Podcasts about nomadic

Send me a Text Message here."That's so nice!" "No, I said niece." "OH! That's how it all starts!"We visit with Dr Paul Michaels from the UK. His journey is a fun one. We learn what motivated him to start this interpreting journey. In the next episodes more of his interpreting views and his research about "male" interpreters.Subscribe today to get the latest!IW CommunityA great place to meet regularly to laugh, learn, and lean on each other.You get:10 or 50% OFF of workshops, seminars. A great way to earn professional development hours.Online meetings to expand on the IW podcast episodes. Meet online with interviewees.Practice groups, Dilemma discussions.And more.Support the showDon't forget to tell a friend or colleague! Click below! IW Community Buy Me a Coffee Get extras with a subscription! Share the PODCAST Subscribe to the Monthly Newsletter Listen & follow on many other platforms. Send me a voicemail! [TRANSCRIPTS ARE HERE] Thanks for listening. I'll see you next week.Take care now.

A group of Kiwi medical specialists are seeking a doctor to travel over to the remote mountains of Ladakh on the border of India and Nepal to provide free healthcare to the region's nomadic peoples.

My guest today is Mr. Tem Tumurbat. Tem is co-founder and managing partner at Nomadic Venture Partners. Nomadic is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in digital and light hardware technologies focused on decarbonizing the metals, manufacturing, and transport sectors.Tem co-founded Nomadic in 2021 and focuses on fund strategy, fundraising, portfolio construction, valuation, and financial analysis.Prior to co-founding NVP, Tem was an investment professional at Resource Capital Funds, managing early to late-stage investments.Prior to RCF, Tem worked for Newmont Mining Corporation as a mining engineer and then project engineer. In this episode, we discuss Tem's background and what led him to co-found NVP, his screening process, the state of the investment landscape, what it takes to successfully grow and scale digital technology companies, and hat Tem calls "the 5 T's". Nomadic VP website: https://nomadicvp.com/Nomadic on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nomadicvp/Thanks for listening and if you enjoyed this episode, please don't forget to hit the like button and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.

In this episode of Tribe Builders, Tanya Rooney sits down with Travis Sherry to explore his journey from traditional work to entrepreneurship and the pursuit of freedom in time, finances, and location. Travis shares how he transitioned from teaching to building multiple businesses since 2012, ultimately creating an adult summer camp designed to bring together like-minded individuals seeking adventure, learning, and connection. The conversation delves into decision fatigue, teamwork, and the power of community in overcoming entrepreneurial challenges. Tanya and Travis discuss the mindset shifts necessary for success, the importance of curiosity in finding your people, and how real estate and business strategies have played a role in shaping Travis' path. If you've ever envied those viral videos of people living their best lives at adult summer camps, Travis is here to share how he turned that dream into a reality—and how you can do the same by surrounding yourself with the right tribe.   Follow & Connect with Travis: Instagram @extrapackofpeanuts Buy tickets to adult summer camp here: https://campindie.com/ Use code EPOP for a discount Follow Tanya: Tiktok @tanyarooneymn   Instagram @tanyarooneymn   Facebook @tanya.rooney28   youtube @tanyarooneymn www.tanyarooney.com

Strap in and try to keep up, as we attempt to follow the peripatetic 58-year journey of one of the NBA's most wandering franchises - with New York-area sports beat reporter Rick Laughland ("A History of the Nets: From Teaneck to Brooklyn"). Today's Brooklyn Nets club began its life in 1967 as the New Jersey Americans - a charter member of the American Basketball Association, playing at the Teaneck Armory.  A year later, they moved to Long Island (LI Arena, then Island Garden, then Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum) to become the New York Nets, winning two ABA championships (1974, 1976) behind superstar Julius Erving.  Absorbed into the NBA in 1976, the team struggled financially and was forced to sell Erving, leading to early-season struggles. In 1977, they relocated to the Garden State as the New Jersey Nets, playing at Rutgers Athletic Center (now Jersey Mike's Arena) before moving to Brendan Byrne (aka Meadowlands) Arena in 1981.   After almost becoming the "Swamp Dragons" in 1994, the early 2000s saw breakthrough success with Jason Kidd, Kenyon Martin, and Richard Jefferson - making back-to-back NBA Finals runs in 2002 and 2003.  Before a brief move to Newark's Prudential Center (2010–12), the team relocated to Brooklyn's purpose-built Barclays Center, with a complete franchise name, logo and color-scheme rebrand.  Initially building around Deron Williams, they later pursued star power with Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, followed by Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden in 2019–2021. Still bereft of an elusive NBA title, will the Nets continue to ply their trade in Brooklyn - or will they eventually return to their nomadic ways? + + +    SUPPORT THE SHOW: Buy Us a Coffee: https://ko-fi.com/goodseatsstillavailable "Good Seats" Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/?ref_id=35106 SPONSOR THANKS (AND SUPPORT THE SHOW!): Old School Shirts.com (10% off promo code: GOODSEATS) https://oldschoolshirts.com/goodseats Royal Retros (10% off promo code: SEATS): https://www.503-sports.com?aff=2   BUY THE BOOK (AND SUPPORT THE SHOW!): " A History of the Nets: From Teaneck to Brooklyn": https://amzn.to/41oxSev FIND AND FOLLOW: Website: https://goodseatsstillavailable.com/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/goodseatsstillavailable.com X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/GoodSeatsStill YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@goodseatsstillavailable Threads: https://www.threads.net/@goodseatsstillavailable Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goodseatsstillavailable/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoodSeatsStillAvailable/

The Nomadic - an Australian singer and songwriter - joins us on this episode of Celeb Savant. We hear what inspired his stage name, about his journey of working with the United Nations in numerous countries, to focusing his attention on his music career. Website - www,wearethenomadic.com Instagram - @thenomadicband Facebook - @thenomadicband Twitter - @thenomadicband TikTok - @wearethenomadic YouTube - @TheNomadic

