The Mystic Cave

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How many of us emerged from the last US presidential shaking our heads and saying,"There's gotta be a better way." There is, and there has always been. The Way of Council is the time-honoured method of gathering soulfully that doesn't leave the heart at the door. Psychotherapist and soul guide Peter Scanlan teaches this way, and he shares it with us in this rich conversation.

Resources
Peter's website: http://www.peterscanlan.com
The Animas Valley Institute: https://www.animas.org
The "bible" of the Way of Council: The Way of Council by Jack Zimmerman and Virginia Coyle; Bramble Books, 2009
"When Someone Deeply Listens to You," a poem by John Fox: https://www.awakin.org/v2/read/view.php?tid=2343

Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: [email protected]

Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2022

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Does religion have a role in "The Great Turning," where humanity is rediscovering what it means to be creatures of the earth? Or are its own wounds and divisions too deep to allow it to see beyond its protective walls? Sarah Arthurs is both an earth activist and a religious peacemaker. Her answer, depending on the day, may be: Yes; Not yet; or No. But hope says: Soon.

Links to Sarah's World
Green Exodus (the home of the Urban Earthlings Club): https://greenexodus.ca/sarah-arthurs/
The Calgary Interfaith Council: https://www.calgaryinterfaithcouncil.org

Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: [email protected]

Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2022

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The Indigenous culture that European colonizers encountered here in the New World, and then so brutally suppressed, is the very repository of wisdom we now need. Elizabeth Buller Page knows this personally. Deep into a midlife descent, Liz turned to her family's Indigenous roots to discover not only the healing she sought but the path she'd lost.

Resources
The book on Cree history and culture that Liz can't be without: The Plains Cree: An Ethnographic, Historical, and Comparative Study by David Mandelbaum; University of Regina Press, 1940 & 1978 (revised)
The Calgary Gallery that features Liz's art: https://moonstonecreation.ca/elizabeth-buller-page-1/

Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: [email protected]

Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2022

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Out here, on the far side of conventional religion, no path is more compelling than the one that leads us to know our natural place within the larger earth community. And there may be no better modern guide than Bill Plotkin, the author of four books on the subject and the founder of the Animas Valley Institute. The way is called "soul initiation," which is devastating to the ego but life-giving to the soul. And it just might help save the planet.

Two Tips

• This episode is longer than most, so you might find it helpful to reference the Chapters tab above and listen in convenient chunks.
• You might also find it helpful to read along with the poem with which we begin our conversation, "What to Remember When Waking," by David Whyte. Here's a link: https://www.awakin.org/v2/read/view.php?tid=994

Errata
The notion I mistakenly attribute to Stephen Jenkinson, that true elders consider today's actions in light of their effect seven generations out, is in fact a Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) principle I had read about in Robin Wall Kimmerer's excellent book, "Braiding Sweetgrass." I regret the error.

However, both Jenkinson and Bill Plotkin assume a similar point of view, that elders seek to honour both the ancestors who have gone before and the generations yet to come when considering the actions we take today.

Bill's Books
Soulcraft: Crossing into the Mysteries of Nature and Psyche; Soulcraft; New World Library, 2003
Nature and the Human Soul: Cultivating Wholeness and Community in a Fragmented World; New World Library, 2008
Wild Mind: A Field Guide to the Human Psyche; New World Library, 2013
The Journey of Soul Initiation: A Field Guide for Visionaries, Evolutionaries, and Revolutionaries" New World Library, 2021

The Animas Valley Institute
Home page: https://www.animas.org

Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: [email protected]

Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2022

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We dwell within a realm of spacious possibility; and it dwells within us. The mystic experiences this firsthand. So does any seeker alert to the subtle movements of the heart. Cynthia Bourgeault knows the territory well. She's lived it, and she's written about it. But, being human, she's also continuing to learn about it, sometimes by trial and error. Fortunately, our spiritual education is not completed in this lifetime.

Resources
Cynthia's Websites: https://wisdomwaypoints.org; https://wisdomwayofknowing.org
Center for Action and Contemplation: https://cac.org

A Sampling of Cynthia's Books
"Love is Stronger than Death;" Random House, 1997
"Mystical Hope;" Cowley Publications, 2001
"The Wisdom Way of Knowing;" Jossey-Bass, 2003
"Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening;" Cowley Publications, 2004
"The Wisdom Jesus;" Shambhala, 2008
"The Heart of Centering Prayer;" Shambhala, 2016
"Eye of the Heart;" Shambhala Publications, 2020

Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: [email protected]

Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2022

Click here to send me a text message ...

Soul has only one agenda--that we live into who we really are and offer our unique gifts in service to the world. Soul is less concerned about the obstacles that that may plant in our path. So, for rugged mountain guide Bruce Howatt, the call to finally show up in the world--as Julianna--must have felt like the greatest, most intimidating climb of all. And yet, here she is, inspiring the rest of us to discover and to assume our own singular place in the Universe.

