Libsyn Directory

040 Daniel Thorson – Curiosity Meets Curiosity Meets Care

Release Date: 08/03/2020

074 Jeremy Lent – Welcome Each Moment as a Sacred Treasure

State of Emergence

Philosopher, pro-activist and author Jeremy Lent explores the underlying nature of our civilizational crises and how a greater understanding of the physical, biological, noetic & cultural interconnectedness of reality can inspire us into a new level of devotion to life itself. Jeremy’s book The Patterning Instinct traced patterns of thought that led human civilization to its sustainability crisis and his new book, The Web of Meaning offers an integrative worldview for a sustainable, flourishing future.

073 Fred LaMotte – From the Temple to the Wilderness of Now

State of Emergence

Poet, teacher and interfaith chaplain Fred LaMotte shares the inner processes and revelations from which his luminous poetry arises and explores a place beyond words and beliefs where there is simply presence and dwelling in the tender receptivity of the miracle of each moment. Fred is an author, a graduate of Yale and Princeton Theological Seminary, a director of Religious Studies and Community Service, a college instructor in World Religions, an interfaith chaplain and a meditation teacher.

072 Peter Russell – Letting Go of Nothing

State of Emergence

Futurist, teacher, and author Peter Russell explores how the exponential acceleration of complexity in our civilization may exceed our capacities as a species, and how a radical letting-go of our efforts to counteract that destiny can dissolve whatever gets in the way of us showing up fully, sanely, and gratefully. Peter is a leading thinker and writer on consciousness and spirituality, he is on the faculty of the Institute of Noetic Sciences, and his beautiful new book is Letting Go of Nothing.

071 Indra Adnan – The Politics of Waking Up

State of Emergence

Social psychotherapist and political entrepreneur Indra Adnan explores the politics and power dynamics of “waking up” to our meta-crisis and to one another. She shares her pioneering work as Founder of The Alternative UK creating “community agency networks” and considers how we can shift from narratives of trauma, disconnection and collapse into a radical certainty of our solutions. Indra has consulted to the World Economic Forum, Indian and Danish governments and NATO, amongst others. Her new book

070 David Sloan Wilson – Evolution's Key Practices and Design Principles

State of Emergence

In a new and unedited conversation with evolutionary biologist and social theorist David Sloan Wilson, Terry and David continue to explore evolution’s design principles and practices that can enable social experiments and cooperative communities to succeed and grow. They consider the virtues and exploitations of competition, multiple layers of competition, genetic vs. cultural steams of evolution, the role of symbols in evolving our cultural narratives, and the political economist Elinor Ostrom’s eight

069 David Sloan Wilson – A Human Superorganism: The Higher Potentials of Cooperation

State of Emergence

Evolutionary biologist & social theorist David Sloan Wilson clarifies the science of “multi-level selection” and how interpersonal cooperation and altruism are central to evolution. He shares the specific conditions that are required to nurture prosocial behavior in groups, as well as those that would qualify humans as a “superorganism” that prioritizes the wellbeing of the whole. David is the author of several books including a new novel, Atlas Hugged. He teaches at Binghamton University and is Pre

068 Stephen Jenkinson – Overwhelming Beauty — and Being OK, Dying

State of Emergence

Spontaneous poet, culture activist & shamanic bard Stephen Jenkinson explores the disarming ordeal of bearing witness to death up close, including Terry’s uncertain situation — probable lung cancer with no diagnosis, prognosis, or treatment plan. They wonder together about the overwhelming nature of beauty and the vividness that dying well can bring to living. Stephen co-founded Orphan Wisdom, has authored four books and is now recording with musician Gregory Hoskins, most recently DARK ROADS and ROUGH

Francis Weller (Rebroadcast) – Letting Grief Open Us to Grace

State of Emergence

A rebroadcast of a tender and deeply grounding conversation with psychotherapist and soul-activist Francis Weller, whose presence, wisdom and “soul obligation to register the rips and tears of the world” remains powerful medicine. He and Terry share their griefs and rediscover fierceness to protect all they love. Francis' work as a soul-centered psychotherapist synthesizes insights from psychology, anthropology, mythology, alchemy, and indigenous cultures in healing rituals for those working with grief.

067 Jonathan Rowson – Tasting the Pickle: A Personal Relationship with the Meta-Crisis

State of Emergence

Chess Grandmaster & philosopher Jonathan Rowson explores our global meta-crisis from new angles — as a crisis of civilizational purpose, a lack of a meaningful global ‘We’, and its various socio-emotional, epistemic, and spiritual features. Jonathan is a sensemaking entrepreneur and the Director of Perspectiva. He is an applied philosopher with degrees from Oxford, Harvard, and Bristol Universities, and the author of The Moves that Matter, Spiritualise, and the brilliant essay "Tasting the Pickle.”

067 Jonathan Rowson – Tasting the Pickle: A Personal Relationship with the Meta-Crisis

State of Emergence

More Episodes

Monastic, community leader, and host of the Emerge podcast Daniel Thorson joins Terry for a tender, open-hearted, and spacious inquiry into what really matters in this vulnerable and sacred collective moment.

Recently, Daniel became an overnight focus of media attention during the beginning of the pandemic after he emerged from a long silent retreat and tweeted, “I'm back from 75 days in silence. Did I miss anything?” His unique experience and insights were featured by the New York Times and many other media outlets from around the world. Interestingly, his retreat intensified his discernment and sensitivity. He became acutely aware that this newfound fame was a double-edged sword. So we discussed what was arising — especially how we often suffer intensified public attention (in spite of our cultural preoccupation with fame and status). So this is a conversation on the threshold — Daniel was recognizing that a 2-3 year journey into intellectual sensemaking on his Emerge podcast had “crystalized”, and his inquiry had led him to more dedicated monastic practice and curiosity about how to love and care for the people around him.

Daniel Thorson lives and works at the Monastic Academy in Vermont, which trains and cultivates wise, powerful, and loving leaders for social and environmental peace. When working at the influential podcast Buddhist Geeks he became fascinated by how public conversations can catalyze cultural transformation. Later, he created and became host of the podcast Emerge: Making Sense of What’s Next. In previous incarnations, Daniel was an organizer with Occupy Wall Street (in NYC); helped start Boulder Flood Relief in 2013; and founded a mindfulness education company.

Here are some of the questions we discuss in this episode:

What did 75 days in silence during a global pandemic illuminate for Daniel about his — and our collective — way forward?
How can grief and acceptance open us to a life of service and creativity?
Is it possible to discover a way of being that inadvertently heals our world? Are there shifts so essential and diffuse that they suddenly “solve everything at once?”
In a world awash in so much information, how can we serve clarity, adding only what’s most essential? What are our essential conversations?

For more information on Daniel Thorson and Terry Patten, check out the following resources:

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