New Age Christianity

It is a rare moment when someone is able to get a clear view of a blind spot in their life. By the very nature of 'blind spots', we can't usually SEE them. And no matter how many times we have loved ones point them out to us, it seems that only Spirit can truly unveil the full extent of how they influence our lives. 

In this episode, Kat Wilden shares her experience from the first ayahuasca ceremony and how that experience illuminated a major blind spot in her life. Namely, the fact that she is overly concerned with how people are perceiving her and her actions. As someone who has worked a lot on being confident in herself, not worrying about what other people think, and moving forward with strength and passion in the midst of naysayers, this revelation came as quite a shock to her... as one might expect when a blind spot is being clearly highlighted. 

The revelations that came out of this ceremony for Kat have been highly enlightening for her, as well as other people in her life that grow with her. While there are many smaller concepts that we could have discussed in this episode, we primarily cover:

- The fact that all of us are born into a world where we feel unsafe, and how we deal with that lack of safety can greatly determine who we become as adults.

- The consistency with which we attract people into our lives who are there to serve as a 'mirror' of our own shortcomings... if we have eyes to see.

The intention of this episode is the help you regain your sense of identity in its PUREST form. Your true 'I AM-ness' is not found in your mind. Your true 'self' is something higher than your mind, and while you engage with it every day, it is VERY easy to overlook. 

In all honesty, the content of this episode is extremely difficult to convey in words, and in a lot of ways, it may not be possible to convey from one person to another. It can only be talked around... hinted at... alluded to... etc. The only way to TRULY know what we're discussing in this episode is the EXPERIENCE it for yourself. 

In short... you are a 3 part being; body, soul, and spirit. Each part of you has its own 'brain'; your gut (body), your heart (soul), and your brain (spirit). And while these 3 are often very distinct from each other, most of us haven't taken the time to differentiate their functions as they pertain to our sense of self. We think of ourselves as 'one' entity, and we fail to take the time to figure out how US actually works. And here's the kicker... YOU aren't actually any of these 3 parts. YOU are actually the 4th part that brings these 3 parts together. You reside OVER these other 3 parts. 

Your 'I AM-ness' is the TRUE genius behind the curtain, and we do our best to introduce you to that genius in this episode. Hopefully, we've done enough to lead you to the path, but only you can find the way.

Kat and I are back from our Ayahuasca retreat and we are here to share our experiences. 

We will be doing individual episodes on each of our 2 sessions (4 episodes in total) over the next month, but we wanted to share our overall impressions of the experience right out of the gate. In short... we both LOVED IT! We both experienced the process very differently, but it was exactly what we needed, and we're excited to share what we can with our NAC family. 

In this episode, Kat Wilden and I discuss our upcoming weekend of Ayahuasca ceremonies (two of them, to be exact) in an attempt to have some version of a 'before' and 'after' snapshot of our thoughts on the journey. (We will be recording another episode AFTER the ceremonies.)

For those who don't know what Ayahuasca is, we cover that pretty early in the podcast. For those who DO know what it is, hopefully, you'll find this episode useful for your own considerations as to whether or not you should participate in a similar ceremony someday. Either way, Kat and I share our thoughts and our own intentions around doing these ceremonies as well as our overall thoughts about hallucinogenic drugs and their effect on consciousness as a whole. 

And to be clear... Ayahuasca is a hallucinogenic. It is a spiritual ceremony... led by a trained shaman... but it is, nonetheless, a 'trip' that we will be taking.

DISCLAIMER: As we both stated in the recording, neither of us would be doing this without feeling 'led' to do so by Spirit. Thus, it must be stated that we would never recommend someone doing something like this without a similar sense of purpose and leading from their own intuition.  

As the final wrapup of this accidental 5-part series with Ronnie Herrema, we do our best to 'land the plane' with a little bit of encouragement for those who find themselves looking for freedom from religion and fear. In our experience, there are 3 major phases to the process of finding freedom:

The NAC community is filled with people in different phases of this process, and many people get stuck in one of the phases for years (sometimes indefinitely). Ronnie and I want to encourage those who are still in one of the first two phases to KEEP GOING! Heck, you can even give yourself permission to walk away from the process completely... JUST DON'T STOP!

