The Spiritual Forum

In this episode, Rev. Carol shares a spiritual interpretation of the Christmas story. The story tells of the birth of the Christ Presence on Earth in the baby Jesus, but it also tells us of the birth of the Christ consciousness in us. The Christmas story combines the accounts in Matthew chapters 1 & 2 and Luke chapters 1 & 2. It has been told for over 2000 years and we see it depicted in nativity scenes in homes, churches and cities. Some people believe the account to be true. Others believe it is a birth story, created to exalt the person of Jesus. Still others believe it is 100% story. Beyond all that, what does it mean for us? This is a condensed retelling of the Christmas Eve service that Rev. Carol led at the Unity church she founded. She shares metaphysical interpretations of all the key elements in the story. Every character is a part of you! Let this story come alive in you this Christmas season! © the spiritual forum 2023

Are you being called by the Divine to step into a new way of life? Is there some aspect of yourself that keeps you bound or unfree that you are ready to leave behind? Is there a person in your life who you need to unbind in some way so they can freely step into a new way of life? These questions and more are explored in this episode with guest, Rev. James Martin as we delve into the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. You may think this story has little to do with you, but you are invited to find yourself in the characters and see it come alive. Guest bio: Rev. Martin is a Jesuit priest, editor at large of America magazine, consultor to the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication, and author of the New York Times bestsellers Learning to Pray, Jesus: A Pilgrimage, and The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything. Father Martin is a frequent commentator in the national and international media, having appeared on all the major networks and outlets like: The Colbert Report, NPR’s Fresh Air, the New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal. In his latest book, Come Forth! he examines one of the most intriguing events in the New Testament—the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead—and explains its significance for us today. In this episode we talk about: •Being open to the call of Spirit and living lives of transformation •The story of Lazurus from historical and metaphorical perspectives •The symbols of the tomb and the command “unbind him” •The important role of community in a “coming forth” experience •The many ways we can personally experience death and rebirth •The story of Mary and Martha – action and receptivity and how both are necessary •Rev. Jim’s ministry to the LGBQ community •The importance of making stories mean something to us individually More about Rev. James Martin: America Magazine: https://www.americamagazine.org/voices/james-martin-sj Come Forth book: https://www.amazon.com/Come-Forth-Promise-Greatest-Miracle-ebook/dp/B0B1DSFWJ1?ref_=ast_author_mpb James Martin books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B002L09ZEY/allbooks?ingress=0&visitId=2509ea2c-b4f4-47ff-9ed2-25ae8825909d&store_ref=ap_rdr&ref_=ap_rdr Social media links: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FrJamesMartin/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamesmartinsj/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/JamesMartinSJ?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor Learn more and if you are moved to donate at thespiritualforum.org. © the spiritual forum 2023

In this episode we talk about the shadow and how important it is to the spiritual path. Have you ever wondered how spiritual leaders and gurus who claim to reach high levels of consciousness can get caught up in sexual or financial scandals, or just generally misbehave in relationships? Or how independent adults can give up their own authority and give blind faith to someone else? In this episode we’ll learn about that and more. Listen to the end to learn about the separate lines of development and how we have shadow material stuck in each chakra. This is very important spiritual work! Guest bio: Connie Zweig is a retired psychotherapist, former executive editor at Jeremy P Tarcher Publishing, former columnist for Esquire magazine and contributor to the LA times. She has been on a spiritual path, practicing and teaching meditation for more than fifty years - exploring the light and dark side of contemporary spirituality. Her award-winning book, The Inner Work of Age: Shifting from Role to Soul, extends her work on the Shadow into midlife and beyond and explores aging as a spiritual practice. She is a wife, stepmother, and grandmother. In all these roles, she practices the shift from role to soul. Connie’s latest book is Meeting the Shadow on the Spiritual Path – The Dance of Darkness and Light in Our Search for Awakening. Some of the topics we discuss are: • Our focus on the light and not the dark • Meditation doesn’t solve our emotional problems, prayer doesn’t resolve our trauma, affirmations don’t bring us relief or awakening • We don’t want to give up the practices but we want to expand to include the full spectrum of life • We can’t “grow up” with spiritual practices only • Meditation can help prepare us to meet our shadow • If I recognize my shadow characters I can have a moment where I can make another choice – requires self-reflection and moral development • Narrow cultural identities that are so popular today miss the spiritual identity • Most of humanity is tribal, not yet individuated out of the group • There are separate lines of development in us – emotional, spiritual, moral, cognitive • There is shadow material stuck in every chakra If you want to learn spiritual shadow work with other people (free groups), email conniezweig@gmail.com and put "Spiritual Shadow" in the subject line Links: Website: https://conniezweig.com/ The Inner Work of Age: https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1644113406?tag=simonsayscom Meeting the Shadow on the Spiritual Path: https://www.amazon.com/Meeting-Shadow-Spiritual-Path-Awakening/dp/1644117223 #shadowwork #awakening #awakeningsoul #consciousness #spiritualshadow #chakrahealing © the spiritual forum 2023

