
The MindThatEgo Podcast
Welcome to the MindThatEgo Podcast — hosted by Ricky Derisz.
MindThatEgo's ethos is to explore nuances of mind, body and spirit by igniting challenging conversations with insightful thinkers, combined with deep reflection on subjective experience.
Vulnerability and authenticity are guaranteed as Ricky talks to psychologists, spiritualists, philosophers, scientists, friends and fellow human beings during his quest to understand key questions — what's the key to wellbeing? How can we reduce suffering? What tools are most useful in managing mental health?
Latest episodes

Aug 22, 2024 • 1h 18min
#51: Islamic Sufism and the Universal Presence of God with Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri
Welcome to Episode 51 of the MindThatEgo Podcast.
I’m joined by Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri, Sufi mystic, visionary, and an enlightened master who views spirituality as a science and an art, vitally relevant to our times.
Religious scholars and Sufis were part of Shaykh’s formative experiences. His love and understanding of the universality of the Quranic message has imbued him with respect for other religions, spiritual paths and the ability to discern the common elements in our collective journey towards awakening.
Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri lectures and writes books and commentaries on the Holy Qur'an and related subjects, with particular emphasis on ethics, self-development and gnosis ('irfan).
We discuss misconceptions about Islam, insights from Sufism, the shared essence of all religions, acceptance as a spiritual practice, the power of silence in connecting to God, embracing and transcending the duality of heaven and hell, pleasure and pain, and why we must always respect our human nature, without being limited by it.
Resources
Shaykh Fadhlalla's Website

Aug 8, 2024 • 1h 35min
#50: Re-Enchanting the Western World View with Richard Tarnas
To honour the milestone 50th episode, I’m joined by Richard Tarnas, a renowned historian and archetypal cosmologist. August 8th is the peak of the astrological event known as the Lion’s Gate Portal. The Sun (in Leo) aligns with Sirius, Orion’s Belt, and Earth. Simultaneously, Orion’s Belt aligns with the Pyramids of Giza. Ancient Egyptians revered Sirius, the “spiritual star,” and associated it with gods Osiris and Sopdet. Each year the rising of Sirius marked the flooding of the Nile.
As author of The Passion of the Western Mind and Cosmos and Psyche, Richard is the ideal guest to mark the occasion. He is the founding director of the graduate program in Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness at the California Institute of Integral Studies. He teaches courses in the history of ideas, archetypal studies, depth psychology, and religious evolution.
For ten years he lived and worked at Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California, studying with the likes of Stanislav Grof, Joseph Campbell, and James Hillman, later serving as Esalen’s director of programs and education.
In re-enchanting the Western worldview, Richard traces the historical and cultural roots of the modern mind. Although much was gained, much was lost, including the ensoulment of the cosmos, and a sense of participation with higher forms of intelligence.
Is civilisation experiencing a mythological fall from grace due to human hubris? Is global chaos a symbolic manifestation of humanity’s descent into the underworld? How can a new worldview support spiritual transformation, sense-making, and flourishing on a global scale?
Before we begin, one more special announcement: Richard is one of a number of contributing authors, including myself, for the new volume by the Academy for the Advancement of Postmaterialist Sciences: The Playful Universe: Synchronicity and the Nature of Consciousness. The book is released late August, with an online symposium scheduled for the 26th or 27th September.
Resources
Richard’s Website.
Article: Introduction to The Playful Universe: Synchronicity and the Nature of Consciousness.
Article: Is The Modern Psyche Undergoing a Rite of Passage?
Epilogue of Passion of the Western Mind.

Jul 25, 2024 • 1h 43min
#49: Spiritual Emergency and Seeking the Sacred with Sanya Manzoor
I’m joined by Sanya Manzoor, a spiritual emergence coach and lead steward for the Church of Interbeing, Berlin, a grassroots initiative of community gatherings devoted to reconnection through ritual and holistic enquiry.
Sanya supports clients in their mental, emotional, and spiritual healing. She also offers sound journeys, communal ceremonies, talks, meditation practices, and rituals, all to expand the capacity for depth, devotion, and revelation.
In this dialogue Sanya shares her experience of ego death, the grief of lost identity, the painful conditioning of cultural worldviews, and the value of faith and surrender.
We look at the challenges and gifts of spiritual emergency, from fears of insanity, confusion and disorientation, to the rewards of self-connection, re-enchantment, and an inclusive way of relating to others, and the world.
Just a reminder before we jump into the conversation to please like, rate, subscribe and share to help more people access the podcast. Enjoy!
Resources
Sanya's Instagram

