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The Other Side of Things

The Other Side of Things

Auteur(s): Michael Brant DeMaria Ph.D.
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 No one knows everything, but everyone knows something no one else knows. In this time of crisis and chaos in culture and nature there is a dire need for honoring all sides of things. We have lost the art of nuance and subtlety. On The Other Side of Things Michael will take you on a deep AND accessible way of looking at yourself, others and the world so you can find a lucid sanity grounded in deep mystery. We will be exploring taboo topics around love, sex, death and madness. You can always check out his Musitations podcast for creativity as a healing, meditative modality as well.©Michael Brant DeMaria 2023 Art
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  • The Other Side of Things (E13) Wild Yoga with Rebecca Wildbear

    The Other Side of Things (E13) Wild Yoga with Rebecca Wildbear
    Sep 14 2025

    00:00 Introduction to The Other Side of Things
    00:40 Welcoming the Guest: Rebecca Wild Bear
    01:31 Rebecca's Background and Work
    03:27 The Importance of Wilderness Therapy
    06:29 Challenges of Modern Culture and Soul Work
    11:56 Writing and Living Wild Yoga
    16:45 Personal Stories and Vulnerabilities
    30:03 The Concept of Wild Yoga
    35:19 Embracing Vulnerability
    35:52 The Never-Ending Journey of Healing
    37:13 Love Warrior vs. Heart Warrior
    38:02 The Power of Love and Ferocity
    44:07 Feral Female Ferocity
    50:04 The Role of Anger and Boundaries
    01:02:32 The Journey of Braveheart
    01:05:18 Final Thoughts and Contact Information

    ✨ The Other Side of Things Podcast | Guest: Rebecca Wildbear ✨

    In this episode, I’m joined by my dear friend of over a decade, Rebecca Wildbear—author of Wild Yoga: A Practice of Initiation, Veneration, and Advocacy for the Earth. It was such a joy to finally sit down and reconnect with her for this conversation.

    Rebecca is a nature-based soul guide, vision fast guide with Animas Valley Institute, and former wilderness therapy facilitator with Open Sky. Her life’s work is devoted to helping people listen deeply to the mysteries of the Earth, their dreams, and their souls.

    Together we explore how Rebecca’s approach to wild yoga—a blend of yoga, deep imagination, and nature connection—offers a paradigm shift in how we understand human development, especially through the lens of nature-based soul initiation. Drawing on our shared apprenticeship with Bill Plotkin and the Animas Valley Institute, we discuss:

    🌿 How wild yoga is different from traditional yoga
    🌿 The role of wilderness in soul initiation and human maturation
    🌿 Alternative ways of looking at what is often called “mental illness,” addiction, or psychosis
    🌿 How nature can guide healing, wholeness, and purpose
    🌿 Why adults who never felt at home in mainstream culture may still find their soul initiation later in life

    Rebecca’s book Wild Yoga is both a practice and an invitation—a call to live in deeper conversation with the Earth and with the soul’s longing.

    🔗 Learn more about Rebecca Wildbear and her work: https://www.rebeccawildbear.com
    📖 Get Wild Yoga: https://www.amazon.com/Wild-Yoga-Practice-Initiation-Veneration/dp/160868797X

    If you enjoy this conversation, please like, share, and subscribe for more soulful dialogues on The Other Side of Things.

    Michael's website: www.michaeldemaria.com
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    1 h et 8 min
  • The Other Side of Things (E12) Jung and Shamanism with C. Michael Smith, Ph.D.

