Podcasts about Voices in My Head

Voices in my Head (the Rick Lee James Podcast) episode 635: Targets of Jesus   In this short, early-morning episode of Voices in My Head, I share some reflections from my reading of Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible, particularly its observation that Jesus and His disciples often focused their ministry on those who were chronically ill, disabled, and marginalized. Drawing from my experiences as a healthcare chaplain, I talk about the many people I meet who long to be part of a faith community yet often feel excluded, overlooked, or underserved by the church. I reflect on what Scripture teaches about caring for those on the margins, from the Good Samaritan to the ministry of Jesus Himself, and I consider what it means for the church today to embody Christ's inclusive love. Rather than offering guilt or criticism, this episode is a heartfelt invitation to greater awareness, compassion, and community, reminding us that every person bears the image of God and has an essential place in the Kingdom.         Rick's Latest Single “Heaven Is Full of Criminals”     https://rickleejames.hearnow.com/heaven-is-full-of-criminals Connect with Rick Lee James Website: RickLeeJames.com Email: Rick@RickLeeJames.com Listen / Subscribe Subscribe, rate, and review Voices in My Head wherever you listen to podcasts. Music & Merch Bandcamp (music + merch): RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com Streaming: Search “Rick Lee James” on your favorite music platform or on Spotify https://t.co/S7nCRl0xqa Audiobook Out of the Depths: A Songwriter's Journey Through the Psalms (Audible): Audiobook Link Special Offer 10% off at Bandcamp: use code 10off at checkout RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com Hosted by Rick Lee James — Voices in My Head Podcast  

Voices in my Head (the Rick Lee James Podcast) Episode 635: Targets of JesusIn this short, early-morning episode of Voices in My Head, I share some reflections from my reading of Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible, particularly its observation that Jesus and His disciples often focused their ministry on those who were chronically ill, disabled, and marginalized. Drawing from my experiences as a healthcare chaplain, I talk about the many people I meet who long to be part of a faith community yet often feel excluded, overlooked, or underserved by the church. I reflect on what Scripture teaches about caring for those on the margins, from the Good Samaritan to the ministry of Jesus Himself, and I consider what it means for the church today to embody Christ's inclusive love. Rather than offering guilt or criticism, this episode is a heartfelt invitation to greater awareness, compassion, and community, reminding us that every person bears the image of God and has an essential place in the Kingdom.Rick's Latest Single“Heaven Is Full of Criminals”https://rickleejames.hearnow.com/heaven-is-full-of-criminalsConnect with Rick Lee JamesWebsite: RickLeeJames.comEmail: Rick@RickLeeJames.comListen / SubscribeSubscribe, rate, and review Voices in My Head wherever you listen to podcasts.Music & MerchBandcamp (music + merch): RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.comStreaming: Search “Rick Lee James” on your favorite music platform or on Spotify https://t.co/S7nCRl0xqaAudiobookOut of the Depths: A Songwriter's Journey Through the Psalms (Audible):Audiobook LinkSpecial Offer10% off at Bandcamp: use code 10off at checkoutRickLeeJames.Bandcamp.comHosted byRick Lee James — Voices in My Head Podcast This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rickleejames.substack.com/subscribe

Aditi Shirali is a psychologist in Adelaide. On 11 October she's putting on Voices In My Head at Star Theatres. It's her second show. The first was for adults. This one is for teenagers and their parents, and tickets are sold as a parent and teen combo.We talked about her show, then about our own parents. We ran out of time.The show. Aditi says teenagers have a weird competition with their parents. We try to impress them and achieve things for them, then they say their girl has lost the spark. Until about 12, kids copy you. Then hormones arrive. Her show is about how parents talk to their kids, because the way you talk becomes their inner voice. She told her son she'd be unavailable for a couple of weeks. He told his dad that Mum was stressed and to leave her alone. If she'd told him to go away, she says, he'd have decided he was the problem.The critical voice.Aditi hears her mother's voice in her own sessions. Her suggestion is to call your mum by her first name. Mine is Sarla.Projection. One of Aditi's first assignments in Adelaide was training a room of Aussie tradies and one older woman. She kept looking to the woman for validation and realised she was treating her like her mum. India and Australia. Aditi did her bachelor's in Mumbai, her master's in Wales, her internship in Greece, and spent part of school in Doha. Her Adelaide clients are 99.5 percent local Australians, aged five to 77. Her view is that people are people. Australian families are involved, just differently. Indian families take each other for granted and always show up.Rent and chores. I have words about Australian parents charging their kids rent. Aditi's view is moderation. Her son writes his chores in an account book and it goes into his own account when he's older. Full rent is cruel, she says.Hitting. Aditi says no, and separates it from containing a child mid-tantrum. It gets you a fearful child or a rebellious one. My mum hit me regularly. I was rebellious. In my mid-20s I told her she wasn't doing it anymore and she stopped.Racism. During one of her first assignments in Adelaide, Aditi once heard two white Australians talking about how white Australia was better. They apologised to her during the break. She asked where their grandparents were from. Everyone except Aboriginal people comes from somewhere else, she told them. She tells her own kids the divide is political.Tickets for Voices In My Head are on Eventbrite, or through the link in Aditi's Instagram bio. She sees clients online on weekends and works from Okay Psychology in Adelaide.Aditi Shirali: Instagram | T.E.A. ConnectionNaina: Instagram | Website | YouTube | Be a guest

