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LF244 Anthony Peake – Mystery and Meaning in Time, Space, and Matter – Part Two

Anthony Peake discusses his book Time and The Rose Garden: Encountering the Magical in the Life and Works of J.B. Priestley. This is a two-part interview. Part one is here
Active from the early 1900s almost until his death in 1984, English playwright and novelist John Boynton Priestly – when considered at all – is generally regarded as an old fashioned, outmoded relic of a bygone literary age. However, as Anthony Peake shows, Priestly was often far ahead of his time as a thinker, and was an avid explorer of the great existential mysteries which have occupied some of the greatest minds for millennia. Peake draws out common themes in Priestley’s work which strongly suggest that time, space, and matter are not what they seem. In this strange, surreal and, for most people, largely unfamiliar view of reality, mind and matter are intimately intertwined, opening up a panorama of bewildering possibilities. Do past, present and future exist simultaneously in an eternal now? If so, is the past still accessible under certain circumstances, and under similar circumstances, can we foresee the events of the future?
The emergent picture is one of reality as a holistic system in which every part is interconnected with and accessible by every other part. Mind and matter anywhere in the Universe have the potential to affect mind and matter anywhere else in the Universe, instantly, and irrespective of location in either space or time. In this light, psychic phenomena such as precognition, telepathy, and telekinesis suddenly seem possible, and disturbing anomalies such as time-slips, deja vu, ghosts, and UFOs appear less bizarre. As cutting-edge physics continues to construct a scientific framework on which to hang such largely subjective experiences, Peake’s book calls for a reassessment of Priestley’s work and his contribution to our ongoing struggle to comprehend the unfathomable complexities of the cosmos.
Previous interviews with Anthony Peake:Opening the Doors of PerceptionThe Infinite MindfieldThe Labyrinth of Time
Bumper music:Cliff Martinez ‘Traffic OST’Klaus Schulze ‘Schwanensee 1’
Listen to more shows on Legalise Freedom Dot Com.

LF243 Anthony Peake – Mystery and Meaning in Time, Space, and Matter – Part One

Anthony Peake discusses his book Time and The Rose Garden: Encountering the Magical in the Life and Works of J.B. Priestley. This is a two-part interview. Part two is here
Active from the early 1900s almost until his death in 1984, English playwright and novelist John Boynton Priestly – when considered at all – is generally regarded as an old fashioned, outmoded relic of a bygone literary age. However, as Anthony Peake shows, Priestly was often far ahead of his time as a thinker, and was an avid explorer of the great existential mysteries which have occupied some of the greatest minds for millennia. Peake draws out common themes in Priestley’s work which strongly suggest that time, space, and matter are not what they seem. In this strange, surreal and, for most people, largely unfamiliar view of reality, mind and matter are intimately intertwined, opening up a panorama of bewildering possibilities. Do past, present and future exist simultaneously in an eternal now? If so, is the past still accessible under certain circumstances, and under similar circumstances, can we foresee the events of the future?
The emergent picture is one of reality as a holistic system in which every part is interconnected with and accessible by every other part. Mind and matter anywhere in the Universe have the potential to affect mind and matter anywhere else in the Universe, instantly, and irrespective of location in either space or time. In this light, psychic phenomena such as precognition, telepathy, and telekinesis suddenly seem possible, and disturbing anomalies such as time-slips, deja vu, ghosts, and UFOs appear less bizarre. As cutting-edge physics continues to construct a scientific framework on which to hang such largely subjective experiences, Peake’s book calls for a reassessment of Priestley’s work and his contribution to our ongoing struggle to comprehend the unfathomable complexities of the cosmos.
Previous interviews with Anthony Peake:Opening the Doors of PerceptionThe Infinite MindfieldThe Labyrinth of Time
Bumper music:Cliff Martinez ‘Traffic OST’Klaus Schulze ‘Zeitgeist’
Listen to more shows on Legalise Freedom Dot Com.

