Black Beryl

In this episode, I sit down with my friend Linda C. Ceriello, a scholar of mysticism and popular culture from Kennesaw State University in Georgia. Linda is one of the foremost scholars of metamodernism, with particular focus on contemporary spirituality and mystical experiences. She talks with me about what this concept of metamodernism means, and how it can open up new kinds of more capacious thinking. I’m sure you will agree that a lot of what we’ve been doing on this podcast over the past 4 years — juxtaposing different perspectives, exposing our full selves, exploring the dark sides of spirituality, leaning into sincerity, etc. — has all embodied a metamodern sensibility. Anyway, I think she’s the perfect guest to talk with as we launch season 4, and I hope you’ll enjoy the show.If you want to hear scholars and practitioners engaging in multidisciplinary conversations about Asian healing and mystical traditions, then subscribe to Black Beryl wherever you get your podcasts. Also check out our members area on Substack (blackberyl.substack.com), as each episode our guests share downloadable PDFs of articles, book chapters, and other materials for you.One last thing: we are planning an “Ask Me Anything” episode coming up soon, so reach out via Substack or my website, piercesalguero.com, and let me know your questions. Ok, on with the show!Resources mentioned in this episode:* “What is Metamodern?” website* “What is Metamodern? Conversations” on YouTube* Bloomsbury Press series: Studies in Metamodernism, Theory and Criticism Across the Disciplines* Vermeulen and van den Akker, “Notes on Metamodernism” (2010)* Kersten, Polo, Wilbers, Glocal Metamodernisms: European Fiction After Postmodernism (2026)* Disambiguation video* Recorded lecture: “An Overview of the Academic Research on Metamodernism” (2023)* Recorded panel: “A Bodhisattva Move: Popular Mysticism’s Influence on the Metamodern Turn?” (2021)Subscribe on blackberyl.substack.com to unlock our members-only benefits, including these PDFs of Linda’s work:* Metamodern Mysticisms (2018)* “Toward a metamodern reading of Spiritual but Not Religious mysticisms” (2018)* “The Metamodern Bend: Theorizations for Religious Studies” (2022) Get full access to Black Beryl Podcast at blackberyl.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to season 4 of the BBP! We concluded the last episode with Jeff Kripal calling upon humanities scholars to break out of our conservative paradigms and to allow ourselves to “get weird.” So, let’s do it! This season, we are going all-in on the mystical, mysterious, profound, reality-bending, and impossible aspects of Asian religions, medicines, and spiritualities.As usual, we’ll launch the season the tables turned, with Lan taking up the mic to interview Pierce. Together, we think about traditional, modern, and postmodern approaches to Asian medicine. Usually, these epistemologies are competing or people are trying to integrate them… but could there be another approach that celebrates all of them without needing to reconcile dissonance?If you want to hear scholars and practitioners engaging in multidisciplinary conversations about Asian healing and mystical traditions, then subscribe to Black Beryl wherever you get your podcasts. Also look us up on Substack to see what our guests have shared with you. Enjoy the show!Resources mentioned in this episode:* Pierce Salguero, “A Metadisciplinary Approach to Asian Medicine (and Other Epistemological Carnivals)” (2025)* Pierce Salguero, “The Fractal of Humanities” (2021)* Pierce Salguero, “A Pedagogy of the Soul” (2022)* Pierce Salguero, “Let’s Put More Humanity into the Humanities” (2019)* Pierce’s Human•ities Blog on Substack or on MediumSubscribe on blackberyl.substack.com to unlock our members-only benefits, including:* PDF of the introduction to Pierce’s new book: Meditation Sickness: A Sourcebook on the Dangers of Buddhist Practice, just published by University of Hawaii Press. Get full access to Black Beryl Podcast at blackberyl.substack.com/subscribe

