podcast

Episode 20: The 4 Parts of Everything

When you ring a bell (or a singing bowl, which I use to help me in this episode) you hear the strike of the bell for only an instant; it is the resonance, the ripple of the strike that you hear for a good long while. So it is in our lives. There are four parts to everything, but we rarely give attention and honor to the fourth part of everything, which is the ripple effect.

Come check join this conversation about truth and enchantment in plain sight, and I can almost guarantee how you view just about everything that happens in your life will change!

Email your thoughts, comments, joys, disagreements, etc to me at lifeinthewhirlwind@gmail.com or leave a comment below this post on the podcast website at lifeinthewhirlwind.com/podcast/episode20.

Episode 19: A Return to Original Goodness

Episode 19: A Return to Original Goodness

Has anyone ever said to you, "You are good" ? Did you quickly deny it (either internally or externally)? Did you ponder it? Did you believe the person? Unfortunately we are much quicker to believe that we are inherently bad, yet that's very contrary to the story the Divine Maker has given us.

This episode just skims the surface of the conversation of Original Goodness and True Self, which will surely continue on this podcast. We were made in and from Love, and yet we are told so differently by experiences and people in our lives.

I invite you to enter into this episode receptive to your innate very-goodness, and receive and ponder these truths this week. And remember: you are very, very good.

Email me! lifeinthewhirlwind@gmail.com or write a comment below this episode.

Episode 18: The Mischief of the Shadow Self

Episode 18: The Mischief of the Shadow Self

Acknowledged or not, we all have these parts of ourselves that we banish to the shadows – believing that if others saw these parts, we would be rejected and shamed. But consider this: have you ever seen more good than harm come from leaving things in the dark places?

In this natural follow-up to Episode 17 on the value of being seen and known, Episode 18 proposes in detail why being seen and known may actually start and end with knowing thyself. Some think of this as narcissistic and navel-gazing and distracting from truly valuable things that need attention; but I would argue that it is far more mischievous (dare I say dangerous) to not be aware of that parts of you that lie in the shadow.

Pour a cup of tea (or whatever it is that you drink when you listen to these episodes) and come join the conversation! It's nothing without you.

Email me your thoughts, your other possible scenarios (you'll get this reference when you listen to the episode), or whatever else is on your mind and heart – lifeinthewhirlwind@gmail.com.

Episode 17: Life in the Process (Visiting Voice: Ryan Thomas Neace)

Episode 17: Life in the Process (Visiting Voice: Ryan Thomas Neace)

This week I've got a real treat for you...a visiting voice! An artful one, at that. But first, let me whet your whistle.

So do you ever happen to notice that we go through our days having innumerable experiences just underneath the experiences that are obvious to the naked eye? We say things, but how often do we realize why we say them, or from what part of us they come? When we have an emotional response, we often act upon it in some way, but how often do we reflect on what that is rooted in?

For this episode one of my dearest friends, Ryan Thomas Neace, joins me to talk about process. Process, as we talk about it in this episode, is the choice to experience, expand, and share our awareness of our life's subtext in order to nourish the space inside us and between us & those with whom we share life. Ryan and I both  practice process in our own lives as a way to deepen a quintessential aspect of what it means to be truly human: to know and be known by one another. So I thought it would be fun to talk about in an episode! Come join the conversation as we look at the value, practicalities, barriers, purposes, etc of process as a life-giving practice.

Production note: In my constant pursuit to practice authenticity in this podcast, this episode contains some "sound blemishes," including some crackling, some cell phone interference, and (best of all) a very human moment between us where Ryan thought his audio had stopped recording and we had a brief moment of fear. I chose to leave these in, hoping you'll enjoy our humanness as much as I did.

Any questions or comments? Please email me at lifeinthewhirlwind@gmail.com. Feel free to copy Ryan in on any emails about this episode as well. His address is ryan@changeincorporated.org. And please read more of Ryan's deep and multitudinal wisdom at his website by clicking here: Ryan Thomas Neace on the interwebs.

