The Laughing Mystics: An unorthodox journey through the liturgical year

Laura Lewis-Barr - Marci Madary
  • 5.0 (8)
  • CHRISTIANITY
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Spiritual and Jungian explorations. Reading the bible with Richard Rohr & Ilia Delio in mind. How might Depth Psychology and Christianity come together? Good friends Marci Madary & Laura Lewis-Barr bring differing perspectives to the Sunday readings of the liturgical calendar. Each week Marci shares her mystical Christian insights & infectious laughter with Laura, who ponders what Carl Jung & Joseph Campbell might say about these scriptures. Unscripted & lively, Laura & Marci offer as many questions as answers Laura - Psychescinema.com Marci - Insideoutspirituality.com

  1. 5D AGO

    Consciousness and Temptation - February 22, 2026

    The First Sunday of Lent. We begin with several questions including: What am doing for Lent (if anything)? And what are temptions in my life? We dive into the mythic stories of Adam and Eve and Jesus' temptations in the desert. The Sunday Readings Thank you for listening! You're invited to join our FB community at https://www.facebook.com/laughingmystics/ Need more poetry in your life? Visit Marci's blog and/or subscribe to Laura's new substack and receive one of her fresh poems delivered to you everyday. Questions? Comments? Bring your voice to the conversation. We'd like to SHARE THE MIC with you! Send an audio from your phone with a question or comment to Laughing.Mystics@gmail.com We now have an easier way for you to leave a review or rating, using this link! RateThisPodcast.com/thelaughingmystics Please follow us to be alerted for new episodes. We hope you'll share this passion project with others, write a review, or rate/like our podcast on your favorite platform! pod.link/1799776273 New episodes now released on Thursday mornings! For more on Marci Madary visit https://www.insideoutspirituality.com/ For more on Laura Lewis-Barr visit https://psychescinema.com/ Want to support The Laughing Mystics? We now have MERCH! Visit ⁠https://www.zazzle.com/store/laughing_mystics/products (0ur show notes are always filled with many links. If your platform doesn't show them, visit the "episode webpage" or our Spotify page.) Music licensed from Artlist #jungianpsychology #depthpsychology #richardrohr #progressivechristianity #jungianwisdom #mysticalchristianity #religioustext #transpersonalpsychology

    40 min

  2. FEB 12

    Choosing the Good - February 15, 2026

    6th Sunday in extra-ordinary time. Our question: What is an inner stumbling block that gets in the way of making the life-giving choice.? Since we won't be making another Ash Wednesday episode, we invite you to listen to last years episode (scroll down to episode 3) Laura again recommends Michael Meades, The Living Myth, podcast, especially this episode on creative practices. We talk about the mysteries of our life and the mystery genre as a way to explore this. Laura recommends the movie "Knives Out, Wake up Dead Man." We talk about metaphor and Joseph Campell. "Metaphors carry us from one place to another, they enable us to cross boundaries that would otherwise be closed to us. Spiritual truths that transcend time and space can only be borne in metaphorical vessels whose meaning is found in their connotations—that is, in the cloud of witnesses to the many sides of truth that they spontaneously evoke—not in their denotations, the hard, factual, uni-dimensional casings of their historical reference." Eugene Kennedy, Ph.D. Campbell, Joseph. Thou Art That: Transforming Religious Metaphor [A]s Jung put it in terms that chill me always, “What is denied inwardly will come to us in the outer world, and we call it fate.”~ James Hollis, Living Between Worlds: Finding Personal Resilience in Changing Times. A very challenging gospel reading! The Sunday Readings Thank you for listening! You're invited to join our FB community at https://www.facebook.com/laughingmystics/ Questions? Comments? Bring your voice to the conversation. We'd like to SHARE THE MIC with you! Send an audio from your phone with a question or comment to Laughing.Mystics@gmail.com We now have an easier way for you to leave a review or rating, using this link! RateThisPodcast.com/thelaughingmystics Please follow us to be alerted for new episodes. We hope you'll share this passion project with others, write a review, or rate/like our podcast on your favorite platform! pod.link/1799776273 New episodes now released on Thursday mornings! For more on Marci Madary visit https://www.insideoutspirituality.com/ For more on Laura Lewis-Barr visit https://psychescinema.com/ Want to support The Laughing Mystics? We now have MERCH! Visit ⁠https://www.zazzle.com/store/laughing_mystics/products (0ur show notes are always filled with many links. If your platform doesn't show them, visit the "episode webpage" or our Spotify page.) Music licensed from Artlist #jungianpsychology #depthpsychology #richardrohr #progressivechristianity #jungianwisdom #mysticalchristianity #religioustext #transpersonalpsychology

    45 min

  3. FEB 5

    Your Unique Light: The Cave You Fear & Joseph’s Midrash (5th Sunday in (Extra)Ordinary Time)

