Reality Is Stranger Than You Think: Consciousness, Perception, Free Will, AI & Love | Annaka Harris

Annaka Harris dives deep into some of the most profound and perplexing questions about the nature of consciousness, perception, free will, AI, and the underlying meaning of love and existence.
Annaka begins by defining consciousness and exploring the "hard problem". She discusses neuroscientific insights into how the brain processes conscious experiences, and how our intuitions about the nature of the self and decision-making can often mislead us.
The conversation then ventures into the realms of plant consciousness, the criteria for discerning whether something is truly conscious and capable of suffering, and the idea that consciousness may be a fundamental feature of the universe. She shares her personal experience with using meditation to transcend the illusory nature of the self.

Red light therapy:

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Timecodes:
0:00 Intro
2:20 Defining Consciousness
6:25 Why the 'Hard Problem' is Hard
14:48 How the Brain Processes Conscious Experiences
19:30 You’re Not Crazy, You’re Waking Up
25:37 How Your Intuitions May Lead You Astray
29:12 Are Plants Conscious?
39:28 Discerning What Makes Something Conscious or Able to Suffer
47:51 Boncharge: Red Lights 15% Off
49:01 Pan-psychism & Consciousness as Fundamental
1:02:27 Consciousness at a Molecular Level
1:15:35 Illusory Nature of Self
1:21:57 Transcending the Self Through Meditation
1:32:31 Decision Making & The Readiness potential
1:43:10 Free Will vs Conscious Will
1:44:52 The Love Underneath it All
1:50:46 Experimental Science & the Language Barrier to Describing This
1:53:58 Annaka's Personal Path to Studying Consciousness
2:01:40 Life's Inherent Intelligence & Meaning
2:08:51 Artificial Intelligence
2:14:16 Do Aliens Exist?
2:18:40 Seeing the Bigger Picture
2:23:05 Conclusion

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Annaka Harris is the New York Times bestselling author of CONSCIOUS: A Brief Guide to the Fundamental Mystery of the Mind. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Nautilus Magazine, the Journal of Consciousness Studies, and IAI Magazine. She is also an editor and consultant for science writers, specializing in neuroscience and physics. Annaka is the author of the children’s book I Wonder, coauthor of the Mindful Games Activity Cards, and a volunteer mindfulness teacher for the organization Inner Kids.

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Know Thyself

Listen to all episodes on Audio:

André Duqum

[ZehraMuhammed-qz]

it’s kinda crazy how none of these guys are talking about rapid manifestation secrets by marie runner.

[lizroland]

I recently stopped listening to corporate controled media. Decided to find podcasts that spoke to my mind. I have come across your podcast and this is what I'm talking about the knowledge, wisdom and understanding All of your guests are astounding. From a child I've always felt things spiritually and discerned but didn't have any guidance. At 77 it is not so much for me but I can pass it on to my grandchildren and the adult children that are wise enough to listen. Thank you so much!

[templedancer]

I grew up in the desert of what's now North Scottsdale, AZ. Our house was the only one for miles around, so there no chance to socialize outside of school. Indoor entertainment was limited. Thus I spent most of my time outside, exploring. I was fascinated by the large ants that had colonies with entrances 3 feet in diameter. A colony was either red entirely or black entirely. They had wars, huge wars. I studied the aftermath of an epic battle. Dead bodies of both colors were all around a 15 foot area. Some ants were still engaged in fighting. But most ants were busy picking up the dead of their respective colonies. I could hardly believe what I was seeing. I locked my gaze onto one ant that had a dead ant of the same color in its jaws. I watched where it was going. I saw it enter a hole under a large rock. I picked up the edge of the rock and was shocked to find that the dead ants of one color were all brought to this location. Meaning the ants were burying their dead!! Can you think of the implications of this?? It meant ants had feelings, that they had a need to gather their dead colony members together. Did it mean that ants had a religious belief? They clearly had a behavior, a ritual. I went looking for a graveyard for the other color ants, and found one. I ran home and told my mom. I wish she'd contacted the university so that I would have received credit for the discovery at age 9. I believe it was a British scientist who later discovered the same truth about ants and got credit for it. That's beside the point, however . The point is that ants have consciousness as shown by the gathering and burying of their dead. And if ants do that, what do other creatures do and believe? I think it's ridiculous to think animals don't have emotions and feelings. You can see it on their faces! Or you can observe their actions.

