Dr. John Vervaeke

In this episode of The Lectern, host Ethan Hsieh sits down with philosopher and cognitive scientist Mark Miller to explore the science of predictive processing and its implications for happiness, meaning, and wellbeing.
They unpack how the brain is not a passive receiver of reality, but an active prediction engine—constantly generating its best guesses about the world and updating them through experience. From belief formation and perception to resilience, virtue, play, and mindfulness, the conversation bridges cutting-edge cognitive science with ancient contemplative wisdom.
Together, Ethan and Mark discuss how understanding the predictive nature of the mind can transform how we relate to uncertainty, cultivate agency, and develop a deeper, more participatory sense of happiness—both individually and collectively.
This episode also introduces Mark Miller's upcoming course, Generations of Joy, which explores these ideas through neuroscience, philosophy, and contemplative practice.
Sign up for the course: https://lectern.johnvervaeke.com/courses/generations-of-joy
 
00:00 Welcome back to The Lectern 02:30 Mark Miller's background and research focus 06:00 Predictive processing and cognitive science 09:00 Belief, perception, and meaning-making 10:18 "You're not seeing the world—you're seeing your best guess about the world." 13:00 Course overview and key themes 27:00 Honesty, virtue, and transformation 39:30 Practical applications and course dynamics 41:30 Real-world implications of science 43:00 Emptiness, neuroscience, and insight 43:30 The frame problem in cognitive science 45:30 Optimism vs. pessimism: locking onto the world 46:30 Training the mind to discern 47:30 The interpretive nature of reality 52:00 The role of play in cognitive development 56:00 Managing uncertainty through play 01:12:30 Mindfulness and emerging evidence 01:22:00 The Transformational Neuroscience course
 
Mark Miller is a philosopher and cognitive scientist whose work bridges philosophy, neuroscience, and contemplative science. His research explores how the predictive brain shapes happiness, wellbeing, and meaning in a technologically saturated world.
He is a Senior Research Fellow at Monash University's Centre for Consciousness and Contemplative Studies (Australia), cross-affiliated with the Psychology Department at the University of Toronto (Canada), and a visiting researcher at Hokkaido University's Centre for Human Nature, Artificial Intelligence, and Neuroscience (Japan).
Website: https://www.markdmiller.live/
 
Ethan Hsieh is a facilitator, educator, and philosophical practitioner working at the intersection of performance, cognition, and transformative pedagogy. He is the creator of TIAMAT, a three-tier developmental framework integrating cognitive science, dialogical philosophy, and embodied practice.
Through immersive learning environments and collaborative inquiry, Ethan helps individuals cultivate virtuosity as a way of life—emphasizing participatory sense-making, metacognitive mapping, and shared agency. His work with the 5toMidnight collective focuses on building deliberately developmental communities grounded in relational ontology and lived philosophical transformation.

Thank you for joining us live for this month's Silk Road Seminar, featuring Kevin Lu and Anderson Todd.
Kevin Lu is a Jungian psychoanalyst, lecturer, and scholar whose work bridges analytical psychology, philosophy, and religious studies. As a senior lecturer at the University of Essex, his research explores symbolic thought, depth psychology, myth, and individuation, with a focus on reintegrating Jungian wisdom into contemporary conversations around meaning and transformation.
Anderson Todd is an award-winning lecturer at the University of Toronto, teaching in Cognitive Science and Buddhism as well as Psychology and Mental Health. With a background spanning philosophy, complexity science, and transformative practice, Anderson brings clarity and rigor to questions of wisdom cultivation, existential resilience, and mental health.
Together, Kevin and Anderson bring a rare synergy of psychological depth and cognitive precision to the Silk Road Seminar, offering insight into meaning-making and transformation in the modern world.
Silk Road Seminars are live, hour-long conversations hosted by John Vervaeke, weaving together ideas from cognitive science, philosophy, psychology, and wisdom traditions. Each seminar is streamed live on YouTube and followed by an exclusive Q&A where participants can engage directly with John and the guests.
 
To be entered onto the guest list for the live Q&A, sign up at the Gamma Tier (or above) on The Lectern: https://lectern.teachable.com/p/lectern-lounge
University students (undergraduate through doctoral level) receive free access to the Q&A. Email proof of student status to: [email protected]
Students added to the guest list also receive access to previous Silk Road Seminars.
 