Teenage Stroke: When Recovery Feels Like Losing Yourself Benjamin Miller was 16 years old and playing football in Texas when a carotid artery dissection changed the course of his life on September 22, 2017. He didn’t know what a stroke was. He didn’t know that the word would come to define the years that followed not because of what it took from his body, but because of what it took from his sense of who he was. Teenage stroke recovery is not what most people picture. The standard narrative runs like this: young brain, high neuroplasticity, rapid recovery, inspirational outcome. And in some ways, that’s true. The motor and language systems that stroke damages can rebuild quickly in an adolescent brain. But there’s a part of recovery that neuroplasticity doesn’t touch, and that’s identity. Who Was Benjamin Before the Stroke? He was a football player. In Texas, that means something. It means a community, a future, a sense of place in the social architecture of a town. When the stroke took that away, it didn’t just end a sport. It ended a version of himself that he hadn’t finished becoming. “My soul was torn in half,” Benjamin said in this conversation with Bill Gasiamis. It’s one of those phrases that stops you not because it’s dramatic, but because it’s accurate. “My soul was torn in half.” — Benjamin Miller, EP422 The stroke forced him to grieve something most 16-year-olds don’t have language for: the future self they were building toward. When that future collapsed overnight, he was left with a present he didn’t recognise and a past that no longer pointed toward anything. Why Teenage Stroke Is Different Teenage stroke recovery carries a layer of complexity that adult stroke recovery doesn’t always share. Adolescence is the developmental period in which identity is actively constructed; it’s not a fixed thing waiting to be restored. When stroke interrupts that process mid-construction, the survivor isn’t returning to who they were. They’re trying to become someone they haven’t yet figured out how to be. Benjamin’s experience of turning to substance use during his recovery wasn’t a character failure. It was, as he articulates in this episode, an attempt to manage an identity fracture that nobody around him had the vocabulary to name. When the pain doesn’t have a name, people find their own ways to survive it. This is one reason teenage stroke recovery deserves its own conversation separate from paediatric stroke outcome data, and separate from the adult recovery narrative. The emotional, psychological, and social dimensions are specific to this life stage. You might also recognise elements of this in other episodes: the identity rupture that follows sudden stroke in a young person surfaces in Young Stroke Survivor Recovery and Identity Loss After Stroke. Benjamin’s story adds a dimension that’s less often named: what happens when the loss of identity happens before you’ve finished building one. When the Brain Heals Faster Than the Self Can Here’s something worth naming a phenomenon the clinical literature notes but rarely centres in recovery conversations. Adolescent neuroplasticity is real. Benjamin’s brain had the capacity to rebuild physical and linguistic function faster than an older adult’s would. But neuroplasticity is a structural property of the brain. It doesn’t extend to the psychological work of integrating a traumatic experience into a developing sense of self. The result is a gap, sometimes a wide one, between the physical recovery that others can see and the internal recovery that isn’t visible at all. Benjamin appeared to be “doing well” in many respects while internally carrying a fracture that hadn’t been addressed. This gap is one of the least-discussed aspects of teenage stroke recovery. If you’ve experienced it, or watched someone you love experience it, it may be the most important thing in this episode. The Road Back And What It Actually Looks Like Benjamin’s memoir, Ed and I, available on YouTube, traces this journey. What comes through clearly in his conversation with Bill is that the path forward required him to walk through the things he’d been managing around the grief, the identity loss, the fracture itself. Recovery, in his telling, doesn’t take you back to who you were. It takes you through who you are now. That reframe from restoration to transformation is one that many stroke survivors eventually arrive at. Bill’s book The Unexpected Way That A Stroke Became The Best Thing That Happened documents ten tools for exactly that kind of recovery. For more episodes touching on identity and recovery: Emotional Recovery After Stroke Mistakes, Identity After Stroke — Cassie Jewell, Stroke With No Warning Signs — Tom Ballo, Losing Confidence After Stroke, and Stroke Brain Healing Neuroplasticity. Listen to EP422 This episode doesn’t pretend that recovery is a clean arc or that there’s a single turning point you can point to. What it offers instead is something more honest: the lived texture of finding yourself again when you’re not sure who you’re finding your way back to. Listen to EP422 of the Recovery After Stroke podcast wherever you listen. If a stroke or any trauma has made your world feel smaller, Bill’s new book Your World Doesn’t Have to Stay This Small is a practical guide to rebuilding your life, even when you’re not ready. Find it on Amazon at mybook.to/yourworld. If this show has helped you, you can support it at patreon.com/recoveryafterstroke. This blog is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Please consult your doctor before making any changes to your health or recovery plan. Benjamin Miller on Identity, Substances, and Finding His Way Back “My soul was torn in half.” Benjamin Miller had a stroke at 16 and lost more than football here’s how he found his way back. Highlights: 00:00 Introduction – Teenage Stroke09:01 The Day of the Stroke11:56 The Loss of Identity17:12 Coping Mechanisms: Alcohol and Escapism22:37 COVID-19: A Blessing in Disguise28:57 The Journey of Healing Begins32:40 Facing Uncomfortable Emotions38:45 Spiritual Awakening Through Adversity42:34 The Power of Breath and Movement47:35 Building Community in Recovery55:39 Finding Belonging and Understanding59:12 Creating a Path for Self-Healing Transcript: Introduction – Teenage Stroke Benjamin Miller (00:00)when I was told that by my father that. It felt like my soul was torn in half, because like I always saw myself as a student athlete and the bigger part of that was the athlete. And now I lost half of my identity and. I just didn’t know how to as a. 17 year old now like how to move forward with life and I didn’t know who I was and the only thing I defined myself as was taken away from me So now I was just like in this weird place where I felt like I was drowning on a day-to-day basis. Bill Gasiamis (00:33)hello, everybody. Welcome back to Recovery After Stroke. I’m Bill Gasciamas. My guest today had a stroke at just 16 years old, a carotid artery dissection that ended his football career and cracked his sense of who he was, right at the age when most people are just beginning to figure that out. Before we get into it, if you’ve been finding value in this podcast, my new book is out now. It’s called Your World Doesn’t Have to Stay This Small. A practical guide to rebuilding your life after trauma even when you’re not ready. You can find it on Amazon by searching my name or you can click the link in the show notes. Now it’s on to the episode. Bill Gasiamis (01:14)Benjamin Miller, welcome to the podcast. Benjamin Miller (01:16)Sir, thank you for having me. Bill Gasiamis (01:19)Tell me what’s regular life like for you before the stroke? Benjamin Miller (01:26)Yeah, I mean, when I had my stroke, I was 16 years old and I was in my third year of high school. So it was really comprised of just school, going to school every day and then playing sports after school. Like through the school, would play American football. I played baseball earlier in my life. And then towards the end of my high school, I just continued to play American football because I had the goal of following in my two older brother’s footsteps. for playing football, American football, in college at that time. So I just saw myself as following their path and going to play college football. And that’s what I was chasing throughout high school. Bill Gasiamis (02:09)How long ago was that? The stroke? Benjamin Miller (02:12)It was 2017, the fall of 2017. So Bill Gasiamis (02:16)Okay. Benjamin Miller (02:16)coming up on nine years on the 22nd of September. Bill Gasiamis (02:23)I I expect that stroke is the last thing going through the mind of a sixteen year old and the family of a sixteen year old. So Benjamin Miller (02:34)Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (02:34)w do you have any recollection of what it was like on the day of the stroke? Was there some kind of sign, was there anything that gave you an inkling of something being wrong before everything happened? Benjamin Miller (02:53)maybe like right before, because just playing American football, you’re always hear about head trauma and just CTE and concussions. And that’s always the biggest worry for playing football. But it was during the game that Friday night, it was the second game of our football season. And it was in between the first quarter and second quarter. And I came over to the bench and like in between going back on the field, our coach like brings the offense or defensive units together and we like talk about any in-game adjustments and I came over and sat down on the bench and I just noticed my balance like start to tip like I was having to stare down at my feet in order to stop myself from falling over and Yeah, just from there like I like grew up in a Society like especially in football. It’s I don’t know if I surround football is the same but just no pain no gain so Bill Gasiamis (03:51)Mm-hmm. Benjamin Miller (03:51)you’re always pushing yourself to your limits and That was like a saying that I grew up in if you’re hurt you can walk off the field if you’re injured you can so unfortunately, I played until I go back on the field and The first or second play of the next series I help my teammates make a tackle. get back up to my feet and then I collapsed face first and at the ground. And from there, I, I’m able to like the trainers obviously come on the field and help me to the sideline and they’re running concussion tests, asked me, what’s your name? Where are you? What are you doing? And I’m answering every question. But even at that early stage, I mean, it was just like, that’s like when the initial carotid dissection happened. It was probably in the guy, my teammate I was playing next to actually, he went on to study pre-med and he saw my aphasia on my face and he’s told our other teammates that Ben is having a stroke, but who’s going to listen to a 17 year old kid? And like we had a team doctor on the sideline, the trainers, no one really knew what was wrong with me. They just thought it was a severe concussion. So that’s what it was treated as. So I spent probably 20 to 30 more minutes on the sideline. And before I was, yeah, it was just like a, just a failure on the part of the adults around me at that time. And yeah. Bill Gasiamis (05:28)Yeah, rough. The dissection that happened do you think it might have been from a collision during the game or what what’s the thinking behind the cause of the stroke? Benjamin Miller (05:42)Yeah, that’s something like a question that I’ve like both my parents and myself as I’ve always had, but it just never could be answered. Whether it was just from like one hit. saw a chiropractor for the first time at the beginning of that week, like the Monday before the injury. So maybe like a neck adjustment caused it or maybe like it could have been genetic. So like that’s what my parents’ biggest concern was, was having my two older brothers still playing college football at that time. That if it’s genetic, is there a chance that it can happen to our two other sons? But they Bill Gasiamis (06:19)Yeah. Benjamin Miller (06:20)just… Bill Gasiamis (06:21)Sorry, Ben, I was gonna say yeah, it I know what you mean about genetic in that sometimes people’s carotid arteries for no reason do dissect. and sometimes I’ve heard the connection with chiropractic, there’s been a few well, it’s very well documented people going for adjustments. The thing about the adjustment is it’s never known whether or not the person was feeling something in their neck because of a dissection. They went to the chiropractor, they had an adjustment, and then it caused the situation to get worse, or do you know what I mean? Like it may not have totally been linked, but I get that. I’ve met people who have had dissections who had no injury, had no adjustment, They just had a dissection. So that’s a thing. when you went to the chiropractor for the neck adjustment the week before, was it because you had an issue that you needed to deal with? Was there some kind of pain that you were experiencing? Benjamin Miller (07:29)Yeah, I mean, I was actually dealing with lower back pain. So one of my teammates recommended me to a chiropractic, but he adjusted my whole back all the way up to my neck. So it wasn’t like, I wasn’t going there for a neck adjustment, but he just happened to do one while I was in there. Bill Gasiamis (07:47)Yeah, which is pretty standard procedure for a chiropractor. If you go there, you get your neck adjusted. Okay. so then you’re sitting on the sideline for another twenty or thirty minutes, and then what happens? How do they finally decide something’s not right? The Day of the Stroke Benjamin Miller (08:06)Yeah, so just after that time period, the team doctor called my parents down to like in Texas, like we play in like massive stadiums even as kids. So he called my parents down to like the railing of the stands to the field and told my parents to bring our family car so they could take me to a local clinic. And as I’m walking out of the stadium, I Like there’s like a incline up to get out of the stadium because it’s kind of like a bowl shaped and I can’t walk up like a 15 degree incline. Like I started like tipping over to my right side. So then they have to bring a athletic cart. They sit me in the cart and there’s like a trainer sitting behind me, holding me upright so I don’t slump out the side of the cart. And it was probably like a 15 meter ride to my parents’ car. And my parents saw me from there and drove me straight to the emergency room at a bigger hospital. And from there I was, I would say in the emergency room prior for like two, three hours and they were running CT scans of my like base of my skull up. So they didn’t see the actual carotid. Bill Gasiamis (09:16)What Benjamin Miller (09:17)Yeah. So it was like with everything, how everything happened, like I’m so lucky to be here and be able to move and be able to speak and. But yeah. So then probably I probably got hurt around. 8 p.m. and it was around 12 a.m. where they finally called downtown to the bigger hospital in Houston, downtown Houston and a neurosurgeon on call that night said he’s having a he had a carotid artery dissection so then they life flighted me down and on the life flight down to Houston to downtown that’s when I lost consciousness in the helicopter so Bill Gasiamis (09:54)Mm. And then at some point you wake up in hospital, Benjamin Miller (10:00)Yeah, I woke up in the ICU probably, this happened Friday night, I would say maybe Monday morning. So I was unconscious for a couple days. Bill Gasiamis (10:11)Mm-hmm. And then after that, what are you dealing with? You wake up, you’re told you’ve had a dissection, a stroke, and then what are you dealing with physically? What’s not happening for your body? Benjamin Miller (10:28)lost all use of the right side of my body. So it was just immediately starting rehab, rehab. And Bill Gasiamis (10:36)Mm-hmm. Benjamin Miller (10:37)yeah, I mean, I was just going from like being on the verge of being a higher level athlete to my right side, going back to like, I was always describing it as like a newborn. Bill Gasiamis (10:49)Mm-hmm. Benjamin Miller (10:49)I didn’t know how as a 16 year old to really handle that. I mean, it took like In the beginning, it was easy because I was so focused. Like I believed I was going to play American football again. So I was just like so committed to the rehab and doing therapy multiple times a day and just really just with that goal of getting back on the field. So the really the early days are really driven by that want to get back on the football field. The Loss of Identity Bill Gasiamis (11:20)Was there a moment you had the realisation that it’s not going to happen and what was that like? Benjamin Miller (11:27)Yeah, probably in June of 2018, I had a follow up with my neurosurgeon and before we went in to go see him, because I was supposed to, I got hurt September of 2017. So about nine months later and my parents sat me down and told me, Ben, when we go see your neurosurgeon tomorrow, he’s going to tell you after retire. And that was, yeah, that was like a very, I didn’t know how to deal with that as a 17 year old. Like very soon after that I fell into alcohol use and then, yeah, just progressed from there. Bill Gasiamis (12:04)Got it. And by nine months later, were you up on your feet? Had you recovered the deficits or were they still there? Benjamin Miller (12:15)Yeah, I mean, I was lucky that I was 16. So my brain was still very plastic and I recovered like really I was in a wheelchair for the first day. Like September 23rd, I was in a wheelchair. I mean, like probably like just one day after. And then I was up and walking on day two and just like my strike pattern of the ground wasn’t correct. Like I would swing my leg and have drop foot as many stroke people patients suffer with. but I wasn’t gonna let the stroke, like the people around me seeing me as still struggling from the stroke. So even like the early days in the hospital, I just hide it from everyone. Anytime my parents or my friends or anybody, my brothers would ask, how am I doing? I just tell them, I’m okay, I’m fine. You don’t need to worry about me. Which then led to me needing to find a release in alcohol later on the line, so. Bill Gasiamis (13:10)The whole I’m fine, you don’t need to worry about me was so that you can convince yourself perhaps and them that you’re good to go, you’re ready to just slide back into life exactly the way that you were. Benjamin Miller (13:24)That’s definitely it. Bill Gasiamis (13:27)Yeah. But you clearly weren’t okay if you’re we’ll talk about the alcohol in a moment, but you’re clearly not okay. What are you experiencing psychologically or emotionally that you’re hiding from them? Like what’s actually happening in that moment? Benjamin Miller (13:44)Yeah, Maybe just. It was more so from the retirement from football. It felt like when I was told that by my father that. It felt like my soul was torn in half, because like I always saw myself as a student athlete and the bigger part of that was the athlete. And now I lost half of my identity and. I just didn’t know how to as a. 17 year old now like how to move forward with life and I didn’t know who I was and the only thing I defined myself as was taken away from me and along Bill Gasiamis (14:21)Mm. Benjamin Miller (14:22)with like missing a whole semester of school. It was just like I just stopped caring about school too. So now I was just like in this weird place where I felt like I was drowning on a day-to-day basis. Bill Gasiamis (14:36)Setback after setback. It’s not that you become unwell and then you wake up in the morning and you just can’t play football. It’s also you’ve missed school, so you’re gonna go back and probably repeat that. Your friends have moved on. They’re doing what you know, seventeen year olds do, playing football, going out, doing their studies, who knows what they’re doing. You’re You have to pick up the pieces and there’s a lot of pieces to pick up, right? There’s so much. The alcohol did it was it something that you did before this incident in in that had you as a sixteen year old had alcohol before? I know most kids would have at some point in America, in Australia, by the time they’re sixteen, they’ve had a drink. Had you had a drink before that? Benjamin Miller (15:29)I didn’t actually just with the role models that my brothers were, were very straight edge guys, like just focused on the goal of Bill Gasiamis (15:38)Mm-hmm. Benjamin Miller (15:39)college football. And so like I was very much the same way, but after just the injury, being around my friends and not having like those same like level of role models in the same house that I fell into the, just down the wrong path. I won’t. say it’s my friend’s fault because it was… Bill Gasiamis (15:59)Yeah. Benjamin Miller (16:00)yeah, but it was… Bill Gasiamis (16:03)Sounds like it’s still tough talking about it. Benjamin Miller (16:07)Yeah, at times. Like sometimes it’s easier, sometimes… Bill Gasiamis (16:12)Hmm. With the I’m not sure. I’ve never I’ve drank and I’ve drank a lot to be drunk and I’ve drank too much where I’m completely gone and I don’t drink since the stroke. What’s the what’s it helping you do when you have a drink? Is it helping you forget? Is it helping the emotional part of it? What is it kind of putting a cloud over or And kind of stopping from coming forward. Coping Mechanisms: Alcohol and Escapism Benjamin Miller (16:46)Yeah, it was just, I mean, I would drink to escape, to be honest. It was just like my way to stop feeling the stress of how much I have to recover, the stress of how do I get back? How do I show people that I’m fine, that the stroke didn’t affect me? And it was just like a couple hours out of the night where I could just not feel any of the stress of me trying to hide the… Just the emotional pain of not knowing who I was and not knowing how to move forward with my life without football, without sports, without like the level of a student I used to be because I was just very, I was a perfectionist growing up and had to make the best grades in class, had to be the best on the football field, had to be just the strongest in the weight room. So I just didn’t know how to move forward without. trying to show everyone I’m still this perfect version of myself and just as Ben, the not perfect kid, the one who’s still fighting from what Bill Gasiamis (17:51)Mm. Benjamin Miller (17:51)he’s been through, but he’s not perfect anymore, even though. Bill Gasiamis (17:55)You never were perfect, but you at least were more capable of pulling off the facade, you know, because you did have good grades, because you were an athlete, because you always worked on improving things. So the th the the time that you were drinking gave you a little bit of relief from all the things that were kind of happening. in your head that you needed to kind of quieten down. And then did that escalate? Did it go from a small amount to a larger amount and then and then kind of how bad did it get? Benjamin Miller (18:38)Yeah, I mean, over my senior year of high school, it did escalate to abuse. I go solely on the weekends, like Friday night, Saturday night. But then beginning university and the fall of 2019, it was five, six nights a week. I would be drinking till I would be most nights just blocking out. So I didn’t remember what happened the night before. And then even waking up in the morning, it was. That’s the only thing I could think about was just making it back, getting through class, making it back to the nights where I could drink till I wouldn’t feel anything. And that continued through the end of 2019 and into the beginning of 2020, I joined a fraternity. And that’s when I noticed myself like really start to spiral, started to get into, like tried cocaine a couple of times, like was still drinking every night. And like that’s why COVID was like a lifesaver for me. that I could go home and, you know, because like I was on a very bad path at school. Bill Gasiamis (19:45)So you’re already heavy drinker, then you join a fraternity. Benjamin Miller (19:50)you Bill Gasiamis (19:51)You’re the perfect candidate for being in an in a fraternity, right? And you Benjamin Miller (19:55)Yeah, it was a mess. Bill Gasiamis (19:57)can yeah, you can see why that would escalate it because already the culture is about drinking, about partying, about being loose or crazy or whatever. And it makes sense that it would escalate and get really bad and get worse and then you try other things. And then COVID happens. And then that gives it the opportunity to have a bit of a break in the cycle. Benjamin Miller (20:27)Mm-hmm. Bill Gasiamis (20:28)Your studies up until COVID, even though you were drinking heavily and probably parting too hard, were the studies being affected or were you still able to put out good work? Benjamin Miller (20:42)I won’t say good work, but just grades that were good enough. Like not failing classes, but not excelling. just like Bill Gasiamis (20:49)Mm-hmm. Benjamin Miller (20:50)B’s and C’s, maybe one or two A’s. just like for like the stand, like my perfection standards that I used to have, like just like kind of skating by. Bill Gasiamis (21:02)I l I love the sound B’s and C’s skating by. Dude, if I was getting B’s and C’s when I was at school, my God, that would be amazing. but I it gives me a good insight into like what the expectation of yourself is. I totally get it. Okay. So you’re skating by, you’re getting your grades. Does anyone n realize how bad things are? Like people in your periphery, your family going Ben, we’re concerned about you. We think we need to talk. Was it any of that stuff or were you hiding it? Benjamin Miller (21:36)I was very good at hiding it from everybody. really like, I didn’t let anybody at that point, like that early on in the journey, like anybody see what was going on underneath. Cause I didn’t understand it I didn’t have the ability to verbalize what I was going through emotionally, what I was going through mentally. So it’s like at that point I was even hidden from myself. I’d go that far. Bill Gasiamis (22:02)Wow. You had to saved yourself in thinking that everything is normal, perhaps. Benjamin Miller (22:07)Yeah, I just thought like the more time that goes by like Everything will be okay without me having to do anything especially like at that time COVID-19: A Blessing in Disguise Bill Gasiamis (22:17)Mm-hmm. And then COVID happens. Why is that a blessing in disguise? How did it change things for you? And then we’ll talk about what what you have to deal with after that. But at the ma in that moment COVID comes along and it changes something for the better. Benjamin Miller (22:37)Yeah, in March of 2020, I go back to Houston from I was at school in Chicago, Illinois. And from there, it’s just like just being at home with my both my brothers are back at home and in our old house. It was just nice the first time since like 2016 since my oldest brother left for school. That we’re all together again, and I could just get out of that environment that I knew I was spiraling and I still wasn’t in a better place at home. I’ll still. struggling with like I started using performance-answersing drugs at the beginning of that year too. Just to, I thought that if I big, like built my muscle and strong, like really strong, that my effects from the stroke would also heal. So I just spent like two, an hour to two hours every day in the gym just, yeah, just like over that period of time from March of 2022, December of 2020. just going to the gym every day and just trying to put on as much muscle as possible because I thought that would help me heal. And yeah, it didn’t. Bill Gasiamis (23:52)It didn’t Did you get bigger? Benjamin Miller (23:56)Yeah, I mean, I was I don’t know. And I would say I got up to like 100 kilos, like 220 Bill Gasiamis (24:02)Okay. Benjamin Miller (24:02)pounds. Bill Gasiamis (24:04)Yeah. So you got bigger you achieved that thing, so visually it may have looked like you were achieving something, but you didn’t feel better. So Benjamin Miller (24:15)So. Bill Gasiamis (24:16)what what did it feel like still? What does it feel like in your body when you’re gone back home, everyone’s together, you’re hitting the gym, you’re using performance enhancing drugs. What does that feel like? Does it feel like a letdown, a disappointment, or I’m not quite there yet? What what does it feel like? Benjamin Miller (24:37)I would say like, I’m not quite there yet. Like just always chasing a ever moving goal that like, as soon as it got closer, just like move further away. But I never like step back to like actually look at what I was chasing and realize that’s not what I’m supposed to be chasing. I need to be just turning around to my internal world and focus on healing myself from the inside out versus trying to do all this, put on another mask. do another substance, put another thing in my body, chase another goal, external goal, to try to heal versus turning around and looking inside. So that took many years. Bill Gasiamis (25:19)Hmm. I love that flip that you said healing from the inside out instead of putting on another mask. And that’s really profound to get to that stage where you when you realize that. and at the same time when you were hitting the gym, getting bigger, your right side, is that feeling different? Do you have deficits on that side still? Benjamin Miller (25:47)Yeah, I would say at that time, yes, I was still very tight through my whole right arm and right leg. Still, like anytime I went up a stair, I got hit my right foot on the top of the step. So it was like, and I just thought the more like just being a no pain, no gain mindset stuff, I’m in pain Bill Gasiamis (26:08)Mm-hmm. Benjamin Miller (26:08)and I’m going to be recovering. I’m going to be gaining. And yeah, it just was. And like the more muscle I put on the tighter it became because just the range of motion wasn’t right through my shoulder and through my hip. I was still swinging my leg, still shoulder hiked forward versus like pulling it back and letting gravity work, like working with gravity instead of fighting it. So that was. Bill Gasiamis (26:33)Yeah. Yeah. I know what you mean because when I’ve been to the gym after the stroke, it’s I I tend to kinda achieve one thing and then the muscles get so tight that I’ve got to go and have a massage and try and loosen them up and try and get them moving again. And then it’s like that one two day recovery after you do your arms, for example, and your chest takes four or five days and it’s like back at the gym already. And I still haven’t overcome or recovered from four days ago. And it’s really challenging and frustrating. It kind of makes it kind of makes it harder to go back to the gym. You’re all I’m always thinking about, I’m gonna go there and it’s I’m gonna just tighten everything up and I’m gonna put myself in that situation and it’s not gonna recover. And I’m gonna have to get massage again. And it’s just this whole loop of. It’s very it’s very helpful, but it’s also something that has to be managed completely differently than it used to when you go to the gym and you recovered for two days and then you’re back again. and before we move on to the kind of the next phase of the conversation, I also wanna kinda understand this perfectionism in you on the field, off the field field, at school. Where did that come from? What Do you have like a sense of how that started and why it was a thing that you adopted and ran with? Benjamin Miller (28:12)I would say that just watching my two older brothers grow up and seeing like in my like kid eyes, they were like the perfect human being, like the perfect role models. Like I just tried to be like them in every way. And I always thought that they were like so up here and like, didn’t know like, I was three years and two years younger than them. So they hit puberty before me. just at the time that my oldest brother, Alex left for school, I would still be like, at his like chest level, always like looking up to them. So they were just like gods in my head. And I always would ask myself, how do I measure up to them? And because they were perfect in my eyes. So was like, I to be above perfect to The Journey of Healing Begins Bill Gasiamis (28:57)Mm-hmm. Benjamin Miller (28:57)be recognized as like their brothers. I got, it’s like always the bar I was chasing and yeah. Bill Gasiamis (29:08)And now you know they weren’t perfect, they were just bigger and older than you by three years and two years. Yeah. so then you have this realization that the healing has to start from the inside, but that’s gotta Benjamin Miller (29:26)Mm-hmm. Bill Gasiamis (29:26)be is that a relief that you work that out? Is that what what am I gonna do now? How how do you gr grapple with that? Benjamin Miller (29:37)Yeah, I’d say like, I had the, I know if I hit rock bottom, but I had to go even lower before I came to that realization. So I mean, yeah, like 2021 was probably the one of the lower lowest points. So it’s a, so like going back to school in January of 2021, I got into stimulant use at the same time as the performance enhancing drugs at the same time as alcohol and then marijuana came into the picture too. So I was just using like a cocktail of drugs just to get through a day. And I ended up that winter quarter, I did make the Dean’s List at school. was like the top performer, but I remember just like looking at that email and like, I have like all the external achievement again. And I was even more, like I was lower. I got a lower place emotionally and mentally and like felt so empty inside that I knew that this isn’t what I’m supposed to be doing at this point in time. So I went on medical leave from school like pretty soon after that. And that’s where I would say where the healing process really began was in the summer of 2021. And yeah, I mean, it’s been, I thought it’d take like in the beginning, the healing process would be like six months, but it’s been around five years that it’s taken me to be honest. So four years of just. sliding down and I would say like I might have like and like the healing process too has been like trying to make it up and then still falling and going back up. So it’s never a straight line for Bill Gasiamis (31:19)Never linear. Benjamin Miller (31:20)me a long time to recognize that let’s focus on the trend. Bill Gasiamis (31:25)Never linear man, far out. you you still make it on the Dean’s list, that’s cool. But I I get like it even under duress, you know, you still make it on the Dean’s list. And then you have this realization and it’s like you hear that analogy, you know, things are gotta get worse before they get better. Benjamin Miller (31:48)Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (31:50)Dude, like how much worse can they get? Why should they get worse? Why can’t we just start improving from here? But is it’s for you the worst part? Was it about reconstructing from the beginning and then you therefore you have to get to the bottom because you can’t kind of reconstruct from b you know, above the bottom? Facing Uncomfortable Emotions Benjamin Miller (32:13)Hmm. Yeah, I mean, I would say in a way like I would say like the first over that summer of 2021, I just focused on like I was doing a lot like yoga almost every day, and that was the first time I started meditating in my life and working on like that’s really where my rehab started was just a lot of breath work, a lot of meditation, a lot of yoga, just to. begin to be able to sit with the emotions and the mental states that I couldn’t tolerate. And like at that early point in time, I still couldn’t tolerate it. still like so uncomfortable that I still had to go use marijuana just to get through the days. But it was just the beginning of that process of being able to tolerate what I had been running from through alcohol, through stimulants, through performance enhancing drugs for so long that like I was still inputting a substance into my body, but I could begin that process of sitting with it, even if it was for a minute. And those early days, two minutes, three minutes became 10, 15, 20, which then continued to expand longer. And the more just times I came back to sitting with those uncomfortable states. Bill Gasiamis (33:26)Yeah, wha what is it about being uncomfortable that people can’t handle? Do you think maybe you can tell me from your perspective? because you hear that, it’s almost ridiculous to hear somebody saying, I have a thought, it’s making me uncomfortable, I have to get that thought out. Yeah, I’ve b I’ve been there, so I’m not saying that Benjamin Miller (33:47)Thank you. Bill Gasiamis (33:49)people shouldn’t be doing that, but it almost does feel crazy, doesn’t it? Because it’s a feeling and a thought that makes you uncomfortable doesn’t necessarily put you in danger. But Benjamin Miller (34:01)Mm-hmm. Bill Gasiamis (34:02)we can’t do that. Like, do you have a any inkling as to why why philosophically that might be the case? Benjamin Miller (34:13)I mean, would just like our autonomic nervous system, a danger, like a physical danger versus a mental danger. can’t, our physical body can’t tell a difference. So they’re treated the same. And I would say like this. Yeah, so like just like uncomfortable, like state of mind or uncomfortable thought. just as humans, we prefer to be in a place of comfort, a place of safety. And so anytime something is uncomfortable, we tend to run in the opposite direction back towards what is known, what is comfortable, what is safe. And it’s like, that’s something I always like ask myself, like, how do I make my, what can I do today? That’s uncomfortable, but not like to the point that I lose myself and I just go off the deep end and where I’ve been. So just like a weird and like, feel like that place changes every day. It’s just like a balance that’s always, yeah. Bill Gasiamis (35:16)I get what you’re saying. So a a thing that is scary and dangerous, a physical thing, a bear, a tiger, you run. You can run away from that. If you’re lucky, you’ll outrun it, right? And then Benjamin Miller (35:30)Thank Bill Gasiamis (35:30)you’re safe. And then there’s no bear around and there’s no tiger around. So you’re good. You’re good to go. You can just move on with life. But when the body is confusing thoughts and feelings with the same type of Imminent danger, and you can’t run away from it, and it’s still there. You have to find a way to either escape it, which is short-lived because we’re harming ourselves to escape it, or you have to remind your body and yourself, your mind, that in fact you’re not in imminent danger. There’s nothing to run away from. This is An obstacle that I can tackle and overcome. Like it might just be on the path to, you know, that walk in the wilderness instead of a bear, it’s actually just a fallen log. A tree fowl, it’s an obstacle. I’ve just got to find a way around it, under it, over it, whatever. And if you’ve never used that muscle, then you don’t know how to do it. And then you get stuck behind something like a log that should not be as debilitating as it is. It should be something that you can find a way over. At 16, that’s understandable that, you know, most people haven’t dealt with real exponential life problems, you know, that just keep getting worse and worse. That changes your identity. They haven’t dealt with that. So they haven’t developed the skill. So could it just have been a case of you were a little premature? just from age an age perspective that y all you needed to worry about was playing football and and and studying and now you’ve got to deal with these existential issues, you know, that most people aren’t equipped to deal with at sixteen. Benjamin Miller (37:38)Yeah, mean, yeah, that’s like one thing in March of 2018. So about six months after my stroke, my mom took me to a neurosurgeon and he said, the good thing is that Ben is young and the bad thing is that Ben is young. And both of us didn’t really understand what he meant at that point in time, but just like the spiritual and existential journey that the stroke has taken me on. It’s that’s like been like both like the scariest and most comforting piece of the journey. Just because like I was never a spiritual person and not like in terms of religion, but just like believing in something higher, something bigger than me, some energy source that’s larger than us as human beings. And that’s been like the most like the biggest part of the journey, like the emotional side, the mental side, the physical side, we’re all. And like, I’m still on those journeys, but just like the spiritual side of it has been, yeah, just something I wasn’t expecting. Spiritual Awakening Through Adversity Bill Gasiamis (38:45)Yeah. It is kinda good that you discovered it early, but the path to discovering it is, man, so hard to have to go through what you went through to to have these learnings and understandings. and then to learn that if you tackle the thing that you’re most afraid of, you can actually conquer it. You can overcome it. Benjamin Miller (39:10)Mm-mm. Bill Gasiamis (39:11)And If you get good at doing that, you can overcome most things. And you can also recognise when it’s time to live in the pain and discomfort, the suffering, whatever it is, to live in it temporarily and then Benjamin Miller (39:27)Thank Bill Gasiamis (39:29)r find a way through. What other than yoga and meditation, what else was it that helped you go on this other journey, this recovery or growth journey. Benjamin Miller (39:45)I would say there were a couple things. I don’t know if you ever heard about internal family systems. It’s Bill Gasiamis (39:50)No, tell Benjamin Miller (39:54)a theory from Dr. Richard Schwartz. He wrote the book, No Bad Parts. And that was in 2022 after going on another medical leave from school when I first discovered that book. And it was just talking about the different parts of the mind, like, and how different we get stuck through our history at different points in our life. The Power of Breath and Movement And we have to like there are parts of our brain like different voices like speaking to each other and they are some are trying to protect us some are trying to move us forward some are trying to keep us where we are and it just like developing a conversation between those parts because there was a lot of traumas I suffered from the stroke and being in the hospital and then just like post stroke to just like trying to hide my spasticity. from everyone, not showing my parents, not showing my friends, not showing anybody I was struggling at all. And just starting to understand the different voices in my head and even the young perfectionist Ben could always be trying to push me to be beyond perfect and just beginning to have a conversation between those different voices in my head and allowing them to speak instead of just repressing emotions, repressing, repressing until they’re like. bubble up and I need to go get drunk or high or need to use something just to survive during the day. And the biggest other big piece for me was I started to practice Tai Chi in 2022 and that was as big of it physically was for me. It was just as big spiritually. Just that’s what I, when I first learned just like the… how to start being like water and going with what is today and not trying to force. Yeah, just like force myself to be able to do every single Tai Chi movement and, but yeah, and that’s like still a thing I struggle with is like this past month, I pushed myself too hard in the gym and now have tendonitis in my right ankle. So I haven’t been able to train for the past two weeks and it’s frustrating, but it’s just like, I can look at it as a frustration or just something to learn from. And I can recognize I wasn’t being like water over the past month. Instead of resting immediately, I just let the injury build and build and build day by day until now I can’t train. So yeah, but the Tai Chi, like the breathing, the Tai Chi breathing technique. So that was like another thing. It’s like yogic breathing. You inhale and expand your belly. Then when you exhale, you contract. But in Tai Chi, it was as you inhale, you contract. And as you exhale, expand. So that was like something I was never aware of. So like whenever I’m meditating now or just like trying to relax, I’ll do a yogic breathing. And whenever I’m like doing something active, working out on a walk or just like moving around, like I’ll be like Tai Chi breathing. So that’s something I got to work with stroke patients in 2023 than last year and earlier this year. And I got something like I always stress with them was learning how to breathe because like I feel like as we never actually learn how to breathe it’s just like something we do unconsciously from the time we’re born and just like going back to that most basic step of being a living being of learning how to breathe I was like Bill Gasiamis (43:24)I it sounds like it was real insightful. A lot of people breathe incorrectly as well, and they haven’t realized that shallow breathing, you know, or the opposite of shallow breathing and therefore it puts them into a different physiological state. You know, shallow breathing can create anxious experiences and then and then the opposite can create hyperventilation, those types of experiences. So it’s like you can alter how you feel, even if your goal is to not worry about the thinking, or even if your goal is not about what you’ve been suppressing, even if you just get rid of all of the things that we could possibly help us resolve or overcome or grow from or be like water, even if we get rid of all of that and you just change your breath. And jumped on a YouTube video and found somebody that was doing a calm meditation for whatever purpose. And even if you just did that and you had no other agenda other than to just experience a different breath right, you Benjamin Miller (44:39)Thank you. Bill Gasiamis (44:40)some people will have a profound experience from doing that, wouldn’t they? Benjamin Miller (44:45)Yeah, I 100 % agree. I just, I know to this like, yeah, I say that’s just like where it started was just like the recovery journey for me started with my breath work and relearning how to breathe and just like learning a bunch of different techniques of breathing and just like seeing what worked best at what times and it’s just like a trial and error type. Just as like life after a stroke is, feels like you’re just trying things out and see what sticks, see what doesn’t. And tomorrow’s a new day. We’ll see if this still works today. And then if it doesn’t, we’ll find something else that just. Bill Gasiamis (45:24)Yeah. Curiosity seems to be a massive Benjamin Miller (45:28)Mm. Bill Gasiamis (45:29)thing for you right now. Is we’ll try this, see what happens, try this, see what happens, see what sticks. If it doesn’t stick, well then we’ll just move on. Tai Chi, how did you stumble across that? Like what made you start trying it? Benjamin Miller (45:44)I was seeing an acupuncturist in Houston actually when I came home on a medical leave and he recommended me to his Sifu or teacher and his teacher had from chemotherapy because he had cancer but he would get like the toast plasticity and he like so I knew he understood like the first time I walked in to meet him we were at a coffee shop and he told me you look calm cool and collected but I can tell you’re a raging fire on the inside. I’m like, okay, he just walked past every mask, everything I tried to show to the public and he could see what, how I actually feel. So it was just like that instant connection. And from there he started to train me. Like I could go to his house and we train in a private session twice a week for like a year really. Like I still practice every day by myself, but he just was the first person that I didn’t have to wear like this fake face to. And I could like go in and like, it was like more like talk therapy. Like we’d be doing Tai Chi, but I could just like tell him I was really feeling that I was still struggling with marijuana at that time. This was around 2023. And that was like the biggest thing like in my substance recovery journey was what he told me. He’s like, I don’t care what you do outside of. this training, but the fact that you’re showing up here today shows me that you’re trying to move in the right direction. And I know that the fact that you’re still showing up, that you will be eventually moving in the right direction. Don’t worry about where you are today. Just focus on where you’re going and the trend of months, years, and especially in substance use. you get, I mean, in stroke too, you get so caught up in the day today. Bill Gasiamis (47:35)Yeah. Building Community in Recovery Benjamin Miller (47:35)How am I gonna survive today? And just to start looking more long-term was a very, it’s a very hard. Yeah, it’s so hard. Bill Gasiamis (47:46)I love I love the acknowledgement of right now you’re in Tai Chi. Everything’s fine. You’re doing great. It shows me that you’re moving forward. And people forget to do that to themselves as well. Like how far have I come? Six months ago, I wasn’t walk walking. Six months ago, I couldn’t speak the way I’m speaking now. Even if it’s not perfect, it has changed. There’s signs of improvement. And all that kind of thing. It’s kind of the same conversation that you had with your trainer who was just saying, Yeah, we’re here, we’re doing it. And that’s another rep that is going to benefit you down the track. If it doesn’t feel like it’s benefiting you now, that doesn’t matter. It matters that you’re here and that you’re putting the work in and you’re turning up and the whole lot matters. one of the interesting funny things that came up in my head about Tai Chi, it’s a martial art, right? And Benjamin Miller (48:50)Mm-hmm. Bill Gasiamis (48:52)and there was a meme on one of the socials where somebody was walking down the street and they were mugged and during the mugging they broke out into Tai Chi you know, to defend themselves or to stop the person stealing their bag. It was the epitome of you know like it’s probably not useful to stop the guy but calming Benjamin Miller (49:19)Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (49:21)and getting yourself grounded and being okay about it was just a real cool thing to sort of to sort of see in that in that moment in that in that time it is a it’s a it’s a it’s a martial art but for a different purpose. It’s not for defending yourself or taking somebody down. It’s the exact opposite of what you were doing on the field as well. Benjamin Miller (49:53)just felt like refinding yourself in like the chaos of everyday life. That’s like how I describe it. Like it just allows you to come back to like your center line and just, just be. like, it’s like thinking of the Tai Chi versus a robber. Like that’s why I continued like from Tai Chi. started to go, I lived in Thailand in 2024 for a couple of months and train Muay Thai. as like the next stage to go from like super slow to start speeding everything up. And I was lucky enough to go live in up in Northern Thailand and Chiang Mai and train Muay Thai for a couple of months and have been back. And yeah, I’m actually going, my mom and I are to Bhutan where my mom is from at the end of October. And then I’ll go spend a little bit of time in Thailand before I come back home. So. Yeah, life is… Bill Gasiamis (50:51)I I I think about people going in practicing getting in the ring, MMA, Muay Thai, all that kind of stuff. It’s like, dude, how can you do it? How can you get in the ring and know that you’re going to get hurt? Benjamin Miller (51:09)I don’t, I won’t fight. just like, sparring is like very like just tap sparring. So it gets like all timing and rhythm, but Bill Gasiamis (51:17)Yeah. Benjamin Miller (51:17)like I had to retire from contact sports. So it’s just like more of like a therapeutic, like Bill Gasiamis (51:22)Okay. Benjamin Miller (51:23)beating my body up and learning how to throw kicks with both my right leg and left leg, throwing Bill Gasiamis (51:27)Okay. Benjamin Miller (51:28)punches. So yeah, I’m not going to go fight. Bill Gasiamis (51:31)I okay, good. That’s fine. I mean, even if you did, that’s fine as well. But that’s immediately when I what I went to when you said Moi Toy, like I’ve seen those dudes, they’re mental and amazing athletes, but they hurt themselves. And I saw how can you put yourself in that kind of danger? Even though that’s what you’re training to do. It my mind doesn’t go there, you know, it can’t physically make me do that. Of course I’ve defended myself in fights before if I’ve needed to. not as a fifty year old, but I probably still could, but getting in the ring is a completely different thing. So you’re not getting in the ring. That’s cool. so you worked with stroke survivors. How did that come about? Why did that come about? Benjamin Miller (52:19)Yeah. I was, like a guinea pig, like early patient at a stroke clinic in the Netherlands. And I, my, one of my mentors who’s co-owner of this clinic, Linda Radezdad, she wrote two books now, Stroke Rebell, Bill Gasiamis (52:37)Yeah. Benjamin Miller (52:38)Stroke Rebell 2, and just had the ability to go there and attend the clinic. And while I was there, I mean, they treated me like family. It was the first time, this was in 2022, so about four and a half years since my stroke, the first time I ran in four and a half years. And they just wanted me to come back and volunteer at their clinic. Cause I opened another one in Cyprus and that they just did last year one in South Carolina in the U S and then earlier this year in Florida. So I got to go out to Cyprus in 2023, then South Carolina last year, then Florida at the beginning of this year. And they just, mean, they just always treated me like family. And I’ve been so grateful for her and her partner, our young Kipers. Both of them have treated me like their own son, invited me into their house. I stayed with them after Cyprus, going back where they live in Germany and got to go to the clinic with them every day for two weeks while I stayed with them. And yeah, I I don’t know what I’d Bill Gasiamis (53:45)Yeah. How amazing. Benjamin Miller (53:47)do, but. Bill Gasiamis (53:48)I’ve heard of Linda and her partner. I’ve heard of them for many years and I don’t really understand what they do. Linda had a stroke, is that right? Benjamin Miller (53:58)She had two strokes in 2017 and at the beginning of 2018 I want to Drunk. Bill Gasiamis (54:03)Uhhuh. Okay. And now they run is it retreats? Are these clinics full time? and d do they see only stroke survivors or do they see all sorts of people? Benjamin Miller (54:16)I know Arjan when he ran his chiropractic clinic in Zutphen, the Netherlands, it was like he would see people with TBIs and strokes and just anything brain related. But now I think they’re focused on strokes and they host like two week retreats multiple times a year. I don’t know their website, but Yeah, they do them in Cyprus and Sweden in the summer. And then now they’re starting in the U S so it’s. Yeah, I don’t know what their end goal is, like how like what’s next for them, but I know they’re retreat. Like at least when I went in 2022, it was like. The amount of attention I got for. 14 days straight was nothing I’d ever experienced in any hospital or any. outpatient or inpatient rehab. It was something that I’ll forever be grateful for them for. But Arjan Bill Gasiamis (55:16)What’s the Benjamin Miller (55:18)just wrote his book. I couldn’t tell you the name of it, but Arjan Kuyper’s. Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (55:25)Yeah, we’ll look it up. what did you gain from it, that first r retreat that you attended after fourteen days? W when you left, what did you feel like you left with? Finding Belonging and Understanding Benjamin Miller (55:39)I’d say the biggest thing was just like the mental and emotional piece that I didn’t feel alone for the first time in five years. I felt like I could walk into that clinic and just be Benjamin the stroke patient and not Ben this other guy that Ben this party kid and college Ben this wannabe bodybuilder. But I could just be the stroke patient who doesn’t know what he’s doing and just wants to recover further, but doesn’t know how to move forward. Yeah, that was like the biggest thing for me was just finding like a group of people for the first time in four and a half years. Bill Gasiamis (56:19)Yeah. I know that feeling of almost like belonging, but being understood and not needing to pretend and all that. That’s so good when you go into a room where people have been through what you’ve been through. It’s completely different because they get it and you don’t even have to talk. You just know that they get it and they know you. and it’s interesting that you said like what you got out of it was Like all emotional and kind of more more along the lines of things that are unspoken rather than I walked out better or I my muscle was better or this was better or that was better. That’s definitely a goal. That’s definitely something to work towards and always find a way to try and optimize. But you’re talking about I I left feeling better, thinking better, clearly more understood, more all these things. People don’t realize that the gravity of that experience and how profound li i it can change their life and put it on a different trajectory in a good way. Benjamin Miller (57:35)Yeah, I would say like even going back and volunteering, like helping work with stroke patients. It was the first time many of them would be around a group of people who they could just be themselves. could just like, they could struggle together. They could celebrate their wins, little wins together. Cause like, just like watching people walk for the first time. And I don’t know how like probably since their stroke and it was just, yeah. And like, they like just felt like, the level of community that they’d build and even though they’d known each other for one week, two weeks, so it was a really beautiful thing just to watch humans, like human beings in that way. Just like how I, I know how isolating at post stroke it can feel that no one understands like why me? And then just seeing people who feel the way that we felt and then finding that same level of community and home. Bill Gasiamis (58:31)Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. so it’s twenty twenty six, we’re near the end of twenty twenty six. How are you these days? How are you feeling? Benjamin Miller (58:42)Yeah, doing, I mean, been really well, to be honest. Had a great summer, great spring, just really on a upward trajectory right now. I wrote my memoir, Ed and I, available on YouTube and am working on self-publishing my workbook that I kind of built over these years called Self-Healing. Creating a Path for Self-Healing Just like a, I want it to be like a pocket size guide that can take anywhere. And just for anybody who just after for myself being through too many psychologists and psychiatrists to count on my hands and toes, that I just wanted to create a all inclusive guide to what helped me recover mentally and emotionally and be able to integrate. Like, I don’t think recovery is just like. You’re not recovered, you’re broken, then you’re healed. It’s just like a constant every day, check, check, check in, check in, check in, check in. Sometimes we start off the path, then we come back. We refine our center and it just, I don’t think it’s ever just a end journey. So just kind of created a workbook off that and I’m working on a website right now to have that. And we’d like to start public speaking, least around the United States right now. And I just see where we go. Bill Gasiamis (1:00:11)Yeah, man. It’s such a good place to find yourself. And I know the feeling of leaving the psychologists behind, you know, and the counselors behind and everyone behind and saying, Well, I don’t I think I’m good. I don’t need you now. I was probably seeing a counselor from the age of about twenty seven and still do, but there are lots of gaps in between sessions now where there previously wasn’t. There needed to be more regular sessions, sometimes weekly, and then every two weeks and then monthly. and then once or twice a year. But now I’m kind of back into the regular monthly. Benjamin Miller (1:01:00)you Bill Gasiamis (1:01:01)And it’s been like that for about a year. And it’s just because life has changed. Things are different and I’m reassessing and changing direction and all that type of thing. And I need somebody who’s got my back. Not not Benjamin Miller (1:01:20)Enough. Bill Gasiamis (1:01:21)that everyone around me doesn’t have my back. They do, all my family, my wife, everyone, they’re amazing. It’s just not their job to take go on the journey with me. Like they’re doing their own thing. It’s their own journey. So I I sort of seek out support. from an independent person to just be fully even though they’re getting paid to be fully on my journey with me to support me through that. And it’s so good to be able to go back to something like that, to reach out to somebody that has been left behind for a little bit. I’m gonna venture on my own, you know, I’m a big boy now. I’m gonna go and see what the world’s like. the world has thrown me a curveball. Okay. I’m gonna manage that, but also I’m gonna reach out and get

