Soul Studies is a new series of podcasts where I read excerpts from books that are currently inspiring me. In this episode I read from the first chapter of Rollo May’s 1975 book “The Courage to Create”. It struck me as a book that feels incredibly relevant to our cultural moment, particularly on the topics of despair, cultural divides and ideological fanaticism.

“People who claim to be absolutely convinced that their stand is the only right one are dangerous. Such conviction is the essence not only of dogmatism, but of its more destructive cousin, fanaticism. It blocks off the user from learning new truth, and it is a dead giveaway of unconscious doubt. The person then has to double his or her protests in order to quiet not only the opposition but his or her own unconscious doubts as well.”

Rollo May (1909-1994) taught at Harvard, Princeton, and Yale, and was Regents' Professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz. An influential psychologist, he was the best-selling author of Love and Will, as well as the author of The Courage to Create, Man's Search for Himself, The Meaning of Anxiety, and Psychology and the Human Dilemma.

If you enjoyed this episode and want me to continue sharing work I find in the course of my Soul Studies, please let me know!

Email me: hello@brianjames.ca
Instagram: @revealingthesoul
Website: brianjames.ca

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On this episode I speak with Stephen Aizenstat, who I had the pleasure of learning with a couple years ago when I participated in his Dream Tending program.

Stephen Aizenstat, Ph.D., is the founder of Pacifica Graduate Institute, Dream Tending, and the Academy of Imagination. For more than 35 years, he has explored the power of dreams through depth psychology. He has collaborated with Joseph Campbell, Marion Woodman, Robert Johnson, James Hillman, and Native elders worldwide. He conducts dreamwork and imagination seminars throughout the US, Europe, and Asia.

Steve and I have a wide ranging conversation where we talk about the power of imagination to heal individuals and restore the soul of the world, and pay homage to some of the spiritual mentors who he’s worked with and who have inspired me.

Links to Stephen's work:

https://dreamtending.com

https://dreamtending.com/the-imagination-matrix/

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Support Scott's GoFundMe:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/kathryn-kloos-fundraiser

If you’d like to gain access to early release of full, ad-free episodes and support the podcast, consider becoming part of the pack over at patreon.com/howlinthewilderness. We are an independent production and rely on the support of listeners like you. Make a one-time contribution to http://paypal.me/brianjamessoul

On this episode I speak with Scott Kloos, a plant medicine practitioner, teacher and ceremonialist located somewhere in the wilds outside Portland Oregon.

Scott and I first crossed paths in a Santo Daime ceremony about ten years ago and I’ve been watching the development of his work ever since. We have a deep and intimate conversation about our relationship with plant medicines and teachers, and how plants can help us become more humble and humane people.

Scott guides The School of Forest Medicine and Cascadia Folk Medicine and is author of Pacific Northwest Medicinal Plants: Identify, Harvest, and Use 120 Wild Herbs for Health and Wellness.

You can find out more about his online and in-person offerings by visiting forestmedicine.net

Topics: plant medicine, Santo Daime, psychedelics, animism

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