Spiritual Geography Podcast

Talking about your deeply held spiritual beliefs with someone is like walking into a room with the other person sitting in the middle and surrounded by eggshells. Some people have a small circle of eggshells around them. They can brush off things they don’t agree without any harm. However, some people have the whole room filled with eggshells so there is barely any space to tiptoe closer. And the...

Hopelessness is the emotion I fear the most, so I’ve found creative ways to get out of hopelessness without brushing aside any real issues that may have precipitated the feeling. I can’t fix the world. But I can make choices that help me deal with that world better. Spiritual Geography is an email newsletter/podcast designed to help you find your unique home in the spiritual/religious universe. Al...

We are all interconnected and interdependent. Interconnected with those who came before us - for better or worse. Interdependent on those around us - for better or worse. Our lives weave in and out of each others, creating something no one person could imagine. More than the sum of its parts. Less than the ideal vision of what is possible. What I do today matters. If I bring my best self into ever...

2026 Update: In this early episode of Spiritual Geography , I explore the complicated religious history behind the founding of the United States — and why the architects of the Constitution intentionally separated church and state. The colonies were filled with Christians who deeply disagreed with one another: Puritans, Catholics, Quakers, Anglicans, Baptists, Methodists, and many more. Those disa...

I have never understood evangelism. How can someone be so certain? And not merely certain for themselves, so certain they know what is right and true that they believe everyone should think and feel the same way? I first encountered evangelism as a freshman in college. I was left with a negative impression. And I came away with one solid foundation that has ruled my faith ever since: If God exclud...

Everyone’s spirituality contains elements that are not provable. Wondering whether what you believe is true is a perfectly understandable human reaction. [I reference the day my brother died in this episode. The full story is in Episode 1 Spirituality Doesn't Fit Into a Box ] Joni Miller is a writer, researcher, coach, and speaker who uses her knowledge, education, and love of all things spiritual...

We spend a lot of time asking who's right, but far less time asking what our beliefs are actually producing. There are an infinite number of expressions of spirituality. Not all of them will resonate with us; some we might find uncomfortable … or think the belief or practice is silly. I won’t judge someone’s spirituality by whether it’s right or wrong, since that knowledge is far beyond my human c...

Our belief systems are based on many assumptions that we rarely investigate. What you assume matters, because the rest of your beliefs sit on top of that foundation. Even if I were able to uncover and list all of my assumptions, I still wouldn’t be able to prove my spiritual beliefs. Although I can’t offer a proof as to the accuracy of my beliefs, I don’t need to fully see or understand all the my...

Music is very personal. We each have songs we like, musical styles we appreciate. Our spirituality has the same sort of individuality. Some of us like to interact with the Transcendent through nature … others through ritual … others through deep prayer or meditation. Preferring one method over the other doesn’t make someone wrong or less spiritual or in any way inferior. Merely different. Spiritua...

You can’t know someone’s spiritual journey merely by the room you find them in. Most of our judgments about someone else’s spirituality are based on assumptions that are probably not true. I have to continually remind myself to look at someone’s beliefs and see how these beliefs can be life-giving for them. I try to look at other’s beliefs with my two questions: (1) How does this belief help them?...

“God” is just a word. Why do I need to call the Divine “God”? We each have our own definition for words like God or religion or spirituality. These concepts are often impossible to put into words and yet we each have some intuitive understanding of what WE mean when we use the word. But we talk to others as if they share our unspoken definition, when - odds are - the person to whom you are speakin...

Do those in spirit form manipulate matter so we can find feathers or pennies? Or do they somehow lead us to see certain birds or rainbows? I don’t know. What I DO know is that seeing feathers as signs from loved ones helped me process my grief, letting me feel a continuing connection to those who have passed on. Some of the places and ways I found feathers were quite unusual … and do make me belie...

Our spiritual beliefs often become an anchor in our lives, keeping us steady in turbulent times. This second episode of the Spiritual Geography podcast continues my story of new spiritual experiences and understanding following a sudden death in my family. What happens when sharing our experiences leads to people pushing back on our interpretations? Joni Miller is a writer, researcher, coach, and...

What is our connection to the Divine? This first episode of the Spiritual Geography podcast discusses our connection to that which is Transcendent. I’ll tell you a little bit about my winding, wandering road, including the day that changed my connection to the Divine completely. This helped me to find a spirituality that fits me uniquely. Through my stories, research, and other people’s stories, I...