Some Other Sphere

My guest for this episode is psychologist and psychotherapist Michael Wilson, who joined me to discuss his recent book, Portals into Deep Imagination: Celtic Mythology, Nature’s Year, and the Quest for Soul. The book is an anthology of weekly contemplations and practices for spirituality through the lens of psychology, inspired by the culture and mythology of the Celts in Britain and Ireland and their connection with nature. Following the course of the Celtic year (beginning at Samhain), each weekly chapter offers tales and folklore from Celtic mythology, followed by a suggested practice of meditation and contemplation. It explores the metaphor and symbolism contained in these myths and legends and shows how those themes can be used to examine the nature of the human mind and imagination and the relationship between them. In the interview I begin by talking with Mike about his background and how the idea for the book came about. We discuss the structuring of the book around a yearly cycle and then our conversation broadens a little, exploring the importance of connecting with nature and the relationship between folklore, myth, the imagination, dreams and altered states. You can find out more about Mike and his writing at https://www.michaelwilson.uk.com/. Portals into Deep Imagination: Celtic Mythology, Nature’s Year, and the Quest for Soul can be purchased from Aeon Books. If you enjoy what I do with Some Other Sphere and would like to support its upkeep, you can make a donation via Ko-fi. To buy the podcast a coffee go to https://ko-fi.com/someotherspherepodcast. Thank you! The podcast theme music is by The Night Monitor, from his album, ‘Close Encounters of the Pennine Kind’. You can find out more about The Night Monitor's music at https://thenightmonitor.bandcamp.com/.

My guest for this episode is author Raphael Cormack, who joined me to talk about his new non-fiction book, Holy Men of the Electromagnetic Age. The book explores what it describes as a ‘golden age of the uncanny’ centered around the Eastern Mediterranean in the years following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. This was a time when Clairvoyants, fakirs, mind-readers, miracle-workers and jinn-summoners enthralled people and audiences with the idea that unseen spiritual powers commanded a realm of hidden human potential. The story Raphael tells focuses on the lives of two such characters in particular; Tahra Bey, who took 1920s Paris by storm as a self-styled Fakir with remarkable displays of bodily endurance and mind reading ; and Doctor Dahesh, who combined a similar skill set with techniques from Spiritualism into something which would eventually evolve into a pan-religious faith in Lebanon. Travelling between Cairo, New York and Jerusalem, Paris, Istanbul and Rio de Janeiro, these two mystics reflected the desires and anxieties of a troubled age, beginning in the aftermath of World War One and extending into World War Two and more recent conflicts in the Middle East. In the interview I talk a bit with Raphael about his background, and how the idea for the book came about. From there our conversation loosely follows the structure of the book itself, first talking about Tahra Bey, and then Doctor Dahesh. It is a conversation more about a time in recent occult history, represented in microcosm by these two men, rather than an exploration of their purported abilities but it still provides a fascinating insight into a world that is quite recent, but mostly forgotten today. You can find out more about Holy Men of the Electromagnetic Age at https://www.hurstpublishers.com/book/holy-men-of-the-electromagnetic-age/. If you enjoy what I do with Some Other Sphere and would like to support its upkeep, you can make a donation via Ko-fi. To buy the podcast a coffee go to https://ko-fi.com/someotherspherepodcast. Thank you! The podcast theme music is by The Night Monitor, from his album, ‘Close Encounters of the Pennine Kind’. You can find out more about The Night Monitor's music at https://thenightmonitor.bandcamp.com/.

Joining me for this episode is philosopher Kimberly S. Engels. Kimberly is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Molloy University and her research focuses on existentialism, phenomenology, and ethics. In 2023 she started a new research project on the UAP phenomenon, focusing on the lived conscious experience of individuals who report these kind encounters, and how they integrate these experiences into their understanding of self, other, and world. This work has seen her become Research Director at the John Mack Institute, and Advisory Board Member for the Society for UAP Studies. Phenomenology is the direct investigation and description of phenomena as consciously experienced, without theories about their causal explanation. In the interview I begin by talking with Kimberly about her background and exploring phenomenology in more detail. From there we discuss how its methods can be applied in the of study of extraordinary experiences such as those people have with UAPs/UFOs and also how it can help experiencers understand those events on a personal level. Further details about Kimberly's research is available at https://kimberlyengels.academia.edu/ and to find her blog posts for the Society for UAP Studies, go to https://www.societyforuapstudies.org/blog. Kimberly also has a podcast series called 'Phenomenology of the Phenomenon' which is available on the Society for UAP Studies YouTube channel here. If you enjoy what I do with Some Other Sphere and would like to support its upkeep, you can make a donation via Ko-fi. To buy the podcast a coffee go to https://ko-fi.com/someotherspherepodcast. Thank you! The podcast theme music is by The Night Monitor, from his album, ‘Close Encounters of the Pennine Kind’. You can find out more about The Night Monitor's music at https://thenightmonitor.bandcamp.com/.

