Catch Up on Season 4 of The Cosmic We
On the season 4 of The Cosmic We, we pause from our regular interview format to explore the themes of Dr. Barbara Holmes’ book Crisis Contemplation. Podcast hosts Dr. Holmes and Dr. Donny Bryant explore ways we can apply a contemplative response to the crises and chronic injustices we face in our world today. Drawing upon ancestral wisdom and their own personal experiences, they explore how crisis has the potential to catalyze transformation in our individual lives and in our communities.
Episode 1: Crisis
We kicked off season 4 of The Cosmic We with a conversation about how we define crisis in our lives. Is the event unexpected? Beyond your control? We know crisis is overwhelming—but what’s the difference between a personal struggle and a crisis that is beyond us? Exploring the tendrils of ancestral wisdom, Dr. Barbara Holmes (Dr. B), former dean of the Memphis Theological Seminary, warmly counsels us to be still in the midst of crises that have the potential to transform our lives and our communities. This season of The Cosmic We podcast; we’re following along chapter-by-chapter exploring the key themes from Dr. B’s book Crisis Contemplation. Sue Safford on our Facebook page the podcast “A Wonderful Series.”
Episode 2: Contemplation
Are you ready for a challenge? The latest episode of The Cosmic We counsels us to let go in the times when we most want to maintain control. Dr. B offers us this thought: “When crisis has you in its grip, contemplation offers the ability to stop striving. It allows you the space to grieve your losses and then let go. It lets you know that it is okay to withdraw from ordinary pursuits for a while and let the Spirit lead.” A scholar of African American spirituality and mysticism, Dr. Holmes has spent decades teaching from the intersection of science and spirituality. The Cosmic We is her latest in a body of work that explores the spiritual undercurrents of our contemporary lives. Facebook follower Kim Alexis calls The Cosmic We, “An Amazing Podcast.”
Episode 3: Wounds
Dr. B’s and Donny’s conversation really hits home in the latest episode of The Cosmic We. The podcast takes on the topic of wounds—both those we experience individually in our communities. Dr. B explains, “Wounds are portals. They are entryways to somewhere else within you. Sometimes things happen in your life that make you realize you have allowed a scar to form over something that was festering. It needed to be broken open.” Full of imagery and moving truths—don’t miss this powerful episode.
Episode 4: The Village Response
Get up and get involved in your community! We may live in cities, and urban places instead of rural villages of ancient times—but how do the rules of the spiritual village still apply to our lives? Episode 4 of The Cosmic We invites us for a closer look at how we move together in both pain and joy. Don’t miss this moving episode featuring Dr. Holmes’ wisdom from years of studying and teaching communal mystical healing.
Episode 5: Healing
Spread the joy! Do you know that joy is available—even during crisis? Find joy in the latest episode of Season 4 of The Cosmic We! We were left inspired and moved by this fascinating conversation about the ways to stay in the present moment, heal through our bodies, and reclaim our joy.
Episode 6: Futurism and Cosmic Rebirth
Dare to envision a bright future! In the final episode of The Cosmic We, we are invited dream of a future world that is gentler and more connected than our present reality. In the season finale, Dr. B invites us to embrace the power of our own mystical identity and to believe in our own power to envision, enact, and bring about a more loving and connected world. She explains, “We are unique and ordinary mystics in the making, flowing from one state of existence to the other, inhabiting the ordinary and touching the eternal. We are embedded in the continuum of life, related to the divine, the earth, and our neighbors.”
Dr. Barbara Holmes is a scholar, teacher, and former dean of the Memphis Theological Seminary who has dedicated her life to bridging the gap between science and spirituality. Her body of work extends an invitation for each one of us to embrace the mysticism of the everyday through communion with nature, making art, acts of service with, and witnessing ancestral wisdom. Today, Dr. Holmes lives in Florida, where she is learning to just be in communion with nature and her husband, George.
The Cosmic We offers conversations for reflection, healing, and connection. Tune in to this season for more wisdom for greater resilience, self-discovery, and spiritual growth.