Until recently, the insights I have gathered from intense spiritual journeys and consciousness studies have been for my own personal growth. However, this pandemic and the challenging times we are navigating has encouraged me to step into a teaching role that empowers more people to find their deepest truths and to live in the spirit of their inner wisdom.

This is a first for me as a podcaster, to have the tables turned and be answering rather than asking the questions. I was delighted to be a guest on the show, "Soul Soil Podcast" with Brooke Kornegay and I humbly invite you to take a moment, sit in nature or some other favorite quiet spot and lose yourself in our conversation. I think you will walk away with some valuable insights and inspiration. I'm here to support you on your journey to wholeness!

Could you lose your dog and your job in the same week and be okay?  I learned that for me, the answer is, "Yes."  It's the gift of resilience and I want to help you build yours.

Today’s guest is journalist Phil Rucker – the White House Bureau Chief for the Washington Post whose co-authored book, “A Very Stable Genius – Donald J. Trump’s Testing of America†debuted number one on the New York Times best-sellers list. In the midst of doing the full circuit of interviews on late night talk shows, National Public Radio, and all the major media outlets last week, we got to sit down with Rucker for an in-depth conversation about this hot new book on our show.

I first got to know Phil Rucker when he was covering the Statehouse beat in Annapolis. I was a new Delegate in the Maryland General Assembly; he was a cub reporter for The Washington Post. In addition to my role as a legislator, I was also an elected member of the Democratic National Committee. In 2008, my experience as a superdelegate to the national convention and the attention that presidential candidates Barrack Obama and Hillary Clinton were lavishing on people in my position was highlighted in a front-page story Rucker wrote for The Washington Post, entitled, “On the Fence and In the Spotlight.†We held high professional regard for each other and it didn’t surprise me when he was promoted to cover the national political scene. Phil’s talents had him on a trajectory for great things.

A Pulitzer Prize winner, Rucker is now the White House Bureau Chief, giving him access to an array of primary sources that generate one of the most unfiltered views of this presidency. This, in part, is what makes “A Very Stable Genius†such a timely, interesting, and historic read for anyone that wants to better understand what is happening day-to-day behind the scenes in the Trump White House.

Let us take you there in our fast-paced, fun, humorous, provocative, and wide-ranging interview with one of America’s top journalists.

Today’s guest is a seventh-generation Virginia farmer whose inspiring journey to the heart of sustainable agriculture made him a New York Times best-selling author for his compelling book, “Gaining Ground: A Story of Farmers’ Markets, Local Food, and Saving the Family Farm.” Join us for a heart-warming, soul-touching, and humorous look at the wisdom Forrest Pritchard has gained directly from nature to guide his farming practices in a way that is steeped in listening to the land and its animals.

Forrest reminds us that we have choices about what we eat and where we get our food — and those decisions have impacts far beyond our immediate gastronomic pleasures.

Food is medicine. We explore what that means, while diving into a deeper understanding of the consciousness that is awakening more land stewards to the ancient system of regenerative farming.

Congressman Jamie Raskin spent 29 years as a Professor of Constitutional Law at American University’s Washington College of Law before he was elected to the U.S. Congress in 2016. You might be familiar with his dazzling intellect while watching the House impeachment hearings, where he serves as a well-regarded Member of the House Judiciary Committee. Congressman Raskin joins us on today’s show to share his brilliant insights into the foundations of our Democracy and what is at stake for the future of America’s experiment with self-governance.

You’re going to love this conversation, which runs the gamut of The Federalist Papers to Speaker Pelosi’s decision to hold the Articles of Impeachment until a proper Senate Trial is assured; from questions of abuse of power to violations of the foreign and domestic emoluments clause. With so many impeachable offenses, why were the House Articles limited to just two instances? From aggression to forbearance, what is the role of restraint in party governance? Do we need political parties? Are some Senators risking jury nullification? Oh yes, all of this and so much more!

Most especially, don’t miss the last ten minutes of this interview, where Congressman Raskin and I share an incredible Soul Force Politics moment together.

Today’s guest is the author of an incredible book that I strongly urge you to add to your collection, “Sacred Instructions: Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit-Based Change.” Sherri Mitchell was born and raised on the Penobscot Indian Reservation and her professional career spans work as an attorney, policy advocate, civil rights educator for the Maine Attorney General’s office, and founding director of the Land Peace Foundation. In this compelling book, she shares with us knowledge and lived experiences that weave together the political, scientific, ethical, and spiritual aspects surrounding a multitude of complex issues that we must traverse for a deeper collective healing from the trauma of colonization.

This book brings forward unique wisdom teachings from First Nations people that can set us all on a better course. In this podcast, we explore how to silence ourselves to hear the wisdom of our highest authority and how quantum entanglement probes us to right our relationship to life itself. We discuss the myth of separation and how oneness and sameness are not equal. We deconstruct the ways that water has been colonized and how this threatens our very existence. We acknowledge the power of co-creation and untangle how our rights must always be grounded in a corresponding set of responsibilities. We end our conversation with a fascinating review of Indigenous teachings on the roles of sacred feminine and sacred masculine energies and how to keep them in balance for a harmonious way of being. Through it all, you will be struck by the deep intuitive knowing that comes from a way of life that is guided by sacred instructions. May this be the invitation for you to walk in the world in this more enlightened way as well.

