Podcast appearances and mentions of newton rayzor chair

Ever wondered what happens when we stop trying to explain away the mysterious and start truly listening to the extraordinary? Join us for a mind-expanding conversation with Dr. Jeffrey J. Kripal, a pioneering scholar who's not afraid to explore the weird, wonderful, and unexplainable.Jeffrey J. Kripal holds the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University, where he served as the Associate Dean of the School of Humanities (2019-2023), chaired the Department of Religion for eight years, and also helped create the GEM Program, a doctoral concentration in the study of Gnosticism, Esotericism, and Mysticism that is the largest program of its kind in the world. He presently helps direct the Center for Theory and Research at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California, where he served as Chair of the Board from 2015 to 2020.Jeff is the author or co-author of thirteen books, nine of which are with The University of Chicago Press. He has also served as the Editor in Chief of the Macmillan Handbook Series on Religion (ten volumes, 2015-2016). He specializes in the study of extreme religious states and the re-visioning of a New Comparativism, particularly as both involve putting “the impossible” back on the academic table again. He is presently working on a three-volume study of paranormal currents in the history of religions and the sciences for The University of Chicago Press, collectively entitled The Super Story.In this Episode, We Cover:Personal Background and Early ExperiencesThe Role of Suffering and Religious NarrativesThe Concept of Superhuman Experiences and Erotic ExperienceThe Importance of Experiences as Entry PointsThe Varying Degrees of Mystical ExperiencesThe Role of Trauma and Suffering in Accessing the ExtraordinaryThe Challenge of Integrating Extraordinary Experiences of the ImpossibleThe Role of Imagination in Mediating Extraordinary ExperiencesThe Sacred is Not Necessarily GoodHow to Think Impossibly: Get WeirdThe Importance of Visual and Symbolic RepresentationsThe Human Potential Movement at EsalenThe X-Men and Evolutionary PotentialThe Importance of Reading and StorytellingHelpful links:Dr. Jeffrey Kripal - J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice UniversityHow to Think Impossibly: About Souls, UFOs, Time, Belief, and Everything ElseThe Superhumanities: Historical Precedents, Moral Objections, New Realities Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join host Andrew Holecek in a thought-provoking conversation with Jeffrey Kripal, the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University. In this engaging episode, Kripal shares insights from his book "How to Think Impossibly," offering a refreshing challenge to conventional materialistic worldviews that have dominated scientific discourse. With a blend of scholarly rigor and unexpected humor, Kripal explores how paranormal experiences and phenomena like UFOs deserve serious intellectual consideration rather than dismissal. His emphasis of "dual aspect monism" provides a fascinating framework for reconciling seemingly contradictory experiences of reality, suggesting that what we call "paranormal" only appears so within our limited materialistic paradigm. This conversation bridges philosophy, spirituality, and cutting-edge thinking about consciousness. Whether you're interested in the boundaries of human experience or simply enjoy questioning established frameworks, Kripal's perspective offers valuable insights into how we might expand our understanding of reality beyond current limitations. Listen in as two thoughtful minds explore the territory where science meets mystery, and where new possibilities for human understanding await.

It's not every day a serious academic espouses belief in the unexplained — maybe more should? Jeffrey Kripal holds the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss UFOs, souls, déjà vu and how these universal concepts make us more human. His book is “How to Think Impossibly: About Souls, UFOs, Time, Belief, and Everything Else.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Today's disagreement is on The Telepathy Tapes, Autism, and the Paranormal. If you're not familiar, The Telepathy Tapes is a cultural phenomenon and podcast that launched in Fall 2024. By early January, it was the number one podcast in the country. Today, it's still in the top ten. Its core thesis is quite provocative: that there are non-verbal autistic young people who possess telepathic powers and are able to read the minds of their parents and teachers.In this episode, we use The Telepathy Tapes as a springboard to ask some big questions about science, skepticism, and the nature of truth. Is telepathy real? How should we evaluate the claims in the podcast? Do these claims adversely affect–even harm–the autistic young people being celebrated?To have this conversation, we've brought together a journalist and a religious scholar with very different approaches to understanding the truth.Zaid Jilani is a journalist whose work has appeared in The Intercept, News Nation and Alternet. He writes about politics and culture on his Substack The American Saga.Jeffrey Kripal is the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University and the Associate Director of the Center for Theory and Research at the Esalen Institute. Jeffrey is also the author of thirteen books, including most recently: How to Think Impossibly.Before we get started, a note. In The Telepathy Tapes, the nonverbal autistic young people use a controversial method to communicate with the outside world. It's called “facilitated communication.” There is an adult that helps to facilitate the young person's communication—usually through some form of touch and holding a letterboard that the young person point to. We get into this in-depth on the podcast.Questions or comments about this episode? Email us at podcast@thedisagreement.com or find us on X and Instagram @thedisagreementhq. Subscribe to our newsletter: https://thedisagreement.substack.com/

Join us for an engaging conversation with Dr Jeffrey J. Kripal, J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University and co-director of the Center for Theory and Research at the Esalen Institute. Known for his groundbreaking work exploring the intersections of consciousness, the paranormal, and the humanities, Dr Kripal will share insights from his latest books, The Superhumanities: Historical Precedents, Moral Objections, New Realities and How to Think Impossibly: About Souls, UFOs, Time, Belief, and Everything Else. We'll delve into his ongoing three-volume project, The Super Story: Science (Fiction) and Some Emergent Mythologies, and discuss how extreme human experiences challenge conventional boundaries between the mental and the material. Don't miss this opportunity to explore the impossible with one of the leading thinkers at the frontier of philosophy, religion, and the unknown. RECOMMENDED BOOKS How to Think Impossibly https://amzn.to/3BYOeC6 The Superhumanities https://amzn.to/41VZObL How to Think Impossibly https://amzn.to/4j6FZ7B Gnostic Reflections on the Study of Religion https://amzn.to/3BTJcXy CONNECT & SUPPORT

