Podcasts about merging

There's a cognitive trick our brains play whenever we face a hard question or a difficult decision: we quietly swap the hard thing for something easier to answer. It's called substitution, and we do it constantly — usually without noticing, and sometimes to our detriment. In today's episode, I make the case that you can take this same shortcut your brain already runs automatically and start using it intentionally to break decision paralysis and get moving. The Substitution Heuristic: Understand the mental move at the heart of this episode — when "How are you?" becomes "Is there anything I urgently need to say?", your brain isn't being lazy, it's compressing. It runs a quick calculation: what's the downside of the substitute? Usually it's low, so the shortcut holds. Code Review as Substitution: See why you almost never review a big PR line by line. "Was it tested? Does it follow our best practices? Does anything look obviously wrong?" are all stand-ins for the harder, mostly-unnecessary work of reading every line — and most of the time, they're enough. Performance Reviews Are a Best Guess: Recognize that your rubrics, metrics, and frameworks are themselves substitutes. You can't deterministically rate a person on a scale, so every measure you use is an approximation of an immeasurable question: how much value is this person really generating, and where are they headed? Turn the Trick Around on Purpose: Learn how to use substitution deliberately to defeat paralysis. Instead of "I'm deciding to leave my job and chase something new," substitute "I'm going to send an email." The weight of sending an email is tiny — and the dream job is just a series of small, iterative steps like that one. Unbundle Your Big Decisions: Notice how we fuse trivial mechanical actions with heavy imagined meaning. Merging a branch isn't "declaring this production-ready and putting my name on the line" — it's moving bits into the cloud. Separate the labeling from the action and the action gets a lot less intimidating. Lower Your Commitment Threshold: Swap "this code is great" for "I believe this code is shippable." Swap "this is the perfect hire" for "this is a good bet we can course-correct." The actions you take are identical — but the internal stakes, and the fear, drop dramatically. Favor Reversible Moves: We consistently overestimate the risk of acting and underestimate the risk of doing nothing. Most decisions aren't permanent — you can roll back the deploy, divert from a bad hire, find an exit path. Look for the way back, and the decision gets easier to make. Episode Homework Next time you feel a big decision looming, break it into its most fundamental pieces. Ask: what am I actually doing here? What are the physical actions, the words, the mechanical steps? What's the true worst-case downside — and do I really have to attach all of my worth to it? You're likely already substituting easier questions without realizing it. This week, try doing it on purpose.

Healthcare in America is stuck in a "sick care" model—we wait until people are already ill, then scramble to treat them. Dr. Gloria Winters, VP of Health Innovation at the YMCA of the USA, has spent the last year building something different: a community health operating system that pulls together your wearables, your medical records, and AI-driven insights into one place, so you actually know what to do with your health data instead of just staring at numbers. In this episode, she breaks down her "house" framework for the $5.6 trillion healthcare industry, why falls cost the country more than almost anything else, how she's working directly with HHS and the MAHA movement on preventive health policy, and why personal agency—not just data—is the missing piece in helping people actually change their behavior. If you've ever felt like your Apple Watch tells you everything except what you should actually do next, this conversation is for you. Key Takeaways:

In this episode, host Mike chats with Shane White from NoBul Partners about practical and highly effective ways to use AI in Amazon marketing. Shane explains his transition from ChatGPT to Claude, highlighting its powerful capabilities in visualizing large datasets and generating client-ready presentations. He also shares a clever hack for training the AI to scrape a client's website to automatically match brand colors and fonts in slide decks. We'll see you in The PPC Den!

We are coming up on the annual ShoulderCheck showcase on July 30th. We spoke with a new partner to ShoulderCheck, Scott Strode, ahead of the event. He is the founder of The Phoenix, a national sober-active recovery community for people healing from addiction. Scott's also helping to lead a national effort called Be The People, connecting organizations already solving problems in their communities with millions of Americans ready to do their part. For tickets and more information: https://www.shouldercheck.org/For more information on The Phoenix & Be The People: https://thephoenix.org/ https://www.bethepeople.org/

fWotD Episode 3360: Black hole Welcome to featured Wiki of the Day, your daily dose of knowledge from Wikipedia's finest articles.The featured article for Friday, 17 July 2026, is Black hole.A black hole is an astronomical body so compact that its gravity prevents anything, including light, from escaping. Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity, which describes gravitation as the curvature of spacetime, predicts that any sufficiently compact mass will form a black hole. The boundary of no escape is called the event horizon. In general relativity, crossing a black hole's event horizon traps an object inside but produces no locally detectable change. General relativity also predicts that every black hole should have a central singularity, where the curvature of spacetime is infinite.Objects whose gravitational fields are too strong for light to escape were first considered in the 18th century. In 1916, the first solution of general relativity that would characterise a black hole was found. By the late 1950s, this solution began to be interpreted physically as a region of space from which nothing can escape. Black holes were long considered a mathematical curiosity; it was not until the 1960s that theoretical work showed they were a generic prediction of general relativity. The first widely accepted black hole was Cygnus X-1, identified by several researchers independently in 1971.Black holes typically form when very massive stars collapse at the end of their life cycle. After a black hole has formed, it can grow by absorbing mass from its surroundings. Supermassive black holes of millions of solar masses may form by absorbing stars and merging with other black holes, or via direct collapse of gas clouds. There is consensus that supermassive black holes exist in the centres of most galaxies.Quantum field theory in curved spacetime predicts that event horizons emit Hawking radiation, with its rate of emission being inversely proportional to its mass. This causes the black hole to lose mass very slowly, provided it is not accreting matter. However, even the smallest class of black holes observed, stellar black holes, are gaining mass from the cosmic microwave background faster than they are losing mass via Hawking radiation.The presence of a black hole can be inferred through its interaction with matter and electromagnetic radiation such as visible light. Matter falling toward a black hole can form an accretion disk of infalling plasma, heated by friction and emitting light. In extreme cases, this creates a quasar, some of the brightest objects in the universe. Merging black holes can be detected by the gravitational waves they emit. If stars are orbiting a black hole, their motions can be used to determine the black hole's mass and location. In this way, astronomers have identified numerous stellar black hole candidates in binary systems and established that the radio source known as Sagittarius A*, at the core of the Milky Way galaxy, contains a supermassive black hole of about 4.3 million solar masses.This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 00:37 UTC on Friday, 17 July 2026.For the full current version of the article, see Black hole on Wikipedia.This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes.Follow us on Bluesky at @wikioftheday.com.Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast.Until next time, I'm generative Brian.

With compassion and presence, Trudy Goodman teaches listeners how to bear the unbearable through our own willingness to hold it. Today's podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beherenow and get on your way to being your best self.https://youtu.be/TwYZlCsBKncIn this episode, Trudy Goodman offers her perspective on:Learning to be present and okay with our strong emotionsRecognizing our emotions as the first step in working with themAllowing difficult emotions without being swept awaySurrounding our pain with compassion Noticing the bodily sensations that arise with strong emotionsSelf-regulation and soothing the startled heartThe powerful statement “it's like this”Merging with the world of intuitive wisdom This was recorded at Spirit Rock and was originally published on DharmaseedAbout Trudy Goodman:Trudy is a Vipassana teacher in the Theravada lineage and the Founding Teacher of InsightLA. For 25 years, in Cambridge, MA, Trudy practiced mindfulness-based psychotherapy with children, teenagers, couples and individuals. Trudy conducts retreats, engages in activism work, and teaches workshops worldwide and online. She is also the voice of Trudy the Love Barbarian in the Netflix series, The Midnight Gospel. You can learn more about Trudy's flourishing array of wonderful offerings at TrudyGoodman.com “By allowing reality to be as it is, since it is that way anyways, we're making a relationship with it that's based on clarity. It is a paradox that I think most therapists know: that by allowing something and accepting something and even by positively connoting what needs to change, not struggling with it, surrounding it with metta and compassion, we actually stop our war with reality. When we stop resisting what's true, we aren't fixating on it, and it's free to move and change. This is called radical acceptance.” –Trudy GoodmanSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode, I sit down with Sam Primm, a St. Louis investor, entrepreneur, and best-selling author of Own Your Freedom. Sam made a serious jump from a W-2 corporate job into real estate, and he did not play small. Over the last 12 years he has closed more than 2,000 deals and built a rental portfolio worth around $50 million, all without using his own money. What I appreciated most about this conversation is how candid Sam was. He walked me through the early days of buying one rental at a time on the side, the moment he realized he could keep scaling with other people's money, and the systemized way he finally left his job rather than jumping in blind. We also got real about the last couple of years, where higher interest rates and a tougher market forced him to lean into personal development and grind through a genuine mental test. We spent a good chunk of time on mentorship and mindset, because that is where Sam and I are cut from the same cloth. He makes the case for why even the best in the world hire coaches, why poor people look at the cost of something while wealthy people look at the return, and why the fear of failure quietly guarantees that people never succeed. He is also refreshingly blunt about the guru problem in this space and what separates people actually doing deals from those just selling courses. Toward the end, Sam shares what he is focused on now: repositioning a portfolio that got a little too heavy in multifamily during the 2021 and 2022 run-up, and re-honing in on simple single family rentals, which he believes are the best starting point for 90% of newer investors. If you have been on the fence about getting a coach, scared of debt, or afraid to fail, this one will light a fire under you.   Key Talking Points of the Episode 00:00  Introduction and the three paydays philosophy 00:22  Meet Sam Primm: 2,000+ deals and a $50 million portfolio using none of his own money 01:51  Sam's path from an engineer's son to full-time investor 02:07  Reading Rich Dad Poor Dad and starting to invest on the side 04:12  The original goal of one rental a year for ten years 04:46  Seeing the power of scaling with other people's money and leaving the job 05:33  Whether Sam leaned on mentors and coaches early on 06:10  Merging with a local investor who taught him to build a real company 07:09  The mental game of going from solo operator to running a company 07:48  Why the last two or three years have been a mental grind 09:41  Why mentorship still matters at every stage 10:14  The Tom Brady example: the best in the world still hire coaches 10:55  Poor people look at cost, wealthy people look at return 11:46  A look inside the Apprentice program and In the Trenches Bootcamp 14:44  Context and perspective: a $10,000 dinner versus a $10,000 wealth tool 16:08  Sam's take on gurus who have never done a deal 17:08  Why coaches who stop doing deals lose touch with the market 18:47  What Sam is focused on today and repositioning the portfolio 19:38  The Branson hotel lesson and roughly $20,000 a month in losses 20:13  Why single family rentals are his calling card 22:24  Two closing nuggets: don't fear debt and expect failure 24:08  Why the first deal going sideways is the best thing that can happen   Quotables "Nobody creates wealth with their own money, or they're already wealthy." "Poor people look at the cost of something. Wealthy people look at the return." "People avoid failure, and unknowingly they're avoiding success."   Links: Sam Primm — Faster Freedom (his real estate education company) — Faster Freedom   Sam Primm on Instagram — @samfasterfreedom — https://www.instagram.com/samfasterfreedom/   Sam Primm on YouTube — https://www.youtube.com/c/SamFasterFreedom   3 Paydays® Live https://3paydayslive.com/podcast   Free Discovery Call https://smartrealestatecoachpodcast.com/discovery   3 Paydays® System Mastery Course - Use coupon code for 50% off https://smartrealestatecoach.com/qls Coupon code: pod   Apprentice Program 3PaydaysApprentice.com/Podcast    Masterclass https://smartrealestatecoach.com/masterspodcast   3 Paydays Books https://3paydaysbooks.com/podcast   Partners https://smartrealestatecoach.com/podcastresources

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Mergers and acquisitions may bring organizations together on paper, but revenue cycle operations rarely align automatically. This episode's discussion explores what leaders should understand about workflows, systems, reporting, culture, and operational continuity when RCM teams and processes come together.Brought to you by www.infinx.com

Welcome to The Daily Wrap Up, an in-depth investigatory show dedicated to bringing you the most relevant independent news, as we see it, from the last 24 hours (7/13/26). As always, take the information discussed in the video below and research it for yourself, and come to your own conclusions. Anyone telling you what the truth is, or claiming they have the answer, is likely leading you astray, for one reason or another. Stay Vigilant. !function(r,u,m,b,l,e){r._Rumble=b,r[b]||(r[b]=function(){(r[b]._=r[b]._||[]).push(arguments);if(r[b]._.length==1){l=u.createElement(m),e=u.getElementsByTagName(m)[0],l.async=1,l.src="https://rumble.com/embedJS/u2q643"+(arguments[1].video?'.'+arguments[1].video:'')+"/?url="+encodeURIComponent(location.href)+"&args="+encodeURIComponent(JSON.stringify([].slice.apply(arguments))),e.parentNode.insertBefore(l,e)}})}(window, document, "script", "Rumble");   Rumble("play", {"video":"v7ai5do","div":"rumble_v7ai5do"}); Source Links (In Chronological Order): (5) The Last American Vagabond on X: "Every say this platform suppressing honest, objective, non-partisan media." / X (5) Vani Hari on X: "THE NUMBERS ARE IN. Processed food is dying a slow death and BIG FOOD is crumbling. There's a massive shift happening. Look how much processed food companies have LOST in value in the last 22 months. Stock value lost since August 2024: * Campbell's: DOWN 54.9% (Goldfish, https://t.co/1O6mv9rDrl" / X Trump Cuts Habitat Protections for Endangered Species - The New York Times MAHA's Food Agenda Undermined By Trump Administration Policies Trump's New $2B WHO, FDA Walks Back Food Dye Ban & The US Gov's Long-Documented Cartel Connections Trump Ignores MAHA By Ruling Glyphosate "National Security" Imperative Despite Obvious Health Risks New Tab (6) Viral Reel Addict on X: "They all knew who Donald Trump really was. Lindsey Graham says it https://t.co/UEgU1N5mzQ" / X (21) This You? on X: "https://t.co/6AKy2zcq9p" / X (21) This You? on X: "https://t.co/l07xkoLVZs" / X (21) James Li on X: "So they are just openly admitting that Lindsey Graham was basically a mole for the Israel?! https://t.co/q6ISHUByzZ" / X Trump recommends Graham's sister for interim South Carolina senator (21) The Last American Vagabond on X: "So much for dEmOcRaCy. These people truly believe they are a special class. Almost like what would happen with a royal bloodline." / X (21) Owen Shroyer on X: "The scripts went from network news to X. It's easy to see once you spot it." / X (21) Dr. Simon on X: "2022

