Podcasts about mark who

Pastor Kirk Sexton continues our series on the Gospel of Mark: Who is This King of Glory? Mark 10:46-52 "Jesus Stops"

There are three reoccurring themes that show up in Mark: Who is Jesus? Why did Jesus come? How should we respond? You're going to see these three themes in this week's passage, Mark 8, as we continue to focus on our response to who Jesus is and what He has done. 

Pastor Lyn Corazin continues our series in Mark: Who is This King of Glory? Mark 10:35-45 “Jesus Serves”

Pastor Steve Beard continues our series on Mark: Who is this King of Glory? Mark 9:30-37 “Jesus Welcomes”

Where does the Luka/AD trade rank for you for shocking sports stories? (Mark)Who won the Lakers/Mavs trade?Jimmy Butler wants only PhoenixJared Dubin of CBS joined the show to talk the surprising Luka trade, the future of the Lakers, and NFL trade news

Patrick discusses the intricacies of Natural Family Planning, the impact and intentional choices of young couples regarding procreation, and how technology intersects with modern parenting. Patrick also tackles the unique challenges of maintaining religious obligations while traveling.   Victor - Is it ever a sin to practice NFP? (00:39) Melanie - I would like to encourage couples not to wait too long because there could be infertility concerns Frank - What is my liability for missing Mass on Sunday while on a cruise? (09:31) Jorge - My 15-year-old son is wondering if he should have a smart phone. What do you think? (16:32) Ronnie - I heard that Purgatory doesn't exist because our journey to heaven starts on earth and our destination is determined based on how we live on earth. Do some Catholics not believe in purgatory? (24:22) Joan - My grandson couldn't get to Mass and asked for a dispensation, but the pastor didn't let him, so they ended up swimming to Mass. Robert – Could demonic oppression be a gift from God? Mark - Who writes the prayers of the faithful at Mass and what should I do if some of them have a political bent? (43:02) Vicki – Is it proper that some people face the isle and bow when the priest enters? (47:18) Anthony - Should we believe that Mary remained a virgin even after Jesus was born? (49:45)

