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Andrés Gómez Emilsson is a consciousness researcher, philosopher, and co-founder of the Qualia Research Institute (QRI) -- an organization attempting to develop a precise mathematical language for subjective experience and its emotional valence, with the ultimate aim of understanding and reducing suffering.  Andrés's work spans algorithm design, psychedelic theory, neurotechnology, and mapping the computational properties of consciousness. He holds a master's in Psychology from Stanford with an emphasis on computational models, and has a professional background in graph theory, statistics, and affective science. Andrés breaks the mold of conventional academia – alongside his mathematical and computational training, he has extensively explored altered states of consciousness through psychedelics and meditation, bringing both intellectual rigor and direct experience to consciousness research. In this episode, we explore the role math plays in understanding and mapping consciousness through qualia formalism. We also unpack some of the core perspectives that inform Andrés's thinking: why the building blocks of reality may be made of experience itself (panpsychism), the case that we are all one (open individualism), the Symmetry Theory of Valence, why he believes the hippies were right about love, and why he doesn't think AI like ChatGPT is conscious. We then dive into how to better think about and integrate psychedelic experiences, from ego death to nondual states of oneness. Andrés shares early findings from QRI's retreat comparing 5-MeO-DMT with the jhanas, including whether a 5-MeO-DMT breakthrough is the same as the cessation advanced meditators describe. He also offers practical ways to increase your chances of having a positive 5-MeO-DMT experience, and explains why, despite all his experience with psychedelics and meditation, he doesn't claim any spiritual attainments. 🔗 LINKS & RESOURCES 🔗 Subscribe to Andrés's YouTube channel Follow Andrés on Substack Follow Andrés on Twitter/X Qualia Research Institute Cluster Free — organization working to end the suffering of cluster headaches Findings from the QRI Heart retreat studying 5-MeO-DMT vs Jhanas A Phenomenology of Zero Ontology: Jhana, Cessation, Awakening, 5-MeO-DMT and the Great Perfection — Wystan Bryant Scott The Ultimate 5-MeO-DMT Guide: How to Have a Beautiful Life-Changing Trip — Andrés Gómez Emilsson Meta-annealing playlist for preparing for 5-MeO-DMT The Hippies Were Right: About Consciousness and Everything Else — Tam Hunt I Am You — Daniel Kolak Derek Parfit The Mind Illuminated — Culadasa 🕰️ TIMESTAMPS 🕰️ 0:00 - Introduction to Andrés Gómez Emilsson & the Qualia Research Institute 4:11 - The role of math in consciousness research 12:37 - Qualia formalism: a mathematical language for subjective experience 14:27 - Perspectives that inform Andrés's thinking – epistemological optimism, panpsychism, we are all one & the Symmetry Theory of Valence 19:42 - What the hippies were right about 20:56 - Why AI is not conscious 24:00 - Diving deeper into the idea that we are all one 33:30 - Experiencing ego death at 16 years old 36:30 - The primacy of direct experience for shifting one's sense of separateness 39:48 - The trippy reality of open individualism and eternalism 53:27 - How to better integrate psychedelic experiences 1:03:35 - I am God & God is lonely 1:07:33 - We are both one and many 1:13:22 - Overfitting, underfitting, and robust fit in psychedelic integration 1:18:03 - Failure modes of integrating N,N-DMT vs 5-MeO-DMT 1:20:40 - Is a 5-MeO-DMT breakthrough the same as the cessation advanced meditators describe? (comparing 5-MeO-DMT to the jhanas) 1:35:18 - Why Andrés doesn't claim any spiritual attainments 1:39:02 - Lessons from Andrés's 1000+ 5-MeO-DMT trips 1:50:31 - Best practices for increasing the likelihood of a positive 5-MeO-DMT experience 1:54:55 - Final message *Subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch the video versions of the Elevating Consciousness Podcast  *Subscribe to the Insighter Substack to get in-depth articles on the theory and practice of human transformation through a post-conventional lens

Geoff Fitch & Abigail Lynam are leaders of Pacific Integral, an organization that creates transformative containers where practitioners of change discover new possibilities for being and acting in the world. Geoff is a co-founder of Pacific Integral, and brings more than thirty years of experience in business, management, and organizational leadership. He was also on the original research team behind the STAGES developmental model, and is a senior scorer of the assessment. Abigail is a senior faculty member and coach for Pacific Integral's programs. She also serves as associate faculty at Fielding Graduate University's PhD program in Human and Organizational Development and at the California Institute of Human Sciences, and is an advanced facilitator of Integral Polarity Practice as well as a developmental coach and scorer with Stages International. For over twenty years and across three continents, Abigail and Geoff have facilitated Generating Transformative Change, a nine-month cohort program that liberates participants' capacity to show up more fully as themselves while catalyzing transformation in the systems and communities they're a part of. In this episode, we speak about the turning points that shaped Abigail and Geoff's paths and the teachers and teachings that influenced them most. We explore Pacific Integral's 7 Facets of Awakened Wholeness framework and the relationship between individual and collective transformation. We get into the craft of group work: balancing structure and emergence, holding the polarity of "We" and "I," and our culture's overemphasis on difference. We also explore collective shadow work and the dynamics of scapegoating. Later, Geoff guides us through an experiential practice exploring the ways we hide in relationship. Toward the end, Geoff & Abigail share the biggest mistakes they've learned from across 30+ cohorts, what still remains mysterious to them about human transformation, and what it might look like to move beyond modernity and hyper-individuality. 🔗 LINKS & RESOURCES 🔗 Pacific Integral's site Generating Transformative Change 9-month program Follow Abigail on Substack Follow Geoff on Substack Pacific Integral YouTube 7 Facets of Awakened Wholeness conversations on the Integral Stage Joanna Macy Daniel P. Brown Terri O'Fallon Adi Da Ken Wilber Otto Scharmer Not-Two Is Peace by Adi Da 🕰️ TIMESTAMPS 🕰️ 0:00 - Introduction 3:32 - Significant turning points in Abigail & Geoff's journeys 11:02 - Impactful teachers & teachings 17:06 - The 7 Facets of Awakened Wholeness framework 23:58 - Individual vs Collective transformation 32:42 - Navigating structure & emergence in group work 42:17 - The We & I polarity and the overemphasis on difference 46:40 - The role of crisis in bringing us together 49:22 - Collective shadow work and the scapegoat 1:05:30 - One way I hide in relationship guided exercise 1:13:43 - Continually coming back to the ground of awakened awareness 1:17:16 - The biggest mistakes from facilitating 30+ cohorts 1:25:27 - What remains mysterious about human transformation 1:29:07 - Moving beyond modernity and hyper-individuality *Subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch the video versions of the Elevating Consciousness Podcast  *Subscribe to the Insighter Substack to get in-depth articles on the theory and practice of human transformation through a post-conventional lens

