Curious Cat - where science & supernatural collide

With this video game we call reality getting wild lately, I thought it was a good moment in time to dance on the bridge to Heaven. If near-death-experiencers are right in their accounts, Heaven is our true home, all of us. It is rife with colors, music, and unconditional love.

We need a bit of that chicken soup for the soul right now, don't we?  

Let's channel our inner Led Zepplin and climb the stairway or bridge to Heaven.

Heaven 101

Heaven. Nirvana. Eden. Paradise. Cielo. Valhalla, Zion, On High Empyrean, bliss, Elysian Fields. 

The concept of heaven is shared by cultures across the globe.

In Old English - heofon - meaning "home of God" 

German? Himmel - heaven or sky

Ancient Greeks had a few names for heaven, Elysium, Ouranos (which referred to sky or heaven)

In Hebrew, Shamayim

In Hinduism, Svarga, which is the celestial abode of the gods

In Māori - Kiko-rangi, which was presided over by two gods

Show Sources and Materials - what to read, listen, or watch NEXT 

A Brief History of Heaven, Joe Boyd (The Deconstructed Pastor), Substack

The Story behind, Knocking on Heaven's Door, SteamIT

The story behind Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven, American Songwriter

Archosanti: Arizona's grand experiment in sustainable living approaches 50 years, Lauren Schieler, Cronkite News, Tucson Sentinel 

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When I say the word 'imagination' what comes to mind first? What age were you when you last used your imagination? I mean used it and then bragged about your skills to someone else? Were you a kid in school?

I think of SpongeBob, shaping his hands into a rainbow saying slowly, "Imagination!"  

What if I told you it's not just the stuff of childhood? In fact, it may be a superpower. It is definitely a bridge between an idea and reality.

Let's get into it.

Imagination 101

Middle English: via Old French from Latin imaginatio(n- ), from the verb imaginari ‘picture to oneself’, it is the ability of the mind to be creative or resourceful. This root definition of the term indicates the self-reflexive property of imagination, emphasizing the imagination as a private sphere.

Google charts the use of the word 'imagination' and its low point, the time when it was least used? The early 1980s was the low point of the use of the word imagination, followed closely by 1944. 

Wow.

Singularity Hub dot com asks this;

" You can easily picture yourself riding a bicycle across the sky even though that’s not something that can actually happen. You can envision yourself doing something you’ve never done before—like water skiing—and maybe even imagine a better way to do it than anyone else."

They continue, "Imagination involves creating a mental image of something that is not present for your senses to detect, or even something that isn’t out there in reality somewhere. Imagination is one of the key abilities that make us human. But where did it come from?"

Show Sources & Materials (Interesting stuff to read, listen or watch NEXT)

 The Magic of Trees, Curious Cat Podcast, iHeart Radio

Dream! Dream! Dream! Curious Cat Podcast, Buzzsprout

New theory demystifies evolution of human imagination, News-Medical.net, Sally Robertson

Imagination as defined and described by University of Chicago

The FOUR Types of Imagination, NewScientist, Adam Zeman 

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Thanks for listening, reviewing, sharing, and giving support (even just good thoughts) to the show. It keeps me going. <3 Jennifer

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A few weeks back I showcased a retro episode, my first conversation with Derek Condit from Mystical Wares. In it, he spoke of his personal experiences with Sasquatch, one happened on a hiking trail with his daughter. I hope you caught that, his telling and later his theory about cryptids, including Sasquatch. I've been hearing it repeated more lately, but Derek was the first person I heard say this, that cryptids are interdimensional. What's that mean? They jump between dimensions. Sounds like a bridge between our physical world and theirs that they cross at will, doesn't it? 

Let's spend the next hour diving into that compelling, complicated, fascinating space together!

About that conversation with Derek Condit from Mystical Wares...

He said that cryptids are interdimensional creatures. They coexist with us, intermingle, but we remain largely unaware, or blind to them. Why? Maybe when we're vibrating low - operating in fear and anger, they aren't visible. But when we are vibing high, they are seeable to us, or they sense our positive energy and drop their invisibility for a few tantalizing seconds? Not long enough to open the camera on our phones, but they change our bellybutton perspectives in that quick instant. And if they're interdimensional, doesn't that explain the lack of artifacts they've left behind for us to find and study? 

But wait, I think I jumped ahead.

Show Sources and Links (what to read, listen, watch NEXT)

A Cultural Phenomenon, The Biologist, Royal Society of Biology

What Exactly ARE Cryptids? SmoreScience.com

The hunt for Japan's 'ghost' wolves, BBC, William Park and Johanna Airth

The Hovey Photo, Bigfoot's Back! Bigfoot Encounters dot com

Seven species that used to be cryptids, Indiana University Bloomington, Leecy Davis 

10 Obscure Cryptids and Why You've Never Heard of Them, Listverse, Edward Smith

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Thanks for listening, reviewing, sharing, and giving support (even just good thoughts) to the show. It keeps me going. <3 Jennifer

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The Silk Road isn't just a unit from middle school history, it's more than a trade route, also. This geographical location is quite possibly the first intersection of Eastern and Western cultures and was instigated by what else? The desire to make money and acquire exotic goods. 

