Attaching to God: Neuroscience-informed Spiritual Formation

Can disembodied ways of thinking and living lead to a more embodied faith? No. And that’s why we need to look at the promise and perils of faith deconstruction.Everyone's journey of deconstruction is different. But only some paths lead to a more embodied faith, while others perpetuate the very problems we are trying to deconstruct. We talk about how deconstructing faith can be good, and how it can turn bad, with Rev. Dr. Sean Davidson, rector of three parishes in New Brunswick (yeah, more Canadians). And he is a missional mentor with the Institute of Evangelism at Wycliffe College (Toronto). Dive deeper in our new book, Landscapes of the Soul: How the Science and Spirituality of Attachment Can Move You into Confident Faith, Courage, and Connection, and learn about our trainings and other resources at embodiedfaith.life.Stay Connected: Check out our Attaching to God 6-Week Learning Cohort. Join the Embodied Faith community to stay connected and get posts, episodes, & resources. Support the podcast with a one-time or regular gift (to keep this ad-free without breaking the Holsclaw's bank).

Like Jesus, we need to overturn the tables of those peddling gender hierarchies within the temple of our bodies. Because our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, we need to overturn this harmful equation of sex and salvation with a gender hierarchy. In this episode, with Dr. Beth Felker Jones, we talk about the recent outrage over the article "Sex Won’t Save You (But It Points to the One Who Will)", its distorting and damaging theology, and point toward a better understanding of the goodness of sex, marriage, and the gospel. See also Dr. Jones' book, Faithful: A Theology of Sex, and her blog.Other resources: "Protestant bodies, Protestant bedrooms, & our furious need for a theology thereof" (more from Dr. Jones)."The Theology of the Body" (Catholic view by Christopher West)"The Fundamental Flaws in Josh Butler’s Argument" (Jackson Wu)Affiliate links included.Dive deeper in our new book, Landscapes of the Soul: How the Science and Spirituality of Attachment Can Move You into Confident Faith, Courage, and Connection, and learn about our trainings and other resources at embodiedfaith.life.Stay Connected: Check out our Attaching to God 6-Week Learning Cohort. Join the Embodied Faith community to stay connected and get posts, episodes, & resources. Support the podcast with a one-time or regular gift (to keep this ad-free without breaking the Holsclaw's bank).

Why have we turned "your body is a temple" into a shaming mechanism? What if our bodies are the place we meet God? The place through which we glorify God? Dr. Beth Felker Jones joins Cyd and Geoff to talk about a theology of the body, and how we can lead our culture and churches into deeper freedom.Follow Dr. Jones at Church Blogmatics. Dive deeper in our new book, Landscapes of the Soul: How the Science and Spirituality of Attachment Can Move You into Confident Faith, Courage, and Connection, and learn about our trainings and other resources at embodiedfaith.life.Stay Connected: Check out our Attaching to God 6-Week Learning Cohort. Join the Embodied Faith community to stay connected and get posts, episodes, & resources. Support the podcast with a one-time or regular gift (to keep this ad-free without breaking the Holsclaw's bank).

Shouldn't Jesus change how we see people? So why is it that Christians seem to have as many enemies as others?We talked with Jon Hand about why "enemy mode" is so prevalent in the church, and how being Jesus-centered gives us a new identity and a new perspective on others. This episode is a continuation of our interview with Jim Wilder on "How To Escape Enemy Mode." ATTACHING TO GOD Learning Cohort Waitlist: explore the gifts and shortcomings of distracted and dismissive attachment, and learn how to begin building a secure attachment with God and others.Jon is movement leadership within Jesus Collective, an international relational network of churches and leaders seeking to advance a more hopeful Christianity by seeking to keep Jesus at the center. Jon has also spent the last 10 years coaching Christian leaders across Canada, the US, and the UK in a unique year-long Soul Coaching journey that blends spiritual formation, neuroscience, and emotional integration to help leaders lead from their own transformation.Dive deeper in our new book, Landscapes of the Soul: How the Science and Spirituality of Attachment Can Move You into Confident Faith, Courage, and Connection, and learn about our trainings and other resources at embodiedfaith.life.Stay Connected: Check out our Attaching to God 6-Week Learning Cohort. Join the Embodied Faith community to stay connected and get posts, episodes, & resources. Support the podcast with a one-time or regular gift (to keep this ad-free without breaking the Holsclaw's bank).

Chronic stress and trauma are not just emotional. They change our bodies. It affects our physical nature, causing illness. And the reverse is true. When physical remedies don’t seem to be available, our relational and spiritual lives just might be the healing we need.Rose Madrid Swetman, pastor, coach, and spiritual director, talks about her experience with a kind of heart failure and the surprising healing that she found for her body, mind, and spirit. Stay connected to The Center for Transformational Engagement.See the Self-Facilitated Retreat Guide to foster Practices of Resilience.Check out "Way of Life" for help making intentional spiritual commitments.Dive deeper in our new book, Landscapes of the Soul: How the Science and Spirituality of Attachment Can Move You into Confident Faith, Courage, and Connection, and learn about our trainings and other resources at embodiedfaith.life.Stay Connected: Check out our Attaching to God 6-Week Learning Cohort. Join the Embodied Faith community to stay connected and get posts, episodes, & resources. Support the podcast with a one-time or regular gift (to keep this ad-free without breaking the Holsclaw's bank).

