Today my beloved friend Maria French joins me for a discussion on the post-pandemic world and it it will impact culture, our day to day lives and the church. We dive deep into the concept of the 'new normal', and discuss the myth that our lives will ever 'go back to normal' and how people and even institutions may try, unsuccessfully, to act like the pandemic never happened. We also talk about how people may try to find a new form of certainty, to try and avoid dealing with the collective trauma...
Jun 10, 2021•39 min•Ep. 274
Today I'm joined on the podcast by J Elizabeth Hanson. She shares with us the story of losing her son to suicide several years ago and how this impacted both her and her family. J Elizabeth talks about how her experience of processing and carrying grief, and how this led her to do work alongside others grieving. She talks about the work she does in giving people processing loss practices and rituals which allow them to process grief in a healthier way, alongside the vital work of professional th...
Jun 07, 2021•44 min•Ep. 273
Today, podcaster and author Lisa Delay joins me to talk about navigating 'The Wild Land Within' - doing the internal work of healing and spiritual transformation. She shares with us the power of spiritual & liturgical practice to navigate our inner world, and, alongside therapy, to help us explore and process what we're carrying inside. Lisa gives examples of healthy spiritual practices which, alongside support from mental health professionals, can allow us to confront, manage or process our...
May 31, 2021•56 min•Ep. 272
Today, author Sarah Robinson joins me to talk about depression, mental illness and faith, as she discusses in her new book "I Love Jesus and I Want To Die". Sarah tells her own powerful story of growing up with depression in the context of traditional evangelical Christianity, and the challenges she faced in naming and getting support as she faced these challenges. Sarah talks about bad experiences with 'Christian counselling', and the importance of finding a good therapist and building a health...
May 24, 2021•44 min•Ep. 271
Today Abby Norman returns to the podcast to talk about the importance and transformative, healing power of lament - as she discusses in her new book "You Can Talk to God Like That". We talk about the importance of naming our pain, feeling our pain, and giving voice to the grief and trauma we carry. We explore how naming our pain and lamenting it, actually robs it of its power, and opens up the pathway to healing. We also talk about how lament and naming our pain, allows us to find deeper connect...
May 17, 2021•41 min•Ep. 270
In the second in our short 'Taylor Swift' themed podcast series, my friend Jenna DeWitt joins me to discuss Taylor Swift's story and music in the context of identity and the Enneagram. We go through Taylor's career and see how her music reflected her own personal journey into discovering and owning her own power and voice, and what we notice about her personality type - Enneagram 3 w 4 - through this journey. Jenna shares her own personal experience growing up with Taylor's music, being a simila...
May 13, 2021•47 min•Ep. 269
This week we're doing a short series of Taylor Swift-linked podcasts. In today's episode, we examine Taylor's journey as a storyteller, as told through her music. Heather and I explore the art of storytelling, and how Taylor has perfected and practiced this through her musical career. We also discuss the power of sharing our stories in our art and why good stories are so compelling, and where our own stories have connected with Taylor's work. This episode is a great insight into the power of sto...
May 10, 2021•46 min•Ep. 268
Today my guest is the inspiring author and speaker Jay Bakker. In this episode, recorded in July 2020, he shares his own powerful story of personal and spiritual transformation. He shares more about the trauma, grief, and losses he's experienced and how they impacted his life, theology and faith, as well as the mental health challenges he's faced. We explore how the things Jay experienced changed his perspective on spirituality, Christianity and the church. We also discuss the potential impact o...
May 06, 2021•38 min•Ep. 267
In this episode I'm honoured to be joined by Amanda Held Opelt, to share her stories of grief. Amanda shares her experiences of grief, from losing a beloved grandmother, miscarriage, and the death of her sister Rachel Held Evans. She tenderly and honestly shares the impact grief has had on her life and faith, the questions it raised, how it's shaped her own journey - and we talk about how we as a culture, and individuals, need to develop healthier rituals to name and process our grief. (This epi...
May 03, 2021•54 min•Ep. 266
Today a new on-off series 'Our Grief Stories' begins with author J. A. Browne telling the story of the loss of her mother in 2015, and then her dad in 2019, how she experienced grief, her reaction, and the lessons she learned. She tells us how she learned how we experience life differently through the lens of loss, and how the loss of a parent is a very particular, and very painful type of grief. She tells us the physical, emotional and bodily trauma responses. In talking about this I resonated ...
