Alastair McIntosh - Ecology of the Imagination

David's Guest today is Rev. Prof. Stephen G Wright FRCN MBE. In his own words, "starting out with the curse-blessing of the original dysfunctional family, Stephen emerged from his Manchester working class background to grow his hair long and wander around Europe like a lot of his generation did in the 60s. He drifted into nursing, and by conventional measures made a success of it, following the first Masters programme at Manchester University and eventually becoming the first consultant nurse in the NHS in 1986.  He got into conference speaking and course-leading internationally, shuffled around in academia, made TV programmes, wrote lots of books and research papers about nursing, advised governments and WHO and the Royal College of Nursing, and matured his craft in the nursing practice of older people culminating in leading a radical nursing development unit that influenced nursing far and wide. He gathered lots of glittering prizes along the way to add letters before and after his name, which appealed greatly to the Enneatype 3 personality he carries around with him. Thus all the usual trappings of an acclaimed career were in place. A hand-break turn in self-perception and a reawakening of the mysticism long suppressed since childhood took him in a different direction in the 90’s – exploring spirituality as it related to himself, health care and as service to others. He trained with some eminent teachers, including at the Interfaith Seminary, and was mentored most deeply by Ram Dass and Jean Sayre-Adams. He is a member of the Iona Community, finds a kinship in the deep silent worship of Quaker meetings and is just about hanging on, like many others, to his bit part in the Anglican tradition. His latest work published by Wild Goose focuses on the life of Kentigern/Mungo and offers a pilgrimage route around the Northern Fells of Cumbria. Other books have explored spirituality and health, pilgrimage, poetry and the quartet of spiritual guidance, Coming Home, Contemplation, Burnout and, more recently, Heartfullness. His latest work, recently published is Fugue. It is an exploration of the connection between the spiritual life and the polycrisis. He’s a Fellow and visiting professor at the University of Cumbria which offers a degree of input still to the academic world, as well as conferring some vague respectability to his work. He lives with his partner in the English Lake District, enjoys grandfatherhood, beekeeping and his organic garden and at 74 still finds working as a trustee and spiritual director for the Sacred Space Foundation a joy. Imaginal Inspirations is hosted by David Lorimer, Programme Director of the Scientific and Medical Network and Chair of the Galileo Commission, an academic movement dedicated to expanding the evidence base of a science of consciousness. Imaginal cells are responsible for the metamorphosis of the caterpillar into a butterfly, which is the Greek symbol for the soul. These cells are dormant in the caterpillar but at a critical point of development they create the new form and structure which becomes the butterfly. scientificandmedical.net galileocommission.orgbeyondthebrain.org Works and links mentioned:The Sacred Space Foundation https://www.sacredspace.org.uk/Books by Stephen: https://www.sacredspace.org.uk/productsMysticism by Evelyn Underhill https://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=31827290186&destBooks by Ram Dass https://uk.bookshop.org/search?keywords=Ram+Dass Production: Martin RedfernArtwork: Amber HaasMusic: Life is a River, by Magnus Moone