Voices in my Head (the Rick Lee James Podcast) Episode 634: The Politics of Jesus This episode of Voices in My Head explores “The Politics of Jesus” through Mark 1:15 and the announcement that the kingdom of God has come near. Drawing on Wendell Berry's Jayber Crow and the work of John Howard Yoder, Stanley Hauerwas, and William Willimon, Chaplain Rick considers politics not simply as elections and parties, but as the way human beings learn to live together. Jesus' call to love enemies, serve rather than dominate, welcome the stranger, forgive, and care for the vulnerable becomes a vision for Christian community, especially in the hospital, where suffering strips away our labels and reminds us that every person deserves to be seen and heard. The message closes with the song “Shine a Light in the Darkness,” an invitation to choose love, blessing, and hope in a divided world.     Rick's Latest Single “Heaven Is Full of Criminals”     https://rickleejames.hearnow.com/heaven-is-full-of-criminals Connect with Rick Lee James Website: RickLeeJames.com Email: Rick@RickLeeJames.com Listen / Subscribe Subscribe, rate, and review Voices in My Head wherever you listen to podcasts. Music & Merch Bandcamp (music + merch): RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com Streaming: Search “Rick Lee James” on your favorite music platform or on Spotify https://t.co/S7nCRl0xqa Audiobook Out of the Depths: A Songwriter's Journey Through the Psalms (Audible): Audiobook Link Special Offer 10% off at Bandcamp: use code 10off at checkout RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com Hosted by Rick Lee James — Voices in My Head Podcast  

