C - DISCUSSION: DR. LEXX; HOW TO BALANCE THE EGO Pt. 3

DISCUSSION WITH DR. LEXX: HOW TO BALANCE THE EGO (PT. 3)

Episode Summary

On his 16th birthday, Dr. Apples’ mother was kidnapped by fairies and replaced with a doll. Each year on his birthday, he’s presented a doll, which has his mother’s essence. He’s travelled to various planets, dimensions, and realms, questioned, tortured, and pried his way for clues. He’s on a mission to find his mother.

Welcome to the Dr. Apples Universe.

Our host, Lacye A. Brown, is the creator, visual artist, and producer of the Dr Apples Universe (she’s also one of Dr Apples’ assistants).

In this episode of Talk About Apples, Lacye talks to Dr. Lexx James (also known as Dr. Lexx). She is a certified sexologist, licensed marriage and family therapist, founder of the Institute for Sexuality and Intimacy, and best-selling author.

Today, they talk about the purpose of the Dr. Apples character and the theme of “The Ego” from Chapter 1.

Dr. Lexx tells us a bit about identifying an unbalanced ego and the steps you could take if you have discovered it an imbalance in your own ego (check out the Johari Window, it is an amazing starting point to discover your sense of self). 

Lacye: 00:04

Welcome to the Dr. Apples interview series. I'm your host, Lacye. And today we delve into the captivating folklore of Dr. Apples. In this episode, we're not just recounting his story, but diving deeper into the theme of the ego. Join us as we dissect this compelling aspect of Dr. Apples journey and uncover the profound insights hidden within. This is part three. So, Dr. Lexx, what would be a sign of an unbalanced ego for, I would say, someone in their late 20s or early 30s? I'm a tad bit curious about that age range.

Dr. Lexx: 00:56

So, late 20s, early 30s is usually when we're looking at people starting to build intimacy. or they go into isolation, right? This is typically a time when people start to be social at work or social at school, starting to maybe have serious dating relationships, whoever they're dating. So, a sign that the ego is unbalanced there would be a lot of I don't want to say self-centeredness, self-absorption. So, everything is about self. We've all probably met those people, right, where they only talk about themselves. Or even if you bring something up, they bring something up in relation of themselves. Not for closeness, but so the conversation can shift back to them.

So, we start to see that, oh, well, you're not taking care of me, but you're also abandoning me. And everything is so much me centered. And then on the flip side, we see perfectionism. Right. So, people who are highly critical of anybody who goes against whatever set rules that that person has decided and not just for them, but for all of society. Well, this is the way I do it. 

So, this is the way that everybody else should do it, because this is the way that's the best. That is an unchecked ego. Like, well, no, you know, you can cut paper hearts a bunch of different ways. I just choose it this way. Well, you're wrong. Like, um, I don't know if I want to be your friend anymore. I'm good. Great. Let's end this date now. But that's a sign that ego is, is much, much, much bigger and out of control than you might want to deal with.

Lacye: 02:33

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Transcript

  NEWSLETTER

CHAPTER 2 FIRST HALF DISCUSSION

[00:00 – 06:38]

Lacey: On his 16th birthday Dr. Apple's mother was kidnapped by fairies and replaced with the doll. Each year on his birthday he is presented a doll which has his mother's essence, he has traveled through various planets, dimensions, realms, questioned, tortured and pride, his way for clues. He is on a mission to find his mother. Welcome to the Dr. Apple's universe. 

Hello my name is Lacey, I am the host, creator, visual artist and producer and welcome to talk about Apple's the podcast, this is the discussion portion, this is the folklore of the fictional character Dr. Apples and his universe, it is filled with fantasy, humor and powerful magic, so enjoy, so thank you for listening. I am so happy you are here, it is just you and me during this discussion. On this episode I had a full-fledged idea on the topics I wanted to discuss and I spoke to my friend Christian the other day, who reminded me that October was national Hoodoo month and he also stated that it was great, that people were learning about Hoodoo culture through Dr. Apples’ and then that is when it hit me I don't have an introduction to the Hoodoo culture in my discussion episodes. So I put the themes aside and this episode is dedicated to Hoodoo. What is it? 

Also, I mentioned a lot of key words within the story and I will give their meaning, my purpose for certain words is to plant a seed and give you a safe introduction to taboo topics. I don't want to go into the specific details because I would like for you to explore on your own and find your own truth. So kid Dr. Apples and his Mom are ostracized from their society because miss by rules upbringing and beliefs. She is a Hoodoo specialist among other things and I believe many of the simplest fear and their judgments of minced by rule, come from a place of ignorance. It is time to get out of that foolish perspective, so let us get out of that spot right now. So what is Hoodoo?

