Desert Voices: Critical Thinking to Cultivate Well-Being – Details, episodes & analysis

This newest episode from Desert Voices tackles some deep and intense subjects, blending education, critical thinking, and spirituality. Hosted by Shaleen Kendrick, a culture coach, mystic, and theologian, the episode explores human nature, communication skills, and spiritual grounding with a focus on integrative living to flourish in all areas of life.

Shaleen and abolitionist educator Jill Elizabeth weave personal experiences and professional insights into a powerful narrative that calls for persistence in seeking justice and peace. They hope to inspire and encourage listeners to see and act with compassion and strength.

The conversation delves into current socio-political issues, including the war on Palestine and the psychological effects of labeling atrocities. It examines the neurological and physiological responses to trauma, both firsthand and secondhand, and discusses how these responses influence our ability to engage with and understand global events.

The episode challenges listeners to bear witness to the suffering and complexities of the world while maintaining well-being through self-regulation and critical thinking. It brings to light the importance of empathy and justice, themes that resonate deeply with social activism and theological inquiry. 

Listeners are encouraged to engage with the content, reflecting on how their own nervous systems react to the world's struggles and learning how to manage these reactions constructively. The podcast, fitting for those interested in deep, spiritual conversations about humanity, aims to provoke thought and action toward social change and growth.

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Dive deep into the heart of critical thinking with the latest episode of the Desert Voices podcast, where we untangle the complex web of human nature, communication, and spirituality to cultivate well-being. 

Join Jill, a gifted abolitionist educator, and Shaleen, a passionate culture coach and theologian, as they explore the continued and pressing issue of the Israel-Gaza war through the lens of critical analysis and empathetic solidarity.

 This episode helps us define and better understand the criteria for genocide with a focus on the recent charges against Israel but also invites listeners into a profound reflection on our collective responsibility towards global crises. Through candid conversations, personal insights, and a compelling call to action, we're challenged to confront our perceptions and engage in meaningful dialogue. Tune in to be inspired, educated, and transformed as we journey together towards integrative living and flourishing communities. Don't miss this powerful exploration of empathy, justice, and the human spirit on Desert Voices.

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 In this episode, we are here with my great friend, Josh Perez. Josh is the creative magic that happens on this show. 

And Josh is a true creative similar to the powerful Enneagram four energy; he thinks circularly about narrative and in stories, and he basically takes all of the chaos that I throw out and creates an arc to every episode that we have. 

Basically, I often lean in from the left brain, and Josh pulls from the right brain...together we hope to help us all better integrate and become more whole.

So if you have been enjoying the Desert Voices podcast, the creative genius behind the mic is Josh. I am grateful for who Josh is and the tender power he brings to the show. He is a great friend and brilliant creator. 

He is also an incredible theologian in his own right. I cannot wait for you all to experience the man, the myth, the magic that is Just Josh Perez.

https://justjoshperez.com/

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PART 2 Continues the conversation on "Egalitarianism" & "Complementarianism."

What odd, funny words!

These weird words seem benign and archaic. They are mainly used in church settings as background words that we overhear but don't pay much attention to. Why should we care about fancy words that don't mean much to us?

Rhetoric is used to persuade us. WORDS MATTER!

So, what is "complementarianism," and what kind of life and culture does it persuade us to create? Same with "egalitarianism"? 

Are they both Godly similar concepts, just different as we have been convinced?

Is "complementarianism" or "soft-complementarianism," as many churches claim to be, a kind, Godly and harmless way of living?

Join Riley Powell, one of Desert Voices' favorite theologians, as we unpack the meanings and impact these words have on our lives and Amerian culture.

PART 2

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"Egalitarianism" & "Complementarianism" - What odd, funny words!

These big weird words seem benign and archaic. They are mainly used in church settings as background words that we overhear but don't pay much attention to. Why should we care about fancy words that don't mean much to us?

Rhetoric is used to persuade us. WORDS MATTER!

So, what is "complementarianism," and what kind of life and culture does it persuade us to create? Same with "egalitarianism"? 

Are they both Godly similar concepts, just different as we have been convinced?

Is "complementarianism" or "soft-complementarianism," as many churches claim to be, a kind, Godly and harmless way of living?

