The Numinous Podcast

This dispatch is a response to a lovely listener's question about how to avoid being bullied by those who respond to moral integrity with aggression. Note: Dispatch episodes are recorded extemporaneously during the morning feed of the horses, (Beau, Skaha, and Reverie). If background noises, or me sniffing, or scooping beet pulp pellets, or moving buckets around, or filling hay nets, or walking in mud are irritating sounds, these episodes may not be pleasurable for you. Please see your podcast player for transcript options! Learn more about the Lewis Method of Deep Democracy, a facilitation method that emerged in post-apartheid South Africa, aspiring to support social integration by getting to the root of harm, resentment, grievance, and vengeance in large collectives, communities and organizations. Myrna Lewis was was present and actively involved in holding space at the Civic Dialogue that Ruben and I attended. Here is a short video about the Civic Dialogue we attended that day. (Catch a glimpse of me and Ruben at 1:25, back row to the left of Sera, (speaker/co-facilitator), where our body language speaks volumes about how convinced we were that hope was the key driver of social/environmental change. 😂) The facilitator I speak of, the marvellous Aftab Erfan, has been on the podcast a couple of times. ✨ If you like the topic of this episode, you may find comfort and support in The Numinous Network, both the live calls such as Attachment Jams and Contact Nutrition Drop-Ins, as well as the on-demand video courses like Contact Nutrition 101, and Secure: The Magical Art and Subtle Science of Attachment.  

Note: If you don't like the background noise of feeding horses, (opening plastic bags, pouring water, stirring, packing hay nets in a metal bin, belaboured breathing), then Dispatches are not the episodes for you. Sorry! Please see your podcast player for transcript options. Here are my hot takes and broad strokes thinking on the Blake Lively v. Justin Baldoni, Jamie Heath, and Wayfarer Parties lawsuit, and how it intersects with: • avoidant attachment tendencies • profound shame • patriarchy, misogyny, and pick-up artist culture • contempt for religious minorities I also share what I know off the top of my head, and from personal experiences in my youth, about the Bahá'í faith. Please do your own research into Bahá'í principles and its founder, Bahá'u'lláh, for a more correct and precise accounting. Same with the Quakers: I meant what I said, I'm a bad Quaker and should not be trusted as a role model or information source! 😂 I have enjoyed this little book by anarchist-turned-Quaker-turned-professor-of-Quaker-practice, Ben Pink Dandelion, if you're seriously curious about understanding the diversity of Quaker faith and practice worldwide. To understand the fascinating legal maneuverings behind the Lively v. Baldoni case, I recommend the podcast Allegedly Golden podcast. ✨ Join us for Imbolc in The Numinous Network.

This dispatch covers some far-reaching terrain, from Clarissa Pinkola Estes to Luigi Mangione, from horse hoof trimming to the Harvard Law Review, from elderhood to eccentricity, imagination, and a triumphant orientation to life. Content Note: If you don't like the background noise of feeding horses, (opening plastic bags, pouring water, stirring, packing hay nets in a metal bin, belaboured breathing), then these are not the episodes for you. Sorry! Please see your podcast player for transcript options. Content Note 2: Mentions of political violence, state violence, sexual violence, and incarceration.   Referenced in this episode: How to be an Elder, by Clarissa Pinkola Estes (I believe this is the lecture I was referring to – it's been a literal decade since I listened but it's the only one in my audio library of hers that references elderhood, so I think this must be it!) The Dangerous Few: Taking Seriously Prison Abolition and its Skeptics, by Thomas Ward Frampton, Associate Professor, University of Virginia ✨ Join us in The Numinous Network for our Wheel of the Year observance for Imbolc on Sunday, Feb 1, 2026. We will be invoking the healing power of Brigid and her blessings, asking for her to make sacred our clooties (prayer cloth), a talismanic expression of Brigid's mantle. This simple ritual will feature an extended trance journey to receive Brigid's healing.  

