Navigating Consciousness with Rupert Sheldrake

Rupert Sheldrake

A wide ranging discussion of consciousness at the intersection of science and spirituality with Rupert Sheldrake, PhD, a biologist and author best known for his hypothesis of morphic resonance. At Cambridge University Rupert worked in developmental biology as a Fellow of Clare College. He was Principal Plant Physiologist at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics in Hyderabad, India. From 2005 to 2010 he was Director of the Perrott-Warrick project for research on unexplained human and animal abilities, funded by Trinity College, Cambridge.

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127 episodes
Updated June 28

Episodes127

Newest first

Jun 12, 2022 · 18 min
The Holy Trinity
A sermon given on Trinity Sunday, 2019 at St Thomas' Church, Finsbury Park, London.
Jun 7, 2022 · 1 hr 19 min
Re-Enchanting Nature by Learning From Animals
This was the opening keynote talk at the 2021 Mystics and Scientists Conference, hosted by David Lorimer and presented by the Scientific and Medical Network (https://scientificandmedical.net). The entire conference is available on their channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLHvmUdBmYuqOh0wtGrS73A
May 31, 2022 · 59 min
The Evolution of Telepathy: Cambridge University
For five years Rupert was the Director of the Perrott-Warrick Project, administered by Trinity College, Cambridge, for research on unexplained human and animal abilities. Recorded at Cambridge University on February 9th, 2011. Field observations have suggested that wolves and other wild animals may communicate telepathically over many miles, and surveys have shown that about 50% of dog owners and about 30% of cat owners believe that their pets may respond to their thoughts or silent commands. Among humans, apparent telepathy is most commonly reported between members of families and between close friends and colleagues. Experimental investigations of telepathy in animals and people suggest that telepathy may be a natural means of communication between members of animal and human groups. Human telepathy is still evolving in the context of modern technologies, including the internet, emails, SMS messages and telephones. https://www.sheldrake.org/about-rupert-sheldrake/the-perrott-warrick-fund
May 24, 2022 · 59 min
Finding God Again: The Rise of Anatheism
Dartington Great Hall, Devon, January 28, 2015. Rupert talks about his own spiritual journey, and about the contemporary cultural, intellectual and social movements leading to a rediscovery of God.
May 17, 2022 · 1 hr 21 min
Memory, Morphic Resonance and the Collective Unconscious
Rupert talks about archetypes, Jung’s collective unconscious, ancient Greek and Jewish philosophies about reality, Sir Francis Bacon, mechanistic science, progressivist views of Darwin, big bang cosmology, multiverse theory, the Hindu and Buddhist world views, and how they all relate to the idea of memory in nature. Recorded at the UK Council for Psychotherapy, Nov 26th, 2014.
May 12, 2022 · 5 min
The Inextricable Roles of Form and Energy
What do you believe the memory is comprised of in holy places? Is it energy or something else? Everything in nature, according to modern science, depends on form and energy. If you have form without energy, its virtual, it doesn't do anything. Without the flow of breath, you can't have speech. Similarly, without energy, forms are static, lifeless, inert. So it is with holy places; through our senses we readily experience the forms, textures, scents and sounds of a place. But many also experience the energy there; the spiritual and emotional states of those who came before. Without this energy, without resonating with the past, what we experience is merely data. Recorded on February the 16th 2022, at the Meditatio Centre London, by I AM Sound Academy: https://www.iamsoundacademy.com
May 10, 2022 · 1 hr 9 min
Holy Places
All cultures, as far as I know, have holy places. Our ancestors were hunter-gatherers, by their very nature nomadic, and seem to have carried out ceremonies at holy places like Lascaux and Chauvet caves. When people settled in the Neolithic, starting twelve thousand years ago, they were building ceremonial structures, including standing stones and stone circles. Some were built before settled agriculture began. Even in atheist regimes where there's an explicit denial of the sacred and of the holy, the need for holy places persists, like the mausoleum of Lenin in Red Square, in Moscow, to which people went on pilgrimages, rather in the same way Christians visit the relics of saints. Recorded on February the 16th 2022, at the Meditatio Centre London: https://meditatiocentrelondon.org Created by I AM Sound Academy: https://www.iamsoundacademy.com
May 1, 2022 · 42 min
Flowers: The 2015 Vegetable Sermon in Shoreditch Parish Church (sorry for audio quality)
Thomas Fairchild was a pioneering plant breeder who lived in Shoreditch, in the East End of London. When he died in 1729, he left a legacy for a "Vegetable Sermon" to be preached each year in Shoreditch Parish Church in the week following Pentecost on "the wonderful works of God in creation". Recorded on May 15, 2015. Sorry for the poor quality of this recording. It was improved with de-essing and reverb noise reduction, but only so much could be accomplished.
Apr 26, 2022 · 45 min
Is the Sun Conscious?
Rupert speculates on the possibility that stars are conscious, given not only the complexity and dynamism of their electro-magnetic activity, but also that all traditional cultures have taken it for granted that the Sun is alive and intelligent. Recorded at the Electric Universe conference in 2018 on July 7th, Bath, UK. Rupert’s technical paper on the consciousness of the sun was published on April 6, 2021 in the Journal of Consciousness Studies. https://www.sheldrake.org/files/pdfs/papers/Is_the_Sun_Conscious.pdf