My guest for this episode is paranormal podcaster and author Jim Harold. Since 2005, Jim has built a global following with his flagship shows The Paranormal Podcast and Jim Harold’s Campfire. Jim’s podcasts have been downloaded over eighty million times and consistently rank alongside major networks on the podcast charts. Going full-time in 2012, he has also authored six books in his Campfire series, which collect together the spooky stories and weird happenings people have reported to him from all over the world. In the interview we focus on the Campfire project. I begin by talking with Jim about the origins of his interest in the paranormal and ask how his career in podcasting started. From there Jim shares some of the stories from the latest volume of the Campfire books, which leads us into to a wide-ranging conversation about the nature of paranormal experience, how that might relate to consciousness and the importance of storytelling in human cultures, and much more. Further details about Jim, his podcasts and book series can be found at https://jimharold.com/ If you enjoy what I do with Some Other Sphere and would like to support its upkeep, you can make a donation via Ko-fi. To buy the podcast a coffee go to https://ko-fi.com/someotherspherepodcast. Thank you! The podcast theme music is by The Night Monitor, from his album, ‘Close Encounters of the Pennine Kind’. You can find out more about The Night Monitor's music at https://thenightmonitor.bandcamp.com/.

My guest for this episode is Clive Bloom, who joined me to talk about his new book, London Uncanny: A Gothic Guide to the Capital in Weird History and Fiction. Clive is Professor in Residence at Hull University, Emeritus Professor at Middlesex University and a Visiting Fellow at the University of Western Timisoara, Romania. He is a feature writer for several newspapers and the author of many books on topics from literature to politics, including the London political histories Violent City (2003) and Riot City (2012). In London Uncanny, Clive takes the reader on a psychogeographical tour of the capital’s uncanny literature, arcane events and its infamous and imagined locations. The urban landscape is presented as a space of wonder and madness, both haunted by its past and haunting the present. With stories of death and murder, spiritualism, lunacy and the occult the London in the book is one where dreams and nightmares meet. In the interview I talk with Clive about how the idea for London Uncanny came about, and some of the themes that are present throughout its pages. We discuss how different versions of the city intersect, such as the ancient and modern, the ways that some people have found ways to interact with the imaginary and mythic London, and how the effect of modernisation, such as the construction of the London Underground, have given rise to new mythologies and uncanny experiences. You can find out more about Clive and his work at https://www.clivebloom.com/. If you enjoy what I do with Some Other Sphere and would like to support its upkeep, you can make a donation via Ko-fi. To buy the podcast a coffee go to https://ko-fi.com/someotherspherepodcast. Thank you! The podcast theme music is by The Night Monitor, from his album, ‘Close Encounters of the Pennine Kind’. You can find out more about The Night Monitor's music at https://thenightmonitor.bandcamp.com/.

My guest for this episode is Nick Literski. Nick is a Jungian scholar, spiritual guide, author, and retired attorney. Dissatisfaction with a career working in law, together with the experience of coming out as part of the LGBTQ+ community, led them to rebuild their life and pursue their interest in the intersection of spirituality and psychology. After three years of training as a shamanic practitioner, Nick’s desire to help facilitate the spiritual journey of queer persons led them to earn a master’s degree in Spiritual Guidance at Sofia University, where their thesis work focused on how gay men from non-affirming religious backgrounds create their own sustaining, affirming spiritual practices. This work, in turn, inspired Nick to pursue further graduate work in depth psychology and attain a PhD in that subject. Their dissertation work involved a depth psychological analysis of Palaeolithic cave art, through Carl Jung’s technique of active imagination, with an eye toward what these images can reveal about the human religious instinct. Nick is an accomplished author, having essays and articles published in multiple academic journals. They also co-authored Method Infinite: Freemasonry and the Mormon Restoration, published in August 2022 by Greg Kofford Books. In addition, Nick served briefly as Assistant Editor of the journal, Anthropology of Consciousness. I begin the interview by talking with Nick about the life events that led up to their decision to change career and pursue their passions for psychology and spiritual development. From there we discuss some of the methods they use to help their clients and this leads into an interesting conversation about how best to understand extraordinary experiences and the importance of personal meaning and subjective reality in trying to do that. You can find out more about Nick and their work at https://www.dancingancestors.com/ and they can by contacted by email at nick@dancingancestors.com. If you enjoy what I do with Some Other Sphere and would like to support its upkeep, you can make a donation via Ko-fi. To buy the podcast a coffee go to https://ko-fi.com/someotherspherepodcast. Thank you! The podcast theme music is by The Night Monitor, from his album, ‘Close Encounters of the Pennine Kind’. You can find out more about The Night Monitor's music at https://thenightmonitor.bandcamp.com/.

