The Pari Center

Gentle Action: A Gathering of Shared Experience
2024-06-13 19:00 - 2024-06-20 14:00 (Europe/Rome) | Pari, Italy
Gentle Action: A Gathering of Shared Experience

Dates: June 13 – 20, 2024

Location: Pari, Italy

Price: 950.00 euros, which includes:

a 7-night stay in private accommodation;

breakfast, lunch and dinner at the local restaurant featuring locally sourced produce and traditional dishes;

water, wine, and coffee served with lunch and dinner;

programmed activities and materials;

refreshments provided at mid-morning and mid-afternoon coffee breaks.

Event: The event starts on Thursday June 13 at 19:00 with a welcome dinner and ends on Thursday June 20 after lunch.

Download information, terms and conditions.

About the Event

Join us for a week of living moment by moment, in Pari, Italy surrounded by the peaceful hills of the Tuscan landscape. With its beautiful palazzo, rustic bar, and numerous quiet places, the medieval village of Pari acts as an alchemical vessel for transformations to take place.

Throughout the week you will have ample opportunities to connect with Nature, others, and—perhaps most importantly—yourself. Experience the power of dialogue and active listening in an atmosphere that cultivates intimacy in everyday interactions.

Embracing the present and choosing to act more gently, allows insights and interconnections to emerge and bubble up in a natural and playful manner. Such moments are often accompanied by experiences of openness, trust, joy, and a childlike sense of wonder.

Our Story

Several years ago, a small group of us were sitting outside the bar in Pari, Italy when the idea came up to bring a group of very open-minded people together for a gathering without any agenda, topic, intention, or specific purpose.

After leaving Pari, we continued to meet monthly through an online Zoom dialogue, where our small group of three individuals gradually grew in a most organic manner. More than a year of online meetings led to our first Gentle Action Gathering back at Pari in September of 2022.

Our original group of Jena, Manfred, and Tom, who hail from New York, Germany, and Ireland has gradually grown into a thriving community. Members of our online community have traveled from throughout the world to meet one another in person. Similarly, new participants who meet during our in-person Gentle Action Gatherings, frequently wish to stay in touch through our online dialogues.

Over the course of time we have come to discover that we have much to share with one another. Somewhat paradoxically, many of us believe that this is due to—rather than despite—our differing backgrounds. Throughout our interactions, we have also found that we have much in common. Perhaps most importantly, we all share a genuine interest in one another’s perspectives on the world, quite reminiscent of Rumi’s quote:

Out beyond the ideas of right and wrong, there is a field. I will meet you there.

This June we have chosen to meet once again in Pari, Italy. The medieval village of Pari, nestled in the Tuscan landscape, provides the perfect backdrop for new insights and explorations. During our Gentle Action Gatherings, participants are largely free to roam around as they please. They can meet in the newly renovated palazzo, take part in a yoga class, explore the area’s hot springs, or just sit down to have an espresso at the charming and peaceful square. Many find that leaving their daily routine behind and setting aside the expectations of the outer world allows them to reconnect with their innermost nature.

Taking the time to communicate and interact in the moment, for the moment, provides a unique opportunity to engage with the world in a much more playful manner—deepening participants relationships with themselves, others, and the world around them.

Many participants notice that an almost childlike curiosity tends to emerge, unforced and unbidden, ‘beyond the ideas of right and wrong’ allowing them to experience the innate beauty of the present moment.

More than anything, our gatherings have given us a deep sense of connection and friendships that endure beyond the limits of time and space.

This June we get to come home again. It would be wonderful if you could join us.

Jena, Lisa, Manfred, Michael, Todd, and Tom

Information

Additional Information about this Event (PDF)

Terms and conditions for this course (PDF)

Additional Information about the Pari Center (PDF)

How to Think Impossibly
2024-06-28 16:00 - 2024-07-01 14:00 | Pari, Italy
How to Think Impossibly:A mind-bending invitation to experience the impossible as fundamentally human

June 28 – July 1, 2024

Speakers: Jeffrey J. Kripal

Curated and Chaired by: Àlex Gómez-Marín

Location: Pari, Italy

Price: 725.00 euros, which includes:

a 3-night stay in private accommodation;

breakfast, lunch and dinner at the local restaurant featuring locally sourced produce and traditional dishes;

water, wine, and coffee are provided with lunch and dinner;

programmed activities and materials;

refreshments provided at mid-morning and mid-afternoon coffee breaks.

Event: The event starts on Friday June 28 at 16:00 with a welcome dinner and ends on Monday July 1 after lunch.

From precognitive dreams and telepathic visions to near-death experiences, UFO encounters, and beyond, so-called impossible phenomena are not supposed to happen. But they do happen—all the time. Jeffrey J. Kripal asserts that the impossible is a function not of reality, but of our everchanging assumptions about what is real.

Download information, terms and conditions for this course.

About the Event

How to Think Impossibly invites us to think about these fantastic (yet commonplace) experiences as an essential part of being human, expressive of a deeply shared reality that is neither mental nor material but gives rise to both.

Thinking with specific individuals and their extraordinary experiences in vulnerable, open, and often humorous ways, Kripal interweaves humanistic and scientific inquiry to develop an awareness that the fantastic is real, the supernatural is super natural, and the impossible is possible.

Prof. Kripal’s new book, How to Think Impossibly, will be published on July 3rd, 2024.

As complimentary preparation material, participants will receive an exclusive digital copy of the Prologue and Introduction of the book before its publication, as well as a signed physical copy of the book while in Pari.

Participating in an event at the Pari Center means 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.

Please contact Eleanor if you would like more information about this event at: eleanor@paricenter.com

SCHEDULE

Intro (Friday afternoon): Thinking-with experiencers…

Part 1 (Saturday morning): World of the dead and the nature of soul

Part 2 (Saturday afternoon): Praying mantises, flying sauces and professional comedians

Part 3 (Sunday morning): Neuro-diversity and multi-verses

Part 4 (Sunday afternoon): Time travel, quantum physics

Outro (Monday morning): How to pull it all together

Jeffrey J. Kripal is the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University. He also helps direct the Center for Theory and Research at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California and sits on numerous advisory boards in the U.S. and Europe involving the nature of consciousness and the human, social, and natural sciences. Most recently, Jeff is the author of The Superhumanities: Historical Precedents, Moral Objections, New Realities (Chicago, 2022), where he intuits an emerging order of knowledge that can engage in robust moral criticism but also affirm the superhuman or nonhuman dimensions of our histories and futures. His forthcoming book is How to Think Impossibly: About Souls, UFOs, Time, Belief, and Everything Else (Chicago, 2024). He is presently working on a three-volume study of paranormal currents in the sciences, modern esoteric literature, and the hidden history of science fiction collectively entitled The Super Story: Science (Fiction) and Some Emergent Mythologies. His full body of work can be seen at http://jeffreyjkripal.com He thinks he may be Spider-Man.

Information

Additional information on this program (PDF)

Terms and conditions (PDF)

Additional Information about the Pari Center (PDF)

Beyond Bohm 2024
2024-07-13 17:58 - 2024-08-25 19:30
Solidarity tickets available. Click for Part 1 and Part 2

Beyond Bohm 2024

Saturday July 13 – Sunday August 25, 2024 The Beyond Bohm 2024 series is oriented toward sharing unique and unusual perspectives that complement and amplify the work of David Bohm. Now in our fourth year, we are continuing that tradition with an array of new faces and presenters that we are especially excited about.

Part 1

Our first weekend begins with some “basics”: a roundtable discussion of a foundational Bohm text, Thought as a System. We are pleased to welcome members of the David Bohm Society into this discussion. The following day, we will hear from Dr. Elizabeth Henderson, whose 40 years of work in education suggest multiple perspectives for establishing wholeness in human beings, from their earliest years. Dr. Henderson uses autoethnography to help illustrate the possibilities and tensions facing practitioners as they try to help children build their interior worlds.

Our second weekend opens by taking us directly into the “deep time” geology of Dr. Marcia Bjornerud. Here we are asked to sense Earth through the fourth dimension of time, as a living, moving, process-oriented phenomenon. The next day, abstract artist Pam Harris shares with us the nature of her experience in contemplating scientific and philosophical questions, and how that experience translates to canvas.

Our third weekend continues the thread of artistic and scientific complementarity. Artist-engineer Cheryl Brant walks us through the unfolding of her own 40-year artistic process, and its culmination in questions of consciousness and the living world. Finally, closing out the series, Melissa Nelson (Turtle Mountain Chippewa / Métis) and friends will share indigenous perspectives on a variety of culturally-oriented issues and concerns.

Part 2

After an introduction to Bohm’s physics, we will explore the relations between Russellian monism, William James’s radical empiricism and Bohm’s implicate order; some traditional and recent (e.g., Johanna Seibt’s) work on process philosophy and how it connects with Bohm’s ideas; the idea of quantum properties of matter as potentialities in Bohm’s early thought; the influence of Hegel on Bohm’s ideas about fragmentation and wholeness; and whether Bohm’s notion of active information is a candidate for a unifying notionof information.

Every session will have openings for question / answer and discussion with presenters.Tickets are available for the whole series, for three presentations of your choice, or for single presentations.

Program of Event

Part 1

Saturday July 13Thought as a Systemwith Matthew Capowski, Melissa Nelson, Igor Topilsky and Aja Bulla Zamastil

Sunday July 14Inner Freedom and Early Childhoodwith Elizabeth Henderson

Saturday July 20Discovering the Deep Logic of Earthwith Marcia Bjornerud

Sunday July 21Finding David Bohm – and Beyondwith Pam Harris

Saturday July 27Science and Art: Squaring the Circlewith Cheryl Brant

Sunday July 28Vortex of Indigenous CosmologiesWith Melissa Nelson and Friends

Part 2

Sunday August 4Introduction to Bohm’s PhysicsJonathan AlldaySunday August 11The Relations Between Russellian Monism, James’s Radical Empiricism and Bohm’s Implicate OrderWilliam Seager

Saturday August 17A Comparative Overview of Process Metaphysics and Substance Metaphysics & Indeterminate Concrete Individuals in Johanna Seibt’s General Process TheorySamuli Isotalo and Thelma Nylund, with comments by Paavo PylkkänenSunday August 18Quantum Properties of Matter as Potentialities in Bohm’s 1951 Book Quantum TheoryPaavo Pylkkänen

Saturday August 24Fragmentation and Wholeness: Bohm and G.W.F. HegelBoris Koznjak

Sunday August 25 Is There a Unifying Notion of Information? Jens Allwood, with comments by Michael Richter and Paavo Pylkkänen

Beyond Bohm 2024, Part 1 – Thought as a System
2024-07-13 18:00 - 20:00
Thought as a System

with Matthew Capowski, Melissa Nelson, Igor Topilsky and Aja Bulla Zamastil

Saturday July 139:00am PDT | 12:00pm EDT | 5:00pm BST | 6:00pm CEST 2-hour session.

The session is live and you will be sent the RECORDING.

Thought as a System is David Bohm’s ur-text pertaining to his views regarding the nature of collective thought. It elucidates core themes of awareness, collective assumptions, social conditioning, dialogue, fragmentation, the self-image, insight, meaning, the observer and the observed, proprioception of thought, thinking vs. thought, and many more.

In this session our roundtable will open up these various facets of Bohm’s perspective, both theoretically as well as in terms of direct personal experience. We will invite members of the audience to contribute to the session, based on their own experience of the many issues raised in this seminal Bohmian text.

Matthew Capowski works in the field of child protection, with a background in psychology. He is a lifelong student of Ayurveda. As a teenager he encountered a book that contained interviews with David Bohm, and would go on to become a serious student of Bohm’s work pertaining to the problems of humanity. This would lead him to found the David Bohm Society in 2012, both to ensure preservation of Bohm’s invaluable legacy and to attempt to realize some of Bohm’s proposals by creating living examples.

Melissa K. Nelson is an ecologist and Indigenous scholar-activist. She earned her Ph.D. in ecology at the University of California, Davis. Formerly a professor of American Indian Studies at San Francisco State University, she now teaches at Arizona State University in the School of Sustainability, Global Futures Laboratory. From 1993 to 2021, she served as the founding executive director and CEO of the Cultural Conservancy. She now serves as their president emerita. Melissa is the Bundle Holder for the Native American Academy. She is a contributor and co-editor of Traditional Ecological Knowledge: Learning from Indigenous Practices for Environmental Sustainability, published by Cambridge University Press in 2018. She is also a contributor and the editor of Original Instructions: Indigenous Teachings for a Sustainable Future (2008). She is Anishinaabe/Métis/Norwegian and a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians.

