Click here to send me a fan letter, er, I mean a text message ... Intuition is our portal to knowing everything. What our rational mind doesn't know, and can't know, is available to us through those flashes of insight that solve problems, give us direction, and suggest meaning and purpose for our lives. Kim Chestney, author of The Illumination Code…

Click here to send me a fan letter, er, I mean a text message ... By the time an author scores a major publishing deal they are usually beyond the reach of mere mortals. So, when it happens to a friend, there is a unique sense of privilege watching the process unfold from the inside. Such is the case with Jessica Waite, whose memoir, "The Widow's G…

Click here to send me a fan letter, er, I mean a text message ... So many writers hide their light under a bushel, thinking they don't deserve the term "writer." But writing groups can put the lie to that fear, coaxing us and our words out from hiding. The UnderStory Collective is the writing group I belong to. I invited them to the Cave to share t…

Click here to send me a fan letter, er, I mean a text message ... You can hear it in her voice. This is a woman who knows herself and her place in the universe. But fortunately for us, she believes that that place is to help others find their voice too. "Writing by Heart" is Meredith Heller's invitation to find the inner path to yourself ... throug…

Click here to send me a fan letter, er, I mean a text message ... Psychedelics can show us what's beyond our ordinary consciousness. Meditation can help us to live day by day from that place. But in the end all practices fall short: the spiritual journey requires a letting go, not a holding on. Zen teacher Ryushin uses words only to point beyond th…

Click here to send me a fan letter, er, I mean a text message ... The Ordinary Reality we experience every day may not be the only reality there is. It may not even be the real one. Non-Ordinary Reality is a fantastical cosmos populated by Spirit Beings—plants, animals, and people—who are devoted to our health and wholeness. It's the job of shamans…

Click here to send me a fan letter, er, I mean a text message ... It's like we're walking around blindfolded. We feel we are alone in the universe while spirit guides hover close by, waiting for us to acknowledge them. We feel it all comes down to our wills and to our efforts while energy pours into our hearts from a cosmic Source. Reiki Master Jan…

Click here to send me a fan letter, er, I mean a text message ... There's something encoded in our souls that seeks hope even in the face of hopelessness. That spark, that gene, that impossible dream is what allows us to discover new stories to replace the old ones and to usher in the new world we seek. Activist, storyteller, and writer Gareth Higg…

Click here to send me a fan letter, er, I mean a text message ... Teresa Hanlon was doing ministry within her church long before she was ordained. But when she became a priest, her Church excommunicated her and inhibited her from doing the work she loved. Providentially, for her and the other women priests ordained within the Catholic tradition (if…

Click here to send me a fan letter, er, I mean a text message ... Everything we do reflects Soul. Because Soul is about what's inside. How we dress is one way we let our inner self out, to be seen. Barry Foster, known by some as "the best dressed man in church land," knows that our sartorial choices are so much more than fashion statements. They ar…

Click here to send me a fan letter, er, I mean a text message ... Here's a song I wrote a few years ago that has become special to me. I often use it to close my performances of music and storytelling. This version is just a demo, meaning the song is still in development. But I wanted to share it with you as is, as a small gift at New Years. Enjoy!…

Click here to send me a fan letter, er, I mean a text message ... Set in 1995, when people still smoked and few had cell phones, this retelling of the Christmas story imagines a young couple overwhelmed by circumstances larger than themselves and by a dark and inhospitable world seemingly incapable of welcoming their newborn. Until the city utility…

Click here to send me a fan letter, er, I mean a text message ... After days, weeks, even years of preparation, each Vision Quester headed off for a three-day solo fast on a mountainside in Southwestern Colorado. Every experience was unique. But everyone had an experience, a Soul Encounter, that awakened us to our place in the Universe. Here, Vince…

Click here to send me a fan letter, er, I mean a text message ... Eleven days camping on a Colorado mountainside, three of those days a solo fast, seeking an encounter with Nature that might grant us a vision of our mythopoetic identities, our unique place in the Universe: it would have been an ambitious undertaking for someone half our age. But so…

Click here to send me a fan letter, er, I mean a text message ... A few gurus and spiritual leaders have given all the others a bad name. But yoga and meditation instructor Vickie MacArthur has a story to tell about Thich Nhat Hanh, the Vietnamese Zen Master, whose gaze was all it took to change her life, filling her with divine love. It's a story …

Click here to send me a fan letter, er, I mean a text message ... We might deny it, but we're all creative. We might not make a painting, but we might make a garden or a business or a home. Visual artist Jan Handy speaks with me about the challenges and the joys of following our Muse. It's everyone's calling. Resources Jan's email address: jajhandy…

Click here to send me a fan letter, er, I mean a text message ... Is our spirituality shaped by our sexuality? Or are we shaped more by the social constructs of that sexuality? Counselling psychologist and professor emeritus Kevin Alderson has spent his career specializing in LGBTQ+ issues and helping people to accept themselves, whatever their sex…

