Howl in the Wilderness

In part two of my conversation with wilderness educator and mythologist Stephanie McKay, we take a deep dive into the old Germanic folk tale Iron Hans, also known as Iron John, the subject of Robert Bly’s seminal 1990 book. Stephanie offers some unique insights into the historical layers of the story that are fascinating and surprising.

Even though I’ve read Bly’s book many times over the past 30 years and recently conducted an 8-week online group where we read and reflected on the story, Stephanie’s insights opened up a whole new area of inquiry for me. In the audio version of part two, I’ve included an afterword where I share some of that research.

If you have any interest in this story, or pre-Christian European culture and spiritual traditions, I highly recommend you check it out.

Research links:

• Wikipedia article on Bog Iron: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bog_iron

• Iron Metallurgy in Africa (wiki): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_metallurgy_in_Africa

• Bret Devereau's blog on pre-modern iron production: https://acoup.blog/2020/09/25/collections-iron-how-did-they-make-it-part-ii-trees-for-blooms/

• The Age of Iron in West Africa: https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/iron/hd_iron.htm

• Say It In Iron: Symbols of Transformation and Reproduction in the European Iron Age by Randi Haaland: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/285870352_Say_it_in_Iron_Symbols_of_Transformation_and_Reproduction_in_the_European_Iron_Age

On this episode I speak with Stephanie McKay, an educator and mentor in earth-based skills and ancestral ways, located on Gabriola Island, British Columbia.

Stephanie and I met when I attended one of her Mythology Club sessions and found that we shared a common passion for tending to old stories in a way that reveals their deeper layers of meaning.

In the first part of our conversation, we talk about her transition from working as a video artist to becoming a wilderness educator, and her 12-year participation in Martín Prechtel’s school Bolad’s Kitchen.

In the second half, we take a deep dive into the old Germanic folk tale Iron Hans, also known as Iron John, the subject of Robert Bly’s seminal 1990 book. Stephanie offers some unique insights into the historical layers of the story that are fascinating and surprising.

Even though I’ve read Bly’s book many times over the past 30 years and recently conducted an 8-week online group where we read and reflected on the story, Stephanie’s insights opened up a whole new area of inquiry for me. In the audio version of part two, I’ve included an afterword where I share some of that research.

If you have any interest in this story, or pre-Christian European culture and spiritual traditions, I highly recommend you check it out.

Stephanie's website: http://fianna.ca

Michele Lawrence of the This is Yoga Therapy podcast invited me on to speak about my work exploring the intersections of yoga and plant medicine therapy.

Yoga & Plant Medicine book: https://www.amazon.com/Yoga-Plant-Medicine-Psychedelics-Transformation/dp/1088479847

Shamanic Roots of Yoga: https://youtu.be/b9KT7rVgynk?si=xVuQ1Pc7WvmGqEBj

Shamanic Yoga Breathwork for Self Healing https://medicinepath.gumroad.com/l/breathwork

This is a preview of a longer episode. To listen to the full conversation and gain exclusive access the first 100 episode archive, join the pack over at patreon.com/howlinthewilderness 

Send a one time contribution to http://paypal.me/brianjamessoul

Show Links:

http://brianjames.ca

http://instagram.com/brianjames.soulwork

Watch and subscribe on YouTube: http://youtube.com/@howlinthewilderness

Description:

On this episode I speak with Dick Russell, author of the monumental three volume biography of renegade post-Jungian psychologist James Hillman.

Dick is the author of many books, including his groundbreaking journalism on the JFK assassination and best sellers co-authored with Jesse Ventura and Robert Kennedy Jr.

Dick is a natural and generous storyteller and in our conversation he shares many wonderful stories about his friend and mentor James Hillman. In the last half hour of our talk, Dick shares the extraordinary story of taking his schizophrenic son to meet with famed West African teacher and healer Malidoma Somé, eventually traveling to Burkina Faso to work with an indigenous African shaman for a month-long healing ritual.

This was a wonderful conversation and I hope you enjoy it much as I did.

