Announcing my new book Down from the Mountain: On Being Human after Spiritual and Alchemical Initiation now available for preorder. In this episode, I go over the table of contents for the new book so you can get a feel for what it's all about.Whether you’ve read The Second Half of the Mountain and are ready for more or you’re just stumbling upon me now, Down from the Mountain holds its own as a book exploring the delicate coming-back-to-life work many of us face after undergoing the alchemical initiation required to uncover, align with, and live from the core self.Thrilled to be back in this space with you!McCallPreorders are now open for U.S. addresses. Rest assured, the book will be available internationally through many platforms after its release mid February 2024. Thank you for your support!Support the show---> Preorder my NEW BOOK Down from the Mountain--> Read or Listen to The Second Half of the Mountain: A Guide to Personal Alchemy After Awakening--> Click for 20% off The Second Half of the Mountain audiobook (use code FALLING20)

What we think we want and what we say we want might not be the same as what the soul wants. The will of the soul is not always immediately known. It's the unconscious continually made conscious through astute listening to body aches, dreams and synchronicities, strange intuitive pulls, deep watery feelings, and life itself. We live in so much mystery, so much magic, so much unknown.In this episode we explore ways the unconscious (will of the soul) attempts to make itself conscious in our lives:Loss of motivation or focus for things you once loved to do or feel like you should want to do.Being thwarted, pulled back or seemingly sabotaged when you try to execute your plans or move in a certain directionDeep watery feelings and emotions, often arising at inopportune timesBody signals. Aches. Pains that come out of nowhere. Illness.Strange intuitive pulls that often seem backward or counterintuitive.And the big question: What's the difference between following the pull of the soul and self-sabotage? Because yeah, they can look a lot alike sometimes.With love for the the soul that is such a brilliant and gorgeous interrupter of plans, McCallSupport the show---> Preorder my NEW BOOK Down from the Mountain--> Read or Listen to The Second Half of the Mountain: A Guide to Personal Alchemy After Awakening--> Click for 20% off The Second Half of the Mountain audiobook (use code FALLING20)

In this episode, Michael DeMaria and I explore the rich, complex, and paradoxical themes of burnout and renewal central to our lives as empaths, recovering codependents (over givers) and creative types.Speaking from our personal experiences with burnout and how-not-to-burn-out, Michael and I explore: The importance of the soul (water, earth) in tempering the creative fire and air of spiritHow to honor and be in conversation with instead of pathologizing processes of the soul that feel dark, slow, and counter to creative productivityLearning to differentiate between the ego being fed and the soul being fed through creative purpose How to be who we are....sustainablyI also share the story of how I burned out nine years ago on fulfilling my soul purpose, what I did to recover, and how I engage with purpose differently now.With love,McCallMichael's WebsiteClick here to watch the video version of this podcastSupport the show---> Preorder my NEW BOOK Down from the Mountain--> Read or Listen to The Second Half of the Mountain: A Guide to Personal Alchemy After Awakening--> Click for 20% off The Second Half of the Mountain audiobook (use code FALLING20)

No amount of alchemical death and rebirth cycles can change who you are. It can only reveal it. And then the task becomes to live it, to anchor the unchangeable essence of Who You Are into your ever-changing human existence. Wildness and form. Dancing.So far in this podcast, I’ve talked a lot about what I call the Second Half of the Mountain Journey–the dark nights of the soul, dark nights of the spirit, and distillation. These alchemical processes are necessary to carry us from initial awakening to permanent alignment with the core self. But what happens when we reach the summit? What are the next alchemical phases and processes we go through once we have an abiding alignment with the unbreakable core within? What is life like then? What’s the reward for completing all seven stages of alchemy?Exploring in this episode: What comes after going through the dark nights and distillation?What is the Philosopher’s Stone?The alchemical phase of Radiation and how to deal with its devoidness The ongoing conversation between ego and soul or the immediate and infinite self.With love,McCall Related episodes: Living From the Unbreakable Core That Is Uniquely YoursBorn From Nothing--Magical WillSupport the show---> Preorder my NEW BOOK Down from the Mountain--> Read or Listen to The Second Half of the Mountain: A Guide to Personal Alchemy After Awakening--> Click for 20% off The Second Half of the Mountain audiobook (use code FALLING20)

