In this episode of The Sacred Speaks, we explore what it means to embrace the full range of our humanity — including shadow, aggression, sexuality, contradiction, and desire — not as something to be corrected, but as something that longs to be understood.

My guest, Dr. Douglas Thomas, joins me for a wide-ranging and thoughtful conversation about BDSM and kink through the lens of depth psychology. Rather than approaching these practices as pathology or spectacle, Douglas invites us to see them as symbolic, archetypal expressions of the psyche — places where power, surrender, ritual, and imagination reveal what we most often exile from consciousness.

Together, we explore why sexuality and kink function as cultural “third rails,” why moral rigidity so often masks unconscious shadow, and how ordinary people can participate in extraordinary harm when disowned material is projected outward. This conversation moves beyond questions of “good” and “bad” and instead asks what wholeness actually requires of us — personally, culturally, and spiritually.

At its heart, this episode is an invitation into a more courageous ethic: facing the darkness within so that we reduce hatred, loosen moral certainty, and relate to ourselves and one another with greater honesty, humility, and compassion.

👉 Key Takeaways

Wholeness matters more than appearing morally “good.” Denying our darker impulses fuels projection, rigidity, and violence.

Projection is largely unconscious, which is why “ordinary” people can participate in extraordinary harm while believing they are righteous.

Sexuality and kink operate as cultural shadows, exposing fear, shame, and control dynamics we often refuse to confront directly.

Cultivating curiosity instead of certainty around our shadow opens space for intimacy, ethical responsibility, and collective healing.

Episode Timeline

(00:00) — Introduction and orientation

(00:46) — Announcements and resources

(03:50) — Introducing Dr. Douglas Thomas

(05:36) — Douglas’ background and personal journey

(11:31) — Entering the leather community

(14:44) — Masculinity and hyper-masculinity

(23:39) — Transgressive necessities and psychological wholeness

(32:37) — Sexuality, kink, and cultural taboos

(36:27) — The complexity of kissing and biting

(37:37) — Historical context of sexual disorders

(39:35) — Fetishes and their psychological meaning

(40:30) — Defining healthy and unhealthy sexual behaviors

(42:52) — Introducing kink and BDSM

(46:44) — The Theatricality of BDSM

BDSM as embodied theater — where ritual, archetype, and imagination shape experience.

(49:47) — Spiritual and Transformative Dimensions

Erotic intensity as a doorway into altered states, presence, and transformation.

(56:29) — Negotiation and Consent

Consent as sacred contract — how boundaries and negotiation create safety and depth.

(01:01:15) — Trauma and Empowerment

Moving beyond simplistic narratives to explore reenactment, reclamation, and integration.

(01:08:06) — Personal Reflections and Broader Implications

What this work has revealed personally — and what it offers our wider culture.

Connect with Dr. Douglas Thomas

Website https://www.drdouglasthomas.com/

Practice (Jungian-based psychotherapy, Pasadena, CA): https://www.drdouglasthomas.com/abou

Check out the book “The Deep Psychology of BDSM and Kink: Jungian and Archetypal Perspectives on the Soul’s Transgressive Necessities – https://www.drdouglasthomas.com/book

Website for The Sacred Speaks:

http://www.drjohnwprice.com

WATCH:

YouTube for The Sacred Speaks

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOAuksnpfht1udHWUVEO7Rg

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/thesacredspeaks/

@thesacredspeaks

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/thesacredspeaks

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/thesacredspeaks/

Brought to you by:

https://www.thecenterforhas.com

Theme music provided by:

http://www.modernnationsmusic.com

Dr. Jennifer Freed joins host Dr. John W. Price on The Sacred Speaks for a wide-ranging and intimate conversation at the crossroads of psychological astrology, Jungian depth psychology, and lived mysticism.

Jennifer shares her personal journey—from early childhood visions and psychedelic experiences, through trauma, therapy, and decades of clinical and spiritual work—to her current understanding of astrology as a living, symbolic map rather than a fixed fate. Together, we explore how the birth chart functions as an invitation into “divine possibilities,” revealing our growth edges, shadow material, and evolving expressions across a lifetime.

