Howl in the Wilderness

This episode has been a long time coming. Since starting the Medicine Path five years ago, I’ve wanted to talk to someone who knew UG Krishnamurti.  UG, who died in 2007, was known as the anti-guru guru, the unguru and the Ragin’ Sage. He was a contemporary of the more famous J Krishnamurti, with whom he shared the unique distinction of being selected and groomed by the Theosophical Society to bec...

Excellent talk by Hillman where he deconstructs the fantasy of individualism and points toward an imaginal approach that reveals the community of autonomous inner figures — elders, ancestors, family, animals — and offers a step toward repairing the sense of disconnectedness and isolation that our culture and its psychotherapies reinforce. Here are some excerpts: "My deconstruction of individualism...

On this episode I speak to Tad Hargrave , who is a writer, speaker and the founder of Marketing for Hippies, a grassroots marketing consultancy focused on helping entrepreneurs in the wellness and healing space. Tad is a fellow west coast Canadian and alumni of Stephen Jenkinson’s Orphan Wisdom school. This conversation was sparked by a blog he maintained up until 2018 titled Healing From Whitenes...

First in a series of lectures by James Hillman that I'll be sharing as part of the Soul Studies curriculum. Hillman has been an important influence on my and some of my favourite teachers, including Thomas Moore, Robert Bly and Stephen Jenkinson. Recorded June 1990, Rowe Center, Massachusetts

An interview conducted by Michael Toms for New Dimensions Radio sometime in the 1990s with post-Jungian psychologist James Hillman and journalist Michael Ventura, co-authors of We've Had a Hundred Years of Psychotherapy & The World's Getting Worse.

On this episode I speak with Adam Aronovich , who I met six years ago when I arrived at an ayahuasca retreat centre in the Peruvian Amazon to teach yoga for a few months. Adam lived and worked there for four years, facilitating retreats and performing research on healing outcomes among the Western participants. Since that time, we’ve been keeping an eye on each others work and have found ourselves...

How did things get so f*cked up?  Like a true elder, Stephen hears my troubled plea and hangs with me as we traverse great swathes of time and geography, tracking the catholic project to convert the world to Christianity that began with Paul the Apostle, through to Columbus opening the door for colonization of the so-called New World by the Puritans, up to the modern era of residential schools, gl...

Unedited audio of my conversation with Stephen Jenkinson, recorded April 10 2023.  Topics: colonialism, Christianity, psychology

On this episode I welcome back Thomas Moore to talk about his new book The Eloquence of Silence. While modern culture tends to avoid emptiness as much as possible, in The Eloquence of Silence: Surprising Wisdom in Tales of Emptiness, New York Times bestselling author Thomas Moore makes a compelling case for an easier, lighter way of moving through life by embracing the peace, calm, and spaciousnes...

In this episode, occult scholar Ronnie Pontiac shares some great stories about his late mentor Manly P. Hall and some of the forgotten founders of America, many of whom were not, as we're led to believe, puritan Christians, but rather were an eclectic mix of neo-Platonists, alchemists and esotericists. Ronnie Pontiac worked as Manly P. Hall’s research assistant and designated substitute lecturer f...

This bonus episode is a recording of a conversation I had with Asher Packman of the Fifth Direction platform, based in Australia ( https://thefifthdirection.com). Asher reached out to me to talk about my work, and it was a nice opportunity to be on the other side of the questions for once. As an intuitive introvert type, it’s not my natural inclination to talk about my ideas unless it’s in the con...

NOTE: Initially we were experiencing some connection issues — both technical and otherwise — until an interruption (by the Trickster?) about 20 minutes in. We restarted and found a nice rhythm and flow, so please stick with it. There's some great stuff in this conversation! Allan B. Chinen, MD  is a psychiatrist in private practice in San Francisco and Clinical Professor Psychiatry at the Universi...

Rebecca Wildbear is the author of Wild Yoga: A Practice of Initiation, Veneration & Advocacy for the Earth.  Rebecca came to yoga after a life-threatening encounter with cancer in her twenties, and over years of study and teaching developed an approach called Wild Yoga which empowers individuals to tune in to the mysteries that live within the earth community, dreams, and their own wild nature...

