The Explorer Poet Podcast

In this solo episode, I break down the story of Raya and the Last Dragon, in which I discuss a story of healing, how any level of human interaction is comparable with any other, species kingdom family individual, Bubbles that kept me trapped, being raised in physical and social isolation, homeschooled, controlled education, fundamentalist christianity, poverty, emotionally unavailable, lack of education, lack of communication skills, lack of parenting skills, The intersection of all of these bubbles, growing up as someone who is not whole, being born one thing, but our culture takes us in another direction, the life examined, our stories, our several bubbles that craft a story allowing us to live within the bubbles, resurrection, reincarnation, starting your life again as a whole, trusting Emotions, feelings, impressions, distrusting ignoring or avoiding those feelings, a plague born of human discord that always been here waiting for a weakness to attack, identifying with characters, survivalist, having the survivalist inside, emotional and psychological needs not met, how the person you are today is an amalgamation of all the people you've been to survive, the process of healing requires all of those different versions of us to come along for the journey, maybe the worlds broken because you don't trust anyone, how anger and sexuality are suppressed in controlled environments, the identification of different parts of self in the process of healing, blades that are specifically designed for the stabbing of backs, the important mythological motif of going back to the beginning, back to where it all started, not trusting emotions is catastrophe, listening to the parts of us we don't want to listen to, the story in your brain and in your body match, and how trust is how we pop bubbles and heal.

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Music: Ben Sound, Paper Plane

Where to find The EXPLORER POET Podcast:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/explorerpoet/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ExplorerPoetPod

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIQxs0F0mGoEJYNNJx4ph5g

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Explorer-Poet-105087492172066

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4Z9WKzUIWbq5qOJE1zmRJQ

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-explorer-poet-podcast/id1621189025

Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy85MmM5ZTY5NC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw?sa=X&ved=0CAMQ4aUDahcKEwjA6v_KhPn3AhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQLA

In this solo episode, I break down the story of Po, a lovable panda, who’s journey takes him to the pinnacle of Kung Fu, where he becomes the Dragon Warrior, defeats Tai Lung, and saves the Peaceful Valley in Dreamworks animated movie Kung Fu Panda.

I discuss dreams, the philosophy that our opponents are not our enemies, the point of a foe is to test you, to find people who are worthy to have in your life, father figures trying to pass down cultures to sons, the desire to please is actually a desire not to hurt or fear masked as desire, all cultures that move forward are conservative cultures, how one often meets his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it, how our own fears are the thing that's going to manifest our problems, how our mind is like water; when it is agitated it is difficult to see but when you allow it to settle the answer becomes clear, if we focus on pleasing culture and the past, we will miss the opportunities that are just for us, being destined not to participate, there is no plan so if something happens it can't be an accident, the revealing of the secret, passion, willingness not to give up, really wanting it, really caring about it, being born for it, when to break the conservative rules, when to buck the trends, when to introduce something new, and when to think liberally in a conservative culture, to make something special you just have to believe its special, stories are like mythology and mythology is like dreams, and how fate calls you to your journey, there doesn't need to be anything special about you to pursue that journey other than a passion for the journey.

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Music: Ben Sound, Paper Plane

Where to find The EXPLORER POET Podcast:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/explorerpoet/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ExplorerPoetPod

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIQxs0F0mGoEJYNNJx4ph5g

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Explorer-Poet-105087492172066

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4Z9WKzUIWbq5qOJE1zmRJQ

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-explorer-poet-podcast/id1621189025

Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy85MmM5ZTY5NC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw?sa=X&ved=0CAMQ4aUDahcKEwjA6v_KhPn3AhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQLA

Today is a solo episode, in which I cover the story of the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve not as story of the first people that ever existed, but a story of what it is to exist in the west, both trees existing in the garden, the west only has access to one, the Tree of Life, immortality, eternal life as reincarnation in the east, reincarnation in symbolic and practical terms, reincarnation in psychological and practical terms, Buddha meditating to achieve enlightenment, nirvana, reincarnation as a cycle of pleasure seeking and pain avoidance, the Buddha observing himself, true eternal life is achieved in the realization that there is no life, eternal life is to accept life without judgment, the west became morally binary behind Yawheh, a Nietzschian regime of “Thou Shalts”, morals, commandments, and punishments, in the west we all sin, God died to end the cycle of death, East vs West, identity, ego, individualism, Carl Jung, archetypes, stories, mythology, psyches, and mapping our personas, Archetypes in the east and the west, and how in the west we commit ourselves to one God.

