You might describe Nick Mayhew Smith’s spirituality first and foremost as immersive. Driven by a desire to touch, see, and experience, Nick has travelled the length and breadth of the UK, seeking out Britain’s holiest places. In each place, he did as the monks and hermits did – whether that’s sleeping in a remote cave, feeding the animals, wading naked into an icy sea to pray, or rowing out to isolated islands. What is it about nature based practices that draws us? Why were they so central...

What do dancing and playing have to do with theology? Join us for a rich, embodied conversation with our very special guest today, Cynthia Winton-Henry. Cynthia is the co-founder of Interplay, a worldwide “movement” movement - a community of practice that uses dance and play and spontaneity to unlock the wisdom of the body. Tune in to learn:   🔹 Why *ease* is essential for both the body and the spirit   🔸 The exact techniques she uses to detach from heavy group/cultural dynamics (so...

It’s not a stretch to say Dave Denny is what Thomas Merton would have looked like today, had he lived. Both avid writers, teachers, interspiritual pioneers, activists, and hermits–they share a depth of wisdom that is borne of silence. Join Father Dave Denny and I to learn:  🔹 How living in the Middle East changed his life forever  🔸 What steaming hot tamales can teach us about the sacramentality of the world  🔹 What, in his 13 years of teaching mysticism, his students were most surprised...

Join us for our *first ever* Ask a Spiritual Director a Question! Host Kelly Deutsch invites one or more guest spiritual directors to answer your burning questions. Leave us a voicemail at www.spiritualwanderlust.org/ask! Today, repeat guest Karl Thienes (and spiritual director at Spiritual Wanderlust) joins Kelly to discuss: 🔹 (01:20) Life after deconstruction.  After weeding out what doesn’t work, how do I start reconstructing my spirituality? Where to begin? (Question from Amy B.)  🔸...

Have you ever been struck by someone’s depth of presence?  Like when you meet a wise, holy person. The depth of their presence overwhelms us, floods our body with their peace. Have you ever wondered what's going on on a biological level when this happens? Or, wondered why it's so much easier to feel grounded when we meditate with others vs. on our own? Or maybe been curious about how life's traumas impact the contemplative life? Get ready, everyone - this is one of my FAVORITE intersections....

Welcome to season 4 of the Spiritual Wanderlust podcast! I can’t think of a better way to start the season than a conversation with contemplative teacher, Carl McColman. Carl has been in the Spiritual Wanderlust vibe for decades: he’s a writer, retreat leader, podcaster and spiritual director. While Christian himself, he also finds himself drawn to all those juicy intersections between Buddhism, Pagan traditions, and Christianity.  Join us for our conversation to learn:  🔹 The 2 key figures...

Hey spiritual adventurers! We want to hear your questions. We’re about to start the 4th season of the SW podcast, and want to know: What are your longings? Your conundrums? Curiosities? What do you want to hear us talk about? Go to spiritualwanderlust.org/ask to leave us a voicemail for the chance to have your question answered LIVE by myself and a guest spiritual director. Each month, we’ll have one episode dedicated to this new series, Ask a Spiritual Director a Question. And if you...

Have you ever wondered what Celtic spirituality is, exactly? I mean, we're familiar with Saint Patrick and Celtic music and nature-loving, but what's all the fanfare about? Why has the interest in Celtic spirituality exploded in the past decade? Because these are questions that poked and prodded me in the past - and because I've often been asked by spiritual directees for a good summary-- I put together a ten minute mini podcast. In it, I reveal the two pillars of Celtic spirituality, and why...

Get ready for a real deep dive, ya’ll. From his childhood in oppressed Poland, to being an undocumented immigrant in the US, meeting Christ in India, and founding a new monastic community, Father Adam Bucko’s story has given him a razor-sharp vision into the meaning of life. Join us to learn: 🔸 What gives Adam hope in the midst of so much suffering and pain 🔹 What it means to travel into our despair–and how that can provide us a “container in which grace can descend” 🔸 The role of the Black...

During this time of Advent - of darkness and winter in the northern hemisphere - our bodies are inclined to hibernate. We curl up by the hearth and wait, attentive to the life pregnant in the darkness. During such a season, what does it mean to give birth to the Holy? In this episode, we are joined by author and bestselling author, Christine Valters Paintner. Together we dive into: 🔸 Why Mary has so many names 🔹 Christine’s favorite name of Mary at this season in her life (it may surprise...

Poetry and the Contemplative life share a lot in common. Both require an attentiveness to life, a depth of presence, a sort of immersion in reality. Kathy Henderson Staudt is a poet, spiritual director, teacher, and retreat leader who specializes in this overlap. In today’s episode, we’ll talk about: 🔸 How to see the world like a poet (and contemplative!) 🔹 What single experience taught this academic how to live in her body 🔸 The female version of Richard Rohr that lived 100 years ago 🔹 And...

In this episode, we turn the tables! Our guest host Karl Thienes puts Kelly in the hot seat to ask her all sorts of burning questions about the interior life. Join us to discover: 🔸 What Kelly considers the best kept secret of Christianity 🔹 The role of suffering in the spiritual life 🔸 How we can use inner work to respond to fear (or anger, or judgment, or…) 🔹 What Kelly recommends as the best starting place for contemplative practice 🔸 Why the mystics say community life is critical - even...

