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SUMMARY:Bringing Meaning Back to Life
DESCRIPTION:Thanks to the generous funding from a European foundation\, we now have the opportunity to offer three full scholarships\, preferably to young minds\, for this event. For more information: \n\n\n\n\nScholarship Programme\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nScience\, Arts\, and the Sacred Series \n\n\n\n\nBringing Meaning Back to Life \n\n\n\nPari\, ItalySeptember 2-9\, 2025 \n\n\n\n25 years at the Pari Center \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nScience has largely displaced religious accounts of our existence. But it can make both life and death seem virtually meaningless. Religion does not\, suggesting there is a necessary opposition between them. We will move beyond that to look at how spiritual traditions\, the sciences and the arts provide complementary ways of celebrating life and accepting death as parts of living authentically. \n\n\n\nSpeakers\n\n\n\nBernard Carr\, Ya’Acov Darling-Khan\, Jeff Dunne\, Suzanne Gieser\, Parul Jani\, Shoaib Malik\, Therese Schroeder-Sheker (virtually)\, Nick Spencer.List of the presentations. \n\n\n\nChaired and curated by: John Pickering \n\n\n\nTicket Prices\n\n\n\nPrivate AccommodationPrice: 2175.00 euros \n\n\n\nShared Accommodation – Private Room with shared bathroomPrice: 1875.00 euros \n\n\n\nPrices include: \n\n\n\n\na 7-night stay;\n\n\n\nbreakfast\, lunch and dinner at the local restaurant featuring locally sourced produce and traditional dishes;\n\n\n\nwater\, wine\, and coffee are provided with lunch and dinner;\n\n\n\nprogrammed lectures\, activities and materials.\n\n\n\n\nThere is a limited amount of accommodation in Pari and you will be placed on a first-come\, first-served basis. We will also be using accommodation just outside of the village—within 3 kilometres. If you are housed outside Pari\, a shuttle to and from the village will be provided. \n\n\n\nThe event starts on Tuesday September 2 at 19:00 and ends after lunch on Tuesday September 9. \n\n\n\nDownload information\, terms and conditions for this course. \n\n\n\nAbout the Event \n\n\n\nIf the time it took for life to evolve on earth were a day\, human beings wouldn’t appear until fifty seconds before midnight. Evolutionarily speaking we’re instantaneous. \n\n\n\nBut in that instant science has achieved a deep understanding of the world and the technology it has made possible has greatly enhanced our lives. So much so that in last few centuries science has replaced religion as the framework for our existence. \n\n\n\nBut that understanding comes with costs. One is the ecological damage that is the darker side-effect of technology. Another\, less apparent but just as damaging\, is that with the loss of a religious framework\, life\, and therefore death as well\, may have come to seem virtually meaningless. \n\n\n\nC.G. Jung said: ‘Man cannot stand a meaningless life.’ Iain McGilchrist seems to agree: ‘Death is not the opposite of life but its fulfilment. The opposite of life is the machine.’ Like David Bohm and David Peat\, McGilchrist rejects the idea that science requires us to conceive of the cosmos\, and ourselves\, as nothing but mechanisms. \n\n\n\nBut science is in any case changing\, as it always has. Classical mechanistic materialism has been left behind\, but quite what is to replace it is unclear. Religion is perhaps less apt to change\, but Whitehead said ‘Religion will not regain its old power until it can face change in the same spirit as does science.’ \n\n\n\nWe are moving on from the idea that there’s a necessary opposition between science and religion. This year’s meeting in Pari will be part of that move. It will look at how spiritual traditions\, the sciences and the arts offer ways to celebrate life and accept death as complementary parts of living authentically. \n\n\n\nIt will bring together speakers from the sciences\, arts\, faiths and healing traditions to create an open dialogue and supportive experience in which all can participate. We’ll explore the leading edge of quantum physics\, examine the relationship of science to Christianity\, Islam and Vedanta. We’ll also hear speakers on how Shamanism\, music and ritual have and continue to have a role in facing the end of our lives. \n\n\n\nThis will be an informal meeting with presentations by experts followed by roundtable discussions. \n\n\n\nParticipating in an event at the Pari Center means not only meeting with scholars and experts but living for a week in a medieval village\, mingling with the tiny local population\, eating local dishes and drinking local wines\, appreciating the beauty of the surrounding countryside\, and participating in a very gentle way of life far from the frenzy of work and city living. David Peat compared Pari to an alchemical vessel—a place where transformation can come about—as well as an opportunity to pause for a moment and re-assess one’s life. It’s a unique opportunity open to everyone.  \n\n\n\nWe at the Pari Center seek to bring together world-renowned experts from a great range of disciplines\, approaches\, and sensibilities to meet together in person and deepen our insights on the workings and origin of human experience\, while also exploring creative and rigorous frameworks to integrate such wonderful mysteries hidden in plain sight into a coherent evolutionary understanding. You are cordially invited to join us. \n\n\n\nPlease contact Eleanor if you would like more information about this event at: eleanor@paricenter.com \n\n\n\nPresentations\n\n\n\nClick to see a list of the presentations for this event\nThe Soul of the Cosmos and the Hierarchy of Life and Deathwith Bernard Carr \n\n\n\nBenevolent Death: A Teacher for the Livingwith Ya’Acov Darling-Khan \n\n\n\nSyntropy:  A Scientific Expression of Purpose in Life and Beyond Deathwith Jeffrey Dunne \n\n\n\nHealing the Split: How Can Science and Spirituality Join Forces?with Suzanne Gieser \n\n\n\nBeyond: Beyond the Limits of the Mindwith Parul Jani \n\n\n\nDaring to Believe and Question: Theological Anthropology in an Age of Sciencewith Shoaib Ahmed Malik \n\n\n\nScience\, Religion and Human Identitywith Nick Spencer \n\n\n\nDying and Becoming as Meaning and Metamorphosiswith Therese Schroeder-Sheker \n\n\n\n\n\nInformation\n\n\n\nAdditional information on this program (PDF) \n\n\n\nTerms and conditions (PDF) \n\n\n\nAdditional Information about the Pari Center (PDF)
URL:https://paricenter.com/event/bringing-meaning-back-to-life/
LOCATION:Pari\, Italy
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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Rome:20251002T160000
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CREATED:20250930T164408Z
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UID:10000440-1759420800-1759770000@paricenter.com
SUMMARY:Mind\, Matter and Meaning: A Jubileum
DESCRIPTION:Mind\, Matter and Meaning: A Jubileum \n\n\n\nOctober 2-6\, 2025Pari\, Italy \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nEvent Schedule\n\n\n\nThursday\, October 2 \n\n\n\n16:00-16:30 Welcome/Introductions \n\n\n\n16:30-19:00 Symposium 1 \n\n\n\n\n16:30 Oliver Sharpe: “Portfolism – Reasoning well given the logical limits of rationality”\n\n\n\n17:30 Berkan Eskikaya: “Before it’s gone: Fragility as a Precondition for Consciousness\, Meaning\, and Value”\n\n\n\n18:30 General discussion: Reason and Living well\n\n\n\n\nFriday\, October 3 \n\n\n\n09:30-13:00  Symposium 2 \n\n\n\n\n09:30 Paavo Pylkkänen: “Bohm’s pilot wave theory and its philosophical implications”\n\n\n\n10:30 General discussion: Science and philosophy\n\n\n\n11:00 coffee\n\n\n\n11:30 Uziel Awret: “Consciousness and the AdS/CFT Duality”\n\n\n\n12:30 General discussion: Physics and consciousness\n\n\n\n\n15:00-18:00     Symposium 3 \n\n\n\n\n15:00 Vinod Goel: “Biological Constraints on the Rational Mind”\n\n\n\n16:00 coffee\n\n\n\n16:30 Ron Chrisley: “Creativity as Non-Conceptual Conceptual Change”\n\n\n\n17:30 General discussion: Beyond the Rational/Conceptual Mind\n\n\n\n\nSaturday\, October 4 \n\n\n\n09:30-13:00     Symposium 4 \n\n\n\n\n09:30 John Polito: “How to perceive BS with AI (It’s not what you’re thinking\, it’s what your hearing)”\n\n\n\n10:30 Avery Wang: TBA\n\n\n\n11:30 coffee\n\n\n\n12:00 Barney Pell: TBA\n\n\n\n\nSunday\, October 5 \n\n\n\n09:30-13:00     Symposium 5 \n\n\n\n\n09:30 Yair Pinto: “Conscious comprehension enables non-algorithmic capabilities.”\n\n\n\n10:30 Mark Kennedy: TBA\n\n\n\n11:30 coffee\n\n\n\n12:00 Ron Chrisley: “Adventures in Self-Reference 1: Epistemic Blindspots”\n\n\n\n\n15:00-18:00     Symposium 6 \n\n\n\n\n15:00 Ewan Paton: “Must Judges Be Human?”\n\n\n\n16:00 coffee\n\n\n\n16:30 Brian Keeley: “The weird epistemology of conspiracy theories.”\n\n\n\n17:30 General discussion: Reckoning & Judgement\n\n\n\n\nMonday\, October 6 \n\n\n\n09:30-13:00     Symposium 7 \n\n\n\n\n09:30 Ron Chrisley: “Adventures in Self-Reference 2: The Situatedness of Computation and Inference”\n\n\n\n10:30 TBA (possibly Vinod Goel?)\n\n\n\n11:30 coffee\n\n\n\n12:00 General discussion: Moving Forward\n\n\n\n12:30 Closing\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nParticipants\n\n\n\nUziel Awret \n\n\n\nPresentation: \n\n\n\n“Consciousness and the AdS/CFT Duality” \n\n\n\nIn my talk I will try and convince you that were the neural correlates of consciousness shown to be massively entangled then consciousness might be an exotic phase of matter that is constituted similarly to space. Physicists like Juan Maldacena believe that in the not so far future we will be able to use quantum computers to generate AdS spaces with a couple of thousands of properly entangled qubits. These spaces\, which are a solution of Einstein’s gravitational equation\, are more classical in nature and possess many philosophically relevant properties. \n\n\n\nI will begin the talk with methodological issues relevant to any theory of consciousness that appeals to novel physical mechanisms and proceed to motivate my argument. Next I will say a few words on massively entangled systems that harbor interspersed local measuring devices and the new Frontier of quantum complexity. While the physical scenario that I will be entertaining may have little to do with reality (after all it assumes large scale entanglement in the warm brain and embraces a radical interpretation of the holographic duality) it is worth considering because of the many philosophical advantages that it provides\, if time permits\, I will list more than twenty such philosophical advantages. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRon Chrisley \n\n\n\nPresentations: \n\n\n\nI will give some or all of the following talks: \n\n\n\n\n“Creativity as Non-Conceptual Conceptual Change”\n\nMuch of our mental life is non-conceptual (roughly\, composed of meanings not capturable in words). This poses a challenge for our sciences and technologies of the mind\, but also promises several opportunities. The challenge is how to talk and theorize about these otherwise ineffable non-conceptual contents. The opportunities derive from the role that non-conceptuality plays in our mental lives: grounding perception\, action on the one hand\, and providing the medium for radical learning and creativity on the other. How can the proper recognition and understanding of the role of the non-conceptual inform the design of better AI systems?\n\n\n\n(This talk of mine from almost 20 years ago introduces some of the key ideas: https://e-asterisk.blogspot.com/2007/08/interactive-empiricism-philosopher-in_06.html )\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n“Adventures in Self-Reference 1: Epistemic Blindspots”\n\n“It’s raining\, but George doesn’t know it” is an example of an epistemic blindspot for George: it can be true\, it can be known (e.g. by Ron)\, but it is logically impossible for George to know it. Each knower has an unbounded number epistemic blindspots. I show:\n\n(Following Sorensen) how conditional epistemic blindspots can be used to resolve paradoxes (e.g.\, the paradox of the surprise examination);\n\n\n\nHow epistemic blindspots can be used to defeat a famous argument against physicalism\, Jackson’s Knowledge Argument;\n\n\n\nThat physical knowledge can be logically private and ineffable knowledge;\n\n\n\nThat the mere possibility of epistemic blindspots implies that for any knowledge-based system (natural or artificial) to track the truth it must not only check for logical consistency (as is well known)\, but must also check for what I call epistemic consistency.\n\n\n\n\n\n(This talk of mine from almost 20 years ago introduces some of the key ideas: https://e-asterisk.blogspot.com/2006/07/epistemic-blindspot-sets-resolution-of.html)\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n“Adventures in Self-Reference 2: The Situatedness of Computation and Inference”\n\nComputation and inference are both situated in the sense that they occur in a particular context; specifically\, there is a particular system carrying out the computation\, and a particular subject engaging in the inference at a particular time.  The upshot of this is that general accounts of what is and what is not computable\, or what inferences are or are not valid\, must\, contrary to orthodoxy\, pay attention to these contextual details. I demonstrate this by showing:\n\nOne cannot capture inferential validity purely syntactically: the argument “P; P->Q; Therefore Q” is not\, despite conventional wisdom\, always valid; to capture validity requires reference to situational aspects\, not just syntactic form.\n\n\n\nThe non-computability of the (non-)Halting Problem by a system is itself dependent on the identity (classification) of that system. One result of this is that the diagonal argument against AI fails.\n\n\n\n\n\n(This talk of mine from last year introduces some of the key ideas concerning the second point: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSBpUOG7UH8)\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBerkan Eskikaya \n\n\n\nPresentation: \n\n\n\n“Before it’s gone: Fragility as a Precondition for Consciousness\, Meaning\, and Value” \n\n\n\nThis talk is a speculative exploration of how fragility and vulnerability are not only essential features of living systems\, but also serve as a lens through which we can shape our understanding of consciousness\, meaning\, and value. Edge cases such as mind–body conditions and ephemeral art are used to probe and stress these ideas — for instance\, do they point to ways fragility can be turned into appreciation or resilience? The aim is to invite dialogue on how fragility\, as a unifying principle\, may connect across domains relevant to consciousness\, AI\, and creativity. \n\n\n\nVinod Goel \n\n\n\nPresentation: \n\n\n\n“Biological Constraints on the Rational Mind (Discussed in Context of “Us and Them” Phenomenon)” \n\n\n\nWe are widely considered to be the rational animal.  This entails that our volitional behavior is a function of our beliefs\, desires\, and a principle of coherence which guides our pursuit of the latter in the context of the former.  