The Sacred Speaks

In this In this episode of The Sacred Speaks, Dr. John W. Price sits down with Dr. Susan Schwartz, Jungian analyst and author, for a searching conversation about one of the most underaddressed wounds in contemporary psychology: the absent father. Susan is the author of The Absent Father Effect on Daughters and the forthcoming Absent Fathers, Yearning Sons. Her clinical work draws on decades of practice and deep immersion in Jungian theory, and what she brings to this conversation is not just scholarly precision but the kind of knowledge that only comes from sitting with this material in the consulting room across a lifetime. Father absence, she argues, is routinely minimized in both psychoanalytic literature and popular culture. John and Susan move through the specific ways absence shapes identity, relatedness, sexuality, and the gaze. They explore what it means when a father's eyes are never there to confirm a daughter's body, her mind, her worth, and how fathers model partnering, love, and respect for soul. Susan brings two clinical dreams into the conversation: one involving Vladimir Putin as a figure for the negative father complex, and one about cleaning a closet that opens into something unexpected and alive. These are not illustrations. They are the unconscious at work, showing what the personal father could not provide and what the psyche has done with that absence in the meantime. The conversation moves into territory that will matter to men as much as women: the relationship between absent fathers and male brutality, the failure of initiation when the father is not present to initiate, the ancestral and communal dimensions of the wound, and whether fathers can actually change. Susan's answer to that last question is honest and worth hearing slowly. The episode closes with the questions she believes everyone should be asking, and almost no one does. Connect with Dr. Susan Schwartz Website: susanschwartzphd.com Instagram: instagram.com/susanschwartzphd LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/susanschwartzphd Academia: independent.academia.edu/susanschwartz1 Jung Studies: jungstudies.net/author/seschwartz/ Website for John drjohnwprice.com WATCH: YouTube for The Sacred Speaks youtube.com/channel/UCOAuksnpfht1udHWUVEO7Rg Instagram: instagram.com/thesacredspeaks @thesacredspeaks Facebook: facebook.com/thesacredspeaks Brought to you by: thecenterforhas.com Theme music provided by: modernnationsmusic.com

In this episode of The Sacred Speaks, host Dr. John W. Price welcomes Mirabai Starr—acclaimed translator of the mystics, teacher of interspiritual wisdom, and luminous guide to the sacred woven through daily life. Together, they explore the heart of ordinary mysticism: discovering holiness not only in monasteries or mountaintops, but in the tender rhythms of our own existence. Mirabai opens her story with radical honesty—her countercultural Jewish upbringing, alternative education, and the teachers and traditions that shaped her. The conversation turns to how rigid ideas of “being spiritual” can keep us from true intimacy with the divine, and how humility, humor, and embodiment restore us to a living spirituality. Mirabai shares how the death of her teenage daughter became a devastating but sacred initiation, revealing grief as one of the deepest portals into divine love. Moving between ancient voices and her own life, Mirabai offers a mysticism that is fiercely tender, humble, embodied, and accessible to all. This dialogue invites us to see our own lives as sacred ground—woven with loss and beauty, pain and joy, shadow and wonder. Key Takeaways Mysticism is accessible in everyday life, not just in monasteries or religious settings. Rigid religious or cultural ideas of “spirituality” can block authentic spiritual experience. Embodiment and emotions—especially grief—are sacred entry points into deeper connection. Translating the mystics is less about history than entering a living dialogue across time. Friendship, humor, humility, and even money can be part of an integrated spiritual life. In This Episode (00:00) Introduction and Welcome (00:20) Introducing Mirabai (01:14) Mirabai’s Background and Influences (02:30) Personal Tragedy and Grief (03:21) Housekeeping and Announcements (05:26) Interview with Mirabai Starr Begins (07:33) Ordinary Mysticism and Everyday Spirituality (08:54) Critique of Organized Religion (13:38) Counterculture Upbringing and Influence (18:39) Alternative Education and Teaching Philosophy (23:29) Feminine Mysticism and Embodiment (38:32) Translating the Mystics as Living Companions (43:33) The Supernatural and the Natural (45:55) Writing as Dialogic Spiritual Practice (51:27) Grief and the Sacredness of Loss (01:00:21) Writing as a Spiritual Path (01:14:02) Navigating Money and Spirituality (01:18:17) Closing Reflections & Resources Connect with Mirabai Starr Company: Wild Heart Community: Holy Lament (online support for grief; opens twice yearly, next in Nov 2025) Book: Ordinary Mysticism: Your Life as Sacred Ground (HarperOne, Sept 2025) Earlier Works: Wild Mercy, Caravan of No Despair, her translations of Dark Night of the Soul and The Interior Castle, and more - check out Mirabai's website: mirabaistarr.com Connect with John Come and join, The Open Gate. Link on website Website: https://drjohnwprice.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjohnwprice/

