In this episode of the Unseen Beings Podcast, we are joined by Dr. Jack Hunter, an anthropologist exploring the borderlands of consciousness, religion, ecology and the paranormal. He is a tutor with the Sophia Centre for the Study of Cosmology in Culture, University of Wales Trinity Saint David, and teaches on the MA in Ecology and Spirituality and the MA in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology. He is also a tutor with the Alef Trust on their MSc in Consciousness, Spirituality and Transpersonal Psychology. His PhD at the University of Bristol took the form of an ethnographic study of contemporary trance and physical mediumship. He studied Secondary Religious Education at the University of Chester, completed a Permaculture Design Course at Chester Cathedral in 2017 with Sector39, and worked on the One School One Planet project between 2016-19 to develop an inter-disciplinary permaculture curriculum for schools. Jack is also a musician and an ordained Dudeist Priest, and lives in the hills of Mid-Wales with his family. Erik and Jack discuss an array of topics, including animism, spirits, the intersection of ecology and spirituality, and transcending anthropocentrism in the realm of the paranormal. 3:18 - Jack’s Early Interest in Spirituality and Religion6:29 - Exploring Spiritualism and Mediumship10:42 - Challenging Perceptions of Extraordinary Experiences15:58 - Transcending Anthropocentric Constructs in Paranormal Experiences21:09 - Shifts Towards an Animistic Orientation24:48 - The Role of Stories in Shaping Our Worldview27:27 - Expanding and Clarifying the Concept of Animism30:30 - The Natural State of Animism and Conditioning34:50 - Animism as a Relational Ontology36:50 - Animism and Stories38:06 - The Primordial Nature of Animism41:58 - Expanding the Notion of Consciousness in Non-Humans43:12 - The Limitations of Categorizing Consciousness45:52 - The Impact of Animism on Behaviour and Ecology47:42 - The Connection Between Emotional Connection to Nature and Pro-Environmental Behaviours49:11 - The Ecological Utility of Animism51:07 - ‘Personal’ Approaches to the World53:30 - Biodiversity and Psychodiversity56:03 - The Intrinsic Value of Trees57:29 - Going Beyond Anthropocentric Environmentalism50:22 - Creating Change on Personal and Social Levels54:34 - The Transformative Power of Myth56:51 - Fantasy and the Non-Human58:47 - UFOs, UAPs, and ‘Extra’terrestrial Phenomena1:08:51 - The Projection of Sentience onto AI1:13:15 - Jack’s Work at the Sophia Centre1:15:42 - Jack’s Upcoming BooksSubscribe to Erik Jampa's Substack - https://erikjampa.substack.comOn Unseen Beings and Erik Jampa - https://www.unseen-beings.comShrīmāla - https://www.shrimala.com