Podcasts about Desire

In this fascinating episode, Dr. Fiona Lovely sits down with Dr. Michael Bader, a psychoanalyst with over 45 years of experience, for a deep dive into the psychology of sexual desire, pleasure, and the often-unexamined beliefs that shape our erotic lives. Together, they explore why sexual excitement is not simply a biological drive that bursts into consciousness, but rather something the mind carefully regulates based on unconscious assessments of safety and danger. Dr. Bader introduces listeners to the concept of pathogenic beliefs—the unconscious rules we form in childhood about what we are "supposed" to feel or not feel. These beliefs, often rooted in guilt or shame, can create roadblocks to sexual excitement into adulthood that no amount of hormone replacement therapy alone can fix. He explains how sexual fantasies function as creative solutions, momentarily bypassing these inhibitions and allowing pleasure to flow.  Listeners will walk away with a new understanding of their own erotic minds and practical insight into how psychological safety, guilt, and shame influence their capacity for pleasure. Dr. Bader offers a compassionate perspective, reminding women that understanding these dynamics is valuable—but that acceptance without judgment is also a valid and healthy outcome.  Tune in for a conversation that is as enlightening as it is liberating.   Connect with Dr. Bader: Website:  https://michaelbader.com/ X: https://x.com/psychpolitics YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjTd0ydMlfFZO__pCjDrZxw   Thank you to our sponsor for this episode:

Why is the desire to feel included so important? In this legacy episode, Dr. Mark Laaser explores how honesty, connection, and truth-telling can heal loneliness, overcome secret-keeping, and rebuild intimacy in marriage.Send us Fan Mail

Dr. Amy Muise, an Associate Professor of Psychology and York Research Chair in Relationships and Sexuality at York University, directs the Sexual Health and Relationships (SHaRe) Lab, where she studies how couples build and sustain desire over time. In this episode, Dr. Amy breaks down why sexual desire declines even in happy relationships, the data behind planned versus spontaneous sex, and what actually predicts romantic chemistry. She also covers the surprising link between household labor and desire, and how to think about first dates without over-relying on "the spark."References:Art Aron: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_AronDr. Amy Muise: https://discover.academics.yorku.ca/Amy.MuiseEric Tu: https://erictu.ca/Lorne Campbell: https://www.psychology.uwo.ca/people/faculty/Campbell.htmlSHaRe Lab: https://www.amymuise.comYork University: https://www.yorku.caTimestamps:00:00 Introduction01:40 How one undergrad thesis led to a career studying relationships02:46 Why sexual desire, specifically, became her research focus05:43 The myth that desire stays high in a "healthy" relationship08:00 Familiarity, novelty, and the self-expanding experiences that sustain desire10:00 Is there a normal amount of sex to have12:38 The gender gap in desire, and why it exists13:32 How an unequal household load quietly lowers desire20:58 The overwhelming, mostly false belief about spontaneous sex22:44 Rebranding planned sex like planning a vacation26:58 Should more couples be planning sex?28:57 The five ingredients of real romantic chemistry32:45 Why 40% of happy couples felt no spark at first34:44 What a first date can, and can't, predict36:52 Why relationship scientists struggle to predict compatibility39:00 Beyond small talk: the "fast friends" questions that build closeness46:50 Destiny vs. growth beliefs, and why growth wins49:34 The craft Amy is spending a lifetime honing

If you've got a cupboard full of supplements you bought with good intentions but never used, this episode is for you. Cathy Eason, Chief Science Officer at Berkeley Life, talks about nitric oxide, a molecule that affects almost every body system, including blood flow, blood pressure, digestion, energy production, and sexual arousal. She explains why nitric oxide production declines in your 30s and how it's linked to perimenopause. Eason also discusses the research behind using dietary nitrates (like beets and leafy greens) to support nitric oxide production and when supplementation might be necessary. This episode covers practical aspects like testing nitric oxide status at home, the connection between oral health and nitric oxide, and how the protocol differs for daily energy needs versus intense training. Eason also advises caution with nitric oxide supplementation, especially for those on blood pressure medication, and why she moved away from arginine/citrulline supplements. Go to https://drstephanieestima.com/berkeleylife and use code BETTER20 for 20% Off.

Ready to increase your desire and experience pleasure? Join the next round of Want it and Enjoy itIn this episode of Reclaiming Catholic Intimacy, Ellen Holloway talks about why you still might not want sex even when you enjoy it. She explains why responsive desire means you may need to intentionally create the connection, flirting, and touch that help you actually get in the mood.___________________________________Ready to stop avoiding sex and actually enjoy it? Join the waitlist for Want it and Enjoy it now and join the next round!Did we mention a book on this week's episode? Click here for our recommended books!Reach out at instagram.com/ellenholloway_/ or email us at info@vinesinfullbloom.com

Graeme is joined by Craig Anderson as they discuss the contrasting fortunes of the two Edinburgh sides, praise for Camilo Duran and Craig McLeish's buddies, Derek McInnes turning this skiff around, a creditable draw at Tannadice and the state of Aberdeen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Novedades| M83, Trentemøller, Wings of Desire, Brigitte Calls Me Baby, Balu Brigada, Fontaines D.C., Fat Dog, Bloc Party, La Milagrosa, Viva Belgrado, Carlos Ares, Gara Durán, Morreo, Los Estanques Bonus Track| Mecano ¡Suscríbete a nuestro canal en Telegram! https://t.co/d64vSXTYT9 ¡Suscríbete a nuestro canal en WhatsApp! https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaRw86Q1yT2FeNzrfv2g ¡Escríbenos! info@hnmag.es ¡Síguenos en Twitter! https://twitter.com/HNMagES ¡Síguenos en Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/hnmages/ ¡Síguenos en Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/HNMagES ¡Síguenos en Threads! https://www.threads.net/@hnmages

All of this week's episodes of It Could Happen Here put together in one large file. Disarming Hamas Anarchists and the Great War with Andrew The Hunt for Jason Arday Civilization with Andrew Executive Disorder: US Strikes Wedding in Iran, Mail-In Voting Whistleblower, Tupac Killer Convicted You can now listen to all Cool Zone Media shows, 100% ad-free through the Cooler Zone Media subscription, available exclusively on Apple Podcasts. So, open your Apple Podcasts app, search for “Cooler Zone Media” and subscribe today! Sources/Links: Disarming Hamas https://carnegieendowment.org/events/2026/04/what-path-forward-the-board-of-peace-gaza-and-the-future-of-multilateralism https://www.refugeesinternational.org/perspectives-and-commentaries/six-months-into-gaza-ceasefire-setting-the-record-straight-about-aid/ https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/gaza-deal-hamas-israel-lebanon-explosions-morocco-spain-migrants Anarchists and the Great War with Andrew Matthew S. Adams, Anarchism and the First World War George Woodcock, Peter Kropotkin: From Prince to Rebel https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/various-authors-the-anarchist-international-and-war https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/petr-kropotkin-manifesto-of-the-sixteen The Hunt for Jason Arday https://share.google/VTyoNfxD04LW1B51H Civilization with Andrew Against the Grain by James C. Scott Civilized to Death by Christopher Ryan Wild Thought by Claude Lévi-Strauss Ishmael by Daniel Quinn The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan Executive Disorder: US Strikes Wedding in Iran, Mail-In Voting Whistleblower, Tupac Killer Convicted https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/29/trump-dhs-1509-summons-records-journalists-nonprofits?CMP=share_btn_url https://x.com/the_amargi/status/2094779953925456352?s=20 https://x.com/JohnSevenTwo/status/2095117948650172862?s=20 https://x.com/jalalisarah/status/2095092338892705851?s=20 https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/08/establishing-the-united-states-space-academy/ https://x.com/MattWalshBlog/status/2093060290371870948?s=20 https://x.com/Acyn/status/2093087605785292936?s=20 https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/08/honoring-the-american-history-of-the-great-lakes-and-renaming-lake-ontario-as-lake-america-3a36/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/08/27/mike-collinss-former-staffer-posted-kkk-nazi-imagery/ https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/28/business/states-prediction-markets-gambling-federal-appeals-court https://x.com/StephenM/status/2093865962730651942?s=20 https://www.politico.com/news/2026/08/29/rubio-immigration-first-fifth-amendments-01056086?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2094436092422340978?s=20 https://apnews.com/article/trump-venezuela-oil-reserves-eb0ed5a1e99602c21a7f690c3368020e https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/11/us/politics/how-marco-rubio-runs-venezuela.html https://x.com/BarakRavid/status/2094143793951838328?s=20 https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/iran-news-trump-war-israel-hormuz-august-30 https://x.com/Osinttechnical/status/2094186148151046199?s=20 https://x.com/UK_MTO/status/2094558750254256319?s=20 https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/117196950497702512 https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/117190855202153056 https://x.com/RT_com/status/1492966810202693633?s=20 https://x.com/trbrtc/status/2094949680777994338?s=20 https://x.com/CENTCOM/status/2094826294466810366?s=20 https://x.com/jalalisarah/status/2095092338892705851?s=20 https://x.com/DataRepublican/status/2094285318170018166?s=20 https://x.com/DataRepublican/status/2093246779068137472?s=20 https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/08/30/pentagon-secretly-installs-military-influencers-civilian-roles/ https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/maga-influencer-outed-as-a-pentagon-employee-in-bizarre-turn-after-botching-scoop-state-dept-spox-gave-her/ https://x.com/UnderSecPD/status/2090922149234028711?s=20 https://x.com/AFpost/status/2090993722955567308 https://x.com/JimLaPorta/status/2091970654316700056?s=20 https://cavallette.noblogs.org/2026/08/10092 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What does peace really mean? Is it simply the absence of conflict, or is there something much deeper that only God can provide? In this episode of The Masculine Journey, the guys continue their "Boulders" series by exploring one of the greatest desires of every human heart: peace. Through honest conversation, movie clips, music, and biblical truth, they unpack the difference between the world's definition of peace and the peace that Jesus promises. The clip is from "First Knight." From the pursuit of comfort and control to learning how justice, mercy, and grace all work together, the conversation reveals why true peace isn't found in perfect circumstances—it's found in trusting God, even in the middle of life's battles. If you've ever struggled with anxiety, fear, conflict, or simply wondered how to experience lasting contentment, this episode offers practical encouragement and a fresh perspective on what it means to live with the peace that surpasses understanding. If today's conversation encouraged you, we'd love for you to take the next step. Visit masculinejourney.org to learn more about our boot camps, podcasts, and ministries. Whether you're just beginning your journey or looking to go deeper, there's a place for you. We'd love to have you join us.

What does real peace actually look like? Is it simply the absence of conflict, or is it something much deeper? In this episode of Masculine Journey After Hours, the guys continue their discussion on peace by exploring why so many of us chase it through circumstances, relationships, justice, finances, or control—only to discover that lasting peace can't be found in external situations. Through heartfelt conversation and memorable clips from Antwone Fisher, Les Misérables, and Invictus, they examine how forgiveness, healing, reconciliation, and surrender to God open the door to the peace that only Christ can give. Whether you're wrestling with past wounds, struggling to forgive, or searching for calm in the middle of life's battles, this episode offers biblical encouragement that true peace isn't found when life becomes easier—it's found when we trust the Prince of Peace. If today's conversation encouraged you, we'd love for you to take the next step. Visit masculinejourney.org to learn more about our boot camps, podcasts, and ministries. Whether you're just beginning your journey or looking to go deeper, there's a place for you. We'd love to have you join us.