Remember, we welcome comments, questions and suggested topics at thewonderpodcastQs@gmail.com   S3E37 TRANSCRIPT:----more----     Mark: Welcome back to the Wonder Science-based Paganism. I'm your host, Mark, Yucca: And I'm the other one Yucca. Mark: and welcome to the Halloween season. This is the season when we celebrate Hallows, or whatever you choose to call it. It's a wonderful witchy holiday that we, pagans really enjoy. It's both fun and and kind of wacky and creative and as well as deep and meaningful and solemn. And it's just a really good time all the way around. So, this is our episode to talk about how we celebrate that holiday and what it means to us. Yucca: Right. So welcome. So there's a lot to this. Mark: There is. Yucca: Yeah. So I guess we should start with what and when is this holiday? Mark: Ah, right. Okay. Well, you first, what do you think it is and when? Yucca: Well, I, for me, it's, it's a little fuzzy on both levels. So there are two holidays that overlap with each other. For me. There is Halloween and then there's Hollows or second Autumn or sowing. I'm not really sure. What name? It's a little bit fluid there. But there's the, the kind of secular Halloween, which is just a celebration of the autumn spooky candy, you know, family fun stuff. And then there's also the, the season that we're in, which is this time. Remembering the ancestors honoring of death of the sunset of the year. Really this going into truly going into the cold, dark time of the year. And I know that when we were at Solstice, yes, we kind of flipped over or the Equinox is, is getting closer, but now it really is the cold of. In my climate, we almost always get our first snow as the kids are trick or treating That's what it happens, right? Is the kids are out trick or treating and it snows on them. So it, it's, it's a, Halloween is the 31st, but the other holiday is kind of around that time when it feels. When it feels right for me, right When we, we kind of do the holidays at the closest day, that works for us. We're not too worried about getting the exact moment because it's not like the solstice where the solstice I set an alarm for, right? The moment of the solstice and you know, sometimes that's gonna be two 15 in the morning. I'll just wake up, see some solstice and go back, sleep or, you know, that kind of thing. But with this it's a little bit more wiggle room. So what about for you? Mark: Well, I, I think we have some similarities, but some differences. I have a little bit more formal definition of when the holiday is. I consider this holiday to be a week long. Yucca: Mm-hmm. Mark: And it extends from the 31st through the seventh of Octo of November, which is when the actual midpoint is between the Equinox and the solstice. Yucca: It's my littlest birthday actually. Yes, he's our little saw and Mark: so, so official sown is, is is when your little one's birthday is. That's great. So, and I agree with you. On Halloween, we celebrate the secular holiday, which is the candy and the costumes and the, but it's still got all those thematic pieces wrapped up in it, right? It's all the death imagery all of the sort of scary monsters, most of whom have to do with coming back to life after being dead, which is something that we have a, a real aversion to apparently. Yucca: Discomfort. Yeah. Mark: Yeah, there, that's, that's just not supposed to happen. Yucca: Yeah. There and there's that transformation both in like coming back from the dead, but the Halloween, the costumes and stuff have this, You get to be somebody else as well Mark: Right, Yucca: Yeah. Mark: Yeah. You get to be somebody else. And often the way that that expresses itself is as. Kind of the darker side of your personality or the sexier side of your personality. Things that you don't feel necessarily comfortable to express all the time, but there's this day when you're given permission to be able to do that kind of stuff. And that's really important. I mean, I feel like we need more days like that. And people can dress up weird and not be judged for it. So. The, that's the secular part with the, with the candy and the decorations and all that kind of stuff. But then the rest of the week is the more solemn, kind of contemplative part where there's time to think about those that have died and are gone. And there's time to reflect on my own mortality and update my death packet, which we talked about a couple of weeks ago. Do all that. Mortality oriented work that that I just feel is necessary and this is the right time of year to do it. And then on the first weekend of November, which is typically, I mean, it's typically like the sixth, seventh, fifth, somewhere in there is when my circle holds its sound ritual. we've, this will be our 33rd so, and Ritual in a row one of which was online because of Covid. But other than that, we've done them in person. And and I'll talk about that when we talk about rituals, but that's the more solemn observance really kind of encounter with death. Yucca: Yeah. And this doesn't seem to be for either of our practices, but for many pagans, this is also the new year. Mark: Right, Yucca: So there's different points at which you can start the year, and for some this is, is that that point? Mark: Right. And, and I think that from. I mean, certainly from the standpoint of my orientation to the Wheel of the Year, there's a real logic to starting there because, you know, the, the process of decomposition and then reassembly of new life is metaphorically represented by the the Hallows holiday, right? So this time between now and Yule is the time when the decomposition and recomposition is happening, and then Yule is. Yucca: Right. Mark: So there's a logic there, but for me it's just too hard to try to address new New Years in November. Yucca: Mm-hmm. Mark: so much easier just to say that my new year is at the winter solstice, which is only about 10 days before the the secular. Yucca: Yeah. Mark: Calendar New year. It just is a lot easier to deal with. If I have a New Year's Eve party on November 6th, everybody's gonna look at me funny. But if I have a New Year's Eve party somewhere, you know, in the neighborhood of the solstice, then that makes a little more sense. Yucca: Yeah. Well, and, and I can also certainly see the logic that people have for us, it, it doesn't feel like that as much because this is the time of the year where we've been getting ready for this time of the year. We have the. It doesn't feel like we're starting new yet. It's like this is what we've been preparing for, right? This is, we've got all the harvests, this is stored up, and as we keep going through the months, well then, you know, we get to, to using up our stores of wood and our stores of food and, and that's quite on the literal side, but we could use that metaphorically as well. And so for me, starting anew when things are kind of bare. You know, either the calendar year or even more towards spring really starts to feel like a new year to me. Mark: Mm. Yucca: So, Mark: Yeah, I, I can see that. And of course the thing is time is time is linear, right? Time just goes on. So, you know, we, and the earth, because of our seasonal cycles, it moves in cycles. So there's any point that you put down on the, the 365 and a quarter days that we have in a given revolution around the sun and say that's the beginning has, is inherently arbitrary. Yucca: sure. Mark: I mean, it can't be any more arbitrary than January 1st, which makes, Absolutely has no astronomical relation or anything. I'm sure there's something about the conversion from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar that moved New Year's Eve from Yucca: Well, that's why Christmas and solstice aren't on the same point. Right? And then, and then the way that the months shifted, right? Because the astronomical months, like in terms of lining up the zodiac with our months, they don't quite fit. And then we have to remember. You know, Earth's orbit isn't actually circular in terms of how much we spend in each of the constellations and so I don't know why, but Mark: Yeah. I mean, it's my point being that it's all kind of arbitrary and so, you know, whatever works for you. That's great. For me, doing New Years now just doesn't make as much sense. Especially because this holiday is so much about endings, you know, And I, I think it's a little, it's a little abrupt and peremptory to say, Okay, we're done with endings. Happy New year. I think this, this season is important enough and the processes that it commemorates are important enough that having a whole, what is it? Seven weeks, between seven, eight weeks between the holiday and you'll Yucca: Mm-hmm. Mark: to really kind of let this, the meanings of this season settle in, you know, to reflect on them, to write about them, to think about them. You know that that miraculous process that's happening in the soil right now, which is all of the decomposers are going nuts with all the leaves, the leaves they're being fed, and the water they're getting that they weren't getting before and all that kind of thing I think speaks to a level of being appropriate to recognize decomposition as really what? What's the main gain happening at this time of year in the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere? Yucca: Right. And I'm glad that you that you bring that up, right? Because we are speaking from, even though we are from different climates, we're still from this closer to each other. So we're both in temperate, northern hemisphere. Whereas, you know, life is gonna be very different and tropics or southern hemisphere, or if you get farther towards the poles, like it, it really changes over earth. So every place that you are is going to be d. So, Yeah. Mark: Yep. That's, that is so, so that, that's when, and and what we call it I mean, I've heard some other names for this season, but, and I prefer halls because it's not, it's just an English word. It's not Halloween because Halloween is kind of the secular holiday with trick or treating and all that kind of stuff. And Hallows sounds much more sort of solemn and goy, I guess. Yucca: Yeah, but it still is similar enough that there's the, those same sort of themes going on. Mark: Right. And I don't use the, the Celtic word because I'm not of that derivation, and I'm trying not to, in my particular practice, I'm trying not to draw on any particular cultural frame. So I'm not I'm not appropriating I'm just. Just doing something that started in around the, around the turn of the 21st century with some old folkloric practices kind of drawn in and one item of appropriation, which is the Wheel of the Year, which was invented in the 1950s. So I don't feel too badly about it. Yucca: well invented, but but heavily drawing on multiple. Different cultures, traditions, right? They, they took you know, some of the Celtic festivals and Germanic and you know, and they, and the names themselves. You look at their, their mixes from lots of different languages. So, and then that was just sort of stuck together. Yeah. Mark: Yeah. And, and that's all, you know. Fair enough. I mean, I, I think, I think the success of the Wheel of the Year as a kind of near universal, I mean, I can't speak to North Heat folks or etic folks or whatever, but in my experience of the Pagan community of North America, the Wheel of the year is a near universal cycle of holidays that are celebrated Yucca: Well, I think because it's so grounded in. What's happening with the Earth? Mark: in reality. Yeah. Yucca: it's not just arbitrary, right? We don't just pick a day, you know, this day it's, well, why we've got the, the solstice, we've got the equinoxes, we've got the transition between them which is, John has talked about often about it being, you know, the, the temperature shifts rather than what's going on with. Tilt Mark: Right, Right. Yeah. And so that's why I think it's so successful because it is grounded in reality. And I wouldn't have adopted it for AOP Paganism if it wasn't grounded in reality because my whole thing was, let's do a paganism that's grounded in reality, Yucca: Hm. Yeah. Now there's wiggle rooms though, right? When you talk about the particular dates, right? When we are saying May 1st or October 31st, you know, those aren't necessarily the actual midpoints and which midpoint are we using, right? Are we using the, the midpoint in the orbit or are we using the midpoint in the days? Like how are we doing that? So there's, you know, there's wiggle room. Mark: Right, For sure. So having established that the whole thing is kind of fuzzy. Let's talk a little bit about kind of themes and practices and all that good kind of stuff. Yucca: Yeah. So looking at Halls in particular, are we gonna talk about Halloween first? Mark: Well, I suspect that our listeners probably have a pretty good grasp on what Halloween is about. Yucca: I think so, yeah. Mark: And I'm, and I, I mean, I love Halloween. I just, I think it's wonderful. I love all the decorations and the, the, the imagery and all that good kind of stuff. So, and I love dressing up in costumes and I love, you know, playing characters and all that kind of stuff. So it's, it's definitely been a holiday that resonates a lot for. But I think it makes more sense to talk about the, the more solemn and kind of reverential side of this holiday season. You know, we, we just had an episode about ancestors and recognizing ancestors and and about death, about confronting mortality and You know, remembering those that are gone. In our, and we've, we've talked about this before in our naturalistic approach to cosmology, we don't see compelling evidence to believe in an afterlife, Yucca: Yeah. Mark: so we don't believe in one. And what that means is that that death is it's the. Yucca: Mm-hmm. Mark: a very serious thing to contemplate. You know, we have these lives that are so precious to us, and knowing that they're going to end sets the stage for everything else, it creates the context for all the decisions we make. Yucca: Hmm. Yeah. So as we've been talking about for the last few weeks, these. Themes that we're thinking about both our own death, the deaths of others, the those beloved dead that, that are gone already, right? Mark: Right. Yeah. And so, You know, this, this is the time. Like, and not, not necessarily just in the last cycle. I mean, certainly if you've had losses within the last cycle that the, the herd of that is most vivid because it's most recent. Yucca: Yeah. Mark: And so, you know, lighting a candle or lighting candles, you know, for those that you've lost is, it can be a very meaningful thing, you know, reviewing the pictures. Of of the, the people that you've lost and remembering the times that you had with them together. And in this case, I'll say people in a, in a very general and vague sense, people, you know, including cats and dogs and, you Yucca: Yeah. People, not just humans, but people. Yeah. Mark: I mean, I have a practice that includes some recognition of that on an, on an ongoing basis because of my evening ritual where I light a candle on my underworld focus and say the honored dead every night. Yucca: Mm-hmm. Mark: And that is as much to remind myself that I'm going to die as it is about anyone else who. It's, it's really just about keeping me grounded in the fact of my mortality and that I need to, if there's stuff I want to do, I need to get going on it because time is short. Yucca: Right, And as we said so many times, we don't know how much time we have. Mark: Mm-hmm. Yucca: We know that it's limited, but we don't know if it's tomorrow or if it's in 20 years, 50 years, whatever it is, Mark: Yeah. I have an acquaintance who three months ago, Suddenly got a diagnosis of stage three pancreatic cancer, Yucca: Wow. Mark: and so he's gonna be gone really soon. Yucca: Yeah  Mark: barring, barring an extremely unlikely Yucca: it's, It's very rare. Yeah. Mark: Really rare. Yucca: That's how my father-in-law went. Mark: Oh Yucca: It was just, it was a matter of months. Mark: Mm-hmm. . Yeah. So, And, you know, I mean, he had some, he'd had some dietary complaints and some you know, kind of abdominal discomfort, but nothing particularly serious and went to the doctor and next thing he knows he's dying. So these are things that can happen to us. They, they happen to people and we are people. You know, one of the things that is really important to try to get your head around in contemplating your mortality is that you're not special indifferent when it comes to mortality. I know you've been the protagonist of your, your movie since the time you were born, but the truth is that life will kill off the main character. That's just you. Yucca: all, all stories end. Mark: Yes, con consider life to be, you know, the, the process of life to be the George r r Martin of of your personal movie . Just, just cuz you're an important character doesn't mean you get out alive. Yucca: So that's one of the really big themes here, right? And that and remembering our own and the one and the people close to us that sometimes feel almost like us. At times, right? Mark: Yes. That it's unimaginable that they could ever be gone. Yucca: Yeah.  Mark: And my encouragement at this time of year is well imagine it, you know,  Yucca: that won't make it happen sooner. Mark: won't make it happen sooner, and it won't, and it probably won't make it any less painful when it does happen. But it will make you more able to grapple with it when it does happen. I mean, I've known people who have been impacted by the death of a parent, and they've just been so crushed, just so devastated that like inconsolable When the truth is, if you live to be a decent age, this is something kind of to be expected. You know, we, we, we all run outta time and they do too. So, you can help yourself by by these contemplations. I know the, the Tibetan Buddhists have elaborate meditations. your own death about the death of those around you, about I mean the impermanence of your society. They, they're nothing if not thorough.  Yucca: I think that, that all of this just for me highlights just how precious life is, the moments that we have and, and helps to, to act as. It's almost like a filter to help us filter out what matters and what doesn't. What am I wasting my time on? And so, and also having some comfort in the memories, right? Thinking about the, whoever it was and the, in the wonderful things of that, right? So there's, there's the solemness to it, but there's. There's also a little, this, this quiet joy underneath it. Mark: Mm-hmm. Yeah. I think about the Irish tradition of the wake and there's a lot of laughter at awake, Yucca: Mm-hmm. Mark: you know, because people are telling stories of the the one who's dead. And a lot of those are funny stories, happy stories, Yucca: What happened at the pub, right? Mark: exactly. So you remember that time when and and that's. That's all very very much to be embraced and encouraged because grief, I, I heard a great synopsis of grief once, which is grief is love with nowhere to go, Yucca: Hmm. Mark: and I think. When we revisit those stories about the people when they were alive, we're able to feel some of the love that we have for them, you know, there for, for an instant there because we're living in a memory rather than in the current moment. There is a place for the love to go and I think that that is very helpful when we think about funerary rights. Which we talked about when we did a right, A Rite of Passage Yucca: Oh, it's been a couple years at this point. Mark: been a long time ago. We might wanna revisit Yucca: I think so. Yeah. Mark: of passage again. Yucca: I think that probably is still in 2020, Mark: Oh Yucca: right? This has been quite a while. Mark: that is quite a while cuz we're numbing up on 2023. Yucca: Yep. Wow. Mark: yeah. So, Yeah, when you think about that and we think about funeral rights, those are for the living. Yucca: Mm-hmm. Mark: Hopefully they're conducted in accordance with the wishes of the one who has died. But in some cases, you kind of have to overrule the dead person. In my opinion, particularly when the dead person says, I don't want any ceremony, I don't want any memorial, I don't want, you know, any, anything. You know, the reality is the people who survive you, they need that. And whether or not you wanted something or not, it's probably a good idea that somebody organized something like that. Yucca: Yeah, Mark: So,  Yucca: funny thing is at that point, it's not actually about you anymore. Mark: that's, You're the subject or you're the object, but you're not the subject. Right? You're, you're no longer capable of being a subject. So it's it's important, you know, that we, that we revisit those memories. And one of the things that we can do at this time of year is to revisit memories of those that we've lost and what we've lost in the way of relationships. Career steps things that we loved in our life that are no longer there, or that we feel like it's time to put down and move away from. Th this is the time to do it. And so there are lots and lots of pagans all over the place. Casting casting what they are finished with into fires, either metaphorically or. Yucca: Or quite literally Mark: Written on paper or Yucca: in a cauldron. Mark: in, in, in a flaming Cauldron. Yes. And, and there will be during that week between Halloween and the first weekend in November, all over North America. Certainly. Yucca: mm-hmm. Mark: It's good to have a time of year that is for that. Because so much of the rest of the year is really focused on growth and goals and Yucca: Doing, doing. Mark: and then harvesting, which is a bunch more doing, and, and all of that is so important because right, we need, we need to do things in our lives. But there also comes a time when, you know, you recognize that the crop didn't. Or it basically failed and you cut down what is there and you composted. Yucca: Yeah. And that it's okay to rest it's time. To rest, and that's the other half for us, is in my family's tradition, is that we look at this as the, the beginning of night, the end of the year, the sunset. Right. It's the end of the year, but it's not the beginning of the new year Mark: Hmm. Yucca: Right. It's okay. The, the annual season is, is gone now it's time. The, the plants are dying back many. Our annuals and they die back, and the perennial ones are going dormant, and it's just time to go, Okay, the day is done, the year is done. I accept what was and what Mark: Mm, mm-hmm. Yucca: here I am now. Mark: Right? Right. And that, that. Corresponds exactly to my way of viewing the year as mapped along the arc of a human life. Right. You know, middle age is at the autumnal equinox, and then, or I'm sorry, Elderhood is at the autumnal equinox and then deaf at Halls. And then there's this period leading up to Yule, which is the part that we never see of the life cycle, cuz we're not alive during it. Or if we're alive, we're in a, you know, a zygote form. And not conscious enough to be aware of anything going on. But but there's all kinds of amazing stuff happening there. I mean, we're going to, we're, we're gonna talk about decomposition here, coming up I guess in our next episode. Yucca: Yep. Next week. Yep. Mark: And the disassembly of what used to be alive and the reassembly of it by life into more of itself is it's this astounding trick that life does here on earth. It's, it's, I mean, you know, we think of, you know, the, the incredible scientific leap of Dr. Frankenstein, right? Who's able to, Take what's dead and turn it into something living again. Well, that's what life does all the time, Yucca: Yeah, that's what it is. Mark: all the time. That's, that's, that is life. That's what the process is. So it's, it's a great time to recognize that, you know, death comes and, you know, then it's, it's time. It's the end. Time, the, the day is over and it's time to either go dormant and wait for another cycle, or it's time to be disassembled and created into something else. And so going dormant and taking that rest time is really important. I think about all the Scandinavian countries that have these traditions of, you know, huddling up and putting on a fire and reading books. I, I know Christmas Day is a day of reading books in Iceland. Yucca: Hmm Mark: it's traditional to give one another socks. So you have nice, warm feet and there you are, and you sort of huddle up and read books and it's, and that just sounds like a great time. Yucca: That's, that's what we do with the whole Yule season. I love it so much. Every day is about warm, fuzzy socks and hot, you know, nice hot bone broth and the fire crackling and Mark: Mm-hmm. Yucca: cuddling kitties. So yeah, looking forward to that. There's always that, that bit of looking forward to the next season to. Mark: Yes. Yes. Yucca: enjoying this one, but going, Oh, put just around the corner. We have that, That wonderful. The snuggle season. Mark: Right. Right. Yeah. And so that's another thing that sort of sweetens the bitter pill of, of the Death Sabbath Yucca: Mm-hmm. Mark: is knowing that, well, yes. Okay. We're facing some very, very hard realities right now. Which we need to because we are mortal beings and you know, if we're gonna have a reality based practice, I go back to that again, then we're gonna acknowledge that we're temporary and that this is gonna happen to us. But just on the other side of that season is this wonderful celebration of family and connection and friends and loved ones. You know, eating sweets and eating too much and drinking too much, and just having a, a lovely, a lovely time kind of stowing in the last calories that we possibly can before the super cold arrives, Yucca: Right. Hmm. And if your, if your climate gets it, the snow, Mark: right? Yucca: so yeah. Mark: We get a little bit of snow on top of this. The, the peaks around. Every four or five years. But that's it. Yucca: Yeah. Mark: Who knows what's gonna happen with global warming now? Yucca: Yeah. We get, Yeah. Go on. Mark: so why don't we talk about rituals cuz we haven't actually talked about what we do specifically at this time of year. And I, I was gonna tell the story about my circle sow and, but I was wondering what do you do for your, for your hallows ritual or sown ritual? Yucca: Yeah, well, I have a, a personal one that I do, and we haven't really developed a full family one yet. And that, that I think is developing, you know, as, as the kids get older, they get to a point where they can. Different parts of life and reality kind of start to, to set in. And so we'll, we'll see what happens this year. But it's also an extremely busy time of year for us. Lots of birthdays and, and following itself and, and all of that. But so in, maybe in next year or the year after, I might have something different to say about what we do with the kids. But for me, I choose an evening around this time, and this is really the, the, the big one for me where I go out and I sit outside in the garden. And at this point it's crispy. Right. The guard. There's, there's not, maybe there's a few of the leafy greens kind of trying to peek out. But I leave, I leave it all. I haven't cleared it out. And I leave a lot of the, the plants till the spring anyways because of, that's where a lot of the insects will over winter. Right. And I wanna, you know, leave that habitat for them. But I'll sit out and I do not like to be cold . I'm one of those people, you know, if you're seeing the, the recording here I am sitting in my sleeping bag with a little hot water bottle at the c at it with my sweater on. But I'll go out without my big coat on. And so that I am cold. And I will feel that cold on my skin and sit down and, and have a, you know, a personal kind of meditation or journey and just allow myself to feel that cold as the sun setss and just be out in the that cold. Brown crinkled garden, watching the very first stars come out as the sun sets away and just let myself, let all those things go, all those things that, that it's time to let them go from the year. Those fights that I had, that, you know, I've been holding on to and the things that, that didn't work out, the dreams, that didn't work out, the, you know, all of that stuff and just. Let it go. It's, it's gone. It's going. It's dead. It's going to bed. Whatever's happening to it, I've released it and accept it. Yeah. Mark: That's wonderful. That reminds me a little bit of a thing that we do at UL every year, which is to sit out with a cup of something warm, but. To, to sit out in the cold for about a half an hour or so and just feel the air temperature feel, Yucca: Mm-hmm. Mark: feel the cold and dark before we bring the light back into the house. So my circle, as I said, has been getting together for since 1991, this will be our 33rd. Sow and ritual, which is just shocking to me. I don't know how that ever happened, but everybody who was in the circle to begin with is still there. And plus a couple more. Three, three more. And this, we've done some variety of this every year for many, many, many years. The circle started on, on Halloween night. In 1991. So it's, it's also, Yucca: work for that? Mark: Yeah, because I mean count, count 1, 2, 3, Right? It's like this will be the first, Yucca: I was born in 89 and I'm 33 now, but I guess it's because this is the final anyways Mark: is the, this is the next Yucca: year. Yeah. So this is the next, Okay. Mark: Right. This is, this starts the next cycle. Yucca: Okay. Mark: Yeah. So it's 33. The, and what we do is we build a focus, a big altar next to a, a fire circle where there's a fire laid but not lit. And the, the focus has jackal lanterns on it that are. Yucca: Mm-hmm. Mark: So it's glowing and there's all these symbols and bones and skulls and things all over that. And previously we, it was just a raked circle that we made. This is, this is at the home of friends of ours who have forested land, Redwood land. And this is an open clearing where we do this behind their house. And, and previously we just, you know, raked the circle and set it up that way. In recent years, it's a circle of chairs, Yucca: Sure Mark: Because we've gotten to the point where many of us really need a chair and are not gonna stand up for Yucca: Well, we had an episode about that recently, right? About thinking about who is part of your ritual and what are the different needs of the people in that Mark: Exactly. Yeah. And it I mean, I have to say it did feel like somewhat of a concession at some level. To me it was like, Oh boy, we're getting old, but we're getting old . So there's not a lot to be said about it. Yucca: Didn't you say you were the youngest or Mark: I am, I'm the, I'm the youngest. I'm the youngest in the group. And the oldest is 86, 85, Yucca: Okay. Mark: something like that. So, yeah, I mean, and most of the folks are in their sixties or seventies, but you know, we, when we first got together, I was in my twenties, so it's just been a long time. So we get together and then we we do a ritual that's about kind of letting go. Letting go of the things that we no longer need. Letting go of life, letting go of letting go of our physical, you know, letting, letting go of, of, be, of existing in essence. And then, Yes. And we sing a couple of songs and we love to sing together and we harmonize together really beautifully. So it's really an enjoyable thing that we love to do. And then we, when we're ready, march down to down through the forest and it's very dark down to a dark place that we've designated as the land of the. And there we call out to those that we've lost and want to communicate with, and we talk to them. We, we tell them that we're sorry to lose them, and we tell them that we miss them and we tell them that we love them and all those kinds of things. In most cases, when my father died, it was a little different. We do that for quite some time until the, the cold starts kind of seeping into our bones and it starts to feel a little too comfortable being there in the land of the dead. And that's the cue that we need to get up and get out of there. Because otherwise we might stay and that wouldn't be good. So, we make our way back to the, to the fire circle and we light the fire. I use a sprigg of U Tree that I've gathered from a cemetery nearby on Halloween the previous year. So because you know, if I use this year's it would be too green and it wouldn't actually light. So the last year's U Spri is sitting on my focus right now drying and that's what I'll use to light the. And then we share chocolate and wine and pomegranate and sing some more and sing about how happy we are to be alive. And we come back into the joyfulness of this existence, temporary as it is, and how glad we are to be with one another. And then, you know, after, after a while that all kind of peters out and we go inside and have a great big, huge. And enjoy each other's company. And we do that as a, as a stay over event. So we all Yucca: drive home or Mark: right. Exactly. We can, we can hang out and get in the hot tub or whatever and just have a really nice time with one another for that whole, that whole weekend. Yucca: Oh, that's amazing. Mark: It's so lovely and so transformative and you wouldn't think that after doing it so many times that it would be. But every year there are different losses, there are different things to speak to, different circumstances, and we change right from year to year as people we change. Yucca: Yeah. Well, thinking three decades of change. Mark: yes. Yes. So it's, it's a really profound thing and it's not a complicated ritual. And you can, you can, you could do this ritual without having a dark place in the forest to walk to. You could do that as a visualization. Do it as a guided meditation instead. So just, you know, if you, if the space you have is a living room, you could do it right there. You could do it, you know, start in total darkness. You know, do your early, you know, except for maybe, you know, a jackal lantern lit with an l e d candle or whatever. If you don't wanna set off your smoke alarm and you could then do the voyage to the land of the dead. And you could, you could embellish that much more than we can in real life. You could row across the river, sticks to the island of apples and, you know, meet your ancestors and stuff. There's all kinds of cool things you can do in a mental journey. Yucca: Mm-hmm. Mark: So, there's nothing proprietary about what we're doing. If this ritual sounds like it's appealing to you, go ahead and. Yucca: Yeah. And really anything that we share on the podcast, that's, that's, if it's works for you and it sounds like it's something that you wanna try out, please do. Mark: Absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, the reason we produce this podcast is for you, the listeners, to provide ideas, resources, thinking opinion. Take it or leave it, you know, whatever, whatever value you can get out of what we're providing, you know, we're, we're happy to, to provide it. So that's, that's hellos, that's, that's the, the Halloween sew hellos sab it season. Yucca: Yep. Mark: And we hope that you have a, Happy, cheery, spooky, goofy, sexy, solemn, reflective Yucca: chilly. Mark: silly, meaningful passage of the season because it is and can be all of those things at one time or another. Yucca: Yeah. Well, thank you everybody. Mark: Thank you. We'll see you next week.  