I love Miss Katrina Hazard Donald's definition because that is how I have been taught. She states Hoodoo is a form of traditional African-American folk magic that developed from a combination of beliefs, of a number of separate African cultures after they came to the United States during slave trade. So let us get this out of the way, Hoodoo is not to be confused with Voodoo. Voodoo is also spelled v-o-o-d-o-o, v-o-d-o-u-n, v-o-d-o-u etc. Which is a West African religion. Now Hoodoo began as a religion but it lost his religious status after the 1880s, so some argue that Hoodoo is a mixture of African practices, native American influences and European Christian folk practices, me personally I feel that we are all connected and no one practice has ownership over the other, so there is really no need to be nitpicky on the specifics but I can see where the debate for that statement derives from, such as like Hyjan Conkeroo [Unknown], it is native to Jalapa Mexico. I believe it is Jalapa Mexico and it is very significant in Hoodoo practices. So there is definitely room for a debate but it is just not that important in my opinion. So my beautiful Miss Barool is a witch and also practices Hoodoo. She is extremely gifted in magic but all of that information comes in her backstory later. She isn’t just some peaceful one-dimensional character, it took a lot of life lessons for her to reach this point of peace and in this point of peace she isn't going to let that go. It is also something I wish to showcase just because you found happiness and peace in your life, does not mean that bad things, so to speak, don't happen to you. It is a matter of how you react and your energy towards them that allows you to maintain your peace. She is just fully living in her truth. Her truth includes practicing Hoodoo. In the beginning Hoodoo beliefs practices use natural supplies like herbs, minerals, and even animals. Eventually Hoodoo practices began to become commercially marketed, modified and then at times just fabricated, so Hoodoo can come in the forms of healing potions, prayer, spells there are many resources that can be used and created the desired outcome or manifestations, resources like candles, oils, herbs, tales mints, amulets, period tensions and so forth.

So, communities like Miss Barool believe that physical illnesses have supernatural causes, so after the late 20th and early 21st centuries Hoodoo was believed to be capable of like paralysis, weight loss, hair loss, miscarriages, falling desperately in love with someone, insanity, insomnia, death, ugliness, paranoia, bodily pain etc. So it is easy to understand the stigma behind the practice if you are not too knowledgeable of it, after this short break I will go over certain taboo words many people are not familiar with, in the story.

[06:39 – 13:35]

Dr. Apples: Hey it is Q&A time with me Dr. Apples, Lacey hand over those questions please.

Lacey: Sure!

Dr. Apples: Thank you, all right first question.

Q: Dr. Apples how determined are you to find your mother?

A: Hmm, well I am still alive and kicking after 95 years and I don't plan on dying anytime soon till she is back home. So there next question.

Q: Is Lacey a good assistant to you?

A: I do keep finding bacon crumbs everywhere, but you know yes she is. I have actually gotten a lot more clues, thanks to her. She is all right in my book and if you mess with her I will put a spell on you.

Lacey: Oh thanks!

Dr. Apples: You are welcome. On to the next question.

Q: Dr. Apples do you really like unicorns?

A: No! I love unicorns, who doesn't, they are so cute and you know their horn is very useful for impaling fairies. I am breezing through these. Oh let us get to the final question.

Q: Dr. Apples how can one protect the dead from the acts of resurrectionists and necromancers?

A: Ah! well you see, in order for the dead to become undead, they have to be open to coming back or they have no idea that they have crossed over in either case that soul refuses that body is subjected to having the physical body resurrect but the soul within is either a parasite or another [Music]. What you would to consider a death [Music Not Clear] on the 13th day. What do you say, lightening fancy [Music; Not Clear] to answer your question in short, Lavender, oops, well that is all the questions we have for now. Thanks for listening to Q&A with Dr. Apples, what [Lacey; oh I believe you] I wasn't going to give them the spell for it, phew! I need a smoothie after this, maybe cabbage and beet juice, sprinkled with fairy wing dust, yes that does sound tasty.

Lacey: So welcome back I am now going to go over some taboo words to help clarify. Of course there are multitudes of definitions and information for you to dive deeper in but I am going to give you the gist of the words, so you can go out there into this big old world and explore. So Hoodoo is also known as root work for castings, is the act of creating and controlling a magical spell, for spells sometimes they are defined as spiritual hypnosis. So for poppets, effigy dolls as well as voodoo dolls I can place them all together they are form of a magical doll and it can be used to heal, protect, harm, depending on the intentions. It is found in many cultures around the world Gri-gri is known as a tales man or an amulet, originating in Africa, it can also protect or bring luck to someone. Sympathetic magic, they are actions by someone where a person can be affected magically by the actions performed towards something that represents them. So people ask me whether Hoodoo or Voodoo is considered good or bad and like money it depends on the person and their intentions and that is it. So before we leave I want to state one thing that you can do today, right after this podcast and that is to go research Hoodoo h-o-o-d-o-o, see what you resonate with, go in with an open mind and a heart and ingest everything if you are looking for something more specific then look into Zora Neale Hurston's work as well as Miss Katrina Hazard Donald's book Mojo working. I will list that under the transcripts. So just read, read, read and you will find that there is nothing taboo about this and it will open a new world for you. It is very imperative that we keep this culture alive, is such a beautiful art form from my perspective I mean I created a character surrounding it, so is something for you to explore and take your time and just let it saturate your life. 

So, that is all the time that we have for today’s discussion. I would like to thank you for listening and I along with Dr. Apples would love to hear your perspective on the story and or any comments or just share your current journey. Visit talkaboutapples.com, where you can subscribe to the show and comment on every episode and stay up to date with the Dr. Apples’ universe by signing up for the newsletter or simply tell a friend about the show because that will help us a lot and be sure to tune in every Tuesday and Thursday for new episodes. Thank you so much for joining us this week on talk about Apples.

Dr. Apples: What you are leaving, see you next week. 

#TalkAboutApples