The Light, the Thunder, and the Rain. But mostly the Light. A Pilgrim’s Odyssey is your daily dose of hope navigating family, faith, and living free. Silouan Green, The Pilgrim’s Odyssey host, began to find his own answers after a tragic jet crash on an epic 23-month, over 20,000 mile motorcycle trip. Since then, he has taught thousands to take positive action in facing the trials and traumas of life. Life is complicated. Where are you going?
Episodes
Tuesday Aug 24, 2021
Ambiguity Increasing In Afghanistan
Tuesday Aug 24, 2021
Tuesday Aug 24, 2021
In our information age, obfuscation can easily be achieved with an abundance of big language and impenetrable data. Want to hide your intentions or lack of a real plan, make it sound as complicated as possible. When someone can’t explain the general goals, principles, and concepts of something clearly, I get suspicious. This goes for plumbers, doctors, lawyers, you name it. Sometimes expertise hides incompetency or worse.
Here are some highlights of a segment Tucker Carlson did with war correspondent Laura Logan where she talks on this very issue:
“There are many things the United States could do right now to change what has happened and what is happening in Afghanistan, and they’re not doing it.”
“We don’t care about Afghanistan. We believe that Pakistan is the most important country in that region and they always will be.”
“What they want you believe is that Afghanistan is complicated. Because if you complicate it, it’s a tactic in information warfare called ‘ambiguity increasing.'”
“This comes down to the fact that the United States wants this outcome. Whoever’s in power right now, whoever’s really pulling the strings –- and I don’t know that –- they could do anything they want to change this, and they’re not.”
It is important to remember this in our own lives. When we lose focus, life gets more complicated, harder to understand, and it is much easier to lie to ourselves about what we need to do to change things. Focus allows us to avoid becoming charlatans of ambiguity ourselves.
Wednesday Aug 18, 2021
When The Truth Is Crazy
Wednesday Aug 18, 2021
Wednesday Aug 18, 2021
The situation in Afghanistan shows the truth of the leaders and pundits so many people have blindly put their faith in. Before we evacuate US citizens and friends who have helped us, we close the airbase best situated to evacuate them and then pull out our military. The best minds came up with this!
As I mentioned on my last podcast, politicians DO NOT write the bills that impact our lives, lobbyists and staff members do it. Do you think one member of congress has read and understands the full text of a 1.2 trillion bill, or a 3.5 trillion bill?
PhDs and health care workers have some of the highest rates of questioning our public health response to COVID, yet if you and I ask the same questions, we are crazy, listen to the experts they say!
We live in a compartmentalized world where those in control of data can control its release and create the narrative understanding of it. This leads to decisions made by political views, and results like Afghanistan, or a country brought to its knees by a public health crisis as our cities burn and we become more and more divided.
Be relentless in your search for the truth. Ask questions. Request data. Beware of anyone who doesn’t like answering questions, beware of anyone who argues ad-hominem.
Thursday Aug 12, 2021
The Same As It Ever Was
Thursday Aug 12, 2021
Thursday Aug 12, 2021
The Taliban are quickly taking over Afghanistan and returning to the power we took away from them 20 years ago. I am angry at our politicians and military leaders. I am more determined than ever to serve those who serve us, and to fight for the things that matter most - family, faith, and community.
Monday Aug 09, 2021
Becoming Like A Child
Monday Aug 09, 2021
Monday Aug 09, 2021
A friend today on Facebook commented on how a recent death had made them reflect and decide to become more contemplative about life. I wondered, why does it so often take death to motivate us to examine our lives and commit to living deeply, if only for a moment.
There are many ways to begin a contemplative life, but here is one I find very poignant from a Russian Priest:
"Childlikeness is lost in life and recovered in holiness."
And from the good book:
Matthew 18:1-5 -
At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.”
Friday Aug 06, 2021
Awake In Prayer
Friday Aug 06, 2021
Friday Aug 06, 2021
I grow weary and praying is hard.
John of Cronstadt advised:
"It is said that we soon grow weary of praying. Wherefore? Because we do not vividly represent to ourselves the Lord, Who is at our right hand. Look upon Him unceasingly with the eyes of your heart, and then, even if you stand praying all night, you will not grow weary."
"Our heart daily dies spiritually. Only ardent, tearful prayer quickens it, and makes it breathe again. If we don’t do daily pray with sufficient spiritual fervor, we may easily and speedily die spiritually."
Thursday Aug 05, 2021
Gold Medal Sydney McLaughlin And The Golden Trio of Practical Peace
Thursday Aug 05, 2021
Thursday Aug 05, 2021
No debt, fulfilling hard work, connected family and friends – all held together by a life of faith.
An easy concept. But in a complicated world, hard to execute.
How about some good advice on staying focused by a Gold Medal Olympian and out-spoken Christian, Sydney McLaughlin, winner and world record holder of the Women’s 400m hurdles.
After her victory, she said the following:
“Just trusting the process. Giving the glory to God,” McLaughlin said about her victory. “It’s all, this season, hard work and dedication. And [I’m] just really grateful to be able to represent my country and to have this opportunity.”
She gave up social media to focus on winning:
"I think when you have a lot of outside voices coming in, it can definitely alter what you have going on internally," she said, via The New York Times. "The more I can distance myself from that, the more I can stay as calm and as relaxed as possible."
She added: "A lot of that is outside things I can’t control and I just tried to minimize it. I stayed off social media, stayed in my room, talked to friends and family and stuck to what I knew."
Via The New York Times
Wednesday Aug 04, 2021
Why Are Americans So Angry?
Wednesday Aug 04, 2021
Wednesday Aug 04, 2021
A friend recently referenced an article by the far left Mother Jones on why Americans are so angry. I only refer to them as “far left” because they place the blame on Fox News. Pot, meet Kettle. In reality, they do not understand why most Americans are so angry.
I’ll tell you why so many Americans are so angry. It is because we have never been so lonely and isolated.
Tuesday Aug 03, 2021
Finding Peace And The Illusion of Technology
Tuesday Aug 03, 2021
Tuesday Aug 03, 2021
“The illusion that mechanical progress means human improvement ... alienates us from our own being and our own reality. It is precisely because we are convinced that our life, as such, is better if we have a better car, a better TV set, better toothpaste, etc., that we condemn and destroy our own reality and the reality of our natural resources. Technology was made for man, not man for technology. In losing touch with being and thus with God, we have fallen into a senseless idolatry of production and consumption for their own sakes.”
Thomas Merton
What are some practical things that bring true peace:
No Debt
Close Family and Connected Relationships
Good and Hard work
A Deep Spiritual Life
Healthy Living
Monday Aug 02, 2021
A Cashless Society
Monday Aug 02, 2021
Monday Aug 02, 2021
I came across an article today on uncanceled.com about how the gradual replacement of physical cash with pure digital currency is not only erasing any degree of financial autonomy we may have, but it could be the last step in completely erasing any notion of personal privacy.
Technology is being developed that would scan your face as you entered a store, it would then access all of your financial and personal data, and that would determine what you were eligible to purchase. Can it get any more big brother than that? What if being “cancelled” on social media became being “cancelled” in commerce if you didn’t hold the correct political and social views?
We are closer to this than you may think. If banks got rid of cash in ATMs and Bank branches, cash would disappear very quickly and you would be forced to go all digital, and to carry whatever mark they want you to in order to buy and sell. Sound familiar?
We deserve it though. Our consumer society has been our downfall. It has taken our eyes off of the things that matter and has allowed us to be led by credit cards, interest rates, 401ks, and all sorts of shiny things.