Encore Presentation from September 1st Patrick shares a new article about how ‘Quiet quitting' is the ‘slow killer' in relationships, and he equates the article with what's happening in the Catholic Church right now and how we can combat that and become reengaged and active in the Church Suzanne - What was the MLB team that does not support children having sex changes? Mark - Who should the spouse priorities in remarriage? The new spouse or the kids? Patrick answers a “Ready, Steady, Go” email about an adult subject matter. The listener had heard this particular sexual act was wrong and asks Patrick to clarify. Mark – Which two books on suffering should I get? Patrick recommends “Arise from Darkness” by Fr. Benedict J. Groeschel and “A Grief Observed” by C.S. Lewis Katy – My daughter is trans-identifying. I love her so much and I hate seeing what she's going through.

Why study the Gospel of Mark-- Who was Mark-- What is unique about His Gospel--

Why study the Gospel of Mark- Who was Mark- What is unique about His Gospel-

A new MP3 sermon from Seven Springs Presbyterian Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Haters Gonna Hate Subtitle: Mark:Who do you say that I am? Speaker: Rev. Thomas E. Rickard Broadcaster: Seven Springs Presbyterian Church Event: Sunday - AM Date: 5/1/2022 Bible: Mark 13:5-13; Mark 13 Length: 38 min.

Thank you for catching up with us! This audio is of the sermon on "Mark: Who is this Man?" | Rev. Dr. Vicki Harrison | March 13, 2022. If you'd like to watch our full worship experience live, visit our Online Campus, go to findnewhope.online.church We're live Sundays at 9:00 am EST for our Traditional Service, at 11:00 am EST for our Modern service. Replays happen throughout the week! Watch the sermon and more here: https://www.findnewhope.com/archive Donate via PayPal to support the podcasts and the Technical Arts Ministry of New Hope! https://goo.gl/o2a9oU Subscribe to our New Hope Sunday Sermon Podcast on: * Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/new-hope-umc-sunday-sermon-podcast/id1093524425?mt=2 * Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/2habfMJ6S8jirQnpimNwHg?si=nKlvpZRrQYKnsJSJc6Du3Q) * Stitcher Radio - http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=87782&refid=stpr) * Subscribe on Android - http://subscribeonandroid.com/findnewhopesunday.libsyn.com/rss * Google Play - https://play.google.com/music/m/Ijonx62ajd5qwxv3qgxkizdqnva?t=New_Hope_UMC_Sunday_Sermon_Podcast) * YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFZw6j-ZlY45HU-m-lQ5XYuphsrbeJMsk Connect with New Hope: * Website: http://www.findnewhope.com/ * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/findnewhopefl * Vimeo: http://vimeo.com/findnewhope

Mark brings Casey Brown to talk about the absolutely comfortable subject of talking about pricing! Yes, for 60% of salespeople, it's NOT a comfortable conversation to have, in fact it triggers some of their biggest fears! With degrees in Chemical Engineering, Spanish and Business and career experience in engineering, Six Sigma and pricing strategy for multiple Fortune 500 companies, Casey brings unmatched expertise to help clients discover their true pricing power—and watch their profits rise as a result.Knowing it's about so much more than numbers, Casey's approach is insightful, empowering and proven to deliver results.Casey volunteers hundreds of hours annually around the world, focused on meeting children's basic needs, including cleft lip and palate repair with Free to Smile Foundation.3:25 CASEY: Pricing in the real world works like high stakes poker4:35 CASEY: Today's theme of pricing is chaos5:00 CASEY: Telling someone what something costs isn't comfortable6:45 CASEY: We price “not to lose”....it comes from a place of fear11:20 MARK: How “Money Taboo” plays into pricing12:00 CASEY: 60% of salespeople are uncomfortable talking about money16:15 MARK: Who to start talking to about pricing problems18:50 CASEY: How do you see money conversations that have been shaped since you were young? 20:25 MARK: The salesperson's “head trash”22:50 CASEY: 50% of getting pricing correct on the document, the other is how you feel about it23:55 MARK: Commodities and undifferentiated selling26:15 CASEY: Slow is smooth, smooth is fast27:45 CASEY: Methods of preparing for pricing conversations32:10 CASEY: If you can't build relationships, it's tough to sell anything, but it always comes down to the stakes33:45 CASEY: How to prep/pre-call plan for a pitch/proposal call, role playing36:10 MARK: Not everyone is a good fit, don't get “happy ears”38:45 CASEY: Listening presently can open up other issues your customer may have that you can fix41:00 MARK: Being emotionally aligned upfront towards an eager client46:35 MARK: Using EOS prediction tactics in your selling process 47:50 MARK: If you're going to say ‘yes' when you're in high demand, it had better be worth it54:10 CASEY: Examining your beliefs about your power as a buyer and seller“You have to address the hidden mindset pitfalls stopping your salespeople from delivering on those skills day-in and day-out.”GET IN TOUCH:https://boostprofits.com/keynote-speaking/casey-brown/MARK LEARY:www.linkedin.com/in/markhlearywww.leary.ccProduction credit:Engineering / Post-Production: Jim McCarthyArt / Design: Immanuel Ahiable