Today’s guest is one of our country’s best-known progressive voices in the Catholic church — freshly home from the Vatican, where he received a private audience with Pope Francis to discuss his growing ministry to LGBTQ Catholics. He came to the priesthood after rejecting a life in corporate America; found himself the go-to “Resident Chaplain†on the Colbert Report; and is the author of several best-selling books, the editor-at-large for America Magazine, and is a widely followed commentator on national and international news. Join us for an insightful, funny, and inspiring conversation with Father Jim Martin.

A couple of disclaimers about our interview.

Nothing about this conversation is meant to be exclusive of other faith traditions. While Father Jim and I share stories and insights that are Christ-focused, we joyfully support and honor all faiths.

And while we engage in a dialogue about various aspects of the Catholic Church’s teachings, we do not use this interview to acknowledge a history of the Church’s many failings beyond the LGBTQ issues that are the focus of this episode. Speaking for Soul Force Politics, I want to clarify that not talking about it does not mean we do not see or acknowledge the Church’s shortcomings on a variety of issues that range from discrimination against women, contributions to the annihilation of tribal culture and forced assimilation, and sexual abuse of children just to name a few. The Church is a human institution, and as such, is just as flawed as it is beautiful.

Today’s guest is nationally-recognized indigenous and First Nations activist, Oklahoma journalist and Cherokee Nation citizen, Rebecca Nagle – host of Crooked Media’s sensational new podcast, “This Land.”

This Land is about “an 1839 assassination of a Cherokee leader and a 1999 murder case – two crimes nearly two centuries apart [that] provide the backbone to an upcoming Supreme Court decision that will determine the fate of five tribes and nearly half the land in Oklahoma.”

We have a brilliant conversation about a range of policy issues implicated by the pending SCOTUS decision in the Carpenter v. Murphy dispute. This is a fascinating case for anyone interested in law, public policy, indigenous rights, tribal sovereignty, land rights, and the challenges of fighting against the powerful oil and gas industry.

As we walk through what’s at stake, we explore themes related to the original sin of our nation’s genocide and whether those unresolved issues gave way to the birth of our current political chaos.

And we challenge you to think about your resolve as an activist to stand for the right thing, even if it is not popular.

This and much more on this episode of #SoulForcePolitics.

In this episode, I have the honor of introducing you to one of my teachers — a woman whose brilliance, insight, and wisdom has been a welcome partnership on my own journey of liberation.

Come with me to meet the Reverend angel Kyodo williams – only the second black woman to be ordained as a Zen priest in the Japanese Buddhist lineage. Rev. angel is a social visionary who applies wisdom teachings and embodied practice to intractable social issues at the intersection of race, climate, and economic justice.

Radical, redemptive, accepting love is at the core of all personal and social transformation. However, as we discuss, this is a challenging concept and one that requires us to redefine our notion of what love is.

And this examination further calls on us to look more closely at how and whether we are practiced at offering this expansive love to ourselves first.

Rev. angel offers us a tool for expanding the reach of our self-exploration by plugging us into our integrity and inherent dignity through a somatic connection that is formed in a practice that she calls, “centering presence.†Come walk with us on this path in our conversation here.

She is the co-author of one of my favorite books, “Radical Dharma: Talking race, love, and liberation.†In this Soul Force Politics podcast, Rev. angel Kyodo williams gives us meaningful insight to navigate today’s political challenges by teaching us the difference between anger that is fueling versus anger that is consuming.

And no conversation with Rev. angel is complete without touching on the challenges of disarming, disrupting, and dismantling white supremacy culture. With her characteristic fierce truth-telling-but-held-with-love approach, we learn how to locate ourselves within this system, and land with tools she gives us to create the transformational shift to a future filled with radical love for self and others.

Watch this video for instructional guidance on the “centering in presence” activity taught by Rev. angel Kyodo williams

I am thrilled to bring you a conversation with a woman who has defined what it means to be a social justice warrior for all of her nearly 90 years in this lifetime – the unstoppable Dolores Huerta. 

She co-founded the United Farm Workers union with Cesar Chavez in the 1960s and led the successful 5-year national grape boycott that delivered key labor concessions for farm workers. Dolores helped organize and mobilize Latinx voters at the ballot box to help deliver Bobby Kennedy the California primary win and was standing next to him at the victory podium at the Ambassador Hotel in Las Angeles just moments before he was assassinated in 1968.

Throughout her entire career, Dolores Huerta has spearheaded movements for the advancements of civil rights. She is also no stranger to acts of civil disobedience, having been arrested for advocacy numerous times and also, tragically, experiencing police brutality when a San Francisco police officer beat her to the point of hospitalization while participating in a rally protesting the policies of the George H.W. Bush presidency in 1988.

Dolores is 89 years young and ran circles around me in this interview. Her passion, strength of character, vitality, and persistence is palpable. She chastises me more than once that our work must be about love AND accountability. She is all about action!  Learn more about her lifetime of empowering action for change by listening to our show and visiting her current work at the Dolores Huerta Foundation.