Loving THIS with Michael Gungor

In this episode, Michael Gungor shares a personal journey of discovering ten acres of land in Nevada City, California, and the dream of turning it into a communal retreat with tiny stays, music, and spiritual gatherings centered on presence and creativity. He reflects on living in the moment, trusting intuition over plans, and the mysterious ways life aligns when following what feels alive. Through stories, reflections on spontaneity and presence, and an open invitation to collaborate, the episode explores how to move dreams forward while staying attuned to reality.

Michael Gungor sits down with comedian Pete Holmes to explore comedy as a form of liturgy — a communal ritual that brings wounds, wonder, and absurdity into the open. They weave personal stories (from trampolines and first‑class flights to playground swings) with reflections on vulnerability, mask work, and the spiritual power of laughter. Together they examine how jokes can heal or harm, the tension between dark and loving humor, and why shared ritual — whether a song, sermon, or stand‑up set — helps people feel seen, connected, and alive.

It's a candid episode where Michael Gungor explores the Yeshua/Christ archetype, the Antichrist as ego and empire, and how language, ritual, and song shape our shared direction. He connects these ideas to our culture's obsession with Donald Trump, shares a mystical experience behind his new song "Yeshua," and invites listeners into presence, love, and practical ways to choose wholeness over fear.

On a mountaintop at the Mystic Hymnal retreat, Michael Gungor recounts a raw, cathartic moment—throwing himself on a grave, screaming into a canyon, and opening space for buried pain, forgiveness, and communal healing. He explains why his final song on the Magnificat album is a reworked Amazing Grace: changing lyrics to reject shame and fear, reclaiming Christian language in a mystical, reforming spirit, and inviting shared ritual and meaning as a path toward love and return.

Host Michael Gunger welcomes songwriter Dave Riffle to discuss the origin and meaning of the song "Be," and how it grew from a meditation into a shared hymn. The episode explores the Mystic Hymnal project and why group singing matters for connection, health, and spirit. They trace the history of communal singing, critique modern worship trends, and explain the three guiding qualities of the project—singable, kind, beautiful—while reflecting on silence, presence, and the simple power of "be."

In this episode Michael Gungor shares a personal 2010 story of spiritual crisis and a week of silence in Assisi that led to a profound breakthrough—dissolving into a sense of God, dancing on the hills where St. Francis preached, and feeling a deep, freeing presence. He connects that experience to the song "Remember," inspired by a letter from St. Clare, exploring themes of re-membering the present moment, the balance of emptiness and form (Om Namah Shivaya), reclaiming spiritual language, and the simple practice of resting in love and presence.

This episode is a continuation of the "Magnificat" series, where Michael Gungor does a deep dive on every song of his new Gungor album, Magnificat. This week's song: "This is Love". To understand this song fully, one must understand "Play"--an experiment in “worship 2.0” that mixes the sacred and the absurd, explains the song’s writing and production choices, and shares how the event fostered playful, healing community. Gungor also addresses the song’s potentially triggering religious language, invites listeners to sit with tension and healing, and encourages reconnecting with community through music and events.

Michael Gungor reflects on seeing three crosses with a political banner and uses the image to explore the song "I Am," the meaning of Jesus (Yeshua), the I AM mantra, and how religion and empire distorted a message of love. He combines musical behind-the-scenes, personal stories from the Mystic Hymnal retreat, and a call to return to the root of being and unconditional compassion.

Michael Gungor recounts a shamanic sexual healing retreat and explores the ideas behind his song "Like Hallelujah" from the album Magnificat. He argues for a third way between repression and indulgence—sacred sexuality as a guided life force—draws on Tantra and Christian mystics, and shares personal stories of healing and deprogramming religious shame. The episode closes with an invitation to deeper somatic and spiritual work through sessions and retreats.

In this episode, Michael Gungor explores the song "Burdens," tracing its origin from a Mystic Hymnal retreat through LA wildfires, Bell's palsy, and time alone in the Sequoia forest. He shares how personal pain, community rejection, and the healing arc of the album shaped the music and lyrics, blending field recordings, playful community rituals, and reflections on welcome, scars, and transformation.