The Integral Stage Expanded Universe (ISEU)

For the 50th (?) episode of the Integral Stage's Author Series, Layman meets with novelist and linguistic philosopher, Lisa Maroski, to explore her ideas around the enactive power of language and speech, and her experiments in finding new forms of language to more deeply embody liminal and nondual sensibilities. From the book's description:In Embracing Paradox, Evolving Language: Expressin...

A MONK, A SHAMAN, AND A SCIENTIST WALK INTO A BAR AT THE EDGE OF THE APOCALYPSE... Layman sits down with meditation and planetary dharma teacher, John Churchill, to enjoy a Double Venti Alchemist's Elixir and a rich, wide-ranging conversation exploring the shape of emergent integrative spiritualities at the edge of the Apocalypse. Born in London, Dr. Churchill's interest in psycho-spiritua...

My upcoming Parallax course Integral Theory for Idiots starts July 6th. I thought it would be intriguing to compare the audio of a course description that I wrote and the alternative descriptions put together by three different free online AIs -- Claude, Deepseek & Perplexity. The tone they favor and the particular elements they "chose" to emphasize are very interesting...

The Liminal Café is where the locals of the liminal web gather for coffee and conversation. In this new series, Layman chats with the people and patrons who, for some curious reason, find themselves drawn to this sketchy corner of the internet...NAGARJUNA, DELEUZE, AND WHITEHEAD ADVANCED RHIZOMATICALLY INTO A BARFor episode 11, Layman joins Kazi Adi Shakti in the Amaravathi branch of the Liminal C...

It might be totally appropriate, and even wise, to fear integral postmetaphysics. But in this inaugural episode of our new Integral Stage series, Who's Afraid of Integral Postmetaphysics?, Layman and Alexander Love will try to convince you otherwise...Alexander Love is an acupuncturist, life coach, and craniosacral therapist. With gentleness, lightness and depth, he invites us to listen to the...

For the forty-seventh episode of the Integral Stage Author Series, Layman meets with Dr. Nava Israel to discuss her "Cone" model, which describes a common pattern through which often well-meaning solutions to problems end up transforming into dogmatic systems that rob individuals of their freedoms and worsen their problems. Layman invites Dr. Nava to unpack the inner workings of the systems that o...

Layman continues the discussion with Marc Gafni and Zak Stein about their jointly authored book, First Principles and First Values , this time focusing on some of the core philosophical arguments. They are publishing the book pseudonymously under the name, David J. Temple.

For episode 10, Layman sits down again with Ēlen Awalom, this time to talk about unhealthy and healthy gender models, and the roles of attachment, trauma, and development in contemporary gender relations. Ēlen Awalom is an Eritrean-American Somatic Experiencing practitioner, writer, entrepreneur and cultural commentator. She lives and works in DC where she is the founder of The Almaz Institute, an...

In this special episode, Layman meets with human woman, Jill Nephew, to explore the intricacies of projection and shadow, image and truth, public identities and dopplegangers, in our highly mediated, complexly entangled, and increasingly manipulable digital information spaces. Jill Nephew is the founder of Inqwire, PBC a company on a mission to help the world make sense. The Inqwire technology is...

For the thirteenth episode of The Soul of AI, Layman sits down with shaman and spiritual teacher, Evelyn Paul, to explore a shamanic take on the emergence and nature of AI, and to discuss some of her shamanic journeys that have shaped her insights into the topic.

For episode 9, Layman sits down with Alexander Love for a rich conversation about his life and healing journey, love and forgiveness, creativity, integral and Taoist thought, and a book he is working on on what he calls the five evolutionary gestures. Alexander Love is an acupuncturist, life coach, and craniosacral therapist. With gentleness, lightness and depth, he invites us to listen to the voi...

For the forty-sixth episode of the Integral Stage Author Series, Layman sits down to talk with John H. Buchanan about his new autobiographical and philosophical meditation on process thought, death, psychedelics, and the journey from addiction to sobriety and meaningful living. John H. Buchanan received his master’s degree in humanistic/transpersonal psychology from West Georgia College and his do...

