In this episode of Realms of Curiosity, Sarah and Wendy explore the shamanic concept of dismemberment and remembering—death-and-rebirth processes in which old identities dissolve so something new can emerge.

Through personal stories and reflections, they discuss experiences of loss, upheaval, symbolic death, identity shifts, and the unexpected ways transformation can unfold.

The conversation touches on shamanic journey experiences, resilience, difficult transitions, letting go of limiting narratives, and the role discomfort can play in personal growth.

They also explore how periods of breakdown—whether personal or collective—may invite deeper questions about who we are and what remains when familiar identities fall away.

As always, the conversation remains open-ended, experiential, and grounded in lived experience.

00:43 Why Dismemberment Matters

01:57 Sarah’s First Breakdown Rebirth

04:56 Defining Dismemberment Rebuilding Self

05:57 Classic Shamanic Journey Dismemberment

08:02 Wendy’s Visions and Choking Dreams

11:48 Vintage Mustang Story

16:27 Stolen Car and Life Unraveling

21:42 Santa Barbara Struggle and Turning Point

25:49 Relationships as Ego Death Catalyst

28:20 Shamanism And Divorce

28:55 Trusting The Restlessness

31:41 Inviting Dismemberment Journeys

33:13 Hollow Bone Practitioner Ethics

35:31 Couples Work And Clearing

39:04 Death Rebirth And Shedding Skin

41:05 Training Discomfort With A Dog

45:17 Global Dismemberment And Resilience

48:17 Finding Space Between Thoughts

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• Visit Sarah's website
• Visit Wendy's website

Realms of Curiosity theme music created by Keen Mixer

In this episode of Realms of Curiosity, Sarah and Wendy explore the growing sense that the world feels increasingly chaotic, polarized, and difficult to interpret.

Through personal stories, reflections on cultural change, and shamanic perspectives, they discuss themes of deception, uncertainty, intuition, and the challenge of discerning truth in an age of information overload.

Wendy shares transformative journey experiences that shaped her view that humanity may be moving through a period of breakdown and revelation, while both reflect on the importance of grounding through nature, community, personal integrity, and direct experience.

The conversation also touches on telepathy, collective consciousness, symbolic perception, and Wendy’s novel Raven’s Daughter: The Story Keeper, which explores themes of deception and technological influence through speculative fiction.

As always, the discussion remains exploratory, reflective, and rooted in curiosity rather than certainty.
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• Learn more about Wendy's book Raven's Daughter
• Visit Sarah's website
• Visit Wendy's website

Realms of Curiosity theme music created by Keen Mixer

In this episode of Realms of Curiosity, Sarah and Wendy explore how people access non-ordinary states of consciousness through practices found across cultures and spiritual traditions.

They discuss shamanic journeying through drumming and rattling, altered states induced through breathwork, fasting, ecstatic dance, and plant medicines, and the connection between dreaming, symbolic perception, and expanded awareness.

Drawing from personal experience, they compare shamanic journeying with psychedelic experiences and reflect on the importance of integration, inner preparation, and learning to perceive rather than force experience through the analytical mind.

The conversation also touches on differing cosmologies of middle, lower, and upper worlds, archetypal imagery, the unconscious, and the evolving nature of spiritual practice.

As always, the discussion is exploratory, experiential, and rooted in curiosity rather than certainty.
______________________

Visit Sarah's website
Visit Wendy's website

Realms of Curiosity theme music created by Keen Mixer

In this episode of Realms of Curiosity, Sarah and Wendy explore the nature of intuition and the challenge of learning to trust it.

They discuss how to distinguish intuitive guidance from fear, ego, subconscious patterns, and wishful thinking, and reflect on how easily these can be confused. Drawing from their experience in shamanic practice, they describe intuition as a form of direct knowing—often arriving fully formed rather than through deliberate thought.

The conversation also explores possible sources of intuition, including higher aspects of self, collective consciousness, and symbolic forms encountered in shamanic journeying. They consider whether helping spirits and guides are separate entities or expressions of a larger unified awareness.

Along the way, they share personal insights into quieting mental noise, working with nonverbal perception, and recognizing the difference between intuitive clarity and emotional reaction.

As always, the conversation is exploratory and grounded in lived experience, offering a thoughtful perspective on the nature of inner knowing.

00:37 Why Intuition Feels Scary

02:33 Defining Intuition

03:57 Higher Self Downloads

06:03 Telepathy And Symbols

07:04 What Are Spirits

09:11 Oneness Versus Separation

13:19 Why Incarnate Here

15:51 Fear Wishful Thinking Synchronicity

18:18 Pondering Intuition

19:07 Ego Versus Guidance

19:51 Modular Home Metaphor

21:23 Noise And Discernment

23:28 Ancestors And Telepathy

25:24 Plant Communication State

26:32 Meditation Resistance

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Visit Sarah's website
Visit Wendy's website

Realms of Curiosity theme music created by Keen Mixer

In this episode of Realms of Curiosity, Sarah and Wendy explore how they understand and describe shamanism based on decades of personal experience and practice.

They discuss the distinction between ordinary and non-ordinary reality, and how cultures around the world have developed different frameworks for engaging with spiritual experience. Drawing from their training in core shamanism, they reflect on the role of altered states of consciousness in accessing insight, healing, and guidance.

The conversation also touches on working with helping spirits, the practitioner’s role in facilitating healing, and techniques such as extraction and power augmentation.

From there, they shift into a discussion of “stuckness”—how people can become caught in unconscious patterns and narratives—and how shamanic work, symbolic experience, and connection with nature can offer pathways toward change that extend beyond traditional approaches.
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Visit Sarah's website
Visit Wendy's website

Realms of Curiosity theme music created by Keen Mixer

In this first episode of Realms of Curiosity, Sarah and Wendy open the door to the conversations they’ve been having for years—exploring the edges of reality, consciousness, and spiritual experience.

With backgrounds in psychology, art, and decades of shamanic practice, they share the personal stories that shaped their paths—from early skepticism to profound, sometimes unexplainable encounters that challenged everything they thought they knew.

Wendy recounts a striking waking vision that raised questions about time, identity, and the nature of consciousness, while Sarah shares the experiences that led her to shamanism, including moments that hinted at unseen realms and deeper intuitive knowing.

Along the way, they explore what shamanism is (and isn’t), why they use the term “shamanic practitioner,” and how direct experience—not belief—has guided their understanding.

This isn’t about having answers. It’s about following curiosity into the unknown—and inviting you to do the same.
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Visit Sarah's website
Visit Wendy's website

Realms of Curiosity theme music created by Keen Mixer