David's Guest today is Sperry Andrews.  To further the evolution of a socially altruistic heart-centered intelligence and two-way telepathic awareness, Sperry Andrews founded the Human Connection Institute in 1990, facilitating hundreds of groups internationally for over thirty years. He has taught anyone interested how to recreate these experiences effectively in-person, as well as online via webcam. He has published and given invited presentations on human interconnectedness and the Human Connection Project in many international forums.  He collaborated for five years with Dr. William Braud, Senior Research Associate of the Mind Science Foundation, to pioneer the field of Distant Mental Interactions with Living Systems (DMILS) and direct a multinational, scientifically based, social action media research project to demonstrate our indivisibility on instrument under double-blind conditions with Aikido masters, Buddhist monks, and well know celebrities stationed at multiple scientific laboratories in widely separated geographic locations.  For six years, he has been collaborating with Dr. James E. Beichler, a theoretical physicist and scientific historian. They agree: “Our single field theory goes well beyond the simple notion of mind and consciousness as mere human bound perceivers and interpreters of the external material/physical world, by placing the physical origin of consciousness within every geometrical point in the universe itself.” Their model enables Western science to unite classical and quantum theories while validating long-standing contemplative Hindu and Buddhist insights that a non-physical Void is spiritually manifesting a "dream of form" through cause and effect. Imaginal Inspirations is hosted by David Lorimer, Programme Director of the Scientific and Medical Network and Chair of the Galileo Commission, an academic movement dedicated to expanding the evidence base of a science of consciousness. Imaginal cells are responsible for the metamorphosis of the caterpillar into a butterfly, which is the Greek symbol for the soul. These cells are dormant in the caterpillar but at a critical point of development they create the new form and structure which becomes the butterfly. scientificandmedical.net galileocommission.orgbeyondthebrain.org Works and links mentioned:https://connectioninstitute.org/PDF/BIO.pdfThe Human Connection Institute https://www.connectioninstitute.org/Art by Sperry Andrews https://sperry-andrews.pixels.com/https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/dzogchen-the-self-perfected-state-chogyal-namkhai-norbu/3439702?ean=9781559390576J. Krishnamurti/David Bohm dialogues https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1n30s-LKus4oQ5fCd6MJ17waAMCsgumfhttps://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-sense-of-being-stared-at-and-other-aspects-of-the-extended-mind-rupert-sheldrake/1906742?ean=9780099441533 Production: Martin RedfernArtwork: Amber HaasMusic: Life is a River, by Magnus Moone

David Lorimer's  guest today is Alastair McIntosh who has been described by BBC TV as “one of the world’s leading environmental campaigners.” A pioneer of modern land reform in Scotland, he helped bring the Isle of Eigg into community ownership. On the Isle of Harris he negotiated withdrawal of the world’s biggest cement company (Lafarge) from a devastating “superquarry” plan. He then served, unpaid to avoid conflicts of interest, on the company’s Sustainability Stakeholders Panel for 10 years to help further corporate social and environmental responsibility. Alastair guest lectures on nonviolence at military staff colleges including, for over two decades, on some of the UK Defence Academy's most senior courses. His books include Soil and Soul: People versus Corporate Power, Spiritual Activism: Leadership as Service, Poacher’s Pilgrimage: an Island Journey,  and Riders on the Storm (Birlinn 2020) which was long-listed for the Wainwright Prize in Global Conservation 2021. A Quaker with an interfaith outlook, focusing much of his work around spirituality, he lives in Glasgow with his wife, Véréne Nicolas. There he is a founding trustee of the GalGael Trust which works with poverty, community and human potential, and an honorary professor in the College of Social Sciences at the University of Glasgow. Imaginal Inspirations is hosted by David Lorimer, Programme Director of the Scientific and Medical Network and Chair of the Galileo Commission, an academic movement dedicated to expanding the evidence base of a science of consciousness. Imaginal cells are responsible for the metamorphosis of the caterpillar into a butterfly, which is the Greek symbol for the soul. These cells are dormant in the caterpillar but at a critical point of development they create the new form and structure which becomes the butterfly. scientificandmedical.net galileocommission.orgbeyondthebrain.org Works and links mentioned:www.AlastairMcIntosh.comhttps://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/states-of-consciousness-charles-t-tart/1831348?ean=9780595151967https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/siddharta-an-indian-tale-herman-hesse/3317174?ean=9789386538208https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/memories-dreams-reflections-an-autobiography-carl-jung/13866?ean=9780006540274https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-color-purple-a-special-40th-anniversary-edition-of-the-pulitzer-prize-winning-novel-alice-walker/5980159?ean=9781474625586 Production: Martin RedfernArtwork: Amber HaasMusic: Life is a River, by Magnus Moone 

