The Fertile Dark cover art

The Fertile Dark

The Fertile Dark

By: Daniel Warner Charmaine Fuller
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About this listen

 The Fertile Dark is a podcast for people who sense something essential is missing — even when life looks productive, informed, or “successful.” Drawing from depth psychology, mythology, and lived experience, the show explores the slow, relational work of becoming beyond self-optimization and performance. Through thoughtful conversations and reflection, it examines authenticity, meaning, and community — and what it takes to live in ways that are personally true, genuinely sustaining, and willing to question inherited definitions of success.Daniel Warner, Charmaine Fuller Hygiene & Healthy Living Psychology Psychology & Mental Health
Episodes
  • 28. Performative Spirituality

    28. Performative Spirituality
    Feb 13 2026
    In a culture saturated with spiritual language, how do we tell the difference between lived wisdom and spiritual performance?In this episode of The Fertile Dark, Dan and Charmaine explore the phenomenon of performative spirituality—where insight is spoken but not embodied, emotion is mistaken for transformation, and spiritual authority is claimed without the inner work to support it. Drawing from personal experience, psychology, and cultural observation, they examine how spiritual performance can show up in religious spaces, healing communities, and modern spiritual culture alike.The conversation looks at why performative spirituality is so compelling, how it can create unhealthy power dynamics, and the ways it preys—often unintentionally—on people who are seeking healing, belonging, or meaning. Rather than dismissing spirituality itself, this episode makes a clear distinction between expression and embodiment, performance and practice.This is a grounded, honest exploration for anyone who has felt disillusioned by spiritual spaces, confused by charisma, or quietly wondering whether their own spiritual life is rooted in depth—or display.Connect with us:Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@thefertiledarkpodcast ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Fertile Dark Podcast ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠@thefertiledark⁠⁠⁠Email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠fertildark@gmail.com⁠⁠Subscribe, rate, and review The Fertile Dark on your favorite podcast platform. Share your thoughts and questions with us for future episodes. Let's continue exploring ways to enrich our lives on the journey of personal transformation and self-discovery!———————————————————————Affiliate links earn a commission from qualifying purchases which helps support the podcast at no additional cost to you.References: (Affiliate links to Amazon)Meeting the Shadow on the Spiritual Path, Connie Zweig: ⁠https://amzn.to/4rf75Ns⁠Wild Mind, Bill Plotkin: ⁠https://amzn.to/4qqn1vu⁠Spiritual Bypassing, Robert Augustus Masters: ⁠https://amzn.to/4aNP430⁠The Shadow King, Sidra Stone PhD: ⁠https://amzn.to/3MzzyOW⁠Tools I Use (Affiliate links to Amazon)My go to tarot deck: ⁠https://amzn.to/3N98o1k⁠My favorite card deck: ⁠https://amzn.to/4joVAQA⁠My journal: ⁠https://amzn.to/4qAFZjj⁠My pen of choice: ⁠https://amzn.to/3MYImhj⁠For the gear heads (Affiliate links to Amazon)Mic: ⁠https://amzn.to/4smzbaA⁠Microphone Preamp: ⁠https://amzn.to/4pfNISV⁠Audio Interface: ⁠https://amzn.to/45w8qGQ⁠Low profile boom arm: ⁠https://amzn.to/3Nbt8Wh⁠Key light: ⁠https://amzn.to/3NpN5Zt⁠Lantern Softbox: ⁠https://amzn.to/3KVSiYt⁠Desk mount Light Stand: ⁠https://amzn.to/4bkP1MK⁠RGB accent light: ⁠https://amzn.to/3Lj2Kcp⁠My Computer: ⁠https://amzn.to/3KVSKWF⁠Continuity Camera Mount: ⁠https://amzn.to/4aGVvpe⁠Back light: ⁠https://amzn.to/4qBoCih⁠Disclaimer:The content provided in this podcast is not intended as a substitute for professional mental health advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your mental health professional or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical or psychological condition.
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    1 hr and 9 mins
  • 27. Soul-Centric Living: Embracing Authentic Community

