Explore every episode of the podcast GRACEPILLED with Hanna Williams
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| our gifts are God's permission slips [w/ Sevan Mercy] | 24 Mar 2025 | 01:37:24 | |
Connect with Sevan here: www.instagram.com/starryserpent Here's their devotional song they told us about: https://pleasurethief.bandcamp.com/album/cthonios -- Connect with me, Hanna, your host: | |||
| START HERE [to embark on your quest] | 24 Mar 2025 | 00:11:17 | |
Connect with me, Hanna, your host: | |||
| turning paintings into talismans [w/ Amelia Passer] | 10 Apr 2025 | 01:54:00 | |
Connect with me, Hanna, your host: Connect with Amelia, our guest: - Today, I’m joined by Amelia—multidisciplinary artist, astrologer, and traveler, rooted in mythos, beauty, and deep curiosity. She creates as a form of devotion, drawing inspiration from ritual, magic, and alchemy. Her work blends oil painting with electional astrology to produce talismanic pieces that are both stunning and spellbinding. With a background in studio art and religious studies, Amelia brings thoughtful attention to both craft and mysticism—her art lives in that liminal space between knowing and wondering. And right now, she’s channeling all of that into The Astro Magician’s Tarot—a deck four years in the making that weaves together astrology, mythos, Hermeticism, and Kabbalah. It’s live on Kickstarter, and it’s not just gorgeous—it’s potent. Let’s get into it. | |||
| pain is trying to wake you up [w/ Rami Abu-Sitta] | 03 Apr 2025 | 02:16:50 | |
Connect with Rami: Connect with me, Hanna, your host: | |||
| we are all orbs of light [w/ Emilia Fart] | 27 Mar 2025 | 01:40:02 | |
Connect with Emilia here: - Connect with me, Hanna, your host: | |||
| [YAPCAST] Monica & Hanna yap about "the inner child" | 17 Apr 2025 | 01:51:28 | |
Connect with me, Hanna, your host: Connect with Monica Alanna --
How can I explain monica? she’s like if an artist, poet, and visionary thinker had the integrity of a saint. she’s funny, witty, and deeply deeply curious and compassionate. in fact, she’s like, ten times more curious and compassionate than me. so, monica and i are the same person. and yet… i don’t want to minimize her by talking about our similarities. she in her own individual being… she’s a multi media artist, a writer, a grief and conflict mentor, and a somatic teacher. she helps people make sense of life’s messiest moments. she roots everything she does in her peace education, her emphasis on transformative conflict, and restorative justice. she brings emotional depth and practicality into her world, helping people to communicate better, mend what’s been broken, and move through change with intention. she’s a coach and founder of Rooted Relating and also the voice behind Salt & Quill, where she explores the alchemy of healing, storytelling, and self expression. She is quite literally known as a sense maker, a poet in motion, and the one who will gently — but firmly — encourage you to run straight towards the hard shit. So of course, we are in GOOD company. Now, here’s some context for this conversation. We recorded this late 2024 just weeks before Monica broke her LEG. she slipped and fell and BROKE HER LEG last year which has been wildly painful AND transformative. that channel of struggle simply won’t let up. so, our NEXT yapcast is actually going to be about her broken leg. so it’s interesting to hear her speaking on the cusp of this major life shift. | |||
| I want to live, I want to live, I WANT TO LIVE [w/ Erina Wells] | 24 Apr 2025 | 01:45:38 | |
Connect with me, Hanna, your host: Connect with Erina, our guest:
But let’s talk about Erina. Erina’s life has been an unfolding through the kind of darkness that strips everything away. In the midst of it all, a series of divine encounters shifted her path, revealing the divinity within her. Through a process of surrender, curiosity and sincerity she stopped resisting and started seeing, understanding. Now, she moves with life as a dance, finding rhythm in the ebb and flow, and strength in the stillness between. And through all of it, she’s become a powerful healer and practitioner, utilizing several modalities—Quantum Touch, sound therapy with tuning forks, aromatherapy, and yin yoga. But more than anything, by merely being herself she offers us a way of being: rooted, honest, and deeply attuned to what’s true. Let’s get into it. | |||
| the nondual heart of Christianity [w/ Jory Pryor] | 01 May 2025 | 01:45:53 | |
Connect with Jory, our guest:
Today, I’m joined by Jory Pryor—inter-spiritual scholar-practitioner rooted in Advaita Vedanta and shakta tantra, with a background in the Christian tradition and a deep appreciation for global expressions of non-duality. As the host of the Methods of Contemplation podcast, Jory engages in thoughtful dialogues exploring diverse spiritual paths and contemplative practices. He’s also the author of Becoming All Light: The Non-Dual Heart of Christianity, inviting readers to awaken to their true, luminous nature. I’ve often sent my own students to Jory whenever they’ve expressed an interest in returning to Christianity after exploring tantra with me. I can think of no better guide! This conversation was especially fun for me because it’s not often I get to talk with someone who has experienced the guru / disciple relationship in a similar way to me! So, let’s get right into it. | |||
