In this provocative and deeply insightful episode of Epistemic Alchemy, host Dr. Mohammed Raei sits down with sociologist and consciousness theorist Dr. Mike Sosteric to explore the contested terrain of consciousness research, mystical experience, and the urgent need for a decolonized spirituality. Together, they critique dominant neuroscientific models—such as the Entropic Brain Theory—for their Eurocentric, pathologizing assumptions about non-ordinary states of consciousness, and challenge the prevailing materialist view that consciousness originates solely in the brain.

Drawing on his decades of autoethnographic inquiry and spiritual practice, Sosteric articulates a dual-consciousness theory that recognizes the body’s neurological ego alongside a non-local spiritual ego, offering a richer framework for understanding mystical states. He candidly discusses the taboo surrounding mysticism in mainstream sociology and psychology, the suppression of humanistic and transpersonal research, and how systems of toxic socialization and elite-controlled religious archetypes have stunted human potential.

The conversation also delves into what a truly decolonized research methodology might look like, the role of critical consciousness in social transformation, and Sosteric’s vision for a future university grounded in open access, interdisciplinary freedom, and spiritual authenticity. Listeners interested in the intersections of consciousness, decoloniality, education, and inner transformation will find this episode a bold invitation to rethink the foundations of science, selfhood, and society.

Resources:

The entropic brain article:

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/human-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2014.00020/full#B108

Lightening path

https://spiritwiki.lightningpath.org/index.php/Lightning_Path_Workbook_One

Autoethnography of mystical experience

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/363142832_Connection_100_-_An_Auto-ethnography_of_my_Mystical_Connection_Experiences

Tarot Article:

https://www.academia.edu/114664240/A_Sociology_of_Tarot

Frantz Fanon’s book

The Wretched of the Earth