Episode Overview
Podcast: Mayim Bialik's Breakdown
Episode Title: The Science of Messages From Your Soul: NASA Scientist on Telepathy, Mind Reading & What Astronauts Can Teach Us About High-Performance Intuition | Dr. Iya Whiteley
Date: February 17, 2026
Host: Mayim Bialik (with co-host Jonathan Cohen)
Guest: Dr. Iya Whiteley, Cognitive Engineer, NASA/ESA Consultant, Martial Arts Practitioner
Theme:
This episode delves into the untapped capabilities of human intuition, high-performance perception in extreme environments (such as space travel), and the science and personal experiences underlying phenomena like telepathy, synesthesia, and "messages from your soul." Dr. Iya Whiteley brings insights from her career designing astronaut training and studying the frontiers of human perception—challenging listeners to question the limits of the mind, the body, and the very nature of consciousness.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
Dr. Whiteley’s Background and Motivation
- With over 25 years in cognitive engineering and human performance, Dr. Whiteley’s research trajectory led her from aviation to astronaut training, focused on understanding and enhancing the inner tools humans can use anywhere, especially when exposed to extreme environments such as space ([05:45]).
- She herself became a pilot (private license and night flying) to appreciate the perceptual and cognitive world of aviators, learning firsthand what drives high-performance decision making ([13:53]).
The Unseen Skills of Astronauts
- Astronauts and cosmonauts often report feeling like "superheroes," not just due to personal prowess, but because of the intensive support systems and mental simulations that train them to override surprise and fear ([07:54]).
- These professionals are often not only technically gifted but also creatively or philosophically inclined—artists, musicians, repairers, with a unique blend of discipline and openness ([24:23]).
Quote:
“They almost train over that surprise factor... when we do come to the situation, we’re not frozen, which is our first reaction to unexpected... I thought that’s amazing, you know, that you go in, to be blasted off and, you know, literally exploded into space or going into an aircraft.”
— Dr. Iya Whiteley [07:54]
Innate Intuition, Spider Senses, and Martial Arts
- Dr. Whiteley connects her martial arts training (Aikido) to her professional insights: both emphasize keen, often preverbal, perception—what she calls “spider senses”—that enable instantaneous, non-rational decisions in dynamic environments ([29:13], [36:28]).
- High performers cultivate extrasensory, ‘spherical’ awareness that can be narrowed by fear, but expanded through relaxation and openness ([31:04], [44:45]).
Quote:
“If we are worried, if we've got a sense of fear, then the perception narrows and there is a gap in our spider sense...”
— Dr. Iya Whiteley [29:13]
- In Aikido, as in life, she says:
“It was about first of all observation and then allowing things to happen without forcing or intervening...allowing for whatever motion to happen and just join with that flow and work with that flow…”
— Dr. Iya Whiteley [36:28]
High-Performance Intuition in Critical Situations
- She describes firefighter training where experienced professionals develop subconscious, embodied knowing—they act swiftly, guided by cues (a change in wind or temperature) without conscious logic ([47:34]).
- Dr. Whiteley introduces “Iview Expert,” a retrospective method where experts describe their own actions via eye-level footage, stripping away social filters to reveal the unspoken logic of true expertise ([47:34]).
Sensing Beyond Five Senses: Synesthesia & Expanded Perception
- Synesthesia is presented as a model for cross-modal, expanded human perception, with Dr. Whiteley noting up to 150 varieties: “You can hear things, but recognize them as color or see things and feel them in your stomach.” ([55:42])
- The discussion broadens to how “Clair” abilities (clairvoyance, clairaudience, clairsentience) point toward even more subtle forms of information processing that science struggles to quantify ([58:13], [59:34]).
The Role of Intuition in High-Stakes Professions
- Professionals in safety-critical environments (astronauts, pilots, surgeons) often intuitively know things they cannot rationally defend. Yet, culture compels them to rationalize rather than openly acknowledge intuition ([59:34]).
