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<v Speaker 1>Hello, and welcome to Mythic Mind, where we pursue wisdom

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<v Speaker 1>on the path between primary secondary worlds. I'm doctor Andrew Snyder,

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<v Speaker 1>and I'm glad that you're here. Hello, Welcome back. As

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<v Speaker 1>we continue through the Lord of the Ring series that

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<v Speaker 1>I ran in the beginning of twenty twenty five, today

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<v Speaker 1>we're going to be taking a focused look on the

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<v Speaker 1>character of Suron, and so I hope you enjoy it.

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<v Speaker 1>Many casual fans of Tolkien assume that Saluron is the

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<v Speaker 1>greatest villain a Tolkien story, but that title actually goes

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<v Speaker 1>to his former master, Morgoth, although, aside from brief references,

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<v Speaker 1>more god does not appear in the Lord of the Rings. However,

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<v Speaker 1>understanding a bit about this original villain will shed some

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<v Speaker 1>light on the nature of evil in the character of Sauran.

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<v Speaker 1>Before he was known as Morgoth, which means something like

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<v Speaker 1>dark enemy, he was Melchor the Vala. The Valar are

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<v Speaker 1>the angelic like figures that were created to serve the

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<v Speaker 1>good designs of Eru Alluvatar, the monotheistic god of Tolkien's mythos.

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<v Speaker 1>The original form of the material world was framed through

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<v Speaker 1>the singing of the Valar. Or perhaps the einor more broadly,

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<v Speaker 1>who harmonize in recognition of Alluvatar's goodness. In their recognition

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<v Speaker 1>of divine honor, beauty abounded, and all things flourished around

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<v Speaker 1>the goodness, the truth, and the beauty of Eru Alluvatar. However,

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<v Speaker 1>Melcor was not content with his station, and instead decided

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<v Speaker 1>to introduce his own themes into the song, attempting to

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<v Speaker 1>bend the music toward himself rather than toward Alluvatar. Thus,

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<v Speaker 1>the first disharmony in the story the first Evil is

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<v Speaker 1>explicitly portrayed as an attempt to seize divine honor.

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<v Speaker 2>From that point forward, Melkor, later named Morgoth by the Elves,

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<v Speaker 2>would continue to so disharmony in suffering throughout the otherwise

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<v Speaker 2>good world. Sauran or Myron, as he was originally named,

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<v Speaker 2>belongs to a class of beings that Tolkien calls the Mayar,

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<v Speaker 2>which are something like lesser angels that serve the Valar.

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<v Speaker 2>The Mayar include countless other superhuman characters, including wizards such

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<v Speaker 2>as Gandolf and Saraman, and even the Balrons, the most

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<v Speaker 2>famous of which pulled Gandalf off the bridge of Kasadum

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<v Speaker 2>along with other creative beings. Sauron was originally good, and

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<v Speaker 2>he served a lay the vala most concerned with craftsmanship. This,

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<v Speaker 2>of course, will be important when it comes time for

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<v Speaker 2>Suron to do some crafting of his own. Early in

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<v Speaker 2>this prehistory, Sauron was seduced into the service of Morgoth

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<v Speaker 2>and became one of his chief lieutenants. Despite this cosmic rebellion,

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<v Speaker 2>he was not wholly without virtue, as Tolkien tells us

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<v Speaker 2>that in all the deeds of Melkor and Morgoth upon Arda,

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<v Speaker 2>in his vast works, and in the deceits of his cunning,

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<v Speaker 2>Saron had a part, and was only less evil than

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<v Speaker 2>his master, in that for long he served another and

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<v Speaker 2>not himself. Serving the villainous Morgoth was not a great move,

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<v Speaker 2>but surn was at least willing to humble himself beneath something,

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<v Speaker 2>and that is better than nothing. Service always has the

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<v Speaker 2>potential to be re ordered, but rejecting service altogether leaves

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<v Speaker 2>you with nothing but isolation and out of harmony with

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<v Speaker 2>the great dance of the cosmos. Furthermore, Suron had a

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<v Speaker 2>desire for order, which continued even after the defeat of Morgoth.

