On Singing to the Beloved in Times of Crisis
We live in times of individual, sociocultural and planetary crisis, exacerbated by rising divisions between people. How have humans historically navigated such times of crisis? Yes, we've organized, taken action, and responded as we've been called to respond. But we have also deepened our connection to the greater cosmos, through songs and poems and rituals of devotion, through crying out to a beloved universe whose workings remain a mystery but to whom we feel intimately and inextricably connected. In times when we are raw and situations are precarious, many poets tell us, the breath of life is closer than ever. So we have sung aloud to source, and honored the emotional intricacies of our relationship with a beloved world whose turnings can be maddening, painful and often beyond our control. Singing to the beloved in this way isn't about blissing out and bypassing, it's about finding a practice that honors the depth and emotional texture of our experience of a paradoxical world and that matches the intensity of the times we're living in. For the wounds of these times cannot simply be addressed through rational analysis and diagnosis, nor can they be addressed only with the short-burning flame of outrage. We need a deeper resourcing. At a time of a profound pan-societal longing for meaning and sacredness, connecting to the cosmos as beloved and seeing the sacred in every phase of the beloved's waves has deep implications for how we resource and replenish ourselves, how we align our movements to the actual ebbs and flows of the natural world, and how we begin to heal the divided sociocultural space between us. Featuring a conversation with Dr. Omid Safi and music by Leah Song, Chloe Smith, Duncan Wickel, Jeunae Elita, Marya Stark, Sidibe, Serena Bixby, Forest Sun, Haley Young and others, this episode of The Emerald podcast encourages us to pause for a moment in the midst of all the great world-turning events and remember and connect to the living, breathing, source of it all. Just... for a moment.
The Emerald
The Emerald explores the human experience through a vibrant lens of myth, story, and imagination. Brought to life through the wise, wild, and humorous vision of Joshua Michael Schrei — a teacher and lifelong student of the cosmologies and mythologies of the world — the podcast draws from a deep well of poetry, lore, and mythos to challenge conventional narratives on politics and public discourse, meditation and mindfulness, art, science, literature, and more. At the heart of the podcast is the premise that the imaginative, poetic, animate heart of human experience — elucidated by so many cultures over so many thousands of years — is missing in modern discourse and is urgently needed at a time when humanity is facing unprecedented problems. The Emerald advocates for an imaginative vision of human life and human discourse as it questions deep underlying assumptions about societal progress.
- No. of episodes: 92
- Latest episode: 2025-06-16
- Arts Religion & Spirituality
Where can you listen?
