The Two Tongues Podcast

In this episode Kyle and Chris reunite after a long hiatus. Two Tongues once again! We talk C.S. Lewis' Space Trilogy, touch on Russell Brand and Danny Masterson, drink a few beers and be merry. Join us won't you?

In this episode we track the first 100 years of Pre-Socratic philosophy with an eye toward it's insights into human psychology and the origins of religion. We take this tour with the great Jungian psychologist Edward Edinger, through his book "The Psyche in Antiquity." From Thales to Parmenides we trace their search for the "Arche," the generative unity from which all of reality was born--the cosmos and the psyche. Is it Water, Air, Fire...or being itself? Enjoy ;)

In this episode we discuss the first book in C.S. Lewis' little-known "Space Trilogy" titled--Out of the Silent Planet. We discuss Lewis' relationship with JRR Tolkien and their united effort to publish powerful myths for the modern age. I treat this book as a fairytale and analysis it Von Franz-style to uncloak the religious and mythological symbols Lewis hid, as he's known to do, in the story, plot and characters. Is this sci-fi story archetypal? Does it provide insights to Lewis' understanding of Christianity? You tell me. Enjoy ;)

This episode was a livestream interview on the Onion Unlimited Podcast from 9/10. Daniel Torridon, host of Onion Unlimited, is a long-time friend of the show and a regular guest. In this one we catch up after many months and discuss what we've explored since our last discussion. I choose the topic of "Dualism" and speak about body and soul; Daniel chooses "free will"...and it's a doozy. Enjoy ;)

In this episode we round out our Return to Edinger series and his book Ego and Archetype with a discussion of blood and alchemy. We talk about blood as a symbol for life and the carrier of consciousness. We explore the connections to religious sacrifice, the cult of Dionysus and, of course, the blood of Christ. From here we pivot to the mysteries of Alchemy, the Philosophers' Stone and the Prima Materia and relate each to the process of individuation; the union of God and Man. Enjoy :)

This episode is Part 3 of our "Return to Edinger" series on his book Ego and Archetype. In this one we discuss what it means to be an "individual" and explore the age-old philosophical paradox of "the One and the many." We cover Pythagorean number symbolism, the Christian Trinity and how they tie in to Carl Jung's psychology of the Unconscious. Enjoy :)

This is part 2 in the "Return to Edinger" series where we discuss his book Ego and Archetype. In this one, we discuss the difference between 'signs' and 'symbols' in order to understand what an 'Archetype' is. With this accomplished, we go on to show how Jesus' words from the Gospels can be understood psychologically...and how Jesus himself can be understood as an Archetype. Enjoy :)

In this episode Chris discusses a mysterious stone monument that was erected in Zurich, Switzerland with strange and cryptic inscriptions carved into it. While older, this monument shares several features in common with another mysterious monument called the Georgia Guidestones. Both contain strange messages, written in both ancient and modern languages. So what makes the Bollingen Stone special? It was designed and erected by the great mystic of our modern age--Dr. Carl Jung! What does it say? What does it mean? Let's find out together. Enjoy ;)

As the title suggests, we're returning to Edward Edinger for this episode, exploring his book "Ego & Archetype." We explore natural psychological development and how the stages of development influence our understanding of God and its expression in religion and myth. We explore the possibility of encountering the "Self," the fullness of our psyche above and beyond just the ego and in so doing encounter God for the first time consciously. Enjoy :)

In this episode Chris brings us Opinion Scholarship on the philosopher David Hume thorough his "Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion". Just as Hume famously asked "can we derive an ought from an is?" here he asks: Is there anything about the facts of the world that can tell us anything about God? Does God exist? If so, how? What does God want? Does it want anything? Etcetera and so on. In exploring this question, God is conceptualized as the God of Monotheism, of Pantheism, of Idealism and even of Panpsychism. (Forgive the crying child in the background during my conclusion monologue. This podcast is unedited for authenticity, but authenticity has a price from time to time) Enjoy ;)

In this episode Chris explores 2 questions, which have been haunting him. The first: Is there a difference between what we ARE and what we Do? The second: Is there a difference between WHAT we are and WHO we are? We squeeze mysticism, theology, quantum mechanics and logic all into this 20 minute monologue. What could go wrong? Enjoy ;)

