Ritual, Wisdom, and What’s Lost

Sebastian Morello was trained in philosophy by Sir Roger Scruton and Andrew Pinsent. He is a lecturer, columnist, and popular public speaker in the United Kingdom and throughout Europe. Morello has previously co-authored books on subjects of philosophy and education. He lives in Bedfordshire, England, with his wife and children.

Each quarter, John engages in thought-provoking extended conversations with a leading expert in psychology, philosophy, and spirituality. Each season offers a unique exploration, bringing together their diverse fields of knowledge to create fresh insights and understanding. These in-depth discussions, chaptered for your convenience, offer nuanced perspectives and integrative approaches to navigating our complex world.

The first episode is free and publicly available. To follow the rest of the season as well as gain access to previous discussions, you can sign up at the Beta Tier (and above) on The Lectern at the Lectern Lounge.

If you would like to donate purely out of goodwill to support John’s work, please consider joining our Patreon.

The Vervaeke Foundation is committed to advancing the scientific pursuit of wisdom and creating a significant impact on the world. Learn more about our work.

If you would like to learn and engage regularly in practices that are informed, developed and endorsed by John and his work, visit Awaken to Meaning’s calendar to explore practices that enhance your virtues and foster deeper connections with reality and relationships. Join Practice.

John Vervaeke: Website | Twitter | YouTube | Patreon

Sebastian Morello: LinkedIn | The Gnostalgia Podcast

"What practices and philosophical frameworks can help us recover a sense of the sacred in an age dominated by disenchantment and institutional collapse?"

John Vervaeke and Sebastian Morello engage in an expansive dialogue that traverses the authority crisis in the Catholic Church, the enduring wisdom of Neoplatonism, and the transformative power of Hermetic practices. Anchored in Morello’s provocative new book, Mysticism, Magic and Monasteries, the conversation unpacks the “double crisis” of our time- one of meaning and one of sanctity, and argues that modernity functions like a spell that must be broken. Together, they examine how monasticism once offered a stable and embodied sanctity, and why recovering mysticism, ritual magic (in the Hermetic sense), and lived devotion might be essential for collective reawakening.

Notes:

(0:00) Welcome to The Lectern

(0:30) John reconnects with Sebastian Morello
(3:00) Sebastian Gives a Brief Introduction of Himself
(6:00) Diagnosing the Double Crisis - Meaning and Authority
(9:00) Critique of Modernity and the Catholic Church
(12:00) The Loss of Embodied Wisdom in the West
(20:00) Neoplatonism and the Need for Relational Ontology
(26:30) Philosophical Anthropology and Cosmic Personhood
(31:00) Modernity’s Ontological Truncation
(38:30) Sacred Authority and the Failures of Clericalism
(42:00) Monasteries as Alternatives to Institutional Collapse
(49:00) Christian Liturgy as Baptized Theurgy
(54:00) Hermetic Cognition - Practicing the Theocentric Vision
(1:00:00) Recovering Sacred Imagery - Tarot, Ritual, and Mystical Space
(1:04:00) Digital Gnosticism and the Threat to Embodiment
(1:07:00) The Future of Privacy - Personhood, Property, and Charity
(1:11:00) The Philosophical Silk Road - East-West Interpenetration

Living with a disability in Gaza and Ukraine