Here is a comprehensive and structured English summary of this beautiful Shabad composed by Guru Arjan Dev Ji in Raag Jaitsari.Overall ThemeThis Shabad is a profound prayer of humility, surrender, and ultimate liberation. Guru Ji describes the countless shortcomings of human beings, the inescapable trap of worldly illusion (Maya), and emphasizes that true peace and salvation can only be achieved by surrendering to the omnipresent, merciful Divine through the chanting of His Name (Naam).Section 1: Humility and Divine ProtectionThe Salok: The Divine is described as the highest, unfathomable, limitless, and beyond description. Only God has the ultimate power to protect those who seek His refuge.The Chhant: Guru Ji prays with deep humility, asking God to save him "by any means possible." He confesses that humans commit countless sins daily and remain helplessly intoxicated by the terrifying illusions of Maya. Even when we try to commit sins in secret, God is always watching, being "nearer than near." The section ends with a plea to be pulled out of the terrifying, cyclical ocean of worldly existence.Section 2: Total Surrender and Single-Minded DevotionThe Salok: God’s virtues are unquantifiable, and His Name is supreme. Guru Ji prays that even the shelterless (those with no status or virtue) may find a home at the Divine’s feet.The Chhant: There is no alternative shelter in the universe except God. Guru Ji advises us to pray with folded hands day and night. By abandoning pride, emotional attachment, and dualism, and by surrendering our mind and body completely to the Creator, we can obtain our heart's deepest desires and merge into the Eternal Truth.Section 3: Accumulating the True WealthThe Salok: The mind is urged to meditate on the Divine, who holds the strings of all life and destiny. The true wealth to accumulate is Ram Naam (the Divine Name), as it is the only asset that accompanies the soul after death.The Chhant: God is our only true, eternal companion; He is omnipresent, filling the water, land, and skies. He is the ultimate Giver. Since His virtues are infinite and cannot be counted, one must remain in His sanctuary, for He is the source of all peace.Section 4: Ultimate Liberation and Merging with LightThe Salok: By meditating on the Divine Name, all desires of the heart are fulfilled, and total, unshakeable peace is obtained.The Chhant: In the final stanza, the soul celebrates liberation. By joining the holy congregation (Sadhu Sangat) and focusing on the Name through the Guru’s guidance, the individual soul merges with the Divine Light. All past sins are washed away, the burning desires of the mind are quenched, and the cycle of birth and death is burnt away. God, in His ultimate mercy, takes the devotee by the arm, embraces them, and makes them His own in a single moment.Key Takeaway: No matter how many mistakes a person makes, sincere surrender, letting go of ego, and meditating on the Divine Name under the guidance of the Guru can bridge the gap between humans and the Creator, leading to instant liberation.

In this episode, Tyler Clark and Coleman Ayers sit down with Dr. Tony Miller, head men's basketball coach at Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina, where he has taught for 20 years and served on staff since the program's intercollegiate launch in 2012. Tony brings a teacher's lens to coaching, discussing how his background in secondary education shapes the way he thinks about player learning, classroom management principles applied to the court, and the balance between "old school" influences like Coach K and John Wooden and "new school" concepts from Alex Sarama and Chris Oliver. The conversation covers identity, both for players and coaches, the challenge of building culture quickly given roster turnover from the transfer portal, and what it means to run a truly player-led program.The back half of the episode dives deep into Tony's analytics-driven approach to shot selection, including his "5-7-9" shot rating system and the "sevens for 70" practice game he uses to teach shot quality. He also unpacks his program's core values (character, competitiveness, connectedness), his approach to individual meetings and recruiting fit, and closes with a reflection on Bob Ritchie's "person development over player development" philosophy and what legacy really means beyond wins and awards.Timestamps0:00 — Introduction to guest Tony Miller, head coach at Bob Jones University 0:50 — Merging the classroom and the court: Tony's background as a teacher 6:57 — Filtering information overload post-COVID and knowing who you are as a coach 11:02 — Getting the most out of individual players within a team setting 19:49 — Identity — helping players and coaches figure out who they are 26:47 — Balancing team culture with individual expression 31:51 — Empowering players to problem-solve ("figure it out") 36:14 — Intentionality in practice design and managing controlled chaos 43:43 — Individual development within the team system 49:32 — Letting players surprise you — positionless development 53:44 — Building team culture fast through individual conversations and analytics 1:02:31 — Shot selection analytics: the "5-7-9" shot rating system and "sevens for 70" 1:11:38 — Generating advantage shots with a different roster every year 1:22:12 — Bob Ritchie's "person development over player development" and legacy 1:26:35 — Closing thoughts and where to find Tony MillerResources & LinksFree Resources: https://byanymeanscoaches.com/resources BAM Coaches Platform: https://platform.byanymeanscoaches.com/#/platform Books: https://byanymeanscoaches.com/blueprint-bookKeep ListeningG-League Coach of the Year, Vitor Galvani, on Why Player Development Isn't Linear, G-League Practices, Being Where Your Feet Are and Much More Another head coach interview covering player ownership, balancing structure with freedom, and long-term development over short-term results — themes that run throughout the Tony Miller conversation. https://www.buzzsprout.com/1911095/episodes/19047395Alessandro Nocera on Building More Conceptual Players A coach interview exploring conceptual, principles-based offense and adapting philosophy to personnel — a natural pairing with Tony's system-plus-freedom approach to advantage creation. https://www.buzzsprout.com/1911095/episodes/19331880Stuart Armstrong on Talent Identification, Development, Ecological Dynamics and much more Digs into coach education, athlete identity, and building intuition-driven decision-makers — echoes Tony's emphasis on questioning players and developing independent thinkers. https://www.buzzsprout.com/1911095/episodes/18955528

One Team One Fight.Https://murmediagroup.comRSS:https://rss.com/podcasts/ltcstevenmurray/How to find me: @ThePathFoward25 on Twitter @LTC Steven Murray on TelegramSubstack https://substack.com/@thepathforward25https://preppedselfreliance.substack.com/

Money can be the silent partner in every relationship—often creating tension, stress, and confusion that can easily escalate into conflict. Beneath the numbers, every dollar spent or saved carries deeper questions about happiness, security, and the life we're working so hard to build together. How can couples bridge the gap between financial security and true personal fulfillment, especially when their instincts and money habits seem worlds apart? In this episode, listeners are guided through the core foundations of financial well-being and shown how to transform money conversations from battlegrounds into opportunities for connection. The discussion offers practical strategies for navigating differing money personalities, building trust and transparency, and creating shared goals. Listeners will learn why understanding the "why" behind spending habits matters as much as the "how" of budgeting, and how aligning values can lead to both financial security and genuine happiness in a partnership. Lori Atwood is the founder and CEO of Fearless Finance and a CFP® professional. Lori created Fearless Finance to make expert, fiduciary, hourly financial planning accessible to everyone with no sales, no minimums, and no judgment. Lori's been in finance for over 25 years, starting in investment banking, asset management, and private equity before starting Fearless Finance in 2016.   Episode Highlights 05:03 Understanding deep-rooted money habits in relationships. 08:58 Merging finances: Transparency, trust, and relationship satisfaction. 11:04 The link between personal happiness and financial well-being. 14:19 Identifying the root causes behind spending and financial stress. 18:28 Exploring life changes: Navigating career shifts and financial decisions. 20:34 Overcoming financial paralysis: Bringing clarity to big decisions. 23:43 The five financial foundations every couple needs. 27:45 Negotiating financial priorities and the complexity of fairness. 30:51 Making deliberate financial choices and the power of data. 34:57 Empathy, non-judgment, and the importance of transparency. 36:53 Personalizing savings goals and uncovering hidden financial motivations. 41:35 Divorce, separation, and preparing for major financial transitions. 45:11 Individual happiness, financial security, and taking informed action.   Your Checklist of Actions to Take Spend Less Than You Earn: Track your monthly income and expenses to ensure you consistently spend less than you bring in. Set Up an Oopsie Fund: Establish a cash reserve of $3,000–$5,000 in a separate account to cover unexpected expenses like car repairs or emergency travel. Build an Emergency Fund: Save three to six months' worth of living expenses in a high-yield savings or money market account to protect against major disruptions like job loss or illness. Contribute to Retirement: Allocate at least 15% of your pre-tax income to retirement accounts, using employer matches and Roth or traditional IRAs if available. Manage Consumer Debt: Pay off or create a plan to reduce unsecured debt, such as credit cards and personal loans, before setting other financial goals. Merge Finances for Transparency: If you're in a committed partnership, consider merging accounts to enhance trust, transparency, and shared financial management. Communicate Financial Priorities: Regularly discuss values, priorities, and spending plans with your partner to proactively address differences and prevent misunderstandings. Seek Fiduciary Financial Advice: Get unbiased financial guidance from fee-only, fiduciary advisors whose costs are transparent and posted upfront.   Mentioned Common Cents: Bank Account Structure and Couples' Relationship Dynamics (Journal of Consumer Research) (article) Shifting Criticism For Connected Communication (free guide)   Connect with Lori Atwood Website: fearlessfinance.com Facebook: facebook.com/fearlessfinance Instagram: instagram.com/fearlessfinance LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/fearless-finance X: x.com/fearlessfinance  TikTok: tiktok.com/@fearlessfinance  

— In this profound and deeply heartfelt episode, Valeria sits down with Colleen Quinn to explore the sacred intersection of psychology, spirituality, breathwork, and soul awakening. Together, they dive into the transformational journey behind her upcoming book, Essence Merging — a raw and intimate exploration of trauma, healing, divine love, and the courage to return home to the authentic self. Through near-death experiences, conscious breathwork, mystical synchronicities, and emotional truth, Colleen shares how life's deepest wounds can become portals into awakening and radical self-love. Blending decades of clinical expertise with spiritual insight, this conversation invites listeners into a deeper understanding of what it means to heal not only the mind, but the soul itself. This episode is a powerful reminder that within every breakdown lies the possibility of transformation, and within every breath lives a pathway back to love. Valeria interviews Colleen Quinn — She is the author of  "Essence Merging." Colleen Quinn is a transpersonal psychologist with a child specialty along with certification in breathwork. The word psychology comes from the Greek meaning study of the soul. True healing always takes us into direct relationship with our own soul, bringing coherence to mind, body, and heart. This is Colleen's devotion, not only for herself, but for all. The most reliable way to converse with our own soul is through conscious, integrative breathwork. Colleen has taught psychology at The Ohio State University, Virginia Commonwealth University, Columbus State Community College and was the dean at Hondros College.  Colleen has published research in many top-tier scientific journals, among them Emotion, Adolescent Psychology, and Residential Treatment for Children and Youth to name a few. In her private practice, spanning decades, Colleen used Somatic Experiencing (SE) and Internal Family Systems (IFS). Both techniques use breathwork to find and feel our body's stored traumas, loving them to bring healing.  In 2018, Colleen had her second near-death experience, leading her to utter the plea, "let me be love in every moment." This was the catalyst for her spiritual awakening. Her profoundly intimate and raw transformation is chronicled in the upcoming book by Vanguard Press, Essence Merging, due out in April 2026. Colleen uses story to inspire others that there is so much more to life. Emotional truths are interwoven into an unconventional love story that connects us with Colleen and her breathwork partner as they follow the leadings of conscious breath into rediscovery of ancient tantric practices. SE and IFS come to life in her breathwork descent journeys. She weaves in pop culture, mystical synchronicities, psychology, and ancient traditions as she sheds her shame to in-spire others. This story is an invitation for readers to discover their own divine blueprint, and a guide to returning home to the sacred self.  To learn more about Colleen Quinn and her work, please visit: https://www.essencemerging.com/.

