Guest Interviews Podcast

Send us a text For those who have a tendency towards helping others, feelings of guilt and shame can often lead to overworking. And what’s more, depending on our family or cultural contexts, we may not even feel permission to do what we need to do in order to keep ourselves feeling whole and healthy. Join us as Rev. Dr. Beth Brown shares with us about what helps her continue to feel centered and grounded. Be inspired and encouraged to advocate for yourself and for others, to be a part of crea...

Send us a text As we continue our series on self-care, Sarah Kiser joins us to share her experience of being a healthcare professional at a time when 87% of people in the field are reporting experiences of burnout. For many of us, our career experience changes as we age. Our lives become fuller, our responsibilities grow, and the margins of life for self-care get smaller. We invite you to join us in being a witness to the story of healthcare providers like Sarah and to allow the wisdom of her...

Send us a text Today we are joined by Mary Bouras who is sharing with us about what it has been like to be married to someone in the military. Mary comes to us with over 2 decades of experience, including nearly a dozen moves, motherhood, and a career. Join us as she shares candidly with us about what has created balance and stability in a life that can easily feel unbalanced and unstable. Find out what she had named for herself as her must-do’s and what she does when even the must-do’s need ...

Send us a text As we talk about ways to practice and promote unity and cooperation between our communities of faith, we are joined by Rev. Kerri Parker, Executive Director for the Wisconsin Council of Churches. Join us as Kerri shares with us about why this is passionate and meaningful work for her. Listen as she helps us consider how we can become more ecumenical, both personally and as communities of worship. Consider with us what it looks like to find common ground, even as the particulars...

Send us a text Today, we’re joined by Lead Pastor of The River in New York City, Charles Park, who is sharing with us about what Agape love is and why it’s so important to our overall well-being. Do you ever find that you’re measuring yourself harshly - your looks, your professional performance, your social competency? Perhaps you’ve experienced the loss of a close friend after years of trusting them with your life. Or maybe you’ve found yourself being critical of your neighbors, co-workers, ...

Send us a text Today we’re joined by Nicki Nelson, Director of Spiritual Guidance Initiatives at the Siena Retreat Center in Racine, Wisconsin, who is sharing with us today about how caretaking has a way of bringing us to the edges of ourselves. At the end of the day, it turns out, we need a way to both nurture ourselves as well as those we’re caring for. Join us as Nicki shares with vulnerability and wisdom about how the pressures of caretaking build up, what happens at the brain level, and ...

Send us a text Today we’re joined by Kristina’s longtime friend, Jason Ruona, in talking about the benefits of having virtual opportunities to connect spiritually. It’s not uncommon for people to wonder if there are too many barriers to online engagement, and so today, we take some time to talk both about why virtual connection has offered us meaningful space to connect spiritually as well as what sorts of things we’ve done to keep barriers to a minimum. Join us as Jason shares a bit about th...

Send us a text Today we’re joined by Jon Anderson, executive director of Collaboration Project, who’s sharing with us the win-win rewards that come when we put relationships first, listen carefully to one another, and allow good work in the community to emerge from a sense of meaningful partnership. Do you sometimes feel like you’re spinning your wheels trying to be helpful in the world around you? Maybe you like the idea of collaboration, but the barriers have been too great. Join us as Jon ...

Send us a text This week, we are joined by Kristen Emerson, licensed social worker and founder of Breaking Light Counseling who is sharing with us about the impacts of grief, loss, and trauma. Many of us experienced the effects of cumulative grief as we struggled to adjust and adapt during the height of the pandemic. We were often forced to forego the usual rituals and outlets for processing our losses, both in our homes and in our institutions. Join us as Kristen shares her wisdom with us re...

Send us a text What does it mean to have contemplative practices in college? Today we’re joined by Evan Digman, a senior at UW-Madison, who’s talking to us about his spirituality journey - from his first experience of guided meditation in middle school to now. Do you sometimes wonder how to manage the stresses of day-to-day life, feel the need to consider what sort of community could be meaningfully supportive to you, or ask yourself where you’d even get the time to have a meaningful spiritua...

Send us a text Today we’re joined by Ann Kowaliczko as she shares her wisdom about the vast and ancient topic of chakras. In this episode, we ask Ann many questions: What is a chakra? How do you access the energy of chakras? What caused you - a person who didn’t grow up hearing about chakras - to pay attention to them? Ann graciously answers our questions, while also pointing out her desire not to steal or misappropriate the traditions and practices of others. Check out our “Additional Resour...

Send us a text Sound healing is the practice of using sound to improve your physical health as well as your emotional, mental, and spiritual wellbeing, and is accessible to people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds. In this week’s podcast, guest speaker Jim Powell speaks to us about his many years of experience with this healing and restoring practice, sharing stories of astonishing improvements in people’s overall health. Join us in hearing about how even a simple playlist, or singing “...

Send us a text Today we are joined by Amy Hoyte, founder of Beautifully Made Adventures who speaks to us about the power of nature to speak to us, inspire us, and teach us. Stress, anxiety and lists of shoulds are common in today’s world. But whether we’re sitting on a park bench or hiking a trail that challenges our limits, nature has the ability to teach a myriad of powerful lessons, including the lesson that everyone matters. Do you desire some grounding and connection in your life? Join u...

Send us a text Today we are joined by Claudia Greco who speaks to us about the intersection between spirituality and trauma. Oftentimes, it feels hard to be present to what goes on in the world. We struggle to know who to talk to about our experiences and feelings. But what we know is, with trauma, we often experience life as feeling fractured, as if we have a before and an after. Claudia offers us hope today for reconnecting our bodies, minds, and spirits. Join us as we explore our need for ...

Send us a text Today we are joined by Sister Denise who speaks to us about her own spiritual journey, the struggles and the surprises. We hope that hearing her story will be a source of inspiration for others looking to connect with the Divine Spark within. We hope it will allow us to ask ourselves about our own stories, to look compassionately at the dynamics we’ve lived in the middle of, and to lovingly seek out spaces where we can experience healing and freedom to become our authentic selv...

Send us a text Today, Marv Baldwin joins us to talk about the experience of engaging the spiritual journey to discover the pull on our hearts towards love and compassion, the struggles we tend to encounter once we become aware of that internal desire, and what we can do to stay grounded and centered in the midst of it all. Marv Baldwin is a pastoral counselor and spiritual director living in Western Springs, IL. He founded Soul Journeys in 2018 and is honored journeying with small group...

Send us a text Today we are talking with Ken, Spiritual Companion and member of numerous contemplative communities. Ken talks to us in this episode about practices that have been meaningful to him, why being powerless turns out to be a good thing, and what some of his favorite connections are between 12-step programs and the contemplative. Join us as we listen together. #SpiritualCompanioning #SpirtitualDirection #Recovery #CenteringPrayer Additional Resources: Book: Happin...

Send us a text Today we are talking with Mary Reynolds, certified Spiritual Companion and Yoga Instructor in the Boston area. What are some of the similarities and differences between Mindfulness and Contemplative Spirituality? Why do we sometimes shy away from Spirituality that includes our bodies? Does body shame have an effect on our spiritual experience? And if so, can we do anything about that?Join us as Mary shares with us her words of wisdom and experience. Addit...

Send us a text Today we are talking with Steve Spilde, Associate Director and Spiritual Director at the Franciscan Spirituality Center in La Crosse, WI. What is it about vulnerability that is just so amazingly hard and what makes vulnerability so special anyway? No doubt, we’ve probably all been a room where we were the minority. And probably each of us would be able to articulate the differences we felt in that situation. Join us as we talk about the various influences of our day...