LF242 Antonin Tuynman – Machine / Mind / Mankind – The Future of Consciousness

Antonin Tuynman discusses his book Is Intelligence an Algorithm?, a wide-ranging exploration of the similarities and differences between human and artificial intelligence, and the potential for future advancement of both.
Although human and machine intelligence share certain similarities, there are profound differences which pose significant problems for the development of an artificial intelligence which can truly match or even exceed the capabilities of the human brain. Artificial intelligence seeks to emulate the strengths of human intelligence whilst eliminating its weaknesses. However, both human flaws and human genius stem from the same source and it seems that we cannot have one without the other. Among other things, this places the prospects for transhumanist hopes of merging man and machine in serious doubt.
There is also the question of whether artificial intelligence can ever truly understand the information it processes. Even the most powerful computers today are still essentially number crunchers with a limited capacity for pattern recognition. Meaning and purpose are alien to A.I., as are beliefs, emotions, desires, intuition, morals, and a host of other human characteristics and qualities. Consciousness is an unfathomable mystery even to us, so it seems that our attempts to replicate it in machines are doomed to failure.
However, whatever the apparent limitations of artificial intelligence, computers are increasingly being placed in charge of the infrastructure and systems on which modern life depends. This poses difficult questions about what might happen should A.I. somehow evolve on its own. The so-called ‘internet of things’ is linking computer power with sensors, robots, and other machines at a rate which may become exponential. This cybernetic matrix is being given the power to control, to regulate, to decide, to act. What if it calculates that we are the problem? Many human beings have already come to this conclusion. Man, machine, or something in between… To whom – or what – does the future belong?
Bumper music: Cliff Martinez ‘Traffic OST’Cwtch ‘What Do Robots Dream About?’
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LF241 Thomas Sheridan – The Secret Science of Sorcery – Part Two

Thomas Sheridan discusses his book Sorcery – The Invocation of Strangeness.
This is a two part interview. Part one is here.
In the modern world, we no longer have time for magic, dismissing it as mere mumbo-jumbo from a less enlightened age. One might say, in fact, that the magic has gone out of our lives. Most of us, however, misunderstand just what magic is – a mechanism for manipulating the world around us, which through suppression and since the ascent of the scientific era, has mostly faded from memory. Yet this force lives on and indeed is fundamental to the very fabric of the Universe.
Probing deeper, we find that most of that which makes up all that apparently exists – in the form of dark matter and dark energy – remains a mystery to modern mainstream science. We discover that conventional notions of time, space, and matter are illusions and that reality is subjective, malleable, and made up of myriad unseen, unknown levels. We learn that our beliefs and expectations, our desire and will, play a part in shaping reality and in doing so, we understand that we can manipulate the mechanics of the non-material toward our own ends. Materialist science may reject mind over matter, but it’s real enough. From particle physics to psychic powers, and from Donald Trump to 9/11, we roam the realms where science and sorcery are one and the same, and nothing or nowhere is quite what it seems.
Previous interviews with Thomas Sheridan:The Anvil of the PsycheConsciousness Parasites and Psychopathic SocietyRise of the Nazi Death CultThe Druid Code: Magic, Megaliths and Mythology
Bumper music:Cliff Martinez ‘Traffic OST’Tangerine Dream ‘Sorcerer’
Listen to more shows on Legalise Freedom Dot Com.