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Where to find The EXPLORER POET Podcast:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/explorerpoet/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ExplorerPoetPod

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIQxs0F0mGoEJYNNJx4ph5g

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Explorer-Poet-105087492172066

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4Z9WKzUIWbq5qOJE1zmRJQ

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-explorer-poet-podcast/id1621189025

Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy85MmM5ZTY5NC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw?sa=X&ved=0CAMQ4aUDahcKEwjA6v_KhPn3AhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQLA

My guest today is an amazing, photo-realistic painter named Benjamin Johnson. Born in Philadelphia, Ben spent his formative years in the Pine Barrens of southern New Jersey, where he developed an eye for the little things. Ben’s highly detailed oil paintings are inspired by the natural world and our place in it. He often incorporates scientific or historical themes, and frequently collaborates with field researchers. Two fun facts about Ben are (1) before he paints his stunning pieces of art, Ben actually makes his own canvases in his backyard shop and (2) when he’s done painting an object from the real world, Ben travels to place the object back where he found it. I found Ben to be warm and welcoming, engaging, and full of insight. I truly enjoyed my conversation and I hope you enjoy it as well.

In our conversation, we discussed Ben's signature, a Circle and Square, dualities with a lot of space in between, visual art, painting, the long human conversation, just a box in a cage, individuals, set and setting, human beings, potential, what we could be, what we see ourselves as, paintings making the artist, the the paintings should be signing the artist, The center of our own circles, every human in the center of their own circle, never standing in anyone else's circle, the stories we accept can become our boxes, art at its best is consciousness changing, Abstraction as spirituality, adaptation to life and adaptation is life, discovery is removing boxes, there's so much more out there, So many ways to look at the same work of art, and art occuring when somebody has enough power over something.

Episode Details:

Guest Name: Benjamin Johnson

Website: https://www.benjohnsonart.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/benjaminmjohnsonart/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/benjaminmjohnsonart/

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Where to find The EXPLORER POET Podcast:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/explorerpoet/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ExplorerPoetPod

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIQxs0F0mGoEJYNNJx4ph5g

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Explorer-Poet-105087492172066

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4Z9WKzUIWbq5qOJE1zmRJQ

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-explorer-poet-podcast/id1621189025

Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy85MmM5ZTY5NC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw?sa=X&ved=0CAMQ4aUDahcKEwjA6v_KhPn3AhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQLA

My guest today is Adam Helms, a fascinating artist and human, who’s work encompasses drawing, printmaking, sculpture, assemblage, and archival research. Adam’s work often highlights marginalized social and political groups and the American frontier. Our conversation flowed naturally from the moment Adam and I were in the same room together. I found him to be thoughtful, engaging, and full of interesting insights. I truly enjoyed my conversation with Adam, and I hope you enjoy it as well.

In our conversation, we discussed like mindedness, being an outsider, melancholy, American pop culture, popular culture, Star Wars, relating to television, World War I, World War II, Capitalism, Communism, China, Russia, the vastness of media and how to navigate it, the distillation of current mythology through media, dealing with editors, the amount of room there is for mediocrity, doing the only thing you know how to do, the artist by themselves as a stance, DIY, Punk and hard core, living in places that expose you to others’ work, energy for creation, the myth of the artist or writer being alone, creating based on what was created before you, originality, exposure and content creation, artists reflecting the world they see, postmodernism, hyper-capitalism, and the world telling you everything you need to think.

Episode Details:

Guest Name: Adam Helms

Website:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adamhelmsstudio/

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Where to find The EXPLORER POET Podcast:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/explorerpoet/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ExplorerPoetPod

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIQxs0F0mGoEJYNNJx4ph5g

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Explorer-Poet-105087492172066

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4Z9WKzUIWbq5qOJE1zmRJQ

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-explorer-poet-podcast/id1621189025

Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy85MmM5ZTY5NC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw?sa=X&ved=0CAMQ4aUDahcKEwjA6v_KhPn3AhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQLA

My guest today is the great Barbara Rogers. Barbara is a painter, educator, world traveler, and a very very kind person. Barbara paints to transcend daily life, to evoke the sublime, to reaffirm the existence of beauty and the critical importance of cherishing the earth. Her work has been exhibited widely, both nationally and internationally, and she’s now a professor emeritus from the University of Arizona. I found Barbara to be open, warm, curious, and full of wisdom. She left me feeling extremely grateful. I really enjoyed my conversation with Barbara, and I hope you enjoy it as well.

