Archiving the Impossible
The podcast of the Sacred Inclusion Network
Within the halls of academia, the exploration of paranormal activity is for the most part off-limits to serious scientific inquiry. There are a variety of reasons for this, says religious scholar Jeffrey J. Kripal: the rise of behaviorism; the belief that the brain is in essence a biological computer; and the concurrent belief in physicalism - that there is nothing over and above the physical dimension of life. Kripal here explains why he’s devoted his professional life to taking this phenomenon seriously. He’s one of a small, but increasing number of scholars who believe it’s as...
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Bridging Together Indigenous and Modern Science
The podcast of the Sacred Inclusion Network
The sacred pipe, the Raven, and a peyote ritual were three touchstones of the path of Dr. Apela Colorado, traditional cultural practitioner and indigenous scientist of French and Oneida descent. In this podcast, she shares stories of how each of these elements formed an essential part of her journey, from growing up as a mixed-race child in rural western Wisconsin to founding in 1989 the Worldwide Indigenous Science Network (WISN). As she relates in this podcast and in her recently published book, Woman Between the Worlds, she as a teenager followed her grandfather’s advice and attended...
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When Spiritual Practice Gets Messy
The podcast of the Sacred Inclusion Network
Author, teacher and coach Raphael Cushnir learned from hard experience that the results of spiritual practice aren't always warm and fuzzy or particularly pleasurable. In his case, they included kriyas, or very intense involuntary movements, sometimes accompanied by rapid breathing and non-nonsensical speech. These were challenging enough to handle in private, but were especially problematic when occuring in public, such as in a meeting with colleagues. Cushnir, the author of six books and a leading voice in the world of emotional intelligence, here tells a story he previously kept private....
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"Matrix Man": An Interview with Whitley Strieber
The podcast of the Sacred Inclusion Network
In 1985, a strange incident occurred that would totally transform the life of Whitley Strieber, at the time best known as a writer of horror novels, including The Wolfen and The Hunger. As memorialized in his book, Communion and the movie of the same name, this was his abduction by a group he calls "the visitors." Communion and Strieber's subsequent work has gone a long way towards changing the world's perception of paranormal phenomena. In this podcast, Strieber describes the childhood incidents that foreshadowed his later Encounters of the Third Kind; the...
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Inner Work and the Path of Leadership
The podcast of the Sacred Inclusion Network
For Robert "Bob" Dunham, leadership is as much an inner game as an outer one. It begins with the leader identifying what h/she cares about, what h/she'll do to respond to that caring, and then engaging with others about shared meaning.
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A New Look at American Spirituality
The podcast of the Sacred Inclusion Network
According to the Fetzer Institute's recent study about spirituality in the United States, 86% of survey respondents considered themselves spiritual; about 66% aspire to be more spiritual; and people who identify as spiritual are more liable to be civilly engaged and get involved in politics and vote.
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Hack the Brain!
The podcast of the Sacred Inclusion Network
Contemporary neuroscience is an essential ingredient in our understanding of human development, including our capacity for greater happiness and wisdom. In this podcast, author and educator Jim Hickman explains how our evolving understanding of the brain's functioning gives credence to the value of certain forms of spiritual practice, how spiritual practice "sculpts the brain," and how we can use what we're learning about the brain to develop enhanced cognitive, emotional and spiritual skills.
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The Mystic, the Psychic, the Paranormal
The podcast of the Sacred Inclusion Network
JeffreyJ J. Kripal mission is to extend religious scholarship into the realm of the preternatural. A professor and Associate Dean of Humanities at Rice University, he's pioneer in broadening religious studies to include things like mysticism, the paranormal and near-death experiences.
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Into the Mystic
The podcast of the Sacred Inclusion Network
Former pharmacist Paul Corson explains how his transcendental experiences fundamentally changed his way of being in the world. He shares his born-again experience, the nature of miracles and, the relationship between spiritual substance and the material world.
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The Sara Minkara Story
The podcast of the Sacred Inclusion Network
Don't think of Sara Minkara as a blind person. Think of her as as person who is blind. Social activist, speaker, and a winner of multiple awards, the founder of the advocacy organization Empowerment for Integration (ETI) has never let used her absence of vision of an excuse or crutch. A Blind, Muslim, first-generation American, Sara Minkara has spent her life on a journey toward not only acceptance but also real empowerment—for herself and everyone she meets.
info_outlineHow do non-religious people – which now comprise nearly 30% of the American population – face the coming of death? That’s the subject of Dr. Christel Manning’s John Templeton Foundation-funded research project.
Although a fair amount is known about how religious people face the certainty of their demise, relatively little is known how non-religious people do. This category, which religious studies scholars refer to as "the nones," now comprises 27% of the population, up from about 7% in the 1980s.
Unlike their religious contemporaries, this group lacks the powerful set of stories, symbols and rituals that have for generations characterized the predominate American religious approach to dealing with dying. This group instead relies on different types of what Manning refers to as "maps of meaning." These might include the sense-making that comes from personal growth narratives gained from such processes such as engaging in a 12-step program or therapy after surviving a divorce.
In this podcast, Manning describes her own belief-system journey; what is currently known about how aging people in general approach the coming of death; and the new types of secular rituals that are emerging to help non-religious people become more comfortable with death and dying.
- Manning's faculty page
- Her research project's description
- Death Cafe website
- Diversity and Spirituality Network's site
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