The Numinous Podcast

TNP126 Controlled Remote Viewing with Lori Lambert Williams

I'm thrilled to be speaking with Lori Lambert Williams today about Controlled Remote Viewing – a protocol to access the subconscious and determine information about any location, person, or thing anywhere at any time. Remote Viewing is a technique commonly associated with intuition, but actually has its military roots both in Russia and the US. Much research around Remote Viewing has been funded by the Pentagon and developed by the Stanford Research Institute. Lori has been a professional remote viewer and teacher since 1996. Her classes and trainings are available online at intuitivespecialists.com  

TNP125 Stephanie Papik on Inuit Tattoos and Cultural Reclamation

Stephanie Papik is an indigenous Inuit woman, experienced facilitator and program manager, current Director of Indigenous Relations and stakeholder Engagement for a division of the government of British columbia, as well as fibre artist and entrepreneur. What strikes many people upon first meeting Stephanie, probably second after her big warm smile, are her beautiful facial tattoos. I was so pleased she agreed to come on the show and talk about what these tattoos mean to her and to her Inuit culture. Check out the show notes at carmenspagnola.com for links to all the resources mentioned in this episode.

TNP124 Elizabeth Brown on Dowsing + Causative Diagnosis for Optimal Health 2

Elizabeth Brown is a master dowser and author of DOWSING: The Ultimate Guide For The 21st Century. Her storied career includes the co-founding and running of a geopathic stress consultancy, she has studied with two former presidents of the British Society of dowsers, and has trained in remote viewing and more. Plus, she comes from a family lineage of water dowsers. In this episode, Elizabeth helps us understand the history and science behind dowsing including the sometimes surprising involvement of the Catholic Church. We discuss whether pendulums are as effective as rods, and the importance of finding your niche as a dowser. (We can't all be experts at everything, right?) She also explains what a session with her entails and helps me get a sense of what's affecting my nasal congestion.

TNP123 Sarah Kerr on Being a Death Doula and Coping With Loss When a Pet or Plant Friend Dies

Sarah Kerr is a death doula and ritual healing practitioner. She work with dying people and their families, as well as families navigating the death of a pet, and also lectures and teaches about death care and the healing power of ritual. Sarah perviously appeared on the podcast in episode 98: Priestess, Shaman, Mystic Scapegoat. The most incredible thing happened during the taping of this episode. Precisely what I was asking Sarah advice around happened...to her. This episode is dedicated to Sarah's deceased cat, Luna, and all those who are suffering grief over the death of a beloved animal, or tree friend, or natural landscape. Sarah generously wrote about her experience on her blog. In this episode, we talk about the nuts and bolts of dying well, (are there things you should or shouldn't say to a dying person?), being a death doula (how do you manage your energy being in such intense environments?), and ways to honour the death of animals and trees.  

TNP121- Alexandra Stein on Disorganized Attachment in Cults Totalitarian Regimes

How do you know if you're in a cult? And, how does an open society confront propaganda, brainwashing, and the rise of fascism? That's the undercurrent of this conversation with noted cultic studies expert, Alexandra Stein, PhD. Alexandra Stein is a writer and educator specializing in the social psychology of ideological extremism and other dangerous social relationships. She brings an extraordinary lens to cultic studies with her attachment-based approach, which helps us understand how an average person – privileged and educated, even – can fall under the influence of a high-demand group.  

TNP122 Pashta MaryMoon on Accompanying the Dying Hospice Singing and Preparing for our Death

Pashta MaryMoon is a death doula, a Wiccan, a Quaker, and a longtime fan of Jesus. In fact, before we get to our conversation on death and dying, Pashta gives us a revealing tour of her early spirituality – a syncretic blend of earthy paganism, deep devotional relationship with Jesus as brother/lover/son, kinship with Mary Magdalene, and Wiccan god/goddess themes. To say she's a singular presence is understatement. Pashta has been a compassionate radical her whole life. She is a longtime grassroots organizer including anti-nuclear activism in the '80s, and frontline support worker during the HIV/AIDS crisis in the '90s, with a current focus on death care alternatives in Canada.

TNP120 Tiffany Joseph on Adaptation

I'm delighted to welcome back to the podcast, Tiffany Śwxeloselwet Joseph, to talk adapting to catastrophic collapse. Tiffany tells us stories about bees, salmon, orcas and humans, and her main strategy for collapse resilience: cultivating beauty inside and out. Go here to read and share the story of SEMSEMÍYA    Learn more about Tiffany and how you can work with her or invite her to your gathering.

