Are you interested in angels, demons, spirits, ghosts, and monsters? Are you curious about their origins, tales, and influence upon history and on the present day? If so, sit back, relax, and welcome to Seven Demonology, the podcast that explores all of this and more.
Hello, I'm Monica Reinegel, host of the Nutrition Diva podcast. Summer is here, and with it, the hot and sticky weather. A morning working in the garden or maybe on the golf course can leave you more depleted than you realize. And plain water isn't always the most efficient way to restore the balance. That's where liquid IV comes in. Its science-backed formula is clinically proven to hydrate faster than water alone. Whether you're exercising, playing outside, or simply surviving a summer heat wave, it's an easy way to stay hydrated. Shop now at LiquidIV.com.
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Hello all. Let's start today's episode with a bit of a channel update. Did you know that Southern Demonology has a YouTube channel? Well, now you do. In fact, for the past two weeks I have been backporting all of my episodes there. And yesterday I hit the well, at least for me, uh momentous milestone of getting all of my previous episodes uploaded into YouTube. In fact, if you ever wanted to listen to my episodes by topic, whether that would be on demonology, Japan, horror, personal tales, or others, then I've created custom playlists for each.
I've placed a link in the channel uh for the description. If you wouldn't mind, even if you don't visit much, could you subscribe to the channel? That one act would really help me out. And to help drive more traffic there, I will even be uh creating custom content that will only appear on YouTube. Heck, um will you even be able to to sneak a peek at the elusive JJ? Honestly, you're probably better not having seen my face, but we'll see how that goes. I don't know yet.
Uh in addition to the YouTube link, I've also linked all of our other homes on Facebook, our Discord server, Patreon, our own website, and others. You know, I started this podcast at the urging of a few of my friends and coworkers, and I never imagined I would have developed a serverless content management system, business pages on several different platforms, and become my own social media manager all in the effort to promote this pop podcast. And honestly, I'm pretty horrible at promoting myself or my work.
Yet even though this passion project does not bring in any money, I have reaped so many benefits from this one thing. And all of those come in the interactions I've had with listeners, whether it be through Discord, emails, the occasional phone call, or Facebook posts. I have made wonderful friends, had lively discussions, and have learned a phenomenal amount. And honestly, all of this, especially given the wreckage of the past what, eighteen, nineteen months have been, uh has truly been a godsend.
To all of you, whether I know you or not, whether I've interacted with you or not, I want to personally thank you for listening. It really means the world to me. So keep your eyes peeled and your ears, I guess more appropriately, uh, for much more to come. I'm sure you've heard of the concept of quote unquote finding yourself. Writers and directors have made numerous works documenting the overdramaticized journeys people have undergone to determine exactly who and in some cases what they are.
While I have never been through this particular phase of internal wonderlust, I am fascinated by the underlying question of whether that type of exploration is even possible. Today I'm in a bit of a contemplative mood for a few reasons. And so I want to start off this episode by discussing the human condition and a core concept of that is the notion of a self. As people we have an identity. My name is JJ. I like languages, whore, and gundam. I like certain foods, and I dislike others.
I am a fiercely loyal individual to my friends, and I am the biggest proponent of the fa uh trust is slow to build, but is lost in a second. I'm a workaholic. I also like to procrastinate, and just like everyone else, I have a million defining characteristics. I have a personality yet can one honestly say that that creates is idiomatic of or constitutes a self? The TLDR or too long didn't read, or I guess listen, is I don't know. And honestly I can't even pretend to have the answer. Way back when I would have said, of course. Are you stupid?
But I've been picking over this question for years now, and I am still no closer to an answer. I say that like I'm on some sort of grand quest, but I'm not. I'm not out streaming at windmills. I'm honestly just curious. Back in college, I was blessed with wonderful professors, and I've already spoken about my major professor who taught me classical Ethiopic. Another one that had a huge influence on me was Dr. Blitz. He came into our religion department for one for a one-year term to fill in for another professor who was taking his sabbatical.
He taught me a little bit of everything, but primarily focused on theology and world religions. Through him I learned the basics of Karl Bart, Paulistilic, and Buddhism, in addition to my lifelong love of Scotch. He had a lust for life and for knowledge that I will always envy. I bring him up for his class on Buddhism stays with me to this day. The central tenet of Buddhism is that there is no self and that the illusion of it is the source of pain.
And before I get any further, I am not denigrating or casting any aspersions against Buddhism, nor will I ever do that to any religion in this podcast. So please do not take that as such. Of course, when taking the class, I was primarily fascinated with the concept of enlightenment and how the various different schools of Buddhism strove for it. Was its attainment instantaneous or methodical? Did it come from pondering mysteries and paradoxes or simply from looking at a lotus flower?
