Basecamp for Men E93: Walking with Mystics

E93: Walking with Mystics with Special Guest Tricia McCannon

 

E93 Introduction

I want to start off by letting you know that the issues we were having with Season One episodes are fixed. Apparently people couldn’t download and listen to season one, which are episodes 1-37. So if you are a fan of the show and tried to go back and hear what we were talking about in season one, those episode are almost all available now. There are still one or two that we are working on to clear up but go listen to season one if you haven’t yet, we did some really valuable episodes in that first year.

As a show that attempts to chronicle and aid in the evolution of consciousness, I am constantly floored by how fast we are discovering ourselves. The Great Awakening, it seems, is reaching far, wide, and deeply into our human experience.

If the external events mirror our internal state of affairs then we are fast approaching a brand new chapter and one that will take a leap of faith. Do we have what we need? Will the allies of humanity be there when we most need them? Can we trust one another as we ready ourselves for the next important chapters?

I have repeatedly tapped into myth to help us make sense of the inner landscape and with good reason. Myth is like a grand old ship: dependable, weather-beaten, and proven in the storm. I sometimes think that if every single person worked with just one myth (of their own choosing), we would all have our maps and collectively find our way home.

My guest today is an expert on reading the mythic landscape and shining a light on all things soulful. If we are all mystic travellers making our way up the mountain, then we all need guides. Wise elders who can help us keep our heads and hearts about us.

My guest today is one such wisdom keeper.

Tricia McCannon Bio-

Tricia McCannon is a renowned clairvoyant, teacher, and mystic. She is the author of several books including Return of the Divine Sophia. Tricia is the founder of the Phoenix Fire Lodge Mystery School and has led hundreds of workshops worldwide. Here is my interview with Tricia McCannon.

E93 Final Thoughts-

I hope you enjoyed my interview with Tricia McCannon. To find out more about Tricia, order one of her excellent books, or to book a reading with her, go to www.triciamccannon.com.

 

Basecamp for Men E89: The Myth of the Fallen Goddess

E89: The Myth of the Fallen Goddess

 

E89 Introduction

It seems that season three is the season to deepen our mythic imagination. And since the tagline of BFM is “Men, Myth, and the Hero‘s Journey”, this seems like an appropriate direction right now. Among Gnostics, May is the month of the Divine Goddess. So what better month to pay homage to her than this one. 

Throughout our history, there were always groups that held secrets to our heritage and our potential. These groups were not confined to one region or one philosophy or one way of thinking. Yet, when you compare their essential truths and expressions, there is a tremendous amount of agreement as to who we are as a species and how we got here.

These groups had many myths and tales for future generations. Yet the central myth, told in secret over and over again so it would not be forgotten, was the myth of the fallen goddess Sofia. It was the story of the descent of the Soul into the material realm. It is, in every sense,our story.

I will do my best to represent this myth but please allow me a bit of clumsiness. I have been working with it for just a few short years. One finds that the more you work with a myth, the more fluent and powerful your speaking becomes when it comes to expressing the central themes and motifs of that particular myth.

I was first exposed to this myth a number of years ago. I came across it in my interest in Gnosticism and soon found that the Fallen Goddess Myth was central to Gnostics. After all of my “men’s work”, I had finally arrived at the footsteps of the Goddess herself. I was spellbound.

As I began my study of and courtship of Sophia, as fate would have it, she seemed to take an instant liking to me. She was approaching me in dreams and visions, and making herself know in all sorts of ways throughout the day. I found myself typing Gnosticism and Goddess Sophia into You Tube and following the rabbit hole. The myth (and the Goddess) was starting to talk to me. It seems, perhaps, that I have been here before.

“It is truly a miracle that our species has survived the patriarchal campaign to eliminate the Goddess and her Mysteries. Without the indigenous peoples all around the world preserving the native wisdom in their lives, we would never have seen it today. At any given moment there are vastly more good and decent people in the world than evildoers. Yet those who intend evil and practice deceit gain a disproportionate advantage because they rely on the passive consent of the believers.”

Author, Jacques Lacarriere

 

What is the myth trying to say to you? What wisdom does it hold? How do you begin to interact with it so as to bring you to your own awakening?

“The Watchers became jealous. They could sense that humankind’s mercurial intelligence provided the potential for the awakening of the Divine Sparks within matter. The imprisoned Light had been active all this time.

     The very resistance of the enemy was bringing the Divine plan to fruition. In each human there emerged the potential to have contact with a Higher Self or Holy Guardian Angel. The enemy angels now took a more concentrated interests in humans. Forming a plan to thwart the All-Mind from realizing Itself. The cosmic battle between the Light and Darkness descended from the macrocosm to the microcosm.As above, so below.”

By entering this myth with your consciousness, what might you learn? How might it transform you?

We are on the verge of something historical. In the world and in ourselves. Myths such as the Fallen Goddess or the Grail are here for us. Pointing us in a direction we can trust. Restoring our Kingdom, our world, and ourselves. We have come this far together. Walk with me just a bit further. I promise you that this transformation includes you my friend. For you are within earshot of the faint trail near the clearing.

E89 Final Thoughts

To dig deep into this myth, there are a slew of resources at your disposal. I hate to endore You Tube but there is a lot on Gnostic myth and thought there. Any search from any source will lead you to all sorts of interesting threads.