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<v Speaker 2>Service and order are good things, but as with all

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<v Speaker 2>good things, they become bad things when they are removed

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<v Speaker 2>from the proper context. Without an understanding as to what

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<v Speaker 2>makes order good, such a desire, even if well intended,

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<v Speaker 2>can easily turn into tyranny that at best mimics true peace.

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<v Speaker 2>The First Age of Middle Earth came to a close

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<v Speaker 2>when elves, men, and even the val are assembled to

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<v Speaker 2>defeat Morgoth and cast him into the void. Sauran escaped

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<v Speaker 2>the fate of his master, and for a time he

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<v Speaker 2>appeared to be repentant, at the very least out of fear. However,

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<v Speaker 2>he was too ashamed to turn himself over for judgment,

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<v Speaker 2>and so instead he slipped back into the rebellion of

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<v Speaker 2>his former master by isolating himself from the goodness that

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<v Speaker 2>could have secured his redemption. Desiring freedom, he rejected the

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<v Speaker 2>very means of gaining freedom to live in harmony with

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<v Speaker 2>his design, which is another way of saying that he

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<v Speaker 2>refused the hard path of virtue. Taking up Morgoth's mantle.

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<v Speaker 2>Sauron would become the great villain from this point until

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<v Speaker 2>the conclusion of the Lord of the Rings. During the

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<v Speaker 2>Second Age, Sauron was moved by the desolation of the

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<v Speaker 2>world that had taken place in the Great War against Morgoth.

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<v Speaker 2>So his desire for order again moved him to action

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<v Speaker 2>as he developed a plan to bring Middle Earth into harmony,

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<v Speaker 2>with himself at the center. Disguising himself as the good

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<v Speaker 2>natured Anotar, the Lord of Gifts, he worked with the

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<v Speaker 2>elb to create and distribute great rings of power that

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<v Speaker 2>he would distribute to peace of significance throughout Middle Earth. These

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<v Speaker 2>rings had various effects on those who wore them. The

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<v Speaker 2>three rings for the elves provided the power to preserve nature.

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<v Speaker 2>The seven rings for the dwarfs stoked their desire for wealth.

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<v Speaker 2>The nine rings for men provided power and visibility and

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<v Speaker 2>a version of immortality. The one ring for Sauron was

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<v Speaker 2>meant to control all the others. Now is worth noting

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<v Speaker 2>that Sauran as the Ring Lord is surely based on

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<v Speaker 2>the Old Germanic tradition of lords giving rings their nobles

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<v Speaker 2>as a means of securing their loyalty. By uniting the

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<v Speaker 2>great forces of the world within his will, Sauron believed

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<v Speaker 2>that he could finally bring order and healing to the

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<v Speaker 2>fractured Middle Earth. Fortunately, things did not go quite as

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<v Speaker 2>he planned. When Sauran forged his ruling ring, the elves

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<v Speaker 2>felt his presence and hid their own rings. At the

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<v Speaker 2>end of the Second Age, a host of elves and

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<v Speaker 2>men allied in a calm desire to purge Middle Earth

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<v Speaker 2>of his counterfeit order by meeting Sauron in battle. With

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<v Speaker 2>great sacrifice inclusion of a lendel ankle galad, the free

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<v Speaker 2>peoples gained victory as a sil Door cut the ring

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<v Speaker 2>bearing finger from Saran's hand and brought it back as

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<v Speaker 2>a trophy for his people. With this artifact of power removed,

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<v Speaker 2>Sauron was.

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<v Speaker 1>Defeated, but his will still whispered through the ring. The

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<v Speaker 1>silver story will be told another time, But of course

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<v Speaker 1>he did not choose to destroy the ring, which allowed

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<v Speaker 1>Taurn's evil to continue brooding and till it again haunted

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<v Speaker 1>Middle Earth in a more tangible form in the Third Age.