What if almost everything you believe about yourself begins with a single assumption you have never seriously investigated?I am this body.In this episode of The Alpha Male Coach Podcast, Kevin takes us directly into one of the most fundamental inquiries possible: What exactly makes this body “me”?If I am the body, then I was born. I will age. I occupy a particular location in space. I exist for a limited period of time. And eventually, I will die. From this identification comes an entire psychological structure built around survival, security, pleasure, possession, comparison, control, desire, and fear.But before accepting everything that follows from the assumption, perhaps we should investigate the assumption itself.The body can be perceived. Thoughts can be perceived. Emotions, memories, desires, fears, sensations, identities, and even the feeling of being an individual can all be observed. So Kevin asks a deceptively simple question:If it can be perceived, can it actually be the perceiver?This episode moves beyond philosophy and belief into direct inquiry. Rather than offering another spiritual concept to adopt, Kevin challenges you to investigate your immediate experience.What was actually born?What is afraid of death?Where are you, other than here?When are you, other than now?Can you locate the one who claims to be controlling your life?And what remains when everything you can observe is recognized as something appearing within experience rather than as what you fundamentally are?The investigation extends into desire and fear - the two movements that create so much psychological suffering. Desire demands that reality become something other than what it is. Fear demands that reality not become something we imagine it could become. Both depend upon a person projected through psychological time: a person constructed from memory, conditioning, identity, expectation, and story.Kevin also investigates ownership, free will, control, happiness, relationships, language, and death. If thoughts simply appear, where is the thinker? If decisions arise before “you” claim them, where is the independent controller? If happiness appears when desire temporarily stops, was happiness actually contained in the object we acquired - or was it present underneath the seeking all along?This is not an invitation to reject the body, abandon relationships, renounce money, or withdraw from life.It is an invitation to participate completely without mistaking yourself for the role you are playing.The body can be the body. Thought can be thought. Fear can be fear. Desire can be desire. Memory can be memory.But must any of them be called me?For this week, investigate every statement beginning with “I am.”I am afraid.I am angry.I am successful.I am failing.I am getting older.Then look carefully at whatever follows those two words.Can it be perceived?And if it can…What is it that knows it?What is it that makes me conscious?

The news of Texas covered today includes:Our Lone Star story of the day: Today, Jonathan Turley posted a column that echoes my coverage yesterday: Talarico brings a touch of Trotsky to the Texas Senate race.I wrote and covered yesterday: Democratic Socialists are, in their own words, dedicated to establishing the USA as communist state. DSA members and adherents are soldiers of the Cold War on the Soviet side, they are traitors to our country. More are noticing that James Talarico has long expressed DSA values even agreeing that our free capitalist system needs replacing with communism. No wonder the Chinese Commies love him. Another story: Talarico's ‘proud capitalist' about-face collides with resurfaced call to ‘dismantle' capitalism.HD37: Texas Democrat House candidate sponsored march with socialists, tied in tightly to the communist DSA.Our Lone Star story of the day is sponsored by Allied Compliance Services providing the best service in DOT, business and personal drug and alcohol testing since 1995.Baker Hughes rig count shows Texas up one drilling rig this week.Massive Jobs Blowout: U.S. Economy Added 162,000 Jobs in August.Listen on the radio, or station stream, at 5pm Central. Click for our radio and streaming affiliates.www.PrattonTexas.com

In this episode of Blocks, Neal Brennan sits down with comedian Gianmarco Soresi to discuss the unconventional path that led him to standup. They dive into his childhood experiences with divorce, his short-lived dreams of becoming a professional singer and actor, and the deep-seated desire for "glory" that keeps him on stage. Gianmarco also opens up about his relationship with his parents, his thoughts on depression and Adderall, and how he's learning to find balance between his workaholic nature and his personal life. ---------------------------------------------------------- 00:00 - Intro 01:03 - Comedic Wardrobe & Authenticity 03:05 - Rebelling Against His Father 04:59 - His Parents' Divorce 06:11 - Understanding the Nature of Cheating 09:03 - The "Fake" Wedding Priest 10:44 - Choosing Transparency Over Chaos 11:59 - Trying Drugs in His 30s 12:51 - The Acid Trip Epiphany 14:00 - Sponsor: Ultra Focus Pouches 15:58 - The Impact of a Restless Childhood 18:27 - Living with a Stepdad "Antagonist" 20:13 - The Prince of the Weekend 23:31 - Disrupting the Family Narrative 26:10 - The Fallout of a Family Legal Battle 29:24 - Losing the Spotlight at Home 31:32 - Sponsor: Square 34:17 - Sponsor: Quince 36:48 - From Theater Kid to Unathletic Adult 38:47 - The Desire to be Witnessed 39:19 - Using Adderall to Feel "Alive" 41:35 - Fighting the "Lead Vest" of Depression 44:31 - Finding Happiness Outside of Achievement 46:21 - On Theater and Heterosexuality 48:11 - The Pursuit of Glory 51:24 - The Brutal Reality for Dancers 54:11 - Bob Fosse and the Addiction to Showbiz 55:56 - Sponsor: Perplexity 59:30 - Sponsor: CookUnity 1:02:46 - The Workaholic Gene 1:04:06 - Developing New Show Concepts 1:05:08 - How Gianmarco Wants to Die 1:06:16 - The Struggle of Obsessive Practice 1:08:40 - When Music Overwhelms the Mind 1:09:32 - The Cost of Broadway and Theater Culture 1:12:09 - Failing into Standup 1:15:50 - Faking Intellect vs. Perspective 1:18:55 - Watching Art Without Self-Loathing 1:21:27 - Final Thoughts ---------------------------------------------------------- Follow Neal Brennan: https://www.instagram.com/nealbrennan https://twitter.com/nealbrennan https://www.tiktok.com/@mrnealbrennan Watch Neal Brennan: Crazy Good on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81728557 Watch Neal Brennan: Blocks on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81036234 Theme music by Electric Guest (unreleased). Edited by Will Hagle ---------------------------------------------------------- Sponsors: Don't sleep on  ⁨@UltraPouches⁩  . New customers get 15% Off with code NEAL at https://www.takeultra.com ! #UltraPouches #ad Get up to $200 off Square hardware when you sign up at https://www.square.com/go/neal #squarepod Download the Quince app or go to https://www.quince.com/NEAL for free shipping & 365-day returns.Start your free trial of Perplexity Computer today at https://pplx.ai/blocks and experience the next phase of AI #ad Go to https://www.cookunity.com/NEAL or enter code NEAL before checkout for 50% off your first order.#GianmarcoSoresi #NealBrennan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode: • When Miguel first discovered his artistic voice • Celebrating the sensuality and diversity of men's bodies • The line between erotic art, pornography, and fine art • Creating intimacy and trust between an artist and his subject • Body confidence, aging, vulnerability, and being truly seen • The importance of preserving queer sexuality through art • What Miguel saw—and captured—when he drew Steve It's a revealing conversation about art, desire, masculinity, body image, and the courage it takes to make yourself the subject. Hot Topic: Dancing the Stars will now have two female contestants as a couple...is America ready for 2 Men? Hot Topic: Sexual Health Awareness month - we're talking about why it's important Hot Topic: Gunman kills two at Arizona gay bar.... Hot Topic: Two men are assaulted by 4 men still on the loose in Sacramento's Lavender Heights... Advice: When a guy admits to his new boyfriend he's hired escorts in the past... Follow Steve V's new Substack features weekly articles. 20% Off now through end of August! https://substack.com/@thenakedtruthsteve Follow our Special Guest Miguel Angel Reyes on IG: @miguelangelreyesart Follow Miguel on his Tumblr Follow Steve V on IG: @iam_stevev Follow Teddy Alexis on IG: @teddyalexis Follow Kodi on IG: @mistahmaurice Rate and Review us! Wanna drop a weekly or one time tip to TAGSPODCAST - Show your love for the show and support TAGS! Visit our website: tagspodcast.com Needs some advice for a sex or relationship conundrum? Ask TAGS! DM US ON IG or https://www.talkaboutgaysex.com/contact Follow Of a Certain Age on IG: @ofacertainagepod Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What if your body knows what you want before your mind can explain it? Artist, photographer, movement teacher, and Permission Project creator Elizabeth “Liz” Janowski joins Elaine to explore why authentic inner knowing often begins below the neck—and how freeform movement can help you hear it.Liz shares how motherhood led her back into her body, why desire is a life-giving force, and how years of social conditioning can make women override their own yeses and nos. You'll discover simple ways to slow down, notice sensation, use touch and music intentionally, and create enough inner safety to recognize what feels true for you.This conversation invites you to stop outsourcing your knowing, treat your body as a trusted partner, and reconnect with the clarity, coherence, pleasure, and self-trust that become available when mind, body, and spirit are aligned.Topics Covered (with timestamps)0:00 What if your body already knows the answers you're searching for?3:55 Three conscious breaths, the episode Intention, and noticing Divine signals in the body7:35 Why freeform movement is not about learning dance moves—it's about authentic expression9:07 “The body knows first”: desire, social conditioning, and learning what you actually want10:24 How motherhood led Liz to movement and the creation of the Permission Project13:00 Using the body as a receiver for intuition, inner knowing, and “warmer/colder” guidance15:34 Liz's definition of abundance: alignment and coherence of mind, body, and spirit18:55 The body stories women carry—and how pleasing others can drown out your authentic response21:01 Why safety, slowness, and embodiment can expand the story you hold about yourself24:31 Coming home to the body in a screen-driven world—and expressing your unique yes26:16 Touch, self-validation, and creating the feeling you want from within28:56 Two simple practices to hear your body: sensory pleasure and making space to feel32:34 How listening to your body can reduce reactivity and reveal what is really happening33:39 Liz's music-compilation gift for dropping into your body and clarifying desire37:04 A final reminder: give yourself grace, listen a little more, and bring your body to the partyKey Takeaways (Skimmable Wins)Your body may register a true yes or no before your thinking mind has words for it.Desire is not something to suppress; it can be a life-giving signal that helps you recognize what is aligned for you.Freeform movement creates a way to express emotions and experiences that may be difficult to reach through thought alone.Self-trust grows when you create enough safety and quiet to notice sensation instead of automatically responding to other people's needs and expectations.Small sensory choices—comfortable fabric, warm water, affectionate touch, music, rest—can help you rebuild an intimate relationship with your own preferences.Abundance can be experienced as coherence: mind, body, and spirit arriving at the same wholehearted yes.Step-by-Step Process SharedCome Home to Your BodyCreate signals of safety → slow down, get comfortable, reduce expectations, and give yourself space to feel.Notice what feels good → pay attention to texture, temperature, taste, touch, music, beauty, and other sensory cues.Let yourself feel what is present → rather than immediately managing or overriding emotion, give it room to move through you.Listen for the yes and the no → notice what expands, contracts, excites, settles, or feels distinctly “not for me.”Express what you discover → move, reach out, ask for affection, have the conversation, or make a choice that honors your authentic response.Listen to the episode for Liz's lived examples and Elaine's reflections on using the body as a receiver for inner guidance.Questions Answered in This EpisodeHow can I tell what my body is trying to communicate before my mind talks me out of it?Why do so many women lose touch with what they genuinely want?How can freeform movement help emotions and inner knowing become easier to access?What does abundance feel like when mind, body, and spirit are aligned?What are simple ways to begin rebuilding trust, pleasure, and connection with my body today?Pull Quotes“I actually think the body knows first.” — Liz Janowski“Abundance is being in alignment with your mind, your body, and your spirit all in one place.” — Liz Janowski“Just to remember that you have a body is already a success in itself.” — Liz JanowskiFree GiftShare what you Loved and what you Learned from this episode to Download the Spiritual Alignment & Conscious Actions Guide — your roadmap to reconnect with The Divine, raise your vibration, and live as the woman your soul designed you to be.TheAbundanceJourney.com/Contact — click the Share My Thoughts button and complete the Google form to automatically receive your free gift.Guest GiftLiz shares a series of short music compilations designed to help you drop into your body, listen more deeply, and begin moving with your desires. The transcript describes the gift, but does not include a public download URL. Use the guest-resource link supplied for publication once confirmed.Resources Mentioned in This EpisodeHow to Start a Movement — YouTube videoHavening — YouTube videoS Factor — mentioned by Liz as the movement practice that influenced her early training.Sonia Choquette — referenced for the idea of the mind as broadcaster and the body as receiver.Lynne McTaggart — a forthcoming book about music and the intelligent universe is mentioned.About the GuestElizabeth “Liz” Janowski is an artist, photographer, movement teacher, and creator of the Permission Project. Her work uses freeform movement, immersive experience, and photography to help people reconnect with the wisdom of the body, feel safe in authentic expression, and explore themes such as desire, belonging, relationships, spirituality, money, and self-trust. Liz lives in Boulder, Colorado, and her work is rooted in helping women experience their own power, magnificence, sensuality, grace, and depth.Website: https://www.permissionary.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/permissionary_art/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethfrankoVimeo: https://vimeo.com/1014855085About the Host – Elaine StarlingElaine Starling, The Abundance Ambassador, is an international TEDx speaker, bestselling author, coach, and host of The Abundance Journey. Through her signature program, The Inner Power Protocol, Elaine guides spiritually-minded women to reconnect with Divine guidance, awaken their inner wisdom, and activate abundance in every area of life.Website: https://www.TheAbundanceJourney.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/elaine.abundanceLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elainestarling/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ElaineStarlingTEDx: https://youtu.be/tMQ0D4sfEysBook: https://books2read.com/u/3kD9ARConnect & SupportIf this episode served you:Subscribe on Apple Podcasts & turn on YouTube notificationsLeave a rating & review on Apple to help others find the showShare what you Loved and what you Learned from this episode to download the Spiritual Alignment & Conscious Actions Guide at TheAbundanceJourney.com/Contact.Share This EpisodeShareable links:Watch on YouTubeListen to the PodcastCopy & paste blurb:Loved this episode of The Abundance Journey: Your Body Knows First with Elizabeth Janowski. Big aha: your body may recognize what is aligned before your mind can explain it. Listen or watch to discover simple ways to reconnect with your

