This is a further exploration of the unique ways the masculine, or the unhealthy patriarchal world, wounds the son and the daughter.  We'll explore the nature of these wounds using two ancient myths, one about a rat, and the other about the handless maiden.  Like all sacred stories, a few hints and guesses are hidden here that can help us navigate the ways our fathers are wounded, and the ways we all received wounds when we were innocent, and small, and vulnerable.  Although myths rarely spell out the path of healing explicitly, or tell us how to translate it, they nevertheless show us that healing is possible, and that our wild instinctual core can burn brightly again in our lives, opening us further to a life of value and meaning.  Enjoy!

This is a further exploration of the unique ways the masculine, or the unhealthy patriarchal world, wounds the son and the daughter.  We'll explore the nature of these wounds using two ancient myths, one about a rat, and the other about the handless maiden.  Like all sacred stories, a few hints and guesses are hidden here that can help us navigate the ways our fathers are wounded, and the ways we all received wounds when we were innocent, and small, and vulnerable.  Although myths rarely spell out the path of healing explicitly, or tell us how to translate it, they nevertheless show us that healing is possible, and that our wild instinctual core can burn brightly again in our lives, opening us further to a life of value and meaning.  Enjoy!

The Father Wound: Part 2

This episode is an investigation of the father wound.  I'll be exploring our own wounded fathers, the kind of wounds the masculine receives, and the shape of our own wounds as sons and daughters in a "time of no father," to quote Robert Bly.  I'm interested here in the archetypal and mythic terrain of the wounded feeling function, as Jung calls it.  I'm relying heavily on the Robert Johnson's book The Fisher King and the Handless Maiden, as well as Iron John by Robert Bly.  I'm curious what these important myths tell us about our wounded fathers, or the wounded masculine more generally.  This is the beginning of a two-part dive into this realm.  Enjoy!   

This episode is an investigation of the father wound.  I'll be exploring our own wounded fathers, the kind of wounds the masculine receives, and the shape of our own wounds as sons and daughters in a "time of no father," to quote Robert Bly.  I'm interested here in the archetypal and mythic terrain of the wounded feeling function, as Jung calls it.  I'm relying heavily on the Robert Johnson's book The Fisher King and the Handless Maiden, as well as Iron John by Robert Bly.  I'm curious what these important myths tell us about our wounded fathers, or the wounded masculine more generally.  This is the beginning of a two-part dive into this realm.  Enjoy!

The Father Wound: Part 1

Some personal reflections on public/private life tensions, moving to another state, thresholds spaces, and a few other things going on in my life.  Thanks for all your support.  The title is a reference to a poem by Jan Richardson called A Blessing in the Dust, which I read at the end of podcast.  Enjoy! 

Some personal reflections on public/private life tensions, moving to another state, thresholds spaces, and a few other things going on in my life.  Thanks for all your support.  The title is a reference to a poem by Jan Richardson called A Blessing in the Dust, which I read at the end of podcast.  Enjoy!

Blessing in the Dust

Ian Mackenzie

Check out my conversation with Ian MacKenzie, filmmaker and creator of The Mythic Masculine Podcast.  We're experiencing a current renaissance in men's work right now, which is so important for the health and healing of our culture.  Ian has been exploring and bringing forth voices who are contributing to the conversation, and he has his own story of how the mythic masculine has been shaping his life. Check out his work at https://www.themythicmasculine.com/ 

Check out my conversation with Ian MacKenzie, filmmaker and creator of The Mythic Masculine Podcast.  We're experiencing a current renaissance in men's work right now, which is so important for the health and healing of our culture.  Ian has been exploring and bringing forth voices who are contributing to the conversation, and he has his own story of how the mythic masculine has been shaping his life. Check out his work at <a href="https://www.themythicmasculine.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.themythicmasculine.com/</a>

The Mythic Masculine: Ian MacKenzie

"I do not know exactly what a prayer is.  I do know how to pay attention...how to kneel" (Mary Oliver). What do you think about prayer now, with the unraveling of religious categories, and traditional practices?  Does prayer still have a place in the spiritual life? If so, what do we mean by prayer?  Enjoy