Stephen Jenkinson is a former palliative care worker, cultural activist, and writer whose work explores the intersection of death, grief, meaning, elderhood, and ceremony. He has spent decades helping people navigate grief, death, and dying — both as the former director of palliative care at a major Canadian hospital and afterward through his Orphan Wisdom School, which seeks to cultivate deep life skills in an age of cultural fragmentation. A recovered theologian, builder, stone carver, and farmer, Jenkinson brings the authority of lived experience to everything he touches. He's traveled the continent as a ceremonial guide for weddings, funerals, and blessings — work born from people's deep hunger for elders and ancestry.  Along with musician Gregory Hoskins, he created Nights of Grief and Mystery, a musical storytelling ceremony that has evolved into an international journey exploring grief, authenticity, and what it means to live as if dying were not a failure.  He is the author of numerous books, including the award-winning Die Wise, Come of Age, and Matrimony. His latest work, Trembling, Still: The Awful Clarity of a Mind in Eclipse, offers a searing confrontation with his own mortality and degeneration as he navigates Parkinson's disease. In this conversation we speak about Stephen's journey with Parkinson's and the impact it has had on his mind, body, and life — how every case of Parkinson's unfolds differently, and why he understands the work ahead of him as translation rather than endurance. We explore what happens to the sense of self under neurological degeneration, whether the voice that arrives in illness is a stranger or God, and when it is okay to die. We get into the polarities of trying and accepting, and how one might navigate them more skillfully without collapsing into either resignation or fight. Stephen shares his experience with Ibogaine, why he passed on the Toad (5-MeO-DMT), and what psychedelic experience does and doesn't offer someone facing mortality directly. We also explore how Stephen stays grounded in healthy skepticism without falling into cynicism, what lies beyond both cynicism and hope, what's left for him now, and his new record Caldera with Gregory Hoskins along with the upcoming North American tour. 🔗 LINKS & RESOURCES 🔗 Stephen's personal site — Orphan Wisdom Trembling, Still: The Awful Clarity of a Mind in Eclipse — Stephen Jenkinson Caldera — Stephen's new record with Gregory Hoskins Caldera 2026 North American Tour 🕰️ TIMESTAMPS 🕰️ 0:00 - Introduction 3:31 - How Parkinson's has impacted Stephen 7:44 - The work is of translation, not endurance 9:56 - Is that a stranger or God talking to you? 12:32 - Every case of Parkinson's unfolds differently 13:48 - Questioning the self 20:18 - Trying vs accepting 30:34 - When is it okay to die? 31:54 - Stephen's experience with taking Ibogaine 43:35 - Passing on the Toad (5-MeO-DMT) 46:54 - Beyond cynicism and hope 54:45 - What's left for Stephen? 59:18 - Stephen's new record "Caldera" and upcoming tour *Subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch the video versions of the Elevating Consciousness Podcast  *Subscribe to the Insighter Substack to get in-depth articles on the theory and practice of human transformation through a post-conventional lens

Kabir Kadre is the executive director of Open Field Awakening, a nonprofit initiative exploring how wisdom, human development, and collective practice can help humanity navigate the meta-crisis. For more than two decades he has worked at the intersection of organizational leadership, contemplative inquiry, and social transformation.  A quadriplegic since a spinal cord injury in 2002, Kabir brings a deeply embodied perspective to questions of interdependence, vulnerability, care, and human flourishing. His work is informed by a long-standing meditation practice in an Indo-Tibetan lineage and a commitment to translating spiritual and developmental insight into meaningful service. In this episode, we explore the gift of the nonordinary path, the 2002 car accident that left Kabir quadriplegic and took the lives of two of his companions, and the notable absence of the grief, depression, and survivor's guilt that convention promises. We talk about Kabir's unconventional relationship to death and loss, how research on reincarnation informed his mystical experiences, and how the demands of a spinal cord injury forced him into intimacy with others — further dissolving the illusion of a separate self. Kabir shares the impact of working with his teacher Dan Brown and an Indo-Tibetan meditation lineage, reflects on contemplating assisted suicide, and describes what he took from Dan Brown — that the end of suffering is available right now, and that it means the end of generating suffering for others rather than any kind of escape. We then turn to the meta-crisis — the layer of causality beneath the visible polycrisis of climate, political division, and economic disparity — the problem with how the meta-crisis is often framed, and how it can be understood as both an initiation and an invitation. We explore Kabir's work with Open Field Awakening, which he frames as a container for one question: given the nature of the world today, what should I do, and how do I build that question well enough to be worth listening for a response? We close on how to balance contemplative practice with systems change and political engagement, the collapse of the distinction between the cushion and the world, and Kabir's reminder that this work isn't tomorrow's — it's the conversation you're in, the body you're tending, the person who walks into the room in tears, whatever meets us in this very moment, right now. 