MindMatters

Neo-gnosticism without gnosis. Gnosis without neo-gnosticism. These are just a couple of the frameworks, dichotomies, and strains of gnosticism making their way into the religious, social, and political consciousness and conversation of today’s world through literature, film, and other media. In this follow-up discussion with author and scholar Arthur Versluis, we continue our discussion on his Oxford University Press-published book 'American Gnosis: Political Religion And Transcendence.' We further delve into the profound influence and divergences of an ancient set of spiritual beliefs - made all the more relevant for their lasting power and pervasiveness in so much of what we’re observing on the world stage. (Part I of this discussion is here.)This week on MindMatters we further examine the spectrum of gnosis, contemporary misconceptions about its tenets, as well as how the political dissidents of today could become the inquisitional forces of tomorrow. If pathocracy, extreme materialism, radical leftism and communism are the ‘enemies’ of gnosticism, then what, if anything, can gnosticism tell us about a way forward in an increasingly complicated world? 

Astrophilosophy. Exotheology. Whitehead.Andrew Davis is the program director for the Center for Process Studies. A philosopher and theologian, his latest work is on the metaphysics of exo-life. Today on MindMatters we discuss his work on science, religion, and what the impact of the discovery of ET life would mean for philosophy, and a general philosophical framework that would make sense of it. We also discuss the opening up of public and academic interest in the topic of UFOs and non-human intelligences, David Ray Griffin's work and parapsychology, humans as an exemplification of what the universe does, the morphological and ontological templates that life may take elsewhere, the ontology of possibilities, shared commonalities that might allow for communication with ET forms of life, the mind of God, and more.

David Abramowitz joins us once again, this time to discuss Michael Shellenberger and Peter Boghossian's Taxonomy of Woke Psychopathology. With Andrew Lobaczewski's Political Ponerology as inspiration, the taxonomy summarizes how certain Woke topics and causes express Cluster B personality disorder dynamics. While the topics themselves may not be pathological, the manner in which they're presented is, expressing such features as attention-seeking, grandiosity, emotional dysregulation, excess and lack of empathy, victimhood ideology, impaired reality testing, and splitting. Join us as we take a broader look at political causes, the pathocratic function of ideology, and its role in creating a worldview that makes sense to the Cluster B personality. Pathocratic personalities then attempt to force everyone else to conform to the world they have created.

Let's face it. Bigfoot is real. The only question is, what is it? With now thousands of credible encounters that would be difficult to ignore or dismiss, we know many individuals have also observed a host of seemingly paranormal phenomena that quite often accompany these large strange creatures. Orbs, ball lightening, strange smells, space-time anomalies, electromagnetic fluctuations; not to mention witnessing these cryptids moving at super-fast speeds, and morphing into different forms; making our conceptions of what Bigfoot are very likely obsolete.But what if some of the experiences of these beings, and others like them, has something to do with our tentative understanding of cutting edge science? What if what many have seen has much in common with the way that "coherent matter" works? Are there correlations between cold fusion, or low-energy nuclear reaction, technology and access to other realms of reality? And what have a number of leading scientists in physics been known to say about the fluid nature of reality? This week on MindMatters we are pleased to speak with Dr. Simeon Hein whose recent book, Dark Matter Monsters: Cryptids, Ball Lightning, and the Science of Secret Lifeforms, is a serious exploration of just such questions.

The ancient idea of spiritual gnosis has evolved and branched to reflect the time and place in which we live. Nowhere is this development more evident than in the writings and scholarship of author Arthur Versluis . In his groundbreaking new book American Gnosis: Political Religion and Transcendence, Versluis takes an in-depth look at the varieties of modern 'neo-gnosticism.' These include cosmological gnosticism - the worldly effort to escape from archons of darkness or hostile beings that would seek to subjugate the world through politics and other power structures. Another is metaphysical gnosis, or transcendence that is less a reaction to the perception of evil overlords than movement towards divine knowledge for its own sake.Join us this week on MindMatters as we delve into the realm of cosmological gnosis with Arthur Versluis, and look at the plethora of ways in which some really old ideas have been reinvigorated (alongside some newer ones). How do these ideas present themselves in literature, TV and movies? Is there is a crossover between ‘political awakening’ and ‘spiritual awakening’? And what, if anything, may this have to do with some developments we’ve been seeing with the so-called ‘dissident right’ in the US?

