Expanding Consciousness

Reverse Engineering reality: How Perception Shapes Our World | Ep.47

Expanding Consciousness

Show Notes

In this episode, we explore how reality is interpreted through the lens of a software engineer, using analogies from coding and programming. From understanding the layers of abstraction in our perception to diving into consciousness models, we discuss how interpretations shape our experience of life. Learn how emotions, intentions, and interpersonal interactions influence our reality, and discover the potential to rewrite your mental programming for personal growth. If you’ve ever wondered how your “reality parser” works, this conversation is for you.

Timestamps:

• 00:00:00 - Introduction and Overview of the Topic

• 00:01:23 - Reality as Raw Data: Choosing the Right File Type

• 00:02:23 - Analogies Between Coding and Perception

• 00:06:23 - Layers of Consciousness: Timothy Leary’s Eight-Circuit Model

• 00:11:23 - Understanding Misinterpretations and Suffering

• 00:15:23 - Moving Between Abstraction Levels in Perception

• 00:19:23 - Intention as a Tool for Resolving Conflicts

• 00:25:23 - The Role of Isolation in Reprogramming

• 00:30:23 - Refactoring Mental Models for Growth

• 00:36:23 - The Feedback Loop of Input and Output in Reality

• 00:42:23 - Changing the Reality Frame Through Conscious Effort

• 00:50:23 - Navigating Multiple Interpretations of Reality

• 00:57:23 - Acceptance and Letting Go of Control

More from Expanding Consciousness

Sep 18, 2026

Nikolas and Michael get personal about masculinity and the father wound: how boys are quietly taught to suppress emotion, the difference between inheriting a parent's fear and reacting against it, and what it takes to change a pattern carried since childhood. They talk about parenting the way they wish they had been parented, loving a child for who they are rather than what they do, and the hard question of whether a relational wound can be completed without the parent. It ends on blame, grief, and the good memories worth holding onto.

Sep 15, 2026

Nikolas and Michael turn the lens on themselves and the podcast itself: the quiet fear of saying the wrong thing, where self-censorship comes from, and what honest conversation actually costs. They trace their path from software engineering into psychology, move through charged territory like COVID and polarization, and get into the strange discomfort of hearing your own voice. Nikolas introduces the "true mirror," and they land on podcasting as a kind of shadow work and a practice in staying present.

Sep 12, 2026

Michael brings his first experience of Hakomi, a gentle, mindfulness-based somatic therapy, and the two of them unpack what actually happens when the body starts to unwind on its own. They get into following impulses instead of forcing them, why a guided container helps, the discipline of allowing rather than controlling, and how exaggerating a tension can be the thing that finally releases it. Along the way: repression and chronic pain, fascia and non-directive movement, and where Hakomi sits next to TRE.

Aug 9, 2026

Megan's Website: https://unitybreathwork.com/

Jul 22, 2026

You can do years of inner work, but if your nervous system is still organized around threat, the body keeps paying the price through stress, inflammation, and chronic pain. In this episode, trauma therapist Shari B. Kaplan (LCSW) joins Nikolas and Michael to explore how trauma lives in the body, why the nervous system holds the key to lasting healing, and what it really takes to move from surviving to thriving.

See all episodes →