On the Soul's Terms

James Mattingley joins the show to perform a poem by Tom Hirons called, Sometimes a Wild God.It's a powerful rendition, and leads us into a discussion of the wild one within and without. When have we felt the presence of the wild god in our lives? What happens to us when that one withdraws? How might we beckon him back into our living rooms so that he might make those rooms truly live again?James is a teacher, coach, speaker, yoga teacher, movement specialist, new father and many other things. He lives in Bali with his wife and their couple-of-moments old daughter. He brings presence and deep questioning with him wherever he goes.It was a pleasure to have him on the show. I hope you enjoy listening in.Find out more about him at www.jamesmattingley.com.Poem Artwork by Rima StainesIf you're enjoying the show you can show your support by becoming a Patron here. Patrons help us to keep nasty advertising away and to keep the electricity on around here.Podcast Musician: Marlia CoeurPlease consider becoming a Patron to support the show!Go to OnTheSoulsTerms.com for more.

The total solar eclipse of December 4th is only visible in Antarctica. That said, the partial eclipse will be visible from the southern most points of the planet. Makes us wonder if our attention might be drawn towards southern parts of Africa :-).The Sagittarius New Moon gives us a chance to ponder the philosophical underpinnings of our reality. As such, this episode is dedicated to questioning what exactly it is we mean when we talk about 'The World'. The final four signs of the Zodiac are dedicated to this question and each approach it in different ways:Sagittarius (fire): Philosophy, religion, mythos and pointing the mind up in the direction of spirit.Capricorn (earth): Structures, hierarchies, evolution of species, our relationship to the wild (and control).Aquarius (air): Systems of thought, science, mathematics, the collective consciousness.Pisces (water): Dreaming, poetry, art, altered states, seership, the consulting of Oracles, divination.Once we understand these 'four ways' of approaching the world, we can then go into what Sagittarius' contribution is. As it's the first of the four, it impacts the other three. If our Sag Arrow is pointing in slightly the wrong direction it can take us a long way the wrong way.To explore this more fully, of course, we need to bring in some mythological material. This time - the creation myth from Ancient Greece [29:02]. From Chaos, to the dysfunctional relationship of Ouranus (Sky Father) and Gaia (Earth Mother), to Cronus taking the throne and eating his children, to the eventual overthrow by Zeus (aka Jupiter).For this episode the arrow will then point at Zeus and his relationship with his Mentor, Metis. Their steamy love affair of metamorphosis. And the birth of their child, Athena, born out of the skull of Zeus! And ultimately, the idea that true understanding is the combination of knowledge from the Sky and wisdom from the Ocean.Isn't that a much more satisfying story of how the Universe came to be than what you (probably) learned at school about a random big bang in an empty, meaningless space? I think so.If you enjoy this and want the podcast to continue doing its thing, please consider becoming a Patron for just $5 a month.Podcast Musician: Marlia CoeurPlease consider becoming a Patron to support the show!Go to OnTheSoulsTerms.com for more.

This week Dr Carolina Herbert joins us from Epidaurus, Greece. Epidaurus was the first site of the Cult dedicated to the demigod, Asclepius (see episode 13) in Ancient Greece. Our chat weaves together Carolina's personal journey in the healing arts with the historical and mythological lineage of western medicine. It's an inspiring conversation that reminds us that 'medicine' is much more than simply the prolonging of death. We discover the inner workings of the temple: a labyrinth that leads down to the dream chambers (Abaton); an Olympic-style arena where a variety of tournaments occurred; and an amphitheater that could host 13,000 people with perfect acoustics that still holds events to this day.Meanwhile, Carolina's own arc is explored from origins as an emergency nurse to becoming an Integrative Arts Psychotherapist. The journey took her to war-torn Cambodia where she spent almost two decades working to support the rebuilding of communities through the healing arts. She reflects on how the soul of Cambodia taught her how the remembering of the ancient myths and connecting to the inner world of creativity can have a powerful transformational impact; both on the individual level and on the life of a community recovering from war and genocide.Recently, Carolina completed her PHD: The Alchemy of Healing Songwriting. It's a research study exploring the healing power of creative therapeutic songwriting in understanding and navigating times of global crisis and transition.For more on Dr Carolina: www.alkimiasoul.comEpisode Artwork: This photo of the amphitheater in Epidaurus was taken by Carolina last month.If you enjoy this and want the podcast to continue doing its thing, please consider becoming a Patron for just $5 a month.Podcast Musician: Marlia CoeurPlease consider becoming a Patron to support the show!Go to OnTheSoulsTerms.com for more.