Jul 11, 2024 • 1h 10min
#48: The Neuroscience of Mystical Experience with Marjorie Woollacott
Marjorie Woollacott is an Emeritus Professor of Human Physiology and member of the Institute of Neuroscience at the University of Oregon. She is Research Director for the International Association of Near-Death Studies (IANDS) and President of the Academy for the Advancement of Postmaterialist Sciences (AAPS).
Marjorie has published more than 200 scientific articles and written or co-edited eight books. Our conversation centres around her paper, co-authored with scholar Ben Williams, Conceptual Cognition and Awakening: Insights From Non-dual S ́Aivism and Neuroscience.
In this lucid synthesis, the pair explore the neural correlations between language, the sense of self, and expanded states of awareness — and how that relates to 10th century Kashmir philosopher Utpaladeva’s Stanzas on the Recognition of Shiva.
Marjorie shares how the brain’s filtering system limits awareness, citing fascinating studies from near death experiences, meditation, and psychedelic research. Other topics include Extra-Sensory Perception and quantum entanglement, free will, and how brain activity supports a post-material worldview, where consciousness, not matter, is primary.
Just a reminder before we jump into the conversation to please like, rate, subscribe and share to help more people access the podcast. Enjoy!
Resources
Marjorie’s website.
Academy for the Advancement of Postmaterialist Sciences

Jun 27, 2024 • 1h 10min
#47: Thresholds of the Soul with Nick Kettles
I’m joined by Nick Kettles, who returns to the show having previously discussed the Stages of the Spiritual Journey. Nick is also my co-creator for the YouTube series, Archetypes of Awakening.
He is a Master Certified Coach and healer with 25 years experience in the human potential movement. He has pursued a meditation practice in the Advaita Vedanta tradition for over 20 years and has worked as a meditation teacher for the last 10 years.
I’ve known Nick for some time and I’ve been fortunate to witness his natural gift as a guide. This conversation explores Nick’s coaching model, Threshold of the Soul, which draws from Nick’s wealth of wisdom, including coaching, depth psychology, and spirituality.
What are thresholds? How do we embrace our core wounds? What role do rituals and rites of passage play in our becoming? How does the labyrinth symbolize the true self and the chakra system?
We cover the full spectrum of personal development, from the mythological to the cognitive, from immersion in introspection to the power of meaningful action, from the root to the crown, and everything between.
Just a reminder before we jump into the conversation to please like, rate, subscribe and share to help more people access the podcast. Enjoy!
Resources:
Thresholds of the Soul Coaching
Nick's website

Jun 13, 2024 • 55min
#46: Spiritual Psychosis and the Path to True Sanity
This episode features my presentation for the International Society for Psychological and Social Approaches to Psychosis (ISPS-US) annual conference in October, 2023. The original title was Metanoia: How Psychosis and Paranoia Ignited My Spiritual Awakening. I completely rewrote the talk a few days before, following a lightning bolt of creative energy that surfaced a structure I’d not previously made conscious.
I called this the Psychotics Twofold Call to Adventure. It’s my attempt to contextualize and integrate experiences of paranoia and psychosis across a 12 year period. I suggest the twofold path of cultivating awareness and creating coherence, to re-relate to psychological content, and to understand the language of the soul.
Metanoia means spiritual conversion, or the change of mind and heart. I suggest that psychosis, as a process of metanoia, has the potential to be a pathway to what R.D Laing calls “true sanity,” whereby the ego is “in service to the divine and no longer its betrayer.”
The stages cover the unconscious tsunami and collapse into chaos, answering the inward call and the ego’s surrender, finding the inner sanctum, the world as meditation, divine emergence, initiation, and individuation, before closing with a note on how this relates to humanity’s current crises.
And just a reminder before we jump into the conversation to please like, rate, subscribe and share to help more people access the podcast. Enjoy!

