What's Resonating, and What's to Come!
I've been quiet, but I haven't been bored.
I promise I’m not trying to follow the Fibonacci sequence with the number of months between update letters!
I promise you’ll hear from me again in less than eight months!
But it’s been five months since I last did this. And for that, I’m sorry. I mean, not really, but it seemed like a nice thing to say. 🤣
In the intervening time, our merry band of Resonance Contemplators has grown to 51 email subscribers (at the time of this writing)! Fifty-one is an interesting number1:
It’s Doc Hudson’s number in the 2006 film Cars
It’s the area where the U.S. Government is hiding all of the aliens, and also coincidentally home to the best ice cream in my state.
It’s the title of a particularly poignant episode of AMC’s drama series Breaking Bad.
It is also the number of essays Alexander Hamilton wrote as a contribution to The Federalist Papers.
To my newest subscribers, thank you for joining in. And to those who’ve been with me much longer, thank you for hanging around.
And now for some updates:
Season Two of the Contemplating Resonance Podcast!
The podcast side of Contemplating Resonance has been quiet since April 8, 2024, when Dawn Dickieson-Leger’s episode Deconstruction, Anglican-Style, was released.
Episode 5 - Deconstruction, Anglican-Style: Dawn Dickieson-Leger
Summary In this episode, Matt interviews Dawn Dickerson-Leger, a pastor and Ph.D. candidate, about her deconstruction journey and experiences in the Anglican Church. Dawn shares her background in evangelical Christianity and her transition to a more progressive faith. She discusses her exploration of Anglicanism and the appeal of its mystical traditions.…
As you can see, this was Episode Five. But if you’re listening closely, this was supposed to be Episode Eight. As has been said many times, “No plan survives first contact with the enemy.”2
During the intervening months, I decided to introduce the concept of “seasons” into the podcast, retroactively defining episodes one through five as Contemplating Resonance Podcast: Season One. Season One was very much an experiment (and a successful one - y’all have downloaded episodes 117 times), and there was no overarching theme because I originally planned to say random words about random ideas. I didn’t even know if people would agree to be guests. Well, as it turns out, people like the guest podcasts so much that I now have booking agents pitching guests to be on the show!
Season Two of the Contemplating Resonance Podcast will focus on healing the wounds of religious trauma and purity culture.
I've lined up a series of guests who all have a unique story, and each interview will be structured as a three-act play:
1. Introducing the guest and what they do in the world.
2. The guest's relationship with religious trauma.
3. What has the guest done to help heal themself and others from religious trauma?
So who’s coming?
Tara Teng (she/her) is an Embodiment Coach who works at the intersection of spirituality and sexuality. She helps people find their way back to their bodies, overcome shame, heal trauma, and dismantle purity culture in a way that is in alignment with their values and beliefs so that they can build a healthy sexual ethic and thrive in freedom and wholeness.3
Lyn Smith Gregory is Joseph Smith's great-grandniece and an expert in family estrangement and the complexities that arise when people transition away from their faith community. Owing to a keen personal understanding of the emotional and psychological trauma involved in this seismic shift, Lyn guides those affected through the sensitive dynamics of this profound life change.
Ivy Schultze (a.k.a. i.V. KiNG) perfectly blends A-list pop and modern storytelling. She was certainly not crowned without struggle. Her lyrics paint vivid pictures of both the beauty and pain of growing up with one foot in the Church and the other in the LGBTQ+ community.4 Perhaps check out her latest single on Spotify:
Arielle Lanning (@divinerebelrising on Instagram) is a Deconstruction Coach and Evidential Spiritualist who helps ex-Christians heal religious trauma through Neuroscience and Somatic Integration.5 She regularly shares insightful reels on the intersection of Neuroscience with Christianity.
Kandi Zeller is a disabled writer and editor at the intersections of spirituality, creativity, and justice. In her newsletter, All the Threads, she tries to share a weekly spiritual practice somewhere at the intersection of creativity and justice (often with some extra poetry and prayers).
I can’t begin to express how excited I am about recording and sharing each of these conversations with you. Religious trauma and purity culture are both at the heart of my own story, and I’m grateful to have a platform that allows me to amplify attention applied, if only a tiny bit, to these damaging systems of oppression.
I’m researching and scheduling recordings for these episodes now, and I hope to launch Season Two within the next two to three months.
But wait… there’s more!
I started another podcast. 🤣
As I’ve alluded to, I’ve become quite attached to the Tarot. A little more than a year ago, I started running into the Tarot all over the place: in books, in movies, at conferences, and even AT CHURCH (my beloved Harbor Online Community, of course)! But in January, I decided to pursue learning how to read the cards for myself seriously.
About that time, I met Brandi Linthwaite through Hana O’Neill’s Suburban Witches Society, and she performed a brilliant Year-Ahead Forecast Reading for me. By brilliant, I mean pretty much everything she’s predicted has come to pass. I check in with it monthly and am stunned at how accurate she is!
