Beyond Names: Spirituality for Anyone and Everyone

Dr. Habib Boerger
  • 5.0 (3)
  • SPIRITUALITY
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

This is a podcast for seekers, skeptics, believers, and the spiritually curious — for anyone who longs for deeper meaning, connection, and peace, whether you're rooted in a tradition or not. Drawing from his own journey — from conservative Christianity to Islamic mysticism, through loss, healing, and awakening — Dr. Habib explores the sacred beyond doctrine and the Divine beyond names. Through soulful reflections, honest storytelling, and conversations with guests from diverse backgrounds, we open up the many ways spirituality shows up in our lives — in art, nature, social justice, relationships, and everyday experiences. Each episode is an invitation to return to your True Self, to reconnect with Source however you understand it, and to grow in compassion, clarity, and courage. You’ll also be guided through accessible spiritual practices to help you deepen your own journey — wherever you're starting from. If you’ve ever felt like you didn’t quite fit in traditional spiritual spaces, or if you’re simply looking for a space of heart-centered exploration — you’re in the right place. Let’s go beyond the names — and listen for the truth that speaks to us all. To make an spiritual counseling appointment with Dr. Habib, visit https://www.habibboerger.com/.

  1. 8H AGO

    With Hardship Comes Ease – Illness, Surrender & the Return to Oneness

    In this deeply moving conversation, Dr. Habib sits with interfaith minister and author Liza Rankow, whose book Soul Medicine for a Fractured World explores the healing that emerges from our deepest fractures. Together they reflect on: Illness as a spiritual teacherWoundedness and wholeness as two sides of the same coinThe Japanese art of Kintsugi as a metaphor for the soulSuffering as a “discipline of the Spirit” (in the lineage of Howard Thurman)The choice to open—or close—in the face of painHow personal healing becomes medicine for the worldFrom Crohn’s disease and near-death experiences to mystical union, surrender, and the return to our inner child, this episode is an honest exploration of how hardship can clear away the veils that keep us from Love. Support the show To make an appointment with Dr. Habib, visit https://www.habibboerger.com/.

    1h 9m

  2. FEB 13

    Living in These Lands: Staying True to God in a World of Noise

    What does it mean to remain faithful while navigating injustice, distraction, social pressure, and the constant pull of the ego? In this powerful episode of Beyond Names, Dr. Habib Boerger sits down with returning guest Abdul-Karim Pinckney — musical artist, former imam, and spiritual teacher — to explore the deeper meaning behind his single “Living in These Lands.” Together, they reflect on: Maintaining orientation toward the Divine amid cultural chaosThe tension between spirituality and religionMercy, accountability, and radical self-honestySocial media, performance, and distractionPolitical polarization and remembering our shared humanityPresence vs. egoWhy sincerity matters more than appearanceAbdul-Karim speaks candidly about lived experience, spiritual grounding, and the daily choice to “face God” — even when the world feels unstable. This conversation is both contemplative and practical, inviting listeners to examine their own hearts while remembering that hardship need not close us — it can deepen us. If you’ve ever wondered how to stay rooted in faith while living fully in today’s world, this episode is for you. Support the show To make an appointment with Dr. Habib, visit https://www.habibboerger.com/.

    1h 10m

  3. FEB 6

    Nothing Between You and Love: Zen Wisdom for Troubled Times

    Dr. Habib sits down with Zen teacher, author, and spiritual director Busshō Lahn for a deeply timely conversation about awakening, truth, and what it means to live from love in a world marked by suffering. Raised within the Catholic tradition and later drawn into Zen practice, Busshō shares how a single spiritual seed can grow into a life of “multiple belongings.” Together, he and Dr. Habib explore the mystical heart shared across traditions — a place where differences soften and love becomes the center. But this conversation moves beyond personal spirituality into urgent territory. As communities grapple with violence, fear, and collective grief, Busshō invites us into a challenging yet transformative question: Where is the war inside of me? Rather than meeting fire with fire, he suggests that authentic spiritual practice calls us toward radical honesty — the courage to name our anger, face our wounds, and recognize even the shadow within ourselves. From that clarity emerges a love strong enough to say both yes to humanity and no to harm. Listeners will discover: Why the goal of spiritual practice is to leave “nothing between you and love”How contemplation prepares us for compassionate actionThe hidden miracle within ordinary lifeWhat it means to awaken during times of societal upheavalHow truth-telling becomes a path to freedomThis episode is an invitation — not to escape the world — but to meet it with a wiser, braver, more spacious heart. If you’ve ever wondered how inner transformation can shape outer change, this conversation is for you. Support the show To make an appointment with Dr. Habib, visit https://www.habibboerger.com/.