    The Other Side of Things (E12) Jung and Shamanism with C. Michael Smith, Ph.D.
    Jul 24 2025
    00:00 Introduction01:15 Who is C. Michael Smith?04:59 What is the Dialogic Method for Jung and Shamanism in Michael's work.08:23 The ancient history behind understanding the world of Spirit09:00 Jung's description of an archetypal possession and the need for exorcism12:39 How Michael was drawn to this deep work of Jung and Shamanism 14:02 Jung's Memories, Dreams and Reflections and Mircea Eliade's work on Shamanism15:14 Michael's person connection to the Spirit World/Collective Unconscious16:28 Michael's encounter with the Numinous 17:04 Michael's Jungian Analyst told him he needed to find a shamanic teacher18:18 His vision quest and finding his Daemon/Guardian Spirit and Guide20:30 His first work with serious mental illness/archetypal possession21:43 Shamanism as an archaic Depth Psychology 22:30 Jung, "If I knew about Shamanism I wouldn't have spent so much time with alchemy."25:30 Core Analysis and Psycho Shamanism in Michael's work.26:12 The Psyche is a porous open system - connected to all reality which is a blessing and curse.27:23 How to stay curious, compassionate, and open to these psychic numinous realities/entities.28:30 The power of relationship, music, presence, symbol, chant, colorful ceremony in this work.30:06 Michael's work with exorcism with severe cases, which he uses very rarely.33:45 When Michael works with Severe Mental Illness uses greater family and psychiatric support.35:00 Example of someone who was archetypally possessed and how he did an exorcism.40:17 How do we help people shamanically swim in these waters instead of psychotically drowning.41:30 "I'm in the business of working with the impossible, what other people say can't be healed."42:30 One particularly powerful case of healing deep trauma through multiple de-possessions. 43:36 Dealing with deep ancestral trauma inter-generationally. 45:16 In Internal Family Systems you can have a Legacy Burden and Unattached Burden. 47:09 Michael's take on Post-Modern Shamanism vs. Traditional Shamanism.50:13 Michael's take on being a reconstructive Post-Modernist.51:48 Michael's powerful use of shamanic work with a cancer patient.56:19 Consciousness is fundamental as a shift from our tradition of materialistic reductionism.58:52 Post-modern shamanism is updating itself with the newest findings in neuroscience and physics.1:01:00 An N of 1 matters.1:02:00 Advaita Vedanta and letting go of any attachment to any objects.1:03:00 Our Avatar Bodies...1:04:27 Eternity is in love with the productions of time.1:06:00 Michael's sharing of Jung's story of the woman who lived on the moon and how he see's his own work with the defenses of the psyche. 1:09:39 A shamanic correction to Jung's work - the extra step of ceremony - soul retrieval - inviting in what was giving up - not just extraction/de-possession/exorcism, but also welcoming back the essence of what was displaced. 1:11:00 Your defense system is like a psychic immune system - those young parts of us. 1:13:00 The being of the shamanic healer must live and respond from your open center. 1:14:30 The center ultimately IS the heart. 1:17:00 Jung was also a phenomenologist - and his sense of the divine was numinous.1:20:00 The most powerful place to stand and for protection and healing is the heart...In this profound episode, I sit down with clinical psychologist, medical anthropologist, and author C. Michael Smith, a world-renowned expert in Jungian psychology and shamanic healing. Together, we explore the fertile intersection of Jung’s depth psychology and indigenous shamanic traditions — both of which view healing as a soul-centered, symbolic, and relational process.We dive into:✨ How Jung's concept of the wounded healer echoes the shamanic initiation✨ The parallels between soul retrieval and Jungian individuation✨ The role of altered states, dreams, and active imagination in accessing inner wisdom✨ The sacred importance of ritual, symbol, and myth in both systems✨ How trauma, possession, and spiritual crisis are addressed in traditional vs. modern cultures✨ And why reconnecting with the soul — personally and culturally — is more vital than everC. Michael Smith brings a rare integration of scholarship and lived experience. His seminal book Jung and Shamanism in Dialogue has influenced therapists, healers, and seekers worldwide.This is a rich, timely conversation for anyone called to the deeper healing path, whether through psychotherapy, ceremony, or inner exploration.Michael's book on Jung and Shamanism: https://www.amazon.com/Jung-Shamanism-Dialogue-Retrieving-Sacred-ebook/dp/B00I4GL9OI Michael's website:https://crowsnestshamanism.com/blog/Michael DeMaria's website: https://michaeldemaria.com/#JungAndShamanism #CMichaelSmith #TheOtherSideOfThings #SoulHealing #WoundedHealer #DepthPsychology #ShamanicHealing
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    1 h et 24 min
  • The Other Side of Things (E11) Bipolar Awakenings with Sean Blackwell

    The Other Side of Things (E11) Bipolar Awakenings with Sean Blackwell
    Mar 26 2025

    00:37 Introduction
    01:39 Who is Sean Blackwell?
    03:59 Our mutual connection to Holotropic Breathwork.
    05:32 Sean's Bipolar Episode and Hospitalization.
    07:22 Working with his partner's nieces psychotic episodes.
    07:57 Dr. John Weir Perry and Dr. Loren Moser's influence on Sean.
    09:38 Sean has done 60-70 retreat with people around the world.
    13:16 The overlap of spirituality and psychosis in Sean's work.
    13:40 Two camps: Peer Support vs. Transpersonal psychology
    16:31 Grof's the Stormy Search for the Self
    17:21 The 13 basic delusions people experience
    17:46 When flip into paranoia no healing can happen!
    18:35 The blissful psychosis vs. the Paranoid psychosis
    21:35 Trauma and psychosis
    22:06. Healing the chakra's somatically
    23:08 What's truly healing is the healing field!
    24:35 Sean's discovery of surrogate breathwork.
    32:34 Dealing with intense shadow energies - even what feels like feels demonic
    36:34 Sean's discovery of distance healing through his work with Family Constellation Therapy
    43:21 Sean's current understanding of The Healing Field.
    50:27 Tribal Shamanism, New Age Shamanism vs Quantum Shamanism
    56:34 A name for every name in the river, but not the river itself.
    59:23 Developing an Integral Consciousness
    1:01:23 Accessing the quantum dimension.
    1:02:31 The most powerful protection.
    1:07:36 Sean's understanding of soul.
    1:11:00 Sean's frustration with how little people understand the work he does.
    1:16:00 How to find Sean's work.

    Since 2007 Sean Blackwell has been researching and teaching about the spiritual dimension and healing potential of bipolar disorder through his YouTube channel, bipolarORwakingUP. His videos graphically illustrate subjects such as spiritual emergency, transpersonal psychology, and the evolution of consciousness, always demonstrating how these themes relate to transcending the bipolar condition. His book, “Am I Bipolar or Waking Up?”, published in 2011, describes his own bipolar awakening, subsequent hospitalization, and complete recovery, which happened in 1996.

    In 2013, Sean started The Bipolar Awakenings Healing Retreat, a pioneering program for people who wanted to heal from their so-called incurable condition. In September of 2016, Sean received his certification as a Holotropic Breathwork facilitator with Grof Transpersonal Training, the official training program of Dr. Stanislav Grof. This education has been fundamental to the development of the healing retreat process, as a modified form of Holotropic Breathwork, Bipolar Breathwork, provides the basis for the bioenergetic healing process which takes place during retreats.

    Based on his experience facilitating private retreats, Sean developed two new online healing modalities. In 2020, he launched Distance Surrogate Breathwork and Conscious Emotional Clearing, as two very affordable options that could help people begin to heal their bipolar conditions safely, within the comfort of their own home.

    Sean's website and link to his new book: https://www.bipolarawakenings.com/
    Michael's Website: https://michaeldemaria.com/
    Michael's Links: https://michaeldemaria.com/michaels-links/
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    1 h et 17 min
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