Igor Topilsky is an active participant in poetic arts, music and theatre, and has spent numerous years working with David Bohm’s dialogue proposals. He has been serving on the board of directors for the David Bohm Society since 2015.

Aja Bulla Zamastil is an architectural and landscape architectural designer, public artist, and educator. As a Lecturer in the Landscape Architecture and Urbanism graduate program at the University of Southern California, she leads design studios that address adapting our constructed world to shifting natural and socio-cultural forces. As the Creative Director at Watershed Progressive, she is responsible for managing and designing landscape projects and educational programs throughout California. These projects explore how we can transform monolithic systems into resilient ecological cycles that re-enchant everyday experience and promote alternative cultural practices.

Aja is a contributor to Holoflux: Codex – Form/Movement/Vision inspired by David Bohm (Pari Publishing 2022). She is a founding member of the Pari Holoflux experiments, and was formerly a student at the Oak Grove School in Ojai, California, and Brockwood Park in England.

Free Science in a Free Society: Celebrating Feyerabend’s Centennial
2024-07-23 18:00 - 19:30
Watch the recording

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BruT-EHF-iE

Free Science in a Free Society: Celebrating Feyerabend’s Centennial

With Vandana Shiva and Àlex Gómez-Marín

Tuesday July 23, 20249:00am PDT | 12:00pm EDT | 5:00pm BST | 6:00pm CEST

This event is LIVE and FREE. All registered participants will receive the RECORDING.

The Austrian philosopher Paul Feyerabend (1924-1994) has been regarded as “the worst enemy of science” (Nature, 1987) but also a “breath of fresh air” (Science, 1979). He is the fourth iteration of the great philosophers of science of the 20th century, after Karl Popper (1902-1994), Thomas Kuhn (1922-1996), and Imre Lakatos (1922-1974), standing as one of the most relevant thinkers ever in our understanding of what science really is and does.

His works —Against Method: Outline of an Anarchistic Theory of Knowledge (1975), Science in a Free Society (1978), and Farewell to Reason (1987), amongst other books, lectures, and essays— revealed that the so-called scientific method is not so well defined and stable as commonly thought or proclaimed, but crowded with notable anomalies. In fact, the history of science shows that progress often takes place when scientists actually break (rather than follow) the methodological rules and standards we so much venerate.

He also denounced that science is too often entangled with politics while pretending it isn’t, which enables its misuse for ideological and authoritarian reasons. He deliberately promulgated his famous motto “anything goes” in order to point to another kind of rationality (which some disdain as irrationalism), beyond the dogmatic mechanistic deductive order that seeks to dominate nature and people. Cartesian-Baconian rationality is one (but not the only) valuable tradition in science. One must address the relation between Reason and Practice.

In order to celebrate the centennial of his birth (and three decades since he passed away), Vandana and Alex will be in dialogue for about one hour, reflecting on Feyerabend’s legacy and its impact today. They will discuss current pernicious monotheisms of the mind and, based on general principles and concrete examples, entertain and illustrate alternatives in physics, neurobiology, agriculture, and economy. We would then open it up for questions and comments from the audience.

Science needs boundaries indeed, but they need to be porous. The role of scientists (and the authority of experts) in a genuine democratic society is at stake. The complex dynamics between truth, post-truth, and totalitarianism needs to be put on the table. The tension between dogmatism and anarchism can be resolved via an ecological pluralism applied to our minds and lives.

Dr Vandana Shiva is an Indian scholar, activist, and author. A food sovereignty advocate, environmentalist, and ecofeminist, Shiva holds a PhD in physics and has written more than 20 books, including Making Peace with the Earth, Staying Alive, Monocultures of the Mind, Democratizing Biology, Soil Not Oil, and Stolen Harvest. Based in Delhi, she is referred to as “Gandhi of grain” for her activism associated with the anti-GMO movement. Shiva is one of the leaders and board members of the International Forum on Globalization, and a figure of the anti-globalization movement. She has worked as a consultant for the Indian government and abroad, and in NGOs such as the International Forum on Globalization, Women’s Environment & Development Organization and Third World Network. She is a co-founder of the gender unit of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, and of the Women’s Environment & Development Organization. Shiva has received numerous international honors, such as the John Lennon-Yoko Ono Grant for Peace (2008), Sydney’s Peace Prize (2010), Calgary’s Peace Prize (2011), and the Right Livelihood Award (1993), which is regarded as the “alternative Nobel Prize”.

Àlex Gómez-Marín is a Spanish physicist turned neuroscientist. He holds a PhD in theoretical physics and a Masters in biophysics from the University of Barcelona. He was a research fellow at the EMBL-CRG Centre for Genomic Regulation and at the Champalimaud Center for the Unknown in Lisbon. His research spans from the origins of the arrow of time to the neurobiology of action-perception across species, from flies and worms to mice and humans. Since 2016 he has been the head of the Behavior of Organisms Laboratory at the Instituto de Neurociencias in Alicante, where he is an Associate Professor of the Spanish Research Council. Combining computational biology and continental philosophy, his current research concentrates on consciousness in the real world.

Beyond Bohm 2024 - Part 2
2024-08-04 17:59 - 19:30
The Beyond Bohm series is oriented toward sharing unique and unusual perspectives that complement and amplify the work of David Bohm.

Part 2

After an introduction to Bohm’s physics, we will explore the relations between Russellian monism, William James’s radical empiricism and Bohm’s implicate order; some traditional and recent (e.g., Johanna Seibt’s) work on process philosophy and how it connects with Bohm’s ideas; the idea of quantum properties of matter as potentialities in Bohm’s early thought; the influence of Hegel on Bohm’s ideas about fragmentation and wholeness; and whether Bohm’s notion of active information is a candidate for a unifying notion of information.

Program of Event

Sunday August 4Introduction to Bohm’s PhysicsJonathan AlldaySunday August 11The Relations Between Russellian Monism, James’s Radical Empiricism and Bohm’s Implicate OrderWilliam Seager

Saturday August 17A Comparative Overview of Process Metaphysics and Substance Metaphysics & Indeterminate Concrete Individuals in Johanna Seibt’s General Process TheorySamuli Isotalo and Thelma Nylund, with comments by Paavo PylkkänenSunday August 18Quantum Properties of Matter as Potentialities in Bohm’s 1951 Book Quantum TheoryPaavo Pylkkänen

Saturday August 24Fragmentation and Wholeness: Bohm and G.W.F. HegelBoris Koznjak

Sunday August 25 Is There a Unifying Notion of Information? Jens Allwood, with comments by Michael Richter and Paavo Pylkkänen

Beyond Bohm 2024, Part 2 - Introduction to Bohm's Physics
2024-08-04 18:00 - 19:30
Introduction to Bohm’s Physics

with Jonathan Allday

Sunday August 49:00am PDT | 12:00pm EDT | 5:00pm BST | 6:00pm CEST 2-hour session.

The session is live and you will be sent the RECORDING.

David Bohm made very important contributions to a range of different areas in Physics. Amongst these, his work on quantum theory is possibly the most relevant to Pari discussions. In this talk I will attempt to outline Bohm’s ontological interpretation of quantum theory, which has since been developed by Basil Hiley amongst others. I will also discuss Bohm’s development of the Einstein Podolsky Rosen paper which lead to John Bell’s work and our current understanding of entanglement.

Jonathan Allday was born in Liverpool in 1960. He did his first degree in Natural Sciences at Cambridge in 1982 and then returned to Liverpool to complete a PhD in elementary particle physics. As part of this, he was fortunate to spend some time working at the European particle physics centre, CERN, in Geneva.

Also, during that time he was co-opted onto a working party looking at the teaching of particle physics in schools and universities. The upshot was a new syllabus in particle physics and cosmology to be added to UK A-level (16-18) physics qualifications. The first questions were set in 1992.

On the back of the work on this syllabus, Jonathan wrote his first book Quarks, Leptons and the Big Bang, which was published in 1998 and is about to enter its fourth edition. Jonathan has also collaborated on a couple of textbooks and written his own books on Quantum Theory, General Relativity and the Apollo moon missions.

Professionally, Jonathan worked as a physics teacher for 30 years in a variety of independent day and boarding schools in the UK. He was a head of physics, a head of science and latterly an academic deputy head. He retired in 2020 and now runs a consulting company providing training and educational advice for schools.

Jonathan is married to Carolyn, and they have three sons all of whom are far better at sport than he was. Carolyn was a GB swimmer, which explains how come the boys can do sport. Jonathan and Carolyn live in a hamlet not far from Worcester in the UK. When not writing or consulting, Jonathan enjoys watching cricket, James Bond movies and Formula 1 races.

Longing for Wholeness
2024-08-27 19:00 - 2024-09-03 14:00 | Pari, Italy
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:

Scholarship Programme

Longing for Wholeness:What do the Sciences, Arts and Religions Share?

August 27 – September 3, 2024

Speakers: Jonathan Allday, Jonathan Code, Chamkaur Ghag, Tim Ingold, Alison MacLeod, Andrea McLean, Shantena Augusto Sabbadini, Joan Walton

Curated and Chaired by: John Pickering

Location: Pari, Italy

Ticket Prices:

Private AccommodationPrice: 2175.00 euros

Shared Accommodation – Private Room with shared bathroomPrice: 1875.00 euros

which includes:

a 7-night stay;

breakfast, lunch and dinner at the local restaurant featuring locally sourced produce and traditional dishes;

water, wine, and coffee are provided with lunch and dinner;

programmed activities and materials;

refreshments provided at mid-morning and mid-afternoon coffee breaks.

There 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.

Event: The event starts on Tuesday August 27 at 19:00 with a welcome dinner and ends on Tuesday September 3 after lunch.

Download information, terms and conditions.

About the Event

Science has helped us to live with less suffering, but has it helped us to understand life or accept death? It cannot do what spiritual traditions do. Ideally, it should remain open to other ways of knowing and this meeting will look at what common ground might exist between them. Speakers from the sciences, arts and the healing traditions will aim to create an open, participatory dialogue on how we might understand the world as a unified whole.

Over the past four centuries or so we have come to know far more than we understand. But although modern science has become the principal framework for human understanding, it cannot do what spiritual traditions formerly did. Science has helped us to live with less suffering, but has it helped us to understand life or to accept death?

If science exclusively favours rational methodology over artistic expression or spiritual insight it can become restrictive, leading to Blake’s “Single Vision”. But at its best science remains open to other traditions and other ways of knowing. Many scientists are firmly religious while deeply religious people usually find little difficulty in engaging with scientific findings.

This meeting will look at what common ground exists between different ways of knowing. Perhaps that lies in the feeling that we need to understand the world as a unified whole and that inquiry can be open, guided by imagination and by beauty. Here, the arts play a unique role, leading the way to a deeper understanding of the place of human life, and death, within the cosmos.

It will bring together speakers from the sciences, arts, faiths and the healing traditions to create an open dialogue and supportive experience in which all can participate. We hope to touch on the relationship of science and religions, especially as they touch on the reality of death, the roles and status of women both now and in former times, ritual, music especially the voice and much more.

This will be an informal meeting with presentations by experts followed by roundtable discussions.

Participating 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.

We 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

Please contact Eleanor if you would like more information about this event at: eleanor@paricenter.com

Presentations

Click to see a list of the presentations for this event
Signs and Portents: How Physics Points Beyond Itself into a Richer Reality with Jonathan Allday

The Turin Shroudwith Jonathan Allday

Cultivating Imaginative Cognition: The Time is at Hand! with Jonathan Code

Physics in Flux with Chamkaur Ghag

Evolution in the Minor Key, or, the Soul of Wisdom with Tim Ingold

Ways of Knowing; the Human Imagination as Conduit with Alison MacLeod

Visionary Mapping: Creating Blakean Worlds with Andrea McLean

Visionary cartographywith Andrea McLean

Quantum Measurement as Act of Creation with Shantena Augusto Sabbadini

A Quest for Wholeness: Weaving a Rich Tapestry Interleaving Science, the Arts and the Sacred with Joan Walton

The Dao Without Namewith Shantena Augusto Sabbadini

Information

Terms and conditions for this course (PDF)

Additional Information about the Pari Center (PDF)

Structuring Process in the Undivided Universe
2024-09-20 18:00 - 2024-09-24 14:00 | Pari, Italy
Structuring Process in the Undivided Universe: a series of talks and conversations with Basil Hiley

September, 20 – 24, 2024

with Basil Hiley, Hamish Todd, Paavo Pylkkänen, Jonathan Allday and Michael Wright

Location: Pari, Italy

Quantum Phoronomy; that is Quantum Non-mechanics.

