Soul Forge Podcast

Cape Fear - 83

Cape Fear! Not the movie, nor the remake, but a state of mind. Cape fear is what occurs when you are not comfortable in a particular style of clothing or fashion.

The Sunday Morning Coffee Club is a rather new experiment in socialization. The club was founded by your ever-present host, Shawn. Through the club, new friends are made, and interesting conversations are had. Coffee club has lead to several ideas for Soul Forge topics. Cape fear is just such a particular topic.

Fashion confidence is a big deal. You may think you can wear anything, but clothing will put you in a certain state of mind. Not everyone can feel free to wear every item of clothing. We are sure there are items in your closet that you never wear.

Shawn wants to bring back the cape as a fashion item, but he has a fear that people will laugh and make fun of him. He does not have the confidence to go out in public wearing a cape. Except, of course, for Halloween or costume balls. Looking back at the trench coat incident, his reluctance is understandable.

Wish.com is a website where you can find all kinds of ridiculous products. Shawn recently ordered a cloak to help alleviate his fear of wearing capes in public. At this point in the podcast, we talk about the difference between capes and cloaks. Capes are starting to make a return to the public eye. At the recent Golden Globe Awards, a celebrity was photographed wearing a rather flamboyant cape. Perhaps this signals their return to the fashion world.

We wrap up the show by talking about posting certain pictures on Instagram and Facebook. There are generational differences regarding what certain age groups feel comfortable posting and wearing.

Types of fear include fear of change, fear of changing jobs, moving on from a relationship, and a fear of people not liking you.

This week's podcast promo: Vitamin Geek Podcast

Shawn's Tarot Card Reading - 82

Happy New Year Soul Forgers, and welcome to the first episode of the year! Presented for your listening pleasure, is audio of Shawn's first ever Tarot card reading.

Is there a secret source of knowledge hidden by the universe? Can Tarot cards, psychics or tea leave readings uncover this mysterious wisdom? Can arcana be real or is this all just made up mumbo jumbo? We may never know for sure, but we can have fun speculating about it.

Join Shawn as he gets his first Tarot card reading. What secrets will be revealed? Without knowing how real this type of magic is, there's no way to ascertain if what Shawn learns can be applied to the real world of career and finances. However, the reading was a lot of fun and some exciting revelations came about. So sit back, put your feet up, and enter the mystical realm of prophecy and predictions.

The tarot (/ˈtæroʊ/; first known as trionfi and later as tarocchi, tarock and tarot) is a pack of playing cards, used from the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play games such as Italian tarocchini, French tarot and Austrian Königrufen. Many of these tarot card games are still played today. In the late 18th century, some Tarot packs began to be used in parallel for divination in the form of tarotology and cartomancy and, later, specialist packs were developed for such occult purposes.

Like common playing cards, the tarot has four suits (which vary by region: French suits in Northern Europe, Latin suits in Southern Europe, and German suits in Central Europe). Each suit has 14 cards, ten pip cards numbering from one (or Ace) to ten and four face cards (King, Queen, Knight, and Jack/Knave). In addition, the tarot has a separate 21-card trump suit and a single card known as the Fool. Depending on the game, the Fool may act as the top trump or may be played to avoid following suit. These tarot cards, without occult symbology, are still used throughout much of Europe to play card games.

In English-speaking countries, where these games are not played, tarot cards are used primarily for divinatory purposes, usually using specially designed packs. The cards are traced by some occult writers to ancient Egypt or the Kabbalah but there is no documented evidence of such origins or of the usage of tarot for divination before the 18th century.

This week's podcast promo: Pro Wrestling Roundtable

Year In Review 2018 - 81

Looking back at the year that was 2018 - this is our Year in Review special.

Shawn is joined by two of his semi-regular co-hosts, Tracy and Jason. On this episode, the Soul Forge gang takes a peek at some of the most significant episodes produced by the podcast in 2018. Highlights include love, loss, and minimalism. Strippers, booze, and drugs are also mentioned, as is divorce and intimacy.

A major topic this year was the idea of sex. Sex appeared in a number of episodes. Shawn talked about his first sexual experience. Whit told his story of being a virgin at age 28, and then several episodes later, he spoke about having sex for the first time. Shawn, Karen and Jason joked about sex in elevators on episode 69. No actual sex was had during the podcast recordings.

Other topics included weed legalization and preparing for the arrival of a baby. Shawn talked about buying and selling houses. Tracy talked about survival. Jason talked about his new baby. Karen talked about confidence. Daniel talked about writing books. Many people not mentioned in the show made great contributions to the Soul Forge Podcast this year.

We joined the ESO Podcast Network this year.

We joined Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3JXWZDq6CXqrWTI5yYx04B

We joined Tune In: https://tunein.com/podcasts/Health--Wellness-Podcasts/Soul-Forge-Podcast-p1181627/

We're on Twitter: @soulforgepod

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCataaeTRQltObb7n1GHW_qw/videos

This week's podcast promo: Myopia Defend Your Childhood

The Power of FANDOM - 80

Saving the world while perched on the edge of normal!

We're taking a look at how fandom is changing the world for the better. What is fandom? It is a group of like-minded people who come together to form a community of sorts. Social media has been a major factor in the changing face of fan acceptance. Without it, many fans (geeks, nerds, dorks, outcasts, misfits) would have trouble finding their people.

