Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness

How one CIIS alumna moved from seeking answers about consciousness to living — and leading — inside the inquiry.

CIIS alum Missy Lahren is fighting to give forests, rivers, and living ecosystems a formal voice in the legal system.

At the 2026 Scholarship Dinner, CIIS students and donors gathered to celebrate the journeys that generous giving makes possible.

The 20th century’s discovery of LSD and subsequent use of various psychedelics in both therapeutic practice and popular culture has been a deeply transformational event in modern civilization. It has carried the power of a collective initiatory rite of passage, yet often without an adequately containing ritual structure, indigenous wisdom tradition, or clinical knowledge to mediate that transformation.  

In this episode CIIS Professor Emeritus and cultural historian Richard Tarnas examines the larger historical and evolutionary context that brought forth the psychedelic awakening of the 1950s and 1960s. He explores the work of therapists and researchers Stanislav Grof and C.G. Jung, and discusses the larger impact that psychedelics have had and continue to have on our civilization in crisis. 

This episode was recorded during a live online event on February 5th 2026. A transcript is available below.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

What if the questions that draw us to learning could also reshape who we become? Across disciplines and life paths, curiosity emerges as sacred work, an opening into connection, healing, and transformation.

In this episode, CIIS Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness Professor Sean Kelly has a deep and fortifying conversation with psychotherapist and author Francis Weller.

Together they explore ways of moving together through the anxieties, difficulties, and sacred transitions of 21st-century life. Featuring insights from Francis’s latest book, In the Absence of the Ordinary, this conversation frames our current era as a rough initiation—an upending experience of profound trauma and transformation that demands us to reorient our ways of thinking, being, and relating.

This episode was recorded during an live online event at California Institute of Integral Studies on September 10th, 2025. A transcript is available below.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

Talking about death is often deemed morbid or taboo, but to fully embrace life, scientists, psychologists, and spiritual leaders all agree—contemplating death is the key to living a life with meaning. In this episode, Joanna Ebenstein, author and founder of Morbid Anatomy—an organization exploring the spaces between art and medicine, death and culture—is joined in conversation with CIIS faculty and Chicane philosopher Saraliza Anzaldúa exploring how to befriend death.

Sharing insights from her latest book, Memento Mori: The Art of Contemplating Death to Live a Better Life, Joanna discusses what it means to be mortal and shares how to both come to terms with what death means and live alongside it without fear. In doing so, you can see your own life in a new light and discover what makes life worth living.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on October 17th, 2024. A transcript is available below.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

The Ten Oxherding Pictures is an image series that visualizes the Buddhist training path to enlightenment. The image series has served as a spiritual teaching tool for centuries, guiding seekers through the steps of awakening. But how are these images relevant today?

In this episode, CIIS professors Dr. Debashish Banerji and Dr. Sara Granovetter have a conversation about posthumanism, the Oxherding series, the Jungian individuation process, and the disowned wild self. Together, they explore how the ox may represent a part of the psyche that is habitually pushed to the margins of consciousness. They also help us discover what the Oxherding Pictures teach us about relating to the wild other within ourselves and the work of befriending it for spiritual awakening.

This episode was recorded during an in-person and live streamed event at California Institute of Integral Studies on January 30th, 2025. A transcript is available below.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

This special episode features CIIS Professor Emeritus and cultural historian Richard Tarnas sharing illuminating insights into the nature of human consciousness and the cosmos.

In this talk, Richard explores one of C. G. Jung’s most crucial contributions to psychology–the recognition that the unfolding of a human life is at a deep level a spiritual journey. He also explores the powerful archetypal principles and forces that deeply influence human experience and behavior.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on February 6th, 2025. A transcript is available below.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

CIIS Professor Emeritus and founding director of Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness Richard Tarnas returned for his beloved annual lecture exploring the deeper currents of our time.

For over two decades, Deborah Egerton has been teaching the Enneagram—a popular personality typing tool—as a valuable device for social justice and anti-racism. In this episode Dr. Egerton is joined by Micky ScottBey Jones, Enneagram teacher and multi-faith movement chaplain, for an empowering conversation exploring social justice through the lens of the Enneagram.