"I do not know exactly what a prayer is.  I do know how to pay attention...how to kneel" (Mary Oliver). What do you think about prayer now, with the unraveling of religious categories, and traditional practices?  Does prayer still have a place in the spiritual life? If so, what do we mean by prayer?  Enjoy

Listening as Prayer

Rebecca Wildbear

Here's my conversation with Rebecca Wildbear about her new book Wild Yoga.  She's a guide with Animas Valley Institute, she also teaches Wild Yoga, and other soul-oriented offerings.  We discuss the art and craft of listening, the nature of prayer, and Wild Yoga as a way of being.  You can find her work at https://www.rebeccawildbear.com/ Enjoy!

Here's my conversation with Rebecca Wildbear about her new book Wild Yoga.  She's a guide with Animas Valley Institute, she also teaches Wild Yoga, and other soul-oriented offerings.  We discuss the art and craft of listening, the nature of prayer, and Wild Yoga as a way of being.  You can find her work at <a href="https://www.rebeccawildbear.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.rebeccawildbear.com/</a> Enjoy!

Wild Yoga: A Conversation with Rebecca Wildbear

Psychedelics is the hottest topic in spiritual and therapeutic circles.  Are we ready?  What are the dangers and opportunities?  Ryan Meeks and I have been wrestling with these questions for the last few years.  This podcast is an unscripted conversation about drugs between two friends, not an authoritative final word on the research, or a formula for what's best for each individual.  Ryan has a lot of experience in this world, I do not.  I hope you enjoy our back and forth, as we search for hints and guesses about what's going on.  

Psychedelics is the hottest topic in spiritual and therapeutic circles.  Are we ready?  What are the dangers and opportunities?  Ryan Meeks and I have been wrestling with these questions for the last few years.  This podcast is an unscripted conversation about drugs between two friends, not an authoritative final word on the research, or a formula for what's best for each individual.  Ryan has a lot of experience in this world, I do not.  I hope you enjoy our back and forth, as we search for hints and guesses about what's going on.

Are We Ready for Psychedelics?

Here's a conversation about rituals in the modern world with my friends at Eastlake Community Church, outside of Seattle. We talk about meaning in Target, our human craving for transcendence, the Starbucks holiday cup, the Vatican, and wonder together whether or not new rituals can be created and how much of what's still available might help us.  Special thanks to Jordan Gilliam for the original soundscape, In This Together.  Find him on Instagram @jordan_tyrone78.  

Here's a conversation about rituals in the modern world with my friends at Eastlake Community Church, outside of Seattle. We talk about meaning in Target, our human craving for transcendence, the Starbucks holiday cup, the Vatican, and wonder together whether or not new rituals can be created and how much of what's still available might help us.  Special thanks to Jordan Gilliam for the original soundscape, In This Together.  Find him on Instagram @jordan_tyrone78.

Rituals: Meaning and the Too-Muchness of Mystery

Turning to the archetypal patterns of Advent, the birth of the Soul, the Christ, and the forces that try to cut us off from our radiant center, our possibilities, our creative incarnation.  Special thanks to Jordan Gilliam for the original soundscape, In This Together.  Find him on Instagram @jordan_tyrone78.  The main quote, and a few of the ideas used in this episode, comes from Trauma and the Soul, A Psycho-Spiritual Approach to Human Development and its Interruption, by Donald Kalsched.  Enjoy!

Turning to the archetypal patterns of Advent, the birth of the Soul, the Christ, and the forces that try to cut us off from our radiant center, our possibilities, our creative incarnation.  Special thanks to Jordan Gilliam for the original soundscape, In This Together.  Find him on Instagram @jordan_tyrone78.  The main quote, and a few of the ideas used in this episode, comes from Trauma and the Soul, A Psycho-Spiritual Approach to Human Development and its Interruption, by Donald Kalsched.  Enjoy!

