In this episode, you'll discover:

• Whether mystical states are just neurons firing or something science can't explain yet
• Why human morality keeps evolving and what that means for the stories we call truth
• How to use technology to train your focus without losing the magic of transcendence

Have you ever noticed how the though ts that torture you most aren't even yours?

They're hand-me-downs. Scripts you inherited from parents who inherited them from their parents. Cultural programming that told you productivity equals worth. That rest is laziness. That your value comes from how much you can do for everyone else. You've been running on these thoughts for so long you forgot they're just thoughts. Not truth. Just noise.

Most people think meditation is about becoming calm. It's not. It's about seeing the machinery. The way your brain spins the same stories on repeat. The way it reaches for distraction the second discomfort shows up. The way it convinces you that scrolling Instagram or buying another thing or staying busy will make you feel better when really you're just running from yourself.

I spent years doing that. Chasing experiences. MDMA, plant medicine, skydiving. Anything to feel something other than the hollow ache of not knowing who I was underneath all the performance. Those experiences cracked me open. But they didn't teach me how to stay open. That's what meditation did. It taught me that the version of me chasing dopamine hits wasn't broken. She was just afraid to sit still long enough to meet herself.

Today our guest is Ariel Garten, neuroscientist, psychotherapist, and founder of Muse, the brain-sensing meditation headband. She's lived with undiagnosed ADD her whole life and used meditation and neuroscience to literally rewire her brain.

Links from the episode:

• Show Notes: mindlove.com/423
• Join the Mind Love Collective
• Sign up for The Morning Mind Love for short daily notes to wake up inspired
• Support Mind Love Sponsors

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.