Episode 44: Does God Exist?

Halloween Beyond the Scares Field Notes on spooky stories, the labels we inherit, and remembering the people we love. Brandy, Annelise, and Parker close the season with witch hats, favorite horror movies, and a Halloween conversation that moves from spooky entertainment into more personal territory. Alongside stories of curses and haunted objects, they ask what our labels reveal, how we use our words, and why remembering the dead can be an act of love. In This EpisodeThe hosts’ favorite Halloween movies open a conversation about why different stories frighten or comfort us.The discussion of witches asks how labels shape our judgments, and whether a new identity can become another box.Curses and haunted objects lead the hosts into questions about belief, intention, and personal boundaries.The conversation closes with Coco, family stories, and the importance of remembering loved ones. Chapters00:09 — A Halloween bonus and season farewell02:02 — Favorite spooky movies13:02 — Witches and the labels we inherit29:52 — Curses, words, and intentions44:25 — Haunted objects and secondhand finds1:06:09 — Halloween and the thin veil1:09:57 — Coco and remembering loved ones1:15:35 — Closing the season Mentioned in This EpisodeWatch the full episode on YouTube — The version used for the chapter times above.Rabbit Hole on Spotify — Intro and outro music by Annelise Bess. Music Credits Intro/Outro Music by Annelise Bess Rabbit Hole on Spotify Read the full Field Notes →

When Faith Becomes More Than a Belief System Field Notes on inherited beliefs, direct spiritual experience, and the questions that remain when familiar answers no longer fit. What happens when the beliefs we inherited no longer explain what we are experiencing? In This EpisodeQuestioning inherited doctrine can open a deeper conversation about faith and belonging.Belief and direct spiritual experience are different starting points for exploring the sacred.Moving beyond a religious system raises another question: are we opening ourselves to discovery, or simply adopting a new set of certainties? Chapters01:36 — What Transcending Church explores05:35 — Genesis, consciousness, and integration10:24 — Moving beyond the system into the sacred13:26 — The alchemy of forgiveness Mentioned in This EpisodeTranscending Church by Brandy Anderson — Following Christ Out of the System and Into the Sacred. Music Credits Intro/Outro Music by Annelise Bess Rabbit Hole on Spotify open.spotify.com/track/3KK2URb8G9felCzAKdRUnJ Read the full Field Notes →

After the Extraordinary: Marston Fries on Integration and Inner Authority Marston Fries shares her account of awakening and ET contact, then gets specific about pacing, embodiment, and the work of living what she experienced. What happens after an experience changes your understanding of reality? Marston Fries joins Brandy, Annelise, and Parker to explore that question from the inside. Her story moves through bereavement, leaving a career in investment management, and experiences she describes as psychic awakening, DNA or kundalini activation, and extraterrestrial contact. The conversation gives those experiences room while continually returning to the harder question: how do you carry them into an ordinary human life? In This EpisodeMarston connects her departure from investment management with grief and experiences she interprets as spiritual awakening.She distinguishes the intensity of an experience from the slower work of integrating it into daily life.Pacing, somatic therapy, rest, and attention to bodily sensations are practices she says have helped her.The discussion frames sovereignty as personal responsibility, discernment, and the ability to hold boundaries without forcing others to agree. Chapters01:53 — Marston’s story: career, grief, and awakening06:21 — The experience she calls DNA activation and ET contact17:02 — Pacing and the work of integration49:23 — Sharing an unfinished story Mentioned in This EpisodeThe Bridging Catalyst — Marston Fries — Marston’s official website, mentioned near the episode close.Trust Fall — Marston Fries — Marston’s book on her experiences and spiritual exploration. Music Credits Intro/Outro Music by Annelise Bess Rabbit Hole on Spotify Read the full Field Notes →

What Do We Mean When We Say God? Brandy, Annelise, and Parker explore divine presence, prayer, and whether the way we live matters more than getting every belief right. Before asking whether God exists, Brandy, Annelise, and Parker pause over another question: what are we calling God? A distant ruler, a loving presence, consciousness, source, the ground of being? Each answer changes the conversation before the debate has even begun. This episode follows that shift from inherited images toward the hosts’ evolving, deeply personal understanding of the divine. In This EpisodeThe hosts begin by defining God, recognizing that disagreement may concern different images of the divine.Annelise describes the emotional work of moving beyond a personified God while recovering a sense of intimacy.The prayer discussion includes both personal meaning and the difficulty of suffering that does not resolve as hoped.Brandy asks whether compassion, humility, and integrity matter more than intellectual agreement with a theology.The closing discussion treats uncertainty and the limits of language as part of spiritual inquiry. Chapters00:20 — Defining God before debating existence15:03 — Can God be personal without being a person?29:15 — Does God answer prayer?60:19 — Does correct belief matter more than how we live? Mentioned in This EpisodeThe Fish Who Found the Sea — Alan Watts — Annelise’s closing book recommendation; illustrated by Khoa Le. Music Credits Intro/Outro Music by Annelise Bess Rabbit Hole on Spotify Recommended Books The Fish Who Found the Sea by Alan Watts: amzn.to/4xqVnBQ The Universe Inside You by Sarah Ordonez: amzn.to/3USc6AA Read the full Field Notes →

