Elevating Consciousness

Jordan Hall is a tech entrepreneur, philosopher, and meta-systemic thinker who, over a year ago, announced that he had converted to Christianity. This conversation was recorded live during Limicon, a digital conference for those in the liminal, metamodern, and game B spaces. In it, we explored Jordan’s early experiences with religion and spirituality, what ultimately drew him to Christianity, and what Christianity might afford that Eastern traditions do not. We touched on discerning divine calling from the egoic mind, confronting fundamentalist forms of Christianity, and the shift from propositional to participatory forms of knowing.We also examined the role religion may play in ameliorating some of the negative trends in society and the meta-crisis at large.🔗[Links & resources] 🔗Subscribe to Jordan’s SubstackFollow Jordan on TwitterSubscribe to Jordan’s YouTube channelRead The Religious Case Against Belief by James CarseWatch Jordan Peterson in conversation with John Vervaeke and Jordan HallWatch Jordan Hall in conversation with Jonathan Pageau and John VervaekeLearn more about Black Mountain, North Carolina📝[Show Notes] 📝0:00 - Introduction 3:07 - Jordan’s journey into religion & spirituality 16:39 - Entrepreneurship as a path to cultivating instincts and intuitions 20:40 - Landing in Black Mountain and finding Christianity 26:26 - Extensively studying Christianity and discovering a new level of humility 34:04 - What does Christianity afford that Eastern religions don’t?44:26 - The Meta-Crisis is a crisis of religion 54:05 - The Impact of Religious Traditions on Family 58:28 - Healing our religious trauma and deepening our capacity to love 1:04:05 - Differentiating intuition (divine calling vs egoic mind) 1:18:16 - Confronting fundamentalist forms of Christianity and finding a church that aligns 1:29:01 - Divine sensemaking *Subscribe to the Insighter Substack to get in-depth articles on the theory and practice of human transformation through a post-conventional lens*Add me on Facebook

Seth Zuiho Segall is a Zen Buddhist priest, clinical psychologist, and writer.  He has served on the clinical faculty of the Yale University School of Medicine for nearly three decades. He is also a science writer for the Mindfulness Research Monthly, a contributing editor for Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, and a review editor for The Humanistic Psychologist. Seth has been engaged with meditation and Buddhism for almost thirty years and is ordained in the White Plum lineage. He currently leads Pamsula Zen of Westchester and guest teaches at the New York Insight Meditation Center. He is also the author of several books, including “Buddhism and Human Flourishing” and his latest, “The House We Live In”. He writes consistently on his blog, The Existential Buddhist, covering a range of Buddhist topics from a naturalized, pragmatic, eudaimonic, and cosmopolitan perspective. In this episode, we explore Seth’s unique journey into Buddhism as well as his pragmatic and naturalistic understanding of it, the relationship between virtue, wisdom and pluralism, the foundations of flourishing, navigating political polarization, ethical ideals and the myth of the perfect person, better ways of thinking about enlightenment and why Seth became a Zen priest.🔗[Links & resources] 🔗Seth’s personal siteSeth’s blogSeth’s latest book “The House We Live In”Jon Kabat-ZinnSecular Buddhist NetworkThe Avoidant Dharma by Daniel ThorsonStephen BatchelorLarry RosenbergAndrew CohenParadox of ToleranceMastering The Core Teachings of the Buddha by Daniel IngramAlready Free by Bruce Tift📝[Show Notes] 📝0:00 - Introduction 2:10 - Unpacking a naturalistic, pragmatic, eudaimonic, and cosmopolitan Buddhism 7:57 - Naturalistic vs. Secular Buddhism12:07 - Agnosticism & Beliefs 13:30 - Exploring Judaism and finding Buddhism 20:20 - Further questioning Secularization and modernization of Buddhism 29:18 - There is no one Buddhism; There are many Buddhisms 33:36 - Virtue, wisdom, and pluralism 36:17 - Has humanity become less violent over time?38:26 - The foundations of flourishing 42:22 - Disagreements on values and vulnerability 45:31 - Facing the dragon at your own pace 48:52 - Navigating political polarization & engaged Buddhism 53:53 - Ethical ideals and the myth of the perfect person 57:33 - The paradox of tolerance & cancel culture 1:03:48 - Better ways of thinking about enlightenment 1:12:15 - Why become a Zen priest 1:17:26 - Engaging with a religious tradition before you critique it*Subscribe to the Insighter Substack to get in-depth articles on the theory and practice of human transformation through a post-conventional lens*Add me on Facebook

