Almost Awakened

In this episode we piggy back on last weeks episode on myth and help the Almost Awakened listener deconstruct one of our judeo/ christian myths… namely the Adam & Eve story around the Fall. We talk about what Adam and Eve could represent and more importantly what the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil could imply and point us to. RESOURCES:https://www.amazon.com/Change-Your-Mind-Consciousness-Transcendence/dp/1594204225https://bigthink.com/mind-brain/stoned-ape-returnhttps://newatlas.com/mdma-ptsd-successful-trial-results/57074/https://freedomandfulfilment.com/psychedelics-garden-eden/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6j0_glRnJxIhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaOfFixoxP8

Today we dip our toes into MYTH and how pervasive it is in our cultural and social structures. Any time we label or tell a story about the way things are and what they mean we are likely in the sphere of myth. Money, relationships, nationality and patriotism, family history, who people are…. all myth. Some myths are just inside our head and others are collectively agreed upon by entire societies. Myths are one of the crucial ways we make meaning. But once we enter the “Almost Awakened” space and see myths for what they are, we will feel the call to be present and simply enjoy this moment as it is with less need to tell a story about it.RESOURCES:https://faculty.gcsu.edu/custom-website/mary-magoulick/defmyth.htmhttps://folkstory.com/articles/calgary.htmlhttps://medium.com/@ChrisHerd/why-everything-you-know-is-a-myth-how-understanding-this-fact-lets-you-change-the-world-1fcf401b70d3https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/five-myths/https://www.rocketmill.co.uk/video-everything-believe-myth

Today we dive into how to handle conflict differently. The conversation centers around what is needed to help people get out of lizard brain and to help another to feel heard creating the space needed to keep a conflict from devolving. The conversation helps us understand how fear affected us hundreds of thousands of years ago and how we evolved to create new mechanisms of fear when we created language, gossip, and myth. The conversation helps us see that if we really want a different result that we need to enter the conflict doing it differently.Resources:The Imago Method to handle conflictGetting the Love You Want: A Guide for CouplesImago Relationship TherapyEvolutionary psychology explains how humans evolved to become gossipsInside the science of bitchiness and how it helped humans thriveOn the Origin of Shame

Mekael and Bill utilize this episode to discuss the this George Floyd moment. His death, the protests and riots, the systemic racism in this country, the police abuse, and most importantly the ethnocentricity and tribalism that all these abuses and inequalities are rooted in.RESOURCES:https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/fall-2018/what-is-white-privilege-reallyhttps://www.cpt.org/files/Undoing%20Racism%20-%20Understanding%20White%20Privilege%20-%20Kendall.pdfhttps://nationalseedproject.org/Key-SEED-Texts/white-privilege-unpacking-the-invisible-knapsackhttps://au.reachout.com/articles/standing-up-to-racismhttps://www.opportunityagenda.org/explore/resources-publications/lessons-talking-about-race-racism-and-racial-justicehttps://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/people/how-to-deal-with-racist-peoplehttp://www.oprah.com/inspiration/7-ways-to-stand-up-to-racism_1https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/23/podcasts/1619-podcast.htmlhttps://www.npr.org/programs/ted-radio-hour/707189471/confronting-racismhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tR6mKcBbT4https://www.cbsnews.com/video/mlk-a-riot-is-the-language-of-the-unheard/https://www.lowellmilkencenter.org/newsroom/videos/view/jane-elliott-brown-eyes-blue-eyeshttps://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/06/10/loving-day-june-12-marks-supreme-court-interracial-marriage-decision/5326018002/https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/amzn1.dv.gti.9ab792c9-d158-dbcc-452d-232a8e14f6a0?autoplay=1&ref_=atv_cf_strg_wb

We sit down with Brad Poulos and discuss Cannabis AKA Marijuana. We discuss Cannabis generally and get into what issues are on the forefront of the Cannabis Industry.RESOURCES:https://bradpoulos.com/https://ca.linkedin.com/in/bradpouloshttps://www.axsource.com/welcome-brad-poulos-our-cannabis-expert/https://ocannabiz.com/archives/speakers/bradley-poulos

Mekael Interviews Bill today about his career as a pawnbroker. How does a Pawn Shop Work? How do you know if something is stolen? What are the coolest things that have come through the shop? What skills are helpful to be a good pawnbroker? All this and more on today episode on the Almost Awakened Podcast.

