Things Worth Considering

What is a new normal? What will it look like? Is our imposed lock down a new normal? It may be new but not normal. Plodding along we appear to be inching our way to the downward slope of the Covid-19 pandemic. Many are still in some sort of lock down and we are all in anticipation, that just maybe we will be able to burst out of our imposed isolation and live life differently than the last year and a half. The reference to a new normal has crept into our language but what is a this new normal that threatens to emerge. After the pandemic, what will be our new normal. We might want to consider some possibilities as the time may be approaching to put the new plans into effect. Many are waiting to get back to the way things were, do the things they did pre-pandemic. Even things they didn’t like, they want to get back to. People are craving familiarity. People want to connect/need to connect. The isolation, the no touching and staying 6 feet apart while wearing a mask, are the absolute antithesis of every humans’

We all know that shopping for food, especially fresh produce, at our local supermarkets does not yield us with the highest quality edibles. In most instances the food has been shipped to us from the far corners of the planet but from the moment they were picked their nutritional value begins to decline. Now imagine that our planetary food supply was to somehow be jeopardized, and the things we normally buy become scarcer. How could that happen? There are many reasons like politics, economics, plant infestations, public health decrees due to threats to our own plants. It is not an out of this world sci-fi horror story. Food and drug shortages are very real and infinitely possible. Now look out at the field across the street or over a couple of blocks, imagine if we were educated enough to realize that much of what is growing underfoot may actually be edible. Not only are these plants edible but they are the basis for important healing medicines and remedies. Wild edibles are very nutrient rich, more so than

Two weeks ago, Jennifer Drummond was on the show and after one session of Racial Therapy, we asked her if we could go on to session #2 of therapy. More than happy to help us keep this very important subject out there and being discussed. We all like to believe we are not racist, but it is so very difficult to escape what we heard and saw while growing up. Our language, our humour, our unconscious sense of privilege are all markers of how racism surfaces without awareness. This edition goes a step beyond having someone teach how our racism is there and we need to do something about it. We are looking at how racism cuts off our connections to others personally and in our communities. On top of connecting to others, how racism impacts our spiritual life. What our guest invites us to do is move above racism awareness and become anti-racist advocates. Prepared to stand up for all people when others tell inappropriate jokes or may use language that points at racial groups, members of the LGBTQ+ community and women

Imagine discovering a significant but previously unknown connection between geometry and harmonics. Where geometric shapes and forms provide the information needed to build numerically perfect major chords, the most melodic form of music. By extrapolation, this groundbreaking research offers a certain type of proof that our geometric universe is a symphonic system functioning in literal harmony with itself. It also takes us back to a moment in time when an elegant “Base-60” math system (which we still use today to measure time and space) and the world’s first written language were born. We are introduced to a monumental moment in human history—one that, though it challenges logic, also happens to involve a helping nudge from extraterrestrial visitors. This research has been called the closest thing yet to smoking-gun proof that humanity has indeed been contacted by extraterrestrials in the past. Many researchers have touched on certain individual aspects of this, but so far no one has put more clues together

As much as most of us are so over it, the Covid-19 Pandemic has been instrumental in bringing to the surface issues in our world that would best have been dealt with a couple hundred years ago. The treatment of the senior most members of our society living in long term care facilities, make up almost two-thirds of the deaths in Canada. Arising with our treatment of the aged, is a mounting awareness of systemic racism throughout all levels of government, corporations, housing and education. Black Lives Matter rose to prominence during the pandemic but were making inroads a couple of years before. BIPOC individuals are statistically at a higher risk of becoming sicker and dying from the Covid-19 Virus, yet one year after the pandemic was declared the government has finally decided to mount vaccination campaigns in neighbourhoods where higher at-risk people live. We all like to believe we are not racist, but it is so very difficult to escape what we heard and saw while growing up. Our language, our humour, our

Eating well and eating properly can be an exercise in futility at times. We have all read the articles, maybe taken a course or two and learned what is good for us, and what foods to eat to get the good stuff. Problem: Lots of the foods suggested by the experts, in order for us to be at optimal physical health, we may not like. Not all people like the same foods and definitely not all food suggested by nutritionists is likeable. Many dietitians and nutritionists are very knowledgeable but often will give each client almost the same diets and food suggestions. However food plays more of a role than just being our fuel supply to keep going. Fortunately among those who are generalists are the Holistic Nutritionists . Holistic Nutrition looks at the whole person, body, mind, emotions and spirit. It sees each person as a unique individual with different wants, needs, desires and goals. We are all individuals and any care given should be as unique as we are. What if everyone didn’t take nutrition so seriously.

