Josh Mortensen – Explorer Poet

EXPLORER POET

Posts

Conversations, stories, random thoughts, updates, announcements, and posts from me and the EXPLORER POET Podcast.

religion, symbology, everyone’s interpretation of one story, history, tradition, problems with technology, spirituality, neurosis, mental health, creativity, different worlds; psychological, spiritual and real, mystical function and sociological function, false prophets and being on the wrong path vs the right path.

E44: Jason Smith

My guest today is Jason Smith, a Jungian analyst, author, and podcastor. Jason is a graduate of the C.G. Jung Institute–New England and holds a Master’s degree from Pacifica Graduate Institute. He is the past president of the C.G. Jung Institute-Boston and has over 20 years of clinical experience. Jason is the author of ‘Religious but Not Religious: Living a Symbolic Life’ and the creator of the ‘Digital Jung’ podcast. I truly enjoyed my conversation with Jason and I hope you do as well.

breath work, emotions, depression, anxiety, joy, the nervous system, living intentionally, following dreams, psychedelics, how events and environment in life influence our minds, differences between the eastern and western world, cognition, perception, awe, wonder, excitement and being in control.

E43: Jonny Miller

My guest today is Jonny Miller, a curious Somanaut, writer, podcaster, and nervous system specialist. Jonny is the host of the Curious Humans podcast and author of the Curious Human’s newsletter. He also leads a five-week bootcamp on nervous system mastery. I truly enjoyed my conversation with Jonny and hope you do as well.

music and its unique way of tapping into our subconscious, masculine and feminine, how they play essential parts in the creative process, our inner need for seeking truth, nihilism, and psychedelics as a portal to the unconscious mind.

E42: Jay Redelsperger

My guest today is Jay Redelsperger, a singer, songwriter, and fellow Jungian enthusiast. Jay received his BA in psychology from the University of Oklahoma and an MA in Depth Psychology from Sonoma State University. His music is available on YouTube and on all major music platforms. Jay also co-hosts the Gatherings Podcast with Béa Gonzalez. I truly enjoyed our conversation and I hope you do as well.

An interpretation of a dream: At first, it seemed as if I was in a busy city, but then it became apparent I was in a school. The dream seems to be telling me that I’m now attending the school of life and I need to keep learning.

Keep Going (A Dream Interpretation)

An interpretation of a dream: At first, it seemed as if I was in a busy city, but then it became apparent I was in a school. The dream seems to be telling me that I’m now attending the school of life and I need to keep learning.

dreams – how to approach them and how they can be thought of as elements for personal healing and growth; the collective unconscious; the inner balance between ego and subconscious; and how religion relates to symbolism.

E41: Jonathan Hyland

My guest today is Jonathan Hyland. Jonathan is a depth psychologist with a degree from Pacifica Graduate Institute. Jonathan began a journey into his own depths in an effort to understand an anxiety that was imposing on his life. Instead of medicating, Jonathan chose to allow the anxiety to guide him to a more whole version of himself. Jonathan’s story is fascinating, inspiring, and almost magical. I truly enjoyed our conversation and hope you do as well.

art as a means of communication, the spiritual and the primordial world, reinterpreting religion, the current spiritual movements and following your Inner Voice as a way of core guidance.

E40: Feldsott

My guest today is Feldsott, an artist and healer with a long and fascinating story. At a young age, Feldsott became an artist on the rise, but he was disillusioned with the business side of art and stopped exhibiting or selling his work. Instead, Feldsott disappeared to South America where he championed environmental issues and studied with Indigenous people for more than 25 years. During this time Feldsott continued to paint every day, amassing a truly impressive body of work that went entirely unseen. In 2002, the National Museum in Quito, Ecuador, offered Feldsott his first solo show in two decades. I found Feldsott to be genuine, insightful, and quite gentle. I truly enjoyed our conversation and I hope you do as well.

dreaming – why do we dream, the relationship between the dream and the dreamer, the interactive quality of dreams, metaphors as a way of communication, the idea of a collective consciousness and a shared knowledge, and the interpretation of dreams in other cultures.