Click here to send me a fan letter, er, I mean a text message ... What if our place in the Universe isn't a job, or a role, or anything the world might recognize as useful? What if it's more subtle and more fundamental than how the world sees us? What would that look like? And how would we even know if we'd found it? Celia McBride's memoir, O My Go…

Click here to send me a fan letter, er, I mean a text message ... Jesus told a parable about a wealthy man who increased his holdings and expanded his storage facilities for all his goods, until the day came when he was informed that his soul was required of him. Would that he had cared for his soul before it was taken away. James Hollis has been c…

Click here to send me a fan letter, er, I mean a text message ... Prophets don't call themselves prophets. They speak their words or write their books until people start to notice. Then they may open a wisdom school or create magical live events or succumb to interviews with podcasters. All this describes Stephen Jenkinson. When he writes, or speak…

Click here to send me a fan letter, er, I mean a text message ... Out here on the far side of conventional religion it is important that the seeker find a few guideposts. Otherwise the open landscape can feel overwhelming. Thomas Moore has been a seeker's lodestar for over thirty years, ever since he reintroduced us to the language of “Soul” in his…

Click here to send me a fan letter, er, I mean a text message ... Darold Black loves people and he loves pictures. So it's no surprise that our conversation about wisdom turned into personal stories about life. Wisdom doesn't come to us as lofty ideas. It comes to us as images from the heart. Darold is working on a documentary series called "E5," a…

Click here to send me a fan letter, er, I mean a text message ... Some would prefer to say spiritual "companionship" rather than "direction," and that would probably be more accurate. Because it's not about directing anyone anywhere, except, that is, to pay attention to the subtle movements within your own heart and soul. And that's what spiritual …

Click here to send me a fan letter, er, I mean a text message ... Words fail us when we try to speak of the mysteries of life and death and the other soulful experiences of our lives. Except, that is, for the words of poets. In the modern age we turn to poetry as if to holy scripture, searching for the images and metaphors that help us express our …

Click here to send me a fan letter, er, I mean a text message ... Many men, having inherited the cultural expectations of former generations, feel they are being shamed in the modern age. Traditional male traits, such as protectiveness, leadership, and strength, are now denigrated for their toxic potential rather than celebrated for their social va…

Click here to send me a fan letter, er, I mean a text message ... If we're searching for a connection with our souls, we needn’t look any further than our voice. Quite apart from the words we use and the intentions behind those words, our voice reveals the state of things within. Are we anxious, are we confident, are we restful? The voice knows. Co…

Click here to send me a fan letter, er, I mean a text message ... Some say before we could sing, we drummed. Whether or not that's accurate, drumming is one of our most primitive forms of communication. Perhaps, it once helped us to "talk" across great distances. Perhaps, it brought us together to unify and strengthen the community. Perhaps, it was…

Click here to send me a fan letter, er, I mean a text message ... Yoga is not just about poses and posers. It's about a soulful engagement with our own lives that includes both our bodies and our dreams. It's about the rediscovery of the connection we have lost with the Earth, and about the purpose that the Earth itself is dreaming for us. Rebecca …

Click here to send me a fan letter, er, I mean a text message ... "You can be so heavenly minded," the saying goes, "that you're of no earthly use." Ouch for all us lofty-headed idealists! But bringing together heavenly ideals and earthly resources--now that's useful! And that's what Howard Fischer is doing with Gratitude Railroad, his impact inves…

Click here to send me a fan letter, er, I mean a text message ... Many of us fear aging. We suppose that the long slow slide on the other side of the hill is a negation of the one life we've been given to live. But what if it's the opposite? What if aging is our crowning glory, all that experience finally adding up to something: meaning, depth, and…

Click here to send me a fan letter, er, I mean a text message ... What if the Earth is beyond saving? What if only the abandonment of hope will deliver us to the new world we seek? What if eco-grief is the portal we need to rediscover our role in the natural world, and in its healing? Jodi Lammiman is an eco-awareness counsellor and spiritual guide…

Click here to send me a fan letter, er, I mean a text message ... Bob had decided to lock Christmas out this year. Given the events of the past year who could blame him? But Christmas had other ideas and snuck in the back door instead, leaving the door ajar. As it must be, if we're to let the Christ Child in. Music Credits (under license by SOCAN 2…

Click here to send me a fan letter, er, I mean a text message ... It was indeed intense, but I was learning the ways of Soul and shedding the fears that prevented me from knowing and living out, fully, my purpose on the earth. As we camped in the woods and wandered and drummed and danced and dreamed, I knew something important was happening. I was …

