Explore every episode of the podcast Soul + Practice: Raw Conversations & Real Practices with Kathy Escobar & Phyllis Mathis

We loved our conversation with Hugh Hollowell, writer, advocate, seeker of beauty, and pastor of Open Door Mennonite Church in Jackson Mississippi. It's exactly the kind of reminders we need right now in what he calls "The Circumstances" the US finds itself in. Learn more about his work in the world at hughhollowell.org and gather some beauty and hope today.

This conversation with Rev. Rob Jerger, who is the Vicar at St. Clare's Episcopal Church in Tyler, Texas (the only LGBTQ+ affirming community out of the 392 churches in that town), made both of us cry. It embodies such a beautiful example of what church is supposed to be - a little pocket of love, safety, freedom, and hope in the middle of this hard and harsh world. No matter what you believe, there's so much to glean from this conversation, and it is what our souls needed today. More on St. Clare's at scectyler.org

Beyond all the basic talking about left brain being logical and the right brain being creative is an expansive body of work that can help us also better understand what's happening not only in our own stories and experience but also in the wider one that's imploding right now. In this episode we process some of the ideas in the neuroscience book (600 pages!) by Ian McGilchrist called The Master and His Emissary and how we might be able to integrate some of the simplest ideas into our real lives and practices.

It's been a rough week in the USA and even though we pretty much say that every week we record, this past week has been extra bad with assassinations, school shootings, and social media awful. This episode we share what we needed most this morning--getting back to basic skills and guiding principles that will help us survive these really rough times. We felt better when we finished and hope you do, too.

We’re back! We always take a break in the Summer and re-group, decide if we’re going to keep on keeping on or not, and in these wild times, the answer is YES! This space helps us and we hope it helps anyone listening in whatever ways are needed. This episode is just a look-back at the Summer and what’s sustaining us right now. Looking forward to the season ahead!

It’s a wrap, friends! We had a great run of guests and topics from February-May centered on resourcing during these extra tumultuous times, and now it’s time for a Summer break! We loved looking back at our conversations and amazing friends who offered their time and wisdom to be part of Soul + Practice. We love having out with you each week and will look forward to being back in the Fall. Meanwhile, take good care of yourselves this Summer and know we’re with you in the human-ing in these hard times.

Julie-Anne Malette-Mauno is a French Canadian settler living on Treaty 9 territory in Northeastern Ontario, Canada with her family. She has 7 children. She writes poetry and her love for the boreal forest is reflected in her writing. She is a Registered Social Worker and is working as a therapist and researcher. Her work centers on perinatal mental health and wellbeing, and grief and loss. She is committed to her evolving decolonial practice and her calling to embody midwifery paradigms in her work and life. Though she is not working as a clinical midwife, she carries that calling into her poetry, social work practice, life, and relationships. 

The Subversive Soul: The Gentle Revolution Every Soul Needs—Phyllis’ new book-- is coming out July 22nd! In this episode we process some of the key ideas in the book and are reminded on why soul and practice go together so well. Published by Quoir Publishing, this book is going to help so many discover, honor, and live into what’s already in us. More at phyllismathis.com

It’s always fun to learn from new friends and realize how connected we all are in different ways. David Artman is a retired minister, author, podcaster, and a leading voice in Christian Universalism over the years. With the rise of this 2.0 administration, he’s sharing more about the dangerous reality we’re living in as we slide toward fascism, with evangelicals locked in on this kind of leadership. We left our conversation grateful for his courage and committed to building relationships with kindreds that remind us of our values. More on David’s work at davidartman.net.

Oh, we needed this! Spending time with Dr. Lisa Pettit--who has been a student of Thich Nhat Hanh for 20+ years and is a kindred and community leader in the Compassionate Dharma Cloud Monastery in Morrison, Colorado,—is always so good for our souls. There are countless beautiful gems in this episode to draw back on, along with tangible ways to keep practicing human-ing both personally and together. Soak it in! More on Compassionate Dharma Cloud Monastery at compassionatedharmacloudmonastery.org.

In this episode, Kathy’s awesome husband, Jose joins us to share a little bit about his life as a pilot, military lawyer, and pro-bono attorney at a legal aid clinic during these wild times—what helps, what’s hard, and the power of seeking joy (and McDonalds). We had fun in the middle of so much hard. More about the incredible work of the Justice and Mercy Legal Aid Center at jamlac.org.

