Podcasts about Sticks and Stones

In this fourth episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings) chats with Brian Maierhofer: a working therapist that explores myth, madness, meaning, and how our greatest wounds can become our greatest gifts with his incredible Liminal Means Substack. Rachel and Brian chat all about the myth of the Fisher King and his wound-- and how we, as a people, need to heal our collective wounds, too. But how can we heal? How can society start to right itself? Stop screaming at each other? Stop policing each others' words and thoughts or personal political or religious beliefs?Well, as Brian shares, we can start by understanding the mechanism at the root of this wound: a very particular shift in brain activity that comes along with long-term adrenal fatigue and the anxiety-inducing psychological thought reform made possible by social media and corporate news. But Brian doesn't just identify the issue-- he also walks us all through how we can do a simple, sustainable AND TOTALLY FREE exercise to put our nervous systems-- and our brain-- back into the driver's seat. We can all actually transmute our wounds into our medicine-- and our superpowers. But, first, we have to take a look at them-- and actually f*cking do something to heal them ourselves.LINKS:TOTEM Readings Website: https://www.totemreadings.comTOTEM Readings Substack: https://totemrach.substack.comRachel's Other Links: https://linktr.ee/totemrachPlease support the Sponsors of The Skeptical Shaman Podcast:TOTEM + PUCK HCKY Merch Drop: https://puckhcky.com/collections/totemThe TOTEM Flower Essence Deck: https://a.co/d/gw16LsGThe TOTEM Flower Essences: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TotemReadingsATXTOTEM Spiritual Transformation Coaching: https://www.totemreadings.com/coachingTOTEM Business of Woo Mentoring: https://www.totemreadings.com/business-of-wooBrian's Links: Substack: http://brianmaierhofer.substack.comIG: https://www.instagram.com/brian.maierhoferPlease note: The views and opinions expressed on The Skeptical Shaman do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, protected class, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. And remember: sticks and stones may break our bones, but words—or discussions of religious or spiritual topics-- will never hurt us.

Episode 517 / Andy WollAndy Woll was born in Los Angeles, California and received a BFA from Otis College of Art and Design. His solo exhibitions include, The First Turn of the Screw at Night Gallery in Los Angeles, California (2021); Strange Animal at Denny Dimin Gallery in New York City (2020); Passage at Night Gallery in Los Angeles, California (2018); and Western Wear at Denny Gallery in New York City (2018). he's shown in group exhibitions including Pipe Dream at Uffner Liu Gallery and Night Gallery in New York City (2016); Sticks and Stones at Night Gallery, (2016); Pairs at Monte Vista Projects in Los Angeles, (2016); and Dave Muller's Three Day Weekend at Blum and Poe in Los Angeles, (2015).In 2007, Andy was the recipient of the Saul and Sally Fifer Bernstein/Friends of Joe Mugnaini Award for works on paper. 

February 22, 2026 | Exodus 20:16, Colossians 3:9-10, Ephesians 4:20-25 | Truth vs. Falsehood | Sticks and Stones | Zack Yarbrough

Zu Gast ist susannmarleen – based in Karlsruhe bei powerdream tattoo und regelmäßig in Berlin bei sticks and stones berlin. Ihr Stil ist klar erkennbar: kraftvolle Blackwork-Elemente, ornamental inspirierte Linienführung, florale Kompositionen mit starker Kontur und viel Negativraum. Arbeiten, die grafisch funktionieren und gleichzeitig weich auf dem Körper liegen. Das schönste Kompliment für sie: „Man erkennt, dass das von dir ist.“

In this third episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings) chats with "Alexis Vale", aka Alan Furth-- the mind behind the incredible Hidden Frameworks Substack, sharing his own meandering explorations in the realm of synchronicity, serendipity, and the ancient concept of Wu Wei: the "invisible river" flow state that we can fall into such that it carries us along-- without us needing to force it!In this episode, Rachel and Alexis discuss the long and strange journey that comes along with following the breadcrumbs out of a life in corporate captivity-- and just how magical and disorienting it can be to listen to your intuition instead of just your logical mind. Am I going through a spiritual awakening and following my soul's purpose, or am I going through a nervous breakdown and need to check myself in somewhere?The difference between these two possibilities when you're "in the messy middle" is a lot more subtle, nuanced and fungible than you would think, so it takes a lot of courage and self-belief to keep on meandering out of the prescribed loop society set out for you and, instead, make your way to the feral borderlands of the Woo.Alexis' story is so engaging because it's still unfolding-- and publicly, on his incredible Substack and via his alter ego, named Alexis!LINKS:TOTEM Readings Website: https://www.totemreadings.comTOTEM Readings Substack: https://totemrach.substack.comRachel's Other Links: https://linktr.ee/totemrachPlease support the Sponsors of The Skeptical Shaman Podcast:TOTEM + PUCK HCKY Merch Drop: https://puckhcky.com/collections/totemThe TOTEM Flower Essence Deck: https://a.co/d/gw16LsGThe TOTEM Flower Essences: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TotemReadingsATXTOTEM Spiritual Transformation Coaching: https://www.totemreadings.com/coachingTOTEM Business of Woo Mentoring: https://www.totemreadings.com/business-of-wooAlexis' Links: https://substack.com/@alexisvalehttps://www.linkedin.com/in/alanfurth/Please note: The views and opinions expressed on The Skeptical Shaman do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, protected class, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. And remember: sticks and stones may break our bones, but words—or discussions of religious or spiritual topics-- will never hurt us.

February 15, 2026 | James 3:1-12, John 1:1-5 | God's Words vs. Our Words | Sticks and Stones | Wes Moore

In this second episode of our dude-only Season 10 of The Skeptical Shaman podcast, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings) chats with Alfonso Civile of Heartsick Band: an incredible heavy metal ensemble combining hardcore and metalcore-tinged ferocity with haunting melodies and stunning atmospherics.Alfonso is not only a talented singer, musician, photographer, videographer and multimedia artist, but he generously donated his Zoolander-level Blue Steel modeling skills to our TOTEM + PUCK HCKY merch collaboration photoshoot, currently featured on PUCK's website. Rachel and Alfonso chat all things creativity and art in a time of commoditized slop. How can sincere artists, musicians and other creatives be seen and heard in a marketplace of enshittification? How can they get their fans to understand all of the invisible, unpaid work that being a creator requires? What can we all do to ensure that we still have quality culture, supporting artists in all the ways that matter the most?​Alfonso embodies the incredible diversity in the dude-verse, showing up as an artist, creative and sensitive being in an unexpected world: heavy metal music.LINKS:Rachel's Website: https://www.totemreadings.comTOTEM Readings Substack: https://totemrach.substack.comRachel's Other Links: https://linktr.ee/totemrachPlease support the Sponsors of The Skeptical Shaman Podcast:TOTEM + PUCK HCKY Merch Drop: https://puckhcky.com/collections/totemThe TOTEM Flower Essence Deck: https://a.co/d/gw16LsGThe TOTEM Flower Essences: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TotemReadingsATXTOTEM Spiritual Transformation Coaching: https://www.totemreadings.com/coachingTOTEM Business of Woo Mentoring: https://www.totemreadings.com/business-of-wooAlfonso's Links:Heartsick Website: https://heartsick.usHeartsick IG: https://www.instagram.com/heartsickband/Alfonso IG: https://www.instagram.com/alfonsocivile/Please note: The views and opinions expressed on The Skeptical Shaman do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, protected class, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. And remember: sticks and stones may break our bones, but words—or discussions of religious or spiritual topics-- will never hurt us.

Words, like sticks and stones, can be used by both Kingdoms. Are you building Eden or Babylon?

In this long-awaited episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings) chats with Clay Martin, Priest of the Path of the Barbarian Spirit and author of three incredible books including: Barbarian Spirit, Prairie Fire, and Wrath of the Wendigo. Clay has taken an unusual-- but very shamanic-- road to becoming a full-time Woo Woo practitioner. He had a long and illustrious military career in active duty, having served as an infantryman, Scout Sniper, and Reconnaissance Marine and, after transitioning to the Army, he joined the 19th Special Forces Group before returning to active duty with the 3rd Special Forces Group. ​In 2013, Clay was medically retired, and what followed was a difficult spiral into chaos. But, in 2022, Clay underwent transcranial magnetic stimulation therapy for traumatic brain injury. Six months later, he had his first psilocybin experience. Clay now calls psilocybin "the Sacrament", and believe that true healing begins at the spiritual level. Since his use of the Sacrament, he has encountered Norse gods, channeled visions of the future, and dedicated himself to a life of healing service to other wounded warriors. He is also now an active, working priest in his pagan church, reconnecting military veterans to the old gods and the old ways. Clay upends everything The Business of Woo tells you a New Age practitioner looks, sounds, and acts like. This episode kicks off our dude-only season of the podcast for precisely this reason: men are often underrepresented and underserved by the Business of Woo, often feeling alienated and "uninvited" to this space. The result? We all suffer from the monopoly of enshittified sameness.Clay, and others like him, are challenging this paradigm. And we here at TOTEM and The Skeptical Shaman podcast sure are happy about it.LINKS:Rachel's Website: https://www.totemreadings.comTOTEM Readings Substack: https://totemrach.substack.comRachel's Other Links: https://linktr.ee/totemrachPlease support the Sponsors of The Skeptical Shaman Podcast:TOTEM + PUCK HCKY Merch Drop: https://puckhcky.com/collections/totemThe TOTEM Flower Essence Deck: https://a.co/d/gw16LsGThe TOTEM Flower Essences: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TotemReadingsATXTOTEM Spiritual Transformation Coaching: https://www.totemreadings.com/coachingTOTEM Business of Woo Mentoring: https://www.totemreadings.com/business-of-wooClay's Links:Website: https://www.barbarianspirit.com/IG: https://www.barbarianspirit.com/Please note: The views and opinions expressed on The Skeptical Shaman do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, protected class, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. And remember: sticks and stones may break our bones, but words—or discussions of religious or spiritual topics-- will never hurt us.

