Exploring Consciousness
In today’s society, it can sometimes be challenging to find the time and environment to engage in deep conversation, to explore what it means to be alive, the nature of ourselves, and our relationship to the rest of the universe. This is rather ironic, for these kinds of discussions can give rise to profound insights that can help us grow and expand our ability to appreciate every moment, every environment, every conversation. The Exploring Consciousness Discussion Series establishes an environment for just such conversations, with topics ranging broadly from matters of our inner and outer environments to how we live within them. During each session, ICRL’s president, Jeff Dunne, gives a short introduction to the day’s topic, offering insights and facets to explore. The majority of the time, however, is dedicated to a moderated, interactive discussion among the participants to share personal insights and asking additional questions for consideration.
These one-hour sessions are held online via Zoom on Saturdays at noon (US east coast time). Participants can automatically register for all sessions through a yearly subscription (with ICRL Family members receiving a substantial discount), or on a per-session basis by using the session-specific registration form.
Register for All Sessions
Many people find it easier to simply register for the entire Exploring Consciousness series all at once rather than picking and choosing specific instances. The baseline registration cost for this is $100 per year, or $75 per year for people with ICRL Family memberships, although if you are able to make a higher contribution, we greatly appreciate the additional support!
Choose your level of support:
Register for One Session
Note: We use a service called Zeffy to handle single registrations, which has the advantage of not charging any fees but the disadvantage that they default to including a donation to Zeffy at the same time. That is not necessary and can be easily excluded or adjusted by simply selecting ‘Other’ in that section.
degree from Hollis University and has accumulated a diverse work experience, spanning multiple disciplines: education, technology, business and law, predominately in support and administrative roles. She currently works for the College of New Jersey in its Office of Disability Support Services. Lynn Ann has been an administrative assistant to ICRL’s President since 2011, and has extensive familiarity with the organization’s structure and activities, along with a deep commitment to its mission.
Vasileios Basios is a physicist, conducting interdisciplinary research on the foundations of complexity science and nonlinear systems, self-organization and complex matter. During his formative years, he was tutored by Ilya Prigogine, at ULB where he received his PhD, and by Emilios Bouratinos on meditation and philosophy. He is currently interested in the complex interface between action and information. Other interests include the history of ideas in science and their role in the transformation of science beyond the prevailing naïve, materialistic, mechanistic-reductionist world-view. With others from PEAR, he initiated the Mind-Matter-Mapping Project and has since published several essays for ICRL. He is also a member of the Board of the Scientific and Medical Network and the Steering Team of the Galileo Commission. Vasileios is inspired by the prospect of introducing self-reflection into the practice and understanding of science, and the emergence of a Self-Reflexive Science of Consciousness.
Ian Cook is a Professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, where he directs the UCLA Depression Research and Clinic Program at the Semel Institute and was the inaugural holder of the Joanne and George Miller and Family Endowed Chair in Depression Research at the Brain Research Institute. He has been a part of the PEAR/ICRL family since 1980, when he was among the first undergraduate students to conduct research at the PEAR lab. He graduated from the Yale School of Medicine and pursued his residency training and research fellowship at UCLA. His research has focused on understanding the relationships among the mind, the brain, and the body, and in translating developments in technology into more effective treatments for disorders of mood and cognition.
Bob (Brahmatirtha) was born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1949, completed his B.S. in Chemistry at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1971, and received his M.S. in Geology from Rutgers University in 1975. After a twenty-year career serving as a geologist and vice-president of a large regional environmental company, he currently works as an environmental consultant to state governments. He has been a member of the Bhaktivedanta Institute since the inception in 1976, giving a presentation at their First International Conference on Life Comes from Life in 1977, and working on a multitude of projects with R.L. Thompson (Sadaputa) from 1995 through 2008. He is also a certified court mediator. He now serves as the Director of the Bhaktivedanta Institute for Higher Studies.
Carolyn is a writer and dancer, two avenues that support her central purpose as a healer. Through her numerous books she teaches that every moment brings unbidden opportunities from the universe, that every day of is filled with beauty and surprise. Ecstatic experience is the goal of her work, the personal to the cosmic. 
The largest dataset collected at PEAR used Random Event Generators, or REGs. These devices were essentially electronic coin flippers that produced a series of 1’s and 0’s; operators were instructed to influence the machines to produce more 1’s than 0’s or vice versa.
