The Plunge with Derek Holser

Welcome to episode eight in our twelve episode series on Owen Barfield: The First & Last Inkling.     Today's episode features Laura Van Dyke, PhD. Laura teaches in the Department of English and Creative Writing at Trinity Western University in Langley, B.C. Her interests are in the environmental humanities, 20th-century British and Canadian literature, and the writings of the Inklings. She helps direct the Inklings Institute of Canada, and is a co-editor of Inklings and Culture (2020), the first essay collection to treat all seven Inklings-related authors.     In this episode, we discuss Barfield's novel Eager Spring, along with basketball, Barfield's love of dancing, the uniqueness of his novels, and the essential importance of nurturing our environment.      Connect with Derek: X: https://X.com/derekholser TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@derekholser Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theplungewithderekholser/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/derekholser New Book! Lightgliders: https://a.co/d/bDvRc0Y  

Welcome to episode seven in our twelve episode series on Owen Barfield: The First & Last Inkling.     Today's episode features Nate Hile, creator and curator of Grail Country, a popular YouTube and Substack channel.  https://www.youtube.com/@grailcountry https://grailcountry.substack.com/     Our conversation dives into such luminaries as Kurt Cobain, Valentin Tomberg, Emil Bock, Bernardo Kastrup, Karl Polanyi, Esther Lightcap Meek and Martin Shaw, to name a few; on topics as wide-ranging as universal consciousness, the longevity of dancers, symbolism, the Tarot, Oklahoma football, baking and BBQ.      Connect with Derek: X: https://X.com/derekholser TikTok:   / derekholser   Instagram:   / theplungewithderekholser   Facebook:   / derekholser   New Book! Lightgliders: https://a.co/d/bDvRc0Y

Welcome to episode six in our twelve part series on Owen Barfield: The First and Last Inkling.     Today's episode features Owen A. Barfield, the only grandchild of Owen Barfield and the Trustee of the Owen Barfield Literary Estate. https://www.owenbarfield.org/      Our conversation covers Barfield's life experiences, his abiding friendship with Cecil Harwood and C.S. Lewis, his marriage to Maud Douie, a variety of Barfield's works, Anthroposophy, Barfield's role in guiding C.S. Lewis from atheism to theism, and the importance of finding balance in polarities: The Middle Way.     Connect with Derek: X: https://X.com/derekholser TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@derekholser Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theplungewithderekholser/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/derekholser New Book! Lightgliders: https://a.co/d/bDvRc0Y

Welcome to Episode Five in our Twelve Episode series on Owen Barfield: The First & Last Inkling     Today's episode features Michael Di Fuccia, director of the Cultura Fellowship at the Martin Institute (Westmont University) and Research Fellow for the Centre of Theology and Philosophy, Nottingham, UK.      Michael is certified as a spiritual director through the Anglican diocese of New England. He is the author of Owen Barfield: Philosophy, Poetry, and Theology. Michael is also a board member at Platform to Table, a community of Christian leaders sojourning together from performance based leadership to authentic connection with God, self, and others.   Connect with Michael:  https://www.platformtotable.com/ Books: https://tinyurl.com/wfmkwh9u     Connect with Derek: X: https://x.com/derekholser TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@derekholser Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theplungewithderekholser Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/derekholser New Book! Lightgliders: https://a.co/d/bDvRc0Y  

Welcome to Episode Four in our Twelve Episode series on Owen Barfield: The First & Last Inkling      In today's episode, Michael Di Fuccia, Director of the Cultura Fellowship at the Martin Institute (Westmont University) and Research Fellow for the Centre of Theology and Philosophy, Nottingham, UK.     Michael is certified as a spiritual director through the Anglican diocese of New England. He is the author of Owen Barfield: Philosophy, Poetry, and Theology https://www.amazon.com/Owen-Barfield-Philosophy-Theology-Veritas/dp/1498238726     Michael is also a board member at Platform to Table,  a community of Christian leaders sojourning together from performance based leadership to authentic connection with God, self, and others. https://www.platformtotable.com/     I deeply appreciate Michael's friendship and guidance in my own life, and am certain you will enjoy his wisdom and grace in this episode.  Connect with Derek: X: https://x.com/derekholser TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@derekholser Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theplungewithderekholser Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/derekholser Lightgliders New Book: https://a.co/d/bDvRc0Y  

