The Laughing Mystics: An unorthodox journey through the liturgical year

The Transfiguration - 2nd Sunday of Lent, 2026

Our question: What is the current design of my life. If it was a landscape, what would it look like? Marci mentions a favorite video about God and dog.Laura continues her exploration of the fairy tale, The Girl Without Hands.  We talk about transfigurations and synchronicities as a mystical experience and the symbolism of three. as an image. The Sunday ReadingsThank you for listening! You're invited to join our FB community at https://www.facebook.com/laughingmystics/Need more poetry in your life? Visit Marci's blog and/or subscribe to Laura's new substack and receive one of her fresh poems delivered to you everyday. Questions? Comments? Bring your voice to the conversation. We'd like to SHARE THE MIC with you! Send an audio from your phone with a question or comment to Laughing.Mystics@gmail.comWe now have an easier way for you to leave a review or rating, using this link! RateThisPodcast.com/thelaughingmysticsPlease follow us to be alerted for new episodes. We hope you'll share this passion project with others, write a review, or rate/like our podcast on your favorite platform!pod.link/1799776273New episodes now released on Thursday mornings!For more on Marci Madary visit https://www.insideoutspirituality.com/For more on Laura Lewis-Barr visit https://psychescinema.com/Want to support The Laughing Mystics? We now have MERCH! Visit ⁠https://www.zazzle.com/store/laughing_mystics/products(0ur show notes are always filled with many links. If your platform doesn't show them, visit the "episode webpage" or our Spotify page.)Music licensed from Artlist#jungianpsychology #depthpsychology #richardrohr #progressivechristianity #jungianwisdom #mysticalchristianity #religioustext #transpersonalpsychology

Consciousness and Temptation - February 22, 2026

The First Sunday of Lent. We begin with several questions including: What am doing for Lent (if anything)? And what are temptions in my life?We dive into the mythic stories of Adam and Eve and Jesus' temptations in the desert. The Sunday ReadingsThank you for listening! You're invited to join our FB community at https://www.facebook.com/laughingmystics/Need more poetry in your life? Visit Marci's blog and/or subscribe to Laura's new substack and receive one of her fresh poems delivered to you everyday. Questions? Comments? Bring your voice to the conversation. We'd like to SHARE THE MIC with you! Send an audio from your phone with a question or comment to Laughing.Mystics@gmail.comWe now have an easier way for you to leave a review or rating, using this link! RateThisPodcast.com/thelaughingmysticsPlease follow us to be alerted for new episodes. We hope you'll share this passion project with others, write a review, or rate/like our podcast on your favorite platform!pod.link/1799776273New episodes now released on Thursday mornings!For more on Marci Madary visit https://www.insideoutspirituality.com/For more on Laura Lewis-Barr visit https://psychescinema.com/Want to support The Laughing Mystics? We now have MERCH! Visit ⁠https://www.zazzle.com/store/laughing_mystics/products(0ur show notes are always filled with many links. If your platform doesn't show them, visit the "episode webpage" or our Spotify page.)Music licensed from Artlist#jungianpsychology #depthpsychology #richardrohr #progressivechristianity #jungianwisdom #mysticalchristianity #religioustext #transpersonalpsychology

Choosing the Good - February 15, 2026

6th Sunday in extra-ordinary time. Our question: What is an inner stumbling block that gets in the way of making the life-giving choice.?Since we won't be making another Ash Wednesday episode, we invite you to listen to last years episode (scroll down to episode 3)Laura again recommends Michael Meades, The Living Myth, podcast, especially this episode on creative practices. We talk about the mysteries of our life and the mystery genre as a way to explore this. Laura recommends the movie "KnivesOut, Wake up Dead Man."We talk about metaphor and Joseph Campell. "Metaphors carry us from one place to another, they enable us to cross boundaries that would otherwise be closed to us. Spiritual truths that transcend time and space can only be borne in metaphorical vessels whose meaning is found in their connotations—that is, in the cloud of witnesses to the many sides of truth that they spontaneously evoke—not in their denotations, the hard, factual, uni-dimensional casings of their historical reference."Eugene Kennedy, Ph.D.Campbell, Joseph. Thou Art That: Transforming Religious Metaphor [A]s Jung put it in terms that chill me always, “What is denied inwardly will come to us in the outer world, and we call it fate.”~ James Hollis, Living Between Worlds: Finding Personal Resilience in Changing Times.A very challenging gospel reading! The Sunday ReadingsThank you for listening! You're invited to join our FB community at https://www.facebook.com/laughingmystics/Questions? Comments? Bring your voice to the conversation. We'd like to SHARE THE MIC with you! Send an audio from your phone with a question or comment to Laughing.Mystics@gmail.comWe now have an easier way for you to leave a review or rating, using this link! RateThisPodcast.com/thelaughingmysticsPlease follow us to be alerted for new episodes. We hope you'll share this passion project with others, write a review, or rate/like our podcast on your favorite platform!pod.link/1799776273New episodes now released on Thursday mornings!For more on Marci Madary visit https://www.insideoutspirituality.com/For more on Laura Lewis-Barr visit https://psychescinema.com/Want to support The Laughing Mystics? We now have MERCH! Visit ⁠https://www.zazzle.com/store/laughing_mystics/products(0ur show notes are always filled with many links. If your platform doesn't show them, visit the "episode webpage" or our Spotify page.)Music licensed from Artlist#jungianpsychology #depthpsychology #richardrohr #progressivechristianity #jungianwisdom #mysticalchristianity #religioustext #transpersonalpsychology