Hell, I was so egotistical at that age that for a fleeting second I thought I had started to grasp it while walking through the woods to class one day before it all disintegrated like walking through a spider's web. In fact, I can only imagine what my professor must have been thinking about me when I was regaling him with this tale. Just the mere thought of that actually makes me shudder a tad bit. But as I have walked along in life, the very concept of self that has that it's the very concept of self that has become my concern.
A good bit of that has come from studying Heidegger's sight and sight or being and time over the years. But mainly it's at those moments that I notice the variations of my perceived quote unquote self. And I'm not talking about the differences from childhood to adulthood or anything so pat. I can't speak for anyone but myself, considering my own existence is the only one that I know. But I have definitely been through ebbs and flows, ups and downs in my life that have challenged my sense of identity in pretty fundamental ways.
For example, let's say that you have always categorized yourself as particularly good at something, in fact, have made that a core part of your identity, but then you're thrown into a situation where others either cast aspersions on that concept or have even flatly refuted it. What would that do to your self-image? I'm not going to go into specifics. But I've been in that situation a few times. And let me tell you, you either accept it and move forward, or you break. And if you break, it's not a temporary thing.
Rather, you'll carry the cracks with you, if not for a very long time, then enough to make it extremely noticeable to yourself. And at least for me, even if you accept it, you are changed. I was at a fundamental level. And it's just as difficult, even if you've been through that kind of earth-shadowing change before. Let me give a practical example. One can experience a minor version of that type of experience when one goes away to college for the first time. Or starts a new job where you know no one. Or you move to a new country where everything is radically different.
I like to think of it like this. People carry their experiences with them. Yet it's not just dragging those behind you. Rather, that experiential ray or cone is both behind you and forecast it ahead of you that shapes how you view, interpret, and react to the world. Heidegger referred to this as one's historicity. And that historicity is made stable when the expected is encountered. Same coworkers, you behave the same. Same environment, no problem. Yet the moment the unexpected is standing before you, all bets are off. How do you react?
Hello, I'm Monica Rheinagel, host of the Nutrition Diva podcast. Summer is here, and with it, the hot and sticky weather. A morning working in the garden or maybe on the golf course can leave you more depleted than you realize, and plain water isn't always the most efficient way to restore the balance. That's where liquid IV comes in. Its science-backed formula is clinically proven to hydrate faster than water alone. Whether you're exercising, playing outside, or simply surviving a summer heat wave, it's an easy way to stay hydrated. Shop now at liquidiv.com.
Liquid IV, hydration that goes wherever life takes you.
Or based on your experience, how should you react? Now, of course, Heidegger went on to state that this was the invisible they, and everyone within a particular culture would react or not react in very similar or predictable ways based upon that culture's standpoint. And I'm not going into that level of depth in this conversation, but I'm talking about as an individual, how would you react? Of course, all of that is being brought forth from your experiential range. So you will react to any unknown through your experiences.
You will kite kind try to categorize it through that experiential range. The most extreme version of this is the flight or flight read uh reflex. How would you react when put in a life threatening situation? Would you stand your ground or would you cower? Will you throw yourself in front of a loved one or stranger, or would you hide behind another? You know, we all have dreams of playing the hero, but we honestly don't know if we would instinctively stand or flee in such a situation.
And honestly, with the sheer amount of mass shootings that happen in America now, especially after the pandemic, I'm afraid this hypothetical is becoming a reality for far too many people. Yet a lesser version of this type of existential crisis can occur when we encounter the unknown. Say you go to a party where you know no one. If you're awkward and you don't blend in, you probably chalk it up and go about your life. But that really is just a one-off. Or is it? Could it indicate something about yourself? What if that awkwardness extends for months?
For example, I had a job where I became best friends with everyone on my team. We went to lunch together, made fun of each other constantly, and hung out after work. And in that environment, my natural tendencies to be humorous were amplified. In short, I loved that person I was for that limited context. Yet when I left for another position, I couldn't make any friends. I tried. Conversations were heavily stilted, and eventually I retreated into that introverted box I had occupied for so much of my life. And I really did not like the person I was when I was inside of that box.
Now, of course, one could state that both situations represented an extreme, and that my quote unquote self at the time was me adapting to each environment. And that is a valid point. Yet I compare those me's of the past to the me of now, a decade older, and while there are more than a few passing similarities, I feel radically altered. Yes, one's being will adapt and either shrink or grow in order to adapt to a given situation. And if there have been numerous different situations between then and now, then of course the altered state can be vastly different.
