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Daniel Simpson

Timeless wisdom for modern dilemmas, combining yoga philosophy, practical insight and critical thinking. Hosted by Daniel Simpson. 

ancientfutures.substack.com

Ancient Futures

﻿What distinguishes fiction from facts? John le Carré is renowned for Cold War spy thrillers, yet over half his books were published after 1990 and they tackled modern issues that he had to research. A new exhibition in Oxford documents his methods, and spotlights the networks of experts who helped him.

An accompanying book – titled Tradecraft: Writers on John le Carré – explores their experiences. Reflecting on her trip with the author to Congo, Michela Wrong sheds light on the collaborative process, while demystifying complex subjects such as the malevolent role of Rwanda in fomenting conflict.

Michela is an Africa specialist, whose books tell engaging stories for the general reader. However, as we discuss, the most compelling non-fiction rarely matches the reach of a bestselling novel. We nonetheless reflect on the importance of reporting, and the damaging impact of scaling it back on our shared understanding.

I’ve long been a fan of how le Carré – a.k.a. David Cornwell – laced his plots with psychological drama and moral ambiguity as people struggle to do the right thing. This has a few parallels with epic yoga narratives. Our conversation mostly covers worldly matters, but we also talk about the workings of human delusions.

Finally, for non-UK listeners, here’s some context on Mr Bates vs the Post Office.

🔎 To investigate truth from a yogic perspective, join me online at truthofyoga.com.

🙏 Donations make this podcast sustainable – please consider subscribing or buy me a coffee... Your support is greatly appreciated!
 

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ancientfutures.substack.com/subscribe

Le Carré in Action – Michela Wrong

What was the impact of the Osho / Rajneesh cult on the families of members? Why might some people struggle to heal old wounds? To what extent is abuse of children still unacknowledged? How can telling one’s story facilitate recovery?

Lily Dunn is an author, teacher and mentor of literary memoir. She explores its potential in her new book, Into Being, which cites many writers including herself – Lily’s last book, Sins of My Father, describes her enchantment with an absent parent, who joined the Rajneeshees and later drank himself to death.

Examining this tangled relationship revealed her father’s narcissistic avoidance of responsibility. This was common in communes, with painful effects on the children raised there – sex with minors was widespread, as Lily noted in an article that brought her into contact with survivors of abuse.

One was Maroesja Perizonius, a Dutch director with whom Lily worked to develop a film titled Children of the Cult – available here if you’re in the UK, with a trailer here. Their stories were ignored by the Netflix series, Wild Wild Country, which focused instead on other cult transgressions, such as bioterrorism.

Our conversation explores all these topics, along with some practical guidance on writing, and the value of external help – from editors, mentors and therapists – in reducing the risk of self-deception. In the process, we consider what distinguishes creative non-fiction from making things up.

🧘‍♂️ For a modern take on yogic traditions, join me for a course at truthofyoga.com

🙏 Donations make this podcast sustainable – please consider subscribing or buy me a coffee... Your support is greatly appreciated!
 

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ancientfutures.substack.com/subscribe

Transformative Stories – Lily Dunn

What might scholars learn from yoga practitioners, as well as vice versa? To what extent do their worldviews differ? Are their methods of inquiry compatible? Since many academics also practise yoga, as well as educating teachers via courses and trainings, can these roles be compartmentalised?

Theo Wildcroft and Barbora Sojkova are the co-editors of a new book titled Yoga Studies in Five Minutes, presenting short summaries of scholarly knowledge from a burgeoning field. Each of its chapters – written by specialists – answers frequently asked questions, such as “what is samādhi?” and “is yoga a religion?”

Our conversation explores how the book came together, asks if it caters both to academic readers and curious practitioners, and considers why context and critical thinking are important. We also talk about some common misconceptions, while reflecting on limits to what can be known – or at least articulated.

If you’re in the UK, there’s an in-person book launch on November 5 at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies. Theo and Barbora are also preparing a round-table about scholarship and practice for the Yoga Darśana Yoga Sādhana conference in Paris next May. In the meantime, recordings of this year’s event are available here.

🙋‍♂️ To explore yogic wisdom from multiple angles, join me for The Path of Knowledge.

🙏 Donations make this podcast sustainable – please consider subscribing or buy me a coffee... Your support is greatly appreciated!
 

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ancientfutures.substack.com/subscribe

Studying Yoga – Theo Wildcroft + Barbora Sojkova

What might we learn from the marginalised stories of women in yogic traditions? 🧘‍♀️

Although female practitioners are prevalent today, ancient texts mostly talk about men. However, broadening the focus beyond ascetic yogis, we find empowered women – as well as awkward truths about social restrictions.

