MindMatters

According to the vast "afterlife" literature, those who have passed on sometimes send signs, or even communicate through dreams or visions. But what if the support that many living claim to experience from their loved ones isn't unidirectional? Can one, in fact, help those who have passed to come to greater peace and understanding at their soul’s new station in ‘life’? For those of us familiar with the ideas, exercises and philosophy of G.I. Gurdjieff, it may come as some surprise, and perhaps delight, to learn that Gurdjieff sought to address such a question - how to give “help for the deceased” - particularly for those who were once close to us.

This week on MindMatters we are once again joined by inimitable Gurdjieffian scholar and Maronite Priest Joseph Azize whose paper “Gurdjieff’s Help for the Deceased” delves into this subject. Join us as Joseph shares his research, insights and personal experience with some very little known exercises of Gurdjieff’s - and explains not only the means from which one could honor and assist our loved ones (should they require it), ‘essence to essence’ as it were - but also to help grow and develop one’s own self and Being.

Joseph's book: Gurdjieff
Joseph's blog: Under the Sun

One of western Christianity's best-kept secrets is its esoteric, mystical tradition. Starting with Jacob Boehme in the early 1600s, the theosophic branch is one of the most fascinating yet least well-known among the world's mystical traditions. Today on MindMatters we take inspiration from Arthur Versluis's two books, Theosophia and Wisdom's Children to make a first foray into the rich language and practice of the Christian theosophers. 

The cancel culture phenomenon has reared its rancorous and destructive head to such a degree that many holding non-mainstream points of view are made to think twice about sharing them in public. For cancel culture doesn’t  merely seek to respond to the differing perspectives with counterarguments in honest debate. It seeks to stifle the message completely and even, in the worst cases, annihilate the speaker himself. 

While we’re aware of how this pathological and ideological weaponization of rhetoric exists in contemporary times, the tools or modus operandi of cancel culture have actually been around for a good long time - especially when someone’s particular message challenges conventional wisdom - or, in more meaningful cases, questions the higher truths of the reality in which we’re immersed.

Join us this week on MindMatters as we discuss the drives some people have to become cancel culturists, what forces may be behind it, and the rhetorical patterns that always seem to be on the misguided side of an argument.

Harrison's article: https://ponerology.substack.com/p/cancel-culture-17th-century-style
Luc's substack: https://luctalks.substack.com/

Materiality. Spirituality. Pathology. Normal healthy behavior. All came to the fore recently in the story about the Canadian trans teacher who came to his class wearing gigantic prosthetic breasts complete with shirt-popping plastic nipples. What does this behavior say about him that he would chose to express himself in such a way? And what does his inner makeup have in common with the other ‘trans’ currently making societal waves these days - transhumanism?

Join us this week as we take a look at the trans trends that seem so at odds with higher values, the inclinations of which seem to serve our very worst potentialities as individuals. And moving on from the transhuman delusion, we contrast the flesh to the spirit, with one of Luc's latest writings as inspiration. 

Arthur Versluis is back to discuss his recent book 'Conversations in Apocalyptic Times' (a dialogue with Robert Faas), and his forthcoming 'American Gnosis.' Tune in for a wide-ranging discussion on our current spiritual malaise, the hidden theosophic tradition within Western Christianity, continuity of consciousness, the mystery of mysteries - the Holy Grail, and Arthur's new and upcoming courses with the Hieros Institute. Keep listening: Arthur also recommends a handful of mind-blowing books you may never have heard of.

MindMatters on odysee: https://odysee.com/@MindMatters:4

Today on MindMatters we delve into the mystery of mysteries, the unanswerable and inscrutable, the question of the ages: what is a woman? Many have tried, all have failed - until now.

With reference to Matt Walsh's documentary of the same name, an obscure work by Hervey Cleckley, and two of Luc's recent Substack articles, we provide a take you probably haven't heard anywhere else. So tune in.

Luc's first article: https://luctalks.substack.com/p/what-is-a-woman
Luc's second article: https://luctalks.substack.com/p/does-gender-exist
Harrison's substack: https://ponerology.substack.com/p/in-the-margins-sex-and-psychopathy
MindMatters on odysee: https://odysee.com/@MindMatters:4

Joshua Slocum is back! Not only is his Disaffected show bigger and better than ever, Josh has recently launched a new consulting service for all those poor, unfortunate souls dealing with high-conflict people in their lives. And he's back  to tell us all about it.

Today on MindMatters we ask the big questions: What do you do if someone close to you has a serious personality disorder? What are the possible links between borderline personality and homosexuality? And perhaps the biggest question of all: why do gay men like Madonna and Disney villainesses? So join us as explore these controversial topics and more, in style.

