There is a mind-door, greenish in hue, near the heart. This heart-mind seems to be the physical base of consciousness, not the brain in the cranium. When meditating, attention can be adverted to the area around the heart. There there is a mirror reflecting experience, consciousness, awareness. If the "mind" were in the brain or the head, it seems attention would be placed there to find it. But it is very much down closer to what in the West we refer to as the seat of our emotions. The Buddha did not specify a physical base for vijñāna (consciousness) or manas (in Early Buddhism). However, he seems to have been well aware of the practical application of locating this base for the sake of realizing the ultimate nature of mind-and-matter (nama-rupa), ultimate mind (a stream of cittas) and ultimate materiality (a stream of kalapas). But this is for advanced practitioners of Buddhist meditation rather than philosophers and speculators. For those, perhaps Zen no-mind would be better or the compelling mind-only (Yogachara) view.
New research at Michael Pollan's laboratory at UC Berkeley confirms what Cambridge scientist J.C. Bose, Paramahamsa Yogananda, Peter Tompkins, Christopher Bird, Tel Aviv University researchers, dryads, sensitives, empaths like Dr. Doreen Virtue and Dr. Caroline Myss and gardeners everywhere have known and been telling us for a long time.
*Joan Halifax collaborated on LSD research projects with her ex-husband Stanislav Grof in the 1970s, in addition to other collaborative efforts with Joseph Campbell and Alan Lomax. She is founder of the Ojai Foundation in California, which she led from 1979 to 1989. As a socially engaged Buddhist, Halifax has done extensive work (palliative care) with the dying through her Project on Being with Dying, which she founded. She is on the board of directors of the Mind and Life Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to exploring the relationship of science and Buddhism.
“Consciousness has kind of become the secular substitute for the soul [Ancient Greek psyche as in psychology and psyche-delic],” Pollan tells interviewer Terry Gross.
Pollan also talks about current studies on consciousness and whether other animals, plants, bacteria, algae, and programmed hardware/software combinations known as "artificial intelligence" have or can eventually have consciousness. More + AUDIO
Buddhist author Michael Pollan has a Number 1 best seller
in Consciousness & Thought Philosophy. From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of How to Change Your Mind, a panoptic exploration of consciousness—what it is, who/what has it, and why—and a meditation on the essence of our humanity.
When it comes to the phenomenon that is consciousness, there is one point on which scientists, philosophers, and artists all agree: It feels [not thinks] like something to be us. Yet the fact that we have subjective experience (sentience) of the world remains one of nature’s greatest mysteries.
What would a scientific investigation of our inner life look like, when we have as little distance and perspective on it as fish do of water in the sea?
In A World Appears, Michael Pollan traces the unmapped continent that is consciousness, bringing radically different perspectives—scientific, philosophical, literary, spiritual and psychedelic—to see what each can teach us about this central fact of life.
When neuroscientists began studying consciousness in the early 1990s, they sought to explain how and why three pounds of spongy [tofu like] gray matter could generate a subjective point of view—assuming that the brain is the source of our perceived reality.
Pollan takes readers to the cutting edge of the field, where neuroscientists are entertaining more radical (and less materialist) theories of consciousness.
He introduces us to “plant neurobiologists” searching for the first flicker of consciousness in plants, scientists striving to engineer feelings into AI, and psychologists and novelists seeking to capture the felt experience of this slippery stream of consciousness.
In Pollan’s dazzling exploration of consciousness, he discovers a world far deeper and stranger than this everyday reality.
Eye-opening and mind-expanding, A World Appears takes us into the laboratories of our own brains and minds, hearts and feelings, ultimately showing us how we might make better use of the gift of awareness to more meaningfully connect with the world and what we assume to be our deepest selves. More: A World Appears
See all formats and editions for savings. Book comes out Feb. 24, 2026. Pre-order price guarantee. Named a "most anticipated book of 2026" by The New York Times, TIME, and Oprah Daily.