Anjali Rao is the author of Yoga as Embodied Resistance: A Feminist Lens on Caste, Gender, and Sacred Resilience in Yoga History. Our conversation explores hidden links between gender and caste, and the impact of colonialism on social hierarchies. We also discuss inspiring stories of radical females whom Anjali highlights.

Her overall aim is to encourage practitioners to think about ways to expand their perspectives, presenting yoga as an activist path to collective liberation. Her book is published on October 14, and available for pre-order now. She’s also hosting a reading group to talk about ways of dismantling oppression and developing agency.

👀 To integrate multiple perspectives on yoga, join me for The Path of Knowledge.

🙏 Donations make this podcast sustainable – please consider subscribing or buy me a coffee... Your support is greatly appreciated!
 

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ancientfutures.substack.com/subscribe

Embodied Resistance – Anjali Rao

What does it mean to be well in yogic terms? How far does this involve integration with natural surroundings? 🌳

Many early teachings prioritise the opposite, promoting withdrawal and inward focus, while the goal in the best-known text – Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtra – is to disengage completely from material things.

This podcast includes a talk I presented this summer at a British Wheel of Yoga event, whose themes were harmony, nature, community and wellbeing (slides available here). I was asked to present some historical context, which sparked conversations about how to reframe things for modern practitioners.

That’s basically the focus of my year-long course, The Path of Knowledge, which starts soon. We explore how yoga evolved from its earliest history to contemporary developments, and reflect on what keeps teachings relevant as well as connected to earlier traditions, while also developing critical thinking skills. Our international group meets on alternate Sundays – find out more and join us here.

🎓 For more courses on yogic wisdom – as well as free talks – visit truthofyoga.com.

🙏 Donations make this podcast sustainable – please consider subscribing or buy me a coffee... Your support is greatly appreciated!
 

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ancientfutures.substack.com/subscribe

Natural Harmony? – Daniel Simpson

What can we learn from a medieval hermit about how to live? A surprising amount perhaps. Julian of Norwich is the author of the oldest surviving book by a woman in English – her Revelations of Divine Love provides a fascinating guide to what it means to be well despite experiencing suffering.

Hannah Lucas is a scholar of Julian’s work, among other medieval contemplative literature. She explores the entanglement of illness and insight in her recent book Impossible Recovery: Julian of Norwich and the Phenomenology of Well-Being, including what Julian meant by saying “all shall be well” and “we are all one in love”.

Our conversation considers some parallels between Christian mystics and Indian traditions – particularly yoga, which Hannah also teaches. One dimension of this involves facing the world as it is instead of wishing it were otherwise, which has broad implications for everyday life, as we discuss.

See here for an introductory blog about Hannah’s book. She is the Newby Trust Research Fellow in English at Newnham College, University of Cambridge. From October, she will be an Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellow based at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science and the Technical University Berlin.

🙋‍♂️ To explore the evolution of yogic traditions, join me for The Path of Knowledge.

🧘‍♀️ I’m also running a retreat that draws on highlights from the course (Sep 25-28).

🙏 Donations make this podcast sustainable – please consider subscribing or buy me a coffee... Your support is greatly appreciated!
 

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ancientfutures.substack.com/subscribe

Shall All Be Well? – Hannah Lucas

To what extent has yoga been influenced by socio-political forces, or competition for resources between different groups? Does understanding historical context help to make sense of teachings? What might we learn from the past that’s still relevant today?

Richard Davis is an emeritus professor of religion at Bard College in New York. His latest book, Religions of Early India: A Cultural History, explores the fluidity of ancient traditions, including interactions between Brahmanical renouncers, Buddhists and Jains. He’s also the author of The Bhagavad Gita: A Biography, a fascinating story of how the text has been interpreted over the centuries.

Having taught undergraduates for 35 years, Richard writes accessibly about the big picture, so our conversation surfs across several millennia. We focus in particular on tensions between renunciation and social engagement, as well as a history of cultural exchange. Among other questions, we consider:

* Where ideas about karma and rebirth originated

* What inspired sacred images and religious devotion

* Whether the earliest traditions were goddess-focused

* Whose voices texts leave out, and how to hear them

* Why Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse is insightful

Selections from Richard’s work are posted here. For a list of publications, see here.

🤿 For a year-long immersion in yogic wisdom, join me on The Path of Knowledge.

🧘‍♀️ I’m also running a retreat that incorporates highlights from the course (Sep 25-28).

🙏 Donations make this podcast sustainable – please consider subscribing or buy me a coffee... Your support is greatly appreciated!
 

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ancientfutures.substack.com/subscribe

Evolving Traditions – Richard Davis

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.com

What does it mean to have mental plasticity? ♳

Unless the mind is to some extent controlled, it controls our experience. This axiom of yoga philosophy has helpful applications in everyday life – from avoiding being triggered by politics to making wise choices.