[Emotionally_Mature]

If you are someone who's here right now, then you are also on a higher level of consciousness as well! Give yourself a really big pat on the back & tell yourself congratulations! 🙏🏾😌 Because you really are doing a great job in life right now & you can finally relax! From this moment forward It's ok to be very gentle & easy with yourself. Because everything in existence, & anyone breathing the air of life is only here to help you succeed! Peace, freedom, love, joy, relaxation, & financial abundance are here for us from now until our ticking clock expires! And with all due respect, if you feel like screaming out loud from time to time, please do so! Because it only helps us in releasing old emotions, & it also helps us to achieve the awareness & alignment that we've been searching for from the start! I'm sorry, please forgive me, thank you, & I love you for helping me! Because you are me, & I am you. Thank you for your compassionate expressions! Namesté. 🙏🏾😌☮️🧘🏾‍♂️💚🌌

[WalterMaximusMitty]

André hit it right on: The more we entrain our senses to become more caring and sensitive about literally everything in our environment, especially nature, the more grateful and appreciative we are to all things. Everything's connected;

[TrippyDrippy]

Plants are conscious. And we communicate with them. You lick the seed and plant it, it creates more of the vitamins that you are lacking. There is an incredible intelligence that supports all life.

[CarolSueRios]

Scientist should be asking people that already found many answers like the Himalayan, Buddhist monks say that when a tree falls in the forest, the fact that all the trees around reach out their branches to fill in that space comes from compassion. So the fact that scientists haven’t discovered a lot of things it’s not because it doesn’t exist, because they haven’t raise their levels of conscious awareness of their own surroundings, much less the rest of the world.

[laurentroose]

I had 10 years ago an NDE and no day pass by that I think of it. We are not our bodies! 🙏

[theageofgoddess]

I’ve always felt plants have consciousness. I don’t think we’ve fully understood what consciousness is, it permeates through all of life & just manifests differently in each.

[Exczistance]

We need more Annaka and Sam every day . They are gold

[carolspencer]

Growing up my Dad would enquire, 'What you doing'. I would respond at times 'Nothing' he would intuit, you can't be doing nothing we're always doing something'. Made me think deeper as I grew. Thank you Dad for all your wisdom so far.
Loved all of this.
Again truly grateful.
😀
💜

[Chris-ceve]

The main problem with consciousness is that many people stick with the mindset, which they have been conditioned in the childhood and never questioning it. Prejudices, biases and box thinking are the walls incarcerating the human mind, getting rid of them will set the human mind free and expand the consciousness.

[marcobiagini]

I am a physicist and I explain why current physics leaves not room for the possibility that brain processes can be a sufficient condition for the existence of consciousness. The hypothesis that consciousness emerges from, or can be identified with physical, chemical or biological processes is incompatible with current physics.
It is a scientifically established fact that a mental experience is associated with numerous distinct microscopic physical processes that occur at different points; there is no physical entity that connects all these distinct microscopic processes, therefore the existence of mental experience requires an element of connection that is not described by current physics. This missing element of connection can be identified with what we traditionally refer to as the soul (in my youtube channel you can find a video with more detailed explanations).

Emergent properties are often thought of as arising from complex systems (like the brain). However, I argue that these properties are subjective cognitive constructs that depend on the level of abstraction we choose to analyze and describe the system. Since these descriptions are mind-dependent, consciousness, being implied by these cognitive contructs, cannot itself be an emergent property.

Preliminary considerations: the concept of set refers to something that has an intrinsically conceptual and subjective nature and implies the arbitrary choice of determining which elements are to be included in the set; what can exist objectively are only the individual elements. Defining a set is like drawing an imaginary line to separate some elements from others. This line doesn't exist physically; it’s a mental construct. The same applies to sequences of processes—they are abstract concepts created by our minds.

Mental experiences are necessary for the existence of subjectivity/arbitrariness and cognitive constructs; Therefore, mental experience itself cannot be just a cognitive construct.
Obviously we can conceive the concept of consciousness, but the concept of consciousness is not actual consciousness; We can talk about consciousness or about pain, but merely talking about it isn’t the same as experiencing it. (With the word consciousness I do not refer to self-awareness, but to the property of being conscious= having a mental experiences such as sensations, emotions, thoughts, memories and even dreams)

From the above considerations it follows that only indivisible elements may exist objectively and independently of consciousness, and consequently the only logically coherent and significant statement is that consciousness exists as a property of an indivisible element. Furthermore, this indivisible entity must interact globally with brain processes because there is a well-known correlation between brain processes and consciousness. However, this indivisible entity cannot be physical, since according to the laws of physics, there is no physical entity with such properties. The soul is the missing element that interprets globally the distinct elementary physical processes occurring at separate points in the brain as a unified mental experience.

