The Mystic Cave: Recent Episodes
Brian E Pearson
An exploration of the spiritual journey. Stories, conversations, and reflections from the other side of conventional religious belief and practice. A sanctuary for seekers along the Unknown Path.
Click here to send me a text message (include your contact info if you want a reply).
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: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
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: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
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: sandy@jivanmukta.life
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: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
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: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
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: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
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: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
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: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
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: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
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: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
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: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
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).
Stories arrive on our TV screen daily, unbidden. We are momentarily entertained or diverted but rarely are we changed. The old stories, however, passed down from generation to generation, were meant to instruct us, to identify us with a tribe, and to change us.
Natalie Pepin, a Metis artist and cultural educator, and Tad Hargrave, a European-Canadian marketer and cultural explorer, both experienced the dearth of life-changing stories in our modern culture ... until they stumbled upon traditional fairy tales. Smitten by their potency, they now offer workshops on these ancient stories, each one capable of both rooting and transforming us.
More about Tad & Natalie:
Natalie's Website: https://meetingmyancestors.com
Tad's Website: https://marketingforhippies.com
An Excellent Resource on Fairy Tales:
"Origins of Fairy Tales from Around the World," a Ten-Book Series by Pook Press (UK), including: Sleeping Beauty, Hansel and Gretel, Beauty and the Beast, Little Red Riding Hood, and more, each edition comprising seven variants of popular fairy tales.
Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
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).
Whatever Soul is, it's not tame. That's why we seek Soul in the wild places, where something locked away can be released and we can remember who we are and why we're here. That's also why we need an experienced guide to take us there, someone who knows the wild places of the human heart. Michelle Rigling is such a guide. Her Cavewoman Way group programs and one-on-one counselling invite the Wild Woman to appear in the lives of those seeking a soulful awakening. The participants, and the world, may never be the same again.
Resources
The Cavewoman Way: https://www.thecavewomanway.com
Books
"Women Who Run with the Wolves" by Clarissa Pinkola Estes; Ballantine Books, 1995
"Courting the Wild Twin" by Martin Shaw; Chelsea Green Publishing UK, 2020
"Becoming Baba Yaga" by Kris Spisak; Hampton Roads Publishing, 2024
"The House with Chicken Legs" by Sophie Anderson; Scholastic Press, 2018
Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
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).
Positive karma makes the world a better place and lightens our load in both this life and the next. Negative karma harms the world and burdens us with destructive habits. Becoming conscious of the bad habits we accumulate is the first step toward making better choices, finding joy and liberation for ourselves, and becoming a positive force in the world. My guest Mordy Levine, the co-author of The Beginner's Guide to Karma, breaks it all down for us.
Resources
The Beginner's Guide to Karma: How to Live with Less Negativity & More Peace by Lama Lhanang Rinpoche & Mordy Levine; New World Library, 2024
The Tibetan Book of the Dead for Beginners: A Guide to Living and Dying by Lama Lhanang Rinpoche & Mordy Levine; Sounds True, 2023
Jingle Lingpa Center: https://www.buddhistsandiego.com
Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
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).
Here's a seasonal offering of word and song that will warm your heart, whether it's Christmas you celebrate, the Winter Solstice, Festivus, or any of the many other culturally rich wintertime observances. As we turn inward at this time of year, we also turn back, longing for the comforts of a home that is lost to us now. For those of us with Celtic or Western European roots, Peia's music is deeply evocative of those ancestral roots long buried beneath our fast-paced modern life. Here she shares her songs and talks with me about the soulful path to making such soul-filled music.
PS. This is the 150th episode of The Mystic Cave. Thanks so much for listening!
Tip: Use the Chapters tab to take you directly to Peia's songs.
Resources
Peia's website: https://peiasong.com
Peia's two solo albums: Four Great Winds (2013) and Beauty Thunders (2016)
Peia's collaborations: Wild Honey, Ali Ghamsari, Rising Appalachia & others
Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
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).
With every new war and with every new natural catastrophe, we are being driven to consider new ways of being human on this planet. This search is not new, but perhaps it's never been so critical. Celtic spiritual teacher John Philip Newell has collected nine prophetic voices in his latest book, The Great Search, to help awaken within us the realization that not only is the Earth sacred, so is the human soul. It's as inspiring a message as it is timely.
ResourcesJohn Philip's website: https://www.earthandsoul.org/john-philip-newell
His two latest books:
Sacred Earth, Sacred Soul by John Philip Newell; HarperOne, 2022
The Great Search by John Philip Newell; Wild Goose, 2024
Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
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 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: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
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).
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: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
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 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: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
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).
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
ErrataThe 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: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
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 ...
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: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
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.
ResourcesJules' 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: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2022
Send us 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: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2022
Send us 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: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2022
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: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2022
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: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2022
Psychedelics can show us what's beyond our ordinary consciousness. Meditation can help us to live day by day from that place. But in the end all practices fall short: the spiritual journey requires a letting go, not a holding on. Zen teacher Ryushin uses words only to point beyond those words ... to the actual peace and enlightenment we seek.
Resources relative to this conversation:
"Healing with Form, Energy and Light," by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche; Snow Lion (Shambhala Publications), 2002
Body-Mind Centering: https://www.bodymindcentering.com/
Contacting Ryushin directly:
Email: fusanryushin@gmail.com
Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2022
The Ordinary Reality we experience every day may not be the only reality there is. It may not even be the real one. Non-Ordinary Reality is a fantastical cosmos populated by Spirit Beings—plants, animals, and people—who are devoted to our health and wholeness. It's the job of shamans like Wade Prpich to travel to that world and seek the help of those Beings for the sake of our spiritual healing here in this one. For real!
Links
Wade's Website: http://calgaryshaman.com/index.html
The Foundation for Shamanic Studies: https://www.shamanism.org
Resources
The Way of the Shaman, by Michael Harner; HarperOne, 1990 (updated and revised).
Cave and Cosmos: Shamanic Encounters with Another Reality, by Michael Harner; North Atlantic Books, 2013.
Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2022
It's like we're walking around blindfolded. We feel we are alone in the universe while spirit guides hover close by, waiting for us to acknowledge them. We feel it all comes down to our wills and to our efforts while energy pours into our hearts from a cosmic Source. Reiki Master Jan Thompson knows those spiritual realms, relying upon them for the healing work she does. It makes her humbler than most, and wiser too. Because she knows we only live our lives on this plain because of the life-giving energies of another.
Correction
Jan wants to offer the following clarification: Kuan Yin, who she mentions at the 15:42 mark in our conversation, is a deity from Chinese mythology (not Japanese) who is nevertheless revered throughout Eastern Asia as the Goddess of Compassion and the Bodhisattva of Mercy.
Links & Resources
Jan's book: Divine Healing:Powerful Stories of Transformation with Higher Selves and Beings of Light, by Carol Anne Halstead, et al (including Jan's chapter, "All Our Answers Lie Within: Through Love and Forgiveness"); FriesenPress; 2023
Jan's Reiki and energy work: https://www.ascensionarts.ca
Jan's dowsing work (with Carol Anne Halstead): https://www.ascensiondowsing.com
Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2022
There's something encoded in our souls that seeks hope even in the face of hopelessness. That spark, that gene, that impossible dream is what allows us to discover new stories to replace the old ones and to usher in the new world we seek. Activist, storyteller, and writer Gareth Higgins, in his book, How Not to be Afraid, evokes the life-giving possibilities that are hidden within our fears.
Links to Gareth and his workGareth's book: How Not to be Afraid: Seven Ways to Live When Everything Seems Terrifying; Broadleaf Books, 2021.
Gareth's Website: http://www.garethhiggins.net
Gareth's Online Community: https://www.theporchcommunity.net/order
Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2022
Teresa Hanlon was doing ministry within her church long before she was ordained. But when she became a priest, her Church excommunicated her and inhibited her from doing the work she loved. Providentially, for her and the other women priests ordained within the Catholic tradition (if not in the Roman Catholic Church itself), it was not an ending. It was a beginning, signalling perhaps the rebirth of Christianity itself ... with women at the table.
Acronyms & their links:
LICCF (Lethbridge Inclusive Catholic Community Fellowship): https://liccf.ca
RCWPC (Roman Catholic Women Priests Canada): http://rcwpcanada.ca/
CNWE (Catholic Network for Women's Equality): https://www.cnwe.org
WOW (Women's Ordination Worldwide): http://womensordinationcampaign.org
WOC (Women's Ordination Conference): https://www.womensordination.org
Recommended Resources:1) Womanpriest:Tradition and Transgression in the Contemporary Roman Catholic Church (New York: Fordham University Press, 2020) by Jill Peterfeso
Available onlinehttps://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/375282) VIDEO Pink Smoke over the Vatican: www.pinksmokeoverthevatican.com 20113) Mary and Early Christian Women by Ally Kateusz, Ally: ham, Switzerland, 2019 available online: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/331185040_Mary_and_Early_Christian_Women_Hidden_Leadership4) A PERIODICAL which reviews relevant news with some original material (Teresa's story found here as well): The Review RCWP Canada online, twice monthly review of RC women topics including ordination. https://rcwpcanada.altervista.org/
5) My Journey from Silence to Solidarity: The Life story of Roy Bourgeois, (Maryknoll priest of 40 years excommunicated and expelled from his order because of support for a woman friend's Catholic ordination). http://www.roybourgeoisjourney.org/book/book.pdf6) Interview of author of biography of RC women's ordination behind the Iron Curtain through a contemporary, online ministry called FUTURE CHURCH https://futurechurch.org/women-in-church-leadership/pope-francis-meet-your-priest-ludmilla-javarova-with-miriam-therese-winter/
Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2022
Everything we do reflects Soul. Because Soul is about what's inside. How we dress is one way we let our inner self out, to be seen. Barry Foster, known by some as "the best dressed man in church land," knows that our sartorial choices are so much more than fashion statements. They are about who we are.
Resources
"True Style: The History and Principles of Classic Menswear," by G. Bruce Boyer; Basic Books, 2015
"The Rake" magazine ("the modern voice of classic elegance"): https://therake.com/magazine
Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2022
Here's a song I wrote a few years ago that has become special to me. I often use it to close my performances of music and storytelling. This version is just a demo, meaning the song is still in development. But I wanted to share it with you as is, as a small gift at New Years. Enjoy!
Song Credit:
Music and lyrics by Brian E Pearson; recorded in The Mystic Cave studio
Double bass performed by Cory Hutcheson
Photo Credit:
Photo by laura adai on Unsplash.
Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2022
Set in 1995, when people still smoked and few had cell phones, this retelling of the Christmas story imagines a young couple overwhelmed by circumstances larger than themselves and by a dark and inhospitable world seemingly incapable of welcoming their newborn. Until the city utility truck arrives, and then a carload of academics.
Story Credit: Written, performed, and produced by Brian E Pearson
Soundscape Credits:
Copenhagen Streetscape by iwilhelm13; Attribution Non-Commercial License 4.0
Old Station Wagon by Kyles; Creative Commons 0 license
School Bus Old Rattly Idle by Kyles; Creative Commons 0 license
Indoor Adult Murmur by SpliceSound; Creative Commons 0 license
Fluorescent Tube Sound by Garuda1982; Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 license
Tires Squealing by Rutget Muller; Creative Commons 0 license
Fast-starting Car by RobinHood76; Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 license
Heaven Voices by RobinHood76; Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 license
Celestial "Unknown Voices" by bolkmar; Attribution 3.0 license
Don Nobis Pacem Cathedral by Klanlbeeld; Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 license
Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2022
After days, weeks, even years of preparation, each Vision Quester headed off for a three-day solo fast on a mountainside in Southwestern Colorado. Every experience was unique. But everyone had an experience, a Soul Encounter, that awakened us to our place in the Universe. Here, Vincenzo Falone and I tell our own stories of going solo.
Links to Vincenzo Falone
Personal and Group Mentoring: https://liveinfullexpression.com
The ManKind Project: https://mkpusa.org/crossroads/
Links to the Animas Valley Institute
https://www.animas.org
Books by Bill Plotkin (all books published by New World Library)
"Soulcraft: Crossing into the Mysteries of Nature and Psyche," 2003
"Nature and the Human Soul: Cultivating Wholeness and Community in a Fragmented World," 2008
"Wild Mind: A Field Guide to the Human Psyche," 2013
"The Journey of Soul Initiation: A Field Guide Visionaries, Revolutionaries, and Revolutionaries," 2021
Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2022
Eleven days camping on a Colorado mountainside, three of those days a solo fast, seeking an encounter with Nature that might grant us a vision of our mythopoetic identities, our unique place in the Universe: it would have been an ambitious undertaking for someone half our age. But somehow Vincenzo Falone, from New Jersey, and I, a Canadian from Alberta, felt drawn to be there, both of us in our late sixties (and one of us pushing seventy rather hard). This is the story of what got us there.
Links to Vincenzo Falone
Personal and Group Mentoring: https://liveinfullexpression.com
The ManKind Project: https://mkpusa.org/crossroads/
Links to the Animas Valley Institute
https://www.animas.org
Books by Bill Plotkin (all books published by New World Library)
"Soulcraft: Crossing into the Mysteries of Nature and Psyche," 2003
"Nature and the Human Soul: Cultivating Wholeness and Community in a Fragmented World," 2008
"Wild Mind: A Field Guide to the Human Psyche," 2013
"The Journey of Soul Initiation: A Field Guide Visionaries, Revolutionaries, and Revolutionaries," 2021
Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2022
A few gurus and spiritual leaders have given all the others a bad name. But yoga and meditation instructor Vickie MacArthur has a story to tell about Thich Nhat Hanh, the Vietnamese Zen Master, whose gaze was all it took to change her life, filling her with divine love. It's a story we may need to hear.
Vickie's book and web sites
"A Lotus on Fire: How a Buddhist Monk Ignited my Heart":https://a.co/d/4PhkbLV
https://www.vickiemacarthur.ca
https://spiritinmotionyoga.com
Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2022
We might deny it, but we're all creative. We might not make a painting, but we might make a garden or a business or a home. Visual artist Jan Handy speaks with me about the challenges and the joys of following our Muse. It's everyone's calling.
Resources
Jan's email address: jajhandy@gmail.com
Books mentioned in our conversation:
"The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity," by Julia Cameron; Jeremy P. Tarcher / Random House; 1992, 2002, 2016
"The Practice: Shipping Creative Work," by Seth Godin; Portfolio / Penguin, New York; 2020
"The Creative Act: A Way of Being," by Rick Rubin; Penguin Press, New York; 2023
Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2022
Is our spirituality shaped by our sexuality? Or are we shaped more by the social constructs of that sexuality? Counselling psychologist and professor emeritus Kevin Alderson has spent his career specializing in LGBTQ+ issues and helping people to accept themselves, whatever their sexuality. Only when we love ourselves can we learn how to be "givers" rather than "takers" and become the people we are capable of being.
About Kevin:
Most recent book: Counselling Today: Bridging Art, Science, and Practice; Cognella Publications, January 2024.
Upcoming book: The New Sex: An Exposé of What You Could be Missing (as yet unpublished).
Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2022
What if our place in the Universe isn't a job, or a role, or anything the world might recognize as useful? What if it's more subtle and more fundamental than how the world sees us? What would that look like? And how would we even know if we'd found it? Celia McBride's memoir, O My God: An Un-becoming Journey, explores this territory as she shares the story of her passionate desire to become a nun, only to have Soul lead her somewhere else.
Links to Celia McBride
Celia's book: O My God: An Un-becoming Journey
Celia's web site: https://www.celiamcbride.com
Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2022
Jesus told a parable about a wealthy man who increased his holdings and expanded his storage facilities for all his goods, until the day came when he was informed that his soul was required of him. Would that he had cared for his soul before it was taken away.
James Hollis has been counselling, writing, and teaching for over fifty years. His acquired wisdom is simple, which doesn't mean it's easy: get to know your soul ... before it leaves you. Soul comes to us every day--in our dreams, in our neuroses, in our psychic disturbances--with an invitation to pay attention. If we do, Soul will lead us to the "interesting" life we're each called to live.
Links to James Hollis
Website: https://jameshollis.net
Books: https://jameshollis.net/hollisBooks.html
Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2022
Prophets don't call themselves prophets. They speak their words or write their books until people start to notice. Then they may open a wisdom school or create magical live events or succumb to interviews with podcasters.
All this describes Stephen Jenkinson. When he writes, or speaks, or performs, you feel your world opening up, shifting, changing. You'd be hard pressed to describe exactly what's happening. But something is happening. And that something was captured in our recent conversation.
Links to the World of Stephen Jenkinson
Website: https://orphanwisdom.com
Books, Music and Films: https://orphanwisdom.com/books/
2023 Tour: https://orphanwisdom.com/nights-of-grief-and-mystery/
Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2022
Out here on the far side of conventional religion it is important that the seeker find a few guideposts. Otherwise the open landscape can feel overwhelming. Thomas Moore has been a seeker's lodestar for over thirty years, ever since he reintroduced us to the language of “Soul” in his best-selling book, “Care of the Soul.”
His new book, "The Eloquence of Silence," gathers stories from around the globe and from across the spectrum of religious traditions to explore the spirituality of emptiness. Our conversation took us many places, from the need to let go of certainty and acquisitiveness to memories of his good friend and mentor, fellow Jungian James Hillman.
Books:
"Care of the Soul," by Thomas Moore: https://a.co/d/ePybyS3
"The Eloquence of Silence," by Thomas Moore: https://a.co/d/71tRllQ
"The Soul's Code," by James Hillman: https://a.co/d/1y5Rp1M
"The Force of Character," by James Hillman: https://a.co/d/fyd0nUe
Social Media Links to Thomas Moore:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/100044727171932
Twitter: https://twitter.com/thomasmooreSoul
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thomasmooresoul/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@billphilipps2751
Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2022
Darold Black loves people and he loves pictures. So it's no surprise that our conversation about wisdom turned into personal stories about life. Wisdom doesn't come to us as lofty ideas. It comes to us as images from the heart.
Darold is working on a documentary series called "E5," an attempt to capture the wisdom of elders on film. It's not a gathering of wise sayings in twenty-second media clips. It's storytelling, where the seeds of wisdom have always been found.
Links & Resources
Darold's E5 project: https://e5.life
Darold's Media Company: https://blackmediaworks.com
Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2022
Some would prefer to say spiritual "companionship" rather than "direction," and that would probably be more accurate. Because it's not about directing anyone anywhere, except, that is, to pay attention to the subtle movements within your own heart and soul. And that's what spiritual directors do.
My guest on this episode is Lois Huey-Heck, a seasoned spiritual director whose natural bent for compassion, whose aptitude for the ways of Soul, and whose deep experience and training coalesce to offer the world a unique gift: the gift of holy listening.
Resources:
Spiritual Directors International: https://www.sdicompanions.org
Jubilee: https://www.canadianjubilee.ca
Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2022
Words fail us when we try to speak of the mysteries of life and death and the other soulful experiences of our lives. Except, that is, for the words of poets. In the modern age we turn to poetry as if to holy scripture, searching for the images and metaphors that help us express our deepest fears and our highest hopes.
Three poets offer their own words in this episode as together we explore the Eastertide theme of death and resurrection. Rosemary Griebel, Paul Grindlay, and Juleta Severson-Baker consider the classic movement of an Easter weekend from the bleak cross of Good Friday through the numinous waiting of Holy Saturday to the colourful blossoms of Easter morning. At every turn their words give voice to our grief, our doubts, and our joy, as only the words of poets can do.
Links and Resources:
Rosemary Griebel's collection of poetry, "Yes." was published by Frontenac House in 2011: https://www.frontenachouse.com/product/yes/. Other poems are found in chapbooks published by Leaf Press.
Paul Grindlay's three books of poetry are "Natural Selections" (2020), "'S Word Play" (2021), and "Currents" (2022), all published by Largemouth Basso Books: https://www.paulgrindlay.ca/largemouth-basso-books/. Paul is currently preparing an audio book of his fourth anthology, "Footfalls on the Path of Love."
Juleta Severson-Baker's collection of poetry, "Incarnation," was published by Frontenac House in 2013: https://www.frontenachouse.com/product/incarnate/. Other poems are found in chapbooks published by Leaf Press, including "EveryWordSpoken" (2013).
Photo Credit: Nicolas Messifet on Unsplash
Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2022
Many men, having inherited the cultural expectations of former generations, feel they are being shamed in the modern age. Traditional male traits, such as protectiveness, leadership, and strength, are now denigrated for their toxic potential rather than celebrated for their social value. It's a difficult time for men as they try to break the old molds and discover a new way of being themselves in the world.
