My beloved friend Alexander Shaia returns to the Poema Podcast this week - and today we explore the historic pilgrims journey of the Camino in Spain. We explore the history and true meaning of the Camino - and it's lasting impact on the lives who engage in it. This leads into a wider discussion of the lost art of rites of passage - using the Camino as an example, Alexander discusses what a true rite of passage really is, the sacrifice involved, and how it's impact is as much if not more seen aft...
Mar 06, 2019•51 min•Ep. 94
My friend Daniel Skillman returns to the podcast today for a challenging, discomforting and inspiring discussion about non-dualistic thinking - and how binary, dualistic thinking is causing so much damage in both the church, politics and the world at large. Daniel and I explore the flaws in both the conservative and liberal traditions - which have less to do with what they believe (though some of that is questionable), but more how they believe. We look at how we see this demonstrated today in p...
Feb 26, 2019•53 min•Ep. 93
My beloved friend Becky Castle Miller returns to the podcast today, and we talk about two topics which are dear to both of us - spiritual deconstruction/reconstruction, and Doctor Who. Together we explore the character, history and world of Doctor Who, and how there are many aspects of him and his world which resonate with all of our journeys, and in particular deconstruction and reconstruction in our spirituality. We explore companions, and how we often have companions and friends for specific ...
Feb 20, 2019•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 92
Today I'm delighted to welcome back my beloved friend Nora Speakman to the show! In this episode, Nora and I explore the writings of Joseph Campbell, on the power of myth and story. Campbell's work 'The Hero With A Thousand Faces' and exploration of the power of myth and how it influences our lives, and the hero's journey, has had a profound and wide impact on our culture, both in movies, books, spirituality and communication. Nora and I explore together the power of myth and story to shape our ...
Feb 06, 2019•40 min•Ep. 91
My friend Rev Sarah Heath returns to the podcast today. This time Sarah reflects on the year she took out exploring 'Sonderlust' - finding her bliss, exploring her identity, where she wanted to work, issues with dating, and stepping out into the world and living - and sharing it all publicly on a podcast every two weeks . In this episode Sarah unpacks the lessons she's learned on her journey, and some of the experiences she has had - both joyful and painful, and some of the opportunities it's op...
Jan 31, 2019•54 min•Ep. 90
I'm delighted to host Ryan O'Neal, otherwise known as Sleeping At Last, to the show. In today's jam packed episode we discuss the enneagram, Ryan's own spiritual journey, and the creative process and story behind Ryan's creation a series of songs for each Enneagram number. We explore a little behind the enneagram, and Ryan shares how he discovered it, and how he's had to learn about all the different types other than his own, in such depth to create the amazing music in his Enneagram series. We ...
Jan 23, 2019•37 min•Ep. 89
In the first episode of Poema for 2019, regular guest, author, speaker and podcaster Mike McHargue - AKA Science Mike - returns to the show. In this episode he shares in more detail the story behind is recent diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). He shares the challenges he faces, and how it's impacted his coming to terms with major trauma. We also talk about the difficulty and importance of getting a diagnosis, and the importance of ending stigma in both the church and wider culture abou...
Jan 16, 2019•49 min•Ep. 88
Today I welcome Nora Speakman to the show. Nora hosts the 'Liminality Life' podcast on the spiritual journey, living in the liminal space, and growing and discovering more about yourself and the divine. Nora shares her story and the spiritual and creative journey which led to her beginning the podcast, and the lessons she's been learning. We talk about mystery, doubt, deconstruction, and non-dualistic spirituality. We explore how our path and fight for what has always been ours, the purpose of o...
Nov 28, 2018•49 min•Ep. 87
This week my beloved friend Abi Lloyd joins me on the show. Today we discuss what it means to be successful, what our measures for success are, and how those measures of success can impact our lives. Abi and I discuss healthy and unhealthy metrics for success we see in our culture and how they manifest themselves in our lives - how we can tie our value to our "success" and so if and when we have failures, those failures can be deeper and more damaging. We talk about how a healthy view of success...
Nov 21, 2018•59 min•Ep. 86
Chris Morris returns to the show today to talk about the new book, "Whispers In The Pews: Voices on Mental Illness In The Church", a collection of true stories from 18 Christians with mental illness, sharing their experiences of mental illness in the church, which he compiled and edited. Chris and I talk about his own experiences of mental illness and good and bad experiences of this within the church. We discuss what the church has done badly with mental illness, and how it can do better. Chris...