How do you escape enemy mode? When your brain and body are just against someone (and maybe you don’t even know why).  What if one brain state could explain why we stop listening to, talking with, or caring about, other people? What if this brain state reveals why we lose it on people, fall out of love, and traumatize one another?Clinical Psychologist & Neurotheologian Jim Wilder is on to talk about all this, and help us identify and overcome enemy mode.Find out about Escaping Enemy Mode and Jim's work here.Other episodes with Jim Wilder:002 The Making of a Mature Disciple031 What is a Neurotheologian? and other QuestionsDive deeper in our new book, Landscapes of the Soul: How the Science and Spirituality of Attachment Can Move You into Confident Faith, Courage, and Connection, and learn about our trainings and other resources at embodiedfaith.life.Stay Connected: Check out our Attaching to God 6-Week Learning Cohort. Join the Embodied Faith community to stay connected and get posts, episodes, & resources. Support the podcast with a one-time or regular gift (to keep this ad-free without breaking the Holsclaw's bank).

Loneliness and disconnection have been on the rise for a long time in our society. We long for a deep meaning to make sense of our lives, but we don't know how to find it. How can we find a Connected Life?Embodied Faith host Geoff Holsclaw (PhD) talks with professor of psychology Todd Hall (PhD) about finding "The Connected Life" through growing our relational knowledge and strong attachment bonds.See Dr. Hall's new book — The Connected Life: The Art and Science of Relational Spirituality.Related Episode: Why Psychology Can Help Our Spiritual Transformation Dive deeper in our new book, Landscapes of the Soul: How the Science and Spirituality of Attachment Can Move You into Confident Faith, Courage, and Connection, and learn about our trainings and other resources at embodiedfaith.life.Stay Connected: Check out our Attaching to God 6-Week Learning Cohort. Join the Embodied Faith community to stay connected and get posts, episodes, & resources. Support the podcast with a one-time or regular gift (to keep this ad-free without breaking the Holsclaw's bank).

Original Sin? How about "original trauma". What would change if we shifted from one to the other? How might that shift our view of ourselves, of sin, and of salvation? And what does Christian mysticism have to do with it?Jonathan Puddle is a contemplative, Jesus-following mystic who helps people find God at work in their inner lives. He is the author of the award-winning, You Are Enough: Learning to Love Yourself the Way God Loves You, and Mornings with God: Daily Bible Devotional for Men. Find his podcast and more at jonathanpuddle.com.Dive deeper in our new book, Landscapes of the Soul: How the Science and Spirituality of Attachment Can Move You into Confident Faith, Courage, and Connection, and learn about our trainings and other resources at embodiedfaith.life.Stay Connected: Check out our Attaching to God 6-Week Learning Cohort. Join the Embodied Faith community to stay connected and get posts, episodes, & resources. Support the podcast with a one-time or regular gift (to keep this ad-free without breaking the Holsclaw's bank).

Self-compassion can be hard? Integrative coach spiritual director Cyd Holsclaw guides you through a short practice (6 minutes) to help you give yourself more compassion and receive the compassion of God. Related Episode: What is Self-Compassion? Why is it important for faith journey?Dive deeper in our new book, Landscapes of the Soul: How the Science and Spirituality of Attachment Can Move You into Confident Faith, Courage, and Connection, and learn about our trainings and other resources at embodiedfaith.life.Stay Connected: Check out our Attaching to God 6-Week Learning Cohort. Join the Embodied Faith community to stay connected and get posts, episodes, & resources. Support the podcast with a one-time or regular gift (to keep this ad-free without breaking the Holsclaw's bank).

What is Self-Compassion? How is it different than self-esteem? And why is it important for our spiritual lives? Geoff and Cyd Holsclaw (he's a theologian and pastor, she's an integrative coach and spiritual director) talk about self-compassion and why it matters.And see why the self-esteem movement is dead and how self-compassion and humility are replacing itSee Dr. Kristin Neff's quick definition of self-compassion (link).Related Episode: How a Low Anthropology Might Actually Save YouDive deeper in our new book, Landscapes of the Soul: How the Science and Spirituality of Attachment Can Move You into Confident Faith, Courage, and Connection, and learn about our trainings and other resources at embodiedfaith.life.Stay Connected: Check out our Attaching to God 6-Week Learning Cohort. Join the Embodied Faith community to stay connected and get posts, episodes, & resources. Support the podcast with a one-time or regular gift (to keep this ad-free without breaking the Holsclaw's bank).