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<v Speaker 1>But with his defeat and the loss of his ring

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<v Speaker 1>by the hand of a sil door, Suron was reduced

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<v Speaker 1>to the shadow that he had in fact already been

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<v Speaker 1>for quite some time. By abandoning virtue in the broader

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<v Speaker 1>context of reality beyond himself, he lost something of his personhood.

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<v Speaker 1>He was reduced to an obscured image of what he

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<v Speaker 1>was meant to be, an agent of glory that reflected

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<v Speaker 1>divine honor above him. Augustine states this well in his

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<v Speaker 1>City of God. By aiming at more, a man is

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<v Speaker 1>diminished when he elects to be self sufficient and defects

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<v Speaker 1>from the one who is really sufficient for him. This,

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<v Speaker 1>then is the original evil. Man regards himself as his

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<v Speaker 1>own light and turns away from that light which would

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<v Speaker 1>make man himself a light if he has set his

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<v Speaker 1>heart on it. This evil came first in secret, and

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<v Speaker 1>the result was the other evil, which was committed in

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<v Speaker 1>the open. In his secret evil, Sauron turned away from

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<v Speaker 1>the light of God that gives life to the soul, and,

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<v Speaker 1>desiring to be his own light, he became a mere

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<v Speaker 1>shadow alongside Morgad before him. With the loss of his ring,

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<v Speaker 1>Sauron's inner reality was exposed. Throughout the story of the

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<v Speaker 1>Lord of the Rings, the once great and powerful Sauron

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<v Speaker 1>is reduced to a whisper. By nature, he was greater

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<v Speaker 1>than any of his would be servants, but by consequence

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<v Speaker 1>of his lust for self sufficiency, he became nearly nothing.

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<v Speaker 1>He has an influence he plots and he wages war,

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<v Speaker 1>but he does not make a physical appearance in the

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<v Speaker 1>third age, at the very least in the actual narrative

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<v Speaker 1>of the story, even if there are rumors that such

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<v Speaker 1>an appearance was beginning to take place. The shadow may

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<v Speaker 1>have been growing, but it could only ever become but

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<v Speaker 1>so strong as long as it attempted to hold on

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<v Speaker 1>to its own strength. Real strength comes through the humble

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<v Speaker 1>path of virtue that surrenders power only to receive it

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<v Speaker 1>anew in the right way. This is something that Salon

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<v Speaker 1>can no longer understand, and this is something that would

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<v Speaker 1>bring his final doom as lowly hobbits of the shire

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<v Speaker 1>escaped the vision of his great eye. All right, I

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<v Speaker 1>hope that you appreciated that presentation, and if you did,

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<v Speaker 1>and that includes the Kicker Guard course that is coming

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<v Speaker 1>Mythic Mind Games and Mythic Mind Movies. With those podcasts,

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<v Speaker 1>humanities approach to popular media, to movies, to video games,

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<v Speaker 1>and I think it's really important that we enter into

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<v Speaker 1>these spaces that are so often dominated by progressive secularism

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<v Speaker 1>and bringing in some anchorings, bringing some substance, looking for

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<v Speaker 1>and directing our tension toward the wisdom that calls out

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<v Speaker 1>even in the marketplace. And so I believe in the

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<v Speaker 1>things that we do here and I welcome your support.

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<v Speaker 1>I welcome you to check out those other shows as well,

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<v Speaker 1>and of course you can also subscribe to my YouTube

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<v Speaker 1>channel to get the video component of all of these

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<v Speaker 1>episodes as well. Well. The next thing to come out

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<v Speaker 1>from Mythic Mind will be on Wednesday over on Mythic

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<v Speaker 1>Mind Movies. I'm going to be cross posting our discussion

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<v Speaker 1>of the Advent Children Final Fantasy film to Mythic Mind

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<v Speaker 1>Movies podcast, and then it's also gonna end up on

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<v Speaker 1>the Mythic Mind Games podcast as well, and then back

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<v Speaker 1>here on Thursday, we'll be continuing with the Lord of

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<v Speaker 1>the Ring study, looking at the rest of book three

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<v Speaker 1>of the Lord of the Rings. But I will talk

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<v Speaker 1>to you next time.