PODCAST · religion
Following Spirit
by Caroline Vogel
In pursuit of mindfully living an embodied faith imperfectly by grace, I realized so many others are trying to do the same. This podcast shares meditations, nuggets in which to chew, and conversations for Christians wanting to ground and center in their body, mind and soul, connected to a loving God, made ever aware of the light of Christ, and the whispers of the Holy Spirit. Welcome!
Episodes
-
body scan
This is a body scan meditation used in Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) courses created by Jon Kabat Zinn. Body scans give us the opportunity to come home to ourselves piece by piece. Most of us move so fast through our days that we forget we have bodies much less that we have bodies…
more -
mountain meditation
This meditation is adapted from Jon Kabat-Zinn’s mountain meditation used in his 8wk course Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR).
-
Following Spirit: An Invitation to Substack
Looking for a place to read or listen to nuggets about following the Spirit in your daily life? Join me on Substack and this podcast for weekly posts starting June 8th- the Spirit’s Day!
-
lake meditation by Jon Kabat-Zinn
This meditation is often used in the day retreat which is part of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) 8wk course. Engage the imagery & felt sense of being one with a basin of water. Notice how life can feel choppy and unsettled on the surface, and there is also a constant stillness...
-
Meditation: breathing with the Spirit- breath & light
This is a 20m meditation breathing with the Spirit. First we allow the Spirit to breathe us, nourishing us. Then we open to the Spirit’s breath nourishing our mind, heart and gut. Last we allow the holy light to be breathed by the Spirit through our whole being.
-
Meditation on Peace & Love
This meditation guides you through opening to the peace and love within, receiving peace and love from the world, and sharing a deep sense of peace and love with others. We are created, woven together with peace and love and have a beautiful capacity to intentionally share this peace & love with...
-
Joy by Divine Design
Many of us are searching for more joy in our lives. This reflection explores the natural joy that’s already within us because we are created with joy. The Divine weaves us together with holy joy, peace, love. Joy (along with love & peace) is our birthright. Meditation can assist us in opening to...
-
Heart Interview w/ DeeAnn Dean
I hope you’ll enjoy this episode where I interview my friend DeeAnn Dean. She has a big passionate heart for health and wholeness and a deep desire to bring people together in sacred community so they can experience Love in Belonging.
-
Coherent Breathing 9m meditation
This 9 minute meditation will assist you if you’re wanting work with your nervous system by slowing your breathing down using coherent breathing.
-
Reflection: Taking the Holy Spirit Seriously
This episode is a double dose of good news. We cover the baptism of Jesus and Jesus calling the disciples to follow him. Jesus’ life offers us many insights into how we can live our lives and ways to understand and appreciate the ways God calls us into loving relationship with him and each other....
-
Meditation: working with restlessness in the middle of the night
This meditation is designed to work with restlessness in the middle of the night. We can utilize skills from our meditation and mindfulness practices to enhance our ability to shift from restlessness to restfulness.
-
Heart Meditation: Grounding in the Heart ♥️
This meditation moves through grounding in body and breath then moving into grounding in the heart space. As we experience more groundedness in body, breath and heart, we have greater access to peace. The second half of the meditation utilizes coherent breathing to deepens the sense of grounded...
-
Reflection on Waiting with Patience
In the season of Advent we’re given the opportunity to intentionally wait with patience. We wait for God to be made manifest in the world. It’s an arduous task- waiting. As human beings we often have a difficult time waiting for anything much less the big things in life like waiting for hope to…
more -
heart meditation: grounding in self compassion
This is a heart meditation that grounds in body and breath and then drops into the heart space to cultivate self-compassion. Every time we practice drawing the mind back to the present moment, the body, breath, our own hearts, the more we have the opportunity to practice non-judgment and...
-
Reflection: leaving church, going where I’m called, honoring where I’m not
On this 12th anniversary of my priest ordination, I find myself leaving church, a place I was never called to in the first place. After a dozen years of going where I haven’t been called, I lean into the risk and vulnerability of going where I do. What does it mean to live into the call upon your...
-
heart meditation: equanimity
This is a meditation on equanimity. First we’ll ground in body and breath then move to the heart space with intention and compassion. We’ll build on the inherent strength of the heart to broaden awareness of our capacity to weather whatever comes our way in life- whether the storm be outer...
-
Reflections on Clarity
Maya Angelou once said “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.” Jesus asked his disciples “Who do you say that I am?” We would be wise to ask God this question “Who do you say that I am?” And be intentional about listening, understanding and loving from that deep source...
-
Sermon: entering the resurrection narrative by the breath of God
This sermon weaves scripture from Ezekiel and the gospel of John. Can we let go of what binds us and allow the breath of God to fill us? Setting us free to experience resurrected living?
-
The Hero’s Journey: Transfiguration into Wholeness of Love
This sermon was preached Sunday, February 19th and reflects on the Hero’s Journey using the illustration of actress Viola Davis’ memoir Finding Me.