    Our guiding question: What is my unique light to share with the world? In this episode, we explore what it means to let your light be seen—and what keeps it hidden. Marci shows up in “trickster” mode, and we lean into Joseph Campbell’s invitation: “The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.” Together we reflect on a midrash—a storytelling tradition that opens sacred text from the inside—through a retelling of Joseph and his brothers. Laura shares highlights from the Natural Spirituality Conference and threads in her work with the fairy tale The Girl Without Hands. We also share a few recent listener comments—thank you for taking the time to write and keep this community alive. In this episode: ● Your unique light and the fears that block it ● Trickster energy as spiritual medicine ● Midrash: Joseph and his brothers ● Natural Spirituality + “The Girl Without Hands” ● Listener reflections + sharing the mic ● The Sunday readings Join the community: Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/laughingmystics/ Share the mic: Send a voice memo (question/comment) to Laughing.Mystics@gmail.com Rate/review easily: RateThisPodcast.com/thelaughingmystics Follow + listen: pod.link/1799776273 New episodes drop Thursday mornings. More from Marci Madary: https://www.insideoutspirituality.com/ More from Laura Lewis-Barr: https://psychescinema.com/ Merch: https://www.zazzle.com/store/laughing_mystics/products (If your platform hides links, visit the episode webpage or Spotify.) Music licensed from Artlist. #JungianPsychology #DepthPsychology #MysticalChristianity #ProgressiveChristianity #TranspersonalPsychology #Midrash #SpiritualDirection #RichardRohr #Archetypes #Vocation

    31 min

  4. JAN 29

    Shadow in Good Works: St. Augustine on the Beatitudes (4th Sunday in Extra-ordinary Time)

    Our guiding question: What shadowy reaction in me might surface when I do “good works”? In this episode, we explore the inner tension that can show up alongside service: the subtle shadow reactions—approval-seeking, resentment, spiritual pride, perfectionism, or the need to be seen—that can sneak into even our most sincere efforts. Through a Jungian and contemplative lens, we ask what these reactions are trying to protect, reveal, or heal. We also spend time with Augustine of Hippo’s reflections on the Beatitudes, including a post we quote and the essay St. Augustine on the Esoteric Meaning of the Beatitudes. We close with The Sunday Readings, and Laura shares a recommendation for the Natural Spirituality Conference. And a heartfelt thank you to our listener Jackie, who designed our new logo—we love it! In this episode: ● Shadow dynamics that can accompany “good works” ● The Beatitudes through Augustine of Hippo ● The Sunday Readings ● Natural Spirituality Conference recommendation ● Community gratitude + updates Join the community: Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/laughingmystics/ Share the mic: Send a voice memo (question/comment) to Laughing.Mystics@gmail.com Rate/review easily: RateThisPodcast.com/thelaughingmystics Follow + listen: pod.link/1799776273 New episodes drop Thursday mornings. More from Marci Madary: https://www.insideoutspirituality.com/ More from Laura Lewis-Barr: https://psychescinema.com/ Merch: https://www.zazzle.com/store/laughing_mystics/products (If your platform hides links, visit the episode webpage or Spotify.) Music licensed from Artlist. #JungianPsychology #DepthPsychology #JungianWisdom #MysticalChristianity #ProgressiveChristianity #TranspersonalPsychology #Beatitudes #StAugustine #ShadowWork

    46 min

  5. JAN 22

    Seeing the Light: Deep Waters, Fish Dreams & Church Unity (3rd Sunday in the New Church Year)

    Our guiding question: What is a memory of “seeing the light”—a moment of conversion—in the world or in myself? In this episode, we explore the tension between unity and division in the church, and we follow the rich symbolism of fish, fishing, nets, and deep waters—images that speak to belonging, calling, and what’s revealed when we’re drawn beneath the surface. Laura also shares a dream featuring a fish, and we listen for what the psyche may be asking us to notice. We close with The Sunday Readings, and we invite you to reflect on your own “seeing the light” moments—big or small, sudden or slow. In this episode: ● Unity and division in the church ● Fish and net symbolism: calling, community, and deep waters ● Laura’s dream of a fish ● The Sunday Readings ● Your story: remembering moments of conversion / illumination Join the community: Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/laughingmystics/ Share the mic: Send a voice memo (question/comment) to Laughing.Mystics@gmail.com Rate/review easily: RateThisPodcast.com/thelaughingmystics Follow + listen: pod.link/1799776273 New episodes drop Thursday mornings. More from Marci Madary: https://www.insideoutspirituality.com/ More from Laura Lewis-Barr: https://psychescinema.com/ Merch: https://www.zazzle.com/store/laughing_mystics/products (If your platform hides links, visit the episode webpage or Spotify.) Music licensed from Artlist. #JungianPsychology #DepthPsychology #JungianWisdom #MysticalChristianity #ProgressiveChristianity #TranspersonalPsychology #Conversion #DreamWork #Symbolism

