Dr. John Vervaeke

Can the meaning crisis be addressed by transforming how we perceive reality rather than what we believe about it?

In this episode, John Vervaeke and Ethan Hsieh introduce the course Between East and West, which explores Zen Neoplatonism as a dialogical framework integrating Eastern and Western traditions. The course is designed not as a system of belief but as a training in perception, participation, and understanding.

Zen offers a path of intimacy, presence, and immanence, while Neoplatonism provides intelligibility, transcendence, and coherence. Together, they form a stereoscopic vision that allows for a renewed encounter with meaning and the sacred.

The discussion reframes mysticism, philosophy, religion, and spirituality, while confronting the meaning crisis and the limitations of modern categories. It proposes a shift beyond theism and atheism toward a participatory understanding of reality grounded in insight and practice.

Ethan Hsieh is a writer, educator, and dialogue facilitator working across philosophy, cognitive science, and contemplative practice, helping to bridge theory and lived experience.

Guest Links Ethan Hsieh: https://sg.linkedin.com/in/ethan-hsieh-828a63240

Join the full course Between East and West https://lectern.johnvervaeke.com/courses/between-east-and-west

Explore more courses and teachings from The Lectern https://lectern.johnvervaeke.com/

Support the Lectern and join a growing community of wisdom seekers https://www.patreon.com/johnvervaeke

00:00 Welcome to the Lectern 01:00 What is Zen Neoplatonism 05:00 Silk Road origins and Pyrrho 07:00 Mysticism, philosophy, and religion 11:30 Religion as dynamic ecology 12:21 Christianity as a family resemblance network 16:30 Spirituality and the meaning crisis 21:00 Religious philosophy gray zone 26:30 Synergy not syncretism 30:30 Course overview and proposal 32:00 Zen and Neoplatonism stereoscopic vision 38:30 Aporia, koans, and Socrates 44:30 Accessibility beyond East and West 50:30 Sacredness demands accountability 51:00 Singapore religious caution 51:30 Religion and war myths 52:30 Pluralism without conversion 53:30 Attachment theory and faith 57:00 Self versus others in religion 01:00:00 From substance to community 01:05:00 Do I even need this 01:08:30 Fear of losing meaning 01:12:30 Beyond theism and atheism 01:18:00 Meaning beyond morality 01:21:30 Goodness and self transcendence 01:26:00 Neoplatonic ladder 01:27:00 Logos and agape 01:30:00 Practice, way, and identity

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Is reality fully captured by science or are we missing its most essential dimension?

In this dialogue, John Vervaeke joins William Desmond and Guy Sengstock to explore the philosophical foundations of meaning, being, and knowing. Their exchange reveals a shared concern that modern frameworks have narrowed our understanding of reality by excluding participatory and relational dimensions.

Desmond's "between" metaphysics and Vervaeke's relevance realization converge to illuminate how meaning arises through engagement rather than detached observation. The discussion moves through cognitive science, phenomenology, and ontology while confronting the existential weight of the meaning crisis.

Nihilism is reframed not as a final collapse, but as a transitional space that may allow for a renewed encounter with the sacred and the real. The result is a vision of reality that is deeper, more participatory, and more demanding than modern assumptions allow.

William Desmond is a philosopher known for his work on the "between" and the nature of being and meaning. His writing integrates Greek philosophy, Christian thought, and Eastern traditions.

Guy Sengstock is the co founder of Circling and founder of The Circling Institute. His work focuses on relational awareness and the transformative power of dialogue.

Guest Links William Desmond: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Desmond_(philosopher) Guy Sengstock: https://x.com/guystocks/status/1936455794452774946

Support the Lectern and join a growing community of wisdom seekers https://www.patreon.com/johnvervaeke

Explore practices and programs through Awaken to Meaning https://awakentomeaning.com/

00:00 Welcome to the Lectern 02:00 William Desmond's philosophical journey 08:00 Guy Sengstock and circling practice 13:00 Relevance realization and cognition 18:00 What is relevance 25:00 Being, meaning, and dialogue 41:00 Projection and philosophical pilgrimage 51:00 Daoist perspectives 52:00 Sacred pilgrimage in ancient Greece 54:09 Going away as a way of going home 54:30 Wayfaring and cognition 56:00 Reformation and pilgrimage 56:30 Pilgrimage versus tourism 57:30 The meaning crisis and nihilism 01:01:30 Nihilism as creative opening 01:07:00 Zen and nothingness 01:26:00 Vertical and horizontal nihilism

Follow John Vervaeke https://johnvervaeke.com/ https://twitter.com/vervaeke_john https://www.youtube.com/@johnvervaeke https://www.patreon.com/johnvervaeke

Why does the modern pursuit of happiness so often leave people feeling lost?

