We love playing with kindreds and in this episode we interview Amber Cantorna-Wylde, author of several books including her most recent--Out of Focus: my story of shame, sexuality, and toxic evangelicalism. An LGBTQ+ advocate and community cultivator, Amber brings so much wisdom, honesty, and challenge to the table and we feel so grateful to have her voice here. More on her work at ambercantornawylde.com.

Sometimes, thinking about the human condition and the reality of suffering in the world is just too overwhelming, especially when the stories we rely on to keep our balance no longer hold up. How do we create lives worth living in the face of suffering, horror, and the very real threats to humanity and our earth right now? And why should we bother? Welcome to this raw conversation about how to be a non-delusional human being in the midst of all the mess.

Oh, the holidays stir up so much for so many. In this last episode of 2023 we process some ways we can all find our way in as healthy of ways as possible as we keep practicing, together.

We loved hanging out and learning from our friend Joanna Douglas, who nurtures soul care and spiritual formation at The Refuge and facilitates workshops, groups, and teams using non-violent communication/mindful communication/compassionate communication tools (along with a lot of others, too!). This episode is filled with so many gems and we are grateful to have it in our archives to come back to as an extremely helpful resource.

It's always fun to play with Jamison Escobar, Kathy's son. This year he is now working as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Coordinator for the LA Lakers and so this episode is about learning, listening, considering the challenges DEI is facing in our country at the moment and what we can keep doing personally and organizationally to cultivate greater equity and health despite so much resistance.

It's November 2023 and we're less than a year away from a big ugly election. We don't want to get ahead of ourselves but we also want to make sure we recognize what's ahead and what's at stake and what we're feeling and others are wrestling with, too. Really, it's just a raw conversation because that's what we do here.

Phyllis's book--The Subversive Soul: the gentle revolution everyone needs--is now available on her website for download and we're so grateful it's in the world. In this episode she shares more about it and some of the major moments. It's got so much goodness in it. Her website is phyllismathis.com if you want to download your free copy.

This episode is our real transition into the new season. Last week's conversation was so important to not wait on and so in this one we do what we normally do after a break--ramble about real life, what's alive for us, what we're learning, what we're practicing in this season as we regroup.

Content Warning: Gaza War through the lens of Palestinian refugees. It's been a while and a lot of horrifying things are happening in the world. We decided to skip over the intro episode and just start this new season off with what's heavy on so many souls right now--what's happening in Gaza and the reality of over 10,000 Palestinian civilians killed so far. This conversation with our longtime friend Suzann Mollner, Founder Executive Director of Beirut and Beyond, which is dedicated to relief, reconciliation, and relationship with Palestinian refugees, is an honest and raw one related to advocacy on behalf of Palestinians. We are grateful for her voice, long-haul love and advocacy, and bridge building and challenge to us all. Follow Suzann's work at beirutandbeyond.org.

Wow, this is our 60th Episode of Soul + Practice and our Season 4 Wrap, where we look back at the last 5 months of conversations and reflect on all the goodness before a 3 month summer break. Thanks for listening!