 
If you'd like to support John's work through a goodwill donation, consider joining the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/johnvervaeke
John Vervaeke online: https://johnvervaeke.com/ https://twitter.com/drjohnvervaeke https://www.youtube.com/@johnvervaeke https://www.patreon.com/johnvervaeke

In this episode, John welcomes Mark Vernon to discuss his two books, 'Dante's Divine Comedy: A Guide for the Spiritual Journey' and 'Awake: William Blake and the Imagination'. They explore the profound psychological, philosophical, and spiritual insights offered by Dante and Blake, touching upon topics like pilgrimage, the imaginal, and the role of the imagination in renewing perception. Mark shares his experiences and how these works resonate with contemporary cognitive science and spirituality. The conversation delves deep into understanding the connections between ancient wisdom and modern thought.



Mark Vernon is a writer, psychotherapist, and philosopher whose work explores the meeting point of spirituality, psychology, and philosophy. Based in London, his background in physics, theology, and psychotherapy shapes a multidisciplinary approach that bridges ancient wisdom traditions with contemporary understandings of the mind and meaning.
 🔗 Learn more about Mark Vernon's work: markvernon.com
Instagram
Linkedin
 
Awake: William Blake and the Power of Imagination — by Mark Vernon
The Divine Comedy — by Dante Alighieri  
A World in a Grain of Sand — William Blake's poem reference ("Auguries of Innocence")



 
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00:00 Welcome to the Lectern
01:00 Discussing Dante's Divine Comedy
02:30 Exploring William Blake's work
04:00 Mark Vernon's background and inspirations
07:00 The philosophy and impact of pilgrimage
10:00 Dante's pilgrimage and personal experiences
19:00 The nature of Dante's poem
24:30 Addressing controversial topics in Dante's work
31:00 The in-between and the imaginal
33:30 Triston's predictive processing
35:00 The brain's predictive nature
35:30 Deep learning and pattern recognition
36:00 Metacognition and future self
38:30 Blake's visionary experiences
39:00 The power of imagination
41:02 41:02  "We don't hear sound waves — we hear meaning. That's how strong the imaginal is."
56:00 Confident imagination and fierce critique



   
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The Vervaeke Foundation is committed to advancing the scientific pursuit of wisdom and creating a significant impact on the world. Become a part of our mission. 
 
Join Awaken to Meaning to explore practices that enhance your virtues and foster deeper connections with reality and relationships. 
 
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Ideas, People, and Works Mentioned in this Episode
Pilgrimage as a Path of Transformation


The Divine Comedy as a Map of the Soul


Knowledge Through Transformation, Not Proposition


The In-Between and the Imaginal Realm


Cleansing the Doors of Perception


The Renewal of the Senses


Theoria as Pilgrimage and Contemplation


Innocence, Openness, and Inner Vision


The Descent as a Hidden Ascent
 
William Desmond – Philosopher of the Between


Charles Taylor – A Secular Age


Henri Corbin – The Imaginal vs. The Imaginary


Ibn 'Arabi – Sufi Visionary of the Heart


Plato – Theoria and the Methu Aixis


C.G. Jung – Synchronicity and the Soul's Descent
 
Seeing God Again for the First Time – John Vervaeke


The Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 12 – The Faces of God


The Philosophical Silk Road and Pilgrimage as Practice


The Camino de Santiago and Shikoku Pilgrimage


The Covenant of Return – Integration and Homecoming


Threshold and Passage as Spiritual Acts


The Face of the World and the Call to Change Your Life



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Follow John Vervaeke: Website | Twitter | YouTube | Patreon



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Thank you for watching!