Mark: Who is this Man? 13th February, 2022

Mark: Who is this Man? Talk 1, 6th Feb 2022, Michael Grevis-Allison

Remember, we welcome comments, questions and suggested topics at thewonderpodcastQs@gmail.com   S3E4 TRANSCRIPT:----more---- Mark: Welcome back to the wonder: science-based paganism. I'm your host mark. And today we're going to talk about a subject that we have already done. One episode about. But it was nearly two years ago, Right. after the start of the Corona virus pandemic. And I listened to it today and it just seemed really stale and that topic is about community building. And so particularly we want to talk about community building today and also doing that in the context of the pandemic. How can we build an experience community when we're having these concerns?  Yucca: Right. I mean, it really seems like we're in a different, a different era than we were when we did that first that first pass at this topic. And I think we were very hopeful about how quickly things were going to resolve themselves. I don't, I certainly didn't. I didn't expect that we would still be where we are right now. Two years later. Mark: Well, at one point in that podcast, I, I remember hearing myself say when I listened to it this morning well, when we get a vaccine and everything goes back to normal, then blah, blah, blah, blah. Well, we have a vaccine, but things have not gone back to normal. And there's, there's still a lot of concern and a lot of, a lot of loss happening around this pandemic. So,  Yucca: for the vaccine and, you know, fully support, you know, go ahead, get that, you know, if it's something that you, you are able to, and that's really, really important, that's part of this solution. But as we're seeing that, unfortunately it's not quite as simple as we were hoping it would be.  Mark: Yeah. Yeah. Those viruses, they mutate so quickly. And of course there's all the whole socio political stuff around getting vaccinated or not really complicated things, but from our standpoint, you know, we're very much a yay science  Yucca: Yeah.  Mark: here. And so we really encourage you to get the jabs.  Yucca: Yeah. And I just want to remind folks that there, there are still populations that cannot, I have a child who cannot get the vaccine yet. It's not available to him. And so, you know, for us as a family, It's you know, every, I think that everybody's still being careful, but we have to be super careful. And, and, you know, if you see that, you know, we're very masked up and super social distancing it's because we have a very vulnerable member. We know we don't want him getting it sick and we don't want him passing it on to his elderly grandparents and all of that. So anyways, this is probably very familiar territory to everyone. So this is the context that we're talking about. Can we hit it again? Right? This is our context today. Mark: Yes. Yes, exactly. So, so the first thing really to do when you're talking about anything is to define your terms. Right. As an aside that I just had a, ridiculous Twitter exchange with a fist at a Christian who was certain that he was going to prove to me that his God existed, but he was unwilling to define what it meant which is a little problematic when, when you're talking about logical proof.  Yucca: Right. So defining let's start. Yeah. What are we talking about? Mark: I think we're talking about a variety of different social situations. Community can be a small group of five or six people. It can be a large population of people who all share something in common and feel a sense of shared values and interests. And in the pagan community, we tend to. We tend to have sort of concentric rings of community. Right. Many people belong to covens or circles that are relatively small working groups that they do a lot of their rituals with. But then they're also part of a local community, which. May hold pagan, pride events or public rituals or something like that. And then they may see themselves as part of a national movement that has conferences and festivals that you go to. And, and then part of an international community as Well,  Yucca: Well, and, and to jump back down, actually on that local level, they might be part of a community, which is maybe an interfaith where it's this kind of various, you know, non dominant religions that are, you know, there's kind of the right, like vaguely new age people. And the pagans kind of have a a community going on in their, in their area. Mark: right. The the we're not the big three folks.  Yucca: Yeah, Mark: Who it's interesting, at least where I live in this, maybe because the, where I live in this kind of blue bubble in Northern California, but in the interfaith circles that I go to, I find that. Pagans and sort of alternative folks are, are disproportionately present. There's more of them than there are proportionally in the overall population. Whereas the interfaith groups may only have a couple of attendees that are Christian, for example even though they're Christians everywhere,  Yucca: Sure. How was it with the Quakers?  Different, there's like two very different branches of what Quakers could be, but do you tend to have the kind of more, I dunno what to call it? Prim and proper that the Quakers, Mark: yeah. the more kind of peace and activism oriented Quakers who are, tend to be sort of less deterministic about theisim you know, for them, it's much more of a practice and, you know, listening for that voice from within themselves. And maybe some of them consider that to be a voice of spirit or of God or something like that. But others don't  Yucca: Yeah, that's the certs that we've got mostly in my area and they tend to be the ones that will show up and be at many of the space in some many of the spaces that are shared with pagan folks.  Mark: Right.  Yucca: It's very interesting. We also have quite a few sufis as well, but kind of in that area. you. Mark: Yeah, the last interfaith thing that I did, it was, I don't know, probably 15 people in there were two Quakers in two sufis. And the sufis were the only Muslims represented. There weren't any other more sort of mosque going muslims. And of course, none of the evangelicals are there because why would you. spend time with people who are wrong?  Yucca: Oh, there's then to convert them.  Mark: right, right. So community. is something that we as humans need we're social animals, and it feeds us to interact with others. Even those of us that are really introverted, still can get something out of engaging with others that we see as being like us, and that we have an affinity for.  Yucca: Well, there's that emotional need of the sense of belonging, which I think is really, really important in the community. Right. And I think that's very important for our, our mental health. Even those of us who are introverts. Right. Mark: Yeah. that the feeling of belonging is something that comes up a lot in pagan circles in my experience. And particularly in non-ferrous pagan circles, because people say, oh, I thought I was alone. I thought I was the only one that, you know, that thought this way. And now there's this community of people that I can belong to. Right. Without having to sort of hide what I really believe. Any of that kind of stuff. And I know that for a lot of people who are sort of social socially misfit, socially disconnected people who are just different and they they're, they're not interested in kind of gliding along the path. That's been carved out for everybody in our society. Many of those are really gravitated towards paganism. Many of them are, are neuro atypical or. Too bright or you know, or have other sort of social impediments? Um, Yes. So, so let's talk a little bit about different ways of being in community and we're, we're going to talk some a bit later on, we're going to talk some about recruiting community, finding people to be connected with some techniques that we can use. Some strategies that we have for finding ways. To find people to connect to because it's particularly hard right now with the pandemic. So the next thing to talk about after understanding what community is and why we want it. And that can be I should also say that can also be very functional. You know, if you want to do, if you want to have a book club, for example, you probably don't want a book club of 75 people. You, you know, there, depending on what the interest of the area of shared interest is, there are different sizes of community that you can look at having, but let's talk about how to approach. A new community or, you know, coming to enter an area where you might be able to recruit people who reflect your own interests and share passions that you have. So you can build community with them.  Yucca: Yeah. Well, I think one of the first things to do is to listen, And  Mark: Yes.  Yucca: that's listening on many levels, listening to yourself, but also listen. And paying attention to the other people, to the, to the cultural expectations with the sub cultural expectations that you're stepping into. And not just sometimes when we get excited, we can just do all the talking and kind of run over someone else and just taking a moment to, you know, consider are you talking? Okay. So. With the animals that we have in our homes, sometimes like dogs are, have really different personalities and cats just like on a species level. The individuals have different personalities too, but the way that you're going to be friend to cat, and the way you're going to be friend to dog is different and you need to stop and listen and figure out, you know, is this a dog or a cat that you're dealing with or something else? Mark: Right. Yeah, that totally makes sense. And not only listening, but being genuinely curious about other people that's, that's really important because a lot of the social glue that builds communities is just a general sense of am I seeing, am I appreciated? Does this person like me, and one way that you can show that a person likes you is by being genuinely curious about who they are and what they're into. So that's a really important piece as well. I think, you know, if you, if you enter a new space and right now we might be talking about county scale pagan disc, or a discord chat or or a zoom call, right? Not something in person, very likely because of how things are. It's a pandemic right now. You know, really kind of going in there and, you know, not only saying, you know, here's who I am and here's what I'm into, but also asking other people what they're into and who they are is a great way to start building that sense of community around yourself. And who knows, maybe your idea of doing a book club is something that a bunch of other people are really going to get excited about.  Yucca: Right or there's something. Wow. That idea that they had, he didn't even know how much you wanted that idea until you heard them say it. Mark: Right. Somebody wants to do moon rituals, every full moon. Oh boy. I've always wanted to do full moon rituals, but I can never make myself do them. Right. I just, I don't ever really get around it, but if it's in my calendar to get together with this group, And I've got some accountability with them because they're expecting me to show up. Then I can start doing this practice that I really have been wanting to get into. Right. So that's exciting both for you and for them that's, it's a win-win.  Yucca: Right. Mark: So, a subset of this is talking about being non theist pagans in the broader pagan community. Right. And we've, we've talked about this before. There can be some friction there, there are people who are very defensive about the reality of their gods and. They're very threatened by the suggestion that there may be someone in their circle who doesn't believe that their gods are real. This is a little bit of a tight rope to walk, but it's important to both not be in the closet and not be a jerk about it.  Yucca: Yeah. Mark: So you can just say, you know, You know, cosmologically feel logically. This is where I am. I'm a science-based science seeking pagan or witch. And. And I'm a non fist. But you don't need to get into an argument with somebody about whether their gods exist or not. Look for commonalities. I mean, if somebody starts to get bent out of shape about that, you can immediately go to, for me, the earth is sacred and this ritual is about the sacred earth. I mean, You're invoking Gaia, Right. The, the world. We share that in common and we can do this in common.  Yucca: All right. And, and also be walking that line, be tactful too, about when you. When you state what you believe, you know, maybe not in the middle of, you know, you, you wouldn't come out to your parents at like your sister's wedding kind of thing right. In the middle of when it's not about you. Right. It's about her. It's about that. Like, you know, so in the middle of a ritual, if you know, that's what they're into, like, you don't need to be like, no, you're wrong or, or something like that, just, you know, kind of, you know, read the. And, you know, like mark, you were saying, you don't need to hide, but, but just be aware of what's what's going on. And, and when, when it's important for you to state it, when it isn't, you know, it goes back to that old using pick your battles, like where are you going to be putting your energy right now?  Mark: Right, right. And an important consideration as a part of that is the principle that I call your house, your rules. If somebody else is organizing a ritual, I am not going to give them a hard time about having God. It's their ritual, their rules. If I want to participate, then I'm going to have to, you know, go through that process. Yucca: Yeah.  Mark: I mean, even if it means that I'm just kind of standing quietly while they're, you know, invoking their deities and I'm, you know, just kind of waiting for that part to be over. I'm not going to be interrupted and I'm not going to be argumentative. And you know, that's just not right. But if you're the organizer of the ritual, you don't have to put gods in, in order to accommodate somebody else, you know? So your house, your rules,  Yucca: right? Yeah. That's that's great.  Mark: the most important, oh, go ahead.  Yucca: oh, well, This was going to take us in another direction code, so please continue. And then I'll then I'll take us off in another direction.  Mark: Okay, that sounds good. The important thing to keep in mind, and this is something that most people will respond to in a positive way. Most people will stand down their defensiveness. If you go to this principle, which is that everybody has the right to their own spiritual path, right. Everybody is an individual. Everybody develops in their own way. Certain things appeal to people that, I mean, there's a lot of people out there that really want to be told what to do, what to believe. What to value that whole authoritarian model really works for them. And they're not going to be pagans there. They're going to be Christians or they're going to be Muslims or you know, something else. And they're entitled to. They have a right to it. That's the spiritual path that they choose. So if you get into one of these sort of friction moments, I think it's really important to go back to that. This is my spiritual path and I have a right. to it And you have a right to yours and they don't have to agree. Yucca: right. And what I was actually going to say is you also can set your boundaries about the types of interactions you want to be involved in, and you completely have the right to do that. And to be able to say that, you know, I don't want to be treated in certain ways and I'm not going to engage if I'm going to be treated that way. Right. So you can do that.  Mark: right.  Yucca: and when forming, when entering, when looking for a community or being in a community that's growing your needs and boundaries, you know, those are really important. You don't need to make other people have the same boundaries as yours, but you can set those rules for yourself. Mark: Right. Yeah. And there are communities out there. That aren't a fit for you. You know, there, there are times when, you know, there may be particular personalities that are really dominant in a given community and they just are you, you and they, excuse me, you and they are like oil. You just don't mix. And if they're already well-established in that community and you're coming in from the outside, you're probably going to bounce off and go and look somewhere else. And that's okay. It can be sad that there isn't that openness to diversity, but we don't get to control what other people do only are.  Yucca: There's certainly for me been some groups, especially online groups. You know, there's just an accepted communication style, which is just too kinda too rough for what I'm comfortable with. Right. Where, you know, people are more okay with doing jabs and kind of putting words in other people's mouths. And while there's certain value and things that I love in it, I'm going, you know, I just, I, I just don't have the bandwidth for that.  So. That's cool. Do you all, do you, but I'm going to go over here and I'm going to, I'm going to have stress, stress myself out and I want community, but I'm going to find a little bit of a gentler community, you know, and that's fine. Mark: Right. Yeah. And being in a community is something where you can, I mean, you can even do it on a pad of paper. You know, it is very much a costs, benefits kind of consideration when you're in. And, you know, I've found myself in communities before where I finally realized this is damaging me more than it's benefiting me. I got it. Other communities where it's like, wow, this feeds me overwhelmingly. And it's got some things about it that I don't really like, but I can shine those on because this is so good for me and overall So, positive. And it's important for you to be aware of that. As you participate in a community or as you approach a new community, just really to be aware of how are my needs getting met here? How is this working for me? And it's okay to ask those questions. You don't have to just sort of suffer along because everybody else is suffering a lot.  Yucca: Yeah. And if they don't interpret themselves to suffering, that's fine. Right. They might not be, it might be fine for them or maybe they are, and that's their choice. Right.  Mark: Right.  Yucca: you can take care of your, you gotta take care of yourself. And then most of these cases everybody's going to be an adult. Right. So they can just go ahead and make those choices. Mark: Right. And if they're not going to be an adult, you don't want to be there anyway,  Yucca: Yes. Mark: because you know, life is too short to not deal with grownups who aren't grownups.  