Nature's Lead

This first episode introduces the Nature's Lead podcast by explaining the format, establishing a couple baseline concepts, and defining its purpose.

In this Open Valley, I read William Wordsworth’s sonnet entitled “November 1.” This Open Valley is a Reading, something I haven’t done before, meaning I’m just going to read and not add a lot of commentary. Now this poem reminded me of something I wrote years ago, and so I’m going to read that as well. I don’t share, very often, things that I’ve written, but the subjects of both of these writings are very similar.

In "The Truth about Truth," I discuss the meaning of truth and read a wonderful passage from Emerson's "The Transcendentalist."

In this Open Valley, I simply read one of Robert Frost’s most famous poems, “Birches.”

In this Open Valley, I read from William Blake’s famous "Songs of Innocence" and "Songs of Experience" and briefly discuss an alternate view.

In "Technology as Destination," I talk about the problem of treating technology as a destination, and I make an analogy to “A Descent into the Maelstrom” by Edgar Allan Poe.

In this Open Valley, I read a poem from Emily Dickinson and explore thoughts about shared, natural empathy existing within us and Nature.

In this Open Valley, I share my experience of getting locked inside of Rome's Protestant Cemetery where Keats and Shelley are buried.

In "Economic Individualism," I talk about recognizing our personal economies, and I read from Emerson for some guidance and inspiration.

In "Reality is Only Feelings," I talk about the movie, The Graduate, and how it unearths a true reality below the weight and confusion of society's institutions and traditions.

In this Open Valley, I discuss the surprisingly intricate structure of the sonnet poetical form and read from Wordsworth and Shakespeare as examples.

In "Love is Yours," I talk about beauty and love, and I read one of Shakespeare’s most famous sonnets.

In this Open Valley, I share my theory on a potential hidden code in one of Whitman's most famous poems, "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer."

An Open Valley is not a typical episode. It's a way for me to give you an update on the podcast, an update on personal items, or some info on other items that wouldn't fit into a normal episode. In this first Open Valley, beyond the house keeping stuff, I do briefly mention what a Rendevous was in the Rockies early in the 19th century.

In "Music's Emotional Manifest," I explore the idea of music's direct emotional effect on us while reading a famous poem from Wordsworth, and I'll also share a couple piano pieces I wrote.

In "Reinventing Intelligence," the idea of intelligence is approached again and this time I'll look at a movie character who helps flesh out a reinvention.

In "Hearing the Unheard," I talk about our buried sense of hearing, and I read some insightful lines from Emerson.

In "Jumping the Gap," I look at how the world we've manufactured for ourselves brings up many questions, and I'll recite some words from Thoreau and Wordsworth.

In "The Power Of Positive," I talk about some of the nuanced wealth in being positive around others, and I read a poem by Wordsworth that illustrates this idea.

In "One Year of Nature's Lead," I celebrate one year of the podcast and talk a bit about myself and Nature’s Lead.

In "A Moment's Miracle," I read a poem by Whitman that captures the essence of how we should approach each moment.

In "The Breeze of Happiness," I look at the transient potential of happiness and read from a beautiful poem by Coleridge.

In "The Great Fortune of Rough Emotions," I read a poem by Keats that helps me reflect on the power of rough emotions, and I also tell my humorous cemetery story.

In "The Deception of Progress," I talk about how the ideas of advancement and progress in society can be misleading, and I highlight a few lines by Emerson on the subject.

In "Finding the Needle in Noise," I read from James Joyce's "The Dead" and talk about how important it is to find underlying truth below the noise of social gatherings.

In "Reflecting a Raindrop," I look to the rain as Nature's active pursuit of our hearts, and I read some excerpts from Thoreau.

In "Open to Inspiration," I emphasize the need to be open to various sources of inspiration in our lives. As an example of this, I look at the famous movie, Citizen Kane.

In "Everything is Alive," I approach the intelligent, innocent idea of our youth that there is life in the inanimate, and I look at some of Wordsworth's lines from the famous poem "Tintern Abbey."

In "Defending Against Information," I explain why I think allowing ourselves too much free flowing information in our lives can be hazardous, and I talk about a famous quote from Wordsworth.

In "Nature's Delicate Immensity," I read from Emerson's work, "Nature," which both defines Nature and speaks of its significance to humanity.

In "Human Gravity," I talk about the need to gain perspective on the power that is pulling us together, and I look at some lines from a work by the Romantic poet, Lord Byron.

In "The Nature of Creativity," I'll examine the natural power of creativity and look at the way some Romantic writers approach the idea.

In "Unlocking Our Genius," I'll read many quotes from Emerson's famous "Self Reliance" which focuses on our inherent, internal genius.

In "Our Silent Breathing of Nature," I read a great poem by Walt Whitman that encourages our direct relationship with Nature, and I’ll touch a bit on how science is proving out this theoretical connection.

In "Assimilation of Spirit," I dip into some excerpts from Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Man the Reformer" which discusses our suspect world of business and luxuries.

In "Forever Looking to Learn," I talk about the need to create situations and experiences that allow our minds to grow. I’ll share a thought by Michelangelo, and I’ll talk about a pleasant experience I had last week.

In "Nature's Stinging Truth," I share a moving, personal experience from last week that illuminates the rough reality of nature.

In "The Greatest Known Fact," I share a quote from Thoreau you've probably never heard, a quote that I feel is the most valuable quote you could ever know; and I also touch on the idealism of the Romantics.

In "The Problem of Perfection," I address the flaw many of us have in so often, unknowingly, expecting perfection, and I look at how this is illuminated in part by Samuel Johnson's Rasselas.

In "To Change is To Live," I describe how change is essential to living, and I take a look at a poem by Shelley entitled "Mutability," which means the abiliy to change.

In "Leaping Heart," I look at a poem by Wordsworth that helps establish a central theme of the value of innocence in the Romantic era.

In "The Beauty of One," I talk about seeing the beauty of the individual, and I touch on our connection with Nature.

In "Our Obsession With Ourselves," I talk about society's intense focus on itself as marked by Wordsworth, and I try to separate society's view of what's important from the individual's view of what's important.