Brad Kershner is an educator, independent scholar, and Head of School at Kimberton Waldorf School. He is also the co-founder of a meta-political think tank - The Reconstitution Project - and is the author of the book "Understanding Educational Complexity: Integrating Practices and Perspectives for 21st Century Leadership". In addition to his work in education, Brad works in collaboration with thought leaders and spiritual teachers from around the world who are engaged in developing wisdom-based responses to planetary problems. In this wide-ranging conversation, we explore the Waldorf approach to education, child development, the negative impacts of social media, politics and polarization, artificial intelligence, and the role of contemplative practice in wisdom cultivation. 🔗[Links & resources] 🔗Subscribe to Brad’s SubstackListen to Brad’s lectures on YouTubeConnect with Brad on TwitterKimberton Waldorf SchoolWaldorf educationRudolf SteinerThe Anxious Generation by Jonathan HaidtTaking Children SeriouslyAaron Stupple & Naval Ravikant on Tim FerrisThe Sovereign Child by Aaron StuppleThe Rational Optimist by Matt RidleyIain McGilchristTESCREAL📝[Show Notes] 📝0:00 - Intro 2:05 - Becoming an educator and the Waldorf approach to education 7:47 - Fundamental principles of child development 17:52 - Emotions & mental health in young people 24:36 - Haidt’s research on the negative impact social media is having on children 26:39 - Debating the parenting approach of Taking Children Seriously 35:22 - Reflecting on navigating screen time in children via “The Sovereign Child” by Aaron Stupple  49:14 - Before you can help children solve a problem you need to understand it 55:27 - Meta-crisis sensemaking and the limits of rational optimism 59:25 - Navigating politics & polarization 1:17:40 - Developing a wise relationship with technology & artificial intelligence 1:22:49 - Beyond the Tescreal Worldview: Integrating Wisdom & power1:30:12 - The big questions and disagreements in the metamodern & liminal spaces 1:36:49 - Why materialism is a less true view than idealism 1:40:53 - Flipping what we think we can and cannot know 1:44:20 -The role of meditation & contemplation1:49:50 - The importance of emphasizing meditation early in life 1:53:27 - Connect to Brad’s work*Subscribe to the Insighter Substack to get in-depth articles on the theory and practice of human transformation through a post-conventional lens*Add me on Facebook

Murray Stein is a Jungian Psychoanalyst, author, and lecturer.  He received his bachelor's in literature and Masters in Divinity from Yale and completed his PhD in Religion and Psychological Studies at the University of Chicago. He was trained as a Jungian Analyst at the C.G. Jung Institute of Zurich and is a founding member of the Inter-Regional Society of Jungian Analysts and the Chicago Society of Jungian Analysts. He is the author of many books including The Principle of Individuation and Jung’s Map of the Soul. Murray Stein welcome to the show. In this episode, we unpack Jung’s Map of the Soul, explore Murray’s experience studying with Jungian legends James Hillman and Marie Louise von Franz, delineate levels of religious understanding, and dive deeper into ethics, serial killers, and collective shadows. 🔗[Links & resources] 🔗Murray Stein’s personal siteJung’s Map of the Soul by Murray SteinTransformation: Emergence of the Self by Murray SteinMemories, Dreams & Reflections by Carl JungThe Interpretation of Dreams by Sigmund FreudJames HillmanMarie-Louise von FranzKarl BarthRob BurbeaTom Cheetham on the Elevating Consciousness PodcastHow to Illuminate & Integrate Your Shadow by Artem ZenTransformation: Emergence of the Self by Murray SteinThe Red Book by Carl JungDepth Psychology and a New Ethic by Erich NeumannCare of the Soul by Thomas MooreBTS - Map of the Soul (album)📝[Show Notes] 📝0:00 - Introduction 1:53 - Growing up in a religious home, going to divinity school, and finding Jung12:38 - Studying with James Hillman and Marie Louise Von Franz and working with psychoanalysis 19:38 - Moving towards deeper levels of religious understanding 23:20 - What Hillman and von Franz contributed to Jungian psychology 26:58 - Unfolding Jung’s Map of the Soul 42:10 - Jung’s greatest discovery 46:15 - Jung’s Map of the Soul (Condensed) 49:09 - Diving deeper into ego, persona, and shadow 1:01:15 - Ethics, conscientious, serial killers, and collective shadows 1:06:40 - Taking Jungian psychology from theory into practice 1:12:45 - The Future of Jungian Analysis*Subscribe to the Insighter substack to get in-depth articles on the theory and practice of human transformation through a post-conventional lens*Add me on Facebook