Our dialogue moves through themes of shadow integration, relational devotion, nervous system regulation, and cultural upheaval, including reflections on Pluto in Aquarius and what this moment asks of humanity. Jennifer offers a sobering yet hopeful vision—one that calls for discernment, humility, and deeper participation in the unfolding mystery of being human.

Key Takeaways

Astrology as Invitation, Not Determinism

The birth chart reveals our cosmic DNA—a range of primitive, adaptive, and evolving expressions—inviting conscious participation rather than passive identification.

Shadow Integration and the Nervous System

Owning projections and shadow material brings regulation and clarity, helping us think more clearly amid ideological rigidity and identity fixation.

Romance as Daily Devotion

True intimacy is not sustained by chemistry alone, but by ongoing self-care and a quiet, consistent service to the subtle needs of the beloved.

Cultural Crossroads

Under Pluto in Aquarius, humanity faces a profound threshold—between fragmentation and unity—with discernment, responsibility, and imagination required.

Time Stamps

(00:00) Introduction and updates

(00:27) Upcoming events and community initiatives

(01:27) Special mentions and acknowledgements

(02:51) Introducing Dr. Jennifer Freed

(04:13) Jennifer’s journey and body of work

(06:51) Early mystical experiences

(08:35) Psychedelic insights and Jungian influence

(10:58) Therapeutic journey and personal growth

(16:35) Astrology and personal insight

(36:53) The role of intuition in astrology

(42:47) Adding value, embodiment, and ecstatic dance

(43:08) Mars in Pisces: challenges and opportunities

(43:58) Rigidity, discipline, and devotion

(44:57) The joy of dance and energetic freedom

(45:21) Astrology as a path of growth

(50:08) Self-care and relational health

(50:31) Serving your partner with presence

(52:18) Astrology in romantic relationships

(01:05:12) The human experiment and the future

(01:08:18) Extraterrestrial encounters and meaning

(01:12:59) Closing reflections

Website & Offerings:

https://www.jenniferfreed.com

(Includes her Substack, courses, and retreat work)

Books:

Use Your Planets Wisely — exploring planetary expressions from primitive to evolving

Beyond Aquarius — a romance novel emphasizing inner work and conscious relationship

Learn more about this project at:

http://www.drjohnwprice.com

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/thesacredspeaks/

Twitter:

Theme music provided by:

http://www.modernnationsmusic.com

In this solo episode, I explore the deep significance of ritual—especially as we move through the season of descent and into the longest night of the year.

Modern culture has stripped ritual of its heart, reducing sacred rhythms to holidays and surface forms. What once rooted us in mystery has become spectacle or habit. In this conversation, I want to return to the essence of ritual as something alive—something that helps us remember what we’ve forgotten.

I share personal stories and reflections from my own spiritual practice, from early meditation experiences to what I’ve learned through depth psychology and comparative religion. We’ll look at how genuine ritual serves not as superstition, but as an act of remembering, reconnecting, and transforming—an embodied way of saying yes to the unseen life moving through us.

This episode explores how ritual bridges matter and spirit, how mystical experience can reorient the psyche, and how remembering the sacred in everyday life is both an act of rebellion and a return home.

Ritual invites us to tend what still burns within us—to live in rhythm with the mystery that underlies all things.

Key Reflections

Ritual anchors the sacred in the rhythms of everyday life.

Modern culture often forgets the true essence and transformative power of ritual.

Mystical and peak experiences ask to be honored, integrated, and lived—not chased.

Remembering and reclaiming ritual is an act of rebellion, renewal, and belonging.

