Life As Spiritual Practice

Whether it's quarantine, shelter in place, or social distancing, how could this challenging and extraordinary time become a spiritual practice? I share some ideas of ways I am opening curiosity and vulnerability in what is an uncertain and scary time. I hope you'll join me, and then share the ways that are helping you keep your heart open in this season.

We think of game-playing as frivolous, indulgent, child-like. Game store owner and philosopher Kylie Prymus shares how games have changed his life, and will leave you wanting to find a game to play with your loved ones, to experience the rich field of relationship-building and spiritual insight that awaits you on the board.SHOW NOTESGames UnlimitedReiner KniziaTheory of Fun for Game Design by Raph KosterThe Grasshopper: Games, Life, and Utopia by Bernard SuitsTED Talk by Jane McGonigalCenter for Play and ExplorationWe also mentioned the games Hanabi, Medium, and Mysterium

"Honoring mess" is a surprising phrase, one that jars with our mental image of a spiritual life that is structured, orderly, quiet. Mystic and change agent Preeta Banerjee shares how her experience with the divine feminine has invited her into a flexible, collaborative, creative way of being. You will find tools and inspiration to embrace every bit of life's messy reality in this interspiritual, inspiring conversation.SHOW LINKSPreeta’s WebsiteLife As A Mix Master by Preeta BanerjeeRage Becomes Her by Soraya Chemaly“The Guest House” by RumiThe Mystic Soul ProjectIdea 2 Form Collaborative Design StudioBrené BrownThe Celestine Prophecy by James RedfieldBig Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert

Photography can be a place of intimacy and relationship with the holy, if we slow down and open up to the image before us. Stephanie Bell shares her own transforming experiences with photography as a spiritual practice, and offers ways to play with this practice in our daily life. SHOW NOTESStephanie’s WebsiteAllen GinsbergEyes of the Heart: Photography As a Christian Contemplative Practice by Christine Valters PaintnerThe Open DoorGarfield Community FarmEarth Monastery ProjectLet Your Life Speak by Parker PalmerThis Life That Is Ours by Lauren Burdette

In this conversation, Chichi Agorom makes the Enneagram accessible, shares her own journey from skeptic to teacher, and beautifully captures the graces she has experienced from engaging with this ancient tool. Whether you’ve never head of the Enneagram or have been studying it for years, you’ll find food for your soul.Show NotesChichi’s WebsiteThe Narrative Tradition of the EnneagramRichard Rohr’s reflection on language and metaphorOnline Enneagram testThe Enneagram: Understanding Yourself & Others In Your Life by Helen PalmerBook a Type Discovery Session with Chichi

How can a hobby become a way to connect with God? Pastor BJ Woodworth shares his journey with home-brewing, revealing how fermentation is a metaphor for the spiritual life, and inspiring us to listen for ways to enjoy time with God in new ways.Show NotesInto the Silent Land: The Practice of Contemplation by Martin LairdLost in Wonder: Rediscovering the Spiritual Art of Attentiveness by Esther De WaalOn Celtic prayers over daily lifeThe Great Good Place by Ray OldenburgLetters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria RilkeConjectures of a Guilty Bystander by Thomas MertonIsaiah 30:15A Vow of Conversation by Thomas MertonCooked by Michael Pollan

Dr. Diane Millis joins me for a conversation about the power of telling more life-giving stories. As Diane says, the nature of our lives is narrative. We are inherent story-tellers, but all of us have stories that don’t serve us well. Diane shares her own experience of learning to tell more expansive stories, how that has shaped her knowledge of the holy, and offers tools to explore and expand the narratives within which we live.SHOW NOTESDiane’s websiteRe-Creating a Life: Learning How to Tell Our Most Life-Giving StoriesPsalms for Praying: An Invitation to Wholeness by Nan C. MerrillDan McAdamsKintsugi potteryFrederick BuechnerRichard RohrYoga with AdrieneStoryCorps

I am joined by a very special guest - my mother! Lou Ann Horstman shares her story of embracing her love of singing. You will be inspired by her journey with singing, how she traveled from seeing it as "decoration on the liturgy" to a rich and valid way of experiencing God's presence. Her story will make you want to sing more, and will ignite your curiosity about what practices might already exist in your life that are simply waiting to be taken seriously.SHOW NOTESThe Institute for Applied Meditation on the HeartThreshold ChoirOn the neuroscience of singingWomen Who Run With the Wolves by Dr. Clarissa Pinkola EstesLearning to Fall by Philip SimmonsThe Library Book by Susan OrleanAlthough House of St. Michael the Archangel is no longer an organization, I have inherited our publications and CDs. You can contact Lauren if you are interested in purchasing CDs. They are $10, and all proceeds will go to Caroline Becker, the widow of Tim Becker, the founder of the House.