E39: Jason DeBord

My guest today is Jason (J.M.) DeBord, best-selling author of the Dream Interpretation Dictionary, Creator of DREAMS 1-2-3, and host of The Dreams That Shape Us podcast. Jason is well known in the dream work space, and also as RadOwl, the moderator of Reddit’s most popular subReddit on dreams – r/dreams. Jason is the author of a new book Nightmares: Your Guide to Interpreting Your Darkest Dreams. I found him to be well-traveled in both the waking and dream world, generous and passionate. I truly enjoyed our conversation and I hope you do as well.

the response to mental health crises, anxiety, depression, suicide, the system which is supposed to help with these things, psychology, individuals, cognition, patterns and paradigms, perception, the collective unconscious, conformity, survival, how we see ourselves, stories we tell ourselves and how we might not even realise we’re telling them.

E38: Jessica Watson Miller

My guest today is Jessica (Jess) Watson Miller, the founder of PsychCrisis.org – a nonprofit working to reform the psychiatric crisis system. Jess has a deeply personal connection to the crisis system and its flaws, and so works passionately to educate others about psychiatric crises and how to manage them, as well as designing new systems and working with current operators to improve their services. I found Jess to have a deep understanding of the issues. She’s well researched, thoughtful and articulate. I truly enjoyed our conversation and I hope you do as well.

power and love being opposites, fear, happiness, empathy, religion, compassion, strength, myth, stories, individuality in a collective society, self development, writing, growing old, regrets, value and being truly engaged in the life that we are living to make something happen.

E37: Bud Harris

My guest today is Bud Harris, an author, psychologist, and Jungian analyst. Early in life, Bud pursued a career in business but his life lacked meaning. Following a period of dissatisfaction and searching, he returned to school and eventually became a diplomate Jungian analyst. Bud has written dozens of books, including Sacred Selfishness, Into the Heart of the Feminine, and Becoming a Love Warrior. Through his writing, Bud shares what he’s learned about living a life of passion and love, fueled by self-knowledge and awareness. I truly enjoyed our conversation and I hope you do as well.

writing, reading and storytelling, fiction and nonfiction, human-centric experiences and natural experiences, culture vs nature, evolution of stories, how everyone shares the same experiences in a different way without realizing, connection with animals from foxes to flies, loneliness, marriage, how even in modern life we carry the same human nature as humans always have.

E36: Catherine Raven

My guest today is Catherine Raven, an author, biologist, and overall inspiring human being. Catherine is a former national park ranger, she earned a PhD in biology from Montana State University, and holds degrees in zoology and botany from the University of Montana. Her first published book of non-fiction – Fox and I: an Uncommon Friendship – was the winner of the PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Award. Catherine’s natural history essays have appeared in American Scientist, Journal of American Mensa, Montana Magazine, Narrative Magazine, and National Geographic Traveler. I found Catherine to be a lovely person, passionate about life and her work, and I truly enjoyed our conversation. I hope you do as well.

facing mortality, Jared’s personal experience facing adversity from a young age and how it shaped his behavior growing up, religion, adversity, privilege, pain, morality, good and evil, Buddhism, stoicism, differences between East and West, non-duality, humility, vulnerability, finding truth, distance from oneself, equanimity, individual stories, detachment, mythology, the bible, the garden of Eden, the two trees, symbolism, reincarnation, meditation, the endless pursuit of ‘something’ and the evolution of our own stories.

E35: Jared Janes

My guest today is Jared Janes, a coach, podcaster, community builder, and meditator. From an early age, Jared has had a deep interest in human development, and has been willing to endure quite a lot to learn about and experience that development for himself. Jared spent six years exploring a handful of popular meditation methods and spiritual traditions, but still sensed that something was missing. With the guidance of his friend & teacher Charlie Awbery, he moved from a renunciative practice to the life-affirming path of a yogi. And in 2020, the two of them co-founded a contemporary community of practice called Evolving Ground. I found Jared to be open, warm, and full of helpful knowledge based on personal experience. I truly enjoyed our conversation and I hope you do as well.

storytelling, active imagination, the benefits of pushing known boundaries, human evolution, history, psychology, Carl Jung, creativity, writing, individuality and our inner need for connection.

E34: Béa Gonzalez; Sophia Cycles

My guest today is Béa Gonzalez, an author, podcaster, lecturer, educator, and one of my favorite social media follows. I’m a fan of Béa because of her passion for teaching people about the importance of a metaphorical approach to life. As an author, Béa’s novels have been published in seven countries. Her titles include The Bitter Taste of Time, The Mapmaker’s Opera, and the recently published Invocation, which is available now. Béa recently launched a podcast called Gatherings, with her friend and musician Jay Redelsperger, in which they sit down to discuss subjects they are both passionate about—books and music. Whether reading her books, watching her lectures, or listening to her podcast, Béa always has something deep, relevant, and interesting to say. I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation and hope you do as well.

ancient cave art, human history and evolution, Jung’s concept of the collective unconscious, animism and its impact in modern society, spirituality versus projection, the psychological significance of stories, how stories relate to dreams and myth, the Hero archetype and its evolution throughout time.

