Mind Meld 77 | The Chemical Buddha with Dr. Bruce Damer

Dr. Bruce Damer is an interdisciplinary scientist, designer, and author. He has collaborated on projects ranging from developing a new model for the origin of life on Earth to designing a spacecraft with the ultimate goal of providing a viable path for expansion of human civilization beyond the Earth.

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Whenever I get a case of existential indegestion, I always turn to one fact for relief. A potion of endless awe and curiosity. That medicine, my friends, is that we’re here. Despite incredible odds, we’ve found a way to climb the slippery pole of sentience, become self-aware and obsessed enough with overcoming barriers that we continue to evolve. It’s incredible. That restlessness, that desire to transcend, to explore is built into us. If you take that impulse to it’s logical conclusion, no matter how long it takes, we’re going to reach something fantastic. Something that, from our current vantage point, looks a lot like utopia.

I’m not naive enough to believe things will ever be perfect, but as we bloom, I believe we’ll improve. I believe we’ll continue to mitigate suffering and get better, generally, at living and dying on our own terms.

Musings in this mind meld –

• Bruce’s origin of life theory hitting the cover of Scientific American
• Life on Mars and in outer space plus speculation on extraterrestrial life
• Is there a middle point between materialism and consciousness being a fundamental force?
• Is there a division between material life and consciousness?
• How does evolution and life continually overcome incredible odds?
• The power of thought experiments and visionary states and how Bruce gets inspiration
• What are we tapping into when we receive inspiration?
• Brainwaves, psychedelics and mindfulness