Drawing on Dr. Egerton’s work and latest book, Know Justice Know Peace, their conversation illuminates how the inner work of each of the nine Enneagram archetypes creates healing, elevates consciousness, and aligns us as individuals with the heart of humanity in order to eliminate systemic racism. They invite us to explore our own personality archetype in order to activate ourselves as allies within a beloved community; a community that acknowledges that, while we may come in many shades and colors, we are part of one human race.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on March 30th, 2023. A transcript is available below.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

Archetypal astrology is an approach influenced by Jungian and transpersonal psychology that studies the connection between the changing positions of the planets in the solar system and archetypal patterns in human experience and history. The evidence of consistent correlations between planetary alignments and world events, as seen through the lens of archetypal astrology, can provide us with an invaluable larger context for our time.

In this episode, CIIS Professor Emeritus and cultural historian Richard Tarnas provides an in-depth overview of what's happening with the planets now, helping us become more conscious of the deep unconscious, less like puppets and more like co-creative participants in relation to the archetypal powers within and around us to better understand the profound drama currently facing the Earth community.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on February 8th, 2024. A transcript is available below.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

Thomas Hübl is a renowned teacher, author, and international facilitator who works within the complexity of systems and cultural change. In his most recent book, Attuned: Practicing Interdependence to Heal Our Trauma, Thomas examines how our world’s profoundly complex challenges demand a new level of human collaboration.

In this episode, Thomas is joined by CIIS faculty Drew Dellinger for an empowering conversation on healing our world through understanding our interconnectedness and healing our individual, ancestral, and cultural trauma.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on February 29th, 2024.  A transcript is available below.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

Bayo Akomolafe is a posthumanist thinker, philosopher, poet, author and founder of the Emergence Network, a planet-wide initiative that seeks to convene communities in new ways in response to the critical, civilizational challenges we face as a species. Through Bayo's writings, speeches, and work he inspires new ways of thinking and being in the world, inviting us to ask questions that undermine everything we are told to believe.

In this episode, Bayo is joined by artist, writer, mindfulness practitioner, facilitator, and emerging filmmaker Damali Robertson as they explore postactivism and how this concept, which is so imbued with possibility and creativity, can be supportive of pathways to healing.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on March 14th, 2024. A transcript is available below.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

One of the 10 most radical discoveries in human history is that of cosmogenesis, the narrative of how the expanding universe is evolving into stars, galaxies, life, and human consciousness. The challenge to this discovery is the thorny question of how human subjectivity relates to the evolution of the universe. Is there cosmic meaning in our ongoing efforts—like using memory and art—to record our experiences?

Cosmologist and CIIS professor emeritus Brian Thomas Swimme’s latest book, Cosmogenesis, tells the story of how the new cosmology demolished his modern industrial mind, then slowly assembled a new mind, one rooted in the creative energies of our developing universe.

In this episode, Brian is joined in a unique conversation with novelist and CIIS professor in Interdisciplinary Arts and Writing Carolyn Cooke as they explore the impact of time-developmental cosmology and its potential to impact—and possibly transform—human consciousness.

This episode was recorded during an in-person and live streamed event at California Institute of Integral Studies on November 17th, 2022. A transcript is available below.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

Yung Pueblo’s (Diego Perez) path to deep healing began after years of drug use had taken a toll on his mind and body. Searching for a way forward, he found that by honestly examining and addressing the anxieties and fears that he had been running away from, he no longer felt like a stranger inside of his heart and mind. Once he dedicated himself to meditation and trusting his intuition, he started to finally feel mentally lighter—with more love emerging from within. This was not an easy journey, and it's one that he is still on, but it showed him that real healing is possible.

In this episode, Damali Robertson joins Diego for an inspiring conversation exploring how we can all move forward in our healing—from learning self-compassion to letting go, to becoming emotionally mature. Drawing upon insights from his life and latest book, Lighter, Diego shares that as our minds begin to stop feeling overburdened with tension, we can reconnect with the present, and the world around us will become more inviting, crisp, and newly vibrant.

