UnBoxing “God”

McCall B-L. (AFG, Los Angeles) at The AA Metro East Banquet, in Bellevue, Illinois on Aug. 5th, 2023

In this episode, you’ll get to know the captivating ‘Mom of TikTok’, Samantha Howsden Ward aka @MONW0102. She shares her spiritual evolution, which developed from a God-FEARing relationship as a child, with a Bible beating, mentally ill mother.... into (co)dependency with a toxic first marriage... and finally, to the place where, now she actively chooses Love over Fear. - Tune in to hear all the j...

On Thursday night (Nov. 26th, 2020), McCall had the honor and opportunity to share her story of Experience, Strength and Hope - for an online, quarantined, holiday, Zoom call conference. The childhood memories that flowed forth were thanksgiving miracles, because it was suddenly so easy to remember the good, and took actual effort to recall the “bad”. What you will hear is the story of an only chi...

For the final episode of Season One, McCall and her husband, Kyle, disclose their journey through a very unhealthy relationship and into the intimate and loving marriage they now enjoy. With five guests, this is a Jam Packed episode... which make make you salivate! Like an English Muffin, the Nooks and Crannies are where the goodness resides. It's the Space In between that solidifies any relations...

In this episode, McCall unboxes awe and wonder.  She contemplates the causes and effects of her own limited opportunities to experience awe as a child and endeavors to discover the benefits, and possible downsides of awe. McCall explores the history of awe and its evolution in society, the sources of awe, it’s power to create social bonds, and even provide physical healing.  In an interview with M...

Sacred Geometry: Understanding the Underling Meanings of Shapes + Patterns In this episode of Unboxing God, we talk about sacred geometry and the meaning and connection of certain shapes, like the square, circle, and triangle. Is the ultimate answer in the Great Architect or just a series of extremely unlikely coincidences? Paying attention to your surroundings reveals patterns appearing all aroun...

A special Trick and (several) Treats from Brother Matthew Paul... on the REAL DEAL of Halloween.    Drop all of your preconceptions before listening, cuz I bet this is not at all what you expect to hear. Especially coming from a “Religious Brother” of Catholicism.  From the history of trick or treating and dressing in costumes, to the merging of many holidays into a harvest filled bounty of celebr...

Fact: Explaining Sacred Geometry and Vortex Math for a podcast... audio and no visuals... suffice to say: It is a BEAST. And although I have been working diligently on an epic episode all about Sacred Shapes, Divine Digits + Persistent Patterns - it’s still pretty rough at the moment. It needs at least a few more days of TLC (and Kyle’s ruthless editing cuts) before it is ready to meet you. Instea...

     Regardless of whether you want to complete your basketball season, get from point A to point B, or deliver a healthy baby... the safest place to be is cushioned in the middle of a protective “bubble”.     This week's episode really packs a punch - and a few kicks - as McCall has three conversations with different martial arts practitioners who offer their insights into the importance of findi...

PLEASE... check out UBG Trailer 2.0  - A LOT has happened since March 20, 2020 - when McCall first recorded this one!!! (What IS that music?!?!) We are UnBoxing "God" - Because sometimes tackling an "un"manageable life requires the help of an "un"orthodox higher power. Each week we will publish an episode. First, we will begin to dig into a topic, often inspired by McCall's practice of 12-Ste...

Because sometimes tackling an unmanageable life requires the help of an unorthodox higher power.  Each week we will dig into a topic that challenges us... from the "God" in 12 Step Recovery, to Social Justice issues like Gender, Race and Arranged Marriage...  using less than traditional tools and ideas.  Take what you like... and leave the rest.   Contact: WaldoLovesMe@gma...

Today has been known as Columbus Day for over a century but federally recognized since 1934. In more recent years, however, October 12th (or the second Monday of October) has come to be known as Indigenous Peoples’ Day.  Today we celebrate, honor, and uplift indigenous people.  Also, our friend and guest, Laura, stops by to tell us a little about Canadian Thanksgiving, which they call “Gratitude D...

What do the sworn virgins of Albania, Caitlyn Jenner, Elagabalus, and Caster Semenya all have in common?   They’re transgender -- or, perhaps, third gender.   How long have we known about transgender?  Is gender just biological sex like some say or is there something more to learn from other cultures’ and countries’ histories of gender which is not binary?  Pink or blue only ge...

