Witchcraft Unwrapped: Spells, Spirits & Self-Care with Swailes

Paul Touchwood joins Swales from Bell Witch Project podcast for Halloween special

Okay, cakers, welcome to another slice where this week we are privileged to be joined by Swales from the award winning Paul award winning Bell Witch Project podcast for our, Halloween special. Swales.

How are, you now then? Yes, I'm good. I'm a bit more horse than usual because I've got the dreaded half term called podcasters nightmare. But I'm here.

Yes, that's normally. Paul's normally got this. You've got sniffles, haven't you, Paul?

Yeah. Do you know what? I haven't had the sniffles for a long, long time, actually. Touchwood. I've done all right. Maybe it's because I've been, I've, been quite busy. So maybe when I stop, I'll just collapse.

That's when it hits you. That's when it hit you.

Do you have any witches brew for coughs and colds

Now, before we get into all things witchy, do you have any witches brew for coughs and colds and whatever? What have you been? What have you been knocking back? Dare we ask?

Dare you ask? Well, today I've been doing a simmer, pot full of like oranges and apples and star and Easters and, cloves and all that good stuff.

Nice.

And it's boiled all day and made the house smell lovely and helped me heal. it tastes pretty rank. You put some honey in it, it's a little bit better. But the idea is you just have, you know, like a shot of it every now and again to try and get you through it.

Nice.

But this one is particularly a strong. So I was like.

Yeah. Blaming the kids. Is that half term lurgy?

It is, yeah. Suffering. I'm on the pta, so I've been doing lots of PTA stuff and.

Oh, bless you, I know.

I sat down on Friday and then I got ill as soon as my ass touched the sofa.

like, oh, it's a thankless task on the pta.

Oh, the kids thank me. So that's enough.

Oh, well, that's what it's all about. It's all about the kids. It's all about it.

When did you become interested in witchcraft and decide to become a witch

So I suppose we'll start with when did you become interested, you know, in all things, I suppose, witchery, and decide to become a witch.

So these two things are quite different because I've always been interested in it because when I was young I was one of them goths, you know, with the white face and the fangs and I watched practical magic and the craft and all that. But I was more goth then. Witch. But I was interested, but not enough to actually do anything. Just look cool and go gigs with you goth underpants on and all that is fine. And then when I had my first baby, Florence, who is almost 10, I was hanging out with all the crunchy mums, you know, that were baby wearing and breastfeeding and talking about goddesses and Yonis. And one of them did a surprise box, which is such a told story now because people ask me this quite often, but it's like, came through the post and the theme was witch. And in it was like a book on witchcraft and a little cauldron and a few herbs and like, you know, knickknacks and a little wand and stuff. And I read this book from start to finish and it was just like, ah, this speaks to my soul. This is. This is who I am. Totally. And it's kind of just grown since then, really. So I should have been a witch years ago, but I just didn't make that connection and I obviously weren't ready for it. You know, it's just so. Sometimes I beat myself up, like, oh, why didn't I? But the time wasn't right and the universe delayed me. But I'm here now.

You're here now. And I'm interested because I, had listened to the story of how that, came about.

Someone gave you a package with a cauldron in it, Paul

I was intrigued by. Somebody gave you a package with a cauldron in.

Was.

How big was the package?

It was quite big. Yeah. But it's a mini cauldron, like a little.

Oh, I see. Right. Okay.

Not like a big fully formed cast. Yeah, a mini one.

Okay.

And there were all the wage. The rage back in the day. Do you remember when you used to sign up and it were like surprises in the post? You don't know what's in it. It was one of them.

Okay. I imagine Paul's. You've probably got a cold and knock it about somewhere, haven't you, Paul?

I don't have a cauldron, actually.

No, I do apologise, Wales. I'm contractually obliged every episode to mention Paul's hair and I haven't seen it. And it is even by your standards, Paul. And also someone's put a spell on your hair because it's looking very Jonathan Ross today.

It does look very Jonathan Ross. Yeah.

Yeah. I'll take that as a compliment. Thank you. Yeah. I don't have a cauldron. No, it's, You kind of. It's the kind of thing you'd expect me to have, Lee, but I don't definitely.

So are you a witch?

I'm not.

I'm not. I'm. I'm definitely much more spiritual than Lee is, put it that way. I do have. I do have a quite a big interest in witchcraft, kind of historical witchcraft, but we'll maybe touch on that a little bit later.

Common misconceptions when you say to people that you're a witch

Now, I know when we spoke off air swales that you said this could be an episode all in itself, but I'm going to ask the question. So if you could get me a. Give me a pre seed version of the common. I think we can imagine a few of them. But the common misconceptions when you say to people that you're a witch.

Oh, it's the devil, dude. Do you worship the devil then? Oh, you got a pentacle around your neck. You worship Satan. And I'm like, dude, there is no Satan, okay, In witchcraft or even wicker. That's a church thing. Like you, you do you. I'll, do me. But it's like the audacity to tell me what I believe in. It really, really grinds my gears. Like I'm not. I don't do anything evil. I just prance it out guard. And looking at leaves going, that's a nice leaf. I love this tree. Thank you for the berries which you give me. Take the Rome, like cook them, maybe eat them, maybe give them to a deity. You know what I mean? It's like there is no devil.

Connecting with nature is good for your mental health, Charlotte says

So would you say that which is a, witchery is very nature based then? Is it, is it a lot? What is it that, what is it about it that's attracted you to it?

It's absolutely nature based. It's. It's combined with paganism. So that's like noticing the earth and the way it turns, you know, and the day and night and the cold and the warmth of the seasons and celebrating them and connecting with them and grounding with them. I think that's one of the big reasons humanity is such a mess, because we're all just so internal all the time. And it's okay to be internal some of the time because everything's a balance. But there's no balance in this world. Everybody's just so angry. Honestly, if we were to just go outside and look at the trees more and get his feet on the grass, like, it wouldn't solve all the problems, but it would make humanity like communicate just a little bit better with the earth and with each other. I honestly do believe that. Ah.

When you say connecting with the earth, whatever I'm interested to say about. Do you. Is it called I only found out the other day about grounding.

Yeah. When you touch the earth, it naturally takes all the electric out your body, you know, like the static that's not meant to be there. I mean, we do generate our own electric. But in this place we live on Earth right now, with all this stuff around us, all this energy and computers and lights and phones in our hand, our being, our body gets swollen, you know, because of all the constant energy that's moving around us. It's not meant to be there. So if we all just went out and just touched grass, it doesn't take long, five minutes, you discharge it and it helps everything heal a bit better. There is science behind this. I mean, I'm not brain enough for.

All that, but I think there's something in that. And like you say, connecting with nature and bringing it back to mental health. I think, like you say, getting out, just breathing the air and. And being surrounded by nature. And I think we should definitely look into that. Paul doing a bit of grounding. I think it's got to be good for your mental health because like you say, it does just reconnect you with. With Mother Nature, I guess, without sounding too wanky about it, but.

Yeah, but.

No, but your lives, you know, your life is full of, like you say, computers and tech and, and what have you. And sometimes I think you just need to remember that, you know, like you say, there's a higher. There's a higher force at work here.

Yeah. And actually it's good to do a bit of grounding because it actually just stops you for. For five, ten minutes. Like, you know, it just gives you a bit of grounding, but, you know, it just stops you rushing about. It makes you stop. It makes you breathe. It makes you just collect your thoughts, feel better. Yeah, there's absolutely more people should do it. The vibes would be better. for sure.

It's never a waste of time. I think in the capitalist society, we're all taught to use our time wisely and have things to show for our money and the hustle and, you know, it's never a waste of time just to go for a pointless walk with no music in the woods or a park, look at some ducks, you know what I mean? It will make you feel better. I can promise you, just for a slight moment it will. And if you did it every day, it'll make you feel better and better. But we're all just sold this bloody nonsense, which I absolutely hate. And I talk about it all the time on mine, about like capitalism tells you you gotta do this, you gotta buy that and you gotta be rich and do whatever you want and have the family and have it all. It's like you don't really have to have it all. You know the B episode I was listening to just today actually how She was saying you decide how you respond to things. Like you decide if you triggered or not. And again that ties nice to witchcraft because that has enabled me to behave that way because witchcraft keeps me grounded and it holds me accountable for my own impact on others and also myself like a big deal myself know.

Yeah. That is one thing that stuck with me. Talking to Charlotte was like you say you. It's not and it's not always easy to do but you're in control of how you react to whatever.

You say that witchcraft is not a religion but a practise

That leads on to a question that You've. You've answered most of the question already but I was going to say I've heard you say that it's not a religion but a practise. And I just wondered what is other than what you've. What we've just talked about, what is being a witch in the 21st century and you. And you think because of everything that's going on in the world that it's actually becoming more and more popular.

Yeah, I would say it's not a religion and some people do classic as a religion and I think that's more deity driven and more like your ancestors and stuff. Whereas I am not too into that. I am very much about the here and the now and who I am and what I can control and what I can help and benefit. But it's not a religion, it's a it's a relationship with the moment and my beliefs and ah. It is getting more popular. It's been getting more popular for quite some time now and a lot of that is to do with the Internet and social media and insta witches and then tick tock, give it a boom as well when all the baby witches text the moon. I mean that was nonsense but it give it a platform and people were just like what you can actually do that? I mean the moon were there going like sure you don't know you're talking about. I just did his little spring and it said like boing. That was the hex because the moon is massive. But yeah, I think there's an awareness of pagan, not even witch but pagan living like recycling single use plastics, gardening, growing your own food, trying to be less impactful, trying to fly less by free range. All these Things are is paganism it? Paganism and witchcraft are really tight knit. It's like witchcraft is the spirituality of a pagan. But yeah, everybody who has an allotment, who starts recycling, who puts glass in the recycling, all that is pagan. You are a pagan if you do that.

The pentacle again I suppose is people assume it's something to do with the devil when actual fact it's, it has. That's from paganism, isn't it?

No, that's Satanism. That's their emblem. They took the the pentacle and they just turned it around so it resembles a ram. Now even in Satanism they don't believe in the devil. It's again, it's like a lifestyle of living. But they're they're very self serving and like the ego driven, you know, like they're important as everybody else and they feel they can say what they want. And I research Satanism often because I do quite like it. I mean it is, it is, goes hand in hand with witchcraft. That is kind of like the devil's their poster boy kind of thing. You know, it's like, it's almost like a bit of a tongue in cheek thing with the, the church. So that's another think they probably have to deal with and go like oh, but we brought it on ourselves.

So what is that you've got around your neck then?

This. So this is my pentacle, right. And it's a five pointed star and each point represents an element. So like earth, air, fire, water. And the top point is spirit like yourself. Yeah, your soul. And I, I love this symbol. I have it on me, I've got it tattooed on m. Me And I wear this every day and when I take it off I feel weird about really does protect me and it's such a positive thing in my life, like absolutely adore it. But again I go to places and people go are you wearing the devil? And I'm just like shush, let me have this moment.

I thought, I thought it was to do with paganism. It's not it?

Well it is to a certain extent I guess because it's. You work with the elements, don't you? in paganism it's just a representative of those elements because witchcraft is a massive umbrella of lots and lots of different religions and spiritualities that go underneath the umbrella of, of witchcraft. So it's massive really. So a lot of them use it and, and that's fine, we don't mind, you know, it's not like appropriation. It's like, it's there to be used. If you're. If you're talking about protective and spirituality and the earth, then absolutely use it. But if you're gonna be saying it's a devil thing, don't use it.

Am I right in saying that you do use spells at times?

Yeah, yeah, I use spells mostly for myself. I don't do as much as I used to do because I'm, I'm a lot more content with my life. In the beginning, when you start learning, you're like, oh, I'll do a spell for this, and I'll do a spell for that, and I'll change my life. And then everything comes with an impact. You know, there's karma. I don't believe in freefall, but I believe you absolutely have energy. And you bend the energy and manipulate it, and it'll come back to you because you've. You've moved it around, and we never run out. It just gets shifted around. And that's a spell really, is shifting energies to try and benefit you or other people in some. In some way. And it's not good or bad. It just is. And it is us, the human, that make it good or bad. It doesn't have an agenda. It doesn't have a bias. It just does what it's asked to do, if it's done in the correct manner. So, yeah, I do. I do sigils quite a lot. I don't know if you know what a sigil is.

I don't know what a sigil is, no.

It's like a custom rune, basically. So I. People tend to come to me and say, I need a sigil for this thing, and they'll give me a sentence of what we want it to do. And from that sentence, I'll create a really beautiful, fluid, kind of like a logo, like a sigil logo. And it's custom to them. And then it's so weird how it happens. It's like, I know when it's done it. I don't know how. Just one day I do it, and it's like, that's it. That's what I'm looking for. And I'll either put it in a jar or send it in an envelope, and then they can do what they, want with it. They could bury it in the ground or stick it on a pin board or put in the wallet. And that'll work for them as long as they need it to. And that's my most successful magic. I believe I have good Outcomes with sigils.

Can you give us an example of what people ask for sigils off

Can you give us an example of what kind of thing people ask for sigils off?

Yeah, there's selling houses. I get that a lot.

Okay.

I've had two selling houses and a perfect birth. I've had that, protection from somebody giving them evils. You know, like a shield. Spell exams. I get that a lot. Can I help me pass me exams?

What about if you're about to go for a big haircut? Did you do one for that?

I think they're quite. They're a bit dear for stuff like that. I mean, it's about £40 for a sigil.

So that's a sigil you'd never get though, isn't it, Lee?

I wouldn't need. I mean, I've just saved myself 40 quid. Yeah, I was thinking more for you, Paul.

Bless his hair.

I don't need a sigil. Right. I'm growing it longer.

Is that correct?

I think it's great.

Or are you just.

Thank you, Swales. At least somebody appreciates how stylish I am.

I was going to say. Right, that's reminded me. It wasn't about your hair.

Was the Bell Witch inspiration for the Blair Witch

What are runestones then? Are they like tarot, but in a different form?

I suppose they could be seen like that. They're a lot more older than tarot. They've been going around for millennia. the very first runes were actually Alphabet and it's how people used to talk to each other. And then of course it got inscripted on swords and stuff. And then throughout history we learn more and more and of course you can't help but romanticise it. You know, some stuff might have been spiritual and some stuff might have been like. Hey up, George, you coming for a pint? It is that. It is. It's like graffiti. It could have been anything. But I've got, I've got a sword here that I won at Witch Fest and it's quite a famous replica of a sod of one that was found in the Thames in London. Is it the Bergamoff sword? Don't know if you know about it. And it's got runes written up. It, on the side, like the original has got script and apparently the script was thought to be magical until relatively recently in the vast history it found. It was just like a B. Say. So it was somebody practising on the sword, you know, like a sword maker, just practising the runes on it, you know, it's like, ah. You could see, can't you? I us.

Woo woo.

A lot are like, no, no, it's a spell.

It's a spell that's still quite fascinating, though. Just. Just rather than practising, like, in the mud with a stick or whatever, like, they're just trying it on a sword. I mean, that's pretty cool in itself.

That's why they're all straight, because people were carving them, you know, like, There's no. There's no roundness in runes. It is all.

Yeah.

Because I sort of associate. I associate runes with Vikings for some reason. I don't know why, but that's. That's the kind of vibe I get. Is that. Is that a thing?

Yeah, like. Like Anglo Saxons and all that time. Yeah, you're on the right roads. I'm, not an expert. I mean, the history is massive. Absolutely massive. And I know, like, a tiny little teardrop in the ocean about it all. But I do have a guest on my podcast that spoke about that.

Giving your podcast a little plug.

Yeah, the Bell Witch Podcast. Not project. Everybody says, like, oh, the Bell Witch Project. And it's like, no, it's podcast, but everybody does it. It's fine.

I did it at the beginning, didn't I?

You did, yeah. I didn't want to be that.

No, you should have said. You should have said. All right, start again. Lee, you. Absolutely.

And then everybody always thinks it's about the Bell Witch, you know, like the haunting in America. I didn't know about that until afterwards, when all these American people were messaging me going like, oh, do you know about the Bell Witch? Like, in Tennessee? And I was a bit like, what. No.

Was the. Was the Bell Witch inspiration for the Blair Witch?

A little bit, yeah. Yeah, that. Smell it.

The marketing for Blair Witch was genius. Everyone was told it was real

Millennial root? A little bit, yeah.

Yeah. I watched that in Canada when it first came out.

Proper scary. It scared me.

Yeah, I. I still watch it fairly regularly. I think it's a brilliant movie.

The problem was, was in the States, was. It is. It had all been. Everyone was told that it was real.

Yeah, well, it was the way they marketed it. It was genius. Guerrilla market. And they. They put a website, so. So in the early days of the Internet, you went to the Blair Witch website and it was like, It was just full of history, like, lore, which is kind of touched on in the movie. But it was just. It was the first kind of big mockumentary, really. Well, horror mockumentary, like, you know, things like Spinal Tap and that. Done it before, but this was the first one.

That horror that.

That sort of found footage, but made it all like it was real. I mean, I thought it was real when I first heard about it.

Same.

Yeah, well, I see I was sceptical. But then we went into the, like a bookshop and there's books on it. And again, the books were sold as we've got. Look, we've, we've had to do this book. It was, it was transmission, transcripts of interviews. They'd had special permission from the parents of the kids. and you go, oh, no, this, this is real then, because this is like proper interviews with the parents of the kids who went missing. And, and yeah, the marketing was. Yeah, you're going back.

There's on the dvd, there is a mock, another mockumentary on the special features and it's a documentary about all the stuff that has led to the, the kids disappearing in the woods. But it's done like a proper sort of HBO documentary. Like the guy, the guy who, had his little cabin, you know, with the house they end up in. It's got all the kids hand prints on the walls and stuff. So it shows you footage of his murder, trial from the 50s or the 60s or whatever. Yeah, it's so well done. Like all the history is just done. Like it's all legit. So. I mean. Yeah, they really nailed it, man. They really did. And then they did that terrible sequel.

I like that.

The,

I m really like it because he had a goth in it, you know.

Yeah, it was a Book of Shadows or something. It was called, wasn't it?

I think I've ever seen it.

Yeah, yeah. You know. No, it's okay. It's okay.

Do you have any favourite horror films? Yes. I do. I love horrors, me. I only do originals. They're all the same

While we're on the subject of films, do we have and it's Halloween?

Oh,

Do we have any favourite horror films?

Yes. It's not the Conjuring that is wank. That. That film. Right. I just don't get it. Like as a witch, I do not approve. Anyway, moving on. Okay, I love Hellraisers, me. Proper hardcore. They are right scary. And Texas Chainsaw Massacre is so frightening. And that's the, Oh, the, the original. Yeah. Oh, yeah. I only do originals. I don't like remakes.

Yeah.

And the thing. Oh my God, how scary is that thing? Yeah, yeah. I love horrors, me.

Yeah, I do. I do as well. It's becoming a tradition in our house. We watch, ghost watch every Halloween. The thing about Michael Parkinson, that was on the BBC and scared the shit out of an entire generation of kids.

I was too young for that, but I've heard of it. And I know it's got quite like a cult following on it.

Yeah. Honestly, again, actually predates Blair Witch with a sort of, you know, pretending everything was like a proper paranormal investigation. I watched it. So when did it come out? It was like 90 or 91, so I would have been 10 or 11. And I had to turn it off before it ended because I was fucking terrified.

Bet you were.

and I recorded it as well. I recorded it on the video. So I did go back and sort of watch it and I had it for years on, on a VHS when I was a kid. And then now you can get it on dvd. But it's again, it's just a great, a great piece of storytelling dressed up as a real event. It's so well done. Yeah. So that's still gives me the, the willies, that one.