E33: Bernie Taylor

My guest today is Bernie Taylor, a naturalist, author and archaeoastronomer whose research explores the origins of mankind’s creativity and awareness of the natural world. He’s authored several books, including Biological Time and Before Orion: Finding the Face of the Hero, which explores mankind’s creative capacity by looking at Paleolithic cave art from 40,000 years ago. Bernie proposes that select cave paintings are fundamental pieces in the human journey to self-realization, the foundation of astronomy, and a record of biological knowledge that irrevocably impacted some of the artistic styles, religious practices, and stories that are still with us today. I found Bernie to be deeply knowledgeable and enthusiastic. I truly enjoyed our conversation and I hope you do as well.

archaeology, history, the past and what we can learn from it in the present, human connection, spirit, empathy, greed, control and money, what it is to be human, superimposing our own moralities in situations where they don’t belong, evolution, animism, mysticism, tolerance, how languages and cultures can allow beautiful expression in ways others can’t, and artificial intelligence being used to give an objective unbiased view the human eye might not see.

E32: Dr. Alicia Colson

My guest today is Dr. Alicia Colson, an archaeologist and ethnohistorian, who’s conducted fieldwork in Canada, the UK, the US and Antigua, all in an effort to understand our human past. In her work, Alicia collaborates with indigenous communities in an effort to understand differing viewpoints, while also using AI computing to make scientific discoveries. Alicia’s a member of The Explorers Club’s Class of 2022. She’s a Wiley Digital Archive Fellow, and the co-founder and co-Editor of Exploration Revealed, the Scientific Exploration Society’s digital hybrid publication, which showcases advances in knowledge and peer-to-peer support for those engaged with scientific exploration and adventure-led expeditions. In addition, Alicia is the commissioning editor for the Great Britain and Ireland Chapter of The Log Magazine, a quarterly publication of The Explorers Club. I truly enjoyed my conversation with Alicia and I hope you do as well.

evolving vs. devolving societies, psychopaths, sociopaths, the biological and evolutionary drivers of our social behavior and order, narcism, gods, stories, myths, authoritarian regimes and their foundations, different types of leadership according to a given social context, several forms of trauma, empathy and the emotions that are derived from it.

E31: Charles Pezeshki

My guest today is Charles Pezeshki, a professor of engineering at Washington State University, and self-described world traveler, husband, and father of two. Charles has published in the field of design theory and high performance work teams. He runs a large Design Clinic and has worked on large-scale projects in various fields: from organizing sustainability education in Europe, to understanding nonlinear dynamics and complex system theory, to environmental policy and experiential education. Charles has a fascinatingly-scary way of looking at the world, but it’s a message of hope, because empathy is at the heart. For all of Charles’s thoughts you can check out his website empathy.guru. I truly enjoyed our conversation and hope you do as well.

Eastern and Western ways of approaching religion and their main differences, searching for meaning as a basic human need, magic, finding meaning and establishing a sense of connection to a whole, monotheistic and polytheistic religions and how they relate with the concept of truth, and the importance of separating valid personal experiences from historical proven facts.

E30: Dr. Angela Puca; Angela’s Symposium

My guest today is Dr. Angela Puca who’s research focuses on magic, witchcraft, Paganism, esotericism, shamanism, and related currents. Angela holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in Philosophy and has lectured at Leeds Trinity University for several years. In 2021, The University of Leeds awarded her a PhD in Anthropology of Religion, which will be published in the upcoming year. Author of several peer-reviewed publications and co-editor of the forthcoming ‘Pagan religions in five minutes’ for Equinox, she hopes to bridge the gap between academia and the communities of magic practitioners by delivering related scholarly content on her YouTube Channel and TikTok ‘Angela’s Symposium.’ I truly enjoyed my conversation with Angela and I hope you do as well.

meditation and mindfulness, the impact these practices can have on chronic illnesses, how some people often misuse meditation as a form of escapism, the Alexander Technique, Western and Eastern approaches to overall wellbeing, and the importance of human connection.

