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Guilt as a Guidance System · Divine Dialogue

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: Hello, listeners, and welcome to the Divine Dialogue Podcast, where we dig deeper into the trove of wisdom and guidance stories have to offer.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: Have you ever watched a movie and felt moved?
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: Felt called to make a change or reflect more deeply on your own life?
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: If so, this podcast has a lot to offer you.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: Last week I wrapped up my series on Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: If you are new here, please check that series out.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: And I also began the podcast with a series on Balto.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: So there's a couple other series for you to listen to if you find interest in those movies alongside Lion King, of course.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: We will be jumping into that.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: It will be covering the animated version of Lion King.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: I originally did have five episodes planned for Lion King, but it's going to end up being four.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: And it's very funny because I was writing these episodes and I do have them written, but then I was about to record episode one and I hadn't written episode one.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: And when I looked at the scenes I was going to write from for episode one, I was like, you know, they don't really land deeply enough to get an episode.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: I'm going to reference them in other scenes as appropriate to the, you know, theme of the episode itself.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: But I just didn't think that they were necessary to include because I really didn't feel much inspiration to write about them.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: So I don't want to just write extra content if it doesn't resonate with me.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm going to be a somewhat unapologetic host here, Divine Listeners, and we're just going to jump into the heavy hitting of the Lion King, which if you've seen the movie, you know is the death of Mufasa and what happens to Simba after, because I really think in Lion King, that's where the real story starts, is in the gorge.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm going to do a scene recap essentially of the moments leading up to Mufasa's death and then shortly after.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: And I will go ahead and get started here with the scene recap.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: So as you know, divine listeners, if you've seen this movie, this is a heartbreaking scene in the movie.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: Heartbreaking is not even a big enough word to encompass it.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: From the manipulation laced through it to the inner turmoil Simba faces for years afterwards, this scene is what essentially sets him on his course and dictates the rest, well, I would even say his life forever.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: But I do think that he heals tremendously from it.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: But this is a huge turning point for him psychologically.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: So essentially he's, you know, harmless and carefree.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: He's playing in the gorge.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: You know, Scarhead created this ruse that, you know, he was going to surprise him.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: And we see the rock starting to shake as he's just in the gorge trying to roar at this like lizard thing that's walking by.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: And we see the wildebeest fall off the cliffside with remarkable anti-gravitational properties.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: That part always made me laugh.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: How the hyenas chase them off the side.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: And Simba runs for his life as Scar sets the scene.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: Running to get Mufasa and setting his brother up for an early death, Mufasa bravely ventures into the stampede as Scar paces above, anticipating death by trampling for both of them.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: That's his hope that this happens.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: But Mufasa manages to get Simba on a safe ledge before disappearing again.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: Simba scans the gorge with darting eyes and sees his father jump onto the cliffside, struggling as he climbs.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: Mufasa almost reaches the top, and Scar inserts his claws into his brother, stating, Long live the king.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: Mufasa and Simba yell, and then it's silence in the canyon.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: Simba makes his way down to the bottom, calling to his father, and a lone wildebeest reveals the awful truth as it gallops by.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: A broken branch and a king that had fallen to his death.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: Simba attempts to wake him up, but he's gone.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: Scar walks up seemingly out of the shadows and says to a crying Simba, What have you done?
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: Scar then proceeds to download unbearable guilt into essentially a child, saying, If it weren't for you, he'd still be alive.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: And what would your mother think?
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: Simba asks, What am I going to do?
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: And Scar answers, Run, Simba.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: Run away and never return.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: So this scene, Divine Listeners, I am not being hyperbolic when I say this.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: Definitely in an animated movie, I don't think there's a more violent exchange in words from any other movie that I've seen.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_00: And I know that that sounds dramatic, but I want to lay it out here because I think what Scar does to Simba is absolutely devastating.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: And just it's soul-level violence, is what I would call it.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: Simba asks very specifically, what action can I take to make this better?