David Bohm writes in his 1951 book “Quantum Theory” (p. 167):- “The entire universe must, on a very accurate level, be regarded as a single indivisible unit in which the separate parts appear as idealisations permissible only on a classical level of accuracy of description.” The challenge then is to find an accurate mathematical way to describe this situation. As Eddington points out in his 1936 book, “Relativity Theory of Protons and Electrons”, “The quantum formalism tells us how an incompletely separated object can be represented as a probability distribution over completely separated states.” I will explain how this removes the ‘measurement problem’ and replaces materialism with the more primitive organic notion of process where activity or ‘energy’, rather than ‘matter’, is taken as basic.

This approach provides a way to understand Bohm’s implicate/explicate order in which emphasis is given to the emergence of different geometries (or phoronomies, a notion already used by Einstein in ‘Über den Äther, Schw. Nat. Gesel. Verh. 105 (1924) 85-93). I want to motivate intuitively why it is necessary to change the whole system of order and measure assumed in Euclidean geometry. In this way I want to emphasise the role of algebra in the mathematical description in this approach, linking up with some more recent developments in symplectic, conformal and nil geometries.

Beyond Jung 2024 - ‘Everything Breathes Together’: Synchronicity and Its Implications, Cosmological, Psychological, Spiritual
2024-11-30 18:00 - 19:30
‘Everything Breathes Together’: Synchronicity and Its Implications, Cosmological, Psychological, Spiritual

with Professor Rick Tarnas

Saturday, November 30, 20249am PST / 12pm EST / 5pm GMT / 6pm CET

Beyond Jung 2024, Session 1 of 6

This event is LIVE. All participants will receive the RECORDING.

The phenomenon of synchronicity represents a distinctive challenge to the dominant scientific world picture of our time: If synchronicity is real, the universe must be very different indeed from what is assumed by the mainstream modern scientific understanding with its fundamental conviction that the cosmos is a randomly evolving mechanistic phenomenon blindly indifferent to human concerns, with no intrinsic meaning or purpose outside of human subjectivity. Yet this paradigm conflict is not merely of possible theoretical interest to a few open-minded scientists and philosophers. The profound shift of horizon entailed by the ongoing fact of synchronicities occurring in countless individual lives carries existential implications at the most intimate as well as most cosmic levels of human concern. In today’s lecture, I hope to address some of these more practical implications as well as those that touch on the great metaphysical and epistemological issues at play.

Richard Tarnas, PhD, is Professor Emeritus at the California Institute of Integral Studies, where he founded the graduate program in Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness. He has taught courses in the history of ideas, depth psychology, archetypal cosmology, cultural history, and the evolution of consciousness. He has also frequently lectured on archetypal studies and depth psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute, and was formerly the director of programs and education at Esalen Institute. He is the author of The Passion of the Western Mind, a narrative history of the Western world view from the ancient Greek to the postmodern that is widely used in universities. His second book, Cosmos and Psyche, received the Book of the Year Prize from the Scientific and Medical Network. He is also the co-editor of Psyche Unbound: Essays in Honor of Stanislav Grof. Richard Tarnas is a past president of the International Transpersonal Association and was a long-time member of the Board of Governors for the C. G. Jung Institute of San Francisco.

Remembering Jacobo Grinberg at 30
2024-12-08 20:30 - 23:30
Watch the recording

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHzede1Ho5M

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Remembering Jacobo Grinberg at 30Back to the Future of a Science of the Sacred

Sunday December 8, 2024

Starting at 11:30am PST / 2:30pm EST / 7:30pm GMT / 8:30pm CET

Curated and Chaired by Àlex Gómez-Marín

The Mexican neurophysiologist and psychologist Jacobo Grinberg-Zylberbaum disappeared in strange circumstances exactly thirty years ago. His theoretical, empirical, and experiential work on space, the brain, and consciousness would still be considered beyond cutting-edge today. In this free online event, we will commemorate his legacy with a selected group of family, friends, and colleagues. Were Jacobo with us today, he would certainly enjoy such company of top scientists, creative artists, deep mystics, and original media curators.

Featuring:

Amit Goswami (head of Center for Quantum Activism) on communication without signaling

Estusha Grinberg (Jacobo’s daughter) on music and Jacobo’s theory

Iain McGilchrist (author of The Matter with Things) on brain hemispheres and coherence

Ida Cuéllar (director of The Secret of Dr. Grinberg) on film, science, and science fiction

Inés Urdaneta (researcher at the International Space Federation) on post-modern physics

Javier F. Alvarez-Leefmans (professor of neuropharmacology at Wright State University) on the beginnings of Jacobo’s career

Janine Rodiles (PhD in cognitive Sciences, clinical psychologist, writer, and Sufi whirling dervish) on wholeness and mysticism

Jeffrey Mishlove (creator and host of New Thinking Allowed) on healing and sensitive children

Jordi Imbert (head of Intuitu) on extra-ocular and intuitive vision

Lizette Arditti (Jacobo’s first wife) on painting and Jacobo’s life

Kehlan Morgan (creator and host at Formscapes) on phenomenology of space and perception

Manuel Delaflor (Jacobo’s former student and head of Metacognition Institute) on model dependent ontology

Marina Weiler (neuroscientist at the Division of Perceptual Studies of the University of Virginia School of Medicine) on anomalous teleportation and materialization

Natalia Rodríguez (editor at Penguin Random House) on books, science, and culture

Pavel Ibarra (host of Psicoativo Podcast) on media, science, and anomalous phenomena

Richard Silberstein (professor of neuroscience at the Brain Sciences Institute of Swinburne University) on brain-to-brain communication between twins

Robert Lawrence Kuhn (creator and host of Closer to Truth) on theories of consciousness

and more..!

Some related links:

The Brain and the Universe: The Jacobo Grinberg Story, with Alex Gomez-Marin & Jeffrey Mishlove

A Landscape of Consciousness (see 17.10), research article by Robert Lawrence Kuhnhttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0079610723001128

The Secret of Doctor Grinberg, documentary by Ida Cuéllarhttps://www.imdb.com/title/tt11898888

Ciencia de la conciencia: un regreso al futuro, artículo de Alex Gómez-Marínhttps://www.razon.com.mx/el-cultural/2022/10/28/ciencia-de-la-conciencia-un-regreso-al-futuro

Leyendo a Jacobo Grinberg (introducción), con Alex Gómez-Marín

The Future World - A Conversation with John Vervaeke
2025-01-15 18:00 - 19:30
Watch the recording

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxTFAeoUPfI

Donate to the Pari Center

We could not exist without the generosity of our supporters, sponsors and friends. Donate even a small amount, to help support us financially and enable us to continue our work.

By clicking on the Donate button, you will be taken to the payment screen.

A Conversation between John Vervaeke and Àlex Gómez-Marín

Wednesday, January 159:00am PST | 12:00pm EST | 5:00pm GMT | 6:00pm CET

This event is LIVE and FREE. All registered participants will receive the RECORDING.

Dr. John Vervaeke, an award-winning professor of psychology, cognitive science, and Buddhist psychology at the University of Toronto, brings a wealth of academic expertise to his courses. With a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Toronto, Dr. Vervaeke served as the former Director of Cognitive Science and holds the position of Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology. He has won and been nominated for several teaching awards and has published articles on relevance realization, general intelligence, mindfulness, flow, metaphor, and wisdom. With expertise in both Eastern and Western philosophy, Dr. Vervaeke guides learners through a transformative journey, integrating ancient wisdom with modern scientific insights. Dr. Vervaeke’s courses are a captivating blend of theoretical knowledge and practical wisdom, and his dynamic teaching style engages students in exploring the depths of the mind and its implications for personal growth and societal change, illuminating the path to a deeper understanding of oneself and the world.

Spaced Out - Part 1
2025-01-16 18:00 - 20:00
Spaced Out

A Two-Part Series on that Nature of Space, Higher Dimensions and the Multiverse

With Jonathan Allday and Bernard Carr

Thursday January 16 and 23, 2025

9:00am PST | 12:00pm EST | 5:00pm GMT | 6:00pm CET

A two-session series – each session will last two hours.

All registered participants will receive the RECORDING.

Part 1

Thursday January 16, 2025

A Gentle Introduction to the Physics of Space with Jonathan Allday

This talk is intended to be a grounding in the physicists’ conception of space. It will discuss the relativity of space and time, how we distinguish between spatial and temporal dimensions, space-time, the curvature of space and what we mean by (various) forms of higher dimensions.

Part 2

Thursday January 23, 2025

Spaced Out: A Conversation Between Bernard Carr and Jonathan Allday

The conversation is designed to be a follow-up to their earlier discussion ‘It’s About Time.’ Themes will include space-time, the curvature of space around a black hole, higher dimensions in their various forms, and the multiverse. We will also touch upon the anthropic principle, cosmology and Bernard’s conception of higher dimensions and the mind.

Bernard 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. He is the author of nearly three hundred scientific papers and the books Universe or Multiverse? and Quantum Black Holes. Beyond 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.

Jonathan Allday was born in Liverpool in 1960. He did his first degree in Natural Sciences at Cambridge in 1982 and then returned to Liverpool to complete a PhD in elementary particle physics. As part of this, he was fortunate to spend some time working at the European particle physics centre, CERN, in Geneva.

Also, during that time he was co-opted onto a working party looking at the teaching of particle physics in schools and universities. The upshot was a new syllabus in particle physics and cosmology to be added to UK A-level (16-18) physics qualifications. The first questions were set in 1992.

On the back of the work on this syllabus, Jonathan wrote his first book Quarks, Leptons and the Big Bang, which was published in 1998 and is about to enter its fourth edition. Jonathan has also collaborated on a couple of textbooks and written his own books on Quantum Theory, General Relativity and the Apollo moon missions.

Professionally, Jonathan worked as a physics teacher for 30 years in a variety of independent day and boarding schools in the UK. He was a head of physics, a head of science and latterly an academic deputy head. He retired in 2020 and now runs a consulting company providing training and educational advice for schools.

Jonathan is married to Carolyn, and they have three sons all of whom are far better at sport than he was. Carolyn was a GB swimmer, which explains how come the boys can do sport. Jonathan and Carolyn live in a hamlet not far from Worcester in the UK. When not writing or consulting, Jonathan enjoys watching cricket, James Bond movies and Formula 1 races.

Is Idealism Enough?
2025-01-21 18:00 - 20:00
Watch the recording

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lr93mW3QmWo

Donate to the Pari Center

We could not exist without the generosity of our supporters, sponsors and friends. Donate even a small amount, to help support us financially and enable us to continue our work.

By clicking on the Donate button, you will be taken to the payment screen.

Is Idealism Enough?A dialogue between Bernardo Kastrup and Rupert Sheldrake

Tuesday, January 21, 20259:00am PST | 12:00pm EST | 5:00pm GMT | 6:00pm CET

This event is LIVE and FREE. All registered participants will receive the RECORDING.

Rupert Sheldrake recently made a series of criticisms of Bernardo Kastrup’s Analytic Idealism on Curt Jaimungal’s Theories of Everything channel. Kastrup soon responded to Rupert’s points and subsequently Rupert sent Kastrup a rejoinder. Here, in a spirit of true collegiality and intellectual pursuit, we will turn this clash into an opportunity to better understand each other’s position and inquire further into the nature of reality itself. The trialogue between Kastrup, Sheldrake, and Gomez-Marin will be followed by Q&A from the audience.