We loved our conversation with our friend Melvin Bray—Atlanta-based author, educator, dad, husband, and creator of the 12 Steps Truth and Transformation Model that are modified 12 steps for equity work in community. Melvin’s work in untangling from supremacist logic and the life-long practice of equity has helped us in more ways than we can say, and his reminder of our need for simple and meaningful human connection right now is everything. Check out Melvin’s work at collabyrinthconsulting.com and look for his newest books/tools in June 2025 centered on unlearning inequity at knowledgefam.com.

Weaving webs of community, healing, mutual aid, earth wisdom, and other practices that help us make it in this harsh world are needed now more than ever. Angie Fadel joins us this week, sharing some of what she’s learning and practicing in this season of her story and how small contributions—what can feel like just a drop—matter. Angie’s based in Portland and is a spiritual director, meditative archer, and cultivator of healing spaces in nature. More at angiefadel.com

We love making new friends, and Amanda Udis-Kessler, author, former sociology professor, songwriter, and anti-oppression trainer, helped us gain some clarity and hope around living out ethics of flourishing despite the complete lack of ethics at the highest level of our land right now. With practical, honest, and clear ways to stay connected to our truest values and live them out despite the pull to go low, Amanda is a voice we need in the world right now! More at her website at amandaudiskessler.com.

There’s so much more going on in the sky than most of us are aware of! In this fun and eye-opening episode our friend Polly Baker, who’s a spiritual director who integrates astrology in an incredibly unique and grounding way, brings some incredible knowledge to the forces at work in the sky right now that we’re feeling collectively while also offering some clear and tangible practices to consider as we navigate this season of our nation’s and world’s history. Learn more about Polly’s cosmic direction work at polly-baker.com.

In this check-in episode, we process how we can stay grounded and clear when we’re constantly being gaslit with alternate facts and realities. While this is happening on a national level right now, many of us have experienced it in relationship with others, too; yeah, it’s exhausting.

When we were thinking about this season and what we needed, one of the first people that came to mind was our friend Nikki Kennedy. A trauma-therapist and community builder, she is a wise kindred and leader and we loved this conversation so much. So many gems for how we navigate these wild times, own the reality of this story, and grow in our capacity to care for ourselves and one another in simple accessible ways.

100 Episodes of Soul + Practice, what?!? What better way to honor it than with an amazing conversation with our friend Tara Taylor, who is a volunteer docent at Armstrong Woods in Northern California and incredible nature-based facilitator and guide. As we center this season on resourcing, there’s so much we can learn from the redwoods and we hope everyone listening grabs something we need right now. They are incredible teachers.

Whoa, can you say 2025 and what unhealthy unchecked destructive power looks like in action? What we are experiencing right now in the US is an age-old story but it is illuminated in new and horridly painful ways. In this episode, Kathy shares a little bit about her newest book “Turning Over Tables: A Lenten Call to Disrupting Power” that released a week before the Inauguration and we process some things about power together.

We need all the help we can get and some consistent, clear practices for our mental health really matter right now. In this episode, Phyllis fleshes out some of what she wrote in a recent substack, and it’s packed with all kinds of tangible and much-needed practices and reminders.

Well, we're back. A lot of horrid has happened since we were last together at the end of 2024 and we feel clear we need as much resourcing as we can. In this episode we process something Phyllis wrote on her Substack about the Existential Flu, a reality that can overtake us in these unprecedented, tumultuous, traumatic times. So many gems in there! Looking forward to being together more as we tend to our soul and practice our way forward, together.

Our last episode of 2024 is about 2024! Remembering, celebrating, grieving, laughing through 6 simple questions we both reflect on and hope that others maybe consider, too! It's good to pause and look back before moving forward.

The world sure feels weary right now and in this episode we process through some of the main themes in Kathy's book "A Weary World: Reflection for a Blue Christmas"--Honoring Reality, Practicing Honesty, Embracing Paradox, and Borrowing Hope--for 2024. We hope it's nourishing somehow--we realized how much we needed it when we were done recording it!

Well, folks, here are--a second Trump presidency is coming and so many of us are reeling. In this episode we try to honestly acknowledge what we're up against and how we need to be careful of not feeding the futile that will keep us spinning and weakened and instead consider tangible practices that will help us be as healthy and connected as we can in the weeks and months to come.