Voices in my Head (the Rick Lee James Podcast) Episode 634: The Politics of JesusThis episode of Voices in My Head explores “The Politics of Jesus” through Mark 1:15 and the announcement that the kingdom of God has come near. Drawing on Wendell Berry's Jayber Crow and the work of John Howard Yoder, Stanley Hauerwas, and William Willimon, Chaplain Rick considers politics not simply as elections and parties, but as the way human beings learn to live together. Jesus' call to love enemies, serve rather than dominate, welcome the stranger, forgive, and care for the vulnerable becomes a vision for Christian community, especially in the hospital, where suffering strips away our labels and reminds us that every person deserves to be seen and heard. The message closes with the song “Shine a Light in the Darkness,” an invitation to choose love, blessing, and hope in a divided world.Rick's Latest Single“Heaven Is Full of Criminals”https://rickleejames.hearnow.com/heaven-is-full-of-criminalsConnect with Rick Lee JamesWebsite: RickLeeJames.comEmail: Rick@RickLeeJames.comListen / SubscribeSubscribe, rate, and review Voices in My Head wherever you listen to podcasts.Music & MerchBandcamp (music + merch): RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.comStreaming: Search “Rick Lee James” on your favorite music platform or on Spotify https://t.co/S7nCRl0xqaAudiobookOut of the Depths: A Songwriter's Journey Through the Psalms (Audible):Audiobook LinkSpecial Offer10% off at Bandcamp: use code 10off at checkoutRickLeeJames.Bandcamp.comHosted byRick Lee James — Voices in My Head Podcast This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rickleejames.substack.com/subscribe

Voices in my Head (the Rick Lee James Podcast) Episode 633: Sturdy Worship Music I've been struggling to put into words why so much of the worship music I've encountered in the church, especially over the last couple of decades, leaves me unsatisfied. I think this is why. I spend my days with dying patients, grieving families, people battling addiction, loneliness, and unanswered prayers. Could the songs we sing in our worship gatherings bear the weight of those realities? Many of our songs revolve around repetitive calls to praise and focus heavily on the worshipper's actions: I sing, I praise, I shout, I declare, I come out of the grave, I dance, I get wild, etc… My concern isn't that these songs call us to worship. Scripture certainly does that. But too many of our songs seem to have very little to say beyond that call. To be fair, there are exceptions. New works from Every Moment Holy, The Porter's Gate, and CityAlight, among others, give voice to suffering, loss, doubt, and hope. They remind me that there are writers creating songs for people living through real life hardship. But those songs seem few and far between in the worship life of many congregations. The Psalms, Israel's hymn book, give us language for lament, grief, repentance, waiting, and hope. They tell the truth about life while bearing witness to God's faithfulness. I wish more of our worship music did the same. As a songwriter, when I write for congregations, I don't want to write songs that simply work in a worship set. I want to write songs that can survive in hospital rooms, in the funeral parlors, in the midst of a divorce, or in the difficult transitions of life. I want to write and sing songs that mean something when the miracle doesn't come, when suffering doesn't go away, and when death is near. We need more songs that are sturdy enough for real life. To paraphrase the apostle Paul, I have not already attained this, but I press on. I hope other writers and music leaders will too.   02YwIfJL         Rick's Latest Single “Heaven Is Full of Criminals”     https://rickleejames.hearnow.com/heaven-is-full-of-criminals Connect with Rick Lee James Website: RickLeeJames.com Email: Rick@RickLeeJames.com Listen / Subscribe Subscribe, rate, and review Voices in My Head wherever you listen to podcasts. Music & Merch Bandcamp (music + merch): RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com Streaming: Search “Rick Lee James” on your favorite music platform or on Spotify https://t.co/S7nCRl0xqa Audiobook Out of the Depths: A Songwriter's Journey Through the Psalms (Audible): Audiobook Link Special Offer 10% off at Bandcamp: use code 10off at checkout RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com Hosted by Rick Lee James — Voices in My Head Podcast

Voices in my Head (the Rick Lee James Podcast) Episode 633: Sturdy Worship MusicI've been struggling to put into words why so much of the worship music I've encountered in the church, especially over the last couple of decades, leaves me unsatisfied. I think this is why. I spend my days with dying patients, grieving families, people battling addiction, loneliness, and unanswered prayers. Could the songs we sing in our worship gatherings bear the weight of those realities? Many of our songs revolve around repetitive calls to praise and focus heavily on the worshipper's actions: I sing, I praise, I shout, I declare, I come out of the grave, I dance, I get wild, etc…My concern isn't that these songs call us to worship. Scripture certainly does that. But too many of our songs seem to have very little to say beyond that call.To be fair, there are exceptions. New works from Every Moment Holy, The Porter's Gate, and CityAlight, among others, give voice to suffering, loss, doubt, and hope. They remind me that there are writers creating songs for people living through real life hardship. But those songs seem few and far between in the worship life of many congregations.The Psalms, Israel's hymn book, give us language for lament, grief, repentance, waiting, and hope. They tell the truth about life while bearing witness to God's faithfulness. I wish more of our worship music did the same.As a songwriter, when I write for congregations, I don't want to write songs that simply work in a worship set. I want to write songs that can survive in hospital rooms, in the funeral parlors, in the midst of a divorce, or in the difficult transitions of life. I want to write and sing songs that mean something when the miracle doesn't come, when suffering doesn't go away, and when death is near. We need more songs that are sturdy enough for real life. To paraphrase the apostle Paul, I have not already attained this, but I press on. I hope other writers and music leaders will too.Rick's Latest Single“Heaven Is Full of Criminals”https://rickleejames.hearnow.com/heaven-is-full-of-criminalsConnect with Rick Lee JamesWebsite: RickLeeJames.comEmail: Rick@RickLeeJames.comListen / SubscribeSubscribe, rate, and review Voices in My Head wherever you listen to podcasts.Music & MerchBandcamp (music + merch): RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.comStreaming: Search “Rick Lee James” on your favorite music platform or on Spotify https://t.co/S7nCRl0xqaAudiobookOut of the Depths: A Songwriter's Journey Through the Psalms (Audible):Audiobook LinkSpecial Offer10% off at Bandcamp: use code 10off at checkoutRickLeeJames.Bandcamp.comHosted byRick Lee James — Voices in My Head Podcast This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rickleejames.substack.com/subscribe

WERBUNG | Teste dein Wissen und finde mehr über Akne Inversa heraus: [Link weiter unten] /WERBUNG Wir haben Grund zum Feiern: HARD BOILED kehrt in 4K zurück ins Kino. THE UPRISING - FÜR DIE FREIHEIT führt Paul Greengrass zurück ins Kino. Und BERND - OPERATION GERMANENKIND bringt mal wieder Rohheit ins deutsche Kino. Außerdem geht's noch kurz um BAD APPLES, den überraschend unterhaltsamen LIFEHACK, ein weiteres kleines Genre-Projekt aus Deutschland namens VOICES IN MY HEAD, die eigenwillige Dokumentation KITKATCLUB - KINKS OF BERLIN und um ein Jubiläum in grüner Form von SHRECK - 25 JAHRE. Darüber hinaus haben Max aka Rockstah, André und Schröck wie immer ein paar schöne Streaming- und Mediatheken-Hinweise am Start, die sich unter anderem aus PRIMITIVE WAR, RHEINGOLD oder HECTOR, DER RITTER OHNE FURCHT UND TADEL ergeben und vom BLURAY und VOD-Start zu LION FIST – KAMPF DER CHAMPIONS, dem neuen Sean David-Projekt, komplettiert werden. Gefolgt von SCHOCK, WEIRD - DIE AL YANKOVICH STORY, BÖSE SPIELE - RIMINI/SPARTA und CODE 3, die über die Internet-Auftritte von ARD und ZDF abrufbar und je nach Bereitschaft auch schwer empfehlenswert sind. Und damit wären wir dann auch für heute durch, kommen aber noch mal mit einem prallen WAS HAST DU ZULETZT GESEHEN?-XXL am Samstag zurück, um dann auch über all die Streifen zu sprechen, über die wir durch die Gamescom noch nicht reden konnten. In diesem Sinne: funkelt hell, Ihr Diamanten und bleibt bitte ansonsten so gesund wie gut drauf. Tschüss. Rocket Beans wird unterstützt von Akne Inversa. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Voices in my Head (the Rick Lee James Podcast) Episode 632: Phil Keaggy and John B. Hatch     On this episode of Voices In My Head, I'm joined by two very special guests, John B. Hatch and Phil Keaggy, to talk about one of the most remarkable albums in the history of Christian music: What A Day, by Phil Keaggy. John is the author of Oh What A Day!: Exploring the Genius of Phil Keaggy's Iconic Debut Album, a fascinating deep dive into the story, faith, influences, musicianship, and creativity behind this groundbreaking recording. As I read the book, I found myself hearing What A Day with fresh ears, and I can only imagine what it will be like for those who have loved this album for decades to hear some of the stories and musical insights John has uncovered. Today, we get to talk about the album with the person who wrote the book about it—and the person who actually created it. John B Hatch and Phil Keaggy, welcome to Voices In My Head.   Get the Book Here: https://a.co/d/02YwIfJL         Rick's Latest Single “Heaven Is Full of Criminals”     https://rickleejames.hearnow.com/heaven-is-full-of-criminals Connect with Rick Lee James Website: RickLeeJames.com Email: Rick@RickLeeJames.com Listen / Subscribe Subscribe, rate, and review Voices in My Head wherever you listen to podcasts. Music & Merch Bandcamp (music + merch): RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com Streaming: Search “Rick Lee James” on your favorite music platform or on Spotify https://t.co/S7nCRl0xqa Audiobook Out of the Depths: A Songwriter's Journey Through the Psalms (Audible): Audiobook Link Special Offer 10% off at Bandcamp: use code 10off at checkout RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com Hosted by Rick Lee James — Voices in My Head Podcast