Bonnita Roy is an insight guide, philosopher, and futurist whose work is deeply grounded in cutting-edge cognitive science, evolutionary theory, contemplative studies, and metaphysics. From 2014-2022 she designed, developed, and directed a masters course in Consciousness Studies at the Graduate Institute (now known as Salem Univeristy). Soon afterward she launched the Pop Up School where she develops and directs transformative courses such as A New Theory of the Body, Lyrics Culture: Ontological Designs for Backloop Realities, and Varieties of Religious Experiences. Her latest venture is The Divinity School - a leadership program that forges leaders who can see deeper into reality, make decisions that benefit the whole, and align humanity with the natural intelligence of the universe. In this episode, we discuss process relational philosophy, the limitations of science, the core metaphysical disagreements in the liminal space, naturalizing machine agency & horizons of biological intelligence, The Divinity School program, the four powers of transformational leaders and so much more.🔗[Links & resources] 🔗Follow Bonnitta on SubstackFollow Bonnitta on Twitter/XJoin The Divinity School transformational leadership programThe typology of process relations by Bonnitta RoyHerbert GuntherJean GebserAlfred North WhiteheadCharles HartshorneMatt SegallGregg HenriquesThe Dawn of Everything by David GraeberSabine HossenfelderKen WilberThe Ends of the World by Peter Brannen📝[Show Notes] 📝0:00 - Introduction 1:38 - Articulating embodied insight into a coherent philosophy 5:22 - Landscaping, business & decoupling money from creative & intellectual work 14:15 - The immense challenge of writing 18:33 - Using images to understand and explain ideas24:35 -  What is Process Relational Philosophy? 36:30 - The limitations of science39:26 - How the post-modern mind misunderstands the observer effect 41:20 - The metaphysics needed to bridge science and religion 45:00 - The core metaphysical disagreements in the liminal space53:12 - People go from minimalist physicalism to maximal consciousness56:00 - What all meta-physics require (the 3 metaphysical necessities) 1:00:10 - Integral list serve, awakening & spiritual practice 1:12:27 - The Divinity School (Masters in leadership) 1:17:29 - Naturalizing machine agency and horizons of biological intelligence 1:25:08 - The four powers of transformational leaders 1:32:14 - The impact Bonnitta hopes her work has on the world*Subscribe to the Insighter substack to get in-depth articles on the theory and practice of human transformation through a post-conventional lens*Follow me on Twitter (x) *Add me on Facebook 

Ari Nielsen, a practitioner skilled in Reichian Breathwork, Cybernetics, and Dzogchen, shares insights from his eclectic spiritual journey. He reflects on living in Adi Da's community and the complexities of the guru model. The conversation delves into 'Searchless Responsiveness,' highlighting intrinsic happiness and non-duality. Ari also discusses unconventional parenting strategies, encouraging autonomy in teenagers, and challenges traditional educational systems. His unique perspective on emotions emphasizes adaptability and spontaneity for personal liberation.

Zak is a writer, educator, and futurist whose work explores issues around existential risk and the meta-crisis. He studied religion and philosophy at Hampshire College and then later educational neuroscience, human development, and educational philosophy at Harvard. He is a co-founder of several organizations including Lectica, Civilization Research Institute, and the Center for World Philosophy and Religion. He is also the author of several books including “Education in a Time Between Worlds” and a co-author of “First Principles and First Values: Forty-Two Propositions on Cosmoerotic Humanism, the Meta-crisis, and the World to Come.” In this episode we speak about the problems of post-modernity, why value & consciousness are fundamental aspects of reality, Cosmo-Erotic humanism, evolving perennialism, the problem of evil, the most powerful and dangerous religion in the world today and so much more.🔗[Links & resources] 🔗Zak Stein’s personal siteFirst Principles First Values by David J. Temple (Zak’s latest book)My first conversation with Zak on the Education CrisisMy second conversation with Zak on his approach to human developmentDavid Ray GriffinDavid HumeIain McGilchristJohn VervaekeNick LandDeep Utopia by Nick BostromPerennial PhilosophyJurgen HabermasKen WilberStuart KauffmanB.F. SkinnerNoam ChomskyRichard DawkinsRupert Sheldrake📝[Show Notes] 📝0:00 - Introduction 1:55 - The Problems of Post-Modernity 12:31 - Why value & consciousness are fundamental aspects of reality 21:35 - What is Cosmo-Erotic Humanism?42:40 - Evolving Perennialism and The Problem of Evil 52:20 - Global Intimacy Disorder & Emotional Maturity 1:04:35 - Balancing advances in technology with ethical development 1:10:36 - Bringing the wisdom of religions to the scientific rationalist mind 1:26:26 - The most powerful & dangerous religion in the world today 1:32:30 - The difficulty of transmitting ethical leadership*Subscribe to the Insighter substack to get in-depth articles on the theory and practice of human transformation through a post-conventional lens

Cedric Chin is a business operator, programmer, and founder of Commoncog, a platform focused on business expertise. He discusses the limitations of mental models and the challenges of deliberate practice. Cedric shares insights on how to transition from novice to expert by considering practical applications of theoretical knowledge. He emphasizes the importance of reading biographies, addresses the role of luck in success, and critiques conventional decision-making approaches. He also touches on the impact of social media on focus and engagement.

