Podcasts about being lost

A monk asked Hongzhi, “What about the ones who have gone?”Hongzhi said, “White clouds rise to the top of the valleys, blue peakslean into the empty sky.”The monk asked, “What about the ones who return?”Hongzhi said, “Heads covered in white hair, they leave the cliffs andvalleys. In the dead of night they descend through the clouds to themarket stalls.”“What about the ones who neither come nor go?”“The stone woman calls them back from their dream of the world.”As the year comes to an end, I have been spending time with the archetype of the Stone Woman. A character who mysteriously turns up throughout the Chan koan tradition. We find her getting up to dance in the Precious Mirror Samadhi, giving birth to a child at night in the Mountains and Rivers Sutra and calling us back from our dream of the world in this dialogue with Hongzhi.Who is this woman of stone?Perhaps you have met her as the ancient boulders that watch over you during a favorite hike, or the large rocks you used to climb and rest on as a child. Perhaps you've held her hand while walking on the beach or along a river. Or maybe you've encountered her in the stone buildings or concrete sidewalks of your neighborhood.Her stillness and quiet are reminiscent of your own deeply silent Mind.Her pregnant darkness allows all of creation to spring forth. Including you, and me, and each thought, word, expression, desire, feeling and sensation.Koans contain layers of meaning, and while their intention is to aid us in awakening to the profound truth of non-separation—they also have a way of meeting us exactly where we are. So as one year turns into another. Let's take the questioner's inquiries to heart.What about the ones who have gone? They ask—Well, where have you gone? These last 12 months. What/who did you visit? What did you see? What experiences did you seek out? What did you learn from your going?Is there a word, phrase, image—that speaks to your going and learning this last year?Hongzhi gives us this one: “White clouds rise to the top of the valleys, blue peaks lean into the empty sky.”Then we are asked: What about the ones who return?What did you return to? Where did you take refuge?What are places of return for you? Physical, mental, emotional, spiritual? Who do you return to?How have you shared or offered yourself? Who/what are you in service to?Is there a connection to going/learning—and returning?Is there an image, word, phrase connected to returning, refuge or offering?Hongzhi again gives us one: “Heads covered in white hair, they leave the cliffs and valleys. In the dead of night they descend through the clouds to the market stalls.”Lastly the questioner asks, what about those who neither come nor go?What have you stayed with? Whether its sobriety, a relationship, vows, commitments, a creative project, a home, a child—reflect on stayingWhat commitments did you honor? What values did you live by?Reflect on the challenges and joys of staying.What image, word or phrase captures the art of staying for you.Hongzhi says: The stone woman calls them back from their dream of the worldNow, for a moment let yourself be here, let thoughts come and go, body sensations come and go, but really be here at the stillness of your being.Whats it like to be here—here?Be the stone woman.Connect to the stillness and quiet of stone—the unconditioned heartPrajna Paramita—wisdom beyond wisdomThere is something beautiful here, being called back from our dreams of the world, the things we did, didn't do, our learnings.To just be here, right hereAnd let our dreams for the next year be in communion with the dream of the stone woman, the dream of awakening—What is that like?To let your dreams merge with the great dream, your life touch this one unconditioned life.To close, I'll leave you with this poem by Marie Howe. Sending you blessings for the New Year.SINGULARITYby Marie Howe(after Stephen Hawking)Do you sometimes want to wake up to the singularitywe once were?so compact nobodyneeded a bed, or food or money —nobody hiding in the school bathroomor home alonepulling open the drawerwhere the pills are kept.For every atom belonging to me as goodBelongs to you. Remember?There was no Nature. Nothem. No teststo determine if the elephantgrieves her calf or ifthe coral reef feels pain. Trashedoceans don't speak English or Farsi or French;would that we could wake up to what we were— when we were ocean and before thatto when sky was earth, and animal was energy, and rock wasliquid and stars were space and space was notat all — nothingbefore we came to believe humans were so importantbefore this awful loneliness.Can molecules recall it?what once was? before anything happened?No I, no We, no one. No wasNo verb no nounonly a tiny tiny dot brimming withis is is is isAll everything homeI'm Amy Kisei. I am a Zen Buddhist Teacher, Spiritual Counselor, budding Astrologer and Artist. I offer 1:1 Spiritual Counseling sessions in the styles of IFS and somatic mindfulness. I also offer astrology readings. Check out my website to learn more.Below you can find a list of weekly and monthly online and in-person practice opportunities. I will be traveling to Oregon in February and will be facilitating three events of varying lengths while I am there (most of which are taking place at Great Vow Zen Monastery.)Weekly Online Meditation EventMonday Night Dharma — 6P PT / 9P ET Join weekly for drop-in meditation and dharma talk. Feel free to join anytime. Event last about 1.5 hours. ZOOM LINKMonthly Online Practice EventSky+Rose: The Ritual of Being Lost on Sunday January 510:30A - 12:30P PT / 1:30P - 3:30P ETRSVPIn-Person in OregonFeb 1 — Sky+Rose Daylong Retreat: The Strange Garden of Desire The strange garden of desire: wandering, dreaming, feasting, tending, destroying.In this daylong workshop each person will explore their singular Strange Garden of Desires, taking a fresh look at what loves, longings, obsessions and obligations live within us.Through parts work, meditation, and practices of somatic expression we will engage our gardens in five distinct ways: wandering, dreaming, tending, feasting and destroying.Feb 2 - 9 — Pari-Nirvana Sesshin: A Meditation Retreat exploring Life, Death & the UnknownFeb 13 - 16 — Emergent Darkness – A Creative Process, Parts Work and Zen RetreatIn-Person in Ohio(See Mud Lotus Sangha Calendar for weekly meditation events, classes and retreats) This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amykisei.substack.com/subscribe

When we enter the path of practice, two paths open up simultaneously—first we have the path of what we think we are doing. This is the practice method, the conceptual framework, the spoken vow that we turn towards, that we make effort at, that we can talk about more or less.The other path is the path of what is actually happening. It is darker, more mysterious, often below the level of consciousness, embodied in our soma. This path is before words, before concepts and identification, its a path that is more like an open field, without any directions, markers or guardrails. The pathless path.When someone asked one of Dongshan's students—what does your teacher teach?The student replied: The dark way, the bird's path and the open hand.As we enter the dark moon time of the year, the period of late autumn/early winter where the nights are long and dark. I want to talk about the Dark Side of Enlightenment—the path of what's actually happening. To approach, we lean into story + metaphor and listen with our deeply secret minds, our innermost hearts.In the Zen tradition we celebrate the Buddha's Awakening in early December, as a culmination of the year of practice. When we tell the Buddha's story it is often told in the style of The Hero's Journey. Its a path of revelation, hard work, mastering techniques and the conquering of Maara.Another story, I find important to tell is the story of the Buddha's wife—Yasodhara.This story is from the Hidden Lamp, a collection of koans from the Buddhist Women Ancestors, the source of this story comes from the Sarvastivadin tradition.Yasodhara was Siddartha Gautama's wife. In one of the less well-known stories told about her life, Yasdohara (The Glorious One) and Siddartha had been married in many previous lifetimes. The night that Siddartha left home, Yasodhara had eight dreams that foretold his awakening, and so she encouraged him to leave. They made love before he left, and their son, Rahula, was conceived.For the next six years, Yasodhara remained pregnant with Rahula, and although she did not leave home, she traveled the same spiritual path and experienced the same difficulties as her husband Siddhartha. She gave birth to Rahula (Moon God in this particular story) on the full moon night of the Buddha's enlightenment. She prophesied that Siddhartha had awakened and that he would return in six years. Later, she and her son Rahula both became part of the Buddhist sangha.Yasodhara's path is the Yin to the Buddha's Yang way. It reminds us that in truth both are important, and make up the complete path of this life as spiritual practice.In Yasodhara's story we open to mysteries of dream, embodiment, pregnancy, intuition and birth. We learn about the patience of staying with, of trusting the unseen processes at work. We ripen through our devotion to life—the creative force alive in each of us.So, let's look a little closer at some of the teachings in Yasodhara's story.Yasodhara has a series of eight dreams.Dreams—where do they come from?These images that sometimes seem to ring of deep clarity— yet appear when we are in deep slumber, one with the night—seemingly unconscious. Dreams illuminate the dark, dark.How is it that information, awareness, insight, wisdom, deep feeling and profound experience can happen in the times when our conscious mind is deeply asleep, when we are seemingly unaware of our surroundings?Dream invites us to explore the nature of mind/consciousness. The relationship between sleep and wakefulness. What is your experience of dream? Have you ever had a dream of insight, clarity or deep feeling? Have you ever trusted information that came through a dream? Do dream images linger in your heart from time to time? What is dream?I'd love to hear your reflections to these questions. Feel free to leave a comment!Throughout the buddhist tradition, dream is used as a metaphor for the nature of phenomena, thoughts, sensations, feelings, experience. We say they are dream-like, in that they can't be grasped. If we try to hold onto a moment of experience, it slips away only to be filled with the ever presence of this.Yasodhara's path invites us to explore the nature of dream and sleep. To include the wisdom of the night, in this mysterious path of practice-awakening.Many speak of pregnancy as a time when intuition is heightened and dreams take on a visionary quality.Another line from her story says—although she never left home.What is home? We often refer to insight or breakthroughs in Zen practice as a homecoming. When I lived at the monastery, many people would talk about the monastery as feeling like their home. Spiritual practice can often open us up to our innermost home.Byron Katie's commentary to the Diamond Sutra is called A Mind at Home with Itself. I love this phrase. We can know this too. Our being deeply at home in itself.Mind resting in its own nature.Chozen Roshi would use the phrase—always at Home. This touches something about what Yasodhara knew or discovered. Something that we can know or discover. The path back home doesn't require that we go anywhere.Or, how could we leave it—its always right here.Yasodhara's path also reminds us of the quality of surrender and trust.In the dark, darken further—instructs the dao de jingAnd so, she does. She trusts the process of pregnancy, she carries the sacred embryo, her connection to the Buddha extends beyond space and time.This is something else we can learn from her story.There are times in our spiritual practice, when we don't know what is happening. It feels dark, regressive. Maybe we are physically tired or mentally fatigued. Maybe we simply can't make out what we are doing or our motivation feels low. Maybe we feel a call to surrender to the mystery or are in a period of great doubt. We are still connected to this path of awakening, the Buddha loves us, deeply.We don't talk about the love of the Buddha's and ancestors a lot in the Zen tradition. But its true. The Buddha loves us. Our awakened nature wants us to wake-up, to realize ourselves.My teacher Hogen Roshi would say, the dark times are when our vows go the deepest.Chozen Roshi would encourage me to pray to the Buddhas and Ancestors whenever I hit periods of doubt, confusion or fear. The Buddhas and Ancestors are always available to offer support or guidance, she would say. You just have to ask. At other times she would say, We can't do this practice alone, ask the Buddhas and Ancestors for help.As we enter the period of winter, today, the solstice—the longest night of the year. May we remember that support and love is available always. May we discover the mind at home in itself. And nurture the seeds of awakening in everyone we meet.…Thanks for reading friends. This is an excerpt from a longer dharma talk, feel free to listen to the full talk, in it I also explore the archetype of the stone woman. I'm Amy Kisei. I am a Zen Buddhist Teacher, Spiritual Counselor, budding Astrologer and Artist. I offer 1:1 Spiritual Counseling sessions in the styles of IFS and somatic mindfulness. I also offer astrology readings. Check out my website to learn more.Below you can find a list of weekly and monthly online and in-person practice opportunities. I will be traveling to Oregon in February and will be facilitating three events of varying lengths, while I am there (most of which are taking place at Great Vow Zen Monastery.) Weekly Online Meditation EventMonday Night Dharma — 6P PT / 9P ET Join weekly for drop-in meditation and dharma talk. Feel free to join anytime. Event last about 1.5 hours. ZOOM LINKMonthly Online Practice EventSky+Rose: The Ritual of Being Lost on Sunday January 510:30A - 12:30P PT / 1:30P - 3:30P ETRSVPIn-Person in OregonFeb 1 — Sky+Rose Daylong Retreat: The Strange Garden of Desire (more information coming soon, save the date!)Feb 2 - 9 — Pari-Nirvana Sesshin: A Meditation Retreat exploring Life, Death & the UnknownFeb 13 - 16 — Emergent Darkness – A Creative Process, Parts Work and Zen RetreatIn-Person in Ohio (See Mud Lotus Sangha Calendar for weekly meditation events, classes and retreats)Thanks for reading Earth Dreams! This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amykisei.substack.com/subscribe

Dr. Bern Zumpano continues talking about the impotence of religion in this program and unless a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.Salvation is a free gift, you don't have to earn your way into Heaven.This program references scripture:John 14:62 Timothy 3:16Numbers 23:19Hebrews 4:16John 3:3Luke 16:16Romans 10:9-10,13Ephesians 2:8-9For more Free books, Sunday teachings and bible studies, please visit us at: www.walkinginpower.orgDr. Bern Zumpano is a Pastor and Teacher of the Word of God who has authored several books on Spirit-filled living through relationship with Jesus Christ and walking in the Power of the Holy Spirit. Bern has not only been a born-again believer for nearly the past 40 years, but also dedicated 31 years of his life to the study and clinical practice of medicine and surgery in the fields of psychiatry and brain surgery. He has held medical school professorships in psychiatry and neurosurgery and worked in private practice in both areas. Bern has an immense background in understanding the physical body, as well as the soul - the mind, will, and emotions - not only from a medical standpoint but also from a spiritual standpoint. With his background and training, he has been led by the Holy Spirit to teach "the Deep Things of God" (1 Cor. 2:10) with an emphasis on Spiritual Warfare (Jer. 51:20), Breaking Generations' Curses (Ex. 20:5; Lev. 26:40-44), walking in the Power of the Holy Spirit (John 14:12; 1 Cor. 4:20; Luke 17:21) and "the Restoration of All Things" (Acts 3:21). We at Word of Faith Ministries International-Miami hope and pray that these teachings of the Holy Spirit through Bern will edify and regenerate your spirit to gain a deeper understanding of God's Word and His truths so you can have a deeper and more intimate relationship with Him. May God bless you all!!

