Marvin Gaye asked a simple question, linguistically, which carried with it the complexities and histories of his and his people's lives and experiences.
What's going on?
When we think about looking ahead (prognostication) or looking behind (retrognostication), we must consider what's going on in the "Me Now" and the "Here Now."
It's a question, and an endeavor, of simultaneously existing now... before... and after.
Nazis are all around us.
So let's prognosticate, retrognosticate, and breath in the moment as we explore... What's going on?
I appreciate you being here!
-G
Episode two of my fifty-first season on this globular rock hurtling through time and space with yinz.
Pretty miraculous, that.
I'm happy to exist with you here and now. My life and your life intersecting during the time of COVID as we navigate this massive paradigm shift out of several hundred years of masculine white supremacy and towards a more feminine-balanced, person-centered, intuitive, trauma-informed, and inclusively human species.
The shift is happening, but these jagoffs are going to go out swinging. They always do. No malignant narcissist just walks away having lost, and unfortunately these folks have almost all of the money and all of these tools, gadgets, and weapons of domination. They will not succeed. Which means the whole thing for us is harm reduction, healing, and preservation as we figure this out, moving forward, together.
Last week, we talked about a framework of three-perspectives for self and community wellness and nervous system care. Those perspectives are: MeNow (and for us... HereNow), The Time of COVID (and for you... perhaps a different salient timeframe), and MyLife.
This week, we begin to contemplate two other important perspectives. Namely, prognostication... or predicting the future; and retrognostication... or achieving the most accurate perspective of events and times before MeNow, before Time of COVID, before MyLife.
Plus? Some Driven to Drink room tone shenanigans at the end. For fun. A little levity to balance all this gravity.
Love yinz!
-G
P.S. Yinz is a contraction of "you" and "ones" used by native Pittsburghers and our Scots-Irish and German ancestors, 'n'at.
Along with several young people I serve, I've begun using a framework of three existential perspectives to create a mindset and setting for existing in 2025.
My three points, and the three points that inform this entire endeavor, are:
1. Me Now
2. Time Of Covid
3. My Life
Considering the spectrum nature of almost everything, there are finite, but overwhelmingly plentiful moments, experiences, and timeframes wherein I could stop and explore... between Me Now and the beginning of My Life.
And then, what of the time before My Life and the time to come after Me Now? Those questions, we'll explore in upcoming episodes. For now, we'll stick with the three perspectives and move from there.
Come hang out.
You are welcome.
-G
The Tower crumbles, leaving us exposed and raw. Vulnerable. A scab picked too early. And out of the rubble? Emerges the human. A pure expression of The World, or the Universe. Sentient. Reflective. Alive.
Season 50 of On Becoming... is done, and season 51 begins soon.
Thanks for traveling with me. Hang out. Sit a spell, won't you?
You are welcome here.
-G
Hi!
I’m calling this episode D2D2, or: Driven to Drink, Part 2.
I went back, listened to the D2D1 episode, and realized that I’d left quite a few unfinished thoughts and even sentences in my attempts to tell a fairly convoluted story involving real people and traumas… without disclosures or allowing my personal traumas to overwhelm and dysregulate me.
So… D2D2 has the answers!
A few additional important notes re: this episode.
The intro music is by a marvelous man whose music is on Bandcamp. His name is Jason Belcher, or JB, and the song is titled “Hold 1.” I love the idea of incorporating music from friends.
The closing music is “Party At the Airport” by Deck of Jack, which was the theme song from the podcast for which this and the previous episode are named, “Driven to Drink,” or D2D. Jim made the song. Jim is another friend.
After Jason’s piece at the beginning, my opening isn’t my typical, “On Becoming… an exploration of existence and paradigm shifts in the time of COVID.” So… there’s the tag for you!
I’ve included, at the end of the episode-proper, some off-script banter and shenanigans, which is also a nod to my first podcast, Driven to Drink (D2D). Lots of self-referential nodding, lol. I nod at and appreciate you also!
K… everything good otherwise?
No? Same.
