Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
C. Michael Smith is a clinical psychologist and medical anthropologist trained at the University of Chicago, the Chicago Theological Seminary, and the C.G. Jung Institute of Chicago. He has taught and lectured internationally on Jungian psychology, shamanism, and spiritual integration. Dr. Smith is founder and director of the Crows Nest Centers for Shamanic Studies in the USA, France, Belgium, and South Africa, and author of Jung and Shamanism in Dialogue and Psychotherapy and the Sacred.
In this conversation Michael explores the multifaceted nature of awakening, emphasizing that it is not a singular event but a continuous journey involving integration, discernment, and the embodiment of compassion. He discusses the importance of the heart as a guiding force, the necessity of facing darkness, and the role of creativity in expressing our true nature. He highlights the significance of daily practices in maintaining a connection to the divine and the ongoing effort required to actualize our spiritual potential.
00:00:00 Introduction
00:05:17 Awakening and the challenge of embodied realization
00:17:33 Integrating and embodying the divine
00:25:56 The heart is the knower
00:33:00 Digestion & integration: nervous system, shadow, sangha, daily practice
00:37:07 Discernment is essential
00:42:13 The felt sense as guidance, somatic integration and creativity
00:50:34 Using the mind in service to the soul callings
00:54:46 Jung, dreams and dropping into the depths
01:01:27 Navigating collective shadows and raw evil
01:18:18 Impermanence, practicing neutrality and compassion
01:23:26 Actualizing spiritual realization in daily life
01:31:03 Final thoughts
New Thinking Allowed Guest Host Leanne Whitney, PhD, is a depth psychologist and transformational coach based in Los Angeles, CA. She is the author of Consciousness in Jung and Patañjali and currently serves as Executive Director of Center for Transformation and Integration. Her website is leannewhitney.com
To learn about Leanne Whitney’s upcoming Transformational Coaching Certification Course with an emphasis in Somatic Integration Therapy, please visit: transformationandintegration.com/courses
Producer: Elena McNally
Editor: John Hartmann
(Recorded on February 13, 2026)
To order Consciousness in Jung and Patañjali by Leanne Whitney, go to: amzn.to/2QY3tS2
To order Jung and Shamanism In Dialogue: Retrieving the Soul/Retrieving the Sacred by C Michael Smith, go to amzn.to/3CRXN5R
For a complete, updated list with links to all of our videos, see newthinkingallowed.com/Listings.htm.
Check out the New Thinking Allowed Foundation website at http://www.newthinkingallowed.org. There you will find our incredible, searchable database – plus, this is where people can subscribe to our FREE, weekly Newsletter and can download a FREE .pdf copy of our quarterly magazine.
To order high-quality, printed copies of our quarterly magazine: NTA-Magazine.MagCloud.com
Check out New Thinking Allowed's AI chatbot. You can create a free account at awakin.ai/open/jeffreymishlove. When you enter the space, you will see that our chatbot is one of several you can interact with. While it is still a work in progress, it has been trained on 1,600 NTA transcripts. It can provide intelligent answers about the contents of our interviews.
If you would like to join our team of volunteers, helping to promote the New Thinking Allowed YouTube channel on social media, editing and translating videos, creating short video trailers based on our interviews, helping to upgrade our website, or contributing in other ways (we may not even have thought of), please send an email to friends@newthinkingallowed.com.
To download and listen to audio versions of the New Thinking Allowed videos, please visit our new podcast at itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/new-thinking-allowed-audio-podcast/id1435178031.
Download and read Jeffrey Mishlove's Grand Prize essay in the Bigelow Institute competition, Beyond the Brain: The Survival of Human Consciousness After Permanent Bodily Death, go to bigelowinstitute.org/docs/1st.pdf.
You can help support our video productions while enjoying a good book. To order a copy of New Thinking Allowed Dialogues: Is There Life After Death? click on amzn.to/3LzLA7Y (As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.)
To order the second book in the New Thinking Allowed Dialogues series, Russell Targ: Ninety Years of ESP, Remote Viewing, and Timeless Awareness, go to amzn.to/4aw2iyr
To order a copy of New Thinking Allowed Dialogues: UFOs and UAP – Are We Really Alone?, go to amzn.to/3Y0VOVh
To order a copy of Charles T. Tart: Seventy Years of Exploring Consciousness and Parapsychology, go to amzn.to/4oOUJLn
C. Michael Smith is a clinical psychologist and medical anthropologist trained at the University of Chicago, the Chicago Theological Seminary, and the C.G. Jung Institute of Chicago. He has taught and lectured internationally on Jungian psychology, shamanism, and spiritual integration. Dr. Smith is founder and director of the Crows Nest Centers for Shamanic Studies in the USA, France, Belgium, and South Africa, and author of Jung and Shamanism in Dialogue and Psychotherapy and the Sacred.
