Will Hunter is a former monk, hermit, and wilderness therapy guide, who currently serves as the retreat director for the Earth & Spirit Center in Louisville, KY. In this episode, Will and I talk about the evolution of monastic life and how the desert or wilderness spirituality of monastic practice is possible – and even essential – for all of us, even in the midst of our built environments and our busy lives. Resources: Donate to support this podcast: https://www.earthandspiritcenter.org/donate/ Earth & Spirit Center homepage: https://www.earthandspiritcenter.org/ Will’s upcoming three-week course on Wilderness Spirituality (in-person and online via Zoom): https://www.earthandspiritcenter.org/class/wilderness-spirituality/

Shelly Sowell is a therapist and well-being coach who integrates mindfulness and self-compassion into her work with individuals and organizations. In this episode, we reflect on how mindfulness provides a helpful path of healing, integration, and hope for individuals and communities in the wake of the 2024 elections. RESOURCES: Donate to support this podcast: https://www.earthandspiritcenter.org/donate/ Earth & Spirit Center homepage: https://www.earthandspiritcenter.org/ Shelly's website: shellysowell.com Shelly’s Instagram: @buildamindfullife Shelly’s blog page: https://www.shellysowell.com/blog Blog Post on Fear: https://www.shellysowell.com/blog/buildamindfullife-workingwithfear Blog Post on Supporting Kids: https://www.shellysowell.com/blog/buildamindfullife-electionanxiety Blog Post from last year on Prepping for Holidays: https://www.shellysowell.com/blog/mindfullyprepfamilyholidays

In this brief episode, Earth & Spirit Podcast host and producer Kyle Kramer gives some background on why the podcast feed has been dark for a bit, and what the future holds for the podcast moving forward.

David Gershon is the co-founder and CEO of Empowerment Institute, author of a dozen books, and is one of the foremost social change experts in the world. In this conversation, David shares his vision of world peace by 2030 and the inspired and inspiring way he is helping create the means to achieve it. RESOURCES: Donate to support this podcast: https://www.earthandspiritcenter.org/donate/ Earth & Spirit Center homepage: https://www.earthandspiritcenter.org/ Registration link for World Building Workshop in Louisville on September 7, 2024: https://poe.earth/POEWBWorkshop Learn more about the Peace on Earth by 2030 Movement: https://peace2030.earth Learn more about the Peace Game and the Peace Game App: https://peacegame.earth https://docs.google.com/document/d/1arS7L8fkp2DgKgfuD3GOAxykugYm3TwGusaZ8Zw5ZA4/edit?usp=sharing https://poe.earth/app Learn more about David’s work and writing: https://empowermentinstitute.net

Brayton Bowen is an organizational consultant, author, educator, and speaker, who served as a senior human resources officer for Fortune 500 companies. He’s also a fierce advocate for compassion in the workplace. In this episode, we explore the benefits compassion can bring in organizational life and beyond. RESOURCES: Donate to support the Earth & Spirit Podcast: https://www.earthandspiritcenter.org/donate/ Earth & Spirit Center homepage: https://www.earthandspiritcenter.org/ Brayton’s website: https://buildingbetterworldsofwork.com/ Brayton’s books: https://buildingbetterworldsofwork.com/success-resources/

John Gage is a Louisville-based folk singer-songwriter and a former public radio host. For over six decades, his music has engaged deeply with spirituality, social justice, and care for the Earth. John brought his beloved old Martin guitar with him to the Earth & Spirit Center to add a few live songs to this wide-ranging conversation about music as a force for good in the world. His most recent album, Circles of Our Lives, features several Wendell Berry poems that John set to music, one of which he performed during this conversation. John teaches music for the Camp Odyssey summer programs at the Earth & Spirit Center, so since our summer camps are in full swing, we are re-airing this episode, which originally aired in 2021. Resources: Donate to support this podcast: https://www.earthandspiritcenter.org/donate/ Earth & Spirit Center website: www.earthandspiritcenter.org John Gage on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/26zYYPXePtVOO7hHjieUGj

Mat McDermott is Senior Director of Communications for the Hindu American Foundation, a non-profit advocacy organization for the Hindu American community, and an author and contributor for many Hindu American Foundation policy positions on environmental care and the ethical treatment of animals. This conversation explores how Hindu spirituality, and especially the various forms of yoga, help cultivate an ethic of love and care for the sacred world we all share. RESOURCES: Donate to support this podcast: https://www.earthandspiritcenter.org/donate/ Earth & Spirit Center homepage: https://www.earthandspiritcenter.org/ Hindu American Foundation: https://www.hinduamerican.org/ Learn more about the June 21 International Day of Yoga

In honor of the Earth & Spirit Center’s upcoming summer camps, we’re replaying an episode from the archives, about the importance of nature-based free play. Claude Stephens is the Facilitator of Outreach and Regenerative Design for Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest. He’s also the director of Bernheim’s Children at Play Network, an initiative that helps connect children to nature through free play. This conversation explores the importance of free play in nature as an engine of inspiration and imagination, empowerment, equity, and efforts to sustain healthy communities and landscapes. RESOURCES: Earth & Spirit Center: https://earthandspiritcenter.org/ Bernheim Research Forest and Arboretum: https://bernheim.org/ Children At Play Network: https://childrenatplaynetwork.com/

Reverend Seifu Anil Singh-Molares is a priest in the Rinzai Zen Buddhist tradition and serves as the executive director of Spiritual Directors International, an interfaith non-profit that provides resources for spiritual guidance and counsel. This conversation explores what spiritual direction is and how important it is for discerning wisdom and divine presence in all aspects of our life. RESOURCES: Donate to support this podcast: https://www.earthandspiritcenter.org/donate/ Earth & Spirit Center homepage: https://www.earthandspiritcenter.org/ Spiritual Directors International: https://www.sdicompanions.org/ Contact Rev. Seifu: anilsm@sdiworld.org

Rebecca and Pete Davis are a sister-and-brother filmmaking team who have created “Join or Die,” a documentary film about the decline of civic life in America and the importance of joining clubs and other associations as a way to restore the health of our democracy. This episode explores how we are all made for belonging and how we can lean into the profoundly joyful work of becoming more deeply connected to our places and to each other. RESOURCES: Donate to support this podcast: https://www.earthandspiritcenter.org/donate/ Earth & Spirit Center homepage: https://www.earthandspiritcenter.org/ Join or Die film: https://putnamdoc.com/