Voices in my Head (the Rick Lee James Podcast) Episode 632: Phil Keaggy and John B. HatchOn this episode of Voices In My Head, I'm joined by two very special guests, John B. Hatch and Phil Keaggy, to talk about one of the most remarkable albums in the history of Christian music: What A Day, by Phil Keaggy. John is the author of Oh What A Day!: Exploring the Genius of Phil Keaggy's Iconic Debut Album, a fascinating deep dive into the story, faith, influences, musicianship, and creativity behind this groundbreaking recording. As I read the book, I found myself hearing What A Day with fresh ears, and I can only imagine what it will be like for those who have loved this album for decades to hear some of the stories and musical insights John has uncovered. Today, we get to talk about the album with the person who wrote the book about it—and the person who actually created it. John B Hatch and Phil Keaggy, welcome to Voices In My Head.Get the Book Here: https://a.co/d/02YwIfJLRick's Latest Single“Heaven Is Full of Criminals”https://rickleejames.hearnow.com/heaven-is-full-of-criminalsConnect with Rick Lee JamesWebsite: RickLeeJames.comEmail: Rick@RickLeeJames.comListen / SubscribeSubscribe, rate, and review Voices in My Head wherever you listen to podcasts.Music & MerchBandcamp (music + merch): RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.comStreaming: Search “Rick Lee James” on your favorite music platform or on Spotify https://t.co/S7nCRl0xqaAudiobookOut of the Depths: A Songwriter's Journey Through the Psalms (Audible):Audiobook LinkSpecial Offer10% off at Bandcamp: use code 10off at checkoutRickLeeJames.Bandcamp.comHosted byRick Lee James — Voices in My Head Podcast This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rickleejames.substack.com/subscribe

Voices in my Head (the Rick Lee James Podcast) Episode 631: Garden of the Lord with Justin Gambino   My guest today is Justin Gambino, an award-winning Texas-based singer-songwriter whose music is rooted in redemption, hope, and faith. After a troubled past that included an arrest at age 18, military service in the U.S. Navy, combat deployment to Iraq, and battles with PTSD and depression, Justin experienced a life-changing encounter with God that transformed his story. Today, he's known for powerful songs like “Just Like Jesus,” “Courage,” and “Fighting On My Behalf,” and was named Christian/Gospel/Inspirational Male Artist of the Year at the 2024 Josie Music Awards. His latest worship project, Garden Of The Lord, invites listeners into a deeper, more personal walk with God. Justin, welcome back to Voices In My Head.   More about Justin Here: https://turningpointpr.com/2026/06/justin-gambino-to-deliver-first-ever-worship-set-garden-of-the-lord-july-17/       Rick's Latest Single “Heaven Is Full of Criminals”     https://rickleejames.hearnow.com/heaven-is-full-of-criminals Connect with Rick Lee James Website: RickLeeJames.com Email: Rick@RickLeeJames.com Listen / Subscribe Subscribe, rate, and review Voices in My Head wherever you listen to podcasts. Music & Merch Bandcamp (music + merch): RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com Streaming: Search “Rick Lee James” on your favorite music platform or on Spotify https://t.co/S7nCRl0xqa Audiobook Out of the Depths: A Songwriter's Journey Through the Psalms (Audible): Audiobook Link Special Offer 10% off at Bandcamp: use code 10off at checkout RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com Hosted by Rick Lee James — Voices in My Head Podcast

Voices in my Head (the Rick Lee James Podcast) Episode 631: Garden of the Lord with Justin GambinoMy guest today is Justin Gambino, an award-winning Texas-based singer-songwriter whose music is rooted in redemption, hope, and faith. After a troubled past that included an arrest at age 18, military service in the U.S. Navy, combat deployment to Iraq, and battles with PTSD and depression, Justin experienced a life-changing encounter with God that transformed his story. Today, he's known for powerful songs like “Just Like Jesus,” “Courage,” and “Fighting On My Behalf,” and was named Christian/Gospel/Inspirational Male Artist of the Year at the 2024 Josie Music Awards. His latest worship project, Garden Of The Lord, invites listeners into a deeper, more personal walk with God. Justin, welcome back to Voices In My Head.More about Justin Here: https://turningpointpr.com/2026/06/justin-gambino-to-deliver-first-ever-worship-set-garden-of-the-lord-july-17/Rick's Latest Single“Heaven Is Full of Criminals”https://rickleejames.hearnow.com/heaven-is-full-of-criminalsConnect with Rick Lee JamesWebsite: RickLeeJames.comEmail: Rick@RickLeeJames.comListen / SubscribeSubscribe, rate, and review Voices in My Head wherever you listen to podcasts.Music & MerchBandcamp (music + merch): RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.comStreaming: Search “Rick Lee James” on your favorite music platform or on Spotify https://t.co/S7nCRl0xqaAudiobookOut of the Depths: A Songwriter's Journey Through the Psalms (Audible):Audiobook LinkSpecial Offer10% off at Bandcamp: use code 10off at checkoutRickLeeJames.Bandcamp.comHosted byRick Lee James — Voices in My Head Podcast This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rickleejames.substack.com/subscribe

voices in my head. chris scoz by Home Church

I recently joined Father Gerard on CFN Live from the Catholic Faith Network for a conversation about my song “Heaven Is Full of Criminals,” my work as a healthcare chaplain, and how chaplaincy has influenced my songwriting and life as an independent artist. Here's the full conversation from August 11, 2026.   Blessings, Rick Lee James   Heaven Is Full of Criminals” Hear Now       Connect with Rick Lee James Website: RickLeeJames.com Email: Rick@RickLeeJames.com Listen / Subscribe Subscribe, rate, and review Voices in My Head wherever you listen to podcasts. Music & Merch Bandcamp (music + merch): RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com Streaming: Search “Rick Lee James” on your favorite music platform or on Spotify https://t.co/S7nCRl0xqa Audiobook Out of the Depths: A Songwriter's Journey Through the Psalms (Audible): Audiobook Link Special Offer 10% off at Bandcamp: use code 10off at checkout RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com Hosted by Rick Lee James — Voices in My Head Podcast Subscribe now Share

Voices in my Head (the Rick Lee James Podcast) Episode 630: Every Moment Holy with Douglas McKelvey and John Lowry   In this episode of Voices in My Head, I sit down with acclaimed author and songwriter Douglas McKelvey and singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and Unspoken member John Lowry to talk about Every Moment Holy: Prayer Songsand their newest project, Anchoring the Heart in Hope. We talk about how prayers from the Every Moment Holy books became simple, endlessly loopable songs designed not for commercial success, but for meditation, prayer, grief, and the ministry of presence. Douglas and John share the stories behind the music and explain how these songs can bring comfort in moments of crisis, hospice, loss, and uncertainty while also cultivating hope in everyday life. As a hospital chaplain, I found myself especially drawn to the way these songs give us words to pray when we don't have answers. We also talk about the upcoming Every Moment Holy Live tour, an experience that brings together music, prayer, storytelling, and visual art to create a shared journey through sorrow, grief, hope, and the promise of new creation   For more information about all Every Moment Holy: Prayer Song, visit this link: https://mailchi.mp/turningpointpr/pre-release-every-moment-holy-prayer-songs-2026-q3-anchoring-the-heart-in-hope?e=b6e6ddccfb “Heaven Is Full of Criminals” Hear Now       Connect with Rick Lee James Website: RickLeeJames.com Email: Rick@RickLeeJames.com Listen / Subscribe Subscribe, rate, and review Voices in My Head wherever you listen to podcasts. Music & Merch Bandcamp (music + merch): RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com Streaming: Search “Rick Lee James” on your favorite music platform or on Spotify https://t.co/S7nCRl0xqa Audiobook Out of the Depths: A Songwriter's Journey Through the Psalms (Audible): Audiobook Link Special Offer 10% off at Bandcamp: use code 10off at checkout RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com Hosted by Rick Lee James — Voices in My Head Podcast Subscribe now Share  

Voices in my Head (the Rick Lee James Podcast) Episode 630: Every Moment Holy with Douglas McKelvey and John LowryIn this episode of Voices in My Head, I sit down with acclaimed author and songwriter Douglas McKelvey and singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and Unspoken member John Lowry to talk about Every Moment Holy: Prayer Songs and their newest project, Anchoring the Heart in Hope. We talk about how prayers from the Every Moment Holy books became simple, endlessly loopable songs designed not for commercial success, but for meditation, prayer, grief, and the ministry of presence. Douglas and John share the stories behind the music and explain how these songs can bring comfort in moments of crisis, hospice, loss, and uncertainty while also cultivating hope in everyday life. As a hospital chaplain, I found myself especially drawn to the way these songs give us words to pray when we don't have answers. We also talk about the upcoming Every Moment Holy Live tour, an experience that brings together music, prayer, storytelling, and visual art to create a shared journey through sorrow, grief, hope, and the promise of new creationFor more information about all Every Moment Holy: Prayer Song, visit this link: https://mailchi.mp/turningpointpr/pre-release-every-moment-holy-prayer-songs-2026-q3-anchoring-the-heart-in-hope?e=b6e6ddccfb“Heaven Is Full of Criminals”Hear NowConnect with Rick Lee JamesWebsite: RickLeeJames.comEmail: Rick@RickLeeJames.comListen / SubscribeSubscribe, rate, and review Voices in My Head wherever you listen to podcasts.Music & MerchBandcamp (music + merch): RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.comStreaming: Search “Rick Lee James” on your favorite music platform or on Spotify https://t.co/S7nCRl0xqaAudiobookOut of the Depths: A Songwriter's Journey Through the Psalms (Audible):Audiobook LinkSpecial Offer10% off at Bandcamp: use code 10off at checkoutRickLeeJames.Bandcamp.comHosted byRick Lee James — Voices in My Head Podcast This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rickleejames.substack.com/subscribe

Steven Puri has produced Academy Award-winning visual effects on films like Independence Day, Braveheart, and Se7en, climbed the executive ladder at DreamWorks and 20th Century Fox, and built three tech companies — two of which failed. Out of those failures came a powerful question: why do some people sustain high performance without burning out, while others grind themselves into the ground?In this episode, Jeff and Steven break down what flow actually is, what your brain is doing when you're in it, how to trigger it consistently, and why most founders are unknowingly working against their own neurology every single day.Key Takeaways[0:00] — Multitasking is a myth. Your brain context switches — and every switch costs you.[4:10] — Steven's origin: bet on proximity to greatness. From Virginia to USC to an Academy Award for Independence Day.[14:55] — What Hollywood taught him: single-minded determination is what separates good from legendary.[22:25] — The Fox wake-up call: he was just the guy in the chair. So he left to build something of his own.[38:55] — The accidental flow state: a Wi-Fi outage on a 2.5-hour flight produced his best work ever — and he didn't even notice time passing.[48:20] — What flow actually feels like: time disappears, distractions drop, self-consciousness fades, and you finish feeling energized — not drained.[51:20] — The neuroscience: fMRI scans show prefrontal cortex activity drops in flow. You stop editing yourself and just work.[55:30] — The 15–23 minute rule: that's how long it takes to drop into flow. One interruption resets the clock.[1:01:00] — Ron Bass's rule: no family talk until he'd written for hours. "When I start talking, I can no longer hear the voices in my head."Tweetable Quotes"Our brains don't multitask. They context switch — and every switch costs you energy you could have spent going deep." — Steven Puri"It takes 15 to 23 minutes to drop into flow. One Slack ping resets the clock to zero. That's not costing you a minute — it's costing you a whole session." — Jeff Mains"You can have results or excuses. Can't have both." — Steven Puri"When I start talking to my family, I can no longer hear the voices in my head. And that's what I get paid for." — Ron Bass (via Steven Puri)"The companies with the biggest incentive for your distraction don't want you to write the book, start the company, or open the restaurant. Your graveyard is their business model." — Steven Puri"Americans overestimate what they can do in a day and underestimate what they can do in a year." — Steven Puri"Why use your brain poorly? You wouldn't type on your keyboard upside down." — Steven Puri"Even if it's just one hour a day, make that hour have the power of two." — Steven Puri"Think of the one thing you could do today that would move your life forward. Don't go to sleep until it's done." — Steven Puri"Build a business of significance while living an epic, adventurous life — that is the whole game." — Jeff MainsSaaS Leadership Lessons1. Proximity to Greatness Is a Strategy Steven's career accelerated every time he put himself in rooms with top performers — from mopping floors near Michael Jordan (metaphorically) to working under Fincher and Cameron. For SaaS founders: deliberately seek mentors, communities, and masterminds where the standard is higher than your current one. You absorb more than you realize.2. The Chair Doesn't Define the Mission Steven hit a wall as a studio executive — well-paid, high-profile, but not his. He was "babysitting Die Hard 5." Many SaaS founders face this inside larger orgs or even their own companies as they scale — doing the job instead of building the vision. Define what you are building, not just what the role requires.3. Protect Your Peak Hours Like Revenue Just as Ron Bass refused to speak to his family until he'd written for hours, the highest-output founders treat their cognitive peak hours as non-negotiable protected time. For most people this is morning. Block it. Turn off Slack. Tell your team. That hour generates disproportionate value — protect it before the reactive demands of leadership consume it.4. Flow State Is a Competitive Advantage — Not a Luxury The research shows flow produces output up to 5x greater per hour. For a SaaS founder juggling product, team, and go-to-market, the difference between 1 hour of deep flow work and 1 hour of fragmented distraction is compounding. Learning to trigger flow is not a wellness exercise — it is a business efficiency investment.5. Monotasking and Time-Boxing Are Table Stakes Multitasking is scientifically false. Context switching burns cognitive resources. The most productive founders pick one thing, finish it, then move to the next. Pair this with Parkinson's Law: time-box every task. Estimates train your brain, create urgency, and prevent the endless stretch that kills output. These two habits alone will outperform most productivity systems.6. One Thing Per Day Compounds Into a Different Life Steven's simplest and most powerful habit: before touching the phone each morning, identify the one thing that would move your life forward today. Not five things. One. Do it before the day's noise sets in. Thirty days of this looks like progress. A year of this looks like a different company.Guest Resourceswww.thesukha.co/mediaSteven@TheSukha.cowww.TheSukha.cohttps://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-puri/Episode SponsorThe Futureproof Series - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfkXKUPZ5xuOqMPR7_gzGybncTtavyR1NThe Captain's KeysSmall Fish, Big Pond – https://smallfishbigpond.com/ Use the promo code ‘SaaSFuel'Champion Leadership Group – https://championleadership.com/https://jeffmains.com/books/SaaS Fuel ResourcesWebsite - https://championleadership.com/Jeff Mains on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffkmains/Twitter - https://twitter.com/jeffkmainsFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/thesaasguy/Instagram - https://instagram.com/jeffkmains