| "good vibes only" is state propaganda [w/ Meredith Graves] | 08 May 2025 | 01:43:43 | |
Connect with me, Hanna, your host: Connect with Meredith, our guest: -- Today, I’m joined by Meredith Graves—musician, writer, and lifelong student of not only magic and all things western esotericism, but a deep devotee of awe and wonder. Known for her fierce presence in punk music and independent media, Meredith’s life has always been centered around her spirituality — like a nymph leaping from one career to another, it’s not about her role in the world. It’s about the way she engages with life, what she courts in all of her actions. A true, esoteric householder, if you ask me. As a dedicated magician, she weaves together art, ritual, history, and the hidden currents of the mystical traditions that penetrate every aspect of our lives. Like, no joke. Western civilization is quite literally a magical working. Now, Meredith is the epitome of a one line in human design, an encyclopedia of occult knowledge. We always have so much fun talking to each other — and so, this episode is actually part two because the first interview ended up getting published on my patreon. That one is a bit more biographical if you want to hear more about Meredith’s story. This one is a bit more like two nerds bouncing ideas off of each other for like two hours. So buckle up! Let’s dive in. | |||
| the Goddess chose to be YOU [w/ Nataraj Chaitanya] | 15 May 2025 | 01:50:36 | |
Connect with my guest, Nataraj: Connect with me, Hanna, your host: - Today, I’m joined by Nataraj Chaitanya—a seasoned yogi, philosopher, and teacher with over two decades of experience in classical Tantra, Mantra, Bhakti, and Yoga philosophy. Beginning his meditation and yoga practice at the age of 13, Nataraj has dedicated his life to sharing his embodiment of the transformative teachings of tantra, leading retreats, workshops, and teacher training programs worldwide. Now, as you’ll hear, Nataraj is my spiritual brother. We share a lineage — both of our gurus were disciples of Swami Muktananda, so we both have been influenced quite strongly by the flavor of his unique transmission. In future episodes, we want to speak more about the guru disciple relationship and how interesting and transformative it can be to hold a teacher in both their holiness and their humanity. But for now, we can all be blessed by the nectar of Nataraj’s presence. Sometimes when I speak with him my mind goes completely blank — but in a blissful way. I only ever have this experience with my own guru. So, that’s just to say that the Grace he radiates is not only palpable, but poppin. Enjoy! | |||
| [YAPCAST] why is it SO HARD to receive love & support !? | 22 May 2025 | 01:49:34 | |
SIGN UP FOR RUN TOWARDS THE HARDSH*T Connect with Monica Alanna What happens when everything goes wrong — not metaphorically, but physically, viscerally, unavoidably wrong? In this episode, I sat down with Monica to talk about the night she shattered her leg on a sheet of ice… and the months of healing, surrender, and unexpected grace that followed. But this isn’t just a story about a medical emergency. It’s about what it means to truly need help. What it feels like to slow down when our culture demands speed. What communal care actually looks like — not the fantasy of “the village” many of us pine to return to, but the messy, beautiful, real thing. What the village will actually be like. We talk chronic illness, advocating for yourself in a broken healthcare system, receiving love when you're used to giving it, and the weird, tender tension of being both grossed out and grateful at the same time. This conversation is funny, raw, and deeply human. Content warning for medical details — some of the things discussed are a bit… body horror… but if you’ve ever felt like your body or life betrayed you, or wondered how to keep showing up for others and yourself, this one’s for you. We cover:
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| avoiding spiritual indigestion [w/ Bob Peck] | 29 May 2025 | 01:54:17 | |
Connect with Bob, our guest: Today, I’m joined by Bob Peck—author, award-winning filmmaker, mystic, and, dare I say, spiritual comedian. Fascinated by spirituality and philosophy from a young age, Bob has approached the spiritual path like a true connoisseur of the vast wisdom smorgasbord that is world religion. His deep knowledge of many traditions makes him a grounded and insightful guide, as he has demonstrated in his book Original Sin Is a Lie. With a warm heart, Bob invites us to explore the territory beyond dogma and uncover our true selves. Let’s get into it. | |||
| everything happens FOR you [w/ Dr. Rev. Solstice] | 05 Jun 2025 | 01:59:17 | |