SaaStr 865: The Agents #008: Agents Are Merging, Not Multiplying. Plus, Sam Blond on Why Outbound Isn't Dead. Everyone told you the future is 100 specialized agents, one for every job. That's not what's happening at SaaStr AI. Their AI VP of Finance didn't get its own app. It moved in with the AI VP of Marketing. The agents are collapsing into each other, sharing knowledge, sharing context, going deeper together. In this episode, Amelia and Jason do a live breakdown of their AI VP of Finance: how they wired Bill.com, QuickBooks, Brex, and PandaDoc into one agent, what the agent found on day one that their human finance team never did, and why contract close to invoice now takes 30 seconds instead of a day. Then Sam Blond, founder and CEO of Monaco and one of the most respected sales minds in SaaS, joins to talk about why outbound still works, what brand and message market fit actually mean for AI agents in the field, and why Monaco is building toward one GTM platform that does everything. You'll learn: Why SaaStr's agents are merging, not multiplying, and what the "monorepo" model means for your own AI stack The exact integrations that power their AI VP of Finance (and which ones took 10 minutes vs. an hour) How the agent surfaced collections problems and automations the human team never knew existed Why "set it and forget it" is a myth, and what happened when Qualified was still selling 2026 tickets weeks after the event ended Sam Blond on brand, message market fit, and what actually makes AI outbound work for companies that aren't SaaStr Why FDE relationships are now more valuable than any AE, and what that means for how you buy and sell software This is for you if: You're a founder or operator wondering whether to build a separate finance agent or fold it into what you already have You run outbound and keep hearing it's dead (it's not) You're evaluating your GTM stack and wondering if you need five agents or one You want a real, unfiltered look at what it takes to run AI agents in production, including the failures

Preview for Later Today: Richard Epstein. Richard Epstein critiques a Supreme Court ruling regarding the President's authority to fire the FTC chairman. He argues against merging prosecutorial and judicial functions, calling such arrangements a "monstrous" threat to due process.1976 

In Part 2 of The Mechanics of Magick: Drumming, Trance, and the Brain, we follow rhythm from the sacred road into the war road and the modern machine. This episode examines war drums, military cadence, synchronized movement, crowd power, ritual physiology, propaganda, slogans, media framing, algorithmic repetition, moral-emotional contagion, and the illusory truth effect. The argument is not that rhythm is evil. The argument is that rhythm is morally flexible and powerful. It can heal, gather, strengthen, command, manipulate, or capture depending on the world built around it. The drum teaches us to hear the visible pulse first, so we can recognize the hidden drums of the modern world: the chant, the slogan, the feed, the notification loop, the soundtrack, the repeated frame, and the rhythm that trains attention before thought has time to speak.Links For The Occult Rejectshttps://linktr.ee/theoccultrejectsOccult Research Institutehttps://www.occultresearchinstitute.org/Substackhttps://substack.com/@theoccultrejects?r=7auau0&utm_campaign=profile&utm_medium=profile-pageCash Apphttps://cash.app/$theoccultrejectsVenmo@TheOccultRejectsBuy Me A Coffeebuymeacoffee.com/TheOccultRejectsPatreonhttps://www.patreon.com/TheOccultRejectsRhythm, Marching, Synchrony, and the GroupBodyMcNeill, William H. Keeping Together in Time: Dance and Drill in Human History. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1995.Use for dance, drill, marching, synchronized movement, and “muscular bonding.” This is one of the best historical anchors for the claim that moving together in time can help bind human groups through the body. It belongs in the war drum, marching, military cadence, procession, and crowd-power material.Wiltermuth, Scott S., and Chip Heath. “Synchrony and Cooperation.” Psychological Science 20, no. 1 (2009): 1–5.Use for the claim that synchronized action can increase cooperation. This supports the argument that marching, chanting, dancing, and acting in time can alter group attachment and behavior.Hove, Michael J., and Jane L. Risen. “It's All in the Timing: Interpersonal Synchrony Increases Affiliation.” Social Cognition 27, no. 6 (2009): 949–960.Use for interpersonal synchrony and affiliation. This supports the softer social-bonding side of rhythm: people who coordinate timing can feel more connected.Tarr, Bronwyn, Jacques Launay, and Robin I. M. Dunbar. “Music and Social Bonding: ‘Self-Other' Merging and Neurohormonal Mechanisms.” Frontiers in Psychology 5 (2014): 1096.Use for music, synchrony, bonding, self-other merging, endorphins, and why rhythmic group activity can feel socially powerful. This belongs in both crowd sections and the “operator as instrument” material.Reddish, Paul, Ronald Fischer, and Joseph Bulbulia. “Let's Dance Together: Synchrony, Shared Intentionality and Cooperation.” PLOS ONE 8, no. 8 (2013): e71182.Use as extra support for synchrony and cooperation. Good optional source if you want more than Wiltermuth and Heath.Ritual Physiology, Crowd Arousal, and Collective EffervescenceKonvalinka, Ivana, Dimitris Xygalatas, Joseph Bulbulia, Uri Schjødt, Else-Marie Jegindø, Sebastian Wallot, Guy Van Orden, and Andreas Roepstorff. “Synchronized Arousal Between Performers and Related Spectators in a Fire-Walking Ritual.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 108, no. 20 (2011): 8514–8519.Use for the strongest fire-walking physiology source. This is the study showing synchronized arousal between active ritual performers and related spectators. It supports the claim that intense ritual fields can show up in bodies, not only in symbols.Xygalatas, Dimitris, Ivana Konvalinka, Joseph Bulbulia, and Andreas Roepstorff. “Quantifying Collective Effervescence: Heart-Rate Dynamics at a Fire-Walking Ritual.” Communicative & Integrative Biology 4, no. 6 (2011): 735–738.Use as a shorter interpretive companion to the PNAS fire-walking study. Good for the phrase “collective effervescence” and for explaining shared heart-rate dynamics in accessible language.Xygalatas, Dimitris. Ritual: How Seemingly Senseless Acts Make Life Worth Living. New York: Little, Brown Spark, 2022.Use for ritual, pain, synchrony, group bonding, arousal, and embodied social meaning. This is useful when moving from older ritual containers into modern crowd and spectacle.Hobson, Nicholas M., Juliana Schroeder, Jane L. Risen, Dimitris Xygalatas, and Michael Inzlicht. “The Psychology of Rituals: An Integrative Review and Process-Based Framework.” Personality and Social Psychology Review 22, no. 3 (2018): 260–284.Use for ritual as emotion regulation, performance regulation, social bonding, and formalized action. This supports the “ritual does things, it does not merely represent things” argument.War, Crowds, Mass Movements, and Collective IdentityLe Bon, Gustave. The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind. 1895.Use carefully. Le Bon is historically important for crowd psychology, but outdated and often elitist. Good as a historical source on crowd fear and mass suggestion, but balance it with modern social psychology.Canetti, Elias. Crowds and Power. New York: Viking Press, 1962.Use for a literary-philosophical treatment of crowds, power, command, fear, and collective bodies. Good for atmosphere and conceptual framing, not as a modern experimental source.Hoffer, Eric. The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1951.Use for mass movements, fanaticism, belonging, identity, resentment, sacrifice, and the psychology of ideological devotion. Use carefully; it is sharp and useful, but not a modern empirical study.Tajfel, Henri, and John C. Turner. “An Integrative Theory of Intergroup Conflict.” In The Social Psychology of Intergroup Relations, edited by William G. Austin and Stephen Worchel, 33–47. Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole, 1979.Use for social identity theory, in-groups, out-groups, belonging, status, and group comparison. This supports the claim that slogans and group language do not only communicate ideas; they also mark identity.Tajfel, Henri. Human Groups and Social Categories: Studies in Social Psychology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981.Use as a broader social-identity source. Good for group belonging, categorization, prejudice, and in-group/out-group dynamics.Propaganda, Symbols, Slogans, and Mass CommunicationLasswell, Harold D. Propaganda Technique in the World War. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1927.Use for propaganda as symbolic management, war messaging, enemy construction, morale, and the manipulation of attitudes through stories, reports, images, rumors, and other significant symbols. This is a core Part 2 source.Lasswell, Harold D. “The Theory of Political Propaganda.” The American Political Science Review 21, no. 3 (1927): 627–631.Use for the clean definition: propaganda as the management of collective attitudes through significant symbols. This is perfect for the slogan/crowd/media rhythm sections.Ellul, Jacques. Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes. Translated by Konrad Kellen and Jean Lerner. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1965.Use for propaganda as a modern social technique, not merely lies. Ellul belongs in the “modern machine” argument because he treats propaganda as environmental, repetitive, social, technological, and tied to belonging.Bernays, Edward. Propaganda. New York: Horace Liveright, 1928.Use for public relations, engineered consent, mass persuasion, and the management of public opinion. Good supporting source, especially if you want advertising and PR to sit beside political propaganda.Herman, Edward S., and Noam Chomsky. Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media. New York: Pantheon Books, 1988.Use if you want a media-system critique: institutional filtering, agenda power, elite framing, and consent formation. This is useful for Part 2 but has a more political-economy angle than the rhythm/trance argument.Media Framing, Agenda-Setting, and Repeated AttentionMcCombs, Maxwell E., and Donald L. Shaw. “The Agenda-Setting Function of Mass Media.” Public Opinion Quarterly 36, no. 2 (1972): 176–187.Use for agenda-setting: media may not tell people exactly what to think, but it can influence what people think about and how important issues feel. This fits the “repetition trains attention” argument.Entman, Robert M. “Framing: Toward Clarification of a Fractured Paradigm.” Journal of Communication 43, no. 4 (1993): 51–58.Use for framing: selecting certain aspects of reality and making them more salient. This supports the section on media frames as secular ritual structures that define problems, causes, moral judgments, and remedies.Gitlin, Todd. The Whole World Is Watching: Mass Media in the Making and Unmaking of the New Left. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1980.Use if you want a historical case study on media framing and protest movements. Good optional source for how movements get shaped, simplified, or distorted by media attention.Postman, Neil. Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business. New York: Viking Penguin, 1985.Use as cultural/media theory support for entertainment, spectacle, image, and public discourse. Useful for the “modern machine” angle, but more essayistic than experimental.Repetition, Familiarity, and the Illusory Truth EffectHasher, Lynn, David Goldstein, and Thomas Toppino. “Frequency and the Conference of Referential Validity.” Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior 16, no. 1 (1977): 107–112.Use for the classic repetition/familiarity basis of the illusory truth effect. This supports the claim that repeated statements can gain perceived validity because they become easier and more familiar to processAlso want to remind people about the website, if you're into reading we have tons of information by multiple contributors, and we got t-shirts up on the site if you're interested. Fun fact, the art is all based on the eyeball. 

Bemetra Simmons is the President and CEO of the Tampa Bay Partnership, a coalition of regional business and nonprofit leaders focused on improving the civic quality and economic well-being of Tampa Bay. Since taking the role in 2021, she has worked to convene CEOs, policymakers, business leaders, and community organizations around major regional issues including housing affordability, transportation, workforce development, education, and economic competitiveness.She explains:◼️Why Tampa Bay's housing crisis is really a workforce housing crisis◼️How 400,000 households are being cost burdened by housing and transportation◼️Why Tampa Bay needs a regional strategy instead of every city solving problems alone◼️How merging transportation planning could help Tampa Bay compete for major infrastructure funding◼️Why public private partnerships may be the key to building housing, transit, and long-term regional growth0:00 Intro1:02 What the partnership does4:45 Regional housing study findings7:32 Tampa Bay Rising initiative12:24 Merging transportation planning organizations19:34 Regional Infrastructure Accelerator explained21:27 Five shortlisted transit projects33:15 Private capital and financing39:21 Workforce housing challenges49:08 Regional collaboration and identity

Merging with Skyler Higley.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Frank Longobardi started a five-person CPA firm in Hartford, Connecticut on November 1st, 1984, with a first-year revenue goal of $300,000. For the next 23 consecutive years, the firm grew both top and bottom line, every single year. By the time he and his partner decided to merge up, they had built a $14.5 million firm with over 100 people and ten partners.In this conversation, Frank walks through every phase of that journey with the kind of candor that only comes from having lived it. He talks about the early days of working 3,000-plus hours a year, the moment he realized hating to lose a $400 tax return was holding his firm back, and why he told every partner the same thing: it is not your client, it is the firm's client. He also shares his perspective on the partnership model at scale, why private equity entered accounting, and what the profession's talent structure will look like as AI reshapes the work.The conversation covers:How a five-person startup grew for 23 consecutive years without a single down yearWhy hating to lose any client, even a $400 return, was the biggest early mistakeHow to transfer client relationships to the next generation of partners without losing the clientWhy he told every partner "it is not your account, it is the firm's account" and what shifted when they embraced thatHow the CohnReznick mega merger came together and what it took to lead a $430 million combined firmWhy the traditional pyramid staffing model is evolving into a diamond shape as AI changes the workHow private equity entered accounting and what PE firms are actually looking for in acquisitionsFrank's career is a rare example of someone who has seen the profession from every angle: sole proprietor, regional firm leader, mega merger architect, top 25 CEO, and now PE advisor. His perspective on what it takes to build something worth buying, merging, or leading is grounded in 40 years of doing exactly that.This episode is for firm owners curious about what the path from small firm to large firm leadership actually looks like, leaders wondering how to transfer client relationships without losing them, practitioners thinking about whether merging up makes sense for their next chapter, and anyone interested in how private equity is evaluating and reshaping accounting firms from the inside.TIMESTAMPS00:00 - Brannon Poe intro and podcast welcome 00:13 - Introducing Frank Longobardi, former CEO of CohnReznick 00:56 - Why Frank chose accounting: a blue-collar family, a high school course, and the University of Connecticut 01:55 - Frank's career path: regional firm, Big Eight, and starting his own firm in 1984 02:42 - The first business plan: $300K goal, five people, $40K salary each 03:02 - 23 consecutive years of top and bottom line growth at Longobardi and Company 03:27 - Merging into J.H. Cohn in 2007 as their entree into Connecticut 04:33 - Running industry groups and earning a board seat at J.H. Cohn 04:46 - The CohnReznick mega merger of 2012: combining a $240M and $190M firm 05:09 - Becoming a $430 million firm and one of the first mega mergers in the profession 05:43 - Running for sole CEO in 2015 and serving a four-year term with mandatory retirement at 65 06:01 - What the CEO years were really like: navigating the compliance-to-advisory shift and people challenges 07:01 - What Frank learned from wearing every hat at a small firm that big firm leaders never experience 07:27 - Strategic planning, partner coaching, and the reality of 1,500 to 1,600 charge hours a year 08:13 - Managing expectations during busy season: communicating with clients and keeping the team motivated 09:13 - The biggest challenges in growing from startup to $14.5 million 10:35 - Client service intensity and keeping good people for the long term as the two main growth drivers 11:07 - Home-grown partners and the value of developing talent from within the CPA firm 11:57 - The biggest mistake: hating to part ways with any client, including a $400 1040 12:13 - What managing at scale taught Frank about the discipline of bringing in the right accounting clients 12:31 - How difficult clients affect team morale and why post-Covid firms have gotten better at weeding them out 13:14 - Why technical CPAs struggle to let go and why letting go is how firms scale 13:46 - How to transfer client relationships to the next generation: patience, coaching, and making it a two-year process 14:42 - Clients belong to the firm, not the partner: why that mindset shift matters for CPA firm succession 15:27 - How Frank developed next-generation leaders by helping them build on their own strengths 16:17 - The partnership model: what works, what does not, and why 270 partners makes decision-making complex 17:26 - Why accounting has become capital-intensive and what that means for the traditional profit distribution model 18:01 - Retaining 5% of revenue inside the firm: why Frank pushed for it and why partners pushed back 18:35 - Why private equity entered accounting: capital needs, governance limitations, and the cost of M&A 19:25 - How accounting firm M&A economics shifted from deferred retirement payments to cash-heavy PE deals 20:05 - The profession is changing faster than ever: AI, private equity, and what that means for CPA firms 20:28 - Frank's post-retirement path: offshoring advisory, private equity diligence, and board seats 21:03 - Working with an offshoring firm post-Covid and watching augmentation services boom, then normalize 22:32 - The build-operate-transfer model for offshore accounting centers in India and South Africa 23:05 - The most critical principle in offshoring: treat the offshore team like any other office 23:40 - Consulting for private equity firms evaluating accounting acquisitions: 8 to 10 diligence projects 24:34 - Board seats at a PE-backed accounting firm in Rochester and a CAS firm in Salt Lake City 25:02 - What Frank has observed about how private equity grows organizations from the inside 25:34 - AI as the biggest trigger for change in the accounting profession over the next 3 to 5 years 26:08 - How AI will affect assurance, tax, advisory, hiring, and training in CPA firms 26:52 - The shift from a pyramid to a diamond: why mid-level technology and analytics talent will matter most 27:32 - Why AI is creating an opportunity to add more value to clients than ever before 28:25 - Accounting enrollment is increasing for the third year in a row: why that matters 28:50 - Starting salaries need to be competitive with private equity and investment banking to attract top talent 29:33 - Book recommendations: "The One Minute Manager" and "Who Moved My Cheese?" and a note on EOS 30:56 - Living your values as a leader: calling people out when they exhibit them, not just stating them 32:06 - Where to connect with Frank: LinkedIn and frank.p.longo@gmail.comThe One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson  Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson Download Now: https://poegroupadvisors.com/accounting-practice-academy/increase-letter/Price increases are nothing to fear. The real challenge is effectively informing clients of these changes. Our templates will help you demonstrate your value and help clients understand the increases necessary to keep your firm afloat.*Download now and receive:*- (1) Major Fee Increase Letter Template- (1) 20% Fee Increase Letter Template