Bill sits down with Janet Bennion, Professor of Anthropology at Lyndon State College. Prof. Bennion specializes in gender dynamics in Mormon fundamentalist communities which practice polygamy and slo in polyamory more generally. Bennion is one of the world’s leading ethnographers of North American plural marriage. She has raised the question of decriminalization of plural marriage in a variety of radio and television forums and several international scholar venues at Brandeis University and the European University Institute in Florence, Italy. Today we discuss polygamy, its pros and cons and whether polygamy should be criminal. We talk about what happens when people have a choice in the type of relationships they enter. and what benefits come from giving people options besides monogamy. Resources:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janet_Bennion?fbclid=IwAR3RDo4ViYWqtHxZFTY-KcK_xiCN-bKZo821DRkdh2b6lNRb32S9ltfKTa4https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3411167https://www.northernvermont.edu/about/news-events/news-center/nvu-johnson%E2%80%99s-janet-bennion-presents-polyamory-research-parishttps://www.amazon.com/Sex-Dawn-Stray-Modern-Relationships/dp/1491512407https://www.amazon.com/Ethical-Slut-Third-Practical-Relationships-ebook/dp/B01N0SA1YW/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=polyamory+book&qid=1589639893&sr=8-3https://www.amazon.com/The-State-of-Affairs-Esther-Perel-audiobook/dp/B072W97SV2/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=esther+peril&qid=1589639949&sr=8-3https://www.amazon.com/More-than-Two-Practical-Polyamory/dp/B00X6CIHAY/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=polyamory+book&qid=1589639893&sr=8-2https://www.amazon.com/Therapists-Guide-Consensual-Nonmonogamy-Polyamory-ebook/dp/B07B86YWND/ref=sr_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=polyamory+book&qid=1589639893&sr=8-6https://www.yearofpolygamy.com/year-of-polygamy/episode-96-polygamy-as-feminist-with-dr-janet-bennion/?fbclid=IwAR1sK_wJMEG3KG7NMMeURVj2pLhOIxVSJAOtsyCoCIc6ghemPYkbedcQg7chttps://upcolorado.com/utah-state-university-press/item/2747-the-polygamy-question?fbclid=IwAR1MXJb6ZjQ5I8bq5HBLDeJoJQhUm5nf9UNb2YJksR8R-UWc9ccW-ECyh8Qhttps://www.mormonstories.org/podcast/153-dr-janet-bennion-living-among-mormon-fundamentalist-polygamy-as-an-anthropologist/?fbclid=IwAR3D2mth_xtvw2zaNNhyZETV8jKMz4FHWecZl7owhd7Ft6H6Va5WctTq3XY

Mekael and Bill sit down with Steve Conlin from Five Wives Vodka to discuss the The History of their company and the challenges that their company has faced in getting their product out and how the alcohol industry generally is developing. As a side tangent we also touch on the history of the Barrison Sisters. We discuss the religious and religious deconstruction influence on their brand and how those who partake of alcohol can work with Vodka generally and what seperates good quality vodka from low quality vodka. We also share how Five Wives Vodka is helping during the Covid19 pandemic by shifting a significant segment of their production over to making hand sanitizer for hospitals and other institutional entities. RESOURCES:https://www.fivewivesvodka.com/https://ogdensown.square.site/ – (Website section regarding their hand sanitizer along with other alcohol options they produce)https://www.fivewivesvodka.com/blog – Five Wives Vodka PodcastBarrison Sisters

Today Mekael and Bill sit down with Anthony Magnabosco who has pioneered the recorded demonstrations of Street Epistemology. Street Epistemology is a conversational tool that helps people reflect on the quality of their reasons and the reliability of their methods used to derive one’s confidence level in their deeply-held beliefs.Anthony shares how this works, what his motives are, how he deconstructed his own faith, and his personal thoughts on how various systems encourage continued belief even when said belief is irrational.RESOURCES:https://streetepistemology.com/https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCocP40a_UvRkUAPLD5ezLIQHow we let go of faith beliefshttps://www.recoveringfromreligion.org/#rfr-welcome

Mekael and Bill sit down with their good friend Ryan to discuss his career as a Fireman and Paramedic. They talk about what it takes to handle life’s most harrowing moments. How to process tragedy. What is death to one who encounters death often. What First Responders to emergency situations do to process the horrific moments. And more.