Latest / Random Heathen Ramblings / Random Heathen Ramblings: S5, EP2 - Shared Roots (feat. JM "Bright Spirit" Olofsson)

Transcript

Random Heathen Ramblings: S5, EP2 - Shared Roots (feat. JM "Bright Spirit" Olofsson) · Random Heathen Ramblings

• 0:00
  Everyone. And welcome hello everyone, and
• 0:02
  welcome to the Random Ethan Ramblings podcast, where we
• 0:05
  discussed all sorts of things Dramatic Ethan re related.
• 0:09
  My name is Jesse. I'm your host.
• 0:11
  Let's get into it. All right, folks, we'll we are
• 0:35
  here. Back with Papa Allison,
• 0:37
  Fialvatir Workshop, Sacred Trail Society.
• 0:41
  Good friend of mine, good brother of mine.
• 0:42
  Thanks for coming back on the show, dude.
• 0:44
  Thank you for having me back. It's always a joy to sit down
• 0:47
  and shoot the breeze with you. Yeah, yeah.
• 0:52
  Wish it was more of an in person thing.
• 0:53
  Maybe one day we'll we'll plan something around that, you know,
• 0:56
  bring the equipment and set up something kind of in studio.
• 0:59
  Maybe that'd be a fun. That'd be a fun variant to to to
• 1:04
  the model of the of the podcast, as it were.
• 1:07
  Get a little Zach Galifianakis going.
• 1:09
  Was it between 2 trees? Between two yeah.
• 1:12
  Between 2 Ferns. Excuse me.
• 1:18
  I've. It took me a second when I first
• 1:20
  discovered that to realize that it was you know satire or that
• 1:27
  you know the interviews were yes, it's a real thing.
• 1:29
  It was a real thing. But it was it was totally
• 1:31
  scripted and and it was meant to be you know just off the wall
• 1:35
  kooky and I some of the some of the was the one that he did with
• 1:42
  Brad Pitt. Brad Pitt just like spit his gum
• 1:45
  right in his face. I was like that can't be real.
• 1:48
  I mean it was real, but it was scripted you know and so but I
• 1:54
  don't think we, I don't think we would get into any of that.
• 1:55
  We would, we would be between, between, between two drums maybe
• 2:00
  or something like that. We could do a thing between two
• 2:02
  drums, you know? Do that.
• 2:06
  But we are here last last before the end of last season I kind of
• 2:12
  put out a put out some feelers and ask some folks you know just
• 2:16
  a if you got a topic or or something that you want to come
• 2:19
  on the show and talk about You know write in and let me know.
• 2:22
  And even as close as you and I are you know you follow protocol
• 2:26
  I got to say you know you you you sent in a really great
• 2:28
  e-mail and put out a put out a topic I think that will be
• 2:33
  really really keen on on going over and that is you know your
• 2:38
  your your e-mail was topic or or subject rather was you know
• 2:42
  shared roots. And the words that you put in
• 2:46
  the in the e-mail. If I'm just going to read to the
• 2:48
  people what you had said was you know the touches and influence
• 2:54
  of animism prevalent in many if not all branches of paganism,
• 3:01
  many walks of stark contrast. But the belief in possessing
• 3:06
  spirit or soul is something very shared.
• 3:08
  For example in Norse paganism the life breath I believe the
• 3:13
  the word for that was earned bond old Norse word and it's
• 3:17
  that that spirit breath right that that that soul breath which
• 3:23
  is you know the gift from Odin to you know the first man the
• 3:27
  first woman Osh and emla the land viteer the whites
• 3:31
  themselves. Other faiths beliefs believe in
• 3:33
  spirit guides spirit animals totems the presence of spirit
• 3:37
  after death in ancient veneration ancestral veneration
• 3:40
  I should say altars for the dead a place sit at the table and
• 3:45
  more all over the world this is common ground and and common
• 3:49
  bonds for for Pagan people and I was just you know I think of
• 3:57
  maybe for a lot of folks but especially for myself you know
• 4:00
  when I first came into paganism the Germanic kind of you know
• 4:08
  focused Germanic heathenry Norse paganism.
• 4:12
  It didn't start off with me having a real clear
• 4:17
  understanding or appreciation for the importance of of of the
• 4:22
  animistic side of things. But over the years and as I've
• 4:25
  grown things have really I I found a very strong pull in that
• 4:30
  direction. You know and and finding
• 4:37
  syncretism or similarities in other beliefs.
• 4:42
  You know, not just Germanic, Pagan beliefs but you know
• 4:46
  finding information from from other cultures as well.
• 4:49
  Whether it be you know Celtic, Baltic, Mediterranean, Slavic or
• 4:54
  even things here native to the US.
• 4:58
  You know some of the indigenous native beliefs and and how
• 5:04
  strong the the animistic spirit is, is is part of those those
• 5:11
  old ways of thinking? I've always been drawn to that
• 5:15
  idea or spirit of animism, But the more I got serious into my
• 5:20
  studies, I've been so fortunate to study and learn with so many
• 5:26
  people from different cultures around the world and through
• 5:29
  learning with them have been able to, you know, follow those
• 5:34
  routes down through the soil and so many of them.
• 5:37
  And I'm not talking about universalist ideology, but the
• 5:42
  real fact that so many of those roots, although unique,
• 5:45
  individual and their own, tend to draw from the same well and
• 5:50
  that well-being belief in spirit.
• 5:53
  Yeah, when you say you've you've, you've gotten the chance
• 5:57
  to, you know, learn from and and study with others who are or
• 6:02
  maybe what are some. If you have names or you want to
• 6:05
  drop, that's fine too. But like, what are some of those
• 6:10
  beliefs that you've been given the opportunity to, you know,
• 6:14
  learning in your studies besides you know, your native ancestry,
• 6:19
  some of the the Norse or Germanic stuff maybe that you've
• 6:23
  tapped into anything else that you?
• 6:26
  Won't do a whole lot of name dropping without those people's
• 6:30
  permission, but a lot of great people in Scandinavian and Old
• 6:36
  Norse mythology and their creation stories and people in
• 6:40
  Sweden, Iceland that I've got to spend time with and work with.
• 6:44
  Siberian shamanism, Mongolian, and even a variety of Japanese
• 6:48
  shamanism called Itako Toltec here in North America out of
• 6:54
  Ancient Mexico. Lots of amazing, amazing people
• 6:59
  putting a lot of time and study into their roots and their
• 7:03
  traditions that have all but been snuffed out by our modern
• 7:09
  ways. In modern progress, where we're
• 7:12
  going as a society, we're becoming more technological and
• 7:16
  so we're losing a lot of those more spiritual things that have
• 7:20
  been so important to so many people throughout history.
• 7:23
  The Westernization of of this or the Western mindset that you
• 7:29
  mentioned earlier This you know universal or universalism?
• 7:34
  Universalist, you know, it's it's, I see that a lot, at least
• 7:39
  in our area too, right? Where like I, I, I love the
• 7:45
  inclusivity, you know, the the, the, the, the desire to want to
• 7:49
  be inclusive and and have a group of people to get together
• 7:54
  and and share with an experience.
• 7:58
  And I'm also a bit like what are we sharing?
• 8:03
  And you know, is it just, you know, everybody's just doing
• 8:08
  everything to try to, you know, be accepting of one another or
• 8:11
  or is is is there things that we can be focusing on that are very
• 8:15
  specific to what people want, 'cause you know, I mean, like
• 8:19
  I'll use just the term. Paganism in general is an
• 8:22
  umbrella term. I mean it could it could
• 8:23
  encompass any non traditional polytheistic belief system where
• 8:29
  you know you you you have a belief in in in more than one
• 8:33
  deity in in terms of the divine and the sacred.
• 8:37
  And then there's usually what goes with that is a lot of the
• 8:40
  stuff like we're starting to talk about now, you know, the
• 8:44
  the lesser spirits that we coexist with, whether it be the
• 8:48
  spirit of the land, our ancestors, you know, that sort
• 8:51
  of thing. And and you know the the, the,
• 8:56
  the traditions of one culture. You know, whether it be Germanic
• 9:02
  or Mediterranean or or Baltic or Slavic or Mongolian or Asiatic
• 9:06
  or whatever it might be, you know, is is if are are we, are
• 9:12
  we becoming too watered down with this, this, this desire to
• 9:18
  be be accepting of everybody and be inclusing or inclusive of
• 9:23
  everybody? Are are we losing sight of the
• 9:26
  roots? You know what I mean are are are
• 9:29
  becoming too. Are we living too much on the
• 9:31
  edges of the branches and? Inclusivity is great, but I also
• 9:37
  think there are layers to it. Some things it's most
• 9:41
  appropriate to only appreciate if you cross that line you go to
• 9:49
  appropriating and that's not OK, right?
• 9:53
  So there are certain things that are unique to cultures and
• 9:58
  traditions that are unique to cultures and communities and
• 10:01
  should be that way and kept that way.
• 10:03
  They should be reserved for those peoples who have lived in
• 10:06
  those traditions to maintain and be able to pass on to their
• 10:11
  unique community and culture. Yeah, that's always.
• 10:16
  I think that's a really fine line.
• 10:18
  And I was wondering, you know, with you having been given the
• 10:21
  chance to learn from different cultures and and talk to people
• 10:25
  from different walks of life and places where those traditions
• 10:31
  haven't been forgotten. You know, maybe they're not as
• 10:34
  prevalent as they once were, but they haven't been forgotten that
• 10:37
  it it exists in in, you know, their architecture, their their
• 10:43
  the, the, the, the names of their cities, their towns,
• 10:45
  right, their place, names. Like there's so much of some of
• 10:48
  these you know, cultures that that you know those traditions
• 10:55
  live on in in their day-to-day lives And and and what I was
• 10:58
  getting to was that you know you mentioned appropriation and that
• 11:02
  seems to be something that just gets thrown around so
• 11:05
  rivolously. I want to say you know it's like
• 11:08
  you know if if it's if some like let's just say someone like that
• 11:11
  looks like me. You know what I mean?
