Merlin's Diary Podcast

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Merlin's Diary Podcast hosts Barry Durdant-Hollamby and Neil del Strother have just had the honour of interviewing one of the World's leading truth-seekers and authors, Graham Hancock. The interview was very inspiring for us as we learnt more about Graham's personal story and how he became the agent for change that he is today. Please share freely. All our interviews are free to share.

Here's a little background on Graham, followed by some info about his stunning new book 'Magicians of the Gods'. 

As East Africa correspondent of The Economist in the early eighties Graham Hancock began to write a series of highly acclaimed books on economics, politics and foreign aid. His life took a whole new turn when he became fascinated by rumours that the Ark of the Covenant is real artefact, hidden somewhere in northern Africa. The story of his detective work, tracking it down to its supposed final resting place became the international bestseller The Sign and the Seal (now in production as a feature film.) More bestsellers in the field of 'alternative history' followed, including Fingerprints of the Gods, Keeper of Genesis (the latter co-authored with Robert Bauval) and Heaven's Mirror. In Supernatural he described his experiences journeying to experiment with hallucinogenic drugs amongst tribes people for whom they represent a gateway into supernatural realms. His ideas on exploring new dimensions in consciousness became the subject of his controversial TED talks.

Graham Hancock's books have been translated into twenty-seven languages and have sold over nine million copies worldwide. His public lectures and broadcasts, including two major TV series for Channel 4, Quest for the Lost Civilisation, and Flooded Kingdoms of the Ice Age, have further established his reputation as an unconventional thinker who raises controversial questions about humanity`s past.

(CLICK PICTURE FOR BOOK LINK)

Near the end of the last Ice Age 12,800 years ago, a giant comet that had entered the solar system from deep space thousands of years earlier, broke into multiple fragments. Some of these struck the Earth causing a global cataclysm on a scale unseen since the extinction of the dinosaurs. At least eight of the fragments hit the North American ice cap, while further fragments hit the northern European ice cap.

The impacts, from comet fragments a mile wide approaching at more than 60,000 miles an hour, generated huge amounts of heat which instantly liquidized millions of square kilometers of ice, destabilizing the Earth's crust and causing the global Deluge that is remembered in myths all around the world.

A second series of impacts, equally devastating, causing further cataclysmic flooding, occurred 11,600 years ago, the exact date that Plato gives for the destruction and submergence of Atlantis.

But there were survivors - known to later cultures by names such as 'the Sages', 'the Magicians', 'the Shining Ones', and 'the Mystery Teachers of Heaven'. They travelled the world in their great ships doing all in their power to keep the spark of civilization burning. They settled at key locations - Gobekli Tepe in Turkey, Baalbek in the Lebanon, Giza in Egypt, ancient Sumer, Mexico, Peru and across the Pacific where a huge pyramid has recently been discovered in Indonesia. Everywhere they went these 'Magicians of the Gods' brought with them the memory of a time when mankind had fallen out of harmony with the universe and paid a heavy price.

A memory and a warning to the future... For the comet that wrought such destruction between 12,800 and 11,600 years may not be done with us yet. Astronomers believe that a 20-mile wide 'dark' fragment of the original giant comet remains hidden within its debris stream and threatens the Earth. An astronomical message encoded at Gobekli Tepe, and in the Sphinx and the pyramids of Egypt,warns that the 'Great Return' will occur in our time...

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Martín Prechtel  was raised on a Pueblo Indian reservation in New Mexico, where he learned the Keres language. His mother was a Canadian Native American and his father a Swiss palaeontologist. In 1970 after his first marriage ended, he traveled south through Mexico to end up in Guatemala. After a year of traveling through Guatemala, he found his home in a small village near Lake Atitlan inhabited by the Tz'utujil (one of the numerous Maya sub-cultures). There he met Nicolas Chiviliu Tacaxoy, a respected shaman of the village who believed Prechtel to be the student he prayed for.

He learned the Tzutujil language, married a Tzutujil woman and raised two sons (a third son had died). Though not Tzutujil by birth, Prechtel became one of the most important village members both spiritually and politically. When Chiviliu died, Prechtel then became acting shaman to the approximately thirty thousand people of Santiago Atitlan. Prechtel joined the Scat Mulaj (the village political body) and even rose to the position of Nabey Mam (the first chief), and among other duties was responsible for the initiating of the village's young men into adulthood. During the Guatemalan civil war, Prechtel and his family were forced to flee for their lives and settled in the U.S. His wife returned later with their two sons to Guatemala, but the two boys then came back to their father.

Upon returning to the U.S. Prechtel was introduced to author Robert Bly and began contributing at Bly's Men's Movement workshops. Bly was instrumental in getting Prechtel's writing published. Prechtel once again resides in New Mexico, at the site of his school near the village of Ojo Caliente. He appears around the world at different educational conferences and leads workshops intended to assist in the reconnection to the sacredness in nature and everyday life, and in finding one's sense of purpose in the modern world. Colleagues include Robert Bly, Malidoma Somé, and Michael J Meade.

Among his writings are Secrets of the Talking Jaguar, an autobiographical account of his initiation as a Mayan Shaman; Long Life, Honey in the Heart, an account of his village life in Santiago Atitlán; Stealing Benefacio's Roses: A Mayan Epic (Formerly Titled The Toe Bone and The Tooth), an autobiographical account of how he relived an ancient Maya myth in his own life; and The Disobedience of the Daughter of the Sun, a Maya myth that includes Prechtel's observations of how the Maya relate to the story. His works also include various musical recordings, paintings and an audio recording of a lecture he gives called Grief and Praise. He orchestrates "gatherings" and workshops around the country as well as curating his own school called Bolad's Kitchen.