LF240 Thomas Sheridan – The Secret Science of Sorcery – Part One

Thomas Sheridan discusses his book Sorcery – The Invocation of Strangeness.
In the modern world, we no longer have time for magic, dismissing it as mere mumbo-jumbo from a less enlightened age. One might say, in fact, that the magic has gone out of our lives. Most of us, however, misunderstand just what magic is – a mechanism for manipulating the world around us, which through suppression and since the ascent of the scientific era, has mostly faded from memory. Yet this force lives on and indeed is fundamental to the very fabric of the Universe.
Probing deeper, we find that most of that which makes up all that apparently exists – in the form of dark matter and dark energy – remains a mystery to modern mainstream science. We discover that conventional notions of time, space, and matter are illusions and that reality is subjective, malleable, and made up of myriad unseen, unknown levels. We learn that our beliefs and expectations, our desire and will, play a part in shaping reality and in doing so, we understand that we can manipulate the mechanics of the non-material toward our own ends. Materialist science may reject mind over matter, but it’s real enough. From particle physics to psychic powers, and from Donald Trump to 9/11, we roam the realms where science and sorcery are one and the same, and nothing or nowhere is quite what it seems.
Previous interviews with Thomas Sheridan:The Anvil of the PsycheConsciousness Parasites and Psychopathic SocietyRise of the Nazi Death CultThe Druid Code: Magic, Megaliths and Mythology
Bumper music:Cliff Martinez ‘Traffic OST’Tangerine Dream ‘Sorcerer’
Listen to more shows on Legalise Freedom Dot Com.

LF239 Phil Escott – Why Eat Meat? The Case for Carnivores

Phil Escott discusses the possible benefits and potential challenges of a carnivore diet.
Although vegetarian and vegan diets have long been promoted as healthier alternatives to the carbohydrate and sugar saturated Western diet, in recent years much has been made of paleo, ketogenic, and similar low carb diets which attempt to emulate the eating patterns if not the entire lifestyle of our ancient ancestors. There is another alternative, however, now re-emerging, which takes some of those ideas a stage further – the complete, or near-complete, carnivore diet. Controversial and subject to some scathing criticism, it nonetheless offers options to those finding their current food regime unsatisfying, unhealthy or otherwise no longer acceptable.
But making or even contemplating such a choice can be challenging, caught between the mainstream medical dogma of ‘five a day’ and ‘healthy wholegrains’ and the sometimes savage attacks of vegan and veggie evangelists who believe that ‘meat is murder’, an atavistic throwback to be abandoned for the sake of the environmental, moral and spiritual well-being of the planet. The reality of the situation isn’t quite so black and white, but in an age characterised by polarised politics and destructively-divisive public debate, there’s almost always more heat than light when arguments erupt on emotive subjects. Attempting to cut through the confusion and needless complexity, Escott suggests some simple, straightforward strategies for those seeking lifestyle changes, starting with the larder.
Previous interviews with Phil Escott:Holistic Health and Natural HealingWhat is Awakening?
Bumper music: Cliff Martinez ‘Traffic OST’
Listen to more shows on Legalise Freedom Dot Com.

LF238 James Howard Kunstler – The Geography of Nowhere

James Howard Kunstler discusses his book The Geography of Nowhere – The Rise and Decline of America’s Man-Made Landscape.
First published in 1994 but sadly more relevant than ever, The Geography of Nowhere traces America’s evolution from a nation of Main Streets and coherent communities to a land where every place is like no place in particular, where the cities are dead zones, and the countryside is a wasteland of cartoon architecture and parking lots. In elegant and often hilarious prose, Kunstler depicts America’s evolution from the Pilgrim settlements to the modern car-centric suburb in all its ghastliness, adding up the huge economic, social, and spiritual costs that the U.S. is paying for its gas-guzzling lifestyle.
It is also a wake-up call for citizens to reinvent the places where we live and work, and to build communities that are once again worthy of our affection. Kunstler proposes that by reviving civic art and civic life, we will rediscover public virtue and a new vision of the common good. ‘œThe future’, he says, ‘œwill require us to build better places, or the future will belong to other people in other societies.’
The Geography of Nowhere has become a touchstone work in the decades since its initial publication, its incisive commentary giving voice to the feeling of millions of Americans that their nation’s suburban environments are ceasing to be credible human habitats. We examine what has changed during the intervening years and ask, in the shadow of looming political, social, economic, and environmental crises, whether anything worthwhile might be salvaged from the wreckage that America’s suburban sprawl must inevitably become.
Previous interview with James Howard Kunstler:Too Much Magic
Bumper music: Cliff Martinez ‘Traffic OST’John Foxx And The Maths ‘The Machine’Kraftwerk ‘Autobahn’
Listen to more shows on Legalise Freedom Dot Com.