John Lamb Lash is, in my humble opinion, the great bard of the Fallen Goddess Myth. He is exquisite in his embodiment of Sophia’s wisdom. He actually pronounces her name Soph Ia because he says, Sophia is too ordinary name for such a powerful deity. His book Not in His Imageis a top shelf book in my library.

Two other books I love. Anne Baring’s The Dream of the Cosmos and Return of the Divine Sophiaby Tricia McCinnon. Both are exceptional and will help build your understanding of this myth, no matter where you are at with it today. I promise that if you work with either of these books, you will come to a deeper understanding of yourself and our place in the Cosmos.

 

 

 

Basecamp for Men E86: The Path of Initiation

E86: The Path of Initiation with Special Guest Hunter Toran

 

E86 Introduciton

In episode #83, The Myth of the Grail, I brought forth some of the initiatory themes that lie at the heart of the Grail. Living a life that is marked by initiation is one that allows a person to grow “slowly wise” to use the words of Wolfram Von Eschenbach.

In every persons life, there are countless small initiations and usually a few big ones. The big ones are marked with a big “BEFORE” and “AFTER” signs in your soul’s journey.

It can be a good exercise to take out a notebook and mark out your initiations large and small. It can help you see your Hero’s Journey with more clarity.  I like to mark the initiation in one column and what you learned or how you are different now in the other column. And then ask yourself, what initiations still await my arrival?

To broaden your scope on this, a list of initiations might include things like getting your drivers license or having your parents get divorced when you were young. It definitely would include leaving home for good or the first time you fell in love. Something like military bootcamp is clearly an initiation. Moving to a strange city or country is also an initiation. Anything that marks a clear before and after for the soul qualifies as you will learn much about yourself and where you are going through these trials and tribulations.

I have spoken of my big initiations from time to time but I will mention a few of them again here. Like I said,  it is good to know your own. To know when your Soul found a deeper, more truthful song for you.

For me, moving to NYC was an initiation. I had never even been there when I arrived and had grown up my whole life in the PNW. New York was a strange, powerful, scary new land where I would find new parts of myself that I didn‘t know I had. I became gutsier and more confident because of it.

Another big initiation, as you all know,  was doing the Mankind Projects New Warrior Training. This was a clear “before Tony” and “after Tony”. I came out with a chestful of new tools: a mission I created (and then lived), knowledge of the male archetypes and how to access them, a deep appreciation of the tribe of men and my place in it. MKP gave me a Warrior’s fire and a container to express it. I would never go back to the overly nice, people-pleaser I was when I was younger. Between NYC and the New Warrior Training, I was finding all sorts of newfound inner power as a man.

The next big initiation was becoming a father. I was scared shitless waiting for Lucas to be born. All new fathers feel this (although few will admit it). It is an absolutely awesome, terrifying initiation to be brought into. My son arrived like some tiny force of nature. Divine, powerful, full of raw feeling and powerful vocal chords. He let me know, in no uncertain terms, that my old life was over. It has been a big, incredible initiation. One that I am grateful for every day.

My sobriety was another initiation for me. I know this is true for any addict or alcoholic who has taken on his or her recovery. Quitting drinking 8 years ago changed me. It was an initiation that I was never quite sure I was up to until one day it just happened. I stopped and I didn‘t die. And in my soul, I could feel the excitement that accompanied this new me. I knew it would lead to a hundred new great things if I could just stay with it. And it has! You’re listening to one of the gifts that was awaiting me once I crossed that threshold.

And my marriage to Lisa has certainly been an initiation. In a long-term relationship, you don‘t have anywhere to hide. Oh, you can try and I certainly do. But a life partner or soul mate will bring your love to a new level. It often won’t look the way you would like it to look but the alchemy of a long-term relationship is undeniable. You bring your strengths and your short-comings (we all have them) and you ride life’s ups and downs together, learning the whole way.

What initiations still await me? I can see as men grow older, we are forced to deal with loss. Becoming an empty nester, when your last child leaves the house is certainly an initiation. And losing your parents and other loved ones and friends will be a series of painful initiations as we grieve for what is passing. This all helps to bring us to our final initiation (at least in this body and in this dimension). Our own passing.

If we have grown slowly wise, as Parzival did, then each initiation will ripen and prepare us. We will arrive at our final initiation full of wisdom and grace, rather than regret and fear.  Through all of the changes and passing seasons and lessons and wisdom and grace granted, we will come to our own death with a recognition of what does not change. God bless you on this journey my listener. I am happy to be on this journey with you.

Hunter Toran Bio

Hunter Toran is a Somatic Educator and Therapist within the discipline of Spacial Dynamics and other Somatic practices. Hunter performs individual therapeutic sessions and  group workshops on the entirety of the human experience through conscious movement here in Seattle.  Most recently Hunter has begun to dive deeply into ‘men’s work’ to support containers that see the evolution of the divine masculine as imperative to the survival and development of humankind.

E86 Final Thoughts

I hope you enjoyed my interview with Hunter Toran. To book a session for one of this excellent Spacial Dynamic sessions or to find out more about Hunter’s workshops, go to www.levitytherapeutics.com

Basecamp for Men E81: The Quest for the Soul

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

 

 

 

 

 

Basecamp for Men E79: Meditation as a Portal

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.