Be Mythical

The calls & pitfalls of the growth of shamanism - Nicholas Breeze Wood

In this week’s show, Lian is joined by Nicholas Breeze Wood. Nicholas has practiced shamanism for over 40 years, combining it with the 'earthier' end of Tibetan Buddhism, as well as with 'medicine' teachings from Native North American peoples. He has worked with many gifted medicine people and shamans over the years, and is deeply apprenticed to his own spirit helpers, whose teachings never fail to awe and surprise him. Nick’s shamanism is a fusion of traditional Himalayan and Mongolian forms, combined with teachings from his own spirits. He works especially deeply with ritual objects - such as bronze shaman's mirrors, phurba daggers and many other Mongolian and Tibetan shamanic and Buddhist ritual objects - for which he holds traditional teachings and, where required, traditional initiations. Despite being a ‘rather uneducated Buddhist,’ he is an ordained Tibetan Buddhist lama, a type called a ngakpa, whose role is similar to a shaman’s. Ngakpas are non-monastic, non-celebrate lamas who live in the community, specialising in ritual and magic for people within their community. Nick is the editor of Sacred Hoop Magazine - a leading international magazine about shamanism - which has been published since 1993. He is also a musician and artist. He is the author of several books including, 'Walking with the Tiger,' 'Sacred Drums of Siberia,' 'A Little Book of Revealing,' 'Voices From The Earth,' 'The Book of the Shaman,' 'The Shaman Box,' and 'The Resplendent Other'. He runs the large Facebook group 3Worlds Shamanism, has done a podcast called the 3Worlds shamanism podcast on and off since 2006 and also has a somewhat neglected YouTube channel, also called 3Worlds Shamanism. In this episode, Lian and Nicholas explore what it means to walk the path of shamanism in the modern West. Together, they trace the winding threads of Nicholas’ life… from the windswept fields of his Midlands childhood to the birth of Sacred Hoop magazine, through encounters with medicine wheel teachings, Mongolian and Himalayan shamans, and the long shadow of Castaneda. What unfolds is not a how-to or a prescription… but a living braid of animism, discipline, and devotion. Nicholas reflects on the unexpected gift of dyslexia and how neurodivergence shaped his initiatory path, as a different kind of perception… one that enabled a direct, embodied relationship with the unseen. He and Lian explore the tension between psychotherapeutic frameworks and authentic shamanic practice, and the danger of mistaking surface form for deep structure. What makes a shaman, he says, is not sensitivity or interest, but being chosen by the spirits themselves. Woven through the conversation is the question of lineage. What does it mean to carry teachings from other lands onto this one? How do we honour both the transmission and the soil we stand upon? From the cosmology of the medicine wheel to the pitfalls of cultural appropriation, from core shamanism to the necessity of cosmological bone… this episode offers a rare encounter with an elder who has walked the shamanic path for many decades. We’d love to know what YOU think about this week’s show. Let’s carry on the conversation… please leave a comment wherever you are listening or in any of our other spaces to engage. What you’ll learn from this episode: Why the word “shaman” is often misused… and how understanding deep structure versus surface form can clarify what is truly sacred. How neurodivergence can shape perception in ways that become part of our gift, especially when navigating the unseen or the unknown. What it might mean to birth a Western lineage… one rooted not in imitation, but in integration, initiation, and real relationship with land and spirit. Resources and stuff spoken about: Visit Nick’s websites: Sacred Hoop Magazine 3Worlds Podcast Buy Nick’s books Join Nick on YouTube Join UNIO, the Academy of the Soul. This is for the old souls in this new world… Discover your kin & unite with your soul’s calling to truly live your myth. Be Mythical Join our mailing list for soul stirring goodness: https://www.bemythical.com/moonly Discover your kin & unite with your soul’s calling to truly live your myth: https://www.bemythical.com/unio Go Deeper: https://www.bemythical.com/godeeper Follow us: Facebook Instagram TikTok YouTube Thank you for listening! There's a fresh episode released each week here and on most podcast platforms - and video too on YouTube. If you subscribe then you'll get each new episode delivered to your device every week automagically. (that way you'll never miss a show).

