{"title":"Jeffrey J. Kripal","description":"\u003cp\u003eJeffrey J. Kripal’s works explore the boundaries of \u003cem\u003econsciousness\u003c\/em\u003e, spirituality, and the mystic experience with a bold, interdisciplinary approach. Blending elements of philosophy, psychology, and religious studies, his books challenge conventional understanding and invite readers to consider the extraordinary possibilities of the human mind and spirit.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWith titles such as \u003cem\u003eAuthors of the Impossible\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eThe Superhumanities\u003c\/em\u003e, Kripal investigates the intersections between religion, culture, and history, offering fresh perspectives on timeless questions about existence and transformation. His writing is both scholarly and accessible, perfect for readers intrigued by the deeper currents of spirituality and thought.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"the-superhumanities-by-jeffrey-j-kripal-9780226845586","title":"The Superhumanities","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA bold challenge to rethink the humanities as intimately connected to the superhuman and to “decolonize reality itself.”\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhat would happen if we reimagined the humanities as the \u003cem\u003esuperhumanities\u003c\/em\u003e? If we acknowledged and celebrated the undercurrent of the fantastic within our humanistic disciplines, entirely new cultural worlds and meanings would become possible. That is Jeffrey J. Kripal’s vision for the future—to revive the suppressed dimension of the superhumanities, which consists of rare but real altered states of knowledge that have driven the creative processes of many of our most revered authors, artists, and activists.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn Kripal’s telling, the history of the humanities is filled with precognitive dreams, evolving superhumans, and doubled selves. The basic idea of the superhuman, for Kripal, is at the core of who and what the human species has tried to become over millennia and around the planet.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAfter diagnosing the basic malaise of the humanities—that the truth must be depressing—Kripal shows how it can all be done differently. He argues that we have to decolonize reality itself if we are going to take human diversity seriously. Toward this pluralist end, he engages psychoanalytic, Black critical, feminist, postcolonial, queer, and ecocritical theory.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHe works through objections to the superhumanities while also recognizing the new realities represented by the contemporary sciences. In doing so, he tries to move beyond naysaying practices of critique toward a future that can embrace those critiques within a more holistic view—a view that recognizes the human being as both a social-political animal as well as an evolved cosmic species that understands and experiences itself as something super.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46795501142252,"sku":"9780226845586","price":49.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/20684143482268.jpg?v=1757035389"},{"product_id":"how-to-think-impossibly-by-jeffrey-j-kripal-9780226833682","title":"How to Think Impossibly","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA mind-bending invitation to experience the impossible as fundamentally human.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFrom precognitive dreams and telepathic visions to near-death experiences, UFO encounters, and beyond, so-called impossible phenomena are not supposed to happen. But they do happen—all the time. Jeffrey J. Kripal asserts that the impossible is a function not of reality but of our everchanging assumptions about what is real. \u003cem\u003eHow to Think Impossibly\u003c\/em\u003e invites us to think about these fantastic (yet commonplace) experiences as an essential part of being human, expressive of a deeply shared reality that is neither mental nor material but gives rise to both.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThinking with specific individuals and their extraordinary experiences in vulnerable, open, and often humorous ways, Kripal interweaves humanistic and scientific inquiry to foster an awareness that the fantastic is real, the supernatural is super \u003cem\u003enatural\u003c\/em\u003e, and the impossible is possible.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"John Wiley and Sons Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46796349636844,"sku":"9780226833682","price":66.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/20565103482268.jpg?v=1757092243"},{"product_id":"esalen-by-jeffrey-j-kripal-9780226453705","title":"Esalen","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJeffrey Kripal here recounts the spectacular history of \u003ci\u003eEsalen\u003c\/i\u003e, the institute that has long been a world leader in alternative and experiential education and stands today at the centre of the human potential movement. Forged in the literary and mythical leanings of the Beat Generation, inspired in the lecture halls of Stanford by radical scholars of comparative religion, the institute was the remarkable brainchild of Michael Murphy and Richard Price.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSet against the heady backdrop of California during the revolutionary 1960s, \u003ci\u003eEsalen\u003c\/i\u003e recounts in fascinating detail how these two maverick thinkers sought to fuse the spiritual revelations of the East with the scientific revolutions of the West, or to combine the very best elements of Zen Buddhism, Western psychology, and Indian yoga into a decidedly utopian vision that rejected the dogmas of conventional religion.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn their religion of no religion, the natural world was just as crucial as the spiritual one, science and faith not only commingled but became staunch allies, and the enlightenment of the body could lead to the full realisation of our development as human beings.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e“An impressive new book... [Kripal] has written the definitive intellectual history of the ideas behind the institute.”—\u003ci\u003eSan Francisco Chronicle\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e“Kripal examines Esalen’s extraordinary history and evocatively describes the breech birth of Murphy and Price’s brainchild. His real achievement, though, is effortlessly synthesising a dizzying array of dissonant phenomena (Cold War espionage, ecstatic religiosity), incongruous pairings (Darwinism, Tantric sex), and otherwise schizy ephemera (psychedelic drugs, spaceflight) into a cogent, satisfyingly complete narrative.”