Where Wonder Went

Mike Slavin
  • 5.0 (1)
  • SELF-IMPROVEMENT

The world told you to outgrow wonder, to see it as childish. But here we uncover the truth, that mystery and magic are braided into our very being. This is the journey of finding where wonder went and how to bring it back.

Episodes

  1. 11/05/2025

    Finding Wonder in Everyday Life | Ep. 3

    Something to share? Send me a text! What if wonder isn't something we've lost, but something that's always knocking at our door and we've simply stopped answering? In this episode, I share my personal definition of wonder and explore why the very busyness of modern life might be obscuring what's already reaching toward us. I dig into: Why wonder is an encounter with frontiers, not a feeling to chaseThe "elsewhere IV drip" of constant digital distraction that pulls us from presenceHow the outrage-attention media complex fragments our ability to focus on what mattersThe wisdom of "tending to the part of the garden you can touch"The difference between mystery (to live in) and riddles (to solve)How wonder uses the raw material of our everyday busyness—if we know how to lookFor anyone feeling like they're living in a chronic state of distraction, perpetually elsewhere while life passes by, this episode offers a way back to presence. Not through adding more to your schedule, but through recognizing that wonder is already woven into the fabric of your daily experience. Have a question? Ask here!

    1 hr

  2. 10/22/2025

    The Day the Magic Died (And How to Bring It Back): An Interview With Dan Garfield | Where Wonder Went Ep. 2

    Something to share? Send me a text! Question? Leave me a voicenote! Why do children naturally experience wonder while adults feel threatened by it? In this conversation with my dear friend Dan Garfield, we explore how the very systems meant to educate us can actually suppress our ability to experience the world as it is. We dig into: The difference between curiosity and wonderWhy "I don't know" might be the most honest stance anyone can takeWhy meanings aren't fixed objects but living things that unfold over timeWhat happens when you stop filtering out weird experiences that don't fit your worldviewHow language cuts reality into the speakable and unspeakable—with most of life in the part we can't nameThe practice of paying attention without needing to understandFor anyone feeling like life has become a series of familiar categories rather than an ongoing mystery, this episode offers both a diagnosis of how we got here and a surprisingly practical path back—not through magical thinking, but through the simple, difficult practice of actually paying attention. If you enjoyed listening to Dan, I encourage you to subscribe to his substack. A few pieces I recommend are Radical Empiricism and Where is my mind?

    1 hr

  3. 09/29/2025

    5 Forces Erasing Wonder From Your World | Ep. 1

    Something to share? Send me a text! In this first episode of Where Wonder Went, I reflect on five years of publishing my newsletter Down the Rabbit Hole  and why I decided to launch this new podcast. I explore the central question behind the series: where did our sense of wonder go? Drawing from my own journey as a sleight of hand magician and curator of wonderful things, I share why wonder often fades as we grow older, the five forces behind its erasure, and why I believe rediscovering it is essential for living with reverence and aliveness. This episode sets the stage for the conversations and explorations to come as I invite you to join me in the practice of re-enchantment and in finding the extraordinary hidden in everyday life.

    44 min
  • 3 Episodes

About

The world told you to outgrow wonder, to see it as childish. But here we uncover the truth, that mystery and magic are braided into our very being. This is the journey of finding where wonder went and how to bring it back.

Information

  • Creator
    Mike Slavin
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    3
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Where Wonder Went
  • Show Website
    Where Wonder Went