Join Host Michael Lerner in conversation with Jeffrey J. Kripal, Rice University Department of Religion professor and author of more than a dozen books including The Superhumanities: Historical Precedents, Moral Objections, New Realities and The Flip: Epiphanies of Mind and the Future of Knowledge. Jeffrey J. Kripal Jeffrey is the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University, where he also hosts the Archives of the Impossible collection and conference series. He co-directs the Center for Theory and Research at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California, and sits on numerous advisory boards in the United States and Europe involving the nature of consciousness and the human, social, and natural sciences. Most recently, Jeff is the author of The Superhumanities: Historical Precedents, Moral Objections, New Realities (Chicago 2022), where he intuits an emerging order of knowledge that can engage in robust moral criticism but also affirm the superhuman or nonhuman dimensions of our histories and futures; and How to Think Impossibly: About Souls, UFOs, Time, Belief, and Everything Else (Chicago 2024), which thinks---with experiencers of the extreme--toward a future form of theory that does not separate the mental and the material. His full body of work can be seen at jeffreyjkripal.com. He thinks he may be Spider-Man. Host Michael Lerner Michael is the president and co-founder of Commonweal. His principal work at Commonweal is with the Cancer Help Program, CancerChoices.org, the Omega Resilience Projects, the Collaborative on Health and the Environment, and The New School at Commonweal. He was the recipient of a MacArthur Prize Fellowship for contributions to public health in 1983 and is author of Choices in Healing: Integrating the Best of Conventional and Complementary Therapies (MIT Press).

“We need to be open to things that offend or transcend our worldview because they're clearly doing that for a reason,” says Jeffrey Kripal, PhD. Kripal—who holds the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University—returns to the podcast for a second time. We talk about different ways to understand the deeper realities of our lives, and his latest book, How to Think Impossibly: About Souls, UFOs, Time, Belief, and Everything Else. Yes, we get to time travel and conspiracy theories. And also what makes Kripal's work fun—and funny. See more about this episode and guest on my Substack. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From precognitive dreams and telepathic visions to near-death experiences, UFO encounters, and beyond, so-called impossible phenomena are not supposed to happen. But they do happen—all the time. Jeffrey J. Kripal asserts that the impossible is a function not of reality but of our everchanging assumptions about what is real. How to Think Impossibly invites us to think about these fantastic (yet commonplace) experiences as an essential part of being human, expressive of a deeply shared reality that is neither mental nor material but gives rise to both. Thinking with specific individuals and their extraordinary experiences in vulnerable, open, and often humorous ways, Kripal interweaves humanistic and scientific inquiry to foster an awareness that the fantastic is real, the supernatural is super natural, and the impossible is possible. Jeffrey J. Kripal holds the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University. He is the author of numerous books, including The Superhumanities: Historical Precedents, Moral Objections, New Realities, The Flip: Epiphanies of Mind and the Future of Knowledge, Authors of the Impossible: The Paranormal and the Sacred, Esalen: America and the Religion of No Religion, Mutants and Mystics: Science Fiction, Superhero Comics, and the Paranormal, and just published, also by the University of Chicago Press, How to Think Impossibly: About Souls, UFOs, Time, Belief, and Everything Else.

Author and scholar of the mystical, Dr. Jeffery Kripal enters the mind meld! *Support our sponsor, Qualia! Go to qualialife.com/THIRDEYEDROPS for up to $100 OFF Qualia  use code THIRDEYEDROPS at checkout for an additional 15% off any purchase.* Video Episode

Guess what? Jeffrey J. Kripal, you know him, you love him, is on this episode of Earth: A Love Story. Jeff holds the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University. He worked with Rice's special collections director to create and host the Archives of the Impossible, which is a collection of accounts detailing the supernatural, including thousands of firsthand abduction accounts, letters written to Whitley and Anne Strieber, once highly classified government remote reviewing files and has become one of the largest and most significant collections of research materials related to these marginalized and tabboed topics in the world. Jeff also organized the Archives of the Impossible conferences. He is the author of over a dozen books, including Authors of the Impossible: The Paranormal and the Sacred, Esalen: America and the Religion of No Religion, Kali's Child: The Mystical and the Erotic in the Life and Teachings of Ramakrishna and The Flip: Epiphanies of Mind and the Future of Knowledge. His present areas of writing and research include the articulation of a New Comparativism within the study of religion that will put “the impossible” back on the table again, a robust and even conversation between the sciences and the humanities, and the mapping of an emergent mythology or “Super Story” within paranormal communities and individual visionaries. Jeff's new book, How to Think Impossibly: About Souls, UFOs, Time, Belief and Everything Else is out now. Through my own personal lens, there have been a few really pivotal interactions with Jeff's work which have informed my own journey and work. First, Jeff is the one who said, in reference to experiencer accounts, If you haven't heard about the trauma or the sex, you haven't heard the whole story. Second, he said We need to tell better and better stories so that we can have better and better experiences. We essentially control our future and our children's children's future. We can constantly make a different ‘movie' that we then exist in and experience ourselves in. (Which, you guys, I think is evolution through creativity). I hope you enjoy my conversation with the one, the only, Jeffrey J. Kripal. Jeff Kripal's work The Experiencer Group⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ My book is out!! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Earth: A Love Story ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠exists as a physical object in the world. Deep forever gratitude to those of you who have purchased the book and left reviews on Amazon. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Our beautiful musical soundscapes are provided by Morgan Jenks. You can support ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠his new album on bandcamp⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or find out more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠morganjenks.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find me on instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@robin_lassiter_honeyheart⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@earth_a_love_story⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ To join my mailing list or book a 1:1 session with me, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠honeyheart.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Dive deep into the enigmatic world of UFOs, Religion, & Superpowers in this episode of Chuck Yates Needs A Job Podcast! Joined by the esteemed Jeffrey Kripal, J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University, Chuck uncovers the hidden connections between these seemingly disparate phenomena.