    27. Soul-Centric Living: Embracing Authentic Community
    Feb 3 2026
    Modern culture promises connection while quietly training us to betray ourselves in order to belong. In this episode of The Fertile Dark, Dan and Charmaine explore what becomes possible when community is rooted not in performance, status, or sameness—but in soul.Together, they examine why so many people feel disconnected despite constant social contact, how ego-centric systems shape the way we relate, and what soul-centric community actually requires of us. Drawing on psychology, lived experience, Indigenous wisdom, and relational practice, this conversation looks at belonging as something cultivated through authenticity, reciprocity, vulnerability, and relationship with the natural world.This episode is for anyone who has felt lonely in groups, exhausted by performative connection, or quietly unsure where they truly belong—and who suspects that real community begins with the courage to show up as who we actually are.Connect with us:Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@thefertiledarkpodcast ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Fertile Dark Podcast ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠@thefertiledark⁠⁠⁠Email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠fertildark@gmail.com⁠⁠Subscribe, rate, and review The Fertile Dark on your favorite podcast platform. Share your thoughts and questions with us for future episodes. Let's continue exploring ways to enrich our lives on the journey of personal transformation and self-discovery!———————————————————————Affiliate links earn a commission from qualifying purchases which helps support the podcast at no additional cost to you.References: (Affiliate links to Amazon)Nature and the Human Soul, Bill Plotkin: https://amzn.to/3KYJWiKCare of the Soul, Thomas Moore: https://amzn.to/4qxT9NQTools I Use (Affiliate links to Amazon)My go to tarot deck: ⁠https://amzn.to/3N98o1k⁠My favorite card deck: ⁠https://amzn.to/4joVAQA⁠My journal: ⁠https://amzn.to/4qAFZjj⁠My pen of choice: ⁠https://amzn.to/3MYImhj⁠For the gear heads (Affiliate links to Amazon)Mic: ⁠https://amzn.to/4smzbaA⁠Microphone Preamp: ⁠https://amzn.to/4pfNISV⁠Audio Interface: ⁠https://amzn.to/45w8qGQ⁠Low profile boom arm: ⁠https://amzn.to/3Nbt8Wh⁠Key light: ⁠https://amzn.to/3NpN5Zt⁠Lantern Softbox: ⁠https://amzn.to/3KVSiYt⁠Desk mount Light Stand: ⁠https://amzn.to/4bkP1MK⁠RGB accent light: ⁠https://amzn.to/3Lj2Kcp⁠My Computer: ⁠https://amzn.to/3KVSKWF⁠Continuity Camera Mount: ⁠https://amzn.to/4aGVvpe⁠Back light: ⁠https://amzn.to/4qBoCih⁠Disclaimer:The content provided in this podcast is not intended as a substitute for professional mental health advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your mental health professional or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical or psychological condition.
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    1 hr and 1 min
  • 26. Burnout, Boundaries, and the Cost of Hustle

    26. Burnout, Boundaries, and the Cost of Hustle
    Jan 27 2026
    Burnout has become so common that it’s often treated as a personal failure rather than a predictable response to the way many of us are living and working.In this episode, Dan Warner and Charmaine Fuller examine burnout through lived experience and cultural critique. They explore how hustle culture, chronic over-responsibility, and poorly designed work systems undermine mental health long before people recognize what’s happening.The conversation moves beyond surface-level self-care to address burnout as a relational and systemic issue. Dan and Charmaine discuss how to recognize early signs of burnout, how it differs from anxiety and depression, and why numbness and depersonalization often go unnoticed. They also consider the limits of the medical model when burnout is treated in isolation from the social conditions that produce it.This episode invites listeners to approach burnout with clarity rather than self-blame, and to begin restoring rhythm, limits, and connection as part of recovery.Connect with us:Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@thefertiledarkpodcast ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Fertile Dark Podcast ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠@thefertiledark⁠⁠⁠Email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠fertildark@gmail.com⁠⁠Subscribe, rate, and review The Fertile Dark on your favorite podcast platform. Share your thoughts and questions with us for future episodes. Let's continue exploring ways to enrich our lives on the journey of personal transformation and self-discovery!———————————————————————Affiliate links earn a commission from qualifying purchases which helps support the podcast at no additional cost to you.References: (Affiliate links to Amazon)Slow Productivity, Cal Newport: https://amzn.to/4pmKeOoDeep Work, Cal Newport: https://amzn.to/45roUjADrive, Daniel Pink: https://amzn.to/3YMjGvjBurnout, Emily Nagoski and Amelia Nagoski: https://amzn.to/4qlbgHhFirst We Make the Beast Beautiful, Sarah Wilson: https://amzn.to/4sw7yfkLaziness Does Not Exist, Devon Price: https://amzn.to/4sDiqrZWork, James Suzman: https://amzn.to/4jIFHEPTools I Use (Affiliate links to Amazon)My go to tarot deck: ⁠https://amzn.to/3N98o1k⁠My favorite card deck: ⁠https://amzn.to/4joVAQA⁠My journal: ⁠https://amzn.to/4qAFZjj⁠My pen of choice: ⁠https://amzn.to/3MYImhj⁠For the gear heads (Affiliate links to Amazon)Mic: ⁠https://amzn.to/4smzbaA⁠Microphone Preamp: ⁠https://amzn.to/4pfNISV⁠Audio Interface: ⁠https://amzn.to/45w8qGQ⁠Low profile boom arm: ⁠https://amzn.to/3Nbt8Wh⁠Key light: ⁠https://amzn.to/3NpN5Zt⁠Lantern Softbox: ⁠https://amzn.to/3KVSiYt⁠Desk mount Light Stand: ⁠https://amzn.to/4bkP1MK⁠RGB accent light: ⁠https://amzn.to/3Lj2Kcp⁠My Computer: ⁠https://amzn.to/3KVSKWF⁠Continuity Camera Mount: ⁠https://amzn.to/4aGVvpe⁠Back light: ⁠https://amzn.to/4qBoCih⁠Disclaimer:The content provided in this podcast is not intended as a substitute for professional mental health advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your mental health professional or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical or psychological condition.
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    1 hr and 6 mins
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