Today I sit down with Prof. Jeff Kripal, noted scholar of religion at Rice University, to talk about extraordinary, mysterious, and “impossible” experiences. This is a conversation I’ve been waiting a few years to have. Together we explore what you can or can’t talk about in the humanities — and what we risk when we break the rules. Along the way, we touch on paranormal phenomena, epistemological pluralism, conspiracy theories, Plato’s cave, and why no one dresses up as a humanities professor for Halloween. If you want to hear scholars and practitioners engaging in deep conversations about the dark side of Asian religions and medicines, then subscribe to Black Beryl wherever you get your podcasts. Also check out our members-only benefits on Substack.com to see what our guests have shared with you. Enjoy the show!Resources related to this conversation:Jeff Kripal's websiteArchives of the Impossible & Conferences Pierce Salguero, "Secret Lives of Buddhist Studies Scholars" (2024)Pierce Salguero, "The Fractal of Humanities" (2021)Peter Sjöstedt-Hughes, "On the need for metaphysics in psychedelic therapy and research" (2023)Jeff Kripal, The Flip (2020)Jeff Kripal, Secret Body (2019)Commonweal PodcastSubscribe on blackberyl.substack.com to unlock our members-only benefits, including:PDF of the introduction of Jeff's book, How to Think Impossibly: About Souls, UFOs, Time, Belief, and Everything Else (2024) Get full access to Black Beryl Podcast at blackberyl.substack.com/subscribe

Today I sit down with Nick Canby, visiting assistant professor at Brown University and a clinical psychologist specializing in meditation and psychedelics. Together, we dive into Nick’s research on the self — what is it and what it’s like to lose it. Along the way, we mention some of the downsides of experiencing oneness and the complications of defining a mental health disorder.If you want to hear scholars and practitioners engaging in deep conversations about the dark side of Asian religions and medicines, then subscribe to Black Beryl wherever you get your podcasts. Also check out our members-only benefits on Substack.com to see what our guests have shared with you. Enjoy the show!Resources mentioned in this episode: Previous episode on meditation challenges with Willoughby Britton and Jared Lindahl List of Publications from the Varieties of Contemplative Experience studyCanby et al., "The Teacher Matters: The Role and Impact of Meditation Teachers in the Trajectories of Western Buddhist Meditators Experiencing Meditation-Related Challenges"Pierce's forthcoming volume, "Meditation Sickness: A Sourcebook on the Dangers of Buddhist Practice" Previous episode on madness and religious experience with Richard Saville-SmithNick's clinical practiceNick's profile on Cheetah HouseComplete list of Nick's publications Become a paid subscriber on blackberyl.substack.com to unlock our members-only benefits, including downloading:Article summarizing Nick’s dissertation research on “loss of self” experiences50% off “Varieties of Ego-Dissolution” online course (research overview of the types of self-boundary dissolution and their impacts) Get full access to Black Beryl Podcast at blackberyl.substack.com/subscribe

Today I sit down with Leo Lok, a retired practitioner of Chinese medicine who now teaches and consults with practitioners treating difficult cases of meditation-caused dysregulation. Together, we discuss how to think about the challenging side-effects of meditation through the lens of the ancestral Chinese arts of qi regulation. Along the way, we discuss the surprising power of ocular alignment, how to gradually condition oneself for spiritual heavy lifting, and medieval Chinese emergency treatments for meditation practice gone wrong.If you want to hear scholars and practitioners engaging in deep conversations about the dark side of Asian religions and medicines, then subscribe to Black Beryl wherever you get your podcasts. Also check out our members-only benefits on Substack.com to see what our guests have shared with you. Enjoy the show!Resources mentioned in this episode: Leo's chapter on Chinese physicians will appear in Pierce's forthcoming book, Meditation Sickness: An Anthology on the Dangers of Meditation Practice. (Get notified when this is published.)Zhiyi's (538–597) magnum opus on meditation in the Chinese Buddhist tradition, translated by Paul SwansonPierce discusses medieval Chinese approaches to meditation sickness, including Zhiyi's advice for meditators, in an open access article in Journal of Buddhist Ethics.See Leo's recommended YouTube instructional video on the six healing breaths.Leo's new website is under constructionBecome a paid subscriber on blackberyl.substack.com to unlock our members-only benefits, including downloading:Pierce's 2017 translation of the complete "Chapter on Illness" from Zhiyi's Shorter Treatise on Śamatha and Vipaśyanā. Get full access to Black Beryl Podcast at blackberyl.substack.com/subscribe

