Shows
The Expansionist PodcastUnveiling Mary Magdalene: Sensual Beauty And Sacred RebellionSend us a textWhat if Mary Magdalene's uncovered hair wasn't just a break from tradition, but a revolutionary act of spiritual and feminine liberation?As we approach Mary Magdalene's feast day on July 22nd, Shelley and Heather dive into one of the most overlooked yet profound aspects of her story – her hair. In ancient times, a woman's hair was simultaneously considered her "glory" and something to be hidden away from public view. The cultural mandate requiring women to cover their hair wasn't simply about modesty; it was fundamentally about control and power.Ma...2025-07-1933 minThe Expansionist PodcastMary Magdalene: A Path To PresenceSend us a textCould Mary Magdalene be a missing part of the Christ story? This question forms the heart of our exploration as we approach her feast day on July 22nd. While neither of us come from Catholic traditions, we recognize the profound wisdom in celebrating feast days that awaken our consciousness to spiritual truth—and Mary Magdalene holds truths too long overlooked.Mary represents a pathway to transformation that embraces feminine wisdom and embodied spirituality. When the Gospel of Mary was discovered in Egypt in the 19th century, it revealed a woman who und...2025-07-1026 minThe Expansionist PodcastAncient Remembering As A Spiritual PathSend us a textYour intuition speaks, but are you listening? In this soul-stirring conversation, Shelley and Heather explore what they call "ancient remembering" – that profound sense of recognition when something resonates deep within us, awakening wisdom we've always possessed but somehow forgotten.The hosts navigate the delicate balance between external authority and inner knowing, exploring how many of us feel caught between obedience to religious rules and trust in our own sovereignty. Drawing from scripture, mystical wisdom, and their own spiritual journeys, they suggest that perhaps rules were only ever meant to be placeholders un...2025-07-0230 minThe Expansionist PodcastDivine Motherhood: Reimagining Our Relationship with SpiritSend us a textWhat happens when we expand our vision of God beyond Father to include Mother? Shelley Shepard and I journey into territory many find unfamiliar yet deeply healing as we explore divine motherhood and its transformative potential.This conversation travels through personal stories of our relationships with our mothers and how these experiences have colored our spiritual understanding. We examine how limiting God to masculine imagery creates barriers for many who've experienced trauma or difficult relationships with fathers, while embracing feminine divine aspects opens pathways to deeper connection. As we share, "Mothering...2025-06-2635 minThe Expansionist PodcastReturning to Wholeness: What if We Simply Laid Sin Down?Send us a textWhat if everything you thought you knew about sin and separation from God was based on a misunderstanding? What if the true spiritual journey isn't about managing sin but remembering your divine nature?Shelley Shepard and Heather Drake dive into a spicy conversation about religious labels that have historically limited our spiritual experience. Through exploring Mary Magdalene as "the new Eve," they uncover a powerful alternative narrative—one where humans were never truly separated from the divine in the first place.Shelly and Heather challenge listeners to question inherited re...2025-06-1435 minThe Expansionist PodcastBeyond the Campfire with Cara MeredithSend us a textWhat happens when the sacred spaces of our childhood reveal themselves to be breeding grounds for exclusion? Cara Meredith joins us to unpack her three-decade journey through evangelical church camp culture and the awakening that led to her powerful new book.From her first experience as a 9-year-old camper in 1988 to her final speaking engagement at a family camp in 2018, Cara's relationship with Christian camping environments evolved from wholehearted participation to thoughtful criticism. The turning point came when she witnessed firsthand the harm inflicted on LGBTQ+ individuals, women, and people of...2025-05-1938 minThe Expansionist PodcastEve Reimagined: Mary Magdalene as the New HopeSend us a textImagine stepping into a story that has been told for generations, only to discover there's another way of seeing it entirely. Shelley and Heather invite us to reconsider the foundation stories that have shaped women's spiritual identity for centuries. Beginning with a delightful childhood tale of "stealing" Mary Magdalene from the Sunday school flannel graph, they explore how limiting narratives about Eve have been used to constrain women's spiritual authority and leadership throughout history.The magic happens when they reframe Mary Magdalene's garden encounter with the risen Christ as a powerful...2025-05-0736 min