Secrets of an Everyday Mystic

”The Psychedelic Kid” - Meet Stormy King

Adventures of a teen during the psychedelic heyday of the 1960s. Stormy King grew up amongst the big names in psychedelic history, including Timothy Leary, Ram Dass, Owsley Stanley, and the Grateful Dead.  This interview looks in depth at his unique childhood experience and the insight he has gained from being deeply connected to Ram Dass throughout his life.

”The Biker” - Meet Teddy Brewski

My old friend, Teddy "Brewski" talks about music, adventure, and drugs, growing up in the rough and tumble 60s.

”The Realtor” - Meet Jordan Farrell

Jordan and I talk about Christianity, love, fatherhood, and the principles of being a good human.

”The Lovers”: Meet Tommy and Sarah Mulligan

Tommy and Sarah talk about their adventures in marriage, owning a meditation studio, and running a "surf shack" in Flagler Beach, Florida.

”The Healer”: Meet Sky Handke Hegedus

Sky is a healer, yoga instructor, and life coach.  In this interview she shares her personal journey, moving from her role as a healer of others to now, becoming also a healer of herself as she faces a cancer diagnosis that is forcing her to reboot her plans, slow down, and turn inward.
To learn more about Sky's healing services and support her GoFund Me visit:
www.daretobeyourself.com

”The Representative”: Meet Adam Morley

I had the great honor of interviewing local celebrity, political candidate and all around great human being Adam Morley. Adam has been running for the seat of Florida State Representative District 19 since 2014 in a David and Goliath-type race for the job. Although he’s lost every time he persists, standing with a message that I believe, no matter your politics, we’re all craving to hear.

Enchantress of the Story: Meet Debra Weller

With her sweet, pixie-like demeanor, master storyteller and educator Debra Weller engaged me in an hour-long conversation about the power of story, sharing the deep and mystical secrets to creating magic with the spoken word.

”The Camera Man” - Meet Lenny Foster

I had the honor of spending several hours with photographer Lenny Foster, a man who has propelled his life through the viewfinder of his camera, finding truth, capturing it, and sharing it with the world. In this conversation, we talk about getting sober, the magic of life in Taos, his Healing Hands photography project, the history of race relations in St. Augustine, Florida...and the adventure of being human.   
Check out his photography - Here

”The Magdalene” Meet Shannon Anderson

Several days ago, seeking shelter from the rain, I sat with author and spiritual mama, Shannon Anderson under the canopy of her dock on the Matanzas River. As I messed with my recorder trying to get the sound just right, the rain intensified.
 
Shannon’s eyes lit up. “You want to see a way to stop the rain?” She stood up and gestured to the North, then the East, the South, and the West and said, “There. The rain should stop soon.”
 
You’ll hear in the interview, that the rain stopped soon after we begin.
 
Aside from being versed in weather magic, Shannon is one of the world’s leading experts on Mary Magdalene and has authored a book titled The Magdalene Awakening and has traveled Europe, leading groups of women to search for what she believes is a hidden spiritual truth behind Mary Magdalene. Shannon also happens to be my next-door neighbor.
 
Seeing that I have been brewing all kinds of questions about the divine feminine lately, it only made sense that I head on over to Shannon’s, turn on the recorder and see what I could learn.
 
Shannon’s big two-story home on the river has offered many spiritual seekers a space of community. On the day I visited, visitors came in and out. I’m never sure who lives there and who is just passing through. I think this is part of the mystique of her large property. With the tall ancient oaks, the magnolias, and the Spanish moss that sways gently in the breeze, the land surrounding Shannon’s home takes on a magical quality. I’m quite sure the fairies are always nearby.
 
Shannon is a bereavement counselor by trade, but also takes the role of teacher, leading workshops from her home on writing, Mary Magdalene, and any other spiritual subjects that her friends are interested in sharing.
 
With her starry eyes and weathered glow, I‘ve always seen Shannon as a community leader, a kind of spiritual rebel in this traditional Christian region of the country in Northeastern Florida. Shannon’s been talking about magic and angels, since before it was cool.
 
Two days after the interview, I was invited to Shannon’s place to walk the labyrinth on her property in celebration of Magdalene's Feast Day. At 11:11, accompanied by a small group of women, I walked the grassy, brick-lined maze, feeling a joyful calm as my feet followed the circular path into the center and then out again. All the while Shannon held up her phone and shared the session live on Facebook for the other “magdalenes” she knows across the world to see.
 
 
It was an honor to step into Shannon’s world these past two days. Apparently, according to Shannon, I too have Magdalene energy. She tells me that it’s the divine feminine manifested, not as passivity, but with strength and force and confidence.
 
Shakti. Tara. Isis. Athena.
 
It's the great feminine energy brought to life in all its many forms in this small, sleepy Florida town.
 
L. Shannon Anderson and the Magdalene Awakening

”The Demon Tamer” Meet stand up comic Sareth Ney

 
“Laughing is contagious.  It’s so much better than any virus or disease…as long as you can be on the good side of contagious you’re on the right track” 
                                                                                                  -Sereth Ney
On the day of our interview, I met Sareth at Sunbros, a bustling cafe in Flagler Beach, Florida.  We must have looked like a confusing pair as we stood in line at the front counter; me in my crazy, hippie dress and wild hair and Sareth, not far from my 5’3” stature, decked out in a black leather vest, adorned with patches.  
 
But don’t let the biker attire fool you. In fact, Sereth carries himself with an unassuming gentleness that upon first meeting might be mistaken as timidness.
However sitting down with Sareth at a table, with my trusty recorder propped up between us, I met someone who was far from timid.  From hIs soft-spoken voice comes a humble tenacity and bravery that has the power to entice anyone who has the opportunity to listen. 
Sareth has lived a charmed life, apprenticing under horror director and writer Clive Barker, and befriending the members of the revolutionary hip hop group the Wu Tan Clan.  His stories from his time in LA living as a music journalist are reminiscent of Hunteress Thomson - that is, If Thomson was a polite, Asian man who doesn’t do drugs.  
Sareth now devotes much of his life to stand-up comedy, performing at bars and festivals from Daytona to Jacksonville, using his time on stage as a way to channel his demons…quite literally.  Listen for that part of the interview at the end.  It’s crazy stuff!
To me, Sereth effortlessly epitomizes the life of an everyday mystic. With Sareth, there are no pretenses.  He is easy to be with. You get what you get – a kind and gentle man, with many crazy, funny, sometimes sexy, dirty stories to tell.
It was a great honor to spend an hour with such a kind and magical being.  I hope through listening, you’ll get to know the secrets of his magic as well.
To follow Sareth and his bold and comedic adventures visit his webpage and podcast:  www.AQDPI.com