Therapist Marv Westwood has spent years working at the very heart of traditional male culture--male military personnel who have been traumatized by war. In groups designed to provide therapeutic release, Marv has unearthed both the value of traditional male traits and also, critically, the emergence of openness, sensitivity, and compassion that reside in the souls of every one of us, regardless of gender.
Links:
Heads Up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wAdJVxqzwo
Male Psychology (UK): https://www.johnbarrypsychologist.com/male-psychology-home
Blueprint (David Kuhl): https://www.blueprint.ngo
Article:
Shields, D. and Westwood, M. (2019). "In Counselling Male Military Personneland Veterans: Addressing Challenges and Enhancing Engagement." In Barry, J. (2019). The Palgrave Handbook of Male Psychology and Mental Health. Palgrave Publisher
Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2022
If we're searching for a connection with our souls, we needn’t look any further than our voice. Quite apart from the words we use and the intentions behind those words, our voice reveals the state of things within. Are we anxious, are we confident, are we restful? The voice knows. Consequently, so does the world.
Jennifer Mason is a trained singer and vocal coach who helps people discover and utilize the full dynamic range of their voice. As to her own voice, Jennifer is releasing a re-mastered version of "Mothers of the World," her haunting album of lullabies from around the globe.
Credits (from "Mothers of the World"):
1st Clip: Nana (Spanish trad, arranged by Paul Gilman and Jennifer Mason)
2nd Clip: Suo-Gan (Welsh trad, arranged by Paul Gilman and Jennifer Mason)
3rd Clip: Sea Gypsies (by Paul Gilman and Jennifer Mason)
Links to Jennifer's Web Sites:
"Mothers of the World" web site: https://www.mothersoftheworld.org
Jennifer's vocal coaching web site: https://www.vocalpresence.ca
Listen to "Mothers of the World" online:
On Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/0wXjoJMhEn63BgEdPuLLIs?si=358R6ZoaSBi09pj6-I7g9g&nd=1
On Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/ca/album/mothers-of-the-world/1675713504
Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2022
Some say before we could sing, we drummed. Whether or not that's accurate, drumming is one of our most primitive forms of communication. Perhaps, it once helped us to "talk" across great distances. Perhaps, it brought us together to unify and strengthen the community. Perhaps, it was just ... fun.
Julien Lepage leads modern-day drumming circles where we can re-experience a deep resonation with our own bodies, with one another, and with the Earth. There are no ideologies to label us, no religion or politics to divide us, and no boundaries to keep us out, not when we yield to the rhythm of the drum.
Links and Resources
'Circles of Rhythm' Web site: https://www.circlesofrhythm.com/community-drum-circles/
Judy Atkinson's book: "The Drum Code: Living Well Between the Beats"; KDP Publishing, 2017
Episode Credits
1st Interlude: "Montreal Drum Circle" by georgeradio (http://www.georgemotoc.com); Attribution Licence 3.0
2nd Interlude: "Tokyo Drum Circle" by manuke; Creative Commons License
3rd Interlude: "Hippie Hill" by SFINDIGO; Creative Commons License
Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2022
Yoga is not just about poses and posers. It's about a soulful engagement with our own lives that includes both our bodies and our dreams. It's about the rediscovery of the connection we have lost with the Earth, and about the purpose that the Earth itself is dreaming for us.
Rebecca Wildbear is a soul guide, a wilderness therapist, and a yoga instructor. Wild Yoga: A Practice of Initiation, Veneration And Advocacy for the Earth is her new book on, in her words, "an embodied practice to help us love ourselves, deepen our relationship with the natural world, and stretch our consciousness".
Links & Resources
The book (on Amazon.com): https://www.amazon.com/Wild-Yoga-Practice-Initiation-Veneration/dp/160868797X
The book (on Amazon.ca): https://a.co/d/7wmEZhb
Rebecca's web site: http://www.rebeccawildbear.com
Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2022
"You can be so heavenly minded," the saying goes, "that you're of no earthly use." Ouch for all us lofty-headed idealists! But bringing together heavenly ideals and earthly resources--now that's useful!
And that's what Howard Fischer is doing with Gratitude Railroad, his impact investment firm he started with his friend Eric Jacobsen: move investment capital from the safe and conventional financial world to a whole new world of environmental protection and social justice. It might not be heaven on earth ... yet. But it's a start.
Link
Gratitude Railroad: https://gratituderailroad.com
Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2022
Many of us fear aging. We suppose that the long slow slide on the other side of the hill is a negation of the one life we've been given to live. But what if it's the opposite? What if aging is our crowning glory, all that experience finally adding up to something: meaning, depth, and even wisdom?
Judy Steiert trains "sage-ing" guides and leaders, and she herself mentors those who want to welcome aging, rather than to fear it. For those of us retiring from our jobs and facing the next chapter of our lives, this is good news. It's not the end. It's a new beginning.
Resources
“The Inner Work of Age: Shifting from Role to Soul” by Connie Zweig; Park Street Press, 2021
“From Age-ing to Sage-ing” by Zalman Schacter Shalomi; Balance (reprint edition), 2014
Sage-ing International: https://www.sage-ing.org
Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2022
What if the Earth is beyond saving? What if only the abandonment of hope will deliver us to the new world we seek? What if eco-grief is the portal we need to rediscover our role in the natural world, and in its healing? Jodi Lammiman is an eco-awareness counsellor and spiritual guide who connects our fears and sorrows to the work we've each been given ... to be in communion with the living Earth. This connection, in the end, may be our only hope.
LinksRefugia: https://www.refugiaretreats.com
"On Being" Podcast: https://onbeing.org/series/podcast/ ("A Wild Love for the World," with Joanna Macy)
Resources (with two highlighted for quick reference)Martha Beck, "The Way of Integrity: Finding the Path of Your True Self;" The Open Field, 2021
Thomas Berry, "The Dream of the Earth;" Counterpoint, 2015
Kathleen Dean Moore, "Great Tide Rising: Towards Clarity and Moral Courage in a Time of Planetary Change;" Counterpoint, 2017
Sarah Jaquette Ray, "A Field Guide to Climate Anxiety: How to Keep You Cool on a Warming Planet;" University of California Press, 2020
Joanna Macy, "Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We're In Without Going Crazy;" New World Library, 2012
Sebene Selassie, "You Belong: A Call for Connection;" Harper One, 2020
Francis Weller & Michael Lerner, "The Wild Edge of Sorrow: Rituals of Renewal and the Sacred Work of Grief;" North Atlantic Books, 2015
Britt Wray, "Generation Dread: Finding Purpose in an Age of Climate Crisis;" Knopf Canada, 2022
Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2022
Bob had decided to lock Christmas out this year. Given the events of the past year who could blame him? But Christmas had other ideas and snuck in the back door instead, leaving the door ajar. As it must be, if we're to let the Christ Child in.
Music Credits (under license by SOCAN 2022)"O Holy Night," from the album Noël by Terry McDade & the McDades
"In the Bleak Midwinter," from Midwinter by Terry McDade & the McDades
"O Come, O Come, Emmanuel," from Winter Rose by Terry McDade & the McDades
"Silent Night," from Midwinter by Terry McDade & the McDades
"We Three Kings," from Noël by Terry McDade & the McDades
"Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming," from Winter Rose by Terry McDade & the McDades
"The First Noël," from Winter Rose by Terry McDade & the McDades Photo CreditTim Bish on Unsplash
Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2022
It was indeed intense, but I was learning the ways of Soul and shedding the fears that prevented me from knowing and living out, fully, my purpose on the earth. As we camped in the woods and wandered and drummed and danced and dreamed, I knew something important was happening. I was becoming ... myself. Naturally.
To be guided through the threads of my conversation with Liz Wiltzen, click on the Chapters tab, above.
Links
Liz Wiltzen, Life Coach: https://www.lizwiltzen.com
Liz Wiltzen, "Tracking Yes" podcast: https://www.trackingyes.com
Resources
Animas Valley Institute: https://www.animas.org
Bill Plotkin, Soul Craft: Crossing into the Mysteries of Nature and Psyche , New World Library, 2003
____________, Nature and the Human Soul: Cultivating Wholeness and Community in a Fragmented World, New World Library, 2008
____________. WildMind: 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
Photo Credit: Alexis Antonio on Unsplash
Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2022
Morning coffee with one's spouse? Listening to other people's stories? Reading whatever you want? This is spiritual practice? If you've been on the spiritual path all your life, then, yes. Because in the end spiritual practice is whatever works, not whatever others have told you to do.
My conversation with retired minister and former spiritual director John Griffith is filled with wise insights into the spiritual journey. There's a reason we've been taught to listen to our elders.
Referenced in this episode
Hillhurst United Church: https://hillhurstunited.com
Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2022
Some forms of prayer seem to assume that we must capture the attention of a far-off God, like lassoing a star. Contemplation assumes God's already here, deep within, and not just within us, but within all created beings. Liz Rees, a contemplative teacher and guide, talks to me about how contemplative practice connects us deeply to the natural world.
Resources:
Berry, Thomas. "Dream of the Earth"; Sierra Club, 1988
Keating, Thomas. "Open Mind, Open Heart"; Continuum International Publishing Group, 1994
Loorz, Victoria. "Church of the Wild"; Broadleaf Press, 2021
Merton, Thomas. Kathleen Deignan (ed). "When the Trees Say Nothing"; Sorin Books, 2015
Green Exodus: [currently offline]
Inner Sanctuary the Podcast: found on Apple Podcasts and elsewhere
Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2022
When it comes to change in our lives, our rational minds can carry us only so far. Our bodies take us further. But rituals connect body and mind to Soul, creating transformative experiences that help us move through life's most significant passages.
Sarah Kerr, death doula and ritual healing practitioner, speaks to me about the power of rituals, their constituent parts, and what difference rituals make to how we live our lives. It could be that the cosmos is counting on us to become agents of transformative change, in other words, ritualists.
Episode LinksSarah's Courses and Services: https://sacreddeathcare.com
Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2022
Don't we all want to belong? Don't we miss it, and yearn for it, when we don't? Out here, on the other side of church land, belonging to a community is what seekers miss most about their religious pasts. But not all community is good community, and not every community lasts. In this conversation with Janet Handy, we explore the range of possibilities for human belonging. In the end, we may be more a part of things than we realize.