Dispatch episodes are short and off the cuff, recorded while I'm doing horse chores. If sensory inputs like crunching hay, chewing animals, or occasionally laboured breathing and sniffles aggravate you, this episode may not be for you! Please see your podcast player for transcript options. In this episode, I talk about the deeply rooted defaults of Eldest Daughter Syndrome and how being heard and truly seen utterly breaks me. Referenced in this episode: TNP301 Muted by Maximalism: A Study in Power Analysis Not referenced, but related: TNP233 Understanding Moral Injury with Dr.Robyn Walser Follow me on Instagram for my Saturday meme train   Join us in The Numinous Network

Thoughts on William Morris, enshitification, and seeking friction. Correction: William Morris wallpaper was actually block printed, not silkscreened as I said in this episode. Seeing how it was produced actually made me cry, it's so beautiful and care-full. Watch how it was made!   Note: If you have certain sensory processing issues involving background noises like hay nets being stuffed, or horses chewing, or roosters crowing in the background, then my Dispatch episodes may not be to your liking. My apologies! Please consult your podcast player app for a transcript alternative.   Referenced in this Episode Morris & Co, UK William Morris and The Socialist League Some original block printed wallpapers and their backstories in the William Morris Gallery Arts and Crafts design elements from my old office in Victoria, BC The term "enshitification" was coined by Cory Doctorow Empire of AI, by Karen Hao Ben Affleck is sick of life   ✨   Learn more about The Numinous Network   ✨   Purchase my books: The Spirited Kitchen: Recipes and Rituals for the Wheel of the Year Spells for the Apocalypse: Practical Magic for Turbulent Times  

{Dispatch} I'm experimenting with a new, more candid format for shorter episodes called "dispatches" where I share the thoughts I have while I'm out feeding the horses. This is my first one! 🎉 I will try to make them 15 minutes or less. (Apologies in advance if they go longer because of my rambling thought trains.) They will be about current events and interpersonal issues...probably a lot of them will be about Contact Nutrition.   Content Note: If you don't like the background noise of feeding horses, (opening plastic bags, pouring water, stirring, packing hay nets in a metal bin, belaboured breathing), then these are not the episodes for you. Sorry! Please see your podcast player for transcript options.

Content warning: This episode is a story about a friendship breakup between two relatively privileged white women. It contains mentions of self-harm, suicidality, psychosis, sexual assault, and overdose. I have my child's and my husband's consent to discuss matters pertaining to them. Referenced in this episode The Left Is Eating Itself podcast episode with Maurice Mitchell Building Resilient Organizations: Toward Joy and Durable Power in Times of Crisis Interview with Maurice Mitchell in Convergence Magazine on Building Resilient Organizations Conflict is Not Abuse: Overstating Harm, Community Responsibility and the Duty of Repair, by Sarah Schulman Feminist Accountability: Disrupting Violence and Transforming Power, by Ann Russo Right Use of Power Institute SpringUp: Liberatory Education Fumbling Towards Repair: A Workbook for Community Accountability Facilitators, by Mariame Kaba and Shira Hassan Creative Interventions Toolkit: A Practical Guide to Stop Interpersonal Violence, by CreativeInterventions.Org community accountability recources from INCITE! White Supremacy Culture by Tema Okun National Queer and Trans Therapists of Color Network Suicide hotlines Crisis and Trauma Resource Institute Not Actually Golden on TikTok Little Girl Attorney on TikTok Attorney Britt on TikTok

Welcome to this fun and convenient replay of my Yuletide Miniseries! In this episode: Intentions and actions to live a values-led life in the coming year. On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century, Timothy Snyder Donate to the Amazon Labour Union Get involved in your local 4H Club in Canada or the US!   Buy The Spirited Kitchen: Recipes & Rituals for the Wheel of the Year (Everyday Animism, Folk Magic and Witchcraft) and Spells for the Apocalypse: Practical Magic for Turbulent Times   ✨ Join us in The Numinous Network ✨

Welcome to this fun and convenient replay of my Yuletide Miniseries! In this episode: Ritual ideas for crossing the threshold to the new year surrounded by allies and a sense of love and care. Buy The Spirited Kitchen: Recipes & Rituals for the Wheel of the Year (Everyday Animism, Folk Magic and Witchcraft) and Spells for the Apocalypse: Practical Magic for Turbulent Times   ✨ Join us in The Numinous Network ✨

Welcome to this fun and convenient replay of my Yuletide Miniseries! In this episode: Slowing down, attuning to the rhythm of grief, and remembering the Beloved Dead who died in the past year. Buy Aly Halpert's song or album, Loosen, on Bandcamp Buy The Spirited Kitchen: Recipes & Rituals for the Wheel of the Year (Everyday Animism, Folk Magic and Witchcraft) and Spells for the Apocalypse: Practical Magic for Turbulent Times   ✨ Join us in The Numinous Network ✨