Kia Ora, Ni Hao and Hello, welcome to the Chiwi Journal Podcast. I’m your host, Camellia Yang. Today’s guest is Dawn Musil, a Network School active member, consultant in natural capital, writer on biotech and community, and someone with an extraordinary personal journey—from growing up in a cult, to Oxford, to McKinsey, to building businesses inside an experimental intentional community. This conversation moves through identity, community, resilience, curiosity, and the courage to rewrite your own story. If you’re interested in alternative education, Network States communities, or simply how people rebuild their lives with openness and grit, this episode is for you. * Leaving a high-control cult at seventeen and rebuilding life with no map, no support system, and no blueprint * What Network School feels like from the inside * Micro-businesses emerging in community: bikes, scooters, smoothies, and more * Natural capital and what “working with nature” actually looks like * Behind the scenes of McKinsey’s AI tool launch * Oxford’s enduring traditions and why they still matter * Beekeeping, insects, and the search for Malaysia’s legendary honey harvesters * Long-distance bike riding and the generosity of strangers * The rising importance of community in modern life * The note she’d leave for her younger self Links/Resources Mentioned: * Network School * Connect with Dawn Musil on LinkedIn and IG * Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover * A Glimpse of Tomorrow: Life Inside Network School * Network State Conference 2025: James of Ârc * The Skoll Scholarship * Ellison Institute of Technology Oxford * The Most Dangerous Job in the World Harvesting Honey from Giant Killer Bees * The cult of McKinsey: Belief, Belonging, and the Architecture of Community * Venture for America

Last month at the Hamburg Literature Festival, I heard Dan Brown discuss his latest novel, a thriller that explores what happens to consciousness when the body dies. But this isn't just fiction. The book weaves together real neuroscience research, declassified CIA experiments, and a theory that challenges everything we think we know about the mind. What if your brain doesn't create consciousness but just receives it? What if the reality you perceive is heavily filtered, and death simply removes that filter? And what happens when intelligence agencies try to weaponise these ideas? In this episode, I break down the science behind nonlocal consciousness theory, the GABA filter mechanism, near-death experiences, sudden savant syndrome, and the CIA's decades-long experiments with remote viewing. Whether these ideas resonate as cutting-edge science or elaborate pseudoscience, they raise questions we all face: What are we? And what happens when we die? Key concepts: Nonlocal Consciousness Theory — Consciousness as a fundamental universal element, not generated by the brain GABA (Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid) — The neurotransmitter that filters reality and prevents sensory overload Cocktail Party Effect — How we hear everything but only consciously process what matters Habituation — The brain's energy-saving mechanism that ignores constant stimuli Near-Death Experiences (NDEs) — What happens when GABA levels drop to zero before death Out-of-Body Experiences (OBEs) — Consciousness detaching from physical constraints Postictal Bliss — The expanded consciousness state after epileptic seizures Retrocausality — The theory that effects can precede causes; time as non-linear Sudden Savant Syndrome — Acquiring extraordinary skills after head injuries CIA Stargate Project — The real Cold War program studying remote viewing (1970s-1990s) Threshold Project — The fictional CIA program weaponising consciousness through brain-machine interfaces H2M Interface — Human-to-Machine brain interfaces based on nanoelectric biofilaments Remote Viewing — Using consciousness to perceive distant locations Psychonauts — Test subjects whose consciousness operates at the edge of death Books Referenced: * The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown * The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown * The Doors of Perception by Aldous Huxley * The Wreck of the Titan by Morgan Robertson (1898) * Ecclesiastes (Biblical text) * 📝 Read the full article: https://chiwijournal.substack.com/p/dan-brown-the-secret-of-secrets Questions to ponder * What if consciousness was never contained in your body to begin with? * If death is just a filter being removed, what reality would you see? * Can science eliminate our fear of death? And if so, how would that change humanity? * Are psychedelic experiences hallucinations, or glimpses of "more reality"? * Should consciousness be studied, or is weaponising it crossing an ethical line? If this episode made you think differently about consciousness and death, please share it with someone who's ever wondered what happens when we die.

Today on the podcast, I’m talking with my friend David Ridley-Parris, a coach who helps people navigate life’s biggest transitions and design careers that truly align with their identity. After years on Wall Street and in Silicon Valley, David left the corporate grind for a slower-paced life in Portugal and a new calling in grief coaching. In this episode, he shares how personal loss shaped his path, why grief coaching is about envisioning the future, and how AI, group coaching, and community are transforming his practice. 🔑 Key Points * Why David left Wall Street and Silicon Valley to start anew in Portugal. * David’s coaching philosophy: strategic questioning for self-discovery. * Grief coaching as a forward-looking practice — beyond therapy’s clinical lens. * The concepts of liminal space, primary loss, and secondary loss. * Insights from working with global clients and the LGBTQ+ community. * Group coaching: peer accountability, confidentiality, and shared growth. * How AI tools enhance coaching through summaries and action tracking. * Professional growth opportunities and the forthcoming Grief Coaching Network. Connect with David on LinkedIn Navigate Your Path Forward: David’s website

In this episode of Chiwi Journal, two AI hosts take you on a deeply personal journey across continents, from Shandong to Auckland, London to Lisbon, as they share Camellia’s story of moving 20,000 miles and confronting an invisible tiger she’d been running from her entire life: her own ambition. Together, they explore the weight of cultural expectations, the silent pressure of “neijuan”, and the bittersweet lessons Portugal taught about slowing down, letting go, and simply being human. This is a story about identity, burnout, and the quiet permission to exist without constant achievement, and maybe, it’s about finding your own way to stop running too. NOTE: This episode was created using Notebook LM to transform Camellia’s original article into a podcast-style narration. If you enjoyed it, consider subscribing for more reflections on life, culture, and creativity.