Wake Up, Human 002: An Introduction to the Podcast

An Introduction to Wake Up, Human

…with me, Shannon Wills.

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In this episode of the Wake Up, Human podcast, I give an introduction to Wake Up, Human: the philosophy and background of the project in general, and the intentions behind the podcast.

My conversation centers on the topic of separation sickness: what it is, where it comes from, and why we need to address it if we are to find a way to heal ourselves, our relationships, and our planet.

I’ll weave through discussions on the native powers of the human being, what it means to wake up, and why the world needs us to do it, now.

I’ll also give an overview of the threads and themes that hold Wake Up, Human together, and the range of topics the podcast will likely cover.

Join me as I explore these topics and more in Episode 2 of the Wake Up, Human podcast.

Thanks in advance for listening!

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The episode explores the following questions:

• What are the native powers of the human being, and what does it mean to wake them up?
• What is the phenomenon of “separation sickness,” where does it come from, and how might we heal ourselves from separation through our own sovereign choices and actions?
• Why does it matter if we’re disconnected—why should we care?
• Where are the women’s voices? How is the paradigm of our modern society imbalanced toward the masculine, and why does the feminine deserve our attention?
• What role do social justice and revolutionary voices for change have to play in this exploration? How is this podcast itself a form of resistance?

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Quotes from the episode:

“And so it happens that instead of trusting our own dreams, we spend our lives trapped in someone else’s dream, in a state that the shamans call the collective nightmare.”

Alberto Villoldo

“The grief and sense of loss we often interpret as a failure in our personality is actually a feeling of emptiness where a beautiful and strange otherness should have been encountered.”

Paul Shepherd

“It is no measure of health to be well-adjusted to a profoundly sick society.”

Krishnamurti

“I believe that separation sickness causes us to devalue ourselves and others, non-human beings and the natural world around us. Because as much as we’re separate from something, we no longer value it. When we no longer value it, it’s easier to believe it doesn’t matter. And when we no longer believe something matters, it’s easier to destroy it.”

me

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Links and resources mentioned in the episode:

• Naturalist Jon Young and the phenomenon of separation sickness
• Also check out Jon’s website and links to his important work here.