Spiritual Practices Podcast

Today we are excited to share that Christina released a book in partnership with Spiritual Directors International called My Spiritual Journey. From the SDI Website: My Spiritual Journey cultivates the practices of deep listening, gentleness, and contemplation, allowing kids to form their own words, pictures, or quiet reflection to cultivate trust with themselves and the Divine. To order a copy for yourself or those you wish to support spiritually check out Amazon Or SDI Press Some of our show n...

Today we explore the idea of inner and outer enoughness. What defines our sense of enough? What are some practices to help us recalibrate towards a sense of enoughness? Join as we explore the importance of this practice in our daily lives. Mentioned in today’s episode: ADVENT CALENDARS Beauty Advent calendars Gemstone Advent calendars Tea Advent calendars Chocolate Advent calendars Some of our show notes contain affiliate links. We want to save you the effort of looking up resources + we get ...

Today, we explore what discernment is and some practical ways to engage this spiritual practice. We highlight several books that have informed our thinking around this topic, as well as episodes 22 & 23, Vocational Discernment Part 1 & 2. To work with us, reach out at robertscontemplative@gmail.com Helpful books on discernment: The Great Work of Your Life by Stephen Cope Falling Upward by Richard Rohr Pursuing God’s Will Together by Ruth Haley Barton The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks The Dream Man...

Send us a text Today we explore how music connects us to God and the many ways music is prayer. Whether you play music or simply listen, we hope you find new ways of experiencing meaningful spiritual moments.

Send us a text Join us as we unpack various types of rest. Rest is not just taking a nap, but includes a variety of ways to find rejuvenation and restoration in our lives. Support the show

Send us a text Today we continue our conversation about rest and look at common barriers we might face. As we highlight barriers we have faced, we hope you find inspiration to identify and move towards flourishing times of renewal in your life. Support the show

Send us a text Today we discuss common paradigms and mindsets around rest and renewal. We hope this helps us become aware of how we approach rest and expand how we engage. Support the show

Send us a text Join us as we talk about the differences between time and energy and how to make the most of our natural energy rhythms. Support the show

Send us a text Winter seasons, whether they be literal or figurative, have much to offer us. Join us as we revisit the topic of Winter Solstice and how we are engaging this transitional time in the Northern Hemisphere. (For listeners in the Southern Hemisphere, feel free to check out episode 74 when we talk about the Summer Solstice.) Support the show

Send us a text Join us as we talk about mastermind groups. We explore some of the key elements and benefits of these groups and hope you feel inspired to check out some of our offerings. Learn more at christina@foundrysc.com Support the show

Send us a text As the US is in an election week, we are reminding ourselves of some helpful spiritual practices Support the show

Send us a text Regardless of your country of origin, election years can be stressful. Join us today as we explore practices that can help us love our neighbors as ourselves. Support the show

Send us a text In our fourth and final week in this series, we talk about one very key but, perhaps, unexpected tool that can bring about restoration and connection in our lives. In a busy world, we’ve become accustomed to turning our attention away from even the simplest things that can help us bring the being side of ourselves into balance with our doing side. Join us as we talk about how awe has helped each of us shift when we felt we needed it most. Additional Resources Book: Awe by Dacher K...

Send us a text Today we take time to talk about some of the barriers that can come into play when we’re looking to bring our doing side into friendship and balance with our being side. And in particular, we get down into root causes because, oftentimes, we may find ourselves using similar words to the people around us. But our inner motivations and our particular needs may be quite different from those of our neighbors. Join us as we talk about how we can evolve in our journeys towards onenes...

Send us a text As we continue our Being With series, we turn our attention to the lens of Body, Heart, and Mind, asking the question: How can we strengthen what is already innate within us while also exploring areas of ourselves we maybe don’t visit as often? Life is often so full that our lives can begin to feel disconnected and unintegrated. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Instead we can discover what is speaking to us, what emotions are arising, what our bodies are trying to tell us. A...

Send us a text Do you ever feel like your relationship with the Divine is more transactional than relational? Can you relate to that feeling of just wanting someone to be with you over and above wanting them to fix your problems? During the busy month of December, we’re offering a series that extends an invitation to bring the “doing” side of ourselves into balance with our “being” side. Join us as we embark on this journey towards a connection with the Divine that allows for more flow and fr...

Send us a text We conclude our “What is” series with the topic of Pilgrimage. What is it and how is it done? What does pilgrimage share in common with exile and in what ways does it differ? Is pilgrimage always life changing or do some people return feeling as though not much has changed? Join us as we talk about this journey of the soul. May the conversation inspire your path. Additional Resources Podcast: Ep 21 The Sacred Space Inside Today from The Contemplative Life Hashtags...

Send us a text As we continue our exploration of words we may hear in contemplative circles but not know what they mean, we turn our attention to the experience of Divine Listening, allowing sound to become a part of our meditation and prayer experiences. Many have found Audio Divina to be a helpful tool for becoming aware of Divine Presence, connecting the mind-heart-body, and spending time in discernment, to name a few. Join us as we talk about the many ways to engage this practice. Additi...

Send us a text This week’s podcast invites us to look around the world with wonder, curiosity, and an openness to Divine Presence. Visio Divina, a form of contemplative prayer, offers us the chance to pause, to notice, and to become aware of what is stirring within. And while some amount of controversy has arisen around forms of prayer that appeal not only to the mind but the mind-heart-body, it is also the case that many have returned to these ancient forms of prayer - as if seeing again for...

Send us a text This week, we continue our “what is” exploration, looking at a Benedictine practice that has been used to help people discover and live out their values. Join us as we talk about the creative ways that people today are employing this ancient practice and how you can use it both for personal and community purposes. For those of us who experience feelings of overwhelm and days of exhaustion, this practice could be for you. Additional Resources Book: Wisdom Distilled from the Da...

Send us a text What does it look like for us to sit in silence, whether it be for two minutes or twenty? As we sit in that silence, what do we do with it? Is it a time for rolling over the to-do’s of our day, for sitting with an image or a phrase? Is it something we do alone or with others? On this week’s podcast, we explore the ins and outs of Centering Prayer - its origins, the “rules,” why we sometimes need to interpret those “rules,” and why we find the experience so enriching and groundi...

Send us a text As we continue our “What is” series, we turn our attention to prayers that use words, which may well be the most popular form of prayer in Western culture. Join us as we talk about the many personal and communal ways that prayer can lead us to transformation. Consider with us why it is absolutely okay that the words of yesterday may not fully encapsulate what is true and authentic for us today. And take some time to wonder in what ways kataphatic prayer might be beneficial for ...

Send us a text Do you ever wonder about the value of sitting in silence or of rhythmically repeating a word or phrase over and over again? Join us as we talk about the many possibilities that we (and others we know) have discovered for engaging this prayer practice - a form of prayer that exists specifically for helping us connect with - and encounter - Divine Presence. While it may seem counterintuitive to spend any amount of time in extended pause, what practitioners report time and time ag...

Send us a text On this week’s podcast, we begin a new series, exploring words that are often heard in contemplative circles. Our journey through this series begins with Contemplative Prayer. Join us as we consider how this form of prayer tends to expand and open our awareness in ever-deepening ways, how we discover layers we may not have been aware of before, and most profoundly, how our connection to Divine Presence becomes more accessible in our day-to-day lives as a result of these many an...