But hey! Let’s hang out a spell, recharge the wellbeing battery, and then get back at it. Huh?
Cool.
Love yinz, y’all,and yous.
-G
I am calling this one: On Becoming… Driven to Drink.
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Chronologically, and technically, it should be: Driven to Drink becoming… On Becoming…, which then becomes a confusing mess of wtf do I do with all that punctuation? So…
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I am calling this one: On Becoming… Driven to Drink.
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Driven to Drink was a podcast I did for a hell of a long time. How long? I don’t specifically remember and I don’t want to right now, lol. Age, experience, wisdom, several bouts with COVID, and relinquishing the trauma-informed fucks to which I used to cling desperately permit me that executive and editorial decision.
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My podcasts have always been… me.
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I have this shirt that a wonderful family gifted to me. It reads, “I’m Greg doing Greg things,” and it’s a pristine encapsulation of… actually? Of everything that “On Becoming…” is and desires to be. Which is me.
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HOWEVER. I am agnostic. I define that as "the spirit of I don’t know but we can.” I am also a firm believer that we are a species. The human race, as it were. As it actually is. And we are a social species. That means connected. Definitionally. That means the health and wellbeing of one actually does matter to the full disparate organism. So, On Becoming… is also yours. It’s ours.
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When I made Driven to Drink, I was drinking a lot. When I started On Becoming…, I was in the process of shifting my drinking habits, particularly as they related to my trauma and desire to merely survive in an overwhelming time (...the tagline for this podcast is, "On Becoming, an exploration of existence and paradigm shifts in the time of COVID"…), in which we are all still VERY MUCH living.
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And “Drink” doesn’t need to mean alcohol. To me, “Driven to Drink” is actually a phrase in conversation with the human desire to find homeostasis and nervous system regulation. I am not here to moralize or place value on ANYBODY’S choices regarding finding homeostasis and nervous system regulation. So… “driven to drink” actually does mean anything. Any endeavor or thing that supports an individual human to regulate their nervous system in an existential moment of NEEDING THE HELP.
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For many, existing is such a painful… a literally painful burden, that ANY WAY to experience homeostasis and regulation, even if for only several moments of bliss… I mean, it’s valid. It doesn’t make that person amoral or less of a person. You dig?
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Sorry, that got intense, lol.
Anyway, this episode also celebrates the 30th birthday of my beautiful cousin, serves as a meditation on grief and loss (in my case, Josie. My Mom), and hopefully you laugh, feel validated, and unconditionally welcome.
Love yinz, yous, and y’all.
-G
p.s. you can find this on spotify and apple music or i pods or whatever tf it's called these days.
It's been four months, I know.
Three podcasts in 6 months is not the way to grow, I know.
And... the world being what it is at present? Growth isn't necessarily a goal at this point.
What is? Harm reduction. Survival. Finding ways to regulate the nervous system and understanding that my ability to "tap out" and regulated my nervous system... to even MAKE THIS POST... is a privilege.
That's the goal, here. Do my part. Embrace my intersections of privilege and use that tangible and real power to serve, protect, and reduce harm.
Also, this episode was recorded as I consumed obscene amounts of stool softeners in preparation for my first colonoscopy. (Colonoscopy?! I don't even *know* an Oscopy!)
You see where this episode is heading.
Earnest? Yes.
Silly? Yes.
Very Greg? I mean... that's the whole thing, right? Finding one's voice and then using it to express the human condition and maybe help folks.
Okay. Love yinz. Happy you're here.
-Greg
The tagline of all things On Becoming..., is, "Exploring existence and paradigm shifts in the time of COVID."
And the bottom line, at this point in history, is that we are the paradigm shift. We must be. There is no more critical time than now for species-sustaining paradigm shifts. Fascism, eugenics, genocide, kyriarchy, war, and an overwhelming ethos of compliance and forced assimilation are, at present, the status quo.
That must change. And it will.
How do I know that? I regularly interact and work with children and youth, young adults (i.e. approximately 35 and younger), and there is nothing BUT hope and faith to have.