Apr 26, 2021•56 min•Ep. 265
Today Rev Dr Kate Hanch PhD, comes on the show to talk about her study on prophetic humility through the lens of women, and marginalised women. Fully acknowledging her own inbuilt bias and white privilege, she talks about how we need to centre women in conversations around theology, and historical women theologians whose voices have been silenced due to patriarchy. Dr Kate then moves on to talk about how and where she is finding hope in these difficult times we're living in and how her faith hel...
Apr 22, 2021•41 min•Ep. 264
Today I welcome writer and speaker Bob Doto to the show. In this episode we explore how we can have a form of relationship with the spirits of those who have passed. Bob explains how he discovered and experienced how we can encounter spirits and do spirit work through the lens of biblical hermeneutics, magical and mindfulness practices, shadow work, and self-inquiry. Bob shows having a relationship with the spirits of those who have passed is not only possible within the all Christian traditions...
Apr 19, 2021•42 min•Ep. 263
Today author and coach Caroline McGraw joins me to talk about her new book and why "You Don't Owe Anyone". Caroline explains to us how often we feel obligated to the world around us, feel we "owe" people and put impossible expectations on ourselves, and the unhelpful roles we can sometimes assign ourselves. We explore the dangers of perfectionism and how to free ourselves of it. We also discuss why it's so important to name what we're carrying - fear, trauma, mistakes - and face up to it in orde...
Apr 12, 2021•40 min•Ep. 262
Today I'm joined by author & speaker Sarah Bessey, and speaker, author, podcast host and activist Lisa Sharon Harper, to talk about the new collaborative book they've worked on and contributed to, along with many others, 'A Rhythm of Prayer'. We talk about the background to the creation of the book in the context of the events of the last 12 months - global pandemic, the murder of George Floyd, the US Presidential election and the weight this book carries and the message it wants to send us ...
Apr 06, 2021•32 min•Ep. 261
In this special episode, I sit with Becky Castle Miller and tell my own story. A story of childhood trauma, multiple grief experiences, and a journey through the unhealth of certainty and spiritual abuse, into deconstructing not just my faith, but my life and my identity. It's a story of transcendent spiritual experiences, betrayal, suicidal ideation and nearly losing it all. A journey of healing, transformation and embodiment. My story.
Mar 29, 2021•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 260
Today my friend Kelly Wolfe joins me, to talk about sex, desire, lust, masturbation and healthy ways we can connect these with Christian faith. We talk about the damage purity culture and shame has done to so many people, and how we need to unlearn this and begin to talk about these subjects openly and honestly, and be honest about our desires and how our bodies work, and need to express themselves sexually. Kelly talks openly about how masturbation in the right context can be a healthy expressi...
Mar 22, 2021•41 min•Ep. 259
I'm delighted to be joined today by Dr Hillary McBride PhD, therapist, researcher, author and former co-host of The Liturgists podcast (this episode was recorded before she announced her departure). We just started talking and let the conversation flow - it began by Hillary sharing her own journey and about the experience of being a therapist during a pandemic. Hillary and I also talked about where following our curiosity can take us in our lives, conversations, art and our own personal journeys...
Mar 15, 2021•43 min•Ep. 258
Today I'm joined by Yogi and author Anita Grace Brown to hear her story and talk about her work exploring the connections between Christ, Yoga and how this intertwines with our journey of growth. Anita shares with us how we can use yoga and the story of Jesus to help us enter healthy state of centeredness. She tells us how the human soul might just be God's muscle which we need to work on strengthening - and if we do, we could be transformed. Anita believes we are more resilient than we think, a...
Mar 10, 2021•39 min•Ep. 257
Today I'm joined by Dr Robyn Henderson-Espinoza, Ph.D, Transqueer Activist Latinx Scholar, Public Theologian, and host of the Activist Theology podcast. Dr Robyn tells their story about their lived experience of living with autism, how they became aware of their diagnosis, and not just freedom it brought but also the grief of realising how this may have impacted others pre-diagnosis. They then talk about what this time of lockdown and a global pandemic can teach, and how we can use this time to ...
Mar 01, 2021•47 min•Ep. 256
I'm honoured to be joined by Dr Khaleah Bradshaw, who shares her own story, and also talks about her experiences and research on patriarchy and singleness within the black community. We talk about the challenges all single people face, and why it's better to wait and find a partner who's a good match, than rush in. We also discuss how the challenges of breaking down patriarchal systems which can shame people for singleness. This was a fun and insightful conversation, which will challenge and ins...