Disaffected on Rumble 
Josh's Substack 

Culture wars, political convulsions, social upheavals - you name it. If you're like us, we're always on the lookout for new voices giving their take on these strange times and just what the heck it is we're watching unfold in the West. There are a good many bloggers, pundits and observers out there, but...there can be only one. Enter John Carter (nom de plume), who writes "Postcards From Barsoom." A veteran of the academic world and all its woke garbage, John found himself transported to the fantastical realm called Substack, where he became a warrior battling various mythological beasts, alien armies and malevolent foes, armed solely with his mighty keyboard and nimble mind. 

In just a short time, John has shown himself to be a voice worth listening to. And speak with aplomb he does. His writings are insightful, challenging, creative, and playfully hilarious. And in our conversation today, nothing is off the table: science, psychology, spirituality, philosophy, politics, sci-fi - whatever ideas have the explanatory power to help describe and understand the world we’re facing. At a time when we’re being barraged by the weapons of ‘cognitive conquest’ nothing is important than communicating the ideas that could provide a good sword and shield, and a means with which to face the future.

Links

• John Carter's Substack
• Harrison's Substack (and Twitter)
• Luc's Substack (and Twitter)

Russell Gmirkin is back to talk about his blockbuster latest book: Plato’s Timaeus and the Biblical Creation Accounts: Cosmic Monotheism and Terrestrial Polytheism in the Primordial History. Join us as we discuss the book's mind-bending conclusions: Plato's Timaeus and Critias were sources for much of the biblical primordial history, from the creation of the cosmos and mortal creatures, to Eden, the Flood and the Nephilim. Genesis reflects Plato's cosmic monotheism and terrestrial polytheism, which devolved into Exodus-Judges' monolatry. Plato was also perhaps the first totalitarian political theorist. And his legacy lives on today. 

Today on MindMatters we discuss complexity scientist Peter Turchin's 2015 book, Ultrasociety: How 10,000 Years of War Made Humans the Greatest Cooperators on Earth. Turchin walks us through 10 millennia of human cultural evolution: from tribes and chiefdoms to the first states and empires, to our modern "ultrasocial" states. Contrary to pet theories and many ingenious hypotheses over the generations, the development of large, complex societies was not the result of agriculture or even ideas--the primer driver has been warfare: the technologies humans have developed to defend and conquer, the cooperation needed for both, and the cultural practices and values that developed and survived as a result. 

Critical Race Theory did not come ready-made out of a box. What we see and know today as CRT has, as its basis, several schools of pseudo-philosophical thought and areas of academic study - one built and twisted on another.  But these influences and the progression of these ideas can, for all their wrongheadedness, be traced and seen for what they are. Today on MindMatters we delve further into the ideological roots, conceptual frameworks, contemporary movements and ultimate end game of CRT as described in James Lindsay's new book Race Marxism: The Truth about Critical Race Theory and Praxis.

Other sources:
Andrew Lobaczewski's Political Ponerology
Arthur Versluis's New Inquisitions

Today on MindMatters we delve into the first chapters of James Lindsay's new book Race Marxism: The Truth about Critical Race Theory and Praxis. Contrary to what you hear on the news or Twitter, CRT is not simply a legal theory taught in law school. It is a full-blown activist movement. Even some who consider themselves proponents might be shocked to learn what its central tenets are, as described in the movements foundational academic texts. Lindsay puts it all together for us in one comprehensive volume.

Today on MindMatters we discuss three chapters from Iain McGilchrist's magnum opus, The Matter with Things. What is truth? What is science's role in discovering it? And what does a proper science of life look like? Join us as we plumb the depths of McGilchrist's bold vision on some of life's biggest questions.

Not since Nuremberg have political leaders and functionaries accused or guilty of crimes against humanity been accessible to psychologists for close study, specifically with regard to the presence of personality disorders like psychopathy. A new paper by Robert Hare and colleagues is the first of its kind to examine men convicted of crimes against humanity and test for psychopathy using the PCL-R, specifically, members of Pinochet's armed forces convicted of crimes like torture and murder. Today on MindMatters, Harrison reads portions of the paper and discusses its main conclusions and implications.

Sources:

• Hare et al.'s paper
• Political Ponerology

Today on MindMatters we are joined by Gordon M. Hahn, Russia analyst and author of essential books on Russia's revolution from above in the 90s, Russian jihadism, the history of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and his latest: The Russian Dilemma: Security, Vigilance, and Relations with the West from Ivan III to Putin. While many have observed the ebb and flow of Russian relations with the West - from periods of Westernization and openness, to anti-Western revivals of Russian traditionalism - Hahn's is the first systematic analysis of Russia's security culture and vigilance norm in the context of relations with the West. 

The West is an integral part of Russian identity, yet it has also been the source of invasion and political interference on and off for over 400 years. These threats have formed the Russian security vigilance norm: vigilance against possible military threats, fear of internal division and instability, and strong responses against foreign collusion with internal dissidents. To understand modern Russia, you have to understand its history - not just the pathological aberration of the Communist era. 