In this conversation Michael explores the multifaceted nature of awakening, emphasizing that it is not a singular event but a continuous journey involving integration, discernment, and the embodiment of compassion. He discusses the importance of the heart as a guiding force, the necessity of facing darkness, and the role of creativity in expressing our true nature. He highlights the significance of daily practices in maintaining a connection to the divine and the ongoing effort required to actualize our spiritual potential.
00:00:00 Introduction
00:05:17 Awakening and the challenge of embodied realization
00:17:33 Integrating and embodying the divine
00:25:56 The heart is the knower
00:33:00 Digestion & integration: nervous system, shadow, sangha, daily practice
00:37:07 Discernment is essential
00:42:13 The felt sense as guidance, somatic integration and creativity
00:50:34 Using the mind in service to the soul callings
00:54:46 Jung, dreams and dropping into the depths
01:01:27 Navigating collective shadows and raw evil
01:18:18 Impermanence, practicing neutrality and compassion
01:23:26 Actualizing spiritual realization in daily life
01:31:03 Final thoughts
New Thinking Allowed Guest Host Leanne Whitney, PhD, is a depth psychologist and transformational coach based in Los Angeles, CA. She is the author of Consciousness in Jung and Patañjali and currently serves as Executive Director of Center for Transformation and Integration. Her website is leannewhitney.com
To learn about Leanne Whitney’s upcoming Transformational Coaching Certification Course with an emphasis in Somatic Integration Therapy, please visit: transformationandintegration.com/courses
Producer: Elena McNally
Editor: John Hartmann
(Recorded on February 13, 2026)
To order Consciousness in Jung and Patañjali by Leanne Whitney, go to: amzn.to/2QY3tS2
To order Jung and Shamanism In Dialogue: Retrieving the Soul/Retrieving the Sacred by C Michael Smith, go to amzn.to/3CRXN5R
For a complete, updated list with links to all of our videos, see newthinkingallowed.com/Listings.htm.
Check out the New Thinking Allowed Foundation website at http://www.newthinkingallowed.org. There you will find our incredible, searchable database – plus, this is where people can subscribe to our FREE, weekly Newsletter and can download a FREE .pdf copy of our quarterly magazine.
To order high-quality, printed copies of our quarterly magazine: NTA-Magazine.MagCloud.com
Check out New Thinking Allowed's AI chatbot. You can create a free account at awakin.ai/open/jeffreymishlove. When you enter the space, you will see that our chatbot is one of several you can interact with. While it is still a work in progress, it has been trained on 1,600 NTA transcripts. It can provide intelligent answers about the contents of our interviews.
If you would like to join our team of volunteers, helping to promote the New Thinking Allowed YouTube channel on social media, editing and translating videos, creating short video trailers based on our interviews, helping to upgrade our website, or contributing in other ways (we may not even have thought of), please send an email to friends@newthinkingallowed.com.
To download and listen to audio versions of the New Thinking Allowed videos, please visit our new podcast at itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/new-thinking-allowed-audio-podcast/id1435178031.
Download and read Jeffrey Mishlove's Grand Prize essay in the Bigelow Institute competition, Beyond the Brain: The Survival of Human Consciousness After Permanent Bodily Death, go to bigelowinstitute.org/docs/1st.pdf.
You can help support our video productions while enjoying a good book. To order a copy of New Thinking Allowed Dialogues: Is There Life After Death? click on amzn.to/3LzLA7Y (As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.)
To order the second book in the New Thinking Allowed Dialogues series, Russell Targ: Ninety Years of ESP, Remote Viewing, and Timeless Awareness, go to amzn.to/4aw2iyr
To order a copy of New Thinking Allowed Dialogues: UFOs and UAP – Are We Really Alone?, go to amzn.to/3Y0VOVh
To order a copy of Charles T. Tart: Seventy Years of Exploring Consciousness and Parapsychology, go to amzn.to/4oOUJLn
