Anyone who describes an experience with the sacred will find themselves often struggling for words because they find the sacred is not a 'thing', nor a set of beliefs, but rather an encounter in open and vulnerable relationship which requires a far more humble and receptive form of knowing. Dr Iain McGilchrist, neuroscientist, philosopher and author, joins the podcast for a second conversation, this time in person in Australia with Dom, Sue and Peter. Those familiar with Iain's work about the two hemispheres of the brain will know that there is a connection traced between the way we attend to reality and a more utilitarian left hemisphere way of seeing and being which has become more culturally dominant in the West. The right hemisphere, Iain contends, is better equipped for perceiving the whole, appreciating paradox and engaging with the sacred. Thinking that we know it all is characteristic of the left hemisphere, robbing us of the sense of awe and wonder which makes life both beautiful and meaningful. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
-------- Â
1:09:38
--------
1:09:38
Donna Ladkin : The Leadership Moment
So often we think of leaders as born rather than made, or at least as having some kind of specialist predisposition such as charisma or perhaps an extraverted, more dominant personality. Dr Donna Ladkin joins Dom, Peter and Sue to explore the idea that maybe leadership is much more complex and may be better understood as a lived experience rather than a checklist of traits or behaviours. While recognising that individuals do matter, this conversation explores the idea of ‘a leadership moment’ that happens when context, purpose, followers and leaders align. How a leader is perceived, but also how the context and meaning of any given moment is understood all contribute to linking these four factors that come together in the moment. This thoughtful conversation about the making of leaders is of critical importance in current global contexts, but also in our own where understanding the nature and importance of leadership is vital for healthy and thriving communities. Dr Donna Ladkin is the Professor of Leadership and Ethics at Graduate School of Management, Plymouth University, and the author of many books including “Rethinking Leadership: A new look at old leadership questions”. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
-------- Â
58:00
--------
58:00
Beth-Sarah Wright: the Dignity Lens
What if dignity is a way of seeing that changes the kind of attention we pay to each other and to our world? Authenticity, human dignity and the courage to confront difficult truths are a common thread in the writing of Dr Beth-Sarah Wright who joins the podcast for this conversation during her recent visit to Brisbane. The Latin root of the word 'respect' is to look again. Everyone is worthy of respect, but sometimes we need to 'look again' to see beyond what we think we know about one another. Using 'dignity' as a lens has the power to shift conversation, prompting us to something different from our normal patterns and bridging the gap between what we say we believe and what we do. Beth-Sarah contends that, "Authentic people build authentic communities, creating a more just and dignified world for all." Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Dr Beth-Sarah Wright has over 27 years of experience in education, organisational culture and senior leadership, and is a sought after speaker for organisations as they seek to assess integrity and remain authentic to their identity. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
-------- Â
1:00:13
--------
1:00:13
Spiritual Misfits, On the Way (LIVE at 'Words for Those Who Wander')
A special cross-over podcast episode between Spiritual Misfits and On the Way, recorded at 'Words For Those Who Wander' at West End Uniting Church in Brisbane. In this conversation, Will Small, Dom Fay, Sue Grimmett, and Peter Catt explore what happens when the old spiritual maps stop working and we need to become cartographers for our time. Together they wrestle with profound questions: What if we're all exiles seeking belonging? How do we build community when our frameworks for understanding are themselves lost? And what would we write on 'the map' for those who come after us? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
-------- Â
54:57
--------
54:57
Wil Gafney: Reading and Seeing from the Margins
We do everything we do in this world through our embodiment. There remains a pervasive myth that we move through this world working and creating without leaving any trace of our own lived experience upon our moving and interacting, commenting and creating. With such a mythology the dominant voices become normative, and can be associated with objective truth, obscuring the understanding and experience from the margins. In biblical scholarship, whiteness is so often unarticulated in its effect on biblical translation, that it is as if in their interpretation scholars have left no imprint of their own lived experience and perspectives. The Rev'd Dr Wil Gafney is an Episcopal Priest and Biblical scholar, specialising in a Womanist interpretation of the Bible. Womanism is an American Black women's feminist way of seeing; a lens centred in the lived experience of Black women, and especially interested in the well-being of those who are vulnerable and often exploited. In this conversation Wil speaks with Dom and Sue about the importance of attending to the multiple cultures and contexts of every text that we may be aware of dynamics of power in both the time of the text and in our own. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A podcast exploring the deeper mysteries of faith, meaning, and beauty. Based at St John's Cathedral in Brisbane, the podcast invites others into conversation who are also "on the way"; seeking a transformative spirituality and inclusive faith that speaks to real issues of today. Together we seek to make meaning and articulate a Christianity that expresses the liberating and life-giving message of the Gospel in our time.