You must understand that there is a coming of judgement for unbelievers. Scripture refers to the evil heart of unbelief. God says that if you will not trust his revelation, if you will not trust his word as being of him and from him, if you will not walk in his word, that you are in unbelief and God is offering you a way out. Because God alone can change your heart.This program references scripture:Daniel 9:24-27Isaiah 48:16-17Isaiah 53:1-12For more Free books, Sunday teachings and bible studies, please visit us at: www.walkinginpower.orgDr. Bern Zumpano is a Pastor and Teacher of the Word of God who has authored several books on Spirit-filled living through relationship with Jesus Christ and walking in the Power of the Holy Spirit. Bern has not only been a born-again believer for nearly the past 40 years, but also dedicated 31 years of his life to the study and clinical practice of medicine and surgery in the fields of psychiatry and brain surgery. He has held medical school professorships in psychiatry and neurosurgery and worked in private practice in both areas. Bern has an immense background in understanding the physical body, as well as the soul - the mind, will, and emotions - not only from a medical standpoint but also from a spiritual standpoint. With his background and training, he has been led by the Holy Spirit to teach "the Deep Things of God" (1 Cor. 2:10) with an emphasis on Spiritual Warfare (Jer. 51:20), Breaking Generations' Curses (Ex. 20:5; Lev. 26:40-44), walking in the Power of the Holy Spirit (John 14:12; 1 Cor. 4:20; Luke 17:21) and "the Restoration of All Things" (Acts 3:21). We at Word of Faith Ministries International-Miami hope and pray that these teachings of the Holy Spirit through Bern will edify and regenerate your spirit to gain a deeper understanding of God's Word and His truths so you can have a deeper and more intimate relationship with Him. May God bless you all!!

Have your children grown up and moved out, leaving you navigating a new reality? Join us as we delve  into how women can rediscover their purpose once their primary role as caregivers shifts. This episode of Life after Kids offers valuable insights into the emotional and psychological challenges mothers face when transitioning from full-time parenting to an empty nest. We provided practical advice for mothers who are feeling a loss of identity, including key strategies to overcome feelings of irrelevance.Key Takeaways:Recognizing the shift from caregiver to finding new relevance and purpose can be challenging but is crucial for personal growth after children leave home.Understanding personality types, especially the Enneagram, can guide mothers to rediscover fulfilling roles that align with their inherent strengths.Taking steps such as volunteering, exploring creative outlets, and focusing on self-care can help combat feelings of irrelevance or lack of purpose.Embracing personal identity shifts and seeking opportunities to use caregiving skills can lead to a meaningful and rewarding life post-parenting.Connecting with supportive communities and utilizing resources like the "What's Your Purpose?" quiz can illuminate new paths for fulfillment.Encouraging women to embrace their unique caregiving nature while finding new avenues to express it, this compelling episode of Life after Kids inspires listeners to seek and seize the opportunities life presents after their children have left the nest. Tune in to uncover more wisdom and actionable advice as we help you to thrive in the next exciting chapter of your life.RESOURCES:The What's My Purpose QuizThe Road Back To You: BookThe Life after Kids Goals FrameworkThe Life after Kids Membership CommunityThe Life after Kids WebsiteTimestamp Summary | 0:00  | Rediscovering Purpose After Children Leave Home | 4:26  | Finding Purpose and Overcoming Feelings of Being Lost | 7:17  | Rediscovering Purpose Through Caregiving and Volunteering Opportunities | 14:20  | The Joy and Challenges of Parenting During College Breaks | 15:13  | Finding Fulfillment and Joy in Life After Parenthood | 16:43  | Balancing Selflessness and Personal Needs in Enneagram Type 2 | 18:46  | Prioritizing Self-Care and Finding Purpose Beyond Home | 21:23  | Embracing Change and Finding New Ways to Care | 25:09  | Exploring Enneagram Types for Post-Parenting Fulfillment Enjoy the show, and we hope you learn a little bit more about living a fulfilling, vibrant, and meaningful Life after Kids! If you like what you hear please rate and review the podcast, hit subscribe, and pass it along to a friend. Making tomorrow even better than today, Dr. Brooke and Dr. Lynne PS... Don't forget to follow us! Instagram Facebook Tik Tok

 What is the value of the soul? Well, the Word of God doesn't even attempt to give an answer. The Lord Jesus just summed it up by saying that the total of everything this world has to offer just doesn't compare to worth of a soul. These are extremely important truths to consider, and we hope that this week's will help you to think about them and to apply them personally.

Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, renowned Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg scholar, writer, and artist, joins us on this week's episode of Below the Radar. Am Johal and Leanne chat about her creative process, the significance of Nishnaabeg thought and practice in her work, and some upcoming projects including her newest book Theory of Water, set to be published in Spring of 2025. Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/253-leanne-simpson.html Read the transcript: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/transcripts/253-leanne-simpson.html Resources: Leanne Betasamosake Simpson: https://www.leannesimpson.ca/ Leanne Simpson: Listening in Our Present Moment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VhckgLYX3k Episode 122: Theory of Ice — with Leanne Betasamosake Simpson: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/122-leanne-betasamosake-simpson.html Dancing On Our Turtle's Back: https://arpbooks.org/product/dancing-on-our-turtles-back/ As We Have Always Done: https://www.upress.umn.edu/9781517903879/as-we-have-always-done/ Bio: Leanne Betasamosake Simpson is a renowned Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg musician, writer and academic, who has been widely recognized as one of the most compelling Indigenous voices of her generation. Her work breaks open the boundaries between story and song—bringing audiences into a rich and layered world of sound, light, and sovereign creativity. Leanne has performed in venues and festivals across Canada with her sister singer songwriter Ansley Simpson and guitarist Nick Ferrio. Leanne's second album, f(l)light, was released in 2016 and is a haunting collection of story-songs that effortlessly interweave Simpson's complex poetics and multi-layered stories of the land, spirit, and body with lush acoustic and electronic arrangements. Her EP Noopiming Sessions combines readings from her novel Noopiming with soundscapes composed and performed by Ansley Simpson and James Bunton with a gorgeous video by Sammy Chien and the Chimerik Collective. It was produced during the on-going social isolation of COVID-19 and was released on Gizhiiwe Music in the Fall of 2020. Leanne is the author of seven books, including This Accident of Being Lost, which won the MacEwan University Book of the Year; was a finalist for the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize and the Trillium Book Award; was long listed for CBC Canada Reads; and was named a best book of the year by the Globe and Mail, the National Post, and Quill & Quire. Her new novel Noopiming: The Cure for White Ladies was released by the House of Anansi Press in the fall of 2020 and in the US by the University of Minnesota Press in 2021 and was named one of the Globe and Mail's best books of the year and was short listed for the Governor General's Literary Award for fiction. A Short History of the Blockade was released by the University of Alberta Press in early 2021. Her new project with Robyn Maynard, Rehearsals for Living will be released in 2022 by Knopf Canada. Cite this episode: Chicago Style Johal, Am. “Theory of Water — with Leanne Simpson.” Below the Radar, SFU's Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, October 8, 2024. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/253-leanne-simpson.html.

Main Topics: Purpose, Finding Yourself, Surrender, Desire, Safety   Evan is a mentor, embodiment teacher, and ceremonialist who takes an animistic, soul-based approached to transformation.   He is the founder of Thirteen Pines, an organization he started with his three best friends that is committed to initiating men into a new era of conscious masculine leadership.   When he's not facilitating, he's likely strumming his guitar, finding a spring to swim in, or getting beat up at the local jiu-jitsu gym. Originally from the British Columbia, Canada, Evan currently resides in the mountains of Western North Carolina with wife and bonus daughter. Key topics include:  ⭐️ Waking the Hard Line Individuating Oneself while Being a Part of the Society ⭐ How Do We Start Finding Ourselves ⭐️ Taking Off the Pressure of Being Lost and Making Space for Wonder ⭐️ Surrendering to Life's Pull Into the New and Unknown  ⭐️ The Strong Tension Between Our Bold Desires and the Need For Safety  ⭐️ Having Trust in Oneself to Even Descend Into the Darkness of Life ⭐️ Feel, Accept, and Allow the Hard and Painful Lessons of Life ⭐️ Avoiding Discomfortable Feelings By Jumping to Solutions ⭐️ The Trap of Intellectualizing and Over-Analyzing Feelings ⭐️ Quieting the Stimulus of the World to Hear Our Inner Voice   Connect With David - The Authentic Man:   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theauthenticman_/  Website: https://www.theauthenticman.net/  For Coaching: hello@theauthenticman.net  Newsletter: https://www.theauthenticman.net/home-subscribe  Connect With Evan Meyer:    Website: www.evanmeyer.co https://www.thirteenpines.com/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/iamevanmeyer/   

Dr. Tim Sharp, also known as Dr. Happy, discusses his latest book, Lost and Found, which explores the themes of happiness, embracing failure, and finding oneself through the journey of being lost. He emphasizes the importance of accepting and embracing negative emotions and mistakes as part of life. Dr. Sharp shares his personal experiences with mental health and highlights the significance of discussing topics like suicidality. He also discusses the balance between wandering and being distracted, the value of stepping out of one's comfort zone, and the concept of post-traumatic growth. The book encourages readers to find the lessons and growth opportunities in being lost and recognizes that the journey of self-discovery is ongoing. Episode Takeaways Embrace negative emotions and mistakes as part of life's journey. Accept that it's okay not to have all the answers and to feel lost. Find the lessons and growth opportunities in being lost. Balance wandering with avoiding distraction and apathy. Step out of your comfort zone to experience personal growth. Recognize the value of post-traumatic growth and the strength in surrendering. Stay connected with loved ones and practice self-care. Accept that the journey of self-discovery is ongoing. Episode Chapters 00:00I ntroduction and Welcome 02:25 The Inspiration Behind Lost and Found 04:36 The Importance of Embracing Failure 07:27 Wandering Your Way to a Better Life 09:48 Balancing Wandering and Distraction 13:12 Permission to Be Lost 16:30 Questioning the Journey in Middle Age 18:34 Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone 21:37 Recognizing the Signs of Being Lost and Stuck 23:36 The Found Aspect of Lost and Found 29:22 Practices for Happiness and Coping with Dark Moments 31:35 Acceptance and the Ongoing Journey of Self-Discovery 32:46 Conclusion and Call to Action

In this installment, we discuss: Managing Defeat, Types of Knowing and Finding Whats Useable. Being Lost on the Internet and Reflecting on ‘23 is also highlighted.

Today's guest is podcaster, speaker, former pastor, and musician Matt Kendziera who shares his story of being kicked out of the urban church he started and suddenly finding himself on the outside looking in and deciding to try a new approach. We discuss his new book Bring it Home: The Adventure of Finding Yourself after Being Lost in Religionand on how to keep joy in the middle of our deconstruction experiences. Check out www.mattkendziera.com Podcast: Chasing Goodness https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/chasing-goodness-formerly-jesus-never-ran-faith-that/id1456202761 Amazon Link to “Bring it Home” https://a.co/d/2ECZ2C8 Audible Link https://www.audible.com/pd/Bring-It-Home-Audiobook/B0BVPQ46M4?action_code=ASSGB149080119000H&share_location=pdp --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/dtmpod/support

On this episode of Wellspringwords: The Podcast, Nkem speaks with Tiffany Curtis, a sensitive, empowered, and wise soul, about the idea of “being lost well”. Their conversation touches deeply on the power of intimacy in community, the nuance of our healing journeys as relational beings, and what it can look like for us to resource ourselves along our journeys. We hope this conversation is resourcing for you.Enjoy! Let us know what it brought to mind or heart for you in a podcast review, on Instagram, or via email at bewell@wellspringwords.love. Be well!View this episode's complete shownotes on our website here: www.wellspringwords.love/podcast------------Find Tiffany here:tiffanycurtis.com/indwellco.com/@tiffanyacurtis------------Find Nkem here:www.bynkem.co/@naturallyfree123------------Find Wellspringwords here:www.wellspringwords.love/@wellspringwordsDon't forget to rate, review, share and subscribe!Want to show more love? Leave us a tip to support this growing platform. :)Find Wellspringwords here: www.wellspringwords.love/ @wellspringwords ------------Find Nkem here: www.bynkem.co/ @naturallyfree123 ------------Don't forget to rate, review, share and subscribe! Want to show more love? Leave us a tip to support this growing platform. :)

WARNING! Devote, Don’t Drift Scripture: Hebrews 2:1-3a Preacher: Rev. David Inks Sermon Outline: Introduction Davidic Covenant & Christ Deep Devotion Drift of the Casual Danger of Being Lost at Sea Conclusion Sermon Video: https://youtu.be/2eoXcFRKL90 Scripture Reading: Hebrews 2:1-3 (King James Version) 1 Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which […] The post WARNING! Devote, Don’t Drift appeared first on Covenant United Reformed Church.