Quantum Physics Proves Faith (4) Be Careful – Words Create (audio) David Eells – 2/1/26 Mar 11:23-24 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou taken up and cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that what he saith cometh to pass; he shall have it. (24) Therefore I say unto you, All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe that ye received (Greek) them, and ye shall have them. Looking at it from a surface level, it would seem a ridiculous statement that Jesus made. How is it possible that spoken words would send a mountain, or a spiritual equivalent, into the sea?   Mustard Seed and Quantum Physics When Jesus said in Luke 17:6, “If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you would say…” He was speaking of the smallest seed that could be seen in His time. If He were here today, He might say, “If you had faith as an atom…” Or even smaller, “If you had faith as a quark (which is a subatomic particle)…” The point He was making was that small things that cannot be easily seen manifest themselves and affect things in this larger world where we live. Quantum physics is the study of things so small that we cannot see them, yet everything we see is made of these subatomic particles. Remember, Hebrews 11:3 “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” Before God spoke and said, “Let there be light”, the substance for light was there. The sound vibration of His words caused the substance to manifest and appear. Words are energy and energy affects matter. The energy of your microwave vibrates the water molecules and heats the water. The energy of electricity flows to your washing machine and powers the motor that spins the tub and cleans your clothes. So, we can rightfully say that energy affects matter. Your words are energy and they affect the matter in your life. When you speak the words, “This is the worst car I have ever had! You stupid piece of junk!” Those words are vibrations of energy that affect the atoms that make up that car. If you speak those words long enough, your car will obey you! Scientists have performed experiments with atoms and their subatomic particles, such as electrons. If you paid attention in school, you saw the diagram of an atom with the electron orbiting it like the Earth orbits the sun. The interesting thing is that scientists have discovered that the electron that is shown orbiting the nucleus is not always there in particle form. It exists in a wave state (like a cloud, everywhere at once) until someone looks at it. When the scientist observes it, it suddenly appears as a dot (particle). What we all want to know is, “How does it know someone is looking at it?” It obviously is responding to the observer's interaction with it. One of the difficulties in quantum physics is that the particles behave somewhat differently for each observer, which leads to the question, “Does it behave according to what the scientist believes?” In any event, we can definitely conclude that Jesus was right when He taught that all matter responds to faith and words. The substance from which our world is made is influenced and manifested by words. The things that you desire are made up of atoms. They know what you believe, hear what you say and behave accordingly! The thoughts and beliefs that you carry also produce an energy around you. Have you ever noticed that when you are angry, things go wrong, and people are insulting and angry with you? Your thoughts and beliefs produce an energy that people can perceive and react to. If you believe that no one likes you, then you emit that rejecting type of energy, and people will be driven away from you. If you love people and care about them, they will feel that and be drawn to you. Have you ever been around someone who is pleasant and full of love? It is an energy you can actually feel. The energy of love is a powerful drawing card for good in your life. After all, God is Love. When you believe that God loves you and wants you to prosper, then you change your words and beliefs about money. Now, I have learned to think, believe, and say, “Things always work out for me. Everything that I do prospers and I have abundance in Jesus' name.” God is not limited to the things that you and I see. There is an infinite supply of substance waiting to be manifest according to your beliefs and words! Let me share with you portions of this video transcript on how we need to be careful, because our words create. Please remember, I only used what I agree with, but my advice in red is from a biblical perspective. It's called:   This Ancient Code Reveals EXACTLY How Your Words Control Reality The Universe Obeys This Philosophical Essence - 12/1/2025 (David's notes in red) Everything is energy, including the words you speak. This deep-dive uncovers the hidden influence language has on perception, belief, emotion, and the human nervous system. You'll explore how words shape internal states, how meanings influence behavior, and why conscious speech can transform the trajectory of your life. This masterclass breaks down the roots behind commonly used terms, how repetition affects the subconscious, and why intentional language can create profound psychological shifts. You'll learn practical tools to upgrade your vocabulary, shift limiting self-talk, and reclaim the creative power hidden inside everyday speech. If you've ever felt like your potential was muted, your confidence diluted, or your reality stuck on repeat — this is the missing piece. Your words are not just expressions… they're instructions. Reclaim the code. Pro 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue; And they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof. Your words have a very dark secret. I'll prove they're controlling your reality. What if I told you that every word you've ever spoken was a spell? And what if the people who designed language knew this from the very beginning? (Correction: God created this from the scattering of Babel by their languages He gave them.) There's a reason they call it “spelling”. It's called that because you're literally casting spells every time you arrange letters into words. And here's what nobody tells you: the words you were taught to use were specifically chosen to keep you trapped in a mental prison you can't even see. (Correction: Jesus taught that our words bind AND loose.) But it's not your mistake. And before you dismiss this as a conspiracy theory, let me show you something. Look at the word “grammar”. Where does it come from? Grimoire. That's a book of magic spells. The structure of language grammar was originally understood as a magical system. (But it is more correctly a supernatural system.) Then there's “cursive writing.” We call it cursive because it creates curses. And “spelling”; you're casting spells. This isn't hidden. It's right there in plain sight. They just trained you to laugh it off as coincidence. (Most of what lost man says is a curse.) But here's where it gets disturbing. In 1946, something vanished from American schools. Not prayer. Not paddling. Etymology. The study of where words come from and what they actually mean. And the moment they removed it, you lost the ability to see the trap. Because when you understand what words really mean at their root, you start noticing that almost every word you use was designed to program you into accepting limitations you never agreed to. Let me prove it to you right now. There's a reason they stopped teaching etymology in 1946. Before that, every kid learned to decode words to understand the hidden programs inside language. Then it stopped. Everywhere all at once. They replaced it with memorization and standardized tests. Why? Because if you knew that, ‘understand' literally means ‘to stand under' - to submit, you might stop saying ‘I understand' in every agreement. If you knew ‘government' breaks ‘to govern,' meaning to control and ‘meant' meaning mind, you might start questioning authority differently. They gave you a corrupted vocabulary and told you words don't matter. But words are spells. And they've been casting them over you your entire life. Listen, I know how that sounds. I know you're probably thinking, OK, this is going to be some weird metaphor thing, but stay with me because what I'm about to show you isn't a metaphor at all. It's physics. It's biology. And they've (more like Satan has) systematically hidden it from you, because once you understand that your words aren't describing reality, they're creating it, you become ungovernable. (It starts with the heart. Rom 10:10 for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.) Here's the truth nobody's telling you. You've been doing the work right? Like positive thinking? This means you're not lazy and you're definitely not missing some secret ingredient. But here's what's happening. You've been using contaminated language that programs failure directly into your nervous system. And they did that on purpose. (It's not “they”, its unbelief in God who made the rules.) Think about it. You say, “I'm trying to lose weight.” What does your subconscious hear? “Trying. Attempting but not succeeding.” It means effort without result. You say, “I want to be successful.” Your body hears, “want, lack, desire. The state of not having.” You say, “I need more money.” Your cells receive “need, scarcity, desperation, and emergency mode.” Every single one of those statements is a spell. And you just cast limitation into your reality without even knowing it. (Jesus said, “believe you have received”.) Now here's what they don't want you to know. The elite study etymology like their lives depend on it. They teach their children Latin, Greek, Sanskrit, and Hebrew, these ancient languages that are basically frequency codes. While they're learning to program reality, they give your kids text, speak, and emojis. They dumb down the vocabulary. They remove etymology from schools, and they tell you the biggest lie ever told. “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” That's not protection. That's programming you to dismiss the most powerful force in your reality. Words aren't neutral. I need you to understand this. They're not just communication tools; they're technology. Frequency technology. Every word you speak creates an electromagnetic signature. Doctor Masaru Moto proved this. He exposed water to different words: written words, spoken words, and even thoughts directed at water. Then he froze it and photographed the crystals under a microscope. Water, exposed to love and gratitude, form perfect, beautiful, symmetrical crystals. Absolute geometric perfection. Water exposed to ‘hate' and ‘you make me sick' create chaos, broken, distorted, ugly formations. Now here's where it gets crazy. You are 70% water. Every cell, every organ, every system, is mostly water. And you speak, what is it like, 16,000 words a day? Every single word is creating either coherence or chaos inside your body. When you say, “I'm so stupid,” your cells hear that. When you say, “I'm broke, I'm tired; I'm stressed, I'm overwhelmed,” every water molecule in your body is reshaping around that frequency. The problem is, nobody told you that thoughts don't create reality. Words do because thoughts are made of words, right? You can't think without language. And if your language is corrupted, your thoughts are corrupted, which means your reality is corrupted. It's that simple. And get this. Spelling and casting spells aren't a coincidence. Grammar comes from Grimoire, a book of spells. Cursive comes from curse. It's all hiding in plain sight, and we laugh it off because we've been trained to dismiss it as coincidence. But once you decode even five words, you can't “unsee it”. “Mortgage” - Mort means death, like mortal mortuary. Gauge means pledge, like engage in a binding agreement. So mortgage equals “death pledge”. You're signing a death pledge, and they call it that right to your face. “Pharmacy” comes from pharmakeia, which is sorcery, witchcraft. “Government” equals governance, control, plus ‘meant, mind' equals mind control. They're telling you exactly what they're doing, and you're agreeing because nobody taught you to read the code. So here's what changes once you understand this. Once you get that language is literal reality programming technology, you gain complete linguistic sovereignty. You stop speaking unconsciously. You stop signing invisible contracts. You stop casting limitation spells over your own life. You reclaim the creative power they've deliberately hidden from you. This isn't about positive thinking. Positive thinking is surface-level. It's like putting a Band-Aid on a bullet wound. This is about understanding that you are a frequency generator broadcasting electromagnetic signatures every second, and language is how you tune that frequency. (It's not positive thinking alone, its faith in God's thinking which we are told, “overcomes the world”.) Some people manifest easily and listen. It's not because they're more spiritual or more blessed. They just understand that every sentence is a contract with the universe. And the universe always says yes. You're about to learn what the elite know. You're about to understand why certain people seem to bend reality while others stay stuck in the same patterns year after year. And you're never going to speak the same way again. Because once you know, words are spells, every conversation becomes a conscious ritual. And you are the spellcaster. So let me take you back to 1946. Before that year, every kid in school learned etymology. Not as some optional elective you could skip as protection. They taught you to decode words, to understand the hidden programs inside language. To recognize when someone was casting a spell over you through carefully chosen vocabulary. It was the standard curriculum everywhere. The United States, Europe, Asia, everywhere. Then 1946 hit, and it stopped globally, simultaneously. They replaced etymology with memorization, standardized testing, and regurgitation. Why decode language when you can just memorize what they tell you it means, right? Just trust us. This word means this. Don't ask where it came from, don't ask what the roots are, just memorize it and move on. Here's where it gets crazy. This wasn't a gradual shift. It's not like schools slowly phased it out over decades. This was a coordinated effort after World War II, after they saw what propaganda could do, how language could move entire nations, how words could convince people to do unspeakable things. They systematically removed linguistic literacy from education. Edward Bernays. You've got to know this name. The nephew of Sigmund Freud literally wrote the book on propaganda; “public relations,” he called it. He understood that controlling language controls populations. And his whole philosophy was this: a population that decodes language is dangerous. A population that understands etymology asks too many questions. They see through the manipulation. They recognize the spells being cast. So what did they do? They gave you dumbed-down vocabulary. They told you words are just sounds we assign meaning to. Random, arbitrary. ‘Oh, we just decided this collection of sounds means this thing.' But that's a lie. Every word carries frequency. Every route carries programming. And when you don't know what you're saying, you can't control what you're creating. Think about how many contracts you've signed in your life without understanding the etymology of the terms. How many agreements have you made using words you never decoded? You've been consenting to things you didn't understand because they removed your ability to read the fine print hidden in plain sight. I mean, when you sign a mortgage, do you know you're signing a death pledge? When you go to the pharmacy, do you know you're visiting a place whose name literally means sorcery? When you say, “I understand” in a legal agreement, do you know you're saying, “I position myself beneath your authority?” No, because they removed that knowledge in 1946. Systematically, globally. And nobody questioned it because they framed it as educational reform, progress, and modernization. But it wasn't progress. It was control, and once you see that, you can't “unsee it”. Now, let me remind you about Doctor Masaru Emoto and why his work should have changed everything. This man did something so simple and so profound that it broke through all the academic gatekeeping and hit people right in the gut. He took water, just regular water. And exposed it to different words. He'd write words on paper and tape them to containers of water. He'd play music with different emotional tones. He'd have people speak to the water with different intentions. ‘Love, gratitude, hate.' ‘You make me sick.' ‘I will kill you.' Different frequencies through language and sound. Then he froze the water and photographed the crystals under a microscope. And what he found, water exposed to ‘love and gratitude,' formed perfect, beautiful, symmetrical crystals. Sacred geometry appearing in frozen water because of a word. Water exposed to ‘hate' and ‘you make me sick' became chaotic, distorted, and broken. Now here's what you need to understand. You are 70% water. Every cell in your body, your blood, your organs, your brain, your muscles, is mostly water. And you speak 16,000 words a day. Every single word creates either coherence or chaos inside your body. When you say, “I'm so stupid,” your cells hear that. When you say, “I'm broke, I'm tired, I'm stressed, I'm overwhelmed,” every water molecule responds, shifting to match that frequency. Symatics proves this even further. Sand on a vibrating plate forms geometric patterns depending on the frequency. Your body is the plate, your words are the frequency. Your cells arrange themselves accordingly. This is why some people heal, and others don't. This is why placebo works. This is why someone who speaks life lives longer than someone who speaks negativity. The water is listening and it obeys. You've been broadcasting 16,000 reality commands a day and nobody told you your body was listening. Nobody told you that “I am sick” isn't a description, it's an instruction. Your body follows it. Now let's talk about what the elite know. Ever wonder why elite schools still teach Latin? Why their kids study Greek, Sanskrit, and Hebrew, dead languages nobody uses? Why waste time on those? Because those languages are frequency codes, not corrupted, not diluted. Sanskrit words hold precise vibrational signatures. Hebrew letters have numerical frequency structures. Latin is the root of law, medicine, government, and systems of power. They're not learning history. They're learning to program reality. While their kids study ancient frequency languages, yours get text, speak emojis. Slang that changes every few months, so you never develop deep linguistic roots. Corrupted language creates corrupted thinking. (Psa 45:1… My tongue is the pen of a ready writer. Where does it write? On your soul.) Corrupted thinking creates powerless people, and powerless people are controllable. The elite know language is technology. They study etymology obsessively. They understand words like, mortgage, pharmacy, and understand, all carry hidden commands. They use these words on you while avoiding them themselves. (This is not possible because what they sow they reap and they are clearly corrupted.) Listen to how they talk privately. Precise, intentional, never casual. Every word is a contract. Every conversation is a ritual. Language is how they cast spells. They removed etymology so you wouldn't see the manipulation. They simplified your vocabulary. They told you language doesn't matter while mastering rhetoric, persuasion and linguistic magic at elite universities. The game has always been rigged. But now you know. Princeton University ran an experiment for decades called The Global Consciousness Project. They set up random number generators all over the world. Machines that should produce completely random data. No pattern. No predictability. Just pure randomness. Then they measured what happened during major global events. September 11th, massive natural disasters, Princess Diana's funeral, and the moment Obama was elected. Moments when millions of people focus their consciousness on the same thing at the same time, feeling the same emotions, thinking similar thoughts. The random number generators became less random. Significantly, measurably, statistically impossible to explain away. Human consciousness was affecting machines not through touch, not through proximity, through field, through frequency, through collective attention, creating coherence in the quantum field. (I have found this so. Machines respond to commands.) Now I heard about this, and I thought, “OK, that's interesting. But it's happening with millions of people. What about one person? What about me?” So I got a random number generator app on my phone. Simple thing. Just spits out random numbers between 1 and 100. I watched it for a week, completely random, as expected. No patterns, just chaos. Then I tried something. I focused my intention on it, not hoping, not wishing. I declared out loud, “This device now responds to my consciousness. I'm collapsing the randomness into pattern.” And I held that state. Not desperate, not forcing, just absolute certainty. Like when you know you're about to catch something someone throws to you. That kind of certainty. The numbers started clustering. At first I thought it was chance, but it kept happening. Then patterns emerged, runs of similar numbers, sequences. Then I started trying to will specific ranges, “Give me numbers above 70.” And they came. Not 100% of the time, but way above statistical chance. Enough that I couldn't explain it away, enough that I had to sit with the implications. And here's what hit me in that moment. Sitting there watching my consciousness affect electronics, “If I can do this to a random number generator, what am I doing to my body? What am I doing to my relationships? What am I doing to my bank account?” To every situation I walk into, broadcasting unconscious frequency. Your words aren't just vibrating air. They're not just sound waves that disappear. They're altering electromagnetic fields. They're collapsing quantum possibilities; their programming matter. And when you understand that, when you feel that, you can never speak carelessly again. Every word becomes a conscious act of creation. So let's get into why we call it ‘spelling.' Why not wording? Why not lettering? Think about it. When you're in school, they call it spelling tests. You have to spell words correctly. Why? Why is that the term? Because you're casting spells letter by letter, word by word. You're assembling symbols that carry frequency and when you arrange them correctly, they execute their programming. “Grammar” comes from Grimoire, and a Grimoire is a book of magic spells. “Cursive” comes from curse. It's all hiding in plain sight, but we laugh it off because we've been trained to dismiss it as coincidence. But there are no coincidences in etymology. Language evolved over thousands of years, and every word carries the memory of its origin. The frequency signature of its root. (Proverbs 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.) Spelling is called spelling because assembling letters into words is literally how you cast spells over reality. Think about school. They drilled it into you. Spelling tests. You had to spell words correctly. Why was that so important? Because incorrect spelling breaks the spell. The frequency changes, the code doesn't execute properly. They were teaching you spell casting and calling it literacy. And you thought you were just learning to read and write. Every e-mail you write, every text you send, every conversation you have, you're casting spells, programming reality, creating experiences. Most people do this unconsciously, which is why most people feel powerless. They're broadcasting random frequency all day long, contradicting themselves, creating chaos, and then wondering why their life feels out of control. But once you know, once you see that language is literally magic (supernatural) disguised as communication, everything changes, you become intentional. You become sovereign. You become the conscious creator they never wanted you to be. Now, let me break down the words you've been using without knowing what you're actually saying. This is where it gets really wild. Because once I show you even 5 or 6 of these, you're going to start seeing it everywhere. Mortgage: You sign this document to buy a house, right? It's normal, everybody does it. But let's decode it. ‘Mort' equals death, like mortal, subject to death. Mortuary where they keep dead bodies. Mortality, the state of dying. ‘Gauge' equals pledge, like engage to pledge yourself. Mortgage equals “death pledge.” You're literally pledging your life force to the bank for 30 years. They're telling you exactly what it is right in the name, but nobody taught you to read the code. You're signing a death pledge and thinking you're just buying a house. The elite who own the banks know exactly what they're making you sign. They know the frequency that word carries, and they use it deliberately. Government: You hear this word every day, but let's break it down. ‘Govern' means to control, to steer, to direct, like a governor on an engine. ‘Meant' means mind, like mental or mentality. Government equals “mind control.” It's not conspiracy theory, it's etymology. They're broadcasting their function in the name itself. They govern your mind through media, education, language, and you call them your government, thinking it's about representation and democracy. Maybe it started that way, but the word tells you what it actually does. Understand: You say it all the time. ‘I understand' what you're saying. ‘I understand' the agreement. But let's look at the roots. ‘Under' equals ‘beneath, below, in a position of submission.' ‘Stand' equals ‘to take a position.' Understand equals “to stand beneath, to submit.” Every time you say, “I understand,” you're literally saying, “I submit to your authority.” (We have to be careful of legalism. Romans 13 commands us to submit to government authority.) Try saying I comprehend instead. Comprehend means to grasp. Feel the difference? Pharmacy: You go there when you're sick. You trust them. But pharmacy comes from the Greek, pharmakeia, which means sorcery, witchcraft, the use of drugs and potions for magical purposes. They're literally practicing sorcery and calling it medicine. And again, I'm not saying don't take medicine, I'm saying know what you're invoking. The word itself carries the frequency of ‘chemical sorcery'. Human: This one is beautiful. ‘Hue' equals light, color. ‘Man' equals mind. Human equals ‘light mind,' ‘light-being.' (We are men who walk in the light when we follow Christ.) You're a ‘being of light and consciousness'. Not an accident, not a meat robot. A light-being having a physical experience. They don't want you knowing that. Person: ‘Per' equals through. ‘Son' equals sound. (We are born “through” the “Son”.) “Person” equals ‘sound moving through form.' You are vibration. You are frequency. Every person is a unique frequency signature broadcasting through matter. This is quantum physics. This is string theory. This is ancient wisdom. And they hid it in a word you use every day. You're not a solid thing. You're sound moving through form, your frequency, wearing meat, and once you get that, you understand why your words matter so much. Because you're already sound. You're already frequency. Your words are consciously directing that frequency. Every one of these words is a revelation. And you've been using them your whole life without knowing what you were saying. That's not an accident, that's intentional obscurity. They don't want you to know what you are or what you're doing. Because once you know you can't be controlled, once you decode the spells, you can't be programmed anymore. Now let's talk about the Bible, because whether you're religious or not, you need to understand what it's telling you about language. The Bible isn't just a religious text. It's a frequency manual, and it tells you flat out, words create reality. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1. But in the beginning was the thought, not the feeling, not the intention, the Word. Creation happens through spoken language. God spoke, and light appeared. God said, and it was so. That's not metaphor, that's mechanics. That's the operating system of reality. Life and death are in the power of the tongue. Proverbs 18:21. Not ‘kind of influenced' by the tongue, not ‘partially affected' by what you say. Life and death. Your tongue, your words, are the determining factor between creating life or creating death in your experience. You're either speaking life over yourself, your family, your finances, your health, or your speaking death. Every day, every conversation. There's no neutral. And then Exodus 3:14. This is huge, Moses asks, ‘God, Who are you? What's your name? Who should I say sent me?' And God doesn't say Steve. God doesn't give some mystical ancient name. God says, I AM that I AM. The most powerful name in the Bible, the name of God, is I AM. And then throughout Scripture, God basically says that's your name, too. You're made in the image of God, right? That means you have the same creative power every time you say, “I am.” You're invoking creator consciousness. You're declaring reality into existence. You're speaking as the source of your experience. Jesus didn't ‘think' demons out of people. He didn't wish them away. He didn't pray quietly and hope they'd leave. He spoke to them, direct command. “Come out,” and they obeyed. Not because He had special magic that you don't have. Because He understood that authority comes through words, through declaration, through command, He understood frequency disrupting frequency. When He calmed the storm, He didn't meditate on calmness. He spoke to the storm, “Peace be still,” and it obeyed. When He healed people, He spoke healing, “Rise and walk. Be made whole. Your faith has healed you.” Words, commands, frequency, altering matter. This isn't about religion. You'd be an atheist, and this still applies because it's physics. It's quantum mechanics. The Bible is just one of many ancient texts trying to tell you that you have this power you always have. They coded it into scripture, into mythology, into every wisdom tradition. Words are creative force, and you are the wielder. You are the one speaking. You are the one creating. So what are you saying? Now let's talk about your electromagnetic body. Because this is where it all comes together. You think you're solid, right? You feel solid. You look in the mirror, and you see a physical body. But that's an illusion. You're 99.9999% empty space. The atoms that make up your body are mostly electromagnetic fields. You are frequency, wearing meat. The HeartMath Institute proved something incredible. Your heart generates an electromagnetic field that extends 15 feet around you in all directions. 