Where human behavior seems less than rational one can appeal to irrationality in the form of various “heuristic” responses. \n\n\n\nAt least two important assumptions underly the model of rationality: (1) Beliefs (and cognitive desires founded on false suppositions) are considered to be malleable/corrigible allowing for unlimited learning and enormous flexibility in behavior at any tme.  (2) The model is self-contained and insulated from lower-level biological systems (for e.g beliefs and desires presumably cannot mingle with low blood sugar level).  I want to suggest that both of these assumptions are flawed.  They ignore basic biological constraints.  In the case of the first assumption\, while neural development does allow for local belief revision at any time\,  revision of large-scale worldviews are rare/impossible after certain neural maturation windows have closed.  In the case of the second\, if we are to accept the theory of evolution and the past 100 years of neurobiology research we must acknowledge that our system of rationality is built on top of and modulated by evolutionarily older systems such as the autonomic system\, reinforcement learning systems\, and instincts.  There is no Libertarian CEO in charge.  The control structure is based on hedonic principles.  This leads to a notion of arational (rather than irrational) behavior.  Accepting these constraints leads to a model of mind tethered to and constrained by  various biological systems and processes and gives us a larger repertoire of tools for explaining teenage daughters\, MAGA\, Brixet\, Ukraine and Gaza.  I will discuss these ideas in the context of the “us and them” phenomenon. \n\n\n\nSuggested reading: \n\n\n\n\nBoth assumptions are discussed in the this manuscript entitled “Us And Them: Insights From Evolution\, Neurodevelopment\, And The Tethered Mind” which is currently in review.  (My apologies for the length of the ms but the reviewers keep asking for more details…. but over half of it is bibliography.)\n\n\n\nI have also made a one hour YouTube video for my students about the tethered mind that discusses the problem with the second assumption and my proposed solution.  Here is the link:https://youtu.be/zb2Z7P7CCKg\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBrian Keeley \n\n\n\nPresentation: \n\n\n\n“The weird epistemology of conspiracy theories.” \n\n\n\nIn the late ‘90s\, when it looked like nobody wanted to hire a philosopher who studied the neuroscience of electric fish\, I wrote a random paper on the philosophy of conspiracy theories (CTs)\, because almost no one else had. That got published in the Journal of Philosophy\, which got me a job. Then 9/11 happened and lots of people became interested in CTs to the point that there’s now a thriving cottage industry in the academic study of this social and epistemic phenomenon. Since this is not a crowd of conspiracy theory theorists\, I’ll introduce the topic and explain what topics are currently driving me and others who study the current landscape. Please come prepared to discuss and defend the conspiracy theory you most want to believe. \n\n\n\nSuggested reading: \n\n\n\nThe opening chapter of political scientist\,  Joe Uscinski’s Conspiracy Theories: A Primer\, 2nd edition\, 2023\, available here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/17CchevMUC4bBi_OR6zowfeJH5Efk3GwY/view?usp=share_link \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMark Kennedy \n\n\n\nTBA \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nEwan Paton \n\n\n\nPresentation: \n\n\n\n“Must Judges Be Human?” \n\n\n\nSuggested reading: \n\n\n\n“Algorithms and adjudication” – William Lucy (2024) Jurisprudence\, 15:3\, p251-281 \n\n\n\nFull article: Algorithms and adjudication \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBarney Pell \n\n\n\nTBA \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nYair Pinto \n\n\n\nPresentation: \n\n\n\n“Conscious comprehension enables non-algorithmic capabilities.” \n\n\n\nIn this talk I present an argument against the computational theory of mind. In short\, the argument states that human comprehension plus volition enables capabilities that exceed the capabilities of finite algorithmic systems. I will shortly outline how the current argument is similar to the Lucas-Penrose argument. Moreover\, an empirical research line is deduced from this argument. The first tasks within this research line have recently been finalized. Performance on these tasks of humans\, and of various large language models (Grok\, Claude 4\, o3\, etc.)\, will be discussed. \n\n\n\nSuggested reading: TBA \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nJohn Polito \n\n\n\nPresentation: \n\n\n\n“How to perceive BS with AI. (It’s not what you’re thinking\, it’s what your hearing)” \n\n\n\nSuggested reading: \n\n\n\nHere are a couple quick blurbs that might get everyone closer to the topic than my presentation title (which will be explained!). \n\n\n\n\nhttps://leader.pubs.asha.org/doi/10.1044/leader.FTR1.12042007.6\n\n\n\nhttps://medium.com/@joydesdevises/auditory-perception-understanding-and-applying-its-principles-09c3b2be58b8\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPaavo Pylkkänen \n\n\n\nPresentation: \n\n\n\n“Bohm’s pilot wave theory and its philosophical implications” \n\n\n\nBohm’s pilot wave theory has been one long-term focus of my interaction with Ron\, and he has provided valuable criticisms of it over the years. Assuming that many of the other participants are not familiar with the theory\, I will first present it. I will then move on to discuss its philosophical implications\, hoping to engage in a debate with Ron and others. For philosophers the Bohm theory offers the possibility of a new kind of ‘physicalism’ where information is assumed to be fundamental\, leading to the notion that ‘meaning is a key factor of being’. If this is correct\, it will be valuable to give more attention to the role that meaning plays both in nature and in our lives individually and socially. I will explain what meaning meant for Bohm and look forward to a lively discussion. \n\n\n\nSuggested reading: \n\n\n\nBohm\, D. (1990) A new theory of the relationship of mind and matter\, Philosophical Psychology\, 3:2-3\, 271-286\, DOI: 10.1080/09515089008573004. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1T7_BBDPLIQBOT-VPMU7Qlt7uhRV8KH5Z/view?usp=share_link \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nOliver Sharpe \n\n\n\nPresentation: \n\n\n\n“Portfolism – Reasoning well given the logical limits of rationality” \n\n\n\nIn the 20th century our rational\, calculative tools showed us their own limits\, from Russel’s paradoxes of set theory; through Gödel’s incompleteness theorems; to the unresolved tensions between quantum mechanics and general relativity. With Wittgenstein\, Derrida and others the limits of language also became clear. For some these conclusions painted a hopeless state of affairs from which the very notion of reasoned progress became an impossibility. Others simply ignored or forgot these limits.  \n\n\n\nIn my talk I’ll explain the route through this tension that I’ve been exploring for the last decade\, a framework of ideas I call “portfolism”. It provides a way to understand what we count as good reasoning\, while also holding on to the benefits of our rational tools without ignoring the implications of their own limits. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAvery Wang \n\n\n\nTBA
URL:https://paricenter.com/event/mind-matter-and-meaning-a-jubileum/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Rome:20251028T180000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Rome:20251118T200000
DTSTAMP:20260403T230901
CREATED:20250926T214246Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251027T161250Z
UID:10000439-1761674400-1763496000@paricenter.com
SUMMARY:An Armchair Guide to Quantum Mechanics
DESCRIPTION:An Armchair Guide to Quantum Mechanics \n\n\n\nPresented by Jonathan Allday \n\n\n\nA semi-serious approach to one of the most important fundamental theories in physics \n\n\n\n10 sessions from October 28 – November 18 \n\n\n\n7 one-hour lectures and 3 sessions of group conversation and Q&A  \n\n\n\n9am PST / 12pm EST / 5pm GMT / 6pm CET \n\n\n\nAll sessions are live and all participants will receive the RECORDING. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nWhat is quantum mechanics? \n\n\n\nMore than 100 years ago\, the founding fathers were faced with a series of experimental results that confounded their understanding regarding the nature of reality. Einstein never forgave Nature for doing this to him. Heisenberg had to run away to an island to figure it out. Pauli ended up going to Jung for analysis. \n\n\n\nGradually\, they came to a new understanding—Quantum Mechanics—but in the process\, they had to throw away virtually all of the old physical picture of particles colliding and interacting like tiny billiard balls. Instead\, we now have shifting probability waves existing in an implicate layer of reality and manifesting in explicate results. Our very language and concepts struggle to cope with expressing in words what is clear mathematically. Bohr had to invent a new form of double-think\, complementarity\, to try and ride the paradox: Nature expressing herself in both wave and particle forms\, within the same experiment. \n\n\n\nWhy is it important? \n\n\n\nQuantum mechanics\, and the theories built from its foundations\, is our fundamental theory of matter and forces. It underpins everything we understand about the nature of our universe. In the earliest moments of creation\, fractions of a second into the Big Bang\, quantum theory governed the structure and evolution of our young cosmos. Delicate measurements of the universal ‘heat map’ spread across the sky\, reveal aspects of this quantum driven period. \n\n\n\nAlong with the awe-inspiring beauty and depth of the physics involved\, quantum theory also has profound implications for our technology: from computer chips\, MRI scans\, communications and quantum computers. \n\n\n\nFundamentally\, quantum mechanics is the most radical recasting of the nature of reality that we have ever experienced. The world is far stranger\, and more supple\, than we are led to believe. \n\n\n\nWhy should people have a basic understanding of QM? \n\n\n\nIt seems clear that the rigidly materialistic paradigm is crumbling\, and we don’t yet know what is going to replace it. \n\n\n\nWe’re at a delicate time. On the one hand some of our political masters seek to undermine the expertise and results of the scientific community\, replacing Truth with Story. On the other\, enthusiastic and well-meaning groups working to assemble new paradigm thinking are promoting quantum ideas as a universal panacea for mind\, body\, spirit and anomalous experience. \n\n\n\nWider groups are trying to ride the turbulent waves and look for some understanding they can hold to. In order to steer between rigid scientism on one side and some of the flakier philosophies on the other\, it helps to know a little of what quantum theory is really saying about the world \n\n\n\nWho are our audience? \n\n\n\nHigh school students \n\n\n\nRetirees looking for new areas of interest or wanting to brush up on the latest thinking and developments \n\n\n\nPeople who enjoy reading popular science books and periodicals \n\n\n\nPeople who experienced poor teaching in their science classes at school and would like to start over in their physics education \n\n\n\nPeople who just enjoy learning \n\n\n\nHow do these presentations differ from other online QM series? \n\n\n\nIt’s a no-math introduction—sigh of relief! \n\n\n\nIn addition to the weekly talk with Q&A there will be a weekly ‘conversation bar’ where participants can discuss the ideas of the week with each other and the course presenter\, if available. \n\n\n\nThere will be no keeping away from philosophical issues—the nature of reality is in question here! \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nJONATHAN ALLDAY took his first degree in Natural Sciences at Cambridge\, then gained a PhD in particle physics in 1989 at Liverpool University. For a period\, he worked at the particle physics research centre\, CERN\, but not as a cleaner. \n\n\n\nFor 30 years Jonathan taught physics to high-school students in a range of schools across the UK. In addition\, he ran summer schools for the Open University\, helped devise new physics curricula and a new course in the history and philosophy of science for 16–18-year-olds. For a period\, he was co-editor of Physics Education magazine and has contributed more articles to Physics Review than anyone else in its 35-volume history. \n\n\n\nHe is an author of science textbooks\, has contributed to an encyclopaedia for young scientists\, and has written on aspects of the history and philosophy of science. \n\n\n\nSessions\n\n\n\nSession 1: Not even wrong… \n\n\n\nTuesday 28th October \n\n\n\nThe fall of classical physics and the rise of the quantum world. \n\n\n\nAmplitudes/wave functions\, and the probable outcomes of experiments. \n\n\n\nConversation and Q&A \n\n\n\nThursday 30th October \n\n\n\nSession 2: Come on everybody\, let’s do the twist… \n\n\n\nSaturday 1st November \n\n\n\nThe mysterious quantum property known as ‘spin’. Particles have it\, photons have it\, but do we really understand what it is? \n\n\n\nSession 3: Spooky action at a distance \n\n\n\nTuesday 4th November \n\n\n\nWhen the left hand implicately knows what the right hand is doing. Einstein’s problem with quantum theory. The work of John Bell and the radical undermining of reductionism. \n\n\n\nConversation and Q&A \n\n\n\nThursday 6th November \n\n\n\nSession 4: The Measurement Problem \n\n\n\nSaturday 8th November \n\n\n\nIs quantum theory a 32 regular or a 36 long? Or more seriously… \n\n\n\nWhy does anything happen in the quantum world? The astonishing fact is that quantum theory relies on a mysterious process that is not fully understood and is not present in the standard mathematics. \n\n\n\nSession 5: Interpretations \n\n\n\nTuesday 11th November \n\n\n\nMore than 100 years later\, we still can’t agree what it means. Some people feel that quantum theory can only be understood in the context of many partially overlapping worlds. Others think that there is an unbridgeable and unknowable divide between the classical and quantum worlds. Most just ‘shut up and calculate.’ We\, however\, are made of sterner stuff so we ask the question: ‘What does quantum theory tell us about the nature of reality?’ \n\n\n\nConversation and Q&A \n\n\n\nThursday 13th November \n\n\n\nSession 6: Bohm and Hiley \n\n\n\nSaturday 15th November \n\n\n\nIn which our heroes seek to replace the traditional approach to quantum theory with something more satisfying\, from an ontological perspective. \n\n\n\nSession 7: Quantum Snake Oil \n\n\n\nTuesday 18th November \n\n\n\nWould you buy a used quantum computer from this man? What are quantum computers? Why are they attracting so much funding and have they been over-promised?