🔗 LINKS & RESOURCES 🔗 Subscribe to Kabir's Substack Kabir's personal site Open Field Awakening Donate to support Kabir's ongoing care Daniel P. Brown Terri O'Fallon A Beautiful Constraint — Adam Morgan & Mark Barden Civilization Research Institute Reality Check — CRI The Consilience Project Seeing Through the Meta-Crisis with John Churchill — Integral Life 🕰️ TIMESTAMPS 🕰️ 0:00 - Introduction  5:20 - The gift of the nonordinary path  7:31 - Becoming a quadriplegic and how disability changed Kabir's life  11:58 - The accident that led to Kabir's spinal cord injury and took two of his friends' lives  19:10 - The surprising lack of grief, depression, and survivor's guilt in the aftermath of the accident  21:35 - An unconventional relationship to death and loss  26:00 - How research on reincarnation informed Kabir's mystical experiences  31:55 - Relationality, depending on others, and seeing through the illusion of separation  39:07 - Diving deeper into Kabir's mystical experiences  43:40 - The impact of working with Dan Brown and the Indo-Tibetan meditation lineage  48:18 - Contemplating assisted suicide  49:48 - It doesn't take a long time to awaken, and what the end of suffering actually means  55:33 - Artem shares about his experience with disability  1:01:45 - Experiencing what's arising as a blessing and the beautiful constraint  1:06:08 - What is the meta-crisis?  1:12:29 - The problem with the meta-crisis framing  1:14:25 - Many people don't see life as sacred — reincarnation vs YOLO  1:16:25 - The meta-crisis as an initiation and an invitation  1:21:28 - Kabir's work with Open Field Awakening  1:26:20 - How can we balance contemplative practice with systems change or political engagement?  1:42:15 - Finishing up with some poetry *Subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch the video versions of the Elevating Consciousness Podcast  *Subscribe to the Insighter Substack to get in-depth articles on the theory and practice of human transformation through a post-conventional lens

Christopher Bache is a professor emeritus of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Youngstown State University, where he taught for 33 years. He is also adjunct faculty at the California Institute of Integral Studies and an Emeritus Fellow at the Institute of Noetic Sciences. Trained at Notre Dame, Cambridge, and Brown, Bache spent seven years earning a PhD — a process that turned him into a hardcore agnostic. He then began a 20-year self-experiment taking high-dose LSD using protocols developed by psychedelic pioneer Stanislav Grof. For two decades, Chris lived a double life — a professor in public, and in private, a man conducting 73 high-dose LSD sessions in search of insight into consciousness and reality. He kept the work hidden from his university for most of that time, even while teaching courses on Eastern religion, mysticism, and consciousness. He is the author of several books including "Dark Night, Early Dawn," "The Living Classroom," and "LSD and the Mind of the Universe" — the book in which he finally told the full story of his psychedelic explorations. In this conversation, we explore whether psychedelics hold genuine spiritual and philosophical insights not otherwise accessible through meditation or contemplative practice, the three ways of consciously using psychedelics — personal healing, spiritual awakening, and cosmological exploration — and how Vajrayana practice shaped Chris's psychedelic work. We get into whether psychedelic experiences build systematically over recurring sessions, the trouble with integrating short-acting psychedelics like 5-MeO-DMT, psychedelic work in groups vs individually, Chris's method for capturing insights from his sessions, and his leading thoughts on reincarnation and the living classroom of collective intelligence. We also explore the varieties of psychedelic experiences from falling asleep to meeting cosmic beings, how to better integrate peak states and psychedelic experiences into everyday life, and what it means to lose meaning, find meaning, and remember God. 🔗 LINKS & RESOURCES 🔗 Chris's personal site LSD and the Mind of the Universe — Chris Bache Lifecycles — Chris Bache Dark Night, Early Dawn — Chris Bache The Living Classroom — Chris Bache Essay: Therapeutic vs Spiritual vs Cosmological use of Psychedelics — Chris Bache Journey of Souls — Michael Newton Destiny of Souls — Michael Newton Choosing Earth — Duane Elgin Robert Monroe Alex Grey Vajrayana Ordinary Mystics — Matt Zemon Anthony De Mello Doors of Perception — Aldous Huxley Alan Watts Chögyam Trungpa Holotropic Breathwork Stanislav Grof James Hollis 🕰️ TIMESTAMPS 🕰️ 0:00 - Introduction 5:06 - Do psychedelics hold spiritual and philosophical insights not accessible through meditation or contemplative practice? 6:52 - Three ways of consciously using psychedelics — personal healing, spiritual awakening and cosmological exploration 10:42 - Can we truly separate awakening from metaphysics? 13:08 - How Vajrayana practice impacted Chris's psychedelic explorations 17:48 - How Chris's Diamond Luminosity experience differs from Rigpa 21:20 - Frequency of use, diminishing returns, and do psychedelic experiences systematically build on each other? 27:40 - Are psychedelic experiences just distortions of consciousness that take us away from wisdom? 43:45 - 5-MeO-DMT and the trouble with integrating short-acting psychedelics 50:05 - Psychedelic work in groups vs individually 52:01 - Chris's method for capturing insights from his psychedelic sessions 53:48 - Can you journey without a sitter? 57:31 - Chris's leading thoughts on reincarnation 1:01:40 - The Living Classroom and collective intelligence 1:04:55 - Varieties of psychedelic experiences — from falling asleep to meeting cosmic beings 1:16:49 - How to better integrate peak states and psychedelic experiences 1:21:40 - Losing meaning, finding meaning and remembering God 1:28:09 - Being misunderstood and a final message *Subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch the video versions of the Elevating Consciousness Podcast  *Subscribe to the Insighter Substack to get in-depth articles on the theory and practice of human transformation through a post-conventional lens

Andrew Louis Venezia is a meditation and Circling teacher, coach, and writer based in Amsterdam, whose work presents Circling and related practices as a path of Tantric awakening and integration. After experiencing a life-changing encounter with Awakened Interbeing during a retreat for his Master's degree cohort, Andrew embarked on a three-year research project exploring the intersection of relational practice and awakening. It was during this period that he discovered Circling. He has since dedicated his life to weaving Circling together with the classical Tantric paths of Vajrayana Buddhism and Nondual Shaiva Tantra, as well as modern, embodied approaches to psychological wellbeing. With more than a decade of teaching and deep engagement with many approaches to growth, healing, development, and awakening, Andrew has come to see this as the most integrative path available — one that meets the head, the heart, and the body at once, and allows for a seamless, nondual expression of form and formlessness, self and other, awakening and embodied life. He recently released "What It's Like to Be You" — a book that unpacks Circling through the lens of Tantric awakening, available for free on his website. In this conversation, we explore Andrew's early mystical experiences and how meditation helped him integrate them, the relationship between psychedelics and meditation, what Circling is and why we practice it, and the Tantric view of transformation — and why Andrew believes it is the most skillful approach for the world we are walking into. We also get into mistaking states for realization, taking awakening off the cushion, authenticity and paradox, Awakened Interbeing, and how Circling and meditation complement each other, whether Circling can reach a wider audience and contribute to meaningful societal change, and how Circling can help us have better political conversations. A rich and wide-ranging conversation at the intersection of meditation, Circling, psychedelics, and Tantric awakening — for anyone ready to go beyond solo practice into something more relational, embodied, and comprehensive.  