Thom Barrett is an adventurer, cancer survivor, and the author of several books: "Living While Dying", "Chasing My Northern Lights", "Embracing the Cold", "The Strength of Surrender" and "Beyond the Blueprint." His stories of resilience, adventure, and self-discovery empower readers to navigate life's adversities, cherish their experiences, and uncover the beauty in unexpected places.

We talk about a ski mountaineering adventure in the alps, hiking in Patagonia, hubris, accepting help, making friends while traveling, the value of being still in the wilderness, diving, places where people don't go, predecessor energy, preparing for death, kayaking in the arctic and antarctic, penguins, orcas, polar bears, Greenland, expedition cruises, embracing the cold, winter camping, nearly dying in an avalanche while helicopter skiing, dying on your own terms, and more.

Links are on the podcast shownotes page

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Check out my latest novel Identity Crisis

Ian Wallace is a dream psychologist who has also worked professionally as a North Sea oil-rig roughneck, mountain guide, session musician, fashion photographer, commercial pilot, military psychologist, relationship counsellor, child psychologist, celebrity psychologist and artificial intelligence inventor. His knowledge of dreams and his ability to articulate this is extraordinary.

We talk about dreams and what they mean, the conscious vs the subconscious, how dreams are the language of the unconscious, lucid dreams, how to deal with nightmares, how a bedroom should be set up to improve sleep, blue light, how alcohol affects sleep, the cycle of dreaming, how we create dreams, analogies between drams and waking life, characters in dreams, spirit, the liminal state, near death experiences, the meanings of various common dreams, recurring dreams, how our instinctive behavior affects our dreams, and more.

links are on the podcast shownotes page

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Mike Pushkin is a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates and is the Chair of the WV Democrat Party.

We talk about why elections matter, the top of the ticket vs the bottom of the ticket, substance-abuse issues, addiction and recovery, a day in the life of a delegate, representing the people, division of Americans, what we all have in common, the joy to be found in politics, driving a taxi, what one person can do to make a change in the world, SNAP, protests, the demolition of the White House's East Wing, social media, propaganda, white supremacist groups, communism, fascism, bombing boats in Venezuela, due process, keeping a standard of ethics in politics, coal mining, renewable energy, ICE, voter intimidation, authoritarian regimes and how the Trump administration is moving in this direction, the importance of everyone paying attention, empathy, music, and more.

Links are on the shownotes page

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Elliott Hasler wrote, directed, and filmed "Vindication Swim," the story of Mercedes Gleitz, the first British woman to swim the English Channel. He also wrote and directed "WWII: The Long Road Home," which opened in the USA and the UK, and for which Elliott was praised as "perhaps the next Spielberg." "Vindication Swim" opened in select theaters October 17.

We talk about filming the movie, swimming, inspiration, having the confidence to spend a year making a film, being self-taught, writing, the challenge of shooting at sea, boats, cameras, jellyfish, sharks, and more.

Links are on the podcast shownotes page

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After the previous episode with Scott Wells and Tina Erwin, I realized Tina and I had a lot more to talk about. The subject of Karma and Frequency came up and I was intrigued. After learning that she had written a book on this, titled "Karma and Frequency," I scheduled another interview with her, got the book, and read it. One could argue that nothing in life is more important than managing our karma, since it determines our "luck," how much we enjoy life, where we go after we die, and what happens after we die.

Tina and I talk about Christianity and Buddhism and how there is no religion in the afterlife, universal truths, the Dalai Lama, Martin Luther, how every person can be their own personal connection to God without intermediaries, the importance of living without the guilt imposed upon followers of some religions, the Urantia Book, predescessor energy, karma, reincarnation, why we shouldn't fear judgement, signs, past lives, the power of thoughts, how to deal with horrible people, surrounding yourself with angels, why angels are standing by waiting for us to ask for their help (they earn karma for helping us), the danger of alcohol and how addiction drops your frequency, how we can improve our karma and raise our frequency, prayer, our ultimate mission here on Earth, and more.

