Life and the Living of It: Recent Episodes
Steven D Lee
Welcome to the musings of one who has come close to losing his life several times, suffered enough to be wise, and childlike enough to be still excited by a sunset or the way a crane flaps its wings inches above the water. I am a mystic, an ELCA Lutheran, a progressive Christian, and a seminary graduate, This means I am always looking for others’ experiences, views, beliefs, religion, lifestyles, and faiths, the way that what they call God intersects their lives, and how love shows up.
In this episode of "Life and the Living of It" I talk about survivor mode. Before “survivor mode” became part of our vernacular, it was a term animal behaviorists used to describe when animals were forced, by starvation or risk of death, into more risky behaviors. Sometimes this works. They survive. The problem is, is that when it works the same animal is more likely to repeat these behaviors in the next time of extremes. We do the same thing. We feel forced into risky behaviors in the name of avoiding risk. Out of fear we choose the more dangerous behaviors that, while they have a short-term survival value, have little value in living life. Though when we get into survival mode, it negatively affects what to us is a survival trait, the ability to enter relationships with others.
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Transformations happen; sometimes small and sometimes off the scale. In this episode of "Life and the Living of It" I tell the story of the moment of transformation of a fellow camp counselor; a starfish devotion; and the repercussions it had.
In this episode, I talk about identity and how we form our sense of ourselves through others and within.
In this episode of "Life and the Living of It" I talk about narcissism and narcissistic personality disorder and the differences between the two. I also get into some signs you may be in a narcissistic relationship and when you may need to leave.
In this episode of "This is Life and the Living of It," I talk about Hope, the definition, words, and conditions in which hope may be kindled.
At the beginning of the 2000s, I got involved with clay. But...I almost didn't. It was a close thing.
Though there are some things you will have to take on faith.
Suspend your disbelief for a time.
The first is that love can be experienced at a distance.
The second...well, you might have to listen to find out.
On my newest podcast episode, I get personal. I go into my first real brush with death and a faulty bone scan. (7 minutes runtime.)
In this episode, I explore forgiveness. Is forgiveness a transaction or a transformation? Is it a done deal or always in the process? Does forgiveness change us? Does being forgiven change us? How does forgiveness change our identity?
I have three short stories to tell. Stories about three strangers, at three times...in my car.
In this episode of "This is Life and the Living of It," I explore what it is to love the world and whom you may be overlooking when you do.
In this episode, I describe the decades-long emotional journey from being afraid of those who identify as LGBTQ+, to being an advocate, and an outspoken opponent of homophobia.
Is there a purpose to grief? When does grieving become complex? What are the types of grief? Are there stages to grief? In this episode of "Life and the Living of it," I explore grief, complex grief, and the purpose of grieving.
For those of us who have a little trouble with infatuations, a little confusion about affections, and who might just have some delusions about people to whom we are attracted, this episode of "Life and the Living of it" might be for you.
In part three, I discuss grief and lamentations with respect to the Book of Job, and the man of constant sorrow, Job himself.
This is part two of the series of three podcasts I did for seminary back in 2020. This one centers on the need and practices of lament and lamentations in real life. I touch upon both individual and community lament and give several examples.
At the beginning of 2020, I did my first Podcast for a class in seminary. In it, I talk about getting emotional with God. Getting emotional like we would with your best friend. Laying out our emotional cards, curses, and woes. It is grieving and being angry, but ultimately sharing with God our whole self and whole life, especially our emotions.
In this episode of "Life and the Living of It," I take a 30,000-foot view of why traditional churches are dying and how non-traditional manifestations of The Church are thriving and always have been.
Do you ever wonder what people mean when they say they are a mystic? I used to think those were the people who talked with rocks, and trees were witch doctors or shamans. Then I came to discover that I was a mystic. A Christian Mystic. And after listening to this podcast, perhaps you will decide you are a Christian Mystic as well.
In this episode, I talk with my friend Dan Becker about his early life with chronic illness, the many operations he had, his revelations and "Ah-Ha" moments, and his desire to help others needing a transplant.
In the last installment of The Heart Odyssey, I talk about the last few weeks in the hospital, some more complications before leaving, and the joyous trip back home.
In Part three of The Heart Odyssey, I talk about a life and death first complication and the many complications that came after that kept me in the hospital for an extended time.
In this second installment of The Heart Odyssey, I talk about the time I woke up from the transplant to adjusting to unnatural circumstances, to the time I finally got home from the hospital for the first time.
This is the first in four podcasts about my heart damage, transplant waiting list, highs and lows toward transplant, and to the time I shut my eyes on the table for the 1st time. I originally wrote a 58-page biography about this part of my life but thought I would record it in four parts for those who might be interested. Part one is the story of how I found out my heart was failing, the first visit to the hospital, and setting the stage for the long wait.
In this episode, I talk about three encounters that were unexplainable, kind and loving, and shared. Perhaps they were angels, all three.
How do we become better at loving others? Loving ourselves? In this episode I explore what it means to be a better lover.
Empathy is a term very popular today, but what does it mean? How does it work? Who are empaths and intuitives and how do they see and experience the world?
In this episode, I cover everything from a love safari to being comfort in fear, embodied love shared in sickness, and the role of the body in which we find embodied love.
Sometimes High School is a fairy tale, and other times a horror story. My story is somewhat in-between. In this episode of "Life and the Living of It," I talk about High School, which included a ruptured disc, destroyed bone, and drama class.
Have you ever thought what a healthy, substantial social safety net, as far as emotional support, might look like? In this episode I talk about the 1-3-8 rule for relationships that support you through life.
“Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” - St. Francis of Assisi
In this episode, I talk about changing the world.
Sometimes I meet someone who leaves such an impression that thirty years later, I am still talking about him.
Everyone goes through a call process. Lawyers. Street Cleaners. Business Entrepreneurs. Postal Workers. Construction workers. Oh...and yeah...pastors. The call process is remarkably similar across all professions, vocations, and people. In this episode, I go into the continuing call process we all go through.
If you have ever gone to summer camp...and a part of you always wants to return, this episode if for you.
Not many people know what Spiritual Direction is, let alone ever been in a Spiritual Direction session. In this episode, I talk about Spiritual Direction (which I like calling Spiritual Accompaniment), my experience with it, and the changes I have seen in my own life.
I know from experience that burning bridges is so much easier than rebuilding them. In this episode, I talk about the process of rebuilding those bridges.
This episode came out of a period in my life in which I did pottery and went and talked with other potters around Texas. What you learn about when working with clay is "Don't Force Things."
There are a thousand stories in and around my local coffee shop. A thousand characters appear. I talk, in this episode, about five of them. A pastor. A cross. A dog. A group hug. A group of cyclists.
In this episode I interview one of my dear friends, author and theologian Jennifer Ohman-Rodriguez, who talks about her first book, "A Time to Mourn & A Time to Dance." We talk about the loss of her husband, her personal grief, and the journey that brought her to share her experience of grief in a new book.