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Click here to send me a text message (include your contact info if you want a reply). With the reading of this chapter from my book, Talking to Trees, we close the sixth season of The Mystic Cave, even as the events described there opened up my spiritual path, leading me here. I hope you enjoy it.  And, by the way, next year, a new book is on the way. Communing with the Dead ... and Other Tales from the Imaginal Realms extends my exploration of the spiritual terrain on the far side of conventional religion. More on that to come ...  Where to find Talking to Trees: A Journey into Soul: https://www.brianepearson.ca/talking-to-trees Personal Links My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca My email address: [email protected] Series Music Credit "Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2026

Click here to send me a text message (include your contact info if you want a reply). The myth is that Henry VIII founded the Church of England because he wanted a divorce. The reality is that his second wife, Anne Boleyn, was using her influence with Henry to foment church reform in England, as on the Continent. That he thanked her by having her executed and marrying again is a story of 'blame and shame' as old as Adam and Eve, and equally as unsettling.  Martha Tatarnic, in her new book, Anne Boleyn: Reputation, Revolution, Religion, and the Queen Who Changed History, says 'twas ever thus. In a "man's world," strong women pay a price for their influence, sometimes with their lives. Martha reminds us that, to create the just world for which Anne fought and died, we must be ever vigilant to hear the voices for change, not at the powerful centre, but at the prophetic edges. Voices like Anne's.  About Anne: https://www.amazon.ca/Anne-Boleyn-Reputation-Revolution-Religion/dp/1640658599 About Martha: https://marthatatarnic.ca About Anne and Martha: https://marthatatarnic.ca/anne-boleyn-2/ Personal Links My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca My email address: [email protected] Series Music Credit "Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2026

Click here to send me a text message (include your contact info if you want a reply). In inner city parks and in remote forest clearings people are gathering to remember their sacred connection to the Earth. Some call it "worship;" some call it "church." Sarah Lyon meets them there, to guide them to their soul's true home in the wild. More about Sarah: https://www.sarahlyonspiritualdirection.com More about Wild Church: https://www.wildchurchnetwork.com Wild Church, the Books: Church of the Wild: How Nature Invites Us into the Sacred, by Victoria Loorz; Broadleaf Books, 2021; and Field Guide to Church of the Wild, by Victoria Loorz and Valerie Luna Serrels; Broadleaf Books, 2025. Personal Links My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca My email address: [email protected] Series Music Credit "Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2026

Click here to send me a text message (include your contact info if you want a reply). Even conventional religions have their growing edges. Far from centralized beliefs and practices, the spiritual explorer needs faith more than belief. Tami Buroker identifies as a Christian, but she can't bring herself formally to join her church. She prefers to remain open to a God who can be found ... everywhere. Personal Links My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca My email address: [email protected] Series Music Credit "Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2026

Click here to send me a text message (include your contact info if you want a reply). Devin Lebrun's soul name, given him on a Vision Quest, is Wandering Warrior. That evokes a lot of fearsome energy, which he has. But his breath training over the years has opened a world of inner calm, soothing his soul and helping him to turn and face his fears, something he now shares with others through his new venture, the Global Breath Network.  Link to the Global Breath Network: https://www.breathnetwork.com Personal Links My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca My email address: [email protected] Series Music Credit "Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2026

Click here to send me a text message (include your contact info if you want a reply). Those of us who've followed a conventional spiritual path to get to where we are now need not be suspicious of those who've beaten their own path. We might even be a little envious. As my two grown sons, Rob and Ben, will attest, there is something thrilling, if also risky, about finding your own way.  Note: This episode is longer than most. To help break it down, I've created Chapters you can access by clicking on the Chapters tab, above. Photo Info: Ben (L) and Rob (R) in the Mystic Cave Studio Personal Links My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca My email address: [email protected] Series Music Credit "Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2026

Click here to send me a text message (include your contact info if you want a reply). The spiritual path is a solitary journey of discovery. We find our way, not by following a map or listening to others, but by planting our feet, one step at a time, in front of us. Sometimes, to get started, we must separate ourselves from the conventional paths that have brought us this far. Those are the paths cleared by others, for their journeys. As Valerie Koot has found, as grateful as we may be for the religious influences that have shaped us, it is only by striking out on our own that our journey can begin.  Personal Links My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca My email address: [email protected] Series Music Credit "Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2026

Click here to send me a text message (include your contact info if you want a reply). Divinity student Andrea Tsugawa was born in Peru, her ethnic lineage stretching from Japan to Spain, including Quechuan (Andean) roots. Her spiritual benefactors are Buddhist, Shintoist, Indigenous, and Catholic. How she ended up at the Vancouver School of Theology is a story in itself, involving a burned-out apartment, a trip around the world, and a misread university syllabus. But what she is becoming reveals the emerging spirituality of our time.  Personal Links My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca My email address: [email protected] Series Music Credit "Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2026

Click here to send me a text message (include your contact info if you want a reply). Spiritual director and educator, Sarah Donnelly, was a faithful Catholic whose God didn't keep his part of the bargain--to protect her from harm. In the throes of that disillusionment, Sarah had to rely on the faith of others until she could relearn what faith meant for her. What she came to realize was that an authentic spirituality has little to do with being protected and a great deal to do with being sustained, whatever happens.  Links to Sarah Spirit River Community: A Retreat Centre Without Walls: www.spiritrivercommunity.org; Growing in Wisdom: Seeking Deeper Generativity: www.growinginwisdom.ca;         Sarah Donnelly: retreats, grief support, and spiritual direction: www.sarahdonnelly.ca Personal Links My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca My email address: [email protected] Series Music Credit "Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2026

