What Lies Beyond Podcast

• Free Will in Nature | Jem Bendell

  Show NotesSeason 2 Episode 11 ‘Free Will in Nature’Today my guest is Jem Bendell. Before the summer of 2023, Jem was a full Professor of Sustainability Leadership and Founder of the Initiative for Leadership and Sustainability (IFLAS) at the University of Cumbria. He was also the founder of the Deep Adaptation Forum and the co-founder of the International Scholars’ Warning on Societal Disruption and Collapse. A major transformation in his career began in 2017 as he took a year out to study the latest climate science and released the Deep Adaptation paper which went viral.After the release of his book Breaking Together in May 2023, Jem decided to leave employment as a full Professor in the UK. Jem then entered a new phase of his life, where the development of the Bekandze regenerative farm school in Bali and playing devotional music for groups become his main focus. He still writes and lectures on collapse readiness and response.Jem begins today’s discussion with an outline of the main thesis of Breaking Together: that societies globally have already begun to experience climate breakdown driven collapse. This gives a context for our main discussion of free will in nature. We look at the claims by some biologists and neuroscientists that free will is an illusion. Jem suggests reasons to doubt this verdict, and why free will might in fact exist throughout the natural world. We discuss Buddhist and Vedantic ideas about consciousness. And Jem explains why it’s crucial to admit the limitations of our knowledge in the face of the ultimate questions about life and death.ResourcesJem Bendell’s websiteHis book, which includes chapters detailing the evidence for ongoing global systemic collapse. Chapter 11 discusses free will:Bendell, J. (2023). Breaking together: A freedom-loving response to collapse. Schumacher InstituteFree audio reading of the introduction to Breaking Together.His first essay in a series about Free Will. (Includes a discussion of the Libet etc. experiments which purport to disprove free will)Jem Bendell’s Buddha at the Gas Pump Interview from 2024ResourcesCollapseIs Collapse Plausible by Matt Colborn. See also the Collapsology Portal, which exists to ‘Better understand the current risks of social and environmental collapse’. Includes an up to date listing of scientific papers on the topic.Free will deniers:Sapolsky, R. (2023). Determined: The Science of Life Without Free Will. Penguin.Wegner, D. (2017). The Illusion of Conscious Will. MIT Press. Silicon Valley:Rushkoff, D. (4 Sept 2022 ). The super-rich ‘preppers’ planning to save themselves from the apocalypse. The GuardianYanis Varoufakis on technofeudalismBurnout:Wright, S. (2021). Burnout: a spiritual crisis: from stress to transformation. Sacred Space Publications.Thanks for reading WHAT LIES BEYOND! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.Title Music: ‘Stranger things’ by Music Unlimited on Pixabey. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit whatliesbeyond.substack.com

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• Transpersonal Psychology for Global Flourishing | Jessica Bockler

  Show NotesSeason 2 Episode 10 ‘Transpersonal Psychology for Global Flourishing’Today my guest is Jessica Bockler, PhD. Jessica is an applied artist, transpersonal psychologist and Co-founding Director of the Alef Trust. She serves as Deputy CEO and works across Alef Trust’s academic and applied portfolios. Trained in applied and physical theatre, Jessica has extensive experience of expressive arts facilitation, as well as experimental movement and voice work. She specializes in embodied approaches to accessing creativity and imagination, and she is the founder of Creative Alternatives, an arts-based mental wellbeing service in the UK, which provides creative interventions to adults experiencing depression, stress and/or anxiety. The service is one of the longest established social prescribing projects in the UK and has won several awards for innovation in public service delivery.We begin with a look at how creativity, imagination and play can enhance your mental health. We explore the connections between embodiment, transpersonal psychology and mystical experience. Jessica describes some of her work with the Conscious Community Initiative, which explores the intersections between inner transpersonal practice and social change. We discuss the Inner Development Goals of the UN. And we finish with an important dialogue on how to acknowledge and respond constructively to the current moment of political, cultural and ecological turmoil.ResourcesThe Alef TrustJessica at the Alef Trust.The Conscious Community InitiativeFields of ChangeTopics discussedMaharishi Effect paperThe Global Consciousness ProjectEntangled Activist:Lawson, A. (2023). The Entangled Activist: Learning to recognise the master's tools. Perspectiva Press.Burnout:Wright, S. (2021). Burnout: a spiritual crisis: from stress to transformation. Sacred Space Publications.Negative emotions:Goleman, D. (2004). Destructive Emotions and How We Can Overcome Them. Bloomsbury Publishing.Chodron, P. (2002). The Places that Scare You: A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times. Shambhala. Joanna Macy’s Active HopePatten, T. (2018). A New Republic of the Heart: Awakening into Evolutionary Activism. A Guide to Inner Work for Holistic Change (Sacred Activism). North Atlantic Books.Inner Development Goals:https://innerdevelopmentgoals.orgThere are many ways of organising societies:Graeber, D. & Wengrow, D. (2021). The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity. Allen Lane.Title Music: ‘Stranger things’ by Music Unlimited on Pixabey.Thanks for reading WHAT LIES BEYOND! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit whatliesbeyond.substack.com

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• Free What Lies Beyond Chapter One Audio Reading

  This a free audio recording of Chapter 1 of What Lies Beyond: Consciousness, Science, the Paranormal and the Post-Materialist Future. Read by the author, Matt Colborn. What Lies Beyond will be available for purchase at Amazon and other retail outlets from Tuesday May 27th. (From June 1st in the US).Amazon UKAmazon USTitle Music: ‘Stranger things’ by Music Unlimited on Pixabey.Thanks for reading WHAT LIES BEYOND! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit whatliesbeyond.substack.com

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• Miracles of Our Own Making | Liz Williams