Guest Michael Pollan, Terry Gross, Tonya Mosley, Adam Staniszewski, NPR.org, Feb. 19, 2026; Dhr. Seven, Pat Macpherson, CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
The Arboretum sold out for everyone who failed to plan. It staggers entrance times, so while it was possible to get a ticket, one would miss most of the fair. The event was packed, the largest in years. Sun broke through the heavily chemtrail sprayed skies. Now the crisscross lines start with perfect X's, which would not happen in nature nor in ordinary flight paths overcrowded LA County. In any case, what was clear was soon covered over in an artificial and no doubt toxin mist. But the sun managed to break through at times. The Fair opened at 9:00 am, the Mushroom Hunt began at 10 with Olga from Smugtown, and it was followed by a fabulous Brando with a culinary demonstration that fed everyone -- hundreds of mushroom fans -- crowding the seating area. It was standing room only after a while, as the samples table was full of gawkers and vendors were hard at work keeping up with demand: medicinal tinctures, popular red-and-white mushroom hats (French berets), grow bags, dried delicacies, books, guide, posters, clothing, jewelry, and services. This is the only event that ever provided samples such as a choice of savory soup, sauteed morrells, black trumpets, or all three. There was a vegan food booth in the back with a line out the door. Then came the first speaker, Mycologist Else, talking about spores, which exists in the billions and trillions. "Spores are not seeds," she emphasized. Each needs a mate since one can create a small mat of tubule structures but must then meet with a partner spore to continue onto the mycelia phase. Mycelia is what keeps forest together, the Woodwide Web, breaking down matter and communicating between individual plants. (See Paul Stamets' Mycelium Running). A "mushroom" is the fruiting body of underground mycelia, what we see popping up from the ground or growing on trees. To study mushrooms and fungi soon becomes the study of trees and ecosystems. Our natural world would not be what it is without fungi.
Where, oh where, do the wild things grow? We're determined to find out!
On Sunday, February 15, 2026, from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, we're trekking over to Arcadia in the San Gabriel Valley, next to Pasadena, to the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden.
2:30-3:00 pm - Art and photo contest winners announced
3:00-4:00 pm - Feces, corpses, and the business of fungal decay talk by Sam Shoemaker
4:00 pm - Fair closes
TICKETS: Admission to the Wild Mushroom Fair is FREE with admission to The Arboretum. Tickets are available online. Act now because time slots may sell out as they have before. Check ticket availability here: Hours and Admission (The Arboretum).
Admission to The Arboretum: $18 for adults, $14 for seniors (62 and over), $14 for students with school ID, $8 for children (ages 3-12), and children 2 and under $0 (free). Arboretum members: free. Parking is free. More info about LAMS events is available at lamushrooms.org/events.
BAUS is having an important New Year event (NEW YEAR, NEW MIND) at Chuang Yen Monastery in Carmel, Upstate New York. This is the home of our beloved venerable Theravada Buddhist scholar-monk teacher Bhikkhu Bodhi. It will be held on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026.
CYM has completed the first semester of the course Ancient Path, Modern Mind: Chinese Buddhism in a Changing World with Ven. You Min.
The Temple is pleased to announce that the second semester will begin in 2026, with the opportunity to explore three core themes under the guidance of Ven. You Min:
Talk to plants? While we may not be able to hear them, plants could very well be talking back. [Perhaps they are not great listeners, after all, but they are conscious enough to "speak"]. They talk all the time and especially if they are having a bad day. (Did we forget to water them again?) For the first time in the world, Tel Aviv University (TAU) researchers recorded and analyzed sounds distinctly emitted by plants. The click-like sounds, resembling the snap of popcorn, are emitted at a volume similar to human speech but at higher frequencies, beyond the hearing range of the human ear.
Professors Yosi Yovel and Lilach Hadany (TAU)
Researchers: "We found that plants usually emit sounds when they are under stress, and that each plant and each type of stress is associated with a specific identifiable sound. [That is a distinctive mark of speech rather than just sound making.] While imperceptible to the human ear, the sounds emitted by plants can probably be heard by various animals, such as bats, mice, and insects." More
Science already knew plants "communicate" with chemical signals and scents (VOAs) through roots, leaves, stems:
(The Independent) April 3, 2023: Plants emit [high pitched] sounds when they are "stressed," a group of scientific researchers has discovered.
A team at Tel Aviv University in Israel recorded and analyzed click-like sounds resembling the popping of popcorn.
They found that the sounds plants emitted are at a volume similar to human speech, but humans cannot hear them due to the high frequency.
"Each plant and each type of stress is associated with a specific identifiable sound.
