The Sacred Play Podcast

What if the behaviors we’ve been taught to question are actually expressions of wisdom? In The Many Ways a Human Nervous System Can Sing, we step beyond awareness into a deeper, more compassionate understanding of autistic lives. Through movement, sensation, language, and rhythm, autistic people reveal the many beautiful ways a human being can find balance, joy, and connection. This is not a story about fixing difference. It is a celebration of it. A reminder that every nervous system has its own music, and that a more loving world is one where all of those songs are heard, respected, and allowed to play.

The post The Many Ways a Human Nervous System Can Sing (Autism Appreciation Month) first appeared on The Church of Sacred Play.

The Polite Republic of Bellies is a whimsical Wonderverse tale about a village that treats one tiny bodily sound like a grand scandal, until a traveler from the Marsh of Honest Creatures asks the question no one has asked in centuries: “Excuse me… for what?” A playful, magical story about etiquette, shame, and the beautifully absurd things humans forget to question.

The post The Polite Republic of Bellies first appeared on The Church of Sacred Play.

Welcome to Sacred Play Practice: a pocket-sized devotion to aliveness. Not supernatural, just deeply human. We make room for the whole weather of being human, then we keep opening windows with wonder, beauty, and small acts of delight.

The post Sacred Play Practice first appeared on The Church of Sacred Play.

When the world gets foggy and loud, morality isn’t a cape you grab in a crisis, it’s a muscle you build in ordinary moments. The Moral Fire Drill is a Sacred Play reflection (with a lantern-lit fable) on practicing courage, truth, and compassion now, before the stakes climb, and on refusing to let cruelty become “normal.”

The post The Moral Fire Drill first appeared on The Church of Sacred Play.

The sign on the door has changed, but the lantern light is the same. In this whimsical (and quietly serious) long-form post, I explain why we’re now calling this space The Church of Sacred Play and what that name really means: wonder without worship, meaning without dogma, and a compassionate kind of skepticism that still leaves room for awe. Come for the pixie-lantern vibes, stay for the gentle rebellion against shame, fear, and brittle certainty.

The post From Tinkerbell to Sacred Play: A Name Change, a Lantern, and a Pocketful of “Wait, This Is Allowed?” first appeared on The Church of Sacred Play.

Who owns winter: the sun, Jesus, the Maccabees, the Unconquered Sun, or the people lighting dumplings and pomegranates at midnight? 🌟 In this slightly sparkly tour of Yule, Saturnalia, Christmas, Hanukkah, Yalda, Dongzhi, Diwali, Kwanzaa and more, we follow humanity’s favorite coping strategy for long nights: candles, feasts, resistance, and ridiculous amounts of hope. Come for the history, stay for the Universal Winter Lights ceremony you can actually do in your living room.

The post Who Owns Winter? A Slightly Sparkly History of the Winter Season first appeared on The Church of Sacred Play.

“The Light We Don’t Withhold” is a Church of Tinkerbell reflection for HIV/AIDS Awareness Month, …

The post The Light We Don’t Withold: HIV/AIDS Awareness Month first appeared on The Church of Sacred Play.

Honoring Native American Heritage Month means more than a land acknowledgment once a year—it’s a commitment to learning the true history of this land, amplifying Native voices, supporting tribal sovereignty, and celebrating the beauty and brilliance of living Indigenous cultures every day, not just in November.

The post Native American Heritage Month: More Than a Month of Gratitude first appeared on The Church of Sacred Play.

Intersex Awareness Week (Oct 26–Nov 8) is a call to learn, listen, and act. This post explains what intersex means, why prevalence estimates vary, the harms of non-consensual surgeries, real progress from hospitals to the U.N., and—through two true-to-life stories—how each of us can support bodily autonomy, dignity, and joyful belonging.

The post Intersex Awareness Week: What It Means, Why It Matters, and How We All Help first appeared on The Church of Sacred Play.

A gentle, wonder-soaked meditation on mortality as a teacher—not an enemy. In this Evernight finale, we dance with Death to return our attention to what matters: love, repair, presence, and everyday courage. Come for the fireflies and candlelight; leave with a pocketful of gratitude and a simple rite to live more fully—today.

The post Evernight: Dancing with Death — Embracing Mortality to Fully Live first appeared on The Church of Sacred Play.