Sacred Gyre

In this episode of Sacred Gyre I have a conversation with Rashida Saunders, a Portland police Officer who grew up in poverty in the Black community who, in her memoir and podcasts, explores strength, leadership, service, emotional wellness, and what it means to remain human while carrying responsibility for others.

A time when I received a gift I didn't expect. And learned how it might be more of a gift than I thought at first.

In this episode I navigate through a recent knee injury, what it tells me about how we measure things, and about the ways life can be both certain and uncertain.

In this Episode of Sacred Gyre I think about my own reaction to the terrorist attacks on 9/11 2001, and how I think this helps me stay connected to my deepest values under challenging circumstances.

In this episode of Sacred Gyre I talk about an incident in which one of my personal "perfect stories" becomes obvious and how I am reacting.

I then offer some thoughts on how this appears in the larger society and what I think is our responsibility as we notice such "perfect stories."

In this episode of Sacred Gyre, I grapple with a decision by my health care provider to stop certain forms of care for transgender youth. What should I do as I feel anger, fear or sadness in response? And what, if anything should you do in similar circumstances?

In this episode of Sacred Gyre, I use an example from my own life to illustrate the ways in which well-intended language about social change can potentially create harm. In addition to my thoughts on this subject, I also use this podcast episode as a way to hold myself accountable.

In the last episode of Sacred Gyre, I read a collection of 13 poems from the newly released book Splitting Open the World by Carolyn Martin. In this episode 23 Carolyn and I have a conversation about the vulnerability of writing poems about your own life, and of her reaction to my reading of her poetry.

Today, I invite you to a reading of poems I selected from Splitting Open the World, By Carolyn Martin. I do this, of course, with her permission.

It was published in March 2025 by The Poetry Box a publisher working " To bring the joy of poetry to everyone," as they say in their mission statement.

If you listen to my reading until the end, I will tell you how you can purchase a copy of this book as a discount.

In this episode of Sacred Gyre I will talk about my learning experiences and think about to what extent they do or do not resonate with the experience of people who work in the medical professions. I've found that reflecting on my life at times so I can learn from my mistakes as well as from when I believe I did well.

But this also is a way of holding myself responsible. And doing it in a manner that you, the listener or reader, can use as both a potential inspiration in your own life, and to help you reflect thoughtfully on how well I live up to my own ideals in my two podcasts.

As always, I invite you to send me your thoughts on my work, and ways I could improve it from your point of view.