Forest of Thought

Why is there so much beauty in the natural world? What can we learn from jamming with the more-than-human? Join interspecies musician David Rothenberg and myself as we explore these questions and experience some bird-bug-clarinet collaboration, perched on a hillside outside of LA.David Rothenberg is a musician, composer and professor of philosophy and music, with a longtime interest in understanding other species by making music with them. In this conversation we follow his journey from being a young environmentalist collaborating with deep ecology founder Arne Næss to his current work as interspecies musician and philosopher, playing music with bugs, birds, whales, ponds and more.* David’s website* Documentary (free) Why Birds Sing:* Pond music* Arne Næss and deep ecologySHARE AND SUBSCRIBE🎙️ The FoT Substack is now live! Become a free or paid subscriber and receive newsletters direct to your inbox.🎧 All episodes and more at ⁠forestofthought.com⁠.💜 Support us on ⁠Patreon⁠ or Substack.⁠🎵 Our theme music is by Christian Holtsteen. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit forestofthought.substack.com/subscribe

Many cultures maintain that we are not born human but that we may become fully human through cultivation and care. Could it be that our destructive tendencies are not because of our human-ness, but rather due to a lack of it? If so: where and how can we cultivate our humanity? All species play their part in the living web – what role might we humans have to play in this unfolding drama? Mikael Kurkiala is a cultural anthropologist and author. He spent many years living and working with the Oglala Lakota people of South Dakota, and is currently a researcher at the Swedish Church Office. His most recent books are "When the Soul Goes into Exile: Modernity, Technology & the Sacred“ and “Where the Pendulum has its Base: On the Eternal in Humans”.This conversation was recorded with a lovely audience at the Uppsala Public Library in Sweden, December 2024. It's one of three public conversations we hosted 2023-2024 as part of a series of events exploring the concept of ‘life-force’. You’ll find all three episodes (26, 27 & 28) at forestofthought.com or on your podcast listening platform. Support us on Patreon: ⁠⁠patreon.com/forestofthought⁠⁠Share and subscribe. Find all available platforms ⁠here⁠.Our theme music is by Christian Holtsteen at ⁠⁠stoneproduction.no⁠⁠. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit forestofthought.substack.com/subscribe

Forest of Thought episodes are back! And over the next few weeks I’ll be sharing three public conversations that were recorded 2023-2024 as part of a series of events exploring the concept of ‘life-force’. We begin with philosopher Jeremy Naydler, delving into the question of how we may cultivate the human in a time of intelligent machines: “Advanced technologies and artificial intelligence are rapidly growing more enmeshed in our lives. How does this affect the deeper realms of consciousness, spirituality and our relation to the living world? What are the unfolding human qualities that machines cannot acquire and how might we cultivate them?”Jeremy Naydler is a gardener and philosopher based in Oxford, England. He has written several books on the experience of the sacred in ancient cultures. In his newer work he focuses on the fraught relationship between humans and technology as it has developed from ancient times until today, and explores how we cultivate the human in an era of intelligent machines. We recorded this with a wonderful audience at ⁠NAV Sweden⁠, Stockholm, in September 2023 with support from the Viriditas foundation. LINKS TO THINGS WE TALKED ABOUT:Jeremy’s books on the sacred in ancient traditions (e.g. The Future of the Ancient World, The and Temple of the Cosmos).Jeremy’s books on technology in relation to the human (In the Shadow of the Machine and The Struggle for a Human Future).We would love your support! Find us on Patreon.Share and subscribe. Find all available platforms here.Our wonderful theme music is by Christian Holtsteen at ⁠stoneproduction.no⁠. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit forestofthought.substack.com/subscribe

How are our modern ways of thinking and being different from those of ancient peoples? When did logic and rational thinking become ‘common sense’, instead of just one of the many ways we may contemplate life’s important questions? And how is our consciousness and presence in the world altered as we become evermore enmeshed in advanced technologies?Ingrid speaks to philosopher-gardener Jeremy Naydler. Jeremy has written several books on the experience of the sacred in ancient cultures. In his newer work he focuses on the fraught relationship between humans and technology as it has developed from ancient times until today, and explores how the acceleration of modern technologies forces us to examine how we cultivate the human in an era of machines. Jeremy Naydler, Ph.D., is a philosopher who specializes in the religious life of ancient cultures. He is a Fellow of the Temenos Academy and author of Temple of the Cosmos, Shamanic Wisdom in the Pyramid Texts, The Future of the Ancient World, and Goethe on Science. He lives in Oxford, England.LINKS TO THINGS WE TALKED ABOUT: Jeremy’s books on the sacred in ancient traditions (e.g. The Future of the Ancient World, The and Temple of the Cosmos): https://www.innertraditions.com/author/jeremy-naydler Jeremy’s books on technology in relation to the human (In the Shadow of the Machine and The Struggle for a Human Future): https://www.templelodge.com/viewauthor.php?auth_id=109 Egyptian Book of the Dead: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_the_Dead Heidegger on “The question concerning technology”: https://monoskop.org/images/4/44/Heidegger_Martin_The_Question_Concerning_Technology_and_Other_Essays.pdf The Philokalia: https://www.holybooks.com/wp-content/uploads/Philokalia.pdfAll episodes and more at ⁠forestofthought.com⁠Support us on Patreon: ⁠patreon.com/forestofthought⁠Share and subscribe. Find all available platforms here: ⁠https://anchor.fm/forestofthought⁠Our theme music is by Christian Holtsteen at ⁠stoneproduction.no⁠. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit forestofthought.substack.com/subscribe

