The Evolver

We’re learning a lot in the lab about higher consciousness, about the neuroscience and physiology of the states that lead to “enlightenment” — or at least what some people mean by that word. Dr. Gino Yu is a consciousness researcher at PolyU in Hong Kong, with 80 published academic papers to his credit. Gino and Ken discuss digital technologies to support awakening experiences, psychic phenomena, energy healing, the stages of awakening consciousness, what could be called “enlightenment,” and experiencing the true joy of being. As you’ll hear, Gino’s enthusiasm is infectious.

Dr. Gino Yu is world renowned for his work in consciousness, discovery, and leadership guided by his love of the arts. He has spoken at international events including TED, the Cannes Lion Festival, and the World Knowledge Forum. His main area of research focuses on the application of media technologies to cultivate creativity and promote enlightened consciousness. He also founded the Asia Consciousness Festival and has hosted Science of Consciousness Conferences around the world. 

Follow us on Instagram @TheEvolverPodcast: https://www.instagram.com/theevolverpodcast

The Evolver is sponsored by The Alchemist’s Kitchen, a botanical dispensary dedicated to the power of plants, where you can ask an herbalist to recommend the herbal remedy that’s most right for you. Visit https://www.thealchemistskitchen.com.

Theme music is “Measure by Measure,” courtesy of DJ Spooky, aka Paul D. Miller (@djspooky), from his album The Secret Song, and interstitial music are tracks by The Human Experience: "Sunu" from the album Soul Visions with Rising Appalachia, and Here for a Moment on the album Gone Gone Beyond. 

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Wanderlust has become one of the largest yoga communities in the world — certainly the largest in the West. This year they produced some 65 yoga festivals in 16 countries. Jeff Krasno, Wanderlust’s co-founder and executive chairman, talks with Ken about the importance of community in yoga practice, about how an activated yoga community could transform American political culture, and why the network of thousands of yoga studios could be home base for the change. They also explore Wanderlust’s roots and what led Jeff to take such a deep dive into the yoga world.  

Find out more about Jeff Krasno and Wanderlust here: http://wanderlust.com 

Follow us on Instagram @TheEvolverPodcast: https://www.instagram.com/theevolverpodcast

The Evolver is sponsored by The Alchemist’s Kitchen, a botanical dispensary dedicated to the power of plants, where you can ask an herbalist to recommend the herbal remedy that’s most right for you. Visit https://www.thealchemistskitchen.com.

Theme music is “Measure by Measure,” courtesy of DJ Spooky, aka Paul D. Miller (@djspooky), from his album The Secret Song, and interstitial music are tracks by The Human Experience: "Sunu" from the album Soul Visions with Rising Appalachia, and Here for a Moment on the album Gone Gone Beyond. 

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Could tech be designed to catalyze spiritual awakening? Transformative technology is an approach to innovation that aims to give people tools that can support human wellbeing, and, most interestingly, catalyze expanded states of consciousness. Gadgets today can help you learn to meditate. Could future devices help you transcend your ego?

There’s a burgeoning trans tech scene, much of it centered in the Bay Area around the Transformative Technology Lab at Sofia University co-founded by today’s guest, Nichol Bradford. She also leads the TransTech conference, now in it’s third year, that attracts hundreds of innovators and entrepreneurs to Palo Alto in early November. 

Nichol Bradford is the CEO of the Willow Group and Executive Director of the Transformative Technology Lab at Sofia University. Prior to becoming a leader in transformative technology, she was a senior executive in video games for major brands, including Activision Blizzard, Disney, and Vivendi Games. Nichol is a graduate of Singularity University and has an MBA from the Wharton School of Business. On today’s show, Nichol talks with Ken about the potential of digital technology to touch aspects of life that you rarely see mentioned in Wired or Engaget.

Find out more about Nichol Bradford here: http://http://nicholbradford.com/

Follow us on Instagram @TheEvolverPodcast: https://www.instagram.com/theevolverpodcast

The Evolver is sponsored by The Alchemist’s Kitchen, a botanical dispensary dedicated to the power of plants, where you can ask an herbalist to recommend the herbal remedy that’s most right for you. Visit https://www.thealchemistskitchen.com.

Theme music is “Measure by Measure,” courtesy of DJ Spooky, aka Paul D. Miller (@djspooky), from his album The Secret Song, and interstitial music are tracks by The Human Experience: "Sunu" from the album Soul Visions with Rising Appalachia, and Here for a Moment on the album Gone Gone Beyond. 

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How did yoga become so popular in America? One of the epicenters where the transformation took place was Jivamukti Yoga Center in New York's East Village. Ken talks with Jivamukti co-founder and legendary teacher Sharon Gannon about how she wedded rigorous asanas with Sanskrit chanting and meditation, presented it as a complete philosophy grounded in Eastern mysticism, and somehow, improbably, made yoga hip. People showed up in droves, as did celebrities like Madonna, Sting, Willem Defoe and Donna Karan. Today Jivamukti Yoga centers are in major cities around the world, and its influence is felt deeply. 

Sharon Gannon is a musician, an animal rights/vegan activist, and the author of several books, including her latest, The Magic Ten and Beyond: Daily Spiritual Practice for Greater Peace and Well-Being. In our conversation, she talks about what drew her to yoga, and what led to the creation of the Jivamukti method. 

Find out more about Sharon Gannon and Jivamukti here: http://www.jivamuktiyoga.com/

Follow us on Instagram @TheEvolverPodcast: https://www.instagram.com/theevolverpodcast

The Evolver is sponsored by The Alchemist’s Kitchen, a botanical dispensary dedicated to the power of plants, where you can ask an herbalist to recommend the herbal remedy that’s most right for you.

