The Being Human Podcast with Richard Atherton

▶️ Connect with Richard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardatherton-firsthuman/   What if great leadership requires more than IQ and EQ? In this episode of Being Human, I speak with Dr. Yosi Amram, psychologist, executive coach, and pioneer in developing our understanding of Spiritual Intelligence (SQ). Yosi offers a research-backed framework for translating spiritual values into practical action. Drawing on extensive empirical studies, Yosi shows how SQ predicts leadership effectiveness and personal well-being in ways traditional models miss.   And Yosi is not speaking only as an academic. Yosi held the record for the fastest promotion to captain in the history of his regiment in the Israeli Air Force.  He has taken two tech start-ups to IPO. He’s a man who knows how to lead.   We explore how to make spirituality accessible without dogma, how SQ helps leaders navigate complexity and suffering, and why meaning, purpose, and inspiration are no longer optional in modern work. Yosi also shares principles from his clinical and executive coaching work on how to lead with integrity, compassion, and presence.   We explore: What SQ actually is Spirit → action translation Leadership + meaning + purpose Beyond IQ and EQ His recommendations for developing SQ Links: Yosi’s Website

Alastair Moore, an AI strategist and entrepreneur, discusses the impending transformation of knowledge work due to AI advancements. He emphasizes that AI is now performing high-level tasks in research and problem-solving. The conversation delves into how companies must adapt to rapidly evolving technology, the importance of reinventing workflows rather than simply automating existing ones, and the potential for human-machine collaboration. Alastair also shares insights on the evolving skills needed in this new era and the urgency for organizations to act.

▶️ Connect with Richard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardatherton-firsthuman/   Can energy healing be measured? And if so, what does it mean for medicine? In this episode of Being Human, I speak with Dr. Shamini Jain, founder of the Consciousness and Healing Initiative (CHI) and one of the leading scientific voices bridging mind-body medicine and biofield science. Drawing on controlled laboratory studies on cells, tumors, animals, and humans, Dr. Jain explains why the evidence for biofield mechanisms can no longer be dismissed as placebo or wishful thinking.   We explore how ancient healing practices map onto modern physics, why the biomedical model struggles with subtle energy, and what a paradigm shift in healthcare could look like. This conversation sits at the frontier where science, spirit, and healing converge. We discuss: Evidence beyond placebo What “biofield” actually means Cancer and cell line studies Why medicine must evolve Links: Dr. Jain’s Website

▶️ Connect with Richard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardatherton-firsthuman/   What if love isn’t just an emotion — but the deepest truth of reality itself? In this episode of Being Human, I speak with Dr. Stephen G. Post — bioethicist, medical humanities professor, and founder of the Institute for Research on Pure Unlimited Love. Drawing on decades of work in medicine, neuroscience, spirituality, and ethics, Stephen explores love as a lived practice, not a vague ideal.   Stephen shares extraordinary stories from medicine, caregiving, near-death research, and neuroscience, including a striking insight: pure unlimited love may be the first thing we encounter when life ends. We explore why modern education and culture often strip meaning from life, how service transforms suffering, and what it means to live aligned with a deeper calling.   A profound conversation about love, purpose, and what truly matters.   We explore: Following your calling All are suffering Love tough vs the 'carefrontation' Addressing the Nature Deficit Disorder Pure unlimited love in the workplace Links: The Institute for Research on Pure Unlimited Love Stephen’s Website

▶️ Connect with Richard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardatherton-firsthuman/   Is modern education preparing us for the world we’re actually living in? Or is it accelerating our collapse? In this episode of Being Human, I’m joined by Jim Garrison, founder of Ubiquity University, to explore why today’s education system may be failing humanity at the deepest level.   Jim argues that Western education prioritises left-brain development: memorisation, analysis and knowledge acquisition, while neglecting ethics, inner growth, and wisdom. Drawing on philosophy, systems thinking, and decades of institutional leadership, he explains how this imbalance fuels ecological destruction, political instability, and moral drift. We explore what a new educational paradigm could look like. It includes somatic, creative, and experiential learning, along with the development of our rationality. Ultimately, it focuses on pursuing the good, the beautiful and the true.    We discuss: Why memorisation replaces wisdom Education’s role in global crises The loss of ethics and values What transformative learning requires Jim is a brilliant orator and true pioneer of a new educational paradigm. Links: Uniquity University