What do altered states tell us about the nature of consciousness? And what can philosophy tell us about altered states? John Buchanan has spent his life trying to find the answers. His book, Processing Reality: Finding Meaning in Death, Psychedelics, and Sobriety, details the story of his history of experimentation and addiction, his path to sobriety, and the insights he has gained into the nature of human experience and consciousness.A synthesis of Whitehead's process philosophy and Grof's transpersonal psychology, Buchanan's ideas provide a framework for understanding not only the nature of the psychedelic experience and other altered states, but also the nature of consciousness itself and the structure of the cosmos. 

Are all psychopaths serial killers? Is authoritarianism only found on the political right? Are we all equally capable of evil? Does power really corrupt absolutely? And is evil really "banal"? Join us today as we discuss the biggest myths about evil with David Abramowitz, the nature of psychopaths and ponerology, and how McGilchrist’s brain-hemisphere research fits into the picture. David Abramowitz has a background in finance and accounting, but an experience with a psychopath set him on a path to research the topic for the next decade. He has read nearly everything there is to read on the subject, and describes a type which he has termed the “passive-parasitic” psychopath. These are the so-called successful psychopaths, the ones you’ll find on Wall Street and in Washington. And they’re the reason for much of today’s pathological political climate.

Do human beings have ‘higher bodies’? Is there an essence or essential part of one’s being that individuals can consciously help to grow?  And what does the development of the personality have to do with these possibilities? Philosopher and teacher G.I. Gurdjieff presented the world with an esoteric framework for self-development that has been carried forward by a number of thinkers. What does esoteric growth look and feel like? What are some of the processes involved? And how does one go about verifying that such a process is even occurring? Does an inner questioning end when one reaches a higher state, or does it just go deeper? Joining us for his third appearance on MindMatters is author/teacher Alan Francis. Alan's decades of experience with Gurdjieff’s work have helped him crystalize some insights as to how we may become more than what we are. He is the head of the International School of the Fourth Way, and the author of 'Secrets of the Fourth Way.'

J.D. Haltigan is a developmental and evolutionary psychologist who writes the Multilevel Mailer on Substack. His research and writing focuses on psychopathology, social media-induced mental illness in the young, and the psychological phenomena underlying Woke ideology and the culture wars. Lately he has been writing about the negative effects of traits like compassion and empathy when not balanced and held in check by trait systematization. J.D. has also writing a review of Andrew Lobaczewski’s Political Ponerology tying its insight to our current sociopolitical situation.

Clive Boddy is Associate Professor of Management at Anglia Ruskin University, a leading researcher in the field of corporate psychopathy, and author of the book ‘A Climate Of Fear: Stone Cold Psychopaths At Work’. Today on MindMatters, we interview Clive about his research, why psychopaths do not make good leaders (despite claims to the contrary), how they contribute to employee job satisfaction, and how toxic leadership intersects with incompetent leadership. Once a taboo subject, corporate psychopathy has gained widespread acknowledgment in the last decade or so. But another related subject is only now breaking through academia and public consciousness: political psychopathy. Clive discusses his own work in that field as well, with comments on screening politicians for psychopathy. We even talk about Star Wars.

