Episode 32: Spirits of Place With Bekki Shining Bearheart

Cover photograph by Zak Kramer. Photo above by Barbara Fisher..

Welcome to our 32nd episode!

Here, Morganna and Barbara settle in for a long talk with shamanic practitioner and teacher, Bekki Shining Bearheart, who has done spirit work in the Athens area and now, in Ithaca, New York for over thirty years.

We start out talking about the spirits of place—and what it is that gives the spirits of Appalachia a unique feel and flavor. But, as is our way, we end up wandering far and wide in our conversation, but it ends up back on the subject of spirits and our work with them.

Fairies are touched on again—as is often the case when talking about Athens, and special emphasis is given on psychopomp work—which is something that Bekki has specialized in. That is to say, she has helped spirits of dead humans who have gotten stuck to move on to the next phase of existence. This makes this episode the perfect bridge between last week’s “The Party Crashers” and next week’s episode which centers around Kendra and some of her recent experiences.

As nearly always happens, some great books are mentioned by Bekki, both by friends and teachers she has worked with.

Riding Windhorses and Chosen By the Spirits both by Savangarel
Fire in the Head: Shamanism and the Celtic Spirit by Tom Cowan

Once again, we have some new outro music from Zak Kramer: a piece of his song, “Surfing the Dreamtime.”

As always, we hope you enjoy the episode and if you have an questions, comments, or stories, you can always email us at 6djk67@gmail.com