Inviting Oneness

EquaSion

A podcast exploring true personal stories from friends and members of EquaSion—stories where the illusion of separateness gave way to the deeper truth of our shared humanity. Drawing inspiration from mystics and sages across traditions, these stories remind us: oneness isn’t an idea—it’s an experience.

  1. Jul 15

    Haroon Moghul: There Will Be a Last Muslim

    Welcome to Inviting Oneness, a podcast where we explore true stories from friends and members of EquaSion, stories where the illusion of separateness gave way to the deeper truth of our shared humanity. Oneness isn't an idea, it's an experience. And today we continue listening for it one story at a time.  Our guest today is Haroon Moghul. Haroon is the Muslim chaplain at Xavier University, the author of Two Billion Caliphs: A Vision of a Muslim Future, the writer of a newsletter called Sunday Schooled and a board member at EquaSion. He’s also a close friend and my co-host for our podcast, Avenue M. At EquaSion, we're concluding a new small-group initiative called Faith & Friendship Groups. Throughout the summer, interfaith groups have gathered around a range of themes and practices, including Having Difficult Conversations, Prayer, Belong Dinners, Faith Communities in Solidarity with Immigrants, and Sacred Connections, our Religious 101 group that visits different places of worship across the Greater Cincinnati region. The poem you’ll hear today is called There Will Be a Last Muslim and it was written by Haroon. It will open the final Faith & Friendship Groups over the coming weeks. After sharing the poem, Haroon responds to this connecting question: What question about your faith are you still carrying?  As you listen, we invite you to reflect on that question for yourself. If today’s story moved you and you’d like to get involved visit us at equasion.org. Until next time, may we keep inviting oneness—within ourselves, and with one another.

    Haroon Moghul: There Will Be a Last Muslim
  2. Jul 2

    Mike Eck: Peace Puzzle

    Welcome to Inviting Oneness, a podcast where we explore true stories from friends and members of EquaSion, stories where the illusion of separateness gave way to the deeper truth of our shared humanity. Oneness isn't an idea, it's an experience. And today we continue listening for it one story at a time.  Our guest today is Mike Eck. Mike is a brother, husband, father and grandpa.  Mike fell off his horse on the road to St. Louis in 2009 and began to leave a high-tech sales career behind.  Needing something to do in his retirement, he chose to re-fire into new life experiences.  This fork in the road led him to VITALITY Cincinnati, Gorman Heritage Farm, Our Harvest, Edible Ohio Valley, food pantries, gleaning, farms, Green Umbrella and close encounters with hundreds of kindred spirits in the faith community.  This path also led Mike to Faith Communities Go Green and leading the Education and Lifestyles team for FCGG.  Check out the FCGG Book Club here. Along with his wife Denise, Mike attends Christ Church Glendale and St. Simon of Cyrene in Lincoln Heights.  Relationships there led Mike to know and be part of ACTS - a coalition of four Episcopal communities, that organizes the Peace Leaders Camp, where middle School aged youth learn conflict resolution and when intervention is appropriate, such as in the cases of bullying. The camp encourages cooperation while having fun in various activities. At EquaSion, we recently launched a new small-group initiative called Faith & Friendship Groups. Throughout the summer, interfaith groups will gather around a range of themes and practices, including Having Difficult Conversations, Prayer, Belong Dinners, Faith Communities in Solidarity with Immigrants, and Sacred Connections, our Religious 101 group that visits different places of worship across the Greater Cincinnati region. The poem you’ll hear today is called Peace Puzzle and it was written by Mike Eck. It will open all fifth Faith & Friendship Groups this week and next. After sharing the poem, Mike responds to this connecting question: Where is your religious or spiritual tradition inviting you to grow right now? As you listen, we invite you to reflect on that question for yourself. If today’s story moved you and you’d like to get involved visit us at equasion.org. Until next time, may we keep inviting oneness—within ourselves, and with one another.

    Mike Eck: Peace Puzzle
  3. Jun 15

    Mary Anne Bressler: The Community I had been Yearning For

    Welcome to Inviting Oneness, a podcast where we explore true stories from friends and members of EquaSion, stories where the illusion of separateness gave way to the deeper truth of our shared humanity. Oneness isn't an idea, it's an experience. And today we continue listening for it one story at a time.  Our guest today is Mary Anne Bressler. Mary Anne is a Cincinnati native, mother of four and grandmother of 7. She graduated from Xavier University with a Masters of Theology and served at parishes in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky before her current position as the Parish & Community Engagement Coordinator at Catholic Charities Southwestern Ohio.  At EquaSion, we recently launched a new small-group initiative called Faith & Friendship Groups. Throughout the summer, interfaith groups will gather around a range of themes and practices, including Having Difficult Conversations, Prayer, Belong Dinners, Faith Communities in Solidarity with Immigrants, and Sacred Connections, our Religious 101 group that visits different places of worship across the Greater Cincinnati region. The poem you’ll hear today was written by Mary Anne and it will open all four Faith & Friendship Groups this week and next. After sharing the poem, Mary Anne responds to this connecting question: Where have you experienced belonging in your religious or spiritual life?  As you listen, we invite you to reflect on that question for yourself. If today’s story moved you and you’d like to get involved visit us at equasion.org. Until next time, may we keep inviting oneness—within ourselves, and with one another.

