To be human is to find oneself bound to multiple things that are conflictual yet at the same time compelling. The interplay of desire and morality creates one such 'double bind'. It is possible to follow desire and disregard the claims of morality in such a way that you can ruin your life. Equally it is possible to devote oneself to morality and disregard the voice of desire and ruin your life. Desire is fundamentally central to being human, forming in unique ways in each of us, and we are also responsible fundamentally for others in the choices we make. Dr Peter Kline rejoins the podcast for a conversation that explores the unresolvable tensions of the human condition, why the idea of balance is so unhelpful and how freedom and joy can be found within the anxieties and complexities that attend every human life.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While society has advanced in its understanding of mental health, with advances in treatment, wider awareness and a reduction in stigma, there seems to be no abating of the mental health crisis. Tracing the history of modern psychotherapy, and the systematic approach taken by the medical sciences, Jim Schirmer returns to the podcast to reflect on the academic heritage of psychotherapy and the therapeutic direction of our understanding of human mental health and wellbeing.While recognising the enormous gains and gifts of medical precision, diagnosis and classification systems, is it possible that something could be gained from greater inclusion of other traditions that think deeply about the human condition? And how does Christian faith with its central image of the cross speak to an age which seems to pursue the goal of eliminating suffering and pursue individual happiness as the highest good? And where, in all of this, is there space for the mystery of the human soul?

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Anyone who describes an experience with the sacred will find themselves often struggling for words because they find the sacred is not a 'thing', nor a set of beliefs, but rather an encounter in open and vulnerable relationship which requires a far more humble and receptive form of knowing. Dr Iain McGilchrist, neuroscientist, philosopher and author, joins the podcast for a second conversation, this time in person in Australia with Dom, Sue and Peter. Those familiar with Iain's work about the two hemispheres of the brain will know that there is a connection traced between the way we attend to reality and a more utilitarian left hemisphere way of seeing and being which has become more culturally dominant in the West. The right hemisphere, Iain contends, is better equipped for perceiving the whole, appreciating paradox and engaging with the sacred. Thinking that we know it all is characteristic of the left hemisphere, robbing us of the sense of awe and wonder which makes life both beautiful and meaningful.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.