The Resacularization of the World (Part 1)

Summary

The transcript centers on a long-form discussion from the Psychedelic Salon, hosted by Lorenzo, introducing another installment of the recorded conversations among Terence McKenna, Ralph Abraham, and Rupert Sheldrake. The episode is framed as part of a larger archival series of “trial logs” recorded at Esalen in 1989 and 1990, and Lorenzo also uses the closing portion of the program to announce upcoming podcast scheduling, references to Mindstates conferences, and other related talks. However, the substantive core of the transcript is a wide-ranging exchange about the “resacralization of the world,” the decline of organized religion, and possible ways to restore meaningful spiritual life in modern society. A major theme is the speakers’ personal relationship to religion. One speaker describes growing up in a household with little formal religious structure, shaped by a father who rejected organized religion and instead centered life on family and an abstract idea of love. That background led to a sense of distance from churches and ritual, but later experiences—especially LSD in the 1960s—were interpreted as genuinely religious in nature. This opened the possibility that sacred experience had not disappeared, but had been displaced from institutional religion. The speaker then reflects on encounters with sacred art, architecture, and music in Europe and India, arguing that organized religion in the West may have lost a living connection to the sacred, while traditions in India still preserved a more immediate sense of sacred presence. From there, the conversation develops into a programmatic discussion of how the world might be resacralized. Several strategies are proposed. One is the revival of ritual, including the possibility of reintroducing or adapting rites that reconnect people to the sacred. Another is the revitalization of existing Western religion, especially by recovering the power of churches, cathedrals, chant, and liturgy. A third is the creation of new institutions outside formal churches that could serve similar functions through sacred arts such as music, architecture, and painting. A fourth is the revitalization of science by challenging its implicit mythology and integrating it into a broader sacred worldview. These ideas are linked to a broader critique of patriarchy and to the notion that the decline of religion is connected to the historical dominance of dominator social forms. Music receives special emphasis. One speaker argues that music can be either sacred or destructive, and that modern popular music, especially loud mass media music, may be harmful physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Cyril Scott is cited as a thinker who analyzed the relationship between musical style and social change, and the discussion suggests that music can shape cultural atmosphere and even political tendencies. The loss of beauty and harmony is framed as a symptom of humanity’s disconnection from the “world soul” or divine guidance. The dialogue then turns to architecture, sacred space, and the possibility of reforming Christianity rather than abandoning it. Gothic cathedrals are praised as living models of cosmos, ritual continuity, and sacred place. Their vegetation motifs, gargoyles, rose windows, mandalas, and association with figures such as Our Lady, Sophia, and the feminine divine are presented as resources for a renewed spiritual culture. The speakers contrast the gothic with the Romanesque, which is described as more rigid and dominator-like. They also discuss the importance of local control, vernacular language, and decentralized church structures, with Anglicanism presented as a flexible model because of its autonomy across regions such as England, Wales, Ireland, the United States, Canada, and parts of Africa. A related theme is the sacralization of time through festivals, sabbath observance, seasonal rites, and local ceremonies. The discussion suggests that modern spiritual renewal may depend on reconnecting present practices to pre-Christian, shamanic, and pagan roots, while also acknowledging the continuing life of Christian tradition. The speakers explore the possibility of syncretism: integrating pagan, Christian, feminist, ecological, and scientific elements into a convergent new mythology. The “greening of God” appears as an important theological motif, tied to Hildegard von Bingen, the feminine divine, the Shekinah, Sophia, and ecological consciousness. The Gaia hypothesis and recycling are mentioned as necessary components of any modern sacred worldview, given the realities of population growth and environmental limits. Marshall McLuhan’s ideas about electronic media are invoked to support the claim that media technology is already pushing society toward a new medieval-like condition, with altered sensory ratios, fragmentation of nation-states, and a return to local, pietistic, or fundamentalist forms. This is linked to the broader idea of an “archaic revival,” though the speakers caution that a simple return to the past is impossible. Instead, they argue for an archaeology of knowledge that recovers the essence of older forms and translates them into modern conditions. The transcript closes with Lorenzo’s commentary, where he reacts strongly against organized religion’s history of violence, imagines churches repurposed as rave venues, and praises personal ritual practices such as solstice gatherings and full moon ceremonies. He also promotes an upcoming Mindstates conference in Costa Rica, mentions community and travel as part of the psychedelic scene, and outlines the future podcast schedule, including more trilogue tapes and talks from Burning Man. Overall, the transcript presents a rich, speculative, and highly interdisciplinary conversation about religion, ecology, feminism, music, architecture, media, and cultural transformation, all organized around the central question of how sacred life might be restored in the modern world.