SOTT Focus:

MindMatters: The Varieties of Inner Experience with Russ Hurlburt

Harrison Koehli, Adam Daniels, LP Koch
Sott.net
Thu, 08 Aug 2024 00:00 UTC

Inner speaking, inner seeing, feelings, sensory awareness, unsymbolized thinking. Do we all have the same inner experiences? And how aware are we of what we actually experience from moment to moment?

In this episode of Mind Matters, we interview Dr. Russell T. Hurlburt, a pioneering psychologist from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Dr. Hurlburt discusses his groundbreaking work investigating "pristine inner experience" - the unfiltered, moment-to-moment contents of our consciousness. He introduces his innovative method, Descriptive Experience Sampling, which aims to capture and analyze inner experiences with the aid of specialized beeper and an in-depth interview process.

This episode provides a unique perspective on the study of human consciousness and the complexities of inner experience. Dr. Hurlburt's insights shed light on the importance of understanding our internal mental processes and how they relate to our self-representations. Whether you're a psychology enthusiast, a student of cognitive science, or simply curious about the workings of the human mind, this interview provides valuable insights into cutting-edge research on consciousness and experience.

Running Time: 01:43:18

Download: MP3 — 142 MB

Adam Daniels

Adam joined the editorial team in 2014 and is a co-host of MindMatters. His particular interests include philosophy, history, exercise science, and technology. He particularly dislikes Critical Race Theory and people who're so afraid of death that they prevent others from living. He also knows kung fu.

Harrison Koehli

Harrison Koehli co-hosts SOTT Radio Network's MindMatters, and is an editor for Red Pill Press. He has been interviewed on several North American radio shows about his writings on the study of ponerology. In addition to music and books, Harrison enjoys tobacco and bacon (often at the same time) and dislikes cell phones, vegetables, and fascists (commies too).

Reader Comments

VooDoo6 · 2024-08-08T20:46:45Z

He who looks outside Dreams

He who looks inside Awakes

toipup1 ·

VooDoo6

· 2024-08-08T22:09:41Z

jhawk620 · 2024-08-08T23:14:54Z

...good work from Russ, I think he would like this work also: www.goddirect.org...

toipup1 · 2024-08-09T04:34:08Z

jhawk620 nice link thank you

Dwoods44 · 2024-08-09T05:39:33Z

Early on in the interview. Harrison wants to talk philosophically and Russ is a scientist with a focus with his precise terminology. Russ is not a generalist. However, he is studying consciousness itself.

Self-awareness is not unconscious. The intellectual brain or ego ALWAYS explains WHY you did something. Russ is experimentally proving this is not WHY you did something. HIs bulemia work is great.

Dwoods44 · 2024-08-09T06:36:44Z

Dwoods44 The beep is like Gurdjieff's STOP exercise, except that Gurdjieff was the one selecting the moment, not a device. It immediately brings awareness to mind/thought, body, sensation, emotion, movement.

Dwoods44 · 2024-08-09T07:14:16Z

Dwoods44 Other questions:

1. As people become more aware in the Beep moment, does there overall awareness also change?

2. Can people be separated based on their observation between those who were aware of body or sensation or emotion or thought? In other words there are people with a predominance of one area of consciousness?

3. Do some or all have resistance to being aware in the moment?

4. Is there an "ego" that presents the image it wants seen to the investigator? Would this be the basis for the lying talked about?

KRNABRNY · 2024-08-11T16:28:32Z

Dwoods44 You asked some serious questions.

From my experience:

1. Consciousness is "lent" to us in a sense. You can't "expand" it, you can COMMUNICATE with it BETTER.

2. Yes, consciousness is like water. In some people it gathers in one place, and in others in another.

3. This is the most interesting question. The only organ that resists consciousness... is the brain... that's strange. I often have the impression that it is a consciously placed organ in the human body, precisely in such a configuration to "resist".