David Lorimer's  guest today is Anna Bacchia, who describes herself as an Aesthete Innovator Researcher Teacher & Writer. She has conducted more than 40 years of Research in Human Sciences and Cognitive Sciences, where she has focused on unexplored aspects and qualities of the Cognitive, Creative and Intuitive processes. She is Founder of the ‘Consciousness Institute’ Lugano, Switzerland, and of the LIFE Leaders .international® Project, and she holds Educational Trainings and Programs on ‘Consciousness, Self, Life’ dedicated to an unexplored intuitive communicating and understanding, in syntony with the nature of Life. She is a life member of the World Peace Forum, a laureate of the ‘Luxembourg World Peace Prize’, a Creative Member of the Club of Budapest and a Research Fellow of the Laszlo Institute of New Paradigm Research. Her most recent is ‘A.I. and the Living Intelligence’. And her most recent book is entitled ‘ÌNIN, our Intuition which transforms and creates’.  Imaginal Inspirations is hosted by David Lorimer, Programme Director of the Scientific and Medical Network and Chair of the Galileo Commission, an academic movement dedicated to expanding the evidence base of a science of consciousness. Imaginal cells are responsible for the metamorphosis of the caterpillar into a butterfly, which is the Greek symbol for the soul. These cells are dormant in the caterpillar but at a critical point of development they create the new form and structure which becomes the butterfly. scientificandmedical.net galileocommission.orgbeyondthebrain.org Works and links mentioned:www.AnnaBacchia.nethttps://www.hive.co.uk/Product/MD-Deepak-Chopra/Quantum-Healing-Revised-and-Updated/18301212https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-tao-of-physics-fritjof-capra/13879?ean=9780006544890https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/web-of-life-fritjof-capra/193213?ean=9780006547518https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/zen-in-the-art-of-archery-herrigel-eugen/3886899?ean=9781941129944https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-bhagavad-gita-laurie-l-patton/2012316?ean=9780140447903https://www.amazon.co.uk/Physical-Analogical-Foundations-Conscious-Reality/dp/8898497091/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1706289929&sr=1-3-catcorr Production: Martin RedfernArtwork: Amber HaasMusic: Life is a River, by Magnus Moone

David Lorimer's  guest today is Professor Frédérique Apffel-Marglin, who is Professor Emerita, Department of Anthropology at Smith College. She founded the Sachamama Center for Biocultural Regeneration in the Peruvian High Amazon in 2009 where she works with indigenous communities as well as several High Schools in the province, regenerating the most sustainable and climate reducing pre-Columbian anthropogenic soil known as Terra Preta do Indio (black earth of the Indians). Her more recent books are: Subversive Spiritualities: How Rituals Enact the World (2011); Sacred Soil: Biochar and the Regeneration of the Earth with Robert Tindall and David Shearer, (2017); Contemporary Voices from Anima Mundi edited with Stefano Varese, (2020). Her latest book is written with Randy Chung Gonzales who has worked in SCBR for decades: Initiated by the Spirits: Healing Ills of Modernity through Shamanism, Psychedelics and the Power of the Sacred (2022).   Imaginal Inspirations is hosted by David Lorimer, Programme Director of the Scientific and Medical Network and Chair of the Galileo Commission, an academic movement dedicated to expanding the evidence base of a science of consciousness. Imaginal cells are responsible for the metamorphosis of the caterpillar into a butterfly, which is the Greek symbol for the soul. These cells are dormant in the caterpillar but at a critical point of development they create the new form and structure which becomes the butterfly. scientificandmedical.net galileocommission.orgbeyondthebrain.org Works and links mentioned:https://asociacionsachamama.org/https://sophia.smith.edu/anthro/Marglin.htmlBooks by Frédérique Apffel-Marglin https://uk.bookshop.org/search?keywords=Fr%C3%A9d%C3%A9rique+Apffel-MarglinThe Death of Nature Carolyn Merchant https://www.amazon.co.uk/Death-Nature-Ecology-Scientific-Revolution/dp/0062505955https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/cosmogenesis-an-unveiling-of-the-expanding-universe-brian-thomas-swimme/7534509?ean=9781640096172 Production: Martin RedfernArtwork: Amber HaasMusic: Life is a River, by Magnus Moone

