Marilyn Schlitz & Parapsychology
Irreverent Health
11/13/25
•58m
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Summary
In this expansive conversation, Dr. Marilyn Schlitz shares her lifelong journey into consciousness, healing, and human potential. She recounts pivotal early-life events—from accidentally ingesting lighter fluid as a toddler to a profound out-of-body experience after a motorcycle accident at 16—that shaped her understanding of the mind-body connection. Marilyn explains how paradigm-shifting books and early mentors led her into formal research on remote viewing, intentional healing, and altered states of consciousness.
The discussion covers her work with astronaut Edgar Mitchell, her groundbreaking experiments measuring the physiological impact of intention, and her current teaching in transpersonal psychology. Matt and Tom explore topics like imagination vs. true experience, interconnectedness, dreamwork, the modern crisis of information overload, and why many scientists fear exploring anomalous experiences publicly. Marilyn emphasizes humility, awe, and the practice of making meaning as tools for healing in an increasingly chaotic world.
Takeaways
- Early childhood and adolescent experiences sparked Marilyn’s lifelong interest in healing and consciousness.
- An out-of-body experience at 16 deeply influenced her understanding of human perception.
- Visualizing her body healing introduced her to the power of imagination in recovery.
- Books by Thomas Kuhn and Edgar Mitchell catalyzed her journey into consciousness research.
- Marilyn conducted rigorous remote-viewing and intentional-healing experiments with statistically significant results.
- Many scientists have anomalous or mystical experiences but fear public ridicule.
- Transpersonal psychology examines experiences beyond the ego, including spirituality and interconnectedness.
- Dreamwork can reveal shared symbolic meaning and deepen self-understanding.
- Overexposure to global crises overwhelms our cognitive limits and increases anxiety.
- Awe, humility, and connection can counterbalance social fragmentation and stress.
- Social media often acts as a “weapon of mass distraction,” disrupting our sense of meaning.
- Healing may come from accepting mystery, embracing mortality, and recognizing interconnectedness.
- Marilyn’s career reflects a continuous thread: exploring consciousness through science, spirituality, and lived experience.
Chapters
00:00 Introductions & Thursday Night Energy
01:06 “How Did You Get Here?” — Opening the Story
01:47 Childhood Accident & First Seeds of Healing
03:14 Motorcycle Crash & Out-of-Body Experience
04:42 Discovering Imagination as a Healing Tool
05:33 Growing Up in Detroit & Wanting to Help Society
06:09 Paradigm Shifts: Thomas Kuhn & New Worldviews
07:04 Edgar Mitchell’s Psychic Exploration
08:01 Timing, Synchronicity & Personal Awakening Moments
09:43 Navigating a Chaotic Time
10:08 Imagination vs. True Experience
12:00 Meaning-Making & The Limits of Certainty
12:54 N of One but Universal Phenomena
13:58 Consciousness, Connection & Social Healing
14:36 Near-Death Experiences & Shared Patterns
16:13 Dreamwork, Creativity & Symbolic Interpretation
18:36 Emerging Patterns Across Podcast Guests
20:28 Information Overload & Finding Human Intersections
23:11 What Is Transpersonal Psychology?
24:43 Skepticism, Stigma & Scientists’ Hidden Experiences
26:36 Michael Shermer’s “Impossible Radio” Story
29:35 Mortality, Anxiety & Tribalism
31:06 Experiments on Intention Affecting Physiology
33:41 Why Experimenters Performed the Best
35:10 The Small, Interconnected World of Consciousness Research
36:45 Guest Selection, Synchronicity & Growing Momentum
38:41 Learning from Every Perspective
39:57 Remote Viewing & Ancient Traditions
41:06 Impossible Languages & Mystical Phenomena
43:11 Marilyn’s Career Path & Caribbean Fieldwork
45:33 Working with Astronaut Edgar Mitchell
47:00 Dreams as Guidance for Life’s Next Steps
48:50 How to Improve Dream Recall
50:04 Telescopes, Microscopes & Exploring Awareness
51:00 Aurora Borealis & Evidence of Mystery
52:05 Awe, Humility & Staying Grounded
53:24 Social Media, Politics & Dunbar’s Number
55:31 Choosing Attention & Protecting Mental Health
56:22 Marilyn’s Work, Books & Upcoming Projects
57:22 Closing Reflections & Inviting Marilyn Back
The post Marilyn Schlitz & Parapsychology first appeared on Irreverent Health.