Host Greta Johnsen starts a month-long miniseries for the 87% club with an interview with author Veronica Roth. She's written more than a dozen books, most notably the Divergent series.Her latest book is called Seek the Traitor's Son (print | audio), a book that she approached very differently from her other projects. Here's what she says about it in the acknowledgements:“I started writing this book almost six years ago with no intention of publishing it. I had it in my head that a book that made all the pleasure centers of my brain fire at once just couldn't be a serious project. But when I told two of my friends about it, they pointed out that there was no reason that should be the case. The world is too dark, and life is too short, to spend it resisting things that bring you joy. So why not write a big, romantic, indulgent, genre-straddling story?” This conversation perfectly embodies many of the questions that define the 87 percent club -- What if work was also fun? What if I could stop caring about what other people think? How can I turn down those critical voices in my head?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Voices in My Head (The Rick Lee James Podcast) Episode 628: Truth, Justice, and the Way - Episode 11: Supergirl - Redemption or Revenge?     This week on Voices in My Head, i'm sharing an episode of my other podcast that I host with David Dault, Truth, Justice and the Way. What happens when a superhero story trades redemption for revenge? In this episode of Truth, Justice, and the Way: Superman & Spirituality, Rick Lee James and David Dault explore one of the most surprising changes in Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow and ask what it reveals about heroism, justice, mercy, and the moral imagination. Comparing the film to Tom King's original graphic novel, they wrestle with questions of violence, forgiveness, redemption, and whether we still believe people can truly change. Along the way, they reflect on Superman's enduring example of hope, the power of storytelling to shape our moral lives, and why the best heroes call us not simply to defeat evil—but to become better people. In This Episode Rick shares the story behind his new single, “Heaven Is Full of Criminals,” featuring Phil Keaggy, and the surprising conversations it has sparked about grace, worthiness, and hope. The theological inspiration behind the song includes the Good Thief, the possibility of redemption, and the question of whether God's welcome extends farther than we imagine. A spoiler-filled discussion of Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrowand how its ending differs dramatically from Tom King's acclaimed graphic novel. Why the graphic novel's ending offers a vision of redemption, while the film chooses an act of lethal justice. The idea of redemptive violenceand why so many modern stories assume evil can only be defeated through killing. Superman's refusal to kill and why restraint—not power—has always been one of his defining virtues. Whether James Gunn may be setting up a larger redemption arc for Supergirl as his new DC Universe unfolds. Why stories shape our moral imagination, influencing what we believe is possible for heroes, villains, and ourselves. Mark Waid's famous criticism of Superman killing General Zod in Man of Steel, and why he insists, “That's not Superman.” Comparisons to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Odyssey, Avengers: Infinity War, and the Gospels as examples of stories that wrestle with hope, loss, and redemption. Reflections on Pope Francis, Karl Barth, and the Christian hope that no one is beyond the reach of grace. Why Superman continues to matter—not because he is the strongest hero, but because he refuses to let violence have the final word. A closing reflection inviting listeners to consider how the stories we tell shape the people we become—and whether hope may be the bravest choice of all.   “Heaven Is Full of Criminals” Hear Now       Connect with Rick Lee James Website: RickLeeJames.com Email: Rick@RickLeeJames.com Listen / Subscribe Subscribe, rate, and review Voices in My Head wherever you listen to podcasts. Music & Merch Bandcamp (music + merch): RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com Streaming: Search “Rick Lee James” on your favorite music platform or on Spotify https://t.co/S7nCRl0xqa Audiobook Out of the Depths: A Songwriter's Journey Through the Psalms (Audible): Audiobook Link Special Offer 10% off at Bandcamp: use code 10off at checkout RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com Hosted by Rick Lee James — Voices in My Head Podcast Subscribe now Share

Voices in My Head (The Rick Lee James Podcast) Episode 628: Truth, Justice, and the Way - Episode 11: Supergirl - Redemption or Revenge?This week on Voices in My Head, i'm sharing an episode of my other podcast that I host with David Dault, Truth, Justice and the Way.What happens when a superhero story trades redemption for revenge?In this episode of Truth, Justice, and the Way: Superman & Spirituality, Rick Lee James and David Dault explore one of the most surprising changes in Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow and ask what it reveals about heroism, justice, mercy, and the moral imagination. Comparing the film to Tom King's original graphic novel, they wrestle with questions of violence, forgiveness, redemption, and whether we still believe people can truly change. Along the way, they reflect on Superman's enduring example of hope, the power of storytelling to shape our moral lives, and why the best heroes call us not simply to defeat evil—but to become better people.In This Episode* Rick shares the story behind his new single, “Heaven Is Full of Criminals,” featuring Phil Keaggy, and the surprising conversations it has sparked about grace, worthiness, and hope.* The theological inspiration behind the song includes the Good Thief, the possibility of redemption, and the question of whether God's welcome extends farther than we imagine.* A spoiler-filled discussion of Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrowand how its ending differs dramatically from Tom King's acclaimed graphic novel.* Why the graphic novel's ending offers a vision of redemption, while the film chooses an act of lethal justice.* The idea of redemptive violenceand why so many modern stories assume evil can only be defeated through killing.* Superman's refusal to kill and why restraint—not power—has always been one of his defining virtues.* Whether James Gunn may be setting up a larger redemption arc for Supergirl as his new DC Universe unfolds.* Why stories shape our moral imagination, influencing what we believe is possible for heroes, villains, and ourselves.* Mark Waid's famous criticism of Superman killing General Zod in Man of Steel, and why he insists, “That's not Superman.”* Comparisons to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Odyssey, Avengers: Infinity War, and the Gospels as examples of stories that wrestle with hope, loss, and redemption.* Reflections on Pope Francis, Karl Barth, and the Christian hope that no one is beyond the reach of grace.* Why Superman continues to matter—not because he is the strongest hero, but because he refuses to let violence have the final word.* A closing reflection inviting listeners to consider how the stories we tell shape the people we become—and whether hope may be the bravest choice of all.“Heaven Is Full of Criminals”Hear NowConnect with Rick Lee JamesWebsite: RickLeeJames.comEmail: Rick@RickLeeJames.comListen / SubscribeSubscribe, rate, and review Voices in My Head wherever you listen to podcasts.Music & MerchBandcamp (music + merch): RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.comStreaming: Search “Rick Lee James” on your favorite music platform or on Spotify https://t.co/S7nCRl0xqaAudiobookOut of the Depths: A Songwriter's Journey Through the Psalms (Audible):Audiobook LinkSpecial Offer10% off at Bandcamp: use code 10off at checkoutRickLeeJames.Bandcamp.comHosted byRick Lee James — Voices in My Head Podcast This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rickleejames.substack.com/subscribe

Voices in My Head (The Rick Lee James Podcast) Episode 627: Amber Carroll is “Ready To Talk” about gender and sexualityThis week on Voices in My Head, I sit down with Amber Carroll, Vice President of Equip and author of the upcoming book Ready to Talk: A Christian Parent's Guide to Gender and Sexuality. Drawing from her experience as a former public school teacher, a single mom, and someone whose own family story has been deeply shaped by these issues, Amber offers practical wisdom for Christian parents who want to approach these conversations with both biblical conviction and deep compassion.In our conversation, we discuss why these talks often need to begin earlier than parents expect, how to create a safe environment where children can ask honest questions, why sexuality should be viewed as an ongoing discipleship conversation rather than a one-time “talk,” and how our treatment of others can have a profound impact on the way people experience the gospel.Whether you're parenting young children, raising teenagers, or simply trying to understand how to engage these topics with greater grace and wisdom, I think you'll find this conversation both challenging and encouraging.Learn more about Amber and her work at ambergarrettcarroll.com.Pre-order or purchase Ready to Talk: A Christian Parent's Guide to Gender and Sexuality at ambergarrettcarroll.com/shop.Download Amber's free Parent Prep Pack at ambergarrettcarroll.com/parent.“Heaven Is Full of Criminals”Spotify Pre-Save · https://show.co/sOrc2zbConnect with Rick Lee JamesWebsite: RickLeeJames.comEmail: Rick@RickLeeJames.comListen / SubscribeSubscribe, rate, and review Voices in My Head wherever you listen to podcasts.Music & MerchBandcamp (music + merch): RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.comStreaming: Search “Rick Lee James” on your favorite music platform or on Spotify https://t.co/S7nCRl0xqaAudiobookOut of the Depths: A Songwriter's Journey Through the Psalms (Audible):Audiobook LinkSpecial Offer10% off at Bandcamp: use code 10off at checkoutRickLeeJames.Bandcamp.comHosted byRick Lee James — Voices in My Head Podcast This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rickleejames.substack.com/subscribe

Voices in My Head (The Rick Lee James Podcast) Episode 626: A Chapel Reflection on John 3:16 and the Invitation of Jesus   This week on Voices in My Head (The Rick Lee James Podcast), I share one of the most unexpected chapel services I've ever led. Our scheduled speaker didn't arrive. I had no sermon prepared, no notes, and not even a Bible in front of me. As I played the opening worship song, I found myself praying, listening, and trusting that somehow God would provide a message. Out of that moment came an impromptu reflection on the friends who brought the paralyzed man to Jesus and a fresh hearing of the words of John 3:16-17. What if, instead of hearing, "For God so loved the world," we imagined the name of someone we love in that verse? And then, what if we put our own name there? Recorded live in our hospital chapel, this episode is a reminder that God's love is deeply personal, Jesus' invitation is still open, and sometimes the messages that touch us most are the ones we never planned to preach at all. Sometimes all we can do is show up, trust the Spirit, and begin with a song. Connect with Rick Lee James Website: RickLeeJames.com Email: RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com Streaming: Search “Rick Lee James” on your favorite music platform or on Spotify https://t.co/S7nCRl0xqa Audiobook Out of the Depths: A Songwriter's Journey Through the Psalms (Audible): Audiobook Link Special Offer 10% off at Bandcamp: use code 10off at checkout RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com Hosted by Rick Lee James — Voices in My Head Podcast

Voices in My Head (The Rick Lee James Podcast) Episode 626: A Chapel Reflection on John 3:16 and the Invitation of JesusThis week on Voices in My Head (The Rick Lee James Podcast), I share one of the most unexpected chapel services I've ever led.Our scheduled speaker didn't arrive. I had no sermon prepared, no notes, and not even a Bible in front of me. As I played the opening worship song, I found myself praying, listening, and trusting that somehow God would provide a message.Out of that moment came an impromptu reflection on the friends who brought the paralyzed man to Jesus and a fresh hearing of the words of John 3:16-17. What if, instead of hearing, “For God so loved the world,” we imagined the name of someone we love in that verse? And then, what if we put our own name there?Recorded live in our hospital chapel, this episode is a reminder that God's love is deeply personal, Jesus' invitation is still open, and sometimes the messages that touch us most are the ones we never planned to preach at all. Sometimes all we can do is show up, trust the Spirit, and begin with a song.Connect with Rick Lee JamesWebsite: RickLeeJames.comEmail: Rick@RickLeeJames.comListen / SubscribeSubscribe, rate, and review Voices in My Head wherever you listen to podcasts.Music & MerchBandcamp (music + merch): RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.comStreaming: Search “Rick Lee James” on your favorite music platform or on Spotify https://t.co/S7nCRl0xqaAudiobookOut of the Depths: A Songwriter's Journey Through the Psalms (Audible):Audiobook LinkSpecial Offer10% off at Bandcamp: use code 10off at checkoutRickLeeJames.Bandcamp.comHosted byRick Lee James — Voices in My Head Podcast This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rickleejames.substack.com/subscribe

Voices in My Head (The Rick Lee James Podcast) Episode 625: Lectio Divina and the Compassion of Christ   This week on Voices in My Head, I'm sharing a chapel service I recently led at Springfield Regional Medical Center. Using the spiritual practice of Lectio Divina and reflecting on Romans 12:9–21, I explore what it means to offer the gift of presence to those who are suffering, drawing inspiration from Henri Nouwen's A Spirituality of Caregiving. Along with prayer, scripture, and music—including a closing rendition of “Trust in God”—I invite you to join me in considering how God calls us to rejoice with those who rejoice, mourn with those who mourn, and walk alongside one another with compassion and grace. Connect with Rick Lee James Website: RickLeeJames.com Email: RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com Streaming: Search “Rick Lee James” on your favorite music platform or on Spotify https://t.co/S7nCRl0xqa Audiobook Out of the Depths: A Songwriter's Journey Through the Psalms (Audible): Audiobook Link Special Offer 10% off at Bandcamp: use code 10off at checkout RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com Hosted by Rick Lee James — Voices in My Head Podcast

Voices in My Head (The Rick Lee James Podcast) Episode 625: Lectio Divina and the Compassion of ChristThis week on Voices in My Head, I'm sharing a chapel service I recently led at Springfield Regional Medical Center. Using the spiritual practice of Lectio Divina and reflecting on Romans 12:9–21, I explore what it means to offer the gift of presence to those who are suffering, drawing inspiration from Henri Nouwen's A Spirituality of Caregiving. Along with prayer, scripture, and music—including a closing rendition of “Trust in God”—I invite you to join me in considering how God calls us to rejoice with those who rejoice, mourn with those who mourn, and walk alongside one another with compassion and grace.Connect with Rick Lee JamesWebsite: RickLeeJames.comEmail: Rick@RickLeeJames.comListen / SubscribeSubscribe, rate, and review Voices in My Head wherever you listen to podcasts.Music & MerchBandcamp (music + merch): RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.comStreaming: Search “Rick Lee James” on your favorite music platform or on Spotify https://t.co/S7nCRl0xqaAudiobookOut of the Depths: A Songwriter's Journey Through the Psalms (Audible):Audiobook LinkSpecial Offer10% off at Bandcamp: use code 10off at checkoutRickLeeJames.Bandcamp.comHosted byRick Lee James — Voices in My Head Podcast This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rickleejames.substack.com/subscribe

Voices in My Head (The Rick Lee James Podcast) Episode 624: Brian Zahnd - Unseen Existences In this episode of Voices in My Head, Rick Lee James welcomes back author, pastor, and theologian Brian Zahnd to discuss his newest book, Unseen Existences: Of Heaven, Earth, and the Divine Mystery in All Things. Together they explore heaven as a present reality rather than merely a future destination, the “serpentine spell” of modern materialism, the lifelong pilgrimage of conversion, and what it means to journey toward our true home in God. Brian also shares insights from his own experiences walking pilgrimage routes such as the Camino de Santiago, reflects on grace, judgment, and the formation of the soul, and discusses The Reverend, a companion piece to the book that was ultimately left out of publication. This conversation is an invitation to recover wonder, embrace mystery, and learn to see the world as charged with the presence of heaven. Follow Brian Zahnd on Substack: Brian Zahnd Founding pastor of Word of Life Church in St. Joseph, Missouri; author of eleven books, including: "The Wood Between the Worlds, " When Everything's on Fire," and "Sinner In the Hands of a Loving God."     The Reverend: Narrated by Boyd Barrett   Unseen Existences: Of Heaven, Earth, and the Divine Mystery in All Things Unseen Existences (Book) Brian Zahnd Books Unseen Existences The Wood Between the Worlds Postcards from Babylon When Everything's on Fire Sinners in the Hands of a Loving God Beauty Will Save the World Connect with Rick Lee James Website: RickLeeJames.com Email: RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com Streaming: Search “Rick Lee James” on your favorite music platform or on Spotify https://t.co/S7nCRl0xqa Audiobook Out of the Depths: A Songwriter's Journey Through the Psalms (Audible): Audiobook Link Special Offer 10% off at Bandcamp: use code 10off at checkout RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com Hosted by Rick Lee James — Voices in My Head Podcast

Voices in My Head (The Rick Lee James Podcast) Episode 624: Brian Zahnd - Unseen ExistencesIn this episode of Voices in My Head, Rick Lee James welcomes back author, pastor, and theologian Brian Zahnd to discuss his newest book, Unseen Existences: Of Heaven, Earth, and the Divine Mystery in All Things. Together they explore heaven as a present reality rather than merely a future destination, the “serpentine spell” of modern materialism, the lifelong pilgrimage of conversion, and what it means to journey toward our true home in God. Brian also shares insights from his own experiences walking pilgrimage routes such as the Camino de Santiago, reflects on grace, judgment, and the formation of the soul, and discusses The Reverend, a companion piece to the book that was ultimately left out of publication. This conversation is an invitation to recover wonder, embrace mystery, and learn to see the world as charged with the presence of heaven.Follow Brian Zahnd on Substack: The Reverend: Narrated by Boyd Barrett Unseen Existences: Of Heaven, Earth, and the Divine Mystery in All ThingsUnseen Existences (Book)Brian Zahnd Books* Unseen Existences* The Wood Between the Worlds* Postcards from Babylon* When Everything's on Fire* Sinners in the Hands of a Loving God* Beauty Will Save the WorldConnect with Rick Lee JamesWebsite: RickLeeJames.comEmail: Rick@RickLeeJames.comListen / SubscribeSubscribe, rate, and review Voices in My Head wherever you listen to podcasts.Music & MerchBandcamp (music + merch): RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.comStreaming: Search “Rick Lee James” on your favorite music platform or on Spotify https://t.co/S7nCRl0xqaAudiobookOut of the Depths: A Songwriter's Journey Through the Psalms (Audible):Audiobook LinkSpecial Offer10% off at Bandcamp: use code 10off at checkoutRickLeeJames.Bandcamp.comHosted byRick Lee James — Voices in My Head Podcast This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rickleejames.substack.com/subscribe