Feb 22, 2021•45 min•Ep. 255
In this episode I'm joined by certified life coach and therapist Shelley DeJong. Today Shelley shares her own story of addiction, rock bottom and transformation, and the challenges and stigma she's faced with multiple sclerosis. She talks about her lowest moments and how she shifted out of those places into recovery and healing, and the lessons she's learned in both her life, and her work now as a therapist and a life coach, about healing and personal transformation.
Feb 15, 2021•55 min•Ep. 253
Today my friend Jenna DeWitt joins me. She tells her story of discovering her own sexual and gender identity having grown up in a more traditional Christian environment. Jenna shares about the wide variety of types on the asexual spectrum, and how she discovered a community of people just like her, and found a healthy faith community which accepted her. She likens the wide variety in every aspect of creation, planets, plants, races, animals, how all are different yet all are beautiful and belong...
Feb 11, 2021•47 min•Ep. 252
Today LGBTQI+ pastor Matt Nightingale joins me to tell his story. He shares when he first began to realise he was gay, how this impacted his marriage and his work, and finally coming to the painful and courageous decision to go public, and end his marriage. We then discuss the consequences of this for him, his family and his work and how he's now moving into more freedom and creating communities and safe spaces for LGBTQI+ online, and how it's impacted his role as a pastor. Matt is so inspiring ...
Feb 08, 2021•44 min•Ep. 254
Today I'm joined by writer, theology and the arts MLitt student & book marketer Alexis De Weese to talk about how creativity & the creative process can be a healthy spiritual practice. We both share experiences from our own lives & work where the creative process has allowed us to connect with ourselves and the divine, and how creativity can be a sacred act which opens us up to experience the divine in fresh, and deeply intimate ways. And Alexis offers practical tips for us to help m...
Feb 01, 2021•46 min•Ep. 251
In this episode we talk to Dr Kate Thomas and Dr Kyleanne Hunter about a unique grief & trauma experience, but one which is becoming increasingly relevant in a pandemic and future post pandemic world - the experiences of military women when they return from services. We talk about the unique challenges this represents for so many women, which impact all aspects of their lives, from mental and physical health to career - and how some have developed resilience and learned to move forward posit...
Jan 28, 2021•42 min•Ep. 250
Today I'm joined by podcaster and writer Jonathan Puddle, host of the 'Puddcast', to talk about loving ourselves as we are - and loving ourselves the way we're loved by the divine. Jonathan tells the story of how he doubted myself and condemned himself, and even hated himself—until he was reminded and had the word of Jesus 'love your neighbour as yourself' come to him from a whole new perspective. He talks about how this shift in perspective led everything in his life to change. Jonathan tells u...
Jan 25, 2021•43 min•Ep. 249
Today I'm joined by social psychologist and author Dr Devon Price to discuss their new book, 'Laziness Does Not Exist'. Devon explains how the myth of of laziness developed through the rise of capitalism and the 9-5 working week, and how this is totally contrary to a sustainable, healthy life. They discuss the concept of productivity and numbers and how these have become a marker for a successful life, when in fact this isn't true. Devon alsos explain the damage these myths have done to us indiv...
Jan 18, 2021•40 min•Ep. 248
Today Allison Fallon returns to the show to talk about her new book 'The Power of Writing It Down'. In this episode we explore the power of a writing habit to transform our lives. Allison shares stories and science which both prove conclusively how the act of regular writing can improve both our mental, physical and emotional health. We talk about how writing can connect us with ourselves and reveal truth about us and our lives we might not notice otherwise. Allison also shares how we can overco...
Jan 11, 2021•42 min•Ep. 246
Today podcaster Lauren Larkin joins me to explore the connections between unprocessed grief, religious certainty, and narcissistic behaviour & systems. We talk about how unprocessed grief can often be controlled and repressed by religious certainty and how the longer this goes on, the deeper the disconnection between us and our true selves, and even to the realities we live in - leading to narcissistic behaviour & religious/cultural systems growing and becoming powerful, such as fundamen...
Jan 07, 2021•38 min•Ep. 247
For the first episode of 2021, pastor and author Abby Norman joins me to reflect on 2020 and to discuss the importance of talking to each other and to God about our personal, and collective grief. Abby talks about how we need to learn how to embrace lament, to name our grief before others and with God. We talk about examples of this in our own lives, and in scripture. Abby shares how grief and lament have the power to give us healing and invite us into personal and spiritual transformation, and ...
Jan 04, 2021•49 min•Ep. 245
