Episode Details

Embodied Spirituality with John Prendergast

John J. Prendergast, PhD is a spiritual teacher, author, retired Adjunct Professor of Psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies, and a retired Marriage and Family Therapist. He Is the author of Your Deepest Ground: A Guide to Embodied Spirituality (2025), The Deep Heart: Our Portal to Presence (2019), and In Touch: How to Tune in to the Inner Guidance of Your Body and Trust Yourself (2015). He is also the senior editor of and contributor to two volumes of original essays entitled, The Sacred Mirror (2003) and Listening from the Heart of Silence (2007).

Here John explores the depths of embodied spirituality, examining the journeys of waking up, waking down, and waking in. John shares profound insights on authenticity, truth, and true nature, while also addressing the more challenging aspects of our conditioning—terror, shame, and doubt—which often arise as obstacles on the path of healing and transformation.

00:00:00 Introduction
00:11:18 Your deepest ground and confronting annihilation
00:22:52 Spanda: the pulsation of life and awareness
00:33:45 Truth and authenticity in the spiritual journey
00:39:19 Opening to awareness and healing trauma
00:43:45 The role of therapeutic relationships
00:48:07 Identifying core limiting beliefs
00:57:42 Self-honesty and vulnerability in spiritual growth
01:03:43 Grief and the lost connection to true nature
01:13:14 Overcoming doubt and the markers of essential qualities of being

New Thinking Allowed Guest Host Leanne Whitney, PhD, is a depth psychologist and transformational coach based in Los Angeles, CA. She is the author of Consciousness in Jung and Patañjali and currently serves as Executive Director of Center for Transformation and Integration. Her website is https://leannewhitney.com/

To learn about Leanne Whitney’s Transformational Coaching Certification Course with an emphasis in Somatic Integration Therapy, please visit: https://transformationandintegration.com/courses

Producer: Elena McNally
Editor: John Hartmann

(Recorded on February 21, 2025)

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