David Lorimer's guest today is Dr Lisa Miller, the New York Times bestselling author of The Spiritual Child and her new book, The Awakened Brain. She is a professor in the Clinical Psychology Program at Teachers College, Columbia University where she founded the Spirituality Mind Body Institute, the first Ivy League graduate program and research institute in spirituality and psychology, and has held over a decade of joint appointments in the Department of Psychiatry at Columbia University Medical School. Her innovative research has been published in more than one hundred peer-reviewed articles in leading journals. She is Editor of the Oxford University Press Handbook of Psychology and Spirituality, Founding Co-Editor-in-Chief of the APA journal Spirituality in Clinical Practice, an elected Fellow of The American Psychological Association (APA) and the two-time President of the APA Society for Psychology and Spirituality. She earned her doctorate under the founder of positive psychology, Martin Seligman, she has served as Principal Investigator on multiple grant funded research studies. She speaks and consults for the US Military, businesses, personal development, faith-based organizations, schools and universities, and for mental health and wellness initiatives.Imaginal Inspirations is hosted by David Lorimer, Programme Director of the Scientific and Medical Network and Chair of the Galileo Commission, an academic movement dedicated to expanding the evidence base of a science of consciousness. Imaginal cells are responsible for the metamorphosis of the caterpillar into a butterfly, which is the Greek symbol for the soul. These cells are dormant in the caterpillar but at a critical point of development they create the new form and structure which becomes the butterfly.scientificandmedical.net galileocommission.orgbeyondthebrain.orgWorks and links mentioned:https://www.lisamillerphd.com/https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-awakened-brain-the-psychology-of-spirituality-lisa-miller/6627661?ean=9780141991030 https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Lisa-J-Miller/The-Spiritual-Child--The-New-Science-on-Parenting-for-Hea/17317019Ram Das - The only dance there is. https://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=30366475868&ref_=ps_ggl_10939332144&cm_mmc=ggl-_-UK_Shopp_Textbookstandard-_-product_id=UK9780385084130NEWhttps://www.amazon.co.uk/Better-Light-Candle-David-Lorimer/dp/B0BR9GP78NProduction: Martin RedfernArtwork: Amber HaasMusic: Life is a River, by Magnus Moone

David Lorimer's  guest today is  Mona Sobhani, PhD who is a cognitive neuroscientist, author, and entrepreneur. A former research scientist at the University of Southern California, she holds a doctorate in neuroscience from the University of Southern California and completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Vanderbilt University with the MacArthur Foundation Law and Neuroscience Project. She is the author of Proof of Spiritual Phenomena: A Neuroscientist’s Discovery of the Ineffable Mysteries of the Universe (Park City Press/Inner Traditions), which details her transformation from a diehard scientific materialist to an open-minded spiritual seeker. In the Brave New World of Psychedelic Science substack, she writes about the psychedelic renaissance, altered states of consciousness, and the transpersonal. She is co-founder of Exploring Consciousness, a community of curious scientists who are seeking to understand consciousness, spirituality, and the nature of our reality.  Imaginal Inspirations is hosted by David Lorimer, Programme Director of the Scientific and Medical Network and Chair of the Galileo Commission, an academic movement dedicated to expanding the evidence base of a science of consciousness. Imaginal cells are responsible for the metamorphosis of the caterpillar into a butterfly, which is the Greek symbol for the soul. These cells are dormant in the caterpillar but at a critical point of development they create the new form and structure which becomes the butterfly.scientificandmedical.net galileocommission.orgbeyondthebrain.org Works and links mentioned:www.monasobhaniphd.comhttps://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Mona-Sobhani/Proof-of-Spiritual-Phenomena--A-Neuroscientists-Discovery/26975623 https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Dr-Brian-Weiss/Many-Lives-Many-Masters--The-true-story-of-a-prominent-ps/1931400https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Jeffrey-J-Kripal/The-Flip--Who-You-Really-Are-and-Why-It-Matters/24240720  Production: Martin RedfernArtwork: Amber HaasMusic: Life is a River, by Magnus Moone