• 11:14
  Bear skin, blonde hair, right. I don't have the the
• 11:17
  quintessential look of let's say Someone Like You who has, you
• 11:21
  know, the doll of tones, the darker skin.
• 11:23
  You know you look more native, indigenous.
• 11:25
  Like you know what I'm saying? You have those kind of features,
• 11:28
  you know, where and then someone like me who is, you know, maybe,
• 11:32
  you know wearing certain styles of clothing or dressing in a
• 11:35
  certain way, you know how that could be misinterpreted as well.
• 11:39
  Here's this, you know, this white guy, you know
• 11:42
  appropriating the the, the, the traditions or something of of,
• 11:46
  of another, of another culture. And I'm like, first of all, you
• 11:50
  know, there's native in me too, right?
• 11:52
  And and while I may not have everything like written down or
• 11:55
  I don't know everything about it, like I've got native
• 11:58
  ancestry, first of all, you know, and and maybe what I'm
• 12:01
  trying to do is, is is learn more about those bits of
• 12:06
  MyHeritage that have kind of been lost through my family's
• 12:11
  practices, right. Like we didn't touch that on
• 12:13
  that side of of the family tree that much and really trying to
• 12:15
  connect with those roots more, not trying to appropriate
• 12:19
  something that isn't mine, but trying to learn more about
• 12:21
  something that is a part of me. And you know, I don't know if
• 12:28
  you've if you've encountered that a lot through your studies
• 12:32
  and and and experiences where people look at you or or or see
• 12:37
  and be going, what do you, what business do you have doing what
• 12:40
  you're doing or or anything like that, you know what I'm trying
• 12:42
  to say? Yeah, I think one of the
• 12:44
  greatest things that a person can do for themselves when
• 12:48
  concerned about potential appropriation is first learn the
• 12:51
  difference between cultural appropriation and cultural
• 12:54
  appreciation. There are a great many number of
• 12:59
  cultures, communities, tribes, who appreciate the celebration,
• 13:04
  even from outsiders, about their craft, their work, what they do,
• 13:09
  helping to continue to tell their story.
• 13:12
  But then there is that line crossing over into
• 13:15
  appropriation, and that's where you're taking away from a
• 13:18
  culture for your own benefit. So if you were to dress up, put
• 13:23
  on Regalia and go around and sell something like White Sage
• 13:29
  and be paid for it, that's absolutely appropriation.
• 13:34
  And that is not of your culture, and you're taking away from
• 13:36
  someone else's. There were a great many times
• 13:41
  that I've been in a situation where I was able to witness
• 13:45
  ritual ceremony, be it dances or healing traditions, and there
• 13:50
  were some that I was surprised to be invited to participate in.
• 13:54
  They look very formal, and I was not of that culture.
• 13:57
  I was there to learn and appreciate, but was extended an
• 14:01
  invitation. And then there were also a great
• 14:04
  many times that I was asked to spectate.
• 14:07
  Only now what? Right?
• 14:08
  What I have in that community when asked to spectate and
• 14:13
  respect what's happening before me, to go out and cry.
• 14:17
  They weren't inclusive of me. That would seem kind of silly,
• 14:21
  right? Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 14:23
  So inclusivity is a great thing. Appreciation is a great thing.
• 14:29
  Appropriation is a bad thing. But learn what these things
• 14:32
  mean. There's your social media
• 14:34
  definition, you have a lot of things, and then there's the
• 14:37
  actual definition. Yeah, well, that too.
• 14:41
  It, you know, I saw a post not all that long ago talking about,
• 14:46
  you know, social media. I mean, first of all, like
• 14:48
  that's that's a whole thing in in itself, right?
• 14:52
  There's a lot of fan fiction type stuff.
• 14:57
  There's a lot of people that like to play dress up you know
• 15:00
  Larping and that can that that shapes, you know that that
• 15:04
  shapes I should say, you know that chaps in people's asses
• 15:08
  with, you know how they're how they're putting on this you know
• 15:13
  appearance, right. I like one thing that that comes
• 15:16
  to mind is the the that that that base paint that like the
• 15:22
  line of on the lip or the chin the chin stripe which is very
• 15:27
  specific to a specific culture. You know and it's not you know
• 15:32
  Norse dramatic but you'll see these you know women
• 15:35
  particularly will will will put on this you know like Valkyrie
• 15:39
  type idea and it's very artistically you know
• 15:42
  interesting to see like their take on what they would think of
• 15:45
  Valkyrie would look like or a shield made in this thing that
• 15:47
  or the other. But when they when they do that
• 15:49
  that line on the chin you know people may not realize but that
• 15:54
  that that is that a form of of cultural appropriation because
• 15:58
  this is not a symbol that we that that exists in that culture
• 16:01
  and and why would you put that why would you adopt that look
• 16:05
  when you're doing your like come up with something else like be
• 16:08
  creative in your own way don't take that which is something
• 16:11
  very specific to a specific culture and and turn it into
• 16:15
  this you know dress up sort of sort of thing.
• 16:19
  You know, like you were talking about like putting on regalia
• 16:23
  that is not part of your culture, that's not part of your
• 16:28
  heritage and and using it as as some sort of gain, monetary or
• 16:34
  otherwise, you know? With the line thing, I've heard
• 16:42
  a lot about that and I've seen it a lot and I've seen a lot of
• 16:46
  complaining about it and I understand that it is unique to
• 16:50
  a lot of indigenous populations. There's one in particular that
• 16:53
  gets mentioned as reference and debunking this.
• 16:57
  Did the Norse or the Volvo use this style of face paint?
• 17:04
  And even though this one community it means a great deal
• 17:08
  to, it has very significant meaning to have that they're not
• 17:13
  the only people around the world to do that.
• 17:15
  I mean, you've only got so much room on your face and you can
• 17:19
  only put a line so many places, so surely they're not the only
• 17:22
  people in the world to have ever put a line on their chin.
• 17:27
  I think a lot of the big problem that people are running into and
• 17:30
  getting upset or angry about the people practicing Norse Pagan
• 17:35
  isn't including that in their face, Paint, get up or whatever
• 17:39
  is that. They don't have a source for the
• 17:41
  reference to say that this is a part of that style or that
• 17:46
  tradition there, but at the same time, you don't have much all
• 17:51
  that you can cite or reference when it comes to some of those
• 17:55
  things. So much was lost from
• 17:57
  Scandinavia during the Christianization, and they
• 18:00
  didn't record a whole lot. Everything was orally passed
• 18:04
  down. You know it was.
• 18:05
  It's even. I know.
• 18:07
  I know a gentleman who I I became familiar with who's of
• 18:13
  Icelandic descent here in this area and his he lived for a time
• 18:19
  with his great great grandfather who was Icelandic.
• 18:23
  And his his great great grandfather taught him orally
• 18:28
  through oral through the through the oral traditions, how his how
• 18:33
  he was taught how to read rooms. You know what I mean?
• 18:37
  And I come to find out like from talking to this guy, he, you
• 18:42
  know nothing that he told me that he shared with me from his
• 18:45
  family's traditions. Is anything like I've read in a
• 18:49
  book, seen online, followed in a video anywhere.
• 18:53
  Like it was very specific to, you know, that that family's
• 18:59
  traditions. And again, it's not something
• 19:01
  that was ever written down in a book anywhere that you could go
• 19:04
  back and be like, wow, that's how certain people in Iceland
• 19:07
  would have used runes and divination.
• 19:10
  You know, Now if if me or someone else, let's say, were to
• 19:19
  be given the privilege of learning this method through the
• 19:26
  oral traditions, right, through being told about this, you know
• 19:30
  that to me is is a, is a, is a, is a very high honor.
• 19:33
  You know, and it's something like you were talking about
• 19:35
  being invited into something that you otherwise wouldn't have
• 19:40
  never known about or been subject to.
• 19:42
  But you know, for what the reasons were, what they were.
• 19:44
  You get invited to be a part of it and to learn about it.
• 19:47
  You know, now that's one thing. It would be totally something
• 19:50
  different if through that learning process, you know, you
• 19:54
  go and you try and and document it all down and then turn up and
• 19:57
  try to flip a profit on this knowledge, right?
• 20:00
  That would be that would be dishonorable.
• 20:02
  That would be the, the appropriation thing that we're
• 20:05
  talking about, you know, and there's people out there that
• 20:09
  will do it, man. Like, you got to be so careful.
• 20:11
  And I think that's probably why. We see a lot of examples of what
• 20:20
  might be referred to as gatekeeping.
• 20:23
  You know I think for some people you know it's it's it's almost
• 20:30
  about like protecting that that tree protecting that that thing
• 20:35
  that you've you know been nurtured from yourself and not
• 20:38
  wanting any any outside you know influence to like poison or
• 20:44
  infiltrate the root systems of that tree and and and quench its
• 20:48
  growth or or harm its growth in any sort of way.
• 20:51
  I I wonder if if so much of what we see in in in in in forms of
• 20:57
  gatekeeping comes from a place of that.
• 21:00
  I'm sure there's definitely examples of people just being
• 21:03
  jerks and not wanting to you know share knowledge and and and
• 21:06
  and sort of thing. But you know I I wonder if if if
• 21:10
  people get so enamored with with the roots you know and and and
• 21:17
  where they've come from and and and learning things that they've
• 21:19
  learned that they that they want to safeguard it to the point
• 21:22
  where they don't let anything else nurture it.
• 21:26
  And how how how have things been able to grow if not by being
• 21:33
  able to branch. You know if not for those roots
• 21:36
  to spread. You know what I mean?
