WEBVTT 1 00:00:03.040 --> 00:00:06.799 Welcome to Compass, finding spirituality in the everyday. My name 2 00:00:06.799 --> 00:00:10.240 is Ryan Dunn. In this episode, I'm joined by Dori 3 00:00:10.240 --> 00:00:13.995 Granenko Baker and Anna Del Castillo for a 4 00:00:14.155 --> 00:00:17.914 heartfelt exploration of soulful practices and the deep 5 00:00:17.914 --> 00:00:21.755 wells of community connection and healing that we 6 00:00:21.755 --> 00:00:24.974 can each tap into, especially in uncertain 7 00:00:25.195 --> 00:00:28.654 times. Anna and Dori share personal rituals 8 00:00:28.715 --> 00:00:32.290 like grounding in nature and joyful body movement and 9 00:00:32.290 --> 00:00:35.510 discuss how simple acts such as morning meditation, 10 00:00:36.130 --> 00:00:39.489 holy listening, and gathering in circles can combat 11 00:00:39.489 --> 00:00:42.790 loneliness, support mental health, and foster 12 00:00:42.930 --> 00:00:46.635 belonging across divides. Whether you're looking for 13 00:00:46.635 --> 00:00:50.095 inspiration to begin your own soulful practices 14 00:00:50.635 --> 00:00:54.155 or insights on building deeper relationships in your life, this 15 00:00:54.155 --> 00:00:57.855 conversation is a warm invitation to discover 16 00:00:57.995 --> 00:01:01.820 or draw from your own deep wells. If 17 00:01:01.820 --> 00:01:05.420 you appreciate conversations like this, we'd appreciate it if you hit the 18 00:01:05.420 --> 00:01:09.100 subscribe button on your podcast listening platform. And if you've 19 00:01:09.100 --> 00:01:12.800 already done that, then drop us a rating or review. 20 00:01:13.500 --> 00:01:16.995 A quick one is great. You can just say that you like 21 00:01:16.995 --> 00:01:20.375 Compass and appreciate what it does. Thanks so much. 22 00:01:20.835 --> 00:01:24.595 Our guests here now are Dori Grinenko Baker and Anna 23 00:01:24.595 --> 00:01:27.955 Del Castillo. Dori calls herself a spy for 24 00:01:27.955 --> 00:01:31.439 hope. She is a writer, facilitator, and thought leader who is 25 00:01:31.439 --> 00:01:35.119 passionate about helping people find meaning and live into 26 00:01:35.119 --> 00:01:38.640 their purpose. She's done a lot of educating around faith 27 00:01:38.640 --> 00:01:42.159 formation and young people, including inspiring yours 28 00:01:42.159 --> 00:01:45.975 truly in, seminary class a couple decades ago, which we didn't 29 00:01:45.975 --> 00:01:49.755 really discover until we reconnected for this podcast episode. 30 00:01:49.815 --> 00:01:53.495 And I'll tell you, her book, Girlfriend Theology, is 31 00:01:53.495 --> 00:01:57.175 a treasure for ministry practitioners and is widely shared 32 00:01:57.175 --> 00:02:00.360 in educational settings. Anna Del Castillo 33 00:02:00.659 --> 00:02:04.439 is a healer who is innovating at the intersection of justice, 34 00:02:04.899 --> 00:02:08.440 politics, and healing. Anna served in the Biden Harris administration 35 00:02:08.580 --> 00:02:12.420 as the deputy director of diversity, equity, inclusion, and 36 00:02:12.420 --> 00:02:16.215 accessibility for the White House. And together, Anna and 37 00:02:16.215 --> 00:02:19.835 Dory help guide our own Deep Wells, 38 00:02:20.295 --> 00:02:23.755 a growing, diverse, and intergenerational collective 39 00:02:24.455 --> 00:02:27.959 from across religious and spiritual traditions. They help 40 00:02:27.959 --> 00:02:31.720 create resources and gatherings that work to provide care 41 00:02:31.720 --> 00:02:35.400 and support to the world with a special emphasis on young adults, 42 00:02:35.400 --> 00:02:39.239 community organizers, and social change leaders. Anna 43 00:02:39.239 --> 00:02:42.620 is the executive director, and Dory is the chief visionary 44 00:02:43.155 --> 00:02:46.674 officer. So there's a lot for us to talk about and 45 00:02:46.674 --> 00:02:49.575 explore here with Anna and Dory, but let's get to the conversations 46 00:02:50.275 --> 00:02:51.575 here on Compass. 47 00:02:53.954 --> 00:02:57.569 We have just rolled through a soulful centering practice, 48 00:02:57.709 --> 00:03:01.470 feeling grounded and drawing ourselves into this space. So Dory 49 00:03:01.470 --> 00:03:04.769 and Anna, thank you so much for being here on the Compass podcast. 50 00:03:05.629 --> 00:03:09.390 I'll start with this question. Maybe this is a little leading 51 00:03:09.390 --> 00:03:12.745 as we've just gone through the soulful practice, but how goes it with your soul 52 00:03:12.745 --> 00:03:15.325 today? Dori, let's start with you. Wow. 53 00:03:16.585 --> 00:03:20.125 These are difficult times to be grounded. And so 54 00:03:20.665 --> 00:03:23.805 I feel that my soul is good. I had some, 55 00:03:24.185 --> 00:03:27.150 time in the dirt this morning with my plants, 56 00:03:28.090 --> 00:03:31.550 and so I'm grounded. And 57 00:03:31.770 --> 00:03:34.030 it's a constant effort to stay 58 00:03:36.170 --> 00:03:39.310 soulful. Effort's not the right word. Constant 59 00:03:39.835 --> 00:03:43.595 intention and intention. Well, it's so good to 60 00:03:43.595 --> 00:03:47.435 be here with you, Ryan and Dory. And how is it with my 61 00:03:47.435 --> 00:03:51.135 soul today? I have just arrived to our virtual 62 00:03:51.195 --> 00:03:54.875 podcast space from a one mile run. I was like, I just 63 00:03:54.875 --> 00:03:58.710 gotta get a quick one in. And DC, where I live, Washington, 64 00:03:58.710 --> 00:04:02.550 DC, is just vibrant green right now. It's that moment 65 00:04:02.550 --> 00:04:06.230 in spring where things are coming alive, and it's 66 00:04:06.230 --> 00:04:09.944 just this, like, mysterious green color that almost feels 67 00:04:09.944 --> 00:04:13.625 otherworldly. And so I'm feeling very grounded from time 68 00:04:13.625 --> 00:04:17.464 outside and the changing season, but just echoing so much 69 00:04:17.464 --> 00:04:20.925 of what Dory said of trying to stay 70 00:04:20.985 --> 00:04:24.750 centered in times that that feel very uncertain. Before I could even hit the 71 00:04:24.750 --> 00:04:28.430 record button, Dory said, well, we need to we need to do a centering practice. 72 00:04:28.430 --> 00:04:31.950 Like, let's just pause down and concentrate on our souls for a 73 00:04:31.950 --> 00:04:35.790 moment. And you started our own deep wells with 74 00:04:35.790 --> 00:04:39.354 the expectations of of drawing people 75 00:04:39.354 --> 00:04:42.495 into social or I'm sorry, soulful practices 76 00:04:43.035 --> 00:04:46.715 for the purposes of bringing about healing and a 77 00:04:46.715 --> 00:04:50.414 sense of connection with one another and a greater well-being 78 00:04:50.475 --> 00:04:53.970 through that connection. So with that in mind, Anna, you talked 79 00:04:53.970 --> 00:04:57.750 about running and maybe that's a soulful practice for you, but is 80 00:04:57.890 --> 00:05:01.430 there or are there soulful practices that you personally 81 00:05:01.890 --> 00:05:05.490 invest in regularly that have impacted your 82 00:05:05.490 --> 00:05:09.305 emotional well-being? And Anna, may maybe we'll just pick up with you. Maybe 83 00:05:09.305 --> 00:05:12.745 running is it. Yes. Running is definitely a soulful practice for 84 00:05:12.745 --> 00:05:16.425 me. Running feels connected to a series of soulful 85 00:05:16.425 --> 00:05:19.565 practices that I call joyful body movement. 