The Spiritual Forum

NOTE: Phil's video quality is less than optimum at first but improves significantly at 12 minutes
Christopher Nolan's blockbuster film The Odyssey has grossed over $1.1 billion worldwide. There’s no better time to have a conversation about it. Phil Cousineau joins the Spiritual Forum to discuss his book The Wisdom of the Odyssey and why Homer’s 3,000-year-old epic remains a living “sacred story” about love, war, and the lifelong spiritual search for home and return to self. The Odyssey is our story too! We explore several archetypes found in the story and the emotional power of storytelling and listening. Phil also reflects on his mentor Joseph Campbell’s influence, compares Homer’s spiritual psychology with well-known Bible stories, and critiques Christopher Nolan’s film choices while affirming the epic’s central lesson: love can pull us home again.
✍Link to buy Phil Cousineau's book: The Wisdom of the Odyssey: Twenty-Four Life Lessons from Homer’s Epic - https://a.co/d/0dv8xNoL 🎙️ Listen on Apple Podcasts & rate us to spread the light! – https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-spiritual-forum
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🌎✨ Join us at the Whole Planet Spirituality Retreat, where compassion for animals, care for the Earth, and spiritual growth come together in one unforgettable experience.
Bio-Phil Cousineau is the author of The Wisdom of the Odyssey and over forty other books. including the bestselling The Art of Pilgrimage, and The Hero’s Journey: Joseph Campbell on his Life and Work. Cousineau is a writer, teacher, filmmaker, storyteller, and cultural historian, who has consulted on mythology and story for major studios including Warner Brothers., Pixar, and Lucasfilm, and has led mythology travel programs to Greece for more than three decades. Cousineau has been featured on NPR, CNN International, the BBC, the Smithsonian and Discovery Channels, and was the host of PBS and LINK-TV’s Global Spirit. He lives in San Francisco. Visit him online at http://www.PhilCousineau.com.
#TheOdyssey #Wisdom #SpiritualJourney #Mythology #SelfDiscovery #JosephCampbell #SpiritualAwakening

Cheryl Wilder joins the Spiritual Forum to share her decades-long reckoning after a drunk driving crash at age 20 that left her friend permanently brain-injured. She describes how shame (“I am wrong”) shaped her life and how her refusal to run from accountability ultimately led her on a healing journey that included mindfulness, Taoist teachings, journaling and poetry writing – all of which led her toward moral repair and self-forgiveness. Near the end, Cheryl shares her current involvement in civic bridge-building and introduces the concept of moral injury -- the psychological, emotional, and spiritual distress that occurs when a person commits, witnesses, or fails to prevent acts that violate their core moral beliefs. Cheryl’s story is riveting and whether we know it or not, her process of healing her moral injury applies to all of us.
 
Bio: Cheryl Wilder’s decades-long reckoning with the decision to drive drunk, which left her friend and passenger severely and permanently injured, taught her that self-forgiveness must lead to genuine moral repair. As a poet, Cheryl uses the personal lyric to “translate” her reckoning into language, an active taking-hold of her emotional life. Her collection, Anything That Happens (Press 53), is an acute examination of shame in the aftermath of the crash. Its companion collection, Singing Riptide (Press 53), supported by the North Caroling Arts Council, is her journey from all-consuming shame to self-realization and belonging. She received residency at SAFTA for her nonfiction work-in-progress about the experience. Leading with her lessons from shame to self-forgiveness, whether through her work as an author, coach, and speaker, or her role as a community leader, Cheryl is committed to cultivating healthy community interconnectedness by helping individuals nurture their awareness, introspection, and accountability. Trained by The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation, Cheryl is an arts and culture leader in the community-led initiative For Alamance, inspiring her to “translate” collective crises into language that explores moral injury and the need for mass forgiveness.
🎙️ Listen on Apple Podcasts & rate us to spread the light! – https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-spiritual-forum
❤️ Support this mission: https://thespiritualforum.org/
🌎✨ Join us at the Whole Planet Spirituality Retreat, where compassion for animals, care for the Earth, and spiritual growth come together in one unforgettable experience.
Watch, be inspired, and discover why so many people return year after year.
Registration Link -http://thespiritualforum.org/retreat#SelfForgiveness #Forgiveness #HealingJourney #SpiritualAwakening #SpiritualJourney #Shame #SelfHealing #EmotionalHealing #MentalHealthAwareness #InnerHealing #PersonalGrowth #HealingTrauma #MoralInjury #Accountability #SelfLove #Mindfulness