Christian, Herbie, and Karai Roe dive deep into the latest pop culture happenings in this laid-back episode of Systematic Geekology. They kick things off by dissecting Steven Spielberg's new flick, "Disclosure Day," and while Christian's not exactly rolling out the red carpet for it, he's got plenty to say about its flaws. The trio then shifts gears to the iconic "Doctor Who," discussing the buzz around its future and the recent hiatus, which seems like a good time for a breather, considering the mixed bag of the latest seasons. Next up, they chat about the exciting upcoming video games on the horizon, including "Kingdom Hearts IV," "Spyro: A Realm Beyond," and remakes of beloved classics like "Star Fox" and "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time." With witty banter and clever insights, this episode is one for the geeky ages! Merging pop culture with faith, Christian Ashley, Herbie Ramsey, and special guest Karai Roe dive into the latest happenings in the geek world in this engaging episode of Systematic Geekology. Kicking things off, they explore the buzz around Steven Spielberg's new film, Disclosure Day, which has stirred quite the conversation. While Christian shares his disappointment with the film's lack of compelling narrative, Karai and Herbie chime in with their insights, pondering the implications of the film's take on humanity's relationship with alien life. They discuss how the film's depiction of government conspiracies and the moral dilemmas it presents might resonate (or clash) with their shared faith perspectives. Moving on, the trio shifts gears to discuss the latest Doctor Who updates, contemplating whether the series is truly at the end of the line or simply taking a much-needed breather. They dissect the show's evolution, with Christian expressing skepticism about the direction it has taken under Russell T. Davies's stewardship, while Herbie and Karai offer their takes on how the show has navigated its narrative arcs.Takeaways:Christian, Herbie, and Karai dive into the new Spielberg film, Disclosure Day, and dissect its implications, revealing some underwhelming plot points that could leave fans scratching their heads.The podcast crew tackles the latest buzz surrounding Doctor Who, discussing its uncertain future and the need for fresh storytelling to revive the beloved series.Excitement brews over upcoming video games, including Kingdom Hearts IV and a remake of Ocarina of Time, as the guys reminisce about their gaming experiences and what these franchises mean to them.Karai shares insights about the cultural impact of new releases, emphasizing how nostalgia plays a massive role in engaging both old and new fans alike.The discussion takes a humorous turn as the trio pokes fun at the absurdities in pop culture, showcasing their witty banter and natural chemistry throughout the episode.Listeners are encouraged to reflect on the impact of storytelling in media, as the hosts debate the balance between agenda-driven narratives and character development in contemporary shows..Check out more from Karai on his podcast, The Foreign Saints Podcast:https://www.instagram.com/theforeignsaints/Mentioned in this episode:Follow us on Instagram and BlueSky to keep up to date!Follow our show on our socials to keep up to date and get some exclusive content and fun memes!The Anazao Podcast NetworkBe sure to check out the network website to see other podcasts trying to engage honestly with Scripture, Theology, Pop Culture, Martial Arts, Science, and more!Anazao Podcast NetworkBecome a member of Systematic Geekology on our Website!Check out the link to become a member of Systematic Geekology! All member get exclusive extras and shout outs on the show! Some of the paid tiers of membership get store discounts, free merch, and more!SG on FourthwallSystematic GeekologyOur show focuses around our favorite fandoms that we discuss from a Christian perspective. We do not try to put Jesus into all our favorite stories, but rather we try to ask the questions the IPs are asking, then addressing those questions from our perspective. We are not all ordained, but we are the Priests to the Geeks, in the sense that we try to serve as mediators between the cultures around our favorite fandoms and our faith communities.

Riaan van Reenen - CEO, Discovery Life SAfm Market Update - Podcasts and live stream

Brent Peterson sits down with Michelle Donnelly, Chief Revenue Officer at Crescendo, to explore how AI-native customer experience solutions are transforming the way brands interact with their customers. The conversation covers everything from autonomous digital agents to the critical role humans still play in customer support. Michelle brings a wealth of experience from her time at Salesforce and the AI chip industry, and she shares fascinating real-world examples of how Crescendo's approach is turning traditional cost centers into profit centers. If you care about customer experience, this episode deserves your full attention.Key TakeawaysAI agents must work seamlessly with human agents. A digital-only approach without a human fallback creates frustrating loops that drive customers away.Customer support is becoming a revenue channel. By combining personalization, memory, and business context, AI agents can turn a simple support interaction into an upsell opportunity.Speed to value matters. Crescendo deploys in under four weeks, a dramatic improvement over traditional SaaS implementations that can take months.Outcome-based pricing changes the game. Rather than selling seats, Crescendo charges based on outcomes, aligning their success with the customer's success.Multimodal interactions let customers choose. Whether through chat, voice, WhatsApp, or email, the customer decides how they want to engage, and the AI adapts accordingly.Quality assurance reveals powerful patterns. Analyzing interactions across the customer base surfaces product issues and opportunities that brands would otherwise miss.Knowledge bases improve over time. The AI learns from every interaction and actually enhances the brand's existing knowledge base rather than relying on static content.Chapters00:00 Introduction to Crescendo and Michelle's Journey03:53 The Role of AI in Customer Experience09:30 Seamless Integration of Digital and Human Agents15:02 Multimodal Customer Interactions18:52 Quality Assurance and Content Relevance22:26 Transforming Customer Support into Profit Centers28:22 Democratizing AI for All BusinessesConnect with Michelle on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelledonnelly/https://www.linkedin.com/company/crescendocx/

Links For The Occult Rejectshttps://linktr.ee/theoccultrejectsOccult Research Institutehttps://www.occultresearchinstitute.org/Substackhttps://substack.com/@theoccultrejects?r=7auau0&utm_campaign=profile&utm_medium=profile-pageCash Apphttps://cash.app/$theoccultrejectsVenmo@TheOccultRejectsBuy Me A Coffeebuymeacoffee.com/TheOccultRejectsPatreonhttps://www.patreon.com/TheOccultRejectsPart 1 focuses on the drum as an ancient technology of altered consciousness. The argument is not that every beat causes trance, or that neuroscience has proven spirits. The stronger argument is that rhythm enters the human organism through hearing, motor prediction, breath, movement, attention, emotion, expectation, culture, and social synchrony. The drum becomes powerful when sound, body, group, ritual frame, and meaning converge. These sources support the archaeology, neuroscience, EEG research, shamanic studies, possession studies, Indigenous and culturally specific drum traditions, ritual theory, placebo and meaning-response research, ceremonial magic, and modern witchcraft material used in the episode.Core Academic and Scientific SourcesHuels, Emma R., Hyoungkyu Kim, UnCheol Lee, Tirsa Bel-Bahar, Ana V. Colmenero, Alexandra Nelson, Stefanie Blain-Moraes, George A. Mashour, and Richard E. Harris. “Neural Correlates of the Shamanic State of Consciousness.” Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 15 (2021): 610466.Gordon, Yoel, Golan Karvat, Noa Dagan, and Ayelet N. Landau. “Neural Tracking at Theta Predicts Drumming-Induced Altered States of Consciousness.” Scientific Reports 16, no. 1 (2026): Article 10204.Aparicio-Terrés, R., et al. “The Neurobiology of Altered States of Consciousness Induced by Drumming and Other Rhythmic Sound Patterns.” Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 2025.Neher, Andrew. “Auditory Driving Observed with Scalp Electrodes in Normal Subjects.” Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology 13 (1961): 449–451.Neher, Andrew. “A Physiological Explanation of Unusual Behavior in Ceremonies Involving Drums.” Human Biology 34, no. 2 (1962): 151–160.Maurer, R., V. K. Kumar, L. Woodside, and R. J. Pekala. “Phenomenological Experience in Response to Monotonous Drumming and Hypnotizability.” American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis 40, no. 2 (1997): 130–145. Use for monotonous drumming, subjective altered experience, imagery, absorption, and hypnotizability.Maxfield, Melinda C. “Effects of Rhythmic Drumming on EEG and Subjective Experience.” PhD diss., Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, 1990. Use as older supporting context on drumming, EEG, imagery, body-image changes, and subjective altered experience. Do not make this the main scientific proof; use it as background.Nozaradan, Sylvie, Isabelle Peretz, and André Mouraux. “Tagging the Neuronal Entrainment to Beat and Meter.” The Journal of Neuroscience 31, no. 28 (2011): 10234–10240. Use for EEG evidence that the brain can track beat and meter. This supports the claim that the brain does not merely hear rhythm as background sound; it can represent rhythmic structure in measurable ways.Nozaradan, Sylvie. “Exploring How Musical Rhythm Entrains Brain Activity with Electroencephalogram Frequency-Tagging.” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 369, no. 1658 (2014). Use as broader rhythm/EEG entrainment support. This helps explain frequency-tagging, beat tracking, meter, neural entrainment, and the measurable relationship between rhythmic structure and brain activity.Thaut, Michael H., Gerald C. McIntosh, and Volker Hoemberg. “Neurobiological Foundations of Neurologic Music Therapy: Rhythmic Entrainment and the Motor System.” Frontiers in Psychology 5 (2015). Use for rhythm as motor-system timing information. This supports the claim that a beat can become bodily instruction, not just sound for the ear. Especially useful when discussing rhythmic auditory stimulation, motor planning, gait, entrainment, and the auditory-motor bridge.Ross, Jessica M., John R. Iversen, and Ramesh Balasubramaniam. “Time Perception for Musical Rhythms: Sensorimotor Perspectives on Entrainment, Simulation, and Prediction.” 2022. Use for rhythm, timing, prediction, sensorimotor entrainment, and the way musical rhythm interacts with time perception.Hove, Michael J., and Jane L. Risen. “It's All in the Timing: Interpersonal Synchrony Increases Affiliation.” Social Cognition 27, no. 6 (2009): 949–960. Use for synchrony and social bonding. This helps support the group-body argument: moving or acting in time with others can increase affiliation.Wiltermuth, Scott S., and Chip Heath. “Synchrony and Cooperation.” Psychological Science 20, no. 1 (2009): 1–5. Use for the claim that synchronized movement can increase cooperation and attachment among participants.Tarr, Bronwyn, Jacques Launay, and Robin I. M. Dunbar. “Music and Social Bonding: ‘Self-Other' Merging and Neurohormonal Mechanisms.” Frontiers in Psychology 5 (2014): 1096. Use for music, synchrony, bonding, endorphin/social mechanisms, and why group rhythm can feel like more than private listening.Fancourt, Daisy, Rosie Perkins, Sara Ascenso, Louise Atkins, Fatima Kilfeather, and Aaron Williamon. “Effects of Group Drumming Interventions on Anxiety, Depression, Social Resilience and Inflammatory Immune Response among Mental Health Service Users.” PLOS ONE 11, no. 3 (2016): e0151136. Use for modern group-drumming research showing psychological and physiological effects, including anxiety, depression, social resilience, wellbeing, and inflammatory immune response. Use carefully: this does not make group drumming a cure-all. It supports the more grounded claim that embodied rhythm and group participation can affect mood, social connection, and body chemistry.Bittman, Barry B., et al. “Composite Effects of Group Drumming Music Therapy on Modulation of Neuroendocrine-Immune Parameters in Normal Subjects.” Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine 7, no. 1 (2001): 38–47. Use as older supporting material on group drumming and neuroendocrine-immune measures. Keep secondary. Fancourt is cleaner for the main script body.Archaeology and Deep History of DrumsLawergren, Bo. “Neolithic Drums in China.” In Music Archaeology in China. 2006. Use for clay drums in Neolithic China and the deep-history claim that drums are not just poetic symbols of antiquity. They appear in the archaeological record as instruments tied to early sound-making, ceremony, and social order.Both, Arnd Adje. “Music Archaeology: Some Methodological and Theoretical Considerations.” Use as general support for why ancient instruments should be treated as ritual and social evidence, not merely decorative objects.Anthropology, Ethnomusicology, Ritual, and TranceRouget, Gilbert. Music and Trance: A Theory of the Relations Between Music and Possession. Translated by Brunhilde Biebuyck. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1985. Essential source. Use for the caution that music does not mechanically or universally cause trance. Rouget helps keep the argument academically serious by emphasizing culture, ritual frame, meaning, and expectation.Becker, Judith. Deep Listeners: Music, Emotion, and Trancing. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2004. Use for music-linked trancing, emotional absorption, religious experience, and culturally trained ways of listening. This supports the “hearing versus entering” distinction.McNeill, William H. Keeping Together in Time: Dance and Drill in Human History. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1995. Use for marching, dance, drill, muscular bonding, synchronized movement, and rhythm as social glue. This is useful both for Part 1's group-body material and Part 2's war-drum material.Eliade, Mircea. Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1964. Use carefully. Eliade's phrase “archaic techniques of ecstasy” is powerful, but the episode should also note that later scholarship criticizes his tendency to universalize shamanism.Winkelman, Michael. Shamanism: A Biopsychosocial Paradigm of Consciousness and Healing. 2nd ed. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger, 2010. Use for shamanism as a ritual technology involving altered consciousness, healing, social integration, symbolism, and body-brain processes.Winkelman, Michael. “Shamanism and Psychedelics: A Biogenetic Structuralist Paradigm of Ecopsychology.” European Journal of Ecopsychology 4 (2013): 90–115. Use as supplemental background on shamanism, altered consciousness, and comparative models of trance and visionary states.Kontouli, Athanasia, Michael J. Hove, Alexandre Lehmann, Peter Vuust, and Peter E. Keller. “The Rhythms of Trance: Cultural Phenomenology and Neural Mechanisms of Music-Induced Lewis-Williams, David. The Mind in the Cave: Consciousness and the Origins of Art. London: Thames & Hudson, 2002. Use cautiously for altered states, entoptic imagery, ritual vision, and the relationship between neuropsychology and symbolic culture.Non-Ordinary States of Consciousness.” Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 2026. Use for the bridge between cultural phenomenology and neuroscience. This supports the point that music-induced trance is not only acoustics; it involves body, training, expectation, culture, environment, and interpretation.Tart, Charles T., ed. Altered States of Consciousness. New York: Wiley, 1969. Use as classic altered-state background.Hultkrantz, Åke. “The Drum in Shamanism.” Use for classic comparative material on the shamanic drum, especially Arctic, SiberiAlso want to remind people about the website, if you're into reading we have tons of information by multiple contributors, and we got t-shirts up on the site if you're interested. Fun fact, the art is all based on the eyeball. A