Episode 16: A Teeny Tiny Introduction to Non-Attachment

Episode 16: A Teeny Tiny Introduction to Non-Attachment

I don't know about you, but I think it's so nice to have vocabulary for what we experience in everyday human life. One of the things we experience is attachments to certain outcomes. But there is a lot of value (ancient value, I would daresay) in practicing choice and action while also practicing the release of outcomes. In this first episode of many (I hope) on non-attachment, we scratch the surface of non-attachment, its value to bring us into more whole versions of ourselves, and its ability to help us flourish. (That's a good idea, hmm?) Come join the conversation!

Thanks for all your emails. Keep them coming. I'm treasuring each one and compiling them for a future episode I hope to do on listener emails! Email me at lifeinthewhirlwind.com.

Episode 15: 15 Seconds

Episode 15: 15 Seconds

What is automatic for us is often not the thing that best serves us –– would you agree? We spend so much of our lives in states of automatic thinking, feeling, acting and reacting. But what if, instead, we paused and did something very un-automatic instead? What would change? Come join the conversation on how this experiment can change a lot more than you might imagine.

Please feel free to email me your findings from this experiment this week! In your email let me know if you'd like your findings to stay private / anonymous, or if you don't mind me sharing them in a future episode perhaps. Email me at lifeinthewhirlwind@gmail.com.

Episode 14: What my bucket list taught me about the beginner's mind

Henri Nouwen once wrote a letter to a friend in which he said, "In order to live a hospitable life––not just a hospitable year––you need a lot of time for yourself to read, to write, to study, to meditate, to pray, to just be alone. If you do not claim that for yourself, you are not hospitable enough because you do not create the quiet restful place where people can find healing."

What a week it's been for me to do that! I am grateful to have had a trip to San Francisco where I did just this. On this trip, I checked two things off my bucket list––two things that cleared my head, gave me perspective, filled me with life and awe, and offered me a sweet and distinct sense renewal.

In this episode we'll discuss what we call the beginner's mind, a way of approaching the world and life that is both rooted in the wisdom of the past while practicing an openness to learning. Come join the conversation!

Episode 13: On Transformation: Hospitality of the Self

Episode 13: On Transformation: Hospitality of the Self

We often treat intense emotions or experiences like intruders. While this may seem natural and normal (since everyone around us is often doing it), what if it's leading to unnecessary suffering and holding us back from our best available life? As I like to say, vulnerability is hospitality of the self. Come join us for this episode as we discuss opening ourselves in different ways and how to attempt different approaches to experiences we have previously rejected. Come join the conversation!

Episode 11: Don't Hold Onto Me

Episode 11: Don't Hold Onto Me

In this season of considering losses, I've found myself asking: Why do we cling to what we cling to? It makes sense that we hold on, but what is actually happening when we do? In this episode we also explore & consider why we end up needing to release where we are being invited to release (even though yes, it is absolutely excruciating to do so), and what often happens to us when we do let go. Come join the conversation.

Want to join the conversation more deeply? Email your comments, questions, answers to the invitation questions, etc to lifeinthewhirlwind@gmail.com. I'd love to hear from you, and maybe even consider engaging your thoughts, questions, and insights in future episodes! Come really join the conversation!

Episode 10: The Seeds of Manny's Garden

Last week I lost a dear friend, mentor, teacher, and surrogate family member – Manny Ortiz. Manny's life was the embodiment of Life in the Whirlwind. While he will be missed by the countless people with whom he intertwined his life, we all carry these pieces of him, creating a new kind of whole with him gone.

This episode explores not just what Manny inspirited and invoked in me personally, but what he taught me about change, possibility, and the tireless intention to find Life everywhere.

Episode 9: Different Ways of Seeing

Episode 9: Different Ways of Seeing

Have you ever looked at something so many times that you stopped seeing it? Or have you ever been looking for your keys frantically, then suddenly you look down and they've been there the whole time? These are just simple examples of how there are different ways of seeing. In this episode we explore a lot of examples of how this might happen for you, how media and marketing appeals to certain ways of seeing, and how attachment to seeing things certain ways can deeply limit our development as people in the world. Come join the conversation, and hear a beautiful song that drives it home at the end.

Episode 8: How to Be in Two Places at Once – Part 2

Episode 8: How to Be in Two Places at Once – Part 2

This week we discuss how to be in two places at once in ways that serve us, with more than a little inspiration from one of J.R.R. Tolkien's rarest stories. As we move through life, all the people, places, and things that have formed us weave an inner tapestry. Join us for part 2 of this conversation.