URL:https://paricenter.com/event/an-armchair-guide-to-quantum-mechanics/
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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Rome:20251122T175900
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Rome:20251207T203000
DTSTAMP:20260403T230901
CREATED:20250807T095003Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251108T090058Z
UID:10000435-1763834340-1765139400@paricenter.com
SUMMARY:Beyond Jung: Jung & Ecology
DESCRIPTION:With Gillian M Brown\, Susanna Bucher\, Andrew Fellows\, Jeffrey T. Kiehl\, Orsolya Lukács\, Dale Mathers.Curated and chaired by Andrew Fellows. \n\n\n\nNovember 22 – December 7\, 2025 \n\n\n\n6 two-hour sessions \n\n\n\n9:00am PST\, 12:00pm BST\, 5:00pm GMT\, 6:00pm CET \n\n\n\nAll sessions are live\, and include Q & A\, and all participants will receive the RECORDING. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBeyond Jung: Jung & Ecology\n\n\n\nSix Jungian analysts and academics at the cutting edge of this exciting and crucial area of research and practice share their diverse modes of professional engagement. \n\n\n\nThis is the second set of talks in a new ‘Beyond Jung’ series hosted by the Pari Center\, honouring the seminal work and inspiration of the Swiss psychiatrist C. G. Jung. Our title\, ‘Jung and Ecology’\, refers to the contribution of Jung’s prescient insights\, and of his Analytical Psychology in general\, to the emerging discipline of ecopsychology. This can be summed up in his famous and alarming assertion that “The world hangs by a thin thread… and that thread is the psyche of man.”  \n\n\n\nEcopsychology is a broad church\, gaining momentum over recent decades as our awareness of the ecological crisis and our alienation from nature increase. It embraces a range of approaches\, from using psychology to address environmental issues to integrating the natural world into psychotherapeutic practice. Our six expert presenters will share their individual approaches across this spectrum\, five of them as practising Jungian analysts. Their professional backgrounds\, which include ecology\, education\, climate science and renewable energy\, inform and enrich their diverse perspectives.  \n\n\n\nWe look forward to welcoming you to what promises to be a highly topical and engaging series of presentations. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nProgram of Event\n\n\n\nSaturday November 22\, 2025Gaia\, Psyche and Deep Ecologywith Andrew Fellows PhDSunday November 23\, 2025Encountering the Eco-symbolic: A Jungian approach to the discovery of meaningfulness in the other-than-human worldwith Gillian M Brown PhD \n\n\n\nSaturday November 29\, 2025A Jungian Perspective on Climate Changewith Jeffrey T. Kiehl\, PhDSunday November 30\, 2025Facing the Ecological Abyss: A Collective Search for Transformationwith Susanna Bucher\, Dr. sc. nat. ETH \n\n\n\nSaturday December 6\, 2025Control\, Creation\, and the Future of Naturewith Orsolya Lukács PhD \n\n\n\nSunday December 7\, 2025 Time and Climate Change  with Dale Mathers MD
URL:https://paricenter.com/event/beyond-jung-jung-and-ecology/
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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Rome:20251122T180000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Rome:20251122T203000
DTSTAMP:20260403T230901
CREATED:20250804T102057Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250809T151900Z
UID:10000429-1763834400-1763843400@paricenter.com
SUMMARY:Beyond Jung - Gaia\, Psyche and Deep Ecology
DESCRIPTION:Beyond Jung –Gaia\, Psyche and Deep Ecology \n\n\n\nwith Andrew Fellows PhD \n\n\n\nSaturday November 22\, 20259am PST / 12pm EST / 5pm GMT / 6pm CET \n\n\n\nBeyond Jung 2025\, Session 1 of 6 \n\n\n\nThis event is LIVE. All participants will receive the RECORDING. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSynergies between Jungian psychology\, systems dynamics\, Gaia theory\, dual-aspect monism and deep ecology can prepare and guide us to counter the existential threat of the Anthropocene. Moreover\, Jung’s Stages of Life “cradle-to-grave” developmental theory can be scaled up to show that our entire civilisation is in mid-life crisis\, and responding to it with a toxic mix of inertia\, nostalgia and hubris. Instead\, the essential transition from development to individuation at this point in our personal psychology translates into an urgently needed metanoia away from our collective ecocidal behaviour. The consilience that I establish lays the foundations of a radically different worldview—a fundamental shift from anthropocentric inflation to biocentric holism—with which to address global heating\, the sixth mass extinction\, and other unprecedented challenges of our time.  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAndrew Fellows is a Training Analyst and former Program Director at ISAP Zurich\, independent researcher and author\, and deep ecologist. He holds a Doctorate in Applied Physics (Dunelm)\, and has been a Fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society (UK). He enjoyed two decades of international engagement with renewable—especially wind—energy\, sustainable development and environmental policy before moving to train as a Jungian Analyst in Zürich in 2001. His passion draws on his expertise from these two very different careers\, extending Jungian Psychology to address global social and environmental problems. His first book\, Gaia\, Psyche and Deep Ecology: Navigating Climate Change in the Anthropocene (Routledge\, 2019) was joint winner of the Scientific & Medical Network 2019 Book Prize. He has lectured around this topic to audiences in Europe (including the Pari Center)\, Asia and the United States. Andrew lives over three thousand feet above sea level in rural Switzerland.
URL:https://paricenter.com/event/beyond-jung-gaia-psyche-and-deep-ecology/
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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Rome:20251123T180000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Rome:20251123T203000
DTSTAMP:20260403T230901
CREATED:20250804T103539Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250809T152651Z
UID:10000430-1763920800-1763929800@paricenter.com
SUMMARY:Beyond Jung - Encountering the Eco-symbolic: A Jungian approach to the discovery of meaningfulness in the other-than-human world
DESCRIPTION:Beyond Jung – Encountering the Eco-symbolic: A Jungian approach to the discovery of meaningfulness in the other-than-human world \n\n\n\nwith Gillian M Brown PhD \n\n\n\nSunday November 23\, 20259am PST / 12pm EST / 5pm GMT / 6pm CET \n\n\n\nBeyond Jung 2025\, Session 2 of 6 \n\n\n\nThis event is LIVE. All participants will receive the RECORDING. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAs those working in outdoor settings will testify\, profound experiences can emerge from the dynamic interaction between an individual and the phenomena of the natural environment. These moments of meaning\, where psyche experiences itself reflected in the other-than-human world\, can hold profound personal significance\, might lead to important therapeutic insight and may even inspire a sense of interconnectedness with the containing ecosystem. To explore how Jung’s concept of the symbol can help us understand such encounters\, I follow his thinking from the symbolically constellated and ‘undifferentiated’ worldview of his ‘primitive’ man to the ‘transpsychic reality’ underlying the psyche\, as revealed by his researches into synchronicity. With reference to my own experience of working therapeutically in outdoor settings and my recent research into the symbol-like content found in immersive engagement with the natural environment\, I consider how a Jungian approach can offer us an effective framework for the ‘eco-symbolic’ and might\, ultimately\, guide us to discover a more ecosystemically integrated sense of self. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGillian M Brown is a psychotherapist and nature-based counsellor and educator with a longstanding interest in the field of ecopsychology. She has a PhD from the Department of Psychosocial and Psychoanalytic Studies at the University of Essex where she researched the application of the Jungian concept of the symbol to meaningful encounters with other-than-human phenomena. Her paper ‘The tree that called my name: on the significance of encountering the constellated symbol in the natural\, other-than-human\, world’ was published in the Journal of Analytical Psychology’s special edition on our environmental and climate crisis and she is the author of ‘In Nature’s embrace: Emotional emplacement and the search for an ‘eco-symbolic’’\, a chapter based on her conference presentation for the C. G. Jung Institute in Switzerland\, in Routledge’s 2025 ‘Jungian and interdisciplinary interfaces between emotions individual and collective trauma’. An emeritus member and former Chair of the Cambridge Jungian Circle\, Gillian remains active in the organisation and is a co-facilitator of the circle’s ‘Eco-Jung’ discussion group.
URL:https://paricenter.com/event/beyond-jung-encountering-the-eco-symbolic-a-jungian-approach-to-the-discovery-of-meaningfulness-in-the-other-than-human-world/
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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Rome:20251129T180000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Rome:20251129T203000
DTSTAMP:20260403T230901
CREATED:20250804T112836Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250809T153256Z
UID:10000431-1764439200-1764448200@paricenter.com
SUMMARY:Beyond Jung - A Jungian Perspective on Climate Change
DESCRIPTION:Beyond Jung – A Jungian Perspective on Climate Change \n\n\n\nwith Jeffrey T. Kiehl\, PhD \n\n\n\nSaturday November 29\, 20259am PST / 12pm EST / 5pm GMT / 6pm CET \n\n\n\nBeyond Jung 2025\, Session 3 of 6 \n\n\n\nThis event is LIVE. All participants will receive the RECORDING. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n“Nobody can afford to look around and to wait for somebody else to do what he is loath to do himself. But since nobody seems to know what to do\, it might be worthwhile for each of us to ask himself whether by any chance his or her unconscious may know something that will help us.” C.G. Jung (CW 18\, par. 599) \n\n\n\n\nHuman caused climate change has placed life on the planet in a precarious state. It is imperative we address this situation as soon as possible for the longer we wait\, the more we commit future generations to catastrophic disruption. Jungian psychology provides a unique means to understand the problem of climate change for it recognizes the importance of the unconscious in our lives. In this presentation\, I explore how the dynamics of unconscious processes relate to climate change and how these processes provide pathways to addressing the problem. I consider current myths that lie at the root of our collective dissociation from Earth and how these myths relate to cultural complexes. The presentation concludes with a discussion of how to reconnect to the sacredness of Earth\, which is essential to address the issue of climate change. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nJeffrey Kiehl\, PhD\, is a Diplomate Jungian Analyst and senior training analyst for the C.G. Jung Institute of Colorado and the Inter-Regional Society of Jungian Analysts. He originally trained in quantum physics before becoming a climate scientist. He has held faculty positions at a number of universities\, most recently at the University of California\, Santa Cruz and Pacifica Graduate Institute\, where he taught courses on ecopsychology. He is the author of Facing Climate Change: An Integrated Path to the Future\, which provides a Jungian perspective on climate change. His most recent articles include: A Tale of Two Cultures: Climate Change & American Complexes in Cultural Complexes and the Soul of America: Myth\, Psyche and Politics; Mandala as Portal to Healing in ARAS Connections;  Engaging the Green Man: Breaking Our Spell of Enchantment in Depth Psychology and Climate Change; and The Nature of Uncertainty/The Uncertainty of Nature in Our Uncertain World: Challenges and Opportunities in a Dark Time.  Jeffrey lives in Boulder\, CO.
URL:https://paricenter.com/event/beyond-jung-a-jungian-perspective-on-climate-change/
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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Rome:20251130T180000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Rome:20251130T203000
DTSTAMP:20260403T230901
CREATED:20250804T113837Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250809T154001Z
UID:10000432-1764525600-1764534600@paricenter.com
SUMMARY:Beyond Jung - Facing the Ecological Abyss: A Collective Search for Transformation
DESCRIPTION:Beyond Jung – Facing the Ecological Abyss: A Collective Search for Transformation \n\n\n\nwith Susanna Bucher\, Dr. sc. nat. ETH \n\n\n\nSunday November 30\, 20259am PST / 12pm EST / 5pm GMT / 6pm CET \n\n\n\nBeyond Jung 2025\, Session 4 of 6 \n\n\n\nThis event is LIVE. All participants will receive the RECORDING. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIn Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “A Descent into the Maelström” (1841)\, three fishermen are trapped in a gigantic ocean whirlpool threatening to destroy them. This strikes me as an image of the abyss humankind is facing today\, threatened by a multi-dimensional ecological crisis in a world dominated by a one-sidedly materialistic collective consciousness that has lost its spiritual foundation\, as Carl Gustav Jung characterized it. Symbolically\, Poe’s story tells us that psychic transformation of the collective can be achieved by letting go of the old and embracing the new and unknown. Building on Erich Neumann and Dorothee Sölle\, I examine approaches toward a felt connection with something larger\, infinite\, all-encompassing\, or with nature. This can provide impulses for a more mystical relationship with our inner and outer nature\, rooted in the Self and oriented to the world. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSusanna Bucher\, Dr. sc. nat. ETH is an environmental scientist holding a doctorate from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zürich. She also holds a diploma in analytical psychology\, is teaching at the International School of Analytical Psychology (ISAPZURICH) and elsewhere\, and has a private practice in Zürich. She wrote two articles on the ecological crisis from the perspective of Jungian psychology in the Journal of Analytical Psychology in November 2022. Her interests include ecology\, nature\, and mysticism.
URL:https://paricenter.com/event/beyond-jung-facing-the-ecological-abyss-a-collective-search-for-transformation/
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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Rome:20251206T180000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Rome:20251206T203000
DTSTAMP:20260403T230901
CREATED:20250804T114655Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250809T154327Z
UID:10000433-1765044000-1765053000@paricenter.com
SUMMARY:Beyond Jung - Control\, Creation\, and the Future of Nature
DESCRIPTION:Beyond Jung – Control\, Creation\, and the Future of Nature \n\n\n\nwith Orsolya Lukács PhD \n\n\n\nSaturday December 6\, 20259am PST / 12pm EST / 5pm GMT / 6pm CET \n\n\n\nBeyond Jung 2025\, Session 5 of 6 \n\n\n\nThis event is LIVE. All participants will receive the RECORDING. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe phenomena of climate change and the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence reveal a defining feature of humanity: the aspiration to control\, reshape\, and surpass the natural world. At the heart of both lies a mode of creativity and god-like ambition that seeks mastery over nature and the power to create new\, autonomous entities. Originating as a human-made being shaped from earth and animated through sacred knowledge\, the image of the Golem serves as a powerful metaphor for this impulse. It is interpreted here as a symbolic expression of the desire not only to dominate the natural world\, but also to transcend it through technological means. \n\n\n\nThis mode of human creativity\, driven by the urge to control rather than to participate in the natural order\, often overlooks the profound interdependence between human systems and ecological stability. Its consequences are increasingly evident in the accelerating disruption of the climate and in the development of autonomous technologies that affect our lives in far-reaching ways. This talk uses the Golem myth as a symbolic framework to examine the ethical and psychological tensions inherent in acts of creation\, the limits of control\, and the urgent need to reconsider humanity’s relationship with both the natural world and technological innovation. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDr Orsolya Lukács is a Lecturer of Psychoanalytic Studies and the Director of Education for the Department of Psychosocial and Psychoanalytic Studies at the University of Essex. Her primary academic interests lie in the interdisciplinary nature of analytical psychology\, particularly its intersections with physics\, its applications to emerging fields such as artificial intelligence\, and its relevance to critical societal issues like climate change. She is also deeply interested in the history of analytical psychology and the role of talking therapies in shaping and driving societal change and is drawn to explorations of time\, the interplay between mind and matter\, intuition\, imagination\, creativity\, theories of consciousness\, virtual realities\, and the evolving concept of the Self. Her upcoming book\, C. G. Jung and Albert Einstein: Analytical Psychology\, Relativity and the Universe will be published by Routledge. She has also contributed a chapter\, entitled ‘Jung\, Ecopsychology and Climate Change’ to the forthcoming The Second Handbook of Jungian Psychology\, edited by Renos Papadopoulos and Stephen Garratt\, and to be published by Routledge. 
URL:https://paricenter.com/event/beyond-jung-control-creation-and-the-future-of-nature/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Rome:20251207T180000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Rome:20251207T203000
DTSTAMP:20260403T230901
CREATED:20250930T195129Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250930T195133Z
UID:10000441-1765130400-1765139400@paricenter.com
SUMMARY:Beyond Jung - Time and Climate Change
DESCRIPTION:Beyond Jung – Time and Climate Change \n\n\n\nwith Dale Mathers MD \n\n\n\nSunday December 7\, 20259am PST / 12pm EST / 5pm GMT / 6pm CET \n\n\n\nBeyond Jung 2025\, Session 6 of 6 \n\n\n\nThis event is LIVE. All participants will receive the RECORDING. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIn this presentation I will look at how hard it is to comprehend the problem of climate change due to our natural\, human problem with perceiving time. We can’t know those three generations behind or in front – so we can’t take in the effect our actions have on future generations. This links to the fractal nature of time\, and to how hard it is to submerge our own sense of self into the complex emergent system which is the collective unconscious. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDr. Dale Mathers is a retired psychiatrist\, humanistic psychotherapist\, and analytical psychologist. He was a Training Analyst and Supervisor with AJA and RSAP. He has taught in the UK\, Poland\, Ukraine\, Russia and China. He has authored and edited several books. The latest is ‘Dreams: the Basics’. (Routledge 2024). His approach involves exploring symbols of transformation\, aiming to foster a deeper understanding and response to the challenges of Climate Change.