Join Riley Powell, one of Desert Voices' favorite theologians, as we unpack the meanings and impact these words have on our lives and Amerian culture.

PART 1

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Rightly so, abortion is one of the most complex and critical ethical issues of our day. Uncertain how to competently engage the topic, I buried my head in the sand for too long, claiming, "I don't do politics."

What a fool I have been.

Learn alongside us and dig into "The Real Origins of the Religious Right: They'll tell you it was abortion. Sorry, the historical record's clear: It was segregation." (By Dr. Balmer)

It's sobering to realize I have been part of the problem and hopeful to discover I am also part of the solution to human flourishing.

In this episode, we are joined by a close seminary friend, Rev Anne Garner, whose work over the last two decades has been defined by hospitality, justice, and radical love.

Anne grounds this complicated conversation in love for all humankind as we examine political origin stories and their impact today.

PRIMARY SOURCES FOR THIS EPISODE:
American Historians & Professors, The Rev. Dr. Randall Balmer & Dr. Kristin Kobes Du Mez

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We end every episode by saying, we reserve the right to change our minds, make mistakes, and continue to evolve.

And so, reserving the right to make mistakes is what this episode is about. Shaleen has made a mistake publicly and she wanted to share it publicly. This is part 2 of the conversation between Shaleen and Kerry about Kerry calling Shaleen out on a public mistake on this public podcast. It is centered around this public mistake and explores the uses of calling in and out.

We will continue to strive to grow, evolve, and correct the mistakes that are bound to be made. Please keep calling us out and calling us in on this journey. Thank you for listening.

Kerry's website: https://www.kerryconnelly.com/
Kerry's book: Good White Racist? Confronting Your Role in Racial Injustice
Kerry's book: Wait - Is This Racist?: A Guide to Becoming an Anti-racist Church

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We end every episode by saying, we reserve the right to change our minds, make mistakes, and continue to evolve.

And so, reserving the right to make mistakes is what this episode is about. Shaleen has made a mistake publicly and she wanted to share it publicly. In this episode, Shaleen has invited Kerry Connelly to call her out on a public mistake on this public podcast. This conversation is centered around this public mistake and exploring the uses of calling in and out.

We will continue to strive to grow, evolve, and correct the mistakes that are bound to be made. Please keep calling us out and calling us in on this journey. Thank you for listening.

Kerry's website: https://www.kerryconnelly.com/
Kerry's book: Good White Racist? Confronting Your Role in Racial Injustice
Kerry's book: Wait - Is This Racist?: A Guide to Becoming an Anti-racist Church

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This episode continues the work of the Feminist Education Series by offering personal stories and experiences. After an overwhelming engagement from our community in What is Feminist Spirituality? with Cara Johnson Parts 1 & 2, Cara was asked to dive deeper into sharing her life stories. She kindly answers the invitation with courage, vulnerability, and authenticity.

This episode is a BONUS addition to the Feminist Education Series and is focused on Cara's experiences with patriarchy and offers her life-giving, liberatory, and transformational adventures with feminist spirituality.

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In this series, Cara Johnson and I (Shaleen Kendrick) explore what feminist spirituality might look like.

Told through intimate life experiences, we discuss how feminism is inherently intertwined with our spirituality. We define terms, teach theory, and specifically in this episode tell stories.

Cara and I share our personal experiences and name the pain of growing up within a fundamentalist evangelical community led by Wayne Grudem's scholarship, which is rooted in misogyny. It is a framework where patriarchy is taught as holy and a woman's desire to be seen, celebrated, and treated equitably is an “ungodly” slippery slop into evil and rebelliousness.

These episodes are rooted in bell hook's wisdom, “true resistance begins with people confronting pain, whether it’s theirs or somebody else’s, and wanting to do something to change it…Pain as a catalyst for change, for working to change.”

We participate in this process as communal healing, hoping to be change agents, disrupt systems of dominance, and cast a new vision for our collective daughters and granddaughters.

“What are the words you do not yet have? What do you need to say? What are the tyrannies you swallow day by day and attempt to make your own, until you will sicken and die of them, still in silence? My silences had not protected me. Your silence will not protect you.” - Audre Lorde

PART 2

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