Dark Mat(t)er — Mystery + Mother of the Cosmos

You’ve probably heard of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. It’s a pyramid that puts survival at the bottom and self-actualization at the top. But what if Maslow has it upside down?In this episode, grace invites us to imagine self-actualization not as a prize for doing the work, but as the pulse and driving force behind everything you are doing, everything you are trying to achieve.She traces the path to the Desire behind the desire behind the desire. Because it turns out: You have nothing to prove — only layers of longing to follow. “You can’t self-actualize through affirmations or self-help books. Who you are can only be actualized in Self through energetic mastery, rigorous self-honesty, and an unmistakeable and unique connection to what is greater than you.” — grace allerdice we discuss —how Maslow inverted an indigenous Blackfoot paradigmunlocking + embodying your fullest, most true expressionthe false promises of Success without Self-actualizationwhy things often fall apart in midlifenext steps for finding your pathIf you enjoyed the episode, check out —finding your true Giftthe gritty synthesis of holistic, soul-led entrepreneurs w— Portia Barnett-HerrinMentioned in the episode—Maslow’s hierarchy connected to Blackfoot beliefsJoin the waitlist for MA (our red hot devotional membership)🌹Text grace a question 💬Free Resources —Receive the 3 keys that unlocked every major Initiation in my life. Get 3 Keys for the Soul here for FREE. 🗝️Stay Connected —Subscribe to the home—body podcastgrace’s websitework with gracejoin the newsletter 💌This podcast is produced by Softer Sounds. ✨Send us a message! 💫thanks for listening. peace, be well. 🙏

Dark Matter is the biggest mystery of the cosmos. We’re in Her universe, not ours.Mentioned in the episode—join the newsletter 💌Join the waitlist for MA (our red hot devotional membership)🌹Text grace a question 💬Dive deeper —from Judgement to MysteryNOW is Gracemeet your new mistressSend us a message! 💫thanks for listening. peace, be well. 🙏

We can’t do anything unless we have a grasp on our attention. But how do we reclaim it amidst the endless stream of distractions?Today Amelia Hruby returns to the podcast for a conversation about social media, creative practice, and sacred attention.We explore digital consciousness, material reality, energetic sovereignty, and what’s really at stake when we live our lives online. People want all of the "safety" with no surrender. But that’s not how change works. — grace allerdice Amelia Hruby is a feminist writer, podcaster and producer with a PhD in philosophy. She is the founder of Softer Sounds podcast studio, and the host of Off the Grid, a podcast about leaving social media. Her new book, *Your Attention is Sacred Except on Social Media* is out now.we discuss —The nonlinear paths of writing booksAmelia’s experience leaving social mediaTaking full possession of ourselvesThe cultural transition from skepticism to desireWhat happens when you live a digital drone lifestyleWhy everyone’s talking about attention right nowShifting from economical to ecological frameworksStepping back from social media to make space for changeWhy transformation without space can feel like traumaFrom “paying” attention to “giving” attention LINKSIf you enjoyed the episode, check out —Your Deep Alignment is a PortalRedefining Acts of Service through Connection w— Amelia HrubyBusiness as Initiation & the Power of Deep Alignment — grace on Amelia’s podcast Off the Grid More about our guest —Visit Amelia’s websiteBuy Amelia’s bookListen to Off the Grid Free Resources —Receive the 3 keys that unlocked every major Initiation in my life. Get 3 Keys for the Soul here for FREE. 🗝️Stay Connected —Subscribe to the home—body podcast wherever you get your listens.grace’s websiteThis podcast is produced by Softer Sounds. ✨Send us a message! 💫thanks for listening. peace, be well. 🙏

