Although consciousness is at the very center of who we are, its exact nature continues to confound modern science. From where does consciousness originate? At our core, are we material bodies or immaterial conscious minds? Many assume that consciousness is a product of our complex brains, a product of evolution--and yet, there is no evolutionary reason that a mechanical function of the brain should allow us to enjoy the beauty of a sunrise or become intoxicated with the smell of rain on dry earth. If consciousness is not the product of sophisticated human brains, might the nonhuman living world be conscious? If so, where does that place us in relation to the rest of life on Earth--and what does this imply about our domination and plundering of the natural world for resources? Dr. James Cooke is no stranger to intricate and existential questions such as these, and he confronts them head-on in his compelling, inventive, revolutionary new book, The Dawn of Mind: How Matter Became Conscious and Alive. Weaving together cutting-edge science and the contemplative insights that arise from mystical experience, as occurs with meditation and the emerging therapeutic paradigm of psychedelic medicine, Cooke radically redraws our understanding of what it truly means to be who we are.