In this episode, we are joined by Doug Scott, LCSW, MA, an experienced therapist and counselor based in Dallas, Texas, who has a deep interest in the intersection of psychology and spirituality; and Brendan Graham Dempsey, a writer, poet, farmer, and the director of Sky Meadow Institute, an organization dedicated to promoting systems-based thinking about the things that matter most. (see below for more information on Brendan).

Doug shares insights from his private practice and his master's degree in pastoral ministry, focusing particularly on how metamodern spirituality can facilitate positive change in the world.

Doug introduces the SH!PS Approach, a conceptual and practical framework designed to help individuals navigate their spiritual and psychological journeys. The acronym SH!PS stands for Solidarity, Hope, Interview, Process, and Service, with each component playing a crucial role in fostering meaningful transformation and connection.

The discussion explores Doug's fascinating background, including his early years in Saudi Arabia, time in Nicaragua with the Capuchin Franciscans, and his education at Boston College. He also delves into the importance of relational connection, self-awareness, and the transformative power of loving service.

Tune in to learn more about Doug's innovative tools and how they can be applied to enhance personal growth, build solidarity, and cultivate hope. Whether you're interested in psychology, spirituality, or the intersections of the two, this episode offers valuable insights and practical advice for anyone looking to deepen their understanding and practice of metamodern spirituality.

For more information, you can visit Doug's websites at www.dougscottcounseling.com and www.cosmicchrist.net ----

Brendan Graham Dempsey is a writer, poet, farmer, and the director of Sky Meadow Institute, an organization dedicated to promoting systems-based thinking about the things that matter most.

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He holds a BA in religious studies from the University of Vermont and a master's in religion and art from Yale University. He is the author of the 7-volume Metamodern Spirituality Series and, most recently, Metamodernism: Or, The Cultural Logic of Cultural Logics.

His primary interests include theorizing developments in culture after postmodernism, productively bridging the divide between science and spirituality, and developing sustainable systems for life to flourish. All of these lead through the paradigms of emergence and complexity, which inform all of his work.

Doug leads a discussion in the Building 4th group about one of the most pivotal points in the Ra Material. Doug explores the following quote from an accessible perspective that is simultaneously conventional and cosmic.

52.11 Questioner: [...] from the point of view of an individual who wishes to follow the service-to-others path from our present position in third density, is there anything of importance other than disciplines of personality, knowledge of self, and strengthening of will?

Ra: I am Ra. This is technique. This is not the heart. Let us examine the heart of evolution. Let us remember that we are all one. This is the great learning/teaching. In this unity lies love. This is a great learn/teaching. In this unity lies light. This is the fundamental teaching of all planes of existence in materialization. Unity, love, light, and joy; this is the heart of evolution of the spirit. The second-ranking lessons are learn/taught in meditation and in service. At some point the mind/body/spirit complex is so smoothly activated and balanced by these central thoughts or distortions that the techniques you have mentioned become quite significant. However, the universe, its mystery unbroken, is one. Always begin and end in the Creator, not in technique.

Doug Scott, LCSW, was invited by a Methodist pastor to give a sermon during the Sunday liturgy. Doug chose the Beatitudes and focused upon interpreting this beautiful but rarely unpacked Biblical story from the domain of mental health and becoming agents of wholeness in the world.