In this episode we bring you more Opinion Scholarship...this time on one of the primary and most mysterious works of Christian Mysticism--The Cloud of Unknowing. Its mystery comes from the fact that its author is unknown and that, while borderline heretical, it has survived in Catholic and Orthodox Christianity to this day. This work is unique in that it offers an explicitly Christian path to an explicitly unchristian goal...unity with God. The anonymous author provides a framework of meditation and contemplation that prepares one for having a mystical experience and becoming one spirit with God. This framework is suspiciously Eastern, calling for deep meditation, the use of mantras and the loss of Self. Enjoy ;)

In this episode Chris brings us more Opinion Scholarship; this time on the great Astrophysicist Arthur Eddington's lecture--Science and the Unseen World. We hear Eddington's critique of the scientific method and its insufficiencies in exploring the non-physical aspects of our reality. He provides a defense of religious experience as well as a new path for the furthering of scientific knowledge. His ultimate conclusion is, shall we say, mystical...and I love that. Enjoy ;)

In this episode Chris finishes off his Opinion Scholarship on Alan Watts book Beyond Theology. He focuses in on the meaning of sacrifice from a Hindu and Christian prospective, their respective religious practices and how they create two uniquely different paths to spiritual awakening. In the end, Alan Watts proposes a new interpretation of Christianity, which embraces the internal spiritual practices of the Hindu with the external transformation of the world required by the Christian path; both coming together to facilitate the revelation of ego death and at-one-ment. Enjoy ;)

In this episode Chris brings us some Opinion Scholarship on Alan Watt's book Beyond Theology. We talk about Alan's fantasy religion, if he could invent his own, and then spend the rest of the discussion trying to reconcile Hinduism and Christianity with it. The end result is a faith that emphasizes ego death as a sacrament and offers each the realization of eternal life through the unity of self identity with God itself. Enjoy :)

In this episode Chris takes Alan Watts up on his suggestion to meditate upon what you most desire. In his book Beyond Theology Watts says: "I cannot conceive any better way of trying to understand myself, or human nature in general, than a thorough exploration of my desires, making them as specific as possible, and then asking myself whether that is actually what I want." And this is exactly what I've done. What do I desire? And what have I learned? Find out here. Enjoy ;)

In this episode Kyle and Chris discuss paradoxical rise of racism from the progressive left in the same of equity. We outline examples from recent news of multiple acts of violence against "white" Americans and the complicity of the Government and media in its perpetuation. We touch upon a push in California to pay reparations to its "black" residents and finish off with an observation that the next generation of rebels will be religious, classically liberal and--dare I say it--conservative. Enjoy ;)

In this episode Kyle and Chris discuss shame. Is it a good thing, or a bad thing...or perhaps both simultaneously? We discuss Michael Malice's book "The White Pill" and focus on the communist dictum that shame is contradictory to communist philosophy. We recount Kyle's recent near death experience and get a little mystical with some highlights from Dr. Bernard Haisch's book "The God Theory" and Alan Watt's "Beyond Theology." Enjoy ;)

In this episode we do a little Opinion Scholarship on one of my favorite disciplines--comparative religion. In this case we discuss the book Jesus and Buddha: The Parallel Sayings by Marcus Borg and Jack Kornfield. We cover the stories of the lives of Jesus and Buddha as well as their teachings and show a stunning level of overlap between them. We ask the question how this could be and why? Discussing perennialism and the human condition as possible answers. Enjoy ;)

In this episode Chris brings us a bit of Opinion Scholarship on a recurring theme in world mythology--that of the War of the Gods. He discusses the strange idea of two distinct races of gods that come into conflict with one another. The ancient Greeks have the Titans and Olympians, the Bible has it's Angels and Demons, Zoroastrianism has Ahura Mazda and Ahriman and the Hindu's have the Devas and Asuras. The one left out of this list, comes from the Scandinavian north, from the Norse--the Aesir and Vanir--and this makes up the meat of the discussion. We examine the 21st century ethnographer--Thor Heyerdahl--and his theory surrounding the origin of the Norse in Azerbaijan, Odin as a historical person and the "war of the gods" as a battle between waring tribes. Enjoy ;)

