Hard Sun

A beloved member of the Colorado Springs community, Roger Butts recently released his book Seeds of Devotion, written during the pandemic. This episode offers an insightful interview, discussing many things, including his time as a hospital chaplain during the early months of the COVID-19 crisis. Spiritual leaders like Roger operate daily in the Space Between - where the spiritual world and physical world collide. Rev. Butts has vast experience working at the intersection of theological training and practical application. His humility, transparency and openness to the Unknown are refreshing during this time of rigid beliefs. ABOUT THE BOOK In Seeds of Devotion, Roger Butts delivers evocative and lyrical prose while sharing wisdom from some of the most powerful figures in spirituality today. Musings from Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad, and contemporaries like Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton are sprinkled in this devotional as he reflects on life's deepest mysteries. Written with an open heart and years of purposeful practice as a chaplain, Roger Butts offers immersive passages with reflection questions allowing for further spiritual exploration at the end of each devotion. This book invites you to ask bigger questions of yourself and your life while immersed in meditative silence. These prayers and reflections are meant to guide you to a place of peace and spirituality but also challenge you to delve further into your grace. But most importantly, they are all designed to help you listen and connect with the deep wisdom of your heart. ABOUT ROGER Roger Butts is a former Staff Chaplain at a hospital system in Colorado Springs. A graduate of Wesley Theological Seminary in D.C., he is ordained in the Unitarian Universalist tradition. He is a long-time member of the Unitarian Universalist Christian Fellowship and the International Thomas Merton Society. After serving two UU congregations as senior minister, he traveled for a year organizing against the death penalty throughout Colorado. When he can, he sits with the Springs Mountain Sangha (Buddhist) at Colorado College. His prayers and an essay have been published in a number of anthologies from Skinner House Books. He is also a contributing writer for Contemplative Light. His writings have been published in the Boulder Daily Camera, the CS Gazette, and the Quad City Times. For many years he was a board member of the local branch of the NAACP and the Greenberg Center for Learning and Tolerance in Colorado Springs. He is married to Marta Fioriti, a minister in the Black Forest of Colorado Springs. They have three teenagers and a black lab. He believes humor and grace will save us all.

Natalie Johnson is a leader in her community. She's beloved in the Pikes Peak region of Colorado. She is a feminist, an advocate for various causes, and a mentor and thought-partner for many. At the age of 23, she received a profound message from the Other Side. While driving, a St. Francis of Assisi medal jumped off of the rear view mirror and struck her in the head. It sent her on a path to figure out who was trying to contact her. Listen to her describe the story and weave through thoughts of spirituality and its practical application in our physical world. She does this with humor and introspection, considering Forrest Gump, Dolly Parton, the Virgin Mary and more!

Bill Morris is the founder of Blue Star Recyclers, a non-profit providing employment to people with developmental disabilities through the recycling of electronics. He has created a remarkable organization that originated from his own spiritual enlightenment. Within days of submitting to the Higher Power, he hatched an idea to employ people that previously could not find meaningful work. Over the last decade, he has opened opportunities to many, allowing people to free themselves from the chains of antiquated beliefs and social norms. Bill is operating in the Space Between - the thin veil where the two worlds meet. Over the course of nearly two hours, Bill shares his life experiences and personal beliefs. From alcoholism to enlightenment, from the corporate world to the non-profit sector, Bill offers a humble, vulnerable and humorous look at life as a Spiritual Pilgrim.

We are Stardust. We are Bright Lights. We are Energy. We are One with God and the Universe. We are also VERY human... In 2021, there is a lot of suffering due to the pandemic, technology and overall state of the world. In this episode, Mike ponders how we make sense of it. As we become more and more detached from our souls, how can we reconnect with who we truly are? Quoting Pearl Jam, Black Elk, The Infamous Stringdusters, Ram Dass, Peter Rowan, Nisargadatta Maharaj and a beautiful piece by Alexis Pauline Gumbs, this episode is an attempt to shift from over-thinking and chronic stress, to awareness and glowing light.

