Wonder Cabinet
Wonder Cabinet
Wonder Cabinet Productions
The Spiritual Ecology of Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee
51 minutes Posted Jun 20, 2026 at 11:00 am.
The Magic We've Forgotten
Growing Up With a Guru
One River, Many Names
Spiritual Ecology and Practice
Nightingales, Jazz, and Dreams
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51:12
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Show notes
Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee grew up in London with a Russian Sufi mystic living downstairs, seekers showing up at all hours and meditation happening constantly.  Then his family moved to a  coastal redwood forest in Northern California, where he learned to surf and fell in love with wilderness.  
Today, Emmanuel is the founder, executive editor and podcast host of Emergence Magazine – for nearly a decade, one of the most important venues for spiritually-infused ecological writing.  His new book, Remembering Earth, is both a meditation on the sacred nature of the living world and a practical guide to re-entering it.  
In this conversation,  we explore Sufism's radical vision of the divine as intimate and immanent, rather than distant and transcendent. We also talk about jazz — Emmanuel dropped out of school at age 16 to play acoustic bass — and the liminal space of creative improvisation.  Other stops along the way:  the epigenetic memory of birdsong, how breath and walking can become a form of prayer; what dreams are and where they come from; and the boundlessness of Earth’s love. 
Note:  Wonder Cabinet is taking a summer break.  We’ll be back in August with new episodes.
Emergence Magazine
Emmanuel’s new book, “Remembering Earth”
"The Nightingale’s Song," a film by Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee and Adam Loften
Anne’s conversation with Sam Lee