Delson Armstrong is a maverick meditation teacher and author. At the age of 16, disillusioned with conventional life, he embarked on a pilgrimage to the Himalayas, where he spent 6 to 8 hours a day practicing various forms of meditation, studying sacred texts, and receiving guidance from masters across multiple lineages.

Through this intensive training, Delson developed the rare ability to enter nirodha-samāpatti—a meditative state marked by the complete cessation of perception and feeling—for extended periods of time. These claims have been rigorously examined through neuroscience research, with findings published in a 2023 paper titled Cessation of Consciousness in Meditation.

He is also the author of A Mind Without Craving and a five-volume series on dependent origination. Delson currently teaches the Optimal Mind System, a synthesis of diverse practices designed to align the body, mind, energy, heart, and consciousness to catalyze deep insight and transformation.

Although deeply informed by traditional models of awakening, Delson takes a universal approach and does not adhere to any single doctrine or path. He believes that idealized systems rooted in specific cultural norms and structures must be reimagined and innovated to meet the needs of our modern world.

In this episode, we explore Delson’s experience working with and integrating different traditions and spiritual practices, how coming across integral theory has helped him recontextualize the spiritual path, whether it’s possible to end suffering, the relationship between psychedelics & meditation, the pro’s and con’s of being open about spiritual attainments, creating healtheir dynamics with spiritual teachers and going beyond spiritual idealization.

🔗[Links & resources] 🔗

• Delson’s personal site
• Listen to Delson’s Dharma talks on his YouTube channel
• A Mind Without Craving by Delson Armstrong
• Dependent Origination series by Delson Armstrong
• Delson Armstrong, Guru Viking interviews
• Tales from Nibbana with Dor Konforty & Delson Armstrong
• Ending Guru Worship for True Liberation by Delson Armstrong

📝[Show Notes] 📝

0:00 - Introduction
2:43 - Artem’s experience following Delson’s journey
7:02 - Sutra, Tantra, and going beyond traditional teachings
13:29 - The impact of cultural context on spiritual practices
22:28 - The fallacy of the superior path
27:50 - Letting go of idealistic views
33:31 - The Impact of Integral Theory (Integrating no self and true self)
37:12 - Is there an end to suffering?
50:47 - Delson’s desire to master and integrate a wide variety of teachings
56:42 - Rigpa vs Cessation
1:02:38 - The micro-phemenology of cessation
1:04:21 - The relationship between psychedelics, spirituality, and meditation
1:22:00 - The pros and cons of being open about spiritual attainments
1:29:11 - Creating healthier dynamics between spiritual teachers and students
1:37:44 - Final message

*Subscribe to the Insighter Substack to get in-depth articles on the theory and practice of human transformation through a post-conventional lens

*Add me on Facebook

Dor Konforty is a neuroscientist, entrepreneur, investor, and awakening teacher dedicated to distilling the first principles of the dharma and bringing them to every aspect of human life. He spent most of his twenties conducting interdisciplinary brain research in academic settings, and his thirties as an entrepreneur and CEO in the decentralization space—applying his neuroscience background to envision more collaborative, non-zero-sum human networks.

In parallel, he has devoted thousands of hours to meditation practice as well as growth and relational modalities, training closely with pragmatic dharma teachers such as Culadasa, Daniel Ingram, and Delson Armstrong, and personal development coaches like Joe Hudson and Kim Barta.

He is the founder of The Awakening Fund, a venture that invests in technologies aimed at making meditation unnecessary. Dor is also the author of The Heart Illuminated, a spiritual successor to Culadasa’s The Mind Illuminated. Drawing on over fifteen years of multidisciplinary experience, the book lays out a clear and systematic path towards awakening through a completely modern lens.

In this episode, we explore Dor’s book The Heart Illuminated, his time studying with pragmatic dharma teachers—Culadasa, Daniel Ingram, Delson Armstrong, and Dan Brown—and dive into topics such as integrating emptiness with fullness, investing in awakening technologies that aim to make meditation unnecessary, aligning artificial intelligence with dharma, and navigating the complexities and controversies that can arise in relationships with spiritual teachers.

