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Panentheism: Is God in the World? Or Does God Transcend the World? [St James Church, London]

Please consider joining my Substack at https://rupertsheldrake.substack.com.

In this talk, Rupert Sheldrake explores panentheism—the idea that the divine is not separate from the world but present throughout it, while also transcending it. With the grip of mechanistic materialism loosening, Rupert invites us to reconsider how we see nature, mind, and spirit. Tracing a broad arc from ancient philosophies and Christian mysticism to AI-generated worldviews, panpsychism, and psychedelics, he reflects on how the sacred presence in nature—-long affirmed by spiritual traditions-—is re-emerging through science, experience, and renewed practices of attention.

This talk was recorded at St James Church, Piccadilly, a longstanding hub for open spiritual inquiry and progressive theology in the heart of London.

Table of Contents.
00:00:00 — What Is Panentheism?
00:00:37 — The Dominant Worldview: Mechanistic Materialism.
00:01:46 — The Decline of Materialism & Rise of Alternatives.
00:02:21 — AI & Worldview Generation: A Symptom of Our Time.
00:03:55 — Return to a Living World: Gaia Hypothesis & Distributed Consciousness.
00:05:01 — God: Immanent vs. Transcendent (with Cultural Examples)
00:07:27 — Historical Tour: European Intellectual History.
00:07:42 — Pre-Christian & Ancient Greek Animism (Aristotle’s Souls)
00:09:51 — Medieval Period: Christianization of Greek Thought (Aquinas)
00:11:20 — Early British/Celtic Nature Mysticism.
00:12:51 — The Protestant Reformation: De-sacralizing Nature.
00:16:00 — The Scientific Revolution & Cartesian Dualism (Nature as Machine)
00:18:05 — From Deism to Atheism.
00:20:59 — The “Hard Problem” of Consciousness for Materialism.
00:23:28 — Panpsychism: Consciousness as Fundamental (Even in Stars)
00:26:26 — Pantheism (Spinoza) and Idealism (Kastrup) as Alternatives.
00:28:55 — Revival of Mystical Sense: Meditation.
00:31:00 — Psychedelics and Experiences of Greater Consciousness.
00:33:16 — The Experiential Roots of Religion (David Bentley Hart)
00:35:23 — Models of Ultimate Reality: Hindu Perspectives.
00:37:35 — Models of Ultimate Reality: The Christian Trinity & Speech Metaphor.
00:41:15 — Nature Reflecting Trinitarian Principles.
00:43:15 — The Cosmic Christ & Universe as Incarnation (Bede Griffiths)
00:44:57 — Aquinas: Nature Striving for Divine Perfection.
00:46:50 — Reconciling Immanence & Transcendence in an Evolving, Creative Universe.
00:48:17 — Spiritual Practices for Experiencing Panentheism (Singing, Festivals, Nature Connection)
00:53:46 — End of Lecture / Start of Q&A

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#Panentheism.

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Inner speech therapy shows promise for easing autistic children’s emotional dysregulation

Children on the autism spectrum, often at odds with their own emotions, may find help in an unlikely place: their own inner voice. A team from the University of Pittsburgh and collaborators tested a novel intervention designed to train autistic children in developing internal speech—and the results suggest it may reduce emotional dysregulation.

Emotional outbursts and difficulty with can disrupt the lives of many and their families. Traditional therapies rarely focus on the language children use with themselves, the internal dialogue that helps regulate emotion and behavior in neurotypical development.

Prior research has shown inner speech supports problem-solving and , yet many seem to lack this internal toolset.

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Time matters: the dynamics of plasma membrane repair

The plasma membrane (PM) of eukaryotic cells is constantly exposed to many challenges that can cause wounds that necessitate rapid and efficient repair mechanisms to ensure cell survival. PM wound repair not only encompasses the immediate resealing of the membrane barrier, which involves exocytosis of internal vesicles to deliver membrane, but also subsequent processes that are essential to restore cellular homeostasis. These include restoration of membrane and cortical cytoskeleton structures, as well as replenishment of intracellular organelles consumed during resealing. Recent evidence suggests that the different steps in PM repair, resealing, restructuring, and restoration, are spatiotemporally correlated and regulated by membrane tension. Recent advances in understanding the different phases of PM repair are reviewed and a time-dependent classification of repair mechanisms is proposed.

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Engineers develop blueprint for robot swarms, mimicking bee and ant construction

Bees, ants and termites don’t need blueprints. They may have queens, but none of these species breed architects or construction managers. Each insect worker, or drone, simply responds to cues like warmth or the presence or absence of building material. Unlike human manufacturing, the grand design emerges simply from the collective action of the drones—no central planning required.

Now, researchers at Penn Engineering have developed mathematical rules that allow virtual swarms of tiny robots to do the same. In , the robots built honeycomb-like structures without ever following—or even being able to comprehend—a plan.

“Though what we have done is just a first step, it is a new strategy that could ultimately lead to a new paradigm in manufacturing,” says Jordan Raney, Associate Professor in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics (MEAM), and the co-senior author of a new paper in Science Advances. “Even 3D printers work step by step, resulting in what we call a brittle process. One simple mistake, like a clogged nozzle, ruins the entire process.”

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Unprecedented dataset of molecular simulations to train AI models released

A collaborative effort between Meta, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory leverages Los Alamos’ expertise in building tools for molecular screening capabilities. The release of “Open Molecules 2025”, an unprecedented dataset of molecular simulations, can accelerate opportunities for machine learning to transform research in fields such as biology, materials science and energy technologies.

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