Jessica Frazier is a lecturer at Oxford University, and also a fellow of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies. She recently organised a conference that discussed the radical nature of Indian ideas about self-transformation. This podcast includes her presentation on yoga, along with a chat about what we can learn from cross-cultural thinking – particularly about phenomenology (a term we unpack).

You can stream more presentations from the conference here, or join the OCHS Virtual Classroom, where subscribers get access to talks on a regular basis. There’s also a range of online courses on yogic traditions and related subjects (some of which I tutor) – a new intake begins on July 27.

🙋‍♂️ For a broad exploration of yogic traditions, join me for The Path of Knowledge.

🧘‍♀️ I’m also running a retreat that draws on highlights from the course (Sep 25-28).

🙏 Donations make this podcast sustainable – please consider subscribing or buy me a coffee... Your support is greatly appreciated!

Moulding Minds – Jessica Frazier

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.com

What might the world look like if heroin was provided on prescription at local pharmacies? 💉

This is not a thought experiment. It used to be the basis of a policy that experts call the “British System” – in the early 1960s in London, the biggest dealer of drugs was Boots the Chemists.

JS Rafaeli is the author of Drug Wars, which documents this history and the crackdown that buried it. His collaborator – Neil Woods – is a retired undercover detective whose experience convinced him the “war on drugs” just made things worse (a story detailed in their first book, Good Cop, Bad War).

In this wide-ranging chat, JS explains how criminalisation has corrupted policing, caused violence to spiral and turned addicts into pyramid salesmen who try to hook others to pay for their fix. Meanwhile, evidence takes a back seat to political agendas, producing policies focused on punishment not public health.

Our conversation considers how to make things safer for everyone concerned, while acknowledging the obstacles to implementing change. In the process, we talk about work to promote wiser policies by organisations such as Transform, and the Law Enforcement Action Partnership in the U.S. and the UK.

🙋‍♂️ To explore the yogic precept of non-harming, join me on The Path of Knowledge.

🧘‍♀️ I’m also running a retreat that incorporates highlights from the course (Sep 25-28).

🙏 Donations make this podcast sustainable – please consider subscribing or buy me a coffee... Your support is greatly appreciated!

Harm Reduction – JS Rafaeli

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.com

To what extent is knowledge an obstacle? Is ignorance bliss? 🤔

Although it can be helpful to admit to not knowing, it rarely feels comfortable. I’ve been reflecting on that recently while working on some writing about yoga and politics, and it’s also a theme on my year-long course, The Path of Knowledge.

This podcast discusses distinctions between what sounds true and what’s verifiable, as well as yogic tensions in seeking the truth by transcending the known. It also talks about the limits of scholarly knowledge and practical insight, while considering ways of balancing both of these perspectives.

Since we really don’t know how much we don’t know about the history of yoga, that can add to discomfort when looking for clarity about what’s authentic, or traditional – or any other word that tries to get grounded in something more certain. However, that can be the start of resolving confusion for oneself.

🙋‍♂️ The recording incorporates clips from a talk that had slides (which are available here) and it includes Q&A about The Path of Knowledge. A new intake starts in September – you can find out more and join us here.

🧘‍♀️ I’m also running a retreat based on some of the highlights from the course – more details here. If you have any questions, send me an email.

🙏 Donations make this podcast sustainable – please consider subscribing or buy me a coffee... Your support is greatly appreciated!

Embracing Uncertainty – Daniel Simpson

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.com

Does yoga really mean union? As Zoë Slatoff explains in this fascinating chat about philosophy and Sanskrit, the simplest answer is probably “sometimes”…

Zoë’s PhD explores how yoga became entangled with non-dual Vedānta, blurring distinctions between the two systems. One important catalyst was the popularity of physical practice, whose aims were framed in terms of oneness. So gnostic teachers adapted its methods, which were slowly combined with Patañjali’s yoga.

We discuss how this happened through the prism of a text the studied (called the Aparokṣānubhūti, on which more here). And since Zoë is also the author of a Sanskrit textbook for yoga practitioners, we talk about the challenges – as well as the pleasures – of learning the language. Even just a little bit can make a big difference.

Zoë has practised yoga since the 1990s, teaching it for much of that time. She's now a professor at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles and offers online courses in Sanskrit via the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies.

🕉️ For a year-long immersion in yogic traditions, relating ancient wisdom to modern priorities, join me online for The Path of Knowledge.

🙏 To support this podcast, please consider subscribing or buy me a coffee... All donations are greatly appreciated!

Union or Duality? – Zoë Slatoff

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