🔗 LINKS & RESOURCES 🔗 Andrew's personal site Get Andrew's book "What It's Like to Be You" — free What is Circling? — Artem Zen Beyond Spiritual Idealization with Delson Armstrong Uptrusting social network 🕰️ TIMESTAMPS 🕰️ 0:00 - Introduction 3:11 - Early experiences of awakening, meditation, psychedelics, studying integral, and discovering We Space practice and interbeing 14:45 - Navigating spiritual experiences as a child 21:54 - Mistaking states for realization 27:44 - Integrating spiritual experiences through meditation 35:08 - Psychedelics vs meditation 47:11 - Being an integrationist and taking realization off the cushion 52:32 - What is Circling and why do we practice it? 1:01:38 - Authenticity, paradox and construction 1:06:05 - Navigating resistance to Circling 1:07:45 - Awakened interbeing — integrating Circling and meditation 1:16:28 - A moment to recollect and recalibrate 1:18:10 - What is a Tantric view and why Circling is a Tantric practice 1:25:50 - Is Circling a fringe practice or does it have potential to become mainstream? 1:34:52 - The challenge and promise of Circling 1:39:10 - Towards an integral world and how Circling can help us have better political conversations 1:43:02 - Integrating truth and love through Circling 1:47:43 - Final thoughts *Subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch the video versions of the Elevating Consciousness Podcast  *Subscribe to the Insighter Substack to get in-depth articles on the theory and practice of human transformation through a post-conventional

Lydia Becker is a therapist, instructor, and midwife with over three decades of experience in Skan-Reichian bodywork. Rooted in the tradition of Wilhelm Reich, her work uses breathwork and bodywork to release emotional and physical tension held in the body — supporting people in softening long-held patterns, breathing more fully, and rediscovering their natural aliveness. In 1988, she became a licensed midwife — and it was through her midwifery work that Lydia experienced the power of breath and the importance of softening the social persona during birth, which led her to deepen her study of breath and body-oriented therapy. In 1993, she began a three-year training in Skan — a form of somatic psychotherapy rooted in Wilhelm Reich's work — receiving her certification to teach in 1999. She has since been offering individual sessions and leading workshops and retreats throughout the country. In this episode, we explore Wilhelm Reich's revolutionary approach to therapy and healing, the theory of armoring, and how unconscious layers of trauma, tension, and stress become stored in the body, and what makes Skan body-psychotherapy uniquely powerful as a somatic healing modality. We get into the relationship between sexuality, life force, and neuroticism, the relational aspect of healing, how to breathe when engaging with Reichian breathwork, what the mechanism behind de-armoring actually is, and why we often have to move through anger and grief before we can reach genuine forgiveness — including a live Reichian breathwork session Lydia guides us through. A profound conversation for anyone drawn to somatic healing, breathwork, and the body as a pathway to psychological and spiritual liberation. 🔗 LINKS & RESOURCES 🔗 Lydia's personal site What is Skan? Wilhelm Reich Sigmund Freud 🕰️ TIMESTAMPS 🕰️ 0:00 - Intro  2:10 - Artem's experience with Lydia's work  5:09 - Working in midwifery, going through a crisis, and getting into Reichian breathwork  13:30 - Unconscious layers of trauma, tension, and stress stored in the body  15:18 - Wilhelm Reich's approach to therapy and healing  23:19 - Theory of armoring, character structures, the core, and directionality  31:07 - Sexuality, life force, neuroticism, and going beyond the story  35:13 - How Skan body-psychotherapy is unique  37:10 - The relational aspect of healing  44:53 - How to breathe when engaging with Reichian breathwork  47:10 - Lydia guides us through a live Reichian breathwork session  1:03:06 - Reflecting on the experience  1:05:06 - What is the mechanism behind de-armoring?  1:13:40 - The liberating impact of long-term Reichian work  1:19:49 - The role of emotions in Skan and what an in-person session looks like  1:26:02 - We often have to feel anger and grief before we get to forgiveness  1:28:00 - The structure of a Skan Reichian breathwork group retreat  1:32:17 - Opportunities to train in Skan *Subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch the video versions of the Elevating Consciousness Podcast  *Subscribe to the Insighter Substack to get in-depth articles on the theory and practice of human transformation through a post-conventional

Ken Wilber is a philosopher, author, and the creator of Integral theory. He is considered by many one of the most influential thinkers of our time, whose writings have been translated into over twenty languages and have profoundly impacted domains as varied as business and medicine, psychology and ethics, politics and religion, art and education, and personal relationships. His AQAL (All Quadrants, All Lines) framework attempts to map human reality across four quadrants, multiple stages of development, lines of intelligence, states of consciousness, and personality types — offering what he calls a cosmic address, a way of locating where one is situated across multiple dimensions of existence simultaneously. In 2000 he founded the Integral Institute, a think tank dedicated to exploring pressing issues of science and society. In 2007 he co-founded Integral Life, a hub sharing the integral vision with a worldwide audience. He has authored more than twenty books, from dense scholarly works to popular introductions and personal memoirs, including "Finding Radical Wholeness," "A Brief History of Everything," "Grace and Grit," "Sex, Ecology, Spirituality," "Boomeritis," and "The Religion of Tomorrow." In this conversation, Ken shares how an early spiritual awakening launched a lifelong mission to map the full spectrum of human experience. We explore the crucial difference between states and stages of development, the role of the 1970s, psychedelics, and the Esalen Institute in shaping the human potential movement, and the thinkers and traditions that most deeply influenced his work. Ken reflects on how he was able to remain so extraordinarily productive while navigating a chronic health condition, and shares which of his many books he considers his favorite. He also opens up about the profound impact of losing his wife Treya to cancer — how that grief shaped some of his most important writing, and what his relationship to love and partnership looked like in the years that followed. We also discuss how a conversation between Jordan Peterson and Richard Dawkins inspired Ken's next book, and what that project is attempting to do. We close by looking toward the future — AI and existential risk, whether Ken would upload his mind to a computer, transcending postmodern culture, his thoughts on Metamodernism, and why he believes Integral consciousness isn't just possible but inevitable. 