High Church Podcast

2023! We're back... and pausing simultaneously.  The intro of this episode explains further but, for the foreseeable future, we'll be releasing future episodes less frequently but with greater attention to topics and guests that align with the podcast. We want to be as present and engaged as possible when creating conversations for you all to engage with.    The plan is to take a podcast-pause to focus on other things for the time being. The podcast is still very much a labor of love. No big breakup, but with us both being in the phases of life we are (parents, partners, working on individual creative pursuits), the plan is to leave the show as-is, and pop in as often as we're able to.   We're both very grateful for the support and love thus far! Please continue to reach out while we slow things down. We love connecting with you all here, and are excited to present episode 53!   - Brandon and River

Thanks to everyone who listened to the show in 2022!    Love and Gratitude,  - Brandon and River

Connect with Daniel here!   Find High Church on Instagram here!        

Find High Church on Instagram here!   The End of Your World by Adyashanti (link to book)

Find High Church on Instagram here!

Find High Church on Instagram here!

This episode of High Church includes thoughts on: Never nap in the bed, it's gotta be real to be caught, nothing to talk about (again), pope resigning, Catholicism, various paths, being mischaracterized, persona, new age bitterness, all in the mind, paranoia, a new oppression, self transformation, philanthropy, keeping your heart open in hell, Ram Dass, not getting involved, opinions, making things happen, faith, the four agreements, action and acceptance, right action, when there is a thing to be done, patient waiting in the heart, trojan horses, idols, praying for daily humiliation, suffering is a gate/tool, deficit, the day always comes and goes, bored with spirituality, procrastination, holding it lightly Find High Church on Instagram here!

This episode of High Church includes thoughts on: Camping, government canceling headphones, Sean returns, sacred cows, religious heresies, Mormonism, the personal cows, Everything Everywhere All At Once, productivity, beliefs, Thomas Merton, tradition, waste, Brene Brown, Richard Rohr, separate and superior, credentialism, certifications, pastors, money pits, church success metrics, heavenly ROI, Eternal ROTH IRA, church as a business, rejection, distrust of authority, covid, critical thinking, special connection, tapped into God, trusting the professionals, safety, uncertainty, empathy, choosing to be HERE, using their weapons, depth to be found, auditor of the year award, activating different dimensions, nihilism, good absorbing evil, no evil, sin, mountains and valleys, vibe anthropology, I see you, attachment, possibility, allowing space for change, more knowledge, inbred spirituality, GameStop, evangelical cults, dreams and visions, “it's the Lord”, entering as the wrong person, no bags checked, stillness, spiritual leader burnout, the wrong equation, the ego's desire to build, the ultimate sacred cow – who you think you are, the no spin zone, $8.90/gallon, sleepy Joe   Find High Church on Instagram here! Find Sean on Instagram here! 

This episode of High Church includes thoughts on:  Getting exactly what you need, we gotta talk about God, telling the Truth, we're all wanting to be caught, turn yourself in, compulsivity, liberation, the dance and play of life, maya, characters and roles, therapy, okay with not being okay, padding your resume, embellishing, fake it ‘till you make it, I don't have the sauce, nowhere to bottom out, rising to the top, getting real, can't trick truth, “I'm gonna tell you the truth”, the real truth, perfect allyship, method acting, failing DEI exams, pretty woke, imposter syndrome, bible college, homeschool, entrance exams, reverse cowboy, the perpetual test, unibrow phobia, the code has been cracked, good reminders, spirituality, your abode, the need for interesting things, beyond persona, caught not taught, what's looking?, eyes of the heart, come inside, never leave, $300 jeans $5 shirts, t shirts plus, OC Lords, Easter, baptism, you must die to be reborn, can you be IT, lay down your beliefs, no baggage, that brand new feeling, in trouble for telling the truth, being the truth, don't force it, peak curiosity, Kabir, Love Poems from God, ‘maybe it will become chic', if you really want to know the truth, the Guest, baptism of fire, rock bottom, you never forget HOME   Find High Church on Instagram here! The Perfect Waste of Time Album by High Church

