Wonderosity

To you faithful blog readers, sorry I’ve been behind on my Biznik Live updates. If you didn’t get a chance to listen to the Van Jones Biznik Live show, I’d suggest you do it now or download it to iTunes for later. This interview is full of helpful suggestions about how to both green your business as well as how to increase your business during these economically rocky times.After a short discussion with Seattle Greendrinks founder Gabriel Scheer about an exciting upcoming project (Re-Vision Lab -site just barely up) aimed at gathering and supporting local green entrepreneurs, we jump into issues like:

• How Van’s amazing grass roots social marketing campaign launched his book to #12 in the NY Times. How can we do the same?
• A summary of his book ‘The Green Collar Economy‘
• What are the upcoming green entrepreneurial opportunities?
• What can you do to speed up sustainability policies in your local gov. and schools?
• Much more…

[display_podcast] A little message from Van on Youtube…TRANSCRIPT OF SHOW (after

I had a great time interviewing this fellow Dane (though I speak not a word of Danish and have not yet made it to Denmark myself!). Martin is a dynamic and passionate speaker who shared with us the results of the largest neuromarketing research ever -$7 million dollars and 2000 volunteers from all over the world who let Martin’s research team peer into their brains as they were exposed to various brand-related images and words. Curious what they found out?In this Biznik Live, we touch on:

• Some of Martin’s core findings in the neuromarketing study
• The role of fear in our decision processes
• Key advantages to being a small business (easier to take big risks, innovate!)
• The story of the pizza company on a low-budget that dominated the market in his area in a really unique way…
• Does your website have a jingle, your biz card a smell, why not?
• Hottest tips for indie biz agents during the current economic conditions
• Much more…

I hope you enjoy the show!TRANSCRIPTION OF THE

Hello friends. Well, I’m finally catching up from traveling to two excellent conferences this past couple of weeks (AIN & NASAGA). During the past two and half weeks we’ve conducted three more Biznik Live shows focused on “Surviving & Thriving Amidst Economic Uncertainty”. In this and the next few blog posts, I’m going to share a little about each show. I hope the following summaries tempt you into listening if you haven’t already! The audio in this 2nd show was somewhat poor, but there was some great content -enjoy!What did Tim & our audience cover in this second Biznik Live show?

• A summary of the Four Hour Work Week DEAL (Define->Eliminate->Automate->Liberate)
• Clarification on the somewhat controversial chapter on Automation
• The importance of testing, testing, testing (before investing $, time, effort)
• Should you hold onto your assets during the current economic uncertainty?
• Taking advantage of the likely drop in offline marketing prices during this recession (Radio & TV spots)
• Ruthlessly applying the 80/20 Pareto Principle to your business
• Learning how to say “No”, and facing the ‘difficult conversations’
• Which businesses are likely to do well during a recession?
• Clarification and advice on outsourcing

[display_podcast]Transcription of show:

(In a hurry? Skip down to the bullets for links!)

{1st Biznik Live show with Michelle GoodMan)

I’m starting a new show today called "Biznik Live". Its a call-in internet radio weekly series for the month of October and possibly beyond. I’m going to be interviewing nationally recognized authors whose powerful ideas can help us make successful choices for our businesses.

This first series is focused around the theme "Surviving & Thriving Amidst Economic Uncertainty". Our pilot show is Wed Oct 8th at 10:00am PST with Michelle Goodman (see below for her bio).

I know that many of us are feeling nervous about being self-employed ‘free agents’ during this time, so the content will be directly applicable to many of you.

• Biznik Live’s channel on BlogTalkRadio or first specific show page
• Call in number in US (347) 884-8009 (taking calls or text chats at 10:15 PST)
• More information on Biznik (basic or detailed discussion)

I’d love to have some of you there in support, as well as to gain some great insights from Michelle Goodman. If you can’t listen live, please do still download and listen to the show at the above link as it will help as well.

1st Show Summary
In this first Biznik Live show, we’ll be interviewing author Michelle Goodman on how ‘free agents’ can survive and thrive as business owners amidst economic uncertainty.

Author Bio
In addition to her recently released "My so-called freelance life", Michelle Goodman is author of the nationally acclaimed "The Anti 9-to-5 Guide: Practical Career Advice for Women Who Think Outside the Cube", an irreverent handbook for aspiring cubicle expats. Her articles and essays about alternative careers, human mating rituals, and cultural trends have graced media outlets such as ABCNews.com, CNN.com, Salon.com, The Seattle Times, BUST, Bitch, and The Bark, and have appeared in the anthologies Single State of the Union: Single Women Speak Out on Life, Love, and the Pursuit of Happiness and The Moment of Truth: Women’s Funniest Romantic Catastrophes. In her fifteen years as a full-time freelancer, she’s had the opportunity to wrangle text on computer games, marital aids, dog pajamas, home colonics, and just about anything else that can be sold. She lives in Seattle with her eighty-pound lapdog, Buddy. For more scoop on the so-called freelance life, visit her blog at Anti9to5Guide.com.

This podcast is our second in the series of interviews with presenters for the upcoming applied improv network conference in Chicago.  I had a blast interviewing “Dr. Thiagi“, he was so easy and enjoyable to speak with. In the interview we cover all kinds of topics, including:

• The difference between ‘engagement’ and ‘fun’ when teaching/facilitating groups
• How to keep authentic/engaged as a leader when, frankly, you’re having a crap day
• How to not take oneself too seriously
• The dangers of Exptertism
• Seeing the genius in others
• Work that Thiagi is currently doing and passionate about
• I challenge the term ‘performance technologist’ and Thiagi explains

Here’s a basic bio of Thiagi from his website:

Dr. Sivasailam “Thiagi”Thiagarajan is the Resident Mad Scientist at The ThiagiGroup, an organization with the mission of helping people improvetheir performance effectively and enjoyably.Thiagi’s long-term clients include AT&T, Arthur Andersen,Bank of Montreal, Cadence Design Systems, Chevron, IBM, Intel,Intelsat, United Airlines, and Liberty Mutual. On a short-termbasis, Thiagi has worked with more than 50 differentorganizations in high-tech, financial services, and managementconsulting areas. For these clients, Thiagi has consulted andconducted training in such areas as rightsizing, diversity,creativity, teamwork, customer satisfaction, human performancetechnology, and organizational learning.Thiagi has published 40 books, 120 games and simulations, andmore than 200 articles. He wrote the definitive chapters onsimulations and games for ISPI’s Handbook of HumanPerformance Technology, ASTD’s Training &Development Handbook, and the American ManagementAssociation’s Human Resources Management and DevelopmentHandbook.Thiagi currently writes a monthly online newsletter,Thiagi GameLetter. This newsletter, now in itsfifth year, features Thiagi’s training games and other creativeinterventions that deliver results quickly and effectively. Heserved as the editor of NSPI Journal andPerformance & Improvement for more than 10years. He currently edits the simulation/game section in SagePublication’s journal, Simulation & Gaming. Heis also a contributing editor of the monthly journal,Educational Technology.Thiagi has made hundreds of presentations and keynote speechesat professional conferences. At ISPI, Thiagi holds the “records”for making the most presentations, conducting the mostpreconference workshops, and being invited to make the mostEncore presentations. Thiagi is also a regular presenter atLakewood’s TRAINING Conferences and the annualconferences of American Society for Training and Development(ASTD) and North American Simulation and Gaming Association(NASAGA).Thiagi has been the president of the North American Simulationand Gaming Associating (NASAGA), International Society forPerformance Improvement (ISPI), and Association for SpecialEducation Technology (ASET). He has received 17 different awardsand Presidential Citations from ISPI, including the society’shighest award, Honorary Life Member. He alsoreceived an Honorary Life Member award fromNASAGA as well as its highest award, Ifill-RaynoldsAward.Internationally recognized as an expert in multinationalcollaboration and active learning in organizations, Thiagi haslived in three different countries and has consulted in 21others.

As part of the previously announced series of interviews with speakers for the upcoming Chicago Applied Improv Conference, I interviewed Charna Halpern of the Improv Olympics theater. Unfortunately, within weeks of our interview, Charna found she had a schedule conflict and had to cancel as a preconference speaker. However, I’ve decided to still post the interview as the content is just as interesting and relevant, and I’m sure many of you will enjoy it. I apologize in advance for some of the audio levels.