To give to the Behind Greatness podcast, please visit here: https://behindgreatness.org. As a charity, tax receipts are issued to donors.  For our part one with Jeffrey, visit our discussion in episode 118 (August 2022). Welcome back to Behind Greatness. We are back with Jeffrey for a part 2 in our discussion. Jeffrey holds the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University, where he served as the Associate Dean of the School of Humanities (2019-2023) and chaired the Department of Religion for eight years. We delve into the Archives of the Impossible – a project that he began in 2014 at Rice University that now holds over 1 million documents. We talk about his very profound out of body experience, the “great big magnet in the sky”, dreams, and our culture both informed and “broken down” by impossible events. We hear about Jeffrey's thoughts on the trickery of the paranormal and the cultural placebo effect that is religion and our unwillingness to own our divinity. We visit belief v thought and revisit the discussion on the “third space”. The impossibility of translation of one type of consciousness to another … non human intelligence being perhaps us … being the mask … and the superhuman. We recommend a listen to Diana Pasulka (ep 142), Werner Barkhuizen (ep 162), Scarlett Heinbuch (ep 164) and Mike Clelland (ep 176). Jeffrey: Website: http://jeffreyjkripal.com Archives of the Impossible: https://impossiblearchives.rice.edu/ Books: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=jeffrey+kripal&crid=2IWN90LKNGUV2&sprefix=jeffrey+kripal%2Caps%2C173&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

“Historically, there's no such thing as a pure tradition. And I also think as human beings, we transcend these religions and we transcend these cultures. And so the cherry picking is an affirmation of our transcendence. It's like, no, you are more than your religious tradition. You are more than your culture. You are more than your body. And you are also your body and your religion and your culture. Yes, yes, yes, all that. But you are also more. So I think, again, the power of the modern period is that we're all so super connected and in communication with everything that we know that, we know that in a way that we didn't know that, you know, four or five-hundred years ago.” So says Jeffrey Kripal, who holds the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University. Jeff is the author of many, many, many books that span a massive academic career—books on Kali, books on Gnosticism, and books on supernatural phenomena. He's also the author of a short and immensely readable book called The Flip: Who You Really Are and Why it Matters, which is the focus of our conversation today. As an academic and historian of comparative religion, Jeff writes and speaks beautifulyl about the way that we're losing our collective stories, and the way that we're splitting ourselves apart, divided between the sciences and the humanities. In The Flip, Jeff recounts how both science and spirituality are using different languages to explain and explore the same experiences, and what emerges when “The Flip” happens, those often mystical moments when the minds of scientists across time have cracked open to see the world in a different way. I loved this book and I love Jeff's wide-ranging and yet imminently approachable and kind mind—I hope you enjoy listening to this conversation as much as I enjoyedwesty having it. MORE FROM JEFFREY KRIPAL: The Flip: Who You Really Are and Why it Matters The Superhumanities: Historical Precedents, Moral Objections, New Realities Jeff's Website To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The division between humanities and sciences in the study of UFOs and the exploration of the possibility of intelligent life elsewhere in the cosmos has become a common practice. But why? Why can't either of these fields find common ground in an area of study that no one has a definite answer to? Jeffrey J. Kripal, a professor who holds the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University, joins me in a discussion on various intersections of UAP, Theology and science. Though out of discussion we stubble into our human inherent religious tribalism. Is this hindering our progression of understanding our place in the cosmos in light of potential life elsewhere? And why in Abrahamic regions we view ETs "as us and them, and God is on our side." Meanwhile taking a deeper look at why some experiencers turn to myths and symbols of Christian demonology for answers.  Join us as we get rebelliously curious.   Watch the YouTube interview - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oq6-yjbp98 Follow Chrissy Newton: Winner of the Canadian Podcast Awards for Best Science Series. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCM32gjHqMnYl_MOHZetC8Eg  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beingchrissynewton/  Twitter: https://twitter.com/chrissynewton?lang=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BeingChrissyNewton  Chrissy Newton's Website: https://chrissynewton.com Top Canadian Science Podcast: https://podcasts.feedspot.com/canadian_science_podcasts/ 