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: And Scar answers by telling him to run away and never return.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: So he is commanding self-exile.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: And to a child system, which is very malleable and open for programming, that is soul-level violence.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: We need the freedom to return all the time.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: That is the whole point of being alive.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: We can always return, we can always go within.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: And that was essentially Mufasa's blind spot was the shadow in his kingdom, which was his brother.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: He didn't really see how malevolent Scar was.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, we see the consequence of that.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: The shadow essentially kills the king and hijacks the prince.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: That's what's happening here.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: And it's really Mufasa's refusal to fully see this ruthlessness operating in his own kingdom, which leaves him vulnerable to Scar's manipulation.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_00: And Simba, who was curious about the Shadow remember because he wants to go explore it, but he's too young to understand it.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: And so he ends up getting swallowed by Scar because Scar, when he tells him run away and never return, he has this, you know, he has years of experience.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: He is intellectually, you know, outgrown over Simba.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_00: Like Simba's just a kid.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_00: Like Simba can't, he doesn't have the defenses of the mind, the body, or the soul, or the heart to combat something like that.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_00: So we essentially see, you know, Mufasa's error was not recognizing the shadow.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: Simba's, which I wouldn't even call it an error.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: He's he's a victim in this situation.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_00: He's not equipped enough to deal with a shadow like Scar.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_00: He doesn't have the age, he doesn't have the maturity, he doesn't have the inner structure to see what Scar is doing.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_00: He cannot yet understand that guilt can be weaponized.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_00: He cannot yet understand that someone can speak with calm authority while committing spiritual violence.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: So the shadow does two things at once.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_00: It removes the father and it reprograms the son.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: Scar doesn't just kill Mufasa, he installs himself inside Simba's inner world as the voice of accusation.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: He becomes the false king outside the kingdom and the false judge inside Simba's psyche.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, I think Hakuna Matata, because we're gonna we're gonna skip over Hakuna Matata until the very end when Nala comes to confront Simba.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: That's gonna be the next episode in the series, essentially.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: But I really think that Hakuna Matata for Simba after this terrible exchange here is really a necessary bridge for him because he couldn't handle the collapse without something, with some levity to hold him.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_00: Like he needed that because he didn't have anybody.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_00: Like Scar makes it very ironclad for a kid to resist.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: Like he even brings up his mother because Simba probably would have thought, well, I'll just go to my mother.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: But he even takes the mother away from him.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_00: He's like, Well, your mother would blame you too, because you know, I'm your family like she is, but I see that you did this and she would not forgive you for this.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_00: Like, it's absolutely horrific what he does to him.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, there's also some truth in Hakuna Matata when he says, sometimes bad things happen and there's nothing you can do about it.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_00: And in this case, when we go to the gorge, you know, there was absolutely nothing like Simba as a cub could do.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_00: He was outgunned and overtaken by an adult with ruthless goals.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: But this, you know, cub refuge was a very temporary holding place for his abused mind and spirit.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: It could not become the whole kingdom, it could not become the whole identity.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, Nala helps him see this.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_00: And so it's very it's very, you know, strategic, obviously, what Scar does.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_00: He spends a lot of time planning this.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_00: And we see that, you know, his plans never even go according to plan, you know, entirely.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_00: Like Simba was supposed to die with Mufasa, and Simba was supposed to die in the elephant graveyard.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_00: So Scar's plans don't carry out the way that he intends, but in this case, they carry out enough for him to be pretty satisfied with himself.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_00: But that's why I say like Scar's programming of Simba is so incredibly vicious and violent, telling him never return, because he wants Simba to carry the guilt of his actions with absolutely no reprieve.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_00: And I think it's very telling that Simba escapes into like a barren wasteland, because that's essentially what Scar banishes him to.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_00: Like, there's no life, there's no growth, there's no safe haven, there's no like you know place for you to recharge, you're just banished to a barren desert, which is where he finds himself after.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_00: And cruel is not even a suitable word for violence like this.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_00: And I remember while I was watching or while I was writing the uh content for this episode, because I used to listen to breakdowns of this particular person a lot on movies, which was Jordan Peterson back in the day, of what he said about Simba.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_00: And it really bothered me when I first heard him say it.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_00: He essentially gave him part of the blame.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: He he's he says something like, Well, you know, it's not entirely clear if he's innocent and you know, his part to play in his father's death.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm just like, Really?
