A Thread of History: Teahouse Poems to Nurture the Past and Rewild the Spirit

What is the link between our sense of the Past and our understanding of Nature? I begin a new season of the podcast with a meditation on this topic, which is also what one could call the ''theme'' of our brand new boutique called Divina Natura I tell you about this new little shop which is located in Old Quebec, Canada, and about the history of the boutique itself, which could be read as a kind of literary and emotional ''detective story''We will also examine the meaning behind a wonderful quote by the great Alan Watts on the nature of the artist experience and of Zen art in particular, and tie that in with the beautiful meditations on the ''art of lingering'' and of perceiving the world and ourselves by writer Byung- Chul HanBiography:Morris Berman, Neurotic Beauty: An Outsider Looks at Japan, Water Street Press, 2015.Byung-Chul Han, The Scent of Time: A Philosophical Essay on the Art of Lingering, Polity, 2017.Music Credits:"Prelude'', Yakov Golman, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)Please don't hesitate to reach out with any feedback, it is always greatly appreciated! You may find me at caroline.kerjean.author@gmail.com

In the very first episode of this podcast, I read to you from the preface of my book, A Bloody Song: How Anime and Literature Collide. It recounts my ‘time travel’, from a childhood love of the Japanese anime Lady Oscar (Rose of Versailles) all the way to my exploration of the adult fascination with that early, passionate interest of mine.I will take a few minutes today to take a quick break from my usual podcasting topics to delve a bit deeper into the subject, though of course there is definitely a link between the two. This 'Entr'acte' is also a new feature of the podcast, one which I hope will allow me to get to know you a bit better!Finally, I announce a giveaway: a free, signed paper copy of my book, A Bloody Song, to the first three people who write to me (email below) in order to sign up for my quarterly newsletter. You can also write to me via my website www.carolinekerjean.com.Music Credits:"Prelude'', Yakov Golman, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)Please don't hesitate to reach out with any feedback, it is always greatly appreciated! You may find me at caroline.kerjean.author@gmail.com

For my first episode of 2022, I introduce you to a new concept for the podcast, which I see as combining my writing and podcasting with my artistic practice. This new concept aims to use an art piece as the starting point for each episode and see where it takes us!The goal is to understand a specific creative process as embodying an important kind of personal (and even collective) ritual, one which provides a portal onto 'Deep Time'The idea of 'Deep Time' can thus be seen as embodied in the age-old, contemplative practice of crafts (or craefts), as brilliantly discussed by British historian Alexander Langlands in his recent books on the subject Music Credits:"Prelude'', Yakov Golman, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)Bibliography:Couturier, Andy. The Abundance of Less: Lessons in Simple Living from Rural Japan, Berkeley, CA, North Atlantic Books, 2017.Langlands, Alexander. Craeft: An Inquiry into the Origins and True Meaning of Traditional Crafts, W. W. Norton & Company, New York, 2019.Please don't hesitate to reach out with any feedback, it is always greatly appreciated! You may find me at caroline.kerjean.author@gmail.com

In this monthly episode, I recount my recent discovery of ''ambience videos'' and about our shared desire to experience the past as a ''distant home'', as something which, ultimately, allows us to touch the eternal within our soulsI further explore the cartesian, rational mindset which informs every aspect of our Western way of life. How does our denial of the past affect us? How does it shape our daily lives?Our yearning for a connection to the past allows us to understand and experience more fully the emotional and physical legacy our ancestors left us, the present and the future they dreamed up for us. I invite you to ''time travel'' with me by sharing a cherished piece of my own personal history and my special way of honouring that memory. Music Credits:"Prelude'', Yakov Golman, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)Bibliography:Cather, Willa. Shadows on the Rock, Knopf Doubleday, 1971.Please don't hesitate to reach out with any feedback, it is always greatly appreciated! You may find me at caroline.kerjean.author@gmail.com

French philosopher Simone Weil famously wrote that ''to be rooted is perhaps the most important and least recognized need of the human soul." In this monthly episode, I explore the need for rootedness, for a true sense of belonging, through the lens of the current pandemic and the emotional and spiritual space it has opened up for us.I also explore the need for rootedness as defined by the philosophy of ''wabi-sabi'', which I first encountered as a child via the art of Japanese anime.Finally, I invite you to revisit the mental and spiritual space that opens up to us when we allow ourselves to ''return to the self'' by embracing a newfound sense of belonging in a fractured world.Music Credits:"Prelude'', Yakov Golman, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)Bibliography: Couturier, Andy. The Abundance of Less: Lessons in Simple Living from Rural Japan, Berkeley, CA, North Atlantic Books, 2017.Weil, Simone. The Need for Roots: Prelude to a Declaration of Duties towards Mankind, London and New York, Routledge, 2002.Please don't hesitate to reach out with any feedback, it is always greatly appreciated! You may find me at caroline.kerjean.author@gmail.com

This first episode and the podcast itself are a sort of ‘sequel’ to my book, A Bloody Song: How Anime and Literature Collide (2020). A sequel in the form of an oral scrapbook or ‘thought collage’ of my musings and feelings about ‘the enduring mystery of time travel’, meaning the emotional and spiritual investigation of how the past feeds into the present. I feel that something is missing from most conversations about spirituality. You often hear about ‘living in the moment’, ‘feeling the oneness of the universe’ and all that. But you rarely hear about the past, about our vital connection to history. To ‘nurture’ the past is not romanticizing it. It is a means of exploring and understanding how it feeds into and continues to shape our daily lives. It is a means of embracing the full narrative of our lives, and of 'rewilding' the spirit...Music Credits:"Prelude'', Yakov Golman, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)Bibliography: Couturier, Andy. The Abundance of Less: Lessons in Simple Living from Rural Japan, Berkeley, CA, North Atlantic Books, 2017.Jourdain, Eleanor F. and Charlotte Anne Moberly. An Adventure. White Rabbit Press, 2014.Please don't hesitate to reach out with any feedback, it is always greatly appreciated! You may find me at caroline.kerjean.author@gmail.com