The Backward Step Thu, 09 Jul 2026 18:57:12 -0400 https://www.buzzsprout.com/2622811 en-us © 2026 The Backward Step yes 58176e51-9818-5770-bb40-ba21dc7d4732 Anuj Ansal episodic false

The Backward Step is a podcast that sits at the intersection of neuroscience, contemplative practice, and the therapeutic mind.


Each episode takes a single piece of cutting-edge research, from predictive processing to consciousness science, from the neurobiology of trauma to the psychology of self and follows it all the way down. Not just what the science says, but what it means: for how we suffer, how we heal, and how we might actually live differently.


The name comes from Dogen Zenji's instruction in the Fukanzazengi: "Take the backward step that turns the light and shines it inward." That move away from the surface, toward what's underneath is the spirit of this show.


Hosted by Anuj Ansal, a practicing psychotherapist in Chicago, IL, The Backward Step is for anyone drawn to the deep questions: meditators and clinicians, neuroscience enthusiasts and contemplatives, and anyone who has ever lain awake wondering what is actually going on behind their eyes.

]]> Buzzsprout (https://www.buzzsprout.com) Anuj Ansal https://storage.buzzsprout.com/nw3hiwmi1y44x1bjs6tkf2mtaeid?.jpg The Backward Step https://www.buzzsprout.com/2622811 Many to One Episode 2 - The Dissolution of the Self Many to One Episode 2 - The Dissolution of the Self What if the self isn't a thing but a model? In this episode, we follow the predictive processing framework to its most radical conclusion: the self as a particularly persistent, heavily weighted prior that the brain runs to organize everything else. We explore what happens when meditation begins to loosen that model  from Focused Attention to Open Monitoring to the non-dual states that contemplative traditions have described for centuries. Along the way, we look at what neuroscience says about those states, why psychedelic-assisted therapy and deep meditation appear to be working on the same system, and what enlightenment might actually mean in computational terms. We close with a question about pain, suffering, and a Zen master who one day decided to burn all his books.

Show Notes:

  • Paper discussed: "From Many to N-one: Meditation and the Plasticity of the Predictive Mind" — Laukkonen & Slagter (2021), Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
  • Concepts covered: self-model, Default Mode Network, non-dual states, Radical Plasticity, psychedelic-assisted therapy, enlightenment as low prior strength, pain vs. suffering
  • The Backward Step is hosted by Anuj Ansal, LCPC, a practicing psychotherapist in Chicago, IL
]]> What if the self isn't a thing but a model? In this episode, we follow the predictive processing framework to its most radical conclusion: the self as a particularly persistent, heavily weighted prior that the brain runs to organize everything else. We explore what happens when meditation begins to loosen that model  from Focused Attention to Open Monitoring to the non-dual states that contemplative traditions have described for centuries. Along the way, we look at what neuroscience says about those states, why psychedelic-assisted therapy and deep meditation appear to be working on the same system, and what enlightenment might actually mean in computational terms. We close with a question about pain, suffering, and a Zen master who one day decided to burn all his books.

Show Notes:

  • Paper discussed: "From Many to N-one: Meditation and the Plasticity of the Predictive Mind" — Laukkonen & Slagter (2021), Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
  • Concepts covered: self-model, Default Mode Network, non-dual states, Radical Plasticity, psychedelic-assisted therapy, enlightenment as low prior strength, pain vs. suffering
  • The Backward Step is hosted by Anuj Ansal, LCPC, a practicing psychotherapist in Chicago, IL
]]> Anuj Ansal Buzzsprout-19472315 Thu, 09 Jul 2026 17:00:00 -0500 1646 full false The Predictive Mind The Predictive Mind What if everything you perceive is your brain’s best guess not reality itself? In this first episode, we explore a 2021 paper by Ruben Laukkonen and Heleen Slagter that bridges cutting-edge neuroscience with ancient contemplative wisdom, and finds they’ve been describing the same thing from opposite directions.


We cover the Predictive Processing framework the idea that your brain is a prediction machine, sealed in darkness, running a controlled hallucination we call reality. We trace what this means for consciousness, for suffering, for the Default Mode Network, and for the self. And we follow the thread all the way through to what meditation actually does, mechanically, to the architecture of the mind and why that matters for depression, anxiety, and the therapeutic process.


Paper Referenced: “From Many to N-one: Meditation and the Plasticity of the Predictive Mind”  Laukkonen & Slagter, Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 2021.


Topics: Predictive Processing · Bayesian Brain · Default Mode Network · Focused Attention · Open Monitoring · Radical Plasticity · Ego dissolution · Psychedelics & therapy · Dukkha · Dogen · Therapy · ACT Therapy · Mindfulness · Meditation

Show Notes:

  • Paper discussed: "From Many to N-one: Meditation and the Plasticity of the Predictive Mind" — Laukkonen & Slagter (2021), Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
  • Concepts covered: self-model, Default Mode Network, non-dual states, Radical Plasticity, psychedelic-assisted therapy, enlightenment as low prior strength, pain vs. suffering
  • The Backward Step is hosted by Anuj Ansal, LCPC, a practicing psychotherapist in Chicago, IL
]]> What if everything you perceive is your brain’s best guess not reality itself? In this first episode, we explore a 2021 paper by Ruben Laukkonen and Heleen Slagter that bridges cutting-edge neuroscience with ancient contemplative wisdom, and finds they’ve been describing the same thing from opposite directions.


We cover the Predictive Processing framework the idea that your brain is a prediction machine, sealed in darkness, running a controlled hallucination we call reality. We trace what this means for consciousness, for suffering, for the Default Mode Network, and for the self. And we follow the thread all the way through to what meditation actually does, mechanically, to the architecture of the mind and why that matters for depression, anxiety, and the therapeutic process.


Paper Referenced: “From Many to N-one: Meditation and the Plasticity of the Predictive Mind”  Laukkonen & Slagter, Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 2021.


Topics: Predictive Processing · Bayesian Brain · Default Mode Network · Focused Attention · Open Monitoring · Radical Plasticity · Ego dissolution · Psychedelics & therapy · Dukkha · Dogen · Therapy · ACT Therapy · Mindfulness · Meditation

Show Notes:

  • Paper discussed: "From Many to N-one: Meditation and the Plasticity of the Predictive Mind" — Laukkonen & Slagter (2021), Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
  • Concepts covered: self-model, Default Mode Network, non-dual states, Radical Plasticity, psychedelic-assisted therapy, enlightenment as low prior strength, pain vs. suffering
  • The Backward Step is hosted by Anuj Ansal, LCPC, a practicing psychotherapist in Chicago, IL
]]> Anuj Buzzsprout-19301177 Tue, 16 Jun 2026 18:00:00 -0500 2000 full false