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The House of Inner Tranquillity Podcast

The House of Inner Tranquillity Podcast

S10 Ep6: S10 Ep6 "From Darkness to Light" by Paul Harris

Jun 26, 2026 · 27 min · 10 segments

With less emphasis being placed on teaching children the nativity, the winter solstice now appears to have become a celebration of consumerism. And with the growth of scientific materialism and…

With less emphasis being placed on teaching children the nativity, the winter solstice now appears to have become a celebration of consumerism. And with the growth of scientific materialism and fundamentalism, many believe that we are entering a dark age where the spiritual dimension to life has been entirely lost from people's lives. This talk describes how the desire to "find the light" is universal and ensures that there will always be teachers who find new ways to realise the beyond. Paul Harris is the Spiritual head and principal meditation teacher at the House of Inner Tranquillity. This talk was given in December 2014.

With less emphasis being placed on teaching children the nativity, the winter solstice now appears to have become a celebration of consumerism. And with the growth of scientific materialism and…

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Show signals: Audience≈1k followers

Speakers: Paul HarrisHost

Top entities: Christmas×6 Buddhism×6 Tom Robbins×2 Winter solstice×4 Black Friday×2

Is Religion in Crisis?0:41 – 2:40

Paul HarrisHost

0:41

It's just like, can we, can we move on? Is religion in crisis? It seems like we're living in a far more secular world these days, doesn't it? Um, I'm reminded of a, a novel by the American author, Tom Robbins, and he has a character, Pan, the Greek god of the wild.

Paul HarrisHost

1:08

And in the novel, he's gradually disappearing to the very end.

Paul HarrisHost

1:13

There's nothing left of him.

Paul HarrisHost

1:14

He doesn't exist anymore.

Paul HarrisHost

1:16

The reason being that he owes his, his existence on people believing in him, and who believes in Pan these days? And I thought that was a very good point.

Paul HarrisHost

1:29

Is religion in crisis? Is-- Are we entering into a more godless age? Somebody reminded me or, or told me that a, a recent survey of five and six-year-olds discovered that a lot of them don't know what the nativity is because it's no longer being taught.

Paul HarrisHost

1:52

There are a lot of threats to what we might call traditional religious ways of viewing the world.

Paul HarrisHost

2:00

One of those threats is, uh, that we're living in a capitalist age.

Paul HarrisHost

2:06

There's a lot of consumerism.

Paul HarrisHost

2:09

I was thinking maybe we should stop calling it Christmas and start calling it Consumer Mass.

Paul HarrisHost

2:14

Anyone who witnessed any of the TV footage of Black Friday recently and the fighting over TV plasma screens and such like, this is indeed why they call it Black Friday.

Paul HarrisHost

2:28

It just sums up human beings.

Paul HarrisHost

2:30

[laughs] So people are finding... are trying to find happiness through consuming.

Paul HarrisHost

2:37

That's, that's the way a lot of people see the world.

ChristmasEntityFestival
97%6 mentions
BuddhismEntityReligion
90%6 mentions
Tom RobbinsPersonAmerican novelist
83%2 mentions
Winter solsticeEntityCelebration
77%4 mentions
Black FridayEntityHoliday
70%2 mentions
Kali YugaEntity
63%2 mentions
VishnuEntityDeity
57%2 mentions
Jiddu KrishnamurtiPersonIndian orator and writer
50%2 mentions
ChristianityEntityReligion
43%1 mention
JesusPersonReligious leader
37%2 mentions
HinduismEntityReligion
30%2 mentions
Spanish InquisitionOrganization
23%1 mention
PakistanCountryCountry in South Asia
17%1 mention
GodEntitySupreme being
10%1 mention
Compact discEntityMedia format
3%1 mention

Society
CultureSociety
Consumer CultureSociety > Culture
SpiritualityReligion
Religious EducationEducation
GenerosityPsychology > Human Behavior
MaterialismSociety > Culture > Consumer Culture
Teaching TraditionsEducation > Religious Education
Human BehaviorPsychology
Religion
Education
Psychology
SecularismReligion > Spirituality
ConsumerismReligion > Spirituality > Secularism
Crisis of BeliefReligion > Spirituality > Secularism > Consumerism
Happiness through ConsumptionSociety > Culture > Consumer Culture > Materialism
SelflessnessPsychology > Human Behavior > Generosity
Overcoming ObstaclesPsychology > Human Behavior > Generosity > Selflessness
Cultural KnowledgeEducation > Religious Education > Teaching Traditions
Loss of TraditionEducation > Religious Education > Teaching Traditions > Cultural Knowledge

Is Religion in Crisis?0:41 – 2:40

Paul HarrisHost

0:41

It's just like, can we, can we move on? Is religion in crisis? It seems like we're living in a far more secular world these days, doesn't it? Um, I'm reminded of a, a novel by the American author, Tom Robbins, and he has a character, Pan, the Greek god of the wild.

Paul HarrisHost

1:08

And in the novel, he's gradually disappearing to the very end.

Paul HarrisHost

1:13

There's nothing left of him.

Paul HarrisHost

1:14

He doesn't exist anymore.

Paul HarrisHost

1:16

The reason being that he owes his, his existence on people believing in him, and who believes in Pan these days? And I thought that was a very good point.

Paul HarrisHost

1:29

Is religion in crisis? Is-- Are we entering into a more godless age? Somebody reminded me or, or told me that a, a recent survey of five and six-year-olds discovered that a lot of them don't know what the nativity is because it's no longer being taught.

Paul HarrisHost

1:52

There are a lot of threats to what we might call traditional religious ways of viewing the world.

Paul HarrisHost

2:00

One of those threats is, uh, that we're living in a capitalist age.

Paul HarrisHost

2:06

There's a lot of consumerism.

Paul HarrisHost

2:09

I was thinking maybe we should stop calling it Christmas and start calling it Consumer Mass.

Paul HarrisHost

2:14

Anyone who witnessed any of the TV footage of Black Friday recently and the fighting over TV plasma screens and such like, this is indeed why they call it Black Friday.

Paul HarrisHost

2:28

It just sums up human beings.

Paul HarrisHost

2:30

[laughs] So people are finding... are trying to find happiness through consuming.

Paul HarrisHost

2:37

That's, that's the way a lot of people see the world.

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