Radiant Center: Divine Child and the Soul

Here are a few ideas, images, stories, hints and guesses, about the Feminine and Masculine, as sacred, as archetypal realities, as something we all carry in the psyche, and as something to be honor and respected.  Enjoy!

Here are a few ideas, images, stories, hints and guesses, about the Feminine and Masculine, as sacred, as archetypal realities, as something we all carry in the psyche, and as something to be honor and respected.  Enjoy!

Sacred Feminine Sacred Masculine

Conversations about Spirituality, Religion, Doubt, Sacred Texts, Nature, Soul, Love, Death and all the Good Stuff

I grew up in an Bible believing home where no one questioned anything.  You trusted your pastor and his message. You left church and lived your life. Also going to church twice on a Sunday, being seen in attendance by all the people you knew was the big thing. How empty. Now a parent myself and 45 years old, I’ve found myself confronting all my big questions. Thank you for helping me see that the questions are the journey!  I’m so happy to work towards my own truth and not the spoon fed one I’ve inherited. Kent’s wisdom is incredible!!

Insightful

This podcast is great. I love the view of the Bible as mytho-poetic. Keep it going!

Loving this

Hints and Guesses

Paul Moore

Kent Dobson

Kent Dobson and Paul Moore discuss the loyal soldier, inner authority, out of body experiences and more.  Check it out.  Let us know what you think.

Kent Dobson + Paul Moore The Loyal Soldier 

I’m very excited to talk about, Stuff that Helps! (Updated Version) Ideas, people, books, maps, etc. have shaped who I am and I think you'll find them helpful too.  This first episode is rooted in Richard Rohr's work on the initiated (male) adult.  In other words, what does a healthy adult look like?  His focus is on healthy adult males, something we obviously need in this crazy culture we live in, but I think his ideas move beyond gender roles.  Anyway, I hope this stuff helps.  For futher reading, check out Rohr's book Adam's Return.  Enjoy

I’m very excited to talk about, Stuff that Helps! (Updated Version) Ideas, people, books, maps, etc. have shaped who I am and I think you'll find them helpful too.  This first episode is rooted in Richard Rohr's work on the initiated (male) adult.  In other words, what does a healthy adult look like?  His focus is on healthy adult males, something we obviously need in this crazy culture we live in, but I think his ideas move beyond gender roles.  Anyway, I hope this stuff helps.  For futher reading, check out Rohr's book Adam's Return.  Enjoy

Stuff that Helps! 1 - The Initiated Adult

"You complete me!" Not really.  As a follow up to the last episode on the Shadow, I'm diving into the image of the Magical Other.  Let's talk about projections and fantasies in intimate, long-term relationships.  And how to grow up.  This episode is in my series Stuff that Helps!, where I popularize stuff I've found helpful.  This week will be about the work of James Hollis, a Jungian Analyst and author who coined the phrase the Magical Other.  According to Hollis the fantasy of the Magical Other is one of the chief sources of suffering in long-term relationships, not to mention a kind of false god in the Western world.  Enjoy!

"You complete me!" Not really.  As a follow up to the last episode on the Shadow, I'm diving into the image of the Magical Other.  Let's talk about projections and fantasies in intimate, long-term relationships.  And how to grow up.  This episode is in my series Stuff that Helps!, where I popularize stuff I've found helpful.  This week will be about the work of James Hollis, a Jungian Analyst and author who coined the phrase the Magical Other.  According to Hollis the fantasy of the Magical Other is one of the chief sources of suffering in long-term relationships, not to mention a kind of false god in the Western world.  Enjoy!

Stuff that Helps! 5 The Magical Other

With so much finger pointing and blame right now, let's talk about the shadow and projection.  Ken Wilber calls shadow work the great gift of psychology in the 21st century.  So what is it?  How do we get close to the possibilities and invitations hidden beneath our conscious awareness?  Enjoy! 

With so much finger pointing and blame right now, let's talk about the shadow and projection.  Ken Wilber calls shadow work the great gift of psychology in the 21st century.  So what is it?  How do we get close to the possibilities and invitations hidden beneath our conscious awareness?  Enjoy!

