In 2013, I launched a contemplative community in the heart of Seattle’s University District. This wasn’t a veiled church plant and it wasn’t a specific church’s Thursday night service. It was a group of folks coming together because they felt done – or done-ish – with the typical Sunday morning experience. They were in search of practical, accessible tools with which to engage their inner lives in a new setting with like-hearted people around them. They were searching for a... Read more
While speaking on a podcast a few weeks ago, I was asked about who signs up for my workshops and offerings. For context, I’ve been leading workshops on contemplative spirituality and shadow work for the past decade. It began in 2013 when I couldn’t stand being in a traditional church anymore, so I formed a community in Seattle that meditated and had dinner together every week. When that ended three years later, my workshops moved to Tacoma and began to... Read more
In 2013, I began to lead workshops on contemplative spirituality and meditation; this wasn’t because I was an expert (far from it), but because I was searching for community. I had grown up in a religious tradition that offered symbols and customs that just didn’t work for me any longer: praying to what Christena Cleveland refers to as “whitemalegod,” sitting quietly in a sanctuary staring up at a pastor who had the magical powers of blessing, singing of sacrifice and... Read more
Over the past few years, almost every workshop I’ve led has involved, in one way or another, something called “shadow work.” I’ve written a longer explainer on my own approach to shadow work and somatic shadow work, in particular, but here’s the gist of it using some of my favorite quotes from psychologists and practitioners. What is the Shadow? Carl Jung, the famous psychoanalyst who first began exploring the idea of internal shadows, wrote that the shadow is the... Read more
For me, spirituality and therapy are deeply related. While there are obvious differences in language used, underlying beliefs, practitioner emphases, and general practices, they are both about seeing reality a bit more clearly. There is a gray area where one’s inner spiritual depth is fed by therapeutic practice and one’s sense of wholeness is fed by the depths of their spirituality. Because of these blurred lines and gray area, I find it obvious – and at times easy – to... Read more
Read my full interview on purity culture with Jenny McGrath here. Having grown up in a progressive Christian context, I was graciously spared much of the explicit harms and impacts of purity culture. So when my friends, many of whom were raised in conservative and evangelical environments, share with grief-filled laughter their stories of promise rings and abstinence-only education, I can often only connect with bits and pieces of their experience. And yet – there is a subtle similarity that... Read more
While the Supreme Court chose today to preserve women’s access to mifepristone for a bit longer – the right-wing will continue these attacks on the autonomy and inherent dignity of women. Core to my spirituality is the belief that everyone has inherent dignity – that it is in our bones, the very essence of who we are. For me, this is part of what it means to be made in the image and likeness of God. And part of having... Read more
It began with tears. I sat in the front row of my childhood church in what I knew to be my family’s final service in the community where I had grown up. Ordained in the United Methodist Church, my dad was subject to being reappointed on occasion, whenever the bishop decided a change was to be made. To my knowledge, it’s a process somewhat akin to that of a general manager’s office in the Major Leagues: a group of advisors... Read more
A few years ago, I found I was really struggling to stay present. I would go on these long walks through my neighborhood and instead of experiencing the world around me, my mind would be swirling with stories of “what I should have done” and “what I will say next time.” I was avoiding the present moment (which held a fair bit of grief and anger at the time) by living in either memories or fantasies. Sound familiar at all? According to... Read more
Today is your last chance to get Unmasking the Inner Critic on sale! Brian McLaren calls Unmasking the Inner Critic: Lessons for Living an Unconstricted Life “a beautiful and accessible guidebook to help you do the inner work central to the act of being human.” More than 40% off through the end of today! Paperback: $10 + shipping (normally $18.95 + shipping on Amazon) eBook: $0.99 through TODAY, April 8th About Unmasking the Inner Critic “An excellent read for people of the Christian... Read more
Becoming Faithful Questioners and Social Poets
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