Well, it's been a terrible ride, and here we are--the day before one of the most crucial elections in our lifetimes so far. We are holding everyone close in our hearts and know that no matter the outcome, it's a bumpy ride today. In this episode we process some things to remember as we tend to our souls and embody our values in tangible ways.

The fallacy of false equivalencies and "whataboutisms" can really mess with us when it comes to not only the US election but so many other areas of our lives. In this episode we explore that a little more (or, um, ramble about it) along with the importance of "breaking up with knowing" and a false sense of control that comes with trying to predict outcomes and find a way to perceived safety. Oh, and occasionally we make screaming goat sounds.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, there are 5 seasons, not 4. This fifth season is "Late Summer", which starts in mid-August and goes through Fall Equinox and is a place to pause, ground, celebrate, and honor the energy and fruits of Summer intentionally before just barreling into Fall. In the wild season we're living in right now with US politics and the wider world--combined with our own personal realities--it feels so wise to consider what we can learn and apply from this season and that's what we ramble about on this episode!

Well, we weren't sure what would happen for the Fall but we did think we might come back for some episodes as we navigate this wild political ride we are all on in the USA right now. The election is coming November 5th and so much is on the line. In this episode we basically just catch up on the last few months and the turn of events that have happened since Joe Biden stepped down as the Democratic candidate. Here we go. Strap in, it's going to be an even wilder ride for sure.

Well, we definitely had no plans to do any episodes this Summer, but in light of the reality of the mash-up of the presidential debate and terrifying Supreme Court decisions--all just a few days before July 4th--we decided to pop up an episode so we could process and hopefully put a few things out into the universe for ourselves and others as we travel this road as a country the next 4 months. Please, if you haven't looked it up yet, check out Project 2025 (we forgot to mention this by name). Wake up, sober up, regulate, listen. This is real and we've got to be as. healthy and educated as we can.

Wow, 88 episodes for Soul Practice and this season, which started in November, had so much goodness. We are so grateful for our friends who come play with us, everyone who listens, and a place for us to letting our soul lead us and our practices help change us and the world we live in. Happy Summer. No telling what Fall will bring for Soul + Practice but we always love hearing from you!

As we begin to wind down Season 5, in this episode we share some simple things to remember for our soul, simple practices to consider, especially as we go into Summer. Now, to use them :)

There is so much goodness in this episode! We loved our conversation with Holly Roach, who is a social justice educator, contemplative activist, and community organizer dedicated to creating healthier people, systems, movements. Individual, ancestral, and collective trauma work all is linked together and basic practices to heal matter! Based near Asheville, she is founder of Restorative Retreats (more at restorativeretreatsnc.com). Learn more about Thomas Hubl's work and books at https://thomashuebl.com.

For more information, Peggy recommends Healing Dementia, by Kyrie S. Carpenter:

https://www.amazon.com/Healing-Dementia-Kyri%C3%A9-S-Carpenter/dp/1986619923

 

As well as a couple of websites:

https://contenteddementiatrust.org/ and https://teepasnow.com/

 

Also if people want more information, feel free to contact Peggy at peggybudai31@gmail.com. 

We love the Enneagram and our friend Terra Lenihan, Enneagram coach and catalyzer for healthier systems and teams, had so much fun processing some simple hacks that we can draw from as tools, reminders, skills, and reminders for our souls that can help us practice healthier ways of moving in the world. You can connect with Terra at terralenihan.wordpress.com. Learn more about the tri-types she mentioned at: katherinefauvre.com/enneagramtritypetest

All roads do lead to power and in this episode we process power and Kathy's newest book project called...."All Roads Lead to Power: A Redemptive Challenge for Lent" that is releasing January 2025 in an accessible weekly reflection with practices format. Oh, we need more honest reflection about power and practices that help develop a healthier kind.

In this episode, we process faith deconstruction in some different ways than before-- exploring how language limits, faith is not the same as "faith systems" and how to nurture what supersedes all of the containers to get to the simple truths and practices that help us become healthier humans.

Why is the world such a mess and what can we do about it? The answer--we need more healthy living systems and it starts with us. In this episode we learn from the wise and amazing Pam Wilhelms Johnston whose work as an organizational development consultant, executive coach, and healthier systems catalyzer is what we need more of in the world. Healthier people make healthier systems and healthier systems make a better world. Our future, literally, depends on it.