A Little Podcast on the Shadow

I'm starting a three part series on the soul, what is it and why it matters.  In this episode I discuss certain life patterns that deepen the question and pursuit of soul.  I also take a look at the origins of the word itself.  And most importantly I look at the archetypal temptations of Jesus as a necessary wilderness in his own soul initiation and how that relates to our unique predicament.  I end with Dante and his opening line, which is a line about the descent to soul.  

I'm starting a three part series on the soul, what is it and why it matters.  In this episode I discuss certain life patterns that deepen the question and pursuit of soul.  I also take a look at the origins of the word itself.  And most importantly I look at the archetypal temptations of Jesus as a necessary wilderness in his own soul initiation and how that relates to our unique predicament.  I end with Dante and his opening line, which is a line about the descent to soul.

What is Soul? Part One - Wilderness

The second installment of, Stuff that Helps!  This week we'll look at the work of Joanna Macy.  I'd like to focus on her way of describing transformation and change.  And personally, I'd like to talk about the relationship between grief and change.  Her work is extensive, so this is just a taste (more than an hour's worth).  I hope this helps!

The second installment of, Stuff that Helps!  This week we'll look at the work of Joanna Macy.  I'd like to focus on her way of describing transformation and change.  And personally, I'd like to talk about the relationship between grief and change.  Her work is extensive, so this is just a taste (more than an hour's worth).  I hope this helps!

Stuff that Helps! 2 - Gratitude, Grief, New Eyes, Going Forth

This week is about conspiracy theories, fantasies and our strategies for avoiding impermanence and the abyss. Enjoy!

This week is about conspiracy theories, fantasies and our strategies for avoiding impermanence and the abyss. Enjoy!

The Earth is Flat

This is from a few years ago, but this talk at Christianity 21 inspired my book which comes out Aug 1, 2017.  This was also the first time I ever talked about what happen to me on Mt Sinai.  Enjoy

This is from a few years ago, but this talk at Christianity 21 inspired my book which comes out Aug 1, 2017.  This was also the first time I ever talked about what happen to me on Mt Sinai.  Enjoy

Christianity 21 - The Camel Story 

Sick of the news?  Let's talk about Echo and Narcissus, a David Whyte poem, flannel shirts, and Gandhi's well know imperative, "be the change you want to see in the world."  Enjoy!     

Sick of the news?  Let's talk about Echo and Narcissus, a David Whyte poem, flannel shirts, and Gandhi's well know imperative, "be the change you want to see in the world."  Enjoy!

How Not To Be A Narcissist  

In this episode I explore the question of soul again by taking a brief look at the words ego, soul and spirit, referencing the work of Bill Plotkin.  I discuss the needed task of ego growth (growing more whole) as well as the invitation of transcendence and “inscendence,” the upward pull of spirit and downward descent of soul.  Because these things are difficult to discuss and are best approached symbolically, I end with a David Whyte poem.

In this episode I explore the question of soul again by taking a brief look at the words ego, soul and spirit, referencing the work of Bill Plotkin.  I discuss the needed task of ego growth (growing more whole) as well as the invitation of transcendence and “inscendence,” the upward pull of spirit and downward descent of soul.  Because these things are difficult to discuss and are best approached symbolically, I end with a David Whyte poem.

What is Soul? Two - Ego, Spiritual Bypassing, A Rooted Tree and a Promise 

What is meant by the mytho-poetic power of story?  What about the Bible?  In this episode I discuss different levels or ways of reading the stories of the Bible, including the mythic, where the real power resides. I turn over the Jacob story in an attempt to dive into the mytho-poetic realm. This kind of approach to this story works on the level of transformation, which is what all great stories take us to the edge of. What is true both within and without about being human?  Let me know what you think and if there is a story you’d like me to dive into next.

What is meant by the mytho-poetic power of story?  What about the Bible?  In this episode I discuss different levels or ways of reading the stories of the Bible, including the mythic, where the real power resides. I turn over the Jacob story in an attempt to dive into the mytho-poetic realm. This kind of approach to this story works on the level of transformation, which is what all great stories take us to the edge of. What is true both within and without about being human?  Let me know what you think and if there is a story you’d like me to dive into next.