🔗 LINKS & RESOURCES 🔗 Ken Wilber’s personal siteFinding Radical Wholeness by Ken Wilber Integral LifeGrace & Grit by Ken WilberSex, Ecology & Spirituality by Ken WilberIntegral Life Practice by Ken WilberTrump and a Post-truth world by Ken WilberSusanne Cook-Greuter on the Elevating Consciousness podcastTimothy LearyRam DassHoward GardnerSigmund FreudCarl JungFritz PerlsEsalen InstituteMichael MurphyJane LoevingerEido RoshiJean GebserSri AurobindoRobert KeganArthur Koestler & Holon philosophyD.T. SuzukiLankavatara SutraDon't Die (Bryan Johnson documentary) 🕰️ TIMESTAMPS 🕰️ 0:00 - Introduction 3:12 - My summary of Ken's work — the four quadrants, states vs stages 6:47 - Everyone is partially right 9:11 - Ken's initial spiritual awakening 10:11 - Delineating states of awakening from developmental stages — waking up and growing up 14:54 - Discovering multiple intelligences and taking psychedelics — opening up 23:55 - Freud, Jung, Fritz Perls, the impact of the Esalen Institute, and shadow work — cleaning up 37:54 - Jane Loevinger and taking multiple perspectives — showing up 41:06 - The AQAL map, holons, and putting it all together into Integral theory 47:11 - Ken's work being translated into 35 languages and used across disciplines 50:20 - Ken's favorite book that he has written 52:50 - The impact of losing his wife Treya to cancer, and love after her death 56:10 - How Ken's next book was inspired by Jordan Peterson's conversation with Richard Dawkins 59:44 - The Grace and Grit movie 1:01:11 - The need for different types of truths 1:04:32 - Finding a Zen master, working with koans, and the evolution of Ken's meditation practice 1:14:16 - Being born cerebrotonic and excelling in school 1:19:17 - How Ken was able to be so productive while navigating a chronic health condition 1:28:23 - Thoughts on longevity, Bryan Johnson, and the Don't Die philosophy 1:32:40 - AI, existential risk, and would Ken upload himself to a computer? 1:36:36 - Transcending the postmodern mean green meme and the future of Integral 1:43:52 - Who are the torch carriers of Integral? 1:46:52 - Ken's thoughts on Metamodernism 1:49:38 - Integral is a view or stage that belongs to no one 1:51:04 - Integral consciousness is inevitable 1:53:05 - What is at the leading edge of Ken's thinking? *Subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch the video versions of the Elevating Consciousness Podcast  *Subscribe to the Insighter Substack to get the latest podcast episodes, in-depth articles, and community practice sessions delivered straight to your inbox

Sylvie Barbier and Rufus Pollock are the co-founders of Life Itself — a collective of pragmatic utopians committed to practical action for a radically wiser, weller world. Sylvie is a French-Taiwanese ritual artist whose work synthesizes Eastern and Western philosophies and aesthetics, creating contemporary rituals where the audience takes an active, interactive role. Rufus is an entrepreneur, activist, author, and long-term Zen practitioner who has founded several successful for-profit and nonprofit initiatives. His 2018 book "Open Revolution," about building a radically freer and fairer information age, has been translated into multiple languages. Together, both as a couple and through their work with Life Itself, Sylvie and Rufus create practice hubs and developmental spaces, drive research on the meta-crisis and pathways toward a Second Renaissance, and build partnerships across disciplines connecting thinkers, artists, communities, and organizations exploring post-conventional and metamodern ways of life. In this conversation, we explore how Sylvie and Rufus's inner work paths converged and led them to co-found Life Itself, and the real difficulty and vulnerability of walking a post-conventional path. We get into why shadow work remains criminally underrated, Game A vs Game B as two fundamentally different ways of seeing reality, and what a Roman watching Christians die in the Colosseum can teach us about wisdom vs power. We also explore which seeds of culture we're choosing to nourish, the need for holistic development, and what actually makes people change their minds. We close by framing meta-crisis conversations through symptoms, diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment, and exploring the surprising role art may play in collective transformation. 🔗 LINKS & RESOURCES 🔗 Life Itself collective Life Itself YouTube channel Sylvie Barbier's personal site Follow Sylvie on Substack Rufus Pollock's personal site Follow Rufus on Substack Second Renaissance Second Renaissance white papers Second Renaissance art Second Renaissance magazine Understanding the Metacrisis Understanding Developmental Spaces 🕰️ TIMESTAMPS 🕰️ 0:00 - Introduction 3:04 - How Sylvie and Rufus's journeys came together 11:12 - Founding the Life Itself collective and the Second Renaissance movement 17:07 - Running transformational practice hubs 21:18 - The need for continuity and rootedness 25:18 - The difficulty and vulnerability of the post-conventional path 36:26 - Shadow work is still underrated, and a modernist in rehab 41:05 - Game A vs Game B 46:16 - What a Roman watching Christians die in the Colosseum can teach us 49:15 - The idea behind the Over the Mountains podcast 52:44 - Which seeds are we deciding to nourish? Creating pockets of culture 57:40 - Two ways of seeing reality — wisdom vs power 1:09:10 - The need for holistic development 1:17:52 - Creating more good faith dialogue and what makes people change their minds 1:24:40 - Framing meta-crisis conversations through symptoms, diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment 1:34:16 - Art's role in collective transformation *Subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch the video versions of the Elevating Consciousness Podcast  *Subscribe to the Insighter Substack to get the latest podcast episodes, in-depth articles, and community practice sessions delivered straight to your inbox

