TRLP 064: Magdalene Mastin talks about Embodied Faith and How The Body Knows Before We Do

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In this episode, Paul sits down with Maggie Mastin — life coach, spiritual director, and director of career development at Indiana Wesleyan University — for a conversation that brings leadership back into the real world… your actual body.

They explore what happens when leaders live from the neck up, why “slowing down” is more spiritual than it sounds, and how paying attention to physical sensations can become a surprising pathway to discernment, emotional health, and Spirit-led presence.

This one is equal parts practical, pastoral, and (yes) a little funny—because apparently Paul still can’t do a British accent without getting roasted.

What you’ll hear in this episode

• Why the body often reacts before the brain can explain
• The tension between having a body and being a body
• A simple practice: noticing tightness, warmth, restlessness, or peace as “data”
• How to create slower space in leadership without getting weird about it
• A powerful moment from Paul’s church: anxiety in worship as discernment, not distraction
• Seasons of the soul: why you can’t live in “spring” forever
• The “embers and flames” metaphor for faith that sustains you over time
• What farm life teaches about patience, limits, and trust
• Why play and whimsy matter more than we admit
• Photography as a “thin place”: capturing holy moments in ordinary life

Key quotes (short and shareable)

• “Your body moves toward what you want before you can explain it.”
• “You’re not the season you’re in—but the season you’re in matters.”
• “You can’t have flame without ember.”
• “Pay attention to the tension.”

Try this today (a 60-second practice)

Before your next meeting, sermon prep session, or hard conversation:

1. Take one slow breath.
2. Ask: What’s happening in my body right now?
3. Name it without fixing it (tight, heavy, energized, restless, calm).
4. Ask: God, what are You inviting me into through this?

About Maggie

Maggie is a spiritual director, life coach, educator, and the director of career development at Indiana Wesleyan University. She helps people grow in self-awareness, discern their next steps, and live with greater integration—body, soul, and story.

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