The Homeric Hymn to Demeter is one of the most revered  and powerful stories of the Western Tradition. It outlines perfectly the Pluto Process of death, rebirth, transformation and initiation. Whilst also aligning with the phases of grief and loss.2:12    The astrology of today's Solar Eclipse with a breakdown of each planet involves and the themes in our atmosphere at this moment.27:29   A retelling of the Homeric Hymn to Demeter43:41   A breakdown of the story including how it maps onto the phases of grief & loss (Elisabeth Kubler-Ross), initiation & transformation and the many wonders of Pluto Processes.Podcast Musician: Marlia CoeurPlease consider becoming a Patron to support the show!Go to OnTheSoulsTerms.com for more.

This week I'm joined by Christina Nielsen, the founder of the Metavision Institute of NSW, Australia. Metavision is where I received my training in Process Oriented Psychotherapy - a holistic style that combines the understandings of reality from Quantum Physics with Jungian Psychodynamics.Our conversation weaves in the idea of the life-myth of the individual having a secret connection with the mythic themes of the times. We visit Christina's childhood memories with Bilbo Baggins the dog, as well as an early childhood dream, to see how the seed of Metavision was expressing itself from her very earliest moments on earth.Christina is a wealth of knowledge, wisdom and experience. She has extensively studied Chinese Medicine, Steiner's Spiritual Science and Arnold Mindell's Process Work. Her life and work display what's possible from a holistic perspective when it comes to the health of ourselves and our connection with our living planet.An old teacher of mine once said to me, 'your message to the world is the life you live.' On reflection from our interview I was most moved by the living theme in Christina's life of the importance of combining cleverness with wisdom, and how the two are neither mutually exclusive nor intrinsically implied.Find out more about Christina here.And Metavision here.There's a moment in the interview where Christina doesn't quite remember the name of a book that explores the antithesis of 'Lord of the Flies'. That book is Humankind: A Hopeful History.Thanks for listening in. If you enjoy this and want the podcast to continue doing its thing, please consider becoming a Patron for just $5 a month.Podcast Musician: Marlia CoeurPlease consider becoming a Patron to support the show!Go to OnTheSoulsTerms.com for more.

In this introduction to the NEW podcast, On the Soul's Terms, the story of The Fisher King is told as an initiation myth for Chris' solo project.The Fisher King, lost in the forest as a youth, wounds himself with a piece of hot salmon roasting on the spit of a campfire. His wound, sustained in the 12th century and shared far and wide through song all throughout Europe in different forms, is a symbol for our collective wound.The healing of the wound rests on the shoulders of the fool, Parsival, who is destined to ask a simple question to restore the Fisher King's health by returning his vision to the Holy Grail. When he stumbles upon the kingdom, however, he remembers his mother's advice to 'not ask too many questions'. As such the moment is missed and many moons need to pass before he asks again.The myth sets the tone for the podcast - a chance to ask a few foolish questions with regard to our inner and outer worlds. And perhaps, as we go, find the opportunity for healing in simple ways.Enjoy. We'll be back next week with an interview with Christina Nielsen, founder of the Metavision Institute in NSW, Australia, to kick things off. She'll be the first of many guests who'll be shining a light on ways that ancient wisdom can and does find its way into the modern world with powerful effects.Also - a Patreon account will be available soon - a chance to support the podcast and receive a few bonus pieces as we go.Thanks for listening.If you like this podcast please consider becoming a Patron here: https://www.patreon.com/onthesoulstermsAnd... stars and reviews help spread the word too. Podcast Musician: Marlia CoeurPlease consider becoming a Patron to support the show!Go to OnTheSoulsTerms.com for more.