E83: Fireside Chat with Howard Ferguson

 

E83 Introduction-

As a show that is assisting in the awakening of humanity and attempting to do our part using myth, Gnosis or spiritual knowing, and an unflinching stand for what is true I see roughly three groups right now. There is the group that is having one epiphany after another, this is the group that are the meditators, truthers, , the seers and the Gnostics.  This group is excited. For these are the early adopters in this huge shift in consciousness. They are seeing more and more of the pattern.

There is a middle group where things have begun to stir. They are sensing that things may not be what they thought and perhaps the MSM is not telling them the truth about what is happening.

Maybe they took one or two of the red pills and things are shifting.  Or some of what we are talking about mythically is starting to resonate with them. Things are expanding for this group but cognitive dissonance may still be the order of the day as they try to discern the pattern that is emerging. This group is neither early adopters nor the laggards. This group is starting to right-size the ego and so not be as entrenched in their old ways of seeing and categorizing reality. They are starting to sense that we are at a tipping point and that THEY might have something to do with the outcome.

The final group does not appear to be stirring nor awakening and that is fine as well. They are perhaps too entrenched or invested in the old reality. They seem to believe that anyone  that does not think and talk as they do are crazy.

For this group there does not seem to be enough inner resources to either right-size the ego nor prepare themselves for the massive amount of information that will need to be downloaded and integrated into our tribe in the coming weeks and months.

I know a lot of people in each of these three groups: friends and former friends, collegues, family members, people I know in the community. I am fine with whatever group you find yourself in although my sense of the third group is that nobody is going to put themselves in that final group. The ego won’t allow it. Such is the way of things. My focus is on helping those that are showing the unmistakable spark to find some footing and participate in a growing tribe during these strange shifting sands we find ourselves on.

What follows is another red-pill episode.  Part of a series of episodes we have done and will do sprinkled throughout season three. Think of it as two friends sitting around the fire talking about the pattern they are seeing right now.

And make no mistake, these red-pill episodes are for the middle group, the one that is starting to make sense of things. If we can help fill in the picture a bit more clearly or you take something you heard and investigate it for yourself, then Howard and I will have succeeded.

Whether you confirm our findings as true or not is not really the point. Not ultimately anyways.  Your honest inquiry and ability to throw aside the mainstream media’s disinformation campaign and propaganda and discern for yourself is what will further your awakening. I wish you Godspeed listeners. We are, as they say, at the precipice.

Howard Ferguson Bio-

My guest today is a friend, entrepreneur, restaurateur, and fellow seeker of Truth. Howard Ferguson is a man known as straight shooter, a truth teller, and someone who is able to integrate new information and form it into a collective vision of what is happening and where we might be going.

Here is my interview with Howard Ferguson.

E83 Final Thoughts-

I hope you enjoyed my conversation with Howard Ferguson.  One resource that both Howard and I love is the writing of Martin Geddes. Martin is really good at giving you a birds-eye view on much of this stuff. I highly recommend you check out his latest book Open Your Mind to Change: The Guidebook to The Great Awakening.

The website is at www.openmindschange.com. I promise you that you will pull a bunch of things out of there that you weren’t aware of. I also promise you that you will feel more optimistic and more empowered about what is unfolding than you did before you picked up the book.

E82: The Myth of the Grail with Tony Rezac

 

E82 Introduction-

Why does the myth of the Grail still enchant us? What is it about it? Its instruction, its hidden meanings, its mystery? As you begin to engage with this myth, something starts to stir in you. If myths carry information and transformative images over time and generations, then this one packs a punch.  You can tell as soon as you start to step into it.

I found this episode to be a daunting task. This myth is mighty and commands my respect. I sense all the powerful beings that are connected to this story. My best option, and the one I took, is to approach it like Parzival, the innocent fool who becomes the hero of the story. Step into the myth in an unsophisticated way and allow it to shape this communication with you.

We must remember that a myth is a living entity and exists within every person. You will get the true, living form of the myth if you can see it as it spins away inside yourself. When working with a myth, it is good to keep in mind that the characters are representatives of all the various levels of consciousness or parts of ourselves as we seek to put ourselves back together. The boundaries between literal and psychological, inner and outer, symbolic and actual, part and whole, microcosm and macrocosm- become very fluid and porous…..

