Carey Wallace believes inspiration is an essential and often under-explored part of the creative life. In her new book The Discipline of Inspiration: The Mysterious Encounter with God at the Heart of Creativity, Carey meditates on the ways artists have experienced and negotiated with that "creative spark" across genres and throughout history, identifying it as something beyond them. In this conversation with Leader’s Way host, Brandon Nappi, Carey suggests that while inspiration is a gift of the spirit, it can be cultivated and harnessed, as a spiritual discipline.

Welcome back to Within, a contemplative segment of The Leader’s Way Podcast that explores the convergence of mental health, art, and spirituality through authentic conversations across traditions about personal and collective transformation.

Carey Wallace is the author of The Discipline of Inspiration (Eerdmans), The Blind Contessa’s New Machine (Penguin), Stories of the Saints (Workman), Psalms of Wonder (Flyaway), and The Ghost In The Glass House (Clarion). She is a popular speaker on the creative life, and works to help people from all walks of life find inspiration and build strong creative habits. She grew up in small towns in Michigan, and lives and works outside Chicago.

Host: Brandon Nappi

Guest: Carey Wallace

Instagram: @theleadersway.podcast

berkeleydivinity.yale.edu/podcast

You can support our work at https://tinyurl.com/support-transforming-leaders

What do we do in seasons of destabilization and doubt, uncertainty or rupture, when we find ourselves in the proverbial spiritual "wilderness?" Sarah Bessey tells us that the site of disruption is often “an altar to encounter God, an invitation from the Spirit” to encounter God’s love anew.

Welcome back to Within, a contemplative segment of The Leader’s Way Podcast that explores the convergence of mental health, art, and spirituality through authentic conversations across traditions about personal and collective transformation.

In this episode, Brandon Nappi talks with Sarah Bessey, author of the best-selling and critically acclaimed books Jesus Feminist; Out of Sorts: Making Peace with an Evolving Faith; Miracles and Other Reasonable Things; and most recently, Field Notes for the Wilderness: Practices for an Evolving Faith.

Sarah and Brandon explore the themes of Sarah’s latest book, diving into the principles, prayers, and practices that help us navigate times of spiritual wilderness, especially for an emerging generation of Christians looking to reconnect to their faith, find inner healing, and build spiritual community.

Host: Brandon Nappi

Guest: Sarah Bessey

Instagram: @theleadersway.podcast berkeleydivinity.yale.edu/podcast

You can support our work at https://tinyurl.com/support-transforming-leaders

By his own admission, Father Laurence Freeman came into the monastic life "kicking and screaming.”

In this lively episode, host Brandon Nappi asks Fr. Freeman to share the story of his journey into the monastery, about his relationship with the incredible meditation teacher, John Main, and the profound ways meditation shapes our experience of the world.

Father Freeman is a monk of the Benedictine Congregation of Monte Oliveto Maggiore. He is the director and spiritual guide of the World Community for Christian Meditation. John Main was his teacher and Fr. Laurence assisted him in establishing the foundations of the Community.

Fr. Laurence is the author of a number of books on Christian Meditation including Light Within: The Inner Path of Meditation and Jesus: The Teacher Within. He travels extensively giving presentations and leading Christian Meditation Retreats.

Before entering monastic life, Fr. Laurence worked with the United Nations in New York, in Banking and Journalism.

Host: Brandon Nappi

Guest: Laurence Freeman

Instagram: @theleadersway.podcast

berkeleydivinity.yale.edu/podcast

You can support our work at https://tinyurl.com/support-transforming-leaders

How can the science of spirituality help us discover our true purpose in life?

Welcome back to Within, a contemplative segment of The Leader’s Way Podcast that explores the convergence of mental health, art, and spirituality through authentic conversations across traditions about personal and collective transformation.

In this episode, Brandon Nappi talks with psychiatrist and spiritual coach Dr. Anna Yusim about the science of spirituality as a path to wholeness and healing. Weaving together teachings from Kabbalah, Buddhism, and shamanistic traditions, Dr. Yusim has developed a program that marries empirical science and spirituality to help us find more meaning, more joy, and more fulfillment in life.