Layman meets with Alyssa Allegretti, to talk about her Substack-published book in progress, The Only Constant: How to Stay (Somewhat) Stable & Organized During Times of Transition & Grief. Dubbing her the Meta-Marie Kondo, Layman invites Alyssa to share her insights into the art of internal housekeeping, and the transformational significance of everyday tasks. http://www.whatisemerging.com...

Our research into the philosophical premises of whatever is going under the names of "Cosmo-Erotic Humanism" and "David J. Temple" continues with a first pass into Tears -- a book that uses the Jewish Rite of Rosh Hashanah to explore the necessity of the return of ritual and the importance of that religion plays beyond philosophy and spirituality.

Layman huddles in a Finnish grove with Robin Hummel (Bassareus) to talk about his new book, Alchemy of the Psyche. Robin discusses his journey leading up to the book, and together they explore the nature of archetypes, the difference between direct and indirect approaches to interacting with the archetypes, the importance of ritual, shadow work, and much more. https://www.lulu.com/shop/bassareus/a...

On The Meta-Podcast (formerly Integral Podcasters), we talk with podcasters, YouTubers, and other media producers who are trying to offer, or who can't help but offer, more integrative perspectives. Who are these people, what do they collectively understand and point towards, and how can they be interlinked, mutually supported, clarified, and amplified? For episode 41, Layman is joined again by Dr...

Layman sits down again with Middle Way philosopher and author, Robert M. Ellis, this time to discuss his new book, The Five Principles of Middle Way Philosophy -- the second book in a planned 9-part series on the Middle Way. Layman and Robert review the essential arguments of the book, exploring how a post-traditional, universalized middle-way philosophy might show up and what it might contribute...

For the forty-second episode of the Integral Stage Authors Series, Layman meets with Richard Flyer, founder of the Symbiotic Culture Lab, to talk about his new book, Birthing the Symbiotic Age. They discuss Richard's early life experiences and influences, and together explore how, as the book argues, "we can emerge from our fragmented and conflicted social networks/silos and create sustai...

The question of the promise and peril of AI is a proper one for our long-running Love the System series, but we thought it deserved its own spot as a sub-series due to the rapid development and proliferation of Large Language Models and other ground-breaking AI technologies over the past six months. It may be too early to tell yet, but with the clear power of this emergent technology, its potentia...

For the 12th episode of Non/duality, Layman meets with nondual teacher, Leeza Edwards, to talk about her early formative experiences, her spiritual practice and transformation, and her insights into the nature of nondual realization and its relationship to or impact on growth, sense of self, relational and communication dynamics, connection to ancestry and lineage, and much more. Leeza teaches sel...

Several months ago, seasoned integral content creators watched with a mix of amazement and dismay as the integrally informed video, "Levels of Thinking," on a relationship and dating advice channel called Hoe_Math, blew up and got numbers in a couple weeks that no integral video in history has ever approached. Poor Corey DeVos needed to go get therapy, and I'm still recovering. So La...

In Episode 25, Layman meets with Forrest Wilson, host of The Forrest Wilson Experience, to talk about healthy, generative relationships to money; the internal and external conditions needed to shift to new, more value-centered, eudaimonic economies; the importance of the cultivation of, and a living relationship with, financial intelligence; and much more. Forrest Wilson is the host of The Forrest...

The Liminal Café is where the locals of the liminal web gather for coffee and conversation. In this new series, Layman chats with the people and patrons who, for some curious reason, find themselves drawn to this sketchy corner of the internet... SHADOW-WORK, DESCENT, AND DEVELOPMENT IN EMBODIED LEADERSHIP For episode 8, Layman sits down with Ēlen Awalom to talk about her experience as an activist...

This is the first episode of a new series exploring the subtle dynamics of collective shadow, narrative making & our responses to how we are perceived. In the digital epoch, it is unlikely that anyone will escape confrontation with a negative image of themselves existing in the minds of others. Do we learn from it? Fight it? Absorb it? Ignore it? And how do we evaluate anything when informatio...

For the 38th episode of the Integral Stage Authors Series, Layman welcomes fellow Canadian, fearologist, and author, Michael Fisher, to talk about his 2021 book, The Marianne Williamson Presidential Phenomenon . While the book chronicled Marianne's first presidential campaign, and offered commentary and critique on the strengths and missteps of those efforts, it is relevant now as well as she...