Spiritual Geography Podcast

The word woke has become so politically charged that many people stop listening the moment they hear it. But what if we stripped away the rhetoric and asked a simpler question? What does it really mean to be awake? This week, Christy and I explored the idea that being “awake” isn’t about perfection or political identity. It’s about being willing to see reality as it is, to listen to other people’s...

“I don’t do politics.” It’s something Christy and I have both heard a lot lately. And honestly, we understand why. Politics can feel exhausting, overwhelming, and deeply divisive. But this week we explored a different question: What if politics is about more than elections and government? Merriam Webster says that an alternative definition of politics is “the total complex of relations between peo...

What do you do when hope disappears, but giving up isn't an option? There are seasons when the problems around us feel so overwhelming that it's hard to believe anything we do matters. In this deeply personal episode, I share my own struggle with hopelessness and the unexpected question that helped me move forward – not by finding certainty or optimism, but by choosing love, integrity, and faithfu...

This week in Evolving Democracy , Christy Johnson, Ph. D. and I explored what we’re calling audacious activism . We’ve often talked about taking small steps because they matter. This week we asked a different question: What if we’re capable of more than we think? Audacious activism doesn’t necessarily mean doing something louder. It means allowing ourselves to grow into new ways of contributing. M...

Most people think admitting they are wrong is dangerous. What if refusing to see ourselves clearly is even more dangerous? For years, hospitals were told never to apologize after a medical mistake. Yet when some began openly acknowledging errors, apologizing, and explaining how they would prevent future harm, lawsuits often decreased. Why? Because people often want more than compensation. They wan...

In this week’s Evolving Democracy livestream, Christy and I explored a question inspired by this week’s Spiritual Geography episode (link below): What makes someone a hero? When we think about villains, we often think about power, control, wealth, and self-interest. Heroes, by contrast, are motivated by something very different. They care about people. They act from love, community, and a commitme...

The problem with most villains isn't that they don't have enough. It's that they can't imagine an "enough." From James Bond villains with secret lairs to tyrants, kings, and modern supervillains, humanity has been telling the same story for thousands of years. Different costumes. Different eras. Same warning. These characters accumulate wealth, power, control, and influence far beyond what they ne...

Many of us are feeling exhausted, discouraged, or overwhelmed by the constant stream of political news. In this first Political Rest Stop, Christy and Joni step away from the headlines to explore a different question: How do we stay engaged without burning out? Through stories, metaphors, and practical reflections, they discuss managing information overload, choosing sources that inform rather tha...

Every Pride Month, debates about sexuality and faith seem to circle around the same question: who's right? But what if the more important question is: what happens if we're wrong? In this episode, I explore certainty, compassion, and the consequences of our beliefs. Because when our convictions affect other people's lives, the issue isn't just whether we're right—it's what our beliefs are producin...

Most of us think of an outlaw as someone who breaks the law. But there is another meaning: someone excluded from its protection. In this episode of Evolving Democracy , Christy and Joni explore what happens when some people are denied due process while others seem to place themselves above accountability. From immigration detention to empathy, power, and the rule of law, this conversation asks a s...

We often hear the phrase "follow the money" when trying to uncover corruption or hidden motives. But what if money reveals something even deeper? In this episode, I revisit a lesson I first encountered during the Watergate era and explore how money became more than a tool for exchange. Somewhere along the way, we began using wealth to measure status, influence, and even human worth. From essential...

What happens when fear, misinformation, and distraction pull our attention away from what matters most? In this episode of Hocus Focus , we explore the power of words, the danger of dehumanization, and why staying focused on what we want—human dignity, truth, integrity, and love—may be one of the most powerful forms of action available to ordinary people. Because where we place our attention shape...

In this week’s Evolving Democracy conversation, Christy and I talk about the deeper reasons we keep showing up for this work — not from perfection or certainty, but from care, idealism, community, and the belief that democracy only survives when people participate in it. We reflect on public service, growing up with the ideals of democracy, widening the circle of care, and finding forms of action...

The people who never doubt worry me more than the people who do. In this archival sermon from before the Spiritual Geography podcast existed, I explore how humans process new information, why changing deeply held beliefs is so difficult, and how curiosity can open us to entirely new ways of seeing ourselves, others, and the world. Whether or not Christianity is part of your own spiritual language,...

Why does authenticity feel so rare right now? In our first live as Evolving Democracy , we talk about integrity, not as perfection, but as the ongoing process of becoming more honest, more congruent, and more willing to live what we claim to value. We explore why people are so hungry for leaders who feel real, why vulnerability matters, how small acts of courage build our “integrity muscle,” and w...

What if the biggest danger isn’t the lies themselves… but how quickly we normalize them? This episode began with frustration about lies, greed, and political manipulation… but it became a conversation about something much larger: the kind of world we want to create together. We explore how misinformation, greed, and fear distort public life — and why facts alone are not enough to change hearts. We...

The way we see people becomes the kind of world we’re willing to build. A year ago, on a subway ride home, something shifted in the way I saw the people around me. Strangers I would normally pass without noticing suddenly felt… luminous. Each one carrying a life I couldn’t see. Each one distinct. Each one beautiful. That moment didn’t give me answers, but it changed the way I want to live. That sh...

May Day is both a protest—and a distress call. In this episode of “ Yes, and…” for Democracy , we explore the history of collective action in the U.S., including the turning point of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, and how those moments reshaped labor protections and workers’ rights. But what happens when the harm is no longer as visible? Today’s challenges often show up in more subtle ways...

Earth Day invites us to care for the planet, but what if the deeper question is how we see our place within it? We’re often told a story about independence – about standing on our own, making our own way, and taking care of what’s ours. What if that story is incomplete? Beginning with a reexamination of The Giving Tree , this reflection explores how our assumptions about love, generosity, and succ...

What if integrity isn’t about what we believe—but whether we apply it consistently? In this episode of “ Yes, and… “ for Democracy , we explore how corruption and greed show up not just in systems like gerrymandering, but in the subtle ways we justify unfairness when it benefits our side. Drawing on research about tribal thinking and real-world examples, we look at how easily fairness can bend and...

Underdog stories remind us what’s still possible, especially when everything feels stacked against us. We don’t just watch underdog stories, we feel them. Something in us recognizes the possibility they hold. But these stories aren’t something “out there”… we are a part of the story. Underdogs don’t win by accident; they win by showing up, connecting, and doing the daily work that builds momentum....

We often think of “waiting for someday” as something personal. Waiting until we feel ready. But what happens when that same pattern shows up in how we live together? “Waiting for someday” doesn’t just shape individual lives; it shapes our shared world. Through a personal story about something my mother made for me decades ago… and never gave me, this reflection opens into a larger question: What d...

We’ve been taught not to talk about politics, religion, or money. But what if that silence is exactly what’s keeping us from shaping the world we actually want to live in? In this episode, we step into the conversations most of us have been trained to avoid and explore why this moment demands something different. When these “taboo” topics collide in real life, silence doesn’t stay neutral – it’s p...

Who pays the price when we believe we can’t be wrong? What happens when the people making the biggest decisions in the world believe their certainty is sacred … and no longer ask what it might cost if they’re wrong? In this episode of Spiritual Geography , I explore the danger of sacred certainty – when beliefs become so unquestionable that they no longer have to answer to the harm they may cause....

Most of us think someone else will speak up. But what if that “someone” is you? In this episode of “ Yes, and…” for Democracy , Christy and I explore what it really means to speak up – not perfectly, but meaningfully. Building on the energy of the “No Kings” protests, we reflect on how small acts of voice and participation can create connection and begin to move us, together, toward change. The co...