Everything Belongs

How do we meet life on its terms instead of ours?

In this episode, we're joined by Paula D'Arcy as we continue our chapter-by-chapter exploration of Falling Upward with Chapter 5: "Stumbling Over the Stumbling Stone." We're exploring what it can look like to venture into the luminous dark to find our greatest gifts with a chapter that asks us to lean into our feelings of devastation and loss when life doesn’t go our way. Before we dive in to the interview with Paula, CAC staff catch up with Richard at his hermitage to hear his reflections on the fifth chapter a decade after he originally wrote it.

Paula D'Arcy, a writer, retreat leader, and conference and seminar speaker, travels widely in the United States, Canada, and abroad. She is also President of Red Bird Foundation, which supports the growth and spiritual development of those in need as well as those invested in the opening of the heart and the healing of this world.

A former psychotherapist who ministered to those facing issues of grief and loss, Paula worked with the Peale Foundation, founded by Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, from 1980 until his death in 1993, and has written ten books. Today her work includes leading workshops and retreats related to spirituality, writing, women’s gatherings,( including Women’s Initiation and Rites of Passage), and creating venues where men and women experience an opening of the heart and a change in their way of being in the world. In recent years she has teamed with Richard Rohr to present seminars on the Male/Female Journey and Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life (for tapes from the conference on Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life and to purchase Paula’s books, click here.)

Paula also serves as adjunct faculty at Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, TX and Seton Cove Spirituality Center in Austin, TX.

Resources:

• A PDF of the transcript for this episode is available here.
• Grab a copy of the newly revised version of Falling Upward, with a new foreword by Brené Brown here.
• To learn more about Paula D'Arcy and Redbird Foundation, visit her website here.

Connect with us:

• Have a question or thought about this season that you'd like to share with us?
• Email us: [email protected]
• Send us a voicemail here: http://www.cac.org/voicemail

"God gives us something better than answers, God gives us people." - Erin Sanzero, our guest today, on the path of falling upward during the first half of life.

In this episode, we're joined by Erin Sanzero as we continue our chapter-by-chapter exploration of Falling Upward with Chapter 3: "The First Half of Life." Erin, alongside CAC staff, explore the complexities of the first half of life and the wisdom unveiled during the transition to the second half of life. Together, they reflect on how to embrace the "messy middle", found in-between the first and second half of life, how to forgive the past and engage in spiritual practices along the path of spiritual transformation. Before we dive in to the interview, CAC staff catch up with Richard at his hermitage to hear his reflections on the third chapter a decade after he originally wrote it.

Erin Sanzero (she/her) is a "geriatric millennial." She's been a brick-and-mortar business owner, digital entrepreneur, musician, teacher, musical director, opera singer, banjo player, and weightlifter. A passionate believer in the arts, Erin holds a bachelor's in music from Manhattan School of Music and master's in music from Mannes College of Music in New York. Currently pursuing her master's of divinity from Duke University School and seeking ordination in the Presbyterian Church (USA), she is the Director of Sunday Express at Fairfax Presbyterian Church in Fairfax, Virginia. Erin is a 2023 alumna of the Center for Action and Contemplation's Living School.

Resources:

• A PDF of the transcript for this episode is available here.
• Grab a copy of the newly revised version of Falling Upward, with a new foreword by Brené Brown here.
• To read Erin's Oneing Article "Midlife Musings", check it out on our website.

Connect with us:

• Have a question or thought about this season that you'd like to share with us?
• Email us: [email protected]
• Send us a voicemail here: http://www.cac.org/voicemail

What if the goal of the spiritual journey is to understand suffering?

In this episode, we're joined by Mirabai Starr as we continue our chapter-by-chapter exploration of Falling Upward with Chapter 6: "Necessary Suffering." This episode explores how loss, suffering, and grief can be a transformative spiritual path, leading to deeper connection with the divine and a more authentic self, by urging us to confront pain and surrender to a greater reality. Before we dive in to the interview with Mirabai, CAC staff catch up with Richard at his hermitage to hear his reflections on the sixth chapter a decade after he originally wrote it.