Eventually, we had a tarot-centric backchannel throughout our overlapping hours (Brandi is in the UK). I got the crazy idea that we should start having these conversations in public.
And Two Fools Walk Into The Tower was born.
We are currently three episodes deep into Season One.
Yes, we started with Episode Zero. If you know, you know.
Of course, we had to have our mentor-in-common, Hana O’Neill, onto the show. Incidentally, this show was recorded at 5:30 in the morning for me. It turns out to be incredibly difficult to get an American, an Aussie, and an American Ex-Pat Brit into the studio together!
This episode is for you if you want to hear two grown adults act like kids in a candy store.
Four more episodes are coming, including a two-parter to end the season.
S1E3: Embracing Empathy: The Queen of Cups
S1E4: Clarity and Conviction: Exploring the Ace of Swords
S1E5: Decoding Symbols - The Imagery of Tarot, Part 1
S1E6: Decoding Symbols - The Imagery of Tarot, Part 2
Our next episode is dropping in less than two weeks!
So, now’s a great time to subscribe.
Funemployment and Duoprenurialism
In my last update, I discussed my increasing disillusionment with corporate software engineering and my desire to move into more of a helping profession. The Universe has connected with that desire and infused it with energy, and I can feel my journey down this particular path accelerating. Things that looked like they were reserved entirely for the future have become a part of my present.
This is a fancy word salad for the discerning reader for “I got laid off.”
I won’t waste time here disparaging my former employer (even though, in many ways, they deserve it). They’ve done me a favor. Not only did my severance package afford me a few upcoming months of “funemployment,” but it also gave me a clear vision of the possibility of working on my terms.
What does funemployment look like? Interestingly enough, I’m working much longer days because I’m doing work that I’m deeply passionate about. Yes, I’m keeping up with my summer reading, and I’ve had a few days of binge-streaming. But I love the work. As much as the struggle of the corporate world took the life out of my soul, this work restores that life.
So, I’ve started not one but TWO companies.
Digital Intuition
First, let’s discuss the evolution of my technology career. Given the current technology job market and my evolving career focus, I’ve decided the best path forward is to pivot to entrepreneurship and join the worlds of Fractional Consulting and Technology Leadership Coaching.
Fractional Consulting describes a business that serves multiple clients simultaneously through a combination of services packaged as products, retained services (i.e., buckets of consulting hours per month), or any other independent advisory or execution capacity. Essentially, what I dream of doing in this space is the kind of work I did in my Field CTO role at Pivotal - a combination of short-term focused work like deep dive software architecture assessments and advising leaders at the director level and above on technology and organizational strategy. I hope 60-70% of Digital Intution’s business will fall into this category.
Technology Leadership Coaching is exactly what it sounds like - the use of coaching techniques to help technology leaders grow and reach their full potential. We need more thoughtful and deliberate technology leaders who know how to create sustainable and psychologically safe environments that allow teams to thrive, and I want to help grow them. I hope 30-40% of Digital Intutions’s business will fall into this category.
If you or anyone in your network could use my services in this area, I’ve made it easy for you to book a FREE exploratory consultation.
Falken’s Labyrinth
Now, let’s talk about the future.
If you’ve been following this newsletter for any length of time, you’ve seen snippets of my evolution into a practicing witch who spends much of their time down the esoteric rabbit holes of Astrology and the Tarot. As it turns out, if you hear the feedback I’ve received from friends and acquaintances for whom I’ve read their cards or their natal charts, I’m pretty fucking good at it. And the numerous spiritual practitioners I’ve befriended over the past six months who live incredibly abundant lives, both spiritually and financially, have inspired me to believe I can do this too.
Enter Falken’s Labyrinth.
Falken’s Labyrinth is the home of Falken’s Mage (my social media handle), a playful spin on the fictional game Falken’s Maze, featured in the 1983 film Wargames. This movie was one of my childhood favorites, one of many reasons I fell in love with the magickal world of computers, and an ever-present reminder to always retain that childlike wonder at how the universe works.
I created Falken’s Labyrinth to help a very lost and confused earlier version of myself find their way. Having left the high-control spiritual environment of the Southern Baptist Church and pushed my spiritual life into the darkest recesses of my shadow for several years, I had begun to feel like something crucial was missing.
My signature coaching program, Resonant Life Expeditions, is primarily designed for those who feel they've been stripped of their very identity and life purpose by leaving the church, and they feel lost at sea because that's the only spirituality they've ever known, and everything alternative has been branded as demonic and evil.
With my coaching clients, I will leverage Natal and Karmic Astrology, the Tarot, and contemplative spiritual practices from various traditions, all integrated within the framework of Jungian Life Coaching.
The goal is a fully resonant life composed of a grounded and embodied self-identity, a cosmic soul purpose, a connection to your Source, and an evolving set of spiritual practices that work for you.
Alongside my signature program, I’ll offer more traditional tarot and astrology readings for anyone looking to dip their toes in the mystical waters.
If you’d like to explore working with me 1:1, why not book a FREE Soul Alignment Side Quest?