And those of us who are elders, perceived experts, influencers... I continue to meet more and more who have been wanting, desperately, to contribute to these humane, inclusive, diverse, equitable, person-centered, trauma-informed, neurodiversity-affirming endeavors.
We are the paradigm shift.
It's such a pleasure to hang with you. I appreciate you being here.
-G
Hey.
It's been three months.
Three goddam months that feel like three years, or thirty, or zero.
So... hey. I'm thinking about the very moment in which we sit, looking out over the existential contexts in which it all sits, and I'm actually feeling... I can't capture the word. I'm feeling profoundly energized, and maybe that will deflate tomorrow. And I'm equally feeling deeply depressed, though I do have enough experience in this nervous system wash of sad, sad neurochemicals to know I'll get through this one, too.
Ambivalent? I like that word, though I don't love it. It's more akin to the Chinese construct of yin and yang. Non-duality. Mutual arising.
Anyway, I always feel better when I put on the headphones, set up the mic, and process into my own head knowing that I'll also be processing with other nervous systems asynchronously. That's really fucking cool to me. So yeah. If you feel so compelled to spend a few minutes with me, I hope it's a cool little trip.
-G
Folks.
How are you?
Precarious? Ambivalent? Terrified? Angry? Sad? Confused? Unsure? All of the above, plus more? Something completely different?!!
I feel you. I assure you you've come the right place.
Here is a very brief, "On Becoming...," through which I travel out of a spirit of gravity and into a spirit of levity.
Yin. Yang. The undeniable reality that duality is baked into existence. And not only that, duality across a myriad spectra.
And we are, smiling Sisyphus. Pushing that rock.
Kate Bush. Climbing up that hill.
Bill Withers. We all need somebody to lean on.
Won't you hang out with me for a few minutes? It'll be fun, I promise.
Love yinz.
...and Now for Something Completely Different.
-G
P.S. Remember, you can find me on Apple Music and Spotify, proper.
On Becoming...
...an exploration of existence and paradigm shifts in the time of COVID.
I'm putting that tag here because you will not hear it in the episode. Why? Because the intro was recorded in 2018 and the piece, itself, was released in 2016 before the "Driven to Drink" podcast was removed from the internet for musical copyright infringement.
It's the piece of which I'm most proud. I wrote and produced the piece entirely, composed and played the music you'll hear from the kalimba (thumb piano) and meditation bowl.
The piece is about my relationship with two incredible young humans I encountered while serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer across 2000 to 2002.
It illuminates a critical experience for me that pointed me more firmly in a direction that leads to this very moment. And again, I'm just really proud of the piece, so I want it to be heard.
I appreciate you being here with me.
-G
In several weeks, I'll be presenting to a group of self-advocates who gather regularly to bolster, mentor, and support the voices of those who are too often ignored and diminished. My goal is to ensure the presentation is as fully accessible to all participants, and anyone who might otherwise want to receive the messages, as possible.
Today's podcast represents my desire to figure out what to communicate and how to communicate in the plainest language available to me.
"The Golden Rule," as many of us have learned it, communicates: Treat others the way you want to be treated.
"The Platinum Rule," as illuminated for me by colleagues and mentors, is: Treat others the way they want to be treated.
Unfortunately, and perhaps predictably, the leadership-consulting and entrepreneurial-mentoring grift economies, focused primarily on profit and assimilation, approach the concept from the perspective of manipulating others for greater productivity.
As an accommodationist, I am entirely opposed to the covert manipulation, de facto gaslighting, of perceived novices and other less-powerful, vulnerable individuals and groups.
Thus, I'm considering my Platinum Rule, one that is impact-regarding, social-and-emotional, trauma-informed, person-centered, and neurodiversity-affirming.
I'd love you to hear what I have to say. I'd love to hear what *you* have to say about what I have to say!
Thanks for being along for the ride.
-Greg
While struggling to come up with a title for this episode, my spouse, who is not a fan of Dee-Lite or their ubiquitous hit, spit out, "Buddha's In the Heart," and it stuck. (Feelin' kinda high like a Hendrix haze.)
