The Mystic Cave

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The archetypal feminine can be many things--fierce, wily, nurturing, creative, and deeply rooted in the natural world. But Alanna Kaivalya regards two qualities in particular, intuition and emotion, at risk of being lost in the modern age, where women are expected to be strong and independent, like men. "The Satisfied Woman," she says, reclaims her feminine power in order to uniquely gift the world. 

Links and Resources

Alanna's book: "The Way of the Satisfied Woman: Reclaiming F...

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It's not about working a dream, about unpacking its symbols and wresting from it its cryptic meaning. It's about allowing the dream to work you, which is a very different thing. Mary Marsden is a nature-based soul guide, a personal mentor, and a dream worker. She helps dreamers to reenter the world of their dreams and experience the sensually soulful dreamscape that has been created by Mystery uniquely for them. Something will happen in such an encounter. It always does. 

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One thing that keeps people from exploring their spiritual path is fear of the dark. Not just darkness itself, but what darkness hides--ghosts, demons, spirits. The mere thought of such entities drives nascent seekers away before they even get started. But it needn't be that way. 

Jan Thompson, Jane Fleming, and Wade Prpich are spiritual guides who know the dark side, but who choose the light. In fact, each would say that the way we conquer our primal f...

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We don't tend to think of the corporate world as 'soulful.' But some companies realize that paying attention to social and environmental values, and not just to the bottom line, is good for the workers, good for the world, and, as it turns out, good for business as well. 

Sona Khosla is Chief Impact Officer for Benevity, a tech company that brings working people and worthy causes together. The "impact" Sona seeks applies equally to creating a h...

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How do we rekindle our love for the Earth? According to naturalist and eco-philosopher Lyanda Haupt, the smallest step does it. Her book, Rooted, is a compendium of such steps, from wandering barefoot in the woods to welcoming the mystery of animal "presence." The starting point is simply our curiosity and our willingness to take a step, no matter how small, in the direction of the natural world. 

Lyanda's Most Recent Book: "Rooted: Life at the Crossroads of S...

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To be alone in the world is a terrible thing, unless of course it is by choice. Especially for men, the heart may long for deep connection while all our social posturing creates the opposite--distance. When men discover deep friendship with other men it is a gift to be savoured and, in this instance, shared. 

Don McLeod, Barry Foster and I have met together for almost twenty-five years, dubbing ourselves, preposterously, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. We have n...

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Stories arrive on our TV screen daily, unbidden. We are momentarily entertained or diverted but rarely are we changed. The old stories, however, passed down from generation to generation, were meant to instruct us, to identify us with a tribe, and to change us.

Natalie Pepin, a Metis artist and cultural educator, and Tad Hargrave, a European-Canadian marketer and cultural explorer, both experienced the dearth of life-changing stories in our modern culture ... until they...

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Whatever Soul is, it's not tame. That's why we seek Soul in the wild places, where something locked away can be released and we can remember who we are and why we're here. That's also why we need an experienced guide to take us there, someone who knows the wild places of the human heart. Michelle Rigling is such a guide. Her Cavewoman Way group programs and one-on-one counselling invite the Wild Woman to appear in the lives of those...

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Positive karma makes the world a better place and lightens our load in both this life and the next. Negative karma harms the world and burdens us with destructive habits. Becoming conscious of the bad habits we accumulate is the first step toward making better choices, finding joy and liberation for ourselves, and becoming a positive force in the world. My guest Mordy Levine, the co-author of The Beginner's Guide to Karma, breaks it all down for us.

...

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Here's a seasonal offering of word and song that will warm your heart, whether it's Christmas you celebrate, the Winter Solstice, Festivus, or any of the many other culturally rich wintertime observances. As we turn inward at this time of year, we also turn back, longing for the comforts of a home that is lost to us now. For those of us with Celtic or Western European roots, Peia's music is deeply evocative of those ancestral roots long buried beneath...