In our conversation, we discussed gratitude, spouses and their power to lift us, treating people the way we were treated as kids, being grateful when people are grateful for us, the Golden Rule, barriers people don't know they're setting up, artists making the work or working on website in the office, realizing that interacting with people isn't about you, considering why others are with you and what they want, being nervous, navigating social structures, already arriving because the people I've met are amazing, time and energy, meditation and experiencing our own thoughts as streams of abstract ideas your brain throws at us, conversation is other’s consciousness flowing through us,  reading books is like living live and conversation are like blending thoughts, and having a place to meet people who are excited about life and contributing.

Episode Details:

Guest Name: Barbara Rogers

Website: https://www.barbararogersart.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/barbararogersartist

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/barbara.rogers.9400

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Where to find The EXPLORER POET Podcast:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/explorerpoet/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ExplorerPoetPod

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIQxs0F0mGoEJYNNJx4ph5g

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Explorer-Poet-105087492172066

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4Z9WKzUIWbq5qOJE1zmRJQ

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-explorer-poet-podcast/id1621189025

Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy85MmM5ZTY5NC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw?sa=X&ved=0CAMQ4aUDahcKEwjA6v_KhPn3AhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQLA

My guests today are a lovely and amazingly talented pair of artists named Kelly Leslie and Craig Cully. Kelly is a designer, a teacher, and a lover of collaboration. Whether its problem solving with her clients, discovering something new with her students, or creating a series of fascinating paintings with her husband Craig, Kelly tells me that collaboration is the practice of being human. Craig is a painter, a teacher, and a backyard pizza-oven aficionado. His work has been featured in exhibitions throughout the United States and found home in several permanent collections. My conversation with Kelly and Craig went all over the place, and I loved every second of it. They were warm, welcoming, and eager to engage my every silly whim. I truly enjoyed this conversation and I hope you enjoy it as well.

In our conversation, we discussed the reality that everyone is creative, creativity stems from creation, discovery leads to more discovery, “Is that a dog?”, the universe was whole - one with it's Maker - just like us, we are the universe, separateness is an illusion, looking in a mirror and recognizing we cannot experience our whole body, your mother is not THE source, the third hand, collaboration as a practice of being human, art can do a lot of things, experiences that are purely human, cannot transcend with design, design asks what it mean to be human in this place, art is anything done to the highest degree, anything done to the extremes, conservatism and a small voice about change, houses as places of beauty vs cultural compliance, art pushes the envelope, algorithms sealing our bubbles, we can't start over but algorithms can't be altruistic, aliens aren’t coming to this planet we're alone, Artificial Intelligence, General Artificial Intelligence, Modest Mouse, AI and art, AI applying to art school, music as patterns, musical as a physical experience, intangibility, social media, algorithms, human intelligence, new music, once the AI is in charge we’ll think it’s righteous, maybe we do need to drop acid, we’ve never imagined something without an analogous form on earth,  and how we simply cannot get out of our own way in this silly closed systems.

Episode Details:

Guest Name: Kelly Leslie

Website: https://www.kellyleslie.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kellylesliedesign

Guest Name: Craig Cully

Website: https://www.craigcully.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cully.craig/

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Where to find The EXPLORER POET Podcast:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/explorerpoet/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ExplorerPoetPod

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIQxs0F0mGoEJYNNJx4ph5g

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Explorer-Poet-105087492172066

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4Z9WKzUIWbq5qOJE1zmRJQ

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-explorer-poet-podcast/id1621189025

Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy85MmM5ZTY5NC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw

My guest today is a nationally recognized artist, accomplished educator, and driven creative coach named Carrie Seid. Carrie has produced and taught art most of her life and, while she’s still a creator, she also dedicates time to helping others create. Through her Creative Catalyst Training, a holistic program of workshops and face-to-face sessions, Carrie helps creative individuals to re-calibrate their mindset about their potential, while giving them complete permission to be themselves. Carrie acknowledges that making art demands her best, so that's what she gives. She loves to push what’s possible and help others raise the bar, and whether she knows it or not, in my short time with Carrie, she did this very thing for me. I truly enjoyed our conversation, I found it inspiring, and I hope you do as well.

In our conversation, we discussed… Art as the study of the self, having curiosity, not having curiosity, the x-factor, creativity as a living entity that needs to be nurtured, the collective unconscious, the shadow, information that we are simply channeling, watching scenes versus writing them out, what the body knows but consciousness doesn't, being aware of what's being produced, the collective unconscious hides the shadow of our society, art and comedy as a presentation of the collective unconscious, courage as a big part of honoring your creative urges, being most connected with others when we're most connected with ourselves, connection through vulnerability, the presence of God in a movie theater, 99% of the country is conservative, people and countries always decline, what it means to be who you are, feeling so different with time, everything is energy and that's all there is to it, you don't have to love you are being loved, behaving based on others ideas and trying to match it, the God of America, Ex-Mormons and the Religious Shelf, and that when you're an artist you are Mother Nature.