URL:https://paricenter.com/event/beyond-jung-time-and-climate-change/
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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Rome:20260104T190000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Rome:20260104T200000
DTSTAMP:20260403T230901
CREATED:20251206T110457Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251206T112112Z
UID:10000442-1767553200-1767556800@paricenter.com
SUMMARY:Experiencing Consciousness: Inner Knowing Through Art
DESCRIPTION:International Consciousness Research Laboratories (ICRL) and The Pari Center present: \n\n\n\nExperiencing Consciousness: Inner Knowing Through Art \n\n\n\nwith Jeff Dunne \n\n\n\nSunday January 4\, 202610:00AM PST | 1:00PM EST | 6:00PM GMT | 7:00PM CET \n\n\n\nThis event is restricted to 40 participants. There will be no recording. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe inaugural session of the Experiencing Consciousness event series is a roughly one-hour workshop led by ICRL’s president\, Jeff Dunne. We will start with a brief\, guided meditation and then transition into a series of artistic exercises that use simple drawings and short writings in response to individualized prompts that are randomly (or perhaps not-so-randomly!) generated. The activities are designed to bypass the intellect and allow each person to tap into their inner wisdom to answer perhaps what they thought they wanted to know\, but undoubtedly what they needed to hear. At the end\, participants will have the opportunity – if they wish – to share their insights with another participant one-on-one\, and/or with the whole group. \n\n\n\nNo background in art is required for this workshop\, only an interest in trying something different in a safe\, welcoming online group setting. \n\n\n\n\nExperiencing Consciousness\n\n\n\n\nRegister now to reserve your place! \n\n\n\nAs you will see in the registration form\, there are three options for registering. The normal ticket price is $15 for the session. There is also a free option for students and others who cannot afford this registration fee\, and this is possible thanks to the incredible generosity of Neal Grossman\, who has provided a scholarship fund to ensure that money never stands in the way of people expanding their horizons. Lastly\, if you are like Neal and are motivated to contribute a little more to help others\, there is also a Supporting Angel ticket for $30 that will make another free ticket available for future participants! \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNote: We use a service called Zeffy to handle registrations because it eliminates credit card fees. However\, the system defaults to including a 17.5% donation to Zeffy at the same time. That fee is not required and can be easily eliminated or adjusted by simply selecting ‘Other’ in that section. \n\n\n\nYou will also have the option to include an additional donation on top of the ticket price. Despite what it says on the form (which\, alas\, cannot be changed)\, any additional donations are divided equally between the Pari Center and ICRL.
URL:https://paricenter.com/event/experiencing-consciousness-inner-knowing-through-art/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Rome:20260215T190000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Rome:20260215T213000
DTSTAMP:20260403T230901
CREATED:20251206T111810Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251206T111948Z
UID:10000443-1771182000-1771191000@paricenter.com
SUMMARY:Experiencing Consciousness: Remote Viewing
DESCRIPTION:International Consciousness Research Laboratories (ICRL) and The Pari Center present: \n\n\n\nExperiencing Consciousness: Remote Viewing \n\n\n\nwith David Harker \n\n\n\nSunday February 15\, 202610:00AM PST | 1:00PM EST | 6:00PM GMT | 7:00PM CET \n\n\n\nThis event is restricted to 40 participants. There will be no recording. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIn this session you will do remote viewing. You might have read about it\, but as is the point of the Exploring Consciousness series\, there’s no substitute for first-hand experience. If you’re curious to explore this natural ability that everyone has\, this is a great opportunity to learn by doing in an informal group workshop. \n\n\n\nThe session is for beginners\, including people who don’t think they are psychic! All you need is some plain paper\, a pen and an open mind. Come along and give it a go — you might well be surprised to discover just what your mind is capable of. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDavid Harker is a remote viewer\, trainer\, mentor\, mystic and magickian. He hosts The Psychic Guys podcast\, is a founder of the Second House RV Group (who regularly predict the future)\, and moderates the largest online community of remote viewers. He’s particularly interested in the overlap between remote viewing and esoteric spiritual traditions and how remote viewing can serve as an adjunct to spiritual practice. He has a background in archaeology\, software engineering and life sciences. David lives in North Yorkshire\, UK.  Learn more about David at Intuitive Ops. \n\n\n\nNo background or prior experience with remote viewing is required to participate\, only an interest in trying your mind at a new way of perceiving the universe. \n\n\n\n\nExperiencing Consciousness\n\n\n\n\nRegister now to reserve your place! \n\n\n\nAs you will see in the registration form\, there are three options for registering. The normal ticket price is $15 for the session. There is also a free option for students and others who cannot afford this registration fee\, and this is possible thanks to the incredible generosity of Neal Grossman\, who has provided a scholarship fund to ensure that money never stands in the way of people expanding their horizons. Lastly\, if you are like Neal and are motivated to contribute a little more to help others\, there is also a Supporting Angel ticket for $30 that will make another free ticket available for future participants! \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNote: We use a service called Zeffy to handle registrations because it eliminates credit card fees. However\, the system defaults to including a 17.5% donation to Zeffy at the same time. That fee is not required and can be easily eliminated or adjusted by simply selecting ‘Other’ in that section. \n\n\n\nYou will also have the option to include an additional donation on top of the ticket price. Despite what it says on the form (which\, alas\, cannot be changed)\, any additional donations are divided equally between the Pari Center and ICRL.
URL:https://paricenter.com/event/experiencing-consciousness-remote-viewing/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Rome:20260307T175900
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Rome:20260322T210000
DTSTAMP:20260403T230901
CREATED:20260206T131308Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260225T141515Z
UID:10000453-1772906340-1774213200@paricenter.com
SUMMARY:Fringe Physics
DESCRIPTION:March 7 – 22\, 20266 two-hour sessions \n\n\n\n10am PDT/1pm EDT/5pm GMT/6pm CET \n\n\n\nWith Jonathan Allday\, Bernard Carr\, Jeff Dunne\, Gwyneth Moss\, Dean Radin.Curated and Chaired by Jonathan Allday. \n\n\n\nAll sessions are live\, and include Q & A\, and all participants will receive the RECORDING. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nA webinar series discussing topics at the edge of conventional physics. \n\n\n\nPhysics has something to say about reality. It would not have survived as an approach to the world for so many centuries if that wasn’t the case. Yet we have to be careful. Physics has bought its success by narrowing its focus and developing a specific approach. We shouldn’t think of it as a ‘catch-all\,’ capable of accounting for everything that we experience. \n\n\n\nThat’s a hard lesson for a physicist to learn.  \n\n\n\nIt may even be an aspect of the ‘ontological shock’ that Jeff Kripal warns us about in the context of anomalous phenomena. It certainly seems that there’s a ‘trickster’ element in everything from UAPs\, NDEs and other weird acronym-experiences. The phenomenon seems to be deliberately defying explanation. \n\n\n\nPerhaps it’s time to push back.  \n\n\n\nPerhaps it’s time to start thinking about how physics can be extended to accommodate (not ‘explain away’) stranger aspects of the world. It’s possible that physics it not equipped to do this\, but also possible that an extended and revised physics might help people integrate their experiences. \n\n\n\nIn this series of talks\, we’ll take on some of these topics. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nProgram of Event\n\n\n\nSaturday March 7Mind and Multiverse: Part 1Jonathan Allday and Bernard Carr in conversation about the Multiverse \n\n\n\nSunday March 8Mind and Multiverse; Part 2Jonathan Allday and Bernard Carr in conversation about Mind \n\n\n\nSaturday March 14 Experimental Tests of the Consciousness: Collapse HypothesisWith Dean Radin \n\n\n\nSunday March 15 The Emergent Physical Universe: The Psychology of Subatomic ParticlesWith Jeff Dunne \n\n\n\nSarturday March 21The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Physics of QiWith Gwyneth Moss \n\n\n\nSunday March 22Beyond the PaleWith Jonathan Allday
URL:https://paricenter.com/event/fringe-physics/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Rome:20260307T180000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Rome:20260308T210000
DTSTAMP:20260403T230901
CREATED:20260205T131743Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260225T141835Z
UID:10000448-1772906400-1773003600@paricenter.com
SUMMARY:Fringe Physics - Mind and Multiverse (Session 1 and 2 of 6)
DESCRIPTION:Mind and Multiverse \n\n\n\nFringe Physics\, Session 1 and 2 of 6 \n\n\n\nWith Jonathan Allday and Bernard Carr. \n\n\n\nSaturday and Sunday March 7-8\, 202610am PDT / 1pm EDT / 5pm GMT / 6pm CET \n\n\n\nThese events are LIVE. All participants will receive the RECORDING. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nUp to around the 1970s\, cosmology was not a subject that a well-brought up young physicist would get involved with. It was dangerously close to philosophy\, and worse\, theology. Now\, cosmology is not only a respected branch of science\, it’s one of the fastest growing. However\, it’s also an area where some of the ideas involved (speculative to be sure) are the weirdest. The community accepts conversations about higher dimensions\, parallel worlds\, and a multiverse. \n\n\n\nThis topic is split into two parts: \n\n\n\nSaturday March 7\, 2026Mind and Multiverse – A conversation between Bernard Carr and Jonathan Allday \n\n\n\nWe will discuss the evidence for the Big Bang and various topics to do with the Multiverse. \n\n\n\nSunday March 8\, 2026Mind and Multiverse – A conversation between Bernard Carr and Jonathan Allday \n\n\n\nIn this conversation we’ll venture into higher dimensions and where Bernard sees mind fitting in to an expanded physics. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nJonathan Allday is a retired teacher with 30+ years’ experience teaching physics working in a range of boarding and day schools in the UK. He was a head of department\, head of faculty and an academic Deputy Head. His last post had the gloriously pompous title ‘Director of Digital Strategy\,’ although this did not make the IT work any better for him. \n\n\n\nAfter attending the Liverpool Blue Coat School\, he took his first degree in Natural Sciences at Cambridge\, then in 1989 a PhD in experimental particle physics at Liverpool University. During that time\, he found one of David Peat’s books in the University Bookstore. Discovering that David was also a Liverpudlian fostered Jonathan’s ambition to write about physics. \n\n\n\nShortly after his PhD\, Jonathan started work on his first book Quarks Leptons and the Big Bang\, now published by Taylor & Francis and available in its third edition. It has been in print for over 25 years. \n\n\n\nSince then\, he has also written Apollo in Perspective\, Quantum Reality (now in its second edition)\, Space-time\, and Introduction to Entropy: The Way of the World\, written with an old school friend\, Professor Simon Hands. In addition\, Jonathan is co-authoring a successful textbook (Advanced Physics) and a volume in the Oxford Encyclopaedia for Young Scientists. Most recently\, Jonathan contributed to the updated edition of the Looking-Glass Universe by F. David Peat and John Briggs. \n\n\n\nIn various other projects\, Jonathan has produced articles and teaching materials on the philosophy of science and the interface between science and religion. He has contributed to Physics Review magazine and has been an editor of Physics Education. \n\n\n\nDuring COVID\, Jonathan started researching what the Pari Center was up to and made his first trip to Italy for the ‘Enchanted Universe’ conference in 2022. Since then\, he has adopted Pari as a spiritual home. His physical home is with his wife Carolyn in Worcestershire. They have three grown boys\, one of whom actually did a degree in physics at Bristol University\, (not a bad strike rate…) and is now a software engineer. The others read psychology and philosophy and fell to the dark side and became accountants. All of them can do sport\, which Jonathan can’t but his wife could (very well). \n\n\n\nIn January 2026\, Jonathan became Director of the Pari Center. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBernard Carr is Emeritus Professor of Mathematics and Astronomy at Queen Mary University of London. His professional area of research is cosmology and astrophysics and includes such topics as the early universe\, dark matter\, black holes and the anthropic principle. For his PhD he studied the first second of the Universe\, working under the supervision of Stephen Hawking at the Institute of Astronomy in Cambridge and the California Institute of Technology. He was elected to a Fellowship at Trinity College\, Cambridge\, in 1975 and moved to Queen Mary College in 1985. He has also held Visiting Professorships at Kyoto University\, Tokyo University\, the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics.  \n\n\n\nHe is the author of nearly three hundred scientific papers and the books Universe or Multiverse? and Quantum Black Holes.  \n\n\n\nBeyond his professional field\, he is interested in the role of consciousness in physics and in an expanded paradigm which accommodates mind. He also has a long-standing interest in the relationship between science and religion. He was President of the Society for Psychical Research in 2000-2004 and is currently President of the Scientific and Medical Network.
