What happens when a joke becomes a movement?

In this behind-the-scenes video, I share the wild, honest story of launching the Church of Gnome—from slow beginnings to explosive growth, the joy of community, the chaos of scaling, and everything in between. Whether you’re thinking of starting your own spiritual group, nonprofit, or mission-driven brand, this is the real story of what it takes.

The Hidden Folk of Iceland: Elves, Fairies, and Folklore in Real Life

🧝‍♀️✨ A new Gnome Talk episode exploring the magic, mystery, and real-world impact of Iceland’s hidden people.

What if elves were more than myth?

What if fairy folklore could shape modern law, pause construction projects, and influence how an entire country treats the land?

In this episode, Gnomean Elder Brett Larsen takes you on a journey through Iceland—where belief in Huldufólk (the hidden folk) still lives on. These aren’t just bedtime stories. They’re active forces in Icelandic life, influencing everything from politics to parking lots.

You’ll hear about:

🌋 Elf churches that halted government infrastructure

🛑 Roads rerouted around sacred boulders

🏠 Houses and towns built around fairy dwellings

📜 Legal protections for enchanted sites

🕯️ Modern rituals—like lighting candles for elves on New Year’s Eve

🌿 And the deeper message behind these stories: how belief in the unseen can cultivate reverence, respect, and a more conscious way of living.

This isn’t just about Iceland—it’s about what we lose when we stop making space for wonder.

What if forgiveness isn’t about excusing what happened…

but about setting your heart free from carrying it any longer?

In this episode of Gnome Talk, we explore the sixth Gnomean Principle:

Forgiveness and Reconciliation

“To release another from the chains of the past is to unburden your own heart and set both souls free.”

But we don’t treat forgiveness like a buzzword.

We talk about it honestly—acknowledging the pain, the boundaries, and the complexity that comes with trying to forgive when you’ve been hurt.

This episode is for anyone who’s trying to make peace without compromising their self-respect.

For those wondering whether to let someone back in—or whether letting go is the only way forward.

For those carrying anger, guilt, or grief over something they can’t quite forget.

We talk about:

– The difference between forgiveness and reconciliation

– Why forgiveness doesn’t always mean reconnection

– The role of accountability in an era where every mistake is public and permanent

– Releasing resentment without losing your boundaries

– A gentle, grounded way to move toward healing—without pressure

You are allowed to forgive without forgetting.

You are allowed to walk away without hate.

You are allowed to heal on your terms.

What happens when you walk away from the religion you were raised in…

but still carry a deep hunger for something sacred?

This episode is for anyone who has left a spiritual path—whether it was strict, controlling, shame-based, or just no longer fit—but still finds themselves holding quiet questions, spiritual longing, or grief for what was lost.

Since starting the Church of Gnome, one of the most unexpected and powerful things that’s happened is how many people have reached out saying:

“I grew up in something intense…

and I didn’t realize how much I needed a space like this until I found it.”

In this episode, we talk about:

– Why people leave religion (and why that takes courage)

– What gets lost, what might be worth keeping, and what you’re allowed to reclaim

– The grief, fear, and silence that often follow deconstruction

– How the sacred still lives in the everyday—quiet, unrushed, and fully yours

– What makes the Church of Gnome different, and how it’s become a gentle home for so many spiritually wounded wanderers

You don’t need to believe in gnomes.

You just need to believe that your story isn’t over—and that you’re allowed to keep what still feels real.

What if confidence isn’t loud?

What if believing in yourself has nothing to do with being certain… and everything to do with choosing not to shrink anymore?

In this episode of Gnome Talk, we explore what it really means to believe in yourself—not as performance or hype, but as a deep, quiet act of returning to who you truly are. This is for the ones who second-guess, who hold back, who are always steady for others but unsure how to be steady within themselves.

If you’ve ever wrestled with imposter syndrome…

If you’ve ever waited to feel ready…

If you’ve ever questioned whether you’re “too much” or “not enough”—

This episode is for you.

🧙‍♂️ In this episode, we reflect on:

– The emotional weight of self-doubt

– The quiet ways we learn to hide ourselves

– Redefining confidence as a form of self-trust

– Gnome-inspired wisdom about rooted presence and humble courage

– A blessing for those learning to show up without apology

✨ You don’t need to become someone else to believe in yourself. You just have to come home to yourself.

Can a spiritual life make room for grief and humor? For sacred silence and fart jokes? For ancient symbols and Bigfoot memes?

