Podcast Open Valley 08 - Reading: Wordsworth’s 'November 1'

In this Open Valley, I read William Wordsworth’s sonnet entitled “November 1.” This Open Valley is a Reading, something I haven’t done before, meaning I’m just going to read and not add a lot of commentary. Now this poem reminded me of something I wrote years ago, and so I’m going to read that as well. I don’t share, very often, things that I’ve written, but the subjects of both of these writings are very similar.

Podcast 2_35 - The Truth about Truth

In "The Truth about Truth," I discuss the meaning of truth and read a wonderful passage from Emerson's "The Transcendentalist."

Podcast Open Valley 07 - The Imagination of Birches

In this Open Valley, I simply read one of Robert Frost’s most famous poems, “Birches.”

Podcast Open Valley 06 - Blake's Innocence

In this Open Valley, I read from William Blake’s famous "Songs of Innocence" and "Songs of Experience" and briefly discuss an alternate view.

Podcast 2_34 - Technology as Destination

In "Technology as Destination," I talk about the problem of treating technology as a destination, and I make an analogy to “A Descent into the Maelstrom” by Edgar Allan Poe.

Podcast Open Valley 05 - Natural Empathy

In this Open Valley, I read a poem from Emily Dickinson and explore thoughts about shared, natural empathy existing within us and Nature.

Podcast Open Valley 04 - Locked in a Graveyard

In this Open Valley, I share my experience of getting locked inside of Rome's Protestant Cemetery where Keats and Shelley are buried.

Podcast 2_33 - Economic Individualism

In "Economic Individualism," I talk about recognizing our personal economies, and I read from Emerson for some guidance and inspiration.

Podcast 2_32 - Reality is Only Feelings

In "Reality is Only Feelings," I talk about the movie, The Graduate, and how it unearths a true reality below the weight and confusion of society's institutions and traditions.

Podcast Open Valley 03 - The Sonnet

In this Open Valley, I discuss the surprisingly intricate structure of the sonnet poetical form and read from Wordsworth and Shakespeare as examples.

Podcast 2_31 - Love is Yours

In "Love is Yours," I talk about beauty and love, and I read one of Shakespeare’s most famous sonnets.

Podcast Open Valley 02 - Whitman

In this Open Valley, I share my theory on a potential hidden code in one of Whitman's most famous poems, "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer."

Podcast Open Valley - 01

An Open Valley is not a typical episode. It's a way for me to give you an update on the podcast, an update on personal items, or some info on other items that wouldn't fit into a normal episode. In this first Open Valley, beyond the house keeping stuff, I do briefly mention what a Rendevous was in the Rockies early in the 19th century.

Podcast 2_30 - Music's Emotional Manifest

In "Music's Emotional Manifest," I explore the idea of music's direct emotional effect on us while reading a famous poem from Wordsworth, and I'll also share a couple piano pieces I wrote.

Podcast 2_29 - Reinventing Intelligence

In "Reinventing Intelligence," the idea of intelligence is approached again and this time I'll look at a movie character who helps flesh out a reinvention.

Podcast 2_28 - Hearing the Unheard

In "Hearing the Unheard," I talk about our buried sense of hearing, and I read some insightful lines from Emerson.

Podcast 2_27 - Jumping the Gap

In "Jumping the Gap," I look at how the world we've manufactured for ourselves brings up many questions, and I'll recite some words from Thoreau and Wordsworth.

Podcast 2_26 - The Power of Positive

In "The Power Of Positive," I talk about some of the nuanced wealth in being positive around others, and I read a poem by Wordsworth that illustrates this idea.

Podcast 1_25 - One Year of Nature's Lead

In "One Year of Nature's Lead," I celebrate one year of the podcast and talk a bit about myself and Nature’s Lead.

Podcast 1_24 - A Moment's Miracle

In "A Moment's Miracle," I read a poem by Whitman that captures the essence of how we should approach each moment.

Podcast 1_23 - The Breeze of Happiness

In "The Breeze of Happiness," I look at the transient potential of happiness and read from a beautiful poem by Coleridge.

Podcast 1_22 - The Great Fortune of Rough Emotions

In "The Great Fortune of Rough Emotions," I read a poem by Keats that helps me reflect on the power of rough emotions, and I also tell my humorous cemetery story.

Podcast 1_21 - The Deception of Progress

In "The Deception of Progress," I talk about how the ideas of advancement and progress in society can be misleading, and I highlight a few lines by Emerson on the subject.

