Poema Podcast
Episodes
Wednesday Sep 25, 2019
Poema S5 030 | Marlena Graves on Her Beautiful Disaster
Wednesday Sep 25, 2019
Wednesday Sep 25, 2019
My guest today is author and speaker Marlena Graves, an expert on spiritual formation. Marlena shares her personal story, of a traumatic childhood, struggling with mental illness - and how in the midst of this wilderness, she found a glimpse of the divine.
Marlena shares with us how the suffering and wilderness helped her discover the deeper truth of a loving God, who meets us in our brokenness, a God who isn't constrained by church, theology or religious certainty, but can still be found within spiritual community and the Christian faith.
Marlena discovered how the desert experiences, the very real suffering we experience, when prayers aren't answered, can actually connect us to Jesus way more than the mountaintop experiences, and the divine can be found to be faithful even there.
Wednesday Sep 18, 2019
Poema S5 029 | Drew Brown on the Spirituality & Enduring Relevance of Superheroes
Wednesday Sep 18, 2019
Wednesday Sep 18, 2019
Today my friend Drew Brown joins me for the first time. Drew is a musician and advocate, and also a fellow fan of superheroes and comic book characters. He loves exploring the deeper meaning behind the on-screen journeys of many comic book characters and what meaning they and relevance they can have for our own journeys, including the journey of deconstruction.
In this episode we explore the spirituality of comic book characters, and the identity, stories, and character arc of several major comic characters we see in movie, including villains.
We talk about the stories and characters which resonate with us and our journeys, and indeed the cultural warnings and messages we can see regarding deconstruction and mental health, in the respective stories of Steve Rogers (Captain America), Bruce Wayne (Batman) and arguably the greatest comic book villain, the Joker. We also explore the links between the stories of Superman, Jesus and Moses.
This is both one of the most fun episodes I've ever done, yet also one of the deepest.
Wednesday Sep 11, 2019
Poema S5 028 | JulyDa Return
Wednesday Sep 11, 2019
Wednesday Sep 11, 2019
This week I welcome back one my beloved friends, Julida Alter, one half the musical duo JulyDa. We talk about the creative process and inspiration behind their new music, and explore how our art is always a reflection of our own journeys, both in life and faith.
Julida also shares some new developments in her own life, and how these have been reflected in this new music, and reflects on how these developments might impact their creativity going forward. We then dive into two particular songs, 'You May Learn' and 'Aspiration', and the stories and creative process behind these songs, as well as their single 'Sea Of Glass'.
Julida always has such insight into the creative process, and how it connects with our own personal, spiritual journeys, this is well worth a listen.