This episode of High Church includes thoughts on:  Special guest Ron Cecil!, half-baked, shortcuts to sleep, Gabor Mate, trauma, ADHD, Scattered Minds, stretching, Iron John, masculinity, evangelical fear of the other, Harry Potter, Wild at Heart, Mythology, missing community, where it is right, big numbers, 500 thousand idiots, Carlton Pearson, Pilgrim's Progress, Rob Mill, splitting yourself, internships, professional spirituality debacle, No More Mr. Nice Guy, evangelical street cred, the rebound of the ego, intellectual superiority, John the Revelator, mushrooms, working in ministry, the subconscious, self-sabotage, Irish Catholic basketball leagues, accountability partners, goodness, Christian values, morality, pole positions, reformation, original goodness, drawing lines, Belfast movie, one right answer, ever-present goodness, God looking for God, friends with Change, taking care of your brain, stillness spirituality, doing less, accessing God, from Bindu to Ojas, another one   Find High Church on Instagram here! Find Ron on Instagram here! Listen to Cutting for Sign (podcast Ron co-hosts) here! The Perfect Waste of Time Album by High Church Iron John No More Mr. Nice Guy by Dr. Robert Glover

Special guest Ron Cecil!, podcast host, simultaneous heretics, the Work, “mens work”, San Quentin, accepting yourself, different prisons, hiding who you are, parts of ourselves, cutting for sign, looking for Me, how Love might change a situation, Brianna Noble, the full spectrum, snorting your own urine, what a man is, shame, acceptance, radical responsibility, shadow, “I don't know”, willing to be with what is, father's day cards, Genesis P-Orridge, Psychic TV, We, saying sorry to yourself, 3rd person speech, Internal Family Systems, all the different Rons, dog walking and cannabis, tower of cool, need for affirmation, rewriting painful memories, reality, chewing with the other side of your mouth, inaccessible to ourselves, feeling safe, breathwork, redlining, anger, “I forgive you for ______”, something has to go, busyness, can't do it all, doing nothing, snapshots of gratitude, kratom, behind the waterfall, the space between stars, love, Eugene Peterson, divorce, parties in England, “God is here”, it's already asking, spiritual teachers, vulnerability, self-initiation, saying yes, Adyashanti, satsang, burning the place down   Find High Church on Instagram here! Find Ron on Instagram here! Listen to Cutting for Sign (podcast Ron co-hosts) here! Adyashanti excerpt from The Impact of Awakening The Perfect Waste of Time Album by High Church

This episode of High Church includes thoughts on:  I never want this to end, pro-covid, palm springs, loops in our lives, deconstructing the looker, everything feels like death, Ram Dass, anchorless Christianity, High Church proper, sacrament, ego inflation, mind on top of mind, the revolution will not be televised, making a “one” a “two”, God is all there is, the darkened path, rationalizing belief, cold exposure, breathing, your body is a temple, spiritual materialism, realization, photocopies of bliss, the garden of eden, birth and death are real, but they do not happen to YOU, covid industry, stillness wins, multi-tasking, the most helpful fiction, single-mindedness, jnana yoga, different gates, Ram Ram Ram, Trump “considering the matter”, lying to ourselves, the glove's on the wrong foot… so to speak, EloHIM, EloME, make friends with change, dissolving, shadow-banned, buried in the algorithm   Find High Church on Instagram here! The Perfect Waste of Time Album by High Church Ram Dass Reading 1  Ram Dass Reading 2

This episode of High Church includes thoughts on:  The Father doesn't know the time, perpetual tardiness, possibility, the best thing that could happen, behaving, plant medicines, river of life, the Work, virtues, shoulds, parenting influencers, Rob Bell, Dave Chapelle, ride or die, TristON, connection, Meta/Metta, loving-kindness meditation, a dream within a dream, Inception, dreaming down another level, a second ego, waking higher, tickling ears, deleting people, "if they're wrong I don't wanna be right", missions trips to New Mexico, hoarders, Navajo spirituality, Rupert Spira, Being Myself, ego, story making, gardening, treasures in heaven, sleep training, kid leashes, Succession, Alan Watts, The Perfect Waste of Time, meditation album, The Gift, Hafiz, Bring the Man to Me Find High Church on Instagram here! Being Myself by Rupert Spira The Gift by Hafiz, translated by Daniel Ladinsky The Perfect Waste of Time Album by High Church

This episode of High Church includes thoughts on:  Special guest Kirsten Perkins, vibration, hearing yourself talk, pastors, the me part of me, talking about nothing, Seinfeld, Kirsten doesn't listen to the podcast, should-ing, church guilt, spiritual coats, waiting periods, liminal space, rivers and currents and streams, where am I going?, she's lost her way, egoic Brandon, whopper thoughts, sold out for Christ, goals are dumb, promo codes, DM for collab, work voice, drifter, letting go, the fear of ending, foreboding joy, Taylor Swift, pastor performance, Aspergers, narcissism, honesty   Find High Church here!

