Spiritual Onion

Darkness Descending focuses on the Dark Night of the Soul, the Dark Night of Society, and the Dark Night of the World.  Using archetypal lenses of the Anti-Christ and the Apocalypse, Spiritual Onion provides a thoughtful and sobering look at the world around us.

A painful and heart-breaking compilation of this administration's destruction.  This is no political attack.  Rather, we examine Trump's decisions through both a psychological and spiritual lens.  Be forewarned.

Village of Idiots explores the increasing number of uneducated and ill-informed Americans.  The lack of critical thinking, the inability to self-reflect, and our declining public schools leave us open to authoritarianism and meaningless lives.

Subversive Spirituality takes a look at how capitalism and its cronies capture and consume everything, including subversive spiritual ideas, counter-cultural movements, psychotherapy and, dare I say, YOU. 

This episode explores books, music, the loss of community, the re-imagining of vocation, and a visit by Obadiah the crusty, smelly shepherd.  

Hear an in-depth and honest analysis of how the culture is self-destructing as the False, the Bad, and the Ugly replace the True, the Good, and the Beautiful.  The podcast concludes with a look at how we can all take a small step in the right direction.  Let people of good will join together!

Shame Kills the Soul, Part 2 examines the connection between shame and envy—the connection between shame and bullying—the Church's complicity in shaming—​its failure to follow Jesus' teaching on non-judgment—and the power of acceptance.​

No other feeling does as much damage to our unique personality as does shame.  Our second stage of development as toddlers offers us the challenge of Autonomy versus Shame and its kissing cousin Self-Doubt. Autonomy allows us to be self-motivating—to freely explore ourselves and the world around us.  Controlled by others, Shame and Self-Doubt kill the soul and keep us confined within a prison constructed by others.  

WHEN YOU WERE BORN, WHO WAS THERE TO MEET YOU? We're looking at three initial building blocks for life, beginning with Trust versus Mistrust.  Let Spiritual Onion aid you in reflecting on your beginnings in the world.  Experience is key to shaping our ability to trust and our access to health mistrust.  And, when it comes to trust and mistrust of God, we reflect on the difference between belief and experience.

In this third podcast in our series, we ask: Do we always have to forgive?  How did Jesus view wealth (and those TV evangelists)? What did Jesus really have to say about family (and "family values")?  How about the challenge to love our enemies (How's that working in America right now!). 

In this second installment, we touch on church history; examine Jesus' teaching on non-judgment and the psychological phenomenon of projection; his conversation about pearls and pigs (sounds like a Prince song); and what Jesus did not say!

In this first session, we find out what was Jesus' favorite name for himself.  Why did he say that the whores were going into the Kingdom of Heaven before the most religious leaders of the day? Why did the mistranslation of the word for "Repent" negatively impacted Jesus' primary message?  All this and a helpful guide to approaching the Scriptures.

A Compassionate View Narcissism, Part Three: A Troubling Future. We continue our look at the characteristics of the narcissist. What is the connection between narcissistic injury and anxiety, depression, and addictive processes?  How did traditional Christian values mitigate narcissism? How does contemporary Christianity feed into our narcissism?  Plus, two intuitions to ponder!

A Compassionate View of Narcissism, Part Two: How Did We Get Here?  Why did Narcissistic Character Disorders develop in our time? We begin to look at the characteristics of entitlement and the lack of empathy with the narcissist.  also, the connection between injury to the sense of self and the explosion of violence in our culture.  And more!

Tune into Spiritual Onion where we examine an overused and misunderstood psychological slur. "A Compassionate View of Narcissism, Part One."  Narcissistic Characters Disorders are today's most frequent mental health diagnoses.  But how do we understand narcissism?  First, we must reflect on our sense of self and its needs from birth to death.

Make Haste Slowly: A Soulful Spirituality, Part Two takes us deeper into Soul's domain and shows us how joining Spirit and Soul enriches and enlivens our lives.  A critical move for a world on fire.

Part One looks at the dire state of religion and the world where Spirit has dominated our approach to life and where Soul has been cast out.  Part One examines the dominance of Spirit and introduces the importance of Soul in our lives.

The dream is the closest we will come to experiencing the new reality of life to come.  Our podcast explores, “Imagining the Afterlife.”  Since no one knows the afterlife experientially, this will be a spiritual and soulful imagining of heaven using the hints and clues we've been given. 

If the previous podcast, Dream Me Awake, awakened an interest to work with your dreams, the bonus podcast, Dream Resources, is just what you need to begin peeling the layers of those onions.  Oops, I mean dreams.

Every one of us dreams multiple times a night, but few of us pay attention. even if we do attend to our dreams, we may not know how to approach our dreams. "Dream Me Awake" provides a spiritual and soulful look at the dream. I'll use several of my “big dreams” to illuminate how dreams inform our lives.  Look for a bonus podcast that offers resources for working with your dreams. 

