Holding on to Existence: Self-Models, Mortality Denial, and the Phenomenology of Meditative Self-Dissolution

Explore a 25-minute conference talk from the Models of Consciousness Conference examining the relationship between self-models, mortality awareness, and meditative practices. Delve into research findings that demonstrate how human predictive capabilities, while evolutionarily advantageous, can generate existential anxiety when confronting mortality. Learn about neurophysiological studies using visual mismatch-response paradigms that reveal how the brain processes death-related stimuli, and discover the differences observed between meditators, ayahuasca users, and control groups in their mortality defense mechanisms. Examine the neurophenomenological evidence linking meditative experiences of self-world boundary dissolution to computational equanimity regarding death acceptance. Understand how training in non-existence through meditation practices may be essential for developing a broader predictive horizon that encompasses mortality awareness.