Soul Forge Podcast

Doom Box Patrol is another fun conversational episode where we learn about a few weird and random topics. You are going to learn what a doom box is, how it relates to ADHD and what to do about these boxes. We are also going to cover parenting, being a GEN-X kid, trauma, and more! Doom Boxes – whether created accidentally or on purpose – are a space to stash items together with the intention of org...

Let's Put On A Show! presents Meteor Shower by Steve Martin. There is a new theatre company in Sault Ste. Marie and their first play will be a comedy written by Steve Martin. Leah Frost and RJ Renner are directing Meteor Shower. You can see the show from October 21st to the 23rd. There will be three showings. On this episode of Soul Forge, Shawn talks to Leah and RJ about their theatrical origins...

Climb that damn mountain. Do the things you have always been too afraid to do or try. This is the message behind this episode of the podcast. Amanda returns to talk about her recent knee surgery. Her main message or take away, is that if you want to do something, just do it. Climb that mountain. Take that trip. Start that business. Get the surgery that will allow you to live your best life. Amanda...

If wishes were fishes, we would all cast our nets in the sea. This week's episode is a bit of a mixed bag. We are talking about my recent birthday weekend, but this episode includes a part of our eighth show. Labour Day weekend is always my birthday celebration time. Most years, people are busy and my special day gets overlooked. However, this year, I had the best celebration in recent memory. My...

My son Bishop comes for a visit! Five months ago, in April, I moved from Timmins back to my hometown of Sault Ste. Marie. This move was 19 years in the making. Fear held me back. Due to a severe bout of depression I made an impulsive decision and moved back home. I hadn't seen my son since I lelt town. At the beginning of August, I picked him up so he could stay and visit with me. Since I made the...

Should we stop being polite? Is the act of being polite something that binds society together and allows civilization to function? Those are heady questions we do not have answers to in a 20 minute podcast. However, we will be conducting an exciting discussion into the nature of politeness. You may get more done with a little gratitude and polite conversation, but this behavior can bring you down....

Everything you want is on the other side of fear. There are a few things I have learned after podcasting about myself for the last 5 years. When you take a good hard look at your life, you should see areas where you can improve; areas where you are doing great, and areas in between. This is the 5 year podcast anniversary episode. Join me as I take a look back, and think about the future. The first...

The need for rest is something we often forget about. The need for rest is more important than we give it credit for. Recent research has revealed that people perform better at work and in life if we practice strategic renewal. If you’re rundown you’re more susceptible to getting sick and miss days from work. You need to get more sleep during the week, scheduling daytime workouts, eat healthy food...

Self-worth and self-value are two related terms that are often used interchangeably. Having a sense of self-worth means that you value yourself, and having a sense of self-value means that you are worthy. The differences between the two are minimal enough that both terms can be used to describe the same general concept. There’s self-esteem, self-compassion, self-acceptance, self-respect, self-conf...

An interview with Mike, owner of Vintage Games and Junque. We are talking about the upcoming Steel City NerdCon being held this July 2 at the Bushplane Museum in downtown Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Mike and his wife Beth have been in the pop culture business for about 7 years. Approximately 5 years ago they decided the town needed some excitement. They organized the first NerdCon and held it in th...

Captain Distraction strikes again. And appears when you least expect it. Short attention span theatre is a real thing, but also a fun name for this episode. It is our theory that attention spans are getting shorter and shorter. Shawn believes attention spans have been getting worse, while Amanda thinks they have always been pretty bad. What is the truth of the matter....the world may never know! A...

A rare walk and talk episode with great sound quality! This week on the podcast, we are discussing a variety of topics. Join me on my mail route for about 20 minutes as I waxed philosophically and poetry about a plethora of subjects. And remember, if you would like to correspond with the show, send an email to soulforgepodcast@gmail.com The first thing we are talking about this week is cultural re...