The land, the story, the soul: How to reclaim what was lost - Stephanie MacKay

In this week’s show Lian is joined by Stephanie MacKay. Stephanie is a mythologist, wilderness guide, and cultural craftswoman devoted to the long, slow work of remembering how to belong—to land, to lineage, to story, and to each other. As founder and director of Fianna Wilderness School, she has spent the past 15+ years guiding rites of passage, seasonal myth circles, and nature-based mentorship rooted in the wilds. Stephanie’s work braids together her Celtic ancestry, years of deep study with Martín Prechtel and the Animas Valley Institute, and a fierce love of story as medicine. She is dedicated to uncovering the vestiges of intact cultural origins within the body of ancient European stories. Drawing from the wellspring of these old mythologies, she seeks to uncover the hidden pathways that lead us to our cultural origins—reviving traditions long forgotten and reawakening the deep cultural wisdom carried in our bones. Whether she’s guiding wilderness quests, tending seasonal myth circles, or walking the long road of cultural regeneration, Stephanie’s devotion is to the deep remembering of who we are and how we belong—through mythic threads that call us back into sacred relationship with the world. In this episode, Lian and Stephanie explore the deep, woven threads that bind our personal myths to the land beneath our feet. Together, they journey through the ways in which stories live within us… ancient seeds waiting for the right conditions to sprout. Stephanie reflects on how her own path led her from disconnection back into a living relationship with land and story, and how myth can offer us both memory and medicine. They explore the longing many of us feel to recover our cultural roots, and how stories act as carriers of ancestral wisdom across time and place. From childhood connections to the land, to the rediscovery of myth as a portal into belonging, they speak of how both land and story hold the potential to restore us to ourselves. Along the way, Lian and Stephanie reflect on myths such as Cinderella and Iron John… tales often dismissed yet still holding profound keys for our times. At the heart of this conversation is a reverence for the slow, relational work of remembering: tending to the land beneath us, listening for the stories that call us home, and understanding that these are not separate acts… but parts of the same ancient dance between earth and soul. We’d love to know what YOU think about this week’s show. Let’s carry on the conversation… please leave a comment wherever you are listening or in any of our other spaces to engage. What you’ll learn from this episode: How reconnecting with the origins of our surroundings… even something as simple as a table or a weaving… can begin to restore our relationship with land and story. Why stories carry ancestral memory and wisdom, offering us a way back to belonging even when our cultural roots feel severed. How working with myth both psychologically and spiritually invites us into deeper relationship… with ourselves, with the land, and with the unseen. Resources and stuff spoken about: Visit Stephanie’s website Fianna Wilderness School website Join UNIO, the Academy of the Soul: This is for the old souls in this new world… Discover your kin & unite with your soul’s calling to truly live your myth. Be Mythical Join our mailing list for soul stirring goodness: https://www.bemythical.com/moonly Discover your kin & unite with your soul’s calling to truly live your myth: https://www.bemythical.com/unio Go Deeper: https://www.bemythical.com/godeeper Follow us: Facebook Instagram TikTok YouTube Thank you for listening! There's a fresh episode released each week here and on most podcast platforms - and video too on YouTube. If you subscribe then you'll get each new episode delivered to your device every week automagically. (that way you'll never miss a show).

The myth of Pygmalion: How to bring beauty to life - Lian Brook-Tyler

In this episode, Lian shares the ancient and evocative myth of Pygmalion, a story of longing, creation, and the mystery of what brings something… or someone… to life. Each month, Lian tells a mythical tale… as spell, as memory, as invitation... not to be analysed or consumed, but to be felt, stirred, remembered as a magical doorway into your own soul. She first shared this live with our beloved community in UNIO, our Academy of the Soul, in which we continue to journey more deeply together with it in a month-long quest. To join us for the next mythical quest, you can join UNIO here: bemythical.com/unio In this telling, Lian explores the mythic figure of Pygmalion… a sculptor who turns away from the women of his world and instead pours his longing into the creation of his own ideal. Together, we walk with her through the temple of Venus, through stone and flesh, through the spaces where our own unspoken dreams might come to life. This is more than a tale of a man and a statue… it is a meditation on what we create when we shape from love, and how the act of creating shapes us in return. It reminds us of the timeless dance between the human and the divine… how longing leads us to the altar, how offerings made in faith and beauty may yet be answered. Listeners are invited to reflect on their own sacred longings, and how these desires might be the soul’s way of sculpting something real into existence. We’d love to know what YOU think about this week’s show. Let’s carry on the conversation… please leave a comment wherever you are listening or in any of our other spaces to engage. What you’ll receive from this episode: The longing beneath creation: Pygmalion’s yearning reminds us that what we create from devotion holds the power to awaken not just the object of our love, but something within us too. The mystery of transformation: As in myth, so in life… what seems lifeless may stir to breath beneath our touch, when desire meets ritual and prayer. The sacred act of shaping: Whether in art, relationships, or the soul’s unfolding, we are always creating… and in turn being created. Resources and stuff Lian spoke about: Join UNIO, the Academy of the Soul: This is for the old souls in this new world… Discover your kin & unite with your soul’s calling to truly live your myth. Be Mythical Join our mailing list for soul stirring goodness: https://www.bemythical.com/moonly Discover your kin & unite with your soul’s calling to truly live your myth: https://www.bemythical.com/unio Go Deeper: https://www.bemythical.com/godeeper Follow us: Facebook Instagram TikTok YouTube Thank you for listening! There's a fresh episode released each week here and on most podcast platforms - and video too on YouTube. If you subscribe then you'll get each new episode delivered to your device every week automagically. (that way you'll never miss a show).