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What separates the aspiring entrepreneur who keeps thinking about starting an online business from the entrepreneur who finally begins?Napoleon Hill called desire “the starting point of all achievement.”In this episode from our Secret Knowledge Revealed series, we explore Hill's famous concept of desire from his best-selling book Think and Grow Rich and applies the teachings to today's aspiring entrepreneur.If you've spent months or years saying you want to start an online business, this episode challenges you to determine whether you're merely wishing for a different life—or whether you desire it enough to change your behavior.Discover how to turn desire into a specific financial objective, define the value you'll provide in exchange, set a deadline, create a plan and begin taking action before you feel completely ready.Because wanting an online business isn't enough.The question is: What are you prepared to do to create it?To have an enjoyable life  in our global, advanced tech society, create value.  To have the business, career, finances and lifestyle you desire, follow a proven path that has delivered in good times and bad.  The path of entrepreneurship. And online entrepreneurship is the fast track for aspiring entrepreneurs.Learn the skills, access the resources and be inspired to live the life of your dreams right here on the Ready Entrepreneur podcastTo find more resources, strategies and ideas for aspiring entrepreneurs visit the Ready Entrepreneur website: https://www.readyentrepreneur.com/To download a free guide for Preparing to Become an Online Entrepreneur, click here:  https://www.readyentrepreneur.com/start/You can get an exclusive discount on the ebook and audiobook version of Recast: The Aspiring Entrepreneur's Practical Guide to Getting Started with an Online Business click here: https://www.caselane.net/recastConnect with CaseFacebook: @readyentrepreneurHQ Instagram: @readyentrepreneur Twitter X: @caselaneworld Pinterest @caselane 

In this episode of Jason and the Movienauts, Michelle and Jason dive into two beautifully similar Douglas Sirk melodramas: Written on the Wind and The Tarnished Angels. We talk about wealth, desire, obsession, and the damaged characters at the heart of both films—including the unforgettable performances of Rock Hudson, Robert Stack, and Dorothy Malone.What makes these characters so compelling—and why does Sirk turn their emotional lives up to eleven? Join us for a conversation about two films that reveal very different sides of the same filmmaker.Timestamps:00:00 — Introducing Two Douglas Sirk Melodramas05:00 — Mitch, Kyle & the Hadley Family's Twisted Relationship11:40 — Wealth, Privilege & Melodrama Turned Up to 1118:00 — Robert Stack, Dorothy Malone & the Tragedy of Written on the Wind27:00 — Mitch as the Outsider—and Sirk's Lonely Characters34:40 — The Tarnished Angels: Desperation, Desire & Life on the Edge

Growth doesn't happen by accident. The life God is calling you to requires intentionality, discipline, obedience, and a willingness to choose purpose over pleasure.In this episode, we unpack what it means for Christian men and women to stop living for temporary comfort and start intentionally pursuing God's purpose for their lives. Pleasure isn't always sinful—but when comfort, entertainment, distraction, and instant gratification begin controlling your decisions, they can keep you from becoming who God created you to be.Real Christian growth requires intentional choices. Your spiritual life, marriage, health, family, leadership, business, and relationship with God will rarely grow beyond the level of intentionality you bring to them.We discuss how to develop biblical discipline, overcome complacency, eliminate distractions, build godly habits, pursue spiritual growth, and become more intentional with your time, relationships, and calling.You weren't created simply to be comfortable. You were created for purpose.Desire to become a High Level Husband? Click the link below?https://www.highlevelhusband.com/bmr-blueprint

If you've ever wondered why desire felt so natural before marriage and so complicated after — this conversation is worth your time. Dr. Jennifer Finlayson-Fife is a psychologist, coach, and fellow traveler in the Schnarch world. In this conversation with Corey, she names something most couples can't quite articulate: the shift from falling in love to being married isn't a sign something went wrong. It's a sign of what was always there underneath. A few things worth listening for: The moment she says "you can either prop up your husband's ego or his penis, but not both." It's not hers originally — it's Schnarch's — but the way it lands in context is worth the whole conversation. Her reframe of the lower desire spouse. Not broken. Not defective. Operating with good judgment inside a system that doesn't work. The Gospel of Thomas quote about bringing forth what is within you. Whether or not that's your tradition, the idea lands. And the woman who came to one of Jennifer's workshops not knowing what she wanted — whose entire life had been organized around everyone else — and what happened when she made one small commitment to herself. This one originally aired a while back. It holds up. The post Best Of SMR: The Lower Desire Wife| Dr Jennifer Finlayson-Fife #796 first appeared on Sexy Marriage Radio.

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Solomon describes his bride, beginning at her feet and moving up. He describes her "belly like a heap of wheat encircled with lilies," and her "neck like an ivory tower" and "nose like the tower of Lebanon." The comparisons sound strange to us. In Solomon's mouth, however, they are stately and reminiscent of a kingdom at peace. She answers him: "I am my beloved's, and his desire is for me." That word for desire appears twice more in Scripture, both times in Genesis, both a curse. Does this point us to the reversal of the curse of Eden through the Church's marriage to Christ? The Rev. James Peterson, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Curtis, NE, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Song of Solomon 7:1-13.  To learn more about St. John Lutheran in Curtis, visit facebook.com/stjohncurtis. The Song of Solomon is a book of love poetry, a bride and her bridegroom singing to each other across eight chapters. God's people have sung it since Solomon's day, and Jewish congregations still read it at Passover. The Church has heard in it the voice of Christ and His bride, and Luther quoted the Song in The Freedom of a Christian to describe what happens when Christ takes a sinner as His own. Paul was working the same ground in Ephesians five, where he set marriage beside Christ and the Church and called it a great mystery.  This series works through the whole book verse by verse, from the kiss in chapter one to the seal on the heart in chapter eight. We hear what it says about the body, about desire, and about the marriage God instituted in the garden. We also ask where Christ is in it, since the Church has long heard in these songs the voice of the Bridegroom who gave His life for His bride. Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God's Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.

In this episode, Dr. Maria Sophocles joins the conversation to discuss reigniting intimacy and overcoming sexual burnout in long-term relationships. The discussion explores strategies for rediscovering pleasure, breaking down cultural and psychological barriers, and improving communication between partners. Listeners will learn practical ways to rebuild desire, embrace different forms of intimacy, and create stronger connections through open dialogue and shared experiences. Become a Member to Receive Exclusive Content: renamalik.supercast.com Schedule an appointment with me: https://www.renamalikmd.com/appointments ▶️Chapters: 00:00 Women's sexuality and societal pressures 04:52 Understanding erotic memory storage 06:21 Discussing universal relationship issues 10:09 Discussing Relationship Intimacy Communication 13:02 Embracing Lube for Comfortable Sex 17:10 Lecture on sex and longevity 18:52 Communication about household chores 23:02 Scheduling time for intimacy Let's Connect!: WEBSITE: http://www.renamalikmd.com YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/@RenaMalikMD INSTAGRAM: http://www.instagram.com/RenaMalikMD TWITTER: http://twitter.com/RenaMalikMD FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/RenaMalikMD/ LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/renadmalik PINTEREST: https://www.pinterest.com/renamalikmd/ TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/RenaMalikMD ------------------------------------------------------ DISCLAIMER: This podcast is purely educational and does not constitute medical advice. The content of this podcast is my personal opinion, and not that of my employer(s). Use of this information is at your own risk. Rena Malik, M.D. will not assume any liability for any direct or indirect losses or damages that may result from the use of information contained in this podcast including but not limited to economic loss, injury, illness or death. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why do you keep repeating the same patterns... even when you know you want to change?In this episode of Ten Minutes to Transformation, we're going one step deeper than simply noticing our patterns. We're exploring the Enneagram core desires that motivate each of us and the automatic strategies we use to get what we want and need.Your core desire isn't the problem. But sometimes the strategies you use to pursue it can create the very patterns you're trying to change.As a quiet leader, understanding what's underneath your behavior can help you move from simply knowing your Enneagram type to making meaningful, lasting change.In this episode, you'll discover:What your Enneagram core desire is and why it mattersHow your core desire can influence your everyday patternsThe difference between a healthy desire and an automatic strategyFour questions to help you uncover what's really driving your behaviorOne small shift you can practice this weekYour transformation practice: Identify your core desire, notice where it shows up, and get curious about whether the strategies you're using are actually working.Download the Ten Minutes to Transformation worksheet in the show notes and add to it throughout this 10-week series.And finally, be sure you join in with me and the Wholehearted Online Enneagram Summit, September 9-11.