In this episode of The Sacred Speaks, John sits down with Adele Getty—spiritual teacher, author, and cultural bridge—to explore the urgent, timeless wisdom of her book A Sense of the Sacred. Though written nearly 30 years ago, Adele’s work feels more relevant than ever in a world hungry for meaning, ritual, and reconnection with the more-than-human world. Together, John and Adele reflect on the lost world of animism, the power of symbolic action, and the aching grief of cultural severance from the sacred. Adele shares her path as a modern-day rite-maker, offering personal stories, cross-cultural insights, and poetic invitations to remember what it means to live in a living world. The conversation moves fluidly between anthropology, personal spirituality, indigenous wisdom, and the transformative potential of ceremony—especially in a time of ecological crisis and soul loss. This episode is both an intellectual dialogue and a soul invocation. If you've ever felt the quiet mourning of a life unlived—or sensed the sacred just beneath the surface of ordinary things—this conversation is for you. Key Themes: Animism as a lived cosmology—not a belief system, but a relationship The grief of modernity and the longing for reconnection Ceremony as both personal healing and collective repair The sacred role of women, humor, and voice in ritual How to begin building meaningful ceremonies in contemporary life Why symbolic acts matter in a disenchanted world Reflections on the psychedelic resurgence and ritual ethics Episode Timeline: (00:00) Introduction and Guest Announcement (00:37) Podcast Updates and Announcements (02:25) Introducing Adele Getty (04:02) The Book as a Lament and a Love Song (09:05) Adele’s Personal Background and Influences (11:56) Animism and the Cosmology of Connection (16:44) Ceremony as Daily Practice and Communal Healing (24:54) Spirit, Voice, and Song in Ritual Work (35:32) Historical Context and Cultural Amnesia (47:34) The Psychedelic Explosion and Western Disconnection (50:26) Modern Psychedelics, Integration, and Ethical Ceremony (51:24) Nature as Teacher and Ceremony Ground (52:35) Creating Sacred Spaces in Ordinary Life (01:14:21) The Role of Humor, Play, and the Trickster (01:18:51) Symbolic Acts and Soul Reenchantment (01:19:57) Final Reflections on Ceremony and Belonging (01:26:44) Closing Thoughts and Upcoming Offerings Connect with Adele Getty & The Limina Foundation: Website: https://www.liminafoundation.org/ Facebook: @liminafoundation Instagram: @liminafoundation

In this episode of The Sacred Speaks, I sit down with Dr. Gregory Shaw—renowned scholar of Neoplatonism and author of Hellenic Tantra and Theurgy and the Soul—to explore a forgotten path of spiritual transformation: theurgy. Together, we investigate: What theurgy actually is—not as abstract philosophy, but as a living practice. How modern culture’s loss of a mythic worldview creates both psychological pathology and spiritual hunger. Why Iamblichus taught that the divine does not live “elsewhere” but is present within matter itself. How ancient rites and rituals can restore a sense of sacred participation in our lives today. Gregory Shaw’s work bridges ancient philosophy and contemporary spirituality, showing how ritual, sacred embodiment, and symbolic consciousness can help us recover the animistic worldview our culture has lost. This conversation moves beyond ideas—it’s a call to remember. Subscribe to The Sacred Speaks for more conversations at the intersection of psychology, spirituality, and myth. Learn more about Gregory Shaw: • Hellenic Tantra: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CVN69KY7 • Theurgy and the Soul: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0271023228 • Interview on The SHWEP Podcast: https://shwep.net/podcast/gregory-shaw-on-the-phenomenology-of-iamblichean-theurgy/ Connect with me: • Website & offerings: https://www.drjohnwprice.com • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesacredspeaks/ • Podcast archive: https://www.youtube.com/c/thesacredspeaks