86 00:05:20.400 --> 00:05:24.080 So I love to do physical fitness classes with 87 00:05:24.080 --> 00:05:27.840 friends. I love to do yoga with folks in 88 00:05:27.840 --> 00:05:31.680 the park, but, really, I view the gift of moving my 89 00:05:31.680 --> 00:05:35.465 body as a soulful practice that helps me to balance my cortisol 90 00:05:35.525 --> 00:05:38.965 levels, to help me connect with how my body is 91 00:05:38.965 --> 00:05:42.565 feeling, help me connect with breath. So those are some soulful 92 00:05:42.565 --> 00:05:46.164 practices that I do on the daily and love, but I've 93 00:05:46.164 --> 00:05:47.955 just started doing morning meditation with my partner. So we we did it to be 94 00:05:49.380 --> 00:05:53.060 partner. So we we did it to be accountability buddies 95 00:05:53.060 --> 00:05:56.820 because it's, like, first thing in the morning. Sometimes, you know, 06:50AM, 96 00:05:56.820 --> 00:05:59.367 we're rolling out of bed, going to sit on the living room floor, and just 97 00:05:59.367 --> 00:05:59.620 investing in ten minutes. It's a ten minute timer where we just sit and breathe 98 00:05:59.620 --> 00:06:03.085 together, and It's a ten minute 99 00:06:03.085 --> 00:06:06.845 timer where we just sit and breathe together, and we've done it 100 00:06:06.845 --> 00:06:10.685 now for one week. So shouting at us for this little goal, and 101 00:06:10.685 --> 00:06:14.445 it it has really made such a difference in how my day starts. Within 102 00:06:14.445 --> 00:06:18.230 that meditation practice, is there a way that you keep your 103 00:06:18.230 --> 00:06:21.990 mind centered or or present? It's I mean, I will 104 00:06:21.990 --> 00:06:25.670 say starting a meditation practice after many months of taking a 105 00:06:25.670 --> 00:06:28.485 break, it is hard to keep the mind centered. 106 00:06:29.525 --> 00:06:32.309 And I have just been really trying to have a lot of compassion of when 107 00:06:32.309 --> 00:06:36.085 I kind of see my brain already going to my first Google Calendar 108 00:06:36.085 --> 00:06:39.784 invite. I just say a little mantra, which is be here 109 00:06:40.884 --> 00:06:44.312 now. So if I'm sitting on that pillow and thinking about what I wanna have 110 00:06:44.312 --> 00:06:48.160 for breakfast, I just gently say, be here now. And, 111 00:06:48.699 --> 00:06:52.380 that has been really helpful of just having, like, a couple of words to 112 00:06:52.380 --> 00:06:56.060 center me back in the present moment. And I actually get a lot of my 113 00:06:56.060 --> 00:06:59.765 mantras from Dory Baker, who who I view as the 114 00:06:59.765 --> 00:07:03.285 queen of having some gentle mantras to just 115 00:07:03.285 --> 00:07:07.125 recenter and refocus. Dory, is that something that you're 116 00:07:07.125 --> 00:07:10.885 purposeful in developing, or do they just kinda come out of you, these mantras? 117 00:07:10.885 --> 00:07:14.360 Both and. Both and. Yes and. My social 118 00:07:14.360 --> 00:07:17.900 practice, runs the gamut of many different 119 00:07:17.960 --> 00:07:21.639 many different practices, but the one that starts me almost every day 120 00:07:21.639 --> 00:07:24.780 whenever possible is to get outside barefoot 121 00:07:25.165 --> 00:07:28.685 early. And to see the sun, I 122 00:07:28.685 --> 00:07:32.465 actually, open my windows so that I'm seeing the sun 123 00:07:32.765 --> 00:07:36.445 without filter for the first few moments of the day because I know that 124 00:07:36.445 --> 00:07:39.819 resets my serotonin levels. These are also practical, they're also 125 00:07:39.819 --> 00:07:43.660 physiological so some might wonder what makes it a biohack and what 126 00:07:43.660 --> 00:07:47.440 makes it a spiritual practice. And for me the difference is, 127 00:07:48.060 --> 00:07:51.660 very subtle and it's really just being mindful that we're 128 00:07:51.660 --> 00:07:55.155 connected to something more than ourselves. So when I go 129 00:07:55.155 --> 00:07:58.995 outside barefoot, I am, connecting to the Earth. 130 00:07:58.995 --> 00:08:02.675 I'm literally feeling the you know, my body is benefiting from 131 00:08:02.675 --> 00:08:06.515 the electromagnetic charge of the Earth beneath my bare 132 00:08:06.515 --> 00:08:09.980 feet. And I'm also looking up into the sky and 133 00:08:09.980 --> 00:08:13.760 remembering my ancestors, my wise and loving ancestors who mostly, 134 00:08:14.540 --> 00:08:18.300 came from across the Atlantic Ocean as far as I know, and I 135 00:08:18.300 --> 00:08:20.960 am welcoming in into my, 136 00:08:21.900 --> 00:08:25.475 worldview, that that cloud of witnesses. Those people who 137 00:08:25.475 --> 00:08:29.155 have gifted my DNA, my biological DNA, 138 00:08:29.155 --> 00:08:32.775 but also I ask for their help in restoring 139 00:08:33.075 --> 00:08:36.559 and repairing some of the damage that's been done by 140 00:08:36.559 --> 00:08:40.399 those settlers who came, from Northern Europe onto 141 00:08:40.399 --> 00:08:43.860 the land where I live, which is the land of the Monacan people. 142 00:08:44.080 --> 00:08:47.839 And so, you know, I also I turned to my left and I turned 143 00:08:47.839 --> 00:08:51.645 to my right and I honored the Monacan people whose 144 00:08:51.645 --> 00:08:55.085 land I'm on. And I honored the people in the 145 00:08:55.085 --> 00:08:58.785 city to the right of me, which was a major market 146 00:08:59.005 --> 00:09:02.800 for the slave trade. And I remember their connectedness 147 00:09:03.180 --> 00:09:06.940 to my neighbors today. And that little practice, like, sometimes it's 148 00:09:06.940 --> 00:09:10.560 five minutes, sometimes it's ten, sometimes it's thirty 149 00:09:10.700 --> 00:09:14.060 seconds. Mhmm. But that sets my day 150 00:09:14.060 --> 00:09:17.865 off into a way of realizing that I any work 151 00:09:17.865 --> 00:09:21.625 for justice I do today is flowing through, it's 152 00:09:21.625 --> 00:09:25.225 flowing through me. It's not about me. Mhmm. And it also 153 00:09:25.225 --> 00:09:28.904 relieves me from the burden of getting it right. Right? Yeah. 154 00:09:28.904 --> 00:09:32.019 Because I won't always get it right. So it's, you know, it's just a way 155 00:09:32.019 --> 00:09:35.480 of setting my intention. Mhmm. We gathered 156 00:09:36.180 --> 00:09:39.620 here here, quote, unquote, within this space, this 157 00:09:39.620 --> 00:09:43.459 proverbial space, for the purpose of talking about soulful 158 00:09:43.459 --> 00:09:47.045 practices. I hear words like cortisol 159 