Links

1. Sheldrake’s criticisms

2. Kastrup’s responses

https://www.bernardokastrup.com/2024/11/response-to-rupert-sheldrakes.html

3. Sheldrake’s rejoinder

https://www.bernardokastrup.com/2024/12/rupert-sheldrakes-rejoinder.html

Rupert Sheldrake is a biologist and author of more than 100 technical papers and twelve books, including Science and Spiritual Practices. A former Research Fellow of the Royal Society, he studied natural sciences at Cambridge University, where he took a Ph.D. in biochemistry, and philosophy at Harvard University, where he was a Frank Knox Fellow. He was a fellow of Clare College, Cambridge, and director of studies in cell biology. From 2005-2010 he was director of the Perrott-Warrick Project, funded by Trinity College, Cambridge, for research on unexplained human and animal abilities. He is currently a fellow of the Institute of Noetic Sciences, near San Francisco, and also of Schumacher College, in Devon. For more information, please visit https://www.sheldrake.org/

Bernardo Kastrup is the executive director of Essentia Foundation. His work has set off the modern renaissance of metaphysical idealism, the notion that reality is essentially mental. He has a Ph.D. in philosophy (ontology, philosophy of mind) and another Ph.D. in computer engineering (reconfigurable computing, artificial intelligence). As a scientist, Bernardo has worked for the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) and the Philips Research Laboratories (where the ‘Casimir Effect‘ of Quantum Field Theory was discovered). He has also been creatively active in the high-tech industry for almost 30 years now, having co-founded parallel processor company Silicon Hive (acquired by Intel in 2011) and worked as a technology strategist for the geopolitically significant company ASML. Bernardo has most recently started AI hardware company Syncthetics B.V., currently in stealth mode. Formulated in detail in many academic papers and books, Bernardo’s ideas have been featured on Scientific American, the Institute of Art and Ideas, the Blog of the American Philosophical Association, and Big Think, among others. Bernardo’s 11th book, coming in 2024, is Analytic Idealism in a Nutshell: A straightforward summary of the 21st-century’s only plausible metaphysics. For more information, freely downloadable papers, videos, etc., please visit www.bernardokastrup.com.

Àlex Gómez-Marín (Barcelona, 1981) is a Spanish scientist, a theoretical physicist turned neuroscientist investigating human consciousness. He holds a bachelor’s degree in physics, a masters in biophysics, and a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from the University of Barcelona (cum laude by unanimity and Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Award in 2009). He was then a postdoctoral research fellow at the Systems Biology Unit of the EMBL-CRG Center for Genomic Regulation and at the Neuroscience Programme of the Champalimaud Center for the Unknown in Lisbon. Since 2016, he has been the director of the Organism Behavior Laboratory at the Institute of Neuroscience in Alicante, where he is currently an associate professor at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). Since 2022, Alex is also the director of the Pari Center in Tuscany, Italy. Amongst other duties, Alex is an associate editor of Organisms: Journal of Biological Sciences, a member of the history committee of the Spanish Society for Neuroscience, a member of the science advisory committee of the Cobb Institute, a member of the scientific advisory board of the Dutch Brain Interface Initiative, a member of the Global Consciousness Project 2.0 research team, a team member of the Terminal Lucidity Research Group, a faculty member at the Icloby International Consciousness Lobby Foundation, a member of the research committee of the Wake Up Institute, an external advisor of UAP Digital, and a member of the postmaterialist Open Sciences group. His research encompasses the origins of the arrow of time (inert matter), neuroethological principles of action and perception across species from flies and worms to mice and humans (living matter), and robotic and artificial intelligence applied to human stupidity (so-called artificial life & mind). Alex had a near-death experience in March of 2021. He then decided to devote his research efforts to the scientific study of human minds in the real world, concentrating on what he calls “the edges” of consciousness – a wild, weird, wonderful field where great enigma meets gross stigma. In 2023 he was awarded the first Linda G O’Bryant Noetic Sciences Research Prize. In 2024 Alex was selected as one of the world’s most inspiring people by OOOM 100. He has recently been nominated as one of ten revolutionary scientists by Feed Your Head. Since 2005, Alex has published about one hundred research articles which have been cited over four thousand times in total. Alex has given countless talks and interviews too. You can find most of his material here: https://behavior-of-organisms.org/ Alex lives in sunny Alicante, Spain, with his wife, two daughters, and a cat.

PSI: Back to the Future
2025-02-09 20:30 - 23:30
Watch the recording

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktRJ7PKF9ws&t=371s

Donate to the Pari Center

We could not exist without the generosity of our supporters, sponsors and friends. Donate even a small amount, to help support us financially and enable us to continue our work.

By clicking on the Donate button, you will be taken to the payment screen.

PSI: Back to the Future

Sunday February 9, 202511:30am PST | 2:30pm EST | 7:30pm GMT | 8:30pm CET (and ending about four hours later)

Curated and chaired by: Alex Gomez-Marin

With: Damon Abraham, David Acunzo, Cedric Cannard, Dani Caputi, Adam Curry, Maaneli Derakhshani, Ed Kelly, David Luke, Jeffrey Mishlove, Julia Mossbridge, Roger Nelson, Dean Radin, Stephen Schwartz, James Spottiswoode, Mario Varvoglis, Marina Weiler, George Williams

This event is LIVE and FREE. All registered participants will receive the recording.

The scientific study of psychic (or PSI) phenomena –which includes extrasensory perception, precognition, synchronicity, direct mind-to-mind communication, or mind-matter interactions– has been going on for more than a century now. Its results are fascinating, puzzling, and often controversial. In this event some of the greatest active researchers in the field will present their own work while reflecting on where PSI has been, where we think it is now, and where we wish it to go. We hope to create an unprecedented audiovisual gathering for current and future generations to get perspective, clarity, and inspiration.

Beyond the Looking-Glass - Looking-Glass Universe
2025-03-01 18:00 - 20:00
Looking Glass Universe

with Jonathan Allday and John Briggs

Saturday, March 1, 20259am PST / 12pm EST / 5pm GMT / 6pm CET

Beyond the Looking-Glass, Session 1 of 6

This event is LIVE. All participants will receive the RECORDING.

John Briggs and David Peat wrote Looking Glass Universe in the wake of publishing events such as The Tao of Physics. At the time, physics was cool and popular, especially among New Age adherents looking to science to provide a context for their beliefs. The authors wanted to take different approach—to show how a range of sciences, not just physics, were converging on a new way of viewing the world: as a whole. In this context, they wanted to pose and answer the question: is a science of wholeness possible?

Now that the book is about to be re-released, it is interesting to review how things stood at the time, with one of the original authors, so that progress, or lack of, since then can but seen in context.

This will act as an introduction to the whole series.

John Briggs, PhD, taught for 25 years at Western Connecticut State University. He has taught aesthetics, journalism, and creative writing and served as co-chair of the English Department; he was one of the founders of the Department of Writing, Linguistics and Creative Process and one of the principal developers of the MFA in Professional and Creative Writing. He is now Emeritus Distinguished Professor of Writing and Aesthetics at WCSU. Among his many publications are three books he co-authored with David Peat, Looking Glass Universe(1984), Turbulent Mirror: An Illustrated Guide to Chaos Theory and the Science of Wholeness (1989), and Seven Life Lessons of Chaos (1999). He lives in the New England town of Granville, Massachusetts.

Jonathan Allday was born in Liverpool in 1960. He did his first degree in Natural Sciences at Cambridge in 1982 and then returned to Liverpool to complete a PhD in elementary particle physics. As part of this, he was fortunate to spend some time working at the European particle physics centre, CERN, in Geneva.

Also, during that time he was co-opted onto a working party looking at the teaching of particle physics in schools and universities. The upshot was a new syllabus in particle physics and cosmology to be added to UK A-level (16-18) physics qualifications. The first questions were set in 1992.

On the back of the work on this syllabus, Jonathan wrote his first book Quarks, Leptons and the Big Bang, which was published in 1998 and is about to enter its fourth edition. Jonathan has also collaborated on a couple of textbooks and written his own books on Quantum Theory, General Relativity and the Apollo moon missions.

Professionally, Jonathan worked as a physics teacher for 30 years in a variety of independent day and boarding schools in the UK. He was a head of physics, a head of science and latterly an academic deputy head. He retired in 2020 and now runs a consulting company providing training and educational advice for schools.

Jonathan is married to Carolyn, and they have three sons all of whom are far better at sport than he was. Carolyn was a GB swimmer, which explains how come the boys can do sport. Jonathan and Carolyn live in a hamlet not far from Worcester in the UK. When not writing or consulting, Jonathan enjoys watching cricket, James Bond movies and Formula 1 races.

Edge of Belief: Faith, Imagination, and Science
2025-03-23 20:30 - 22:30
Watch the recording

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCqy4UxmY88

Donate to the Pari Center

We could not exist without the generosity of our supporters, sponsors and friends. Donate even a small amount, to help support us financially and enable us to continue our work.

By clicking on the Donate button, you will be taken to the payment screen.

Edge of Belief: Faith, Imagination, and Science

Sunday March 23, 2025

Starting at 12:30pm PDT | 3:30pm EDT | 7:30pm GMT | 8:30pm CET

Curated and chaired by: Àlex Gómez-Marín

With Robert Duncan and Brett Robinson

This event is LIVE online and FREE. All registered participants will receive the recording.

Science can explain many things about reality but the addition of theology, literature, and art deepens our understanding and makes for a much richer appreciation of life on this weird and wonderful planet. How can Religion respond to evolving scientific discoveries? How should the Church think about UFOs? What are the boundaries for Catholic belief? The McGrath Institute for Church Life is proud to present “Edge of Belief: UFOs, Technology & The Catholic Imagination”, a documentary short that explores the outer limits of belief.

“The Edge of Belief” is a documentary film about the interplay of faith, imagination and science. The film looks at the modern UFO phenomenon through the lens of the Catholic theological, scientific and literary tradition. This impactful documentary gives viewers a holistic framework for thinking about the mysteries of the universe and dealing with the claims that we are not alone in it. “The Edge of Belief” features interviews with CS Lewis scholar and Oxford professor Michael Ward, religious studies researcher and author of American Cosmic, Diana Pasulka, icon artist and host of “The Symbolic World,” Jonathan Pageau, Notre Dame theologian Christopher Baglow, and Chair of Astronomy at Cornell, Jonathan Lunine, among others.

Link to the film (31 minutes): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RA0ah6Xmqus

Schedule:

08:30pm CET – Introduction

08:45pm CET – Live film watch

09:15pm CET – Conversation between Robert, Brett, and Alex

10:00pm CET – Q&A from the audience

10:30pm CET – End

Robert Duncan, a native of North Carolina, is a filmmaker and communications professional who has spent over a decade producing documentaries and news videos on the Vatican and Catholic life in Rome. He has worked extensively as a journalist covering Vatican affairs and as a communications consultant for various non-profit religious organizations, particularly in the areas of fundraising and strategic media. Robert graduated from NYU’s film program and has consulted for the U.S. State Department, creating media for the U.S. embassies in Rome. He has lectured on communication strategy for Vatican employees and assisted with media projects for Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’. Robert lives near Rome with his family, enjoying hiking and sailing.

Brett Robinson, Executive Producer Brett Robinson serves as the Associate Director for Outreach and Associate Professor of the Practice at the McGrath Institute for Church Life. In his role, he oversees outreach efforts for the institute while conducting research at the intersection of religion, technology and culture. Brett studied marketing and English at the University of Notre Dame and received his Ph.D. in Mass Communication from the University of Georgia. He has taught media studies courses at Duquesne University, the University of Georgia, Saint Vincent College and Notre Dame. Brett is the author of Appletopia: Media Technology and the Religious Imagination of Steve Jobs and his essays and commentary on technology and culture have been featured in Wired Magazine, CNN, the LA Times and Catholic News Service.

Àlex Gómez-Marín, theoretical physicist turned neuroscientist studying the edges of consciousness in the real world. He is an associate professor at the Instituto de Neurociencias in Alicante, Spain, and director of the Pari Center in Tuscany, Italy.

SURVIVAL: Re-Appraising the Evidence for Life After Death
2025-04-13 20:30 - 23:30
Watch the recording

https://youtu.be/UrzcZfp-mV8?si=xAijmeVaHLNJDoWb

Donate to the Pari Center

We could not exist without the generosity of our supporters, sponsors and friends. Donate even a small amount, to help support us financially and enable us to continue our work.

By clicking on the Donate button, you will be taken to the payment screen.