-
Persisting in the Gifts God Bestows
This is a sermon that weaves the wisdom of the persistent widow with Jacob’s wrestling with an angel. We’re all given spiritual gifts in our lives. How do we awake to them, honoring what they are and are not, and live into the fullness of those gifts?
-
20m meditation: being breathed by the holy
This is a 20m meditation that guides you through connecting to your body, breath and breath of the divine so much so that you become aware of being breathed by the holy. The beautiful vessel of your body moment by moment surrendering to and being breathed by the holy breath of The Spirit.
-
The Importance of Wandering
This sermon was preached Sunday, October 30th at The Episcopal Church of The Ascension. It pulls from the wisdom of Laurie Brock’s new book God, Grace & Horses and weaves the story of Jesus’ encounter with Zacchaeus. Not always knowing where we are is actually part of the walk of faith. Whether...
-
loved in our wholeness
This is a sermon preached September 25, 2022. Prompted by a podcast episode on We Can Do Hard Things, I venture into the question must of ourselves ask at some point in n life if not wrestle with on a daily basis in some form or fashion: “Am I a good person?” It is a deeply spiritual question…
more -
Meditation using Psalm 51
This is a meditation using three verses of Psalm 51- a meditation for your heart space to connect with your own breath & the divine breath. Focusing the breath in the heart space allowing the movement of the Spirit to dust off the heart creating a right spirit by way of The Spirit. And…
more -
The Bittersweet Heavenly City
This sermon was preached in August 2022 at The Episcopal Church of the Ascension in Knoxville, TN. This sermon weaves the wisdom of Susan Cain’s latest book Bittersweet with the narratives found in Genesis 15 & Hebrews 11. All of us have a bit of melancholy within us; some of us lead with it… a...
-
The Spirit of Music
This is a reflection that was offered at the monthly Celtic Service at Church of the Ascension in Knoxville, TN. Have you ever listened to a song and found yourself in tears? The breath of the Spirit often uses music to crack open our hearts & bring us to a feeling of deep aliveness.
-
meditation: finding rest for our restlessness
This meditation is an opportunity to create sacred space to be with and let be whatever might be restless within your mind, heart space, gut, body, soul &/or spirit. When we turn towards our own experience with compassion we have the opportunity to not only listen to whatever wisdom the...
-
Meditation: being blessed by the fruits of the Spirit
This is a meditation that utilizes both body awareness, connection with the breath, Spirit and your own soul. Towards the end of the meditation is a brief body scan that prompts the opening to receive the fruits of the Spirit in every fiber and cell of our being in addition to our souls and spirits.
-
Meditation: receiving the fruits of the Spirit
This meditation works with how we might open ourselves to receive the fruits of the Spirit. Coming to stillness and coming home to our bodies and breath create the foundation to best connect with the breath of the Holy Spirit. Connected to the Spirit's presence and movement within us, we can open...
-
Meditation: circle of grace
This meditation is a Christian version of loving kindness meditation that works with the notion of grace- God’s love and favor towards us. The meditation works with both receiving God’s love, blessings, & gifts of the Spirit, while also offering blessings of loving kindness to others.
-
Meditation: Meditating in body & Spirit (20min)
This is a meditation crafted after the LIVE meditations I offer every Saturday morning at 8am eastern on Insight Timer. You can find more information about these live events on my website www.carolinevogel.com. You can also find links to more recorded meditations both on my website and on my...
-
Light for the World
This was a sermon preached Sunday, February 27th- Transfiguration Sunday. The sermon explores how part of our walk with God is opening and allowing ourselves to radiate the love of God.
-
meditation (3min): blessing on the fly
We don't always have 20 minutes to sit in meditation and be mindful of a holy sense of blessing. We oftentimes need to be reminded of God's blessing when we're on the fly, in the midst of our hectic and busy lives. So, this 3 minute meditation was crafted to practice on the fly. Any time you have...
-
meditation on blessing
This meditation is created to bring to mind something or someone you're holding in your heart, mind, soul, spirit with a sense of blessing. We work with the definition of blessing offered by John O'Donohue in his book To Bless the Space Between Us. O'Donohue shares, "A blessing is a circle of…
more -
Meditation: The Need for Only One Thing
This meditation was crafted to assist all of us who get too busy in our lives and forget to come home to a loving God dwelling within us. The meditation offers the practitioner the opportunity to ground in the body and breath and then lean into the wisdom Jesus shares with Mary in Luke 10:38-42....
-
Christmas Eve Sermon: Curveballs & Miracles
This sermon was preached Christmas Eve 2021. The sermon highlights the reality that following God rarely leads to a predictable path. From the human eye, our lives of faith can look like one curveball after another. What if the curveballs are portals for God to meet us- the Emmanuel- God with us?