In this episode we welcome back Daniel Torridon of the Onion Unlimited Podcast, who has a book coming out entitled "I Am God". Oh, how sacrilegious...or is it? We talk about religion and spiritual practices of all kinds and discuss how they differ in terms of their aim. Does Christianity have a goal? Is that goal to achieve heaven in the hereafter, or is it something achievable during our lives? How does this compare to ideas such as the Buddhist Nirvana or the JW view of the anointed? Then we talk about Zoroastrianism to put the icing on the cake. Enjoy :)

In this episode Chris reviews a selection of the most ancient creation stories known to man, from the Hindu text--The Rig Veda. He compares and contrasts with the Zoroastrian myth we looked at last week, which is equally ancient, but he doesn't stop there. He also offers comparisons in the Scandinavian Edda's and as far afield as ancient China. We then wrap up with what makes the Hindu accounts unique...and (spoiler alert)...it's the very same thing that leads to the Upanishads...a profound commandment to contemplate the great mystery behind all experience. Enjoy ;)

This is the long-awaited follow up to S1E62 where we discussed the ancient Sumerian and Babylonian myths the Enuma Elish and Epic of Gilgamesh and compared them to the accounts in Genesis. This time around, we focus on the Zoroastrian religion of ancient Persia and see how even the non-Semitic traditions of the prophet Zarathustra left there indelible mark on the Hebrews...and Christians! Heaven and Hell, Angles and Demons and their cosmic battle with one-another; the ultimate judgement and end of days; the bodily resurrection, the savior-redeemer and the New Jerusalem...all of these concepts originate, not in the Bible, but before... Enjoy ;)

Josh returns to the Podcast this week and we talk about everything! We get Josh's take on misplaced archeology and the Antikythera mechanism, the conspiracy theory that says Michelle Obama may actually be a trans-woman, oh, and Orthodox Christianity. It's safe to say there's a trigger warning on this one. Listen at your own risk. Enjoy ;)

This episode diverges from our usual subject matter in order to address Transgender ideology as an increasingly powerful social movement. Chris expresses his worries for the youth of the up-coming generation and poses his questions for them to consider. Offered with all love and good will. Enjoy :)

In this episode Chris explores Alan Watt's little book entitled "The Joyous Cosmology" where he records his psychedelic trip accounts and offers his interpretation. It is a fascinating exploration of mind and of God in a way that is as compelling to the believer as to the atheist. Chris offers his religious parallels and adds personal anecdotes from his own mystic experience. Strap in! Enjoy ;)

In this episode we explore the Orthodox Christian idea of "Theosis" or "becoming God." We ask what this means and how it interplays with a seemingly contrary article of faith, that Jesus is the only God-man. How can we become God, if Jesus is the only man to accomplish such a feat. Is there a difference between incarnation and Theosis? Between you and I and Christ? We explore this through the evidence in scripture and in the words of the early Church Fathers. Enjoy ;)

In this episode Chris regales us with a story of taking his kids to a trampoline park and both tongues take turns recalling childhood shoplifting experiences. This all inevitably leads to conversation about morality and Chris' last solo episode about psychedelic spirituality and Christianity. Chris does his best to justify his mystical position, while Kyle reprises his favorite role--Devil's Advocate. Enjoy ;)

In this episode Chris raves about a new thinker in the psychedelic and religious space--David Patrick Harry--of the YouTube channel "The Church of the Eternal Logos." We discuss Harry's journey through psychedelic experience to the Eastern Orthodox Church and the many, many similarities between the revelations of each path. We talk the Logos, what it is, how it relates to God and how to become God...or perhaps...we already are. Enjoy ;)

In this episode Kyle and Chris talk about Orthodox Christianity and its theology of Theosis, which sets it apart from all flavors of Christianity. This get's us into a deeper discussion about the Logos, Dr. Jordan Peterson and quantum physics. We talk the Wheeler-Dewitt equation and the great Max Plank who said: "there is no matter as such! ... This Mind is the matrix of all matter." What does it all mean? Find out here. Enjoy ;)

In this episode we get more "Opinion Scholarship" from Chris on the great philosopher--Alfred North Whitehead. Chris covers the final chapters of Process and Reality, focusing on Whitehead's concept of God. In this we find God to be the union of opposites and those opposites are God and the World. We find the infinite, eternal transcendent unified with the finite, temporal and immanent. We find God and the World as completing one another; what Whitehead calls "the apotheosis of the world." Enjoy ;)