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_00: You think he has some part to play in his father's death?
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_00: Not that Scar is just a malicious and ruthless narcissist, and that even his full-grown, you know, good king brother couldn't see it, and it's somehow Simba's fault because he was what harmlessly playing in the gorge.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_00: I I couldn't believe when he said that.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_00: But I did put the the link in the show notes to the the lecture that he gave.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_00: But essentially, when I listened to that, I I just came away thinking you don't blame a child for an adult's actions ever.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, Peterson critiqued Simba very harshly, which I think is a huge mistake that we make in our culture.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: Simba didn't need beratement or judgment to return.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_00: He needed space and love, patience and truth.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_00: And we're gonna get into how this connects in the next episode because like Nala is essentially the truth.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_00: She's not very patient with him, but she brings him the truth.
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, she isn't doing it to call him pathetic, she's doing it because Simba is under the false impression that Scar as king is best for Pride Rock, and it's not.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_00: And he's not what Scar told him that he was.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_00: So she's essentially severing a lie for him, but she's not wasting her breath to call him useless, which is, I think, a very mean interpretation.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_00: And I kind of see that threaded through his critique of Simba, and I've seen it threaded through a lot of critiques that he makes.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_00: It's a very harsh condemnation judgment.
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_00: He even casts Mufasa this way, which I think is very it really is a lack of insight to cast Mufasa this way, to say that Mufasa's judging him, which we're gonna cover that too.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_00: The next three scenes I'm going to cover are going to be Nala coming to wherever Simba is.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_00: I just call it Hakuna Matata land because I don't know where he is, but he's in some kind of paradise away from Pride Rock or seeming seemingly paradise place.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_00: And then when Rafiki shows Simba his father in the pool, you know, the fan, the infamous remember who you are scene, and then when Simba reclaims the kingdom.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_00: Those are going to be the three remaining essentially scenes or sequencing of scenes that we go over.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, like, and just to go back briefly to what Scar said also about his mother, you know, his mother would have protected him.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: That's why Scar had to say that.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_00: He had to claw into Simba's mind while it was still in despair and panic at what had just happened, and dig out the last place of refuge Simba had, which was his mother, which we can also call the feminine.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_00: And in his fear state, Simba believed him.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, his innocence is forced to grow up way too fast in the essence of this scene.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_00: Simba is burdened with master level guilt, and he's too young to know any better.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_00: But I think it's important to take away from this scene that the programs that are installed on a young heart drive, which is essentially a virus, lingers into adulthood.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_00: You know, Simba leaves the gorge, heartbroken and terrified, trying to outrun both his guilt and the pack of hyenas chasing him down.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_00: And this is where we really do see Simba fragment.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_00: And I wanted to spend a lot of time on this episode because essentially when I was writing it, the words came to me of guilt as a guidance system.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that that's what I'm gonna name it, guilt as a guidance system.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_00: Because this is the fragmentation.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_00: He has his first split, much like it reminded me of another movie, actually, which I'll probably cover at some point.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_00: But for those of you who have seen the Karate Kid movies, there's a scene with the bonsai tree.
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_00: I believe it's in Karate Kid 3, when its root is split.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, Simba was growing wild and free, and then a malicious energy he wasn't ready for split his trunk.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_00: And that's what happens in the Karate Kid.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_00: These punk kids, you know, destroy the tree or try to.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_00: The tree actually survives, but they are so malicious and and angry and hateful that they split the trunk.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_00: And it kind of reminded me of Simba, because he was a future king to a guilt-ridden child, adolescent, and young adult, and that shifted in just a matter of moments, you know.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_00: And we see this guilt linger in him as an adult, a guilt program based on lies and manipulation.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_00: And I thought it was really important to talk a lot about what guilt does to us.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I think there is a healthy guilt, a northern lights type of guilt, a divine guilt, and then there is self-punishing guilt.