    1h 7m

  4. JAN 30

    Belovedness, Unbinding, and the Thread That Holds Us: A Soulful Conversation with Susannah Crolius

    In this deeply moving conversation, Dr. Habib Boerger is joined by artist, spiritual companion, and grief tender Susannah Crolius for a wide-ranging exploration of spirituality as movement, unbinding, and belovedness. Susannah shares her spiritual journey—from a childhood shaped by art and nature, through decades of institutional ministry, to leaving the church in search of a more authentic, embodied spiritual life rooted in creativity, wonder, and trust. Together, they reflect on shame and healing, art as a gateway to the sacred, the soul’s thread that runs through our lives, and what it means to live both tethered and free. The conversation also touches tenderly on near-death experience, grief, trauma, and the practice of remembering our belovedness—even in seasons of darkness, loss, and uncertainty. This episode invites listeners into a spacious, honest exploration of spirituality beyond performance and institution, toward a life grounded in presence, compassion, and returning home to the true self. Perfect for seekers, soulful misfits, creatives, and anyone longing for a spirituality that feels real, embodied, and alive. Support the show To make an appointment with Dr. Habib, visit https://www.habibboerger.com/.

    1h 3m

  5. JAN 23

    All Life, Embodied Faith, and the Decolonization of Spirit | Rev. Dr. Tomeka Jacobs

    In this powerful and deeply moving conversation, Dr. Habib Boerger is joined by Rev. Dr. Tomeka Jacobs, theologian, former chaplain, and author of Ecocosmological Spirituality of Southern Queer Black Women: Remembering and Reconnecting Identity. Together, they explore spirituality beyond rigid categories—toward embodiment, wholeness, justice, and belonging. Dr. Jacobs shares her spiritual journey from Baptist–Pentecostal roots to an expansive understanding of the Divine as All Life—a sacred, interconnected reality that transcends gender, doctrine, and religious boundaries. Drawing from chaplaincy, womanist and feminist theology, mysticism, ecology, and lived experience as a Southern queer Black woman, she reflects on deconstructing oppressive theology, reclaiming ancestral wisdom, and remembering the sacred goodness of the self. This episode touches on: The difference between religion and spiritualityDecolonizing the spirit and reclaiming embodied faithQueerness, race, gender, and divine belongingMysticism, unitive love, and compassionate justiceSpiritual practices rooted in nature, stillness, and everyday lifeActivism as love, presence, and communal liberationThis is a conversation for spiritual seekers, soulful misfits, and anyone who has ever asked: Does God love me as I am? Is my embodiment enough? Is there more? Whether you call the Divine God, All Life, Mystery, Love, or are still searching for language, you are welcome here. Support the show To make an appointment with Dr. Habib, visit https://www.habibboerger.com/.

    57 min

  6. JAN 16

    Sonic Theology: Sufism, Sound, and the Remembrance That Heals

    In this deeply moving and contemplative conversation, Dr. Habīb Boerger is joined by Hossam Ibn Yusuf, musician, Sufi practitioner, and spiritual seeker whose life has been shaped by sound, nature, and surrender. Hossam shares his remarkable spiritual journey—from a childhood influenced by Christian and Sufi lineages, to formative years at Dar al-Islam in New Mexico, through loss, resistance, music, and finally a lived embrace of Islam as a verb rather than an identity. Along the way, we explore grief as an opening, faith as direct experience, and the ways the heart softens when it is ready to receive. Together, Dr. Habīb and Hossam reflect on: Sonic theology and the spiritual power of soundQur’anic recitation and dhikr as vibrational medicineNature as the Qur’an al-Takwīnī — the unwritten revelationMusic, silence, and remembrance as pathways to healingSurrender not as dogma, but as lived realityThis episode is especially resonant for those drawn to contemplative spirituality, interspiritual wisdom, and anyone curious about how sound and remembrance awaken the heart beyond belief. Support the show To make an appointment with Dr. Habib, visit https://www.habibboerger.com/.