What if some of the things you're chasing aren't actually what you desire?In this solo episode, I explore how to tell the difference between desires that come from your truth and the ones shaped by conditioning, comparison and the life you think you're supposed to want.So many of us follow timelines, milestones and external expectations while believing the voice in our head is who we are. But your deepest desires aren't found in your thoughts. They're felt through your body.This conversation is an invitation to stop looking outside yourself for answers and start paying attention to what feels resonant, pleasurable and true.In This Episode We Explore:How to recognize conditioned desire versus true desireWhy comparison disconnects you from your own pathWhat it means to become a researcher of your own pleasureThe difference between pleasure and thrill seekingHow your body communicates through sensation and resonanceWhy presence strengthens your internal compassWhat happens when you stop trying to plan your entire lifeYour Practice for This Week:Notice where the word “should” is showing up in your life.Instead of asking what your future is supposed to look like, pay attention to what feels good, expansive and resonant right now.Notice what lights you up. Notice what creates discord. Create more space to breathe, move, meditate and simply be.You don't need to know the whole path. Start by following what feels like a true yes.Website: https://www.theunscriptdwoman.com/About the Host:Kate Harlow is the founder of The Unscriptd Woman, the creator of The Expanded Love Coaching Method, and host of The New Truth podcast - ranked in the top 1.5% globally. With over 15 years of experience teaching, coaching and facilitating transformational retreats worldwide, Kate has helped hundreds of thousands of women break free from outdated relational patterns, old patriarchal ways of thinking and unspoken rules to live by.Her infallible methods guide women to release the deeply ingrained scripts that keep them stuck- empowering women to step into their highest, most magnetic, and fully expressed selves. Through her coaching, retreats, podcast and upcoming book The Unscriptd Woman, Kate is redefining what it means to be an empowered woman in today's world, showing women how to stop waiting for permission and start creating a life and love that aligns with their deepest truth.Known for her rare ability to see exactly where women are out of alignment with themselves, Kate offers a path back to unwavering self- trust, meaningful joy and true fulfillment. Her work is a revolution - one that liberates women from societal expectations and invites them into a life of radical authenticity, thriving relationships and unshakable self-worth.Thanks for listening! It means so much to us that you listened to our podcast! If you would like to continue the conversation with us, head on over to our Facebook group, the New Truth Movement at https://www.facebook.com/groups/209821843509179/With this podcast, we are building an international community of The New Truth Movement.If you know someone who would benefit from this message or could be an awesome addition to our community, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode?Leave a note in the comment section below!Follow the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can follow the podcast app on your mobile device.Leave us a reviewWe appreciate every bit of feedback to make this a value-adding part of your day. Ratings and reviews from our listeners not only help us improve, but also help others find us in their podcast app. If you have a minute, an honest review on Apple Podcasts goes a long way! Thank You!Podcast Artwork Photo Credit: Photo by Tarja Ruuska https://www.instagram.com/tarjaruuska.photographyRoyalty Free Music: Bensound.com Artist/: Benjamin Tissot License code: 2S4NM4X7FZVPZP1E

Send us a text & leave your email address if you want a reply!Can Fellatio Actually Feel Good for You, Not Just Him? Willow and Leah Break Down 5+ Oral Sex Secrets. In this episode of Sex Reimagined, Dr. Willow and Leah  get honest about why so many women avoid giving oral sex and how to turn it into something you actually crave. They share the comfortable positions that save your neck and jaw, the eye contact and hair pulling dynamics that turn submission into a turn on, and the Taoist reflexology map that connects the head of the penis to the heart. Willow and Leah also walk through breath and sound techniques for deep throating, the ejaculatory control trick every woman should know, and the language shift that changed how Leah relates to oral sex altogether. This conversation blends real technique with real vulnerability, making it a must listen for anyone who wants to feel more pleasure, power, and connection while pleasuring their partner. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTSDitch the "on top" position. The right angle protects your neck and completely changes how oral sex feels in your body.Eye contact and hair holding aren't about control, they're an invitation to feel seen and worshipped.Every part of the penis has a reflexology point, and knowing them lets you send pleasure straight to his heart.Coconut oil, breath timing, and slowing down at your edge are the real secrets to comfortable deep throating.One small hand technique can stop ejaculation in its tracks when you want the fun to last longer.Changing your language from "blow job" to "honoring" can transform oral sex from a chore into a devotion.LINKS & RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE CAN BE FOUND ON THE WEBSITE: https://www.sexreimagined.com/blog/deep-throating-tips Sexual Reflexology Online Masterclass - Join us September 2nd at 4pm Pacific / 7pm Eastern for a live masterclass on zoom. Register for $33 HERE (free limited replay window available) Tantra Unlocked: A Map to Sacred Sexuality for Real People | Sep 16 and 17, 2026 > Most people spend their entire lives having the same experience on repeat. This September, twelve of the most trusted voices in conscious sexuality are gathering live to give you the real map. Free to Register: https://www.sexreimagined.com/power-of-pleasure Rooted in Desire: Women's Retreat One woman told us she walked out having shed sixty years of shame in a single weekend. That's what happens in a room where women are finally given permission to feel what's true. Rooted in Desire is an intimate retreat blending pelvic floor release, tantric breathwork, and sisterhood. Join us in Santa Barbara, Jan 30-31, 2027. Register Here Support the showPlease help support the production costs of the show! Donate now: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2032242/supporters/newFREEBIE- Introduction to Tantric Kissing Video and WorkbookSxR WebsiteDr. Willow's WebsiteLeah's Website 

Mentor Sessions 092: Michael Sullivan explains Bitcoin sentiment analysis, emotional cohort signals, OG optimism, narrative shifts, and why the data may point to a bottom.Bitcoin sentiment just did something it rarely does after a 22% rip: it stayed calm. No euphoria, no desire spike, no retail flooding back — and that gap between the price move and the emotional data is where the real signal lives.Michael Sullivan — an engineer and fiction writer turned Bitcoin sentiment analyst — breaks down how he tracks 14 distinct emotions across cohorts of Bitcoiners, from OGs and technologists to MSTR treasury speculators. You'll learn why he cohorts the crowd instead of scraping social media, why the Fear & Greed Index misses all the nuance, and why he reads OG optimism as one of the most reliable early signals that positive things are on the horizon. You'll see why 'desire' language sits inversely correlated with price, why the near-total absence of a new narrative can be wildly bullish near a bottom, and how the BIP-110 debate produced algorithmic engagement patterns that looked artificially farmed. He also lays out the AI-bubble-to-Bitcoin thesis and why he's personally bearish by instinct but bullish on the data.⏱️ Timestamps:0:00 - Intro0:38 - Why this rally feels like disbelief1:09 - Massive sentiment phase shift after crash2:01 - Rally lacks expected euphoria levels3:05 - Tracking caring language in ColdCard event3:58 - Technologists impressed most during crisis5:12 - Studying Saylor's four Bitcoin cohorts6:33 - MSTR shareholders as conviction outlier7:18 - OG optimism as reliable bullish signal7:59 - Are OGs turning optimistic now9:56 - Emotions linked to time and excitement11:40 - Downturn negative language uniquely severe12:40 - Desire language at market tops and bottoms16:52 - How language analysis became his focus19:11 - BIP-110 debate through psychology lens21:09 - Algorithmic engagement that felt farmed26:55 - AI bots distorting sentiment data29:47 - Spotting leaders and narrative first movers32:56 - Narratives shaping markets and price34:37 - Absence of narrative as bullish signal36:42 - Does price or emotion move first40:03 - AI deflation versus Bitcoin scarcity thesis40:30 - Euphoria missing at prior all-time high45:17 - Bitcoiners versus treasury company speculators50:07 - Conviction language versus hedging explained54:03 - Denoising sarcasm with cohort analysis59:31 - Signals needed to confirm bearish view1:00:06 - Data pointing bullish over coming months1:02:10 - Where to follow Michael's latest workMichael writes deep analysis on Bitcoin sentiment and shares it on X and Substack — links below.

Why Feeling Pressured for Sex Is a Turn-Off for WivesWhat if the very thing you're doing to get more sex is actually the thing making your spouse want less sex?This week on the Ultimate Intimacy Podcast, Nick and Amy tackle a topic that can create a lot of frustration in marriage: why feeling pressured for sex can be such a major turn-off for wives.There's a big difference between feeling wanted and feeling expected. For many women, sexual desire is responsive which means it often grows out of emotional connection, affection, relaxation, safety, attraction and feeling close to their husband. You can't pressure someone into feeling desire.But pressure can create a painful cycle:He feels rejected → pursues harder → she feels pressured → she withdraws → he feels even more rejected → he pursues even harder.Both spouses end up hurting, and neither may realize they're stuck in a cycle.Nick and Amy discuss five ways husbands can unintentionally create pressure, including when every touch becomes sexual, reacting negatively to rejection, keeping score, constantly testing the waters, and making affection feel transactional.But this isn't a “blame the husband” episode.Husbands aren't wrong for wanting sex, wanting to feel desired, or initiating. Wives have responsibility too. Wives need to communicate what helps them feel connected and sexually open, recognize that physical intimacy can be an important way their husband experiences love and reassurance, and take ownership of their own sensuality and sexual relationship.The answer isn't for husbands to stop pursuing their wives.It's learning how to pursue without creating pressure.Give affection without strings attached. Respond well to “no.” Build connection throughout the day. Help carry the mental load because you're her partner—not as a transaction for sex. Create opportunities for intimacy without demanding a specific outcome.Ultimately, pressure doesn't create desire. Safety, connection, attraction, playfulness and invitation create an environment where desire can grow.And both spouses have an important role to play:Wives shouldn't expect husbands to stop wanting sex. Husbands shouldn't expect wives to want sex on command.The goal isn't for one spouse to win.The goal is to create a marriage where both spouses genuinely want to pursue each other.Tune in as Nick and Amy unpack this complicated dynamic, talk about what husbands and wives can each do differently, and explore how couples can break the pressure/rejection cycle and build a more mutually passionate marriage.

For a long time, spirituality can feel like a process of letting go — of attachment, material things, status and the need for more. But what if the deeper stage of spirituality isn't about escaping the human experience at all? In this episode, I explore what it means to want deeply, pursue an extraordinary life and enjoy everything this world has to offer, without allowing any of it to define your worth.   KEY TAKEAWAYS Non-attachment doesn't mean having no desires. You can want money, love, success, travel or an extraordinary life without needing those things to prove your worth. Detachment can sometimes be avoidance in disguise. If we stop ourselves from wanting anything because we're afraid of failure, disappointment or loss, that isn't necessarily freedom — it may be another form of attachment. Desire can be a portal to growth. What you want isn't always just about receiving the outcome. Sometimes your desires are pointing you towards the person you're being called to become in the process.   HOST BIO I'm Summer, Since the age of eleven, I have been captivated by the question of what it truly means to live well. That curiosity led me deep into the worlds of self-development, spirituality, psychology, philosophy, and human potential, always searching for a deeper understanding of life and the human experience. Like everyone else, I am still learning. Still evolving. Still discovering. But along the way, I have encountered ideas, perspectives, and principles that have profoundly shaped the way I see the world and navigate my own journey. Inner Wealth was born from that exploration. It is a space where I share the most meaningful insights, lessons, and truths I have uncovered, with the intention of helping others think more deeply, live more consciously, and create a life of greater fulfilment, purpose, and prosperity. At the core of everything I do is a simple intention: to contribute something meaningful and leave people a little wiser. Ultimately, my purpose is to be of service to humanity.   CONTACT ME Follow me on Instagram for more insights and to stay up to date with the pod @thesummerkang This podcast was brought to you by Frankly Podcasting.