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JENNY COCKELL (Past Lives)

In her best-selling book Yesterday's Children, Jenny Cockell discusses her extraordinary past life memories of life as Mary Sutton in early-20th century Ireland. The book chronicles Jenny's research into Sutton's life and her subsequent journey in which she ended up reuniting the entire Sutton family. This month we have had the pleasure of interviewing Jenny for the new Merlin's Diary podcast, and she tells us more about the experiences that have changed her life and how she integrates them into her life today.

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Neil and I both had to pinch ourselves when

we received confirmation of our latest Merlin's Diary podcast guest. Desmond

Tutu is Emeritus Archbishop of Cape Town, he's a former Nobel Peace prize winner

and an honorary member of the global council of elders. His courageous and tireless

work to help the voice of blacks be heard during 80s Apartheid South Africa has

helped him to stand alongside the world's foremost human rights activists such

as Nelson Mandela, Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. Today, in his

80s, he continues to work on helping to improve the wellbeing of people and the wellbeing of the planet.

We timed this interview's release with the 25th anniversary of Nelson Mandela's release from 27 years in jail. That release happened on the 11th February 1990.

We try to meet our guests fully in the now and they always seem genuinely inspired by our questions and the deepening that ensues. It was wonderful to hear later, from The Archbishop's personal assistant,  that he had been

completely charmed by the whole interview experience. The audio track at the end is Mozart's 'Laudate Dominum' performed by Edith Mathis, Straatskapella Dresden, Bernhard Klee. Listen, enjoy and share.

Photos courtesy of (from top down) Elke Wetzig, Tutufoundation USA, TVCNews

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We start 2015 with an interview that has been our most 'listened-to' interview to date, featuring Gabrielle Roth, who died just a few months after we spoke to her in 2012. 

The founder of 5Rhythms,  Gabrielle was an American dancer and musician in the world music and trance dance genres, with a special interest in shamanism. She created the 5Rhythms approach to movement in the 1960s and there are now hundreds of 5Rhythms teachers worldwide who use her approach in their work.

During this in-depth interview Gabrielle reveals her story of the 5Rhythms development. the challenges she faced and the people that inspired her. And much more besides. It makes for a truly inspiring listen.

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Welcome to the  Merlin's Diary podcast. You can access the Merlin's Diary Search Engine in both theUK (www.merlinsdiary.com) and the USA (www.us.merlinsdiary.com). All event/presenter/venues listing is FREE so get adding your details and be seen on google, yahoo etc! Make sure you're subscribed to The Merlin's Diary newsletter and have made friends with us on facebook (Merlin's Diary) to get the latest updates.

This interview features a beautiful exchange with the smiling, laughing and graceful Mooji.It is a re-run of a programme we first aired a couple of years ago. The show is  co-hosted as ever by Merlin's Diary founder Barry Durdant-Hollamby and fellow author Neil del Strother, 

In this interview Mooji talks about his journey into awakeness; the challenge of remaining present to the moment; the quotes, book and people that have inspired him; and the role of a 'guru' in the lives of searchers.

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This month we interview Leo Rutherford, a renowned teacher and pioneer of shamanism in the West. He was one of the first people to bring the teachings of shamanism to the UK and founded the Eagle's Wing College of Contemporary Shamanism in 1987. Having worked in industry for 20 years, he was suffering from acute stress and depression by the age of 40 - and setting out find a path with more heart - he discovered the ancient wisdom of indigenous shamans.

He has published six books including 'The View through the Medicine Wheel' (O-Books 2008), 'Shamanic Path Workbook' (Arima Pubs, 2006) and 'Principles of shamanism' (Harper Collins 1996) and most recently 'Spirituality versus religion (CreateSpace 2011).

You can visit Leo's Eagle's Wing College of Contemporary Shamanism by clicking here.

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Philip Carr-Gomm is a Psychotherapist, educationalist and author practising at the cutting edge of a whole new paradigm in the field of Ecopsychology. Since 1988 he's also been the  leader of OBOD, the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids where he has overseen robust growth in the organisation thanks partly to the distance learning course he helped to create.

This month we had the pleasure of interviewing this very humble and down-to-earth man in the new podcast. We learnt a lot and found this a fascinating in-depth interview. So just click the link at the top of this entry to hear the show.. 

You can find out more about Philip by clicking his name above to visit his website. You can learn more about OBOD at http://www.druidry.org/

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Charles Eisenstein is an author and public speaker, and self-described "degrowth activist". He is the author of several books including The Ascent of Humanity (2007), Sacred Economics (2011), and The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know Is Possible (2013). 

Hear Merlin's Diary founder Barry Durdant-Hollamby and podcast co-host Neil del Strother interview Charles in-depth in the new Merlin's Diary podcast interview. 

If you're a facebook user then please go and check out Charles's facebook page at  https://www.facebook.com/charles.eisenstein 

Click Charles's name above or here to visit his personal website: https://www.charleseisenstein.net

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Steve Biddulph is one of the world’s best  known parenting authors and a very entertaining speaker. A psychologist for 25 years, he is now retired but continues to write and teach. His books, including The Secret of Happy Children, Raising Boys, The New Manhood and now Raising Girls, are in four million homes and 31 languages. They have influenced the way we look at childhood and especially the development of boys and men.  Hear Merlin's Diary founder Barry Durdant-Hollamby and podcast co-host Neil del Strother interview Steve in-depth in the new Merlin's Diary podcast interview. 

If you're a facebook user then please go and check out Steve's facebook pages at  https://www.facebook.com/stevebiddulphraisinggirls and

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Steve-Biddulphs-Raising-Boys

Click Steve's name above or here to visit his personal website: www.stevebiddulph.com