The Sheldrake Vernon Dialogues

Why is beauty so important to scientists, even those without religious convictions? And is that in some way connected to the failure of New Atheism, which began two decades ago this year? Rupert’s two books on science and spiritual practices inform the conversation, as does research by Guy Hayward, Linda Woodhead, Simon Conway Morris, Micheal Levin and a team led by Fraser Watts. Why is providence such a powerful intuition? And might related matters have anything to do with the extraordinary power of Large Language Models?

0:00 V: Spiritual practice trials
4:27 S: Singing together
7:54 V: Music and enchantment
10:00 V: New Atheism and providence
12:46 S: Providence or blind chance?
14:22 V: Scientists and beauty
16:47 S: Gratuitous beauty in nature
20:22 V: Evolution as search engine
22:20 S: Platonism and morphic resonance
26:00 V: Why are LLMs so good?
30:20 S: Language conveys experience
31:59 V: Closing thanks

An ancient intuition is that plants have souls and even participate in the life of God by virtue of being alive. But what sense can be made of that today? In this episode of the Sheldrake-Vernon Dialogues, Rupert Sheldrake and Mark Vernon consider the Neoplatonic understanding that all living creatures, and perhaps all self-organising things, have a soul as part of their existence. But what does this imply about plant perception, plant intelligence, and plant awareness? Why do plants so inspire artists, mystics, and scientists - as well as worldwide activities such as the cut flower industry? Rupert has spend decades both studying plants and profoundly enjoying their presence in his life. Mark feels the inspiration that plants offer the contemplative life. Considering the souls of plants is quite as generative of insights and questions as plants are themselves generative of beautiful forms of life.

Does art need to have a sacred dimension to be art at all? What are the sources of inspiration? In this dialogue, which is the 102nd in the series, Rupert Sheldrake and Mark Vernon, explore how meaning and beauty, truth and connection might be manifested in the arts. What is the role of reverence and empathy, place and intelligence? Conversely, what is lost when art loses a reference beyond the human and mechanical world? If art energizes the human spirit, encourages awareness, and revitalises symbols, how might it speak to us today of what it is be human and to live in a more than human world? 
The conversation took place in The Garrison Chapel, Chelsea, and was organised by The King’s Foundation. 
Chapters 
0:00 V: Welcome, cave art and the meaning of sympathy 
6:09 R: Museums as temples, art stripped of the sacred 
13:38 V: A deconsecrated chapel, the Vatican's galleries and the spectator 
21:19 R: Cultural breaks and continuity, from Egypt to India 
24:56 V: One divine source, many forms; Dante and iconoclasm 
29:24 R: Keith Critchlow, geometry and the forms of nature 
33:23 V: Beauty's call, prayer at Lascaux, Piero della Francesca and Blake 
38:37 R: Making by hand, from stone tools to museums of bones 
42:22 V: Closing remarks

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/yU1CQIE4T10
Many people report apparitions of their loved ones after death, and even of loved dogs and cats. But how do these after-death communications align with the Christian teaching of the resurrection of the body? In this episode of the Sheldrake-Vernon Dialogues, Rupert Sheldrake and Mark Vernon explore the evidence for the post-mortem appearances of humans and non-humans, and ask how it fits with the accounts of Jesus’s resurrection in the Bible. The appearance of Jesus to the disciples and others is often taken as evidence of a physical revival of Jesus after his crucifixion but a subtler, arguably more compelling interpretation is that after-death communications are relatively common - which is the experience the disciples had. Then, the resurrection of Jesus shows something about the nature of the spiritual body,  as Saint Paul calls the body that awaits us. But what to make of the empty tomb that had contained the body of Jesus and the variety of activities Jesus reportedly engaged in after his resurrection, and what this might mean for existence after death and the presence of other worlds that are also here and now?

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/274OwKLCsFM
Support the show on Substack: https://rupertsheldrake.substack.com
Saints and genii locorum, or spirits of place, are the names in various wisdom traditions given to guardian beings who protect, assist and inspire. So what does it mean to call on these sacred beings? In this episode of the Sheldrake-Vernon Dialogues, Rupert Sheldrake and Mark Vernon discuss the role of patron saints who are associated with churches and shrines, days and names. What powers might figures from Saint Mary to Saint Nicolas bring to us? How do we call upon them and how is their presence understood? Rupert and Mark explore the ways in which saints connect heaven and earth in individual lives, particular places and at various times of the year.