This episode was recorded during an in-person and live streamed event at First Unitarian Universalist Society of San Francisco on October 14th, 2022. A transcript is available below.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

Watch CIIS Professor Emeritus Brian Thomas Swimme's Keynote Speech during the 2023 Leadership Conference of Religious Women in Dallas Texas.

Astrologer and author Alice Sparkly Kat is ushering in a new wave of astrology that is intersectional, inclusive, and geared towards queer and POC communities.

In this episode, educator, creator, and astrologer Kirah Tabourn talks with Alice Sparkly Kat about their work and their latest book, Postcolonial Astrology. Kirah and Sparkly Kat share insights into ways we can use astrology to challenge our own practices, interrogate our truths, and reshape our institutions to build better frameworks for communities of care.

This episode contains explicit language. It was recorded during a live online event on May 21st, 2021. A transcript is available below.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

Astrologer and psychic medium Jessica Lanyadoo is joined in conversation by M.A. in Somatic Counseling Psychology student and local actor Madeline H.D. Brown to discuss self-compassion, astrology, and why you should never look at your crush’s chart.

This episode was originally recorded live with an in-person audience on March 20th, 2019. A transcript is available below.

We all recognize we are living in the midst of a major threshold of transformation, a profound drama facing the Earth community with tremendous consequences at stake. What are the deeper stirrings in the collective psyche today? What is the current planetary situation, and which gods are now in dynamic motion?

In this episode, CIIS professor and cultural historian Richard Tarnas provides a state of the world report on the archetypal context of our national and global moment.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on February 5, 2021. Access the transcript below.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

There’s much more to astrology than weekly horoscopes, personality types, and predictions for the future. For astrologer and transformational coach Jennifer Racioppi, it is a guide to living in sync with the natural rhythms of the universe to achieve optimal health and success.

In this episode, Jennifer is joined in conversation with meditation guide and author Rebekah “Bex” Borucki. They discuss Jenifer's book, Cosmic Health, and explore how living in sync with the natural universe and understanding the connection between astrology, health, and evidence-based personal development practices, can support optimal health and personal transformation.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on February 24, 2021. A transcript is available below.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

In his latest book, The Web of Meaning, author and integrator Jeremy Lent investigates the ways in which seemingly disparate streams of thought are compatible, and when taken together, they are key to facing the existential problems of the 21st century.

In this episode, CIIS Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness Professor Matthew Segall joins Jeremy for an inspiring conversation exploring a new worldview based on a deep recognition of connectedness within ourselves, between each other, and with the entire natural world.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on August 11th, 2021. A transcript is available below.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

The evidence of consistent correlations between planetary alignments and world events as seen through the lens of archetypal astrology can provide us with a much-needed context for our time. Understanding both the cyclical patterns and the historical trends that preceded our current moment can help us engage with greater consciousness and skillful intelligence the powerful forces now active in the world.

This episode features cultural historian Richard Tarnas as he presents his latest state of the world report on the archetypal context of our national and global moment. It was recorded during a live online event on February 18, 2022 in a continuation of our recent annual tradition of offering such an archetypal overview, and this year included a special advance screening of the opening episode of the new documentary series The Changing of the Gods.

Inspired by Richard’s work and featuring leading figures in the fields of history, psychology, spirituality, political activism, technological innovation, and consciousness research, The Changing of the Gods vividly depicts the trajectory of our time and our future prospects. Visit changingofthegods.com for more information about the series.

A transcript is available below. You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

The Enneagram is a personality typing system with ancient symbolic origins that has a sneaky way of revealing who we are and why we do the things we do.

In this episode, wellness coach Kayleigh Martin talks with author Hannah Paasch about the benefits of learning our personality traits and her book Millenneagram —a revamped approach to the Enneagram that gives us permission to be our truest, enough-as-is, bad-ass selves. 

A transcript is available below. You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

This episode featuring renowned scholar Richard Tarnas was recorded during a live streaming webinar on April 23rd, 2020.

In his talk, Richard shares astrological insights into the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, which he describes as “a time in which there are volcanically intense evolutionary pressures for the radical reconfiguration of all life’s structures.”