For those of you unfamiliar with Charna, here is her Wikipedia entry:
Charna Halpern was born and raised on the North Side of Chicago. She is a co-founder of the ImprovOlympic, now known as The iO. The theater has locations in Chicago, Los Angeles, and (the now defunct iO South) in North Carolina. In 1981 iO Chicago opened and then in 1984 with partner Del Close she began teaching The Harold to many students in the Chicago theatre community. She and Close co-authored the book Truth in Comedy:The Manual of Improvisation with editor Kim “Howard” Johnson in 1994. In 1996 the iO Celebrated it’s 15th Anniversary at the Vic Theater. iO West Opened in 1997 and is now under the direction of James Grace. Close passed away in 1999 and had Halpern bequeath his skull to the Goodman Theater. 2005 saw the iO 25th anniversary at The Chicago Theater. She also penned Art by Committee in that year and later in 2006 it was revealed that the skull purchased on line due to a Mortician’s refusal to remove Close’s head. Halpern studied acting and worked in radio before propelling long form and improvisational theater forward, making it in to the art form it is recognized as today. Variety Magazine called her one of the top ten women to watch in entertainment. Mike Myers named her the Uta Hagen of Comedy.

Enjoy the show, and look for an interview with the amazing ‘Thiagi‘ within the week! (I’ve already interviewed Thiagi, which was one of the best conversations I’ve had in a while, I just need to find time for some editing.)

Hi folks. I hope to get a more detailed post and/or ‘life-cast’ out sometime soon, but here are some quick updates of things happening in my life right now:

• I’m excited to say that I’ve started working for Biznik part time. You’ve heard me talk a lot about them out of genuine fandom, now I get to work for Biznik as their “Community Catalyst”. You can read an interview about it on the Biznik Blog, or checkout my biznik thread for more details.
• We’re scheduled to facilitate another ‘Soul Tech’ workshop in Vancouver BC on October 4th. If you missed the Seattle Soul Tech workshop, covered by the Today Show, and you have a goal of having a more balanced life with technology, then come join us!
• My daughter Zinnia is starting Kindergarten and I’m just so dang proud of her. She says she “love love love love loves it.” I wish I could constantly walk in rememberance and thankfulness for what an amazing daughter and wife I have. Anna & Zinnia, I love you!
• I’ll be traveling out east much of this October for a couple of trainings -the Applied Improv conference in Chicago(10/23-10/26), and the NASAGA conference in Indianapolis (10/15-10/18). They are both going to be amazing conferences, so if you’re interested in the world of experiential education, interactive/engaging training and facilitation, etc. then come and join me!
• Attached, and in your wonderosity podcast feed, is a little audio experiment called “Fly” –it’s my first ‘techno mix’ song. The idea came while I was jogging at the Y recently, and wishing I had music that had a few ‘life keys’ that are important to me woven into the song. Hope you like it
• Speaking of podcasts, I will finally be getting back into podcasting -yay! The first few, which you should seen in 1-3 days, will be a serious of interviews with international recognized facilitators, trainers and artists –each who has some connection to the world of ‘applied improvisation’ and who will be speaking at the aforementioned conference. So stay tuned!
• I’m this week in Banff, Alberta at the Banff centre. I was flown up last minute to perform in a preconference play called “Death by Powerpoint” by Paul Levy, for the ‘Art of Management’ conference. It’s a conf that is right up my alley but that, unfortunately, I’ll only get to attend the first day of.
• Speaking of that play, I need to get back to rehearsal –bye!

I hope you enjoy this fun, power-packed interview by the wonderful ladies (Wendy Garrett and Sandy Jorgensen) over at a new Talkshoe.com show called “Conscious Living“. While we (mostly me, caffeinated ) talked about many things, we focused on:

• How Soul Tech received so much press and what the workshop is about
• The various projects and businesses I’m involved in
• My soon-to-launch www.SparkSocialMedia.com site
• The pros and cons of technology/Social Media and where I think things may be heading

To those of you visiting wonderosity from this show, you can follow this link to receive the free eworkbook we talked about.  And you can follow this link if you are interested in seeing how you can use social media (blogs, podcasts, social networking sites, etc) to enhance your business, organization or other passion project.

Thanks Wendy & Sandy!

-Leif

Some exciting news! With the advent of my new business Spark Northwest, I have decided to relaunch The Quest Cast. I’m not entirely sure what shape it will take, nor whether I will keep this same site or start a new one. Whatever does happen I will be sure to announce it here and if the feed changes, I will make an announcement on the previous podcast feed. For those of you have visited from the Spark Northwest website and have NO CLUE what the Quest Cast even was (let alone what it will become), check out my first post at the bottom of this page to see my original goals. You can also listen to one of the shows to get a sense of how things worked.
Thanks for coming by and I look forward to sparking a quest for you soon!
-Leif

Hey you. Come sit down and join us for a nice organic conversation over at Breitenbush. This interview with Jeff and Nicole, two organic farmers with KingFisher Farms in Oregon, was a really helpful conversation for getting over some of my fears about slowing down and shifting into a more sustainable lifestyle. Whether you’re already far along the path of sustainability, or you, like me, find yourself stumbling along slower than you’d like -I think you’ll enjoy our honest dialogue as well.
We talk about questions like:

• What is the organic / sustainable movement about?
• How might we be motivated to change to a more sustainable lifestyle not out of fear and guilt, but genuine desire? (What are the bennys?)
• What are CSAs and how do they work?
• Does a full embracing of the sustainable lifestyle necessitate a shift away from all global systems? (boy, I wish I asked it that succinctly during the interview)
• What would the ideal local / sustainable life look when it comes to global life?

Drop me a note here, at the People Portal, or leave a message at 360-566-2278. And if you’re in Oregon, by all means call them up and start getting their goodies.

Tags: wonderosity, wonderosityshow, leifhansen, organic, sustainability, permaculture, globalism, farming, farms, oregon, breitenbush, podcast

Today’s show is an interview with Todd Fadel, who is hosting a creative collaborative experiment in Portland, Oregon on February 17th, 2007. We talk about the event, its origins, inclusivity and community building through creativity. Audio quality was semi-suck, sorry about that.

As promised, here are some links to sites related to this event, as well as Todd’s creative online happenings:

• Register at EventBrite
• The Beauty (Todd’s R&B band)
• Agents of Future (Todd and his wife’s music)
• The Big Bashed (songwriting project with his kids)
• Todd’s personal MySpace page

I take no personal responsibility for the content of any of the above links, so if his SICK AND TWISTED mind offends you, please don’t blame me.

Tags: wondersotity, leifhansen, interview, podcast, toddfadel, agentsoffuture, arts, creativity, whirrship, portland, inclusivity

Powered by Qumana

• New show format, and yay Mac/GarageBand
• Quote from GK Chesteron -The Ethics of Elfland, via ‘Orthodoxy’
• Various Announcements and Life-updates
• Have a nice day

Powered by Qumana

Well, something a little different. All just to say how much fun I’m having with my new MacBook Pro and Garage Band. This is the rap I wrote back in High School (1988!)…let me know what you think (:

Tags: garageband, mac, rap, whitebot, oldschool, wonderosity, bleedingpurple, leifhansen

I’m experimenting with using Gcast to quickly and easily send out announcements and spontaneous thoughts. In this show I’m simply wishing a happy new new year, sharing about some upcoming shows and announcing various additions to this site. Unless I find out that doing so would mess the feed up, I’m considering splicing the Gcast call-in feed with this show, so call inns will automatically go out to those of you subscribed. However, unlike this post, there would be no mention of it directly on this blog…if all this geeking out loud confuses you, then just click on the show link or else where into web-neverland.

Tags: gcast, wonderosity, wonderosityshow, call, announcement

Powered by Qumana

Get the picture? Thanks to Samtsai for this find.

Hi Bleeding Purple People,
I notice that around 75 of you have still not switched over to the new wonderosity feed.
While I will be keeping this site up, I will be deleting the feeds associated with it (ie feeds.feedburner.com/bleedingpurple, and the enteuxis.org one).
So please just click RIGHT HERE and itunes will add the new wonderosity feed, or just copy and paste this feed -http://feeds.feedburner.com/wonderosity -into your favorite podcatcher/player.

