► Introduction

Hello friends, welcome to another episode of Potential Paradigms. We live in a world that's heavily polarized by narratives with activists on each and every side. So the question becomes: is it possible that there is a form of activism grounded in a single truth and perhaps grounded in love, harmony, and prayer? My friend Jeffrey "Bearheart" Domogowski embodies such a life. What struck me about Jeffrey when I first met him was not just his community engagement, but his prayerful invocations—prayers that are not just words, but something alive and embodied.

► Guest Biography

Jeffrey "Bearheart" Domogowski is a lifelong activist, community elder, and musician who now shares his work with young children and seniors, this conversation reveals the story of his personal transformation and the evolution of his activism.

TimePoints

00:00 Trailer

02:51 Introduction and Welcome

03:52 The Source of Optimism

06:45 Early Life and Family Background

08:29 Military Service and Personal Growth 09:49 Discovering Activism and Indigenous Roots

16:37 Beginning of Nature Activism

29:12 Wilderness Psychology and Deep Connection to Nature

34:30 Music and Activism

42:09 Embracing Diversity and Ancestral Connections

49:13 Balancing Activism with Trust and Curiosity

56:45 Finding Inspiration in Life's Challenges

59:11 Embracing Emotions and Honoring Water

59:38 The Wisdom of Elders and Universal Connection

01:00:21 Nature as a Teacher and Singing with Children

01:01:43 Grief, Loneliness, and Personal Growth

01:07:23 The Power of Prayer and Spiritual Connection 01:14:00 Teaching Children Through Music

01:14:25 Singing with Elders and Life's Transitions

01:28:09 The Paradox of Modern Life and Native Wisdom

01:34:58 The Perfection of Life and Embracing Challenges #peace #activism

Today in our world, we are finding ourselves surrounded by political polarization, ongoing wars, and the destruction of our environment. The media is presenting us with a minefield of narratives where they have either figured it out or they know who to blame, and frankly, many of us, including myself, are fatigued with this approach. This episode offers a different way - a mature way, a way of the heart that my guest today is calling "the indigenous mind." By indigenous mind, he doesn't mean a regression or romanticization of the past, but points to something crucial that we might have forgotten in our modern-day rush. My guest, Jens Jarvie, is a seasoned shaman who lives a life at the intersection of spiritual transformation and music. Over the past three decades, Jens has been a scholar and practitioner of multiple wisdom traditions, but in recent years, he has been serving as a guide and practitioner of the Shipibo-Konibo tradition of the Amazon. This is a timely conversation that I hope gives you some faith in a way forward. If it resonates with you, please share it with your friends, and I'll see you soon. Thank you.

Today's episode explores Spiritual Cosmology, diving into fundamental questions about the Geography of creation: How does creation emerge out of unity or God, or what quantum physics might call the zero point energy field? What kind of world orders are present in this vast multiverse, what beings might inhabit these worlds, and what is the purpose of it all? Most importantly, how are they all interconnected with each other and the ultimate unity? In previous episodes, we explored the cosmologies of Tantric Shaivism and Tibetan Bon Buddhism. However, there's been relatively little discussion about another profound system of understanding the cosmos – the rich cosmological framework of Sufism, the mystical dimension of Islam and the Abrahamic traditions. While there are fascinating parallels among these cosmologies, each offers its own unique and beautiful perspective. I believe we find ourselves in an age of integration, offering us a remarkable opportunity to understand and assimilate these diverse views. ► Guest Biography Pir Zia Inayat Khan, is a scholar of religion and teacher of Sufism in the universalist Sufi lineage of his legendary grandfather, Hazrat Inayat Khan, bringing together ancient wisdom with contemporary understanding.

Today is a special episode. As many of you might know, I am a scholar-practitioner of a few wisdom traditions, including Sufism and Tantra, particularly in the context of Kashmir Shaivism—and I encourage you to check out our previous episode on Kashmir Shaivism from last year.

Another tradition that has deeply touched me is the Tibetan Bon Buddhist tradition. What is fascinating about the Bon tradition is that it is nearly 18,000 to 22,000 years old. I'm always curious to know what the aspirations of these radically different ancient civilizations were and how we can learn from them in the challenging world we find ourselves in today.

For this episode, I had the rare privilege to have a conversation with Rinpoche Tenzin Wangyal, who is a Bon Buddhist master and the leader and founder of the Ligmincha International Organization. His students are spread across 25 countries, and his teachings have reached millions of people. This conversation was truly a gift for me, recorded during a retreat with him.

In our discussion, we explore what Tantra means to him, how humans can creatively manifest, the nature of other-worldly beings and dimensions, and how one can activate their infinite creative potential.► Guest Bio & Links

Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche Founder and spiritual director of Ligmincha International (https://ligmincha.org/), is a respected and beloved teacher and meditation master in the Bön Buddhist tradition of Tibet. He has students in more than 25 countries, teaches around the world and reaches thousands of students through his online programs. Trained as a Bön monk, Rinpoche now lives as a householder, allowing him to more fully relate to the needs and concerns of his students. Known for the depth of his wisdom and his unshakeable commitment to helping students recognize their true nature, he is the author of many books and online courses.

Hello friends. So today's episode is in a series I like to call the play of words where we look at the origins and meanings of words and we also look at the cultural and geographical pathways that these words have taken because often we use words when we don't know their meaning and then they really cast a spell on us.

So for this episode we're looking at the word honor. I have a little bit of a martial arts background and sometimes I like to say I like to be honorable. But I realized that I didn't really know what the word honor meant. See, on one side, the word honor is associated with knighthood and chivalry, and on the other side, it occurs in phrases such as honor killings.