Summary: What happens when Mystery calls? From the liminal, shapeshifting space of something coming to an end your cohosts explore what it means to open to new possibilities. Mentioned on this episode:The Secret Teachings of Plants: The Intelligence of the Heart in the Direct Perception of Nature by Stephen BuhnerSupport this podcast:Discount link to purchase organic, raw ceremonial-grade cacao ethically sourced in Guatemala (a portion of proceeds support this podcast)Become a patron at: https://www.patreon.com/thefaroutcoupleMake one-time donation with PayPal (our account is aplambeck22@gmail.com)Leave a review on iTunes!Share this episode with a friend! :DConnect with us:Website: www.thefarout.lifeEmail us at info@thefarout.lifeWild Within @ www.thewildwithin.orgCredits:Intro music: "Complicate ya" by Otis McDonaldOutro music: "Running with wise fools" written & performed by Krackatoa (www.krackatoa.com)

"You don't have to be one definition of success. Be okay with NOT KNOWING and BE LOST." We have Zoe Pena @zoemeaninglife with us to discuss the feeling of being LOST on the Unlabelling Effect. Zoe Pena is the first Filipino and youngest president of the AWA, the American Women's Association of Hong Kong. They are dedicated to giving back to the community and creating spaces for women from all walks of life. Going strong on its 67th year, AWA has paved the way for other charitable women-focused organisations to flourish. Zoe also serves on the fundraising committee of Enrich HK, a non-profit that empowers domestic helpers through workshops around financial literacy.  Before all these great achievements, Zoe had been there – BEING LOST. Let's tune in and find out more about her journey and insights.  Connect with our guest: Instagram Zoe  @zoemeaninglife AWA Instagram @awahongkong AWA Facebook @awahk Find us on Instagram @UnlabellingEffect #Unlabellingeffect New episode releases biweekly on Mondays on Spotify & iTunes

What is up ! Happy Spring ! On this episode we revisit The Ship of Theseus Analogy. We talk Covid based Movies and being infected. Utilities being included and light decorations. Believing in Santa. Being Lost in New York. T-Mobile giving out perks but no service. Music Playlist we listen to. Blue or White dress Yanny or Laurel? --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/degreescouchchron/support

In this episode, we talk about how this movie shaped us and the movie industry.

This special episode gathers the best 'What Are You Reading?' segments from 2022 into a comprehensive summary of book recommendations from Australian and international authors. These well-informed highlights will give you plenty of last-minute gift solutions and ideas for how to spend your Christmas gift cards! Plus, James and Ashley each declare their book of the year for 2022.  Books discussed in this episode: From episode 48, with Shankari Chandran: Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell; Song of the Crocodile by Nardi Simpson (from ep 18); Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie; They All Fall Down by Rachel Howzell Hall; Soul Mountain by Gao Xingjian translated by Mabel Lee From episode 49, with Jacinta Dietrich: Certain Prey by John Sandford; Mortal Prey by John Sandford From episode 50, with Sarah Sentilles: Bewilderment by Richard Powers; A Children's Bible by Lydia Millet The Rabbits by Sophie Overett; This Accident of Being Lost by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson From episode 51, with Dinuka McKenzie: Her Pretty Face by Robyn Harding; How to End a Story: Diaries 1995-1998 by Helen Garner; Theft by Finding by David Sedaris; A Carnival of Snackery by David Sedaris From episode 55, with Katherine Collette: Found, Wanting by Natasha Sholl; Love Stories by Trent Dalton; After Story by Larissa Behrendt From episode 56, with Ellis Gunn: The Writing Life by Annie Dillard; The Luminous Solution by Charlotte Wood; How to Be Australian by Ashley Kalagian Blunt; Outline by Rachel Cusk; The Break by Katherena Vermette From episode 57, with Yumna Kassab: Blindness by Jose Saramago; The Autumn of the Patriarch by Gabriel Garcia Marquez; Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann; The Dangers of Smoking in Bed by Mariana Enríquez Divorce Is in the Air by Gonzalo Torne; Cold Enough for Snow by Jessica Au From episode 56, with Rae Cairns: Autumn by Ali Smith; The Children's Bible by Lydia Millet; Negative Space by BR Yeager; Goat Mountain by David Vann; Black and Blue by Veronica Gorrie From episode 63, with Bronwyn Birdsall Indelible City by Louisa Lim; The Writer Laid Bare by Lee Kofman; A Kind of Magic by Anna Spargo-Ryan From episode 65, with Al Campbell The Signal Line by Brendan Colley; Denizen by James McKenzie Watson; The Writer Laid Bare by Lee Kofman (who we spoke to back in ep 4); Curlews on Vulture Street by Darryl Jones From episode 67, with Darryl Jones: The Writer Laid Bare by Lee Kofman (featured in ep 3); One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez; Auē by Becky Manawatu James' novel 'Denizen' is out now! Learn more about it and buy your copy here.  Make 2023 the Year You Write Your Book! Monday 30 January 2023, 7:45-9pm AEDT. Online via Zoom. Tix $9-14. Launch of Taken with Dinuka McKenzie in conversation with Ashley Sunday 5 February, 4pm. Better Read Than Dead, Newtown (in person). Free, RSVP required. Get in touch! Ashley's website: ashleykalagianblunt.com Ashley's Twitter: @AKalagianBlunt Ashley's Instagram: @akalagianblunt James' website: jamesmckenziewatson.com James' Twitter: @JamesMcWatson James' Instagram: @jamesmcwatson

This week we welcome Matt Kendziera to the REVcovery Room! In addition to being a former pastor Matt is also an author, musician, speaker and all around renaissance man whose book "Bring it Home: The Adventure of Finding Yourself after Being Lost in Religion" highlights the journey many of us in revcovery are on. It's a great conversation that really hits on what it means to not just survive leaving ministry but to build a life you look forward to living. If you would like to learn more about Matt's book "Bring it Home: The Adventure of Finding Yourself after Being Lost in Religion" you can check out his website If you want to continue the conversation on Discord you can learn more here: Patreon.com/revcovery This podcast is edited by Elizabeth Nordenholt from Podcat Audio: https://elizabethnordenholt.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chuck from Orange Island is here on the podcast today. Orange Island is reissuing and releasing their 2003 album under the title "One Night Stay!" In this episode, we talk about the revamped album and reordered track list to better talk about life's purgatory, and allowing us to be vulnerable in music when we are at a crossroads at life. We also talk about why the band is reissuing this, especially on vinyl, and the importance of getting lost in the moment of life going forward. Enjoy this one, get lost in the moment with us.   Find Orange Island Online: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/orangeislandrock/?hl=en YouTube (Iodine Records): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCziwRNRkDeowgMnqqXy3fsg Merch: https://deathwishinc.com/collections/iodine-recordings Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2Lh0F7gGYyznhJTAlnMVPa?si=5wGurcTPTLiqRajpq9wTUg Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/orange-island/159374379   Get 20% OFF @manscaped + Free Shipping with promo code CPP at https://www.manscaped.com #ad #manscapedpod We Are Sponsoring WHEN WE WERE HUNGRY FESTIVAL: https://whenwewerehungryfestival.com GET YOUR TICKETS NOW!   Follow us on social media!   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chordprogressionpodcast   Twitter: https://twitter.com/cppodofficial   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chordprogressionpodcast/   Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@chordprogressionpodcast   YouTube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCqRKZCDMcFHIYbJaLQMfDbQ   Chord Progression Podcast (Spotify): https://open.spotify.com/show/53XWPGrIUvgavKF5Fm6SLk   Chord Progression Podcast (Apple Podcast): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/chord-progression/id1454876657   Chord Progression Podcast (Amazon): https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/b8dad803-444c-4a73-8aa5-67b4fc43f4ba   Chord Progression Podcast (iHeart Radio): https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-chord-progression-70632531/   Podcast Webpage: https://mysongoftheday.com/my-song-of-the-day-rock-2000-today/chord-progression-podcast/   Intro: (0:00) Welcome Chuck of Orange Island: (4:51) The Purpose of "One Night Stay" Revamped Rerelease: (6:13) The Revamped Focus on Life's Purgatory: (12:40) Being Vulnerable & Feeling Yourself in Music: (21:14) Growing Up with Your Favorite Artists: (28:29) Looking into Physical vs Digital Media: (36:08) The Live Show Experience & Living in the Moment: (42:33) Being Lost in the Moment in Reality & not Online: (49:12) Keeping Independent Music Scenes Alive: (1:02:44) Mosh Pit Mentality Moved into Real Life: (1:09:10) Check Out One Night Stay: (1:14:05) Closing It Out: (1:17:34)

A new MP3 sermon from Gospel Light Baptist Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Stages of Being Lost Speaker: James Walker Broadcaster: Gospel Light Baptist Church Event: Sunday Service Date: 9/18/2022 Bible: Luke 15:11-24 Length: 62 min.

“America's crisis of despair crashed into my life while I was getting paid to think about joy,” is how Dr. Angela Gorrell begins her book on joy and that is where we begin our conversation. What is authentic joy and how do you experience joy when there is so much to NOT be joyful about? One key, says Dr. Gorrell, is to recognize joy as a gift, like grace, and not something you can pursue like the “choose joy” coffee mugs and wall hangings imply. This episode includes a dynamic discussion between Lisa and Gil about the “we” and “I” culture that carries into their conversation with Angela: what are the communal and individual aspects of joy and ultimately: what is the church's role in cultivating space for people to experience and receive joy?   What to listen for Lisa and Gil discuss the “I” based culture and the “we” based culture (00:54) and what the church has to offer How despair came crashing into Angela's life (12:54) Joy as a gift, not something you can choose (18:30) Gil wonders if we do have to choose to be open to joy for the gift to be received (26:12) How we all have a “flashlight” to look for truth, beauty, goodness (28:37) What's the role of the church in cultivating joy? (36:12) The Future of Church Project (42:38)   QUOTES “Joy is about open hands. It's about a posture that we have in the world. It's about a readiness.” -Dr. Angela Gorrell [22:12] “We can't receive a gift if our hands are closed.” -Dr. Angela Gorrell [28:08]   Angela Gorrell's Bio Dr. Angela Williams Gorrell joined Baylor's George W. Truett Theological Seminary in Fall 2019 as Assistant Professor of Practical Theology. Prior to joining the faculty at Baylor University, she was an Associate Research Scholar at the Yale Center for Faith & Culture, working on the Theology of Joy and the Good Life Project, and a lecturer in Divinity and Humanities at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. She is an ordained pastor with 14 years of ministry experience.  Dr. Gorrell is passionate about finding issues that matter to people and shining the light of the Gospel on them. She is the author of always on: practicing faith in a new media landscapeand a new book, The Gravity of Joy: A Story of Being Lost and Found, which shares findings of the joy project while addressing America's opioid and suicide crises. Dr. Gorrell's expertise is in the areas of theology and contemporary culture, education and formation, meaning-making, joy, new media, and youth and emerging adults. Dr. Gorrell regularly consults, speaks, and leads workshops and retreats on her research and areas of expertise.   RESOURCES & RELEVANT LINKS Read Gil Rendle's paper “Jacob's Bones” for free off our TMF website here. Visit Angela's Gorrell's website for more information about her work including a free book discussion guide, and information about her speaking and consulting.  Angela's Gorrell book is The Gravity of Joy: A Story of Being Lost and Found. This podcast is brought to you by the Leadership Ministry team at TMF and Wesleyan Investive. Leadership Ministry connects diverse, high-capacity leaders in conversations and environments that create a network of courage, learning, and innovation in order to help the church lean into its God-appointed mission. Subscribe to our Leadership Ministry emails here. We send emails about each episode and include additional related resources related to the episode's topic. We know your inbox is inundated these days, we aim to send you content that is inspiring, innovative, and impactful for your life and ministry. If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts / iTunes?

This week Neil talks to artist Tom de Freston about his new book Wreck: Géricault's Raft and the Art of Being Lost at Sea, which explores Tom's obession with Géricault's Raft of the Medusa, and it's influence on his own practice. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

Being LOST is good. Sometimes by being lost, you could find your TRUE SELF. But most times, it's nothing sometimes but an ABYSS - A PIT WITH NO END.Read about LOST by clicking this link:https://bit.ly/ReallyLost

What a word from today's guest, Rev. Dr. Angela Williams Gorrell. Angela Gorrell is a speaker and writer about Christian spirituality, joy, meaning, and the interconnected nature of mental and spiritual health. She is Assistant Professor of Practical Theology at Baylor University and author of The Gravity of Joy: A Story of Being Lost and Found.Shortly after being hired by Yale University to study and teach the beauty of joy, Angela stepped into the hardest season of her life losing 3 people she loved within 4 weeks. She went on a journey to find out joy's place in a suffering world, and found the answer in the most unlikely of places: While volunteering at a women's maximum-security prison. Isn't that so like Christ to show up in unexpected places? We talk about the suicide and addiction crisis, and how to allow joy in without betraying our grief. This is such an incredible conversation and one that I hope reminds you of the beauty of joy. Connect with JamieFacebook // Twitter // Instagram // YouTubeGET ALL THE LINKS FROM THE SHOW HERE

Lilly Singh is a Canadian comedian, actress, former talk show host, and YouTuber. Singh has found worldwide fame through her comedic and inspirational content, amassing nearly 40 million followers across her social media channels alongside projects with NBC, Netflix and other major Hollywood studios via her production company Unicorn Island Productions. She's written a new book, BE A TRIANGLE: How I Went from Being Lost to Getting MY Life into ShapeIn this episode we discuss:The key to living a fulfilling lifeThe biggest mistake people make with manifestingHow to approach failureHow to value yourself beyond your workFor more, go to lewishowes.com/1250Purchase Lilly's new book here: Be A Triangle: How I Went from Being Lost to Getting My Life into ShapeMel Robbins: The “Secret” Mindset Habit to Building Confidence and Overcoming Scarcity: https://link.chtbl.com/970-podDr. Joe Dispenza on Healing the Body and Transforming the Mind: https://link.chtbl.com/826-podMaster Your Mind and Defy the Odds with David Goggins: https://link.chtbl.com/715-podSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this week's episode, ~ing host Allison Maus is joined by author, professor, and minister, Rev. Dr. Angela Williams Gorrell, professor at Baylor's George W. Truett Theological Seminary. Today's conversation explores themes from Rev. Dr. Williams Gorrell's recently published book, The Gravity of Joy: A Story of Being Lost and Found. What does joy mean, and how to people of faith find joy amid all the turbulence of our world today? In her book, Rev. Dr. Williams Gorrell admits, "My vocation was supposed to be joy, and I was speaking at funerals.” This episode brings wisdom from her personal life, as well as her time in education and ministry to this important theme of joy. A written transcript of this episode is available at our website - https://www.mennomedia.org/ing-podcast/ Today's episode is supported by The Center for Justice and Peacebuilding and Eastern Mennonite Seminary, two graduate programs at Eastern Mennonite University. Find out more at - https://emu.edu/ing/ ~ing Podcast is a production of MennoMedia, a nonprofit Publisher that creates thoughtful, Anabaptist resources to enrich faith in a complex world. To find out more, visit us online at MennoMedia.org --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/ing-pod/message

