What is a Good Life? #21 - Beyond The Illusion of Self with Katrijn van Oudheusden

Jun 6, 2023

Katrijn van Oudheusden, author of "Selfless Leadership" and a guide on self-discovery, joins the conversation to unravel the illusion of the separate self. She intertwines insights from neuroscience, physics, and Buddhism, challenging listeners to reconsider individual identity. Katrijn shares her transformative journey, emphasizing interconnectedness as a pathway to freedom. The dialogue explores how acknowledging our shared existence can reshape perceptions of choice and control, leading to a more fulfilling and meaningful life.

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INSIGHT

Perception Is An Evolved Interface

Perception is an evolved interface that presents icons (like "pen") rather than objective external things.
Modern cognitive science and theories of consciousness suggest reality is patterns of vibration experienced through this interface.

INSIGHT

Know-No-Self Changes Quality Of Experience

You can continue to experience duality while knowing there is no separate self; experience doesn't change but its quality does.
Knowing no separate self reduces psychological suffering and the sense of 'poor little me'.

ADVICE

Find The Decider In Your Experience

Look closely for the 'decider' by tracing specific choices to where they actually arise in experience.
Notice thoughts and choices appear spontaneously and the brain invents stories explaining them.

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On the 21st episode of the "What is a Good Life?" podcast, I am joined by Katrijn van Oudheusden, who is the author of "Selfless Leadership," a writer, coach, and guide. Her work focuses on helping you see through the illusion of the separate self.

In this episode, Katrijn takes us on an exploration and investigation of the paradigm of the separate self. She references neuroscience, physics, and the traditions of Buddhism, Advaita Vedanta, etc., which have been saying for centuries that there is no separate self.

Katrijn shares her own path in coming to this realisation and how this awareness leads to a life of freedom, where everything has meaning, and where one doesn't take things so personally or feel small and disconnected.

I found this conversation to be captivating, challenging, and enlivening. Regardless of the beliefs you hold, this episode will be a valuable tool in your own investigation of reality and what a good life means to you.

Subscribe for weekly episodes, every Tuesday, and check out my YouTube channel (link below) for daily clips and reflections.

Contact me at mark@whatisagood.life to book a free 30 minute consultation for one-on-one coaching programs or to hear about corporate workshops I am offering around this question.

Running Order:

01:25 The podcast begins

02:35 What is the separate self?

09:37 Duality of experience while knowing there’s no separate self

12:25 Free Will - where is the decider or the doer?

17:33 The paradox of personal consciousness

21:40 Everything has meaning

27:16 Personal path to seeing though the separate illusion

31:57 There is only this experience - you are everything

36:13 Life is no longer so personal - it simply occurs

41:57 Attachments to wonder, judgement, awe and labels

45:39 The mind’s role in separateness

51:07 Keep making plans but know we are pretending

57:11 What is a good life for Katrijn?

For further content and information check out the following:

- For the podcast's YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/@whatisagoodlife/videos

- My newsletter: https://www.whatisagood.life/

- My LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-mccartney-14b0161b4/

- Katrijn's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katrijnvo/

- Katrijn's website: https://selflessleadership.life/