Resources
Jan's book, The Secret Tribe, on Amazon: https://www.amazon.ca/Secret-Tribe-Memoir-Resilience-ebook/dp/B07DQ9TGVB/ref=sr_1_1?crid=VHN64HIKU2MO&keywords=The+Secret+Tribe&qid=1663371759&s=books&sprefix=the+secret+tribe%2Cstripbooks%2C182&sr=1-1
Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2022
Out here, on the other side of church land, how do we give voice to the deepest longings of our hearts? Might poetry help us? Reading poems, might they become our sacred texts; writing them, our personal prayers? Poet Richard Osler believes that poetry delivers us to the deep and holy places of our own souls, places of healing, of inspiration, and of profound Mystery. In this conversation, Richard reintroduces us to the power of poetry ... which, he warns, is not for sissies.
Links
Richard's web site & blog: http://www.recoveringwords.com/site/
My web site (and blog sign-up form): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Resources mentioned in this episode (and a few others):
Roger Housden, ed, Ten Poems to Last a Lifetime
_____________________, Ten Poems to Set You Free
Also, by the same editor:
Ten Poems to Open Your Heart
Ten poems to Change Your Life
Risking Everything: 110 Poems of Love and Revelation
Garrison Keillor, ed., Good Poems
______________________, Good Poems for Hard Times
Music Credits
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2022
We launch a new season of The Mystic Cave with a look at Thomas Moore's 2014 book, "A Religion of One's Own"--for seekers who don't want to give up religious practice just because they've given up religion! In fact, Moore would say, we cannot escape religion, even in the secular world, because our souls will always seek out the sacred. But we can make it our own.
Resources:
Thomas Moore, "A Religion of One's Own," published by Gotham Books, 2014
Links:
My web site, where you can sign up for my biweekly blog: https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Music Credits:
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2022
Photo Credit:
Photo by Jared Rice on Unsplash
As David prepares to leave for home, he knows there is no going back. There is only going on, to wherever life is leading him next. But now, he looks forward to that mystery unfolding before him. He's faced it already, and he's found, in the process, his own soul.
Making Contact:
Face Book: “The Mystic Cave” Face Book group
Web site: https://www.brianepearson.ca/
Email: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Music Credits:
Intro and Outro: "Born to be Wild," by Steppenwolf, from the album, Steppenwolf, 1968; licensed by SOCAN 2022.
Interlude: "Coming Home" by JuliusH from Pixabay.
Photo Credit:
LandonParenteau on Unsplash
David is breathing easier now. His days on the Coast are coming to a close and soon he will be heading home, and whatever that will mean. But first, he must face the one challenge that has eluded him. He is drawn one more time to the rugged shoreline.
Making Contact:
Face Book: “The Mystic Cave” Face Book group
Web site: https://www.brianepearson.ca/
Email: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Music Credits:
Intro and Outro: "Born to be Wild," by Steppenwolf, from the album, Steppenwolf, 1968; licensed by SOCAN 2022.
Interlude: "Danger at the Horizon" by SamuelFrancisjohnson from Pixabay.
Photo Credit:
LandonParenteau on Unsplash
Forgiveness is one thing, but penance is something else altogether. David faces the consequences of his actions, but that means facing his own humanity, which is perhaps what lies at the bottom of our deepest descent.
Making Contact:
Face Book: “The Mystic Cave” Face Book group
Web site: https://www.brianepearson.ca/
Email: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Music Credits:
Intro and Outro: "Born to be Wild," by Steppenwolf, from the album, Steppenwolf, 1968; licensed by SOCAN 2022.
Interlude: "The Way Home" by ZakharValaha" from Pixabay.
Photo Credit:
LandonParenteau on Unsplash
David, desperate to regain some measure of control over his life, makes one last attempt to train his mind on his ministry. But it's futile. The darker forces of Soul will not be repressed by the lofty ways of Spirit. Inevitably, all hell will break loose.
Making Contact:
Face Book: “The Mystic Cave” Face Book group
Web site: https://www.brianepearson.ca/
Email: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Music Credits:
Intro and Outro: "Born to be Wild," by Steppenwolf, from the album, Steppenwolf, 1968; licensed by SOCAN 2022.
Interlude: "Emotional Piano" by Lesfm from Pixabay.
Photo Credit:
LandonParenteau on Unsplash
David's dark days are lightened by a beatific vision that raises new life within him. But not new hope. It's a vision whose fulfillment must be avoided, not embraced. Still, love will have its way, for better or for worse.
Making Contact:
Face Book: “The Mystic Cave” Face Book group
Web site: https://www.brianepearson.ca/
Email: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Music Credits:
Intro and Outro: "Born to be Wild," by Steppenwolf, from the album, Steppenwolf, 1968; licensed by SOCAN 2022.
Interlude: "Motivational Inspiring Piano" by ZakharValaha from Pixabay.
Photo Credit:
LandonParenteau on Unsplash
David continues on a downward spiral, all his grand Christmas plans crashing onto the rocks of his flawed humanity. There's not much to give him hope at this darkest time of the year. Except perhaps certain doors closing behind him. Doesn't that always mean new doors opening?
Making Contact:
Face Book: “The Mystic Cave” Face Book group
Web site: https://www.brianepearson.ca/
Email: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Music Credits:
Intro and Outro: "Born to be Wild," by Steppenwolf, from the album, Steppenwolf, 1968; licensed by SOCAN 2022.
Interlude: "Far From Home Acoustic Version" by mad/FAN from Pixabay.
Photo Credit:
LandonParenteau on Unsplash
Dark days bring with them dark thoughts, driving David inward. The sparkling lights of Christmas might have offered him a respite. Instead, like a lighthouse, they serve as a warning: Sailors Beware.
Making Contact:
Face Book: “The Mystic Cave” Face Book group
Web site: https://www.brianepearson.ca/
Email: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Music Credits:
Intro and Outro: "Born to be Wild," by Steppenwolf, from the album, Steppenwolf, 1968; licensed by SOCAN 2022.
Interlude: "Under Pressure" by MichaelKobrin from Pixabay.
Photo Credit:
LandonParenteau on Unsplash
David leans into his new job, with all its new possibilities. But a coastal ramble warns him that there are dangers here, too, if he's inclined to mind them. New possibilities seem to be accompanied by new risks.
Making Contact:
Face Book: “The Mystic Cave” Face Book group
Web site: https://www.brianepearson.ca/
Email: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Music Credits:
Intro and Outro: "Born to be Wild," by Steppenwolf, from the album, Steppenwolf, 1968; licensed by SOCAN 2022.
Interlude: "Christmas Story" by Lesfm from Pixabay.
Photo Credit:
LandonParenteau on Unsplash
David's West Coast days are beginning to work their magic on him. It's the long nighttime shadows that remind him he still has work to do. But his way is lightened by something he hadn't anticipated finding here--friends.
Making Contact:
Face Book: “The Mystic Cave” Face Book group
Web site: https://www.brianepearson.ca/
Email: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Music Credits:
Intro and Outro: "Born to be Wild," by Steppenwolf, from the album, Steppenwolf, 1968; licensed by SOCAN 2022.
Interlude: "Peaceful Garden" by HarumachiMusic from Pixabay.
Photo Credit:
LandonParenteau on Unsplash
David faces his two congregations without the practiced decorum he's used to. And he faces his family too, down the long line of a telephone call, without a decent excuse to call his own. Still, he's wondering if there might be something here, just beneath the surface, that's worth paying attention to, some new version of himself perhaps, something ... soulful.
Making Contact:
Face Book: “The Mystic Cave” Face Book group
Web site: https://www.brianepearson.ca/
Email: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Music Credits:
Intro and Outro: "Born to be Wild," by Steppenwolf, from the album, Steppenwolf, 1968; licensed by SOCAN 2022.
Interlude: "Simple Piano Melody" by ZakharValaha from Pixabay.
Photo Credit:
LandonParenteau on Unsplash
It is a week of 'firsts' for Father David, chief among them the loss of his honorific. He’s "just David" now. That will have to be enough as he strives to make his mark in his new community and in his new congregations.
Making Contact:
Face Book: “The Mystic Cave” Face Book group
Web site: https://www.brianepearson.ca/
Email: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Music Credits:
Intro and Outro: "Born to be Wild," by Steppenwolf, from the album, Steppenwolf, 1968; licensed by SOCAN 2022.
Interlude: "Hard Working' Man" by Brooks & Dunn, from the album, Hard Working' Man, 1993; licensed by SOCAN 2022.
Photo Credit:
LandonParenteau on Unsplash
The West Coast reveals itself to Father David in all its eccentric charm. But all the props he might have counted on, to guide him in this strange new world, will not help him here. His ministry--and his life--must now find some deeper source.
Making Contact:
Face Book: “The Mystic Cave” Face Book group
Web site: https://www.brianepearson.ca/
Email: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Music Credits:
Intro and Outro: "Born to be Wild," by Steppenwolf, from the album, Steppenwolf, 1968; licensed by SOCAN 2022.
Interlude: "Morning Garden--Acoustic Chill," by Alexy from Pixabay.
Photo Credit:
LandonParenteau on Unsplash
The church mocks him, the mountains overwhelm him, but the West Coast welcomes Father David, as finally he arrives at his destination. It's not "home," but it may be a place where "home" will reveal itself.
Making Contact:
Face Book: “The Mystic Cave” Face Book group
Web site: https://www.brianepearson.ca/
Email: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Music Credits:
Intro and Outro: "Born to be Wild," by Steppenwolf, from the album, Steppenwolf, 1968; licensed by SOCAN 2022.
Interlude: "Anthem of Victory," by ZakharValaha from Pixabay.
Photo Credit:
LandonParenteau on Unsplash
As Father David heads west, through a landscape he has never seen before, what he has left behind him haunts him, like ghosts. But he can't afford to heed them, whether to welcome them or to exorcise them, not yet. He must press on.
Making Contact:
Face Book: “The Mystic Cave” Face Book group
Web site: https://www.brianepearson.ca/
Email: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Music Credits:
Intro and Outro: "Born to be Wild," by Steppenwolf, from the album, Steppenwolf, 1968; licensed by SOCAN 2022.
Interlude: "The Cradle of Your Soul," by lemonmusicstudio from Pixabay.
Photo Credit:
LandonParenteau on Unsplash
Father David hits the road. He can't leave fast enough. His past assurances are crumbling behind him. His future is beckoning in new and terrifying ways. If we all must embark on a Hero's Journey, then , surely, this is his.
Making Contact:
Face Book: “The Mystic Cave” Face Book group
Web site: https://www.brianepearson.ca/
Email: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Music Credits:
Intro and Outro: "Born to be Wild," by Steppenwolf, from the album, Steppenwolf, 1968; licensed by SOCAN 2022.
