In this first of a series of videos, four simple questions are asked to Prof Karl John Friston, Science Director of the Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging at University College London and Lisa Cairns, a non-duality teacher.

The four questions:

1. Who are you?
2. What is this?
3. Why is this?
4. What is it like to be you?

Their conversation ranges across awakening experiences, dyslexia, autism, hallucinogens, free energy principle, big and little consciousness, the mathematics of the unknowable, sense making, belief updating, alternative hypothesis, expansion of knowledge, scale free principles, cancer delusion, buddhist romantic notions, the beauty of symmetry, the hard problem and the meta-problem of mind, the nature of experiencing, Artificial Intelligence, the ratio club, consciousness as an illusion.

Unfortunately, the owner does not allow the embedding of his videos, so here’s the link:

Four Simple Questions.

The main concern of Zen Buddhism (which is my own meditation practice of choice) is to wake up. That is to fully experience the present moment as it naturally unfolds, without adding anything extra.
Without adding anything extra.

That is all Zen is. A disciplined practice to facilitate waking up.
Some people would label this state one of non-duality and although many other spiritual practices also elicit this state, often people spontaneously and unexpectedly experience it.

As one Zen teacher (sorta) put it: waking up is an accident.
All Zen can do is make you more accident prone.

• Non duality.
• On having no head.