The Cosmic We with Barbara Holmes and Donny Bryant

The Restorative Power of Love With Felicia Murrell Jun 20, 2024

"When I think of the tapestry of the cosmos, I see all sentient beings as threads woven together—one energy running through us all." - Felicia Murrell

In today's episode, author Felicia Murrell joins the Dr. Barbara Holmes and Dr. Donny Bryant in conversation to offer a new vision of living gracefully and with connection. In this conversation, we're diving deep into what it means to be woven together and yet be gloriously unique in this stimulating conversation and about belonging, identity, privilege and our national and cosmic identity.

Resources:

The transcript for this episode can be found here.
To learn more about Felicia, visit her website here.
Felicia's new book And: The Restorative Power of Love in an Either/Or World can be found here.

Mysticism, Social Action, and the Path of the Soul With Dr. Liza J. Rankow May 16, 2024

How do you remind yourself that we are one—even with those we struggle to like?

On this episode, Dr. Donny Bryant and Dr. Barbara Holmes are joined in conversation by Dr. Liza J. Rankow. Together they explore the concept of mysticism and its relevance to social justice and the uncertainties of our world. Dr. Rankow emphasizes the importance of direct experience with the divine and how that experience can inform and sustain our work for a more just world; highlighting that the current state of the world demands a shift from oppositional dualism to a paradigm of reverence, kinship, and belonging to the wholeness of life.

Dr. Liza J. Rankow is an interfaith minister, educator, activist, and writer. Her lifework centers the deep healing that is essential to personal and social transformation. Liza is the founder and former executive director of OneLife Institute, supporting the well-being of frontline activists and caregivers. She has provided counseling and offered classes in healing and spiritual development for over three decades.

Resources:

The transcript for this episode can be found here.
To learn more about Dr. Liza J. Rankow, visit her website here: https://www.lizarankow.org/
Follow Dr. Rankow's writing on Substack: https://lizarankow.substack.com/
Find Dr. Rankow on InsightTimer: https://insighttimer.com/lizarankow
For all over offerings by Liza, visit: https://linktr.ee/lizarankow

Sacred Activism With Alison McCrary May 03, 2024

When was the last time you deeply listened to someone’s story?

On this episode, Dr. Donny Bryant and Dr. Barbara Holmes are joined in conversation by Alison McCrary exploring the very real impact of how we listen, speak, and show up in the world.

A former nun and tireless advocate, guest Alison McCrary reminds us, “We’re all called to be holy beings—to be the eyes, ears, heart, and being of God in the world.” How will you embody the eyes, ears, and heart of God in the world today?

Alison McCrary, a Georgia-born, New Orleans-based social justice lawyer and spiritual worker, bridges justice and spirituality in her work. With roots in the U.S. South, she serves as a transformative justice practitioner, strategist, and mediator. Passionate about healing trauma and repairing harm, Alison is a Spiritual Advisor on Louisiana’s Death Row. Formerly a Catholic nun, she remains active in her parish and indigenous community, advocating for criminal justice reform, environmental justice, human rights, and cultural preservation.

Resources:

The transcript for this episode can be found here.
To learn more about Alison's work, visit her website here.

Consecrating Chaos With Rev. Otis Moss III Apr 19, 2024

How can we cultivate resilience and hope, even when faced with seemingly insurmountable challenges and ongoing chaos?

In this episode Dr. Barbara Holmes and Dr. Donny Bryant talk with Rev. Otis Moss III about Dancing in the Darkness: Spiritual Lessons for Thriving in Turbulent Times, and how we can build resilience by consecrating chaos through prophetic grief and liberation listening.