00:09:47.585 --> 00:09:51.425 and biohacking. These are sciencey type terms, right? Can 160 00:09:51.425 --> 00:09:53.925 you talk a little bit about the relationship 161 00:09:54.945 --> 00:09:58.705 between these soulful practices and how that might 162 00:09:58.705 --> 00:10:02.390 affect our, our physical being is kind of these, 163 00:10:03.010 --> 00:10:06.529 dual entities that, many of us assume that we 164 00:10:06.529 --> 00:10:10.290 are? Well, I'll start, and then I'll let you finish. How's that? Sounds 165 00:10:10.290 --> 00:10:13.970 great. I'll say. We started RND Wells because we 166 00:10:13.970 --> 00:10:17.445 were alarmed by the mental health 167 00:10:17.445 --> 00:10:20.885 epidemic, especially as it was affecting is affecting young 168 00:10:20.885 --> 00:10:24.405 people. And I've spent my career focusing on 169 00:10:24.405 --> 00:10:28.245 vocation and helping young people come alive to purpose. Ryan, you 170 00:10:28.245 --> 00:10:31.440 were in a class of mine. Way back. Yep. And, 171 00:10:32.720 --> 00:10:36.160 I just realized that if people can't get out of bed in the morning, 172 00:10:36.160 --> 00:10:39.540 literally, if the anxiety and the depression is 173 00:10:39.760 --> 00:10:43.214 immobilizing, then trying to find meaning and purpose 174 00:10:44.475 --> 00:10:48.074 is is not gonna happen. Right? And so I just kind of 175 00:10:48.074 --> 00:10:51.595 backed up and looked at, brain research that shows 176 00:10:51.595 --> 00:10:55.355 that skillful practices mitigate anxiety and 177 00:10:55.355 --> 00:10:59.190 depression. And this is coming from the work of neuropsychologist Lisa 178 00:10:59.190 --> 00:11:03.030 D Miller, The Awakened Mind. And she also has 179 00:11:03.030 --> 00:11:05.530 a book about, parenting, 180 00:11:06.630 --> 00:11:10.325 awaken awakening the spiritual gifts of children, spiritual practices 181 00:11:10.325 --> 00:11:14.165 and children, her words are spiritual and we just changed that 182 00:11:14.165 --> 00:11:17.605 to to the word soulful because we thought it was a bigger on 183 00:11:17.605 --> 00:11:21.385 ramp, more accessible to people who might have been harmed 184 00:11:21.765 --> 00:11:25.080 by spiritual traditions or religious traditions. 185 00:11:25.460 --> 00:11:28.900 So we're holding both of those things at the same time. Brain research 186 00:11:28.900 --> 00:11:32.660 shows those of us with a spiritual tradition that we're 187 00:11:32.660 --> 00:11:36.420 at home with, maybe we fought with it, maybe we've broken up with it, 188 00:11:36.420 --> 00:11:40.165 maybe we we reconciled with it. We shouldn't be the 189 00:11:40.165 --> 00:11:43.925 only ones who have access to these life saving practices. So 190 00:11:43.925 --> 00:11:47.685 that's what we're about at R and D Wells is to try to create 191 00:11:47.685 --> 00:11:51.370 easier on ramps and access points for people who, for a very 192 00:11:51.370 --> 00:11:55.209 good reason, may have broken pathways to the 193 00:11:55.209 --> 00:11:58.830 spiritual traditions of their parents and grandparents generations. 194 00:11:59.370 --> 00:12:02.750 Mhmm. Yeah. Just to pick up from there, 195 00:12:03.450 --> 00:12:07.125 we do use doctor Lisa Miller's 196 00:12:07.185 --> 00:12:10.644 research, and we also really lean on the surgeon general's, 197 00:12:11.425 --> 00:12:15.105 work. So the previous surgeon general did a lot 198 00:12:15.105 --> 00:12:18.865 of research on the epidemic of loneliness, and I 199 00:12:18.865 --> 00:12:22.420 live here in Washington DC and used to work in the federal government. 200 00:12:22.560 --> 00:12:26.240 And I had the chance to actually hear Vivek speak about 201 00:12:26.240 --> 00:12:30.000 this epidemic of loneliness. And he spoke to a room full 202 00:12:30.000 --> 00:12:33.585 of, federal government leaders about how 203 00:12:33.745 --> 00:12:37.585 important it is to have community and how important it is to take 204 00:12:37.585 --> 00:12:41.345 seriously our mental health, especially when it comes to how we 205 00:12:41.345 --> 00:12:44.865 gather with folks. And so just I encourage everyone to 206 00:12:44.865 --> 00:12:48.065 read, that report that came out. I think it was in 207 00:12:48.065 --> 00:12:51.690 2024. But that's something that we feel as humans, you 208 00:12:51.690 --> 00:12:55.130 know. I'm I'm not a scientist. I didn't go to medical 209 00:12:55.130 --> 00:12:58.490 school, but I do know that something changes in my 210 00:12:58.490 --> 00:13:02.330 body when I'm sitting in circle with people who are holding space 211 00:13:02.330 --> 00:13:06.175 for me. And I think that we're starting to 212 00:13:06.175 --> 00:13:09.774 see a lot of public health research coming out about the importance of 213 00:13:09.774 --> 00:13:13.455 having grounded community, of being with people. And 214 00:13:13.455 --> 00:13:16.830 so we view that as a soulful practice of sitting in 215 00:13:16.830 --> 00:13:20.370 circle. For some folks, it might be, no. I'm just gonna go, you know, 216 00:13:20.430 --> 00:13:23.730 grab some coffee with a friend, and we're gonna talk about reality 217 00:13:23.790 --> 00:13:27.230 TV. That's that's cool. We 218 00:13:27.230 --> 00:13:30.545 are encouraging people to take a more soulful orientation 219 00:13:31.085 --> 00:13:34.845 to gathering, to go a little bit deeper, but we just know 220 00:13:34.845 --> 00:13:38.385 that it is so important for humans to be together. And, 221 00:13:39.005 --> 00:13:42.765 that to me really rang true when I read the surgeon general's report. We're 222 00:13:42.765 --> 00:13:46.160 starting our own deep wells for each of you 223 00:13:47.660 --> 00:13:51.500 a reaction to a felt loneliness in your own lives? 224 00:13:51.500 --> 00:13:55.280 That's a really good question. I think a lot about the value 225 00:13:55.820 --> 00:13:59.385 of my own individual social practices, but that is 226 00:13:59.385 --> 00:14:03.225 so magnified when I share it with a friend, even as simple as Anna doing 227 00:14:03.225 --> 00:14:07.005 that morning meditation with her partner, having an accountability buddy. 228 00:14:07.785 --> 00:14:11.399 Yes. We all suffer from loneliness, and my life is 229 00:14:11.399 --> 00:14:15.079 spread around the nation. I have beautiful people all across the country, but I don't 230 00:14:15.079 --> 00:14:18.920 always have people in my backyard or right across the street. So 231 00:14:18.920 --> 00:14:22.519 the pandemic changed that for a lot of us. And after the pandemic, I 232 00:14:22.519 --> 00:14:26.335 started having fire pits in my backyard. I don't need a very 233 00:14:26.335 --> 00:14:30.095 big excuse at all. It could be a new moon. It could be, all 234 00:14:30.095 --> 00:14:33.855 souls day. But I will call people up, and I might invite 235 00:14:33.855 --> 00:14:37.615 seven and two might show, and that is exactly who's supposed to be 236 00:14:37.615 --> 00:14:41.079 there. But there is something like I like Anna said, 237 00:14:41.300 --> 00:14:44.180 there is research to back this up, but I don't know the research. I I 238 00:14:44.180 --> 00:14:47.620 don't need the research. I feel it in my body. Mhmm. The morning 239 00:14:47.620 --> 00:14:51.380 after I've had a few women or or men or people of all 240 00:14:51.380 --> 00:14:54.795 ages around my fire pit, I'm I'm 241 00:14:54.795 --> 00:14:57.935 better. I'm better. I'm more available 242 00:14:58.555 --> 00:15:01.695 to be of some good in the world. My actual, 243 00:15:02.315 --> 00:15:05.995 my, you know, my nervous system is more settled and 244 00:15:05.995 --> 00:15:09.550 I'm less reactive and more able to respond with 245 00:15:09.550 --> 00:15:13.310 love and and spaciousness. I was just gonna say to that 246 00:15:13.310 --> 00:15:17.009 question, I think I came into our own deep wells 247 00:15:17.149 --> 00:15:20.985 really by the ushering of creator that led 248 00:15:20.985 --> 00:15:24.345 me to meet Dory Baker at a time when I 249 00:15:24.345 --> 00:15:28.185 was a proctor at Harvard University, which is 250 00:15:28.185 --> 00:15:32.024 a kind of fancy name for a residential assistant. So I was 251 00:15:32.024 --> 00:15:35.820 in grad school, and I was doing research and living on 252 00:15:35.820 --> 00:15:39.420 campus supporting a group of twenty five 18 year olds, 253 00:15:39.420 --> 00:15:42.780 you know, 18 to 20 year olds who were in their first year of 254 00:15:42.780 --> 00:15:46.540 college. And what I didn't realize was that that position was 255 00:15:46.540 --> 00:15:50.355 actually going to become my ministry. You know, I was in divinity school 256 00:15:50.595 --> 00:15:54.035 studying how to be a chaplain. I was studying racial justice and 257 00:15:54.035 --> 00:15:57.714 healing, how to do spiritual care work. And I was meeting 258 00:15:57.714 --> 00:16:01.095 with so many young adults who were really struggling 259 00:16:01.635 --> 00:16:05.240 and who I think were leaving home for the first time, and they were 260 00:16:05.240 --> 00:16:09.000 given permission to talk about their loneliness or the ways that 261 00:16:09.000 --> 00:16:12.840 they viewed their body or the ways that they were getting language for the first 262 00:16:12.840 --> 00:16:16.060 time to understand their family trauma and their lineage. 263 00:16:16.865 --> 00:16:20.485 And I was sitting with them in these tiny little dorm rooms, 264 00:16:20.785 --> 00:16:24.545 and I was like, wow. They need more support. And our 265 00:16:24.545 --> 00:16:28.384 training is to refer them to mental health services at Harvard, which, 266 00:16:28.384 --> 00:16:32.000 of course, I did. That's such a beautiful place for them to 267 00:16:32.000 --> 00:16:35.519 get the care that they need, but there weren't enough counselors and 268 00:16:35.519 --> 00:16:39.279 therapists to support them. So they were like, okay, Anna. Like, I you 269 00:16:39.279 --> 00:16:42.879 know, in four months, I can go have this appointment, but what do I do 270 00:16:42.879 --> 00:16:45.755 on the day to day? And it goes back to what Dory said of how 271 00:16:45.755 --> 00:16:49.035 do we help people to get out of bed in the morning? Because the truth 272 00:16:49.035 --> 00:16:52.795 is most people don't have a therapist that's working with them every 273 00:16:52.795 --> 00:16:56.475 single day. You know, that's that's a great resource, but people need 274 00:16:56.475 --> 00:17:00.290 tools to really understand what is emerging and what is 275 00:17:00.290 --> 00:17:03.970 surfacing for them, especially in those, you know, in that age from 18 276 00:17:03.970 --> 00:17:07.650 to 21. Those are that's times when you're like, okay. I'm on my own for 277 00:17:07.650 --> 00:17:11.490 the first time. I didn't even know I could ask these questions, and I 278 00:17:11.490 --> 00:17:15.295 don't have anyone to really sit with me, and just witness 279 00:17:15.355 --> 00:17:19.195 me. So that is around the time that I met Dory, 280 00:17:19.195 --> 00:17:22.635 and we just had this shared vision and shared desire to 281 00:17:22.635 --> 00:17:26.130 provide more support. So, Anna, I'm curious. In in those 282 00:17:26.130 --> 00:17:29.810 conversations then, how do you bridge going from somebody saying 283 00:17:29.810 --> 00:17:33.510 I'm feeling a little isolated, alienated, or lonely to, 284 00:17:34.210 --> 00:17:38.050 inviting them into a a 285 00:17:38.050 --> 00:17:41.885 new soulful practice that that maybe completely, 286 00:17:42.105 --> 00:17:45.225 for lack of a better way of putting it, foreign to them or uncomfortable for 287 00:17:45.225 --> 00:17:48.985 them? Yeah. That's a great question. And that's something we think about a lot. And 288 00:17:48.985 --> 00:17:52.825 I think Dory has taught me so much about how to be really inclusive in 289 00:17:52.825 --> 00:17:56.580 soulful practices. So, you know, I was raised in a very 290 00:17:56.580 --> 00:17:59.940 Christian household. I'm a preacher's kid. I, you 291 00:17:59.940 --> 00:18:03.720 know, was very, very involved with the United Methodist Church. And, 292 00:18:05.220 --> 00:18:08.965 I wasn't sitting in that dorm room saying, hey, can we pray together? Or, like, 293 00:18:08.965 --> 00:18:12.325 let me teach you the Lord's prayer. You know, no shame to doing that, but 294 00:18:12.325 --> 00:18:16.164 but I think our invitations to soulful practices and I when I was doing 295 00:18:16.164 --> 00:18:19.524 that work, I didn't even really have the language of soulful practices, but it 296 00:18:19.524 --> 00:18:23.220 was, okay, let's let me listen to you. 297 00:18:23.220 --> 00:18:26.660 Like, tell can let's ask that question again. I just want you to sit with 298 00:18:26.660 --> 00:18:30.340 that question and then inviting them to just pause and reflect 299 00:18:30.340 --> 00:18:34.180 for sixty seconds on a question and have someone just do holy 300 00:18:34.180 --> 00:18:37.914 listening with them, which is a practice that I would love for Dory to to 301 00:18:37.914 --> 00:18:41.455 talk about. And then other things like, okay. I'm 302 00:18:41.674 --> 00:18:45.115 I'm gonna give you a couple of journaling prompts. Can you do those before the 303 00:18:45.115 --> 00:18:48.875 next time that we meet? Or it sounds like you really wanna talk to 304 00:18:48.875 --> 00:18:52.020 your friend about this. Can y'all schedule a time in the next week to go 305 00:18:52.020 --> 00:18:55.540 for a walk around the river and just like talk tell her how you're 306 00:18:55.540 --> 00:18:59.160 feeling or like tell her about this feeling that you've just shared with me. 307 00:18:59.299 --> 00:19:01.780 So those three practices journaling, grabbing a friend to go for a walk in nature, 308 00:19:01.780 --> 00:19:05.615 and doing walk in nature, and doing 309 00:19:05.615 --> 00:19:09.455 holy listening, like, those are soulful practices that, are 310 00:19:09.455 --> 00:19:13.155 very simple and are not tied to any particular religion. 