WAYWORD: Recent Episodes
Michael Cochran
Who has thought deeply enough to reach the floor of the soul? We busy ourselves with a vast quantity of reading material with the spiritual depth of a tweet about the lives of people we know or admire. By doing so we continually nourish our soul with shallow waters, but I ask why not drink more deeply? A tree with shallow roots is easily cast down by the wind, and so the shallow soul is manipulated, deceived, and destroyed. I ask that we expose ourselves to difficult and opposing ideas that we might grow more deeply and stand taller and stronger. Life is not just about length, but depth..------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------"No tree, it is said, can grow to heaven unless its roots reach down to hell." -C.G. Jung
In the last few hundred years society has shifted focus toward an external solution for all of our problems. With the amazing strides that science and technology have made, it is easy to believe that every solution can be found within these respective fields. The issue is that these fields stand upon a foundation of moral introspection and tradition that has made their birth possible. This foundation, unfortunately, seems to be crumbling. Rex, Cody and I discuss the focus, or lack thereof, that the internal condition of each and everyone of us receives. This is a beginning of a much larger conversation to be had in future episodes. Enjoy!!
In this episode we study what is perhaps the most famous if not the most beloved teaching of Jesus Christ. The parable of the Good Samaritan remains an amazing and profound teaching of being a good neighbor against the backdrop of social and historical prejudices, yet it does so while simultaneously being beautifully simple and brief. As we will see despite its brevity it is filled to the brim with depth. Enjoy!
In this episode, I am joined once again by my trusty companions Rex and Cody. If you are sick of politics you are in luck because this is the last political episode for a long while so long as I have anything to do with it...spoiler alert: I do.
Anyhow, we focus more on the term "Bipartisan." The term itself implies there are only two parties when in reality there are hundreds. Why then do we readily embrace this term? A lot of it has to do with the cooperation behind the scenes between the Republican and Democrat parties, namely their manipulation of the Commission on Presidential Debates, a "bipartisan" effort to ensure the "main" presidential candidates have a debate on a national stage. Enjoy!
In this episode, Rex and I continue our discussion revolving around the political landscape. In the last episode the discussion was about the terms that we use in the United States of America today, this discussion is about how those terms came to mean what they mean. For example, the current progressive believe in the distribution of power is to give equal power to all people but this was not always the progressive standpoint throughout history. In fact in at least one point in history the progressive standpoint was to give one man the vast majority of the power of the state. It is this process which we discuss with a broad brush here, enjoy!
In this episode, Rex, Cody and I begin discussing the meaning and history behind our current political system. While I originally intended to get everything into one episode, the conversation broadens too much to squeeze it all in. This is, however, a great place to begin, with more in depth episodes planned for later. Enjoy!
In this episode Rex, Cody and I have a conversation revolving around the question: Do we believe that miracles happen today? Enjoy!
In this episode we revisit Dr. Frankl's book, Man's Search For Meaning. In the last show we left this great man at an extremely low point in his life, this show is less biographical in nature and instead examines Frankl's school of psychology: Logotherapy. WELCOME TO WAYWORD!
Have you ever heard of a man by the name of Viktor Frankl? If not this is your opportunity. This man's philosophy on life is nothing short of inspirational, especially considering he lost almost everything at the hands of the NAZI's in the 1930-40's. He says that no matter how dark our lives may be, there is always meaning to be found. Welcome to WAYWORD! P.S. There are bloopers at the end of this episode if you are interested.
Welcome to WAYWORD, Rex, Cody and Mike are back together to talk about the interesting phenomenon of the inner monologue. Do you hear your own voice in your head? Also, we discuss the moral conundrum that is presented by the question "Would you kill baby Hitler?"
In this episode of WAYWORD, I am joined by my good friend Rex. We have a casual conversation about meaning and modern life, enjoy!
I realized that in the last episode, while it served as a good introduction to Rex, Cody and myself, it really didn't explain what exactly the WAYWORD podcast is all about. In this episode, I fly solo to try to give everyone a look into what the ideas are that manifested this podcast. I hope you enjoy!
There is no specific topic this month, instead Rex, Cody and I have an hour and a half conversation about whatever comes to mind. This episode serves as an introduction of sorts to our personalities and to some of our beliefs. The conversation ranges from who we are to why we believe in God, and finally ends in us discussing cliffhanger endings in movies. Enjoy!