Oteil gets into a captivating discussion with Jeffrey Kripal, a distinguished professor at Rice University and an expert in philosophy, religious thought, and the paranormal. This episode is not just a podcast; it's a portal to the extraordinary, blending music, UFOs, theology, and paranormal experiences into a heady mix of intellectual exploration. Jeffrey Kripal, holding the Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought, brings a treasure trove of knowledge to the table. His extensive work in Gnosticism, Esotericism, and Mysticism, combined with his role at the Esalen Institute, sets the stage for a discussion that transcends the ordinary. The episode centers around Kripal's book "The Flip," which explores the profound change in perspective experienced by staunch materialists when they encounter the metaphysical. Listeners are in for a mind-bending journey as Kripal shares stories of scientists transformed by paranormal experiences, shedding their skepticism to embrace a new understanding of reality. The conversation takes a deep dive into the realms of UFOs and psychic phenomena, challenging the boundaries between science, spirituality, and the unexplained. Comes A Time Podcast and content posted by Comes A Time is presented solely for general informational, educational, and entertainment purposes. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from this podcast is at the user's own risk. It is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, professional coach, psychotherapist, or other qualified professional, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical or mental health condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their healthcare professionals for any such conditions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oteil gets into a captivating discussion with Jeffrey Kripal, a distinguished professor at Rice University and an expert in philosophy, religious thought, and the paranormal. This episode is not just a podcast; it's a portal to the extraordinary, blending music, UFOs, theology, and paranormal experiences into a heady mix of intellectual exploration. Jeffrey Kripal, holding the Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought, brings a treasure trove of knowledge to the table. His extensive work in Gnosticism, Esotericism, and Mysticism, combined with his role at the Esalen Institute, sets the stage for a discussion that transcends the ordinary. The episode centers around Kripal's book "The Flip," which explores the profound change in perspective experienced by staunch materialists when they encounter the metaphysical. Listeners are in for a mind-bending journey as Kripal shares stories of scientists transformed by paranormal experiences, shedding their skepticism to embrace a new understanding of reality. The conversation takes a deep dive into the realms of UFOs and psychic phenomena, challenging the boundaries between science, spirituality, and the unexplained. Comes A Time Podcast and content posted by Comes A Time is presented solely for general informational, educational, and entertainment purposes. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from this podcast is at the user's own risk. It is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, professional coach, psychotherapist, or other qualified professional, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical or mental health condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their healthcare professionals for any such conditions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Host Michael Taft speaks with author and professor Jeffrey Kripal about his early aspiration to be a Benedictine monk, the prophetic dimensions of the humanities, the sudden conversion, or "flip," into a weirder worldview experienced by some materialist scientists, the phenomena of UFOs, alien abduction, altered states, Philip K. Dick, and how most breakthroughs into mysticism occur through trauma.Jeffrey J. Kripal holds the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University, where he served as the Associate Dean of the School of Humanities, chaired the Department of Religion for eight years, and also helped create a doctoral concentration in the study of Gnosticism, Esotericism, and Mysticism that is the largest program of its kind in the world. He presently helps direct the Center for Theory and Research at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California.Jeff is the author or co-author of thirteen books, and specializes in the study of extreme religious states and putting “the impossible” back on the academic table again. He is presently working on a three-volume study of paranormal currents in the history of religions and the sciences, collectively entitled The Super Story.Jeffrey Kripal's websiteYou can support the creation of future episodes of this podcast by contributing through Patreon.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Get the full 2 hour interviews with THC+ Sign-Up Options: Subscribe via our website and get the Plus show on your usual podcast apps. Subscribe via Patreon, including the full Plus archive, a dedicated RSS feed, Spotify, & payment through Paypal. Subscribe via check, cash, money order, or crypto with the information at the bottom of the page. About Today's Guest:Jeffrey J. Kripal holds the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University, where he served as the Associate Dean of the School of Humanities (2019-2023), chaired the Department of Religion for eight years, and also helped create the GEM Program, a doctoral concentration in the study of Gnosticism, Esotericism, and Mysticism that is the largest program of its kind in the world. He presently helps direct the Center for Theory and Research at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California, where he served as Chair of Board from 2015 to 2020. Jeff is the author or co-author of thirteen books, nine of which are with The University of Chicago Press. He has also served as the Editor in Chief of the Macmillan Handbook Series on Religion (ten volumes, 2015-2016). He specializes in the study of extreme religious states and the re-visioning of a New Comparativism, particularly as both involve putting “the impossible” back on the academic table again. He is presently working on a three-volume study of paranormal currents in the history of religions and the sciences for The University of Chicago Press, collectively entitled The Super Story. Dr. Kripal's Website: jeffreyjkripal.com Dr. Kripal's Books: jeffreyjkripal.com/body-of-work The Archives of the Impossible: impossiblearchives.rice.edu THC Links: Website Proper Watch Video Clips Twitter MeetUps Calendar THC T-shirts & Merch Store  Leave an iTunes review THC Communities:  Telegram Subreddit To get a year of THC+ by cash, check, or money order please mail the payment in the amount of $96 to: Greg Carlwood PO Box 2738 Zephyrhills, FL 33539 Cryptocurrency If you'd like to pay the $96 for a year of THC+ via popular Cryptocurrencies, transfer funds and then send an email to support@thehighersidechats.com  with transaction info and your desired username/password. Please give up to 48 hours to complete. Bitcoin: 1AdauF2Mb7rzkkoXUExq142xfwKC6pS7N1 Ethereum: 0xd6E9232b3FceBe165F39ACfA4843F49e7D3c31d5 Litecoin: LQy7GvD5Euc1efnsfQaAX2RJHgBeoDZJ95 Ripple: rnWLvhCmBWpeFv9HMbZEjsRqpasN8928w3 Solana: FvsBazMY9GAWuWqh5RH7musm9MPUw7a5uF6NVxxhNTqi Doge: D7ueXbfcKfhdAWrDqESrFjFV6UxydjsuCC Monero: 4ApmFHTgU72QybW194iJTZHZb6VmKDzqh5MDTfn9sw4xa9SYXnX5PVDREbnqLNLwJwc7ZqMrYPfaVXgpZnHNAeZmSexCDxM

As part of the Transcendence and Transformation initiative, the Center for the Study of World Religions at Harvard Divinity School is proud to announce its first ever podcast. Pop Apocalypse, hosted by Matthew J. Dillon, postdoctoral fellow at the CSWR, explores the mystical and the mythic, the paranormal and the psychedelic in popular culture. For episode five of the pod, we are honored to welcome Jeffrey J. Kripal, J. Newton Rayzor Chair of Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University. In this career-spanning chat [10:36], we discuss Kripal's Catholic upbringing, psychoanalysis, and the ecstatic experience in Calcutta that changed the direction of his career. From there, we touch on Jeff's role at Esalen, historical mystics and paranormal powers, telepathic insects, and how the study of religion and popular culture come together in film, comedy, and comics. The show features interviews with musicians, artists, and writers about how their spiritual experiences and practices inform their work. We also explore the mythological universes in film and fiction with show-runners, writers, and directors. These candid, first-person reflections will be complemented by interviews with scholars who situate these artistic products in the study of mysticism and esotericism. Together, the podcast offers descriptive, interpretive, and theoretical scholarship on religion and popular culture in real-time that will be of interest to scholars and laypersons alike. A full transcript is forthcoming. Learn more: cswr.hds.harvard.edu/

Today, we have a very special guest on the show, Dr. Jeffrey Kripal. Dr. Kripal is an esteemed scholar and author in the study of religion, focusing particularly on the esoteric, mystical, and paranormal dimensions of human experience. He serves as the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University. He is the author of several phenomenal books including The Superhumanities, Mutants & Mystics, Super Natural (which he co-authored with Whitley Strieber), and The Flip.EPISODE BRIEFBECOME A PATRONPatrons get lots of great perks like early and ad-free episodes, access to the private The UFO Rabbit Hole Discord server, and twice-monthly Patron Zoom calls with Kelly Chase. Memberships start at just $5/month.GET THE BOOKGet a SIGNED COPYGet it on AmazonFOLLOWWebsiteTwitterFacebookMUSICTheme: Cabinet of Curiosities by Shaun FrearsonThis show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5746035/advertisement

