Philosophy, Sex and Voodoo - 187

What do sex, voodoo and philosophy all have in common? We mention each of those subjects in this episode. Although our main discussion is meant as an introduction to philosophy, we cannot cover all aspects of such a broad field of study in a short episode.

Quite literally, the term "philosophy" means, "love of wisdom." In a broad sense, philosophy is an activity people undertake when they seek to understand fundamental truths about themselves, the world in which they live, and their relationships to the world and to each other. As an academic discipline philosophy is much the same. Those who study philosophy are perpetually engaged in asking, answering, and arguing for their answers to life's most basic questions. To make such a pursuit more systematic academic philosophy is traditionally divided into major areas of study.

There have been many philosophers over the centuries. We mention several of them, but if you're looking for major figures to study, here are some to start with: Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Descartes, Locke, Hume, Kant, Nietzsche, Marx, and Sartre.

There are many online resources if you are looking for an in depth overview of philosophy. There are also multiple branches or types of philosophy.

The end of the podcast is audio from a YouTube video talking about the Kama Sutra and how it relates to sex. If you'd like to view the video, this is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PbRJxbczgE

This week's podcast promo: Dragon Con Report

How To Be A Man - 186

Or, more simply, how to be a decent person. Years ago I came across some decent advice. Essentially, this was 32 pieces of wisdom to pass on to your son(s). The idea behind the whole thing, was to teach young boys how to behave as men. Hence, the how to be a man episode. As such, I will be taking each rule one by one and examining them for the hidden wisdom. Listen below is that advice. Print it out. Save it as a handy reference. It's great advice for anyone!

Never Go Full Willy-Nilly - 185

Brother Robin is back to talk about life, the universe and everything. We are covering the full spectrum on this episode, from Instagram models, to politics, magic mushrooms and more! Whatever you do, never go full willy-nilly!

This episode is meant to be an update on Robin's life. He lives an exciting roller coaster of adventure and excitement. Much like a roller coaster, he always seems to end up where he began. Is the Universe trying to teach him a lesson of some kind? They say you will keep living the same experience over and over again until you learn something. Perhaps Robin is not capable of learning. Over and over again, he returns to the same state of affairs.

We begin by talking about recent world events. US president Trump recently caused all kinds of havoc when he summoned his followers to storm the US Capitol building. Also, many Canadian politicians took trips overseas during the recent COVID lockdown. People in power are simply causing havoc. We ask, is Trump one of the 'great' men of history?

After the politics, we get into the heart of the episode. Robin is once again unemployed. How did this happen again? How is his life coaching going? What about his vending machine empire? So many questions to be answered.

If you'd like to purchase something from Robin's I Don't Wanna Apparel, you can find him on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/idontwannashop/

You can support the podcast at: https://ko-fi.com/rustedsoul

This week's podcast promo: But First, Let's Talk Nerdy

Uncorking The New Year - 184

Welcome back to the Soul Forge Podcast. We hereby present to you, for your listening pleasure, the first episode of 2021. There is no specific topic this week, but we do cover a lot of information and ideas.

First, we place this episode in its historical context. There is a brief discussion about loss, but for more information, you will want to check out episode 30: http://www.soulforgepodcast.com/e/30-the-heart-is-the-only-thing-that-gets-heavier-when-broken/

One of the reasons for starting the podcast was as a form of self-therapy. However, an even more important reason was so that my son would have a load of insight into who his father is and was; a vocal archive of sorts.

Other topics of conversation include my recent engagement to Julie, the importance of episode art (and where you can see it), and a possible new segment called 'the unpopular opinion'.

A sizable segment of the podcast is devoted to gentle goals for a new year. There are about 10 of them and I go through the importance of each item.

If you'd care to support the work I do, you can donate as little as $3 with Kofi. Donate by following this link: https://ko-fi.com/rustedsoul

This week's podcast promo: Cosmic Pizza Podcast

Hindsight is 2020 - 183

You don't know what you don't know. There are so many wonderful and hidden mysteries in the universe. When I recorded episode 133 (2020 Vision) at the beginning of the year, there was no way I could know what the year would bring. I had so many hopes, goals and plans for the year ahead. Well now that year is over. They say hindsight is 2020. That means it is easy to know what you already know. But you can't put the cart before the horse.

This is the final episode of 2020. As such, we take a look back at the year that was. 2020 is the most wild and unpredictable year of my life time. I believe this is true for most people. In Hindsight is 2020, I talk about that initial episode that started the year. I speak to what became of my plans and goals.

The bulk of the episode is spent going over what the Soul Forge Podcast accomplished in 2020. As I look back at the episodes, I try to pick out recurring themes. There are a few, but you need to listen to the episode to find out what they were. I can't thank all the listeners enough for spending a bit of time with me this last year. See you all again in 2021!

