Our inner lives do matter, more than ever, in this moment. But how do they matter, and how can we offer them up to the tasks of our time? And what if some of us get those inner conditions properly oriented to the spiritual work of the world we're in, but most people don't? Will any of it make a difference?
To discuss this, I welcomed author and teacher Lisa Romero back to the show.Lisa and I talked about these themes before on the show, on AEWCH 257, but now we develop them more deeply here, particularly in relation to how the world is unfolding.

Friends,
In the wake of Donald Trump’s second election win, amongst those who didn’t vote for him at least, calls for mourning and grieving have been issued all around. The idea being that something has been lost, that it may be irretrievable, that a brokenness must be felt and that we should honor that feeling.

But what if instead of making room to mourn, we notice that we’ve already made plenty of room for feeling — too much, in fact — and what if all that expression of feeling has become part of the problem?

On this episode, I look into the problems with our feelings about politics when they don't meet our thinking and action correctly. Rather than make lots of predictions about what's next. or try to figure out who to blame, or even assume that anyone who listens to the show voted one way or the other, I consider

1. The problems with the intense expressions of emotion.

2. How Trump was elected again anyway (with as little speculation as possible).

3. Why the political realm is dead in its current form.

4. Where we can draw strength from to create a new political life that can adapt to individuals and economies.

5. What to do about the fact that a lot of people are our "enemies."

6. The path that we're on in the world and in our own development.

Together and in each of our individualities, we will create a new way.

I talk with Faroese songwriter and performer Eivør about music, water, The Faroe Islands, and myth!

I talk with authors/teachers/organizers DEAN SPADE (Mutual Aid) & SHULI BRANSON (Practical Anarchism) about how to get out of the mindset of the state as the election approaches, and how to think about creative and real engagement with the political instead.

On the heels of the release of their first album in 20 years (!) I talk with Karate frontman GEOFF FARINA about music as a conversation with ideas, and how music creates a lens for life.

Michaelmas is the esoteric christian celebration of the Archangel Michael. How can connecting with the impulses of the holiday show us how to co-share their burden of those who are suffering; strengthen love through our will; and leave the path of empowering violence?

Why is white magic so ill-defined? And why is it vital for our spirituality today AND if the occult is going to continue to matter? This is the second episode in a two part series on white magic, and on this one, I strive towards a definition by giving seven points.

Why is white magic so ill-defined? And why is it vital for our spirituality today AND if the occult is going to continue to matter? I begin this short series of episodes by looking at Saint Brendan the Navigator and how his seven-year voyage from Ireland to North America, as well as my encounters with him, can help us understand what white magic is.

Part two in a two part series on figuring out - from a spiritual rather than materialist starting point - how to live in our moment.

Part one in a short series on figuring out - from a spiritual rather than materialist starting point - how to live in our moment.

Friends,

How does music become meaningful? How does it become meaning? And what can we learn about reality from music without reducing music to its function?

Rudolf Steiner said “The music of the spheres is a reality. As soon as we come into the spiritual world which lies beyond the soul-world, we are in a world which lives altogether in sound and song, in melody and harmony, and harmonies of spoken sound. Out of these inner relationships of sound the human ear is formed. “

I invited guitarist and songwriter BEN CHASNY  AKA SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE on the show to discuss all of this. Ben last appeared on the show way back on AEWCH 45 when we talked about Rudolf Steiner and the spiritual aspects of intervals. Well... sort of. Ben's actually been on every episode for quite some time because we recreated the AEWCH theme song (originally co-composed with AEWCH guest, Jeb Havens) together. On this episode, he plays the song live and we discuss writing it together. We talk about the essential aspects of music, if there are any. And we look at the spiritual influencer culture of podcasting that has eroded its credibility over the years.
At the end, Ben plays "The Mission" from the recent Six Organs of Admittance album Time Is Glass, which is, as it turns out, about me and my boyfriend.