I’m excited to introduce to you a little-known poet, whose work deserves wide attention. (I’ve been sharing her writing with all of my friends!)  She reminds me of a modern day Rumi or Hafiz. –And if you haven’t read Rumi or Hafiz, start there, and then pick up the work of our guest, Chelan Harkin! In her writing and in her life, Chelan has two goals: to bring acceptance, belonging, and worth to all of those uncomfortable emotions we’ve been taught to hate; and to make room for our hearts in...

What do the mystics mean by “divine union”? Why is suffering such a big deal for them - and what role does it play in our contemplative path? Today I have joining me a fellow spiritual Wanderluster, Fr. Ronald Rolheiser. Fr. Ron is a professor, retreat leader, award-winning author, and serves as president of the Oblate School of Theology. One reason why his writings are so popular is that he is able to speak in very human language, which I deeply appreciate. His books include The Holy...

In this episode, host Kelly Deutsch shares frankly about her difficulty accepting her chronic illness, while returning guest Karl Thienes shares his momentary identity crisis. Join us to explore questions like: 🔸 What does an identity crisis have to do with detachment?  🔹 What does it mean to accept even the most difficult experiences - like accepting our own resentment? 🔸 How do you slow down your reactions so you can tell what’s triggering you? 🔹 How does your shadow reveal your...

Today I have joined a unique guest who has spent much of his life as a hermit, and is now in charge of the cause for canonization of a Russian mystic. That means he’s the advocate and facilitator for this woman to become a saint in the Catholic church. Fr. Bob Wild was a personal friend and collaborator of Catherine de Hueck Doherty, a little known Russian contemplative. Catherine was a mentor to Thomas Merton and is known for her anti-racism work, introducing North America to Russian...

I bet you haven’t heard of Catherine de Hueck Doherty. But she was one of Thomas Merton’s mentors! She’s this Russian spitfire with a life that reads like a movie.   Here are 4 reasons why you need to know Catherine!   Want to learn more? Join us for a masterclass given by Catherine’s personal friend! Visit www.womenmystics.org to register.   Some of her most popular books include:   📖 Poustinia: Encountering God in Silence, Solitude and Prayer , by Catherine...

If I have a spacious and spritely spirituality, Dr. Regis Martin is partially to thank. He was my first ever theology professor, and he opened my eyes to this magical universe so alight with wonder. I found my 20-year-old notes from his class, and read the first line I wrote: “The first premise of Christianity is an OPENNESS to Reality.” Today Regis and I will do some of our own wondering and wandering through these sparkling spaces. I’ll ask him about this worldview which Richard Rohr has...

Tessa Bielecki is a hermit with a crackling vitality. She prays the Jesus prayer while she’s swimming her daily laps and says that sometimes she talks too much (with a sparkle in her eye). She didn’t set out to be a hermit–but when she met the Carmelite William McNamara, she said she had never met anyone more ALIVE. Together they would begin several communities of hermits in the desert, mountains, and forest. Steeped in the contemplative tradition, they would blend together the spirituality...

Fifty years ago, a young Matthew Fox asked Thomas Merton where he should go to study the mystics. What followed was a lifetime passion for Christianity’s mystical tradition, and its intimate, feminine, socially active, and uplifting spirit. Matthew, now a spiritual theologian, is a wealth of knowledge and wisdom. Join us for a jam-packed conversation about: 🔸 The necessary but often-forgotten connection between mysticism and social justice 🔹 Which of the two streams of Christianity is...

It is Victoria Loorz’s mission to help people not just care for the earth, but to fall in love with it. What would it look like to move beyond appreciating nature, even past protecting her, to loving her? And realizing, perhaps, that we are already a part of her? Join us on the Spiritual Wanderlust podcast to learn about: 🔸The forgotten heritage of the Judeo-Christian world and its deep relationship with nature 🔹How to re-wild your spirituality, wherever you are 🔸3 things we need to Unlearn...

How does the Enneagram intersect with our neurobiology? Why is it just as important to know your lowest number on the Enneagram as your highest? The answers might surprise you. (I was blown away!) Those of you who have been following the Spiritual Wanderlust podcast for a while know that I love talking about intersections. One of my favorite intersections is spirituality, neuroscience, and psychology. That’s a big part of what we do here - offering tools from Contemplative traditions paired...

“You cannot believe yourself out of belonging here.” Tim Burnette founded a spiritual community that is hard to define. It’s not quite church - not everyone is Christian - but they do gather on Sunday mornings. They don’t even have a shared set of beliefs, only a shared set of values. Their goal is to be a contemplative community in action. But what  does that look like, when everyone believes differently? When everyone is at different stages of spiritual growth? How do you make sure everyone...

What embodied wisdom do disabled bodies have to share?  Today I am joined by disabled scholar, activist, and author Dr. Amy Kenny to talk about precisely that. Amy will share lessons from her own experience of having a disabled body, particularly living into the Unknown. She’ll explain why it’s so important for all of us to dismantle ableism–and how it shows up in capitalism, patriarchy, and even perfectionism! The idea that there is one perfect body, one ideal way of being in the world she...