This episode of High Church includes thoughts on:  Special guest Lisa Sun, podcast personas, mansplaining, putting on a self, cannabis, pugnacious behavior, bickering, marriage, longing for authenticity, “mm, good point”, learned behaviors, six foot bongs, watching yourself brush your teeth, the “real” you, awakening experiences you, your oldest habit, holding onto thoughts, the Big Death, a really funny show, Christ, the eucharist, union, remember the Awareness, doing sex, what quitting means for your life, losing and finding, just a matter of when, nothing to say, free enough to be annoying, purity cultures, control, Lisa did not check out, the perfect closing   Find High Church here!

This episode of High Church includes thoughts on:  Special guest Sean Haworth, evangelical church, leaving church, reconnecting, running, youth camping trips, eco-theology, the Green Knight, homeschool, too many skills, working at a church, paying attention to your body, curiosity, questions, scratching the teaching itch, preaching to yourself, flow, God beyond church, endings, an amazing death, divorce, chanting, narrowing of thought, 100 mile ultra, the ups and downs, presence, remember be here now, what it takes to free us, gratitude, cooler lids, closure, your path to run, the five-pointed-star, a date with Death, the sash, attachment, empty handed, hoping against hope, why is goodness not enough?, pain is inevitable, suffering is optional, buy the ticket, take the ride, meaning, obscurity, becoming nobody   Find Sean here! Find High Church here! Love to you all,  Brandon and River

This episode of High Church includes thoughts on:  Parenting, children are gurus, Ram Dass, Maharaji, Scenes from a Marriage, bypass, Being where you're not, attachment to a persona, “i”, pinching yourself awake, Previous-ness, “mine”, responding from a role, materialism, every thought captive, Noah Gundersen, Babel, forgetting, reaching the Divine, the not-self, we're always telling the truth, stillness doesn't begin once action ceases, returning to stillness, resistance, Seinfeld, going “out”, get in the fight, compressing the infinite, contrast, infinite spaciousness, emptiness, Range Rovers for gurus, madden on ps3, rationing snacks, it's about me, mind chatter, people watching people,  conversations with a false self all day, keeping score, points,  Nisargadatta Maharaj, One Essence, What God smells like, Kirtan, Interstellar, Prior Canvas Reflection   Support us by purchasing a hat or sticker pack here! (link in bio)

This episode of High Church includes thoughts on:  Leaf blowers, neighbors, “John”, go-bags, garage sales, wifi networks, “N0Prn4Me”, taking yourself seriously, “Who Dies?”, 5 stages of grief, hospice, conscious living, who we think we are, seeing things as we are, molten reality, immediacy, the is-ness-of-the-erupting-volcano, “life is not about you”, perspective, if you're on time you're late, it is about YOU, experiencing the Center, the Big Bang, ouroboros of desire, false personas, what IS, accepting Reality, George Floyd, the stuff with Florida, forgetting again, perception, real but not true, changing the Perceiver, shoshin, stickiness, question who _____, Christian culture, current events, bible and the newspaper, you're the molten, being heat itself, perpetual previousness, dying before you die, the yoga of life, each moment is the sermon of the day, stillness does all the work, the matrix, Trinity pinning you to the wall, Knowing, can you be with it?, grace, curiosity and surrender, blank calendars, a reflection/benediction for the week

This episode of High Church includes thoughts on: Charting your own course, working at churches, bible degrees, pentecost can occur whenever, only you can confirm “It”, the doubtless place, letting go, spiritual bypass, that which is Immovable, therapy, approval, mirroring, projections, integration, the truth of who “You” really are, no preferences, no harm, undertow, spiritual spin-cycle, moves of the Spirit, scuba spirituality, a trick from satan, Christian mysticism, cross-pollinating, subscription spirituality, Big Sean, procrastination, up against a wall, done playing the game, hidden in plain sight, eternity as NOW, please buy our shit, forgetting a quote, merchandise! Support us by purchasing a hat or sticker pack here! (link in bio)