IN ORDER TO HAVE A CHANCE OF LIVING A FULLY FLOURISHING LIFE, WE MUSTBE ABLE TO FACE AND PROCESS THE MYRIAD OF LOSSES THAT FALL ON US IN ALIFETIME. LIFE IS LOSS. BOTH SPIRITUALITY AND DEPTH PSYCHOLOGY ARE TOOLSTHAT GUIDE US THROUGH THE PATTERN OF LOSS AND NEW LIFE THAT LIES ATTHE HEART OF OUR LIVES. TAKE A LISTEN TO LIFE, LOVE AND LOSS.

Everywhere we look, we live in a culture of extremes—on the right and on the left.  Religion, politics, social issues—it seems as though the middle has evaporated.  So, how can we be People of the Middle Way?

Spiritual Onion returns with a thought-provoking podcast.  Listen to the  second pod in our series, "Will the Real God Please Stand Up: Healthy Spirituality."  Feed your spirit and soul with no unwanted calories....

Having critically examined the spiritually sick God images put out there by politicians and pastors, we begin the task of reflecting on a healthy contemporary spirituality.  As always, the Onion Band closes things out with a song:  "One of Us."

There are as many religions as there are individuals.  What is really going on when someone talks about "God?"  Just because it sounds religious doesn't mean it bears any resemblance to sacred reality.  So, Will The Real God Please Stand Up!  In this, the first of two podcasts, we'll explore the many God-images on the contemporary scene.  It's time to call out all the craziness!

The second season of Spiritual Onion kicks off with an overview of the travels on our Spiritual Journey.  On The Spiritual Journey, we travel from Road to Path to Trail with a stop along the Way at The Crossroads.  And we conclude with the Onion Band letting it rip with Lou Reed's Busload of Faith.  You're in for a great ride as Spiritual Onion makes its return!

You gotta die before you die so you can get resurrected before you die.  That ain't no lie!

Along with everyone in the world, we are all being crucified.  What more is there to say?  Well, I got a few things to say or I wouldn't be doing a podcast….

Today's Cancel Culture punishes anyone for speaking the wrong word, for making the wrong move, or for possessing the wrong viewpoint.  How does Jesus deal with those closest to him who betray him with the wrong word, the wrong love, the wrong viewpoint?

Envy, the deadliest of the seven deadly sins, rears its ugly head in the parable of the Prodigal Son.  To our detriment, we pay little attention to the older brother, who waits until the end of the tale to make his appearance.  That's because it has taken the discipline of depth psychology to understand what's truly going on.

Happy. happy, happy.  We want to be happy.  Happy all the time.  We got Happy Fever!  But is that realistic?  Is that authentic living? Is that the point of life?  Are happy people spiritual people?  Or do we need to rethink our approach to happiness?  This podcast won't provide you with happy shoes, but it will change the way you think!

Who doesn't love a peak experience??!!  The challenge is when we must come down from the mountain and face the grind of daily life.  We're all in this together, and we can all learn how to manage this archetypal experience.

When it comes to blessings, most of us don't want the blessings that Jesus outlines.  Why?  Because Jesus' blessings have nothing to do with wealth, success, health, or happiness.  What the heck is going on? 

Familiarity breeds contempt, even when it comes to Jesus.  So, what chance do we have of being truly seen by others?  And why is it so important to be seen by others?  Listen and see…

Water is transformed into wine at a wedding in Cana.  Ongoing, the mundane is transformed into the sacred.  Even with all the darkness in the world, joy is all around us.  We may just need to attune ourselves to the tangible, palpable, and enlivening moments as they appear before us.

Typical New Year's resolutions don't cut it.  Let's re-think!  We need to hold in tension two opposing statements: “Everything is just fine the way it is” and “There is a lot of room for improvement.”  How about making resolutions that contribute to the common good?

God comes down to earth as an infant who cannot find “room at the inn.”  This has nothing to do with a crabby motel manager, but everything to do with the holy family being slammed by Joseph's kinfolks. Get into the Christmas spirit this year by listening to the Spiritual Onion with your kinfolk!We wish you all a very merry Christmas!Photo by Inbal Malca on Unsplash

Narcissism is today's spiritual and psychological scourge.  Healing may come from a spiritual life that encourages humility and the surrender of our small self to a higher power. 

Each one of us belongs to various tribes. Many of us remain in this tribal mentality throughout our lives.The world is dying for each of us to find a path of spiritual integrity. Will you answer the call? Photo by nina lindgren on Unsplash

Spiritual Onion launches by peeling back layers of outdated thinking.  We awaken to the ancient understanding of religion so we might awaken to a new way of practicing spirituality.