A transcript is available below. You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

Both science and philosophy have traditionally conceived of the self as though it were separate from the world. Italian philosopher, psychologist, and AI engineer Riccardo Manzotti asks us to consider consciousness in a radical new way: Our conscious experience is actually one and the same with the external world.

In this unique conversation, philosopher Abre Fournier joins Riccardo as he offers an exploration of the nature of consciousness and our everyday life through Spread Mind Theory.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on October 17, 2020. A transcript is available below.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

For over 50 years CIIS has been a leader in transformative integral education. Integral studies, in the founding of CIIS, encapsulated a contemporary academic approach to a spiritual mission.

In this episode, Haridas Chaudhuri Professor and Chair/Professor of East-West Psychology Debashish Banerji and President Emeritus and Professor Emeritus in Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness Robert McDermott have an illuminating discussion on the multitude of meanings of integral, as seen and applied to the spiritual mission in the history and future of CIIS.

This episode was recorded during an in-person and live streamed event at California Institute of Integral Studies on September 28th, 2022. A transcript is available below.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

Author, cultural ecologist, and geo philosopher David Abram has been an inspirational leading voice at the intersection of ecology and philosophy for over 25 years. A close student of the traditional ecological knowledge of a diverse array of Indigenous peoples, his work articulates the interconnection of humans both with the varied sensitivities of the plants and animals upon whom we depend, as well as with the agency of the places that surround and sustain our communities.

In this episode, David is joined by CIIS philosophy faculty Matt Segall for an inspiring conversation on the wild intelligence of our bodies, the ecological depths of our imagination, and the ways in which sensory perception and wonder inform the relation between the human animal and the animate Earth.

This episode was recorded during an in-person and live streamed event at First Unitarian Universalist Church & Center in San Francisco on May 19th, 2022. Access the transcript below.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

The powerful new volume was edited by East-West Psychology Professor, Debashish Banerji and Professor Emeritus, Robert McDermott.

In this episode Kirah Tabourn, educator, creator, and astrologer of THE STROLOGY, talks with Bay Area astrologer and medium Jessica Lanyadoo about her life and work, her book Astrology for Real Relationships, and how her book—and astrology more broadly—can be applied to a diverse set of relationships and our current times.

This episode contains explicit language. It was recorded during a live online event on August 27, 2020. You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

Sherri Mitchell (Weh’na Ha’mu Kwasset) is a Native American attorney, teacher, and award-winning activist who grew up on the Penobscot Indian Reservation (Indian Island), Maine, and is the author of Sacred Instructions: Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit-Based Change.

In this episode, she is joined in a conversation with healer and movement builder Brenda Salgado. Together they explore Native American mythology and cosmology as a means of healing our collective wounds.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on August 1, 2020. You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

In this episode, modern mystic Thomas Hübl and cosmologist Brian Swimme explore the cosmos and discuss ways to move from being a society informed by trauma to a society that heals trauma.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on May 9th, 2020. You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

In this episode, authors Sean Kelly, Sam Mickey, and Adam Robbert are joined by public radio journalist and Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness graduate Kat Snow in a conversation about ecology as a connective science and its impact on our society.

This episode was recorded during an event on June 14, 2017 in front of a live audience in San Francisco, California.

Author and psychedelic explorer Chris Bache’s book, LSD and the Mind of the Universe chronicles his experiences and insights from 73 high-dose LSD sessions conducted between 1979 and 1999. This became the philosophical adventure of a lifetime, but one Chris had to keep largely hidden from his colleagues and society.

In this episode, licensed psychotherapist Gisele Fernandes talks with Chris about his 20-year journey into the depths and heights of consciousness.

This episode was recorded during an event on April 16, 2020 in front of a live audience in San Francisco, California.

Chani Nicholas is a beloved astrologer and queer feminist activist with a loyal online following. For her, astrology isn’t about passively accepting our fate, it’s about action. In her inspirational and socially conscious weekly horoscopes, she encourages her devotees to take control—to confront themselves, their desires, and their needs—to fulfill their potential using the power of the stars.