This episode we continue to follow the monk Xuanzang on his path along the silk road.  From Gaochang, he traveled through the Tarim Basin, up over the Tianshan Mountains, to the heart of the Western Gokturk Qaghanate.  From there, he traveled south, through the region of Transoxania to Bactria and the land of Tukhara.  He pushed on into the Hindu Kush, witnessing the stone Buddha statues of Bamiyan, and eventually made his way to the land of Kapisa, near modern Kabul, Afghanistan.  From there he would prepare to enter the Indian subcontinent: the home of the historical Buddha. For more discussion and some photos of the areas along this journey, check out our podcast blog at https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-121   Rough Transcript Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.  My name is Joshua, and this is Episode 121: Journey to the West, Part 2   The cold winds blew through the travelers' doubled up clothing and thick furs.  Cold, wet ground meant that even two sets of boots were not necessarily enough after several days.  The frozen mist would often obscure everything except for the path immediately in front, hiding the peaks and making the sky a uniform white. In many places, the path would be blocked by rock, ice, or snow—the remnants of an avalanche, which could easily take an unsuspecting traveler.  And there was the elevation.  Hiking through the mountains, it was easy enough to reach heights of a mile or higher, and for those not accustomed to that elevation the thin air could take a surprising toll, especially if you were pushing yourself.  And the road was no less kind to the animals that would be hauling said travelers and their gear. And yet, this was the path that Xuanzang had agreed to.  He would continue to push through, despite the various deprivations that he would be subjected to.  No doubt he often wondered if it was worth it.  Then again, returning was just as dangerous a trip, so why not push on?   Last episode we introduced the monk Xuanzang, who traveled the Silk Road to India in the 7th century and returned to China.  He brought back numerous sutras to translate, and ended up founding a new school, known as the Faxian school—or the Hossou school in Japan.   As we mentioned last time, Xuanzang during his lifetime met with students from the archipelago when they visited the continent.  The records of his travels—including his biography and travelogue—are some of the best information we have on what life was like on the silk road around this time. In the last episode, we talked about Xuanzang: how he set out on his travels, his illegal departure from the Tang empire, and his perilous journey across the desert, ending up in Gaochang.  There, King Qu Wentai had tried to get him to stay, but he was determined to head out.  This episode we are going to cover his trip to Agni, Kucha, and Baluka—modern Aksu—and up to the Western Gokturk Qaghanate's capital of Suyab.  From there, we'll follow his footsteps through the Turkic controlled regions of Transoxania and into Tukhara, in modern Afghanistan.  Finally, we'll cover the last parts of his journey before he reached the start of his goal:  India. From Gaochang, Xuanzang continued on, through the towns he names as Wuban and Dujin, and into the country of Agni—known today as the area of Yanqi—which may also have been known as Wuqi.  The route was well-enough known, but it wasn't necessarily safe.  At one point, Xuanzang's caravan met with bandits, whom they were fortunately able to pay off.  The following night they encamped on a river bank with some merchants who also happened to be traveling the road.  The merchants, though, got up at midnight and headed out, hoping to get to the city early so that they could be the first ones to the market.  They only made it a few miles down the road, however, before they encountered more bandits, who slaughtered them and took their goods.  The following day, Xuanzang and his retinue came upon the merchants' remains lying in the road and saw the aftermath of the massacre. This was an unforgiving land, and the road was truly dangerous, even for those who traveled it regularly.  And yet Xuanzang was planning to travel its entire length until he reached India. So with little alternative, they carried on to the royal city of Agni. Agni, or Yanqi, sits on the southwestern edge of the basin, west of Bositeng lake, on the border between the Turfan basin and the larger Tarim Basin.  The name is thought to be a Tocharian—or Turfanian—name for the city, which is also known as Karashr. According to the biography by Huili, Xuanzang and his party didn't stay long in Agni.  Apparently Agni and Gaochang were not exactly on friendly terms, and even though the King of Agni and his ministers reportedly came out to greet Xuanzang and welcome him to their city, they refused to provide any horses.  They spent a single night and moved on. That said, Agni still made an impression on Xuanzang.  He noted how the capital was surrounded by hills on four sides, making it naturally defensible.  As for the people, he praises them as honest and straightforward.  They wore clothing of felt and hemp cloth, and cut their hair short, without hats or any kind of headwear.  Even the climate was pleasant, at least for the short time he was there.  He also notes that they used a script based on India—likely referring to the Brahmic script, which we find in the Tarim basin. However, as for the local lord, the King of Agni, he is a little less charitable.  Xuanzang claimed he was brave but “lacked resourcefulness” and he was a bit of a braggart.  Furthermore, the country had “no guiding principles or discipline and government orders are imperfect and not seriously implemented.”  He also mentioned the state of Buddhism in the country, noting that they were followers of Sarvastivada school, a Theravada sect popular along the Silk Road at the time.  Xuanzang was apparently not too pleased with the fact that they were not strict vegetarians, including the “three kinds of pure meat”.  From Agni, Xuanzang continued southwest, heading for the kingdom of Kucha.  He seems to have bypassed the nearby kingdom of Korla, south of Agni, and headed some 60 or 70 miles, climbing over a ridge and crossing two large rivers, and then proceeding another 200 miles or so to the land of Kucha. Kucha was a kingdom with over one hundred monasteries and five thousand monks following a form of Theravada Buddhism.  Here, Xuanzang was welcomed in by the king, Suvarnadeva, described as having red hair and blue eyes.  While Xuanzang was staying in Kucha, it is suspected that he probably visited the nearby Kizil grotto and the Buddhist caves, there, which include a painting of King Suvarnadeva's father, King Suvarnapuspa, and his three sons. You can still visit Kucha and the Kizil grottos today, although getting there is quite a trek, to be sure.  The ancient Kuchean capital is mostly ruins, but in the Kizil caves, protected from the outside elements, you can find vivid paintings ranging from roughly the 4th to the 8th century, when the site was abandoned.  Hundreds of caves were painted, and many still demonstrate vibrant colors.  The arid conditions protect them from mold and mildew, while the cave itself reduces the natural bleaching effect of sunlight.  The paintings are in numerous styles, and were commissioned by various individuals and groups over the years.  They also give us some inkling of how vibrant the city and similar structures must have been, back when the Kuchean kingdom was in its heyday. The people of Kucha are still something of a mystery.  We know that at least some of them spoke an Indo-European language, related to a language found in Agni, and both of these languages are often called Tocharian, which we discussed last episode.  Xuanzang himself noted that they used Indian writing, possibly referring to the Brahmi script, or perhaps the fact that they seem to have used Sanskrit for official purposes, such as the inscription on the cave painting at Kizil giving the name of King Suvarnapuspa.  The Kucheans also were clothed in ornamental garments of silk and embroidery.  They kept their hair cut, wearing a flowing covering over their heads—and we see some of that in the paintings. Xuanzang also notes that though we may think of this area as a desert, it was a place where rice and grains, as well as fruit like grapes, pomegranates, plums, pears, peaches, and almonds were grown.  Even today, modern Xinjiang grows some absolutely fantastic fruit, including grapes, which are often dried into raisins. Another point of interest for Xuanzang may have been that Kucha is known as the hometown of none other than Kumarajiva.  We first mentioned Kumarajiva back in episode 84.  Kumarajiva was one of the first people we know of who translated many of the sutras from India that were then more widely disseminated throughout the Yellow River and Yangzi river basins.  His father was from India and his mother was a Kuchean princess.  In the middle of the 4th century, when he was still quite young, he traveled to India and back with his mother on a Buddhist pilgrimage.  Later he would start a massive translation project in Chang'an.  His translations are credited with revolutionizing Chinese Buddhism. Xuanzang was initially welcomed by the king, his ministers, and the revered monk, Moksagupta.  They were accompanied by several thousand monks who set up tents outside the eastern gate, with portable Buddha images, which they worshipped, and then Xuanzang was taken to monastery after monastery until sunset.  At one of the monasteries, in the southeast of the city, there were several tens of monks who originally came from Gaochang, and since Xuanzang had come from there, they invited him to stay with them. The next day he met and feasted with the King, politely declining any meat, and then went to the monastery in the northwest to meet with the famous monk: Moksagupta.  Moksagupta himself had made the journey to India, and had spent 20 years there himself.  It seems like this would have been the perfect person for Xuanzang to talk to about his plans, but instead, the two butted heads.  Moksagupta seems to have seen Xuanzang's Mahayana faith as heretical.  He saw no reason for Xuanzang to travel all the way to India when he had all the sutras that anyone needed there in Kucha, along with Moksagupta himself.   Xuanzang's response seems to have been the Tang dynasty Buddhist version of “Okay, Boomer”, and then he went ahead and tore apart Moksagupta's understanding of his own sutras—or so Xuanzang relayed to his biographers.  We don't exactly have Moksagupta's side, and, let's face it, Xuanzang and his biographers are not necessarily reliable narrators.  After all, they followed Mahayana teachings, which they considered the “Greater Vehicle”, and they referred to the Theravada teachings as the “Hinayana” or “Lesser Vehicle”.  Meanwhile, Theravada Buddhists likely saw many of the Mahayana texts as extraneous, even heretical, not believing them to actually be the teachings of the Buddha. It must have been winter time, as the passes through the mountains on the road ahead were still closed, and so Xuanzang stayed in Kucha, spending his time sightseeing and meeting with various people.  He even went back to see Moksagupta, but the older monk shunned him, and would get up and exit the room rather than engaging with him, so they had no more conversations. Eventually, Xuanzang continued on his way west, following along the northern rim of the Tarim basin.  Two days out from Kucha, disaster struck.  Some two thousand or so Turkish bandits suddenly appeared—I doubt Xuanzang was counting, so it may have been more or less.  I imagine that memories of what had happened to the merchants near Agni must have gone through Xuanzang's mind.   Fortunately, for him, they were fighting over loot that they had pillaged from various travelers, and since they couldn't share it equally, they fell to fighting each other and eventually dispersed. He travelled for almost 200 miles after that, stopping only for a night at the Kingdom of Baluka, aka Gumo—the modern city of Aksu.  This was another Theravada Buddhist kingdom.  Xuanzang noted tens of Buddhist temples, and over 1000 Buddhist monks.  The country was not large—about 200 miles east to west and 100 miles north to south.  For reference that means it was probably comparable in size with Kyushu, in terms of overall area, or maybe the size of Denmark—excluding Greenland—or maybe the US state of Maryland.  Xuanzang described the country as similar to Kucha in just about every way, including the written language and law, but the spoken language was different, though we don't get many more details. From Baluka, he crossed northward through the Tianshan mountains, which are classified as an extension of the Pamirs known as the Ice Mountains.  Had he continued southwest, he would have hit Kashgar and crossed over between the Pamir and Tian Shan ranges into the Ferghana valley, but instead he turned north. We don't know exactly why he took this perilous option, but the route that may have been popular at the time as it was one of the most direct routes to the seat of the Western Gokturk Empire, which he was currently traveling through. The Tian Shan mountains were a dangerous journey.  Avalanches could block the road—or worse.  Xuanzang describes the permanent ice fields—indeed, it is the ice fields and glaciers of the Tian Shan that melt in the summer and provide the oasis towns of the Tarim Basin with water, even to this day.  In Xuanzang's day, those glaciers were likely even more prevalent than today, especially as they have been recorded as rapidly disappearing since 1961.  And where you weren't on snow and ice, the ground was probably wet and damp from the melt.  To keep warm, you would wear shoes over your shoes, along with heavy fur coats, all designed to reduce exposure. Xuanzang claims that 3 or 4 of every 10 people didn't survive the crossing—and that horses and oxen fared even worse.  Even if these numbers are an exaggeration, the message is clear:  This was a dangerous journey. After about seven days, Xuanzang came out of the mountains to the “Great Pure Lake”, the “Da Qing Hai”, also known as the Hot Sea or the Salt Sea, which likely refers to Issyk Kul.  The salt content, along with the great volume of water it possesses, means that the lake rarely freezes over, which is likely why it is seen as “hot” since it doesn't freeze when the fresh water nearby does.  This lake is the second largest mountain lake in the world, and the second deepest saltwater lake.  Traveling past the lake, he continued to Suyab, near modern Tokmok, in Kyrgyzstan, just west of the modern capital of Bishkek.  This was an old Sogdian settlement, and had since become the capital of the Western Gokturks.  Sogdians—like Xuanzang's guide, Vandak—were integral to the Gokturk kingdom. Their language was the lingua franca of the Silk Road, and at the time of the Gokturk Khaganate, it was also the official court language, and so when Xuanzang appeared at the court of the Great Khagan of the Western Gokturks, it was likely the language of diplomacy. When we think of Turkic people, many in the English speaking world think of Turkiye, and perhaps of the mighty Ottoman empire.  Some may think of Turkmenistan, Kazhakstan, Kyrgyzstan, or Uzbekistan, among others.  And of course, there are the Uyghur people in Xinjiang.  All of these people claim roots in the ancestral Turkic homeland in the Altai mountains, which sit largely in western Mongolia, north of China's Xinjiang region.  Much like the Xiongnu and the Mongols, they were pastoral nomads, moving their herds across the steppes, often covering great distances.  They would regularly move through different regions, perhaps returning each season, though sometimes not returning for years at a time.  They were often seen as barbarians by settled people living in cities, and yet their goods and horses were highly prized. Nomad and sedentary lifestyles would often collide.  Farmers would turn pastureland into fields, and when the nomadic people returned on their circuits, they would find walls and fences where there was once open land, and the people there would claim to “own” the land, a concept often foreign to people who were always on the move.  Nomadic people, such as the Gokturks, were not necessarily keeping vast libraries of records about themselves and their histories, and so much of what we get comes from external sources, which do not always have incredibly reliable narrators.  To many of the settled agriculturalists, groups like the Turks were marauders who raided their villages and farms.  They were a great bogeyman of the steppes, which required the firm hand of strong defenses to keep out—or so their opponents would want people to think. While they were known for their warfare, which incorporated their mobility, but they were keenly interested in trade, as well.  They understood the value of the trade routes and the various cities and states that they included in their empire.  Thus, the Sogdians and the Gokturks seem a natural fit: the Sogdians were more settled, but not entirely so, as demonstrated by their vast trade networks.  And the Sogdians also were part of the greater central Eurasian steppe culture, so the two cultures understood each other, to a degree.  They are even depicted similarly in art, with slight differences, such as long hair that was often associated with Turks over the Sogdians.  In some areas of the Gokturk empire, Sogdians would run the cities, while the Gokturks provided military aid and protection. Xuanzang's description of the people of Suyab, or the “City of Suye River”, doesn't pick out anyone in particular, and he even says that it was a place where traders of the Hu, or foreign, tribes from different countries mingle their abodes.  He mentions the people here as being called Suli, which is also the name given to the language—this may refer to “Sogdian” in general.  They write with an alphabet that is written vertically rather than horizontally—this may refer to a few scripts that were written this way, possibly based off Syriac or Aramaic alphabets that were adapted to Sogdian and other Iranian languages, but it isn't clear. We are told that the people dressed in felt and hemp clothing, with fur and “cotton” garments.  Their clothes fit tightly, and they kept their hair cut short, exposing the top of their heads—though sometimes they shaved it completely, tying a colored silk band around the forehead. He goes on to describe these people as greedy liars, possibly a reference to the mercantile nature of many of the people at the time. Something to note: The Turks of this time had not yet encountered Islam, which was just now starting to rise up in the Middle East.  The Prophet Muhammad is said to have been born around the end of the 6th century CE and was preaching in the early 7th century, though his teachings would begin to spread outward soon enough.  But that means that the Gokturks were not an Islamic empire.  Rather, their own traditions seem to have focused on the worship of Tengri, an Altaic personification of the universe, often simplified as a “sky god”.  Tengrism can be found amongst the Xiongnu, Mongols, and others, and it was the national religion of the Gokturks themselves, but there were many who also adopted other religions that they encountered, including Zoroastrianism, Christianity, Manichaeism, and Buddhism.  In fact, Xuanzang notes that the Turks he met in Suyab would not sleep or sit on beds made of wood because wood was thought to contain the spirit of fire, which he says they worshipped.  That sounds similar to Zoroastrian beliefs, where fire is associated with Ahura Mazda, who is also worshipped as a sky god.  These may have been beliefs inherited from their Eastern Iranian Sogdian partners. In Xuanzang's biography, we are given more details about his visit to Suyab.  Apparently, as he was headed to the city, he met a hunting party, which we are told was the retinue of Yehu Khan.  Hunting was an important part of life on the steppes, and it continued to be a favorite sport of the Gokturk nobility. Yehu Khan—possibly Yagbhu Khan, though that is up for some debate—is described as being dressed in a green silk robe, with his hair exposed, and wearing  a turban of white silk about ten feet long that wrapped his forehead and hung behind his back.  His “hunting” expedition wasn't just a couple of the guys.  It included about 200 officials, all with plaited hair and dressed in brocade robes—they weren't exactly out there roughing it.  He also had his soldiers, dressed in furs, felt, or fine woolen clothes, and there were so many cavalry that they stretched out of sight.  The Khan seemed pleased to meet Xuanzang, but his hunt was expected to last another couple of days, at least, so he sent an attendant named Dharmaja to take Xuanzang back to wait for the Khan to return. Three days later, Xuanzang was given an audience.  The khan was seated in a large yurt.  Xuanzang noted the seeming incongruity between the khan, sitting there in the tent, decorated with golden flowers, with the officials dressed in magnificent brocade garments sitting in two long rows in front of him and the armed guards behind him, compared to the simple felt walls of the tent. A ”yurt” is a common feature of nomadic life on the steppes.  It wasn't exactly a single person operation to haul them around, but they can be taken down and put up with relative ease.  And while yurts could be relatively simple, there are examples of much more elaborate structures.  There is little reason they couldn't be made larger, perhaps with some extra support.  In later centuries, there are examples of giant yurts that seem like real construction projects.  Use of tents, even in a city, where they had permanent palace buildings, was likely a means of retaining the nomadic steppe traditions, even while enjoying the benefits of city life. Whom exactly Xuanzang met with is a matter of debate.  His records seem to indicate that it was Tong Yabghu Qaghan of the Western Gokturk Khaganate, but other sources say that Tong Yabghu Qaghan died in 628, and the earliest Xuanzang could have been meeting with him was 630, two years later, so if that is the case, he must have met with Tong Yabghu's son, Si Yabghu Qaghan.  It is likely that Xuanzang, who was dictating his accounts years after, mentioned the Qaghan and then, when they looked up who it was, they simply made a mistake.  Remember, Xuanzang would have had everything translated through one or two languages.  He did know what he saw, however, and he recounted what he remembered. Tong Yabghu Qaghan oversaw the height of the Gokturk Qaghanate, and appears to have favored the Buddhist religion, though there were many different religions active in their territories at the time.  They oversaw an extremely cosmopolitan empire covering huge swaths of central Eurasia, including the lucrative silk road.  Xuanzang notes that at the court there were individuals from Gaochang and even a messenger from the Han—which is to say the Tang Empire.  One wonders if Xuanzang—or anyone at that time—realized just how tenuous the Khan'sposition was.  After Tong Yabghu's death, the Qaghanate would decline, and less than a decade later it would fall to the Tang dynasty, who took Suyab and made it their western outpost.  In fact, Suyab is thought to have been the birthplace, over a century later, of a young boy who would find a love of poetry.  That boy's name was Li Bai, or Ri Haku, in Japanese. He would become one of the most famous poets in Chinese history, and his poems were even known and studied in Japan.  And it was largely through Japanese study of Li Bai's poems that his works came to the English speaking world: first through Ernest Fenollosa, who had studied in Japan, and then by the celebrated Ezra Pound, who had used Ernest's notes to help with his own translations of the poems. This was, though, as I said, over a century after Xuanzang's journey.  At the time of our story, the Qaghan was throwing a feast, including Xuanzang and all of the foreign envoys.  Xuanzang comments on the food and drink—his hosts provided grape juice in lieu of wine, and cooked a special vegetarian feast just for him, while the other guests ate a feast of meat, such as veal, lamb, fish, and the like.  There was also the music of various regions along the Silk Road, which Xuanzang found to be catchy, but of course not as refined as the music he was used to, of course.  After dinner Xuanzang was asked to expound upon the Darma, largely about the basic principle that you should be kind to one another—I doubt he was getting into the deep mysteries of Buddhist philosophy. Xuanzang stuck around the court for three more days, during which time the Qaghan tried to get him to stay, but Xuanzang insisted that he had to make it to India.  And so the Qaghan relented.  He found men in his army who could translate for Xuanzang along his journey, and had letters of introduction written to at least as far as the state of Kapisa, in modern Afghanistan. And so, armed with the Qaghan's blessing and a fresh translator, Xuanzang struck out again.  They headed westward for over one hundred miles, eventually reaching Bingyul, aka the Thousand Springs.  This is the area where the Qaghan and his court would spend his summers, and the deer in the area were protected under his orders, so that they were not afraid of humans—which sounds similar to the situation with the deer in Nara.  Continuing on another fifty miles or so—the distances are approximate as Xuanzang's primary duty was not exactly to map all of this out—Xuanzang arrived at the city of Taras, in modern Kazakhstan, another place where the cultures of the Silk Road mixed and mingled.  Xuanzang didn't have much to say about Taraz, apparently, though it is one of the oldest cities in Transoxania, founded near the beginning of the Common Era.  A few miles south of there, Xuanzang reportedly found a village of re-settled ethnic Han that had been captured by the Gokturks and settled here.  They had adopted the dress and customs of the Turkic people, but continued to speak a version of Chinese. Southwest of that he reached the City of White Water, likely referring to Aksukent.  This is the same “Aksu” as the city in Xinjiang, both of which mean “White Water” in Turkic, but this one is in the south of Kazakhstan.  Xuanzang found the climate and products an improvement over what he had experienced in Taras.  Beyond that, he next arrived at the city of Gongyu, and then south again to Nujkend, and then traveling westward to the country of Chach, aka Tashkent.  Both Nujkend and Chach were large cities in nations of smaller, mostly autonomous city-states, which made up a lot of the political geography of Transoxania. I would note that Xuanzang's notes here are much more sparse than previously.  This may be because these were outside of the Tarim basin and therefore of less interest to individuals in the Tang empire.  Or perhaps he was just making his way more quickly and not stopping at every kingdom along the way. From Tashkent, he continued southeast to the Ferghana valley—the country of Feihan.  Oddly, this country doesn't appear in Xuanzang's biography, even though the Ferghana Valley seems to have been fairly well known back in the Tang Empire—it was known as the home of some of the best horses, which were one of its first major exports.  In fact, the Han dynasty even mounted a military expedition to travel to Ferghana just to obtain horses.  Xuanzang is oddly silent on this; however, he does talk about the fertile nature of the land.  He mentions that their language here is different from the lands he had been traveling through up to this point, and also points out that the people of the Ferghana valley were also visibly different from others in the area. From the Ferghana valley, Xuanzang headed west for about 300 miles or more to the land of Sutrushana—perhaps referring to the area of Ushrusana, with its capital of Bunjikat.  This country was also largely Sogdian, and described as similar to Tashkent.  From there, he traveled west through a great desert, passing skeletons, which were the only marker of the trail other than a view of the far off mountains.  Finally, they reached Samarkand, known as the country of “Kang” in Chinese, which was also the term used to mark Sogdians who claimed descent from the people of Samarkand. Samarkand is another of the ancient cities of Central Asia, and even today is the third largest city in modern Uzbekistan.  Human activity in the region goes back to the paleolithic era, and the city was probably founded between the 8th and 7th centuries BCE.  Samarkand was conquered by Alexander the Great, and during the Achaemenid Empire it was the capital of Sogdiana.  During Xuanzang's visit, Samarkand was described as an impenetrable fortress with a large population. For all of his travel, Samarkand was the first place Xuanzang notes as specifically not a Buddhist land.  In fact, there were two monasteries, suggesting that there had been Buddhists, but if any monks tried to stay there then the locals would chase them out with fire.  Instead, they worshipped fire—likely meaning Ahura Mazda and Zoroastrianism.  This leads to a story that I have to wonder about, given the reliability of our narrators. It is said that Xuanzang was met by the King with arrogance, but after staying the night Xuanzang was able to tell the King about Buddhism and its merits.  The king was intrigued, and asked to observe the Precepts, and treated Xuanzang with hospitality and respect.  So when two of Xuanzang's attendants went to the monasteries to worship, they were chased out with fire.  When the king heard about this, he had the people arrested and ordered their hands to be cut off.  Xuanzang could not bear to witness such suffering, however, and he intervened to have them spared.  So instead the king had them flogged and banished from the city.  Ever since then, all the people believed in Buddhism. Some parts of this strike true.  It was likely that the king would entertain this strange wanderer who had arrived with letters from the great Qaghan—that may have even explained why Xuanzang had been encouraged to make the dangerous journey to Suyab in the first place, so that he could obtain such permission.  And it would not be strange for the king to listen to his teachings.  If Xuanzang's attendants were attacked, that would have been a huge breach of hospitality, and however the King felt about it, he no doubt had to do something about it.  And so all of that sounds somewhat believable.  Does that mean everyone suddenly converted to Buddhism?  I don't know that I'm quite willing to go that far.  It is also likely that there were Buddhists there already, even if the majority religion was Zoroastrianism. From Samarkand, Xuanzang traveled farther southwest, to the country of Kasanna, which seems to have been the edge of what we might call Sogdiana.   According to his biographers, however, there was a little more to all of this.  Rather, he headed west to Kusanika.  Then he traveled to  Khargan, and further on to the country of Bukhara, and then to Vadi.  All of these were “An” in Chinese, which was the name element used for Sogdians from this region.  He then continued west to the country of Horismika, on the other side of the Amu Darya, aka the Oxus River of Transoxanian fame. From there he traveled further southwest, entering into the mountains.  The path here was often such that they had to travel single-file, and there was no food or water other than what you brought with you.  Eventually they came to a set of doors, known as the Iron Gate.  This was a Turkic fortress.  It was no doubt fortuitous that he had come from his meeting with the Qaghan, and likely had permission to pass through.  From there, they entered the country of Tukhara. As we noted in Episode 119, Tukhara was in the region of Bactria.  It was bordered by the Pamir range in the east, and the Persian empire in the west.  There were also the Great Snow Mountains in the south, likely referencing the Hindu Kush. Tukhara had been conquered by the Gokturks just within the past couple of decades, and Xuanzang notes that the country had been split into largely autonomous city-states as the local royalty had died without an heir many years before.  With the Gokturk conquest, it was now administered by Tardu Shad, the son of Tong Yabghu Qaghan.  “Shad” in this case was a local title. Here, Xuanzang's narrative gets a little dicey, especially between his biography and his records.  The records of the Western Regions denotes various countries in this area.  It is unclear if he traveled to all of them or is just recounting them from records he obtained.  He does give us at least an overview of the people and the region.  I would also note that this is one of the regions he visited, again, on his return trip, and so may have been more familiar with the region than those areas he had passed through from Suyab on down. For one thing, he notes that the language of the region was different from that of the “Suli”, which appears to refer to the Sogdians.  This was the old territory of the Kushan empire, and they largely spoke Bactrian.  Like Sogdian, it was another Eastern Iranian language, and they used an alphabet based largely on Greek, and written horizontally rather than vertically.  They also had their own coins. This region had plenty of Buddhist communities, and Xuanzang describes the cities and how many monasteries they had, though, again, it isn't clear if he actually visited all of them or not.  These are countries that Li Rongji translates as “Tirmidh”, “Sahaaniyan”, “Kharuun”, “Shuumaan”, etc. It does seem that Xuanzang made it to the capital city, the modern city Kunduz, Afghanistan. Xuanzang actually had something specific for the local Gokturk ruler, Tardu Shad.  Tardu Shad's wife was the younger sister of King Qu Wentai of Gaochang, whom we met last episode.  Qu Wentai had provided Xuanzang a letter for his younger sister and her husband.  Unfortunately, Xuanzang arrived to learn that the princess of Gaochang had passed away, and Tardu Shad's health was failing.  It does seem that Tardu Shad was aware of Xuanzang, however—a letter had already come from Qu Wentai to let them know that Xuanzang was on his way.  As I mentioned last episode, letters were an important part of how communities stayed tied together.  Of course, given the perils of the road, one assumes that multiple letters likely had to be sent just in case they didn't make it.  The US Postal Service this was not. Tardu Shad, though not feeling well, granted an interview with Xuanzang.  He suggested that Xuanzang should stick around.  Then, once the Shad had recovered from his illness, he would accompany Xuanzang personally on his trip to India.  Unfortunately, that was not to be.  While Xuanzang was staying there, he was witness to deadly drama.  Tardu Shad was recovering, which was attributed to the recitations by an Indian monk who was also there.  This outcome was not exactly what some in the court had wanted.  One of the Shad's own sons, known as the Tagin prince, plotted with the Shad's current wife, the young Khatun, and she poisoned her husband.  With the Shad dead, the throne might have gone to the son of the Gaochang princess, but he was still too young.  As such, the Tagin Prince was able to usurp the throne himself, and he married his stepmother, the young Khatun.  The funeral services for the late Tardu Shad meant that Xuanzang was obliged to stay at Ghor for over a month. During that time, Xuanzang had a seemingly pleasant interaction with an Indian monk.  And when he finally got ready to go, he asked the new Shad for a guide and horses.  He agreed, but also made the suggestion that Xuanzang should then head to Balkh.  This may have meant a bit of backtracking, but the Shad suggested that it would be worth it, as Balkh had a flourishing Buddhist community. Fortunately, there was a group of Buddhist monks from Balkh who happened to be in Kunduz to express their condolences at the passing of Tardu Shad, and they agreed to accompany Xuanzang back to their hometown, lest he end up getting lost and taking the long way there. The city of Balkh is also known as “Baktra”, as in “Bactria”, another name of this region.  A settlement has been there since at least 500 BCE , and it was already an important city when it was captured by Alexander the Great.  It sits at the confluence of several major trade routes, which no doubt were a big part of its success.  Xuanzang's biography notes that it was a massive city, though it was relatively sparsely populated—probably due to the relatively recent conquest by the Gokturks, which had occurred in the last couple of decades.  That said, there were still thousands of monks residing at a hundred monasteries in and around the city.  They are all characterized as monks of Theravada schools.  Southwest of the city was a monastery known as Navasamgharama, aka Nava Vihara, or “New Monastery”.  Despite its name, the monastery may have actually been much older, going back to the Kushan emperor Kaniska, in the 2nd century CE.  Ruins identified as this “New Monastery” are still visible south of Balkh, today. The monastery is described as being beautifully decorated, and it seems that it had a relic—one of the Buddha's teeth.  There are also various utensils that the Buddha is said to have used, as well.  The objects would be displayed on festival days.  North of the monastery there was a stupa more than 200 feet in height.  South of the monastery was a hermitage.  Each monk who studied there and passed away would have a stupa erected for them, as well.  Xuanzang notes that there were at around 700 memorial stupas, such that they had to be crammed together, base to base. It was here that Xuanzang met a young monk named Prajnaakara, who was already somewhat famous in India, and well-studied.  When questioned about certain aspects of Buddhism, Xuanzang was impressed by the monk's answers, and so stayed there a month studying with the young monk. Eventually, Xuanzang was ready to continue on his journey.  He departed Balkh towards the south, accompanying the teacher Prajnakara, and together they entered the Great Snow Mountains, aka the Hindu Kush.  This path was even more dangerous than the trip through the Tian Shan mountains to Suyab.   They eventually left the territory of Tukhara and arrived at Bamiyan.  Bamiyan was a kingdom in the Hindu Kush, themselves an extension of the Himalayan Mountain range.  It Is largely based around valley, home to the modern city of Bamyan, Afghanistan, which sits along the divide between Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent.  Today it is a major center for individuals of the Hazara ethnic group, one of the main ethnic groups in Afghanistan, which is a multi-ethnic state that includes, today, the Pashtun, Hazara, Tajik, and Uzbek people, along with a number of smaller ethnic groups.  Today they largely reside in the mountainous areas of the Hindu Kush. Bamiyan made an impact on our protagonist.   Their language was slightly different from that in Tukhara, but using the same—or similar enough—writing system.  Buddhism was thriving in the capital, and we are told of a rock statue of the standing Buddha, over a hundred feet in height, along with a copper statue of the standing Buddha nearby.    There was also another reclining Buddha a mile or two down the road.  There were multiple monasteries with thousands of monks, and the ruler of that kingdom received Xuanzang well. Xuanzang wasn't the first monk to travel to Bamiyan from the Middle Kingdom—in this he was, perhaps unwittingly, on the trail of the monk Faxian.  Faxian likely did not see these statues, though, as we believe they were built in the 6th and early 7th century—at least the stone Buddha statues.  They were a famous worship site until February 2001, when the Taliban gave an order to destroy all of the statues in Afghanistan.  Despite this, they were inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003. Fortunately, we have images from before their destruction.  These statues were a blend of Greco-Buddhist and Gandharan art styles—appropriate as it stands between the Hellenistic area of Tukhara and the ancient region of Gandhara—including the modern city of Kandahar and into the Indus Valley region of Pakistan. Continuing east through the mountains, Xuanzang eventually came out at the kingdom of Kapisa.  This may have had its capital around modern-day Bagram, north of modern Kabul, but the country seems to have been quite large.  Kapisa over saw some tens of other countries, and it is thought that at one time its influence extended from Bamyan and Kandahar to the area of modern Jalalabad.  Their language was even more different than that of Tukhara, but they were still using the same writing system.  The king of Kapisa is said to have been of Suli ethnicity—which would seem to indicate that he was Sogdian, or at least descended from people of the Transoxanian region.    Xuanzang notes that the ruler, as rough and fiery as he is described—as a true warlord or similar—he nonetheless made a silver image of the Buddha, eighteen feet in height, every year.  He also gave charity to the poor and needy in an assembly that was called every five years.  There were over one hundred monasteries and some 6000 monks, per Xuanzang's recollection, and notably, they were largely following Mahayana teachings. For the most part the monks that Xuanzang had encountered on this journey were Theravada—Xuanzang refers to them as “Hinayana”, referring to the “Lesser Vehicle” in contrast to Xuanzang's own “Mahayana”, or “Greater Vehicle”.  “Theravada” refers to the “way of the elders” and while Mahayana Buddhism largely accepts the sutras of Theravada Buddhism, there are many Mahayana texts that Theravada Buddhists do not believe are canonical.  We discussed this back in Episode 84. There was apparently a story of another individual from the Yellow River being sent as a hostage to Kapisa when it was part of the Kushan Empire, under Kanishka or similar.  Xuanzang recounts various places that the hostage, described as a prince, lived or visited while in the region.  Xuanzang's arrival likely stirred the imagination of people who likely knew that the Tang were out there, but it was such a seemingly impossible distance for most people.  And yet here was someone who had traveled across all of that distance.  One of the monasteries that claimed to have been founded because of that ancient Han prince invited Xuanzang to stay with them.  Although it was a Theravada monastery, Xuanzang took them up on the offer, both because of the connection to someone who may have been his countryman, but also because of his traveling companion, Prajnakara, who was also a Theravada monk, and may not be comfortable staying at a Mahayana monastery. Xuanzang spends a good deal of ink on the stories of how various monasteries and other sites were founded in Kapisa and the surrounding areas.  He must have spent some time there to accumulate all of this information.  It is also one of the places where he seems to have hit at least twice—once on the way to India, and once during his return journey. The King of Kapisa is said to have been a devotee of Mahayana Buddhism.  He invited Xuanzang and Prajnakara to come to a Mahayana monastery to hold a Dharma gathering.  There they met with several leading figures in the monastery, and they discussed different theories.  This gathering lasted five days, and at the end, the king offered Xuanzang and the other monks five bolts of pure brocade and various other gifts.  Soon thereafter, the monk Prajnakara was invited back to Tukhara, and so he and Xuanzang parted ways. And it was about time for Xuanzang to continue onwards as well.  From Kapisa, he would travel across the “Black Range” and into Lampaka.  This may refer to the area of Laghman or Jalalabad.  Today, this is in modern Afghanistan, but for Xuanzang, this would have been the northwestern edge of India.  He was almost there. And so are we, but we'll save his trip into India for next episode. Until then thank you for listening and for all of your support. If you like what we are doing, please tell your friends and feel free to rate us wherever you listen to podcasts.  If you feel the need to do more, and want to help us keep this going, we have information about how you can donate on Patreon or through our KoFi site, ko-fi.com/sengokudaimyo, or find the links over at our main website,  SengokuDaimyo.com/Podcast, where we will have some more discussion on topics from this episode. Also, feel free to reach out to our Sengoku Daimyo Facebook page.  You can also email us at the.sengoku.daimyo@gmail.com.  Thank you, also, to Ellen for their work editing the podcast. And that's all for now.  Thank you again, and I'll see you next episode on Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.