• 21:37
  It's it's not that that the growth happens when the roots
• 21:40
  are going straight down. It's it's it's growth that
• 21:44
  happens as the roots kind of spread out and and are nurtured
• 21:47
  by other things around it. We it this this is something
• 21:50
  that happens in nature. I think that it's it's important
• 21:55
  for those fruits I guess to be shared.
• 21:58
  So if you've got this family who for generations have had this
• 22:02
  apple tree, we'll just go with an apple tree on the property
• 22:06
  and they are the best apples to eat.
• 22:08
  And they've shared them all over the community.
• 22:10
  Everybody loves these apples. But then more people come from
• 22:15
  other communities, other places, other counties across the river,
• 22:19
  over the mountains, and then they want to start doing
• 22:23
  something a little bit different.
• 22:24
  Yeah, we like the taste of these apples too, and they were given
• 22:26
  to us or free for us to use. But I want to use the name of
• 22:31
  this family, and instead of eating the apple, I want to make
• 22:35
  apple butter. And somebody else wants to make
• 22:37
  apple pies, and somebody else wants to make fried apples, and
• 22:40
  somebody else wants to do something else with that, with
• 22:43
  that fruit. And then it changes it.
• 22:46
  And so I absolutely understand people wanting to protect that
• 22:49
  tree for what it is and what it's supposed to be, what
• 22:52
  they've cherished it for. Yeah.
• 22:56
  But yeah, in the sharing thing, the best I could think of was
• 23:00
  that so many of those roots do tap into the same well, and that
• 23:05
  being that belief in spirit, animism comes from a Latin word,
• 23:10
  anima. And believe it or not, we were
• 23:12
  just talking about that Norse connection with Odin and the
• 23:16
  life breath or owned anima translates to breath or spirit
• 23:22
  or soul. So animism is the, by definition
• 23:26
  belief in that breath, that spirit, that soul, and it all
• 23:32
  things possess that. Yeah, I think of another word.
• 23:39
  Main. It's MMM, ash, GN, may, Mama,
• 23:46
  e.g. N, or MAGEN.
• 23:47
  Main. Main, I think is the
• 23:50
  pronunciation for it. And it's.
• 23:53
  Everything has it, you know, we possess it, but everything has
• 23:58
  it. And and you know it may not be
• 24:03
  the same thing as as what you're referring to in terms of just
• 24:06
  that that life breath, right. Like the thing that even if
• 24:08
  you're sitting by the river you know or near a waterfall right,
• 24:16
  that waterfall has its own breath.
• 24:18
  You can hear it through the rushing of the water.
• 24:22
  You know the trees have their own breath.
• 24:25
  If you stop and listen you know through the through the the the
• 24:27
  branches and the leaves and stuff as as the wind blows like
• 24:30
  that's that's all coming. It exists because of them,
• 24:34
  right? Like we share in that reciprocal
• 24:37
  giving of life even the rocks and and and and the non animated
• 24:43
  things you know what I mean? Like they all have a life force.
• 24:47
  They all have that mean. They all have that spirit
• 24:52
  contained in them that, you know, it took me a long time
• 24:57
  throughout my life to even get to a point of realizing that.
• 25:02
  And I think once I did, it really opened up opportunities
• 25:07
  for me to grow as a person, to grow as a living being myself,
• 25:11
  and to realize that it's not just, you know, it's not just me
• 25:16
  out here. It's not just people out here.
• 25:17
  It ain't even just me and the animals, right?
• 25:19
  Like because I think we we can we can we almost get one track
• 25:24
  mind when we when we think of what is living right.
• 25:27
  I think we tend to as humans just think that living means you
• 25:30
  know something like us right. We're we're standing, we're
• 25:34
  breathing, we're speaking, We have a voice.
• 25:35
  There's, you know, the in and out of our breath that that you
• 25:39
  can see what you know happening in front of you, even in the
• 25:43
  animal Kingdom. I think that's definitely a key
• 25:47
  to understanding animism, especially from the outside
• 25:51
  looking in is what you consider life to be like.
• 25:56
  You were just saying, we've come to a place now where we think of
• 25:59
  life as mainly just ourselves. We have domain over the plant
• 26:04
  and animal life, and we've kind of put ourselves up above it in
• 26:08
  a way. And so to a lot of us, life is
• 26:12
  to have a heartbeat, to be breathing.
• 26:16
  But when you understand life to be energy, that's where you can
• 26:19
  see that the plants have life, Animals have life, the river has
• 26:24
  energy. So the river is life, the wind
• 26:27
  is life, and they all have energy.
• 26:30
  And if you don't believe those things have energy, then why do
• 26:32
  we have hydroelectric dams and wind turbines?
• 26:37
  Yeah, they have energy, life. So that is a key that helps a
• 26:44
  lot of people understand when they're first learning about
• 26:47
  animism from the inside, looking out the best I could describe it
• 26:51
  is an understanding that leads to a way of living, that
• 26:57
  understanding that there is life and everything around us, there
• 27:01
  is an energy and everything around us.
• 27:02
  So that warrants a respect for those things that we don't
• 27:07
  normally have. Otherwise we're missing that
• 27:09
  connection. And so we don't pay the same
• 27:12
  respect that we do outside of that understanding.
• 27:18
  From the outside looking in, animism is going to be defined
• 27:21
  as the idea or belief that all things contain spirit or soul.
• 27:29
  Yeah. And I think once we once we
• 27:33
  change our perspective through that learning you know as you
• 27:38
  say as you put it you know from you know inside looking out
• 27:42
  versus outside looking in, you know being a part of being a
• 27:47
  part of it all, knowing that we're a part of all that.
• 27:49
  We've always been a part of it all.
• 27:50
  But but really embracing that inclusivity and and knowing that
• 28:01
  we're we're we're we're we're all in a shared experience.
• 28:04
  You know, those roots. Are we talking about sharing?
• 28:10
  It goes beyond our shared experiences with people and
• 28:13
  cultures and traditions and things.
• 28:15
  It it, it goes way deeper than that.
• 28:16
  And it goes into the shared roots of life that we have.
• 28:23
  They have and and we're all kind of part of that experience,
• 28:28
  maybe experiencing things in our own individual ways, but
• 28:31
  ultimately having a connection through through that root
• 28:35
  system, through that web of weird, as it were, right to to
• 28:38
  to know that we're, we're intertwined, everything's
• 28:42
  intertwined. Another way to think about that
• 28:45
  web of weird. I know we imagine it a lot when
• 28:48
  we think of the concept as it being something out in space.
• 28:51
  But that thing that connects so many things, the mycelial
• 28:54
  network that you see through fungi, and they're connected to
• 28:58
  each other, they're connected to the trees and their avenues of
• 29:01
  communication and all those connections being made.
• 29:05
  Even though these physical beings are so far apart, their
• 29:09
  roots aren't actually connected, but they are connected by a
• 29:12
  network. Yeah and the and the network is
• 29:16
  is it it is living. I mean it's it's a living
• 29:22
  breathing thing like I I I saw something you know talking about
• 29:28
  the mycelial network and and how rhythm the heartbeat.
• 29:36
  Right our our heartbeat. But also drum beats specifically
• 29:39
  is is what the the topic was. And when we talk about stuff
• 29:44
  like animism you almost can't avoid talking about things like
• 29:51
  drums and and and and the shamanic drum circles or or just
• 29:56
  experiencing a drum beat on the earth and with the earth.
• 30:01
  You know and and how that stimulates growth.
• 30:04
  How it stimulates life. How it how it revives and how it
• 30:08
  invigorates the the everything that's happening kind of beneath
• 30:13
  beneath our feet. You know why do we feel so
• 30:18
  invigorated. Why do we feel so much better
• 30:21
  when we are walking on the ground barefoot where we're
• 30:24
  creating that vibration where we're we're we're connecting
• 30:27
  ourselves negative those negative charges right that that
• 30:31
  are are happening beneath our feet they're they're they're
• 30:33
  coming through us and and we're our life heartbeat is is now
• 30:37
  connected through to the earth's heartbeat and then the drums add
• 30:41
  to that charge of of the experience that I mean and you
• 30:45
  can't I I challenge anybody to feel like you're kind of down in
• 30:50
  the dumps take your socks and shoes off put your bare feet on
• 30:55
  the ground drum maybe even if you don't have an animal skin
• 30:59
  drum like I mean just sticks and rocks like you know just create
• 31:03
  that create that rhythm do something to create to to
• 31:05
  stimulate that even if it's for just a short period of time.
• 31:09
  And then I challenge anybody to do to do that and then not feel
• 31:12
  better exponentially because of it physically emotionally
• 31:17
  spiritually just feeling like you're revived and recharged
• 31:20
  because you're you're you're tapping into that root system at
• 31:24
  a very primal level at at that level that it's always been
• 31:27
  there. We're just we're so shielded
• 31:29
  from it. You know, our clothes, our shoes
• 31:32
  or this and that, our houses. You know the the, the, the
• 31:38
  technology that is that is rampant these days that
• 31:41
  everybody is, is so reliant on it seems, you know the the these
• 31:47
  electrical currents, these charges things that are blocking
• 31:51
  that that connection to those, to those ancient root systems
• 31:56
  that have been here for, for, for time, from time immemorial.
• 32:00
  That's an amazing feeling. And just like you were saying,
• 32:05
  even if you don't have a drum, you can still get out there and
• 32:09
  take part and participate and experience that.
• 32:13
  You can stomp your feet, clap your hands.
• 32:15
  You can drum on your chest. And there are so many ways to
• 32:21
  play that heartbeat or that rhythm and 'cause that vibration
• 32:26
  to play a drum or even to get your bare feet on the ground and
• 32:29
  walk around. It's like waking someone up to,
• 32:32
  to talk to them. They're alive.
• 32:34
  They're asleep right now. But when you go and tap on
• 32:36
  someone who's asleep, they wake up and can now talk with you.
