#8. Love and Attraction

In this episode of The Quiet Mind, we explore the fear of love — not just the fear of giving love, but of truly allowing ourselves to receive it.Beginning with an honest conversation about attraction, beauty and the ways we can sometimes hold back our love, we look at what may lie beneath that hesitation. Why can eye contact, appreciation, affection and genuine connection sometimes feel uncomfortable or even threatening?Through the lens of A Course in Miracles, we reflect on the idea that our fear of love may run much deeper than we realise — touching on unworthiness, vulnerability and ultimately the Course’s teaching on the fear of God.We also explore the possibility of a love that goes beyond bodies and specialness: a recognition of Spirit in one another, where love can be expressed freely without needing to judge, control or limit it.And beneath all the layers of resistance, perhaps something much deeper remains — our burning love for God, and His unchanging Love for us.Want to listen on YouTube? ⁠⁠www.youtube.com/@TheQuietMindACIMPodcast⁠⁠Check out our other channel dedicated to creating videos and music inspired by the teachings of A Course in Miracles. Please like, comment and subscribe! ⁠⁠www.youtube.com/@Matthew_Rauch⁠⁠You can help us a lot by rating or leaving comments on Spotify, YouTube or on any platform. It really helps with the distribution of the podcast message—which really is, at its core, a message of love and forgiveness. Thank you!Love,Matthew and Lucy❤️❤️❤️❤️

In this episode of The Quiet Mind, Matthew and Lucy explore Paramahansa Yogananda’s striking words: “The hard core of human egotism is difficult to dislodge except rudely.”The spiritual journey is often imagined as a simple movement into peace, love and light. But the catalyst for genuine healing can often appear to be quite confronting (to the ego). The patterns and defences we have carried for years don’t always loosen quietly. As they begin to come up, it can take a great deal of trust—not only trust in the healing process itself, but trust in the teachers we are guided to join with along the way. Drawing from their own experience of healing and spiritual community, Matthew and Lucy talk about the willingness it can take to allow these deeply rooted patterns to come to the surface. They also explore the fear of punishment, Jesus’ teaching on the need for vigilance and the ‘spiritual’ self-concept.The conversation ends with the idea of how Spirit uses communication and moments in daily life to bring what needs healing to the surface.Enjoy this heartfelt joining from our new flat in Bournemouth.Want to listen on YouTube? ⁠www.youtube.com/@TheQuietMindACIMPodcast⁠Check out our other channel dedicated to creating videos and music inspired by the teachings of A Course in Miracles. Please like, comment and subscribe! ⁠www.youtube.com/@Matthew_Rauch⁠You can help us a lot by rating or leaving comments on Spotify, YouTube or on any platform. It really helps with the distribution of the podcast message—which really is, at its core, a message of love and forgiveness. Thank you!Love,Matthew and Lucy❤️❤️❤️❤️

In this new episode of The Quiet Mind, we’re joined by our dear friend Solveig Lund for a heartfelt chat about healing codependency. Solveig has spent three years living in the Awaken to Love spiritual community and is now trusting solely in divine providence—living day-to-day by following guidence and listening to her heart.Together, we explore how deep rooted codependent patterns show up in everyday life. From childhood attachment wounds to navigating family relationships, we share honest moments about what happens when we stop running from our unquestioned beliefs and start looking at them with Spirit.Through the teachings of A Course in Miracles, we talk about what it really means to drop the "I know" mind and step into the quiet Answer. It’s so easy to fall into the ego's trap of trying to figure everything out by ourselves before we connect, but healing happens when we choose to show up and join with each other anyway. If you’re working through codependency we hope this episode touches you in some way. We would love to hear your thoughts or questions in the comments section. And please reach out if you ever feel inspired to join us as a guest on a future episode!Love Lucy and MatthewWant to listen on YouTube? ⁠www.youtube.com/@TheQuietMindACIMPodcast⁠We have another channel dedicated to creating videos and music inspired by the teachings of A Course in Miracles. Please like, comment and subscribe! ⁠www.youtube.com/@Matthew_Rauch⁠You can help us a lot by rating or leaving comments on Spotify, YouTube or on any platform. It really helps with the distribution of the podcast message—which really is, at its core, a message of love and forgiveness. Thank you!Love,Matthew and Lucy❤️❤️❤️❤️

In this episode of The Quiet Mind, we pull back the curtain on the ego's obsession with comparison — revealing how its deeper purpose stays hidden when the focus remains on bodies differences.Recorded in a beach town where looks and physicality are very much in the air, we explore one of the ego's most persistent traps: the compulsion to compare bodies and appearances.Matthew opens up about his experience of losing his hair, and how that seeming ‘loss’ revealed just how much of his sense of self and lovability had been tied to his appearance. Lucy shares her own comparison thoughts around body image and how years in the competitive world of acting left her exhausted by the relentless reporting of differences.Together, we share how healing doesn't mean forcing these automatic, intrusive thoughts to instantly disappear. Instead, it’s about changing the purpose of why we see bodies, learning to practice "Setting the Goal" of peace before we step out the door, and choosing the gentle, gradual process of handing these deeper feelings of lack over to the Holy Spirit.Join us as we explore how every moment of willingness matters on the journey from form to Spirit.Want to listen on YouTube? ⁠www.youtube.com/@TheQuietMindACIMPodcast⁠We have another channel dedicated to creating videos and music inspired by the teachings of A Course in Miracles. Please like, comment and subscribe! ⁠www.youtube.com/@Matthew_Rauch⁠You can help us a lot by rating or leaving comments on Spotify, YouTube or on any platform. It really helps with the distribution of the podcast message—which really is, at its core, a message of love and forgiveness. Thank you!Love,Matthew and Lucy❤️❤️❤️❤️