Pentecost Chapel Service Springfield Regional Medical Center   RICK LEE JAMES MAY 23, 2026 In this Pentecost-themed chapel service from Springfield Regional Medical Center, Chaplain Rick Lee James leads a gentle time of worship, prayer, and sacred listening through the ancient practice of Lectio Divina. Reflecting on Acts 2 and the coming of the Holy Spirit, this service invites patients, families, caregivers, and listeners alike to slow down, listen deeply, and consider what word, invitation, or stirring God might be speaking into their lives today. Featuring music including “Fire” and “I Then Shall Live,” this quiet reflection centers on hope, compassion, understanding, and the Spirit's power to bring people together across every difference.   Connect with Rick Lee James Website: RickLeeJames.com Email: RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com Streaming: Search “Rick Lee James” on your favorite music platform or on Spotify https://t.co/S7nCRl0xqa Audiobook Out of the Depths: A Songwriter's Journey Through the Psalms (Audible): Audiobook Link Special Offer 10% off at Bandcamp: use code 10off at checkout RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com Hosted by Rick Lee James — Voices in My Head Podcast

Voices in My Head (The Rick Lee James Podcast) Episode 623: Hank and Henry Spaulding On this episode of Voices in My Head, I'm joined by theologian Hank Spaulding and his father for a conversation that spans three powerful and deeply connected books: The Gospel of the Incarcerated Christ, The Rhythm of Grace, and Between Two Gileads. Together, these works explore some of the most pressing questions facing the church today. What does it mean that Jesus was executed as a criminal? What if holiness is less about performance and more about grace? And how should we respond when Scripture is used not to heal, but to justify power and control? From reflections on incarceration and justice… to a reimagining of holiness through beauty and grace… to a thoughtful critique of Christian nationalism and the misuse of passages like Romans 13, this conversation invites us to take a deeper look at the kind of faith we're living and the kind of people we're becoming. It's honest, challenging, and ultimately hopeful.   Find the book they wrote together here: https://wipfandstock.com/9798385242016/the-rhythm-of-grace/ Bonus: See Hank speak at the 2025 Karl Barth Conference Here: https://youtu.be/SMSaNp1Zd-o?si=DrCozfXxBN9td0YX Connect with Rick Lee James Website: RickLeeJames.com Email: RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com Streaming: Search “Rick Lee James” on your favorite music platform or on Spotify https://t.co/S7nCRl0xqa Audiobook Out of the Depths: A Songwriter's Journey Through the Psalms (Audible): Audiobook Link Special Offer 10% off at Bandcamp: use code 10off at checkout RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com Hosted by Rick Lee James — Voices in My Head Podcast                

Voices in My Head (The Rick Lee James Podcast) Episode 623: Hank and Henry SpauldingOn this episode of Voices in My Head, I'm joined by theologian Hank Spaulding and his father for a conversation that spans three powerful and deeply connected books: The Gospel of the Incarcerated Christ, The Rhythm of Grace, and Between Two Gileads.Together, these works explore some of the most pressing questions facing the church today. What does it mean that Jesus was executed as a criminal? What if holiness is less about performance and more about grace? And how should we respond when Scripture is used not to heal, but to justify power and control?From reflections on incarceration and justice…to a reimagining of holiness through beauty and grace…to a thoughtful critique of Christian nationalism and the misuse of passages like Romans 13, this conversation invites us to take a deeper look at the kind of faith we're living and the kind of people we're becoming.It's honest, challenging, and ultimately hopeful.Find the book they wrote together here: https://wipfandstock.com/9798385242016/the-rhythm-of-grace/Bonus: See Hank speak at the 2025 Karl Barth Conference here Connect with Rick Lee JamesWebsite: RickLeeJames.comEmail: Rick@RickLeeJames.comListen / SubscribeSubscribe, rate, and review Voices in My Head wherever you listen to podcasts.Music & MerchBandcamp (music + merch): RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.comStreaming: Search “Rick Lee James” on your favorite music platform or on Spotify https://t.co/S7nCRl0xqaAudiobookOut of the Depths: A Songwriter's Journey Through the Psalms (Audible):Audiobook LinkSpecial Offer10% off at Bandcamp: use code 10off at checkoutRickLeeJames.Bandcamp.comHosted byRick Lee James — Voices in My Head Podcast This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rickleejames.substack.com/subscribe

Voices in My Head (The Rick Lee James Podcast) Episode 622: Ginny Owens Brings A Different Kind of Water In this episode of Voices in My Head, I sit down with Ginny Owens to talk about her new EP Different Kind of Water, the creative journey behind her music, and the deeper spiritual questions woven throughout her songs. We explore themes of longing, letting go, faith conversations with those who believe differently, and how seasons of dryness can actually lead to meaningful creativity. Ginny also shares about life and ministry in New York City, the diverse musical influences shaping her work, and her upcoming book on courageous compassion and living out justice and mercy. It's a rich, honest conversation about faith, artistry, and the courage it takes to keep seeking what truly satisfies.   Listen to Ginny's newest EP, Different Kind of Water. Different Kind of Water is an intimate look into Ginny's life, faith, and music. With songs that inspire and encourage, Different Kind of Water is sure to connect with listeners, no matter where they are on their journey. STREAM THE ALBUM GET THE EP/BOOK   Connect Follow on Social Media Stream Music & Watch Videos Exclusive Content for Ginny's Team General Inquiries info@ginnyowens.com Booking GOA Speakers info@goaspeakers.com 615-790-5540   Connect with Rick Lee James Website: RickLeeJames.com Email: RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com Streaming: Search “Rick Lee James” on your favorite music platform or on Spotify https://t.co/S7nCRl0xqa Audiobook Out of the Depths: A Songwriter's Journey Through the Psalms (Audible): Audiobook Link Special Offer 10% off at Bandcamp: use code 10off at checkout RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com Hosted by Rick Lee James — Voices in My Head Podcast                

Voices in My Head (The Rick Lee James Podcast) Episode 622: Ginny Owens Brings A Different Kind of WaterIn this episode of Voices in My Head, I sit down with Ginny Owens to talk about her new EP Different Kind of Water, the creative journey behind her music, and the deeper spiritual questions woven throughout her songs. We explore themes of longing, letting go, faith conversations with those who believe differently, and how seasons of dryness can actually lead to meaningful creativity. Ginny also shares about life and ministry in New York City, the diverse musical influences shaping her work, and her upcoming book on courageous compassion and living out justice and mercy. It's a rich, honest conversation about faith, artistry, and the courage it takes to keep seeking what truly satisfies.Listen to Ginny's newest EP, Different Kind of Water.Different Kind of Water is an intimate look into Ginny's life, faith, and music. With songs that inspire and encourage, Different Kind of Water is sure to connect with listeners, no matter where they are on their journey.STREAM THE ALBUMGET THE EP/BOOKConnectFollow on Social MediaStream Music & Watch VideosExclusive Content for Ginny's TeamGeneral Inquiriesinfo@ginnyowens.comBookingGOA Speakersinfo@goaspeakers.com615-790-5540Connect with Rick Lee JamesWebsite: RickLeeJames.comEmail: Rick@RickLeeJames.comListen / SubscribeSubscribe, rate, and review Voices in My Head wherever you listen to podcasts.Music & MerchBandcamp (music + merch): RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.comStreaming: Search “Rick Lee James” on your favorite music platform or on Spotify https://t.co/S7nCRl0xqaAudiobookOut of the Depths: A Songwriter's Journey Through the Psalms (Audible):Audiobook LinkSpecial Offer10% off at Bandcamp: use code 10off at checkoutRickLeeJames.Bandcamp.comHosted byRick Lee James — Voices in My Head Podcast This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rickleejames.substack.com/subscribe

Voices in My Head (The Rick Lee James Podcast) Episode 621: In Praise of Job's Friends   In this week's episode, I'm sharing a chapel service I recently recorded at Springfield Regional Medical Center, where I offer a reflection on the story of Job—especially focusing on his friends, who I believe deserve a little more grace than they often receive. Together, we explore what it means to sit with others in their suffering without trying to fix or explain it away, and I talk about the power of simple presence—what we in chaplaincy call the ministry of presence. Through scripture, song, and prayer, I invite you to consider where you might be called to listen more deeply, speak less quickly, and simply be with others in their pain.   Connect with Rick Lee James Website: RickLeeJames.com Email: RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com Streaming: Search “Rick Lee James” on your favorite music platform or on Spotify https://t.co/S7nCRl0xqa Audiobook Out of the Depths: A Songwriter's Journey Through the Psalms (Audible): Audiobook Link Special Offer 10% off at Bandcamp: use code 10off at checkout RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com Hosted by Rick Lee James — Voices in My Head Podcast                

Voices in My Head (The Rick Lee James Podcast) Episode 621: In Praise of Job's FriendsIn this week's episode, I'm sharing a chapel service I recently recorded at Springfield Regional Medical Center, where I offer a reflection on the story of Job—especially focusing on his friends, who I believe deserve a little more grace than they often receive. Together, we explore what it means to sit with others in their suffering without trying to fix or explain it away, and I talk about the power of simple presence—what we in chaplaincy call the ministry of presence. Through scripture, song, and prayer, I invite you to consider where you might be called to listen more deeply, speak less quickly, and simply be with others in their pain.Connect with Rick Lee JamesWebsite: RickLeeJames.comEmail: Rick@RickLeeJames.comListen / SubscribeSubscribe, rate, and review Voices in My Head wherever you listen to podcasts.Music & MerchBandcamp (music + merch): RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.comStreaming: Search “Rick Lee James” on your favorite music platform or on Spotify https://t.co/S7nCRl0xqaAudiobookOut of the Depths: A Songwriter's Journey Through the Psalms (Audible):Audiobook LinkSpecial Offer10% off at Bandcamp: use code 10off at checkoutRickLeeJames.Bandcamp.comHosted byRick Lee James — Voices in My Head Podcast This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rickleejames.substack.com/subscribe

Voices in My Head (The Rick Lee James Podcast) Episode 620: Beyond the Image: Where Is Jesus Really Found?   In this brief, early-morning episode of Voices in My Head, I reflect on the controversy surrounding an AI-generated image depicting Donald Trump in a Christ-like role, and why, while it's troubling, it may not be the biggest issue we should be concerned about. I talk about how easy it is to get caught up in outrage, especially within our media echo chambers, while missing the deeper call of Jesus to care for the hungry, the poor, and the vulnerable—people I encounter every day in my work as a hospital chaplain. Rather than taking a partisan stance, I offer a pastoral challenge to all of us, myself included: to examine whether our lives actually reflect the love and humility of Christ, and to make sure we're not so focused on images and symbols that we miss where Jesus says he truly is—among those most in need.   Connect with Rick Lee James Website: RickLeeJames.com Email: RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com Streaming: Search “Rick Lee James” on your favorite music platform or on Spotify https://t.co/S7nCRl0xqa Audiobook Out of the Depths: A Songwriter's Journey Through the Psalms (Audible): Audiobook Link Special Offer 10% off at Bandcamp: use code 10off at checkout RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com Hosted by Rick Lee James — Voices in My Head Podcast                

Voices in My Head (The Rick Lee James Podcast) Episode 619: I Cheerfully Refuse In this solo episode of Voices in My Head, I reflect on rest, recovery, and the quiet joy of being newly certified as a chaplain after years of work. I also share a heartfelt recommendation of I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger—a novel set in a broken world that somehow still points toward hope. Through story and reflection, this episode explores what it means to “cheerfully refuse” despair, choosing instead to live as people of hope, even in chaotic and uncertain times.     Connect with Rick Lee James Website: RickLeeJames.com Email: RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com Streaming: Search “Rick Lee James” on your favorite music platform or on Spotify https://t.co/S7nCRl0xqa Audiobook Out of the Depths: A Songwriter's Journey Through the Psalms (Audible): Audiobook Link Special Offer 10% off at Bandcamp: use code 10off at checkout RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com Hosted by Rick Lee James — Voices in My Head Podcast            

Voices in My Head (The Rick Lee James Podcast) Episode 618: Heaven Is Full of Criminals (A Fifth Week of Lent Reflection) In Episode 618 of Voices in My Head (The Rick Lee James Podcast), Rick Lee James shares a message recorded live during a hospital chapel service in the fifth week of Lent. Reflecting on Jesus' parable of the workers in the vineyard and the story of the thief on the cross, Rick explores the surprising and often uncomfortable truth that God's kingdom isn't built on fairness—but on radical generosity. Through humor, scripture, and an original song titled Heaven Is Full of Criminals, this episode invites listeners to consider what it means to be chosen, even at the last hour, and reminds us that grace is not earned—it is given. Whether you feel overlooked, late to the story, or simply in need of hope, this message offers a powerful reminder: there is still room for you.     Connect with Rick Lee James Website: RickLeeJames.com Email: RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com Streaming: Search “Rick Lee James” on your favorite music platform or on Spotify https://t.co/S7nCRl0xqa Audiobook Out of the Depths: A Songwriter's Journey Through the Psalms (Audible): Audiobook Link Special Offer 10% off at Bandcamp: use code 10off at checkout RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com Hosted by Rick Lee James — Voices in My Head Podcast            

How do we know what we think we know? Are our opinions our own, or are they conditioned by external influences? What helps to balance opposing views? How important are such questions to yoga – both philosophically and practically?This podcast explores some of the voices in my head. It was inspired by a recent conversation about the Yoga Sūtra on my year-long course, The Path of Knowledge. There are also ingredients from Gavin Flood, a colleague at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, plus an essay on tensions between scholars and practitioners.That article cites writing by C. W. Huntington, Jr. – particularly Māyā, a novel he describes as “a first person narrative rooted in the literary tradition of Henry Miller, Thomas Merton, Jack Kerouac, and Carlos Castaneda”, and his last book, What I Don't Know About Death. It also draws on Robert M. Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (about which more here, in a BBC broadcast).