Stephen Zerfas is the CEO and co-founder of Jhourney — a tech startup scaling transformative meditation through a data-driven lens, guiding complete beginners into deeply absorbed meditation states known as the jhanas in less than a week. Stephen discovered the first three jhanas through his own practice and, upon learning of their profound history, made it his mission to bring them to as many people as possible.  He has since trained with leading jhana teachers including Leigh Brasington and Delson Armstrong. Jhourney has served over 1,300 alumni with a 60-70% success rate helping participants access the jhanas on weeklong retreats. Before founding Jhourney, Stephen worked as a software engineer at Lyft and a management consultant at Bridgespan, a Bain affiliate. A University of Notre Dame graduate, he lives in the Bay Area with his wife and daughter. This conversation was recorded live during Limicon, a digital conference for people in the liminal, Game B, and metamodern adjacent spaces. In it, we explore what the jhanas are, how Stephen discovered them through self-experimentation, and why he decided to found a tech company that teaches them. We get into the guesswork problem of meditation and starting Jhourney, whether the jhanas are universally discovered states, what they actually feel like, and the concept of super wellbeing — taking the technology of meditation seriously. We also explore the main barriers to accessing the jhanas and how to orient to the meditation by reflecting like a scientist and playing like a child, before Stephen guides us through a live "towards jhana" guided meditation. We close with a group discussion on what role morality plays in meditation, or must play, and the biggest concerns around jhana meditation practice. 🔗 LINKS & RESOURCES 🔗 Jhourney website Subscribe to Stephen on Substack A video capturing the intensity of the jhanas from people on retreat A Jhourney retreat reflection Meditation safety podcast — David Treleaven on meditation safety and jhanas How to cry on cue The Mind Illuminated — Culadasa 🕰️ TIMESTAMPS 🕰️ 0:00 - Introduction 2:49 - The contemplative corner of the liminal web 6:12 - How Stephen discovered the jhanas on his own 12:22 - The guesswork problem of meditation and starting Jhourney 17:23 - What are the jhanas? 20:26 - Are these universally discovered states? 22:44 - What do the jhanas feel like? 24:15 - Super wellbeing and taking the technology of meditation seriously 27:07 - Main barriers to accessing the jhanas 34:50 - Orienting to the meditation — reflect like a scientist, play like a child 38:10 - Towards jhana guided meditation 1:18:19 - What role does morality play in meditation? 1:28:09 - The biggest concerns of jhana meditation practice *Subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch the video versions of the Elevating Consciousness Podcast  *Subscribe to the Insighter Substack to get the latest podcast episodes, in-depth articles, and community practice sessions delivered straight to your inbox

Daniel Garner is a writer, philosopher, and one-half of O.G. Rose — the philosophical and literary voice he shares with his wife, Michelle Garner. Their work has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and the Uno Press Lab Prize, and has been featured in literary publications including The Iowa Review, The William and Mary Review, and Broken Pencil. Daniel has been involved in writing over a dozen books including "The Conflict of Mind," "The Map Is Indestructible," the "Belonging Again" series, and a creative fiction work, "Under the Wing." When not writing or thinking on the deepest questions of our times, he manages the Mead Lake Lodge wedding venue, teaches piano using visuals from the DLG Pattern Method, and raises four children. This conversation was recorded live during Limicon, a digital conference for people in the liminal, Game B, and metamodern adjacent spaces. In it, we explore how belonging can be created beyond conformity or isolationism in a pluralistic and hyper-fragmented world, and what it asks of us across different scales, from the local to the national to the global. We get into regressive forms of belonging, how belonging differs on a local, national, and global level, and cheap vs costly perennialism and evolving structures. We highlight the importance of negativity, lack, and radical difference — forces so often overlooked in spiritual spaces — and examine the limits of any single system, model, or medium. We explore Hegel's absolute knower, the Deleuzian individual, the Nietzschean child, and the debate between Freud and Jung, the irony of not belonging in a conversation about belonging, and the social coordination mechanism. We also get into somewheres and anywheres, democratizing media, racism as the problem of givens and releases, and nature as a pathway to diversity and belonging. We close by sitting with the difference between talking about belonging and living it, finding belonging in different mediums and structures, Daniel's insights from running Eunoia, an in-person gathering space, and why we are all doomed without adequate social coordination. 🔗 LINKS & RESOURCES 🔗 O.G. Rose's personal site Subscribe to O.G. Rose's Substack Watch O.G. Rose's YouTube channel Belonging Again: An Explanation — O.G. Rose Belonging Again: An Address — O.G. Rose Triumph of the Therapeutic — Philip Rieff Inside the Manosphere — documentary Charles W. Mills Science and Sanity — Alfred Korzybski Friedrich Hayek The Road to Somewhere — David Goodhart Christopher Alexander 🕰️ TIMESTAMPS 🕰️ 0:00 - Intro 2:45 - The central problem of belonging 12:27 - Regressive forms of belonging 16:37 - How belonging differs on a local, national, and global level 21:15 - Cheap vs costly perennialism and evolving structures 30:18 - Negativity, lack, and radical difference 37:29 - The limits of any one system, model, or medium 41:51 - Hegel's absolute knower, the Deleuzian individual, the Nietzschean child, and the debate between Freud and Jung 46:10 - The irony of not belonging in a conversation about belonging and the importance of intelligibility 57:24 - The social coordination mechanism 1:03:01 - Somewheres and anywheres 1:06:41 - Democratizing media 1:11:41 - Racism as the problem of givens and releases 1:20:06 - Nature as a pathway to diversity and belonging 1:25:18 - The pros and cons of digital history 1:30:11 - The difference between talking about belonging and living it 1:35:37 - Finding belonging in different mediums and structures 1:41:45 - Daniel's insights from running Eunoia, an in-person gathering space 1:49:03 - We are all doomed without adequate social coordination *Subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch the video versions of the Elevating Consciousness Podcast  *Subscribe to the Insighter Substack to get the latest podcast episodes, in-depth articles, and community practice sessions delivered straight to your inbox