In this episode of The Lectern, John Vervaeke speaks with cognitive scientist Mark Miller about the emerging science of happiness and the deeper architecture of the human mind. Drawing from predictive processing theory, the conversation explores how human beings function as epistemic agents who constantly construct models of the world and themselves.

The discussion examines why common cultural narratives about happiness are often misleading and why genuine flourishing requires understanding the underlying cognitive processes that shape perception, motivation, and meaning. Mark introduces the framework behind his Lectern course Generations of Joy, which integrates cognitive science, philosophy, contemplative practice, and modern neuroscience.

Mark Miller is a cognitive scientist specializing in predictive processing, wellbeing, and the cognitive science of happiness. He teaches in the psychology and cognitive science programs at the University of Toronto and conducts research with the Center for Consciousness and Contemplative Studies at Monash University. He is also affiliated with Hokkaido University where he contributes to interdisciplinary work on artificial intelligence, neuroscience, and human nature.

Mark Miller

Website https://www.markdmiller.live/

Cognitive Science https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/cognitive-science/

Philosophical Psychology https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/cphp20/current

Socrates https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/socrates/

Support the Lectern community on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/johnvervaeke

Explore the course Generations of Joy on The Lectern https://lectern.johnvervaeke.com/courses/generations-of-joy

00:00 Welcome to the Lectern 03:30 Mark's background and research homes 04:30 Course preview Generations of Joy 06:00 Cutting edge meditation science 08:00 Ancient philosophy meets cognitive science 10:30 Defining happiness beyond media narratives 12:30 First principles cognitive framework 15:30 Humans as epistemic agents 17:45 Knowing your owner's manual 18:00 Meaning wisdom and insight 27:00 Addiction despair and course roadmap 28:00 Flexibility and reframing 29:00 Week one the predictive mind 31:00 Dogen on ignorance 33:00 Neuroscience of emptiness 35:00 Weeks two through eight overview 40:00 Why the course matters 43:00 Interlocking crises and relevance 47:30 Doomscrolling drugs and misinformation 50:00 Discernment versus spiritual buffet 51:00 Meditation risks ethics and education 53:30 Off the shelf spirituality critique

Follow John Vervaeke Website https://johnvervaeke.com Twitter https://x.com/DrJohnVervaeke YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@johnvervaeke/videos Patreon https://www.patreon.com/johnvervaeke

Lectern Q&As are monthly live sessions where members of the Lectern community explore the practical application of cognitive science, philosophy, and contemplative practice in everyday life.

These conversations typically feature John Vervaeke and Ethan Hsieh responding to questions from the community. In this session, Ethan is joined by Mark Miller to discuss Mark's upcoming course Generations of Joy, and to explore how philosophical practice and developmental insight can deepen meaning across generations.

Participants can submit questions in advance or ask them live on camera during the session. Past recordings are available for members who want to revisit ideas or follow the ongoing thread of conversation within the Lectern community.

Join the Lectern community and access past sessions here: https://lectern.johnvervaeke.com/membership

Generations of Joy is now open for registration on The Lectern: https://lectern.johnvervaeke.com/courses/generations-of-joy

Is reality fundamentally inert, or is it structured by divine desire?

In this episode, John Vervaeke and Zevi Slavin explore the metaphysical vision of Ibn Gabirol and the integration of Jewish thought with Neoplatonism. They examine the claim that all of existence arises through the coupling of matter and form, unified by divine will.

The conversation traces the Philosophical Silk Road and reflects on how Ibn Gabirol shaped Christian, Islamic, and Jewish philosophy. At its center is a contemporary challenge: can we recover a shared philosophical language that orients us toward unity without erasing difference?

Zevi Slavin is the founder of Seekers of Unity and a teacher of Jewish mysticism and integrative metaphysics. His work engages classical Jewish sources and cultivates cross traditional dialogue grounded in participatory metaphysics.

