In this episode of the podcast we talk about yoga, meditation, kirtan and the movies. The guest in the first half is Ivy Xie McIsaac of Wishingtree Yoga. Ivy is originally from Guangzhou, China and touches on life during the Cultural Revolution, how she discovered yoga in the 90s and the influence of Tibet on her life. She also discusses her book A Complete Yoga Manual, the origins of yoga and spirituality vs religion. To learn more visit https://www.wishingtreeyoga.ca/ In the second half Mark reflects on some of his favourite movies from the 2000s. These include Before Sunset, the story of second chances, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, about a robbery gone wrong, Traffic, which discusses the war on drugs from different angles, The Secret in Their Eyes, which showcases how Argentina changed over a twenty year period through the lens of a murder investigation and Lost in Translation, with two kindred spirits of different generations meeting in Tokyo. In a new segment called The Final Five Mark also reads from the book Shaman by Kim Stanley Robinson.
In this episode of Further Reflections we hear an interview with Dr. Emma Mardlin. Emma is the author of Out of Your Comfort Zone: Breaking Boundaries for a Life Beyond Limits. The book offers effective working tools to conquer our deepest fears, be they minor or major, and harness them to achieve our ultimate goals, establish higher purpose and get everything we want. Visit https://www.outofyourcomfortzone.uk/ to learn more. In the second half of the podcast Mark talks about stepping outside of his comfort zone when in 2004 he went to Fuzhou, China to teach English as a Second Language. Mark was the only Non-Asian teacher at a vocational language school and got to visit some unique towns and villages. Along the way Mark reflects on time spent in Fujian as well as trips to Shanghai, Jiangsu and Hubei Provinces and how a new relationship impacted his life at the time.
Further Reflections presents two new interviews, Ron St. Louis and David McGee. Mark interviewed Ron before back in 2011. At that time Ron was concerned with peak oil and energy issues but was just getting into beekeeping. Now it is a main interest in his life and source of income. Ron runs the business Capital Bees where he sells honey, breeds bees and does a beekeeping apprenticeship program. In the interview Ron discusses all things bees including a trip to a conference in Istanbul, Turkey in 2017. He also returns to some of the themes of the first interview towards the end. David McGee is the man behind the Lost Ottawa website and facebook page which is one of the largest local interest pages of its kind in Ottawa. Lost Ottawa shares pictures of Ottawa as it was then and elicits lots of memories and nostalgia from people online. Recently it was turned into a two book project and has proved very successful in that format too. David discusses all things ‘lost’ as well as reflects on time spent living in Boston and Berlin, Germany.
Further Reflections returns for a second year with a change to the format. In the first half of the podcast we hear from author Mitch Horowitz to discuss his new book the Miracle Club. Mitch is interested in how thoughts can be causative and the New Thought movement and weaves those themes together with personal examples from his own life and those of his heroes to enable us to potentially manifest positive change in our lives. In this second half Mark talks about several movies that made an impact on him in the second half of 2018 including Roma, The Favourite, Eighth Grade and Beast. He also looks back at Don’t Look Now and recommends the Maltin on Movies podcast among other things.
It’s the one year anniversary of Further Reflections and Mark takes a look back at some of the highlights. We hear Jim Birtch, Chris Bisson and Mike Nickerson share their experiences of the city of Ottawa, Glenn Campbell discuss Shamanism, Mark review the book Brida and Pamela French discuss authentic relating games. Later Corrie Rabbe, Randal Goodfellow and Mark talk about the movies, Laurin Fulton discusses environmental sustainability, Stewart McIsaac, Amber Westfall and Daniel Foor share unique travel experiences and Mark ends with some new material, perspectives on the books Muhammad, Jesus and The Buddha by Deepak Chopra. Thanks to all for making the first year of Further Reflections an enjoyable one.
Daniel G Mauro of Awakening Ottawa is the guest on this episode of the podcast. His discusses Ottawa’s potential to be a spiritual wayshower on the world stage. Visit http://www.awakeningottawa.com/ to learn more about Daniel and his work.
Mark asked seven of his most recent guests to describe a unique travel experience, included are their responses. We hear from Tim Yearington, Amber Westfall and Stewart McIsaac among others.
Trevor Haché of the Healthy Transportation Coalition joins the podcast to discuss the need for more low income housing, especially near rapid transit stations among other interesting related issues. Visit https://www.healthytransportation.ca/ to learn more.
Stewart McIsaac is the guest on this episode of the podcast. He is a sound yogi, yoga instructor and leads Kirtan. He discusses the influence of Eastern philosophy and thought on his life including the work of Sivananda and reflects on time teaching English in Guangzhou, China as well as trips to Tibet and Yunnan. Visit http://wishingtreeyoga.ca/ to learn more.
Amber Westfall of The Wild Garden is the guest in this episode to talk about herbalism, foraging, regenerative harvesting practices, ethical wildcrafting, the Transition movement and more. Visit http://www.thewildgarden.ca/ for more information.
Mark has read six books by author Paulo Coelho and discusses them in this episode of the podcast. He examines The Alchemist, The Zahir, The Winner Stands Alone, Brida, Adultery and The Witch of Portobello.
Jane Duncan Rogers joins the program to discuss her new book Before I Go: The Essential Guide to Creating a Good End of Life Plan. Visit https://beforeigosolutions.com/ to learn more about Jane and her work.
Tim Yearington is the guest on this episode of the podcast. He describes himself as as an Algonquin knowledge keeper and will discuss Thunderbird teachings and being a Thunderbird himself as well as a proposed Shaman school to embody people to heal others and themselves among other interesting topics. Visit http://www.timyearington.com/ to learn more.
In this episode Mark recaps some of the movies that made an impression on him in the first half of 2018. He discusses Black Panther, Annihilation and First Reformed, looks back on Mildred Pierce and The Long Goodbye and re-visits Brokeback Mountain and Her among other titles.
Sébastien Bacharach is an artist based in Perth, Ontario with a passion for sustainability. He discusses his interest in Islamic geometric art, the influence of Islam on his life, his experiences in Thailand participating in meditation retreats, the Transition movement and more. Visit him at http://bastoubach.com/
Dr. Daniel Foor of Ancestral Medicine is the guest on this episode of the podcast. His work involves connecting to and working with the ancestors. Daniel is leading a workshop in Ottawa in August of 2018. Visit https://ancestralmedicine.org/event/intensive-ottawa-8-24-2018/ to learn more.
Mark posed the question to 10 previous guests of what they like, dislike and would change about the city of Ottawa. Their responses are gathered in this podcast. Among those voices are Jim Birtch of The Ottawa Biosphere Eco City, Laurin Fulton of Vegetable Visions, Rev. Robert Meagher and Mike Nickerson, author of Life, Money and Illusion.
Laurin Fulton is the guest on this episode of the podcast. She is the blogger at Vegetable Visions, a blog on growing food from the garden, cooking and life in between. Laurin discusses how we can grow more food in the urban environment, an internship at an organic farm, some of her travel experiences among other things. Visit http://vegetablevisions.com/ to learn more.
Christopher Kelly-Bisson is the guest on this episode. He recaps a recent conference about an agri-food policy for Canada and shares some of his perspectives that come from studying politics at the PHD level at the University of Ottawa. Find Chris on twitter @chrisiferous
Mark goes solo in this show and recaps trips taken in the last six months to England and The Netherlands. Mark was visiting family there and attempts to give a slice of life of both countries.