Unraveling Religion

Part 2 continues panel discussion by exploring the lived experience of unity, spirituality, and what it means to feel 'at home' in the universe, beginning with reflections on whether healing and awakening dissolve the sense of separation. Andy, drawing from his 12-step recovery background, describes spirituality as a relationship with a higher power understood personally, sharing that his connecti...

Part 1  Alchemical Dialogues and Unraveling Religion co-hosts Joel Lesses and Henry Cretella convene a panel exploring spirituality, recovery, philosophy, and science through lived experience, centered on the theme of transformation as an embodied, ongoing process. Ben, a therapist and former addiction counselor, reflects on his journey through trauma, psychosis, and recovery, including an ego dea...

Part 2 of 'Echoes of the Tao, Seeking Truth Across Traditions,' starts with 'what does it mean to Serve and Love God (or Tao)? God (Tao) says, 'be what I made you to be!' God (Tao) is found in relationship. Does God want us to know Him (or ourselves) most intimately? Dependent Co-arising? 'Simultaneously, I and all beings attain the Way ' (Awaken to Reality) ~Buddha 'Essentially, outside of me, no...

In this exploration of the Tao Te Ching and other traditions, the conversation opens to introductions  of the five Panelists and a invocation of hope of others to investigate the Tao Te Ching.  Bob, Brian, Rich, Henry and Joel share Verse 1 and questions arise: What is Reality? Is the Tao Reality? What is the Tao? What does the term Anti-foundational mean? Reversal Yin/ Yang in relation to Tao. Pa...

The I Thou Video Series ' host Richard Wicka has a conversation with Joel opening with the posited question, 'What Is?' or 'What Is, existentially?'   The discussion response from Richard offers Panta Rhei (i.e., everything changes). What is identity? Identity and a Real Self, are there two aspects within each of us? Is only one real? Kireeragard: real world self (work self), imaginary self (the s...

Pádraig Ó Tuama joins Joel and shares a conversation from the heart about poetry, spirituality, community, and communion. The conversation opens to how Joel and Pádraig met, and what informed Pádraig's life as a Poet and Theologian. Pádraig recalls the influences of Ireland and school and the foundation of poetry in that experience, and poetry as resistance, and the role of Peacemaker in the world...

Crazywise Documentary Filmmaker Phil Borges joins Joel for a discussion of Phil's life post Crazywise and together they explore mental health and its relation spirituality, beginning with how does one define spirituality.  Phil's history of experiences into spirituality, beginning with the death of his father and Phil's Aunt returning from a psychiatric hospitalization to Phil's home when Phil was...

In a Post-Pandemic June 2022, Joel and Chris sat together at Network of Religous Communities in Buffalo, New York and examined and reflected on Chris' travels to Seattle and San Fransisco via train, a pilgrimage. Chris discusses his recent trip and the lessons, resolutions, and insights from his travels to the west coast, focusing on the spiritual aspects. The conversation tends toward defining 'P...

Pulled from the Archives of Unraveling Religion this June 2013 conversation with Chris Barbera explores discussion based on the book Prison Theology , published by Jesus the Liberator Seminary of Religious Justice , and opens the question: 'Can the criminal on the cross be the incarcerated, executed Godhead?'   Chris and Joel address America, Prisoners, and the Prison Industral Complex through a R...

  Pulled from the Archives of Unraveling Religion, this September 2009 episode recorded at the studio in the Home of The Future, Chris and Joel speak of the Erie County Holding Center Federal Investigation Findings of Human and Constitutional Rights abuses which open the talk to the practical responses from ancient and spiritual foundations and teachings to point the way and address to the conditi...

Sitting down with Chris Barbera at Network of Religious Communities to record this trailer, Joel opens to discuss, introduce, and summarize three recorded conversations, previously archived, and these newly edited talks include: 2009 'Real Flowers Of This Painful World,' Compassion Manifest For All Beings, Spirituality Forged Through Practical Application: A Conversation With Chris Barbera 2013 'P...

Naomi Shihab Nye opens the talk reading a new, recently penned poem,  Current Affairs.   Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish then introduces himself and segways into the realities of his experiences growing up in Gaza, the Jabalia Camp , what he has seen and witnessed, the loss of his three daugthers and niece in 2009 from an Israeli tank shell (i.e., I Shall Not Hate ) and his pride in his Palestinan heritage...