High Strangeness with Ronald Meyer & Mark Reeder Ronald Meyer and Mark Reeder explore Bradshaw Ranch, Bigfoot reports, and the role of shared attention in extraordinary experiences. What happens when a filmmaker follows an unexplained encounter—and a skeptical collaborator starts having experiences of his own? Ronald Meyer and Mark Reeder join the conversation to explore Bigfoot reports, Bradshaw Ranch, and their evolving ideas about consciousness. Their stories move between field investigation and personal meaning, asking what an encounter can change even when its cause remains unsettled. In This EpisodeMeyer’s filmmaking led him from witness interviews to investigating possible links between Bigfoot and UAP reports.The guests use an ancient-presence hypothesis to interpret encounters; they do not establish the cause of the reported phenomena.Meyer discusses equipment artifacts and false positives alongside his interpretation of Bradshaw Ranch footage.Reeder describes the personal effect of a CE6 gathering as renewed awe and attention to everyday life. Chapters01:53 — How filmmaking led Ron to Bigfoot reports22:29 — Investigating Bradshaw Ranch41:12 — The origins of the CE6 protocol55:52 — Collective consciousness: contact or creation? Mentioned in This EpisodeFull episode on YouTube — Watch the full conversation. Ron Meyer & Mark Reeder Books Aliens 2035 The High Strangeness of Bigfoot The High Strangeness of Bradshaw Ranch Jesus Had a Near-Death Experience Tricksters and Angels: A Novel The Adam Enigma: A Novel Movies Produced by Ronald Meyer The Bigfoot Alien Connection Revealed - (28) The Bigfoot Alien Connection Revealed - Full Movie - YouTube -- over 7 million views across multiple streaming platforms Paranormal Highway - on Amazon prime ((28) Paranormal Highway Trailer - YouTube     Amazon.com: Paranormal Highway : Alan Megargle, Ronald C. Meyer, Thom Powell, Eira Wulfnothsson, Ronald C. Meyer, Ronald C. Meyer, Alan Megargle: Prime Video Alien Contact in the Rockies- a film by  Alan Megargle and, Ronald Meyer, Alien Contact In The Rockies | Creatures Traveling Through Portals Caught On Camera! The Mysteries of Bradshaw Ranch-  The Mysteries of Bradshaw Ranch: Aliens, Portals, and the Paranormal The Afterlife-  The Afterlife: Our Departed Loved Ones Are Close | Prime Video Near Death Experiences and Mysticism- Near Death Experiences and Mysticism The Mysteries of Bigfoot- The Mysteries of Bigfoot An Alien, a Channeler, a Mystic, in Conversation- An Alien, a Channeler, a Mystic, in Conversation Medical Doctor has Near Death Experience- Medical Doctor has Near Death Experience.. Encounters UFOs and Bigfoot Music Credits Intro/Outro Music by Annelise Bess Rabbit Hole on Spotify Read the full Field Notes →

Jesus, Lao Tzu, and a Less Fearful Faith with Gregory T. Smith Gregory T. Smith explores wu wei, compassionate boundaries, and what Christians might learn by listening to Lao Tzu. Can another spiritual tradition help us hear familiar teachings with fresh ears? Gregory T. Smith joins the hosts to discuss Jesus and Lao Tzu: The Way of Love, his Christian companion to the Tao Te Ching. Drawing on his years in pastoral ministry and a fascination with Daoism that began in ninth-grade world history, Greg approaches the two traditions as conversation partners with meaningful differences as well as striking resonances. In This EpisodeGreg designed his book for slow devotional reading, offering Christians an entry into the Tao Te Ching.He explains wu wei as effortless action and explicitly distinguishes allowing from accepting abuse.Greg sees resonance between Jesus and Lao Tzu while identifying differences in their treatment of violence.His story of friendship at an esoteric bookshop makes curiosity across faith traditions a lived practice.Greg’s reading of yin and yang challenges quick moral labels and invites attention to consequences. Chapters04:14 — Greg’s path to Jesus and Lao Tzu17:29 — Wu wei and effortless action25:28 — Allowing, boundaries, and nonviolence38:06 — Friendship across faith traditions Mentioned in This EpisodeFull episode on YouTube — Watch the full conversation.Jesus and Lao Tzu: The Way of Love — Gregory T. Smith — Greg’s book exploring the teachings of Jesus and Lao Tzu.Breathing Space — Gregory T. Smith — Greg’s writing on faith and spirituality. Music Credits Intro/Outro Music by Annelise Bess Rabbit Hole on Spotify Read the full Field Notes →