Episode 221 Sponsored by: River Road Family Vineyards and Winery We were joined by filmmaker Chris McGilvray and our own Richard Ross in the studio! They take a deep dive into Chris' seven-year journey documenting family dynamics and generational shifts at Mount Eden winery, highlighting the key roles of Mexican-American workers, music, and sound design. They conclude by exploring the profound importance of wine, legacy, and land in the winemaking industry. Links:  https://www.edenfilm.info/ https://www.nomadicbearproductions.com/ Sponsor: River Road Family Vineyards and Winery Credits: The Wine Road podcast is mixed and mastered at
 Threshold Studios Sebastopol, CA. http://thresholdstudios.info/

Why did I stop podcasting? What changed? Welcome to the new chapter. This episode is a small preview of what is to come, what to expect, and what we are going to deep dive into moving forward. Some of the things we will cover in future episodes is: ​Entering the void and trusting the unknown​Rebirth & building the new you​The art of courage​Nomadic wisdom​Alchemy of change​Radical self-liberation​Building a new paradigm for living (freedom, community & purpose)Thank you for tuning in and I hope you enjoy the short episode!

How is the Maasai community continually being displaced and disenfranchised in the name of “wildlife conservation”? What are some of the common propaganda used to justify their mass evictions? And how do the Maasai's communal land relations, rooted in nomadism and pastoralism, ultimately challenge the laws of their nation-state — revealing the subjective ethics and worldviews that define legality?In this episode, we are honored to be joined by Joseph Oleshangay, a Maasai human rights lawyer who has litigated high-profile lawsuits against their government — notably, regarding forced evictions of the Maasai community in Ngorongoro District for tourism and trophy hunting.What can we learn from the Maasai's ancestral lifeways that blur the lines between life and “wild” life — showing their food, medicine, culture, spirituality, stories, and music as inextricably woven into the plains and highlands where they call home?We invite you to…tune in and subscribe to Green Dreamer via any podcast app;subscribe to kaméa's newsletters here;and support our show through a one-time donation or through joining our paid subscriptions on Patreon or Substack.

It was a pleasure to welcome Frodo (Guitars/Vox/Synths) & Craig (Bass/Vox/Synths) of Nomadic Rituals back onto the show. The three piece doom/sludge band along with Mark on drums are about to release their incredible fourth album titled 'Fust' via Cursed Monk Records. Myself and Danielle talk through each track with Frodo & Craig and get some great insights into the recording of one of the heaviest and down right gruesome releases of 2025. Recorded and Mixing by Niall Doran at Start Together Studio and mastering by Brad Boatright at Audioseige, Nomadic Rituals have left no stone unturned in perfecting this level of doom-ridden sludge for the listener to choke on! Check out the links below and buy 'FUST'. https://www.nomadicrituals.co.uk/ https://cursedmonk.bandcamp.com/album/fust

The Freedom of a Nomadic Life: Living, Working, and Thriving Globally.Join John Duffin in this inspiring episode of Your Message Received as he chats with Eric Dingler, a global nomad and business leader. Eric shares his journey on how he manages a thriving business while traveling the world with his family.From homeschooling and off-grid adventures in the Amazon to effective business strategies and maintaining community, Eric provides invaluable insights on living an intentional, flexible, and fulfilling life.Discover how to leverage remote work, achieve a nomadic lifestyle, and live your true, authentic purpose.01:06 Introducing Eric Dingler: The Global Nomad02:20 The Nomadic Lifestyle: Challenges and Rewards05:42 Downsizing and Embracing Minimalism13:02 Homeschooling and Family Dynamics18:19 Memorable Experiences and Life Lessons28:02 Adapting Leadership for Remote Teams28:43 Managing Projects Asynchronously29:54 Balancing Work and Travel31:09 Financial Realities of Nomadic Life34:43 Challenges and Misconceptions of Remote Work36:46 Building a Sustainable Remote Business38:51 Finding Remote Work Opportunities41:57 Taking the Leap: Starting Your Nomadic Journey50:37 Final Thoughts and EncouragementWhen you want to know more about Eric Dingler, and you should, follow these linkshttps://mymarketingscorecard.comdnepodcast.comhttps://familyofdashes.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericdingler/https://www.facebook.com/theericdinglerhttps://www.instagram.com/ericdingler?igsh=enFqcGYxMmdmZnQ0As always, Want to be a guest on Your Message Received... Finding your Business Voice!? Send John Duffin a message on PodMatch, here:⁠⁠https://www.podmatch.com/.../1684959784828x29467220990920⁠...⁠

#OzWatch:  Dallas lectured not to befriend the nomadic Tiger Snake. Jeremy Zakis, New South Wales. #FriendsofHistoryDebatingSociety

Sabe aquele momentinho cretino que acontece durante uma partida de tabuleiro que você acha que só você se incomoda? Então, você não está sozinho(a)! Neste furioso episódio, ⁠Didi Braguinha⁠ e ⁠André Rumjanek compartilham seus maiores desconfortos à mesa do papelão. Se você treme toda vez que servem um suco em cima do seu jogo, sente uma veia saltar quando puxam um celular no meio da partida, esse episódio é para você! Episódio do Perdidos No Play: O que um JOGO PRECISA pra SER BOM?! Jogos mencionados neste episódio (mesmo que brevemente): Mythic, Lancer, Nomadic, Ronin, Notorious e Wingspan Para saber mais sobre este episódio e os jogos mencionados: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Momento Desagradáveis à Mesa | Fabuloso Podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Se você ainda não conhece ou faz parte, fale conosco no nosso ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Fabuloso Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ E para as redes sociais: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Fabuloso Podcast no ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Welcome to the latest episode of Harmonious World, in which I interview musicians about how their music helps make the world more harmonious.From New Orleans, I'm joined for this episode by Barcelona-born jazz pianist Marina Albero. Her story is fascinating and her latest album - A Nomad of Sound - is gorgeous.Thanks to Marina for allowing me to share tracks from her album alongside our conversation.Get in touch to let me know what you think!Thank you for listening to Harmonious World. Please rate, review and share: click on the link and subscribe to support the show.Don't forget the Quincy Jones quote that sums up why I do this: "Imagine what a harmonious world it would be if every single person, both young and old, shared a little of what he is good at doing."Support the showRead my reviews of albums, gigs and books as well as a little personal stuff on my blogFollow me on instagram.com/hilseabrookFollow me on facebook.com/HilarySeabrookFreelanceWriterFollow me on twitter.com/hilaryrwriter

Across Iron Age Central Eurasia, non-sedentary people created, viewed, and considered animal-style imagery, creating designs replete with feline bodies with horse hooves, deer-birds, animals in combat, and other fantastic creatures. Fantastic Fauna from China to Crimea: Image-Making in Eurasian Nomadic Societies, 700 BCE-500 CE (Edinburgh University Press, 2023) focuses on this animal-style imagery, examining the dissemination of this image system.  Filled with fascinating images carefully chosen from an enormous geographical scope, Petya Andreeva's vivid book explores how communities used animal-style design to create and define status, to bond alliances together, and to showcase steppe know-how and worldliness in sedentary communities. Fantastic Fauna should appeal to those in Eurasian history, East Asian history, art and archeology, and those interested in thinking about steppe art.  Interested listeners should also check out Petya's chapter on the Golden Hoard (available here), part of an Open-Access UNESCO volume on the Silk Roads.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Across Iron Age Central Eurasia, non-sedentary people created, viewed, and considered animal-style imagery, creating designs replete with feline bodies with horse hooves, deer-birds, animals in combat, and other fantastic creatures. Fantastic Fauna from China to Crimea: Image-Making in Eurasian Nomadic Societies, 700 BCE-500 CE (Edinburgh University Press, 2023) focuses on this animal-style imagery, examining the dissemination of this image system.  Filled with fascinating images carefully chosen from an enormous geographical scope, Petya Andreeva's vivid book explores how communities used animal-style design to create and define status, to bond alliances together, and to showcase steppe know-how and worldliness in sedentary communities. Fantastic Fauna should appeal to those in Eurasian history, East Asian history, art and archeology, and those interested in thinking about steppe art.  Interested listeners should also check out Petya's chapter on the Golden Hoard (available here), part of an Open-Access UNESCO volume on the Silk Roads.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/east-asian-studies

Across Iron Age Central Eurasia, non-sedentary people created, viewed, and considered animal-style imagery, creating designs replete with feline bodies with horse hooves, deer-birds, animals in combat, and other fantastic creatures. Fantastic Fauna from China to Crimea: Image-Making in Eurasian Nomadic Societies, 700 BCE-500 CE (Edinburgh University Press, 2023) focuses on this animal-style imagery, examining the dissemination of this image system.  Filled with fascinating images carefully chosen from an enormous geographical scope, Petya Andreeva's vivid book explores how communities used animal-style design to create and define status, to bond alliances together, and to showcase steppe know-how and worldliness in sedentary communities. Fantastic Fauna should appeal to those in Eurasian history, East Asian history, art and archeology, and those interested in thinking about steppe art.  Interested listeners should also check out Petya's chapter on the Golden Hoard (available here), part of an Open-Access UNESCO volume on the Silk Roads.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/central-asian-studies

Across Iron Age Central Eurasia, non-sedentary people created, viewed, and considered animal-style imagery, creating designs replete with feline bodies with horse hooves, deer-birds, animals in combat, and other fantastic creatures. Fantastic Fauna from China to Crimea: Image-Making in Eurasian Nomadic Societies, 700 BCE-500 CE (Edinburgh University Press, 2023) focuses on this animal-style imagery, examining the dissemination of this image system.  Filled with fascinating images carefully chosen from an enormous geographical scope, Petya Andreeva's vivid book explores how communities used animal-style design to create and define status, to bond alliances together, and to showcase steppe know-how and worldliness in sedentary communities. Fantastic Fauna should appeal to those in Eurasian history, East Asian history, art and archeology, and those interested in thinking about steppe art.  Interested listeners should also check out Petya's chapter on the Golden Hoard (available here), part of an Open-Access UNESCO volume on the Silk Roads.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Across Iron Age Central Eurasia, non-sedentary people created, viewed, and considered animal-style imagery, creating designs replete with feline bodies with horse hooves, deer-birds, animals in combat, and other fantastic creatures. Fantastic Fauna from China to Crimea: Image-Making in Eurasian Nomadic Societies, 700 BCE-500 CE (Edinburgh University Press, 2023) focuses on this animal-style imagery, examining the dissemination of this image system.  Filled with fascinating images carefully chosen from an enormous geographical scope, Petya Andreeva's vivid book explores how communities used animal-style design to create and define status, to bond alliances together, and to showcase steppe know-how and worldliness in sedentary communities. Fantastic Fauna should appeal to those in Eurasian history, East Asian history, art and archeology, and those interested in thinking about steppe art.  Interested listeners should also check out Petya's chapter on the Golden Hoard (available here), part of an Open-Access UNESCO volume on the Silk Roads.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/art

Lucinda and Will Belden are living their dream by traveling full-time in an RV while running their publishing and event hosting businesses from their RV. They have learned to adapt to challenges, be more assertive and confident, and prioritize flexibility and transparency in their work arrangements. Lucinda and Will Belden own and operate Direction Wide Open. They join Glynn to discuss their lifestyle of traveling full-time in an RV while running their business remotely. They share their experiences of overcoming obstacles such as technical issues with their equipment, poor internet connectivity, and the challenges of balancing work and personal life on the road. They also discuss the importance of following one's passion and being willing to put oneself out there to receive feedback. They emphasize the need for assertiveness and confidence in demanding a fair rate for services provided. GUEST BIO: Lucinda is a travel writer (retired travel agency owner) and Will is a full-stack computer programmer (not retired). They have been full-time RVers since 2019 and together they keep busy hosting RV events and rallies around the country, publishing articles for RV & motorcycle blogs as well as several books on Amazon. Direction Wide Open: https://dwo.net Socials: https://facebook.com/directionwideopen https://youtube.com/@DirectionWideOpen RESOURCES: DWO Media Page: https://dwo.net/media DWO Books on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4gGkOYE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THE RV ENTREPRENEUR https://therventrepreneur.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Join the RVE community on Facebook! ⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/groups/therventrepreneurcommunity⁠ Connect with RVE on all your favorite socials ⁠https://therventrepreneur.com/connect⁠⁠ Got questions or comments for our hosts? Leave us a voice message! ⁠⁠https://therventrepreneur.com/voicemail⁠⁠ (NOTE: Audio submitted may be published on the podcast unless specifically requested otherwise.) Got a great story or tips to share with RVE Listeners? Complete our Guest Intake Form: https://therventrepreneur.com/guestform

A weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. The show is produced by a collective of media makers, deejays, and activists. Powerleegirls Hosts Miko Lee and Jalena Keane-Lee host and Ayame Keane-Lee edits a chat about leadership, growth and change during a time of crisis. Listen to Jalena speak with Meng Hua from Tiger Eye Astrology about her path from palm reading to artistry to bazi. Then hear Miko speak with Zen Master Norma Wong  about her new book When No Thing Works. More information about our guests: Meng Hua's Tiger Eye Astrology  Zen Master Norma Wong her new book When No Thing Works Guide to how to hold space about the book   Pathways To Humanity Show Transcript Opening: [00:00:00] Apex Express Asian Pacific expression. Community and cultural coverage, music and calendar, new visions and voices, coming to you with an Asian Pacific Islander point of view. It's time to get on board the Apex Express.   Ayame Keane-Lee: [00:00:29] Tonight on APEX Express: the PowerLeeGirls mother-daughters team. I'm the editor of tonight's show Ayame Keane-Lee joined by our hosts Jalena Keane-Lee and Miko Lee. Tune in as they interview our guests about Pathways – internal and external journeys we take to connect to humanity. First my sister Jalena speaks with Meng Yu about her journey as a full time artist and practitioner of the mantic arts. Then Mama Miko speaks with Norma Wong, the abbot of Anko-in about her latest book When No Thing Works. So listen in to APEX Express. First up is Jalena's interview with Meng Yu.    Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:01:08] Hello, everyone. I am here with Meng Yu, who is a Chinese astrologer from Tiger Eye Astrology. And today we're talking all about astrology and learning from the stars and other elements to help guide our life path and our decisions and choices. Thanks so much for being here, Meng.    Meng Yu: [00:01:27] Thanks so much for having me, Jalena. It's a pleasure to have this conversation with you.    Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:01:33] It truly is. and so I'm curious if you could just start us off talking a little bit, you know, about your practice and how you came to the work that you're doing today.    Meng Yu: [00:01:42] I have been a practitioner of the mantic arts for, over a decade and the mantic arts, include astrology, but also divination. So as part of my practice, I also do I Ching or Yijing divination. and it's a kind of circuitous way of how I ended up on this path. I'm also a, a full time artist. and you know, that's kind of how I make my bread and butter. And it's also. In a way, how I approach, Chinese astrology and divination as well, I guess to backtrack a little bit, I always like to start by honoring my teachers and their lineages. So, primarily my teacher has been Master Zongxian Wu, who is my Bazi teacher and also is the lineage holder of, four traditional schools of internal arts. and then I also have a host of daoist teachers who are also artists. their own right, visual artists, martial artists, writers who live in and embody the Dao. these include Lindsey Wei, Dengming Dao, uh, Tamara Jha, Lily Kai. And so, I also want to shout out to my group. Late sixth great aunt as well. My Leo Gupo, who when I was eight years old, she gave me my first introduction to the art of divination through. palm reading. so she actually taught me, sort of an Eastern style of palm reading at a young age. But growing up, other than that, I, was not influenced by, this, form of, wisdom traditions from my heritage. My parents are, both Chinese and they are both, of the cultural revolution generation, which was a mass genocide that occurred in China, right as they were coming of age. So they're very, survival oriented, practical people, you know, from Just historically in China, from the fall of the Qing dynasty to the rise of communism, much of the mantic arts traditions, were basically lost in the cultural landscape. So, how I came to this work, was not really so much through my upbringing as, The search for, I guess, healing in my own life experiences and coming to, sort of critical junctures, and crisis, personal crises in my life where I really sought, alternative, dimensions and ways of, reconnecting to my My purpose and just healing in my life. So I, over a decade ago found myself, in the jungles of Peru, having very close, connections to a shamanistic tradition involving plant medicine, which opened me up to really asking, you know, what are the shamanic and animistic roots. of the wisdom traditions from my own heritage. And this brought me to working with the Yijing, as well as Chinese astrology. So that's, that's kind of a mouthful. It's a bit of a long and complicated story, but that's, that's sort of the bullet notes version.    Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:05:18] Thank you so much for sharing that. It's perfect because my next question was going to be about, you know, your lineage of healers that you studied under, but I feel like you covered that already really well. So I'm curious, you know, you talked about Bazi and Yijing, could you kind of give us a little bit of a breakdown of these like different modalities and how you use them?    Meng Yu: [00:05:35] Sure, absolutely. so, In the readings that I do for folks, the most popular readings are actually a combination of Yijing divination and Bazi astrology. So to give a little context for both, the Yijing Translates as the book of change or the book of changes it, although it has roots and what we would call, currently ancient Siberia, ancient China, it actually dates back to Neolithic times. Really before, the formation of these nation states. So it's some of our early human ancestors. It's their recorded search for wisdom through the observation of cycles and patterns in nature over thousands of years. as the book of change, as the study of change, it's the oldest compounded record of, the study of time itself. and the Bazi astrology is a modality of Chinese astrology that really came into prominence during the Han Dynasty. the turn of the century, the common era, and, it translates as eight characters. So ba meaning eight and zi meaning character. So there is a element in animal for not only your year of birth, which is what? Folks are mostly familiar with, but also the month, day, and hour. So these are called four pillars. So sometimes the system is called the four pillars of destiny. And we get a look at, these characters that make up one's nature. And the way that I So when I see the two modalities working together, I often give people the metaphor of, you know, say you're in, the ocean of your life and you're driving a boat or a ship. The Yijing is like a weather report. The Yijing gives us an idea of the changes that we are currently in. So are we headed in a storm? is it clear blue skies ahead? What are the conditions of the wind and the waves? And the bazi chart looks at the kind of ship that you are driving. So it could be, you know, a submarine. It could be a sailboat. It could be an ocean tanker. And they all have different conditions. strengths and gifts and flavors of power, as well as certain kinds of limitations and vulnerabilities. And so the bazi chart really looks at these qualities of our nature and encourages us to embrace who we actually are so that we can learn to drive our ship better.    Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:08:47] Thank you so much for that breakdown and description, and in addition to offering readings, of which I loved, I absolutely loved getting a reading with you, and it was so informative and inspirational, but in addition to these readings and offerings that you have for other people, I'm curious how you use these modalities in your own life, whether it's with your art practice, or just with life choices and changes how do you, use these ways of knowing for yourself?   Meng Yu: [00:09:12] It's very important for me as an astrologer and as a daoist to, to align my life according to the times, these modalities, both the Yijing and Chinese astrology. What they point to at the foundation of their wisdom is the question of what time is it, right? This is where the roots of the tradition come from. It's from telling time, and through understanding time and studying time, we're able to divine When is a good time? what is the right time? And knowing that gives our lives profound meaning and context. so, on the more kind of mundane level, it's adjusting my calendar to observe time with this additional context of living with the seasons. there's actually 24 different seasons, according to the qi nodes of The Chinese lunar and solar calendar. There's also the lunar cycles as well. And these are not simple, mathematical markings. They have, very deep meanings behind them that help us align with the qi quality of the moment. So they give our lives meaning by showing us, is this a time to sow seeds, to be inspired and enlivened like springtime? is it a time of Growing potential, or are we entering a time where we need to, not be accumulating, in terms of harvest, but actually be engaged in shedding, by observing the patterns and cycles of nature, And following the nature of the forces that we find ourselves in, we can align ourselves to live in harmony, and to be in, better alignment with the dao. So that's one way that I see the Chinese calendar providing context for my life. The wisdom of the Yijing has been such a profound. Collaborator in my life. not only in studying and attempting to apply its wisdom, but also has been an incredible creative collaborator for me as an artist. So, one of my favorite things to do is to divine with the Yijing to help make creative choices in my work, and to really treat the Oracle as a collaborator. So I really enjoyed using it in this creative way and as a practice for listening and channeling, which I think is useful for any artist to engage in a meditative practice where, it's not a sense of creativity coming necessarily from you, but actually through you. and that's something that the Yijing through working with it for so many years has really taught me to embody.    Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:12:19] I love that so much. have you noticed any changes in your life, your energy levels, or your art practice since kind of aligning your life with these forces?    Meng Yu: [00:12:30] Yeah, you know, I would love to say, Oh, everything's just gotten better and better. Now I just live like the perfect artist life. It's that would, that's really not, nothing could be really further from the truth because I think it's really about being in the school of life. You know that this is a form of education and it's a continual form of practice, and, as I've been engaged in it, in over 10 years, every year, the lessons have, there's been more layers of depth and challenge, which I think is, , Something that unfolds sort of dependent on what you're you're ready for. There is a hexagram in the Yijing that Shows you that you are undergoing a massive transition where you're carrying the burden of a really heavy weight . And one of the things you're encouraged to see is to reflect on how, what you are experiencing now is something that would have completely overwhelmed you a year ago or a cycle ago. We are given tasks. And, asked to carry burdens, given what we are ready for. And so, although I would like to say, Oh, it's made my life so easy. I know what to do all the time now. That's not the narrative at all. I feel like there's a kind of profound, I guess maybe meditative experience where I have a little bit more distance now from things affecting me, in an immediate personal way because now I can, refer to. This collaborator, this friend, for advice or allowing me to see where I am in a cycle to reflect what I have exited from, hopefully to be prescient of what's to come, to identify familiar themes and to see, that I'm continuously revolving around, a spiral where Certain points come back that feel very familiar, but it's a couple rungs, deeper, where it's not like just a circle of things repeating, but it's a spiral where there's new layers of depth that, follow familiar themes, if that makes sense.   Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:15:06] Yeah, that does. and I know you've talked about, too, how it's like a method for communicating with your ancestors and kind of having An additional channel of communication. So I'm just curious about, yeah, that kind of practice of communication and bringing that forward in your work and how that experience has been for you.   Meng Yu: [00:15:28] Yeah. the piece about ancestors is really an interesting one, because I think what the gift of Chinese astrology to me is that it puts The self within a kind of different context where we're encouraged to see ourselves, not as some, definable thing that has innate qualities, but through Chinese astrology, where we see the elements, the animals, the the stars that indicate ancestral influences, the, unfinished business, the karma, the fate of our ancestors that have been given to us. We're encouraged to see the self as just a live kind of wiggly end of 10, 000 dead people. You know, that what makes us who we are is an enormous inheritance. And what we are here to play out in our lives is this dance between fate and freedom. It doesn't mean that we don't have access to creativity in our lives, but that freedom is inherently, explored and discovered through playing with the limitations of our fate. So for instance, in our natal charts, You can see certain hauntings or ghost energies, inherited from ancestors. So for instance, in my personal chart, I have an inheritance called hidden moaning, which shows an ancestor that has not completed grieving and grief work in their lifetime. And so it kind of. imbues my life with unexplainable bouts of sadness. sometimes this can result in, depression, grieving, this like, wailing grief and knowing this in my chart, I'm able to see that kind of sadness is not something that is just mine, meaning, you know, growing up, the question would be like, Oh, why me, or what am I doing wrong? Why do I feel like this? What's wrong with me? When we look at our lives through the context of ancestors, it becomes a lot more relational, meaning your grief, these burdens are not simply yours. They're a call for communication with your lineage and opening up that pathway, that communication itself is how we resolve the fate of our ancestors. by Listening by asking, what is it that they want, our lives are not just lived for us, but our lives are a way for our ancestors to resolve unfinished chi, that they were not able to complete in their lifetimes. So, you know, when I feel these bouts of sadness, I know that it's time for me to open up these channels, that I can sit in meditation, that I can, engage in my creative practice as a way to channel and speak to my ancestors and ask them what it is that they would like to come forth. What messages they have? That they need to share and speak.    Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:19:11] Wow, you just dropped so many gems and I was like taking notes. I really like that idea of, you know, this dance between fate and freedom and living out our ancestors kind of unfinished business and promises and hopes. And I'm curious also how this practice has impacted or potentially deepened your own understanding of your culture and your relationship to being Chinese or Chinese American or however you identify.   Meng Yu: [00:19:40] Yeah, it's really provided. I feel extremely honored and, you know that I've been able to work with so many amazing teachers and adepts and have been trusted to practice as well as teach these modalities. it has brought me really close to my ancestors in a very intimate way, you know, like I just talked about with hidden moaning, as well as giving me such an appreciation for the wisdom traditions of my heritage. and this really dates back really beyond, again, our understanding of the nation states of, you know, what it means to be Chinese, it actually gives me a lot of respect for what our ancient human ancestors have left behind for us, their legacy, you know, because the roots of this tradition Like I mentioned, it actually goes back 50, 70, 000 years ago to the retreat of the last ice age. And so we're really talking about nomadic hunter gatherers and their survival, how they observed nature, terrains, and sky. Over cyclical time, they survived by following migration routes of animals and celestial bodies that allowed them to engage in an animistic perspective of life, that, all landscapes, including the landscapes of the cosmos, all of nature is sentient. And this. I guess that world view of aliveness of sentience and intelligence, as well as reciprocity and resonance. You know, that all environments and us, because we are innately tied to that, we are nature. You know, that we're in this reciprocal conversation all the time with life, that I think has had the most profound influence on my life, this idea that we're not just caretakers of the environment, but we are the environment. We are all adapting to each other too. The forces around us inside of us that there's this continual movement of cycles and circulation. that I think is really this wisdom core of the tradition that has really made me feel like not just a citizen of my culture and my ethnicity, but really a citizen of this planet, of Earth. from literally, you know, the air that we breathe, down to the food that we eat down to our blood, it's the same movement of circulation that connects us all and this, you know, really informs my, my worldview and my sense of belonging, my sense of, communion with life.   Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:22:54] I feel like these messages and this kind of information about ancestors, unfinished business, purpose in life. It can be both empowering and overwhelming at times. Like, that was my experience of the reading as well. And we're living at a time where In the US for sure and also globally where there's so much going on and it is a moment that can feel empowering at times but also can feel very, very overwhelming so I'm curious if there are certain ways that you practice keeping the faith in amidst times like these or navigating things that are overwhelming but can be seen as, empowering at the same time.    Meng Yu: [00:23:32] Yeah, absolutely. That's a really fabulous question. you mentioned faith, and I think that's a really interesting concept to dig into because I actually hesitate to use the word faith. I like to use the word trust know that we can develop our existential trust through understanding. Tempo with these. modalities, like I mentioned, there's this, putting us back into time, into rhythm, not just Chinese astrology. I think all ancient calendars does this for us, that they Put us back into an earth based tempo and rhythm and helps us understand that the meaning of our lives come from the context of everything that sustains us. And that this isn't some kind of belief system that you have to be indoctrinated in. It is an observable truth that you can see through observing patterns. and cyclical time. Yin and yang is not some far fetched idea that you have to believe in. It's literally night and day, these are the basic rhythms through which our lives have delineation and tempo and when we develop our synchronicity with this type of regularity and rhythm, we develop a kind of trust. and This trust comes from confidence through observation over time, and because we don't like live outside anymore, we're not really in touch with what our ancestors, the ancients observed and recorded in their calendars. You know, the regularity of movement from observing the sun, the moon, the stars and the seasons. And when we can reunite with that, that actually provides a sense of trust. so, when we engage in these modalities, whether it's astrology or divination, we're, we're reading tempo and even with Chinese medicine, Chinese medicine takes a pulse, you know, it's reading your body as a tempo. It's indicating your rhythm, the quality of your rhythm. So even in our medicine, we are reading our bodies temporally. So this idea of time is so fundamental for me in this idea of trust in alignment with rhythm and regularity. In the Tao Te Ching, which is one of the canonical texts of Daoism, the word for trust, Ching, is used many times and it's about, trust is defined. also as a kind of power. It's defined as how beings attain their actuality, that you need trust in order to grow, that it's part of your process of becoming. And through Daoism and through Chinese astrology, which was very much, informed through Daoism. And we learned that the way to grow our Xing, our trust, is to return our body to the rhythm of the universe. Now that the Daoist cure for our anxieties, which stem from a sense of our independent existence. You know, of our, individuality that is such a small, piece of this enormity. The cure for our anxieties is to identify our singularity, our single body with the body of the whole world. And we do that through aligning our tempo, aligning our rhythm. this is one way that we see the intricate ways that we are all interconnected. And I know I just said some really kind of big abstract things, but, I hope that's making sense.    Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:27:49] Yes, no, aligning and yeah, the tempo and pace of the world. I saw something recently that was like, you know, the power of treating our own bodies like gardens that we're cultivating and not like machines. And I feel like that's sticking to what you were just talking about, too, of like, you know, we are also. Plants and beings that need to be tended to and taken care of and to see ourselves that way in alignment with like the world and the pace of the world.   Meng Yu: [00:28:16] Yeah, absolutely. I love that plant metaphor because it brings us back in touch with life and life cycles, that seeds are sown in the spring. Leaves are shed in the fall, you know, that. Life force and life energy also needs to have time to retreat and withdraw in the winter. All the chi is going back underneath the ground where it's not visible. All the outward and external energy is going inward. It's going hidden. That's the power of yin. When we observe and practice modalities that have survived, not just one genocide, but many, many genocides over thousands of years, we can start to build of broader understanding of the patterns of the universe, the cycles of time. And this is one way that we can embrace and this work with the realities of what's happening, you know, in the current poly crises of our times in, civilization and ecological collapse, you know, it's important that we come to terms with where we are in cycles so that we do the practice that is needed of the Grieving of shedding the anger and the sadness that comes with this time to not live in denial of it and to learn from our ancestors and how they have survived through these times through the practice and the wisdom of understanding, The cycles of nature, how we renew and, regenerate life, the daoists were really concerned with, what is called immortality, but immortality is not like one person living forever. Immortality is. A broader concept about the continuation of life, you know, how do we live in a way that is truly sustainable, that is self sustaining in Chinese, the word for nature is zhi ran, which means self: zhi ran self fulfilling, self renewing, self sustaining. So embedded in the wisdom of these practices is this sense of aligning our lives, aligning our choices in a way that allows life to continue.   Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:30:52] Absolutely. Yes. more life and more environments where life can grow and thrive. I'm curious, you know, if anyone who's listening is now really interested in learning more about Chinese astrology, learning more about your work, what would be the best ways for them to start? And then also if there's anything else that you want to share.   Meng Yu: [00:31:11] The best way to find me is to go to my website. I'm not on social media, so, you'll have to get on the web and find me at www. tigereyeastrology.com and from there you can, contact me, request a reading, as well as just read more about, the different modalities that I practice, a little more about myself, and the perspectives that I bring.   Ayame Keane-Lee: [00:31:38] You are listening to 94.1 KPFA and 89.3 KPFB in Berkeley, 88.1 KFCF in Fresno, 97.5 K248BR in Santa Cruz, 94.3 K232FZ in Monterey, and online worldwide at kpfa.org. Next up is Miko's interview with Norma Wong.   Miko Lee: [00:32:01] Welcome Norma Wong to Apex Express. We are so happy to have you with us today.   Norma Wong: [00:32:06] Aloha, Mikko. Thank you for having me.    Miko Lee: [00:32:09] I want to just first start off, you, hold dear to my heart. I just finished reading your book, which I'm excited to talk about, but I just want to start in the very beginning by asking you a question, which is based on a question from the amazing poet Chinaka Hodges. Who are your people, and what legacy do you carry with you from them?    Norma Wong: [00:32:29] Oh, Miko, how much time do you have? my people are people of the Pacific. You know, the people who came, who crossed the ocean, now six generations ago to this place called Hawaii, who are the haka. Nomadic people of China who really traveled all over China came as contract work and my people are the indigenous people of Hawaii, of these islands where I live and where you happen to be right now, on in terms of this interview and, with the indigenous people, the Kanaka Maoli, the native wines of this place. I am blessed to be the ancestors of these two strong strands of people and really, people who have long migrated, irrespective of where they're coming from, where they're going to.   Miko Lee: [00:33:23] That is beautiful. And what legacy do you carry with you from those people?    Norma Wong: [00:33:28] I would say the legacy that I carry is the legacy of remembering food, remembering stories, passing on stories, creating stories into the future so that we may know where it is that we will go to. And I would say that I also carry the legacy of people who can both be with each other and also be fiercely independent with respect to not having to really depend on anything other than their wits, the land that they're on, of the people who are close to them, what the winds may be able to tell them.   Miko Lee: [00:34:11] Thank you so much. I'm very excited. I just finished reading your new book, which is titled, When No Thing Works: A Zen and Indigenous Perspective on Resilience, shared purpose, and leadership in the timeplace of collapse. Incredibly long title and incredibly appropriate for the time we live in right now. Can you share a little bit about what inspired you to create this work?    Norma Wong: [00:34:39] Well, I will, I will say frankly that the book would have not been written if not for Taj James and some of your listeners may know who this is. He is a movement leader and activist, who resides in Northern California, but really does a lot of work everywhere. And Taj, actually convinced me over a two year time period, to write this particular book. And I finally did so, because of a question that he asked. The question that he asked is, with respect to the kinds of knowledge that spiritual ways practice and pass on person to person, can that happen quickly enough only with the people who are directly in front of you? Will that happen quickly enough for the times that we're in? And I had to reflect upon that and say, no, because we were in a time of collapse. And so I had to take the chance of writing something that would find its way into the hands of people who were not directly in front of me. And that is, not the ways of the long line of teachers that I have had.   Miko Lee: [00:35:58] Can you talk a little bit about some of the teachers that you've had and how you carry on the legacy of those teachers that you have had, the impact they've made on you.    Norma Wong: [00:36:09] I've been blessed with many teachers, some of whom are in my young time days. I particularly remember a teacher from my elementary school days, Mrs. Trudy Akau. She was, Native Hawaiian and Portuguese and a woman of big voice and grand stature. And Mrs. Akau really wanted every single one of her students to Be able to find voice in whatever ways, that they might, whether it be writing or through reading or speaking, telling stories. So I certainly remember. This is a call. I remember Tanoi Roshi, uh, my Zen teacher. He was born Stanley Tanoi, second generation Japanese American grew up in Hawaii and who became a teacher. in his own right, not only with respect to Zen, but the martial arts and Stanley Tanoy, who we all know is Tanoy Roshi, is certainly considered to be my primary spiritual teacher, for whom it is now my responsibility to follow his line. I would say that there are people that I have worked with. who are my teachers, you know, so John Waiheee, who was the first native Hawaiian governor of Waii, I certainly consider him to be a significant teacher of mine, as do some young people, some people who are younger than I am. I consider them to be my teachers as well.   Miko Lee: [00:37:41] You mentioned your Zen teacher, Tanoue Tenshin Roshi and you quote in the book him saying, the truth is the intersection of everyone's perspective, if we could only know that. Can you speak more about this?    Norma Wong: [00:37:55] We are, as humans, we're, we're very certain that our perspective is the truth, that whatever it is that we see. But even from a biological perspective, science shows that what it is that registers in our mind is only a small portion of what it is that even our biology is absorbing. And so. We have this tendency to have a lens with respect to how we see the world that lens is colored by many things. And so what is actually so is difficult to ascertain. And this is just in terms of what may be right in front of us, let alone that which may come to us on a secondhand basis, and even more complicated by the way people get most of their information these days. Which is not through direct experience, but through information that has been provided by other channels, the vast aspects of social media, for example, the echo chambers of the conversation, in which we take as facts, things that are talked about that have been observed by other people who are analyzing that which someone else may or may not have actually seen by their own eyes. So we're many times removed from the actual experience of things. And so to know the truth, is a complex thing.    Miko Lee: [00:39:28] As you sort of mentioned this, but it feels like we are living, in this time where there's multiple truths, and especially with the propaganda that we're seeing from right wing mindsets that are really resistant to, influence especially around harm, unless they directly experienced that harm. In cases where it feels like this progress is really stalled until those people experience that kind of harm personally, what is the best way for us to intervene constructively?    Norma Wong: [00:39:56] Well, I think the first thing that we have to do is to make sure that we are also not doing the same thing in reverse. You know, which is to say that the aspect of harm, The many impacts that people may feel will be felt differently. So that which I believe has harmed me would seem to you as not being harmful at all. We tend to see harm, not from a meta perspective, but from an individualized perspective. And so to actually come out of the weeds of that and place ourselves In an observer's stance of community more generally, of humans more generally, not within the analysis of that, not within the frameworks of that, but to observe actual experiences is something that needs to happen on the left and the right and the center. the American. Value system doesn't help, which is to say that we live in a very individualized society. Our country was formed on the basis of values that are individualized. Even something that we'd say may be universal, such as human rights, we tend to think of it through an individualized lens. And to come more into the whole of it, to not. view our existence as being either dependent or independent of others, but more from the perspective of being interdependent. And you know, by interdependence, I'm, I mean that the success that we may have is born not only of my efforts, but the efforts of others. And if it is at the expense of someone else's welfare, then it is not interdependent. So that type of existence, you know, which I would describe as a more indigenous way of being, is what our times call for.    Miko Lee: [00:41:55] I'm wondering, you have such an interesting background as working in the legislature here in Hawaii and then fighting for homeland rights, supporting people in Lahaina. I'm wondering how you have combined both your indigenous background and your own. Zen belief system, how that has influenced you politically.   Norma Wong: [00:42:16] Well, if I were to reflect on that question, I would say that I was extraordinarily fortunate to begin my spirit practice at almost the same instant that I was coming up in the political world. And so I. did not see one as separate from the other. In fact, I would say that the fortune of that is that there are many aspects about the introspective nature of spirit work that, you have to interrupt your ego at every instant. And as you might imagine, there are many ways in, in the political world. Where the ego takes on an outsized importance to what it is that you're doing. And so it's an important centering value that you would get from the Zen practice. But to me, A thing that attracted me to Zen is that it is almost inherently indigenous and, by that I mean that the Zen values are based on interdependence of the whole and the whole does not only include humans, it includes other beings in the universe itself. And so, to center your political actions and the ways in which you might grapple with an issue is not to separate the issue from the people and the place, and to take into consideration not only the history of that, but what your actions would mean for the descendants that have not yet been born. And in that respect, there's should be no separation. In fact, there should be a profound way, in which that can hold your political decision making. your political conversation, your political actions within the concepts and the values of people in place.    Miko Lee: [00:44:08] So centering on people and place and our interconnectedness with each other. That's really powerful and so important and I'm going back to your saying we have to interrupt the ego and I'm wondering in times when we're about to see 45 enter into his, second administration and the impact of somebody who is ego full or narcissistic and this divide that we're seeing, how do we hold faith in ourselves to help to interrupt that ego when it's happening on such a national scale?    Norma Wong: [00:44:41] Well, there's a thing about ego, which is to say that My ego can only be interrupted by me. Your ego can only be interrupted by you. Now, strategy is a different thing, but that's not the subject of this interview. But with respect to ego, it's going to be part of the environment. it's going to be part of what exists and it'll be a powerful way in which you would see many egos, playing with each other. That's going to be a dynamic that will occur. So I would say there's a lot of work to do. Especially if we know that the construct of government, irrespective of whether this person or another person is holding this job. is in a place of peril and the institutions generally are having difficulty in this moment. Some people, because of who it is that they are and the ego that they have, will supercharge the collapse. In other words, they will increase the momentum of that collapse. And so, in that increase of the momentum of the collapse, there's a lot going on. To be done to ensure that peoples and communities and places are able to do what may be necessary to effectively sustain themselves and each other in relationship to each other, all of the things that they may have otherwise been dependent on the artificial structure called government. And with respect to ego, for us to understand that we have to have enough healthy ego to believe in our own capacity, to be able to work with each other, to take on this huge task, not only through these next four years, but in a period of time beyond that.   Miko Lee: [00:46:29] And what are some of the practices or frameworks that can help sustain us during this time to come?    Norma Wong: [00:46:35] Certainly the practice of, not running dry, you know, that within every 24 hour cycle, if we are to be at the top of our game, then we have to pay attention to make sure that we have enough rest, that we have the sustenance we need, Remain hydrated. I mean, very simple things to not waste away our time in the internal dialogue that keeps spinning to separate ourselves from the habits that keep us from making decisions that taking on too many things means that no thing that you do will be given the kind of attention that it needs, the kind of focus that it needs. the kind of depth that it requires. And so this is a time of choices, in order to achieve that place of abundance. You cannot have many things on the plate at the same time. So simple choices, with respect to the practices that you have, And once that require the dreaded D word, which is discipline.    Miko Lee: [00:47:43] Mm. One of the things that has arisen a lot within the network that I work in, AACRE, Asian Americans for Civil Rights and Equality, is a lot of folks, especially young folks, are finding themselves in able to have conversation with family members or elders that, have different political viewpoints what is a good way to go about navigating this tension with people who hold really different political and therefore, in their minds, worldviews than you, but you are connected to?    Norma Wong: [00:48:12] Well, it may not be possible to have a political conversation the question is, are you still in relationship? I think that is the primary question. are you able to meet someone's eyes? Or do you just look away? can you feed each other? I mean, literally, do you know the foods that other people desire or need? Can you make them? Not just buy it and assemble it from the nearest store. Are we tending to each other's needs? Emotional welfare, are we observant of the ways in which we may be getting into a place of need that we're not asking support for. It's like politics should not be. the first conversation you have with someone, it's like that, the first conversations that you would have with people should be one of relationship and of community, and that if you're going to slip into that part where you're going to say, well, because of your politics, I'm going to put you in this room or that room, then the, possibility of us being able to proceed as people is just not going to be possible. The civil rights, as a political movement, succeeded. I believe that as a social change movement, there is still a lot of work to be done. And that we put a little bit too much of a dependence on the wins that we had politically. And then We believed that, because those wins were, that the world would change as a result of that. Hearts and minds were not necessarily changed. And the heart and mind work is the work of community, the work of storytelling, the work of arts, generally. The work of building relationships with people, so that irrespective of the label that they thought that you carry, that you can have a greater understanding of desires and motivations, needs, and ways in which you might be able to be mutually with each other. So we have to start by actually being in relationship with people versus relationship with our ideas. A relationship with points of view and that is something that we may have given short shrift to. And I would say that that's like a Western kind of thing, like, you know, okay, we're going to have a meeting and, let's sit down for a meeting. By the way, we're not going to spend any time getting to know each other. We want to get directly to. Whatever the point of the meeting happens to be, or in the case of family. You know, it's like, families are complicated. One of the reasons why families are complicated is because we are in blood relationship to each other and therefore forever bound. But that does not mean that we have actually done the work to get to know each other. It does not mean that at all.   Miko Lee: [00:51:09] Thank you. I'm wondering if you can, talk about how do we hold on to our work as activists, and kind of the ultimate urgency of what's happening in the world, like I'm thinking specifically, there's a lot of conversations about the new laws that might happen right after the inauguration . And so there's a sense of urgency there. How do we hold on to ourselves but balance that with that sense of urgency.    Norma Wong: [00:51:34] Well, I like to put urgency in a slightly different perspective. Which is to say that the urgency that I see is what is the work that needs to be done to ensure that descendants that are not yet born will be able to live the kind of life that I would hope them to have in a world that would be able to sustain that. And if I put that out, as. What is urgent, then that forces me, in a way that I choose into, to pay attention to. Larger stories, larger work, more extensive aspects of work that also require many more people to be engaged in. And, to begin right now, because it's urgent, you know, for example, if there's a possibility, That the aquifer will become contaminated, and we do not yet know whether or not that will be the case. Then it's urgent that we work to make sure that whatever contaminant is in the ground will not get to the aquifer and therefore, we have to work on that right now. And so that which we may advocate for with urgency will be about the things that are going to be required. For the long haul and not just a defensive reactive, type of action, just to attempt to defend the things that are collapsing around us at the moment caught. In a tighter and tighter action reaction, a kind of way in which we make choices and make decisions, which will mean that the urgent work to ensure that the descendants will be able to have a better life in a sustainable place. will not be done and will not done in time for that to occur.    Miko Lee: [00:53:26] Thank you so much, for pulling that sense of urgency out to a broader perspective. It reminds me of that Grace Lee Boggs quote, what time is it on the clock of the world that we're really thinking about multiple generations and the ancestors to come and not just what the deadline is immediately. Can you talk with us a little bit about the hu, Hu, that you describe in your book?    Norma Wong: [00:53:50] So I think of Hu as, you know, capital H and, small U as like the missing element on the periodic table. Okay. So, you know, the periodic table it contains all of the elements that are supposed to exist in the universe, and I believe that there's an element called the human quotient. The human quotient is the stuff that humans need to have in order for us to actually evolve as the peoples that we're intended to be. And that the earth requires so, you know, among the human quotient elements would be courage, for example, courage being that which we do, even in the face of fear. So there'll be characteristics like that, but even more fundamental than the characteristics, there is whether or not we will access.and hold d center to everything, the collective humanity of who we are and who we need to become. Whether we take that at the center or will we, will we just see people as a series of identities, a series of allegiances to particular flags as keepers and adherence to ideologies. as, generations or genders, will we just see people as categories? And so, this aspect of coming into our humanity, is what I'm referring to as the human quotient. One of the chapters in the book.    Miko Lee: [00:55:27] Thank you so much. Can you tell us what you would love people to understand after reading your book, When No Thing Works?   Norma Wong: [00:55:37] I would want them to understand that the work is a distillation. So it's very concentrated. It's like Malolo syrup, a favored concentrated syrup that is essentially the fruit punch of the islands. You have to add water to it in order for you to get it to a place where it can actually bear fruit and it can be delicious for you. And that water is yourself, your own experience, your own practice, your own hopes, your own purposes. And if you add that to the book, then the book will be your Malolo syrup.    Miko Lee: [00:56:17] Oh, that is such a great analogy. I love that you're talking to it. It's a syrup. And actually there is a tudy guide or it's called navigate, but the resource to help people go through the book and have conversations with family and friends, which I think is so lovely. It's such a great way for people to read the book in community.    Norma Wong: [00:56:37] Yes. The book site is, Normawong.com and, I believe that the Navigate Guide will be available on that site.    Miko Lee: [00:56:46] And I will host a link to all those things on the show notes for Apex Express. Norma Wong, thank you so much for spending time sharing with us about your work. Um, I really appreciate you and the wisdom that you're sharing for multiple generations. Thank you so much.   Norma Wong: [00:57:04] Thank you, Miko. Thank you so much. Please enjoy your day.    Miko Lee: [00:57:09] You too. And I also want to give a shout out to my amazing friend that introduced me to you, Mariah Rankin Landers, whose book, Do Your Lessons Love Your Students? Creative Education for Social Change really influenced me. And she helped provide some of the context for this conversation. So I thank you to Mariah and thank you for spending time with me, Norma. Please check out our website, kpfa.org. To find out more about our show tonight. We think all of you listeners out there. Keep resisting, keep organizing, keep creating and sharing your visions with the world because your voices are important. APEX Express is created by Miko Lee, Jalena Keane-Lee, Preeti Mangala Shekar, Anuj Vaidya, Swati Rayasam, Aisa Villarosa, Estella Owoimaha-Church, Gabriel Tangloao, Cheryl Truong and Ayame Keane-Lee.     The post APEX Express – 1.16.25 – Pathways To Humanity appeared first on KPFA.

