Andres Gomez-Emilsson: The Science of Engineered Conscious States

Andrés Gómez Emilsson, director of the Qualia Research Institute, examines consciousness from philosophical and scientific perspectives, describing his journey founding QRI to reduce suffering and enhance experience. He discusses psychedelics, the self as a series of experiences, and how sensory resonance (“impedance matching”) shapes awareness.0:00 The Most Important Problem1:49 The Hard Problem and Ontologies5:15 Journey into Consciousness9:06 The Qualia Research Institute10:49 Shattering Realities17:12 Happiness vs. Meaning19:15 Defining Happiness25:28 Psychological Egoism33:45 Understanding Consciousness38:01 The Qualia Research Institute's Goals49:21 Exploring Impedance Matching58:25 The Dance of Dissonance1:03 22 The Nature of Suffering1:10 32 The Concept of Oneness1:17 02 Zero Ontology Explained1:27 20 The Nature of Reality1:28 57 The Self and Sense of Self1:30 53 Stages of Consciousness1:37 35 Transformations in Consciousness1:46 20 The Role of Psychedelics2:02 01 Exploring 5-MeO-DMT2:21 03 Psychedelics and Buddhist Philosophy2:45 32 Insights on Jhana States2:51 31 Conclusion and ReflectionsSPONSORS:- I personally subscribe to The Economist. TOE listeners get 35% off the annual subscription. No other podcast has this! https://economist.com/TOERESOURCES:- Qualia Research Institute (website): https://qri.org/- Andres’s Qualia profile: https://qri.org/people/andr%C3%A9s-g%C3%B3mez-emilsson- David Chalmers’s 2024 presentation at Mindfest: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5r9V1ryksnw- Bernardo Kastrup on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAB21FAXCDE- The Hedonistic Imperative (book): https://amzn.to/3Di7Xx5- Why Does Anything Exist? (book): https://www.amazon.com/Why-Does-Anything-Exist-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B0DKBHMC3C- Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha (book): https://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Core-Teachings-Buddha-Unusually/dp/1911597108- Andres on The DemystifySci Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjWDURKNe2Q- ‘Replications’ group on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/replications/- Stuart Hameroff’s Mindfest presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_bQwdJir1o- The Doors of Perception (book): https://amzn.to/4ijduTb- From Neural Activity to Field Topology (article): https://qualiacomputing.com/2025/02/09/from-neural-activity-to-field-topology-how-coupling-kernels-shape-consciousness/- Seeing That Frees (book): https://amzn.to/43fm15m- Practicing the Jhanas (meditation series): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLO6hhaAzLmiqUzBYuLLJQ8FexOTRxz8xF- The Dalai Lama, Psychedelics & Cher (article): https://tricycle.org/article/dalai-lama-psychedelics-cher/- Advice to Sigālaka (article): https://suttacentral.net/dn31/en/sujato?lang=en&layout=plain&reference=none&notes=asterisk&highlight=false&script=latin- Join My New Substack (Personal Writings): https://curtjaimungal.substack.com- Listen on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/SpotifyTOE- Become a YouTube Member (Early Access Videos): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdWIQh9DGG6uhJk8eyIFl1w/join- Support TOE on Patreon: https://patreon.com/curtjaimungal- Crypto: https://nowpayments.io/donation/TOE- Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt- Discord Invite: https://discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal features long-form, technically detailed interviews with leading researchers in physics, mathematics, consciousness, and philosophy, exploring topics at the level of active research. For academics, graduate students, and anyone seeking depth beyond popular science. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices