Are animals self aware? Scientific evidence supports the assumption that it “feels like something” for a fish to be caught on a hook. Shawn and Leah have a bit of a lively discussion regarding animal consciousness. They talk about their dads, wedding preparations, taxes, television shows and more! Scientists and philosophers across the globe agree …

Our first fight recently took place. What was it about? How did the issue get resolved? Find out on this exciting episode of the Soul Forge Podcast! This particular episode premieres on April 11, 2024. It was 17 years ago on this date that Shawn joined the Post Office. Since that time, he has delivered hundreds of thousands, if not millions of lett…

International love is the tale of two strangers who became friends, and then embarked on a long distance relationship. This multi-year romance blossomed. Soon, it turned into a 90 day fiance situation. A year ago they moved in together. Six months ago they married. This is their story. But that's not all! Luke and Dakota have a story for the ages. …

Relationships go through predictable stages. Each stage builds upon the previous one. Are there 4 stages, five, or seven? This all depends on which particular website or expert you check with. For the purposes of this episode, we will assume there are 4 stages, or levels. The first stage is the initial meeting and attraction. A significant aspect o…

Disney Dream cruise of March 3-8, 2024. This is Shawn and Leah's report! The Disney Dream is a cruise ship operated by Disney Cruise Line, part of The Walt Disney Company. The first of the Dream-class, she is the third ship of the overall fleet, the other four ships in the fleet being the Disney Magic, Disney Wonder, Disney Fantasy, and Disney Wish…

Talking about our first cruise together. This is Shawn's very first cruising experience. Leah has been on several. While this episode has a heavy focus on travel, there are several other topics covered as well! One of Leah's favourite parts of going on a cruise -- multiples stops and visits in one trip. Seeing a good amount of different places on t…

Public displays of affection is the topic on this special Valentine's Day release! This is episode 314 so naturally we talk about pie. Why pie? 3.14 is the basic formula for pi. That's something to do with math and circles. Shawn and Leah joke about doing an entire episode about pi and pie. This is not that episode. Next up is a brief review of the…

Sticks and stones may break our bones, but words can hurt just as much. Sometimes they hurt more. This week, Gaelyn, the owner of Amore joins Shawn for an intimate chat. Amore is Sault Ste. Marie's premier adult toy shop. You can find them at 331 Korah Road. As Shawn walked into Amore to record this episode with Gaelyn, he overhead something about …

Awesome feedback received this week! Jim from the Monster Attack podcast wrote in to say he is listening. There has been much sickness in the house, but that has not stopped us from making plans and doing the things! From Jim we learned that our show is engaging and enjoyable. Shawn and Leah have great chemistry and this is apparent when listening.…

The Iron Claw tells the story of the professional wrestling family, the Von Erichs. Shawn and Leah just saw this film in theatres, and are here to share their thoughts on the movie, and recall their wrestling memories. Of the two, Leah is a bigger fan of wrestling than Shawn. She has met many professional wrestlers. One time, Shawn saw Hulk Hogan w…

Decade 2014 to 2024. This week is the 10 year anniversary of Shawn's podcasting journey. Join us as we look back at some of the highs and lows of this decisive decade. It all started in 2012 when Shawn got a second-hand iPod. A co-worker introduced him to the world of podcasts. Beginning with Star Trek pods, Shawn soon began to expand his interests…

Welcome to the final episode of 2023! On this show, Shawn and Leah look back on the year that was. After the break, they talk about some future plans. Were you aware of everything that took place in their lives? Are you rooting for the success of their lives together? Shawn, you move too fast is something Shawn has heard more than once. Is he dumb,…

Shawn and Leah were on holidays this week. Rest assured, it was no vacation. While Shawn took a tour of the great Canadian north, Leah stayed home to renovate the bathroom. What they thought should have taken a few days, became an ongoing saga. However, there are many good times ahead. The road trip! On Sunday, Shawn drove up to Timmins. He lived t…

Buy, rent or renovate....these are the options that face us today. Shawn and Leah discuss the possibilities they have as they progress in their relationship. The upcoming week is full of adventure - Shawn is driving up north to see friends and family, while Leah is staying home to redo parts of the bathroom. Decisions for the future are looming. Sh…

Side hustles are an additional employment opportunity outside of a person's full-time job. They provide supplemental income. Unlike a part-time job, a side hustle commonly has more freedom and gives more control over what a person does, when they do it and how many hours they devote to it. Individuals can typically pursue a side hustle that involve…

Five Nights at Freddy's movie review and franchise history! This week on the Soul Forge we talk about everything to do with Five Nights at Freddy's (FNaF). We just saw the movie on opening night. Our initial thoughts and reactions, fresh from the theatre are here for you to enjoy. Also on this episode, we have a brief recap of the last week in our …

Keeping up appearances can be a full time job. Shawn and Leah are not trying to keep up with the Joneses. In this case, we are talking about a British sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke. Leah recently introduced Shawn to some of her favourite British television shows. The Keeping Up Appearances sitcom follows Hyacinth in her attempts to prove…

Being vulnerable with your partner is fundamental to building intimacy. Communication is a wonderful way to deepen your intimate connection while building trust on the way. Communicating about vulnerable past events or disclosing something that has been weighing you down can build the skills necessary to address sensitive events in the future. Fear…

Actor Mahryah Shain drops by the Soul Forge to have a chat about a few things. What are we talking about on this episode? In addition to his company More Hair Naturally, we discuss Disney theme parks, Hot Wheels, toys and mental health. But who is Mahryah Shain... Mahryah Shain studied at University of Southern California where he completed a Bache…

Our first Disney vacation is in the books! This episode of the Soul Forge is a day by day recap of our exciting adventures. At the end of each day, Shawn and Leah sat down and recorded their memories of the excitement. Florida in September is still quite warm. Walt Disney World requires a lot of walking. Here is the story... The Walt Disney World R…

The adventure challenge brings couples closer together. Shawn and Leah just celebrated their birthdays and the adventures are just beginning! Episode 300 is a huge milestone in podcasting. On this episode, Shawn and Leah talk about travel, growing closer and buying some cool stuff. Leah tells Shawn that since they became a couple, she has listened …

This week's episode is not safe for work. Children should also not listen to this particular episode. But if you are looking to join the kink community, or you are looking for new products, this is the show for you. Once again we are at Amore, For Your Pleasure...Sault Ste. Marie's premier adult toy store. G, the owner of the shop invited Shawn to …

Episode 300 of the podcast is fast approaching. We here at the Soul Forge would love to hear from you. Send in your thoughts, opinions, concerns, reviews, fears, emotional outbursts, or anything else you would like. Anything you send in will be read or played on the 300th episode. An Mp3 would be great, or just a regular email is fine. Send anythin…

Weddings and anniversaries are things that many people will experience in their lifetimes. This may include their own weddings, or those they have attended. Anniversaries can be for almost anything. More often than not, when people think of an anniverary, they are celebrating a marriage. However, you can have an anniversary for almost anything. Som…

Time travel is a fun concept to contemplate. When would you go? How would you get there? The questions and thought experiments are endless. There might not be a more exciting concept in all of pop culture. Speaking of time travel, this episode travels back 9 years. At that time, I was recording the Rusted Robot Podcast with my wife. Episode 32 was …

Who's getting married? Now that is an excellent question. Multitudes of couples get married every day. This year, two of my podcasting friends are getting married. Exciting times are coming! So, it has been 2 weeks since the last episode of the podcast came out. That episode featured the first meeting of podcast legends Shawn and Paul. These two ha…

Shawn and Paul finally meet in real life! Shawn is from Canada. Paul is from England. They have been podcasting together for over 9 years. They have spoken over Skype and Zoom. However, it was not until this week that the two friends finally met in person. This is the episode where they discuss their history, their visit, and a huge pile of other t…

Your Star Trek guide is a brief primer on the history of the franchise. In this episode, you learn the early history of the series. You also find out about the release dates of the various incarnations of the shows. Viewing order is up to the individual, and you learn several methods to watch Star Trek. Star Trek first aired in September of 1966. T…

Codependency is a circular relationship in which one person needs the other person, who in turn, needs to be needed. The codependent person, known as 'the giver,' feels worthless unless they are needed by — and making sacrifices for — the enabler, otherwise known as 'the taker.' Co-dependency is a learned behavior that can be passed down from one g…

This week's episode is an interview with Leah. Leah is an authorized Disney planner. On this episode of Soul Forge Podcast, we are getting a quick primer on the various Disney vacation options. We also learn a few things about Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. So, you're looking to book a vacation. Where are you going? What is your budget? Are you bringing …

Aged to perspective is not a sentence that makes sense. However, from my point to view, it works perfectly for this episode. I recently came across a meme talking about the age of an actress on Gilligan's Island. As I have gotten older, she has stayed the same age in her celluloid prison. Ideas and levels of attraction can vary greatly through the …

May the 4th be with you! By happy accident, this episode of the podcast comes out on Star Wars Day! This episode is not about Star Wars. On this week's episode, we are going to learn about a day in the life of a mailman. Many people have wondered and asked about how I do my job; what the work consists of. Well, this week is a walk and talk type sho…

Video games are typically categorized according to their hardware platform. This traditionally includes arcarde video games, console games, and computer (PC) games. A video game is an electroic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device. These devices include such things as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensi…

The Visitor is one of the best episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. This podcast episode has absolutely nothing to do with that. Although, there will be some Star Trek talk during the course of this show! Last week I was on holidays from my work life. So, what did I do with that time off? I went for a visit to my old stomping grounds of Timmins,…

Batman and more! We are taking a break from the serious side of the Soul Forge Podcast this week. We have pop culture news, memories and ground-breaking insights. Starting off, we take a walk down memory lane. Shawn's first memory of playing with 'dinky cars' was a Batmobile with a trailer and a boat. No one knows where it ended up, but some light …

Where home is, is the place where you feel in control and properly oriented in space and time. It is a predictable and secure place. In the words of poet Robert Frost, "Home is the place that, when you have to go there, they have to take you in." In short, “home” is the primary connection between you and the rest of the world. For all people, home …

Gaelyn, owner and operator of Amore - For Your Pleasure is back for another visit. This week she is telling Soul Forge listeners about the complete line of Satisfyers. As a note of caution, this episode is not intended for children. Listening at work is also not recommended. We are in the age of the love-toy revolution. Forget the times when women …

Mint versus loose. Which is better? How do you choose to present your collection? Is there really that much of a difference between mint and loose collecting? All that and more on this week's exciting episode of The Soul Forge Podcast! But first, an update on my Hot Wheels collecting. I have been steadily on the hunt for new and unique die cast car…

Searching for joy is a necessary part of life. There are many day to day things that can bring you down. Sometimes you must actively seek out joy. On this week's episode of Soul Forge Podcast, Shawn and Amanda are doing their best to find the joy in the every day aspects of life. What exactly is joy? According to the dictionary, joy is: the emotion…

Expectations are what we think will happen, while reality is what actually transpires. While we hope these two will match up, they often don't. This disparity of expectations vs. reality can often lead to feelings of discontentment and unhappiness. Expectations refer to the beliefs that you hold about the outcomes of events. While these expectation…

Hot Wheels are my latest micro obsession. What is a micro obsession? Those who know me, are aware that my interests vary far and wide. You never know what might hit my radar and become my next mini obsession. Last year it was prepping for the end of the world. This year, it's Hot Wheels! For more than five decades, Hot Wheels has provided adrenalin…

You're gonna die. I'm gonna die. We are all going to die. That is why it is important to think about end of life planning while you still can. You're gonna die. Therefore, it is up to you to plan how you wish to be taken care of. Preplanning your final arrangements can save your family and friends from having to make decisions at a difficult time. …

It's a mixed bag of topics this week. There is no theme holding all the thoughts together. What will Shawn say on this week's episode? No one knows--not even him! Prepare yourself for a cosmic adventure to nowhere! Valentine's Day was this week. How did you spend the day? Is it Single Awareness Day? Did you go to a fancy restaurant? I spent the day…

Love? Loss? Heartache? Anger? Sadness? Brother Robin visits the Soul Forge to celebrate his 37th birthday. Robin has a few things to talk about. Is he ready for the end of society, or can he turn his attitude around? Seasonal depression might be to blame for Robin's sadness. It could, perhaps, be his recently ended situationship. Right now, he is o…

I went viral this past week. I walked into Walmart and saw that they were adding coin receptacles to their shopping carts. Pulling out my phone, I made a quick Tiktok video. After uploading the video to the service, I thought nothing more about it. Somehow, it attracted a lot of attention from the Tiktok community. Three days after I posted the vid…

Time, life and aging. Time moves quickly, but where does it go? The seasons of life keep on turning. Before you know it, you have become an older person. This week on the podcast, Shawn and Melissa talk about aging and growing up. This topic came up because of an article Melissa shared with Shawn. The article was about suddenly finding yourself in …

Let's take another look at minimalism. In the first year of the podcast we took a dive into that world. In fact, we did two episodes about the minimalism journey. You can find those on episodes 25 and 50. Well, it's been 5 years since our last look. That means it is time to jump back in and see how our journey has gone. Did minimalism become our ne…

The G spot. What is it? Where is it? Find out all about the G spot on the 273rd episode of the Soul Forge Podcast. This week on the podcast we are at Amore For Your Pleasure. Amore is the premier adult store in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Amore's owner is Gaelyn MacKenzie Gaelyn is better known as G. She has been the owner/operator of Amore for 11 y…

Best of 2022 lists are everywhere. Here is another one! The first episode of the new year sees Shawn and Krista looking back over the year that was. 2022 is a year that won't soon be forgotten. From books and movies to television and events, 2022 was quite a year! Krista's year was quite eventful. She moved out on her own for the first time in 22 y…

Cats and dogs are the most popular pets in the world. On this episode, my friend Melissa makes her podcasting debut. She is the proud owner of both a cat and a dog. Her cat's name is Charlie. Max is her handsome black Lab. Cats are more independent and are generally cheaper and less demanding pets. Dogs are loyal and obedient but require more atten…