The Telepathy Tapes – Talk Tracks Ep. 18: The Neuroscientist Who Says Consciousness Creates Reality

Host: Ky Dickens
Guest: Dr. Tony Nader—Neuroscientist, Author, Leader of the Transcendental Meditation Movement
Air Date: September 14, 2025

Overview

This gripping episode explores the radical, paradigm-shifting idea that consciousness is not a product of the brain, but the very foundation from which reality itself emerges. Host Ky Dickens is joined by Dr. Tony Nader (MD, PhD, Harvard, MIT), who outlines his theory that everything, from human awareness to the physical universe, springs from a universal field of consciousness. The conversation weaves scientific, philosophical, and ancient spiritual perspectives, delving into the nature of self, the spectrum of consciousness, transcendental meditation, and profound implications for understanding non-speaking autistic individuals and savants. Dr. Nader also offers a roadmap for personal and collective realization.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Introducing Dr. Tony Nader and the Episode’s Theme

• [01:44] Ky Dickens introduces Dr. Tony Nader, highlighting his medical and neuroscience credentials, and his journey from conventional neuroscience to the theory that "consciousness creates everything."
  • “The brain does not create consciousness. Instead, consciousness creates everything.” — Ky Dickens [01:59]
• The episode’s stated goal is to investigate consciousness as the ground of reality, and connect this to themes of extraordinary abilities observed in non-speaking individuals with autism.

Dr. Nader’s Journey: From Brain Science to Primacy of Consciousness

• [03:12] Dr. Nader details his training in psychiatry, neurology, and brain science, and his initial belief in the primacy of the brain.
• He describes his personal experience with Transcendental Meditation, then his unexpected life shift after meeting its founder, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who “wanted the understanding that consciousness is scientific...they can be practiced.” [04:17–06:18]
  • “The two, three weeks became my whole life...Because I delved and went deep into that.” — Dr. Tony Nader [05:36]

The Fundamental Nature of Consciousness

• [06:26] Dr. Nader contrasts dualism (separate mind and body) with monism, arguing both scientifically and philosophically for consciousness as the source of the physical.
  • He critiques physicalism’s inability to explain subjective experience.
  • “Whatever happens in the mind is reflected in the physiology. And also what is happening in the physiology is reflected in the mind.” — Dr. Tony Nader [07:28]
• Defining consciousness as non-material, Dr. Nader posits that everything we experience exists through consciousness: “Without consciousness, we have nothing.” [08:45]

Expanding the Definition: Consciousness Is a Spectrum

• [10:08] Dr. Nader broadens consciousness to a universal spectrum, from the most basic responses (like a stone reacting to gravity) up through plants, animals, and humans.
  • “My definition of consciousness is anything that can sense, detect, interact, feel, respond to anything else.” — Dr. Tony Nader [10:12]
  • Argues against “anthropomorphic” biases, advocating for a principle that even inanimate matter participates, minimally, in consciousness.
  • “The stone just responds and has no choice. It responds to gravity and it falls. But this response is a meager minor level of consciousness.” — Dr. Tony Nader [13:26]

The World as Manifested Consciousness

• [18:22] Dickens and Nader agree: all that exists is a manifestation of the same collective consciousness, expressed at different levels.
  • “Absolutely. This is my whole thesis.” — Dr. Tony Nader [18:36]
• Dr. Nader uses the metaphor of an infinite, boundless ocean: the field of consciousness, out of which all diversity arises as waves.
  • Emphasizes “self-referral”—consciousness reflecting on itself creates diversity (the knower, the knowing, and the known).
  • “Within the one consciousness...the knower, the knowing and the known. And this is where diversity starts in the field of oneness.” — Dr. Tony Nader [19:34]

Why Does Manifestation Occur?

