In this Naming the Real Short—a bonus episode in our Storytelling Series—we explore the idea of "discharging a loyal soldier," which is releasing a belief/part of us that kept us safe but now keeps us stuck. By thanking the part, releasing the part, and re-assigning the part to a new role, we can transcend the places where we've got mired and move to greater flourishing.

The person that we are includes many parts, organized around our true Self. But many times we feel stuck, because we believe our most frustrated or seemingly dysfunctional part is our actual identity, or because we don't how to integrate our parts into a greater whole. In this episode, we consider the reality that you aren't crazy for talking to yourself—far from it! That, in fact, dialoguing with our various parts can release us into freedom. To that end, we consider a rubric for having mindful conversations with our parts, which can call our entire being into wholeness and flourishing.

In this episode—our first Naming the Real SHORT—we explore the two primary ways that Celtic spirituality helps us see the world differently than the way promulgated by Western Imperial Christianity.

Human beings tend to resist and avoid; it's a default state for us. But resistance and avoidance lock us into a life of gray horizons—on automatic, far from the thrill of fully feeling or fully flourishing. And yet we are never without tools to get us unstuck. In this episode, we explore the incredible power of telling hard stories for reinventing what we see as possible. We dive into some fascinating data and science around what telling hard stories does for our bodies. And we lay out practical steps for taking on your own stories. Finally, we close with an example of a hard story.

Most people feel, to some degree, that they are on trial, that they must prove themselves and "be enough." Some people experience such accusations in the form of an inner critic who torments and even terrorizes. How do we transcend such inner accusation? In this episode, we look at ancient wisdom as well as modern neuroscience—including the research of Jaak Panksepp—to understand how our brains work, which can point us to a path of freedom. Through intentional practices such as naming, learning to feel emotions more deeply, and playfulness, we can transcend the inner voices of accusation and cultivate a liberating peace within.

In this conversation with Dr. Christy Bauman, we explore the wisdom of the womb and the infinite guidance it offers us. In a world where God has largely been conceived of as male, what does it mean to embrace the divine feminine and the wisdom of womanhood? Ultimately, Christy invites us to become those who do not look away—from reality, from life, from suffering— learning instead to become ourselves through it.

Learn to access and express your anger artfully for greater confidence, advocacy and intimacy.

Anger is commonly seen as wrong or taboo which can generate shame around it whether you experience it often or not. Anger is a gift that when understood, felt, and integrated can increase flourishing.

Register now at https://namingthereal.com/product/the-art-of-anger/ to secure your spot and unlock the power of your anger.

We live in a time of crisis, with faith in traditional institutions and power structures falling precipitously, leaving us a dearth of meaningful narratives to which to cling. Many are deconstructing their faith as they find their own spiritual practice hollow. In this conversation with the celebrated spiritual thinker and writer John Philip Newell, new paths forward emerge. Through an exploration of Celtic thought and how its wisdom off-sets the dominant thinking of Imperial Christianity over the last two millennia, Newell invites us to re-think and re-set our relationship with the earth, with ourselves, and with the Divine. From this re-set invitation emerge new (yet ancient) ways of being human beings together, which can bring healing not only in our lives, but all around us.

What we are we talking about when we talk about God? The God image that has dominated Western history is of an "old man in the sky." Even if we know this image is metaphorical and laughable, it nevertheless dominates the Western imagination: God is "up there," transcendent, and we are "down here." In this episode, we discuss why how we talk about God is so important, because it influences how we think about all sorts of things. And we explore how cultivating a philosophy of the Divine as immanent—"right here"—can change our values and how we not only experience but also participate in the world around us.

There is perhaps no experience more visceral and soul-consuming than shame. And shame is opportunistic—it can enter our lives and bodies not only through things we've done, but by things done to us. Further, we can often feel absolutely powerless in the face of shame. But we do not have to resign ourselves to hopelessness. A life of flourishing of freedom is available. It requires courage and practices for engaging shame discharge. In this episode, we cover some simple—but not simplistic—practices for discharging shame and living in freedom, authenticity, and resilience.