Uncharted. Video games as movies have had a very hard time becoming major hits, most have just not been able to translate well to the silver screen, for every mild success like Tomb Raider there are failures like Mortal Kombat (either version). In this episode of The 602 Club hosts Matthew Rushing and Christy Morris talk about Uncharted. We discuss the game, development hell, a prequel, an adventure film, the trailer, relics or relationships, being lost, the cast the action, the music, our ratings and recommendations. Chapters The Game (00:03:03) Development Hell (00:05:39) A Prequel (00:08:32) An Adventure Film (00:12:51) The Trailer (00:19:29) Relics or Relationship (00:21:25) Being Lost (00:29:04) Tom Holland (00:33:42) Mark Wahlberg (00:38:04) Sophia Ali (00:38:44) Jo Braddock (00:42:54) Action (00:47:07) The Music (00:50:53) Ratings (00:53:21) Recommendations (00:55:36) Host Matthew Rushing Co-Host Christy Morris Production Matthew Rushing (Editor and Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Associate Producer) Davis Grayson (Associate Producer) Daniel Noa (Associate Producer) Ryan Maillet (Associate Producer) Social Twitter: @The602Club Instagram: @the602clubtfm

Uncharted. Video games as movies have had a very hard time becoming major hits, most have just not been able to translate well to the silver screen, for every mild success like Tomb Raider there are failures like Mortal Kombat (either version). In this episode of The 602 Club hosts Matthew Rushing and Christy Morris talk about Uncharted. We discuss the game, development hell, a prequel, an adventure film, the trailer, relics or relationships, being lost, the cast the action, the music, our ratings and recommendations. Chapters The Game (00:03:03) Development Hell (00:05:39) A Prequel (00:08:32) An Adventure Film (00:12:51) The Trailer (00:19:29) Relics or Relationship (00:21:25) Being Lost (00:29:04) Tom Holland (00:33:42) Mark Wahlberg (00:38:04) Sophia Ali (00:38:44) Jo Braddock (00:42:54) Action (00:47:07) The Music (00:50:53) Ratings (00:53:21) Recommendations (00:55:36) Host Matthew Rushing Co-Host Christy Morris Production Matthew Rushing (Editor and Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Associate Producer) Davis Grayson (Associate Producer) Daniel Noa (Associate Producer) Ryan Maillet (Associate Producer) Social Twitter: @The602Club Instagram: @the602clubtfm

This episode includes narrations of true creepy encounters submitted by normal folks just like yourself. Today you'll experience horrifying stories about Disney, Being Lost in the Woods, & Trick-or-Treating... HAVE A STORY TO SUBMIT?► www.Reddit.com/r/LetsReadOfficial FOLLOW ME ON - ►YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/letsreadofficial ► Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/letsread.official/ ► Twitter - https://twitter.com/LetsReadCreepy ♫ Background Music & Audio Remastering: Simon de Beer https://www.instagram.com/simon_db98/ PATREON for EARLY ACCESS!►http://patreon.com/LetsRead

It's our 50th episode! Author Sarah Sentilles joins us to talk about her new memoir, Stanger Care. She discusses coping with unexpected loss, who counts as family, and how at heart, all of us are baby monkeys. She also shares how each of us can use our creativity to remake the world around us.  Stranger Care is a memoir of Sarah and her husband's experience with the foster system in Idaho and the ten months they parented an infant named Coco, only to return her to her loving but vulnerable mother.   Sarah Sentilles is the author of Draw Your Weapons, Breaking Up with God, A Church of Her Own and Taught by America. A graduate of Yale University and Harvard Divinity School, she lives in Idaho's Wood River Valley. Her latest book is Stranger Care: A Memoir of Loving What Isn't Ours. You can buy a copy of Stranger Care from your local bookshop, Booktopia or wherever else books are sold, and find Sarah's workshops and retreats at sarahsentilles.com. Books and authors discussed in this episode: Draw Your Weapons by Sarah Sentilles; This Accident of Being Lost by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson; The Body in Pain: The Making and Unmaking of the World by Elaine Scarry; The Rabbits by Sophie Overett; Bewilderment by Richard Powers; 'The abortion I didn't have' by Merrit Tierce; A Children's Bible by Lydia Millet Ashley's Joy of Creative Writing workshop: Monday 31 January 2022, 7:45-9pm AEDT, Online via Zoom Whether you haven't written creatively since high school or you're the author of 12 books, this fun class will help you get your creativity flowing. Get your ticket here. Library through the Lens: Ashley in conversation with Anna Downes: Thursday 3 February 2022, 11am AEDT, Online via ZoomJoin Ashley in conversation with international bestselling thriller author Anna Downes as she talks about her much-anticipated second novel. Free, RSVP here. Here's what time it is Rockhampton. Get in touch! Ashley's website: ashleykalagianblunt.com Ashley's Twitter: @AKalagianBlunt Ashley's Instagram: @akalagianblunt James' website: jamesmckenziewatson.com James' Twitter: @JamesMcWatson James' Instagram: @jamesmcwatson

In this episode, Pastor, Preston Clegg, and Associate Pastor, Suzanne Cain, talk with Dr. Angela Williams Gorrell about her book The Gravity of Joy: A Story of Being Lost and Found. Dr. Gorrell researches and teaches courses on joy, meaning-making, Christian education and formation, ministry in a new media landscape, and the interconnected nature of […]

In this episode, Pastor, Preston Clegg, and Associate Pastor, Suzanne Cain, talk with Dr. Angela Williams Gorrell about her book The Gravity of Joy: A Story of Being Lost and Found. Dr. Gorrell researches and teaches courses on joy, meaning-making, Christian education and formation, ministry in a new media landscape, and the interconnected nature of […]

Amidst the joy of the holiday season, many dealing with loss or trauma in their own life feel grief. Angela Gorrell, assistant professor of practical theology, has experienced that type of dichotomy. While studying joy at the Yale Center for Faith and Culture, her family suffered a string of tragedies that led to her to question what it means to find joy in the midst of suffering. Her book, The Gravity of Joy: A Story of Being Lost and Found, walks readers through those struggles and what she learned in the process. She takes listeners inside that journey and offers insights on joy in this Baylor Connections.

"Nobody can create their ideal future any faster than one day at a time." We last covered "LOST" as a Mind-Bullet to underscore the concept that feeling "lost" is often far more about not knowing where you want to go and less about not knowing where you are. Since life is highly dynamic, the experience of feeling "lost" is universal. In today's episode, we revisit the concept from the vantage point of two prior episodes: The QUEST and The PATH! Once we subscribe to the idea that our great Quest is to create our ideal future, we can simply ask ourselves each night, before retiring: "Was I on the PATH today? If intelligence is goal-directed behavior, then it's imperative to strive for the most important goals. Since few goals are more important than creating your ideal future, the sensation of being "LOST" confirms that you're not on the PATH. The moral is clear: Being "LOST" may seem frustrating, but it's an important and valuable awareness that can lead you toward your ideal future. Enjoy the episode! Habits & Goals MASTERY is NOW On-Demand! **** Feedspot's "Top 10 Habit Podcasts You Must Follow in 2021" New listeners: By texting the word "HABITS" to the mobile phone number "33444" you will instantly receive your "hack"/habit tracker/habit development template, or you can download it here: thehabitfactor.com/templates. Feel free to share the episode and leave a review on iTunes! Grab your FREE copy of As a Man Thinketh (PDF) right here: As a Man Thinketh ***** Subscribe iTunes here! Subscribe: Android | RSS ***** TOOLS/BOOKS WE RECOMMEND: Bucket List PRO (iOS app) iTunes Grab your FREE copy of As a Man Thinketh (PDF) right here: As a Man Thinketh The 3 C's of SucCcess (Mitch W. Steel) The Psychology of Achievement (Brian Tracy) The Power of Positive Thinking (Norman Vincent Peale) The Magic of Thinking BIG! (David Schwartz) Think & Grow Rich (Napoleon Hill) The Success Principles (Jack Canfield) Getting Things Done! (Allen's Great Book!) TRELLO! **HABIT FACTOR RESOURCES!!** The New HabitXP Planner! (FREE! The Habit Factor's Tracking Template) The Habit Factor® (website: BLOG, tips, tools, and other resources) The Habit Factor® Book (Amazon Kindle) The Pressure Paradox® Book (Amazon Kindle) The Habit Factor app (iOS, Android) The Pressure Paradox™ **WEBINARS** Get Unstuck Course  Habit Mastery: (FREE) Learn the process to Master Habit, Enhance Discipline and Strengthen Willpower: The 28 Day Breakthrough!

This week we discuss Being Lost, Where Do Cliches Derive From, Reinventing the American School System, Meta Sex, Details Financial Corner, We Have No Idea What We Are Talking About, Speculation Sunday, An Important Conversation and We Share the Latest Tracks We Are Rinsing --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/detail/message

Count the Cost of Being Lost by Mr. John Kelly

Mark Clark, founding pastor of Village Church, joins us as a guest preacher and shares a sermon titled “The Problem of Being Lost and Found” in our Guest Speaker series (August 29, 2021). At Bayview Glen Church, we work together so that everyone, everywhere, can experience God's love and His created purpose through Jesus. Connect with us! Website: www.bayviewglen.org Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bayviewglenchurch/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BayviewGlenChurch

Mark Clark, founding pastor of Village Church, joins us as a guest preacher and shares a sermon titled “The Problem of Being Lost and Found” in our Guest Speaker series (August 29, 2021). At Bayview Glen Church, we work together so that everyone, everywhere, can experience God's love and His created purpose through Jesus. Connect with us! Website: www.bayviewglen.org Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bayviewglenchurch/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BayviewGlenChurch

Emma dives into some of her favorite reads so far in 2021 (part two!). Emma has read 116 books (and counting!) this year, so she'll be talking about some of these by genre -- this week's segment are her favorite Poetry, Memoirs and Essays, and History reads and include a few backlist titles. Part 1 were her favorite Fantasy and Fiction Reads and next week will be a smattering of more shoutouts!   I Hope We Choose Love: A Trans Girl's Notes from the End of the World, Kai Cheng Thom Earth Keeper, N Scott Momaday This Accident of Being Lost, Leanne Betasamosake Simpson In The Dream House, Carmen Maria Machado Memorial Drive: A Daughter's Memoir, Natasha Tretheway Goodbye, Again, Jonny Sun Know My Name, Chanel Miller Heavy: An American Memoir, Kiese Laymon We Too: Essays on Sex Work & Survival, (ed.) Natalie West Whiter: Asian American Women on Skin Color and Colorism, Nikki Khanna Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty, Patrick Radden Keefe The Dead Are Arising, Les Payne, Tamara Payne Black on Both Sides: A Racial History of Trans Identity, C Riley Snorton Chains of Babylon: The Rise of Asian America, Darly J. Maeda   Mentioned in this episode/shout outs to  @bookdragon217 , @hilaryreadsbooks, @pilartyping, @antonique_reads ! Also mentioned: Carryin' On In the Lesbian and Gay South, John Howard Black Box: The Memoir That Sparked Japan's #Metoo Movement, Shiori Ito @feministpress Follow and support our host: Emma: Instagram   Beyond the Box: Our weekly round-up of blog and podcast content delivered directly to your inbox every Friday This episode was edited by Phalin Oliver and produced by Renee Powers on the ancestral land of the Dakota people. Original music by @iam.onyxrose Learn more about Feminist Book Club on our website, sign up for our emails, shop our Bookshop.org recommendations, and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Facebook, Pinterest.