Have you ever wondered how therapists navigate the emotional challenges of working overseas while balancing their own healing journey? In this episode, I'm joined by Megan Dietrich, a Licensed Professional Counselor and Coach with over 14 years of experience, who shares her story of building resilience as a nomadic therapist.Megan opens up about her work with women reclaiming their power, her experiences living and working overseas, and how she's navigated chronic illness and religious trauma while supporting others. Her approach to fostering resilience and creating spaces for deep healing is truly inspiring. Megan's story is filled with inspiration, practical advice, and a deep understanding of what it takes to thrive as a therapist while navigating the unique challenges of a nomadic lifestyle.In This Episode, We Explore…Megan's journey to becoming a traveling therapist and her experiences working overseas.How she helps women reclaim their power and heal from religious trauma and childhood experiences.The emotional toll of service work and how Megan supports others in navigating it.Her personal healing journey with chronic illness and how it's shaped her practice.Practical tools for building resilience as a nomadic therapist.Connect with Megan:www.megdietrich.comwww.instagram.com/megs.dietrich_____________________Are you ready to take the plunge and become a Traveling Therapist? Whether you want to be a full-time digital nomad or just want the flexibility to bring your practice with you while you travel a couple of times a year, the Portable Practice Method will give you the framework to be protected! Get on the waitlist now: https://kymtolson.kartra.com/page/PP-Waitlist_____________________Connect with me: Instagram: @thetravelingtherapist_kym The Traveling Therapist Facebook Group: www.facebook.com/groups/onlineandtraveling/ The Traveling Therapist Website & Offers:www.thetravelingtherapist.com _____________________ Sponsored by Berries: Say goodbye to the burden of mental health notes with automated note and treatment plan creation! www.berries.icu/therapists Sponsored by Alma: Alma is on a mission to simplify access to mental health care by focusing first and foremost on supporting clinicians. https://helloalma.com/kym

Elliott sits down with Jake from Chasing Green to dive into the intricacies of duck hunting strategies and migration patterns. They discuss the challenges of hunting during unpredictable weather, differences between fixed and nomadic hunting styles, and how scouting plays a crucial role in finding success. Jake shares his unique flow chart for tackling new hunting areas, insights from his trips to Canada and Arkansas, and the importance of building a reliable hunting network. If you've ever wondered what it takes to adapt your approach to changing conditions and maximize your chances in the field, this episode is packed with tips and stories you won't want to miss! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We recently published Issue 11 https://journalofbiophilicdesign.com/journal-of-biophilic-design-1 of the Journal of Biophilic Design which had a focus on Hotels and leisure and to celebrate this, we are thrilled to have Louis Thompson, Founder of Nomadic Resorts with us on this podcast.Nomadic Resorts were one of the finalists in the 2023 Stephen Kellert Biophilic Design award. We were delighted to partner with Living Future Europe to co-publish the book of winners and shortlisted entries of the 2023 Stephen Kellert Biophilic Design Award.In a world increasingly dominated by concrete and steel, one man is on a mission to rekindle our innate connection with the natural world. Louis, founder of Nomadic Resorts, is pioneering a revolutionary approach to architecture that seamlessly blends human habitats with the surrounding environment. Louis' journey began not in the halls of design schools, but in the remote corners of the Indian Ocean. After studying European politics, he found himself drawn to the hospitality industry, honing his skills at the luxury resort operator Six Senses. It was here that he discovered his true calling – to create spaces that not only cater to the needs of guests, but also nurture their well-being and foster a deeper appreciation for the natural world."I've always believed in that inherent human need to interact with the natural environment," Louis explains. "The principles of biophilic design and biomimicry have been at the core of our work from the very beginning."This philosophy has manifested in a series of breathtaking projects that have earned Nomadic Resorts international acclaim. The Playa Viva Bamboo Tree Houses in Mexico, a finalist for the 2023 Stephen Kellert Biophilic Design Award, exemplifies this approach. Perched atop a remote Pacific coast beach, the structures are designed to immerse guests in the sights, sounds, and scents of their surroundings."Our client had a very clear vision," Louis recalls. "He didn't want air conditioning – he wanted people to truly feel their environment, to smell the salt air and hear the crashing waves."Leveraging the natural airflow and the insulating properties of bamboo, the team created a series of lightweight, permeable structures that seamlessly integrate with the landscape. Elevated on coconut tree trunks and sheltered by a parabolic roof, the tree houses offer a sense of refuge and privacy while maintaining a deep connection to the outdoors."It wasn't just a question of biomimicry," Louis explains. "We wanted to create a biophilic experience that would evoke specific emotions and feelings in the guests – a sense of being hidden away, yet able to take in the breathtaking vistas around them."The project's success has been a testament to Louis' belief that the technologies we use to facilitate our lives can often be detrimental to our innate connection with nature. By embracing the genius loci, or "spirit of the place," Nomadic Resorts has crafted experiences that challenge the notion of traditional hospitality."Living in air-conditioned boxes and going from one space to another through the car-filled world, I think it has divorced people from their environment. Giving people the opportunity to have an authentic connection to the natural environment is a true luxury now."This sentiment is echoed in the company's other projects, such as the tree-top dining experience in Thailand, where guests are hoisted into the canopy of an old-growth forest on a custom-designed, cable-suspended platform. The attention to detail, from the use of traditional building techniques to the integration of local craftspeople, has imbued each creation with a distinct sense of place."We've had the great fortune of working with incredibly skilled people with fantastic ideas who have really contributed very significantly to the projects we've been involved in. It's a two-way exchange, where we're learning from them, and they're learning from us."As the company expands its portfolio of biophilic designs, Louis is also exploring new frontiers, such as the development of eco-villages and modular tent structures that can be deployed in remote locations. The goal is to create self-sustaining communities that allow people to reconnect with the natural world, not just during a vacation, but as a way of life.In an age of increasing environmental challenges and mental health crises, Louis' vision for a more harmonious future offers a glimmer of hope. By designing with nature, not against it, Nomadic Resorts is leading the charge in a revolution that could transform the way we live, work, and thrive on this planet,https://nomadicresorts.comView issue 11 Hotels to read more about Louis and Nomadic Resorts inspiring designs: https://journalofbiophilicdesign.com/journal-of-biophilic-design-1 Nomadic Resorts were one of the finalists in the 2023 Stephen Kellert Biophilic Design award. We were delighted to partner with Living Future Europe to co-publish the book of winners and shortlisted entries of the 2023 Stephen Kellert Biophilic Design Award. Have a look at this beautiful book full of inspiration. Download your copy free now!https://www.living-future.eu/publications/Or you can get a copy from our website https://journalofbiophilicdesign.com/shop/stephen-kellert-design-award-2023

In this episode of The Articulate Fly, host Marvin Cash sits down with Michael Williams, the visionary behind Nomadic Waters, to explore the captivating world of Amazon fishing. Michael shares his deep-rooted passion for the Amazon's people, places and the thrilling pursuit of peacock bass. Listeners are treated to a rich tapestry of stories, from Michael's early fishing memories with his uncle to the transformative moment that sparked his love for fly fishing. The conversation delves into the challenges and triumphs of guiding, the allure of exotic destination travel and the unique experiences offered by Nomadic Waters.Michael recounts the journey of building Nomadic Waters from the ground up, emphasizing the importance of community partnerships and sustainable practices. He reveals the intricacies of fishing in the Amazon, highlighting the aggressive nature of peacock bass and the unparalleled adventure of exploring untouched waters. The episode also touches on the humanitarian efforts intertwined with the fishing operation, showcasing the meaningful impact of responsible tourism.Listeners are encouraged to embrace the adventure and consider a trip to the Amazon, with Michael offering insights into the ideal angler profile and the skills needed for a successful experience. The episode wraps up with a reminder of the fleeting nature of opportunities and the importance of seizing the moment to explore the wonders of the Amazon.Thanks to TroutRoutes for sponsoring this episode. Use artfly20 to get 20% off of your TroutRoutes Pro membership.Thanks to The Fly Fishing Show for sponsoring this episode. To find a show near you, visit our Events page.Learn More About Parallel Resource All Things Social MediaFollow Nomadic Waters on Facebook and Instagram.Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.Support the Show Shop on AmazonBecome a Patreon PatronSubscribe to the PodcastSubscribe to the podcast in the podcatcher of your choice.Advertise on the PodcastIs our community a good fit for your brand?

Episode 176: Is life richer when you settle in one place and grow deep roots, or when you prioritize exploration through travel and seek constant adventure? This age-old question is the focus of the latest episode of "The Ethical Life" podcast. Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada discuss how advances in technology and remote work options have made it easier for people to choose how they want to live. Kyte said that the desire for freedom often draws people to a more nomadic lifestyle, but warned that the experience can be deceptive, lacking the sense of community and obligation that provides meaning. The hosts explored the benefits of travel, such as reduced stress and increased creativity, but also acknowledged the tendency for people to get stuck in routines and forget to explore their own communities. They emphasized the importance of intentionally seeking out new experiences, even close to home. The discussion also touched on the growing number of "full-time traveler residents" in states like South Dakota, as well as the emotional appeals and potential pitfalls of a nomadic life. Kyte shared the story of a friend who initially enjoyed the RV lifestyle but later decided to settle down, craving a stronger sense of community and connection. Links to stories discussed during the podcast Nomadic adventures or a rooted life? The joys and limits of wandering, by Richard Kyte On living an exciting life, by Nick Costello Becoming a resident of South Dakota is easy. Some say too easy, by Jack Dura, The Associated Press Slate Political Gabfest, 2024 conundrums edition About the hosts Scott Rada is a digital strategist with Lee Enterprises, and Richard Kyte is the director of the D.B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics in Leadership at Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wisconsin. He is also the author of "Finding Your Third Place: Building Happier Communities (and Making Great Friends Along the Way)."

Download my FREE 'Dick Magnet Subliminal Affirmations' at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://georgelizos.com/dickmagnet⁠⁠⁠In this exciting episode, we sit down with the Nomadic Boys, the dynamic duo behind the ultimate guide to LGBTQ+ travel. They share how their journey as travel bloggers began and how their relationship has flourished on the road. We explore their favorite destinations, including cities and countries that hold a special place in their hearts, and discuss what makes LGBTQ+ travel so unique. Discover their insights into the gay community, what they've learned about themselves through their adventures, and the destinations that surprised them the most. From the sexiest spots to the most underrated and overrated places, they don't hold back! Plus, they spill the tea on where they had the best intimate moments during their travels.ABOUT THE NOMADIC BOYSNomadic Boys has grown to become one of the premier online gay travel resources and has been featured in prominent LGBTQ media around the world including Gay Times, Attitude, Gaycities as well as other non-gay-specific publications like Lonely Planet, The New York Times, The Guardian, and The Huffington Post.Out In The World book: https://a.co/d/ecfIlto Website: https://nomadicboys.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nomadicboys/CONNECT WITH ME Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://instagram.com/georgelizos/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://georgelizos.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@iamgeorgelizos⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook Group: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://www.yourspiritualtoolkit.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ MY BOOKS Be The Guru: ⁠⁠⁠https://l.linklyhq.com/l/1TtCjLightworkers Gotta Work: ⁠⁠⁠https://l.linklyhq.com/l/1TmKfProtect Your Light: ⁠⁠⁠https://l.linklyhq.com/l/1TmJdSecrets of Greek Mysticism: ⁠⁠⁠https://l.linklyhq.com/l/1uPvrAncient Manifestation Secrets: https://2ly.link/1zCVg Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Are you a content creator or campground looking to enhance your social media presence? In this episode, Rose & Glynn are joined by Lauren DeHaan, the founder of Nomadic Influence, a unique business that connects content creators with campgrounds in a way that embraces the nomadic lifestyle. Lauren shares her journey into RV life, the challenges of being an entrepreneur, and the inspiration behind her innovative business model. Lauren discusses the importance of networking, the detailed vetting process for creators, and offers actionable tips for campgrounds and content creators looking to elevate their social media presence. She also explains how the map feature of Nomadic Influence sets her business apart, making it easier to coordinate with creators on the move. You'll also hear about Lauren's plans for the future of Nomadic Influence, the rewarding relationships she's built in the industry, and her passion for creating meaningful connections. What You'll Learn: How Nomadic Influence bridges the gap between content creators and campgrounds How content creators can join Nomadic Influence to collaborate with campgrounds The importance of networking and relationship-building in business Practical tips for enhancing social media presence as a creator or campground The unique challenges and rewards of entrepreneurship on the road Connect with Lauren: https://www.nomadicinfluence.com/ https://www.tiktok.com/@nomadic.influence https://www.instagram.com/nomadic.influence Resources Mentioned: Canva: https://www.canva.com/ Pillar: https://get.pillar.io/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THE RV ENTREPRENEUR https://therventrepreneur.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Join the RVE community on Facebook! ⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/groups/therventrepreneurcommunity⁠ Connect with RVE on all your favorite socials ⁠https://therventrepreneur.com/connect⁠⁠ Got questions or comments for our hosts? Leave us a voice message! ⁠⁠https://therventrepreneur.com/voicemail⁠⁠ (NOTE: Audio submitted may be published on the podcast unless specifically requested otherwise.) Got a great story or tips to share with RVE Listeners? Complete our Guest Intake Form: https://therventrepreneur.com/guestform

In this episode, Neel sits down with Brian O'Connor, a digital nomad and fractional CMO, who shares his journey from management consulting at Deloitte to building his own businesses. Brian discusses the pivotal moments that shaped his career, including the emotional impact of consulting on small business owners and the frameworks that guide decision-making. He also reflects on the challenges of leaving a stable corporate job and the importance of maintaining financial discipline while pursuing entrepreneurial goals. The conversation culminates in Brian's current work with Talent HQ, where he helps businesses navigate their marketing strategies. In this conversation, Brian O'Connor discusses the intricacies of building a marketing ecosystem, the importance of effective talent management, and his experiences living a nomadic lifestyle across Latin America. He emphasizes the need for businesses to create supportive environments for talent to thrive and shares insights on navigating the competitive landscape of talent recruitment. Brian also reflects on his strategic approach to business in the context of emerging technologies like AI, and the value of building trust within communities. The conversation concludes with Brian's thoughts on sustainable travel and personal growth. Takeaways Brian's transition from corporate consulting to entrepreneurship was driven by a desire to make a meaningful impact. The emotional weight of business decisions is often heavier for small business owners than for corporate executives. Consultants provide valuable frameworks that help businesses make informed decisions. Narrowing down target markets can lead to clearer strategies and better traction. Lifestyle creep can hinder financial freedom and entrepreneurial pursuits. Understanding the difference between strategy and tactics is crucial for business success. Building an audience on social media can open doors to new opportunities. The decision to leave a stable job often involves weighing financial security against personal fulfillment. Iterative decision-making is essential for small businesses, while larger businesses require more careful planning. Hiring decisions should be based on data and not just gut feelings. I help businesses design their marketing ecosystem. Talent management is crucial for business success. Onboarding processes can make or break talent integration. The environment for talent must be conducive to success. Building trust is essential in the recruitment industry. Nomadic life allows for personal and professional growth. Strategic thinking is key in navigating saturated markets. Listening to opportunities can lead to unexpected paths. Sustainable travel focuses on skill development. Communities play a vital role in business networking. Thanks for tuning in! If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to like it, leave a comment and subscribe to our podcast for more amazing content. Want to stay connected? Follow me on social media for updates and behind-the-scenes insights: ➙ Visit ⁠⁠www.maidthisfranchise.com⁠⁠ ➙ Instagram: ⁠⁠@neelbparekh⁠⁠ ➙ X (Twitter): ⁠⁠@neelbparekh Follow Brian and learn more about his journey: ➙ X: @brianfoconnor https://x.com/BrianFOConnor ➙ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianfoconnor/ ➙ Website: https://www.talenthq.co/ ➙ Newsletter: https://www.outliergrowth.com/c/about

I can't believe I'm saying this, but this is the final live episode of 2024. There's something so powerful about the collective clean-slate energy of the new year, and I'm here for it.In this episode, I'm sharing what has been the most chaotic and miraculous 100 days—selling our home, navigating setbacks, and learning deep lessons in trust and patience. It's been a rollercoaster, but also a reminder that miracles often arrive in the messiest, most unexpected ways when you stay calm, aligned, and rooted in belief.As we head into this season of busyness, family, and rest, I invite you to find your own calm in the chaos. Take the space you need, trust in the timing, and allow yourself to slow down while staying connected to the big vision.Thank you for being part of this space—your love, messages, and support have meant the world to me. I'm taking a short two-week break, but I'll still be sharing all the adventures on Instagram, so come hang out.Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and I'll see you in 2025. Always follow the flow of what feels good.Access my Free EFT Tapping Exercise hereGet my 90 Minute Productivity Flow Track hereConnect with me on LinkedIn hereSend me a DM on INSTAGRAM

Jax's Website - https://nomadicwonders.com/ Shalom Temple Health "Sustain Me" 5 Day Immersive Event Featuring Barbara O'Neill -  https://nomadicwonders.com/holistic-health-wellness-coaching/barbara-o-neill-event/ https://linktr.ee/permapasturesfarm Hurricane Helene Soil Testing and Restoration Give Send Go:  https://givesendgo.com/GE2E8?utm_source=sharelink&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=GE2E8 If you would prefer to send a check: Living Soil Foundation PO Box 2098 Mars Hill, NC 28754 Redemption Shield: https://www.redemptionshield.com/ Promo Code: perma - Get 10% Off Jonathan Otto's Website:  myredlight.com Promo Code: BBBF - 20% Off Redmond Products:  https://glnk.io/oq72y/permapasturesfarm Promo Code: perma - 15% Off Heaven's Harvest: https://heavensharvest.com/ Promo Code: perma - 10% Off Get $50 Off EMP Shield: https://www.empshield.com  Richardson Nutritional Center https://rncstore.com/perma Promo Code: perma - Get 10% Off Our Store: https://permapasturesfarm.com/collections/all Hickory Ridge Soap: https://twooldcrowshomestead.com/ Harvest Right Freeze Dryer: https://affiliates.harvestright.com/1247.html Permaculture Consultations: https://www.plantingpioneers.com/services Online Pig Processing: https://sowtheland.com/online-workshops-1 Music by VanTesla: https://www.youtube.com/c/PermaPasturesFarm21 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user://

Jax's Website - https://nomadicwonders.com/ Shalom Temple Health "Sustain Me" 5 Day Immersive Event Featuring Barbara O'Neill -  https://nomadicwonders.com/holistic-health-wellness-coaching/barbara-o-neill-event/ https://linktr.ee/permapasturesfarm Hurricane Helene Soil Testing and Restoration Give Send Go:  https://givesendgo.com/GE2E8?utm_source=sharelink&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=GE2E8 If you would prefer to send a check: Living Soil Foundation PO Box 2098 Mars Hill, NC 28754 Redemption Shield: https://www.redemptionshield.com/ Promo Code: perma - Get 10% Off Jonathan Otto's Website:  myredlight.com Promo Code: BBBF - 20% Off Redmond Products:  https://glnk.io/oq72y/permapasturesfarm Promo Code: perma - 15% Off Heaven's Harvest: https://heavensharvest.com/ Promo Code: perma - 10% Off Get $50 Off EMP Shield: https://www.empshield.com  Richardson Nutritional Center https://rncstore.com/perma Promo Code: perma - Get 10% Off Our Store: https://permapasturesfarm.com/collections/all Hickory Ridge Soap: https://twooldcrowshomestead.com/ Harvest Right Freeze Dryer: https://affiliates.harvestright.com/1247.html Permaculture Consultations: https://www.plantingpioneers.com/services Online Pig Processing: https://sowtheland.com/online-workshops-1 Music by VanTesla: https://www.youtube.com/c/PermaPasturesFarm21 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user://

In this special seasonal episode, your Nomad hosts come together for a Q&A session filled with festive cheer and thoughtful reflections. As a heartfelt thank-you to our amazing supporters—whose generosity has made this year's Nomadic journey possible—we're diving into their most pressing (and quirky) questions. While our answers may not always be the most accurate or helpful, they'll hopefully spark some meaningful conversations and perhaps a few laughs along the way. So join us as we wrestle with profound and playful questions alike, such as: •    “Has the loss of a loved one after your deconstruction brought back old fears about the afterlife?” •    “What's the one thing you struggle most to let go of from your ‘earnest evangelical days'?” •    “If you could go back to when you were 20, what advice would you give yourself?” •    “You've been made Archbishop of Canterbury for a day. You can make all churches in the UK do three things—what are they?” Pour yourself a festive drink, get comfortable, and join us for an episode brimming with honesty, humour, and gratitude for the community that makes this journey so special. Books, quotes, links → The creation of Nomad's thoughtful, wonderfully ad-free content is entirely funded by our equally thoughtful, wonderful listeners. Supporting us gives access to Nomad's online communities through the Beloved Listener Lounge, Enneagram Lounge and Nomad Book Club - as well as bonus content like Nomad Contemplations, Therapeutic Reflections and Nomad Revisited. If you'd like to join our lovely supporters head to our Patreon Page to donate and you may even be rewarded with a pen or Beloved Listener mug! If you're hoping to connect with others who are more local, you can also take a look at our Listener Map or join our Nomad Gathering Facebook page. Additionally, we share listener's stories on our blog, all with the hope of facilitating understanding, connection and supportive relationships.

In this episode of the Breathe Love & Magic podcast, my guest is a free-spirited artist and wanderer at heart, committed to self-discovery through feminine archetypes, art, and her nomadic lifestyle, traveling the globe. 7 Feminine Archetypes When I stumbled upon Anna Heimkreiter's work on the web, I was immediately drawn to her beautiful art ... Read more The post Soul Journey with Art, Feminine Archetypes, and Nomadic Freedom appeared first on Intuitive Edge.

Join us on today's episode of the Karma Stories Podcast as we delve into a compelling story from Reddit about a young woman trapped in a nomadic lifestyle by her RV-traveling family. From feeling socially isolated and living in cramped conditions to finally discovering a path to freedom with newfound family connections, this tale is filled with emotional highs and life-changing decisions. Listen as we follow her journey from despair to hope, and witness the incredible support from the online community that helped her find a brighter future. Don't miss this powerful story of resilience and independence!Submit your own stories to KarmaStoriesPod@gmail.com.Karma Stories is available on all major Podcasting Platforms and on YouTube under the @KarmaStoriesPodcast handle. We cover stories from popular Reddit Subreddits like Entitled Parents, Tales From Tech Support, Pro Revenge and Malicious Compliance. You can find new uploads here every single day of the week!Rob's 3D Printing Site: https://Dangly3D.comBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/karma-stories--5098578/support.

David Wish-Wilson talks to Cheryl about his unconventional path to writing, his motivations for writing crime fiction and the significant themes he explores in his work. His latest novel Culter is out now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pantha Politix Podcast is a fiercely real examination of the life and times of four men reared by Hip-Hop culture. Entertaining, engaging, and honest. Hosted by ethemadassassin, Mojo Barnes, Monster Elicit and Seven Da Pantha Follow the squad on IG, stream us wherever you listen to podcasts or watch us on Rumble and YouTube! https://linktree.com/PanthaPolitixPod --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pantha-politix/support

In this episode of the Life Coach BFF Show, host Heather is joined by author and full-time world traveler, Jamie Weil. Jamie, along with her husband, sold their home, put their belongings in storage, and embraced a nomadic lifestyle. They discuss the freedom from traditional responsibilities, navigating travel with a large dog, and how intentional living in different places builds new neural pathways. Jamie shares the impact on their grown children, the logistics of their travels, and dives into her writing journey that spans diverse and impactful topics. Tune in for an inspiring chat about living with purpose and the joys of exploring the world.     Stay in touch with Jamie: Subscribe: A Mermaid's Tale Substack  Facebook @jamieweilwriteshttps://l.facebook.com/l.php? IG @jamieweilwrites https://www.amazon.com/author/jamieweil Jamie's Author Page  SHOP items mentioned in the show Revive Retreat: https://www.ourmidlifemoxie.com/reviveretreatsformidlifewomen   Stay connected with Heather: Email: Heather@HeatherPettey.com Website: WWW.HEATHERPETTEY.COM Speaker Request: Click here Instagram @HeatherPettey_ Facebook: @HeatherPettey1 Linkedin: @HeatherPettey *Quick Disclaimer- Heather Pettey is a certified coach and not a therapist. Always seek the support of a therapist for clinical mental health issues.       00:00 Introduction to a Nomadic Lifestyle 01:26 Meet Jamie Weil: Author and World Traveler 02:17 Unexpected Connections and Conversations 03:48 The Joys and Challenges of Full-Time Travel 12:05 Navigating Life with a Dog on the Road 17:03 Community Support for Pets 17:31 Regional Dog Preferences 18:57 Life Without a Permanent Home 21:53 Parenting Philosophy and College Transition 23:13 Favorite Travel Destinations 26:11 Upcoming Travel Plans 27:34 Writing Career and Published Works 30:50 Following Jamie's Journey  

In this episode of Raising the New Earth, we sit down with Yvonne Skelly, wellness entrepreneur and owner of Lakeshore Wellness, to explore her journey from Ireland to a life of intuitive energy work and sound healing. Yvonne shares how her Irish roots have shaped her path and discusses the challenges and beauty of living as a self-described "nomadic woman," balancing rootedness with expansion. Her mantra, "Observe, not absorb," helps her stay grounded in faith, playfulness, and certainty as she navigates her work and personal journey.She introduces us to the transformative world of tuning forks and sound therapy, tracing their historical roots from 18th-century music and science to modern-day healing practices. Inspired by her extensive energy work, Yvonne explains how tuning forks can help realign the body's energy and biofield, offering relief from physical and emotional pain by clearing past traumas stored within the body. Yvonne works with a range of clients seeking balance and healing, and she shares insights into how anyone can get in touch with her to experience these profound vibrational therapies.Tune in to hear Yvonne's inspiring story and gain a deeper understanding of the power of sound in healing and wellness.For more information about Yvonne's work and services go to: @yvonneskellyhealing  @lakeshorewellnesscentre or www.lakeshorewellnesscentre.com #WellnessEntrepreneur #SoundHealing #TuningForkTherapy #EnergyHealing #Biofield #VibrationalMedicine #NomadicLife #IrishRoots #HealingJourney #RaisingTheNewEarthPodcast #LakeshoreWellness #MindBodyConnection #AlternativeHealingSign up to Noa's NEW 360 Wellness course and receive a 15% coupon code when you mention Raising the New Earth Podcast! Click the link here: https://naturallynoa.com/coursesWe thrive in community - and we'd love you to be part of ours!Join the conversation @raisingthenewearth on IG , YouTube- or all other podcast platforms and learn more at www.raisingthenewearth.comDISCLAIMER: By watching/listening to this post including but not limited to video, text, reel, audio, (“Post”) you understand and agree to the following: This Post is for General information purposes ONLY. We are not liable for any loss, death, property damage, or bodily injury, based on your use or interpretation of the information in this Post. This Post should not be construed as a promise of benefits, a claim of cures, or a guarantee of results to be achieved.

The post Samar Younes on pluridisciplinary art, AI as artisanal intelligence, future ancestors, and nomadic culture (AC Ep69) appeared first on amplifyingcognition.

We're diving into the whirlwind of post-wedding life, travel adventures, and hormonal changes. Join us as we navigate newlywed life, tackle the impact of hormones on relationships, and dissect the important insights we gain from traveling with a loved one. Whether it's the excitement of nomadic living or the realities of hormonal shifts, this episode covers it all. Get ready for candid conversations about love, life changes, and the unexpected surprises that come with them. This episode is a blend of laughter, introspection, and practical advice, making it a must-listen for anyone interested in the nuances of modern relationships. Whether you're newly married, contemplating hormonal health, or simply looking for relatable stories of friendship and growth, this episode has something for everyone. Keep it Complicated with Jen, Lauren, and Rob: Host Socials - @jenifergolden, @laurenleonelli, @foreversevors, @complicatedshow Shop our Pod merch - shop here Shop our Amazon store - https://www.amazon.com/shop/complicatedshow Support - https://www.patreon.com/itscomplicated

Heather Applegate is a former archaeologist and photographer who now runs a unique apparel printing business out of her customized van, which she calls her mobile workshop. On the road, and at festivals, she creates designs and prints clothing and accessories for individuals, other businesses, and events. Heather's business model allows her to bring her services directly to customers, on the spot, offering convenience and personalization. Her focus on quality and keeping things simple helps create a sustainable business she can do anywhere. Currently based in TN, traveling to festivals across the country, but working to be full time on the road by 2025. What You'll Learn in this Episode: How Heather transitioned from brick-and-mortar to a mobile business, downsizing her operation while maximizing profitability The logistics of converting her van into an off-grid mobile printing studio The challenges and rewards of running a product-based business on the road Tips for finding the best festivals, RV shows, and events to sell your products Why simplifying your product is key to success The importance of perfecting your product and staying true to your passion Heather's creative process and some of her favorite items to design Insights into the financial side of selling at festivals, including what to expect during the busy season Tips for aspiring nomadic graphic artists and product-based entrepreneurs Connect With Heather: nomadicgraphicsllc.com instagram.com/nomadic.graphics facebook.com/nomadicgraphicsshop Mentioned In This Episode: RVE episode #332 with Neil Gibson of Nomad Electric https://therventrepreneur.com/rve332/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THE RV ENTREPRENEUR https://therventrepreneur.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Join the RVE community on Facebook! ⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/groups/therventrepreneurcommunity⁠ Connect with RVE on all your favorite socials ⁠https://therventrepreneur.com/connect⁠⁠ Got questions or comments for our hosts? Leave us a voice message! ⁠⁠https://therventrepreneur.com/voicemail⁠⁠ (NOTE: Audio submitted may be published on the podcast unless specifically requested otherwise.) Got a great story or tips to share with RVE Listeners? Complete our Guest Intake Form: https://therventrepreneur.com/guestform

Skip the Queue is brought to you by Rubber Cheese, a digital agency that builds remarkable systems and websites for attractions that helps them increase their visitor numbers. Your host is Paul Marden.If you like what you hear, you can subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, and all the usual channels by searching Skip the Queue or visit our website rubbercheese.com/podcast.If you've enjoyed this podcast, please leave us a five star review, it really helps others find us. And remember to follow us on Twitter for your chance to win the books that have been mentioned in this podcast.Competition ends on 13th November 2024. The winner will be contacted via Twitter. Show references: https://www.cambridgesciencecentre.org/Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube| LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-porter-8a0b85121/Becca is a seasoned development and business strategist with over five years in the leadership team at Cambridge Science Centre (CSC). She has played a pivotal role in driving CSC's strategic growth, securing transformative results, including a 50% increase in income and establishing key partnerships that help sustain CSC's mission.Her expertise in fundraising, stakeholder engagement, and business development has been integral to CSC's evolution. Representing CSC at external events, Becca engages with stakeholders across academia, industry, and government, fostering impactful relationships that strengthen the organisation's community presence and reach.Before joining CSC, Becca held the position of Licensing Manager at the RSPB, where she led efforts to negotiate intellectual property rights for product-based partnerships. Her strategies resulted in an increase in profit, underscoring her strong commercial acumen and collaborative approach.With a professional background enhanced by six years of international experience with Carnival Corporation in Miami, Florida, Becca brings a global perspective to her work. Her ability to connect and communicate across diverse sectors reflects her adaptability and understanding of complex business landscapes.Becca's approach is marked by her commitment to expanding CSC's impact and access to science engagement, helping inspire the next generation of learners. Her ongoing efforts to cultivate partnerships and innovate within her field underscore her dedication to making science accessible and engaging for all. https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-g-farrer-ph-d-25a18976/Andrew Farrer is the Head of Programmes and Delivery at Cambridge Science Centre. A biological anthropologist by background, he started at the Centre as a Science Communicator travelling around communities and schools on the Roadshow programme. In his current position, he makes sure the team has what they need to deliver the very best in science communication. His PhD used ancient DNA to understand how the human microbiota (the bacterial community living on and in the human body – and keeping us alive!) changed in Britain over the last 1,000 years. Alongside this, he used his passion for science and interest in theatre to develop a science communication programme to bring together the interdisciplinary academics at the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA – an effort that resulted in new international collaborations. He has just got back from a cycling tour in the country of Georgia, where he evaded angry guard dogs, navigated roads that were active building sites, and managed to avoid falling off until the last day! The trip was amazing though! https://www.linkedin.com/in/mandy-curtis-688a33111/Mandy Curtis is the Head of Exhibitions at Cambridge Science Centre. She has been with the Cambridge Science Centre since its opening in 2013, beginning as a Science Communicator, then progressing through the Education team and into Product Development. In her current role as Head of Exhibitions, Mandy oversees everything that is in and delivered at the Centre. She is also responsible for the Centre's overall look, building maintenance, and alarm systems, as well as keeping the shop stocked with STEM-related items.Previously, Mandy worked in the pharmaceutical industry and as a school lab technician, where she also ran a STEM club. She was actively involved in Scouting in her village for over 15 years, remaining on the Executive Committee after her own children left and leading sessions for science-related badges, along with serving as the camp cook.Mandy enjoys walks along the beach in Norfolk with her very large dog, visiting as often as she can. She also loves having her children and their partners back home, especially since they return to their own homes afterward!  Transcription: Paul Marden: Welcome to Skip the Queue podcast for people working in and working with visitor attractions. I'm your host, Paul Marden. In July this year, Cambridge Science Centre opened its new building, returning to the real world after having been a science centre without a building for several years. In today's episode, I'm joined by some of their team. Andrew Farrer, Head of Programmes and Delivery, Rebecca Porter, Head of Development, and Mandy Curtis, the Head of Exhibitions. And we'll talk about the trials and tribulations of opening a new building from scratch and the benefits now the site has opened. Paul Marden: Hello, everyone. Welcome to Skip the Queue. Becca, Andrew, Mandy, lovely to see you. Really good to talk to you about the experience that you've had recently at Cambridge Science Centre, returning to the real world and having your own physical building for the Science Centre. Paul Marden: For listeners, I've had a little part to play because Rubber Cheese worked with CSC on the journey building websites. So I know a little bit about what's going on, but there's a whole load of stuff. I'm sure there's loads of anecdotes and stories that you're going to be able to tell us all about the trials and tribulations of building a brand new science centre from scratch. Before we get to that, it would be really nice if we did our icebreaker question. So I'm going to do one for each of you. Okay. So it doesn't matter which order I go in because you're not going to get any benefit from knowing what the question was. All right, so I'm going to start with you, Becca, because you're first. First on my. On my list. Okay. Paul Marden: What one thing would you make a law that isn't one already? Rebecca Porter: Oh, that is very interesting. I'm not sure. the rest of those. Andrew Farrer: The rest of us are feeling a bit nervous at this stage. Yeah, Becca's law is Andrew is no longer allowed in any meeting. Rebecca Porter: Yeah, yeah, that's a good one. I'll go with that. Paul Marden: That's very specific. I think when I come to power, not if I come to power, I don't think I dive that spec. I might go more broad. It might be about abolishing foods that I cannot abide eating or something like that. Not particularly. Take one of my team out of a meeting. Seems a little bit wasteful. Andrew Farrer: You don't know what I'm like in meetings. Paul Marden: Andrew, what is the biggest mistake you've made in your life? Andrew Farrer: Working with Becca, obviously. No, no. I just digest. Biggest mistake I've made in my life. There's a lot of things in the moment are very stressful and you think, oh, my. What? Why am I here? Why did I do this? Why did I not think more or think less or whatever? But everything that was probably, this is a massive mistake in the moment just turned out to be a really good story in hindsight. Paul Marden: Yeah, absolutely. Andrew Farrer: No, I'm happy with all of them. Paul Marden: There's some things that you think, oh, gosh, I really wish I could have deleted that from my memory completely. I spent a year doing a PhD and then dropped out because I realised that I didn't like working in a box on my own. But I don't think I would actually go back and not spend that year doing what I was doing, because it took quite a lot to realise that I don't like sitting in a box on my own and I actually like having other people around me. Yeah. At the time, it didn't, sitting on the bench at Egham Station, deciding, what am I doing with my life? It didn't feel like that was such a great decision that I'd made. Andrew Farrer: No, but they're all part of the sort of fabric that makes up the next decision, aren't they? Paul Marden: So, yeah, the rich tapestry. Andrew Farrer: That's it. That's the rich tapestry of life. Paul Marden: And, Mandy, I'm going to go for one last one, actually. It's not too dissimilar to what were just talking about. What was your dream job when you were growing up? Mandy Curtis: Before I answer that, I just have to give you my answer to Becca's question, because it's something I discussed at a previous job. If I could make one law, it would be that there was only one type of black sock. Rebecca Porter: That's actually a brilliant answer. Paul Marden: Again, hyper specific. Mandy Curtis: No. Trying to pair up all those black socks and none of them are quite the same. That is so annoying. So, yeah, that would be my law. Paul Marden: I don't think I need. I think I could broaden it and just say, there is only one type of sock, because my daughter's sock drawer is not black. There's not a single black sock in there. Mandy Curtis: I couldn't do that to Andrew. Andrew Farrer: You leave my socks out of it. Mandy Curtis: My actual question, when I was small, I had, in my mind, I wanted to be a scientist. Throughout all the jobs I've ever had, that's pretty much what I've been. And the job I had before this, I worked as a school lab technician and my boss came to me one day and said, “I've just got an email from Cambridge Science Centre. Looking for science communicators. I think you'd be really good at it. Why don't you apply? And I did.” And that was when it was, yeah, this is what I should always have done. Paul Marden: So interesting, isn't it? That's not a natural leap, is it, from a lab technician in a school to being a science communicator. But there's so much about teaching which is just telling the story and engaging people and making them want to do stuff, isn't it? Mandy Curtis: Yeah. It's surprising that there are a lot of parallels. Yeah. The thinking on your feet being one of the biggest ones. Rebecca Porter: I actually used to want to be a marine biologist when I was younger, and then I realised growing up that I'm nowhere near the sea where I am now, so that was slightly problematic. And also I saw the movie Jaws for the first time as a child and it terrified me and I quickly changed my mind about that. Paul Marden: Okay, let's segue from Mandy in your science communicator role, because I think it's a good segue. Let's talk a little bit about the journey that you've been on at Cambridge Science Centre over the last few years. Andrew, I'm going to start talking to you, mate, because I remember vividly last year I was at the association of Science and Discovery Centres conference and you were on stage with the guys from We The Curious, and you were talking about what it was to be a science centre without a building. Yeah. And the work that you guys were doing in the community for the listeners that weren't at the conference. Let's just take a step back and talk about the background of Cambridge Science Centre. You had a physical building, didn't you? Paul Marden: And you moved out of there and you spent a period of time being remote, virtual. I don't know what the quite the right term is, but you spent a while on the road. What prompted that to leave the previous centre? Andrew Farrer: Yeah. So that question that was being asked in the conference that what is a science centre without the building? It's really something that's very much in the fabric, the DNA of Cambridge Science Centre. The organisation is 11 years old now and through that time being an organisation that has a science centre and also being an organisation that does the outreach, which is what we would call like going out into the community and into schools and being in the spaces of the people that you're most wanting to engage, both of those things have existed in parallel and that there are strengths to both having a physical centre and being able to do that kind of Outreach and Cambridge Science Centre from the very beginning that brought those two things together and maximised the benefits of both in service of the other, really. Andrew Farrer: So what if you had all of the assets of a full science centre, but you could take them out on the road? What if you have the flexibility of kits that could be taken out the road, that you could do them in a space that you control? So that has always been part of things. We've had, you know. The new Science Centre that has just opened is the third permanent location that the organisation has had in its lifetime. And the decision to leave the previous one was something that was taken by the whole team. We got everyone around the table. This was post COVID. We were still coming out of having been truly remote. We're all about being hands on with science, which is very difficult in the world where you're not allowed touch anything or stand close to anyone, you know. Andrew Farrer: So we had to do a lot of stuff to respond to that. And then we came out of that situation, world came out of that situation and were sort of reconsidering what we wanted to do and how we wanted to do it. And the Science Centre we had up until that point, until 2022, you know, had been a fabulous space. We've done some amazing stuff in it. We were very closed of what we've done there. But were just finding with the goals we had, with what we wanted to move on to, it was no longer a space that could fit that set of targets. So the question, what was Science Centre without a building? Wasn't that question stepping up because we decided to lose the building? Andrew Farrer: It was kind of, it became a bit more of a focus, but really about the fixed space. Taking a step back for a moment while we really thought about what we wanted. And then we got the amazing opportunity that I'm sure we'll be talking about in a sec with the Science park and Trinity College, which brought that having a fixed space back up on par with the Science Centre without a building. And those two are still. They've always been, they were and they are continuing to be in parallel. And we're just about ready to open up one of our new pop up sign centres. That would be a space out in New England which is going to run there for the future as well, which will run in parallel to this fixed space. Andrew Farrer: So it's not a new question for us, it will never be an old question for us. It is what Cambridge Science Homeset is brilliant. Paul Marden: And during that period where you were without a fixed home, what really worked well for you, what was effective about that outreach programme and that was a became the sole focus for a period of time?Andrew Farrer: I mean were building on what was what we've been learning and what had been working well for that point I guess the last nine years. Yeah. So we knew that our exhibits, our hands on exhibits where you can, you don't just see a phenomenon, you can experience that moment, you've been affected, they're all possible. And so we could take them out. And we'd done that before with setting up sort of science engagement zones in banks and leisure centres. The corner of ASDA one time I think and we evolved that during just after Covid into these pop up science into these fully fledged kind of spaces that were on sort of par with the fixed space. Andrew Farrer: And we really lent into that, created these full, effectively full science centres with those exhibits, with the shows, with the activities, with the science communicators who could have the conversations with people and engage with the kids and answer questions and have a bit of fun and have a laugh, all that kind of stuff. In spaces that were underused in the community. We could take over empty shop units. We were in balance of rural museums. We've been all over the place and we are in those communities. We become part of the communities in the spaces. They already know it. Yeah. And that sort of eases that sort of barrier. Oh, I've got to go to the science place. Because suddenly the place part of that is their place. Yeah. And we're all about making the science. Andrew Farrer: It's as open and fun as possible and building up with whatever level anyone walks in with. So that was, it really was really kind of having the opportunity to hone that ability to create the proper full science centre spaces. And in getting that honed that raised our level on well, what is the fixed science centre? If you can have a fixed thing, what can you do bigger and better there? Which in Eintrum Nadia will want to speak to later. Because some of the new exhibits are phenomenal and they come out of the learning we've had from being on the road and being able to engage people in their spaces and give them a reason now to come to this space. Paul Marden: I'm guessing that when you go out into their space rather than making them come to you get to meet and see very different people. You know, the barrier that exists in somebody having to come to your building means there's a lot of people, there's a lot of young people, there's A lot of families for whom a great day out is not automatically thought of, you know, when they're thinking about what they're going to do at the weekend, they might not necessarily think of a science centre because it's just not what they consider to be fun. But if you go out to them, into their spaces where they are familiar, in the corner of Asda, in the Rural Museum or whatever, you're. You're getting closer to the people that don't normally walk into a science centre. Andrew Farrer: Absolutely, yeah. It's all about. Every single person has some form of barrier that they have to deal with. And, you know, many people have many more barriers than others. No matter what we do, there are still barriers to overcome, but it's about dropping those as low as you can and thinking about getting people across them and supporting them and getting them across them. So, I mean, absolutely, if you say if you're in their space, you remove the whole suite of barriers that exist into travelling to a fixed science centre, which is something we're thinking about and trying to then reduce those. For the fixed science centre. There are other barriers that apply. Andrew Farrer: Even though you're in their space and you've still got to do a lot of thinking and a lot of work to make sure it's an inviting space that they feel they're able to come into, that they can then get comfortable in, and then they can start asking questions and playing with things and break that kind of, oh, it's not for me bubble. Because it definitely is for everyone. You want each other play. Paul Marden: Yeah. Even so, making it an inviting space and making them want to take that step over the threshold into wherever the space is that you are. I've watched kids I'm thinking of a year ago, I was at the London Transport Museum and they had a big exhibition all around sustainability in their exhibition space, which is, I don't know, ⅓ or 3/4 of the way around the museum. And you could just see these kids just stood at the edge watching because they didn't feel confident that they could step into the space and immerse themselves into what was happening in that space. And you've just got to. You've got to make it easy for them to take that step over the threshold, haven't you? Andrew Farrer: Absolutely, yeah. And it's the reason that we have so many different ways of engaging, that the exhibits are there with the activities are there, that the shows are there, that the communicators are there, because people will do that in different ways. What they're comfortable starting to approach, you know, is different from the depth you can give them later. And people will do it in very different ways. But one of the early pop up science centres we had a day where we had, we partnered with a group from the University of Cambridge called Chaos with a student science engagement team. Paul Marden: Right. Andrew Farrer: And their name is apt, but they're brilliant. They're brilliant. And they were all around the earth and all of these different activities and it was really interesting because we noted that, you know, almost to a Percy, everyone walked in, every kid, every adult and they went straight to our exhibits. Not because Chaos wasn't inviting, not because they didn't have cool things, not because they were pushing people away in any way. But it was exactly as you say it was that moment to be like, I don't know, this space, here's a thing that's non threatening, it's not going to ask me a question. But the Chaos were asking kind of questions that were going to, you know, they were going to get at someone for. But you don't know that when you're first walking. Andrew Farrer: No, you play with the exhibit, you start to, you know, that's the safe thing, you start to see what it's doing and then you receive. People build up the confidence, exactly as you say, and then they kind of wander over and suddenly they were just doing laps of the space were in. Just like repeat visiting every one of these activities. Brilliant. You know, and that's a mini version of the journey we want to take people on across their lives. Paul Marden: Yeah. Okay, so question for all three of you then. What was the motivation then really behind returning to a fixed building? Was it an aspiration that you always had, that you wanted to return to a fixed centre or what was the driver for that? Rebecca Porter: We've absolutely always had an aspiration to have a fixed venue in Cambridge. Obviously the clue is in the name Cambridge Science Centre. And we knew that we needed that nucleus, that hub that we could operate all of our other engagements from. And certainly from a supporting organisation perspective, it's very useful for us when we're having those conversations with external stakeholders about the opportunities to get involved with a physical space as well as our outreach programme. So certainly from that point of view, we had an objective to find one. Interestingly, we'd done a piece of work with a group, there's a network in the city called Cambridge Ahead and as part of Cambridge Ahead they have a young advisory committee and we'd done a scoping exercise with the young advisory committee Thinking about that positioning, where we wanted to be. Rebecca Porter: And the key takeaway from their research was that we needed a sort of peripheral location, so an edge of city location that was accessible, that could work for, work well for schools, but would also still allow us to have that public engagement. And for us as an organisation, we really wanted to deepen our relationship with some of the communities that were existing a bit on the margins of the city, particularly those in the north that do suffer from varying levels of deprivation. And Cambridge is a very interesting place because despite the fact that it's got this really illustrious heritage and it's seen as being very affluent, actually it's the most unequal city in the uk, or certainly in England. Paul Marden: Oh, is it really? Rebecca Porter: Yeah. And so we wanted to be able to have our physical space closer to those communities that need more access, need more support, more guidance, so that we could bridge a gap between them and between the Cambridge Science park, which is our new home, but not just the science park, the wider ecosystem and the other research and innovation parks. So, yes, absolutely. We always had an objective to get another physical space operating. Paul Marden: Lovely. So, Becca, I'm guessing this doesn't all come for free and that somebody's got to fund the work to get the centre together. And that's your job really, isn't it, to find people to help you do that, say, how'd you go about doing that? Rebecca Porter: So absolutely everything that we do is completely reliant on the support of like minded organisations and individuals. So we go about in lots of different ways. We have a wonderful board of trustees who are very engaged with the work that we do and they help to make introductions to us in their networks. But it really is a case of going out and doing a lot of footwork, understanding what organisations are operating in our space and what their objectives are in terms of community engagement and how do we align with that. So there's a lot of research that goes on in the background to figure out who we should be talking to. Rebecca Porter: It's wonderful being in a city like Cambridge because 9 times out of 10, most of the companies we talk to do have some objective to do something around STEM engagement in particular. And they're also very supportive of our own objective, which is to widen participation and increase diversity. So they understand that the work that we're doing with those children from the most underserved communities is absolutely vital. So that makes it quite an easy story, quite a compelling story to tell. But we are, we're hugely lucky to have the supporters that we do. And I think key supporters for us are obviously the Cambridge Science park team who enabled the transition into our new venue. Because it was, it all seemed to just line up perfectly really that our own internal discussions around where we wanted to position ourselves. Rebecca Porter: We knew we wanted to deepen our own relationships with these various communities. We knew we needed some kind of peripheral centre space. Unbeknownst to us at the time, but happening in parallel, the Science park team were also considering their relationship with their neighbouring communities and how they can enhance that and do more. Because the Science park is actually, it's a very porous space. So not all of the research and innovation parks are quite the same. But Cambridge Science park absolutely wants to be open to its local communities. It wants them to come in, spend time in the green spaces there and understanding a bit about the different companies that are working within the park. And the Science park as well as the main land owner, which is Trinity College University of Cambridge, again are very keen to support STEM engagement where they can. Rebecca Porter: So it felt like they, our objectives at the time as well as the Science Park's objectives just meshed together beautifully and that resulted in us having this transformational opportunity to be inside the heart of the Science park and alongside that in wider discussions with some of the stakeholders of the park. Specifically were introduced to some of the property development companies that are operating in there who again were very supportive of what we're trying to achieve, but also had the vision to understand that not only are we supporting the local communities, but we're offering a conduit for supporting their tenants. So how can we help them to realise their tenants ambitions? And so they've been very supportive as well. Rebecca Porter: And we're also incredibly lucky to have a suite of organisations that we refer to as our Executive Council, who are our corporate partners that are the lifeblood of our organisation. Their funding and their support underpins everything that we do. So I want to just recognise our Executive Council members in particular, but also the key stakeholders for us with the new centre are the Science Park, Trinity College, Brockton Everlast, an organisation called LifeArc and ARM the microprocessing chip company. So yes, they're all major stakeholders and we're very lucky to have them. Paul Marden: That's amazing. So the Executive Council, that's quite interesting. What do they have some influence over the work that you do and the direction that you take? It's more than just them handing over sponsorship money, it's actually an engagement in what you do. Rebecca Porter: Absolutely. Nothing that we do is transactional, so we don't ever take anyone's money and run. We always try to offer reciprocal programme opportunities, staff engagement opportunities, and with our executive council members, they really do help shape and influence the trajectory of the organisation. So we have regular meetings with them, we talk to them about what our plans are, where they think there may be opportunities that we aren't perhaps looking at, that we could be exploring or should be exploring. And they certainly do have that. That level of influence over the direction of the organisation in general. Paul Marden: And then I suppose the choice of the location is partly driven by those relationships that you built with Trinity College and the Science park. And I guess it was collaborative, the choice of the location itself. Yeah, you didn't go looking for a building with some shortlist. There was. You built a partnership with these people and together you found the space that worked for all of you. Rebecca Porter: Yeah, absolutely. In fact, the space that we're currently occupying is a pre existing building, so it's called the Trinity Centre and it actually was a conferencing space with a catering facility on site as well as the park barbers, interestingly. And so through the relationship with Trinity College and through the discussions with the team in the park, we recognise that actually the space could be working a bit harder, not just for the science park, but for the wider community. And so we essentially repurposed one half of the ground floor of that existing building and Mandy's done a fabulous job turning that space into what is now our new Science Centre. So, yes, I mean, personally, I think having been in that space a lot, if you didn't know it was a conference centre before we took it over, I don't think you'd ever guess that. Rebecca Porter: So, yeah, it's been really wonderful. Paul Marden: You just cued me up perfectly to turn to Mandy. How do you go about filling a space with all the amazing exhibits to make it from a conference venue into this exciting and inviting science centre? How did you even go about doing that? Did somebody give you a blank sheet of paper and tell you off you go, just do whatever you like? Mandy Curtis: Well, pretty much it was a blank slate to work with. But then of course, we've got all our experience from the years leading up to this. So we've got a suite of exhibits that we know work and we know which ones we wanted to take forward, which ones we wanted to build on and expand on. So although in some ways it was a blank slate, it was very much a guided blank slate. So it's still a. For a Science centre. It's still a relatively small space, so we made the decision early on that we wouldn't have themed areas. So we're not big enough to have a space corner and a biology corner. So we've gone for an experiential centre. So you come in for the experience, you come in for one of the most. The thing for me is intergenerational play and learning. Mandy Curtis: So families coming in together, there's something for everyone. So that led the thinking and the decision making with exhibits and I reached out to lots of different people, existing standing exhibit makers, and some people have never made anything like this before. So we've got a real mix here. But what was important was that it's not somewhere where you walk, where the kids walk in, press a button and walk away. It was about prolonged active engagement. So each exhibit has layers of interaction. So you can come in, do one thing, come back another time and do something different or within the same visit, you can build on what you're doing. So, yeah, it's very much about the experience. Paul Marden: So is there an aspiration for the kids and the families to revisit to you? Do you want to create this space where they want to return several times over the space of a year or even as they grow up? You're supporting them through different things that interest them? Mandy Curtis: Absolutely. That's. That's very much what it's about. We have a membership where you want to create the feeling of belonging, of being. This is a place to come with annual membership, you can come as many times as you like. Lots of the exhibits will be the same, but because of the way we've made them and we've prepared them, there's always something different to do with them. And also we have a programme of shows and lab activities that constantly change, so there's always something different and new to do in the space. Paul Marden: Have you got particular audiences in mind that you want to appeal, make the space appealing to? Mandy Curtis: Yeah, we have a very specific audience and I call that everybody. That everything here can be reached by anybody. That's. Yeah, I don't exclude or include anybody. That's why. That's part of the layering. So younger kids, less able kids, older people, there's something here for everyone. I mean, obviously we have an age range for children that is most suitable, but there are also things for younger kids. There's. I mean, quite often we get families coming in and the adults are saying, well, this is way too good for just kids. And that's exactly how I feel about it as well. It's. It's a family place, it's for pretty much any age group, any. Any abilities. Yeah. Paul Marden: So how do you make that. If you're appealing to everyone, how do you make it more inclusive to kids with challenges? Kids with send difficulties, for example? How do you provide something that can enrich everybody's understanding of science? Mandy Curtis: It's really about having some familiar things here in two different ways. So there's familiarity in that. We've got some of our classic exhibits on site, so if people have ever been to one of our previous sites, there'll be things that they recognise from there, but also bringing in things from the outside world, from their world at home. So one of the exhibits is a paper plane launcher. I mean, who hasn't made a paper plane? So it's stuff that they're familiar with, but come here and do it and it just brings out a whole new level. So we talk about ways you can build a better paper plane, ways you can adjust your paper plane, and then, of course, just putting it through the launcher is just incredible fun. So it's taking stuff that people know about and can relate to and that's really important. Mandy Curtis: So some of the, some concepts that we want to get across are potentially outside of people's experiences completely. But if we can present it in a way that starts at level that they're familiar with, they can relate to and engage with, then there's a progression through and we're able to get concepts across that you might, if you went straight in at the top level, you just, it just wouldn't engage them in the same way. Rebecca Porter: To add to that, I just wanted to say that our magic pixie dust, if you will, that brings everything to life, really are our team of science communicators. So that also, you know, that's what, you know, brings every experience in the Science Centre to life is our wonderful team. Paul Marden: Yeah, I mean, that's this, that. That's like every good attraction, isn't it? It's never about the physical space, it's about the feelings that you get and it's the people that are there that help you build that feeling, isn't it? That's why it's a magical place that makes people want to come back, isn't it? How do you also serve that very local community? Have you found that by locating yourselves on the science park, where you are close to those areas of multiple deprivation within the city? Have you found that just mere locality is enough to encourage people in or are you actively doing things to bring that local audience to you? Rebecca Porter: Absolutely both. So we're already doing a lot with one particular community. There's a part of the city called King's Hedges and we see a group of children there once a week for an after school club and have just started transitioning that club from their own space. We've been operating it in their community centre but now they are coming to us, which is fabulous. And one thing that I've really loved since we've opened the new venue is our proximity to those particular communities. An example of how much more accessible we are is that we did a soft launch before we did our major public opening in the summer with some local schools, one of which was King's Hedges Primary School, and the teachers were able to just walk the children to us and that's never been possible before. Rebecca Porter: And we've got much bigger plans to expand the community focused piece to other parts of the city because we would really love to have at least four days a week where we're running an after school club of some description for groups around the city that face additional barriers. So, yeah, we are all over that. Paul Marden: That's amazing. It sounds so exciting. I run a coding club for kids at my daughter's school. A lot of it is about the engagement that the kids have. They don't get that enrichment outside in those STEM technology. So for you guys to be reaching out to that local community and offering that after school provision for them to be engaged in science, then there's a group of kids that just must lap that up. They must love it. Rebecca Porter: Absolutely. And I think Andrew's always said that for us, we obviously there's lots of extracurricular clubs. You've got drama clubs and dance clubs and acting clubs, but very rarely do you come across anything science focused. And what we would love to see moving forward is that's normalised that actually you can go to an after school club, that it's all about science and it's just part of the everyday offering that's available to children, particularly those local to us. Paul Marden: And have you found, I mean, it's probably too early to tell, but have you found that it's beginning to blur the lines of the science park into the community? Because there's something about Cambridge, isn't there? And the whole he's a world leading hub of science and driving science forward and making science commercially valuable happens at that point where the university meets the rest of the community around it. Are you seeing that you bringing the kids into the space is beginning to open their eyes to what is possible for them on their own doorstep. In terms of science. Andrew Farrer: Yeah, I think we are seeing the first steps of that, you know, in your previous questions and what Mandy and Becca have said, I think they've, you know, referenced and alluded to the layers. We're talking about the new centre as if, you know, it's open and therefore it's done. It's not done, we're not done, you know, and yes, getting those exhibits in there and all of the work that Mandy put into making them so generalist enough in the sense that, you know, these age ranges, these ability ranges, these, you know, whatever range you want to talk about can access them. But then it is, what's the programming? We only really launched, the soft launch was end of June. The big launch was, you know, end of July. Really. Andrew Farrer: That only covers 2 of the audiences that we're on, which is the schools and the sort of public inverted commas. There's the everyone this half term we've started that work with the North Cambridge Community Partnership Club that has been moved in that Becca was talking about. But that is very much step one next year is all about filling those four afternoon slots with such a variety that work in such a different way. It's about bringing in the schools throughout the days, throughout the week. It's about flexing those weekends. As Mandy said, it's about finding what all of these different organises, local and more further afield want, need, what their questions are, things like that. Andrew Farrer: We're here to respond so we can create sessions that the generalist concept of the centre might support those in the send community, but we can create a session where it's okay. This will be the quieter session. This will be where we'll have timings on the exhibits that allow will change the lighting. And we're still sort of exploring and thinking about how we do that. Right. So that the experiences is just as good, just as strong, just as inspiring and isn't affected by the fact that something might have been slightly altered. And there's a flip side to that. There are people who are much better at engaging when there's a lot going on. It's almost like there's a hyper sensitivity. There's things to think about on that side as well. Andrew Farrer: So this is a project that 2025 will see a lot of work on, but really is a never ending process. As long as there are people and as long as there are individuals which can help deliverance, then we are there to make sure. That everyone gets the access and that means using all of the physical kit, we've got all of these physical spaces and our team to respond as, you know, as much as we can. So. Paul Marden: So is there much for you? Did your team of science communicators have to do much to get themselves ready to return to the physical space? Or did they walk in the door and it just felt like home straight away? And they were delivering what they've been delivering for 11 good years? Andrew Farrer: Yeah, there was an element of coming home and there's an element of this is what we do. Because as I said, the outreach and the permeable space are singing in harmony, as it were. But this new space does have. It's new and it's bigger and better and more accessible than anything we've been able to do for. And that has brought things that we haven't experienced before. So we, you know, we made ourselves as kind of theoretically ready as we could. There have been challenges both from a practical running an event venue to how do we. How do we do silent science communication when we are constantly learning? We've changed things already, you know, we're flexing and responding and they affect the things that we wanted to bring in the future that I was referencing before they change each plan. Andrew Farrer: And we have a lovely timeline, it's very exciting, very big map, lots of post its that shows where we want things to start happening, but each of those responds to that. So there's no one single ready. And again, even when you are as close to ready as might exist, just like the programmes that we offer, that readiness evolves as well. You keep learning. Paul Marden: Of course. So what were those challenges then? What can we share with listeners? What were some of the things that if you had another swing at it, you'd do differently through this process that you've gone through this transition? Andrew Farrer: That links back to your, what was your biggest mistake? We only knew we learned because we tried something that didn't in theory worked, you know. Yeah, I mean, there's just some sort of like general practical thinking. You implement a system and then only when it's actually put through its paces you realise, oh, hang on, there's this like scenario tangent that we haven't thought about. There's, you know, there's a few things on that front about practically running the. Running the space. As Becca said, that the science park is porous, but we are one of the big things that is now bringing the public in. So there's, you know, murmuring is in that as well because that porosity has been used in the way it hasn't been previously. And we've been thinking about when are people coming during the day, when are they. Andrew Farrer: Their repeat visits happening? Which means when do we cycle the lab activities in the show? Talking about, you know, we can do a different show every day but you know, that's probably overkill because people aren't going to come quite every day. But actually what cycle are they coming on so that we can make sure that we, you know, we're providing sort of an awe inspiring moment and a set of curiosity experiences on a wide variety of different topics so that we can find that thing that sparks everyone. Mandy Curtis: Just to add to what Andrew said, I think it would be hard to label anything we've done as a mistake because we wouldn't be where we are now if we hadn't gone through the process we did. So even stuff, very few things that didn't quite work out well, we've learned from and we've moved on and we've built on. So everything has, I feel everything we've done and has been a positive experience. It's all been, you know, it's all been good. Paul Marden: It's a very philosophical approach to it, isn't it? The idea that it's never done, the project isn't over, it just continually, you know, it needs continual tweaking and continual improvement. Andrew Farrer: It's a scientific approach, if anything.Mandy Curtis: Much as I promised I would be laying down in a dark room by now, I'm not and I won't be. And we're still, you know, there's, we're planning, we're moving forward and looking to next year at the programmes and what we can offer. So yeah, there's always something more to do. Paul Marden: Once again, you're queuing me up for my next question, which was really what do the goals look like for the future? You've done this massive project, returning to a physical space and getting it ready and opening it up and welcoming people in. Where do you go now? What are the aspirations for the next couple of years? Mandy Curtis: It's more of the same, better, more different, looking at different approaches at different audiences. We're going to be. I'm already planning and writing the STEM Tots programme for next year. So that's the younger kids, the preschoolers, so there's new audiences all the time to move into. There's school holidays, you know, kids have been over here over the summer for the next school holiday, they're going to want something different. So we're thinking about that, how we can encourage people to come back, what we can offer, what different things, different collaborations. However many companies on the science park. I don't know, Becca probably does. There's people we haven't even spoken to yet. So there's just opportunities everywhere still. Rebecca Porter: For us, I would say that we are, it's definitely a programmes expansion piece next year. So we need to really solidify what we've got now with our new venue and start building out those different audiences and what the different programmes for each audience will look like. And then it's also making sure that our Popup science centre in Wisbeach continues to go from strength to strength. And so certainly, although we've got this fabulous new venue, we don't lose focus on the outreach work that we're doing as well as building up, building momentum around our support. And Andrew's doing a really wonderful job putting some work into our logic model and our theory of change. And so again it's mapping that out and then how we can link that to, to our, to the work that we're doing. Rebecca Porter: The supporting organisations, what role can they play in pushing forward our logic model? In particular, we talk a lot about emotions, skills and actions as being what underpins our logic model and it's how can our different partners lean into those things? Are there organisations that want to support the emotions piece? Can we do a skills focused programme with another organisation? So there's still lots of mapping to be done, but hugely exciting stuff. Andrew Farrer: Opening the doors to the centre was really only the beginning. Now it's making the absolute amount, squeezing every bit of juice out of this amazing fruit that we've been lucky enough to be supported to build for ourselves. Paul Marden: Stretching your analogy just a little bit there, but it's a very good point. Andrew Farrer: What analogy if you can't stretch it to its unfathomable limits? Paul Marden: Andrew, one last question because I think a couple of you have mentioned the Popup Science Centre. Tell me a little bit about what is that and what's the plan for the future? Andrew Farrer: Yeah, so our Popup science centres are fully fledged science centres. They appear in community spaces. So the ones that I mentioned earlier and they feature our hands on exhibits, they feature our shows, they feature our activities and we are in November moving into a empty well, it's currently empty, but we're about to fill it chalk unit right in the heart of Wisbeach in the Fenland area. So the Fenland region which is on the north of Cambridge, one of these areas that if transport around the area is difficult, sort of deprivation in that area. But there are some great pieces of science, technology, engineering and maths, you know, organisations working in those areas as well. Andrew Farrer: But it's one of those places where for all of the efforts we put into breaking down the barriers to come into the fixed space, that's one of the areas that we're really struggling. So we're going to that there'll be a fully fledged science centre which will be open to schools and the public on those points through the year to go in, to explore, to have these workshops, to have these shows, to engage, to chat. We are kind of, this is coming off the back of, one of these 18 months long project where we've had these pop up science centres sort of around Fenland. This is kind of where we're settling in and really sort of digging our heels in a little bit. So sort of phase two will start to become much more co development with the community. Andrew Farrer: We've been able to spend 18 months getting to know the people of this area and then importantly getting to know us. It's now exactly back to what I was talking about earlier. It's been sort of equivalent of the kids walking in and seeing the exhibits and having a play. Now we're ready, both of us and them to have this conversation about well what should a time centre be for you specifically? And honestly we don't know what that will be. But next summer Cambridge Centre and Wis beach will become this whole new thing where there might be forensic escape rooms happening. There could be some giant chain reactions going on with balls and bean bags flying everywhere. People could be building cardboard cities. Andrew Farrer: I've got no idea because it's actually not down to us, it's down to the people who want to answer the questions that are part of their lives. Paul Marden: Wowzers. It's just amazing. I'm so excited for you. I'm so pleased because it's been a project that I've been watching from the sidelines growing. I'm so pleased that the project's not over and that there's an aspiration to really push this thing and squeeze it for all it's worth. Andrew Farrer: Just like my analogies. Paul Marden: Absolutely. Lastly, we always ask for a book recommendation and you're going to bankrupt me because I've invited three of you on here. So I'm going to get three book recommendations. So what are your recommendations, Becca? Rebecca Porter:  First, first for you, I would say I'm actually a huge fan of an author called Philippa Gregory. And so my favourite book would be The White Queen by Philippa, which is all about Elizabeth Woodville. And Shima was married to I believe Edward IV during the Plantagenet era. So I love a bit of historical fiction. So that's my one. Paul Marden: Aha. Okay. So my colleague and co host Oz, big into historical reenactment. I'm sure that would be a book that would appeal to him. Andrew, what about you mate? What's your recommendation? Andrew Farrer: I have a book this is about I've had for years. I mean it's a kid's book really. It's a book called Aquila by someone called Andrew Norris and it's one of these books that it's about a short book. I keep revisiting it every now and again. It's just a story I've always engaged with. But it's funny, looking at it now, it almost seems very relevant. So it's about two young high school lads who on a school field trip get passed away from the rest of their class and end up falling into a cave and discovering a Roman centurion skeleton and by him what turns out to be an alien spaceship. So the navy spaceship have been on earth for some 2,000 years. Andrew Farrer: And the rest of the book is they don't want to just tell everyone else that the spaceship is here and it's them figuring out okay, well we can't take it home now because we're on a feeder trip so we've got to figure out a way to come back and get it home without anyone seeing it. And then they've got to learn how it works. And it turns out that it's kind of got AI function I guess and it can talk but because it was previously used by Roman, it taught in Latin. So they have to learn Latin. It turns out it's run by water. They figure out how much water. And it's a really brilliant story about these kids solving all of these problems around having quite that fun Canadian spaceship. Andrew Farrer: But at the same time their teachers are aware that these two kids who've classically not engaged at school at all are suddenly asking all of these really weird non class related questions. And yeah, they figure out the whole spaceship thing but think it's story they've made up for themselves. And so I give them the actual support and engagement they need in school to learn better than they were. But everyone misses that the spaceship is totally real, that these kids are flying off like Mount Everest on the weekend. So I love that. Paul Marden: Excellent. That sounds really good. That sounds like one I need to read to my daughter. Mandy, last but not least, what's your recommendation? Mandy Curtis: Just to say Andrew's book was made into a kids' TV series that I remember watching. Yeah, I've just. The most recent book I've read was one from way back. Not fiction. It was Life on Earth, David Attenborough and I reread read it often. It was the series that really sent me on my way to where I am now when I. I was doing unusually a zoology A level and my teacher played us the videos of Life on Earth and yeah, I've never got, never moved away from it. So yeah, that's the book I've read most recently and would recommend. Paul Marden: What, what a recommendation as well. That's a lovely one. So, dear listeners, as you know, if you go over to X and retweet the show, tweet and say I want Becca or Andrew or Mandy's book and the first person that does that will get that book sent to them. And I think as we got through recommendations, three of you could choose any one of those and we'll make an exception and bankrupt the marketing budget. Guys, it has been absolutely lovely talking to you and finding out a little bit more about the story of the journey that you've been on recently. And I think we should get back together again soon and find out how the pop up is going and what's actually filling that vacant shop because I think that's a really exciting proposition. But thank you for joining me today. Paul Marden: It's been absolutely marvellous. Mandy Curtis: Thank you. Paul Marden: Thanks for listening to Skip the Queue. If you've enjoyed this podcast, please leave us a five star review. It really helps others find us. And remember to follow us on Twitter for your chance to win the books that have been mentioned. Skip The Queue is brought to you by Rubber Cheese, a digital agency that builds remarkable systems and websites for attractions that helps them increase their visitor numbers. You can find show notes and transcriptions from this episode and more over on our website, SkiptheQueue.fm. The 2024 Visitor Attraction Website Survey is now LIVE! Help the entire sector:Dive into groundbreaking benchmarks for the industryGain a better understanding of how to achieve the highest conversion ratesExplore the "why" behind visitor attraction site performanceLearn the impact of website optimisation and visitor engagement on conversion ratesUncover key steps to enhance user experience for greater conversionsFill in your data now (opens in new tab)

One of the gifts of living the Nomadic life is the surprise friendships I make with wonderful people across the country. One of those serendipitous connections was with the lovely Erin Sikopoulos. When I put the call out to the quaint little town of Saratoga Springs to any fellow spiritual healers, Erin answered. She shared that she owned her own business called Turn a New Leaf Intuitive Energy & Bodywork where she geld monthly gem meditations. Of course I was intrigued and a connection of two kindred spirits began.On this guest episode, Erin and I joined together in person at her beautiful new office and talk all about her path to creating her business, what drew her towards gem and intuitive energy work, and she provides some valuable knowledge of various crystals! Specifically Erin discusses working with feminine energy with gemstones including Pink Tourmaline, Aquaprase, Mother of Pearl, & Indigo ( qualities of these gems below!). -Pink Tourmaline: in Gemstone Energy Medicine is believed to empower the feminine, supporting the energy of the female body, balancing feminine and masculine aspects within an individual and overall, empowering a woman to reach her fullest potential, foster inner harmony and strength and empowering feminine nature-Aquaprase: balancing feminine elements (in Traditional Chinese Medicine) of the body water and earth, fostering inner harmony and resolving conflict-Mother of Pearl: experiencing the energy of "the mother", calming, soothing, nurturing, supporting, working with mother-child relationship wounds or struggles-Indigo:Inherently has a feminine energy aspect to it but that it works to develop the intuition and is the gem carrier of the indigo color ray that governs intuition and intuition is such a defining characteristic of the feminine.FREE GIFT:Experience a transformative 30-day journey FREE with Turn A New Leaf Intuitive Energy & Bodywork's Digital GEM Meditation Circle Subscription. Sign up now to receive guided audio meditations, and intuitive journaling prompts, and connect with our vibrant community—all focused on harnessing the energy of gemstones.  Sign up for FREE here: https://turnanewleafllc.aweb.page/p/cc4c99de-5fbf-4e3b-a294-cda10ff888d4Erin Sikopoulos, owner of Turn a New Leaf Intuitive Energy & Bodywork, helps clients find ease navigating their lives in mind, body and being. Her soulful, high impact 1:1 sessions and group experiences are a masterful integration of intuition, gem energy and bodywork, offering space for profound solitude and inquiry into self. In her hands and under her guidance people gain the impeccable clarity they need to enjoy ease, peace and balance. Discover Turn A New Leaf:https://linktr.ee/turnanewleafLLC 

Koen is one of our regulars on Nomadic Diaries and lives the life of a traveling nomad accompanying high performance horses as they travel around the world to attend equestrian events. It was really fun to reconnect, especially after Koen had visited Saudi Arabia, and I was eager to hear what he had been learning from his travels over the last six to nine months. I really enjoyed reconnecting with Koen Gomes again. The conversation covered the following:Embracing Ambiguous Identity: We discussed the skill called adaptability and how cultivating it creates a multi- faceted sense of self across diverse travel experiences. Koen spelled out how adaptability aids in navigating various and dramatically different environments while building cross-cultural connections.Mindful Travel Practices: Koen shared his top strategies that help him stay grounded during those solitary moments abroad. Regular reflection and an appreciation of local beauty enhances our well-being and enriches our travel experiences.Open-Minded Cultural Exploration: Approach controversial destinations without preconceptions. Direct experiences often provide valuable insights, challenging assumptions and fostering personal growth.Balancing Health and Travel: Koen explained how he prioritizes physical and mental wellness when flying several times per month while juggling time zones. Establishing a consistent fitness routine, whether in hotels or during flights, helps maintain our health amid frequent travel.Building Global Connections: Koen believes that his networking skills are one of the biggest contributors to his success in maintaining good mental health and well-being, which he has to juggle as he manages extremely nomadic conditions. Creating a sense of belonging across diverse locations by building friendships, connections and relationships gives him something to look forward to in different locations.    Nomadic Diaries says "Thank you Koen, once again for sharing your journey, wisdom, and unique perspective with our audience. It was a pleasure to have you on the show, and I look forward to many more insightful conversations in the future."Support the showWhere stories might wander but purpose finds a home!!!

Cris Gawlik sold all her possessions in 2019 to travel the world, and in this episode she shares her fascinating nomadic journey. Learn how she utilizes geo-arbitrage, manages her finances on the go, and maintains strong social connections across the globe. She gives us insights into how she handles banking, health insurance, and taxes while living internationally. This conversation provides a comprehensive guide for those considering a similar path to financial independence. Get inspired by her creative approach to generating income and the community she finds along her adventurous journey.  

Growing up in Peru, Catherine Gairard didn't have the financial means to pursue her musical passions, but at fifteen she started playing the guitar and from there and has since developed a passion for music composition. With a goal of becoming a cinematic composer, Catherine has a wide array of talents. Half-French and half-Peruvian, Catherine enjoys traveling and spending her time exploring other cultures.   Connect with Catherine:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdwJUZ6DIvFdw09_O_2RXBg   Find all the podcast social media and more on the website: https://www.introducingmepodcast.com    Artwork: instagram.com/vashaundesigns  Music/Editing: youtube.com/colemanrowlett

  Titanic expert James Penca joins Patrick in the parlor for this unique episode of the Big Seance. James is a spokesperson and researcher for RMS Titanic, Inc., Creative Director for Titanic: Honor and Glory, and host of the Witness Titanic podcast. He only recently returned from the exciting 2024 Titanic Expedition that made headlines. Have you ever wondered what can be learned about a passenger or crew member, just from recovering a single artifact from the wreckage? Other topics include the re-discovery of the statue of Diana, the debate on whether the famous wreckage is a gravesite or in dire need of preservation, the last song played by Titanic's quartet, witness interviews, the truth about Bruce Ismay, premonitions of the disaster, the Titanic musical, and of course, the James Cameron film! Visit BigSeance.com/255 for more info.  Other Listening Options Direct Download Link   Resources:  RMS Titanic, Inc. - discovertitanic.com Titanic: Honor and Glory - titanichg.com Titanic: Honor and Glory (YouTube): @TitanicHG Witness Titanic Podcast Witness Titanic Podcast (YouTube): @WitnessTitanic   In this episode: Intro :00 James Penca has studied TITANIC and her incredible story for 25 years--an interest sparked by a school field trip to an RMS Titanic Inc. artifact exhibit. Today, he serves as spokesperson and researcher for RMS Titanic Inc., Creative Director of TITANIC: HONOR AND GLORY, and host of the WITNESS TITANIC podcast. James recently joined the exciting 2024 Titanic Expedition to lend his knowledge and passion for this legendary ship. :45 RMS Titanic, Inc. is the company that was granted salvage rights to the wreck of the RMS Titanic by a United States Federal Court order in 1994 and reconfirmed again in 1996. The court award includes the exclusive rights to recover the artifacts from the wreck site. They're the ONLY group allowed to do that. Using Titanic's artifacts in concert with scientific data and social history, RMS Titanic, Inc. brings to life TITANIC: The Artifact Exhibition. Their mission is to preserve the legacy of Titanic's maiden voyage, subsequent sinking, and the memory of her passengers and crew through care and display of our recovered artifacts, comprehensive educational programs, innovative exhibitions, research and recovery initiatives, wreck site imaging and analysis, and ongoing Titanic collaborations. Welcome to the Big Seance parlor, James Penca! 3:05 April 14th - Patrick's Birthday, the evening Abraham Lincoln was shot, and the night Titanic struck the iceberg. 4:00 What Patrick thinks about when the topic of the Titanic comes up. 4:29 In the afterlife, James hopes to be able to go back to 1912 and enjoy time on the Titanic. 6:12 The Nomadic, the last remaining ship from the White Star line. 7:15 The beautiful virtual recreations of Titanic: Honor and Glory at titanichg.com and on YouTube. 8:20 James' introduction to the world of Titanic. 11:20 RMS Titanic, Inc. 13:04 When you have your dream job! 16:09 James was invited to join the 2024 Titanic Expedition that took him to the wreckage site, plus discovering the Statue of Diana. 16:45 The potential of what can be learned about a passenger or crew member, just from recovering a single artifact. 23:39 Is it a gravesite? “Leave it alone” vs. Preservation. 28:30 Shoes on the ocean floor. 36:36 The United States Senate Inquiry. 38:57 The Witness Titanic podcast. 41:00 Ella White and other witnesses. 43:49 The last song played by the Titanic quartet? It's quite possibly Songe d'Automne (Dream of Autumn) by Archibald Joyce. 47:09 Howard Irwin's sheet music and other incredible stories of delicate artifact discoveries! 49:33 The truth about Bruce Ismay. 52:40 W.T. Stead, an important figure in the Spiritualist movement, died on the Titanic. Plus Titanic premonitions. 58:38 Martin Moran and Titanic the musical! 1:05:04 James is a beautiful singer! Plus Titanic exhibits and where to find everything James is a part of. 1:10:04 Outro 1:12:32 A special THANK YOU to Patreon supporters at the Super Paranerd and Parlor Guest level! 1:13:51     The Big Seance Podcast can be found right here, on Apple Podcasts, Pandora, Spotify, TuneIn Radio, Amazon Music, Audible, iHeart Radio, and YouTube. Please subscribe and share with a fellow paranerd! Do you have any comments or feedback? Please contact me at Patrick@BigSeance.com. Consider recording your voice feedback directly from your device on my SpeakPipe page! You can also call the show and leave feedback at (775) 583-5563 (or 7755-TELL-ME). I would love to include your voice feedback in a future show. The candles are already lit, so come on in and join the seance!  

Dr Kirk interviews Christy Forrester who was contemplating contacting her father after 18 years. www.forrestertherapy.comThis episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/KIRK to get 10% off your first month.00:00 Introducing Christy Forrester 04:34 The family sculpture15:48 Christy's father & estrangement17:20 SA trigger warning 21:01 End of trigger warning 26:59 The lead up to reaching out32:58 Were there reasons not to reach out?45:04 How did the reunion go?1:33:05 Nomadic therapy1:35:45 Christy's experience with Dr. Ann Blake, shadow work & masculine energy1:51:02  Christy's career & future2:15:47 Where to find ChristyBecome a member: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOUZWV1DRtHtpP2H48S7iiw/joinBecome a patron: https://www.patreon.com/PsychologyInSeattleEmail: https://www.psychologyinseattle.com/contactWebsite: https://www.psychologyinseattle.comMerch: https://teespring.com/stores/psychology-in-seattleCameo: https://www.cameo.com/kirkhondaInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/psychologyinseattle/Facebook Official Page: https://www.facebook.com/PsychologyInSeattle/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@kirk.hondaSeptember 6, 2024The Psychology In Seattle Podcast ®Trigger Warning: This episode may include topics such as assault, trauma, and discrimination. If necessary, listeners are encouraged to refrain from listening and care for their safety and well-being.Disclaimer: The content provided is for educational, informational, and entertainment purposes only. Nothing here constitutes personal or professional consultation, therapy, diagnosis, or creates a counselor-client relationship. Topics discussed may generate differing points of view. If you participate (by being a guest, submitting a question, or commenting) you must do so with the knowledge that we cannot control reactions or responses from others, which may not agree with you or feel unfair. Your participation on this site is at your own risk, accepting full responsibility for any liability or harm that may result. Anything you write here may be used for discussion or endorsement of the podcast. Opinions and views expressed by the host and guest hosts are personal views. Although, we take precautions and fact check, they should not be considered facts and the opinions may change. Opinions posted by participants (such as comments) are not those of the hosts. Readers should not rely on any information found here and should perform due diligence before taking any action. For a more extensive description of factors for you to consider, please see www.psychologyinseattle.com