On this edition of Midnight Chats the crew sits down with Associate Dean of the School of Humanities and the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University and author of 'The Superhumanities': Jeffrey J. Kripal!We had a blast having him on the show and getting to talk about his book, the paranormal and so much more! Enjoy! Check out the socials for Jeff:https://jeffreyjkripal.com/Join our discord server and discuss all things weird with us:https://discord.gg/PkdZN7K2Want to reach out? Email us at noctivagantpodcast@gmail.comCheck out all our socials:https://linktr.ee/noctivagantpodcasthttps://twitter.com/mxrorywixhttps://twitter.com/midwestundeadhttps://twitter.com/bearishterrorTheme song by Matt Wixson Noctivagant Voice by Mike McGettiganArt by Nichelle Denzel  *The views and opinions expressed by guests/books that appear on this show belong to those guests and/or authors, and may not reflect the views and opinions of the Noctivagant crew.*

On this edition of Midnight Chats the crew sits down with Associate Dean of the School of Humanities and the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University and author of 'The Superhumanities': Jeffrey J. Kripal!We had a blast having him on the show and getting to talk about his book, the paranormal and so much more! Enjoy! Check out the socials for Jeff:https://jeffreyjkripal.com/Join our discord server and discuss all things weird with us:https://discord.gg/PkdZN7K2Want to reach out? Email us at noctivagantpodcast@gmail.comCheck out all our socials:https://linktr.ee/noctivagantpodcasthttps://twitter.com/mxrorywixhttps://twitter.com/midwestundeadhttps://twitter.com/bearishterrorTheme song by Matt Wixson Noctivagant Voice by Mike McGettiganArt by Nichelle Denzel  *The views and opinions expressed by guests/books that appear on this show belong to those guests and/or authors, and may not reflect the views and opinions of the Noctivagant crew.*

Here's a distinguished professor who is determined to put the paranormal "on the table" in the academic world. The author of 11 books, Dr. Jeffrey Kripal holds the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University in Houston, Texas. He is also profoundly interested in high strangeness, its epistemology, and what it means for humanity. An associate of the legendary Whitley Streiber, and very interested in the work of the Enos, he joined Paul & Ben today. VIDEO: See the video of this show.

Here's a distinguished professor who is determined to put the paranormal "on the table" in the academic world. The author of 11 books, Dr. Jeffrey Kripal holds the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University in Houston, Texas. He is also profoundly interested in high strangeness, its epistemology, and what it means for humanity. An associate of the legendary Whitley Streiber, and very interested in the work of the Enos, he joined Paul & Ben today. VIDEO: https://liveshows.onworldwide.com/watch/330/2023-03-26-12-03-02/. Audio Only: https://www.spreaker.com/user/12463438/para032623. Download: https://api.spreaker.com/v2/episodes/53347326/download.mp3

Interview begins @ 5:00 Scholars who investigate paranormal, religious, philosophical, metaphysical, and other similar topics fall under the umbrella of the humanities. However, many professors are hesitant to delve into topics that cannot be explained through empirical data or scientific methods. Cultural historian and scholar of religion at Rice University, Jeff Kripal, has dedicated much of his work to exploring these questions. In his latest book, "The Superhumanities," Kripal argues that the humanities must expand beyond their traditional scope and engage with supernatural and paranormal phenomena that challenge our understanding of what it means to be human. Kripal suggests that the people we revere in the humanities were "weird" and had altered states of consciousness, embodiment, precognitive dreams, out-of-body experiences, and mystical experiences of unity with the cosmos. He argues that these alternate states of consciousness and embodiments were, in fact, the origins of their thinking. To fully understand and appreciate the humanities, Kripal believes we must embrace the strange and eerie in our academic and cultural discussions. In this interview, Kripal discussed his new book and the significance of embracing unconventional phenomena in the humanities. The conversation covers a range of topics, including the fractals of social systems, psychotherapy as a means of adapting to a sick social system, listening to the symbolic communication from experiences of the paranormal, metaphysics and the U.F.O., the beauty of not knowing, Christianity and the paranormal, Christianity as a modernized sociological tribal container, black critical theory, feminist theory, psychoanalytic theory, queer theory, post-colonial theory, & ecocriticism, and gender and the modern world. Overall, Kripal's work emphasizes the need for scholars in the humanities to expand their focus beyond empirical data and scientific methods to explore the strange and mysterious phenomena of life. By doing so, we can gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be human and how we can navigate the complexities of the world around us. Bio: Jeffrey J. Kripal is the Associate Dean of the School of Humanities and holds the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University, where he chaired the Department of Religion for eight years and helped create the GEM Program, a doctoral concentration in the study of Gnosticism, Esotericism, and Mysticism that is the largest program of its kind in the world. He presently helps direct the Center for Theory and Research at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California, where he served as Chair of Board from 2015 to 2020. Jeff is the author or co-author of twelve books, eight of which are with The University of Chicago Press. He has also served as the Editor in Chief of the Macmillan Handbook Series on Religion (ten volumes, 2015-2016). He specializes in the study of extreme religious states and the re-visioning of a New Comparativism, particularly as both involve putting “the impossible” back on the academic table again. He is presently working on a three-volume study of paranormal currents in the history of religions and the sciences for The University of Chicago Press, collectively entitled The Super Story. https://jeffreyjkripal.com Website for The Sacred Speaks: http://www.thesacredspeaks.com WATCH: YouTube for The Sacred Speaks https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOAuksnpfht1udHWUVEO7Rg Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesacredspeaks/ @thesacredspeaks Twitter: https://twitter.com/thesacredspeaks Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thesacredspeaks/ Brought to you by: https://www.thecenterforhas.com Theme music provided by: http://www.modernnationsmusic.com

In this episode Justin Pearl and Matt Baker speak with Jeffrey Kripal to discuss aliens, UFOs, and related matters of paranoia and the paranormal. Jeffrey Kripal is J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University and is the associate director of the Center for Theory and Research at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California. He has previously taught at Harvard Divinity School and Westminster College and is the author of eight books, including his most recent project called The Flip: Epiphanies of Mind and the Future of Knowledge. The Radical Theology Seminar: Patreon.com/radicaltheology Music for this episode: The Prospect of Our Dismal Wonders: Gdanian Battle of the Tribes: Spiritual Voices + Aikana. Scrambled Code: Matt Baker Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft: The Carpenters