LF237 Rupert Sheldrake – Science and Spiritual Practices

Biologist, parapsychological researcher, and author of The Science Delusion Rupert Sheldrake discusses his latest book Science and Spiritual Practices.
In this pioneering work Sheldrake shows how science helps validate seven practices on which all religions are built, and which are part of our common human heritage: meditation, gratitude, connecting with nature, relating to plants, rituals, singing and chanting, and pilgrimage and holy places. The effects of spiritual practices are now being investigated scientifically as never before, and many studies have shown that religious and spiritual practices generally make people happier and healthier.
Sheldrake summarizes the latest scientific research on what happens when we take part in these practices, and suggests ways to explore them for ourselves. For those who are religious, Science and Spiritual Practices will illuminate the evolutionary origins of their own traditions and give a new appreciation of their power. For the non-religious, it shows how the core practices of spirituality are accessible to all, even if they do not subscribe to a religious belief system. This is a book for anyone who suspects that in the drive towards radical secularism, something valuable has been left behind. By opening ourselves to the spiritual dimension we may find the strength to live more wholesome and fulfilling lives.
www.sheldrake.org
Bumper music: Cliff Martinez ‘Traffic OST’Remo Giazotto ‘Adagio in G Minor’
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LF236 Jim Elvidge – The Universe… Solved!

Jim Elvidge discusses his book The Universe – Solved! A New Provocative View of the True Nature of Reality.
Have you ever felt that there is something strange about the world we live in? Something about reality that isn’t quite random, as it should be? Something a little too organized, a little too planned, a little too programmed? What if reality isn’t really what you think it is? What if our world is just like one big video game? According to Elvidge, it’s actually not as far-fetched as it seems. Within 30 years, he maintains that we will be able to create virtual environments indistinguishable from our current reality. Within a few more decades, even physical realities will be manufactured. He also believes that we are marching toward an inevitable merge with machines and artificial intelligence. What’s more, we may even have already reached that point and it’s simply impossible to tell.
An expert in complex computational systems with over 20 years of research in cosmology, quantum mechanics, philosophy, and futurism, Elvidge presents a theory of reality so perfect and so powerful that it explains all known scientific and cultural anomalies. Why is the universe so perfectly designed to support life and matter? Why does life feel like it is accelerating? Why do people see UFOs? Is there life after death? The evidence is actually all around us, within us, and present in every decision we make.
Bumper music: Cliff Martinez ‘Traffic OST’Ian Boddy ‘The Uncertainty Principle’
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LF235 John Michael Greer – The Retro Future: Looking to the Past to Reinvent the Future

John Michael Greer discusses his book The Retro Future – Looking to the Past to Reinvent the Future.
To most people paying attention to the collision between industrial society and the hard limits of a finite planet, it’s clear that things are going very, very wrong. We no longer have unlimited time and resources to deal with the economic and environmental crises that define our future, and the options are limited to the tools we have on hand right now. The Retro Future is about one very powerful idea: deliberate technological regression.
Technological regression isn’t about ‘going back’ – it’s about using the past as a resource to meet the needs of the present, and maybe the future too. It starts from the recognition that older technologies generally use fewer resources and cost less than modern equivalents, and it embraces the heresy of technological choice – our ability to choose or refuse the technologies pushed by corporate interests. People are already ditching smartphones and going back to so-called ‘dumb phones’ and land lines, and e-book sales are declining while printed books rebound. Clear signs among many that blind faith in progress is faltering and opening up the possibility that the best way forward may well involve looking back.
Previous interviews with John Michael Greer:Beyond CollapseDark Age AmericaThe Truth About BrexitAfter ProgressThe Long DescentThe Ecotechnic FutureGreen WizardryDecline and Fall
Bumper music: Cliff Martinez ‘Traffic OST’John Foxx And The Maths ‘The Machine’
Listen to more shows on Legalise Freedom Dot Com.