And don’t forget to get your butt over to the new wonderosity show site and the new wonderosity social site! Of course, if all of this is too complicated for you, you can keep it simple and go on over to the wonderosity.com site and all my feeds and other projects are there as well!

Thanks and I hope you’ve had an awesome new year!
In truth,
Leif

Tags: feed change, wonderosity, bleeding purple, wonderosityshow, feedburner

This episode continues the interview with Peter Davenport, director of of the National UFO Reporting Center. In this show we talk about:

• How does the NUFORC reporting process work?
• Why might be some reasons humanity has not had a more overt UFO/Alien encounter?
• Why does the traditional media seem to run from these kind of reports?
• How often does NUFORC receive direct ‘alien contact’ stories?
• If this really is happening, what might be the nature and purpose of non-terrestrial beings monitoring or visiting our planet?

Other Notes

• Here’s a link to the Phoenix, Arizona sighting –Davenport’s suggestion of the most recent credible UFO mass sighting.
• Again, I apologize for the audio quality –hope to clear that up with the help of some forthcoming Christmas presents…
• Wonderosity will probably be quiet until after the holidays, the 1st week of January.
• Head over to the people portal to discuss this subject and connect with other Wonderosity people.
• An interesting site I just found that might be of interest –check out his open minded scientist / skeptic at www.ufoskeptic.org

Tags: wonderosity, wonderosityshow, nuforc, peter davenport, interview, podcast, ufo, alien, media, extraterrestrial, exobiology, paranormal

My first attempt at YouTube-exhibitionism. What do you think, should I do more in the future or no?
I don’t know why this isn’t embedding, but here is the revver video link or here is the YouTube link for now.

Tags: wonderosity show, death, close-call, youtube, vidcast, geeking out loud, GeekingOutLoud

Powered by Qumana

I think my favorite thing about doing wonderosity shows is that I get to literally follow my curiosity to any place that I might not have previously followed it without the excuse of recording the conversations and interviews for a podcast. Today’s show is an interview with Peter Davenport, the 12 year director of the National UFO Reporting Agency. He was a delight to talk to, honest and friendly, and I think you’ll enjoy this first part of our conversation. In this show we talk about:

• Peter’s involvement with NUFORC
• His 1st encounter with a UFO as a child and later first attempts/interests in reporting
• How NUFORC works, who calls, why? Anonyminity?
• Peter’s opinions about the 3 most dramatic, credible and fairly recent UFO reportings
• This thursday’s “Wonderosity Live” show will be following up on this subject, we’ll talk about UFOs and your thoughts on “Are we alone?”

Other Notes:

• Slightly skippy audio, having some problems with Gizmo Project
• Background music, trusting in the good nature of Sufjan Stevens ,was the song Concerning the UFO Sightings Near Highland, Illinois

Tags: wonderosity, wonderosityshow, nuforc, peterdavenport, ufo, aliens, interview, talkshoe, gizmoproject, sufjan, sufjanstevens

Powered by Qumana

Well, for a first experiment with Talkshoe, this turned out pretty good. Unfortunately, the combination of one caller’s background noise plus Kris Gauci’s somewhat soft voice made the first 5 minutes a bit tricky to hear. Also, while four other people connected to the show, only one had the capacity to talk and I had to mute his voice because of the aforementioned background noise. Oh well, next time will bet better (: As for the content though, Kris was a delight to talk with and the 30 minutes sped by all too quickly. We primarily talked about:

• Kris Gauci’s brief spiritual background -more about Kris and his teaching can be found here.
• Is God personal or impersonal?
• Honesty/Authenticity & Spirituality
• The paradox and need of both trust/hope and doubt/etc.

Let me know what you think about the concept of a live show like this, how the time slot was, etc. Tomorrow I have an interview with the director of the National UFO Reporting Center, currently based in Seattle, that should be interesting…hope to have the results of that out next week. Receive care, -Leif

Tags: wonderosity, talkshoe, wonderosityshow, Spirituality, Live Show, Experimental, Authenticity, Trust

In this last episode with Jim Palmer, we talk about:

• Shifting from a right/wrong (convince and convert) modality to simply wanting to know God more deeply.
• Thoughts on why many have trigger-issues with “Jesus stuff” and how we feel about this.
• Within on emphasis, in a sense, on ‘divine anybodies’, are there any special people, places or practices that Jim still holds as uniquely helpful?
• What does being church look like now, to those trying to meet God in each person?
• What does prayer look like now, for those whose perception of who and where God is is chaning?
• To learn more about Jim and his newest book “Divine Nobodies”, make sure you visit www.divinenobodies.com
• And more….new announcements about upcoming “Wonderosity Live” show as well….

Tags: Wonderosity Show, Interview, Jim Palmer, Divine Nobodies, Author, Spirituality, Emergent, being church, prayer

Well, I finally started my new podcast (taking over Bleeding Purple) Wonderosity last week and (besides a redirect to an amazing Wisconsin public radio show called “Electrons to Enlightenment” I had to force on peopl), have so far put out two shows. Of more relevance to this blog, I have also created a social networking site devoted to the show –I’m calling it the “Wonderosity People Portal” –a dorky, but descriptive enough, name.. Its hosted on Ning.com and I’ve really being having some fun pretending I understand PHP in order to tweak the site to my likings. Members are able to upload videos, pictures, profiles, add to forums, add to a cool TheQuesting.ning board I’ve created, add their favorite books and quotes, chat and more…I hope it helps people who, like myself, want to grow spiritually and live life to the fullest, but are turned off by both the typical ‘conservative’ and ‘liberal’ approaches. Check it out if/when you get the chance.

Cheers,
Leif

Tags: ning.com, php, wonderosity, wonderosity people, geekingoutloud

Powered by Qumana

In this second part of my interview with Jim Palmer we continue discussing the nagging question of “Why is there resistance within me to enter into what I know will be truly good and satisfying? Why do I so badly want to be a ‘Divine Somebody’ and to get my esteem by assoicating with ‘Somebodies’?”. We also talk about things like:

• Is Jim wanting to be a somebody by writing Divine Nobodies, or is something else going on?
• How connected are we with each other, with God…is Jim God? Are you? (:
• How can we come to a place of peace where we feel fulfilled and content?
• How central does Jim think Jesus and Christian faith is do the kind of spirituality he is promoting, to knowing God?

I hope you enjoy this one as well, and don’t forget to join the growing fun and community of sharing over at the Wonderosity People Portal!

Tags: Wonderosity, wonderosityshow, Jim Palmer, Divine Nobodies, Interview, Spirituality, God

Powered by Qumana

I’m not sure how legal or net-friendly it is to do this, but I’ve just got to direct some of you over to this incredible wisconsin public radio series on science and faith. It’s called “Electrons to Enlightenment” and its part of their “To the Best of Our Knowledge Series”. This first one has Richard Dawkins, Karen Armstrong, Ken Wilber and more. Wow, now this is the kind of show I would like to one day be producing. I am going to link to their first show, and then hope you listen to the rest here. The 2nd part of the Jim Palmer interview should be available Monday, sorry but the holidays got in the way (: Also, I’ve redirected you bleeding purple feeders over to this site -so if you are now subscribed to both, make sure you delete you BP feed and keep this new one (see sidebar). See you at the People Portal!

Tags: NPR, richard dawkins, karen armstrong, electrons to enlightenment, wpr, faith and science

For our first show, after a brief introduction to Wonderosity, I interview Jim Palmer, author of “Divine Nobodies: Shedding Religion to Find God, and the unlikely people who help you.” Jim is a man with a huge heart and some powerful, simple ideas for those who are wanting to deepen spiritually. In this first of a three part interview, we explore questions like:

• What ‘Divine Nobodies’ is basically about, and how Jim came to write it.
• Why are bare-ass honest books like this, books admitting personal faith-struggles as well as churchianity’s shortcomings, just now starting to come out and be devoured by the public?
• Where the heck is God? Is God “out there” or “in here” or what?
• Why do I (and I’m sure others) seem to be in a place where I seem to be resistant to growing spiritually, slowing down, etc?

