Science Set Free Podcast

Dialogues on science, belief and spirituality between Rupert and philosopher Mark Vernon

• How to Pray (31 min)

We live in a secular age, it's said, although research also repeatedly suggests that people still pray. Four out of five Brits believe in the power of prayer, according to some research. Half of Americans pray every day, and nine out of ten have prayed for healing. It seems an entirely natural thing for humans to do. So what are we doing when we pray? In this Science Set Free podcast, Rupert Sheldrake and Mark Vernon explore the ways in which we pray - invocations, petitions, praise, thanksgivings. They explore how meditation fits in with prayer as part of the training in knowing what to ask for, and how prayer can be part of the slow process of aligning oneself with realities outside oneself. Prayer is not going away. It may be a kind of skill. Learning how to pray could be immensely valuable.

• Belief in Angels (35 min)

Recent studies suggest that a third of people in the UK believe in guardian angels, and nearly three quarters of Americans believe in such celestial beings. So what is angel belief a belief in? In this Science Set Free podcast, Rupert Sheldrake and Mark Vernon explore the modern sense of angelic presences by setting it alongside insights from medieval and ancient accounts of angel domains, which were extensively developed in both Christian and Islamic spiritual traditions. They ask about the ways in which angels might inhabit the physical cosmos and whether angels can be linked to modern insights about the human mind. Angels turn out to be a fascinating subject for conversation. They inspire all sorts of questions from the nature of matter to the truth of intuition.

• Original Participation (29 min)

How do you experience the cosmos? Did people in the past experience such participation differently? Do mystics enjoy a type of participation that eludes most people? In this latest Science Set Free podcast, Rupert Sheldrake and Mark Vernon discuss the notion of "original participation", a phrase coined by The Inkling Owen Barfield, though also known as participation mystique and the "porous self". They ask what might be made of this form of consciousness, how people try to engage with it today in experiences of ecstasy or by reading fiction, and what can be learnt from what seems to have been a commonplace sense of life for our ancestors, though can feel like fantasy or madness in an alienated age.

• Who Was Jesus? (28 min)

Jesus saves, it is often said. But what does that mean? Is it an objectionable notion, implying a bloodthirsty God? In the latest Science Set Free podcast, Rupert Sheldrake and Mark Vernon, explore ways in which the significance of Jesus has been interpreted. They ask whether the incarnation is a more important notion, how evolutionary ideas can help unpack the meaning of Christianity's central figure, and how the resurrection of Jesus can be understood. This historical figure, through the intensity of his life, has become a focus for a wide range of archetypal realities.

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The Andrus Sheldrake Dialogues

Dialogues between Episcopal Bishop of California Marc Andrus and Rupert.

• Reconnecting With Religious Roots (33 min)

Our ancestors’ lives from birth to death were shaped and structured by spiritual traditions but today many people are no longer connected to religious festivals or practices. This loss of religious faith in unprecedented, and in 2016 in the UK a survey showed that for the first time in history a majority of the population say they have no religion. In this dialogue Rupert and Marc discuss the possibility of reconnecting through festivals, pilgrimages and sacred places.

• Blessings (25 min)

What is a blessing? Is it just wishing someone well, or is there more to it? What's going on in a blessing? August, 2016.

• Is Christianity a victim of its own success?

European civilisation has been shaped in many ways by its Christian heritage. In the Middle Ages the Church started schools, universities and hospitals, and set up systems for caring for the sick and the poor. In the twentieth century, the hospice movement was started by Christians. Even the principles of democracy and human rights are rooted in the Christian doctrine that all people are equal before God. Yet these achievements are now widely seen as a triumph of secularism. What is going on?

• Christian Evolution (35 min)

Christianity as a continuously developing process: November, 2016.

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Other New Audios

• Why is there so much beauty in the world?

A talk Rupert gave at Hollyhock, on Cortes Island, British Columbia in August 2017. He explores the evolution of the sense of beauty in animals and humans, and comes to the conclusion that beauty seems to be inherent in nature and also in our minds.

• Psychedelic Experiences and Morphic Resonance

A talk Rupert gave at the Breaking Convention conference on June 30, 2017, at the University of Greenwich, London.

• Consciousness Research with Ralph Abraham

A conversation with Ralph Abraham in London in December 2015. We discuss recent consciousness research, and in particular a conference in India at the Institute of Advanced Studies in Bangalore, and a symposium in England on psychedelics, focussing on the visionary effects of DMT and ayahuasca.