• 32:40
  And that's the same thing that we do when we go out and spend
• 32:42
  time in nature that way, be it with a drum or in a dance.
• 32:46
  And you see that there are a lot of stomping steps and a lot of
• 32:49
  indigenous traditional dance, and that is making that
• 32:53
  vibration with the earth. Yeah, I got to experience my
• 32:58
  first powwow this this, this year here in Nashville.
• 33:02
  The I think it was the 4040 second or 43rd annual Nashville
• 33:11
  TN Powwow. And like it's one thing to
• 33:16
  watch, you know, videos online or see pictures of those types
• 33:21
  of things and that. But that was my first one to
• 33:23
  actually be present for and see the the dances being performed
• 33:30
  and and being there in person. You know, So feeling the drum
• 33:33
  beats of the performers, also feeling the the energy, the
• 33:38
  power, the the, you know, the spirit of the warriors dancing
• 33:45
  of the of the people dancing And like you say that kind of
• 33:49
  stomping. It may look like they're just
• 33:53
  like there's no choreography or whatever to it.
• 33:57
  But I think the beauty of it is that it is seemingly
• 34:01
  unchoreographed like, you know, like it, it ain't like a waltz
• 34:04
  or or you know the mambo or anything like you know, ballroom
• 34:08
  type dance moves. But they are moves to be
• 34:16
  connected with the earth, you know and and and to exchange in
• 34:21
  that in that power and like you say, you know it's it's not just
• 34:25
  something that we see in in North American indigenous dance.
• 34:30
  I mean it's something I've seen it in Slavic dances.
• 34:35
  I mean dramatic dances. I mean dancing itself is just is
• 34:39
  something that I don't think you could put a a specific origin
• 34:45
  on. I mean it it it's existed since
• 34:48
  we've been walking upright, I think.
• 34:50
  You know what I mean? When?
• 34:52
  When? When you realize what that does
• 34:54
  to you, what it does to your body, what it does to your
• 34:56
  spirit, what it does to your existence.
• 34:59
  To get rhythm. To quote Johnny Cash, Right.
• 35:03
  Get rhythm, man, I think. Dance absolutely had to begin in
• 35:10
  those earliest days of humankind through experiencing spirit.
• 35:16
  And you're not sad. I'm down on the dumps and just
• 35:20
  get up and decide to start dancing around the house.
• 35:22
  And you dance when you feel something, when you feel joy,
• 35:27
  elation, ecstasy. When you feel and experience
• 35:33
  that spirit, that connection that takes you up and lifts you.
• 35:37
  It causes you to take your body up and lift it and dance.
• 35:45
  I would love to say like one of the things that here in our area
• 35:52
  like we do. I say we I mean like I'm not
• 35:56
  intimately involved with it but we there there are these like Bi
• 35:59
  weekly. They call them pianos right.
• 36:01
  Pagan night out. But they're usually held during
• 36:03
  the day and you know they they they one week it might be you
• 36:10
  know at like a Dunkin' Donuts coffee place or something right.
• 36:13
  Another play another another weekend.
• 36:15
  It's it's here recently it's it's been going around this like
• 36:20
  metaphysical store in in a in a town not you know just outside
• 36:25
  of the the the county line but like one of the things like we
• 36:30
  we we had one this past weekend and you know some of the
• 36:37
  organizers and you know we were like well everybody that's here
• 36:40
  everybody that comes to these things.
• 36:41
  What would you like to see happening with future pianos
• 36:47
  right. Instead of all all of us just
• 36:50
  coming appear to like you know a Dunkin' Donuts or or a
• 36:53
  restaurant or something and sitting around inside and
• 36:55
  talking like what other things would you like to to see.
• 36:59
  And and one of the things I had suggested was to do drum
• 37:03
  circles. Obviously.
• 37:06
  You know when when you talk about doing stuff like that
• 37:08
  outdoors I mean that that's kind of it's like a weather
• 37:10
  permitting you know sort of thing.
• 37:11
  Obviously nobody wants to be sitting around in the middle of
• 37:14
  a torrential downpour thunderstorm with animal skin
• 37:17
  drums or whatever. But when it when it has you know
• 37:20
  allows the opportunity is you know even if it's like a a
• 37:23
  sheltered pavilion. You know get people out bring
• 37:26
  those things and experience that togetherness and it goes back to
• 37:32
  you know what we started talking about was you know that
• 37:34
  inclusivity and and how something that is universal like
• 37:39
  dance song, music right these these these universal languages
• 37:44
  think you know. You don't need to have any
• 37:46
  cultural background in anything to get together and appreciate
• 37:50
  the beat. The vibration of people
• 37:54
  drumming, having one having been a part of 1 Fire on the mountain
• 38:00
  last year, you know, and having that opportunity to to to stand
• 38:04
  on the earth and drum with others, you know, like that
• 38:08
  wasn't my first time being around that.
• 38:10
  Something like that like Shadow or yeah, Shadowmoot last year
• 38:15
  and the year before. You know, there's usually
• 38:17
  drumming going around the fire, but it just reminds me of of,
• 38:24
  you know, getting people together and and including
• 38:28
  people in a way that is healing for them and their soul for for
• 38:33
  for who they are as people. That's the great thing about
• 38:37
  community. Community can be comprised of
• 38:41
  people from many different cultures.
• 38:43
  Community can even develop culture within itself.
• 38:47
  Think about places like New York City.
• 38:50
  Those people are comprised of many, many cultures, but New
• 38:53
  York itself has developed a culture through that melting pot
• 38:57
  that they've been known for. Right.
• 39:03
  It's gotten that way around here too, believe it or not.
• 39:05
  I mean, maybe not on such a intricate scale, but the the
• 39:10
  cultural diversity that that exists here in Middle Tennessee
• 39:16
  is it is such a it's so vibrant. I mean, restaurants like, you
• 39:22
  know that it ain't just Mexican restaurants.
• 39:24
  It ain't just, you know, fast food joints.
• 39:26
  I mean there's there's a lot of, you know, East Asian, Southeast
• 39:30
  Asian fusion places, there's a lot of other Latin culture
• 39:34
  places popping up. There's Indian places popping
• 39:38
  up. And I mean so when you get stuff
• 39:40
  like that, that's another way of of of bringing people together
• 39:43
  is through food. I mean when you get, when you
• 39:45
  get a chance to sit and enjoy a meal together right that's
• 39:48
  that's another way of sharing roots because you've got you
• 39:53
  know this person's culture of of food you know you know being
• 39:57
  shared with others and and you learn about the culture too.
• 40:02
  And then that's another beautiful example I think of of
• 40:05
  sharing roots is is is is is sharing in meals.
• 40:10
  You know and that's been lost I think in in in Western culture
• 40:13
  specifically is is, you know it's it's looks so much on as
• 40:18
  you know what do I need to get quickly in my system so I can
• 40:22
  rush, rush, rush, get on to the next task, the next meeting, the
• 40:26
  next. This thing that or the other.
• 40:28
  Whereas you go other places in the world that have longer and
• 40:32
  and more intricate cultures, part of the part of their
• 40:36
  existence, the food time, meal time, is is is a is a is a time
• 40:41
  to reconnect with your people, with your family.
• 40:46
  Like you're saying, we don't even think about it the same
• 40:48
  anymore. To sit down and share a meal is
• 40:50
  one of the most time honored traditions around the world.
• 40:53
  So many cultures, so many communities, so many countries
• 40:57
  all over the world to offer someone a meal, sit down and
• 41:00
  share a meal together. And we've lost that meaning
• 41:03
  because it's so readily available to us now to just run
• 41:07
  out, pick something up, go to a restaurant, go to a fast food
• 41:10
  joint. Even the grocery store is very,
• 41:12
  very modern in terms of how long we've been eating.
• 41:18
  Food wasn't always easy to come by.
• 41:19
  You used to have to work your ass off to have something to eat
• 41:24
  and so to share that with someone.
• 41:26
  That was very meaningful and you would definitely take the time
• 41:29
  to sit down and enjoy a meal, especially knowing how and where
• 41:34
  it came from. Yeah, you know, you you you had
• 41:40
  to earn it. You either had a hunt for it or
• 41:44
  you had to grow it and wait for it to reach its harvest.
• 41:49
  You know, time you couldn't pick, you know pick your crops
• 41:51
  early. You know, you had to wait for
• 41:54
  them to ripen and and and and be ready and yeah, so like just
• 41:58
  having having gone through those, those ordeals.
• 42:04
  So it all comes full circle to appreciate that meal.
• 42:09
  When you appreciate the plant that it came from, you
• 42:11
  appreciate and respect the animal that it came from, it
• 42:14
  means so much more. Yeah, 'cause you appreciate the
• 42:19
  life, the spirit there's. A humanity that we're missing as
• 42:25
  modern society now that the ancients had, a lot of our
• 42:29
  ancestors had, and it is that connection to the spirit around
• 42:35
  us by way of understanding that it exists in the 1st place.
• 42:41
  When you get that understanding, like I said, it leads into a way
• 42:44
  of life. And in that way of life, you're
• 42:46
  able to reconnect and get back into that harmony with your
• 42:51
  surroundings. And I think that's missing for a
• 42:55
  lot of people right now. Look at the depression rates,
• 42:59
  people with anxiety, all sorts of stress disorders, the anger,
• 43:05
  the violence, people just being rude because they don't know how
• 43:10
  to be any other way. They're missing that harmony.
• 43:13
  Selfishness, you know like I we we touched on it earlier.
• 43:17
  I was saying you know we we we have become in a way I think
• 43:24
  conditioned to think of life as being very 11 sided, 1
• 43:28
  dimensional and how selfish is that of us to become that?
• 43:34
  We think that you know the only life that matters is mine maybe
• 43:40
  maybe maybe a few other people that I like.
