Podcast appearances and mentions of thomas wirthlin mcconkie

Thomas Wirthlin McConkie is an author, developmental researcher and meditation teacher. As a teenager, he met his first teacher and has been practicing for over 25 years under masters in the traditions of Sufism, Buddhism and Christian contemplation, among others. Thomas is the founder of Lower Lights School of Wisdom, a nonprofit organization committed to sharing ancient and modern teachings from the world's Wisdom traditions. He is currently researching and writing on the topic of transformative spiritual practice at Harvard Divinity School. He lives with his wife, two kids, and rescue dog. Links Atonement: Embodying the Fullness of Human-Divinity (Deseret Book) Atonement: Embodying the Fullness of Human-Divinity (Kindle) Where to Start When Members Doubt | An Interview With Thomas Wirthlin McConkie Creating Space for Those We Lead | An Interview with Thomas Wirthlin McConkie There is already a discussion started about this podcast. Share your thoughts HERE. Watch on YouTube Transcript coming soon Get 14-day access to the Core Leader Library Highlights Coming soon The Leading Saints Podcast is one of the top independent Latter-day Saints podcasts as part of nonprofit Leading Saints' mission to help Latter-day Saints be better prepared to lead. Learn more and listen to any of the past episodes for free at LeadingSaints.org. Past guests include Emily Belle Freeman, David Butler, Hank Smith, John Bytheway, Reyna and Elena Aburto, Liz Wiseman, Stephen M. R. Covey, Julie Beck, Brad Wilcox, Jody Moore, Tony Overbay, John H. Groberg, Elaine Dalton, Tad R. Callister, Lynn G. Robbins, J. Devn Cornish, Bonnie Oscarson, Dennis B. Neuenschwander, Anthony Sweat, John Hilton III, Barbara Morgan Gardner, Blair Hodges, Whitney Johnson, Ryan Gottfredson, Greg McKeown, Ganel-Lyn Condie, Michael Goodman, Wendy Ulrich, Richard Ostler, and many more in over 700 episodes. Discover podcasts, articles, virtual conferences, and live events related to callings such as the bishopric, Relief Society, elders quorum, Primary, youth leadership, stake leadership, ward mission, ward council, young adults, ministering, and teaching.

Many of you are familiar with Thomas Wirthlin McConkie. For those of you who are not, here's a very cursory thumbnail sketch of his story:Coming from a very prominent Latter-day Saint family (with apostles on both sides of the family), Thomas left the Latter-day Saint faith as a teenager, eventually moved to China and for two decades deeply immersed himself in Buddhism. Eventually, he found his way back to the his native Latter-day Saint faith, and today finds himself integrating ideas and practices from both  traditions  in remarkable and important ways.If you'd like to hear the story of Thomas's journey in more detail, you can listen to a fascinating multi-episode deep dive on the Faith Matters podcast starting in episode 15.Thomas has just created a truly beautiful online course called Gospel Meets Dharma. The course description says it this way: “Gospel Meets Dharma represents a sacred encounter between Christianity and Buddhism, two traditions that have shaped and formed countless millions of minds and souls over the millennia. In this ‘interspiritual dialogue', the unique fruits of each path come into clear relief, while also giving rise to a Beauty that transcends and includes them both.”We invited Thomas back to our studio this week to talk about what inspired him to create this course and to explore some of its key themes. As always, we loved our conversation with Thomas and imagine you will as well.By the way, you can find the course at  gospelmeetsdharma.com.  Thomas is offering a 20% discount on the course to the Faith Matters audience. Just type the code  LAUNCH20 when you enroll. 

Rosie Card and Thomas Wirthlin McConkie talk about approaching transformations of faith as individuals and supporting loved ones.  Learn more about Thomas's mindfulness offerings at https://lowerlightswisdom.org/ You can find more on his Faith Matter's Transformations of Faith course at https://faithmatters.teachable.com/p/transformations-of-faith

