Is blushing an only human trait? Do animals blush? Can an AI ever express emotion? The face is the chief seat of expression. In this episode, I discuss the biological and psychological process of blushing, based on The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals by Charles Darwin. I explore the different things that can trigger a blush, and the connection between blinking and blushing by analyzing In the Blink of an Eye by Walter Murch. I focus on self-awareness and how other people'...

Are you sure you're the one who gets to decide what you allow into your consciousness? In this episode, I continue to discuss the book Flow, and study the ways to control consciousness, and the way we process information. I take a look at schizophrenia, and the disadvantages of self-consciousness. I focus on concentration, learning disabilities, and attentional disorders and how they can be traced to family dynamics, lack of parental attention, and child abuse. Identity is developed in ...

In this episode, I discuss some points from the book Flow: the psychology of optimal experience, by Mihaly Csikszentmihaly. I focus on the traits of the autotelic personality, my own experience with flow, and the transformation that came from reflecting on the question: Is this all there is? I talk about how we come to create meaning in our lives, my screenplay: The Suicidal Penguin Club, my past experiences with suicidal thoughts, friends who have committed suicide, and how there is always h...

In this episode, I discuss two chapters of the book Yoga and Health, by Selvarajan Yesudian and Elisabeth Haich. I focus on respecting the body and the instincts, and how to bring the mind in harmony with the body in order to become whole and live in a higher plane of existence. I talk about the difference between real hunger and civilized appetite. I explore the great temptation, shame, and what it means to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, what it means to sin against nature, a...

In this episode, I discuss a quote from the book Antic Hay, by Aldous Huxley, which gave me the inspiration for the name of this podcast: The Crystal Quiet. I have managed to turn this Crystal Quiet into a haven and a home for myself. I also talk about Aristotle's Poetics, as well as the passive and active parts of the mind, and what happens when they coalesce. I mention some strategies I have found to be helpful when it comes to quieting the mind and bringing it to stillness. I bring up Eric...