Hi everyone. I'm Josh, and this is The Emerald,

currents and trends through a mythic lens.

The podcast where we explore an ever-changing world and our lives in it

through the lens of myth, story, and imagination.

The Emerald.

All that's happening on this green jewel in space.

Hi. Hi friends.

Right at the start here, I just want to say that I'm sending lots of love to all those communities who've been affected by the devastating floods caused by Hurricane Helene, and in particular my many friends

in Asheville, North Carolina. Friends in Asheville, please let us know what we can do from afar

to help, and we'll do what we can. Our hearts are with you. Our hearts are with Black Mountain. Oh, Black Mountain. Our hearts are with

Black Mountain. And one way to help is through the North Carolina Community Foundation.

That's nccommunityfoundation.org. And you can easily follow the links to the Hurricane Helene Relief

Fund. And let's extend our loving hands and hold each other close and precarious times.

So remember way back when, when episodes of the Emerald were only an hour long? Maybe some of you even

remember way back before that when they were like half an hour long, but that was a long time ago.

Well, I did a little parenthetical episode here on a subject that I touched on in the previous

episode and wanted to flesh out a little bit more.

And I hope you enjoy it. And a couple things just quickly here at the beginning. First,

letting people know that my year-long course, the mythic body, is starting up again on November 1st.

And a good number of people have applied, and as many of you know, there's a waiting list.

But I just want to encourage people to not let the waiting list deter them from applying

because things move and things change, and it's good to apply,

...