Daniela Rizzo joins The Spiritual Forum to discuss her research on the connection between faith, the Holy Spirit, and the lives of animals, drawing from her new academic book, "Animal Pneumatology." She shares how a profound experience with her cat led her to ask how the Spirit might work through animals, and prompting her PhD research. Daniella and host Rev. Carol explore animal sentience, and the biblical and theological grounding for why animals matter to God. They discuss the ethical implications of our current ecological dominion, emphasizing a shift in consciousness toward a “peaceable kingdom” where animals and humans flourish together.
 ✍Link to buy Anneke Daniela Rizzo's book: The book "Animal Pneumatology" is now available via Palgrave Macmillan: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-032-18723-9🎙️ Listen on Apple Podcasts & rate us to spread the light! – https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-spiritual-forum
 ❤️ Support this mission: https://thespiritualforum.org/
🌎✨ Join us at the Whole Planet Spirituality Retreat, where compassion for animals, care for the Earth, and spiritual growth come together in one unforgettable experience.
Watch, be inspired, and discover why so many people return year after year.
Registration Link - http://thespiritualforum.org/retreat#Animals #Spirituality #HolySpirit #AnimalLovers #CreationCare #Faith #Christianity #GodLovesAnimals #Nature #Theology #AnimalEthics #Compassion #Wildlife #Consciousness #SpiritualAwakening #LoveAllCreation #Podcast #DanielaRizzo #TheSpiritualForum #AnimalRights #EarthStewardship #DivineLove #Spirit #Creation #animalsmatter #spiritualityandanimals and maybe #AnimalPneumatology

Former physician Dr. Richard Moss joins us to discuss becoming radically alive through embodied presence and conscious relationship. Moss recounts three spontaneous awakenings, including an incredible in-flight experience that instantly ended his PTSD, which led him to pursue his consciousness work. He introduces his “Mandala of Being” framework, which outlines the four ways we continually leave the present, and invites us to return to the now, asking, “What does love want right now? He and Rev. Carol conclude with a discussion about the current state of the world and how AI can be used for good.
🎙️ Listen on Apple Podcasts & rate us to spread the light! – https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-spiritual-forum
 ❤️ Support this mission: https://thespiritualforum.org/
🌎✨ Join us at the Whole Planet Spirituality Retreat, where compassion for animals, care for the Earth, and spiritual growth come together in one unforgettable experience.
Watch, be inspired, and discover why so many people return year after year.
Registration Link - http://thespiritualforum.org/retreat
Bio -Dr. Richard Moss is an internationally respected teacher, author, and former physician whose work has helped shape the contemporary field of inner transformation, embodied presence, and conscious relationship. In 1977, while practicing medicine, he underwent a spontaneous spiritual illumination that radically changed his understanding of consciousness, healing, and the roots of human suffering. Since then, through retreats, mentoring, and seven books—including The Black Butterfly: An Invitation to Radical Aliveness and The Mandala of Being: Discovering the Power of Awareness—he has guided people to recognize how identification with thought, fear, and emotional reactivity separates them from the immediacy of life. His teaching joins psychological insight, spiritual awakening, subtle body awareness, and the path of love, offering practical ways to meet pain, conflict, and uncertainty with presence, compassion, and a deeper trust in being. At the heart of his work is the invitation to become more fully alive: to return from the stories of the mind to the living intelligence of the body, the present moment, and the mystery of relationship itself.
#SpiritualAwakening #Consciousness #SelfHealing #Mindfulness #InnerPeace #PersonalGrowth #SpiritualGrowth #Awareness #HealingJourney #Presence #HigherConsciousness #SelfDiscovery #AwakenYourSoul #LifeTransformation #PodcastClips

Worship in the Wild with Lanni LanttoGuest Lanni Lantto co-founded UP Wild Church in 2019, a ministry designed to serve those who are disenchanted with traditional church, also known as “dones.” Here she shares how Wild Church offers nature-based gatherings and “wild walks” that also draw upon traditional practices such as prayer and scripture. She and Rev. Carol explore the inner calling to care for creation, the integration of ritual and mindful presence into the church experience, the nature of God, and ways to help people heal from church trauma. This episode invites you to rethink spirituality outside the walls of a church and step out into the wilds of nature.
“In a growing world of artificial everything, a dandelion's invitation to pause, listen and reconnect is some deep spiritual work.”
🎙️ Listen on Apple Podcasts & rate us to spread the light! – https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-spiritual-forum
 ❤️ Support this mission: https://thespiritualforum.org/
🌎✨ Join us at the Whole Planet Spirituality Retreat, where compassion for animals, care for the Earth, and spiritual growth come together in one unforgettable experience.
Watch, be inspired, and discover why so many people return year after year.
Registration Link - http://thespiritualforum.org/retreat
Bio-Lantto co-founded UP Wild Church in 2019 as a collaboration between the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's Northern Great Greats Synod and the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Michigan. The ministry targets "dones"—individuals disenchanted with traditional church structures—by holding nondenominational prayer services and "Wild Walks" in natural settings like forests and the shores of Lake Superior. Her approach emphasizes creation care, healing from past church trauma, and fostering a spiritual connection with nature. c
#WildChurch #Spirituality #NatureHealing #FaithJourney #Christianity #CreationCare #GodInNature #HealingJourney #Bible #Jesus #ChurchTrauma #Mindfulness #Prayer #ForestBathing #SpiritualGrowth #NatureLovers #OutdoorWorship #Faith #ChristianPodcast #Podcast #churchbeyondwalls #nones