No one has ever disagreed, there are no studies that contradict the fact that humans are hard wired to connect. Hard wired to connect to each other, but also our pets, like cats and dogs and horses. A child begins to cry when the mother leaves the room and stops upon her return. If we are Hard Wired to connect then why do so many people have such difficulties in forming and maintaining satisfying relationships. Not just marriage but even friendships and with co-workers. Growing up we may have been part of a family that taught us our job was to take care of the rest of the family, or maybe feelings were not allowed, or only certain ones were allowed. We learned that what we needed or wanted, held no value to the family and we suppressed those things. Being good often meant doing something for someone else and then the praise flowed easily. Most painful of all, a parent who left us through divorce or death and the hole it left in us is not fill-able by anyone because we can’t trust that they will not leave u

Throughout our journey, our minds have been instilled with ideas of finding the right teacher, guru, rabbi or priest who knew the answers to all of our questions. As we gained knowledge, perhaps we became such a teacher. An endless cycling of archetypal learning, looking outward toward the horizon for an answer to a yet unspoken question. Can we risk stopping that outward gaze? Will we put the same trust invested in others as our guides into something other than another human? Could we put such pressure on our self to journey inwards, prepared to listen and be with the rhythms arising from within. Stepping past our own human ego to wander into a forest, surrendering to the message the trees and plants emit, allowing the natural world to guide us to know who we are. At the centre, our beating heart transmits the evolving wisdom to all, including our self, leading us deeper and deeper into the forest of learning. As you move through the sounds and silence of such ancient teachers, the small flowers along the p

We all ponder, some even struggle, for just an inkling, of what could possibly be our purpose? What if it isn’t a straight line to such awareness? Sometimes we travel along only to find a detour that takes us to one place and circles us back around to rejoin from our point of detour. Sounds confusing? Possibly, but who said it would be a straight-line? Meet Maylynn Quan, born in Trinidad and Tobago, and now Canadian-based, as she zigzags her way, throughout Europe and north Africa, to a photography workshop, sponsored by the OCAD University, being held in San Miguel De Allende, Mexico. Today with her camera as her tool, she has discovered how to empower individuals because beauty and strength truly emanates from within. “I learned that we all have a purpose in life and that once we discover that purpose – we must drive it with our passion.” Her zigzag brings her back to her purpose as she uses her camera to connect people. Connecting people is just one of her passions and it took her on a journey to where

Do you become irate when people treat you badly, or they show you little respect? Furious when someone says they will do something for you and then never a word is said about it or they disappear. They’ll meet you at a certain time and place, and then you are left standing, pacing, waiting for them to show up? Surely the paradox is not lost, if people treated us this way, we would banish most to another planet, but this is how we actually treat our self and then some. The hardest thing we can learn is to treat our self the way we expect others to treat us. Self-care is confusing, the more stressed people become the more self-destructive their behaviour. It doesn’t matter how much we may have studied all there is about stress and self-care, our first reaction is toward self-harming behaviour. There is a saying about living in a body trying to survive and the mind wanting to die. Join us for a discussion about self-care because we deserve better than what we are doing.

How do we create connections with people? The Covid – 19 pandemic is the antithesis of connections. Social isolation and distancing has turned friendships, even those close by, into long distance relationships. Maybe more specifically we have become the ‘Zoom’ people. From Boomers to Zoomers. For many it has been very difficult to be cut-off from social exposure to our friends. It is demanding of us to explore new ways of being in touch and feeling connected. Our friendships are important, in fact they are crucial to our mental health. Sometimes friendships last for a few days or a few years and others last for a lifetime. This episode looks at a friendship that has lasted for 50 years, it started in high school, they’re not ex’s, and has survived distance, illness, the death of our parents and the birth of her children. It is a conversation that started 50 years ago, is interrupted at times, only to pick up where it left off and the conversation continues...

Here is something completely new this evening, it is Open Mic Night. A different approach that allows you the listener, to call us and ask questions, give us your observation, or something you are curious about. You bring up the subject and Alexia and Gord will be happy to get into a discussion about the subject you present. Spirituality, Health Care, Mental Health, Covid-19 Pandemic, Sexuality, Relationships, the list is endless. Call the show toll free from anywhere in North America 1-888-346-9141 or International callers – 001-480-553-5760. You can also send us an e-mail to - info@spiritgrows.ca – make sure you send the email no later than 7:30 pm EST or 4:30 pm PST in order for us to get it before we go on the air. This is the audience’s show, so get involved, it will be live, most any subject and please be polite and respectful!

Do you feel like you are hitting a wall with your business and your own growth has stagnated? Many small business owners find it hard to break their own glass ceiling, which limits their growth. There are many factors that can be explored and that may come in the way of your growth. Our guest is a business professional but also embraces spirituality as the base from which a business grows. Applying both analysis and critical thinking they will identify the limiting beliefs that block your business and yourself from pushing through the glass ceiling. Our guest is a practitioner of Vipasana, allowing him to scan the areas of limitation and like a dashboard for many programs, he helps to establish a spiritual business dashboard for his clients to see what they are working with in their personal and business growth. As the founder of ScaleUp42, our guest utilizes his business and spiritual training to take his clients to the next level of awareness, growth and profits.

