Remembering: Being human in a more than human world - Erik Jampa Andersson

Be Mythical

This week’s show is with the amazing Erik Jampa Andersson. Erik Jampa Andersson is the founder and director of Shrimala, an author, a London-based practitioner, teacher, and scholar of Tibetan Medicine (Sowa Rigpa), Tibetan Buddhism, and Environmental History.

He is a graduate of the Shang Shung Institute School of Tibetan Medicine, and recently completed his MA in History at Goldsmiths University, where his research focused on the historical intersection of ecology, health, and mythology in a more-than-human world. He is the author of Unseen Beings: How We Forgot the World is More Than Human (Hay House, May 2023).

In this conversation, Erik and Lian explored the hierarchical way humans relate to non-humans (especially in relation to people getting into Shamanism or Jungian approaches).

Erik shared his journey through Tibetan Buddhism and into a more immanent approach.

They explored the significance of storytelling and fantasy in reclaiming enchantment and fostering a more animistic worldview, emphasising the importance of recognising the personhood of non-human beings and the need to break free from an anthropocentric worldview.

They both spoke of the recognition of animism as a foundational way of experiencing the world and the importance of preserving unbroken animistic traditions.

I’d love to know what YOU think about this week’s show. Let’s carry on the conversation… please leave a comment below.

What you’ll learn from this episode:

• Recognise the personhood of non-human beings and embrace the relational experience of enchantment, developing an animistic worldview that acknowledges the diversity and continuity of beingness.

• Engage in storytelling and fantasy to reclaim enchantment and challenge our conditioned anthropocetric worldview.

• Preserve and learn from unbroken animistic traditions while being cautious of cultural erasure. Learn from wisdom holders and engage with their knowledge with gratitude and humility, whilst approaching traditional systems with pragmatism and nuance, adapting them to your own life and circumstances rather than taking them on in a way that doesn’t take into account the change in context.

• Focus on building meaningful relationships with others, including non-human beings - this is something we focus on in an upcoming episode

Resources and stuff that we spoke about:

• Visit Erik’s Website:

  • shrimala.com

  • erikjampa.com

• Be Mythical is soon opening the doors to our new academy of alchemical arts - UNIO: The Academy of Sacred Union... To get your special invitation register HERE.

Thank you for listening!

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Thank you! Lian & Jonathan