Today I sit down with Susannah Deane, a scholar of Tibetan medicine, Buddhism, and psychiatry. Together, we delve into her work on Tibetan concepts of "wind disorders" and Tantric practice gone wrong. Along the way, we talk about losing control of spirits, becoming a deity, and how Tibetans choose between religious and medical specialists when spiritual practice goes off the rails.If you want to hear scholars and practitioners engaging in deep conversations about the dark side of Asian religions and medicines, then subscribe to Black Beryl wherever you get your podcasts. Also check out our members-only benefits on Substack.com to see what our guests have shared with you. Enjoy the show!Resources mentioned in this episode: Susannah Deane, Tibetan Medicine, Buddhism and Psychiatry: Mental Health and Healing in a Tibetan Exile Community (2018).Salguero, Cheung, and Deane (eds.), Buddhism and Healing in the Modern World (2024).Susannah Deane, Illness and Enlightenment: Exploring Tibetan Perspectives on Madness in Text and Everyday Life (2025).Susannah's Academia.edu profileBecome a paid subscriber on blackberyl.substack.com to unlock our members-only benefits, including downloading:High resolution image of the Tibetan subtle body system Susannah's chapter “For This Kind of Thing, the Lama Is Better: Religion, Medicine, and the Treatment of 'Madness' among Tibetans in Amdo," from Buddhism and Healing in the Modern World Get full access to Black Beryl Podcast at blackberyl.substack.com/subscribe

Today I sit down with Willoughby Britton and Jared Lindahl, the interdisciplinary team from Brown University that is responsible for the “Varieties of Contemplative Experience” study on the challenges and adverse effects of meditation. We talk about the design, findings, and outcomes of the study, and how it opened up a new field of interdisciplinary investigation. Along the way we ask: if someone suffers harm from practicing meditation, whose fault is it? What is the ultimate cause? And who gets to interpret the experience? If you want to hear scholars and practitioners engaging in deep conversations about the dark side of Asian religions and medicines, then subscribe to Black Beryl wherever you get your podcasts. Also check out our members-only benefits on Substack.com to see what our guests have shared with you. Enjoy the show!Resources mentioned in this episode: Complete Varieties of Contemplative Experience study publications listWilloughby on the Mind & Life PodcastWilloughby & Jared on The Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness Podcast“The Varieties of Contemplative Experience: A Mixed-Methods Study of Meditation-Related Challenges in Western Buddhists” (2017)“The Roles and Impacts of Worldviews on the Onset and Trajectory of Meditation-Related Challenges” (2022)“The Teacher Matters: The Role and Impact of Meditation Teachers in the Trajectories of Western Buddhist Meditators Experiencing Meditation-Related Challenges” (2025)“Progress or Pathology? Differential Diagnosis and Intervention Criteria for Meditation-Related Challenges: Perspectives from Buddhist Meditation Teachers and Practitioners.”CheetahHouse.orgBecome a paid subscriber on blackberyl.substack.com to unlock our members-only benefits, including downloads of these PDFs:“Challenging and Adverse Meditation Experiences: Toward A Person-Centered Approach” (2021)“Prevalence of meditation-related adverse effects in a population-based sample in the United States” (2021) Get full access to Black Beryl Podcast at blackberyl.substack.com/subscribe

Today I sit down with Josh Schrei, storyteller, sound artist, and host of The Emerald Podcast. Josh helps us to embrace and center the spirit world in our understanding of contemporary Buddhism. Along the way, we talk about Tibetan weather makers, shamanic battle, the trance-inducing effect of stories, and how to diplomatically negotiate with animistic forces.If you want to hear scholars and practitioners engaging in deep conversations about the dark side of Asian religions and medicines, then subscribe to Black Beryl wherever you get your podcasts. Enjoy the show!Resources mentioned in this episode:The Emerald Podcast: Animism is Normative ConsciousnessThe Emerald Podcast: For the Divine Mother of the UniverseThe Emerald Podcast: Why Mindfulness Isn’t EnoughThe Emerald Podcast: Guardians and Protectors!Josh's Website: The Mythic BodyJosh's PatreonBecome a paid subscriber on blackberyl.substack.com to unlock our members-only benefits, including a video lecture by Pierce with a detailed introduction to Thai animist culture and healing practices. For other videos, see courses.piercesalguero.com. Get full access to Black Beryl Podcast at blackberyl.substack.com/subscribe