In this episode—the first in a new series about befriending our bodies—we explore how awareness of our body’s feelings, experience, and sensation is the engine of sustained change. In a society in which we are encouraged, implicitly if not explicitly, to disembody—to dissociate from embodied awareness—we begin to lay out a path towards fully inhabiting our bodies and, thus, our lives. This, as this series bears out, is the crucial foundation for building a life of abundance and flourishing, for our sake and for the sake of the world around us.

In this final conversation with Celtic thinker and author John Philip Newell about his book ‘The Great Search,’ we explore themes of returning to the wisdom of childhood and learning to encounter the light of the world in the midst of darkness. What emerges is a map for navigating the challenging landscape of our contemporary culture, with its emphasis on external power over inner wisdom. As we reflect on the wisdom of three twentieth century luminaries, an invitation for transcending the darkness emerges. Come for his brogue, stay for his mind and heart: this final conversation with John Phillip Newell will leave you re-discovering wisdom, hope, and courage.

At the center of our cultural crisis is a battle for reality—for the role of facts, objective law, and thought itself. As mainstream media is derided as “fake news” and blatant lies become rampant, it starts to feel like we are in a shell game with the truth. Meanwhile, long-held Constitutional norms are violated and the rule of law and due process are threatened. All of this is facilitated, in part, because of the growing culture trend to engage outrage over reason and emotivism over thought. In this episode, we explore examples of the war on reality, how we can reject the temptations to live in alternate realities, and name practices for staying grounded in calm and joy throughout it all.