Seekers of Unity YouTube Channel https://youtube.com/c/SeekersofUnity

Zevi Slavin on LinkedIn https://linkedin.com/in/zevislavin

Support the work on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/johnvervaeke

Join The Lectern for full length courses and structured learning pathways https://lectern.teachable.com/p/lectern-lounge

00:00 Welcome to The Lectern 02:30 Ibn Gabirol's core metaphysical claims 04:46 Matter and form bound by divine desire 07:30 Zevi Slavin and Seekers of Unity 15:00 Jewish philosophy and identity 24:00 Religious orientation and personal engagement 38:30 Neoplatonism and existential tension 39:30 Existentialism and Jewish identity 42:00 Sacred relationships and divine agency 44:00 Philosophical Silk Road and religious homes 46:30 Jewish Neoplatonism and divine desire 49:30 Divine agency and Jewish mysticism 57:00 The paradox of universal and particular 01:12:00 Toward a shared philosophical language

John Vervaeke https://johnvervaeke.com https://www.youtube.com/@johnvervaeke https://www.patreon.com/johnvervaeke https://x.com/drjohnvervaeke

In this episode of The Lectern, John Vervaeke sits down with Zevi Slavin to explore the radical metaphysics of Ibn Gabirol and the role of divine desire at the heart of reality.

Ibn Gabirol, also known as Avicebron, was a major figure in Jewish Neoplatonism whose philosophy reshaped medieval thought across traditions. His view that matter and form seek each other through divine desire challenges mechanical models of existence and reintroduces relational depth into metaphysics.

John and Zevi examine how Gabirol's ideas intersect with Jewish mysticism, medieval philosophy, and contemporary discussions about consciousness and meaning. They explore the tension between universal truth and particular tradition, and whether unity requires sameness or whether difference itself can be sacred.

This conversation invites listeners to reconsider whether reality itself is structured by longing, participation, and sacred relationship.

Support John's work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/johnvervaeke

Want to go deeper? Join the Lectern platform on Teachable for full-length courses, guided series, and structured pathways into the ideas explored here. Enroll here: https://lectern.teachable.com/p/lectern-lounge

00:00 Welcome to the Lectern 02:30 Key concepts in Ibn Gabirol's philosophy 04:46 Matter and form bound by divine desire 07:30 Zevi Slavin and Seekers of Unity 15:00 Jewish philosophy and Neoplatonism 24:00 Philosophy and religious orientation 38:30 Existential identity and engagement 42:00 Faith and sacred relationship 44:00 The Philosophical Silk Road 46:30 Divine desire and agency 49:30 Jewish mysticism and metaphysics 57:00 Universal and particular tension 01:12:00 Philosophical common language

How can ancient spiritual practices be reanimated for modern life?

In this compelling episode, John sits down again with therapist Seth Allison to delve deep into the themes of suffering, trust, and growth within the frame of internal family systems therapy and Jungian analysis. Seth discusses his transformative experiences over the past few years, including the impact of previous conversations with John and his own journey through a profound period of liminality. They touch upon voluntary necessity, the role of suffering in cultivating faith, and the transformative power of relationships and community in overcoming personal crises. Seth also highlights the significance of humility in effective leadership and his aspirations for fostering supportive, growth-oriented environments in both personal and professional settings.

Seth Allison is a psychotherapist and depth-oriented thinker whose work integrates attachment theory, Internal Family Systems, and Jungian psychology with spiritual and existential inquiry. Drawing from both clinical training and lived experience, he specializes in helping individuals navigate midlife transitions, relational struggles, addiction dynamics, and identity shifts. Seth's approach emphasizes authenticity, relational depth, and the courageous engagement of suffering as a doorway to growth and deeper participation in life.

Seth Allison: LinkedIn

The Cost of Discipleship

Murray Stein

The Serenity Prayer

00:00 — Welcome to the Lectern

05:00 — Voluntary necessity and spiritual depth

08:00 — Bonhoeffer's profound insights

11:00 — Personal reflections and resonance realization

25:30 — Exploring liminality and midlife transitions

29:54 — You can't serve money and God, and money doesn't just mean money, it means ego, success and accomplishment.