🔗[Links & resources] 🔗

• Dor’s personal site
• The Heart Illuminated by Dor Konforty
• Dor’s investment venture, The Awakening Fund
• Follow Dor on Twitter/X
• The Mind Illuminated by Culadasa
• Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha by Daniel Ingram
• Delson Armstrong
• Dan Brown

📝[Show Notes] 📝

0:00 - Introduction
3:43 - Dor's journey into meditation
7:09 - The unique contribution of “The Mind Illuminated”
10:04 - Working closely with Culadasa and inspiration for writing “The Heart Illuminated”
21:49 - The iterative writing process and gathering feedback from community
24:58 - Understanding the multiplicity of the mind (sub minds, parts, agents, modules, and coordinators)
31:32 - Integrating awakening (emptiness) with healing (fullness)
39:22 - Is awakening about creating a better life?
47:00 - Meeting Daniel Ingram and doing a 23-day Fire Kasina retreat under his guidance
55:30 - The Power of dark retreats and sensory deprivation
57:40 - Friendship with Delson Armstrong
1:01:20 - Sutra, Tantra, metasystemicity, and stages of development
1:12:16 - The contributions of Dan Brown and Dustin Diperna
1:16:43 - Investing in awakening technologies and making meditation unnecessary
1:26:02 - Aligning artificial intelligence with Dharma
1:36:18 - Navigating the Culadasa controversy

*Subscribe to the Insighter Substack to get in-depth articles on the theory and practice of human transformation through a post-conventional lens

*Add me on Facebook

Daniel Thorson is a former monastic, podcaster, writer, and coach. He spent five years as a resident at the Monastic Academy and has accumulated two years of silent retreat experience.

Daniel is also a certified Aletheia Coach and Circling facilitator, whose work weaves together embodied inquiry, attachment-based healing, philosophical exploration, and relational presence.

For many years, Daniel hosted the Emerge podcast, a pioneering platform that helped catalyze emergent dialogues and shape what many now call the liminal web. He currently writes The Intimate Mirror on Substack, a publication exploring meaning, transformation, intimacy, and the search for religion in the age of Artificial Intelligence.

In this episode we speak about Daniel’s extensive experience living and training at a Monastery, turning break downs into break throughs, developing a better relationship with conceptuality and rationality, Secure attachment with reality, leaving Buddhism, creating a Dharma capable of addressing the meta-crisis and many other resonant threads on personal and collective transformation.

🔗[Links & resources] 🔗

• Daniel’s personal site & coaching services
• Subscribe to Daniel’s Substack
• Follow Daniel on Twitter/X
• The Upper Middle Path & Tech Bro Buddhism by Daniel Thorson
• Daniel Thorson speaking about Secure Attachment to Reality on the Meta-Game podcast
• Daniel speaking about consensus Buddhism and pragmatic dharma on the Buddhist Geeks podcast
• Monastic Academy (MAPLE)
• Transformational Connection
• Aletheia Coach training
• Daniel P. Brown
• David Elliott - Repairing Attachment | Elevating Consciousness podcast

📝[Show Notes] 📝

0:00 - Introduction
5:06 - Daniel’s experience living as a monk
13:32 - Going through a psychological breakdown
17:29 - Discovering attachment work and the ideal parenting protocol
21:56 - Developing a better relationship with conceptuality and rationality
25:25 - Emotional attunement, relational practices, and the importance of safe containers
34:15 - Secure attachment with reality
38:54 - Trusting the intelligence of every experience
40:30 - Is the fundamental nature of reality love?
44:35 - What is missing from Buddhism?
52:10 - Towards a Translineage spirituality
55:50 - Is there anything afforded by identifying as Buddhist or Christian?
1:06:05 - From emptiness/deconstructing to soulmaking/skillfully playing with identity
1:09:29 - A dharma capable of addressing the meta-crisis
1:11:36 - Daniel’s current meditation practice
1:14:20 - Integrating ethics with eros and clarifying desire
1:17:36 - Reflecting on the Human Transformation in a Time of Meta-Crisis conference at Harvard
1:22:17 - The liberation of creative agency

*Subscribe to the Insighter Substack to get in-depth articles on the theory and practice of human transformation through a post-conventional lens

*Add me on Facebook