In This Episode

(00:00) Introduction to Ritual and Peak Experience

(00:59) The Cultural Disconnect with Rituals

(03:34) Personal Story: Meditation and Transformation

(07:48) The Dual Structure of Human Experience

(10:12) The Importance of Mystical Experience

(14:34) Ritual as Rebellion and Remembrance

(16:02) Invitation to Free Webinar on Ritual

(17:08) Conclusion and Closing Reflection

WATCH:

YouTube for The Sacred Speaks

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOAuksnpfht1udHWUVEO7Rg

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/thesacredspeaks/

@thesacredspeaks

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/thesacredspeaks

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/thesacredspeaks/

Brought to you by:

https://www.thecenterforhas.com

Theme music provided by:

http://www.modernnationsmusic.com

In this episode of The Sacred Speaks, host Dr. John W. Price sits down with pioneering therapist and author Terry Real, whose decades of work have redefined how we understand men, relationships, and emotional life.

Nearly thirty years after the release of his groundbreaking book I Don’t Want to Talk About It: Overcoming the Secret Legacy of Male Depression, Terry reflects on the evolution of men’s inner worlds, the cultural forces that still shape them, and the courageous work required to heal.

This conversation moves between the personal and the collective—between the suffering of individual men and the systems that taught them to suffer silently. Together, John and Terry explore how patriarchy has halved both men and women, severing men from their emotional lives, and how healing requires a return to connection, empathy, and embodied relational practice.

Through heartfelt stories, clinical insight, and grounded wisdom, Terry calls us toward a new model of masculinity—one rooted not in dominance or disconnection but in courage, accountability, and love.

This episode is an invitation to anyone longing to understand the hidden pain of men and the pathways toward relational wholeness.

Key Themes

-Male depression as a covert epidemic—often masked by addiction, anger, or withdrawal rather than sadness.

-How patriarchy teaches men to fear vulnerability and equate worth with production, control, and performance.

-The intergenerational inheritance of silence and shame between fathers and sons.

-Why true intimacy depends on empathy, humility, and repair—not dominance or emotional avoidance.

-The call for a new relational culture that honors interdependence and shared healing.

Time Stamps

00:00 – Introduction & framing the conversation

03:00 – Revisiting I Don’t Want to Talk About It nearly 30 years later

06:30 – How patriarchy harms men and the women who love them

10:45 – Understanding covert male depression

16:20 – The producer model: when net worth becomes self-worth

22:10 – Loneliness and the erosion of male friendship

29:40 – Family systems, shame, and the father wound

37:15 – Relational Life Therapy: a model for repair

44:00 – Vulnerability as strength

50:30 – Healing through accountability and compassion

58:00 – The future of masculinity and relational wholeness

Connect with Terry Real

Explore Terry’s courses and trainings in Relational Life Therapy (RLT) for both professionals and general audiences:

🌐 terryreal.com

🌐 relationallife.com

Connect with Dr. John W. Price

Website: https://drjohnwprice.com

Podcast: https://thesacredspeaks.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjohnwprice/

If this conversation resonates, please like, share, and subscribe to The Sacred Speaks to support these ongoing dialogues at the crossroads of psyche, soul, and the sacred.

In this heartfelt episode of The Sacred Speaks, John Price sits down with longtime spiritual guide and Franciscan friar, Father Richard Rohr. Together they explore the deeper dimensions of happiness and meaning—moving far beyond cultural clichés.

Drawing on Richard’s decades of integrating psychology, spirituality, and mysticism, the conversation challenges conventional ideas of happiness as mere pleasure or circumstance. Instead, Richard invites us to embrace a “just right mind”—a way of living that balances ego, suffering, and joy.

Speaking with candor and humility, he reflects on aging, facing death, and the transformative power of love, community, and humor. This conversation is a profound invitation to shift from sin management to radical compassion and participation in a bigger, joyful universal flow.

Key Takeaways

True happiness emerges from a “just right mind” that balances enough ego to appreciate life without judgment or denial.

Happiness is not external comfort, but the capacity to meet suffering with grace and mindfulness.

Radical acceptance and surrender open us to a joy larger than the self.

Humor and community sustain lightheartedness and connection in the face of life’s challenges.