The Silk Road, besides being a geographical bridge, changed mysticism, lore, legends, and history forever. I remember learning the basic facts in school and spitting them back out for exams, never thinking deeply on the importance of this span of history. In fact, it was only recently that I considered this swath of land and its impact, even to the present. But first? Some facts.

 What to Read/Watch/Listen to NEXT!

The East/West Dichotomy, Wikipedia

China's Trade Route That Changed The World, Learn Chinese Now, YouTube

UNESCO has an interactive Silk Road map

The Silk Roads, smarthistory, The Center for Public Art History

Did you know? The medical knowledge exchange due to the Silk Road, UNESCO

Hogwarts Is Here, online hogwarts lessons, and one on the Silk Road!

Marco Polo series on Netflix

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Thanks for listening, reviewing, sharing, and giving support (even just good thoughts) to the show. It keeps me going. <3 Jennifer

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Hi there! I'm traveling this week, so I thought it was the perfect moment to re-share with you one of my favorite episodes. I hope you love rediscovering the information Derek shares, and my gosh, doesn't my voice sound different? I've also added a link to my latest interview of Derek below.

Made and offered in love.

Derek Condit of Mystical Wares: Intuition & Magic of Unconditional Love, Curious Cat

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If you are searching for a fresh, binge-able podcast, this might be the one for you!

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Thanks for listening, reviewing, sharing, and giving support (even just good thoughts) to the show. It keeps me going. <3 Jennifer

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Have you ever seen a ghost? Curious to experience a sighting, but hasn't happened for you yet? Or are you one of roughly half of the population that that flat out doesn't believe? 

I had a spirit call Mama! in an old London hotel one night. I woke up fully to see the ghost of a little girl in a white dress standing beside my spot on the bed. In a cab ride to Heathrow days later, my kids said a white orb had followed me around the room the entire stay. 

Ghosts and spirit contact goes back thousands of years. Have we gotten any better at it? 

Let's get into it!

What to Read/Listen/Watch NEXT

Majority of Americans believe in ghosts, aliens, the devil: Survey, The Hill's Tara Suter

Are ghosts real? A psychologist examines the evidence, Barry Markovsky, University of South Carolina

Experts explain our love of fear and fascination with the supernatural, Andy Ober, University of Arizona

Inside the World's Spookiest Hotesls, Tripadvisor

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Thanks for listening, reviewing, sharing, and giving support (even just good thoughts) to the show. It keeps me going. <3 Jennifer

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Should we attempt to make contact with aliens? Dead ancestors? Go with pals to a haunted locale and channel our inner Zak Bagans? And what to make of the new trend to play a certain strain of music/sound that people are calling an alien dog whistle?

Where is the most likely place to have a Bigfoot run in? And should you bring gifts? 

In the weeks to come, we will be crossing the bridge to the supernatural. We will look at how long humans have sought connections, the methods we've used, and perfected, the trends, the risks and how to mitigate them, and the hot spots across the globe. 

This week we look to the skies and oceans in search of aliens.

Let's get into it!

What to Read/Listen/Watch NEXT

YouTube Video on the Strange Hole in Mount Adams - is it a UFO Hangar?

The Higherside Chats Interview with Diana Pasulka

The Higherside Chats Interview with Ryan Bledsoe

States with the most UFO sightings, NY Post

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Thanks for listening, reviewing, sharing, and giving support (even just good thoughts) to the show. It keeps me going. <3 Jennifer

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Have you ever stepped on a mountain path and felt called by the burbling waters of a river? Felt a breeze blow through a thick stand of aspen, and looked up to see a column of sunlight that felt important? Peaked a mountain and witnessed a cobble of huge stones, struck by a gap in the middle of them that seemed to widen when you looked closer? Walked into an old house and felt dizzy, disoriented? Caught a glimpse of the past as you swam in the waters of a Mexican cenote? Daydreamed about what might lie at the end of a rainbow?  

There are places on Earth where people report seeing other dimensions, secret worlds, and in some cases, witnessed mythical creatures. 

Purgatory. Crossroads. Vortexes. Caves. Mines. Portals. Laylines. Cenotes. The wide open star lit sky. 

This week we are venturing across the bridge from the solid ground beneath us to other worlds, and reexamining the myths and legends with the mindset, what if they are all factual?

Let's get into it.

