Curious Cat - where science & supernatural collide

Episode Intro

In a recent conversation with a beautiful mage in a far off mountain range that will remain nameless, we stumbled into a topic I'd been thinking about lately, how anger has been the emotion that's popped me out of periods of malaise. It's also helped snap my focus to something not okay happening in a sea of noise. It's been the kindling in my belly that's burned a path to action. 

But in western culture, anger is stigmatized. So is anxiety, and even fear. I did a whole show on Gavin De Becker's book, The Gift of Fear, which is still a fantastic useful read after all these years. And yes, fear can be a gift.

After that conversation on the mountain, I went on a deep dive into research about emotions and their silver linings. 

Let's get into it!

Show Read/Watch List

Anger and A Call to Preserve Ancient Sacred Site in Florida - 

Link to Old World Florida video here, YouTube

6 Emotions that Differ Between Cultures, Lingoda dot com, Adriana Stein

Emotions and Culture, Maricopa Community Colleges

Anger, Sadness, Boredom, Anxiety: Emotions That Feel Bad Can Be Useful, Texas A & M

The Positives of Negative Emotion, Psychology Today, Dr. Aditi Subramaniam

Repressed Emotions: How to Stop Suppressing Emotions, Positive Psychology dot com, Dr. Angelica Attard

The Real Purpose Behind Your Negative Emotions, The Happiness Doctor, Dr. Sophia Godkin

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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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What a week it's been. And January has felt like a year in and of itself, hasn't it? 

I don't want you to do what I almost did, get lost in the sauce!

Here's the astrological forecast for the year from the very best in the business of evolutionary astrology, Timothy of Rasa Lila Healing.

 

Rasa Lila Healing - Mid January thru beginning of February, YouTube

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This is an unusual episode. I share two stories from observing my little patch of Colorado this last year, share life hacks to help smooth out the edges of life, and have an announcement to share with you in love.


Show Reading List

49 Life Hacks You'll Wish You Knew Sooner, Family Handyman 

https://www.buzzfeed.com/fabianabuontempo/it-literally-changed-my-life-people-are-sharing-small-life

Jennifer Hotes' Substack - Thoughts Scribbled in a Notebook

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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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I've been reading from a book titled, What an Owl Knows by Jennifer Ackerman. It was gifted to me by my husband because of my growing love for owls. I don't take it for granted that owls live in our neighborhood. In fact, each evening as the sun sets, I step outside and say, "Hello, owls! I love you," then stay still and listen for their calls back and forth between mates. Sometimes I'm blessed with a silent swoop and fly over. Okay, now imagine my shock when one day in early November an owl spoke back, "Hello!" it said, which caused me to question my sanity. 

Then it happened again. And once more. Then a flock of noisy Canadian geese flew overhead and broke the trance. But the voice in the tree I'd heard? It mimicked the sounds of the geese, took flight from a nearby tree. It was an owl!

Well, I texted my precious soul sisters, Kate and Molly, then the next day, got busy researching owls and mimicry. I found my answer. It was an adolescent eastern screech owl, known at that age to be highly experimental with their vocalizations - learning how to lure in potential prey by sounding like kin - and this one was practicing. The event made me fall even deeper in love with these awesome birds.

They deserve this dedicated episode. If you're still not certain...while researching, I found this passage from The Owl Pages online and couldn't fashion a better introduction to this subject than what writer, Deane Lewis wrote;

"Throughout history and across many cultures, people have regarded Owls with fascination and awe. Few other creatures have so many different and contradictory beliefs about them. Owls have been both feared and venerated, despised and admired, considered wise and foolish, and associated with witchcraft and medicine, the weather, birth and death. Speculation about Owls began in earliest folklore, too long ago to date, but passed down by word of mouth over generations."

I have the good luck to have regular visits from a few different species of owls, and they have delighted, surprised and mystified me this last year. I'll share one story at the close. 

Let's get into it!

Show Reading/Viewing List:

What an Owl Knows, Jennifer Ackerman on Amazon.com

Parliament of Owls - Myths of Owls in the Southwest, Carina Bissett.

What Does It Mean to See an Owl? from WikiHow

Native American Culture regarding Owls, Buffalo Bill Center of the West

Owls in Mythology & Culture, The Owl Pages

Another damn fine blog post about owls, the love and lore around them, from Joe Gioia and Magellan TV

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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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Hey! We made it! We weathered the storms of 2024 together. I am grateful for that, but also mindful of the spiritual and physical muscles we've built together over the course of the last 365 days. These make us stronger, and more able to face whatever 2025 has to offer.

I was humbled to be among a huge group of mediums and psychics that were on Paranormal Karen's 2025 predictions episode and share what my guides gave me here, as well as a sort of update they offered in two parts after that was recorded. I'm not some great seer, just a person that wants us all to thrive this coming year. Take what resonates, and let the rest go.

Much love,
Jenn

Oh! And here's the link to the full episode of Paranormal Karen (follow the people that resonate with you!)

