#48: The Neuroscience of Mystical Experience with Marjorie Woollacott

Paul Levy is a creative artist, a pioneer in the field of spiritual emergence, and a Tibetan Buddhist practitioner for more than 35 years. He is the founder of the Awaken in the Dream Community and the author of several books, including The Quantum Revelation and Undreaming Wetiko. Our conversation dives into the murky depths of the so-called mind virus popularized by Indigenous author Jack Forbes, who in his book Columbus and Other Cannibals, refers to wetiko as “the sickness of exploitation.” Paul is a gifted oracle whose description of subtle and hidden forces of wetiko illuminates how the mind virus influences our world, relationships, and inner processes. Together, we explore how our quantum reality mirrors a waking dream, and how the universe communicates through symbols. We discuss synchronicity, shadow projection, archetypal patterns, and four-valued logic or paradoxical thinking. Paul also shares profound insights on awakening from mass hypnosis, the dangers of totalitarian psychosis, and the weaponization of technology. Plus, why critical thinking and our creative spirit is the ultimate superpower in undreaming wetiko and navigating these turbulent times. And just a reminder before we jump into the conversation to please like, rate, subscribe and share to help more people access the podcast. Enjoy! Resources: Awakening in the Dream.

Welcome to episode 54 of the MindThatEgo Podcast. This episode features my presentation, Quantum Self-Compassion, for the Mystics and Scientists Conference in April 2024. The theme was Love, Forgiveness, and Compassion: Where Spirituality Meets Science. The first half of the talk introduces self-compassion as a thread across past, present, and future. I share common barriers to self-compassion, uncover misconceptions, and look at the damage of self-dis-compassion, which includes self-rejection, self-judgment, and self-criticism. I introduce the notion of the True Self as outside of time and the Source of compassion, love, forgiveness, and higher qualities we can extend toward the small self or Ego. To bring these insights to life, this is followed by a guided meditation, through which you will, hopefully, get an embodied sense of the nature of self-compassion. Just a reminder to please like, rate, subscribe and share to help more people access the podcast. Enjoy!

Welcome to episode 53 of the MindThatEgo Podcast. Roderick Main works at the University of Essex, where he is Professor in the Department of Psychosocial and Psychoanalytic Studies and Director of the Centre for Myth Studies. His research focuses on religion, mythology, literature, and, of course, synchronicity. His books include Jung on Synchronicity and the Paranormal, The Rupture of Time, Breaking the Spell of Disenchantment, and Revelations of Chance. He is also a fellow co-author on the Playful Universe. To honor the purpose of that book, I was keen to approach synchronicity firstly from Roderick’s personal experience, understanding how he interprets and unpacks their meaning, before moving into theoretical explanations. The result is a dialogue that provides practical ways to participate with synchronistic events, such as deciphering symbols and intuitively linking relevant associations. We look at different forms of synchronicity, including the personal, archetypal, and collective, and the nuances of discernment. How do you tell genuine synchronicity from delusions or magical thinking? What are pathologies of meaning or dark synchronicities? What are the religious and philosophical implications? And what truly is the power of myth?  All that, and more, coming up. And just a reminder before we jump into the conversation to please like, rate, subscribe and share to help more people access the podcast. Enjoy! Roderick's Bio The Playful Universe: Synchronicity and the Nature of Consciousness (Amazon).

Welcome to episode 52 of the MindThatEgo Podcast. Jane Clapp returns to the show to explore depression in the context of the alchemical stages of psychological development or individuation. Jane is a distinguished Jungian analyst who formed Jungian somatics from over 20 years of clinical experience. Exploring the interplay of body and psyche, she specializes in developmental and complex trauma through a mythological and embodied lens. Our dialogue covers how developmental trauma blocks the psyche’s self-regulating function, anti-life energy and the collective shadow, the spiritual battle of becoming, self-deceit and identification with suffering, the need for support, anchoring into glimmers of hope, finding positive symbols in dreams and synchronicities, and prayer and surrender as powerful allies in humility, faith, and relationship to a higher power. And just a reminder before we jump into the conversation to please like, rate, subscribe and share to help more people access the podcast. Enjoy! Resources: Jane's Website. Jane's Instagram.

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

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

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

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

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

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