In this profound and wide-ranging conversation, we speak with Acharya Shunya, a revered teacher of Vedic wisdom and the first female lineage-holder in her 2,000-year-old spiritual tradition. We explore the living transmission of Advaita Vedanta, the role of Bhakti and karma yoga in contemporary life, and the soul’s long arc toward divine union. Acharya Shunya shares the depth of her path, her bold decision to bring traditional teachings to a global audience, and her vision of spiritual practice as a uniquely personal journey of awakening.

In this interview, Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati shares the extraordinary story of her transformation from a Stanford-trained academic to a revered spiritual teacher living on the banks of the Ganga in Rishikesh. With disarming honesty and clarity, she recounts the moment of divine awakening that changed the course of her life, and reflects on the spiritual teachings and practices that continue to guide her. Through her insights into self-realization, trauma, identity, and the power of Vedantic wisdom, Sadhvi offers a luminous vision of spiritual awakening grounded in lived experience, radical openness, and unwavering devotion to truth.

In this interview, Jac O’Keeffe shares the powerful story of her spiritual awakening and the decades of inner work that followed. With candor, humor, and unflinching insight, she describes the moment divine love flooded her being, the guidance she received, and how that awakening transformed her life. But the heart of this conversation lies in what comes after awakening—how we integrate, embody, and express spiritual realization in the world. Together, we explore how spiritual practice helps us transcend our stories, free ourselves from limiting beliefs, and ultimately serve a world in need with humility, love, and clarity.

Shelli Joye shares her lifetime journey weaving mysticism, science, and consciousness into a coherent framework she calls "tantric psychophysics." Drawing from electrical engineering, Eastern traditions, and modern quantum theory, she discusses collective consciousnesses or "psychospheres," and the role of human beings as agents within a larger cosmic network. She advocates for intentional occupation of higher dimensions of awareness through meditation and inner exploration. Together with Jeff Carreira, she explores how telepathy, mystical experiences, and conscious collectives might form a new evolutionary step in human awareness, suggesting that hope and connectedness are vital tools for navigating today’s spiritual challenges.

Tarot reader Julia Eve reflects on her intuitive practice in light of the podcast The Telepathy Tapes, finding deep resonance between her symbolic work and the telepathic abilities of autistic children. We explore the imaginal realm as a space where symbolic wisdom and mystical knowing arise. Julia emphasizes that tarot serves as both a map and a tool for spiritual development, guiding seekers through inner and cosmic consciousness. This dialogue uncovers tarot’s power as a creative and mystical endeavor, affirming that authentic knowledge emerges from openness, intention, and lived experience beyond conventional rational frameworks.

Jeffrey Kripal explores how extraordinary experiences—mystical, paranormal, or anomalous—require new interpretive frameworks beyond traditional science and religion. He proposes “thinking-with” experiencers to co-create meaningful narratives that make space for paradox and subjectivity. In this interview he discusses dual aspect monism, ontological shock, and the role of narrative in transforming consciousness. Kripal emphasizes the importance of storytelling in making the impossible thinkable, advocating for a worldview rooted in inclusivity, creativity, and not-knowing. The interview closes with a reflection on fiction as a vehicle for spiritual truth, inspired by Philip K. Dick and my own mythopoetic writing journey.

For this issue I immediately wanted to speak with Timothy Morton, one of my favorite ecological thinkers, and Rita Shea Guffey Chair in English at Rice University. When I read Timothy's book Ecology Without Nature, I gained a deeper understanding of how the modern world divorces the idea of nature from human beings. We tend to think of nature as trees and landscapes and animals and plants, things that are not human. At the same time, we think of cities, machinery and other man-made things as not part of nature. But the idea that human beings are somehow separate from nature is the root cause of our ecological problems. When I spoke with Timothy I noticed he was not speaking about nature in terms of forests, trees and animals. He was speaking about human nature and our human connection to reality.

Nora is the president of the International Bateson Institute, and one of my favorite ecological thinkers. In this interview Nora explains the current thinking contained in her book called Combining, that came out of an inquiry into the nature of evolution. Nora was asking herself questions about how evolution occurs. How do things evolve? A change fundamental and deep enough can be called an evolutionary change, and what Nora realized was that by the time a change of that magnitude becomes visible, it has been building through unseen influences for a long time.

It was a pleasure to speak with Christopher J. Miller about his understanding of what it means to be a spiritual artist. Chris is an artist, author, teacher, and produces The Spiritual Artist Podcast where he shares stories of enlightenment and growth in conversations with today’s spiritual artists and thought leaders. It became quickly clear to me that Chris and I hold very similar views about art, creativity and the fundamental nature of reality. w: spiritualartisttoday.com

In this interview we had the pleasure to speak with our dear friend Mary Adams about her involvement with The Extinction Rebellion and how she sees her current work as an activist as a natural extension of her dedicated spiritual life.