Ep. 99: Don Hoffman - Do We See Reality As It Is?

Dear Life with Christina Rasmussen

In today’s episode, I’m happy to introduce you to Don Hoffman. Don is a professor emeritus of cognitive sciences at the University of California, Irvine. He is the author of the book, The Case Against Reality and has a TED Talk titled, Do We See Reality As It Is? Through his work, Don is trying to answer a big question: Do we experience the world as it really is ... or as we need it to be? In this conversation he speaks about how our minds construct reality for us.

We talk about what is beyond space and time and why we should respect theories but also always question them. One part of the conversation that gave me chills was that every time we discover a new reality, another reality will be hidden behind it. Don thinks that there will never be a final theory of everything. The exploration will be endless. No matter how far we go, we’ve only just started.

“There will never be a final theory of everything. The exploration will be endless. No matter how far we go, we’ve only just started.” ~ Don Hoffman

We also spoke about the current division between science and spirituality and how this work can be the bridge between the two of them. That we can now all (scientists and the spiritual communities) agree that there is something beyond space and time, and we can all now come together to answer the question - What is beyond space and time. And of course, I asked him what he thinks happens when we die.

My hope is that we can keep having conversations like this to expand our idea of reality and consciousness. I’ve found the more that I know, the more it helps me in this lifetime. I’d love to hear what you thought of this conversation. Please comment below or share with me on social media. Please share it with your friends and family, and be sure to tag me if you share it on social media so that I can say thank you. I’m @christinarasmussen7 on Instagram and @ChristinaRasmussen2014 on Facebook.

More About Don Hoffman

Donald Hoffman is a professor emeritus of cognitive sciences at the University of California, Irvine. He is the author of the book, The Case Against Reality and has a TED Talk titled, Do We See Reality As It Is?

You can connect with him via his website, and on Twitter.

Things We Mention In This Episode

• Website: Donald Hoffman
• Book: The Case Against Reality: Why Evolution Hid the Truth from Our Eyes, by Donald Hoffman
• TedTalk: Do We See Reality As It Is? by Donald Hoffman
• Podcast Episode: Dear Life Podcast episode #94 with Dr. Bruce Greyson
• Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen
• Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen
• Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter

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