In Part 2 of this heartfelt talk, David and Joel discuss poetry as a transmission, what the heart of one poet offers to others, and their community, and the notion of transmission from 'mind to mind from mind' within the frame of poetry. David recalls a story of Maj pulling up in David's driveway in Maj's Chevy Nova and Maj reciting Antonio Machado's 'Last Night, As I Was Sleeping.' David and Joel...

Part 1 as the conversation begins, David and Joel share David's introduction and talk about poetry as a growing voice to address  'what troubles us'  and the community of poetry providing a sense of belonging. David gives a history of the Wick Poetry Center and his academic career. The conversation examines 'how do we make sense of the world and manage our own life?' with and through poetry. Discu...

Part 2 the Panels opens to discuss: 'What makes us come alive?' 'What is your 'note' in life?' (Rumi's 'be your note.') Discussion turns to Rumi's quote 'when I was young I wanted to change the world, when I grew older I wanted only to change myself.' How do we attune to spiritual teachers? How do we know who our spiritual teachers are meant to be? Moments that open and we lose sense of time, time...

Part 1 of this discussion examines psychology, philosophy, religion, spiritually, science, and medicine, a panel of five (5) people opens with the question, 'where am I?' and 'what is going on [in the world]?' and refers to James Hillman, ideas and action as an artificial distinction, are they the same thing? How are they interlinked? The poet Major Ragain is quoted, 'contemplation alters the cour...

Rabbi Jessica Minnen and Joel sit for a deep examination of work and the different forms work takes for us as human beings. Rabbi Jessica and Joel start with discussing Torah and the teaching of G-d's Work (i.e., Six (6) Days of Creation) and G-d's Rest, and how that relates to Shabbas : The conversations about the Shabbas Hebrew shoresh (i.e., root of the word) 'shin, bet, and taf' (i.e., Shabbas...

Leanne and Joel met at the Lamberton Conservatory move to sit on the grass near Poet's Park in Rochester's Highland Park. The time opens with Leanne asking Joel about his sweatshirt and the meaning of 'Am Yisrael Chai' as Joel explains the emblem on the sweatshirt, a Hamsa and the talk moves to intentions of people, ill intention and service orientated intention and how the Universe mirrors our in...

In today’s The Labyrinth podcast, retired psychiatrist Henry Cretella joins us to share both his philosophy and personal experience with surrender. We begin our conversation with Eckart Tolle’s view that surrender requires an expansion (and often suspension) of our rational mind. From there, we discuss the general nature of surrender and the role of intuition. We move into sharing stories about ti...

Cross posting this episode recorded for Alchemical Dialogues , Henry Cretella hosts Lisa Carley from the podcast The Labyrinth regarding mental health and spirituality and Lisa's lived experience. Avoiding and easing unnecessary suffering is a worthwhile goal, but so is the less often discussed opportunity for transformation that distress provides.   Mystics teach that the heart and mind open thro...

In this panel discussion with four Rabbis from America's West Coast to Israel, Joel guides an exploration of mobilizing Jewish outreach (i.e., or 'inreach' or 'in reach') how to, why, and what Jewish tradition teaches and offers from a wide range of teachings including Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson and the Baal Shem Tov. This collection of dedicated and diverse Jewish voices guide the contempor...

From the archives, the fourth ever episode recorded of Unraveling Religion, this from June 18th, 2008 is reposted In Memoriam for Reverend Kyoki Roberts of Pittsburgh's Deep Spring Temple. In speaking with Joel, Kyoki explored insights from her long time Zen practice. What is the nature of Self? Questions opening into ' what is Zen? ' and the relation to Dukkha (Sanskrit, suffering ), how Zen prac...

This initial epsiode of Unraveling Religion recorded on November 14th, 2007 in Buffalo, New York explores the question ' what's it all for? ' in the largest scale we can imagine. Maj Ragain, who passed in 2018, presents in this talk the intersection of loneliness and its cure, touch, and the ways in which we can comfort one another. Sharing poetry and the makeup of what is meaningful to him, Maj e...

This episode asks the questions: How do we resolve life's Existential Delimma and paradox? What is ' Virtue ?' Can 'Virtue' be taught?   Joel drops in at Before Your Quiet Eyes Bookstore and finds Ken Kelbaugh, David White, and 'Ted' Estragon in philosophic discourse and joins the discussion examining Bishop Butler , Plotinus , and Plato . A few minutes into the conversation, Rochester poet Stephe...

In this trailer of The Labyrinth Podcast, Lisa Carley introduces the podcast's orgins, philosophy, topics, and terrain covered in curiosity of life and existence with these conversations, an invitation to join.        2015; 'The Sound of Silence' (Instrumental); Immortalized; Reprise Records