Barbara Jenkins, an adventurer who walked across America with her husband, shares her journey of faith, courage, and perseverance. Topics discussed include cultivating your dreams, answering callings, divine protection, and embracing your story. The podcast reveals the spiritual lessons Barbara learned on her compelling life adventure.

“Go within or go without” is Martha Creek’s concise and clear mission and vision. A double ordained minister, self-employed consultant, speaker, coach, leader and workshop facilitator, Martha has a unique and endearing coaching style. In her work she helps people function at higher levels in their professional and personal relationships, honoring others while staying true to themselves. This episode is chock full of useful guidance and is timed to support you in navigating some of the challenges you may face at family gatherings, such as Thanksgiving. Martha’s latest book is Presence and Potential - Experience Your Higher Self and Live in Wholeness. This is a book for anyone with the desire to increase their leadership and their lower anxiety. Some of the topics we discuss are: • Breaking patterns of relating • The crazy expectation that people will show up differently • How to refuse to be coerced by others • The false belief that we can stop the suffering of others • The importance of keeping relationships open and focused on the person, not others who aren’t there • The traps of gossip • Be willing to learn – what is possible? #spirituality #differentiation #truetoyourself #stayconnected #familychallenges Martha's links: Website: https://marthacreek.com/ Book: https://www.amazon.com/Presence-Potential-Experience-Higher-Wholeness/dp/B0CL4XQ36R YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@marthacreek © the spiritual forum 2023

Marla Hughes is passionate about children -- learning from their wisdom, preserving their divine connection and creating rituals to support them in their challenging times. She answers the call of her intuition to take dramatic actions, anchored in love, in the world. Together with her daughter, she brought play to refugee children in Poland. She founded the Ethiopian Family Fund, a non-profit dedicated to improving the lives of Ethiopian children. She travels annually to Ethiopia where she learns to slow down and appreciate the simplicity of life while being in service to local communities. She also recently authored her first children’s book, Love Magic, which inspires children who have lost oved ones to reconnect with them in the here and now. Marla is the founder and host of the podcast, Interviews with Innocence, where she explores how children can help us reconnect with our spiritual selves. Whether you have children in your life or not, in this episode you will learn about the light and hope that today’s children bring to the world and gain some ideas on how to heal and honor your own inner child from his/her breaks in belonging and unacknowledged feelings. We also discuss the wisdom of the elderly, the culture in Ethiopia, the importance of ritual and how we can bring it alive in our lives. And much more! website/podcast: https://www.interviewswithinnocence.com/ rituals: https://www.interviewswithinnocence.com/introduction Love Magic book: https://www.amazon.com/Love-Magic-Marla-Hughes/dp/1953912117 Ethiopian Family Fund: http://www.ethiopianfamilyfund.org/ © the spiritual forum 2023

Is it rational to be believe in a higher power? Or is God/Source/Spirit a fantasy “Santa Claus” crutch that appeases our childlike natures? These questions and more are explored in this episode with guest, Dr. Eldon Taylor. Eldon is a New York Times best-selling author publishing on a wide range of topics from exposing the darker sides of mind programming and brainwashing to the spiritual search for life’s meaning. He is an expert in the area of preconscious information processing and has served as an expert trial witness with regards to both subliminal communication and hypnosis. Eldon was also a practicing criminalist for over ten years where he supervised and conducted investigations and testing to detect deception. In the first half of this podcast we explore the power and susceptibilities of the human mind. In the second half we dig into his latest book, Questioning Spirituality – Is It Irrational to Believe in God?, which explores both the atheist/scientism and believer rationales for trusting in a higher power. Among the many ideas shared in this episode are: •When we are dishonest, we are betraying ourselves •How and why subliminal messages work •How we talk to ourselves is a predictor of how we will behave •There are two ways to be tied up in the world - externally or internally through our beliefs •Free will is not free •Brainwashing goes way beyond MK Ultra etc. – it’s everywhere •We have a genetic predisposition, but we can change our personalities •What the first step to changing limiting thoughts is •The mechanistic model of science regarding humanity •The ‘logical’ reasons to reject spirituality •The advantages of being spiritual and why it’s not irrational to believe in God •“White Crow” stories that can’t be explained scientifically and attest to there being something beyond this reality – •Eldon’s own white crow story •Reason is a gift to decipher the language of God Links: Website: www.eldontaylor.com/ Questioning Spirituality book: www.amazon.com/Questioning-Spiri…God/dp/1803413018 Gotcha book: www.amazon.com/Gotcha-Subordinat…ooks%2C110&sr=1-1 © the spiritual forum 2023

