Hacking the Self is a podcast, blog, and community that explores the emerging convergence of various disciplines, traditions and cultures in their attempts to understand human consciousness and promote human flourishing.
This space dives into the desire to understand The Self, or “atman,” a concept in Indian metaphysics that’s often translated as “consciousness” or “soul.” You will find collection of conversations and written articles that are sometimes esoteric but also aspire to be pragmatic and to help people understand themselves in relation to others.
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Latest Blogs & Podcasts

The American Religion
One of my recent guests, Jungian psychoanalyst J. Pittman McGehee, talked about the ways in which American society has conflated culture with religion. McGehee is quick to point out that this form of the "American Religion" permeates all the mindsets of all Americans, whether you're consciously religious or adamantly atheist ...
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#54: Bringing Relationship back into Mindfulness with Amaranatho
In my second conversation with Amaranatho, we talk about how to bring mindfulness more meaningfully into our lives and, specifically, our relationships. Westerners already tend towards individualism, and gravitating towards intensive meditation practice can sometimes reinforce the preference of Westerners for individualism, while failing to allow us to develop the ...
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#53: Coming back to Awareness with Amaranatho
This week I speak with Amaranatho, who was a Buddhist monk for 15 years under the guidance of a very well respected teacher in the Thervada Buddhist tradition, Ajahn Sumedho. Ajahn Sumedho was one of the original Western disciples under Ajahn Chah, one of the great masters of the Thai ...
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#52: The Paleo Way with Paleo Robbie Co-Founder Erik Verspui
I sat down with the co-founder of Bangkok based Paleo Robbie, a company that provides high quality wild caught fish and pasture raised meats, along with a host of other delicious and nutritious products. For those based in Bangkok they also offer a meal plan service. Erik is a wealth ...
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5 Basic Principles to Optimize your Health
Last week I stayed with two friends in San Francisco, husband and wife. Both of them work demanding jobs in private equity and public relations, respectively. Like many of my friends in the US, their work is demanding and stressful. As someone who worked in high intensity jobs in finance ...
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#51: Reducing Stress with Chinese Herbalism: a conversation with Roger Drummer Part 2
This is the second half of my conversation on Chinese Herbalism with Roger Drummer. Roger is the founder of Herb Works and the man who formulated its various, exceptional products, such as Tian Chi and Inner Peace. A brief description of Roger’s story from the Herb Works website will give ...
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Dealing with Dis-ease
In January of 2017, just shy of my 36th birthday I was diagnosed with osteoporosis. Conventionally, a diagnosis of osteoporosis is determined by a DEXA scan, which assesses, among other things, one’s Bone Mineral Density (BMD). If you have a T score below -2.5 you are said to have osteoporosis ...
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