This week on MindMatters we take a third and final look at the prescient and resounding thoughts of Ernst Jünger's The Forest Passage and reflect on what it means - in the philosophical and practical sense - to be a forest walker, or forest rebel.How one resists and chooses to respond to totalitarianism is at least as crucial as making the choice itself. But what are some of the many considerations involved? What inner resources does one draw upon and where might one find the light that helps to make the best of all choices? What does one fall back on when many of the institutions that are meant to morally support a society have been effectively gutted, or done away with completely? What is the responsibility of an unbroken and ‘concrete individual’ to step in and rectify institutional failure to some degree? And where does the power of the spoken or written word fit into this complex equation? 

What is freedom? Where may it be found and accessed? How does it become actualized from within the individual?  And if we are to become free - then what are we to be free from? In this second discussion of Ernst Jünger's seminal book The Forest Passage we follow along with the author’s many thoughts on what it means to be free. Concerning political bodies, the media, institutionalized medicine, and organized religion - what, if any, is the most fruitful approach to take in response to their diktats or guidelines? Where does free will, in the truest sense of the term, fit in to our responses? And if we are to face our fears and find a way to resist the tide of totalitarianism how should one approach the possible suffering that will likely be involved?With the heart of a poet, and the mind of a realist, Ernst Jünger has given us much to ponder as we reflect on what he means by becoming a ‘forest rebel’. Join us this week on MindMatters as we delve further into his world view, and a road from which we may find a path to the future.

Psychotherapist, educator, researcher, and author of the books Women Who Live Psychopaths, How to Spot a Dangerous Man, and many others, Sandra L. Brown’s insights have helped many face - and heal from - the damage inflicted by psychopaths and the personality disordered. Expanding on her work as a therapist and author, Sandra Brown has developed the training for thousands of therapists who now understand, and are better able to treat, cognitive dissonance, PTSD, and the neurocognitive damage to executive brain function that many victims suffer.Join us this week on MindMatters as we look back at Sandra Brown’s influential writings, what she’s been working on since the release of her books, and how her views and perspectives since then might affect what she’d focus on if she were writing these books today - more than 18 years later.Safe Relationships Magazine: https://saferelationshipsmagazine.com/Association for NPD/Psychopathy Survivor Treatment, Research & Education: https://survivortreatment.com/

'1984', 'Brave New World', 'Fahrenheit 451', 'The Gulag Archipelago' - there are many great books on 20th-century totalitarianism. But few of them have the power and poetry of Ernst Jünger's 1951 'The Forest Passage'. Both a man of his time - and ahead of his time - the German-born Jünger was not only a staunch but careful critic of tyranny; he could see through the “soft power” manipulations of much subtler forms of centralized oppression as well. And call it out for exactly what it was.Given Jünger's broad vision and deep insight, one could be forgiven for thinking that the 'The Forest Passage' was written only yesterday. It is packed with perennial truths that apply to the politics and psychology of Western civilization over the last 100 or so years. Join us this week on MindMatters as we give Ernst Jünger's gem of a book its due, and begin to explore what it means to be, or become, a ‘Forest Rebel’.

Grant Smith is a US Army Physical Therapist and author of the "H2F Man" and "Radical American Mind" blogs. He also co-hosts the 5th Gen Leadership and Tonic Seven podcasts. Today we discuss his experiences during plague times - the hypocrisy and delusion he saw in the armed services' policies and actions, and how he successfully resisted the pressures and managed to keep his job - why he joined the Army in the first place, and how he found a place within it that aligned with his values and goals. In the last segment we get into the research and methods of fitness and exercise and Grant shares some central principles to follow in order to optimally train your tissues, whatever your current health status. 