15 feet; that's huge! That field carries information, emotion, intention, and frequency. It affects everyone and everything nearby. You felt this. You know when you walk into a room, and someone's angry? You feel it before they say a word. You know when someone's in love. They radiate it. That's not psychic ability, that's electromagnetic field detection. You're reading frequency. Water crystals respond to words because water is a crystalline structure that holds frequency. Doctor Emoto proved that. Symatics shows that sound creates form. Different frequencies literally arrange matter into different patterns. You can watch sand form perfect geometric patterns just from sound vibration. Your voice is frequency, your words are vibration, and your body is rearranging itself in response every single second. Think about this simply. Your cells communicate through chemical signals, right? But also electrical impulses and electromagnetic fields. When you speak, you're broadcasting frequency through all three channels simultaneously. You're not just making sounds, you're programming biology. You're sending instructions through chemistry, electricity, and electromagnetism all at once. This is why negative people drain your energy. Their frequency is chaotic, discordant, low vibration. Your body has to work harder to maintain coherence around them. This is why being around certain people lights you up. Frequency matching resonance. You're synchronizing. This is why some places feel good and others feel heavy. Residual frequency in the electromagnetic field of that space. You are a walking broadcasting station. Your heart is pumping out a 15-foot field of electromagnetic information. Your brain is generating measurable frequencies. Your words are adding specific vibration to that broadcast. The question is, what are you broadcasting? Limitation or possibility? Fear or power? Submission or sovereignty? Your reality is matching your broadcast. Always. So now let's talk about how they control you with this knowledge, because they know everything I'm telling you. They've known it for centuries, and they weaponize it against you every single day. The media doesn't report news; it casts mass spells. Think about it. Every headline is a frequency broadcast. Every phrase repeated across channels is a ritual. Repetition is how you program consciousness. They're not informing you, they're programming you. And they know exactly what they're doing. “Stay safe.” You hear that everywhere now, right? Sounds caring. Sounds like they're looking out for you. But let's decode the frequency. “Stay” equals ‘remain (Remain Safe is good), don't move, don't change, don't grow.' “Safe” equals ‘protected from danger,' which implies danger is everywhere, which triggers fear, which creates contraction. “Stay safe” is a submission command. It programs fear of the world, dependence on authority, and small living. “Stay small.” “Stay controlled.” “Stay afraid.” That's what your subconscious hears every single time. (Remain in safety is a good command.) “The new normal.” Remember this phrase from 2020 repeated 10,000 times across every media outlet? Why that specific phrase? Because repetition programs reality. They're telling you this is normal now. Accept it, adapt. Don't question, don't resist. This is just how things are now. Your mind hears that phrase enough times and it becomes your operating system. You stop fighting. You comply. You adjust. Mission accomplished. Edward Bernays. You've got to understand who this guy was. The nephew of Sigmund Freud literally wrote the book on propaganda in 1928. “Public Relations,” he called it, because propaganda sounded too negative after World War I. But it's the same thing. He understood that controlling language controls populations. He understood that you don't need physical force when you can program minds through repetition, emotional manipulation, and carefully chosen words. His whole philosophy was this: “Give people the illusion of choice while controlling the language that shapes their thinking. Let them think they're free while you're actually directing their thoughts, their beliefs, their behaviors through linguistic programming.” (Not just words but their emotion and intent are also broadcast. Stay safe, be healed, be free, have emotion and intent.) He helped sell wars. He helped sell cigarettes to women by calling them ‘freedom torches'. He helped sell political candidates like products, using the same techniques. Control the language, control the people. They know language is frequency. They know repetition programs consciousness. They know fear-based words trigger survival responses that shut down critical thinking. So they weaponize it every single day on every platform. News, social media, and entertainment. It's all programming, all frequency manipulation, all spell casting at a massive scale. But here's the key. Here's what they don't want you knowing. You can't be programmed if you're aware. Once you recognize the spell being cast, it loses power over you. You start noticing, “Oh, they're using that phrase to trigger fear. (Don't leave out emotion and intent.) They're repeating this to program acceptance. They're framing this to shut down questions.” And the spell breaks. You become immune. You become sovereign, you become ungovernable. Now let's talk about the “I am” secret, because this is the most powerful thing I can teach you. “I am” are the two most powerful words in any language. Not just English, any language. Why? Because I AM is the name of God. The tetragrammaton, YHWH in Hebrew. I AM that I AM. When Moses asked God's name of the burning Bush, God didn't say Jeff. God didn't give some mystical ancient title. God said, “I AM.” That's not a name, that's a state of being, it's present tense existence, pure presence, pure creative power. And then the Bible tells you over and over. This is your name, too. You're made in the image of God. You have the same creative authority. When you say, “I am”, you're not describing yourself. You're not making an observation. You're commanding reality. You're speaking as the creator of your experience. The quantum field responds to “I am” declarations instantly. Not eventually. Not if you're good enough. Instantly. Because “I am" is the voice of Source consciousness and reality obeys Source. Here's where most people mess this up completely. They say, “I am trying to be confident.” Wrong. Trying cancels creator power. Trying means ‘attempting but not succeeding.' Its failure language. They say, “I am working on being healthy.” Wrong. Working on means, ‘not there yet.' Its future language; the quantum field only responds to now. They say, “I wish I was,” or “I want to be”, or “someday I'll be”. All wrong, all failure codes, all spells of lack. (True, we are to believe and speak that Jesus lives in us, and our old man is dead. 2Co 3:18. We are to speak the end from the beginning as the Lord said.) “I am” is present tense, absolute, declarative, not hope, not intention, command. “I am abundant,” not, “I want abundance”, not, “I'm trying to create abundance”. “I am abundant right now as I speak”, present tense, total certainty. (True) “I am healthy,” not “I'm trying to get healthy”, not “I'm working on being healthy”. I am healthy, period. No question, no doubt. “I am sovereign.” Not, “I'm working on confidence”. Not, “I wish I were more confident”. I am sovereign. Full stop. No negotiation. Whatever follows “I am” becomes your reality instruction to the universe, and the universe doesn't argue, it doesn't judge, it doesn't question whether you deserve it. It says “yes” and starts arranging circumstances, people and opportunities to match your declaration. That's how creation works. That's the operating system. This is why Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, the life.” “I am the light of the world.” “I am the resurrection.” He was demonstrating Creator consciousness. Teaching the template, showing you how to use your divine authority. And then they diluted it. They made it about worshipping Him instead of becoming like Him. Because they don't want you knowing you have this power. They don't want 7 billion people walking around speaking with “I Am authority”. That would be the end of control. (1Pet 4:11 If any man speaks, let it be as an oracle of God.) Now let's get into quantum physics, because this is where science catches up to ancient wisdom. The famous double slit experiment broke physics; changed everything. Scientists shot particles, electrons, and photons at a screen with two slits in it. When they observed which slit the particle went through, the particles behaved like particles. They went through one slit or the other. Made two distinct bands on the back screen. But when they didn't observe, when they just let it happen without measuring, the particles behaved like waves. They went through both slits simultaneously. Created an interference pattern on the back screen, like waves in water overlapping and creating ripples. Same particles; same experiment. The only thing that changed was observation. And that changed the outcome completely, from wave to particle, from potential to actual; from possibility to reality. What does this mean? Particles, the building blocks of everything; matter, energy, and reality, don't exist in a fixed state until observed. They exist as potential, as possibility, as wave function, multiple states existing simultaneously. And observation, consciousness collapses that potential into one definite reality. You're not living in a solid, fixed reality; you're living in a fluid field of potential. And your consciousness is constantly collapsing possibility into form. Every moment, every thought, every word. You're choosing which reality manifests by where you put your attention and what you declare. Your words are observation devices. When you say, “I am broke”, you're not describing your bank account; you're collapsing the wave function of all financial possibility into the specific reality of poverty. You're taking infinite potential and forcing it into one limited outcome. When you say, “I am abundant”, you're collapsing different probabilities. You're observing a different reality into existence. This is why manifestation isn't about begging the universe. It's not about hoping and wishing and trying really hard. It's about declaring. You're not asking for reality to change. You're observing it into the form you choose. Your words are the observation device. And reality has no choice but to comply. That's quantum mechanics. That's how creation works at the subatomic level. Most people don't manifest because they're observing current reality and describing it. “I'm broke, I'm stuck, I'm tired, I'm alone.” Let's just solidifying what already exists. That's like taking a photograph of a photograph. You're not creative, you're copying. (True) Creators observe the desired reality and speak it into being. “I am abundant.” “I am free.” “I am energized.” “I am connected.” You're collapsing different probabilities. You're choosing from infinite potential. Now let's talk about victim language versus creator language. Because this is where you practically apply everything I've been teaching you. Every sentence you speak positions you as either victim or creator, and most people default to victim language without even realizing it. “I can't afford it.” You say this all the time, right? Seems harmless. But you're claiming powerlessness. You're declaring. You're positioning yourself as victim of circumstances. Replace it with, “I'm choosing to invest elsewhere right now.” Completely different frequency. You have choice. You have agency. You're the one making decisions. Create a language. “I'm so stressed.” (Say, “I cast out stress”, which can be a demon.) Victim language. Stress is happening to you, you're powerless against it, it's attacking you, and you're suffering. Replace with, “I'm processing intense energy right now.” Create a language. You're actively working with what's present. You're not helpless. You're in the process of transformation. You're handling it. “I have to work.” Victim language. You're trapped. No choice. You're a slave to circumstances. Replace with, “I choose to honor my commitments.” Create a language. Even if you don't love the job, claiming choice reclaims power. You're choosing. You have agency. You're not a victim. “I'm trying to lose weight.” Victim language. Trying means not succeeding. It's coded failure. Replace with, “I'm becoming healthier every day.” Create a language present tense, active, progressive. No failure coded in. “I'm stuck.” Victim language frozen, helpless, no movement possible. Replace with, “I'm gathering information in this chapter.” Creator language. You're in a process, there's purpose, you're learning, you're preparing for the next phase. Completely different energy. “I need more money.” Victim language. Need broadcasts lack, desperation, emergency. Your body goes into survival mode when you say need. (It's better to say, I believe I “have received” abundant provision. Php 4:19 And my God shall supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.) “I can't do this.” Victim language, total powerlessness, complete defeat. (Say, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.) “But I really want to.” Victim language. “But” cancels everything before it. “I love you, but…” means, “I don't love you.” (Think: Php 4:13  I can do all things in him that strengtheneth me. ) “I want to succeed but…” means, “I don't believe I can succeed.” Replace with, “and I'm choosing to prioritize this.” Creator language. (Thank you, Jesus, that I am successful as I abide in your will and faith.) Every single transformation shifts you from passive receiver to active creator, from being done unto, to doing, from powerless to sovereign. And your nervous system responds immediately. Your cells respond. Your electromagnetic field responds. Your reality responds. This isn't positive thinking. This is frequency reprogramming at the cellular level. (Ask for the Lord's help. Psa 141:3  Set a watch, O Jehovah, before my mouth; Keep the door of my lips.) Eliminate “Can't and try.” Every time you catch yourself saying, “I can't” or “I'm trying,” stop mid-sentence if you have to. (Say, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.) Rephrase. “I can't afford that,” becomes “I'm choosing to invest elsewhere.” “I'm trying to be healthier” becomes (1Pe 2:24  who his own self bare our sins in his body upon the tree, that we, having died unto sins, might live unto righteousness; by whose stripes ye were healed.  I thank you Lord, it's done.) Eliminate “have to” and “need to.” These program obligations and lack. Every “have to” is claiming you're trapped. Every “need to” is broadcasting desperation. Replace with, “I choose to” or “I'm ready to.” “I have to go to work,” becomes “I choose to honor my commitments.” “I need to make money” becomes “I'm ready to receive income.” Feel the difference? Your whole body shifts Eliminate “But.” This one's sneaky because you say it constantly without noticing. “But” cancels everything before it. I mean, think about it. “I love you, but…” Doesn't feel like love, right? “I want to succeed, but I'm scared” means “I don't believe I can succeed.” (Say, I cast down doubt and unbelief.) (Remember, Self works will not accomplish what Faith will. Eph 2:8 for by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not of works, that no man should glory.) Don't say, “I am so lazy.” “I am terrible with money.” “I am always anxious.” “I am not smart enough.” “I am too old.” “I am not attractive,” “I am unlucky.” Every single one is a spell you're casting over yourself multiple times a day. Those aren't descriptions. Those are instructions and your body, your energy field, your reality, they're all saying yes and arranging themselves to match. (Say, Gal 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me. This confession will bring power.) For each limitation spell, write the power declaration, not the opposite, the truth of who you are. “I'm so lazy” becomes “I am disciplined and energized.” “I am terrible with money” becomes “I am a wise steward of resources.” “I am always anxious” becomes “I am calm and centered in my power.” “I'm not smart enough” becomes “I am intelligent and capable.” “I am too old” becomes “I am in my power at every age.” “I am not attractive” becomes “I am magnetic and radiant.” (Jesus made reconciliation, which means an exchange of His life for yours. Everything He is has been given to you, and you were crucified with Him.) Keep it present tense. Keep it declarative. No trying, no hoping, no someday. This is who I am right now. And you have to speak it out loud. Your body needs to hear it, not in your head. That's thought, that's weak. Out loud. That's creation. That's powerful. You're broadcasting frequency into your field before anything else gets in there. You're setting the tuning for your whole day. Worry comes from Old English wyrgan, to strangle, to choke. Every time you say, “I'm worried,” you're literally strangling your own life force. You're choking yourself with fear. (Php 4:6 In nothing be anxious; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honorable, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. 9 The things which ye both learned and received and heard and saw in me, these things do: and the God of peace shall be with you.) The linguistic shield. Listen, you're exposed to thousands of words daily. Media conversations, social media, and advertising. Not all of them are yours. Most are spells being cast at you, programming being broadcast into your field. (Stay in the Word of God and don't be distracted by the World. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind with the Word.) During media consumption, and this is big. When you notice fear language, repetitive phrases, manipulative framing, programming attempts, you say internally, “I do not accept this spell.” “I return this frequency to sender.” “I am immune to manipulation.” Every time. You don't have to say it out loud. An internal declaration is enough, but you have to catch it and actively reject it. Evening release before sleep: “I release all words not aligned with my truth.” “I release all frequency, not mine to carry.” “I reclaim my linguistic sovereignty.” “I am cleansed.” “I am clear.” “I am free.” This isn't paranoia. This is protection. You wouldn't let strangers reprogram your phone, right? Why let them reprogram your consciousness? Every word you consciously reject weakens its power over you. Every spell you refuse breaks the caster's hold. You're building immunity. Most people fall asleep scrolling, stressed, or rehearsing tomorrow's anxiety. “I gotta do this.” “I gotta do that.” “What if this goes wrong?” They're programming their subconscious to expect more stress. To scan for problems to find threats, flip it. End every day by remembering what worked. What made you feel alive? Your brain will deliver more of it. That's how the reticular activating system works. You get more of what you focus on. So focus on aliveness before sleep. (Thank the Lord for His faithfulness and meditate on all His promises.) You speak 16,000 words a day. That's 16,000 reality commands, 16,000 spells cast. The question is, what have you been creating? What are you creating right now? What will you create tomorrow? Speak life, speak power, speak sovereignty, speak abundance, speak health, speak joy, speak freedom and watch reality bend to your word. Watch circumstances shift, watch opportunities appear. Watch your body respond. Watch your life transform. Not because you got lucky. Not because you finally deserved it. Because you remembered you're the spellcaster and you started using your voice as the creative instrument it's always been. Here is a dictionary website of the history of English words, where you can search words and read the origin, read the root, and read the evolution, etc. https://www.etymonline.com/ Now, let me share with you from our book, The Tongue Conquers The Curse. Sweet waters are the words we speak in agreement with the Word of God and are a blessing to the people around us. They are a healing to the nations, and they spring forth out of our thoughts and hearts, and over our tongues to become words of life. An overwhelming majority of what we call Christianity speaks against God's benefits, which we must receive by faith. So we do what God does: we calleth the things that are not, as though they were (Rom.4:17) and we agree with God, even though we don't see it. This is God's method of bringing the promises into His physical creation. He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly [places] (Eph.1:3); but when we confess, it becomes ours in these physical places around us. But the opposite can also come to pass. (Jas.3:10) Out of the same mouth cometh forth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. (11) Doth the fountain send forth from the same opening sweet [water] and bitter? (12) can a fig tree, my brethren yield olives, or a vine figs? neither [can] salt water yield sweet. Many times, the problem with our mouths is that we are speaking a mixture of blessings and curses. But with the increase of the lips, we should be growing with the knowledge of God in our heart, speaking and agreeing with this knowledge and denying those things that exalt themselves above the knowledge of God by casting them down (2 Corinthians 10:5). We grow into confessing God's Word and into righteousness because He imputes righteousness when we agree with His Word. We should be growing into the sweet water, the river of living water coming up from us, and not a mixture of blessing and cursing. (Jas.3:5) So the tongue also is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how much wood is kindled by how small a fire! People think that the things that they say are insignificant and that they don't count. Not so before God and, I might say, not so before the devil, because he gets his authority from you. Remember, the devil doesn't have authority, except what we give him. Jesus said that all authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth (Mat.28:18). And He put that authority under His feet and gave Himself to be the head of the body, the Church. (Eph.1:20) Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and made him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly [places], (21) far above all rule, and authority, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: (22) and he put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the church, (23) which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all. Every principality and power has been put under the feet of Jesus, which is the lowest member of His “body,” so we have the authority. The devil has to get us to give him authority and, of course, he works constantly to sow the seed of the world into our hearts. That is what a harlot is – a person who receives the seed of the world in their heart, rather than the seed of the Kingdom. (Jas.5:6) And the tongue is a fire: the world of iniquity among our members is the tongue, which defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the wheel of nature, and is set on fire by hell. The tongue defiles the body when our faith is in what we are told by the world and by the devil; therefore, it is what we believe and what comes out of our mouth that defiles the body. The “wheel of nature” or, as otherwise interpreted, “cycle of life,” is sowing and reaping. You speak things that are a curse and cursing comes upon you. You speak things that are a blessing, and a blessing comes upon you. There is a cycle that tends to be upward and a cycle that tends to be downward. We want to bring our tongue into submission by first repenting, that is, changing our minds and agreeing with the Word of God. (Pro.18:21) Death and life are in the power of the tongue; And they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof. This can be just your death and life or the death and life of the people around you. We are all going to prove whether we love death or whether we love life. We are going to eat the fruit of the one that we love. If you love life, you will obviously pay very close attention to what you say, and you will begin to train your tongue to come into agreement with the Word of God. Our minds are like computers; they need to be programmed so that what we see on the monitor reflects something beneficial and a blessing. A computer by itself is worthless without a monitor. Basically, God is saying that the monitor is the tongue. It reflects what is inside the programming. If you say that you're a believer and everything you say is contrary to what God says, then that's a lie. We need to reprogram this computer so that what comes out of our mouth is the Word of the Lord and is effectual in changing us and the world around us. The Bible says the tongue is like a rudder that is able to turn the whole body (James 3:4-8). It's a very powerful tool that God has given us. (Rom.12:1) I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, [which is] your spiritual service. (2) And be not fashioned according to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. We must spend time in the Word of God so we can program it into our hearts, and we have to put it in there often enough so that it begins to overcome what is already there. To show forth what the perfect will of God is in your life, your mind needs to be renewed. You will never walk in perfection without the renewing of your mind. According to James, it's not just the mind, but what comes out of the mind that matters. (Jas.3:2) For in many things we all stumble. If any stumbleth not in word, the same is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body also. (3) Now if we put the horses' bridles into their mouths that they may obey us, we turn about their whole body also. (4) Behold, the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by rough winds, are yet turned about by a very small rudder, whither the impulse of the steersman willeth. (5) So the tongue also is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how much wood is kindled by how small a fire! How do we steer this vessel with the tongue? First, we need the will to do this. He whom the Son sets free is free indeed (John 8:36). The Lord sets us free by giving us His will. Nothing can restrain God's will. He does what He wants to in the armies of Heaven and upon the earth (Daniel 4:35). We are frustrated because we have a schizophrenic will. His will is fighting in us against our will, but as we walk by faith, He works in us both to will and to work, for his good pleasure (Php.2:13). Then, when in this way His will has overcome ours, we are free to do what we like to do. Then His will in us will steer the body with the tongue. When we hear ourselves speaking words that do not line up with the Scriptures, we can back up and say, “No, I don't like what I said there. I don't accept that, Lord. Forgive me. I'm going to agree with your Word.” (Rom.3:4) God forbid: yea, let God be found true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy words, And mightest prevail when thou comest into judgment. We are about to come into judgment and some of you are in it and don't even know it. And God is saying that the most important tool is a renewed mind speaking out of your mouth, the Word of God. That's the powerful tool that you have. Jesus and His disciples turned the world upside down with the things that they said (Acts 17:6). The things that they said, they commanded; and the things that they said agreed with the Word of God and brought repentance and deliverance. We have to change our minds, and we must be careful about what we put in our computers. We must be anxious for nothing and let our prayers and requests be made known unto God with thanksgiving (Philippians 4:6). Paul tells us something about being at peace with what we put in our minds and what we program our computers with. (Php.4:8) Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honorable, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Everything we put in our minds is still there, but recall is the problem. We don't want to be polluted by the things of the world. We want to put things in our minds that will cause us to think and speak properly in agreement with the Word of God. We don't want a leaven that leavens the whole lump (1 Corinthians 5:6; Galatians 5:9). We don't want to fill up our minds with the television, the things of the world and the love of the world. We want to fill up our minds with the Word of God, fulfilling His will and walking as a disciple. He tells us to think on the good things, not the bad news, not the conspiracies, not studying the false doctrines. The Gospel is the Good News and the power of God unto salvation (Rom.1:16). Paul tells us that I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple unto that which is evil (Rom.16:19). In other words, stop studying the evil in the world and start studying the good because when you sow the Word into your heart, it brings forth Jesus Christ. That's why we are told to “think on these things.” These things have the power to bring forth Christ in you and Christ in you can take care of evil, so it will no longer be a problem or temptation for us. Christ within you cannot be tempted with evil. It's the old man that can be tempted by evil; that's the part that needs to die. So think on the good things, the things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, and the things of good report. (Php.4:9) The things which ye both learned and received and heard and saw in me, these things do: and the God of peace shall be with you. We have been given awesome examples, not only in Jesus, but in the apostle Paul and many others. They've gone out before us, filled with the Word of God, the love of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Spirit of God. It's a death experience of self, but it's a resurrection experience of Jesus Christ living in us. He wants to use our tongue to do the same thing that the tongue of His first body did, which brought deliverance and blessing to the world. It turned not only the body but everything around them. In order to do that, we have to fight this warfare that we're called to fight. He tells us that this warfare is not of the flesh. (2Co.10:3) For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh (4) (for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the casting down of strongholds). One of those weapons, the most important one, is the tongue. When you agree with the Word of God, you are accounted righteous. Then you are entitled to the benefits of the Kingdom. One of the benefits is the reconciliation, which is the exchange between you and the Cross. God has taken away your sins, your sinful life, and your sinful tongue and has nailed them on the Cross. He has taken the righteousness of Jesus Christ and has given it to you. Now He's given this to you as a benefit, but for you to receive this benefit, you must be accounted righteous. That's why you speak what the Bible says about you. You were crucified with Christ and it's no longer you who lives, but Christ Who lives in you (Galatians 2:20). Can you confess that? This is what the apostle Paul taught us to believe, think, and speak. We don't live anymore; Christ lives in us. That's the Good News, which is “the power of God unto salvation,” but if it doesn't come out of our mouth, it's not going to work. We have to agree with the Word and refuse to say anything that is contrary to the Word. (2Co.10:5) Casting down imaginations (Greek: logismos, meaning “reasoning”), and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thoug

