Richard Tarnas is a professor of psychology and cultural history at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, where he founded the graduate program in Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness. He teaches courses in the history of ideas, archetypal studies, depth psychology, and religious evolution. He frequently lectures on archetypal studies and depth psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara and was formerly the director of programs and education at Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California. He is the author of The Passion of the Western Mind, a history of the Western world view from the ancient Greek to the postmodern widely used in universities. His second book, Cosmos and Psyche: Intimations of a New World View, received the Book of the Year Prize from the Scientific and Medical Network and is the basis for the upcoming documentary series The Changing of the Gods. He is a past president of the International Transpersonal Association and served on the Board of Governors for the C. G. Jung Institute of San Francisco.
Website: cosmosandpsyche.com
Summary and transcript of this interview.
Interview recorded April 25, 2021.
YouTube Video Chapters:
00:00:00 - Introduction and Welcome to Buddha at the Gas Pump
00:03:51 - Distribution of Film and Book Corrections
00:07:28 - The Playful Dimension of Consciousness
00:11:25 - The Tension Between Creativity and Order
00:15:07 - Resistance to new ideas and materialism in science
00:19:26 - The Liberation of Humankind and the Disenchantment of the Cosmos
00:24:00 - The Transformation of the Renaissance
00:29:01 - The Power of Initiatory Rites and Transformation
00:33:10 - The Acceleration of History
00:37:40 - The Unfolding Process and the Initiation Ritual
00:41:48 - The Perinatal Dimension of Psychological Transformation
00:45:43 - Everything Breathes Together
00:50:09 - The symbolic meaning of the planets in astrology
00:54:13 - The Mysterious Unitive Connection between Humans and the Cosmos
00:58:52 - The Cosmic Intelligence of the Universe
01:03:09 - Kinship with All Beings
01:07:22 - Transformation through Meditation
01:10:40 - Connecting with the Whole
01:14:18 - Immersion in the World of Each Interviewee
01:17:35 - The Transformative Power of Immersion in Deep Ideas
01:21:01 - Cultivating Similar Capacities in Oneself
01:24:35 - Questions about Astrology from a Sceptic
01:28:16 - The Numinous Universe
01:32:57 - Astrology and the Intelligent Cosmos
01:37:11 - The Existence of Subtle Bodies and Intelligent Entities
01:40:57 - Astrology and Psychedelic Therapy
01:44:59 - Archetypal astrology and the human psyche
01:49:14 - Living on Different Planets
01:53:11 - Planetary Alignments and Evolutionary Pressures
01:58:01 - Cultivating Hope for the Future.
02:01:44 - Guest Announcement for Next Week