URL:https://paricenter.com/event/fringe-physics-mind-and-multiverse-session-1-and-2-of-6/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Rome:20260314T180000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Rome:20260314T203000
DTSTAMP:20260403T230901
CREATED:20260205T133620Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260205T230211Z
UID:10000449-1773511200-1773520200@paricenter.com
SUMMARY:Fringe Physics - Experimental Tests of the Consciousness: Collapse Hypothesis (Session 3 of 6)
DESCRIPTION:Experimental Tests of the Consciousness: Collapse Hypothesis \n\n\n\nFringe Physics\, Session 3 of 6 \n\n\n\nWith Dean Radin. \n\n\n\nSaturday\, March 14\, 202610am PDT / 1pm EDT / 5pm GMT / 6pm CET \n\n\n\nThese events are LIVE. All participants will receive the RECORDING. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe role of observation in quantum mechanics remains one of the most persistent and intriguing open questions in science. From the earliest formulations of quantum theory\, it was clear that measurement plays a special role\, yet precisely what that role entails is still debated. Among the more provocative responses to this puzzle is the proposal\, associated with von Neumann and others\, that conscious observation itself contributes to the collapse of the quantum wave function. While this idea has long occupied a marginal position within physics\, it continues to attract interest at the intersection of quantum theory\, philosophy of mind\, and consciousness studies.  \n\n\n\nThe title Fringe Physics is intended in a double sense. It reflects both the unconventional status of the consciousness-collapse hypothesis and the fact that many of the relevant experiments involve interference fringes in quantum-optical systems. In this talk\, I review known experimental efforts that have explicitly or implicitly tested observer-dependent collapse\, including optical double-slit studies. Although the range of experiments differ widely in methods and interpretations\, they collectively form a small but coherent body of empirical work that has not been widely known outside specialized communities.  \n\n\n\nA central aim of the talk is to clarify distinctions that are often blurred in discussions of this topic. One is the difference between the strong claim that consciousness is necessary for wave-function collapse and the weaker claim that conscious observation may\, under certain conditions\, measurably influence quantum outcomes. Another is the distinction between establishing the existence of a small observer-dependent effect versus demonstrating practical or technological significance. The experimental literature bears only on these weaker claims\, yet the evidence is frequently criticized as if it were advancing the strongest possible versions of the hypothesis.  \n\n\n\nI will also discuss a recent analysis by Chalmers and McQueen\, who examined consciousness-based collapse models from the perspective of both philosophy of mind and quantum theory. They argue that while simple versions of the consciousness-collapse hypothesis are unlikely to be correct\, more sophisticated formulations remain empirically open and\, in principle\, testable. Their work provides a useful framework for assessing whether such proposals should be regarded as legitimate scientific hypotheses rather than as purely metaphysical speculation.  \n\n\n\nThe talk concludes with cautious\, provisional conclusions. I do not claim that the consciousness-collapse hypothesis has been established\, nor that it provides a superior solution to the measurement problem. Rather\, I suggest that the existing experimental record\, though limited\, is sufficiently structured to justify continued\, careful investigation. At minimum\, these studies serve as informative probes of our assumptions about measurement\, observation\, and the relationship between consciousness and the physical world. Whether they ultimately point toward new physics or help refine existing theories\, they occupy a scientifically legitimate\, and still unresolved\, fringe. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDean Radin is Chief Scientist at the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS)\, Associated Distinguished Professor at the California Institute of Integral Studies\, and cofounder and chairman of the neuroengineering company\, Cognigenics. He earned a BS and MS in electrical engineering and a PhD in psychology from the University of Illinois\, Urbana-Champaign. In 2022 he was awarded an Honorary DSc from the Swami Vivekananda University in Bangalore\, India.Before joining the IONS research staff in 2001\, Radin worked at AT&T Bell Labs\, Princeton University\, University of Edinburgh\, and SRI International. He has given over 830 talks and interviews worldwide\, is co-inventor on 12 patents\, and is author or coauthor of 350+ scientific and popular articles\, book chapters\, and five books\, all of which have been translated into foreign languages\, 15 so far: The Conscious Universe(1997)\, Entangled Minds (2006)\, Supernormal (2013)\, Real Magic (2018)\, and The Science of Magic (2025).  
URL:https://paricenter.com/event/fringe-physics-experimental-tests-of-the-consciousness-collapse-hypothesis-session-3-of-6/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Rome:20260315T180000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Rome:20260315T203000
DTSTAMP:20260403T230901
CREATED:20260205T220459Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260206T130453Z
UID:10000450-1773597600-1773606600@paricenter.com
SUMMARY:Fringe Physics - The Emergent Physical Universe: The Psychology of Subatomic Particles (Session 4 of 6)
DESCRIPTION:The Emergent Physical Universe: The Psychology of Subatomic Particles \n\n\n\nFringe Physics\, Session 4 of 6 \n\n\n\nWith Jeff Dunne \n\n\n\nSunday\, March 15\, 202610am PDT / 1pm EDT / 5pm GMT / 6pm CET \n\n\n\nThese events are LIVE. All participants will receive the RECORDING. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe world according to classical physics was a gentle cage\, for it allowed (perhaps even encouraged) us to revel in the idea of an objective universe\, i.e. a universe having form and structure with no dependence on us as observers. Then came the fathers of modern physics and quantum mechanics\, who royally screwed everything up.  These inglorious bastards forced us to consider that consciousness itself might be playing a role in the structure of reality\, a completely unheard-of concept except for the tens of thousands of years that people had held that belief prior to the rise and subsequent dominance of the western scientific worldview. \n\n\n\nIn this session we will explore the possibility that the external\, so-called “objective” world has the form it has not as an absolute and neither by accident\, but because that form is a construct of consciousness. We will contemplate the implications that arise from the idea that the laws of physics are not an external prison that dictates our lives\, but rather a natural expression of humanity’s consensus agreement on how to express our experiences—to others and to ourselves. We will examine the as-above-so-below parallels between what we see in the universe and what we see in ourselves\, and entertain the possibility that the laws of physics are really just an expression of our own psychology.  \n\n\n\nAnd we’ll have cake – but you have to bring your own because\, you know\, we’re meeting online. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDr. Jeffrey Dunne is the President of the International Consciousness Research Laboratories (ICRL)\, a charitable research organization established in the late 1990’s to build upon the foundation established by the Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research (PEAR) Laboratory. In this role\, Dr. Dunne runs a variety of research and outreach activities focused on exploring the nature of consciousness\, particularly as it relates to space\, time\, and language\, as well as events for sharing such understanding with people from all backgrounds.  \n\n\n\nIn addition to his role with ICRL\, Jeff is a researcher and Chief Scientist at the Johns Hopkins University\, working over the past thirty years in a variety of fields ranging from acoustics and cybersecurity to data science and artificial intelligence. He is also an award-winning author and playwright\, with nearly two hundred plays performed over four continents. In his 2023 novel\, Nexus\, Jeff unites three decades of scientific experience with four decades of pursuits in philosophy and metaphysics to weave a story introducing the scientific principle of syntropy and its importance in finding balance at every scale – personal\, societal\, and global.  \n\n\n\nDr. Dunne holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering\, as well as a M.S. and Ph.D. in Experimental Physics.
URL:https://paricenter.com/event/fringe-physics-the-emergent-physical-universe-the-psychology-of-subatomic-particles-session-4-of-6/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Rome:20260321T180000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Rome:20260321T203000
DTSTAMP:20260403T230901
CREATED:20260205T221530Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260205T230657Z
UID:10000451-1774116000-1774125000@paricenter.com
SUMMARY:Fringe Physics - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Physics of Qi (Session 5 of 6)
DESCRIPTION:The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Physics of Qi \n\n\n\nFringe Physics\, Session 5 of 6 \n\n\n\nWith Gwyneth Moss \n\n\n\nSaturday\, March 21\, 202610am PDT / 1pm EDT / 5pm GMT / 6pm CET \n\n\n\nThese events are LIVE. All participants will receive the RECORDING. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nA Hitchhiker’s Guide is written from observations\, experiences and conversations and intended as helpful advice for fellow travellers. This journey begins with experiences that make no conventional sense and evolves into a quest that explores both modern physics\, particularly the work of David Bohm\, and the ancient metaphysics of the Dao de Jing\, seeking to bridge the divide between two tribes that both use the word energy with completely different meaning.   \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGwyneth Moss grew up steeped in materialist science: raised by research chemists she followed a Cambridge Physics degree with worldwide experience as an oil exploration seismologist\, project manager in smart card cryptography and organisational consultant. At the age of forty she ran away from the corporate world and now has twenty five years of experience as a Meridian Energy Psychology therapist. She is recognised internationally as an innovator and an expert practitioner and trainer of EFT Tapping. She is the founder of The EFT Guild community of learning.  \n\n\n\nGwyneth lives in Yorkshire and enjoys walking\, talking\, thinking and drinking.
URL:https://paricenter.com/event/fringe-physics-the-hitchhikers-guide-to-the-physics-of-qi-session-5-of-6/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Rome:20260322T180000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Rome:20260322T203000
DTSTAMP:20260403T230901
CREATED:20260205T222319Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260205T230824Z
UID:10000452-1774202400-1774211400@paricenter.com
SUMMARY:Fringe Physics - Beyond the Pale (Session 6 of 6)
DESCRIPTION:Beyond the Pale \n\n\n\nFringe Physics\, Session 6 of 6 \n\n\n\nWith Jonathan Allday \n\n\n\nSunday\, March 22\, 202610am PDT / 1pm EDT / 5pm GMT / 6pm CET \n\n\n\nThese events are LIVE. All participants will receive the RECORDING. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nStored in the cathedral of Turin is a strip of linen cloth. On one side of the material is the faint image of a crucified male. Contextually\, it appears to be a rendering of Christ after being taken down from the cross. Carbon dating of a sample taken from the cloth places it as medieval in origin. Its documented provenance also fades away in that era. Yet\, it’s remarkably difficult to explain how an image of that nature was formed. There is also good scientific reasons to be doubtful of the carbon date. \n\n\n\nIn this talk we’ll examine the image characteristics\, identifying the key features that must be accounted for in any explanation of how it was formed. We will also take a look at the raw data from the carbon tests and discuss some of the curious anomalies that were revealed when the information was finally released. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nJonathan Allday is a retired teacher with 30+ years’ experience teaching physics working in a range of boarding and day schools in the UK. He was a head of department\, head of faculty and an academic Deputy Head. His last post had the gloriously pompous title ‘Director of Digital Strategy\,’ although this did not make the IT work any better for him. \n\n\n\nAfter attending the Liverpool Blue Coat School\, he took his first degree in Natural Sciences at Cambridge\, then in 1989 a PhD in experimental particle physics at Liverpool University. During that time\, he found one of David Peat’s books in the University Bookstore. Discovering that David was also a Liverpudlian fostered Jonathan’s ambition to write about physics. \n\n\n\nShortly after his PhD\, Jonathan started work on his first book Quarks Leptons and the Big Bang\, now published by Taylor & Francis and available in its third edition. It has been in print for over 25 years. \n\n\n\nSince then\, he has also written Apollo in Perspective\, Quantum Reality (now in its second edition)\, Space-time\, and Introduction to Entropy: The Way of the World\, written with an old school friend\, Professor Simon Hands. In addition\, Jonathan is co-authoring a successful textbook (Advanced Physics) and a volume in the Oxford Encyclopaedia for Young Scientists. Most recently\, Jonathan contributed to the updated edition of the Looking-Glass Universe by F. David Peat and John Briggs. \n\n\n\nIn various other projects\, Jonathan has produced articles and teaching materials on the philosophy of science and the interface between science and religion. He has contributed to Physics Review magazine and has been an editor of Physics Education. \n\n\n\nDuring COVID\, Jonathan started researching what the Pari Center was up to and made his first trip to Italy for the ‘Enchanted Universe’ conference in 2022. Since then\, he has adopted Pari as a spiritual home. His physical home is with his wife Carolyn in Worcestershire. They have three grown boys\, one of whom actually did a degree in physics at Bristol University\, (not a bad strike rate…) and is now a software engineer. The others read psychology and philosophy and fell to the dark side and became accountants. All of them can do sport\, which Jonathan can’t but his wife could (very well). \n\n\n\nIn January 2026\, Jonathan became Director of the Pari Center.
URL:https://paricenter.com/event/fringe-physics-beyond-the-pale-session-6-of-6/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Rome:20260410T080000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Rome:20260429T170000
DTSTAMP:20260403T230901
CREATED:20260225T110250Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260225T110736Z
UID:10000454-1775808000-1777482000@paricenter.com
SUMMARY:An Armchair Guide to Jung and God
DESCRIPTION:The Armchair Guide to Jung and God \n\n\n\nPresented by Mark Vernon \n\n\n\nWhat did Carl Jung really think about God\, religion\, and the inner life? \n\n\n\nIn this thought-provoking 9-session course\, Mark Vernon brings Jung’s most powerful ideas to life—exploring the unconscious\, symbols\, synchronicity\, and spiritual experience in a way that’s accessible\, challenging\, and deeply relevant to modern seekers. \n\n\n\nCourse Format\n\n\n\nThe course includes 9 sessions: \n\n\n\n\n6 one-hour recorded lectures\n\n\n\n3 live group conversation and Q&A sessions\n\n\n\n\nBeginning April 10\, two recorded lectures will be released each week for you to view at your own pace. These talks provide the foundation for deeper reflection and discussion. \n\n\n\nThe weekly live group conversations are an opportunity to: \n\n\n\n\nReflect on the week’s two lectures\n\n\n\nAsk questions\n\n\n\nExplore your own responses and insights\n\n\n\nLearn from the perspectives of others\n\n\n\n\nLive Group Conversation Dates: \n\n\n\nWednesdays: April 15\, 22\, 2910am PDT/1pm EDT/6pm BST/7pm CEST \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCarl Jung was born in 1875\, just over 150 years ago. His impact upon psychology is immense\, with notions such as extroversion and introversion\, archetypes and synchronicities. But what lies at the heart of his psychology and how compatible is it with theistic convictions? \n\n\n\nThe course will examine the fundamentals of Jung’s depth psychology\, paying particular attention to its significance for religious belief. Jung felt that psychoanalysis had emerged to fill a vacuum in the western world\, with churches losing the ability to address the pressing issues of inner life. \n\n\n\nWhy is this important? \n\n\n\nHe endured a substantial crisis in the earlier part of his life\, known now in his so-called Red Book\, in which he describes encounters with various entities and the zeitgeist. He strove to bring the insights he gained to the wider world\, in various phases of work\, including personality types and alchemical concepts. He also engaged with other thinkers such as Nietzsche and Darwin and\, of course\, Freud. \n\n\n\nIn other words\, Jung wanted to make a difference and\, by any measure\, he has. But his ideas about religion\, and Christianity in particular\, are contested. Towards the end of his life\, he described not believing in God but knowing of God’s existence. He also disagreed with the classical conception of God held in traditions including the Christian. So what can be made of his work now? \n\n\n\nWho Is This Series For? \n\n\n\nThis course will appeal to: \n\n\n\n\nStudents and practitioners of psychotherapy and depth psychology\n\n\n\nReligious professionals interested in psychological flourishing and how Jung might inform their work.\n\n\n\nThose considering psychotherapy or spiritual direction as a second career\n\n\n\nPeople who enjoy reading about spirituality and have a spiritual practice\n\n\n\nAnyone who enjoys reflecting on religious questions and the inner life\n\n\n\n\nHow will this presentation differ? \n\n\n\nAssuming no prior knowledge\, this course will return to basics\, which is\, in fact\, the best way to make an assessment of Jung’s insights. There will be plenty of opportunity for QnA and discussion.  \n\n\n\nLecture Titles\n\n\n\nLecture 1A Call From The UnconsciousAn outline of Jung’s life and how he came to see his vocation. \n\n\n\nLecture 2After The Split With FreudJung’s own analytical psychology in outline. \n\n\n\nLecture 3The Spiritual Problem of TodayHow Jung understood psychotherapy to be a response to a modern crisis. \n\n\n\nLecture 4The Failure of ReligionJung had a sharp critique of the failures of Christianity.  \n\n\n\nLecture 5The Fabric of RealityPhenomena like synchronicities suggested a complete metaphysic to Jung. \n\n\n\nLecture 6Jung and GodAn exploration of Jung’s theology: its genius and constraints. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDr Mark Vernon is a psychotherapist\, teacher\, podcaster and writer of journalistic articles as well as books. He has a PhD in ancient Greek philosophy\, and degrees in theology and physics. His books include Carl Jung: How To Believe\, A Secret History of Christianity: Jesus\, the Last Inkling and the Evolution of Consciousness; Dante’s Divine Comedy: A Guide for the Spiritual Journey and most recently Awake! William Blake and the Power of the Imagination.  \n\n\n\nHe teaches with a variety of informal adult education projects\, both online and in-person\, covering the mystical traditions of theistic traditions and the interface between science and religion. He was recently Philosophy in Residence at Broughton Sanctuary and is a contributor to the BBC\, particularly on programmes such as the Moral Maze and Thought for the Day. He has a regular column in the Idler magazine and is also a director of the Realisation Festival\, a gathering that brings together ideas and music to resource the soul for our times. He used to be a priest in the Church of England and lives in south London. For more see www.markvernon.com
URL:https://paricenter.com/event/an-armchair-guide-to-jung-and-god/
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://paricenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/AG-poster-Jung-and-God.webp
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Rome:20260412T190000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Rome:20260412T203000
DTSTAMP:20260403T230901
CREATED:20260305T124144Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260305T124651Z
UID:10000455-1776020400-1776025800@paricenter.com
SUMMARY:Experiencing Consciousness: Storytelling and Consciousness
DESCRIPTION:International Consciousness Research Laboratories (ICRL) and The Pari Center present: \n\n\n\nExperiencing Consciousness: Storytelling and Consciousness \n\n\n\nwith Robin Rice \n\n\n\nSunday April 12\, 202610:00AM PDT | 1:00PM EDT | 6:00PM BST | 7:00PM CEST \n\n\n\nThis event is restricted to 40 participants. There will be no recording. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nHow we tell our stories – to ourselves and others – shapes our lives and defines the boundaries of our world. To fully explore consciousness\, we must examine the stories that hold us. Join Robin Rice\, Master Storyteller and Alchemist\, as she guides you through deconstructing three of your personal life stories to see what they hide and reveal. You’ll then practice a “cleaner” and more integrated storytelling process. You will also learn how consciousness itself can be invited to become a character in your narrative. Expect a lifting of old burdens and a revitalization of your stories going forward. \n\n\n\nNo background in storytelling or writing in general is required for this workshop\, only an interest in trying something different in a safe\, welcoming online group setting. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRobin Rice is an AGI Strategist\, serving as a trusted partner to C-suite leaders navigating the ethical frontiers of emerging technologies. Bridging the gap between code and consciousness\, she helps her clients align their efforts with the betterment of humanity. She is the author of 11 books and a Story Strategist behind multiple high-profile bestsellers. Her interest in conscious narrative is largely due to her 28 years of personal inquiry into the “hard problem” of consciousness—a journey sparked by a profound personal awakening at age 35. Her latest project\, the audiobook Stories About Stories with Robin Rice\, explores these intersections and is available for free on YouTube and all major podcast platforms. Learn more at RobinRice.com. \n\n\n\nExperiencing Consciousness: Storytelling and Consciousness on ICRL website \n\n\n\nSpaces are limited – Register now to reserve your spot! \n\n\n\nAs you will see in the registration form\, there are three options for registering. The normal ticket price is $15 for the session. There is also a free option for students and others who cannot afford this registration fee\, and this is possible thanks to the incredible generosity of Neal Grossman\, who has provided a scholarship fund to ensure that money never stands in the way of people expanding their horizons. Lastly\, if you are like Neal and are motivated to contribute a little more to help others\, there is also a Supporting Angel ticket for $30 that will make another free ticket available for future participants. \n\n\n\nNote: Please do not sign up for the free slots if you are not a student or financially disadvantaged\, as you are taking away an opportunity from someone who really needs it. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNote: We use a service called Zeffy to handle registrations because it eliminates credit card fees. However\, the system defaults to including a 17.5% donation to Zeffy at the same time. That fee is not required and can be easily eliminated or adjusted by simply selecting ‘Other’ in that section. \n\n\n\nYou will also have the option to include an additional donation on top of the ticket price. Despite what it says on the form (which\, alas\, cannot be changed)\, any additional donations are divided equally between the Pari Center and ICRL.