Yucca: Oh yeah. Mark: It's, it's hard. And you know, obviously we're all working to be. As adult as we can, as conscientious and as wise as we can. And we are where we are. But, you know, if, if you have, I mean, one thing that happens in religious communities a lot, and it does happen in pagan communities a lot is that you get these charismatic sort of dominant personalities and. They get the bid in their teeth and start expecting that everybody's going to kiss their ring and it gets really toxic and it is perfectly okay for you to recognize that that's poison to you and you're not going to play that game. That is perfectly okay. Yucca: right. Mark: So let's talk a little bit about how you might go. people that might form a community around you. right. Obviously you're looking for people who are, have shared interest with you. So if you're really interested in Toronto, for example, you use you meditate on tarot cards as a way of tapping your unconscious and you know, accessing your intuition. And you want to, you want to talk about that with other people? That's, that's a great opportunity. It's something you could put out on meetup. It's something you could announce in a, in a Reddit group, Reddit, subreddit. And see I mean, especially now during the pandemic, there's, there's less geographical challenge than there used to be. Just to be the meetings were like, well, you have to happening by video conferencing. We have a much better opportunity to engage with people who are all over the world.  Yucca: Right. Yeah. And it's, it's just normalized, right? Like everybody knows how to get on zoom or whatever platform it is. And, and, you know, some people are tired of it because they're working on it or going to school on it or doing all those things. But, but it's not as awkward as it was a few years ago. Mark: Right, right. Yeah. It's, I mean, Everybody from little kids to grandparents there, they're all doing zoom now. It's big. It's become sort of a secondary a second nature communication channel for us.  Yucca: Right. We've changed. The verb used to be, oh, Skype with them. Now you zoom  Mark: that's right. That's right?  Yucca: It's her, Skype's not happy about that  piece to be the verb. Yeah, Mark: but they didn't update their product in a appropriate way in there. They've got a crappy product now, so  Yucca: yeah, Mark: just not nearly as good as zoom is.  Yucca: So anyways, let's, we're talking about finding shared interest, right?  Mark: right,  Yucca: then, he might find interest within, you know, people who share more than one interest to. Mark: Right. You know, if you find yourself in a couple of different venues, maybe online and the same person is in both of those and you really like what they have say, maybe that's somebody that you would reach out to. If you're interested in forming a little circle and saying, Hey, you know, I I'd like to do rituals once a month. What do you, you know, would you be interested in helping to put together an online ritual circle with me, Or if they're in your local geographical area, you could say, well, maybe we could do this online for now during the pandemic, but eventually we would look to getting together in person. Yucca: yeah. depending on your comfort level, there might be, you might be able to do some in-person, but distanced, you know, if it's a, if you're interested in outdoors type things, did he go hiking or,  Mark: Right,  Yucca: know, things like that.  Mark: right. Yeah.  Yucca: you can feel pretty, pretty safe that, you know, you're 10 feet away from each other in the outdoors. You're probably. Okay.  Mark: yes. Yes. And that's good for you in all kinds of ways. Yucca: Yeah. Mark: Yeah, but that's, I mean, it's good for you because it's exercise and it's good for you cause it's getting out into nature and it's good for you cause it's building community. So all of those things are great. One of the things about building a group of any kind is that you need to have some agreement.  Yucca: Yes. Mark: And groups can get in trouble by assuming that there's a tacit agreement to how we're going to behave with one another and not explicitly articulating what those agreements are, because then if somebody violates them later and is abusive or harassing or something like that, there's nothing to point to, to say this isn't okay here.  Yucca: Yeah. Well, and even if they're not being abusive or harassing where you just have the conflict that, you know, one person was saying LOD, I didn't think this was okay. And the other person was going, what do you mean? Why isn't this? Okay. We never said anything about it. Why is that a problem?  Mark: right,  Yucca: Or that you wouldn't think that, you know, I was in a pagan kind of group for a long time that it was the one person had the assumption that we shouldn't publicly disagree with each other. And I would publicly disagree with them and had no idea that I was like, seriously, offending this person. By disagreeing with them because, you know, I thought I was doing it polite fully with gentle language and I feels and all of that, but they were just like horrified by it. Didn't tell me for a long time that that was a problem. Right. And I had no idea. I'm like, wow.  Mark: Wow.  Yucca: never my intention to hurt you, but Okay.  Mark: wow. That's that's kind of a big one to keep to yourself. I Well just, well,  Yucca: Yeah, well, but, but there are some, we were coming from just very different backgrounds in terms of, you know, they, I was, I come from a background. I come from the sciences where disagreeing with somebody is not a bad thing. You're just trying to work towards the truth.  Mark: Right.  Yucca: chosen. They were from that whole like arts, humanities feelings. Those are all great things, but there's just a different culture around that. Yeah.  Mark: Yeah, for sure. That's actually something that gets science-based pagans kind of sideways of many other pagans, because our orientation is, you know, what's true matters and we want to interrogate claims, Right. So, you know, if you claim that you have psychic powers, well, why do you claim that? And where's the evidence and you know, what are, what are the odds that that's just a coincidence, as opposed to, you know, some sort of actual psychic thing, that's our orientation. And for other people, it can be highly offensive,  Yucca: Right. And then, and it can be taken. Yeah. Well, I know that, I mean, the situation that I'm referring to and I'm kind of being vague about it to be respectful of people's privacy, but I learned later that me challenging the ideas felt to them. Like I was challenging them as a person in their validity when I was just. Disagreeing with things that I thought were factually incorrect, like claims and statements.  Mark: Right.  Yucca: Right. But for them it was like, no, this is part of my identity. This is part of me. And you're saying this publicly,  Mark: I think it's very, I think it's very challenging, especially given the way that we're encouraged to internalize our worldview by the over culture. I think it's very, very challenging for people to separate their identity from what they believe. To be true. And that's a core aspect of scientific training. It's, it's an absolutely necessary piece of scientific training and many scientists don't actually do it when it comes to their religious beliefs.  Yucca: Yeah, Mark: They do it in their area of  Yucca: we're good at  Mark: their, their area of research. right? Yeah. So, but when it comes to, you know, religious beliefs, you know, cosmology about. You know, heaven and hell or all that kind of stuff. Then they may very well subscribed to all that stuff, without asking any questions about it, any of the natural questions that would arise. So that is really tricky and it's something that we need to be sensitive to, but it's also something that shouldn't shut off conversation.  Yucca: Yeah. Mark: I. I feel wounded that you have questioned. My cosmology is not a valid statement. You know, I'm sorry you feel wounded. I have not meant to attack you at all. You're a perfectly respectable person. I just disagree with this idea you have, and I don't see why you have it.  Yucca: Yeah. Mark: So going back to agreements and conduct standards it is helpful. I mean every, every mediation negotiation I've ever been through, you know, it starts with the agreements about how we're going to behave and how we're going to deal with conflict. And it is worthwhile to spend a little time on that, because if you can get agreements about that stuff upfront, it will smooth the way for your group's history. Tremendously.  Yucca: Oh, yeah. At whatever your group is. We're talking about pagan communities, but my partner's a professional DM online and puts out before doing the group an agreement of expectations and people get to like comment on it and all agree. And those games run so much smoother the other ones where you know, that we've been in the past where people. Kind of, you know, fight and don't know, and don't like, everybody has different expectations. So just having the conversation in the beginning is so, so key. Mark: Yeah. And it's another one of those adulting things, Right. I mean, it can be a little uncomfortable to raise the issue that we may have conflict to raise the issue that somebody may feel that someone else has treated them in a, in an inappropriate way, but not talking about it. Doesn't prevent it from happening. Yucca: Right. Mark: It's just like, Def talking about Def doesn't make it any more likely to happen to you suddenly.  Yucca: And it doesn't make you a bad community that you have conflict. It doesn't make you same thing with partnerships. Right? If you fight, if you're having a fight with your partner, like that's just being human, right. How you then handle it. That's different. Right. But some people go, oh, you know, we don't have to talk about how we'll do conflict resolution because we're never going to have it. We're so similar where this like, no that's humans, we disagree. We accidentally hurt each other. Sometimes we purposefully hurt each other and we need to address that within ourselves when we do. Mark: Sometimes we get mad and we say things that we really wish we hadn't said, and we do things that we really wish we hadn't done. And there needs to be a way to address that and repair it. And having those agreements makes a big difference in, in being able to get to a good place. Again.  Yucca: Yeah. And there's going to be different levels, right? We're not saying that like, every single friendship needs to have like a, like a huge book of written down, commandments with the amendments and all of that. But, it's going to depend on the scale and the frequency, but that there should be some agreed upon that you, that you're working from the same page. And sometimes an actual written agreement might be really helping. Mark: Yeah. Yeah. And I mean, that's actually true in relationships too, that, you know, written agreements around how we're going to do conflict, you know, how we're going to do decision-making, you know, it's like, no, I'm, it's not okay with me. If you run out and spend $5,000 on something that we didn't even talk about. not. Okay. So, you know, what are those thresholds? What, you know, what, what do we need to both talk about? Right.  Yucca: Where our boundaries for privacy, right? What, because that's going to be different for different people. Mark: Yes, it is. So it sounds sort of technocratic And You know, rule-bound and all That kind of stuff, but honestly, these kinds of agreements help facilitate better communication, better relationships. And you can actually get closer because there's more safety Yucca: And respect, right. That respect is, is part of that safety. Mark: Right. Yeah. So I wanted to tell our listeners about an initiative that's happening in the atheopagan community right now. Cause I know that a lot of our listeners are, are in that community. That I'm very excited about. I announced it in the Facebook group yesterday. We are currently in the middle of finalizing. Conduct standards and and agreements for dealing with conflict and anti harassment policies and anti-discrimination policies, all that kind of stuff. And we're doing all of that. This is for atheopagan context. And that would include the Facebook group and the discord server and all that kind of stuff. But more to the point, we're now looking at.  Yucca: Yeah. Mark: we're going to roll out a program called affinity groups. And What that means is that people can form their own little atheopagan groups. They don't have to be little, I mean, it could be 75 people or something. Around a topic of interest or a geographical area, or, you know, whatever is the common thread that binds those people together. And then those groups can meet on their own on whatever platforms they find useful, whether it's Facebook or discord or Mastodon or whatever it is.  Yucca: One? I have not heard of  Mark: I just heard about this. Mastodon is a open source, highly private Twitter, like thing. It's a microblogging context. I haven't actually seen it, but apparently it's like, there's no, there's no data capture. And so for people that are really, really focused on online privacy, it's something that's desirable.  Yucca: Hmm.  Like the animal that is named for,  Mark: yeah, me  Yucca: anyways  sorry to derail you there. Let's let's keep going. Mark: that's okay. So I expect we're, we're about to open the the conduct standards to to, for community comment. In, in the atheopagan Facebook group and discord server, that will happen tomorrow because I'll be getting the last of the comments from the atheopagan council by tonight  Yucca: So that actually means tomorrow will be. The first day that people will be listening can be listening to the podcast because this is Sunday night that we're recording. And so the podcast usually goes live Monday morning, but sometimes, sometimes life has other plans you know, sick kids or cars or whatever. And it will come out a little bit later, but we shoot for Monday morning when we can.  Mark: Right,  Yucca: So that will, that should be by, by the time you're listening to that, that should be there. Mark: That should be available. And so we invite you to take a look at all that stuff and comment on it. You know, if there's something that's missing, please let us know if there's some, you know, form of language that just doesn't sit Right. with you. That's fine. This is important because these new atheopagan affinity groups will not be moderated by anybody. Other than themselves. They're they're self-managed right. They're your groups you can do with them, what you want. But what we do ask is that you sign a charter that says, you know, we're, atheopagan, we believe in a naturalistic world and these four pillars and 13 principles, and our group has this purpose. It's a thing you can print. And I don't know, put on your wall or whatever the charter for your, for your new group. But it also includes the conduct standards and stuff, so that if there is a problem if someone comes into the group and, you know, starts private messaging, somebody. Sexually explicit pictures or something. You have a document you can point back at it and say, this is totally not okay. And you, you know, you know that it's totally not. Okay. Cause we have it here in writing.  Yucca: Yeah, and this is a great, you know, it's open every, everybody knows that that's not a secret. What the expectations are here. It is. We all have access to it.  Yeah.  Mark: So I am really excited about this affinity groups idea. I think it's the next, the next step for our community is for people to start to have a control over forming their own communities of interest. You know, the, the atheopagan Facebook group is about to hit 4,000 people. It's large  Yucca: Yeah, it's definitely. And things happen fast too. It's like, ah, you  Mark: They do. Yes. They happen really fast, which for the moderators is a challenge. And  Yucca: for the, the affinity groups. Especially yeah, later lots of different areas, but you know that that's another form. There's going to be a little bit more intimate form of community. Mark: Right. The idea there is you get to know one another, you know, let's say you've got a group of like nine people or something. You get to know one another and you form friendships and those friendships can deepen. If your affinity group is focused in a particular area, like, you know, atheopagan of New Jersey, When the pandemic eases or there's a really reliable medication for it so that people don't get definitely ill. Then you can meet in person and see where that takes you. So I am super excited about this. I think it's, it's definitely a step whose time has come and You know, a lot of what we're about is building community around these ideas and these beliefs since. So, this is, this is an important moment for that. I think.  Yucca: Yeah. Well, I'm glad that we came back to this topic and we probably will come back to it again, because this is, this is just a really important thing about being human and being pagan and just in the world. Mark: It is, it is I should put in one more plug for the century retreat in Colorado happening in Colorado Springs on May 13th through 16th. That is an in-person gathering of non-ferrous pagans. The programming is now available. You can download the PDF with all the workshops And activities and all that kind of stuff. At atheopagan and some.org. Yucca: And we will be doing a live podcast from, from the retreat. Mark: we will wifi permitting. We, we will, we will do that.  Yucca: Well, if the wifi doesn't permit, we'll still record it and publish it. Well, we'll definitely do a podcast coming from there. Hopefully we'll be able to do it live though.  Mark: to do it live. Yeah. And have other people join us here on the zoom call would be really nice because I know that there are folks that are, you know, they're either in Europe or. Australia or they're just unable to get to Colorado Springs for one reason or another, that would still like to be a part of this. So I, I think that's really an exciting thing. So we invite you to register for that. It's cheap. I mean, you have to get to Colorado Springs, but. It's $215 for the three days that includes all your meals. We just sent the meal orders to the to the retreat center and we're going to have some really lovely food and plus lodging. So, and lodging can be as cheap as 70 bucks for camping for the three days, or it can be camping in a year, which I think is. Actually maybe the, maybe the year is $70 and the camping is $22 or something. I don't remember.  Yucca: Yeah, but they're, they're fairly low for.  Mark: yes,  Yucca: Yeah. And,  and  Mark: then there are  Yucca: there's the option for if people are local to the area, you know, you can live in your home and come hang out with us during the day. Right? Mark: Yeah. I mean, if you're, if you're within driving distance, then by all means, you know, register for the event and come in and just do the stuff with us. It's going to be great. We're going to have wonderful rituals and workshops and a lot of socializing and it's just in a dance party and it's going to be really fun.  Yucca: Yeah. So just around the corner may is very soon. So Mark: believe how close Mae is now. We've been talking about this for a long time.  Yucca: yeah. Mark: Yeah. Okay. Well, Thank you so much for listening as always. We really appreciate our listeners and we get great feedback from you and great ideas about things to talk about on the podcast. And I'm just super grateful to be able to do this and have listeners. So thank you. Yucca: Thank you everyone.  Mark: See you next week.  