Is it possible to stay active in the LDS Church in 2021 after.... ....learning all of the problematic history... ....becoming an ally for LGBTQ Mormons... ...becoming a feminist... ...becoming an "intellectual Mormon"... and after losing one's orthodox faith? More importantly, why would anyone WANT to? In Part 1 of my two-part interview with dear friend and faith transitions coach Jana Spangler, Jana told us the story of her Mormon faith journey, which includes: Battling with perfectionism as an LDS teen and young adult. Feeling broken and inadequate as a single Mormon woman attending the University Utah, struggling to meet the church's standards of "worthiness." Being threatened with an LDS Disciplinary Council be a well-meaning Mormon bishop, and how that actually HELPED turn Jana's life around at the time. Finding and marrying Rob - who "checked all the Mormon boxes" at the time. Batting with infertility. Experiencing self-doubt and depression as a Mormon Mom. How Jana's passion for self-improvement and retreats/workshops led to a Mormon faith crisis. Jana's shifting views of Christ's atonement, which include absolute, unconditional love. Jana's courage to share her testimony struggles with her Holladay, Utah ward and stake. How untraditional Mormon podcast hosts, authors, and organizations (such as Bill Reel, Gina Colvin, Dan Wotherspoon, John Dehlin, Thomas Wirthlin McConkie, Sunstone, etc.), along with a supportive husband and understanding church leaders, helped Jana find a way to stay ACTIVE in the LDS Church. What factors led Jana to decide to stay active in the LDS Church...for now. In Part 2, Jana provides a more detailed framework for how others can find a way to remain active in the LDS Church if they so desire, inspired by the works of Richard Rohr and James Fowler (among others).

Is it possible to stay active in the LDS Church in 2021 after.... ....learning all of the problematic history... ....becoming an ally for LGBTQ Mormons... ...becoming a feminist... ...becoming an "intellectual Mormon"... and after losing one's orthodox faith? More importantly, why would anyone WANT to? In Part 1 of my two-part interview with dear friend and faith transitions coach Jana Spangler, Jana tells us the story of her Mormon faith journey, which includes: Battling with perfectionism as an LDS teen and young adult. Feeling broken and inadequate as a single Mormon woman attending the University Utah, struggling to meet the church's standards of "worthiness." Being threatened with an LDS Disciplinary Council be a well-meaning Mormon bishop, and how that actually HELPED turn Jana's life around at the time. Finding and marrying Rob - who "checked all the Mormon boxes" at the time. Batting with infertility. Experiencing self-doubt and depression as a Mormon Mom. How Jana's passion for self-improvement and retreats/workshops led to a Mormon faith crisis. Jana's shifting views of Christ's atonement, which include absolute, unconditional love. Jana's courage to share her testimony struggles with her Holladay, Utah ward and stake. How untraditional Mormon podcast hosts, authors, and organizations (such as Bill Reel, Gina Colvin, Dan Wotherspoon, John Dehlin, Thomas Wirthlin McConkie, Sunstone, etc.), along with a supportive husband and understanding church leaders, helped Jana find a way to stay ACTIVE in the LDS Church. What factors led Jana to decide to stay active in the LDS Church...for now. In Part 2, Jana provides a more detailed framework for how others can find a way to remain active in the LDS Church if they so desire, inspired by the works of Richard Rohr and James Fowler (among others).

