Looming (adjective) – of something unwanted or unpleasant about to happen soon and causing worry.

Luminescence (noun) – the light so emitted.

Howdy, Michael C. Bryan here and welcome to the debut of The Michael C. Bryan Hour- where nothing is taboo. Big thanks to the magnificent Mr. Jon Filitti for giving us a warm home. Disclaimer: things might get provocative. Discretion is advised.

I always think I know where a podcast is going to go, and like the great Marc Maron said, on-air conversations never go the way I want them to go, but in the way they’re fated to go. Like life. I know fated is a rather dramatic word, but I don’t know any other way of being. I mean, my cover photo for The Michael C. Bryan Hour is of me wearing a fake fur with my mane of unruly hair flayed out like Farrah Fawcett. The true circumstances of how that photo was taken is a perfect pivot point for my briefly telling you about why the podcast you’re about to hear is from another world.

And here is the fun part: I had no idea when I put my fingers on the keyboard to write this little intro as to what I was going to write, and then into my mind came the thought “Tell the true tale behind the taking of that fabulous photo” and then the next thought was “Because it will illustrate to readers why you put the definition of those two words at the top”.

Where did those thoughts come from?  Ah, that’s the question, isn’t it?

On the night the photo of me was taken (the one of me in the fur), I was in a terrible state.  I had too much wine.  I was distraught.  Nothing was working out for me in my career, and at the moment I didn’t have a lover.  I was at a dear friends house and I said, “Oh, fuck it” and let go of everything that was bogging me down, grabbed my friends fake fur, laid down on her kitchen floor and snap, snap, snap.

As you listen to the podcast where Nasejje beautifully articulates what she knows is holding her back from feeling what we all want to feel (which is the feeling of peace and freedom and joy), she touches on the deepest of human truths: the very belief we cling to that makes us feel like crap, is the very belief that serves us with the perfect launching pad for our own greatness.

In the podcast, the movement from the feeling of looming to luminesce is startling and swift. It took both myself and Nasejje by surprise.  We have a choice every moment to either open our hearts and feel peace no matter what is going on in our lives, or not.  The really interesting thing is learning to do that while in the midst of what we feel is our worst of times, only to realize our desire for what we want can only be born from those worst of times. That Dickens guy was onto something.

Enjoy the podcast, and while I told her this, Nasejje I want to tell you again: you are sublime. We at Mindsoak and The Michael C. Bryan Hour can’t thank your badass enough for being so brave and honest. You’re a star, baby.

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The Jon Filitti Episode? Yeah, I’m taking the solo approach this week and I bug your eardrums for about 5 minutes. I give a quick update on all things Mindsoak, I give a couple sneak peeks about what’s coming up over the next couple of weeks and drone on a bit about how I think the first year went on Mindsoak.

Oh…and I ask you to spread the word about Mindsoak, the podcast and the essays as well as ask (beg) you to review the podcast on iTunes. Thanks!

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Jaime Buckley and I are similar in many ways. We both love writing. We love making comics. We love fantasy and action adventure. We love the idea of self publishing and controlling our work’s destiny. And we love raising our 12 kids.

Okay, wait, Jaime has 12 kids.

Which is 10 more kids than I have.

But we’re not here to talk about fathering children, we’re here to talk about the offspring which is Jaime’s works of fiction.

Jaime is the author and artist of the Wanted Hero series. The series includes comic books and novels. He recently released his new website at wantedhero.com and I recommend it to anyone who’s a fan of fantasy, humor and good writing.

Jaime and I flow through many subjects over the course of the episode, mostly on creativity. We discuss his artistic journeys, his hand injury setback, his daughter’s prompts to get him creating again and the new, wonderful direction Wanted Hero is taking.

We discuss our favorite writing methods, ways to induce a writer’s high and our dream cabin (it includes woods, some overstuffed leather chairs, a wood burning stove and wi-fi).

Jaime has a wonderful way of brining humanity to his work and to any discussion he is having. I’m excited for you to hear Jaime’s response to a letter he received from a young reader. His reaction encapsulates the Jaime I know.

