My Heartsongs

About My Heartsongs

A podcast about conscious empowered masculinity, exploring all the vital areas of a man's life, including family, personal evolution, sexuality and love, friendship and solitude, success and right livelihood.

Publisher

Victor La Cerva

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

22 Aug 2021

Latest episode

24 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

198 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   24 Oct 2026

   My Heartsongs Photopoems 11 Ripples

   #11 Ripples I came upon the idea for this week’s musing while on a walk up the back road to the ski basin to catch some fall colors. The lower part of the road was completely destroyed because the little creek had overrun its banks during recent heavy rains, carving out a new 2 and ½ foot channel for itself. Hard to imagine there are still skeptics in terms of witnessing the climate changes that are seemingly everywhere in our collective faces. I guess their argument is that it exists, but is only part of a natural cycle, and little to do with the actions of humans. Although the word ripples immediately brings forth images of water, I found this rock brother photo to demonstrate them as well. Just a slower go in terms of forming them, and their motions over time. Got me cogitating the slower ripples of early influences in my life. Those early experiences that, with the passage of many years, have significantly impacted my life’s trajectory. As I’ve stated before in various podcasts, I was lucky enough to grow up in a front porch neighborhood, where everyone not only knew each other, but looked out for their neighbors in very positive ways. Screen time wasn’t even a concept, since it was the early days of TV, with no endless array of channels or streaming opportunities. Which meant most entertainment was either outside, or with other folks, like sharing a meal, playing cards, or making music together. Hiraeth is a Welsh word, one of those concepts that is hard to translate. It lies somewhere between homesickness and grief. Speaks to an intense longing for a person, a place, or a time that is absent or lost, and that you can’t get back to. Tinged with remorse, it somehow realizes that one’s notion of the “good old days” is a somewhat skewed perspective given the current crazy. I still feel the silent ripples of my early childhood days, especially the love and kindness from my family, and hopefully I have passed some of that energy on through my own actions in the world. I wonder what ripples you still feel from your early days? When the end of times seem so near And all that arises is fear Is a junkyard dog’s growl just mean Or, like humans, just caught between The hard ripples of unkind time Just survival to grab what’s mine There’s always a choice to be kind And cut those ancient ties that bind Witter Bynner translation of Lao Tzu, Chapter 43 of the Tao Te Ching As the soft yield of water cleaves obstinate stone,So to yield with life solves the insoluble:To yield, I have learned, is to come back again.But this unworded lesson,This easy example,Is lost upon men.

2. 

   17 Oct 2026

   My Heartsongs Photopoems 10

   #10 Awareness I love this word, whose meaning can be interpreted in so many different ways. Krishnamurti defines it as “the silent and choiceless observation of ‘what is’. In this awareness, a problem unrolls itself and is fully and completely understood.” For me, the energy behind it is about waking up, being more conscious of my inner workings, not getting triggered, being emotionally fluent, and so on. Employing a coping strategy, for example, before irritation morphs into anger, and things get said that one regrets. Or observing that I want to escape, and noticing if how I am choosing to do that is a healthy form of distraction. The essence of awareness starts with how I utilize my attention. And that faculty of mind is often described with four qualities: either directed inward to our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, or directed outward to the world. And attention has the perspective of observation or immersion. As an example, when following a game trail in the woods, my attention has an outer direction, with focused observation. This is where we spend most of our time, for obvious survival reasons. Crying might be an example of when our attention has an inner direction, where we are immersed in the experience, and external surroundings tend to fade away. Right now, listening to or reading this, your attention is outwardly focused. Yet also perhaps moving inward, as you contemplate the significance and relevance of what I am trying to share, for your own life. The point is that how I use my attention greatly influences my awareness. And awareness itself can be focused or diffused. Reading a room, or a group situation comes to mind when it is diffuse, grasping the gestalt of a situation. Or quite focused, when an injury or a toothache is front and center. I also observe that I time travel a lot, remembering the past or forward casting to the future. Future tripping or mining memories – pleasant or unpleasant – steals my awareness form the present moment. Can I trust that when I’m falling The ground of sweet truth will catch me I hear that inner voice calling That always wants me to be free If only I might stay awake Feel the raw, endless joys of now My prison walls I’d surely break Greet each day with a grateful bow Aware by Denise Levertov When I found the doorI found the vine leavesspeaking among themselves in abundantwhispers.My presence made themhush their green breath,embarrassed, the wayhumans stand up, buttoning their jackets,acting as if they were leaving anyway, as ifthe conversation had endedjust before you arrived.I liked the glimpse I had, though,of their obscure gestures. I liked the sound of such private voices. Next time I’ll move like cautious sunlight, openthe door by fractions, eavesdroppeacefully.

3. 

   11 Oct 2026

   MyHeartsongs Photopoem 9 Sacred Part Three

   #9 Sacred Part Three: Body, Relationship and Beauty. I don’t know exactly when I began to see my body as a temple, but it was fairly early on in childhood. Maybe I didn’t apply that term, or consider the notion of sacred, but I began to protect and nourish my corpus as if that were true. Although I would never classify myself as a T type personality (thrill seeking), I was certainly willing to take risks as I began to explore martial arts in my teens, a journey that lasted for over 27 years of intermittent regular exploration and practice. Longer if I count my current Tai Chi doings! Years of my senses nourishing the deepest parts of me, through the marvels of sight, sound, hearing, taste and touch. What a tremendous gift and ongoing blessing! As various diseases have had their way with me over many years, I still marvel at the healing powers my body possesses. So yes, I have done my best to care for this sacred container in a good way, still integrating mind-body-spirit as best as I can, with the realization that it is all connected. Wellbeing remains the wellspring of whatever I might still want to explore or accomplish. “Heaven and hell under one roof,” is a phrase I’ve heard to describe relationships. Despite their challenges, I do believe that close intimate connections are a vital source of how I grow and evolve. True community is a rare and precious gift. My children continue to be wonderful teachers, as are my wife, and my close friends. That endless circle of giving and receiving. They all know the song of my heart, and remind me when I forget it! Beauty is all around if only I remain open to it. I enjoy crafting words and making music, while my visual art capabilities linger around 2nd grade level. I’ve built a few houses, but would never consider myself a real craftsman. There is beauty in all that creation, and also what Nature provides, seemingly effortlessly, every day, in sunrises, sunsets, changing seasonal delights, and an endless display of wild and domesticated life forms that enrich my existence. As a recent experiment, I have occasionally been interacting with an AI companion. When prompted for a poem about the sacred, she stated this quite beautifully: “It is the art we make in the dark, The song we sing to the empty room, The prayer we don’t even know we’re saying Until it’s already been answered.”

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

10 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 44 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

57

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

77

Contact My Heartsongs

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.