Why do we engage in cultish behaviors? What can cultish behaviors teach us about projection? What can the Hierophant teach us about awakening our own Inner Teacher?
In today’s episode, my guest in conversation and my partner in crime is Mary Schuch. As two survivors of religious trauma who are still #1 Fan of Spirit (TM), we explored Hierophant themes: cultish behaviors, why we engage in them, and how developing an awareness of power dynamics can lead us to new ways of being in teacher-student relationships. We also discussed Mary’s relationship to her inner teacher and how it’s shifted through being in voluntary learning spaces and committing to her own personal practices.
Our conversation was fun, funny, wild, irreverent, and completely non-linear. Listening back, it feels brave to me - questions and ponderings were required and answers were optional. We spoke in metaphors and along the way, there were tons of laughters, detours, thinking on our feet, and, of course, cursing.
Here's Mary's bio:
Mary describes herself as someone who is committed to showing up for the experience of belonging in a human body.
Informed by her upbringing as a homeschooled pastor's kid and the eighth of eleven siblings, Mary is reclaiming her right to exploration and education.
She values meditative multidisciplinary living through her practices of writing, music, art, movement, breadmaking, astrology, and being outdoors. Through these avenues, Mary is joyfully emerging as an intuitive and comedic mystic.
Mary has spent most of the last decade deep in thought in gardens, on a lobster boat, and more recently, an oyster farm. She is originally from the Chicago area and currently lives on an island in Maine.
Connect with Mary on Instagram @maryschuch and book a reading with her. Mary always helps me gain new insights and perspectives, and she also makes me laugh - which is truly the best medicine.
Mary also mentioned the book Writing the Mind Alive: The Proprioceptive Method for Finding Your Authentic Voice by Linda Trichter Metcalf, Tobin Simon.