Chris Niebauer

Chris Niebauer earned his Ph.D. in cognitive neuropsychology at the University of Toledo, specializing in the differences between the left and right sides of the human brain. He is the author of the bestselling book No Self, No Problem: How Neuropsychology Is Catching Up to Buddhism and the workbook that followed it. He was a professor at a state university in Pennsylvania for 22 years, where he taught courses on consciousness, mindfulness, left- and right-brain differences, and artificial intelligence.

In this episode, Chris shares his research into left and right-brain processing and how these differences shape the way we perceive reality. He suggests that much of our suffering and conflict arises from mistaking our thoughts and stories for truth. We explore how this shows up not only in personal life, but also in politics and cultural division, and consider the role of openness and empathy in navigating these tensions.

00:00:00 Introduction

00:03:54 Meaning beyond success and abstraction

00:12:49 Language, representation, reality and AI

00:18:15 Split-brain research, storytelling and certainty

00:23:21 Leadership, integration, and being right

00:31:27 Empowerment and inner agency

00:40:31 Attachment, safety, and fear

00:45:51 Openness and curiosity

00:48:00 Final thoughts

New Thinking Allowed Guest Host Leanne Whitney, PhD, is a depth psychologist and transformational coach based in Los Angeles, CA. She is the author of Consciousness in Jung and Patañjali and currently serves as Executive Director of Center for Transformation and Integration. Her website is https://leannewhitney.com/

To learn about Leanne Whitney’s upcoming Transformational Coaching Certification Course with an emphasis in Somatic Integration Therapy, please visit: https://transformationandintegration.com/courses

Producer: Megumi Nishikura

Editor: John Hartmann

(Recorded on March 6, 2024)

To order Consciousness in Jung and Patañjali by Leanne Whitney go to: https://amzn.to/2QY3tS2

To order No Self, No Problem: How Neuropsychology Is Catching Up to Buddhism by Chris Niebauer go to: https://amzn.to/4cDPfNt

To order the No Self, No Problem Workbook by Chris Niebauer, click on https://amzn.to/4cDa0IZ

Check out the New Thinking Allowed Foundation website at http://www.newthinkingallowed.org. There you will find our incredible, searchable database as well as opportunities to shop and to support our video productions – plus, this is where people can subscribe to our FREE, weekly Newsletter and can download a FREE .pdf copy of our quarterly magazine.

To order high-quality, printed copies of our quarterly magazine: NTA-Magazine.MagCloud.com

Check out New Thinking Allowed’s AI chatbot. You can create a free account at awakin.ai/open/jeffreymishlove. When you enter the space, you will see that our chatbot is one of several you can interact with. While it is still a work in progress, it has been trained on 1,600 NTA transcripts. It can provide intelligent answers about the contents of our interviews. It’s almost like having a conversation with Jeffrey Mishlove.

Download and read Jeffrey Mishlove’s Grand Prize essay in the Bigelow Institute competition, Beyond the Brain: The Survival of Human Consciousness After Permanent Bodily Death, go to https://www.bigelowinstitute.org/docs/1st.pdf.

Published on May 27, 2026