SURVIVAL: Re-Appraising the Evidence for Life After Death

Sunday April 13, 2025

11:30am PDT, 2:30pm EDT, 7:30pm BST, 8:30pm CEST (and ending about four hours later)

With: Alejandro Agudo, Eben Alexander, John Ballard, Stafford Betty, Bernard Carr, Jeff Dunne, Bruce Greyson, Stanley Krippner, Jeffrey Long, David Lorimer, Janice Miner Holden, Jeffrey Mishlove, Alexander Moreira-Almeida, Leo Ruickbie, Gary Schwartz, Steve Taylor, Stephan Schwartz, Pim Van Lommel, Helane Wahbeh, Marjorie Woollacott

In memoriam: Peter Fenwick (1935-2024), Charles Tart (1937-2025), and Allan Leslie Combs (1942-2025)

This event is LIVE and FREE. All registered participants will receive the recording.

A Rigorous Open-Minded Exploration

Understanding whether consciousness continues after death is one of the most profound scientific and philosophical questions of our time. A rigorous, evidence-based, but also open-minded, exploratory, approach to this mystery has the potential to revolutionize our understanding of human identity, the nature of consciousness, and the boundaries of life itself. What, if anything, survives bodily death? In what form, and for how long? These are questions that demand a trans-disciplinary investigation, not just for their scientific implications but for their profound impact on culture, ethics, and human experience. SURVIVAL: Re-Appraising the Evidence for Life After Death brings together world-renowned experts to explore the latest research, theories, and firsthand accounts that challenge conventional assumptions. This online event is an essential opportunity to engage with cutting-edge insights into what might lie beyond the final frontier.

A Bold New Conference Format

We are pioneering a dynamic, high-impact online conference format via Zoom that maximizes efficiency and engagement. These live-recorded events feature a series of fast-paced, 15-minute “science nuggets”—concise, content-rich presentations from leading researchers, with or without slides, without lengthy introductions or Q&A. This streamlined approach keeps the momentum strong, allowing us to cover in a few hours what a traditional in-person conference might take a week to accomplish. The result? A free, to-the-point, and comprehensive snapshot of the latest advancements in our field, offering a pluralistic advanced testament to where we stand—and where we’re headed.

Unbreaking the World
2025-05-09 16:00 - 2025-05-12 17:00
Unbreaking the WorldAwakening from the Meaning Crisis and the Return of the Sacred

Pari, Italy, May 9-12, 2025

Speaker: John Vervaeke

Curated and chaired by Àlex Gómez-Marín

The event will start on Friday May 9 at 16:00 and end on Monday May 12 after lunch.

Price: 725.00 euros, which includes:

a 3-night stay in private accommodation;

breakfast, lunch and dinner at the local restaurant featuring locally sourced produce and traditional dishes;

water, wine, and coffee are provided with lunch and dinner;

programmed activities and materials;

Dr John Vervaeke’s Advent of the Sacred develops the sense of convergence and transformation as a response to the Meaning Crisis that the world is experiencing.

Download information, terms and conditions for this course.

About the Event

Unbreaking the World invites us to pause and think about the cluster of crises we are globally facing. John argues that these problems aren’t just about the media, politics, or even the economy… the roots of this malaise are problems that are deeply historical, cultural, and cognitive. It’s what he calls the Meaning Crisis. Yet the word ‘crisis,’ etymologically means ‘decision.’

During this weekend we will trace the history of what led to the contemporary malaise which leaves us cut off from our past, disconnected from ourselves in the present, and incapable of reimagining a viable future. We will examine the anxiety, alienation and absurdity of our age, and seek a deep transformation of our modes of knowing and being.

This transformation is not only urgent but indeed possible. John will be our guide tapping into a rich well of resources—from Socrates to Jung, from cognitive psychology to neuroscience, from mystical experiences to artificial intelligence. He will offer a coherent and clear approach that integrates scientific and philosophical threads with spiritual practice to ensure the development of the transformative wisdom necessary to cultivate a meaningful life.

Participating in an event at the Pari Center means 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.

Please contact Eleanor if you would like more information about this event at: eleanor@paricenter.com

Schedule

In addition to his lectures, John will offer meditation, contemplation, tai chi and dialogical practices.

Part I: Introduction

Session 1 (Friday afternoon): The Current Meta-Crisis and Trust in a Post-Truth World

Part II: Awakening From the Meaning Crisis

Session 2 (Saturday morning): Part I: Origins

Session 3 (Saturday afternoon): Part II: Structure and Function of Meaning

Part III: The Advent of the Sacred

Session 4 (Sunday morning): Unbreaking the Spell of Modernity

Session 5 (Sunday afternoon): Mentoring the Machines: Wisdom in the Age of AI

Part IV: The Philosophical Silk Road

Session 6 (Monday morning): A Pilgrimage to Lost Ways of Knowing

John Vervaeke, an award-winning professor of psychology, cognitive science, and Buddhist psychology at the University of Toronto, brings a wealth of academic expertise to his courses.

With a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Toronto, Dr Vervaeke served as the former Director of Cognitive Science and holds the position of Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology.

He has won and been nominated for several teaching awards and has published articles on relevance realization, general intelligence, mindfulness, flow, metaphor, and wisdom.

With expertise in both Eastern and Western philosophy, Dr Vervaeke guides learners through a transformative journey, integrating ancient wisdom with modern scientific insights.

Dr Vervaeke’s courses are a captivating blend of theoretical knowledge and practical wisdom, and his dynamic teaching style engages students in exploring the depths of the mind and its implications for personal growth and societal change, illuminating the path to a deeper understanding of oneself and the world.

Information

Additional information on this program (PDF)

Terms and conditions (PDF)

Additional Information about the Pari Center (PDF)

Radical Visions
2025-05-23 19:00 - 2025-05-30 17:00 | Pari, Italy
Radical Visions

Celebrating the Lives and Work of the Two Davids, David Bohm and David Peat.In memory of Basil J. Hiley (1935-2025)

Pari, ItalyMay 23-30, 2025

A special event celebrating 25 years at the Pari Center

For the Pari Center’s 25th anniversary we are holding a week-long celebration dedicated to examining the legacy of the two Davids—David Bohm and David Peat. We have gathered a group of presenters from physics, philosophy, the Indigenous world, dialogue, synchronicity, Gentle Action, and the sacred, who will discuss the life’s work of the two men and how their influence has extended well beyond the confines of physics.

The presenters—former colleagues, friends, and scholars—will illuminate the wide-ranging work and interests of the two physicists during their talks, workshops and roundtable discussions, and will share their personal stories and anecdotes.

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Basil Hiley, who was to be a presenter at this event. Radical Visions will now be dedicated to his memory.

Speakers

Jonathan Allday, Harald Atmanspacher, John Briggs, Andrew Fellows, Isabel Hawkins, Paul Howard, Melissa Nelson, Paavo Pylkkänen, Shantena Augusto Sabbadini, Godelieve Spaas

Virtually: Àlex Gómez-Marín, Sakej Henderson, Leroy Little Bear, Lee Nichol, David Schrum

Chaired by: Melissa Nelson

See a list of presentations for this event

Ticket Prices

Private AccommodationPrice: 2175.00 euros

Shared Accommodation – Private Room with shared bathroomPrice: 1875.00 euros

Prices include:

a 7-night stay;

breakfast, lunch and dinner at the local restaurant featuring locally sourced produce and traditional dishes;

water, wine, and coffee are provided with lunch and dinner;

programmed lectures, activities and materials.

There 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.

The event starts on Friday May 23 at 19:00 with a welcome dinner and ends on Friday May 30 after lunch.

Download information, terms and conditions for this course.

About the Event

For the Pari Center’s 25th anniversary we are holding a week-long celebration dedicated to examining the legacy of the two Davids—David Bohm and David Peat. We have gathered a group of presenters from physics, philosophy, the Indigenous world, dialogue, synchronicity, Gentle Action, and the sacred, who will discuss the life’s work of the two men and how their influence has extended well beyond the confines of physics.

The presenters—former colleagues, friends, and scholars—will illuminate the wide-ranging work and interests of the two physicists during their talks, workshops and roundtable discussions, and will share their personal stories and anecdotes.

Who This Event Is For:This event is open to everyone but especially those who have an interest in:

Wholeness and the Implicate OrderThought and ConsciousnessIndigenous KnowledgeSynchronicity—the Jung/Pauli connection Gentle Action and ethical valuesCreativity and metaphorBohm’s rheosomaThe Lives of the Two Davids

Included are two special evenings with the outdoor screening of Infinite Potential: The Life and Ideas of David Bohm and Quantum Convergence with filmmaker Paul Howard.

David Bohm was the maverick physicist who proposed an alternative approach to the conventional version of quantum theory, as well as suggesting that a new Implicate Order lay behind what could be thought of as our surface perception of reality. But Bohm’s ideas extended well beyond theoretical physics and included reflections on the nature of creativity and the order of society and the individual. The presenters we have gathered will also look at the personal life of David Bohm, his relationship with J. Robert Oppenheimer, his encounter with the House Un-American Activities and his subsequent exile to Brazil; his friendship with Krishnamurti which led to a series of discussions between the two men and is considered one of the most important encounters of his life; the dialogue process he proposed which he felt could bring about a transformation in the individual and society; and his crucial meeting with the indigenous people of North America at the end of his life.

F. David Peat was a researcher in theoretical physics when he opted to take a life-changing sabbatical year with David Bohm at Birkbeck College, University of London. From that time on he was profoundly influenced by the work of David Bohm, their relationship deepened, and the Peat and Bohm families became friends. This led to Bohm and Peat’s Science, Order and Creativity and Peat eventually writing the biography of Bohm Infinite Potential. Peat also wrote more than 20 books and numerous essays on a wide range of topics. In 2000 he founded the Pari Center as a congenial location where people can meet to think, learn and explore while advancing the integration of knowledge, the arts, science, ethical values, community and spirituality within the ambience of a medieval village.

This will be an informal meeting with presentations by experts followed by roundtable discussions.

Participating 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.

Presentations

Click to see a list of the presentations for this event
David Bohm’s Physicswith Jonathan Allday

The Role of the Unknowable and The Universe as a Work of Artwith John Briggs

Joined up thinking… and why it matterswith Andrew Fellows

Bohm’s Gift of Somawith Lee Nichol

25 years with the Davidswith Shantena Augusto Sabbadini

Times with David Peat and David Bohm; and Bohm’s Journey into Subtle Mindwith David Schrum

Small Things Making Big Differenceswith Godelieve Spaas

Many Faces of Synchronicitywith Harald Atmanspacher

David Bohm

David Bohm and his wife, Sarah

DAVID BOHM has been described as one of the most significant and original thinkers of the twentieth century whose interests and influence extend well beyond the fields of physics to include philosophy, psychology, language, religion, art, dialogue, thought and education. Underlying his innovative approach to these many different disciplines was the fundamental idea that beyond the visible, tangible world there lies a deeper, implicate order of undivided wholeness.

As a physicist Bohm’s radical theories challenged the orthodox Copenhagen Interpretation of Quantum Theory and in its place made the alternative proposal of Hidden Variables, as well as his later developments of the Quantum Potential. He was also an explorer of mind and consciousness, language, perception, creativity and dialogue. He had close relationships with the Indian teacher Jiddu Krishnamurti and, later in life, the Dalai Lama, who called him his ‘science guru.’ In the 1960s, he exchanged four thousand pages of correspondence with the American abstract artist Charles Biederman that discussed the nature of the creative process and questions of order, perception and consciousness. In the final year of his life, he was invited to join a circle of Native American elders and Western scientists. This meeting was of great significance for Bohm. As he listened to the First Nations’ participants describing their strongly verb-based Algonkian family of languages, he recognized that here was a society that practiced what he had envisioned for his ‘rheomode’—a hypothetical verb-based language. He was also struck by their process-based worldview of constant flux and change whose metaphysics strongly mirrored his own.

Finding Cartesian duality limited, he believed that the same principles which underlie the behaviour of matter also operate in the realms of consciousness, society and culture. In 1980 he published his seminal work Wholeness and the Implicate Order in which he suggested that all the phenomena that appear in the world—whether fundamental particles or thoughts in the mind—emerge out of a deeper order of reality, their character varying according to the context. At its deepest level, he maintained, reality is an ‘unbroken whole,’ and he made this the basis of his work in every sphere. In later life he felt that transformation in society could be brought about by dialogue and today Bohmian dialogues are held throughout the world.