- “As soon as we let go, the opportunity opens—the perceptual capacity, be it intuition, better logic...to me, it’s dropping that state, whatever that is, to allow the perception to be better, be it physiological or intuitive, doesn’t matter.” [73:25]
Telepathy, Field Consciousness, and Messages from the Soul
- Both hosts and guest share anecdotes and research about ‘knowing’—predicting a call, feeling watched, mothers responding to babies before cries, etc., connecting to phenomena explored by Rupert Sheldrake and the HeartMath Institute ([66:36]).
- Dr. Whiteley emphasizes the role of cultural permission: We often deny or suppress these abilities because society deems them implausible ([66:36]).
- She stresses the responsibility that comes with thought and intention: “If I think bad, I would never have any abilities whatsoever. Because if I with my mind can imagine something and it could come true...what if I think something bad, and I inflict it on somebody else?”
— Dr. Iya Whiteley [66:36]
The Power of Thought and Emotional State
- The environment, and our own thoughts, can affect cellular health and group fields—aligning with the perspectives of Bruce Lipton and Joe Dispenza on mind-body connection ([73:25]).
- Selective attention: Dr. Whiteley reminds us that what we focus on can completely mask phenomena in our field of view (referencing the ‘Invisible Gorilla’ experiment), pointing to the limits of perceptual awareness ([73:25]).
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
-
On the “field of consciousness” and love:
“How can Dr. Whiteley's wisdom inform how we see telepathy, the possibility of aliens, the possibility of a field of consciousness where every soul is reachable through a plane of guess what, love.”
— Mayim Bialik [00:17] -
On pilots’ and astronauts’ intuition:
“I would ask them, where did you get that information? I knew they didn't get it in flight. They intuited the number.”
— Dr. Iya Whiteley [00:53], reiterated [59:34] -
On overcoming fear to expand perception:
“As soon as we become worried we seem to unable to... take that extra sensory perception.”
— Dr. Iya Whiteley [29:13] -
On the responsibility of thought:
“If I think bad, I would never have any abilities whatsoever. Because if I with my mind can imagine something and it could come true... what if I think something bad, you know, and I inflict it on somebody else?”
— Dr. Iya Whiteley [66:36] -
On assuming competence (especially for non-speakers):
"Assume competence. And I think it's such a strong thing to come in... whenever you go in... you just have no idea where people come from, what their walk of life is... Maybe they are telepathic, equally so."
— Dr. Iya Whiteley [66:36] -
On dropping into perception:
“By extending that time and allowing our brain to walk that path, or our mind, rather, our mind to be convinced more often, we allow that possibility that we... have that ability.”
— Dr. Iya Whiteley [73:25]
Important Segments with Timestamps
- Intro to Dr. Whiteley, her research theme: [00:17]
- Exploration of astronaut mindset and preparation: [05:45] – [07:54]
- Pilots and personal journey into perception: [13:53] – [16:28]
- Intuition in high-pressure professions, firefighter example: [29:13], [47:34]
- Aikido and embodied extrasensory perception: [36:28] – [39:37]
- Discussion of synesthesia and cross-modal perception: [55:42] – [57:36]
- Scientific challenges and cultural suppression of intuition: [59:34] – [66:36]
- Telepathy, non-local mind, and the ethics of thought: [66:36]
- Influence of thought and group biochemistry (Lipton/Dispenza): [73:25]
- Concluding themes and preview of part two: [78:21]
Closing Summary
This episode offers a compelling exploration of the ‘hidden senses’ that enable high performers—and potentially everyone—to operate beyond what traditional science deems possible. Through stories from astronaut training, martial arts, and expert intuition, Dr. Whiteley advocates for a more open, curious, and responsible approach to our innate abilities. The conversation is rooted in both hard-won scientific rigor and deeply felt personal humility, urging us to consider the reach of our own thoughts, the permeability of consciousness, and the profound impact of love and awareness on ourselves and those around us.
Stay tuned for Part Two, where the discussion will continue on synchronicity, intergenerational healing, and the mysteries of cosmic consciousness.