Find Your TOV: Recent Episodes
Dr. Henry Graf
You are here for a reason. Your life has a purpose. Ancient Hebrew called it your TOV...if you don't live your TOV, part of creation is left undone. The name of the podcast says it all, we're here to help you find your TOV.
Season 3 (Episode 33) ends with some thoughts on Sabbath. This was the origin of the 4 looks.
Look On is the final of the 4 looks (look down, look back, look up) and works best when our heart (will), soul (deep emotions), strength (resources) and mind are aligned.
Episode 31 explores how does mind align with heart (will), soul (depth of emotion), and strength (resources).
We've been dancing with "the Shema" and "the four looks" in Season 03: Align. In Episode 28: Soul, we explore the role of deep emotions in getting us where we are going.
It's easy to get caught up in the day to day. "Look Up" reminds us there is a bigger story being told.
I stumbled over the Four Looks (Look Down, Look Back, Look Up, and Look Forward) as I was trying to figure out how to better practice a weekly Sabbath. (That's how they appear in Find Your TOV: a SKETCHbook.)
In this series we are unpacking how they can help us #align. When we Look Back patterns become more clear.
Aligned things get where they're going, so Season 3 is unpacking an ancient command called the Shema which says, "get aligned." In Episode 26 we look at "heart" (understood in the ancient world as "will"), the reality that this is a "law" and what that means.
Episode 25 introduces "the four looks" and explores the first look: look down. These four have helped people and groups ALIGN.
In Season 03: Align we dancing with “the Shema” (which when Jesus added “mind” started being called “the Greatest Commandment.”). In this Episode explore how even God God’s self leads us down a path of Unity in Diversity.
It's easy to think "up and to the right" means something it doesn't, but a kid named Jasper buying flowers gave a new perspective. In this episode we explore a more "fruitful" way to look at success and wonder what season we are entering into.
Season 2 (and 2022) ends with a little reflection on the Christmas Story from Luke 2.
Merry Christmas and "see" you again in 2023 with Season 3.
As we close out this season we are asking for your prayer and support, so we can continue the Find Your TOV Podcast in 2023. We can't do it without you! Become a supporter now at Patreon.com/FindYourTOV
Every prayer and every donation makes a HUGE impact. As missionaries, we are supported by His people. Help us to help others find their TOV, so no part of creation is left undone.
We are grateful for your continued support!
- Find Your TOV is brought to you by Brother Dog, a 501(c)(3) non-profit. You can support this ministry financially or join our prayer team at BrotherDog.online.
- Can we help you or your organization? Find out more about books and coaching at FindYourTOV.com
- Support this podcast at Patreon.com/FindYourTOV
Episode 20: Silence is the second in a three part Advent series looking at Tree, Silence, Table.
This Episode was recorded live, with an audience at the Garden in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Every story needs themes and threads that weave from beginning to end. They're called through-lines. At Christmas the throughline of Silence, Tree, Table shows us in a beautiful way. In this Episode, Dr. Graf kicks off a 3 part Advent Series exploring the through-line Tree.
.
.
.
Support this podcast at https://www.patreon.com/FindYourTOV
Find out more about this ministry at https://findyourtov.com
People think in story (that's why we love them), so it makes sense the easiest way to see is to see story.
Here's some books I mentioned
- Wired for Story by Lisa Cron is about the Neurology (Brain Science) of Story.
- A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller is the book that inspired / preceeded Storybrand (if you do anything with marketing Storybrand is a must read)
- The book Tim Baron mentioned was Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell
(full disclosure: if you purchase these books through these links we get a small kickback from Amazon)
New coaching dates are on FindYourTOV.com
Tuesday, Nov 15: Brighton, Michigan
9am-11am Finding TOV Leader Intro
6pm SKETCHbook Signing / 7pm Find Your TOV podcast (live recording)
Thursday, Nov 17: Fort Wayne, Indiana
9am-11am Finding TOV Leader Intro
6pm SKETCHbook Signing / 7pm Find Your TOV podcast (live recording)
May 13-26, 2023 Footsteps of Jesus (Isreal)
Sometimes you do something for so long it becomes an "unconscious competency." I realized one of mine is what Jesus talked about in Mark 1:14-15. That's what we talk about in Episode 17 of the Find Your TOV podcast.