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With every new war and with every new natural catastrophe, we are being driven to consider new ways of being human on this planet. This search is not new, but perhaps it's never been so critical. Celtic spiritual teacher John Philip Newell has collected nine prophetic voices in his latest book, The Great Search, to help awaken within us the realization that not only is the Earth sacred, so is the human soul. It's as inspiring a message as it...

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How many of us emerged from the last US presidential shaking our heads and saying,"There's gotta be a better way." There is, and there has always been. The Way of Council is the time-honoured method of gathering soulfully that doesn't leave the heart at the door. Psychotherapist and soul guide Peter Scanlan teaches this way, and he shares it with us in this rich conversation.

Resources
Peter's website: http://www.peterscanlan.com
The Animas Valley...

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Does religion have a role in "The Great Turning," where humanity is rediscovering what it means to be creatures of the earth? Or are its own wounds and divisions too deep to allow it to see beyond its protective walls? Sarah Arthurs is both an earth activist and a religious peacemaker. Her answer, depending on the day, may be: Yes; Not yet; or No. But hope says: Soon.

Links to Sarah's World
Green Exodus (the home of...

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The Indigenous culture that European colonizers encountered here in the New World, and then so brutally suppressed, is the very repository of wisdom we now need. Elizabeth Buller Page knows this personally. Deep into a midlife descent, Liz turned to her family's Indigenous roots to discover not only the healing she sought but the path she'd lost.

Resources
The book on Cree history and culture that Liz can't be without: The Plains Cree: An Ethnographic, Historical, and...

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Out here, on the far side of conventional religion, no path is more compelling than the one that leads us to know our natural place within the larger earth community. And there may be no better modern guide than Bill Plotkin, the author of four books on the subject and the founder of the Animas Valley Institute. The way is called "soul initiation," which is devastating to the ego but life-giving to the soul. And it just might help save...

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We dwell within a realm of spacious possibility; and it dwells within us. The mystic experiences this firsthand. So does any seeker alert to the subtle movements of the heart. Cynthia Bourgeault knows the territory well. She's lived it, and she's written about it. But, being human, she's also continuing to learn about it, sometimes by trial and error. Fortunately, our spiritual education is not completed in this lifetime.

Resources
Cynthia's Websites: https://wisdomwaypoints.org; https://wisdomwayofknowing...

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Soul has only one agenda--that we live into who we really are and offer our unique gifts in service to the world. Soul is less concerned about the obstacles that that may plant in our path. So, for rugged mountain guide Bruce Howatt, the call to finally show up in the world--as Julianna--must have felt like the greatest, most intimidating climb of all. And yet, here she is, inspiring the rest of us to discover and to assume our own...

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Intuition is our portal to knowing everything. What our rational mind doesn't know, and can't know, is available to us through those flashes of insight that solve problems, give us direction, and suggest meaning and purpose for our lives. Kim Chestney, author of The Illumination Code: 7 Keys to Unlock Your Quantum Intelligence, has spent her life trying to understand intuition and what it does. Only recently, with discoveries from the field of quantum physics, can we begin to answer the...

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By the time an author scores a major publishing deal they are usually beyond the reach of mere mortals. So, when it happens to a friend, there is a unique sense of privilege watching the process unfold from the inside. Such is the case with Jessica Waite, whose memoir, "The Widow's Guide to Dead Bastards" is poised for release this summer. In this episode Jessica and I explore the writing and publishing of her personal story, described as a "lyrical...

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So many writers hide their light under a bushel, thinking they don't deserve the term "writer." But writing groups can put the lie to that fear, coaxing us and our words out from hiding. The UnderStory Collective is the writing group I belong to. I invited them to the Cave to share the reassuring and emboldening benefits of having writerly friends.

Members of the UnderStory Collective
Suzanne Johnston, Allan Cooper, Jessica Waite, Anne Marie Nakagawa, Brian Pearson<...

