Phyllis turned 70 this weekend, woo hoo! In this episode we process aging well, embracing reality, and leaning into hard-won wisdom. Plus a cameo with Kelli Skoog, here in Denver celebrating this weekend, yay.

It's been a tough weekend, friends, with US and Israel waging war on Iran. We dream for better leadership. We dream of circles of connection and wisdom not towers of unhealthy power and destructive practices. We dream for a more just society not just for ourselves but for our future. Strap in, this one's raw, but that's what Soul + Practice is all about--raw conversations and real practices. Let's keep practicing together.

After we finished recording our last episode Phyllis and Kathy talked to BJ Skoog or a bit and we realized we wanted to process more about how all of this has affected spirituality and relationships, too. That's where we went in this second episode, recorded a week later from Minnesota an Denver, navigating what happens when we have such divergent values with people we once deeply connected to and how to wrestle with the pain and dissonance of this reality.

Oh, we feel so grateful for this conversation with BJ Skoog, a long-time friend of Phyllis and a person of hope in these hard times. BJ founded the Richfield Leadership Network in Minneapolis, which is dedicated to strengthening community connectedness. The power of these relationships are being illuminated so strongly in the current situation with ICE occupation in their city and the reality of what's needed to care for their most vulnerable neighbors. We felt so inspired and also reminded of how important it is to stay healthy and resourced for the amount of trauma communities are experiencing together. More on RLN at https://www.richfieldleadershipnetwork.com.

Well, we needed the Super Bowl this year folks! In this episode we process why it helps us so much and how embodying our values despite the resistance is everything.

After a 6 week break, we're back for Season 9 with a check in, some small signs of hope, bald eagles, poetry, and hopefully a sense of being in this hard stuff together and staying as healthy and connected as we can.

Sorry for the technical difficulties if you listened to two wrong files before we finally got this right one up! But yes, this one starts our weird, too, ha! #practicing. We loved looking back on this past season September-December 2025 and all of the incredible kindreds who came and shared with us. We learned so much together, gathered some resourcing, and felt a little more grounded in the middle of so much uncertainty. We hope you did, too. We are so thankful to our guests who come and play with us and would love to hear what parts of this season resonated with you. We'll be back in 2026!

We loved looking back on this past season September-December 2025 and all of the incredible kindreds who came and shared with us. We learned so much together, gathered some resourcing, and felt a little more grounded in the middle of so much uncertainty. We hope you did, too. We are so thankful to our guests who come and play with us and would love to hear what parts of this season resonated with you. We'll be back in 2026! Also, this upload reflects the correct file (not Season 7 wrap, oops!). #practicing

We loved looking back at Season 8 and the guests we had since September 2025--so much goodness and wisdom and encouragement in different ways. We like to end well and reflect and we'll start back up sometime in January. Thanks for listening!

Phyllis' son Justin Mathis rocks and we're so thankful that we got to hang out with him for a truly lovely conversation about peer to peer support, mental health, and the beauty and power of being alongside other humans offering presence and connection and receiving it, too. Also, the most simple practices make a big difference in stability and healing. Enjoy!