In this solocast, Rev. Carol shares the opening thoughts she presented at the 2023 Whole Planet Spirituality Forum & Retreat at Unity Village. The retreat theme was Peace Begins with Me and we explored ways we could evolve into Peacemakers on the planet. Nearly everyone wants peace, but are we doing the inner work to establish peace within ourselves? What we see in the outer world is a reflection of our consciousness! In this episode, Rev. Carol shares some suggested passages to peace. She also shares David Hawkin’s scale of consciousness and the importance of aligning our values, words and actions. Finally, she concludes with a short segment on Peace Pilgrim, a remarkable woman who walked penniless across the United States 6 ½ times to awaken the world to our common humanity and spiritual potential as peacemakers. Links: David Hawkins Scale of Consciousness (below): https://life-longlearner.com/how-to-measure-consciousness-using-the-map-of-consciousness-3-of-7/ Power Versus Force book: https://www.amazon.com/Power-Force-David-Hawkins-M-D/dp/1401945074 Peace Pilgrim: https://www.peacepilgrim.org/ © the spiritual forum 2023

Are you living your purpose? Are you creating your life or letting circumstances drive it? What do you have to offer the world? Randy Adkins is passionate about inspiring individuals to live authentically, discover their purpose, and lead fulfilling lives. He is an ordained congregational minister, software programmer, corporate consultant, community leader and Distinguished Toastmaster. Randy hosts the Produce on Purpose podcast and has recently published the book, Produce on Purpose: Experience Life Being the Real You. Through his writing teaching and speaking, he inspires people to integrate spiritual growth principles into everyday life and become leaders and change agents – producers of their own lives. Some of the things we discuss in this episode are: •The roles of actors, directors and producers - we have the ability to be producers of our own lives •Cultivating our imagination allows us to be able to create in this world •How to wake up consistently at peace •We can create ourselves out of our current world conditions •We wear masks to hide our emotions or be socially accepted •Part of our purpose is to have intentional aim •How to find your purpose •We have a choice in saying yes to our purpose •Even in a dark world we all have light to share •There are seasons to our lives Website: www.RandyAdkinsJr.com Book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1960236016?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_dp_D90GRYZ1SJHDTZ99CMR3 Podcast: https://www.randyadkinsjr.com/speaker/podcast/ © the spiritual forum 2023

“Somewhere just at the edge of the apparent end of a matter is a door to a place where we might put a breath into the sentences of our lives – a place where we are stripped of all questions where more than we can imagine takes place.” - Rob Wykes in Pause - A Spiritual Power Opportunities to enter a spiritual place are all around us but we often don't recognize them, opting instead to move on to the next thing. In his book, Pause - A Spiritual Power, author Rob Wykes helps people to identify those moments and enter places of ‘spiritual pause’ which exist ‘just at the fingertips of our mortal grasp.’ A former builder turned Chaplain and then charity Chief Executive, Rob trekked through Europe, India, Iran, and Pakistan as a young man, where he awakened to the deep and profound experiences that cross cultures. While he is a practicing Christian, the power of pause is not confined or defined by any one faith tradition. In this episode Rob defines pause as a spiritual power, talks about the importance of attending to the spiritual life, and shares his own pause experiences. Some of the things we talk about are: •There is much more to us than meets the eye •What is spirituality? •Categories don’t apply to our spiritual nature, so words can’t describe •God inhabits the spirit not the mental or emotional •Pause is when we get to the edge of the material •Why pause is a spiritual power •The spirit within us is fixed and needs no improvement •The soul, like the body needs feeding too •How prayer can be an internal conversation in our head •What ‘ask and it will be given’ really means •At the end of our mortal grasp is the spiritual realm; at the end of our prayers, we discover God •Unity and individual experiences •The importance of being expectant, waiting and listening Links: https://youtu.be/J8b9ho7vL0s https://robwykes.com/ https://www.facebook.com/rob.wykes.1 © the spiritual forum 2023