Check out John’s new website https://www.drjohnwprice.com/ Join The Open Gate – A Monthly Journey Through the Emotional Underworld The Open Gate is a live, monthly membership circle where we explore what I call the Little Teachers—emotions like shame, jealousy, and anxiety—not as pathologies, but as sacred guides. Each gathering includes teaching, meditation, journaling prompts, and a chance to reframe suffering as initiation. If you’re longing for community, rhythm, and depth—this is a space to walk that path. - https://www.drjohnwprice.com/the-open-gate-lt In this deeply reflective solo episode of The Sacred Speaks, host John W. Price explores the elusive and powerful principle of the feminine—drawing on insights from his previous interviews with Dr. Jaime Clark-Soles (author of Women in the Bible) and Elise Loehnen (author of On Our Best Behavior). John shares personal stories of his own initiation into the world of nurturing and care as a single father, and discusses how our culture’s overemphasis on the masculine has led to the neglect and invisibility of feminine values like intuition, mystery, and nurturing. Through the lens of archetypes—not gender—John examines how both masculine and feminine energies exist in all of us, and why restoring harmony between them is essential for personal and collective well-being. Using metaphors from music, psychology, and mythology, he invites listeners to embrace the mystery, honor the feminine, and seek a sacred balance within themselves and the world. Some key takeaways: The feminine represents mystery, intuition, and nurturing—qualities often undervalued in our culture. Masculine and feminine are archetypal energies, not tied to gender, and both are needed for inner and outer harmony. Restoring balance means honoring both energies, embracing the unknown, and seeking integration rather than dominance. In this episode (00:00) Introduction and Episode Overview (01:06) Synthesizing Interviews: Dr. Jaime Clark-Soles and Elise Loehnen (01:50) Exploring the Feminine and Masculine Principles (05:16) Personal Reflections and Experiences (09:28) Cultural and Archetypal Analysis (19:46) Insights from Jamie and Elise (27:46) Concluding Thoughts and Call to Action 🌎Find John W. Price WATCH: YouTube for The Sacred Speaks https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOAuksnpfht1udHWUVEO7Rg Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesacredspeaks/ @thesacredspeaks Twitter: https://twitter.com/thesacredspeaks Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thesacredspeaks/ Brought to you by: https://www.thecenterforhas.com Theme music provided by: http://www.modernnationsmusic.com

In this episode of The Sacred Speaks, host Dr. John W. Price sits down with Elise Loehnen—writer, researcher, and author of On Our Best Behavior, a book that explores how the ancient moral framework of the seven deadly sins has been internalized by women, shaping their identities, relationships, and sense of worth. This conversation is not just a review—it’s a ritual inquiry. Together, John and Elise explore: The invisible “scripts” that define femininity in a patriarchal culture; How envy, pride, sloth, and other so-called “sins” reveal deeper spiritual truths; What Elise risked—and learned—by stepping out from her “invisibility cloak”; How patriarchal systems harm men as well, and the cost of emotional suppression; How men and women can co-create a future rooted in collaboration, not competition The role of grief, longing, and sacred agency in personal and cultural awakening; Elise also shares behind-the-scenes insight into her writing process, her podcast Pulling the Thread, and her evolving work around binaries, individuation, and collective healing. This episode is part of a broader arc on The Sacred Speaks focused on rebalancing the masculine and feminine within us and in our culture. Join John for the upcoming live webinar: Reframing Suffering – The Little Teachers Explore anxiety, jealousy, and shame as sacred messengers 📅 Wednesday, May 14 https://www.drjohnwprice.com/littleteachers-event-2025 or see @thesacredspeaks on Instagram 👉 CONNECT WITH ELISE LOEHNEN: Website: https://www.eliseloehnen.com/about Check out Elise Loehnen’s powerful book: On Our Best Behavior: The Seven Deadly Sins and the Price Women Pay to Be Good https://www.amazon.com/Our-Best-Behavior-Seven-Deadly-ebook/dp/B0BN574QYK Substack: https://eliseloehnen.substack.com/ Podcast: Pulling the Thread 🧭 CHAPTERS: (00:00) Introduction and Guest Announcement (00:12) Book Recommendation and Feminine Focus (00:36) Upcoming Episodes and Personal Projects (00:49) Cultural Excavation and Feminine Scripts (03:30) Interview with Elise Loehnen Begins (04:27) Exploring the Seven Deadly Sins (06:00) Patriarchy and Cultural Conditioning (16:54) Masculine and Feminine Archetypes (20:04) Podcasting and Personal Growth (25:33) Psychedelics and Personal Experiences (41:25) Writing as a Transformative Process (45:16) The 'Me' Story vs. The 'We' Story (46:52) Individualism vs. Collectivism (47:31) Individuation and Awakening (48:36) The Matrix and Cultural Narratives (50:24) Exploring Envy and Its Origins (52:17) The Seven Deadly Sins and Their History (56:45) Navigating Envy in Men and Women (01:13:40) Patriarchy and Its Impact on Men (01:19:26) Building a Bigger Tent for Everyone (01:20:31) Final Thoughts and Closing Remarks 🎧 Interview begins at (03:30) 🔗 THE SACRED SPEAKS: Website: http://www.thesacredspeaks.com WATCH: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOAuksnpfht1udHWUVEO7Rg FOLLOW: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesacredspeaks/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/thesacredspeaks Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thesacredspeaks/ Brought to you by: www.thecenterforhas.com 🎶 Theme music by Modern Nations @ www.modernnationsmusic.com

