329: John Perkins: Touching the Jaguar
A great joy of podcast success is talking to people who changed your life. I read John Perkins’ Confessions of an Economic Hit Man about ten years ago. I couldn’t put it down—as much from the writing as the stories and content. It led me to see the world differently, especially government, corporations, America, money, what my taxes support, politics. It recalled Upton Sinclair and Henry Thoreau.
He is about to release a new book, Touching the Jaguar. He’s written several books on shamanism, his experiences relevant to shamanism from before his economic hit man path, how the worlds interact, bringing them together, and showing how they are relevant today—including during a virus.
If you’re here just after I posted it, listen for the workshop he’s offering April 29th.
On a personal note, I hope you share what happened with me listening to him. I thought of the fears I’ve been facing lately, for example sharing my past on this podcast, if you listened to my episode Bruce Springsteen inspired to start talking about Sex, Drugs, and Rock and Roll. I can’t imagine I’m the only one holding back from facing a fear and acting on it that I know it’s time for.
John talked about changing perception and things that might sound small, like tweeting or emailing companies about actions of theirs you don’t like. Almost everyone I talk to says little things like that don’t make a difference so they don’t act. They’re letting their beliefs limit them—what they do, how they live.
As I understood John, he’s saying that those beliefs and actions build on each other. They did with George Washington, as he describes. They did with everyone who made a difference.
I recommend listening with the question in mind: What am I perceiving that I could perceive differently?