Listen to today's podcast... Words Hurt. Name Calling is a form of Emotional Abuse. Many of us have worked for or with someone who was emotionally abusive. According to research from  Employment Law Alliance, 45% of us reported being abused in the office. People who are the target of emotional abuse are made to feel insignificant and incapable. Take One Action Today To Build Your #Resiliency!      So here are Today's Tips For Building Resiliency and Bringing Awareness To No Name Calling Week: There is a thin line between joking around and causing harm to each other in the office. Nicknames are bound to pop up in the office. But once the name calling is unwanted and based on gender, sexuality, or ability, it's no longer a friendly exchange. If we are bullied, we might think it's because we are not a good worker, or perhaps not a good person. In other words, we start to believe what the bully is saying about us. We start to blame ourselves. Don't give in to the lie. Document your experience. If you don't keep track of what is happening, then, in the eyes of the law, it didn't happen. One of the bully's tactics will be to isolate you from fellow workers. Keep your relationships with co-workers as strong as you can. Let them know what is going on and let them know that you need support during this time. Looking for resources to build your healthy workplace? Check out my top 10 tips under Resources and Courses at worksmartlivesmart.com #mentalhealth #hr

https://m.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?sid=tindogpodcast&_pgn=1&isRefine=true&_trksid=p4429486.m3561.l49496 This title was released in December 2025. It will be exclusively available to buy from the Big Finish website until 28 February 2026, and on general sale after this date. Something or someone is playing truth or dare with the people on the Powell Estate. And it's dangerous to play games with a Time Lord. Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words can REALLY hurt you. **THIS TITLE IS NOW OUT OF PRINT ON CD**

Sticks and Stones Lied to You by Faith Promise Church

In this special holiday shopping Business of Woo-themed episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings) chats with friend and fellow e-commerce small business owner Amy Steffek (of Puck Hcky) all about the trials and tribulations of selling stuff online. In the Business of Woo, the pressure to produce and sell products online is fierce, coming along with phrases like "passive income" and "scale". And, while it's good to diversify and sell real, high-quality products online for any Woo-based or other small business owner, it's not the panacea that online influencers and spiritual grifters tell you it is. Just ask Amy! Sure, she may not be in the Business of Woo, but her small, online, cult following apparel business has taught her a lot about the difference between how things look from the outside-- and what the reality is on the inside.Take, for instance, Amy's 7-figure year. Yes, her online business literally pierced a MILLION DOLLARS (said in Dr. Evil voice) one year, but that's just revenue, guys. What was her profit, you might be asking? $0. Yep, that's right. In one year, she made more money than ever before-- and wasn't able to pay herself a dime for it. And this is NOT unusual in the business world and, in particular, the Business of Woo. The key? Constant tweaks and adjustments in the face of shifting economic and industrial factors is crucial-- and never mistake revenue for margin.What's more: turns out, our fellow humans aren't really doing great, and the mental health crisis affecting our nation is bubbling up for anyone interacting with the general public-- especially if those interactions are online. Anyone that runs an online business gets near-daily abuse and, in spite of all of our love and light tools, trust me when I tell you: it has an aggregate negative impact on anyone on the receiving end.This episode is hitting just as we're all heading out into the interwebs to start holiday shopping for friends, family and loved ones, arming us with a heightened awareness of how best to interact with our fellow human beings. Business owners are people, too. And no, they're not always rich. Often, they're tired and just trying to make their cool thing work so others can enjoy it.Proceed accordingly!LINKS:Rachel's Website: https://www.totemreadings.comTOTEM Readings Substack: https://totemrach.substack.comRachel's Other Links: https://linktr.ee/totemrachPlease support the Sponsors of The Skeptical Shaman Podcast:The TOTEM Flower Essence Deck: https://a.co/d/gw16LsGThe TOTEM Tarot Deck: https://totemreadingsatx.etsy.com/listing/1492934343The TOTEM Flower Essences: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TotemReadingsATXTOTEM Spiritual Transformation Coaching: https://www.totemreadings.com/coachingTOTEM Business of Woo Mentoring: https://www.totemreadings.com/business-of-wooAmy's Links:https://puckhcky.com/https://www.instagram.com/puckhcky/Please note: The views and opinions expressed on The Skeptical Shaman do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, protected class, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. And remember: sticks and stones may break our bones, but words—or discussions of religious or spiritual topics-- will never hurt us.