I hope you enjoy this first episode and I’d love any feedback you have to give. Please email wonderosity@gmail.com with any comments or questions! -Leif

Tags: Wonderosity, wonderosityshow, podcast, jim palmer, divine nobodies, interview, spirituality, churchianity

I love learning and meeting new people through interviews. One of the things that excited me most about podcasting when I first got into it is that I realized I now had an ‘excuse’ to call anybody or stop them on the street and ask them the questions that I always am full of. However, recently, I’ve been having the opposite problem –podcasting has become somewhat of an obstacle to my learning and meeting new people. I realized this, and the following reasons why, a few days ago:

1. I’m concerned that conversational qualities that are very important to me, honesty and authenticity, are effected when one knows they are being recorded and that that conversation will likely ‘go public’. Does ‘the spirit’ like to be nailed down?
2. I’m concerned that ’something’ might go wrong in the recording process and I will lose it all ( or have a sucky skype-quality), to the frustration of both myself and the interviewee.
3. My interviews tend to be long -1 to 2 hours -and the editing process takes a hella long time. Then there is the whole process of uploading, creating the podcast blog feed, promoting the show, etc. I think I have begun to dread the process somewhat, and so I postpone doing the interview.

Add the above three problems together and it helps me to understand (besides the recent change of heart and interest and decision to do a new show) why I haven’t done a podcast for over a month.

I can see some technical changes helping me to get over #2.
However, unless I can find someone to help with editing (#3), that problem and the concern of #1 still persist.

Any thoughts?

Though its old news by now (hey, I just started this blog!), I recently attended the Podcast and Portable Media Expo (PPME) in Ontario, CA. In short, I had a great time meeting some of my favorite podcast hosts, networking and partying with other podcasters, learning how to put together a better show, and, most importantly, getting re-energized about the whole heart (at least for us non-monetizing hobbyist types) of podcasting, which I had recently lost. (It was sitting below my mirror)

Some Highlights:

• The Free T-shirts from Audible.com’s booth that said “I’m Recording This“
• Dave Slusher (Evil Genius Chronicles) talking about returning to the heart/passion/fun of podcasting.
• Seeing so many friends from the Seattle Podcasting Network there.
• Meeting Steve Eli, host and producer of Escapepod, currently my favorite podcast.
• My pal Betty, the GPS that came with flight package’s Subaru Rental, who guided me to a long lost friend’s house in Pomona (”Turn right idiot”)
• Getting more drunk than I had in a long time at the Libsyn/Kiptronic/IODA party, and some blitzed/fun talks with Koz Farina, creator of BlugHUD, and co-owner of Podcast.com
• “When we try to be someone else, we kill our natural voice.” “Its all about losing artifice.” -David Lawrence
• “We speak 14,000 words a day on average. We hear 1.2 million words a day on average…Use your voice” -David Lawrence. (I have a hard time believing the 1.2 mil stat…could that be right? Did I ‘hear’ him right? And I must say that although I’ve quoted him twice, I really wasn’t crazy about the guy’s personality -he seemed pretty arrogant.)
• Evo & Eli’s tips on how to save time and be more efficient with producing a podcast:
  • podcast what you know
  • budget time needed for your show, including pre and post production
  • invest in time-saving tools (like this free offline blog editor I’m using now –Qumana)
  • ‘practically live’ approach to recording
  • spend money on a mic before anything else
  • engage and cultivate your audience
  • leverage forms to spread the word (
  • network with other podcasters -always mention your show
• Some great ‘how to start consulting as a podcaster’ tips from Kris at Palegroove, whose been doing it with the big boys for a while now.
• From other sessions: Learning about Limiters, Audacity’s envelope tool, plus some helpful some interviewing tips (set rules/expectations beforehand),
• Meeting the really nice crew from Gimp.Tv -I hope their new ventures go exceedingly well

Here are some pictures from the expo:

Enjoy!

Tags: PPME; Podcast & Portable Media Expo; Geeking Out Loud; Wonderosity, audible.com, Seattle Podcasting Network, Escapepod, Wingin it, Qumana, Palegroove, Audacity, Gimp.tv, Evil Genius Chronicles

Powered by Qumana

In this last Bleeding Purple show, I share some changes happening in my personal life as well as with Bleeding Purple (soon to be transmogrified into “Wonderosity“.)

I’ll let this episode explain why I am transforming BP into a new show, but since this is the last ‘official’ Bleeding Purple show, I want to offer a BIG THANK YOU to each of you who have given your ear to my personal musings, interviews and audio experimentations. I’ve been honored by all of the emails of encouragement and praise, the stories of your connecting with content in the show, and the new friendships I’ve made with a quite a diverse group of purple people.

I’ve found that connecting with ‘my audience’ has been one of the biggest blessings and biggest curses of podcasting. The blessings are obvious, the curses for me have been: feeling anxious and guilty when shows are delayed; becoming too obsessed with ’stats’ and numbers; flirting with ‘monetizing’ the show; worrying too much if people will like the show, like me, etc. So my hope is that I can keep my new show in the spirit I started BP –the fun, the passion, the following my curiosity, and the sheer geekiness of it all. So if you ever sense I’m not having fun with it –please feel free to verbally kick my arse.

For those of you subscribed to the Bleeding Purple Podcast, after I research the pros/cons of it, I will either redirect this feed automatically to the new show, or just do a quick announcement on the BP feed –so stay subscribed for at least another few weeks and/or check back here again soon. The most current info about me should always be found at www.wonderosity.com

Thanks, and I look forward to hearing from you soon!
-Leif

Tags: wonderosity, bleeding purple podcast, leif hansen,

For those of you who have not heard of Bob Ekblad, his ecumenical ministry Tierra Nueva, his book “Reading the Bible with the Damned” (free chapter), or his revolutionary People’s seminary –I highly suggest you check out one of those links.

He was a teacher of mine at Regent College, and is one of the most purple people I know. Unlike me, he is actually living it out -I’m still a chicken shit. I’ve sent him an email seeing if we can do an interview sometime soon…so pray it can happen.

Here is a link to a real-audio formatted interview played on KUOW

Here is a purple taste from his People’s Seminary website:

“At Tierra Nueva, two once-divided worlds are coming together -the Holy Spirit’s empowering for ministry and advocacy to the most marginalized. God is doing something very creative and new in our ministry, bringing the evangelical, social prophetic, academic, contemplative and the charismatic together in a dynamic mix.
I believe that God has positioned Tierra Nueva as a bridge between the lower margins and upper margins, the social prophetic, liberal mainline church people and the new wave charismatic missionaries and evangelists. I am convinced that the whole body of Christ is needed in order for us to see the Kingdom of God advance in the dark places of our world. We are entering a time a fruitfulness that will lead to successes we could never have imagined.
–Bob Ekblad, Executive Director ”

Back from Hawaii!
Hello, and no I have not podfaded! So sorry for the delay –a long vacation, life craziness, and podcast paralysis are the main problems.

On today’s show I read and play back a few listener emails, talk a little about a recent obsession (Joan of Arcadia DVD series),and ramble about a few personal thoughts. Mainly, I want to say “Hello, I’m still alive and kicking, and thank you for all the kind, encouraging emails!” Stay tuned for some excellent upcoming interviews and more!

Intro/Outro Music: Susan Welch, Sparrow

In this show you’ll hear back from last week’s guests Kat, Neil & Steve. I’m sorry for the delay…I explain some of the reasons why in the show. Enjoy!

Sadly, as you’ll also find out at the end of this podcast, I am putting The QuestCast on ‘pause’ until I have more free time and/or until one of YOU decides to take the show over for me. Email thequestcast@gmail.com if you are interested, and I’ll be happy to get you started. Lets not let it fade…(yeah, I know it was still in beta-quest mode, but I was really hoping to launch this.)

ShowNotes:
Intro: Acquisotic “Thats how dreams go“.
Outro:Carrie Pettit’s song “Dream on”

Tags: questcast, the questcast, talk radio, talkradio, goals, dreams, fears, self-help, life-coaching, questing, Leif Hansen, Podcast, Hope, Love

This was a somewhat spontaneous interview with two worship leaders from a recent youth retreat from my place of work (YMCA Camp Seymour). I think you’ll enjoy their music as well as our dialogue about what authentic, ‘purple’ worship (vs. cheesy, uni-emotional, or canned worship) might look like. Remember to leave comments now at the new Bleeding Purple Forum.