Previous Episode
Chef & Dr. Mike Fenster & Food as Medicine
November 7, 2025
•78m
Summary
Chef Dr. Mike joins Tom and Matt for a wide-open conversation that jumps from quantum physics to cardiology to culinary wisdom—always coming back to one core idea: food is information. He explains how modern ultra-processed foods disrupt the body’s natural signaling systems, how the gut microbiome is “entangled” with human biology, and why viewing food through the lens of information theory and entropy can transform how we think about health.
Dr. Mike also shares the unlikely arc of his journey: a childhood love of cooking, a career in cardiology, brutal medical training, NIH-level research, and ultimately a return to culinary medicine inspired by his own health struggles. The discussion explores industry-driven nutrition myths, the biochemical intelligence behind traditional food pairings, the future role of quantum computing in understanding food, and the idea that true health is resilience, not perfection.
This episode mixes science, humor, philosophy, quantum weirdness, and practical wisdom—delivering one of the most thought-provoking conversations around food, medicine, and the human experience.
Takeaways
- Food acts as information, not just calories or nutrients.
- Ultra-processed foods deliver “garbage data” that confuses the body.
- The gut microbiome is entangled with human biology.
- Traditional diets may reflect biochemical wisdom, not coincidence.
- Medical nutrition guidelines are often industry-influenced or outdated.
- Dr. Mike’s path went from chef → cardiologist → culinary medicine.
- Modern medicine pushes doctors into impossible patient volumes.
- Quantum computing and synthetic data will reshape nutritional science.
- The more we learn about food, the more we realize we don’t know.
- Health is resilience, not fragile homeostasis.
- Moderate alcohol may assist glymphatic brain detox (in some models).
- Animals have instinctive nutritional intelligence—humans used to.
- Gut bacteria may influence cravings and taste preferences.
- Information theory explains why food synergy matters.
- We underestimate the complexity of food (140,000+ compounds).
- Overeating ultra-processed foods may be the body seeking “more samples.”
- Epigenetics and memory suggest the body “knows” more than we think.
- Experiences like past-life recall, language shifts, and transplant memories raise big questions.
- Culinary medicine bridges science, culture, intuition, and quantum ideas.
Chapters
00:00 – Opening banter: CB1 receptors, absinthe & “it’s all connected”
01:12 – Natural vs ultra-processed foods
02:10 – Food as information: the quantum link
03:05 – Gut microbiome as entangled system
04:45 – Diet trends & removing processed foods
06:18 – Frequency, healing modalities & quantum perspectives
07:40 – Information as energy & entropy
08:30 – Dr. Mike’s origin story: from chef to cardiologist
10:20 – ER culture, training trauma & toughness
12:32 – Resilience and thick skin in medicine & the arts
13:25 – Martial arts lineage & Budo Taijutsu
15:12 – Health crisis leads back to food
16:07 – Lab science, Feynman thinking & flawed guidelines
17:30 – Why truth rarely surfaces in medicine
18:43 – Cholesterol, LDL nuance & over-simplified metrics
20:01 – Practitioner reality vs public messaging
21:25 – Groupthink, politics & dominant logic
22:33 – Industrialized medicine & patient throughput
24:48 – Advanced lipid testing and new perspectives
26:13 – Aging, resilience & flawed research cohorts
27:15 – Blue Zones and misunderstood longevity
28:34 – Glymphatic system & moderate alcohol study
29:40 – Dosing errors in nutrition science
30:09 – Adenosine research & rodent ethics
30:53 – Quantum computing & synthetic data
31:38 – Amino acids, entropy & Pandora’s box
32:08 – Claude Shannon, negative entropy & information theory
34:03 – Information changing form (the “song” analogy)
35:10 – Superposition explained using a restaurant menu
36:26 – Infinite possibilities & quantum computing
38:59 – Synthetic molecules, mirror DNA & global concern
39:54 – The expanding hole of not-knowing
40:25 – Dynamic balance vs static equilibrium
42:10 – Resilience as the true measure of health
43:26 – Food synergy: garlic, wine & red meat
48:19 – Gut bacteria & cravings
49:47 – Ultra-processed foods & variational free energy
50:46 – Animal instinct & nutritional intelligence
52:09 – Epigenetics, memory & innate knowing
53:26 – Past-life memory & transplant phenomena
54:17 – Brain states, breathwork & altered consciousness
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Next Episode
Dr. Eben Alexander & Proof of Heaven
November 14, 2025
•80m
Summary
In this powerful conversation, neurosurgeon and author Dr. Eben Alexander shares the extraordinary story of his near-death experience, the scientific anomalies surrounding his recovery, and the deep spiritual insights that followed. After an E. coli meningitis infection shut down his neocortex, Dr. Alexander entered what he describes as an ultra-real realm of consciousness—one far richer and more structured than waking life. He discusses the amnesia that removed his earthly identity, his encounters with a loving guide, and the profound lessons embedded in life reviews.
