Soul + Practice: Raw Conversations & Real Practices with Kathy Escobar & Phyllis Mathis

In just one week there have been two mass shootings that we are aware of--Club Q in Colorado Springs and a Walmart Break Room in Virginia. There's so much tangled up with guns and God and fear and ambivalence and the reality that we live in this kind of culture. It's hard on souls, and there's a lot to lament--and, lament isn't always super coherent.

Yeah, long COVID is real. Like so many things related to COVID, a lot of us are ready to not be talking about it, thinking about it, or moving our lives around for it. But in reality, this illness continues to impact millions of people. This conversation is with our friend Joy Shroeder, a yoga instructor and kindred spirit and least likely to end up with a debilitating illness. But here she is. Lo...

Being, Sovereign, Bringing it all Together - This is the last of our 5 part series on the 4 Gateways as a framework for growth--Thinking, Feeling, Doing, Being with the archetypes of Magician, Lover, Warrior, Sovereign. This quadrant is one of the most underutilized for so many of us and in this episode we lean in to the part that can help bring the others all together.

Tuesday November 8th 2022 is Midterm Elections in the USA, ack! It's a hot mess with so much on the line. If you haven't voted yet, please get it done! If you want to support an organization helping voting access in the most significant of ways, support Black Voters Matter at blackvotersmatterfund.org.

"Doing" energy is different for everyone. Some of us have really strong Warrior energy that can be exhausting--doing, doing, doing--while others have a hard time moving things into fruition. This 3rd quadrant in the 4 Gateways conversation explores bringing some of the "doing" into greater balance.

In this episode we dive into the Feeling quadrant in this 5 part series processing the Four Gateways, a framework for greater emotional and relational health that we're riffing on as we start this season. Some of us over-feel, over-love, over-empathize, and some of us are shut down, taught to suppress certain kinds of feelings to protect ourselves. There's no perfect balance but considering where...

So many of us are masters at overthinking everything. This is part of the 4 Gateways series--Thinking, Feeling, Doing, and Being--and this episode is centered on the "Magician" or thinking quadrant and ways it can over-function, under-function, or with some practice and intention, become healthier.

Thinking, Feeling, Doing, Being - there's no such thing as perfect balance but we can keep developing ways to live more soulfully and integrated. The 4 Gateways are a tool to help us consider these aspects of ourselves and this episode is just an overview and a launching place for future conversations.

Queen Elizabeth's death has stirred up a wide mix of conflicted feelings for many. This episode, recorded on the day of her funeral, isn't so much just about the Queen of England dying but about our addictions to kings and queens and propping up unhealthy power structures.

After a Summer 2022 break, we are back for Season 3 for Fall 2022! We've missed being together but glad for the rhythm of Summer and a chance to anchor in some practices and keep finding our way...

Episode 30: Season Two Wrap Wow, we covered a lot of ground since January and in this episode we look back at some of the conversations we’ve had together, promise to fix the sound, and reflect on what we keep learning and practicing as best we can. We’ll be back in September 2022 with Season 3! Thanks for listening!  Get to know the hosts at KathyEscobar.com and PhyllisMathis.com  

 Episode 29: Soul Healing with Angie Fadel  Embodied practices are everything, and Angie Fadel, our kindred and spiritual director and meditative archer, shares more about the hard, beautiful, and life-time work of soul healing. More on Angie’s work at angiefadel.com.  Get to know the hosts at KathyEscobar.com and PhyllisMathis.com

Episode 28: Recovering Racists with Idelette McVicker Idelette McVicker joins us for a soulful conversation about her new book, Recovering Racists: Dismantling White Supremacy and Reclaiming our Humanity. So much goodness and challenge and hope! More on Idelette’s work at  Idelette.com . Get to know the hosts at KathyEscobar.com and PhyllisMathis.com

 Episode 27: Dreaming of a Better Way Healthy systems are possible! Simple and small matters. Living systems are against the grain but are built on healing ourselves to help heal the world. Our dreams of a better way can come true. We refer to some of Dr. Shawn Ginwright’s work and interview on Brene Brown’s podcast.  More at shawnginwright.com Get to know the hosts at KathyEscobar.com and Phyllis...

 Episode 26: “How Will I Be Today?” - A Conversation with Aram Haroutunian  We have the best friends! Aram Haroutunian is a chaplain, pastor, and person of presence who has decades of experience in end of life realities and what “presence is everything” means.  Get to know the hosts at KathyEscobar.com and PhyllisMathis.com

Episode 25: Long Haul Love and Learning…A Conversation with Suzann Mollner Suzann Mollner has worked alongside Palestian Refugees for many years, and there’s so much we can learn from her about relationship, relief, and long haul love in the hardest places. More on her work at beirutandbeyond.org.  Get to know the hosts at KathyEscobar.com and PhyllisMathis.com        

Episode 24: Self Care Self Care is a word and practice that has gained a lot of much-needed traction over the past few years but what if we are approaching self-care in the same way the world works and it’s defeating some of the purpose. What if there’s a small, simpler, soulful way to take good care of ourselves?  Get to know the hosts at KathyEscobar.com and PhyllisMathis.com  

Episode 23: Freedom To…A Conversation with David Hayward (Naked Pastor) David Hayward, also known as Naked Pastor, is one of our kindred spirits and dear friend from afar for many years. In this episode we talk about all things freedom and could have talked for hours!  More on David’s work at nakedpastor.com.  Get to know the hosts at KathyEscobar.com and PhyllisMathis.com  

Episode 22: Our First Guest! A Conversation With Jamison Escobar  We had such a fun conversation with our first guest, Jamison Escobar, Kathy’s son and catalyzer of goodness related to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion work. He definitely gives us hope for a better future, and we need as much of that as we can find.  Get to know the hosts at KathyEscobar.com and PhyllisMathis.com

 Episode 21: Paradoxing  We bring it up all the time but in this episode we focus in on the practice of paradox-ing, holding *all the things* despite their contradictions. It’s definitely an art, not a science.  Get to know the hosts at KathyEscobar.com and PhyllisMathis.com

Episode 20: All the Supremacies  The lies of white supremacy, male supremacy, straight supremacy, Christian supremacy, thin supremacy, and all kinds of other supremacies are embedded into our culture, our DNA. Untangling from it is no easy task but recognizing it is a good first step. Get to know the hosts at KathyEscobar.com and PhyllisMathis.com

Episode 19: Spiritual Bypassing In our desire to “be okay” in the world, we often do all kinds of things to skip over pain, find an easier solution, and bypass some of the deeper work.  Get to know the hosts at KathyEscobar.com and PhyllisMathis.com

Episode 18: Our Hope is in the Underground The realities of war in Ukraine stir up a lot of feelings of powerlessness, fear, and hopelessness for the state of our world. What is our part to play in change? Our hope is in the underground.  Get to know the hosts at KathyEscobar.com and PhyllisMathis.com

Episode 17: Eldering Don’t worry, we’re not talking about church elders, we’re talking about the wisdom that comes with aging, how we need each other–young and old mixed up together–and how crucial it is for aging people to not dismiss our contributions but step into what we have to bring to others, the world. Get to know the hosts at KathyEscobar.com and PhyllisMathis.com

Episode 16: Presence is Everything  Living in the here and now instead of in the future of the past is no small task. In a fragile and fractured world, being present is our best shot at surviving it. But learning how to be present isn’t something that we can learn with our heads; it comes with practice. Get to know the hosts at KathyEscobar.com and PhyllisMathis.com