Defeated by Greater Beings, a Mytho-Poetic Reading of Jacob

In this episode I take a closer look at the different levels of consciousness hidden in the story of Jonah. This might have something to do with Jesus’ cryptic line about no sign being given, “except the sign of Jonah.” In any case, the invitation at the heart of this mytho-poetic story is more urgent than ever. Enjoy.

In this episode I take a closer look at the different levels of consciousness hidden in the story of Jonah. This might have something to do with Jesus’ cryptic line about no sign being given, “except the sign of Jonah.” In any case, the invitation at the heart of this mytho-poetic story is more urgent than ever. Enjoy.

The Sign of Jonah 

How can we be people of responsibility, action, vision and courage? How can we be "Warriors for the Human Spirit" (Margret Wheatley)? In this episode I wonder how we might turn our attention toward the painful and difficult realities of our culture in the midst of yet another tragedy, as leaders interested in a more generative future.  

How can we be people of responsibility, action, vision and courage? How can we be "Warriors for the Human Spirit" (Margret Wheatley)? In this episode I wonder how we might turn our attention toward the painful and difficult realities of our culture in the midst of yet another tragedy, as leaders interested in a more generative future.

Warriors for the Human Spirit

The last podcast created some controversy, so let's go further.  In this episode, I bring in some other voices on the subject of "know thyself" - I discuss the early adolescent tensions of authenticity and social acceptance from the work of Bill Plotkin, the traps of identification according to Cynthia Bourgeault, radical consciousness from Ken Wilber, and the Cosmic Dance of Thomas Merton.  Enjoy! 

The last podcast created some controversy, so let's go further.  In this episode, I bring in some other voices on the subject of "know thyself" - I discuss the early adolescent tensions of authenticity and social acceptance from the work of Bill Plotkin, the traps of identification according to Cynthia Bourgeault, radical consciousness from Ken Wilber, and the Cosmic Dance of Thomas Merton.  Enjoy!

Step Away From the Enneagram Part 2

In this episode I provide a little background on what has influenced my own approach to reading stories, particularly sacred texts, using other windows of knowing and thinking that we often forget about.  I'm curious about ways to descend from a surface reading into the deep well.  Using the work of Bill Plotkin, Michael Meade and Walter Brueggemann. I try to highlight useful patterns or frameworks for how to begin reading more mytho-poetically.  Behind all this, I'm also wondering about the question of how we see and am drawn to rather cryptic saying of Jesus about the Bad Eye.  

In this episode I provide a little background on what has influenced my own approach to reading stories, particularly sacred texts, using other windows of knowing and thinking that we often forget about.  I'm curious about ways to descend from a surface reading into the deep well.  Using the work of Bill Plotkin, Michael Meade and Walter Brueggemann. I try to highlight useful patterns or frameworks for how to begin reading more mytho-poetically.  Behind all this, I'm also wondering about the question of how we see and am drawn to rather cryptic saying of Jesus about the Bad Eye.

A Bad Eye - Mythic Imagination Part 1

In this episode I struggle with making any sense of the rising tide of bad news coming from just about every source.  In some ways, we are living in apocalyptic times, meaning a time of both destruction and renewal, Noah-like times.  There is so much to grieve and there is so much that makes me wonder what "slouches toward Bethlehem to be born?"  It seems like we need the poets, the storytellers and the dreamers to tell us the truth, like Yeats does in this dark poem.  We need the truth beneath the truth.  We need the deeper truth in a rising sea of facts, some of which are glaringly un-factual to begin with.  In the end, I wonder what waits in each of you, what dream wants to be born, in the middle of this apocalyptic mess.  