Have you ever felt like a sexual fantasy was so irresistible that missing out on it felt like missing out on life itself? While fantasies promise satisfaction, they are ultimately symbolic attempts to rewrite reality—seemingly beautiful like a sunset, but cold and empty when you try to hold them.In this episode, you'll learn why sexual fantasies will never satisfy you, how to decode what your fantasies are actually trying to tell you, and how to find true soul-level satisfaction. Whether your fantasies focus on specific sexual experiences, particular people, or potential relationships, this episode will give you wisdom and direction to discover what you truly desire.Download the free PDF of Drew's list of 40 desires (and other helpful documents) at husbandmaterial.com/documentsWatch Husband Material's YouTube Playlist on Understanding Sexual Arousal, Fantasy, and Desire: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMrBq-rwRxSARelated episodes:Sexual Arousal vs. Sexual DesireHow To Interpret Sexual FantasiesHow To Analyze A Sexual FantasyIntroduction To Sexual SymbolismHow My Sexual Fetish Shifted Over TimeSend us Fan MailTake the Husband Material Journey...Step 1: Listen to this podcast or watch on YouTubeStep 2: Join the private Husband Material CommunityStep 3: Take the free mini-course: How To Outgrow PornStep 4: Try the all-in-one program: Husband Material AcademyThanks for listening!

The heart is the source of man’s true character… it is not merely the seat of emotion, but the true person as he truly is, not just as he appears outwardly.

What actually makes someone sought after? In this episode, I sit down with wedding photographer, educator, coach, and host of the All Angles Podcast, Claire Hunt. Claire went from working as a pediatric trauma nurse to building a six-figure photography business, eventually booking $10K–$15K weddings and coaching hundreds of photographers and videographers along the way. But this conversation isn't really about how quickly she grew. It's about what she did to become someone people already wanted before they ever submitted an inquiry. We talk about building a personal brand, consistently showing up in your marketing, and creating messaging that connects what you do with what your ideal clients actually want. Then we go deep into one of my favorite parts of the conversation: the inquiry-to-booking process. Claire walks through how she responds to inquiries, why she loves discovery calls, how she keeps those conversations relational instead of transactional, and how she uses the "yes ladder" to help couples confidently move toward a decision without making the conversation feel pushy or salesy. We also talk about what happens when all of this starts working together: better clients, higher bookings, more confidence, stronger work, and the momentum that eventually allows you to become truly sought after in your market. If you feel like your work is good but you're still competing on price, packages, and deliverables, this episode is for you. In this episode, we talk about: Claire's journey from pediatric trauma nurse to six-figure photographer What actually makes someone "sought after" Why your personal brand matters just as much as your portfolio Showing up consistently even when your audience is small Desire-based messaging and selling through emotion Warming up potential clients before they ever inquire Why sending every piece of pricing information immediately can work against you Turning the inquiry process from transactional to relational How Claire structures discovery calls Asking better questions instead of pitching yourself Building the "yes ladder" throughout a sales conversation How to handle a lead who is already ready to book Why relationship-focused sales can lead to higher bookings Building momentum with better clients, better work, and better pricing Claire's Website: http://education.clairehunt.co Find Claire: https://www.instagram.com/itsclairehunt  Freebie: https://freebie.clairehunt.co/hook-inquiries  Discovery Call Script: https://products.clairehunt.co/discovery-call-script 

This lecture discusses key ideas from the Renaissance-era philosopher, critic, and essayist Michel De Montaigne's work Essays, specifically his essay "That Difficulty Increases Desire" (Que Nostre Desir S'accroit par la Malaisance), which begins by invoking a principle and practice from the Skeptic school, that every argument, position, or "reason" has its contrary. Montaigne considers one position briefly, that our pleasure or joy in a good depends on our feeling of security in its possession, and then examines a number of reasons and examples for the opposed position, that our desire and appreciation of a good we are attracted to is enhanced by the difficulty in attaining it and our lack of security of its possession. This principle applies to warfare and crime, to sexuality and marriage, to religious institutions and movements, among other examples. To support my ongoing work, go to my Patreon site - www.patreon.com/sadler If you'd like to make a direct contribution, you can do so here - www.paypal.me/ReasonIO - or at BuyMeACoffee - www.buymeacoffee.com/A4quYdWoM You can find over 4,000 philosophy videos in my main YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/user/gbisadler You can find Montaigne's Essays here - https://amzn.to/4l3iKfH

Every time we bump into life, it either shapes us or messes us up a little — which is why guarding our hearts was never about avoiding pain. It's about protecting the love of God that's already inside us, because that love is where our real life comes from. God's the one who made life, so he's the one who gets to say what it actually means. And when you trace any longing back far enough, it's really just a longing for him — because Christ is that life we're after. Our minds need to keep getting renewed instead of just going along with whatever the world's doing, so our hearts can wake back up to wanting the right things — things that come from a God of abundance, not scarcity. And here's the good part: none of that change happens because we white-knuckle it. It happens because we actually delight in a God who loved us first.

Sin is anything that will put in obstruction, will put on the way so as to obstruct this purpose of God. Pastor Bankie teaches that the desire of the flesh opposes the Spirit, producing deeds of the flesh, but walking by the Spirit keeps a believer from carrying out what pleases the flesh.

Jesus didn't die so His kingdom could be filled with servants — He died so it could be filled with sons and daughters. In this message, Pastor Jonathan Dirmann opens Luke 10:38-42 and asks the question every believer eventually has to face: is your relationship with God built on performance, or on true fellowship?

In this episode, we get vulnerable about a major shift God has been calling us to make. For years, we've created marriage and relationship content designed to grab attention, generate clicks, and reach millions of people. But recently, God began challenging us with a difficult question: Are we creating content that gets views, or content that actually advances the Kingdom?We talk openly about stepping away from lukewarm Christian content, marriage clickbait, intimacy-focused hooks, and anything that may generate attention without pointing people deeper toward Jesus Christ.This conversation is about obedience over influence, purpose over popularity, and Kingdom impact over social media numbers.If you're a Christian creator, entrepreneur, husband, wife, leader, or believer wrestling with God's calling on your life, this episode will challenge you to examine your motives. Are you willing to sacrifice views, followers, money, or success if God asks you to?We believe Christian marriage content should do more than improve relationships. It should make disciples, strengthen families, transform marriages, and lead people closer to Jesus.Views aren't the mission. Jesus is.Desire to become a High Level Husband who is on Fire, Free, and Followed? click the link below!https://www.highlevelhusband.com/bmr-blueprint

What is Your Why? In this message, learn how misplaced desires can disguise spiritual traps and why God's correction prepares us for freedom. In this message, discover how to trust the Father's heart when obedience requires surrender. Disordered desire makes a trap look like treasure. Israel saw valuable gold covering the Canaanite idols, but God saw the bondage that bringing those idols home would create. Desire would lead to possession, and possession would lead to entrapment. “When what we want matters more than what God has said, a trap can look like a treasure.” God wanted His Word, rather than the idols of the surrounding culture, to shape Israel's homes and future. God seeks the motivation beneath our actions because good intentions cannot make disobedience righteous. Consequentialism assumes that an action is acceptable when it produces the result we want, but “you do not get godly fruits from ungodly means.” God asks why we want what He has forbidden, why we are willing to disobey to obtain it, and why our desired result matters more than following Him. “God is after your why.” God opposes whatever deforms, enslaves, and destroys the people He loves. Loving what God loves requires hating evil without hating people, while spiritual maturity means no longer mourning what separated us from God. The Father's correction is not an attempt to deprive us but preparation for abundant life. The cross proves that God is for us, and His instructions flow from love rather than rejection. “You can trust God's preparation because you can trust the Father's heart.” The post What is Your Why? appeared first on Revival Life Church Boca Raton, FL.

Subject: Bible ClassSpeaker or Performer: Bro Clyde OwensScripture Passage(s): Hebrews 11:6Date of Delivery: August 30, 2026

What Happens When You're Afraid to Say What You Really Want? The Power of Your Voice and Desire:What if the reason you struggle to speak your deepest desires isn't that you don't know what you want, but that your words are carrying old stories, fear, and self-judgment along with them?Episode DescriptionYou can have a clear desire inside yourself and still struggle to articulate it. When you try to speak it, fear of judgment, making a mistake, creating something you don't want, or old patterns around silence can become tangled up with the words themselves.This guided throat chakra journey takes a different route. Instead of beginning with words, you begin with breath, movement, and pure sound, exploring what happens when expression is separated from the mental and emotional layers attached to language. From there, the practice brings you back toward speaking your desires with greater awareness of your voice, your body, and the space between private longing and public declaration.You'll also explore why creation doesn't have to mean perfection. The journey makes room for experimentation, mistakes, dissolution, and discovering that something you once desired may no longer be what you want.What You'll LearnWhy the episode begins with pure sound rather than spoken words.How words can become entangled with old stories, emotional habits, fear, judgment, and ancestral patterns.What the difference between your private desire and your spoken declaration might reveal about your relationship with desire.How breath, movement, and sound are used in the journey to explore creative expression before language.Why the power to create can also include the power to dissolve, destroy, and release what you no longer want.Why practicing your voice doesn't require perfection, flawless expression, or always being "on key."Resources Mentioned:CHAKRA RECODE INVITATION:If you've ever felt like your sensitivity is too much because you feel everything and you don't know what to do with it, this is for you. The Ecstatic Empath Chakra Recode Album is 13 guided hypnosis journeys through every layer of your energetic system, designed to recode your identity from overwhelmed empath to ecstatic empath for $22 Visit https://www.chakrarecode.comHYPNOSIS RECODE INVITATION: Are you interesting in booking a session with me? A custom Hypnosis Recode doesn't try to fix your whole life in one session. We rewrite a core belief that cracked your foundation where your personal power is leaking into old and unconscious agreements. Rewrite a Core Belief to Reset your Foundation and Access your Personal Power.Book your session at https://empathrecode.comQuestions? Message me here :-)Support the showEMPATH RECODE INVITATION: Did you know the chapter you didn't dare write yet is already written?The Empath Recode helps you stop pouring energy into the life you've outgrown and pour every ounce of life force into the life you want to be living. We're not rehashing what didn't work. We're shifting the agreements you've been unconsciously keeping so you can release the version of yourself you built for everyone else and begin the pleasure-led, purpose-filled life that's been waiting for you.Begin your Unapologetic Era - https://www.EmpathRecode.com

Do you actually have free will?It seems obvious. You decide what to eat. You decide where to go. You decide whether to stay or leave. You decide to stand up, pick up your phone, build a business, enter a relationship, or change the direction of your life.But look closer.Before the decision appeared, did you decide to have the impulse that produced it? Before the thought appeared, did you choose the thought? Before you chose what you wanted, did you choose the desire itself?In this episode of The Alpha Male Coach Podcast, Kevin takes the investigation into free will, control, and manifestation beneath philosophy and into direct experience. Rather than offering another belief about whether human beings possess free will, he asks you to look for the one who supposedly possesses it.The inquiry begins with an extraordinarily simple experiment: sit still, and whenever you decide, stand up.Then investigate.What actually initiated the movement?Did thought command the body? Did an impulse arise first? Did you decide when the decision would occur? And if you decided to decide, what caused that decision?From there, the investigation moves into the neuroscience of voluntary action, the spontaneous appearance of thought, conditioning, desire, fear, responsibility, and our deeply rooted assumption that somewhere inside the body exists an independent controller directing the course of life.But the episode doesn't conclude that free will exists - or that it doesn't.Both conclusions may simply become new beliefs.Instead, Kevin asks a more fundamental question:Can you find the chooser?This changes the investigation of control completely.Perhaps what we call control is actually influence. You can plant a seed, water the soil, and provide sunlight - but can you command the seed to grow? You can build a business, train your body, pursue a relationship, and make decisions - but can you control all the conditions determining the outcome?And if you cannot, what exactly does it mean to say, I am in control?This inquiry eventually reaches manifestation itself. If manifestation means creating the future you desire, where did the desire originate? Desire emerges from what is known and projects it into the future: I want this to happen. Fear performs the opposite movement: I don't want that to happen.Standing between them is the imagined controller attempting to guarantee one future while preventing another.Perhaps manifestation isn't something an individual does to life.Perhaps what we call the individual is itself part of life's manifestation.This episode ultimately leaves free will, determinism, control, and manifestation behind to investigate the assumption beneath all four:Who is the “I”?Not your name.Not your history.Not your body.Not your thoughts.Not your desires, fears, memories, beliefs, or identity.When everything you can observe is put aside, can you actually locate the separate person who claims ownership of it all?Maybe the deepest question isn't whether the prisoner has free will.Maybe it's whether there was ever a prisoner at all.

