Deconstructing Yourself

A Conversation with Jeffrey Kripal

Jan 22, 2024

Author and professor Jeffrey Kripal discusses his fascination with extreme religious states, the value of embracing the unknown, the misalignment of religion with modern values, Kerry Mullis' profound worldview shift after an alien abduction experience, the broader aspects of the UFO phenomenon, the power of optimism and hope, and ways to support the podcast and access free resources.

49:54

Episode guests

Jeffrey Kripal

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Cripple emphasizes the importance of intellectual openness and embracing the mysteries beyond our current understanding, both in religious experiences and the paranormal.

Cripple argues that the humanities have the potential to offer valuable perspectives on truth and meaning by harnessing the resources of altered states and exploring extreme religious states.

Deep dives

Openness to Various Perspectives

In this podcast episode, the host speaks with Jeffrey Cripple, a philosopher and religious scholar, about his unique and open-minded approach to exploring religious experiences and the paranormal. Cripple emphasizes the importance of maintaining intellectual openness and resisting the urge to reduce complex experiences to social or scientific explanations. He points out the limitations of both religious certainties and materialistic perspectives, advocating for a middle ground that embraces the mysteries and possibilities beyond our current understanding. Cripple believes that being honest about our limitations as a society and embracing the unknown can lead to valuable insights and a more authentic engagement with the world.

Introduction

3min

Embracing the Unknown

9min

Religion's Misalignment with Modern Values

19min

Kerry Mullis and the Profound Shift in his Worldview

3min

Expanding the Phenomenon

9min

Hope, Optimism, and the Divine

6min

Ways to Support the Podcast and Access Free Resources

4min

Host Michael Taft speaks with author and professor Jeffrey Kripal about his early aspiration to be a Benedictine monk, the prophetic dimensions of the humanities, the sudden conversion, or "flip," into a weirder worldview experienced by some materialist scientists, the phenomena of UFOs, alien abduction, altered states, Philip K. Dick, and how most breakthroughs into mysticism occur through trauma.

Jeffrey J. Kripal holds the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University, where he served as the Associate Dean of the School of Humanities, chaired the Department of Religion for eight years, and also helped create a doctoral concentration in the study of Gnosticism, Esotericism, and Mysticism that is the largest program of its kind in the world. He presently helps direct the Center for Theory and Research at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California.

Jeff is the author or co-author of thirteen books, and specializes in the study of extreme religious states and putting “the impossible” back on the academic table again. He is presently working on a three-volume study of paranormal currents in the history of religions and the sciences, collectively entitled The Super Story.

Jeffrey Kripal's website

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