Click here to send me a text message (include your contact info if you want a reply). "What can we do, but pray?" I hear people say these days. As the world turns in on itself and old alliances give way to new threats, praying does seem to commend itself. But praying to whom, and for what? Can the gods alter the course of human affairs? Can they change the hearts of the heartless? Can they give us hope? Perhaps they can. Here is my evidence.  Photo Credit: Marc-Olivier Jodoin on Unsplash Personal Links My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca My email address: [email protected] Series Music Credit "Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2026

Click here to send me a text message (include your contact info if you want a reply).      When it comes to cherishing childhood memories, we all know that we can never go home again. But we can pay attention to what we grieve from the past and bring that forward into the "home" we're creating now. In this way, where we've been can inform where we're going, a message that seems especially appropriate for the New Year.       With this episode, The Mystic Cave returns, following a six-month hiatus. We are still exploring the spiritual terrain on the far side conventional religion. But we're focussing now more on stories than ideas, more on people than problems, and more on the heart than the head. We are seeking guidance along this Unknown Path from our personal experiences of soulful living. Welcome back!  Photo Credit: Luc Tribolet on Unsplash Personal Links My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca My email address: [email protected] Series Music Credit "Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2026

Click here to send me a text message (include your contact info if you want a reply). The Indigenous culture that European colonizers encountered here in the New World, and then so brutally suppressed, is the very repository of wisdom we now need. Elizabeth Buller Page knows this personally. Deep into a midlife descent, Liz turned to her family's Indigenous roots to discover not only the healing she sought but the path she'd lost. Resources The book on Cree history and culture that Liz can't be without: The Plains Cree: An Ethnographic, Historical, and Comparative Study by David Mandelbaum; University of Regina Press, 1940 & 1978 (revised) The Calgary Gallery that features Liz's art: https://moonstonecreation.ca/elizabeth-buller-page-1/ Personal Links My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca My email address: [email protected] Series Music Credit "Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2026

Click here to send me a text message (include your contact info if you want a reply). Out here, on the far side of conventional religion, no path is more compelling than the one that leads us to know our natural place within the larger earth community. And there may be no better modern guide than Bill Plotkin, the author of four books on the subject and the founder of the Animas Valley Institute. The way is called "soul initiation," which is devastating to the ego but life-giving to the soul. And it just might help save the planet. Two Tips This episode is longer than most, so you might find it helpful to reference the Chapters tab above and listen in convenient chunks.You might also find it helpful to read along with the poem with which we begin our conversation, "What to Remember When Waking," by David Whyte. Here's a link: https://www.awakin.org/v2/read/view.php?tid=994Errata The notion I mistakenly attribute to Stephen Jenkinson, that true elders consider today's actions in light of their effect seven generations out, is in fact a Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) principle I had read about in Robin Wall Kimmerer's excellent book, "Braiding Sweetgrass." I regret the error. However, both Jenkinson and Bill Plotkin assume a similar point of view, that elders seek to honour both the ancestors who have gone before and the generations yet to come when considering the actions we take today. Bill's Books Soulcraft: Crossing into the Mysteries of Nature and Psyche; Soulcraft; New World Library, 2003 Nature and the Human Soul: Cultivating Wholeness and Community in a Fragmented World; New World Library, 2008 Wild Mind: A Field Guide to the Human Psyche; New World Library, 2013 The Journey of Soul Initiation: A Field Guide for Visionaries, Evolutionaries, and Revolutionaries" New World Library, 2021 The Animas Valley Institute Home page: https://www.animas.org Personal Links My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca My email address: [email protected] Series Music Credit "Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2026

Click here to send me a text message (include your contact info if you want a reply). We dwell within a realm of spacious possibility; and it dwells within us. The mystic experiences this firsthand. So does any seeker alert to the subtle movements of the heart. Cynthia Bourgeault knows the territory well. She's lived it, and she's written about it. But, being human, she's also continuing to learn about it, sometimes by trial and error. Fortunately, our spiritual education is not completed in this lifetime. Resources Cynthia's Websites: https://wisdomwaypoints.org; https://wisdomwayofknowing.org Center for Action and Contemplation: https://cac.org A Sampling of Cynthia's Books "Love is Stronger than Death;" Random House, 1997 "Mystical Hope;" Cowley Publications, 2001 "The Wisdom Way of Knowing;" Jossey-Bass, 2003 "Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening;" Cowley Publications, 2004 "The Wisdom Jesus;" Shambhala, 2008 "The Heart of Centering Prayer;" Shambhala, 2016 "Eye of the Heart;" Shambhala Publications, 2020 Personal Links My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca My email address: [email protected] Series Music Credit "Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2026

Click here to send me a text message (include your contact info if you want a reply). Soul has only one agenda--that we live into who we really are and offer our unique gifts in service to the world. Soul is less concerned about the obstacles that that may plant in our path. So, for rugged mountain guide Bruce Howatt, the call to finally show up in the world--as Julianna--must have felt like the greatest, most intimidating climb of all. And yet, here she is, inspiring the rest of us to discover and to assume our own singular place in the Universe. Resources Jules' Website (as Bruce): https://www.brucehowatt.com/ Jules' Soul Guide Bio: https://www.animas.org/guides/24/jules-howatt/ The Animas Valley Institute: https://www.animas.org Personal Links My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca My email address: [email protected] Series Music Credit "Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2026