• [22:55] Dr. Nader likens consciousness’s urge to manifest to an author wanting to truly “know” what it’s like to be a character.
  • “Its nature is to be conscious in every possible way. It looks at itself and it sees all these ways of being conscious...What it does is hides its own nature and experiences from a limited perspective.” — Dr. Tony Nader [24:59]
• States: “To get liberated from that, you have to dive deep and know that you are the ocean. Now this is what transcendental meditation actually does...allows you, while remaining yourself, to pierce through the secret and experience who you truly are. You are the ocean.” [27:45]
  • “We are all the ocean. That’s what brings deep unity to our existence...” — Dr. Tony Nader [28:31]

Self-Realization and the Purpose of Life

• [32:16] Producer Kathryn Ellis asks if realizing one’s oceanic self defeats the purpose of being human.
• Dr. Nader responds that realizing the self fulfills the journey’s goal:
  • “It gives you all energy and all blessings and all well being and good health and...happiness...” [32:31]
• Further, the impulse to help others realize this is a natural extension of the self’s interconnectedness.
  • “Yourself is one aspect Catherine, but yourself is also others...And once you have accomplished yourself, you want every one of your other selves also to kind of come and experience how beautiful it is to know the self.” — Dr. Tony Nader [34:39]

Extraordinary Abilities and the Non-Speaking Autistic Population

• [35:05] Ellis revisits non-speaking autistics and savants—individuals who often have access to unlearned knowledge or extraordinary talents.
• Dr. Nader relates this to his thesis:
  • “The same field is a field of all possibilities...Those are different ways of being conscious also.”
  • He urges humility in defining intelligence and normal/abnormal, noting that these “ways” can lead to more joy and truth. [35:48]

Realizing Oneness: Not for the Few, but for All

• [37:06] Ellis points out that experiences of unity or transcendence are not exclusive to non-speaking autistics or savants.
• Dr. Nader emphasizes the democratization of these experiences—meditation and “technologies of consciousness” can provide access for anyone.
  • There’s no need for isolation: “even productive, daily active people can also have this value within themselves.” [38:25]
  • Explains the concept of the “fourth state” of consciousness (transcendental) and “cosmic consciousness,” validated with scientific brainwave studies.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “The brain does not create consciousness. Instead, consciousness creates everything.” — Ky Dickens [01:59]
• “Consciousness is All There Is.” — Dr. Tony Nader, citing the title of his book [03:10]
• “Whatever happens in the mind is reflected in the physiology. And also what is happening in the physiology is reflected in the mind.” — Dr. Tony Nader [07:28]
• “My definition of consciousness is anything that can sense, detect, interact, feel, respond to anything else.” — Dr. Tony Nader [10:12]
• “The stone just responds...this response is a meager minor level of consciousness.” — Dr. Tony Nader [13:26]
• “We are all the ocean. That’s what brings deep unity to our existence.” — Dr. Tony Nader [28:31]
• “It’s not having more, it’s being more that is important.” — Dr. Tony Nader [33:40]
• “What they live themselves may be more happiness or joy and more truth sometimes. That’s why we have to be humble in terms of what we define as intelligence or what is normal, what is abnormal.” — Dr. Tony Nader [36:52]
• “There is a technology...that allows us to dive deep within and experience that and live it while being functional and productive in society...That is why we teach transcendental meditation...” — Dr. Tony Nader [37:31]

Timestamps for Major Segments

• 01:44 – Ky Dickens introduces Dr. Nader and episode theme
• 03:12 – Dr. Nader’s scientific and personal journey to primacy of consciousness
• 06:26 – Scientific and philosophical breakdown of consciousness vs. matter
• 10:08 – Consciousness as a universal spectrum, not limited to humans
• 18:22 – Manifestation from the field; metaphor of the ocean of consciousness
• 22:55 – Consciousness creates diversity by self-referral; analogy of author and characters
• 27:45 – Transcendental meditation as a means to recognize true self
• 32:31 – Self-realization, fulfillment, and happiness
• 35:05 – Non-speaking autistics and savants and the access to the field of all possibilities
• 37:31 – Transcendental meditation as technology for anyone to experience unity

Tone and Takeaways

The conversation is earnest, exploratory, and at times poetic, moving seamlessly between rigorous logic and profound metaphors. Dr. Nader’s “gentle invitation back to the self” encourages both awe and skepticism, leaving listeners with practical hope: the extraordinary is accessible to all. Listeners are challenged to reconsider what counts as consciousness, intelligence, and the very basis of reality—even in the silent wisdom of the underestimated.

For further exploration, the episode links to Dr. Tony Nader’s book, “Consciousness Is All There Is.”

“Please remember to stay kind, stay curious, and that being a true skeptic requires an open mind.” — Ky Dickens [40:44]