What if the door you’ve been knocking on was never locked? What if it was never even a door?

In this episode of Shards, we move beyond the threshold — into the mystery that lies on the other side of silence. David reflects on a creative fire that burned through the past few days, bringing with it ancient voices, new clarity, and a deeper understanding of the gospels that power tried to erase. Together, we touch the sacred fragments of the Gospel of Mary and the Gospel of Thomas — not as scholars, but as seekers. We explore what these lost texts still want us to hear, and why their truths might stir discomfort, especially for those healing from religious trauma.

This episode holds both reverence and rebellion. It honors those who never needed to question their faith — and those who had to let it burn in order to breathe again. With meditations to guide you inward, and words that remind you of what you already know deep down… this is your invitation to remember.

Because the door was never locked.
The door was always open.

Sometimes, the invitation to change doesn’t come softly — it comes through discomfort, resistance, even anger. In this episode, David shares the story of his early work with GLIDE, facing raw reactions from those unready for dialogue, and what those moments revealed about the deeper work of transformation.Reflecting on today’s cultural fractures — from DEI to gender identity to political polarization — David weaves personal experience with ancient wisdom from the Gospels of Thomas and Mary, asking:What if real change isn’t something we perform outwardly, but something we embody inwardly?What if the Kingdom we seek is not beyond us, but within us?This is a meditation on wholeness, sacred disruption, and the door we've been searching for all along — the knock we keep ignoring.

Plus: a closing blessing drawn from the forgotten words of early Christian mystics, and reflection questions to carry into your week.

In this special offering from Shards, I invite you into a meditation called Whole Enough — a quiet remembering that even in our brokenness, even in our becoming, we are already enough.This meditation is a space to breathe, to soften, and to rest in the truth that healing doesn't demand perfection.It only asks for presence.
Come as you are.

In this episode, David explores the sacred duality of masculine and feminine energies—within himself, within his faith story, and within the collective soul of our nation. He reflects on childhood messages about gender, the power and protection offered by the women who raised him, and the masculine ideals that were weaponized in both home and church.

Through a profound moment at retreat, David shares how he stopped searching for the abandoned boy inside him and instead met the man he had become—the kind, grounded, steady presence who could now hold both strength and softness.

This episode offers not just a personal reckoning, but a cultural one—tracing how our distorted worship of a judgmental, male-coded God has shaped politics, leadership, and societal imbalance. David gently invites us back toward wholeness: not by shouting down the mountain, but by planting the feminine within.

The episode closes with a meditation on nurturing change from the inside out—how the unseen becomes the seen, and how a new world begins with a single seed.

Some experiences live beyond language.
In this episode, I share what it means to cross a threshold in healing—one that can’t be fully explained, only embodied. After returning from a five-day therapeutic retreat, I offer a glimpse into the transformation that unfolded through psilocybin journeys, breathwork, and deep inner listening.

This is not a step-by-step account. It’s not advice. It’s a seed—for anyone holding trauma, addiction, or questions too heavy for words.

Through stories, silence, and breath, this episode honors what happens when the body begins to remember what the mind cannot. And what becomes possible when we meet the child we once were… and welcome who we’re becoming.

Content Note:This episode includes reflections on PTSD, addiction, and emotional trauma, shared with care and without graphic detail.

What happens when the people and practices you were taught to fear become the very ones that save your spirit?

In this episode, David returns to the sacred, surprising space of HUMC—where therapists, mystics, and queer spiritual leaders weren’t condemned, but welcomed. Through stories of community, healing, and deep transformation, he explores how the once-forbidden became foundational. These weren’t just people. They were spiritual tools in human form.

Blending personal narrative with reflection and meditation, this episode invites listeners to consider what they’ve left outside the sanctuary of their own lives—and what might happen if they dared to bring it in.

David closes with a gentle meditation on reclaiming what was once called unholy, and offers a brief, heartfelt note about an upcoming retreat—a time of deep listening, unfolding, and quiet return.

Water has always been a symbol of transition—of faith, grief, cleansing, and beginning again. In this episode, I reflect on the waters I’ve crossed: leaving behind the dogma of my Southern Baptist upbringing, finding myself alone in a new city, and unexpectedly discovering a resting place at HUMC.

We begin with a meditation connecting to the water within our own bodies, and from there, we journey through the rivers of history, ancient waters that have held joy, violence, and transformation across time and cultures. We touch on sacred stories, devastating events, and the beauty of renewal—

Where have you crossed? What waters are you standing before now? I invite you to pause, reflect, and step in with me

What we carry shapes us—but do we know its name? In this episode of Shards – A Spiritual Journey in Pieces, David explores the weight of unspoken burdens. Through therapy, medical experiences, and family reflection, he uncovers the power of naming pain and the first steps toward release. Join him in this deeply personal and reflective journey, and take a moment to breathe, name, and begin to let go.