Garden of Thought

Bjorn Leesson has always been fascinated with many topics to includehistory, the supernatural, and writing. These interests combined led to theOutside the Thalsparr series, with the first book in the series, "Runes of theDokkrsdottir." Bjorn was not formally trained as a writer and has worked inthe industrial manufacturing field his entire life. Writing his stories and hopingothers enjoy them is a passion and not a career.He's written an entire series and we discuss the first several and more. OUTSIDETHETHALSPARRThe Dokkrisdottir is not your ordinary Norsewoman of the Viking age. One of the greatwarriors of her time, she soon learns that thehardest battles are not always those fought witha sword and shield. Through countless trialsand tests, she is led by visions and omens onnumerous adventures with the help of steadfastfriends and family to discover her mysterioussupernatural destiny, one more extraordinarythan anyone could everhave imagined.Every road to an ultimate good is paved with monstrousdeed...by a monster. Sometimes the monsters are all thatstands between the living world and annihilation. In thestruggle to survive her own life ,Josephine Peele becomesthe monster in service of the Light, but it takes all hertorments to ready her for her own purpose that only she canaccomplish.https://app.bitly.com/Bm88iNTeWFL/links/bit.ly/4fcsm5vruneofspirits/bit.ly/4fcsm5vruneofspirits://bit.ly/4fcsm5vruneofspirits

I've been pretty proud about the journey we've taken together learning about the Indo-Europeans. The linguistics versus the cultures versus the religions. We've done a lot of comparing and contrasting, and a lot of deep dive exploration. But we've spent a lot more time on the European side of the term. Today we put the focus on the Indo aspects.To do so in an academic manner, we welcome back Professor Michael York. From the heart of the Steppes, we go in many directioms, but mostly stick to the East. From modern day Iran to Western China, and the vast lands between, we touch on the Eastern aspects.Sure, we stray periodically back to Greece or Egypt or Thrace, we force outselves back to India and the Central Asian "Stans". We visit the ancient pantheons, Zoro Astur, Mithras, and into the Dharmic religions. As always when a professor is tolerating a semi edicated monkey (me), we get sublime and ridiculous. But the Garden does not disappoint.

We welcome in author Ryan Melsom for a wide ranging discussion centered on his newest techno thriller in the cyberpunk tradition.Set in the near future after the world we know collapsed andwas rebuilt through new AI-powered technology, Gods of aNew World is a a mind-bending cyberpunk thriller of rebellionand redemption."I think we’re all wondering what the explosion of artificialintelligence means for the future of humanity, and that’sexactly what Gods of a New World explores,” says Melsom.“I’ve long been fascinated by the intersections amongtechnology, society, and spirituality, so I feel like my interestswere made for this moment.”“Gods of a New World is a fascinating exploration of an all-too-plausible future, and also a fast-paced adventure with an intriguing dose of metaphysicalspeculation,.The trillionaires were powerful enough to reshape the world, but it wasn’t enough. Now theywant more . . .In a world where trillionaires assisted by powerful AIs call themselves gods, a world wheremiracles are engineered and secret technology is wired into the very air, James Kessler andMaree Shell stumble upon a conspiracy that defies possibility: the new gods’ plan to encodetheir consciousness into the world and seize control of reality itself, to literally become the godsthey have so far only pretended to be.From the world’s gleaming new AI-crafted cities to the crumbling ruins of the old ones, the twounlikely allies, one a childhood survivor of the Bad Times and the other a privileged daughter of2wealth, must run a gauntlet of hostile AIs, vengeful modern-day gods, and mysterious ancientdeities, desperately trying to disrupt the plans of the most powerful people who have everlived. Nothing less than the fate of free will itself hangs in the balance.More about the authorRyan Melsom has never stopped dreaming about new ways he could get ideas out of his headand into the world. He holds a PhD in literature from Queen’s University and has long beenfascinated with the interplay among culture, technology, spirituality, spaces, and humannature. Through the years he has explored these topics through numerous creative media,including two previous works of fiction, academic writing, experimental web spaces, musicprojects, and a black belt in karate. He grew up in Kamloops, British Columbia, and now lives inOttawa with his wife and two boys

The Cleric of Chaos rejoins the Garden to discuss and educate on the more modern aspects of the Left Hand side. Including a working origin of that descriptor.We start with the no very ancient symbol known as Baphomet. It's likely origins and it's misuse over the last few centuries. We also address the Chruch of Satan, Luciferians, the Satanic Panic - then and now, and some prominent names.Perfect for year round, but especially during spooky season.