Connect with Dr. Rev. Solstice, our guest: Connect with me, Hanna, your host: Today I’m sharing a conversation with someone I’ve really been looking forward to talking to—Dr. Rev. Solstice of the Anahata Lineage. He’s a spiritual counselor and speaker on behalf of the Most High, and what I love about this convo is how much ground we cover. We talk about his journey from childhood Christianity to militant atheism to Buddhist study to the kind of grounded, love-soaked, non-dual mysticism he lives and teaches now. He shares some beautiful re-interpretations of scripture, including what it really means to “love your Judas,” — which syncs up nicely with the philosophy of Grace in my tradition — and finally, we also get into the trap of being “anti”—how sometimes resistance just recycles the very energy we’re trying to move beyond. You can find Solstice and his talks on YouTube, follow him on Instagram, and book him for talks, workshops, one-on-one counseling, or guided meditation. His book Black Gītā is out now and you can also stream his music wherever you listen. We cover:
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| your practice IS your teacher [w/ Aidan Wachter] | 12 Jun 2025 | 01:48:26 | |
Connect with our guest, Aidan: Aidan Wachter is a self-described “mongrel animist” and magical practitioner whose path has been shaped less by systems and more by direct experience, dirt, string, and a willingness to listen deeply to the spirits that walk with him. In this conversation, Aidan shares how punk rock led him to magic, how a major breakdown clarified his role as a teacher and healer (even if those titles make him cringe), and why the tools we already have might be more than enough. We talk about animism, autonomy, spiritual hoarding, ancestor complications, embodied spirit work, and the dangers of trying to fix spiritual problems with material logic. If you’ve ever felt allergic to orthodoxy but deeply drawn to the unseen, you’re going to love this one. We cover:
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| from Christianity to Christ Consciousness [w/ John Rainey] | 19 Jun 2025 | 01:57:16 | |
Connect with me, Hanna, your host: Connect with John, our guest: Today, I’m joined by John Rainey—author, seeker, and explorer of unity consciousness. Once a devoted Christian, working as a youth pastor, his search for deeper truth led him beyond the walls of his religion and into the wild, uncharted expanse of direct experience of the divine. His journey to me is the perfect example of how deep questioning can lead someone to the truth — a potent question he asked himself one day changed the course of his life. But I’ll save that story for the interview. Let’s get into it. | |||
| soul repair, ancestral reclamation & the art of the invisible [w/ Yumi Sakugawa] | 26 Jun 2025 | 01:55:04 | |
Connect with Yumi, my guest: Connect with me, Hanna, your host: In this episode of Gracepilled, I sit down with interdisciplinary artist and author Yumi Sakugawa (she/they) to trace the spiraling, unexpected path of her spiritual life—from childhood flashes of psychic imagery and goth teenage atheism to meditation, soul retrieval, and ancestral reclamation. Yumi is the author of beloved illustrated books like There Is No Right Way to Meditate and Your Illustrated Guide to Becoming One with the Universe. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Believer, and exhibitions at the Smithsonian and the Japanese American National Museum. But today we go beyond Yumi’s amazing career accomplishments and explore their inner world. We talk about a recent health scare that became a surprisingly spiritual wake-up call, and how discipline, fueled by the powers of Virgo, interacts with creative ritual. We talk about their dark night of the soul experience teaching english in Japan, finding meditation through Eckhart Tolle and David Lynch, and how grief led her deeper into ancestral connection with her Okinawan roots. Yumi also shares the story of a traumatic ayahuasca ceremony—something she’s never spoken about publicly before—and the long, slow, embodied healing that followed. And, full disclosure, in telling this story and discussing it, neither of us are suggesting there is anything wrong with plant medicine or ayahuasca, we are simply exploring what that was like, and some potential aspects of modern Ayahuasca usage that aren’t so commonly discussed. We cover:
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| running a spiritual business without selling your soul [w/ Rami Abu-Sitta] | 03 Jul 2025 | 02:07:46 | |
Connect with Rami: Connect with me, Hanna, your host: We cover:
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| astrology as a tool of multimodal compassion [w/ Diana Rose] | 17 Jul 2025 | 02:01:14 | |
Connect with Diana, my guest: Connect with me, Hanna, your host: In this episode, I talk with Diana Rose about what it means to truly human. We start with a beautiful story she shares about choosing connection instead of isolation while navigating complex grief, and how that reflects the deeper healing work she’s done—work that’s allowed her to stay in relationship, even when things are hard. We also talk about the dream of village life and what it means to be supported by a web of people who are in mutual care with one another. Diana shares how her spiritual worldview formed outside of formal tradition, what led her to astrology, and how she uses it as a tool to help people release internalized “shoulds” and understand their own nature with more compassion. | |||
| jesus was a witch [w/ Rev. Cindy Pincus] | 07 Aug 2025 | 01:48:27 | |