Topics: James Hillman, archetypal psychology, Malidoma Somé, shamanism, schizophrenia, Robert Bly, mythopoetic men's movement

Links:

https://dickrussell.org

http://brianjames.ca

http://instagram.com/brianjames.soulwork

http://youtube.com/@howlinthewilderness

REFERENCES:

• Dick Russell, The Life and Ideas of James Hillman: Volume II: Re-Visioning Psychology https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-life-and-ideas-of-james-hillman-volume-ii-dick-russell/18312785?ean=9781956763188
• Dick Russell, My Mysterious Son https://bookshop.org/p/books/my-mysterious-son-a-life-changing-passage-between-schizophrenia-and-shamanism-dick-russell/8280481?ean=9781510729001
• Malidoma Patrice Somé, Of Water and the Spirit: Ritual, Magic, and Initiation in the Life of an African Shaman https://bookshop.org/p/books/of-water-and-the-spirit-ritual-magic-and-initiation-in-the-life-of-an-african-shaman-malidoma-patrice-some/7315872?ean=9780140194968
• James Hillman, Re-visioning Psychology https://bookshop.org/p/books/re-visioning-psychology-james-hillman/8862726?ean=9780060905637

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode I speak with Dick Russell, author of the monumental three volume biography of renegade post-Jungian psychologist James Hillman.

Dick is the author of many books, including his groundbreaking journalism on the JFK assassination and best sellers co-authored with Jesse Ventura and Robert Kennedy Jr.

Dick is a natural and generous storyteller and in our conversation he shares many wonderful stories about his friend and mentor James Hillman. In the last half hour of our talk, Dick shares the extraordinary story of taking his schizophrenic son to meet with famed West African teacher and healer Malidoma Somé, eventually traveling to Burkina Faso to work with an indigenous African shaman for a month-long healing ritual.

This was a wonderful conversation and I hope you enjoy it much as I did.

Topics: James Hillman, archetypal psychology, Malidoma Somé, shamanism, schizophrenia, Robert Bly, mythopoetic men's movement

Links:

https://dickrussell.org
http://brianjames.ca
http://instagram.com/brianjames.soulwork
http://youtube.com/@howlinthewilderness

REFERENCES:

• Dick Russell, The Life and Ideas of James Hillman: Volume II: Re-Visioning Psychology https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-life-and-ideas-of-james-hillman-volume-ii-dick-russell/18312785?ean=9781956763188

• Dick Russell, My Mysterious Son https://bookshop.org/p/books/my-mysterious-son-a-life-changing-passage-between-schizophrenia-and-shamanism-dick-russell/8280481?ean=9781510729001

• Malidoma Patrice Somé, Of Water and the Spirit: Ritual, Magic, and Initiation in the Life of an African Shaman https://bookshop.org/p/books/of-water-and-the-spirit-ritual-magic-and-initiation-in-the-life-of-an-african-shaman-malidoma-patrice-some/7315872?ean=9780140194968

• James Hillman, Re-visioning Psychology https://bookshop.org/p/books/re-visioning-psychology-james-hillman/8862726?ean=9780060905637

This is a preview of a longer episode. To listen to the full conversation and gain exclusive access the first 100 episode archive, join the pack over at patreon.com/howlinthewilderness 

Send a one time contribution to http://paypal.me/brianjamessoul

Show Links:

http://brianjames.ca

http://instagram.com/brianjames.soulwork

Watch and subscribe on YouTube: http://youtube.com/@howlinthewilderness

Description:

On this episode I speak with Jungian and archetypal psychologist Stanton Marlan about alchemy, imagination, psychology and non-ordinary states of consciousness.

Stanton Marlan, Ph.D. is an American clinical psychologist, Jungian psychoanalyst, author, and educator. Stan has written extensively on alchemy and archetypal psychology, includingThe Black Sun, The Alchemy and Art of Darkness, C. G. Jung and the Alchemical Imagination, and Jung's Alchemical Philosophy.

In our conversation we explore the different approaches to the alchemical imagination taken by two of Stan’s main teachers: Carl Jung and James Hillman and how they informed his own approach to working with alchemical images in psychotherapy over 50 years of practice.

Stan was also kind enough to sprinkle in some personal stories about his friend and mentor James Hillman, as well as the early spiritual and psychedelic experiences that opened his awareness to the deeper mysteries of the soul.

Topics: alchemy, psychology, carl jung, james hillman, psychedelics, soul

References:

• Stan's 2017 Pacifica lecture: https://youtu.be/8SF_w77j0dc
• The Black Sun: https://www.tamupress.com/book/9781603440783/the-black-sun/
• CG Jung's Alchemical Philosophy: https://www.routledge.com/Jungs-Alchemical-Philosophy-Psyche-and-the-Mercurial-Play-of-Image-and/Marlan/p/book/9781032105444
• Archetypal Psychologies: https://www.amazon.ca/Archetypal-Psychologies-Reflections-Honor-Hillman/dp/188267054X
• Peter Kingsley Catafalque: https://peterkingsley.org/product/catafalque/
• Edward Edinger Anatomy of the Psyche: https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/anatomy-of-the-psyche-alchemical-symbolism-in-psychotherapy_edward-f-edinger/486783/#edition=3764623&idiq=10607188
• Susan Sontag Against Interpretation: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/54889e73e4b0a2c1f9891289/t/564b6702e4b022509140783b/1447782146111/Sontag-Against+Interpretation.pdf