Joining me for this episode is returning guest Dr. Josh Bullock. Josh is part of the team behind Weekday Worldviews, a sociological project which in 2023 began investigating the relationships between personal worldviews and psychological well-being amongst those attending public psychic events in the UK. He was my guest for episode 114 of the podcast, where we discussed the project, the subjects it was looking at and the methods to gather information. In the interview for this episode Josh returns to discuss the project findings in more detail. To begin with we briefly go over the background to Weekday Worldviews and its methodology, and Josh shares his own experience of attending a Psychic Night at a pub in Bristol. After that we look at some of the answers given by people who took the project survey and sat down for interviews. It reveals some very interesting insights into the differences between the ways people view the truth of something and understanding it, the role of science in determining that, psychological attitudes towards death and grieving and personal belief in a wide range of paranormal phenomena. You can find out more about the Weekday Worldviews project at https://www.weekdayworldviews.com/. If you enjoy what I do with Some Other Sphere and would like to support it you can make a donation via Ko-fi. To buy the podcast a coffee go to https://ko-fi.com/someotherspherepodcast. Thank you! The podcast theme music is by The Night Monitor, from his album, ‘Close Encounters of the Pennine Kind’. You can find out more about The Night Monitor's music at https://thenightmonitor.bandcamp.com/.

Joining me as my guests for this episode are Elin Heron and Callum James. Elin is returning to Some Other Sphere, having first been interviewed by me in the very early days of the podcast. She is a writer and musician, a talented tarot reader and a speaker of Welsh. Callum is a poet, artist, bookseller and magical practitioner. Both have long been close friends and 2024 saw them each publish new works - Jude by Elin, which is her debut novel and The South Downs: Paths of the Dead by Callum, which details his experience of completing the South Downs Way, an ancient walking route in Southern England. In Jude, Fifteen-year-old Nick has just finished his GSCEs and is stuck at home in the seaside village of Brexenham. What starts as a boring summer quickly transforms, as he meets Jude Fletcher, a wild and otherworldly boy. Nick is pulled into another world, but the disappearance of local girl, Jemma Cox, hangs over the community, and is something that runs farther back than anybody realises. The South Downs is partly a grimoire of the walk Callum undertook, partly a linear topography, and partly a treatise on necromancy. It recognises the folklore, spirits, and the magic of a place and Callum writes as one who does this magic, speaks to these spirits, and follows this lore. In the interview I talk with Elin and Callum about their writing and their friendship, how the ideas for their recent publications came about and how their approach to writing them developed. This leads into a wide-ranging discussion, covering themes such as the role of the imagination and imaginal thinking in otherworldly encounters, the connections between the dead and the landscape, and the nature of otherworldly entities such as The Green Man, a character who features prominently in Jude. I also get to share a couple of my own unusual experiences with them as part of our conversation. Further information about Elin can be found at her website https://www.elinheron.co.uk/ and you can order a copy of Jude from her publisher, Lucent Dreaming. Callum's website is https://www.mercurysbrother.com/ and you can order a copy of The South Downs: Paths of the Dead from Broken Sleep Books. If you would like to support the upkeep of Some Other Sphere you can make a donation via Ko-fi. To buy the podcast a coffee go to https://ko-fi.com/someotherspherepodcast. Thank you! The Some Other Sphere theme music is taken from 'Window Area', from the album 'Close Encounters of the Pennine Kind' by The Night Monitor. You can find out more about The Night Monitor's music at https://thenightmonitor.bandcamp.com/.