PODCAST · religion
Facing Up: Life Beyond Belief
by Maury Robertson
A place for people who have lost their way to wrestle with the dark night and find life beyond belief.
Episodes
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How to Release Your Inner Greatness
Send us Fan Mail Why is it so hard to be the person you know you are meant to be? Here's a tip I hope will help. To find out more about the Facing Up Club, go to facingup.club.
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Why Bother to Get Married Anymore?
Send us Fan Mail Isn't marriage just a musty old custom, like wearing spats? Why bother with it? There's a reason that goes deeper than religion or tradition. To find out more about the Facing Up Club, go to facingup.club.
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The Dark Night Is Part of Me Now
Send us Fan Mail The Dark Night of the Soul is not a season of life you go through. It is part of yourself you learn to embrace. To find out more about the Facing Up Club, go to facingup.club.
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I Go Alone Because I Love Her
Send us Fan Mail People ask me why I go like going to the wilderness alone. It's the same reason that go on dates alone with my wife: intimacy. I love her. To find out more about the Facing Up Club, go to facingup.club.
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13 Tips from a Mountain on Facing Life's Mountains
Send us Fan Mail 13 tips about taking on the mountains in your life from an actual mountain as I make my way up. To find out more about the Facing Up Club, go to facingup.club.
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I Go to the Wilderness to Wrestle with Monsters
Send us Fan Mail I normally hide from life's hard truths. The mountains force me to face them. It's uncomfortable but good for me. To find out more about the Facing Up Club, go to facingup.club.
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Am I a Narcissist? Some think so.
Send us Fan Mail There is a difference between trusting yourself and being a narcissist. To find out more about the Facing Up Club, go to facingup.club.
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When Things Go Wrong
Send us Fan Mail Flat tire on the way to the Sierras! It's easy to practice acceptance when life is going the way you want it to. It's not so easy when things go wrong. To find out more about the Facing Up Club, go to facingup.club.
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I'm Learning the Name of God
Send us Fan Mail I'm slowly learning how to say the name of God. It doesn't come naturally for me! To find out more about the Facing Up Club, go to facingup.club.
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Suicide is Painless
Send us Fan Mail There are a lot more ways to say "No" to your existence than killing yourself. To find out more about the Facing Up Club, go to facingup.club.
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Don't Miss Out on Being YOU!
Send us Fan Mail Finding your voice and setting out on an adventure that matters and expresses who you are is not self-indulgent. It's the only way not to miss out on being YOU. How crazy is it to live your whole life and not be you?! To find out more about the Facing Up Club, go to facingup.club.
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I'm Sorry: A Long Overdue Apology
Send us Fan Mail This week something hit me hard. I have never really fathomed with the damage that my commitment to Christian dogma did to others. If you're one of those people, this is a long overdue apology. To find out more about the Facing Up Club, go to facingup.club.
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Who Do You Trust? Try Yourself!
Send us Fan Mail I'm in Lithia Park in Ashland , Oregon, reflecting on the changes that have taken place since I was here for the summer 43 (!) years ago. The biggest shift in my life has been in who I trust. To find out more about the Facing Up Club, go to facingup.club.
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Escape to the Wilderness to Practice Life Beyond Belief
Send us Fan Mail Here's why the I love to escape to the wilderness to practice the three movements and embrace life beyond belief. I also do a little gear review for those who like such things. Start at 11:00 if you want to skip to that. This one has some nice pictures. If you'd like to watch the...
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3 Beauty Tips from an Old Bald Guy
Send us Fan Mail Some of the most attractive people I know aren't very good looking. Here are three beauty tips that will work for anyone. And they're free! To find out more about the Facing Up Club, go to facingup.club.
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I Met Someone as Strange as Me!
Send us Fan Mail I was surprised and delighted to meet a kind and thoughtful man this week who had a similar experience to mine. He, too, was brought up in Conservative Christianity and came to a place where he had to leave. There were some amazing parallels in our journeys. To find out more…
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3 Great Stories, 3 Great Truths
Send us Fan Mail There is no true story (Lost) There are no happy endings (Hadestown) We will never find the conflict-free place we long for (The Hunger Games) These three stories illustrate the futility of basing our lives on stories. The only way to have meaning, purpose and belonging is to…
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Mrs. Swift
Send us Fan Mail Mrs. Swift was the 70-year-old widow who helped teach me how to poke fun at my story and break its power. To find out more about the Facing Up Club, go to facingup.club.