Otis Moss III built his ministry on community empowerment and social justice activism. As senior pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, Illinois, Dr. Moss spent the last two decades practicing and preaching a Black theology that unapologetically calls attention to the problem of mass incarceration, environmental justice, and economic apartheid. Hailed as one of the "twelve most of effective preachers in the English-speaking world" by Baylor University's George W. Truett Theological Seminary, he has been cited by Chicago Magazine as one of the city's thirty most influential people. He is an NAACP Image Award recipient, award-winning filmmaker, poet, and professor of homiletics at Mercer University McAfee School of Theology. He is married to Monica Brown, and they are the proud parents of two children.

Resources:

A transcript for this episode can be found here.
Rev. Otis Moss III's latest book, Dancing in the Darkness, can be found here.

Futurism and Cosmic Rebirth Aug 11, 2023

Envision a future brimming with peace, joy, and creativity. What does that look like for you?

In the final episode of “The Cosmic We” season 4, Dr. Barbara Holmes and Dr. Donny Bryant discuss the importance of envisioning a future that bridges the ordinary and the eternal.

As Dr. Holmes explains: “We are unique and ordinary mystics in the making, flowing from one state of existence to the other, inhabiting the ordinary and touching the eternal. We are embedded in the continuum of life, related to the divine, the earth, and our neighbors.”

Resources:

The transcript for this episode can be found here.
If you wish to get a copy of Crisis Contemplation, you can find it in the CAC Bookstore.

Connect with us:

Have a question you'd like Dr. B or Donny to answer on a possible listener questions episode? Email us: podcasts@cac.org or leave us voicemail.
This podcast is made possible thanks to the generosity of our donors. If you would love to support the ongoing work of the Center for Action and Contemplation and the continued work of our podcasts, you can donate at https://cac.org/support-cac/podcasts/ Thank you!

Healing Aug 04, 2023

How do we heal while traumatic events continue to happen?

“As we sit with what is and what never should have been, our feet remember the call of drums and we allow the spirit within us to soar.” – Dr. Barbara Holmes

In this episode, learn more about the essential expression of joy as Dr. Barbara Holmes and Dr. Donny Bryant explore the themes of the 5th chapter, Healing, in Crisis Contemplation.

Resources:

The transcript for this episode can be found here.
If you wish to get a copy of Crisis Contemplation, you can find it in the CAC Bookstore.

Connect with us:

Have a question you'd like Dr. B or Donny to answer on a possible listener questions episode? Email us: podcasts@cac.org or leave us voicemail.
This podcast is made possible thanks to the generosity of our donors. If you would love to support the ongoing work of the Center for Action and Contemplation and the continued work of our podcasts, you can donate at https://cac.org/support-cac/podcasts/ Thank you!

The Village Response Jul 28, 2023

What does life look like in our modern-day village?

Based on the next chapter in Crisis Contemplation, The Village Response, in this episode, Dr. Barbara Holmes and Dr. Donny Bryant explore the role our communities play in shaping our humanity, our self-expression, and our healing.

Resources:

The transcript for this episode can be found here.
If you wish to get a copy of Crisis Contemplation, you can find it in the CAC Bookstore.

Connect with us:

Have a question you'd like Dr. B or Donny to answer on a possible listener questions episode? Email us: podcasts@cac.org or leave us voicemail.
This podcast is made possible thanks to the generosity of our donors. If you would love to support the ongoing work of the Center for Action and Contemplation and the continued work of our podcasts, you can donate at https://cac.org/support-cac/podcasts/ Thank you!

Wounds Jul 21, 2023

Who do you consider part of your village?

In this episode, both Dr. Barbara Holmes and Dr. Donny Bryant helps us make sense of our community wounds and explore the next chapter of Crisis Contemplation, Wounds. Dr. Barbara Holmes explains why unwelcome events are often essential to true transformation: “Wounds are portals. They are entryways to somewhere else within you. Sometimes things happen in your life that make you realize you have allowed a scar to form over something that was festering. It needed to be broken open.”

Have you gone through an unwelcome event that ushered in profound healing? Share your experience with us.

Resources:

The transcript for this episode can be found here.
If you wish to get a copy of Crisis Contemplation, you can find it in the CAC Bookstore.

