Can you leave the church and still be spiritual? In this intimate conversation, host Dani sits down with Zen Oasis (@purposefullyzenny), a healer, writer, and mother, to explore belief systems, reparenting, and the many ways we return to ourselves.
Zen shares her transition from traditional Baptist roots to spiritual healing through plant medicine, and what happened the moment she felt pulled to leave the church. Together, Dani and Zen reflect on how inherited beliefs, childhood disappointments, and emotional repression impact the way we form truth and identity.
This conversation unpacks what it means to listen to the gut, how lineage and trauma shape our inner world, and how we re-learn joy. Zen opens up about being a pole instructor, her first time taking MDMA for healing, and why it took two years of ayahuasca ceremonies before she could even feel grounded enough to face her lineage wounds.
They also explore honest friendship, the exhaustion of performance, and how women can build community through vulnerability, not expectation.
Questions explored in this episode include:
— What does it mean to “hear from God” or receive spiritual guidance?
— How do unspoken childhood experiences shape our adult reactions?
— Can healing from trauma happen without a formal therapist?
— What does reparenting really look like in everyday relationships?
— Is envy in friendships always a bad thing, or can it reveal something deeper?
— What does it mean to release ego in order to receive truth?
Whether you’re rethinking your spiritual roots, exploring healing outside of religion, or reflecting on your role as a parent or friend, this episode is a space for compassion, curiosity, and clarity.
✦ About the Creator:
Zen Oasis
Instagram: @purposefullyzenny
TikTok & YouTube: @purposefullyzenny
Website: zenoasis.net
Book: What Was Planted Here Before I Arrived: A Journey of Reimagining Your Patterns