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The Power of Play
Send us Fan Mail Thoughts about facing life's final years with dad. To find out more about the Facing Up Club, go to facingup.club.
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Three Flavors of Dogma
Send us Fan Mail Not all dogma is the same. To find out more about the Facing Up Club, go to facingup.club.
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The Existential Shift
Send us Fan Mail Here is the shift that has literally transformed my existence. To find out more about the Facing Up Club, go to facingup.club.
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Liminal Space
Send us Fan Mail Liminal space is the awkward "in-between" that separates two states of existence. Facing Up helps people navigate liminal space between story and being. The payoff is life beyond belief. To find out more about the Facing Up Club, go to facingup.club.
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OUTRAGE! is dangerous energy
Send us Fan Mail OUTRAGE is everywhere these days. But outrage is dangerous energy. It's negative, not positive. Worse, it can unleash our inner Pharisee. To find out more about the Facing Up Club, go to facingup.club.
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Love Stinks!
Send us Fan Mail It is liberating to face the fact that I am a predator like everything else. This opens a door to empathy and gives me the freedom to harmonize with others in a new way. To find out more about the Facing Up Club, go to facingup.club.
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Just War?
Send us Fan Mail Is the war in Iran a just war? Maybe that's the wrong question. I'm looking at the war and my conflict with other people through a different lens these days. I like it way better. To find out more about the Facing Up Club, go to facingup.club.
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An Old Man, Full of Years
Send us Fan Mail I'm up in Seattle this week with my dad, who broke his hip a few weeks back. Here are some thoughts on growing old and facing death. To find out more about the Facing Up Club, go to facingup.club.
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Reality Is Better than Imagination
Send us Fan Mail It's fun to use my imagination but what I imagine is always a pale shadow of actual experience. If you want to be amazed, don't turn to imagination. Open your eyes! To find out more about the Facing Up Club, go to facingup.club.
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Ultralight on the Trail with my Old Friend
Send us Fan Mail Thoughts from my Easter trip to Point Reyes on feeling close to the Divine plus some info on ultralight backpacking for those who are interested. This one has lots of pictures. If you want to see the video, go to https://facingup.club/ultralight-on-the-trail-with-my-old-friend/.…
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How I Pray Now
Send us Fan Mail The hardest to thing to let go of when I stopped being a Christian was the feeling that God was close. To find out more about the Facing Up Club, go to facingup.club.
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I'm Sick of Making Deals
Send us Fan Mail I'm getting sick of making deals. A deal is a zero sum game where there is a winner and a loser. There is a better way. To find out more about the Facing Up Club, go to facingup.club.
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Why Do I Check Out?
Send us Fan Mail I know how great it feels to live an authentic life. Why is it so hard?? To find out more about the Facing Up Club, go to facingup.club.
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Mistakes and Lies
Send us Fan Mail Sometimes when people make a mistake they say, "Oops! I lied." But making a mistake and lying are different. A lie is not a misunderstanding of reality, It is a betrayal. To find out more about the Facing Up Club, go to facingup.club.
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Serenity Now!
Send us Fan Mail I get discouraged when I look at what is going on in the world. I find the Serenity Prayer to be a helpful tool to navigate the chaos. (Not Frank Constanza's serenity prayer. We'll look instead to the Dalai Lama and Reinhold Niebuhr.) To find out more about the Facing Up Club, go...
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Love Without Friendship Isn't Enough
Send us Fan Mail Sometimes Julie says to me, "I love you but I don't like you." Other times she says, "I don't just love you. I like you!" I like the second statement way better! When it comes to relationships, commitment isn't enough. You gotta find friendship. Otherwise, what's the point? To…
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A Picture of Life Beyond Belief
Send us Fan Mail Here's my sloppy drawing of the the existential shift to life beyond belief. You can watch the "Three Breaths" video here. To find out more about the Facing Up Club, go to facingup.club.
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ADVENTURES are the secret of MEANING in life
Send us Fan Mail Is your life a meaningless grind? Don't sit around waiting for things to change. Strike out on an adventure! To find out more about the Facing Up Club, go to facingup.club.