If you’re interested in diving into the Wanted Hero books (and why wouldn’t you be) or you have kids who would be interested, Jaime is offering all Mindsoak listeners a 30% discount when you checkout and apply the coupon code, ‘mindsoak’. The coupon is valid from September 20th to Oct 7th, so be quick about it.

So make sure to check out Wanted Hero and follow Jaime on Twitter at @WantedHero.

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Talking with Michael C. Bryan on a podcast is always a pleasure. Even though we go back and forth a lot through text (mostly memes of course) it’s always great to hear him preach inspiration. But today was an even bigger treat because he introduced me to the wonderful world of Veronica.

Veronica began working with Michael to uncover her creative abilities, create the freedom she is seeking in life and to establish goals that are unabashed, unapologetic and unwavering.

Because the work she has done in her creative life is so beautiful, Michael and I wanted to have her on as an inspiration to all the Mindsoak listeners. Veronica lives and breathes what is possible when you turn off the old, habitual negative self talk and open yourself up to a world of new ideas and new perspectives.

I think you’ll agree, Veronica has hit her stride and is living her creative life to it’s fullest.

The three of us talk about setting up an intentional life, being unafraid and unashamed of living a life which makes you feel wonderfully alive and we even discuss Michael’s panache to “fart out My Little Ponies”. Hey, he said it on a podcast so blame him.

As always, to learn more about Michael find him on the web at www.mcbhappier.com, on Twitter at @MCBHappier and on Instagram at @mcbhappier.

You can follow Veronica on Instagram and stay tuned to hear more from her as I roped her in to writing a Mindsoak essay which will be released on 9/29! Boom!

Thanks for listening!

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I “met” Caroline Timm in “1947”. “Met” is in quotes because it was just through Twitter and “1947” is in quotes because it was probably more like 2014. But I digress, it seems like it was a long time ago and it seems like we actually met.

Caroline was my first Twitter rant cohort. We went back and forth on parenting and what not and I had a blast. The back and forth kept up for some time and it was always a pleasure to get a response from her on Twitter after I made some lame attempt at a joke.

And then she went dark.

Off Twitter.

For a long time.

So it’s with some kicking and screaming that I pulled her into this podcast interview to catch up, talk about everything she’s accomplished (a lot) and see where she’s headed. And I got her to commit to Twitter (it will probably last two days) and to come on a second time down the road. I consider all of this a success.

Caroline is a mother, an actor, a teacher and director. I guarantee you’ve seen her in a commercial or two and will most likely see her on a screen somewhere in the future. We talk about her ability to juggle motherhood while still being creative and artistic and continuing to explore her dreams while she does the parent thing.

On top of that she started the Portland Drama Club and talks about the joys of teaching young (and I mean young!) kids about acting, growing their confidence with each practice and each performance. I can only imagine how great it is for all those kids to be under her direction and I’m a little jealous the little crappers get to participate while my kids are 2,000 miles away. Just kidding little crappers, you guys are the best!

She’s also a must follow on Twitter, so head over and make sure to hit the follow button. Also make sure to check out her reels and some news related items at carolinetimm.com.

A quick editors note: The sound issues are my fault. You’ll hear a low humming in the background which is a fan I failed to turn off. You might not have noticed it, but it drove me nuts when I played the episode back. Also, my head cold was at an all time level of horribleness so I sound miserable. And, on top of all of that, sometimes I get too close to the mic and you hear my swallowing. Yeah. Nice. But Caroline is great even with all the turds I was throwing…

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Ben is a stud.

While I’m tempted to just type that first line, put up some of his links and call it a day, maybe I should take a moment to tell you a little bit more about Ben then simply stating his studliness.

Ben is a writer, visionary and publisher. His main goal in life is to share creative works with the world which inspire others and have a positive impact on their lives. He does this through his writing, through publishing other unique voices and through his new Youtube adventure where he streams his daily activities and thoughts.

Ben and I take a deep dive into self publishing versus traditional publishing, the joy of sharing other people’s creations and works, getting the courage to write and release your words into the world and overcoming perfectionism.

To learn more about Ben follow him on Twitter at @byfaroe, his website byfaroe.com or at Clickworks Press.

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