E29: Maija Haavisto

In our conversation, we dive deep into meditation and mindfulness, the impact these practices can have on chronic illnesses, how some people often misuse meditation as a form of escapism, the Alexander Technique, Western and Eastern approaches to overall wellbeing, and the importance of human connection.

art, religion, creativity, culture and the stories behind them, people being creative and how it influences culture, how our physical reality now could one day be seen as fiction, the conservative nature of society and the ones that break these conservative rules to progress, the sharing of stories and ideas can be the key to letting those thoughts manifest into something beautiful, the symbolism that’s been in human life that predates spoken language yet stays with us even now, spirituality vs religion, east and west, virtues and emotion, following the middle path, the great way, familiarity in rituals, cognition, patterns, prophets, evolving or not evolving, being told what IS and what ISN’T, taking information at face value, asking why?, mysticism, nature, the biggest equalizing force, mother nature always wins, natural disasters, the line between our abstract reality and our physical one, conflict, living harmoniously, community, individualism, compassion, the human image of god, god is energy, being human, love, stories through history, stories repeating themselves and stories in everything we do.

E28: Shea Stanfield – The Starlight Scribe

My guest today is a fantastic human being, artist, and teacher named Shea Stanfield. Shea is author and publisher of the Starlight Scribe series, in

how stories are seldom forgotten and always renewed, as we go through life we keep collecting information, past events and pasts memories that we add to, understanding how groups act and the species acts by observing the human psyche, the concept is always very important, if something doesn't fit with the concept let it go, the purpose of the Explorer poet Podcast is to explore the blurry line between our physical world and our abstract realities, myths having been created to help us solve problems we don't have answers for, we can't predict the future and we are led astray, the Judeo-Christain world, science and mythology, literalism in America, need to be heard to heal from trauma, everybody on the planet is playing out some myth in their head, we all need to share in the same story, less of a common myth, Antarctica, Greenland, glaciers, how stability is based on memory, how we use memory to frame our lives in the present, Half Dome, taking comfort in insignificance, life taking a different perspective, how our story is collapsing and we need someone to write a new mythology, and how to how being thought provoking is the contribution artists can make today.

E26: Patricia Morgan

My guest today is a fascinating person and a true explorer, named Patricia Morgan. A conceptual artist based in Tucson, Arizona, she begins each piece

a story of healing, how any level of human interaction is comparable with any other, species kingdom family individual, Bubbles that kept me trapped, being raised in physical and social isolation, homeschooled, controlled education, fundamentalist christianity, poverty, emotionally unavailable, lack of education, lack of communication skills, lack of parenting skills, The intersection of all of these bubbles, growing up as someone who is not whole, being born one thing, but our culture takes us in another direction, the life examined, our stories, our several bubbles that craft a story allowing us to live within the bubbles, resurrection, reincarnation, starting your life again as a whole, trusting Emotions, feelings, impressions, distrusting ignoring or avoiding those feelings, a plague born of human discord that always been here waiting for a weakness to attack, identifying with characters, survivalist, having the survivalist inside, emotional and psychological needs not met, how the person you are today is an amalgamation of all the people you've been to survive, the process of healing requires all of those different versions of us to come along for the journey, maybe the worlds broken because you don't trust anyone, how anger and sexuality are suppressed in controlled environments, the identification of different parts of self in the process of healing, blades that are specifically designed for the stabbing of backs, the important mythological motif of going back to the beginning, back to where it all started, not trusting emotions is a catastrophe, listening to the parts of us we don't want to listen to, the story in your brain and in your body match, and how trust is how we pop bubbles and heal

E25: Trust and Healing (Raya and the Last Dragon)

In this solo episode, I break down the story of Raya and the Last Kingdom, in which I discuss a story of healing, how any

dreams, the philosophy that our opponents are not our enemies, the point of a foe is to test you, to find people who are worthy to have in your life, father figures trying to pass down cultures to sons, the desire to please is actually a desire not to hurt or fear masked as desire, all cultures that move forward are conservative cultures, how one often meets his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it, how our own fears are the thing that's going to manifest our problems, how our mind is like water; when it is agitated it is difficult to see but when you allow it to settle the answer becomes clear, if we focus on pleasing culture and the past, we will miss the opportunities that are just for us, being destined not to participate, there is no plan so if something happens it can't be an accident, the revealing of the secret, passion, willingness not to give up, really wanting it, really caring about it, being born for it, when to break the conservative rules, when to buck the trends, when to introduce something new, and when to think liberally in a conservative culture, to make something special you just have to believe its special, stories are like mythology and mythology is like dreams, and how fate calls you to your journey, there doesn't need to be anything special about you to pursue that journey other than a passion for the journey.

