Live on Zoom on Wednesday nights from 8-9 PM (U.S. Eastern Time).
When Changing Times-Changing Worlds first started we wanted to promote the conference and the speakers who were donating their time and talent, and someone suggested I join the LiveParanormal podcast group. I (Tchipakkan), called it The New Normal, since the idea behind the conference name is that if we can change the current cultural attitude that “there is no such thing” as the paranormal/ supernatural/ metaphysical/ occult the world will change. We need to get past needing to prove it exists and get on with making it useful in daily life. Hence: ‘The New Normal’. Wouldn’t it be nice to live in a world where psychic abilities and magick are accepted as part of the natural world, things some people are better at, (like artistic talents or athletic abilities)? We’re not there yet, but we can learn how to work with and expand our abilities. When the pandemic came along, I learned how to use Zoom, and we moved over to that platform which allows us to make approximations of both workshops and panels.
We still like to have our speakers join us on Otherworldly, both because we love their offerings, and because we hope that this gives them a chance to share their enthusiasms, promote classes and books, and get the word out on topics we may not have heard about. While things are getting better, some people still have to stay “in the broom closet”, because there are those who find anything mysterious threatening. (What a sad cycle: we stay hidden, so they become suspicious, so we hide, they fear, ….) The more of us who come out and show how common, possible, and non-threatening we are, the safer it will be for all. I still expect that it will take a generation or two to change the culture.
Otherworldly does shows on the same topics we seek for Changing Times-Changing Worlds:
- stuff on how to do practical magick,
- alternative sorts of healing from energy work to herbalism to crystals,
- how to do all sorts of divination,
as well as addressing the philosophical questions that these things bring up.
- What is divination for?
- When and how do you use alternative or complementary therapy for healing?
- How does magick work (and how do you make it work better?) as well as exploring the mechanisms and theories about why it does what it does?What experiences have we had with beings from other worlds (ranging from angels, gods, fae, ghosts, to totally mysterious entities) and how can we understand them and bring them under out control?
We talk about our experiences as people in subcultures of the modern world: Neo-pagan, Neo-heathen, Wiccan, Druid, Mystical Christian, Spiritualist, Shaman, Ceremonial Magicians, etc. We talk about getting your book published or promoting your occult store, blog, or group. Sometimes we talk about how to interact with those in other faiths. How do you raise kids who are psychic or part of an alternative religion? We talk about Folklore, and holidays, tools and techniques we use. The only thing we don’t really worry about is whether the speaker is well known. As with the conference, all we want to know is if you know what you’re doing and can share it. We are also open to people who have questions that many can share, because that’s the sort of thing we use as the basis of our panels at the Conference.
If you have something you’d like to share on Otherworldly, or if you have a topic you’d like to see discussed, please let me know. (CTCWOtherworldly@gmail.com) I know speakers are a lot more comfortable presenting a topic that they know the audience is eager to hear about! If you live too far from New England to come to the conference, we’d love to have you join us on-line through Otherworldly!
The content of workshops is retained by the speakers, although not every comment made during a discussion. But we do record the Otherworldly shows and put them up on Youtube, so people who do still want or need to not share their image or voice are encouraged to simply ask questions through the chat. Here’s the link to the Youtube channel.