311 00:19:13.375 --> 00:19:16.050 You know, it's just invitational. It's something 312 00:19:20.450 --> 00:19:23.490 anyways, Dori, I would love for you to talk about holy listening because it has 313 00:19:23.490 --> 00:19:27.330 changed my life. That's so sweet. Thank you. I also will 314 00:19:27.330 --> 00:19:31.165 just add that, Anna's example of the dorm room is a 315 00:19:31.165 --> 00:19:34.925 great one. What we're trying to equip people to do is like whenever 316 00:19:34.925 --> 00:19:38.765 they hold the mic and that's a metaphor, 317 00:19:38.765 --> 00:19:42.545 whenever they have the opportunity, whenever they're facilitating anything, 318 00:19:43.885 --> 00:19:47.480 these are spaces where the mindfulness movement has already 319 00:19:47.480 --> 00:19:51.320 crossed the super highway, right? We already know that a moment of 320 00:19:51.320 --> 00:19:55.020 you know deep breathing together, we can do that in a science classroom 321 00:19:55.080 --> 00:19:58.785 for all you know for all intents anywhere. So what we're trying to do is 322 00:19:59.025 --> 00:20:02.625 broaden that movement and make it more inclusive of 323 00:20:02.625 --> 00:20:05.685 all the world's traditions so that we're representing, 324 00:20:06.865 --> 00:20:10.405 you know, and we're tethering these traditions to their context 325 00:20:10.865 --> 00:20:14.480 by by writing about them in ways ways that come from the 326 00:20:14.480 --> 00:20:18.240 people who are from those contexts, right? Whether that's Jewish or 327 00:20:18.240 --> 00:20:21.620 Muslim or Christian or earth based traditions. 328 00:20:22.799 --> 00:20:26.355 But the idea is there's a whole lot more out there than just breathing 329 00:20:26.355 --> 00:20:30.195 together. So if you're facilitating a freshman orientation, you can do a solo 330 00:20:30.195 --> 00:20:34.035 practice. That might have to do with mingling around the 331 00:20:34.035 --> 00:20:37.875 room and touching base with a group of two people or three 332 00:20:37.875 --> 00:20:41.520 people and answering a question that just brings your body 333 00:20:41.520 --> 00:20:45.040 to life. You know a simple question like, tell me about the best vacation you 334 00:20:45.040 --> 00:20:48.880 ever went on in your life or what's your favorite food from 335 00:20:48.880 --> 00:20:52.560 your family of origin. Like those things get our, get our 336 00:20:52.560 --> 00:20:56.235 bodies, our life force rises to the surface and we 337 00:20:56.235 --> 00:20:59.995 can be soulful with one another and then move back into, okay, 338 00:20:59.995 --> 00:21:03.755 what is the work that we have to do here? But, we're really excited 339 00:21:03.755 --> 00:21:06.975 about looking for places in on campuses, 340 00:21:07.355 --> 00:21:11.120 in in boardrooms, on, on, 341 00:21:11.440 --> 00:21:15.220 on in corporations where we can infuse the day 342 00:21:15.440 --> 00:21:19.220 with little social practices. In Christian Christian language that would be 343 00:21:19.280 --> 00:21:22.995 prayer without ceasing and in Christian language it would be the priesthood of all 344 00:21:22.995 --> 00:21:26.195 believers. But we're seeking to make those two, 345 00:21:27.715 --> 00:21:31.475 invitations more inclusive. Like what does it what does it look like to lead 346 00:21:31.475 --> 00:21:35.190 a soulful moment? In the midst of a tragedy, in the midst of I 347 00:21:35.190 --> 00:21:38.550 mean this was way back. I remember when the Boston Marathon, 348 00:21:39.590 --> 00:21:43.430 explosions happened. I remember thinking what would it be like if the young people there 349 00:21:43.430 --> 00:21:46.965 had some practices in their back pockets so while the ENTs 350 00:21:47.205 --> 00:21:50.565 are doing their work, there are chaplain 351 00:21:50.645 --> 00:21:54.485 movement chapels chaplains leading folks in practices that 352 00:21:54.485 --> 00:21:57.924 can calm us and make us be available for the next 353 00:21:57.924 --> 00:22:01.385 moment. So there's lots of good work on movement chaplaincy 354 00:22:01.605 --> 00:22:04.980 going on, and we've been learning from our colleagues in those 355 00:22:04.980 --> 00:22:08.580 spaces about how to just do these how to equip people so these 356 00:22:08.580 --> 00:22:11.940 practices are at their fingertips. Are there practices that you 357 00:22:11.940 --> 00:22:15.780 have noticed that are conducive to bringing people 358 00:22:15.780 --> 00:22:19.335 together from maybe across polarized 359 00:22:19.715 --> 00:22:23.555 spaces? Yeah. So we'll talk about holy listening, and then I'll I'll let Anna 360 00:22:23.555 --> 00:22:27.395 tell a few stories about when we've seen that happen. So holy 361 00:22:27.395 --> 00:22:30.995 listening is a practice that, you know, just goes way way 362 00:22:30.995 --> 00:22:34.020 back to Methodist roots for me and 363 00:22:35.120 --> 00:22:38.880 some of the work that I did in my early early part of 364 00:22:38.880 --> 00:22:42.480 my career but you know just opening someone 365 00:22:42.480 --> 00:22:46.235 to tell a story about a time when And as we listen to that 366 00:22:46.235 --> 00:22:49.515 person for just two minutes, I've done this in the midst of, 367 00:22:49.995 --> 00:22:52.955 worship on a Sunday morning right in the middle of my sermon. I've stopped the 368 00:22:52.955 --> 00:22:56.575 sermon. It was Pentecost and I just said, okay, for two minutes 369 00:22:56.715 --> 00:23:00.559 turn to someone and tell a story about a time when fill in 370 00:23:00.559 --> 00:23:04.100 the blank what you want to that story to be about, set a timer 371 00:23:04.160 --> 00:23:08.000 and when you're listening you are only listening and I usually say listen 372 00:23:08.000 --> 00:23:11.520 as if you may see the holy one, show up in the face of the 373 00:23:11.520 --> 00:23:15.175 person that you're listening to. Like, allow yourself to be 374 00:23:15.315 --> 00:23:19.075 surprised or just pretend even. You can't get yourself to that place. 