76. Inspired by the richness of human evolution – Jack Stafford

What if every guest inspired the host to write a song? This is exactly what happens on Jack Stafford’s podcast Podsongs. He kicked it off only last year and has already created a unique little universe of over 100 episodes and songs now. Lately, this universe has evolved into a collaborative project with guest musicians coming on. Jack had been a musician for many years when the pandemic forced him to look for other outlets for his music. He talks to all kinds of inspirational people, but he has a mission: to bring spirituality to the centre stage and mysticism back into the mainstream. Jack grew up in the UK but moved to Amsterdam, where he lived a toyboy lifestyle working as a copywriter, musician and fashion designer. However, this led to burnout, so Jack sold all his possessions and set off on a bicycle tour as a nomadic troubadour. He travelled through 45 countries, playing hundreds of house concerts in return for a place to sleep. He recorded many of his crazy adventures in his songs, and through those—plus countless self-help books and podcasts, as well as yoga, Ayurveda and Vipassana meditation—he grew and grew to become a unique modern-day troubadour. His spiritual awakening happened in India. It wasn’t a flash experience, it came gradually. The person who showed him how to find a deeper reality was an American. ”You think you'll meet some Indian guru. But this man had been doing pranayamas and mantras since he was three years old. And he opened the door to George King and the Aetherius society. So there I am in India, learning about an Englishman via an American...” The Aetherius society has since been at the centre of Jack Stafford’s spiritual quest. It is a small movement founded by George King in the 50s. The teachings are fascinating but may appear mysterious to many people. Jack explains bits and pieces of it. ”If you're open to it, it's Buddhism and Christianity and UFOs and science, all wrapped into one bundle of joy”, he says with a smile. ”We are here to be of service. We are here to learn. We are in a classroom.” Many spiritual people unwisely skip the material aspects of this earthly existence, Jack thinks. ”Many spiritual people just want to be in the bosom of their garden with fairies or meditate. They don’t think it is a spiritual way to get a science degree or start a business. But you can't learn metaphysics unless you master physics.” ”You can levitate if you do 15 years of yoga with mantra and pranayama. These are siddies you get. There is science behind that.” However, once you have attained such siddies, you should deny them, he explains. ”When you master something, you don't use it. Because we are here to be of service.” The teachings of George King and the Aetherius society centers not only around yoga but also extraterrestrial life. ”This is where it can get a little crazy. This is why I got into this gradually.” There is physicality on every level of consciousness and light, according to Jack Stafford. When we die, we go to another realm, which is exactly here, but at a different frequency. ”If you go to another planet with our frequency, it can look like only dust, but in a higher realm, the same planet has cities, temples and spaceships. This is a key concept as to how UFOs and reincarnation are linked.” According to Jack and the Aetherius teachings, some of the ETs visiting Earth may actually be us at a later, or higher, stage–the ”future us” showing up here and now, so to speak. Podsongs Mysticast (Jack’s other podcast) The Aetherius society