Consciousness Beyond the Brain — and Why It Matters Now
- Bernard Beitman, MD
- 7 minutes ago
- 2 min read
What grief, synchronicity, and education can teach us about the future of human awareness — with Lauren Waterman.
What if consciousness isn’t something the brain produces—but something we participate in?
In this episode of Connecting with Coincidence, Dr. Bernard Beitman speaks with Laurel Waterman, a Canadian researcher and educator working to bring consciousness studies into the classroom. Together, they explore a question that quietly underlies everything from science to culture to personal meaning: what is consciousness, really—and why does our answer matter right now?
Rather than debating theory alone, Laurel describes how worldview shifts often happen through lived experience. Grief, personal anomalies, and moments of synchronicity challenged her early assumptions and opened space for a postmaterialist understanding of mind—one that sees consciousness as fundamental rather than incidental.
She argues that data by itself rarely changes hearts or paradigms; transformation emerges through story, relationship, and direct encounter. The conversation moves through education, cultural conditioning, self-observation, and the power of meaningful coincidence, ultimately asking how young people—and all of us—might be empowered to think beyond a purely materialist model of reality.
From questions about whether the brain creates consciousness to reflections on love, purpose, and living with the unknown, this episode invites listeners to sit with mystery rather than rush to closure. If you’ve ever felt guided by something you couldn’t explain—or sensed that awareness itself might be more expansive than we’ve been taught—this conversation offers a thoughtful, grounded place to begin re-examining what we think we know.
Meet Laurel now on the Connecting with Coincidence podcast:
About Laurel Waterman
Laurel Waterman holds a PhD in Curriculum, Teaching, and Learning (Wellbeing Emphasis) from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. Her research focuses on consciousness education—how different perspectives on the source and nature of consciousness shape ways of being, knowing, teaching, and learning.
Laurel works to popularize participatory and postmaterialist paradigms in education in service of wellbeing. She is an adjunct faculty member in the University of Toronto’s Department of Communication, Culture, Information and Technology and teaches in the Alef Trust’s MSc in Consciousness, Spirituality, and Transpersonal Psychology.
And be sure to check out our other fascinating podcast guests in our Connecting with Coincidence library of episodes: