Recapture the Rapture, Jamie Wheal

In the face of multiple existential threats, and a pervasive crisis of meaning, how can we reconnect to our deepest purpose and what techniques and practices can help us reboot.

Jamie Wheal is launching his new book, Recapture the Rapture, based on three principles: Choose Your Own Apocalypse, The Alchemist's Cookbook and Ethical Cult Building.

Rebel Wisdom is co-hosting the launch party for the book with Jamie on Wednesday 28th April with guests including Gabor Mate, Dennis McKenna, Douglas Rushkoff, Diane Musho Hamilton, Tyson Yunkaporta, Daniel Schmachtenberger and many more.

[handris]

Maaan. I am workig on this for years now. I thought I am the only one then I find this guy. And he is already far ahead :) Man I am glad!

[yiranimal]

Wow! This is it. This is the best talk I've yet come across. There's vision, morality, spirituality, inspiration... This is the way forward. Rock on, Jamie!

[trailerfitter]

Far too many intellectuals are overthinking it. Everything external is a reflection of what is inside. Enjoy the moments and don't worry. There is no crisis only the ones you create. So don't create a crisis you can't handle. Simples.

Humans have been around for a very long time with the same old fears and they will be around for long after you have gone.

[nickdaveygiant]

I can't even express how much I loved this. I always take time to listen to Jamie Wheal speak because I think he is one of the clearest thinkers in this area. Very hopeful after this and looking forward to his new book!

[hollidayclan]

This is absolutely brilliant! Jamie’s at the top of the game right now. Loving the direction of his thinking. Radical Hope - things will be better for our grandchildren.

[sonikgoat]

I've listened to Mr Wheal for the first time today. I find the comparison between him and Daniel Schmactenberger an interesting one. DS was equally fast paced, idea rich and seemingly experiencing the after effects of some kind of highly potent form of what I'll reductively call 'a bastard strong coffee'. It took a few watches/listens in different conversations with different people (Brett Weinstein, Jim Rutt) to feel comfortable or at least footsure with his language and the framework of his ideas, but to me it seems as though his focus is with the 'machinery' of meaning as experienced within our culture. Taking it apart and putting it back together in a way that benefits as many people as possible. Discussing things such as reinventing our elective processes made it super-relatable and tangible for even a pleb like me and I'll be watching eagerly for what comes next from that gentleman and his cohorts.

Jamie Wheal may yet become someone I am equally interested in, for if there is one thing this 'monologue' style of video does, is it makes me want to hear him in conversation with someone else. It came across as a 'word and ideas salad', with occasional tables and graphs and disconcertingly slick and commercial-ish presentation moments (the young white woman speaking earnestly with a little dark-skinned child for example) that I instinctively find off putting. There were many fascinating points I could only grasp the tail of before they were subsumed by another. Yet an alarm bell was faintly sounding. All I can say at this moment is that I felt like I was being sold to. There was razzle-dazzle. There was his 'I'm coming up on mushrooms' laugh. There was talk of the tiny percentage of meaningful recipients of The Lore. Not The Lore you find in the wild, a New Lore, grown in a lab, with driving beats and supercharged, hyper-efficient results. For the Few, anyway...

I don't comment on this kind of material often, or indeed on social media at all really. I'd never survive Twitter's character limit...if anyone has read this far and can recommend interviews with Mr Wheal, (hopefully something in which he isn't just set up to do 'his thing') and maybe even challenged a little, please let me know. Thanks!

[suburbangothic_sublimedivine]

God I love these conversations. Thanks David for pulling this all together.

[evanhadkins]

For me, where this all comes together is our vision of what a person is. We need a way of honouring our connection and relatedness (to others and the planet) and valuing our individuality. This is a bit of obsession of mine, so I may be just hearing what I want to hear.

[dannywhite]

Until we identify and correct our insecurities that don't comport with the modern world, we will continue these cyclical dysfunctional paradigms. Insecurities that served us well when we lived in caves and might not make it through winter, if we didn't hoard every resource possible, has now become greed and decadence in our modern world of abundance. Our instinctual drive to be liked by others once served a functional purpose for procreation and cooperation. Now it's a dysfunctional need for attention, from large groups of strangers, in a modern world that was thrust upon us too quickly for evolutionary adjustments.

Until we quit wasting resources and human labor to prop up unnecessarily insecure egos, we will continue to bang our heads against the same wall. Once we adjust our morals to solve these problems, we can find meaning building sustainable and truly cooperative communities. Then we'll be on to something.

[hackandslash]

No matter what you believe, infinite growth cannot exist on a planet with finite resources. The future seems inescapably retro and the more people cling to contrasting ideas the harder the transition will be.

[Jacadz]

I had an experience in the seventies that changed and remade my life. At the time there was nothing and no one that could explain to me what was happening. It was huge and lasted over many years and although I am back down to earth and as upset and concerned about our situation as anyone else is, I do have some supporting truths I know for sure. The major one being that I am not here by accident. 2. We are Mind and beyond anything we could imagine. 3. We are dreaming. Nothing that is outside of Love or God is real. Nothing that happens in this physical universe affects Reality which is beyond existence and our true nature. 4. Knowing these things, gives some breathing space, alleviates the tremendous sorrow and guilt regarding what we appear to have created. It also reawakens our awareness of our real power and this is what we need in this time. I’m struggling like everyone else, but to have access to these conversations that are freely shared is extraordinary and life saving for all of us. Our minds are joined. It was ACIM that enabled me to understand what had happened. But already, since the seventies it has been rewritten, reinterpreted etc. For me sticking to the original version with Ken Wapnick’s help it’s been everything. Especially the metaphysical explanation of life, written in beautiful verse accompanied by a workbook to put in practice and a text explained in psychological concepts. it makes clear, it is not for everyone and there are many ways. I’m just writing this for anyone that this may resonate for.

[michaelnice]

Around the 35:00 min. mark he talks about becoming born again and having a chance to opt in. This drives to my central objection to Jamie’s work which is that the purpose of the most honest and pure spiritual practice is to opt out permanently. The whole becoming a spiritual or enlightened ego project which Wheal, Wilber, Cohen, and about a hundred others are advocating is twisting and using the practice for personal gain (even or especially when it’s cloaked in the grandiose desire to save or help the world). My big issue that I take with this approach is that it is obviously ego driven and is derailing any chance of something genuine and pure emerging for millions of naive seekers because it pollutes the ‘information environment’. Just call it what it is- new age sorcery.

Opting out permanently means surrender to the source rather than personhood. So many are talking about having both, continuing Nietzsche’s Ubermench project to find the Caesar/ Jesus hybrid which Jung said was impossible to create and said we could only discover. The bottom line is that liberation is always and will always be for the few and that leave millions of people listening to popularizers who are talking out their ass, and seeking fun ways to teach how to be half baked sorcerers. If you are going down that left hand path you should number one call it what it is and make the clear distinction that stealing fire from the gods is the opposite of surrendering to the source and further that it is a dangerous path full of perils and pitfalls.

[worldwidehappiness]

The money line: "What I do believe in... is some root hope in human nature if we can get out of our own way." Paradoxically, if we understand our motivations and assumptions for wanting meaning, then we will give up the quest, i.e. get out of our own way, and then the answer is revealed. The motivation is to find reliability, and the assumption is that reliability exists. After seeing that reliability is an illusion, the quest drops away. Then the meaning of life, i.e. the happiness and goodwill of being (AKA our human nature), is revealed. One day, this will be obvious to everyone.

[theleagueofshadows]

Love this guy already and I’m only 2mins in. This man is a genius for the future of our civilizations...I wish I was wealthy so I could support your work 100% but I hope you make it through the hardships(financially, spiritually, emotionally) of being on the front lines of forward thinking movement(s) this day in age. Thanks for your work and I wish you the best, Rebel Wisdom you too!

[jameschaytor]

Jamie is a bodhisattva. Strength to his arm!

[yosefnacho]

The issue is that The Torah, is more that its literal tales. It has a hidden language concerning a supernal dimension, a divine reality where Paradise already exist in the here and now. But hidden are the revelations of how to elevate the soul that opens a gate to another parallel Universe filled with wisdom, kindness and fulfillment. Need to overcome the fear of lack because fears comes from selfishness, an obstacle to access the unconditional unlimited bliss storage. Need to forget thyself to have it all. Love and Light!!!!

[esmith]

Excellent presentation. Good analysis. Good road map. One comment: I have lived the path you describe, the path of the “twice born, ” for 50 years. What you describe will not achieve the result you want, the result we all need. I understand the desire to “democratize transcendence.” The alternative as you note is just too terrible. Yet, there is much more to Death and Rebirth than you have indicated. Keep going. All you have said is necessary preparation for what is needed. I wish you well and great success.

[hagbardc]

Hallelujah Brotha! I love this about "fight TO form and not FROM form" such good life advice. "How do we increase sovereignty in the individual and their connection to communitas" that's the grand paradox that must be balanced in order to succeed here! Your analogies of Extreme sports in the Alpine are so great and very close to my heart, such a great metaphor for this pursuit. Much love & respect, bow and salute.

[OlgaKBee]

Thank you Universe for this brilliant conversation. How much I needed this!

[GlobeHackers]

I'm looking forward to reading your book soon. I've been waiting since January. You see it clearly. For decades I've been thinking and finally, some people are getting the message out to new audiences. I'm happy about that.