Poets At War Ep. 3 - Jaymes O'Pheron

Welcome to Poets at War, a podcast documenting the brood of writers, where art, theology, philosophy, and fun beckon your ears. In this episode, General Joshua David Ling sits down with Coach Jaymes O'Pheron — web developer turned coach, Protestant-turned-Orthodox catechumen, and self-described Christian transhumanist — for a wide-ranging conversation on coaching, community, and the right relationship between humanity and technology.Jaymes opens with his 1,500-mile move from Washington State to Fargo, North Dakota, and the three big transitions he's navigating: the move itself, launching his coaching company, and his conversion from Protestantism into Eastern Orthodoxy. The conversation then takes aim at the coaching industry's glut of scammers and schemers — the woo-woo New Age types and prosperity gospel "name it and claim it" preachers whose Christianity is "closer to magic than sacrament" — before Jaymes breaks down what coaching actually is: not teaching, mentoring, or consulting, but the multiplicative art of asking questions you can't ask of yourself, grounded in the truth that thoughts are not complete until they embody themselves in action. From there, the pair constructs a four-level model of human connection — connection, relationship, community, culture — where stories become epics, epics become myths, and everything worth doing can only be done through community. Joshua unveils the origin of his sci-fi story about Blaze and Pandora (Firefly meets Leviticus 17:11's "the life of the flesh is in the blood"), and Jaymes makes the case for true Christian transhumanism: Christians hold the monopoly on right ethics, so we should lead technological innovation — reversing the curse, not replacing humanity, contra the humanists of That Hideous Strength. Finally, Jaymes tells his story: the father who intentionally crafted a family culture, five years in prison treated as a monastery, over a thousand books read, and the Coptic Book of Hours that carried him toward the historic church — now a catechumen at an Eritrean Orthodox parish in Fargo. Plus: relics as technology, the three components of culture, and Joshua's closing exhortation to be your family's bard.Chapters: 00:00 — Intro & War Zone 00:38 — Jaymes' Move & Three Big Transitions 05:35 — The Coaching Industry: Scammers & Schemers 10:09 — What Coaching Actually Is: The Art of Asking Questions 17:45 — Community & Culture: Connection, Epic & Myth 30:30 — Blaze & Pandora: Joshua's Blood-Fueled Sci-Fi Story 39:40 — Christian Transhumanism: Baptizing Technology to Christ 45:30 — Jaymes' Story: Prison, 1,000 Books & the Road to Orthodoxy 1:02:00 — Be Your Family's Bard & Jaymes' Links 1:06:18 — Outro & Closing PoemYou too can be a part of The Brood of Writers and Poets at War! Just visit https://JoshuaDavidLing.com/Discord to join. If you're a true poetry patriot, you can support us on Patreon: https://patreon.com/poetsatwar and get the recordings of all of our encouraging and strategic meetings, along with much more. Once again, all links can be found at joshuadavidling.com. Over and out.