Thomas McConkie is the founder of Lower Lights School of Wisdom and has a passion for the world's Wisdom traditions. Raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, at age 18 he discovered meditation, which remains a wellspring of inspiration over 20 years later. Thomas is trained as a developmental researcher, facilitator, and mindfulness teacher. He hosts the Lower Lights Sangha in Salt Lake City, Utah, with the intention of supporting seekers of diverse faith orientations to become all they are meant to become. Highlights 5:40 Transformations of Faith: participating willingly in the process of becoming as Christ is 7:30 Talking and listening is relationship and our relationship with God can also reach a level of profound intimacy 9:40 Our lives are moving at a frenetic pace and we have an opportunity to make space for stillness, opening up to connection and to the blessings God has waiting for us 15:00 Presence: the Kingdom of Heaven is among us and the more we open ourselves up, the more we understand that there are no ordinary moments 17:45 Why we need to practice being present in our lives: example of being in the grocery line 21:20 The more we connect with ourselves, the more we realize that all we are doing is offering our state of being to others: our quality of being is our service 24:35 Defining presence: being fully present in the body with both the physical, emotions, and thoughts Part of being present is forgiving the conditions of life: Thy will be done 31:00 Metaphor of digestion 33:00 Experience with a coworker who explained his environment to explain any loss of presence 35:10 Fakeness: I'm overwhelmed and I don't know how to be more present so I'm going to fake it Recognizing this in others 37:30 Stillness isn't about quiet but about being fully human 40:00 Connecting this to the first principles and ordinances 41:10 Repentance and creating space Making space for the suffering of others is a first step toward healing Helping someone begin a practice of mindfulness as a step toward repentance Divine confidence: presence is a divine attribute Getting out of the way so the Atonement can work in us 50:40 The pain of others resonates in us, and a commitment to practicing kindness within ourselves helps with the overwhelm The more committed we are, the more people realize they can be themselves with us Recognizing the pain body in others 58:45 Awareness that we are often defended against God: Can we notice the ways we keep the light out as a defense against the uncomfortable? Links transformationsoffaith.org (Use code LEADINGSAINTS25 for 25% off the course) Where to Start When Members Doubt | An Interview With Thomas Wirthlin McConkie Transcript This transcript was machine-produced. We would be grateful for help correcting errors. You can help! Simply copy/paste the transcript text into a document, make the corrections, and then copy/paste the corrected text into a comment on the page (below) and we will get the corrected text published! 00:00:00 - 00:05:01 Welcome back to another episode of the leading saints. Podcast if you've enjoyed content on this podcast. It's important that. I tell you about the leading saints newsletter that we send out every week this newsletter keeps you up to date on all the current leading saints content releases including podcasts articles online events and even live events. That might be happening in your own area in this newsletter. We also recommend some past episodes and written articles that you don't want to miss each week. We include additional leadership perspectives and thoughts. That you can only find in the weekly newsletter. So you definitely don't want to miss out to subscribe to the weekly newsletter simply text. The word lead to four seven four seven four seven or visit leading saints dot org slash. Subscribe again text. The word l. e. a. d. two four seven four seven four seven or visit leading saints do...

Thomas McConkie is the founder of Lower Lights School of Wisdom and has a passion for the world's Wisdom traditions. Raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, at age 18 he discovered meditation, which remains a wellspring of inspiration over 20 years later. Thomas is trained as a developmental researcher, facilitator, and mindfulness teacher. He hosts the Lower Lights Sangha in Salt Lake City, Utah, with the intention of supporting seekers of diverse faith orientations to become all they are meant to become. Highlights 5:40 Transformations of Faith: participating willingly in the process of becoming as Christ is 7:30 Talking and listening is relationship and our relationship with God can also reach a level of profound intimacy 9:40 Our lives are moving at a frenetic pace and we have an opportunity to make space for stillness, opening up to connection and to the blessings God has waiting for us 15:00 Presence: the Kingdom of Heaven is among us and the more we open ourselves up, the more we understand that there are no ordinary moments 17:45 Why we need to practice being present in our lives: example of being in the grocery line 21:20 The more we connect with ourselves, the more we realize that all we are doing is offering our state of being to others: our quality of being is our service 24:35 Defining presence: being fully present in the body with both the physical, emotions, and thoughts Part of being present is forgiving the conditions of life: Thy will be done 31:00 Metaphor of digestion 33:00 Experience with a coworker who explained his environment to explain any loss of presence 35:10 Fakeness: I'm overwhelmed and I don't know how to be more present so I'm going to fake it Recognizing this in others 37:30 Stillness isn't about quiet but about being fully human 40:00 Connecting this to the first principles and ordinances 41:10 Repentance and creating space Making space for the suffering of others is a first step toward healing Helping someone begin a practice of mindfulness as a step toward repentance Divine confidence: presence is a divine attribute Getting out of the way so the Atonement can work in us 50:40 The pain of others resonates in us, and a commitment to practicing kindness within ourselves helps with the overwhelm The more committed we are, the more people realize they can be themselves with us Recognizing the pain body in others 58:45 Awareness that we are often defended against God: Can we notice the ways we keep the light out as a defense against the uncomfortable? Links transformationsoffaith.org (Use code LEADINGSAINTS25 for 25% off the course) Where to Start When Members Doubt | An Interview With Thomas Wirthlin McConkie Read the TRANSCRIPT of this podcast This transcript was machine-produced. We would be grateful for help correcting errors. You can help! Simply copy/paste the transcript text into a document, make the corrections, and then copy/paste the corrected text into a comment on the page (below) and we will get the corrected text published!

