The Journey to Self-Realization with Pål-Esben Wanvig and Amina Bergliot Monsen.
The Journey to Self-Realization, the podcast cover, with Pål-Esben Wanvig and Amina Bergliot Monsen.

Podcast with Pål-Esben Wanvig and Amina Bergliot Monsen

The Journey to Self-Realization

A primordial shamanic journey of development back to your true nature

Honest conversations about the most courageous journey a human being can embark on: the journey back to yourself.

I make the podcast together with Amina, who herself began as a student at Yggdrasil Shamanic School. Starting from her story, we explore trauma, fear, identity crisis and the path to the heart and real joy in life, and how primordial shamanic insights and techniques can change a perfectly ordinary life.

More than 40 episodes in five seasons, with a new theme for each season: the Path of the Heart, life and death, shamanic magic, the path to spiritual enlightenment and answers to questions from listeners. You need no prior knowledge, and all the episodes are free. The conversations are recorded in Norwegian and are also available in English, voiced by our digital avatars, with full transcripts.

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Episode 1

Begin with Amina’s story

Amina tells the story of her path from a life marked by violence, trauma and fear to calm and meaning, and of what happened when she began to work with herself at Yggdrasil Shamanic School. The conversation sets the tone for the whole podcast: honest, personal and straight to the point.

Listen to episode 1

Season 1 · Amina’s Transformational Journey – From Trauma to Freedom · In English, voiced by our digital avatars, with the full transcript

Latest episodes

Just out

The latest episodes in English, each with the full transcript. While a season is running, a new episode usually comes out every week.

All the episodes

Season by season

Each season has its theme, and the episodes build on each other. You can begin from the start or go straight to what interests you.

Season 1

The Path of the Heart

Amina’s own story opens the podcast. Then we go through the nine pillars for walking the Path of the Heart: nature’s healing rhythms, changing relationships, love and values, perfectionism and the need to be right, the soul’s intention and life mission, soul mates and karmic relationships, and how one choice can change everything.

12 episodes · April to May 2025 · all in English, with transcripts

Season 3

Shamanic magic

When the shaman’s magic meets modern science: shamanic magic, runes and rune magic, karma and synchronicity, relapse as a key to deep growth, soul hunting and the eight primordial shamanic seasonal rituals.

8 episodes and a winter greeting · September to November 2025 · all episodes in English, with transcripts

Season 4

The path to spiritual enlightenment

The longest season: what spiritual enlightenment is and is not, the second birth, the shamanic death, shortcuts that do not work, the chakras as stages of development, experiences of Unity, why you need a guide, the last stronghold of the ego, Atman and Brahman, the three skills on the path, a guest special with three fellow students, the nine pitfalls and a summary, before a summer greeting about the sun, Gaia and your inner soul fire.

17 episodes and an Easter greeting · January to July 2026 · all episodes in English, with transcripts

Season 5

Answers to questions from listeners

The season running now. Amina and I answer questions from listeners, first about natural disasters, empathy and sensitivity, and about the cycles everything moves in. If you have a question you would like us to take up, you can send it via the contact page.

Running · from September 2026 · in English, with transcripts

About the podcast

Student and teacher, side by side

Amina Bergliot Monsen began the basic training at Yggdrasil Shamanic School and thought it would be a simple course. It became the start of a longer journey, which she tells about in episode 1. In the podcast she asks the questions many listeners have, starting from her own process.

Read Amina’s story

I myself am the engineer who became a shaman, and I have taught primordial shamanism since 2004. In the conversations I share what I have experienced through more than twenty years with my own students and clients, explained so that you can try it yourself.

Read more about me

We do not ask you to believe in anything. We talk about what we have experienced ourselves, and let you feel what rings true for you. The podcast is made in collaboration with the Norwegian health and lifestyle magazine Medium.

Practical

Good to know

With season 1, which begins with Amina’s story and goes through the nine pillars for walking the Path of the Heart. The seasons build on each other, but each episode can also be heard on its own. If you are most curious about one theme, go straight there.

No. We explain the terms along the way, and you need neither experience with shamanism nor to believe in anything. If you want a more complete introduction, there is the free online course Nature’s Path to Freedom and Self-Realization.

Yes. The conversations are recorded in Norwegian, and every episode here is an English translation, voiced by our digital avatars, with the full transcript on its own page.

The episodes come in seasons, usually one a week while a season is running, with breaks between the seasons. The latest episodes are at the top of this page, and if you follow the podcast on Spotify, you will be notified when a new one is out.

Yes. Season 5 is devoted to questions from listeners. Send your question via the contact page, and it may become the theme of an episode.

Yes. All the episodes are free to listen to, both here on wanvig.no and on Spotify.

No. The podcast is open to everyone and requires no registration. It gives you an insight into how I think and teach at Yggdrasil Shamanic School. If you want to go further, you begin with the free online course.

No. The episodes are conversations about personal and spiritual development, and some of them are about mental health, anxiety and fear from that perspective. They do not replace health care. If you are seeking help for illness or health problems, you should contact a doctor or other qualified health professional.

Start listening

The journey begins with one conversation.

Choose an episode that speaks to you, and see where it takes you. You listen when it suits you, at your own pace.

Welcome into the conversation.

Hear the latest episodes Explore the free online course