Skip to content

<< All Episodes

Nothingness, Trauma, and the Self with Rev. Thandeka - Conversations in Process

Nothingness, Trauma, and the Self with Rev. Thandeka

Nothingness, Trauma, and the Self with Rev. Thandeka - Conversations in Process
Conversations in Process
Nothingness, Trauma, and the Self with Rev. Thandeka
Loading
/

What happens when the boundaries of the self dissolve? In this profound episode, theologian and Unitarian Universalist minister Thandeka joins hosts Jay McDaniel and Jared Morningstar for a vulnerable and wide-ranging conversation exploring spiritual experiences of no-self, the impact of trauma on identity, and the philosophical power of nothingness.

Through deeply personal stories and philosophical insights, the conversation weaves together:

  • Isaac Stern concerts and moments of ego dissolution
  • Islamic prayer, Buddhist emptiness, and Zen koans
  • The psychological legacy of childhood trauma
  • Whitehead’s process theology and Schleiermacher’s affective religious experience
  • The rise of small spiritual communities as healing spaces


Together, they ask: What is the role of community in reclaiming our whole selves? Can traditions like Buddhism, Islam, and process theology offer resources for healing in a fragmented world?

Guest Bio

Rev. Thandeka

Thandeka

Rev. Thandeka, PhD is a Unitarian Universalist theologian, minister and congregational consultant, founder and President of Love Beyond Belief™ Inc., co-creator and co-producer of the Universal Connections small group project and The Untrolling Project, and a former Emmy award-winning television producer. Thandeka has spent more than two decades studying the brain science of emotions—Affective Neuroscience (AN). As a result of her work in AN, she founded Contemporary Affect Theology (CAT), which investigates the links between religion and emotions, differentiating spiritual experiences from religious beliefs. Jaak Panksepp, the founder of AN, commends Thandeka’s “decisive historical-philosophical analysis” as work that can provide “a universal substrate for nondenominational religious experience” (The Archaeology of Mind, 391). Her books and essays have helped secure her place as a “major figure in American liberal theology,” as Gary Dorrien notes in The Making of American Liberal Theology: Crisis, Irony, and Postmodernity, 1950-2005 (John Knox Press, 2006).

Host Bios

Jay McDaniel

Jay McDaniel

Jay McDaniel is a philosopher and theologian known for his work in process theology and open and relational thought. Influenced by Alfred North Whitehead, his writing explores the relational nature of reality, the role of creativity in the universe, and the spiritual significance of everyday life. He has long been associated with the Center for Process Studies and with Open Horizons, where he helps develop resources that connect philosophy, spirituality, ecology, and the arts. McDaniel writes for both academic and general audiences, often drawing on literature, music, theater, and nature to illuminate philosophical ideas. His work emphasizes compassion, imaginative freedom, and the possibility of cooperative and sustainable communities. A teacher, essayist, and musician, he is especially interested in how process philosophy can enrich religious life, interfaith dialogue, and public culture. Through essays, courses, and collaborative projects, he seeks to make complex philosophical ideas accessible and practically meaningful for contemporary life.

Jared Morningstar

Jared Morningstar

Jared Morningstar is an independent scholar and public intellectual based in Chicago whose work explores philosophies and wisdom traditions that are attuned to our time of profound cultural, ecological, and spiritual transition. His research focuses especially on process philosophy and theology, classical and contemporary Islamic thought, metamodernism, comparative religion, and non-ordinary experiences. Across his writing and public scholarship, he explores how religious traditions can be articulated to respond constructively to contemporary challenges such as nihilism, interreligious conflict, ecological crisis, and the so-called “meaning crisis.” Jared’s work has appeared in a variety of publications including Metamodern Theory and Praxis, Process Perspectives, and Emerge alongside the edited volumes Open and Relational Theology and its Social and Political Implications: Muslim and Christian Perspectives and Amipotence: Expansion & Application. He is a frequent lecturer and conference presenter and has appeared on numerous podcasts and public forums to discuss religion, process thought, Islam, and metamodernism. He holds degrees in Religion and Scandinavian Studies from Gustavus Adolphus College and currently works with the Center for Process Studies and the Psychedelic Medicine Association.

More Episodes