I hope you enjoy the episode!

Tony

E81: The Quest for the Soul with Special Guest

Dr. Anne Baring

 

E81 Introduction-

So many of our wisdom traditions and myths speak of the recovery of the Soul. In the central myth of the Gnostics, The Goddess Sophia has fallen. The Feminine Soul has descended.  Out of the Pleroma or Heavenly Abode all the way to the material dimension that we find ourselves in. Sophia: confused, lost, bewildered, and homesick, the Feminine Soul begins its slow, steady journey back to its Heavenly Abode.

Myths and fairy tales often contain the clues and maps of the Soul’s Journey. It’s descent and eventual ascension. Myths awaken and nourish the Divine imagination. They nourish the Soul.

To use my guests’ words, when we are not in touch with the Soul, it is as if a vital part of us is asleep. It cannot communicate with us, nor we with it. Civilizations such as ours may die because we have forgotten how to nourish the soul and imagination. We have forgotten how to honor and love nature and the Divine Feminine.

All of our most vibrant myths seem to be pointing in this direction. To the marriage of the Divine Masculine Spirit  with the Divine Feminine Soul. We are, as a tribe, being asked to reclaim what has been dormant but not forgotten.

We will not restore the Wasteland we find ourselves in without this awakening. Technology will not rescue us. Not with its dry, digital landscape. It’s algorithms. Technology represents a kingdom without the Goddess, without nature and the Divine Feminine.

In mythic terms, the most beautiful maiden of the forest is in a deep sleep and awaits for the right Prince, for the right moment in the story. It seems we have arrived at this part of the story. We are there.

The destiny of the entire kingdom is dependent on this outcome. Can the Prince, the symbol of Solar Consciousness, turn inward and find the Lunar Soul, his inner Divine Feminine?

Each one of us holds part of this Soul. The myth of the Holy Grail includes all of us. Each one of us IS the Sleeping Beauty AND the Prince that restores her and the kingdom.

It is important to remember that the Soul does not communicate primarily through words. It does through myth and poetry but the Soul seems to prefer feelings, intuitions, emotions, and dreams. It is in this inner direction that holds the key to the Grail and has the potential to awaken the sleeping Princess.

My guest today has written an incredible book. One that ought to sit high up in anyone’s library.

Anne Baring Bio-

Doctor Anne Baring is a Jungian Analyst and the author of 7 booksincluding her most recent book The Dream of the Cosmos: A Quest for the Soulwhich was awarded the Scientific and Medical Network Book Prize for 2013. The ground of all her work is a deep interest in the spiritual, mythological, shamanic and artistic traditions of different cultures. Her website www.annebaring.com is devoted to the affirmation of a new vision of reality and the issues facing us at this crucial time of choice. Here is my interview with Anne Baring.

E81 Final Thoughts-

I hope you enjoyed my discussion with Anne Baring as much as I did. I felt like I could talk to her all night and not run out of things to ask her.

If you have not read the fairy tale The Sleeping Beauty or you have kids and you want to introduce them to a powerful tale of the lost feminine principle and the Soul’s Journey, go pick up a copy.

Fairy tales carry an amazing transformative power in them. I was speaking with a friend the other day and I was saying that sometimes I think you could take out all the literature of the world and leave only the fairy tales and the Soul would still be able to figure out where it is and where it is going.

Anne’s book The Dream of the Cosmos is as good as everyone says it is.  It is full of myth, magic, the Soul’s Journey,  and how we go about restoring the Goddess and the feminine principle to its rightful place.

To buy The Dream of the Cosmos or other books by Anne, go to Amazon. And to listen to Anne’s excellent talks and find her video archive, go to www.annebaring.com

 

 

 

 

 

E80: Spiritual Guidance for Men

 

E80 Introduction-

Hello dear listeners. Here we arrive at the conclusion of our second season and what a season it has been. However, Chris and I will NOT be taking a break and will continue to bring you fresh episodes every Tuesday.

My website guy Corey and I will make some different categories for the episodes to live under, making it easier for listeners to find episodes on the topics that most resonate with them, knowing that not all topics will be of equal interest for you. We will also divide up episodes by seasons as well.

