The Consciousness Paradox

— It's been a chaotic day.  There are angry customers at work.  Your daughter misbehaved at school, and you need to talk to the principal.  The car won't start.  That sort of day. Stop.  Control.  Reset.  Take ten deep breaths.  Sing.  Listen to soothing music.  Walk into a garden and watch the birds. The human brain is an efficient, pragmatic, functional engine, of unfathomable complexity -- with the ability to invent, remember, project, and see relationships among people and ideas. I love my brain.  I wouldn't even go to the mailbox without it.  My brain has allowed me to function and prosper in this uber-complex modern world. But all too often our brains run amok and drive us crazy. To retain sanity, we must not let our think-too-much-know-it-all-brains overtake the castle.  In this podcast we will explore both our human and our animal consciousness and seek to understand why it is so vital to reach deep inside and listen to the Nature-Self within. Valeria Teles interviews him — Jon Turk — the author of "Tracking Lions, Myth, and Wilderness in Samburu , The Raven's Gift: A Scientist, a Shaman, and Their Remarkable Journey Through the Siberian Wilderness  — among other titles. Jon Turk earned a Ph.D. in organic chemistry in 1971 and was nominated by National Geographic as one of the Top Ten Adventurers of the Year in 2012.  Between these bookends, Jon co-authored the first college level environmental science textbook in North America, followed by 30 additional texts in environmental, physical, and earth sciences.  At the same time, he kayaked around Cape Horn and across the North Pacific from Japan to Alaska, mountain biked across the northern Gobi in Mongolia, and made numerous first ski descents and first rock climbing ascents around the globe.  During extended travel in northeast Siberia, Jon's worldview was altered by Moolynaut, a Siberian shaman, and his later books reflect these spiritual journeys.   Jon has published four trade books:  Cold Oceans (HarperCollins), In the Wake of the Jomon (McGraw Hill), The Raven's Gift (St Martin's Press) and Crocodiles and Ice (Oolichan Press). Tracking Lions, Myth, and Wilderness in Samburu delves more deeply into a "mind-body-spirit" theme, supported by adventure storytelling, integrated with an anthropological view of the role of art and mythology in human development. To learn more about Jon Turk and his work, please visit: jonturk.net       — This podcast is a quest for well-being, a quest for a meaningful life through the exploration of fundamental truths, enlightening ideas, insights on physical, mental, and spiritual health. The inspiration is Love. The aspiration is to awaken new ways of thinking that can lead us to a new way of being, being well.