Bernie Taylor's back and he's bringing the knowledge. He doesn't just have the writings, he actually has the cave paintings. Thousands of years old. In the mysterious Basque territories. For those who don't know, the Basques are a people who live along the borders of Spain and France. They have wanted an independent state for a long time.But it's just that, their language is not related to any neighboring or nearby languages. A quasi-isolate. They also have a different general appearance than many Iberians and Franks. Bernie gives us a tour of the geography and their mythology. We start with the Queen of the Gods. Yes. Queen. And we explore from there. We find some similarities to old friends and some aspects relatively unique to most European religions for the past four or five millennia. Not all caves to the underworld are bad. Or, are they?

Dina, Joey and myself complete our review of Dark. Season 3. Do you agree with our conclusions?

Mr. Thomas and myself meet Brick Savage. Remember this name. You've seen the footage of his one armed power slam. Now you'll hear his story. Listen while Thomas tries to entrap me and Brick meanly assists. Learn about Bomaye Fight Club. We also talk about horror movies like Weapons. Yes, PWI rankings are raised. Yes, there's a paranormal experience. And we introduce something called "crazy thing a family member has done".

We welcome back on Joseph J. Alexander, a veteran of many hats in pro wrestling, He's also clergy of a religious organization and a student of many areas of the esoteric, arcane, historic and religious. He's on a prior episode under a Gospel of Thomas title if interested.Today we talk about the numerous waves of Celtic mythology, as well as Celtic history and folklore. The overlaps to Norse and Germanic are addressed and acts as a natural bridge into the less known Slavic mythos. From there, we delve into the mysterious Romani or Strega mythos. Since I dabble (perhaps dangerously) in comparative mythology, we draw comparisons to better known figures from Greek, Egyptian and other pantheons.We enjoyed a far ranging conversation in an efficient amount of time. An enormous value at any price.

Dr. John Brandenburg is an astrophysicist who's worked for two Department of Energy Nuclear labs, and spent over a decade working with the military and intelligence departments in the United States. He's back in the forefront in researching anamolies about Mars and other matters regarding space.We discuss Atlas 3i and it's predecessor, Mars itself, chemistry and physics, and aliens. Specifically, three races that are involved with Earth. Why does he think Atlas is technology and not natural? Why is he not frightened by this? Can I change his mind? Because I tried to.

David Pasti is a Maryland attorney who also happened to be a Major League Baseball Agent for a number of years. We discuss his story, his practice and the A to Z of becoming and being an Agent for one of the premier sports leagues in the world.

Thomas & I welcome in our first reigning world champion, MLW Heavyweight champion Mads Atrosity Krule Krugger. The black hlove of Contra Unit. Sure we chit chat about wrestling and all his many names. We make sure to establish that he and Thomas hit each other very hard. We establish Krule is producing mini Krules to establish a Krule dynasty. We might have broken some news. A spoiler: CW Anderson isn't dead. That one is free. You have to listen for the rest. No, I did not ask about Baba Thunder.We talk about food, protests, scratchy voices, Alien Earth, ghost stories and UFO's. Did I make a new friend? Maybe. I didn't not make a new friend.

This show was to be about King Solomon and the ring and the demons. And it is. But we covered so much more that we may have to do a part two. Who was Solomon? When was Solomon? What led to Solomon?Well, that takes us back to Adam and Eve. Our old friend, Lilith. A whole lot on The Satan. A touch of Cain. Some parts on Moses. A whole bunch on angels, Archangels, Fallen Angels (Nephilim). Bethsheba, Ben Yohada, The ring, other rings, mountains as prisons, underground lairs, and the Scarecrow. Oh yeah, some Temple construction aspects. A dash of numerology. A touch of magic. Plenty of Yeshiva Kabbalah. And discussion on letters and numbers. You really don't want to miss this episode.