Support this podcast at www.patreon.com/FindYourTOV
Learn more about what we do at www.FindYourTOV.com
Upcoming Events
Finding Tov Leader Intro
- Thursday, Nov 10: Evansville, Indiana 11am-1pm Finding TOV Leader Intro
- Saturday, Nov 12: Pittsburgh, Pensilvania 9am-11am Finding TOV Leader Intro
- Tuesday, Nov 15: Brighton, Michigan 9am-11am Finding TOV Leader Intro
- Thursday, Nov 17: Fort Wayne, Indiana 9am-11am Finding TOV Leader Intro
Finding TOV podcast LIVE
- Tuesday, Nov 15: Brighton, Michigan (6pm SKETCHbook Signing)
7pm Find Your TOV podcast (live recording) - Thursday, Nov 17: Fort Wayne, Indiana (6pm SKETCHbook Signing)
7pm Find Your TOV podcast (live recording)
May 13-26, 2003 Footsteps of Jesus Footsteps of Jesus -- Isreal
A. McKenna (aka Adeline Graf) is the artist who designed the cover of Finding TOV: a SKETCHbook. The fact that she's blind adds to the insight she brings on seeing.
Support this podcast at www.patreon.com/FindYourTOV
Learn more about what we do at www.FindYourTOV.com
Upcoming Events
Finding Tov Leader Intro
- Thursday, Nov 10: Evansville, Indiana 11am-1pm Finding TOV Leader Intro
- Saturday, Nov 12: Pittsburgh, Pensilvania 9am-11am Finding TOV Leader Intro
- Tuesday, Nov 15: Brighton, Michigan 9am-11am Finding TOV Leader Intro
- Thursday, Nov 17: Fort Wayne, Indiana 9am-11am Finding TOV Leader Intro
Finding TOV podcast LIVE
- Tuesday, Nov 15: Brighton, Michigan (6pm SKETCHbook Signing)
7pm Find Your TOV podcast (live recording) - Thursday, Nov 17: Fort Wayne, Indiana (6pm SKETCHbook Signing)
7pm Find Your TOV podcast (live recording)
May 13-26, 2003 Footsteps of Jesus Footsteps of Jesus -- Isreal
Tony Hawk and Jason Ellis agree Tim Baron is "way better than everybody" when it comes to skateboard design. To get there, he had master the SEE, the first step in Finding TOV. In addition to being an artist, Tim is also a master story teller, risk taking skater, cartoon aficionado and a bit of a semiotician ... but you'll hear as you enjoy Episode 15.
We cover so much ground in this podcast the we released a longer, 1 hour and 4 minute, over on Patreon (www.Patreon.com/FindYourTOV) at any membership level; However, we should mention Tim was the one who made the Find Your TOV logo that shows up on the podcast, book, and all the swag.
Follow Tim on Instagram (@TimBaronArt), check out his website (www.TimBaron.com), and pick up some of his art (www.etsy.com/shop/timbaronart).
Tour Date, Isreal Trip, and Find Your TOV Sketchbook at www.FindYourTOV.com
After two decades of owning Shadowlands Photography, Lesa Van Meter is an expert on SEE the first stop on the Find Your TOV treasure map. In Episode 14 Henry and Lesa talk about seeing, stories we stand under, wonder and wresting.
You can help keep this podcast going, and get some amazing swag, at Patreon with membership levels starting at $5 a month.
Henry will be in
- Evansville, Indiana on
- Pittsburg, Pensilvania on
- Brighton, Michigan on
- Fort Wayne, Indiana on
More information is at FindYourTOV.com
Season 02 kicks off with a recap episode.
These are the 5 Hebrew Words that make up the Find Your TOV lexicon:
Tov (טוֹב)
Quick Definition: Multiply (This Episode 2:23-3:00)
🎙️Episode 01: Eat, Eat, Eat
🎙️Episode 02: Made To Multiply
📓 Movement (M) I, Idea (I) 1 & @
Miyn (מִין -- spelled לְמִינוֹ [Gen 1:11 & Gen 1:25], לְמִינֵהוּ [Gen 1:12 x2, Gen 1:21], לְמִֽינֵהֶם [Gen 1:21] לְמִינָהּ [Gen 1:24 x2, & Gen 1:25 x2]
Quick Definition: of it's kind (This Episode 3:42 - 4:03)🎙️ Episode 05: Fifthword
📓 M1, I5
Ra (רַע)
Quick Definition: Living TOV in a way that keeps something from living TOV. (This Episode 6:41-6:59)
🎙️ Episode 04: God's not a(n) #@!$: part II
🎙️ Episode 06: Redeeming Ra
📓 M1, I3
Know
🎙️ Episode 03: God's not a(n) #@!$: part I
📓 M1, I4
D’ath (דַּעַת)
Quick Definition: Know about (This Episode 8:28-8:39)
Yada (יָדַע )
Quick Definition: Intimately intertwined (This Episode 9:20-9:13)
🎙️ = Dedicated Podcast
📓 = Part of Find Your TOV: a SKETCHboo
On the treasure map to finding TOV, separate is the third stop. We are divided to dance. In this, the final episode of Season One, we explore the dance, "orbit."
Don't forget...
- Find Your Tov: a SKETCHbook is on sale (regular $32.99) for $22 on Amazon through the end of September 2022.
