Basecamp for Men E301: The Cosmic Clock Turns

E301: The Cosmic Clock Turns

 

E301 Introduction

Hello Basecampers, I hope you are all doing well. Today is a Firestarter Episode. Firestarters were created years ago and they are basically a shorter format episode with just me. I sprinkle these in throughout each season to add variety and they give me the opportunity to stretch out some of my writing and thinking on a variety of topics.

As a proud member of team humanity, I have witnessed the devastating effects of the war of wars on our bodies, minds, and Souls.

When I drive around my city, Seattle, I see heartbreaking evidence of this war. Addiction, mental illness, homelessness, a sort of spiritual confusion as to what the hell just happened or IS happening.

And you can see the confusion in the masses as well. People still triggered by things that happened years ago or things that are not true at all. It is all a bit surreal, isn‘t it?

One of the things that I have noticed and commented on before is the uglification of everything we see around us. Have you noticed this all you city dwellers? It is in all our cities but most evident in the liberal run cities.

It is not just witnessing all the despair and addiction and mental illness. That is ugly and distressing in and of itself. It’s the filth and the garbage and feces and then there is the “new” architecture. Much of it is also ugly. City planners will happily tear down houses and buidings that are old and beautiful to make room for ugly structures that don’t inspire.

And then there is the ugliness in advertising. They used to try and put beautiful imagery in front of you to try and keep your attention. Now? They will put people and images meant to sort of shock you and shake your head. Super Bowl halftime shows, for instance. More and more Satanic imagery, blood red as the dominant color, weird Baphomet imagery, horns, the one-eye covered to show their allegiances to the Dark Lord.

What is the impact of all this ugliness? Well, what are you seeing? I think it is clearly meant to demoralize all of us, don’t you?

Think about the Renaissance for a minute. EVERYTHING was meant to inspire us and bring us closer to God. All the artists and creators clearly said so. So the architecture reached for the heavens. Look at the beautiful cathedrals and castles of Europe. Or the beautiful buildings and Grand Central Station in NYC.

Musicians like Mozart and Bach and Beethoven tried their best to express and awaken the God spark in each and every one of us. Shakespeare and poets did their part to remind us all of who we are.

Currently, we cannot confirm our immanent ascension and embrace of the Divine with what we see OUTSIDE of ourselves, in our surroundings. Are you following me? We can’t win by looking at what they are attempting to do to demoralize us. Our Divine power comes from within. Just as Christ himself said.

Sometimes I think of our Divinity, our alignment with God and Spirit as a sort of innocence. The War on Humanity has been an all out attempt to sever our belief and connection to God.

And it has been a war on children. Both children themselves and the inner child, full of innocence and wonder at the mystery of it all, that lives in each and every one of us.

I see a sacred duty for all of us here. To keep the Divine flame strong in ourselves AND to keep the innocence of the little boy and little girl that live in each and every one of us.

It does not mean that we act childish in all sorts of ways. Far from it. It means we are in touch with our Source and that we have something inside of us that we are sworn to protect. The Divine Child, who has been under constant assault by those that hate humanity.

The narrative war and cosmic chess game has many layers. Reality consisting of frequency and vibration and resonance. What is true for you may not be true for others. What is occurring resists easy dismissives. If reality and WE OURSELVES are multi-dimensional, then The great Cosmic Game becomes a individual AND collective Hero’s Journey for all.

How do YOU connect and align with what is most Divine, most Christ-inspired, most dignified and, indeed, most beautiful and innocent in YOU?

Thank you Basecampers and we’ll see you around the fire next week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basecamp for Men E298: Basecamp Classic

E298: Basecamp Classic

 

E298 Introduction

Well, with all sorts of things going on including getting over to our new house in central Washington and my beloved Seattle Mariners making the playoffs and scoring tickets, I just ran out of runway to get you something useful by Tues.

But do not fear Basecampers, we have our trusty Basecamp Classics where I take a real gem from our extensive back catalogue and offer it to you again. These are not random selections. I do my best to get you some of my best content and episodes that still feel really relevant to what is going on in the world and what might be going on with you personally.

This one is from back in season #4 with James Rapson titled Freeing Yourself from “Niceness”. It is perfect for all you people-pleasers out there and I used to be one of them. A healthy dose of menswork cured me of it and James and I talk all about it in the episode.

Also, I want to write a short episode on the storm that we are all facing. It seems the rapidly changing landscape is creating all sorts of inner chaos and turmoil as we all prepare for our black belt test in how fast can you integrate new inputs and a changing reality. Are you following me? I think I can write a juicy Firestarter in the next week or two.

For the time being, enjoy this Basecamp Classic with James Rapson.