  Show NotesSeason 2 Episode 9 ‘Miracles of Our Own Making ’Today my guest is Liz Williams. Liz holds a PhD in the History and Philosophy of Science from the University of Cambridge. She is a science fiction and fantasy writer living in Glastonbury, England. She has been published by Bantam Spectra (US) and Tor Macmillan (UK) and is currently published by New Con Press, Reaktion Books, Llewellyn Books, Open Road and Thames and Hudson.Liz is also an occultist and a pagan and has published several non-fiction books on that topic. One is the 2020 book Miracles of Our Own Making: A History of Paganism. Another is the 2025 book Compendium of the Occult: Arcane Artifacts, Magic Rituals, and Sacred Symbolism. She is also the author of Rough Music: Folk Customs, Transgression and Alternative Britain.In our dialogue we discuss the status of AI and consciousness studies. We look at the intersection between consciousness, imagination and creativity. We touch on the value of Science Fiction for thinking about other worldviews. And we discuss Liz’s background in paganism and the occult.Thanks for reading WHAT LIES BEYOND! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.ResourcesLiz Williams website.Liz Williams fantastic fiction page (lists her fiction). My original interview with Liz Williams from Interzone Magazine (discusses Liz’s first two novels The Ghost Sister and Empire of Bones).Nonfiction BooksWilliams, L. (2025). Compendium of the Occult: Arcane Artifacts, Magic Rituals, and Sacred Symbolism. Thames & Hudson.Williams, L. (2025). Rough Music: Folk Customs, Transgression and Alternative Britain. Reaktion Books.Williams, L. (2020). Miracles of Our Own Making: A History of Paganism. Reaktion BooksJones, T. & Williams, L. (2012). Diary of a Witchcraft Shop. NewCon Press.Topics DiscussedArtificial IntelligenceGary Marcus’ critical blog on Artificial Intelligence.Human beings have causal models in their heads:Pearl, J. (2019). The Book of Why: The New Science of Cause and Effect (Penguin Science). Penguin.Problems with materialism and consciousness:Nagel, T. (2012). Mind and Cosmos: Why the Materialist Neo-Darwinian Conception of Nature is Almost Certainly False. Oxford University Press. Creativity and ImaginationTanith Lee’s Fantastic Fiction page (Lists fiction).The case of the woman with an alter who wrote novels:Psi Encyclopaedia page on the Patience Worth/Pearl Curran case.Robert Louis Stephenson’s Chapter on Dreams (Discusses his ‘Brownies’).The kid who thinks he is a reincarnated Hollywood extra:Ryan Hammons reincarnation case (discussed in episode).Title Music: ‘Stranger things’ by Music Unlimited on Pixabey. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit whatliesbeyond.substack.com

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• The Ghost Experience | Ciaran O'Keeffe

  Show NotesSeason 2 Episode 8 ‘The Ghost Experience’Today my guest is Ciaran O’Keeffe. Ciaran is an Associate Professor of Education and Head of the School of Human & Social Sciences at Bucks New University. He is a popular sceptical voice on various paranormal shows and podcasts. Ciaran has become best known for his regular appearances on Living TV’s Most Haunted and later for featuring on the popular BBC podcast and TV show Uncanny, which is now in its second series on BBC 2.Ciaran’s paranormal research has focussed on testing mediums & psychics in the lab and also field-work examining ghostly experiences. It has been reported in The Psychologist, The Times, The Independent, New Scientist and elsewhere. He has been involved in many unusual projects: physiological effects of infrasound in the Royal Festival Hall; ghost investigation of Hampton Court Palace; an exorcism ‘training day’; Hostage Negotiation simulations and lie detecting for the film Spy Game. He has written a number of ‘paranormal’ books including GhostHunters: A Guide to Investigating the Paranormal and is a co-author of the key work Ghosted!: Exploring the Haunting Reality of Paranormal Encounters.The main focus of today’s fascinating talk is the ghost and poltergeist experience. Ciaran draws upon his extensive knowledge as a psychologist and parapsychologist, and on decades of talking to eyewitnesses of extraordinary and unsettling events. We discuss ‘Haunted People Syndrome’ and why it’s important to ‘loosen up’ when considering fantastic claims. We also discuss a shared love of the 1984 movie Ghostbusters!Thanks for reading WHAT LIES BEYOND! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.ResourcesCiaran’s Linktree page, with details of his writing and projects.Page at Buckinghamshire New University:https://www.bucks.ac.uk/about-us/our-staff/ciaran-okeeffeBooksLaythe, B. et al. (2021). Ghosted!: Exploring the Haunting Reality of Paranormal Encounters. McFarland.Fielding, Y. & O’Keeffe, C. (2006). Ghost Hunters: A Guide to Investigating the Paranormal. Hodder & Stoughton.TV Shows/PodcastsUncanny (with links to TV show and podcast).Most Haunted official YouTube channel.Haunted podcast.The Battersea Poltergeist (BBC Radio 4).The Witch Farm (BBC Radio 4).2:22 A Ghost Story official website.IMDB Page for Cleanin’ Up the Town: Remembering Ghostbusters (2019 making of documentary).Other ResourcesAlan Gauld (Psi Encyclopedia entry).Tony Cornell (Psi Encyclopedia entry).The Enfield case (Psi Encyclopaedia).Poltergeists in general (Psi Encyclopaedia).BooksCornell, T. (2002). Investigating the Paranormal. New York: Helix Press.(Includes the account of ‘the seen and unseen ghost,’ discussed in the episode).Gauld, A., & Cornell, A.D. (1979). Poltergeists.Routledge & Regan Paul.Title Music: ‘Stranger things’ by Music Unlimited on Pixabey.Thanks for reading WHAT LIES BEYOND! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit whatliesbeyond.substack.com

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