The willies. I was only 6, so, I probably shouldn't have been watching.

Yeah.

But honestly, there was like an entire sort of demographic of people my age who were just couldn't sleep for weeks because it just really, really scared everybody, man.

I love being scared though. Like scared of a horror film. When you go see a horror film in the cinema, that is the best because everybody gets scared and influences each other. So many a time I see something in the cinema and it's like, whoa, it's really good. And I watch it home and I'm like, what? This is crap.

Yeah, it's the energy of everybody, wasn't it? It's like the 10. There's so much more tension if you're watching it in, the.

With.

With a group of people. For sure.

Yeah. I was like that with Insidious. Like I watched Insidious with all my uni pals of the time. We were all ourselves. And then I got it at home and it's just like, this is terrible. Come on now.

I remember going to the cinema to see Scream when it first came out of the cinema.

Flashes are boring. They're all the same.

I know. And I was absolutely terrified, of Scream. A Scream. Yeah.

Just don't answer the phone, you'll be right.

Generally have it on silent anyway, so it's absolutely fine. But it was only like years later when it was on the telly and I said to my dad, I said, you're gonna have to, to watch this. I said, because it is. I just remember he laughed all the way through it and said, this isn't scary at all, and kept pointing out how highly incompetent the baddie was.

You were Only young, weren't they,

Two baddies in that film, wasn't there? There was two baddies

Two baddies in that film, wasn't there?

There was two baddies, yes, two baddies. but but yeah, when you watch it back and you go, yeah, he's pretty useless because he keeps getting like hit in the face with the saucepan and.

Silly.

He's, he's not really very. He's a bit clumsy.

And then they're remaking it out and they're a new one coming out.

Oh, probably.

The dates, but it's like this one's not going to be good because nobody answers the phone anymore, like you say.

Okay. So having spoken about films, mine's the Shining, by the way.

Oh, yeah, we never asked you.

Yeah, it doesn't matter.

Are there other ways we could improve our mental health by being more witchy

Well, the question I was going to ask you was what can we do to be a bit more witchy in our ways? Now I know you mentioned about recycling and just, you know, doing the, the earthy good stuff, but I, however, before I start writing, I've got into lighting my sage stick and wafting it about.

Now I don't know what that's supposed to do. I just quite like the. There's something very ceremonial about it. And before I, before I start writing, I like, I like doing that. So what is that supposed to do? And are there any other ways we could improve our mental health by being a bit more witchy?

Yeah. So that's a ritual right there that you are doing, Lee. And the whole existence of mankind has been doing rituals since the dawn of time. Getting together and celebrating the sun and the moon via ritual. And ritual for me personally is about, again being grounded in the moment and almost like signpost in the time. What we're doing right now, being mindful. And so for me, I think it's like talking to whoever's listener. I want to do this thing. This is what I desire. I am going to do a habit every time and I want a certain outcome by doing this ritual. So like, I think the runners do it and stuff where they have a ritual about certain socks and stuff. Like it is the same thing.

Lucky M Pants or whatever.

Yeah, all that is magic. I mean, when you, when you get into it, when you get into witchcraft, everything is magic because you just become so in awe of everything we have and how lucky we are to be here and do the things we do and have the freedom to live and all that jazz. And there is hardships, course there is, but it is again, looking at the positivity and you're probably doing A lot of it already, like. Like happy birthday. Blowing a candle out. That is. That is candle magic. Making a wish because you're placing, like, an intent and you're doing an action to signify the intent in wish for an outcome. So then three things. That is a spell, that is a ritual, and we do it so often. Touch wood, Knock. Knock on wood, touch wood. That's. That's magic. That's a ritual. Stirring your tea a certain way, walking a certain way in a certain direction because it feels right. I think that is magic.

We are creatures of habit, aren't, we. And what.

Wales says witchcraft has enabled him to speak more positively to himself

Is there anything that you do on a daily basis, Wales, that you would say that you. You know, whether you're. Whether it's witchy or whether it's just a certain sort of thing that you do.