ShowNotes:

• Steve’s company: Iron Army Clothing
• Bonus Song, Beautiful Again, by Jon

Other Notes:

• New Bleeding Purple Forum Started
• Leave a VoiceMail with your computer (On sidebar as well)
• Website taking a while to load because all entries are now loading

Tags: interview, music, worship, God, , Bleeding Purple Podcast, Leif Hansen, Podcast, Wonder, Hope, Love

This is Part II of the intercast dialogue between myself and Jeff Harris from the ATC Pagan Information Network. We dwell primarily on the issue of God/divinity and the nature of ultimate reality. Afterwards I share my thoughts on the dialogue –specifically dwelling on that final question of the nature of God.

For those who like to read, and since it gets kind of deep, here are my notes (I pretty much read word for word) from my closing comments:

Let me know what you think!
-Leif

———Post intercast thoughts ————-

I think what is standing out most of all to me about our conversation is the topic we came to towards the end –questions about the ontology of God, divinity and ultimate reality. Let me try and explain what I mean and then I’ll pop back to its relevance to this conversation.
In my early Christian years it seems I developed a habit of interrogating people with a series of binary questions that were designed to lead them to the truth –that is, the beliefs I held at that time. Everything was an ‘either/or”. At the top of the question-tree was the question “Does this person believe in a spiritual/transcendent realm, or are they an atheist?” “If they did believe in a transcendent realm, then did they believe in a personal God or an impersonal force” “Did they believe in one God or many, and what was that God’s nature” and then I’d keep moving down the tree to find out if they believed that God was actually a person, Jesus Christ, and then down to various denominational differences like being baptized in the spirit, etc.

About 5 years ago, as I was exploring some of the foundations of my beliefs through graduate theological work, some of those binary/black and white distinctions started to become grey. For example, was God separate from us or inside us, is God personal or impersonal?

Ironically I think it was the bible itself that started the liberalizing process on these issues: Man and woman was made in God’s image, so that meant God must be beyond our gender-biased language (most Christians almost exclusively use He as you probably know) .And weren’t their many times where the Spirit of God was referred to using impersonal language –“it hovered over the earth” “it blows where it wills” etc. One day I was thinking how I was made in the image of God and how sometimes I referred to myself as “I” and sometimes I referred to my body as an ‘it’, as in “My hand – it is healing.” I noticed that there are dimensions to myself, perhaps a majority of myself, that are totally outside of my control –operating and being influenced by various laws of nature. Do I will my heart to beat? Do I command the trillions of cells within my body to regenerate and carry out their functions? Hardly. “IT or they operated by themselves”.
Anyway, you get the point –this made me realize that old distinctions of male/female and personal/impersonal were simply human constructs –they were both true to a degree, and they were neither true if said alone. God’s nature is an unfolding. I even came up with a theory, one that I am still exploring to this day: perhaps you could say that the ‘western/theist” religions learned about and emphasize the personal/transcendent (separate/outside) side of God/ultimate reality while the eastern religions learned about and emphasized the impersonal/immanent/force (connected/inside)-like side of God/ultimate reality. I’m curious if others have made this kind of analogy. (As a relevant side note –even the idea of eastern/western religions breaks down when you realize that all religions had their origins in their east. Viewed this way, we both have much to reveal to each other and correct in each other. I think there are even correlations to how those cultures with their religions end up viewing human relationships and society –one emphasizing independence and the other dependence. But that’s a much bigger topic.)

Around the same time, other questions relating to the nature of God kept cropping up. (These weren’t all abstract and theoretical by the way, they would come up again and again in conversations with others and as I wrestled to relate and communicate with a God who I was told was personal and loving and communicative).

For too many reasons to go into here and now, I also wrestled with the concept of the trinity. It just seemed too human and systematic of a concept. Besides, I used to say, its not even in the bible. Sure there are scriptures that talk about God as a father, Jesus as God’s son, and that talk about the holy Spirit –but if it was meant to be systemized in that way, why wasn’t there a ‘holy binity’ in the OT before Jesus came (I teased my Christian friends?) Elohim, a Hebrew word for God, is plural and we have language like “Let US make humans in OUR image” –there are various theories about this.Besides, what if God incarnated on other planets, and on and on….

Eventually I came to the opinion that I hold now: The trinity is an excellent metaphor for the truth that God is both a unity (the ‘oneness’) and a plurality –together they demonstrate comm-unity. But taken literally, it is too tidy and closed and the systemitizers become too self-righteous in their ‘figuring God out’. If you only emphasize the oneness, reality turns into a grey goo without differentiating, and there is no room for love –because love takes more than one lover. If you emphasize only the plurality –there is no unifying center that originated all things, that holds all things together and that can restore all the conflict that has arisen out of our plurality/diversity.

But then comes the question of humanity’s relationship to God and ultimate reality. In the past it was easy –God was the biggest piece of the picture, the external king, the life-giving father, the creator of all things and the one who held it all together. But then the bible had to go and mess that all up to –consider the following scriptures and ideas:
God’s omnipresence -what does it mean that God is literally everywhere. (Wouldn’t this seem to support the pantheist who believe that God is also everyTHING?)
“In him we live and move and have our being”
“May they be one as we are one”
“We are his body” “I am the vine, you are the branches”
“when you feed the poor, you are feeding me”
“God’s breath originating us”
“the kingdom of God is within you”

-all these images, at the least, point to a kind of dependence or interdependence of all creation on God that should at least make us comfortable with saying something like “I am part of God.” Yet the majority of Christians, if they heard this, would shudder like the Pharisees shuddered when Jesus described his relationship to God as son, or according to John, when he made illusions to the divine name of Yahweh saying “Behold, before Abraham was “I AM”

I am now getting beyond myself, as this is bringing up the very questions that I am wrestling with these days. Questions like, who was Jesus, how was he different than us, how am I separate and connected to God and what is the nature of this God I speak of as separate than myself?

Bringing it back to the interview with Jeff Harris from ATC…hopefully you, like me, see that there is perhaps much more common ground between open-minded Christians and open-minded pagans –they tend to emphasize the impersonal and plural aspects of ‘divinity’ revealed through nature, allowing IT to wear a personal mask only as it helps them in various ways, while Christians emphasize the personal dimension of God, revealed divinely through various modes of communication and experience.

I’m thinking now of various things that are hinting to me how some of these questions and issues might be resolved:
-star-trek type images of talking cosmic clouds, or
-quantum level physics where paradoxes breathe, or
-an internet friend who talked with me about the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd person relationship with God
-Another internet friend and listener who is emphasizing God’s presence within us, and the need to move beyond our heart and down to a feeling/sensing/following the spirit level. His total trust and confidence in God and in me that all shall be well and that big changes are coming soon.

The truth that I am totally convinced of is that these truths will become much more clear, more known, more experienced and understood as I starting LIVING out simple truths about love - like caring for those in need, standing up for justice, and more.
The recurring lesson in my life about the importance of accepting reality as it is, about being present in the moment, about letting go of my fears and agenda and impatience…
These things and more give me hope, though I am often full of doubt and impatient despair, that I will soon be experiencing more of God’s loving magic, and that it/she/he is here now just as much as God will be there then.

Tags: God, ultimate reality, divine, divinity, pagan, paganism, atc, interfaith, intercast, interview, dialogue, love, Bleeding Purple Podcast, Leif Hansen, Podcast, Wonder, Hope, Love

This is Part I of an ‘intercast’ (dialogue/interview of two podcasters) between Jeff Harris (a 3rd order pagan priest) from the Aquarian Tabernacle Church Information Network Podcast and myself (a confused and still somewhat bleeding purple follower of Jesus’ way.)

I apologize for the abrupt ending, but I decided last minute to cut the show in half so it wasn’t such a huge file…the next part will be up later tonight or in the next 1-2 days.

