Month: March 2011

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131. Dr. Rick Strassman On Whether Psychedelic Drugs Prove We Are More Than Our Brain

Alex Tsakiris
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38
Consciousness Science
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Noted DMT researcher Dr. Richard Strassman describes how DMT allows consciousness to enter an out-of-body, freestanding, independent realm of existence. Join Skeptiko host Alex Tsakiris for an interview with Dr. Rick Strassman, author of, DMT - The Spirit Molecule.  As a researcher at the University of New Mexico Dr. Strassman received approval to inject volunteers with a psychedelic drug called DMT and  evaluate the effects. According to Strassman, "the most interesting results were that high doses of DMT seemed to allow the consciousness of our volunteers to enter an out-of-body, freestanding, independent realm of existence, inhabited by beings of light who oftentimes were expecting the volunteers and with whom the volunteers interacted." During the interview Mr. Tsakiris and Dr. Strassman discuss whether DMT-based psychedelic experiences provide evidence that our consciousness exists outside of the brain: Alex Tsakiris: Virtually all of the near-death experience researchers, come to the conclusion sooner or later that consciousness must exist outside of the brain. How do we process that? Dr. Richard Strassman: Well, it isn't a new idea. Obviously spiritual traditions have believed it and taught it and have practiced it. It is a new idea within the Western scientific model, so one of the analogies that I make in the DMT book is the brain is a receiver as opposed to a generator of a particular channel of consciousness, Channel Normal, as it were. Under extreme situations then the channel switches and as a result of being given DMT is the brain is now able to perceive channels of information that it couldn't before. If you change your perspective on the relationship between the brain and consciousness then things start to become a bit clearer, but at the same time have been more mind-boggling, too. Dr. Richard Strassman's website Play it: Download MP3 (43:00 min.) Read it: Welcome to Skeptiko, where we explore controversial science with leading researchers, thinkers, and their critics. I'm your host, Alex Tsakiris. Today we welcome Dr. Rick Strassman, author of DMT - The Spirit Molecule, a fascinating book about his research with a psychedelic drug that causes some amazing out-of-body spiritual experiences. Here's my interview with Rick:

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130. Gary Renard And Robert Perry On Channeling Ascended Masters

Alex Tsakiris
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42
Spirituality
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Two teachers of A Course in Miracles have differing views on the validity of channeled wisdom. Join Skeptiko host Alex Tsakiris for an interview with Gary Renard, author of, The Disappearance of the Universe, and Robert Perry, author of Signs: A New Approach to Coincidence, Synchronicity, Guidance, Life Purpose, and God's Plan.  During the interview Mr. Tsakiris and Gary Renard discuss verification of his work: Alex Tsakiris: One of the points in your book where I really had to stop and go -- wait a minute -- is when you say that you had these two beings, "ascended masters" show up in your living room. Amazing, amazing. But not unique in that other people have claimed similar kinds of things. So I'm not willing to dismiss that out-of-hand, but Gary, they showed up 17 times... you don't have a photograph?  You don't have videotape? You don't have any kind of record of this? Gary Renard: Well actually, they're still showing up today. We're going to do a fourth book together. They do show up and they said that for me to try to prove that they existed would be entirely missing the point. Yes, I could take pictures of them but what would prove, Alex, that those weren't two actors in the pictures? If I recorded them, what would prove that those weren't two actors speaking on the tape? Gary Renard's website Robert Perry's website Play it: Download MP3 (41:00 min.) Read it: Welcome to Skeptiko, where we explore controversial science with leading researchers, thinkers, and their critics. I'm your host, Alex Tsakiris. On this episode, I'm going to tell you why I'm a skeptic.

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129. Karen Stollznow On Psychic Science and Being a Skeptic

Alex Tsakiris
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33
Skepticism
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Co-host of Point of Inquiry, discusses how Skeptics approach psychic science. Join Skeptiko host Alex Tsakiris for an interview with skeptical writer and blogger Dr. Karen Stollznow. During the interview Mr. Tsakiris and Dr. Stollznow discuss to role of science in skeptical investigations: Alex Tsakiris: I do feel you, especially as an intellectual... and I know you're a linguist and not trained as a parapsychologist... but you have somewhat of an obligation to build off of the original research or the best research that we have in the field. So, Gary Schwartz does medium research. Then, Julie Beischel picks up the gauntlet and is going forward in publishing work with mediums. So you can like that or you can not like it, but it really to me seems to get to the core issue which is does this kind of anomalous cognition between a "medium" and a deceased person really exist?  So, why aren't you familiar with the research? Dr. Karen Stollznow: Well, once again, I think I've worked in so many different areas with so many different themes and topics within the paranormal and pseudo-science and often I'm writing an article that might be 1,000 words. I'm limited; I've got a word limit that I can't go over so I need to condense anything that I write and if I'm going to a psychic fair and writing about my experiences there, I don't need to necessarily reference the research of these people. If I was writing about the research of these people then that would be a different matter, obviously. I'd need to keep my finger on the pulse of everything that is being done in that industry. But if I'm looking at individuals out there on the street who are practicing this and given again, it's just one small area of what I study and research, then I'm not necessarily obliged to know what these people are doing within that context. Dr. Karen Stollznow's website Play it: Download MP3 (34:00 min.) Read it: Welcome to Skeptiko, where we explore controversial science with leading researchers, thinkers, and their critics. I'm your host, Alex Tsakiris. As you know, one of the things we like to do on Skeptiko is engage the skeptical community. If you go back through the past shows you'll see that we've had on many, many of the leading skeptical figures, skeptical writers, publishers of skeptical magazines, hosts of skeptical shows, and certainly people who have viewpoints that are different from the guests that we normally have on-the proponents, the researchers, the thinkers about psi and parapsychology.

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