The discussion explores the intersection of neuroscience, quantum physics, reincarnation research, meditation, psychedelics, and the nature of consciousness itself. Dr. Alexander argues that the brain does not create consciousness but filters it, and he points to scientific evidence—from telepathy to children’s verified past-life memories—that supports this model. Through meditation, sound-based brainwave entrainment, and open-minded exploration, he believes people can access expanded states of awareness without the risks of psychedelics.
Throughout the episode, Matt and Tom openly wrestle with skepticism, fear of death, imagination vs. reality, and what it means to integrate mystical experiences into everyday life. Dr. Alexander leaves listeners with an empowering message: we are interconnected, consciousness is fundamental, and love is the organizing principle of the universe.
Takeaways
- Dr. Alexander’s adoption, reunion with his birth family, and emotional history shaped the backdrop of his NDE.
- His brain was medically incapable of producing hallucinations, presenting a scientific puzzle.
- His NDE began with total amnesia of his earthly life—allowing a deeper exploration without bias.
- Music, frequency, and vibration played a major role in navigating spiritual realms.
- Life reviews often include experiencing events from other people’s perspectives, reinforcing the Golden Rule.
- Time in NDEs is non-linear; entire lifetimes can unfold in moments.
- Psychedelics quiet the brain rather than stimulate it, suggesting consciousness expands when the brain steps aside.
- Meditation (especially using binaural beats) can access deep states similar to psychedelic or NDE experiences.
- Scientific evidence for reincarnation includes 2,500+ investigated child cases, 1,700 of which are matched to actual individuals.
- Around 7% of modern children report past-life details that align with established patterns.
- Telepathic experiences among twins and biological relatives support the idea of shared consciousness.
- The brain functions as a filter or receiver—not the origin—of consciousness.
- Psychedelics can promote ego dissolution, but one dose is often enough; meditation offers a safer, steadier path.
- Fear of death can be dramatically reduced when people access expanded consciousness.
- The core lesson Dr. Alexander shares: love, connection, and awareness extend beyond physical life.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction & Opening
01:03 Family Name History & Psychic Insights
02:07 DNA, Heritage & Unexpected Ancestry
03:27 Gaps in Family History & Medical Curiosity
03:47 Adoption Story & Emotional Impact
05:23 The Path Leading to His 2008 Coma
06:07 Scientific Upbringing & Shifting Worldviews
06:44 Quantum Physics & Consciousness
07:48 Entering Coma from Meningitis
08:31 Coming Out: Why He Calls It a Blessing
08:58 Medical Case Report & Impossible Recovery
09:28 Other Documented Healing Cases
10:24 Total Amnesia During the NDE
11:32 Music, Frequency & Ascending Realms
12:07 The Gateway Valley & Life Reviews
13:39 The Being on the Butterfly Wing
14:27 Misunderstood Phrase: “You Can Do No Wrong”
16:19 Why His Identity Was Removed
17:28 Time Distortion During the NDE
18:24 Research on 700+ Life Reviews
20:59 Experiencing Others’ Perspectives
21:43 Free Will & Quantum Mechanics
22:16 Consciousness Beyond the Brain
23:21 Meditation Practice & Contact with His Father
24:47 Skepticism, Psychedelics & Hard Questions
26:21 Comparing DMT to the NDE
27:44 Psychedelics Reduce Brain Activity
30:06 Brain as Filter vs. Generator
31:27 Ego Dissolution & Addiction Studies
32:59 Sacred Acoustics & Sound-Based Meditation
34:59 Integrating Science, Spirituality & Experience
36:28 Scientific Evidence for the Afterlife
37:25 UVA Reincarnation Studies
38:22 Past-Life Memory Patterns in Children
39:07 Imagination vs. Past-Life Recall
40:25 Birthmarks Matching Past-Life Injuries
41:35 Why Memories Fade by Age 7
42:33 Cultural Norms Around Reincarnation<...
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