Soul Forge Podcast
Welcome to the Soul Forge, a place of silent mystery, quiet contemplation, and outright mayhem! Shawn Vanderloo guides you through the adventures of living! We all want to love and be loved. Am I normal? Are you normal? Is happiness possible? Let's find out together!
Episodes
7 days ago
7 days ago
Top 10 things to love! Do you make a list of your favourite things? How many people out there in podcast-land actually have a running inventory of the things that make them happy? Obviously there is no way of answering that question. On this episode, I run down some of the things I love the most. If there is a better way to celebrate 250 podcast episodes, I can't think of what that might be. So, what are some of the top 10 things to love? This episode starts with my favourite authors. It turns out I really enjoy action/adventure stories. Give me international chases, mythology, and harrowing odds and I will be happy. I also enjoy science fiction and self-help type books that aren't overly saccharine or preachy. Some deeply philosophical literature is also in my list of things to love. Two other top 10 lists I present to you are movies and television shows. Once again, I love some science fiction. But I also enjoy the occasional drama and some cartoons. Coming up with absolute lists is a difficult task. Our tastes change over time. However, for the most part, the top 10 things to love list is from my early days, with a few newer things added in. Finally, we wrap up the podcast. The last list consists of my 10 favourite episodes of Soul Forge Podcast. There is no real theme to these 10 episodes. Some deal with sex and relationships. Others have to do with regular life. The one thing they all have in common is that I love them, and I hope you will too! This week's podcast promo: Cosmic Pizza
Thursday May 12, 2022
Thursday May 12, 2022
Comparing and contrasting my 2 main homes or cities. I was born and raised in Sault Ste. Marie (the Soo), went to university in North Bay, and moved to Timmins at the age of 26. Five and a half weeks ago I moved back to the Soo from Timmins where I spent the past 19 years. There is quite a bit of difference between the two cities. The Soo is a heavily Italian based town. Timmins is very Frence. People in the Soo are more friendly, while those in Timmins are more apt to have a vanity license plate. How people pronounce the word 'poutine' is different, as well as what they call the long weekend in May. While both towns are isolated and surrounded by nature, Sault Ste. Marie has more culture and travel opportunities. The Soo boasts a wonderful boardwalk and many old buildings. Timmins has many small lakes where people enjoy hunting and fishing. Also in this episode, I discuss chocolate milk. As a border town, the Soo has quick access to the USA. American chocolate milk is more fatty, and therefore more tasty. Have you ever wondered how Canada Post operates? Do you enjoy getting your mail delivered to your door? And what are those grey boxes on street corners? In the second half of this episode, I tell you all about how the mail delivery system works. Also, I explain how the job can differ based on the particular depot you work out of. Topics include: flyers, taxi cabs, sorting, supervisors and mailboxes. The episode concludes with various smaller topics. We are talking camping season and brotherhood. Yard sale season is also upon us. How am I enjoying TikTok? Find out on this episode! This week's podcast promo: The Con Guy
Thursday May 05, 2022
Thursday May 05, 2022
Being TikTok famous has never been my goal. Until now, that is! I have been home for a month and my life has undergone some changes. Let me tell you about some of those changes here on episode 248. So, I have been back in my hometown for a month now. I moved from Timmins to Sault Ste. Marie where I was born and raised. Although I am not completely certain, I think I am finally settling into something of a regular routine. The feeling of being lost is not so strong anymore. After arriving home, I worked for a week and was then off for 2 weeks. Being off for so long is not a good thing for your body. As a mailman, we walk about 25000 steps per day. When on holidays, this does not happen so coming back to work can be rough. There is also a huge difference in how Canada Post operates in different cities. Timmins has a much more harsh and unforgiving work environment than does the Soo. The work day is structured much differently. The people don't act the same. It is a lot to get used to. The amount of flyers I get on this new route compared to my last one is huge. So many things to get used to. TikTok famous! I did a video while working and almost didn't post it. It has blown up! My normal amount of views for my videos is about 300 or so. As of recording the views for my 'work at Canada Post' video was 80000. As of writing these show notes it is up to 103000. Crazy times! Also on this episode I talk about some camping supplies I have recently acquired. And my Etsy shop! And my recent weekend trying to sell my collectibles at the local used toy store. This week's podcast promo: Cigar Nerds
Thursday Apr 28, 2022
Thursday Apr 28, 2022