Theme music is “Measure by Measure,” courtesy of DJ Spooky, aka Paul D. Miller (@djspooky), from his album The Secret Song, and interstitial music are tracks by The Human Experience: "Sunu" from the album Soul Visions with Rising Appalachia, and Here for a Moment on the album Gone Gone Beyond. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“We now understand the neuro-biological mechanisms for changing consciousness at will,” explains Jamie Wheal, co-author of the bestseller Stealing Fire. Jamie reveals the passion behind the writing of Stealing Fire, which he describes as a “love letter to hidden prometheans and priests,” and the personal experiences that inspired his creation of the Flow Genome Project, where he is Executive Director.  

Jamie Wheal is a leading expert on the neuro-physiology of human performance. His work ranges from Fortune 500 companies like Cisco, Google, and Nike, to the U.S. Naval War College and Red Bull. He combines a background in expeditionary leadership, wilderness medicine and surf rescue, with over a decade advising high-growth companies on strategy, execution and leadership. At the Flow Genome Project, he leads a team of the world’s top scientists, athletes and artists dedicated to mapping the genome of the peak-performance state known as Flow. 

Find out more about Jamie Wheal here: http://www.flowgenomeproject.com/

Follow us on Instagram @TheEvolverPodcast: https://www.instagram.com/theevolverpodcast

The Evolver is sponsored by The Alchemist’s Kitchen, a botanical dispensary dedicated to the power of plants, where you can ask an herbalist to recommend the herbal remedy that’s most right for you.

Theme music is “Measure by Measure,” courtesy of DJ Spooky, aka Paul D. Miller (@djspooky), from his album The Secret Song, and interstitial music is “Sunu,” by The Human Experience and Rising Appalachia, from their album “Soul Visions.”

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Could ayahuasca replace your therapist? Psychologist Rachel Harris, PhD, has 35 years in private practice and is an award winning academic researcher. But the most profound emotional healing of her life came from ayahuasca ceremonies. Rachel talks with Ken about her own healing journey, and how it led to the groundbreaking research presented in her book “Listening to Ayahuasca: New Hope for Depression, Addiction, PTSD, and Anxiety.” 

Rachel was in the 1968 Esalen Institute Residential Program which focused on body work and meditation. From there she went on to become a psychologist and worked in both research and private psychotherapy practice. Rachel received a National Institutes of Health New Investigator's Award, published more than forty scientific studies in peer-reviewed journals, and worked as a psychological consultant to Fortune 500 companies. Rachel lives on an island off the coast of Maine and spends winters in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Find out more about Rachel Harris here: http://www.listeningtoayahuasca.com

Follow us on Instagram @TheEvolverPodcast. [https://www.instagram.com/theevolverpodcast]

The Evolver is sponsored by The Alchemist’s Kitchen [http://www.thealchemistskitchen.com/], a botanical dispensary dedicated to the power of plants, where you can ask an herbalist to recommend the herbal remedy that’s most right for you.

Theme music is “Measure by Measure,” courtesy of DJ Spooky, aka Paul D. Miller (@djspooky), from his album The Secret Song, and interstitial music is “Sunu,” by The Human Experience and Rising Appalachia, from their album “Soul Visions.”

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recently we’ve been hearing more about “empaths”, those who pick up and internalize the feelings, the emotions, of other people. That’s how David Sauvage describes his own experience. We discuss how David discovered that much of the pain he carried was not his own, and how he learned to protect himself by creating safe boundaries, and  at times consciously processes those emotions to release them. As he came to understand his capabilities, David turned his vulnerability into a power to help heal others — through one-on-one readings, teaching, and through live performances. David has been profiled in the Guardian and on Vice TV.

Find more about David Sauvage here: https://www.empath.nyc/

Follow us on Instagram @ The Evolver Podcast.

The Evolver is sponsored by The Alchemist’s Kitchen, a botanical dispensary dedicated to the power of plants, where you can ask an herbalist to recommend the herbal remedy that’s most right for you.

Theme music is “Measure by Measure,” courtesy of DJ Spooky, aka Paul D. Miller (@djspooky), from his album The Secret Song, and interstitial music is “Sunu,” by The Human Experience and Rising Appalachia, from their album “Soul Visions.”

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do you get present, truly in the moment? The comedian Duncan Trussell (@duncantrussell) talks with humor and insight with Ken about his meditation practice, his connection to his guru, his time with Ram Dass, the period when he thought his stand up wasn’t funny, and the immeasurable benefits of mala beads. He’s the host of the popular podcast, The Duncan Trussell Family Hour.

Follow us on Instagram at The Evolver Podcast.

The Evolver is sponsored by The Alchemist’s Kitchen, a botanical dispensary dedicated to the power of plants, where you can ask an herbalist to recommend the herbal remedy that’s most right for you.

Theme music is “Measure by Measure,” courtesy of DJ Spooky, aka Paul D. Miller (@djspooky), from his album The Secret Song, and interstitial music is “Sunu,” by The Human Experience and Rising Appalachia, from their album “Soul Visions.”

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Edd Edwards is a master energy medicine practitioner in the Cherokee lineage, whose capabilities have been been the subject of in-depth study by researchers from UVA, the University of Michigan, and the Rhine Research Center — and inspired the popular John Travolta movie, Phenomenon. Edd has the ability to generate and channel energy at a level that few others are capable of, which the researchers have confirmed. He attributes his capabilities to being trained from infancy by his grandmother, who comes from a line of Cherokee hands-on healers dating back hundreds of years, or more. In this lively and candid conversation, Ken talks with Edd about how he developed his capabilities, and why they can be taught to others. 

To learn more about Energy Edd Edwards, please visit: https://www.eddedwards.com. 

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.