Obviously, what you'll find here is looser and a bit more relaxed than previous episodes...but as I continue to find and hone my voice, or voices, in the spirit of play, I appreciate you being along for the journey.
I'm back to the book, having reread and revised the first 3.5 chapters, I wrote an additional 250 words, which doesn't sound like much. But after several years of nothing, 250 is assuredly something!
Knowing that I have neither the connections nor the money to publish in any official manner, I'm going to find a way to self publish on the blog site, www.inclusionnow.space. You can find other pieces there right now, and they all point in the direction of On Becoming..., which is? Person centered. Actively listening/processing. Impact regarding. Neurodiversity affirming. Trauma informed.
Thanks for being along for the ride!
Love,
G
This episode is a glossary of terms that I often use set in the spirit of play and existential joy. The material is serious and heavy, as any endeavor aimed at harm reduction should be. AND ALSO...I am but a human becoming within a universe universing. Sincere levity is praxis. I love that you're here with me. Thanks for hanging.
-Greg
And there, in a space occupied by teenagers and young adults, many of whom have high enough support needs to have spent lifetimes with caregivers, teachers, clinicians, and other experts assuming INcompetency...we found community and a path towards true independence and freedom, confidence and know-how gained through lived experience.
I'm grateful, every day, to exist in community with autistic and other neurodivergent people, to feel kinship with vulnerable and oppressed folks, and to step, inch by inch, in the direction of harm reduction, healing, and empowerment.
-G
The spirit of play.
This is my current life goal.
Inhabiting the spirit of play.
I used to be very fluent with this.
2016 - 2024 have provided a myriad traumas that have pushed my nervous system over the edge.
But it held on to a root or jutting rock formation.
And I've mangaed to climb back up to stability.
The spirit of play.
Won't you hang out with me for about 20 minutes?
It's stable!
Thanks. Love you.
-G
I've committed to routines of recharging my wellbeing batteries, to regulating my nervous system, to reconnecting with the spirit of play.
Among several goals is this endeavor, that I engage in recording once-per-week, which also implies that I engage in writing-for-recording once-per-week.
Today, you'll experience on-script, off-script, vulnerable and silly Greg as I contemplate the triaging required in taking care of oneself, one's kin, and one's community, and one's species.
I appreciate you being here.
-Greg
On Becoming...is about transformation across each present moment. We don't know and cannot explain what happens in the cocoon as the caterpillar becomes the butterfly or moth. It is a black box. Much like the human nervous system. We have clues. We have data. Images and experiments. But we simply do not know a fraction of the complexities. We know quite a bit, but still...what we know is a small fraction of that which we do not know, and an infinitesimal portion of what which we can not know.
In every breath, though, exists the promise of cessation and rebirth. Every present moment, a becoming.
Hang out for about 20 minutes.
-G
Sanctuary: A place of refuge or safety.
From the Latin, Sanctus, meaning holy.
Holy, from the Old English and Proto-Germanic, "whole." Also wholeness, being sound, or well.
I've also seen attributions of "holy" to Norse and a connection to the terms: health and healing.
Though sanctuary aligns closest with the Latin, Sanctuarium, being (...are you ready for this, because I absolutely love this...) a containter for keeping holiness in.
Beautiful.
Today, spend just a few minutes with me experiencing sanctuary in my back yard, and then in a cabin situated near the Clarion River in Cook Forest, Western Pennsylvania.
This is intended to serve as a brief meditation, time travel, and asynchronous connection with a species sibling who loves you.
-G
Hi!
I'm back. Never really went anywhere, though the podcast endured a 6 month hiatus, which...nobody really missed me, so it's all good!
Recently, Compassion Focused Therapy entered my life, lexicon, praxis, and pedagogy. I'm always happy to encounter a framing that aligns with person-centered therapy/pedagogy and trauma-informed care. CFT certainly does.
It's been a minute since I've been on a microphone, and I decided to be less structured this time around. I'm searching for the right mix of scripted and non-scripted, and shall arrive when I arrive.
I appreciate you spending a little time with me.
-Greg