Voices in My Head (The Rick Lee James Podcast) Episode 617: A Big Week: 10 Years of Hymns & Becoming a Chaplain   Connect with Rick Lee James Website: RickLeeJames.com Email: RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com Streaming: Search “Rick Lee James” on your favorite music platform or on Spotify https://t.co/S7nCRl0xqa Audiobook Out of the Depths: A Songwriter's Journey Through the Psalms (Audible): Audiobook Link Special Offer 10% off at Bandcamp: use code 10off at checkout RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com Hosted by Rick Lee James — Voices in My Head Podcast          

Voices in My Head (The Rick Lee James Podcast) Episode 616: Faith Under Fire: Carl Ruby on Standing with Haitian Families in Springfield   In this episode of Voices in My Head, I sit down with Pastor Carl Ruby to talk about what has really been happening in Springfield, Ohio, as our city has found itself at the center of national headlines and viral rumors about Haitian immigrants. Carl shares what he has witnessed firsthand while working closely with Haitian families—people of deep faith, resilience, and joy who have already endured tremendous hardship. We talk about misinformation, the impact it has had on our community, and how people of faith can respond with truth, compassion, and courage in difficult moments. Connect with Rick Lee James Website: RickLeeJames.com Email: RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com Streaming: Search “Rick Lee James” on your favorite music platform or on Spotify https://t.co/S7nCRl0xqa Audiobook Out of the Depths: A Songwriter's Journey Through the Psalms (Audible): Audiobook Link Special Offer 10% off at Bandcamp: use code 10off at checkout RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com Hosted by Rick Lee James — Voices in My Head Podcast        

Voices in My Head (The Rick Lee James Podcast) Episode 615: James K. A. Smith In this episode of Voices in My Head (The Rick Lee James Podcast), I'm joined by philosopher and author James K. A. Smith—who invited me to call him Jamie—to talk about his new book, Make Your Home in This Luminous Darkness. We explore the wisdom of the Christian mystics and what they can teach us about living faithfully in seasons when certainty fades, and mystery deepens. Jamie shares how practices like solitude, silence, and contemplation help us resist the distractions of our tech-saturated world and rediscover our identity as beloved people of God. Along the way, I reflect on how these ideas connect with my work as a hospital chaplain—learning to be a non-anxious presence who listens deeply to the “living human document” in front of me.   Get the book: https://a.co/d/00oKdg0j     Connect with Rick Lee James Website: RickLeeJames.com Email: RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com Streaming: Search “Rick Lee James” on your favorite music platform or on Spotify https://t.co/S7nCRl0xqa Audiobook Out of the Depths: A Songwriter's Journey Through the Psalms (Audible): Audiobook Link Special Offer 10% off at Bandcamp: use code 10off at checkout RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com Hosted by Rick Lee James — Voices in My Head Podcast        

Voices in My Head (The Rick Lee James Podcast) Episode 614: From Parasocial to Personal: Mister Rogers, Superman, and The Accessorized Bible with guest David Dault Hello, friends, this one is a fun episode for me because it's a crossover between all three of my shows: Voices in My Head (through Rick Lee James Podcast), Welcome to the Neighborhood: A Mister Rogers Tribute Podcast, and Truth, Justice, and the Way: Superman and Spirituality Podcast. If you listen to any of those, you already know my guest: David Dault. David and I have had ongoing conversations for a long time now about faith, culture, and the stories that shape us, and today we are centering that conversation around his excellent new book, The Accessorized Bible. We talk about how Scripture gets “accessorized” by our assumptions and our agendas, how interpretation has material consequences, and why reading responsibly means paying attention to the lives of the people most affected by our theology. And yes, because it's us, we also get into Mister Rogers, Superman, and parasocial relationships. I'm glad you're here. Let's get into it.   Get the book: https://a.co/d/012m4Sff     Connect with Rick Lee James Website: RickLeeJames.com Email: RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com Streaming: Search “Rick Lee James” on your favorite music platform or on Spotify https://t.co/S7nCRl0xqa Audiobook Out of the Depths: A Songwriter's Journey Through the Psalms (Audible): Audiobook Link Special Offer 10% off at Bandcamp: use code 10off at checkout RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com Hosted by Rick Lee James — Voices in My Head Podcast        

Voices in My Head (The Rick Lee James Podcast) Episode 613: The Simple Hymnal with Jered McKenna This week I'm joined by Jared McKenna, the creator of The Simple Hymnal—a musician-friendly hymnal designed to help modern worship leaders, guitarists, and small congregations sing the rich hymns of the church without fighting the format. We talk about Jared's story (from growing up in the Trinity Hymnal world to leading worship for 15 years), why hymns are resurfacing, and what makes this hymnal so practical: comfortable keys, chord symbols, and a capo key for every song. We also discuss the deeper “why” behind hymn singing—strong melodies, sturdy theology, and the way hymn texts can carry across generations and musical styles. Get the Simple Hymnal Here: https://www.jeredmckenna.com/the-simple-hymnal         Connect with Rick Lee James Website: RickLeeJames.com Email: RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com Streaming: Search “Rick Lee James” on your favorite music platform or on Spotify https://t.co/S7nCRl0xqa Audiobook Out of the Depths: A Songwriter's Journey Through the Psalms (Audible): Audiobook Link Special Offer 10% off at Bandcamp: use code 10off at checkout RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com Hosted by Rick Lee James — Voices in My Head Podcast        

Voices in My Head (The Rick Lee James Podcast) Episode 612: Springfield Haitian Situation Update   This week's episode of Voices in My Head is a little different from what was planned. The scheduled interview has been rescheduled for next week, so I will use this time to share updates from my hometown of Springfield, Ohio. Over the past several weeks, our community has faced growing tension and fear surrounding Haitian neighbors living here under Temporary Protected Status. As a hospital chaplain, church member, and resident of this community, I share personal reflections on what I have witnessed firsthand — the faith, hard work, and humanity of people who came here seeking safety, and the anxiety many are now experiencing as uncertainty and hostility have grown. This episode is a pastoral reflection and a call to prayer, compassion, and remembrance, reminding us that behind every headline are real people made in the image of God.       Connect with Rick Lee James Website: RickLeeJames.com Music & merch: search “Rick Lee James” on your favorite music platform Subscribe, rate, and review Voices in My Head wherever you listen to podcasts.     Hosted by: Rick Lee James — Voices in My Head Podcast                 Get the Audiobook, Out of the Depths: A Songwriter's Journey Through the Psalms by your host, Rick Lee James, on Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/B0F45G6KWH?qid=1744142727&sr=1-1&ref_pageloadid=not_applicable&pf_rd_p=83218cca-c308-412f-bfcf-90198b687a2f&pf_rd_r=KEDVV78ASDMS52WQFD7W&plink=3YmaWg4y0HJ0Cjfc&pageLoadId=IaamycyuJR519uYD&creativeId=0d6f6720-f41c-457e-a42b-8c8dceb62f2c&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_1%20 ----more---- Don't forget about our music sale on Bandcamp. Use the code “10off” on RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com to get 10% off your purchase. Blessings, Rick Lee James Email: Rick@RickLeeJames.com Don't forget about our music sale on Bandcamp. Use the code “10off” on RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com to get 10% off your purchase. Blessings, Rick Lee James Email: Rick@RickLeeJames.com Blessings, Rick Lee James Get the new song - Whatever You Do VINYL SALE THUNDER by Rick Lee James ONLY $9.99. (Plus you get a free digital download of the album) VINYL SALE - “KEEP WATCH, DEAR LORD” BY RICK LEE JAMES

You have a chemical imbalance in your brain, so take these chemical drugs, and if it does not work, we will give you more. And, by the way, it never works.  Crrow777 You have a chemical imbalance in your brain, so take these chemical drugs, and if it does not work, we will give you (more...)

Voices in My Head (The Rick Lee James Podcast) Episode 611: Ministry Transitions: Grief and Loss Recorded live at Worship 4:24 at Cedarville University, Rick Lee James explores how ministry transitions carry real grief and loss, even when the change is good. He invites leaders to stop trying to “fix” people or rush past endings, and instead to name what has been lost, because unnamed grief often shows up in congregations as conflict, resistance, disengagement, or quiet sadness. Using Elisabeth Kübler-Ross's grief framework as a set of helpful lenses rather than a checklist, Rick walks through denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance, offering practical ways to recognize what might be happening beneath the surface when worship styles shift, beloved leaders leave, routines change, or familiar symbols disappear. Along the way he shares his own story of moving from decades as a worship pastor into full-time hospital chaplaincy, a faithful transition that still required honest grieving, and he grounds the conversation in biblical lament, reminding listeners that resurrection hope does not bypass Good Friday.     Connect with Rick Lee James Website: RickLeeJames.com Music & merch: search “Rick Lee James” on your favorite music platform Subscribe, rate, and review Voices in My Head wherever you listen to podcasts.     Hosted by: Rick Lee James — Voices in My Head Podcast                 Get the Audiobook, Out of the Depths: A Songwriter's Journey Through the Psalms by your host, Rick Lee James, on Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/B0F45G6KWH?qid=1744142727&sr=1-1&ref_pageloadid=not_applicable&pf_rd_p=83218cca-c308-412f-bfcf-90198b687a2f&pf_rd_r=KEDVV78ASDMS52WQFD7W&plink=3YmaWg4y0HJ0Cjfc&pageLoadId=IaamycyuJR519uYD&creativeId=0d6f6720-f41c-457e-a42b-8c8dceb62f2c&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_1%20 ----more---- Don't forget about our music sale on Bandcamp. Use the code “10off” on RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com to get 10% off your purchase. Blessings, Rick Lee James Email: Rick@RickLeeJames.com Don't forget about our music sale on Bandcamp. Use the code “10off” on RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com to get 10% off your purchase. Blessings, Rick Lee James Email: Rick@RickLeeJames.com Blessings, Rick Lee James Get the new song - Whatever You Do VINYL SALE THUNDER by Rick Lee James ONLY $9.99. (Plus you get a free digital download of the album) VINYL SALE - “KEEP WATCH, DEAR LORD” BY RICK LEE JAMES

Over the past eight months, I've lost two dear loved ones who had a profound impact on my life. They lived fully, with vibrant energy, wisdom, kindness, and deep care for others. While I'm heartbroken that I no longer get to experience their physical presence here on earth, I also feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the love I was able to receive from them, love that was unconditional and deeply shaping. One of them passed just yesterday, so forgive me if my emotions rise as I share, but in the midst of the sadness, I find comfort in knowing that even though I can no longer see them or hear their voices, their spirit lives on. And the love and impact they had on me and so many others remains.  This episode is a reflection on that truth that love and impact don't disappear when someone is gone. They continue through memory, through values, through the ways we show up for others because of what we were given or what we received. On today's Wise Walk, I invite you to slow down with me and reflect on the people you've loved and lost, and consider how their presence still guides you, shapes you, and lives on through you. As you reflect on the loved ones you have lost, how does their love and impact continue to live on in you today? In what ways were they a role model for you, and which of their qualities are you consciously choosing to carry forward for yourself or the next generation? What messages do you still receive from them, and how do you notice their guidance when you are at a crossroads or facing an important decision? What stories from your past bring their presence alive, and how can you retell those stories so others can appreciate how they lived, showed up, and influenced you? Is there someone in your life who has recently experienced a loss, and how might you invite them to share a meaningful story about the person or animal they loved? If you are unsure what to ask, what real-life challenge could you share while inviting their loved one's wisdom through a question like, what advice do you think they would offer me now? What other ways come to mind for helping someone you care about honor a memory and keep it alive through conversation, curiosity, or shared reflection? How are you showing up and leading by example for the people you interact with each day? In what ways is your love and impact staying with others, long after the moment has passed? How are you mentoring others and sharing your wisdom from a place of openness, authenticity, and unconditional care? How are you living your values in a way that inspires others to find their passions, live by what matters most to them, and step into their highest and best self? I hope that whatever you and your loved ones are going through, that you have the ability to start looking at the love and impact around you, both living and passed on. Cherish it, because that's what this is all about.  As always, I would love to hear what you took away from today's episode, so feel free to reach out and tune in next Thursday for another Wise Walk. In this episode: [02:59] There's a saying that we die twice. The first time is when we physically die, and the last time is when people stop saying your name or the memory of your spirit and impact dies.  [04:00] I'm grateful we get to keep memories alive by holding our loved ones in our hearts, sharing what we learned from them, and continuing values and traditions they impressed upon us. [05:02] My loved ones are mentors that have kept me grounded and kept me in check. I love the acceptance and willingness to be vulnerable with each other. [06:04] My friend's dad recently passed, and she's been sharing stories about her connection with him. We have the ability to keep each other's loved ones' memories alive by being curious. [08:09]  I asked my new friend a question about her father, and she started telling me stories about his time in the Navy. He respected rank, but he wasn't afraid to put his foot down and even told an Admiral why something wouldn't work. [09:12] It was wonderful to hear her voice light up when she shared a story about her father who showed up and was able to lead by example. [10:15] When I reflect on the love and impact of my loved ones, I think of their magical confidence and how they led by example. [11:29] The lesson my uncle was trying to teach me is if you have self-belief anything is possible. [12:02] I hope I can instill love and impact in others. The beautiful thing about loss is that you take stock of what you have. [13:38] The other big takeaway is how each of us have the ability to make each other feel special. Feeling seen, heard, and understood is impactful and carries legacy. [14:29] There is no direct path for healing from grief. If you are experiencing any grief, any loss, just know that you have love and support even in the Striders community and it takes as long as it takes. [15:05] Show up and be curious and caring for those that you care about. [16:03] I'm going to approach the services of Aunt Ronnie with the mindset of looking around the room and gathering stories about how her love and impact touched so many. Memorable Quotes: "I'm grateful for the fact that we get to keep the memory of whoever we cherish alive by talking about them, by holding them in our heart, and sharing what we learned from them." - Mary Tess "My loved ones have served as mentors, both when they were here in this earthly presence, and they continue to do so, because I can still hear their voices in my head." - Mary Tess "One of the things that I cherish about some of the loved ones that I have in my life is this acceptance and willingness to be vulnerable with each other. When we do that, we can learn from each other." - Mary Tess "We're not striving for perfection. We're striving for being authentic, for really stepping into our own power and just loving and having positive influence in each other's lives." - Mary Tess Links and Resources: Mary Tess Rooney Email Heart Value Colette Baron-Reid Facebook | LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram

In this episode, I reflect on a Facebook post I shared last week about the difference between the Kingdom of God and every other kingdom. I honestly expected backlash, but instead the post struck a nerve and opened up a surprising amount of thoughtful and gracious conversation. What I am really talking about here is not Republican versus Democrat. It is discipleship. It is about what happens when the Church trades faithfulness for usefulness and why Christians are called to remember, especially in tense moments, that Caesar was never meant to be Lord.     Connect with Rick Lee James Website: RickLeeJames.com Music & merch: search “Rick Lee James” on your favorite music platform Subscribe, rate, and review Voices in My Head wherever you listen to podcasts.     Hosted by: Rick Lee James — Voices in My Head Podcast                 Get the Audiobook, Out of the Depths: A Songwriter's Journey Through the Psalms by your host, Rick Lee James, on Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/B0F45G6KWH?qid=1744142727&sr=1-1&ref_pageloadid=not_applicable&pf_rd_p=83218cca-c308-412f-bfcf-90198b687a2f&pf_rd_r=KEDVV78ASDMS52WQFD7W&plink=3YmaWg4y0HJ0Cjfc&pageLoadId=IaamycyuJR519uYD&creativeId=0d6f6720-f41c-457e-a42b-8c8dceb62f2c&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_1%20 ----more---- Don't forget about our music sale on Bandcamp. Use the code “10off” on RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com to get 10% off your purchase. Blessings, Rick Lee James Email: Rick@RickLeeJames.com Don't forget about our music sale on Bandcamp. Use the code “10off” on RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com to get 10% off your purchase. Blessings, Rick Lee James Email: Rick@RickLeeJames.com Blessings, Rick Lee James Get the new song - Whatever You Do VINYL SALE THUNDER by Rick Lee James ONLY $9.99. (Plus you get a free digital download of the album) VINYL SALE - “KEEP WATCH, DEAR LORD” BY RICK LEE JAMES

In this listener participation episode, Drew and Josh tackle your questions about recovery while celebrating inspiring stories from the community.Questions explored in this episode:Why does my anxiety disorder feel like it's protecting me? When you're struggling with OCD, panic disorder, or health anxiety, your threat response can feel like a cult leader in your head—insisting it has your back, showing you "the truth," and making it incredibly risky to walk away. We break down why this happens and what you can do about it.What about rolling panic attacks? One listener shares their experience of a vacation derailed by cascading panic attacks that wouldn't stop. We explain why panic attacks can roll from one into the next, what fuels this cycle, and how following anxiety's instructions in the moment keeps the wheel turning.How do I handle competing voices in my head? As you progress in recovery, you may notice different voices—one saying "freak out now" and another saying "wait, let's see what's happening here." We discuss what these voices represent and how to work with them.Other topics: Managing health anxiety when you're actually sick, dealing with rejection without letting it fuel future anxiety, and why thinking about "what could have been" isn't grief—it's just overthinking.Did It Anyways from listeners include:Changing medication brands without obsessing over side effectsDriving four hours alone to a camping trip despite agoraphobiaSitting through a three-hour movie after a year of avoidanceGrocery shopping while anxiousSharing romantic feelings despite fear of rejectionKey takeaway: The simplest description of anxiety disorder recovery? Getting really good at leaving it the hell alone. That means resisting the urge to fix, control, or prevent uncomfortable feelings, and instead doing what non-anxious you would do—even while you're feeling scared.---The Disordered Guide to Health Anxiety is now available. If you're struggling with health anxiety, this book is for you.---Want a way to ask questions about this episode or interact with other Disordered listeners?  The Disordered community is nearing is opening day! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Visit our home page and get on our mailing list for more information..---Struggling with worry and rumination that you feel you can't stop or control? Check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Worry and Rumination Explained⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, a two hour pre-recorded workshop produced by Josh and Drew. The workshop takes a deep dive into the mechanics of worrying and ruminating, offering some helpful ways to approach the seemingly unsolvable problem of trying to solve seemingly unsolvable problems.