Who Put Us In Charge

What are witches? This week we dive into synchronicities around witches lately. Are they good? Are they bad? How are they symbolic of the natural connection women feel with the Earth and how we work with the Earth to manifest good things?

And p.s., Annie and River come from an ancestral lineage of witches, with one documented to have been hung during the Salem Witch Trials.

We also dig into Substack — what it is, how to make money, and why it's for the "small writer" and those with a craft to share. (And the quality of writing matters.)

Important points:

• A quote from The Daily Book of Positive Quotations by Linda Picone about TAKING RESPONSIBILITY 
• We already have more opportunities than we realize
• Working hard to turn opportunities into success
• Why to join Substack + the rules you have to follow
• "Not being afraid of women with power and witches symbolize women with power." - River
• Annie is photographing an actual witch, who wants to be photographed in the woods
• River's friend told her that she bought a $10 protection spell from a witch on Etsy
• Annie's women's circle and the talk of braless women, witches + freedom from society's rules

Are we living in The Capital from The Hunger Games (Americans)? What are we doing? What really matters? How has it become normal to have your body decorated and your meals perfect and the most sophisticated technology?

Today River vents about not being able to afford her life and all the things that have become normalized. (Expensive clothes, fancy meals, and painted nails.)

We talk about so many things:

In today's talk we challenge what we feel like we "have to do" so we can be more true to ourselves.

Email us! 

[email protected] 

(with ANY questions, stories, hope, or inspiration!)

What is Heaven really like and is it 77 degrees? Today River and Annie share their own personal mystical experiences—and how they shifted something in them. River talks about how spirit showed up in a dream and Annie shares how a guided meditation from Jack Kornfield revealed a mystical Bodhisattva.

Other topics discussed are:

Books/Videos mentioned:

Also, enjoy a ten minute guided meditation from Annie at the end—it’s all about compassion today folks!  Self compassion, gentleness and releasing what isn’t meant to be gripped onto!

Annie and River have been spending over four years recording their podcast from various locations like their basement, closet, car, bed, and a fort made of chairs and a tye dye tapestry. Today River is in her self-made fort, while Annie is in the basement playroom. Inspired by other podcasters, we've continued to record, edit and post "sloppy, dirty, whatever". In this episode, we offer a few tips on starting a podcast and potentially sharing some more ways to get YOUR dream of podcasting up and running. 

We jump on the bandwagon of discussing AI–and contemplating if a non-human, soulless bot can possess passion or creativity like a living, breathing, soulful human. Is AI good, bad or neither? 

River offers some great advice about taking an adult 'time out' when "spinning". She also mentions why it is good to follow through on things, because no one else will do it for you. 

Annie mentions ways to set boundaries and pathways towards true friendships by deciding when, where and how you spend your time with friends. How we exist in this world is what we leave behind as our message. Are people actually choosing to rave at coffee shops rather than nightclubs and bars?? She also talks about an unexpected helper in her corner of the neighborhood. Could he possibly be an angel?

"My life is my message." / "Be the change you wish to see in the world." -Gandhi

River's sacred matcha latte recipe (use a blender to mix):

Annie's delicious matcha latte recipe (use a blender to mix):

"Life is like stepping onto a boat which is about to sail out to sea and sink." -Shunryu Suzuki

Can time collapse? Does it control you or do you control it? Today we discuss the mystical nature of time and how it alters in different situations. We also talk about the yoga of service and loving devotion. Bakti yoga. How can we apply the principles of Bakti to our work and our lives?

River talks about how young people are pulling away from organized religion and how they are probably feeling untethered, without a spiritual community rooted in tradition and routine. We discuss how important it is to have a community in your spiritual life.

Annie talks about the many women pods popping up in her area—women getting together and sharing vibes. Sharing energy, sharing prayer, and learning from each other. 

Let's embrace women as the Wayshowers and the Shapeshifters. Join us as we unravel all of our thoughts about this!!

Let's get vulnerable and trust it's okay. Today Annie shares a story about being held and cared for by three women at the salon and how that impacted her. River cries at work in front of her students. There is no direction for our talk today, just sharing about life, being real, and being seen when we need it most.

We also talk about self care and what we are doing to help our nervous systems. We discuss a few of our favorite listens-slash-reads. Here are a few that we mention:

Here is also a quote Annie sent to River that made her feel not so terrible this week:

So... after talking for a while about nothing (well, about flocking with our tribe in RVs, spiritual bypassing, how social media prevents closeness, and dharma), we came across a discovery! And some homework for all of us! If you feel like you don't know if you are on your right path, or WHAT your Dharma is, you are in the right place sister. Today, we discover that we have MANY different selves, and some we really don't have control over! (And we're not talking about IFS, because we just aren't.)  

We are talking about...

This discovery, although so simple, Annie describes after River has a moment of feeling like her path is "no path." Who can relate to that? Although "no path" is fun, we all have a purpose in this life.  

We also discuss spiritual bypassing (how to fully embrace this world and others with compassion without detaching into spiritual la la land—while also not getting pulled into FEAR with a capital F with no f'ing way out). It's a balance people and WE GOT THIS. Join us for an episode about everything and nothing at all.

Annie also shares her secret at interpreting dreams, which she's pretty good at! (And you get to hear two of our recent and terrifying dreams.)

Happy Easter everyone!  Cheers!!

Today we talk about everything!  Being alone but not lonely—and finding ways to nourish ourselves in a time when there will soon be AI Companions giving you (fake!) attention and empathy.  We talk about finding the pause between seasons, activities, moments and breath.  Also—Annie discusses nomadic lifestyles and how humans are seeking real connection and community.  

Some highlights:

Join us and find connection and peace in a time of separation and turmoil in the world!!  

It's 2026. What's your purpose? Have you found it? 

Get to it! screams your inner voice. 

But—how? Is it supposed to be this hard if it's your divine path? Forget divine, if it's just YOUR PATH? 

Today, we discuss hard work, unconscious resistance (River recording her audiobook), the comparison trap and just going BELLY UP, like a flipped beetle. (I'm done, is where we are.) And THEN WHAT?

Themes of discussion:

• Gratitude
• Coincidences
• Martial arts energy (to face resistance)
• Hard work (again)
• Just doing THE THING
• The spiritual heart

Join us and hear our stories of inspiration, coincidences, and hope. (And a little bit of surrender.)

Mentioned Publications:

• Oprah Daily Magazine, Special Edition 2026: Find Your Purpose
• The 30-Day Wake Up Challenge, By Adyashanti (audiobook)
• Aleph, By Paulo Coelho

The spiritual world (on Earth) feels competitive sometimes, but is it? We each have our own karma, life (and past lives), gifts, goals and life plan. How do we stay present with our own karma when everyone is telling you to manifest your dream life?

We discuss the power of presence in a world of suffering and obvious karmic outcomes. Just because we are feeling afraid or sad or full of anxiety, it doesn't mean we have to succumb to it. We can stay with it, witness it, and simply be present. Fear will stir up all kinds of emotions in us as we honor our soul path. 

In this episode, we talk about enlightened beings, as well as the non-verbal autistic children spoken about in the podcast The Telepathy Tapes (by Ky Dickens). What is it about those beings that sets them apart? 

Life—what's the biggest message from masters and those with spiritual gifts?—don't take life so seriously. Stay present, be humble, try not to compare yourself to others, and remember there's no wrong choice. 

"But we're all really moving towards the Light, right?" - Annie

Recommended Podcasts:

• Rom Dass Here and Now, episode 283: Your Karma Defines Your Dharma
• The Telepathy Tapes, 1st episode: Unveiling The Hidden World of Telepathic Communication in a Silenced Community