E24: Destined not to Participate (Kung Fu Panda)

In this solo episode, I break down the story of Po, a lovable panda, who’s journey takes him to the pinnacle of Kung Fu, where

Garden of Eden, Tree of Life, Tree of knowledge of good and evil, god, east, west, jesus, buddha

E23: Two Trees in the Garden

Something that’s fascinating to me is the presence of two trees in the story of the Garden of Eden: (1) the Tree of Life and

Ben's signature, a Circle and Square, dualities with a lot of space in between, visual art, painting, the long human conversation, just a box in a cage, individuals, set and setting, human beings, potential, what we could be, what we see ourselves as, paintings making the artist, the the paintings should be signing the artist, The center of our own circles, every human in the center of their own circle, never standing in anyone else's circle, the stories we accept can become our boxes, art at its best is consciousness changing, Abstraction as spirituality, adaptation to life and adaptation is life, discovery is removing boxes, there's so much more out there, So many ways to look at the same work of art, and art occuring when somebody has enough power over something.

E22: Benjamin Johnson

My guest today is an amazing, photo-realistic painter named Benjamin Johnson. Born in Philadelphia, Ben spent his formative years in the Pine Barrens of southern

like mindedness, being an outsider, melancholy, American pop culture, popular culture, Star Wars, relating to television, World War I, World War II, Capitalism, Communism, China, Russia, the vastness of media and how to navigate it, the distillation of current mythology through media, dealing with editors, the amount of room there is for mediocrity, doing the only thing you know how to do, the artist by themselves as a stance, DIY, Punk and hard core, living in places that expose you to others’ work, energy for creation, the myth of the artist or writer being alone, creating based on what was created before you, originality, exposure and content creation, artists reflecting the world they see, postmodernism, hyper-capitalism, and the world telling you everything you need to think

E21: Adam Helms

My guest today is Adam Helms, a fascinating artist and human, who’s work encompasses drawing, printmaking, sculpture, assemblage, and archival research. Adam’s work often highlights

gratitude, spouses and their power to lift us, treating people the way we were treated as kids, being grateful when people are grateful for us, the Golden Rule, barriers people don't know they're setting up, artists making the work or working on website in the office, realizing that interacting with people isn't about you, considering why others are with you and what they want, being nervous, navigating social structures, already arriving because the people I've met are amazing, time and energy, meditation and experiencing our own thoughts as streams of abstract ideas your brain throws at us, conversation is other’s consciousness flowing through us, reading books is like living live and conversation are like blending thoughts, and having a place to meet people who are excited about life and contributing.

E20: Barbara Rogers

My guest today is the great Barbara Rogers. Barbara is a painter, educator, world traveler, and a very very kind person. Barbara paints to transcend

the reality that everyone is creative, creativity stems from creation, discovery leads to more discovery, “Is that a dog?”, the universe was whole - one with its Maker - just like us, we are the universe, separateness is an illusion, looking in a mirror and recognizing we cannot experience our whole body, your mother is not THE source, the third hand, collaboration as a practice of being human, art can do a lot of things, experiences that are purely human, cannot transcend with design, design asks what it mean to be human in this place, art is anything done to the highest degree, anything done to the extremes, conservatism and a small voice about change, houses as places of beauty vs cultural compliance, art pushes the envelope, algorithms sealing our bubbles, we can't start over but algorithms can't be altruistic, aliens aren’t coming to this planet we're alone, Artificial Intelligence, General Artificial Intelligence, Modest Mouse, AI and art, AI applying to art school, music as patterns, musical as a physical experience, intangibility, social media, algorithms, human intelligence, new music, once the AI is in charge we’ll think it’s righteous, maybe we do need to drop acid, we’ve never imagined something without an analogous form on earth, and how we simply cannot get out of our own way in this silly closed systems.

