Ep102: Cults, Science, & The Dalai Lama - Dr Jay Sanguinetti

In this interview I am joined by Dr Jay Sanguinetti, Research Professor at the University of Arizona, Assistant Director at the Center for Consciousness Studies, and co-director of the SEMA Lab with Shinzen Young. In this episode, Jay recalls his upbringing in Mississippi, falling in love with science, and how his work synthesising MDMA as a promising undergraduate brought him o an ethical crisis . Jay recounts a life changing encounter with the Dalai Lama that radically altered his research path and inspired him to personally take up the practice of meditation. Jay reveals how a profound meditation epiphany led to an existential crisis, and the role that psilocybin had in reintegrating his body and mind. Jay also discusses Olympic level meditators, the role of identity in self-transformation, and what it’s like to collaborate with noted meditation teacher Shinzen Young. … Video version: https://www.guruviking.com/ep102-dr-jay-sanguinetti-cults-science-the-dalai-lama/ Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’. … Topics Include: 00:00 - Intro 00:59 - Research resources and recent media interest 03:12 - Jay’s upbringing in Mississippi and falling in love with science 06:00 - Manufacturing MDMA and an facing an ethical crisis 10:04 - How Jay’s upbringing affected his life and career 13:11 - A profound encounter with the Dalai Lama 18:58 - Discussing the Dalai Lama’s spiritual power 25:40 - Jay’s life-changing spiritual epiphany and ensuing existential crisis 32:22 - Reintegrating the psyche with psychedelics 36:26 - Lasting consequences of Jay’s epiphany 42:14 - Olympic level meditators and becoming the Dalai Lama 51:04 - The malware of religion and science 58:28 - The bias lensing mechanism 01:01:21 - Identity and spiritual bypass 01:13:25 - Jay imagines the future of contemplative neuroscience 01:15:01 - Cults, conversion, and meditation progress 01:21:38 - Inner resources and reducing cognitive load 01:27:15 - Jay on Shinzen Young … Previous episodes with Dr Sanguinetti: - https://www.guruviking.com/ep86-bliss-enlightenment-fristonian-physics-feat-chelsey-fasano-shinzen-young-dr-jay-sanguinetti/ - https://www.guruviking.com/ep81-shinzen-young-chelsey-fasano-3-orgasm-epilepsy-mystical-experience/ … To find our more about Dr Sanguinetti, visit: - https://www.jaysanguinetti.com/ Jay’s TEDx Talk - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGEjmwaIPZk Jay at USC - https://youtu.be/ljl7tapTCh4 Jay and Shinzen in the Guardian - https://youtu.be/spukj-4sYS0 … For more interviews, videos, and more visit: - www.guruviking.com Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James