At the Church of Gnome, we believe the answer is yes.

In this episode, we explore the deep and often overlooked relationship between the serious and the silly, how absurdity can be a spiritual tool, and how humor can be a bridge that connects people in ways belief alone sometimes can’t.

We talk about why gnomes make the perfect symbol for this middle space: strange, earthy, symbolic beings that live in the threshold between mystery and mischief.

And we dig into what it really means to hold space for people to be fully themselves; not just their polished, spiritual selves, but their weird, wondering, questioning, laughing, evolving selves.

What do you do when your beliefs no longer fit, but you’re still drawn to something deeper?

In this episode, I share my own winding journey through belief, doubt, and rediscovery from childhood experiences with Christianity, to exploring UFOlogy, philosophy, and meditation… all the way to the unexpected but meaningful role gnomes played through every phase.

This episode isn’t just about my story. It’s about what it means to grow, question, rebuild, and stay open.

It’s for the seekers. The lifelong believers. The doubters. The ones in between.

It’s for anyone who’s ever asked, “What do I believe now?” and wasn’t sure how to answer.

🧭 We explore:

– How belief evolves (and why that’s okay)

– Why certainty isn’t the goal

– The connection between folklore, grounded spirituality, and personal meaning

– And how gnomes became a living symbol of something deeper

Whether you’ve held the same faith your whole life, or you’ve rebuilt yours more than once, there’s something here for you.

🧙‍♂️ Gnome Blessings to all who wander, all who wonder, and all who still believe in something, even if they don’t know what to call it yet.

In this deeply personal episode of Gnome Talk, I open up about a season of profound loss, my best friend, my younger sister, two aunts, and most recently, my grandmother.

I don’t have all the answers about death, the afterlife, or what comes next, but I do have lived experience, intuitive moments, and a kind of peace that has helped me stay grounded through it all. This episode isn’t about beliefs, it’s about presence, connection, and the mysterious threads that help us hold grief without falling apart.

I share the story of being present with my grandfather in his final moments, the intuitive pull to visit my grandmother just before she passed, and the quiet knowing that even without certainty there can still be meaning, love, and peace.

If you’re navigating grief, this episode is for you.

🙏 We don’t have to know everything to hold each other through something.

💬 Share your experience in the comments, and subscribe for more episodes of spiritual reflection, gnome wisdom, and real conversations.

Gnome Blessings to all who grieve, all who hold space, and all who still find beauty in the face of endings.

In this episode, we explore a quiet truth many of us forget: the earth misses us.

And we miss it, too.

Modern life makes it easy to stay disconnected, to move from screen to screen, place to place, without ever truly stepping outside and being. But what happens when we pause for just ten minutes… and return?

This episode is for anyone who’s been feeling tired, rushed, foggy, or just… off. It’s a gentle reminder that your body, your spirit, and the soil beneath your feet are all part of the same sacred rhythm—and it’s okay to slow down enough to hear it.

✨ In this episode:

— How modern life trains us to treat nature as optional

— Why ten minutes outside can ground you more than an hour online

— Letting go of guilt and hustle to reclaim presence

— Gnomean reflections on harmony with nature and the sacred ordinary

— Why slowing down isn’t lazy, it’s listening

This isn’t about grand rituals. This is about bare feet in the grass. Looking at the sky. Touching a leaf. Breathing in the wind like it remembers your name.

Come back to the world that never stopped waiting for you.

🧡 Join the Church of Gnome or become an ordained minister (human or pet!):

👉 https://www.ChurchOfGnome.org

🌱 Gnome Blessings. May the next breeze find you still.

Somewhere along the way, many of us stopped trusting joy.

We learned to brace for disappointment.

We mistook numbness for strength.

We forgot that laughter, peace, and wonder aren’t luxuries—they’re part of what keeps us whole.

In this special episode of Gnome Talk, we explore the slow return of joy and why it matters.

You’ll hear:

🌿 Why sadness became our default

🌿 The deeper spiritual role of joy—not as escape, but as healing

🌿 How to gently reintroduce joy into your life, even alongside grief

🌿 Gnomean perspectives on joy as sacred, grounded, and communal

🌿 A closing blessing to help you carry joy into the days ahead

This episode is for anyone who’s felt stuck, tired, or uncertain about whether happiness is still meant for them.

It is. And you’re not alone.

✨ Let joy feel normal again. You deserve that. We all do. ✨