Connect with us:

Have a question you'd like Dr. B or Donny to answer on a possible listener questions episode? Email us: podcasts@cac.org or leave us voicemail.
This podcast is made possible thanks to the generosity of our donors. If you would love to support the ongoing work of the Center for Action and Contemplation and the continued work of our podcasts, you can donate at https://cac.org/support-cac/podcasts/ Thank you!

Contemplation Jul 14, 2023

Do you have a time-tested contemplative practice for moments of crisis?

In this episode, Dr. Barbara Holmes and Dr. Donald Bryant offer us this thought: “When crisis has you in its grip, contemplation offers the ability to stop striving. It allows you the space to grieve your losses and then let go. It lets you know that it is okay to withdraw from ordinary pursuits for a while and let the Spirit lead.”

This episode is based on second chapter of Crisis Contemplation: Contemplation.

Resources:

The transcript for this episode can be found here.
If you wish to get a copy of Crisis Contemplation, you can find it in the CAC Bookstore.

Connect with us:

Have a question you'd like Dr. B or Donny to answer on a possible listener questions episode? Email us: podcasts@cac.org or leave us voicemail.
This podcast is made possible thanks to the generosity of our donors. If you would love to support the ongoing work of the Center for Action and Contemplation and the continued work of our podcasts, you can donate at https://cac.org/support-cac/podcasts/ Thank you!

Crisis Jul 07, 2023

Are you experiencing a crisis? How would you recognize it?

On the 4th season of The Cosmic We, we are taking a pause from our normal format to explore the themes of Dr. Barbara Holmes' book Crisis Contemplation. Together, Dr. B and Dr. Donnyexplore ways we can apply it to the realities we face in our daily lives. This first episode is based on the themes of Chapter 1: Crisis.

Resources:

The transcript for this episode can be found here.
If you wish to get a copy of Crisis Contemplation, you can find it in the CAC Bookstore.

Connect with us:

Have a question you'd like Dr. B or Donny to answer on a possible listener questions episode? Email us: podcasts@cac.org or leave us voicemail.
This podcast is made possible thanks to the generosity of our donors. If you would love to support the ongoing work of the Center for Action and Contemplation and the continued work of our podcasts, you can donate at https://cac.org/support-cac/podcasts/ Thank you!

Living Ourselves Into New Ways of Being with Brian McLaren Dec 16, 2022

How has your experience of faith changed since your childhood? What shifts in the foundation of your faith have you intentionally and unintentionally made?

In this final episode of season 3, Barbara and Donny have a conversation with Brian McLaren about the ways we construct God and how, in many ways, the Christian faith hasn’t fully grasped Jesus’s teachings.

Brian D. McLaren is an author, speaker, activist, and public theologian. A former college English teacher and pastor, he is a passionate advocate for “a new kind of Christianity” – just, generous, and working with people of all faiths for the common good. He is a core faculty member of The Living School and hosts the podcast Learning How to See, which are part of the Center for Action and Contemplation. He is also an Auburn Senior Fellowand is a co-host of Southern Lights. His newest books are Faith After Doubt (January 2021), and Do I Stay Christian? (May 2022).

Resources:

The transcript for this episode can be found here.

Emptying Ourselves Into Fullness with Gigi Ross Dec 02, 2022

On this week’s episode, Barbara and Donny has a conversation with the Center for Action and Contemplation's Living School manager and spiritual director Gigi Ross about ways to embody contemplation when our paths of discovery and growth make unexpected shifts.

Gigi Ross serves as the CAC’s Living School Manager, supporting students in the Living School. She came to the CAC after spending her last six years in Washington, DC homeless, unemployed, and living in poverty. She resides in Albuquerque where she practices spiritual direction and is a member of the Threshold Choir, a group whose members sing for people who are dying.

Resources:

The transcript for this episode can be found here.