Check out Richard Rohr’s latest book, The Tears of Things, where he explores the wisdom of the prophets and the realities of social sin. In this episode of The Sacred Speaks, I sit down with Father Richard Rohr—one of the most respected spiritual teachers of our time. We dive into the significance of prophecy, the necessity of self-awareness in transformation, and the ways in which religion can both illuminate and obscure the path to truth. Father Rohr shares insights from The Tears of Things, his latest book, which reframes the role of the prophets—not as finger-wagging moralists but as voices crying out against the deep, systemic sins that threaten to unravel society. Our conversation moves through themes of non-dual thinking, the dangers of religious idolatry, and how true spiritual growth requires both inner work and a commitment to the collective good. Throughout the episode, Richard offers deeply personal reflections on his own spiritual journey, the necessity of sadness and self-doubt, and the ongoing process of transformation that never really ends. Episode Timestamps (00:00) Introduction and Announcements (02:44) Richard Rohr’s Spiritual Journey and Early Influences (08:21) The Franciscan Way and the Practice of Humility (13:39) The Trap of Dualistic Thinking and the Ego (18:43) The Power of Initiation and Rites of Passage (35:00) The Role of Prophets in Society Today (47:23) Understanding the Concept of Demons and Possession (49:14) The Father Wound and Healing Parental Relationships (50:23) The Prophets and Their Enduring Insights (50:52) The Remnant and the Wisdom of the Minority (53:27) The Problem with Majority Rule and Empires (57:29) Personal Struggles, Doubt, and the Spiritual Journey (01:06:17) The Role of Sadness in Awakening and Solidarity (01:10:55) Medicalizing Sin and the Social Consequences (01:14:49) The Prophet’s Vision and Its Relevance Today (01:18:40) Reflections on Life, Death, and Spiritual Evolution (01:27:52) Final Thoughts: Reward, Punishment, and the Nature of Grace Watch & Listen: YouTube: The Sacred Speaks Instagram: @thesacredspeaks Twitter: @thesacredspeaks Facebook: The Sacred Speaks 🙏 Brought to you by: The Center for Healing Arts & Sciences 🎵 Theme music by: Modern Nations Announcements & Updates Exciting news! In May, I’ll be hosting my first online workshop, where I’ll explore key ideas from my upcoming book. This is a free offering, and if you want to be part of it, you can sign up when the new website is live @. www.drjohnwprice.com You’ll have six weeks to register—don’t miss it! Also, I’m getting back into a regular podcast rhythm—two episodes per month, including at least one solo episode where I’ll dive deeper into the themes of spirituality, psychology, and transformation. I’ve had a full year, but I’m excited to re-engage with these conversations and this community. So, let’s get into it. Richard Rohr, welcome to The Sacred Speaks.

Make sure to check out Henry’s book “Original Love” https://henryshukman.com/writing/original-love Also check out the meditation app “The Way” https://www.thewayapp.com/?source=us_traffic Welcome to The Sacred Speaks! In this episode, I sit down with Henry Shukman—a Zen teacher, poet, and co-founder of The Way meditation app. Together, we explore the profound mysteries of meditation, spirituality, and the human experience. Henry shares his journey from his early struggles with eczema and psychological challenges to his transformative awakening and his life as a Zen teacher. We dive deep into Zen concepts, the beauty of ordinary experience, and the intersection of poetry and meditation. Henry offers wisdom on navigating common meditation hindrances and shares practical advice for cultivating awareness, deepening meaning, and connecting with the unseen currents of existence. Join us as we uncover the power of meditation to transform both our inner and outer lives. 👉Connect to Henry Shukman Website https://henryshukman.com/ The Way Meditation App https://www.thewayapp.com/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/henryshukman/?hl=en YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCA645lNnrksSrZIwe6mJ4mQ (00:00) Welcome to The Sacred Speaks (00:29) Introducing Henry Shukman (01:27) Henry's Journey into Zen and Meditation (03:24) The Essence of Zen Practice (05:13) The Transformative Power of Meditation (11:40) Early Struggles and Discoveries (21:12) The Awakening Experience (32:17) The Path to Healing and Teaching (45:01) The Beauty of Ordinary Experience (52:09) Exploring the Zen Concept of Oneness (53:40) The Feminine Perspective in Philosophy (54:58) Zen Stories and Their Parallels (56:16) A Transformative Zen Experience (01:00:13) The Intersection of Poetry and Meditation (01:08:56) A Simple Guide to Meditation (01:17:51) Navigating Cultural and Religious Views on Meditation (01:25:23) Understanding and Overcoming Meditation Hindrances (01:35:31) Final Thoughts and Gratitude