Despite being born into a family with strong Latter-day Saint roots, Thomas McConkie stopped attending church at the age of 13. However, a spiritual journey, which spanned nearly two decades and included becoming proficient in Buddhist meditation, brought him back to an unlikely destination: The faith of his youth. "I'm really comfortable with the definition of meditation as remembrance. And that feels very much like a gospel principle to me, like when we remember what are we remembering? Well, let me just riff a little bit: We remember that we are sons and daughters, that we're children of a living God. And when we remember that, the quality of our whole life in this very moment changes." Show Notes 3:08- Leaving the Church at 13 years old 4:51- Discovering Meditation 5:46- Redemption in Stillness 12:26- Power to Heal a Generation 16:49- The Meaning of Meditation 19:34- Stillness Among Saints 25:34- Changing a Culture 28:15- Home-centered Church's Opportunity 31:49- Ministering and Meditation 33:05- Creating a Community 35:56- Message to a Teenager Struggling With Faith 37:50- If You Love Someone Struggling With Faith 39:29- A Grandfather's Love 42:36- What Does It Mean To Be All In The Gospel of Jesus Christ?

My friend Thomas McConkie shares his story stepping away from the LDS faith for about 20 years (age 13 – 32) and then returning. While away Thomas lived around the world and developed a deep spirituality as he connected with and learned from the good in other faiths. About 7 years ago while in Salt Lake City, Thomas shares spiritual experiences that led him back into the LDS faith. Thomas started a nonprofit called Lower Lights to heal and bring hope to others. Check out: https://lowerlightsslc.org/ On a personal note when I went through my mini-faith crisis while serving as a YSA Bishop, Thomas’ book was one of the three books that I read that helped get through that time (which I’m now glad occurred) helping me to stay a committed member of the Church. Thomas’ book is at: https://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Wirthlin-McConkie/e/B0164TIIJK%3Fref Thank you for being on the podcast, Thomas. You have a unique and beautiful life ministry. Bringing all your experiences, gifts and insights to bring hope and healing to others.

The post MIConversations #8—Terryl Givens with Thomas Wirthlin McConkie, “The spiritual journey” appeared first on Neal A. Maxwell Institute | BYU.

Thomas Wirthlin McConkie was born into a prominent American Latter-day Saint family, but the faith didn't resonate with him as a teenager. He disconnected from the Church and began exploring the wider world's faith traditions. He followed a thread through eastern religion and philosophy, and was surprised when that thread guided him all the way back to the faith of his youth. As a specialist in meditation and adult psychological development, Thomas Wirthlin McConkie appreciates how connecting with his past opens a new vision of the future.

Maxwell Institute Conversations are special episodes of the Maxwell Institute Podcast, hosted by Terryl Givens and created in collaboration with Faith Matters Foundation. Audio and video available. Thomas Wirthlin McConkie was born into a prominent American Latter-day Saint family, but the faith didn't resonate with him as a teenager. He disconnected from the Church and began exploring the wider world's faith traditions. He followed a thread through eastern religion and philosophy, then was surprised when that thread guided him all the way back to the faith of his youth. As a Latter-day Saint specialist in meditation and adult psychological development, Thomas Wirthlin McConkie appreciates how connecting with his past opens a new vision of the future. About the Guest Thomas Wirthlin McConkie is author of Navigating Mormon Faith Crisis: A Simple Developmental Map and the founder of Lower Lights School of Wisdom. He has been practicing mindfulness and other meditative techniques for twenty years and studying their effects on human potential. He lives in Salt Lake City, Utah with his partner Gloria and their dog Luna. The post MIConversations #8—Terryl Givens with Thomas Wirthlin McConkie, “The spiritual journey” appeared first on Neal A. Maxwell Institute | BYU.

This episode is a supplement to the previous two-parter on "sustaining" within Mormonism--concentrating especially on times when we find ourselves in some sort of tension with leaders or those in callings whose ideas, teaching style, demeanor, or general approach to the gospel fail to connect positively with us. It features the powerful spiritual teacher Thomas Wirthlin McConkie introducing and leading us through a "shadow practice" exercise. Shadow work is a path to self-discovery as well as loving kindness and compassion, but it begins in disturbance, tension, something unsettled, the appearance of negative emotions whenever we encounter a certain person or situation. Because we typically don't want to feel such things, we will often supress them or attempt to ignore them. Shadow work takes the opposite approach. We lean into the feelings, the negative energy, explore and name them, hone in on the exact things that trigger this negativity and let our minds and emotions have have free rein for a while. And then we take a final step. Find out what it is. Shadow work is a practice that will help us see others and ourselves much more clearly, allowing wonderful things begin to unfold. 