Zina Cinker is a physicist, strategist, graphene specialist, and TEDx speaker. She is currently Director General of the Advanced Material Future Preparedness Taskforce. Their mission is to use global strategies and agendas to maximize transformational impact on complex, multi scale challenges. In today's episode, some of the things we talked about were: why she wanted to be Bill Gates, the game changing effects and applications of Graphene, why we haven't and when we will see Graphene in mass scale and much more! Dangerously Good with Jay Sikand is a long-form podcast where Jay explores dangerously good topics and ideas! This show is about learning new things and sharing that journey with the world! Expanding the minds and imaginations of those who want to partake. Expect new episodes and clips every Tuesday! Watch the podcast on the Dangerously Good YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eB6x7usD4DE&t=42s) & For CLIPS of the podcast, subscribe to the Dangerously Good Clips Youtube channel! (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChmDAQzfpNdmEi10lqBReuQ) 0:00 - Intro 1:48 - Why Zina wanted to be Bill Gates 5:31 - Being LOST in life while doing a Ph.D 18:35 - A super strong, flexible, conductive material...GAME CHANGER! 29:04 - Biggest issues with Graphene innovation 35:45 - In what industry will graphene have the greatest effect in? 44:16 - What is Zina most grateful for? About Jay Sikand: He is a podcaster, actor, tech nerd, and lover of life that explores ideas from entertainment, technology, philosophy, politics, health, fitness to whatever else is intriguing. He has conversations with friends and people of strong morals, ambitions, and intelligence within their fields. Anyone who wants to journey through enlightening conversions that contain dangerously good information should tune in! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jay-sikand/support