In this episode I speak with Carl Abrahamsson about his latest book Source Magic: The Origin of Art, Science & Culture. The main theme that emerged during our conversation is about the relationship between Carl Jung's idea of individuation and the practice of magic, a topic he explores in an essay entitled The Magic of Individuation from his book. Carl Abrahamsson is a writer, publisher, magic...

On this episode I welcome Marlene Seven Bremner on to talk about her book Hermetic Philosophy & Creative Alchemy. Marlene is a self-taught oil painter, writer, and teacher who has spent more than 20 years exploring esoteric and spiritual traditions, including Hermeticism, alchemy, surrealism, symbolism, tarot, psychology, magic, astrology, shamanism, and mythology. She developed her career as...

On this episode, it’s my great pleasure to welcome back psychotherapist, educator and author Edward Tick to talk about his latest book Soul Medicine: Healing Through Dream Incubation, Visions, Oracles and Pilgrimage.  If you’re interested in hearing more about Ed’s personal journey, I recommend also checking out episode 80 of the podcast. For many decades, Ed has devoted himself to studying and pr...

On this episode I speak with Sean Auld from Newcastle-on-Tyne about how his apprenticeship as a stone worker was integral to his recovery from substance abuse and how it had the unexpected side-effect of connecting him to soul, land and the ancient folklore of his Anglo Saxon ancestors. Sean's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.name.of.stone   Sean’s story is a perfect example of what I mean...

Writer, teacher and psychologist Dr. Sharon Blackie talks with guest host Debbie Stapleton about her latest book Hagitude: Reimagining the Second Half of Life. Sharon Blackie , PhD, is an award-winning writer of fiction and nonfiction and a psychologist who has specialized in neuroscience, narrative, mythology, and Celtic studies. Her work has been published extensively in professional journals an...

In this clip, Hillman discusses the depoliticization of the individual due to the constellation of the child archetype in contemporary psychotherapy. From the Blue Fire lecture series.

A short check-in to let you know what's happening with the Medicine Path podcast and Patreon community... Bullet points: • Growing the Medicine Path Patreon into an online community and school for soul studies • Opening up the podcast to include more conversations with people who maybe haven’t written a book or aren’t necessarily well-known, but who have found their way to their own medicine path...

On this episode I’m honoured to welcome back to the podcast author and psychotherapist Thomas Moore , who I previously had on episodes 57 and 75. Tom has been a constant companion on my own medicine path, and one of the key inspirations and mentors for my approach to counseling others on their journey toward living a life of deeper meaning and purpose. I’ve had the privilege to study with Tom over...

On this episode I speak with author of Jesus Through Pagan Eyes and former ordained minister Mark Townsend, who left the Church of England to follow a calling to explore the earth-based path of Druidry. Mark is now an independent “hedge priest” who performs life ceremonies that weave together rituals and customs from nature-based traditions of British Celtic culture. JOIN THE MEDICINE PATH TRIBE h...

On this episode I welcome Berlin-based Jungian analyst and creator of the Psychology & The Cross podcast, Jakob Lusensky . On his podcast, Jakob has been speaking with prominent Jungians and Christian theologians about the intersections of psychology and religion so I thought he’d be a great person to have on to talk about Jung’s complex relationship to Christianity. READING LIST: Hillman, J....

On this episode I speak to William Barnard , professor of religious studies at Southern Methodist University and author of the book Liquid Light: Ayahuasca Spirituality and the Santo Daime Tradition . Professor Barnard has previously written books on William James and Henri Bergson, but in this latest work he writes about his first hand experience as an initiate in the syncretic Brazilian church o...

On this episode I speak with two OGs of the mythopoetic men’s movement, Walton Stanley and Timothy Young . Walton and Tim currently organize the Minnesota Men’s Conference, and were there way back in 1984 when it was founded by poet Robert Bly. They share some great stories about the early days, and talk about how men’s work has contributed to their lives and local communities. They also offer the...