On this week's Totally Extra: We're giving Zissbags a little bit more time to recover from the ailment of the yeaaaaaar, but never fear, we'd never leave our Lufannians high and dry. Here's some more of our favourite totally extra, totally and completely Luanna moments. And we will be back with you on Monday! It's time to get TOTALLY EXTRA. Extra chat, extra rants, extra bants, extra stories, nonsense and more.LuAnna: The Podcast is a Global production, available every Monday and Thursday on Global Player, YouTube or wherever you get your shows. Make sure you subscribe so you never miss an episode.Remember, if you want to get in touch you can:Email us at luanna@everythingluanna.com OR drop us a WhatsApp on our NEW NUMBER: 07521564640Please review Global's Privacy Policy: https://global.com/legal/privacy-policy/

Send us Fan MailAre you tired of typical lying politicians who offer nothing but empty campaign promises? Meet Phillip Parrish—a farmer, successful businessman, former U.S. Navy Intelligence officer, and devoted Christian who is running for Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota alongside Mike Lindell. This is an unfiltered, deeply honest look at the man who intends to help clean up the state's infrastructure and restore integrity to the Midwest. In the first half of this special interview, Phillip shares his encouraging personal journey of faith, processing life tragedies through writing, and surviving intense moral and ethical pressure while serving under the Obama administration. In the second half, the conversation transitions completely into the operational future of Minnesota. Phillip pulls back the curtain on "The 30-Year Heist," exposing the systemic grifting networks and massive institutional fraud occurring under Tim Walz, Amy Klobuchar, Keith Ellison, and Ilhan Omar. Listen to this vital message of hope to discover how you can step up, secure your family's future, and actively participate in saving Minnesota. Key Timestamps & Moments of GoldWho is Phillip Parrish?00:00:00 - Introduction to special guest Phillip Parrish 00:00:54 - Growing up on a Minnesota farm and early teaching career 00:01:20 - Joining the U.S. Navy Reserve and sudden post-9/11 deployment 00:02:44 - Baling old-school square hay in the middle of a campaign trail 00:03:35 - The Slogan of the Pod: Listen, Do, Repeat for Life 00:04:09 - Taking on the Spirit of Adoption: Finding a foundation in Romans 8 00:05:51 - Growing up poor and the daily grind of unusual persistence 00:09:29 - Overcoming personal abuse and the vital realization of codependency 00:10:09 - The critical importance of establishing rigid, healthy boundaries 00:13:01 - Countering unbiblical church teachings on blind forgiveness 00:14:58 - Reclaiming personal value and emotional independence 00:18:29 - Navigating free will: The ultimate difference in true biblical faith 00:21:14 - Defying the odds: From a reading-challenged student to an Intelligence Officer 00:23:34 - Standing firm on American exceptionalism and our Christian foundations 00:24:19 - Surviving the intense moral and ethical shifts of the Obama administration 00:26:59 - The watch floor reality: Witnessing the truth of Benghazi and Crimea 00:29:58 - Uncovering gain-of-function semantics and illegal bioweapons funneling 00:35:19 - Behavior Substitution: How writing, journaling, and repetitive prayer keeps you centered What does Phillip Parrish plan to do as Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota?00:40:23 - The Lindell-Parrish parallel mission: Merging election integrity with anti-fraud infrastructure 00:42:43 - Exposing The 30-Year Heist: How legislators built a multi-trillion dollar grifting pipeline 00:43:58 - The hidden truth about Minnesota's 400 weaponized NGOs 00:45:03 - Pulling apart the systemic autism, daycare, housing, and Medicaid fraud networks under Tim Walz 00:46:01 - The calculated destruction of Midwestern culture and weaponized immigration 00:48:22 - Exposing human trafficking agendas cloaked in false humanitarian narratives 00:50:17 - Dismantling administrative corruption: Tearing down fake companies and clawing back taxpayer cash 00:51:35 - Restoring the Minnesota state flag and the pushback against cultural erasure 00:52:30 - The ultimate administrative policy: Standing firm that two plus two equals four 00:54:02 - The economic fallout: Why liberal corporations like Target are fleeing the state 00:55:54 - How to get involved: The County Ambassador program and the crucial August 11th Primary For the full interview, and all links and content please visit: https://davidpasqualone.com/content-type-media/podcasts/the-remarkable-people-podcast/phillip-parrish/Support the showTHE NOT-SO-FINE-PRINT DISCLAIMER: While we are very thankful for all of our guests, please understand that we do not necessarily share or endorse the same beliefs, worldviews, or positions that they may hold. We respectfully agree to disagree in some areas, and thank God for the blessing and privilege of free will.For more Remarkable Episodes, Inspiration, and Motivation, please visit https://davidpasqualone.com/remarkable-people-podcast/ now!

Gianluca, a talented tattoo artist from Italy, shares a profound philosophy about the journey of tattooing that emphasizes the importance of continuous growth and exploration. He believes that artists should never feel they have fully reached their peak; instead, they should always strive to improve and innovate. This mindset is crucial in an ever-evolving art form like tattooing, where trends and techniques are constantly changing.   In this episode of Chats and Tatts, host Aaron Della Vedova connects with Gianluca at the Mondial du Tatouage in Paris. With over 420 artists in attendance, Gianluca stands out for his stunning neo-Japanese and illustrative tattoo work, combining vibrant colors with black and gray elements. Aaron and Gianluca discuss his roots in northeastern Italy near Torino, where he continues to work in his hometown. Listeners can expect insights into Gianluca's artistic process and the vibrant tattoo culture at one of the world's premier tattoo conventions. Tune in for a deep dive into the world of high-quality tattoo artistry!   Chat Highlights:   04:10 First tattoo experience. 05:30 Self-taught tattooing experiences. 11:34 Tattooing as a personal journey. 17:10 Japanese tattooing and innovation. 18:55 Merging tattoo styles creatively. 25:14 Numbing cream for tattoo pain. 29:46 Tattoo machine efficiency debate. 34:06 Tattoo industry changes and challenges. 40:46 Tattoo artist advice. 42:00 Biomechanical Japanese Tattoo.   Quotes:   "I like art and every kind linked to art from when I was a child."   "If you're going to take the time to mark somebody's body, you should probably have done it to yourself first."   "I think the memory's already there. I want something new. Fuck it. Who cares?"   "It's not only the session. It's the journey."   "Maybe my goal is never have a goal."   "If you really want to take your art to the very, very top of the pyramid, you might want to avoid that as long as possible because it does slow you down."   "To see these AI generators that are creating things that are quite interesting to look at, it really hurt my heart a lot because I felt like what I am was taken from me."   "You only have to be yourself and do it in the best way you can."   Stay Connected:   Chats & Tatts: Website: http://www.chatsandtatts.com⁠ Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@chatsandtatts  IG: http://www.instagram.com/chatsandtatts Chats & Tatts YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/chatsandtatts   Connect with Aaron:⁠   Aaron IG:⁠ http://www.instagram.com/aarondellavedova⁠ Guru Tattoo: http://www.Gurutattoo.com   Connect with Gianluca IG: https://www.instagram.com/gdc_tattoo  

Tim delivers a passionate message focused on John 13:34–35. He begins by introducing the biblical context of the passage, noting that it takes place within the "Upper Room Discourse," where Jesus delivers His farewell address to His closest followers right before finishing His earthly ministry in Jerusalem. Within this critical final charge, Jesus issues what He calls a "new command": “Love one another as I have loved you so you must love one another.” Tim explains that the command to love is not historically "new" to the disciples, as they were deeply familiar with the Old Testament laws to love God and love their neighbors. What makes it revolutionary is the person giving the command—Jesus—and the fact that He places Himself at the very center as the ultimate definition and source of this love. Tim emphasizes that a person cannot truly understand or define biblical love unless they intimately know Jesus, warning against letting the secular world dictate the definition of love. To show how biblical love departs from the world's transactional version, Tim unpacks the profound terminology used across Scripture. In the Old Testament, the primary word is hesed—a complex, multi-dimensional concept combining loyalty, kindness, promise-keeping, and mercy. It represents a covenant commitment where God consistently leans His blessing toward humanity despite their unfaithfulness. In the New Testament, the Greek word is agape, which refers to a sacrificial, deliberate laying down of one's own conveniences for the sake of others. Merging these concepts, Tim defines biblical love as a holy, self-giving commitment that expresses itself in tangible actions to benefit others, remaining entirely independent of feelings or the recipient's behavior. The challenge of this command becomes evident when looking at the intense diversity of the disciples Jesus gathered. The group included competing brothers, rough fishermen, a corrupt tax collector, a politically radical zealot, and women delivered from evil spirits. Tim notes that the modern church mirrors this exact same messy, diverse family dynamic. Believers are called to love people from vastly different backgrounds, including those whose political or social views might normally frustrate them, and even those who become outright enemies. Ultimately, Tim declares that this supernatural, unconditional love is intended to be the primary distinguishing mark of a Christian. While human nature relies on transactional relationships—cutting people off when they are no longer beneficial—spirit-filled love sticks with people sacrificially, which acts as the ultimate verification to the world that someone truly belongs to Christ. Grounding the congregation in the reassuring truth that God's anchor-like love never changes based on our performance, he challenges believers to look at the sacrifice of Christ and be daily compelled to extend that same sacrificial grace to the difficult people in their own lives. Discussion Questions for Practical Application Defining Love on God's Terms: Tim explicitly noted that we cannot let the world define love for us, defining biblical love instead as a commitment expressed in tangible actions independent of feelings. In what ways does the world's definition of love (e.g., based on emotional connection, compatibility, or transaction) creep into your own relationships? How can you consciously shift your mindset to view love as a deliberate agape commitment this week? Loving the "Diverse Disciples" in Your Circle: The original disciples included people with massive political and social divides, much like the modern church family. Think of someone in your immediate faith community, workplace, or family whose behavior, opinions, or background genuinely test your patience. Based on Jesus' command, what is one practical, tangible action you can take to show them biblical love, regardless of how you feel? The Trap of Transactional Relationships: Tim observed that it is natural human behavior to cut people off the moment they stop benefiting us or making us happy. Is there a relationship in your life right now that you have emotionally "cut off" or distanced yourself from because it became inconvenient or difficult? How does remembering Christ's unwavering hesed toward you alter your perspective on that person? Living as a Visible Replica: According to John 13:35, supernatural love is supposed to be our defining mark that proves to the world we are disciples. If an outside observer looked strictly at how you treat a difficult spouse, a tough neighbor, or a demanding boss, would they see a distinct reflection of Jesus? What is one specific area where you need to pray for the Holy Spirit to implant the power to love sacrificially?

