Video discussion of "Darwinian Self Awareness" with Dan Demetriou

Although Dan and I had originally planned to discuss my article on freediving as a very effective mindfulness practice, we ended up having a wide-ranging discussion where I explained how I understood this concept of a "Darwinian Self-Awareness" and then how freediving as a very effective mindfulness practice fits in with that. This was an off the cuff conversation with little preparation more really meant to experiment with using the video streaming technology I plan to use in this humanmind.io project going forward.

"Darwinian Self-Awareness" is mindfulness practice as a rebellion against the parts of our evolutionary programming that do not serve us. I first heard Robert Wright talking about this idea in his book "Why Buddhism is True" but recently also heard Geoffery Miller and Diane Fleischman talk in similar terms and it was them who I heard use the term Darwinian Self-Awareness that I like a lot. I try and explain in this video why I think understanding that the roots of the suffering - the craving and aversion that the Buddha talked about, are in our evolved natures and that understanding our evolved human nature, and also the individual differences we inherit, is probably helpful in improving our own lives, maybe right up to being liberated of all suffering. I think it also is helpful in moving towards the eventual end goal of a general abolition of all suffering of sentient beings which I think we are gradually approaching and will surely be able to reach if we don't somehow obliterate ourselves first.