Nov 14, 2018•37 min•Ep. 85
Musician Mr Ekow, is my guest today. We hear his story, including the challenges of being an LGBT Christian, coming out to non-affirming Christians and his pastor, and how this impacted his relationships and own creative journey as a musician. He talks about being stuck in no mans land - wanting to be faithful to God, but also wanting to be true to his own identity. Mr Ekow shows how he has faced both racial and LGBT prejudice and how this had an impact on his emotional and mental health. He the...
Nov 08, 2018•43 min•Ep. 84
Father Nadim Nassar, the Church of England’s only Syrian priest, and an outspoken advocate for western Christians to recognise their Middle-Eastern heritage, is my guest today Father Nadim shares his own journey, and then he and I discuss his first book, 'The Culture of God', and explore how there are three cultures Christians need to understand when they read the Bible: the culture of the Bible itself, their own culture, and finally ‘the culture of God’. In our conversation, we see that ultimat...
Oct 31, 2018•44 min•Ep. 83
Pastor, author & activist Brandan Robertson returns to the podcast today, to talk about his new book 'True Inclusion', and what it means - and doesn't mean - to be a truly inclusive church. Brandan shares from his own experience of pastoring a church, the lessons he has learned about what it means to make a church truly inclusive, both of the LGBTQ community, and those at different stages of their spiritual or even theological journey. He shares the changes he believes the church may have ch...
Oct 24, 2018•45 min•Ep. 82
Barry Pearman, author, gardner, mental health advocate and former pastor joins me today to discuss his new book, 'Broken To Built', a devotional on the book of Nehemiah, and practical ways we can make space for people with mental illness in the church. Barry shares his own journey and experiences with mental illness and how these inspired him to take practical steps to make churches a safe space for mental illness, and how these steps have borne fruit in practice. Finally, we talk about the stor...
Oct 17, 2018•41 min•Ep. 81
Author & Discipleship Director Becky Castle Miller joins me today. Becky suffered from depression after the birth of her second child, and now does a lot of work in helping churches become safe spaces for mental illness, and advocating for church leaders and members to be better educated on mental illness. Today she shares her own story, and talks about how her mental illness led her into a faith deconstruction and reconstruction. Becky and I talk about the importance of educating pastors an...
Oct 10, 2018•50 min•Ep. 80
Today I'm joined by Aaron Smith, AKA as Cultural Savage - an author and blogger. Aaron has been diagnosed bipolar 2, he's also a Christian - and has sadly encountered a lot of stigma, both outside and inside the church, surrounding his own mental illness. Aaron has recently released his first book - "Cultural Savage - The Intersection Between Christianity & Mental Illness", a collection of essays where he shares his experiences of living with Bipolar 2 and how it has intersected with his fai...
Oct 03, 2018•51 min•Ep. 79
Today I'm delighted to welcome author and life coach Felicity Morse to the show. Felicity's first book 'Give A F**k' was released recently and today we talk about the themes of the book - self-care, self-love, boundaries, victimhood and sensitivity. Felicity shares her own story and how she learned how it's not selfish to love ourselves, but, in fact, vitally important to a healthy life and our ability to serve others. We discuss why sensitivity isn't a weakness, but a superpower, a gift we can ...
Sep 26, 2018•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 78
Today my guest is author Shawn Smucker. Shawn has been writing and publishing for nearly two decades, and knows all there is to know about the writers journey, the challenges, the highs and lows of being a writer. Today we talk about these challenges, including how to maintain integrity whilst also promoting work, how to persevere when you're not having success, how to deal with rejection by publishing houses, finding your true voice, and how to live with success and failure. Shawn shares his wr...
Sep 19, 2018•43 min•Ep. 77
Today on the podcast I'm joined by Sam Hailes, journalist and editor of Premier Christianity Magazine, one of the oldest and most widely ready magazines on Christianity in the world. Sam talks to us about the challenge of editing a magazine which aims to represent different perspectives of the Christian faith, and different theological positions, and how he manages to do this whilst also holding strong Christian convictions of his own. Sam shares his own journey into journalism and the challenge...
Sep 12, 2018•41 min•Ep. 76
Today the Poema Podcast returns with my friend, author and writing coach Jim Woods returning to the show. Jim knows pretty much everything when it comes to writing (though he'd never admit to that), and today we talk about the one of the biggest challenge any writer or artist faces - the challenge of completing creative projects. Today Jim shares how he has faced and overcome those challenges, and what he has learned by talking to 16 different authors about how to finish a book. We also talk abo...