To learn directly from Ethan Hsieh, John Vervaeke and Taylor Barratt, The Lectern is partnering with 5ToMidnight to offer a long form hybrid (online/in-person) practice program called TIAMAT-X. This program brings a full ecology of practices, endorsed by The Vervaeke Foundation to help you develop the capacity to…
perceive what matters
regulate in real time
and act with clarity 
…through a cohesive method that weaves together mindful dialogue, embodiment, imaginal practice, and disciplined mindfulness. 
Learn more about the program here: 
https://www.5tomidnight.org/offerings/tiamat-x
 https://lectern.johnvervaeke.com/courses/tiamat-x
 
In part three of the Lectern Dialogues series, John Vervaeke and Ethan Hsieh explore how virtue can be cultivated as a lived, embodied practice through an immersive ecology of education. The focus is on layered accounts of virtue — civic, purification, and illumination — and the role of ritual, altered states, and phenomenology in shaping meaning and sacredness. The conversation also addresses the risks of deification, authenticity loss, and cult dynamics, inviting a participatory, relational understanding of education oriented toward wisdom and agency.
Ethan Hsieh
Ethan Hsieh is a facilitator, educator, and philosophical practitioner whose work bridges performance, cognition, and transformative pedagogy. As the creator of TIAMAT—a three-tiered developmental framework—he integrates insights from performance practice, cognitive science, and dialogical philosophy to help individuals cultivate virtuosity as a way of life. Through immersive training containers and collaborative inquiry, he guides participants in mapping their inner experience, expanding their relational capacities, and enacting what he calls "postures of presence." Ethan's approach emphasizes participatory learning, metacognitive mapping, and the cultivation of agency through shared practice. His work with the collective 5toMidnight seeks to foster deliberately developmental communities grounded in relational ontology, where philosophical understanding becomes lived transformation.
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00:00 Welcome to the Lectern
02:00 Exploring virtue and sacredness
04:00 Layers of virtue and practice
06:00 Rituals and altered states of consciousness
10:30 Phenomenology and the sacred
18:00 Transformative insight and lived experience
30:30 Being-in-the-world and interconnectedness
38:00 Framework rejection and deification concerns
40:30 Ego, deification, and demonization
41:00 Virtue and the ego's filtration function
44:00 Addressing cult dynamics
46:00 Identifying healthy traditions and practices
51:30 Realness, resonance, and authenticity
55:00 Logos and the Good
01:06:00 The value of embodied experience
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Follow John Vervaeke
https://lectern.johnvervaeke.com
https://x.com/DrJohnVervaeke
https://www.youtube.com/@johnvervaeke
https://www.patreon.com/johnvervaeke
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Thank you for watching!

Thank you for joining us LIVE for this special Lectern Launch Event with Nicole Baden and Dr. John Vervaeke.
Nicole Baden is a contemplative teacher, somatic practitioner, and long-time collaborator within the ecology-of-practices community. Her work focuses on integrating embodiment, meditative discipline, trauma-informed techniques, and transformative dialogue into cohesive pathways for personal and interpersonal growth. Nicole's teaching draws from a diverse lineage of contemplative traditions while remaining grounded in modern cognitive science, offering students practices that cultivate presence, resilience, and deeper relational intelligence.
She serves as a central facilitator in the emerging praxis-based ecosystem surrounding John's work, helping individuals bridge the gap between insight and lived transformation. Nicole has contributed to multiple training programs, workshops, and practice communities dedicated to cultivating wisdom, awakening meaning, and fostering healthier patterns of being in the world. Her approach emphasizes sincerity, stability, and the cultivation of embodied understanding.
Her new channel featuring Dharma talks, guided practices, and reflections: https://www.youtube.com/@TatsudoNicoleBaden
https://youtu.be/csh7WDsEuC4?si=4qD2gfBUw2ds4JWA
Dharma Academy — Nicole's Online School
Courses, teachings, and practice resources offered by Nicole: https://dharmaacademy.com/
Crestone Mountain Zen Center
Nicole Zen practice center in Colorado: https://www.dharmasangha.org/
Silk Road Seminars and Lectern Events are live gatherings where John weaves together his latest theoretical explorations, practical frameworks, and community initiatives with contributions from distinguished guests. These sessions stream live on YouTube and are followed by an exclusive Q&A where participants can ask questions directly to John and his guest. To be included on the Q&A guest list, you can join at the Gamma Tier (and above) on The Lectern: [https://lectern.teachable.com/p/lectern-lounge](https://lectern.teachable.com/p/lectern-lounge)
Free Student Access: Currently enrolled university students at all levels (up to doctoral studies) receive free access to the Q&A. To join, email your proof of student identity to: [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])
If you would like to support John's work purely out of goodwill, please consider joining the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/johnvervaeke
 
John Vervaeke:
Website: https://johnvervaeke.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrJohnVervaeke
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@johnvervaeke
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/johnvervaeke