We’re back with another AMA for this liminal, reflective space between Christmas and the New Year—a time when big questions tend to surface. In this episode, Alyson and I respond to a wide range of listener-submitted questions that span the deeply practical, the philosophical, and the cosmic.

We start with a sweeping question about what the next 50 years may hold for humanity, exploring themes like consciousness evolution, polarity, technology, AI, sovereignty, and whether progress is actually accelerating—or fragmenting us further. That conversation opens into reflections on free will, self-governance, spiritual maturity, and how discernment becomes essential in an increasingly noisy world.

From there, we shift gears into more specific listener curiosities, including how I’ve experimented with tools like NuCalm, meditation stacking, and sound frequencies—and what to be mindful of when working with altered states or nervous system regulation. We also unpack questions around longevity, quality of life versus lifespan, and why equanimity may be one of the most underrated spiritual skills of our time.

As always, the AMA format invites real-time exploration, tangents, humor, and unexpected insights—from road rage and nervous system dysregulation to regenerative agriculture, ethical food choices, and how small daily decisions reflect much larger spiritual principles.

Thank you to everyone who submitted questions. These episodes are shaped by your curiosity, your honesty, and your willingness to ask what’s real. Keep them coming—we’re listening.

Get Alyson’s Animal Power book and deck, plus free guided drumming shamanic journey to meet your power animal, at alysoncharles.com/animalpower.

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(00:00:00) Holiday Energy, Sacred Traditions, & the Consciousness of Trees

• Setting the tone for a post-Christmas AMA and why timing matters energetically
• Different relationships to holidays, ritual, and what we choose to make meaningful
• The rebel archetype and why forced traditions can feel misaligned
• Light, circadian rhythms, and how “cozy” can impact the nervous system
• Ethical questions around Christmas trees, living rituals, and reverence
• Trees as sentient beings and what happens when humans consciously engage them
• Subtle signals from nature, plants, and the quantum field that most people overlook
• ODEETRONIC Red Christmas String Lights
• Gilded
• 559. The Soul Sickness Solution: Dissolving Separation & Becoming One W/ Nature's Wisdom

(00:17:53) Predictions for the Next 50 Years: AI, Sovereignty, & the Polarity Test

• A listener asks the big one: what the next half-century could actually feel like
• Longevity vs. quality of life—and why “living forever” isn’t automatically the goal
• Tech and AI as a mirror: empowerment tool or sovereignty trap
• Discernment, nervous system limits, and knowing when “too much info” is too much
• Flying cars, hidden innovation, and the thin line between sci-fi and reality
• Earth as a polarity school—and what it would mean if the extremes softened
• Equanimity as an initiation: staying open without getting hijacked
• A call for your input: how the show evolves based on listener questions
• David Hawkins
• Survey
• NuCalm
• Dr. Joe Dispenza
• 259. The Heart/Mind Connection & Supernatural Healing With Dr. Joe Dispenza

(00:49:11) NuCalm Stacking, Meditation Experiments, & Audio “Hacks”

• A listener asks for the exact NuCalm + Dr. Joe Dispenza combo—and how to recreate it
• Layering audio tracks without turning your nervous system into a science project
• How to tell (fast) whether two tracks harmonize or feel subtly stressful
• Theta states, suggestibility, and why intention matters more than the “perfect” protocol
• The difference between calming tracks vs. hype/ignite tracks—and when each makes sense
• Why some music options aren’t publicly available (and what that implies)
• A gentle warning about stacking too many modalities too soon
• How an old listener question sparks new experimentation for the next season
• 613. NuCalm: Silence Stress, Meditate Like a Monk, & Access Flow State on Demand w/ Jim Poole
• 318. The Neuroscience of Stress: How To Meditate Like A Monk in Minutes W/ NuCalm Feat. Jim Poole
• 265. Maximum Meditation w/ NuCalm: The Ultimate Stress Relief System with Jim Poole
• Element Health CBD
• 348. Rite of Passage: My Sacred Hunting Experience W/ Mansal Denton

(00:56:04) Latest Discoveries: Ethical Wild Meat, Ceremonial Cacao, & CBD That Actually Works

• A new mini-segment idea: sharing what’s genuinely exciting (and why it’s timely)
• Wild game as a “most ethical” option—and how ecology, hunting, and nourishment intersect
• Organ meats without the hassle: nutrient density, convenience, and real-world consistency
• Transparency as a trust signal: QR codes, lab tests, and what to look for beyond marketing
• A cacao origin story that’s bigger than product—ritual, symbolism, and heart-led branding
• Simple prep vs. messy rituals: making ceremony easier to sustain in real life
• CBD skepticism meets a standout: what “feeling it” actually means and why potency matters
• Supporting bootstrapped creators with integrity—and why that matters more than trends
• Sacred Hunting
• Real Provisions Wild Axis Deer & Organ Jerky Bites
• 609. Organ Meats Revival: Ancient Nutrition Your Body Needs + Flavor You Crave w/ Aleks Rhybchinskiy
• 469. Teeth to Toes: Fix Neck & Back Pain w/ Neurosomatic Therapy Feat. Aleks Rybchinskiy
• Berski
• Force of Nature
• Roam Ranch
• Ksenia Avdulova  
• Wana Hey
• 437. The Truth About CBD, Cannabis + Overcoming Addiction & Limitation w/ Adam Wenguer of Element Health

(01:19:14) The Fork in the Road: When to Lean In, When to Step Away

• A listener’s “one big lesson” and why the body can rebel when you get close to it
• The growth dilemma: healing that requires more courage vs. patterns that require a boundary
• Discernment as a skill you build over time, not a switch you flip overnight
• How fear can masquerade as “intuition” and what that signals about safety
• The “upper limit” idea: why breakthroughs can trigger sickness, sabotage, or sudden overwhelm
• Tools to keep in your back pocket when things get “squirrely” on the path
• Parts work in real time: spotting the anxious protector and settling the system fast
• A new way to understand the inner child: past selves as living layers you can actually relate to
• Read: The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks

(01:53:08) Humility, Recovery, and the Long Arc of Healing

• A tricky question about staying grounded, and why the most freeing mindset can sound like an insult
• How self-consciousness and ego feed each other, and a simple way to break the loop
• Choosing embarrassment on purpose as a practice for ego-checking and authenticity
• What “working a program” really means when meetings aren’t part of the routine anymore
• Why sobriety can reveal deeper pain instead of instantly fixing it
• When 12-Step tools hit a ceiling, and what Luke says helped him go deeper
• The line between healing modalities and relapse risk, and I think about boundaries
• Read: A Horse Named Lonesome by Luke Storey
• ‍Read: Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions by Anonymous