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_00: I think divine guilt is simply little soul whispers that act as guardrails to course correction.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_00: They're not judgmental, they're not condemning, they are just gentle nudges, almost like it kind of reminds me of Navi in the Zelda, the Ocarina of Time.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_00: That's where I first found Navi in that Zelda game.
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_00: So that's like a course correction, but it's not condemning, it's not punishing.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_00: It's just, hey, hey, listen, you know, go over here.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_00: And self-punishing guilt is built on lies, manipulation, and self-hatred if left unhealed long enough.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_00: And that's the kind of guilt that Scar puts into Simba.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_00: And it should have been his own.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_00: You know, there's always a sense of pressure and fear of retribution and energy that means you harm.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_00: And this energy that Scar puts into Simba absolutely is that kind.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_00: And Scars has a do this or else type of threat behind it because he's operating from a densely egoic energy field, and Simba is too young to defend against that, so he absorbs it.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_00: It sinks into him like a heavy rain on soft soil.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_00: And what grows out of that is a twisted perception of himself.
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_00: It's guilt that punishes, guilt that pushes him into Hakuna Matata, which sounds fun on the surface.
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_00: And there's nothing wrong with no worries for the rest of your days, depending on where it's coming from.
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_00: For him, it was to avoid healing that fracture, to bury his head in paradise while the kingdom lay in ruins.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_00: The guilt drove him, not his desire for beauty in a different environment.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_00: And that's what Nala ends up challenging in him.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_00: So I think it's very important that, you know, if he had desired a new environment or something, and he wanted to explore different lands, and he had a light-hearted spirit about him, and he was centered and he wasn't burdened with all of this extra stuff.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_00: There's nothing wrong with switching places.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_00: It just depends on why you're switching places.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_00: And it was the guilt that drove him.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_00: And then, you know, Nala ends up challenging him.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_00: But what Scar does to Simba is a violation of obviously familial bonding and a breach of innocence, which is absolutely horrific.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_00: That's why I say I think it's one of the most violent scenes in energetic terms in any movie that I've ever seen.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_00: And definitely in an in a movie made for kids.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_00: Like for an animated movie, this is very heavy hitting.
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_00: You know, and Simba was doing what any child does.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_00: He plays, he explores, he takes adventures, and he trusted his uncle, and as his father did, enough to let him stay in the kingdom.
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_00: So Simba is at an age where if his father's okay with things and his mother's okay with things, like he's gonna be okay with things because he looks to them as regulation, which is completely normal.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_00: And he did nothing wrong.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_00: It wasn't his fault.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_00: And I want to say this because since we're talking about guilt as a guidance system in this episode, that divine listeners, if someone is telling you that something that happened to you when you were a kid is your fault, I'm here to tell you it's not your fault.
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_00: Which I know is goodwill hunting right on cue, but it's not your fault.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_00: I want to say this clearly to whoever is listening: you can return, you can come back, you are not doomed to whatever program you are following.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_00: Because that's really the core and the root and the torture of what Scar does to Simba is telling him he can never return.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_00: I've been talking about return, I might not have used those words, but I've said multiple times that we return because we forget things and then we remember and we return.
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_00: And to tell Simba you can never return from what I'm going to make you believe is the truth is absolutely terrible.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_00: So I want to say, do not listen to that scar voice inside.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_00: And that's gonna lead me into my personal mirror here.
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_00: So for those of you who listened to the Balto series, you know my history with my father.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_00: He's going to come up again.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_00: So to me, especially when I was cub age, my father seemed like Mufasa to me, but he became a scar along the way.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_00: He blamed me for his emotional state.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_00: But at one point he had told me he would always be there to guide me, like Mufasa did for Simba.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_00: But he wasn't, and he isn't.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_00: I lived out a similar guilt program, but actually not in relation to him, at least not primarily.
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_00: But he taught me that external things, things really out of my control, were my fault.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_00: That showed up for me strongly, especially in romantic relationships.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_00: None of my exes were like scar, thank God, but I carried that I'm responsible for your emotions type of guilt program.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_00: And it is a very scarring program to have.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_00: It took me a long time, like Simba, to make my way out of the paradise of avoidance and back to Pride Rock to reclaim my own inner kingdom.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_00: After having gone to the elephant graveyard, which is the same as the bottom of the mountain in Balto, basically to reclaim my shadow and the whole of me that got.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: fractured along the way.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_00: And I am not a parent.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_00: I always knew I didn't want to be.