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The Paradox of Tolerance
Send us Fan Mail Isn't it dogmatic to oppose dogma? Philosopher Karl Popper has an enlightening insight that has helped me understand why resisting the current push toward Christian Nationalism is not the same thing as being dogmatic. He also helps me understand why treating others with…
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A Toxic View of Myself?
Send us Fan Mail I'm a slow learner! I'm just starting to recognize one of the most damaging effects of evangelical Christianity: a toxic view of myself. There is a better way! To find out more about the Facing Up Club, go to facingup.club.
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Choosing Joy, Rain or Shine
Send us Fan Mail Everyone feels joy when things go their way. But what happens when things go wrong? Here are some thoughts from the trail along with the wisdom of three exceptional women. To find out more about the Facing Up Club, go to facingup.club.
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Our Only Hope to Get Along with Each Other
Send us Fan Mail When we assert our story as Truth we produce dogma, tribalism, and war. Our superpower is that we tell stories. Our Achilles heel is that we believe them. Stories are an essential expression of our existence but they are a lousy foundation. What we need is not a new story, but a...
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What Would Katniss Do?
Send us Fan Mail Will the good guys finally wipe out the bad guys so we can live happily ever after? The world Katniss lives in is not so simple. Neither is ours. To find out more about the Facing Up Club, go to facingup.club.
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Facing Up And The Attack on Venezuela
Send us Fan Mail Facing Up is not an escape. It is a way to embrace being human on every level: desire, story, and being. Today, I woke to the news that the United States has invaded Venezuela. This is how I am processing this through the lens of Facing Up. To find out more about the Facing Up...
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My Goal is to Make 2026 the Best Year of Your Life
Send us Fan Mail In 2025 I put myself on the hook to share my life with you each week. In 2026 I'm putting myself on the hook to help you make the shift from beliefs and circumstances to the triumph of pure being. Want to be a beta tester? The journey begins February 14. Email me or let me know…
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The Existential Shift
Send us Fan Mail Sometimes I give a conditional "yes" to life, based on circumstances. The existential shift is to START with "yes" and go from there. The story of my life is no longer the foundation of my life. It becomes an expression of it. The difference may sound subtle but it makes a...
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An Existential Connection with God
Send us Fan Mail This is how I experience God even though I no longer know what "God" even means. To find out more about the Facing Up Club, go to facingup.club.
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How to Stay Happy Without Religion
Send us Fan Mail It is much harder to be sad without faith. In fact, a feeling of comfort might just be the #1 reason people cling to faith even when they stop believing in it. In this episode I explain how I discovered happiness without God or Christian community. To find out more about the…
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Road Rage
Send us Fan Mail I do not understand why the world is set up so that everything lives by munching on everything else. I don't understand it but I think I know what to do about it. Here are some thoughts I had while dodging cars on the way to Los Gatos for Thanksgiving. To find out more about the...
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Find the Meaning IN Your Life
Send us Fan Mail I'm pretty sure no one knows the meaning OF life. Our perception is too limited. The meaning IN life? That's a different story. To find out more about the Facing Up Club, go to facingup.club.
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Thoughts from the Trail
Send us Fan Mail If you want to try something NEW, you gotta let go of the OLD. For years, I have made my backpacking more difficult than it needed to be. All because I stubbornly clung to "the way I used to do it." Maybe you need to let go of something to in order to enter the fulness of life.…
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Thought from the Senior Center about Death
Send us Fan Mail In my day job, I direct a Senior Center. I love the job. It gives me the opportunity to think deeply about life's greatest chapter. I also have the privilege of seeing some great examples. Here is a reflection I wrote for the St. Helena Star, the St. Helena town newspaper. To…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
A place for people who have lost their way to wrestle with the dark night and find life beyond belief.
HOSTED BY
Maury Robertson
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Facing Up: Life Beyond Belief have?
Facing Up: Life Beyond Belief currently has 101 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Facing Up: Life Beyond Belief about?
A place for people who have lost their way to wrestle with the dark night and find life beyond belief.
How often does Facing Up: Life Beyond Belief release new episodes?
Facing Up: Life Beyond Belief publishes regularly with 101 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Facing Up: Life Beyond Belief?
You can listen to Facing Up: Life Beyond Belief on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Facing Up: Life Beyond Belief?
Facing Up: Life Beyond Belief is created and hosted by Maury Robertson.
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