The On Purpose Podcast
Conversations that inspire, uplift, and benefit the listener. Host and producer Lynn Thompson welcomes authors, musicians, educators, philosophers, and new voices with stories and ideas to share. Episodes include discussion forums, featured guests with an audience, one-on-one conversations, and monologues. Many feature music thanks to Black Fedora with Sneaky Jazz (Zapsplat). In August 2024, Living on Purpose reached 20 years in the making! Launched as a radio talk show on CHLY in British Columbia (2004-2009), Living on Purpose has been a podcast since 2007 on numerous channels. The On Purpose Podcast (twin of Living on Purpose) has been available on Podbean since April 2020. Thanks for listening! Please scroll beyond the podcast tiles to learn more about Lynn Thompson and Living on Purpose Communications for editing audio projects, creative consulting, and collaborating with authors on their publishing journeys. Thank you!
Listen on:
Episodes
3 hours ago
3 hours ago
Paul LeMay in Victoria, British Columbia, in 2008 speaking for half an hour in the Living on Purpose mobile recording studio with Lynn Thompson after high school alumni gathered in Ottawa in October 2007 for the 50th birthday of Ridgemont the school.
Prior to this 2008 recording, Paul's father had recently died, so they tour through reflections on life and death and aspects in between.
In May 2025, many gathered in Ottawa, 18 years later, for their 50th high school reunion along with other graduating years.
Thanks for listening.
4 hours ago
4 hours ago
In September 2014 in Ottawa, Ontario, Hifzija Bajramovic, M.D. and co-author Paul LeMay spoke with podcast host Lynn Thompson for half an hour in a park setting about Primal Mind Primal Games: Why We Do What We Do.
Their then soon-to-be-released book was one massive volume. Now, thanks to the encouragement of one of their contributing editors, John Heney, it is in two volumes. That title is for Book One, and Book Two is entitled Primal Mind Primal Games: Dawn Breaks over Armageddon.
8 hours ago
8 hours ago
A moment in time, November 2012 at the Ottawa Airport parking lot, Lynn Thompson and Paul LeMay muse on life, work, and why we choose what we do. In less than ten minutes.
Mentions of Margit (Mog) Hesthammar's article on spiders and DNTO (Definitely Not the Opera) on CBC Radio.
The book Paul mentions co-authoring is published now! Primal Mind Primal Games: Why We Do What We Do with Hifzija Bajramovic, M.D. and contributing editor, John Heney.
3 days ago
3 days ago
TEPP™ (The Embodied Present Process) continues to evolve with the TEPP™ co-directors Philip Shepherd and Allyson Woodrooffe, who offer individual coaching for navigating the elusive journey to wholeness, in addition to facilitating group workshops and training.
Listen in to this half-hour talk between Lynn Thompson and author Philip Shepherd from a decade ago.
From the website today in 2025:
"The aim behind all the practices of The Embodied Present Process™ (TEPP) is to help people reunite the thinking of the head with the deep, present and calm intelligence of the body. Unlike the prevailing view of embodiment – which involves sitting in the head and ‘listening to your body’ – Philip’s approach helps you listen to the world through the body."
... "We are led to understand that the present is 'out there' and that our task of being present is one in which we need to somehow 'connect' with it. But it seems far more fruitful to us to appreciate that the present lives through you in every moment – that you embody it. In its essence, then, the journey of coming home to your body is the process that brings you home to the present. The Embodied Present Process is the umbrella term for our books, writings, talks and practices (over 200 of them!) that facilitate that journey."
4 days ago
4 days ago
Randy Raine-Reusch returned to Living on Purpose in mid-May 2025 with his daughter, D'arcy ZiZi Han. In an hour, lots to share about the life of musicians and creatives, including a reflection on the origins of the Rainforest World Music Festival in Sarawak, Malaysia that Randy co-founded, the recent 25th anniversary of the Festival, and his musical contributions with Aerosmith in the late 1980s.
Part One with Randy for the Living on Purpose podcast was in March 2025.
With his wife, Mei Han, and their daughter, D'arcy, they often perform as a family. For example, please enjoy this meaningful and extraordinary performance event in China on Everlasting Classics presented by CCTV of Za Shi San Shou (Three Miscellaneous Poems) by iconic poet Wang Wei from the Tang Dynasty.
The family also performs together with Mei Han's band, Afro-Asian Funkestra.