TNP119 John Michael Greer on the Long Descent

Welcome back to the show for the sixth time, peak oil expert and author, John Michael Greer. In this episode, we're celebrating the tenth anniversary of John's seminal book, The Long Descent: A User's Guide To The End Of The Industrial Age.  John explains the concept of Catabolic Collapse, why apocalypse scenarios are problematic and the hopium of political will and green utopias just as much so. I ask him about useful viable professions in collapse scenarios and how to choose where to live. Finally, John gives us three steps for personal preparation to face the deindustrial age. Read the full article: Peak Oil Advice From German Poets

TNP118 Patti Elledge on the Neurobiology of Attachment, Grieving Together, and Mobilizing Outrage

Patti Elledge is a Trauma Healing Specialist and Somatic Experiencing Practitioner with a private practice in Asheville, NC. She's my supervisor and mentor and I'm here to tell the world: I love her and I think everyone should have more Patti in their life. I want that for you. You deserve some Patti. In this conversation, Patti explains what Attachment is, what different Attachment styles look like in babies and how that translates in adulthood, the role of Evolutionary Biology in our Attachment systems, and how we can heal attachment wounds in a world of persistent precarity, climate change, and social turmoil. I particularly enjoyed hearing Patti's thoughts on grief, rage, and how Attachment shows up in our spiritual lives. Here are the resources Patti noted in this interview: Mary Main Mary Ainsworth John Bowlby Joanna Macy Peter Levine and Somatic Experiencing Stephen Porges and the Polyvagal System (YouTube) Allan Schore and the Good Enough Mother Portrait Of A Marriage: Yes, It's Mine (the article mentioned that I wrote) Learning To See In The Dark Amid Catastrophe: An Interview With Deep Ecologist Joanna Macy Patti specializes in somatic healing techniques via organic, instinctual ways of the body and psyche, allowing for more connection with self and other and the emergence of creativity and spirituality. Patti credits her training by Peter Levine, Diane Poole Heller and Raja Selvam.  She has assisted more than 40 trainings worldwide and now teaches Diane Poole Heller's pioneering work DARe, (Dynamic Attachment Re-Patterning Experience). Patti has specialized in therapeutic application of neuroscience for 40 years and has a broad background in early development (interpersonal, social/emotional, language and cognition), sensory processing disorders, self- and co-regulatory processes and the neurobiology of stress and trauma. While Patti's work is grounded in current day research on the neurobiology and physiology of the human stress mechanism, it is also infused with embodied intuition and a compassionate heart. You can reach Patti at: www.pattiatlarge.blogspot.com https://dianepooleheller.com/teachersproviders/ https://sepractitioner.membergrove.com/member-details.php?id=1388

TNP117 Monique Gray Smith on the What Why How of Territorial Acknowledgements

My guest today is author, speaker and consultant, Monique Gary Smith. We're talking about Territorial Acknowledgements, a small act of Reconciliation that is spreading beyond the borders of our province and country. When I committed a few years ago to incorporating acts of Reconciliation into my personal and professional life, I began inviting elders (of all ages) to open all of my retreats and workshops with a Territorial Acknowledgement. When I was invited to give a speech, or lead a networking event, or any kind of circle, I would also verbally acknowledged the traditional occupants of the territory, wherever I went. And if I travelled outside of my region to go on Quest or a spiritual retreat, I would reach out to the local band or tribal office to find out more about the land and the ancestors from that place. But I only learned how to do this because my friend, Monique, guided and re-directed me again and again. In this episode, Monique shares some ideas for how any person wanting to incorporate this small act of Reconciliation into their life or work might begin in a good way. MoniqueGraySmith.com Truth And Reconciliation Commission Of Canada: 94 Calls To Action

TNP116 Matthew Remski on Attachment High Demand Communities and Yogas Culture Of Abuse 1

In this episode, I'm thrilled to talk with Matthew Remski about how one finds oneself in a cult, how to get out, and what high demand groups have to do with social justice, climate change and collapse. Matthew is a writer and cultural critic who published an explosive article in The Walrus called, Yoga's Culture Of Sexual Abuse: Nine Women Tell Their Stories. Since then, I've followed Matthew and especially appreciated his real-time critique of the unravelling of the Shambala meditation community. Resources cited in this episode include: Alexandra Mann, Terror, Love and Brainwashing: Attachment In cults And Totalitarian Systems Dr.Cathleen Mann Steven Hassan Dr.Michael Langone This Is Not your Practice Life  