Episode # 305 Pool Nation Podcast - What does it take to build a pool service company that lasts for decades, retains top talent, and serves more than 1,000 pools? In this episode of the Pool Nation Podcast, Edgar De Jesus, John "JJ Flawless," and Zac "The Pool Boy" Nicholas sit down with Nick LaPointe and Ray De Rosa of Golden State Pools to discuss two very different journeys that led to one of Southern California's most respected pool service companies. From the days of gas chlorine service and hand-written route books to modern operations, service management, technician training, inventory systems, and company leadership, this conversation dives deep into what it really takes to build a sustainable pool business. Nick shares the story of growing up in the family business, while Ray discusses building his own company before merging with Golden State Pools. Together they reveal the systems, leadership philosophies, employee development programs, and business lessons that have fueled their success. Most importantly, they share two lessons every pool professional needs to hear: set boundaries and know your value. Whether you're a solo operator, building your first route, managing technicians, or scaling toward your own pool empire, this episode is packed with practical insights and real-world experience from pool pros who have lived it. Timestamps 00:00 Welcome to the Pool Nation Podcast 01:00 Meet Nick LaPointe and Ray DeRosa of Golden State Pools 06:00 Steak dinner bets, pool industry friendships, and Western Show stories 17:00 Nick's family history in the pool industry 23:00 The early days of gas chlorine pool service 28:00 How 9/11 changed pool sanitation operations forever 31:00 Transitioning from gas chlorine to liquid chlorine systems 34:00 Growing up in the family business and earning a business degree 40:00 How Ray got started in pools and launched his own company 42:00 Merging two companies into Golden State Pools 46:00 From DOS systems and paper invoices to modern software 49:00 Building company culture and leadership partnerships 57:00 Why training matters and Golden State's 8-week technician training program 1:05:00 Employee development, career paths, and retention strategies 1:17:00 Managing repairs, service teams, and operational structure 1:24:00 Inventory management, purchasing power, and warehouse operations 1:33:00 The importance of boundaries as a business owner 1:37:00 Knowing your value and pricing with confidence 1:41:00 Final advice for pool professionals and closing thoughts Thank You To Our Sponsors A huge thank you to our Pool Nation partners and sponsors who continue supporting pool professionals across the industry: The SPPA BluRay XL AquaStar Pool Products Natural Chemistry Raypak Heritage Pool Supply Group Hayward Pool Products Poolside Tech Pool Brain Nidec / US Motors OnCore Filtration Your support helps us continue educating, elevating, and empowering pool professionals everywhere.

Send us Fan MailDr. Rose Erin Vaughan is a prominent and multi-disciplined expert in the fields of acupuncture, yoga, and meridian therapy. With a robust background in Ashtanga and Dharma yoga, massage therapy, and acupuncture, Dr. Vaughan has masterfully integrated her deep knowledge of anatomy and energy channels into her practice and teachings. She is particularly renowned for her work in merging the practices of yoga and acupuncture, resulting in a unique therapeutic discipline focused on Yin yoga teacher trainings and advanced acupressure techniques. Dr. Vaughan is also a celebrated author of several books, including “Science of Self” and her detailed guides on energy lines and meridians.Visit Dr. Rose Erin: https://www.scienceofselfytt.com/Key Takeaways:Dr. Vaughan's development of the Meridian Yoga technique integrates acupuncture and yoga for a holistic therapeutic approach.The importance of experiential learning in understanding and feeling energy channels like meridians and chakras is emphasized throughout Dr. Vaughan's teachings.Acupuncture and yoga practices should focus on seeking root causes of physical imbalance rather than merely addressing pain.Incorporating ancient practices, such as those from the "Hatha Yoga Pradipika," into modern yoga sequences enhances meditative and energetic experiences.Regular mantra practice, like the Gayatri Mantra, can refine the practitioner's focus and intention, grounding their yoga and meditation sessions.Check out:

In this episode of Mind Your Fitness, Shira takes the lead as her and Enjie discuss various eye opening topics. Enjie shares her experiences surrounding challenges while serving in the military, learning to find the right balance between performance and wellbeing, the journey of transitioning out of active duty, finding a new mindset around movement, and so much more.  Enjely "Enjie" Mora is the owner and founder of Enriched Mind Nutrition Services. As a Registered Dietitian (RD) and Certified Sports Nutritionist, she brings her unique experience of serving in the United States Marine Corps while learning to balance fueling her body for optimal performance and a healthy relationship with food in challenging circumstances. This journey led her to build a strong connection between food, body, and exercise, and help others navigate their own paths to enhanced performance and well-being.

Jess Bogener is a traditional bowhunter with a passion for building traditional bow hunting bows under the brand of Bogener Bows. He is also a USA Archery Level 2 Instructor. He has taught over 250 archers in Santa Clarita and the Frazier Mountains. He's a State and Local USA Archery Competitor/Champion in the Mens Longbow wood division.Please enjoy this episode of Project Quiver on Salish Wolf with Jess Bogener.          Episode Links: https://www.instagram.com/bogener_bowbuilder/https://www.bogenerbows.com/Project Quiver at Anchor Point ExpeditionsSummary:Join us for an in-depth conversation with Jess Bogener, a passionate bowmaker and archer, as he shares his journey from amateur hobbyist to professional craftsman. Discover the artistry, techniques, and philosophy behind his handcrafted bows, as well as insights into archery tournaments, hunting, and the therapeutic benefits of the craft.Show Notes:Jess's fascinating family history and the meaning behind his name, which hints at a lineage of bow buildersThe story of how he fell in love with archery and bow buildingHis journey from learning under a master bowyer to creating his own signature reflex-de-flex design, inspired by Byron FergusonThe materials Jess prefers for bowsHis approach to sourcing wood stave stavesThe process behind making both primitive self bows and laminated longbowsThe business model: balancing craftsmanship, passion, and affordability to fund his bow-making pursuitsHis deep engagement with archery tournamentsThe therapeutic and personal growth benefits Jess experiences from both bow making and archery practiceInsights on Shooting ambidextrously, maintaining physical health, and preventing injuries from pulling heavy bowsHis plans for future bows and sharing knowledge with others through workshopsThe intersection of hunting, family heritage, and the role of patience, reflection, and perseveranceChapters:00:00 - Introduction and Jess's family background 02:37 - Jess's initial interest in archery and bow building 06:16 - Understanding archery tournaments and scoring systems 07:36 - Jess's competition bows: design and materials 08:45 - Making primitive and laminated bows, tools, and techniques 09:53 - Modern vs traditional materials and future projects 12:39 - Business mindset and pricing of custom bows 13:33 - Merging artistry with function and customer experience 15:05 - Family influence and other craft passions like bonsai 19:36 - Building a business around quality and passion 21:05 - Signature styles, bow models, and design influences 22:26 - Plans for self bows and regional sourcing challenges 23:08 - Teaching and sharing bow-making skills 24:06 - Differences in making laminate vs primitive bows 25:15 - Use of natural materials and experimentation 26:23 - Jess's archery milestones and his wife's achievements 30:18 - Carving and making traditional English longbows 31:19 - Favorite woods and layering techniques 34:14 - Shop setup and tools used for bow making 35:29 - Laminating process: modern tools and techniques 36:20 - Pre-tilling, glue-up, and finishing steps 38:24 - Bow durability, delamination, and quality control 39:15 - Achieving specific draw weights through precise calculation 41:37 - The art and science of bow shaping and tillering 42:49 - Lessons learned from bow making applicable to other life areas 48:26 - The therapeutic nature of archery and hunting 50:37 - Reflecting on successful seasons and lessons from misses 52:27 - Daily archery practice and hunting routines 54:23 - Using game parts for craft and self-sufficiency 55:16 - Ambidextrous shooting and physical adaptations 58:57 - Jess's shooting philosophy and training approach 62:43 - Comparing traditional English longbow style with Olympic technique 67:19 - Maintaining balance, preventing injury, and managing heavy draw weight 70:00 - Future projects, exploring ancestral roots, and community connections

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In this segment Jimmy and Americans' Comedian Kurt Metzger argue that a proposed NDAA provision known as Section 224 would be a pipe dream for Bibi Netanyahu by significantly undermining U.S. independence, fusing the US military with the IDF, and effectively integrating the two countries' military and technology sectors while compelling American taxpayers to fund Israel's wars.  Jimmy highlights opposition from Ro Khanna and other lawmakers, who contend that the measure would expand military ties with Israel despite concerns over the Gaza war, human rights issues, and public opposition to additional aid. Supporters of the provision, including Congressmen Pat Fallon and Don Davis, argue that it is intended to improve defense technology collaboration, cybersecurity, and military readiness rather than merge the two militaries.  The discussion also focuses on lobbying influence, congressional debate over U.S.-Israel relations, and the broader political implications of expanding bilateral defense cooperation. Plus segments on UFC champion Sean Strickland's ban from the White House, Candace Owens' exposé of the Macron's phony lawsuit against her and the House's recent rebuke of President Trump over the Iran war. Also featuring Stef Zamorano and Mike MacRae. And a phone call from Arnold Schwartzenegger!

Astral Projection, Out-of-Body Experiences & Interdimensional Beings | Ryan CropperAstral projection expert Ryan Cropper joins us for one of the most mind-bending conversations we've ever had. We go deep on OBEs, interdimensional beings, time travel, psychedelics vs. astral travel, alien encounters, ascended masters — and what it truly means to evolve consciousness in a world drowning in noise.Ryan shares his encounter with Jesus in the astral, being interrogated by the Galactic Federation of Light, living four days in his own past through time travel, and how to trigger a full psychedelic experience without any substance.This is consciousness exploration at its deepest.

After a mini break we're back and tired as hell.In Episode #521 of 'Meanderings', Juan & I discuss: being very busy versus truly tired, how priorities shift as life gets more complex and why sometimes the smartest move is pruning commitments instead of optimising them, reminisce on the “end of an era”—pinpointing a final carefree night with friends before marriages, kids and tighter schedules reshaped everything & maxing out your skills to learn what truly fits. Stan Link: https://stan.store/meremortalsTimeline: (00:00:00) Intro(00:01:32) Today's loose topics: busy, tired, and ends of eras(00:04:29) Work surge, funding cycles, and context switching(00:07:14) Time slipping: dating, late nights, and sleep debt(00:10:52) Merging habits: training with podcasts, dropping networking(00:13:20) Reducing decision fatigue, going with the flow (kids)(00:18:18) Meal batching as an antidote to micro decisions(00:21:24) The Springwood night: last carefree gathering(00:25:56) Complexity vs difficulty: why coordination gets hard(00:31:04) Revisiting UQ: inner child, fear and growth(00:35:00) Wisdom with age and limits of advice to your younger self(00:39:37) Practices over time: identity, social media shifts(00:44:21) University credential vs building ‘monsters'(00:47:20) Purpose can wait; in youth, max your stats(00:51:01) Generational shift: job hopping and portfolio lives(00:53:38) Looks‑maxxing influencers and the price of attention(00:55:57) Capping off: embracing the thirties era Connect with Mere Mortals:Website: https://www.meremortalspodcasts.com/Discord: https://discord.gg/K99e8fysBnTwitter/X: https://twitter.com/meremortalspodsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcasts/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@meremortalspodcastsValue 4 Value Support:V4V: https://www.meremortalspodcasts.com/supportPaypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/meremortalspodcast

From robot helpers to smart body parts, the line between human and machine is blurring. This hour, TED speakers design tech that enhances us without diminishing our humanity. Guests include robot choreographer and computer scientist Catie Cuan, engineer and biophysicist Hugh Herr, material scientist Anna Maria Coclite and biochemist Jennifer Doudna.TED Radio Hour+ listeners now get access to bonus episodes, with more ideas from TED speakers and deeper conversations with Manoush. By signing up for Plus, you directly support our work and public media, so all your episodes (like this one!) come to you without sponsor breaks. Learn more at plus.npr.org/ted.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

After six years and two shows, we've made a big decision.Both podcasts are officially merging into one — The SexMD. One show, one home, one place where all the conversations about feeling better, looking better, and having better sex live together.Nothing you loved is going away. It's just cleaner, easier to find, and better than ever.Whether you've been with us from the beginning or you're discovering us for the first time — welcome. You picked a great time to join.

First contact is easy. Living together isn't. How would humanity merge with alien civilizations in a shared galaxy of trade, politics, and uneasy peace?Get Nebula using my link for 50% off an annual subscription: https://go.nebula.tv/isaacarthurWatch my exclusive video Nearby Supernovae: https://nebula.tv/videos/isaacarthur-nearby-supernovae-could-one-destroy-earth-and-could-we-stop-itCheck out Gods & Monsters: https://nebula.tv/curiousarchive/gods-and-monsters?ref=isaacarthur

First contact is easy. Living together isn't. How would humanity merge with alien civilizations in a shared galaxy of trade, politics, and uneasy peace?Get Nebula using my link for 50% off an annual subscription: https://go.nebula.tv/isaacarthurWatch my exclusive video Nearby Supernovae: https://nebula.tv/videos/isaacarthur-nearby-supernovae-could-one-destroy-earth-and-could-we-stop-itCheck out Gods & Monsters: https://nebula.tv/curiousarchive/gods-and-monsters?ref=isaacarthur

Doubts are being raised about a proposal to merge TSB Bank with Heartland Bank with one former director of the Taranaki institution likening it to selling off the family silver. Taranaki Whanganui reporter Robin Martin reports.

