Jill Bolte Taylor wasn’t seeking a radical shift in perception. It found her when an artery exploded in her brain – disabling her rational analytical mind and leaving barely able to call for help. As a Harvard-trained neuroanatomist, she had a rare “ringside seat” to her own stroke, observing in real time as her brain functions shut down one by one. When parts of her brain went offline, so did her sense of self. Unexpectedly, this created a feeling of peace she’d never felt before.

When Aaron’s employer was bought-out he was abruptly laid-off. As surprising as that was, what happened next was even more jarring. Lying in bed one day, he felt a strange sensation near his feet, that gradually moved up through his body, towards his torso, his head, finally culminating in a feeling of self-dissolution and extreme bliss. He was left wondering, what WAS that? So began an investigation, not merely to understand that experience , but who he was, what life is, and several comparably fundamental questions.

After going through a hard break-up, Scott stumbled up some ideas that made him start to think. He began to carefully observe his feelings and take his life apart. The more Scott paid attention, the more his sense of “self” started to change. This affected his life “quite profoundly”. Although this shift initially was difficult and isolating, it gave way to a lasting feeling of peace.

One morning in 2015, Jesse came to an startling realization. His beliefs and assumptions about the world were terribly faulty. He always knew what it meant to be “ignorant”. Yet somehow, he still spent nearly 30 years drastically underestimating how his perception of the world was different from other people.

Lance grew up as a fundamentalist Christian and earned a degree in engineering. Despite being very convinced of his worldview early in life, one day it suddenly made no sense. It sharpened a question in his mind:  “What the hell is going on?”. This question would initially get even more confusing, not less. After years immersed in meditation, restructuring his life, and cruising a big “spiritual buffet” of resources – he found a big moment of resolution.

Josh Wagner is a third-year neuroscience student at Duke University. He grew up in a military family and we moved a lot. What drew him to psychology and neuroscience – he was always moving to a new place and re-establishing himself. Doing that so many times repeatedly, he came to see the parts of himself that were conditioned and felt like he was always chasing the part that was innate. While flipping through the Peloton app, he found a section on meditation. That snowballed into a much deeper inquiry – still unfolding today.

Russ is an author and content creator from the UK. From a young age he wanted to know the meaning of things. Although he was exposed to various religions, he was “never exposed to deep insights about who or what he really was”. Once he became aware of a few ideas through authors like Alan Watts, a small lightbulb flickered. This ignited a 15-year journey which continues to this day.

Jason Aylsworth is a licensed therapist and Zen practitioner. Jason tells the story of growing up in the Boston area, working really hard in his younger life, striving for all the things that make a person traditionally successful – good grades, good partner, the perfect job, and a perfect life. For some reason though, things never seemed quite right, there was always an itch he couldn’t scratch. One day a question stunned him – why had he mindlessly taken up this pursuit? Was there any other way to life a good life? He shares the moment when a single book changed the course of his life.