Preaching From the Depths of Life with Dr. Frank A. Thomas Nov 18, 2022

How can preaching be a way of relating to life and one another? On this episode, Dr. Frank A. Thomas joins Dr. Barbara Holmes and Dr. Donny Bryant for a conversation about his ability to preach in a way that is applicable to the life around us.

Frank A. Thomas, PhD, currently serves as the Nettie Sweeney and Hugh Th. Miller Professor of Homiletics and Director of the Academy of Preaching and Celebration at Christian Theological Seminary, Indianapolis, Indiana. Indicative of his great love of preaching, an updated and revised version of They Like to Never Quit Praisin’ God: The Role of Celebration In Preaching, considered by many to be a homiletic classic, was released in August 2013. For many years, Thomas has also taught preaching to Doctoral and Masters level students at McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago, Illinois, and at Memphis Theological Seminary in Memphis, Tennessee. He is the CEO of Hope For Life International, Inc., which formerly published The African American Pulpit. With a long history of excellence in preaching and preaching method, Thomas was inducted into the prestigious Martin Luther King Jr. Board of Preachers of Morehouse College in April 2003. Thomas also serves as a member of the International Board of Societas Homiletica, an international society of teachers of preaching.

Thomas holds a PhD in Communications (Rhetoric) from the University of Memphis, a Doctor of Divinity from Christian Theological Seminary, Doctor of Ministry degrees from Chicago Theological Seminary and United Theological Seminary, a Master of Divinity from Chicago Theological Seminary, and a Master of Arts in African-Caribbean Studies from Northeastern Illinois University.

Resources:

The transcript for this episode can be found here.

Becoming Instruments of Grace and Compassionate Justice with Dr. Rachel Harding Nov 04, 2022

Have you ever experienced another culture’s interpretation of universal wisdom? Dr. Rachel Harding drops by to talk about ancestry and mysticism with “The Cosmic We” hosts Barbara Holmes and Donny Bryant. What do you think Dr. Harding means by travel being a mnemonic device? How have you witnessed that play out in your life?

Rachel Elizabeth Harding, is Associate Professor of Indigenous Spiritual Traditions in the Department of Ethnic Studies at the University of Colorado Denver. A native of Georgia, a writer, historian and poet, Rachel is a specialist in religions of the Afro-Atlantic diaspora and studies the relationship between religion, creativity and social justice activism in cross-cultural perspective. She is a Cave Canem Fellow and holds an MFA in creative writing from Brown University and a PhD in history from the University of Colorado Boulder. Dr. Harding is author of A Refuge in Thunder: Candomblé and Alternative Spaces of Blackness as well as numerous poems and essays. Rachel’s second book, Remnants: A Memoir of Spirit, Activism and Mothering, combines her own writings with the autobiographical reflections of her mother, Rosemarie Freeney Harding, on their family history and the role of compassion and spirituality in African American social justice organizing.

Rachel is an ebomi (elder initiate) in the Terreiro do Cobre Candomble community in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, where she has been a participant for over 20 years.

Resources:

The transcript for this episode can be found here.

Reimagining Notions of Love with Fr. Richard Rohr Oct 28, 2022

What if mainstream Christianity prioritized contemplation? Fr. Richard Rohr joins Dr. Barbara Holmes and Dr. Donny Bryant to discuss reimagining our notions of love, power, charity, and accessing the “universal mind.” Fr. Richard Rohr is a Franciscan priest of the New Mexico Province. He is the founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation and the academic dean of the CAC’s Living School. An internationally recognized author and spiritual leader, Fr. Richard teaches primarily on incarnational mysticism, non-dual consciousness, and contemplation, with a particular emphasis on how these affect the social justice issues of our time.

Resources:

The transcript for this episode can be found here.