In episode 4 of The Quiet Mind, we open with an AI made song by Matthew, inspired by our discussion two podcasts ago about "Setting the Goal". The song represents a deeply inward journey—one that reminds us of Jesus, not as an enlightened being from birth, but as a brother who walked before us, facing his own lessons and healing his mind along the way.Later in the episode, we share about how we are now staying temporarily at a hotel provided by a charity, and while this has truly been a blessing, it comes with forgiveness lessons and a powerful reminder that every situation is used for healing.Towards the end of the conversation, Lucy shares her experiences with anger and sleep addiction. She shares how a differing bedtime routine becomes the catalyst for a shift in perspective: that bedtime / sleep is for relaxation and healing, not merely as a physical requirement for the body.Want to listen on YouTube? ⁠www.youtube.com/@TheQuietMindACIMPodcast⁠We have another channel dedicated to creating videos and music inspired by the teachings of A Course in Miracles. Please like, comment and subscribe! ⁠www.youtube.com/@Matthew_Rauch⁠You can help us a lot by rating or leaving comments on Spotify, YouTube or on any platform. It really helps with the distribution of the podcast message—which really is, at its core, a message of love and forgiveness. Thank you!Love,Matthew and Lucy❤️❤️❤️❤️

In this intimate episode, recorded live from a cafe, Lucy and Matthew dive deep into the dynamics of emotional defense mechanisms, the fear of abandonment, and how the healing journey can look.When painful emotions or historical triggers arise, our minds often rush to stories or future scenarios to ‘protect’ ourselves from actually feeling the emotions—frequently leading to further issues like projecting or pushing loved ones away. Lucy shares her personal, real-time experience with this exact pattern and how she is learning to catch the impulse to jump to the stories instead of being with the emotion.Together, they explore how the mind uses physical symptoms and mental loops as a "symptom prerogative" to distract us from the core emotions we think will overwhelm us. Drawing on insights from A Course in Miracles, Eckhart Tolle, and Byron Katie, they discuss how to soften around our stories, dismantle victim identities, and trust that when you take the step towards healing—Spirit will be be there to hold you.Want to listen on YouTube? ⁠www.youtube.com/@TheQuietMindACIMPodcast⁠We have another channel dedicated to creating videos and music inspired by the teachings of A Course in Miracles. Please like, comment and subscribe! ⁠www.youtube.com/@Matthew_Rauch⁠You can help us a lot by rating or leaving comments on Spotify, YouTube or on any platform. It really helps with the distribution of the podcast message—which really is, at its core, a message of love and forgiveness. Thank you!Love,Matthew and Lucy❤️❤️❤️❤️

In the latest episode of The Quiet Mind, we go into the section "Setting the Goal" from A Course in Miracles and when applied - has been giving some very nice results. We share some practical examples of using this teaching during appointments and other situations by choosing peace and connection as the goal beforehand, rather than letting the situation be the determiner of the outcome. It's quite powerful how setting a clear purpose for something changes the way the mind perceives everything!In the later part of the episode, we share about where we are at right now after leaving community life and stepping into a new phase together. We speak also about trust in relationships and learning to rely on connection and guidance instead of trying to plan and control - which always leads to fear and uncertainty. From sleeping in a tent by the cliffs to finding ourselves in a hotel room by the sea, the outer circumstances continue to change, but the deeper lesson remains the same: to stay joined in purpose, love, and trust.Want to listen on YouTube? ⁠www.youtube.com/@TheQuietMindACIMPodcast⁠We have another channel dedicated to creating videos and music inspired by the teachings of A Course in Miracles. Please like, comment and subscribe! ⁠www.youtube.com/@Matthew_Rauch⁠You can help us a lot by rating or leaving comments on Spotify, YouTube or on any platform. It really helps with the distribution of the podcast message—which really is, at its core, a message of love and forgiveness. Thank you!Love,Matthew and Lucy❤️❤️❤️❤️

In this first episode of The Quiet Mind, Matthew and Lucy reflect on their current experience of homelessness, and what it has revealed to them about trust, guidance, inner peace and the changelessness of Mind.Through an open and deeply personal conversation, they explore the temptation to judge circumstances as “good” or “bad,” the helpfulness they’ve encountered from support services, and the importance of remaining committed to love and inner guidance during seeming uncertainty.At the heart of the episode is a simple but profound recognition: although external conditions constantly change, the awareness beneath them remains the same. Peace is not found in form, comfort, or in ‘having anything’, but in the present moment itself.This episode is a reflection on faith, forgiveness, relationship, and the quiet truth that nothing real can be threatened.Want to listen on YouTube? www.youtube.com/@TheQuietMindACIMPodcastWe have another channel dedicated to creating videos and music inspired by the teachings of A Course in Miracles. Please like, comment and subscribe! www.youtube.com/@Matthew_RauchYou can help us a lot by rating or leaving comments on Spotify, YouTube or on any platform. It really helps with the distribution of the podcast message—which really is, at its core, a message of love and forgiveness. Thank you!Love,Matthew and Lucy❤️❤️❤️❤️