Richard Flyer is a community weaver and entrepreneur who has devoted his life to exploring how spirituality, local relationships, and practical action can renew communities, building ecosystem networks from the ground up. Deeply influenced by Sarvodaya Shramadana's grassroots mobilization of 15,000 Sri Lankan villages, Richard champions bottom-up regeneration rooted in local relationships, spiritual practice, and everyday service. His work spans founding Vecinos Unidos in San Diego, leading the San Diego Food Bank, supporting syntropic agroforestry in Hawaii, building symbiotic networks across Living Local Economy, Food Systems, Arts and Culture, and Neighbor Networks in Reno, and launching the Symbiotic Culture Lab to activate 50,000 micro-bioregional community networks by 2033. From early mystical experiences of a "Luminous Web" of interconnection to research with pilot whales and years immersed in nature, Richard's life has been a living experiment in bringing the transcendent into the immanent — "bringing Heaven to Earth" — through practical, face-to-face community building grounded in love, service, and shared responsibility. He is the author of "Birthing the Symbiotic Age: An Ancient Blueprint to Unite Humanity," which draws from five decades of hands-on experiments across cultures, faith traditions, and organizational contexts to help communities move from separation toward connection. In this conversation, we explore Richard's early spiritual experiences and how they shaped his community building efforts, and whether we need spiritual experiences to expand our circle of care. We get into integrating spirituality into community building, the influence of Dr. Ari and the Sarvodaya movement, and what Richard calls becoming a "spiritual gangster" — diffusing violence through loving awareness. We also explore healing the culture of separation, the worldview that devalues value and disconnects us from the transcendent, virtues and the objective sacred, and navigating inclusivity and exclusivity in community and culture building. Richard walks us through the difference between values and virtues and connecting to foundational community needs, why truth and love are inseparable and beyond our political beliefs, syncretism, perennialism, and what brought him to Christianity, and how to include atheists and materialists in this conversation. 🔗 LINKS & RESOURCES 🔗 Richard's site and Substack Birthing a Symbiotic Age — Richard Flyer Dr. A.T. Ariyaratne Small Is Beautiful — E.F. Schumacher A Secular Age — Charles Taylor 🕰️ TIMESTAMPS 🕰️ 0:00 - Introduction 3:53 - Richard's vision of a symbiotic culture 8:14 - Do we need spiritual experiences to expand our circle of care? 20:00 - Integrating spirituality into community building 31:16 - The influence of Dr. Ari and the Sarvodaya movement 35:39 - Becoming a spiritual gangster — diffusing violence through loving awareness 46:01 - Healing the culture of separation 58:43 - The worldview that devalues value and disconnects us from the transcendent 1:05:03 - Virtues and the objective sacred 1:10:00 - Navigating inclusivity and exclusivity in community and culture building 1:16:55 - The difference between values and virtues and connecting to foundational community needs 1:24:49 - Truth and love are inseparable and beyond our political beliefs 1:32:50 - Syncretism, perennialism, and what brought Richard to Christianity 1:49:04 - How do we include atheists and materialists in this conversation? 1:58:02 - Artem reflects on how Richard's work is impacting him *Subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch the video versions of the Elevating Consciousness Podcast  *Subscribe to the Insighter Substack to get the latest podcast episodes, in-depth articles, and community practice sessions delivered straight to your inbox

Daljeet Peterson is an astrologer, Human Design analyst, and author exploring how ancient and modern systems of meaning can guide us through times of transformation. His work bridges astrology, Human Design, and the Gene Keys as complementary maps of consciousness — tools for aligning with one's deeper purpose and participating more consciously in the collective evolution of our species.  A former television editor turned cosmic cartographer, Daljeet brings a storyteller's sensibility to the study of archetypes, weaving together myth, history, and contemporary culture. He is the author of "Collective Souls: Generations, Astrology, and the Future of America," which explores how generational astrology reveals the hidden cycles shaping our nation's destiny and the emerging potentials of a new Aquarian era. In this conversation, we explore Daljeet's journey into astrology, how astrology was discovered, and whether astrology is a religion. We get into common misconceptions of astrology, how to distinguish good astrology from bad astrology, and the foundational principles of astrology. We also explore the mechanism behind planetary effects, the limits of falsifiability, science, and left-brain ways of knowing, and unpack Human Design and Gene Keys and how they tie into astrology. Daljeet walks us through holding modalities with curiosity and humility, the ideas behind "Collective Souls: Generations, Astrology, and the Future of America," the unique gifts and challenges of Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z, and calls to action for each generation. 🔗 LINKS & RESOURCES 🔗 Daljeet's site Subscribe to Daljeet's Substack Collective Souls — Daljeet Peterson Astrology 101: Blueprint of the Soul series Cosmos & Psyche — Richard Tarnas 🕰️ TIMESTAMPS 🕰️ 0:00 - Introduction 4:38 - Daljeet's journey into astrology 8:22 - How astrology was discovered 16:27 - Is astrology a religion? 21:55 - Common misconceptions of astrology 26:06 - How to distinguish good astrology from bad astrology 28:58 - The foundational principles of astrology 39:52 - What is the mechanism behind planetary effects? 45:00 - The limits of falsifiability, science, and left-brain ways of knowing 51:22 - Unpacking Human Design and Gene Keys 1:01:56 - Holding modalities with curiosity and humility 1:06:27 - "Collective Souls: Generations, Astrology, and the Future of America" 1:13:00 - The unique gifts and challenges of the four generations — Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z 1:20:51 - Calls to action for the four generations *Subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch the video versions of the Elevating Consciousness Podcast  *Subscribe to the Insighter Substack to get the latest podcast episodes, in-depth articles, and community practice sessions delivered straight to your inbox

