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May 10, 2022Liked by Anya Kaats

Hi Anya, Thank you for hosting 2 great podcasts! I'm glad you brought Lindsey back on she's awesome!

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So glad you enjoyed it! And yes, Lindsey is great!!

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May 1, 2022Liked by Anya Kaats

Hola Anya !

I spent a lot of summers in Spain during my childhood. It’s super fun to know that you’re at the same place of many of my good memories.

I enjoyed the long intro of this episode, especially the “leap of faith” and the island image when you decide to explore a new territory and phase of your life. I was already very touched by this image/ metaphor when Doctor Chris used it during one of his own intros.

There’s a HUGE difference between the Montreal of my dreams, back in France, and the Montreal where I live now, since the end of 2017.

Beyond the pain that is always there in our first steps on the new island, the change of perspective that we acquire is priceless. I learned so much about myself in just a few years.

The most striking part of Lindsey’s story is her tremendous ability to do almost a U-turn in her well-established belief system just after one documentary. Maybe doubt was already there, just waiting to be unearthed. Maybe she had a dazzling revelation. Maybe it was a mix of the two. On top of that, she didn’t feel threatened by it, she didn’t keep it just for herself (that’s SO brave), she immediately shared the “revelation” with her husband.

I’m so happy that they’ve just kept exploring that new island together !

It’s a total boost of Hope ! So thank you for this conversation.

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Thank you for listening and commenting! Yes I agree... Lindsey's leap of faith and willingness to have her mind changed is super brave and admirable. Not to mention inspiring!

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This episode made me really look at my tendency to look down on those who are deeply religious. This is the immediate reaction I had to listening to this, and that I do view those who are deeply religious as "weak". Not so much spirituality as a whole, but specifically people that follow a dogmatic form of religion.

It makes me wonder what part of me, and why, do I have this reaction. My mother always says she only believes in God "just in case", maybe her mockery of religion translated to me as religion being embarrassing, therefore giving me a cringing kind of reaction to it? Hmm.

Thank you Anya for giving me something to ponder about myself! I love diving deep into what the fuck is going on inside of me and why.

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Thank you for this reflection as well, Josie! I definitely relate. There are definitely so many reasons why people decide to opt into following organized religion, some of which I don't relate to. However, at the end of the day I feel like humans are seeking meaning and belief desperately, without many places to turn. If we grow up in a world (like many of us did) with organized religion as the only option, it makes sense to me why people just... go there.

And it's unfortunate too because as an adult, I've explored a lot of the aspects of the Bible, and it's honestly just a really beautiful myth that can be interpreted in so many different ways. The material itself isn't evil, or silly, just what humans have decided to do with it. This also helped me... I don't actually disagree with what they follow so much, as that I differ from some of the way they follow it.

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May 7, 2022Liked by Anya Kaats

I agree. My initial reaction is that I have a hard time relating to people who devote themselves to a religion. Someone who can change or suppress fundamental aspects of themselves (sexuality being a big one) is off putting to me. But I guess its easy for me to forget that there are a lot of other things that aren't religion that also promote suppressing fundamental aspects of our nature (culture, politics) that I shouldn't just ignore or gloss over.

It definitely is true that everyone is really just on a journey of seeking meaning, and a lot of the time seeking some sort of answers. Its easy to just lump everyone into boxes and forget that we are all just people doing our best.

Why are we here, what is happening, where am I going are all questions that can be overwhelming. Religion seems to give some clean, tidy and beautiful answers to those questions. It makes sense that people find comfort and solace and therefore follow such teachings. Or even just find comfort and solace without the devotion part.

I can see that a lot of religions are also likely comforting in the same way that we find ourselves being comforted by articles or books claiming "10 things to do to achieve instant greatness". Its a guide to tell us what to do and how to do it and that frees up a lot of thinking that we would otherwise have to do. Instead of having to create a pros and cons list, or having to debate internally on whether or not we want to covet thy neighbours oxen, the Christians, for example, just know not too.

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This was a super interesting and fun podcast. So many things I identified with, from the strict Christian upbringing to virgin marrying and the subsequent search for faith and spirituality. Found myself agreeing with the notion of appropriation as a meat search for belonging in the absence of our own ancestral knowledge. I laughed and nodded a lot throughout this conversation. Also, it might be time for another episode with your dad to talk about the current state of identity “everything”

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Thank you for this reflection, Isabel! Let's be honest, it's *always* time for another episode with my Dad! Haha. Glad you were able to relate to a lot of this... I think it's such a common human experience, regardless of our upbringing. Most of us are brought up within a certain worldview that often doesn't end up aligning with us later in life (some are definitely more severe than others), but still, I think it's so important to question things and decide for ourselves what sort of life we want to live and what we value.

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The quasi virgin part too 🤣☺️🤪

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