Your things don't love you, and you are not your things. It took me a long time to realize this one simple truth! For the vast majority of my life, I was my stuff. And my stuff was me. We were intertwined. All the things I had were my identity. I didn't know who I was without them. And I didn't know who I could be either. Things were necessary for my existence and my reality. They helped me define myself and my worldview. But, they really didn't. I just thought they did; thought I needed the things to bolster my sense of self. Recently, I have come to understand that things are just things. Stuff is just stuff. Your things don't love you. They don't know you exist. They don't care. Their identity is not based upon you. They just exist. They just are. And now, I no longer need things to give me a purpose or a sense of self. I can exist independently outside of my possessions. I can enjoy them and have sentimental attachments, but also take a step back. Being a collector, or a poet, or a book reader used to be how I defined myself. Now, I'm just me. The things are not me. So, now I'm seriously trying to downsize my collection. Too many things are overwhelming. I'm getting older and books are too heavy to move all the time. My car used to be an extension of me. No longer. It's mostly just a car. Your things don't love you, and you don't have to love your things! This week's podcast promo: But First, Let's Talk Nerdy
Thursday Apr 21, 2022
Thursday Apr 21, 2022
We are not too old for this! Maybe we feel like we are getting too old for some things, but we are not. Age is only a matter of perspective, or so we can tell ourselves. We are definitely not as young as we used to be or want to be. I just signed up for TikTok. After swearing up and down for years that I would never get involved in such a thing, I did. Blaming my brother is likely a good way to go about explaining this change in my behaviour. He needed the money! I am hoping I'm not too old for this. Adapting to change is tricky as we age. New phones are full of all kinds of technological innovations. Everything is changing so fast and keeping updated is not easy. 30 years ago a car trip consisted of a Walkman and a cassette tape. Kids today have their phones, tablets and gaming systems. Everything now is on demand with instant access. We want things yesterday -- no waiting. Another thing that changes with age is memory. The forgetting is real. Distraction is a very real thing. Is it caused by depression, aging, 2 years of Covid isolation or something else? Who can say? And does the cause matter? Remembering life details such as birthdays and appointments is no long as easy. You gotta write that shit down man! This week's podcast promo: Blurred Nerds
Thursday Apr 14, 2022
Thursday Apr 14, 2022
Bad decisions make good stories, or so they say! They actually say quite a few different things when it comes to making decisions. I'm not really sure that anyone actually knows anything about anything. Aren't we all just pretending we know what we are doing? This week's episode finds me talking about my recent move. After living in Timmins for 19 years, I decided to move back to my hometown of Sault Ste. Marie. It was a major decision. I was scared. Petrified some days to be honest. But, they do say that bad decisions make good stories. This journey is just beginning so there's really no way to know if it is right or wrong. Perhaps it just is. So, we are talking about the move itself. How did my first week of work go? I tell you. The mail delivery system is much different here than back in Timmins. All kinds of new things to get used to. The roads are equally bad in both cities - potholes everywhere. On Facebook, I made a post saying that all my Timmins people should move here too! In this episode I also discuss how my room decorating is coming along. I have moved many times. And I have a lot of things - so many collectibles. It's time to purge myself of the burden. I'm going to start selling more things at the local toy store. The episode wraps up by talking about the early days of the Soul Forge Podcast. Many different names were considered until I settled on Soul Forge. Also, many different topic ideas were thought about. I've talked about almost all of them. Remember, bad decisions make good stories! This week's podcast promo: Modern Music
Thursday Apr 07, 2022
Thursday Apr 07, 2022
I moved back home! Say what? Yes, it's true. After 19 years of living in Timmins, I moved back home to Sault Ste. Marie. Now why did I do such a thing? Great question. I provide some answers and some context in this episode as to why I moved back home. There is likely a lot more I could have gone into during my explanation. However, it has been a hectic few days, and I'm not quite myself yet. Most of my adult life has been spent up in Timmins. And although it is the land that culture forgot, it became home. It was definitely a huge decision. There are many reasons for the move and not all of them are detailed in this episode. Let's say that my recent bout of depression is a huge factor. In fact, depression probably played the biggest role in all of this. I have not been in my proper frame of mind and some of my thought processes were a bit muddied and muddled. Regardless of the reasons for the move, the fact is that I am now back home for the time being. Will this move be permanent? Will I want to return back to Timmins? Only the future knows. This week's podcast promo: Best Saturdays of Our Lives
Thursday Mar 24, 2022
Thursday Mar 24, 2022