-
Footsteps of Jesus (May 13-26, 2023) - Join Henry Graf & Matt Switzer for a 14 day pilgrimage following the footsteps of Jesus.
-
Language was lifted from Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool's Guide to Surviving with Grace by Gordon MacKenzie.
My friend Dave asked a great question when we were having coffee, an Italian tradition. In Italian, an almond is called a mandorla. Much more than a food or a shape, it's an idea, a posture, a position we need to learn as we find our TOV.
A couple new things...
- Find Your Tov: a SKETCHbook is on sale (regular $32.99) for $22 on Amazon through the end of September 2022.
- Footsteps of Jesus (May 13-26, 2023) - Join Henry Graf & Matt Switzer for a 14 day pilgrimage following the footsteps of Jesus.
Bible Stuff I mentioned...
- "How much better to get wisdom than gold?" is Proverbs 16:16
- The wedding verse was Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
- To see the Hebrew words, (even if you don't know Hebrew) Blue Letter Bible is really helpful. Just click on the verse (Pro 16:16 or Ecc 4:9) then the "Strongs Number" (TOV is H2896)
- The original mandorla (Aaron's Rod) was Numbers 17:1-8 the bud, blossom fruit theme is continued in the Menora (candle holder) described in Exodus 25:31-36.
- "Iron sharpens iron" is Proverbs 27:17.
You can listen to German Flag by Jonathan Rundman (the line I quote is at 1:39)
TOV means multiplication, so how can one person make a difference in a world so big? Episode 10 strives to answer that question.
2 Big Announcements
Find Your TOV: a SKETCHbook drops this Sunday 9.18
Cover Design by A. McKenna (instagram @ArtByAMcKenna)
Footsteps of Jesus Registration is live...
were going May 13-26, 2023
You can reserve your spot with
- a trip application and credit card deposit,
- or trip application and paying with credit card in full,
- or fill out a trip application and one of the other payment options.
Make sure to check the box: FOJ May 13-26, 2023 (Switzer/Graf)
Jesus sent out 12 disciples (Luke 9:1-6, Luke doesn't mention sending them out in pairs, but Mark 6:7-13 does). 6x12=72 If these 6 pairs made 12 disciples give a clear picture of
Sending out 72 (Luke 10:1-17 ). 36x12=432 If these 36 pairs made 12 disciples they would be Jesus "grand disciples' (spiritual grand children with gives a clearer picture of
About 500 (I Corinthians 15:6) 12+72+432=516 or about 500. These were Jesus disciples, grand-disciples, and great-grand-disciples.
You can't SEE if you don't Sabbath.
When it comes to Biblical Laws, Sabbath made the top 10 list. You've probably heard about the 10 Commandments. Most people know about them for a long time before even thinking about thinking about their context (that double "think about" wasn't a typo). In this Episode Henry unpacks the context of commandments to explore some of the layers around rest.
In this Episode Henry recommended these books:
- The Power of Bad: How the Negativity Effect Rules Us and How We Can Rule It by John Tierney and Roy Baumeister
- When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing by Daniel Pink
- Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang
The Ten Commandments appear in Exodus 20:1-17 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21. Like Henry said in the podcast, they are not numbered in the bible. The rest commandment is either 3 or 4 and shows up in Exodus 20:8-11 and Deuteronomy 5:12-15. The "look back" talked about in this episode is the last couple lines of each (Exodus 20:11 and Deuteronomy 5:15).
SAY is the second spot on the Find Your TOV treasure map, and this episode dives in.
Since the Fall Coaching Cohorts kick off in one week (Tuesday, September 6, 2022) and this is your last call for the 122 special (registration ends this Sunday, September 3, but you can sign up now) we had more ground to cover than normal.
We admit this one was a bit like drinking out of a fire hose. Hopefully, this means you have questions...things you want us to unpack, so Episode 10 is going to be dedicated to fielding those questions. Please send them here.
Genesis 1:3-5 makes so much sense as an X marks the spot pirate poem. SEE (insert pirate joke here) was the first stop on the Find Your TOV treasure map (that was Episode 07). There is a muddle, so we picked SAY as our second.
TOV first shows up in a pirate poem. Every pirate knows, X marks the spot and that’s the poems shape (scholars call it a chiasm).
The first people to hear Genesis 1:1-5 had lived under an Egyptian king that enslaved them, making every attempt to keep them from living their TOV. "Pirates," according to Kester Brewin, "emerge whenever economies become blocked" (from Mutany!). Playing pirate made sense, it doesn’t get more blocked than them.
Nowadays we’re blocked by different things, but that treasure map still charts the course to your TOV.
