The Numinous Podcast

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.

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

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. *** Tannur “Shewrightz” Ali is the emcee and story weaver for our conference. She's a poet, workshop facilitator and vessel of divine flow. She has been featured in every region of the country, as well as in Europe, stunning audiences with the insightful power of her words and voice. Tannur’s "Dancing Between Realms National Tour" visited 25 cities throughout the U.S. during 2016-17. The tour came on the heels of her winning the 2016 International Poetry Slam in Bled, Slovenia. A prolific writer and relationship-builder, Tannur uses her poetry and poetic spirit as a force for engaging creative energy and power, and as a rallying cry to build artistic and civic community. https://www.shewrightz.com *** https://tendingthethreshold.com

I’m delighted to share with you this vibrant, passionate and also at times very tender conversation I had with Danielle Prohom Olson of Gather. Danielle is a wildcrafter and herbalist, and Gather is her creative collaboration with Jennifer Aikman, where they teach, write, and host events dedicated to ancestral foods, magical cookery and seasonal celebrations. Thousands of people around the world follow and appreciate their work through their website and newsletter, as well as their Patreon and Facebook accounts. But for me, what really comes through their work, is that Gather is about more than just events and recipes and articles. Check out Danielle's essay, The Magical Herstory of Food.

This is a long-overdue episode. Two of my city's most interesting residents live right next door and we've finally had a chance to sit down for a proper interview.   An artist and mother, Beth Threlfall is a black cord priestess with Thirteenth House Mystery School in Victoria BC. She works hard to bring her art into the world on a day-to-day basis: believing that art is a way of living — not a thing to do — has helped her experience community through her artistic practice. She is also a children’s art instructor with the non-profit organization ArtsReach, and works with the Pandora Arts Collective in her home community of Fernwood. Beth is best known as the originator of Fernwood’s famous Pole Painting Project, which she started back in 2008 and has not only transformed the look and feel of the streets in her neighbourhood but has also inspired residents to artistically engage with and participate in their local surroundings.    A practicing witch since his initiation in 1986, John Threlfall is a black cord priest with Thirteenth House Mystery School. A freelance writer for nearly 30 years, John has had a typically eclectic career—including working as a stage manager, wedding DJ, technical director for a haunted Gold Rush theatre, co-host of a motorcycle TV show, four seasons as the on-air "walking encyclopedia of popular culture" for CBC Radio's Definitely Not the Opera, and 12 years as a staff writer for Monday Magazine, where he ultimately wound up being Editor-in-Chief. He’s currently the Special Projects and Communications Officer for the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Victoria, and has been teaching with UVic’s Department of Writing since 2006.    Thirteenth House Mystery School is one of the Victoria's oldest and largest covens. Started in 1993, Thirteenth House has also been running introductory public classes in the practice of witchcraft since 1998.

Sarah Selecky is the author of This Cake Is for The Party, a finalist for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, arguably Canada's highest literary award. The New York Times called her stories "utterly fascinating". Sarah is also the founder of the Sarah Selecky Writing School. I've always loved its tag line, Write what you want to read. I have to say, though, that I'm quite taken aback that Sarahs new novel, Radiant Shimmering Light, is exactly what I want to read. I couldn't put it down! I devoured it in two sittings stopping only to sleep. I was absolutely taken in by the story, the characters, the details and the familiarity of this work. This world is so familiar to me that when the scenes weren't totally cracking me up, it was because they were making me really uncomfortable. Radiant Shimmering Light is going to be found in the Womens Literature section of your local bookstore, what is often called ChickLit. For the past fifteen years I have read almost exclusively works of non-fiction. And I rarely wander the shelves of the bookstore looking for feel-good beach reads. But if you listen to this podcast, you need to buy this book. Sarah wrote this book for us. She gets us. She's one of us. She has written what we want to read, a story about us. Find out all about Sarah's work at sarahselecky.com

Let's talk about talking to plants. Like, really being in relationship with the plant realm. My guest today is Layla Kristy Feghali, of River Rose Apothecary. I was drawn to seek out Layla as a guest because of her beautifully soft, gentle, and sweet relationship with plants and in particular, one of my favourites, roses.

Holy moly! One hundred episodes. I am indulging quite a bit with this episode; I offer you nothing new here except some tasty cocktail recipes. The recording quality here may be unrefined but the beverage pairings are exquisite! This is me and Ruben reminiscing, sharing some of our favourite episodes from a behind-the-scenes perspective and pairing them with cocktail recipes inspired by the guest or interview content. In this episode, we refer to our upcoming workshop at Hollyhock, Ritual + Practice For The Urban Homestead. We hadn't planned to promote that retreat so much but the topics in several of our favourite episodes are quite complementary so it makes sense that we'd naturally bring that up. Maybe we'll connect with some listeners there in real life!  

Yes, Monsters. Today's topic is on the fringe of the mainstream which is ironic considering so many people have ghost stories and tales of strange and bewildering encounters with mysterious phenomena. I'm speaking again with John Michael Greer, digging a little deeper into his best selling book, Monsters: An Investigator's Guide To Magical Beings. Once again, John goes above and beyond to provide additional resources and source materials: The Mothman Prophecies Michelle Belanger - psychic vampire The Doctrine And Ritual Of High Magic: A New Translation, by John Michael Greer and Mark Anthony Mikituk The Secret Commonwealth: An Essay On The Nature And Actions Of The Subterranean (And For The Most Part) Invisible People Heretofore Going Under The Name Of Elves, Fauns And Fairies The Kybalion, by William Walker Atkinson

Sarah Kerr, PhD, is a death doula and ritual healing practitioner. I've connected with Sarah and her work a number of times and was keen to follow up with her regarding a lecture she gave on the Shamanic Archetype, (part of a series, and just one of many resources she offers on contemporary archetypal shamanism). In this conversation, I ask Sarah to explain the difference between The Priest/ess, The Shaman, and The Psychopomp as archetypes. (We also toss The Mystic in there for good measure). We consider the implications of being white women doing work that is often called "shamanic", and share our different perspectives and comfort levels around that. (It's a site of struggle for each of us in our own way). I also dig a little into a section of Sarah's dissertation, Dreams, Ritual and the Creation of Sacred Objects: An Inquiry Into A Contemporary Western Shamanic Initiation. It's a worthwhile read and this part of our dialogue will appeal to those who've long walked between the worlds but didn't know what to do about it, or have had spontaneous initiation experiences and few places to turn for support. We talk specifically about how the Shamanic Archetype is often scapegoated by society, and how one way to heal through the Journey of the Walkaway is to choose to Return as Teacher/Interpreter. Finally, Sarah shares a bit about her own initiation ritual and some personal parts that felt powerful for her. Some good ideas in there for those of us who adore that sort of thing. If you're in the Calgary area and you'd like to work with Sarah more closely on an on-going basis, you might want to check out the Calgary Community Healers' Council.