Elevating Consciousness | Inner Work & Contemplative Practice in a Time of Meta-Crisis

There is a gap between intellectual understanding and embodied wisdom. Elevating Consciousness exists to help you close it — drawing from the depths of the great wisdom traditions, contemplative science, and leading-edge psychology. Each episode, I sit down with spiritual teachers, philosophers, psychologists, practitioners, and emerging thinkers from the liminal web to explore what it means to live an awakened and fully human life in a time of meta-crisis. We don’t just share ideas to think about but perspectives to try on, practices to engage with, and ways of being to embody. WHO THIS IS FOR: This show is designed for the post-conventional practitioner — those who have outgrown mainstream self-help and pop spirituality into something more nuanced, pragmatic, and integrative.  You're less interested in external achievement and more drawn to inner development. You want to be challenged, not just comforted — and you want to explore these questions alongside others who are genuinely grappling with them. You think holistically. You know that wisdom lives in the body as much as the mind. You care about the state of the world and sense that personal transformation and collective transformation are inseparable. TOPICS WE EXPLORE INCLUDE: Contemplative practice and dharma practice across traditions — Buddhist meditation, Vajrayana, nondual tantra, and tantric awakening. Psychedelic healing, navigating mystical experiences and altered states. Shadow integration, emotional processing, somatic therapy, relational practice, and Jungian psychology. Adult development and integral philosophy. The meaning crisis, the meta-crisis, and what it means to build a life and culture grounded in wisdom.  WHAT YOU WON'T FIND HERE: Conspiracy theories, sensationalist claims, or ungrounded woo that have no bearing on how you actually live and relate to others. Mainstream self-help or pop spirituality that keeps you pacified and comfortable rather than leaning into your developmental edge. ABOUT YOUR HOST: I'm Artem Zen — a dharma practitioner, artist, writer, facilitator, and podcaster. I've spent the last decade in the trenches of inner work and human transformation — from psychedelic ceremonies and retreats in monasteries to therapy sessions and thousands of hours in contemplative practice, all while raising two children, running a business, and navigating disability. My life has been devoted to creating offerings and facilitating conversations that help people embody wisdom and recognize sacredness in their everyday lives. STAY CONNECTED:  Subscribe to my Substack to receive new episodes, in-depth articles, and access to community practice sessions - https://substack.com/@artemzen