Can You Find God Through Buddhism, Psychedelics, and a Jail Cell? with @joshua_kingdompriest⁠

"The time I was deepest in the mud was the time I was literally the happiest. I had absolutely nothing. All I had was God."In this episode of the Earth Experience Podcast, host Dani sits down with evangelist, author, and content creator Joshua Zatkoff for one of the most honest and wide-ranging conversations about faith, suffering, and spiritual identity you will hear this year.Joshua's story does not follow a straight line. Raised in a Russian Orthodox home, he found Buddhism at 15 while in a rehabilitation facility, began meditating and experiencing what he describes as his first spiritual encounters sober, and spent years navigating addiction, psychedelics, sleep paralysis, and a deep search for truth. His path to Christianity was not a clean conversion. It came through a jail cell, a radical encounter, and a transformation so sudden and total that he says nothing else can explain it.But this episode goes far beyond a testimony. Joshua and Dani explore the three phases of spiritual life and what it means to feel abandoned by God after getting close to Him, the difference between Buddhism and Christianity from someone who genuinely practiced both, how childhood trauma and early exposure to spiritual darkness can shape a person's entire journey, and why the modern church is not speaking to the people who need it most.Topics covered: Christian faith and doubt, spiritual awakening, addiction recovery, Buddhism vs Christianity, sleep paralysis and spiritual warfare, childhood trauma and faith, the dark night of the soul, evangelism, and what it means to pursue truth.For the critical thinker, the skeptic, and the seeker:1. If pain is the primary tool God uses to shape us, does that change how you relate to suffering in your own life, or does it make faith harder to accept?2. Joshua moved from Buddhism to Christianity not because Buddhism failed him completely, but because something was still missing. What do you believe is the difference between a spiritual practice that brings peace and one that brings transformation?3. He describes a season where the closer he got to God, the harder life became. Whether you are religious or not, have you ever experienced a period where doing the right thing seemed to cost you the most?4. Joshua says his audience is people the "go-to cliche Christian answers" do not work for. Who do you think is not being spoken to in conversations about faith, healing, or mental health, and what would it look like to change that?Joshua Zatkoff is an evangelist, speaker, and author based in Maryland. Known online as Joshua Kingdom Priest, he speaks primarily to Christians who feel disconnected from God, frustrated with the institutional church, or stuck in cycles of backsliding and shame. His content is rooted in his own story of addiction, spiritual warfare, and radical faith, and he is known for refusing to give surface-level answers to deep questions.Connect with Joshua:Instagram: @joshua_kingdompriestYouTube: Joshua ZatkoffTikTok: @joshua_kingdompriest