Peter Baumann - rock star to non-dualist, neuroscience research supporter

Peter Baumann

Was invited to San Francisco last week for four days to make a presentation and to meet with Peter Baumann and his team at the Baumann Foundation.  The Baumann Foundation is a San Francisco-based think-tank that "explores the experience of being human in the context of cognitive science, evolutionary theory and philosophy to foster greater clarity about the human condition." 


The work of the foundation is:


“Conscious experience is compromised because of identification with mental self-concepts. Comprehending the nature of mental concepts and the dynamics of identification can foster greater clarity about the human condition and individual experience.”

The foundation is focused on "the exploration of subjects such as perception, cognitive biases, mental representation, mindfulness, attention, dynamics of self-identification and how these relate to and inform conscious experience".  It does this through:

• Facilitating dialogue and research among the scientific community, contemplatives and the general public
• Outreach and education through media, conferences, workshops, and other events
• Developing, publishing and disseminating information related to the mission of the Foundation

The Baumann Institute has just hosted on March 24th, in San Francisco, Being Human 2012 -- the first annual Symposium where "leading scientists and philosophers presented scientific and philosophical insights that are reshaping our understanding of human nature and our experience of daily life".  Work has already started on Being Human 2013 in San Francisco.  

Before becoming a major sponsor of non-dual neuroscience, Peter was a longtime member of the groundbreaking electronic group Tangerine Dream as keyboardist and composer.  A classically-trained performer, Peter formed his first rock band at 14, and appeared in different groups before joining Tangerine Dream in 1971 for...seven years, as the Rovi bio says, "greatly expanding the parameters of electronic music through his contributions to landmark records including Zeit, Atem and Phaedra." 

"Peter... started a solo career in 1976 with the release of Romance 76...a move towards electronic pop structures....1979 follow-up Trans Harmonic Nights...1981's Repeat Repeat...completing 1983's Strangers in the Night, Baumann formed his own label, Private Music, which later emerged as a major New Age outlet...signings including Yanni, John Tesh and Shadowfax."


BTW, there is no evidence of Peter's hanging on to his rock-star fame; there is no indication of it in his office, in what he talks about or is interested in; he has clearly let go of it and moved on.  

 

The Baumann Foundation has sponsored work and collaborated with some good friends of mine, Richard Miller and Zoran Josipovic and some new work just beginning involving Loch Kelly.  

Richard Miller, who i worked with closely for many years, is the founder and head of the iRest (Integrative Restoration) Institute  and author of Yoga Nidra: A Meditative Practice for Deep Relaxation and Healing.   Richard's iRest program has been used with VA hospitals, military bases, clinics, hospice, homeless shelters, community programs, and schools as well as in retreats that emphasize self-inquiry, yoga and mindfulness practices such as iRest.  There is also a training program for iRest instructors. 

Richard Miller

 Yoga nidra is literally "yogic sleep" in which one generally lies in a state of attentive relaxation and is guided through a series of focused meditations to produce a deep state of meditation and relaxation.  During a retreat at Kripalu Yoga Center in western MA many years ago, several of us strongly encouraged Richard to take his strong teachings in yoga nidra, write a book and focus his work on growing it as a discipline.  It has been a huge success.  


Richard was very helpful during the writing of my book, Happiness Beyond Thought: A Practical Guide to Awakening, and wrote a great recommendation.  He also gave me the opportunity to teach and lead chanting in his popular workshops as well as strongly urging me to resume my own teaching.  Richard's friendship and support during this period were probably more important than he realized.   

Zoran Josipovic

Zoran Josipovic's research @ NYU is heavily focused on non-dual meditation.  His work was covered in a recent blog, "Does non-dual meditation change our "exterior" and "interior?".  This blog focused on Zoran's and his collaborators' recent paper "Influence of meditation on anti-correlated networks in the brain". 


Zoran's project at the Baumann Foundation was "Influence of Nondual Awareness on the Functioning of Anti-correlated Intrinsic and Extrinsic Networks in the Brain."


When Zoran and i most recently met in NYC this spring, we worked on developing a protocol for an fMRI evaluation of a persistent, non-dual, thought-free state (which will soon result in a scan...right, Zoran?)


As mentioned previously, i was in an earlier study done by the Baumann Foundation, "The Discovery of Awareness and Its Impact—A Qualitative Study". 


So there you have it, Peter Baumann, ground-breaking electronic rock star and now  leader/sponsor of initiatives and research studies in ground-breaking cognitive neuroscience and non-duality.  C/o the brief excerpt of an interview w/Peter at the 2010 SAND conference.  


BTW, Peter is "for real" with his non-duality; he has an elegant, empirical, pragmatic practice which he describes as a "practice which is not a practice" and is very modest about it.  He is well-informed, intellectually and experientially, on non-duality, and i'm not just saying that b/c he's Peter Baumann; he really surprised me.