For episode five of the pod, we are honored to welcome Jeffrey J. Kripal, J. Newton Rayzor Chair of Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University. In this career-spanning chat, we discuss Kripal’s Catholic upbringing, psychoanalysis, and the ecstatic experience in Calcutta that changed the direction of his career. From there, we touch on Jeff’s role at Esalen, historical mystics and paranormal powers, telepathic insects, and how the study of religion and popular culture come together in film, comedy, and comics.
Jeffrey J. Kripal holds the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in...
For our sixth episode, we welcome the spirit channel, teacher, and playwright Paul Selig. In this conversation, we explore Selig’s early career as a playwright and professor, his spiritual awakening during the Harmonic Convergence of 1987, how he cultivated his mediumship abilities, and the twelve books Selig has channeled from “the Guides.” On the way, we explore what happens to Selig in the channeling state and the metaphysics of mind that make these states possible.
Paul Selig is considered to be one of the foremost spiritual channels...
On the evening of November 30, 2023, the much-anticipated event celebrating the launch of Peripheries, the Center for the Study of World Religions’s (CSWR) annual literary and arts journal, unfolded with a blend of poetry, music, and art, drawing over 140 attendees both in-person and virtually. The air buzzed with excitement as guests, including Chef Daniella Malfi, a MRPL candidate and musician deeply inspired by the journal, expressed their eagerness to delve into the 6th edition.
On December 12, 2023, the CSWR hosted a special evening celebrating the life and writings of Enheduana, also En-hedu-Ana; (c. twenty-third century B.C.E.) who is the first named author in human history. Enheduana, an Akkadian princess and daughter of King Sargon I, was appointed high priestess of the moon god Nanna (Sîn) in the holy city of Ur. Her poems and hymns offer unique, first-hand accounts of her personal experiences of the goddess Inana, and provide insights into issues of gender, sexuality, theology, and goddess-worship in early Mesopotamia.... Read more about Video: Enheduanna: Voicing the Feminine Divine Presentation and Musical Performance
As part of the Psychedelics and the Future of Religion series, the Center for the Study of World Religions hosted scholars Drs. Christine Hauskeller and Peter Sjostedt-Hughes. Philosophers Prof. Hauskeller and Dr. Sjöstedt-Hughes present a multi-perspectival hermeneutics of psychedelic-occasioned experiences. They discuss the question: How do we make sense of the myriad of experiences and extraordinary states of being that psychedelics can evoke through lenses ground from the discipline of Philosophy?... Read more about Video: Psychedelics and Philosophy: Metaphysics and Meaning-Making in Psychedelia
As part of the Psychedelics and the Future of Religion series, the Center for the Study of World Religions hosted scholars Dr. Amanda Lucia, Professor of Religious Studies at the University of California-Riverside and Dr. Arun Saldanha, Professor in the Department of Geography, Environment, and Society at the University of Minnesota for a discussion on "Race and Exoticism in Global Psychedelic Spirituality".... Read more about Video: Psychedelics and the Future of Religion: Race and Exoticism in Global Psychedelic Spirituality
Center for the Study of World Religions hosted our first Gnoseologies series webinar of the academic year on October 18, 2023. Dr. Giovanna Parmigiani engaged in conversation with Dr. Angela Puca. In this discussion, Dr. Puca describes how she pioneers an innovative approach to academia by utilizing popular social media platforms, aiming to bridge the gap between esoteric academic scholarship and the wider community.... Read more about Video: Gnoseologies: Angela’s Symposium: YouTube, Esotericism, and the Academia
Center for the Study of World Religions hosted our annual List Lecture Speaker Adam Afterman. Dr. Adam Afterman is a Professor at the Department of Jewish Philosophy and Talmud at Tel Aviv University, specializing in Jewish philosophy and Kabbalah. He is a senior scholar and director of the John Paul II Center for Interreligious Dialogue and a senior fellow of the Kogod Center for the Renewal of Jewish Thought at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem.... Read more about List Lecture in Jewish Studies: Adam Afterman: Kabbalistic Neoplatonism: Divine Emanation and Mystical Integration
In the fourth annual List Lecture in Jewish Studies, Professor Steve Kepnes outlines a number of ways in which Jewish liturgy can be seen as "Theo-Drama" with specific analyses of the Kedushah, (Holiness) and Hallel (Praise) liturgies.
The Harvard Psychedelics Project at Harvard Divinity School, a student organization, presented this conference to gather faculty, researchers, and students from across Harvard University to explore their diverse, interdisciplinary, and promising research on psychedelics.... Read more about Explorations in Interdisciplinary Psychedelic Research Conference 2023
Center for the Study of World Religions hosted a talk by Raashid Goyal, who is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Tübingen, Germany. In his talk, Goyal proposes that the term a‘rāb signified “Arabs” and not “nomads,” and that the former entity were originally considered as apart from the nascent community of believers.
Professor Charles Stang, CSWR Director, delivered a lecture entitled, “The Call of the Ancient: Psychedelic Pasts and Futures” at the "Archives of the Impossible" Conference at Rice University on May 13, 2023.