The alchemy of inner transformation is not a self-improvement project. It’s a participation in the soul’s evolution. It may not improve your life at all at first. It’s a rather destructive process–dismantling your beliefs, identities, small hopes and dreams, tearing your life at each carefully stitched seam to reveal what’s unbreakable underneath. It gets worse before it gets worse sometimes, so faithless and consuming, leaving you hanging by nothing but a single thread–your own breath tethering you to life in a place it feels like you never intended to be. And at some point, you realize this is it…there’s nowhere else to go, nowhere to hide, nothing to save you from having to live what’s right here now. So you breathe the breath that is yours to breathe. You take the thread that is yours to weave, and without pretense, fanfare, or promise of any particular outcome you live the impossible–the dream that won’t stop dreaming, the breath that won’t stop breathing, the thread that won’t stop weaving you.In this episode, we explore: The difference between self-improvement and transformationThe difference between using your creative powers and resources to manifest things to make your life look good vs. using your creative powers to go through inner transformationLooking at the Dark Night of the Spirit from a new angle--The Great White NothingThe "log and fire" analogy to understand the difference between the Dark Night of the Soul and the Dark Night of the Spirit and why the Dark Night of the Spirit can be so challengingThree keys for living through The Great White Nothing/Dark Night of the SpiritReading of my piece "The Great White Nothing" put to music at 18:45With love for and from the Nothingness,McCallLINKS:-->Click here to read or listen to my book The Second Half of the Mountain: A Guide to Personal Alchemy After Awakening-->Click here for 20% off audiobook-->Click here for episode transcriptsSupport the show---> Preorder my NEW BOOK Down from the Mountain--> Read or Listen to The Second Half of the Mountain: A Guide to Personal Alchemy After Awakening--> Click for 20% off The Second Half of the Mountain audiobook (use code FALLING20)

"One of the hallmarks of maturity is to let some of what seemed like your best hopes go, especially if the tide of life is actually taking them from you and turning your face in another direction."  -David Whyte, What to Remember When Waking, The Disciplines of Everyday LifeIn this episode, I explore:When hopes can be helpful and when they can get in the wayWhy following your heart might not be enough sometimesHow to identify actual flow Learning to recognize the tides of life, the seasons that are ours to liveThe hopes and dreams of the ego vs. the wild will and dream of the soulWhat is the will of the soul? The alchemy that prepares us to partner with the unknown and the will of the soulWith love and gratitude for listening,McCallLINKS:--> David Whyte's What to Remember When Waking-->Click here to read or listen to my book The Second Half of the Mountain: A Guide to Personal Alchemy After Awakening-->Click here for 20% off audiobook-->Click here for episode transcriptsEPISODE QUOTES:If you can withstand the disappointment of your ego, you can live the wild dream of your soul."Are you really going with the flow or are you pretending like you're going with the flow and secretly paddling underneath?" -my dear friend and Anam CaraSupport the show---> Preorder my NEW BOOK Down from the Mountain--> Read or Listen to The Second Half of the Mountain: A Guide to Personal Alchemy After Awakening--> Click for 20% off The Second Half of the Mountain audiobook (use code FALLING20)

Why is it sooo hard to connect with the worth that is inherent in our existence?  Why isn't awakening to our true nature, to our spiritual and creative gifts enough to heal this wound and actualize our inherent worth? And why do I have such issues with how we use the words "deserve" and "worthy" in the trendy spiritual lexicon? Let's explore.In this episode:Where the worthiness wound originates (bigger than personal trauma)One of the biggest obstacles to connecting with core worth that I've observed in us spiritually awakened humans How the final stages of alchemy--the Dark Nights of the Spirit and Distillation help deliver us from the madness of always having to prove our worthMore exploration of the Philosopher's Stone/the Unbreakable CoreWith love for the outliers,McCallLINKS:Healing the Core Wound of Unworthiness by Adyashanti-->Click here to read or listen to my book The Second Half of the Mountain: A Guide to Personal Alchemy After Awakening-->Click here for 20% off audiobook-->Click here for episode transcriptsQUOTES:"your work, your life, your relationships, will feel so much more fulfilling when your worth isn’t always on the line”  Thais Sky“I’d been afraid that I’d somehow been given a life I hadn’t deserved, but that’s ridiculous. We don’t deserve anything–not the suffering and not the golden light. It just comes.” Ann Patchett, These Precious DaysSupport the show---> Preorder my NEW BOOK Down from the Mountain--> Read or Listen to The Second Half of the Mountain: A Guide to Personal Alchemy After Awakening--> Click for 20% off The Second Half of the Mountain audiobook (use code FALLING20)