My intention was to run a season for 40 episodes or so and then take a short break but I don‘t feel ready for a break quite yet. We have some great interviews lined up and I want to continue to speak with you. Hopefully, there will be time later this year for a short break for Chris and I.

Part 1-

I had the wonderful experience recently of connecting with a good friend and he asked me how the podcast was going. I said great but that I recently was banned by Twitter, had episodes removed by Apple, and even had Google put a banner over Basecamp for Men warning visitors that they are entering dangerous territory.

I told my friend that I found myself in some controversial terrain in recent weeks starting with the episode I did where I was asking Dr. Jennifer Marugulis questions about vaccines. To the episodes we did on the Great Awakening and the Q phenomenon.

I continue to be proud of these “Red Pill episodes”. I believe they will stand the test of time and age well. I really do. I have no intention of altering them or removing them. I don’t see the point as they serve to point to you to something. In an ironic twist, these red pill episodes have been the most downloaded episodes. Go figure.

It‘s funny, I have seen all sorts of things about Q in the mainstream media. 60 minutes and CNN and more. And those reports are so full of lies and misconceptions about what Q is and what the value is for WE THE PEOPLE. Completely off base but again, that is to be expected, isn‘t it?

I never set out to be a right-wing conspiracy podcast and I still don‘t consider us as such. This show is still, at its core, about humanity. It’s about men and masculinity and finding new narratives and tools that will help elevate us. I am simply seeking to serve WE THE PEOPLE and the awakening of our tribe.

When you change your philosophy or political orientation or find new terrain that is in alignment with your heart and your truth, it can be challenging. Old friends may find your new ideas to be threatening or wrong-headed or foolish. Such is the way of things.

If we are going to walk the talk of aligning with the truth, the letting go process will have some growing pains. To anyone who feels I have betrayed them in this Hero’s Journey, it was not my intention to have it be this way. I would love to take all my friends from all stages of my life along for the ride…….but that is not the nature of a Hero’s Journey. Like Frodo and Sam, you take a small fellowship down the faint trail and face the truth from there. The process of letting go and travelling light is difficult for most of us. I know it can be for me.

Part 2-

So, what is coming in season three? I wish I knew man! I have some pretty good ideas of what may be unfolding but it is, in every sense of the word, in God’s hands. We will continue to speak with guests about what is happening in the world. Some of these likely get categorized as “Red Pill episodes”.  So be it.

Additionally, seems to be something interesting going on in the Divine Masculine/Divine Feminine balance and we will explore that with great interest. My next guest is author and Jungian Anne Baring and I can’t wait to speak with her. It should be a great episode.

The topic of UFO’s is knocking at our door, both literally and figuratively. I will be researching some guests and unique and insightful angles for that. It’s a juicy topic that has been floating around the fringes but seems to be asking for a bit more attention right now. I’m curious as to why that is.

And we’ll continue to explore relationships via our talks with psychotherapists and spiritual growth with teachers and thought-leaders in those areas.

We‘ll also ask some of our dear friends and guests that we love to come back again to dialogue with us. And we’ll continue to offer the short format Firestarters for Men when I want to simply speak with you directly. They are useful when I don‘t have a guest lined up and don’t want to bother Lisa to do another one!

All of this should add up to a great season three!

Part 3-

One thing that has emerged at the end of season two is new service I am offering men. As you all know, I have spent the past fifteen years leading and participating in men’s groups. Some of you have sat in these circles over the years.

I will no doubt be leading some sort of men’s groups in the future. But things are a bit murky as to when that is happening  and what that looks like. You will be hearing updates on men’s groups here as we start to feel the pull to circle up again.

So as a way to offset the lack of group work, I am offering one-on-one spiritual counseling for men, with a focus on life renewal. What is spiritual counseling?  It is a partnership between you and I where I hold a non-judgmental space for you to show up however you are. From there, we will work with insights, wisdom, and tools that have come out of the men’s movement and group work, customized for you and the next important chapters of your life.

Who would benefit from such calls? Maybe a man who feels stuck or depressed or is hitting a mid-life crisis. Or maybe a man who’s energy is low and he doesn’t know why. Or a man who is not inspired and is just going through the motions. Or someone who wants to make a change and doesn’t know how to go about it.

If you have hit a phrase and thought “what the hell do I do here” and you have no one to dialogue with, I can most certainly help and I would be honored to be your guide.

