Know Thyself

Swami Sarvapriyananda unpacks the philosophy of Advaita Vedanta and its central claim: you are not the body, not the mind, not even your thoughts — you are pure consciousness itself. Through rigorous reasoning rather than blind belief, he guides us step by step into a direct inquiry of who we truly are.

We explore the limits of faith-based religion, the pitfalls of mystical experience, the distinction between intelligence and consciousness in the age of AI, and the profound implications of non-duality. This conversation is not about adopting a belief system — it is about dismantling false identities until only the undeniable remains.

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00:00 Intro
01:18 What Is Advaita Vedanta
06:44 The Promise Freedom From Suffering
10:16 Liberation While Living
15:09 The Three Spiritual Paths
23:38 The Path of Knowledge Jnana Yoga
28:42 Discovering Our Ignorance
29:49 Descartes and the Indubitable Self
32:36 Ad: LMNT
34:50 Deconstructing the Self
37:18 Are You the Body
42:09 From Body to Breath to Mind
47:30 AI and the Difference Between Intelligence and Consciousness
49:12 Consciousness in Deep Sleep
52:23 If Not Body or Mind What Are You
53:23 Pure Consciousness Explained
55:04 Dualism vs Non Dualism
57:42 The Dream Analogy
59:17 Maya and the Appearance of the Universe
01:00:28 Ocean and Wave Analogy
01:01:13 Ad: BON CHARGE
01:03:35 The Shift From Person to Awareness
01:10:00 Awareness as the Ground of Reality
01:18:00 The Root of Suffering
01:26:00 Ego Attachment and Fear
01:34:00 Living as Pure Awareness
01:42:00 Practical Self Inquiry
01:50:00 Free Will Karma and Responsibility
02:02:00 The Illusion of Individuality
02:14:00 Consciousness and Modern Science
02:26:00 Death Rebirth and Liberation
02:38:00 What Enlightenment Really Means
02:50:00 Final Clarifications on Non Duality
02:55:00 Closing Reflections
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Joscha Bach explores the nature of consciousness, free will, and reality through the lens of computation, cognitive science, and philosophy. Rather than treating the mind as a mystical entity, Joscha frames consciousness as a constructed dream—a model generated by the brain to make sense of the world and coordinate behavior.

We examine why beliefs should remain provisional, how the self functions as a useful fiction, and why suffering emerges when internal learning signals misfire. Joscha explains why free will feels real even if decisions arise before awareness, how meaning exists beyond the individual ego, and why wisdom is not simply knowledge but the ability to orient oneself within larger systems of value.

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00:00 Intro: Josha Bach
04:24 Agnosticism, Evidence, and Logical Alternatives
11:20 Reality as a Mental Simulation
13:00 What Physicalism Actually Claims
16:55 Telepathy, Rituals, and Distributed Minds
19:45 Consciousness Does Not Make Decisions
22:55 Free Will as a Post-Hoc Story
24:00 Consciousness as a Trance State
26:00 Meditation and the Illusion of Self
29:10 Out-of-Body Experiences Explained
31:07 Ad: BON CHARGE
36:30 Why the Brain Fills in Missing Reality
39:50 Dreams, Selves, and Narrative Identity
43:20 Intelligence, Models, and World-Building
47:10 Why Reality Feels Stable
51:00 Meaning, Agency, and Mental Compression
55:10 Why Consciousness Feels Central (But Isn’t)
59:30 The Psychological World vs Physical Reality
1:04:10 Intelligence Without Awareness
1:08:45 The Cost of Believing the Self Is Real
1:13:30 Waking Up From the Narrative
1:18:40 What a Cognitive Science View Really Implies
1:23:30 Final Thoughts: Living Inside the Dream
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Episode Resources:
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In this conversation, David Ghiyam shares the spiritual framework that has guided his life for over 25 years—one rooted in the idea that reality operates according to universal spiritual laws, just as it does physical ones. Drawing from Kabbalistic wisdom and lived experience, David explains how the soul’s purpose is not comfort, but transformation, and how life’s challenges are designed to reconnect us with a deeper source of fulfillment.

We explore the concept of the “light of the Creator,” the idea of spiritual baggage carried across lifetimes, and why pain, relationships, and adversity act as mirrors for inner growth. David reflects on periods of profound darkness in his own life—financial collapse, loss, doubt—and how a shift from victimhood to responsibility opened the door to unexpected clarity, healing, and abundance.

