The Evolving Adventure

Today we delve into the wisdom that jaguar holds. It's been an interesting start to the year in this corner of Trucktoyaktuk, compete with -30 snow, above-freezing rain and slush melt, and all weathers between. I was meditating on a theme for 2022 and pulled the jaguar card, which is connected with intuition, honesty and integrity... which felt prudent to share as we enter a period where we are creating new paradigms as the old systems fall away.

Jaguar wisdom from Tanya Casteel 

Jaguar wisdom from What Is My Spirit Animal 

Jaguar wisdom from the Sams & Carson Medicine Cards deck

Today's episode was catalyzed by the unexpected and synchronistic appearance of a frog in my life yesterday that prompted me to look into some of the wisdom shared by frogs. Cleansing is very useful in these stressful times we're in, and letting go of what no longer serves can bring us to the magic that makes life worth living. Join me today to hear some lessons that nature shares to help us process the emotions associated with letting go of something, or being let go: a job, romantic relationship, limiting belief, friendship or what we think is "normal." 

As always, connect with me at [email protected] with questions, comments and guest suggestions. And thank YOU to the listeners out there across 34 countries and counting: have a wonderful day and always remember to #optoutside

Self care is an important topic anytime, but especially now with the amount of grief, mental health challenges, job losses, suicides, deaths of despair and addictions exacerbated by political events of the recent past. 

I recorded this episode specifically to share how important it is to take care of yourself at any time. As with the briefing given before a plane takes off, in the event of an emergency put on YOUR oxygen mask before helping others. Individually, we are not helping anyone else if we're not taking care of ourself first.

Today's episode goes through a definition of self-care, and shares many ways by which one can perform self-care. We're all unique, and we are all individually responsible for ourselves; my self-care will look different from yours, no matter how close of friends we are, what experiences we share or how cool our past is. There are scores of ways to take care of oneself, from meditation to massage, sex to a trail run, quiet time alone to eating a favorite food. None are right, wrong or anything else: what works for an individual is unique to them.

It's important to keep up with our self-care practices as we move through challenging situations, particularly nowadays. Many have experienced great loss in the recent past for a variety of reasons.

This is the second part of the grief podcast, episode 80, that I allude to during Episode 80. I decided to publish them separately so listeners can digest the information and reflect upon it.

As always, connect with me at [email protected] with questions, comments and guest suggestions. It's wonderful to read your feedback, and to see the listener demographics growing with each new episode. 

Thanks for listening, friends! 

The last two years have brought a lot of loss into everyone's life, whether it's a job, friend, lover, family member or an actual death of someone you care about. I've noticed a lot more people struggling over the past month, and wanted to do something to offer support.

Today's episode is about the stages of grief that humans experience after a loss (which often, but not necessarily is a death), and some tips and suggestions on how to move through the 5 stages of grief. These are suggestions and offerings from my own experiences, and I am not a counselor or therapist. For specific questions and individual concerns you can connect with a specialist in your area with a simple internet search; I use DuckDuckGo.

This is a great article that details five stages of grief, and here's Homer Simpson going through all five in less than a minute. 

There are numerous resources available online to assist anyone struggling with any of the stages, and suicide hotlines for those in the depths of depression. 1-800-273-8255 is the number to call in North America. If you are struggling with any aspect of processing grief, connecting with someone to share what you're going through is a courageous step to take.

As always, y'all can connect with me at [email protected] with questions, comments and guest suggestions. 

And, as always, remember that some of the greatest benefits for physical, mental and spiritual health occur when we #optoutside 

Thanks for listening, friends! So today it was -1000 (again) when I went for a lovely run in blustery weather. The run got me thinking about what we can learn from discomfort, and the ways we build confidence from stepping into situations that have some level of uncomfortable feeling. 

As always, connect with me at [email protected] with comments, questions and guest suggestions. Enjoy!

After digging a path to a new plunge pool, and running 8 miles up a forest road with a new friend, I spooked 3 deer: a mom and 2 yearlings. That experience got me to ponder what messages deer had for me for while I finished the run, then jumped into the dang-near freezing creek for a cold plunge. It turns out there's some wonderful messages from deer regarding compassion, gentleness and an open heart... tune in today for some stories of the winter out here, the wisdom of deer, and how we can connect that to our own lives.

I reference the Sams & Carson Medicine Cards deck, and material on the What is my spirit animal website. 

Wim Hof has amazing guided meditations and workshops available through his website, wimhofmethod.com. I've been doing the breathwork and cold plunges since mid-August... highly recommend, and I ain't paid to say that. 

As always, opt outside today for some fresh air, vitamin D and phtoncides, and have yourself a magical day. Connect with me at [email protected] for questions, comments and guest suggestions. Enjoy!

Happy Valentine's Day, friends! Today my friend Elena Harder of the Joygasmic Life Podcast interviews me about my healing and personal growth journey to become a practitioner of consciousness-based modalities. It was fun to record this episode and share experiences with another amazing person on her own journey, and I look forward to the upcoming book sharing her story in more detail. 

We had no script or set questions for this discussion - everything flowed freely after I hit the record button. As mentioned in the introduction, there were some audio issues from a grader clearing snow while we recorded, and I discovered a limit of 59:59 in recording off of the handheld device I was using. Live and learn, so they say!

More information about me and the modalities can be found at gregveregin.com

Feel free to contact me at [email protected] with questions, comments and guest suggestions.

And, as always, #optoutside and take some time today to appreciate all the beauty around us in nature.

Links:

Linking Awareness founded by Loesje Jacob

The BodyTalk System

Reiki

Shinrin-Yoku/Forest Bathing

The Joygasmic Life Podcast

Elena Harder

The song "Millionaire" by Chris Stapleton came on during my run today, and I share some reflections upon how we're all millionaires... when we can change our perception towards nature.

Here's a link to the audio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPoN-FNB2V8

As always, connect with me at [email protected] with comments, questions and guest suggestions.

Today's guest is my friend - and fellow run & cold plunge in the dark enthusiast - Kylie, a homeschooling mom who lives in a small off-grid house. 

Kylie is yet another interesting person navigating several simultaneous wilderness situations including living on the side of a mountain in grizzly country. She shares with us her Plug It project to bring more joy to life through mindfulness, her experiences learning to sing in her 30s, the importance of listening to our breath, synchronicities, and the value of improv to manage your life. One of the recurring themes in our discussion is meditation; another is finding comfort in discomfort, whether by cold plunging, learning as an adult, connecting to a crowd or having outdoor showers with a bucket of hot water when it's -20 outside her small house.

Kylie is a great new friend out here in the mountains, and it was a blast recording this episode--as you'll tell from all the laughter and banter--since it is also the first in-person episode I've recorded (complete with passing the mic back and forth). 

As always, connect with me through [email protected] for questions, comments and guest suggestions. Kylie's Youtube channel, Plug It, can be found through this link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJPcaSmw5GbSc5P8u5pcsCQ

What wisdom and teachings can a river offer us? Tune in today where I share some of my river experiences and lessons learned and suggested by the magical waterbodies that flow through our lives.

Questions? Comments? Guest suggestions? Connect with me through [email protected]