New beginnings are a sure sign of Spring! This is the first week of Spring and so what could be better than an episode all about new beginnings? This week, your host reads quotes from a pile of famous sources. Each quote deals with new beginnings in some form or another. So, just sit back, relax, and let your mind be entertained. “The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide you’re not going to stay where you are.” “Celebrate endings—for they precede new beginnings.” “No matter how hard the past is, you can always begin again.” “Every day is a chance to begin again. Don’t focus on the failures of yesterday, start today with positive thoughts and expectations.” “Forgiveness says you are given another chance to make a new beginning.” “Nothing is predestined. The obstacles of your past can become the gateways that lead to new beginnings.” “Getting over a painful experience is much like crossing monkey bars. You have to let go at some point in order to move forward.” “Keep on beginning and failing. Each time you fail, start all over again, and you will grow stronger until you have accomplished a purpose — not the one you began with perhaps, but one you’ll be glad to remember.” “The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.” “There will come a time when you believe everything is finished; that will be the beginning.” “Sometimes we can only find our true direction when we let the wind of change carry us.” “Perhaps that is where our choice lies—in determining how we will meet the inevitable end of things, and how we will greet each new beginning.” “One can begin so many things with a new person—even begin to be a better man.” “Do not wait until the conditions are perfect to begin. Beginning makes the conditions perfect.” “Every day I feel is a blessing from God. And I consider it a new beginning. Yeah, everything is beautiful.” “Challenges are gifts that force us to search for a new center of gravity. Don’t fight them. Just find a new way to stand.” “Nothing in the universe can stop you from letting go and starting over.” “It’s a wise man who understands that every day is a new beginning, because boy, how many mistakes do you make in a day? I don’t know about you, but I make plenty. You can’t turn the clock back, so you have to look ahead.” “You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing that we call ‘failure’ is not the falling down, but the staying down.” "Every moment is a fresh beginning." “It’s never too late to become who you want to be. I hope you live a life that you’re proud of, and if you find that you’re not, I hope you have the strength to start over.” “Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.” “Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” “The beginning is the most important part of the work.” "Be willing to be a beginner every single morning." All quotes can be found at: https://www.countryliving.com/life/g30337217/new-beginnings-quotes/ This week's podcast promo: The 42Cast
Thursday Mar 10, 2022
Thursday Mar 10, 2022
Have you ever had an epiphany? You know, one of those lightbulb moments where a sudden realization hits you! One minute you're minding your own business when out of nowhere insight slaps you upside the head. Technically, an epiphany is an intuitive grasp of reality through something (such as an event) usually simple and striking, or an illuminating discovery, realization, or disclosure. Today's episode details the nature of the epiphany and the search for happiness. We all want happiness. In fact, happiness is the main goal for much of society. Entire industries are devoted to helping us in our quest to be happy. Buy this! Buy that! What many people don't realize, is that happiness is not a permanent state of affairs. There is no magic cure. Happiness is related to the quest for perfection. However, perfection does not exist. Today's perfection is tomorrow's pile of trouble. We all think we know what we want; what will make us perfectly happy. We must understand that life is about progress - not perfection. By taking responsibility for our problems we can turn those issues into progress. It is easy to blame others for our unhappiness or lack of perfection. But, if we face our fears and confront our own short-comings, we can become better people. Bravery is feeling the fear and overcoming it. So, in essence, we must define our values, figure out what we need, and build a solid foundation for moving forward. Perfection doesn't exist, and happiness is not constant. And yet, we can work with these ideas and find our true purpose. This week's podcast promo: Watchathon of Rassilon, ESO Patreon
Thursday Mar 03, 2022
Thursday Mar 03, 2022
Stars shine for you, and they shine for everyone. Episode titles are difficult. Song lyrics are often good at expressing things that regular words cannot. This episode, for example, is very strange. There isn't a single thread that holds everything together. Topics seemingly come and go at random. In this episode, I'm talking about books and authors. But I also touch on the war in Ukraine, if only briefly. Depression is also brought up in passing. Life is full of ups and downs. One day you could be perfectly happy, and the next everything could fall apart. That is why we have to enjoy each moment as it comes. Don't watch the clock. Don't think too much. Just watch how the stars shine for you. Look up. See the bigger picture. Love every moment of your life. Of course, since this is my podcast, I have to talk a bit about pop culture. Star Trek is brought up, as is often the case with me. And some of my favourite authors are mentioned too! If you're looking for something good to read, check out any of these writers: Robert J Sawyer, Andy McDermott, Matthew Reilly, Paulo Coelho, Mitch Albom and Lee Child. This week's podcast promo: The Epsilon Three

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