Craig Pearson is Executive Vice-President of Maharishi International University (MIU) in Fairfield, Iowa, and a leader in Consciousness-Based education. He has spoken around the United States on this unique approach to education as well as on Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's programs to create world peace.

He has held a number of positions at MIU, including Dean of Faculty, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Dean of Students, Director of Freshman Composition, and Director of MIU Press.

Dr. Pearson holds a Ph.D. in Maharishi Vedic Science from MIU. He is the author of two books, The Supreme Awakening: Experiences of Enlightenment Throughout Time - And How You Can Cultivate Them, available through MIU Press (free chapter available for download) or Amazon. and The Complete Book of Yogic Flying.

He is also the co-author, with Brad Moses, of Peace on Earth, a collection of songs about enlightenment and world peace (available on iTunes). For video versions of these songs, see their YouTube channel. He lives on the MIU campus with his wife Melissa and son Soren.

Transcript of this interview

Interview conducted January 31, 2015.

YouTube Video Chapters:

00:00:00 - Introduction to Buddha at the Gas Pump

00:04:23 - Panning for Gold in Unlikely Sources

00:07:42 - Seven States of Consciousness and Higher Spiritual Development

00:12:01 - Description of the Indescribable

00:16:47 - Profound Transformation and Universal Experience

00:22:38 - Wordsworth's Experience at Tintern Abbey

00:26:42 - Rest and Deep Rest

00:30:20 - The Universal Experience

00:33:59 - The Transformative Effects of Meditation

00:38:01 - The Link Between Coherence and Intelligence

00:42:50 - The Benefits of Brain Integration

00:50:14 - Transforming Consciousness for Harmony with the Planet

01:01:36 - Settling the Waves of the Mind

01:13:01 - Cultivation of Mind and Brain

01:26:05 - The Condition in Which I Function

01:38:45 - A Veil Lifted: A Vision of Glory and Universal Love

01:49:10 - Universal Love and Amma's Hugs

01:53:40 - Experiencing the Underlying Silence

01:57:21 - The Experience of Oneness

02:01:14 - Glimpsing the Higher States of Consciousness

02:04:45 - The Importance of Looking Within

02:09:01 - Researching Cosmic Consciousness through Brain Measures

02:12:39 - Understanding the Neurophysiology of Transcending

02:15:48 - Different Techniques and Brain Functioning

02:18:37 - Universality of Meditation Techniques

02:22:01 - Broadening the Possibilities

02:26:14 - The Special Atmosphere of Iowa City

02:29:26 - The Realities of Personal Growth

02:32:48 - Finding the Self Within

02:36:41 - Cultivating Transcendence

02:40:19 - Craig's Page on BatGap