A new MP3 sermon from Seven Springs Presbyterian Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Rich but Sad Subtitle: Mark:Who do you say that I am? Speaker: Rev. Thomas E. Rickard Broadcaster: Seven Springs Presbyterian Church Event: Sunday - AM Date: 12/19/2021 Bible: Mark 1:17-31 Length: 27 min.

A new MP3 sermon from Seven Springs Presbyterian Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Fasting and Furious Subtitle: Mark:Who do you say that I am? Speaker: Rev. Thomas E. Rickard Broadcaster: Seven Springs Presbyterian Church Event: Sunday - AM Date: 4/25/2021 Bible: Mark 2:18-22 Length: 35 min.

Today Is Transfiguration Sunday. Today marks the end of Epiphany season, in which the Lord revealed to the world who he was. On this day, He leaves no shadow of a doubt in the mind of this disciples and us as he is transformed, presto change-o to shine like the sun. But there's more here than bling and bedazzlement. Jesus transfiguration is an exclamation point to the recurring question of the multitudes in Mark: "Who is this who...commands, heals, forgives, etc." There are three key words that unlock this text, that will transfigure you and me as well! (For a visual version please watch: https://youtu.be/YEcnmITsmH8.

Mark Mascia is the founder of Mascia Development LLC and has over 17 years of real estate investment experience and has a career portfolio of over $1.5 billion dollars. Mark has two masters degrees from NYU and George Washington University. He is an adjunct professor at NYU’s Institute of Real Estate. Mark believes in being transparent, honest, and ethical to bring the best results. Mark talks to your host Travis Chappell about the value of going to college, how he landed big clients and got to where he is. Learn about negotiation, persuasion and other important tactics Mark has used on his journey. Episode Highlights:  Mark grew up in a family where education was extremely important. He always had the entrepreneurial itch from the time he was a student on. You can discover your why and make your business around your why. Everything in life has cycles. How Mark decided to pursue entrepreneurship instead of medicine. Mark had to take summer school every year to catch up and move into business and entrepreneurship. What Mark did between graduating and starting his company. Why your experience and education can’t really be separated. Mascia Development is real estate strategy and execution for large family offices solely around real estate. Mascia Development is now moving into the space of regular investors. What a typical deal looks like for Mascia. Mascia does some buy and hold and some just hold. Mascia’s plans going forward into a market correction. It’s possible to muscle through it, grind, and get your first deal done. It’s easier to find a partner or mentor who can help you navigate your first deal. The biggest lesson Mark has learned along the way. Who you know makes your life easier and success faster overall. Who you know can screw you if you know the wrong people. You don’t have to work with miserable people. Some people will always be sucking your energy and resources dry.   The Random Round: What profession other than your own do you think it would be fun to attempt? Teacher If you could sit on a park bench with anyone past or present and talk with them for an hour, who would it be and why? Warren Buffet He’s everything Mark would want to be in a person. How do you like to consume content? Audio books or podcasts Mark’s favorite audiobooks: Ray Dalio’s Principles Gina Wickman’s Traction Mark’s morning routine: 5am workout Shower Audiobook What is your go-to pump up song? AC/DC Back in Black or Mr. Brownstone by Guns ‘n’ Roses What is something you’re not very good at? Organized sports What is one place online where we can find Jon the most? LinkedIn: Mark Mascia Instagram @Masciadev 3 Key Points: You have to search for a “why” and then build your business around that. You have to know who you are and be real with yourself about what you want to do. Life’s too short to do business with someone who’s miserable to work with. Tweetable Quotes: “The business, just like me, has to grow and change.” -Mark “If I don’t understand the why behind doing things, I generally won’t do them.” -Mark “Who you know can screw you if you know the wrong people.” -Mark Resources Mentioned: Visit Travis’ website at Buildyournetwork.co (http://www.buildyournetwork.co/) Join the Build Your Network Facebook group BYN.media/fb (http://www.buildyournetwork.co/fb/) Join the Build Your Network University Facebook group here acast.com/privacy (https://www.acast.com/privacy)