David Lorimer's  guest today is  Dr. Anneloes Smitsman, a futurist, entrepreneur, systems scientist, bestselling author, keynote speaker, and award-winning pioneer in human development and systems change. She is the founder and CEO of EARTHwise Centre, co-founder of the EARTHwise DAO, initiator and architect of the EARTHwise Constitution for a Planetary Civilization, and lead architect of the EARTHwise Game for Civilizational Transformation. She received a degree of Doctor from Maastricht University, the Netherlands, for her pioneering research on systemic transformation. She is the co-author with Dr. Jean Houston of the bestsellers The Quest of Rose, which won the 2022 Silver Nautilus Book award, and Return of the Avatars, which won the 2023 Gold Nautilus Book award. For more information, visit website:   Imaginal Inspirations is hosted by David Lorimer, Programme Director of the Scientific and Medical Network and Chair of the Galileo Commission, an academic movement dedicated to expanding the evidence base of a science of consciousness. Imaginal cells are responsible for the metamorphosis of the caterpillar into a butterfly, which is the Greek symbol for the soul. These cells are dormant in the caterpillar but at a critical point of development they create the new form and structure which becomes the butterfly.scientificandmedical.net galileocommission.orgbeyondthebrain.org Works and links mentioned:https://www.earthwisecentre.org/anneloes-smitsmanhttps://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Anneloes-Smitsman/The-Quest-of-Rose--The-Cosmic-Keys-of-Our-Future-Becoming/26373194https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Anneloes-Smitsman/Return-of-the-Avatars--The-Cosmic-Architect-Tools-of-Our-Future-Becoming/27098197Dancing the Dream The Seven Sacred Paths to Human Transformation by Jamie Sams https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/9780062515148?gC https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Paramahansa-Paramahansa-Yogananda-Yogananda/Autobiography-of-a-Yogi--Mass-Market-Paperback-New-Cover/2634038https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-prince-niccolo-machiavelli/37898?ean=9781513269061 Production: Martin RedfernArtwork: Amber HaasMusic: Life is a River, by Magnus Moone

David Lorimer's  guest today is  Dr Thomas R. Verny, psychiatrist, academic, writer, poet, blogger (Psychology Today), contributing columnist (The Stratford Times) and podcaster (Pushing Boundaries with Dr. Thomas R Verny). He is the author of eight books, including The Secret Life of the Unborn Child, published in 27 countries and the Embodied Mind, 2021, also available in Spanish, Greek, Russian and Czech, as well as 47 scientific papers. He has previously taught at Harvard University, the University of Toronto, York University (Toronto), St. Mary’s University (Minneapolis) and the Santa Barbara Graduate Institute.Imaginal Inspirations is hosted by David Lorimer, Programme Director of the Scientific and Medical Network and Chair of the Galileo Commission, an academic movement dedicated to expanding the evidence base of a science of consciousness. Imaginal cells are responsible for the metamorphosis of the caterpillar into a butterfly, which is the Greek symbol for the soul. These cells are dormant in the caterpillar but at a critical point of development they create the new form and structure which becomes the butterfly.scientificandmedical.net galileocommission.orgbeyondthebrain.org Works and links mentioned:https://www.trvernymd.com/https://pushingboundarieswithdrthomasrverny.buzzsprout.com/https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-interpretation-of-dreams-sigmund-freud/2333?ean=9780008646769https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/grimms-fairy-tales-brothers-grimm/716797?ean=9780008195632Jerzy Kosinsky: The Painted Bird https://www.amazon.co.uk/Facts-Life-R-D-Laing/dp/0394714741Production: Martin RedfernArtwork: Amber HaasMusic: Life is a River, by Magnus Moone

Prof Keith Ward, DD, FBA graduated in philosophy from Cardiff University, and in theology from Oxford. He taught philosophy at the Universities of Glasgow, St. Andrews, and King’s College, London. He was Dean of Trinity Hall, Cambridge, then Professor of Moral and Social Theology and subsequently of the History and Philosophy of Religion at King’s, London, and Regius Professor of Divinity at Oxford. He is the author of nearly 50 books and most recently his engaging autobiography, Adventures in Belief humorously subtitled How I Discovered the Meaning of Life, the Universe, and Everything (Possibly) Imaginal Inspirations is hosted by David Lorimer, Programme Director of the Scientific and Medical Network and Chair of the Galileo Commission, an academic movement dedicated to expanding the evidence base of a science of consciousness. Imaginal cells are responsible for the metamorphosis of the caterpillar into a butterfly, which is the Greek symbol for the soul. These cells are dormant in the caterpillar but at a critical point of development they create the new form and structure which becomes the butterfly.scientificandmedical.net galileocommission.orgbeyondthebrain.org Works and links mentioned: https://www.keithward.org.uk/https://wipfandstock.com/9781666756234/adventures-in-belief/ https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/critique-of-pure-reason-kant-critique-of-pure-reason-immanuel-kant/3955858?ean=9780460873581 /Production: Martin RedfernArtwork: Amber HaasMusic: Life is a River, by Magnus Moone