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My book is out now, Talking to Trees: A Journey into Soul. It chronicles my exploration of the soulful terrain on the far side of conventional religion, where talking to trees, communing with the dead, and summoning our spirit guides is the new normal. 

To give you a taste of the book, I am sharing with you the chapter from which the book draws its title. Talking to trees, it would seem, is no different from any other form of prayer, especially in the childlike trust required not to doubt. 

The book is available at all the usual online outlets. But I'm offering you an incentive to buy it from me, either online or in person, before September 30, 2025. If you do, I'll sign it and, if you agree, enter your name in a draw to win: (1) a live house concert of tunes and tales (if you live in Southern Alberta); or (2) a live or online visit with your book club or a gathering of friends, to discuss the themes of the book; or (3) an extended personal conversation with me about your own journey into soul. Visit my website (see the link below) for more information. 

Thanks so much for your interest and support. The Mystic Cave will reopen in September, with a new focus and a renewed vision. Stay tuned ... 

Where you can order Talking to Trees: https://www.brianepearson.ca/talking-to-trees. 

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 (include your contact info if you want a reply).

Six years ago, when I retired from my ministry and left the church, I began chronicling my exploration of the soulful terrain on the far side of conventional religion. It was an extraordinary landscape and my experiences there began fulfilling many of the unforgotten longings of my heart. I felt like I was coming home.

To capture that journey, believing others might be encouraged in their exploration to hear about mine, I assembled many of the personal essays I'd written and arranged them more or less chronologically, so that they could be presented in book form. This summer that book will become available. In this final episode of the season, I read the Introduction from Talking to Trees: A Journey into Soul. 

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 (include your contact info if you want a reply).

As we ponder and discern where Life is calling us, it is useful, and sometimes inspirational, to see how someone else has heard the call. Sandy Wiggins established himself as a business executive in the real estate world. It was creative work and it was lucrative and it provided opportunities to use property development as a way to serve the planet. But it's not where Sandy was destined to stay. 

As he followed the subtle leadings of his soul, Sandy took one step, and then the next, toward a new life, facilitating people's awakening through breath work. For spiritual seekers, Sandy's journey models a way to wake up and move toward the work we're meant to be doing in the world. 

Sandy's Breath Work: https://www.inspirationcommunity.org

Sandy's Retreat and Individual Work: https://jivanmukta.life

Sandy's email address: [email protected] 

Margaret Wheatley's Pivotal Essay: https://www.margaretwheatley.com/articles/emergence.html

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 (include your contact info if you want a reply).

We might have thought just a little more would make us happy. More money, more time, more things. But that's the problem. Like a cat chasing its tail, 'more' will never give us what we seek. As meditation teacher Billy Wynne explains, 'more' is an illusory concept. Only in accepting the emptiness of all things will we receive what we desire--the extravagant fulness of this present moment ... and then of the next. 

Billy's Book: "The Empty Path: Finding Fulfillment Through the Radical Art of Lessening" by Billy Wynne; New World Library, 2025

Billy's Website: https://billywynne.com

The Zen Center of Denver: https://zencenterofdenver.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 (include your contact info if you want a reply).

The archetypal feminine can be many things--fierce, wily, nurturing, creative, and deeply rooted in the natural world. But Alanna Kaivalya regards two qualities in particular, intuition and emotion, at risk of being lost in the modern age, where women are expected to be strong and independent, like men. "The Satisfied Woman," she says, reclaims her feminine power in order to uniquely gift the world. 

Links and Resources

Alanna's book: "The Way of the Satisfied Woman: Reclaiming Feminine Power" by Alanna Kaivalya; New World Library, 2024

Alanna's website: https://www.thesatisfiedwoman.com

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 (include your contact info if you want a reply).

It's not about working a dream, about unpacking its symbols and wresting from it its cryptic meaning. It's about allowing the dream to work you, which is a very different thing. Mary Marsden is a nature-based soul guide, a personal mentor, and a dream worker. She helps dreamers to reenter the world of their dreams and experience the sensually soulful dreamscape that has been created by Mystery uniquely for them. Something will happen in such an encounter. It always does. 

Mary's web site: https://beearthnow.com

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 (include your contact info if you want a reply).

One thing that keeps people from exploring their spiritual path is fear of the dark. Not just darkness itself, but what darkness hides--ghosts, demons, spirits. The mere thought of such entities drives nascent seekers away before they even get started. But it needn't be that way. 

Jan Thompson, Jane Fleming, and Wade Prpich are spiritual guides who know the dark side, but who choose the light. In fact, each would say that the way we conquer our primal fears and discover our spiritual power is, precisely, to walk in the light. Then, they say, the darkness fades and the way opens. 

Links to my Guests and Their Work

Jan Thompson: https://www.ascensionarts.ca

Jane Fleming: https://www.calgaryfirstspiritualistchurch.ca

Wade Prpich: https://calgaryshaman.com/index.html

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 (include your contact info if you want a reply).

We don't tend to think of the corporate world as 'soulful.' But some companies realize that paying attention to social and environmental values, and not just to the bottom line, is good for the workers, good for the world, and, as it turns out, good for business as well. 

Sona Khosla is Chief Impact Officer for Benevity, a tech company that brings working people and worthy causes together. The "impact" Sona seeks applies equally to creating a human work environment and making the world a better place. Please, can we have more of this?

A Link to Benevity: https://benevity.com

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 (include your contact info if you want a reply).

How do we rekindle our love for the Earth? According to naturalist and eco-philosopher Lyanda Haupt, the smallest step does it. Her book, Rooted, is a compendium of such steps, from wandering barefoot in the woods to welcoming the mystery of animal "presence." The starting point is simply our curiosity and our willingness to take a step, no matter how small, in the direction of the natural world. 

Lyanda's Most Recent Book: "Rooted: Life at the Crossroads of Science, Nature, and Spirit" by Lyanda Lynn Haupt; Little, BrownSpark, 2021

Connections to her work and to all her other books: https://www.lyandalynnhaupt.com

Photo Credit: Tom Furtwangler

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 (include your contact info if you want a reply).

To be alone in the world is a terrible thing, unless of course it is by choice. Especially for men, the heart may long for deep connection while all our social posturing creates the opposite--distance. When men discover deep friendship with other men it is a gift to be savoured and, in this instance, shared. 

Don McLeod, Barry Foster and I have met together for almost twenty-five years, dubbing ourselves, preposterously, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. We have no advice about how others might do this themselves, but by sharing our own story perhaps some wisdom will emerge for those who seek a similar experience. All we know is that the world, and our world in particular, is a lot better for having friends. 

Books referenced in this conversation:

"Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom" by John O'Donohue; HarperCollins, 1997

"To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings" by John O'Donohue; Convergent Books, 2008

"Consolations: The Solace, Nourishment and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words" by David Whyte; Canongate Books, 2019

As well as any of the over twenty books by Jungian writer James Hollis

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