Be Mythical

This week's show is with Jez Hughes. Jez Hughes is a British shaman, having studied intensively the path of shamanism for 30 years. His healing journey began when, as a teenager, he experienced a fit that propelled him into an altered state of consciousness. It took a long time to integrate that experience and find healing for the physical and mental disturbances it initiated. This journey that he now understands as a shamanic one lasted for around 17 years and took him through healing and spiritual traditions across the earth until he finally came home to shamanism and found practical methods to cure himself. He has studied with various teachers and indigenous elders across the world.

Jez's work has featured in the national press, as well as TV and radio and magazines including Sacred Hoop, Natural Health, Kindred Spirit and Soul & Spirit. His first book, The Heart of Life – Shamanic Initiation and Healing in the Modern World, was published in 2015 and his new book The Wisdom of Mental Illness – Shamanism, Mental Health and the Renewal of the World was published by Watkins. Jez’s passion is empowering people to reawaken their ancestors, the land where they reside and their spiritual heritages to heal the relationship between the human and natural world.

In this conversation, Jez and I explored shamanic wisdom when it comes to mental illness. We spoke about how out of balance with the natural world we are as a culture and how that manifests as mental illness, amongst other things, that although we tend to see mental illness as a personal issue, its really a cultural issue being expressed though individuals, and lastly, how some form of more extreme mental illness may actually be shamanic sickness - seen as an important and necessary part of the initiation of indigenous shamans.

And we ended the show with Jez giving some practical suggestions for moving towards balance and healing.

I’d love to know what YOU think about this week's show. Let’s carry on the conversation… please leave a comment below.

What you'll learn from this episode:

  • Our modern culture doesn't really understand that there's a balance that's out of balance, so its no wonder we are where we are when it comes to so many things, and especially mental health. For us to understand there's a natural balance between humans and the unseen powers behind nature, allows us to begin the work of returning to balance.
  • As you heard, Jez was not saying that all forms of mental health issues are shamanic sickness - and yet, it's important to understand that some may well be, that gives context and meaning that can be healing in and of itself, both for the person and ultimately the community they'll serve to bring back into balance.
  • Jez suggested going into nature and making offerings and also building and sitting with a fire... these are ways to bring us back to our bodies and begin to create balance, however small, with the natural world.

Resources and stuff that we spoke about

Thank you for listening!

There's fresh episode each week, if you subscribe then you'll get each new episode delivered to your phone every Thursday (that way you'll never miss an episode):

Thank you!
Lian & Jonathan

Direct download: Jez_Hughes_2_mixdown.mp3
Category:Interview -- posted at: 11:02am EDT

This week's show is with Chris Lüttichau. Chris is the founder of Northern Drum Shamanic Centre, a UK-based educational organisation offering a renewed perspective on traditional shamanic and medicine teachings, and a safe grounding from which to learn them established in 1998.

He is the keeper of an integral body of teachings that he shares in workshops and ongoing training groups. The teachings cover a broad range of topics from healing and the art of dreaming to spirit contact and the way of the council. Chris is the author of the critically acclaimed book on shamanism 'Calling Us Home – Find Your Path, Your Balance and Your Inner Strength' published in 2017 and 'Animal Spirit Guides: Discover your Power Animal and the Shamanic Path' published 2009. He is an international teacher, and has appeared on TV on BBC 1, and in Denmark on TV2, and has given radio interviews in the USA, Canada, and the UK.

In this show, Chris and Lian spoke about soul from a shamanic perspective, what it is, what our cultural lack of awareness of soul is creating, the possibility of a more beautiful life from soul and how we can bridge that gap.

I’d love to know what YOU think about this week's show. Let’s carry on the conversation…  please leave a comment below.

What you'll learn from this episode:

  • In shamanic traditions, the soul is of vital importance in living well, the danger otherwise is we'll live from our minds, disconnected from everything else - which is of course, where we've found ourselves culturally
  • As you could probably hear, it really hit me when Chris said that we're all seeking something, not realising what we're seeking is our soul
  • I read a quote by Stuart Douglas: “In the closing remarks of my first book, white Bird, Black serpent, Red Book, I noted that Jung had admitted that he felt that he had failed in what he considered to be his principal task: to awaken people to the fact that they have a soul, which he likened to a treasure buried in a field. I suggested that there was no failure on Jung’s part, rather, the failure was on the part of others for not having fully realised what his life’s work was really all about.“ To find that treasure and bridge the gap of a soulless life to one lived from soul, it can be as simple as allowing the resonance you can feel in your heart to guide you on the path to retrieve it... whether that's through nature-based paths, shamanism, shadow work or joining us in a WTW crucible

Resources and stuff that we spoke about:

Thank you for listening!

There’s fresh episode each week, if you subscribe then you’ll get each new episode delivered to your phone every Tuesday (that way you’ll never miss an episode):

Thank you!
Lian & Jonathan

Direct download: Chris_Littichau_Soul_mixdown.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:56am EDT

This week’s show is Lian’s All The Everything where she jams on an eclectic mix of topics, including questions from listeners.

The LIVE making of the show is recorded in our Facebook group and for the first 30mins before Lian hits the record button you are invited to a pre-show party to get up close and personal with Lian and have your questions on the month’s topic answered.

To receive a reminder of when the pre-show party and LIVE making of All The Everything is happening, make sure you’re subscribed to our email list and are a member of the Facebook group.

In this episode, I dived deep into the topic: The Shadow Pole: Do you know when your actions are still coming from fear?

 

Resources and stuff that I spoke about:

Thank you for listening!

There’s fresh episode each week, if you subscribe then you’ll get each new episode delivered to your phone every Tuesday (that way you’ll never miss an episode):

Thank you!
Lian & Jonathan

Direct download: ATE_June_2022_mixdown.mp3
Category:Interview -- posted at: 11:20am EDT

1