Links For The Occult Rejectshttps://linktr.ee/theoccultrejectsOccult Research Institutehttps://www.occultresearchinstitute.org/Substackhttps://substack.com/@theoccultrejects?r=7auau0&utm_campaign=profile&utm_medium=profile-pageCash Apphttps://cash.app/$theoccultrejectsVenmo@TheOccultRejectsBuy Me A Coffeebuymeacoffee.com/TheOccultRejectsPatreonhttps://www.patreon.com/TheOccultRejectsPart 1: The Road of RhythmPart 1 focuses on the drum as an ancient technology of altered consciousness. The argument is not that every beat causes trance, or that neuroscience has proven spirits. The stronger argument is that rhythm enters the human organism through hearing, motor prediction, breath, movement, attention, emotion, expectation, culture, and social synchrony. The drum becomes powerful when sound, body, group, ritual frame, and meaning converge. These sources support the archaeology, neuroscience, EEG research, shamanic studies, possession studies, Indigenous and culturally specific drum traditions, ritual theory, placebo and meaning-response research, ceremonial magic, and modern witchcraft material used in the episode.Core Academic and Scientific SourcesHuels, Emma R., Hyoungkyu Kim, UnCheol Lee, Tirsa Bel-Bahar, Ana V. Colmenero, Alexandra Nelson, Stefanie Blain-Moraes, George A. Mashour, and Richard E. Harris. “Neural Correlates of the Shamanic State of Consciousness.” Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 15 (2021): 610466. Use for the strongest modern EEG anchor. This study used high-density EEG with shamanic practitioners and controls during rest, shamanic drumming, and classical music listening. It assessed altered-state reports alongside brain measures such as power, connectivity, signal diversity, and criticality. Use carefully: the study does not prove spirits or show that drumming mechanically causes trance in everyone. It supports the more careful claim that trained practitioners entering shamanic states with drumming show measurable brain-state differences.Gordon, Yoel, Golan Karvat, Noa Dagan, and Ayelet N. Landau. “Neural Tracking at Theta Predicts Drumming-Induced Altered States of Consciousness.” Scientific Reports 16, no. 1 (2026): Article 10204. Use for the strongest updated drumming/theta/neural-tracking source. This study tested drumming at theta, delta, and alpha-rate rhythms while recording EEG, and found that stronger rhythmic neural tracking at theta was linked to stronger altered-experience reports. Use carefully: this does not mean theta equals the spirit world or that one frequency opens a portal. The serious point is that altered experience may depend partly on how strongly the nervous system tracks rhythmic stimulation.Aparicio-Terrés, R., et al. “The Neurobiology of Altered States of Consciousness Induced by Drumming and Other Rhythmic Sound Patterns.” Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 2025. Use for the newer review literature showing that rhythmic sound is now a serious altered-consciousness research topic. This supports the opening claim that modern academia is examining drumming, rhythmic sound, absorption, relaxation, cognition, and neural activity without reducing the subject to one simple “trance frequency.” The review is especially useful for framing the field as promising but still complex.Neher, Andrew. “Auditory Driving Observed with Scalp Electrodes in Normal Subjects.” Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology 13 (1961): 449–451. Use for the historical bridge between repetitive sound, EEG, auditory driving, and early scientific interest in rhythmic stimulation.Neher, Andrew. “A Physiological Explanation of Unusual Behavior in Ceremonies Involving Drums.” Human Biology 34, no. 2 (1962): 151–160. Use carefully. This is useful as an early attempt to connect ceremonial drumming and physiology, but it should be balanced with Rouget because the “drum simply causes trance” argument is too mechanical.Maurer, R., V. K. Kumar, L. Woodside, and R. J. Pekala. “Phenomenological Experience in Response to Monotonous Drumming and Hypnotizability.” American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis 40, no. 2 (1997): 130–145. Use for monotonous drumming, subjective altered experience, imagery, absorption, and hypnotizability.Maxfield, Melinda C. “Effects of Rhythmic Drumming on EEG and Subjective Experience.” PhD diss., Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, 1990. Use as older supporting context on drumming, EEG, imagery, body-image changes, and subjective altered experience. Do not make this the main scientific proof; use it as background.Nozaradan, Sylvie, Isabelle Peretz, and André Mouraux. “Tagging the Neuronal Entrainment to Beat and Meter.” The Journal of Neuroscience 31, no. 28 (2011): 10234–10240. Use for EEG evidence that the brain can track beat and meter. This supports the claim that the brain does not merely hear rhythm as background sound; it can represent rhythmic structure in measurable ways.Nozaradan, Sylvie. “Exploring How Musical Rhythm Entrains Brain Activity with Electroencephalogram Frequency-Tagging.” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 369, no. 1658 (2014). Use as broader rhythm/EEG entrainment support. This helps explain frequency-tagging, beat tracking, meter, neural entrainment, and the measurable relationship between rhythmic structure and brain activity.Thaut, Michael H., Gerald C. McIntosh, and Volker Hoemberg. “Neurobiological Foundations of Neurologic Music Therapy: Rhythmic Entrainment and the Motor System.” Frontiers in Psychology 5 (2015). Use for rhythm as motor-system timing information. This supports the claim that a beat can become bodily instruction, not just sound for the ear. Especially useful when discussing rhythmic auditory stimulation, motor planning, gait, entrainment, and the auditory-motor bridge.Ross, Jessica M., John R. Iversen, and Ramesh Balasubramaniam. “Time Perception for Musical Rhythms: Sensorimotor Perspectives on Entrainment, Simulation, and Prediction.” 2022. Use for rhythm, timing, prediction, sensorimotor entrainment, and the way musical rhythm interacts with time perception.Hove, Michael J., and Jane L. Risen. “It's All in the Timing: Interpersonal Synchrony Increases Affiliation.” Social Cognition 27, no. 6 (2009): 949–960. Use for synchrony and social bonding. This helps support the group-body argument: moving or acting in time with others can increase affiliation.Wiltermuth, Scott S., and Chip Heath. “Synchrony and Cooperation.” Psychological Science 20, no. 1 (2009): 1–5. Use for the claim that synchronized movement can increase cooperation and attachment among participants.Tarr, Bronwyn, Jacques Launay, and Robin I. M. Dunbar. “Music and Social Bonding: ‘Self-Other' Merging and Neurohormonal Mechanisms.” Frontiers in Psychology 5 (2014): 1096. Use for music, synchrony, bonding, endorphin/social mechanisms, and why group rhythm can feel like more than private listening.Fancourt, Daisy, Rosie Perkins, Sara Ascenso, Louise Atkins, Fatima Kilfeather, and Aaron Williamon. “Effects of Group Drumming Interventions on Anxiety, Depression, Social Resilience and Inflammatory Immune Response among Mental Health Service Users.” PLOS ONE 11, no. 3 (2016): e0151136. Use for modern group-drumming research showing psychological and physiological effects, including anxiety, depression, social resilience, wellbeing, and inflammatory immune response. Use carefully: this does not make group drumming a cure-all. It supports the more grounded claim that embodied rhythm and group participation can affect mood, social connection, and body chemistry.Bittman, Barry B., et al. “Composite Effects of Group Drumming Music Therapy on Modulation of Neuroendocrine-Immune Parameters in Normal Subjects.” Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine 7, no. 1 (2001): 38–47. Use as older supporting material on group drumming and neuroendocrine-immune measures. Keep secondary. Fancourt is cleaner for the main script body.Archaeology and Deep History of DrumsLawergren, Bo. “Neolithic Drums in China.” In Music Archaeology in China. 2006. Use for clay drums in Neolithic China and the deep-history claim that drums are not just poetic symbols of antiquity. They appear in the archaeological record as instruments tied to early sound-making, ceremony, and social order.Both, Arnd Adje. “Music Archaeology: Some Methodological and Theoretical Considerations.” Use as general support for why ancient instruments should be treated as ritual and social evidence, not merely decorative objects.Anthropology, Ethnomusicology, Ritual, and TranceRouget, Gilbert. Music and Trance: A Theory of the Relations Between Music and Possession. Translated by Brunhilde Biebuyck. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1985. Essential source. Use for the caution that music does not mechanically or universally cause trance. Rouget helps keep the argument academically serious by emphasizing culture, ritual frame, meaning, and expectation.Becker, Judith. Deep Listeners: MAlso want to remind people about the website, if you're into reading we have tons of information by multiple contributors, and we got t-shirts up on the site if you're interested. Fun fact, the art is all based on the eyeball. A

CoinDesk's The Policy Protocol hosts Rebecca Rettig and Renato Mariotti dig into the New York Times investigation of the CFTC and Kalshi's latest lawsuit against Minnesota before sitting down with Aaron Klein, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. Klein argues that independent financial regulators have been turned into "subsidiaries of the White House," warns that the CFTC is not structurally up to the jurisdiction CLARITY would hand it, and makes the case that the SEC and CFTC should be merged. He also unpacks lessons from Dodd-Frank and the savings-and-loan crisis. Plus, Rebecca and Renato debrief on the CFTC staffing debate and name House Agriculture Chairman GT Thompson and Ranking Member Angie Craig as their People of the Week for their bipartisan push to fill out the CFTC commission. - Timecodes: 00:00 Welcome to The Policy Protocol 00:43 All Roads Lead to the CFTC 01:22 Unpacking the NYT's CFTC Investigation 02:41 Pendulum Swing: Reading the NYT in Context 05:11 Why the CFTC Needs Funding and Personnel 06:52 Aaron Klein Joins the Show 07:30 The History of the CFTC and the Great Salad Oil Swindle 08:10 Independent Regulators as White House Subsidiaries 09:39 Dodd-Frank Lessons for the CLARITY Era 11:47 The Case for Merging the SEC and CFTC 13:21 PolyMarket, Soft on Financial Crime, and CZ/Binance 15:06 SEC-CFTC Office Sharing and the Value of MOUs 18:16 Renato and Rebecca Debrief on the CFTC's Future 21:45 Trump on Prediction Markets and Expanded Jurisdiction 22:30 People of the Week: GT Thompson and Angie Craig 24:26 Tribute to Ondo CEO Nathan Allman 25:01 Closing Thoughts and Sign-Off

Success has a sustainability problem. In today's episode, Kevin and Alan examine fulfillment as a deeper measure of sustainable success. They break down alignment, identity, productivity, contribution, quality of life, and self-respect through real coaching patterns and personal experience. Kevin reflects on how his relationship with work is changing, while Alan clarifies why meaningful progress must connect what you value, what you build, and how you contribute.This is a grounded reminder that success only lasts when it is aligned enough to keep living, building, and improving with intention. Listen now, because success without meaning is just a very polished trap._______________________Book Alan's Business Breakthrough Session. Your first 30-minute coaching call is FREE. Learn how to prioritize success and let your quality of life become the byproduct. - https://calendly.com/alanlazaros/30-minute-breakthrough-sessionJoin the "Next Level Fitness Accountability Group" – Reach out to Kevin or Alan on Instagram:Kevin: https://www.instagram.com/neverquitkid/Alan: https://www.instagram.com/alazaros88/_______________________NLU is not just a podcast; it's a gateway to a wealth of resources designed to help you achieve your goals and dreams. From our Next Level Dreamliner to our Group Coaching, we offer a variety of tools and communities to support your personal development journey.For more information, check out our website and socials using the links below.

“We're in a world surrounded by so much data and AI we can get lost in the noise of it all, and I've found that throughout my year as a performer, the amount of times people say to me, you know, your content is great, but your energy, your essence, your presence is what really makes us attracted to connecting with you…” Sarah Rowan Top Five Tips For Staying Human, Creative and Connected In 2026 1. Choose presence over performance2. Create spaces where people feel safe, seen and connected3. Prioritize quiet...stillness is becoming a superpower4. Grow your tech skills... and your human skills... side by side5. Get your hands in the dirt TIME STAMP SUMMARY01:39 Human connection and presence are essential, 06:05 Creating a safe space for people to be creative, free from judgment and ridicule.12:48 Learning bit by bit to avoid burnout and stay present.18: 50 Finding small ways to connect with nature, even in urban environments, to improve their overall well-being. Where to find Sarah?Website                             https://artistsarahrowan.com/about/LinkedIn                            https://www.linkedin.com/in/artistsarahrowan/ Sarah Rowan Bio Sarah Rowan (who now goes by Rowan) is an artist and thought leader who empowers individuals and organizations to ignite a better future through creativity. As one of Australia's top Speed Painters, she has lived and breathed the dynamic process of transformation for over 20 years, turning blank walls and cavasses into thought-provoking pieces of art, with limited time and often in front of a live audience. Merging her artistic talent with her passion for public speaking, Rowan has reimagined the role of the artist, pushing the boundaries of a studio-based pursuit into a trail-blazing performance genre that challenges the limitations of time and space.After graduating from Converse College in 2003 with a BFA in Studio Art, Rowan started an art business in Greenville, South Carolina, USA before moving to Sydney to expand her horizons. It was here that she used the process of creative futurism to overcome depression, challenge chronic illness and create a new future for herself and her family. No longer shackled by societal norms, she has stepped into the full power of her truth personally and professionally.Rowan's strong emotional storytelling, along with her ability to paint fast and think fast has captivated hundreds of clients like Nestlé, ANZ, AMP, Ernst & Young, Woolworths, Sydney Airport, and Priceline. She has inspired audiences to embrace their own creativity which she believes is a “birthright to all” and to date has painted at over 600 events raising over $400,000 for charity.Other clients include: SAP, Netball World Cup, Salvation Army, Terry White Chemmart, YPO, City of Sydney, Commonwealth Bank, American Express, Doterra, Department of Defence, Mirvac, Australian College of Nursing, Liberty Finance, University of Sydney, NAB, ANZ, Dexus, Fastway Couriers, AUSCAM, Bombay Sapphire, International Canadian School Ho Chi Min City, etc.