May 30, 2024 • 1h 5min
#45: The Science of Forgiveness with Everett Worthington
I’m joined by one of the world’s leading experts in the field of forgiveness research, Everett Worthington. Everett is a Commonwealth Professor Emeritus working from the Department of Psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University, and a licensed clinical psychologist.
He has published over 38 books and over 440 articles and scholarly chapters, mostly on forgiveness, humility, positive psychology, marriage, family, and religion and spirituality. He has also developed the REACH Forgiveness model, which is supported by more than 25 randomized trials.
Everett generously gives away free self-help workbooks on practices including forgiveness, humility, and patience, which are linked in the show notes.
Our conversation explores the overlap of spiritual and scientific approaches to forgiveness, dealing with injustice, overcoming grudges, ruminations and emotional unforgiveness, empathy and cognitive biases, self-forgiveness, discerning genuine forgiveness from self-deceit, plus a Everett’s moving account of applying the wisdom of forgiveness following his mother’s murder.
And just a reminder before we jump into the conversation to please like, rate, subscribe and share to help more people access the podcast. Enjoy!
Resources
Website: https://www.evworthington-forgiveness.com/
Free Workbooks: https://www.evworthington-forgiveness.com/diy-workbooks

May 16, 2024 • 1h 31min
#44: The Bhagavad Gita and the Devotional Path of Bhakti Yoga with Nikunja
I’m joined by Nikunja, a musician and yoga teacher who bridges the creative arts with ancient philosophy. Following a path of devotion — known as Bhakti yoga — Nikunja teaches the embodiment of the Bhagavad Gita as a way of life.
Nikunja has reimagined chapters from the Gita as part of a project to illuminate yoga’s sacred nature, which extends far beyond physical postures.
In exploring the Gita’s ancient wisdom, we discuss the divine intellect, reading sacred scripture as a spiritual practice, the art of listening, the nuances of yoga philosophy across traditions, single-pointed devotion as a pathway to union with God, the nature of the soul and the supreme self, the overlooked value of the teacher / student dynamic, and much more.
In September, Nikunja will be performing at the Bhakti Fest in California. She will be sharing music on the main stage and conducting a workshop. Discounted tickets for the festival can be found at https://www.bhaktifest.com/tickets by entering the code NIKUNJA.
And just a reminder before we jump into the conversation to please like, rate, subscribe and share to help more people access the podcast. Enjoy!
Nikunja's Resources:
Website: https://www.nikunjartistry.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nikunja
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC44NFKxo4399zT6byAVOZkA
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/11SfT4EjJa4ObpX8nZJQ7M?si=_Sp4fdglQ4qKGf82Fvv9QA

May 2, 2024 • 1h 24min
#43: Contemporary Tantra: Re-Exploring Kashmir Shaivism with Ellen Emmet
Ellen Emmet returns to the show. Ellen is a psychotherapist and facilitator of Authentic Movement. Our first conversation in episode 29, Nonduality and the Shadow, covered psychological aspects of the awakening.
This time we focus on Ellen’s teaching of the Awakening Body and yoga meditations in the tradition of nonduality and Kashmir Shaivism. This is an exploration of our true nature at the level of tactility and feeling.
We discuss gentle practices to relax the somatic sensation of separation and re-enliven the senses, the undefinable nature of tantra, how listening to sensation differs from hedonism and sensory indulgence, embodying vs. intellectualizing, method vs. devotional practice, the pros and cons of self-trust, valuing intuition, embracing not knowing, plus much more.
And just a reminder before we jump into the conversation to please like, rate, subscribe and share to help more people access the podcast. Enjoy!
Resources
Ellen Emmet’s website: https://www.ellenemmet.com/
Ellen’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theawakeningbody/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/ellenemmet

Apr 18, 2024 • 1h 18min
#42: Jungian Somatics and the Mythology of Trauma with Jane Clapp
This episode will answer the ultimate question to life, the universe and everything. Or maybe not quite everything, but I couldn’t miss the only chance to reference the number 42 from Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
That being said, Jane Clapp does answer many questions I had about the inner universe. Jane is a distinguished Jungian analyst who formed Jungian somatics from over 20 years of clinical experience. Exploring the interplay of body and psyche, she specializes in developmental and complex trauma through a mythological and embodied lens.
Our conversation includes somatic symptoms as symbols from the unconscious, developing ego strength, misconceptions about ‘shadow work,’ how skilled guidance can highlight blind spots, dreams as compensating for psychic imbalances, individual and cultural complexes, the tension of opposites and the transcendent function, and the risk, reward and necessity of differentiating from group mentality on the journey of growth.
And just a reminder before we jump into the conversation to please like, rate, subscribe and share to help more people access the podcast. Enjoy!
Resources:
Jane’s website: https://www.janeclapp.com/
Jane’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jungiansomatics/