Dear ones -

I used to think I was a pretty cheerful person. But in the last 5-7 years or so, there’s been a gradual shift into something distinctly more pessimistic and darker.

That’s not inherently a bad thing. We need to drop into the shadow and befriend the monsters. Light without acknowledging and honoring the dark can be just as unhealthy as living full-time in the dark.

Yet, time and again, I see how either-or does not offer us wholeness, only more fragmentation. We need the ‘And’ space: both light and the dark; mess and the beauty; physical and subtle; human and beyond.

Recently, I’ve been challenging myself to focus more on the positive, not because the challenges don’t exist and not in some head-in-the-sand kind of way; but because believing in joy as an orienting force in the universe gives us something to keep moving towards.

In the darkness, we compost and root; in the light, we grow and fruit.

In today’s podcast episode with Kari Hohne, you’ll hear a powerful and wise voice advocating for joyful living.

Kari is a dream analyst, artist, and expert on the eastern and western archetypes that inspire our dreams and oracles; including ancient astrology, Tarot's archetypes, and the Tao te Ching and I Ching. Through her website Cafe au Soul, her seven books, and her music; Kari taps into deep rivers of spiritual and transcendental wisdom while bridging the gap between an appreciation for nature and the spiritual journey.

(*Note: if you're used to watching the episode, this one is audio-only, per Kari's needs. Video will be back next episode. It is still posted on YouTube.)

You’ll hear us explore:

• the wider, ‘second’ vision as the more objective of the perspectives available to us;
• being one of many organisms alive on this planet;
• what shamanism means to Kari;
• the idea that our world is not worse, but rather the best possible expression available at this moment;
• the ‘24-hr mind’ and dreams (including nightmares) as tools for awakening;
• how ancient wisdom traditions like Daoism and the I Ching guide us to Nature as a teacher;
• non-linear time;
• the role of wonder in living joyfully;
• technology and expanded consciousness;
• fear and creativity;
• the language of symbolism…

and much more.

Parts of this conversation stayed with me for a while after. I found myself chewing on those paradoxes at the heart of this human journey.

Join us around the fire to tap back into the joy and magic of being alive?

I hope you will <3

​

Kate

P.S. Our next podcast community gathering is August 15th. So far, these are lovely community gatherings with people looking for deeper connection and spiritual community. Join us and help us create the cultures and spaces we want more of? Become a patron of the podcast or see what it's all about for free for now. I hope you'll join us <3

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