Many see through the destructive thoughts, emotions and policies of Leftist political dogma - thanks in large part to the actions and behaviors of their acolytes in academia, the media and other institutions. But few have as direct experience of it - and the wit and guts to call it out for what it is and share that understanding of it with stark clarity and aplomb - as today's guest. After being “softly” ejected from his position at New York University for his critical tweets of the deleterious SJW culture he was witnessing, Prof. Michael Rectenwald steeled himself to examine even further the phenomenon he was witnessing and became a victim of.

With his books Springtime For Snowflakes and Google Archipelago, and his prolific output of essays and articles, Michael not only documents his own personal journey through various intellectual currents and his own higher values, but also examines how these themes overlap with Big Digital and macro developments such as the now infamous and imminent Great Reset. This week on MindMatters we get to discuss some of the most important issues facing Western society and culture today with one of the strongest advocates for personal and political sanity to grace the stage.

An added bonus, we celebrate the release of the new edition of Dr. Andrew Lobaczewski's Political Ponerology, edited by MindMatters' Harrison Koehli, with a foreword by Prof. Rectenwald, in which he describes how ponerology helped explain his own experience of Leftist totalitarianism, and why the book's explanatory power is so compelling and crucial for better understanding our world.

Buy Michael's books
MindMatters on Youtube

Our understanding of each other, ourselves, the world, science and philosophy is in a sorry state. Ratiocentric, transactional, materialistic, and narcissistic assumptions dominate over a more coherent and understanding. We're living in the left hemisphere. But what is the alternative? And if the left-hemisphere view of the world is so often destructive, what place does it hold in the broader, right-hemisphere picture? And what does this imply about the nature of man, and of reality? Iain McGilchrist has written a remarkable book in which he answers these questions: The Matter with Things: Our Brains, Our Delusions and the Unmaking of the World. Today on MindMatters we are again joined by Lucien to introduce the book's many important insights.

Was Machiavelli an evil mastermind? A Svengali manipulator and corrupter of princes, worthy of the contemporary descriptor "Machiavellian"? Was he, rather, the first political scientist - an empiricist and pragmatist simply describing what he saw as the way things were? Or was he, simply, a politician? Today on MindMatters we discuss Machiavelli's short classic, The Prince. So join us as we try to make sense of the world of princely politics and the relevance of Machiavelli's work today. The times may have changed, but politics not so much - which suggests that perhaps Machiavelli was on to something.

Are the vaccine hesitant really deserving of being called irresponsible conspiracy-minded nationalists who are ignorant of science - or other denigrating and pejorative mainstream media characterizations? Is it possible that many who are wary of, or outright resistant to, getting the jab - actually have some very legitimate reasons for thinking and feeling in the ways that they do? Is there, in fact, a whole set of values and ‘moral tastebuds’ that a rather large part of the left-leaning population and political class are being dismissive of out of hand, and out of all proportion? And what facets of human psychology are at hand when others are seen as potential vectors of disease? In short, why are some vaccine hesitant, and why are others so keen to demonize them?

This week on MindMatters we look at an in-depth examination of these issues as they’re explored in Norman Doidge’s seminal essay "Needle Points". No stranger to the study of how people think, and why, Doidge, a psychiatrist, psychoanalyst and author of The Brain That Changes Itself and The Brain’s Way of Healing, examines the  foundations of vaccine-hesitancy, and why, far from being “fringe” or “paranoid”, they  have a legitimacy that simply cannot, and shouldn’t be, ignored by anyone taking a position on this highly contentious subject matter. He also discusses the "behavioral immune system" and what it can teach us about what is going on. Doidge so successfully outlines his needle points in his work that colleague Jordan Peterson encouraged him to produce a video narrating the text which may be watched here.

A PDF of the essay may be obtained here.

Many of our most basic assumptions about life, values and reality itself come to us from the thinking and writing of some of our best known philosophers. But what if some of those leading figures were only ever capable of understanding reality with what Ian McGilchirst might consider half a brain, and what Andrew M. Lobaczewski called a schizoidally impoverished worldview? How would we even know? What may be some of the signs to look for? And what are the implications for a largely unsuspecting society that eats, breathes and lives in such a psychological environment?

Today on MindMatters we discus the "schizo-autistic" worldview, its flaws, and how it has dominated the intellectual life of humanity for at least the past 200 years. From Descartes and Kant to Freud, Marx and Ryle, this style of thinking has its uses, but can never provide an adequate picture of reality and how to act within it. If that isn’t enough to burst your bubble of illusions, we also discuss Machiavelli and what he may actually have achieved in bringing to light the true intentions, workings and dynamics of the political class.