Ricky Reyes is a veteran of Ring of Honor among other promotions. In fact, he was CM Punk's roommate and assumed a lease for ole' Chick Magnet. Yes, we will discuss that. But most importantly to me, he was a henchman wrestler working for the very corrupt Dario Cueto, while also being an undercover cop infiltrating Dario's odios organization. We get a unique PJ story, We also discuss Ricky's career, what's he up to, and what he's about.

Aaron Hynes is an explorer, researcher, former resident of Peru, tour guide, future resident of Peru, and the host of Breaking Ancient News. Aaron has a fascination with ancient civilizations and the unanswered gaps left by accepted archeology. While we spend most of our time discussing the Andean civilizations, we're not limited to that region. Hynes believes there was a root culture that harnessed certain technologies that have been lost to time. We discuss what the people of Peru told him they believe and what their histories tell. We visit some olf "friends" such as Vera Cocha and Uriel and Prometheus. 

We are joined by author and researcher Patrick Chouinard, who discusses his work on the Lost Giants of Atlantis. Let's get this out of the way: he doesn't believe in a physical place named Atlantis. He uses the common word as a placeholder for an advanced civilization lost to history. He also uses the word Aryan, but not in the corrupted way that's become the common use. Rather, the ancient use which simply traces the Iranic peoples from Asia, throughout Eurasia, the Near East, and beyond and very clearly the full spectrum of skin colors.Patrick's book has an excellent summary of many myths and lore from around the world dealing with giants and persons of great impact (not necessarily of enormous height).This is a nice companion to the prior episode which dealth primarily with the archeology. This episode deals primarily with the lore around beings.

The Bayou Geek (singular), Maximus returns to discuss some light fare conspiracies. Mainly Mandela Effect items. Some I've heard and had. Some are new to me. This was mostly fun and games until I blasphemed. Repeatedly. Oh well. I'm a heretic. Was there a werwolf themed monster cereal? Would you rather be a werewolf or a vampire? Are aliens walking among us? And those silly bears.It's in here.

We're back. But it's not clear when. It's season 2 of Dark and we're untangling the triquenta knot over at least 5 time zones and parellel stories. Between the three of us, maybe we got it right.

Liz Entin lost her father several years ago. That led her down a path of researching and exploration. And despite being dubious of the existence of any God, she does believe there is an afterlife. This show is our discussion,Liz has written two books, with a third coming, both with the title WTF Just Happened as the top line title. She has a podcast of the same name.

I was requested to weigh in on the show "Dark". The problem was, I hadn't watched it. The lesser problem was I didn't want to do a solo show on a three season show. So, one of the suggesters was recruited and he, in turn, recruited another. Thus, three Lynbrook, NY public school kids - now AARP members - reunited for the first time to review the German mystery box show "Dark",Note: There are spoilers. Constantly. Like every aspect will be spoiled. We might not be right, but we are revealing everything as we understood the show.This limited series is aiming to cover 1 season per podcast episode. 1 for 1 so far. This is season 1.Your intrepid host is yours truly. And our guests are returning guest and artist, DIna Levy. Also known as the person called before me in attendance for like 10 years. Also, we are joined by loyal listener, musician. and semi retired smart guy, Joey Restivo. His credits include actually visiting me once in Baltimore. The outro music is courtesy of Pre War Yardsale.

The Red Line podcast's, Mike Hilliard, re-enters the Garden to discuss some oddities in certain borders. There are exclaves and enclaves throughout the world. Some have been with us so long, they confuse us as to their status as a State or otherwise. They often are points of contention, simmering or active conflicts, and a cause of wars. We go over some of the better known ones. But the fun part, is going over some of the lesser known ones. Although I suppose that depends where you are from.We also review some of the political and military issues in situ.And because Mike knows me so well, he knew we'd stumble into South America and by any pretense, I'd get him to discuss Venezuala. And did not disappoint.