This episode of High Church includes thoughts on:  Special guest Elias Pack, Orange County, AA, being raised a different gender, drugs, liberation, recovery, California Bible Belt, 12-step, sobriety, first the river's a river…, self trust, healing, mentors, relaxing into Self, intimacy, effortlessness, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, purity cultures, groundlessness, shadow projections, golden projections, the last guru, Mooji, sexuality, gender, clearing the fog, angels, queer spirituality, 87% straight, feeling for the juicy energy, normativity, shifts, ‘who needs the label?', at home with change, self actualization, attachment, irrational safety, kundalini awakening, the Real, re-experiencing yourself, the most important question to ask, being where you are, going for what you want   Find Elias here! Find High Church here! Love to you all,  Brandon and River

This episode of High Church includes thoughts on:  Moving, dishwashers, new children, lasagna, depression, Anne Lamott (Dusk, Night, Dawn), Midnight Gospel, dirt on your face, time, anxiety, dreams, enlightenment, missing the transmission, “you have all the time in the world”, the currency of time, vaxxed and relaxed, Inside, Bo Burnham, watering the dead grass, the Divine will strip you naked, climbing mountains, shoshin, onsite, horse therapy, impermanence, interconnection, death, the end of the world, rebirth, feel the ground, a reason to hide, mental health, cancelling your Amazon subscription, boomer mush brains, the age of resistance, moving inward, feel the floor beneath your feet, Que Sera Sera

Happy Pride, Friends! This episode of High Church includes thoughts on:  Sami and Beans (Everyday Lesbians!), Pride, TikTok voice, falling in love, church, Claritin Love, cracks in the foundation, disembodiment, waking up, mega churches, more than four walls, fundamentalism, evangelicalism, deconstruction, reconstruction, charging up the crystals, phases, loving our whole selves, meaning making, the root, purity culture, before you were woke, rules, duality, the other side, enneagram, holding on, releasing, creative sabbaticals, permanence, fluidity, failure as not showing up fully, something is breaking that needs to break, coming out, relationships with our bodies, lifting gyms, Love Wins, breath prayer, reinterpretation, the bible, homesickness, no rules, wild women, intention, untethered, conscious intention, safety, divinity within, at home within, therapy, vulnerability, cracking your heart, call your grandma, Kin Euphorics Connect with Sami on Instagram Connect with Beans on Instagram or britbarron.com Connect with High Church on Instagram

Episode 25 features our beloved friend Tim Fish.   This episode of High Church includes thoughts on: Doubling down, it takes a while, cults, 40,000 books, a thing works until it doesn't, Onsite, the question we ask with our lives, belonging, acceptance, assimilation, authenticity, some other version of ourselves, mushrooms, nowhere to go, preparation, ego, self trust, IFS, therapy, different members of the family, money scripts, throne of judgment, the answer, high church masterclass, the only question, non attachment, disembodied god, musical chairs, who created god, letting it come to you, foster care, dissolving, grace, kid-gurus, getting out of the way, leaving the program, making a gate a wall, passing through, here and now, staying cool as a cucumber, acting effortlessly, holding the I AM, being crucified, hitler, moving too fast, of what concern is this to you?, being on the right side, activism, george floyd, being somewhere other than here, working on yourself, being with what IS, nonresistance, sailboats, boat curtains, suffering, seeing with clarity, shaving with a dirty mirror, evil within, god drinking god, enmeshment, the giving tree, different trips, child gurus, who's wife? who's child?   Find us on Instagram:  @highchurchpod  

Special guests (our wives) Kirsten and Lisa join the podcast this week! We get into the following: high church in the home, the second job, my back hurts, a new little community, the deep place, always connected, practicing the presence of God, remembering, creating things to do, paradigm shifts, spiritual orientation, achievement, enneagram, winning at church, you already have “it”, black and milds, dog cigarettes, the mirror, babel, the cosmic joke, failure, clinging, validation, acceptance, quitting a game you're winning, climbing ladders, relationships, divorce, a meeting of hearts and minds, really churchy words, paradox, emptying, “don't cling to me”, Christ consciousness, achieving emptiness, bottom of the bucket, feeling it, here, “Shh, I'm hot!”, no bucket, everything/nothing matters, intellectualizing, awareness, God within me, awakening, I was there all along, fear response, the body knows before the mind, pre-game jitters, mind computations, compassion, trauma, therapeutic/spiritual intersection, therapy, the expectation to be what you're not, getting a new spiritual practice, versions of ourselves, denial, self acceptance, couple's therapy, cycles, Little Tree, Doge  

