DeepSummary
The transcript explores the concept of shapeshifting, a common theme found in myths and stories across cultures and civilizations. According to the speaker, shapeshifting challenges the idea of a static, confined self and suggests a more permeable, malleable sense of identity. Shapeshifting was practiced by our ancestors to connect with the natural world, gain new perspectives, and cultivate empathy.
The transcript delves into the scientific perspective, highlighting that our bodies contain a multitude of beings - fish, birds, mammals, reptiles, and more. Our ancestors learned about the world by embodying these different forms through rituals, dances, and trance states, allowing them to communicate and pass down knowledge. The speaker argues that in our modern world, which has turned away from the sensate animal body, reconnecting with shapeshifting practices is essential to reestablish a deep relationship with the living world.
The episode features insights from guests Simon Thakur of Ancestral Movement and Biblical scholar Dr. Natalie Mylonas. They discuss the significance of shapeshifting in understanding our place within nature, the evolution of consciousness, and the potential for regaining a sense of oneness with the world through practices that connect us to our ancestral roots.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Shapeshifting, the practice of embodying different forms, was a common theme in myths and rituals across cultures.
- Our ancestors used shapeshifting to connect with the natural world, gain new perspectives, and cultivate empathy.
- Scientifically, our bodies contain a multitude of beings - fish, birds, mammals, reptiles, and more - which allows for the potential of shapeshifting.
- Shapeshifting challenges the notion of a fixed, static self and suggests a more permeable, malleable sense of identity.
- In the modern world, reconnecting with shapeshifting practices can help reestablish a deep relationship with the living world.
- Practices like trance states, rituals, and embodying animal forms facilitated shapeshifting for our ancestors.
- Conscious awareness of our bodies and their connections to other beings is essential for empathy and understanding the world around us.
- Shapeshifting offers a way to transcend the human state of separation from nature and achieve a sense of unity with the living world.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “So, as the drum boom, the senses wake. The neck airs rise. As the rattle shakes, the senses wake. The neck hairs rise. The drum booms and the neck hairs rise. The body becomes a being whose realm is awe, heightened perception, who swims in the stream of direct knowing.“ by Josh
- “Shapeshifting is not only the domain of our paleolithic ancestors, of those who ran with wolves. The family tree of primal paleolithic shapeshifting is alive and well. It branches from its 300,000 year roots into chinese martial arts and all its variegated animal. Tigers, cranes, mantis, dragon, monkey, sparrowhawk, swallow, horse, bear.“ by Josh
- “To shapeshift, to assume the body of the waters and the diving redtail and the snowy owl, is to embark on the great traverse back from the very human state of separation to the conjunctive union with the natural world.“ by Josh
Entities
Person
Service
Book
Film
Episode Information
The Emerald
Joshua Schrei
3/9/22
Shapeshifting is nearly universal to global mythic tradition. The myths of the world feature shapeshifting gods, shapeshifting animals, shapeshifting spirits, and, of course, shapeshifting people who assume the forms of tigers, bears, wolves, eagles, and more. The prevalence of shapeshifting in myth challenges our assumptions about the static nature of selfhood. Yet even from the scientific view, we are shapeshifters. We contain multitudes of beings within us — we are at once fish, bird, mammal, reptile, and more. Understanding and connecting to this permeable, malleable self was key for our ancestors for many thousands of years, as we learned about things primarily by becoming them in states of conjunctive trance. Shapeshifting, accomplished through the animal dance, through the assumption of the animal form in states of ecstasy, formed the foundation of how we learned, communicated, and cultivated empathy for the world. In a world that has turned its back on the sensate animal body, shapeshifting is more important than ever, as it offers a way back to a deep relationship with the living world. Simon Thakur of Ancestral Movement and Biblical Scholar Dr. Natalie Mylonas join us for this episode on shapeshifting, conjunctive knowing, and the sensate body.