In this special Business of Woo-themed episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings) chats with friend Kristen Pavle (of Relational and Ember) all about her work in creating and managing community, both online and in-person, for various businesses, nonprofits and community organizations.The crux of this episode? How can we-- either in the Business of Woo, at our "normal" day jobs, or just in society in general-- identify, build and maintain community? Kristen breaks down the definition of community, why it matters for small businesses (and for us as human beings!), and how it's changed in the strange last five years. She also gets into the nitty gritty of what makes a community work or NOT work, and Rachel and Kristen dig into the nuances within the realm of "spiritual community" and its classic pitfalls: spiritual narcissists, grifters, unstable Cluster-B types, and those suffering from "Main Character Syndrome". In a post-Covid, work-from-home, gig economy world, creating community has never been harder-- but it's also never been more important! Thankfully, Kristen shares incredible insights, practical solutions, and the all-important dose of hope to get us going.LINKS:Rachel's Website: https://www.totemreadings.comTOTEM Readings Substack: https://totemrach.substack.comRachel's Other Links: https://linktr.ee/totemrachPlease support the Sponsors of The Skeptical Shaman Podcast:The TOTEM Flower Essence Deck: https://a.co/d/gw16LsGThe TOTEM Tarot Deck: https://totemreadingsatx.etsy.com/listing/1492934343The TOTEM Flower Essences: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TotemReadingsATXTOTEM Spiritual Transformation Coaching: https://www.totemreadings.com/coachingTOTEM Business of Woo Mentoring: https://www.totemreadings.com/business-of-wooKristen's Links:Website: https://www.emberconsulting.co/Email: kristen@relational.orgLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kpavle/Please note: The views and opinions expressed on The Skeptical Shaman do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, protected class, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. And remember: sticks and stones may break our bones, but words—or discussions of religious or spiritual topics-- will never hurt us.

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. – Childhood saying (not true) There is one who speaks rashly like the thrusts of a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. – Proverbs (12:18) (true) This week, we look at the wisdom Proverbs has to offer on words – and how to use them wisely.

In this special Business of Woo-themed episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings) chats with friend of the show and world-famous Tarot Lady: Theresa Reed. Theresa is an award-winning author of MANY Woo-based books-- not to mention an illustrious content creator providing live weekly readings on Instagram. In this episode, Rachel and Theresa dive into the tricky para-social dynamics created by social media, podcasting, YouTubing and content creation as a whole, and how Woo-based business owners can (and should) maintain appropriate boundaries with clients, subscribers and listeners. Theresa does a great job explaining how enforcing these boundaries CAN come across as bitchy, rude or even a downstream effect of believing your own myth. But she also explains that we in the Business of Woo can't always manage the perceptions or reactions of others, so it's best to just stay focused and in our lanes-- and within our healthy, appropriate "container".The summary? Modernity is bringing an increasing rate of change, particularly with regard to technology and its downstream effects-- particularly as it relates to near-constant, 24/7 access and stimulation. As psychics, energy workers and Woo-centric content creators, we need our downtime-- and our space and silence! So, don't feel bad about holding the line in the war of constant communication. You don't always have to respond right away-- and, sometimes, you don't have to respond at all! LINKS:Rachel's Website: https://www.totemreadings.comTOTEM Readings Substack: https://totemrach.substack.comRachel's Other Links: https://linktr.ee/totemrachKasia's TOTEM Deck(s) Review: https://youtu.be/Ba7Mi7HaEO8?si=X2IVEQrxj_jqPi3rTOTEM + Tarot Map Interview: https://youtu.be/yCOOjzGY0Yo?si=xV5UOtGdayTJgl4pPlease support the Sponsors of The Skeptical Shaman Podcast:The TOTEM Flower Essence Deck: https://a.co/d/gw16LsGThe TOTEM Tarot Deck: https://totemreadingsatx.etsy.com/listing/1492934343The TOTEM Flower Essences: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TotemReadingsATXTOTEM Spiritual Transformation Coaching: https://www.totemreadings.com/coachingTOTEM Business of Woo Mentoring: https://www.totemreadings.com/business-of-wooTheresa's Links:All links: https://linktr.ee/thetarotladyInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thetarotlady/Website: https://www.thetarotlady.comPlease note: The views and opinions expressed on The Skeptical Shaman do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, protected class, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. And remember: sticks and stones may break our bones, but words—or discussions of religious or spiritual topics-- will never hurt us.

In this special Business of Woo-themed episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings) chats with the world-famous star of YouTube's Tarot Map channel: Kasia Kulbaska. Kasia, an astrologer and tarot card reader, has been on what she calls "TarotTube" for many years, sharing incredible deck reviews and facilitating fascinating discussions about the world-- and Business-- of Woo. Kasia and Rachel chat about the misconceptions and myths surrounding Woo-based YouTube, particularly with regard to monetizing video content. Spoiler alert: it's hard, and just because someone has tens of thousands of subscribers (or followers), it doesn't necessarily mean that's translating into a direct payment business model.Kasia explains how she uses YouTube's platform to get the word out about her private practice, acting as a kind of evergreen (and authentic) marketing tool. Kasia and Rachel also chat about how great podcasting and YouTubing are for Woo-based practitioners, helping to introduce yourself to your potential client base while also offering up legitimate Woo-based insights-- not to mention your unique point of view!And, unlike print or video advertising or social media marketing, YouTube videos and podcast episodes are forever-- and when someone finds out about you, they can go search and "binge" your content to really dig into your vibe (and unique slice of the Business of Woo). The key to it all? Well, there's a few.First, you have to be completely obsessed and inspired with the "thing" you're exploring in this emergent media platforms. Why? Well, because the second requirement is consistency over a long period of time, which can only be achieved by someone that genuinely, actually loves the nerdy Woo of it all.LINKS:Rachel's Website: https://www.totemreadings.comTOTEM Readings Substack: https://totemrach.substack.comRachel's Other Links: https://linktr.ee/totemrachKasia's TOTEM Deck(s) Review: https://youtu.be/Ba7Mi7HaEO8?si=X2IVEQrxj_jqPi3rTOTEM + Tarot Map Interview: https://youtu.be/yCOOjzGY0Yo?si=xV5UOtGdayTJgl4pPlease support the Sponsors of The Skeptical Shaman Podcast:The TOTEM Flower Essence Deck: https://a.co/d/gw16LsGThe TOTEM Tarot Deck: https://totemreadingsatx.etsy.com/listing/1492934343The TOTEM Flower Essences: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TotemReadingsATXTOTEM Spiritual Transformation Coaching: https://www.totemreadings.com/coachingTOTEM Business of Woo Mentoring: https://www.totemreadings.com/business-of-wooKasia's Links: Website: www.tarotmap.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/tarotmap/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tarotmap/Please note: The views and opinions expressed on The Skeptical Shaman do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, protected class, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. And remember: sticks and stones may break our bones, but words—or discussions of religious or spiritual topics-- will never hurt us.

Welcome to this explosive, investigative, fact-finding edition of Light ‘Em Up!We are incredibly pleased you decided to join us for one of our most comprehensive episodes to date!Tonight, we shine the antiseptic light of the truth at the intersection of hate speech and the violence that stems from it.While a great many people on the right strongly disagree with the truth, and struggle to accept it, the fact that the radical right is far more violent than the left is unwavering. Far-right attacks continue to outpace all other types of terrorism and domestic violent extremism.As a kid do you remember expressing the children's rhyme that says, “Sticks and stones can break your bones, but names can never hurt you?” While this is a nice thought — it isn‘t true. Words matter; words can hurt — words can lead to murder.In the Holy Bible, the Book of Ephesians (4:29) advises: “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, which may benefit those who listen.” We need only look to the country of Rwanda in 1994 and the genocide that took place there. Collectively and pejoratively, the Tutsis were referred to as “cockroaches”.  Who acts neighborly or welcomes a cockroach into their home? Some 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed in 100 days. (The Tutsi and Hutu are ethnic groups established primarily in Rwanda and Burundi.)Evidence shows that the use of radio impacted and effected mobilization for violence in the Rwandan genocide.For more than a decade we've been exposed to the hate filled vitriol of Donald Trump. The words he willingly and intentionally chooses are often filled with hate.It is evident from his outward behavior; Donald Trump is not happy.  Barack Obama haunts him in thought, word, and past deed.Trump regularly refers to anyone who isn't in his “in-group” as “the enemy of the people” … “animals” and “scum”, you name it.His targets have been the press as a whole and individual journalists, immigrants, Blacks, LGBTQ+ people, Democrats, and whomever he chooses in the moment.His third-grade vocabulary has no filter. His political party does nothing to hold him to account for his vile, hate-filled rhetoric, even opting to echo and use it often.Rarely does he open his mouth without denigrating, dehumanizing, blaming, or accusing another person of doing something with no evidence.In this explosive episode we will highlight:—    As a case study we'll examine how hate speech can and does facilitate violence. From the genocide that took place in 1994 in Rwanda we offer a special feature in hearing from Henriette Mutegwaraba, survivor of the genocide and founder of the Million Lives Genocide relief fund.—    Multiple examples of the vile, hateful, and demagogic language that Donald Trump spews with regularity and comparing and contrasting his words with that of the Rwandan genocide.And much, much more!“The enemy of the people” are words Adolph Hitler used to describe the Jews before his “final solution” was put into effect which killed some 6 million people.This is the language of insecure, fascist, racist, dictatorial demagogues, and it is extremely dangerous.In his book entitled Behemoth, first published in 1942, Franz Neumann wrote that violence served to establish totalitarian control over German society.Violence throughout the Third Reich was used as a rational instrument of political power.Donald Trump's administration does the same.Democracy is dying right in front of us.Don't move a muscle!Tune out the world and tune-in to Light ‘Em Up — Right here and right now!Tune in and follow our sponsors Newsly and We want to hear from you!

In this special Business of Woo-themed episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings) chats with client, friend and consumer of the Woo Nicole Foos (of NVision by Nicole Foos). Not only is Nicole a talented crystal jewelry maker, artist and sculptor, but she's also an accomplished student and practitioner of the Woo herself, making her a VERY discerning customer. And that's exactly why she was pinged to join this Business of Woo-themed podcast series to offer up a unique line of sight into the client's perspective. What are Nicole's "green flags" vs. "red flags" when it comes to engaging with a psychic or practitioner? What trends has she noticed in the last few years, and which of these trends give her a solid case of the "ick"? What are some key metrics-- like reviews or age of business-- that skeptical but curious spiritual explorers keep an eye out for as they discern the best (and must trustworthy) practitioners with whom to work?This episode has it all: what is up with those weird psychic "membership programs"? What is the real math behind those online directories? How old SHOULD you be before you declare yourself a "life coach"? Listeners will come away from this episode with a clear set of criteria to consider before committing to someone in the Business of Woo!LINKS:Rachel's Website: https://www.totemreadings.comTOTEM Readings Substack: https://totemrach.substack.comRachel's Other Links: https://linktr.ee/totemrachPlease support the Sponsors of The Skeptical Shaman Podcast:The TOTEM Flower Essence Deck: https://a.co/d/gw16LsGThe TOTEM Tarot Deck: https://totemreadingsatx.etsy.com/listing/1492934343The TOTEM Flower Essences: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TotemReadingsATXTOTEM Spiritual Transformation Coaching: https://www.totemreadings.com/coachingTOTEM Business of Woo Mentoring: https://www.totemreadings.com/business-of-wooNicole's LINKS:Website: https://www.nvisionbynicolefoos.com/Etsy Shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/NVisionbyNicoleFoosPlease note: The views and opinions expressed on The Skeptical Shaman do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, protected class, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. And remember: sticks and stones may break our bones, but words—or discussions of religious or spiritual topics-- will never hurt us.

In this special Business of Woo-themed episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings) chats with friend of the show Britt Sundkulla-Sinclair of Golden Thread Alchemy all about her transition from part-time working witch, astrologer and death doula to a full-time Woo-based business owner!And, not only does Britt describe what this transition has been like-- and what it demands in terms of working hours, promotional/ unpaid efforts, and very early mornings-- but she also explores the strange devolution in human interaction (and mutual respect) that has been accelerating since the Covid-19 pandemic. Clients and customers of the Woo just aren't behaving the same anymore, requiring Woo-based business owners to make some necessary but unpleasant changes like: charging for previously free events, making rules at group workshops re: topics to not discuss, and requiring deposits or up-front payment for one-on-one sessions.But it's not all Debbie Downer sh*t! Within all of this minutea and restructuring are tremendous silver linings, perhaps the most important of which is that this cycle is separating the tourists and casuals from the serious, life-long, real deal experts. If you're a Woo-based business owner navigating these trying times, just remember: every day that you don't give up, you're passively taking market share from those that do!And that means that you'll get to continue to be of service, fulfill your life's purpose, and continue to "touch the Woo" every damn day!LINKS:Rachel's Website: https://www.totemreadings.comTOTEM Readings Substack: https://totemrach.substack.comRachel's Other Links: https://linktr.ee/totemrachPlease support the Sponsors of The Skeptical Shaman Podcast:The TOTEM Flower Essence Deck: https://a.co/d/gw16LsGThe TOTEM Tarot Deck: https://totemreadingsatx.etsy.com/listing/1492934343The TOTEM Flower Essences: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TotemReadingsATXTOTEM Spiritual Transformation Coaching: https://www.totemreadings.com/coachingTOTEM Business of Woo Mentoring: https://www.totemreadings.com/business-of-wooBritt's LINKS:Website: https://www.goldenthreadalchemy.comSubstack: https://goldenthreadalchemy.substack.com/Please note: The views and opinions expressed on The Skeptical Shaman do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, protected class, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. And remember: sticks and stones may break our bones, but words—or discussions of religious or spiritual topics-- will never hurt us.

Do you remember this old children's nursery rhyme?“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”While there's some truth to this statement, we've all experienced the pain caused by hurtful things said to us. Words can hurt.The Bible says, “The tongue has the power of life and death,” and “on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak.”We need to set a godly example for boys by how we speak to them and others and hold them to the same standard.Think about it like this: If your speech had a smell, would it be sweet or sour?For information about a Proven Process that is helping boys grow into godly men,visit Trail Life USA or RaisingGodlyBoys.com.

Words: tiny sounds, big consequences. In this witty and wisdom-packed episode, Josh C. Jones explores how your mouth isn't just for eating tacos or awkward small talk—it's shaping your future. From the power of positive speech to the dangers of casual negativity, this episode takes the old saying “sticks and stones may break my bones” and kindly tells it to sit down and shut up. You'll hear ancient parables, biblical truth bombs, and one particularly smug bird trick (no birds were harmed in the making of this podcast) that proves your words really do have power. Whether you're a serial sarcasm offender or someone who talks down to yourself more than your worst enemy ever could, this episode is your wake-up call. Think of it as a verbal gym session for your destiny—minus the sweating.   This 7-part series is brought to you by the book DESTINY: Rich or Poor, Life or Death, Choose Your Destiny                   NOTES: Intro/Outro Bumper Music: Evening Melodrama Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/   This podcast uses these sounds from freesound: sounds by deleted_user_96253 (https://freesound.org/s/351304/)

In this special Business of Woo-themed episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings) chats with Cardsy B (of the Hex and the City podcast) all about what life is really like as a full-time working witch in residence at one of Manhattan's premier boutique hotels.And, while there's some literal magic in Cardsy's workdays, there is also the reality of the Business of Woo: the increasing exertion required to maintain healthy client boundaries, navigate parasocial dynamics, and process untethered-- and often nasty-- criticism that cuts to the core of your character.The bottom line? You can't make everybody happy all of the time, so Woo-based business owners and full-time psychic practitioners need to establish codified "shop policies" that enable them to stay consistent while conserving their precious energy while working with the general public. In this episode, Rachel and Cardsy chat about what a psychic session is supposed to deliver. Spoiler alert: getting a tarot reading or psychic sessions isn't actually a good way to manage anxiety, nor can a reading or session actually shift the material reality of your life. It's just a diagnostic, and one that the client should come away from feeling empowered and ready to tackle the world of free will-- just with better data;)LINKS:Rachel's Website: https://www.totemreadings.comTOTEM Readings Substack: https://totemrach.substack.comRachel's Other Links: https://linktr.ee/totemrachPlease support the Sponsors of The Skeptical Shaman Podcast:The TOTEM Flower Essence Deck: https://a.co/d/gw16LsGThe TOTEM Tarot Deck:https://totemreadingsatx.etsy.com/listing/1492934343The TOTEM Flower Essences: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TotemReadingsATXCardsy B's LINKS:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cardsyb/Linktree: https://bio.cardsyb.com/Please note: The views and opinions expressed on The Skeptical Shaman do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, protected class, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. And remember: sticks and stones may break our bones, but words—or discussions of religious or spiritual topics-- will never hurt us.