Did I just make a trailer for this podcast after two years of doing this podcast? Yeah, I guess that checks out. It usually takes me awhile of doing something important before I understand it enough to say what it is.Such is the way of soul. You don't have to understand the magic for it to be happening. And I'm getting so much better and letting it happen and seeing what happens. With love and deep thanks for being here,McCall--Click here to read or listen to my book The Second Half of the Mountain: A Guide to Personal Alchemy After Awakening--Click here for 20% off audiobook--Click here for episode transcriptsSupport the show---> Preorder my NEW BOOK Down from the Mountain--> Read or Listen to The Second Half of the Mountain: A Guide to Personal Alchemy After Awakening--> Click for 20% off The Second Half of the Mountain audiobook (use code FALLING20)

To be a mystic means to want One Thing more than any other of the things. Mystics have an intense and unyielding desire to know and unite with the divine, god, love, beauty, soul, truth, the core of all cores in this life, not in any other life or time. And so, they willingly burn through the fire of any moment to find it.This is why I say mystics are so fucked and so blessed. The mystic heart can't settle for anything less than what it knows it's here to be and do--what can't be said in words or seen in ways the world immediately understands. And it won't stop until you've given your whole life to find it.Let's explore the three desires of the mystic that eclipse all other desires:To unite with god, the divine, heaven in this life, not any other life or timeTo align the inner with the outer worldTo be a gateway between the worlds These desires are actualized through the thread of longing that pulls our lives inside out. Sometimes disruptively. Sometimes quietly. "Longing is the golden thread that takes us home." -Llewelyn Vaughn LeeBut what is "home" to a mystic and how does the Great Work of alchemy intersect with the mystic's journey home?With all the love in my mystic human heart,McCall--Click here to read or listen to my book The Second Half of the Mountain: A Guide to Personal Alchemy After Awakening--Click here for 20% off audiobook--Click here for episode transcriptsSupport the show---> Preorder my NEW BOOK Down from the Mountain--> Read or Listen to The Second Half of the Mountain: A Guide to Personal Alchemy After Awakening--> Click for 20% off The Second Half of the Mountain audiobook (use code FALLING20)

Why do we have to fall into soul? Why can’t we fly or rise into soul? Why is the way of soul paved by disappointment and disillusionment? Isn’t there a way to skip all that? Surely we can outsmart the fall, if we could just tap into our highest and best selves and only act from there, we’d be okay, right? Rise above. Choose love over fear. Light over dark. Afterall, you are only one choice away from a whole different and better life, right? All you have to do is make that choice. What are you waiting for?Wow, do we love these kinds of messages in our frantic and disconnected world hyped up on conquering anything that threatens us. And while there is some truth to these motivational sayings, the fuller truth is more complex and most of us have to fall from the heights of spiritual awakening in order to connect with and live from the depths of soul.But why? Why is the soul down low? And what about the spirit that just wants to fly free? Doesn’t it also matter?In this episode, let's explore:The original lovers of the Universe--soul and spiritThe One Thing (Soul) and The One Mind (Spirit) and how they exist within usThe Ego as a tyrant and the Ego as a servantThe seven stages of alchemy and how they help us create a harmonious marriage between Soul and Spirit There's some meaty alchemy in this one. Belly up and dig in. If you feel pulled.With love,McCall--Click here for my book The Second Half of the Mountain: A Guide to Personal Alchemy After Awakening--Click here for 20% off audiobook--Click here for episode transcripts--Related Episode: The Difference Between Soul and Spirit and Why It MattersSupport the show---> Preorder my NEW BOOK Down from the Mountain--> Read or Listen to The Second Half of the Mountain: A Guide to Personal Alchemy After Awakening--> Click for 20% off The Second Half of the Mountain audiobook (use code FALLING20)