Aug 28, 2018•44 min•Ep. 75
In the last episode before the summer break, I'm joined by author, radio host, and licenced mental health counselor Tiffany Werhner. Tiffany shares her story and her experiences of post trauma mental illness, and her experiences of working with those who face mental health challenges. As a licenced mental health professional and someone who has suffered major trauma, Tiffany has a lot of wisdom and encoragement on mental illness for those facing mental health challenges - and for those who aren'...
Jul 31, 2018•47 min•Ep. 74
Today I welcome back my dear friend Beka Lombardo to the podcast. Beka is an author, blogger, podcaster and mental health advocate, who herself suffers from depression. Today she shares her story, and how her circumtances and her mental illness took her to that point of suicide. We discuss together the experience of suicidal ideation - when someone is considering suicide - as well as how and why people get to that point, as well as how to overcome that, sharing from her own experiences. We also ...
Jul 18, 2018•37 min•Ep. 73
My guest today is writer, speaker and advocate for racial equality, Austin Channing Brown. In this episode, we discuss Austin's story in more detail, and the experiences she had of endemic, cultural racism as she grew up, as described in her new book, 'I'm Still Here' - and how her story has shaped her. Austin speaks with great honesty about her own experiences visiting cotton fields as a child, and the reactions of white people around her, and how that experience compelled her to become an advo...
Jun 27, 2018•49 min•Ep. 72
Today, author, broadcaster and LGBT equality campaigner Vicky Beeching is my guest. Today we talk about her new memoir, 'Undivided', and Vicky shares with us the experiences of growing up as an LGBT Christian, how keeping this a secret from even those closest to her had an impact on her emotional, physical and mental health, especially as she moved into public Christian ministry in her twenties. Vicky bravely shares the story of how she came close to committing suicide and what ultimately stoppe...
Jun 12, 2018•52 min•Ep. 71
Today I'm joined again by two members of the Blacksmiths' Daughters - Julida and Sean Alter. This husband and wife team have now collaborated to form their own band, simply called Julyda. They've just released their first EP together, 'Do You Hear Me'. In this episode we talk about the creative journey behind the formation of Julyda, and the EP itself. It's a powerful story, about faith, social justice, doubt, and mystery - which in many ways sums up the journey we'll all on, individually, and c...
Jun 06, 2018•36 min•Ep. 70
Today I'm joined by David Andrews, a poet and author from New Zealand. Today he shares his story, a story of faith, doubt and creativity. We talk about how his faith journey led him into poetry and then explore how what we create is birthed deep inside of us. David also does a beautiful reading of one of his poems, and we discuss the story and creative process behind this poem. Together we explore the mystery and mysticism of poetry and music, and how this can connect with the deeper parts of ou...
May 23, 2018•37 min•Ep. 69
Today I'm joined by my friend, inspiring writer and podcaster Andy Mort. Andy's work focusses on encouraging, providing support and community for highly sensitive people and introverts - people he calls 'gentle rebels'. Just like myself, Andy is an introverted highly sensitive type, and knows all the challenges which come with it. Andy talks today about what it's like to be a highly sensitive introvert, how that can impact daily lives and relationships, and also the ability to have an impact wit...
May 09, 2018•47 min•Ep. 68
Today my good friend Adam Baker joins me on the show. Adam is a singer-songwriter and former missionary, and today he shares his powerful and inspiring story with us. Adam tells us of his creative journey which led him and his wife Sarah into missionary work on the African continent. With great honesty, Adam shares how these dreams went sour, the pain this caused, and how it led him and his wife to question and explore their faith in a way they had never done before - and how this led him deeper...
Apr 25, 2018•50 min•Ep. 67
Today I welcome my dear friend Brandan Robertson back to the show. Brandan Robertson is a pastor, speaker, author and LGBT activist from San Diego, US. Today we talk about his experiences as an LGBT pastor in the US, and about the release of a new book Brandan edited and compiled, 'Our Witness: The Unheard Stories of LGBT Christians'. Brandan shares a few of the most powerful stories sent to him by LGBT Christians of rejection, prejudice and abuse by members of the evanglelical church, and the d...
Apr 18, 2018•40 min•Ep. 66
I'm delighted to welcome my dear friend Teresa Colón to the show today. Teresa is a writer, podcaster, and mental health advocate, who has a dignosis of Bipolar Disorder. Today Teresa shares her raw, honest and inspiring story with us. Teresa talks about her long journey to diagnosis, and how being bipolar has impacted her day to day life. She shares how creativity, and in particular writing, helped her come to terms with her journey, and own the truth of her story - as well as bringing life and...
Apr 11, 2018•41 min•Ep. 65