In ancient Japan, at one point, the samurais would be collecting skulls on the battlefield because the number of skulls they had would determine their honor. Similarly, in Europe at one point, the amount of land you had amassed would determine your honor. So, Do you know what makes you honorable? And if not, then I hope that you'll stick around to watch this episode.

So for this episode, I have two of my dear friends with me.

Joshua Beneventi,  who is a polyglot, which means that he speaks a number of languages, and he's a philosopher  and deep thinker. And my other friend Dorian Guinn, who is a black belt in Aikido and also a deep thinker. So I hope that you'll enjoy this episode. 

In this enlightening conversation, Ginny Breeland Sensei, a 6th degree black belt with over 40 years of Aikido experience, shares her insights on the transformative power of this Japanese martial art. As a petite woman standing at just 5 feet tall, Ginny’s journey in Aikido offers a unique perspective on overcoming physical limitations and finding one’s inner strength.

So today’s episode is about a long love of minewhich is martial arts. I had my first brush with martial arts after watching a lot of, Bruce Lee movies back in the eighties with a martial arts named Bondo, an offshoot of Taekwondo. And then after a long break, I came through dance to the martial art Capoeira, which had the.

and aesthetics and elements of dance and trickery And then later on, I did a little bit of Muay Thai for some time, which

is primarily taking a lot of jabs and hits to the body and frankly quite a violent sport which is a big part of the mixed martial arts culture. And then now that I’m in my 40s I was brought a few years ago to the martial art of Aikido.

which is first and foremost an inner martial art.

and one of the things that brings me joy to come to Aikido is that in my martial arts journey, I knew that I was always seeking something but I didn’t know what that was until I reached Aikido.

Aikido is first and foremost an inner martial art. that essence is placed at the forefront. That’s where you begin the journey.

So we dive into all of this and more in this episode. And for this episode, I have the joy of having with me one of my dear teachers, Ginny Breeland Sensei is a 40 year practitioner of Aikido. She’s a six degree black belt. . First and foremost, as a small woman at 100 pounds and 5 feet tall, I have seen her having students who are 240 pounds and 6 feet 4 inches

And really that demonstrates the necessity through which she developed her skill to be able to handle that amount of weight and strength and bigger bodies. , so for, especially for any martial artist, but in particular for women, there are some tremendous insights as to what is the applicability of martial art for a woman and what defines, success in a martial art.

especially we live in the culture of mixed martial art, which has violence and competitiveness.

And nothing good really comes out of that. Although that there is beauty and tremendous value in there as well. So Aikido is about harmonizing forces without seeing opponents, without going out to destroy someone or to be destroyed by someone.

Aikido has deep spiritual themes and the founder O’Sensei was living in a very violent time.

During the Second World War in Japan and was a very competitive man in his youth, also a practitioner of Japanese Shinto which in the West would be equivalent to animism and shamanism. And at one point in his, later years, he had this revelation where we, we connected the various forms of Aikido to sounds, consonants and vowels, which I love, which is the common denominator in tantra and yoga and Kabbalah and many, many traditions on the planet, including Native American traditions.And also we talk about other deep martial art terms in Aikido such as Zanshin, Mushin, remaining mind, no mind, the principle of magnetizing your opponent, towards you. And not just that, but we actually shot some demos to make you feel viscerally, uh, not just through the conversation, but through actually seeing and feeling the depth of this martial art.

So I invite you to join in this conversation and please, uh, share with your friends and, let us know how we’re doing at Potential Paradigms. Thank you.

► Episode Introduction

Today, we're diving deep into the world of Aikido - a Japanese martial art that goes far beyond physical technique to embody profound spiritual and philosophical principles. I'm thrilled to be joined by Nathan, my Aikido sensei and a practitioner with decades of experience. Nathan's approach to Aikido as both a physical discipline and a path for personal growth has been truly inspiring in my own journey. Our conversation explores the essence of Aikido - from its historical roots to its modern applications. We discuss the interplay between physical techniques and spiritual development, the concept of harmony in martial arts, and how Aikido's principles can transform our daily lives. What makes this episode unique is that we've included short snippets of video demonstrations of some Aikido. The full demonstration will be released in the near future. These visceral examples bring the power and fluidity of Aikido to life, allowing you to experience it beyond just words. Whether you're a martial arts enthusiast or simply curious about personal growth practices, this episode offers valuable insights into cultivating awareness, balance, and harmony in our lives.

► Guest Bio & Links

Nathan Feileacan is a 5th dan Aikido instructor. He has been training in Aikido since 1993, studying under Tatoian Sensei, Noel Kennedy Sensei, Jay Bell Sensei, and Lynn Johnston Sensei. He has served as uchi deshi in Iwama, Japan. He began teaching Aikido in 2004 and opened Takemusu Aikido of Sebastopol in 2014. In 2014 he established Takemusu Aikido of Sebastopol.

https://www.facebook.com/aikidosebastopol/

http://aikidosebastopol.com

► Tip Jar

paypal.me/PotentialParadigms , Venmo: @Kenan-Azam

Hello friends, in the realm of spiritual seekers and mystic musicians, few stories are as captivating as that of Tahir Qawwal. Born in Nova Scotia, Tahir's journey led him from the shores of Canada to the peaks of the Himalayas, and eventually to becoming a torchbearer of the ancient Sufi Qawwali tradition in the West.

In this episode, we dive deep into Tahir's transformative experiences, exploring the intersection of Eastern spirituality and Western upbringing. From his early days studying Sanskrit and frequenting Sikh temples in Nova Scotia to his years as a wandering ascetic in the Himalayas, Tahir's story is one of relentless seeking, profound realization, and the ultimate discovery of divine expression through music. This episode is a deep dive into mysticism, art, and the human experience.Join the conversation and share your thoughts with us in the comments.

Thank you.