michael on consciousness hygiene

michael pollan on consciousness hygiene

(reminiscent of devijver assume good law ness et al.. oh those days)

« Consciousness hygiene » … what an odd combo !

Michael Pollan of How to Change Your Mind and This Is Your Mind on Plants fame has published a new book titled « A World Appears – A Journey Into Consciousness ».

I’m interested. The Guardian’s review includes his description of an emergent phenomenon which I am actively researching :

<< He recently suggested that people need a “consciousness hygiene” to defend our internal world against invaders that are trying to move in.

rather.. to listen deeper to what is already on each heart

need 1st/most: means (nonjudgmental expo labeling) to undo hierarchical listening – so we can hear what’s already on each heart as global detox in order to org around legit needs

Our ability to sit with our thoughts and perceive the world, he argues, is increasingly disrupted by algorithms engineered to tickle our dopamine receptors and capture our attention. >>

https://www.audiobooks.com/audiobook/968825/ – links to 11 dollar audio book

notes/quotes from guardian article [https://www.theguardian.com/wellness/2026/mar/05/michael-pollan-book-a-world-appears-consciousness-hygiene]:

In his new book, the celebrated author explains why we need ‘consciousness hygiene’ to defend ourselves from AI and dopamine-driven algorithms

to me.. actually we need ai (tech as it could be.. augmenting interconnectedness) to do the thing we can’t seem to do ie: tech w/o judgment.. ie: nonjudgmental expo labeling

defending ness is a cancerous distraction

Each day when you wake up, you come back to yourself. You see the room around you, feel your body brush against your clothes and think about your plans, worries and hopes for the day. This daily internal experience is miraculous and mysterious, and the subject of Michael Pollan’s new book, A World Appears.

huge.. exactly why we need a means to get at 8b itch in the souls 1st thing everyday.. ie: imagine if we listen to the itch-in-8b-souls 1st thing everyday & use that data to connect us (tech as it could be.. ai as augmenting interconnectedness)

It also may be under siege, Pollan said. He recently suggested that people need a “consciousness hygiene” to defend our internal world against invaders that are trying to move in. Our ability to sit with our thoughts and perceive the world, he argues, is increasingly disrupted by algorithms engineered to tickle our dopamine receptors and capture our attention. Meanwhile, people are forming attachments to non-human chatbots, projecting consciousness on to entities that do not possess it.

again.. not about defense.. but rather.. about listening deep enough to hear/be/see the dance

I spoke with Pollan over the phone about what consciousness hygiene looks like in practice. Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

rather.. it could look like imagine if we ness.. 2 conversations.. as infra.. everyday.. ie: whatever for a year.. a sabbatical ish transition

You have said that consciousness is a “precious realm” and that we should adopt a “consciousness hygiene”. That idea is intriguing – can you first tell me what we’re developing a hygiene around?

In this case, I’m referring specifically to human consciousness – this private space of interiority where we enjoy a very high degree of mental freedom. It’s the space in which we daydream, mind wander, talk to ourselves, and it is this very precious thing.

In the course of writing the book, I realized that our consciousness is under siege, and that it’s being polluted by several different things.

since forever.. that’s why we need a means to get/back to an undisturbed ecosystem

What things?

One is our president..There’s also social media…Another, newer wrinkle: we have chatbots..

rather.. issue is just 2 missing pieces

It’s not an emptying by any means. It’s about owning the noise. It’s about making it your noise.

*The hygiene is really an effort to reclaim sovereignty. I’m still developing these ideas, but so far, I see meditation is an important part of it. It’s a way to draw a fence around your consciousness. When you’re meditating, you put down your phone and you’re not taking in any kind of technological media, you’re alone with your thoughts and getting in touch with just what you described in James – how little control you have, how much is going on at any one time. Things are bubbling up from the unconscious. **You’re taking in information from the environment, but it’s all yours. It’s not being manipulated by someone else to make a buck.

*this is what we spent so many years on (ie: on the ground ness)

and what we found.. again.. is that we need 1st/most: means (nonjudgmental expo labeling) to undo hierarchical listening – so we can hear what’s already on each heart as global detox in order to org around legit needs

*need deeper.. need to be listening to the heart.. self-talk as data et al

*I’m a writer and you’re a writer, and we manipulate people’s consciousness too with our words, and try to change their minds in certain ways. I’ve been struggling with: **how is that different? One is, it’s voluntary.

*any form of people telling other people what to do as cancerous distraction

**it’s not.. all same song.. perpetuating survival triage.. for (blank)’s sake..

The attention paid to the condition of your soul, which is central to Christianity, sort of had the right idea. Part of that was just to help you not go to hell. I don’t think that part applies. But the care, the care of the soul, is a lot like consciousness hygiene.

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nothing to date has gotten to the root of problem

legit freedom will only happen if it’s all of us.. and in order to be all of us.. has to be sans any form of measuring, accounting, people telling other people what to do

how we gather in a space is huge.. need to try spaces of permission where people have nothing to prove to facil curiosity over decision making.. because the finite set of choices of decision making is unmooring us.. keeping us from us..

ie: imagine if we listen to the itch-in-8b-souls 1st thing everyday & use that data to connect us (tech as it could be.. ai as augmenting interconnectedness)

the thing we’ve not yet tried/seen: the unconditional part of left to own devices ness

[‘in an undisturbed ecosystem ..the individual left to its own devices.. serves the whole’ –dana meadows]

there’s a legit use of tech (nonjudgmental exponential labeling) to facil the seeming chaos of a global detox leap/dance.. for (blank)’s sake..

ie: whatever for a year.. a legit sabbatical ish transition

otherwise we’ll keep perpetuating the same song.. the whac-a-mole-ing ness of sea world.. of not-us ness.. of part\ial ness.. [again].. for (blank)’s sake..

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note: on survival ness: survival is a means to survive things as they are.. so to me.. not a legit alt.. it’s triage.. perpetuating survival triage.. so a temp band aide per se.. that will /can help now.. but only for short term.. because it still doesn’t get to the root of the problem.. so it won’t offer/lead-to legit change/life/freedom.. et al.. so.. to me.. it’s still a cancerous distraction to the dance

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michael and oprah on psychedelic healing et al