Mental Poverty: How Scarcity, Distraction & Family Beliefs Shrink Your Mind | Ep 3

There’s a kind of poverty that never shows up on a bank statement. In this episode, we begin Arc 3: Mental Poverty. We look at three ways the mind gets narrowed: by scarcity, by a world built to grab our attention, and by the stories our families hand down.We explore the “bandwidth tax,” the research showing how scarcity crowds out reasoning and imagination. We also look at how overwork and distraction cut us off from the living world, and how animist practice can retrain attention. Finally, we turn to the inherited beliefs behind “people like us don’t...” and to ancestors as a source of both burden and wisdom.You’ll leave with three simple practices:Making room for possibilityFinding a sit spot outdoorsSorting the beliefs you’ve inheritedhttps://pansociety.net

What if poverty isn’t only about what you’re missing, but about what you’ve been cut off from?In this episode, the start of our second arc, we look at physical poverty through an animist lens. We begin with the body as the first land we ever live on, and what hunger and housing insecurity do to our bond with it. Then we follow the river upstream to the systems behind poverty: land taken, resources extracted, and people bound by debt. We ask a strange question along the way: what if systems have spirits? Finally, we turn the mirror on wealth. Why do so many people with more than enough still feel empty? And what can communities with very little teach us about the webs of care that make a life feel alive, without romanticizing hardship?The episode closes with a simple three-part practice for reconnecting with your body, the land and each other. It costs nothing, and you can do it anywhere.In this episode:🌱 The body as the first land we inhabit🍞 What chronic hunger teaches the body to stop asking for🏠 Why housing is the ground a life gets built on⛰️ Land dispossession, extraction and debt as causes of poverty🌀 Gift vs. debt, and the spirit of a system🏚️ Wealth without aliveness: why things can’t love you back🤝 Thick webs of mutual care, and the cost of themAbout Pan Society:Pan Society explores animist spirituality and the many paths people take to reconnect with the sacred. Subscribe for more conversations on modern traditions, nature-based practice, and spiritual sovereignty.👉 Subscribe for more on animism and earth based spirituality~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Join our tribe! You're welcome here.https://pansociety.net~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What is an aswang, and why does it still frighten people across the Philippines? In this episode, Karl looks at Philippine mythology through its most notorious creature. He covers the many types of aswang, the misconceptions around them, and how centuries of colonization changed the way Filipinos understand their own folklore.Karl explains how myths shape communal fears, hold communities together, and form cultural identity. He shows how diverse ethnolinguistic traditions are across the archipelago, and he explores how scholars and practitioners are working to reconstruct pre-colonial beliefs. He also considers how movies, TV, and pop culture have reshaped the aswang, and why it matters to approach indigenous myths and practices with respect.📌 Chapters00:00 Introduction to Philippine Mythology and the Aswang03:49 Cultural and Societal Fear of the Aswang09:00 Types and Characteristics of Aswang Creatures15:11 Historical Influence of Colonization on Folklore19:58 Folklore as a Tool for Community and Identity26:09 Reconstructing Pre-Colonial Beliefs and Traditions29:58 Media, Popular Culture, and the Perception of Myth34:53 Respecting and Reconnecting with Indigenous MythsIf you enjoyed this conversation, like, subscribe, and share your own aswang stories in the comments. Which region’s version did you grow up hearing?#Aswang #PhilippineMythology #FilipinoFolklore #PreColonialPhilippines #FilipinoCulture #Manananggal #PhilippineHistory #decolonize Contact Karl Gaverza@phspirits - both Facebook and [email protected] Get Mythica Obscura here: https://link.amazon/B0g5ukfRCAbout Pan Society:Pan Society explores animist spirituality and the many paths people take to reconnect with the sacred. Subscribe for more conversations on indigenous folklore, nature-based practice, and spiritual sovereignty.👉 Subscribe for more on animism and earth based spirituality~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Join our tribe! You're welcome here.https://pansociety.net