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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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If you find yourself with an out-of-the-blue stomachache or headache, it may be one of grief's many disguises. As the holidays near, it's important to have a straight conversation about grief, hear a first-hand story of when I abjectly FAILED at it, and plan a graceful exit for any social event you RSVP yes to, but then a grief moment hits you while there. 

Offered in love.

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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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Episode Intro

This episode is a little different. You'll know it's for you if you've thought of writing a memoir, or starting a Substack or blog that tells YOUR story. 

Maybe right after the idea whispered in your mind, a mental mean girl asked why is your story worth telling? Who'd read it anyways? And on and on. Then you turned your attention to something else that felt safe, that you know like the back of your hand, but the idea of writing down your story tickles your imagination every time you read something that makes you smile, or feel something deep in your chest. 

You are the reason I am doing this episode. YOUR story is worth telling, even if don't choose to share it widely.

Let's get into it.

Show Links/Materials

Find more examples of my writing on Substack - Thoughts Scribbled in a Notebook, Jennifer Hotes

Liked THIS Episode? Here's what to listen to NEXT!

Drafting An Obituary, Novel Backstories & Curious Queue

Three (Seemingly) Unrelated Essays

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

Support the show

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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Archangel Rafael OR Raphael, depending on how you prefer to spell it, is waiting to help us as often as we ask. He may even be knocking health books off your shelves to get you to take a better path.

Only recently healing up from a nasty virus, I found myself asking for the help of both Archangel Michael and Archangel Raphael to help evict the illness from my body and heal once and for all. From Season Four's first episode, you may recall that I'd been timid when it came to asking any angel for help, but especially so when it came to Archangel Michael. Put simply, I didn't feel good enough to be assisted. Then he came to me in a dream, as a regular Joe in jeans and a t-shirt in a crowd of people to prove he'd been with me all along, and he doesn't need anyone to be anything but honest and grateful to be worthy of receiving help.

Archangel Raphael, though? I've only recently dusted off my connection to him. I'm not one to dwell on darkness, but this is a time when we have to make connecting with love and light, ground ourselves, and ask for help from angels as part of our daily routines. Think of it as spiritual toothbrushing. 

I hope after this deep dive into Raphael, you'll feel comfortable reaching out.  And often. 

Let's get into it.

Show Sources and Further Reading/Viewing

Archangel Raphael, Wikipedia

Archangel Raphael and the mystery of healing books that fall off of bookshelves, Learn Religions dot com

Weirdly Effective Meditation with Raphael, YouTube

Archangel Raphael, Cristina Aroche dot com (and his work on our hearts - physical and spiritual)

A Strange Story of Archangel Raphael from the National Gallery in London

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

Support the show

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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As I listened to a recent episode of The Higherside Chat with guest Gordon White, White mentioned the I Ching and, almost to himself, he said something about the knowledge contained in the book being a gift from dragons.

I hit the 15 second reverse button and listened again. 

If you follow my Curious Cat feed on Insta, then you've seen that my pens, pencils, and watercolor paints have been completely co-opted by dragons over the last two months. In the past when my  friend, Monique Pliakos spoke to me about dragons, and her relationship to them, I was thrilled and also envious. I wanted dragons in my life. Well, months later, after working with a group on Earth gridwork, they spoke of dragons like Monique did. I went with it, immersing myself in the meditations and I sent out my gratitude to these powerful, mystical, and when they want, invisible creatures. I told them they could rest on the land where I live and I'd help them heal up. That very night, a warm, breeze-less one, the house shook, as though something heavy had landed on the roof. I went outside to make sure no birds had flown into the side of the house, and saw my first dragon. Not on the roof, but lying across Table Mountain. He considered me with one pearly eye and I was in love.

Back to that podcast episode, though, what was the I Ching? And did dragons have a hand, or a claw in bringing it to humanity?

 Let's get into it.

Sources and Further Reading/Watching

The Kong Foundation on I-Ching: (and the role of dragons)

Clip I made of Eckhart Tolle - I have a bit more yin than yang!

From the Descendants of the Dragon to Heirs of God

Why Dragons Fight in Hexagram 2, Online Clarity dot UK with links to both books

Numismatic News, Year of the Dragon article and minted coins from across the globe (I want all of these! Do you have a favorite?)

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

Support the show

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

Buy Curious Cat Podcast a Coffee!

Guest Links :

Pete's Patreon

LINKS TO HIS PODCAST - Spiritual Graffiti on Spotify

Reach Pete to take a class here: https://bluecollarspiritualist.com

He’s on TikTok and Instagram as BlueColorSpiritualist

Pete's first appearance on Curious Cat Podcast 


Curious Queue Read/Watch List:

 The Strange Stuff in Walls, Newspapers.com's blog, Fish Wrap

Send us Fan Mail

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

Support the show

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

Buy Curious Cat Podcast a Coffee!