4. Yes. And this is called "mirrors" in psychology. "We see what we want to see"... as I wrote earlier, the only way to see reality is to at least temporarily turn off the stream of thoughts.

Otherwise, the brain automatically imposes an interpretation of what you see. ... this is a bird, this is a car, this is a plant, this is good, this is bad, etc. etc.

Dwoods44 · 2024-08-12T05:42:34Z

KRNABRNY We would probably need to have a deeper discussion on the meaning of consciousness. In these questions I am mostly using the idea of consciousness as self-awareness. The Beep experiment increases self-awareness and does that self-awareness expand/encompass other areas. For example, a person becomes aware of a trigger to anger.

By areas of consciousness, I was referring particularly to Gurdjieff's presentation of human beings as having 4 brains and having one of them dominant: instinctive, moving, emotion, and intellectual. Therefore, the beep experiment would reveal perhaps that the instinctive centered person would become more aware of their body, breathing, physical sensations.

By "ego", this is the idea that each person has a false identity that is the image they present to the world. They have to protect that "image" resulting in lying to themselves and others about who they are.

KRNABRNY · 2024-08-12T05:49:41Z

Dwoods44 Yes, this is already a conversation with two armchairs, and. coffee and cigarettes, and there is no point in continuing it on the forum.

I haven't seen the whole film, it's too hard for me to understand the words.

However, the experiment itself is not work on consciousness or self-awareness.

It is a very gentle version of electroshocks. Its purpose is to force one to be "here and now", to put it colloquially.

Or more precisely, it is "summoning" what you call self-awareness.

Thanks to this, a person stops living on "autopilot". They do not perform their actions but "reflexively".... REFLECTION APPEARS.

But for me, on the other hand, human consciousness is that place that psychology calls "unconsciousness" or that which already lies beyond the sphere of Jung's "Shadow".

Thank you.

Dwoods44 · 2024-08-12T06:16:32Z

KRNABRNY Right, over coffee. Be "here and now" in my thinking is self-awareness, summoning. As you note, people are generally on "autopilot", meaning they are unaware of why they do things, say things, eat things, think things.

Consciousness is the source of everything, and is separate from the body and brain. I haven't studied Jung to my detriment; I picked Freud to my detriment.

KRNABRNY · 2024-08-12T06:31:56Z

Dwoods44 Yes, before the recall of consciousness, people in their actions resemble robots. They operate according to some program and carry it out. Full automatism of life until death.

In DEIR, recall was one of the initial exercises, but there they invented a method without mechanical aids.

I recommend reading at least one of Jung's books. Jung was, contrary to appearances, a mystic, he believed in the existence of consciousness, the soul. On the other hand, Freud's beliefs were only materialistic, his suggestion that everything is based on the power of sexuality is at some point unacceptable, although in his own way he was of course right about it.

KRNABRNY · 2024-08-12T06:40:15Z

KRNABRNY If I remember correctly, Gurdjieff also had to go through this. He mentioned that most often people observe other people and talk to them and remember them... but they do not remember THEMSELVES at that moment!

They do not remember what they were like then, how they behaved. He recommended avoiding that state. But it is exactly the same topic.

Dwoods44 · 2024-08-12T06:49:16Z

KRNABRNY Regarding Gurdjieff. My understanding is all true spiritual work has the same result if practiced correctly. The object is to remember your Self in the Be Here Now. That is why I would be interested in a human translation of the Polish author. I guess I could ask chatGPT?

KRNABRNY · 2024-08-12T06:54:44Z

Dwoods44 Yes, in my opinion every path chosen in this direction leads to the same place, and there are almost as many paths as there are people :-)

If someone feels the wind at their back, they will always get there.

And as for the bot's questions, do as you see fit, it's an interesting experiment. What is the bot's opinion on spiritual topics?

Although I think I know the answer, I will quote a lot of different opinions, point to many famous people as examples..... what more can you expect from an encyclopedia? ;-)

KRNABRNY · 2024-08-12T07:01:33Z

KRNABRNY I will add that translating from Russian or Polish to English is almost impossible.