Cadell Last is an anthropologist, philosopher, and founder of Philosophy Portal - an online educational platform opening space for the next generation of philosophical thought. After developing a strong grounding in evolutionary anthropology and biology, he began a deep study of philosophies of phenomenology and psychoanalysis, which opened him to fresh perspectives and helped him better navigate some of life's most challenging aspects. Today his work explores biocultural evolution, mind-matter relation, and speculative futures. He is the author of “Global Brain Singularity”, and “Systems and Subjects”, co-author of “Sex, Masculinity, God”, as well as lead editor of community anthologies “Enter the Alien” and “Abyssal Arrows." In this episode, we speak about the limits of science and the Importance of philosophy, connecting dead philosophers with living philosophers, dialectical thinking, what Jordan Peterson & Richard Dawkins have in common, Global Brain Singularity and so much more.🔗[Links & resources] 🔗Cadell’s personal site Connect with Cadell on X/Twitter Connect with Cadell on Substack Become a member at Philosophy Portal Global Brain Singularity by Cadell Last (reach out to Cadell for a free pdf copy)Systems & Subjects by Cadell Last Plato Hegel Lacan Zizek Jordan Peterson Richard Dawkins 📝[Show Notes] 📝0:00 - Introduction 2:51 - The Limits of Science and the Importance of Philosophy 15:10 - Building on the main ideas of Plato, Hegel, Lacan & Zizek30:55 - Connecting dead philosophers with living universally impactful thinkers33:36 - You have to understand thinkers deeply before you can deconstruct them 36:23 - The Importance of Dialectical Thinking 47:30 - What Jordan Peterson & Richard Dawkins have in common (Myths vs Drives) 57:55 - Putting Jung & Freud into Dialectics 1:02:49 - What is Global Brain Singularity?1:18:46 - Cultivating a Global Commons1:31:50 - The Impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution 1:38:29 - Non-duality, Non-Monism, Buddhism & affirming appearances 1:46:44 - Making sense of the upswing in Christian conversions & Unpacking Religion 1:56:20 - Cadell’s vision for Philosophy Portal *Subscribe to the Insighter substack to get in-depth articles on the theory and practice of human transformation through a post-conventional lens

Tom Morgan is a former financier and founder of The Leading Edge, a media platform and transformational community dedicated to sharing world-changing ideas and facilitating life-changing experiences. An Oxford graduate with a Masters in Philosophy, Politics, and economics, he has spent 20 years navigating the finance industry, working at top firms like Merrill Lynch, Bank of America, and most recently Sapient Capital. After becoming disenchanted with finance he had an awakening experience that caused him to quit his job and explore paths of meaning leading to a challenging yet transformative multi-year existential crisis. Eventually, he was able to piece together his life, integrating finance with the pursuit of meaning & wisdom. Today he describes himself as a “curiosity sherpa” and spends his life seeking out the most interesting thinkers and ideas to share with the world. In this episode, we speak about Tom’s journey from working in finance to exploring wisdom, navigating an existential crisis, integrating left and right brain functioning, shadow work, how to connect to your curiosity, bridging money & meaning, and creating a network of transformational communities.🔗[Links & Resources] 🔗Connect with Tom on X/Twitter Read Tom’s writing Join the Leading Edge community The Master & His Emissary by Iain McGhilchrist Maps of Meaning by Jordan Peterson (In-depth book summary) Syntropy by Ulisse Di Corpo Ervin Laszlo C.S. Lewis Why Greatness Cannot Be Planned by Kenneth O. Stanley & Joel Lehman The Passion of the Western Mind (epilogue) by Richard Tarnas Mona Sobhani Rebel Wisdom 📝[Show notes]📝0:00 - Introduction 2:07 - Working in finance, existential crisis & exploring wisdom 8:30 - Navigating hell 11:21 - Reinventing yourself 13:55 - Integrating left and right brain functioning20:22 - Applying a Mythic lens to life 25:06 - Shadow work, Monstrosity & Jordan Peterson  32:29 - How to connect to your curiosity 36:44 - When you don’t listen to your daemon it becomes a demon 38:37 - Holistic living (What Tom’s day looks like now) 41:36 - Why greatness cannot be planned45:38 - Bridging Money & Meaning 50:19 -  Navigating the Generalist-Specialist dynamic 55:44 - Does the world financially reward those who follow their bliss?1:01:29 - Creating a network of transformational communities 1:03:16 - Unpacking the Leading Edge community 1:08:00 - The problems many online transformational communities face1:14:58 - What makes Tom angry about society?1:15:49 - Creating a community full of love 1:16:55 - What Tom believes to be true that most people disagree with*Subscribe to the Insighter substack to get in-depth articles on the theory and practice of human transformation through a post-conventional lens