Tuesday, August 21, 2012

audio conversation with Jonathan Talat Philips

author and contemporary gnostic

Healer, media activist, and author Jonathan Talat Phillips joins me to discuss his own experiences and his book, The Electric Jesus: The Healing Journey of a Contemporary Gnostic. In this interview we talk about to his path from darkness to light.

one hour and 20 minutes long

In this interview Talat and I talk about the one subject that might get ignored in more main stream resources, we talk about ALIEN influences in his life journey. We jump back and for the between the role of Christ consciousness and the use of psychedelics in the path of the modern shamanic initiate.

Talat is the co-founder of the Evolver Social Movement, and a senior editor at Reality Sandwich, the premier web zine for transformational (counter) culture. In addition, he’s also a Reiki Master, a member of the International Sufi Order, and a promoter of energetic and entheogenic healing.

On its own … spiritual liberation will never be enough. If the new humans are to survive, Jonathan warns, they will also have to be spiritual warriors … capable of standing up to the Western materialism machine, so we can create sustainable societies that care for their citizens, harmonize with the cycles of nature, and receive and honor the vast healing light that quietly connects us all.
What’s great about Jonathan is that he doesn’t just talk the talk. He absolutely walks the walk – whether as an energy healer, as a resolute explorer of non-ordinary realms... and he has a compelling story to tell.

- Graham Hancock, excerpt from the Introduction of The Electric Jesus

Here are two other excellent audio interviews with Greg from Occult of Personality. The first was from last year (HERE) and the follow up was from just a few months ago (HERE). And here's another good one from The Occult Sentinel.

For more info on Jonathan Talot Phillips, you can read a more complete bio HERE.

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24 comments:

Brizdaz (Darren) said...

Great conversation Mike,I loved this interview.
As someone who is currently reading
"The Electric Jesus" it was great to get a deeper perspective from the man himself.
I think you will like this book.It is an interesting read ,that's for sure.
And I found a few incidents in the book mirrored some of your own experiences that you write about on this blog,like the sleep sex stuff.

Lord Jim said...

Reminds me of a deep and provocative poem:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/102879935/nine-gins

Anonymous said...

Hi Mike,
All I can say is, "you are on fire!"
Lately, your interviews and all that you share are becoming exponentially more powerful. I'm guessing as the veil lifts for you, that is being passed on to us. Thanks for your continued pursuit and honesty. You are standing in your power. Oh yea, and I'm guessing owl is your power animal. Owl is unique to you. All that you share about how owl shows up for you, this energy/medicine is your ally. And now raven is calling. Embrace the night, the shadow, seeing in the dark places, creating magic with wisdom. Thanks again for your sincerity and openness. It makes me think, "Mike is a channel"
Peace
Vic

Red Pill Junkie said...

Aw shucks! We didn't get to hear anything about the big brouhaha between Whitley Strieber & Daniel Pinchbeck! :P

Good interview. Even though Jonathan makes use of the 'New Age-y' lingo, he seems pretty centered and well-grounded. And his ideas of fighting negative entities through love remind me a lot about a book I read some time ago. It was a book about the devil, written by an Italian dude whose name eludes me at the moment; but the main argument in the book was that somewhere in the future the human race would have to bear witness to the judgment of the Devil, for all the crimes he's committed against our race, but that's what would make us the only ones capable of ever redeeming Satan, by way of forgiving him.

Vince in Bono Malum. Defeat Evil with Good. I'm pleased Jonathan was brave enough to throw Cheney as an example of just how difficult this actually is.

Brizdaz (Darren) said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Brizdaz (Darren) said...

Oh...and happy 50th birthday Mike.

Red Pill Junkie said...

Oh, right! Feliz CumpleaƱos, ya old fogey —I'll send along a big piƱata shaped like a flying saucer :P

Brizdaz (Darren) said...

I found this You Tube of Graham Hancock asking Richard Dawkins if he would ever consider doing psychedelics,with an interesting answer from Richard;

http://dedroidify.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/graham-hancock-questions-richard.html

muzuzuzus said...

I am afriad this character crossed me big time. When I was banned--for god knows what reason--from RS he was sent by Pinchbeck to 'deal with me' and he talked to me via email like complete shit. His attitude was 'I have spoken. Do not ask me again.' kind of arrogant attitude. HE is a new ager and is full of shit IMO

Lord Jim said...

WHUT???