Music featured in this podcast is "Freedom" sung by D'arcy with Randy's composition on the zheng.
Randy Raine-Reusch and his wife, Mei Han
Wednesday Apr 23, 2025
Wednesday Apr 23, 2025
With David Weiss, known as Flat Earth Dave, twelve of us assembled on April 22, 2025 for this action-packed tour with the resulting audio recording of an hour and twenty minutes. Note: Part Two discussion group booked for Wed June 18, at 7 pm Eastern. On Flat Earth Dave's website you will find his social media links.
Direct Link to The Flat Earth Sun, Moon & Zodiac Clock app
More videos:
102-year-old Ruth was taught the Earth was flat in the 1920s
Laura Nina "Why the Lie?"
crash course for Flat Earth documentaries
also mentioned for history: My Lunch Break
video with clips of Dave from this call
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Thanks to Black Fedora with Sneaky Jazz for the music weaving through the talk. Thanks for listening.
Sunday Mar 23, 2025
Sunday Mar 23, 2025
A composer/concert-artist specializing in New and Experimental Music for world instruments, and an innovator interested in extending the boundaries of music, Randy Raine-Reusch has created distinct new performance styles on a number of world instruments from his collection of 700.
Included in this (almost two-hour) podcast are two of Randy's compositions with RC World, "Yesterday Tomorrow" to open, with Randy on the zheng and his daughter, D'arcy ZiZi Han, singing, and later, "Freedom." You can find many videos and his blog on Randy's website, including him playing unusual world instruments, and "Dragon Dog 2021" with his wife, Mei Han, both playing the zheng. Also, please enjoy the outstanding performance with Randy and his wife and daughter in China on Everlasting Classics presented by CCTV of Za Shi San Shou (Three Miscellaneous Poems) by iconic poet Wang Wei from the Tang Dynasty.
Here's one from the early 1980s, vintage video of Randy making music with 100-year-old glasses.
Check out the subsequent mid-May conversation when Randy returned to Living on Purpose with his daughter, D'arcy ZiZi Han.
Raine-Reusch has spent over thirty years exploring the relationship of music to psychology, philosophy, and spiritual or religious practices. He studied at the Creative Music Studio in the 70s with artists such as Fred Rzewski, Jack Dejohnette and Karl Berger, before going overseas to study with master musicians in Australia, Malaysia, China, Indonesia, Thailand, Burma and the Philippines, as well as with "National Treasures" in Korea and Japan. As a result, his music now contains clear influences from a variety of indigenous cultures and is heavily influenced by Taoism and Zen.In his performances, Raine-Reusch strives for a balance of virtuosity, innovation, and a contemplative depth of spirit, while retaining the essence of his instruments. His unique voice has led him to perform and/or record with the Tianjin Symphony Orchestra, Aerosmith, Yes, The Cranberries; Pauline Oliveros, Stuart Dempster, Jon Gibson; Barry Guy, Robert Dick, Frank Gratkowski, Mats Gustafsson; Sainkho Namtchylak, Jin Hi Kim, and Issui Minegishi, the Japanese Iemoto, or Hereditary Grand Master, of Seikyodo Ichigenkin. As a solo artist, with his world beat ensemble ASZA, or with Chinese zheng virtuoso Mei Han, Raine-Reusch has performed at two WOMAD festivals, three World Expos, and on tours to Australia, Germany, Spain, Czech Republic, South Africa, China, India, Korea, Japan, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines. Raine-Reusch’s performances have been broadcast nationally in China, Australia, Germany, Spain, Singapore, Canada and the United States, and he has appeared in five documentary films on music.As a composer, Raine-Reusch has a distinctive voice, whether creating simple folk melodies or extremely experimental works that challenge both the audience and performers. He has premiered works ranging from large-scale site-specific extravaganzas, electro-acoustics, or realtime interactive computer works, to intimate chamber pieces for film, dance, and theatre in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, and Spain, including three World Expos and numerous computer music conferences.A multi-faceted artist, Raine-Reusch was a consultant/founder of the Rainforest World Music Festival in Sarawak, Malaysia; the consultant for Cirque du Soleil's Quidam; and the artist director of a number of other festivals and large-scale events. He has been producer on numerous CDs and CD ROMs on Canadian and international labels. He has been a guest lecturer in the fields of composition, performance, ethnomusicology, and psychology at prominent universities and conferences worldwide He is a contributing editor for Musicworks Magazine and recently published Play the World: 101 World Instrument Primer with Mel Bay Publications. An internationally recognized musical organologist, Raine-Reusch has been a consultant for the Stearn’s Collection at the University of Michigan, a consultant for The Museum of Making Music in Carlsbad, and the Director of Acquisitions for the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix. Raine-Reusch is a member of the Canadian League of Composers and an Affiliate of the Canadian Music Centre. Raine-Reusch was the Artistic Director of the Rainforest World Music Festival and the Miri Jazz Festival, both in Sarawak, Malaysia.
Sunday Mar 09, 2025
Sunday Mar 09, 2025
Author of What the Hell is Going On and The Way Forward, the eclectic Donald Lee discusses a range of ideas with eight men and women in this 1.5-hour podcast following Donald's conversation in January 2025 with host Lynn Thompson.
In the final five minutes, Donald shares with Lynn why his hair is long now and a glimpse of his current projects.
Donald Lee is an author, musician, teacher, band director, economist, athlete, public speaker, and more, with degrees in economics and education. He hails from Alberta, Canada, and, after earlier careers in the fertilizer industry and as a school band director, Donald is now a spiritual author and speaker.
Donald’s teaching experience inspired him to turn classroom episodes into “The Band Director” series, starting with modern-day parables in his first book, The Band Director’s Lessons About Life, followed by the short work, The Band Director’s Pocket Guide to Spiritual Growth. Donald uses music as a metaphor for life and the journey of becoming a musician as a metaphor for our spiritual journey.
Donald aims to bring spirit into materiality through his spiritual work, helping people be in the world but not of the world, guiding them along their spiritual journeys to God, and encouraging them to live physical life to the fullest in the process.
When the covid fraud turned his life upside down, as it did for many, Donald looked deeply into what was going on, which resulted in his groundbreaking, insightful book, What the Hell Is Going On? The Web of Fraud That Is Enslaving Everyone and How We Can Escape to Freedom. His subsequent companion volume deals more with solutions to our personal and global challenges—The Way Forward: How to Escape the Totalitarian Control of the New World Order and Heal from Its Trauma.
Donald offers a free gift of A Primer on Spiritual Warfare: How to Overcome the Deep State in the 2020s. Thank you, Donald.
Thanks to Black Fedora with Sneaky Jazz for the music weaving through the talk. Thanks for listening.
Tuesday Jan 21, 2025
Tuesday Jan 21, 2025
The eclectic Donald Lee is an author, musician, teacher, band director, economist, athlete, public speaker, and more, with degrees in economics and education. He hails from Alberta, Canada, and, after earlier careers in the fertilizer industry and as a school band director, Donald is now a spiritual author and speaker.
Donald’s teaching experience inspired him to turn classroom episodes into “The Band Director” series, starting with modern-day parables in his first book, The Band Director’s Lessons About Life, followed by the short work, The Band Director’s Pocket Guide to Spiritual Growth. Donald uses music as a metaphor for life and the journey of becoming a musician as a metaphor for our spiritual journey.
Donald aims to bring spirit into materiality through his spiritual work, helping people be in the world but not of the world, guiding them along their spiritual journeys to God, and encouraging them to live physical life to the fullest in the process.
When the covid fraud turned his life upside down, as it did for many, Donald looked deeply into what was going on, which resulted in his groundbreaking, insightful book, What the Hell Is Going On? The Web of Fraud That Is Enslaving Everyone and How We Can Escape to Freedom. His subsequent companion volume deals more with solutions to our personal and global challenges—The Way Forward: How to Escape the Totalitarian Control of the New World Order and Heal from Its Trauma.
Donald offers a free gift of A Primer on Spiritual Warfare: How to Overcome the Deep State in the 2020s. Thank you, Donald.
Thanks to Black Fedora with Sneaky Jazz for the music weaving through the talk. Thanks for listening.
Saturday Dec 21, 2024
Saturday Dec 21, 2024
From the 2006 live-in-CHLY-studio Living on Purpose radio show, 100 quotes sent in from a listener from the movie, The Secret, and then riffed on by your host Lynn Thompson in under half an hour. Enjoy! Best for all in 2025!
