Episode 092 Noble Eightfold Path #5 - Right Livelihood

Siobhan goes on a self directed silent retreat in the woods and Dave takes part in a two week fast. Suffice to say, we both unravel and tell you all the juicy details... Deep stuff this episode guys. But, we still manage to chuck in a bit of Juggalism, a toilet with a drawer, peeping in a poo sack, big love to everyone who's ill right now, getting lost is the best thing you can do, Siobhan joins the army to do the sewing, when does a cake become a cake, the Rolling Stones are wise? A flat pack furniture disaster happens when dinner should have been ready, lots of prayer talk, we're all only 3 days deep, the joy of pain, I shall not let McDonald's touch this tongue, you can find god in Fugazi and David Yow, Saint Augustine is a good fellow, Jonathan Pageux is a good fellow, Julian of Norwich is a good lady fellow, there are different ways of knowing about the world beyond hard facts and a 2 week long disco of joy is cancelled.

We review ourselves from 5 years ago, try to get to the bottom of what the point of all of this was, soberly listen to ourselves drunk and go for a run in the dark. Siobhan doesn't know how young children are nowadays, fear only stops you from living, Bill Hicks is still wise, Dave wins a Michelin star at Church, doing new things helps you do new things. We should all be breathing through our butts, thou should not jelq, an old space man talks nonsense, faberge egg gut health bum stuff, the return (and death) of Norfolk news. Siobhan doesn't get the memo about the 100 stupid podcast ideas we're doing to celebrate 100 episodes and prepares something else. Parenting advice, developing your personal brand, a brief history of the printing press, excellent survival tips involving little foods, mucky water and the bending of legs and the final say on the Covid pandemic (and about time too). And then there’s the return of our terrible movie reviews with 2023’s Glowzies! I did say “mega”.We will be taking a break for a few weeks over Christmas but be sure to pop back on the first Thursday of the new year for more Sohbet Punx!

Mockery, phlegm, anniversary(s), rambling nonsense, Gorilla Biscuits, Kurt Vonnegut mis-quotes, calling in sick, Siobhan is toothless and leather skinned, spiritual retreats, solitude, Biblical mis-quotes, Alabama crotch thrust, Brooks and Dunn long legs, AI rhyming rap, Dave goes to an exorcism, some things are problematic for some and life saving for others, meeting random guys outside the toilets, the tension between opposites is faith, The Chosen is a very good telly programme, God speaks through a man's phone and a cupboard, confirmation bias, participatory knowing and probably loads of other stuff I missed.Next episode is our hundredth episode, tell your friends.

A bit of exciting weather talk. Spiritual conversations with (some other) friends. Making goals by going back to basics. Accepting what is. Some good berries. A full technology rundown of all the most up to date things that we happen to have seen randomly... And then we get down to the meat of the thing which may involve me changing tenses... This is kind of a big deal episode for me, which will eventually become obvious once we stop mumbling about anything but the point. I'm still not entirely certain I'm in a place to share some of the information that is shared here. Suffice to say, I want to reiterate what we say in the episode which is that this is an entirely experiential description of the last few months of my life and not in any way based on expertise or theology. It is highly likely that my take on some of this stuff is going to be very different in the future but I hope that this will act as a snapshot of someone on the start of a much bigger journey. If it’s interesting or useful to anyone then that is great, if not, that is also great. Thank you for listening.

After a long month away we're back to fill your ears with joy and fun in a chaotic travelogue. There's talk of Trump, a critique of the American mental health services, we are all just Plato but with no attention span, Dave almost dies from diarrhea to celebrate our wedding anniversary but still chokes down a profiterole, we hang with Jack Black in Quentin Tarantino's Pam Greer themed coffee shop and discuss his height, Siobhan saves Dave's life through the power of prayer, more first and second half of life talk, one of us is wise, real life is better than holiday and that's a good thing, Siobhan is a cackling loony and we go and visit the Unarius UFO cult on their "Conclave Of Light" and they both charm and amuse us.

This episode we're talking about spiritual places and how and why they may feel different to us. There's a brief book club, a discussion of Blackie Lawless and his Wasp friends, we ask why the members of Blink 182 can't ever join Fugazi, Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson are discussed without any connection to each other despite the obvious history. Lots of meditation, tons of Christianity, good energy and bad energy. All sorts of things. We're skipping an episode next time so we'll see you in a month!

The secret word of the day on this episode is.... BEDTIME! Are we sleepy or are we drunk? That will be for you to decide. Mister Mister rip off Billy Joel. Chess with the mentally unwell. We finish the final episode of Lost and talk about its religious connotations but Siobhan is incapable of describing anything clearly. We both say the words "fiddle-de-diddly". Turns out Ben Hur is a good film. Turns out the flow state is a good state. Turns out Jesus is a good fellow. Superman does not satisfy us with his ending but get over it. Your politics are the equivalent of angrily walking past a hill. News is crap. Compassion is good. Oh, and as the title of this episode may suggest, we put the final nail in the Noble Eightfold Path.

Seagull eats bread shocker! The classic Bon Jovi/Bryan Adams/man from the Stereophonics conspiracy theory gets solved! The Life of Chuck! If history has taughtn ate nights are great, you read it here first! Boys DO cry! "The cinema is a place that you go to watch a film"! Normal things are popular for a reason and that reason is probably mapped out by your soul! Dancing is emotional! Don't poo poo joy, you lot! Mindfulness and meditation will basically sort you out but you won't probably realise it for a while! Have faith! Slow down to a different place from the rest of society! Stop secularising everything meaningful! Eat your food differently and revolutionise your life! Mindfulness is hard and you probably won't be able to be mindful in this lifetime, enjoy this.

We're sleepy this episode but we buckle up and continue our journey through the Buddhist Eightfold Path as well as covering the usual vast array of randomness; There's a weird Bloodstock Festival review. We ask if by expecting everything to fulfil your spiritual needs do you just ruin it when it doesn't live up to those standards? Apparently there's a difference between Sigur Ros and Radiohead and rap metal. Maybe we all need to sign up to the same emotional transference in order for anyone to feel any emotion at gigs (please refer to the question about putting too much expectation on things). Heavy metal fans like to have really annoying fun and are maybe a part of a religion. Do we have a thesis statement? What is a thesis statement? Putting effort into being a massive Nazi is the wrong type of effort. Sometimes doing nothing is the right kind of effort. John Mark Comer and the ruthless elimination of hurry. Stop being an individual and be more like Jesus. What have we both tried and failed at giving the right effort to? Single tasking is good and joining long cues is even better... Also, do you even Sabbath, bro?!

You join us on the eve of our trip to Bloodstock 2025 so, as you might expect, we talk about meditation gains, life changing spiritual experiences and more Buddhism (as well as a brief mention of heavy metal). Cat's are wise. Life can change in the blink of an eye. The Green Mile is nice. Psychiatry is complex. Do we need art? Sham City Roasters is dead. Long live life.