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You can hear it in her voice. This is a woman who knows herself and her place in the universe. But fortunately for us, she believes that that place is to help others find their voice too. "Writing by Heart" is Meredith Heller's invitation to find the inner path to yourself ... through poetry. It's a book. But it's also a portal. And it's beckoning ...

Resources:
Meredith's latest book: Writing by Heart: A Poetry Path to Healing and...

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Psychedelics can show us what's beyond our ordinary consciousness. Meditation can help us to live day by day from that place. But in the end all practices fall short: the spiritual journey requires a letting go, not a holding on. Zen teacher Ryushin uses words only to point beyond those words ... to the actual peace and enlightenment we seek.

Resources relative to this conversation:
"Healing with Form, Energy and Light," by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche; Snow Lion (Shambhala...

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The Ordinary Reality we experience every day may not be the only reality there is. It may not even be the real one. Non-Ordinary Reality is a fantastical cosmos populated by Spirit Beings—plants, animals, and people—who are devoted to our health and wholeness. It's the job of shamans like Wade Prpich to travel to that world and seek the help of those Beings for the sake of our spiritual healing here in this one. For real!

Link...

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It's like we're walking around blindfolded. We feel we are alone in the universe while spirit guides hover close by, waiting for us to acknowledge them. We feel it all comes down to our wills and to our efforts while energy pours into our hearts from a cosmic Source. Reiki Master Jan Thompson knows those spiritual realms, relying upon them for the healing work she does. It makes her humbler than most, and wiser too. Because she knows we only...

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There's something encoded in our souls that seeks hope even in the face of hopelessness. That spark, that gene, that impossible dream is what allows us to discover new stories to replace the old ones and to usher in the new world we seek. Activist, storyteller, and writer Gareth Higgins, in his book, How Not to be Afraid, evokes the life-giving possibilities that are hidden within our fears.

Links to Gareth and his work
Gareth's book: How...

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Teresa Hanlon was doing ministry within her church long before she was ordained. But when she became a priest, her Church excommunicated her and inhibited her from doing the work she loved. Providentially, for her and the other women priests ordained within the Catholic tradition (if not in the Roman Catholic Church itself), it was not an ending. It was a beginning,  signalling perhaps the rebirth of Christianity itself ... with women at the table.

Acronyms & their links:
L...

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Everything we do reflects Soul. Because Soul is about what's inside. How we dress is one way we let our inner self out, to be seen. Barry Foster, known by some as "the best dressed man in church land," knows that our sartorial choices are so much more than fashion statements. They are about who we are.

Resources
"True Style: The History and Principles of Classic Menswear," by G. Bruce Boyer; Basic Books, 2015
"The Rake" magazine ("...

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Here's a song I wrote a few years ago that has become special to me. I often use it to close my performances of music and storytelling. This version is just a demo, meaning the song is still in development. But I wanted to share it with you as is, as a small gift at New Years. Enjoy!

Song Credit:
Music and lyrics by Brian E Pearson; recorded in The Mystic Cave studio
Double bass performed...

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Set in 1995, when people still smoked and few had cell phones, this retelling of the Christmas story imagines a young couple overwhelmed by circumstances larger than themselves and by a dark and inhospitable world seemingly incapable of welcoming their newborn. Until the city utility truck arrives, and then a carload of academics.

Story Credit: Written, performed, and produced by Brian E Pearson

Soundscape Credits:
Copenhagen Streetscape by iwilhelm13; Attribution Non-Commercial License 4.0
Old Station Wagon...

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After days, weeks, even years of preparation, each Vision Quester headed off for a three-day solo fast on a mountainside in Southwestern Colorado. Every experience was unique. But everyone had an experience, a Soul Encounter, that awakened us to our place in the Universe. Here, Vincenzo Falone and I tell our own stories of going solo.

Links to Vincenzo Falone
Personal and Group Mentoring: https://liveinfullexpression.com
The ManKind Project: https://mkpusa.org/crossroads/

...