The intention of these one-on-one Zoom calls will be to identify the obstacles that are keeping you stuck in your current pattern and to use any number of tools to get forward movement and upliftment happening and to do it in as fast a way as possible.

If our intentions are clear, then any man who steps into a partnership with me will feel supported and inspired by his upcoming chapters. Your story is not all told and I can help you discover positive movement towards chapters that hold promise, inspiration, and dignity.

You can find more information about these one-on-one sessions at either tonyrezac.com or basecampformen.com.  If you are ready to get started, simply fill out a contact form and I will get back to you within 48 hours.  Or you can email me directly at tonyrezac@mac.com.

E80Final Thoughts-

I am excited about what is unfolding in the human tribe. The Great Awakening of WE THE PEOPLE continues with great momentum. Basecamp for Men will continue to chronicle this in our own small way. Men are finding their courage, that much is clear. Courage to face ourselves. Courage to let go of habits and ways of seeing that no longer serve us. Courage to lead with our hearts and our heads. And the courage to view other men as allies instead of adversaries. Even when our worldviews are quite different.

We are collectively moving the Hero along the storyline and what has more dignity than that?

I thank you listeners and I look forward  to sharing the exciting journey that will be season three and 2021.

 

 

 

 

 

 

E79: Meditation as a Portal with Special Guest                Richard Haight

 

E79 Introduction-

Meditation is a topic that we have covered here on Basecamp for Men a number of times. It is not a coincidence that most of my guests have not only a familiarity with meditation but most have active practices spanning many decades and many different types of meditation.

We have done episodes with Paul Dunion and Ziad Masri. We have done episodes with Janell Hartman and Howard Ferguson. We’ve done them with Sally Kempton and Sophie Maclean. And we have recently done EPs with Champ Parinya and Lisa Rezac, all active meditators. I bet if I asked all my guests, most would say they have some sort of meditation practice. And it makes sense, doesn’t it?

If meditation speeds up evolution then a show about men’s personal development really should have a lot of meditators on the guest list.

My take on meditation is that it is one of the most powerful tools you can use for yourself and your development. What are the benefits of a meditation practice? The answer: comprehensive. In other words, it helps with everything.

And there is a touch of  magic and mysticism in a meditation practice. Something transcendent. And who doesn’t love these qualities? You are, in a very real sense, communicating with the Divine. You may not start with that as your notion but over time, it hits your awareness as this jaw-dropping discovery.

Your awareness starts to expand. Ego starts to dissolve and, with it, all its unnecessary suffering. Patterns that seemed on the edge of your awareness suddenly come into full, clear view. Subtle energies that eluded you suddenly become available to you.

I like this quote by the great Ken Wilber. He says “Meditation speeds up evolution. It accelerates the remembering and the re-discovery of the Spirit that you eternally are. Meditation quickens the rate that acorns grow into oaks, that humans grow into God.”

My guest today is a life-long student and teacher of meditation and meditation techniques. Let’s go have a chat with him.

Richard Haight Bio-

Richard L. Haight is the founder of the Total Embodiment Method (TEM), which is an awareness training system designed to integrate meditation into one’s daily life. Richard is the author of five bestselling titles, most notably The Warrior’s Meditation, Unshakable Awareness, and The Unbound Soul. He is a considered one of world’s foremost experts in the traditional Japanese martial arts.

Through his books, his meditation, and martial arts seminars, Richard  seeks to ignite a worldwide movement for personal transformation that is free of all constraints and open to anyone of any level.

E79: Final Thoughts-

I hope you enjoyed our time with Richard. I have found that, like Richard, meditation has greatly improved my writing. There is an allowing in writing, a giving yourself over to the flow of words that meditation helps prepare you for.

I also like what he said about how training ourselves in open awareness or what the Buddhists call “Big Mind” is often times easier for beginners. There is something interesting to this. If meditation walks you along a path of Light with fellow mystics and seers, then this vast, expansive exploration will certainly hold treasures for those brave enough to plunge into the deep end of the ocean, so to speak.

I sometimes wonder, as I prepare to do a meditation, how many millions of other Souls am I joining in this extraordinary experiment in energy, frequency, and vibration. Who might I meet next along these ancient roads? I thank you my listeners and I wish you Godspeed.