This week's podcast promo: 42 Cast

Lights! Camera! Live Stream! - 182

Lights! Camera! Live Stream! is a unique moment in podcast history. In the year 2020, Indie Pods United was formed. Indie Pods United is a week long celebration of independent podcasts. The event was created by Tina Marie Trimpert of The Psyche-Delic Podcast,

This week on the https://www.facebook.com/SoulForgePodcast/ we present the live stream event from December 3rd. Consisting of your host Shawn Vanderloo sitting in front of a camera, this special episode includes all of the excitement, nervousness and exhaustion that you would have seen if you viewed the video at the time of the recording.

The concept of the live stream was to talk about the Soul Forge Podcast. However, Shawn goes above and beyond this mandate. He discusses his entire podcast journey. This includes all of the highs and lows of the last 7 years. If you have been following Shawn on his journey from the beginning, there may not be too many surprises, but you will still find something to be entralled with.

This week's podcast promo: The Best Saturdays of Our Lives

These Emotions Though! - 181

We're talking about all these emotions! As of late, I have been experiencing emotions to a much greater degree than usual. What's this all about? I have no idea! Perhaps aging is to blame. Or perhaps I'm embracing my feminine side. Whatever the cause, all I can say is, "these emotions though!"

For a long time, we thought there were 6 basic human emotions: fear, disgust, anger, surprise, happiness, and sadness. These were suggested by psychologist Paul Eckman in 1972. In the 1980s, Robert Plutchik introduced another emotion classification system known as the "wheel of emotions." This model demonstrated how different emotions can be combined or mixed together, much the way an artist mixes primary colors to create other colors. In 1999, Eckman expanded his list to include a number of other basic emotions, including embarrassment, excitement, contempt, shame, pride, satisfaction, and amusement.

After getting into some listener feedback, we go right into talking about these emotions though! Work stuff makes me irrationally angry sometimes. The good thing is that I am aware of my irrational behaviour. However, I am not always able to control it. So, we are talking about what has been going on at work lately.

We are also talking about how this is the worst pandemic ever. There's been absolutely no fun to be had. Why can't we have zombies to fight? Then we talk about how much I love Star Trek. Trek fulfills so many of my emotional needs. It really is difficult to describe this to a non-fan.

What about my girlfriend Julie? How does she make me feel? How is she so different from anyone I have dated before? Listen to find out!

I am going to be live-streaming some stuff on the day this episode comes out. Go to www.indiepodsunited.com for all the information.

The emotion information was found at https://www.verywellmind.com/what-are-emotions-2795178

This week's podcast promo: Wookiee Radio

Over My Dead Body - 180

On Over My Dead Body, the podcast does a complete 180 degree turn. Usually, we speak about things dealing with life. This time, we are talking about what happens after we die. What kinds of funeral rituals do we want?

The episode goes over a list of some of the more unusual funeral practices around the world. As we talk about them, we share personal stories and talk about how we would feel in certain situations.

Here in North America, and most Western nations, we are used to basically just 2 kinds of death rituals. A person is either buried or cremated. However, many places around the world and through out time, have done some vastly different things.

We talk about regular burial and cremation. And we go over such things as burial beads, plastination, endo-cannibalism, memorial diamonds, body exhumation dancing, fantasy coffins, the Tibetan sky burial, finger amputation, vinyl compression, tree burial, fireworks, the Zoroastrian vulture funeral and the Haida totem pole funeral.

The show ends with a short documentary-type explanation of plastination.

Support us at https://ko-fi.com/rustedsoul

This week's podcast promo: We Be Geeks

New Car Decisions - 179

There are a lot of decisions that need to be made when looking at buying a new car. In fact, new car decisions can be some of the most stressful kinds of decisions. In this episode of the Soul Forge Podcast, we look at some of the factors that come into play when looking at a new vehicle.

Before looking at my new car options, we go over the vehicles that I have previously owned. My first car was a 1985 Chevrolet Citation. I bought it in 1999. Even now, I still miss that old beast. In fact, I have a recurring dream where I find it again, and try to get it running. So, the first half of the episode is me remembering my old cars.

The second half of the show is all about the 2 new vehicles I am thinking of getting. The current choices are between the Tesla CyberTruck and the Volkswagen I.D. Buzz. Both are electric vehicles. And neither one is yet available. The Tesla should be out by the end of 2021. The VW is looking at a 2022 release date. My current car may not last that long without putting some serious money into it. New car decisions are definitely all consuming.

This week's podcast promo: Watchathon of Rassilon

When I Was Your Age…. 178

When I Was Your Age is the episode where my son asks me a series of questions. His mom thought it would be a great idea. This way, he has all these answers for posterity. And when he looks back ages and ages hence, he will know who he was at 14, and who his dad is and was.

We talk about my childhood, silly things I did, items I collected, and some inquiries about my love for Star Trek. It's a real fun episode where my 14 year old son asks some questions about what it was like when I was his age.

This week's podcast promo: Thunder Talk