Ep287: Dawn of Mind - James Cooke PhD
Dr James Cooke is an Oxford-trained neuroscientist, spiritual teacher, and author of “Dawn of Mind: How Matter Became Conscious and Alive”.
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James recounts how, at aged 13, an existential crisis driven by fear of hell saw him emerge into a profound mystical opening. James shares the radical changes he experienced and traces his subsequent years spent exploring and integrating this spiritual breakthrough.
James recalls his improbable journey to winning a place at Oxford University, discusses the remarkable overlaps he found there between cutting-edge neuroscience and his own awakening, and reveals the social structures of elite education in the UK.
James details the arduous and often overlooked post-awakening work of surrendering egoic structures and releasing attachments, explains why enlightenment is both a gain and a loss, and reflects on the challenges of teaching nonduality as a natural mystic.
00:00 - Intro
01:07 - Why did James write Dawn of Mind?
03:43 - Making consciousness science accessible
04:41 - Catholic upbringing as an overly conscientious child
05:49 - Disturbed by hell
06:38 - Existential rumination and a crisis of faith
08:27 - Spiritual awakening at age 13
09:54 - Aftermath of James’ awakening
12:59 - Life affirming vs death affirming phases of awakening
15:16 - Letting go of attachments
17:24 - What happened to James’ excessive conscientiousness?
19:41 - Non-attached compassion
20:00 - Two mistakes about the no-self
21:15 - Freedom from extremes and how to let go of attachments
23:39 - James’ experience of the dissolving self
24:44 - Is therapy really necessary?
26:44 - Meditation as a gradual path
27:15 - Meditation vs therapy
28:37 - Practice in life vs joining a monastery
30:11 - Can a natural mystic really teach others?
32:37 - Alienation through spiritual language
33:21 - Enlightenment as loss
34:27 - 3 types of spiritual teacher
36:30 - James’ profile as a teacher
37:47 - Self-aggrandising nondual teachers
38:38 - James’ spiritual influences
40:40 - Adyashanti and the end of suffering
42:08 - Using the Buddhist progress of insight model
43:59 - Volatile teenage years post awakening
44:57 - Extreme somatic tension and active inference
36:25 - Extremely difficult integration phase
47:39 - James’ experience at Oxford University and dealing with pressure
50:26 - How James got into Oxford University against all odds
54:07 - Social context of elite education in the UK
56:52 - The Oxford wound
58:11 - The mystic’s mistake and post-awakening
01:00:15 - James’ research path at Oxford University
01:01:39 - Opening a path for others + psychedelic self experimentation
01:04:13 - James’ last psychedelic trip
01:05:12 - How to work with beliefs
01:07:29 - Unravelling resistance and faking it
01:10:40 - Is there an end to post-awakening work?
01:13:54 - James’ changing experience of intimate relationships
01:17:25 - Charlatans and why awakening can be off-putting for friends
01:19:30 - Alienating terminology about awakening
01:19:48 - Feeling isolated after awakening
01:20:33 - Mimicking awakening and the nondual teaching circuit
01:22:05 - Why did James wait so long to go public with his awakening?
01:25:57 - Reaction of James’ family
01:26:51 - Moral perfection and self empowerment
01:30:37 - Why James doesn’t like the word “enlightenment”
01:31:10 - The problem with “awakening”
01:32:31 - Language phases and changing the lingo
01:33:20 - The Borg and analogies for awakening
01:34:42 - Siddhi, intuition, and supernatural powers
01:36:48 - Insecure rockstars and kundalini
01:38:39 - The language game of science
01:39:11 - Hearing voices and the dramatising brain
01:40:58 - The real world as a shared hallucination
01:42:45 - Does James suffer?
01:44:56 - Gross vs subtle suffering
01:45:52 - An experience of bright physical pain
01:47:08 - Meditative austerities vs practice in life
01:50:46 - Trainings in equanimity
01:51:49 - Ideas in Dawn of Mind
01:53:20 - An instinct for empowerment
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Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James