The Skeptical Shaman

In this episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings) chats with friend of the show Roger Oney about the truth and fiction of spiritual conspiracy theories. First up? The strange and very real case of Michael Aquino: a Colonel in the United States Army that literally wrote the handbook on 4th and 5th generational information warfare, titled: "Mindwar". An...

In this episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings) chats with Damla Aktekin of A Drop of Om all about the inner child-- and how to energetically heal wounds from our early years and experiences. Damla is the host of the Conversations with Healers podcast, a forum in which she explores topics centered around the art (and the science) of energy healing-- particula...

In this episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings) chats with the incredible mother/ daughter team of Norma and Nisha Burton, the creators of the Lucid Dreaming, Lucid Living Oracle Deck. Norma and Nisha are legitimate, bonafide experts in the space of dreamtime, vision questing, shamanic journeying, and....drumroll please...LUCID DREAMING.  In this episode, we...

In this episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings) chats with Casey St. John, fellow spiritual explorer! Casey's story follows a very well-worn path: girl goes exploring, finds a reiki studio, signs up for a session, has her mind blown by the utterly unexplainable energetic and spiritual phenomenon, and then finds herself on a quest to learn the who, what,...

In this episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings) chats with Megen Mundy, the owner of Austin's oldest and most established herbalism store, the Herb Bar. Rachel and Megen kick off this new season of the Skeptical Shaman podcast with a deep dive into the wide world of herbalism: how herbs support wellness, what issues they treat + support, and what herbs e...

In this special, solo episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings) digs a bit further into The Business of Woo: the "industry" of psychics, shamans, energy workers, and yes-- even the dreaded, mythical "life coaches". Next up on the Business of Woo myth-busting list? Self-care.  If you're a full-time practitioner of the Woo, odds are: you&...

In this special, solo episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings) digs a bit further into The Business of Woo: the "industry" of psychics, shamans, energy workers, and yes-- even the dreaded, mythical "life coaches". Next up on the Business of Woo myth-busting list? Sabotage! Online harassment! Intellectual property theft! Abusive clients! Par...

In this special, solo episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings) digs a bit further into The Business of Woo: the "industry" of psychics, shamans, energy workers, and yes-- even the dreaded, mythical "life coaches". Next up on the Business of Woo myth-busting list? Client retention. What is it? How do you do it? Why does it matter? And why is...

In this special, solo episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings) digs a bit further into The Business of Woo: the "industry" of psychics, shamans, energy workers, and yes-- even the dreaded, mythical "life coaches". Next up on the Business of Woo myth-busting list? Content creation. What is it? How do you do it? And, more importantly, how do...

In this special, solo episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings) digs a bit further into The Business of Woo: the "industry" of psychics, shamans, energy workers, and yes-- even the dreaded, mythical "life coaches". First up on the Business of Woo myth-busting list? Differentiation and branding. What is a brand? What is a differentiator? And...

In this SOLO episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings) digs into The Business of Woo : the "industry" of psychics, shamans, energy workers, and yes-- even the dreaded, mythical "life coaches". With the economy and job market doing STRANGE THINGS and the rate of change and churn hitting an exponential pace, more and more folks might get the i...

In this episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings) chats with the "Woo Woo Woman" herself: Shelly Saunier. Shelly is a holistic yoga instructor, registered nurse and the host of the Woo Woo Woman podcast, which is designed to help listers unlock their empowerment and self-improvement through tapping into the deep Woo all around us. Rachel and Shelly ex...

In this episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings) chats with Natalie Fehlner, writer, teacher, theater artist and actual, real-deal spiritual seeker all about Natalie's spontaneous spiritual awakening-- and the good, the bad, and the ugly that followed! Rachel first stumbled upon Natalie and her story via the most unlikely of sources: a poem read aloud on...

In this episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings) chats with Matthew Gindin, freelance writer, teacher, acupuncturist and author of the Philosophy as Therapy Substack. To say that Matthew's background is eclectic is an understatement. When he was 21, he lived as a monastic Forest Monk in the Thai Buddhist tradition for three years. Since then, he has conti...

In this episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings) chats with Dean Newlund, CEO of Mission Facilitators and the host of The Business of Intuition podcast all about the world of intuition. What is intuition? Why is it important for business? How can we leverage it? What does intuition look like in human-scaled examples? And what's the ROI on focusing on cult...

In this magical episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings) chats with Lesley Logan, founder of OnlinePilatesClasses.com and the host of the Be It Till You See It podcast. Lesley is a dynamic, iconoclastic solopreneur that has broken free of her limiting beliefs to ditch perfection and pursue her dreams-- however wild they may seem or sound. And guess what? It al...

In this episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings) chats with the incredible Bonnie Piesse,  host of the I Am The Sky podcast. Best known for her role as Luke Skywalker's Aunt Beru in the ’Star Wars’ Universe, (Episodes II, III and Obi-Wan Kenobi), Bonnie is also a singer, songwriter, and intuitive practitioner, supporting her clients through her spiritual...

Fan favorite Theresa Reed, aka The Tarot Lady, is back on The Skeptical Shaman to dig into how to provide tarot readings and psychic support for clients dealing with the heavy stuff. Theresa is the author of the new book The Cards You're Dealt:  How to Deal When Life Gets Real, a look at how to navigate issues like grief, scarcity, pain, the burden of caretaking and more in a tarot  setting....

In this episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings) sits down to chat with Yolanda Williams, the "Energetic Alchemist" and host of the oldest and longest-running reiki-themed podcast, Reiki Radio. Yolanda and Rachel dig into the weird world of the "Business of Woo", spilling a bit of tea and throwing the requisite amount of shade as they dispe...

Fan favorite Nichole Bigley is back on The Skeptical Shaman to dig into the worlds of angels, dragons, aliens and more with host Rachel White of TOTEM Readings! Nichole is the host of the A Psychic's Story podcast, and co-author of the new book (and TOTEM Book Club pick) Looking for Angels:  A Guide to Understanding and Connecting with Angels. She is also a psychic medium that offers angel re...

In this episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings) chats with yoga instructor, retreat coordinator, and manifestation coach Kelly Pender. Kelly is also the host of the Badass Babe Oracle podcast, drilling into the real deal behind all things abundance, manifestation and having-ness. In this episode, we talk sh*t and spill the tea on the “manifestation industry”,...

In this episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings) chats with podcast producer, energy healer, coach and all-around mystic Roger Oney of Synergies Studio. In this episode, we dig into the REALITY of the world of Woo-- no spiritual bypassing or toxic positivity here! Roger and I discuss how "the map is not the territory" when it comes to implementing sp...

In this episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings) sits down with Gina Graham, Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and professional photographer. Gina is also the author and artist behind the book Body Beautiful: How Changing the Conversation About Our Bodies Has the Power to Change the World. Gina's mission-driven work leverages her experience as a ther...

In this episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings) chats with Holly Brodt, retired St. Paul police officer, devout Buddhist, and meditation coach extraordinaire. Holly was already a Buddhist when she became a St. Paul police officer, using her spiritual toolkit— and her warrior medicine, intuition, and empathy— to not only keep the streets safe, but to support a...

In this episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings) chats with Summer Sanders, owner of Sabai Studio in Chicago's West Loop neighborhood. Summer is a physical therapist, reiki practitioner, Feng Shui consultant and much, much more. In this episode, we explore the dynamic and magical world of Feng Shui: the system of laws that govern spatial arrangement and o...