**At the end of this episode, please forgive my growling stomach and the stomping of my children on the floor above me during the guided meditation! This Podcast happens in real life, friends.

Jim Simpson (https://thewayjourney.com) is a longtime friend and a country gentleman with the fundamental christian background that's so familiar to so many of us. Enjoy his southern drawl as he tells the story of a strict father, a "magic prayer" conversion experience, all the way to his time in the Marines, meeting his wife, and planting churches. As a wonderfully ordinary and relatable human being, we trust you'll find his story compelling as well as his courage in telling this (somewhat) secret story out in the open. We will close with a meditation of gratitude toward those who've helped us along our varied paths.

Grief can really sneak up on you. Just when you think you're through with it, some little thing surfaces in life that throws you right back into pain from the injury you've sustained. Today we're exploring grief with Natalie Collier, William's wife, who just lost her mom a little over a year ago at the time this podcast was recorded. Learn from her bravery in dealing with this process, and gain some fresh perspective on how you might be able to help those around you who are grieving.

Grief has been defined by spiritualists as the pain felt when our models fall apart. Whether it's a loved one or a dream or a major identity shift, we become attached to our models in life and hold onto them harder than we sometimes think. The pain we feel over a loss so foundational to our personality can be devastating. If you are grieving now, our hearts are with you. We will observe a moment of silence after the show to reflect upon the reality of grief and to direct positive intention toward those struggling with this reality.

William's close friend, Jackson Duncan, joins us on Ground today to talk about our obsession meaning in a meaning deprived world. As universal spiritualists at Cathedral Project, we are thrilled to hear Jackson’s perspective as a Buddhist and we know you’ll get a lot out of it.

Just some light discussion about existential crises, collective egocentrism, and how chickens poop on their eggs.

**Announcement!: William has authored an eBook, "A Christian's Guide to Deconstruction". Head over to the website at https://www.cathedralproject.com/store/p/a-christians-guide-to-deconstruction-by-william-j-collier to download your copy for just $4.99 (limited time).

You can also download your free Ground: Getting Started eBook at https://www.cathedralproject.com/free-ground-ebook

Get your Ground gathering started with our free eBook, "Ground: Getting Started"! You can download it at https://www.cathedralproject.com/free-ground-ebook

This mini-episode is quick check-in, a reminder to stay awake while the media ring leaders make Epstein's list balance on a ball and jump through hoops of fire, and to stay informed and awake through it all.

We will see you soon with more interviews and a Patreon, coming soon!

This episode is different. (Scroll for time stamps!) Here William is going to lay out what Cathedral Project actually is, how it came to be, how it is to be practiced, and how we address the most common arguments Western Christianity tends to mount against a movement like ours. At the end, instead of a guided meditation, we'll be reflecting on pain inflicted on so many people by adherence to flawed doctrines, issuing an apology, and holding a moment of silence for those injured by the church this way.

• Intro // Church Attendance Declining in America
• 3:00 // Welcome: Setting the stage (and apologies for Christianese language)
• 9:21 // Why Cathedral Project was started
• 11:28 // NOT A CULT! (plus thoughts on establishment)
• 16:19 // How does it work? (Through Ground!... among other things...)
• 17:37 // The importance of Universal Spirituality
• 25:23 // Doctrinal Argument 1: "Are you just trying to justify an immoral lifestyle with your deconstruction?"
• 30:58 // Doctrinal Argument 2: "Do not forsake the gathering..."
• 37:22 // Doctrinal Argument 3: "Study to find yourself approved..."
• 50:31 // Pain Caused by The Church, an Apology, and a reverent moment of silence

Today's guest, Natalie Collier, is just so hot. She's so smart and fun and beautiful. And she's also my wife.

A homeschooling mom to 4 kids, a homesteader and gardener extraordinaire, and a holistic health life coach, Natalie is a force to be reckoned with and she is here to aid women in the relentless pursuit of self-love. Jump in with her today at https://blessherbones.com

Hear Natalie's tale of growing up in a broken home with a Christianity modeled to her that just could not captivate her interests or her heart, how she ran to all the wrong places to find fulfillment, and how she inevitably found it in Christ (the person, the consciousness–not the religion). Hear about our young, naive, blustery romance and about the place in which we find ourselves today.

We will close with a meditation, a very practical visualization for experiencing the present moment more fully.

Zach Wheeler is a musician with lots of ministry experience in the church and on the mission field—a smart, insightful, hilarious person. Zach served under Mike Bickle and Dalton Lifsey through FAI, a ministry partnered with IHOPKC... both of which are at the center of yet another sexual scandal involving Christian leadership. Hear Zach's account of working under these men who exhibited behaviors leading to the all-too-familiar extramarital affairs and abuses of power which seem to be disqualifying semi-famous pastors from ministry on a weekly basis.

Zach shares his story of personal development, of leaving missions work, and eventually tapering off church attendance altogether. We hope you'll find his story helpful and you'll no doubt be touched at how hard he has fought to hold bitterness at bay.

As always, we'll close with an effort to look toward forgiveness, and this time with a guided Tonglen meditation.

https://cathedralproject.com

The very first episode of Ground! (brought to you by Cathedral Project)

Hi. I'm William Collier, founder of Cathedral Project, and I'm here to share the story of my deconstruction. Hear the tale of fundamental Christian upbringing coupled with purity culture and leadership conditioning, and how these factors led to many difficulties - including an identity crisis - but paved the way for a spiritual awakening. We'll end with a lovingkindness meditation of forgiveness.

• Atonement: I'll shine some light on childhood conditioning not to trust my own mind and heart
• Purity Culture: hear my experience with learning not to trust my own body and how the christian glorification of marriage as an institution acts as a tool to subjugate people to this day
• Church: it's funny how we often hear it taught that the church in the second chapter of Acts is our ultimate model (they shared everything in common to the point there was no need among them), yet the modern church tends to abandon this model as "idealistic" in favor of free market capitalism
• Mysticism and Universalism: if no one is truly doomed to a literal hell for all eternity, a lot of doctrines used to push church discipline fall apart fast. Jesus showed us with John on the Jordan River that God is as available to us as water; as the life of Jesus shows us, the message of no longer needing an intermediary is earth shattering (and not everyone wants you to preach that way). Recognizing Jesus - a human being - as our high priest at home here inside us, one with our own souls...it changes everything.
• Forgiveness: "What you resist not only persists, but will grow in size." - Carl Jung // Yes, we need to validate the negative effect of our experiences, but that does not mean we need to spend time re-traumatizing ourselves with their memory. Forgiveness frees us from our suffering and opens new channels of positive energy inside us. It's no wonder Christ's model of forgiveness and his non-violent method go hand in hand with key messages from the world's great religions. This is the way.

More to come!