URL:https://paricenter.com/event/experiencing-consciousness-storytelling-and-consciousness/
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://paricenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Storytelling-and-Consc.webp
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Rome:20260515T160000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Rome:20260518T150000
DTSTAMP:20260403T230901
CREATED:20260127T140157Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260311T163357Z
UID:10000447-1778860800-1779116400@paricenter.com
SUMMARY:Matter\, Mind and Multiverse
DESCRIPTION:Matter\, Mind and Multiverse: Incorporating Mind into Physics \n\n\n\nPari\, Italy – May 15-18\, 2026 \n\n\n\nSpeakers: Bernard Carr with Jonathan Allday \n\n\n\nThe event will start on Friday May 15 at 16:00 and end on Monday May 18 after lunch. \n\n\n\nPrice: 825.00 euros\, which includes: \n\n\n\n\nprogrammed activities and materials;\n\n\n\na 3-night stay in private accommodation;\n\n\n\nbreakfast\, lunch and dinner at the local restaurant featuring locally sourced produce and traditional dishes;\n\n\n\nwater\, wine\, and coffee are provided with lunch and dinner.\n\n\n\n\nPlease read the Terms and Conditions. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPhysics has built a hugely impressive picture of the world. We have a broad understanding of structure from the microverse within the atom to the universe of galaxies and clusters. The evolutionary history of the cosmos is also well mapped\, right back to the earliest moments of the Big Bang. \n\n\n\nThere is\, however\, one conspicuous absence from this grand design—us. Much of the success of physics\, and science in general\, has come from deliberately excluding the subjective. The physicist’s universe is a rather arid lunar landscape devoid of the colour that comes with consciousness\, mind and spirit. \n\n\n\nMost physicists believe that this is fine. It’s not their job to deal with messy and unreliable emotions\, qualia and subjective experience. Some go even further and say all our personal life is an illusion. \n\n\n\nMeanwhile\, a significant number of people have experiences that are mystical\, anomalous\, synchronistic and personally transformative. The plural of anecdote is data: these events are happening\, and they contain important clues to the nature of reality. \n\n\n\nIt is time to seriously discuss how physics might be extended to accommodate consciousness\, mind and spirit. \n\n\n\nIn this series of conversations and workshops with Professor Bernard Carr and Dr. Jonathan Allday\, we will explore the bounds of current physics from M-theory in the microscopic domain to the multiverse in the macroscopic domain\, probe the nature of space and time\, push into the esoteric worlds of cosmology and black holes\, and ask whether some  final theory which amalgamates relativity and quantum mechanics can accommodate consciousness and associated anomalous phenomena.  We speculate that physics will need to take a broader view of reality if it is ever going to complete its mission. \n\n\n\nProfessor Carr has been at the forefront of this movement for most of his career. With a well-respected research profile in cosmology\, black holes and the anthropic principle\, he is well-placed to speak with authority on the nature of current physics. Bernard has also had a long-standing interest in Buddhism\, psychical research and spiritual experience. He’s been President of the Society for Psychical Research and is currently President of the Scientific and Medical Network. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nParticipating in an event at the Pari Center is more than joining a program\, it is entering an experience unlike any other. This is no ordinary conference in a city hotel\, nor a retreat hidden within a bustling resort. Instead\, it is an invitation to step into an unspoilt medieval village in the Tuscan hills\, where time slows and life unfolds at a rhythm that allows you to think\, feel\, and reconnect. \n\n\n\nAt the Pari Center\, learning becomes a way of being. David Peat often described Pari as an alchemical vessel—a transformative space designed for reflection\, renewal\, and personal growth. It is a rare and welcoming environment for anyone seeking something deeper. \n\n\n\nYou will share traditional Tuscan meals and conversation with presenters and fellow participants\, taste local wines\, mingle with the village’s tiny community\, and take in the beauty of the surrounding countryside. All of this unfolds within a gentle way of life\, far removed from the hurry of work and the noise of city living. \n\n\n\nThe Pari Center gathers world-renowned thinkers\, scholars\, and innovators from diverse disciplines and traditions. Our mission is to explore the mysteries woven into everyday life: the subtle\, essential questions that shape who we are and who we are becoming. Through rigorous inquiry\, creative dialogue and participatory activities\, we aim to illuminate the origins\, nature\, and possibilities of human experience. \n\n\n\nWe invite you to discover why so many visitors regard the Pari Center not only as a place of learning\, but as a place of personal transformation. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBernard Carr is Emeritus Professor of Mathematics and Astronomy at Queen Mary University of London. His professional area of research is cosmology and astrophysics and includes such topics as the early universe\, dark matter\, black holes and the anthropic principle. For his PhD he studied the first second of the Universe\, working under the supervision of Stephen Hawking at the Institute of Astronomy in Cambridge and the California Institute of Technology. He was elected to a Fellowship at Trinity College\, Cambridge\, in 1975 and moved to Queen Mary College in 1985. He has also held Visiting Professorships at Kyoto University\, Tokyo University\, the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics.  \n\n\n\nHe is the author of nearly three hundred scientific papers and the books Universe or Multiverse? and Quantum Black Holes.  \n\n\n\nBeyond his professional field\, he is interested in the role of consciousness in physics and in an expanded paradigm which accommodates mind. He also has a long-standing interest in the relationship between science and religion. He was President of the Society for Psychical Research in 2000-2004 and is currently President of the Scientific and Medical Network. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nJonathan Allday is a retired teacher with 30+ years’ experience teaching physics working in a range of boarding and day schools in the UK. He was a head of department\, head of faculty and an academic Deputy Head. His last post had the gloriously pompous title ‘Director of Digital Strategy\,’ although this did not make the IT work any better for him. \n\n\n\nAfter attending the Liverpool Blue Coat School\, he took his first degree in Natural Sciences at Cambridge\, then in 1989 a PhD in experimental particle physics at Liverpool University. During that time\, he found one of David Peat’s books in the University Bookstore. Discovering that David was also a Liverpudlian fostered Jonathan’s ambition to write about physics. \n\n\n\nShortly after his PhD\, Jonathan started work on his first book Quarks Leptons and the Big Bang\, now published by Taylor & Francis and available in its third edition. It has been in print for over 25 years. \n\n\n\nSince then\, he has also written Apollo in Perspective\, Quantum Reality (now in its second edition)\, Space-time\, and Introduction to Entropy: The Way of the World\, written with an old school friend\, Professor Simon Hands. In addition\, Jonathan is co-authoring a successful textbook (Advanced Physics) and a volume in the Oxford Encyclopaedia for Young Scientists. Most recently\, Jonathan contributed to the updated edition of the Looking-Glass Universe by F. David Peat and John Briggs. \n\n\n\nIn various other projects\, Jonathan has produced articles and teaching materials on the philosophy of science and the interface between science and religion. He has contributed to Physics Review magazine and has been an editor of Physics Education. \n\n\n\nDuring COVID\, Jonathan started researching what the Pari Center was up to and made his first trip to Italy for the ‘Enchanted Universe’ conference in 2022. Since then\, he has adopted Pari as a spiritual home. \n\n\n\nHis physical home is with his wife Carolyn in Worcestershire. They have three grown boys\, one of whom actually did a degree in physics at Bristol University\, (not a bad strike rate…) and is now a software engineer. The others read psychology and philosophy and fell to the dark side and became accountants. \n\n\n\nAll of them can do sport\, which Jonathan can’t but his wife could (very well). \n\n\n\nIn January 2026\, Jonathan became Director of the Pari Center.