Unfortunately, English is a simple language that contains very few adjectives. You have to "simplify" the translation a lot, because there are no words in English that express certain subtle nuances that you can see very well in Russian or Polish.

So don't count on "miracles", even if it is translated well.

The content will be conveyed, the spirit and intention of the words... not necessarily.

Dwoods44 · 2024-08-12T07:06:51Z

KRNABRNY Yes the bot is the perfect encyclopedia, but not a source of enlightenment. It is a "programming" tool to create people programming.

However, it can provide insight into the programming of the machine, which is the same as the approach to programming people. The "climate emergency" and the plandemic are examples that it will promote.

KRNABRNY · 2024-08-12T07:11:02Z

... and I think so.

It will be used to propagate everything necessary.

Of course, people must "buy" it first.

And once they "buy" it, it can be used for any purpose. because people will actually be programmed. "AI is objective. AI is the only source of reliable knowledge. Only AI can be an impartial judge. Only AI can make independent decisions. Only AI is PURE THOUGHT..... only AI can be a substitute for god." ..... and that would be it.

KRNABRNY · 2024-08-12T07:15:39Z

KRNABRNY Asimov once wrote a science fiction story.

Scientists have invented a machine that gives answers to all questions. Many tests were done and many questions were asked, and every time the answers were correct.

One day, someone asked the machine: "Is there a God?".

The machine began to crackle and whir. It heated up and black smoke began to flow out of it, until finally something crackled and a piece of paper flew out with the answer on it:

"Now, yes."

KRNABRNY · 2024-08-12T16:57:12Z

I will add one more thing, thanks to my "travels", I know that those who claim to be Casjopeans are not telling the all truth!

I know what they mean, I know their intentions... you should know them too.

Dwoods44 · 2024-08-13T09:22:14Z

KRNABRNY Right, regarding trusting AI. I don't.

However, as a programmer of computers I am interested in what they loaded into it and in the algorithms they set up to "rate" data as "true" or "false". For instance, take a "conspiracy theory" and question AI about what is true and false, and whether AI could be wrong about its judgment?

I am also interested in what the AI is gathering from questions and questioners. It keeps track of the questioner, so is it building a profile? Regarding the question, does it store the answer to be used over and over again?

Dwoods44 · 2024-08-13T09:36:38Z

KRNABRNY Regarding channeling. When I was in my teens I read some of the Seth material. It seemed interesting but not profound.

However, The Ra Material, which you can search on lawofone.info has information that I had not encountered, like Service to Self and Service to Others. It also has the idea of densities where I was always thinking frequencies.

Since I studied the Fourth Way, I have to address how Gurdjieff could have successfully attained a higher level of consciousness. The Ra material explained that an STS individual could attain it, but it was far less likely than STO. Gurdjieff was no vanilla saint.

Regarding the Cs, I am not impressed with the knowledge shared that I have seen, however I have not followed it for years as have some. If it serves Laura and others it is fine; whatever works.

KRNABRNY · 2024-08-13T09:49:02Z

Dwoods44 Oh, if you are a programmer, I will ask you an interesting question. Notice that although programming is always O 1 and you can also assign descriptions such as true or false to these numbers.

However, programming does not distinguish between these concepts, it treats everything as INFORMATION.

So can we expect such a distinction?

It blurs and becomes meaningless.

"The cat is alive" - information.

"The cat is dead" - information.

KRNABRNY · 2024-08-13T09:51:28Z

Dwoods44 Gurdjieff could achieve what he did only because he was self-taught, cut off from any external knowledge in childhood.

He made an independent connection with the "higher self". He therefore drew information, not second-hand (i.e. books), but directly.

Dwoods44 · 2024-08-13T10:00:11Z

KRNABRNY Right. That is programming, zeros and ones.