This episode of High Church includes thoughts on: Special guest Charlie Birns from Be With!, Memory, Therapy dogs, The stories we tell and believe, Creating ourselves, Ex nihilo, Filling space, “getting ‘the flu'”, Acting, Anthony Hopkins, Sculpting therapy, IFS, the family of self within, the body keeps the score, hypnotherapy, NLP, tinkering with the mind, when you move to LA, Holy Spirit, Siddhis, attachments to power, Mooji, Walt Whitman, Van Gogh, Jean Gebser, Bonnie Brainbridge Cohen, embodiment, embryonic breathing, birthing and trauma, breathwork, no one left unscathed, meaning making, integration of mind and heart, an incarnated experience, bouncing off Christ, ditching Charlie, what's next for spirituality?, what's possible for consciousness/a field of resonance?, Be With, decentralization, the Jake Paul era, connection, and The Blue Pearl   Find us on Instagram:  @highchurchpod   Connect with Charlie : Instagram Be With Shop : Enter here

This episode of High Church includes thoughts on: Special guest Trace Bell!, Consciousness, Influence and Autonomy, Following your own questions, Parenting, Rob Bell, Meditation, Moving into the body, Conscious living and eating, "Is comfortability a word?", Brandon's joke fail, Byron Katie, Spiritual practice, Awareness, What IS, The purpose of life is to Be, Honesty and ego, Paradox, Spirituality and humor, Lila, Becoming the teaching, Maharaji, Spiritual teachers, Oneness, The heart of parenting, Embodiment, Honesty, Not having the answers, Vulnerable parenting, Babies as portals into the Now, Saturday School   Find us on Instagram:  @highchurchpod   Connect with Trace: tracebelll.com  

This episode of High Church includes thoughts on: Tidal waves, backyard renovations, prayer beads, chopping wood and carrying water, pluralism, Bubba Gump delivers, moving between traditions, “why do you call me good?”, the body-mind, the wrong reader, reading the bible, consciousness, waking/dream/sleep states, anesthesiology, energy fields, altered states, psychedelics, vibration, Shake Shack, freedom from/to, and breast milk protein shakes   We recorded this live on Instagram, where you can watch this episode and other past episodes in our Reels section @highchurchpod   Resources discussed include: How Not To Get Lost In Concepts Memory, Consciousness & Coma [Full Talk], Sadhguru at Harvard Medical School

This episode of High Church includes thoughts on:   Self Inquiry, emancipation from attachment to illusion, Mystery, holding paths lightly, the mind, always wanting to level up, feeding the Heart, hang up the phone after you get the message, the beauty of a path, procrastinating knowing the Self, giving up “working on” self, burning away that which you perceive to be “spiritual”, asking “just tell me what to do!”, “strive drive”, your natural state, and every path is a trap   Books discussed include:   Be As You Are - Ramana Maharshi   Everything Is An Illusion - Ramana Maharshi, Nisargadatta, Sankara, etc.    

This episode of High Church includes: Neighbors, Ramana Maharshi, Falling In, Questions, The soul has nothing to work on, Judgment, Self help, Achievement, Giving up the ghost, No preferences, The mind needing to “know”, Awakening, Asking questions that will change your life, Having the life you've always wanted, Failure, Evasion from failure, Cloverfield, Suppression, We're all closeted, “say if you wouldn't”, Taking the ride you're on, and You don't need to move to India, Be enlightened NOW, The next part of the curriculum, Awakening is pursuing you, The yoga of life Instagram: @highchurchpod Book Mentions :   Leo Tolstoy: The Three Questions Adyashanti : The Impact of Awakening

Meditation/Reflection - Brandon

This Episode of High Church Includes: Meghan and Harry, The Illusion of Security, Monkey Bars, Liminal Space, Playing With Fire, Procedurialism, God is Unconscious, Vulnerability, A Muffler From Hell, Stillness Will Burn Everything Away, All Flags, and Living in the Heart. 

Watch the IG Live version @highchurchpod on Instagram

Meditation/Reflection - Brandon

Watch the IG Live version @highchurchpod on Instagram

Watch the IG Live version @highchurchpod on Instagram