E19: Kelly Leslie & Craig Cully

My guests today are a lovely and amazingly talented pair of artists named Kelly Leslie and Craig Cully. Kelly is a designer, a teacher, and

art as the study of the self, having curiosity, not having curiosity, the x-factor, creativity as a living entity that needs to be nurtured, the collective unconscious, the shadow, information that we are simply channeling, watching scenes versus writing them out, what the body knows but consciousness doesn't, being aware of what's being produced, the collective unconscious hides the shadow of our society, art and comedy as a presentation of the collective unconscious, courage as a big part of honoring your creative urges, being most connected with others when we're most connected with ourselves, connection through vulnerability, the presence of God in a movie theater, 99% of the country is conservative, people and countries always decline, what it means to be who you are, feeling so different with time, everything is energy and that's all there is to it, you don't have to love you are being loved, behaving based on others ideas and trying to match it, the God of America, Ex-Mormons and the Religious Shelf, and that when you're an artist you are Mother Nature

E18: Carrie Seid

My guest today is a nationally recognized artist, accomplished educator, and driven creative coach named Carrie Seid. Carrie has produced and taught art most of

freedom, art as a master, having something that drives you, the reason is myself (yourself), consistently producing art, motivation vs inspiration, art taking over, art doing what it wants, acknowledging how creation works, culture, every culture has a shelf life, being a small voice to help people see a different way, storyteller vs lead role, my condition, buddhism, looking but not seeing, and a sad, scary quote that reminds us nobody is coming.

E17: Barbara Jo Borch

My guest today is a free spirit and a fantastic sculptor named Barbara Jo Borch. Barbara’s artwork deals with the connections and contrasts between nature

genuine conversation, educators and how they deliver lectures, individuals, late starts, art class, the value of art education, the words we use, phrases such as “I don’t care”, learning online, the ocean of knowledge, finding a teacher you connect with, Appreciating the Intangible, liberal education, creativity as puzzle solving, children and culture, if everyone is making art, becoming a visitor again, memories, exploring past experiences through art, humans as hardware and software, being a simulation of the universe, software, operating systems, software packages, language packages, Vietnam, Vietnamese, English, energy in the universe, we are the universe simulating itself, evolution, sophistication, pain, a need to figure out how to exist, having nothing to regret, death is the end, the destination is not the work, Buddhism, and wanting a little and knowing that’s enough

E16: Ahn-Thuy Nguyen

My guest today is Ahn-Thuy Nguyen, a Vietnamese-American photographer, educator, and all-around fantastic human being. Through her art, Ahn-Thuy investigates her personal history as a

the ocean, the beach, symbology, creative unconscious, collective subconscious, Sygmeund Freud, Carl Jung, dreams, the Royal Road to the Unconscious, dreamwork, internalized experiences, the ego, dream interpretation, artists as the dreaming function of society, everyone can be an creator, history, how complex people are, our desires to push away pain and seek out pleasure, talk therapy, the dreamworld, helping others find the answers within, pulling off band aids, where the unconscious is lurking, people holding back from what they want to say, accessing the body and mind through symbols, intelligence without a vocabulary, the Skin Ego, language packages, waking life, are we aware, being with others, sharing dreams, dreams as individual mythology, the conscious world vs the collective subconscious, and creators projecting the future world.

E15: Dr. Kathleen Fitzgerald

My guest today is Dr. Kathleen Fitzgerald, a Certified Psychoanalyst and a Licensed Marriage, and Family Therapist. Kathleen has worked in the mental health field

masculine and feminine archetypes, archetypes as basic structures, Hero myths, mythology and the gods, being true to our souls, owning your power, analyzing yourself with mythology, everyone has a myth that connects with them, gender and archetypes, culture reinforcing archetypes, the psyche continuum, organized religion, American literalism, Hell, growth and suffering, starting a whole new story, death of the old, growing into the truths of your soul, ten years of agony, baptism by fire, a dark night of the soul, growth without suffering, dreams, the Lone Ranger, Tonto, mediatrix, archetypes, church, dreamwork, and the strengths of the feminine, conditioning, true souls, balance, yin-yang, innerwork, enlightened beings, our souls potential, the literal dogmas of cultures schools businesses and families, and self-knowledge and the shadow, accepting the good and bad and transcending it anyways, helping ourselves create a new story, and virtue and the middle path

E14: Dr Jean Benedict Raffa

My guest today is Dr. Jean Benedict Raffa, an author and expert in Jungian psychology. Jean has lived two lives, the second of which began

Overthinking, possessing size strength and depth, masculinity, creative people, our process, abandoning the structure, identity, doing things because we’re supposed to, because we’re family, boredom, creating from boredom, consuming versus producing, benefiting the group, painting, surfing, planting trees, music, connecting with songs, music as magic, and knowing when to catch the wave.

