Words From Silence: A Contemplative Podcast – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Today’s episode features my good friend Aaron Manes, who is a spiritual director and Enneagram practitioner in the Dallas area. I’m excited to share this conversation about the somatic Enneagram: what it is, how it leads to a more embodied experience of the Enneagram, and a little about the different energies of the head, heart, and gut centers of intelligence. This is packed full of good information on a really helpful new modality.

More about Aaron… Aaron Manes (he/him) is a trained spiritual director, a certified Somatic Enneagram faculty member with Marion Gilbert and an inner work healing practitioner. He is the co-host of The Somatic Enneagram Podcast. He creates and holds space as a companion, guide and facilitator for people willing to do the hard and brave work of finding their selves in the world. Aaron’s current projects also include bringing to life “Creativa” which is community-making expression for public spiritual work.

I’m delighted to share this interview with certified leadership coach, consultant, and author Tracey Gee! You’ll want to hear this insightful conversation about her book, The Magic of Knowing What You Want: A Practical Guide to Unearthing the Wisdom of Your Desires.

One of the questions I ask people in spiritual direction that often seems to catch them off guard is, “What do you want?” Depending on our social location and culture, many of us have been taught that our desires are irrelevant, untrustworthy, selfish, wrong, or even evil. However, to be human is to have desires, and often surface-level desires point to deeper needs that are valid and important. Getting in touch with our desires allows us room to access and name our needs, which then gives us more agency in determining how we want those needs to be met in ways that align with our values and lived reality instead of letting them subconsciously run the show.

Naming our desires can be difficult when we have been socialized not to prioritize knowing and naming what we want. Tracey Gee’s book, The Magic of Knowing What You Want, provides a practical guide for how to begin.

More about Tracey… Tracey Gee is a certified leadership coach and consultant dedicated to guiding individuals toward transformative self-awareness and meaningful personal and professional growth. As an author, Tracey draws insight from her extensive experience across workshops, speaking engagements, and personalized coaching sessions. She is also a certified facilitator in four frameworks—Gallup CliftonStrengths, Working Genius, Enneagram, and Cultural Intelligence. Her diverse clientele includes UC Berkeley, Firm Foundation, AltaMed, Nomi Network, and the Miami Heat. Tracey is originally from the Bay Area of California and now lives in Los Angeles with her husband, children, and dog, Kona. She loves coffee shops and every dog she's ever met. You can find her online at: https://traceygee.me

I’m excited to share episode 8 of Words From Silence! Today’s episode is with Natalie Grace Drew, who joined me for a conversation about nonviolence. Natalie is passionate about this topic as it is deeply personal to her. She served in the infantry before she began the healing process of practicing nonviolence toward others and eventually, toward herself. Nonviolence helped pave the way for her to transition and begin to love her authentic self.

Natalie is a wife and mother to two amazing teens in Grand Rapids, MI. The most important thing to know about Natalie is the centrality of her Christian faith in her life. When she's not at church or watching Texas Rangers baseball or Doctor Who, she works as the Director of Human Resources for a public sector entity in west Michigan. She also serves on the Board of Directors for RAWtools, an organization dedicated to nonviolence, and on the OutPro Council with the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce. She began her career in HR following six years as an infantryman in the U.S. Army, but her true passion can be found in advocating for nonviolence. You can find Natalie on X @natgrace79

I also want to add that a book that was helpful to me is Walter Wink’s Jesus and Nonviolence: A Third Way, for anyone who is interested in reading more on this topic.

As always, I’d love to hear from you! What does nonviolence toward yourself mean to you? How might that affect your peacemaking efforts with others and in the world at large?

I’m grateful to introduce my friend Malinda Fugate to you in this author interview for episode 7 of Words From Silence! We got to talk about her new book, Stories from the Sidelines, in which she shares imaginative retellings of the stories of lesser-known people from the Bible and explores how these sidelines stories can speak to us today.

A little more about Malinda… When she isn’t writing, Malinda serves full time as the Children’s Education Director at a church in Southern California. She earned a communications degree with a theatre emphasis and has worked behind the scenes for Christian radio stations in Los Angeles. 

Her writing includes the books Stories from the Sidelines and The Other Three Sixteens, published by Ambassador International, and the self-published activity-filled devotional, Bible Time for Active Kids. Additionally, she has been a commercial copywriter and written various faith-based stage plays. She also co-produced "A Single Girls Guide To", a lifestyle blog and web series. 

Malinda lives by the beach with her pup, Yoshi, where she often creates art, reads, or explores the many adventures to be found in her neighborhood and beyond. You can find Malinda online here or on Substack here.

As always, we would love for you to listen and let us know what thoughts this conversation sparked for you!

