The New Thought philosophy tells us we can "look a fact in the face and know something better". Rev. Bill is solo today, talking about one of his favorite topics - the Pivot. It's the specific technique we can use to overcome a tendency toward the experiences we've always had to invite something new, and wonderful. Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! There's more information about the podcast, and the classes and resources to bring Prac...
Jun 11, 2025•30 min•Season 17Ep. 201
Carol points out that scripture says that Death and Life is in the power of the Word. She and Rev. Bill dive into the tremendous power of words, especially when they are focused and activated in a practical prayer. (Rebroadcast from episode 86 on 1/25/2023). Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! There's more information about the podcast, and the classes and resources to bring Practical Prayer, more fully into your life at be-the-light.co...
Jun 04, 2025•40 min
For the 200th episode, Carol wanted a topic that is especially intriguing and uplifting. More fundamental than growth, the Universe is expanding in all ways, so the conversation is about how we are expanding in our spirituality, too. Rev. Bill (as usual) takes the discussion back to the fundamental concept that we are already 100% spiritual, and what expands is our awareness of it. Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! There's more inform...
May 28, 2025•40 min•Season 17Ep. 200
A listener is having trouble with intrusive thoughts about tripping and falling, and is concerned that this repetitive mental activity could be drawing a problem into his life. Carol's experience is that the negative thoughts are coming from within, so the best place to start is an internal dialog to change the thoughts. Rev. Bill adds that it's not our thoughts that create our experience of life, but our beliefs. He suggests a technique to pivot from the undesired experience to what would be pr...
May 21, 2025•36 min•Season 17Ep. 199
Carol wants to talk about AI. Can it can enhance our expression or risk dulling our minds? She and Rev. Bill explore the rise of Artificial Intelligence and its impact on creativity, spirituality, and human thought. The conversation turns to AI-generated prayer, offering a fresh perspective on tradition, technology, and the soul of spiritual practice. Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! There's more information about the podcast, and th...
May 14, 2025•46 min•Season 17Ep. 198
Carol has noticed that many people have a tendency to think of God in human terms, to anthropomorphize the Infinite. Rev. Bill has some ideas about why this happens, the two discuss the challenges and benefits of letting go of the idea of a Guy in the Sky. Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! There's more information about the podcast, and the classes and resources to bring Practical Prayer, more fully into your life at be-the-light.com ...
May 07, 2025•42 min•Season 17Ep. 197
Our money says "In God We Trust", and Carol thinks it shows that we all share a common belief that we're carrying with us at all times. Rev. Bill agrees, mostly, and points out that we can trust the Infinite to create according to our beliefs even when we don't like what we're believing in. Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! There's more information about the podcast, and the classes and resources to bring Practical Prayer, more fully ...
Apr 30, 2025•35 min•Season 17Ep. 196
Carol has been a leader in three different religious denominations, and has found one consistent element throughout, which is the hunger for truth - for what is true? Her answer suggests that each of us has what is true for us. Rev. Bill takes the New Thought perspective and goes back to the Ultimate Truth that there is ONLY God, showing up differently for/as each of us. Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! There's more information about...
Apr 23, 2025•45 min•Season 17Ep. 195
Things happen - "bad things" - and Carol has found that people get paralyzed by fear that they'll get worse, or catastrophe will ensue. She and Rev. Bill explore how we can all turn to the Principles underlying the New Thought teaching, and the foundational source of the power of Practical Prayer. Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! There's more information about the podcast, and the classes and resources to bring Practical Prayer, more...
Apr 16, 2025•48 min•Season 17Ep. 194
People around Carol are insecure about meditation - afraid that they're going to do it wrong,that they'll choose the wrong technique, or an unsuitable teacher or guru, or that they won't be able to stay awake, or sit still, olr whatever. Rev. Bill reminds us that we can't figure it out ahead of time, so the thing to do is meditate, then see how it went, then either meditate that way again, or try it a different way. Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your fri...