In this episode, Angela talks with Sushama Austin-Connor about her research on joy and her book The Gravity of Joy: A Story of Being Lost and Found. They consider how we can study joy with a theological lens, how our emotions are always teaching us something, and how joy is a realization of relatedness and connection. Dr. Angela Williams Gorrell is an ordained pastor and assistant professor of practical theology at Baylor's George W. Truett Theological Seminary. Prior to joining the faculty at Baylor, she was an Associate Research Scholar at the Yale Center for Faith & Culture, working on the Theology of Joy and the Good Life Project, and a lecturer in Divinity and Humanities at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. She received both her Ph.D. in Practical Theology and MDiv at Fuller Theological Seminary, and her BA in Youth Ministry at Azusa Pacific University. She is the author of a new book, The Gravity of Joy: A Story of Being Lost and Found, which shares findings of the joy project while addressing America's opioid and suicide crises. Intro (00:01): What is joy? What is the difference between joy and happiness? What's the relationship between despair and joy? Angela Williams Gorrell has been exploring these questions. Angela is Assistant Professor of Practical Theology at George W. Truett Theological Seminary and an ordained pastor in the Mennonite Church USA. In this episode. Sushama Austin-Connor talks with Angela about her work recently published in the book entitled, "The Gravity of Joy: The Story of Being Lost and Found". Together, they explore what it means to study joy with a theological lens and how joy can be sustained alongside sorrow. [light percussion music and the sound of a water droplet] You are listening to The Distillery at Princeton Theological Seminary.  Sushama (00:50): I was very interested in learning more stories and illustrations from your childhood and your background. Can you give us even a more full idea of your background and your childhood in life leading up to your academic career? Angela (01:04): Yeah, sure. Thank you so much for having me today. It's great to be talking with you. I grew up in Eastern Kentucky in Appalachia, in a little town called Pikeville, and it might -- actually in Appalachia though, like, it could be called a big town. [laughter] But I grew up there, spent the first seven and a half years of my life there and really grew up in church, went to church the first Sunday after I was born, as my parents like to tell the story. They like literally, you know -- back then, babies, they just, they didn't worry about them, you know, catching anything. I don't think [laughter]. Sushama (01:39): That's right. [laughter] Angela (01:39): They're like, "Hey, you were born three days ago, we're taking you to church and passing it around to everybody." [laughter] So that's me, and I've been going to church my entire life. The church has really been a sanctuary to me, a safe haven, which I know it hasn't been that way... I mean, and not, and not in every respect. And certainly there's been a lot of hard moments, being a part of Christian communities, but in many respects, I'm very grateful to say, especially youth group, I think was a really powerful safe haven for me and my life. But, anyhow, my parents got divorced when I was seven and a half, and that meant that my mom decided to move us to Lexington, which is in central Kentucky. And I, you know, I'm really grateful that that happened because of some opportunities that I got in Lexington. Mostly two things that I think are important for people to know about me. One is that I've been writing since I was like -- could write. Like basically when I could write things, I began to tell stories and to write poetry. And so it's interesting to look back at like my second-grade self and the kinds of poems that I wrote. But I've always been an observer of life, like someone who deeply... Like my friends like to say "Angela lives in the deep end of life." [laughter] Angela (02:56): So, yeah! So I, when I got to Lexington, one thing that was really important was that I got to attend The School for the Creative and Performing Arts. So, from fourth to eighth grade, every single day for two hours a day, I wrote, which many children can not say that. But, we all have -- we had to all different majors at our school. So some people did arts -- like did art for a couple hours. Some people did dance, singing, you know, violin, piano, whatever. But for me, it was creative writing. And so that was very formative for me and important. And then the second thing that happened was that I got a special speech pathologist to help me because, as I described in The Gravity of Joy, that I was born deaf. And so for several years, basically until I was in sixth grade, I had a really hard time communicating with other people. Unless you knew me really well, it was difficult to understand me because I had a really significant speech impediment. And so it actually made it hard to make friends in elementary school and to be myself, 'cause I constantly was fighting for my words, which is interesting because... I say that to say -- today too, that the two things that I am most known for other than teaching are writing and speaking, and until I was in middle school, I couldn't be understood by people very well. So, but in Lexington, you know, I had this, like this special speech pathologist who really invested in my life -- for three years, every week -- and then went to the school that was very formative and important for me. After high school, I went to school to become a youth minister. So I, you know, I went to school, college, I got my bachelor of arts is in youth ministry from Azusa Pacific University in Los Angeles, lived in LA for 13 years. And the whole time I was living in Los Angeles, I kind of... I kept one foot in the church. I was always in ministry, mostly in youth ministry, but on a lot of preaching teams as well and doing family ministry of course, and then one foot in the academy. So I was kind of like always getting a degree, but also hanging out in the church. And for me as a practical theologian, that's super important because it was like, you know, I would be in the church. I would be among Christians in community. And I would be seeing the sorts of things that were keeping people awake at night. And then I'd be like, okay, as a researcher, as you know, I'm a Ph.D. student, for example, I want to think more about that in relationship to their faith. But then as I was, you know -- when you're in the academy, when you're getting degrees and you're reading books, like you're like, okay, but what's going on in people's real lives? Sushama (05:31): Right, right. Angela (05:32): Like, how did this relate to people's everyday experiences? And so, for me as a practical theologian, it was very important to kind of always be in ministry and -- while learning in the academy. And I still to this day try to be a very grounded theologian. So while I was finishing up my PhD in Los Angeles is when I got an email about a job at Yale University, working at the Yale Center for Faith and Culture. And I received that job in March of 20-- I accepted that job, excuse me, in March of 2016 and ended up moving to Connecticut. And that's how I'm... yeah. So I went from Kentucky to Los Angeles to Connecticut, and then I worked on the Theology of Joy and the Good Life Project. That's what I was recruited to Yale to be on that research team. And then, after the project ended, I applied for this job that I currently have at Baylor University. And so I moved to Waco, Texas in fall 2019 to become a professor of practical theology at Baylor University's Truett Seminary. Sushama (06:33): That's great. That's great. I wanted to jump right into the Life Worth Living course, but before I do that, I want to talk a little bit about what you mentioned about keeping one foot in the church and one foot in the academy. Because I know in our work in continuing education, where this podcast series is housed, that's kind of our work. That's what we hope we're doing well. So what do you feel that doing your work in both of those spheres, what does it offer to you when you're out and about talking to pastors and their congregations or to pastors and lay leadership? Angela (07:13): I think that, you know, for -- like, people ask me, you know, what are you an expert in, Angela? Like, what do you research? And, certainly I can say a few things that I think that over the years I've become more adept at talking about, like the ability to help people like make sense of like, like the meaning and purpose in their lives, joy, new media. Those are some of the things I've focused on a lot. But in general, I tell people that I feel called to research the things that matter to people and to shine the light of the gospel on them. And I think that as I hold both the experiences that I have in Christian communities and the research that I do together, like, the more that I hold those together, I think the more that pastors feel like, you know, "Yeah, Angela, the things that you're doing and talking about, they do relate to our congregants lives. They do relate to everyday Christians lives." And I think that there's something that feels to then pastors, like, very honest about it. Where they're like, "Okay, you're a theologian who does care about what's happening in people's lives every day. That's good." Sushama (08:22): Talk to me about the Life Worth Living course at Yale, because, in doing the research, I realized that it has a profound impact on people and is really well known. Yes. I would love to hear more about what that course is and what it entailed and how you got to be a part of that. Angela (08:39): Yeah. So, seven years ago, Miroslav Volf -- and that's whose research team that I was on and anybody who, you know, most people are familiar with -- if they know about Miroslav's work, they know about his very, very famous book *Exclusion and Embrace*, and he is just an extraordinary systematic theologian and person. And I'm very grateful that I had the privilege and the honor of being on his research team for the Theology of Joy the Good Life Project. Seven years ago, Miroslav and my colleague, our colleague, Ryan McAnnally-Linz, who still works at the Yale Center for Faith and Culture, they read two books that were really pivotal to them. For them. One was "Education's End" by Anthony Kronman and another book is called "College: What It Was, What It Is, and What It Should Be". And both of these books argue that the meaning of life used to be central to the college experience, that the search, the examination of, and the articulation of meaning and purpose used to be not just a part of the college experience, but actually like fundamental to it. Angela (09:52): And so they wondered what would it look like to bring the meaning of life back to the classroom. So they created a course called Life Worth Living, and they pitched it to the humanities department. I mean, they're housed at the divinity school and Miroslav is a professor at the divinity school, but they wanted to do it with Yale undergraduates. So they reached out to the humanities department there. They said, sure, you can have 14 students for a semester and do Life Worth Living. And that's what they wanted. And then 60 students signed up for the class, and then every semester, no matter how many times, no matter how many sections of the course that we offered -- because we always want to keep it small, like 14 to 17 students, because it's a conversation, it's a dialogue; it's about helping young people to grow inarticulacy about the good life, the flourishing life. So we can't help them develop articulacy if they're not actually talking. So we want it to keep it small, but no matter how many sections we offer at Yale, every spring, we have way more students than we can accept. So the last time I taught it was spring of 2019, and I think we had 75 spots and about 235 students apply and they all wrote essays to get into the class. Sushama (11:08): Incredible. Angela (11:08): Pretty extraordinary. Yeah. And so what, we've -- what we're finding... And then the more that we tell people about this program... I've taught it in a prison with my colleague, Matt Crossman, who's the Director of Life Worth Living at the Yale Center for Faith and Culture. We have taught, done weekend retreats with people who are on the brink of retirement, weekend retreats with people who are in business and, you know, corporate leaders who just want to have this conversation. There are people who are doing this in all different types of settings, in high school settings, you know, those sorts of things. And so we're actually trying to figure out more how we can spread, like, basically our methodology to more and more people. And right now I've actually been training chaplains in the US army at multiple bases, all over the country in how to help soldiers articulate meaning and purpose. And so it's been really exciting. And then at Baylor, I teach a class on Mondays at Baylor called Jesus and the Meaning of Life. And in this class we are -- so whereas Life Worth Living in... Like when I'm training chaplains or when we're doing it in a prison or at Yale, we do it in a pluralistic way. You know, it's very, we look at how different people... So Life Worth Living has these key questions. Sushama (12:20): Mm hmm. Angela (12:22): What does it mean for life to go well? What should we hope for? What does it mean for life to feel well or to feel right? What does it mean for life to be led well? How should we live? What is the role of suffering in a good life and how should we respond to suffering? And what happens when we fail to live the life that we have that we hope for? And so those are the key questions. And when we ask them in a pluralistic setting, we look at how different people have answered these questions from religious and philosophical traditions throughout history. When I do it at Baylor on Monday afternoons, right now, we are thinking about these key questions in light of the life and teachings of Jesus specifically, and really at Baylor, in this class, we are looking at contested Christian visions of flourishing life, which I feel like has been, I mean, I think if you look over the last few years in the United States, we have contending visions of what it means to follow Jesus. And so on Monday afternoons at Baylor University, we are debating those visions. Sushama (13:35): Yeah. I feel like it's just an amazing career when you can study joy. That even the ability to study joy feels like it would be inherently a part of a good life for a scholar. Like, how do you study joy? What, what is the process for studying joy? Why joy? Angela (13:54): Joy is actually one of the most under- -- or before the joy project -- it was one of the most under-explored, positive emotions across multiple disciplines, actually. And many people conflate joy and happiness. And we wanted to try to understand the difference between the two as well. From a theological perspective, people like, for example, Thomas Aquinas say that joy is the culmination of all positive emotions, like, that sort of every positive emotion culminates in joy, it's the ultimate positive feeling. And so we wanted to explore what is joy from a theological perspective? What does it take to cultivate joy? What is the difference between joy and happiness? Why is joy important in our lives? If so, why, what does it do for human beings? And so we actually brought together 239 scholars from over 140 institutions on, I think, four continents and multiple countries from all different kinds of disciplines. Angela (15:02): We had psychologists, philosophers, literature professors, historians, all different kinds of professors come together and researchers and... Every consultation had a theme related to, so, you know, maybe the theme was, like, joy versus fear. And then people would submit papers from their academic discipline, like their perspective. And we had emerging scholars and senior scholars and we would read papers and we would debate. And then we would distill big ideas into bite-size pieces. And a lot of things were written over the last few years about joy. Many books were written, a lot of articles were submitted to journals. A lot of popular articles were submitted by scholars. And so we're really grateful and excited that over the last few years, there's been a lot more written and thought about in relation to joy that I think is going to be really helpful to people. Sushama (16:03): Why is it understudied? Why do you think that was? Angela (16:08): I don't know. It's a great question. I... my hunch is that it was so associated with happiness because happiness is not an underexplored phenomenon. Sushama (16:19): No, it's not. Yeah. Angela (16:20): Positive psychologists have contributed, have dedicated a lot of time to happiness over the last probably 20 years or so. And so positive psychology is such an interesting movement because for many years, psychologists studied and focused on pathology and how do we, you know, reduce depression? How do we reduce mental distress of all sorts? Um, how do we treat mental illness? Whereas positive psychology came along and they said, instead of focusing on pathology, like what if we focused on how do we nurture positive emotions and virtues in people's lives? So what if we focused on how do we cultivate happiness, for example? And so I just wonder if maybe the study of happiness... Sort of, like, people just assumed when they were studying happiness, that they were studying joy. Sushama (17:11): I mean, this seems like a good place to maybe give your definitions and ideas about the difference. So like what, what is joy versus happiness and how do they relate? Angela (17:23): Yeah, I think for me personally, like from a theological perspective, when you look at happiness and I think that Adam Potkay's book, *The Story of Joy* is very helpful for understanding the etymology of joy. So how did it come to be -- and happiness -- and like, what did they mean when people began to use these words? Joy is actually a much older word than happiness... In like, so it was used much more. But it really, and it really is a biblical word. It's actually, like, throughout the Hebrew scriptures and in the New Testament, joy is used quite frequently. And so Potkay talks a lot about that, but basically happiness became very popular in the 1800s, I believe, is when he was talking about it, as a way, a calculus of material conditions. So, generally happiness from my perspective is associated with people's sense that their lives are going well. Angela (18:23): People assess the circumstances or the conditions of their lives and they sit back and they think, yeah, my life is going well, I'm happy. I'm happy in this moment with the circumstances that I'm in, and I'm content with how my life is going. Whereas joy is a much more profound emotion and it is... and it, and it actually occurs less frequently,I think. I think happiness is easier to access for people than joy. But joy is -- so one thing about joy is that it's very modifiable in a way that few positive emotions are, I think, which makes it a strange emotion in the sense that joy... There is, there can be exuberant joy. And I think when we think about joy, most people associate it with like exuberant joy, like, oh my goodness. Sushama (19:12): Sure, yeah. Angela (19:12): So like, this is amazing. This is so great. Right. But joy, there's also quiet joy, sobering joy, healing joy, restorative, redemptive, joy. And actually from a theological perspective, I think that theologians and also in the, in the scriptures, what we see is that joy tends to be more like... For me, Luke 15 is the biblical ode to joy where... In Luke 15, what we see is the parable of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the prodigal son. And so what's lost is found. And so there's the sense that joy is often the result, the feeling of, like, reunion, of restoration, of redemption, of what is lost being found. And so in order to feel joy sometimes, I mean that kind of joy, I mean, you have to have lost something. So there seems to be for me... And what I explore a lot in *The Gravity of Joy* is that joy has this mysterious capacity to be held alongside of sorrow. Joy can sustain us and can be sustained even in suffering... Which I think is very helpful to all of us. And like, sort of in the moment that we're finding ourselves in. Sushama (20:34): [inaudible]. Yeah, yeah. This moment. And then just, the moments that you described in your book, too. Reading, especially the depth of the chapter about your father's dying. I was... I have to say I was really affected. I actually re-read a little last night of that particular part. Because it's, it's so clear. You almost feel as a reader that you're there, too. I have to admit I was teary. And it occurred to me, I remembered about, maybe longer than a decade ago, a student at Harvard Divinity School telling me that she had just gone through, like, a season of death and grief. She called it a season of death and grief. And she did like a, almost like a mini sermon about it for an introduction to a forum we were doing. And I'll never forget how she described that. But when I read yours, I thought this is a season of death and grief. And the implications of that, that you found in your work in joy and how much it mattered in your work in joy. So I wonder if you would give us some sense of what was happening for you in holding all of these things and holding all of these moments in this season of death and in grief for you. Angela (21:49): Yeah. Thank you so much for what you said about the chapter, about my dad's death. Sushama (21:53): Yeah. Angela (21:53): I think for me, it was very important in this book to honor the journey of grief, and to speak about it, to write about it very honestly and openly. I... And because I think I wanted to really -- and I do spend a good deal of time in chapter four, talking about how grief not only produces tears, but anger and fear, and that those are stages of grief that are really important, I think, for people to talk about. I think a lot of times people experience profound grief and then find themselves really angry like I was. And they don't, they haven't been told that the two are associated. And so then they feel a little bit like, "What's happening to me?" Like, "Why am I so like... Why am I waking up so mad every day?" But when you've experienced significant loss, especially sudden loss, or, for me in the case of my dad, you know, losing him after nearly 12 years of opioid use, there was so much anger about not just his death, obviously, but all of the years that were lost before that, like the death of the guy that I knew long before he actually died. And so for me, I wanted to describe in this book, I mean, it's called "The Gravity of Joy" for a reason. Sushama (23:22): Yeah. Angela (23:22): Because it is about the weightiness of joy. It is about the kind of joy that I found in the midst of suffering was more of what Alexander Schmemann, the priest, calls 'a bright sorrow' in one of his journals. He describes joy as 'a bright sorrow' in the sense that to give ourselves over to joy is to always, in any moment that we do that to allow for just a few minutes, the brokenness, the loss, the sadness, the sin of the world, to hang in the background and instead to focus on what is good, what the relationship we have with other people, what is meaningful, you know, and to give ourselves over to just that goodness for a moment, and to allow that -- the darkness to hang in the background, the loss, you know? And so, yeah, that's what I'm doing in this book, as I think I'm trying to describe what it was to hold both sorrow and joy together in my own soul. Sushama (24:24): Yeah. And in doing that, the fact that these deaths came pretty much one after another, did you try to pivot to joy? Or do you feel like joy is inherent in the grieving -- so you like have ebbs and flows of joy -- or are you thinking to yourself, you know what, this person had a wonderful life. I remember these memories with them. That makes me joyful. Like, I'm going to concentrate on the joy in this moment of this person's life. Angela (24:51): Not during those four weeks, not a year and a half after. No. Joy did not -- no. I think that it was not for about a year and a half that I really could allow joy in. I think that joy is a gift. I don't think we can manufacture the feeling of joy. I think that it finds us and then we open ourselves up to it. Or, you know, I think we can be postured for joy. We can get ready for joy. And then when it makes its way to us, we can give ourselves over to it. But yeah, even for that year and a half, I wasn't, I wouldn't say that I was someone who was postured for joy. I wasn't looking for joy. I was able, after I got into writing the book, to look at the weeks that -- those four weeks when I lost three people back to back in very sudden and very tragic ways each in their own, you know, suicide, senseless death of a young person, and then opioid use, like I was able to look back and to see a moment in each, after each person's death, when I experienced a kind of sobering, quiet joy or a healing joy. You know, I experienced some joy in thinking about them and what they meant to me. Sushama (25:56): Sure. Angela (25:57): And like, in moments that, like, God met me and my family in the midst of what was happening, which is what brought joy. Because I say in the book too, that joy is the very being and presence of God, ministering to you. And so I was able in, very much in hindsight to see where God was and that brought me joy, but like, I would not describe those four weeks as joyful whatsoever. And I also would say that it took me a good year and a half to actually start to write about joy. Again, like I had written, I was writing about it a lot, reading everything I could get my hands on in the first eight months, even outside of the consultations we were doing. And then it was just hard to go to work. And I lived in the fog of grief and then I became this chaplain at a maximum-security prison for women on suicide watch. Angela (26:47): And that's when -- and then, so I become this chaplain. I decided to volunteer, which was such a strange thing to surrender to because I was at the end of myself, I did not think that I had anything to offer anyone. And yet I felt the tug of the Spirit in church one night when they were asking for more volunteers and I just decided to do it. And then a few weeks into it, I realized I'd been assigned the building, like, with women on suicide watch. I realized that the overwhelming majority of women in my Bible study were in prison for heroin or crack. And then I realized that... So basically my, like my study of joy, my family suffering, and the suffering of these incarcerated women collided in that prison. And I began to wonder, like, what could our research on joy and visions of the good life and contemporary culture, like what might it say to my family suffering, to these women's suffering, to America's crises of despair, both suicide and death by opioids have been called deaths of despair. So I began to wonder like, what's going on in the larger picture of what's happening in America today? You know what I mean? And then finally I'll say that my friend, Willie James Jennings, who was a colleague of mine at Yale Divinity School, he gave this lecture about a month and a half after I started being a chaplain at the prison on joy. And he said two things that absolutely changed my life in this lecture. One was that he said, we can make our pain productive without glorifying or justifying suffering. And that, because that was the last thing I wanted to do. I did not want to write about my family suffering as some sort of like way of saying that like, God had this happened, that I could write a book about joy amid suffering. Angela (28:38): You know, I don't, I don't claim that to this day. I don't think that God does stuff like that in our lives. I don't make sense of my family suffering in that way. And so this book is not an attempt to justify or to glorify what happened to my family or to the women that I met in prison. It is an attempt simply to make pain productive, to say that, you know, I can take what I went through, what these women have gone through are still going through. And I can try to be a part of the groundswell of people who are addressing America's crisis of despair. Like, you know, and then the second thing he said was joy is a work of resistance against despair. Like, he channeled Habakkuk 3 and he was just like, you know, this is, this joy is a work of resistance against despair. And so as I, you know, it like all came together in this moment, in this lecture where I was like, oh wow, we have a crisis of despair in American culture. My family has experienced it. I'm meeting with women every Wednesday who experienced this. And then joy is a work of resistance against despair. I'm writing about that. And that is what *The Gravity of Joy* is, that is the thesis of this book. That joy is a counter agent to despair. Interlude (29:56): [sound of water droplet] Sushama (29:58): You talk about this counter agency of despair. Give more illustrations of how that joy, like if it's from the women's prison or in your own life, but how is it that joy might serve as this great counter agent to despair? Angela (30:12): Well, if despair is the feeling that many people I think have... When I think about despair, I describe it as a theologian. So that's important. I'm not a psychologist. You know, I keep saying that throughout the thing, but I just want to [laughter] -- like, I'm thinking about despair and joy and suicide and the opioid crisis from a theological perspective. And when I think about despair from a theological perspective, what I see is that people begin to feel that even though they can see others, that people cannot reach them. People cannot connect with them. People don't see them, understand them, truly hear them. Also despair tends to give us the feeling that... Nothing will heal or bring us relief from our pain. And so we've become hopeless about the idea that, like, healing is possible for us. Despair also tends to come from the sense that our life has become ineffective, that we've failed massively, and we can't recover from it. That we've lost our sense of self, that we don't know who we are or where we're going or where we've been. That we're not a part of some sort of larger story that's being told, you know? And so joy is the opposite of all of that. Joy is the feeling that we get when we recognize and feel connected to meaning, to truth, to beauty, to goodness, and to other people. Joy is a realization of relatedness, to these sorts of things, right? And so the more that we can help people to have realizations of connection, to meaning truth, beauty, goodness, to one another, the more we help people to resist despair in their lives. Sushama (32:01): Yeah. You're making me think about kind of the moment that we're in also as a country, I feel in some way, we're in a -- it feels like collective grief, collective despair on all fronts, in every way that you can think about it. And it could be anything from racial injustice to, you know, like the reshaping and kind of like, degradation of like our democratic ideals, like, and anywhere in between all, all these ideas in between. But there's kind of a collective grief happening, a collective despair. But I don't, I'm not finding there's room for much collective joy right now and how we, we get people to some joy or to some joyfulness or to looking at some of our, of these issues in a more hopeful way. What are you, what are you thinking about like collective joy? Angela (33:03): No, it is a thing. I think the best example, and Brene Brown has pointed this out in her work, is in sports. Sports really demonstrate collective sorrow and collective joy in a very powerful way. I mean, we saw it at the national championship game two Monday nights ago. And you know, I gotta give a shout out to the Baylor men's basketball team. You know, but it's so interesting. I actually preached about this last Sunday that, you know, at the national championship game, it's just, you see right at the end of that game, this collective sorrow and collective joy just collide. And it's, you know, because Jalen Suggs is crying and Mark Vital is crying. They're both crying for very different reasons. One is weeping. One is rejoicing. You know, and so we see collective joy and sorrow in sports. And I think that's why sports are so powerful in people's lives, because it's this space that we have to feel like I'm with these other people in what I'm feeling. Angela (34:04): So we feel very, very connected to other people, and we feel permission to feel deeply in sports. I don't know that there's any place that people feel such exuberant joy or such profound sadness, so publicly, right? Sushama (34:20): Yes! Angela (34:20): And so sports are interesting. And the Sports Institute at Baylor, they're doing some really interesting work in thinking theologically about sports, so I just want to give a shout out to them as well. But basically what you're saying about collective despair, collective sorrow. I absolutely feel it too. I literally, I woke up to the news headlines this morning of this young, 13-year-old boy being shot in Chicago by police. And I literally, I just, and I'm looking -- I follow black liturgies on Instagram. I commend them to everyone. And it's just literally all they can like post this morning is like -- inhale. Like, we are sad, you know, something to the effect of like, we're sad -- exhale, please, like, help us not to give over to despair. Angela (35:05): I, you know, it's like when George Floyd's trial is going on, and then we hear about Dante Wright. And now we hear about this young 13 year old. It's like, I don't -- it's so hard for me to have any hope going forward for policing in the United States. It is. It's like, and I want to believe that there's hope, but I can understand why so many people would say like, there is no hope for redeeming this, you know? There is no hope for, like... All we can imagine is that we have to rethink the whole thing because like, how can this be redeemed? You know? And so, yeah, it's very -- there are certain aspects of American life right now that it's very hard to not just say like, this is irredeemable. Like this is lost, and nothing can be found. Right. You know what I mean? Sushama (35:57): Nothing. And when you think about, you know, a 13-year-old boy, and I have a 13-year-old and an 11-year-old, and it's like, now I won't go, I won't be too dramatic. It's not all joy, but most of it, of their childhood is joy. It is pure joy. That's what we're aiming for. That's what they're aiming for. That mostly, it's a lot of joy. So for a 13-year-old to be gone out of our lives, because of a collective crisis is really, really painful. And I appreciate you naming that. It's really painful. Angela (36:32): Yeah. Well, and what I was going to say about it too, is like, when it comes to joy, it's like, we can't rush joy. And I do, I do think that in the case of the kind of week that we're having with [inaudible], you know, with this trial going on, and I mean, I think for me, George Floyd's trial is just so representative of the fact that, like the fact that we have to have this, like, very long trial, about a murder that everyone saw is so, so painful and disorienting. Sushama (37:06): I'm with you. Yes. Angela (37:06): It's like, we all watched it. Everyone watched it. Sushama (37:12): We saw it! [crosstalk] Angela (37:12): Everyone saw it! Like, everyone saw it. And so I think it's very important for me to say today that there are obstacles to joy, but not that -- in that they're bad, but like one is anger, especially righteous anger, and fear. Where fear resides, it's difficult for joy to make its way to us. When anger resides, like where anger resides, it's difficult for joy to make its way to us. And that's not a bad thing. Anger and fear are emotions that teach us. That -- if there's anything I've learned over the last four and a half years, it's that emotions are not -- I don't really like using the words 'negative emotions and positive emotions' actually. I mean, I have been saying positive, like, about joy, but I don't really think that there are bad emotions. I think every emotion is a teacher, if we let it, right? That there's wisdom there. Anger, especially righteous anger says there's something wrong. There's something broken that needs to be fixed. And so there, like, we have to work through anger and fear in constructive ways and saying, what are you teaching me? What do I need to do in response to this emotion? You know, we have to listen to them, you know? And so I don't, and I think that's for us to get to collective joy. We have to first, like, constructively work through our anger, our lament, our fear. Sushama (38:35): Yeah, yeah, yes. To all of that. I want to talk about the women's prison for a little bit too, because I wanted to hear some of your stories. That feels like that was a place of some healing, working with these women, that it was a place of some healing for you. And I want to know who (again without naming names, but just illustrations), who were some of the women? What did they offer you during that time that felt therapeutic or felt like it helps you along in your own healing coming off of this season? Angela (39:07): Yes, absolutely. These women got me on the road to healing. No doubt about it. There is... the second part of the title of the book, the subtitle is 'a story of being lost and found,' I'm the person who was lost, who was found. And I was found in this, strangely enough... I found myself and my sense of faith. And I found that I could hold my faith and doubt together with these women in this Bible study. I came alive for the first time after -- I felt, I think I felt numb. And I felt like I was dead for like a year and a half. And then they like, awoke -- and they awakened something in me. And I say very clearly in both the dedication of the book, and then in the last chapter, that I don't claim that the joy that they brought me was also present in them. But it's important for me, like, to say, you know, I hope that the joy that they brought me at some point is theirs, too. But these women were so critical in my own healing journey. One, because they had been through so much. These women had been, almost all of them, sexually abused. Almost all of them had grown up in foster care at some point in their life. They had spent time in foster care in a group home. Almost all of them were caught up in cycles of poverty. Almost all of them had parents who were caught up in cycles of substance use. And yet these women would cling to God. They prayed the most honest prayers that I've ever heard. And in that room, there was, like, such respect for one another. If you were over 45 or 50, they called you Miss, like Miss Aliyah, for example, as a sign of respect among each other. Angela (41:12): And so all of us, the Bible study co-leaders, we followed them. We called particular women Miss, like Miss Aliyah, just following their lead, but this was not something we did. It was something that they did. Their ability to humanize one another in such a dehumanizing situation, after all that they had been through, was remarkable to me. And specifically like, when I think about Miss Aliyah and one of those, like, you know, on the last day that I was in the prison, I said that she was like, "Angela, I want to sing a song for you." And, you know, and so then she just like stands up in the room, and she starts singing Amazing Grace, off-pitch, and then a few sentences in, she forgets what she's saying, and she sits down and it's like, "I'm so sorry. I forgot the words." And yet, after spending a year in that prison, it was so perfect because I had realized that to live... To live exposed, vulnerable, honest, without shame, is to be truly human. And that's the only way to actually live well. In this room, there was no shame, which is why we sang so loudly and we danced and we told bold stories. Angela (42:39): You know, I tell another story in the book. I mean, there was a moment when Vanessa was trying to help a young woman who was being bullied on her tier, get off a different, her tier and get into another part of the prison. And so Vanessa like, "Hey, grab -- like, we need a piece of paper. And so she rips out a piece of paper of her notebook, and she gives it to her and she's like, "Millie, like here, just start writing a letter to this person." Because Vanessa had been in prison for about nine years. And so she knew what was going on and she knew the places of power in the prison. Angela (43:10): And so she's like "Here, like, write down, you're going to write to this person." And Millie's like, "I can't write." You know, and she's like 22 years old, but the education system has failed her. Right. And so she cannot write, and Vanessa then says, "Oh, it's okay, I'll write it. And then you just sign it, and give it to this person." And it was like, you know, there's so many moments, I feel like, outside of that room where somebody realizes somebody else can't write, or they sing off-pitch, or they forget something. And there's like this moment of like, ugh -- like, where you kind of look at someone, and you're like, what? Like you can't -- what? You know, and you have this reaction to each other that then induces immediately, like, shame and a sense of like, "Oh, wow. I just told you something. I shared something. I made a mistake in front of you. Like, and now I feel vulnerable and exposed and it's not good." No, in this room when you were vulnerable and exposed and real, it was welcomed and accepted. And it was like, you're deeply human. Welcome. [laughs] Oh my God, it's the most refreshing thing in the world. Sushama (44:17): I was just thinking, where does that happen? That's so refreshing! Angela (44:21): I mean, I say in *The Gravity of Joy* in chapter five, that nothing is half-baked in prison. That's why I felt so alive there. And that's my great hope and prayer that these women leave prison and then are able to cultivate these kinds of spaces in their own lives. You know, because I just, I don't, like, I don't want it to have to be prison that gets people, people to that place. You know? Interlude (44:45): [sound of water droplet] Sushama (44:45): That's beautiful. I mean, so authentic and I don't know -- you're right, where... What other spaces that that would happen. There's so much, and I'm looking at our time. I want to get maybe two quick, two last quick questions. And if you're willing, one is to ask you about, as people read this, as they look at your interviews, as they're kind of Googling around who you are and what your work is. What do you want people to get from this book, of course, but also from your research and your life's journey of talking and thinking about joy? Angela (45:21): So there are several things that I want people to get. And one thing I want to mention is that my website www.angelagorrell.com (and Gorell is G-O-R-R-E-L-L) -- so angelagorrell.com -- you can have, there's a free discussion, story prompt, and activity guide that goes with *The Gravity of Joy*. And the whole point of creating that guide is that I want this, this book to cultivate conversation about every emotion that people experience in their lives. So, this guide is a guide to talking about the grief of your own life, the losses you've experienced, it's a guide to sharing stories about your own righteous anger and fear, but also of course, your own experiences of joy. It's a guide that all the activities are what I call 'gateways to joy.' And so we can't make it, but we can posture ourselves for it, and we can be open to it. And so, these are all ways to become more open to joy in your life. And so the whole idea of my book is, number one -- I want people to understand joy more and to become more open to it in their lives. And two -- I would love for people to feel like that in telling my story that they have permission to tell theirs. And third, I would love for more people to become part of the groundswell of people who are working to address suicide rates, the opioid crisis, or mass incarceration in the United States, and the epilogue describes each of these three things that are going on and resources for learning more about how to join the groundswell of people working so hard to address these very critical issues. Sushama (47:05): I downloaded the discussion guide. So, it's really great. So thanks for that. Last question for you. And it's... I think it's personal, but it doesn't have to be, I want to know how you're doing, how your life is, how you have grieved and come to some redemptive joy. How's your sister and your family, and where are people in their lives? They really live as characters and real people for me. And I'm sure for many, many, many people who have read the powerful book. So how's everybody doing? How are you doing? Angela (47:38): You know, what's so fascinating about this question is that I think I've done upwards of 25-plus interviews in the last month about this book. I mean, maybe, maybe more. You're the first person to ask that question. So thank you for asking it. Wow. I, you know, I definitely am someone who continues to hold together joy and sorrow. I described in chapter 8 Ezra being at the temple. And like, there are all these people watching the temple be rebuilt, and there's a lot of people weeping because they remember the old house and the way that things used to be. And then there's a lot of people rejoicing because they're seeing the temple be rebuilt and they're excited about it. And I feel so, like the -- I feel like both people that are watching the temple. I am incredibly grateful; this book is being received in the way that it is. The emails, the DMs that I'm getting on Instagram, on Facebook, the texts, it has been so beautiful to see people receive this book. And many people just say to me, you know, Angela, I feel so resonated with like, "I lost a parent a few years ago and I just feel like, wow, you described it in a way that was so, like, 'Yes, you get it.'" You know what I mean? Or "I have felt powerless to help someone that I love, and that I really get it. I have lost someone I love to suicide, and I feel like you honored the experience," you know? And so, that's been so beautiful, but then, you know, it's sobering that, you know, my book was, for example, like in, for the first week, it was the number one new release in Christian death and grief. Angela (49:14): And it was like, wow. I'm so grateful that, wow... This book cost my family so much to write. This book, you know, and then I'm thinking constantly about these women in prison. I prayed for them every Monday through Friday morning. And I'm constantly thinking, I wish I could tell you because now I'm in Texas, so I don't get to see them anymore. I'm going to be, I'm going to actually be a volunteer at a new prison. I'm so looking forward to it, and be investing in, investing in the lives of women who are going to be eight months out from reintegration in the next couple of years, I'm so excited about this work. But I... Even as someone who really is about prison abolition, but so I'll -- I just want to say that. I'm really not, I'm not really about prison reform. I'm more about prison abolition. And yet it's very important to me that as we're on the way to that, that I am with women who are in prison and continue to do this work anyways, I wish that I could tell these women what was happening, that their stories are being told, and that they were not for nothing. [emotional] You know, and that their pain is being made productive. And that, I'm just so grateful to them. You know, it's so funny though, because I say in the book and it's true to this day, to this day, they don't know who I am. They don't know that I have a Ph.D. or that I'm a professor or that I'm an author or anything like that. And it was important because it helped, like, I think our relationship would have been so different if they knew those things. But, so we were just human beings in a room together. Angela (50:54): But my family, you know, my sister Steph, who lost her son, to this day is having a very hard time. She misses him every single day. She doesn't wake up one day without having it, like, at the forefront of her mind. And it's hard. It's hard for her. She's like, you know, I don't know, like, like she -- she knows she'll never entirely like heal from it. And she's like, so she just tries to do her life realizing that, you know, that she just, she has this backpack. That's what she describes it as. Like, every day I put on my backpack of, like, grief and I just carry it with me everywhere I go. And she's like, you know, that's just her reality now. My little sister and my older sister, Alison, I mean, all of us, you know, we just... [sigh] we have ups. It's just like, there are days when we really think, you know, we're going to be okay and everything, you know, and we're making the best of this. And, you know, we're -- I don't know, we lean on each other. And then days when we just all kind of, like, text about it or call each other, we like Zoom or FaceTime about it. And we're just like, damn, like, it's still so hard. You know? So that's the honest, raw answer, is like, on many days, especially particular holidays and birthdays. And, you know, it's very hard for us still. Sushama (52:19): Yeah. Angela (52:19): And obviously like my book brought all of that back for everybody, right? And so I have to also, I guess, close this by just saying I am indebted to the women who I met in prison. I am indebted to all of my sisters, to my family, my extended family, for their willingness to allow their stories, to be implicated in the telling of mine. I'm grateful to them for giving me the consent to use their names, to tell their story as well. Interlude (52:54): [background percussion music] Angela (52:54): And just, yeah, it's -- so, and they're all -- a lot of them, they're leading their own groups about this book. They're doing a book club on the book, [crosstalk] and I think that's really good for them. Sushama (53:07): That's wonderful. Well, we're grateful for your story and for your work, your gift to the church, your gifts. This book is a gift. I really appreciate your honesty and just all that you have offered today and all that you offered in the book. So thank you so, so very much, Angela. Dayle (53:26): [background percussion music] You've been listening to The Distillery. Interviews are conducted by me, Dayle Rounds, and me, Sushama Austin-Connor, and I'm Shari Oosting. I'm Amar Peterman and I am in charge of production. Like what you're hearing? Subscribe at Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or your preferred podcast app. The Distillery is a production of PrincetonTheological Seminary's Office of Continuing Education. You can find out more at thedistillery.ptsem.edu. Thanks for listening. [sound of water droplet]  