F. David Peat

F. DAVID PEAT was a theoretical physicist, writer, and teacher who founded the Pari Center in 2000. He wrote more than 20 books on such diverse topics as quantum physics, synchronicity, superstrings, artificial intelligence, film and reality, creativity, chaos theory, indigenous knowledge, and his original concepts of Gentle Action and Creative Suspension, a new form of intelligent, compassionate and mild action that flows from the entire field of meaning in which a particular individual, society or organization is a part. His books have been translated into 24 languages and his numerous essays and articles are freely available in the online library on the Pari Center website.

He was a researcher at the National Research Council of Canada when he spent a sabbatical year, 1971-72 with David Bohm at Birkbeck College, University of London. Thereafter his research focused on the foundations of quantum theory and a non-unitary approach to the quantum measurement problem. Bohm and Peat became friends and colleagues and eventually co-authored the book Science, Order and Creativity and were working on a second book, The Order Between and Beyond, at the time of Bohm’s death.

Peat continued to promote the work of David Bohm in seminars and courses at the Pari Center and in his writings. In 1997 he published the biography Infinite Potential: The Life and Times of David Bohm and subsequently worked hard to obtain funding for a film based on the biography. In 2020 with the generous sponsorship of the Fetzer Foundation the film, Infinite Potential: The Life and Work of David Bohm, was brought to fruition by Paul Howard and Imagine Films of Dublin. Peat did not live to see its release, but he is acknowledged as the co-writer of the script and the film is dedicated to him.

While living in Canada, Peat organized discussion circles between Western scientists and Native American Elders to which David Bohm was invited. While living in London he spent much of his time talking to artists and psychologists and organized a conference between artists and scientists which was instrumental in his founding of the Pari Center. The Center, housed in a medieval village in Tuscany, fosters an interdisciplinary approach linking science, arts, ethics, community and the sacred.

Peat was adjunct professor at the California Institute of Integral Studies, a Fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science, Fellow of the International Futures Forum, Distinguished Fellow at the University of South Africa, and a corresponding Member of the European Academy of Arts, Science and the Humanities. David Peat died in Pari in 2017 and is buried in the village cemetery.

Please contact Eleanor if you would like more information about this event at: eleanor@paricenter.com

Information

Additional information on this program (PDF)

Terms and conditions (PDF)

Additional Information about the Pari Center (PDF)

Consciousness 2.0
2025-06-03 19:00 - 2025-06-10 17:00 | Pari, Italy
Science of Consciousness Series

Consciousness 2.0

Seeing the theoretical forest for the empirical trees

Pari, ItalyJune 3-10, 2025

We are living a profound moment of transformation that is happening within the field of consciousness studies, drawing an intriguing parallel to the revolutions that occurred in physics a century ago.

Speakers

Jessica Bockler, Sean Esbjörn-Hargens, Robert Lawrence-Kuhn (virtually), Lucia Melloni, Kehlan Morgan, Liad Mudrik, Koncha Pinos

Chaired and curated by: Àlex Gómez-Marín

See a list of presentations for this event.

Ticket Prices

Private AccommodationPrice: 2175.00 euros

Shared Accommodation – Private Room with shared bathroomPrice: 1875.00 euros

Prices include:

a 7-night stay;

breakfast, lunch and dinner at the local restaurant featuring locally sourced produce and traditional dishes;

water, wine, and coffee are provided with lunch and dinner;

programmed lectures, activities and materials.

There 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.

The event starts on Tuesday June 3 at 19:00 and ends after lunch on Tuesday June 10.

Download information, terms and conditions for this course.

About the Event

Modern Physics, a Century Ago

In the early 20th century, modern physics underwent a revolutionary transformation with the advent of quantum mechanics and relativity. The established, classical Newtonian worldview, which had dominated for centuries, began to unravel in the face of new experimental evidence. This was a time of great upheaval—scientists like Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, Werner Heisenberg, and others pushed the boundaries of human understanding, introducing concepts that defied common sense (challenging the very ideas of space, time, causality, locality and objective reality) and our everyday experience of reality.

Such revolutions were not just a series of empirical discoveries; they entailed a meta-theoretical shift that opened the door to new kinds of experience and understanding. In the process, physicists had to embrace a new way of thinking—one that was less about absolute certainties and more about probabilities, perspectives, and the complex nature of reality itself. These developments are often referred to as the ‘foundations of modern physics,’ and they marked the dawn of an entirely new era in science.

Consciousness Studies: the Next Revolution?

Today, consciousness studies seems to be undergoing a similar upheaval, though the field is in some ways even more complex because it deals directly with subjective experience. We are grappling not just with theories of the physical world, but with the nature of awareness itself, the qualities that make us experience the world, perceive it, and reflect on it.

In many ways, consciousness studies has been constrained by our inability to bridge the gap between subjective experience (the ‘what it is like’ aspect of consciousness) and objective scientific analysis. Theories of consciousness range from materialist metaphors, models, and metaphysics, which claim that consciousness arises solely from brain activity, to more radical proposals like panpsychism, which suggests that consciousness is a fundamental property of the universe itself. Within this spectrum, there are competing schools of thought, such as cognitive science, quantum consciousness theories, integrated information theory (IIT), and various forms of phenomenology and philosophy of mind.

Like physics in the early 20th century, we find ourselves in a moment where the old paradigms are increasingly inadequate to explain the full scope of consciousness. Traditional, reductionist models of mind and brain are being challenged by new, more complex theories that attempt to account for the mystery of subjective experience—something that is elusive to scientific observation and analysis. And just as physicists had to grapple with the unsettling nature of quantum mechanics and relativity, those of us in consciousness studies must contend with the disorienting, mysterious quality of conscious experience itself.

The Challenge: Empirical Trees and Theoretical Forests

Despite the progress being made, a crucial issue remains: many of us within the field of consciousness studies remain attached to particular theories, often to the point of dogma, which can limit our capacity to integrate the vast range of data available to us. Some scientists and philosophers stubbornly cling to reductive models, insisting that consciousness will eventually be fully explained by neuroscience. Others, meanwhile, explore more speculative or metaphysical theories, sometimes neglecting the empirical rigor that has characterized the most successful scientific endeavors. As much as pluralism is welcome (even necessary), the divide between these camps can lead to confusion, fragmentation, and a lack of consensus, leaving us stuck in a kind of theoretical paralysis.

This is where the ‘reckoning’ comes in—the realization that we must move beyond entrenched positions and truly confront the complexity of consciousness. It is not enough to insist on a particular theory or model; we need to develop a truly interdisciplinary approach that draws on insights from neuroscience, psychology, philosophy, phenomenology, physics, and even the arts. It is time to seek integration and synthesis, embracing diversity while avoiding division.

A Science of Experience for the 21st Century

What would such integration look like? First, it means acknowledging that consciousness is a multi-dimensional phenomenon that cannot be fully captured by any single theory or discipline. Like the revolution in physics a century ago, we need a new language—a more inclusive, flexible framework that can accommodate the diversity of human experience and the complexities of the systems that give rise to it.

In practical terms, this could involve greater collaboration between neuroscientists and philosophers of mind, or the incorporation of phenomenological insights into experimental design. New methodologies—such as neurophenomenology—are already emerging, which attempt to correlate subjective experience with objective neural data, creating a bridge between ‘what it’s like’ and the brain processes that underlie it. But this will require the humility to accept that the very nature of experience may defy the kind of reductionist models that have so often dominated science. We must also be open to the possibility that the field of consciousness studies, like physics, may require new tools, new conceptual frameworks, or even a new understanding of reality itself to truly understand the nature of experience.

This means cultivating an openness to mystery—something we may have lost sight of in the quest for certainty. Unlike the hard, measurable phenomena of physics, consciousness resists being neatly packaged or fully explained by any one theory. However, that does not mean we should shy away from the challenge; rather, it invites us to deepen our inquiry and embrace the richness of experience.

The Road Ahead

The ‘reckoning’ that is needed in consciousness studies is one of intellectual humility, bold exploration, and interdisciplinary collaboration. It is about transcending the boundaries that currently divide us—amongst the different ‘isms,’ between objective and subjective, between science and spirit—and creating a field that acknowledges the complexity of human consciousness while embracing rigorous, empirical methods.

If we can do that, we may be poised to uncover insights about the nature of experience that are as transformative for the 21st century as the breakthroughs in physics were for the 20th century. The key will be to approach consciousness not merely as a set of theories or data points but as a profound mystery that we can experience, reflect upon, and, in time, understand in new ways.

Consciousness for Real

Finally, to move beyond ‘mere’ theoretical models and into the realm of ‘consciousness for real,’ we must make the study of consciousness not just an intellectual pursuit but a lived experience that anyone can access, explore, and understand. This means creating bridges between abstract theories and the concrete, everyday experiences that shape our lives. The technologies and methodologies emerging in neuroscience, psychology, and even virtual reality offer exciting new ways to immerse ourselves in the study of consciousness. But these must be grounded in real, subjective experiences—whether through meditative practices, altered states of awareness, or simply cultivating our attention and perception while walking in the forest—that allow individuals to directly engage with the mysteries of their own minds.

The field of consciousness must find ways to make its insights accessible to the public, so that consciousness is not something relegated to academic debate or laboratory experiments, but a tangible and transformative aspect of our collective human experience. This ‘consciousness for real’ approach has the potential to democratize the study of mind, allowing all of us to participate in the unfolding revolution, fostering a deeper understanding of what it means to be conscious, and ultimately helping us harness the profound potential of awareness in our everyday lives.

This will be an informal meeting with presentations by experts followed by roundtable discussions.

Participating 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.

Presentations

Click to see a list of the presentations for this event
The Science of Beauty: How Art Generates, Expands and Alters Consciousness. Neuroaestheticwith Koncha Pinos

Information

Additional information on this program (PDF)

Terms and conditions (PDF)

Additional Information about the Pari Center (PDF)

Gentle Action 2025
2025-06-12 19:00 - 2025-06-19 17:00 | Pari, Italy
Gentle Action 2025

A Gathering of Shared Experience

Pari, ItalyJune 12-19, 2025

25 years at the Pari Center

Ticket Prices

950.00 euros, which includes:

a 7-night stay in private accommodation;

breakfast, lunch and dinner at the local restaurant featuring locally sourced produce and traditional dishes;

water, wine, and coffee served with lunch and dinner;

programmed activities and materials.

The event starts on Thursday June 12 at 19:00 with a welcome dinner and ends on Thursday June 19 after lunch.

Download information, terms and conditions for this course.

About the event

A weeklong interaction through dialogue at the Pari Center based on F. David Peat’s concept of Gentle Action.

Out beyond ideas of right doing and wrong doing, there is a field and I will meet you there. Rumi

On Gentle Action

Undoubtedly, we are faced by problems of great complexity. The environment, society and even life on earth, is under threat and, as a result, the human race is struggling with feelings of anger, frustration and helplessness. Something, we urge, must be done; some action must be taken. Tomorrow, we sense, will be too late. Yet it is these very feelings and reactions that have become part of the problem. The urge to change and control, to analyze, priorize, plan and act are all aspects of the same pattern that, in the first place, drove us to the edge of this crisis. What is needed is a radical change in human consciousness, in organizations and governments, if we are to survive into the second half of the 21st century. This I have called Gentle Action. F. David Peat

On Dialogue

In our modern culture men and women are able to interact with one another in many ways: they can sing, dance or play together with little difficulty but their ability to talk together about subjects that matter deeply to them seems invariably to lead to dispute, division and often to violence. This condition points to a deep and pervasive defect in the process of human thought. Because the nature of Dialogue is exploratory, its meaning and its methods continue to unfold. No firm rules can be laid down for conducting a Dialogue because its essence is learning—not as the result of consuming a body of information or doctrine imparted by an authority, nor as a means of examining or criticizing a particular theory or programme, but rather as part of an unfolding process of creative participation between peers. David Bohm

Embracing the present and choosing to act more gently, allows insights and interconnections to emerge and bubble up in a natural manner. Such moments are often accompanied by experiences of openness, trust, joy, and a childlike sense of wonder. In the beautiful and peaceful setting of a medieval village, participants in our Gentle Action gathering will have ample opportunities to connect with nature, their fellow dialoguers, and—perhaps most importantly—themselves. Experience the power of dialogue, creative suspension, and active listening in an open and supportive atmosphere.