Your Unique Light: The Cave You Fear & Joseph’s Midrash (5th Sunday in (Extra)Ordinary Time)

Our guiding question: What is my unique light to share with the world?In this episode, we explore what it means to let your light be seen—and what keeps it hidden. Marci shows up in “trickster” mode, and we lean into Joseph Campbell’s invitation: “The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.”Together we reflect on a midrash—a storytelling tradition that opens sacred text from the inside—through a retelling of Joseph and his brothers. Laura shares highlights from the Natural Spirituality Conference and threads in her work with the fairy tale The Girl Without Hands. We also share a few recent listener comments—thank you for taking the time to write and keep this community alive.In this episode:● Your unique light and the fears that block it● Trickster energy as spiritual medicine● Midrash: Joseph and his brothers● Natural Spirituality + “The Girl Without Hands”● Listener reflections + sharing the mic● The Sunday readingsJoin the community: Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/laughingmystics/Share the mic: Send a voice memo (question/comment) to Laughing.Mystics@gmail.comRate/review easily: RateThisPodcast.com/thelaughingmysticsFollow + listen: pod.link/1799776273New episodes drop Thursday mornings.More from Marci Madary: https://www.insideoutspirituality.com/More from Laura Lewis-Barr: https://psychescinema.com/Merch: https://www.zazzle.com/store/laughing_mystics/products(If your platform hides links, visit the episode webpage or Spotify.)Music licensed from Artlist.#JungianPsychology #DepthPsychology #MysticalChristianity #ProgressiveChristianity #TranspersonalPsychology #Midrash #SpiritualDirection #RichardRohr #Archetypes #Vocation

Shadow in Good Works: St. Augustine on the Beatitudes (4th Sunday in Extra-ordinary Time)

Our guiding question: What shadowy reaction in me might surface when I do “good works”?In this episode, we explore the inner tension that can show up alongside service: the subtle shadow reactions—approval-seeking, resentment, spiritual pride, perfectionism, or the need to be seen—that can sneak into even our most sincere efforts. Through a Jungian and contemplative lens, we ask what these reactions are trying to protect, reveal, or heal.We also spend time with Augustine of Hippo’s reflections on the Beatitudes, including a post we quote and the essay St. Augustine on the Esoteric Meaning of the Beatitudes. We close with The Sunday Readings, and Laura shares a recommendation for the Natural Spirituality Conference.And a heartfelt thank you to our listener Jackie, who designed our new logo—we love it!In this episode:● Shadow dynamics that can accompany “good works”● The Beatitudes through Augustine of Hippo● The Sunday Readings● Natural Spirituality Conference recommendation● Community gratitude + updatesJoin the community: Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/laughingmystics/Share the mic: Send a voice memo (question/comment) to Laughing.Mystics@gmail.comRate/review easily: RateThisPodcast.com/thelaughingmysticsFollow + listen: pod.link/1799776273New episodes drop Thursday mornings.More from Marci Madary: https://www.insideoutspirituality.com/More from Laura Lewis-Barr: https://psychescinema.com/Merch: https://www.zazzle.com/store/laughing_mystics/products(If your platform hides links, visit the episode webpage or Spotify.)Music licensed from Artlist.#JungianPsychology #DepthPsychology #JungianWisdom #MysticalChristianity #ProgressiveChristianity #TranspersonalPsychology #Beatitudes #StAugustine #ShadowWork