E13: Pete Tillack

My guest today is a world traveler, lifelong surfer, and an absolute wizard with a paint brush. His name is Pete Tillack. In his early

the mythologies we connect with, birth and death, memory and intellect, moral superiority, Egypt, Osiris and Isis, differentiating ourselves, dreams, it’s not what’s right, Carl Jung, Sigmund Freud, psychoanalysis, absent fathers, the Absent Father Effect, embodying your entire being, gods, worship, economics, health, relationships, ownership, entertainment, critical thinking, encouragement to follow yourself, being outside the group, podcasting, the answer is more people talking and listening, the East and the West, cultures, questioning ourselves, the ability to evaluate oneself, how you become yourself, the process of individuation, the Journey of a Lifetime, admitting your shadow, childhood trauma, childhood agreements with self, secrets, synchronicities, and doing it to the max.

E12: Dr. Susan E Schwartz

My guest today is the amazingly articulate and incredibly insightful Dr. Susan E Schwartz. Susan is a Jungian analyst educated in Zurich, Switzerland and a

dreamwork and psychoanalysis, addressing the whole person, transformative experiences, coming closer to God, having an experience, what dreams are, what’s going on in the brain, the need for a story, freud’s iceberg, our bodies processing experiences, brains bodies and symbols, things that come to us at night, an excited psyche, meditation and dreams, sharing dreams around a campfire, dreams that explain reality, avoiding talking about what’s really bothering us, connecting to a dream in a moment, connecting symbology to life, the container of a dream, questioning our subconscious, truth and perception, our bodies remembering more than our heads, dreams come for a healing purpose, integration, woo woo, human experience, and the urge to merge

E11: Dr. Bryony Shaw

My guest today is Dr. Bryony Shaw, a clinical therapist and an expert in tending to one’s dreams. As part of her doctoral programme, Bryony

having a way, letting others play “that” game, being a late bloomer, conflicting values, paying a fortune to play a game, having a perfectionist inside, in painting only the top layer counts, not fearing a paintbrush, being willing to sit with something, academic training and an ability to adapt, commissions, guarantees, wanting to be loved, money being the key to the door, love at first sight, living romantically, only being on the planet so long, what to do if you’re not happy, just doing the work, putting drama into creativity, the grand canyon, and the ultimate object of any artist

E10: Beth Zink

My guest today is an accomplished painter, and an amazing person, named Beth Zink. Beth didn’t begin painting professionally until her kids were grown, but

the stories all around us, discovering new artists, art transcending stories, context and story, art and culture, newness and profanity, humanity, the culture we grow up in, being our own person, feeling like a fool, loving where you are, an attitude as an artist, doing what other people tell you, growing from a child to an adult with a story, having confidence in yourself, seeing your situation as a blessing and loving it, and accepting the process

E9: Julie Sasse

My guest today is the amazingly talented Julie Sasse, Chief Curator at the Tucson Museum of Art. Julie is a life-long lover of the arts,

theater art, directing, fulfillment in the process, getting to sit back, books, stories, the effects of stories, the intrinsic value of entertainment, fiction vs nonfiction, emotional journeys, child play, work, creative people and their work, energy for sharing stories, strokes, the ability of brains to break, the BEFAST acronym for strokes, humor and horror, the human monster, aliens, bad guys, people’s stories making sense to them, figuring out what you really want to do, and the hierarchy of stories

E8: Kimberly Davis Basso

My guest today is the multi-talented Kimberly Davis Basso. Kimberley is a theater director, author, mother, and stroke survivor named Kimberly Davis Basso. Kimberly spent

what allows us to be, confidence, loving art, creating art is doing the work, being your own limit, flow, hard days, discipline without a boss, knowing you're the only one to make it happen, including the bad days in the picture, sculptures, wood, steel, life and money, investing in yourself, our responsibility in the studio, creativity and discipline, games becoming jobs, art as a job, being alive and doing something, the thing inside of you, stories and games to play, wanting to create something, work, young people, successful people, humans are still here, energy, stories in our heads, peace living with uncertainty, magic, priests and shamans, and the best gifts we can offer the world

E7: Carlos Page

My guest today is a brilliant sculptor, a thoughtful human being, and a great conversationalist named Carlos Page. Carlos was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

mythology and context, vampires, being real versus a pretender, human beings, genuine people, sociopaths, sociopath statistics, evolutionary need for variety, acting, the work is supposed to be fun, who we are around other people, trauma, religion, science, the ways to believe in God, mythology and literalism, the Book of Mormon, awe as the source of science and religion, awe for people, magic, art, psychics, social skills, playing and learning as adults, picking games to play, we’re all acting, and playing games for fun