375 00:23:19.075 --> 00:23:22.835 Pretend that the holy one is gonna be better for you for a moment or 376 00:23:22.835 --> 00:23:26.450 with you for a moment and then you take turns. So each one gets to 377 00:23:26.450 --> 00:23:30.130 listen and each one gets to speak. And in that example of 378 00:23:30.130 --> 00:23:33.410 doing that on a Sunday morning in the middle of worship, someone came up to 379 00:23:33.410 --> 00:23:37.110 me afterwards and said they had been paired with, they paired themselves 380 00:23:37.170 --> 00:23:40.914 with a person whose baptism they had been present at. It was an 381 00:23:40.914 --> 00:23:44.674 older person and a younger person. And that person was 382 00:23:44.674 --> 00:23:48.434 the younger person was about to be confirmed. And they had these two 383 00:23:48.434 --> 00:23:52.135 minutes together, these four minutes together that changed the trajectory 384 00:23:52.355 --> 00:23:55.960 of the next few weeks for them. And so there's always just this 385 00:23:55.960 --> 00:23:59.480 possibility that, you know, two minutes of holy listening to someone can change a 386 00:23:59.480 --> 00:24:03.320 life. That we expand. That's a very easy, you 387 00:24:03.320 --> 00:24:07.100 know, simple practice, but we also have some deep dive practices 388 00:24:07.160 --> 00:24:10.965 and one of those is theological reflection around shared 389 00:24:10.965 --> 00:24:14.645 story. And we did that recently and I'll let Anna tell that 390 00:24:14.645 --> 00:24:18.405 story because that was a moment when, all the 391 00:24:18.405 --> 00:24:21.700 politics that are alive in our bodies got brought into the room and we got 392 00:24:21.700 --> 00:24:25.220 to dive deep. Mhmm. Yeah. So this 393 00:24:25.220 --> 00:24:28.920 practice, and you can find this on our website, but it's called Live to Tell. 394 00:24:29.460 --> 00:24:33.300 And it is a soulful practice that Dory really birthed into 395 00:24:33.300 --> 00:24:37.095 the world, but it is, it kind of takes holy 396 00:24:37.095 --> 00:24:40.635 listening into a deeper practice where 397 00:24:40.935 --> 00:24:44.715 you have someone share a story that they've prepared. It's usually, 398 00:24:45.175 --> 00:24:48.775 you know, a two to three minute read about, a different 399 00:24:48.775 --> 00:24:49.050 topic. 400 00:24:54.090 --> 00:24:57.930 Difficulty. And that person gets the opportunity to read 401 00:24:57.930 --> 00:25:01.770 a story in a circle of people. And the first 402 00:25:01.770 --> 00:25:05.595 step of that live model is to listen. And so folks just 403 00:25:05.595 --> 00:25:09.435 listen. They take it in. But I've done live before. And as a 404 00:25:09.435 --> 00:25:13.035 storyteller, it's so sacred to have a circle 405 00:25:13.035 --> 00:25:16.475 just listen to you with no expectations, no 406 00:25:16.475 --> 00:25:20.260 fixing things, no trying to give you advice, but just listening. And 407 00:25:20.260 --> 00:25:23.400 then we've moved through some other steps of theological reflection, 408 00:25:23.780 --> 00:25:27.539 surfacing questions that come up for folks, surfacing emotions and 409 00:25:27.539 --> 00:25:31.380 feelings. But in this particular time, we were leading a 410 00:25:31.380 --> 00:25:35.220 retreat at beautiful Lake Tahoe, and this was a very 411 00:25:35.220 --> 00:25:38.715 intergenerational group from across The United States. So we 412 00:25:38.715 --> 00:25:42.475 had I think our our elder was in their seventies, and 413 00:25:42.475 --> 00:25:46.315 our youngest person was 22. And most of the folks there 414 00:25:46.315 --> 00:25:49.755 didn't know each other, so they were kinda coming by invitation of Dory and 415 00:25:49.755 --> 00:25:52.679 Anna, sort of us bringing our people together. 416 00:25:53.299 --> 00:25:57.140 And one of my dear friends who I've met in, in my 417 00:25:57.140 --> 00:26:00.980 own activist journey here in Washington, DC, she and I have done a 418 00:26:00.980 --> 00:26:04.740 lot of work together on calling for peace in Gaza and calling 419 00:26:04.740 --> 00:26:08.325 for an end of violence there. And she is a young Jewish 420 00:26:08.325 --> 00:26:11.465 woman, and she read her story of her own 421 00:26:11.765 --> 00:26:15.365 personal loss and and also the loss that has 422 00:26:15.365 --> 00:26:18.725 come the loss and the gain that has come from her 423 00:26:18.725 --> 00:26:22.350 activism. And she read this story and it was very 424 00:26:22.350 --> 00:26:26.029 clear that she has been pushing for peace in Gaza and an end of 425 00:26:26.029 --> 00:26:29.870 violence, and and really holding the Israeli government 426 00:26:29.870 --> 00:26:33.325 accountable. And so reading a story like that and as facilitators, you 427 00:26:33.325 --> 00:26:37.105 never know how that's gonna land in a room because people had very 428 00:26:37.125 --> 00:26:40.871 different thoughts about Israel Palestine. And and we didn't even know 429 00:26:40.871 --> 00:26:44.685 everyone's view on on what's happening there. But we do know that that's a very 430 00:26:44.685 --> 00:26:48.400 divisive, can be a very divisive topic. And by the 431 00:26:48.400 --> 00:26:52.240 end of this person going through the live model, we had 432 00:26:52.240 --> 00:26:55.299 people in tears. We had mamas, 433 00:26:56.160 --> 00:26:59.935 like, mothering this person. We had someone who was like, I'm ordering 434 00:26:59.935 --> 00:27:03.575 a cake to celebrate your brave decision. And we really 435 00:27:03.575 --> 00:27:07.415 did. That night, we had a party, a celebration party to celebrate this person 436 00:27:07.415 --> 00:27:11.255 and the brave decision that they had made. And so, I mean, 437 00:27:11.255 --> 00:27:14.539 I just have chills thinking about what that room felt like because 438 00:27:14.919 --> 00:27:18.279 that could happen in a way that wasn't a soulfully led 439 00:27:18.279 --> 00:27:22.039 practice and it could have divided a room. It could have led people to end 440 00:27:22.039 --> 00:27:25.640 relationships. It could have caused a lot of harm, but we really saw 441 00:27:25.640 --> 00:27:29.105 that soulful practice bringing this intergenerational group 442 00:27:29.105 --> 00:27:32.945 together in a way that was healing, I wanna say for all of us, 443 00:27:32.945 --> 00:27:36.785 but really healing for the person who shared her story. That group was 444 00:27:36.785 --> 00:27:40.325 also, racially diverse and 445 00:27:40.385 --> 00:27:44.039 religiously diverse. And so what happened on that day, you know, we 446 00:27:44.039 --> 00:27:47.880 were not far out from the encampments on campuses last spring. 447 00:27:47.880 --> 00:27:51.720 We were in July, you know, everything's still literally on 448 00:27:51.960 --> 00:27:55.720 it is still on fire in many of our realities. Right? We 449 00:27:55.720 --> 00:27:59.345 weren't far out from all of that but in this space that was carefully 450 00:27:59.404 --> 00:28:03.245 created and tended soulfully, there was just a little more 451 00:28:03.245 --> 00:28:06.765 room made for us to show up for each other. No 452 00:28:06.765 --> 00:28:10.605 matter what we how we've been raised, right, to show up in 453 00:28:10.605 --> 00:28:14.440 that moment. There was a little more spaciousness and so that's what we wanna see 454 00:28:14.440 --> 00:28:18.200 more of happen. And we believe these deeper dives when 455 00:28:18.200 --> 00:28:21.880 people can be together for two days, sharing social 456 00:28:21.880 --> 00:28:25.500 practices, we kinda feel like that's what the world needs right now. 457 00:28:26.044 --> 00:28:29.645 That we need to be sharing across our deep 458 00:28:29.645 --> 00:28:33.025 traditions that have so much wisdom and so much ancient, 459 00:28:34.284 --> 00:28:37.804 reservoir, I mean deep wells. But how can we 460 00:28:37.804 --> 00:28:41.529 not draw only from our own, but make space to draw 461 00:28:41.529 --> 00:28:45.370 mutually from one another's and receive that beautiful flow that was 462 00:28:45.370 --> 00:28:48.970 happening in that space that day? There's one other 463 00:28:48.970 --> 00:28:51.950 thing that happened in that retreat that was similarly, 464 00:28:52.565 --> 00:28:56.325 like, a bridging moment. I'm gonna let Anna talk about that one too. 465 00:28:56.325 --> 00:28:59.684 Yeah. We we love to story tell, Ryan. So we're gonna tell you another story. 