Spiritual Practices Podcast

Send us a text Today we talk about the benefits and possible drawbacks of visualization practices. Oftentimes, sacred scriptures use metaphors and parables to help us connect with spiritual things. This allows us to continually have fresh revelations and new connections in our lives. We may find new hope, find that our anxieties decrease, or even experience a moment of connection between our heart and mind. The question is: How can visualization help our present moment and speak into our futu...

Send us a text Many of us grew up hearing about an angry and stern God. This has, perhaps, caused us to wonder, “Is laughter appropriate? And if so, in what circumstances?” On this week’s podcast, we take time to wonder about what place laughter may have in our spiritual practice and what that might look like in our daily experience. Join us as we talk about the healing power of laughter and the possibility to offer ourselves a different image of divinity. Additional Resources: Poem: For Eq...

Send us a text Fasting can occur in many forms, both for religious and non-religious reasons. And, as we’ll explore on the podcast, there are many personal and communal benefits that can come from it. But also, as we’ll discover today, it’s not uncommon to find that fasting has been something that has required journey as our faith lives have evolved. It’s been helpful to ask questions like: What do I want to become aware of? What intentions am I looking to set? Join us as we talk about the ga...

Send us a text Today we’re talking about the expansiveness of self-care because, as it turns out, there are no less than six types of Self-Care. What we need in one season of life may look very different from what we need in another. What our internal list of “shoulds” tells us we ought to be doing may or may not be what we really need in order to nourish our souls right now. And so join us as we talk about what it looks like to offer kindness to our whole selves and to grow into being able t...

Send us a text On this week’s podcast, each of us shares a bit about our deep love and appreciation for retreats - and in a variety of ways! Join us as we talk about best practices for preparing, what to do if you don’t feel like you have the time, and why different seasons of your life may call for a different sort of retreat. Additional Resources Website: Foundry Spiritual Center - Tailor-Made Retreats Water Filtration: Spring Well Water Filtration Systems #SpiritualPractice #Retr...

Send us a text On this week’s podcast, each of us takes a moment to share things we are excited about as we enter into the New Year. Join us as we discover together that, while some of us have plans that involve our family and friends, others of us intend to spend some time in reflection by ourselves. Can you guess who is who? Additional Resources Video: Bringing Eco Spirituality into Your Home Video: Earth Altars Aim to Offer a Path to Healing #Traditions #Ritual #Resolutions #Eart...

Send us a text Taking a moment to pause is a practice that can enrich both our inner and our outer lives. Have you ever finished a meal only to feel like you hadn’t even tasted it? Maybe you know all too well the experience of running from one thing to the next. Do you ever feel pressed for answers you don’t have? Pauses allow us the time we need in order to process our experiences, feel our emotions, and become more appreciative of the people around us. Join us as we explore - and celebrate ...

Send us a text Lectio Divina is a Latin phrase that literally translates to mean “Divine Reading.” It’s a contemplative practice that can help us slow down and immerse ourselves in what we’re seeing (and hearing) on the page, which often leads to experiences of deeper spiritual connection. Whether you’ve been engaging forms of Divina for many years, only recently, or have never given it a try, may this week’s reflection be an inspiration to all of us. Additional Resources Website: www.e...

Send us a text When was the last time you saw something so beautiful and inspiring that it caused you to stop in order to really take it in? Maybe you heard a story about how someone else was doing something to make the world a better place, and it moved you to feelings of hope and excitement of your own. Awe, as we’ve learned through the sciences, is experienced on a continuum, everything from mild amusement to complete overwhelm. And while it’s easy to notice the things that completely amaz...

Send us a text Art and creativity can be a useful way of opening our awareness. So many moments in our lives can leave us feeling disconnected and out of touch. Today we talk about how engaging our creative side can help us slow down and open to possibility. We name our own struggles with feeling vulnerable and inadequate. And we share our moments of feeling like we’ve broken through the veil in order to encounter the Divine. We hope you’ll join us as we engage in the reality that art is ever...

Send us a text Today we’re talking about how contemplative practices can help us when our bodies and nervous systems are feeling unsettled due to stress or trauma. Many of us have heard about the body’s ability to access fight, flight, or freeze at the turn of a dime. When that happens, the thing that we most need is Fawn – the chance to shake off the aftermath of whatever caused us to feel dysregulated in the first place. Join us as we talk about ways to process, calm, and shake off the trig...

Send us a text We often talk about nature as a pathway to the contemplative here on the podcast. But what if we don’t consider ourselves outdoorsy? As it turns out, how we engage the outdoors seems to involve both our personalities and the evolution of our personalities. Today we take some time to celebrate the many different and wonderful ways that each of us connects with nature, engaging in its wonder and beauty, and noticing the role nature plays in our great ecosystem of life. Addi...