In This Episode

(00:00) Welcome to The Sacred Speaks

(03:57) A Deep Dive into Happiness

(05:33) The Concept of "Just Right" Mind

(10:49) Sin Management and Spiritual Growth

(14:40) The Role of Ritual and Authority

(18:27) Balancing Ego and Humility

(25:47) Order, Disorder, and Reorder

(27:45) The Illusion of Happiness in Modern Culture

(28:44) The Shadow Side of Comfort and Entertainment

(29:51) The Interplay of Happiness and Suffering

(33:28) Personal Reflections on Happiness

(36:11) Finding Joy in Simple Pleasures

(47:06) The Role of Humor in Happiness

(50:41) Nature as a Source of Happiness

(53:32) Final Thoughts on Happiness and Meaning

Connect with Richard Rohr

Official Website (Center for Action and Contemplation): https://cac.org

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cac_abq/

Twitter/X: https://x.com/richardrohrofm

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Rohr

CAC Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/re-release-father-richard-rohr-falling-upward/id1080170463

CAC YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMkqKAtSgijU439fJUNHnkA

Connect with Dr. John W. Price

Website: https://drjohnwprice.com

Podcast: https://thesacredspeaks.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjohnwprice/

If this conversation resonates, please like, share, and subscribe to The Sacred Speaks to support these ongoing dialogues at the crossroads of psyche, soul, and the sacred.

Explore the new site:

www.drjohnwprice.com

Join us in The Open Gate: https://www.drjohnwprice.com/the-open-gate-lt

In this solo episode, I explore what it means to build a rhythm of spiritual practice—not as an escape from life, but as a way of showing up for it.

I draw from my background growing up in a socially engaged religious community, my years as a psychotherapist, and the long process of returning to a deeper, embodied spirituality.

We’ll look at the difference between outer ritual and inner transformation, between spiritual performance and real participation. Along the way, I weave in ideas from Jungian psychology, the necessity of emotional honesty, and the quiet work of remembering the sacred within ordinary life.

This conversation is about developing a living rhythm, a pattern written in the soul, that keeps us connected to meaning, community, and presence.

Key Themes

Spiritual practice is both an inner path and a shared human process.

Rhythm matters more than perfection.

Emotional experiences—grief, fear, longing—are not obstacles; they are initiations.

Nature and everyday ritual reawaken a sense of belonging and presence.

Community, teaching, and discipline form the architecture of a spiritual life.

In This Episode

00:00 — Introduction to Spiritual Practice

02:06 — Defining Spirituality

03:53 — The Importance of Contemplative Practice

08:44 — Personal Experiences and Insights

18:07 — Challenges and Misconceptions

23:56 — Practical Steps and Final Reflections

Follow:

Instagram — @thesacredspeaks

Facebook — The Sacred Speaks

Brought to you by: www.centerforhas.com

Theme Music: www.modernnationmusic.com

In this episode of The Sacred Speaks, host Dr. John W. Price welcomes Mirabai Starr—acclaimed translator of the mystics, teacher of interspiritual wisdom, and luminous guide to the sacred woven through daily life. Together, they explore the heart of ordinary mysticism: discovering holiness not only in monasteries or mountaintops, but in the tender rhythms of our own existence.

Mirabai opens her story with radical honesty—her countercultural Jewish upbringing, alternative education, and the teachers and traditions that shaped her. The conversation turns to how rigid ideas of “being spiritual” can keep us from true intimacy with the divine, and how humility, humor, and embodiment restore us to a living spirituality. Mirabai shares how the death of her teenage daughter became a devastating but sacred initiation, revealing grief as one of the deepest portals into divine love.

Moving between ancient voices and her own life, Mirabai offers a mysticism that is fiercely tender, humble, embodied, and accessible to all. This dialogue invites us to see our own lives as sacred ground—woven with loss and beauty, pain and joy, shadow and wonder.

Key Takeaways

Mysticism is accessible in everyday life, not just in monasteries or religious settings.

Rigid religious or cultural ideas of “spirituality” can block authentic spiritual experience.

Embodiment and emotions—especially grief—are sacred entry points into deeper connection.

Translating the mystics is less about history than entering a living dialogue across time.

Friendship, humor, humility, and even money can be part of an integrated spiritual life.