Interlude: "Sedative," by Lesfm from Pixabay
Photo Credit:
LandonParenteau on Unsplash
The ground has fallen away beneath Father David. His instinct is to flee, somewhere far away, to put distance between himself and all that is hurting him. But he can't flee from his own soul. Like with the ancient Israelites, it will "prevent and follow" him into the wilderness.
Making Contact:
Face Book: “The Mystic Cave” Face Book group
Web site: https://www.brianepearson.ca/
Email: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Music Credits:
Intro and Outro: "Born to be Wild," by Steppenwolf, from the album, Steppenwolf, 1968; licensed by SOCAN 2022.
Interlude: "Kabuki," by SergeQuadrado from Pixabay.
Photo Credit:
LandonParenteau on Unsplash
Father David seeks sanctuary in the two places that promise him comfort when the world is unsettling--his church and his home. But trouble is brewing in both places, trouble from within and trouble from without.
Making Contact:
Face Book: “The Mystic Cave” Face Book group
Web site: https://www.brianepearson.ca/
Email: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Music Credits:
Intro and Outro: "Born to be Wild," by Steppenwolf, from the album, Steppenwolf, 1968; licensed by SOCAN 2022.
Interlude: "The Introvert," by MichaelKobrin from Pixabay.
Photo Credit:
LandonParenteau on Unsplash
Father David is an earnest Anglican priest who is proud of his vocation and uncompromising in his ministry. But as he navigates his way through his daily tasks--a visit to a nursing home and a meeting of his local clergy colleagues--something feels off. The ground is rumbling beneath his feet. Is it the church that's changing, or the world, or is it him?
Making Contact:
Face Book: “The Mystic Cave” Face Book group
Web site: https://www.brianepearson.ca/
Email: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Music Credits:
Intro and Outro: "Born to be Wild," by Steppenwolf, from the album, Steppenwolf, 1968; licensed by SOCAN 2022.
Interlude: "Life of a Walking Wizard," by SergeQuadrado from Pixabay.
Photo Credit:
LandonParenteau on Unsplash
Doug Van Houten, a soul guide with the Animas Valley Institute, takes seekers out into the wild and, with only a bed roll and a water bottle ... leaves them there. He's not being cruel. In fact, he's being kind, providing an opportunity for people to have a soul encounter with the Earth. Not only do we need to know what the Earth asks of us, the Earth needs that too.
Links:
Animas Valley Institute: https://www.animas.org
Doug Van Houten: https://www.bodyartsoul.org
Resources:
Bill Plotkin, Soul Craft: Crossing into the Mysteries of Nature and Psyche , New World Library, 2003
____________, Nature and the Human Soul: Cultivating Wholeness and Community in a Fragmented World, New World Library, 2008
____________. WildMind: 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
Thomas Berry, The Dream of the Earth; Sierra Club, 1988
Music Credits:
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James on the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2022
We might think of the desert as a wasteland, a place devoid of life. But that's not how Richard LeSueur sees it. He's spent over thirty years not only studying the wilderness of the Middle East but leading pilgrims out into its vastness for overnight excursions. He knows that in the silence and apparent emptiness of the desert, the richness of one's own spiritual journey can only rise to the surface. After all, it was the wilderness that turned Jesus from a carpenter's son into the Son of God.
To see the topics covered in this conversation and their time markers, click on the Chapters tab above.
To learn more about Richard's pilgrimage tours: https://pilgrimroutes.ca
To contact Richard directly: richard@pilgrimroutes.ca
Recommendation: "Letters from the Desert" by Carlo Carretto; Orbit Books, 1982.
Becoming reacquainted with the natural world seems daunting at first. We've lived so long indoors, amusing ourselves to death with things that go Ping!, we've almost forgotten what it's like to be part of nature, how to be, what to do.
Michael Trotta, with whom I spoke last fall about myths and fairy tales, agreed to return to The Mystic Cave to give me a hand. A survivalist teacher and personal coach, Michael walked me through a program of reentry. First, I had to lose my busy brain with its grand delusions of communing with coyotes and talking to trees. But then, as I learned to still myself, nature did begin to approach me, but not like I'd imagined. Deeper.
Topics:
For a breakdown of the topics we covered in this conversation and their time markers, just click the “Chapters” tab above.
Links:
Michael's web site and podcast on myths and fairy tales: https://www.storymischief.com
Lynn Trotta's web site on nature-based wisdom and guidance: https://www.lynntrotta.com
The previous Mystic Cave episode that introduces this topic: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1577227/episodes/10468817-into-the-wild-ageing-nature-and-a-horse-named-jackson
My web site where you can sign up to receive my blog containing a link to each new episode: https://www.brianepearson.ca
Resources:
Michael's book: "Sit Spot and the Art of Inner Tracking" by R. Michael Trotta; Sagefire Institute, 2013 (available on Amazon)
I had started to think that my Nature Boy days were over. For one thing, I wasn't a boy anymore. And Nature seemed a lot less friendly than it used to, perhaps even malevolent. So why go out at all? Except, that way death lies. A slow death, my body atrophying by degree.
But Nature has begun calling to me anew, as if we weren't through with each other yet. In fact, my spiritual path "on the other side of church land" might be leading me, not just beyond the walls of the church, but right back out into the natural world, which I never should have left in the first place. This is the story of a spiritual journey ... into the wild.
Credits:
All sound effects during the interludes reproduced under Creative Commons 0 Licence, with the exception of Interlude #3: "Outro a12" by Setuniman on FreeSounds, Attribution Noncommercial Licence; and "Record Scratch" by luffy on FreeSounds, Attribution License.
Photo by David Billings on Unsplash
Resources:
The Animas Valley Institute: https://www.animas.org
Thomas Berry, The Dream of the Earth; Sierra Club, 1988
Bill Plotkin, Soul Craft: Crossing into the Mysteries of Nature and Psyche , New World Library, 2003
____________, Nature and the Human Soul: Cultivating Wholeness and Community in a Fragmented World, New World Library, 2008
____________. WildMind: 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
Hope is sometimes harder to define, out here "on the other side of church land," but it's not hard to find. At Easter, in church services across the land, worshipers joyfully rise to sing "Jesus Christ is Risen Today! Alleluia!" as if that's all the hope we really need. Meanwhile, among those of us who feel less sure about what Jesus' resurrection has to do with the rest of us, we look instead, not to some eventual rising from the grave, but to the seeds of new life hidden deep within this mortal frame, even within death itself. In this episode I speak with poet Juleta Severson-Baker about the power of words to evoke such hope in us. Somehow, the intentional, well-chosen words of a poem can draw our gaze to the present moment, with all its dark challenges, where we find not despair, but a reason to live. "Alleluia" indeed!
Credits:
Poems read in this episode are either in the public domain, or credited as follows:
"my daughter tells me her generation is buckling under the anxiety about climate change while we drive our car down a highway" by Juleta Severson-Baker (unpublished)
"The Well of Grief" by David Whyte; published by Many Rivers Press, 1990
"Oh Children" by Margaret Atwood in DEARLY; published by McClelland and Stewart, 2020 (permission pending)
"July" by Juleta Severson-Baker in EVERY WORD SPOKEN; published by Leaf Press, 2013
"Franz Marc Blue Horses" by Mary Oliver from BLUE HORSES; published by Penguin Press, 2014 (permission pending)
People respond differently to childhood trauma. For some, addiction seems to promise something it cannot actually deliver: relief from suffering. The initial high, with its accompanying delusions of power and invincibility, soon dissipates, leaving the addict alone with their pain ... and therefore with the compulsion to drink or to use again. It took Mitch T years to learn this. Drawn into drug addiction, then to crime, and then sentenced to serious jail time, it took a life-threatening beating in prison to set him, finally, on a path back to himself. That path demanded that he deal with the scars of his childhood trauma. But it also freed him from his addiction and empowered him to speak inspirationally to young people about their own choices. To hell and back. This is Mitch's story of resilience.
Resources:
The Alberta Seventh Step Society: https://www.albertaseventhstep.com
Government of Canada: https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/substance-use/get-help-problematic-substance-use.html
About 12-Step Programs: https://www.addictioncenter.com/treatment/12-step-programs/
It is perhaps the ultimate betrayal, the abuse of a child by their own parent. It offends every ounce of decency within us, and hints at a darkness so horrible we don't want to hear about it, much less talk about it. Yet, talking about it is the way we will eradicate it. After over thirty years of working with victims and survivors, Jan Handy has written a beautiful and thoughtful book, titled, The Secret Tribe, about her own childhood abuse and about the "tribe" of abuse survivors who offer to each other a voice, a shoulder, and a sanctuary where they can share their recovery. As horrific as Jan's personal story is, it rings with truth and hopefulness. She found the strength to turn her pain into the healing that would help others. This is her story of resilience.
Jan's book:The Secret Tribe*, published by Friesen Press, 2018
You can contact Jan through me:mysticcaveman53@gmail.com Resources from the Government of Canada:*https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/cj-jp/fv-vf/ca-me.html
https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/childabuseandneglect/resources.html
If we want to look our enemy in the eye, we needn't look any further than the mirror. Our ego beguiles us, puffing us up, and our fears taunt us, pulling us down, and in some ways we really are our own worst enemy. But a line gets crossed when our delusions scramble our measure of what is real and what is fantasy. For those who suffer from bipolar disorder, this disconnect can drive them to despair, fuelled by manic accomplishment, at one end of the spectrum, and debilitating depression, at the other. Allan Cooper's first manic episode, at twenty-five, robbed him of a promising career and set his life on a course he could not have imagined. But all was not lost. Fighting his way back to life, Allan discovered new dreams and a new reason for living. This is his story of resilience.
Allan's blog and podcast:
https://www.bipolarweekly.com/podcast/interview-lindsay-rawding-prospect-human-services-peer-coordinator-discusses-employment-services-and-peer-support-program/
Contacting Allan (through me):
mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
For further information and support:
Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance: https://www.dbsalliance.org/
CREST BD (The Collaborative RESearch Team), offering studies and resources regarding Bipolar Disorder: http://www.crestbd.ca/
International Bipolar Foundation: https://ibpf.org/
Abuse is one person's cruel and calculating control over another, the self-aggrandizement of the abuser purchased at the humiliating expense of the abused. It is soul damaging. But it need not be soul destroying. Louise Gallagher's story is a shining illustration of that. Finally free of a four-and-a-half year relationship with a man who spoke like a lover but acted like a puppeteer, Louise discovered that he had left part of her intact, the part that was still able to love. It was that love that brought her back to life, leaving her both stronger and wiser than before and able to inspire and encourage others caught in similar webs of deceit. This is her story of resilience.