During out Gentle Action Gathering, participants are encouraged to explore the village and its surroundings. We will meet in the newly renovated palazzo for our dialogues which will include sessions with the whole group as well as participating in smaller groups. A variety of activities will be offered which might include taking part in a yoga class, exploring the wisdom of Tarot or I Ching, creating a mandala, walking in the countryside, visiting the local hot springs—or just relaxing with an espresso in Pari’s piazza.

Join us for a week of living in Pari—the alchemical vessel where transformations take place. Practice living in the moment for the moment, while acting and speaking in more gentle ways.

Our Story

Several years ago, a small group of us were sitting outside the bar in Pari, Italy when the idea came up to bring a group of very open-minded people together for a gathering without any agenda, topic, intention, or specific purpose.

After leaving Pari, we continued to meet monthly through an online Zoom dialogue, where our small group of three individuals gradually grew in a most organic manner. More than a year of online meetings led to our first Gentle Action Gathering back at Pari in September of 2022.

Our original group of Jena, Manfred, and Tom, who hail from New York, Germany, and Ireland has gradually grown into a thriving community. Members of our online community have traveled from throughout the world to meet one another in person. Similarly, new participants who meet during our in-person Gentle Action Gatherings, frequently wish to stay in touch through our online dialogues.

Over the course of time we have come to discover that we have much to share with one another. Somewhat paradoxically, many of us believe that this is due to—rather than despite—our differing backgrounds. Throughout our interactions, we have also found that we have much in common. Perhaps most importantly, we all share a genuine interest in one another’s perspectives on the world, reminiscent of Rumi’s quote:

Out beyond the ideas of right and wrong, there is a field. I will meet you there.

This June we have chosen to meet once again in Pari, Italy. The medieval village of Pari, nestled in the Tuscan landscape, provides the perfect backdrop for new insights and explorations. During our Gentle Action Gatherings, participants are largely free to roam around as they please. They can meet in the newly renovated palazzo, take part in a yoga class, explore the area’s hot springs, or just sit down to have an espresso at the charming and peaceful square. Many find that leaving their daily routine behind and setting aside the expectations of the outer world allows them to reconnect with their innermost nature.

Taking the time to communicate and interact in the moment, for the moment, provides a unique opportunity to engage with the world in a much more playful manner—deepening the participants’ relationships with themselves, others, and the world around them.

Many participants notice that an almost childlike curiosity tends to emerge, unforced and unbidden, ‘beyond the ideas of right and wrong’ allowing them to experience the innate beauty of the present moment.

More than anything, our gatherings have given us a deep sense of connection and friendships that endure beyond the limits of time and space.

This June we get to come home again. It would be wonderful if you could join us.

Jena, Lisa, Manfred, Michael, Todd, and Tom

PARTICIPANTS SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCES

ManfredBased on the ideas of David Bohm’s Dialogue, we had dialogues that included all the participants and in groups of four to five people. People sat in a circle with a talking stone in the middle. A person talks only when she or he has taken the talking stone. All others listen deeply without interruption. This gives the speaker the freedom to talk as long as they want, but at the same time to take the responsibility to stop when it is appropriate for the group. I’ve participated in this kind of dialogue for more than twenty years, but in this Gathering there was from the beginning an attitude which I had never experienced before. The level of sensitivity was so high that most of the time a talking stone was not necessary.

TimThe depth of integrated experience, wisdom and special talents of our lovely group became increasingly clear. There were moments of true Alchemy which were enduring, fruitful and uplifting. Love, generosity of spirit, deep listening, laughter, and pain became manifest. Five words coalesced for me: PRESENCE, OPEN-NESS, COMMUNION, INTENTION, ACCEPTANCE. Eternal thanks to you all.

TomOur get together of many people and nationalities in Pari was a joy. There are many positives to our Western ways, but deep human alienation is a price we often pay. I think in Pari we paid homage to Martin Buber’s great insight: I and Thou. In harmony with you…beyond our egos…we get glimpses of deeper truths.

ArturIt is always very difficult to describe a rich experience that impacts many different dimensions of Being. First of all because any kind of description will always be unfair, incomplete, and inaccurate… With that in mind, the experience was extremely rich in connections with incredible people who were available to open up, exchange and think together without the obligation to agree or have to appear intelligent, smart or sophisticated to the Other. Being present and simply letting your Presence happen in the way the Soul chose was what touched me the most.

Ciara Some thoughts, but no words can really convey what it meant to me. There was something about the implicit nature to the information about the Gathering, an invitation, a Gentle one at that. It created a hope in me that this might be a gathering that would allow the time and space needed for truth (in all its complex beauty) to emerge. It was that and more. I am both changed and restored by the deep relationships that formed over the week. Relationships with each other, with place, with reality and with a way of being I thought had got lost in the noise of modern life. Eternally grateful, Ciara

Daniela When I go to events, I often feel overstimulated and, in the end, flooded with information—often welcome or sought out deliberately—but when I go home, I carry with me too much data to handle. Such a relief to find a place, where something new can emerge merely by people sharing time together and being in dialogue. In the Gentle Gathering I have found a co-creative place of exploration where genuinely new ideas can come into the world just because they want to and there are people who are present with them.

JenaI don’t think I’ve ever seen a group coalesce so quickly into respectful dialogue; I’ve never seen a dialogue group begin with so few rules and definitions on what dialogue is. That may not exactly be a paradox but feels a bit like a Zen koan to me at the moment.

AngelicaI felt connected and present. I could be who I am, not trying to fit in, and yet felt that I was very welcome and appreciated. That gave me an inner space to go deeper into myself and understand more about me, without being taught or lectured to. The experience of love among participants was spectacular and that gave me confidence about a worldview I carry with me, which is: we are all loving humans who can express that love, be that love, be conscious and connect with consciousness, given the circumstances for that.

AlistairMy first response is that of gratitude. Firstly, to the six of you who have carried the flame and brought it to this point so others could share your dream. Thank you for drawing us in. It felt like sacred ground. And gratitude to all of you who were there. I gained so much from so many. In the dialogues, over meals, late at night after one more bottle of wine. Long conversations, snatches of insight, pithy one liners and stories, overheard conversations, moments of gracious input into my life, observing your ways of being, I absorbed so much. Thank you!

Information

Additional information on this program (PDF)

Terms and conditions (PDF)

Additional Information about the Pari Center (PDF)

Beyond Bohm 2025: The Living Mountain
2025-07-12 18:00 - 2025-07-13 20:00
Beyond Bohm 2025 (1 of 3): The Living Mountain

Saturday and Sunday, July 12 and 13, 20259:00am PDT | 12:00pm EDT | 5:00pm BST | 6:00pm CEST

2 two-hour sessions.

The session is LIVE. All participants will receive the RECORDING.

Around 1937 Scot author Nan Shepherd placed a finished manuscript in a drawer, where it sat for 40 years. Finally published in 1977 – four years before Shepherd’s death – The Living Mountain now has a cult following, and is considered a masterpiece that defies categorization. Though topically an account of Shepherd’s decades-long roamings in the Cairngorm massif of northern Scotland, the heart of The Living Mountain carries the reader deep within Shepherd’s experience, revealing ways of being that are at once place-specific and universal. She opens the reader to the forces and patterns of creation, and the manner in which these forces interpenetrate human consciousness and imagination.

In this two-day session, we will explore Nan Shepherd’s The Living Mountain, as well as her slim volume of poetry, In the Cairngorms. The first day will consist of brief selected readings, with close examination and commentary on Shepherd’s intimate and evocative “way” of being with the mountain. We will also hear first-person accounts from people who, inspired by The Living Mountain, ventured forth and found their own “way” into the Cairngorms.

And yet… Much of the potency in Shepherd’s writing is that it is in no way limited to the Cairngorms. Once one has been infected with the spirit of engagement brought forth by Shepherd, that quality can be brought to bear anywhere – in a park, at the sea, in one’s own back yard. To that end, our second day will consist of contributions from audience-participants – a mutual sharing of experiences in which the depths of the human meet the depths of the natural world. This may take multiple forms – first-hand description of one’s own experiences in the natural world; reading to our Zoom group short passages from other writers or further readings of Shepherd; photographs of potent or numinous locations; any other means of conveying to the group the mystery, beauty, and even terror that can be encountered in the domain of nature. Our aim on this second day is to give full voice to the Pari community regarding the deep human need for conscious connection with stone and sun, wind and tree, bird and brook, sea and stars. Please join us!

Possible reading (helpful, not required):

https://www.themarginalian.org/2018/03/19/the-living-mountain-nan-shepherd/ (short journal article on Shepherd)

The Living Mountain, Nan Shepherd (basis for this weekend’s sessions)

In the Cairngorms, Nan Shepherd (basis for this weekend’s sessions)

The Hidden Fires, Merryn Glover (excellent commentary on Shepherd)

Story About Feeling, Bill Niedje (complementary perspective from Aboriginal elder)

Hester Reeve is a Reader in Fine Art at Sheffield Hallam University UK. Her practice encompasseslive art, drawing, sculpture, poetry, philosophy and ‘dialogue’ (as set out by David Bohm): Art is not viewed straightforwardly as a tool of communication or form of personal expression, but more as a complex kingdom that is continually attempting to establish itself through human thought and action.

Hester’s work has been shown internationally, including at former Randolph Street Gallery Chicago, LIVE Biennale Vancouver, BONE Performance Festival Switzerland, Tate Britain, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Halle G Vienna and, most recently, Nirox Sculpture Park, South Africa. She is a contributor to Holoflux: Codex (Pari Publishing) and a founding member of the Pari Holoflux group.

Maria Hvidbak’s formal educational background encompasses a mix of architecture, business psychology, philosophical inter-viewing and existential-phenomenological psychotherapy. While not settling with any professional title or given field of study, Maria is engaged with questions pertaining to “communication,” as understood according to its etymological root sense of “moving together.” Increasingly inspired by what is commonly recognized as an attitude of the artist, seeking into subtleties of philosophy and sports as well as experimenting with creative expressions…all become modes of exploring what can possibly be “moved together” with.

Maria is a contributor to Holoflux: Codex (Pari Publishing) and a founding member of the Pari Holoflux group.

Chris Marks was one of the founding trustees of Prison Dialogue, and involved for its 25 year experiment. This dialogue process in the criminal justice system (CJS) attempted to get the CJS to talk to itself and thereby humanize the overall system. The work was applied primarily in the UK, but also had outreach in the US. He has spent many years – and continues proudly working with – a number of “woke” funding organizations: human rights; economic justice; peace and conflict resolution. Chris lives in Edinburgh, loves tai chi and real tennis. He is a founding member of the Pari Holoflux group.

Lee Nichol is Director of Bohmian Studies at the Pari Center. As a freelance writer and editor his latest works are Entering Bohm’s Holoflux and Holoflux: Codex (both from Pari Publishing). He was a long-time friend and collaborator of David Bohm, and is editor of Bohm’s On Dialogue, The Essential David Bohm, and On Creativity.

Lee has been on the faculty of the Tibetan Nyingma Institute in Berkeley, California, and Denver University in Denver, Colorado. He sits on the Advisory Committee of the Pari Center, the Advisory Council of the Indigenous Education Institute, and is a member of the Founding Circle of the Native American Academy. He lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico with his wife Eva Casey.

Beyond Bohm 2025, Part 2 - Introduction to Bohm’s physics
2025-08-02 18:00 - 20:30
Introduction to Bohm’s physics

with Jonathan Allday

Saturday August 29:00am PDT | 12:00pm EDT | 5:00pm BST | 6:00pm CEST 2-hour session.

The session is live and you will be sent the RECORDING.

David Bohm’s work in physics spanned a range of areas and interests, but he always came back to the foundations of quantum theory.

While his 1952 hidden variables papers were not really about hidden variables (it’s in quotes in the paper tiles), they did start a direction of travel that he periodically revisited. The quantum potential offered a new way of illustrating the profound differences between classical and quantum physics as well as a means of exploring Bohm’s vision of underlying wholeness.

The 1952 papers also profoundly influenced John Bell, who took up Bohm’s reworking of one of Einstein’s thought experiments to explore the nature of entanglement experimentally. That line led to the 2022 Nobel Prize. Without going into too much technical detail, I will explain the underlying physics of the 1952 papers, Bell’s theorem and its relationship to locality and entanglement, and will work up to the advances Basil Hiley was making right up to his death.