Getting to know our co-host, Dr. Donald Bryant Oct 21, 2022

Welcome to Season 3 of The Cosmic We! As we start a brand new season, Dr. Barbara Holmes wanted to interview, and re-introduce you to the co-host of the show, Dr. Donald Bryant. Dr. Donald (Donny) Bryant is a champion for christ-centered preaching and is the lead Pastor of ONE Community Church, a multicultural and intergenerational church located in Farmington, MI. He is also the founder and CEO of Alden Oils, a major specialty oil supplier in the United States. The company has grown to be a primary supplier domestically and internationally of Organic and Non-GMO cooking oils and is the owner of the category leading brand, LifeOiL. He holds a bachelors of science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan State University, an MBA from the Broad School of Management (MSU), and a Doctorate of Ministry degree from Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Donald is the proud father of Kennedi, Isaiah, and Payton.

Resources:

The transcript for this episode can be found here.

Exploring the Relational Heart of the Cosmos with Brian Swimme May 20, 2022

Dr. Brian Swimme joins Dr. Barbara Holmes and Donny Bryant for this episode of the Cosmic We. Brian Swimme is the Director of the Center for the Story of the Universe and a professor at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco. He received his Ph.D. from the Department of Mathematics at the University of Oregon in 1978 for work in gravitational dynamics. He brings the context of story to our understanding of the 13.7 billion year trajectory of the universe. Such a story, he feels, will assist in the emergence of a flourishing Earth community.

Resources:

Dr. Brian Swimme's forthcoming book can be found here.
The transcript for this episode can be found here.

Connect with us:

To send a question to Dr. Barbara and Donny, or to share your thoughts, comments, or feedback with us about this show: Send us an email.
Dr. Brian Swimme's organization Center for the Story of the Universe: Website

The Ethics of Love with Rev. Dorsey O'dell Blake May 06, 2022

Rev. Dorsey O'dell Blake joins this episode of The Cosmic We with Dr. Barbara Holmes and Dr. Donny Bryant. Rev. Dr. Dorsey Odell Blake, Faculty Associate, Leadership and Social Transformation, was officially installed as Presiding Minister of The Church for The Fellowship of All Peoples in October, 1994. During Dr. Blake’s installation service, Mrs. Sue Bailey Thurman presented Dr. Howard Thurman’s robe — which had not been worn since his death – to Dr. Blake as a symbol of her trust in his leading the congregation “so that there will be no past greater than our future.”

He has extensive field ministry experience with interfaith groups addressing justice and peace issues, including the California People of Faith Against the Death Penalty, The Interfaith Alliance for Prison Reform, Genesis and The San Francisco Interfaith Council. He served as a member of the steering committee of Religious Witness with Homeless People and has been in the forefront of peace and justice activities.

Connect with us:

To send a question to Dr. Barbara and Donny, or to share your thoughts, comments, or feedback with us about this show: Send us an email.
Rev. Dorsey Odell Blake: Website
The transcript for this episode can be found here

Exploring the Power of Story with Cole Arthur Riley Apr 29, 2022

Barbara and Donny welcome Cole Arthur Riley to this episode of The Cosmic We to explore the power of our stories. Cole Arthur Riley is writer who was formed by thinkers such as Audre Lorde, Octavia Butler, James Baldwin, Thomas Merton, Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Julian of Norwich, to name a few. Cole studied writing at the University of Pittsburgh, but traces her love of words back to her father, who would bribe her and her siblings to write poems and stories to get out of chores, or for cold hard cash; and her gramma who was part writer, part sage.

Cole currently serves as the spiritual teacher in residence with Cornell University’s Office of Spirituality and Meaning Making. She is the creator of Black Liturgies, a space that integrates spiritual practice with Black emotion, Black literature, and the Black body; and a project of The Center for Dignity and Contemplation where she serves as Curator.

Connect with us:

To send a question to Dr. Barbara and Donny, or to share your thoughts, comments, or feedback with us about this show: Send us an email.
Cole Arthur Riley: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
The transcript for this episode can be found here.