URL:https://paricenter.com/event/matter-mind-and-multiverse/
LOCATION:Pari\, Italy
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://paricenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Mind-Cosmos-poster.webp
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Rome:20260520T170000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Rome:20260527T140000
DTSTAMP:20260403T230901
CREATED:20251218T141359Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260130T104235Z
UID:10000444-1779296400-1779890400@paricenter.com
SUMMARY:Paths to Knowing Consciousness and Reality: From the Indigenous to the Academic
DESCRIPTION:Thanks to the generous funding from a European foundation\, we now have the opportunity to offer three full scholarships\, preferably to young minds\, for this event. For more information: \n\n\n\n\nScholarship Programme\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSCIENCE OF CONSCIOUSNESS SERIES \n\n\n\nPaths to Knowing Consciousness and Reality: From the Indigenous to the Academic \n\n\n\nMay 20–27\, 2026 \n\n\n\nSpeakers: Jonathan Allday\, Vicente Arraez\, Vasileios Basios\, Apela Colorado\, Alvaro Doethiro Tukano\, Ruro Caituiro Monge\, Aimee Morgana (virtually)\, Robin Rice\, Francisco Rivarola.Curated and Chaired by: Jeff Dunne \n\n\n\nLocation: Pari\, Italy \n\n\n\nTicket Prices: \n\n\n\nPrivate AccommodationPrice: 2175.00 euros \n\n\n\nShared Accommodation – Private Room with shared bathroomPrice: 1875.00 euros \n\n\n\nwhich includes: \n\n\n\n\na 7-night stay;\n\n\n\nbreakfast\, lunch and dinner at the local restaurant featuring locally sourced produce and traditional dishes;\n\n\n\nwater\, wine\, and coffee are provided with lunch and dinner;\n\n\n\nprogrammed lectures\, activities and materials\n\n\n\n\nThere is a limited amount of accommodation in Pari and you will be placed on a first-come\, first-served basis. We will also be using accommodation just outside of the village—within 3 kilometres. If you are housed outside Pari\, a shuttle to and from the village will be provided. \n\n\n\nEvent: The event starts with on Wedensday May 20 at 17:00 and ends after lunch on Wednesday May 27. \n\n\n\nDownload information\, terms and conditions for this course. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAbout the Event \n\n\n\nThe exploration of consciousness\, as a direct goal or as reflected in our desire to understand the natural universe\, is central to every culture throughout history. In this event we consider how this quest has been pursued through both modern western intellectualism and the older indigenous paths of experiential knowing\, and ultimately ask whether such approaches can be complementary. \n\n\n\nHumanity’s recent evolution has seen an increase in anxiety of epidemic proportions\, and a prevailing assessment is that it is strongly correlated with our growing sense of disconnection—disconnection with others\, of course\, but also disconnection from the world\, and even from ourselves at the individual level. It is quite possible that the relatively recent resurgence of interest in understanding the nature of ourselves and our connection to the universe is in response to these pressures; whether at a conscious or subconscious level\, we sense that this growing sense of isolation is at the core of our dis-ease manifesting at spiritual and emotional levels\, and ultimately manifesting as literal disease in the physical. \n\n\n\nWe say resurgence because understanding the nature of self in relation to the world has been an enduring priority throughout most of human history\, only diminished—particularly in western societies—over the last few hundred years. Modern science is now seeking these answers by exploring our prevailing models of reality (such as quantum mechanics) through the language of mathematics\, but we must recognize that this intellectual path is only one approach\, and quite nascent. For many thousands of years\, indigenous cultures have been approaching these same questions\, but along an experiential path\, i.e. understanding our connection to the world (and each other) by focusing on the experience of those connections. \n\n\n\nWhat is consciousness? What is reality? How are they connected? In this conference\, we will not provide an answer to such questions; instead\, we will provide many answers. But that is not our goal. These answers\, offered from the diverse perspectives of a diverse set of presenters\, are the candles with which we will examine the methods that produce such answers. \n\n\n\nDuring the seven days of May 20-27th—as nature transitions from awakening into full function… as the Gemini Threshold encourages increase cognition and the urge to converse and explain… as Indigenous cultures offer first harvest blessings and elders speak the season into the people—we will come together to explore the potential for integrating intellectual articulation with experiential knowing. A group of eight speakers will share insights on topics such as: \n\n\n\n\nThe history of western science’s approach to understanding the universe\, and where the scientific world stands today;\n\n\n\nHow the process of connecting with nature has been developed over thousands of years of living with nature\, and where it stands today;\n\n\n\nThe evolution of ancient energetic traditions such as Qigong and Shamanism into modern practices;\n\n\n\nAlternate experiences of reality—or even alternate realities—that can be experienced through dreaming and other ways of experiencing; and ultimately…\n\n\n\nHow we can leverage all of this into a set of coherent practices and worldviews.\n\n\n\n\nBut more than an opportunity to listen\, this conference is an opportunity to engage. Participants will be more than individuals; they will be part of the conference community. Supported with tools\, conversations\, and a safe\, welcoming environment\, they will be challenged to make their own connections\, find their own answers\, and then (if they so choose) to contribute their insights as part of something bigger. \n\n\n\nPlease be part of the science\, the magic\, the experience. \n\n\n\nParticipating in an event at the Pari Center is more than joining a program\, it is entering an experience unlike any other. This is no ordinary conference in a city hotel\, nor a retreat hidden within a bustling resort. Instead\, it is an invitation to step into an unspoilt medieval village in the Tuscan hills\, where time slows and life unfolds at a rhythm that allows you to think\, feel\, and reconnect. \n\n\n\nAt the Pari Center\, learning becomes a way of being. David Peat often described Pari as an alchemical vessel—a transformative space designed for reflection\, renewal\, and personal growth. It is a rare and welcoming environment for anyone seeking something deeper. \n\n\n\nYou will share traditional Tuscan meals and conversation with presenters and fellow participants\, taste local wines\, mingle with the village’s tiny community\, and take in the beauty of the surrounding countryside. All of this unfolds within a gentle way of life\, far removed from the hurry of work and the noise of city living. \n\n\n\nThe Pari Center gathers world-renowned thinkers\, scholars\, and innovators from diverse disciplines and traditions. Our mission is to explore the mysteries woven into everyday life: the subtle\, essential questions that shape who we are and who we are becoming. Through rigorous inquiry\, creative dialogue and participatory activities\, we aim to illuminate the origins\, nature\, and possibilities of human experience. \n\n\n\nWe invite you to discover why so many visitors regard the Pari Center not only as a place of learning\, but as a place of personal transformation. \n\n\n\nPlease contact Eleanor if you would like more information about this event at: eleanor@paricenter.com \n\n\n\n\nInformation\n\n\n\nTerms and conditions (PDF) \n\n\n\nAdditional Information about the Pari Center (PDF)
URL:https://paricenter.com/event/paths-to-knowing-consciousness-and-reality-from-the-indigenous-to-the-academic/
LOCATION:Pari\, Italy
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://paricenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/poster-Consciousness-2025_web.webp
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Rome:20260901T190000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Rome:20260908T140000
DTSTAMP:20260403T230901
CREATED:20251218T144527Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260316T091541Z
UID:10000445-1788289200-1788876000@paricenter.com
SUMMARY:Creation and Life Itself
DESCRIPTION:Science\, Art and the Sacred Series \n\n\n\nCreation and Life Itself \n\n\n\nSeptember 1 – 8\, 2026 \n\n\n\nSpeakers: Sarah Churchwell\, Lauren Cole\, Nicholas Colloff\, Isabel Hawkins\, Angie Hobbs\, Karina Miotto\, Shelly Valdez. Curated and Chaired by: John Pickering \n\n\n\nLocation: Pari\, Italy \n\n\n\nTicket Prices: \n\n\n\nPrivate AccommodationPrice: 2175.00 euros \n\n\n\nShared Accommodation – Private Room with shared bathroomPrice: 1875.00 euros \n\n\n\nwhich includes: \n\n\n\n\na 7-night stay;\n\n\n\nbreakfast\, lunch and dinner at the local restaurant featuring locally sourced produce and traditional dishes;\n\n\n\nwater\, wine\, and coffee are provided with lunch and dinner;\n\n\n\nprogrammed lectures\, activities and materials\n\n\n\n\nThere is a limited amount of accommodation in Pari and you will be placed on a first-come\, first-served basis. We will also be using accommodation just outside of the village—within 3 kilometres. If you are housed outside Pari\, a shuttle to and from the village will be provided. \n\n\n\nEvent: The event starts with dinner on Tuesday September 1 at 19:00 and ends after lunch on Tuesday Setpember 8. \n\n\n\nDownload information\, terms and conditions for this course. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAbout the Event \n\n\n\nAt its best\, being ‘human’ means being creative. Here\, ‘creative’ means more than just poetic language or beautiful images. It speaks to something primordial in nature\, since life itself is creation. Our meeting will look at the complementary ways in which science\, the humanities and spiritual traditions recognise this and how that might inform the lives we lead\, singly or collectively. \n\n\n\nAll human cultures have Creation stories. They reflect our wonder at life itself and the enchanting diversity of Creation that it brings forth. To tell and re-tell the stories is part of being human. \n\n\n\nScience is sometimes accused of disenchanting Creation; in fact\, it has enhanced it\, since the wonder remains. Scientists like David Attenborough express as much love for living things as poets or mystics have done down the ages and as people living in animistic cultures do now. \n\n\n\nAnimistic Creation stories are of a transformative relation between beings of all kinds that continually and reciprocally bring one another into existence. So\, in that view\, simply living and being human is to be creative\, where ‘creative’ means more than just making poetic language or beautiful images.  \n\n\n\nLuckily\, we live in a time when science\, the humanities and the arts are becoming more open\, in complementary ways\, to recognising this. Our meeting will look at how that might inform the lives we lead\, singly or collectively. \n\n\n\nWe will investigate what ‘being human’ and ‘being creative’ might have meant in the past\, what it means in our time. We will look at creativity in science\, in the arts and humanities and in spiritual traditions\, paying particular attention to women’s voices\, those heard and those not. We will\, for example\, hear from speakers on Hildegarde of Bingen and Julian of Norwich\, as well mystical traditions from South American cultures. \n\n\n\nBeing human\, all too human\, is difficult. Being more than human\, particularly so. Creativity in some sense extends\, even transcends the human condition\, and we will explore what philosophy and the humanities have to say about that. \n\n\n\nNow is a particularly appropriate time to do it\, as both creativity and what it is to be human are brought into question by the rise of the machine. \n\n\n\nParticipating in an event at the Pari Center is more than joining a program\, it is entering an experience unlike any other. This is no ordinary conference in a city hotel\, nor a retreat hidden within a bustling resort. Instead\, it is an invitation to step into an unspoilt medieval village in the Tuscan hills\, where time slows and life unfolds at a rhythm that allows you to think\, feel\, and reconnect. \n\n\n\nAt the Pari Center\, learning becomes a way of being. David Peat often described Pari as an alchemical vessel—a transformative space designed for reflection\, renewal\, and personal growth. It is a rare and welcoming environment for anyone seeking something deeper. \n\n\n\nYou will share traditional Tuscan meals and conversation with presenters and fellow participants\, taste local wines\, mingle with the village’s tiny community\, and take in the beauty of the surrounding countryside. All of this unfolds within a gentle way of life\, far removed from the hurry of work and the noise of city living. \n\n\n\nThe Pari Center gathers world-renowned thinkers\, scholars\, and innovators from diverse disciplines and traditions. Our mission is to explore the mysteries woven into everyday life: the subtle\, essential questions that shape who we are and who we are becoming. Through rigorous inquiry\, creative dialogue and participatory activities\, we aim to illuminate the origins\, nature\, and possibilities of human experience. \n\n\n\nWe invite you to discover why so many visitors regard the Pari Center not only as a place of learning\, but as a place of personal transformation. \n\n\n\nPlease contact Eleanor if you would like more information about this event at: eleanor@paricenter.com \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSpeakers and sessions\n\n\n\nClick on a title to expand \n\n\n\n\n\nFinding Meaning with Medieval Women Mysticswith Lauren Cole\n\n\n\n\nIt may seem on the surface that our modern secular society has little in common with the stringent religious culture of medieval Europe. As the story goes\, we have moved from a “Dark Age” of superstition to an enlightened age of reason. But look a little closer\, and we find that in trying to make sense of the world\, we inevitably fall back on the same tools. \n\n\n\nIn this session\, we examine these sense-making tools in the writings of medieval women mystics and their counterparts today. The writings of mystics such as Hildegard von Bingen\, Julian of Norwich\, Catherine of Siena\, and Mechthild of Magdeburg provide us with frameworks for environmentalism\, feminist thought\, and natural medicine today. Parallels we will explore include Hildegard von Bingen’s lapidary and today’s crystal healing\, beguines’ practices of care and today’s care homes\, and mystical astrology and today’s horoscopes. Ultimately\, this session will consider what we have already learned from medieval women mystics\, and what we can continue to learn. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLauren Cole is a PhD History Candidate and Presidential Fellow at Northwestern University. Her research centres on medieval mystics\, medicine\, and manuscripts in Europe\, with a particular focus on Hildegard von Bingen. Lauren is also a public historian\, creating videos on medieval history for over 95’000 followers on her Instagram and TikTok accounts (@MedievalLauren). Lauren splits her time between London\, Mainz\, and Chicago. You can find more on her website: https://medievallauren.wordpress.com \n\n\n\n\n\n\nSeeing with the Eye of the Heartwith Nicholas Colloff\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBoth the painter\, Cecil Collins\, and the poet\, Edwin Muir\, enjoyed paradisial childhoods\, which\, though rudely interrupted\, provided a sustaining sense of innocence and wonder through which they subsequently beheld the world and wove artistic practices that sought to widen and deepen consciousness into a ‘second\, renewing innocence’ that was a paradise regained\, which Collins referred to as the “great happiness”. \n\n\n\nThey both employed artistic\, spiritual practices that deepened attention\, reverenced\, and used dreams and other imaginal states\, and cultivated good memory to develop works of great originality and of gently transforming power that they felt could take people on a pilgrimage to their originating light\, where “that strange quarry you scarcely thought you sought” would reveal itself and you would find  “Yourself\, the gatherer gathered\, the finder found.”   \n\n\n\nBoth worked\, broadly\, within the ‘Western tradition’\, but with an openness to the Spirit that bloweth where it will\, and both were sustained\, nurtured\, and challenged in their long\, loving marriages to Elizabeth Collins and Willa Muir\, both themselves artists. Both in their practices and their work\, they have much to inspire us about the potential for a creative\, spiritual life. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNicholas Colloff\, when not posting art on Facebook or walking through the woods\, is the Director of the Argidius Foundation\, a Swiss family foundation that helps develop social and environmental enterprises\, principally in Africa and Latin America. He studied theology\, philosophy\, and the psychology of religion at university\, after which he helped found the Prison Phoenix Trust that teaches meditation and yoga to people in prison\, and from this discovered a gift for starting things (and leaving them in better hands so that they flourished).  \n\n\n\nThis has included a microfinance bank in the Balkans\, a charity focused on community mental health in poor communities in the Global South\, and a social investment fund. Through the auspices of Temenos and the friendship of the poet and Blake scholar\, Kathleen Raine\, he was privileged to meet and know Cecil Collins in the latter years of his life\, and through Kathleen to know one of Edwin and Willa Muir’s closest friends. \n\n\n\n\n\n\nPlato and the Pregnant Philosopherwith Angie Hobbs\n\n\n\n\nPlato stimulates creative thought in a variety of ways\, all aimed at stimulating our non-rational as well as our rational faculties. In order to explore fundamental ethical questions about how to live and what sort of person to be\, he creates dialogues involving a vibrant cast of characters (never himself)\, and the conversations invite us to see the connections between belief\, character and life. We are enabled to form a sense of the shape\, structure and narrative of a life — both models to emulate and models to avoid. The dialogues often deploy vivid imagery — such as the Allegory of the Cave in the Republic — and in much of this imagery Plato plays with gender expectations\, such as the pregnant philosopher (male as well as female) in the Symposium and philosophical statecraft as the art of weaving in the Statesman. In several dialogues imaginary utopias also encourage us to envisage different ways of thinking\, living and being. It is intriguing how often this agent-centred\, dialogic approach\, which embeds individuals in their social contexts\, has appealed to women philosophers\, particularly during the last 70 years\, and this is a topic we shall explore. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAngie Hobbs is Professor of the Public Understanding of Philosophy Emerita at the University of Sheffield. She gained a degree in Classics (First Class) and a PhD in Ancient Philosophy at the University of Cambridge\, and her chief interests are in ancient philosophy and literature\, and ethics and political theory from classical thought to the present\, and she has published widely in these areas\, including Plato and the Hero; Why Plato Matters Now was published by Bloomsbury in 2025.  She contributes regularly to TV\, radio\, podcasts and other media around the world\, including 27 appearances on In Our Time on Radio 4.  She works in a number of policy sectors\, including the U.K. Civil Service\, National Health Service and Health Research Authority. She has spoken at the World Economic Forum at Davos\, the Athens Democracy Forum\, the Symi Symposium\, the Houses of Parliament\, the Scottish Parliament and Westminster Abbey\, and been the guest on Desert Island Discs and Private Passions. She was a judge of the Man Booker International Prize 2019 and was on the World Economic Forum Global Future Council 2018-9 for Values\, Ethics and Innovation. \n\n\n\n\n\n\nThrough the Fire: How Joanna Macy’s Work That Reconnects Saved My Activist Heartwith Karina Miotto\n\n\n\n\nIn her talk in Paris\, Karina Miotto will share her powerful journey as an environmental activist in the Brazilian Amazon — a path shaped by purpose\, but also by burnout and PTSD after years of frontline work. She will speak about the transformative role Joanna Macy’s Work That Reconnects played in her healing\, restoring not only her strength but also her faith in humanity. Karina will also share personal conversations she had with Joanna\, highlighting how this body of work continues to deeply influence her life\, her worldview\, and her approach to changemaking. \n\n\n\nHer presentation will be both motivational and inspiring. As part of her session\, Karina will guide the audience through a simple experiential practice from the Work That Reconnects\, inviting participants to reconnect with themselves\, with each other\, and with the living Earth. She believes Joanna Macy’s work offers essential tools for this moment in human history\, and her talk aims to open a space of clarity\, courage\, and collective renewal for all who attend. Karina will also explore the vital role of Systems Thinking in the Work That Reconnects — showing how a systemic view of life deepens our understanding of interdependence\, resilience\, and the complexity of the times we are living through. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nKarina Miotto is a journalist\, eco-philosopher\, changemaker mentor\, and speaker coach. She lived for many years in the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil and worked with major NGOs. As editor of the website O Eco\, she covered the nine countries of the Amazon Basin. She studied the Deep Ecology movement directly with pioneers such as Satish Kumar\, John Seed\, and Stephan Harding. She studied The Work That Reconnects directly with Joanna Macy. \n\n\n\nShe holds a Master’s degree in Holistic Science from Schumacher College\, England. In her dissertation\, titled “Reconnecting the Amazon: Awakening Deep Feelings for the Rainforest\,” she developed ten different pathways to help people emotionally connect with the forest. Her findings can be applied to any landscape or environment on the planet. Her name has been cited in books and scientific articles around the world. \n\n\n\nKarina has given talks in countries such as England\, the United States\, Germany\, New Zealand\, Chile\, Australia\, Portugal\, Spain\, and Brazil\, impacting hundreds of people worldwide. Deep Ecology is currently the foundation of all her work. She lead a project on climate adaptation and community resilience in the Australian Alps using as methodology WTR and Deep Ecology for La Trobe University\, Melbourne. \n\n\n\nIn 2024\, she published her first book: Changemakers – the courage to transform the world: it’s beautiful\, challenging\, and possible to do without burning out\, released by Bambual Editora (Brazil). In 2025\, the same book was published in Portugal under the title A coragem de mudar o mundo – changemakers\, by the same publisher. \n\n\n\nDuring the same year\, she collaborated with The Wellbeing Project\, supporting line up curation and speaker preparation for the Hearth Summit\, a global event for 1\,200 changemakers from 89 countries. \n\n\n\n\n\n\nBeing Human: Enlarging Lifewith Sarah Churchwell\n\n\n\n\nOur culture treats innovation as self-justifying—as if speed\, scale\, and automation were enough to define progress. The humanities center imagination instead\, asking not only what we can do\, but what we are becoming as we do it. Through literature\, philosophy\, history\, art\, they enlarge the inner life\, teaching us how to live with complexity without collapsing into cynicism or fantasy.  \n\n\n\nWhen John Adams wrote during the American Revolution that he studied war and politics so later generations could study philosophy and poetry\, he was sharing an Enlightenment logic: the humanities as the point of self-government\, not a luxury. The same settlement produced mass literacy\, the modern university\, the professional middle class\, and the novel—a form that trained readers in moral judgment and imaginative recognition. These developments sustained one another. \n\n\n\nThat settlement is now under assault. The “dark enlightenment” and its tech patrons explicitly call for replacing democracy with neo-feudal hierarchy\, governed like a corporation and insulated from public accountability. AI sits at the center of this program: prediction in place of judgment\, privatized platforms in place of public institutions\, and the enclosure of knowledge as a condition of power. \n\n\n\nImaginative literature makes the stakes legible. Poets from Coleridge onward distinguish world-making imagination from mechanical recombination\, a useful lens for generative AI. Novelists like Charlotte Brontë and F. Scott Fitzgerald make imagination the predicate of liberty and autonomy\, and trace what happens to hope in cultures structured by injustice. Philosophers like Hannah Arendt supply the political hinge: imagination is a precondition for politics\, because politics depends on the ability to envision alternatives. \n\n\n\nIn a world of accelerating technologies and shallow attention\, how do the humanities enlarge human life—and what would it take to rebuild the conditions that let them flourish? \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSarah Churchwell is Chair of Public Humanities and Professor of American literature at the School of Advanced Study\, University of London\, where she directs the UK’s national festival of humanities research\, the Being Human Festival.  \n\n\n\nShe is the author of several acclaimed books\, most recently The Wrath to Come: Gone with the Wind and the Lies America Tells (2022). She comments widely on politics\, culture\, and art in print\, television\, radio\, and film. She has been a winner of the Eccles British Library Writer’s Award\, longlisted for the Orwell Prize for Journalism and named one of Prospect magazine’s Top 50 World Thinkers.  \n\n\n\nShe is co-host with historian David Olusoga of the Goalhanger podcast Journey Through Time. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nInformation\n\n\n\nTerms and conditions (PDF) \n\n\n\nAdditional Information about the Pari Center (PDF)
URL:https://paricenter.com/event/creation-and-life-itself/
LOCATION:Pari\, Italy
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://paricenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/poster-Sas-2026.webp
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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Rome:20260910T190000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Rome:20260917T140000
DTSTAMP:20260403T230901
CREATED:20251221T124908Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251229T000943Z
UID:10000446-1789066800-1789653600@paricenter.com
SUMMARY:Inscendence: A Participatory Enquiry into Awareness\, Presence and Place
DESCRIPTION:Inscendence: A Participatory Enquiry into Awareness\, Presence and Place \n\n\n\nSeptember 10 – 17\, 2026 \n\n\n\nSpeakers: Jonathan Code and Alistair Duncan \n\n\n\nLocation: Pari\, Italy \n\n\n\nTicket Prices: \n\n\n\nPrivate AccommodationPrice: 1800.00 euros \n\n\n\nShared Accommodation – Private Room with shared bathroomPrice: 1650.00 euros \n\n\n\nwhich includes: \n\n\n\n\na 7-night stay;\n\n\n\nbreakfast\, lunch and dinner at the local restaurant featuring locally sourced produce and traditional dishes;\n\n\n\nwater\, wine\, and coffee are provided with lunch and dinner;\n\n\n\nprogrammed lectures\, activities and materials\n\n\n\n\nThere is a limited amount of accommodation in Pari and you will be placed on a first-come\, first-served basis. We will also be using accommodation just outside of the village—within 3 kilometres. If you are housed outside Pari\, a shuttle to and from the village will be provided. \n\n\n\nEvent: The event starts with dinner on Thursday September 10 at 19:00 and ends after lunch on Thursday September 17. \n\n\n\nDownload information\, terms and conditions for this course. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAbout the Event \n\n\n\nWhy Inscendence?\n\n\n\nIn a time riven by fragmentation\, dislocation and conflicting narratives\, this programme invites a collaborative enquiry into ways of knowing and thinking that will delve deeply into the field where land\, body and consciousness meet.  \n\n\n\nInscendence proposes an opportunity for re-orientation by attending to participative awareness\, heightened sensory perception and the wisdom of the body-mind.   \n\n\n\nIn resonance with Pari\, its landscape\, history\, and community\, we will engage with many of the Center’s core themes seeking to open up a creative ground from which new forms of insight\, relationship and action can emerge. \n\n\n\nInscendence—the impulse not to rise above the world but to climb into it\, to seek its core.Thomas Berry\, via Robert Macfarlane \n\n\n\nProgramme Themes and Practices\n\n\n\nOver the course of a week in Pari\, we will engage with:  \n\n\n\nEmbodied and Perceptual Investigation: \n\n\n\n\nExplorations into how breath-work\, movement and posture can expand and transform perceptual awareness\n\n\n\nWorking with our experience of the traditional elements of nature: earth\, water\, fire\, air and ether in a contemporary way\n\n\n\nHeightening the sensitivity of our physical senses: sight\, sound\, touch\, taste\, smell\, as entry points into deeper experience \n\n\n\nUnderstanding the body-mind as a phenomenological instrument\n\n\n\n\nFieldwork in the More-than-Human World: \n\n\n\n\nImmersive sessions engaging with the plants\, stones\, weather and landforms of the Tuscany landscape\n\n\n\nExploration of a range of ways of knowing including Goethean observation and nature-connection practices\n\n\n\nAttending to artefacts\, stories and built structures as relational presences\n\n\n\n\nCreative and Collaboratives Explorations:  \n\n\n\n\nCreative writing\, journaling\, and drawing as practices of attending to lived experience\n\n\n\nSitting in Council / dialogue will allow us to share insights and integrate personal experience into collective understanding. \n\n\n\nConversational ‘tutorial-style’ sessions will be used to explore the intersection between experience and theory\n\n\n\n\nDaily Rhythms—each day will include four main elements: \n\n\n\n\nOutdoor sessions exploring a range of practices and experiences\n\n\n\nThe seeding of ‘micro-practices’ that will provide the opportunity for moments in the day to become an opportunity for conscious awareness\n\n\n\nSitting in Council\, ‘tutorial’ circles and creative sessions to collectively reflect on our unfolding experience and its implications \n\n\n\nPersonal reflection time supported by the quiet rhythms of the village\n\n\n\n\nTheoretical Context: \n\n\n\nWith an emphasis on experiential forms of enquiry\, Inscendence is nevertheless inspired by the insights and practices of a wide range of thinkers from both East and West. These perspectives provide lenses through which our lived experience can be shared and articulated. \n\n\n\nSome of these sources of inspiration include: \n\n\n\n\nThe Implicate / Explicate / Holoflux (David Bohm) \n\n\n\nThe implications of brain hemisphere modes of attention (Iain McGilchrist) \n\n\n\nThe nature of participatory consciousness (Owen Barfield\,)\n\n\n\nThe idea of Authentic Wholeness (Henri Bortoft\, J.W. Goethe)\n\n\n\nThe unity of Mind and Matter from (Gregory Bateson) \n\n\n\nThe explorations of language\, sensory perception and the new animism (David Abram\, Robin Kimmerer)\n\n\n\nPhilosophical Taoism\n\n\n\nNon-dual Shaiva Tantra\n\n\n\n\nWhat May Emerge: \n\n\n\n\nA refined capacity for attentional flexibility and resonance\n\n\n\nA deeper sense of participation in the implicate wholeness of the cosmos\n\n\n\nInsight into how perception constructs (and reconstructs) the world\n\n\n\nA felt understanding of new grounds for coherent action and relationship\n\n\n\nA more integrated experience of self within the context of a conscious whole.\n\n\n\n\nOur aim is not to provide answers to the complex challenges of our time but to cultivate a new ground of exploration—a place from which thought\, relationship and creativity may unfold with greater coherence and sensitivity. \n\n\n\nParticipating in an event at the Pari Center is more than joining a program\, it is entering an experience unlike any other. This is no ordinary conference in a city hotel\, nor a retreat hidden within a bustling resort. Instead\, it is an invitation to step into an unspoilt medieval village in the Tuscan hills\, where time slows and life unfolds at a rhythm that allows you to think\, feel\, and reconnect. \n\n\n\nAt the Pari Center\, learning becomes a way of being. David Peat often described Pari as an alchemical vessel—a transformative space designed for reflection\, renewal\, and personal growth. It is a rare and welcoming environment for anyone seeking something deeper. \n\n\n\nYou will share traditional Tuscan meals and conversation with presenters and fellow participants\, taste local wines\, mingle with the village’s tiny community\, and take in the beauty of the surrounding countryside. All of this unfolds within a gentle way of life\, far removed from the hurry of work and the noise of city living. \n\n\n\nThe Pari Center gathers world-renowned thinkers\, scholars\, and innovators from diverse disciplines and traditions. Our mission is to explore the mysteries woven into everyday life: the subtle\, essential questions that shape who we are and who we are becoming. Through rigorous inquiry\, creative dialogue and participatory activities\, we aim to illuminate the origins\, nature\, and possibilities of human experience. \n\n\n\nWe invite you to discover why so many visitors regard the Pari Center not only as a place of learning\, but as a place of personal transformation. \n\n\n\nPlease contact Eleanor if you would like more information about this event at: eleanor@paricenter.com \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nJonathan Code \n\n\n\nDuring a childhood and youth spent in Southern Ontario\, regular immersion in and on the freshwater lakes of Frontenac Park fostered in me a deep ecological and place-based awareness of the natural world. I am to this day never more at home than in a canoe on a lake at dawn\, paddling out as the sun rises and the loons call forth the day. \n\n\n\nMy ecological interests grew and deepened through encounters with the work of Goethe\, Schumacher\, Vine Deloria Jr.\, and Steiner—whose contributions to education\, medicine\, human development\, and agriculture (Biodynamic farming) continue to inform my teaching\, research\, and writing to this day. \n\n\n\nI am particularly interested in the contribution that Goethe can make to ecological thinking (which I addressed in a study of Goethe’s method of exact imagination as applied to the Showy Milkweed (Asclepias speciosa)) and in how the Biodynamic preparations are not only stimulants for good composting processes but are also catalysts for a deepening of agricultural consciousness (which I address in Muck and Mind: Encountering Biodynamic Agriculture\, 2014). \n\n\n\nI am currently engaged in a study of traditional fire-craft and its affordances for educational philosophy and praxis. This study grows out of a deep concern for education in the twenty first century (see Crafting: Transforming Materials and the Maker\, 2019)—a concern that what is too often left out in many of our educational endeavors is a sense for who a human being is…and what we can (potentially) become. \n\n\n\nAlistair Duncan  \n\n\n\nAfter a first career as a systems programmer\, architect and programme manager in technology for a couple of global corporations\, fifteen years ago I jumped ship. Since then I  have worked as an eco-psychologist\, workshop facilitator/educator and therapist across a number of contexts particularly  in universities\, disadvantaged communities and with conservation organisations.  \n\n\n\nMy passion is weaving together concrete practices from contemporary psychology\, embodiment modalities and therapies as well as the spiritualities of east and west. Then\, using them to make experiential and practical\, the insights that arise from a range of fields across philosophy\, science and spirituality.  \n\n\n\nTo define my context with a few names. I would cite David Bohm\, Owen Barfield\, Martin Heidegger\, Gregory Bateson\, Henri Bortoff\, Michael Washburn\, David Abram and Kenneth White as my current key co-ordinates. And I am drawing practices from a wide palette\, but the core is found in indigenous tracking methods\, Non-dual Shaiva Tantrism\, Taoism\, and Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP). \n\n\n\nI have a first degree in Biology and a Masters in Philosophy\, and have trained in several coaching and therapeutic modalities. \n\n\n\nEverything I do nowadays is based in nature. It’s my current conviction that exploring a deeper sensorial resonance and reciprocity between the human body-mind and the more-than-human cosmos is the starting point for a lived experience of wholeness and a connection into the deep consciousness of the cosmos. And that\, from there\, we may be able to discern a better way to live in these times.  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nInformation\n\n\n\nTerms and conditions (PDF) \n\n\n\nAdditional Information about the Pari Center (PDF)
URL:https://paricenter.com/event/inscendence-a-participatory-enquiry-into-awareness-presence-and-place/
LOCATION:Pari\, Italy
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://paricenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/poster-Inscendence_web-1.webp
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