Lynn Thompson, Editor of Words and Audio
Living on Purpose Communications in Canada includes a podcast, audio editing, and collaborative editing of manuscripts for authors who appear as podcast guests! Podcast host and producer Lynn Thompson facilitates discussion forums, one-on-one conversations, monologues, and guest features. Lynn collaborates with numerous authors and their books of fantasy, historical fiction, future fiction, personal growth, how-to, and whimsy, from creative consultation in the developmental stage to final proofreading for publication. A guide with enthusiasm for drawing forth stories and polishing words to shine the author’s voice, Lynn enjoys the creative writing journey. For more information about being a podcast guest or developmental and collaborative editing, writing, and publishing, please email livingonpurposecommunications (at) gmail.com to hear from Lynn.
“As a first-time author, editing my novel was intimidating. Thanks to Lynn Thompson, it was a joyful and rewarding experience. Lynn is conscientious, organized, flexible, thorough, and professional. I feel very fortunate to have found someone who was also a kind, respectful, and supportive partner in preparing my book for publication. My novel is better because of Lynn’s contributions.”
—Kathryn Goodwin Tone, The King’s Broad Arrow (Germany/USA), Illustrator, Crystal Cregge. Winner, Juvenile Fiction, 2020 National Indie Excellence Awards
Finalist, 2020 Eric Hoffer Excellence in Independent Publishing Awards
Finalist, 2022 Young Adult Virginia Author Award
“Lynn transforms your literary work from good to great. She is organized, professional, and insightful.”
—Derian Tuitt, Life Success Hacks: How to Use Simple Action to Achieve Anything You Imagine (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada)
“I have really come to appreciate and honor the way you poke, prod, encourage, and yes, sometimes drag me kicking and screaming to my greater potential.” —Bobbie Casalino Lewis, Expression Expert and author, So That’s What 70 Looks Like! The Essence of Aging Gracefully (CA USA 2023)
Reviews for Dinner at God’s House
April 24, 2024 with Wellness Writers Press
Literary Titan Gold Book Award: Fiction
“This book is a must-read for those of us who feel and think and grind through the days knowing that with courage there can be peace. Even just for a minute. Dinner at God’s House is not just Lieman’s story. It belongs to all of us. A beautiful and raw story about healing and the choice to live in courage or fear.” —Lara Love Hardin, author of The Many Lives of Mama Love and four-time New York Times bestselling author
“Deeply moving and emotionally profound, Dinner at God’s House brings us face-to-face with the big questions of life and also helps us find the answers. This story will break you in two and break your heart, and then finally lead you to a better version of yourself.” —Lauren Sapala, author, speaker & creative guide
About the Author
For anyone wondering what it’s like to collaborate with Lynn Thompson as an editor and writer, here are unsolicited, spontaneous testimonials from three of the numerous people on my team involved with preparing my book for publication with Spotlight Publishing House. —Sandy Levey-Lunden
From such modest beginnings when Angela and I began working on I Just Want Peace with Sandy, its completion and publication is breathtaking. Your painstaking editing has led to an incredible body of work and a wonderful read. —Gillian Hibbs
Lynn, you were an absolute JOY to work with! You show infinite patience and presence making me feel seen, heard, and valued! You have cultivated so much focus, but are always game to have fun! You are a super talented writer and diligent and detailed editor. Your awareness is unrivaled, yet you are unruffled. The way you honoured Sandy’s legacy and embraced every new person added to the team was phenomenal! Collaborating with you was a dream, we were so attuned, even over Zoom, it was like our minds merged in purpose and play-fullness! Knowing you is a true and beautiful Blessing! It’s so incredible what can be accomplished when a set of stellar communicators are led by a star like YOU, Lynn Thompson! —Kristi Birnie
A great tribute to you, Lynn. I concur with Kristi on how much infinite patience, presence, and passion you had for this book project throughout and how I felt seen and heard, grateful to learn some of the ins and outs of editing. I feel like a beginner’s mind in so many ways. Such attention to detail and making everything appear to be seamless, more fun, and just more than the sum of its parts that you tracked so well. It was a meaningful creative process that I secretly never wanted to end. But then we’d be denying the world of a great legacy book and to give Peace a better chance. Congratulations, Sandy and Team Peace! —Christina Ireland
I concur with everything Kristi said. You have shown infinite patience, Lynn, with all of us throwing in different edits, you have welcomed each and every one of us and responded with kindness. You are an awesome editor and have been a profound help to Sandy and her legacy book. Well done and thank you! —Sue Reynard
feather aka denise bertrand
Lynn Thompson is a most attentive, thorough, and enthusiastic editor.