How might the use of voice and song be an unexpectedly powerful way to access our deeper selves? In this episode I speak to Briony Greenhill, an incredible musician who uses collaborative improvisation as a way to connect and heal. Briony also generously shares her personal experiences and the philosophy of life that she has come to through her work. Briony Greenhill is an artist, teacher and changemaker, with a special focus on improvisation, described as "one of the world's leading proponents of Collaborative Vocal Improvisation (CVI)" by the Guardian, and as "Marvin Gaye crossed with a funky earth mother" by Mojo. She finds her music and lyrics through improvising, often together with others. Her lyrics focus on themes of human depth, paradigm shift, the intimacy and bigger picture of our times. As a teacher she helps people bring out their full voices, develop their musicianship, express themselves, connect and heal.LINKS Briony’s website – find all info and music there: https://www.brionygreenhill.com/ Call off the Thought and Sing – conversations hosted by Briony (past convos available on Youtube): https://www.facebook.com/CallofftheThoughtandSing Pat MacCabe : https://www.patmccabe.net Kimberley Hare – The Edge https://www.heartofthriving.com/conversations/ Happy Thank you More Please: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ls_SKFeJxEg Robert MacFarlane’s book Mountains of the Mind: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2003/nov/13/guardianfirstbookaward2003.gurardianfirstbookawardDid you enjoy? Please consider supporting the podcast at patreon.com/forestofthought. Thank you for sharing and subscribing!Our theme music is by Christian Holtsteen at stoneproduction.no. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit forestofthought.substack.com/subscribe

How do we manifest the world we would like to see? How are art and activism connected to things like magic and ritual? How does being rooted in a place help us defend it? In this episode I visit Isa Fremeaux at the ZAD (zone à defendre) in Brittany, France, where an unlikely alliance of local residents and activists succeeded in stopping the building of a planned airport. Isa shares her experiences of working at the intersection of art and activism, and we explore what it means to create the worlds we want to inhabit.Isa Fremeaux is a writer, activist and educator, formerly senior lecturer in Media and Cultural studies at Birckbeck College, London. Together with her partner Jay Jordan she has, among other things, created Pathways to Utopia, a film/book project exploring utopian communities in Europe, and the Laboratory of Insurrectionary Imagination, a place for experiments at the intersection of art and activism. Their book “We Are ‘Nature’ Defending Itself – Entangling Art, Activism and Autonomous Zones” explores these ideas further and takes us along on part of the journey of the ZAD.LINKS: Isa and Jay’s book: We are ‘Nature’ Defending Itself – Entangling Art, Activism and Autonomous Zones: https://www.plutobooks.com/9780745345871/we-are-nature-defending-itself/ Pathways to Utopia: https://lessentiersdelutopie.wordpress.com/trailer/ Laboratory of Insurrectionary Imagination: https://labo.zone/ Links to the six points: https://zad.nadir.org/IMG/pdf/6pointszad-a3-2.pdf The invisible committee: https://theanarchistlibrary.org/category/author/comite-invisibleSupport us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/forestofthoughtFind all episodes on our website: www.forestofthought.comShare and subscribe. We're available on most podcast apps, including:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2ue3XA6IQQLC05FQMINuy1 . Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/…/podcast/forest-of…/id1508610729. Links to all platforms: https://anchor.fm/forestofthought.Our theme music is by Christian Holtsteen at stoneproduction.no. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit forestofthought.substack.com/subscribe

Felix Marquardt used to enjoy a jet-setting lifestyle, advising CEOs and heads of state, and mingling at elite gatherings like the World Economic Forum in Davos. Now he is on a slow journey of recovery from substance abuse, and has recently published The New Nomads – a unique perspective on migration in our time. In this episode we talked about how patterns of addiction are playing out in all parts of our society, what sobering up might mean, and the unrecognised power of prayer.Felix is Austrian-American born but raised in Paris. He counts a dozen nationalities in his family, has lived in as many countries and held as many jobs. He’s run communications for large publications and companies, advised CEOs and heads of state, and founded a bunch of projects, the latest of which is called Black Elephant, an outgrowth of his The New Nomads book (Simon & Schuster, 2021).LINKS TO THINGS WE TALKED ABOUT: The New Nomads by Felix Marquardt: https://thenewnomads.org Black Elephant, Felix’ latest project including podcast: https://www.blcklphnt.com ‘Davos is dead and coronavirus killed it’, article in FT by Felix (June 2021): https://www.ft.com/content/3177eb28-6fb1-459a-83a1-837124b43e0e “The culture wars require a peace process and GenXers must initiate it”, op-ed by Felix and others in South Africa Sunday Times: https://www.timeslive.co.za/sunday-times-daily/opinion-and-analysis/2021-12-02-the-culture-wars-require-a-peace-process-and-genxers-must-initiate-it/ Kevin Anderson is a climate change researcher: http://kevinanderson.info/blog/home-2/ Hospicing Modernity by Vanessa Machado de Oliveira (previously Andreotti): https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/675703/hospicing-modernity-by-vanessa-machado-de-oliveira/ Des empires sous la terre (Empires under earth – English translation forthcoming) by Mohamad Amer Meziane (Felix’ friend who writes about racial and ecological history of secularisation) https://religion.columbia.edu/content/mohamed-amer-meziane Also by Mohamad Amer Médiane: https://politicaltheology.com/is-there-a-secularocene/Support us on Patreon: patreon.com/forestofthought .Share and subscribe. We’re available on most podcast apps, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Links to all platforms: https://anchor.fm/forestofthoughtOur theme music is by Christian Holtsteen at stoneproduction.no. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit forestofthought.substack.com/subscribe