52:00 — Hermes and the concept of love addiction

52:30 — The arena of partnership and self-discovery

54:00 — Addiction and attachment strategies

56:30 — Faith and recovery: a new perspective

58:30 — The role of symbols and sensory experience

59:30 — Transcendence and metanoia

01:07:30 — The importance of community in recovery

01:18:30 — Navigating betrayal and suffering

01:35:00 — Leadership and humility

01:44:00 — The subversive power of trust

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Want to go deeper? Join the Lectern platform on Teachable for full-length courses, guided series, and structured pathways into the ideas explored here.

John Vervaeke:

Website: https://johnvervaeke.com/

Twitter: https://x.com/DrJohnVervaeke

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@johnvervaeke/videos

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/johnvervaeke

Thank you for Listening!

In this episode of The Lectern, John Vervaeke and host Ethan Hsieh explore what Ethan calls the "Underground Man" problem. How we can get trapped in endless abstraction, lose contact with lived meaning, and oscillate between inflation and collapse.

They unpack the reflectiveness gap (hyper-reflection that disconnects us from motivation), how the imaginal bridges the abstract and the embodied, and why the cultural severing of transcendence and finitude fuels cycles of nihilism, indecision, and irresponsible action. The conversation also dives into the cognitive science of dissociation including volitional vs. pathological forms. Showing how disruptive strategies can support transformation when followed by reintegration.

The Q&A then turns toward prayer and ritual: how they can go wrong as "vicious abstraction," and how they can go right as re-centering a dialogical practice that reconnects us to reality, responsibility, and compassion.

This episode also includes an important announcement: this will be John's last Lectern Q&A for a while. Over the next few months, Mark Miller will host Lectern Q&As while his course runs on the platform.

Sign up for Lectern (Teachable) and explore current courses: https://lectern.teachable.com/p/lectern-lounge

Timecodes:

00:00 Welcome + Lectern Live Q&A begins 01:00 Format: pre-submitted questions + YouTube chat + call-in option 02:20 Announcement: John stepping back; Mark Miller hosting upcoming Q&As 03:05 Who Mark Miller is + why his course matters 06:00 The "Underground Man" problem + the reflectiveness gap 09:40 Phenomenology: inflation, collapse, depression, nihilism, atrophy of agency 17:35 Culture-level pattern: severing transcendence and finitude 19:50 Why "more abstraction" doesn't fix it 20:40 Non-duality, recentering, and the return to the lived 25:35 Dissociation + predictive processing + relevance realization 27:20 Dialogical self ("I-positions") + narrative binding across agency/selfhood/personhood 31:00 Self-organizing criticality + pivotal mental states 33:25 Volitional vs. pathological dissociation; reintegration vs. fragmentation 36:45 Being/non-being interwoven; mortality and transformation 38:45 Prayer/ritual: vicious vs. virtuous abstraction 44:45 A concrete example of re-centering prayer 51:55 Primordial vs. ultimate; intuition/insight/inspiration and the sacred 01:06:10 YouTube chat: sports/flow as an ecology of practices + sportsmanship 01:08:05 YouTube chat: how John re-centers (Søren / orientation-level flow) 01:13:05 YouTube chat: "Underground woman" problem + caregiving inflation/collapse 01:20:05 Closing + next Q&A with Mark Miller (date mentioned in episode)

John Vervaeke is a professor, philosopher, and cognitive scientist whose work focuses on the meaning crisis, relevance realization, and the cognitive science of wisdom. His research bridges cognitive science, philosophy, and contemplative traditions to explore how humans cultivate insight, agency, and deep transformation.

Ethan Hsieh is a facilitator, educator, and philosophical practitioner working at the intersection of performance, cognition, and transformative pedagogy. He is the creator of TIAMAT, a three-tier developmental framework integrating cognitive science, dialogical philosophy, and embodied practice. Through immersive learning environments and collaborative inquiry, Ethan helps individuals cultivate virtuosity as a way of life—emphasizing participatory sense-making, metacognitive mapping, and shared agency.

John Vervaeke:

Website: https://johnvervaeke.com/

Twitter: https://x.com/DrJohnVervaeke

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@johnvervaeke/videos

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/johnvervaeke

If you would like to donate purely out of goodwill to support John's work, please consider joining our Patreon. https://www.patreon.com/johnvervaeke

In this episode of The Lectern, host Ethan Hsieh sits down with philosopher and cognitive scientist Mark Miller to explore the science of predictive processing and its implications for happiness, meaning, and wellbeing.