    Mary Anne Bressler: The Community I had been Yearning For
  4. Jun 8

    David Moody: God's Faithfulness

    Welcome to Inviting Oneness, a podcast where we explore true stories from friends and members of EquaSion, stories where the illusion of separateness gave way to the deeper truth of our shared humanity. Oneness isn't an idea, it's an experience. And today we continue listening for it one story at a time.  Our guest today is David Moody.  David Moody is a writer and Cincinnati native. He currently works full-time for an insurance company here in Cincinnati and manages a community garden in Mount Auburn called The Magic Garden. In his free time, he enjoys writing poetry as well as listening to and playing music. In his writing he explores themes of faith, race, identity, and mental health among other things. He currently lives in Camp Washington with his two cats Millie and Clara. At EquaSion, we recently launched a new small-group initiative called Faith & Friendship Groups. Throughout the summer, interfaith groups will gather around a range of themes and practices, including Having Difficult Conversations, Prayer, Belong Dinners, Faith Communities in Solidarity with Immigrants, and Sacred Connections, our Religious 101 group that visits different places of worship across the Greater Cincinnati region. The poem you’ll hear today was written by David and it opened all four Faith & Friendship Groups last week and this week. After sharing the poem, David responds to this connecting question: What teaching or story has shaped your faith? As you listen, we invite you to reflect on that question for yourself. If today’s story moved you and you’d like to get involved visit us at equasion.org. Until next time, may we keep inviting oneness—within ourselves, and with one another.

    David Moody: God's Faithfulness
  5. Jun 2

    Aruni Marapane: A Prayer of Silent Stillness

    Welcome to Inviting Oneness, a podcast where we explore true stories from friends and members of EquaSion, stories where the illusion of separateness gave way to the deeper truth of our shared humanity. Oneness isn't an idea, it's an experience. And today we continue listening for it one story at a time.  Our guest today is Aruni Marapane.  Aruni was the honorary chair of the 2025 Festival of Faiths. Based in Cincinnati with roots in Sri Lanka, she is a Buddhist Chaplain specializing in spiritual care for those in long-term care, hospice, and hospitals. She actually just returned from a 5 month stay in Sri Lanka where she served as a chaplain and witnessed the power of tolerance and connection across the Asian continent. We’re so happy to have her back. At EquaSion, we recently launched a new small-group initiative called Faith & Friendship Groups. Throughout the summer, interfaith groups will gather around a range of themes and practices, including Having Difficult Conversations, Prayer, Belong Dinners, Faith Communities in Solidarity with Immigrants, and Sacred Connections, our Religious 101 group that visits different places of worship across the Greater Cincinnati region. Each gathering begins with a poem and a connecting question. The poem you’ll hear today was written by Aruni Marapane and it opened all four Faith & Friendship Groups last week. After sharing the poem, Aruni responds to this connecting question: What is one spiritual or religious routine you look forward to every day, week, or month? As you listen, we invite you to reflect on that question for yourself. If today’s story moved you and you’d like to get involved visit us at equasion.org. Until next time, may we keep inviting oneness—within ourselves, and with one another.

    Aruni Marapane: A Prayer of Silent Stillness
  6. Feb 16

    James Buchanan: Transformation through Gratitude

    Welcome to Inviting Oneness, a podcast where we explore true stories from friends and members of EquaSion—stories where the illusion of separateness gave way to the deeper truth of our shared humanity. Oneness isn't an idea, it's an experience. And today we continue listening for it one story at a time.  Our guest today is James Buchanan. Dr. James P. Buchanan, Co-Chair of Faith Communities Go Green, was a longtime board member at EquaSion, and was educated at Yale University and the University of Chicago where he completed a Ph.D. in comparative religions and value systems. He also studied at the Sorbonne in Paris, The University of Moscow, and the University of Beijing. His teaching and research has focused upon ethics, global systems, and interfaith dialogue. He held the first endowed chair in Ethics/Religious and Society at Xavier University before becoming the Executive Director of The Brueggeman Center for Dialogue. He is now the Emeritus Director. For those who have been in community building and faith-based spaces in Cincinnati, you’ll surely be familiar with James and his work. What you might not be familiar with is his life as a musician. In this episode we get to hear him marry these two worlds. Check out his book: Sacred Spaces: Experiencing Liminality by Thomas R. Schiff and James P. Buchanan If today’s story moved you and you’d like to get involved visit us at equasion.org. Until next time, may we keep inviting oneness—within ourselves, and with one another.

    James Buchanan: Transformation through Gratitude

About

A podcast exploring true personal stories from friends and members of EquaSion—stories where the illusion of separateness gave way to the deeper truth of our shared humanity. Drawing inspiration from mystics and sages across traditions, these stories remind us: oneness isn’t an idea—it’s an experience.