Some links mentioned in this episode…
- Nerdy Statistics You've Never Thought Of Before by Don McMillian
- Mysterious Ways by U2 has the line "she moves in mysterious ways"
Fall Coaching starts on Tuesday, September 6, 2022 sign up now or find out more.
In Egypt Ra was the Sun god. The King claimed his Ra's power, standing under his story, and doing his best to keep Israel from Finding TOV.
Standing under Ra's story, a story of scarcity, still happens. When Ra comes from someone we love, or a system we depend on, it's hard to call it Ra. Difficult as it is, calling Ra Ra is often the first step in redeeming it.
I found the term “Spaghetti Number” in Mind Your Business by Ilana Griffo.
The song by Matisyahu is King Without A Crown (I mentioned lyrics, but not the title 🤦)
Heres a little more info about our Footsteps of Jesus trip (May 13-26, 2023)... registration opens soon.
Find out more aboutFind Your TOV Coaching or take advantage of the 122 special and register now.
The Fifthword is Miyn (translated "of its kind"). Hearing "fithword" might make you wonder what the other four words are:
- TOV (translated "good") multiply
- Ra (translated "evil") living TOV in a way that keeps something from its TOV
- d'ath (translated know) know about
- yada (translated know) intertwined knowing that change the knower and known
Quote investigator does a great job tracing the history and variations of the jungle school fable.
Help people find TOV by donating to Brother Dog.
Take advantage of 122 Coaching Special (or find out more about it at FindYourTOV.com)
If you've heard about The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, you've probably asked why God put it there. Hebrew was the language this tree is mentioned in and unpacking four Hebrew words (actually, three Hebrew Words and an Egyptian one they lifted) changes the story. It becomes clear that God's not a(n) #@!$
Take advantage of the $122 coaching special we announced in this episode by clicking this link. Spots are limited, so sign up now.
The tentative dates for the 14 day pilgrimage following the Footsteps of Jesus and engaging with finding Tov concepts are May 13-26, 2023. (I'll add a registration link as soon as they are locked in).
Some questions mentioned in this episode, to think about before Episode 06:
- Where have you experienced Ra?
- How have you experienced Ra?
- Where are you experiencing Ra?
- How are you experiencing Ra?
If having categories helps, these are the four mentioned in the episode:
- Other people
- Systems
- Collateral Damage
- Self Talk
Just for fun, here's the link to Google Translate Songs with Miley Cyrus from The Tonight show with Jimmy Fallon.
When TOV got lost in translation, making sense of "that tree" (the tree of knowledge of TOV and evil) was impossible. When people ask, "Why did God put that tree in the garden?" they are suspending disbelief. I want to honor that.
It took decades & degrees to wrestle with this question. For the longest time, I didn't engage because the answers I had, any way you twist them, God was a(n) #@!S. After finding TOV all that changed.
Here are some of the things referenced in Episode 03.
- "It's not the critic who counts..." comes from Theodore Roosevelt. It's often called "man in the arena." I learned about it from Daring Greatly by Brené Brown, not only do I recommend this book, but I can honestly say that about anything she's done.
- If by Rudyard Kipling.
- "What if the Egyptians and Israelites joined forces" is from Excellentby Propaganda. To give a little context he continues "that would force a forfeit. And it's hard to drive hard when your hard drive keeps needing a force quit." In Episode 02, when I talked about rap and wordplay, if I'd mentioned artists by name, his would have been mentioned.
The reason there is more than enough (Episode I) is because the universe is TOV. (TOV means multiply.) You were made to live TOV, if you don't, parts of creation are left undone. That is why it's so important for individuals and organizations to find TOV. You've got to find TOV before you can live TOV.
Here are the links, I promised in this episode:
- Amanda Palmer's Ted Talk
- Amanda Palmers Book: The Art of the Asking: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Let People Help.
- Good to Great by Jim Collins
And if you haven't seen the Webb Space Telescope pics here you go (along with the Hubble pics).
Sometimes the most important things get lost. This shouldn't surprise us. Ancient Wisdom tells us that Ancient Wisdom gets lost.
Since this is the first episode, we wanted to let you know how we're coming at the topic. Theater and movies call it "suspension of disbelief" and and the deep dive book mentioned was: Personal Knowledge: Towards a Post-Critical Philosophy by Michael Polanyi. Here are the tweet-ables about it you will see on social media from this episode.
- You've got to stand under to understand.
- Let understanding precede criticism.
- "Let celebration precede cerebration." - Len Sweet
We also thought it was important to let you know what was at our core / where we are heading. Here's the tweet-able that tells you where we are going.
- If you don't live your TOV part of creation is left undone.
Welcome to Find Your TOV (the podcast).I’m Dr. Henry Graf and our first season Origin Storykicks off Tuesday July 12 with an Episode called Abundance & Scarcity.New Episodes drop every Tuesday until Find Your Tov (the book)comes out in September 2022.