This episode couldn't help being controversial. It was a rare evening recording and so naturally, the gloves came off. We open with racial disparity in IQ and standardized testing, then move into the recent racial controversy surrounding cartoonist Scott Adams. Not to be outdone, we decide to cover religion too where we learned that the Zoroastrians see the earth as a sort of booby-trap for the Devil. Enjoy ;)

In this episode Chris discusses a nightmare that the psychologist Jordan Peterson's nephew shared with him. It was a typical childhood nightmare full of fear and frightening imagery, but it held a deeper meaning. Jordan describes the psychological meaning and symbolism of the dream and how he empowered his nephew to overcome his fear. I tell this story in order to tell another. My 6-year-old daughter told me a story about "fairies," which struck me with the same kind of psychological and philosophical force. It makes me ask the question, what is the Unconscious? And, is there something more to our dreams and fantasies than random, meaningless ideas and images? Enjoy ;)

This episode was the Two Tongues Pod's first ever live-stream. We talk Kyle's conversation with Jason from the 2Bit podcast, the always interesting subject of racism as well as our thoughts on Scott Adam's recent remarks on whether or not its ok to be "White." Chris coins the term "Opinion Scholarship" for this solo episodes and much, much more. Enjoy :)

This episode rounds out the "Nothing Matters" series, which began with Alan Watts. We delve into the mysterious world of quantum physics, the word of dark matter, dark energy and black holes. On this journey we are confronted with the "Nothingness" of the space-time vacuum with surprising results. As it turns out, "Nothingness" does not exist...or more correctly "Nothing" is "Something." Zero point energy, vacuum energy, something from nothing and the Big Bang. All this and more on this episode of the Two Tongues Podcast. Enjoy ;)

In this episode Chris and Kyle discuss the value of debate and the relative effectiveness of different debate styles. We focus in on a debate from the YouTube Channel "The Crucible" where George Martin of Carnism Debunked and Andrew Wilson debate whether it's moral to eat meat. Kyle and I disagree on much, but ultimately agree debate is more valuable to the audience than the participants. People only begrudgingly change their minds and dunking on folks ain't the best approach for mind-changing...but it is entertaining. Enjoy :)

In this episode Chris begins his exploration of the Vedas--the oldest religious holy book we know of--the holy books of the Hindus. We read a series of hymns, which put tremendous emphasis on a ritual drink called "Soma," which seems in every way to be an ancient psychedelic brew. Soma was the food of the gods and was connected to both the gods and to immortality. It was consumed also the the Vedic priests who report out-of-body experiences, unfathomable joy and the ability to commune with the divine power. We discuss if Soma was psychedelic and how these mystical, psychedelic experiences relate to the development of religious ideas. Enjoy :)

In this episode Kyle and Chris discuss addiction, demonic possession and debate just what in the hell 'spirit' means. We discuss God, Nothingness and the vacuum of space. Chris tries dutifully to convince Kyle that "Nothing" is 'Something.' He goes with me part-way, but questions whether this is a word game or a real distinction. We agree that "Potentiality" works better than 'Nothingness.' Lastly we touch on the recent exploits of the U.S. Airforce in shooting UFOs from the sky. Enjoy ;)

In this episode Chris discusses a monologue from Dr. Jordan Peterson on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast (episode 1933), which struck him hard. In it Dr. Peterson describes how the ancient Hebrews were able to know the unknowable, to know God. His analysis struck me as identical to the intuition gained from mystical experience. It is a way of knowing the unknowable, which paradoxically relies on not-knowing. Jordan outlines the 'spirit' that runs through the Biblical stories of Adam and Eve, Cain and Able, the Tower of Babel, Noah and Abraham. By abstracting what connects each story together and chipping away the stories themselves, we are left with a kind of "knowing by inference, by elimination"... a knowing by not knowing. What the hell does this mean? Find out here... Enjoy ;)

Kyle and Chris kick off Season 3 with a discussion of the evolutionary significance of the head cheerleader and high school quarterback as the alpha-category. Chris then criticizes how these facts impact the sexual choices of adolescents. But, lessons learned...you know? The conversation shifts to Cosmo magazine, questionable sex advice and the unspoken implications of the term "sex positivity." Next, for good measure, we expertly tackle the topic of digital currency ;) Enjoy

