The Alchemical Mind

For this episode of The Alchemical Mind, I look at the evolutionary potential of humanity through a mystical lens in response to some questions posed by a listener through a recent e-mail discussion. Bailey asked:   1. What are your thoughts on humanity being a stepping stone for the evolution of Artificial Intelligence?

2. Should we fear the potential of losing our humanity?

3. While I agree that individuals are not special, do you think humanity itself is special?

4. Is there a case for staying human forever (with technological augmentation) vs evolving into something new (AI/singularity)?

5. Do you think a simulation that we create to mimic fear and the unknown is a trap?  I explore these questions by beginning our analysis through the eyes of Rudolph Steiner and anthroposophy since Steiner took a mystical perspective on these questions by introducing the concepts of the Lucifer/Christ/Ahriman archetypes to deal with the forces that have guided our philosophy through human evolution from the past to well into the future. I also deal with some of these questions from the perspective of Buddhism and Christianity, with a touch of vedantic and Zoroastrian cosmology.

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2021 has already been an interesting year for me, and on this episode, I  discuss my month long hiatus, what lead to me taking time off, and how I  learned to surrender and reconnect with the divine.

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For our first episode of 2021, I bring you a discussion with John Brooks, religion educator and host of Hard To Believe, to discuss the history of messianic cults in Western society, and particularly its resurgence in the 21st century. We discuss the societal shifts that lead to such ideology, the rise of political and UFO cults, the need for people to find a savior, and so much more.

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As 2020 draws to a close, I felt like it was apropos to discuss the secret to keeping your new year resolutions. We often get bogged down by setting goals for ourselves, following some plan or program, and forget the answer to accomplishing our goals is simple - close your eyes, and listen. On this episode we dive into mindfulness, the concept of wuwei, and how to use active imagination to overcome the biggest obstacles to accomplishing our goals - ourselves.

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For this episode, I am joined by returning guest, Anthony Tyler, author of Dive Manual: Empirical Investigations of Mysticism, to discuss the nature of good and evil, particularly as to how we view these concepts in a Western context. Stemming from this discussion, we dive into archetypes, egregors, and manifesting reality and as an added bonus for patrons, there will be an additional episode discussing how this all relates to the UFO phenomenon.  You can check out Anthony's book on Amazon, or on his website, DiveMind.

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Today, we are diving deep into the life and purpose of the shaman and how it relates to modern culture and how the path of the shaman can lead to finding awakening and true gnosis through direct personal experience. To do this, I'll be doing some commentary on two lectures, one from from Terence McKenna and another from Alan Watts, we'll explore different aspects of the life and purpose of the shaman in various cultures and traditions, and what they can tell us about finding a "pathless path" of understanding.

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At this time of year, there is always a lot of discussion about the origins of Christmas and how the early church co-opted many pagan traditions to create what we now consider Christmas, but is this actually true? While there are certainly many cultures and traditions that inspired Christmas, you may be surprised to learn its true origins and how it was even banned as a holiday by certain Christian sects.

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Alex from The Natural Born Alchemist joins me for an episode a long time in the making as we discuss the role of psychedelics in shamanic traditions, the impact of the commercialization of ayahuasca ceremonies on indigenous cultures, the trickster archetype, acquiring wisdom from an amalgamation of traditions and so much more.

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It feels like the deeper I dive into philosophy and spirituality and the more I learn about various traditions through time and space, the more I want to simplify my own practice. On today's episode, I bring you a lecture from Terence McKenna on the core of shamanism and what makes it different from other traditions. Of course, there's going to be a psychedelic angle - this is McKenna after all.

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As we continue to explore the origins of myth and culture, let's take a look at the symbolism behind the deer and the stag. Sometimes referred to as the Sky Deer or Sun Deer, this animal is an integral part of shamanic traditions all across the world with close ties to both sun and moon worship, but also connected to the rituals of life, death, and resurrection and often marking the path to awakening or enlightenment in traditions as varied as Bon, Celt, Huichol, Scythian, and Shinto.

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