▶️ Connect with Richard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardatherton-firsthuman/   What happens when a high-flying executive loses himself in the pursuit of success? Breaking down in a bar with his CEO became the turning point for rebuilding his entire leadership philosophy on compassion? In this episode, Nigel Kilpatrick shares his remarkable journey from burnout, toxicity, and emotional collapse to becoming a leading voice for compassionate leadership.   Nigel reveals how confronting his own behaviour and facing multiple health crises reshaped his understanding of work, responsibility, and what people truly need from leaders today. He explains why compassion is not “soft,” but a strategic and measurable foundation for performance, culture, and wellbeing.  He shares why organisations that ignore it risk losing both their people and their purpose.   We dive into his book The Ten Traits of a Compassionate Leader, his creation of the Compassion Exchange, and his mission to transform workplace culture from fear-driven to human-centred.   We cover: From toxic leadership to self-healing Compassion as a business strategy Why empathy alone isn’t enough Building cultures rooted in trust and honesty Links: The Ten Traits of a Compassionate Leader - The Book The Compassion Exchange  

▶️ Connect with Richard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardatherton-firsthuman/   What does it really mean to live in balance — not by escaping pain, but by transforming how we meet it? In this episode of Being Human, filmmaker and Tai Chi teacher George Thompson shares his journey from anxiety, self-doubt, and overthinking to presence, spaciousness, and embodied awareness. After travelling to the Wudang Mountains in China to study Tai Chi and Daoist philosophy, George discovered a radical shift: “To hurt is to be human. Balance is possible. Practice is the path.”   We explore how ancient wisdom meets modern life, and how spirituality becomes actionable, grounded, and deeply human.   We cover: - Turning up at the wrong temple - Scrolling Reddit on the Sacred Mountain - Materialism vs dualism vs panpsychism - The role of compassion and connection in leadership Oh, to have so much wisdom so early in life! George is a treat. Links: George’s Website Taoist Wellness Online

▶️ Connect with Richard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardatherton-firsthuman/   What if your identity is far bigger than your thoughts, your history, or your body? In this episode of Being Human, I sit down with Christy Whitman — New York Times bestselling author, transformational coach, and teacher of the Seven Universal Laws. Christy shares her core insight that we are not the ‘meat suit’ we inhabit, but energetic beings expressing light, intuition, and divine intelligence.   Christy is the embodiment of an abundant spirit. She has very evidently ‘done the work’ to transform divorce and debt to transform herself into the powerhouse she is today.    We discuss:  How to shift from victim consciousness into deliberate creation How frequency shapes every result in our lives Practical tools to shift our energy in the moment Links: Christy’s Website   A powerful conversation about identity, energy, and the creative force within each of us.

▶️ Connect with Richard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardatherton-firsthuman/   Is telepathy real — and can it be proven scientifically?    And what does it mean for our understanding of consciousness? In this episode of Being Human, we speak with Dr. Diane Hennacy, psychiatrist, neuroscientist, former Johns Hopkins faculty member, and author of The ESP Enigma. Diane has spent years rigorously testing individuals — including autistic savants — who appear to demonstrate astonishing telepathic abilities.   We explore why she believes consciousness is not produced by the brain but decoded by it, and what this means for our understanding of what it is to be human.   Diane is hugely entertaining in this profound conversation linking neuroscience, intuition, and human potential.   We explore: Early experiences with extrasensory perception First meeting a telepathic autistic child Finding fame with The Telepathy Tapes and plans for even more sophisticated experiments Implications for society What is consciousness and can AI develop it? Links: Diane’s Website

▶️ Connect with Richard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardatherton-firsthuman/   What if magic were real — and science could prove it? In this week’s episode, I speak with Dr. Dean Radin, Chief Scientist at the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS) and author of The Conscious Universe and Real Magic. For more than forty years, Dean has studied telepathy, precognition, and mind–matter interaction under rigorous laboratory conditions. From his time in the U.S. government’s secret psychic research program to his pioneering experiments at IONS, he has gathered remarkable evidence that consciousness can influence the physical world.   We explore what quantum physics may reveal about psychic phenomena, why materialism is no longer enough to explain the mind, and how “real magic” might simply be the science of tomorrow. A fascinating conversation about belief, evidence, and the hidden potential of human consciousness.   We explore: His role in US psychic espionage Manipulating the future "Changing the past" Practical exercises for developing your magical skills The extraordinarily strong evidence that psychic phenomena are real Links: The Institute of Noetic Sciences