TNP115 Solara Goldwynn on Edible Landscapes Sustainability Climate Dread

My guest today is gardener, landscape designer, teacher of permaculture, and business owner, Solara Goldwynn of Hatchet & Seed. Known for bringing lush, edible landscapes to forgotten private corners and under-used public spaces, Solara is not only a champion of sustainable values but I consider her a strong role model. But I also know that folks who live with such conviction also shoulder more emotional burden than most; I wanted to know how she copes with her own eco-grief and climate anxiety. We talk about her work, what she thinks the future of the planet will look like when her daughter grows up, reconciling with having children in an age of overpopulation, and how she seeks joy in spite of these dire times. For eco-inspiration, follow Solara and Hatchet & Seed on Instagram.

TNP114 Jessie Hemphill on Indigenizing Urban Design Collapse Awareness

I'm delighted to welcome Jessie Hemphill back to the show to talk about Indigenizing Urban Design and also what we can learn about collapse and crisis preparedness from an Indigenous perspective. I'm so excited that Jessie is attending our retreat, Ritual + Practice For Urban Homestead this fall because we are both pretty serious peppers and like to talk shop about our emergency preparedness plans and kits. To learn more about Jessie's work in Comprehensive Community Planning, and to read her Master's Thesis summary, visit: alderhill.ca To learn more about our Hollyhock retreat, visit our event page.

TNP112 Tending The Threshold with Holly Truhlar

Tending The Threshold is an event happening in Ashland, Oregon, on May 26 and 27th, 2018. Tickets can information can be found at tendingthethreshold.com It is a gathering of Change-makers, Bridge builders and Edge Dwellers, with no agenda other than to practice being together, and to learn how to take care of each other and the world, in these challenging times. The container at this un-conference will be held by a group of ten co-facilitators from three countries and many walks of life. The group includes: Poet and spoken word artist, Tannur Ali Conflict Engagement and Resolution practitioner, Aftab Erfan Equity and Inclusion Consultant, Desiree Adaway Clinical Psychologist and Author, Bayo Akomolafe Social Entrepreneur, Donnie Maclurcan Artist and Death Doula, Rachael Rice Educator, facilitator and Indigenous rights activist, Aaron Ortega Videographer and artist, Bec Stupak Therapist, ritualist and conference founder, Holly Truhlar And myself, Carmen Spagnola. *** Holly Truhlar, MA, JD, is a grief practitioner, ritualist, and community builder. She has a Masters degree in Transpersonal Counseling Psychology from Naropa University and a law degree from the University of Denver. Combining her experience in justice work and relational psychology, she created an intellectual, emotional, sociological, and spiritual approach to activism called Radical Attunement Work (RAW). Her writing and workshops dance with the topics of planetary grief, cultural trauma, oppression and inequality, restructuring power, environmental justice, conscious collapse, and subversion of the dominant system. She's deeply committed to transforming our culture of exploitation into communities of care. http://hollytruhlar.com

TNP111 Tending The Threshold with Bayo Akomolafe

Tending The Threshold is an event happening in Ashland, Oregon, on May 26 and 27th, 2018. Tickets can information can be found at tendingthethreshold.com It is a gathering of Change-makers, Bridge builders and Edge Dwellers, with no agenda other than to practice being together, and to learn how to take care of each other and the world, in these challenging times. The container at this un-conference will be held by a group of ten co-facilitators from three countries and many walks of life. The group includes: Poet and spoken word artist, Tannur Ali Conflict Engagement and Resolution practitioner, Aftab Erfan Equity and Inclusion Consultant, Desiree Adaway Clinical Psychologist and Author, Bayo Akomolafe Social Entrepreneur, Donnie Maclurcan Artist and Death Doula, Rachael Rice Educator, facilitator and Indigenous rights activist, Aaron Ortega Videographer and artist, Bec Stupak Therapist, ritualist and conference founder, Holly Truhlar And myself, Carmen Spagnola. *** Bayo Akomolafe (Ph.D.) is a renegade academic, lecturer, speaker, and proud diaper-changer. Bayo curates an earth-wide organization, The Emergence Network, for the re-calibration of our ability to respond to the civilizational crisis--a project framed within a feminist ethos and inspired by indigenous cosmologies. He considers this a shared art--exploring the edges of the intelligible, dancing with posthumanist ideas, and dabbling in the mysteries of quantum mechanics. In short, Bayo has given up his longing for the "end-time" and is learning to live in the "mean time." In the middle, where we must live with confusion and make do with partial answers. He speaks and teaches about his experiences around the world, and then returns to his adopted home in Chennai, India - "where the occasional whiff of cow dung dancing in the air is another invitation to explore the vitality of a world that is never still and always surprising." Bayo has authored two books, ‘We Will Tell Our Own Story!’ and ‘These Wilds Beyond our Fences: Letters to My Daughter on Humanity’s Search for Home.’  http://bayoakomolafe.net