In the middle of the pandemic, Gideon Enok experienced a sudden awakening that called him to embark on a walking journey across Europe. Over five months, he walked from Denmark to Santiago de Compostela and Finisterre, Spain—known historically as the "End of the World” and has used walking as his spiritual practice ever since, logging over 7,000 kilometers. In this episode, Gideon recounts navigating with faith through uncertainty and pain, and through it all, experiencing healing and ultimately becoming a better man. Whether you are called to walk the Camino or not, Gideon’s journey is a lesson for us all on how to boldly walk the spiritual path.
🎙️ Listen on Apple Podcasts & rate us to spread the light! – https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-spiritual-forum ❤️ Support this mission: https://thespiritualforum.org/
🌎✨ Join us at the Whole Planet Spirituality Retreat, where compassion for animals, care for the Earth, and spiritual growth come together in one unforgettable experience.Watch, be inspired, and discover why so many people return year after year.
Registration Link - http://thespiritualforum.org/retreat
Bio-Gideon Enok has traveled the world since 2010, living in countries including the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Slovakia, and Spain. Having walked more than 7,000 km with a backpack, he considers himself a lifelong pilgrim.
He is the author of The Pilgrim Spirit, a memoir inspired by his five-month walk across Europe during the 2020 pandemic. The book also tells the remarkable story of how a lifelong dream to meet his favorite author, Gregory David Roberts (Shantaram), unexpectedly became reality and helped shape the book itself. During its completion, Gideon also found true love in Finisterre, Spain, where he met his partner, K.
#SpiritualJourney #Faith #CaminoDeSantiago #Humility #SelfDiscovery #PersonalGrowth #Pilgrimage #SpiritualAwakening #InnerHealing #Transformation #LifePurpose #Mindset #Consciousness #Inspiration #WalkingMeditation #spiritualsurrender #camino #innerhealing

Best-selling author/illustrator Hans Wilhelm returns to share insights into the teachings of modern-day prophetess Gabriele, which form the basis of his short “Life Explained” YouTube videos. This conversation centers on his video “What About Animals?” where we learn about the divinely designed cycle of love and service between humans and animals. Like Unity co-founder Charles Fillmore, Gabriele believed animals were our “little brothers and sisters” whose love we are to receive and whose care and mercy we are to give. Hans and Rev. Carol also discuss the nature of God and Jesus, the laws of love and karma, and interpretations of the 10 Commandments and the Beatitudes as they relate to all life. 
🎙️ Listen on Apple Podcasts & rate us to spread the light! – https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-spiritual-forum ❤️ Support this mission: https://thespiritualforum.org/
🌎✨ Join us at the Whole Planet Spirituality Retreat, where compassion for animals, care for the Earth, and spiritual growth come together in one unforgettable experience.Watch, be inspired, and discover why so many people return year after year.
Registration Link - http://thespiritualforum.org/retreat
Bio -Hans Wilhelm is a mystic, author, and illustrator of over 200 books for all ages – including some together with Byron Katie. His books have sold over 40 million copies and are translated into 30 languages.For more than 10 years Hans has created over 140 short YouTube videos in which he visually explains the spiritual laws of the universe. In these videos you can watch him drawing the dynamics of these laws and see how all the dots connect. This absolutely unique visual presentation has made his videos so successful that they have been watched by over 18 million viewers. The videos are also available for free on www.LIFEexplained.com. 
#Animals #Spirituality #AnimalLovers #Consciousness #SpiritualAwakening #LifePurpose #AnimalWisdom #LoveAllBeings #SpiritualJourney #Compassion #Nature #HigherConsciousness #UniversalLove #SoulJourney #Mindfulness #Awaken #SpiritualGrowth #HansWilhelm #TheSpiritualForum #Podcast #lawofkarma #karma #lawoflove #creationcare 

Inspired by 9/11, the Dalai Lama’s Seeds of Compassion, and indigenous wisdom. Jon Ramer founded the Compassion Games, where competition is replaced by “co-opetition,” and where compassion is made visible through real-world actions. In this episode, Jon outlines the 99-day games (June 21 - September 27) and the four “doorways” to play —Earth, People, Together (shared impact), and Place (bioregions). He and Rev. Carol also explore themes of division, relationship without domination, stewardship vs ownership, distributed power, consensus governance, and using technology and AI ethically to support cooperation, restoration, and a “reverent revolution” of care for all life and future generations. 
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Bio - Jon Ramer is a civic innovator, musician, and movement strategist working to unite humanity and restore Mother Earth. He is the founder of the Compassion Games: Survival of the Kindest, and co-creator of One World, and a longtime collaborator with Indigenous-led movements for peace, regeneration, and global unity.
#CompassionGames #SpiritualAwakening #KindnessMatters #ConsciousLiving #HealingHumanity #SpiritualGrowth #RaiseYourVibration #UnityConsciousness #MotherEarth #SelfTransformation #reverentrevolution #unityforall #seventhgeneration #indigenouswisdom #forkintheroad