Somebody associated with Pinchbeck is an asshole?

What are the chances?

muzuzuzus said...

I knowww, I nearly fell-down-dead...LOL

Mike Clelland! said...

Alas - I make no claims to whether Talat is - or isn't - an asshole.

I was interested in the path that lead him, quite unwittingly, to the issue of alien involvement in human consciousness.

He had reported that he was reticent to discuss the "alien" issue when talking with more mainstream interview formats.

Mike C

muzuzuzus said...

But Talat is reluctant to ANY questions, and so how can he ever learn! I was ejected simultaneously from both RC and Evolver--where I had done blogs--for asking questions that challenged the new age in-house idealism. I never cursed, and just shared ideas and asked questions. I found out from Pinchbes and him that the reason I was blocked--though they denied it at first--was because other members had flagged my posts SECRETLY. At the end of the message box was a button titled 'report this post'. I had NEVER conceived it meant 'report peoples ideas you dont agree with and want censored shhhhhh. And we will dispatch them'. No, I have thought it meant reporting SPAM, and I had used it for that reason several times, because they got spam about boots and whatnot. How the hell can there be freedom of exploration of inquiry in that freakin set-up?
When I simply tried to reason with this dude as adult to adult he talked to me like shit and said, basically, 'I have spoken. don't talk to me *any* more'

Lord Jim said...

@ Mike -

No need to defend having him on. I actually thought all in all it was a good interview.

I'm just not surprised to hear about the commenter above's problems. For one, practically every website with a forum I've ever been on has ended up being a kind of echo chamber...in the case of podcasts, its an echo chamber for the host's ideas. People cybersquat in these forums, and try to ingratiate themselves with the host or whoever's running the website by constantly mouthing agreement, mimicing their style and temperament, etc.

Regarding Pinchbeck and his enterprise in particular, I've been very doubtful of him ever since I came to know of him via the now infamous Dreamland appearance. The spat between Pinchbeck and Strieber (which incidentally Pinchbeck started) was childish and bizarre to the point of being incomprehensible. Later, though, people could be seen rallying around Pinchbeck as if: a) the dispute had involved anything of substance; b) it weren't just a contorted slapfest between two childish and, frankly, abnormal people. (Is abnormal too strong a word? Well, given the whole distribution of human individuals, let's just call them outlier cases.)

Brizdaz (Darren) said...

I'm a fan of Pinchbeck and Strieber and while I don't agree with everything they say (show me someone I do)the world is a much richer place with them in it,whether they get along with each other or not,in my opinion.
And I enjoyed listening to Talat's
viewpoint too.

muzuzuzus said...

I must have missed that 'spat' ---could you link me to a good overview of it please.
Here's more of how I see the situation post my getting blocked experience.
I already knew that Pincbeck and co were New Agey, but I kind of had surprised accepatance mainly because at the time I had thought that out of 99.9% of online forums I had been used to, that at RS there was hardly any moderation which I liked. No threats, warnings, bannings--at least to me. Pinchbeck had even asked me to do a couple of blogs of RS but silently rejected my efforts, LOL! I didn't retaliate and do a primadonna. it seriously amused me.
I have not ever felt the urge to read his books, and was also very aware of the unctuous following he had. Like he would post something at RS and hey presto zillions of members were replying and ingratiatingly flattering his great wisdom, with only very few challenging any of his output.

I reckon that it was no coincidence I was treated this way in the Pinchbeck year of 2012, lol. I am supposing he and his lackies are feeling the pressure of this big-sell year and its outcome

I for example noted that not one of the people who had gone on about Rick Clay and his calculation of what was going to happen at the London Olympics said anything when nothing happened. Complete silence.

Brizdaz (Darren) said...

I've read Pinchbeck's 2012 books and he doesn't forcast doom and gloom for 2012,he just sees it as a transitional year into a new way of thinking for the world,or a waking up more or less into new ways of thinking.

Lord Jim said...

Check out the Dreamland archives at unknowncountry.com if you're a subscriber. The last Pinchbeck interview is bound to be the one.

'Reality Sandwich', Pinchbeck's site, also played host for the 2012 version of the extremely dubious hit piece on Strieber by Aeolus Kephas. Probably no coincidence.

muzuzuzus said...

can you or someone else here who has read and heard this 'spat' give me and other readers here an overview of what it was about please?

Red Pill Junkie said...