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_00: But I would say with loving caution to any parents who might be listening, please be aware of the emotional load you may be inadvertently putting on your kids.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_00: I speak as a kid who had it done to them.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_00: And the damage that does that it does to do that is immense.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_00: And I've kind of had a couple computer references in this episode.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_00: I'm going to bring in one more here, which is that you can't download Windows Vista onto a kid and then expect them to run as Windows XP.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_00: God I'm old.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_00: I know there are way newer Windows programs than that, but I know that Windows Vista was one of the worst at least that's what I remember.
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_00: And Windows XP was really really good.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_00: So if you download, you know, because essentially Simba had a Windows Vista program which was a terrible program downloaded onto him.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_00: You can't expect him to run Windows XP.
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_00: And kids are so easy to program.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_00: You know they soak up everything and they they care they deeply care about what you do and how your energy is in relation to them.
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_00: Excuse me I'm going to briefly remove Jade here.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_00: She is very excited that we're doing finally a cat movie.
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_00: I think she was just bugging me for fancy feast so that should keep her engaged for a while.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah I was saying kids are just so easy to program.
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_00: You know they soak up everything and for me the guilt still pops up from time to time it's a tender spot.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_00: A wound that stopped bleeding but can easily bruise from time to time.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_00: The difference is I have coping strategies now.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_00: So when Scar energy tries to reopen the wound there are protective barriers in place.
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_00: And I did mention this in my Devil Snare episode of the Harry Potter series but one of my tools and I actually think it's more than a tool I think it's a state that I go into is returning to my body.
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_00: So I mentioned this in the Devil Snare episode that meditation for me when I first found it I used it as a mind regulating practice which I think it can do great things for your mind but I think when you reframe it to begin with your body it's even more powerful.
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_00: And so you know the mind to at least in my experience I'm going to speak from my experience since it's my personal mirror here but it seems to me that feelings states and emotions begin in the body the mind just commentates on them.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_00: And you know I wonder if you've ever noticed how much more active your mind is when you feel dysregulated because I've noticed that it just seems like nonstop commenting kind of like those infomercial messages at 2 a.m it's just breakneck speed because your body is at breakneck speed you know you'll have like a racing heart a turning stomach blood pumping fast you can't sit still but when you're regulated your mind slows way down and feels very quiet.
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_00: And in my case this is where deeply inspirational thoughts will spring up from the void like when I write for this show when I'm in a deeply still state and we do this by returning we return to our breath we return to contact we return to our senses not common sense of the mind but our touch taste smell hearing and sight.
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_00: Meditation is a way to return your body to a regulated state and the mind will follow.
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_00: People worry about their mind not being quiet in meditation don't focus on your mind focus on your body and the mind will follow and actually for anyone interested in meditation I would encourage you to try it in the shower because that's where I first did it because the shower is deeply sensory and it's very relaxing to be in water.
• 26:03
  SPEAKER_00: This wasn't something that I researched I just had the feeling to try it you know even being in like a bath would probably be the easiest way but going into a pool, going into a lake because water holds you it's a cradle and it's immersive.
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_00: So I would say if you're struggling with like a crisscross applesauce sitting on a pillow by a window kind of meditation give water a try.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_00: It's been life changing for me to do it in the water I still typically do because you know especially if you're busy it's nice that you can take a shower and meditate like a two for one special type thing.
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_00: So I would encourage that that's a great way to return but I bring this up because essentially I really do think that Scar took that from Simba the ability to return.
• 26:51
  SPEAKER_00: You know obviously he's a lion so they probably don't meditate but basically he took away Simba's ability to come back to himself and for me meditation is a great way to do that.
• 27:04
  SPEAKER_00: But I want to go ahead and get into the divine questions here.
• 27:08
  SPEAKER_00: So have quite a few of them for you today.
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_00: What guilt are you still holding on to have you made your apologies?
