Exploring Thought Episode #01

Hey everyone who happens to see this, this is my first podcast attempt.
I'm going to post the text below for people who would rather read than listen.
And then here's the link to the podcast if you wanna listen to the audio.
I would very much appreciate any feedback, thank you. <3

PS I know Christmas might not be the best day to release this cause people are busy, but... It just happened this way in that the file just finished rendering and I figured I should just go with it.
For those who are too busy right now, hopefully they can watch it another time when they are less busy. :)
I don't expect much of a response especially cause this is just an introduction and I'll be happy if I can just get at least like one person or two people to give me some feedback to help me decide if I need to change anything before I move on to the other episodes.

Just in case anyone is curious I'm starting off with just YouTube cause it's free and I already have a small presence there and then I'm sharing from there to Facebook and steemit.
I'm looking to upload to anchor.fm as well and hopefully have them upload to all the major platforms, however there are some potential branding issues and other questions I still need to research.
I also might upload to InstagramTv at some point and any other platform which makes enough sense to do so, however... It's getting to be too many social media I'm on and it's kind of overwhelming trying to deal with so many different sites.
I think that's it for now, will come back if I forget anything. Peace and hope you're having a great day!
(For anyone wondering why I don't use Dtube it is because I'm pretty sure you have to pay or else eventually your files get deleted, I woulda posted on 3speak but I think there's a monthly fee there too...)

Hello to whoever is out there... My name is Paul, welcome to the Exploring Thought podcast.

This is the introduction episode, so we'll start out with a few things about me...
I live in the beautiful and mysterious Sedona, Arizona... I'm a writer, photographer, movie maker, researcher, philosopher, and much more.
I've spent a lot of time learning about a lot of different things and I've had some pretty unusual experiences in life...
Hopefully I'm able to share some kind of perspective or service and maybe help others learn some useful or interesting things.

I decided to create this show for a number of reasons.
One reason is that I've been someone who has spoken my mind on social media for quite a few years, the majority of which has been with text updates or pictures...
I've done a few videos, but it's very time consuming doing the editing with my slow computer... And... Doing just audio I think is probably better for me right now.

Then I was also recently reminded by some people that they appreciate what I have to say... Which is very important and meaningful for me.
And I had it suggested to me that I should try to monetize my efforts or do something more with it.

It would be a dream come true to make some money exploring and sharing information because I love doing stuff like this.
However, that seems pretty difficult and I don't expect that to happen, I'm doing this more like a hobby just because I enjoy it.
Plus I really like learning new things and sharing with others... So, I looked into podcasting and was intrigued and decided to try it out.

Another reason for creating the show is that I want to give more of a voice to certain issues and express myself more.
And I also want to try to help others in the ways that I can and there are other reasons as well but those are some of the main ones.

I named the show "Exploring Thought" for a few reasons...

I chose the word "exploring" because I consider this like kind of an adventure to be exploring different subjects and different kinds of information.
To me, exploring is often very linked with adventure. To travel through, investigate, reveal things and bring forth shape.
It can be fun and exciting and move in a sort of mysterious way.
It can also be saddening, frightening, enraging or evoke other feelings, there's a diverse range of emotions and experiences involved.

I chose the word "thought" in the name of the show because I think that thought is one of the most important things.
Thought seems to be such a critical ingredient for perception and sentience, without thought what would we be?
It seems like you can fit so many things under the umbrella of thought...
If you can't first think about something to some degree... How can you even really talk about it?

Some also believe that "ALL" is "mind" or "mental", and while there's different ways you could interpret that...
I think there is probably some truth to it and I try to stay open minded to the different ideas and possibilities.
Additionally... In the end, I don't really claim to be any kind of expert at much of anything...
I'm basically in a sense just some guy who enjoys exploring existence and sharing thoughts.

So, to summarize...
The name "Exploring Thought" to me has a meaning that's kind of like an adventure into the known and unknown with a willingness to learn new things and share.

I'm going to do my best on this show and just in general to leave myself open to being wrong.
And to speak in ways where I make an effort to clearly indicate my beliefs or limited understanding.
The goal here for me is largely to explore and to learn and share, and not to try to force what I believe on others.

I used to be on the other side thinking I could prove a lot more than I could and that I should try to force it on others if they disagreed.
Well, at least when it came to issues regarding ethics or morality, and I am still very passionate about ethics and morality...
Though, I'm trying to be much more peaceful and understanding these days... And it has been quite a progression getting to where I am now.

Over the years I've seen so many different things refuted or challenged that I used to think I knew...
And it seems like many paradigms about what is quote "known" shift quite a bit over time.
There's also a lot of illusion and deception out there and it would likely be wise to try to avoid accepting the false information and distortions that are put out.
There are so many people out there trying to convince others that reality is a specific way, or spirituality is a specific way or whatever is a specific way.
Sometimes it's because they genuinely believe it, and other times it is malicious and designed to intentionally confuse or misinform.

I think it can be extra difficult because many people myself included tend to seem to have a desire to be in control and to "know"...
And sometimes it can be kind of scary to admit that we don't know and that we're not in control.
Though, eventually it got to the point where it's often the opposite for me and it's liberating and empowering to admit I don't know.

A lot of the time it's less stressful for me when I let go more of what I thought I knew and become more openminded to the possibilties.
I still have some issues and mess up at times and say things in absolute manner like it's "fact" when I can't prove it...
So, I'm definitely not perfect, but I am trying to be more accurate with my language and I feel like it's a healthy practice for me to work on.

This show is intended to be primarily audio, though I do also want to share the text on some social media for those who I know who would rather read than listen.
There's no specific theme to this show, I'm going to talk about all different kinds of things in the form of whatever happens to be on my mind or that I find interesting.
Similarly there is no set schedule, I'm just going to make these when I have time and can do so and when it feels right.

I may at some point talk about the news and trending subjects, and I have a whole list of other things planned, so it's definitely going to vary.
As a sort of disclaimer... Some of the things I'm going to talk about are going to be very fringe, sensitive or controversial...
Yet... In my opinion it's good to be able to talk about virtually anything, I believe that freedom of speech is very important.

I think I will understand if anyone is sort of surprised or displeased with anything I've said, and that's okay, we definitely don't have to agree...
Though, I do hope we can be respectful.

If you're wondering about the music I used, the song is titled Not Totally Human.
I've been given permission to use it by a friend of mine Bonnie Legion from Sound Legion and I highly suggest you check out her other music more as well.
She's an amazing artist and an amazing human being in my opinion and I've been honored to know her and work with her.
You can find her on YouTube or Choon or numerous other sites and I will include some links also.

Now that I've shared my thoughts, I encourage you to share your thoughts if you want to.
Feel free to drop a comment on whichever social media is best for you or you can send an email to [email protected]
I'll do my best to respond if it's reasonable for me to do so and if I have the time and am able to.
Thank you for your time and bye until next time!