Connect with Cindy: Today’s guest is Reverend Cindy Pincus—minister, death doula, and someone who I now consider a spiritual comrade. We originally met at a First Friday art market in Denver when she walked straight up to my table and picked up my “Money + the Spiritual Path” zine. I remember thinking, this person has sparkles around them. And I was right. In this conversation, Cindy shares the wild, beautiful, and unexpected path that’s led her through Christian seminary, Indigenous ceremony, psychic training, and years of hospice and hospital chaplaincy. She speaks with rare clarity about death, grief, ministry, and spiritual courage—and about the surprising places her deepest convictions came from. (Spoiler: one involved a protest, a votive candle, and a head injury.) There were a few things said in this interview that blew my mind — I hope you love it! We cover:
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| the creative muse is a feral cat [w/ Aiden Arata] | 24 Jul 2025 | 01:50:31 | |
Connect with Aiden, my guest: Connect with me, Hanna, your host: Today I’m joined by writer, poet, and internet oracle Aiden Arata. You might know her from her dreamy, timely memes, her prose that cuts through the screen of your phone, or her completely surreal yet relatable guided meditation reels on instagram. Aiden’s new book of essays, YOU HAVE A NEW MEMORY, came out just two days ago—and I haven’t read it yet, but I can’t wait to. I can only imagine that it will feel like a voice memo from a highly perceptive friend, sent from the edge of a spiritual breakthrough that happened alongside the produce rack at the grocery store. In this conversation, we talk about the dread that surrounds creative work, the porousness required for both art and intuition, and what happens when you accidentally end up at a 14-hour-a-day solitary retreat in France. We also get into spiritual hysteria, memes as mystical artifacts, and the healing power of finally feeling seen. This one’s funny, strange, and full of surprisingly delicious nuggets of gold. I hope you love it. we cover: | |||
| learning to speak your soul’s language [w/ Ramon Parish] | 21 Aug 2025 | 01:45:15 | |
Connect with Ramon, my guest: Connect with me, Hanna, your host: In this episode of GRACEPILLED, I sit down with poet, philosopher, and teacher Ramon Parish (a.k.a. Uriel Jones), whose journey weaves together stargazing, philosophy, poetry, and spiritual practice. Ramon recently released his first poetry collection Drama of the Planets, and in this conversation, he shares the stories, influences, and practices that shaped both his art and his spiritual path. We talk about:
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| Monica interviews me about my relationship w/ SOCIAL MEDIA | 26 Nov 2025 | 01:42:41 | |
SIGN UP FOR ATTENTION 101 (reclaim your agency for change) Connect with me, Hanna, your host: Connect with Monica Alanna In this episode, Monica interviews me about what it’s really like to live and work online as a creative & mentor. We talk about our digital duplicates, attention fatigue, curating our algorithms with intention, the tension between analog life vs. digital life, what it means to be authentic on social media, and how I think about creativity, boundaries, and running Gracepilled as a business. It’s an honest look at identity, influence, and staying human on the internet.
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| reclaiming your attention in the digital age [w/ Monica Alanna] | 29 Oct 2025 | 01:43:48 | |
Connect with me, Hanna, your host: Connect with Monica Alanna Today’s episode is a conversation with my friend & colleague Monica Alanna about the strange and complicated world of digital spaces. We personify the platforms we use every day—Instagram, TikTok, Reddit, YouTube—as if they were people, each with their own archetype and flavor. We explore how these apps shape culture, attention, and even our sense of self, from the pull we all experience of wanting to peek at the comment section arguments to the addictive, casino-like design of social media apps that keep us emotionally hooked. Along the way, we talk about digital “duplicates,” cancel culture, distraction, and what it takes to build real boundaries with screens. It’s funny, it’s sharp, and it gets into the gray areas of how technology can be both a tool and a trap. I think you’ll leave this one reflecting on your own relationship with social media—and maybe even laughing about it too. | |||
| mysticism, chronic illness & the collapse of certainty [w/ Sophie Strand] | 26 May 2026 | 01:39:10 | |
guest info: GO BUY HER BOOKS!!!! host info: In this episode of Gracepilled, I sat down with writer and “neo-troubadour animist” Sophie Strand for a sprawling conversation about mysticism, illness, ecology, beauty, paradox, and what it means to stay openhearted in a world that often feels unsafe. Together we explore Sophie’s unusual upbringing around Buddhist monks, interfaith spirituality, rescued animals, and ecological thought, as well as the role chronic illness played in dismantling simplistic spiritual narratives about healing, fairness, and transcendence. The conversation moves through topics like animism, Joan of Arc, climate anxiety, Groundhog Day as a spiritual text, mystical experience, riddles and parables, the difference between beauty and glamour, and why the deepest spiritual truths often live inside contradiction rather than certainty. This episode is ultimately about surrender: not as passivity, but as the willingness to remain in relationship with reality even when there are no guarantees, no explanations, and no “happy ending” waiting at the end of suffering. You can find Sophie’s work through her books, essays, and Substack. | |||
