Rupert Sheldrake argues that the sciences are being constricted by ten assumptions that have hardened into dogmas. In this course he turns the dogmas into questions and examines them scientifically in the light of advances in the sciences themselves. For example, the dogma that nature is mechanical becomes the question “Is nature mechanical?”; the dogma that matter is unconscious becomes “Is matter unconscious?”; the dogma that minds are confined to brains becomes “Are minds confined to brains?”

This two-day, six-hour workshop is hands-on, and fully participatory. Each participant will need to acquire a new “found stone” (not store-bought) and work with that stone in ways specific to the workshop. In addition, each participant will give a brief report to the whole group, on Zoom, of what occurs when working with their found stone.

The conversation will explore “a landscape of consciousness”, toward a taxonomy of explanations and implications. Dr. Robert Lawrence Kuhn is a public intellectual; he is the creator, writer, host and executive producer of Closer To Truth, the long-running PBS/public television series and leading global resource on Cosmos (cosmology/physics, philosophy of science), Consciousness (brain/mind, philosophy of mind), Life (philosophy of biology), and Meaning (theism/atheism/agnosticism, global philosophy of religion, critical thinking).

As Alfred North Whitehead put it, the world “craves for novelty and yet is haunted by terror at the loss of the past”. We feel we urgently need change but we seem unable to make it happen, at least at the speed, precision, and depth required for it to make a real, positive, and effective difference in the world. In this free live event Àlex Gómez-Marín will be in conversation with Jessica Bockler (Alef Trust) and Bruce Alderman (California Institute of Integral Studies) in the context of their respective new programmes which seek to promote, with the same spirit but in different ways, conscious leadership and conscious change-making in ourselves and the world.

Celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the “Manifesto for a Post-Materialist Science”
with Karalee Kothe, Lisa Miller, Lorne Schussel, Gary E. Schwartz, Laurel Waterman, Marjorie Woollacott

We understand how the passage of time ‘expands’ or ‘contracts’ depending on how fast you are travelling compared to an observer. There is also conclusive evidence that time distorts in the presence of mass, leading to the effects we used to ascribe to a force of gravity. Some even believe that they understand how time morphs into existence, along with the universe, out of some quantum pre-stuff. This, however, is all ‘physical time’; the relationship between the physics and the experience of ‘psychological time’ is far from clear.

A Pari gathering/retreat for members of AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) and NA (Narcotics Anonymous) plus family and friends will be held in Pari, Tuscany from September 9-16, 2023 (Saturday to Saturday).

The format will be a combination of closed AA and NA meetings and meditation, and some open meetings which everyone can attend.

Join us at the Pari Center with world-renowned leaders in consciousness studies as we deepen our insights into the many facets that such an intimate mystery entails. Through in-depth presentations and informal discussions in a convivial atmosphere you will learn about, and have opportunities to discuss, the insights and research findings of world-renowned experts on current consciousness research and its future. Such a multifaceted field is currently enjoying a huge renaissance in terms of general interest and academic momentum. Consciousness is more than a ‘hard problem’—and also less. It’s the intimate mystery of our very existence. Its study thus requires an integrative and conscious approach beyond short-sighted abstractions.