I have a, massively large dialogue with myself. Okay, so. So I. I mean, I've always spoke to myself in my head anyway, but witchcraft has enabled me to speak more positively in my head and out loud. So just. And it sounds a bit like woo when you say out loud, but, like, I'll wake up and I'll be like, ah, you know, morning, swales, you're alive, you lucky thing. You know, I'll have a nice cup of tea, and I'm gonna stir this tea, telling it, I'm gonna have a lovely day today. Tonight, I'm just gonna take the moment to appreciate this tea, feel it warming up my body. And I really do live my life like this, and I always have. But it used to be so much more negative. It used to be like beating yourself up because you were never good enough or you've met that failure or you didn't get that goal or. And we all do that, especially in the 21st century. Unwitchy people living regular lives in the rat race. How negative do we speak to ourselves and also each other? Like road rage and stuff? All that does it is impacts you. It impacts your spirituality, impact your soul and the vibe and everything, like, is massive. So. So, yeah, talk to yourself. Kindly talk to yourself how you taught your mum that you love who brought you in this world, you know, and it's made a massive difference. And weirdly enough, I would say a mixture of podcasting and, witchcraft has made me really appreciate my voice. Like, my. My free freedom of speech, how I sound, my accent. Sometimes I get muddled up and I'm all right. Whereas before I'd be like, you know, I can never think of my feet.

And blah, blah, blah, yourself up about it.

Yeah, yeah. And. And when you edit yourself, you'll know. You hear yourself, you hear your mannerisms and how you talk and how you fill in the gaps. I don't fill in gaps anymore because I'm a podcaster. Because the gaps are beneficial. The band. The gaps allow the magic to kind of move around freely.

No, it is, let's say if you were to say to someone, I guess, that, oh, we, you know, talking to yourself in a positive way, and you think, well, that's a bit. That's a bit out there. But if you think about it, like you say, the, the negative effects of talking to yourself. I'm, Not. Whether it's out loud or whether it's in your head, I'm not good enough. Why do you do that? Oh, you're stupid. You know, which is how a lot of people talk to themselves.

Yeah, that.

The impact of that is massive. So why wouldn't it be? Conversely, if you're actually nice to yourself and talk to yourself and care about yourself and learn to love yourself, then why would that not be as positive in the opposite. Opposite direction? It meant it makes complete. It makes. Although it sounds, you know, at first hand a bit woo woo.

It.

It makes complete sense.

But, I mean, why are we taught to think like that, you know, when we're young, that. Don't be so full of yourself, like, you're so egocentric. Don't be so selfish. If you speak about yourself proudly, you know, it's common response to be like, who do you think she is? You know, and we shouldn't be that way. We shouldn't. And I'm trying to dismantle it myself even now, every so often it slips in and I go, no, no, behave yourself now. Why are you thinking like that? Because capitalism and all that rubbish, you know, make a stand and actually reframe it and be like, good honour. I want to see her succeed. Let me shout you out. Let me talk about other. Which podcasts in the world that are doing amazing stuff out. I want to be like them, they inspire me. But also I want them to succeed. I want to see people succeed. And that alone, without any of the other stuff I'm into as massively, massively improved my life.

But I think going back, I thought it supposed. Culturally, it's not a very British thing to do, is it? No, to pick yourself up and go, I feel good today and you know, I'm going to be positive. And that's the. I think it's in our. I don't know whether it's like it's in our psyche or in our nature, especially being British. That that's always kind of frowned on a bit.

It's our societal norm though, isn't it? Yeah, there would have been a point before that where we actually were a bit more tuned in with what's going on. And it's probably Victorian, Victorian times. Everything became a bit more, became a bit more uptight and capitalist.

It is, yeah. It's always capitalism. I absolutely hate it. It's like witchcraft. Bingo for me on my bloody podcast. Like how many times could you say capitalism and jogging and nature.

Did you.

Do you have any rituals before you go on stage or doing acting

Go on to Paul, before you go on the stage, darling? or doing any acting, do you have any rituals?