Today, I’m joined by my dear friend Portia for a conversation about naming and embodying the sacred roles that shape our work.We explore the challenge of finding words that honor what we do without diminishing it.Then we trace the paths of the teacher, priestess, jester, and more — slowly weaving the webs that hold us in the world. Healing work is essentially facilitating space in which people can meet the part of them that knows, and can touch the part of them that’s already whole. That’s all I’m ever trying to do. — grace allerdice Portia is a London based filmmaker and coach. She works from a holistic perspective with flower essences to support anyone wanting to recalibrate emotional issues. She specialises in supporting freelancers, those navigating the creative industries and anyone moving into creative work. All her services can be found at www.newwoo.ukwe discuss —What it means to be a teacherLearning through presenceComparing sacred work to the role of the jesterVenusian venerationHow grace stepped into the role of PriestessAlchemical clarity + severity  LINKSIf you enjoyed the episode, check out —the Mother in the Dark w— Clark Stranderotic devotion for modern mysticsMore about our guest —NewWoo.ukFree Resources —Receive the 3 keys that unlocked every major Initiation in my life. Get 3 Keys for the Soul here for FREE. 🗝️Stay Connected —Subscribe to the home—body podcast wherever you get your listens.grace’s websitesubscribe to grace's newsletterThis podcast is produced by Softer Sounds. ✨Send us a message! 💫thanks for listening. peace, be well. 🙏

Clark Strand was a Zen Buddhist monk. Now he writes books of love poetry to Kali Ma and manifestos to the Dark.In this conversation, we trace his spiritual path from childhood Protestantism through monasticism and massage school — ultimately leading him into deep devotion to the Divine Mother.Listen in, as we step into the Dark together. When She appeared to me, it made sense of everything all of a sudden. It really changed me. I stopped thinking the way I used to think. My understanding of the natural world, myself, my family, my relationships, Devotion, Beauty, Time itself. — Clark Strand  Clark Strand has been studying the world’s spiritual traditions for more than thirty years. The author of several books including Waking the Buddha, Meditation Without Gurus, Waking Up to the Dark and Now is the Hour of Her Return, Strand has written for The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and the Washington Post/Newsweek “On Faith” blog. He is the founder of Way of the Rose, a growing nonsectarian rosary fellowship open to people of any spiritual background, with members around the world. He lives on a dark road with no streetlights in the southern Catskill Mountains.we discuss —the many paths of spiritual devotionthe patriarchal traditions of many world religionshow Clark encountered the Divine Motherfeeling safe in the darkwhy Now is the hourhuman civilization vs human culturethe power of simple-hearted devotionwriting poems for Kaliremembering our birdsong  LINKSIf you enjoyed the episode, check out —Many Mothers + Many Lifetimes: Ancestral Connection w–Perdita FinnMore about our guest —The Way of the Rose.orgWaking Up to the Dark, book by Clark StrandNow is the Hour of Her Return, book by Clark StrandMentioned in the episode—The Gospel of Sri RamakrishnaThe Gospel According to the DarkFree Resources —Receive the 3 keys that unlocked every major Initiation in my life. Get 3 Keys for the Soul here for FREE. 🗝️Stay Connected —Subscribe to the home—body podcastgrace’s websiteThis podcast is produced by Softer Sounds. ✨Send us a message! 💫thanks for listening. peace, be well. 🙏

a soft, simple guided practice to interrupt you, re-center you, into the flickering flame of your Heart.peace.be well.Join the waitlist for MA (our red hot devotional membership)🌹Text grace a question 💬Free Resources —Receive the 3 keys that unlocked every major Initiation in my life. Get 3 Keys for the Soul here for FREE. 🗝️Stay Connected —Subscribe to the home—body podcastgrace’s websitejoin the newsletter 💌Send us a message! 💫Send us a message! 💫thanks for listening. peace, be well. 🙏