Links are on the podcast shownotes page

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You might remember Tina Erwin from the episode Ghost Helper Tina Erwin April 2024. She is a retired Commander in the US Navy who has had psychic abilities since she was a child. She is now know for helping ghosts, who she explains are souls trapped on Earth, pass on to Heaven. After last week's interview with Scott Wells where we discussed his Ouija Board experience and his book "Marked by the Ouija," I thought I should have them on together to gain some more insight into ghosts, Ouija boards, and Scott's experience. What follows is a discussion between the three of us, and it's mostly Tina and Scott discussing what happened (in the story he told in the previous episode) and why and who the ghost might have been, and the dangers of Ouija Boards and Tarot cards and other portals. It is truly a fascinating conversation, so open your mind and prepare to take in some knowledge from another side of reality.

We talk about Ouija Boards and what they are, Scott's story from last week's episode, who Peter (the ghost in Scott's story) might have been, how ghosts gain influence over people, how the Ouija Board represents a portal to the dark side, how to properly destroy a Ouija Board or Tarot Cards, the Crossing Over Prayer, who the perpetrator might have been, how time works on the other side, sage, frequency, string theory, how to raise our frequency, karma, the importance of service to others and relieving suffering, and more.

Links and photos are on the shownotes page

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Scott grew up in a small town in Idaho. When he was 16 years old, he bought a Ouija board. His friends got to it before he did, and while he was at work, they had an experience so terifying that they burned the board. This is just the beginning of a story so enthralling and scary that I got goosebumps several times during the interview. The book, "Marked by the Ouija," is based on this experience. I also scheduled another interview with Scott in conjunction with Tina Erwin, the "ghost helper," who I interviewed on this podcast 4/18/2024 (see episode here), which will be on the show next week (if all goes as planned). I'm expecting that Tina will have some valuable insights into Scott's experience with the Ouija board and the ghost he and his friends interacted with. This is a fascinating and eye-opening interview, however, it's a bit scary and might be unnerving. Scott stressed that the Ouija board is real and it's not a toy. He has developed a set of rules or protocol for safe use of the board. Using the Ouija contrary to the protocol, he says, leads to a negative experience which can include a spirit atttaching itself to your life. Scott also invites anyone who has had a Ouija Board experience

Enjoy!

Links are on the podcast shownotes page

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Marked by the Ouija

Robert Abele is an artist who paints Cape Cod scenes in oils. He is also a master of cultivating a creative life, and a master of articulating what this means.

We talk about becoming an artist, being inspired by a teacher, trying to be a Disney animator, capturing a feeling of time, selecting colors, playing in the shadows, skills that cross over beteween the arts, cultivating creativity in life, sailing, whales, the source of creativity, the flow state, rituals, the comfort of predictability, saving brainpower for the creative act, approaching art with an empty mind, goals, painting architecture, the purpose of art, motivation, time and balance, working out of you blocks, love of painting, how painting is a superpower, tenacity, how creativity saved his life, and more.

Photos of Robert's painting and his links are on the podcast shownotes page

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Tom Cunliffe is the author of the new novel Hurricane Force, which I read and loved. He has also written 30 sailing nonfiction books and is a lifelong sailor. He lives in England with his wife Ros, sails a Mason 44, and drives a 1949 Mk VI Freestone and Webb Bentley.

We talk about writing fiction vs nonfiction, sailing, navigating by the stars, learning to write without formal study, real and fictional bad guys, islands in the Caribbean, classic sailboats, dealing with storms at sea, writer's block, reading, and more.

Hurricane Force

Tom Cunliffe's Website

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Barbara DeMarco-Barrett is an author, creative-writing teacher, and host of the podcast Writers on Writing. Her latest book "Pool Fishing" is a collection of noir short stories and releases Sept 16.

We talk about her book Pool Fishing, the genre Noir, breaking the law, making bad decisions, creating characters, setting and how it affects story, eliciting an emotional response, Stephen King, her father's secret other family, bad relationships, first sentences, writing and emotions, poetry, endings, collecting typewriters, ways of dealing with sadness, when writing surprises us, writing novels, writing in third person and first person, past tense and present tense, mistakes new authors commonly make, the importance of reading, practice, journaling, sailing, the Panama Canal, and more.

links are on the shownotes page

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