The point you are raising is where do values fit in. Computers have no emotional sense of being. The AI can reproduce the notes on a sheet of music by Bach, but when you listen to it, it is devoid of depth, connection, meaning.

KRNABRNY · 2024-08-13T10:10:35Z

Dwoods44 So if the concepts in programming (true, false) are purely conditional, dependent only and exclusively on the fulfillment of some condition, which is also in itself conventional (programmed)... what is the point of such an activity as investigating how a program works??

I understand that you are a professional in your field and you can certainly appreciate "good work" in your profession.

But there are many people who have no idea about it... it is very easy to BELIEVE... that this is INTELLIGENCE.

KRNABRNY · 2024-08-13T10:15:07Z

KRNABRNY ..although, old physicists claimed that every system, after reaching some complexity... becomes conscious.

Which I do not rule out, because from my experience our brains are "not computers with disk memory"... they are rather MODEMS.

Our memory is not in our brains, although we have such an impression. We only connect to it... using a metaphor from your professional field... everything is in the cloud.

Therefore, any system of sufficient complexity could connect to such a cloud, then it would cease to be an automaton.

Dwoods44 · 2024-08-14T04:51:56Z

KRNABRNY As I have noted, my focus is how manipulation is being done. AI is one of the methods. It depends on sheeple believing the hype that AI is objective and provides "truth" or "unbiased actions".

It will be sold as "convenience", "better than human", "faster". In other words you can stop thinking and let the machine handle it .

When Joe asked chatGPT to give a summary of evil in Othello, the result is accurate. ChatGPT has all of the critical texts available to it, and constructs a clear exposition. Think how that can be used by college students for an initial draft of a paper on Shakespeare. An automated form of plagiarism.

Why is it important to understand what AI can do and the direction it is moving? Even now there are authors using chatGPT to write news articles; how would we know? The key is knowing how the manipulation works without it. The programmers cannot step out of their own mindset.

KRNABRNY · 2024-08-14T05:25:13Z

..of course, i understand you.

Shangri · 2024-08-10T20:31:40Z

R.H - with his 50 years of experience, but the questions (all too often) were as keen as asking an Alchemist as to where he purchased his clay pots....but, hey-ho, all good, as getting to know the inmost would certainly go a long way to correcting eons of deranged dogma that is fed... and consumed, without question.

Thanks.

-

subject 1 - self.

today...I found myself in the unfortunate position of having to cross the threshold of a superstwhore, when after being channeled into aisles of towering artificiality and shrink wrapping my way through the excess payloads...came a beep, of course, I knew what I would find if I raised what was dozing , but it was too late, I saw myself vomiting over the boxed cereals and suffered the experience of imagining that everything around me was about to be consumed by the purgative abyss of a giant dumpster, and at that juncture, I took my leave, with the knowledge that the popular price comes with hidden costs, and that no matter what the cut, aren't worth it.

VooDoo6 · 2024-08-10T21:13:10Z

Dr. Hurlburt discusses his groundbreaking work investigating "pristine inner experience" - the unfiltered, moment-to-moment contents of our consciousness.“

Does that pristine inner experience include Shamanic rituals using

Tianonoctal shrooms - Haoma- Soma - Ayahuasca - Sclopamine et alia ?

Asking for a friend. 🦉

VooDoo6 · 2024-08-14T13:04:35Z

Perception vs Reality

Maybe each human being lives in a unique world, a private world different from those inhabited and experienced by all other humans...

If reality differs from person to person, can we speak of reality singular, or shouldn't we really be talking about plural realities ?

And if there are plural realities, are some more true (more real) than others ? — Philip k. Dick

WE LIVE IN A SOCIETY IN WHICH SPURIOUS REALITIES ARE MANUFACTURED BY THE MEDIA, GOVERNMENTS, BY BIG CORPORATIONS, BY RELIGIOUS GROUPS.

ASK IN MY WRITING, WHAT IS REAL ?