A sketch of some of the order of topics:

• Intro and why we’re doing it
• Beware: Witch-burning Christians & Human-Sacrificing Pagans ahead
• Pagan’s meaning in modern context (nature based religion)
• Wicca as primary pagan, described and demystified
• Diversity within paganism and wiccanism
• Wiccan history
• Clarifying wiccanism from amongst neowiccan, etc
• ‘Christian’ clarified by me
• Pagan ‘first impressions’ by me
• Jeff’s recent pagan gathering
• Christian/Pagan Bashing
• Sharing your faith in public, specifically in the NW
• Jeff’s Christian friends
• Why evangelicals consider pagans dangerous, a threat (the hell/salvation issue)
• Leif goes off about the toxicity of hell and the reality of God’s unconditional love
• The ontology of God/The Divine/Energies

Hope you enjoy it, and let me know what you think!

Tags: Pagan, Wicca, Wiccan, Interfaith, Intercast, Bleeding Purple Podcast, Leif Hansen, Podcast, Wonder, Hope, Love, Christian, ATC, Aquarian Tabernacle Church

Well, thanks to a few brave souls (Queltica, Steve & Neil), The QuestCast now has its first show! Keep in mind that this is a beta cast, and that that means I would greatly appreciate any feedback on the structure, audio quality, or any other ideas you might have to offer.

Upcoming:
Stay tuned and subscribed to find out how their quests unfold and to hear the upcoming planned “podcast personalities” show –with quests given to some of your favorite podcasters.

Get involved!
Check out the ABCs in the sidebar to find out how you can easily get on an upcoming show!

Shownotes:

• Thanks to Acquisotic for their podsafe and fitting song “Thats how dreams go“.

• I’ve decided to give libysn a spin, I’m excited to see how that goes.

• I apologize for the annoyingly high s and sh sounds, that will be elimated when I can afford a new microphone –which should be by the next show (feeling generous?)

Tags: The QuestCast, QuestCast, Talk Radio, Self-Help, Adventure, Podcast, Wonderosity, Leif Hansen, Experimental, Beta-questers, Wonder, Hope, Love

We’re getting closer!

I’ve received 3 quests already and am expecting some more soon from some fun podcaster personalities. I’ve added a new K7 voice message line (206) 350-QUEST to the ABCs list in the sidebar, and also thought it might be interesting to offer some example quests:

Example Quests

Personal/Social

1. Sue takes herself too seriously and wants to loosen up. She wants a challenge level 3 and being a little nervous, asks to confirm first.
2. Sue, we suggest you dress up in some outrageous costume with a friend and go to a super-market where you don’t usually go and sing a song in the middle of the store.
3. She decides to record a snippet of the experience, sends an email back describing it with the snippet attached.

Spiritual

1. Martin realizes that his whole life has been lived way too superficially. He wants to start exploring spiritual things, but doesn’t know where to start. He’d like a level 2 Quest.
2. Martin, your quest is to ask 2 of the people you most admire as being what you’d call ’spiritual people’ to share with you about their worldview, how they came to believe what they do, and how it affects their daily live.
3. Martin emails us highlights from the experience and about how these dialogues helped him to begin his spiritual journey.

Vocational

1. Chris is totally bored with his job, but has been afraid to leave it because it pays him fat cash. He is sick of being motivated by both the fear and the cash and knows that its time for a change. His goal is do something soon. He asks for a 5.
2. Chris, your quest is to go on an overnight retreat either by yourself or with someone you really trust, and to do some serious thinking about what your deepest passions are. Perhaps, if you can’t figure out how to take the time off, or in addition to your retreat –plop some of your fat cash down with a vocational counselor or life-coach.
3. Chris takes his iriver on the retreat, records some of his thoughts at the end of the retreat, and sends those back to The QuestCast. He has decided to become a circus clown.

Physical/Health

1. Lonnie feels like she is at the age where she needs to start getting some physical exercise, or there are going to be some serious consequences. She wants a level 2 challenge.
2. Your quest Lonnie is to decide on some physical exercise that you enjoy (team or solo) and go do it three times this week for at least an hour. Make it fun, listen to The QuestCast while you play!
3. Lonnie joins a community ultimate-frisbee team, meets some friends, and reports back on her super-fun time.

I’ll add some more to this and create an ‘examples’ link later on….

Jump on in!

Tags: ask a ninja, askaninja.com, humor,

A. Prepare Your Quest-ions
First make sure you have prepared answers to the following 3* questions:

1. What is your specific goal, fear or dream? (Feel free to share some details, but try and keep it between 1-5 minutes if spoken)
2. What level of challenge are you willing to take? (1=low risk, 5=high risk)
3. Do you want me to get your approval before announcing your quest on the podcast? (yes/no)

*Please also make sure to include your name (or pseudonym) and email address

B. Send In Your Re-Quests
There are 5 ways to connect to The QuestCast. Make sure you have the 3 above questions prepared first.

1. Call toll free: 1-888-654-2278, then enter 278-478-2278, then the code 1234 and leave a message
2. Call my k7 # and leave a voice message: (206) 350-QUEST
   
3. Email your answers (text or audio file) to thequestcast@gmail.com
4. Talk with me, or leave a message with me, with Gizmo or Skype.
5. Use this Zoomerang form
6. Use Gtalk to see if wonderosity@gmail.com is online

C. Wait for a confirmation email
I look forward to hearing from you and giving you a quest!

(Confession: I am posting this as a post, even though its on the sidebar, because Blogger was not showing my whole sidebar unless I had enough posts to push it all down. Plus, those who only receive the RSS feed would never see the sidebar)

I’m looking for beta-Questers before I go live with my first show. While I’m too dirt-poor to offer a prize at this point, the first 10 Questers will be entered in a Beta-Questers Hall of Fame and when I get some cool merchandizing (probably a T-shirt, Mug or Bananna) you’ll get one mailed to you!

See the right sidebar (ABCs) for how to get involed. Or, hop right in with this zoomerang survey.

And, for the record, I’m also looking for some help with logos and any other way you’d like to help contribute to this very exciting project.

Thanks!

Tags: Wonderosity, The QuestCast, QuestCast, Beta-Questers, Podcast, Announcement, Bleeding Purple Podcast, Leif Hansen, Podcast, Wonder, Hope, Love

“Is it possible that the message of Jesus was less like an advertising slogan –obvious and loud –and more like a poem whose meaning only comes subtly and quietly to to those who read slowly, think long and deeply, and refuse to give up? I wondered. And I still wonder.” -from Chapter 4

Not what I originally planned, but an appropriate review for a podcast, this show is my raw reflection from Seattle’s Pyramid Alehouse on Brian Mclaren’s latest book: The Secret Message of Jesus. Overall this is an excellent book, and if readers (of all colors) focus on living out Jesus’ secret message more than dissecting and debating it –we’re in for some exciting and transformative changes in this world. I will be posting more of my favorite quotes from this book in my next post…so stay tuned…

“A shared reappraisal of Jesus’s message could provide a unique space or common ground for urgently needed religious dialogue –and it doesn’t seem an exaggeration to say that the future of our planet may depend on such dialogue” -from Chapter 1

Shownotes:
-Intro
-Congratulations to John & Kea Louviere!!!
-Book Review: The Secret Message of Jesus.
-Listener Emails (Sable Chicken, Brian Sage, Jon Hudson & David Williamson)
-Various Announcements, inlcuding:
New personal (friends & family related) podcast/blog: zinniazoo
New personal (audio experiments, musical, freedom to whatever the #@! I want) blog/podcast : leifomatic
-Shoutout to lifeonfire podcast: Thanks for playing my promo, stay open and keep seeking!

“If you are part of this kingdom, you won’t slit Roman throats like the Zealots. Instead, if a Roman soldier backhands you with a blow to the right cheek, you’ll turn the other in a kind of nonviolent resistance and transcendence. if a soldier forces you to carry his pack for one mile, you’ll carry it a second mile as an expression of your own transcendent free will; you choose a higher option, one above either passive submission or active retaliation. If you are part of this kingdom, you won’t curse and damn the notorious sinners and scoundrels to hell; instead, you’ll interact with them gently and kindly, refusing to judge, even inviting them to your parties and treating them as neighbors –being less afraid of their polluting influence on you than you are hopeful about your possible healing and ennobling influence on them….” -from Chapter 2

Tags: Brian Mclaren, The Secret Message of Jesus, Book Review, Musing, Emergent, , Bleeding Purple Podcast, Leif Hansen, Podcast, Wonder, Hope, Love, Theology

With my new promo that is (April Fools!). Couldn’t resist.
I hope you enjoy this one minute promo, I think it gets at the heart of the show. And I’d really love if you would add the link to your blog or website, or play it on your podcast.

