The distinguished scholar talks about the need to extend our definition of philosophy to include works from non-Western traditions and from writers usually classified as religious or mystical. ‘If we’re really teaching the humanities to people, there’s not just one version of humanity that we’re talking about. Why not expose students to all of them?’
The eminent physicist talks about his research in the nature of consciousness, its therapeutic applications and his own experience of non-dual states whilst taking psychedelic drugs. ‘I have to try to integrate what I experience with everything else I know about the world, including the scientific method.’
The radical theologian talks about Jesus as a wisdom teacher and a master of the transformation of consciousness, the practice of ‘self-emptying’ and Centering Prayer, her understanding of Mary Magdalene, and the transitional nature of our times: ‘We’re stuck in a very, very difficult birth canal…
The ecologist and activist talks about his commitment to peace and peace-making, and understanding that peace is not just an absence of war but a positive, harmonious way of living with three aspects: peace with one self, peace with society and peace with nature.
The distinguished biographer and professor of philosophy explores what it means to live a ‘good life’ and the idea – as expressed in the lives of Spinoza, George Eliot and the Indian sage Ramana Maharshi – that we are all ‘modes of the infinite’.
The Oxford psychologist talks about the development of MBCT, how it can help us look upon ourselves with a compassionate gaze and find peace in a chaotic world. ‘If we live in a universe which is, as David Bentley Hart’s book says, All Things are Full of Gods… then we can’t distinguish a secular practice from a sacred practice.’