What is a Good Life? #106
Exploring Meaning In The Universe with Mona Sobhani, Ph.D.
On the 106th episode of What is a Good Life? podcast, I am delighted to introduce our guest, Mona Sobhani, Ph.D. Mona is a cognitive neuroscientist, author, and entrepreneur. A former research scientist at the University of Southern California (USC), she holds a doctorate in neuroscience from USC and completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Vanderbilt University. She is the author of the Ommie 2022 Best Spiritual Book Proof of Spiritual Phenomena: A Neuroscientist’s Discovery of the Ineffable Mysteries of the Universe, which is also a recipient of the 2023 Scientific and Medical Network Book Prize. In her newsletter, Cosmos, Coffee, & Consciousness, she writes about science & spirituality, altered states of consciousness, emergent phenomena, and self-transformation. She is co-founder of The Phoenix Era, a multidisciplinary coaching practice for those seeking deeper meaning and connection. She is also co-founder of Exploring Consciousness, a community of curious scientists seeking to understand consciousness. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, VOX, and other media outlets.
In this enlightening conversation, Mona shares her experience of reconnecting with a sense of a meaningful universe and the impact it has had on her life. We discuss how to find inner peace amidst chaos, the role of synchronicity in shaping meaning, the influence of family and tradition, and the exploration of past lives and emotional release.
This whole conversation invites you to explore meaning and reconnect with nature and the universe in a way that brings more flow, curiosity, and flexibility to your life experience.
The weekly clip from the podcast (5 mins), my weekly reflection (3 mins), the full podcast (68 mins), and the weekly questions all follow below.
1. Weekly Clip from the Podcast
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2. My weekly reflection
Have you ever had a moment in life that left you with chills or goosebumps, a feeling of deep connection, or an overwhelming sense that what you were experiencing was meaningful—something that went beyond any notion of logic or coincidence?
In this conversation, Mona and I briefly discuss synchronicity and the nature of how we experience and perceive moments of synchronicity.
While I have read a few books by Carl Jung, I am no expert on synchronicity. However, to me, when I experience it, it feels as though it informs me that I am where I am supposed to be—I am on my path.
It is not an affirmation or confirmation that life is going to play out exactly as I would want it to.
I am always a little surprised when I listen to people and conversations in spiritual communities or groups, where people proclaim that they are somewhat beyond materialistic lives, only then to evidence “proof” of their growth and development by nodding to a material abundance that has come into their lives.
Without knowing where our lives are going or what they are in their totality, it is hard to say what is good or bad. If growth is what you are after, consider what has led to the most significant change or growth in your life.
In over 250 interviews I have conducted around “What is a good life?” it is quite clear to me that this has generally been ignited by a moment of suffering or pain that led to change. While the participants are clear they wouldn’t wish for it to have happened, they were glad it did, as they were left with no choice but to face it.
From this, I see clearly that we do not necessarily know what is good for us, as what proved to be good for us is often something we initially resisted.
In the interview, Mona mentioned a psychiatrist and author who warned about how we interpret synchronicity. He gave the example of his wedding day, where a storm briefly stopped for the ceremony, a rainbow appeared, etc.—a series of occurrences that left him with a sense of synchronicity around the marriage.
It ended, and apparently not all that well.
This experience raises an important question: does synchronicity guarantee a favourable outcome? Or is its significance found elsewhere?
I don’t believe this ought to question whether they were moments of synchronicity or not—that is only for the beholder of the experience to say.
To me, it suggests that the rewards from observing and engaging with these synchronicities lie somewhere other than in the outcome of events.
"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt" (Matthew 6:19-20).
It is in the belief and felt experience that there is an ongoing conversation or relationship with life itself. That there is an inherent meaning to this life—even if it cannot be rationalised. It is the feeling of aliveness and connection that comes from this.
What these synchronicities mean to me are little or large moments of, “this is your path.”
When I am experiencing that very lived sense of this expression, I feel like I belong. When I sense that I am absolutely where I am supposed to be at any given point in time, I feel like I am part of the very fabric of life—not separate from it.
I can go on living this life, and whatever comes my way, I can accept it and be open to it. It invites a more playful, curious approach to life—one that is open to mystery rather than fixated on control.
Yes, I can use my mind to discern many choices in the day-to-day; it is not a call to be mindless in that sense. However, I know I can trust an intelligence that goes far beyond the permutations and calculations that the mind or logic can make.
It gives me the freedom to express this life to the fullest extent of what my life was meant to be. I am not doing this alone—there is something there with me.
Over the last nine years, whether it was proposing to my wife after only knowing her for the five weeks we travelled in India together, leaving a career, or moving countries several times—when accompanied by meaningful coincidences, or just paying attention to what I perceived to be meaningful energies within me—it allows me to feel held and secure while engaging in what may seem risky or reckless from the outside.
It reveals meaning when things apparently don’t go my way either.
Almost to the extent that the meaningful universe I am engaging with reduces desires, hopes, outcomes, and societal scripts to subplots at most in this unfolding path of life.
For me, this is where true freedom lies—in surrendering to the unfolding mystery of life.
3. Full Episode - Exploring Meaning In The Universe with Mona Sobhani, Ph.D. - What is a Good Life? #106
4. This week’s Questions
Do you believe there is an inherent meaning in the universe?
As per the clip above, have you experienced moments in life that create cognitive dissonance between your worldview and your experience of life?
About Me
I am a coach, podcast host, and writer, based in Berlin, via Dublin, Ireland. I started this project in 2021, for which I’ve now interviewed over 250 people. I’m not looking to prescribe universal answers, more that the guests’ lines of inquiry, musings, experiences, and curiosities spark your own inquiry into what the question means to you. I am also trying to share more genuine expressions of the human experience and more meaningful conversations.
If you’re interested in exploring your own self-inquiry through one-on-one coaching, joining my 5-week Silent Conversations group courses, or fostering greater trust, communication, and connection within your leadership teams, or simply reaching out, feel free to contact me via email or LinkedIn.