In this episode we get our first taste of Alan Watts from a few of his lectures posted to the Psychedlic podcast. I honed in on his discussion of "nothingness" and what it actually means. Contrary to common intuition, "nothing" is actually "something." What that something is Watts calls "the secret of the whole thing." It has ontological implications, religious implications and psychological implications. Let's dive in! Enjoy ;)

In this episode Chris reads from Rig Veda and compares ancient Hindu prayers to something like a Victorian séance (no disrespect). This gets us until a discussion of prayer, sacrifice, paganism and witches. We talk the Church of Satan, Scientology and Tom mother-f**king Cruse. Enjoy ;)

In this episode Chris walks through Whitehead's model of "substance." What is substance? Can it be mental? Is it One thing or many? Can it be both? We talk the Uroboros and the coincidence of opposites, including a great anecdote from Alan Watts who said that bees and flowers (many) are in fact one organism, since they are mutually counter-dependent; you cannot have one without the other. We then look at how Whitehead synthesized the Many and the One; what Plato called the World and the World of Forms, Whitehead called Organism and Process. Enjoy :)

This one's a doozy. We come out swinging with controversy. Racism, Gender Ideology, the Virtue of Selfishness and your mom's boobs. We cover it all on this episode of The Two Tongues Podcast. Enjoy :)

In this episode Chris reacts to the latest conversation between Jordan Peterson and John Vervaeke, which occurred on the Jordan B. Peterson Podcast, episode 321, entitled: "A Conversation So Intense it Might Transcend Time and Space". It did not disappoint. There conversation centered around the problem of consciousness and what function it actually serves. John proposed the hypothesis of 'relevance realization" as the answer. When the conversation turns to the idea of God, Being and their relationship to consciousness, I was SOLD! The wheels began to turn in my head and I began to shift my opinion about what God is and if "morality" can be tied to God. Enjoy ;)

In this episode, Kyle has car trouble and cant make the podcast, but Daniel Torridon saves the day with a banger of an conversation about "the Truth." We talk "the way, the truth and the life" from the Gospel of John, the Jehovah's Witnesses calling their faith "the Truth," and the old faithful Socratic "what is truth?" We discuss what "God" means, what scripture is and what counts as divinely inspired. This was a fun chat! Enjoy ;)

In this episode Chris describes his introduction on Twitter to Dr. Matt Segall through a series of tweets about the philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead. Dr. Segall is a Whitehead expert and professor at the California Institute of Integral Studies. He has appeared on many podcasts, has authored several books and published many lectures; all can be accessed from his website: www.footnotes2plato.com This episode focuses on a lecture he co-hosted alongside Dr. Robert McDermott on the subject of Rudolph Steiner--a man the Two Tongues Podcast audience is familiar with. We examine Steiner from the prospective of Plato, Whitehead as well as ancient Indian philosophy. Enjoy ;)

In this episode Chris give's Whitehead the business. He calls out what he perceives as obvious internal contradictions in Whitehead's metaphysics, his attempt to provide evidence for his model by over-explaining its internal mechanics and his arbitrary criticism of "Idealism" while simultaneously speaking like an Idealist. It's not critique, however, there's some good stuff too. We talk about space, time and environment as conceived in Whitehead's "Process" vision and we talk about "form" in a refreshingly Platonic way. Enjoy ;)

This was my favorite reading in Process and Reality to-date...hands down. Whitehead gets into the weeds on some of his most interesting concepts: God, the Creative Advance, Concresence and Satisfaction. He also introduces the idea of Mind, which muddies the waters up something awful. I take aim at some of the inconsistencies in his model, but make a great deal of headway in understanding how he sees 'God' and what it means to be 'real.' Enjoy ;)

In this episode Kyle and Chris discuss the Russia-Ukraine war. Who's the "good guy," what's the end game and why is the U.S. so invested in the outcome. This leads to some comparisons with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and some questionable recounting of that history. Soon we're talking about codes in the Bible and whether or not the composition of the Bible can be said to be divinely inspired. Chris suggests hocking the whole thing apart from the beginning of Genesis and the Gospel of John and Kyle reacts. Enjoy :)