Intimate relationships are a magnifying glass and a mirror for how we meet life itself, but most relationship advice focuses on behavior control rather than the deeper spiritual transformation that devotional partnership requires. Listen in, as I break down the most common patterns I see blocking authentic intimacy and why becoming a lover is the big spiritual work."With enough devotion, ANY THING and ANY MOMENT and ANY CHAPTER of your relationship can become a sacred site." — grace allerdicewe discuss —The perfect partner fantasy and how comparing your relationship to an imaginary ideal perpetuates unworthiness and punishment cyclesWhy commitment alone doesn't make relationships rewarding and why time alone doesn't heal themThe independence and self love trap that blocks true intimacyHow projecting cultural narratives onto your partner recreates toxic dynamicsYour partner can read your energy, I promiseBeing vs. doing: the energetic work that transforms relationships from the inside outWhy radical acceptance is ground zeroIf you enjoyed the episode, check out —RIP Good Girl 🪦from Judgement to Mystery 🌀Love & Stories w— Michael J MorrisMentioned in the episode—Join the waitlist for MA (our red hot devotional membership)🌹Text grace a question 💬Free Resources —Receive the 3 keys that unlocked every major Initiation in my life. Get 3 Keys for the Soul here for FREE. 🗝️Stay Connected —Subscribe to the home—body podcastgrace’s websitejoin the newsletter 💌Send us a message! 💫thanks for listening. peace, be well. 🙏

Mentioned in the episode—Join the waitlist for MA (our red hot devotional membership)🌹Text grace a question 💬join the newsletter 💌grace’s offerings ❤️‍🔥Dive deeper —finding your true giftInitiation Deficit Part 1Send us a message! 💫thanks for listening. peace, be well. 🙏

In this episode, grace traces her journey over the past six years — from ego death to erotic devotion and shares more about the driving forces behind her work these days.If you’re curious about: embodying paradox, touching Life as your full Self, and the path of the alchemical Feminine, this episode is for you.Thank you for listening.  All of your contradictions are welcome, because they are the essential ingredient. They are not to be avoided or bypassed. You are called to be a poetic, embodied paradox. — grace allerdice we explore —How an epic failure and ego death led grace to start home—bodyEmbracing the position of priestessReclaiming your spiritual imaginationEroticism and relational wholenessExisting at the edges and intersectionsMary Magdalene and Freedom as an inside jobSpiritual bypassing versus being okay with uncertaintyFinding the hologram at the center of your Center If you enjoyed the episode, check out —finding your true GiftNOW is Grace : Love the World. 🌎❤️‍🔥 Mentioned in the episode—Join the waitlist for MA 🌹Text grace a question 💬grace’s offerings 🐍Widening Circles, Joanna Macy’s memoirActive Hope, Joanna MacyRilke’s Book of Hours, translated by Anita Barrows & Joanna MacyGospel of Mary Magdalene, translation and commentary by Jean-Yves Leloup Free Resources —Receive the 3 keys that unlocked every major Initiation in my life. Get 3 Keys for the Soul here for FREE. 🗝️Stay Connected —Subscribe to the home—body podcastgrace’s websitejoin the newsletter 💌This podcast is produced by Softer Sounds. ✨Send us a message! 💫thanks for listening. peace, be well. 🙏

What were you born to give? And how do you live into your fullest expression?In this episode, grace guides you down the path and offers some clues for recognizing your life’s work. She explains why a career counselor probably can’t be your guide for this, and she gently reflects that this isn’t about saving the world.If you’re ready to refine how you relate to your life’s work and move more exquisitely into your life’s Beauty, this episode is for you."Do flowers have a mission? Maybe they do. But it’s not a statement they write about or defend. It is intricately and unspeakably woven into how and who they be. They are exquisitely and precisely expressed in their full beauty, their full temporality at the right time and the exact right place." — grace allerdicewe discuss —Reframing your life’s work as what you were born to giveThe overarching economy of unfulfilled gettingLessons from the fully expressed flowerDetoxing the word “mission”Why saving the world isn’t your callingReleasing the fear of Death as fuel for your workWhat masks as Compassion + how to more authentically be withWhy your connection to Beauty is more than enough LINKSIf you enjoyed the episode, check out —Beauty is EverythingTransform your GuiltThe Initiation Deficit : Part 1Mentioned in the episode—Join the waitlist for MA 🌹Text grace a question 💬The Initiation Deficit : Part 1 Free Resources —Receive the 3 keys that unlocked every major Initiation in my life. Get 3 Keys for the Soul here for FREE. 🗝️Stay Connected —Subscribe to the home—body podcast wherever you get your listens.grace’s websitejoin the newsletter 💌This podcast is produced by Softer Sounds. ✨Send us a message! 💫thanks for listening. peace, be well. 🙏