Jeff joins us from Houston. He is the current Associate Dean of the Faculty and Graduate Programs in the School of the Humanities and the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University. He is also the Associate Director of the Center for Theory and Research at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California. In this conversation we explore the “3rd space” that Jeff occupies and a wide array of topics therein and all connected to the esoteric: a term that is important to Jeff. We discuss Jeff's position on the physical world vs the immaterial world, Belief vs Beliefs, the importance of the Humanities and the porosity of the human being. We delve immediately into the Paranormal and learn how old religious heterodoxy allowed what we could accept and what we should ignore and linked to how many scientists (social and otherwise) are “in the closet” about these experiences. We discuss how our culture is trying to change itself today as we share our experiences without the societal / cultural shackles of our recent ancestors. We learn more about his thoughts on religion as a mechanism to tap into paranormal forces and then attribute to an external deity. We discuss being in your own story, creating your own story versus believe that you are your own story. We talk about religion as an art, the self, reincarnation, the importance of acting, the persona – and the Friendly Neighbourhood Spiderman.   Soo much to talk about and too little time!   To DONATE to the Behind Greatness podcast, please visit here: https://behindgreatness.org. As a charity, tax receipts are issued to donors. Behind Greatness IG: @behindgreatnesspodcast & @inspire_north   Jeff, Website: http://jeffreyjkripal.com Books: https://www.amazon.com/Jeffrey-John-Kripal/e/B001IODIT2%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share    

Jeffrey J. Kripal holds the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University. Jeff is the author of numerous books, including Comparing Religions: Coming to Terms (with Ata Anzali, Andrea R. Jain, and Erin Prophet), Authors of the Impossible: The Paranormal and the Sacred and Esalen: America and the Religion of No Religion. He is presently working on a three-volume study of paranormal currents in American history for the University of Chicago Press.

Jeff Kripal sharpens your knowing that being human means being superhuman. Meaningful coincidences signal the non-duality source of our individual and collective superpowers, Let this modern day Professor Xavier of the X-Men accelerate your progression to the Oneness source of your superpowers. You can pre-order Dr. Beitman's new book Meaningful Coincidences due out in September here! https://www.innertraditions.com/books... Jeffrey J. Kripal is the Associate Dean of the Faculty and Graduate Programs in the School of the Humanities and the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University. He is also the Associate Director of the Center for Theory and Research at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California. Jeff is the author of ten books, including, most recently, The Superhumanities: Historical Precedents, Moral Objections, New Realities (Chicago, 2022), where he intuits an emerging new order of knowledge that can engage in robust moral criticism but also affirm the superhuman or nonhuman dimensions of our histories, cultures, and futures. He is presently working on a three-volume study of paranormal currents in the sciences, modern esoteric literature, and the hidden history of science fiction for the University of Chicago Press collectively entitled The Super Story: Science (Fiction) and Some Emergent Mythologies. His full body of work can be seen at http://jeffreyjkripal.com He thinks he may be Spider-Man. Connecting with Coincidence with Bernard Beitman, MD (CCBB) is now offered as both an audio podcast--anywhere that podcasts are available--and in video format on the Connecting with Coincidence YouTube channel. Please SUBSCRIBE to our channel to be notified when future episodes are posted! Also available, there are 138 archived episodes of the CCBB podcast available, HERE [https://www.spreaker.com/show/dr-bern...] Our host Dr. Bernard Beitman is the first psychiatrist since Carl Jung to attempt to systematize the study of coincidences. He is Founding Director of The Coincidence Project. His book, and his Psychology Today blog, are both titled Connecting with Coincidence. He has developed the first valid and reliable scale to measure coincidence sensitivity, and has written and edited coincidence articles for Psychiatric Annals. He is a visiting professor at the University of Virginia and former chair of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Missouri-Columbia. He attended Yale Medical School and completed a psychiatric residency at Stanford. Dr. Beitman has received two national awards for his psychotherapy training program and is internationally known for his research into the relationship between chest pain and panic disorder. Learn more at https://coincider.com --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

We had the great pleasure of being joined by Jeffrey J. Kripal in conversation about how to lift the veil of Isis, the radical collapse of the subject-object structure, paranormal research, LaMBDA alleged consciousness, conspirituality, Esalen Institute and its impact on American culture and many other liminal topics. Jeffrey Kripal is J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University and is the associate director of the Center for Theory and Research at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California. He is the author of eight books, including: The Flip: Epiphanies of Mind and the Future of Knowledge (2019), Authors of the Impossible: The Paranormal and the Sacred (2010) and Esalen: America and the Religion of No Religion (2007)–all mentioned in this episode.

Wherein Emery Jones, Justin Pearl, and Matt Baker speak with Jeffrey Kripal and touch on panpsychism, the paranormal, ontology, consciousness, psychedelics, and more. Jeffrey Kripal is J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University and is the associate director of the Center for Theory and Research at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California. He has previously taught at Harvard Divinity School and Westminster College and is the author of eight books, including his most recent project called The Flip: Epiphanies of Mind and the Future of Knowledge. The Radical Theology Seminar: Patreon.com/radicaltheology Music for this episode: Exhausted Divinity, Niky Nine Love Always, Nu Alchemi Nomad's Theme, Matt Baker