466 00:28:59.684 --> 00:29:03.445 Bring it. So this practice I love, and I know that you've 467 00:29:03.445 --> 00:29:06.905 had the incredible Tamisha Helms on your podcast 468 00:29:06.965 --> 00:29:10.580 before. They are a dear friend of ours and 469 00:29:10.580 --> 00:29:14.100 also the theologian in residence for our own deep wells. And 470 00:29:14.100 --> 00:29:17.700 Tamise, in collaboration with, the poet Nick George, 471 00:29:17.700 --> 00:29:21.140 who's also a member of our collective, created a soulful 472 00:29:21.140 --> 00:29:24.855 practice, and methodology called mixtape, rest 473 00:29:24.855 --> 00:29:28.215 mixtape. And so I won't go too much into it because folks can just listen 474 00:29:28.215 --> 00:29:31.975 to your other podcast episodes. Link in the show notes. We got it. Yeah. That's 475 00:29:31.975 --> 00:29:35.495 pretty sure. But what is so beautiful or what was so 476 00:29:35.495 --> 00:29:39.140 beautiful about this practice, at Tahoe was that you 477 00:29:39.140 --> 00:29:42.600 had two black teachers and facilitators 478 00:29:43.300 --> 00:29:46.920 talking about hip hop and the history of chattel slavery 479 00:29:47.300 --> 00:29:49.635 in The United States Of America to a room 480 00:30:00.835 --> 00:30:04.460 conversation like this. This is the first time that I've actually sat 481 00:30:04.460 --> 00:30:07.840 down and listened to the lyrics of Kendrick Lamar 482 00:30:08.300 --> 00:30:11.980 or or have been asked a question about my relationship to hip 483 00:30:11.980 --> 00:30:15.745 hop or my knowledge of hip hop. And so, you know, I've done a lot 484 00:30:15.745 --> 00:30:19.505 of inclusion and equity trainings. And I've never 485 00:30:19.505 --> 00:30:23.025 seen something as as like 486 00:30:23.025 --> 00:30:26.785 inviting in as that practice where you saw older white 487 00:30:26.785 --> 00:30:30.085 folks being invited into this conversation about our shared experience of the grief. And and 488 00:30:30.440 --> 00:30:34.120 shared experience of the grief and 489 00:30:34.120 --> 00:30:37.880 and and, like, detriments of the history of our country. And so that to 490 00:30:37.880 --> 00:30:41.720 me felt so healing and unifying and just beautiful. So, Dory, 491 00:30:41.720 --> 00:30:45.320 I don't know if I missed anything on that beautiful mix tape day, but you 492 00:30:45.320 --> 00:30:48.865 feel free to fill in. I think you got it. It reversed the commute that 493 00:30:48.865 --> 00:30:52.625 we're accustomed to making, and that is a joy to behold and be 494 00:30:52.625 --> 00:30:54.485 part of a cultural commute. 495 00:30:56.385 --> 00:31:00.100 Sounds like this is a organized event. How 496 00:31:00.100 --> 00:31:03.860 might people who are wanting to have this kind of 497 00:31:03.860 --> 00:31:07.240 sharing or listening experience, how might you imagine they 498 00:31:07.460 --> 00:31:11.059 initiate something like this organically? I'll take that one because 499 00:31:11.539 --> 00:31:15.345 Cool. I mean, obviously, our own deep wells, we are here for everyone. You can 500 00:31:15.424 --> 00:31:19.044 we always share resources. We want folks to get connected with us because 501 00:31:19.424 --> 00:31:23.184 our collective of practitioners and facilitators feel 502 00:31:23.184 --> 00:31:26.910 really passionate about making sure that people know that they can do 503 00:31:26.910 --> 00:31:30.270 this too. Like, they I think people just need a little bit of 504 00:31:30.270 --> 00:31:34.030 invitation to say, you've been you know, I'm thinking about my sister. I I 505 00:31:34.030 --> 00:31:37.725 told her that I'm a part of a really active women's circle where we meet 506 00:31:37.725 --> 00:31:41.565 monthly and, have been supporting each other for four years. She 507 00:31:41.565 --> 00:31:45.405 came to one of our retreats and now she's hosting her own women's circle, 508 00:31:45.405 --> 00:31:49.085 you know? So I think sometimes people just need to see it and 509 00:31:49.085 --> 00:31:52.830 need to be invited to say you are a soulful 510 00:31:52.890 --> 00:31:56.030 human being. It doesn't take having a master of divinity 511 00:31:56.650 --> 00:32:00.169 or being an ordained minister or having invested 512 00:32:00.169 --> 00:32:03.770 thousands of dollars in a spiritual education. Like, 513 00:32:03.770 --> 00:32:07.205 people we we are human beings with so much wisdom. And 514 00:32:07.205 --> 00:32:10.965 so I would say to anyone listening, has this sparked any 515 00:32:10.965 --> 00:32:14.565 ideas for you of maybe a deeper way that you wanna connect with your 516 00:32:14.565 --> 00:32:18.390 neighbor or your friend or your partner? And if you need a thought 517 00:32:18.390 --> 00:32:21.910 partner, please contact us. We would love to talk to you, but I just think 518 00:32:21.910 --> 00:32:25.590 people need permission to tap into the beautiful wisdom that's already in 519 00:32:25.590 --> 00:32:28.950 them. Start really small. So, yeah, we have, the Live to Tell podcast, and the 520 00:32:28.950 --> 00:32:32.455 book, cast, and the book, Girlfriend 521 00:32:32.515 --> 00:32:36.355 Theology, which describe that deep deep dive method. But there 522 00:32:36.355 --> 00:32:40.195 are so many little easy ways. I'll tell a quick story. My daughter who lives 523 00:32:40.195 --> 00:32:43.875 in LA, she's in her late twenties and was invited to a 524 00:32:43.875 --> 00:32:47.390 birthday brunch the other day and you know everybody's around in their own little 525 00:32:47.390 --> 00:32:51.230 separate conversations and she dings the glass and says, hey, let's 526 00:32:51.230 --> 00:32:54.670 all tell a story about how we know Desi and why we love her. And 527 00:32:54.670 --> 00:32:57.790 all of a sudden, I mean, you know, this is Priya Parker magic. Right? All 528 00:32:57.790 --> 00:33:01.545 of a sudden, it's changed from a place where we all go away 529 00:33:01.605 --> 00:33:05.205 with our own private conversations to this moment 530 00:33:05.205 --> 00:33:08.585 where we open our hearts and got a little bit 531 00:33:08.965 --> 00:33:12.485 got a little roomier in there. And and we got to 532 00:33:12.485 --> 00:33:15.900 celebrate Desi and our love, in a 533 00:33:15.900 --> 00:33:19.200 more