In this episode you will meet your podcast hosts, Stephen Julich and Jonathan Kay and learn a little about their journey to the East-West Psychology Department of CIIS. They will introduce the goals and format of the podcast and present a framework which situates academic fields of study and psychological and philosophical questions important to the East-West Psychology discourse community. This can be understood as a mandala of 4 cardinal points:

• Eastern philosophy, psychology and culture
• Western religion, philosophy and depth psychology
• Earth-based ecology, shamanism and indigenous religions
• World and cross-cultural perspectives on spirituality, psychology and contemporary culture.

Stephen Julich has worked as an adjunct instructor in History and Anthropology at the City College of New York, as a lecturer in Jungian Studies at the University of Philosophical Research in Los Angeles, and as an adjunct instructor at the California Institute of Integral Studies where he has taught classes on ensouled writing and Western Esotericism. Currently, Stephen is teaching a class on Western Magic and is preparing a class on the work of Jungian analyst Marie-Louise von Franz. Stephen holds a BA in Comparative Religion, an MA in Anthropology, an M.Div. from the New Seminary for Interfaith Ministers, and a PhD in East-West Psychology from CIIS. His general areas of interest are in the psychology of religion and myth, dreams, symbols, and consciousness studies.

Jonathan Kay is a professional musician, and is currently a PhD student in the department of East-West Psychology at California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco under the mentorship of Dr. Debashish Banerji. He has been studying East-West philosophy and psychology based on the Integral Yoga of Sri Aurobindo, and his dissertation research is focused on developing ideas about musical and transcultural hermeneutics. As a scholar-practioner in arts-based research, Jonathan is exploring the horizons between thought and sound inspired by the work of Gilles Deleuze and the non-standard philosophy of Francois Laruelle. Based on questions of cross-cultural translation and integration, Jonathan’s music is exploring transcultural possibilities through experimental and contemplative models of improvisation. www.jonathankay.ca

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Hosted by Stephen Julich (EWP PhD, adjunct faculty, EWP program manager) and Jonathan Kay (PhD student, EWP assistant)