Episode Details:

Guest Name: Carrie Seid

Art Website: http://carrieseidart.com/

Creativity Coaching: http://carrieseid.com/

Instagram: https://instagram.com/carrieseidcatalyst/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carrieseidcatalyst

Twitter: https://twitter.com/carriecatalyst

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRxJylB06MBfVF4ZITSDlyw

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Where to find The EXPLORER POET Podcast:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/explorerpoet/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ExplorerPoetPod

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIQxs0F0mGoEJYNNJx4ph5g

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Explorer-Poet-105087492172066

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4Z9WKzUIWbq5qOJE1zmRJQ

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-explorer-poet-podcast/id1621189025

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My guest today is a free spirit and a fantastic sculptor named Barbara Jo Borch. Barbara’s artwork deals with the connections and contrasts between nature and mankind. As she creates, she plays with the ideas of natural versus rational and spontaneous versus intellectual, which she also demonstrates in her proces. Barbara begins with a concept in mind, but allows the materials to take unplanned courses as it unfolds, surprising even the artist. Our conversation felt very similar, I didn’t know everything I’d cover with Barbara Jo, but by the end, we’d weaved together a conversation I truly enjoyed. Barbara Jo may have a small voice, but for those willing to listen, she may help you see there is a better way to be happy. I hope you enjoy it as well.

In our conversation, we discussed freedom, art as a master, having something that drives you, the reason is myself (yourself), consistently producing art, motivation vs inspiration, art taking over, art doing what it wants, acknowledging how creation works, culture, every culture has a shelf life, being a small voice to help people see a different way, storyteller vs lead role, my condition, buddhism, looking but not seeing, and a sad, scary quote that reminds us nobody is coming.

Episode Details:

Guest Name: Barbara Jo Borsch

Website: https://barbarajosculptor.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/barbara.jo.borch

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Where to find The EXPLORER POET Podcast:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/explorerpoet/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ExplorerPoetPod

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIQxs0F0mGoEJYNNJx4ph5g

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Explorer-Poet-105087492172066

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4Z9WKzUIWbq5qOJE1zmRJQ

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-explorer-poet-podcast/id1621189025

Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy85MmM5ZTY5NC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw?sa=X&ved=0CAMQ4aUDahcKEwjA6v_KhPn3AhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQLA

My guest today is Ahn-Thuy Nguyen, a Vietnamese-American photographer, educator, and all-around fantastic human being. Through her art, Ahn-Thuy investigates her personal history as a female immigrant, creator, and product of her heritage. She lives and works in Tucson, Arizona, where she’s the head of the photography program at Pima Community College. You can find her work in galleries, on magazine covers, receiving awards, and in permanent museum collections throughout the southwest. I found Ahn-Thuy to be a compassionate, thoughtful, and enlightening person. I truly enjoyed my conversation with her and I hope you enjoy it as well.

In our conversation, we discussed genuine conversation, educators and how they deliver lectures, individuals, late starts, art class, the value of art education, the words we use, phrases such as “I don’t care”, learning online, the ocean of knowledge, finding a teacher you connect with, Appreciating the Intangible, liberal education, creativity as puzzle solving, children and culture, if everyone is making art, becoming a visitor again, memories, exploring past experiences through art, humans as hardware and software, being a simulation of the universe, software, operating systems, software packages, language packages, Vietnam, Vietnamese, English, energy in the universe, we are the universe simultating itself, evolution, sophistication, pain, a need to figure out how to exist, having nothing to regret, death is the end, the destination is not the work, Buddhism, and wanting a little and knowing that’s enough.

Episode Details:

Guest Name: Ahn-Thuy Nguyen

Website: https://www.anh-thuynguyen.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anh_thuynguyen/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anhthuyartist/

Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/anhthuynguyen

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Where to find The EXPLORER POET Podcast:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/explorerpoet/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ExplorerPoetPod

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIQxs0F0mGoEJYNNJx4ph5g

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Explorer-Poet-105087492172066

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4Z9WKzUIWbq5qOJE1zmRJQ

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-explorer-poet-podcast/id1621189025

Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy85MmM5ZTY5NC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw?sa=X&ved=0CAMQ4aUDahcKEwjA6v_KhPn3AhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQLA