Loving THIS with Michael Gungor

On a mountaintop at the Mystic Hymnal retreat, Michael Gungor recounts a raw, cathartic moment—throwing himself on a grave, screaming into a canyon, and opening space for buried pain, forgiveness, and communal healing.He explains why his final song on the Magnificat album is a reworked Amazing Grace: changing lyrics to reject shame and fear, reclaiming Christian language in a mystical, reforming spirit, and inviting shared ritual and meaning as a path toward love and return.

In this episode Michael Gungor shares a personal 2010 story of spiritual crisis and a week of silence in Assisi that led to a profound breakthrough—dissolving into a sense of God, dancing on the hills where St. Francis preached, and feeling a deep, freeing presence.He connects that experience to the song "Remember," inspired by a letter from St. Clare, exploring themes of re-membering the present moment, the balance of emptiness and form (Om Namah Shivaya), reclaiming spiritual language, and the simple practice of resting in love and presence.

Michael Gungor reflects on seeing three crosses with a political banner and uses the image to explore the song "I Am," the meaning of Jesus (Yeshua), the I AM mantra, and how religion and empire distorted a message of love. He combines musical behind-the-scenes, personal stories from the Mystic Hymnal retreat, and a call to return to the root of being and unconditional compassion.

In this episode, Michael Gungor explores the song "Burdens," tracing its origin from a Mystic Hymnal retreat through LA wildfires, Bell's palsy, and time alone in the Sequoia forest. He shares how personal pain, community rejection, and the healing arc of the album shaped the music and lyrics, blending field recordings, playful community rituals, and reflections on welcome, scars, and transformation.

Michael Gungor breaks down the song "Totally Meaningless" from his album Magnificat, sharing early demos, inspirations, and studio moments. Through playful strings, candid demos, and his daughter Lou’s cameo, he explores how embracing life’s inherent meaninglessness can open the door to presence, joy, and creative freedom. This episode blends songwriting behind-the-scenes with a philosophical invitation: let go of yesterday and tomorrow’s stories, inhabit the moment, and find how meaninglessness can become radically meaningful.

Michael Gungor breaks down the making of "Same Sky" from his album Magnificat, sharing early versions, studio anecdotes, and production choices that shaped the final song.He explains Internal Family Systems and the sky/cloud metaphor that inspired the lyrics, and invites listeners to witness and hold all parts of themselves with open, non-judging love.

May we be free from our beliefs. Amen.

“What do I love when I love my God?” This is a famous question asked in St. Augustine’s “Confessions” that many people through the centuries have pondered and wrestled with. I too have wrestled with that question. And I can tell you it wasn’t just a theoretical or casual philosophical conversation for me. For me, it felt like the slow breaking of a tree branch I was perched upon over a cliff. It was terrifying and painful and often lonely. But one thing that I think sometimes gets missed in conversations around “deconstruction” is that there is often a deep love that is underneath and even fueling the questioning. I didn’t question God because it was a cool or progressive thing to do… I didn’t question the Bible because I was trying to be relevant culturally. I questioned God BECAUSE I loved God. I questioned the Bible because it was so important to me. This tension between loving something and not being able to understand it has shown up not just in my spiritual journey, but my personal life as well. In the last several years, some of my most important relationships have either been lost or redefined in some very scary and painful ways. But honestly, I still have such deep love for every one of those people. So what do you do in those scenarios? What do you do when your structures/expectations/understanding of reality falls apart even while you still are in love? What do you do when you love God even if you don’t know how to believe in God? What do you do when you love someone but don’t know how to define your relationship or understand them? This new single, “I Still Love You” that dropped today is an exploration of that tension. Sometimes, you just gotta let things be what they are. And maybe that’s actually the heart of what true, unconditional love is.

Michael talks about the meaning and story of Gungor's new single "A Million I's"

Singing together is not only a potentially powerful spiritual technology and form of spiritual community, but it’s good for you! Studies have shown singing to be linked to lower stress, better moods, more of a sense of connection, and many more benefits. In this podcast, Michael Gungor announces that he will be leading some simple chants and musical experiences that are designed to draw one into deep presence and embodiment. No religious belief is necessary to enjoy and reap the benefits of this powerful spiritual practice.

This is probably the most vulnerable podcast I've ever recorded. 2020 and 2021 have been some of the most challenging and beautiful years of my life. In this podcast, I share some of what's been happening with me as well as a song that I just released out of some of the shadow work I've been doing called "Look What I Can Do."

What is grace? Is it a magical power-up potion? A thought in the mind of God? A metaphor for fortunate moments in life? In this episode, Michael takes a deep dive into the idea of grace and offers his thoughts on why so many religious traditions have some sort of concept of it.