Apr 19, 2022 · 10 min
Of Philosopher Kings and Theocracies | Are Enlightened People Better Judges of Reality?
A question to Rupert from Ali-Reza Omidvar of the Oxford Psychedelic Society; March, 2022. https://oxpsysoc.org/ Don't you think there is a kind of a philosophical principle: that a community of people who have had more states of consciousness are a more qualified community to give judgments on reality? Not to say that their judgment is right and accurate, but just to say that, for example, the community of Hindu mystics and shamans. That community is better qualified, because they have experienced a wider variety of states of consciousness than the community of materialists, who may have not had those experiences.
Apr 14, 2022 · 7 min
Easter, Passover and the Archetype of Blood Sacrifice
Easter and Passover are closely linked festivals , and this year they overlap, with Passover beginning on Good Friday, April 14. Both are rooted in ancient traditions of blood sacrifice, which in turn has its evolutionary roots in the behaviour of predators; when they have killed one prey animal and have enough to eat, the others are safe for a while. The death of one protects the others. These archetypes run very deep in many religions and cultures. They are still with us today in secular societies, on an unprecedented scale: in the US alone, about 25 million vertebrate animals are sacrificed every year on the altar of science in biomedical research. This is a good time to reflect on how much we owe to those who have died for our sakes, and the Easter archetype of death and rebirth.
Apr 12, 2022 · 7 min
Reason for Hope Beyond Materialism | How can we ease the trauma that we see all over the world?
A question to Rupert from the Oxford Psychedelic Society; March, 2022. Hosted by Ali-Reza Omidvar. https://oxpsysoc.org/ You mentioned Terence McKenna. He said about the current situation of our society, and about our point in history as a whole, that we are in a state of transition. He compared it to the process of birth, which you mentioned in your talk (Episode 35:Expanding Consciousness with Psychedelics). So if you as humanity are in the birth canal, how can we ease the pains and traumas that we see all over the world? And what can we do to not lose faith that there is something beyond?
Apr 6, 2022 · 1 hr 18 min
Expanding Consciousness with Psychedelics
This talk was given to the Oxford Psychedelic Society in March, 2022 and was hosted by Ali-Reza Omidvar. https://oxpsysoc.org/
Mar 29, 2022 · 53 min
David Abram, What is Magic?
Rupert and David Abram probe the meaning and manifestation of magic. Recorded at Hollyhock on Cortes Island, Canada, on August 6, 2015. David Abram, PhD, is a cultural ecologist, founder of The Alliance for Wild Ethics and award winning author of Becoming Animal: An Earthly Cosmology, and The Spell of the Sensuous: Perception and Language in a More-than-Human World. An accomplished storyteller and sleight-of-hand magician David has lived and traded magic with indigenous sorcerers in Indonesia, Nepal, and the Americas.
Mar 22, 2022 · 2 min
Microcast: Has Culture Lost Sight of the Sublime?
This excerpt is from a panel discussion at IAI’s festival, HowTheLightGetsIn, entitled _Trash, trends and the transcendent_ recorded 21st February 2022. What really is the sublime and where can we find it in the 21st century? Watch the full discussion on IAI TV: https://iai.tv/video/trash-trends-and-the-transcendent?_auid=2020
Mar 15, 2022 · 39 min
Why is there so much beauty in the world?
Dr Sheldrake explores the evolution of the sense of beauty in animals and humans, how beauty seems to be inherent in nature, arising in resonance with animal minds both great and small. Recorded Hollyhock on Cortes Island, British Columbia, August 2017.
Mar 8, 2022 · 14 min
What Science Can't Explain, a Debate with Michael Brooks
A discussion between Rupert and Michael Brooks, consultant for the New Scientist and author of “13 Things That Don't Make Sense”. Chair: Vivienne Parry, science broadcaster and author of “The Truth About Hormones” at the Institute for Contemporary Arts, London on Jan 27 2009.
Mar 1, 2022 · 1 hr 4 min
Seven Myths about Religion, with Jonas Atlas
Rupert and theologian Jonas Atlas take a deep dive into the seven secular myths about religion. The article by Atlas that sparked this conversation can be found here: https://bit.ly/3fRwnw4 Recorded July 20th, 2020.
Feb 23, 2022 · 1 hr 26 min
Scopaesthesia and its Implications
A talk about research on the sense of being stared at, given to the Society for Psychical Research https://www.spr.ac.uk on January 31, 2022. Rupert outlines the natural history of this phenomenon, experienced by more than 90% of the population, including children, which is also widespread among non-human animals. He discusses its implications for theories of vision and the ideas about the extended mind, the mind beyond the brain. He shows how major unanswered questions could be answered through further research, much of which could be done quite simply and cheaply.
Feb 17, 2022 · 7 min
Morphic Fields, Social Groups and Family Constellations
Social groups as morphic fields have a kind of built-in memory. In human families the family has a kind of field and the field of the family has patterns and habits within it, and this is most graphically illustrated by a form of psychotherapy called systemic family constellations, pioneered by the German psychologist Bert Hellinger. An excerpt from a talk at the 2012 IONS Conference in San Francisco. https://noetic.org Video of the talk: https://youtu.be/ty5lz9mVezU