579. Conspirituality, with Derek Beres, Matthew Remski, and Julian Walker

Posted on December 12, 2020 by Rick Archer

A conversation with the hosts of the Conspirituality Podcast website. As they describe it, their podcast is…

A weekly study of converging right-wing conspiracy theories and faux-progressive wellness utopianism.

At best, the conspirituality movement attacks public health efforts in times of crisis. At worst, it fronts and recruits for the fever-dream of QAnon.

As the alt-right and New Age horseshoe toward each other in a blur of disinformation, clear discourse and good intentions get smothered. Charismatic influencers exploit their followers by co-opting conspiracy theories on a spectrum of intensity ranging from vaccines to child trafficking. In the process, spiritual beliefs that have nurtured creativity and meaning are transforming into memes of a quickly-globalizing paranoia.

Conspirituality Podcast attempts to bring understanding to this landscape. A journalist, a cult researcher, and a philosophical skeptic discuss the stories, cognitive dissonances, and cultic dynamics tearing through the yoga, wellness, and new spirituality worlds. Mainstream outlets have noticed the problem. We crowd-source, research, analyze, and dream answers to it.

The term “conspirituality” first appeared in 2009 as the name of a Vancouver rap group that unironically dropped conspiracy keywords into beats calling for political awakening. In 2011, Charlotte Ward and David Voas used the term academically to analyze the growing overlap between the paranoid conspiracism of right-wingers and the New Age’s yearning for spiritual transformation.

Derek Beres is a multi-faceted author, media expert, and movement instructor based in Los Angeles.

He is the Head of Content Marketing and Community at Centered, as well as a columnist for Big Think and Psychedelic Spotlight.

One-half of EarthRise SoundSystem, he also served as music supervisor for the breakthrough documentary, DMT: The Spirit Molecule.

He is a co-host of the Conspirituality podcast. His new book, Hero’s Dose: The Case for Psychedelics in Ritual and Therapy, is out now.

Matthew Remski is a cult survivor and researcher. His 2019 book, Practice And All Is Coming: Abuse, Cult Dynamics, And Healing In Yoga And Beyond, is the first systematic analysis of pervasive cultism in the modern yoga world.

He researches and writes on abuse in spiritual movements here, as well as for publications like GEN by Medium and The Walrus. His current research is pivoting to look at cultic dynamics in conspirituality and eco-justice movements.

He lives in Toronto with his partner and their two sons.

Julian Walker grew up in Zimbabwe and South Africa and has lived in LA since 1990. He is fascinated with the intersections of yoga/meditation, psychology, science, and culture. He has written extensively on cults and gurus, spiritual bypass and quantum woo in New Age circles, trauma and the body, and neuroscience and somatic psychology informing the practice and teaching of yoga. His writing can be found on Elephant Journal, Medium, and in the 2011 book, 21st Century Yoga: Culture, Politics, and Practice. He teaches yoga and runs teacher-training programs in and around LA. Julian is also a bodyworker and the ecstatic dance DJ/facilitator for his Dance Tribe events.

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group.

Transcript of this interview.

Interview recorded December 5, 2020.

Video and audio below. Audio also available as a Podcast.

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578. Ingrid Honkala

Posted on December 6, 2020 by Rick Archer

Ingrid Honkala, Ph.D., was born in Bogota, Colombia, where she grew up with her parents and three sisters. From the moment she drowned in a tank of cold water at the age of nearly three, Ingrid was aware of other dimensions of life than those most of us normally experience. She was also gifted with the wise input of “Beings of Light” who gave her invaluable insights and assistance as she faced the challenges of growing up, falling in love, and finding her professional destiny as a research scientist and oceanographer. Despite many hardships, she accomplished her dreams, becoming not just a successful marine scientist, world traveler, and mom, but also a mentor and a giver of light.

Through her compelling life adventure that journeys from her native Colombia to Europe and her eventual home in the United States — and from a deadly war zone to underwater explorations and a NASA research center — Ingrid reveals how any human experience can be illumined from within. If we are willing to pay attention to subtle signals, take our intuition seriously, and forgive our most challenging difficulties, anyone can experience a brightly guided life. Throughout her life, Ingrid has been guided to meet and help many people on their journey to become aware of a deeper reality and reconnect with their inner wisdom.

In her autobiography, A Brightly Guided Life: How a Scientist Learned to Hear her Inner Wisdom, Ingrid reveals how after having her Near Death Experience, the first glimpses of heaven were revealed to her and the doors that allow her to communicate with Beings of Light were opened. Since then a myriad of experiences that many could call mystical and perhaps impossible have crossed her path. However, the Beings of Light have made it clear to her that she is not here to convince anyone about anything but to be a giver of Light. To accomplish this purpose, she has been guided through an amazing journey of unimaginable challenges, awakenings, and miracles where along the way she became the vehicle to help others to rise up from some of the deepest states of hopelessness and bring them back to life. For all this she is eternally grateful and committed to continue awakening, growing, and serving the Light.

Website: ingridhonkala.com

Books and video:

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group.

Transcript of this interview.

Interview recorded November 29, 2020.

Video and audio below. Audio also available as a Podcast.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

577. Rick Hanson, 2nd Interview

Posted on November 25, 2020 by Rick Archer

This interview was recorded on October 9, 2020, as part of an online conference on “Living and Dying” offered by the Science and Nonduality Conference. The conference has finished, but you may sign up to access all of its content.

Rick Hanson, Ph.D. is a psychologist, Senior Fellow of UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, and New York Times best-selling author. His free weekly newsletter has 180,000 subscribers and his online programs have scholarships available for those with financial needs.

His books have been published in 29 languages with 900,000 copies in English alone and include:

He’s lectured at NASA, Google, Oxford, and Harvard, and taught in meditation centers worldwide. An expert on positive neuroplasticity, his work has been featured on the BBC, CBS, NPR, and other major media. He began meditating in 1974 and is the founder of the Wellspring Institute for Neuroscience and Contemplative Wisdom. He loves wilderness and taking a break from emails.

Website: rickhanson.net

Additional books and other media:

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group.

Transcript of this interview.

First BatGap interview with Rick Hanson.

Video and audio below. Audio also available as a Podcast.