Basecamp for Men E293:Basecamp Classic

E293: Basecamp Classic

 

E293 Introduction

Well, I had an interview that fell through this past week and I’m travelling a bit. So I thought it would be a perfect time for a Basecamp Classic. These are top-shelf replays of episodes done in past seasons.

What I do is look over my list and then read over the notes for the top two or three and then select the best one. I thought this one was particularly interesting as we are talking about navigating the chaos and messiness of the times we’re living in using your own inner knowing as a compass. These themes hold up well, don’t they Basecampers?

The original title was Dealing with Ourselves with my old friend Ben. Enjoy this Classic and we’ll see you around the fire next week.

Basecamp for Men E292: Creating a Personal Myth

E292: Creating a Personal Myth w Special Guest Patrick Christell

 

E292 Introduction

The topic of myth and narrative, story and mythic imagination is something that I have been fascinated by for decades. My life has been immersed in mythic imagination since I was a boy, really. Even my sports heroes and sports stories I gravitated to and followed as a child had mythic undertones, unbeknownst to me at the time.

And I believe we all long to live by myth. To have our lives have this sort of magical quality to them. I believe that deep down, we all want to live more courageously. Or to follow the path of the Light or the path of the Divine, the path of God, whatever that means to you. Or to really live by our highest spiritual knowing and our highest truth, are you following me?

In short, we were built for more than just work and a few laughs. We’ve just forgotten. A type of mythic amnesia has set in.

It seems the mass consciousness of the human race is looking for these threads right now, doesn’t it? Things seem to be teetering a bit, right? Nobody knows exactly what is going on or what is about to happen. It is times like these where myth is so valuable. By leaning into mythic possibilities, we open up new neuropathways that helps us set a new course in life. Both for ourselves and for our tribe.

Yet, so few reach this point. Why is that? Too many beautiful human Souls coast through life, resting on what has already happened, giving up their sovereignty and ability to set their own course. I believe if more of us were actively engaged in growing our mythic imaginations and living by a personal myth, you would see a lot more courageous people in the world. And God knows, the world NEEDS courageous people right now, doesn’t it?

My guest today is all about building a personal mythic narrative for oneself. I thoroughly enjoyed his company and this conversation. Enjoy.

Patrick Christell Bio

My guest today is Patrick Christell. Patrick is a novelist, a documentary filmmaker, and a story structure expert with over 20 years of screenwriting experience. Earlier in his career he was a Vanity Fair staffer and even worked with filmmaker Wes Anderson. Today, he runs Iconic, a narrative consultancy that turns hidden life patterns into mythic arcs. Helping people to stop drifting and start steering their own epic story. His work is here at: https://iconic.onl  .Here is my interview with Patrick Christell.

E292 Final Thoughts

Well I hope you enjoyed that converstaion as much as I did. His work sounds fascinating, doesn’t it? Create a customized narrative compass to help you navigate the fog of deception and confusion that we are all swimming in. Sounds right up our alley. To get connected to Patrick and create your  unique personal myth, go to https://iconic.onl.Thank you Basecampers and we’ll see you around the fire next week.

Basecamp for Men E291: The Importance of Male Friendships

E291: The Importance of Male Friendships w Kim Eversen

 

E291 Introduction

There is something strange in our culture that tells its men (young and old) that you don‘t really need authentic, loving male friendships to live your best life. It is actually one of the most harmful beliefs that a man can internalize.

For far too long too many men have isolated and suffered, leading lives of quiet desperation when in fact, the deeper truth is that men long for authentic connections amongst the male tribe.

As many of you know, I have long been an advocate for men’s groups and soulful, deeper friendships amongst men. My bond with the male tribe is one of the most enduring gifts that I have ever been given. The names and faces have changed over the decades, but my love and respect and admiration for my male friends is a bedrock of my life.

It’s important that a man have a group where he can unpack life’s challenges and express his deeper truths. For these deeper truths, if left unexpressed, will eat away at a man, sapping his energy, leaving a cloud our pall over the man. Without healthy male friendships, a man will become a more repressed, shadowy version of himself.

Part of being free flowing in our joy and our feelings is being able to authentically express our inner life to other men. To talk about how things REALLY are with us. It is also important to hear from other men as another man may perfectly capture some shadowy truth about yourself that has been dormant for decades. I have seen this dozens, if not hundreds of times.

I don’t often get to connect with a younger man who is completely committed to championing male friendships. So much so that he has written two books about the topic and started an organization called Brothers to spread the word. Love it! Enjoy the interview.

KIM EVERSEN BIO

 My guest today is Kim Eversen. Kim is an author, a leader, and the founder of Brothers, an organization that champions the importance of male friendship. Here is my interview with Kim Eversen. Enjoy!