Yet all of that begs the question is there a core lurking behind or under all of those surface stretch marks of adapting and changing? Or is the self more like a gelatinous slime where there is no central core, just more semi viscous fluid, where even the innermost parts are in flux just at a vastly different and slower rate? To drive the point home, what if the operating parameters of a person barring malfunction or degradation are the only constant? In other words, how much intelligence, memory, and natural ability are the constants while everything else is absolutely fluid?
If so, then the lessons and impressions gathered as children, the oldest of the experiential range, may be the slowest to change as they are kind of foundational, but they are not immutable. Yet what if this too is incorrect? What if the Buddhist concept is true and that there is truly no self, no concrete continuity of being? Even the pared down version that I just espoused. By claiming ego and continuity, could we be living the illusion that is the source of pain? As I've said before, I simply don't have an answer.
Primarily because A I have no concrete data, B I perform no rigorous analyses, and C I have a sample size of exactly one. And what complicates the matter is a person's own biases combined with a prominent mountainous to extract conclusions that don't exactly match the data. Dear Lord, look at all of the information floating about the internet and the absurd claims people can somehow spout with a straight face. People can become entrenched in a position for no reason at all besides stubbornness or comfort.
Or conversely, spread such bullshit from more much more base impulses such as a desire for money or infamy. But don't get me started on that one. That's a whole different topic. I oppose all of this not to provide an answer or to reveal some grand insight. Hell, the vast majority of all of this can be found in an introductory class on world religions or on epistemology. Rather I do so just as a thought experiment and I honestly would love to hear your thoughts if you would like to share them. You know please feel free to join me on YouTube, Facebook or Discord and let me know.
For the last part of this episode I want to talk about YouTube for a little and this is not in an attempt to promote myself anymore so rest assured on that front I began falling into the YouTube rabbit hole as I could catch up on Gundam Battle Operation 2 videos and yes occasionally upload some myself watch science related topics especially on astrophysics and chill out to some comedy considering that I don't have a regular TV subscription anymore it filled a void.
In the past few years I have developed a very bad tendency to have trouble falling asleep or even if I do to wake up in the middle of the night or at the butt crack of dawn which would throw my entire schedule for the upcoming day into shambles.
And given that I am in programming where I need my wits about me that usually did not make for a fantastic day Actually I had an entire conversation about this with a recent member who joined the Southern Demonology Discord server which was really nice to have regardless in an effort to keep my mind occupied while I was in bed waiting for sleep to overcome me I decided to start listening to some ghost stories to keep myself entertained. And with that simple thought I started delving into the wide world of horror channels and what a rabbit hole that is.
When I say horror I'm not talking about murder mysteries or real life crime or anything along those lines. I can understand the appeal but I am only interested in the supernatural or perturnatural. To be fair there are some really good channels out there. They made an effort to come up with original content and those I appreciated. Yet the vast majority of them are just pure Dreck. At best they simply recite creepypasta or troll reddit for free content or plumb their listener base for stories in which they can then recount.
At worst they conflate reality with conspiracy theories of dark forces or secret knowledge I swear to God, if I hear one more skinwalker or a black eyed children story then I think I'm going to lose it. You know, I started this podcast to share some interesting tidbits and to explore angelogy, demonology, second temple Judaism, horror movies, the Yude and yokai of Japan, amongst other topics But the day I start feeling the need to conflate reality with conspiracies or simply read aloud Reddit posts is the day that I stop this little experiment.
On the academic front, I do have one final question I've been thinking of teaching an online course for either Biblical Hebrew or classical Ethiopic. Would anyone out there be interested? If so hit me up and let me know. If there is sufficient interest then we may start we may uh start up a class that would meet you know once every two weeks or so.
Again this is not a commitment on that front I just really want to see if there is any particular interest uh because you know I've been wanting to go back and refresh my biblical Hebrew knowledge because it's been a while um and I've actually been writing some uh a program uh in order to do automatic translations of get as and I need to actually comb back through the grammars of uh both of those kinds of books in order to do so uh so while I'm doing that I thought hey you know why not actually get to meet people have some fun and actually you know make it a group activity so if you are interested just let me know uh you can hit up our website send a message there or on any of the other platforms I have mentioned in this thing I'm not going to go through that list again I don't want to bore everyone too badly as I probably already have done anyway on that note um thank you for joining me and please look forward to the upcoming episodes latest for October we should have a lot of fun and as always please uh stay safe out there and take care of yourselves and thank you for joining us once again have a great day ProFootball is back and so are the predictions.
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