Contacting Louise:
Web site: https://louisegallagher.ca
Blog: https://dareboldly.com
Leaving your comments:
Face Book: The Mystic Cave group
Email: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Is Lent necessary? A cornerstone of Christian practice, this season of penitential preparation reminds believers not only that they are frail mortals, but also that they are miserable sinners. Does this have any place in a modern-day spirituality? Is it in any way helpful? After leading my congregations through almost forty seasons of Lenten observance, I look back and reflect that, no, Lent seems actually to be a pretty bad idea. Hear me out. And then let me know what you think.
Making a comment:
Email: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Face Book: The Mystic Cave group
Credits:
All sound effects used during the interludes in this episode are under Creative Commons 0 License, with these exceptions:
Interlude #2: High School Canteen by Klankbeeld on Freesound
Interlude #6: Creaking2 by Chilsville on Freesound
Photo credit: Ahna Ziegler on Unsplash
Catholic theologian Karl Rahner said that the Christian of the future will be a mystic, or nothing at all. Could mysticism save Christianity? Could contemplative spirituality give the church back its life? Could it be a lifeline for those who've left the church but retain their faith? These are the questions I pursued with art educator, writer, and contemplative Arthur Aghajanian. His spiritual path of non-dualistic thinking and Eastern meditation eventually led him back to the deep, nourishing Oneness that flowed beneath the church's divisive beliefs and tired rituals, where the wisdom teachings of Jesus resound. It gives us pause (in good contemplative form), and it gives us hope.
Arthur's Web Site (including his art essays):
https://www.imageandfaith.com
About Contemplatives in Conversation (CIC): https://contemplativewriter.wixsite.com/contemplative/contemplatives
Meditation Chapel (online home to CIC): https://meditationchapel.org
It would be understandable, and perhaps forgivable, if we entered the New Year with fear in our hearts. All we'd have to do is begin listing the troubles confronting us: a worsening climate crisis; festering justice issues; the darkening geo-political landscape. But artist, life coach, and podcaster Liz Wiltzen thinks there's another way to face an uncertain future, a way that beckons rather than threatens, that inspires hope rather than fear. That is the way of curiosity. And Liz should know. 'Curious' might just as well be her middle name.
Tracking Liz Wiltzen:
Web site: https://www.lizwiltzen.com/trusting-yes
Podcast: https://www.trackingyes.com
Every year I'd rise in the pulpit on Christmas Eve and try to make sense of a story about a baby born two thousand years ago, and attempt to offer an interpretation of what that story means to us now. Every year I failed. Its meaning eluded me. But hidden within that story were other stories that the original hearers would have recognized, stories that told them their laments were heard by God, their oppression was over, and that there was hope for a new future. Where was Nick Coates when I needed him? Through his own frustration with the Christmas Story, Nick, a hipster United Church minister, dug deeper and found the story we never heard. Until now.
Nick's Coordinates:
Podcast: Prayer and Private Parts: a Podcast about Sex and Jesus
Twitter: @nickcoates
Credits
Theme music: Mary Had a Baby (traditional) performed by Bruce Cockburn on his 1993 album, "Christmas"
Reluctant to move on too quickly from my recent conversations with Michael Trotta and Philip Shepherd, I invited my friend Don McLeod to spend some time with me processing what we'd heard. Don, the co-founder of the Wisdom Centre, sees connections between what Michael and Philip were saying and the ancient Wisdom tradition--a way of knowing that is imaginal, embodied, and holistic. Jesus himself, Don believes, was a Wisdom teacher. In the end we found ourselves feeling new hope for the world in the cosmic story that is now emerging.
How to find Michael and Philip:
Michael Trotta: https://www.storymischief.com
Philip Shepherd: https://embodiedpresent.com
Other resources referred to in this episode:
The Wisdom Centre: https://wisdomcentre.ca
David Hatfield: https://davidhatfield.ca/edges-process-transformation
"The Complete Gospels" (collection of all the known gospels); Robert J. Miller, ed
"The Gnostic Gospels" by Elaine Pagels
"The Journey of Soul Initiation" by Bill Plotkin
"Grounded Spirituality" by Jeff Brown
It's not that we think too much; it's that we think too much using only our heads! We have cut ourselves off at the neck, losing touch with the natural intelligence of our bodies. Philip Shepherd wants to remove the barriers between the head and body and return to a wholeness we have not known since the Neolithic revolution had us subduing the earth and, by extension, becoming alienated from our own bodies. The head and body need to be reunited not just for our own sakes, but for the sake of the world.
Philip's Books:
New Self, New World
Radical Wholeness
Deep Fitness
Philip's Workshops and Courses:
Website: https://embodiedpresent.com
Myths and ancestral stories don't tell us who we are. But they set our feet on a journey to find out. Storyteller Michael Trotta left the confines of the education system to explore and to teach these deeper life-changing tales. Wherever we find them, myths and stories contain the power to open us to wonder and to the unique life waiting within each of us, to be born.
Links:
Michael's web site: https://www.storymischief.com
Michael's Podcast: Story Mischief
Errata:
The book I mentioned is “The Feast of Fools” (not “Ship of Fools”) by Harvey Cox; 1969.
Why is it so difficult to find our way in the world, our true way? Why is a feeling of success, of having arrived, having made it, so elusive? And why can no one ever answer these questions? Storyteller Michael Trotta thinks it's because we trust logic when we should be trusting something else--stories. In the myth, the magic, and the mischief of the stories we tell are hidden the answers to life's most persistent questions. Only, they're not answers to be grasped; they're questions to be lived, which is a different thing altogether.
Connections:
Michael's podcast: Story Mischief
Michael's web site: https://www.storymischief.com
Credits:
"Success is a Myth-Logical Quest" is written and narrated by Michael Trotta.
It's been a rich exploration, these past six weeks, talking about death and dying. But what does it all mean? What have we learned? Where does it lead us on the spiritual journey? Perhaps, right back to where we started ... to the path stretching out beneath our feet, to this life. Live well now, in other words--purposefully, lovingly, gratefully--and the rest will take care of itself.
Credits:
Closing Song: "I'm Going to Miss all This"; words and music by Brian Pearson; performed by Brian Pearson, with Kim Linkert on clarinet.
Photograph: by Guillaume de Germain on Unsplash
Spiritualists like Jane Fleming are well acquainted with the strange phenomena associated with death and dying. But they know that the larger purpose of that phenomena is to help us on our spiritual journey toward our ultimate union with the Creator. In this lifetime we may get glimpses from beyond the veil, but our steps return us to the path at our feet, here and now.
Books mentioned in this conversation:
"Hands-on Healing" by Jack Angelo
"Hands of Light" by Barbara Ann Brennan
"Why God Won't Go Away" by Dr. Andrew Newburg
Connections:
Calgary First Spiritualist Church: https://www.calgaryfirstspiritualistchurch.ca
The Eternity Connection (virtual church): https://www.eternityconnection.org
Credits:
Closing Song: "Lift Your Head," words and music by Brian Pearson; performed by Brian Pearson, featuring Mike Huston on lead guitar
We might ask, "What happens when we die?" in order to gain wisdom about how to live. But finding out, at the end, might prove too late. What if we asked, "Why was I born in the first place?" If "heaven" is the same at both the beginning and the end of life, it might be the same question.
Contacts:
Margot's Web Site: https://www.drmargotmckinnon.com
Margot's Email: drmargotmckinnon@gmail.com
Credits:
Closing Song: "There's A Light" from the album So Far ...; words and music by Brian Pearson; performed by Brian Pearson
Deathwalkers, psychopomps, ancestors--we may be alone on our final voyage, but we needn't be lonely. The Universe itself will welcome us home, just as it birthed us in the first place. Death, it turns out, is a wondrous window on life itself, and who better to remind us of this than a death doula and ritual healing practitioner.
Contacts:
Sarah's work with the dying and their families: https://soulpassages.ca
Sarah's courses and workshops on death care: https://sacreddeathcare.com
Credit:
Closing Song: "The Ones Through Whom the Light Shines," words and music by Brian Pearson; performed by Brian Pearson
It was difficult enough when Jessica's husband Sean died suddenly, leaving her as a widow and a single mom. But posthumous revelations about his secret life turned her grief into rage. When it appeared he was trying to reach out to her from beyond the grave, she might not have returned his calls; but something compelled her to start paying attention. Perhaps they could help one another heal, from both sides of the Great Divide we call death.
Contact:
Jessica's grief-related storytelling website: https://endlessstories.love
The "secret book page" for Ghost of Boy Meets Girl: https://www.storymourning.com/a-secret-book.html
Brian's web site: www.brianepearson.ca
Brian's email: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Credits:
Closing Song: "Love Covers Over," words and music by Brian Pearson; performed by Brian Pearson
With this episode I introduce a series of conversations on death and dying ... on the other side of church land, or, what the church never told us. Tara Livingston joins me as we share thoughts and experiences of funerals, "good deaths," and what happens on the other side.
Contacts:
Tara Livingston: www.TRLConsulting. ca
Brian Pearson: www.mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Credits:
Opening Song: "Into the Mystic," words and music by Van Morrison; performed by Colin James; licensed by SOCAN
Closing Song: "At the End of the Line," words and music by Brian Pearson; performed by Brian Pearson
Welcome to the first episode of a new season of The Mystic Cave, a reflection on the soulful experiences of summer, including our return to nature and our return to the past.
Credits:
"Into the Mystic": words and music by Van Morrison; performed by Colin James; licensed for use by SOCAN;
"How the Story Goes": words and music by Brian Pearson; performed by Brian Pearson with Rob Vause on bass guitar;
"Hymn": words and music by Brian Pearson; performed by Brian Pearson with Mike Huston on lead guitar;
"Ghost Town": words and music by Brian Pearson; performed by Brian Pearson;
Photo Credit: Jeremy Tanquay-Fernandes on Unsplash.
"There is a crack, a crack, in everything. That's how the light gets in"--Leonard Cohen
Clergy aren't perfect. Far from it. They may announce each week God's bountiful grace for all. But even they want to get the edge when faced with the possibility of losing out.
Being nice has its limits. Jesus himself was not always very nice. He knew that our 'pleases' and 'thank-you's' don't take us very far ... not when we're confronting the powers of hell.