Mirabai Starr is an award-winning author of creative non-fiction and contemporary translations of sacred literature. She taught Philosophy and World Religions at the University of New Mexico-Taos for 20 years and now teaches and speaks internationally on contemplative practice and inter-spiritual dialog. A certified bereavement counselor, Mirabai helps mourners harness the transformational power of loss. Her latest book, WILD MERCY: Living the Fierce & Tender Wisdom of the Women Mystics, was named one of the “Best Books of 2019”. She lives with her extended family in the mountains of northern New Mexico.

Resources:

• A PDF of the transcript for this episode is available here.
• Grab a copy of the newly revised version of Falling Upward, with a new foreword by Brené Brown here.
• To learn more about Mirabai Starr and Wild Heart, visit her website here.

Connect with us:

• Have a question or thought about this season that you'd like to share with us?
• Email us: [email protected]
• Send us a voicemail here: http://www.cac.org/voicemail

In our fast-paced world, how can we cultivate a sense of wonder and open ourselves to the possibility of joy, even amidst life's inevitable hardships?

In this episode, we're joined by Christian Wiman as we continue our chapter-by-chapter exploration of Falling Upward with Chapter 10: "A Bright Sadness." In this conversation with Christian Wiman, we explore how suffering and joy can coexist and transform us through a poetic experience of Christianity. Before we dive in to the interview with Christian, CAC staff catch up with Richard at his hermitage to hear his reflections on the tenth chapter a decade after he originally wrote it.

Christian Wiman is the author, editor, or translator of more than a dozen books of poetry and prose, including two memoirs, My Bright Abyss: Meditation of a Modern Believer and He Held Radical Light: The Art of Faith, the Faith of Art; Every Riven Thing, winner of the Ambassador Book Award; Once in the West, a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist; and Survival Is a Style―all published by FSG. He teaches religion and literature at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music and at Yale Divinity School.

Resources:

• A PDF of the transcript for this episode is available here.
• Grab a copy of the newly revised version of Falling Upward, with a new foreword by Brené Brown here.
• Check out Christian Wiman's latest book, Zero at the Bone: Fifty Entries Against Despair here. We also reference his book, My Bright Abyss. You can find that here.

Connect with us:

• Have a question or thought about this season that you'd like to share with us?
• Email us: [email protected]
• Send us a voicemail here: http://www.cac.org/voicemail

What does simplicity look like for you in your everyday life?

In this episode, we’re joined by CAC Faculty member Dr. Barbara Holmes. Together, we continue our chapter-by-chapter exploration of Eager to Love with Chapter 3: “Living on the Edge of the Inside: Simplicity and Justice.” This episode explores the practice of simplicity as a path to freedom, the importance of community in supporting that journey, and the concept of "soft prophecy" as a way of living in peace and being peace in a world full of suffering. Before Paul and Drew dive into the interview with Dr. Barbara Holmes, Mike and Paul catch up with Richard at his hermitage to hear his reflections on the third chapter of Eager to Love.

Dr. Barbara Holmes is a scholar of African American spirituality and mysticism. Dr. Barbara Holmes reveals how the cosmos can expand our limited constructs of religion, race, and power. As faculty at the Center for Action and Contemplation, she teaches how God’s communal presence can inspire imagination and wisdom, especially in times of crisis. She is the author of Race and the Cosmos, Joy Unspeakable, and Crisis Contemplation. She hosts CAC's podcast The Cosmic We.

Hosted by CAC Staff: Mike Petrow, Paul Swanson, and Drew Jackson

Resources:

• A PDF of the transcript for this episode can be found here.
• Grab a copy of Eager to Love here.
• To learn more about Dr. Barbara Holmes, visit her CAC Faculty website here.
• or, visit her website here.
• Check out Dr. Barbara Holme's books here.
• Check out The Cosmic We, the podcast Dr. B co-hosts with Donny Bryant on the CAC's podcast network here.