Resources
Jules' Website (as Bruce): https://www.brucehowatt.com/
Jules' Soul Guide Bio: https://www.animas.org/guides/24/jules-howatt/
The Animas Valley Institute: https://www.animas.org

Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: [email protected]

Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2022

Click here to send me a text message ...

Intuition is our portal to knowing everything. What our rational mind doesn't know, and can't know, is available to us through those flashes of insight that solve problems, give us direction, and suggest meaning and purpose for our lives. Kim Chestney, author of The Illumination Code: 7 Keys to Unlock Your Quantum Intelligence, has spent her life trying to understand intuition and what it does. Only recently, with discoveries from the field of quantum physics, can we begin to answer the question, but how does it work?  Her book gives us the keys to that answer.

PS. Please note the new link, above, that allows you to respond to this episode by sending me a text message. I'd love to hear from you, for this or for any previous episode.

5 Keys to Kim Chestney:
Kim's recent books:
The Illumination Code: 7 Keys to Unlock Your Quantum Intelligence; New World Library, 2024
Radical Intuition: A Revolutionary Guide to Using Your Inner Power; New World Library, 2020
Kim's Website: https://www.kimchestney.com
Intuition Lab: https://www.intuition-lab.com
Kim's (free) Insight Cards: https://www.intuition-lab.com/insight-card-practice

1 Key to Kim's mentor, Ervin László, for those ready to take a deeper dive:
Science and the Akashic Field: An Integral Theory of Everything, by Ervin László; Simon & Schuster, 2004

Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: [email protected]

Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2022

Click here to send me a text message ...

By the time an author scores a major publishing deal they are usually beyond the reach of mere mortals. So, when it happens to a friend, there is a unique sense of privilege watching the process unfold from the inside. Such is the case with Jessica Waite, whose memoir, "The Widow's Guide to Dead Bastards" is poised for release this summer. In this episode Jessica and I explore the writing and publishing of her personal story, described as a "lyrical, witty, and deeply moving memoir of tragedy and betrayal" ... and also, it should be said, of hope.

About Jessica's Book: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Widows-Guide-to-Dead-Bastards/Jessica-Waite/9781668044858

A Link to Jessica: https://jessicawaite.substack.com/subscribe?next=https%3A%2F%2Fjessicawaite.substack.com%2F&later=true&just_signed_up=true&subscription_id=292664320&referral_token=2ep3rf&requires_confirmation=&utm_source=cover_page&email=brianepearson%40shaw.ca&skip_redirect_check=true

Photo Credit: Phil Crozier

Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: [email protected]

Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2022

Click here to send me a text message ...

So many writers hide their light under a bushel, thinking they don't deserve the term "writer." But writing groups can put the lie to that fear, coaxing us and our words out from hiding. The UnderStory Collective is the writing group I belong to. I invited them to the Cave to share the reassuring and emboldening benefits of having writerly friends.

Members of the UnderStory Collective
Suzanne Johnston, Allan Cooper, Jessica Waite, Anne Marie Nakagawa, Brian Pearson

Some Local Resources
Writers Guild of Alberta: https://writersguild.ca
Alexandra Writers' Centre Society: https://www.alexandrawriters.org

Some Online Resources
The Shit They Don't Tell You About Writing: https://www.theshitaboutwriting.com
Unschool for Writers: https://unschoolforwriters.substack.com
The Writer's Bridge: https://thewritersbridge.com
Pandemic University: https://pandemicuniversity.com

General Resources
Public Library Writing Programs, eg: https://calgarylibrary.ca/read-learn-and-explore/digital-library/gale-courses/
Writers-in-Residence at many Libraries and Universities

A Few Books on Writing (and one on motivation)
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, by Stephen King; Scribner, 2000
Save the Cat! Writes a Novel, by Jessica Brody; Ten Speed Press, 2018
Story Genius, by Lisa Cron; Ten Speed Press, 2016
The Practice: Shipping Creative Work, by Seth Godin; Penguin, 2020

Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: [email protected]

Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2022

Click here to send me a text message ...

You can hear it in her voice. This is a woman who knows herself and her place in the universe. But fortunately for us, she believes that that place is to help others find their voice too. "Writing by Heart" is Meredith Heller's invitation to find the inner path to yourself ... through poetry. It's a book. But it's also a portal. And it's beckoning ...

Resources:
Meredith's latest book: Writing by Heart: A Poetry Path to Healing and Self-Discovery by Meredith Heller; New World Library, 2024
Featured Song: "Come Undone" from Meredith's album, Soul Siren
Meredith's other books and workshops: https://www.meredithheller.com
Meredith's albums are available wherever you stream your music

Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: [email protected]

Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2022