—\u003ci\u003eAtlantic Monthly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e“Kripal has produced the first all-encompassing history of Esalen: its intellectual, social, personal, literary and spiritual passages. Kripal brings us up-to-date and takes us deep beneath historical surfaces in this definitive, elegantly written book.”—\u003ci\u003ePlayboy\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47000608473324,"sku":"9780226453705","price":57.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/16765333482268.jpg?v=1763288908"},{"product_id":"the-superhumanities-by-jeffrey-j-kripal-9780226820248","title":"The Superhumanities","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA bold challenge to rethink the humanities as intimately connected to the superhuman and to “decolonize reality itself.”\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhat would happen if we reimagined the humanities as the \u003cem\u003esuperhumanities\u003c\/em\u003e? If we acknowledged and celebrated the undercurrent of the fantastic within our humanistic disciplines, entirely new cultural worlds and meanings would become possible.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThat is Jeffrey J. Kripal’s vision for the future—to revive the suppressed dimension of the superhumanities, which consists of rare but real altered states of knowledge that have driven the creative processes of many of our most revered authors, artists, and activists. In Kripal’s telling, the history of the humanities is filled with precognitive dreams, evolving superhumans, and doubled selves. The basic idea of the superhuman, for Kripal, is at the core of who and what the human species has tried to become over millennia and around the planet.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAfter diagnosing the basic malaise of the humanities—that the truth must be depressing—Kripal shows how it can all be done differently. He argues that we have to decolonize reality itself if we are going to take human diversity seriously.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eToward this pluralist end, he engages psychoanalytic, Black critical, feminist, postcolonial, queer, and ecocritical theory. He works through objections to the superhumanities while also recognizing the new realities represented by the contemporary sciences.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn doing so, he tries to move beyond naysaying practices of critique toward a future that can embrace those critiques within a more holistic view—a view that recognizes the human being as both a social-political animal as well as an evolved cosmic species that understands and experiences itself as something super.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47000819532012,"sku":"9780226820248","price":66.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/20430763482268.jpg?v=1763307239"},{"product_id":"authors-of-the-impossible-by-jeffrey-j-kripal-9780226453873","title":"Authors of the Impossible","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMost scholars dismiss research into the paranormal as pseudoscience, a frivolous pursuit for the paranoid or gullible. Even historians of religion, whose work naturally attends to events beyond the realm of empirical science, have shown scant interest in the subject. However, the history of psychical phenomena, Jeffrey J. Kripal contends, is an untapped source of insight into the sacred. By tracing that history through the last two centuries of Western thought, we can see its potential centrality to the critical study of religion.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eKripal grounds his study in the work of four major figures in the history of paranormal research: psychical researcher Frederic Myers; writer and humorist Charles Fort; astronomer, computer scientist, and ufologist Jacques Vallee; and philosopher and sociologist Bertrand Méheust. Through incisive analyses of these thinkers, Kripal ushers the reader into a beguiling world somewhere between fact, fiction, and fraud.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe cultural history of telepathy, teleportation, and UFOs; a ghostly love story; the occult dimensions of science fiction; cold war psychic espionage; galactic colonialism; and the intimate relationship between consciousness and culture all come together in \u003cem\u003eAuthors of the Impossible\u003c\/em\u003e, a dazzling and profound look at how the paranormal bridges the sacred and the scientific.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47462629277932,"sku":"9780226453873","price":60.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780226453873-authors-of-the-impossible.jpg?v=1775018724"},{"product_id":"comparing-religions-by-ata-anzali-9781119653936","title":"Comparing Religions","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTeaches students the art and practice of comparison in the globalising world, fully updated to reflect recent scholarship and major developments in the field.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eComparing Religions: The Study of Us that Changes Us\u003c\/em\u003e is a wholly original, absorbing, and provocative reimagining of the comparative study of religion in the 21st century. The first textbook of its kind to foreground the extraordinary or “paranormal” aspects of religious experience, this innovative volume reviews the fundamental tenets of the world’s religions, discusses the benefits and problems of comparative inquiry, explores how the practice can impact a person's worldview and values, and much more.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAsserting that religions have always engaged in comparing one another, the authors provide insights into the history, trends, debates, and questions of explicit comparativism in the modern world. Easily accessible chapters examine the challenges of studying religion using a comparative approach rather than focusing on religious identity, inspiring students to think seriously about religious pluralism as they engage in comparative practice. Throughout the text, a wealth of diverse case studies and vivid illustrations are complemented by chapter outlines, summaries, toolkits, discussion questions, and other learning features.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSubstantially updated with new and revised material, the second edition of \u003cem\u003eComparing Religions:\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cul\u003e\n    \u003cli\u003eDraws from both comparative work and critical theory to present a well-balanced introduction to contemporary practice\u003c\/li\u003e\n    \u003cli\u003eExplains classic comparative themes, provides a historical outline of comparative practices, and offers key strategies for understanding, analysing, and re-reading religion\u003c\/li\u003e\n    \u003cli\u003eDraws on a wide range of religious traditions to illustrate the complexity and efficacy of comparative practice\u003c\/li\u003e\n    \u003cli\u003eEmbraces the transcendent nature of the religious experience in all its forms, including in popular culture, film, and television\u003c\/li\u003e\n    \u003cli\u003eContains a classroom-proven, three-part structure with easy-to-digest, thematically organised chapters\u003c\/li\u003e\n    \u003cli\u003eFeatures a companion website with information on individual religious traditions, additional images, a glossary, discussion questions, and links to supplementary material\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eComparing Religions: The Study of Us that Changes Us, Second Edition,\u003c\/em\u003e is the perfect textbook for undergraduate students and faculty in comparative religion, the study of religion, and world religions, as well as a valuable resource for general readers interested in understanding this rewarding area.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47462720602348,"sku":"9781119653936","price":73.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781119653936-comparing-religions.jpg?v=1775022223"},{"product_id":"mutants-and-mystics-by-jeffrey-j-kripal-9780226271484","title":"Mutants and Mystics","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn many ways, twentieth-century America was the land of superheroes and science fiction. From Superman and Batman to the Fantastic Four and the X-Men, these pop-culture juggernauts, with their \"powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men,\" thrilled readers and audiences—and simultaneously embodied a host of our dreams and fears about modern life and the onrushing future.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBut that's just scratching the surface, says Jeffrey Kripal. In \u003ci\u003eMutants and Mystics\u003c\/i\u003e, Kripal offers a brilliantly insightful account of how comic book heroes have helped their creators and fans alike explore and express a wealth of paranormal experiences ignored by mainstream science. Delving deeply into the work of major figures in the field—from Jack Kirby’s cosmic superhero sagas and Philip K. Dick’s futuristic head-trips to Alan Moore’s sex magic and Whitley Strieber’s communion with visitors—Kripal shows how creators turned to science fiction to convey the reality of the inexplicable and the paranormal they experienced in their lives.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eExpanded consciousness found its language in the metaphors of sci-fi—incredible powers, unprecedented mutations, time-loops, and vast intergalactic intelligences—and the deeper influences of mythology and religion that these in turn drew from; the wildly creative work that followed caught the imaginations of millions. Moving deftly from Cold War science and Fredric Wertham's anticomics crusade to gnostic revelation and alien abduction, Kripal spins out a hidden history of American culture, rich with mythical themes and shot through with an awareness that there are other realities far beyond our everyday understanding.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA bravura performance, beautifully illustrated in full colour throughout and brimming over with incredible personal stories, \u003ci\u003eMutants and Mystics\u003c\/i\u003e is that rarest of things: a book that is guaranteed to broaden—and maybe even blow—your mind.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47463899169004,"sku":"9780226271484","price":54.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780226271484-mutants-and-mystics.jpg?v=1775036145"},{"product_id":"the-flip-by-jeffrey-j-kripal-9781942658528","title":"The Flip","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"One of the most provocative new books of the year, and, for me, mindblowing.\" - \u003cb\u003eMichael Pollan\u003c\/b\u003e, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Omnivore's Dilemma\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eHow to Change Your Mind\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\"Kripal makes many sympathetic points about the present spiritual state of America. . . . [He] continues to believe that spirituality and science should not contradict each other.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\"Kripal prompts us to reflect on our personal assumptions, as well as the shared assumptions that create and maintain our institutions. . . . [His] work will likely become more and more relevant to more and more areas of inquiry as the century unfolds. It may even open up a new space for Americans to reevaluate the personal and cultural narratives they have inherited, and to imagine alternative futures.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA \"flip,\" writes Jeffrey J. Kripal, is \"a reversal of perspective,\" \"a new real,\" often born of an extreme, life-changing experience. \u003ci\u003eThe Flip\u003c\/i\u003e is Kripal's ambitious, visionary program for unifying the sciences and the humanities to expand our minds, open our hearts, and negotiate a peaceful resolution to the culture wars. Combining accounts of rationalists' spiritual awakenings and consciousness explorations by philosophers, neuroscientists, and mystics within a framework of the history of science and religion, Kripal compellingly signals a path to mending our fractured world.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eJeffrey J. Kripal\u003c\/b\u003e holds the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University and is the associate director of the Center for Theory and Research at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California. He has previously taught at Harvard Divinity School and Westminster College and is the author of eight books, including \u003ci\u003eThe Flip\u003c\/i\u003e. He lives in Houston, Texas.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47599435940076,"sku":"9781942658528","price":53.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/2d56e71f7f6b78e2485c901cdd5782cb.jpg?v=1778023108"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/collections\/jeffrey-j-kripal.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}