Content warning: suicide, substance abuse, loss. This week we’re joined by Rev. Dr. Angela Gorrell to talk about her job studying joy, a season of unexpected losses, and what she learned when those two collided. Angela’s new book is The Gravity of Joy: A Story of Being Lost and Found. Things we mention in this episode/other resources:- CXMH ep. 84 - Technology, Media, & Living Our Theology (feat. Dr. Angela Gorrell) Connect with Angela on her website, Instagram, or Twitter. Buy The Gravity of Joy: A Story of Being Lost and Found on Amazon. Join the Cxmhunity on Facebook! Connect with Robert on his website, Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. Connect with Holly on her website, Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. Connect more with CXMH on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest. Ways to support CXMH:- make a pledge on Patreon and get rewards like submitting questions for upcoming interviews, a mug, sticker, t-shirt, or more!- give a one-time gift using PayPal- Do your Amazon shopping through this link- Leave us a rating & review on iTunes or Google Play- Check out our CXMH merchandise to show off your support- Listen to the Cxmhunity Spotify playlist here- Check out other episodes and find your favorites guests on our website. Intro/Outro music for this episode is ‘Fall Down’ by Rivers & Robots.

An interview with Angela Williams Gorrell, Professor of Practical Theology at Baylor University, and author of a new book entitled The Gravity of Joy: A Story of Being Lost and Found. Angela recounts her own experiences with the sudden, tragic, and nearly simultaneous losses of three family members; how America’s current crisis of despair can be traced and understood through suicide and addiction rates; and the surprising ways in which gateways to joy can be found in the midst of deep grief; plus, additional commentary from Angela’s former boss at Yale, Miroslav Volf, on the connection between joy and sorrow.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An interview with Angela Williams Gorrell, Professor of Practical Theology at Baylor University, and author of a new book entitled The Gravity of Joy: A Story of Being Lost and Found. Angela recounts her own experiences with the sudden, tragic, and nearly simultaneous losses of three family members; how America’s current crisis of despair can be traced and understood through suicide and addiction rates; and the surprising ways in which gateways to joy can be found in the midst of deep grief; plus, additional commentary from Angela’s former boss at Yale, Miroslav Volf, on the connection between joy and sorrow. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr. Angela Williams Gorrell, Assistant Professor of Practical Theology at Truett Seminary, shares about her new book, The Gravity of Joy: A Story of Being Lost and Found. We will discuss Angela's discovery of an authentic, grounded Christian joy and the invitation resilient joy serves as a counteragent to the twenty-first-century epidemics of despair, addiction, and suicide—a call to action for communities that yearn to find joy and are willing to “walk together through the shadows” to find it.