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Eleven days camping on a Colorado mountainside, three of those days a solo fast, seeking an encounter with Nature that might grant us a vision of our mythopoetic identities, our unique place in the Universe: it would have been an ambitious undertaking for someone half our age. But somehow Vincenzo Falone, from New Jersey, and I, a Canadian from Alberta, felt drawn to be there, both of us in our late sixties (and one of us pushing seventy rather hard...

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A few gurus and spiritual leaders have given all the others a bad name. But yoga and meditation instructor Vickie MacArthur has a story to tell about Thich Nhat Hanh, the Vietnamese Zen Master, whose gaze was all it took to change her life, filling her with divine love. It's a story we may need to hear.

Vickie's book and web sites
"A Lotus on Fire: How a Buddhist Monk Ignited my Heart": https://a.co/d/4...

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We might deny it, but we're all creative. We might not make a painting, but we might make a garden or a business or a home. Visual artist Jan Handy speaks with me about the challenges and the joys of following our Muse. It's everyone's calling.

Resources
Jan's email address: jajhandy@gmail.com
Books mentioned in our conversation:
"The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity," by Julia Cameron; Jeremy P. Tarcher / Random House; 1992, 2002, 2016<...

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Is our spirituality shaped by our sexuality? Or are we shaped more by the social constructs of that sexuality? Counselling psychologist and professor emeritus Kevin Alderson has spent his career specializing in LGBTQ+ issues and helping people to accept themselves, whatever their sexuality. Only when we love ourselves can we learn how to be "givers" rather than "takers" and become the people we are capable of being.

About Kevin:
Most recent book: Counselling Today: Bridging Art, Science...

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What if our place in the Universe isn't a job, or a role, or anything the world might recognize as useful? What if it's more subtle and more fundamental than how the world sees us? What would that look like? And how would we even know if we'd found it? Celia McBride's memoir, O My God: An Un-becoming Journey, explores this territory as she shares the story of her passionate desire to become a nun, only to have Soul lead...

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Jesus told a parable about a wealthy man who increased his holdings and expanded his storage facilities for all his goods, until the day came when he was informed that his soul was required of him. Would that he had cared for his soul before it was taken away.

James Hollis has been counselling, writing, and teaching for over fifty years. His acquired wisdom is simple, which doesn't mean it's easy: get to know your soul ... before it...

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Prophets don't call themselves prophets. They speak their words or write their books until people start to notice. Then they may open a wisdom school or create magical live events or succumb to interviews with podcasters.

All this describes Stephen Jenkinson. When he writes, or speaks, or performs, you feel your world opening up, shifting, changing. You'd be hard pressed to describe exactly what's happening. But something is happening. And that something was captured in our recent conversation. <...

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Out here on the far side of conventional religion it is important that the seeker find a few guideposts. Otherwise the open landscape can feel overwhelming. Thomas Moore has been a seeker's lodestar for over thirty years, ever since he reintroduced us to the language of “Soul” in his best-selling book, “Care of the Soul.”

His new book, "The Eloquence of Silence," gathers stories from around the globe and from across the spectrum of religious traditions to explore the spir...

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Darold Black loves people and he loves pictures. So it's no surprise that our conversation about wisdom turned into personal stories about life. Wisdom doesn't come to us as lofty ideas. It comes to us as images from the heart.

Darold is working on a documentary series called "E5," an attempt to capture the wisdom of elders on film. It's not a gathering of wise sayings in twenty-second media clips. It's storytelling, where the seeds of wisdom have...

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Some would prefer to say spiritual "companionship" rather than "direction," and that would probably be more accurate. Because it's not about directing anyone anywhere, except, that is, to pay attention to the subtle movements within your own heart and soul. And that's what spiritual directors do.

My guest on this episode is Lois Huey-Heck, a seasoned spiritual director whose natural bent for compassion, whose aptitude for the ways of Soul, and whose deep experience and training coalesce to...