Podcast 1_20 - Finding the Needle in Noise

In "Finding the Needle in Noise," I read from James Joyce's "The Dead" and talk about how important it is to find underlying truth below the noise of social gatherings.

Podcast 1_19 - Reflecting a Raindrop

In "Reflecting a Raindrop," I look to the rain as Nature's active pursuit of our hearts, and I read some excerpts from Thoreau.

Podcast 1_18 - Open to Inspiration

In "Open to Inspiration," I emphasize the need to be open to various sources of inspiration in our lives. As an example of this, I look at the famous movie, Citizen Kane.

Podcast 1_17 - Everything is Alive

In "Everything is Alive," I approach the intelligent, innocent idea of our youth that there is life in the inanimate, and I look at some of Wordsworth's lines from the famous poem "Tintern Abbey."

Podcast 1_16 - Defending Against Information

In "Defending Against Information," I explain why I think allowing ourselves too much free flowing information in our lives can be hazardous, and I talk about a famous quote from Wordsworth.

Podcast 1_15 - Nature's Delicate Immensity

In "Nature's Delicate Immensity," I read from Emerson's work, "Nature," which both defines Nature and speaks of its significance to humanity.

Podcast 1_14 - Human Gravity

In "Human Gravity," I talk about the need to gain perspective on the power that is pulling us together, and I look at some lines from a work by the Romantic poet, Lord Byron.

Podcast 1_13 - The Nature of Creativity

In "The Nature of Creativity," I'll examine the natural power of creativity and look at the way some Romantic writers approach the idea.

Podcast 1_12 - Unlocking Our Genius

In "Unlocking Our Genius," I'll read many quotes from Emerson's famous "Self Reliance" which focuses on our inherent, internal genius.

Podcast 1_11 - Our Silent Breathing of Nature

In "Our Silent Breathing of Nature," I read a great poem by Walt Whitman that encourages our direct relationship with Nature, and I’ll touch a bit on how science is proving out this theoretical connection.

Podcast 1_10 - Assimilation of Spirit

In "Assimilation of Spirit," I dip into some excerpts from Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Man the Reformer" which discusses our suspect world of business and luxuries.

Podcast 1.09 - Forever Looking to Learn

In "Forever Looking to Learn," I talk about the need to create situations and experiences that allow our minds to grow. I’ll share a thought by Michelangelo, and I’ll talk about a pleasant experience I had last week.

Podcast 1.08 - Nature's Stinging Truth

In "Nature's Stinging Truth," I share a moving, personal experience from last week that illuminates the rough reality of nature.

Podcast 1.07 - The Greatest Known Fact

In "The Greatest Known Fact," I share a quote from Thoreau you've probably never heard, a quote that I feel is the most valuable quote you could ever know; and I also touch on the idealism of the Romantics.

Podcast 1.06 - The Problem of Perfection

In "The Problem of Perfection," I address the flaw many of us have in so often, unknowingly, expecting perfection, and I look at how this is illuminated in part by Samuel Johnson's Rasselas.

Podcast 1.5 - To Change is To Live

In "To Change is To Live," I describe how change is essential to living, and I take a look at a poem by Shelley entitled "Mutability," which means the abiliy to change.

Podcast 1.4 - Leaping Heart

In "Leaping Heart," I look at a poem by Wordsworth that helps establish a central theme of the value of innocence in the Romantic era.

Podcast 1.3 - The Beauty of One

In "The Beauty of One," I talk about seeing the beauty of the individual, and I touch on our connection with Nature.

Podcast 1.2 - Our Obsession With Ourselves

In "Our Obsession With Ourselves," I talk about society's intense focus on itself as marked by Wordsworth, and I try to separate society's view of what's important from the individual's view of what's important.

Podcast 1.1 - The Beginning

This first episode introduces the Nature's Lead podcast by explaining the format, establishing a couple baseline concepts, and defining its purpose.

Initial Post

Mutability. Just a traditional first word I like to start out with. Mutability is the ability to change, and it is one of the baseline concepts I introduce in the podcast/blog.

Nature's Lead aims to be both a podcast and Blog with the Blog mainly being a transcription of the podcast. There may be some extra posts to the Blog, but a readable view of the podcast is the initial purpose.

The podcast is a biweekly five to ten minute series, and the links are on the side. I invite you to listen to a few or to go ahead and subscribe to the RSS feed. The first episode explains everything a little more in detail, and the episodes thereafter are typical in that they present and discuss a particular topic.

E-mail me any questions to: info AT natureslead.com

And don't forget to follow Nature's Lead.