Beyond polarity & projection: How to heal your attachment wounds - Serdar Hararovich

In this week’s show Lian is joined by Serdar Hararovich. Serdar is a Relationship & Secure Attachment Specialist offering integrative, attachment-based coaching and healing. He supports both men and women to heal early attachment wounds, establish inner security, reclaim their deepest self, and cultivate the emotional skills required for deep, soulful, and secure love. Serdar works with a wide variety of individuals - including, but not limited to, therapists, relationship coaches, and other practitioners. The common thread among his clients is a deep desire to go beyond the surface - people tired of quick-fix techniques and oversimplified approaches to healing. Those ready to do the kind of work that awakens their deepest potential - allowing them to master the art of true intimacy and experience the kind of love that transforms everything. In this episode, Lian and Serdar explore the roots of how we relate, beginning with the early wounds that shape our adult relationships. Serdar shares his own story of growing up with emotional neglect, the drinking and disconnection that followed, and the practical and healing work that allowed him to form deeper, more secure relationships. Together, they look at the role of corrective experiences in healing attachment wounds, and how both inner work and relational skill-building are essential for intimacy. They discuss the dynamic between the masculine and feminine in healing, and the different experiences that can arise when working with male or female facilitators. From there, the conversation opens into the complex terrain of polarity teachings, how these can support or distort healing, and what happens when identity becomes performative rather than rooted in authenticity. Throughout the conversation, Lian and Serdar invite reflection on what it truly means to heal, to relate with curiosity, and to understand the impact of gendered conditioning without becoming confined by it. This is a nuanced and compassionate conversation that offers both clarity and challenge. We’d love to know what YOU think about this week’s show. Let’s carry on the conversation… please leave a comment wherever you are listening or in any of our other spaces to engage. What you’ll learn from this episode: Healing requires both inner work and relational skill-building. It's not enough to simply know the theory… we need lived experiences that re-pattern our nervous systems. Curiosity is one of the core qualities of secure attachment. When we stop assuming and start asking, intimacy becomes possible. Polarity teachings can offer insight, but without healing first, they risk deepening the mask. The real work is becoming someone who can relate with truth, not performance. Resources and stuff spoken about: Visit Serdar’s Website Serdar’s upcoming course Join UNIO, the Academy of the Soul: This is for the old souls in this new world… Discover your kin & unite with your soul’s calling to truly live your myth. Be Mythical Join our mailing list for soul stirring goodness: https://www.bemythical.com/moonly Discover your kin & unite with your soul’s calling to truly live your myth: https://www.bemythical.com/unio Go Deeper: https://www.bemythical.com/godeeper Follow us: Facebook Instagram TikTok YouTube Thank you for listening!  

How to reclaim the Feminine: The Mother, the Virgin, the Whore - Coco Oya Cienna-Rey

This week’s show is with Coco Oya Cienna-Rey. Coco is the author of Digging for Mother’s Bones from Womancraft Publishing, is a UK based mother, grandmother, creative, mystic, soul guide and writer. Her creativity is informed by her journey as a devotee of the Tantric path (an embodied path of self-liberation) and her personal journey with trauma. Coco has always felt a call to channel the Voice of the Divine Feminine and is published in several bestselling anthologies.  Often thought provoking, yet always heartfelt her work speaks of the sacred wisdom stored in the body, the non-linear nature of trauma and the embodiment of soul. She believes that our innate connection to the natural world can heal humanity. As a deeply sensitive, highly empathic gifted intuitive Coco can be found weaving her soul-coaching embodiment work at www.creativelycoco.com  In this episode, Lian and Coco explore the profound journey from trauma to remembrance, from collapse to creative power. Together, they trace the raw, mythic arc of a woman who was silenced by pain… and reborn through the arms of the Great Mother. This conversation moves like an initiation, stirring deep memory in the body, revealing the erotic and mystical core of feminine being. Coco shares the story behind her book’s birth: a story that begins in abuse and mental illness and unfolds through a spontaneous Kundalini awakening, a near-death experience, and the long road of integration. She reflects on the sacred technology of the womb, the truth of the Virgin and the Whore as one, and the living presence of the Mother as the centre of all creation. Along the way, she speaks to the wildness of true feminine energy… not as something performative, but as a force of love capable of reshaping the world. Lian and Coco weave personal memory with mythic remembrance, questioning how we reclaim the power of receptivity in a world that has trained us to close. This is an episode that stirs the womb and speaks to the place in every woman that longs to feel… to open… to remember that she is not only enough, but the very axis of life itself. We’d love to know what YOU think about this week’s show. Let’s carry on the conversation… please leave a comment wherever you are listening or in any of our other spaces to engage. What you’ll learn from this episode: How the sexual wounds of the planet are not abstract, but live in the body… and how remembering the womb’s creative power begins to restore them Why integrating the Virgin and the Whore is essential to reclaiming the whole feminine… not as metaphor, but as lived, embodied truth The importance of receptivity as a sacred feminine capacity, and how shifting from the front of the body to the back can open the space for life to be received again Resources and stuff spoken about: Visit Coco’s Website Join UNIO, the Academy of the Soul This is for the old souls in this new world… Discover your kin & unite with your soul’s calling to truly live your myth. Be Mythical Join our mailing list for soul stirring goodness: https://www.bemythical.com/moonly Discover your kin & unite with your soul’s calling to truly live your myth: https://www.bemythical.com/unio Go Deeper: https://www.bemythical.com/godeeper Follow us: Facebook Instagram TikTok YouTube Thank you for listening!