TNP110 Tending The Threshold With Desiree Adaway

Tending The Threshold is an event happening in Ashland, Oregon, on May 26 and 27th, 2018. Tickets can information can be found at tendingthethreshold.com It is a gathering of Change-makers, Bridge builders and Edge Dwellers, with no agenda other than to practice being together, and to learn how to take care of each other and the world, in these challenging times. The container at this un-conference will be held by a group of ten co-facilitators from three countries and many walks of life. The group includes: Poet and spoken word artist, Tannur Ali Conflict Engagement and Resolution practitioner, Aftab Erfan Equity and Inclusion Consultant, Desiree Adaway Clinical Psychologist and Author, Bayo Akomolafe Social Entrepreneur, Donnie Maclurcan Artist and Death Doula, Rachael Rice Educator, facilitator and Indigenous rights activist, Aaron Ortega Videographer and artist, Bec Stupak Therapist, ritualist and conference founder, Holly Truhlar And myself, Carmen Spagnola. ***   Desiree Adaway is a Principal of The Adaway Group, a minority and woman owned consulting firm that brings together multi-racial teams to work on projects related to racial equity and social justice. With over 20 years experience creating, leading and managing international, multicultural teams through major organizational changes in over 40 countries, she is uniquely qualified to partner with talented leaders to successfully navigate through integrations, reorganizations, and all stages of organizational evolution. She works from an intersectional perspective, which believes that organizations thrive when they build cultures that are inclusive of wide ranging ethnic, racial, gender, sexual, religious, and national identities and abilities. http://desireeadaway.com

TNP109 Tending The Threshold with Rachael Rice and Bec Stupak

Tending The Threshold is an event happening in Ashland, Oregon, on May 26 and 27th, 2018. Tickets can information can be found at tendingthethreshold.com It is a gathering of Change-makers, Bridge builders and Edge Dwellers, with no agenda other than to practice being together, and to learn how to take care of each other and the world, in these challenging times. The container at this un-conference will be held by a group of ten co-facilitators from three countries and many walks of life. The group includes: Poet and spoken word artist, Tannur Ali Conflict Engagement and Resolution practitioner, Aftab Erfan Equity and Inclusion Consultant, Desiree Adaway Clinical Psychologist and Author, Bayo Akomolafe Social Entrepreneur, Donnie Maclurcan Artist and Death Doula, Rachael Rice Educator, facilitator and Indigenous rights activist, Aaron Ortega Videographer and artist, Bec Stupak Therapist, ritualist and conference founder, Holly Truhlar And myself, Carmen Spagnola. ***   Rachael Rice is a full-time artist, musician, writer, educator and death doula. Her work lies at the crossroads of grief, radical togetherness, creative expression, death, learning, and magic. Her background is in critical pedagogy and constructivist theory where she specialized in differentiated instruction and educating for democracy with concentrations in Art and English. She spent over 20 years in the classroom as a certified, licensed public school art teacher, as well as in after-school and out-of-school community-based arts programs that serve primarily at-risk youth, folks with disabilities and low-income communities. She also worked in the social enterprise non-profit startup world implementing systems to support communities our current systems have failed.  http://rachaelrice.com   Bec Stupak is an artist, musician and videographer who's work is based on visioning, magic, ritual and ecstatic play. Her focus has been on depicting liminal spaces and transporting the viewer into the non-ordinary through the experience of her work. She was a Deitch Projects artist, exhibited at the Whitney Biennial and has been a primary member of the Joshua Light Show. Most recently she has been exploring expressions of gratitude and the experience of ceremony through a series of drawings that are transformed into wearable prayers. http://www.becstupak.com