• 43:43
  You know what I mean? Not realizing just that life is
• 43:49
  precious all around us and I and and I think what you're talking
• 43:54
  about really drills home. The idea is that, you know when
• 43:58
  you start realizing these things, when you start applying
• 44:02
  these things that become a part of your life and then your
• 44:04
  quality of life is is better. You, you, you.
• 44:14
  Yeah, sure, shit happens, right? I mean things happen that that
• 44:16
  kind of get on our nerves. We, we, we become, you know,
• 44:19
  affected and impacted by so many things that are part of our
• 44:25
  lives. But I think when we take the
• 44:29
  approach of really becoming part of life around us, those types
• 44:39
  of inconveniences those types of setbacks don't they don't sting
• 44:43
  as hard. We're we're we're still going to
• 44:45
  feel the way we feel. I mean we still have this human
• 44:48
  experience that we're all individually and collectively
• 44:51
  sharing in and and going through.
• 44:53
  But when when you don't become so self-centered and so and
• 44:59
  focused on ourselves and and start realizing the bigger
• 45:02
  picture, it it all of those all of those bad days.
• 45:07
  Just that they're not as bad anymore, I don't think.
• 45:09
  I don't know if you feel the same way or if you've
• 45:12
  experienced that or have to lay in on that.
• 45:16
  That sense of center becomes a little bit stronger and that
• 45:21
  balance. And so it takes a little bit
• 45:24
  more if not a lot more in some cases to pull that balance off
• 45:29
  something. When you're unbalanced very
• 45:32
  small is going to tip the scale very quickly.
• 45:37
  You're going to be quick to react emotional reaction instead
• 45:40
  of taking the time to think, understand and then react.
• 45:47
  Yeah. So I like strengthen that
• 45:49
  balance. It takes more to tip that scale,
• 45:54
  where before just anything would set it off.
• 45:58
  Yeah, it it's almost like you know, the the the knee jerk
• 46:02
  reaction the the, you know, reacting out of out of the
• 46:06
  response of the moment. You know, I like to because I am
• 46:11
  who I am and because I've I've, you know, been in my Germanic
• 46:15
  side of of Heathenry for as long as I have it.
• 46:18
  I always compare stuff like that to, you know, reacting like
• 46:22
  Thor, you know, action first, think about it later.
• 46:27
  Very, very, very, you know, action driven without really
• 46:31
  thinking too much about the consequences or what's going to
• 46:34
  happen. Throughout it all, Thor is not
• 46:37
  known for his wit, you know what I mean?
• 46:40
  And there's a place for that. I mean, there's a place for I
• 46:43
  think, you know, knowing when to when to take action and when to
• 46:46
  not be. You know, I don't want to say
• 46:51
  like scared to take action, but you know what I'm trying to say?
• 46:53
  Like there's there's there's moments and then there's times
• 46:56
  when that's important. But there's I think far more
• 47:00
  opportunity and far more time for us to think a bit, A bit
• 47:04
  think a bit about what the consequences of our actions,
• 47:08
  right? Making a choice to be angry.
• 47:11
  Making a choice to be upset. Making a choice to be bitter.
• 47:15
  Those are all choices, right? The thing that's happening,
• 47:18
  that's causing us to feel that way.
• 47:21
  We're choosing to react to it in that fashion and with with what
• 47:30
  we're talking about and and and having that sense of
• 47:35
  appreciating spirit, connecting to spirit, having you know those
• 47:38
  those shared experiences. I think we're more inclined.
• 47:43
  I think we're more inclined to understand what the consequences
• 47:46
  of our actions are when we become cognizant of that, when
• 47:51
  we become aware of even. If it comes from a selfish
• 47:54
  place, peace is very hard to come by.
• 47:59
  There's so much chaos and strife and turmoil in our day-to-day
• 48:03
  lives with work and everything else going on, peace is very,
• 48:09
  very hard to come by. So when you get to a point of a
• 48:13
  state of peace, like you've got a center that you maintain, you
• 48:20
  take a second to think when and where you're willing to
• 48:25
  jeopardize that piece. Is this off the wall?
• 48:29
  Comment on social media worth me disrupting my piece?
• 48:34
  Do you take the time to be upset about, take the time to clack on
• 48:38
  this keyboard so that I feel good for having said something
• 48:41
  back to this jerk or whatever? Is it worth it?
• 48:46
  You think to yourself, and then you're able to make that
• 48:48
  decision. You're able to weigh out the
• 48:50
  consequence and then you can preserve your peace.
• 48:53
  Or you can be like Thor. And just be mad all the time.
• 48:59
  There are times that it's appropriate.
• 49:01
  There's a time and a place for everything, and some things
• 49:04
  absolutely deserve a response. But then some things, a response
• 49:08
  is baited from you to disrupt your peace.
• 49:13
  So you've got to make that decision.
• 49:14
  And when you have a stronger center of peace, a stronger
• 49:17
  center of balance, you're going to be much happier with yourself
• 49:23
  and more pleasant for those around you as well.
• 49:26
  Yeah, it's and you know, it's like a it's almost like a the
• 49:33
  the way the world is now. I think the way we've just
• 49:37
  advanced as a as a species, the way the world is now and the and
• 49:42
  the and the the online culture, the the the social media
• 49:46
  prevalence, it's almost like it is something that we have become
• 49:53
  accustomed to like oh, this is just part of life now.
• 49:57
  Like we have to respond to this person's comment.
• 50:00
  We have to say something about what this person said like I
• 50:04
  gotta, I gotta like the social media.
• 50:07
  You know like you get these messages sometimes you know and
• 50:10
  and if you're not connected with that person through the
• 50:13
  platforms you know it goes into this like inbox of requests.
• 50:19
  You know I'm talking about like a requested message, right.
• 50:22
  And I see them sometimes and I'll go through and be like well
• 50:24
  who's sending me a message about what and why?
• 50:27
  And I got a message from somebody not all that long ago
• 50:29
  and it was in regards to a post that I had made about shamanism
• 50:35
  and how that term is so egregiously misused and and and
• 50:42
  how anybody who just seems to like.
• 50:44
  Anybody who like, I think one of the examples that was made in
• 50:47
  the post was like, you know, anybody who's had like a
• 50:49
  psychedelic experience comes back some things all of a sudden
• 50:52
  they're a shaman now, right. And and and and they go off on
• 50:56
  these, you know, tangents on on on things and it's like no,
• 51:02
  first of all that ain't it. And and and even if you've had
• 51:07
  profound experiences through the use of plant medicine and and
• 51:14
  and other things that have given you this revived, awoken kind of
• 51:20
  perspective on things, that does not mean by any stretch of the
• 51:23
  imagination that you are anything close to being what a
• 51:29
  shaman is. You have no business calling
• 51:31
  yourself that. And that's and and so out of
• 51:33
  that post that I had shared, somebody had messaged me and was
• 51:36
  like, what do you think about, you know, the the misuse of of
• 51:42
  of our symbols and and how our heritage is being attacked and
• 51:47
  our culture is this and that. And I, dude, I had to read that
• 51:50
  message like 20 something times. Like I literally sat there just
• 51:54
  like scrolling through reading the message, never responded to
• 51:57
  it. Because I'm like, this seems
• 51:59
  baity as hell. Like this seems like somebody
• 52:02
  who just wants me to say something about, yeah, our
• 52:06
  Germanic heritage this. And then I'm like, Nah, it it
• 52:10
  didn't feel right. You know, it didn't feel like
• 52:12
  the thing that I wanted to talk about or or or entertain.
• 52:16
  I mean there there's there's too much of that.
• 52:18
  And and and everybody knows, I think just the general consensus
• 52:23
  of the fact that yes, symbols get misused, things get
• 52:27
  misappropriated and we're stuck here dealing with it.
• 52:31
  And that's unfortunate. But it was.
• 52:33
  It was, it was, it was a moment where I was like at one point in
• 52:35
  time I probably would have been like firing back with my
• 52:40
  thoughts and my opinions about, you know, that.
• 52:42
  And I'm like, but what does this have to do with the thing that I
• 52:45
  that I talked about like it's apples and oranges here, man.
• 52:48
  Like. Well, that's something that a
• 52:52
  lot of people are actually confused about in terminology.
• 52:55
  They think that Animism is Shamanism.
• 52:58
  Shamanism is Animism, right? Animism is that acknowledgement
• 53:04
  of Spirit world where shamanism is more the ability to connect
• 53:09
  and communicate in that spirit world.
• 53:14
  Right. So there's and there's I mean
• 53:16
  that that obviously you know we're talking about shared roots
• 53:20
  that is obviously something that has existed in in cultures since
• 53:26
  time Memorial as well. I mean there are you know the
• 53:29
  the Toltec shamans there are there are Asiatic you know
• 53:34
  Shinto shamans. There are Germanic you know the
• 53:39
  vulvas the the the the save Konas, the save monitors like
• 53:42
  they there's different names for the for those types that have
• 53:47
  gone through things and that have that have experienced
• 53:50
  ordeal and that have I think first and foremost like that's
• 53:54
  that's something that is is you're you're given that title
• 53:59
  by the people that recognize you as such You know it's you don't
• 54:04
  just walk away from an experience and go hey guys just
• 54:06
  so you know I'm the shaman now. Yeah, you can't go around just
• 54:11
  calling yourself a surgeon. And other people aren't going to
• 54:15
  just come up and be like, hey, what's up, surgeon?
• 54:17
  Right. With no knowledge, no education,
• 54:21
  no credential, nothing to show for it.
• 54:26
  Yeah, it isn't something that like I can call myself a cook.
• 54:32
  I can go and cook and that's OK. But I can't call myself a chef
• 54:35
  because I've not earned that degree.
• 54:37
  I've not put forth the effort in the education and the formal
• 54:41
  training or apprenticeships toward being a chef.
• 54:47
  And there are many different kinds of chefs.