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_00: Do you actually have anything to apologize for?
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_00: And for that one I want to focus on that internal compass I've been talking about if you feel at peace about a situation it's very important to and this is what returning helps to do and regulation helps with is figuring out which emotions belong to you and which emotions belong to other people.
• 27:41
  SPEAKER_00: So I would say to answer that question of do you actually have anything to apologize for sit deeply with that thought.
• 27:49
  SPEAKER_00: And maybe the deepest question what's your oldest guilt and where do you need to let yourself return?
• 27:57
  SPEAKER_00: Essentially where have you escaped to Hakuna Matata land not for its beauty and change of scenery but out of avoidance and fear of what you need to reclaim so for me I mean my oldest pain I kind of or oldest guilt I kind of went into with the programming I don't really feel like at this state in my life I'm holding on to guilt.
• 28:23
  SPEAKER_00: I think I've gotten pretty good at you know there'll be things that'll pop up for me I think like anyone but as far as having a kind of longstanding wound of guilt that I haven't healed, no, I think I'm pretty aware of those.
• 28:37
  SPEAKER_00: It's not that they don't come into my energy space from time to time but they don't dictate my decisions.
• 28:43
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's an important distinction because when you're in guilt it can feel like it's bigger than you.
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_00: It's kind of like what I talked about in the mirror of Eresid too in Harry Potter where that part that shows up in the mirror can feel bigger than you.
• 28:57
  SPEAKER_00: I think guilt can also feel bigger than you.
• 29:00
  SPEAKER_00: And that's very important to remember that the guilt is not bigger than you.
• 29:06
  SPEAKER_00: Like it it's it's part of you but it's also you have to distinguish between like I said divine guilt which is more like gentle course correction and you know insidious and weaponizing guilt which is more like condemnation and judgment and just harshness.
• 29:27
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's very important to distinguish those.
• 29:29
  SPEAKER_00: But I will go ahead and leave it there, Divine Listeners.
• 29:32
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much for tuning into the first episode in the Lion King series.
• 29:37
  SPEAKER_00: Again next episode I already referenced it but we will be going into when Nala finds Simba in you know Hakuna Matata land and she tells him the truth and kind of how that leads into you know Simba challenging his guilt.
• 29:55
  SPEAKER_00: So we're going to talk about the importance of her and also what she represents to him because that scene is very interesting because they are you know very excited to see each other.
• 30:07
  SPEAKER_00: There's you know the the implication that they're falling in love with each other and and then we see basically that he can't stay in a paradise state with her because he hasn't he hasn't healed that guilt program yet.
• 30:22
  SPEAKER_00: And the thing about those programs too is it doesn't just stay isolated in one place.
• 30:28
  SPEAKER_00: It tends to permeate into every area of your life just like love does.
• 30:33
  SPEAKER_00: It's not something that you can just compartmentalize.
• 30:36
  SPEAKER_00: It does tend to influence other areas so I also want to leave you with that thought as we close out episode one.
• 30:43
  SPEAKER_00: But as always divine listeners if you have any show suggestions or feedback or you just want to talk about any of these episodes that I've done so far or you just want to talk in general philosophically about stories and their depth and I think the soul lessons that they have to offer my email is in the show notes.
• 31:04
  SPEAKER_00: You can also send feedback to the show please like and share and subscribe and share it with people who would be interested I'm very much enjoying this doing these episodes for you and dropping every Friday I'm going to stick with that to keep a rhythm in place you know just slow and steady dropping and slow and steady viewership hopefully that increases and so far that feels like a very good rhythm for me.
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_00: So that's what I'm going to do.
• 31:32
  SPEAKER_00: And then like I said we will have a special episode in this series basically bonus episode that's going to kind of overlap nicely with Lion King so I'm excited to have a two episode special week for you coming soon so stay tuned for that.
• 31:49
  SPEAKER_00: And in the meantime divine listeners please remember that programs are not your final let's see here what's the word a final declaration on who you are you can always return you can always remember and I will go ahead and leave it there.
• 32:09
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much for tuning in and I will see you next Friday