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a preview of a longer episode. To listen to the full conversation and gain exclusive access the first 100 episode archive, join the pack over at patreon.com/howlinthewilderness 

Send a one time contribution to http://paypal.me/brianjamessoul

Show Links:

http://brianjames.ca

http://instagram.com/brianjames.soulwork

Watch and subscribe on YouTube: http://youtube.com/@howlinthewilderness

Description:

On this episode I speak with Rune Hjarnø Rasmussen from the Nordic Animism YouTube channel.

This was a really fascinating conversation and we cover a lot of ground, from the almost lost ancient animist traditions of Scandinavia to the vibrant, ever-evolving animist practices of the African diaspora in Brazil.

We talk about the distinctions between animism and paganism, what makes animist traditions so resilient, and how the living animist practices of the global South could lead us in the North toward a post-Colonial, post-monotheistic future in which religious diversity and eclecticism are not only tolerated but celebrated, and reverence for other-than-human life is once again central to our spiritual practice.

This was a fun one and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Topics: animism, paganism, shamanism, condomblé, orishas, capoeira, post-colonialism

References:

• Rune's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nordicanimism
• Animist Manifesto: https://www.animism.org.uk/HarveyAnimism%20flyer.pdf
• Laughing at the Spirits article: https://www.e-flux.com/journal/36/61261/laughing-at-the-spirits-in-north-siberia-is-animism-being-taken-too-seriously/
• Maya Deren, Divine Horsemen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divine_Horsemen:_The_Living_Gods_of_Haiti

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To support the podcast and gain exclusive access the first 100 episode archive, join the pack over at patreon.com/howlinthewilderness 

Send a one time contribution to http://paypal.me/brianjamessoul

Show Links:

http://brianjames.ca

http://instagram.com/brianjames.soulwork

Watch and subscribe on YouTube: http://youtube.com/@howlinthewilderness

Description:

A few days ago I saw that John was going to be offering a couple new seminars online, so I reached out to him and asked if he’d like to workshop his ideas with me beforehand and release it as a podcast.

He agreed, and what you’re going to hear is a raw and unedited conversation between the two of us, exploring the subjects of his two upcoming seminars.

The first one is called The Odyssey Of Aging: Transitioning from Hero to Elder and explores the question “How do men and women let go of outward driven goals and the pursuits of youth and live the second half of life as Elders, mentors and guides?”

The second conversation is on Creativity, Addiction and Passivity and explores the differences between creativity and addiction, and how addiction blocks creativity and stifles emotional maturation.

As usual, I really enjoyed speaking with John and value him as a mentor and elder. I hope you enjoy listening in on our discussion, and if you’re listening to this before September 30, 2023 and are interested in checking out the live seminars, you can go to higherthoughtinstitute.com or check the link in the description. For you counselors and therapists, these seminars are approved for continuing education credits.

Even if you’re not in the helping professions, John’s very practical and down-to-earth approach will make this information accessible and useful for anyone to get the benefit.

Links:

http://johnleebooks.com

https://higherthoughtinstitute.com/product/september-30-2023-john-lee-ma-webinar/

References:

• Allen Chinen, Beyond the Hero: https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/beyond-the-hero_allan-b-chinen/825131
• Rilke poem: https://dailypoetry.me/rilke/somewhere-to-the-east-theres-a-church/
• Rag & Bone Shop of the Heart: https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/the-rag-and-bone-shop-of-the-heart-a-poetry-anthology_henry-david-thoreau_robert-frost/258285

Things to Think, Robert Bly

Think in ways you've never thought before.

If the phone rings, think of it as carrying a message

Larger than anything you've ever heard,

Vaster than a hundred lines of Yeats.

Think that someone may bring a bear to your door,

Maybe wounded and deranged; or think that a moose

Has risen out of the lake, and he's carrying on his antlers

A child of your own whom you've never seen.