• 54:48
  There are sous chefs and chefs that specialize in certain
• 54:52
  cuisines and the same thing in the spirit medicine world, and
• 54:57
  they have many different names through many different cultures
• 55:00
  and not all do the same exact thing for their culture and
• 55:04
  community. You would be in a village and
• 55:08
  seek out one person for a physical ailment and that would
• 55:11
  be much like a doctor. Or you would seek out another
• 55:14
  person for a spiritual ailment and which would be much like a
• 55:17
  doctor that we know now as a psychiatrist or right.
• 55:22
  Yeah, even that term in in in Western applications, you know,
• 55:27
  you can be a doctor of dozens of different things, you know, and
• 55:37
  you know, it's like you were saying you know, like the, the,
• 55:39
  the interchanging terms, shaman, animist.
• 55:43
  I think all I think all shamans are animists, not all animists
• 55:50
  or shamans. Absolutely right, even though
• 55:54
  many would think differently. Yeah for whatever reason.
• 56:00
  I mean I knew you know I knew a guy who was a self-proclaimed
• 56:06
  shaman and I I mean he was like you would like call himself the
• 56:12
  shaman and I'm like why? Because you got a you know a fox
• 56:15
  fur on your shoulders and you you know got this cool headdress
• 56:19
  that you paid money and bought and and you know you're you're
• 56:23
  you're you're putting on the the get up you know you kind of look
• 56:27
  the part but who the hell are you I think you know and it does
• 56:33
  it goes back to like the whole like titles thing.
• 56:35
  I've I've I've repeatedly talked about various podcasts before
• 56:39
  and in in different ways before it's you know the thing that you
• 56:44
  get called the the the name that you've been given.
• 56:47
  I it has to be that it has to be what you've been given by the
• 56:50
  people. Times out when it comes time to
• 56:53
  do the work. Yeah, I could put on a white
• 56:56
  coat right now and a stethoscope and put some rubber gloves on.
• 56:59
  But then if somebody walks me into the surgery room, I'm going
• 57:03
  to be like, oh shit, I've got all this gear on.
• 57:08
  I looked the part, I've got the name tag and everything, but I
• 57:11
  don't know what I'm doing. I'm going to mess this up
• 57:13
  because I don't have the training and the education to be
• 57:17
  successful in this. So you can wear whatever you
• 57:20
  want to call yourself, whatever you want to, but if you can't do
• 57:22
  the work, you're not going about it right.
• 57:25
  And why would you even, I I mean, why?
• 57:27
  Why? Why?
• 57:32
  Goes back to appropriating things, right?
• 57:34
  It's, it's the cloud. It's the attention, yeah, the
• 57:38
  attention that it brings. It's a very mysterious, mystical
• 57:41
  thing to be thought of or to have people consider you to be.
• 57:46
  And so there's. But if they even knew.
• 57:49
  Might come along with that, that I'm important, I'm someone
• 57:52
  special. People think this of me and it
• 57:55
  makes me feel good about myself. And in contrast, right, The real
• 58:00
  ones, I know you know who I'm talking about, right?
• 58:04
  Because you know the real ones, you know, they're the last ones
• 58:10
  to call themselves anything. They're the last ones to want to
• 58:15
  be known by that title. And they're also not, I don't
• 58:21
  want to say, as happy as the people that put those titles on
• 58:25
  themselves. Because there's again, there's
• 58:26
  this, there's this, there's this degree of, you know, again, the
• 58:31
  the, the clout that you're seeking for wanting to be known
• 58:35
  as as this thing that or the other like that, that mystical
• 58:39
  kind of woo woo, Wow, you're really mysterious, right?
• 58:42
  That I feel cool to be called this.
• 58:45
  The real ones are, I don't know. For me at least, it's it's it's
• 58:55
  like they don't go around with that air about them thinking
• 59:00
  that there's some hot shit. You know what I mean?
• 59:02
  Like they're it's it's different.
• 59:05
  It's my primary work is as a Craftsman.
• 59:10
  I don't go around to the grocery store or any place out and about
• 59:14
  and just constantly introduce myself to everyone to let them
• 59:18
  know so that they know, so that I know that they know I'm a
• 59:23
  Craftsman. You don't feel the need to do
• 59:25
  that. It's just it's your work, it's
• 59:28
  your occupation, it's what you do.
• 59:30
  It's not really a lead off thing.
• 59:32
  So no, you don't see many shaman or medicine men or medicine
• 59:38
  women or healers in that regard who are doing the real work
• 59:42
  going around making sure that that title or that name tag or
• 59:49
  that that's out there in the forefront.
• 59:51
  They don't walk around with it on their forehead or.
• 59:53
  Yeah, yeah, they don't. They don't have to be preceded
• 59:58
  by that thing that that they're known by and, you know, makes me
• 1:00:04
  think of like that joke like with the vegans, you know, it's
• 1:00:07
  like, hi, welcome to, welcome to welcome to Arby's.
• 1:00:10
  How would you. I'm a vegan, you know, And they
• 1:00:12
  got to like. Announce the fact that they are.
• 1:00:16
  It's like OK and. How can you tell if a person's a
• 1:00:18
  vegan? You don't have to, because
• 1:00:21
  they'll tell. Right.
• 1:00:24
  Yeah. Yeah.
• 1:00:27
  And and and it goes, I think it also really goes back to we, you
• 1:00:33
  know our our our deeds define us and and through our deeds that's
• 1:00:38
  what we should be leading by lead by deed is.
• 1:00:41
  You know you know kind of like the thing that we walked away
• 1:00:45
  from with fire on the mountain last year and have been you know
• 1:00:48
  hopefully every individual who was a part of that that that
• 1:00:55
  that that got everything out of of the event that they were
• 1:00:59
  supposed to lives in that way. It's it's it's it's not just it
• 1:01:07
  was it's not just a phrase it's not just a statement of you know
• 1:01:10
  sounds cool. It rhymes this that or whatever.
• 1:01:15
  Leading by deed. You know being I've I've said
• 1:01:19
  this before too the the word believe when you believe in
• 1:01:22
  something you are alive in it. To believe means to be alive in
• 1:01:29
  it. Right.
• 1:01:29
  So if I believe in something that I'm alive in it and and and
• 1:01:33
  it's not just something that you're going to see occasionally
• 1:01:37
  it's not something you're going to hear about in passing.
• 1:01:41
  It's it's what it's what it is. It's what I am.
• 1:01:45
  It's what we are and those shared experiences, those those
• 1:01:52
  roots that when when we get into stuff like this right that that
• 1:01:56
  the animistic side of things we we really become part of that
• 1:02:02
  that root system. We really become a part of
• 1:02:06
  shared experiences and and those things nurture one another like
• 1:02:10
  we nurture one another through through that root system.
• 1:02:15
  Words can make great speech, but when we put action to those
• 1:02:21
  words, that makes great leadership.
• 1:02:25
  Anybody can talk a good game. But what so many of our
• 1:02:28
  communities need right now are genuine leaders.
• 1:02:34
  Because. We've got so many people out
• 1:02:37
  there talking that good game. Because you type up some words
• 1:02:41
  and you post them, it gets a lot of likes and you get that
• 1:02:44
  instant gratification. That's not real leadership.
• 1:02:50
  If you're inspiring people with words, that's good, but inspire
• 1:02:54
  them by following up your own words with that action.
• 1:02:58
  Practice what you preach. Right.
• 1:03:03
  Yeah. Because I mean like I think and
• 1:03:05
  that and that's that goes to you know, being you know wanting to
• 1:03:09
  have that renown that that reputation as it were.
• 1:03:14
  I mean a lot of folks like to go back and and read inspirational
• 1:03:21
  quotes from philosophers and and leaders of the past and stuff
• 1:03:26
  and see what did these what are these men and women at the time
• 1:03:30
  have to say to their people at the time and how does it measure
• 1:03:34
  up to our life and our experiences now And you know how
• 1:03:38
  can we kind of be inspired in a way to continue that legacy
• 1:03:46
  right and and and to be inspirational.
• 1:03:50
  But the purpose you know, is it I think is, is is where a lot of
• 1:03:55
  folks get, get lost in is it is are you are you doing it just
• 1:03:58
  for the likes the for the attention or are you
• 1:04:03
  experiencing something yourself that you genuinely feel can be
• 1:04:08
  beneficial to others and that's why you're sharing what you're
• 1:04:10
  sharing. I think if you're just spouting
• 1:04:13
  off stuff on a daily basis. I mean not to not to take away
• 1:04:17
  from anyone's experiences, but like man, you know if if you're
• 1:04:22
  if you've got some you know, wisecrack thing to say every
• 1:04:26
  single day of your life like all right, all right.
• 1:04:32
  I mean I don't, I don't have any.
• 1:04:36
  I don't have any you know, wise quibs of of of wisdom or
• 1:04:39
  anything to to to to share on a day-to-day basis.
• 1:04:42
  Every now and then I I have something that comes across my
• 1:04:44
  heart and cross my mind that I feel is important that I want to
• 1:04:47
  share. But it ain't like happening
• 1:04:49
  every day and if it is how genuine can it really be if it's
• 1:04:53
  just. I I don't know maybe it is.
• 1:04:56
  Maybe maybe I'm maybe I'm reading too far into it, but
• 1:04:59
  seems like I. Feel pretty divinely inspired
• 1:05:02
  myself and and often share messages of those inspirations,
• 1:05:08
  but I also live them. But it's not so profound that
• 1:05:14
  I'm living in a constant state of it.
• 1:05:17
  Yeah, right. And again.
• 1:05:20
  I'm not do things like go to the bathroom and regular duties and
• 1:05:27
  I don't know too many people that's going to be locked in a
• 1:05:30
  stall and have that epiphany come to mind with these great
• 1:05:38
  and profound words. Yeah, it it to me it feels like
• 1:05:43
  if you're if it if it's happening on that frequent of a
• 1:05:46
  basis, you have to almost be digging for stuff.
