Category Archives: Illusion of the Separate Self and Free Will

The Entanglement Hypothesis Revisited

Posted on November 11, 2023 by Dave Pollard

image adapted from Pixabay, CC0 “I think human consciousness is a tragic misstep in evolution. We became too self-aware, nature created an aspect of nature separate from itself, we are creatures that should not exist by natural law. We are … Continue reading →

Posted in How the World Really Works, Illusion of the Separate Self and Free Will, Our Culture / Ourselves | 4 Comments

Halfway Between No-Free-Will and No-One-to-Have-It

Posted on November 6, 2023 by Dave Pollard

A brief review of Robert Sapolsky’s new book Determined, plus some other thoughts on the subject of free will. The free will “belief spectrum” (my own construction, and subject to revision) In recent years, scientists and philosophers, often on opposite … Continue reading →

Posted in Illusion of the Separate Self and Free Will | 9 Comments

The Arrogance of Thinking We Can Make the World “Better”

Posted on November 3, 2023 by Dave Pollard

Another brilliant cartoon by Michael Leunig. This is what comes to mind when I hear terms like “making good ruins” or “hospicing modernity”. There’s been a subtle shift in the tone of some prominent “collapsniks” over the last couple of … Continue reading →

Posted in Collapse Watch, How the World Really Works, Illusion of the Separate Self and Free Will, Our Culture / Ourselves | 8 Comments

The Need to Know

Posted on October 21, 2023 by Dave Pollard

Yep, another radical non-duality exploration.  New Yorker cartoon by the late Charles Barsotti Many times on this blog I’ve concluded my article with the rhetorical question: Even if there’s nothing we can do about it, isn’t it at least better … Continue reading →

Posted in Illusion of the Separate Self and Free Will | 2 Comments

Caution: Slow Learner Ahead

Posted on October 8, 2023 by Dave Pollard

photo from wikimedia CC BY-SA 3.0 It seems to take me a while to really process things I have come to understand. There’s the initial “aha!”, and then there’s a kind of backsliding or forgetting, as I try to reconcile … Continue reading →

Posted in Collapse Watch, How the World Really Works, Illusion of the Separate Self and Free Will, Our Culture / Ourselves | 4 Comments

Adapting to Collapse: Some More Reminders

Posted on October 4, 2023 by Dave Pollard

A friend of mine asked me the other day how I reconcile my disbelief in free will with the very human need to do something, anything, to cope with, deal with, and prepare for our civilization’s accelerating and inevitable collapse. … Continue reading →

Posted in Collapse Watch, How the World Really Works, Illusion of the Separate Self and Free Will | 2 Comments

If, When, Now That

Posted on September 17, 2023 by Dave Pollard

This is, like everything, a work of complete and utter fiction. “Childlike Wonder”, by Midjourney AI; my own prompt I If, some morning, this body were to awaken, without a sense of self and separation to reconstruct its worldview and … Continue reading →

Posted in Creative Works, Illusion of the Separate Self and Free Will | 1 Comment

The Trauma of the Self

Posted on September 13, 2023 by Dave Pollard

This is a partial, edited transcript of a meeting held by Tim Cliss in 2021, on zoom. Probably not of interest unless you are intrigued by the message of radical non-duality. At the end of the transcript, I ponder a … Continue reading →

Posted in Illusion of the Separate Self and Free Will | Comments Off on The Trauma of the Self

No Meaning or Purpose

Posted on September 1, 2023 by Dave Pollard

For the hard core interested in the subject only. This is a partial transcript of Jim Newman’s answers to questions about radical non-duality, from his meeting in Amsterdam in March 2019. It was one of the last in-person meetings on … Continue reading →

Posted in Illusion of the Separate Self and Free Will | 4 Comments

What’s Going On (Thoughts on a Train)

Posted on August 31, 2023 by Dave Pollard

image: creative commons CC0 license from pixabay The mass of [humans] lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called ‘resignation’ is confirmed desperation. Unconscious despair is concealed even under what are called the games and amusements of [human]kind. There is … Continue reading →

Posted in Collapse Watch, How the World Really Works, Illusion of the Separate Self and Free Will, Our Culture / Ourselves | Comments Off on What’s Going On (Thoughts on a Train)