I hope everyone has been having a good holiday weekend and that you find some time to rest as well! We’re going to be reading about Jesus and his disciples trying to get a break from their intense ministry schedule – only to find that rest isn’t that easy to come by. The team quickly find themselves in a situation that requires attending to – and in the account of events, we get a glimpse into the motivating force of God’s kingdom.We’ll be reading Mark 6:30-44.As the Jesus team arrives at their secluded spot, they find it’s over-run with a mass of uninvited people who are hoping to find some help. How do you think the disciples felt when they saw this massive group of people at the border of their rest area?We are told how Jesus felt.What word is used to describe Jesus’ response to these vulnerable people? ἐσπλαγχνίσθη is the word used to describe his reaction. Who have you felt those kinds of feelings for? What does this tell us about God’s heart towards all humanity?Read Numbers 27:15-17 and Ezekiel 34:1-16 (take note of v11-13). What bearing do these Old Testament passages have on our text in Mark? Who would the “shepherds” be in Jesus’ time? Who would the “shepherds” be in our context today?The disciples wanted to send this mass of uninvited people away, why? What is the difference between the disciple’s view of the problem and solution and Jesus’? Why do you think the difference is so great?When the disciples take inventory of their supplies, they are woefully insufficient for this task. When they bring what little they have to Jesus, what happens? What, if any, significance do you find in the detail about all the left-overs?Where is God calling you to submit whatever you have to Christ so that He can bless others? What does compassion look like in your interaction with others? What causes and interests do you have that are compatible with God’s compassion? What does God’s compassion look like at work in this world? What steps can we take to get in sync with God’s powerful compassion?Click here for a PDF version of this teachings PowerPoint slideshow

The Gospel of Mark-Who is Jesus? by FBC Meridian TX

In this episode, we ask: What are people saying? How can being your own source of financing make you more competitive? Who is Danny Stock? What is Danny’s story? What challenges did Danny overcome? What happened when Danny met Mark? Who is going to control the banking function? What is the Bank on Yourself concept...

For this years Halloween Special, we review the horror films to star the Doctors. First off Nick Johns joins us to talk Alien staring War Doctor John Hurt, then Ben reviews B&B staring 8th Doctor Paul McGann. Finally Christian Basel from Mark Who 42 joins us to talk Attack the Block, starring incoming 13th Doctor Jodie Whittaker. Happy Halloween everyone! Whovian Round-up & Round-up Reviews are by http://indiemacuser.com/ Gallifrey Stands can be found at on twitter @DoctorSquee, by email GallifreyStandsPodcast@gmail.com, on stitcher, iTunes, The Tangent-Bound Network, Satchel Player & http://gallifreystandspodcast.podbean.com & on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/1481026762176392/ You can buy the Gallifrey Stands lipbalm @ https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/209093664/gallifrey-stands-geek-stix-inspired-by?ref=shop_home_active_12 Please support our Pod-Pals too: Due South by South East https://www.wonkyspanner.com/podcasts/duesouthbse/rss.xml DisAfterDark http://disafterdark.blogspot.co.uk/ Just give me a few minutes http://justgivemeafewminutes.podomatic.com/ AMAudioMedia http://amaudiomedia.com/ TangentBoundNetwork http://TangentBoundNetwork.com/ Drinking in the Park http://Neilandjohnny.com EMC Network http://www.electronicmediacollective.com/ WhoNews http://www.who-news.com/

Having eyes do we see? Having ears do we hear? Today we discuss the message of Mark: “Who then, is this?”

Where in the world is Mark? Who cares! We've got Elvis, Nixon, Batman, Superman and the Family Fang on deck! DigiGods Podcast, 07/19/16 (MP3) — 31.51 MB right click to save Subscribe to the DigiGods Podcast In this episode, the Gods discuss: Adventure Time: Card Wars (DVD) Adventures in Babysitting (TV) (Blu-ray) Alpha and Omega: Dino Digs (DVD) America's Test Kitchen: Season 16 (DVD) American Girl: Lea to the Rescue (Blu-ray/DVD) Baa Baa Black Sheep: Black Sheep Squadron - The Final Season (DVD) Barbershop: The Next Cut (Blu-ray) The Bible Stories: Jacob (DVD) The Bible Stories: Joseph (DVD) Bitten: The Final Season (DVD) Blaze and the Monster Machines: Fired Up! (DVD) Born to be Blue (DVD) Boy & The World (Blu-ray/DVD) Bubble Guppies: Fun on the Farm (DVD) Cabin Fever (Blu-ray) Caillou Goes for the Gold (DVD) Code of Honor (Blu-ray) Colony: Season One (DVD) Daniel Boone: Season 1 (DVD) Daniel Tiger's Neighborhod: Daniel Goes to the Doctor (DVD) Detective Montalbano: Episodes 27 & 28 (DVD) The Divergent Series: Allegiant (4k UHD Blu-ray) The Dresser (Starz) (DVD) Electra Woman & Dyna Girl (DVD) Elvis & Nixon (Blu-ray) Endgame (Blu-ray) The Family Fang (DVD) Hardcore Henry (Blu-ray) House of Cards: The Complete Fourth Season (Blu-ray) I Am Wrath (Blu-ray) Joseph & Mary (DVD) LEGO Friends: Always Together (DVD) LEGO Nexo Knights – Season 1 (DVD) Let's Learn: S.T.E.M. Vol 2 (DVD) Littlest Pet Shop: Making Friends (DVD) The Magicians: Season One (Blu-ray) Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Mickey's Sport-y-thon (DVD) Miracles from Heaven (Blu-ray) Naked and Afraid XL: Season 1 (DVD) Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation: The Complete Series (DVD) Odd Squad: The O Games (DVD) Orphan Black: Season Four (Blu-ray) The Pack (Blu-ray) Peg + Cat: Out of this World (DVD) A Perfect Day (Blu-ray) Power Rangers Dino Charge: Breakout (DVD) Power Rangers: Ninja Storm (DVD) Red vs. Blue: The Chorus Trilogy Limited Edition SteelBook (Blu-ray) River (Blu-ray) Roland and Rattfink (Blu-ray) Search Party (Blu-ray) Sesame Street: Elmo’s Favorite Stories (DVD) Sesame Street: Sing It, Elmo! (DVD) Shaun the Sheep - The Farmer's Llamas (DVD) Slasher: Season One (Blu-ray) Sofia the First: The Secret Library (DVD) Strawberry Shortcake Campberry Stories (DVD) The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (Blu-ray) Tarzan: Lord of the Jungle - Season 1 (DVD) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Beyond the Known Universe (DVD) Term Life (Blu-ray) Tijuana Toads (Blu-ray) Tom and Jerry: Back to Oz (DVD) Transformers Rescue Bots: Heroes of Tech (DVD) Underdogs (DVD) Wordworld: It's Time for School (DVD) The Young Montalbano: Episodes 10-12 (DVD) The Young Montalbano: Episodes 7-9 (DVD) Please also visit CineGods.com. 

