New Thinking Allowed with Jeffrey Mishlove Aug 11, 2026 Chris Niebauer earned his Ph.D in cognitive neuropsychology from the University of Toledo, specializing in left- and right-brain differences. He is the author of The Abstract Mind: How Thinking Became the Source of Suffering—And How to Break Free, the bestselling No Self, No Problem: How Neuropsychology Is Catching Up to Buddhism, and its companion workbook. He taught consciousness, mindfulness, brain lateralization, and artificial intelligence for 22 years as a professor at a Pennsylvania state university. In this conversation, Chris explores the philosophical foundations of his new book, The Abstract Mind, drawing on William James’s concept of vicious abstractionism and Alfred North Whitehead’s fallacy of misplaced concreteness to examine how thinking itself can become a source of suffering. Building on the insights of No Self, No Problem, he considers the distinction between consciousness and thought, the role of affective neuroscience and embodied development, and why direct experience may offer a path beyond abstraction. Along the way, he reflects on artificial intelligence, contemplative practice, and what it might mean to come home to the immediacy of lived experience. 00:00:00 Introduction 00:04:03 Chris’s background 00:10:58 Consciousness vs thinking 00:21:42 Thought, memory, abstraction, and reality 00:29:10 Vicious abstraction and the illusion of ownership 00:39:24 The DSM, mental illness, and consciousness 00:48:38 Affective neuroscience and emotion 00:53:11 Trauma, the nervous system, and safety 01:12:19 The richness of direct experience 01:20:32 Redefining our role in the age of AI 01:24:22 Jung, the unconscious, and awareness 01:26:59 A simple practice for everyday life Producer: Elena McNally Editor: John Hartmann (Recorded on July 11, 2026) 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…. To order Consciousness in Jung and Patañjali by Leanne Whitney go to: https://amzn.to/2QY3tS2 To order The Abstract Mind: How Thinking Became the Source of Suffering—And How to Break Free by Chris Niebauer go to https://amzn.to/4vIokrU 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