In this episode I struggle with making any sense of the rising tide of bad news coming from just about every source.  In some ways, we are living in apocalyptic times, meaning a time of both destruction and renewal, Noah-like times.  There is so much to grieve and there is so much that makes me wonder what "slouches toward Bethlehem to be born?"  It seems like we need the poets, the storytellers and the dreamers to tell us the truth, like Yeats does in this dark poem.  We need the truth beneath the truth.  We need the deeper truth in a rising sea of facts, some of which are glaringly un-factual to begin with.  In the end, I wonder what waits in each of you, what dream wants to be born, in the middle of this apocalyptic mess.

Second Coming (not what you think), Grief and Big Dreams

Back by popular demand, Paul and Kent sit down for an unscripted chat.  We discuss our age of Narcissism and Nihilism, how we played a role in electing our president, and the deep need to tune into other frequencies if there is any way out of this mess.  

Back by popular demand, Paul and Kent sit down for an unscripted chat.  We discuss our age of Narcissism and Nihilism, how we played a role in electing our president, and the deep need to tune into other frequencies if there is any way out of this mess.

Celebrity-Politics, Spiritual Radio Frequencies, and Hunting for Hope w/ Paul and Kent

In this episode, I discuss why moving to the mytho-poetic is important and how it relates to awakening to the conversation that only we can have with world.  I also discuss the tricky notion of stages or levels of consciousness we bring to our reading of sacred texts and to our spiritual lives.  I wonder what movement or growth looks like in this respect.  I look at the story of Jacob's ladder as a symbol of moving up and down the ladder of perception, a glimpse that our identity is not fixed in the way we think it is, and that our view of reality is limited but fluid.  And finally I mention a few lines from Adrienne Rich's poem Diving into the Wreck, as an image of diving into our own wreckage, the great myths and stories in hand, only to find our names are not written in these myths but can lead us to find our own true names in the world.

In this episode, I discuss why moving to the mytho-poetic is important and how it relates to awakening to the conversation that only we can have with world.  I also discuss the tricky notion of stages or levels of consciousness we bring to our reading of sacred texts and to our spiritual lives.  I wonder what movement or growth looks like in this respect.  I look at the story of Jacob's ladder as a symbol of moving up and down the ladder of perception, a glimpse that our identity is not fixed in the way we think it is, and that our view of reality is limited but fluid.  And finally I mention a few lines from Adrienne Rich's poem Diving into the Wreck, as an image of diving into our own wreckage, the great myths and stories in hand, only to find our names are not written in these myths but can lead us to find our own true names in the world.

Jacob's Ladder of Perception - Mythic Imagination Part 2

What wants to be born in the soul during the darkest time of year? What Christ consciousness, what seed of your own soul, what gift, what child, what is pregnant again, waiting to bring forth a sacred vision of life in a world consuming itself to death?  Merry Christmas everyone.  

What wants to be born in the soul during the darkest time of year? What Christ consciousness, what seed of your own soul, what gift, what child, what is pregnant again, waiting to bring forth a sacred vision of life in a world consuming itself to death?  Merry Christmas everyone.

Birth of God in the Soul: A Mytho-Poetic Christmas

This final episode on the soul feels more like a starting place than a definitive ending. I attempt a definition of soul using poetry and image, and I also turn to an old favorite, Mary Oliver, for some help. In the end, I hope something of your own inner voice, or depth, or truer self, or soul comes a bit more out of hiding.

This final episode on the soul feels more like a starting place than a definitive ending. I attempt a definition of soul using poetry and image, and I also turn to an old favorite, Mary Oliver, for some help. In the end, I hope something of your own inner voice, or depth, or truer self, or soul comes a bit more out of hiding.

What is Soul? Three - New Language, New (Recovered) Voice 

The best self improvement podcast episodes. From improving productivity, to finding purpose in your life to what constitutes freedom, this topic is on anything and everything that can help people to improve their lives. Add episodes you're interested into your queue below!

Best Episodes on Self Improvement, Growth & Development

The best philosophy podcast episodes. Asking questions about how to live a better life, what it means to be and do good, to the idea of God. This topic includes episodes that bring about important questions that everyone should be asking themselves. Add episodes you're interested into your queue below!