Dr. Yusim is an internationally-recognized, award-winning Stanford- and Yale-educated Psychiatrist & Executive Coach with a Private Practice in New York City, Connecticut, California and Florida. She is the best-selling author of Fulfilled: How the Science of Spirituality Can Help You Live a Happier, More Meaningful Life. With clients including Forbes 500 CEOs, Olympic athletes, A-list actors and actresses, and the Chairs of academic departments at top universities, Dr. Anna Yusim helps influential people achieve greater impact, purpose, and joy in their life and work.

Host: Brandon Nappi

Guest: Anna Yusim

Instagram: @theleadersway.podcast

berkeleydivinity.yale.edu/podcast

You can support our work at https://tinyurl.com/support-transform...

Welcome back to the new season of The Leader’s Way, a podcast for people who aren’t ready to give up on the world.

In this episode, host Brandon Nappi talks with Volker Leppin about all things mysticism, for Meister Eckhart to Francis of Assisi to Martin Luther to so much more.

Dr. Leppin is a German Protestant theologian and the Horace Tracy Pitkin Professor of Historical Theology at Yale Divinity School. A historian of medieval and Reformation studies, his research focuses on scholasticism and mysticism in the late Middle Ages. He is a prolific author of 19 monographs and 11 critical editions of text, the editor or co-editor of 49 books, and the author of more than 300 scholarly articles or chapters. He is well-known for arguing that the Reformation should be understood not as a rupture, but as a transformation, one encompassing both continuity and change. His most recent book, Ruhen in Gott, Eine Geschichte der Christlichen Mystik (C. H. Beck München, 2021), emphasizes the importance of mysticism within Christianity while exploring also its interreligious potentials.

Host: Brandon Nappi

Guest: Volker Leppin

Instagram: @theleadersway.podcast

berkeleydivinity.yale.edu/podcast

You can support our work at https://tinyurl.com/support-transforming-leaders

In this live-recorded episode of The Leader’s Way Podcast, Brandon interviews Sophfronia Scott, a novelist, essayist, and leading contemplative thinker, whose book The Seeker and the Monk: Everyday Conversations with Thomas Merton won the 2021 Thomas Merton “Louie” Award from the International Thomas Merton Society. In this conversation, Brandon and Sophfronia explore the powerful ways a contemplative life can infuse a life of activism, a life rooted in justice. This episode was recorded at the Berkeley Center at Yale Divinity School in front of a live audience that includes seminarians, Yale faculty, and special guests.

Host: Brandon Nappi

Guest: Sophfronia Scott

Instagram: @theleadersway.podcast berkeleydivinity.yale.edu/podcast

You can support our work at https://tinyurl.com/support-transforming-leaders

Welcome back to Within, a contemplative segment of The Leader’s Way Podcast that explores the convergence of mental health, art, and spirituality through authentic conversations across traditions about personal and collective transformation. In this episode, Brandon Nappi talks with Shabnam Mogharabi, an award-winning entertainment executive and entrepreneur who is also trained in positive psychology. Shabnam is the oldest daughter of immigrant parents from Iran and grew up wanting to tell stories that uplift, connect and shine a light on our capacity for joy. With actor Rainn Wilson, Shabnam co-founded the inspiring, mission-driven studio SoulPancake. Brandon asks Shabnam about her spiritual journey, her work as a storyteller and journalist, and the new workbook she and recently co-authored with Rainn Wilson, Soul Boom Workbook: Spiritual Tools for Living

Host: Brandon Nappi

Guest: Shabnam Mogharabi

Instagram: @theleadersway.podcast berkeleydivinity.yale.edu/podcast

You can support our work at https://tinyurl.com/support-transforming-leaders

The Reverend Dr. John F. Ross is the Executive Director of The Saint John’s Bible Heritage Program at Saint John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota, where he shepherds global engagement with the Saint John’s Bible—the first handwritten illuminated Bible in over 500 years. In this episode of The Leader’s Way, Brandon Nappi asks John to tell the story of how this artistic and beautiful Bible came to be, from the early inspirations of renowned calligrapher Donald Jackson to the Bible's commissioning by a Benedictine monastery and its subsequent travels across the world.

Explore more of the history and images from The Saint John’s Bible project here: https://saintjohnsbible.org/

Host: Brandon Nappi

Guest: John Ross

Instagram: @theleadersway.podcast

berkeleydivinity.yale.edu/podcast

You can support our work at https://tinyurl.com/support-transforming-leaders