What does it actually mean to be poor? Most of us only think about money, but there’s more than one way to go hungry.In this first episode, we introduce the four poverties: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. Through an animist lens, we explore a world made of relationships rather than things, where wealth is measured by how deeply you’re connected to your body, your mind, your people, the land, and the sacred.We look at how scarcity shapes the mind, why “never enough” grips people at every income level, and how a Lakota tradition turns our idea of wealth upside down. In Lakota culture, the richest person is the one who gives the most away. We explore the giveaway: what it is, what it does for a community, and why the U.S. government once tried to stop it.We close with a simple practice to give you a taste of a different kind of wealth.In this episode:The four kinds of poverty, and why we only count oneAnimism: living in a world full of personsThe scarcity mindset and the feeling of “never enough”The Lakota giveaway and wealth as a flow, not a pileThis week’s practice: give something awayReflection question: Who is the richest person you know, and what are they actually rich in?About Pan Society:Pan Society explores animist spirituality and the many paths people take to reconnect with the sacred. Subscribe for more conversations on modern traditions, nature-based practice, and spiritual sovereignty.👉 Subscribe for more on animism and earth based spirituality

Is The Story of B by Daniel Quinn really the best book on animism? I picked it up expecting a deep dive into animism as a worldview and a practice. In this review, I look at the plot, the message, and where the book falls short.The Story of B follows Father Jared Osborne, a Catholic priest sent to investigate a mysterious lecturer known only as “B.” Through B’s lectures, Quinn expands on the ideas he introduced in Ishmael: the divide between “Takers” and “Leavers,” the “Great Forgetting,” the rise of salvationist religions, and animism as humanity’s original way of understanding the world.The book raises powerful questions, but it has real problems. The thriller plot is unconvincing, the claims about what civilization causes overreach, and animism is never defined beyond a hunter-gatherer lifestyle lived in line with natural law. That leaves modern readers without a clear way to practice it.To fill that gap, I offer practical ways to embrace modern animism today, using the Pan Society’s animist path of sovereignty, connection, and Oneness. If you’re exploring Daniel Quinn’s books, animist spirituality, or nature-based spirituality, this review will help you decide whether The Story of B belongs on your reading list.About Pan Society:Pan Society explores animist spirituality and the many paths people take to reconnect with the sacred. Subscribe for more conversations on modern traditions, nature-based practice, and spiritual sovereignty.👉 Subscribe for more on animism and earth based spirituality

Say the word "witch" out loud. Notice what happens in your body — a flicker of fear, defensiveness, maybe even pride. That reaction isn't random."Witchcraft" gets used for hexes, herbal tea, tarot cards, and ancestral healing — as if they're all the same thing. They're not. This video breaks down why one word carries so many contradictory meanings, why it can trigger a real nervous system response in some people, and what gets lost when we don't ask which meaning we're actually using.In this video:- The Christian/biblical framework for "witchcraft" — and how broad it really is- The Wiccan/Pagan reclamation of the word as identity- Indigenous, hoodoo, and ancestral traditions that never used the word at all- Why some psychologists point to religious trauma responses tied to language like this- Why "spirituality" outside a church gets labeled witchcraft — while ritual inside one doesn't- What's actually being asked when someone calls something "witchcraft"If you've ever felt your body tense up at a word before your mind even knew why — this one's for you.About Pan Society:Pan Society explores animist spirituality and the many paths people take to reconnect with the sacred. Subscribe for more conversations on modern traditions, nature-based practice, and spiritual sovereignty.👉 Subscribe for more on animism and earth based spirituality~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Join our tribe! You're welcome here.https://pansociety.net~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Is reality just an illusion — and does consciousness survive death? In this episode, consciousness researcher Brendan Murphy shares 20+ years of cross-cultural research into near-death experiences, the structure of the afterlife, and the true nature of consciousness.We cover how The Holographic Universe changed the way Brendan sees reality, why he believes life may be closer to a dream than we realize, and the recurring patterns he's found by studying near-death experiences across cultures and traditions. Brendan also breaks down how unresolved trauma may shape the post-mortem experience, why consciousness might be "substrate independent," and how rituals and preparation can change how we face death.We also get into his work with sound therapy and DNA activation as tools for healing and transformation — and how his personal experiences shaped a research path that blends hard evidence with lived experience.Whether you're drawn to the science of consciousness, curious about near-death experiences, or just trying to make peace with mortality, this conversation goes deep.#BrendanMurphy #Consciousness #NearDeathExperience #NDE #Afterlife #WhatHappensWhenWeDie🔗 Learn more about Brendan Murphy's work: Reverse Engineering the Afterlife — Pre-order: https://brendandmurphy.com/pre-order/reverse-engineering-the-afterlifeThe Grand Illusion: A Synthesis of Science and Spirituality — Book 1: https://brendandmurphy.com/books/the-grand-illusionEvolve Yourself with Regenetics Method facilitation by Brendan: https://www.evolveyourself.liveAbout Pan Society:Pan Society explores animist spirituality and the many paths people take to reconnect with the sacred. Subscribe for more conversations on modern traditions, nature-based practice, and spiritual sovereignty.https://pansociety.net