Guest host Fr. Stuart Wilson-Smith chats with Dr. Angela Gorrell about her new book, “The Gravity of Joy: A Story of Being Lost and Found,” which reflects on finding joy in the midst of suffering.

Today’s lesson is from the teachings of Jesus in the 15th chapter of Luke, where we find three parables regarding the tragedy of carelessness, the tragedy of uselessness, the tragedy of willfulness, and the tragedy of bitterness. And they’re all related to today’s episode, as we study, “The Tragedy of Being Lost.”

“My vocation was supposed to be joy, and I was speaking at funerals.” Shortly after being hired by Yale University to study joy, Angela Gorrell got word that a close family member had died by suicide. Less than a month later, she lost her father to a fatal opioid addiction and her nephew, only twenty-two years old, to sudden cardiac arrest. The theoretical joy she was researching at Yale suddenly felt shallow and distant—completely unattainable in the fog of grief she now found herself in. But joy was closer at hand than it seemed. As she began volunteering at a women’s maximum-security prison, she met people who suffered extensively yet still showed a tremendous capacity for joy. Talking with these women, many of whom had struggled with addiction and suicidal thoughts themselves, she realized: “Joy doesn’t obliterate grief. . . . Instead, joy has a mysterious capacity to be felt alongside sorrow and even—sometimes most especially—in the midst of suffering.” This is the story of Angela’s discovery of an authentic, grounded Christian joy. But even more, it is an invitation for others to seize upon this more resilient joy as a counteragent to the twenty-first-century epidemics of despair, addiction, and suicide—a call to action for communities that yearn to find joy and are willing to “walk together through the shadows” to find it.Dr. Angela Williams Gorrell joined Baylor's George W. Truett Theological Seminaryin fall 2019 as Assistant Professor of Practical Theology. Prior to joining the faculty at Baylor University, she was an Associate Research Scholar at the Yale Center for Faith & Culture, working on the Theology of Joy and the Good Life Project, and a lecturer in Divinity and Humanities at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. She is an ordained pastor with 14 years of ministry experience. Dr. Gorrell is passionate about finding issues that matter to people and shining the light of the Gospel on them. She is the author of always on: practicing faith in a new media landscape and a new book, The Gravity of Joy: A Story of Being Lost and Found, which shares findings of the joy project while addressing America’s opioid and suicide crises. Dr. Gorrell’s expertise is in the areas of theology and contemporary culture, education and formation, meaning-making, joy, new media, and youth and emerging adults. Dr. Gorrell regularly consults, speaks, and leads workshops and retreats on her research and areas of expertise.

How will COVID Permanenty Change Churches? GUEST Sarah ZylstraGeorgia Killings Deepen Fears of Rising Anti-Asian Hate in US GUEST Eugene ParkThe Gravity of Joy: A Story of Being Lost and Found GUEST Angela Williams GorellSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How will COVID Permanenty Change Churches? GUEST Sarah ZylstraGeorgia Killings Deepen Fears of Rising Anti-Asian Hate in US GUEST Eugene ParkThe Gravity of Joy: A Story of Being Lost and Found GUEST Angela Williams GorellSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A renowned Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg scholar, writer and artist, Leanne Betasamosake Simpson has been lauded by many as one of the most compelling writers of her generation, as demonstrated by Islands of Decolonial Love, This Accident of Being Lost, Dancing on Our Turtle’s Back and As We Have Always Done. Now, in Noopiming: The Cure for White Ladies, Betasamosake Simpson offers a book of wit, power, generosity and fierce insight or, as her publisher explains, “an act of decolonization, degentrification, and willful resistance to the perpetuation and dissemination of centuries-old colonial myth-making.” In conversation with award-winning poet, thinker and Theory author, Dionne Brand, this episode features two exceptional minds together, in a discussion bound to elevate our intellects and our spirits.

Theologian Angela Gorrell discusses her book The Gravity of Joy, a theological memoir that lays bare the experience of finding the bright sorrow of joy alongside devastating grief, suffering, and pain. The book recounts her experience of joining the Yale Center for Faith & Culture in 2016 as an Associate Research Scholar for our Theology of Joy and the Good Life Project and to teach our Yale undergraduate course, Life Worth Living. That winter, the reality, the extent, and the dangerous potential of joy would become devastatingly clear. The highly abstract question of what it means to live a life worth living would become painfully acute. Interview with Ryan McAnnally-Linz.Support For the Life of the World by supporting the Yale Center for Faith & Culture: faith.yale.edu/give This episode contains some sensitive material about suicide. Use some discretion as you consider listening, and if you are feeling suicidal, thinking about hurting yourself, or are concerned that someone you know may be in danger of hurting themselves, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK.Show NotesRead the book: The Gravity of Joy: A Story of Being Lost and Found A devastating winter of lossSuicide and opioid deaths as “deaths of despair"“Despair is the feeling I think that people can feel when they feel like no one can reach them. No one can get to them. And for me, joy is a counteragent to despair because joy is the feeling that we get after recognizing truth, meaning beauty, goodness, our relationship to other people."Joy as a work of resistance against despair (e.g., Willie James Jennings)"Joy as an illumination that there is something more.”Grief vs Despair—what prevented your grief from becoming despair? Who reached you?“Even though I was a year and five months in grief… angry… constantly afraid of getting another call."Suicide watch in a women's correctional facility—“These women are going to minister to me.""Is our study of joy too shallow?"Different kinds of joyJoy and sorrow—from the book: "Joy doesn't obliterate grief. . . . Instead, joy has a mysterious capacity to be felt alongside sorrow and even—sometimes most especially—in the midst of suffering."The ocean as a spiritual sanctuary, the rain as an indicator that change is coming"I suddenly found myself rejoicing over what ought to be, what was to come. I suddenly believed that joy might make its way to me again. And just the mirror. Like what if of joy like found me on that beach, running in the pouring rain?"Women's prison bible study—feeling welcome to a community without shame Humanizing one another in a dehumanizing institution: “The Gravity of Joy is my effort to humanize people who are incarcerated."God's activity in suffering, pain, and joy: “God was always seeking after you."Romans 8:28 "All things work together for good"I hope people feel seen.About Angela GorrellDr. Angela Williams Gorrell is Assistant Professor of Practical Theology at Baylor University's George W. Truett Theological Seminary and author of The Gravity of Joy: A Story of Being Lost and Found and Always on: Practicing Faith in a New Media Landscape. Prior to joining the faculty at Baylor University, she was an Associate Research Scholar at the Yale Center for Faith & Culture, working on the Theology of Joy and the Good Life Project, and a lecturer in Divinity and Humanities at Yale University. She is an ordained pastor with 15 years of ministry experience. Dr. Gorrell's expertise is in the areas of theology and contemporary culture, education and formation, new media, and youth and emerging adults.

In episode 14 of Sacred and Profane Love, “Walker Percy on Being Lost in the Cosmos,” I speak with associate professor of Literature, Jessica Hooten Wilson, about Walker Percy’s dystopian, science fiction novel, Love in the Ruins. We discuss the darkly comic adventures of Dr. Tom More as he tries to figure out how to live and love in the ruins of a society that seems eerily familiar to our own. We also discuss Percy’s satirical take on the self-help genre, Lost in the Cosmos. So bring out the Early Times this weekend, settle down on the porch, and enjoy a conversation about one of our greatest Southern writers.

It's the time of year to celebrate the graduates of Fall 2020, as a fresh batch of graduates just entered the professional world. I will be talking about how life right after graduating from your undergrad, post grad, can be filled with moments of frustration and uncertainty but will eventually lead to growth. I will emphasize the importance of not lying to yourself when it comes to this uncertain time of your life. I touch on how, after college, it is difficult trying to pursue my dreams as a child of refugees. How I navigate expressing love to my parents while pursuing my own dreams, how intergenerational trauma has impacted me, and how I worked through the reality that my parent's dreams are not my dreams - but I can still let them guide me in life. I also talk about how redundant the 9-5 life can be and my struggles with it as I pursued therapy to help me through the transition from college to the 9-5 life. Also, I'll highlight how no one really openly talks bout the transition from college to the 9-5 life. I'm still transitioning, so this episode is to merely share my experiences so that people do not feel alone if they're a little lost in post grad life. If you're a lost soul, you're not alone! Follow us on Instagram and Facebook at @thelostsoulspodcast. Ask your questions and share your stories at askthelostsoulspodcast@gmail.com. We are all lost souls, no matter how successful we are in life. Show Notes: 00:23 - Introduction to Lost in Post Grad: Don't Lie to Yourself 3:06 - Complex identity of being a Child of Refugees 4:18 - My Nam's (Mom's) Factory Life Struggles = My Motivation 6:02 - Post Grad Life Dilemma, What's my purpose in life now? 8:56 - Letter from 2014 Aggi, Fearing the Leap of Faith 9:50 - Intergenerational Trauma and How it Impacts Me 12:10 - Middle Ground of Two Cultures, How to Make Both Me and My Parents Happy 14:08 - Redundant 9-5 Life 15:56 - The Transition from College to the 9-5 Life that No One Talks About 17:16 - My 9-5 Story, Depression, Anxiety, and Being Lost 20:40 - My 9-5 Story: Therapy was Life Changing 26:00 - My 9-5 Story: The Necessity of Deep Life Conversations with Friends 27:54 - Closing, Don't Lie to Yourself - Your Desires will Always Be There 29:22 - New Mic! Thanks baby nephew @CeeZure (Follow him on Soundcloud) --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/thelostsoulspodcast/support

Being Lost & Acting the Goat!

What Freedoms are Being Lost in Our Country? Michael Harrison and MZ discuss the direction and focus of American politics. Bodhi Kroll and Amy Hau continue the discussion for the remainder of the show. Bodhi Kroll is an American expatriate businessman who is trying to weather the economic maelstrom caused by the coronvirus. Amy Hau is a survivor of Chinese labor camps. Will Americans realize the freedoms being lost before it's too late? Find out, on this week's edition of "The Saturday Special with Michael Zwerling"!

The Difference Between Lost and Being Lost

Susie Grade closes out our series "Being Lost & Found" by looking at the spiritual practice of compassion and mercy.

Being Lost & Found

Sermon: A Parable about Being Lost, Series: Parables, by Rev. Matt Howell, Luke 15:11-32 (ESV)

Shauna discusses the overarching theme of This Accident of Being Lost, while Rebecca shares her tearful review of The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary.  Join them for their final words on the last books of the 2019 Canada Reads longlist. 

Shauna and Rebecca invite you to read the final two books from the 2019 longlist to close out the year. The first is This Accident of Being Lost by Leanne Simpson. 

Sacred and Profane Episode 14: Walker Percy on Being Lost in the Cosmos by Sacred and Profane Love

So you chuck it all and opt for deliberate homelessness, leaving all the should and musts and social obligations to uncertainty and, in a very novel fashion: opportunity. Opportunity to discover who you are, without the embellishments. Victoria Price: The Way of Being Lost, A Road Trip to My Truest Self. (PS: the Dog goes too.)

Genesis Breyer P-Orridge has been one of my dearest and most human friends for the past few decades. Gen’s a musician, icon, cut-and-paste artist, occultist, and pandrogyne with whom I’ve worked and played in many ways over the years. Gen founded The Coum Transmissions, Throbbing Gristle, and Psychic TV, with whom I played keyboards in the early 2000’s. Gen also embarked on a very personal cut-and-paste experiment with partner Jackie, where they both sought to unite through psychic and physical remixing. Gen is currently challenged with a case of leukemia and has to stay close to the oxygen machine. But it seemed like a good excuse to bring out the portable recorder (generously funded by our Patreon subscribers!) and have a conversation. Visit the GoFundMe Campaign for Genesis Breyer P-Orridge https://www.gofundme.com/genesis-breyer-porridgeStephen decided to leave this mostly unedited, to give y’all a taste for what it’s like to sit in Gen’s apartment and just have a real conversation. Don’t worry, though - a conversation with Gen is a conversation about the fate of our species and reality itself. Please accept it as our holiday gift. -DouglasAll the music on today's show comes from Genesis' extensive catalog:Just Like Arcadia from Allegory and Self (PTV 1988)Caresse Song from Allegory and Self (PTV 1988)Distant Dreams-Part Two from Mission of Dead Souls (Throbbing Gristle)Thank You Part II from Thank You (PTV/PTV3 2011)Walkabout from 20 Jazz Funk Greats (Throbbing Gristle 1979 )Hot On The Heels of Love from 20 Jazz Funk Greats (Throbbing Gristle 1979)Lies and Then from Hell is Invisible, Heaven is Her/E (PTV3 - 2007 feat. Douglas Rushkoff!)Dead On Arrival (Throbbing Gristle 1978)Exotic Functions (Throbbing Gristle 1983)Being Lost from Allegory and Self (PTV 1988)United (Throbbing Gristle 1978)Thee Dweller from Allegory and Self (PTV 1988)Zyklon B Zombie from Second Annual Report (1977)Thank You - Part One from PTV/PTV3 2011) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Join us for this incredible Heart Challenging, yet Healing message by Sherry Cooksey as she shares her story of Being Lost to Being Loved!