    39 min

  7. JAN 9

    Breaking the Tomb: A Journey into Love, Integration, and Social Justice

    In this deeply moving episode of Beyond Names, Dr. Habib Boerger is joined by Abdullah Pat Aylward—board chair of the Shadhiliyya Sufi Communities and founding leader of the Sufi Center Minnesota—for a wide-ranging and heartfelt conversation about spiritual seeking, transformation, and embodied love. Pat shares his remarkable spiritual journey, beginning with a Catholic childhood and early yearning for meaning, through decades of study and practice across traditions including Vedanta, Hinduism, Zen and Tibetan Buddhism, mystical Christianity, and ultimately Sufism. Along the way, he reflects on the teachers and saints who shaped him—Krishnamurti, Ramana Maharshi, Dr. Usharbudh Arya, Dr. Ibrahim Jaffe, and Sidi Muhammad al-Jamal—and the ways presence, not concepts, became his true guide. At the heart of this episode is Pat’s honest account of “breaking the tomb”: a profound period of personal collapse that stripped away identity, image, and certainty, and opened him to a deeper integration of love, humility, and compassion. From this breaking emerged a seamlessness between inner spiritual life and outer engagement in the world—work, relationships, leadership, and service. Together, Dr. Habib and Pat explore: What it means to love ourselves without needing to fix or perfect ourselvesHow spiritual practice becomes real in everyday lifeThe deep unity of spirituality and social justiceWhy compassion, inclusion, and joy are not ideals, but lived realitiesHow suffering can become a doorway into freedom and belongingThis episode is an invitation to rest in the truth that there is only one heart, one life, and one love—expressing itself through us all.  Support the show To make an appointment with Dr. Habib, visit https://www.habibboerger.com/.

    59 min

  8. JAN 2

    Everything but Nothing: Creativity, the Body, and Returning to the True Self

    In this deeply moving conversation, Dr. Habīb Boerger is joined by spiritual healer and artist Michele Hamida Rabinowitz for a rich exploration of spirituality lived through the body, creativity, and presence. Michele shares her life story as a series of sacred doorways—birth trauma, dance, motherhood, bodywork, loss, healing, movement, and art—each one drawing her closer to God and to her true self. From myofascial release and spiritual healing to expressive movement and intuitive painting, Michele reflects on how the body remembers, how creativity heals, and how art becomes a spiritual practice of unveiling. Together, Dr. Habīb and Michele explore embodiment as a path to the Divine, the role of joy and curiosity in spiritual life, the courage to say “yes” to transformation, and what it means to become “everything but nothing.” This episode invites listeners to consider how creativity—whether through art, movement, prayer, or simple presence—can dissolve the masks we wear and return us to the light within. A tender, expansive dialogue for anyone longing to integrate spirituality with the lived realities of body, emotion, creativity, and everyday life.  Support the show To make an appointment with Dr. Habib, visit https://www.habibboerger.com/.

    1h 1m
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

This is a podcast for seekers, skeptics, believers, and the spiritually curious — for anyone who longs for deeper meaning, connection, and peace, whether you're rooted in a tradition or not. Drawing from his own journey — from conservative Christianity to Islamic mysticism, through loss, healing, and awakening — Dr. Habib explores the sacred beyond doctrine and the Divine beyond names. Through soulful reflections, honest storytelling, and conversations with guests from diverse backgrounds, we open up the many ways spirituality shows up in our lives — in art, nature, social justice, relationships, and everyday experiences. Each episode is an invitation to return to your True Self, to reconnect with Source however you understand it, and to grow in compassion, clarity, and courage. You’ll also be guided through accessible spiritual practices to help you deepen your own journey — wherever you're starting from. If you’ve ever felt like you didn’t quite fit in traditional spiritual spaces, or if you’re simply looking for a space of heart-centered exploration — you’re in the right place. Let’s go beyond the names — and listen for the truth that speaks to us all. To make an spiritual counseling appointment with Dr. Habib, visit https://www.habibboerger.com/.

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