They unpack how the brain is not a passive receiver of reality, but an active prediction engine—constantly generating its best guesses about the world and updating them through experience. From belief formation and perception to resilience, virtue, play, and mindfulness, the conversation bridges cutting-edge cognitive science with ancient contemplative wisdom.

Together, Ethan and Mark discuss how understanding the predictive nature of the mind can transform how we relate to uncertainty, cultivate agency, and develop a deeper, more participatory sense of happiness—both individually and collectively.

This episode also introduces Mark Miller's upcoming course, Generations of Joy, which explores these ideas through neuroscience, philosophy, and contemplative practice.

Sign up for the course: https://lectern.johnvervaeke.com/courses/generations-of-joy

00:00 Welcome back to The Lectern 02:30 Mark Miller's background and research focus 06:00 Predictive processing and cognitive science 09:00 Belief, perception, and meaning-making 10:18 "You're not seeing the world—you're seeing your best guess about the world." 13:00 Course overview and key themes 27:00 Honesty, virtue, and transformation 39:30 Practical applications and course dynamics 41:30 Real-world implications of science 43:00 Emptiness, neuroscience, and insight 43:30 The frame problem in cognitive science 45:30 Optimism vs. pessimism: locking onto the world 46:30 Training the mind to discern 47:30 The interpretive nature of reality 52:00 The role of play in cognitive development 56:00 Managing uncertainty through play 01:12:30 Mindfulness and emerging evidence 01:22:00 The Transformational Neuroscience course

Mark Miller is a philosopher and cognitive scientist whose work bridges philosophy, neuroscience, and contemplative science. His research explores how the predictive brain shapes happiness, wellbeing, and meaning in a technologically saturated world.

He is a Senior Research Fellow at Monash University's Centre for Consciousness and Contemplative Studies (Australia), cross-affiliated with the Psychology Department at the University of Toronto (Canada), and a visiting researcher at Hokkaido University's Centre for Human Nature, Artificial Intelligence, and Neuroscience (Japan).

Website: https://www.markdmiller.live/

Ethan Hsieh is a facilitator, educator, and philosophical practitioner working at the intersection of performance, cognition, and transformative pedagogy. He is the creator of TIAMAT, a three-tier developmental framework integrating cognitive science, dialogical philosophy, and embodied practice.

Through immersive learning environments and collaborative inquiry, Ethan helps individuals cultivate virtuosity as a way of life—emphasizing participatory sense-making, metacognitive mapping, and shared agency. His work with the 5toMidnight collective focuses on building deliberately developmental communities grounded in relational ontology and lived philosophical transformation.

Thank you for joining us live for this month's Silk Road Seminar, featuring Kevin Lu and Anderson Todd.

Kevin Lu is a Jungian psychoanalyst, lecturer, and scholar whose work bridges analytical psychology, philosophy, and religious studies. As a senior lecturer at the University of Essex, his research explores symbolic thought, depth psychology, myth, and individuation, with a focus on reintegrating Jungian wisdom into contemporary conversations around meaning and transformation.

Anderson Todd is an award-winning lecturer at the University of Toronto, teaching in Cognitive Science and Buddhism as well as Psychology and Mental Health. With a background spanning philosophy, complexity science, and transformative practice, Anderson brings clarity and rigor to questions of wisdom cultivation, existential resilience, and mental health.

Together, Kevin and Anderson bring a rare synergy of psychological depth and cognitive precision to the Silk Road Seminar, offering insight into meaning-making and transformation in the modern world.

Silk Road Seminars are live, hour-long conversations hosted by John Vervaeke, weaving together ideas from cognitive science, philosophy, psychology, and wisdom traditions. Each seminar is streamed live on YouTube and followed by an exclusive Q&A where participants can engage directly with John and the guests.

To be entered onto the guest list for the live Q&A, sign up at the Gamma Tier (or above) on The Lectern: https://lectern.teachable.com/p/lectern-lounge

University students (undergraduate through doctoral level) receive free access to the Q&A. Email proof of student status to: [email protected]

Students added to the guest list also receive access to previous Silk Road Seminars.

If you'd like to support John's work through a goodwill donation, consider joining the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/johnvervaeke

John Vervaeke online: https://johnvervaeke.com/ https://twitter.com/drjohnvervaeke https://www.youtube.com/@johnvervaeke https://www.patreon.com/johnvervaeke