Step into a candid, juicy, and deeply liberating conversation with Karen Bigman, midlife sex and relationship expert, certified sex educator, and menopause coach, on this episode of Intimate Conversations: Dark Night to Divine Light. Karen is the host of Taboo to Truth: Life & Sex After 50, a shame free space for honest conversations about sex, desire, dating, relationships, menopause, and intimacy after 50. Karen shares the unexpected journey that brought her into this work, beginning with a book club moment when a grown woman could not say the word "blowjob." Combined with reconnecting with an old flame, discovering the realities of menopause, and a life changing visit to a sexual medicine practice, that moment sparked a calling she never saw coming. We explore the changes that happen in midlife bodies and relationships, including menopause, perimenopause, hormone therapy, and shifting libido for both women and men. Karen offers a shame free approach centered on communication, body awareness, pleasure over performance, and emotional connection, reminding us that great sex is a full body, full heart experience. The conversation also dives into foreplay as an all day practice, what Karen calls "sex snacks," and the difference between spontaneous and responsive desire. Allana vulnerably shares her own experience of introducing her Yoni to a partner for the first time, opening a deeper conversation about asking to be honored rather than waiting for someone else to know what we need. We also talk about: ● Why your sex span should equal your lifespan ● How men can better support partners through menopause ● Spontaneous versus responsive desire ● Why women have affairs to leave and men have affairs to stay ● Sex snacks and keeping intimacy alive outside the bedroom ● Porn, the death grip, and difficulty reaching orgasm ● Religious shame, guilt, and learning to let go in the body ● Introducing your Yoni to a partner as an act of sacred honoring ● Tantric sex, connection, timing, and trust ● Alternative relationship structures and honest communication ● Why judgment is the enemy of pleasure and curiosity is the cure ● How suppressed sexuality can come out sideways ● Raising sexually healthy children who become open adults This episode is a reminder that pleasure is not a luxury. It is a birthright. Our bodies, at every age and stage, are worthy of attention, tenderness, curiosity, and delight. Karen makes it easier to laugh, exhale, ask the questions we were never taught to ask, and reclaim a vibrant intimate life at any age. ABOUT KAREN BIGMAN Karen Bigman is a Sexual Health Alliance Certified Sexuality Educator, menopause coach, intimacy and relationship coach, and host of Taboo to Truth: Life & Sex After 50. After navigating her own midlife transition, divorce, dating, and changing desire, she became passionate about helping people understand the physical, emotional, and hormonal shifts that can affect intimacy after 50. Karen's mission is simple: to help people have great sex for the rest of their lives. Her work combines education, humor, lived experience, and shame free conversations to help people communicate better, understand their changing bodies, and create more connected relationships. CONNECT WITH KAREN Website: www.taboototruth.com Instagram: @taboototruth YouTube: @taboototruthpodcast LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/karenbigman Free Resources: www.taboototruth.com/free-resources

In this episode of #amwriting, Jennie introduces this series of “Write Big” episodes in which she vulnerably shares her own process of turning the Write Big concepts into a book, thanking listeners and inviting them to become paid subscribers. In this tough installment, recorded after a Zoom call with her agent while sick, she explains they are ending submission after sending the proposal to 30 publishers; feedback was largely positive, but publishers felt the book would be hard to break out without a large platform, and there was nothing actionable to change. Jennie feels sad about losing the chance for bookstore placement via a traditional deal, but emphasizes she does not feel rejected and believes strongly in the finished manuscript and her marketing plans. She plans to move forward independently, explore formats and special editions, and frames the moment as what “writing big” means: taking ownership, not playing small, and writing like it matters.#AmWriting is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Transcript[00:00:00] Hey everyone, it's Jennie, and I'm here to introduce a series of episodes that I'm going to be doing. But before I do that, I just want to thank you for being a listener. I inherited this podcast from KJ, Jess, and Serena back in December, and didn't really know how it was going to work with just me at the helm or what I was going to do to make it valuable to writers.And I've been finding my way, and I've just been so grateful that you're continuing to listen. I appreciate it so much. I have a lot of really cool things planned coming up, so I hope you'll keep listening, and I also hope that if you're getting something from it, that you consider becoming a paid subscriber.That helps support me and the producer and assistants who help me put this together, and we would appreciate your support so much. Okay. So the reason that I wanted to introduce this upcoming series is that it's a series of Write Big episodes that are about me and the project that I'm working on, and it feels a little vulnerable to be sharing in this way.I've had some mentors and advisors [00:01:00] suggest that maybe I shouldn't do this because I'm here on the #amwriting podcast as an authority. I'm the book coach who coaches the book coaches and who has coached a lot of writers, and I come at you from that place of expertise. But in these next episodes, I'm coming at you as a writer my own self, and I'm coming with some pretty raw material.I debated whether or not I should share it at all, but I decided to go ahead. I think it's the honest way to show that I'm here working on the Write Big issues right alongside you because every writer is. These are not just theoretical ideas. They're ideas that we all have to wrestle with. It doesn't matter that I've published 12 books or that I've coached hundreds of writers and thousands of book coaches.What matters is that I want the book I'm writing to be great, and I want it to make an impact, and I want it to be authentically me, and that's what writing big is all about. So the [00:02:00] project that you're going to hear me talk about is trying to turn the Write Big concepts into a Write Big book. And this episode that you're gonna hear first is a pretty tough one.I want you to know that it all turns out just fine. I'm fine, and I'll be sharing the journey of my bringing the Write Big book into the world with all of you as we go with some special opportunities to be inside the process with me and to help me make the book as good as it could be. This will all just be a small part of what I have planned for the #amwriting podcast, but I wanted to give you this context before you listen today, just so you know what this episode is all about and the next few ones that follow.Okay, now let's get to it.This is a Write Big session where I'm bringing you short episodes about the mindset shifts that help you stop playing small and write like it matters. Today, I have a bad cold, as you can hear, but I just got off the Zoom with my agent, and I wanted to [00:03:00] capture this moment for all of you because I think it's really important to capture it.So even though it was a sad call and I feel bad, I wanted to record this right now. And, um, it was sad because we decided that our submission efforts are over and they didn't work. My agent submitted to 30 publishers, and the overall feedback was amazing, as I shared in some earlier episodes. It was just incredible how many people know me, know my work how well the proposal landed with people, how seriously they considered it.My agent did something that I've actually never seen before, which is that she had a spreadsheet, a Google spreadsheet, and she would share the feedback in the spreadsheet as it came in. So I have all of the feedback in this spreadsheet. I'm looking [00:04:00] at it right now. And so what my agent and I decided is that there was really nothing that we could do.There was nothing that we could control. Nobody was saying, “Go out and get a whole bunch of new followers and come back to us.” Nobody was saying anything about a different content or concept. There was just a general feeling that it would be hard to break this book out. I'm not famous, and I don't have a big following, and I can't get that.I can't snap my fingers and, and make that a thing. There are a lot of books in this category from people that do have that. And so I just am at that disadvantage, and there's, there's nothing that we could do. So we decided that's the end of the road. So what I wanted to capture, the reason I wanted to record this was, this is a book called [00:05:00] Write Big.And writing big in my mind- is not about going for it. That's not what it's about. It might be, and when you write big, you might do that, and what I was doing in trying to get a traditional deal for this book was going for it, and I'm sad I didn't get it. That's the sadness. I'm sad I didn't get it. I really wanted this book to be in bookstores.I feel like it's a book that would do really well in bookstores, and should be in bookstores. That was my primary goal for getting a traditional deal, because I've self-published the Blueprint books, and they sell very well, and they do very well. And the one publisher that we spoke to commented upon that, actually said, “You do so well.What can we... What could we do that's different from what you're already doing?” So that is an [00:06:00] interesting part of the conversation. But I want it to be in bookstores, and it's hard to be in bookstores, really nearly impossible with a book like this from self-publishing. So the sadness is that I won't have that.And but underneath all of that sadness and the disappointment that it didn't work is a belief in what I'm doing. I have a finished manuscript. I have it out with two beta readers, and I'll be talking about why I picked those two and what that process was and how the feedback from them has gone and what I'm doing with that feedback in later episodes.But I know that this material is good. I know that it's useful. I'm excited about this material. My proposal had some killer marketing plan in it that I'm really excited to pursue without a [00:07:00] publishing partner, a traditional publishing partner, and some of the things that I wanna pursue will be easier without a publishing partner because I'll have control over the pricing and special offers and giveaways and things like that.But I... the, this book is not... this, this news is not the end of this book by any stretch of the imagination. It's just the end of this piece of what I wanted, and that's the core belief, is that this, this idea is solid and sound, and I'm excited about it, and I wanna bring it into the world, and actually nothing is gonna stop me from doing that, and I feel a fierce, m- what is it?Desire to do that. So I don't feel like this is a setback. I don't feel like it's a referendum on what I wrote. [00:08:00] I don't feel like it's personal I don't feel rejected. Again, I just feel sad because I had a, a dream or a vision of that, of that bookstore thing. But, you know, what does that represent? It...What it means is that this book would get into writers' hands, and it would get into writers' hands in that way of, you know, someone wanders into a bookstore and they're noodling around, and they are come upon that writer book reference shelf in which actually often several of my clients' books sit. And which is kind of ironic.One of, one of the re- uh, rejection letters actually referenced that they already have a book similar-ish to mine which is somebody that I, that I helped. So, and one of my coaches helped. So, yeah, it's a little bitter- [00:09:00] bittersweet part of that there, for sure. But, you know, the ultimate goal is that writers get this, and writers use this, and writers make something from the content in this book, and that can happen whether they encounter that book in the bookstore or not.So that is what is gonna happen. I will pursue this and move forward with this on my own. And, It, yeah, it feels, I'm just- I'm sort of closing my eyes and sitting here and trying to feel how I feel. I mean, I knew, I knew what was happening on this call. It wasn't a surprise to me. It was, you know, we agreed to add the submission and to have this conversation today.So I wasn't surprised by the news. But, you know, having the call is, is final and the agent that I chose for this project is lovely and loves my work and did it- did all she could do. Um, I have no, I have no, um, [00:10:00] feelings or regrets about her role in this. And yeah, I feel a little, uh... What do I feel?It's, uh, it's hard to know what you feel. Um, I feel a little, I guess vulnerable, uh, sharing, sharing this in what, um, will be a podcast, but I don't know. I just, I'm out here trying to teach and to lead and to coach, and I've coached so many writers through this moment in different ways and different kinds of books over the years, and it's part of the process.I- I've been in the seat of helping someone through it many, many times and it it will be okay. I know it will be okay. And, um, we're so lucky that we live in a time when the publishing decision is not the final decision. I have so much control and agency and choice, and maybe this is w- actually gonna be the best [00:11:00] possible for- thing for this book.And I'm starting to think about, oh, maybe I'll do a, a special kind of cover or a special hardback edition in addition to paper and e-book and audio. There's so many things that I could do and I'm excited to, to do it. So I will take a, a beat and mourn, mourn the thing that I didn't get that I wanted and move on.And that is what I think writing big is all about. Again, it's not going for it and, getting the big prize and that kind of energy. It's, you know what? how can you stop playing small and write like it matters? How can you go big in terms of your ownership of this and taking responsibility of this and doing what you can to bring it to life?And that's always in our control. So that's what I'm [00:12:00] gonna do, and I wanted to share that with you in the moment. So until next time, stop playing small and write like it matters. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amwriting.substack.com/subscribe