In This Episode

(00:00) Introduction and Welcome

(00:20) Introducing Mirabai

(01:14) Mirabai’s Background and Influences

(02:30) Personal Tragedy and Grief

(03:21) Housekeeping and Announcements

(05:26) Interview with Mirabai Starr Begins

(07:33) Ordinary Mysticism and Everyday Spirituality

(08:54) Critique of Organized Religion

(13:38) Counterculture Upbringing and Influence

(18:39) Alternative Education and Teaching Philosophy

(23:29) Feminine Mysticism and Embodiment

(38:32) Translating the Mystics as Living Companions

(43:33) The Supernatural and the Natural

(45:55) Writing as Dialogic Spiritual Practice

(51:27) Grief and the Sacredness of Loss

(01:00:21) Writing as a Spiritual Path

(01:14:02) Navigating Money and Spirituality

(01:18:17) Closing Reflections & Resources

Connect with Mirabai Starr

Company: Wild Heart

Community: Holy Lament (online support for grief; opens twice yearly, next in Nov 2025)

Book: Ordinary Mysticism: Your Life as Sacred Ground (HarperOne, Sept 2025)

Earlier Works: Wild Mercy, Caravan of No Despair, her translations of Dark Night of the Soul and The Interior Castle, and more - check out Mirabai's website: mirabaistarr.com

Connect with John

Come and join, The Open Gate. Link on website

Website: https://drjohnwprice.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjohnwprice/

What does it mean to think impossibly? How do paranormal events, mystical visions, and encounters with the unknown reshape our understanding of what it means to be human?

In this episode, host Dr. John W. Price sits down with Dr. Jeffrey Kripal — J. Newton Rayzor Professor of Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University, and one of today’s most daring scholars of religion — to explore the borders between the possible and the impossible.

Together, they trace the line where scholarship meets the mystical, where imagination bends into healing, and where our deepest worldviews determine what we are even able to see. From UFOs and near-death experiences to William Blake, dual-aspect monism, and the future of spirituality, this is a wide-ranging conversation about living at the edges of reality.

Be sure to check out Jeff’s latest book, How to Think Impossibly: About Souls, UFOs, Time, Belief, and Everything Else.

Key Takeaways

Embracing the impossible expands not just our knowledge, but our capacity for awe, healing, and transformation.

Worldviews — personal and cultural — filter what counts as “real,” shaping how we encounter extraordinary experiences.

Paranormal phenomena aren’t just curiosities; they are symbolic invitations into deeper practice and meaning.

Thinking impossibly is less about belief and more about orientation — a way of living that opens us to mystery.

Dialogue at the borderlands of science, religion, and imagination may hold the key to the future of spirituality.

In This Episode

(00:00) Introduction & Guest Bio

(01:59) Housekeeping & Announcements

(05:13) The Origins of “Thinking Impossibly”

(09:52) Stories of the Impossible

(13:16) The Role of Worldviews

(16:34) Religion, Science, and the Paranormal

(22:14) Healing, Suffering, and Transformation

(28:32) The Power of Story & Magic

(35:12) Teaching the Impossible

(42:39) The Future of Spirituality

(46:06) Closing Reflections & Resources

Connect:

Jeffrey: https://jeffreyjkripal.com

John: https://www.drjohnwprice.com

In this episode of The Sacred Speaks, John sits down with Adele Getty—spiritual teacher, author, and cultural bridge—to explore the urgent, timeless wisdom of her book A Sense of the Sacred. Though written nearly 30 years ago, Adele’s work feels more relevant than ever in a world hungry for meaning, ritual, and reconnection with the more-than-human world.

Together, John and Adele reflect on the lost world of animism, the power of symbolic action, and the aching grief of cultural severance from the sacred. Adele shares her path as a modern-day rite-maker, offering personal stories, cross-cultural insights, and poetic invitations to remember what it means to live in a living world. The conversation moves fluidly between anthropology, personal spirituality, indigenous wisdom, and the transformative potential of ceremony—especially in a time of ecological crisis and soul loss.

This episode is both an intellectual dialogue and a soul invocation. If you've ever felt the quiet mourning of a life unlived—or sensed the sacred just beneath the surface of ordinary things—this conversation is for you.

