We're taking 'happy are those who mourn' as the text for discussion this week, including Spanish philosopher George Santayana's quotation, 'The young man who has not wept is a savage and the old man who will not laugh is a fool.' To weep for the world is a sacrament. It takes us beyond the rage and the blame that is thrown around so much and into the heart of the Holy One. Mark tells us of his experience of this in the Men's Rite of Passage work he has done with Fr. Richard Rohr.

Today Mark muses on the cycle of life, prompted by the breaking of his favourite coffee mug. It's really about the importance of understanding that in the flow of life we are all one; some atoms from that mug may end up in the bones of someone yet to be born, complete with atoms that once made up the physical body of some great spirit or some distant star. In all life there is loss; in all loss there is the possibility of the new.

Following on from last week, we're looking at Steven Pressfield's book 'The War of Art' all about the power of resistance. Resistance is the inner demon which stops us doing the creative work we love; prevents our happiness and scuppers our dreams. Resistance is very, very real and it will drive us into madness, sickness and despair if we don't identify and deal with at least some of it. Resistance also includes distraction - binge-watching, binge-eating, drink, scrolling, busy-work; they are all parts of resistance. Today we are owning up to our own resistance and have a couple of very simple tips to offer to help start the return to sanity.

Today we talk about betrayal and resistance. And about the forgiveness that flows from Grace to EVERYONE, no exceptions. That's a challenging thought for the ego which wants an eye for an eye. But, as we all know, that just leaves the whole world blind... Here's the Elizabeth Gilbert quote that Maggy couldn't find in time: “As I focus on diligent joy, I also keep remembering a simple idea my friend Darcey told me once -- that all the sorrow and trouble of this world is caused by unhappy people. Not only in the big global Hitler-'n'-Stalin picture, but also on the smallest personal level. Even in my own life, I can see exactly where my episodes of unhappiness have brought suffering or distress or (at the very least) inconvenience to those around me. The search for contentment is, therefore, not merely a self-preserving and self-benefiting act, but also a generous gift to the world. Clearing out all your misery gets you out of the way. You cease being an obstacle, not only to yourself but to anyone else. Only then are you free to serve and enjoy other people.”  (Eat, Pray, Love).

In this episode Maggy talks about how easy it is to let our energy drop when we are in a challenging situation and how the attitudes, toxic religion, gun culture and on-the-road diner food affected her energy levels on her visit to the USA. She realised how easy her life is at home and how blessed she is to live in a peaceful environment. A little lesson in humility!

Today Mark speaks of his continuing journey to find the historical - and personal - Jesus; the one who never intended to found a religion and the one who would never, ever sanction a war in the name of God. We also look at 'edge-dwelling' and the need for deep reconciliation for the whole World - and how thoroughly that World dislikes those who try to hold that middle ground!

Christianity hasn't been very good at loving its enemies (to say the least) but why is this seminal teaching of Jesus so frequently ignored? For a start, it's damned difficult! Far easier to point out the speck in the eye of those we loathe than to see the plank in our own. We talk of our own routines to encourage loving our enemies and how we face up to this almighty challenge.

Compline is the service of night prayer and today we look at some of the deep beauty in this liturgy, including that part which involves confessing our sins. Speaking out loud our regrets for that day (or week or year...) is a powerful release. It needs to be with a wise and compassionate mentor but there is much value in confessing.

Today's podcast turns into a love letter to Mark and Maggy's teacher Fr. Richard Rohr, via his teaching about the World, the Flesh and the Devil. We tell stories of his kindness and support as well as detailing his powerful revelations that the only way out of the World's messiness is to own our own complicity in the systems that we both love and hate and how we must work together for healing.

Some of you know that Mark and Maggy are (respectively) magician and comedian as well as ministers. Today we talk about why we do such challenging - and to some inappropriate - work and share some of our stories of life on the road. You'll like this one. Not a lot, but you'll like it...

'You're not a fuck-up but you do fuck up.' Words Mark received in a moment of presence and stillness. Today we discuss those precious times when our thoughts are not ruling us and we can hear better... And we look at rock-bottom moments. We've all had them...

Today we take apart some of the stories and rumours about the Apostle to the Apostles, Mary of Magdala - who was, emphatically NOT the woman with the alabaster jar. And we refer back to last week's podcast which looked at the 'original' Lord's Prayer in Aramaic (sorry, but it's not 'original'). So why do we fall for this misinformation? Because it suits our biases? All this leads us back to where truths become corrupted into conspiracy theories where we are more interested in being right than we are in being happy.

Today we range from pilgrimage through projection to Lucific truths. Lucific truths are the source energy of conspiracy theories - they always contain a grain of truth which can be used and built upon for glamorous and harmful ends. We touch on the Gospels and St. Paul and, frankly, we are total f***-ups for failing to concentrate on one subject! We'll try to do better...

You can't resolve conflict by avoiding conflict - today we talk about the peace-keeping work of Danaan Parry of the Earth Stewards Network. And the first thing to understand that our brains HAVE to make comparisons with the past, so it's really difficult - unless we stand in full consciousness - to accept new beliefs and things. So we're back to having the humility to realise that we are wired into prejudices and having to realise that we may well be wrong...

That paraphrase from Ecclesiastes is our theme today - on how our egos get in the way all the time - whether it's virtue signalling on social media, trying on a bishop's clothing and general attention-seeking to prop up our false selves. As ministers we often get to wear posh, flowing robes - which is exactly what Jesus pointed out is totally missing the point! So, how to hold the balance between what people expect and still come from a space of humility. Still practicing...

Jason Aldean's version of 'Try That In A Small Town' is a chart-topper in the USA and has been provoking a lot of reaction for its lyrics. In a way, the song is the elder brother's lament from the parable of the Prodigal Son and it is a clear indicator of how polarised humans are becoming. Polarity in such a world of diversity is narrow-thinking and contrary to all the great teachings ... but how do we actually find the humility to accept that?

Mark has been listening to Bart Ehrman and Marcus Borg so today we are being (slightly) intelligent and discussing the historical Jesus as in, what was he really like? What can we trust from the writings and how do you explain the ups and downs of the teachings in the Gospels? Fascinating stuff...

Today we're looking at hypocrisy (and owning up that we are hypocrites too). What is it about salacious tit-bits that we follow so avidly on the news while condemning other people from the back of our exquisite high horse? It's time for a couple of confessions and a sincere avowment that we simply don't know the answer to this one.

We start today with clear evidence of the importance of cherishing every day that we have because we never know how long we will be here... And move on to discussing 'the Voices' :-D When is it intuition and when is it delusion? And if it is the urge to bless or do good, does it really matter?

Today, we discuss wealth and how the modern world worships Mammon instead of focusing on Holy Mystery. The one thing that few of us seem to have? Enough. Whether it's time, money, love or rest. But the greatest assumption of the modern age is that nothing is enough... One of the popular causes of offence being taken nowadays is when people make assumptions. Assumptions are made from old habits and the vast majority of us are horrified when we are (kindly) informed that we are inaccurate or out of date. So may we, please, explain gently that the assumption that more is better is not necessarily so. The search for more and more and more and more is what appears to be at the heart of human unhappiness.