Soul Forge Podcast

My Brother's Keeper - 99

Shawn's brother Robin has moved in, and now it is up to Shawn to be his brother's keeper. Robin is undergoing a complete reboot and overhaul of his life. It is up to Shawn to guide and nurture Robin on this quest.

On this recording, the brothers discuss their new endeavour. They discuss the new living situation as well as what it is going to take to put Robin back on the right track. Robin talks about what went wrong in his life to bring him to this point. He analyzes what he has left behind him. He talks openly and with candor about what he needs to do, and what he wants in the way of help from his brother.

Listen in as Robin tells you about the jobs he has lost, and the reasons for this. He will explain his ways of thinking. Robin explores his passions and his hopes and dreams. He may have hit rock bottom, but he has not given up hope, and he is not alone.

Shawn and Robin explore what it is going to take to make a success out of what they have been given.

This week's podcast promo: Pod Casserole

She Lives In Her Van - 98

Stacey Arrowsmith lives a minimalist life in her van.

For many years Stacey lived a typical, traditional life. She had a husband, children, a four bedroom house with a garage. And lots of things. She had so much stuff. Then she got a divorce and started downsizing. This is the story of how a person can go from a traditional life to a minimalist life. But this isn't the story of minimalism. This is the story of how Stacey found her happiness.

Stacey works for Canada Post as a Route Measurement Officer. We discuss a little bit of what this job entails, but mainly we find out how she lives her life on the road in her van. We learn how to downsize your possessions quickly and efficiently. We find out where and how to store your extra belongings if you have any. Also, the necessity of a physical address even if you do not have a physical, stationary location.

When living in a van, you must pay close attention to the weather and to the temperature. It can be a lot to adjust to, both physcially and mentally. There is also the social stigma, other challenges and the many reactions from various people.

Stacey also tells us about how she does her laundry, and the types of clothes she is able to have in her van. Food prep can be a challenge depending on circumstances. And finding places to park and sleep is also something to think about.

Join us on this week's Soul Forge Podcast as we journey into the world of living in a van. You can follow Stacey's blog at www.chipmunksrvlife.com and on Twitter @chipmunksrvlife

This week's podcast promo: Spooky Dudes

My Transgender Friend - 97

My transgender friend Crystal opens up about her life.

Coming to terms with who you are as a person is often a difficult process. It can be even more difficult when you are a trans individual. This week, our story begins with In The Turn, a documentary about the Vagine Regime, the queer Roller Derby collective. Crystal's story, and the Vagine Regime story intersect in a fascinating and unique way.

Crystal was a fun loving and confident child. Then the school decided she wasn't allowed to play sports because they couldn't figure out which team to place her on. This naturally lead her to withdraw from a lot of life's activities.

Many people in her life were afraid she was suffering from a mental illness of some kind. The doctor suggested that Crystal's mother buy her a dress. The dress unlocked a massive change in behaviour. Crystal felt whole. "Skirts don't cure mental illness."

Also in this episode we learn about the reactions people have towards Crystal, as well as the amount of intolerance she faces. She teaches us how to interact properly with a trans person, and which pronouns to use. You'll hear about rudeness, acceptance, stealth trans people and more.

Crystal shares her story in an unflinching and brave manner. We learn about hormone blockers, mental health, acceptance and gender re-assignment surgery.

If you would like more information, as always you can email the podcast at soulforgepodcast@gmail.com or contact Crystal directly on Twitter @blinkthunder

This week's podcast promo: Caster Quest

Camping Season - 96

It's time to pitch a tent, because camping season is upon us! On this week's Soul Forge podcast, Shawn and Deidre share some of their camping memories.

What is camping anyway? We looked up a definition just to be funny. According to Wikipedia, Camping is an outdoor activity involving overnight stays away from home in a shelter, such as a tent. Typically participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors in more natural ones in pursuit of activities providing them enjoyment. To be regarded as "camping" a minimum of one night is spent outdoors, distinguishing it from day-tripping, picnicking, and other similarly short-term recreational activities.

We touch on a lot of various topics including Deidre's time in both Girl Guides and Pathfinders. Shawn briefly talks about his time at Air Cadet camp.

Of course, we also talk about the regular camping stuff such as fires and marshmellows and getting rained out. You'll hear about the time Shawn went hiking with his brothers and how that turned out to be a disaster. We talk about crawdads, fishing for squirrels, pitching a tent in the backyard and more. No discussion about camping is complete without a reminder regarding tent etiquette. We may have also mentioned something about drinking and a horrible grade 8 class trip.

This week's podcast promo: The Flopcast

Signs From The Universe - 95

We all experience or receive signs from the universe. However, not all of us are open to such signs/signals/messages. Most surprising of all, the universe doesn’t always make these things totally obvious, or even always easy to see. But if you start paying attention, you will realize that the universe is sending you signals all the time that show you where you need to go and what you need to do to create the life of your dreams.

This can all seem a little bit 'out there' or even a bit 'woo-woo.'

We've often asked ourselves if there really is a universal force guiding us on our journey. Or, are we simply imposing our thoughts, feelings and desires on the situation at hand?