Jeffrey J. Kripal holds the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University. He is the author of Comparing Religions (Wiley-Blackwell, 2014); Mutants and Mystics: Science Fiction, Superhero Comics, and the Paranormal (Chicago, 2011); Authors of the Impossible: The Paranormal and the Sacred (Chicago, 2010); Esalen: America and the Religion of No Religion (Chicago, 2007); The Serpent's Gift: Gnostic Reflections on the Study of Religion (Chicago, 2007); Roads of Excess, Palaces of Wisdom: Eroticism and Reflexivity in the Study of Mysticism (Chicago, 2001); and Kali's Child: The Mystical and the Erotic in the Life and Teachings of Ramakrishna (Chicago, 1995). He has also co-edited volumes with: Sudhir Kakar, on the history, science, psychology, and analysis of psychical experiences, Seriously Strange: Thinking Anew about Psychical Experiences (Viking, 2012); Wouter Hanegraaff on eroticism and esotericism, Hidden Intercourse: Eros and Sexuality in the History of Western Esotericism (University of Amsterdam Press, 2008); Glenn W. Shuck on the history of Esalen and the American counterculture, On the Edge of the Future: Esalen and the Evolution of American Culture (Indiana, 2005); Rachel Fell McDermott on a popular Hindu goddess, Encountering Kali: In the Margins, at the Center, in the West (California, 2003); G. William Barnard on the ethical critique of mystical traditions, Crossing Boundaries: Essays on the Ethical Status of Mysticism (Seven Bridges, 2002); and T.G. Vaidyanathan of Bangalore, India, on the dialogue between psychoanalysis and Hinduism, Vishnu on Freud's Desk: A Reader in Psychoanalysis and Hinduism (Oxford, 1999). His present areas of writing and research include the articulation of a New Comparativism within the study of religion that will put “the impossible” back on the table again, a robust and even conversation between the sciences and the humanities, and the mapping of an emergent mythology or “Super Story” within paranormal communities and individual visionaries. Find out more about Jeffrey on Website: https://jeffreyjkripal.com/ For replay of the Archives of The Impossible Conference: https://youtube.com/c/RiceHumanities *************************************************

Conversation starts @ 8:15 What happens when the place where expansive, meaningful, transcendental, and just simply weird conversations becomes just as important and meaningful as the conversations that began there? Esalen. We begin our conversation exploring the birth and development of The Esalen Institute and then the boundaries of the geographical container dissolve and the ideas emerge to the foreground – religion, psychology, mysticism, & psychedelics. Jeff and I discuss the founders and the origin story of Esalen, religious comparativism, the counterculture in America, Russian & United States relations through the Cold War, diplomatic solutions through psychic research, the psychological and the social/political, the influence of Asian philosophy, Tantra, plant medicine, psychology, somatic process, Aldous Huxley, Abraham Maslow, social justice, sameness and difference, cancel culture, the need for unifying language and shared understanding of difference, and the 5-times jacket prize. Bio: Jeffrey J. Kripal is the Associate Dean of the School of Humanities and holds the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University, where he chaired the Department of Religion for eight years and helped create the GEM Program, a doctoral concentration in the study of Gnosticism, Esotericism, and Mysticism that is the largest program of its kind in the world. He is the Associate Director of the Center for Theory and Research at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California, where he also serves as Chair of the Board. Jeff is the author or co-author of eleven books, seven of which are with The University of Chicago Press, including, most recently a memoir-manifesto entitled Secret Body: Erotic and Esoteric Currents in the History of Religions (Chicago, 2017). He has also served as the Editor in Chief of the Macmillan Handbook Series on Religion (ten volumes, 2015-2016). He specializes in the study of extreme religious states and the re-visioning of a New Comparativism, particularly as both involve putting “the impossible” back on the academic table again. He is presently working on a three-volume study of paranormal currents in the history of religions and the sciences for The University of Chicago Press, collectively entitled The Super Story. https://jeffreyjkripal.com/life/ https://impossiblearchives.rice.edu/registration/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MG5gFtZ3U8&t=9428s John's Workshop: https://www.esalen.org/workshops/exploring-our-shadows-through-the-psychology-of-fame www.junghouston.org Website for The Sacred Speaks: http://www.thesacredspeaks.com WATCH: YouTube for The Sacred Speaks https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOAuksnpfht1udHWUVEO7Rg Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesacredspeaks/ @thesacredspeaks Twitter: https://twitter.com/thesacredspeaks Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thesacredspeaks/ Brought to you by: https://www.thecenterforhas.com Theme music provided by: http://www.modernnationsmusic.com

Lisa Balabanlilar is chair of the Department of Transnational Asian Studies, director of the Chao Center for Asian Studies and associate professor of history at Rice University."Connections: Humanizing the Humanities" is a podcast produced by the Rice University School of Humanities and hosted by Jeffrey J. Kripal, the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought, Associate Dean of Faculty and Graduate Studies, and author of The Flip: Epiphanies of Mind and the Future of Knowledge.

Anthony B. Pinn is the Agnes Cullen Arnold Professor of Humanities and Professor of Religion at Rice University, founding director of the university's Center for Engaged Research and Collaborative Learning and the inaugural director of the Center for African and African American Studies, a collaboration of the School of Humanities and the School of Social Sciences."Connections: Humanizing the Humanities" is a podcast produced by the Rice University School of Humanities and hosted by Jeffrey J. Kripal, the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought, Associate Dean of Faculty and Graduate Studies, and author of The Flip: Epiphanies of Mind and the Future of Knowledge.

Niki Kasumi Clements is the Watt J. and Lilly G. Jackson Assistant Professor of Religion and the Allison Sarofim Assistant Professor of Distinguished Teaching in the Humanities at Rice University."Connections: Humanizing the Humanities" is a podcast produced by the Rice University School of Humanities and hosted by Jeffrey J. Kripal, the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought, Associate Dean of Faculty and Graduate Studies, and author of The Flip: Epiphanies of Mind and the Future of Knowledge.