What to Read/Watch/Listen to NEXT

CASCADIA: Mount Adams – Is it the most overlooked Cascade peak? Curious Cat

Trunyan Village, Bali, BBC article

Mexico's Sacred Cenotes, Much Better Adventure (and their list of the top cenotes in the country!)

Kickass dot com's list of 8 Best Other World Portals

The DEMONOLOGY of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Offhand Disney, YouTube

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If you are searching for a fresh, binge-able podcast, this might be the one for you!

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Thanks for listening, reviewing, sharing, and giving support (even just good thoughts) to the show. It keeps me going. <3 Jennifer

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When I stop and look at the state of gender - I, and all that identify as women - have LOTS to get mad about. Inequality in general, inability to drive a car in some countries, inability to own or inherit land in others, the paycheck gap in the US, being invisible when it comes to drug trials and the user experience in general up until recently (which is why airplane seats hurt our necks) etc, etc.

But, today is not about gender - it is a journey into the intersection between divine feminine and divine masculine. It involves undoing old programming, parenting, teachings, that left no space for the two sets of being, not to mention the place where they intersect, collide, comingle. 

Let's get into it.

Divine Fem and Divine Masc 101

Divine Feminine and Divine Masculine were explained to me this way and I hope it resonates with  you as well.

Think of the Divine Feminine as the waters of a grand river; flowing; life-giving; dynamic; creating its own motion and course. Now think of the Divine Masculine as the riverbank; the steep sides and bottom that give the river structure, dimension, directing the flow, it holds in this precious resource, protecting the vibrant waters. 

Yin and yang symbols embody dualism - and that includes the divine feminine and divine masculine. Think of that black and white symbol for a second. The black swoop has a dash of white in its center, and the white swoop contains a bit of black. Together they bring balance, harmony, respect. They are sound, together a perfect whole. 

What to Read/Listen/Watch Next!

What is Masculine - Feminine Balance? from Kawtar El Alaoui, Brainz Magazine dot com

She Healed Her Gut by Balancing Masculine and Feminine Energies!, Pause Meditation dot com, Rena Satre Meloy 

The Revolution of Rest, Balancing Divine Masculine and Feminine in the World, Matthew S. Goodman, Medium dot com

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Thanks for listening, reviewing, sharing, and giving support (even just good thoughts) to the show. It keeps me going. <3 Jennifer

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We've been exploring bridges, these last weeks, intersections, spaces where dark meets light, sleep meets awake, East meets West, the physical meets the spiritual, science meets art, and this week, that bridge takes us across the River Styx.

This week, I'd like to share a little continuing education class I created for someone I love dearly. Her language as a lifelong educator is continuing education; coursework to keep credentials current, so I echoed that familiar language, using the same methods, including worksheets. 

The course, which is a conversation, meant to build a bridge from this life to what happens after that last breath.

Why? 

The fear of death can keep us from living a full life.  If we can overcome our initial aversion, I'm not saying becoming full-on comfortable with our imminent death, but familiar with the process, examine (and call out) at our preconceived notions and ideas, clear away old programming, and then use our imaginations to picture what we want to experience after death? Well, at worst, it is a thought experiment that makes our final days more peaceful; at best, we impact the death experience, creating a less jarring transition from life to afterlife. I don't see a downside to recognizing that one day all of us will expire.

Overcoming fears of death leads to a full-spectrum life experience. Let death control our every thought? It's the equivalent of wearing a dog cone - those clumsy plastic haloes we put on our beloved pets so they won't gnaw on a hot spot or pull out fresh stitches. Bulky, awkward, they impede vision, movement, the path forward. And the sad truth is, we've put those cones on ourselves to avoid thinking about, worrying, wondering or planning for what happens after we die. 

I worked in pediatric hospice as a volunteer fundraiser for nearly a decade. Hospice means the last 90 days of life, give or take, depending on the jurisdiction. And the pediatric part? Yep. Heartbreaking. 

I said yes to this work to pay it forward after our child had sepsis, and lived. I felt compelled to help others. What I learned is that there is medicine in living intentionally, and there is much to learn from end of life care.

Country songs beg us to live like we are dying, philosophers recognize the power of staying in the present moment; social media and therapists alike ask us to live out loud, to stretch past our comfort zones, say the things to loved ones now, and make plans to do the trips or visits now, not to put off living until all the planets align. 

All of that is huge. I produced an entire show  about conquering the fear of death in season one. It's worth a listen.

But, today we are on the edge of the River Styx. I'm holding your hand. We will be okay, better than okay for having dwelled here. 

Let's talk about our last exhales.

What to Listen/Watch/Read NEXT

Conquering (or at least counterbalancing) the Fear of Death, Curious Cat

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If you are searching for a fresh, binge-able podcast, this might be the one for you!

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Thanks for listening, reviewing, sharing, and giving support (even just good thoughts) to the show. It keeps me going. <3 Jennifer

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