There are passages in St. Isaac that can sound almost impossible to modern ears. His words on vigil are among them. “Do not imagine,” he tells us, “that among all the works of monastics there is any practice greater than night vigil.” We hear such words and immediately think of sleep deprivation, bodily exhaustion, long hours of psalmody, standing in darkness while the rest of the world sleeps. We wonder whether such a practice belongs to another age, another kind of human being, perhaps even another understanding of the spiritual life. But this is precisely where we can misunderstand Isaac. Vigil becomes incomprehensible when it is separated from desire. If we begin with asceticism, vigil appears severe. If we begin with love, it begins to make sense. The lover understands the night. There are moments when we do not want an evening to end because we are with someone we love. There are conversations in which we cease looking at the clock. A mother remains awake beside a sick child without calculating the sacrifice. Someone awaiting the return of the beloved listens for every sound in the night. Love changes our experience of time. And so it is with the saints. They did not remain awake because they despised sleep. They remained awake because they had discovered Someone for whom it was worth losing sleep. This is the secret of vigil. “That I May Be With You” The Fathers understood the spiritual life far less as the fulfillment of religious obligations than as the awakening of desire. Beneath fasting, silence, solitude, tears, prostrations, psalmody, and vigil lies a single movement of the heart: I want God. Not merely His gifts. Not consolation. Not religious experiences. Not even virtue considered as a possession. God Himself. This is why St. Isaac describes the mind of the one who keeps vigil as becoming light and buoyant, taking flight “as it were on wings.” The ascetic is not merely staying awake. Something within him is being released. During the day the mind is scattered among a thousand things. We speak. We answer. We plan. We remember. We anticipate. We defend ourselves. We attend to necessities. Even when these things are good, the heart becomes divided among them. Then comes the night. The voices diminish. The demands cease. The world grows quiet. And the soul discovers again the One whom it has been seeking beneath everything else. This is why vigil was so precious to the Desert Fathers and remains so in the teaching of the great modern elders. It creates a space in which the heart can become undivided. The night says: There is nowhere else I need to go. There is nothing I need to accomplish. There is no one before whom I need to justify myself. There is only God. And I am here. The Recovery of Wonder Yet there is something even deeper in Isaac's teaching. Vigil is not merely about attention. It is about wonder. Isaac tells us that the one who perseveres in vigil begins to “gaze upon” heavenly realities. His language is deliberately extravagant: the soul comes to possess “the eyes of Cherubim.” What does this mean? It means that purification changes how we see. The tragedy of fallen existence is not simply that we commit sins. It is that we gradually cease to be astonished by God. We become accustomed to everything. Accustomed to the Gospel. Accustomed to the Eucharist. Accustomed to the name of Jesus. Accustomed to the Cross. Accustomed even to the astonishing claim that the Creator of heaven and earth desires communion with us. And when wonder disappears, desire soon weakens with it. The Fathers knew that the heart must be awakened again. This is one reason vigil has such power. In the silence of the night, familiar words can suddenly become new. “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God…” We may have spoken those words ten thousand times. Yet in the stillness something can happen. Jesus. The Name becomes luminous. God is here. God sees me. God desires me. God has called me into existence that I might share His life. And suddenly prayer is no longer something we are performing. It is encounter. Wonder gives birth to desire, and desire gives birth to greater attention. Then the soul begins to understand why the saints stayed awake. The Vigil of the Lover This is why we must be careful not to turn Isaac's teaching into another spiritual program. Stay awake longer. Say more psalms. Sleep less. Accumulate hours. Isaac himself warns against precisely this distortion. A person may endure “prolonged psalmody,” weariness of the tongue, and “night-long standing,” and yet receive little fruit because the mind is elsewhere. The body is standing before God while the heart is wandering through the world. Isaac asks, with characteristic directness: Why sow so much seed if we continually prevent it from bearing fruit? Vigil without attention becomes habit. Vigil without desire becomes endurance. Vigil without love becomes religious achievement. And religious achievement can quietly feed the very ego that asceticism is meant to dismantle. The true vigil begins somewhere deeper. Stay with Me. This is the invitation hidden within the night. Christ in Gethsemane asked His disciples, “Could you not watch with me one hour?” Perhaps every vigil is, in some mysterious way, our answer to that question. Yes, Lord. I will stay. Not because I am strong. Not because I am an ascetic. Not because I want to imagine myself among the saints. I stay because You are here. Why Vigil Requires the Day This also explains something that Isaac emphasizes strongly and that can easily be overlooked. The vigil cannot be separated from the way we live during the day. If we spend the day deliberately filling the mind with noise, agitation, curiosity, argument, distraction, and endless encounters, we should not be surprised if those same things accompany us into prayer at night. Isaac therefore insists that the monk who desires the fruit of vigil must guard himself from unnecessary disturbance during the day. This is not contempt for the world. It is custody of the heart. The Fathers understood something about human consciousness that our age desperately needs to rediscover: what we give ourselves to leaves traces within us. Everything enters the heart. Images. Conversations. Arguments. News. Resentments. Fantasies. Fears. The opinions of others. The desire to be seen. The need to respond. The mind carries these things into silence. Thus vigil actually begins long before nightfall. It begins with how we guard the heart throughout the day. The School of Freedom This is one reason the disappearance of vigil from much contemporary Christian life is significant. We have not merely lost an ascetical practice. We have lost one of the great schools of desire, attention, and freedom. The modern world teaches us to flee silence. It places a device in our hand capable of filling every empty moment. It trains the eyes to seek novelty and the mind to expect constant stimulation. The Fathers move in precisely the opposite direction. Be still. Remain. Watch. Wait. Listen. Do not flee the emptiness. Because eventually you may discover that it was never empty. Someone was waiting for you there. The purpose of vigil is not to prove that we can conquer the body. It is to become free enough to recognize the presence of the Beloved. “I Sleep, but My Heart Is Awake” The goal, then, is ultimately something greater than remaining physically awake. The goal is wakefulness of heart. “I sleep, but my heart is awake,” says the Bride in the Song of Songs. There is the mystery. The deepest vigil eventually becomes a state of the soul. A person begins to live before God. The Jesus Prayer continues beneath thought. The remembrance of God becomes increasingly continuous. The heart waits for Him. Looks toward Him. Listens for Him. Desires Him. This is the angelic quality Isaac sees in vigil. The angels do not merely “stay awake.” They exist in ceaseless attention to God. Their life is beholding. And Isaac dares to say that through vigil the human person begins to participate in this same movement. The eyes of the heart open. Wonder returns. Desire intensifies. Prayer deepens. The mind grows light. And gradually the soul discovers that the ascetical life is not fundamentally a life of deprivation. It is a life of fascination. The Night Is Not Empty Perhaps this is what we most need to recover from Isaac. We will never understand the asceticism of the Fathers if we begin with what they gave up. We must begin with what they saw. They saw a Beauty before which the beauties of the world grew pale. They tasted a sweetness that made lesser consolations seem small. They discovered a Love so immense that solitude became communion, silence became fullness, fasting became hunger for God, and vigil became the refusal to leave the presence of the Beloved. This is why the teaching on vigil belongs so naturally beside the language of desire and wonder. The ascetic does not remain awake merely because a rule commands it. He has glimpsed something. And because he has glimpsed it, he wants to see more. Wonder awakens desire. Desire gathers the scattered heart. The gathered heart becomes attentive. Attention becomes prayer. And prayer becomes communion. Then something remarkable happens. What once appeared burdensome becomes precious. The night that once seemed long becomes too short. Silence that once frightened us becomes the place we long to enter. And the prayer that once seemed an obligation becomes something from which we are reluctant to depart. The saints kept vigil because they discovered that the night was not empty. The Beloved was there. And once the heart knows this, the deepest question is no longer: Why would anyone remain awake to pray? It becomes: How could love not want to remain? --- Text of chat during the group: 00:18:08 Bob Čihák, AZ: P 222, Homily 20 00:23:28 David Swiderski: The last time we discussed this and sleeping 8 hours straight and for most of time people at least in Europe slept "2" times I went back to my Grandfather's diary and it appears the wood stoves in Northern Wisconsin only lasted 4hrs and you would need to get up and feed the fire so they naturally did vigils and took advantage of the break in sleep. In Spain and Latina America they have a nap in some areas due to the heat (2 hour lunch) and are up till 1 or 2 am. It seems modern western society is a new adaptation of what was a practice for hundreds of years. 00:25:10 Ryan Ngeve: Father what is one to do if these practices and deprivations make us more agitated/irritated and downcast, especially towards  others, as they tend to do? 00:39:01 Gwen's iPhone: my cat does! 00:39:24 James Hickman: Is it safe to call vigils a means to the end, which is nearness to the Lord, such that a super practical means to find closeness with the Lord is this watching for him when there are fewer distractions (not that we are safe from distractions in the night, but that the many combating us in the day are perhaps different in kind or number than those distractions of the night)? 00:42:15 Rod Castillo: I pray my daily rosary at 2 am.  It's the only time the house is quiet enough to allow me to devote myself completely to it. 00:43:46 James Hickman: Reacted to "I pray my daily rosary at 2 am.  It's the only time the house is quiet enough to allow me to devote myself completely to it." with

