The Numinous Podcast

Leesa Renee Hall is a speaker, writer and tech industry veteran. I first became aware of Leesa's work when she introduced me to the notion of the "Like" fast and social media algorithms that are inherently racist. But I was fascinated when I learned she has been the organist at hundreds of funerals. In this conversation, we begin with sharing about our ancestry and some of the genealogy research we've done. We learn about Leesa's early experiences in church and how she became an organist. We discover her approach to curious inquiry and expressive writing (Why at 4:30am specifically?) and we drift into a discussion of white fragility. Be part of Leesa's Patreon community and find her excellent Writing Prompts for White Fragility.

In this episode, we're talking with popular guest, John Michael Greer, about his book, The Secret of the Temple: Earth Energies, Sacred Geometry, and the Lost Keys of Freemasonry. He explains how ancient temples around the world and from different eras are actually forms of technology that affect agricultural fertility and bind human communities in a material way with the larger forces of nature. Our conversation tours history and humanity, stopping off to look at the Temple of Solomon, the Freemasons, and his take on the two shapes of time. John also expands the function and importance of bread, blood, chanting and incense as related to temple technology. Once again, a conversation that is both broad and deep. Find all of John's 40+ books (!) here, and his essays here.

Ashley asks some great questions and Patricia (who's a veteran attending her second Quest this spring) dishes on the details. We talk about our daily agenda over the twelve days, how and why I chose this specific location for Questing, and what it's like to be on this kind of journey with my husband, Ruben, and me. Ashley asks me, How can someone know if it's time for them to go on Quest? and Why is it important to leave our familiar world to go do this soul craft work in the natural world? I go beyond the obvious answers. (It's not always because you're in transition.) Quest is happening from June 19 - July 1, 2018. Deposits are due April 1. Learn all about Quest here.

Rachael Maddox is a trauma resolution educator, coach and guide. In this conversation, she shares with us her Map of Reclamation and a generous amount of psychobiological and theoretical information about what trauma really is. Rachael generously and gently takes us through 7 core trauma wounds, what the hyper- and hypo-araoused responses (ie: inner escalation or collapse) can look like, what a more regulated (grounded, calm, empowered) response might feel like, and how we can find our way back to health and wholeness. It's an excellent overview and there's so much value offered here in her model. Rachael includes Digital Isolation as a core trauma for our age and we explore the notion of re-villaging as one potential antidote. Naturally, since we're talking about trauma in general, it's very common to have specific, personal examples come to mind – likely some part of this will be very relatable for most people. Remember to go slow: it takes the body a little while to metabolize this kind of information. Press pause, take breaks, fast forward. Listen to your body as you listen to our voices. And remember that we're real people. You can always book in with either of us if something comes up that you'd like to explore. If you'd like to go deeper with Rachael, she has a free video series called Becoming A Grown Goddess that includes topics like Trauma 101, Boundaries & Belonging, Sex After Trauma, and more. Read all about Rachael's offerings on her site, rachaelmaddox.com

This interview featuring Pinar and So Sinopoulos-Lloyd holds a special place in my heart; it's not often I meet people who speak my mind so clearly. I love them and the work they're doing with Queer Nature, a growing Colorado-based project dedicated to cultivating earth-based queer community through traditional skill-building. In this conversation, we dive deeply into the questions: why Quests? why for queer folk? why for queer youth, in particular? and why at this moment in time? Along our exploration, we pause to examine relationships between queerness and landscapes, relationships with the more-than-human world, the language of "quest", and the role of ancestral skill reclamation in dismantling and repairing the legacies of settler colonialism. (!!!) I LOVED THIS CONVERSATION. After this, read Pinar's excellent essay, Queer Futurism: Denizens of Liminality. Enjoy!

I'm thrilled to welcome esteemed dreamwork practitioner, Toko-pa Turner to the podcast today! Although we live relatively close to each other and have several friends in common, this is our first ever conversation. I'm excited to have more of them because we just barely touched on the interests we share. I love how Toko-pa articulates her approach to investigating the personal unconscious and the work of being part of the collective. Her new book, Belonging: Remembering Ourselves Home, is the jumping off point of our conversation. It leads us into an exploration of her Sufi upbringing, her perilous journey through the foster care system, acknowledging white privilege, elder wisdom, turning to face the Dark Dream, and how dreams can help lead us back to ourselves and each other. Learn all about her dreamwork offerings on her website, toko-pa.com.

Buckle up for a wild conversation that explores the highs and lows of spiritual self-help, addiction, parenting, trauma, relationships, bereavement and motherhood. Emelia Symington Fedy is an artist and storyteller. Her new audio memoir is called Trying To Be Good: The Healing Powers Of Lying, Cheating, Stealing And Doing Drugs. Emilia is a new friend of mine, a friend of a friend, and a kindred spirit in many ways. So it felt good and safe for us to "go there" in this interview. Content warning: we go into topics like teenage sexuality, sexual assault and rape, death and dying, all of it. It's intense at times. It's also funny and tender. It's very real. Do you ever feel alone in your trauma, or your shame, or your dark thoughts? We're right here with you. We had this conversation with you in mind. Here's where you can purchase the audio memoir, read Emelia's articles, and hire her creative genius.

Are you ready for a deep dive into mystery schools, Druidry, the Kabbala, the Tree of Life, the Gnostics, and geomancy? What?? All in one conversation? YES! This conversation is an incredible treat. Returning to The Numinous Podcast for the third time is my guest, John Michael Greer. He's a world-renowned authority on a million things, and today we're focusing on his excellent handbook, The Celtic Golden Dawn: An Original & Complete Curriculum of Druidic Study. It is well worth your time to peruse John's Amazon author page, and try to grasp just how much research has gone into his life's work to this point. I own several volumes and I can tell you, there are not light reads. The are not superficial forays. These are reference libraries you can hold in your hand – the bibliographies alone, people. The bibliographies! Magical keys to unlock the knowledge of the ages, I tell you. Read John's essays at ecosophia.net.

Classically speaking, a psychopomp is a deity or supernatural being who would guide the souls of the dead to their resting place in the afterlife. In modern parlance, a psychopomp acts as "an energetic Soul Midwife to the dead or dying". Cat Webb is a psychopomp, oracle, creatrix, mystic and teacher. So naturally, this was a fabulous conversation! We talk about patriarchy, good spiritual hygiene, dealing with a death-phobic society – specifically how to care for the dying when there are family members resisting – and so, so, so much more. Follow her on Facebook or join her group PsychopompLifeChat.

I'm so pleased to be speaking with Monique today about her new book, Speaking Our Truth: A Journey Of Reconciliation. You can purchase all of Monique's books for children online at Orca Books. Learn more about the findings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission here. Read their 94 Calls to Action here. Explore more youth titles by Indigenous Canadian authors.