Natureza Gabriel is an ancestral neuroscience pioneer, developer of Autonomics, and founder of Hearth Science — an organization and community offering tools, trainings, and practices that help people cultivate nervous system fluency and deepen their experience of wellbeing.  At the heart of his work is Autonomics, an animist cartography of living autonomic physiology shaped by over three decades of collaboration with more than one hundred mentors and advisors across 25 healing traditions and 24 cultures, many indigenous. It is considered one of the first accurate maps of the living autonomic nervous system in modernity.  His Autonomics trainings have been sought out by the United Nations, a division of NATO, global social and ecological movements, and elite firms in executive coaching and leadership development. He is the author of many books including "Restorative Practices of Well-Being," "Finding Home in Your Nervous System," "Autonomic Triage," and "The Neurobiology of Connection." In this conversation, we explore the origins of Gabriel's autonomic model and how it diverged from Polyvagal Theory, and the 13 autonomic states that make up his framework. We get into neuroception, neurology, and neurochemistry, what constitutes a healthy autonomic nervous system, and the limits of HRV and the future of autonomic diagnostics. We also explore the importance of restorative practices, how to rebalance a hyperactivated nervous system, how to rebalance a shut-down nervous system, and the importance of community in healing and processing grief. We close on the limitations of modernity, how modernity disconnected us from the Earth, the challenges of running a company in a culture of domination, how to bridge power and wisdom by becoming a mycelium network, the disconnection underlying the techno-optimist worldview, and pathways towards civilizational wellness. 🔗 LINKS & RESOURCES 🔗 Gabriel's personal site Gabriel's autonomic trainings Gabriel's clinic Restorative practices portal The Neurobiology of Connection — Natureza Gabriel Ground: How Modernity Disconnected from the Earth — Natureza Gabriel Finding Home in Your Nervous System — Natureza Gabriel Awakening Human Connection — Natureza Gabriel Stephen Porges Somatic Experiencing Dr. Vincent Felitti Malidoma Patrice Somé Sobonfu Somé on grief Tiokasin Ghosthorse Scott Galloway podcast What is Circling? — Artem Zen Carri Munn 🕰️ TIMESTAMPS 🕰️ 0:00 - Introduction 3:52 - The origins of Autonomics — bridging neuroscience and autonomic physiology 7:53 - Stephen Porges, Polyvagal Theory, and moving beyond a two-system autonomics 21:44 - The 13 autonomic states 31:31 - Neuroception, neurology, and neurochemistry 34:55 - What is a healthy autonomic nervous system? 42:39 - The limits of HRV and the future of autonomic diagnostics 49:17 - The importance of restorative practices 52:00 - How to rebalance a hyperactivated nervous system 1:01:09 - How to rebalance a shut-down nervous system 1:05:47 - The importance of community in healing and processing grief 1:11:45 - The limitations of modernity 1:14:55 - Ground — how modernity disconnected us from the Earth 1:24:10 - The challenges of running a company in a culture of domination 1:33:52 - How do we bridge power and wisdom? Becoming a mycelium network 1:45:10 - The disconnection that underlies the techno-optimist worldview 1:48:33 - Pathways towards civilizational wellness *Subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch the video versions of the Elevating Consciousness Podcast  *Subscribe to the Insighter Substack to get the latest podcast episodes, in-depth articles, and community practice sessions delivered straight to your inbox

Pema Dragpa is a dharma teacher, author, and ordained Tibetan Buddhist Lama who graduated with honors in Philosophy and Religious Studies from New York University in 2002. Since 2004 he has served as a resident teacher at Padma Samye Ling, a meditation retreat center founded by the Nyingma Dzogchen masters Venerable Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche and Venerable Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal Rinpoche. In 2010 he was formally ordained as a Lama by the Venerable Khenpo Rinpoches. He is also a senior editor of more than 25 books on Buddhist philosophy and the author of "An Integral View of Tibetan Buddhism: Preserving Lineage Wisdom in the 21st Century." Dragpa regularly travels to lead Padmasambhava Buddhist Center events, bridging traditional Tibetan wisdom with contemporary approaches to meditation and the path of awakening. In this conversation, we explore Pema's journey into Tibetan Buddhism, a deep taste of samsara and the impact of the Khenpo Rinpoches, and the monastic vs the householder path. We get into balancing spirituality with money and practical concerns, unpacking the Integral view and stage, and Pema's disagreements with Ken Wilber — including whether Vajrayana can even be considered Integral. We also explore an integrative approach to transformation, unity in diversity and the shadow of Integral, John Churchill's Sacred Humanism, and why there is no definitive answer, system, or theory — experimenting in fail-safe mode. Pema walks us through the importance of communities of practice and syncing up with lineage wisdom, why we should be wary of a "Puritan Dharma," and the core tenets and frames of Vajrayana Buddhism, before sharing a Tibetan prayer. We close on why we need more ways of being in touch, the importance of going deep in one tradition, the four turnings of Buddhism simplified, the perfect practice for a degenerative age, whether we need more politically engaged spiritual teachers, making change at a meso scale, and Integral, the notion of absolute truth, and freedom from samsara. 🔗 LINKS & RESOURCES 🔗 An Integral View of Tibetan Buddhism — Pema Dragpa Listen to Pema Dragpa's dharma talks Padmasambhava Buddhist Center Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal Rinpoche Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche John Churchill on the Elevating Consciousness Podcast Ken Wilber Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche Sean Esbjorn-Hargens 🕰️ TIMESTAMPS 🕰️ 0:00 - Introduction 3:32 - Pema Dragpa's journey into Tibetan Buddhism 7:20 - A deep taste of samsara and the impact of the Khenpo Rinpoches 16:18 - The monastic vs the householder path 18:51 - Balancing spirituality with money and practical concerns 26:56 - Unpacking the Integral view and stage 33:01 - Disagreements with Ken Wilber — is Vajrayana Integral? 43:26 - An integrative approach to transformation 47:47 - Unity in diversity and the shadow of Integral 56:36 - John Churchill's Sacred Humanism 59:33 - There is no definitive answer, system, or theory — experimenting in fail-safe mode 1:09:31 - The importance of communities of practice and syncing up with lineage wisdom 1:15:49 - Be wary of a Puritan Dharma 1:16:34 - The core tenets and frames of Vajrayana Buddhism 1:24:11 - Pema shares a Tibetan prayer 1:28:54 - We need more ways of being in touch — healthy integrative mode 1:32:04 - The importance of going deep in one tradition 1:33:17 - The four turnings of Buddhism simplified 1:34:09 - The perfect practice for a degenerative age 1:42:24 - Do we need more politically engaged spiritual teachers? 1:47:53 - Making change at a meso scale 1:50:56 - Integral, the notion of absolute truth, and freedom from samsara *Subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch the video versions of the Elevating Consciousness Podcast  *Subscribe to the Insighter Substack to get in-depth articles on the theory and practice of human transformation through a post-conventional lens