Recorded live on February 20, 2020 at the Herbst Theatre shortly after the release of her book You Were Born for This: Astrology for Radical Self-Acceptance, this episode features Chani in three parts. Beginning with a chart-reading and conversation with Fania E. Davis, a leading national voice on restorative justice, followed by a conversation with CIIS Professor Sonya Shah, and finishing with questions submitted by the audience.

In her latest book, Hivemind: The New Science of Tribalism in Our Divided World, psychologist and emotion regulation specialist Dr. Sarah Rose Cavanagh leaves no stone unturned in her quest to understand how social technology is reshaping the way we socialize.

In this episode, Dr. Cavanagh is joined by CIIS Professor Zara Zimbardo for a conversation on how communities can sync up around shared ideas, how this hive mentality is contributing to today's polarized times, and how to make sense of the dissonance around us.

This episode was recorded during an event on February 13, 2020 in front of a live audience in San Francisco, California.

Author, editor, and filmmaker Sasha Sagan was raised by secular parents, the astronomer Carl Sagan and the writer and producer Ann Druyan. They taught her that the natural world and vast cosmos are full of profound beauty, that science reveals truths more wondrous than any myth or fable.

When Sasha herself became a mother, she began her own hunt for the natural phenomena behind our most treasured occasions—from births to deaths, holidays to weddings, anniversaries, and more—growing these roots into a new set of rituals for her young daughter that honor the joy and significance of each experience without relying on religious frameworks.

In this episode, Sasha is joined by author and CIIS Interdisciplinary Arts & Writing MFA Professor Carolyn Cooke for a conversation about her first book, For Small Creatures Such as We.

For Small Creatures Such As We, is part memoir, part guidebook, and part social history—a luminous exploration of Earth’s marvels that require no faith in order to be believed.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on October 10th, 2019.

In this talk, Professor Jacob Sherman discusses the role that philosophy might play in diagnosing and responding to the our global climate crisis.

At CIIS, Jacob Sherman serves as Professor and Chair of the Philosophy and Religion Department, Chair of the program in Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness, and also teaches in the Ecology, Spirituality, and Religion program.

This episode was recorded during an event on September 5, 2019 in front of a live audience in San Francisco, California.

Join author Rob Reid in conversation with author and editor Annaka Harris as they examine the idea of consciousness—taking us through evolving definitions, philosophies, and scientific findings that probe our limited understanding of this age-old mystery.

This episode was recorded during an event on August 1, 2019 in front of a live audience in San Francisco, California. 

A groundbreaking hub for ideas and collaboration

In this episode, geologist and cosmochemist Natalie Starkey is joined in conversation by Joshua Fields to explore her work studying the composition and behavior of comets.

This episode was recorded during an event on June 28, 2018 in front of a live audience in San Francisco, California.

In this episode, we go inside Wikipedia, whose lofty goal is to share the sum of all human knowledge with everyone on earth.

The head of Wikipedia’s library, Jake Orlowitz, is in conversation with CIIS philosophy scholar Dr. Matt Segall about how Wikipedia keeps it’s vast and complicated platform running.

This episode was recorded during an event on March 9, 2016 in front of a live audience in San Francisco, California.

This conversation, about the intersection of artificial intelligence and art, was part of our Technology and Consciousness Series.

Jerry Kaplan, a computer scientist and AI expert talks with Kal Spelletich, an artist who works with robotics about how humans might leverage this emerging technology creatively.

This episode was recorded during an event on April 7, 2016 in front of a live audience in San Francisco, California.

In this episode, Carolyn Cooke, author and Interdisciplinary Arts & Writing MFA Professor, discusses reading and writing as important acts of consciousness. Her talk explores how reading is related to deep thinking and how in a challenging world, reading itself can be a direct route to becoming a kinder, nicer, more interesting person. This talk is part of our Big Ideas at CIIS series.

This episode was recorded during an event on April 13, 2016 in front of a live audience in San Francisco, California.

Author, teacher, and ecophilosopher Joanna Macy is known the world over for her workshops for social and environmental activists. She's joined in conversation by ecophilosophy teacher Renée G. Soule to discuss her life and work.

This episode was recorded during an event on April 8, 2016 in front of a live audience in San Francisco, California.

