Prolificate

Host Andrew Chirch is an interfaith student, coach, and ministers to the Non-Religious, skeptics, and doubters.

The idea for 99 comes from the Islamic teaching that there are 99 names for the divine, and each one has its own meaning.

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From this episode:

What if we're always striving for change and setting goals - all the while, we're missing the point?

What if all this scurrying about like ants is at the root of our suffering?

Henry David Thoreau said, "It's not enough to be busy; so are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about?"

What are YOU busy about?

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Prolificate.com is about people & ideas that illuminate the world.

One of those people – is you. – and 99 is a weekly 9-minute spiritual practice designed to challenge you, just the right amount, and remind you to take care of yourself.

Illuminating the world is hard work, so we need you whole.

Find me on Twitter or Instagram @Prolificate or send me an email at [email protected].

If you're faced with a big decision, one of those life's questions that feels a little scary, or want to unpack your own spiritual path, I offer coaching and guidance at Prolificate.com/guide.

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From this episode:

I'm speaking to the part of you that is lonely. The part you don't let anyone see because it's just too painful.

What would it be like if you could bring your whole self out of the darkness and into the light? What would it be like for ALL of you to be out in the open? What would it be like to be loved unconditionally?

That's where we're going today on our journey.

Holy WOW. What would that be like? How amazing? I'm getting chills just thinking about a love so big, so pervasive, that says, "You're human.... there is nothing a human can do, think, or say that diminishes you."

The kind of love and kindness that Dumbledore brings when he shows up in Harry Potter.

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Prolificate.com is about people & ideas that illuminate the world.

One of those people – is you. – and 99 is a weekly 9-minute spiritual practice designed to challenge you, just the right amount, and remind you to take care of yourself.

Illuminating the world is hard work, so we need you whole.

Find me on Twitter or Instagram @Prolificate or send me an email at [email protected].

If you're faced with a big decision, one of those life's questions that feels a little scary, or want to unpack your own spiritual path, I am offering a limited number of coaching sessions at Prolificate.com/guide.

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Lately, I've been spending time trying to understand the difference between comfort and safety - which is the topic for our time together today.

Safety, Trust, Confidence, and Security.

Where does it come from? What does it mean? Is anyone *ever* really safe?

As an interfaith chaplain, part of my job is to accompany people from all faiths- and no faith at all - in some scary situations... It's a reminder of just how UNsafe some people are - and of the comparative luxury I have most of the time.

One thing that never fails to surprise me — some folks who seem the *least* safe... people who have seen hard things, lived through tough experiences... are sometimes the most serene, calm, patient people I've ever met.

I hope we both remember that we're in this together... we can actually *create* a world with more safety, trust, confidence, and security just by reminding each other.

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Prolificate.com is where I write, podcast, and talk about people & ideas that illuminate the world.

One of those people – is you. – and 99 is a weekly 9-minute spiritual practice designed to challenge you, just the right amount, and remind you to take care of yourself.

Illuminating the world is hard work, so we need you whole.

Find me on Twitter or Instagram @Prolificate or send me an email at [email protected].

If you're faced with a big decision, one of those life's questions that feels a little scary, or want to unpack your own spiritual path, I am offering a limited number of coaching sessions at Prolificate.com/guide.

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Are you impatient sometimes?

Do you look to the future as the solution to your problems? (Like I sometimes do).

The theme for our time together today is steps - as in the kind it takes to make progress.

Here's something Dr. King said on the subject: "If you can't fly, then run, if you can't run, then walk, if you can't walk, then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward."

Let's talk about what steps you're taking, what steps you're avoiding, and how to find the "just right" steps for you.

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Prolificate.com is where I write, podcast, and talk about people & ideas that illuminate the world.

One of those people – is you. – and 99 is a weekly 9-minute spiritual practice designed to challenge you, just the right amount, and remind you to take care of yourself.

Illuminating the world is hard work, so we need you whole.

Find me on Twitter or Instagram @Prolificate or send me an email at [email protected].