Hey, feeling really supportive today –its only 1 meg, send it as an email!

Don’t forget your monthly vote at podcast alley (or in itunes, google, yahoo or whatever else you use!), if you do it NOW, new listeners will be more likely to find the show. Thanks!

Check out the new purple poll question in the sidebar (or take the whole poll.)

Thanks so much to Henry for referring me to Eric Folkerth’s song “PurpleLand” (You can hear the whole song or buy his album at the above link)

“The Red and Blue map lies subtly,
When it’s drawn in primary color.
Cause the truth’s always shaded differently,
And it’s never just one or the other.

And we all live in a Purple Land,
Every woman, child and man,
So don’t get too proud. Don’t misunderstand,
‘Cause this great nation is just one big Purple Land.”
(from Eric’s lyrics)

Thanks to each of you for your friendship and support!
-Leif

Today’s show is an unedited story of my strange night and supernatural encounter with the Northern Lights. I also read a few listener emails and share some announcements.

Starting next week it looks like I’ll have some more free time and thus finally be able to put more time into better quality production.

Hope you enjoy the show, and don’t forget to pass on some of your extraordinary experiences as well.

In purple peace,
Leif

In this episode, I talk about what I see as the three most likely scenarious for human society in the near future. You could call it a choose your own adventure kind of podcast. You choose:

• Tragedy (environmental, war, science gone bad)
• Technocracy (control at the cost of human freedom)
• Transformation (listen to find out!)

Though I like how this show ended up sounding overall, I didn’t have time time to really prepare what I wanted to say on these topics as clearly as I would have liked. Well, I think you’ll still enjoy the show and get the general idea of why I think one of these three future scenarios is so likely.

• My Paper on technology and culture.

Thanks to my old friend Chris Behre for his song and vision of transformation. If you ever find this link Chris, let me know how you’re doing! Thanks also to Mortal for the intro and transitions (from Lusis).

Note the new Audio Searcher Podzinger, at the bottom of the sidebar. Try it by typing a word in the text box, then playing that audio clip on the next page.

Tags: Musing, Musings, Futurism, The Future, Tragedy, Technocracy, Technopololy, Transformation, , Bleeding Purple Podcast, Leif Hansen, Podcast, Wonder, Hope, Love, Chris Behre, Mortal, Lusis, PodZinger

In this short unedited show:

• A reminder for the upcoming listener-based podcast (see below in showercast notes)
• I share about what feels like a possible spiritual breakthrough, and some of the factors that may have played a part in this. Thanks to all of you ‘factors’ out there (;
• Blog Updates

Tags: Spirituality, Musing, Spiritual breakthrough, desert stream, , Bleeding Purple Podcast, Bleeding Purple, Podcast, Hope, Wonder, Freedom

World’s first showercast? Perhaps you were hoping it was Angelina Jolie or Brad Pitt, but its not that kind of showercast. No, this isn’t podporn (though I hear that that new wave of slavery is marching in quick), but come on in…

In this show:

• Wade in the water baby!
• You create the next show! Answer the question “What spiritual habits help you to center, to connect to God, to feel truly alive and present during your day? And how do these habits of mind, of being, of living, etc. actually effect your day?”
• Answer the question by calling the toll free super-duper easy number on the top of the page; by leaving a message with BleedingPurple using Skype or Gizmo Project; or good old emailing me (and I’ll read your answer) –answers will be on the next show. Please keep answers under 5 minutes.
• The red crowds cry ‘heresy’ on a few sites. (Um, doesn’t the bible say something about humility, not judging people while calling yourself righteous, and about perfect love casting out fear? )
• New rotating poll to your right –give a quick vote to improve the show and site!
• Help promote the Bleeding Purple Podcast by educating your friends about Podcasting, by telling/emailing three friends about the BleedingPurple Podcast, by putting a link to BP on your blog or website, and by –I’m going back on my word, sorry –voting on Podcast alley or your other favorite directory. Just a few minutes of your wuv can make a big difference. Thanks sistas and brothas!
• Ohwha tagoo F’iam. It just gets stranger and stranger, you never know what you’ll get on this show.
• Created using the M-Audio Microtrack
  

Tags: Musical, showercast, shower, singing, acapella, heresy, polls, weird, bizarre, strange, fun, Podcast, Bleeding Purple, Bleeding Purple Podcast, Theology, Leif Hansen, Hope, Wonder, Love, Freedom

In this minicast I comment on the thoughts & images lingering in my mind after the interview; I play and read some comments and emails from listeners; and I share a few other random announcements.
Stay tuned for some exciting new interviews, musings, and audio experimentation (ever heard of a showercast?)

From this point on, I plan to only include music on the show from people I know or have met at some point.

Music: Mandy Troxel

For some reason audacity was stealing chunks of audio and no matter how many times I recorded, the thief snuck back in.
So, I offer this as is. Sorry.

Check out the v. interesting purple discussion this has sparked over at “The Ooze” Forum.

Tags: Mandy Troxel, Musings, Musician, Soteriology, Eschatology, Feedback, , Podcast, Bleeding Purple, Bleeding Purple Podcast, Theology, Leif Hansen, Hope, Wonder, Love, Freedom, The Ooze

Part II
Note (Edit, 3/18/2006):
I just noticed from a spike in my web stats today that a mass mailing went out to what looks like a group called “light house trails”. I feel sad and somewhat frustrated that the ‘marketing’ of that post seems to dramatize and (intentionally?) misrepresent the issue, but I know I have fallen to the same temptation myself, so I can’t get too upset. However, to those of you visiting this site and listening to the interview with ‘heresy hunting’ pre-motives, I ask that you please:

1. Start with an open and thoughtful mind, as well as a humble and loving spirit. As mentioned in the interview, their are ~35,000 christian denominations –its really time to start humbly listening and learning from each other.
2. Try to let God’s “perfect love” cast out all fear, for fear is the root that gets us all divided and judging each other. A deep trust in God’s perfect and unconditional love is the only way out.
3. Check out a conversation like this one, in which both christians with more conservative and liberal views have been talking about the same “false advertising” quote and having a mostly respectful dialogue.
4. Despite what I said in the blog of the first interview, I’d encourage you to start from the beginning.

In Christ’s peace,
Leif

———————————————————————–

Here’s the second half of the interview with Brian. This half we continue the hell-busting, as well as consider question like:

• Is Christian exclusivism unavoidable with a high view of Jesus?
• Why is evil evil?
• Does an after-life focused theology contribute to earthly injustice?
• How can someone like myself start to trust/believe things about God again when so many beliefs seems to continue changing?
• Do our human concepts of God innately become idols?
• How many people really feel God’s presence daily? What to do if its a “dark night of the soul”

Be ‘the first’ listener to leave audio feedback
Call toll free, 1-888-654-2278 (65-gcast). Then enter the number 321-321-4321 (pause for code)-4321. Leave your message and then in about 5 minutes it will be live –check the Gcast widget to your right for other comments from me and other listeners.

Shownotes:

• See Previous Podcast Shownotes
• Pete Rollins, on How (not) to think of God (Mclaren’s 4ward)
  
• The Last Week, Borg & Crossan
• Image above taken from the “Suddenly Seminary” conversation with Brian Mclaren

Technorati Tags:
Brian Mclaren, Interview, Spirituality, Emergent, Hell, Christian Exclusivism, Jesus, God, Universalism, Theology, Eschatology, Soteriology, Hermeneutics, Marcus Borg, Churchianity, Doubt, Hope,

Overall, a great interview! Thank you Brian. I hope the rest of you enjoy the show and leave some feedback here or call in using the toll free Gcast number below.

Edit: I suggest that those of you who are limited on time, or who want to jump into the best of the interview –skip this first one and listen to #2.

In this show we talk about:

• Criticism Brian has received since writing A Generous Orthodoxy and The Last Word… and how to respond ‘in purple’ fashion.
• What to make of the violent imagery Jesus occasionally makes use of in the NT (ie Mt 24:51)
• The importance of having an hermeneutic of love
• Fear and the toxic doctrine of hell
• If hell is true, is the meaning of the cross false advertising?