In this episode, author and professor Brian Swimme asks why we study the universe. His talk explores how we build our civilizations upon our understanding of the cosmos, and how that understanding is constantly changing.

This episode was recorded during an event on April 20, 2016 in front of a live audience in San Francisco, California.

Mycologist Paul Stamets examines how mushrooms can help the health of people and the planet.

This episode was recorded during an event on August 11, 2016 in front of a live audience in San Francisco, California.

Alternative medicine pioneer Deepak Chopra explores the question of how consciousness conceives and constructs the physical universe.

This episode was recorded during an event on September 28, 2016 in front of a live audience in San Francisco, California.

Journalist Vince Beiser is joined in conversation by CIIS Professor Jacob Sherman to explore the compelling true story of a hugely important and diminishing natural resource: sand.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on October 17, 2018.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

Artificial Intelligence engineer Laura Montoya is joined by TechCrunch diversity reporter, Megan Rose Dickey to explore the role of gender in Artificial Intelligence and how it impacts society. This conversation was part of our series on Technology and Consciousness.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on April 18, 2018.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

Author and Professor of Religious Studies Dr. Christopher Bache discusses his twenty year long regimen of psychedelic exploration and therapy with CIIS Professor Sean Kelly.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on December 9, 2016.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

Karla Suomala, a researcher and former Professor of Religion and Mikey Siegel, a robotics engineer turned consciousness hacker, discuss the intersections of technology and spirituality.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on January 18, 2017.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

Author and researcher David Levy joins CIIS Professor Sergio Rodriguez-Castillo to explore how we might move between the "fast world" of tech and the "slow world" of contemplation.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on February 8, 2017.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

In this episode, robotics engineer turned consciousness hacker Mikey Siegel is joined in conversation by Alexander Reben, an artist and roboticist. The two discuss the ethical implications of recent developments in artificial intelligence and technology.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on August 24, 2017.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

Richard Tarnas, founding director of the Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness graduate program at CIIS, shares historical and present day correlations between planetary movements and the archetypal patterns during the Summer of Love.

This episode was originally recorded live with an in-person audience on October 9th, 2017. A transcript is available below.

In this conversation with Steven Tierney, Professor of Community Mental Health at CIIS, Pulitzer Prize finalist Robert Wright shares his journey exploring psychology, philosophy, and meditation to show how Buddhism holds the key to moral clarity and enduring happiness.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on October 19, 2017.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

In this episode, Artificial Intelligence scientist and buddhist teacher Nikki Mirghafori and computer scientist Steve Omohundro discuss how the concept of karma can guide us as we push forward towards creating non-human intelligence.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on January 25, 2018.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

In this episode, historian and author Leslie Berlin is joined in conversation by hacker and inventor Mitch Altman to explore how hippies and hackers built the largest center for innovation in the history of the planet - and why it can’t be replicated elsewhere.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on January 31, 2018.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

In this episode integrative health pioneer Deepak Chopra explores practical ways to experience higher consciousness, transformation, and healing.

This episode was recorded during an event on February 15, 2018 in front of a live audience in San Francisco, California.

Physicist and author Alan Lightman is joined in conversation by Philosophy, Cosmology, Consciousness Professor Matthew D. Segall to explore our quest for truth and meaning, and the role of religion and science in that quest.

This episode was recorded during an event on April 19, 2018 in front of a live audience in San Francisco, California.

Five CIIS Authors Contribute to the New Issue of the International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

CIIS Professor Brian Swimme shaped John Richard's view on spirituality, life, and death. Read more from this fascinating New York Times article on physician-assisted suicide in Canada.

Latest book from Professor Sean Kelly, Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness Alum Sam Mickey, and Ph.D. Student Adam Robbert

Stage Ai's Summer Blossom festival brought CIIS values to life in China through arts, healing, and cross-cultural connection.

Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness alum creates feature-length documentary

Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness alum Scott Hill, Ph.D. lectured at San Francisco Jung Institute on psychedelic experience

The histories and convergence of the Religion & Ecology Summit

Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness at the 2015 International Whitehead Conference