Jeffrey John Kripal is an American college professor. He is the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University in Houston, Texas. His work includes the study of comparative erotics and ethics in mystical literature, American countercultural translations of Asian religions, and the history of Western esotericism from gnosticism to New Age religions. In this episode we discuss his book The Flip: Epiphanies of Mind and the Future of Knowledge Become part of the Hermitix community: Hermitix Twitter Hermitix Discord Support Hermitix: Subscribe Hermitix Patreon Hermitix Merchandise One off Donations at Ko-Fi Hermitix Twitter Bitcoin Donation Address: 3LAGEKBXEuE2pgc4oubExGTWtrKPuXDDLK Ethereum Donation Address: 0xfd2bbe86d6070004b9Cbf682aB2F25170046A996

A “flip,” writes Jeffrey J. Kripal, is “a reversal of perspective,” “a new real,” often born of an extreme, life-changing experience. The Flip: Epiphanies of Mind and the Future of Knowledge (Bellevue Literary Press, 2019) is Kripal's ambitious, visionary program for unifying the sciences and the humanities to expand our minds, open our hearts, and negotiate a peaceful resolution to the culture wars. Combining accounts of rationalists' spiritual awakenings and consciousness explorations by philosophers, neuroscientists, and mystics within a framework of the history of science and religion, Kripal compellingly signals a path to mending our fractured world. Jeffrey J. Kripal holds the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University and is the associate director of the Center for Theory and Research at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California. He has previously taught at Harvard Divinity School and Westminster College and is the author of eight books, including The Flip. He lives in Houston, Texas. Dr. Yakir Englander is the National Director of Leadership programs at the Israeli-American Council. He also teaches at the AJR. He is a Fulbright scholar and was a visiting professor of Religion at Northwestern University, the Shalom Hartman Institute and Harvard Divinity School. His books are Sexuality and the Body in New Religious Zionist Discourse (English/Hebrew and The Male Body in Jewish Lithuanian Ultra-Orthodoxy (Hebrew). He can be reached at: Yakir1212englander@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

This podcast episode explores the stories that help us understand our reality, our place in that reality, and how humans both cling to and challenge these same stories. Jeffrey Kripal has been a keeper of many extraordinary stories, and as a professor of religion, he is positioned to question the stories that we believe serve us, but the reality is that we often serve the story. This conversation is anchored in Dr. Kripal's newest book, The Flip, wherein he challenges many of the assumptions of materialist science and posits that the sciences are not wrong, but that they are incomplete and therefore we need a change in our worldview. His arguments are well articulated and well informed by many scientists, including neuroscientists and physicists, who have, as a result of their research into reality, moved away from the materialist worldview into an approach to reality that chips away at many of the assumptions in which many of us have been educated – for example, the fact that we don't really know what matter and consciousness are in the first place. Really. From Jeff's book: A “flip,” writes Jeffrey J. Kripal, is “a reversal of perspective,””a new real,” often born of an extreme, life-changing experience. The Flip is Kripal's ambitious, visionary program for unifying the sciences and the humanities to expand our minds, open our hearts, and negotiate a peaceful resolution to the culture wars. Combining accounts of rationalists' spiritual awakenings and consciousness explorations by philosophers, neuroscientists, and mystics within a framework of history of science and religion, Kripal compellingly signals a path to mending our fractured world. Bio: Jeffrey J. Kripal holds the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University, where he chaired the Department of Religion for eight years and helped create the GEM Program, a doctoral concentration in the study of Gnosticism, Esotericism, and Mysticism that is the largest program of its kind in the world. He is the Associate Director of the Center for Theory and Research at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California, where he also serves as Chair of the Board. Jeff is the author of numerous books, seven of which are with The University of Chicago Press, including, most recently a memoir-manifesto entitled Secret Body: Erotic and Esoteric Currents in the History of Religions(Chicago, 2017). He has also served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Macmillan Handbook Series on Religion (ten volumes, 2015-2016). He specializes in the study of extreme religious states and the re-visioning of a New Comparativism, particularly as both involve putting “the impossible” back on the academic table again. He is presently working on a three-volume study of paranormal currents in the history of religions and the sciences for The University of Chicago Press, collectively entitled The Super Story. http://jeffreyjkripal.com Theme music provided by: http://www.modernnationsmusic.com Band of the week: Chomsky Music page: https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/chomsky/5662475 Learn more about this project at: http://www.thesacredspeaks.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesacredspeaks/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/thesacredspeaks Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thesacredspeaks/

In this episode, Jeff and I discuss the nature of religion and secularism. We explore the need for culture to create a more generous science that includes experiences that are currently outside of the boundaries of the modern sciences. We define terms such as religion, belief, and gnosis, all in service of gaining a deeper understanding of the narratives that fuel and drive much of the human need to understand our lived experience. Jeffrey J. Kripal holds the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University. He is the author of Comparing Religions (Wiley-Blackwell, 2014); Mutants and Mystics: Science Fiction, Superhero Comics, and the Paranormal (Chicago, 2011); Authors of the Impossible: The Paranormal and the Sacred (Chicago, 2010); Esalen: America and the Religion of No Religion (Chicago, 2007); The Serpent's Gift: Gnostic Reflections on the Study of Religion (Chicago, 2007); Roads of Excess, Palaces of Wisdom: Eroticism and Reflexivity in the Study of Mysticism (Chicago, 2001); and Kali's Child: The Mystical and the Erotic in the Life and Teachings of Ramakrishna (Chicago, 1995). He has also co-edited volumes with: Sudhir Kakar, on the history, science, psychology, and analysis of psychical experiences, Seriously Strange: Thinking Anew about Psychical Experiences (Viking, 2012); Wouter Hanegraaff on eroticism and esotericism, Hidden Intercourse: Eros and Sexuality in the History of Western Esotericism (University of Amsterdam Press, 2008); Glenn W. Shuck on the history of Esalen and the American counterculture, On the Edge of the Future: Esalen and the Evolution of American Culture (Indiana, 2005); Rachel Fell McDermott on a popular Hindu goddess, Encountering Kali: In the Margins, at the Center, in the West (California, 2003); G. William Barnard on the ethical critique of mystical traditions, Crossing Boundaries: Essays on the Ethical Status of Mysticism (Seven Bridges, 2002); and T.G. Vaidyanathan of Bangalore, India, on the dialogue between psychoanalysis and Hinduism, Vishnu on Freud's Desk: A Reader in Psychoanalysis and Hinduism (Oxford, 1999). His present areas of writing and research include the articulation of a New Comparativism within the study of religion that will put “the impossible” back on the table again, a robust and even conversation between the sciences and the humanities, and the mapping of an emergent mythology or “Super Story” within paranormal communities and individual visionaries. Learn more at: www.thesacredspeaks.com