Howie (@askhowie & plantyourself.com) is a coach & author & podcast host. His coaching work with people & organisations focuses on leadership, values, productivity & health.

In Sentientist Conversations we talk about the two most important questions: “what’s real?” & “what matters?”

Sentientism is "evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings." The video of our conversation is here on YouTube.

We discuss:

00:00 Welcome

02:01 Howie's Intro

- Coaching & writing

- "Not a big fan of capitalism"

- Effective altruism through organisations

- "Helping people respond to reality"

- Not knowing "what's real?" or "what matters?" but let's try to work it out

04:54 What's Real?

- Growing up in a conservative Jewish household in New Jersey

- Culturally Jewish but "kind of atheist"

- Mother's history of the holocaust & kindertransport

- Father's "Jewish identity & socialism." Needling the Rabbi: "We have to rest on the Sabbath so now I have to walk up 30 flights of stairs?!"

- Being given "The Truth About the Bible" book. Bible inconsistencies & immorality

- "The Jews have learned to argue & doubt & question"

- "The Jewish people must survive" as a core commitment

- Einstein, Marx, Freud

- A militant zionist phase

- "It was safe." There was no danger to the ritual vs. sweatlodges

- A "safe, conventional, suburban religion"

- Attending an Ivy League college

- "There are smart people who believe in ghosts"

- Exploring parapsychology

- "There were serious academics questioning my worldview which was completely materialistic"

- Rejecting the exclusive tribalism & the simplistic narratives of religion but "There is a big effing mystery out there" 

- Shamanic practices "oh honey, it's all bullshit"

- Being sceptical of our own perceptions & reasoning. Be open

- Predictive dreams

- Contextualism... "How is this working for me?"

- "Look for & assume positive intent... then act like it's true"

- Talking to trees, brambles as defences, mycorrhizal fungi as comms networks

- Narratives of dominion vs. "consciousness in everything"

- Arbitrary vs. narratives grounded in reality

- "Supposedly using evidence & reason we've destroyed the planet"

- Checks: 1) consistency with the natural world & 2) compassion

32:50 What Matters?

- Be nice to people

- Mother's experience of Nazi occupation of Austria. "The teachers & her so called friends were wearing Nazi armbands" & "Punch a Nazi".

...and much more. Full show notes at Sentientism.info and on YouTube.

Sentientism is “Evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings.” More at Sentientism.info. Join our "I'm a Sentientist" wall via this simple form.

Everyone, Sentientist or not, is welcome in our groups. The biggest so far is here on FaceBook. Come join us there!

Thanks Graham.