    41 min

  6. JAN 15

    The Slow Work of Evolution - January 18, 2026

    2nd Sunday in "extra-ordinary time." Our question: what is my current "growing edge," spiritually? Here are links from our wide-ranging conversation. Laura quotes and mentions Lewis Hyde's - A Primer for Forgetting. We talk of the photo of the earth taken from space that Joseph Campbell found inspiring. And the inspiring TV series from Carl Sagan (1980) And the wonderful film, using Teilhard's prayer, The slow work of God. The beginnings of Quakerism. The Catholic Worker House in LaCrosse, WI. Robin Wall Kimmerer, Parker Palmer and Michael Morwood Sunday Readings Laura is leading a workshop next month at the "Natural Spirituality Conference" which highlights how God speaks through dreams and dream like stories. Attendees are invited into small groups that explore their night time dreams together throughout the weekend. Info at nsrgathering.org/conference.html Thank you for listening! You're invited to join our FB community at https://www.facebook.com/laughingmystics/ Questions? Comments? Bring your voice to the conversation. We'd like to SHARE THE MIC with you! Send an audio from your phone with a question or comment to Laughing.Mystics@gmail.com We now have an easier way for you to leave a review or rating, using this link! RateThisPodcast.com/thelaughingmystics Please follow us to be alerted for new episodes. We hope you'll share this passion project with others, write a review, or rate/like our podcast on your favorite platform! pod.link/1799776273 New episodes now released on Thursday mornings! For more on Marci Madary visit https://www.insideoutspirituality.com/ For more on Laura Lewis-Barr visit https://psychescinema.com/ Want to support The Laughing Mystics? We now have MERCH! Visit ⁠https://www.zazzle.com/store/laughing_mystics/products (0ur show notes are always filled with many links. If your platform doesn't show them, visit the "episode webpage" or our Spotify page.) Music licensed from Artlist #jungianpsychology #depthpsychology #richardrohr #progressivechristianity #jungianwisdom #mysticalchristianity #religioustext #transpersonalpsychology

    39 min

  7. JAN 8

    Death of the Old, Birth of the New - January 11, 2026

    Readings for The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Our question: What old teaching about God/holiness has been upended/changed in me? Marci mentions  Holy Envy by Barbara Brown Taylor. And also Rumi and Hafiz.   Laura talks about the 6 Day War, ⁠rebirthing⁠, and Rene Girard’s mimetic theory.   This Sunday's Readings Thank you Jackie M for donating your time and creating a new logo for us! We appreciate it and you! Thank you for listening! You're invited to join our FB community at https://www.facebook.com/laughingmystics/ Questions? Comments? Bring your voice to the conversation. We'd like to SHARE THE MIC with you! Send an audio from your phone with a question or comment to Laughing.Mystics@gmail.com We now have an easier way for you to leave a review or rating, using this link! RateThisPodcast.com/thelaughingmystics Please follow us to be alerted for new episodes. We hope you'll share this passion project with others, write a review, or rate/like our podcast on your favorite platform! pod.link/1799776273 New episodes now released on Thursday mornings! For more on Marci Madary visit https://www.insideoutspirituality.com/ For more on Laura Lewis-Barr visit https://psychescinema.com/ Want to support The Laughing Mystics? We now have MERCH! Visit ⁠https://www.zazzle.com/store/laughing_mystics/products (0ur show notes are always filled with many links. If your platform doesn't show them, visit the "episode webpage" or our Spotify page.) Music licensed from Artlist #jungianpsychology #depthpsychology #richardrohr #progressivechristianity #jungianwisdom #mysticalchristianity #religioustext #transpersonalpsychology

    48 min

  8. JAN 1

    Epiphanies! - January 4, 2026

    The Epiphany of the Lord. Our Question: When have I found God in an unexpected place? We talk about Rene Girard and evolving past a scapegoat mentality. Marci loves this youtube video from Richard Rohr. Sunday Readings Thank you for listening! You're invited to join our FB community at https://www.facebook.com/laughingmystics/ Questions? Comments? Bring your voice to the conversation. We'd like to SHARE THE MIC with you! Send an audio from your phone with a question or comment to Laughing.Mystics@gmail.com We now have an easier way for you to leave a review or rating, using this link! RateThisPodcast.com/thelaughingmystics Please follow us to be alerted for new episodes. We hope you'll share this passion project with others, write a review, or rate/like our podcast on your favorite platform! pod.link/1799776273 Join our FB community at https://www.facebook.com/laughingmystics/ New episodes now released on Thursday mornings! For more on Marci Madary visit https://www.insideoutspirituality.com/ For more on Laura Lewis-Barr visit https://psychescinema.com/ Want to support The Laughing Mystics? We now have MERCH! Visit ⁠https://www.zazzle.com/store/laughing_mystics/products (0ur show notes are always filled with many links. If your platform doesn't show them, visit the "episode webpage" or our Spotify page.) Music licensed from Artlist

    39 min
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Spiritual and Jungian explorations. Reading the bible with Richard Rohr & Ilia Delio in mind. How might Depth Psychology and Christianity come together? Good friends Marci Madary & Laura Lewis-Barr bring differing perspectives to the Sunday readings of the liturgical calendar. Each week Marci shares her mystical Christian insights & infectious laughter with Laura, who ponders what Carl Jung & Joseph Campbell might say about these scriptures. Unscripted & lively, Laura & Marci offer as many questions as answers Laura - Psychescinema.com Marci - Insideoutspirituality.com

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