When someone knocks on the door, think that he's about

To give you something large: tell you you're forgiven,

Or that it's not necessary to work all the time, or that it's

Been decided that if you lie down no one will die.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To support the podcast and gain exclusive access the first 100 episode archive, join the pack over at patreon.com/howlinthewilderness 

Send a one time contribution to http://paypal.me/brianjamessoul

Show Links:

http://brianjames.ca

http://instagram.com/brianjames.soulwork

Watch and subscribe on YouTube: http://youtube.com/@howlinthewilderness

Description:

A few days ago I saw that John was going to be offering a couple new seminars online, so I reached out to him and asked if he’d like to workshop his ideas with me beforehand and release it as a podcast.

He agreed, and what you’re going to hear is a raw and unedited conversation between the two of us, exploring the subjects of his two upcoming seminars.

The first one is called The Odyssey Of Aging: Transitioning from Hero to Elder and explores the question “How do men and women let go of outward driven goals and the pursuits of youth and live the second half of life as Elders, mentors and guides?”

The second conversation is on Creativity, Addiction and Passivity and explores the differences between creativity and addiction, and how addiction blocks creativity and stifles emotional maturation.

As usual, I really enjoyed speaking with John and value him as a mentor and elder. I hope you enjoy listening in on our discussion, and if you’re listening to this before September 30, 2023 and are interested in checking out the live seminars, you can go to higherthoughtinstitute.com or check the link in the description. For you counselors and therapists, these seminars are approved for continuing education credits.

Even if you’re not in the helping professions, John’s very practical and down-to-earth approach will make this information accessible and useful for anyone to get the benefit.

Links:

http://johnleebooks.com

https://higherthoughtinstitute.com/product/september-30-2023-john-lee-ma-webinar/

References:

• Allen Chinen, Beyond the Hero: https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/beyond-the-hero_allan-b-chinen/825131
• Rilke poem: https://dailypoetry.me/rilke/somewhere-to-the-east-theres-a-church/
• Rag & Bone Shop of the Heart: https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/the-rag-and-bone-shop-of-the-heart-a-poetry-anthology_henry-david-thoreau_robert-frost/258285

Things to Think, Robert Bly

Think in ways you've never thought before.

If the phone rings, think of it as carrying a message

Larger than anything you've ever heard,

Vaster than a hundred lines of Yeats.

Think that someone may bring a bear to your door,

Maybe wounded and deranged; or think that a moose

Has risen out of the lake, and he's carrying on his antlers

A child of your own whom you've never seen.

When someone knocks on the door, think that he's about

To give you something large: tell you you're forgiven,

Or that it's not necessary to work all the time, or that it's

Been decided that if you lie down no one will die.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A few days ago I saw that John was going to be offering a couple new seminars online, so I reached out to him and asked if he’d like to workshop his ideas with me beforehand and release it as a podcast.

He agreed, and what you’re going to hear is a raw and unedited conversation between the two of us, exploring the subjects of his two upcoming seminars.

The first one is called The Odyssey Of Aging: Transitioning from Hero to Elder and explores the question “How do men and women let go of outward driven goals and the pursuits of youth and live the second half of life as Elders, mentors and guides?”

The second conversation is on Creativity, Addiction and Passivity and explores the differences between creativity and addiction, and how addiction blocks creativity and stifles emotional maturation.

As usual, I really enjoyed speaking with John and value him as a mentor and elder. I hope you enjoy listening in on our discussion, and if you’re listening to this before September 30, 2023 and are interested in checking out the live seminars, you can go to higherthoughtinstitute.com or check the link in the description. For you counselors and therapists, these seminars are approved for continuing education credits.

Even if you’re not in the helping professions, John’s very practical and down-to-earth approach will make this information accessible and useful for anyone to get the benefit.

Links:

http://johnleebooks.com https://higherthoughtinstitute.com/product/september-30-2023-john-lee-ma-webinar/

References:

• Allen Chinen, Beyond the Hero: https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/beyond-the-hero_allan-b-chinen/825131

• Rilke poem: https://dailypoetry.me/rilke/somewhere-to-the-east-theres-a-church/

• Rag & Bone Shop of the Heart: https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/the-rag-and-bone-shop-of-the-heart-a-poetry-anthology_henry-david-thoreau_robert-frost/258285

Things to Think, Robert Bly

Think in ways you've never thought before.

If the phone rings, think of it as carrying a message

Larger than anything you've ever heard,

Vaster than a hundred lines of Yeats.

Think that someone may bring a bear to your door,

Maybe wounded and deranged; or think that a moose

Has risen out of the lake, and he's carrying on his antlers

A child of your own whom you've never seen.

When someone knocks on the door, think that he's about

To give you something large: tell you you're forgiven,

Or that it's not necessary to work all the time, or that it's

Been decided that if you lie down no one will die.