It was so fun to play with our friend Dr. Tiffany Yecke Brooks, author of multiple books including her newest, Holy Ghosted: Spiritual Anxiety, Religious Trauma, and the Language of Abuse. We laughed and swore and shared about finding peace, freedom, and healing after being in a culture that unfortunately doesn't promote any of those things very well. You can learn more about her work at tiffanyyeckebrooks.com

Hand in hand with last week on faith beyond beliefs, in this episode we process the power of healing in nature. It opens us in ways our souls need without a lot of effort. In the words of Jared Escobar, "everything is better outside."

In this episode we chat about faith being far beyond belief, and that's why it's so scary and foreign. Practicing this is no small thing but our soul can hold unknowns a heck of a lot better than our heads.

While all our efforts for self-improvement and healing can be helpful, we can also become stuck in endless loops of trying to do better, be better, figure things out. In this episode we process how sometimes the solution is the problem. What if nothing is "wrong" with us?

In this episode we chat with our friend Eric Jepsen, who is the founder of Beautifully MAID (beautifullyMAID.org) and a passionate advocate for end of life options for people with terminal illnesses. We need to integrate conversations about death into the regular rhythms of our lives and we're grateful for spaces like to learn, listen, and expand our awareness together. More on Medical Aid in Dying at compassionandchoices.org and Eric's organization at beautifullyMAID.org.

We love having interesting conversations with our friends, finding hope and healing and resonance in hard places. Mary Rader catalyzed our 12 Steps for Anti-Racism group at The Refuge and we just all got back from our 2nd Civil Rights Learning Trip to Alabama a few weeks ago. In this episode Mary shares more about what happens when we are confronted with truth about our history, white supremacy, and supremacist logic and how it's all a mix of soul work and practice. More on the Truth and Transformation 12 Steps by Melvin Bray at collabyrinthconsulting.com and Equal Justice Institute at eji.org.

For President's Day this year in the US we decided just to ramble a bit about what we're learning about the truth of our history and what that's doing inside of us as we grow and change. It's all a hot mess. Happy $*!^$&!()% Presidents Day!

We love playing with friends and in this episode Ryan Taylor joins us for a fun conversation about the power of simple, unplugged, wild, and free spirituality that looks nothing like what a lot of the shiny we have been sold. Ryan's a mystic, person of presence, spirituality director, author of Awkward Spirituality: The Divinity of Ordinary Life and someone who brings us hope. It's always in the underground.

Yeah, we decided to mix it up this week and just have a light and easy convo about the Oscars. Even though at the time of recording Phyllis had only watched 3 of the movies (ha!) we had a lot to talk about. If you're an avid movie fan, don't be too annoyed with us!

We always love talking about the 4 Gateways (we did 5 episodes on it several seasons ago)--Lover, Magician, Warrior, Sovereign or Feeling, Thinking, Doing, Being. As we enter into a new year, it's a great time to consider how we can nourish our Sovereign and this episode is focused on its 4 Food Groups--Validation, Support, Inspiration, Blessing. Eat as much of that as we can!

We've talked a lot about the lies of white supremacy, Christian supremacy, male supremacy, and a lot of other supremacies over the last few years, but this episode is about one of them that doesn't get much play--"a certain kind of family supremacy." What's baked into our cultures and systems about what's better than others that's seeped into how we feel about ourselves and others? As culture changes, we're trying to let go of old entanglements that get in the way of freedom (and love!).

We love playing with kindreds and in this episode we interview Amber Cantorna-Wylde, author of several books including her most recent--Out of Focus: my story of shame, sexuality, and toxic evangelicalism. An LGBTQ+ advocate and community cultivator, Amber brings so much wisdom, honesty, and challenge to the table and we feel so grateful to have her voice here. More on her work at ambercantornawylde.com.

Sometimes, thinking about the human condition and the reality of suffering in the world is just too overwhelming, especially when the stories we rely on to keep our balance no longer hold up. How do we create lives worth living in the face of suffering, horror, and the very real threats to humanity and our earth right now? And why should we bother? Welcome to this raw conversation about how to be a non-delusional human being in the midst of all the mess.