| why I went all-in on Human Design | 09 Jun 2026 | 00:43:47 | |
free human design resource: In this solo episode of Gracepilled, I share the deeply personal story of how Human Design entered my life during a period of burnout, confusion, financial instability, and spiritual identity crisis. What began as skepticism toward a “channeled” system eventually became a profound framework for understanding individuality, authenticity, energy, relationships, and the spiritual process itself. I explores my experience discovering I am a Projector, the strange synchronicities that pulled me deeper into the system, and why Human Design ultimately felt less like a departure from my tantric background and more like another way of studying God, consciousness, and human behavior. Along the way, I reflect on burnout culture, deconditioning, differentiation, spiritual integrity, relational dynamics, openness and sensitivity, and the liberating power of radically accepting what you actually are instead of trying to become something else. | |||
| the life you want is on the other side of conflict [ft. Monika Alanna] | 02 Jun 2026 | 01:31:08 | |
REGISTRATION FOR CONFLICT SCHOOL OPENS JUNE 16TH! Connect with Monika Alanna In this episode, Monika and I sit down for a deeply personal conversation about conflict, honesty, intimacy, self-betrayal, nervous system regulation, and what it actually means to love another human being truthfully. We explore the ways our childhoods shaped our relationship to conflict, why so many people fear honest conversations, and how relational rupture can sometimes become the doorway to deeper intimacy, self-awareness, and transformation. We talk about family systems, tone policing, “canaries in the coal mine,” heartbreak, staying too long, leaving too late, and the difficult reality that sometimes love asks us to confront truths we desperately wish were not true. Throughout the conversation, we return again and again to the idea that conflict is not inherently destructive. In many ways, conflict is the mechanism through which real connection becomes possible. We discuss how nervous system regulation impacts our ability to listen, why most people black out during difficult conversations, the difference between abusive communication and emotional intensity, and how learning to tolerate discomfort may actually be the pathway to the intimacy most people claim to want. We also speak candidly about our own lives and relationships: what it means to feel unseen, how people carry old wounds into present relationships, the stories we tell ourselves after heartbreak, and the strange grace that can emerge when we stop avoiding difficult truths. This episode is philosophical, emotionally raw, funny at times, and deeply rooted in the belief that the life we want often exists on the other side of the conversations we are most afraid to have. Conflict School begins July 28th. This year, the course will be six weeks long instead of four, giving us much more room to go deeper into the anatomy of conflict, communication, nervous system work, rupture and repair, relational dynamics, and actionable skills that can radically transform the way you engage with disagreement and intimacy. Registration opens June 16th. From June 16th–23rd, we’ll be offering an early bird rate of $200 for the full six-week program. After that, the price increases to $250. More details will be available on my website soon. Let’s get into it. | |||
| art as spiritual practice [w/ Kayla Radhika Miller] | 16 Jun 2026 | 01:50:07 | |
Connect with my guest, Kayla: In this episode of Gracepilled, I’m joined by multidisciplinary artist, mystic, and tantric yoga teacher Kayla Radhika Miller for a wide-ranging conversation about the relationship between art and spiritual practice. Together, we explore what happens when creativity stops being mere self-expression and starts becoming a genuine path of perception, devotion, and transformation. We talk about beauty as a force that interrupts the thinking mind, the parallels between artistic discipline and mantra practice, and how the creative process can train us to see reality more clearly. We also explore the tension between technique and surrender, why frustration is often part of both spiritual and artistic growth, and the difference between making something “correct” versus making something truly alive. Along the way, we dive into tantra, perception, abstract art, devotional practice, artistic limitation, self-portraiture, color theory, AI art, and the mysterious question of whether art can carry transmission. Kayla brings a rare blend of depth to this conversation through her background in tantric yoga, Kashmir Shaivism, expressive arts facilitation, and art history, and together we reflect on how creativity itself can become a doorway into relationship with the sacred. This episode is for artists, seekers, and anyone interested in the deeper spiritual function of beauty, perception, and creative practice. | |||