The Numinous Podcast

In a universe that's at least 13 billion years old and at least 13 billion light years across, how is it possible we've never had contact with intelligent life from other planets? In this episode, Astronomy Educator and Librarian, John Reid, discusses the Fermi Paradox, space debris and what the heck is happening with those crazy lights shining on the asteroid Ceres right now. How We Met John and I went to high school together. One of the most memorable and terrifying experiences of my high school life was a late study session in the creepy old wing of the main school building. John told a group of us, in chilling, expressionless detail, all about this book he was reading called The Shining by Stephen King. Episode We start by tackling The Fermi Paradox, the contradiction between the extremely high likelihood of intelligent life in the universe and the extremely low probability of our never having come across it yet. We also muse about what might be happening with those brights lights on Ceres right now. I get irate about space debris and John gets moony about the moon. He slips in little side notes here and there about things can could instantly end all life on earth like gamma ray explosions, supernova explosions and asteroids hitting us. (We saw what happened to the dinosaurs, he says casually.) This is one of my favourite episodes and I'd like to thank my patron, Charlene Lo, currently hailing from Hong Kong, for her support in making it happen.  Yay, Charlene!

Graphic designer, Emrys Miller, has worked as an artistic director for both a yoga magazine and a skeptic magazine - what the??? How does he, and how do we, make sense of the world using both reason and intuition? How We Met I mentioned our origin story last time Emrys was on the show. You might also find it interesting to know that Emrys is the father of twin girls just entering their teen years. (Each, in my opinion, is a genius in her own way.) Emrys and his family usually spend an extended vacation every summer at an ashram in the interior of British Columbia. Cool, right? Also perhaps a little unexpected. Episode Required reading for this podcast: Anomalous Events That Can Shake One's Skepticism to the Core by Michael Shermer. And I simply can't recommend the book by Barbara Ehrenreich that I mention in the show highly enough. It's called Living With A Wild God: A Nonbeliever's Search For The Truth About Everything and it was so deliciously exciting for me that when I read the last line, I slammed the book shut and literally squealed. Also, take a look at Emrys' site www.rocketdayarts.com. If you're interested in humanism, check out the book he published, Voices of Humanism. It's an anthology of 35 articles by 15 humanists. My copy has a lot of underlines and dog ears.  

Love in the Age of Ecological Apocalypse: Cultivating the Relationships We Need To Thrive is Carolyn Baker's most recent book and I'm so thrilled to talk to her about it in this episode of The Numinous Podcast. In this episode, Carolyn talks about our fear of death, shares practical skills for communicating with a reluctant partner and children. She also helps us move through the feeling of schizophrenia that comes from trying to speak truth while living in an insane culture.

For this special milestone episode, my husband, Ruben Anderson, interviews me. A self-proclaimed atheist, Ruben starts out with basic questions about intuition and spirituality. But things get interesting when evidence mounts that Ruben is, in fact, the most spiritual person I know.

This week on the podcast we're getting to the heart of it all: facing environmental, economic and social decline and the sheer amount of grief that entails. Thankfully, we have the lucid, sensible and sensitive guidance of one of North America's foremost experts and elders in this area, Carolyn Baker, Ph.D. Carolyn is a Jungian psychotherapist, an adjunct professor of history and psychology, and a prolific author of many thought-provoking books including one I consider essential reading for our age, Collapsing Consciously: Transformative Truths for Turbulent Times. Some of the content in this show may be news to some of you, but for those for whom it is an urgent and incessant background beat, this show will be a release valve. Hearing someone approach such a daunting subject with such clarity and calmness is truly heartening.

This week my guest is musical artist, Christopher Lloyd Clarke. Christopher is the creative spirit behind all of the music in The Numinous School. I listen to his mucis nearly every day in meditation and use it in sessions with clients. I was curious to know how he found himself creating music in this niche.  

Indigo Ocean is the founder and champion of multiple service organizations, an entrepreneur, a self-made millionaire, and a consultant for spiritually oriented entrepreneurs. Her first suicide attempt was at age 9 and she struggled with depression for years before deciding to stay and make the most of life. In this episode, I mention Indigo's two books, Being Bliss and Micro Habits for Major Happiness. Indigo also recommends some great books for those exploring spirituality and enlightenment: Personal and perennial favourite, The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers The Lazy Man's Guide to Enlightenment by Thaddeus Golas The Holographic Universe by Michael Talbot To find out more about Indigo Ocean and her offerings, including Phone Buddies Peer Counselling Community, find her online at www.IndigoOcean.org

A conversation with my 11 year old daughter, Mirabella, about intelligent life in the universe, lucid dreaming, parking angels and what happens after you die. It's a "who knows?" kind of conversation. I hope it prompts you to ask your loved ones, or even yourself, the Big Questions. Here are some Big questions to start with: Do you believe there are other intelligent life forms in the universe? What do you think happens after you die? If you could come back as any person or thing, what would you choose? Do you believe in angels? Do you believe in ghosts? Have you ever had a lucid dream? What do you fantasize about most?

In this episode, we re-imagine the design process as a form of shamanic journey. Emrys Damon Miller is the founder and creator of Rocketday Arts, a communications studio which helps clients who aim to build a healthier future. His clients have included those in the arts, the environment, education, and humanism/theology. Our conversation moves from how imagery affects society and self-image, intuition and the creative process, balancing a client's needs with personal and professional creative expression, and the way that intuition can bring charm, warmth and beauty to design.

John Michael Greer is the current Grand Archdruid of the Ancient Order of Druids in America, a longtime Golden Dawn initiate and scholar of the Western Mystery Traditions. He is the author of numerous book on a wide range of subjects including peak oil and the decline of industrial societies. He also has two popular blogs, The Archdruid Report and The Well of Galabes. In this episode, we talk about two of the lessons from John's seminal book, Mystery Teachings from the Living Earth, The Law of Flow and The Law of Limits. John mentions his admiration of the toaists in this show, and recommends reading Lao-Tzu if you're interested in exploring further. He also cites Aldo Loepold and Henry David Thoreau as influences.