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Rev. Xolani Kacela, Ph.D.

Dr. Matthew Welsh – Spiritual Media Blog

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Dr. Matthew Welsh – Spiritual Media Blog

Take On Faith – July 17, 2021

Dr. Matthew Welsh founded the Spiritual Media Blog, which hosts interviews and resources for readers and communities. He joined host Rev. Xolani Kacela for a lively conversation on Take On Faith on KTAL-LP 101.5.

Dr. Welsh shared his story of leaving his law career, earning a Ph.D. in psychology, and going into practice. He also sees patients at the Veteran Affairs Center in Indianapolis. Importantly, the interview covered how mental health and spirituality merge.

Surprisingly, Matt Welsh revealed half of his blog’s content is targeted to people seeking resources for a better life. Most of his guests practice non-traditional spirituality. Dr. Welsh shared how writing his novel helped him deal with important life issues and discover his purpose.

You can contact Dr. Matt Welsh at editor@spiritualmediablog.com.

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From Guest’s Website:

Dr. Matthew Welsh J.D., Ph.D. is the founder of Spiritual Media Blog. After graduating from law school Dr. Welsh created Spiritual Media Blog to be a source of inspirational content, media, and entertainment. He began his career in Hollywood working for an entertainment agency, the William Morris Agency, and then as a trial lawyer for the Department of Child Services in Indiana. He realized that he was not happy working as a lawyer. So, he quit his job as a lawyer to pursue his calling to become a psychologist and obtained his PhD in Psychology. He now works as a full-time clinical psychologist. For more information about his private coaching and counseling practice, please visit https://drmatthewwelsh.com.

Dr. Welsh has presented inspirational lectures on how to create a meaningful career to venues across the country including the San Diego Convention Center, international not-for-profit organization Dress For Success, and the University of Notre Dame. He is the author of The Bottom Line, a novel about a young man in college learning how to overcome the male ego. He has also appeared in film as a featured guest for the Spiritual Cinema Circle DVD club, alongside Stephen Simon, producer of Academy Award winning film, What Dreams May Come. His podcast has featured conversations with thought-leaders including Neale Donald Walsch, Arielle Ford, James Redfield (Author of Celestine Prophecy) and William Arntz (Director of What the Bleep Do We Know?).

Dr. Larry Ward

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Dr. Larry Ward

Take On Faith – July 10, 2021

Dr. Larry Ward practices as an ordained Buddhist teacher and ordained Christian minister. He completed his Buddhist studies with the Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh at Plum Village in France. He authored the book America’s Racial Karma, which is published by Parallax Press in 2020.

Dr. Larry Ward

During this Take On Faith episode, Dr. Ward and host Xolani Kacela discussed subjects covered in his book. They explored Ward’s experience of race while teaching in China and Africa. Ward discussed the importance of being in the body.

He shared what it means to be African American and Buddhist. His research covers the beginning of racism. Also, the show explored his meditative and prayer life and the reflective work covered in the book.

The conversation covered how spiritual practices can heal the racial divide in America. Host and guest explored neuroscience, trauma, embodied spirituality, and how history and truth impact human identity and emotions.

You can contact Dr. Larry Ward at larry@thelotusinstitute.org.

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From Guest’s Website:

So says Zen Buddhist teacher Dr. Larry Ward.

Shot at by the police as an 11-year-old child for playing baseball in the wrong spot, as an adult, Larry Ward experienced the trauma of having his home firebombed by racists. At Plum Village Monastery in France, the home in exile of his teacher, Vietnamese peace activist and Zen teacher Thich Nhat Hanh, Dr. Ward found a way to heal. In these short reflective essays, he offers his insights on the effects of racial constructs and answers the question: how do we free ourselves from our repeated cycles of anger, denial, bitterness, pain, fear, violence? Larry Ward looks at the causes and conditions that have led us to our current state and finds, hidden in the crisis, a profound opportunity to reinvent what it means to be a human being. This is an invitation to transform America’s racial karma.