Welcome to Episode Three in our 12-week series: Owen Barfield: The First & Last Inkling     In today's episode, Eugene Terekhin, a philologist, philosopher, translator, and author of Eleven Hidden Gems in the Works of the Inklings: The Music of Iluvatar in the Worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and Owen Barfield as well as Forty-Four Mystical Insights into the Books J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and Owen Barfield: Philosophy Behind the High Fantasy of the Inklings     Eugene is thoughtful, gracious and wise. He freely shares his insights on Barfield's vision and the final participation awaiting us all Beyond the Veil. We discuss differences in Russian and American culture, the nature of reality, the original influence on all the Inklings, Barfield's The Silver Trumpet as well as Saving the Appearances.     You can check out all of his books at the link below: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Eugene-Terekhin/author/B07D8D99YD?ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true       Check out his Substack: https://eugeneterekhin.substack.com/     Also, Rishat Biryushev's beautiful music can be found here:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gg6Y3hMR0hU&list=PL29ngO5FZ11_SOi0MFWq0gzaqGEYFe7ml

Welcome to Episode Two in our 12-week series:   Owen Barfield: The First & Last Inkling     In today's episode, Max Leyf Treinin, a certified Rolfer and Professor of Philosophy from Anchorage, Alaska, joins me and provides tremendous insight into the work of Owen Barfield, his connection to Rudolf Steiner, the evolution of human consciousness, language, and our need for reintegration of the whole human.     Max is an exceptional thinker and communicator with a gracious spirit and a winsome soul.     His most recent book, co-written with Landon Loftin, is entitled What Barfield Thought: An Introduction to the Work of Owen Barfield.     He is the author of a number of books on Meaning, Philosophy, and Poetry. You can check out all of his books at the link below:   https://tinyurl.com/328eu9e4   Learn more about Max at "the Way of the Elbow" website: https://www.alaskarolf.com/about   Check out his posts at Substack and his website: https://theoriapress.wordpress.com/author/maxleyf/  

Welcome to our newest series. Owen Barfield: The First & Last Inkling.     This episode provides a brief introduction to Barfield's life and work. In the weeks to come, we will host thoughtful conversations with 10 different guests, each providing a unique perspective on Barfield's philosophy, spirituality, and the imagination.     We will discuss the influence of Rudolf Steiner on Barfield, the interaction between C.S. Lewis and Barfield (dubbed "The Great War"), and Barfield's understanding of the evolution of consciousness. No person is complete without the full integration of reason and imagination, and Barfield provides ample evidence for this reality, as well as meaningful guidance for humanity's participation in a transcendent future.   

Today's episode is a special bonus! Joining me is my good friend and co-author of Bryce and the Lost Pearl, the first book in the Lightglider Origins series, a seven-book Middle Grade fantasy fiction series published by New Growth Press.   In this episode, Zach and I discuss the work of cultivating a faithful imagination in the next generation, and the importance of story in technology, faith and virtue.    To learn more about Zach and the Lightgliders, go to https://lightgliders.com   To order your copy of Bryce and the Lost Pearl, go to https://tinyurl.com/2pzuwcp5      

Welcome to the 9th and Final Episode in our series on C.S. Lewis's novel, The Great Divorce. Join us as we explore the ideas presented by Lewis in this fantastic tale, a dream vision, written in response (according to Lewis) to William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell.   Today's conversation features Jess Lederman. In this episode, Jess and I discuss how he came to faith in Jesus Christ, how The Great Divorce portrays purgatory, the difficulty with some ideas presented by Reformed theology, C.S. Lewis's rendering of George MacDonald, and why Jess believes we will all inevitably be surprised by joy.    Jess is the creator of https://www.worksofmacdonald.com   He is the author of Hearts Set Free: An Epic Tale of Love, Faith, and the Glory of God's Grace https://tinyurl.com/4w4jumry