Practicing Joy (Because sometimes we need a little help to remember)

In this episode, I share a prayerful meditation on loving-kindness. This series of prayers help us pray for ourselves, for others, even for our enemies, and ultimately for the world. What if what we need to heal our hearts and our world really is an experience, a deep knowing, of the loving-kindness of God? Connect with me and find lots of other resources on my website, susancarson.net.

In this episode (one of my all-time favorites), I'm joined again by Felicia Murrell and Jasmine Bellamy.  Together we talk about the power and practice of love to heal our divided hearts and our world. Have we ever needed it more? These two kindreds both live as students of love, embodying love like no others I know. Listen to the end as Felicia leads us in a practice to help us receive God's love.  Jasmine Bellamy is the Founder and Spiritual Director of Love 101 Ministries. She is a Love Scholar-Practitioner, Spiritual Director, Joyful Disruptor, Business and Culture Transformer, and a Loving Leader.  She hosts The Call to Love podcast. Connect with Jasmine on Instagram, LinkedIn, and through her websites: https://thelovingleader.org/ and https://love101ministries.com/. Felicia Murrell is a spiritual companion, speaker, certified master life coach and former ordained pastor with over twenty years of church leadership experience. She's the author of AND: The Restorative Power of Love in an Either/Or World and Truth Encounters. Connect with Felicia through Facebook, Instagram and through her website: https://feliciamurrell.com/.   

In this episode I share a practice with you for remembering joy. Together we'll breathe and help our bodies connect with a memory in the past and present as we experience again the joy in us. While we can't manufacture joy, our bodies can remember an experience of joy. My thanks to spiritual directors Chris Edwards and Jenny Jackson for crafting this experience and sharing it with me. Join me at susancarson.net for more practices and resources intended to help you live more deeply rooted in love.

In this first episode of Season 4, podcast favorite, author and theologian Paul Young returns to talk about the sequel to his global best-seller The Shack. We talk about the impact of The Shack and the inspiration for this sequel, Return to the Shack: A Journey into Redemption, releasing October 6th. No spoilers here as we talk about themes in this beautiful new book, including forgiveness and the centrality of a spiritual practice known as the meeting place. Join us for this very fun and personal conversation. You can pre-order the hard cover, Kindle version or audio version now. Follow Paul and his podcast here:  https://paulyoungpodcast.com/ https://www.facebook.com/TheShackOfficial https://www.facebook.com/wmpaulyoung  

Welcome to a bonus episode of the rooted (IN)tentionaly podcast. In this special unedited conversation, Bradley Jersak and I talk about the themes of my new book, A Kenotic Way of Contemplative Healing. Bradley is a theologian, author and principal of St. Stephen's University. He was also supervisor for my thesis research which forms the heart and substance of this book. Together we explore the connections between kenosis, contemplation, neuroscience and healing our individual and collective trauma. What if there's a way of being human together that can heal us and our world? As it turns out, this is a very timely conversation. To learn more about SSU, head to ssu.ca. And to connect with Bradley, head to bradjersak.com. A Kenotic Way of Contemplative Healing releases May 5th. Learn more about Susan and the book at susancarson.net. 

I'm thrilled to welcome Geoff and Cyd Holsclaw to this bonus episode as we talk about their new book Landscapes of the Soul. Bridging spirituality and relational neurobiology, they help us consider what it means to live a life of joy in relationship. Geoff and Cyd help us identify our attachment strategies, how they developed and how we heal. These attachment strategies, the ways we connect with others (or don't), color how we see everything, including God. Listen to the end because Cyd leads us in a beautiful practice designed to help us move a little further into safe attachment with Jesus.  Connect with the Holsclaws to learn more about what they offer, including their cohorts, at embodiedfaith.life.  If this conversation is meaningful for you, please take a minute to like, subscribe and share with a friend who needs this encouragement today. You can connect with me and find free resources at susancarson.net. Thanks for joining me today!

I'm thrilled to welcome author, speaker and friend Felicia Murrell back to the podcast as we talk about her new book, And: The Restorative Power of Love in an Either/Or World. You'll feel the power of love as you listen. Weaving together poetry, prose, prayers and practices, Felicia shares vulnerably, guiding us from her own story to encourage, challenge, confront and call us to love. This beautiful, healing book takes us on an embodied journey, inviting us to fully inhabit our humanity, to defy our divides, to live as one.  To hear more from Felicia, listen to our conversation about her first book Truth Encounters in Season 2 Episode 8.  You can connect with her at feliciamurrell.com and through her Facebook (felicia.murrell.9) and Instagram (hellofelicia_murrell) accounts.  If this conversation is meaningful for you, please take a minute to like, subscribe and share with a friend who needs this encouragement today. You can connect with me, find free resources, my book and more at susancarson.net.  Thanks for joining us! 

In this episode, my guest is author, professor and theologian James Bryan Smith. Jim is a prolific author with a brand new book in The Good and Beautiful Series, The Good and Beautiful You. The first book in this series, The Good and Beautiful God, released about ten years ago, was a milestone marker in healing my image of God. Today, we're talking about how our toxic self-narratives shape our view of God and ourselves, and how we can live more fully into the good and beautiful truth of who we truly are. As always, there's a practice at the end you won't want to miss! Jim is director of the Apprentice Institute for Christian Spiritual Formation at Friends University, and host of the Things Above Podcast. A founding member of Richard Foster's spiritual renewal ministry, Renovaré, he's all about spiritual practices that restore our souls. If this conversation is meaningful for you, please take a minute to like, subscribe and share with a friend who needs this encouragement today. You can connect with me, find free resources and more at susancarson.net. Thanks for joining us!

What a joy to welcome Gem Fadling back to our series! I spoke with Gem just before her latest book, Hold that Thought: Sorting through the Voices in Our Heads, released in the fall of 2022. In this conversation, Gem shares her own journey in healing as she learned to identify the unaddressed voices in her head. We all have them right? The voices that drive us to live from our false selves, wreaking havoc in our lives. We talk about the power of Trinitarian love, nonjudgmental self-observation, inner healing, finding our own voice and sense of self, and more. Then Gem leads us in a practice for transformation as we learn to sort through the voices in our heads.  Gem is passionate about training women to rest deeper, live fuller and lead better. (Spoiler alert: I have the honor of contributing to her new online community for women, Replenish!) She's founding partner of Unhurried Living, a Certified Life Coach, and a certified spiritual director who coaches women at the intersection of spiritual leadership and soul care. She's also host of the podcast I Can Do That! Connect with her at unhurriedliving.com/gem.  Are you looking for a safe haven for soul care and emotional healing? Join me at www.susancarson.net.

In this episode I'm sharing a prayer I pray almost daily these days. When my spiritual director first pointed me to this practice, honestly, I didn't like it at all. But I knew I needed it. With time, it's shaping, healing and deeply challenging me in all the best (but not comfortable) ways. This prayer invites us to a giant trust fall, inviting us to fall into the arms of Love working all things together for our healing and wholeness. While the prayer is associated with Father Thomas Keating, the practice was originally crafted by Mary Mrozowski, Keating's friend and colleague. I'm thankful to them both. Watch the YouTube version at @SusanCarson. Are you looking for a safe space to experience a transformational encounter with God? Join me at www.susancarson.net.