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I'm like "Just the water." There you go "Just the water." But anyhow I say all that to say the blue plate special of the day at McBee's whether you're eating healthy or not they got you covered 'cause you can do the chicken breast but today's Thursday the special is red sauce spaghetti and it is oh so good if you like spaghetti I'm not even a red sauce spaghetti fan I like alfredos- Really Okay and the chicken spaghettis and stuff But I will eat it here and there Like if somebody cooks it I'm not pushing it away But I did I wanted to try everything on the menu Yeah So I could honestly give you my my opinion on it Their red sauce spaghetti's great but if that's not your thing they do have um hamburger steak which is works great for keto They have chicken breast or country fried steak And of course the vegetables okra and stewed tomatoes black-eyed peas turnip greens rice and gravy side salad lima beans green beans mashed potatoes mac and cheese fried okra or fries So you know if you been doing this long enough you know you can create you a carb less plate lunch right there from McBee's And uh I I went a little half and half yesterday I did get the fried okra 'cause they have in my opinion the best fried okra in town It's hard to pass fried okra man It it it really is Let's uh let's take a call real quick before we jump into this conversation on the Mazda Jackson phone line Hey good morning you're on the air Good morning Clay Uh I was headed toward I-220 yesterday going to Industrial Drive take my son some lunch I live in Rankin County of course But on the way up there that going there is nothing but a junk It's trash and I was thinking since the fair was gonna be in town everybody was gonna clean up everything mattresses on the highway Uh it was just it was just unbelievable And where was that at 20 westbound going to I-220- Oh oh to Industrial Drive Oh oh yeah It was terrible Yeah it it's bad C- like of course I come through there every day and I'm just wildly disappointed I will say that at least up through the Ellis Avenue area there they do have the street lights working again Uh so kudos to MDOT for that Okay Okay but everything else it it was just terrible the fair will be here today and they would have everything cleaned up but no Ah it's unfortunate- So but hey what you know if you don't expect anything you won't be disappointed when you don't get it.That is true And I didn't expect nothing else from out of Highlands County But thank you Have a great day Enjoy the show Bye You Thanks I love- Look- I love my callers Ca- can I say this though I actually do think that Mayor John Horn's doing a good job so far I do too Yeah I mean look are are there things that people wish would happen faster Yeah But if you look at sort of the level of activity you know just getting out and filling potholes and paving streets and the stuff that's the basic blocking and tackling I think they're looking for the right police chief obviously right now Um you gotta give them a little credit compared to where we were were you know just- Oh sure a few months ago Well you know it's like I said for the the year leading up to the election whoever wins if they'll just come in and quit doing all the wrong things right they'll they're gonna look really smart Just just letting you know like a like letting a a s- a let- letting a a wound heal on your arm a scab If we just quit picking at it it'll heal Uh the last mayor and the administration in general just kept picking at scabs And for the analogy here it's like uh traditionally you know for 100 years for government to run correctly you just take a right take a right take a right Uh at every opportunity to take a traditional right chalk away to the left And if you would just get back to taking the rights just doing the right thing period You don't have to be the smartest guy in the room but it's gotten so bad if you'll just do that again you're gonna look great And I think John's getting back to just do it just let's just quit trying to reinven- vent the wheel and just let it go round and round and some of this will autocorrect Yeah and look John's smart Um I think he's surrounding himself with some smart people I mean we'll see how it plays out It's earl- it's too early to say that it's going to be a a raving success But comparatively already they're doing things and I think have kind of built the right kind of team Um and then you know you look at the level of cooperation that I think you're going to get from the legislature from the governor um they all like him I mean he had a history of working across the aisle and being easy to talk to and easy to work with And I think people are gonna want to help um you know as we come up into this next session And so I think Jackson's like if if I I know part of of your brand has been like hey Jackson's not where it needs to be and that's true I think Jackson has an opportunity right now to right some wrongs Yeah 100% Look I said it straight up Now there's gonna be some things I talk about 'cause this this is my brand this is my show I mean I'm going to talk about Jackson crime and some of the things I see that are just- Sure out of control But like just the culture rot more so But I did say I'm I'm gonna give it a year bef- unless there's something just egregious I'm gonna give John a year to find the bathrooms so to say before I start really peeling back and you know being nitpicky 'Cause I I think that there's gonna be a lot there's a lot to un- to un-F around here and I'm gonna give him an opportunity to get that get his people in place let them figure out where the bathrooms are at And I'll be honest there the these people I think the expectation is you gotta come in and start working from day one and you're seeing that You mentioned it with the potholes And so these people they're hiring they seem to be hitting the ground running and that's uh wildly impressive uh based on the last 7 or 8 years And look I I would say this too is like uh it's possible to do both things to recognize that progress is being made in a way that is at least somewhat encouraging and simultaneously not to hide from the fact that there's some significant challenges in Jackson that are gonna be hard for anybody to solve for Uh no no doubt No doubt Because I I look I'm exci- I'm optimistic for the first time instead of pessimistic that some things are gonna get done and that we're gonna start enforcing some laws around here And little stuff like code ordinance and whatnot are gonna be big things And not just Quit just going after businesses to go after How about start going after people for the broke down cars in their yard All this little stuff You know get back to the quality of life things Get back to people holding the people accountable for not cutting their grass holding businesses accountable uh illegal signage I mean let's get back to enforcing what's on the books Code ordinances to me is just like the number one thing that the last administration just said "Nah We're we're not gonna bully the citizens." Yeah I mean I think this is true not just in Jackson but everywhere but having pride in where you live is a pretty good indicator of how of of the quality of life that you're gonna have Well you know look Russ one of the things for me that really grinded my gears and I did not intend to get on this but we're here now uh there's a crew of guys and God bless them and I don't talk about them much but it's the guys they're all from like Rankin and Madison County and they've been cleaning the interstates and all that It's Casey Bridges and some other guys and they're doing they're doing great great work Uh but uh there's a part of me that wishes they didn't do it and this is just selfish I get it I should be glad they're doing it and I should I should give them their roses right But they're they're doing it for a bunch of people who really don't appreciate it overwhelmingly They the second they cleaned up the interstate pressure wash it all their stuff these people and some of the comments I've seen online from people is "Y'all supposed to be doing it Y'all should be doing it We shouldn't be having to Y'all all left Jackson The least you can do is come back and clean it." I'm like how about thank you How about that H- how about y'all clean your own city Or how about I don't know the people that we pay taxes to clean and pressure wash the interstates and bridges and everything else how about they do You know Like the citizenry shouldn't have to be uh doing Yeah look and I think there's I think there's a danger a- and I came up in churches I came up doing mission work um and part of the danger that I saw in church mission work is like you would take a group of youth to some city right in the United States presumably with the thought that you were gonna share the gospel of Christ but really it was a work trip And you'd go into a neighborhood and you'd clean up trash or you'd paint houses um and and you were helping to beautify where people lived and at some level it reinforces bad behavior right Because in an ideal world some random person doesn't come and clean Russ's yard- Right 'cause Russ is trashy Russ gets out and cleans his yard because he cares enough about where he lives whether it's an 800 square foot or 8,000 square foot house right He cares enough about where he lives that he's gonna take care of his own property And if everybody does that communities get a lot safer they get a lot closer to each other um and so at some level it's reinforcing um bad behavior if somebody else comes and does it for you when it's something that you're capable of doing yourself and should be motivated to do Yeah How about don't throw trash out your car when you're driving down the interstate That's a good start How about don't litter so people don't have to do this Yeah I mean these are real simple things You know we're we're rewarding bad behavior Well how about y'all come pressure wash my driveway cut my yard I'm doing I'm doing good You know what I'm saying And look there are there are exceptions to this right If you have if you have an 85-year-old live-in widow who can't get out and cut the grass then I think it's awesome that somebody will go and volunteer to cut her grass Amen And that should happen right And so that's that's a different scenario Like I would rather see that energy put in that direction you know find out the little who the little old ladies are that need the help the little old men whatever Let's And I'm not saying people aren't helping them but I'd rather see that than um cleaning up the interstates and all that stuff Again I think they're d- I don't want to diminish what they're doing I think it's great But I feel like you're enabling the people who are littering and doing this I don't know I'm just wildly conflicted I think it enables bad behavior as y- as kind of it rewards bad behavior as you said Well and look I mean you see this internationally and I think even progressives now recognize some of the damage that was done globally in what was a well-intentioned thing like "Hey we're gonna go feed the world," right "There are hungry people we're gonna go feed the world." Or uh "There are places where there's not indoor plumbing or running water" or whatever we're gonna go fix that We did it for people and never taught people th- that skillset in a way that even today there's reliance there And so I think the challenge has always been like how do you be tenderhearted and compassionate the way that I would argue the Bible requires you to be while simultaneously recognizing that sometimes being tenderhearted and compassionate is forcing people to get into uncomfortable situations to figure it out for themselves Yeah Uh what I feel like is kinda done too and this is just from me directly here is it's raised the price of tea in China a bit 'cause now when I get to arguing about people and the things that they've done to Jackson "Well why ain't you out there like them other guys cleaning up the interstate?" 'Cause I'm not gonna clean up your mess I'm not your mama is why God bless them that they feel moved to do that and that's their ministry My ministry is putting my boot up your ass and and telling you that you've screwed up That's my ministry I mean look people were mad at MrBeast was it about a year ago 'Cause he was going into parts of Africa that didn't have wells And was digging wells And I mean I even again even really progressive voices were saying this is counterproductive because really what needs to happen in those settings is like people have the resources and institutional knowledge to do that for themselves 'cause that's sustainable long term Yeah And those wells were already dried up and no good and been robbed and pillaged and everything else from my understanding is It was all just a big waste and look at- Although I I will say that that guy tries to do a lot of good He really does He does He does I'm not hating on him Uh he he does try to do a lot of good but he gets paid very well for the good deeds he does That's true too You know with content monetization But hey I'm not a hater on that at all Thank y'all for the uh money I made the last couple months on uh my content All right Let's take a break When we come back we're actually gonna jump into the TPUSA versus Clinton uh debacle that's going on out there Don't go anywhere here on The Clay Edwards Show 1039 WYAB This is Central Mississippi's stimulating talk 1039 WYAB Pocahontas Jackson.It's time to fall into savings at Mazda of Jackson With ball games road trips and all the busyness don't miss a thing with 2.9% financing for 36 months on a new 2025 Mazda CX-5 Or get 2.9% financing for 63 months on the 2025 CX-90 One-year maintenance is included on your new vehicle purchase And take advantage of the pre-tariff inventory that's almost gone Shop online at mazdaofjackson.com or visit Mazda of Jackson I-55 Frontage Road in Jackson Looking for the ultimate reset for your body and skin At Core Wellness and Recovery you'll find next-level services like cryotherapy red light therapy infrared sauna body sculpting and advanced facials Whether you want to boost performance recover faster or just feel your best Core Wellness and Recovery delivers real results with 0 downtime From muscle relief to radiant skin this is self-care redefined Come experience the future of wellness Core Wellness and Recovery just off Highland Colony in Ridgeland Book now at corewellnessandrecovery.com Hey guys This is KC Ellis with LS Autoplex located on Highway 471N Brandon LS Autoplex known as Little Truck City is your old-school mom-and-pop-style dealership that's family-owned and operated We specialize in 4wheel drive trucks but don't worry we have cars and SUVs too Looking to sell your vehicle Bring it by LS Autoplex where we pay fair market value and we cut you a check on the spot Need your vehicle serviced or repaired We can handle that too Shop us online or set your appointment at lsautoplex.com That's lsautoplex.com Tri-County Tree Service the Jackson Metro's premier company to handle all of your tree service needs Russ Bourland and his team specialize in large tree low-impact removal Tri-County Tree Service has the right equipment to safely handle the most technical trim jobs or tree removals Storm damage can happen year-round so let them clean it up and they'll deal with your insurance claim Tri-County Tree Service By phone at 601-TREE-GUY or online at tricotreeservice.com That's tricotreeservice.com Craving something extraordinary in Jackson Manship Restaurant is where your taste buds hit the jackpot Join us for happy hour every day from 3:00 to 6:00 PM where your wallet will thank you and your stomach will sing Indulge in half-priced woodfire pizzas because why pay full price for half the fun And for just $5 dive into our private barrel bourbon picks That's right luxury on a budget Plus beat the heat with our frozen drink specials a tropical escape without the travel expenses Make your way to the Manship where happy hour isn't just a time it's an experience Are you a wine enthusiast Are you looking for the perfect bottle to elevate your next dinner The ultimate destination for wine lovers is 042 Wine & Spirits on West Government Street in Brandon The locally owned the locally operated 042 Wine offers something for everyone from local favorites to rare vintage wines 042 Wine & Spirits can help you find your next favorite wine The friendly and knowledgeable folks at 042 Wine & Spirits will help you find the perfect bottle for every occasion 042 Wine & Spirits located on West Government Street in Brandon ......... For decades you've known the name Martin's for good times great food and the best live music Now that's happening at 2 locations downtown Jackson and Livingston Check the websites martinslivingtonms.com and martinsdowntownjxn.com for the many special events and live music lineups You can chill with friends on the big patio at the Livingston location and enjoy the blue plate lunches and nightly drink specials Martin's downtown and Livingston Broadcasting live from the Men's Health & Women's Wellness of Mississippi studios this is the Clay Edwards Show Welcome back in to the Clay Edwards Show Uh we got about 5 or 6 minutes left on this hour here 6 minutes so let's just jump straight in I'm not gonna do an ad read right now Russ TPUSA verse Uh first off this is the first time you and I have had a chance to talk since the assassination of Charlie Kirk Let let me ask you this We You're g- you're here for the next hour right Uh I can stay for a while yeah Okay So w- we can peel this onion back a little slower When when that happened man take me back to 'Cause it's it's gonna be That's the moment I'll never forget That's 9/11 like 9/11 I'll never forget who I was with exactly what I was doing the whole thing is just It is f- f- like frozen in time in my brain the way I felt and everything I'm sure you've gotten threats- Yeah uh over the years You know I know I have Uh te- take us back to the the day of the assassination t- as this all this whole thing unfolded What Where were you at What were you doing How did you feel Put us in the timeline please Yeah yeah I was just I was just working Um you know I think I I happened to see on Twitter the the closeup video and I've never seen anything like that in my life Like I've I practiced law for a while and some of my practice uh involved life insurance claims and so I've seen photos that are gruesome I've never seen sort of in real time the amount of blood that was involved in that And I don't say that to be gory or salacious but- No I know what you mean it it that that alone the injury alone impacted me I think it was an odd moment in the sense that like we had seen President Trump obviously get shot in Butler Pennsylvania I didn't have the same emotional reaction to that as I had to the Kirk assassination Part of it is that Trump obviously survived I was gonna say the immediate That would be different if he hadn't of survived or hadn't got up on his own- I I think that's right Yeah I think the other part of it though is uh and and this may come across wrong is like at some level if there's gonna be a political assassination you would expect it to be someone in Congress or a president right Somebody that actually has the ability to impact policy that impacts people Charlie Kirk had none of that He had no political power other than the fact that his ideas impacted people Had influence And so the the thing that I think was disturbing is somebody that clearly doesn't have nearly the audience or scale that he's got but who has um been involved in conversations around policy for a long time is like "Hey somebody could be killed just for what they think." Um in a country that has been built off of the idea that the free exchange of ideas is sort of bedrock to who we are as a people part of what makes us ex- exceptional And so in that moment I think there was a vulnerability You mentioned 9/11 Obviously 9/11 involved 3,000 people dying it involved wars after the fact so a different scale but a similar type of vulnerability where you go "Oh my gosh like things like this can happen." To everyday people To everyday people Yeah Um and there was also this poignant moment in my brain of he's on a college campus and if you think about the whole point of college it really should be a marketplace of ideas where you test what ideas work and what ideas don't Iron sharpens iron kind of thing And so that's the that is the environment that should be most suitable to real exploration and debate of tough issues Um and so I think it was just sort of that juxtaposition of like here's a normal guy who got killed for his ideas and thoughts on a college campus um and it created a sense of real vulnerability I think it also woke up a lot of people who said like "Hey look this is not just a words versus words thing." Like we're at a moment societally where people are so angry at each other and see each other so much as their enemy that stuff like this can happen Yeah yeah That's a great that's a great explanation of it It it was just the the vulnerability and it really made me take a a step back and I I know that my friends and family all and and audience all mean well when they're like "Hey man you really need to keep your head on a swivel." And and so on and so forth you know with all the stuff that you deal with and do and say and everything else Uh and it did it made it real You make people mad Yeah Yeah Apparently So I'm very polarizing they say Uh but it it just ki- it blows my mind I won't say it kills me figuratively that that your words can anger somebody so bad that they want to kill you Like to me I'm just talking about thugs and criminals and people who have actually killed people and But it's never them that I'm really worried about It's people who feel like they had to defend them or that they get offended by the blast radius of me talking about them It's like I we have to kill this guy I w- "Oh so why does Clay keep talking about uh Black violence and Black on Black crime I wish he would shut up Oh you know what I'm gonna commit a crime I'm gonna be violent and threaten him." Like well you're mad You're gonna do the thing that you're mad that I'm talking about Well and look you know- It it blows my mind And it ain't just them I get I get I get death threats from from White people too Sure And and so what I would say is I mean like we we grew up with this adage "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words may will won't ever hurt me." There's some truth to that but uh there's also there there's a degree of falsehood to that because we're emotional people right And things do hurt people's feelings or get people angry or or fearful Um but we bought into for a little while this idea and it really started on the the left side of the spectrum in c- on college campuses that words are violence And if you allow yourself to believe that the things that Clay says and you say some stuff I disagree with Sure Um I say some stuff you disagree with right But like if you allow yourself to buy into this idea that the words that Clay says are violence then you become justified in doing violence But they also tell us that silence is violence So words are violence and silence is violence if you're if you're not You ca- you it's it's not just You can't just be against racism you have to be a outspoken anti-racist as well So if you don't agree with them publicly if you're not a outspoken ally you might as well be an enemy and that is dangerous as well Yeah I look I just think we've gotta we've gotta get to the point again where we recognize that violence is violence Like if I walk up to you and punch you in the face you have the ability to punch me back But if I walk up to you and tell you "You're a colossal dumbass," your response should be "Well I don't like you either," or whatever Yeah But you don't you don't You're not justified in in punching me in the face So I agree And so like just getting to the point where we're emotionally mature enough to recognize there are gonna be people who say things that we absolutely disagree with And we can either debate those people or we can roll our eyes and move on I mean I think that every time I'm on Facebook I'm like "Why are these random people starting fights with people you don't even know?" Right Like you are wasting your time Roll your eyes and move on Yeah I got into a Jeremy England commented something yesterday made a post yesterday about uh people P- people starting off they wanna debate you but they insult you first Like "You effing idiot why don't you debate me?" Or "You're a douchebag why don't you debate me?" Well you've already crossed into the assaults Sure Why would Why would I debate you I dealt with the same thing uh earlier this week with some little 300 followers uh sending me all kind of nasty messages trying to get me to debate him Basically he wants me to platform him Sure You know I'm like I'm just There's no- You're smart enough to know that right Yeah Yeah Like why why would I do that Sure But even if I were to entertain it the way you started the conversation off with the insults I have Why would I want to do that for you Like to introduce you to my quarter million followers uh would be the best thing that ever happened to you if you're if you're so good if your opinions are so strong you could take advantage of that like like I've done in the past But now because you've insulted me to start the conversation I'm not gonna do that We gotta take a break We'll be right back with Russ Lateno here on WYAB Actually we're going to carry the conversation on in the uh live chat during the break Y'all don't go nowhere You gotta take the headphones off for this Okay Yeah during the breaks it it sends the radio signal whatever the commercials through the headphones Okay But uh If we But we're still alive we can talk Uh I like this conversation and I don't wanna just stop it 'cause we're gonna have like a weird run of commercials here but it it is It's like if you wanna debate I'll I will debate you I don't really like the debating thing anyway Let's just talk Like you and I met up and we talked about the school choice stuff Yeah We're on the opposite sides of the same On some of And I came out of that conversation I didn't really change my mind but I appreciated the fact that we had a logical conversation and I was a- and you were interested in why I felt the way I felt And I think that's always the best way to If you're ever gonna get somebody to change their mind is to listen to how they feel about it be respectful about that and then explain why you feel the way you do put your side out there and let the uh marketplace of ideas win the day Yeah no I think that's right I mean I think There's there's this thing called uh sunk cost fallacy in economics which is like once somebody believes something or once they've invested in something It happens in in actual trading like marketplace where it's like "Hey I've invested in this stock and it's lost 50% of its value," and instead of getting out of it you're waiting for it to somehow redeem itself And I think the problem with modern debate is too many people go into it with a thought process that says "Under no circumstances am I ever gonna change my mind." And there's gotta be a willingness 1 to hear To your point hear what somebody else has to say and consider the possibility that they might be right and you might be wrong um if you're gonna have any kind of movement And I think that used to happen at a better in a better way before social media But social media has Like this conversation we're having obviously I guess on YouTube but um social media has made it such that you have an audience now So the stakes for changing your mind have gone up It's become harder to change your mind because that's seen as a pride hit or an ego hit Yeah Um right Versus if you're just having a one-on-one conversation you might go "Hey I hadn't thought of that that way." Yeah Well even If you look like you agree with the other person you lost Yeah Yeah Like you've you've lost some reputation Yeah You've lost part of your brand Um and I would say like even like the school choice conversation that we had Yeah like we disagreed on the idea of public to public um school choice like where a kid gets to leave one public school and go to another Um but we didn't disagree on the idea of like- Mm-hmm universal What's called Universal ESAs right Where like a portion of the money that students already are getting spent on by the state that would allow them to go to a private school Like I think we agreed on that part right We agreed with that So And that and that's what you You weren't aware that I did agree with you on that And we kind of came out of that It's like really it's just like if there's 2 3 thirds here there's just one third of this thing I don't agree with Yeah And so like but being able to have that conversation in a non-combative way it was like oh wait there actually is common ground Mm-hmm We just disagree on this one thing over here Well then there's an opportunity for us to get something done Yeah Well you know at the end of the day I'm a negotiator You know Yeah I'm a dealsman And uh- Well and that's the nature of that's the nature of life It's also the nature of of legislation is like you have to have trade-offs No no a- a- absolutely circling back to the the Jeremy England thing real quick So I just commented and I told the little the little story about this guy trying to argue with me I was like he started off with an insult Why would I you know grant him the ability to come on and you know just platform this guy Why would I make him famous You know what I mean So to say Not that I have not that my platform's that big but long story short And he never fails A coup- a couple people in the comments "Oh well Clay you don't You're scared to debate people You just like to argue with people." And you know what was funny is I've never been rude to a guest on this show ever Even people I've disagreed with Uh frankly it's hard to get people to come on here that disagree with me Uh but I've always been respectful I'm I I can't even think of a time that I've shouted anybody down Yeah Uh at all Maybe argue with some callers here and there that call very aggressively So it's like so it's kind of like this myth of because Clay is an outspoken conservative he must also be scared of debate uh because he doesn't interview Democrats Well f- bro where are these Democrats at that want to come on and actually debate You know so to say Well and at at some level it's like and you mentioned that you don't even like the word- Like straw man arguments that are put- Well you don't even like the word debate right And it's like well if the point of the conversation is a good faith exchange of ideas where people are open to having their minds changed those are conversations worth having If the point of the conversation is to get famous by making you look stupid- Yeah I mean no- nobody's ever had their mind changed by being made to feel stupid No Never Never Um they might give up They might well but they're at the end of the day they're angry about it Um and they're they're even more dug in to than where they started right And so yeah I mean again there's some there's some biblical truth here which is like you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar And if you want to have constructive conversations the best way to do that is not by assuming the other person is stupid but by trying to understand why they believe what they believe That's why Shawn and I have had such a good friendship that was supposed to kind of start off as a bit of a debate show We realized that we agreed on so much stuff for the most part And we also agreed that even when we get our angriest that we're gonna be adults Yeah And not get into a shouting match And in involving Shawn you know for those couple years on the show uh before they went off and did their own thing uh was really really good for me learning you know actually finally having somebody sitting across from me that we did disagree on some stuff And learning that for the most part we agreed on like real core principle things It's just kinda like these ancillary things that we disagree on Uh that was a very healthy uh growing point for me to be able to say okay maybe I'm not as bedrock about some of these things as I thought I was And then there are some things that it made me realize that I'm even more adamant about Well and there's something different when you're sitting down across from somebody versus preaching at them on the internet and you don't have to see them or meet them or whatnot right Like and you see that in other areas of life So like as an example the conversation around immigration and that's a complex conversation and I know your audience probably leans one direction pretty heavily But I would look at it and say okay a lot of people talk about mass deportation as an example of Mexican and South American immigrants But then you say well what about the fellow that serves your lunch when you go to this restaurant Or what about the the people that come and cut your grass or the- You start personalizing it And then you're like oh well I know so-and-so Yeah Right And then it becomes a lot harder to paint with such a broad brush I think that's true in the context of like republicans democrats liberals and conservatives too is like at some level if you just sit down with somebody who's like hardcore on the other side of you and you start talking about the things that they want out of life they want their kids to have better jobs than what they had right They want a house they want a car they want a safe community Like there are all these things that everybody wants like that everybody kind of views as like this is a measure of a good life And the real the real debate or the real sort of difference is how do we get there Yeah Um and like if you start from that vantage point where you don't assume that the other person is evil but they just have a different view on the way to get somewhere I think there's opportunity No I I agree and I talk about this a lot I'll come on here and I kind of paint with a broad brush but I do tell people "Look there's obviously you know nuance here." There's there's special exception I come in here and talk about democrats are evil but one of my best friends is a democrat You know Sure And Shawn and and and a buddy of mine Marvell I mean I could 2 off the top of my head 2 of my closest friends are are are democrats and think I'm wrong about a lot of stuff And that's fine Well you know we either talk about those things or we don't We talk about normal stuff Like we don't I don't ride in a car with my democrat friends and talk about politics the whole time you know We actually both like football Yeah Like there's real life stuff too that sometimes you kind of get lost in the arguing about policy and politics and culture war stuff that you forget that there's actually real life stuff that we enjoy as well And if you- Well I mean- find that common ground it makes life a lot easier A- and I don't mean to be overreligious on on your program but at some level it's like hey the Bible says that we were all created in the image of God That means democrats were created in the image of God too right The Bible says that we've all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God That means that republicans have sinned too right And so like at some level recognizing that if you have that sort of scriptural worldview it means no matter whether you disagree on a question of like immigration or whatever it is that like that other person was created in the image of God and like you they suffer with sin.Um and if you have that kind of humility going into it I think it's a lot easier to to relate to people Yeah you know I use this analogy a lot um Christians are very hardcore about the the they love to say "Gay being gay is against the Bible it's that's against the Lord's words." I'm like "Well so is having sex before you get married." Y- uh absolutely And it was like so I that's why I'm never like I don't get on the the the gay religious thing I don't that's that's their sin let them worry about that I have my own sin and I'd be a hypocrite if I sat there and talked about uh who they have sex with It's no different than who I have sex with when I'm doing it outside of marriage My sin is just as equal as as that Uh my only problem with the gay stuff is like it's the LGBTQ agenda as I you know as I refer to it as You know the the the pride parades with all the near pornographic stuff in front of children and d- drag queen story time No that's that's a whole separate thing from just your everyday run of the mill gay people And like I don't think they're separate Unfortunately they get all dropped under this big umbrella and if you have a problem with this well you must also have a problem with the 2 gay guys No I don't at all 'cause again their sin is no different than my sin Yeah I mean look I I would look at it and say at some level what happens is that the the natural human tendency is to focus on sins that you don't struggle with right So if you're heterosexual it's easy enough to talk about the sin of homosexuality because it's not something that you ever struggle with but if you wanna get uncomfortable you know talk about uh whether or not Russ is overweight right Yeah Because then that's the sin of gluttony Mm-hmm Um or the 400 pound Baptist pastor pastor who clearly is living an unrepentant life when it comes to their their dietary habits Um again the sin of gluttony and so like there's a very natural tendency to to isolate those sins that we don't personally struggle with and to ignore the things that we personally struggle with Heterosexual lust is a great example of that too Yeah And so I I don't think as as a Christian I don't think you should uh ignore what the Bible says is sinful behavior but I do think that you should operate in a way where you don't ignore your own sin um certainly 'cause that it it is hypocritical It it is and that is the one thing when you do this for 2 hours a day you will find yourself contradicting yourself a lot and and so I've learned to avoid contradicting myself I just try to be an open book and say "Look I'm k- a complicated individual as we all are There's gonna be things that I I find abhorrent but then there's gonna be things that I do that you find abhorrent." You know I try to find the common ground and just admit yes I we can all be a bit hypocritical at times But if there's some obvious stuff I try to just b- be like "Look that's" I I try I people think I'm very judgey I'm really not I gotta let let people live but the the Overton window has moved over so much that if you just wanna be left alone or just let people live that makes you far one way or the other now because the Overton window has moved so far I don't l- yeah there the problem is that there are not a ton of people who still believe in sort of what I would call American pluralism which I think is actually one of our founding values is that people get to believe different stuff All right we're coming back from break Chicken spaghetti on Mondays beef tip Tuesday pork chop Wednesday spaghetti Thursday and catfish Fridays And McBee's blue plate lunch comes with 2 classic southern sides and cornbread or a roll McBee's specials are served every weekday from 11:00 to 2:00 McBee's buzzing the Rez since 1982 Welcome to the Clay Edwards Show More adrenaline You know it's a pretty interesting time to to be alive What's the saying M- may the times you live in be interesting We've accomplished that more test top throne for your morning drive When you know you've got a problem how about tell people and be honest What's going on Going to war on cancel culture and bringing the spotlight on issues and topics from around the city of Jackson I feel like Jackson is slapping and no one else wants to talk about it The whole system is corrupt and evil It's unreal And they don't care and and everybody knows it It's just sad And fights for the soul of America I'm gonna need y'all to explain to me what a positive solution is 'cause you positive solutions only people have been in charge for a while now and I'm too many positive solutions You never Strap in Turn up the volume and get ready Jackson for unfiltered no sugar added talk radio It's award-winning podcaster Clay Boom shakalaka boom It's hour 2 of the most incendiary show on the R-A-D-I-O This is the Clay at Birth show here live on 103.9 FM W-Y-A-B We are streaming in stunning HD worldwide @SaveJXN on Facebook YouTube and X and we're on Rumble at SaveJXN If you're watching on any of those platforms hit the Like button hit the Share button if you're on Facebook If you're watching on YouTube drop a comment hit the Like It truly truly does help us with the algorithm If you like it they assume more people who watch the things that you like will like it too and they'll recommend these videos to people on YouTube which helps us grow And it doesn't cost you a penny to hit the Like button So please please please smash the Like button as the YouTubers- Like and subscribe Like and subscribe Like and subscribe Like and subscribe And uh we did We we gained over 500 subscribers on YouTube last month which I know in the big picture that may not sound like a lot but that's 500 new people that subscribed to a little old show out of Jackson Mississippi We're almost at 10,000 YouTube subs here 5 years into this and it is a it's taken a while There's not been no big one viral moment that's got us anywhere It's been just chipping away and chipping away and chipping away And I do think we'll eventually get that We'll we'll have that moment when we get you know X amount of followers and enough people see something that resonates with them But uh guys please uh do hit that Like button This segment is going to be brought to you by our friends over at You know I've been talking about it all week I want to drive it home It starts today round one the PGA Champion- Not the PGA Championship the Sanderson Farms Championship which is the only PGA event in Mississippi But not only is it the only PGA event it's the only major sporting professional sporting event in the state of Mississippi I know we can argue that college football is now a pro sport but And it always has been It has been for quite some time Yeah it always has been But uh it's the only legitimate pro-sport uh event in the state of Mississippi and it's right here in Jackson For all the negative things about Jackson this is one of the shining uh house on the hill you know beautiful moments that we have here in this city It's something we really should all wrap our arms around and get out and support if you want to keep it whether it's Jackson central Mississippi whatever there at the Country Club of Jackson And uh the first round starts today I'm going to be out there Saturday My buddy Fred Shanks my buddy Sutton my buddy Michael we're all going We got some Michelob Ultra Pavilion passes which you can get those as well at PGA I'm sorry at sandersonfarmschampionship.com And you can buy tickets You can buy the uh the Mick Ultra Pavilion It's kind of like their VIP thing There's going to be a bunch of TVs there You can miss You can catch all the college football action the golf action It's a great socializing event Just gonna be a grand time The weather's gonna be beautiful Come join us If you can't do Saturday get you some tickets for Sunday I think you just buy the ticket and go whatever day you want They're just Whatever ticket's good for any day but it's only one You You got to If you're going 2 days you got to buy 2 tickets So just FYI It's not a weekend pass Uh I do believe they do offer those But uh it's not too expensive Uh but you know it is a nice event and it does it does cost a few bucks But I think if you buy a ticket and a VIP pavilion pass it's about 130 bucks for both Which if you bought a concert ticket lately and you try to do a VIP upgrade you're probably talking about at least 500 bucks So for the money it's a really really good deal And uh parking's off site there at North Park You park there They they they bring a shuttle bus back and forth They'll keep them running all day You're not going to have to wait long to get to or from your vehicle The weather's going to be beautiful Come out there Hang out with me Come say hey And uh Saturday wear your favorite college colors It's University Day So going to be fun Russ you going to get by Uh we're going to an event tonight uh tied to it Um kind of their opening event and uh- A sponsorship party Yeah So we'll we'll do a little bit of that tonight and we'll see I I might Uh it's a good event And they- I'm trying to angle some tickets for the sponsorship party I I've been I've been working some angles that have not worked out so far But I would love to go to the sponsorship party Well we we can talk about it off air maybe Maybe so All right Well uh look so we got Russ Latino here Magnolia Tribune one of my favorite journalists in the state if not my personal favorite And Magnolia Tribune does just phenomenal work And Russ grabbed a hold of something like a dog on a bone the other day And I'm really glad he did because he brings a level of credibility and a level of scrutiny to to this topic that I think needs to be And he shines a light on it uh as one of the most influential journalists and policymakers in the state And it's the In the wake of Charlie death Charlie Kirk's death and that's why I wanted to really get Russ's opinion on that and kind of his thoughts on the whole thing before we dove into this These TPUSA chapters which is Turning Point USA for those that don't know Charlie Kirk's foundation that he founded And they Man they The growth has been stupendous since his death Thousands and thousands of new charters popping up And in these high schools where we really need to be trying to win the culture war uh just like colleges man We if we can get ahold of them at high schools they go to colleges you know kind of ready to fight the fight or knowing how to fight it And Clinton for some reason has decided that uh it's a no-go there So I've kind of laid the groundwork for you here man Tell us kind of what happened So let let me start by saying that um obviously what happened to Charlie Kirk was a tragedy a horrible tragedy I didn't always agree with him Um and I didn't always agree with TPUSA I did agree fundamentally with the idea that we should be having open debate on these issues um and that open debate is good And so-What happened was after his death to your point thousands and thousands of new chapters high school and college of TPUSA um started to form Um a couple of Saturdays ago so uh 2plus Saturdays ago um a teacher at Clinton High School sent out an email to a handful of students um and that email essentially said "Hey I know you're interested in this sort of stuff because you've talked to me in the past about wanting to start some kinda club that focuses on patriotism and sort of the exchange of ideas and debate Um what do you think about potentially doing a TPUSA chapter?" That email said explicitly this would have to be student-led Um you would have to come up with the names of other students who are interested in spearheading the effort to start this thing And there was a plan of sorts put together Some of these kids started sharing it with their friends they came back with names of people who wanted to be involved And essentially they planned to get together the following Tuesday September 16th to have a planning meeting with the teacher Well our sources say that that email got around to a wide group of people Um and one of the- the sets of hands that it ended up in was a set of parents who were very much opposed to the idea of there being a TPUSA chapter on Clinton's campus Um and that was communicated to school officials So what happens then is that on Monday September 15th the teacher that afternoon sends out an email to these students who are ready to meet the next day just saying "There will be no meeting tomorrow." Um the following day one of the students follows up and says "Well when are we gonna reschedule it?" 'Cause they're excited about doing this Um and she emails back and says "There won't be a rescheduling you need to go talk to the principal about this." Well the backstory of those few days and the way that we got ahold of this was that we got contacted by 2 sources that said "Hey look some students wanted to start this TPUSA chapter and they got shut down by the school administration." Um and we were told that there were 3 reasons given by the administration The first was that this was too political and "We don't do political clubs it's gonna be divisive." Um the second explanation which came later was "Well this was teacher-led and because it's teacher-led it violates a district policy." And then once students voiced "Hey no actually we want this," the third explanation that was given was "Hey it's too late in the year to start a new club." And so all of this unfolds- We're a month into school we're a month into school So all of this unfolds and you start to see And the only way we know this is 'cause we did public record requests on Clinton High School Um you start to see emails directly from students to the principal of Clinton High School Dr Brian Fordinberry saying "We want this." To the point that some of them are literally pressing him and saying "Tell me why we can't have this In writing please tell me why we are unable to have a Turning Point USA club." Um we get ahold of the story break it on uh social media And the response that we got from folks who live in Clinton was "Hey we called and talked to the principal and he said the reason they can't have it is 'cause they started it too late in the year." Well that night I start doing some research All right let's figure out is that true Is there a policy in place for this Read the entire Clinton Han- School handbook Nothing in there about when clubs can start Um read the entirety of the school district's policies Couldn't find anything So I wrote the principal and the- the school board attorney and just said "Hey look I've looked at all this stuff I can't find any policies that- that says that this can't be done this time of year." Um and we had posed a bunch of different questions public record requests whatnot Well they come back um the following day and release a statement that basically says "We didn't actually shut it down We just told them that it couldn't be teacher-led and that it couldn't be this year." Which is shutting it down Yeah Um and so anyway we- we've been able to get together all these public records It really looks from my vantage point like the 2 reasons they gave are pretense first of all students individually went to the principal and said "We want this club." ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... all of the documents ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... since 2019 The Tigers are playing well against Alabama this season but they aren't winning their first game of the season The Tigers were able to win their first game against ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... Alabama on September 19th 2020 They had a 31-0 victory at home against Alabama The Tigers won their first game of the season against Alabama on September 19th 2020 The Tigers have been playing well since then but they haven't been able to win their first game of the season The Tigers were able to win their first game against Alabama on September 19th 2020 They had a 31-0 victory at home against Alabama The Tigers have been playing well since then but they haven't been able the season The Tigers were able to win their first game against Alabama on September 19th 2020 They So they make good homemade ranch at Burgers Blues Barbecue is my point Get by check them out today Madison by the way the Madison location is open right now serving breakfast Dogwood in Flowood or downtown Brandon BurgersBlues.com to book a food truck check out the catering menu or to order and have your food delivered You can do it all in one great location BurgersBlues.com Website looks phenomenal too by the way Pictures of almost every item if you wanna know what it looks like That goes a long way Yeah You know Yeah no it does Um good websites good pictures all that stuff uh is how you market stuff right Gets people salivating We eat with our eyes Uh uh yep I think that's true Our eyes and our nose Yeah Right And my my eyes are often bigger than my appetite- Well as they say Yeah no I think that's part of the problem right Yeah absolutely So Russ wha- uh your your opinion do you just think this is political with TPUSA So let me say this for uh uh to start is I think whenever Clinton put out its statement in response to our original reporting they basically said it's incorrect that we tried to shut it down but then they explained why they had shut it down so it was an odd statement The other thing that I saw that bothered me almost more than the statement was the way that the media reacted which was just to just accept at face value with no critical thinking the explanation that was given Right So they're saying "Hey the reason we didn't do this is because it was teacher-led," while simultaneously admitting in the same statement that students independently came to us and asked for Right Mm-hmm Um so one that doesn't hold water And then they said "Yeah but we explained to those students that our 'practice' was to a- approve things this year and then h- allow them to go into effect next year." I asked the question point blank "Well what does that mean that next year there'll be a Turning Point USA chapter?" And they didn't answer that question But more importantly that policy does not exist in writing Right It doesn't exist anywhere um based on our investigation And so neither one of those things hold water And if neither one of those things hold water there must be something else And our sources said that the something else was the fact that you had parents that were angry about the idea of it coming on campus and a principal who just said "Hey this is gonna be too political which is unconstitutional." So w- what I would say Russ's opinion reading between the lines looking at all the facts I know the sources that we've talked to I think the principal panicked um and was trying to find a way to keep the peace which I can respect at some level which is "Hey we don't wanna rock the boat here We don't wanna create tension We want a unified campus This is gonna create some tension so I'm gonna find a way to say no." The problem with that is yes it violates the Constitution yes it violates federal laws yes it violates state law but there's a bigger sort of fundamental problem which is the way to deal with the fact that we can't have constructive debate in this country is not to have no debate at all It's to get better at having constructive debate Yes And that starts at an early age And so if we can create a system where yes there can be a Turning Point USA chapter and simultaneously yes there can be some sort of progressive chapter on campus and students get to decide who they wanna associate with and we create an atmosphere where hopefully those groups are talking to each other engaging with each other civilly we're setting ourselves up for much better conversations in the future than what we're seeing in our country amongst adults right now And so to me instead of saying "I don't wanna rock the boat," the answer should be "How do we create an environment where people get to associate with who they want they get to say what they want and we encourage students to do so in a way that is civil?" Uh I would love to see a list of the current of the current groups on the campus And w- we've asked for that right Um I I know that there are uh at least social organizations on campus that like you know some conservatives would find uh objectionable Um you know there's a gay straight alliance club as an example I I was gonna say like it would bet but bet the farm that there's an LGBTQ alliance of some sort on there uh there's gonna be some type of civil social justice Black pro-Black group and all those are fine as long as you have the ying to the yang And and and I would say great I would say great right Yeah Um it's it what you don't wanna do is a situation where you're having viewpoint discrimination And even like the other 2 uh you know arguments which is like "Hey this is teacher-led." Well 1 I don't think that's true based on the documents that we've gotten and I don't think it's true based on their own statement at some level But the Constitution doesn't say you can't be inspired by an adult if you wanna create a club on campus right Yeah Um people can get ideas from other people And and candidly every club on campus is required to have a sponsor So one man's sponsor is another person's teacher-led group right Yeah Um and then on this this timing thing is even if that policy did exist you would have to show that it had been consistently applied and it would still have to be tailored in a way legally that it didn't deprive people of their rights So you could say like a senior uh is on campus and they're saying "Hey you're making me wait until next year I won't be here next year I'm gonna graduate." Uh that was gonna be what I was gonna say We got a great comment here on X from uh Bourbon Diplomacy which may be the best name on X by the way That's a great name It says uh "Clinton School District attends school almost year round now so when is the correct time?" Yeah I mean again what they put out through surrogates after we did our initial reporting was "Hey we've got this policy and they're in violation," but can't even point to to something in writing I mean Yeah It it seems pretextual when you can't show something in writing And when you ignore a a public record request that explicitly asked for who are the other clubs When were they formed When were they allowed to be on campus They should be able to tell us all of that unless they're just not keeping records of what clubs are on campus which would suggest that they don't actually have a policy Right So what is the next step Is uh is Magnolia Tribune uh to the point of a lawsuit Well we wouldn't be the ones to file a lawsuit right A lawsuit would have to be filed uh either by some of the students who want the club which would be the the most likely scenario if they wanted to push that far or uh you know if there were adults on campus faculty that that thought that their rights had been infringed upon at some level Um my suspicion is that neither one of those things will happen because people don't like the idea of suing their own school Um it takes a rare person Like you'll occasionally see lawsuits percolate That's like one out of a thousand people has the courage to say "Hey I'm gonna do something like this." Is is Clinton in ISD or is it part of Hinds County I should know that I don't off the top of my head Uh- Yeah yeah no I do know that 'cause they they've got their own superintendent Yeah yeah it's independent Okay I I wasn't sure I I knew I know Pearl is and I and I grew up going to Byron which is part of uh Hinds County so I just wasn't sure if Clinton was part of that or not Never actually Yeah Never needed to know that So I mean a lawsuit is poten- is possible I I don't necessarily see that You know I I think the the most likely scenario if if the high school does the right thing they're not gonna come out and admit that they violated the Constitution No government official's ever gonna be like "Hey I violated the Constitution federal law and state law." What you hear instead is the kinda stuff that you heard here which is "Oh we wanted to help you but you didn't follow this unwritten process that we expected you to follow." So they're not gonna do that But if I were the district if I was on that board of of the school uh or if I was the principal I'd be trying to figure out a way to get it started Yeah there's gotta be a way to put the paste back in the tube a little bit here before it spirals outta control I mean you're sitting here like- Well it got it got mentioned on CNN That's where I was going yeah Um so so you know Abby Phillips' program Newsline on CNN it got mentioned there Uh I expect that there will be other national outlets that will be covering this Um there's an opportunity for Clinton to do the right thing and recognize that kids deserve the right to have this kinda club on campus if they want it Um for Magnolia Tribune's part we're not giving up right We still have several public record requests that we don't feel like have been answered uh and that weren