"All are welcome!" All churches say that. But do they really mean it? And what would have to change, if they did?
Material things have no value in and of themselves. They only have the value we ascribe to them. So, what we value may say more about us than we really care to know.
"Don't cast your pearls before swine," Jesus told us. He wouldn't have been thinking about brides and grooms, would he? But if the snout fits ...
Blah, blah, blah! Sometimes it feels like we are drowning in a world filled with words. It takes something wordless, like a mime, say, to remind us of what those words were saying in the first place.
Forgiveness should be a way of life. It's not. It's a way back to life when we've lost our way. Unfortunately, this is not something we can learn without experiencing it, which means, after it's too late.
It is said that faith is "caught, not taught." If that's true, looking back, how we did we catch it, if we did; or how did we miss it, if we didn't? And what is it that others might "catch" from us?
People often ask God for things that, were they to receive them, might make them wonder what they were thinking of in the first place. Brotherly love, for instance. It sounds good, in theory.
There is no funeral service for chickens. But what we think we're grieving is not always what we're actually grieving. Funerals, inevitably, are about more than whoever’s lying in the box. They’re about all our losses.
Have you ever thought about the road not taken, the path we chose not to follow? Might it have had a life, a trajectory even, of its own, as if in some parallel universe? And what if that path crosses the path we did take? Would we feel the connection?
All of us have a "there" back there, someplace we've left behind to get to where we are now. What would happen if we tried to go back, even for a visit? Would it still be there? Would we find ourselves, waiting?
Be careful if you're going to start weeding. You don't know where it might end up. That's why Jesus said, "Live, and let live" ... sort of.
Unity is hard to achieve in any human endeavour, especially in the realms of religion and politics. But sometimes the alternative is unthinkable.
Open mindedness has its risks. But open minds can lead to open doors, where any God-created thing can enter in.
An insignificant man, humble and unassuming, is elevated to the church's highest position. He eschews ecclesiastical power for simple presence. But is that what the church wants?
The sign of ashes may be about our repentance. But dirt, or 'humus,' is the sign of our humanity, which is sometimes born of humiliation.
A new young minister who likes to eat, an old farming community that likes to feed. What could go wrong?
John Pentland talks about how Christian belief has changed: from a distant to a present God; from Jesus the answer to Jesus the question; and from a church set apart to a church engaged in the world, even online. It's a hopeful vision that leaves no one out, and promises exciting new discoveries for those willing to travel the Unknown Path.
Contacts:
www.hillhurstunited.com
john.pentland@hillhurstunited.com
John Pentland invites us to imagine a church, not for dyed-in-the-wool believers, but for never-been-to-church seekers. All are welcome. Hillhurst United Church, where John's been the minister for over sixteen years, has seen its congregation grow, not only in its pews but also online. Its burgeoning membership now includes people from around the world, many of whom have never even set foot in the building. And its appeal? It asks the right questions.
Contacts:
www.hillhurstunited.com
john.pentland@hillhurst.com
Many think of religion as a matter of the heart--loving God, loving your neighbour as yourself. But wars have been fought over the words we use to describe that love, and the ideas behind those words. For Christianity in particular, the words matter. Derwyn Costinak is an Anglican priest whose beliefs were formed growing up in the Pentecostal Church. The evolution of his beliefs from those evangelical roots has brought him to a place of openness to the mysterious ways of God, and to the limits of our certainty. Now, he's trying to hold it all together--a faith that encompasses the full range of Christian belief, and that even extends outward to those outside of the church. It's a stretch.
Derwyn can be reached through his church's web site: www.anglicangoodshepherd.ca.
Many think of religion as a matter of the heart--loving God, loving your neighbour as yourself. But wars have been fought over the words we use to describe that love, and the ideas behind those words. For Christianity in particular, the words matter. Derwyn Costinak is an Anglican priest whose beliefs were formed growing up in the Pentecostal Church. The evolution of his beliefs from those evangelical roots has brought him to a place of openness to the mysterious ways of God, and to the limits of our certainty. Now, he's trying to hold it all together--a faith that encompasses the full range of Christian belief, and that even extends outward to those outside of the church. It's a stretch.
Derwyn can be reached through his church's web site: www.anglicangoodshepherd.ca.
Having shared with us her spiritual journey, from the inclusion and support of her early years in the church to the hurt and frustration that led her to leave her ministry as an Anglican priest, Tara now joins me to consider the needs of the seeker--on the other side of church land. And what do we discover? It's all about community. Not about biblical authority and clergy role-playing and the need to have all the answers. But simply seekers supporting seekers along the Unknown Path.
Tara can be reached through her professional web site: www.TRLConsulting.ca.
Tara's journey looks a lot like my own: a church-going childhood, a sense of call, an ordained ministry; then hurt and disillusionment, leading her to leave the church, but with her faith intact, even if it expresses itself differently now. In this, the first part of our conversation, Tara tells us her story. In the second, we'll unpack it.
You can contact Tara directly through her web site at: www.TRLConsulting.ca
In this episode, the first of the interview sessions, I talk with the author of Lost Rites: Leaving Church Land. That would be ... me. I just want to say, talking to oneself is highly underrated. Your personality begins to disintegrate as different parts step forward for their moment on the stage. But that's not the point. The point is that this is a look behind the writing of the memoir that has been the centrepiece of this podcast for the past almost four months. Why did I write it? What does it mean that I've left the church? What are my plans now? And when are we going to hear a voice other than mine? All important questions as we transition to The Mystic Cave: the Interviews.
All the church's failings began with faithfulness. Someone was trying to do the right thing. But then they clung to that thing, afraid of having to make difficult decisions, or to have faith, ever again. So the scriptures, the creeds, the sacraments, the ordered ministries--they all hardened into stone, like the mighty cathedrals they inspired, and ceased to have life or breath. I choose life. And miraculously, I have found that life still flows ... on the other side of church land.
Credits:
2nd Interlude: babbling_brook by electronixtech / License: Attribution Non-Commercial
We did the deed, performing an "irregular" wedding. We received the censure we were expecting. Everyone went back to their jobs. But for me, it was over. I would devote my time to my people at St. Stephen's and to our many engaging ministries, but also to my plans to leave. Something deep inside was telling me it was time. When I left, I'd be done.
Credits:
Interlude: Feels Like Home to Me by Randy Newman, performed by Bonnie Raitt (from the soundtrack for the motion picture Michael) / License: SOCAN2021
The people of God, according to the Prophet Micah, already know what God requires of them: "to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God." But what if those are the very people who are unjust, unkind, and proud? What if someone has to step outside the bounds of their faith community in order to be God's people? Is that not a kind of heresy, or pride, in the guise of righteousness? Or is it the way the New Jerusalem is born on the earth?
Credit:
Interlude: One More Day, from Les Miserables (the motion picture soundtrack) / License: SOCAN2021
What a difference a day makes. With the election of a new bishop for the Diocese of Calgary, the church was about take a turn to the past, leaving progressive parishes like mine feeling more like islands than parts of the mystical Body of Christ. And things would only get worse.
Credit:
Interlude: Toccata and Fugue in D Minor by Johann Sebastian Bach, performed by Ton Koopman / License: SOCAN2021
We opened our doors and the world came in. Isn't that what's supposed to happen? We were changed as a result. Isn't that also what's supposed to happen? The lines between ourselves, as Christians, and others, in their own religious guise, were blurring. The walls that kept our faith in and the world out were coming down. We were moving freely through the border country and discovering that God was, well, everywhere. A God without borders. So why did this cause a problem with our diocesan overlords? Or, did they like their God contained?
Credits:
1st Interlude: Over the Rainbow, by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg, performed by Keith Jarrett / License: SOCAN2021
2nd Interlude: Come On, Baby, Dance with Me, by John MacLaughlin and Shakti / License : SOCAN2021
As I was entering the "days of my greatest creativity," my church of St. Stephen's was, as well. We were learning to climb down Jacob's ladder, leading us back to earth rather than on to heaven. Whatever delights awaited us in the next life, we could wait. We were finding fulfilment in the challenges and in the mysteries of this one. We were growing up.
Credit:
2nd Interlude: What a Wonderful World, by Bob Thiele and George David Weiss; performed by Louis Armstrong / License: SOCAN2021
Inner work manifests outwardly. Just as my soul work had opened new doors for my pastoral ministry, the parish's inner work was about to manifest in a massive building renovation to support its re-energized calling, as servants of God and of the world. The new space would not only serve the wider community, it would inspire us in our worship. We were changing, and it was all for the better.
Credits:
1st Interlude: Carpenter's Workshop and Stripwood Noises by Robiinhood76 / License: Attribution Noncommercial
2nd Interlude: Springtime in Scotland by inchadney / Licence: Attribution Noncommercial
It seems that we are our own weakest link. We can't help others if we can't help ourselves. We can't love others if we don't first love ourselves. So when, finally, I did the work necessary for the healing of my own soul, I was ready to assist in the healing of others. That meant becoming a mentor to midlife men, a ministry that came to me; I didn't go looking for it. But what's better than one-on-one work with men? Group work. Men just respond better to being with their peers. So individual counselling turned into group facilitation. And there was also a group ... for me.
Credits:
1st Interlude: Crowd of extras in a waiting room by nebulousflynn / License: Attribution
3rd Interlude: Indian Construction Crew by RTB45 / License: Attribution
If there's a turnaround in my story, it begins here. But it's a slow turning. I would be entering the years of "my greatest creativity," just as Bishop Bothwell, back in Niagara, had predicted. But it wouldn't be with the church's approval, or with its blessing, as I might have imagined. Fuelled by a new vitality bursting from within, it would be with the blessing of my own soul.
Credits:
1st Interlude: Gonna Fly Now ("Theme from Rocky") by Ayn Robbins & Bill Conti / License: SOCAN2021
2nd Interlude: Day of Defeat by kickhat / License: Attribution
Sometimes, you can't rise up until you get down. All the way down. And a marriage breakup will do that for you. I don't care what the pious judges say. No one walks out the door easily. It tears you apart, and scars you for life. But somewhere in the violent darkness, life itself is calling out to you. At least, it was to me. And I was willing to risk everything to reach out and take it.