Anyone writing their first or tenth book would be lucky to have Lynn on their team.
Her attention to detail is outstanding.
Her gentle and clever suggestions created an inspiring working atmosphere for me
as I completed my first novel.
Once Upon A Solar Time.
I highly recommend Lynn as your editor.
The Woo Woo Way
"Cindy Childress, PhD, The Expert’s Ghostwriter, book-writing coach, and mentor, reawakened my love of storytelling and helped develop my writing style. Once we completed the developmental editing, I needed to find a copy editor. Who knew there was more than one kind of editing? My publisher, Becky Norwood of Spotlight Publishing House, introduced me to several copy editors to interview. I chose Lynn Thompson of Living on Purpose Communications.
"I thank Lynn for creating a collaborative approach in editing my book, chapter by chapter, line by line. With some of my lessons, she helped assemble bridges to connect ideas. Editing takes focused time,
so it’s great that we often laughed with abandon and talked aloud to Grammarly. There’s nothing better than a good belly laugh for healing. How perfect, since healing is the theme of my book."
—Sandy Evenson, Bestselling Author of The Woo Woo Way, in Spring 2023
Listen to Sandy on the Living on Purpose podcast
A Dry Hate - Second Edition
Published by Nugget Press with support from Spotlight Publishing House.
Nancy Marshall hopes that A Dry Hate will have a broad readership with adult discussion groups as well as in high school and college classrooms. She has a deep and abiding belief that by continuing to educate ourselves, to think and talk about ideas and events, we will become a more robust democratic society.
By opening ourselves to the interchange of ideas and knowledge, we will be more able to combat propaganda, lies, abuse of power, and threats of violence.
Listen to Nancy on the Living on Purpose podcast
Nancy says of editor Lynn Thompson:
“Lynn has been a fabulous, terrific, wonderful, irritating, fun-loving, imperfect, best-ever editor.
I am so grateful for all the work she’s done, and we’ve done together.”
June 2023
May 2024: A DRY HATE won first place as Best Novel with the Arizona Professional Writers!
November 2024: A DRY HATE won the first place award for BEST FICTION in 2024 from the Arizona Authors Association!
Publishing with Ignite Press in 2024
“When we began working together, I had a collection of blog entries, and I didn’t even know how to begin turning them into a book. You helped me to rearrange, rewrite, and polish these entries into a book I am proud of. Lynn, I really felt you were invested in my success and I enjoyed getting to know you. I will definitely work with you again!”
—Danell TeNyenhuis Black, SUDDENLY, A Widow’s Story of Unexpected Loss and Healing
Listen to Danell on the Living on Purpose podcast
Leading us through details of her unexpected loss, the author expands the shock rippling through their large families into a depth of insight, memories, hope, and supportive guidance. I recommend this book for comfort and company through the loss of a spouse and holding steady as life continues in ways unimaginable before that moment. Big thanks for the author's courage in sharing her story!
Lynn Thompson
PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 2023 with SPOTLIGHT PUBLISHING HOUSE
In memory of Mom and Dad who were always there for me. My bond with Mom reached new depths throughout the years I cared for her and as she expressed her incredible love for me.
Thanks to Denise M. Brown for your caregiver consultant training program and the many opportunities you provided, including giving me the foundation and tools to begin helping family caregivers. Thanks to my partner, Dennis, for your love, patience, support, and understanding while I wrote this book. Thanks to Junie Swadron, Theresa Wilbanks, and Lynn Thompson for your editorial guidance and encouragement and for making writing this book a fantastically fun journey. Like caregiving, writing a book is not a solo activity, and you each brought this message to life and gave it wings. It takes a community to write a good book. Steve Harrison, his coaching staff, and his group of authors provided education, guidance, and inspiration to keep me engaged and clear that my message is important and needs a voice. I greatly appreciate my first readers, Dennis Dulniak, Helen Carter, and Karen Briskey. A huge thank you to Maggie Morgan and Theresa Wilbanks for your marketing and social media expertise, and Becky Norwood, for all you and your staff accomplished to get my book published on time and with love and enthusiasm for this project.
Gratitude to all the caregivers I have met and coached. You validated over and over that this book and the information in it change lives. While the worries, mistakes, and concerns are real, you have created meaningful journeys through effective communication, asking for help, making memories, and celebrating with the loved ones in your care.