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___________
00:00 Intro - David Ghiyam
04:57 The light of the Creator
08:25 External teaching vs internal understanding
12:36 Kabbalah in the life of David
18:39 What is the source of consciousness?
26:50 The trap of “needing” energy
31:00 Ad: Mudwtr
32:21 Does everything happen for a reason?
39:43 The magnetic quality of being whole
52:51 The role of business in our spiritual paths
59:55 Protecting the seed
1:09:08 How to practice trust in your intuition
1:18:18 One spiritual law people violate daily
1:29:26 Closing thoughts
___________

Episode Resources:
https://www.instagram.com/davidghiyam
https://www.davidghiyam.com/

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In this conversation, Reggie Watts explores creativity not as a skill reserved for a few, but as the fundamental way human beings relate to reality itself. From comedy and music to improvisation, paradox, and play, Reggie reflects on how we’re constantly creating our experience of life—often without realizing it.

We talk about absurdity as a doorway to truth, humor as a form of instantaneous awakening, and why laughter momentarily dissolves identity, ideology, and certainty. Reggie shares how improvisation shapes his philosophy of living, why structure exists to be transcended, and how playfulness restores a sense of freedom in a world that often feels rigid and over-defined.

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André's Book Recs: https://www.knowthyselfpodcast.com/book-list

___________
00:00 Intro - Reggie Watts
04:54 The absurdity of being human
07:21 The insight gained through self-reflection
11:34 The philosophy of improv
19:06 Realizing the artist in you
24:27 Ad: BON CHARGE
25:44 Reggie’s form of death meditation
38:14 Altered states as a reference point
46:09 Not all transpersonal experiences are equal
52:43 Reframing anxiety after altered states
1:03:25 It’s all an illusion
1:12:44 Service to self vs service to others
1:19:28 Building community
1:23:15 Closing thoughts
___________

Episode Resources:
https://www.reggie-watts.com/
https://www.instagram.com/reggiewatts

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https://www.knowthyselfpodcast.com

In this conversation, Jesse Michels joins me to explore a question that’s becoming harder to dismiss: what if the phenomenon we call UFOs points to something real—and we don’t yet know what it is? Rather than arguing for belief or disbelief, this episode is an invitation to curiosity, careful inquiry, and intellectual honesty about the limits of our current understanding.

We examine historical UFO encounters near nuclear sites, government secrecy, and the growing body of anomalies that don’t sit comfortably within a purely materialist worldview. This is a conversation about staying grounded while remaining open. About asking better questions. And about whether phenomena like UFOs, non-human intelligence, or something we haven’t yet named might be nudging us to expand how we think about reality, consciousness, and our place in the universe.

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André's Book Recs: https://www.knowthyselfpodcast.com/book-list

___________
00:00 Intro
06:36 Questioning the Nature of Reality
09:18 A Timeline of Non-Human Intelligence Evidence
23:37 Why Nuclear Sites Attract Attention
31:55 Extraordinary Claims, Extraordinary Evidence
40:29 Ad: Momentous
41:51 Letting Go of Human-Centric Thinking
47:49 Studying Claims Without Dismissing People
58:58 Non-Human Biologics and Physical Evidence
1:06:10 Ad: Boncharge
1:07:25 What May Have Been Quietly Explored
1:18:55 The Hidden Branch of Physics
1:26:38 Reframing Aliens Through Consciousness
1:33:33 Grays, Nordics, and Reptilians Explained
1:40:10 Why We Don’t See Reality Directly
1:53:58 Glimpses Outside Linear Time
1:58:44 Why Aliens Look Strangely Human
2:07:32 Shared Phenomena in Altered States
2:15:32 Jesse’s Personal UFO Experiences
2:23:35 The Monolith as a Metaphor
2:29:07 The Problem With Visual Proof
2:35:24 What Is Actually Happening?
2:46:47 Voices Worth Listening To
2:51:22 What Would You Ask an Alien?
2:53:19 Closing Thoughts
___________

Episode Resources:
https://www.youtube.com/Jessemichels
https://www.instagram.com/jessemichelsofficial/

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https://www.instagram.com/knowthyself/
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https://www.knowthyselfpodcast.com