Apr 09, 2025•45 min•Season 17Ep. 193
Carol has a notion of a Sacred Contract - an agreement we make as we begin our human lives about who we're here to be, and what we're here to do. Rev. Bill has a similar idea that we are born with a unique set of skills, abilities and possibilities, and our opportunity is to figure out what they are and how best to use them. They wholeheartedly agree that predestination, where we have no free will, is hogwash. Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends t...
Apr 02, 2025•41 min•Season 16Ep. 192
The reason for prayer is to change an experience we're having in life - a Practical Prayer works! Carol and Rev. Bill discuss the techniques, how different it is from "traditional" prayer, and the ways that their prayers have been yielding results in their lives. Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! There's more information about the podcast, and the classes and resources to bring Practical Prayer, more fully into your life at be-the-lig...
Mar 26, 2025•40 min•Season 16Ep. 191
Carol has found that New Thought has Affirmative Prayer, and Practical Prayer, as well as Affirmations and Realizations, and wants to know what the differences are. Rev. Bill takes a giant step back to discuss the differences between New Thought and other spiritual practices, then takes a running jump into Carol's question. Our apologies for the substandard audio quality on a portion of this episode. Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! ...
Mar 19, 2025•46 min•Season 16Ep. 190
People are talking to Carol about synchronicities, with certain sequences of numbers appearing over and over, and other indicators that there's more going on than meets the eye. Rev. Bill suggests that these "little happy coincidences" are indications of the "big happy coincidence", which is another version of the Creation Story of the Universe. Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! There's more information about the podcast, and the clas...
Mar 12, 2025•48 min•Season 16Ep. 189
Carol says that everyone wants abundance, but knows that we are pulling from a limitless sea of potential. The question is how we can connect with it, and experience it? Rev. Bill says that we can't pray for abundance, but instead get to align ourselves between the experience we desire and the Infinite Power that brings it into our lives. Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! There's more information about the podcast, and the classes and...
Mar 05, 2025•40 min•Season 16Ep. 188
Carol has noticed what seems like a discrepancy in the New Thought philosophy - that we are individulized expressions of the One Divine Presence, but there is no separation. Rev. Bill jumps in with examples that include lifting our hands, raindrops and rainbows. Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! There's more information about the podcast, and the classes and resources to bring Practical Prayer, more fully into your life at be-the-ligh...
Feb 26, 2025•44 min•Season 16Ep. 187
There have always been difficult times, and Carol reminds us that even in the midst of good times we can experience difficulty. Rev. Bill notes that events are currently moving very quickly, and that there will - somehow - be a process of re-balancing. Our challenge is to keep ourselves balanced while the process unfolds. Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! There's more information about the podcast, and the classes and resources to bri...
Feb 19, 2025•41 min•Season 16Ep. 186
Carol believes that it's crucial to attend to our spiritual growth, but has noticed that not everyone agrees. Rev. Bill points out that "practice makes practiced", and that everyone is free to attend to life at the experiential level, or develop a practice to cultivate a deeper awareness of our spiritual nature. Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! There's more information about the podcast, and the classes and resources to bring Practic...
Feb 12, 2025•37 min
Carol has found that the idea of "oneness" can be a heavy lift for people coming into the New Thought philosophy. Non-duality is easy, because it means the same thing as oneness. But where did the notion of duality come from in the first place? Rev. Bill describes how our perspective on the world and sense of duality comes at us through all five senses. Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! There's more information about the podcast, and ...
Feb 05, 2025•46 min•Season 16Ep. 185
People have more and more been reaching out to Carol in distress over the challengin times we live in. She's pretty calm about it, but brought the topic up for deeper discussion. Rev. Bill notes that "challenging times" happen all the time, and reminds us that we are able to look the "facts" in the face and know something better. Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! There's more information about the podcast, and the classes and resource...