When Sound Becomes Shape: Vibration, Geometry, and the Search for Order The hosts follow patterns in sound, nature, music, and the psyche into a conversation about sacred geometry and wholeness. What connects a pattern in sand, a musical interval, and a recurring image in a dream? Brandy Anderson, Annelise Bess, and Parker Bess approach that question through vibration and sacred geometry, asking whether the universe has an underlying language. Their conversation moves between physical examples, personal associations, and a spiritual conviction that reality expresses an organizing intelligence. In This EpisodeCymatics gives the hosts a visible starting point for discussing how vibration and form relate.Brandy connects authenticity to making unconscious patterns conscious through shadow work and individuation.Annelise uses musical intervals and harmony to describe a more intuitive relationship with mathematics.The hosts interpret recurring natural and psychological patterns as signs of wholeness; that spiritual interpretation is distinct from scientific proof. Chapters05:00 — Is the universe built from vibration?28:03 — Authenticity, shadow work, and wholeness33:48 — Is mathematics invented or discovered?54:44 — The mathematics of music Music Credits Intro/Outro Music by Annelise Bess Rabbit Hole on Spotify Read the full Field Notes →

A Birth Chart as a Mirror: Johnny Barnett on Archetypes and Choice Johnny Barnett explores astrology as a symbolic framework for self-understanding, with room for uncertainty, context, and personal meaning. Astrologer Johnny Barnett returns to explore a birth chart as a symbolic map of inner life. With Brandy Anderson, Annelise Bess, and Parker Bess, he discusses an approach rooted in archetypes and self-realization. Signs and planets become a vocabulary for different ways of experiencing life, rather than a single personality label that explains everything about a person. In This EpisodeBarnett presents archetypal astrology as a framework for self-realization and a language for multiple aspects of personality.The conversation examines a real tension between a mapped life, conditioned responses, and freedom to choose.Barnett uses Saturn as a symbol for maturity, discipline, and the substance developed through responsibility.He distinguishes describing the conditions ahead from assigning someone the meaning of an experience.His relationship story and critique of memes emphasize the limits of labels and the importance of context. Chapters01:10 — Archetypes and self-realization08:51 — What is a natal chart?13:13 — Destiny and freedom40:05 — Solar and Venus return charts Mentioned in This EpisodeJohnny Barnett — Chakraology — Guest website, named in the closing conversation; astrology and chakra material. Music Credits Intro/Outro Music by Annelise Bess Rabbit Hole on Spotify Read the full Field Notes →

Evil, Ordinary Choices, and the Work of Awareness A searching conversation about suffering, divine love, unconscious behavior, and the responsibility hidden inside everyday choices. If God is good, why does suffering remain possible? Brandy Anderson, Annelise Bess, and Parker Bess begin with that difficult question and make clear that they are exploring it rather than claiming to solve it. Their conversation ranges across theology, spiritual cosmology, psychology, and the ordinary choices through which people participate in harm or care. In This EpisodeAnnelise describes evil as a forgetting of love, while Brandy emphasizes unconsciousness and division.The discussion tests theological explanations against lived grief rather than treating suffering as an abstract puzzle alone.Ordinary compliance and conformity become central examples of how people can participate in harmful systems.Shadow work and attention to projection are presented as practices for examining personal responsibility.The hosts express hope in love and wholeness while leaving the underlying philosophical problem open. Chapters01:40 — Evil as forgetting love17:05 — A good God and the existence of suffering40:05 — Ordinary compliance and the banality of evil46:28 — Awareness, projection, and shadow work Music Credits Intro/Outro Music by Annelise Bess Rabbit Hole on Spotify Read the full Field Notes →

Tarot as a Mirror: Gil Stafford on Symbols, Grief, and Reconstruction Gil Stafford brings the Bible and tarot into conversation through archetypes, dream work, and a daily practice of asking better questions. Gil Stafford’s first encounter with tarot came through a roommate while he was playing minor league baseball. It returned to his life years later and eventually became part of his daily spiritual practice. Joining Brandy, Annelise, and Parker, he describes a path through Christian ministry into a way of reading symbols that connects biblical stories with the images in a tarot deck. In This EpisodeGil uses tarot images as prompts for reflection on everyday life, relationships, and dreams.His face-up card practice lets him consciously select images that represent people and qualities he wants to consider.He interprets the Death and Devil cards through grief and integration of difficult parts of the self.Gil describes tarot as one spiritual tool among several, rather than a complete source of answers. Chapters3:03 — Gil’s path from baseball and Christianity to tarot9:29 — Archetypes, everyday reflection, and dream work31:25 — Death, the Devil, grief, and integration49:27 — Gil’s daily tarot and sacred-text practice Mentioned in This EpisodeThe Bible and the Tarot — Gil W. Stafford — Publisher information for The Bible and the Tarot: A Personal Pilgrimage of Discovery.Full episode on YouTube — Chapter times follow this full YouTube video. The Bible and the Tarot BOOK amzn.to/4w4BDDR Music Credits Intro/Outro Music by Annelise Bess Rabbit Hole on Spotify Read the full Field Notes →