Clarifications

The brain itself doesn't exist as a completely mind-independent entity. The concept of the brain is based on separating a group of quantum particles from everything else, which is a subjective process, not dictated purely by the laws of physics. Actually there is a continuous exchange of molecules with the blood and when and how such molecules start and stop being part of the brain is decided arbitrarily. An example may clarify this point: the concept of nation. Nation is not a physical entity and does not refer to a mind-independent entity because it is just a set of arbitrarily chosen people. The same goes for the brain.

Brain processes consist of many parallel sequences of ordinary elementary physical processes occurring at separate points. There is no direct connection between the separate points in the brain and such connections are just a subjective abstractions used to approximately describe sequences of many distinct physical processes. Indeed, considering consciousness as a property of an entire sequence of elementary processes implies the arbitrary definition of the entire sequence; the entire sequence as a whole (and therefore every function/property/capacity attributed to the brain) is a subjective abstraction that does not refer to any mind-independendent reality.

Physicalism/naturalism is based on the belief that consciousness is an emergent property of the brain. However, an emergent property is defined as a property that is possessed by a set of elements that its individual components do not possess; my arguments prove that this definition implies that emergent properties are only subjective cognitive constructs and therefore, consciousness cannot be an emergent property. Actually, emergent properties are just simplified and approximate descriptions or subjective classifications of underlying physical processes or properties, which are described directly by the fundamental laws of physics alone, without involving any emergent properties (arbitrariness/subjectivity is involved when more than one option/description is possible). An approximate description is only an abstract idea, and no actual entity exists per se corresponding to that approximate description, simply because an actual entity is exactly what it is and not an approximation of itself. What physically exists are the underlying physical processes. Emergence is nothing more than a cognitive construct that is applied to physical phenomena, and cognition itself can only come from a mind; thus emergence can never explain mental experience as, by itself, it implies mental experience.

Conclusions

My approach is based on scientific knowledge of the brain's physical processes. My arguments show that physicalism is incompatible with the very foundations of scientific knowledge because current scientific understanding of molecular processes excludes the possibility that brain processes alone can account for the existence of consciousness.
An indivisible non-physical element must exist as a necessary condition for the existence of consciousness because mental experiences are linked to many distinct physical processes occurring at different points; it is therefore necessary for all these distinct processes to be interpreted collectively by a mind-independent element, and a mind-independent element can only be intrinsically indivisible because it cannot depend on subjectivity. This indivisible element cannot be physical because the laws of physics do not describe any physical entity with the required properties.

Marco Biagini

[Studio.]

I could listen to Annaka talk about anything. Her voice is so soothing

[nancysanchez]

It’s crazy and kind of sad to me that we are still wondering and spending so much time and energy wondering and debating if plants or any other organisms have consciousness 😔

[mysticalMELODY]

I have always felt at home in nature. I talk to the trees and they answer. I hug them and my energy harmonizes with them. I have consciously been on a journey for 7 years now, and have been pulled to the desert and the sun. It is difficult for me to be inside, and when I am, I have to be in a small room, by myself, or with my fur babies. It’s a beautiful space for me. 🙏🏽

[Ben_D.]

YES!! Annaka Harris! Dude. You are pulling down some amazing guests! Teal, Gabi, Hoffman, Annaka Harris, Dr. Ramani, Kelly Brogan... Literally six of my top ten inspirations.
The quality of this channel is amazing.

[michaelwentzel]

Annika's and Andre's voices and body language are so soothing ❤

[fireside]

Ol’ boy was smitten by the beauty and mind in front of him. Can’t sing Annaka’s praises enough. Super underrated mind who radiates: “It’s all going to be ok”. Love hearing her perspective.

[rooruffneck]

Lot's of respect for her, but I need to say to many of you out there who are experiencing profound suffering or even just daily tormets of experience: Annika and many others are mistaking causation for correlation when they talk about the sense of 'self' as being primarily behind our suffering.

Yes, practice meditation. Yes, you might benefit in thousands of ways. But all of us who meditate regularly and know of the wider meditative community can tell you that it isn't so simple as saying the sense of self is driving our suffering.

And the folks who find they can devote time, money and energy to developing a strong meditative practice are already people who might not be having the kinds of suffering that make it nearly impossible to 'work hard' at creating a great meditation practice.

And lots of people who experience the 'bliss' of non-dual awareness are deeply suffering folks who often don't even know it.

Anyway, I love her work, and can't wait to watch the whole thing many times :) But this constant talk about the self as the cause of most suffering is naive and I think is having harmful effects on the whole.