• 1:05:51
  You know, like you've got to be out there like you got to go
• 1:05:53
  looking for it in a way like it and and then how is that genuine
• 1:05:58
  it. It's not something that's coming
• 1:06:00
  to you. It's something that you're
• 1:06:01
  you're going out and trying to find.
• 1:06:03
  Because all I got to maintain this you know persona this this
• 1:06:09
  this attitude this thing that or the other because that's you
• 1:06:12
  know what I like people to know me as like I don't know.
• 1:06:16
  Again, maybe I'm maybe I'm grasping at straws with with
• 1:06:19
  stuff like that. But I totally get it.
• 1:06:21
  And I tell so many people the same thing when it comes to
• 1:06:25
  practice. I get a lot of people that come
• 1:06:27
  to me and ask for book recommendations.
• 1:06:30
  Books are wonderful learning tools, but you have to practice
• 1:06:33
  yourself. You have to go out there and
• 1:06:36
  have these experiences. Otherwise, if you're only
• 1:06:39
  reading, you're only experiencing someone else's
• 1:06:41
  story, someone else's journey. You're only experiencing through
• 1:06:45
  them what they experienced. You're not living it.
• 1:06:48
  So they're a great learning tool, but don't forget to get
• 1:06:52
  out there and practice yourself as well.
• 1:06:55
  Right. And I also, as I think through
• 1:06:58
  what I'm saying and hearing what you have to say too, I also
• 1:07:01
  wonder if that constant feeding of information, again, because
• 1:07:12
  we are in this, this, this, you know, social media model of of
• 1:07:18
  of life where everybody's, you know, scrolling through their
• 1:07:20
  timelines and looking for things that they like, right.
• 1:07:23
  And they see words or phrases or pictures or or whatever things
• 1:07:27
  that may be considered inspiration.
• 1:07:28
  Right. When, when it's that regular and
• 1:07:32
  when it's when it's happening on that high of a frequency
• 1:07:37
  regularly. How much good is it really doing
• 1:07:41
  for those people to, like you say, practice it, experience it
• 1:07:47
  and do it yourself? Or are they just like, well,
• 1:07:49
  what's my daily inspirational quote that I should be looking
• 1:07:51
  at? And they're not thinking.
• 1:07:53
  They're they're not. They're not focusing the
• 1:07:55
  attention on living in a way that is bringing them their own
• 1:07:58
  inspiration and bringing them their own divine knowledge or or
• 1:08:05
  whatever. They're just looking for
• 1:08:06
  somebody else to give it to them and be like, yeah, dude, that
• 1:08:09
  was great, or I like this or. And the quality of the
• 1:08:13
  inspiration, Is it inspiring only to the point that it makes
• 1:08:16
  you feel good for a little bit? Or is it inspiring you to go
• 1:08:19
  about your day in ways that you're performing deed and you
• 1:08:23
  are practicing your walk of life, your path?
• 1:08:27
  That is quality inspiration. If you're reading a message that
• 1:08:31
  motivates you to action and to deed to better your life and the
• 1:08:36
  people around you? Absolutely.
• 1:08:38
  If it's just a feel good for a few minutes, that might still be
• 1:08:42
  inspiration, but it's not the same quality.
• 1:08:45
  Yeah, yeah, yeah. It was just like something I
• 1:08:50
  think about, I mean, because again, how much of what people's
• 1:08:54
  existence is nowadays is is so instant gratification, right?
• 1:08:58
  What do I, you know, something to get me by, right?
• 1:09:02
  What's going to get me by? And then, you know, 90% of the
• 1:09:07
  rest of the time, I'm just, you know, not connected to the life
• 1:09:13
  that is existing and thriving around me.
• 1:09:15
  I'm not. I'm not tapping into those
• 1:09:17
  roots. I'm not becoming part of this
• 1:09:20
  whole experience. I'm just capturing a moment in
• 1:09:25
  time that's kind of like AI mean I think in a way it's almost
• 1:09:32
  like a drug man. It's like it's that that instant
• 1:09:34
  high that that give me something good to feel in this moment and
• 1:09:39
  then the rest of the time it's it's everything sucks and oh,
• 1:09:42
  I'll get my high, I'll get my fix tomorrow when I open up my
• 1:09:44
  phone or I look at this person's post or this or that, you know?
• 1:09:48
  If we were meant to be so connected, we would have been
• 1:09:53
  born with cables and ports and all sorts of other things.
• 1:09:58
  But we're born of the minerals of the earth.
• 1:10:03
  I have no doubt that in time I'm sure humankind will start being
• 1:10:07
  born with the capabilities to plug directly into our systems,
• 1:10:12
  our computer systems that we've created.
• 1:10:14
  But for the time being especially, we better more to
• 1:10:19
  connect to what makes us up, what makes up our physical self
• 1:10:24
  and our spirit self, and that's out there in the land and the
• 1:10:28
  trees and the wind and the rivers and that connect from
• 1:10:32
  there is the same connection and what's inside of us.
• 1:10:39
  It'll do you some good. It'll be great.
• 1:10:42
  Good. And I do want to wrap it up in
• 1:10:45
  consideration of time, your time, my time, everyone's time
• 1:10:50
  with all of this that we talk about, you know, man, you know,
• 1:10:54
  11 could look at your posts, right?
• 1:11:00
  One could look at your life and be like, yeah, it's easy for him
• 1:11:04
  to say this because look at where he lives, right?
• 1:11:07
  Look at what he does. Look at his life, right.
• 1:11:10
  It's easy for for for for these guys to talk about things
• 1:11:14
  because you know, well, Jesse's by the river and you know Papa's
• 1:11:17
  up there in the mountains and all this.
• 1:11:19
  And then, you know, that person seeing or reading or hearing
• 1:11:23
  this or whatever it might be, you know, kind of stuck to, you
• 1:11:26
  know, geographical locations that don't reflect that same
• 1:11:33
  level of connection to nature and and all the things that
• 1:11:37
  we're talking about. What, what advice would you want
• 1:11:40
  to impart or give to folks that may be stuck to more, you know,
• 1:11:43
  urban living, city living, that sort of thing and maybe feeling
• 1:11:47
  like they're just not able to do this.
• 1:11:53
  Like it may, it may seem intimidating to some people.
• 1:11:56
  I'm thinking, you know, like what advice would you give to
• 1:11:58
  the folks that might be facing something like that?
• 1:12:01
  This was actually a subject and a talking point that I had, and
• 1:12:05
  of course a few years ago with the Scandinavian Center for
• 1:12:08
  Shamanic Studies. A lot of participants in the
• 1:12:11
  group lived in cities. Madrid, Spain was one of them.
• 1:12:16
  It doesn't get much more metropolitan than a capital like
• 1:12:20
  Madrid And what we came up with and came down to, and some of my
• 1:12:25
  talking points and advice for those people are to get it where
• 1:12:30
  you can. Most cities have parks and
• 1:12:33
  natural spaces that they've been able to preserve or maintain.
• 1:12:39
  Plants house plants if you have balcony space or deck space at
• 1:12:45
  your apartment or condo, or even on your window sill.
• 1:12:50
  If you can't get out to nature, incorporate nature into where
• 1:12:54
  you are. Get yourself a fountain and have
• 1:12:59
  some flowing water. That spirit of flowing water
• 1:13:01
  there with you if you can't get near a river or a stream, but
• 1:13:05
  there are so many ways that you can still surround yourself with
• 1:13:10
  nature if you can't go to be surrounded by it.
• 1:13:16
  A lot of people, especially in the Asian communities, practice
• 1:13:20
  with the bonsai tree. That's a beautiful tradition.
• 1:13:25
  There are so many amazing plants that thrive in an environment in
• 1:13:31
  that capacity to be a potted plant.
• 1:13:36
  Orchids are beautiful plants that do very well.
• 1:13:42
  We have, we have an orchid plant that I that I got from my wife.
• 1:13:49
  I mean, it's got to be over a year old and it was a small
• 1:13:52
  little potted orchid, you know, and we got it on like a
• 1:13:58
  schedule, you know, twice a week it gets like an ice cube of
• 1:14:01
  water, 'cause that's all it needs, you know, and it and it
• 1:14:03
  stays bloomed, you know, there's there's always the white and
• 1:14:05
  purple flowers on the orchid. Peace lilies are another one for
• 1:14:10
  folks, you know, if you live in a in a very, you know,
• 1:14:14
  residential urban area, you know, peace lilies do really
• 1:14:18
  well potted. They don't require a lot of care
• 1:14:23
  in terms of you know water them 2-3 times a week and it doesn't
• 1:14:28
  take a lot and they will continue to bloom those white
• 1:14:35
  flowers you you almost have to really forcefully destroy a
• 1:14:40
  beast slowly for it to not to not grow well right.
• 1:14:44
  So that's great advice and and those are some examples to to to
• 1:14:47
  your point on things like. Fosters that.
• 1:14:51
  It fosters that relationship and that connection because you are
• 1:14:55
  caring for the plant or whatever piece of nature and it in turn
• 1:15:00
  cares for you. There are many plants that
• 1:15:02
  drastically improve air quality and indoor spaces, whether it be
• 1:15:08
  that you live in an apartment or downstairs at mom and dad's or a
• 1:15:14
  city building. Many people are now keeping
• 1:15:17
  plants in office buildings to help improve the air quality.
• 1:15:20
  So you care for that thing and it cares in return.
• 1:15:22
  And that is real relationship. That's real connection and
• 1:15:26
  interaction. Yeah, it's in it.
