Now unlocked for all subscribers— please like, share and encourage your friends to check out our podcast, The Skeptical Shaman (available on Apple, Spotify, and anywhere else you listen).
We are doing another Review Raffle, so if you do review our podcast, please take a screenshot and email it to me at: rachel@totemreadings.com along with your snail mail address (for the potential prize). Winners will be drawn at the end of this month— on the Lunar New Year!
As paid Substack subscribers supporting our work here at the TOTEM Readings Substack and our podcast, The Skeptical Shaman, I wanted you to have exclusive, early access to this very special podcast episode titled, “Empathy Not Included, with Mark Vicente”.
Mark and his wife Bonnie Piesse are bonafide heroes of mine— and not because they’re famous or talented (they are, but that’s not the point). Rather, when I first watched the HBO docuseries the Vow— in which Mark and Bonnie are primary subjects— I was confronted with a real life story of enslavement, abuse, and spiritual exploitation, as well as the subsequent, harrowing and high-stakes journey out of their living hell and into the light.
Here’s the trailer for The Vow’s first season:
Their story as NXIVM whistleblowers and survivor advocates opened my eyes and put words to many long-held theories. I think the series is essential viewing for any spiritual seeker or individual pursuing personal development. Said another way? Often, when we cast a beautiful net with beautiful intentions, we think we’re only going to catch beautiful things— but that’s unfortunately just not how the World of Woo works.
There are bad guys and gals out there, folks, and they’re really, really good at exploiting even the smartest and most capable among us.
Intuition, discernment, and a deep well of knowledge about the dynamics of coercive control and narcissistic abuse are critical to avoiding harrowing (and life changing) pitfalls.
This conversation with Mark is incredibly meaningful to me from both a personal and professional perspective. The timing of our conversation was soaked with synchronicities and messages from spirit that I just couldn’t ignore— and all of which challenged me to stop walking on eggshells and start to just say the f*cking thing as honestly and nakedly as I can.
Mark’s well-documented courage inspired me to be really, really brave as well, and I felt a unique, unspoken understanding that gave me permission to get a little more vulnerable about my abusive childhood than I have in the past.
After all: real recognizes real.
I hope you find our discussion as enlightening and freeing as I did, and I encourage all of you to please share this episode and our Substack with your friends and family this holiday season— gifting Substack subscriptions is a great, meaningful holiday gift that helps to support efforts to generate thought-provoking and soul-nourishing content like ours.
This first episode in our new season of the podcast won’t be hitting Apple, Spotify and other public podcast platforms until January 2025. Thank you to everyone that supports us on Substack— and please consider rating, reviewing, liking and subscribing to our podcast on these platforms to help us continue to book incredible guests and notable public figures on the podcast!
Welcome back fellow spiritually-homeless, skeptical seekers!
You're in for a treat. Why? Well, the Skeptical Shaman podcast is kicking off 2025 with a real bang: no more walking on eggshells, clenching our jaws, or tip-toeing through the metaphorical tulips of cognitive dissonance, coercive control, or mass formation psychosis!
Said another way? "Behold the field in which we grow our f*cks, for it is barren!"
To kick off this new season of the pod, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings) interviews award-winning film maker and NXIVM cult survivor/ whistleblower Mark Vicente, prominently featured in the HBO documentary series 'The Vow'.
But Mark's not just a "cult survivor"-- he's actually a whole, dynamic human being that is currently leveraging his considerable talents as an author, speaker, and award-winning Writer/Director/Producer to create the film ‘Empathy Not Included’ (The Narcissist’s Playbook), a feature-length documentary exploring one of the most pervasive and often misunderstood mental pathologies in our culture: narcissism.
Shot in seven countries and viewed through the lens of four self-confessed, self-aware malignant narcissists who openly share the secrets of how they operate with uncensored candor, 'Empathy Not Included' follows their disturbing stories, juxtaposed with the growing body of wisdom from victims, survivors, scientists, and mental health professionals.
Previously, Mark unified his love of science, philosophy and film-making to create the wildly successful independent film, “What the BLEEP do we Know?!”. He is also the host of the incredible podcast 'WTF is on my mind, with Mark Vicente"-- and the brain behind one of the funniest, sharpest Instagram accounts around.
Rachel's LINKS:
Rachel's Website: https://www.totemreadings.com
Rachel's Other Links: https://linktr.ee/totemrach
The TOTEM Flower Essence Deck: https://a.co/d/gw16LsG
The TOTEM Tarot Deck: https://www.amazon.com/TOTEM-Tarot-Deck-Rachel-White/dp/0578980126
The TOTEM Flower Essences: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TotemReadingsATX
TOTEM Spiritual Transformation Coaching: https://www.totemreadings.com/coaching
TOTEM Business of Woo Mentoring: https://www.totemreadings.com/business-of-woo
Mark's LINKS:
https://www.markvicente.com/
https://www.instagram.com/markvicente/
https://x.com/markvicente
https://www.empathynotincluded.com/
https://www.instagram.com/empathynotincluded/
Podcast: WTF is on my Mind?!
Youtube Channel
Please note: The views and opinions expressed on The Skeptical Shaman do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, protected class, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. And remember: sticks and stones may break our bones, but words—or discussions of religious or spiritual topics-- will never hurt us.
Share this post