Click here to send me a fan letter, er, I mean a text message ... Morning coffee with one's spouse? Listening to other people's stories? Reading whatever you want? This is spiritual practice? If you've been on the spiritual path all your life, then, yes. Because in the end spiritual practice is whatever works, not whatever others have told you to d…

Click here to send me a fan letter, er, I mean a text message ... Some forms of prayer seem to assume that we must capture the attention of a far-off God, like lassoing a star. Contemplation assumes God's already here, deep within, and not just within us, but within all created beings. Liz Rees, a contemplative teacher and guide, talks to me about …

Click here to send me a fan letter, er, I mean a text message ... When it comes to change in our lives, our rational minds can carry us only so far. Our bodies take us further. But rituals connect body and mind to Soul, creating transformative experiences that help us move through life's most significant passages. Sarah Kerr, death doula and ritual…

Click here to send me a fan letter, er, I mean a text message ... Don't we all want to belong? Don't we miss it, and yearn for it, when we don't? Out here, on the other side of church land, belonging to a community is what seekers miss most about their religious pasts. But not all community is good community, and not every community lasts. In this …

Click here to send me a fan letter, er, I mean a text message ... Out here, on the other side of church land, how do we give voice to the deepest longings of our hearts? Might poetry help us? Reading poems, might they become our sacred texts; writing them, our personal prayers? Poet Richard Osler believes that poetry delivers us to the deep and hol…

Click here to send me a fan letter, er, I mean a text message ... With this episode we launch a new season of The Mystic Cave, with a look at Thomas Moore's 2014 book, "A Religion of One's Own"--for seekers who don't want to give up religious practice just because they've given up religion! In fact, Moore would say, we cannot escape religion, even …

Click here to send me a fan letter, er, I mean a text message ... As David prepares to leave for home, he knows there is no going back. There is only going on, to wherever life is leading him next. But now, he looks forward to that mystery unfolding before him. He's faced it already, and he's found, in the process, his own soul. Making Contact: Fac…

Click here to send me a fan letter, er, I mean a text message ... David is breathing easier now. His days on the Coast are coming to a close and soon he will be heading home, and whatever that will mean. But first, he must face the one challenge that has eluded him. He is drawn one more time to the rugged shoreline. Making Contact: Face Book: “The …

Click here to send me a fan letter, er, I mean a text message ... Forgiveness is one thing, but penance is something else altogether. David faces the consequences of his actions, but that means facing his own humanity, which is perhaps what lies at the bottom of our deepest descent. Making Contact: Face Book: “The Mystic Cave” Face Book group Web s…

Click here to send me a fan letter, er, I mean a text message ... David, desperate to regain some measure of control over his life, makes one last attempt to train his mind on his ministry. But it's futile. The darker forces of Soul will not be repressed by the lofty ways of Spirit. Inevitably, all hell will break loose. Making Contact: Face Book: …

Click here to send me a fan letter, er, I mean a text message ... David's dark days are lightened by a beatific vision that raises new life within him. But not new hope. It's a vision whose fulfillment must be avoided, not embraced. Still, love will have its way, for better or for worse. Making Contact: Face Book: “The Mystic Cave” Face Book group …

Click here to send me a fan letter, er, I mean a text message ... David continues on a downward spiral, all his grand Christmas plans crashing onto the rocks of his flawed humanity. There's not much to give him hope at this darkest time of the year. Except perhaps certain doors closing behind him. Doesn't that always mean new doors opening? Making …

Click here to send me a fan letter, er, I mean a text message ... Dark days bring with them dark thoughts, driving David inward. The sparkling lights of Christmas might have offered him a respite. Instead, like a lighthouse, they serve as a warning: Sailors Beware. Making Contact: Face Book: “The Mystic Cave” Face Book group Web site: https://www.b…

Click here to send me a fan letter, er, I mean a text message ... David leans into his new job, with all its new possibilities. But a coastal ramble warns him that there are dangers here, too, if he's inclined to mind them. New possibilities seem to be accompanied by new risks. Making Contact: Face Book: “The Mystic Cave” Face Book group Web site: …

Click here to send me a fan letter, er, I mean a text message ... David's West Coast days are beginning to work their magic on him. It's the long nighttime shadows that remind him he still has work to do. But his way is lightened by something he hadn't anticipated finding here--friends. Making Contact: Face Book: “The Mystic Cave” Face Book group W…

Click here to send me a fan letter, er, I mean a text message ... David faces his two congregations without the practiced decorum he's used to. And he faces his family too, down the long line of a telephone call, without a decent excuse to call his own. Still, he's wondering if there might be something here, just beneath the surface, that's worth p…

Click here to send me a fan letter, er, I mean a text message ... It is a week of 'firsts' for Father David, chief among them the loss of his honorific. He’s "just David" now. That will have to be enough as he strives to make his mark in his new community and in his new congregations. Making Contact: Face Book: “The Mystic Cave” Face Book group Web…