On your right is the new listener feedback player, and the RSS feed as well.

Some of you may also be interested in the paper I wrote and shared with Brian. Its written as a dialogue between four different positions on topics ranging from divine justice, the nature of scripture, and the meaning of hell. As many of you know, this project was foundational to my coming to the conclusion of truly good news, of the hope of the universal reconciliation of all to God.

Authors & Books mentioned:

• The Coming of the Son of Man, Andrew Perriman
• The Secret message of Jesus, Brian Mclaren
• A Generous Orthodoxy, Brian Mclaren
• The Last Word & the Word after That, Brian Mclaren
• The Last Week, Borg & Crossan

Other Notes:

• Sojourners Network
• N.T. Wright

Technical notes:

• Gizmo Project (How Brian & I did the interview)
  
• M-Audio MicroTrack (My new portable recording studio, see below)
• Podcast 411
• Gcast

Tags:
Brian Mclaren, Emergent, Hell, Christian Exclusivism, Jesus, God, Universalism, Eschatology, Soteriology, Hermeneutics, Marcus Borg, Churchianity, Doubt, Hope,Gcast,Gizmo Project,Interview, Interviews, , Podcast, Bleeding Purple, Bleeding Purple Podcast, Theology, Leif Hansen, Hope, Wonder, Love, Freedom

Possibly the first ever podcasted Lectio Divina –a devotional style meditative reading of Psalm 76. Thanks to my wife, Anna Hansen, for doing the reading so heartfully. In this podcast, Anna reads once through, then I respond to each phrase with a spontaneious prayer, and then she reads a final time. Hope you like it, let me know what you think!

Reading comes from the contemporary, and highly suggested, Psalms for Praying, by Nan C. Merill. This text is not meant to be a literal translation, rather a contemplative and personalized translation. Occasionally it gets a little too psychologized for me, but I do really like it.

Tags: Lectio Divina, Spirituality, Family, Audio Experiment, , Podcast, Bleeding Purple, Bleeding Purple Podcast, Theology, Leif Hansen, Hope, Wonder, Love, Freedom

Need I say more?

My daughter Zinnia’s first song.

Tags: Family, Musical, Fun, Parenting, Podcast, Bleeding Purple, Bleeding Purple Podcast, Leif Hansen, Hope, Wonder, Love, Freedom

The dialogue with Ron from Awaretek continues. We start woth some political pokes but spend most of this section sharing our personal experiences and thoughts about the question: If God is infinitely transcedent, yet loving, can we expect, or at least seek, to experience God’s presence in tangible ways?

God and the truth humanity experiences and expresses about ultimate reality seem to be getting so complex, how can we sort it all out? Maybe an alien or an angel can help us? Or maybe a soon coming AI will sift through it all and tell us the answers to life’s ultimate questions. See ‘Hitcher’s Guide to the Galaxy’ for a preview to this scenario.

Tags: Interview, Fringe, Paranormal, Aliens, Angels, AI, Artificial Intelligence, Podcast, Bleeding Purple, Bleeding Purple Podcast, Theology, Leif Hansen, Hope, Wonder, Love, Freedom

The dialogue continues…I hope you enjoy it!

(This image is from an excellent dialogue book between conservative and liberal scholars and friends, Marcus Borg and NT Wright, titled “The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions“)

Tags: Interview, Dialogue, Jesus, Christology, Wine, NT Wright, Borg, Doubt, Faith, Podcast, Bleeding Purple, Bleeding Purple Podcast, Theology, Leif Hansen, Hope, Wonder, Love, Freedom

My friend Neil Sittler and I have a totally honest, no bullshit dialogue about where we are at with Jesus at this point in our spiritual journey.

Tags: jesus, interview, interviews, faith, doubt, struggle, honest, neil sittler, orthodox church, trinity, spiritual story, dialogue, , Podcast, Bleeding Purple, Bleeding Purple Podcast, Theology, Leif Hansen, Hope, Wonder, Love, Freedom

Second part of my interview with Ron (see below). We question the validity of supernatural experiences, and explore all over the place.

Tags: Interview, Fringe, Aliens, Angels, Artificial Intelligence, AI, Awaretek, , Podcast, Bleeding Purple, Bleeding Purple Podcast, Theology, Leif Hansen, Hope, Wonder, Love, Freedom

A fun, fascinating and thought-provoking conversation with Ron Stephens, host of the AwareTek Podcast. We explore the connections between the supernatural, scientific and extraterrestrial phenomena.

Tags: interview, angels, aliens, God, supernatural, paranormal, artificial intelligence, AI, podcast, spiritual experiences, vineyard church, awaretek, reductionism, scientific limits, , Bleeding Purple, Theology, Podcast, Leif Hansen, Hope, Wonder

My two year old daughter Zinnia and wife Anna almost upset the balance of the universe.
Pink!?

Tags: Family, Fatherhood, Fun, Podcast, Bleeding Purple, Bleeding Purple Podcast, Leif Hansen, Hope, Wonder, Love, Freedom

And now for something completely different. Check out this interview with Mendozza, a “heavy stoner-rock” band from Vancouver, BC. I like to stretch myself with new experiences –keep your mind open for some fun surprises!
Here are some pix of the evening.

Tags: interview, interviews, Musical, musician, band, mendozza, vancouver, british columbia, canada, tacoma, hell’s kitchen, stoner-rock, heavy-metal, soundscape, Podcast, Bleeding Purple, Bleeding Purple Podcast, Theology, Leif Hansen, Hope, Wonder, Love, Freedom

This turned out well! A somewhat brief summary of my personal struggles with technology, and my thoughts on how it is effecting our culture.

Read my paper “Exploring the nature of technology through the magic within Tolkien’s myth“ through the if you’re interested in more.

Tags: screen addiction, Musings, technology, technophile, culture, cultural criticism, struggle, honesty, appropriate technology, tolkien, bad magic, hi-tech, technorati, Podcast, Bleeding Purple, Bleeding Purple Podcast, Theology, Leif Hansen, Hope, Wonder, Love, Freedom

Some reflection on the recent passing of my childhood stepfather –Eagles and Steve Miller Band in the background.

Tags: Musings, Eulogy, Death, Family, Podcast, Bleeding Purple, Bleeding Purple Podcast, Theology, Leif Hansen, Hope, Wonder, Love, Freedom

A fun, experimental, layered song; written in 5 min, produced in 2 hrs using Audacity.

Tags: Musical, acapella, Audio experiment, audacity, Podcast, Bleeding Purple, Bleeding Purple Podcast, Theology, Leif Hansen, Hope, Wonder, Love, Freedom

A reading from Voyage of the Dawn Treader by CS Lewis, and some great songs. Thanks to Dawntreader, Joni Mitchell, and Iona for the tunes. This Podcast is dedicated to the kids of Camp Erin.

Thanks to Dawn Treader for the ending song, Innocence.

Tags: CS Lewis, C.S. Lewis, Narnia, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Storytelling, Reading, Book, Story, Camp Erin, Dawntreader, Dawn Treader, Innocence, , Podcast, Bleeding Purple, Bleeding Purple Podcast, Theology, Leif Hansen, Hope, Wonder, Love, Freedom, Iona

I explain why this is called the Bleeding Purple podcast, and then mix my voice up for some fun sung audio experimentations.

Tags: Musical, acapella, Audio experiment, audacity, Podcast, Bleeding Purple, Bleeding Purple Podcast, Theology, Leif Hansen, Hope, Wonder, Love, Freedom

Interview and songs with an excellent musician and a best friend.

Here is a great song called “Honestly” from John’s recording session in NY.

Tags: interview, interviews, musician, Musical, artist, folk, guitar, spiritual, john louviere, salt lake city, friends, humor, humour, , Bleeding Purple, Theology, Podcast, Leif Hansen, Hope, Wonder

Excellent interview with a Camp Seymour Bahai guest.
More about Bahai

Tags: interviews, bahai, world religions, interfaith, Spirituality, interfaith dialogue, christian, spiritual experiences, spiritual stories, , Bleeding Purple, Theology, Podcast, Leif Hansen, Hope, Wonder