pandemic is changing our lives so fast that we can no longer rely on familiar assumptions. Writing down my predictions is fascinating — and teaching me a lot.

Attention

Attention, Attention, Attention

Susan Blackmore Ph.D. on March 13, 2020

Do illusionist theories of consciousness find the same illusions as those discovered in Zen meditation? A new theory suggests they might.

Do illusionist theories of consciousness find the same illusions as those discovered in Zen meditation? A new theory suggests they might.

Spirituality

In Praise of Psychedelics

Susan Blackmore Ph.D. on January 10, 2020

Near-death experience researcher Ken Ring describes how an LSD trip changed his life and inspired his pioneering research.

Near-death experience researcher Ken Ring describes how an LSD trip changed his life and inspired his pioneering research.

Parapsychology

One Famous Actor's Out-of-Body Experience

Susan Blackmore Ph.D. on December 2, 2019

Actor Stephen Graham describes doing a monologue on stage, with his parents watching, only to find himself looking down and watching himself performing.

Actor Stephen Graham describes doing a monologue on stage, with his parents watching, only to find himself looking down and watching himself performing.

Unconscious

Can You Have Two Thoughts at Once?

Susan Blackmore Ph.D. on November 2, 2019

Common sense psychology is false’ claims a new theory of consciousness. We have no hidden depths of thought, desire, or fantasy; the surface mind is all there is.

Common sense psychology is false’ claims a new theory of consciousness. We have no hidden depths of thought, desire, or fantasy; the surface mind is all there is.

Parapsychology

Out-Of-Body Experiences: Mine Is Finally Explained

Susan Blackmore Ph.D. on October 24, 2019

I return to my own out-of-body experience to show how every feature now makes sense. The whole experience was perfectly natural.

I return to my own out-of-body experience to show how every feature now makes sense. The whole experience was perfectly natural.

Parapsychology

Out-of-Body Experiences: All OBEs Are Natural Phenomena

Susan Blackmore Ph.D. on October 10, 2019

Classic accounts of astral projection all show signs of bodily distortions. So even these are best explained by neuroscience and not by something leaving the body.

Classic accounts of astral projection all show signs of bodily distortions. So even these are best explained by neuroscience and not by something leaving the body.

Flow

Consciousness and Those Questions

Susan Blackmore Ph.D. on September 27, 2019

A new review of a consciousness textbook is full of praise but still falls for many common assumptions about consciousness the authors try so hard to undermine.

A new review of a consciousness textbook is full of praise but still falls for many common assumptions about consciousness the authors try so hard to undermine.

Parapsychology

Out-of-Body Experiences: The Monster Under The Bed

Susan Blackmore Ph.D. on September 19, 2019

Have you ever been sure there’s an invisible someone, or a scary entity, in the room with you. Was it a ghost, poltergeist, evil spirit or what?

Have you ever been sure there’s an invisible someone, or a scary entity, in the room with you. Was it a ghost, poltergeist, evil spirit or what?

Parapsychology

Out-of-Body Experiences: More Full Body Illusions

Susan Blackmore Ph.D. on September 16, 2019

You probably feel entirely sure you are inside your own body and move with it. But in the disturbing experience of heautoscopy people are unsure where they are.

You probably feel entirely sure you are inside your own body and move with it. But in the disturbing experience of heautoscopy people are unsure where they are.

Parapsychology

Out-of-Body Experiences: Bodily Illusions

Susan Blackmore Ph.D. on September 5, 2019

Disturbing our body schema produces not only out-of-body experiences but other weird states including Doppelgängers, changes in size, and duplicated bodies.

Disturbing our body schema produces not only out-of-body experiences but other weird states including Doppelgängers, changes in size, and duplicated bodies.

Parapsychology

How Not to Find Evidence of Psychic Phenomena

Susan Blackmore Ph.D. on August 27, 2019

As if parapsychology doesn’t have enough troubles, one of its famous proponents encouraged massaging data until one gets the ‘right’ answer.

As if parapsychology doesn’t have enough troubles, one of its famous proponents encouraged massaging data until one gets the ‘right’ answer.

Body Image

Out of Body Experiences: A Neuroscientific Explanation

Susan Blackmore Ph.D. on August 23, 2019

At last out of body experiences make sense. The spot in the brain that induces them is responsible for maintaining our body schema.

At last out of body experiences make sense. The spot in the brain that induces them is responsible for maintaining our body schema.

ADHD

Out-of-Body Experiences: A Hyperactive Brain?

Susan Blackmore Ph.D. on August 19, 2019

Some of us have especially active brains and this affects which unusual experiences we are likely to have.

Some of us have especially active brains and this affects which unusual experiences we are likely to have.