Celebrities, often geeks or fans themselves, have used their star power to help unite the various fandoms. They use this power for social change, and to help mitigate the effects of loneliness, bullying anddepression.

Chase Masterson for example, is the spokesperson for Pop Culture Hero Coalition | Let's Stop Bullying Together

Misha Collins uses GISH to bring hope to the world and change it for the better.

What is the difference between sports geeks and fandom geeks? Both kinds of geeks often dress up to show their support for their chosen interest. However, the sports geek is more often given a free pass and not seen as abnormal or weird.

When nerds make money, it changes the world. Their interests become the interests of the world (eg. Elon Musk, Steve Jobs)

The gatekeepers of fandom.

This week's podcast promo: Caster Quest

The Lonely Shawn Problem - 79

The lonely Shawn, also known as, the sad Shawn episodes were a series of Rusted Robot Podcast shows. For a time, Rusted Robot was co-hosted by husband and wife team Shawn and Brigitte Vanderloo. For a variety of reasons, that relationship fell apart. Yet, the team decided to continue on hosting the show together. However, due to various circumstances, this was not always possible. Shawn felt the show must go on, even if there wasn't always a co-host around. Shawn was so dedicated to his audience, that he felt it important to always be providing new content.

Episode 79 of Rusted Robot is a prime example of a lonely Shawn episode. On this episode of Soul Forge, Shawn lays out the history and repurcussions of recording episode 79 by himself without a co-host. You'll hear about Karine (at the time she was the new lady in Shawn's life) and her reaction to hearing the episode before their weekend away together. You'll also discover what Shawn learned as a result of hosting a show on his own.

So get ready for the first pre-Soul Forge episode. Learn about pop culture from 2015. This is Soul Forge before that was ever even a thing.

This week's podcast promo: Pop Culture Cosmos

Thoughts On GOD - 78

Now is the perfect time of year to share some thoughts on God, religion and the Christmas season. This episode starts with ruminations on the Christmas decoration season and goes back into history with a tale of Christmas carol annoyance. We wrap up the holiday talk with a look at how the corporations use the season in their manipulative marketing ploys to get us to spend money on things we don't need by playing to our emotions.

We then take a look back at religious education. When they decided to take the Lord's Prayer and teachings about religion out of the school system, society seemed to lose something deeply fundamental. These teachings may not have included everyone, but they were instrumental in giving us some important background information about our society.

The idea of a belief in a god or a higher power is tackled. When your son doesn't know what Jesus Clouds are, you have some serious catching up to do. And we talk about the practice of saying your prayers.

Everything comes to a conclusion with a look at religion versus science and taking our own human existence as a matter of faith. Do we really exist? How can we really know anything? This brings us to the ideas of atheism and agnosticism. And finally, we talk about whether life is pre-ordained or if we have free will. Can we fool God by going left instead of going right? And the episode ends with the story of how Shawn was saved by a fellow student who took him to church.

This week's podcast promo: Cigar Nerds Podcast

Sleep and Dreams - 77

Sleep and dreams on episode 77 of the Soul Forge Podcast.

Shawn and Tracy are discussing their earliest memories of sleep, and talking about bedtime habits and routines. Everyone you know has a unique set of night-time rituals. Napping is a thing that some people love to do, while others have never gotten into the nap habit.

Insomnia can totally destroy your enjoyment of sleep. Ideal sleeping conditions also vary from person to person. What do you need for a good night rest? Do you prefer the dark, or do you need some light?

Fear of the dark, music, relaxing sounds, white noise, or having the fan on.

Recurring dreams and dreams that continue.

The Batman dream sequence story. Can you read in your dreams or see in colour?

Interpreting your dreams and looking for the mean of dream symbology.

Creativity and dreaming.

Bad dreams and nightmares.

The dream VCR.

This week's podcast promo: The 42Cast

Preparing For Baby - 76

There's a baby on the way! There's a baby on the way! When time is running out, and there's a baby on the way, how do you prepare for the arrival? Jay stokes the fires of the Soul Forge with his take on preparing for baby.

The first thing we talk about is getting the existing child(ren) ready for a new addition to the family. The obvious age gap between the children is an obstacle or opportunity depending on how you prepare. Kids can feel replaced by baby, but giving them ownership of the situation can make them feel empowered.

Preparing and planning for the new arrivial is often a long process. When should you start buying baby supplies? How much is too much? Do you read parenting books or just wing it? So much to think about and get ready for.

Finding out baby's gender before she or he is born is a big deal. You have to decide together with your partner if this is something you wish to do. Maybe you want to be surprised.

Jay discusses what it's like to be an older dad. There are nine years between his children. Different points in your life will create new and exciting challenges or opportunities.

Dealing with the mood swings and demands of an expectant mother can be a real mine field. Jay has some advice for how to navigate this point in the pregnancy.

We finish up by discussing all the work that goes into getting ready for the baby once it is here. Working a lot of overtime at work to hoard money, buy nice things and take some time off to spend with the new bundle of joy. And Jay tells us all about what it's like to be the father of a girl as opposed to a boy.

This week's podcast promo: Earth Station One Podcast