The Numinous Podcast

Carolyne Taylor is a community organizer and connector. Known for producing inspirational and uplifting events such as the Victoria Yoga Conference, Conscious Conversations, yoUnlimited, Pitch Your Passion, and the Unlimited Woman Awards, Carolyne is like the Oprah of her city. But what do you do if you want to be part of a heart-centered community and you don't have a Carolyne on call? What if you're an introvert? In this episode, Carolyne shares with us how she avoids burn-out as a natural "giver" and connector. She also gives sound advice for when you're starting from scratch or joining a new community. Finally, we talk about how to handle the challenges of belonging to or leading a heart-centered community, (especially as an introvert!) Click to tweet! "Wishes come true when we put action behind them" ~ Carolyne Taylor

Kate Sitka has been able to communicate psychically with animals since she was a little girl. In this episode of The Numinous Podcast, we're talking about how to open dialogue with your pet, the difference between domesitcated and wild animals on the intuitive level, and whether there's a place for animal communication on the farm. Kate mentions two of her favourite teachers on the show, Sonja Fitzpatrick and Penelope Smith. I also mention my husband's website The Small and Delicious Life (sign up for his occasionally-sent newsletter to follow our adventures in urban homesteading or check us out on Instagram #smallanddeliciouslife). You can connect with Kate on her website tofinopsychic.com and find her delightful podcast at JoyfulTelepathy.com.

How do you teach your child about intuition and staying connected to their inner wisdom? What if your child really doesn't want to listen? What do you do if you get a bad feeling about one of your child's friends? My guest this week is conscious parenting expert, Colleen Adrian. We're talking about control, power dynamics, and messy bedrooms from a spiritual perspective! In this episode, Colleen mentions two great resources that I heartily endorse as well: Marshall Rosenberg's system of Non-Violent Communication (also known as Compassionate Communication). To download the "Feelings and Needs" list, check out my colleague Rachelle Lamb's website. Power vs Force: The Hidden Determinants of Human Behaviour by David R. Hawkins is a classic in the self-help genre because of its groundbreaking perspective on applied kinesiology, consciousness and energy dynamics.

Welcome back to my very special guest, Michael Phillips! In this week's episode, Michael tells about his upbringing as a Communist in 1940s America, followed by the Beat Movement in the '50's and attending UC Berkeley in the '60's. My previous interview with Michael was called "Grieving Susan + Civilization".  Enjoy!

This week's episode features my friend, Agneta, a Swedish executive leadership coach who, oh by the way, also studied shamanism with some of the most famous teachers alive.  In this personal interview, Agneta shares what drew her to the shamanic path.  She also talks about the challenges of balancing her spiritual life with her corporate work. I love the end of this interview where she talks about being a catalyst - very inspiring for those who are trying to introduce spirituality in somewhat hostile atmospheres. Some resources Agneta mentions include: Psychosynthesis Alberto Villoldo's Four Winds School (more of a South American tradition). I've also heard good things about the Institute for Contemporary Shamanic Studies here in Canada.   I met Agneta when we were on a vision quest with Sparrow Hart of Circles of Air and Stone. He also shares medicine wheel teachings and several shamanic rituals.

I'm so pleased to have my beloved teacher, Judee Gee, returning to The Numinous Podcast this week. We're talking about Yin + Yang, Shiva + Shakti, tantra, and the Apostle to the Apostles, Mary Magdalene. Juicy, juicy stuff! In this conversation, Judee and I share our deep gratitude for the wonderful book by Cynthia Bourgeault, The Meaning of Mary Magdalene. That book truly changed my life. I also mention my pilgrimage to La Grotte de la Sainte Baume, the grotto where Mary Magdalene lived out her days as a hermitesse. I can't wait to one day take Judee's Tantric Woman workshop. I believe she is doing a North American tour in 2015 so if you'd like to bring her to your city, you should send her an email ASAP! If you don't already own it, I highly, highly recommend Judee's book, Intuition: Awakening Your Inner Guide. Trained as an intuitive psychic, breath therapist and teacher of alternative healing methods in Australia and the USA in the early 1980’s, Judee settled in France in 1988 where she created The Intuition School (L’Ecole de l’Intuition). From 1988 to 2000 she taught her intuition development program in several regions throughout France and also published Intuition: Awakening Your Inner Guide, during that period. Judee is the past President (1998–2001) of the International Breathwork Foundation and a founding member (2000) of the Global Professional Breathwork Alliance, where she currently serves on the Board of Directors.

Have you, like me, dreamed of quitting everything and going to live indefinitely at Findhorn in Scotland? I'd say I give it serious consideration every five years or so, and a passing thought every other day. It's definitely going to happen one day. Until then, I have Kate. Kate Sutherland is Faculty with THNK, The School of Creative Leadership, and a social entrepreneur, author, speaker and coach. As Kate sees it, each of us has an inner guidance system, available 24/7 and stunningly accurate. (I agree!) But most of us barely begin to tap the potential benefits, in part because we don't know how, and in part because society emphasizes outer authority rather than the subtle signals of our inner knowing. Kate's two books, Make Light Work and Make Light Work In Groups, are a wonderful resource for accessing that inner knowing and drawing it out in others. Kate will be leading her workshop, Barefoot Facilitation, at Findhorn in August 2014. Learn more about The Transformation Game here.

This week's episode is a tender portrait of loss, destruction and the pain of living in our times.   I have a very special friendship with Michael; a kinship and delight in our conversations, a warmth and joy in his presence that lifts my spirits. I love his lyrical way of communicating. I love how he surprises me - one moment a poetic rumination, the next a pragmatic shrug. I usually need lots of kleenex for our conversations. He just has a way of speaking to the human condition in a way that opens and soothes my soul. I hope you enjoy sharing in this small portion of one of our recent talks. By the way, the following quote (which I sort of bastardize  in the show) is from J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: "After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure."

Think you're out of the woods because Mercury has finally gone direct? Nuh uh says Canada's favourite astrologer, Georgia Nicols. On this week's episode of The Numinous Podcast we're talking about how to deal with Mercury Retrograde, that thrice annual occurrence when it seems all things technology, communication and travel-related go haywire. Georgia explains what it is, why it happens and how to deal with it.  You can get Georgia's daily updates by subscribing on her website or you can follow her on Facebook to find out when the Moon alerts are in effect.

This week we're talking about the ritual of the vision quest with Sparrow Hart. For over 30 years, Sparrow has personally gone on vision quest every year and has led hundreds of people through their own wilderness rights of passage. I feel privileged to have been guided by Sparrow when I did my vision quest in the desert. This is a truly rich conversation in which Sparrow gives so. many. resources. Not only has he written a beautiful ode to questing called Letters to the River: A Guide to a Dream Worth Living, he also mentions some of the books that were formative in the early years of his questing such as Black Elk Speaks by John Neihardt, People of the Deer by Farley Mowatt, the work of Carlos Castadenda and Laurens van der Post. I really can't recommend more highly a vision quest experience with Sparrow. Of all of my spiritual undertakings, these teachings were some of the most formative. If you are an ardent pursuer of the spiritual path and maker of your own myth, then a week with Sparrow will be a gift to your heart and a balm for your soul. Do it!