Spare the rod, spoil the child" gets passed down as if it's ancient, biblical, unquestionable — but it isn't even from scripture. It's a misquoted line from a 17th-century poem, grafted onto Proverbs and hardened into folk law.More than that: it's a piece of colonized thinking. The same dominion-based logic that taught settlers to treat land as something to extract from and control taught generations to treat children the same way — as wills to be broken rather than beings already in relationship with the world.This video traces where the phrase actually comes from, how that colonial dominion mindset still runs quietly through mainstream parenting and schooling today, and what it looks like to unlearn it through an animist, earth-based lens — where a child, like a river or a forest, is already whole.This isn't about shaming anyone's upbringing. It's about noticing which parts of what we call "tradition" are actually colonization wearing tradition's clothes — and I share a small practice at the end to help you feel the difference in real time.About Pan Society:Pan Society explores animist spirituality and the many paths people take to reconnect with the sacred. Subscribe for more conversations on modern traditions, nature-based practice, and spiritual sovereignty.👉 Subscribe for more on animism and earth based spirituality~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Join our tribe! You're welcome here.https://pansociety.net

Sovereignty was never the destination — it's the ground you need under your feet before real relationship, real love, and real service become possible. In this series finale, we close the loop on everything the sovereignty series has built: why only a sovereign self can truly surrender, what you owe the world once you're fully yourself, and what animism offers as a political alternative to extraction — relational governance instead of domination.This episode is for animists, pagans, folk practitioners, and anyone on an earth-based spiritual path who has done the inner work of sovereignty and is asking, "okay — now what?" We talk about the regenerative self as seasonal and cyclical, not fixed, and close with a vision of what a community of sovereign selves could actually build together.Pan Society

Your sovereignty didn't start with you — it was inherited, along with the wounds, gifts, and silences of everyone who came before you. In Episode 9, we explore ancestor veneration as a real animist practice, not just a metaphor: what it means to know whose bones you stand on, how to heal ancestral patterns without losing yourself, and the difference between honoring your ancestors and being controlled by them.We also talk about chosen ancestors — lineages of thought, craft, resistance, and spirit — for anyone whose blood line is broken, unknown, or not somewhere they want to draw strength from. Plus, why ancestral repair work makes you more yourself, not less, and this episode's Field Practice: researching one ancestor, blood or chosen, who embodied sovereignty.This episode is part of our ongoing Sovereignty series for animists, pagans, and earth-based spiritual practitioners.🌿 What we cover:- Why sovereignty is inherited, not built from scratch- Ancestor veneration and shrine-building as a sovereignty practice- Healing ancestral trauma and patterns in the body and spirit- Honoring ancestors vs. being controlled by them- Choosing your chosen ancestors when blood lineage isn't available- Why ancestral repair expands the self instead of weighing it down- Field Practice: research one sovereign ancestor and start a shrine#AncestorVeneration #AncestralHealing #Animism #EarthBasedSpiritualityAbout Pan Society:Pan Society explores animist spirituality and the many paths people take to reconnect with the sacred. Subscribe for more conversations on modern traditions, nature-based practice, and spiritual sovereignty.👉 Subscribe for more on animism and earth based spirituality~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Join our tribe! You're welcome here.https://pansociety.net