-
Living in Joyful Anticipation
This is an Advent sermon focused on how we can live into a greater sense of joy even amidst the darkness.
-
Advent Meditation: First Song of Isaiah
This meditation invites the listener into a time of quiet stillness to honor the season of Advent using The First Song of Isaiah. Surely, it is God who saves me; I will trust in him and not be afraid. For the Lord is my stronghold and my sure defense, and he will be my Savior.
-
Garden Variety Saints- the best saints
My grandmother didn’t go down in history as famous; she didn’t accomplish anything grand or exceptional. Yet, she was very much a Saint to me in that she shined the Light of Christ into my life, shared God’s love with me, and drew me closer to our loving God. The celebration of All Saint’s Day is...
-
Believe
This sermon is a shout out to all my fellow Ted Lasso fans out there woven with the gospel reading Mark 10:46-52. Our belief in God and ourselves can truly set us free to follow The Way. Thanks be to God!
-
Graft in Our Hearts
This sermon speaks to the reality that disagreements can be difficult to work through in loving relationships.
-
Metaphorical Backpacks
Do you ever feel as if you’re carrying around a lot in a metaphorical backpack? Worries, fears, preoccupations? This sermon looks at how lightening our load can empower us to live into the wisdom of Ephesians 4:25-5:2. God can do infinitely more with us when we receive God’s peace that surpasses...
-
A Tapestry of God’s Goodness
Ever think about how God uses the pieces of our lives to stitch together a tapestry of Hod’s goodness? This sermon reflects on this idea and how we are called to share with good friends and the world God’s goodness in our lives. Our faith is always emerging, and we have so much to learn from each...
-
Mindful Worship
Living an embodied faith encompasses worshipping in a mindful way. Over the last year and a half I’ve enjoyed and come to greatly appreciate worshipping in the Celtic Tradition within The Episcopal Church. This episode reflects on the inherent wisdom and mindful practices embedded in the the…
more -
The Promise of Pentecost
This sermon was preached for The Diocese of East Tennessee in the celebration of Pentecost. The story of Pentecost is powerful, informative to our faith and relevant to how we live our lives even in 2021. May you experience the Holy Spirit guiding you into all truth and may you have the courage…
more -
The Heartsong in Story
A version of this sermon was preached to the Foothills Unitarian Universalist Fellowship on May 2, 2021. Everyone has a heartsong- the notes that sing from within that tell the story of who we are and our deepest longings. One of the many gifts of novels, memoirs, movies and tv shows is that we...
-
Beloved, We Are God’s Children Now
A version of this sermon was preached Sunday, April 18, 2021 @ The Episcopal Church of the Ascension. Scripture readings are for the third Sunday in Eastertide including 1 John 3:1-7 & Luke 24: 36b-48.
-
Sermon: You Never Really Know
This sermon is about taking on grace in the wilderness of Lent, trusting God’s love & favor reaches us even, especially in our struggles. A version of this sermon was preached March 14, 2021 on the Fourth Sunday in Lent. Includes verses from Ephesians 2:1-10.
-
Advent Sermon: Do Not Quench the Spirit, Light Your Pink Candles!
This an Advent sermon for the third week of Advent. It pulls from Isaiah 61, Psalm 126, & 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24. The third week of Advent asks us to lean into the joyful anticipation of Christ arrival. How do we honor the real grief and sorrow of our pandemic reality and adhere to the wisdom of...
-
Advent Reflection: The One on Whom We Wait
This is an Advent reflection offered at a Celtic Service. As the darkness of winter sets in and the virus numbers rage on the prophetic words of Isaiah & gospel message take on a new perspective and promise of hope.
We're indexing this podcast's transcripts for the first time — this can take a minute or two. We'll show results as soon as they're ready.
No matches for "" in this podcast's transcripts.
No topics indexed yet for this podcast.
Loading reviews...
ABOUT THIS SHOW
In pursuit of mindfully living an embodied faith imperfectly by grace, I realized so many others are trying to do the same. This podcast shares meditations, nuggets in which to chew, and conversations for Christians wanting to ground and center in their body, mind and soul, connected to a loving God, made ever aware of the light of Christ, and the whispers of the Holy Spirit. Welcome!
HOSTED BY
Caroline Vogel
CATEGORIES
Loading similar podcasts...
Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Following Spirit have?
Following Spirit currently has 92 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Following Spirit about?
In pursuit of mindfully living an embodied faith imperfectly by grace, I realized so many others are trying to do the same. This podcast shares meditations, nuggets in which to chew, and conversations for Christians wanting to ground and center in their body, mind and soul, connected to a loving...
How often does Following Spirit release new episodes?
Following Spirit has 92 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Following Spirit?
You can listen to Following Spirit 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 Following Spirit?
Following Spirit is created and hosted by Caroline Vogel.
URL copied to clipboard!