One year sober is a huge achievement. For some, 24 hours of sobriety is almost impossible. This is an episode about alcohol addiction and recovery. This is Amanda's story. This is how she became one year sober. Amanda has always had an addictive personality. She started with a food addiction, but soon made her way to alcohol. Currently in recovery and getting better every day, Amanda still has her...

Long weekend camping is a tradition of sorts here in Canada. Long weekends are too far and few between so you absolutely must take advantage of every opportunity. A few days ago, my brother and I, and a couple of his friends went long weekend camping. I shall tell you all about it in this episode. Originally I was going to release episode 251 as a walk and talk. That is where I record an episode w...

Top 10 things to love! Do you make a list of your favourite things? How many people out there in podcast-land actually have a running inventory of the things that make them happy? Obviously there is no way of answering that question. On this episode, I run down some of the things I love the most. If there is a better way to celebrate 250 podcast episodes, I can't think of what that might be. So, w...

Comparing and contrasting my 2 main homes or cities. I was born and raised in Sault Ste. Marie (the Soo), went to university in North Bay, and moved to Timmins at the age of 26. Five and a half weeks ago I moved back to the Soo from Timmins where I spent the past 19 years. There is quite a bit of difference between the two cities. The Soo is a heavily Italian based town. Timmins is very Frence. Pe...

Being TikTok famous has never been my goal. Until now, that is! I have been home for a month and my life has undergone some changes. Let me tell you about some of those changes here on episode 248. So, I have been back in my hometown for a month now. I moved from Timmins to Sault Ste. Marie where I was born and raised. Although I am not completely certain, I think I am finally settling into someth...

Your things don't love you, and you are not your things. It took me a long time to realize this one simple truth! For the vast majority of my life, I was my stuff. And my stuff was me. We were intertwined. All the things I had were my identity. I didn't know who I was without them. And I didn't know who I could be either. Things were necessary for my existence and my reality. They helped me define...

We are not too old for this! Maybe we feel like we are getting too old for some things, but we are not. Age is only a matter of perspective, or so we can tell ourselves. We are definitely not as young as we used to be or want to be. I just signed up for TikTok. After swearing up and down for years that I would never get involved in such a thing, I did. Blaming my brother is likely a good way to go...

Bad decisions make good stories, or so they say! They actually say quite a few different things when it comes to making decisions. I'm not really sure that anyone actually knows anything about anything. Aren't we all just pretending we know what we are doing? This week's episode finds me talking about my recent move. After living in Timmins for 19 years, I decided to move back to my hometown of Sa...

I moved back home! Say what? Yes, it's true. After 19 years of living in Timmins, I moved back home to Sault Ste. Marie. Now why did I do such a thing? Great question. I provide some answers and some context in this episode as to why I moved back home. There is likely a lot more I could have gone into during my explanation. However, it has been a hectic few days, and I'm not quite myself yet. Most...

New beginnings are a sure sign of Spring! This is the first week of Spring and so what could be better than an episode all about new beginnings? This week, your host reads quotes from a pile of famous sources. Each quote deals with new beginnings in some form or another. So, just sit back, relax, and let your mind be entertained. “The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide you’re not go...

Have you ever had an epiphany? You know, one of those lightbulb moments where a sudden realization hits you! One minute you're minding your own business when out of nowhere insight slaps you upside the head. Technically, an epiphany is an intuitive grasp of reality through something (such as an event) usually simple and striking, or an illuminating discovery, realization, or disclosure. Today's ep...

Stars shine for you, and they shine for everyone. Episode titles are difficult. Song lyrics are often good at expressing things that regular words cannot. This episode, for example, is very strange. There isn't a single thread that holds everything together. Topics seemingly come and go at random. In this episode, I'm talking about books and authors. But I also touch on the war in Ukraine, if only...

Rebirth! What does that mean in the context of this week's episode? Well, it's nothing too far out there. After last week's episode about being diagnosed with depression, it seemed like a good opportunity to turn the podcast around. Rebirth is just one of the poems that I read for you this week! That's right, this is another episode where I share my poetry with all of you out there in podcastland....