Credits:
1st Interlude: Stabat Mater (Juan Guttierrez de Padill), performed by Capella Ducis, recorded by klankbeeld / License: Attribution Noncommercial
2nd Interlude: Waves of Hawaii by floriannreichelt (https://www.instagram.com/floriannreichelt/)
My new ministry, and our family's new life in Calgary, brought both joys and challenges. The diocese proved a lonely dysfunctional place. The parish needed a clean sweep. Only my home life seemed as it should be ... though in truth, that too was headed for trouble. I was writing again, and finding friends not only in the pages of my new novel but also in the real people life was bringing my way. I would need them all for the storms to come.
Credits:
1st Interlude: Calm Synthesizer, B by InspectorJ / license: Attribution
2nd Interlude: modern strong (hop) loop by Zagi2 / license: Attribution Noncommercial
Our move to Calgary was accompanied by signs and wonders, as if heaven and earth were being moved to make it so. Doors were being opened for both my new parish and my new diocese alike. Expectations ran high. Even our family life was finding its new footing. But appearances can be deceiving, and first impressions do not always last.
Credits:
1st Interlude: Polyphased_Angelic_Particles by Polyphased / license: Attribution
2nd Interlude: Hope by tictac9 / license: Attribution Noncommercial
Heaven on earth is a nice idea. But we all know it can't last. It was a pity our time on the Coast couldn't have lasted longer. It was so close to my heart's true home. But forces from without and forces from within were nudging us to move on to our final destination--no, not THAT final destination, but to a new and concluding chapter for my ministry, in Calgary. Once again, however, the way would be fraught, and the future cloudy. Is the path never clear, this side of the resurrection?
We had intended to move to Calgary. But we overshot it by a thousand kilometres, placing us on the outer edge of Vancouver Island, in Tofino and Ucluelet. It was a wild new place to call home and an exposure tour for all of us. Sandy was employed by the local tribal council. The kids saw nature up close and personal. And I had to learn to accomplish less in a week than my suburban self was used to. We would all grow in ways we could not have imagined.
Our move to St. Simon's in Oakville changed the names and faces, but not our underlying problems. Once again, I was caught up in all the exciting new possibilities. As my family started to take a back seat to my ministry, I could feel that familiar enervation. I was working too hard and too much. But I wasn't going to let that happen to me again. The counselling I sought, and the soul work I began to do, helped save me from getting buried under my work. It wasn't saving my family life though. For that, we just might have to move ... again.
Credit:
1st Interlude: Cirque.wav ("Grand Imperial Cirque de Paris") performed by murcielago123 / License: Attribution Noncommercial
I thought I was moving up in the world. Having made a splash in my first major parish, maybe I could raise my profile by going to a new diocese. That's what my ego was saying. But just about every other part of me was saying I needed to rest, and to reconnect with my wife and family. Fortunately, Church of the Redeemer, Stoney Creek, in the Diocese of Niagara, allowed me to do both. The parish didn't want my big ideas, just my attentiveness, while the diocese welcomed my newcomer enthusiasm. It proved one of the few times I could rest and work at the same time. Until the bishop suggested I move. Again.
In my big new parish it was sink or swim, so I swam for my life. But one of the rules of the sea is "women and children first," something I hadn't heard yet. As my work life exploded, my home life all but rolled up into a ball and shrivelled away. I was burning out, with no one to blame but myself. My family history provided an answer to that, though: If you can't change, move! So I started looking. But not for less responsibility. For more.
Credits:
1st Interlude: PanFlute_Solo_Wet_03-Em.wav by CarlosCarty / License: Attribution
2nd Interlude: deserted_OS_37vc2 by Setuniman / Attribution Noncommercial
Even the church offers a version of life in the fast lane. It's what happens when a fresh young priest is anxious to prove himself and the church is all too happy to put him to work. It was hard work, in my burgeoning parish of St. Philip's, in Unionville, but rewarding as well, especially as I learned to see my parish as a family, not as an institution. As my professional life flourished, it would be my personal life that would pay the price.
Credit:
1st Interlude: military march intro.wav by zagi2 / License: Attribution Noncommercial
I was a new priest. But I wasn't a new man. And no amount of holy posturing could hide that fact. I was still too young a man and too new a priest to realize that it was precisely my humanity that God, and God's people for that matter, actually wanted of me. So I stuck out my chin and assumed my hopeful role with all the promise and sunniness of a day in spring.
Credit:
Interlude: Success Resolution Video Game Fanfare Sound Effect with Drum Roll.mp3 by FunWith Sound / License: Attribution
Finally, I was ordained in the Anglican Church of Canada, both as a deacon and, a year later, as a priest. But it appears we can never lift ourselves too far out of the muck from which we crawled, eons ago. Odd things happen when we do, some of them laughable, some of them humiliating, to bring us back down to earth again. We are, after all, only human.
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I was placed as an interim minister in Dave Ward's old parish of Cookstown. My heart still needed healing. But so did theirs. So we ministered to one another, as “wounded healers.” It was a rich and grounding time, reminding me of my familial roots in North Vancouver. I might have been content to stay there. But my ambition drove me to push for an ordination date, which would mean soul work of a different sort. It was time to align my personal life with the life I wanted, as a priest. Some things would have to go.
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1st Interlude: sheep in field.mp3 by soundmary / License: Attribution
Following my graduation from Trinity, I was set adrift by my archbishop when he learned that my marriage had broken up. I wouldn't be ordained along with my classmates. But he was willing to give me something, so he sent me as the chaplain to a church camp. It proved to be just what my wounded soul needed. Then, at the end of the summer, he placed me as student-in-charge of a familiar rural congregation, Cookstown, that had been recently abandoned by its familiar minister, Dave Ward. An odd and unconventional start, perhaps, to my ministry. Not being exactly the conventional type, I took it. But it was a small town, and I was a city boy. Nothing about my life would go unnoticed.
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1st Interlude: Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin / License: SOCAN
There's a children's song for a long car ride that begins, "Are we there yet? Not yet!" That might have been my song as I entered my third and final year at Trinity. Both graduation and ordination were being held out to me as real and tantalizing possibilities. My focus had returned. I felt ready. But was I there yet? Not yet!
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In every hero's quest, the sirens of way-laid distraction eventually appear, calling out, "No, over here! This way!" It's not to say we shouldn't obey them. Maybe we should go over there, to where the sirens are beckoning to us. Maybe, even, we need to go over there, in order to rediscover where our true path lies. Anyway, that's what I had to do on my way to graduation and ordination. The sirens made such sweet music.
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Trinity College, at the University of Toronto, where I began my divinity training, was a magical place. But as enchanting as it was, and thrilling, not all magic is good magic. I would find that our humanity follows us everywhere we go, even to places of higher, not to say heavenly, education.
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My fundamentalist beliefs delivered me into the bonds of marriage. I was certain that's what young Christian couples were supposed to do. But my new liberal beliefs were pulling me in directions I could not have foreseen, where faith meant stepping out in the absence of certainty. Life was, in fact, becoming less certain for me, a lesson in faith if ever there was one. And soon I would begin my training for ordained ministry, where certainty was thrown out the window altogether.
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As Spirit-filled Jesus People, we had the light. But we didn't yet have the depth. For that, we'd need to live in our new faith for a while, testing it against what life itself wanted to teach us. And life wanted to teach me that I wasn't the only one who had God living inside me. Secular professors, a rabbi, and even a prospective new girlfriend--they all had God living inside them too. And sometimes God, in them, was wiser than God in me. So, slowly, a new path began to form, but it appeared to be a path less travelled.
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In this instalment of my memoir, Lost Rites: Leaving Church Land, I trade in my weekend parties for weekend worship, and for a mission to evangelize the world. Heady times, full of drama, as is just about everything in the teen years. The narrow beliefs wouldn't last. But the faith would. And the importance of the possibility of a "relationship" with the divine. God was becoming more real to me, but not according to any formula I'd ever received.
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I continue reading from my memoir, Lost Rites: Leaving Church Land. Our family's move from Montreal to Toronto introduced me to a whole new group of friends. It also introduced me to Jesus. Personally. So I was brought to a classic crossroads. What did I really want to do with my weekends? Party, or pray? I was a teenager, yet the answer wasn't obvious.
The tensions only increased as I approached my sixteenth birthday. My good and bad angels fought with each other. My brother made home life intolerable. My parents both suffered challenging health issues. I sought solace with my friends. Until we rolled it all up into another move ... and started again. But what was there to fear? In our new church I was to meet Jesus. Personally.
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Our family's move to Montreal was as eye-opening as it was alarming. We found ourselves in the middle of a religious battle zone, where it mattered which school you attended and which church you belonged to. But I had other things to think about than my religious identity. I was entering my teens and the world was waiting for this budding performer to arrive on a new stage. Church could wait.
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My childhood, looking back, seems idyllic. Stable home, healthy church, friends and family all mixed together in one big happy tribe. But, as happens, the seeds were already being sown for the person I was to become, specifically, for the minister who was even then taking shape. Life lessons were preparing me for the road ahead, and not all of them would be easy.
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1st Interlude: bicycle tires on dirt road or gravel by Garuda1982 / License: Attribution
I begin my story with my memorable ordination as a deacon. It was a strange experience, being "raised up" to become a lowly servant. Even then, the contradictions abounded. Not like my early experience of church, where it was all about safety and security and, above all, belonging. My childhood in North Vancouver was idyllic, and my family provided a place to learn to manage the tension of being both a willful Leo and an accommodating middle child. The stage was being set for my formation as a minister ... literally, as it turned out.
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This is the start of my memoir about life in the church, titled, "Lost Rites: Leaving Church Land." I wrote the memoir to try to understand why, after a lifetime in the church, almost forty of those years as a parish priest, when I left, I was done. The story starts here, with an unsettling epiphany smack in the middle of a worship service.
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In this inaugural episode of the Mystic Cave I greet my new listeners, spiritual seekers meeting on the other side of church land. I state my Intention--to chronicle my journey along this Unknown Path; my Hope--that listeners will share their stories too; and my Dream--that we will discover a new way of being fully, soulfully, and spiritually alive, minus some of the dogma and a lot of the posturing.
I launch the series with a reflection about putting the church behind us. It's a piece I wrote for the Alexandra Writers' Centre's 40th Anniversary Anthology, being published later this year (2021). We can't possibly find new life until we go back and bury our dead.
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All commercial music used in this podcast is under license with SOCAN, 2021.
Interlude sound effects and music are attributed where required and otherwise are covered by a Creative Commons license.
Theme music: Into the Mystic, by Van Morrison; performed by Collin James.
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Web site: www.brianepearson.caEmail: mysticcaveman53@gmail.com
Twitter: @brianepearson1 (#TheMysticCave)