E6: Bradley Upton

My guest today is an actor and author named Bradley Upton. Though his career has taken him from stage to screen to keyboard, Brad always

consciousness and connection, the living force inside of stone, committing as an artist, universal materials, all of us are one of a kind, picking your material and being your number 1, taking the work where the people are, human life being the same, the difference between clay and writing and stone, stone coming to life as it's chipped away, art and beauty existing in the world, art as a mirror of our lives, the timelessness of stone, putting something out there for others to tell their own story, sharing and owning art, success and being, effort and making it happen, failures as the bricks of success, staying thirsty forever, going through pain without fear, the freedom to do what you want, snakes and zebras, gods becoming eternal, dirt is life and life giving, the responsibility of every generation, love peace unity oneness inclusiveness, differing with love, and how every single stone is one of a kind

E5: Gedion Nyanhongo

My guest today is a master sculptor and a lovely human being named Gedion Nyanhongo. Gedion began learning the art of stone carving from his

polygamist communities in Utah and the surrounding states, my families connection to this history, how people often seem crazy but are not, Mormon apologists, putting yourself in other’s shoes, the religious fear of being or doing enough, growing up isolated from others, public school, social learning, feeling normal after leaving polygamy, intentionally creating a persona, abuse and fatigue of abuse within religion, shelves or drawers in which to put religious doubts, emotional intelligence, joy and happiness, walking away from a self-sustaining society, the architecture of one’s reality, honesty of people who have hit rock bottom, the types of people you can trust, relating to others, children’s souls, external worlds and emotions, trauma from emotional neglect, not being allowed to feel, our bubbles becoming us, courage and blessings, becoming a whole person, reality and our perception of it, father’s becoming daddys, and our trial making us who we are today

E4: Tonia Tewell

My guest today is an amazingly hard worker with a giant heart. Her name is Tonia Tewell and she’s the Founder and Executive Director of

having real conversations, dogma, having a life’s work and legacy, having a sense of humor, innate optimism and loving people, self love and acceptance, coming to grip with art, high school pranks and concrete phalluses, being a fighter, souls and circuitry, accepting the journey, family bubbles, alexithymia, psychology, bankruptcy, being too afraid to fail, learning as human beings, life dependent outcomes, trying new things, self doubt, helping others with our unique gifts, the simplicity of being a kid, wisdom from various sources, being comfortable with discomfort, listening to your inner self, people who have arrived, fear of losing it, letting go of the path, roadmaps for life and god, enjoying the creative process, insistent thoughts or desires, the zen of being a bear, creation and creativity, the adaptability of humans, cats and calendars, art as a meditation, the hardest part of art, music and breaking the rules, having the space to do crappy stuff, and the essence of life

E3: Bruce Marion

My guest today is Bruce Marion, a fantastic, fun loving artist, and teacher. Bruce is a contemporary impressionist painter whose work explodes with vivid color

personal guardian angels, creativity and the bubbles we grow up in, being behind a veil, meditation through artistic work, doing what makes you happy, mental states, poverty and states of mind, wishes, being a product of the border, art and what it’s given us, art as a tool, making the work, writing, perspectives and empathy, handling rejection and criticism, doing better, the things one should be doing, love, how we’re all the same, empathy, and loving one another

E2: Alejandro “Alex” Macias

My guest today is an amazing artist and human being named Alejandro Macias, who also goes by Alex. Alex is an Assistant Professor at the

the thrill of discovering real conversation, the unknowable essence of God, experiencing real prayer, leaving careers without a plan, identifying with others ideals, begging the universe for meaning, homeopathy and modern western medicine, faith and honesty, science and religion, insatiable curiosity, cultures’ views of children, emergence, higher powers and love, religious movements, ancient and archaic peoples, materiality and spirituality, motivation, and following one’s awe.

E1: Ebbie

My guest today is my amazing friend Ebbie. Ebbie and I met way back in a past life. Since those days, we’ve both been reborn

Welcome to The EXPLORER POET Podcast. In this intro episode I discuss the podcasts format, my intent to explore through conversation, the unexplored realms of today, my podcast objectives, and I invite everyone to come explore with me.

E0: Intro

Welcome to The EXPLORER POET Podcast. In this intro episode I discuss the podcasts format, my intent to explore through conversation, the unexplored realms of