TNP108 Tending The Threshold with Donnie Maclurcan

Tending The Threshold is an event happening in Ashland, Oregon, on May 26 and 27th, 2018. Tickets can information can be found at tendingthethreshold.com It is a gathering of Change-makers, Bridge builders and Edge Dwellers, with no agenda other than to practice being together, and to learn how to take care of each other and the world, in these challenging times. The container at this un-conference will be held by a group of ten co-facilitators from three countries and many walks of life. The group includes: Poet and spoken word artist, Tannur Ali Conflict Engagement and Resolution practitioner, Aftab Erfan Equity and Inclusion Consultant, Desiree Adaway Clinical Psychologist and Author, Bayo Akomolafe Social Entrepreneur, Donnie Maclurcan Artist and Death Doula, Rachael Rice Educator, facilitator and Indigenous rights activist, Aaron Ortega Videographer and artist, Bec Stupak Therapist, ritualist and conference founder, Holly Truhlar And myself, Carmen Spagnola. *** Donnie Maclurcan, PhD, is an author and social entrepreneur. He is passionate about all things not-for-profit. Originally from Australia, he moved to the U.S. in 2013, from where he runs the Post Growth Institute, exploring how we accelerate the shift to a thriving, prosperous society within ecological limits. As a consultant, Donnie has helped more than 400 not-for-profit projects start, scale and sustain their work, while his own initiatives include developing: Free Money Day, the Post Growth Alliance, the (En)Rich List, the Offers and Needs Market process, Cascades Hub, and Project Australia. Affiliate Professor of Social Science at Southern Oregon University, Donnie holds a Ph.D. in social science, with his research having explored nanotechnology’s implications for global inequality. He is currently completing his third book: How on Earth: Our future is not for profit. https://www.postgrowth.org

TNP107 Tending The Threshold with Aaron Ortega

Tending The Threshold is an event happening in Ashland, Oregon, on May 26 and 27th, 2018. Tickets can information can be found at tendingthethreshold.com It is a gathering of Change-makers, Bridge builders and Edge Dwellers, with no agenda other than to practice being together, and to learn how to take care of each other and the world, in these challenging times. The container at this un-conference will be held by a group of ten co-facilitators from three countries and many walks of life. The group includes: Poet and spoken word artist, Tannur Ali Conflict Engagement and Resolution practitioner, Aftab Erfan Equity and Inclusion Consultant, Desiree Adaway Clinical Psychologist and Author, Bayo Akomolafe Social Entrepreneur, Donnie Maclurcan Artist and Death Doula, Rachael Rice Educator, facilitator and Indigenous rights activist, Aaron Ortega Videographer and artist, Bec Stupak Therapist, ritualist and conference founder, Holly Truhlar And myself, Carmen Spagnola. *** Aaron Ortega is a Pacific Northwest Native who has spent 25 years facilitating educational and experiential forums for the reclamation, preservation, and integration of Indigenous insights. Ortega is one of the founding members of 'Inside Circle', the recent subject of the award winning documentary 'The Work', a film about the benefits of skilled confrontational inquiry for men within a maximum security prison. Aaron co-created cross-cultural rites of passage with Dallas Chief Eagle for the 'All Nations Training Center.' Recently, he has been offering consultations, special one-day events, and a two day 'movement' course for Women, 'Way of the Luminous Warrior'. He lives in Southern Oregon.

TNP106 Tending The Threshold with Aftab Erfan

Tending The Threshold is an event happening in Ashland, Oregon, on May 26 and 27th, 2018. Tickets can information can be found at tendingthethreshold.com It is a gathering of Change-makers, Bridge builders and Edge Dwellers, with no agenda other than to practice being together, and to learn how to take care of each other and the world, in these challenging times. The container at this un-conference will be held by a group of ten co-facilitators from three countries and many walks of life. The group includes: Poet and spoken word artist, Tannur Ali Conflict Engagement and Resolution practitioner, Aftab Erfan Equity and Inclusion Consultant, Desiree Adaway Clinical Psychologist and Author, Bayo Akomolafe Social Entrepreneur, Donnie Maclurcan Artist and Death Doula, Rachael Rice Educator, facilitator and Indigenous rights activist, Aaron Ortega Videographer and artist, Bec Stupak Therapist, ritualist and conference founder, Holly Truhlar And myself, Carmen Spagnola. *** Aftab Erfan, PhD,  is a scholar-practitioner working in the areas of community engagement, conflict resolution, strategic planning, intercultural diversity, and leadership development for social transformation. Her facilitation approach is based in various methodologies including Deep Democracy, the Art of Hosting and Harvesting, Theory U, Action Inquiry and the Expressive Arts field. She is often called in as a facilitator when there is a large degree of complexity, when there are divisive issues within a group, or when a group simply needs help to connect on a deeper level. She has facilitated large group decision-making and conflict resolution in high-stakes situations, including in the Middle East. http://wholepicturethinking.com