There is something almost frightening about the stories preserved for us in the Evergetinos. They are frightening not because they portray extraordinary wickedness, but because they reveal how quietly the heart can change. The monk described by Palladios is not a beginner. He is a man of profound silence and prayer, one who has surrendered himself so completely to God that even the necessities of his bodily life have been entrusted to Providence. His life has become contemplation. Prayer is his delight. God provides for him in a miraculous manner. He has tasted something of the life of the age to come. And yet the beginning of his fall is almost imperceptible. He sleeps a little longer. His prayer becomes somewhat shorter. His attention wanders. Earthly concerns begin to occupy a little more space within him. Thoughts once immediately rejected are permitted to remain for a moment. Nothing, at first, seems catastrophic. That is precisely the warning. The Fathers understood that the great falls of the spiritual life rarely begin as great falls. They begin with small permissions. Something formerly guarded carefully is treated casually. Something that once troubled the conscience is dismissed as insignificant. A thought is entertained rather than rejected. Prayer is postponed. Vigilance relaxes. A little comfort is allowed to become necessary. The heart whispers that such things hardly matter. But they matter because the heart matters. There is something extraordinarily precious hidden within the human person: the place of communion with God. The Fathers speak of guarding the heart so insistently because they know what has been entrusted to us. Grace has entered there. The Name has been received there. Desire for God has been awakened there. A fire has been kindled that does not originate in ourselves. The spiritual life, therefore, is not primarily the anxious avoidance of infractions. It is the guarding of a treasure. This changes how we understand vigilance. We do not guard ourselves because God is waiting to punish the smallest mistake. We guard ourselves because love is delicate. Communion can be obscured. Desire can cool. The eye of the heart can become clouded. What has become luminous through prayer can gradually become opaque again. The evil one understands this very well. He does not always attempt to tear a person immediately away from God. With someone who has given himself deeply to prayer, such an assault might be too obvious. Instead, he waits. He works through what appears negligible. A little negligence. A little self-confidence. A little relaxation of watchfulness. A thought that seems harmless enough to entertain. The enemy is patient because he knows that a heart need not renounce God explicitly in order gradually to lose sight of Him. Palladios gives us an extraordinary image of this darkening in the bread. At first the monk receives heavenly bread, pure and provided by God. As his interior life becomes disordered, the bread appears grimy and gnawed. Later it is almost entirely spoiled. What is happening visibly to the bread corresponds to what is happening invisibly within the monk. The gift has not ceased to be gift, but his capacity to receive it has become corrupted. The tragedy is not simply that temptation has appeared. Temptation comes to everyone. The decisive moment comes earlier: he notices the diminishment and does not respond to it. He regards the first symptoms as trivial. This is one of the most penetrating insights in the story. The monk does not suddenly decide to abandon his vocation. He fails to take seriously the cooling of his love. The Fathers would have us become sensitive to precisely this. When prayer becomes burdensome, notice. When mercy toward another begins to disappear, notice. When resentment becomes pleasurable, notice. When the imagination begins feeding upon something we would once have rejected, notice. When silence becomes uncomfortable and distraction increasingly necessary, notice. When we begin excusing in ourselves what once brought us immediately to repentance, notice. Not because every movement of weakness is a catastrophe, but because small movements reveal the direction in which the heart is turning. The story attributed to St. Maximos makes the warning still more sobering. The young monk possesses astonishing spiritual authority. Even wild animals obey him. Those around him naturally interpret such gifts as evidence of sanctity. St. Anthony is less impressed. He sees a ship filled with precious cargo and says, in effect: Yes—but will it reach the harbor? Everything is contained in that image. Grace received is not yet grace preserved. Virtue acquired is not yet virtue safely possessed. Spiritual gifts are not guarantees. Years of asceticism are not guarantees. Miracles are not guarantees. The harbor is reached only through perseverance. This is why Maximos interprets the command to “turn away from evil, and do good” as something more than the avoidance of sin. We must fight to diminish the passions; we must labor to acquire the virtues; and then—we must remain awake in order to preserve what has been given. He connects this with Adam's vocation in Eden: to cultivate and to keep. The heart is a garden. Grace cultivates it with us. Prayer waters it. Tears soften its soil. The remembrance of God makes it fruitful. Virtue slowly becomes something beautiful and living within us. But the garden must also be kept. Perhaps this is why the Fathers can appear severe about things modern people consider insignificant. Their severity is not necessarily born from fear. At its deepest, it arises from wonder. They know what the heart can become. They have seen human beings filled with God. They have seen the mind made luminous through prayer, the passions transfigured, the hardened heart made merciful, and ordinary human beings become bearers of the Holy Spirit. Having seen such things, they cannot regard anything that gradually extinguishes that life as trivial. The treasure is too precious. And yet neither story finally teaches despair. Palladios' monk awakens. Remarkably, his awakening comes while he is teaching others. He hears himself speaking truths that he has ceased to live, and suddenly sees himself. The contradiction becomes unbearable. He runs back into the desert, casts himself upon the ground, and repents. God receives him. The angel's words are filled with mercy: “God has accepted your repentance and has had mercy on you.” Something has nevertheless changed. The miraculous bread does not return. His remaining years are marked by mourning. This is not because God refuses forgiveness. Rather, the story preserves the terrible seriousness of freedom. Forgiveness is complete, yet our choices are real. Grace is not magic, and repentance does not make our history unreal. The Fathers hold together what we so often separate: immense mercy and immense seriousness. Never despair. But never presume. Never imagine that a fall places you beyond the mercy of God. But never imagine that what darkens the heart is therefore insignificant. The Christian life is lived between these truths. Perhaps the most important question, then, is not simply, Have I committed some great sin? It may be much quieter: What is happening to my desire for God? Is the flame growing brighter or dimmer? Is prayer becoming more truthful or merely habitual? Is my heart becoming softer or harder? Am I becoming freer to love, or increasingly absorbed in myself? Have I begun calling “small” those things that slowly make me forget the One whom I love? The evil one is willing to wait. He knows that great falls can grow from tiny seeds of forgetfulness. We too must learn to wait—but differently. We remain before God. We keep the heart. We cultivate the garden. We guard the treasure. And when we discover even the smallest cooling of love, we do not panic and we do not despair. We turn again toward Christ. Immediately. Simply. Humbly. For vigilance, rightly understood, is not living in terror that we might lose God. It is living with the knowledge that nothing is more precious than having found Him. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:08:19 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: Page 61 Section C 00:14:06 Jacqulyn Dudasko: I received my books today! Even had a bit of time to start reading!

In this episode, Regena Thomashauer, bestselling author + founder of The School of Womanly Arts, joins us for a bold conversation about pleasure, the nervous system, self-worth, and feminine power. She shares why reconnecting with your body can change the way you move through your entire life. Regena opens up about her own trauma, the moment she realized success couldn't heal what was happening underneath, and how pleasure became an unexpected path back to herself. She also shares what it means to trust your desire, even when life hasn't unfolded on the timeline you imagined. This episode is a reminder that you are not here just to achieve, caretake, and hold everything together. We explore what becomes possible when you let yourself feel more, receive more, and reconnect with the part of you that knows you're meant to be fully alive. We also talk about: Why women are taught to disconnect from their bodies + pleasure How shame around the female body can disconnect us from confidence + intuition Why Regena believes pleasure can help regulate the nervous system The difference between sexuality + erotic aliveness What happened when Regena realized her identity had become completely wrapped up in helping other people Her “on our knees” moment + the decision to finally turn inward How grief, fear, and desire can coexist during periods of deep uncertainty Using movement to help emotions move through the body The stories of Lilith, Psyche, Demeter, and Persephone + what they can teach us about feminine power Why women don't have to shrink themselves to be loved or accepted Resources: Website: https://mamagenas.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mamagena Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mamagena Sponsors:  Naturium | Give your skin the affordable, luxurious glow up it deserves. Go to https://Naturium.com/ALMOST30 for 10% off your first purchase today.  The Absorption Company | Start taking supplements your body can actually absorb. Go to https://absorbmore.com and enter ALMOST30 at checkout for up to 35% off your first order. Ritual | Don't settle for less than evidence-based support. Save 25% on your first month at  https://Ritual.com/ALMOST30.  Upwork | Visit https://Upwork.com right now and post your job for free.  Square | Get up to $200 off Square hardware when you sign up at https://square.com/go/almost30! #squarepod Smileset | Go to https://smileset.com/almost30 to get 35% off.  BetterHelp | This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Sign up and get 10% off at https://BetterHelp.com/almost30. Hero Bread | Hero Bread is offering 10% off your order. Go to https://hero.co and use code  A30POD at checkout. To advertise on this podcast please email: partnerships@almost30.com. Learn More: Get your copy of Almost 30, A definitive guide to a life you love for the next decade and beyond. https://almost30.com/book Listen to Morning Microdose! A quick trip into higher consciousness - https://almost30.com/morning-microdose Watch on YouTube - https://youtube.com/Almost30Podcast Join our community - https://www.facebook.com/Almost30podcast/groups Follow: https://instagram.com/almost30podcast https://tiktok.com/@almost30podcast Podcast disclaimer can be found by visiting: almost30.com/disclaimer.

As people take greater ownership of their health, the role of brands is changing.Recorded live at the Havas Café during the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, this conversation explores how marketing can help people live healthier, longer, and more fulfilling lives.Jim is joined by:Yvonne Bryant, Hemoglobinopathies Commercialization Head at Novo Nordisk, whose career has spanned clinical research, drug development, commercialization, and consumer marketing. Today, she leads commercialization efforts for rare blood disorders, helping translate breakthrough scientific innovation into meaningful patient impact.Lauren Gellman, Senior Director and Head of Marketing for Health and Home at Google. Lauren oversees marketing across Google's health ecosystem, including Fitbit, Nest, and Google Health, where she's helping shape the future of AI-powered health experiences and personalized wellness.Samantha Avivi, Global Chief Marketing Officer for Consumer Health at Bayer. A longtime marketing leader whose career includes roles at Procter & Gamble, Kimberly-Clark, Walmart, and more, Samantha now leads global marketing and innovation across Bayer's portfolio of trusted consumer health brands.Drawing on Havas' Science of Desire research, the conversation explores how healthcare marketers are building trust in the age of AI, making complex science more accessible, and helping people navigate an increasingly personalized health journey. Ultimately, it arrives at a simple but powerful idea: the future of healthcare marketing isn't simply about helping people live longer. It's about helping people live better.—This week's episode is brought to you by Havas and Infillion.—Meet The CMO Podcast On the RoadThe CMO Podcast will be on the road throughout Q4 2026, capturing conversations with the leaders shaping the future of marketing, leadership, and business. If you'll be attending one of these events, we'd love to connect. Let us know!Advertising Week New York | October 5–7BLINK Cincinnati | October 8ANA Masters of Marketing | October 19–22—Interested in partnering with The CMO Podcast?!Looking ahead to the rest of 2026 and into 2027, we're partnering with brands to create executive content platforms that extend far beyond a single event. From pop-up podcast studios and live recordings to executive roundtables, keynote conversations, and bespoke thought leadership programs, we work with partners to build meaningful experiences that connect with senior marketing leaders.Whether you'd like to partner with us at one of the industry's biggest marketing events or create a custom experience designed specifically for your brand, we'd love to explore what's possible. Reach out to learn how we can build something together.Email us at podcasts@vyve.co—Produced by vYveThe CMO Podcast is proudly produced by vYve Production, a full-service production and content studio specializing in podcasts, executive storytelling, branded content, and live experiences. vYve is a community of ambitious leaders dedicated to unlocking what's next in business and in life. Through executive coaching, transformative experiences, strategic content, and communities like The CMO Podcast, vYve helps entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, and teams grow their businesses, strengthen their leadership, and build meaningful connections that last.Learn more about vYve and The CMO Podcast community at www.vyve.co.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.