March 06, 2026

What If the Self You’re Trying to Improve Isn’t There?

54 minutes

The podcast series explores a game-changing understanding of the human mind that operates “Before Psychology” — the secret source that exponentially increases peace, performance, and potential for any individual or organisation.

What if a huge amount of human stress, striving, and psychological effort comes from trying to fix, improve, and manage a self that isn’t actually what we think it is? Are you ready to explore that now?

In this episode of the Quality of Mind: Transforming Business podcast, Piers is joined once again by regular guest and fellow Quality of Mind collaborator Katrijn Van Oudheudsen to explore her newly republished book, Seeing No Self.

At a time when modern culture increasingly promotes self-optimisation, productivity hacks, and constant self-improvement, this conversation questions a deeper assumption behind it all: the idea that we are a separate psychological self who must constantly be fixed, improved, and managed.

Through the lens of Direct Inquiry, Katrijn explains why this belief sits at the root of much unnecessary stress, pressure, and psychological effort — and how investigating our experience directly can reveal something very different.

Rather than offering another philosophy, mindset technique, or spiritual belief system, Seeing No Self invites readers to explore a practical and experiential approach to discovering what we actually are before the psychological identity we spend so much energy maintaining.

The conversation explores why this understanding is becoming increasingly relevant in a culture driven by identity, performance pressure, and personal responsibility — and why direct inquiry offers a simple yet powerful way to look beyond it.

Key Discussion Takeaways

The modern self-improvement culture can unintentionally reinforce psychological pressure

The belief in a separate self creates unnecessary stress and identity management

Direct Inquiry offers a practical way to investigate experience rather than adopt beliefs

Seeing through the illusion of the self reveals natural peace, intelligence, and potential

This understanding is relevant not only for wellbeing but also for leadership and performance

Key Chapters include:

00:00 The Pressure of Modern Self-Improvement

03:30 What “Seeing No Self” Actually Means

04:40 The Hidden Resource Behind the Psychological Self

07:00 Why This Understanding Is Relevant for Everyone

10:50 The Cultural Pressure to Improve Ourselves

15:40 What Direct Inquiry Really Is

27:10 Why the Illusion of Self Is More Fragile Than It Appears

38:00 Direct Inquiry vs Traditional Spiritual Approaches

42:00 Why Most People Avoid Looking Directly

44:40 Why Inquiry Is Simpler Than We Think

46:50 Who This Book Is (and Isn’t) For

Curious — want to know more?

Buy, read and review the book now.

You can find out more about Katrijn Van Oudheusden and her work on Daily Non-Duality Substack.

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TASTE THE MANGO — YouTube all about Direct Inquiry. Explore for yourself.

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