"While imperceptible to the [ordinary] human ear, the sounds emitted by plants can probably be heard by various [naturally more sensitive] animals, such as bats, mice, and insects," the researchers said.
Meditation journeys with specific plant and tree spirits? Yes, Mugwort, Rosemary, Dandelion, Yew, Elder, and Wormwood do it. How can we [humans] achieve a calm mind, cleanse our energy fields, and connect with our hearts in preparation for meditating with plants?
Journeys with Plant Spiritsincludes a progressive series of introductory meditations, adapted from ancient wisdom traditions, to lay the foundation for working with plant spirits.
Emma Farrell explains how to take a connection and relationship with Nature to a deeper level to access plant spirit healing through meditation with plants.
Exploring the nature of plant consciousness and how plants perceive, she details how to achieve a calm mind, cleanse an energy field, and connect with heart in preparation for meditating with plants and trees [dryads], showing how the plants can support us not only in the cleansing process but also in teaching us how to sense what is in our energy field.
Offering a progressive series of preparatory meditations adapted from shamanic and indigenous wisdom traditions, the author reveals how to lay the foundation for communicating, working, and developing relationships with plant and tree spirits -- for spiritual connection, personal development, and inner peace.
She then presents meditation journeys with specific plant spirits, focusing on the frequencies within the plant’s bioresonance that can assist us.
For example, meditation with Mugwort works with the plant spirit’s qualities of alignment and self-awareness to assist with grounding and developing inner vision, whereas Dandelion helps break old habits by working with the plant’s qualities of release, reconnection, and fearlessness.
Each plant is an expression of the spiritual force of Mother Nature and carries a unique blend of her medicine and wisdom. This book details step-by-step how to effectively work with plant spirits for emotional and spiritual healing, enabling us to awaken spirit to become truly multidimensional and whole. More
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(SEEKER TO SEEKER) Buddhist non-duality [there being no distinction between seen and seer in the Mind Only School] sees all of reality as the activity of consciousness.
Divisions such as subject and object, mind and matter, self and world, [nirvana and samsara], are artificially created by consciousness in the process of simulating an external reality.
This video explores the philosophy of the Yogācāra School of Buddhism, a tradition that specializes in the study of mind—and how insight into the mind's workings can transform our way of being.
📝 SCRIPT: Read the script of this video essay on the author's personal Substack page: [soon...]. Video editing by Sempiter & Simeon
#Buddhism #nonduality#AdvaitaVedanta#Neo-Advaita#meditation #philosophy #awakening #enlightenment. How this was made: auto-dubbed
audio tracks for some languages were automatically generated. Learn more
SEEKER TO SEEKER, Jan. 23, 2026; Dhr. Seven, Pat Macpherson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
(Buddhism Podcast) Oct. 21, 2025: Buddhism Explained. Where do our thoughts come from? We know the thoughts that just seem to appear in our heads – have we ever truly wondered where they come from?
This post explores Buddhism's unique perspective on the mind (stream of cittas, consciousness), revealing that our thoughts do not spring from a fixed "self" but rather from an intricate dance of interconnected supporting conditions. These are spelled out in the 12 causal links of Dependent Origination.
Discover the profound teachings of Dependent Origination and anatta ("not-self," that all things, while real, are impersonal, impermanent, and utterly incapable of fulfilling us, and are therefore quite illusory, maya) to unlock a surprising sense of freedom and a deeper understanding of who or what we truly are. This is an invitation to see our mind in a whole new light.
00:00 - The question behind the question (infinite regress)
Feeling a pull towards deeper understanding and greater connection with the Universe? This could be signs of an impending spiritual awakening, a profound shift that changes our understanding of self and reality.
This post may help in understanding everything we need to know about this transformative experience – from recognizing the early signs to navigating challenges and enjoying its benefits.
Ready for an [Eastern, more Hindu than Buddhist] enlightening journey? Let’s dive in, beginning with this guided meditation.
Key points
A spiritual awakening is a transformative experience where we become aware of our "true selves" and connect to a higher power.
Signs of spiritual awakenings can include feeling disconnected, reevaluating beliefs, having vivid or lucid dreams, experiencing shifting relationships, and increased intuition.
Each person’s spiritual awakening journey is unique and personal, guided by one's own beliefs, experiences, and inner wisdom.
During a spiritual awakening, individuals may also experience a strong connection to nature and have physical symptoms. More
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