Four years ago, in the wake of nationwide lockdowns necessitated by the pandemic, the Wonder Dome was born from a need to foster a space for connection, healing, and hope for humanity. 150 episodes later it continues to endeavor to provide guests and listeners alike with a space of rest and repose for the soul.

In this special episode, Andy takes a solo turn behind the mic to reflect with gratitude on the journey of this long-term creative project; what it means to alleviate the suffering of others and ourselves; to see beauty in the mundane; and to cultivate connection through deep listening and empathy.

Wherever you are in the world, whether you’ve listened to 1 episode or 149, we thank you for being a vital part of the Wonder Dome’s past, present, and future.

"For an Occasion of Celebration" by John O'Donohue Now is the time to free the heart, Let all intentions and worries stop, Free the joy inside the self, Awaken to the wonder of your life. Open your eyes and see the friends, Whose hearts recognize your face as kin, Those whose kindness watchful and near, Encouraging you to live everything here. See the gifts the years have given, Things your effort could never earn, The health to enjoy who you want to be And the mind to mirror mystery.

Show Notes:

* “Guanyin” at the San Diego Museum of Art

Connect with Andy:

* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewjcahill/

* Instagram: instagram.com/wonderdomepodcast​

The Wonder Dome is a listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support the work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This Throwback Thursday, we’re revisiting one of our favorite episodes featuring long-time collaborators Parker Palmer and Carrie Newcomer. Parker is a celebrated author, educator, and activist. He and Carrie, the award-winning singer and songwriter, have produced a number of stage productions centered around collective healing and reimagining of our democracy. They have co-written songs, turned poetry into music, and hose The Growing Edge podcast - which is a beautiful venue for discovery and growth.

This conversation explores the many voices and cultures we’ll need to weave together if we're going to repair and restore the sacred lands we cohabitate, lands that have been desecrated by centuries of violence, theft, extraction, and forced displacement. Through music, poetry, and discussion, we tap into the spirit of possibility that can come if we're willing to show up in our lives and risk ourselves in our status, standing, and safety.

"Send Love, It Matters" by Carrie Newcomer Somewhere someone needs help. Send love. It matters. If you can’t get there yourself, then take a deep breath. Breathe in the weight of their troubles. Breathe out and send all those burdens into the Light where sorrows can be held with the most tender and infinite grace. Breathe in what you can do. Breathe out what you can’t change. Spool out a thread of connection, send courage and calm. For the nights can be long and filled with shadows, and sometimes terrible unexpected waters will rise. Somewhere someone needs help. Send love. It matters.

Show Notes:

* https://www.carrienewcomer.com

* https://www.newcomerpalmer.com/home

Connect with Andy:

* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewjcahill/

* Instagram: instagram.com/wonderdomepodcast​

The Wonder Dome is a listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support the work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Aaron Cantor is a movement coach, bodyworker, personal trainer, yogi, and movement generalist. He’s the founder of Primal Practice, an intuitive and playful method of fostering wellness through the development of mindfulness and movement skills. He’s also a coach with Evolve Move Play, a collective that empowers people to cultivate transformative movement practices through their outdoor training program. Aaron’s work shows us that by reconnecting to the body and its capacities through a nourishing blend of strengthening, meditation, and restorative play, one can transform their perception of themselves and the world around them.

Aaron joins us under the Dome to guide listeners through a simple, embodied movement practice; to impart the importance of paying attention to the physical, embodied aspects of the human experience we’re often conditioned to ignore; and to share a vision for a more playful, interconnected, and creative society through the embodiment of more expressive and relational ways of being.

"Liquid Cartography" by Twila Newey I have known my body as a plexus of river maybe forever vessel & blue-green vein, a topographical map flowing just beneath my skin, raised, pooled at the pale inner bend of elbow full, easy target for red needled penetration. Recently they've discovered another liquid system, the color & substance of flow evaporated mystery. Unmapped channels have always run through me then. An elusive network that disappears into line of sinew when the body dries, a desert society of empty seasonal streams. What is the substance of impernance? A trick like light, both wave and particle? When I was as small as the child who floats by my window, his hands swimming through air carried high on the shoulders of an old man, I learned the heft of my body is ninety percent water. A fact that still slips through me like rain.

Show Notes:

* Evolve Move Play

* https://www.instagram.com/aaroncantor/

Connect with Andy:

* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewjcahill/

* Instagram: instagram.com/wonderdomepodcast​

The Wonder Dome is a listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support the work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.