If this universal force does indeed exist, you may choose to call it God, Allah, the Great Maker, or some other similar concept. There is no way to know if a higher power exists, and yet, these signs do seem to come from somewhere.

In this episode, Shawn and Stephanie discuss and explore this topic with examples from their own lives.

5 signs from the universe:

1. Special numbers in a sequence.
2. When you experience a delay.
3. When you experience a coincidence.
4. When a book, person or course appears in your awareness.
5. When your intuition seems heightened.

After the end credits we play a snippet of Paulo Coelho talking to Oprah about his book The Alchemist

This week's podcast promo: The Monster SciFi Show

Time Capsule Unboxing - 94

The unboxing of my time capsule of first year university memories. After my first year of school in 1995-1996, I boxed up a bunch of stuff I thought would be significant. I haven't opened the box in 23 years. On this episode, I take everything out, and tell the story of each item. There is no real message or moral to this episode. It's meant as a fun look back at who I was. Following is the list of things found in the time capsule box. Listen to the episode to hear the stories...

Time Capsule Items:

• Coors Light beer can
• Alberta Pure Vodka cup keychain
• star shaped candle holder
• NU keychain squeeze light
• condom holder
• small rock with a face on it
• Crown Royal velvet bag with bottle inside
• assorted pens
• frosh week hat
• ID holder
• Toronto Blue Jays jewelry
• book of matches
• metal mind teaser puzzle
• friendship bracelet
• student handbook
• fireworks glasses
• Juicy Fruit gum
• random papers, notes and phone numbers
• pub night flyer
• baseball ticket stub
• holographic hockey card
• course schedule
• Ken Griffey Jr baseball card
• personality test drawing
• beer coaster
• floppy disk
• happy birthday card
• Valentine's Day card
• telephone hook-up receipt
• Nova Scotia quarter
• Looney Tunes pogs

This week's podcast promo: Transmissions From Atlantis

Wait, What. . . Water? - 93

Water is life. You wouldn't think we could make an entire episode about water, but Deidre is back to show us how it's done!

Water is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's streams, lakes, and oceans, and the fluids of most living organisms. It is vital for all known forms of life, even though it provides no calories or organic nutrients.

We are not talking about the hydrologic cycle, the boiling point, or the fact that water turns to ice by freezing backwards in relation to how everything else freeezes.

8 glasses a day? The Canadian Food Guide says so, but Deidre thinks we should double that amount, depending on how age and activity level. Water activates our cells, keeps us healthy. We are all dehydrated. Lack of water is responsible for our migraine headaches, high blood pressure and cancers. We're also eating too much processed sugar - but there are alternatives.

Coffee! Drink 2 glasses of water for each cup of coffee. Double that for sugary soda pop type drinks. There's a fun bit of humour about triple fisting.

Plastics are everywhere. In the oceans. In our bodies.

Farting. The best way to tell if kids are dehydrated is through fart odours. The worse the smell, the more water is needed.

Our bodies know what they need to stay healthy. Weeds are only weeds because we are not using them properly. Make yourself some dandelion tea!

Find Deidre at https://www.facebook.com/heartzandmindz/

This week's podcast promo: PWR Sports

Fun With Existential Loneliness

This week’s Soul Forge Podcast deals with, you guessed it, existential loneliness. What is that? Good question! It is the fundamental basis of human life, or human existence. But, we are having fun with this deep, dark topic. We are not dwelling on the morose. This is a fun episode about something not so fun. Loneliness is something we all experience and can relate to. In this episode, we are going to cover the types of loneliness, and tell personal stories relating to each type.

Existentialism is the philosophical study that begins with the human subject—not merely the thinking subject, but the acting, feeling, living human individual.

Loneliness is a complex and usually unpleasant emotional response to isolation. Loneliness typically includes anxious feelings about a lack of connection or communication with other beings, both in the present and extending into the future. As such, loneliness can be felt even when surrounded by other people. The causes of loneliness are varied and include social, mental, emotional, and physical factors.

Existential Loneliness is a new concept in existential philosophy and psychology. This sense of emptiness and void is really a problem within each person, not a lack of meaningful relationships.
However, existential loneliness is deeper than either (1) the absence of a specific person we love or (2) the lack of any meaningful connections with others. Because existential loneliness is so easy to confuse with problems of love or problems of having no relationships, we might spend a few years of our lives struggling with existential loneliness using methods that are appropriate only for interpersonal loneliness.

To be happy, we need intimate bonds; we need to be able to confide, we need to feel like we belong, we need to be able to get and give support. In fact, strong relationships are key — perhaps the key — to a happy life.

Of course, being alone and being lonely aren’t the same. Loneliness feels draining, distracting, and upsetting; desired solitude feels peaceful, creative, restorative.

7 Types of Loneliness

1. New-situation loneliness
2. I’m-different loneliness
3. No-sweetheart loneliness
4. No-animal loneliness
5. No-time-for-me loneliness
6. Untrustworthy-friends loneliness
7. Quiet-presence loneliness

Read more at https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/the-happiness-project/201702/7-types-loneliness-and-why-it-matters#_=_

This week’s podcast promo: We Podcast And We Know Things