You mean the fight between Strieber & Pinchbeck? Strieber is of the opinion that great catastrophic changes are on the way, which will make life very harsh in the future, and Pinchbeck became infuriated, since he thinks that the mere fact of 'believing' in these calamities will turn them into a reality.

That's what unleashed a set of attacks and counter-attacks between the two. At some point Pinchbeck accused Strieber of being controlled by evil aliens in order to disseminate these gloom scenarios, whereas Strieber accused Pinchbeck of being a New Age-y who believes happy happy joy joy thoughts will bring about a era of universal peace and harmony.

FWIW I believe Strieber & Pinchbeck are both right; and they are both wrong. I think things are going to get a whole lot worse before they start to get better; The Climate Change horse has left the barn long ago, and we're all headed for one hell of a ride.

But that's precisely why we ought to keep a positive attitude. Since failing to do so would risk us to give up. Which is IMO the reason so many people embrace the 2012 Doomsday scenarios: it makes them feel they no longer need to work hard in order to correct their lives, since the proverbial fecal matter is gonna hit the fan anyway.

Although I confess sometimes I've fallen into that mind-frame myself...

muzuzuzus said...

LOL that is classic!! Thanks for informing me. Exaclty, Pinchbeck's hostility towards Strieber's opinion is New Age through and through. They actually believe how you think creates your reality, so to say you DO think like that is blasphemy to them, and they will cast you into the fire as heretics. I can't remember if I linked this thread to this book I am going to mention, but it is a must-read and completely exposes
New Ageism and its patriarchal roots
Return of the Dark/Light Mother or New Age Armageddon? Towards a Feminist Vision of the Future

What they don't realize also is that their own selves thinking nasty paranoid things about people they think think nasty things is also part of their fear too but they are unconscious of THEIR own shit; Hypocrites

Red Pill Junkie said...

It is something of a complex subject for me. On the one hand I LOATHE all the popularity The Secret received a couple of years ago, and how even people who reject New Age thinking bought the book because positive thinking is only appraised for its potential materialist rewards —people trying to tap in to a 'higher' spiritual state because they wanna have a Ferrari. Well, Janis said it far better than me a long time ago, didn't she? ;)

And we can also see how the positive thinking attitude can rapidly devolve into a very toxic mindset. For example, how some New Agers will predicate to Cancer patients how it is THEY who have brought the illness unto themselves, and that thinking happy thoughts will cure them.

Having said all that, I must nonetheless stress out how I still think there's some sort of impact in how you choose to view things. And even mainstream doctors will tell you having a positive attitude is critical for Cancer patients, if nothing else because this will help them cope with the pains and side-effects their treatment will subject them to.

I'm also puzzled by the power of prayer, even if it's devoid of it's usual religious connotation. Will collectively praying for the health of an individual help in his recovery?

I also think that most of our problems seem unsurmountable because we choose to view them as such. So in many occasions the biggest obstacles reside inside our own heads —you hate your job, yet you don't believe you'll be able to find something better, that sort of thing.

As always, I keep advocating for a middle ground here. No, I don't actually believe you can meditate your Cancer away —even though I'm still puzzled by Ray Palmer's claims that he managed to regenerate large patches of his spine column by focusing intently on it for several weeks. And I'm also deeply puzzled by the concept of Tulpas & thought forms, and often wonder if things like Bigfoot or Nessie or flying saucers become more frequent once we take them for granted.

So I guess what I'm saying is, keep all your bases covered, know what I mean? Stick with your regular MD, and keep your day job and try to pollute less. But on the other hand, a bit of meditation and alternative practices into your life won't necessarily hurt you —I certainly wouldn't mind if people prayed for my good health ;)

muzuzuzus said...

IO get you. I am not anti spiritual or a nihilist, but like you see --people who hold fast to this new age idealism can blame you for your misfortune, and this could also mean those in parts of the world who are REALLY oppressed. it is very easy for these 'middle classians' and 'upper middle classes' to gladly choose this ideology, because it lets them off the hook. it is a mish-mash of ideas which includes Eastern beliefs in 'karma', and we know about *their* caste system, rigght. Who does these ideas and myths serve is a question we must ask. This doesn't mean asking it we lose the magic of life with its mysteries. I would love you to read Monica Sjoo's book---she will tie a lot of loose ends for you.

Red Pill Junkie said...

I'm including it on my Wish List :)