From edibles to medicinal, mushrooms have been an important part of the Human diet for millennia, globally. The medical science communities, whether traditional or alternative, have a lot more interest in them than just as a dietary adjunct. Large research projects are being done in 2 key areas, one is in the cancer field and the other is in mental health. Interestingly, there is already a large amount of data about mushrooms and mental health, but studies were interrupted by the war on drugs. The 1950’s and 60’s counter-culture used psychedelic and hallucinogenic substances and were studied for the effects. Today’s resumption of research in mental health and is proving to be promising as a treatment for depression and anxiety. In cancer research, targeted treatment, non-harmful for healthy tissues, is highly desired and mushrooms hold vast compound reservoirs of potential innovational drugs. Our guest is an expert in mushrooms from growing to prescribing.

This episode is Gord's 100th show as Host of Things Worth Considering. More than 30,000 people tuned into the show in 2020, and some asked who Gord is? Tonight Alexia will be interviewing Gord about his journey. In 1988, Gord co-founded the Transformational Arts College of Spiritual and Holistic Training. Thirty-three years later it is the largest school in Canada, dedicated to spiritual education inclusive of anyone’s religious background. Even before opening the College, he was fascinated by the spiritual elements of this world. As a highly empathic young man-told he was ‘too sensitive and to toughen up’- he was always helping others. Fortunately, he had a grandmother who was a medium, a Spiritualist Pastor, who took him under her wing and helped him develop his own awareness. He is a storyteller with an irreverent sense of humour and still has a rebellious streak. When asked why against the odds, he started the school back in 1988, he replies “because they said I couldn’t.

As a young boy you are living in the poorest section of Detroit before your parents surrendered you to the foster care system, you are nine years old. What can you trust when your world flips upside down overnight? In another part of the world, a young woman endures the death of her mother and her step-father’s imprisonment. She too will enter the foster parent system. She then escapes a highly abusive relationship. Promising her foster parents not to get involved in dating for awhile, she is off to College. As both enter college, they meet and in spite of all the other students, it is only each other that stand out to the other. This is the true story of Alexis Black and Justin Black and what they had to learn to be able to stay in their relationship. Old learned behaviours from their pasts started to play out in their relationship. Old unconscious patterns threatened all hope for a shared future. This is how two foster kids beat the odds and discovered healing, happiness, and love.

Our brains are often flooded with ideas which could become very viable businesses or a new modality to help others. Most of our ideas come in, we get a momentary little spark of excitement and then we carry on as usual. Now what might happen if we shared it, if we got other people involved, whose energy added to the idea and built on it? Enter Revaz & Mariam Mekvabishvili , a brother and a sister, who had a shared idea, they shared it with their family and elicited their support. Many people take their ideas and hide them away becoming very protectionist. This approach dead ends many a project and many amazing ideas are lost because there is no energy to build upon. Synchronistic energy is powerful. Our guest will talk about the growth of their business to include many people all working with synchronistic intention. A meeting place, a learning place, a sharing place, a dynamic business model taking us to the next level of human development.

Imagine being a 16 year old and your Father suddenly dies from a massive heart attack . A tough experience for any teenager, however, one year later, your Father’s Spirit not only appears to you but also comes with a powerful life-altering message. This is the story of our guest, Shawn Leonard, an internationally acclaimed evidential medium. His father told him, We all have a purpose and one day you will help people understand their lives and bridge the gap between the physical world and the Spirit World. In the three decades since the visit of his Father’s Spirit, Shawn has worked to finely hone his ability as a Spirit Talker/Medium and his connection to the Spirit World. His gift allows him to help people all over the world as he communicates with departed loved ones, spirits and guides. The insights the Spirit World shares with us help us to better understand our journey here on earth and can provide healing for many people struggling with grief.

After a year that started with the promises that come with a new decade and a new year, we progressed into a global pandemic and as we end the year we are in a lock down situation. That about sums up 2020. Can’t say we saw that one coming. As the year earned the repeatedly spoken title of ‘unprecedented’, no one knew where this was going, what were we supposed to do, we are now working from home, so is my spouse, suddenly so are the kids and we are all there, at home 24 /7!! Having survived thus far, it is time to bid 2020 adieu and welcome in 2021. Join Alexia and Gord as we let go of 2020. Since it is time for resolutions, some helpful hints to succeed and why we usually don’t follow through with our resolutions. We will be live, call in, say hi! I suspect for most of us given regulations, this is as much a party as we are going to see this year but fun !

Christmas in 2020 is going to be quite different for many people this year. Under a lockdown by public health, many of us will be spending the holiday without our families physical presence and under the stressful presence of Covid-19. However different doesn’t have to bad or something to dread. Let your magical child help you embrace this experience. Rather than channeling the Spirit of Scrooge with a humdrum attitude, let that magical child get Christmas underway. Whether it is discovering the almost macabre history of its beginnings in ancient Rome (sorry, but Jesus was added in later) to the role of Coca-Cola in painting Santa red! Make Christmas magical for yourself. Yes, Christmas can oft-times feel like something or someone is missing, a sort of melancholy can be present. This evening we will be doing a visualization/ meditation to invite those we are missing to our Christmas celebration. Have a candle ready! And we will be live streaming this show. Join us!