Arranged marriage - what reaction does that incite in you?      This week, we’re delving into Indian marriage: who has arranged ones and can people be happy in them?  McCall and Cass have conversations with Celia Daniels, an Indian trans woman in a heterosexual arranged marriage; Monique, an Indian Australian woman who opted to have a non-arranged marriage; and Manpreet, a...

Indian born and raised, a loving arranged marriage, a deep abiding Faith in God, and a sense that HE was a SHE from a very early age. This week, McCall delves into conversation with Celia Sandhya Daniels , who opens up about their life: Growing up a Christian boy in India; loving God, but hating the "girl inside"; an arranged marriage, to an incredible woman; coming out as transgender; and her str...

Are women the downfall of humanity? The Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam) would have you believe so. Did monotheism's misogyny intentionally kill the Feminine Divine? Are there other interpretations of Eve, Adam, and the Creation Story? Are we positive that Adam was actually male? Who was 'Lilith'? Might females really be the chosen ones, to redeem all of 'man'kind? Is Androgyny t...

Since it's Labor Day in the States, and well over 100 degrees in Los Angeles (where McCall lives)... okay and also cuz we are still hard at work on a PACKED Episode 11 - Cass and McCall (and Kyle) are taking the week “off” and will offer up, instead of your regularly planned programming: some exciting info and a few teaser clips from interviews that will be featured over the last four weeks of Sea...

Spoiler: We’re all basically androgynous.  McCall’s ex talks masculinity and femininity during gender transition and Cassidy helps McCall unbox toxic femininity, through the lens of Jung’s theory of Anima (the feminine aspect in a male) and Animus (the masculine aspect in a female) and the toxicity that occurs when those characteristics become too extreme.  This week, Alison Whiteacre, a...

In Episode 10, McCall is unloading the box of all things woowoo! Most of us are familiar with archetypes, but Jung’s collective unconscious theory leads us to the fringe of what we know as mainstream and into the dreamworld, tarot card reading, and intuition. This week she’s asked several guests to fill in the gaps of “woowoo” that she proclaims she is “both drawn to and repelled by”. Jenny Sieck...

In this week’s bonus episode, McCall examines the shadow, or the dark side of Self, and the mask, or what is projected to the world. Through the exploration of an Al-Anon reading, Pinocchio, and Pandora’s Box, McCall guides us through these Jungian archetypes and how she handles her own mask these days. For this episode, she also enlists the help of Kyle, her husband, to unpack these concepts in a...

This week, McCall begins the process of unboxing the “fractured self”, childhood and intergenerational trauma, and Epigenetics. The exploration includes three guests: Cherish Asha Bolton (from Episode 8, where she also discussed the psyche, self, and soul) guides us through the “fractured self”; Margot Schrader briefs us on the Internal Family Systems model and intergenerational trauma; and Jessic...

The Links in the Chain that led to A.A. - From one conversation in Zurich, between Carl Jung and his 'hopeless' patient... through the Oxford Group and on... to a trip to Vermont in 1935... then Ebby's line: 'I don't need a drink; I got religion"... to Bill Wilson and next, in Akron, came Dr. Bob Smith... and the founding of Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.)... and then, on to every other 12-Step progra...

In this week's episode, McCall unboxes the psyche, the self, and the soul. What are they, and how do they differ, if at all? McCall discusses these topics with two guests, William Ragan, PhD - professor of psychology, and Cherish Bolton - The Other(ed) Woman and (P.E.A.R.) People for Ethical Adoption Reform. They each shed light on aspects of 'self' through the lens of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung...

If you liked this Bonus Episode, check out: Applying the writings and philosophies of William James to addiction and Alcoholics Anonymous, by Edward Mendelowitz, Ph. D. (from Society for Humanistic Psychology Newsletter - Oct. 2017) Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature, by William James (a series of 20 lectures on 'natural theology' that psychologist/philosopher William James...

While researching the UBG episodes on Mysticism, I stumbled upon this book called Empath to Mystic: The Art of Mastering Your Intuition and Fearlessly Being Yourself, by Aaran Solh, and although it didn't quite make its way into a full episode, I thought it was special enough to share it with you here, in a BONUS Bonus episode. Enjoy!