Peter Russell

Peter Russell Profile Photo

Peter Russell is a leading thinker on consciousness and contemporary spirituality. He coined the term "global brain" with his 1980's bestseller of the same name in which he predicted the Internet and the impact it would have on humanity. He is the author of fourteen other books, including Waking Up in Time, From Science to God, Letting Go of Nothing and How to Meditate Without Even Trying.
He studied theoretical physics, experimental psychology, and computer science at the University of Cambridge, and meditation and Eastern Philosophy in India. In the 1980s he pioneered the introduction of personal growth programs to corporations.
His mission is to distill the essential wisdom on human consciousness found in the world’s various spiritual traditions, and to disseminate their teachings on self-liberation in contemporary and compelling ways.

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Aug. 26, 2026

Why You Can't Stop Thinking During Meditation (And the Effortless Fix That Works)

Peter Russell, a Cambridge-trained physicist turned meditation teacher of fifty years, joins Will and Karen to explain why trying so hard to meditate might be the very thing standing in your way. Drawing on his book How to Meditate Without Even Trying, Peter breaks down why chasing stillness or fighting off the "monkey mind" only creates more tension, and offers a simpler approach: notice when your attention has wandered, gently let the thought go, and return to whatever's actually happening right now. The conversation moves from practical meditation troubleshooting into the neuroscience of relaxation and, eventually, the deeper question of who we really are beneath the thoughts, the body, and the story we tell about ourselves.
Guest: Peter Russell