So its the start of a new work week…and its also the start of a new month…and nearly the end of the year. And like most folks, this time of year has me looking inward…but strangely enough – I am also looking outward and forward.

I have been podcasting since…I don’t know….2006?  Something like that. I do believe I started at the beginning of January. That would make the end of December as the end of my ninth year. The podcast has changed a lot over those years – including a full name change from “From the Edge of the Circle” to “Upon a Pagan Path.” And I admit, I have not done a lot with the podcast over the last year-plus…

Now, before the six of you that still listen on a regular basis start kicking up dust and making tracks through the dust that has settled around the show — no, I am not about to stop podcasting. In fact, its time I started doing what I set out to do with the change in the show. I need to get into the process of interviewing folks.

Scott and Daphne (you two still part of my six listeners??) are currently first in line. A Christian and Pagan that groove on each other enough to find respectful disagreement and some mutual agreement on topics of a Spiritual nature. In a way, interviewing (hopefully) them will bring something I believe in to a great degree:  working with others of beliefs that sometimes seem to be polar opposites, but aren’t really when you start to look deeper into things. But then, there’s a question of who else might make for good interview victi….err…candidates. Yeah, candidates.  ::smiles:: I have a few ideas of who to approach – starting with some of my long-time fellow podcasters…and then moving over to a handful of writers that I know…and a potential musician or two….but what about ya’ll?? I would love to find more folks that are not normally “seen” in the public eye…any suggestions???

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Not that long ago, John Beckett had a great blog post about focusing one’s perspective away from detailing who you are not, and putting a perspective of who you are into focus. The post is “Tell Me Who You Are, Not Who You Aren’t” – and it plays into a perfect moment of synchronicity of where I am right now on my own Path.  John notes:

Tell us about your Gods and how you worship Them. Tell us about your ancestors and how you honor them. Tell us about the spirits of Nature and how you work with them. Tell us about the virtues you live by, and how you embody them. Tell us your vision for a better world, and how you’re working to manifest it here and now.

And he’s right on target for me here. Looking back on the podcasts and the topics I have covered – as well as many of the blog posts here on “Footsteps on My Path” – I have spent more time framing my conversations against what I am not.  Or in the words of Simon and Garfunkel:

And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people maybe more
People talking without speaking
People hearing without listening
People writing songs that voices never shared
No one dared
Disturb the sound of silence

–Simon and Garfunkel, ‘The Sound of Silence’

Who am I?  What am I?  Who are the Gods that touch me on a daily basis? What myths and stories touch me? What awakens the flame of Awen in my sacred space? If you are starting to see a thread and pattern – then you are starting to see where I am headed into 2015. Yes, I am about to try something very, very different with both the podcast and the blog – I am approaching this as a theme going forward. I am about to dare to disturb the sound of silence….

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One other instance of note — now that I have a job that is not completely tied to a teaching schedule, my ability to make events during the school semester is much more flexible. Right now, I am down as a “yes” for The OBOD Gulf Coast Gathering in March of 2015. I am also checking to see if I will be in conflict with any major deadlines for the Pantheacon 2015 event in San Jose in February. Yes, it means that I am looking into making some events in the future. And yes, I will be looking to record my thoughts for both the podcast and the blog. Like I said — its time to move forward in a positive vein.  Looking forward to seeing folks and shake hands, hug, and talk…