Learning Update
In my last update, I discussed some new educational ventures I was embarking upon. I thought I’d give you a brief update on those.
Celestial Alchemy Astrology Certification
The Spring 2024 cohort of the Celestial Alchemy Astrology has come to a close. I’ve completed all of the lessons and submitted and received grades for all the homework and quizzes. Here’s how I did:
I’m not going to lie: I’m pretty fucking proud of this report card. What you’re not seeing is the helpful feedback Tenae Stewart provided on all the assignments she personally graded. This has been one of the richest learning experiences I’ve had.
As you can see, I have two final projects:
The first is creating an original astrology offering based on my methodology. I’m working on integrating a lunar return month-ahead forecast with a Tarot reading based on the significant astrological correspondences within the chart. I’m doing two of these readings for friends of mine, and I’ll launch the offering on Falken’s Labyrinth very soon!
The second is by far the most intimidating project of the term: I get to, with some preparation, read an anonymized natal chart in front of everyone on one of our office-hours calls. It’s one thing to write out my astrological interpretations. Speaking them coherently amongst peers and teachers is a whole other thing!
At any rate, I hope to graduate and become a Certified Celestial Alchemist very soon!
The Living School and the Path of Descent
The Living School’s 2024 cohort of The Essentials of Engaged Contemplation is about halfway through its second trimester. The theme has been The Path of Descent. In a phrase: the way up is the way down.
We have spent time contemplating each of the following spheres:
The Buddha and St. Francis, and how their parallel paths of descent led to enlightenment.
The Desert Christian Elders
Early Monastic Tradition
The Dark Night of the Soul
The Shadow (as described by Carl Jung)
Grief
Crisis Contemplation
It has been a heavy trimester but a deeply enriching one. Facing the darkness always is.
Jungian Life Coaching
One might think I’d take a break before starting any additional educational ventures. One might think.
Nah. I’m just getting started.
I first came across the idea of Jungian Life Coaching in January when I was shopping for witchy shit at Tamed Wild. Tamed Wild is one of Shelby Bundy’s businesses. As I’m clicking around on her websites, I discover she’s also a Jungian Life Coach. Color me intrigued.
Jungian Life Coaching brings the foundational ideas of Carl Jung’s psychology together with Eastern Philosophy and the Coaching Model to create a powerful mechanism for facilitating personal discovery and growth. It is the brainchild of Debra and Dr. Roberto Maldonaldo, the founders of CreativeMind. They offer a year-long training program in not only the framework of Jungian Life Coaching but also the business knowledge needed to succeed as a professional life coach.
Shortly after discovering CreativeMind, I hopped on an admissions call and later joined a webinar hosted by Debra and Dr. Rob. I was hooked. I was way too busy to start with the January cohort, but the July cohort looked perfect.
And here we are.
The cohort has only been up and running for a few short weeks, and I’m honestly shocked at how amazing it’s already been. The learning has been intense, and the coaching I’ve received both from my mentor and my peers has been revolutionary.6
I’ll have much more to say about this work in the coming weeks.
So What’s Next for Contemplating Resonance?
This post is already too long, so I’ll be brief. I’m introducing two significant changes:
What’s Resonating This Week?
I’m moving most of my written content to a new format entitled What’s Resonating This Week?
I’m putting myself on a deadline to restore regularity to this publication. Barring the unavoidable interference of the Universe, all subscribers will receive a newsletter in their inboxes on Tuesdays at 8:30 AM Central Standard Time. As we’ve already stated, no plan survives first contact with the enemy, but at least you know my intentions are pure.
What can you expect to see each week? I’m so glad you asked!
Musing on happenings in the Astrological transits - maybe even some horoscopes!
A Tarot or Oracle card reading when I’m in the mood.
Things that I’ve read or watched in the last week that resonated.
Short, off-the-cuff, semi-philosophical ramblings about random shit.
The timely, well-placed meme.
And whatever the fuck else seems good at the time.
Paid Member Benefits
I’ve decided it’s time to introduce some value-added benefits for those who are kind enough to support this newsletter and podcast (neither of which are free for me to produce) with their finances. Here’s what I’ve come up with:
Discounts on Tarot and Astrology Readings in the Falken’s Labyrinth Shop. You’ll receive a fresh discount code in your email every month.
Paid Members: 10% off
Founding Members: 20% off
Community Chat: you can interact with me in a more conversational community setting. I’ll occasionally dash off threads here for your response.
Access to monthly, topical, deep-dive posts: the first one I’ve planned for August is an overview of Hermetic philosophy.
Access to paywalled archives: you may have noticed that all written posts older than this one are now in preview mode. While all members will continue to receive all written posts, the archives will require a paid subscription for any written content older than one month.
This post is now officially way too fucking long. So, with that, I bid you adieu.
See you next week, and keep resonating.
All facts sourced from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/51_(number)
A paraphrased quote attributed to many generals, but I think most accurately to Helmuth Graf von Moltke.
I’m so not fucking exaggerating.
Lovely to see this in my inbox again 💜