Key Themes:

Animism as a lived cosmology—not a belief system, but a relationship

The grief of modernity and the longing for reconnection

Ceremony as both personal healing and collective repair

The sacred role of women, humor, and voice in ritual

How to begin building meaningful ceremonies in contemporary life

Why symbolic acts matter in a disenchanted world

Reflections on the psychedelic resurgence and ritual ethics

Episode Timeline:

(00:00) Introduction and Guest Announcement

(00:37) Podcast Updates and Announcements

(02:25) Introducing Adele Getty

(04:02) The Book as a Lament and a Love Song

(09:05) Adele’s Personal Background and Influences

(11:56) Animism and the Cosmology of Connection

(16:44) Ceremony as Daily Practice and Communal Healing

(24:54) Spirit, Voice, and Song in Ritual Work

(35:32) Historical Context and Cultural Amnesia

(47:34) The Psychedelic Explosion and Western Disconnection

(50:26) Modern Psychedelics, Integration, and Ethical Ceremony

(51:24) Nature as Teacher and Ceremony Ground

(52:35) Creating Sacred Spaces in Ordinary Life

(01:14:21) The Role of Humor, Play, and the Trickster

(01:18:51) Symbolic Acts and Soul Reenchantment

(01:19:57) Final Reflections on Ceremony and Belonging

(01:26:44) Closing Thoughts and Upcoming Offerings

Connect with Adele Getty & The Limina Foundation:

Website: https://www.liminafoundation.org/

Facebook: @liminafoundation

Instagram: @liminafoundation

In this unforgettable episode, Dr. John Price sits down with writer, ritualist, and mytho-technologist Sean Manseau, whose work bridges depth psychology, psychedelics, performance, and esoteric theology. Together, they explore Entheogenic Fitness Training (EFT)—a radical spiritual system designed for the metamodern age.

EFT combines physical resistance training, psychedelic states, mythic storytelling, and ritual performance to create a structured path of transformation. At its core is the archetype of the Phonomancer—a shamanic superhero trained to channel divine energy through movement, voice, and ecstatic states.

Sean also shares the inner journey behind his visionary book The Devil You Know, a Jungian-style self-analysis written as a dialogue between two imagined selves. This conversation offers a deep dive into imagination, magic, trauma, shadow work, and the struggle to maintain integrity while mapping new sacred ground.

From ayahuasca visions to ecstatic dance, from black magic to simulated belief, this is a conversation for those willing to question what’s real, what’s possible, and what the future of spiritual practice might become.

Topics Covered:

How suffering can become sacred resistance

Psychedelics as initiatory stressors (not just therapy)

Make-Believe vs. Make-Belief as spiritual technology

Designing a religion for the age of simulation

The adversary as a real force in consciousness

Ritual performance as a container for ego death

From anima to AI: dialoguing with the inner divine

Addiction, psychosis, and how to build inner structure

The idea of “Functional Enlightenment” and training spiritual capacity

Gnosis, the Christ archetype, and becoming a conscious myth-maker

In This Episode

(00:00) Introduction and updates

(06:35) Ayahuasca, ritual, and the origin of EFT

(13:00) Phonomantic method and psychedelic training

(17:00) Make-believe, religion, and sacred play

(22:00) Ecstatic states, magic, and the imaginal

(30:00) Dark magic, possession, and archetypal rage

(35:00) Writing The Devil You Know as active imagination

(41:00) Addiction, psychosis, and safety in altered states

(49:00) Resistance, shamanic ecology, and loving the adversary

(57:00) What is Functional Enlightenment?

(1:14:00) Christ 2.0 and the collective evolution of soul

(1:26:00) Ending the psychedelic Tower of Babel

Subscribe to stay connected to conversations on psychology, mysticism, imagination, and the evolving face of spiritual practice.

Find Sean at: https://www.phonomancer.com/home

Learn more: www.drjohnwprice.com

Sign up for the newsletter

Follow on Instagram: @thesacredspeaks

Check us out at www.thecenterforhas.com