In our last regular episode of Season 1, Barbara Mahany joins us to discuss motherhood as spiritual practice. Barbara is the author of several books, including Motherprayer, and she explores in her writing how parenting is an invitation into a holy curriculum. As she says, "no other spiritual practice could compel me in this way. Motherhood is so raw, real, and uncharted." We talk about what we have learned through our mothering, and how writing about our lives as mothers has helped us to open up to the holy potential of this role.SHOW NOTESBarbara’s blog, Pull Up A ChairMotherprayerBlessings of MotherprayerThe Chicago Interfaith Family School

How can we move from seeing our children as "in the way" of our spiritual practices, and instead see them as the way itself? Gavriel Strauss shares from his own experience as a father of two, and provides simple, practical ways to open up to the spiritual potential of fatherhood.Gavriel is a spiritual counselor, and the founder of Evolving Judaism and Path of Tikkün, two organizations committed to the development of universal Jewish spiritual practice as a means of personal and collective transformation.Whether you are a father yourself, or want to understand the fathers in your life better, this is an enlightening conversation.SHOW NOTESGavriel’s websiteEvolving JudaismPath of TikkunNeufeld InstituteCastellino Prenatal and Birth Therapy Training

What if an entire season of life could be a spiritual practice? L. Roger Owens, author of Threshold of Discovery, shares how entering his 40th year with curiosity and intention opened him up to surprising connection with God. He will inspire you to wonder about how your current season of life might also become a spiritual practice.SHOW NOTESRoger’s websiteThreshold of Discovery: A Field Guide to Spirituality in Midlife“Suspended” by Denise LevertovHymn lyrics for “Oh Love That Will Not Let Me Go”The Five Buddhist RemembrancesThe Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of LoyolaThe Quotidian Mysteries by Kathleen NorrisThomas Merton’s writingsRevelations of Divine Love by Julian of NorwichJim GaffiganMorning Prayer “New every morning is your love, great God of light.”

Katherine Josten, the founder and Executive Director of the Global Art Project for Peace, shares stories of the surprising way deep listening has informed her own artistic practice. She inspires us to listen deeply, and to tend to the creative responses that rise in us, whether we think of ourselves as "artistic" or not.SHOW NOTESKatherine’s websiteThe Global Art Project

"When you're in better relationship with the earth and with people," says John Creasy, "it's a natural connection point to the Creator." John is a pastor and executive director of a permaculture farm in Pittsburgh, PA. He shares with us ways that we can draw on the principles of permaculture to heal our relationship with the Earth, and to deepen our relationship with God.SHOW NOTESGarfield Community FarmMusic by This Side of EveThe Food Forest Handbook by Darrell Frey and Michelle CzolbaThe Signature of Jesus by Brennan ManningJohn Phillip NewellLast Child in the Woods by Richard LouvPermaculture: Principles & Pathways Beyond Sustainability by David HolmgrenBackpacking with the Saints by Belden C. Lane

What if we could see our dream world as a place of playful connection with God? I am joined by spiritual director Dr. Kristen Hobby, who provides us with tools and inspiration to approach our dreams with curiosity and openness instead of fear or dismissal.SHOW NOTESKristen’s WebsiteDream AppJeremy TaylorKristen’s Guide to Working with Dreams

"Most people think of beauty as innocuous," Rita Patel says, "but it's actually radical." Rita is an artist and creativity consultant who has dived deeply into beauty as a spiritual practice in both her life and her work.We discuss how taking beauty seriously has changed her life, opening her heart and mind to new experiences and ways of thinking. Rita then invites you to consider how you can make beauty a central part of your day, providing us with concrete exercises to engage this concept.Show NotesMore about Rita PatelJohn O’Donohue’s conversation with Krista Tippett on OnBeingBeauty: The Invisible Embrace by John O’DonohueZen Hospice Project

In this inaugural episode, Yael Allen joins us to interview me about who I am and how listening became a significant spiritual practice for me. You’ll be invited to imagine what it could be like for you to engage listening more deeply in your own life.