Tim takes on a recent initiative of Amnesty International to "Legalize" prostitution. His issue with their policy lies in the difference between "legalization" and "decriminalization". He argues that what they are proposing would endanger more children and ultimately undermine the efforts of many people to save kids from sex trafficking.   Tim: Hi! Thank you for joining us! This is a very special bonus edition of the Slave Stealer podcast. If you have been listening to us for a while, you know that there are a lot of aspects to human trafficking. So many drivers, so many factors. Sometimes we don’t always get the chance to elaborate within the context or whatever it is that we are talking about, but one big issue that deserves more treatment is this current push by Amnesty International to legalize all prostitution. What they are trying to do now is go out to all the countries and influence them to legalize this work. Now, there is some merit to parts of their argument, but I contend, and I contend passionately, that this legislation, if it got that far, would absolutely devastate millions of children who would be caught up in the wake of prostitution. They would be caught up in the wake... They would be caught up as victims, they would be rapedthemselves. So after we spoke with President Vicente Fox of Mexico, we got on the topic of Amnesty International’s plan, and I think I got a little fired up, so I want you to go ahead and hear what I had to say. So, let’s go and roll that.   Tim: And, people don’t believe us sometimes - "Oh bull crap, we don’t believe that"- or they will see a trafficking case, we will show footage and they see what looks like a victim going willingly into this place: "Well, they walked in. They weren’t dragged in by chains." And, I get it, but it is also very offensive because I know that these kids are slaves. I see them before and during and after. We could have Elizabeth Smart come in sometime and talk about that. Don’t say anything like that in her presence because she received that criticism: "When you were in captivity, why didn’t you just run away? Why didn’t you tell the policeman who you were when he confronted you with your captors in the library that day?" And she will tell you that a child’s mind doesn’t think like an adult’s mind, and it can be very easily manipulated and really brainwashed and rewired to the point that when Elizabeth was rescued, she didn’t even admit who she was. She was still denying who she was as she was even put into the police car and taken to her father, ok. And that’s the thing people don’t understand about human trafficking, and so they misidentify the victims. Police departments have been doing it for decades. I think...in the last decade or so, I think they are trying to get out of this where they treat all prostitutes as criminals. They didn’t even stop to ask the question, 'How did she get here?' Maybe she is 19 years old, but did you know that she was kidnapped at 12 and forced into this life? And yeah, now she is acting out, and she is yelling and cussing at you, and she "doesn’t want to be rescued." But she is a victim, and she needs to be treated as a victim until you figure out what is going on. And a lot more needs to be done there, but progress has been made where these women and children are not being seen as criminals anymore but as victims, but much more needs to be done in that area. Mark: That is a legislative issue, obviously. Are those national statutes that need to be passed or are they local? Explain prosecution of prostitutes. Explain that whole dilemma to me, I don’t get it. Tim: There is some legislative there, but there is also a lot of just how you administer or how the law enforcement administers or what questions they ask, right. Because to be prosecuted for say prostitution, requirements within that statutes have to be met. And part of that is willingly, and it was your intent to do these things. And it is easy just to make the assumption, 'that was your intent, you wanted to do this, and so you’re guilty.' So sometimes, it is not just the laws. The laws can be clarified, sure - you can always, you should add a requirement and say even if this prostitute, this person you have brought in...even if they are an adult, you have to prove that they meant to do this, that they wanted to do this, that this was the life that they chose. Mark: They weren’t coerced. Tim: They weren’t coerced into it. Mark: Ok. Tim: And so the questions, but the questions... The problem is, even when you have decent legislation and decent statutes, you don’t have law enforcement asking the questions, digging deeper: "Who are you? Where did you come from? How did you get into this? How old were you when you got into this?" And if they would ask that, then they would see that there is coercion here. They are not going to bust out their pimps.   Mark: No, they are scared to death. Tim: They are scared to death. Their pimps have been beating them for ten years, since they were ten years old. So, you have got to stop and ask the question. You need experts in the field - social workers, psychologists in the field - to be able to be there and take this victim aside and talk to them. Frankly, in my mind, every country, every jurisdiction - whether it is federal, state, whatever - they all need to have legislation that decriminalize prostitutes altogether, absolutely. Every prostitute, in my mind, should be treated like a victim. Mark: So, you are saying legalize prostitution? Tim: I am not saying... No, you don’t legalize prostitution at all. You legalize prostitution and that means that the pimps and the johns get away. Mark: Ah. Tim: You criminalize 100% for pimps, for johns. Mark: But you can’t criminalize the prostitutes... Tim: You don’t criminalize the prostitutes. Mark: I like that. Tim: Yeah, I mean, there is Norway and Sweden who have both adopted that, and it is very effective. What happens there, when you do that, is those countries and those cities stop becoming havens for sex, for paid sex. Because you are criminalizing the johns and the pimps, johns and pimps don’t want to work there. Mark: So what you’ll have are a few entrepreneurial women who are kind of like 'Ma and Pa' stores, but you wipe out the industry? Tim: Yeah. You would wipe out the industry because the pimps and johns can’t... They are scared to go there. Mark: Yeah. Tim: And this is a huge debate right now going on with the Amnesty International’s new policy this summer they came out with in August, I believe. They came out with the sex worker shield where they are basically wanting to decriminalize prostitution for everybody - pimps, johns, and what they call sex workers - and make it legal. The idea is bring it all out into the light, and then you can take care of the sex workers and treat them like legitimate workers. You know, it is all focused on helping the sex worker. That’s their choice - they want to be a prostitute, support them, help them. And to do that, you can’t criminalize the pimps who, in Amnesty International’s words... This is very controversial. I mean, this is Amnesty International who is supposed to be looking out for the victims. And they feel like sex workers - who they call sex workers, others might call prostitutes - have been victimized and demonized and not supported in their occupational endeavors. And the problem is, is by decriminalizing this - and I see this in my work - by decriminalizing the whole process so that the sex workers can be seen as legitimate workers, like any other professional in the world and be given all the benefits... Mark: I think the middle management and HR and marketing...they get all the departments wrapped around them: "Hey, go see the marketing guy!" Tim: That is right! Mark: "Make a brochure on this chick." Tim: That is the idea! That is the idea, like you are not letting them live their dream. Mark: Wow. Tim: And then the argument is this - let’s play with it a little bit because there is a strain of logic to it, right. So, the idea is you get them structured that way and then the government...because then my question is, "Ok, what about the kids?" Two million kids or more are being trafficked, sold. How do you protect them in this? Amnesty International says, "It is very easy!" All you do is you tell these jurisdictions and the police officers... These pimps get licensed; they are a licensed business. You go to them and they have to show that they are not selling minors: "We don’t sell minors. Here, look - it's all willing adults." Mark: "Look at our brochure!" Tim: "Look at our brochure! It is very clear." Mark: "No kids!" Tim: And I am thinking to myself, "Ok, you are talking about these underdeveloped countries that, at Operation Underground Railroad, we are filling up their gas tanks so they can drive from point A to point B. You are telling me that your police force is going to have enough resources, time, manpower, so forth, to go and regulate these legitimate brothels to make sure that there are no minors?!" Do you know how easy it is going to be if you are Fuego, right? Fuego, who is the guy… Mark: I remember Fuego. Tim: We met Fuego on the beaches of Colombia and... Mark: And you took his hat! Tim: I still have his hat. I still have his hat. Mark: That guy is such a douchebag. Tim: Can you imagine… Can you say douchebag on this show? Mark: Hey, if I put a little E next to the...we are now explicit. Tim: Ok. Mark: No, douchebag is not explicit. Tim: Is "Slave Stealer Radio" an R-rated show? Let’s just talk about this and figure that out. Mark: I think we are PG-13ish. Tim: I just want to know what I can get away with. Mark: In context, we’re probably considered like an X-rated show just given the general theme, but we don’t really get explicit yet until we get you on the wrong moment. Hopefully we edit that out. Tim: Ok! Mark: Yeah. Tim: So, Fuego... You imagine Fuego, right. How hard is it going to be for Fuego? This is Amnesty International’s plan - Fuego should be a legal vendor as long as they are adults. The kids will be safe because they are safe with Fuego, aren’t they? You spent time with Fuego. Would you trust a 12-year-old girl to Fuego? I mean... Mark: Friendly guy. Tim: Here is what is going to happen: he will line up his 18-year-olds and 20- year-olds, and he’ll say, "Here’s all I got!" And those cops are not going to go the two miles down the road into the little storage facility, right, or the tractor trailer with the ten 12-year-olds and the three or four 9-year-olds. Mark: And they are not going to check his phone to see... Tim: No! Mark: ...you know, all the 10-year-olds with pagers. Tim: Right! He will have those, he will sell those. They are premium! You are going to sell those for $1000; these 18-year-olds you are going to sell for $300. He is going to have those. The infrastructure to sell those little kids is now supported by the state. And he will be able to make money, he will be able to invest whatever he makes legitimately, he will pay his taxes and everything else. He will be a businessman! He is going to sell the premium because it is too easy and now you have just supported his infrastructure. How are you going to protect those kids? Amnesty International decided to ignore those kids. Those twelve kids in the back of the tractor trailer down the road - they have ignored them. And now, guess what? You have created an absolute sex haven. And let's say that they decriminalized it like this everywhere in Cartagena. Every gross tourist from America, Canada, and Germany, and everywhere else - they are going to go to Cartagena, they are going to enjoy the adult sex, and then they are going to make a deal with Fuego on the side and say, "Hey, where do I get the 11-year-olds?" "Well, you come to this other place down the road." And it is a booming business. I am absolutely just astonished and sickened that Amnesty International could be so incredibly short-sighted and idiotic that they don’t see that they are completely neglecting the children. They are creating safe havens. They are making it so easy for the johns and pimps to rape children. Mark: That is pretty inflammatory. Tim: It is inflammatory! Mark: You just called them idiotic. Tim: They are idiots! Mark: What if we need their help? Tim: Well, we won't need their help. Mark: Ok. Tim: But do you know who does need their help? Fuego needs their help, and apparently he is going to get it. Mark: So, an entire industry... You might shut down an entire industry. There might be jobless Fuegos all over Colombia, all over Mexico. Tim: How sad. Mark: Have you ever ordered the 'Sin City'? Tim: No. Mark: Smashburger. You go down, and it is kind of like In-N-Out burger. You can show up and there is the menu, right, there is a Smashburger menu (and they are not a sponsor of this show), but you can order the ‘Sin City’ which is not on the menu. And it is kind of a niche thing for people to go in and they give you the wink and they say, "I’ll take the Sin City." Tim: It is like In-N-Out burger, it is the same thing. They have their Animal Fries, Animal Burgers. Mark: Yeah, the Animal Style. Now, I see prostitution becoming like that. Tim: That is exactly right! Mark: Under the Amnesty plan. Tim: Absolutely! It is exactly what it is. Mark: I’ll take Sin City (wink, wink). Tim: It is exactly what it is. Mark: She is in the back alley. Tim: It is exactly what is going to happen. Mark: It is a brand extension. Tim: It is exactly what is going to happen. And we know this! I know this! I know these guys! I have negotiated with them undercover, I sit across the table from them. And if it was legal to sell, for him to sell adults - which it is not in Cartagena frankly, ok. But if it were, if we all follow Amnesty International, and if they make it legal, and I am sitting across from him... Think about this, just play it out in your head - I’ve been there a hundred times. "Hey Tim, come to my office with the sign that says, 'Beautiful women for sale,'" right, because this is a legal business. I walk in there... I mean, we have set him up, he is totally legitimate. And you don't think we are going to have that little 'Sin City menu' talk? Absolutely we are going to! Because he is going to make double or triple off this sick, horny American who is sitting across from him. Mark: Yeah. Tim: Right? It is so unbelievable! When I saw Amnesty International’s policy, I thought there is no way, there is no way they are going to vote. Sane minds will prevail here. And they didn't. Mark: Who voted for it? Tim: It is the board of Amnesty International. This is a powerful organization that has done good in the world - they are all about human rights. They have done good in the world to protect innocence. Mark: Well, traffickers are humans. They have the right to traffick. Tim: Traffickers have rights too, I guess. Mark: Apparently. So now... Tim: It is unbelievable.   Mark: So now, Amnesty International, for the uninitiated like me, Amnesty International now goes and lobbies the UN, they lobby Washington, they lobby... Tim: They lobby countries all over the earth. They will be going and saying, "You need to decriminalize prostitution!" And don’t get me wrong, I totally believe in decriminalizing prostitutes. They should all be treated as victims, absolutely, even if they are saying, "I’m here because I want to be - arrest me!" No, we are going to treat you like... We don’t know your story. I agree with that, that’s right. But what they do is, because the sex worker can’t provide her service if johns are scared to come buy them. So, who they are really protecting are the johns and the pimps. And they say that in their legislation, or in their proposed legislation. They say that... They don’t call them pimps, they are very careful with all the wording, but they call them 'security': 'security for the prostitutes'. Mark: They call them security? Tim: They need to have their infrastructure, they need to have their security, which means that there could be other people helping and facilitating in their business. So, it is unbelievable. Now, will there be a prostitute that would benefit from this? Will there will be a prostitute that would say, "I truly do want to be here"? Absolutely! I believe there are prostitutes who want to be there. And might they say, "We need this policy so that we can sell ourselves freely and be sex workers by choice," and all this, and this would help them. Yes, that would help them, but you have to weigh that against the twelve 12-year-olds who are sitting in the tractor trailer down the road from the legitimate brothel. Mark: Whom you have seen. Tim: I have seen them! They are everywhere! There are 2 million of them. And you have completely thrown them under the bus because you are so worried about the few prostitutes who want to be there, who love their job, and whatever. Mark: The company guys. Tim: I can’t say I am completely unsympathetic to that - maybe that is what their choice is and I am a libertarian in that way. I want people to be able to choose. But it is a balancing act and when you are choosing that over the children who will now be raped because you have provided the infrastructure for them to be raped, you are in the wrong. I mean, it is so clear that you are in the wrong. I know from our perspective, you know, we spend a lot time in the trenches and we see this. Perhaps the folks from the Amnesty haven’t. I have to assume they haven’t seen this, and see how easy they are making it now for children to be raped.

Dan Didriksen at the UAH Cru Weekly Meeting on the series: "Mark: Who is Jesus?"

Dan Didriksen at the UAH Cru Weekly Meeting on the series: "Mark: Who is Jesus?"

Disclaimer: We wanted to participate in National Podcast Day, but we didn't want to turn our phones off because we were multi-tasking so you might here a phone ring a couple times. John and I had a lot of fun on the podcast and hope you enjoy listening to us having some fun!Listen to the audio below to learn more about "National Podcast Day" or click on the link here to view their website in a new tab. What you can do for to help Stop Riding the Pine on National Podcast Day or just to get the word out anytime? • Grab your mic and camera and ask someone—anyone—about Stop Riding the Pine. Share the response and join the worldwide event using hashtag #podcastday • Join the live announcement of NPD on Podcasters’ Round Table 30 September. • Tell someone you know what podcasts are and where to us. • Share Stop Riding the Pine podcast with someone (coworker, friend, teammate, etc.) • Provide feedback to our podcast show and tell us what you think. Engage. • Provide a rating and review on a podcast in iTunes, Stitcher Radio or a comment on one of our podcast episodes. • Nominate your favorite show in 2014 for a Podcast Award. • Subscribe to a Stop Riding the Pine and talk about it using the hashtag - #podcastday Get in Touch with Jaime or John You can reach Jaime and/or John by checking out the following links. Celebrate National Podcast Day with Stop Riding the Pine. Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes. Slapshot Studio's Website Facebook Google Plus Twitter YouTube LinkedIn This was a fantastic interview... not that I want you to skip any part of this awesome show, but I took the time to highlight a couple of the parts I tended to enjoy most: What is National Podcast Day? You can totally hear the edit... bonus points if you can comment with the name that I originally said instead of Steve Lee?(1:50 Mark) Find out who we interviewed that has nearly 800,000 followers on Google Plus? (5:58 Mark) Who is responsible for National Podcast Day? (12:07 mark) Shout out to some Twitter fans. (13:20 Mark) John does a random search to see what's trending on National Podcast Day. (21:00 mark) What's coming down the pipe for John and Jaime? (25:50 Mark) Slapshot Studio is taking the Stop Riding the Pine show on the Road. (29:37 Mark) Find out how we integrate mobile marketing technology with our show? (31:15 Mark)