When many of us hear the phrase “spiritual practice” we automatically think of monks hiding away from the world, an ashram in India, or spending our whole lives in silent meditation and mindfulness. Renowned author and speaker Philip Goldberg is here to tell us that though spiritual practice can be, and is, all of those things, it’s also a habit we can bring to our crazy everyday lives as parents, students, employees, and people in the 21st century.
On this episode of The Sidewalk Talk podcast, Traci chats with Philip on all things spiritual practice, drawing heavily on his newest, and increasingly relevant, book, Spiritual Practice for Crazy Times. Throughout their conversation the two debunk some of the most common stereotypes many of us have about spiritual practice, go over some of Philip’s favorite and most practical ways to integrate a spiritual practice into your life, and discuss appropriation in spiritual practice and how to best honor the cultures and peoples some of our most common spiritual practices come from.
Spiritual practices are not something far off and unattainable for most of us. Instead, they’re so needed in our increasing crazy world, maybe now more than ever. We hope you find this conversation enlightening and thought-provoking—one that inspires you to start, or continue on, in your own spiritual practice of choice.
Episode Milestones
[00:07] Intro
[01:01] Meet Philip
[03:26] Spiritual Practice for Crazy Times
[05:17] Debunking the stereotypes of spiritual practice
[11:42] Relationship between spiritual life and anger
[16:41] Philip’s practical spiritual practices
[25:00] Bringing intentionality to your spiritual practice
[27:43] Surrendering ego in service as a spiritual practice
[29:48] Appropriation in spiritual practice
[40:24] Philip’s word for you
[43:52] Outro
Resources Mentioned
Spiritual Practice for Crazy Times: Practical tools to cultivate calm, clarity, and courage
The Life of Yogananda: The story of the yogi who became the first modern guru
American Veda: From Emerson and the Beatles to yoga and meditation how Indian spirituality changed the west
Standout Quotes from the Episode
“I’m unconventional in that I honor the individuality of everybody’s spiritual perspective and spiritual past and happily draw from anything that works.”
—Philip Goldberg
“Spiritual practices give us a stronger foundation of strength, and inner stability, and calmness of mind so that we can engage in the world without losing our stability, thereby being more effective.”
—Philip Goldberg
“Whether something is spiritual depends as much on what you bring to it as the thing itself.”
—Philip Goldberg
“Are the teachings being transmitted with integrity? Or are they being diluted, and distorted, and corrupted for commercial purposes?”
—Philip Goldberg
“Deep within yourselves, deep within all of us, at our core, our essence, is a sanctuary of peace and a fortress of strength. There are many methods through which we can access that sanctuary on a regular basis and as needed. By doing so we can bring more of the best parts of ourselves, our love, our compassion, our inner peace, our joy, our openness, our empathy to the world and to the other people we connect with.”
—Philip Goldberg
Connect:
Find | Sidewalk Talk Podcast
At sidewalk-talk.org
On Instagram: @sidewalktalkorg
On Twitter: @sidewalktalkorg
Find | Traci Ruble
At Traciruble.com
On Instagram: @TraciRubleMFT
On Twitter: @TraciRubleMFT
On Facebook: @TraciRubleMFT
Exploring Male Sexuality, Consent, and Tender Heartedness with Dr. Eric Fitzmedrud
Reinventing Masculinity Will Allow Men to Live Longer Happier Lives | Ed Frauenheim
How to Break our Addiction To Othering with Dawn Menken
Normalize Loving Conflict Everywhere with Rosa Zubizaretta
Being A Sacredly Powerful Human with Julio Maria Muhorro
What this crisis manager learned from indigenous wisdom | Thomas Lahnthaler
Going to Work is an Important Source of Happiness Despite Its Bad Press with Dr. Tracy Brower
Body-shame, Hunger and Redemption: Beyond Sexism and Diet Culture with David Bedrick
Seeking Wonder with Andrea Scher
Why I don’t want to die anymore with Johnny Crowder
High Conflict (and how we get out) with Amanda Ripley
Rule Makers and Rule Breakers with Michele Gelfand
Sensitive Striving with Melody Wilding
Black Feminism and Sensuous Knowledge with Minna Salami
Being seen, just as you are with Natalie Koussa
The 3 Flows of Compassion with Dr. Stan Steindl
Living and breathing the archetypal realm with Kristina Dryza
Getting weird and vulnerable with Aziph Mustapha | Aziph Mustapha
Anna Katharina Schaffner on the timeless truths of self-improvement | Anna Katharina Schaffner
Street Wisdom’s David Pearl on finding magic in the everyday | David Pearl
Join Podbean Ads Marketplace and connect with engaged listeners.
Advertise Today
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Voices of Misery Podcast
House of Whimsical Terror
Just Dumb Enough Podcast
Stuff You Should Know
Timcast IRL