• 1:15:31
  It's not that hard to do. Herb gardens are another one
• 1:15:34
  too, I think. You know, consumable vegetation,
• 1:15:39
  you know what I mean? Like there's, you know, plenty
• 1:15:42
  of of of windowsill, potted, you know, things that you can plant,
• 1:15:48
  you know, things like herbs, you know, basil, Rosemary, parsley,
• 1:15:51
  things like that. You then grow it and can use it
• 1:15:56
  in your cooking, which we talked earlier about as being a very,
• 1:16:00
  you know, central part of of the family unit of of connecting
• 1:16:04
  with our loved ones, right. Using ingredients that we grow,
• 1:16:08
  that we cultivate ourselves, right.
• 1:16:11
  There's the satisfaction that you have of of reaping the
• 1:16:15
  rewards of your of your labor and that's a that's that's I
• 1:16:20
  think part of what we're talking about with with with animism.
• 1:16:23
  It's it's not just recognizing and acknowledging the existence
• 1:16:27
  of life that we share, but but being a part of it down to the
• 1:16:32
  level that we're like we're describing right now, right?
• 1:16:35
  Caring for the life of that of that plant, or of that herb, or
• 1:16:41
  of that vegetable, or whatever it is, you know.
• 1:16:44
  You're engaged. You're taking your place in all
• 1:16:48
  life, not just human life. Yeah.
• 1:16:54
  And I again I say before right I, I, I challenge anyone to who
• 1:16:58
  may be feeling bad or or or negative have a negative feeling
• 1:17:02
  in their life to to to do things like we're describing.
• 1:17:05
  And I challenge you to not then feel different and better as a
• 1:17:08
  result of being engaged at that level.
• 1:17:12
  Your quality of life will improve all life like mental
• 1:17:16
  health your your your spiritual health your physical health.
• 1:17:19
  I mean it's it's it's a domino effect it's it's it's compounded
• 1:17:22
  it's it's you can't help but it can't help but be that cause
• 1:17:26
  again we are all connected in that way.
• 1:17:28
  So you insert yourself into that root system you become a part of
• 1:17:32
  that mycelial networking away. It's it's it, it it's proven it
• 1:17:39
  can, you know it can't help but feel better about it.
• 1:17:43
  So good advice. Thank you for for sharing that
• 1:17:50
  and thank you everybody for for tuning in here today.
• 1:17:55
  Was there anything else, Papa, that you wanted to to add or
• 1:17:58
  anything that we didn't touch upon before we wrap things up?
• 1:18:04
  I don't think so, other than if you are interested in animism
• 1:18:09
  and getting back to that connection that so many of our
• 1:18:13
  ancestors lived by and appreciated and respect and
• 1:18:17
  revered, it's as easy as getting out in nature.
• 1:18:21
  And if you're interested in that bit that we were talking a bit
• 1:18:25
  ago on Lead by Deed, Sacred Trail Society is an
• 1:18:31
  environmental awareness organization that I work very
• 1:18:34
  closely with Jesse on. And it is to lead by deed to get
• 1:18:39
  out and take action in keeping these sacred spaces, natural
• 1:18:44
  spaces, shared spaces as they should be, litter free and
• 1:18:50
  without the bother and leavings of careless people.
• 1:18:55
  Now they're dwindling and it's something that absolutely needs
• 1:19:00
  our attention and our intervention to maintain and
• 1:19:03
  preserve. Yeah, 100%, agreed.
• 1:19:08
  And the Sacred Trail Society Facebook page and Instagram will
• 1:19:15
  be LinkedIn. The description and showing us
• 1:19:17
  of this podcast as well as you guys have a There's a There's a
• 1:19:23
  website, appalachiananimism.com I think is the.
• 1:19:27
  Yeah, you can find the Sacred Trail Society page under
• 1:19:30
  appalachiananimism.com and the Sacred Trail Society link on
• 1:19:36
  there also has a link to the shop if you would like to show
• 1:19:39
  your support and help continue our efforts to greater preserve,
• 1:19:45
  conserve and take care of these natural spaces.
• 1:19:48
  The shops there with some great gear with our Sacred Trail
• 1:19:52
  Society logo. I'm not pitching to sell anybody
• 1:19:55
  anything, but if you are so inspired to support in that way,
• 1:20:00
  those things are available. Yes.
• 1:20:04
  And it's a great, I think a way for for people to feel a part of
• 1:20:07
  it, right. I mean as as being custodians of
• 1:20:09
  the land, as it were. I mean what we, what we talk
• 1:20:12
  about with with Sacred Trail Society is not really so much
• 1:20:15
  like it just, you know, if you're walking down, you know a
• 1:20:19
  City Park or whatever and there's a bottle or you know a
• 1:20:22
  can or a bag or or some sort of trash piece, you know what I
• 1:20:27
  mean? You you didn't put it there and
• 1:20:30
  it's and you know, it's not about, you know, picking up
• 1:20:33
  these things for for ourselves necessarily.
• 1:20:36
  But it's it's for the next group of people that come through.
• 1:20:39
  It's it's it's for the future, right.
• 1:20:41
  It's, it's we are caretakers and custodians of the land.
• 1:20:44
  This this is our home, right. We we are sharing space with all
• 1:20:48
  of this life that we have talked about this whole episode.
• 1:20:51
  And even if you didn't put it there, you know, come out with
• 1:20:58
  more than what you came in with, I guess is is the point.
• 1:21:02
  You're right. Like just because you didn't
• 1:21:04
  leave it there doesn't mean you can't take it away.
• 1:21:07
  Yeah, it's not cleaning up for the person who left it there.
• 1:21:10
  It's cleaning up for the person who didn't.
• 1:21:13
  Yeah. And and and and it is
• 1:21:16
  appreciated. I mean I can say you know when,
• 1:21:19
  when and this isn't the reason why I do it.
• 1:21:21
  But like when I've been out here picking up you know trash and
• 1:21:25
  stuff along the Greenway or along the trails and stuff that
• 1:21:27
  I've been at and people have come across like you know
• 1:21:30
  joggers, hikers, walkers or whatever and and they'll they'll
• 1:21:33
  notice oh thank you you know for that.
• 1:21:37
  Well sure. And and don't forget you know
• 1:21:41
  you got two hands just like me, right?
• 1:21:42
  Like you can do the same thing like we're all in this together
• 1:21:45
  in the in that capacity, right. So it's rewarding to to take
• 1:21:54
  care of our home in this way. So definitely check out the the
• 1:21:58
  links that are posted for Sacred Trail Society either down in the
• 1:22:03
  description if you're watching this on Patreon or in the show
• 1:22:06
  notes of the audio podcast if you're listening so and
• 1:22:12
  Fialvatir too Fialvatir workshop, which papa's you know
• 1:22:17
  the craftsperson behind him and his wife too.
• 1:22:19
  I mean it's it's it's a family run business.
• 1:22:22
  It's a family run heathen business Pagan business.
• 1:22:24
  But beautiful, beautiful craftsmanship.
• 1:22:29
  Mostly locally sourced items from the areas of Appalachia
• 1:22:34
  where where they live. So you're getting good quality.
• 1:22:39
  We just talked about you are 100% going to see that animistic
• 1:22:44
  inspiration in the pieces that we craft.
• 1:22:49
  And it's in that working with the spirit of the deer or it's a
• 1:22:54
  Willow tree or whatever it be. It's a way to honor and respect
• 1:22:58
  that life and that spirit. Yeah.
• 1:23:02
  It's really good stuff. So Papa, Olis and my brother I
• 1:23:06
  appreciate you coming on here for for this week's episode and
• 1:23:10
  rambling with me about sharing roots and I hope for everybody
• 1:23:15
  that is listening and watching that you've you got something
• 1:23:19
  out of this and and that are you know you look to tap into those
• 1:23:24
  roots and and and be a part of the life not just as an
• 1:23:28
  awareness sort of thing but as a living and breathing symbiotic
• 1:23:34
  relationship share share in the life that that that's that's
• 1:23:41
  that's driving surviving and and so vibrant around all of us.
• 1:23:47
  Jesse, thank you very much for the opportunity to come and join
• 1:23:51
  you once again. Like I said before at the
• 1:23:53
  beginning of the show, it's always a joy and thanks
• 1:23:56
  everybody that tuned in for this.
• 1:23:58
  And I'll piggyback on Jesse there.
• 1:24:01
  And I do hope that you got something out of it.
• 1:24:04
  If anything, maybe a spark in your interest to explore the
• 1:24:09
  spirit that's around you outside of just what you may think of
• 1:24:12
  spirit in terms of our fellow human beings.
• 1:24:18
  But find it all around you. Yeah, beautifully said.
• 1:24:23
  Well, folks, that wraps it up for this episode of the Random
• 1:24:27
  Heathen Ramblings podcast. If you're listening to this on
• 1:24:29
  the audio platforms, follow up vote.
• 1:24:33
  I mean, different platforms, you know, elicit or solicit you to
• 1:24:38
  to do different things and it's appreciated when you do that.
• 1:24:41
  Share it around for those folks that you think might enjoy
• 1:24:46
  topics like this. For my patrons on Patreon that
• 1:24:49
  are supporting and pledging including papalos in here.
• 1:24:53
  Thank you for your patron support to keep the video format
• 1:24:58
  of this podcast going strong. It is greatly appreciated and
• 1:25:03
  hope you enjoyed it, so do be sure to upvote it, heart it,
• 1:25:06
  react to do those things as well.
• 1:25:09
  Check the description and show notes for all the ways that you
• 1:25:12
  can support Midgard musings as a whole.
• 1:25:14
  Follow me on all the socials, purchase merchandise through the
• 1:25:17
  spring store, check out all the ways that you can support and
• 1:25:20
  and hope that we have something there that that fits your your
• 1:25:25
  interests. So until we see and talk to each
• 1:25:28
  other again in the next episode, and the gods continue to notice
• 1:25:32
  you, and may your ancestors smile upon you and we'll see you
• 1:25:36
  in the next one.