Jan 29, 2025•36 min•Season 16Ep. 184
Carol notes that when a "miracle" happens, it might have been in the works for many years, and seems miraculous because we didn't see it coming. Rev. Bill agrees, suggesting that the "miracle" might not just be love at first sight, but the meeting and enduring friendship with the person who invited you to the party where the miracle happened. Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! There's more information about the podcast, and the classes...
Jan 22, 2025•34 min•Season 16Ep. 183
Carol believes that ego is key to our success, and also drives our failures and frustrations. Rev. Bill suggests that there's a difference between controlling our ego and not letting our ego control us. Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! There's more information about the podcast, and the classes and resources to bring Practical Prayer, more fully into your life at be-the-light.com . This podcast is supported by listeners like you. We’...
Jan 15, 2025•38 min•Season 16Ep. 182
Carol asks, "Is everything a miracle? Or is nothing a miracle?" Rev. Bill says the answer is "yes," and the discussion proceeds with the idea that the miracle of life and all of Creation depends on how you look at it. Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! There's more information about the podcast, and the classes and resources to bring Practical Prayer, more fully into your life at be-the-light.com . This podcast is supported by listener...
Jan 08, 2025•38 min•Season 16Ep. 181
Rev. Bill is solo in this episode. He talks about the the simplicty of Practical Prayer, and how that simplicity contrasts with the complexity of actually practicing with it in our day to day life. Transformation is at hand, but might require some diligence on our part! Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! There's more information about the podcast, and the classes and resources to bring Practical Prayer, more fully into your life at be-...
Jan 01, 2025•34 min•Season 15Ep. 180
Time seems to be moving SO quickly to Carol and those around her. Changes that used to take ten years now happen in two years, or even faster. How do we maintain our center? Rev. Bill offers perspective on the ways that the changes are not just disruptive, but open up new avenues for good. Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! There's more information about the podcast, and the classes and resources to bring Practical Prayer, more fully i...
Dec 25, 2024•43 min•Season 15Ep. 179
The ideas of Hell and Heaven saturate traditional religion, and Carol wants Rev. Bill's perspective. He breaks the conversation down into three facets - what Heaven and Hell are, where you're going, who gets to say where you're going, and why. Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! There's more information about the podcast, and the classes and resources to bring Practical Prayer, more fully into your life at be-the-light.com . This podcas...
Dec 18, 2024•41 min•Season 15Ep. 178
Carol is intrigued by Rev. Bill's claim a few episodes back that "we don't manifest anything." There are clearly a LOT of people busy doing Manifesting work of all sorts. so she wants to know what the heck he's talking about. The conversation turns to "Theolocation", a new term coined by Bill to help explain it. Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! There's more information about the podcast, and the classes and resources to bring Practic...
Dec 11, 2024•40 min•Season 15Ep. 177
Some people around Carol have been using the words wealth, prosperity and abundance as three ways to say the same thing. The are different, and Rev. Bill explains that Abundance is an aspect of God while the other two are descriptions of the ways that we can experience life. Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! There's more information about the podcast, and the classes and resources to bring Practical Prayer, more fully into your life a...
Dec 04, 2024•38 min•Season 15Ep. 176
Carol has a lifelong love of music, and is aware of the possibility for messages to be hidden within. There are other ways we can be influenced without our specific awareness. Rev. Bill dives into the topic, with stories along the way of meditation, hypnosis, and gardening. Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! There's more information about the podcast, and the classes and resources to bring Practical Prayer, more fully into your life at...
Nov 27, 2024•41 min•Season 15Ep. 175
Carol has come across the notion of "outlining", which is different in the bible than the way it's addressed by Emmet Fox, and other visionaries of New Thought. Rev. Bill describes outlining as our tendency to identify what we want AND the process by which we expect to get it. It's like wanting a work of art but giving the Infinite a color-by-numbers canvas that severely limits our possibilities. Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! Ther...
Nov 20, 2024•47 min•Season 15Ep. 174