In this episode, we discuss:

After 3 episodes (Episodes 82-84) of deconstructing so many of the ideas that we all grow up with, Ronnie wanted to take some time to share a bit of encouragement with the NAC community. As seems to be the new standard for the NAC podcast (not on purpose... it just keeps happening), this interview went pretty long and has been split into 2 episodes. 

I personally loved having this chat with Ronnie after the first 3 episodes. While I already knew that Ronnie has great thoughts on what life can look like, post-Christian, I knew that much of the first 3 episodes needed to be 'concluded' with some coherent ideas about 'What now?', and this interview did not disappoint!

In this first episode, we discuss:

As the final discussion of this 3-part interview with Ronnie, I ask him the same question I ask anyone who endeavors to articulate their beliefs through thoughtful discussion... "How's that working for you?"

In my experience with beliefs, religious or otherwise, it all comes down to the energetic reality of whether or not the things you are engaging with are ACTUALLY working for you. Is your life full of abundance? Are you happy? Do you love being YOU? Etc. Etc. Etc. ... You know ... that 'life, and life abundantly' thing that Jesus talks about? Are the religious practices and spiritual perspectives you engage with actually finding their part in improving your life?

Well... In this interview, I ask Ronnie this question and he begins to share his answer. Hint... it's actually working for him way better than his previous set of beliefs ever did, but he'll explain it much better that I can.

Enjoy!

Have you ever heard of the new 'religious' classification that's been showing up in studies called the 'Nones'? In short, Nones are people who no longer identify with ANY religious background. 

You probably know exactly what I'm talking about... Those intake forms that ask you what your religious affiliation is, and the ever-increasing desire to simply mark 'none' because none of the options presented to you are representative of your actual beliefs.

Yeah... that 'none'.

Well, Ronnie Herrema is the most articulate 'Noneist' I've ever known, and I believe his journey will resonate with many of the New Age Christians in this community. Heck, the title of 'New Age Christian' really only exists so that a bunch of 'nones' can have some sort of wisdom tradition to point to in helping others understand what they believe... and even that title (New Age Christian) is intentionally flexible and customizable. 

This interview with Ronnie is the second of 3 episodes with him. This one focuses on some of the big picture questions that Ronnie has been asking for the past few years and really comes down to earth regarding his thoughts about God and Spirituality in a way that a lot of 'New Age Christians' probably haven't heard. In full disclosure, there are things in this episode that I don't personally believe, but NAC has never been about the avoidance of difficult thoughts and diverse ideas. This episode will challenge most anyone who hears it... so... get ready to enjoy!

The episode is reminiscent of an earlier episode (Episode 23) I recorded with Christopher Teasdale about giving yourself 'permission' to change your beliefs, and as a fair warning, I must say... Listen to the next 3 episodes at your own risk! 

Ronnie Herrema is a great friend of mine, and as always, he is loaded with insights and challenging observations in this interview. He has a way of putting to words the same things that we all feel, but never say. Whether it is because we are afraid to truly look at the things we're feeling, unable to articulate the energies we're experiencing, or too scared to start saying them out loud... we all struggle to tackle certain questions in our lives that Ronnie seems to effortlessly dance with. 

In Part 1 of this interview, Ronnie and I start with 'deconstructing' fundamentalist Christianity. We are as respectful and honest as we know how to be, so don't worry about this being a 'bash the Church' episode. Nonetheless, the way that Ronnie talks about his own journey out of fundamentalism is ... well ... refreshing! 

Enjoy!

As I look back over the last year and a half, it seems like a large number of the podcast episodes we produce at NAC are centered around this challenge of creating the life you want while understanding that there is a higher consciousness (a.k.a. God) that might now just a tincy-wincy bit more than you do about the best way to go about things. In many ways, as a New Age Christian, you may find that your ENTIRE quest of 'spiritual' growth has come down to the core question of, "How do I work WITH this higher consciousness in a way that most completely fulfills my desire to live an abundant and meaningful life?" (Or some version thereof.) 

Once you've figured out that there is no one 'up there' who's judging your every thought and move, you begin to have mental space for other thoughts about the meaning of life, the connection between God and humanity, the oneness of all things, and the pursuit of liberty and happiness. When this new energy finally becomes your every-day-reality, you find out that any challenge to your continued connection to God really becomes about learning the best ways to communicate with the wisdom of the One, and how to implement the things you're 'hearing' in the physical. 

So... In light of that broader sense of learning and growth, here is yet another episode about how to work with Spirit as you live your life. Enjoy!