Justin Miles – Black & Buddhist

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Justin Miles – Black & Buddhist

Take On Faith – June 26, 2021

Justin Miles serves as a Black Buddhist teacher who also identifies as a Christian. He joined host Xolani Kacela on Take On Faith for a discussion about his spiritual work. The show airs on KTAL-LP 101.5 from Las Cruces, NM.

Justin Miles is a licensed mental health provider, hip-hop artist, and martial arts expert. He shared his journey to Buddhism and how he lives as Black person on many levels. He unpacked the challenges of living true to himself and being among an all-white spiritual community.

A native of D.C., Miles offered listeners several unique perspectives on being true to oneself, embracing imperfection, and keeping an open mind while dealing with today’s most pressing issues.

You can contact Justin Miles at milesinstitute@gmail.com.

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From Justin Miles’ website:

In 2010 I started the Miles Institute of Integral Living in order to help anyone that I could with challenges of the body, mind, spirit, self, culture, society and nature. The various ways that I assist others come directly from my experience as an imperfect human being, an educated and experienced Buddhist teacher, meditation instructor, psychotherapist, Hiphop artist and survivalist. My philosophy is to be of benefit to others by any means necessary, but especially by any means that others feel connected with. I will help anyone do anything that they think will provide growth and healing in their lives as long as it won’t hurt themselves or others. Whatever skills, insights and gifts that appear to be mine are shared freely with the world.

I began to realize that the only thing to do with my life is to be of service to others, not just through my education but through whoever I’ve learned to be on my human journey. I try to see the wisdom in everything and the world as teacher when i’m relaxed and receptive enough to allow that to happen. Personally, my sense of well-being comes from the practices of meditation, spiritual study, making Hiphop music, gardening, being alone in nature, facilitating therapy, raising my children, sweat lodges, vision quests, marksmanship, hanging out with friends and watching movies, but there is probably nothing that brings me greater pleasure than helping others.

Daniel Simpson

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Daniel Simpson

Take On Faith – June 12, 2021

Daniel Simpson discussed his new book, The Truth About Yoga. His book provides an in-depth look at yoga. The book is available on Amazon and wherever you buy your books.

Simpson joined host Xolani Kacela from his home in Oxford, England. It was his first appearance on Take On Faith on KTAL-LP 101.5.

Daniel Simpson shared his story about how he discovered yoga. Also, he talked about how he became a yoga expert. He discussed yoga’s roots and its early texts. Importantly, he explained yoga evolved from Hindu practice to modern day exercise.

He broke down how politics, religion, and culture changed yoga practice. Originally, it was a way to ease suffering. An established author, he updated listeners on the current state of yoga in the world.

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From Guest’s Website:

Published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Subtitled “A Comprehensive Guide to Yoga’s History, Texts, Philosophy, and Practices,” this book provides succinct answers to almost any question about yoga’s evolution, putting teachings into context and dispelling misconceptions.

To quote the back cover:

Yoga is practiced by many millions of people worldwide and is celebrated for its mental, physical, and spiritual benefits. And yet, as Daniel Simpson reveals in The Truth of Yoga, much of what is said about yoga is misleading. For example, the word “yoga” does not always mean union. In fact, in perhaps the discipline’s most famous text—the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali—its aim is described as separation: isolating consciousness from everything else. And yoga is not five thousand years old, as is commonly claimed; the earliest evidence of practice dates back about twenty-five hundred years. (Yoga may well be older, but no one can prove it.)

The Truth of Yoga is a clear, concise, and accessible handbook for the lay reader that draws upon abundant recent scholarship. It outlines these new findings with practitioners in mind, highlighting ways to keep traditions alive in the twenty-first century.

Daniel Simpson teaches at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, and at Triyoga in London. He is a graduate of Cambridge University and has a master’s degree from SOAS University of London.

Order a copy on the links below, at your local shop, or via Google or iBooks. An audiobook read by Tim Bruce is available on Audible.

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