about

Academic bio

[In the traditional third person]. Ruben is a principal investigator and lecturer at Southern Cross University and holds honourary fellowships at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and The University of Queensland. Ruben’s research uncovers empirically grounded and experientially authentic models of meditation, insight, and non-duality. Using a combination of methods including behaviour, neuroimaging, machine learning, and phenomenology, he is investigating some of the rarest states of consciousness available to human beings. Ruben’s research is deeply theoretically driven and traverses multiple levels of explanation, from neurons to psychology. He has published articles in leading journals, regularly speaks at international conferences, consults for the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development, and has written on topics that range from artificial intelligence to psychedelics. Ruben has an eclectic contemplative background, including traditions such as Zen, Advaita, and Theravada.

Personal bio

I was raised in a Christian family that immigrated from Finland to Australia in 1989 where I attended school in one of the toughest neighbourhoods in my state. Somewhere around my 16th birthday, between suspensions from school, I decided to seek truth regardless of the consequences, assuming that “all roads lead to Rome”. A few months later I could no longer hold onto my religion, which catalysed a deep-dive into science, philosophy, and rationality. In parallel I spent most of my afternoons practicing martial arts. After competing in Muay Thai Kickboxing semi-professionally for three years, my body started to give out. I found myself with two broken ribs, a torn chest muscle, and two ruptured discs in my lower back (not exactly but almost at the same time), which made me rethink my trajectory. Then, at the age of 19, I had a revelatory experience that—once again—shook my worldview: I discovered that there was another way to “know” and that deeper insights and wisdom could be uncovered through direct experience. I transferred all my classes from geology to psychology and neuroscience, founded two businesses—one of which was the first online market for bitcoin in Australia—met a Zen teacher, and started a daily meditation practice. I began to see the emptiness of intellectual insights. 10 years later, in a final desperate run for the finish line, I rather spontaneously determined: “I will not stand up from the cushion until this is over”. Three minutes later an ineffable absence occurred and I could no longer find any hint of a problem with life. There was no finish line but there was also never a race. Today I spend my time researching the mind through whatever means works with the goal of devising empirically grounded but wholehearted paths towards self-knowledge and beyond.