collective, communal, inclusive 534 00:33:19.260 --> 00:33:23.020 way. So this is not rocket science. Humans have always known 535 00:33:23.020 --> 00:33:26.700 how to do it. It just takes giving people a little bit 536 00:33:26.700 --> 00:33:30.495 of, confidence and the nudge. Like, the 537 00:33:30.575 --> 00:33:34.255 nudge is our best gift. Right? Mhmm. I'm gonna 538 00:33:34.255 --> 00:33:38.015 share, Anna had, mentioned earlier mantras. I'm gonna share 539 00:33:38.015 --> 00:33:41.795 one other little practice that's just so easy. It's just such an easy on ramp. 540 00:33:42.655 --> 00:33:46.390 You know, find something that is gonna happen all 541 00:33:46.390 --> 00:33:50.150 through your day. Whether that's when you drink water or when you water 542 00:33:50.150 --> 00:33:53.990 in or water out or when you see a bird. I have a 543 00:33:53.990 --> 00:33:57.750 mantra. When I see a bird, I say to myself, birds make 544 00:33:57.750 --> 00:34:01.414 me happy. And guess what? In that moment of shining a little 545 00:34:01.414 --> 00:34:05.015 spotlight and being reminded that birds make me happy, I'm a 546 00:34:05.015 --> 00:34:08.455 little happier. I'm a little less tied up. I'm a little 547 00:34:08.455 --> 00:34:12.295 less, closed and concerned about whatever it was 548 00:34:12.295 --> 00:34:15.750 that was bothering me. Be that in my personal life or be that in the 549 00:34:15.750 --> 00:34:19.430 world as we, you know, as we see it unraveling before 550 00:34:19.430 --> 00:34:23.270 us. So yeah. I love that. I call it tiny arrows 551 00:34:23.270 --> 00:34:26.655 of love, but just figure out what your arrow is. It's tied to 552 00:34:26.815 --> 00:34:30.655 ancient Christian practice of target prayers where people 553 00:34:30.655 --> 00:34:34.175 would pray the Jesus prayer if they woke up anxious in the middle of the 554 00:34:34.175 --> 00:34:37.935 night. Lord in your mercy hear my prayer. It 555 00:34:37.935 --> 00:34:41.775 can be as simple as that or as creative as, as you 556 00:34:41.775 --> 00:34:45.059 want it to be with whatever it is that makes you happy or that slows 557 00:34:45.059 --> 00:34:48.500 you down. We have a practice called May You Never Thirst that we do 558 00:34:48.500 --> 00:34:52.260 collectively when we fill our water bottles in the morning at a 559 00:34:52.260 --> 00:34:55.875 retreat or as we sit down to dinner. We share with one another 560 00:34:55.875 --> 00:34:59.555 reflection on the gift of clean fresh water and how lucky we 561 00:34:59.555 --> 00:35:02.775 are to be receiving it. We turn that into a soulful practice. 562 00:35:04.835 --> 00:35:08.295 Thanks for listing those, Dory. That makes me just wanna drop, 563 00:35:09.369 --> 00:35:13.050 drop one or a question that I've been sitting with. And I think, Ryan, 564 00:35:13.050 --> 00:35:15.869 this kinda ties up our work in general. 565 00:35:17.610 --> 00:35:21.195 Is you know, I live in DC. I'm a young adult in my late twenties. 566 00:35:21.995 --> 00:35:24.955 I spend time with a lot of young adults who are just trying to figure 567 00:35:24.955 --> 00:35:28.635 it out. Like, we're trying to figure out what we wanna do in the world, 568 00:35:28.635 --> 00:35:32.475 what our world is gonna look like. And the question that I'm sitting 569 00:35:32.475 --> 00:35:36.060 with that I wanna invite people into through the work that we're doing at our 570 00:35:36.060 --> 00:35:39.820 own deep wells is asking, who are you? Like, who are 571 00:35:39.820 --> 00:35:43.660 you? Not what do you do? You know, what's your 572 00:35:43.660 --> 00:35:47.500 dream job, but who are you? And I think if we can all 573 00:35:47.500 --> 00:35:50.915 help each other to answer that question or even 574 00:35:50.915 --> 00:35:54.755 just show curiosity by saying, like, hey. Who are you? We would 575 00:35:54.755 --> 00:35:58.375 have a much more beautiful, safe, 576 00:35:58.995 --> 00:36:02.810 and flourishing world. That's a great that's great, Anna. 577 00:36:02.810 --> 00:36:05.850 Someone actually asked me that at the end of the funeral the other day. They 578 00:36:05.850 --> 00:36:08.890 they came up to me and said, who are you? And it was such a 579 00:36:08.890 --> 00:36:12.250 beautiful question to be asked. So thank you for 580 00:36:12.250 --> 00:36:15.865 underlining that. And for 581 00:36:15.865 --> 00:36:19.705 wrapping us up so well. We've talked about the on ramps that people might find 582 00:36:19.705 --> 00:36:23.465 into some of these soulful practices. On ramp to 583 00:36:23.465 --> 00:36:27.145 get to know more about what Anna and Dory are up 584 00:36:27.145 --> 00:36:30.330 to would be the our own Deep Wells website. Correct? Mhmm. 585 00:36:31.110 --> 00:36:34.810 Check us out on Instagram too. We're always sharing fun content. 586 00:36:34.950 --> 00:36:38.790 And, yeah, subscribe to our newsletter. Cool. And, Anna, you had mentioned 587 00:36:38.790 --> 00:36:42.575 having a podcast. You wanna drop the name of that podcast? Yeah. So 588 00:36:42.575 --> 00:36:46.015 I've been I've been supporting two friends who are putting out a podcast called the 589 00:36:46.015 --> 00:36:49.535 Soulful Parenting and Caregiving podcast, and I will 590 00:36:49.535 --> 00:36:52.974 also plug an incredible podcast that Dory and our friend 591 00:36:52.974 --> 00:36:56.650 Alejandra Salemi are co hosting called the Live to 592 00:36:56.650 --> 00:37:00.030 Tell podcast, and you can find both of these on Spotify. 593 00:37:00.650 --> 00:37:04.330 Alright. To explore more practices and resources or connect 594 00:37:04.330 --> 00:37:08.090 with practitioners, visit the our own deep wells 595 00:37:08.090 --> 00:37:11.485 website and discover ways to nurture soulful 596 00:37:11.545 --> 00:37:15.385 connection in every part of your life. If you'd like to dive deeper 597 00:37:15.385 --> 00:37:18.905 into anything that we've talked about or explore more episodes, be sure to 598 00:37:18.905 --> 00:37:20.505 visit our website at 599 00:37:20.505 --> 00:37:24.320 umc.org/compass. You'll 600 00:37:24.320 --> 00:37:28.160 find episode notes, resources, and a growing library of 601 00:37:28.160 --> 00:37:31.920 conversations just as meaningful as this one. We're grateful to the 602 00:37:31.920 --> 00:37:35.380 team at United Methodist Communications for making this podcast possible 603 00:37:35.675 --> 00:37:39.275 and helping us bring these important stories to you. If you 604 00:37:39.275 --> 00:37:43.115 haven't already, please take a moment to subscribe to Compass wherever you get 605 00:37:43.115 --> 00:37:46.494 your podcast. And if you found something meaningful here today, 606 00:37:46.635 --> 00:37:50.474 we'd really appreciate it if you rated and reviewed the show. It 607 00:37:50.474 --> 00:37:54.100 helps others find us and be a part of the conversation too. 608 00:37:54.100 --> 00:37:57.640 Thanks for listening, and we'll see you next time. Peace.