Whether you find yourself in a period of being in the spotlight or in the shadows of the sidelines, may you experience a felt sense of your unconditional belovedness, worth, and belonging.

Be well, friends.

Episode 6 of Words From Silence is live! In today’s episode, Andrea Holme shares part of her sacred story of healing after divorce. We discuss ideas for how individuals and faith communities can love and support divorced folks and single parents well.

Andrea is the mom of two young adults who keep her cool-adjacent. Avidly indoorsy, in her off hours she can be found crafting with words or yarn. She believes that "real" life happens in the middle of our waiting, and she writes to remind herself and her friends and readers that every day contains beauty and hope is God's most gracious gift. If hope feels too heavy, she'll happily hold it for you until you're ready to take a turn.

You can find Andrea on Substack here and on Instagram here.

If you have thoughts you’d like to share about today’s episode, including stories of how others have loved and supported you amidst divorce and/or single parenting, we’d love to hear from you!

Thank you for listening as we strive to co-create a more just, joyous, and compassionate world.

May you have an increased awareness of the Holy in yourself and in the people you meet.

Be well, friends.

I’m excited to share episode 5 of Words From Silence with you! I had the privilege of talking with spiritual director Adam Shields about discernment: what it is, what it’s not, and how our ability to discern well can be impacted by things like cultural bias and trauma. Adam has spent about the past year reading and studying this topic, so I’m grateful for the opportunity to benefit from his extensive, ongoing study as well as his lived experience.

Some of the books referenced in our conversation include:

* It Seemed Good to the Holy Spirit and to Us: Acts, Discernment, and the Mission of God by Mark Love

* The Way of Discernment: Spiritual Practices for Decision Making by Elizabeth Liebert

* Trauma in the Pews: The Impact on Faith and Spiritual Practices by Janyne McConnaughey

Adam asked me to share the document he has created with notes on what he has learned about discernment thus far. He continues updating it as he continues his study. You can find it here.

You can follow Adam’s book reviews here.

To contact Adam with spiritual direction inquiries, click here.

You can listen to today’s episode on Substack, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts. We would love to hear from you!

May you experience the sense of peace that accompanies the assurance of your unconditional belovedness.

Be well, friends.

Today's guest is author and spiritual companion Lisa Colón DeLay. Lisa is a Puerto Rican-born author, broadcaster, teacher, and spiritual companion who centers her projects on spiritual formation. She is the host of the weekly Spark My Muse podcast, which began in 2014. She is the author of The Wild Land Within: Cultivating Wholeness through Spiritual Practice, as well as an upcoming book on the Christian spirituality, wisdom, and the lives of the Desert Fathers and Mothers in the Desert Era (roughly 300-600 CE). You can find Lisa's work at https://lisadelay.com/blog/

This week’s podcast episode is an Introduction to Contemplative Practices: Grounding in Times of Stress with my friend Andrew Bowles. Andrew and I met through an Enneagram cohort, and he is a soon-to-be certified Enneagram teacher as well as a hospital chaplain.

This episode provides an introduction to contemplative practices— what they are, why we do them, and how we can get started. We discuss how contemplative practices help us to remain present to ourselves and others as well as how they can help ground us during times of stress. We explore this topic for folks in general and then talk about what it looks like for Andrew as an Enneagram 9 and for me as an Enneagram 6.

Some of the specific practices we discuss include:

* centering prayer

* walking the labyrinth

* visio divina

* Welcoming prayer

You can read more about each practice by clicking on the links above. Folks who are interested in scheduling a free Enneagram typing interview with Andrew can do so at the link here.

The authors Andrew recommended are Morgan Harper Nichols (poetry), Gerald May (Dark Night of the Soul), and Barbara Brown Taylor.

Leave a comment and let us know your thoughts. What practices have you been drawn to in the past or are you interested in exploring?

Today's guest is my dear friend Kim Verriere. Kim is a trained spiritual director and is the founder of Greater Love Collective. In this episode, we talked about the purpose of rituals, the journey of transformation, 4 female archetypes, and the sacred feminine. We also talked about my unusual 40th birthday ceremony that Kim facilitated.

You can find Kim on Instagram @kimvspiritualdirector , Facebook at Kim Verriere, Spiritual Director, or connect via email: kim@greaterlovecollective.org

The books Kim mentioned are:

Women Who Run With the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estés

Hagitude: Reimagining the Second Half of Life by Sharon Blackie

Making Sense of Menopause by Susan Willson

If Women Rose Rooted: The Power of the Celtic Woman by Sharon Black

Welcome to Words From Silence, a contemplative podcast with Lindsay O'Connor. Today's episode is an introduction to the podcast, Lindsay, and the idea of contemplative activism. To share comments, questions, or ideas for podcast topics or guests, head over to Lindsay's Substack and send a message!