David Pt. 15: Sticks and Stones - Ben Workman

In this special Business of Woo-themed episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings) chats with friend of show Nichole Bigley (of A Psychic's Story) about the constantly shifting, evolving and demanding business and technology landscape in the Business of Woo.Nichole hosts the #1 Spiritual podcast in the world, which might give folks the impression she has a big team of tech-savvy backroom geniuses at the ready on a minute-by-minute basis. But, as Nichole explains in this episode, that's just not how the Business of Woo really works!What's more: with the exponential increasing rate of change in every vector of modern life-- and especially within the realm of technology and related tools-- managing the ever-expanding world of social media platforms, online course systems, and much, much more is a full-time job all on its own! Never mind the fact that very few of us working psychics, shamans and energy workers aren't exactly tech experts to begin with-- unless, of course, you see a deck of tarot cards as a spiritual technology!But it's not all bad news-- there's a serious silver lining in the Business of Woo, which Nichole and Rachel dig into, offering solutions and several white pills on the future of our "industry"!LINKS:Rachel's Website: https://www.totemreadings.comTOTEM Readings Substack: https://totemrach.substack.comRachel's Other Links: https://linktr.ee/totemrachPlease support the Sponsors of The Skeptical Shaman Podcast:The TOTEM Flower Essence Deck: https://a.co/d/gw16LsGThe TOTEM Tarot Deck:https://totemreadingsatx.etsy.com/listing/1492934343The TOTEM Flower Essences: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TotemReadingsATXNichole's Website: https://www.apsychicsstory.com/about-a-psychics-storyLooking for Angels Book: https://a.co/d/hIZK2f9Nichole's IG: https://www.instagram.com/apsychicsstory/Please note: The views and opinions expressed on The Skeptical Shaman do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, protected class, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. And remember: sticks and stones may break our bones, but words—or discussions of religious or spiritual topics-- will never hurt us.

What happens when your newsfeed becomes a battlefield?In the US and UK, political leaders trade accusations, social media thrives on outrage, and communities are left simmering in distrust. What used to be disagreements over policy now look more like open hostility, with violence creeping closer to the center of public life. Attacks on lawmakers, threats to schools, and the killing of high-profile figures are no longer shocking outliers but part of a troubling pattern.This episode asks a difficult but urgent question: how much of this violence is rooted in the way we communicate? Words frame identities, assign blame, and sometimes push people toward radical action. Sticks and stones may break bones… but in today's world, it's the words that are drawing blood. Listen For3:17 Identity-Based Polarization6:22 How Algorithms Divide Us10:20 The Rush to Blame14:49 Messaging That Can Prevent Violence19:33 Teaching Kids to Resist Radicalization and DisinformationGuest: Amy PateEmail | Website | X Rate this podcast with just one click Stories and Strategies WebsiteCurzon Public Relations WebsiteApply to be a guest on the podcastConnect with usLinkedIn | X | Instagram | You Tube | Facebook | Threads | Bluesky | PinterestRequest a transcript of this episodeSupport the show

In this special Business of Woo-themed episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings) chats with friend of the show Colleen Soisson (of Feather Mountain Ayurveda) about the common misconception that business owners-- even those in the Business of Woo-- are rich. The reality of the Business of Woo is oceans away from how it's perceived by clients and consumers, and most practitioners make substantial, very unglamorous sacrifices to make their dream a daily reality. And not all of these sacrifices are financial-- there's all of the sweat equity, invisible and unexpected labor (like sweeping and cleaning your yoga studio every damn day), and the burden of taking the financial (and existential risk) of not having a steady paycheck from an employer.Colleen breaks down the cognitive dissonance between perception and reality, as well as outlines the real breakdown of daily work: how much is actually the Woo-based core competency vs. how much is the marketing, accounting, tech and other infrastructure enhancement efforts. The long and the short of it? The Business of Woo is like an iceberg: what you see is just the tip of it! So what can we all do about this strange perception paradigm? Well, to start, we can engage in honest conversations (like this one) AND make efforts to engage our Woo-based business owners with compassion and respect as they bust their hump to bring us the very best in spiritual services and technologies!LINKS:Rachel's Website: https://www.totemreadings.comTOTEM Readings Substack: https://totemrach.substack.comRachel's Other Links: https://linktr.ee/totemrachPlease support the Sponsors of The Skeptical Shaman Podcast:The TOTEM Flower Essence Deck: https://a.co/d/gw16LsGThe TOTEM Tarot Deck:https://totemreadingsatx.etsy.com/listing/1492934343The TOTEM Flower Essences: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TotemReadingsATXColleen Soisson Links:Website: https://www.feathermtn.comIG: https://linktr.ee/ColleenAyurvedaPlease note: The views and opinions expressed on The Skeptical Shaman do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, protected class, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. And remember: sticks and stones may break our bones, but words—or discussions of religious or spiritual topics-- will never hurt us.

They told us “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” But let's be real—words shape destinies, heal wounds, and can break spirits faster than any stone ever could.In this episode of The VIBE with Kelly Cardenas, we explore the true power of words through the lens of Proverbs 15:Why a gentle answer can transform conflict into peace.How your words reveal the condition of your heart.The connection between what you consume (eyes, ears, senses) and what overflows from your spirit.Why discipline in your speech pays dividends in joy, wisdom, health, and even wealth.This isn't just theory—it's a simple blueprint for daily living. When you fill your heart with light, it spills out through your words, bringing life to everyone around you.

In this special Business of Woo-themed episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings) chats with writer and modern magician Marco Visconti (of the Magick Without Tears Substack) about the daily grind of being a Woo-baed business owner-- and, more specifically, content creator. For Woo-based business owners, these are not the "before times"-- and, as Marco has noted, it's a real challenge to make a living while sharing expertise and insights. As commoditized, race-to-the-bottom (not to mention often free) Woo-based content proliferates the marketplace, knowledgeable, experienced practitioners and authors are getting lost in the shuffle.After all: why pay for something you can get for free, right? Well, the answer is: because it's NOT THE SAME as the free stuff. Not even a little bit. Said another way? You get what you pay for, and this matters exponentially when it comes to the high stakes world of Woo-- and our spiritual development and wellbeing!Marco gets vulnerable, honest and brave as he shares the daily struggle of a writer that has dedicated their life to sharing their intensive years of research, practice, education, and energy. Hopefully, this episode will dispel outdated myths about the reality of being a writer, practitioner, or Woo-based business owner, engendering some much-deserved empathy and support for those that dedicate their lives to this service. The long and the short of it? Support your favorite writer, Substacker, and content creator with your dollars, referrals and recommendations. It makes a WORLD of difference for those trying to eek out a living while making a difference!Rachel's LINKS:Rachel's Website: https://www.totemreadings.comTOTEM Readings Substack: https://totemrach.substack.comRachel's Other Links: https://linktr.ee/totemrachOur Sponsors' LINKS:The TOTEM Flower Essence Deck: https://a.co/d/gw16LsGThe TOTEM Tarot Deck: https://totemreadingsatx.etsy.com/listing/1492934343The TOTEM Flower Essences: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TotemReadingsATXTOTEM Spiritual Transformation Coaching: https://www.totemreadings.com/coachingTOTEM Business of Woo Mentoring: https://www.totemreadings.com/business-of-wooMarco's Links:Website: https://www.marcovisconti.orgSubstack: https://marcovisconti.substack.com/Please note: The views and opinions expressed on The Skeptical Shaman do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, protected class, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. And remember: sticks and stones may break our bones, but words—or discussions of religious or spiritual topics-- will never hurt us.

MUSICPerry Farrell has formally responded to the $10-million suit Dave Navarro, Stephen Perkins and Eric Avery filed in the wake of Jane's Addiction's on stage fight and break up last year. https://people.com/perry-farrell-files-answer-to-dave-navarro-assault-battery-lawsuit-11807584The 30th anniversary of Deftones first album, Adrenaline, is coming up next month and in a new interview Chino Moreno spoke about what it was like signing for their initial record deal by Madonna's label Maverick. https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/2025/09/06/deftones-i-definitely-think-weve-followed-the-madonna-model/ Another Pink Floyd album has reached the 50-year milestone. Wish You Were Here, their ninth studio album and first on Columbia Records in the U.S., was released on this day in 1975.Limp Bizkit has a new single with a funny title. “Making Love to Morgan Wallen” is part of the soundtrack for the upcoming Battlefront 6 video game, which drops on October 10th.While their first new single in 16 years, "Hurt People Hurt People" has already racked up more than a million streams on Spotify, Mudvayne just dropped another new song called "Sticks and Stones". https://blabbermouth.net/news/mudvayne-releases-second-new-single-sticks-and-stonesJohn Lennon's killer Mark David Chapman has been denied parole for the 14th time. Lennon was shot and killed outside his New York City apartment building in December 1980. https://people.com/john-lennon-killer-mark-david-chapman-denied-parole-for-14th-time-11808267TVSunday at 8:00 p.m. on CBS: Nate Bargatze hosts "The 77th Emmy Awards". Nate will personally give $100,000 to charity at the end of the show, but will deduct $1,000 for every second that speeches go too long. (Nominees) MOVING ON INTO MOVIE NEWS:IN THEATERS:Spinal Tap II: The End Continues (Rob Reiner, Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Fran Drescher, lots of cameos)Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale (Michelle Dockery, Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern)The Long Walk (Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson) Josh Gad won't confirm or deny that Rick Moranis is returning for "Spaceballs 2" . . . but it's pretty obvious that he is. https://deadline.com/2025/09/josh-gad-making-spaceballs-2-worthy-rick-moranis-return-1236529415/Henry Cavill has been injured during the pre-production on the upcoming Highlander reboot. https://people.com/henry-cavill-sustains-injury-highlander-reports-11808594AND FINALLY A list of movies where a main character is actually the worst includes https://screencrush.com/movie-main-characters-secretly-villains/ AND THAT IS YOUR CRAP ON CELEBRITIES!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Chad Gray dives into Mudvayne's first new music in 16 years, "Hurt People Hurt People" and "Sticks and Stones," and discusses the band's future.

Emotional intelligence is for everyone. But, it only works when you work it. Emotional intelligence (EQ) isn't just about managing feelings—it's about thriving in life, love, and leadership. In this episode, Alechia and Dani unpack the five components of EQ—self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills—while sharing the real-life lessons many of us grew up with (“stop crying before I give you something to cry about”) and the lasting damage of words that cut deeper than sticks and stones. You'll learn why avoiding your triggers makes you fragile, how to use values over moods when making decisions, and practical tools to grow your EQ—like naming your emotions, reframing challenges, and practicing active listening.   In This Episode We Dive Into: Why self-awareness is the foundation of all emotional growth. How avoiding triggers keeps us weak, and why exposure (like emotional immunotherapy) builds resilience. The truth about “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” and the invisible bones words actually break. Why EQ is for everyone—and how to start strengthening it today.   Resources & Connect with Us:

In this special, Business of Woo-themed episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings) reconnects with the absolutely luminescent Yolanda Williams (of the Reiki Radio Podcast) to chat all things "Wusiness of Boo". That's actually not a typo. Unfortunately, it's how Rachel pronounced "Business of Woo" before she could gather herself at the beginning of this episode!Up first? Yolanda opens up the proverbial kimono to get really real about expectations around pricing and payment as a reiki practitioner, dispelling outdated myths permeating the Business of Woo and explaining why there needs to be an even exchange of energy for this work.Yes, it's shocking but true: people actually expect Woo-based business owners to undertake their services-- including energy work, psychic sessions, and much, much more-- for FREE. Not sure how they think practitioners are going to pay rent or buy groceries...maybe they think psychics and reiki practitioners can just "manifest money" with invisible magic?Yah, I know. When you put it in writing, it sounds nuts, doesn't it? That's because it IS NUTS. Those of us in the Business of Woo spend years of our life and tens of thousands of dollars on continued education and certifications to bring these services to the marketplace-- not to mention the fact that this is how we make our living..and pay our bills!Yolanda also details how (and why) her Woo-based business has evolved over the years to support her as a whole human being-- and not just a human "doing". The Business of Woo is a super client-session and client-facing labor-intensive model, and while practitioners love their work and feel a deep sense of purpose, the potential for burnout is REAL. This means that practitioners need to not only charge a fair fee for their time and talent, but they also need to get creative about ways to disseminate their knowledge via online courses, digital downloads, and books and manuals. Yolanda is the perfect guest to kick off this latest Business of Woo series of The Skeptical Shaman podcast, bringing a vulnerable and authentic-- but ultimately uplifting-- perspective to this dialogue. Rachel's LINKS:Rachel's Website: https://www.totemreadings.comTOTEM Readings Substack: https://totemrach.substack.comRachel's Other Links: https://linktr.ee/totemrachOur Sponsors' LINKS:The TOTEM Flower Essence Deck: https://a.co/d/gw16LsGThe TOTEM Tarot Deck: https://totemreadingsatx.etsy.com/listing/1492934343The TOTEM Flower Essences: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TotemReadingsATXTOTEM Spiritual Transformation Coaching: https://www.totemreadings.com/coachingTOTEM Business of Woo Mentoring: https://www.totemreadings.com/business-of-wooYolanda's LINKS:http://instagram.com/reikiradiohttp://theenergeticalchemist.comPlease note: The views and opinions expressed on The Skeptical Shaman do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, protected class, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. And remember: sticks and stones may break our bones, but words—or discussions of religious or spiritual topics-- will never hurt us.

We've all heard the saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” Randy says that's a lie. Words can cut deep, or they can give life. In this episode, Randy shares how the wrong words can slowly kill your closest relationships, while the right words can build them stronger than ever. If you want more peace at home and at work, this episode is for you.

Sticks and stones may break bones—but words can leave even deeper scars. In this week's message from James 3, Pastor Tom unpacks the incredible power of the tongue: small but capable of steering lives, igniting destruction, and revealing what's truly in our hearts. From playground bullies to broken marriages, careless words can set off wildfires of pain. But there is hope—God alone can tame what we cannot. Join us as we explore the dangers of the tongue, the grace of Christ, and how the Spirit transforms our speech into life-giving words.