If you enjoy this episode, we're sure you will enjoy more content like this on The Occult Rejects.  In fact, we have curated playlists on occult topics like grimoires, esoteric concepts and phenomena, occult history, analyzing true crime and cults with an occult lens, Para politics, and occultism in music. Whether you enjoy consuming your content visually or via audio, we've got you covered - and it will always be provided free of charge.  So, if you enjoy what we do and want to support our work of providing accessible, free content on various platforms, please consider making a donation to the links provided below.  Thank you and enjoy the episode!Links For The Occult Rejectshttps://linktr.ee/theoccultrejectsOccult Research Institutehttps://www.occultresearchinstitute.org/Substackhttps://substack.com/@theoccultrejects?r=7auau0&utm_campaign=profile&utm_medium=profile-pageCash Apphttps://cash.app/$theoccultrejectsVenmo@TheOccultRejectsBuy Me A Coffeebuymeacoffee.com/TheOccultRejectsPatreonhttps://www.patreon.com/TheOccultRejectsEPISODE 1 BIBLIOGRAPHYThe Building That Changes YouAckerman, Joshua M., Christopher C. Nocera, and John A. Bargh. “Incidental Haptic Sensations Influence Social Judgments and Decisions.” Science 328, no. 5986 (2010): 1712–1715. Key use: Haptics, touch, weight, texture, hardness, and the idea that physical sensation can influence judgment and social interpretation. This supports the tactile layer of the episode: heavy doors, cold stone, worn rails, kneelers, relic cases, and sacred matter as meaningful contact.Higuera-Trujillo, Juan Luis, Carmen Llinares, and Eduardo Macagno. “The Cognitive-Emotional Design and Study of Architectural Space: A Scoping Review of Neuroarchitecture and Its Precursor Approaches.” Sensors 21, no. 6 (2021): 2193. Key use: Neuroarchitecture, emotional response to built environments, and the idea that architecture can be studied as a cognitive-emotional stimulus rather than only as art or style.Kilde, Jeanne Halgren. Sacred Power, Sacred Space: An Introduction to Christian Architecture and Worship. Oxford University Press, 2008. Key use: Major backbone source for Christian architecture as a system of worship, power, spatial order, and embodied religious experience. Oxford's description emphasizes Kilde's argument that church buildings represent and reify different forms of power, especially divine power.Morgan, David. The Sacred Gaze: Religious Visual Culture in Theory and Practice. University of California Press, 2005. Key use: Religious seeing, visual culture, sacred images, and the idea that vision is an active religious practice that can invest images, persons, times, and places with spiritual meaning.Taves, Ann. Religious Experience Reconsidered: A Building-Block Approach to the Study of Religion and Other Special Things. Princeton University Press, 2009. Key use: Helps frame religious experience without reducing it to one fixed category. Useful for the episode's approach to how experiences become interpreted, named, and treated as religious or sacred.Clark, Andy. Surfing Uncertainty: Prediction, Action, and the Embodied Mind. Oxford University Press, 2016. Key use: Predictive processing, active inference, and the idea that perception is not passive recording but active prediction and model-building. This supports the “brain does not enter a church like a camera” argument.Krueger, Joel. “Extended Mind and Religious Cognition.” 2016. Key use: Extended and embodied cognition applied to religious practice, ritual objects, and environments. Useful for arguing that worship is not only inside the head but supported by bodies, tools, spaces, and shared action.Oxford Academic. “Embodied Cognition in Ecclesial Practices.” In Oxford Studies in Analytic Theology, 2023. Key use: Christian practices, embodied cognition, Eucharistic action, and religious material culture as cognitively significant rather than merely symbolic.Piff, Paul K., Pia Dietze, Matthew Feinberg, Daniel M. Stancato, and Dacher Keltner. “Awe, the Small Self, and Prosocial Behavior.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 108, no. 6 (2015): 883–899. Key use: Awe, vastness, the “small self,” and the psychological effects of encountering something perceived as larger than the ordinary self. This supports the cathedral-scale and sacred-vastness argument.Tarr, Bronwyn, Jacques Launay, and Robin I. M. Dunbar. “Music and Social Bonding: ‘Self-Other' Merging and Neurohormonal Mechanisms.” Frontiers in Psychology 5 (2014): 1096. Key use: Music, synchrony, social bonding, rhythmic action, and group cohesion. This supports the sections on chant, group singing, ritual synchrony, and bodies acting together in sacred space.Ittyerah, Miriam. “Memory for Curvature of Objects: Haptic Touch vs. Vision.” 2007. Key use: Haptic memory, touch-based object recognition, and the idea that touch can produce durable memory traces. Useful for worn rails, thresholds, beads, icons, relic cases, and repeated sacred contact.Lange, Lisa S., et al. “Tactile Memory Impairments in Younger and Older Adults.” Scientific Reports, 2024. Key use: Modern tactile-memory framing; useful for the claim that tactile experience is remembered and retrieved as part of embodied life.Freedberg, David. The Power of Images: Studies in the History and Theory of Response. University of Chicago Press, 1989. Key use: Image response, embodied reaction to sacred or charged images, and why religious images can provoke devotion, fear, destruction, reverence, or bodily response.Plate, S. Brent. A History of Religion in 5½ Objects: Bringing the Spiritual to Its Senses. Beacon Press, 2014. Key use: Material religion, objects, sensory experience, and the idea that religion is encountered through things, not only beliefs.Meyer, Birgit. Mediation and the Genesis of Presence: Toward a Material Approach to Religion. Key use: Material religion, mediation, presence, and how religious traditions use media, objects, images, sounds, and spaces to make the sacred present.Pallasmaa, Juhani. The Eyes of the Skin: Architecture and the Senses. Key use: Architecture as a multisensory experience, especially touch, materiality, atmosphere, and the limits of treating architecture as only visual.Mallgrave, Harry Francis. The Architect's Brain: Neuroscience, Creativity, and Architecture. Wiley-Blackwell, 2010. Key use: Architecture and neuroscience, built form, emotion, perception, and embodied response to space.Robinson, Sarah, and Juhani Pallasmaa, eds. Mind in Architecture: Neuroscience, Embodiment, and the Future of Design. MIT Press, 2015. Key use: Embodiment, neuroscience, architectural perception, and how built environments shape lived experience.Eliade, Mircea. The Sacred and the Profane: The Nature of Religion. Key use: Sacred space, threshold, center, axis mundi, and the distinction between ordinary space and holy space. This becomes more important in Episode 2, but it also supports Episode 1's general sacred-space framework.van Gennep, Arnold. The Rites of Passage. Key use: Separation, threshold, and incorporation. Useful for the threshold logic that runs through the whole series.Turner, Victor. The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure. Key use: Liminality, transition, communitas, and the ritual power of in-between states.Tuan, Yi-Fu. Space and Place: The Perspective of Experience. Key use: Lived place, memory, experience, and the difference between abstract space and meaningful place.Smith, Jonathan Z. To Take Place: Toward Theory in Ritual. Key use: Ritual as place-making; sacred places are produced through repeated action, interpretation, and return.Morgan, David. Visual Piety: A History and Theory of Popular Religious Images. Key use: Popular religious images, devotional seeing, sacred practice, and how visual material becomes part of lived religion.Kieckhefer, Richard. Theology in Stone: Church Architecture from Byzantium to Berkeley. Key use: Church architecture as theology in built form, useful as a broad Christian architectural bridge source.Also want to remind people about the website, if you're into reading we have tons of information by multiple contributors, and we got t-shirts up on the site if you're interested. Fun fact, the art is all based on the eyeball. A

In this episode, Josefina explores with you the distinctions between the masculine & feminine spiritual paths as a way for you to find which path feels more true to you. She's supporting you in focusing on reclaiming authenticity and aliveness rather than over-optimizing the body through traditional masculine-based practices, giving permission to your feminine light to shine bright through the feminine spiritual path, which is divinely designed differently for a female body and spirit.✧The Feminine vs. Masculine PathThe masculine path, often rooted in traditions like Vipassana, is a more rigid and strictly disciplined practice of stillness, non-reactivity, and observing reality to move beyond attachments and cravings.The feminine path, which is rooted more in both Tantric traditions and somatic-based practices. This path is directed towards "full contact" with reality, involving active participation and riding the edge of sensations rather than stepping back to observe them.Masculine practices focus on neutralizing energy and transcending desire, while the feminine path uses movement, breath-work, sound, and pleasure to activate energy and radiance.Many women feel exhausted because they try to follow masculine operating systems, schedules, and practices that may deplete their natural feminine vitality.✧Spiritual Polarity in RelationshipsJosefina addresses a common fear in relationships, that partners will grow apart if they follow different spiritual paths.Merging completely by adopting a partner's habits and abandoning personal interests is a "spiritual trap" that can lead to a flat, dull, and chargeless polarity in a romantic relationship.Relationship polarity requires two distinct energy fields; attraction is fueled by the meeting of different energies, such as masculine stillness and feminine fire.Intimacy is built through genuine curiosity about who the other person is becoming rather than achieving absolute sameness.✧Integration and PracticeMaintaining separate individual morning practices allows each partner to tend to their own inner life first, bringing more authenticity to the union.Vipassana can be integrated as a complementary tool for sharpening focus and mental faculties without replacing the movement-based feminine path.Shared language and discussing what is "alive" within each person create a deeper connection than simply matching practices.Abandoning one's path to mirror a partner is not true love and can lead to self-abandonment and an erosion of the connection.A woman rooted in her own feminine path is more present, magnetic, and alive within her relationship.The ultimate goal is for each partner to be fully on their own path while staying curious and supportive of the other's journey toward their highest potential.✧ Connect with Josefina:Follow on Instagram:⁠⁠⁠ ⁠@Josefinabashout⁠⁠⁠⁠ Apply for your free Pleasure blueprint session with Josefina https://lp.josefinabashout.com/booking

This week on bigcitysmalltown, Bob Rivard sits down with Ashley Alvarado, CEO of Texas Public Radio, and Angie Mock, CEO of the San Antonio Report, to discuss a major development in San Antonio's local news landscape: the two organizations are merging. Effective July 1st, the San Antonio Report will donate its assets to Texas Public Radio, combining operations under one roof to strengthen independent, nonprofit journalism in San Antonio.They discuss:Why two financially healthy organizations chose to merge — and how this is different from the consolidations happening elsewhere in the industryWhat the combined newsroom will look like on day one: 31 journalism positions, with all but four working as reporters in the communityHow the San Antonio Report's digital specificity and Texas Public Radio's broadcast reach complement each other — and what that means for covering the cityWhy YouTube has become unavoidable for reaching younger San Antonians, with 60 to 75 percent of county residents turning to it for news every weekWhat Ashley Alvarado learned leading a similar merger at KPCC in Los Angeles — and how those lessons are shaping the approach hereHow the two newsrooms will physically unite, with the San Antonio Report moving to TPR's downtown facilities in late JulyThe challenge of serving a politically diverse city — and why relevance and trust have to be built together, not assumedWhat the merger means for investigative and accountability journalism at City Hall and beyondRECOMMENDED NEXT LISTEN:▶ 170. Don Graham and Dr. Abel Antonio Chávez on Journalism, Our Lady of the Lake, and Why Access to Education Changes Everything — The retired chairman of The Washington Post Company and the president of Our Lady of the Lake University on the state of journalism, democracy, and what it takes to keep independent news alive in a city like San Antonio.…..GET THE NEWSLETTER

Mukhtar Kadiri: Merging Three Companies Into One Platform — When Founders Can't Let Go and Leaders Won't Decide Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.   "A lot of times, conflict arises because people don't understand each other. The first thing you need to do is make sure they understand each other." - Mukhtar Kadiri   Mukhtar brings us a challenge from a merger and acquisition program where a dominant software company acquired two competitors simultaneously — both solving the same market gap, each with their own platform, their own founders still in place, and their own fierce loyalties. The mission: merge three platforms into one. But the technical challenge was the easy part. The real complexity was human — founders who'd built their companies from scratch watching their babies potentially get retired, teams losing people to low morale and uncertainty, and leadership paralyzed by the knowledge that every decision would make somebody unhappy. Together, Mukhtar and Vasco explore a four-step approach to navigating these high-stakes disagreements: first, create a feeling of time abundance — never rush a decision that requires buy-in. Second, get each side to present their perspective with only clarifying questions, no judgment. Third, name the disagreement explicitly — turn emotions into concrete, debatable statements. And fourth, co-create an alternative solution that doesn't come from either original position, because co-creation builds commitment. Mukhtar adds a critical fifth element: steel-manning — having each side articulate the other's argument as if defending it. When people feel genuinely understood, even "disagree and commit" becomes possible.   In this episode, we refer to steel-manning and the concept of disagree and commit.   Self-reflection Question: When you're facilitating a disagreement between two strong positions, do you rush toward a decision — or do you invest the time to make sure both sides can articulate each other's argument before you even think about next steps?   [The Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends]