Welcome to Everything Speaks if You Listen with Jen CobbleWorks where we befriend our humanity and the Sacred through story, soul questions, and every day life.

In this week's episode, I return after almost a 6 week break to explore a spiritual pain point: the idea that the body and the soul are separated and at war with each other. I share some details with my long journey with Hashimoto's and personal spiritual path and notice how I spent many years trying to diminish, dismiss, and tame my body so that it couldn't cause "problems" for me and I could be "good".

I trace this theology/philosophy back to Pluto's concept of the Forms where he posits that the body is a prison for the soul and that the soul is hindered, even tainted by the possible corruption the body can evoke. I also look at how this shows up in some of my Christian roots and how the my Hashimoto's helped me deconstruct from this pattern of oppressing the body to elevate or protect the soul.

Instead, I explore the sense of union and gateway I experience through my body now, its sacred presence and invitation even through illness, conflicting emotions, etc. and talk about my early days with Celtic Spirituality and Ignatian Spirituality helped me stop waging a war between body and soul.

This is a tender, gentle, kind of slowly paced podcast filled with deep personal soul stories, body stories, and inner reflections. I offer it in hope that it helps you frame your own relationship between your humanity and your soul.

I'm Jen Cobble Willhoite, a contemplative storyteller, spiritual tool designer, and life-long soul seeker. My path is formed and framed by questions more than answers. I'm more comfortable wondering and wandering about things spiritual than I am in ideology, religion, or dogma.

My soul language and connection with Spirit is primarily grounded in Celtic Spirituality, science, nature, seasonal cycles, myth, folklore, and stories of all kinds. I do have roots in progressive Christianity that I sometimes speak from. My tap root, though, is ordinary life. I believe enlightenment is rhythmic, unfolding, and found in our everyday experiences and selves. I also offer tools and courses on my modern interpretation of the examen: a daily ritual of looking back, looking within, and looking ahead to cultivate a rapport with your inner wisdom and the Sacred as you understand it.

Every week, I share an episode from my own spiritual explorations, offering invitations for you to explore these themes on your own. Thanks for journeying with me!