Well, well, well...look what we have here! A sweet treat wrapped up in a bonus episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast featuring none other than the final boss of neurodivergence himself: Scott Horton!Scott is the Director of the Libertarian Institute, Editorial Director of Antiwar.com, and the host of the Scott Horton Show.  He's the author of the 2024 book Provoked: How Washington Started the New Cold War With Russia and the Catastrophe in Ukraine; the 2021 book Enough Already: Time to End the War on Terrorism; the 2017 book, Fool's Errand:Time to End the War in Afghanistan;  and was the editor of the 2019 book The Great Ron Paul: The Scott Horton Show Interviews 2004–2019 and the 2022 book Hotter Than the Sun: Time to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.And I know what you're thinking: "Rachel...I thought you said you didn't want to make your work at TOTEM or on The Skeptical Shaman podcast political? So, like, what is this bullshi*t?"The answer is that it's not political, at least not for host Rachel White (Owner of TOTEM Readings). Rather, we wanted to engage Scott, who has recently been featured on Pierce Morgan, Breaking Points and the Tucker Carlson Show, to help us break out of our collective propaganda spell by sharing the tips, tricks and tools (as well as tidbits of researched, footnoted facts) he's picked up from doing more than 6,000 interviews and debates, all while not having a f*cking team.Yep, that's right. Scott Horton is the "Libertarian's Libertarian", rejecting the binary "uniparty" of United States' politics to, instead, be critical-- and skeptical-- of both. This, in turn, has given Scott a unique-- and very shamanic-- perspective, removing the burden of thought-terminating cliches and thought reform regimes to free him to think and speak for himself. The results might be a bit abrasive, or even trigger you depending on where you fall in the political spectrum. But, having spent time with and corresponded with Scott over the last two years, Rachel can assert one thing for certain: Scott is kind, human, open-minded, funny, and a very good hang. And here's the best part: he's not trying to persuade you over to his side, because he doesn't have a side.In this episode, we chat about Scott's anti-war advocacy over the years, how Austin, TX has changed since Dazed and Confused, and how he's trying to contribute to the collective dialogue by just being honest (and insanely researched) about what he really, actually thinks. Now, you don't have to be a Libertarian or right of center or even anti-war to take something away from this extra-long dialogue that explores the archetype of Prometheus appearing in our New Age-- and what that means for tyranny (spoiler alert: tyranny's f*cked!). You're a human with agency, and this "story" isn't over yet. Nihilism is just another way to let the real bad guys win, so choose the opposite: stand up tall, speak your mind, and extend a hand to someone that thinks or feels differently from you. The more we converse and team up, the harder it will be to defeat us as a species!Besides: you might find a very pleasant surprise just on the other side. (And make sure you read our little disclaimer below before listening to this episode. If you don't think it's for you, don't listen.)Please note: The views and opinions expressed on The Skeptical Shaman do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, protected class, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. And remember: sticks and stones may break our bones, but words—or discussions of religious or spiritual topics-- will never hurt us.

Sticks and Stones We've all heard it: “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” It's catchy—but dangerously untrue. In this episode, we explore the real power of words through Scripture, psychology, and lived experience. From Proverbs to neuroscience, we discover how our speech shapes identities, builds or breaks relationships, and leaves lasting impact—especially in our families. You'll learn why what you say isn't just communication; it's cultivation. And most importantly, we'll walk through three life-giving habits: how to speak with care, guard your heart, and seek healing when words wound.  Proverbs 18:21 Discussion topics Icebreaker - What's a compliment or a hurtful comment someone said to you that you've never forgotten?  Read Proverbs 18:21 - What do you think it means to “eat the fruit” of your words?  Can you think of a time when someone's words shaped your confidence or identity—for better or worse?  Read/Review 1 Samuel 25 (Abigail, Nabal, and David) - What stands out to you most about how each character used their words? How did Abigail's words bring healing and peace? What might this story teach us about how to respond when we're angry or offended?  Personal Reflection: Which of these is hardest for you right now:  ▪ Speaking with care  ▪ Guarding your heart  ▪ Seeking healing when wounded  How might you be more intentional with your words this week in your family, workplace, or friendships?  Check out our other audio series and video playlists that can help you find Jesus in every moment and then discover what's next

In this episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings) chats with her second client EVER when she opened TOTEM Readings 15 years ago in Chicago: Laura Hunnewell.Not only is Laura a friend of TOTEM and The Skeptical Shaman-- as well as a super-talented Licensed Esthetician-- she is a serious survivor, spending the last several years navigating serious health issues and a relentless chronic pain disorder.Laura has been diagnosed with trigeminal neuralgia, otherwise known as "the suicide disease" because of the life-altering levels of pain it brings. And, while she continues to get traditional medical treatment (including TWO craniotomies), she has also embraced some more Woo-based tools to help her get through the day with a sense of peace, optimism and joy. In this episode (and show notes, below) Laura shares multiple books, resources, daily practices, and more with Rachel and The Skeptical Shaman listeners.Laura is living reminder that you can be "in it" and still show up for others. Despite dealing with an acutely painful and debilitating heath condition, Laura is kind and present for others-- proof positive that NONE of us have an excuse to be a sh*t just because we're having a bad day;)What's more: this episode also reminds us to show up every day with intentionality and compassion. Many of our fellow humans are struggling with unseen challenges we know nothing about, and outward appearances can be deceiving. So, when in doubt, be kind.Rachel's LINKS:Rachel's Website: https://www.totemreadings.comTOTEM Readings Substack: https://totemrach.substack.comRachel's Other Links: https://linktr.ee/totemrachOur Sponsors' LINKS:The TOTEM Flower Essence Deck: https://a.co/d/gw16LsGThe TOTEM Tarot Deck: https://totemreadingsatx.etsy.com/listing/1492934343The TOTEM Flower Essences: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TotemReadingsATXTOTEM Spiritual Transformation Coaching: https://www.totemreadings.com/coachingTOTEM Business of Woo Mentoring: https://www.totemreadings.com/business-of-wooBooks mentioned in this episode:The Places that Scare You by Pema ChodronDon't Believe Everything You Think by Joseph NgyuenCan't Stop Thinking by Nancy ColierWhen The Body Says No by Gabor MateThe Myth of Normal by Gabor MateMaybe This Will Help by Michelle Rial The Healing Power of Sound by Michell Gaynor Laura's Links:Laura's website: laurahunnewell.comLaura teaches here: www.yogaloftstudios.comPlease note: The views and opinions expressed on The Skeptical Shaman do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, protected class, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. And remember: sticks and stones may break our bones, but words—or discussions of religious or spiritual topics-- will never hurt us.

In this episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings) welcomes back fan favorite Allen Greenfield: famous ritual magician, Kabbalist, and former Thelemite, recently featured as a subject matter expert in Amazon's Hellier TV series.In a world of superficial spiritual LARPers, Allen Greenfield is a bonafide real deal-- a national treasure with all manner of arcane knowledge across his more than 60 years of hands-on esoteric experience. With legit certificates and bonafides from the Knights Templar, the Illuminati, and the World Association of Egyptian Obediences, Allen is a throwback to a time when sorcerers, magicians and practitioners dug deep into ancient, esoteric knowledge-- instead of just pulling an oracle card and issuing false profundities on Instagram.In this episode, Allen shares previously unheard insights into the unfolding Hellier magic and his book The Secrets of the Black Lodge Revealed: an unflinching look at the reality behind those bad boys fictionally featured in David Lynch's famous Twin Peaks TV series.Rachel's LINKS:Rachel's Website: https://www.totemreadings.comTOTEM Readings Substack: https://totemrach.substack.comRachel's Other Links: https://linktr.ee/totemrachOur Sponsors' LINKS:The TOTEM Flower Essence Deck: https://a.co/d/gw16LsGThe TOTEM Tarot Deck: https://www.amazon.com/TOTEM-Tarot-Deck-Rachel-White/dp/0578980126The TOTEM Flower Essences: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TotemReadingsATXTOTEM Spiritual Transformation Coaching: https://www.totemreadings.com/coachingTOTEM Business of Woo Mentoring: https://www.totemreadings.com/business-of-wooAllen's Links:Secrets of the Black Lodge Book: https://a.co/d/ecxH5qEFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/ReallyAllenGreenfield/Please note: The views and opinions expressed on The Skeptical Shaman do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, protected class, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. And remember: sticks and stones may break our bones, but words—or discussions of religious or spiritual topics-- will never hurt us.

In this episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings) chats with writer and modern magician Marco Visconti all about the life of Thelema founder Aleister Crowley-- as well as the spiritual system (and its many, many tributaries) he left behind.What is Thelema? What is the Book of the Law? From where do these cornerstones of occult studies spring? What is sex magic? Who is Lady Babylon? How does one use the Lesser Key of Solomon? (Word to the wise: DON'T use the Lesser Key of Solomon!)Marco helps Rachel and listeners of The Skeptical Shaman podcast bust some of the myths around this iconoclastic, larger-than-life figure-- ultimately (hopefully) separating fact from fiction with regard to his strangely long-lived religion.Rachel's LINKS:Rachel's Website: https://www.totemreadings.comTOTEM Readings Substack: https://totemrach.substack.comRachel's Other Links: https://linktr.ee/totemrachOur Sponsors' LINKS:The TOTEM Flower Essence Deck: https://a.co/d/gw16LsGThe TOTEM Tarot Deck: https://totemreadingsatx.etsy.com/listing/1492934343The TOTEM Flower Essences: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TotemReadingsATXTOTEM Spiritual Transformation Coaching: https://www.totemreadings.com/coachingTOTEM Business of Woo Mentoring: https://www.totemreadings.com/business-of-wooMarco's Links:Website: https://www.marcovisconti.orgSubstack: https://marcovisconti.substack.com/Please note: The views and opinions expressed on The Skeptical Shaman do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, protected class, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. And remember: sticks and stones may break our bones, but words—or discussions of religious or spiritual topics-- will never hurt us.

In this episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings), chats with Jade Kaskel of Reform Routine, a full-spectrum, supportive Woo-based business that helps focus navigate the trauma and clutter of life-- including physical clutter in their homes!Jade's unique perspective comes from a long and often challenging early life, starting with being raised as a Jehovah's Witness and undergoing the spiritual trauma (and dark night of the soul) that come with leaving this kind of "religious institution".*Ahem*Now, Jade is bringing her many gifts, insights and lessons learned to the world, offering incredible, supportive services via her BRAND NEW Woo-based business. Rachel's LINKS:Rachel's Website: https://www.totemreadings.comTOTEM Readings Substack: https://totemrach.substack.comRachel's Other Links: https://linktr.ee/totemrachOur Sponsors' LINKS:The TOTEM Flower Essence Deck: https://a.co/d/gw16LsGThe TOTEM Tarot Deck: https://www.amazon.com/TOTEM-Tarot-Deck-Rachel-White/dp/0578980126The TOTEM Flower Essences: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TotemReadingsATXTOTEM Spiritual Transformation Coaching: https://www.totemreadings.com/coachingTOTEM Business of Woo Mentoring: https://www.totemreadings.com/business-of-wooJade's Links:Jade's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jadeelanor/Please note: The views and opinions expressed on The Skeptical Shaman do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, protected class, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. And remember: sticks and stones may break our bones, but words—or discussions of religious or spiritual topics-- will never hurt us.

How many of you can distinctly remember a soul-stabbing comment made about you by someone you cared about or wish cared about you? Do you still feel the pain of that many years later? What if YOU are the one saying hateful things about yourself, like, "I am so stupid! I am so fat!"The Bible has a lot to say about our words, because they matter more than we realize. We have the opportunity each new day to speak life, health, and prosperity over ourselves, our families, and our situations. In the same way, we have opportunities each day to speak death, destruction, and lack. We can come into agreement with Jesus and what He says about us, or come into agreement with satan, who only wants to steal, kill, and destroy us. Listen in as Tiffany Jo Baker discusses the power of creating confessions and daily declaring God's truth over ourselves every single day.Listen in for:Why what we speak over ourselves can make a differenceWhat God says about our words in the BibleHow we can use Scripture to create daily life-giving confessionsFavorite Quotes:"You, too, can create daily declarations. If there's a subject or a thing going on in your life, find what the Word says and speak it out daily." - Tiffany Jo Baker"The old nursery rhyme, 'Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me!' is a lie from the pit of hell!" - Tiffany Jo BakerFavorite Scripture:"Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit." - Proverbs 18:21*If you're looking for perfectly polished people or podcast, this isn't for you. We're real people, with real good information, and a really great God.*Want timely words, resources and episodes delivered right to your inbox to help you fuel and fulfill your faith journey? Simply subscribe today at https://www.tiffanyjobaker.com/subscribe (don't worry, you won't get spam or excessive emails)Don't miss the next My Full Life + Faith Leaps Podcast episode as we continue to help you GET FREE, LIVE FULL & THANK GOD! You can watch My Full Life + Faith Leaps Podcast on YouTube and https://www.tiffanyjobaker.com/myfulllife-and-faithleaps or listen in on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast player.Subscribe to never miss an episode, leave a quick review and share with a friend! Ratings and reviews are like high-fives and “go-girl's” on podcast players. https://www.tiffanyjobaker.com/subscribeHelping you refresh and refocus so you can do all the things you are called and created to do, my 31 Day Devotional “Soul-Care for Go-Getters” is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and my website shop here. ( https://www.tiffanyjobaker.com/go-getters-devo )As a 3x Surrogate, Speaker, Soul-Care and Success Coach and Spirit-led Strategist, I uplift the soul and success of women like you who are walking out your WHY, so you can birth your God-given dreams at home, online, and in the real world. Find me, @TiffanyJoBaker, on Instagram , Facebook and https://www.tiffanyjobaker.com. I would love to connect with you there!

In this episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings), chats with AJ Goodwin-- a TOTEM client and professional realtor and business mentor that has spent the last several months embracing her spiritual and personal growth, living in the "messy middle" of transformation!As a highly-driven, high-performing entrepreneur, AJ spent this Year of the Wood Snake doing the impossible: taking time away from work to completely and totally invest in herself. She's growing hydroponic lettuce, embracing the weird and woo "assignments" in the TOTEM Spiritual Transformation Program, and letting herself luxuriate in the "in between"-- instead of pushing, rushing and grinding to get to the finish line OR, worse yet, deluding herself into thinking she can multitask this sh*t.Spoiler alert: you can't shortcut shamanic transcendence. So, knock that cheat code bullsh*t off;)AJ shares where she felt resistance to her intuition, to the world of Woo, and to even just taking some time away from the grind. She also shares what her ROI has been for this short break in the messy middle-- and it's pretty awesome.Rachel's LINKS:Rachel's Website: https://www.totemreadings.comTOTEM Readings Substack: https://totemrach.substack.comRachel's Other Links: https://linktr.ee/totemrachOur Sponsors' LINKS:The TOTEM Flower Essence Deck: https://a.co/d/gw16LsGThe TOTEM Tarot Deck: https://totemreadingsatx.etsy.com/listing/1492934343The TOTEM Flower Essences: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TotemReadingsATXTOTEM Spiritual Transformation Coaching: https://www.totemreadings.com/coachingTOTEM Business of Woo Mentoring: https://www.totemreadings.com/business-of-wooAJ's Links:AJ's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ajgoodwinrva/Please note: The views and opinions expressed on The Skeptical Shaman do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, protected class, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. And remember: sticks and stones may break our bones, but words—or discussions of religious or spiritual topics-- will never hurt us.

“Sticks and stones may break our bones but words will never hurt us.” We all know that's not right! Pastor J.D. will give us practical wisdom for how our words can be grace-saturated during conflict. It's part of our study in Ephesians, Chapter 5 called First Love.

In this episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings), chats with Madia Smith of CYGNUS Human Design and Hoof + Feather Co all about her love for all things bird.Since ancient times, birds have been crucial spiritual vectors, offering divinatory insights in Ancient Greece and Rome (under the formal name "ornithomancy"), shamanic "medicine" as a totem animal, and inspiration for some of our most magical and transcendent works of art, like Swan Lake.Madia describes her hands-on work saving and caring for rescue waterfowl of all shapes and sizes, and shares some key tips and tricks to ensure that these magical birds aren't abandoned, abused or otherwise mistreated by sometimes well-meaning folks (spoiler alert: bread is NOT a food for ducks after all!).She also shares her love for Human Design, astrology, tapping and more, outlining her journey to off-the-grid wild woman AND diviner and coach of the highest order!This is one of those magical episodes that gives us a line of sight into a typically totally "alien" way of living: out in nature, surrounded by magical birds, and contemplating the long count cycles of human epochs!Rachel's LINKS:Rachel's Website: https://www.totemreadings.comTOTEM Readings Substack: https://totemrach.substack.comRachel's Other Links: https://linktr.ee/totemrachOur Sponsors' LINKS:The TOTEM Flower Essence Deck: https://a.co/d/gw16LsGThe TOTEM Tarot Deck: https://totemreadingsatx.etsy.com/listing/1492934343The TOTEM Flower Essences: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TotemReadingsATXTOTEM Spiritual Transformation Coaching: https://www.totemreadings.com/coachingTOTEM Business of Woo Mentoring: https://www.totemreadings.com/business-of-wooMadia's Links:Hoof + Feather COCYGNUS Human DesignSubstackPlease note: The views and opinions expressed on The Skeptical Shaman do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, protected class, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. And remember: sticks and stones may break our bones, but words—or discussions of religious or spiritual topics-- will never hurt us.

In this episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings), chats with Jennifer Eldon (of Jennirose Breathwork) about how breathing is so much more than an automatic body function. When done properly, breathing can actually unlock deep energetic and physical healing, necessary emotional releases, and even expansive spiritual and psychedelic experiences! We live in tough, stressful times. Even the most experienced practitioner-- armed with tried and true, Woo-based self-care tools, tips and tricks-- is overmatched in the turbulent, overstimulating waters of a world populated by constant push notifications and demands on our time and energy. So, if we're going to reclaim our peace, health and sanity, we're going to need to reframe our routines, embracing next gen tools like breathwork to take the edge off. Jennifer also shares her experience in transitioning to her Woo-based business on a full-time basis, finally stepping out of the shadows and into the light (and fresh air) of fully being herself. Please note: TOTEM is running a Review Raffle through 6/26/25, so if you feel compelled to review The Skeptical Shaman podcast, TOTEM Readings, TOTEM Flower Essences, or either of the TOTEM Decks (links below), email her a screenshot to enter to win one of three Grand Prizes: rachel@totemreadings.com. Rachel's LINKS:Rachel's Website: https://www.totemreadings.comTOTEM Readings Substack: https://totemrach.substack.comRachel's Other Links: https://linktr.ee/totemrachOur Sponsors' LINKS:The TOTEM Flower Essence Deck: https://a.co/d/gw16LsGThe TOTEM Tarot Deck: https://www.amazon.com/TOTEM-Tarot-Deck-Rachel-White/dp/0578980126The TOTEM Flower Essences: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TotemReadingsATXTOTEM Spiritual Transformation Coaching: https://www.totemreadings.com/coachingTOTEM Business of Woo Mentoring: https://www.totemreadings.com/business-of-wooJennifer's Links:Instagram: @jennirosebreathwork Jennifer's Website:  www.jennirosebreathwork.com.Please note: The views and opinions expressed on The Skeptical Shaman do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, protected class, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. And remember: sticks and stones may break our bones, but words—or discussions of religious or spiritual topics-- will never hurt us.

On this episode of The New Abnormal, Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert's attempt to throw sticks and stones embarrassingly backfires as she confuses filmmaker Oliver Stone for conservative political strategist Roger Stone in a congressional hearing on the assassination of former President John F. Kennedy Jr. Plus! Author Chad Lewis examines how foreign interests have influenced Trump's inner circle in his new book ​​The Persuasion Game. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.