If you're faced with a big decision, one of those life's questions that feels a little scary, or want to unpack your own spiritual path, I am offering a limited number of coaching sessions at Prolificate.com/guide.

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Do you want to know what Maya Angelou, the great poet, says about you? She said, "...we are all created creative and we can invent new scenarios as frequently as they are needed."

Did you hear that? Maya Angelou, one of the greatest minds of all time, Poet Laureate of the United States, says that YOU are creative!

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Prolificate.com is where I write, podcast, and talk about people & ideas that illuminate the world.

One of those people – is you. – and 99 is a weekly 9-minute spiritual practice designed to challenge you, just the right amount, and remind you to take care of yourself.

Illuminating the world is hard work, so we need you whole.

Find me on Twitter or Instagram @Prolificate or send me an email at [email protected].

Have you ever heard the saying, "there are no mistakes." Or put another way, "there's a reason for everything."

I'm of two minds when it comes to this episode's theme, which is, the all-powerful force that puts you in a certain place at a certain time, and has you facing whatever it is that you're facing.

I'll be honest. Sometimes these words have been comforting to me. As I face the loss of a job or an unexpected hardship, telling myself that "everything happens for a reason" takes me off the hook a little bit and allows me to relax. After all, I'm a big fan of Taoist and Hindu beliefs that (I think), encourage me to relax and not fight so much against what's happening, but to find a way to work WITH the flow of things. Maybe not give up, but to find some sense of harmony in what's going on - like swimming with a river instead of against it.

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Prolificate.com is where I write, podcast, and talk about people & ideas that illuminate the world.

One of those people – is you. – and 99 is a weekly 9-minute spiritual practice designed to challenge you, just the right amount, and remind you to take care of yourself.

Illuminating the world is hard work, so we need you whole.

Find me on Twitter @Prolificate or send me an email at [email protected].

What is your biggest wish? Go ahead, think for a second. I'll wait.

Now, if someone who knows you well wrote your obituary today, would anything about that wish be in there?

The kind of wishes we're talking about today are the kind that you'd probably want to show up there.

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Prolificate.com is where I write, podcast, and talk about people & ideas that illuminate the world.

One of those people – is you. – and 99 is a weekly 9-minute spiritual practice designed to challenge you, just the right amount, and remind you to take care of yourself.

Illuminating the world is hard work, so we need you whole.

Find me on Twitter @Prolificate or send me an email at [email protected].

The theme for this episode is ecstasy, joy and expansiveness... I love joy. And let's face it, ecstasy is in a league of its own... expansiveness, yes, please.

Well, sometimes, things don't go the way we think they "should."

As it turns out, I've missed a week of 99 because I've been sick and just couldn't record until now. I'm trying not to be too hard on myself - after all, I could barely stand for ten days.

As it turns out, the kind of ecstasy and joy and expansiveness that is our theme IS actually there... all the time. What I found was, even though I was feeling miserable, joy wasn't gone.

Hello friend. This is Andrew Chirch, host of Prolificate and the podcast series called 99: a Journey. 99 normally comes out each week on Friday, but I'm currently under the weather and not yet able to get an episode out. In the meantime, I want you to know that I'm thinking about you as I record this on the shortest day of the year while laid out flat on the sofa.

While I'm looking forward to the next steps on my journey, I'm also reminded by this illness to find meaning in the current place I'm in.

It's funny how things work, because the upcoming episode is all about things like ecstasy, expansiveness, and transcendent joy. As you might guess, the word "joy" isn't exactly top of mind right, now…. but… part of me knows that just because I can't find it, doesn't mean it isn't there.

I promise I'll get the next episode published as soon as I can. Until then, maybe you can help me with some examples. What are some hard-to-find blessings or bits of joy in your own life?

Be well, my friend.

One of our great struggles as humans is how tribal we are. We were born to be in relationship with each other... we need to belong. That's all well and good until there are so many of us that we can't possibly know everyone. That's where labels come in - and where it goes wrong for many of us.

This week is a call back to what we have in common. our Unity.

Show Notes here - or go to Prolificate.com/99/14