BECAUSE UNCEASINGLY WE ARE BOMBARDED WITH PSEUDO REALITIES MANUFACTURED BY VERY SOPHISTICATED PEOPLE USING VERY SOPHISTICATED ELECTRONIC MECHANISMS (e.g. AI)

IF REALITY DIFFERS FROM PERSON TO PERSON CAN WE SPEAK OF ROR SHOULDN’T WE REALLY BE TALKING ABOUT PLURAL REALITIES ?

The basic tool for the manipulation of reality is the manipulation of words If you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use the words.

CRAZY PEOPLE DO NOT APPLY THE PRINCIPLE SCIENTIEIC PARSIMONY.

THEY SHOOT FOR BAROQUE

There will come a time when it isn't 'They're spying on me through my phone' anymore. Eventually, it will be 'My phone is spying on me !

All above quotes are by PHILIP K. DICK

Shangri · 2024-08-14T21:40:24Z

VooDoo6 -

Hi VooDoo.

I think that once a "split" - when the corporeal world is revealed as artificial - then certainly, the primary concern, and root of all vexation, is it's incompleteness, as then, is witnessed as the experience of ( as you suggested ) a pining assemblage that exists within the habitual compass of cyclical confinement.

-

[Link]
.

VooDoo6 · 2024-08-14T22:34:42Z

Shangri,

VooDoo6 -

Hi VooDoo.

I think that once a "split" - when the corporeal world is revealed as artificial - then certainly, the primary concern, and root of all vexation, is it's incompleteness, as then, is witnessed as the experience of ( as you suggested ) a pining assemblage that exists within the habitual compass of cyclical confinement.

-

[Link]
.

While you & I can see it clearly not sure how many also can or are actually willing to make the effort to actually split it & see the demiurge matrix structure for what it is past the constructs of their own imprisonment within their minds.

There is already a huge chasm/schism on several fronts in social cultural societal adhesion & how ridiculously surreal it’s magi-cally crafted by MSM & AI has synthesized alternative Plato’s Cave’s for some.

With the CGI infused added populated crowds to Kumswalla’s campaign events one can’t help but seriously question the whole narrative as dystopic & dysfunctional.

The showman Drumpf is at another end of the spectrum with the WWE glamor & glitch of a Cambridge Analytica past footprint.

I can’t speak for other’s as to their perceptions of Plato’s Cave Corporeal reality constructs of material & matter they perceive. But they sure don’t appear willing to give any of them up either.

I know that I can go outside Plato’s Cave as I did today & experience a sense of temporal (time & space) reality within nature. But I do that with intentional & deliberate rebellious abandonment.

With so many captured by simulacrum’s bamboozled I wish I had a better response & answer.

Cheers

Shangri · 2024-08-14T23:54:36Z

VooDoo6 am pleased you responded - VooDoo, and thanks, all good, you have the answer, one that you are at one with, making for an incorruptible rectitude that envelops the whole of your being, which means...it not easy when there are those who find joy in what we would consider the makings of misery, and so, it only natural to strive for balance, examine experience, and question the horror (Kurtz)....because for the likes of us ( we are many), there can be no other path, and I for one, Love it !

thanks again.

.

-

[Link]

“the Ukrainian operation has turned into the bloody waste it was destined to be” Duh ….🤡💩🎪

VooDoo6

On a related note, even worst neocon Nazi propagandists in Poland like Radoslaw Sikorski shy away from a direct conflict with Russia. He revealed...

codis

Goodness me, more death and disease from the pharmaceutical industry and doctors sitting on their hands, money and greed over lies and deceitful...

Highlander

Send in the clowns [Link]

parzival

Living at only about 450m (ca. 1300ft), there is no snow yet. If it would stop raining and clearing up a bit, I could perhaps see snowy mountain...

codis

SOTT Focus:

MindMatters: The Varieties of Inner Experience with Russ Hurlburt

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