Hey, what is up? Episode one, wow, doing this again. So some of you don't know me; most of you probably don't know me. My name is Ross Cessna. I used to host a podcast called the spiritual phoenix podcast. That's how I got started in all of this. I started it five years ago on the day um doing this one to correct some of the mistakes that I made and how I presented the first one and do some things differently and build a community around it.

So maybe I should start with saying what I want to do with this podcast first off, then explain who I am and do somewhat of a backstory, and then describe some of the paths forward with everything.

It's not going to be super dull; I'm going to make it fun, don't worry.

The show intends to be upon the following premises, magic psy-phenomenon and forces beyond our comprehension are real and interact with people regularly and just to like break this down with some like regular vernacular too.

Think about it this way. We are humans. We know for a fact that we can't tune into 99% of reality because of the limits of our perception. It's statistically impossible that there are no forces beyond our comprehension. So that means that there's a lot of shit going on that we don't know.

Learning to integrate these experiences into mainstream culture is imperative to the well-being of the individual and the species, long-term survival.

That's a big statement there. But I think that's incredibly true also, right? Because more and more people are having these experiences.

These experiences seem to be ways to facilitate growth and change and expand the individual. And because our current system views people having these experiences as a mental health crisis is because they don't fit into the modern framework of materialism, it's an issue, and that's the next point.

Some individuals, often problematic and troubled, are selected by spirits and put into a life of hardship that often leads to a life-altering crisis. Some of us are chosen to go through these processes to help shepherd other people Through this process. With so many people wakening up, we don't need teachers or gurus.

Some people go that route, but it's not supposed to be; it's more like a fellow traveler. And then this crisis often brings about psychic changes and a series of events that, while unique to the individual, fit into archetypal themes. What that means is there's this overlying or underlying theme that can unify all these different experiences despite the experience occurring in a way that makes sense to the individual.

It's hard to describe, but maybe the right people get what I'm saying, right. Some of the ways that the universe or whatever this, these other forces are expressing themselves in ways that seem batshit crazy to most people. Still, they're legitimately something there in some instances, and mental illness is also real.So deciphering the two can be challenging.

Sharing these experiences with others in a safe and supportive environment can be critical to maintaining a state of mental well-being. As somebody who has had these experiences and then was put in the mental health system, and I was told not to trust many useful things, that was just as disorienting as believing what wasn't real.

Learning how to process that and integrate these experiences in a way where you're grounded and still able to function is super important.

Having a podcast in a community that offers a platform for voices of experiencers is necessary and something that I am uniquely suited to do.

Here's why okay, so for me, a lot of my earlier podcast was me documenting my journey of getting my life back together after this substantial spiritual awakening spiritual emergency that completely devastated my entire being right.

The whole podcast is really structured on that, and it begins with me entering 12 step recovery and working on myself and like going through the entire emotional process of becoming a better person, fixing myself, healing, growing, expanding, and then learning how to integrate magic in how working on spiritual stuff increased my magic ability.

And while there was a lot of good information and that earlier stuff that I put out, many of the perspectives need to be corrected, not because they were necessarily wrong, they didn't have the whole picture, and there's a broader context that I had missed. One of the main things for me that has shifted is over the years, I've left 12 step recovery, I began using CBD hemp, and then I've recently integrated medical marijuana back into my life. It has been fundamentally life-changing and how much it has helped me. And it made me realize what I had initially used it.

And that's one of the reasons why doing this podcast again is crucial to me because I want to address that aspect of that part of the journey and say that I was wrong in many ways. I presented some of that information incorrectly. There is an appropriate way to use marijuana. And I did mention that at times, but there were times when I was a dick about things to um, and I needed to correct myself on that and have some humility about it.

Additionally, other ideas need to be unpacked and expanded more, and those things need to be fixed just for my well-being and to clear up some of my thoughts on stuff.

And then lastly, I have actually done support groups and have learned so much about healing and the intersection of personal healing, magic spirituality, and all of these things that it would be unfair of me not to offer these back to the community.

And while initially, this is going to be the show is going to be more about correcting some of the old issues and catching people who listen to the old show up on what I'm doing now and explaining more about my personal practice, and building up a system of metaphysics. So we have a common understanding of what I'm talking about.

Once we do that, I want to start getting authors and guests and things on um and talking about their experiences. Still, I do want to also maintain some of the ways that I did the original show. A key component was just riffing off the top of my head about certain topics and ideas that come up and like having a good time doing it and not being super pressured or committed to it, but making it fun. This time, though, I plan to get the community involved in making it about you.

This whole show isn't for me anymore; while the work is never done, I've done my shit and have little things to attend. The show is to share that experience help other people find their way, not to tell them what to do. Because I am not a guru, I have authority over my experience, and even that's questionable at times. I can't tell you where to go.

That's the thing about this experience that I think most people miss, and this is one of the things that religion does a great disservice to people because it tells people that there's this one way, but there are as many ways as there are people and you have to unlock your own path, but because of these archetypal themes, we can share this in language and find commonality and find ways to navigate it.

Um, it's going to be an enjoyable experience. I've learned so much about presenting information and interviewing guests. I think we're going to have a really good time.

I want to have community members on the show and learn about your experiences. There is already a system of events and a membership system, so we can get involved and have online meetups. We can do some super fun stuff, and I'm looking forward to it. It's going to be a blast, and I look forward to going on this adventure with you.

With all of that said, I'm not going to take up any more of your time, I will be back in two weeks, and I think we're going to unpack what's going on with the magical system and maybe some stuff like that anyhow chat soon.