Have you ever been thinking of a friend or loved one immediately before they called or texted you? They entered your mind seconds before the call appeared? How does this happen? Is it a coincidence, or is there something more? This week, Mike shares a few experiences in this vein. In this episode, quotes from Bob Marley and a Sufi Spiritual Teacher are woven into personal accounts. Also, a look at the meaning of Van Morrison's song, Into The Mystic. This sixth episode of the Hard Sun Podcast is another dive into the Space Between. The place where the physical world and spiritual world collide.

Daniela Galvan is a successful business-woman, a wife, mother of two beautiful daughters and an immigrant to the United States. She is also a Spiritual Warrior... Listen to her discuss a lifetime of spiritual growth and the loss of her sister in 2011. Since her passing, Daniela has been receiving consistent messages from her sister, revealing her presence from the Other Side. These stories from Beyond the Proof are undeniable, as she speaks at a kitchen table - somewhere in the universe - with ease, centeredness, confidence and peace in her heart. Death is stripping away of all that is not you. The secret of life is to "die before you die" - and find that there is no death. -Eckhart Tolle

Quoting a poem from Rumi and a song from The Infamous Stringdusters, Mike discusses an experience in late 2019 where he communicated with a person from Beyond the Proof. As he battled through the memories of traumatic events that occurred almost two decades prior, the message he received that day lifted a weight he'd been carrying for too long. It opened the door for emotional healing and sent him on a spiritual path leading to personal growth and a greater understanding that there is so much more that lies beyond our everyday over-thinking minds.

Throughout 2018 and 2019, Mike received several spiritual interventions from The Universe. Here he discusses a message of peace and healing through a meditation session. It was another occurrence, in a series of events, that contributed to his belief in the Great Unknown.

As Mike battled his way through a dark emotional state, he began experiencing universal, spiritual interventions. Here he describes a visit from family members who had recently passed from their earthly form. Three loved ones died in the same week a year prior and they returned to offer comfort in a time of need. Through this experience, Mike catches a glimpse and awareness of a near-death experience he was associated with eighteen years earlier. This day in late 2018 allowed for a shift in consciousness and self-forgiveness, offering freedom from an emotional weight unnecessarily carried for too long.

This is the pilot episode of Hard Sun Podcast. About The Show Since birth, Mike Mazzola has been a seeker: always watching, absorbing, feeling, perceiving and thinking. Thinking. Thinking. Thinking. Too much thinking… After years of rationalizing and intellectualizing his way through a series of traumatic events, it became too much. Mike found himself at the edge of an emotional abyss when help finally appeared. Starting December 8, 2018, messages began to appear from beyond the physical world – experiences for which there was no rational explanation, but which transformed his life entirely. The Universe intervened. The more he submitted to the experiences, the more he was shown - from beyond the Proof. Mike shares his experiences here on the Hard Sun Podcast and he continuously searches for others who have experienced similar spiritual interventions. The show has no agenda and makes no attempt to persuade its listeners toward a particular belief system. It illuminates these occurrences, and allows the listener to decide what to make of them. Hard Sun Podcast also endeavors to cultivate bewilderment and awe – and hopes to inspire listeners to live in this bewilderment and awe. To move beyond thinking minds and realize there is something so much bigger at play. With the stories shared therein, the show attempts to help us shift collective consciousness from materialism and earthly form, to an awareness and amazement of who we truly are. About Mike Born and raised in rural Missouri, along the Mississippi River, Mike moved to Colorado in 2001. He currently works for a non-profit in Colorado Springs that provides free home energy-efficiency upgrades to low-income families, which has a dual purpose of reducing air-pollution and providing a healthier environment. His professional background includes construction, real estate and social-entrepreneurship. Mike loves the lifestyle offered by the Mountain West. After growing up as an outdoorsman in Missouri, he has a passion for the offerings of Colorado. Running, cycling, hiking, skiing, camping, etc. allow for an increased connection to the earth and freedom from the harmful effects of current technology. Surrounded by loving friends and family, Mike works every day to help people – and leave everything better than he found it. This podcast is his next step in the evolution of this human experience. “When you believe more in what you don't see than in what you do see, then what you do see you won't see, and what you don't see you will see.” – Michael Bernard Beckwith