The Way of Unity with Robert Atkinson | Created In The Image of God 240

Most conversations about peace stay either abstract and idealistic, or narrowly focused on the latest crisis. Robert Atkinson’s work refuses that split. An award‑winning author, developmental psychologist, and pioneer in life storytelling, he has spent decades helping people understand their own journeys as part of a much larger story — one in which human oneness is not a wishful slogan, but the deeper reality we are slowly waking up to. In The Way of Unity: Essential Principles and Preconditions for Peace, he brings that vision into sharp focus, asking what kind of religion and spirituality our time truly requires.In this episode, Robert explains how the original sense of religio — to bind together — offers a corrective to the fragmented way faith often functions today. Drawing on themes from The Story of Our Time and A New Story of Wholeness, he outlines a “way of knowing, being, and doing” in which religion, spirituality, social action, community building, and peacebuilding are not separate projects but facets of the same calling. Unity, in his view, must be cultivated on multiple levels: within the self, between people and communities, and across nations — especially in moments of acute tension, like the current conflicts in the Middle East.Robert also shares how his work with initiatives such as One Planet Peace Forum and StoryCommons, and his involvement with the Evolutionary Leaders Circle, have convinced him that we are living through a critical transition point. Old stories of separation are breaking down, while new, more inclusive narratives are emerging — if we are willing to embrace them. Throughout the conversation, he invites listeners to see their own lives as threads in a much larger tapestry of oneness and responsibility, and to consider what it might mean to practice a “religion for our time” that truly binds rather than divides.For anyone wrestling with polarization, longing for a faith that heals instead of harms, or simply trying to locate their personal story within a hopeful future, this episode offers a thoughtful, grounded guide into the way of unity. Get full access to SOOPMedia on Substack at soopllc.substack.com/subscribe Get full access to Created in the Image of God at wadefransson.substack.com/subscribe