All religions point adherents toward gaining knowledge and insights for themselves through their own spiritual dives. Religious cultures, however, often (overtly but more often subtly) put a premium upon group cohesion, following rules and counsel from leaders or elders, staying on the well-worn path, and so forth. These cultures encourage one to rise up to the level of the collective, but then discourage her or him from too much exploring. (There be monsters out there! Stay safe!) How can we gain the confidence to explore Spirit as fully as our traditions invite us to? How do we overcome the cultural and psychological barriers that sometimes discourage us? What is the experience of direct spiritual experience like? How do we seek it? Must we be at the end of our spiritual ropes before it can enter in? As we experience it, what should we expect? What, exactly, is the "experimenting" section of Alma 32 really saying? Spiritual journeying is hard, but why do so many who have gotten the taste of their own eternal nature and spiritual belonging keep at it, even with all the difficult things one must confront as we move ahead? This episode features two insightful and powerful spiritual explorers, Billy Phillips and Thomas Wirthlin McConkie, along with Mormon Matters host Dan Wotherspoon, speaking about all of the above and more. What emerges is not exactly a step-by-step guide to finding one's own spiritual confidence so much as a chance to immerse oneself in a conversation among three people for whom this transition to trusting their own experiences even in the face of occasional discouragement from other Latter-day Saints has been and still is a wonderful and worthy pursuit.

All religions point adherents toward gaining knowledge and insights for themselves through their own spiritual dives. Religious cultures, however, often (overtly but more often subtly) put a premium upon group cohesion, following rules and counsel from leaders or elders, staying on the well-worn path, and so forth. These cultures encourage one to rise up to the level of the collective, but then discourage her or him from too much exploring. (There be monsters out there! Stay safe!) How can we gain the confidence to explore Spirit as fully as our traditions invite us to? How do we overcome the cultural and psychological barriers that sometimes discourage us? What is the experience of direct spiritual experience like? How do we seek it? Must we be at the end of our spiritual ropes before it can enter in? As we experience it, what should we expect? What, exactly, is the "experimenting" section of Alma 32 really saying? Spiritual journeying is hard, but why do so many who have gotten the taste of their own eternal nature and spiritual belonging keep at it, even with all the difficult things one must confront as we move ahead? This episode features two insightful and powerful spiritual explorers, Billy Phillips and Thomas Wirthlin McConkie, along with Mormon Matters host Dan Wotherspoon, speaking about all of the above and more. What emerges is not exactly a step-by-step guide to finding one's own spiritual confidence so much as a chance to immerse oneself in a conversation among three people for whom this transition to trusting their own experiences even in the face of occasional discouragement from other Latter-day Saints has been and still is a wonderful and worthy pursuit. 

We sit down again with my good friend Thomas Wirthlin McConkie and take a deeper dive into his integral development map.  We start with the Diplomat and work our way to the Magician working to break these stages down in terms of their gifts and the fallbacks while also speaking to the tension that exists […] The post 263: Thomas Wirthlin McConkie – Diplomat to Magician appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.

Gina Colvin's 2015 interview with Thomas Wirthlin McConkie is one of progressive Mormonism's most impactful podcast episodes. In this Mormon Alchemist release, we bring you radio-style highlights of the original conversation, which you can find in episode 124 at athoughtfulfaith.org.

Mike’s colleague hates the taste of water in the desert, famous people trash Trump, slacktivism may be worthwhile and Thomas Wirthlin McConkie fulfills his dharmic duty by discussing mindfulness.   Full show notes on our Facebook page.

Author Thomas McConkie discusses his book "Navigating Mormon Faith Crisis: A simple developmental map.

Today we sit down with LDS author Thomas Wirthlin McConkie.  We discuss at length his book “Navigating Mormon Faith Crisis”.  In his book he helps the reader see the Faith Development Map that allows for healthier smoorth transitions. We cover what a faith crisis feels like, how other react to it, and how we might […] The post 173: Thomas Wirthlin McConkie: Developmental Map appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.