After some brief comments on classical worldviews, natural law, populism, the genesis of leftist and postmodern thought, and the history of ideas, we settle on today's topic of topics: the paranormal. What societal structures exist (in academia, the media, the marketplace, etc.) that make the paranormal both in demand as a subject worth learning about - and yet deeply suppressed as something to take seriously in “official culture”. What does the Church and orthodox materialist science have to say about the acceptance of the so-called supernatural? And how do we come to know anything even remotely objective about such a topic when the rigor and open-mindedness required to study it is so lacking in officialdom? Join us for this fascinating discussion!Dr. Jadcyk's article on Crookes: https://ark-jadczyk.blogspot.com/2023/04/no-true-science-allowed-priori.htmlPart 2: https://ark-jadczyk.blogspot.com/2023/04/william-crookes-and-paranormal-true.htmlThe Myth of Disenchantment: https://www.amazon.com/Myth-Disenchantment-Magic-Modernity-Sciences/dp/022640336X

In just a short time, programs like ChatGPT and other chat bots have burst on the societal scene to the delight, fascination and enthrallment of millions. Individuals can now interact with a language program that is seemingly conversant on numerous subjects and provides “answers” via virtual brains. But this new powerful technology begs many more questions: What are these programs really, and how do they fit in with the development of AI? Where does anthropomorphic projection fit in as people become increasingly involved with them? Are these bots a first major step towards a transhuman reality? And can these technologies actually be forming the basis or entryway to a new type of technoreligion?This week on Mindmatters we get to discuss these issues with Joe Allen, author of the Substack blog Singularity Weekly. After extensive research into this and related subject matter, Joe’s nuanced analysis tells us that yes, we need to be paying serious attention to where all this has brought us, and where things are very likely going.  Given how powerful and even seductive the use of these technologies are, he also suggests what may be the healthiest attitude or approach to interacting with them going forward. As if the world hasn’t devolved into enough insanity there is, in fact, a new pathologizing influence to contend with. And we, ‘legacy humans’, ignore its profound influences at our own peril.

ESG’s, diversity, equity, and inclusion, stakeholder capitalism, sustainability, CBDC’s, transhumanism, Agenda 2030—no doubt you’ve heard or read about these and any number of other terms that are meant to get the public with the new progressive and “forward thinking” policies and philosophies of the future. Of course you have; they are all part of the behemoth global elite-inspired policies and agendas of the so-called “Great Reset.”  But what’s really behind them? What are they actually meant to accomplish? And how might these ideas, put into actual practice, affect the way that we live—or don’t live?Joining MindMatters once again is accomplished writer and researcher Michael Rectenwald. Author of Springtime for Snowflakes, Beyond Woke and The Google Archipelago—and in a most insightful progression—Michael tackles his biggest and most important subject yet with his new book The Great Reset and the Struggle for Liberty.  With a depth and breadth that is unmatched, his new book delves into one of the most profoundly totalitarian and far-reaching new (and not so new) political, social, and economic agendas in contemporary history. Join us as we get our heads around what already promises to be the most monstrous and destructive developments of the 21st century, the Great Reset, and discuss what we can actually do in response.

Helen Dale, lawyer and award-winning author of 3 novels, including The Hand that Signed the Paper, writes at Law & Liberty and Not On Your Team, But Always Fair. Her two-novel series Kingdom of the Wicked is an alternative history of Roman-occupied Judea in the first century and the arrest and trial of Yeshua ben Joseph, an enigmatic man with a large following, including some radical religious zealots. If you like literary and genre fiction—and Roman history—you won't be able to put these ones down. They’ve got soldiers, lawyers, terrorists, and biomechs; action, romance, legal proceedings, and great characters. Today on MindMatters we talk about the books and how Helen came to write them, blending Roman morality with modern technology, and the interesting directions that might have gone. Other topics: political systems and their compatibility with different nations and cultures, Lorenzo Warby’s articles on Helen’s Substack, a policy approach to countering Woke ideology, Cluster B’s and ponerology in modern and historical politics, what Hannah Arendt got wrong about totalitarianism, and how lobbyists are the absolute worst.

Today on MindMatters, we dive into Chris Langan's essay collection, "The Art of Knowing." In the process we discuss free will, Libet's experiments and their interpretations, reality theory, morality (relative? absolute? both?), why we need bad situations in order to grow, and Batman (the greatest superhero).