Send us a text Poetry can sometimes feel like an acquired taste, like maybe you either love it or you don’t. But what many of us find as we pursue a contemplative life is that poetry can become a helpful way to slow down and take a nice, long look. We sometimes find that poetry becomes a doorway to being able to drink in that present moment. So join us as we talk about the power of poems to aid our engagement of the world around us using our senses, emotions, and intuitions. Additional ...

Send us a text “I’ve been on a gratitude journey for many years. And I’m still not where I want to be. But I see change…” “I was up in the middle of the night, and I realized my brain was still working. I had to breathe. I had to slow down…” Life is a mix of good and challenging. Join us as we explore the spiritual practice of gratitude as a means of living our lives to the full. Additional Resources Book: A View from the Ridge: Morris West Gratitude Reflection: Three Forms ...

Send us a text For most of us, it’s easy to get tossed around by our circumstances. Conversations we’re in can throw us for a loop, and before we know it, we’re drowning in the emotion and struggle of it all. But today we talk about ways to get this thing that Scripture calls “Transcendent Peace” – beyond understanding, out-of-this-world, supernatural peace. Join us as we talk about the art of being present in our lives without getting overly weighed down by the baggage. Additional Reso...

Send us a text Dreams happen to all of us, even if we aren’t in the habit of paying attention to them. In this episode, we talk about how setting an intention to engage our dreams can be both informative and even transformative. Join us as we talk about the practice of allowing our dreams to become a part of our spiritual experience. Additional Resources Podcast: Finding God in Your Longing, Spiritual Direction Example with Chris Roberts & Kristina Kaiser #Dreams #CarlJung #Symbols #Setti...

Send us a text In today’s episode, we take a look at a spiritual practice that can help us make sense of our lives. Whether the questions are big or small, whether we’re looking for themes or goals, whether we use paper or conversation, it all brings us to a space of reflection that can help us enter our new year with excitement and hope. May your next year be blessed! Additional Resources Podcast: Ep 37: Adulting #collage #IgnatianExamen #reflection #newyear For Transcript:...

Send us a text Our culture is always talking about self-care, and so today we ask: Can the contemplative life help me with this? Many of us are so easily plagued with self-doubt: Am I doing enough? Am I doing it right? Is this the meaningful life I was hoping for? And so today we take a moment to talk about the tell-tale signs of needing a little self-love. We talk about how to practically engage without dysregulating the rest of our lives. And we land on some really good news: We don’t have ...

Send us a text Today we talk about the Enneagram as a way to help us understand how we - and those we interact with - show up in the world. We may hear ourselves asking sometimes: Where does that come from? Why does that happen? Or we may even feel confused about why so many of us aren’t entirely consistent and predictable. The Enneagram helps us with these interactive questions and can help us have more success in our day-to-day experiences. Join us as we explore three unique ways to engage ...

Send us a text Today, Wendy Porterfield and Liz Kravitz join us to talk to us about how running has evolved into a spiritual practice for them – a place where they can release and let go, where they can process, and where they can connect with others in a sense of meaning and accomplishment. Join us as they tell us their stories of overcoming struggle and discovering personal retreat, inner strength, and freedom. Additional Resources Liz Kravitz Coaching Website: https://lizkravitz.wix...

Send us a text One of the great things about music is the power it has to move us – to draw us out, to speak to us, to help us become more receptive – both to our experiences and to our feelings. In this episode, we “sing the praises” of music, pointing out how helpful it can be in interfaith settings and how easily it can be paired with other contemplative practices. So join us as we talk about the mysterious and mystical as it relates to music. Additional Resources: Music Playli...

Send us a text In today’s episode, we spend some time talking about the how-to’s of meditation and what some of our personal preferences are, all through the lenses of our bodies, our minds, and our spirits. Do you sometimes wonder: Am I doing this right? What does it even mean to meditate? Join us as we tackle some of meditation’s big questions together. #MeditationForChildren #CenteringPrayer #Journey #LettingGo Additional Resources: Spiritual Companion: Mary Reynolds Podcast Episode:...

Send us a text Today, instead of examining “what am I thinking,” we take a moment to ask, “What am I feeling, seeing, smelling, touching, tasting?” In other words, how does wonder open up our awareness – aka – our contemplative experience? Our senses offer us so much – calm, delight, awe…May we all find ourselves going out and being invigorated by our sensory experiences! #Smell #Touch #Senses #Nature Additional Resources: Author, Teacher, Spiritual Companion: Lacy Finn Borgo Boo...

Send us a text Today we talk about our stories, why they matter and how we’re changed as we interact with both our own stories and the stories of others. As it turns out, research and experience show that sharing our stories helps us overcome pain, adversity, and struggle. But sadly, many of us suffer from the inability to even know what our story is. In this episode, we’ll explore a few ways to get back in touch with all of that as well as take some time to talk about what it takes to accept...