We might even mention the Aharonov-Bohm effect and how weird that is…

Jonathan Allday was born in Liverpool in 1960. He did his first degree in Natural Sciences at Cambridge in 1982 and then returned to Liverpool to complete a PhD in elementary particle physics. As part of this, he was fortunate to spend some time working at the European particle physics centre, CERN, in Geneva.

Also, during that time he was co-opted onto a working party looking at the teaching of particle physics in schools and universities. The upshot was a new syllabus in particle physics and cosmology to be added to UK A-level (16-18) physics qualifications. The first questions were set in 1992.

On the back of the work on this syllabus, Jonathan wrote his first book Quarks, Leptons and the Big Bang, which was published in 1998 and is about to enter its fourth edition. Jonathan has also collaborated on a couple of textbooks and written his own books on Quantum Theory, General Relativity and the Apollo moon missions.

Professionally, Jonathan worked as a physics teacher for 30 years in a variety of independent day and boarding schools in the UK. He was a head of physics, a head of science and latterly an academic deputy head. He retired in 2020 and now runs a consulting company providing training and educational advice for schools.

Jonathan is married to Carolyn, and they have three sons all of whom are far better at sport than he was. Carolyn was a GB swimmer, which explains how come the boys can do sport. Jonathan and Carolyn live in a hamlet not far from Worcester in the UK. When not writing or consulting, Jonathan enjoys watching cricket, James Bond movies and Formula 1 races.

Bringing Meaning Back to Life
2025-09-02 19:00 - 2025-09-09 17:00 | Pari, Italy
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:

Scholarship Programme

Science, Arts, and the Sacred Series

Bringing Meaning Back to Life

Pari, ItalySeptember 2-9, 2025

25 years at the Pari Center

Science 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.

Speakers

Bernard Carr, Ya’Acov Darling-Khan, Jeff Dunne, Suzanne Gieser, Parul Jani, Shoaib Malik, Therese Schroeder-Sheker (virtually), Nick Spencer.List of the presentations.

Chaired and curated by: John Pickering

Ticket Prices

Private AccommodationPrice: 2175.00 euros

Shared Accommodation – Private Room with shared bathroomPrice: 1875.00 euros

Prices include:

a 7-night stay;

breakfast, lunch and dinner at the local restaurant featuring locally sourced produce and traditional dishes;

water, wine, and coffee are provided with lunch and dinner;

programmed lectures, activities and materials.

There 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.

The event starts on Tuesday September 2 at 19:00 and ends after lunch on Tuesday September 9.

Download information, terms and conditions for this course.

About the Event

If 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.

But 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.

But 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.

C.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.

But 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.’

We 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.

It 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.

This will be an informal meeting with presentations by experts followed by roundtable discussions.

Participating 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.

We 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.

Please contact Eleanor if you would like more information about this event at: eleanor@paricenter.com

Presentations

Click to see a list of the presentations for this event
The Soul of the Cosmos and the Hierarchy of Life and Deathwith Bernard Carr

Benevolent Death: A Teacher for the Livingwith Ya’Acov Darling-Khan

Syntropy: A Scientific Expression of Purpose in Life and Beyond Deathwith Jeffrey Dunne

Healing the Split: How Can Science and Spirituality Join Forces?with Suzanne Gieser

Beyond: Beyond the Limits of the Mindwith Parul Jani

Daring to Believe and Question: Theological Anthropology in an Age of Sciencewith Shoaib Ahmed Malik

Science, Religion and Human Identitywith Nick Spencer

Dying and Becoming as Meaning and Metamorphosiswith Therese Schroeder-Sheker

Information

Additional information on this program (PDF)

Terms and conditions (PDF)

Additional Information about the Pari Center (PDF)

Mind, Matter and Meaning: A Jubileum
2025-10-02 16:00 - 2025-10-06 17:00
Mind, Matter and Meaning: A Jubileum

October 2-6, 2025Pari, Italy

Event Schedule

Thursday, October 2

16:00-16:30 Welcome/Introductions

16:30-19:00 Symposium 1

16:30 Oliver Sharpe: “Portfolism – Reasoning well given the logical limits of rationality”

17:30 Berkan Eskikaya: “Before it’s gone: Fragility as a Precondition for Consciousness, Meaning, and Value”

18:30 General discussion: Reason and Living well

Friday, October 3

09:30-13:00 Symposium 2

09:30 Paavo Pylkkänen: “Bohm’s pilot wave theory and its philosophical implications”

10:30 General discussion: Science and philosophy

11:00 coffee

11:30 Uziel Awret: “Consciousness and the AdS/CFT Duality”

12:30 General discussion: Physics and consciousness

15:00-18:00 Symposium 3

15:00 Vinod Goel: “Biological Constraints on the Rational Mind”

16:00 coffee

16:30 Ron Chrisley: “Creativity as Non-Conceptual Conceptual Change”

17:30 General discussion: Beyond the Rational/Conceptual Mind

Saturday, October 4

09:30-13:00 Symposium 4

09:30 John Polito: “How to perceive BS with AI (It’s not what you’re thinking, it’s what your hearing)”

10:30 Avery Wang: TBA

11:30 coffee

12:00 Barney Pell: TBA

Sunday, October 5

09:30-13:00 Symposium 5

09:30 Yair Pinto: “Conscious comprehension enables non-algorithmic capabilities.”

10:30 Mark Kennedy: TBA

11:30 coffee

12:00 Ron Chrisley: “Adventures in Self-Reference 1: Epistemic Blindspots”

15:00-18:00 Symposium 6

15:00 Ewan Paton: “Must Judges Be Human?”

16:00 coffee

16:30 Brian Keeley: “The weird epistemology of conspiracy theories.”

17:30 General discussion: Reckoning & Judgement

Monday, October 6

09:30-13:00 Symposium 7

09:30 Ron Chrisley: “Adventures in Self-Reference 2: The Situatedness of Computation and Inference”

10:30 TBA (possibly Vinod Goel?)

11:30 coffee

12:00 General discussion: Moving Forward

12:30 Closing

Participants

Uziel Awret

Presentation:

“Consciousness and the AdS/CFT Duality”

In 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.

I 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.

Ron Chrisley

Presentations:

I will give some or all of the following talks:

“Creativity as Non-Conceptual Conceptual Change”

Much 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?

(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 )

“Adventures in Self-Reference 1: Epistemic Blindspots”

“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:

(Following Sorensen) how conditional epistemic blindspots can be used to resolve paradoxes (e.g., the paradox of the surprise examination);

How epistemic blindspots can be used to defeat a famous argument against physicalism, Jackson’s Knowledge Argument;

That physical knowledge can be logically private and ineffable knowledge;

That 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.

(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)

“Adventures in Self-Reference 2: The Situatedness of Computation and Inference”

Computation 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:

One 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.

The 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.

(This talk of mine from last year introduces some of the key ideas concerning the second point: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSBpUOG7UH8)

Berkan Eskikaya

Presentation:

“Before it’s gone: Fragility as a Precondition for Consciousness, Meaning, and Value”

This 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.

Vinod Goel

Presentation:

“Biological Constraints on the Rational Mind (Discussed in Context of “Us and Them” Phenomenon)”

We 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.

At 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.

Suggested reading:

Both 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.)

I 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

Brian Keeley

Presentation:

“The weird epistemology of conspiracy theories.”

In 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.

Suggested reading:

The 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

Mark Kennedy

TBA

Ewan Paton

Presentation:

“Must Judges Be Human?”

Suggested reading:

“Algorithms and adjudication” – William Lucy (2024) Jurisprudence, 15:3, p251-281

Full article: Algorithms and adjudication

Barney Pell

TBA

Yair Pinto

Presentation:

“Conscious comprehension enables non-algorithmic capabilities.”

In 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.

Suggested reading: TBA

John Polito

Presentation:

“How to perceive BS with AI. (It’s not what you’re thinking, it’s what your hearing)”

Suggested reading:

Here are a couple quick blurbs that might get everyone closer to the topic than my presentation title (which will be explained!).

https://leader.pubs.asha.org/doi/10.1044/leader.FTR1.12042007.6

https://medium.com/@joydesdevises/auditory-perception-understanding-and-applying-its-principles-09c3b2be58b8

Paavo Pylkkänen

Presentation:

“Bohm’s pilot wave theory and its philosophical implications”

Bohm’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.

Suggested reading:

Bohm, 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

Oliver Sharpe

Presentation:

“Portfolism – Reasoning well given the logical limits of rationality”

In 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.

In 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.

Avery Wang

TBA

An Armchair Guide to Quantum Mechanics
2025-10-28 18:00 - 2025-11-18 20:00
An Armchair Guide to Quantum Mechanics

Presented by Jonathan Allday

A semi-serious approach to one of the most important fundamental theories in physics

10 sessions from October 28 – November 18

7 one-hour lectures and 3 sessions of group conversation and Q&A

9am PST / 12pm EST / 5pm GMT / 6pm CET

All sessions are live and all participants will receive the RECORDING.

What is quantum mechanics?

More 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.

Gradually, 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.

Why is it important?

Quantum 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.

Along 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.

Fundamentally, 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.

Why should people have a basic understanding of QM?

It seems clear that the rigidly materialistic paradigm is crumbling, and we don’t yet know what is going to replace it.

We’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.

Wider 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

Who are our audience?

High school students

Retirees looking for new areas of interest or wanting to brush up on the latest thinking and developments

People who enjoy reading popular science books and periodicals

People who experienced poor teaching in their science classes at school and would like to start over in their physics education

People who just enjoy learning

How do these presentations differ from other online QM series?

It’s a no-math introduction—sigh of relief!

In 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.

There will be no keeping away from philosophical issues—the nature of reality is in question here!

JONATHAN 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.

For 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.

He 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.

Sessions

Session 1: Not even wrong…

Tuesday 28th October

The fall of classical physics and the rise of the quantum world.

Amplitudes/wave functions, and the probable outcomes of experiments.

Conversation and Q&A

Thursday 30th October

Session 2: Come on everybody, let’s do the twist…

Saturday 1st November

The mysterious quantum property known as ‘spin’. Particles have it, photons have it, but do we really understand what it is?

Session 3: Spooky action at a distance

Tuesday 4th November

When 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.

Conversation and Q&A

Thursday 6th November

Session 4: The Measurement Problem

Saturday 8th November

Is quantum theory a 32 regular or a 36 long? Or more seriously…

Why 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.

Session 5: Interpretations

Tuesday 11th November

More 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?’

Conversation and Q&A

Thursday 13th November

Session 6: Bohm and Hiley

Saturday 15th November

In which our heroes seek to replace the traditional approach to quantum theory with something more satisfying, from an ontological perspective.

Session 7: Quantum Snake Oil

Tuesday 18th November

Would 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?

Beyond Jung - Gaia, Psyche and Deep Ecology
2025-11-22 18:00 - 20:30
Beyond Jung –Gaia, Psyche and Deep Ecology

with Andrew Fellows PhD

Saturday November 22, 20259am PST / 12pm EST / 5pm GMT / 6pm CET

Beyond Jung 2025, Session 1 of 6

This event is LIVE. All participants will receive the RECORDING.

Synergies 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.

Andrew 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.

Experiencing Consciousness: Inner Knowing Through Art
2026-01-04 19:00 - 20:00
International Consciousness Research Laboratories (ICRL) and The Pari Center present:

Experiencing Consciousness: Inner Knowing Through Art

with Jeff Dunne

Sunday January 4, 202610:00AM PST | 1:00PM EST | 6:00PM GMT | 7:00PM CET

This event is restricted to 40 participants. There will be no recording.

The 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.

No background in art is required for this workshop, only an interest in trying something different in a safe, welcoming online group setting.

Experiencing Consciousness

Register now to reserve your place!

As 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!

Note: 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.

You 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.

Experiencing Consciousness: Remote Viewing
2026-02-15 19:00 - 21:30
International Consciousness Research Laboratories (ICRL) and The Pari Center present:

Experiencing Consciousness: Remote Viewing

with David Harker

Sunday February 15, 202610:00AM PST | 1:00PM EST | 6:00PM GMT | 7:00PM CET

This event is restricted to 40 participants. There will be no recording.

In 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.

The 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.

David 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.

No 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.

Experiencing Consciousness

Register now to reserve your place!

As 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!

Note: 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.

You 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.
