Spiritual AF Sundays

Storytime: Mary had been feeling exhausted. She was a mom and a successful professional in her late thirties with a demanding job, long hours, and unrelenting pressure to succeed. All of which had been taking their toll on her physical and mental well-being. 
She decided it was time to give herself a break and booked an appointment for a luxurious facial. After the experience, she realized that although her facial had provided her with a brief respite from her busy life. It had done nothing to address the underlying issues, causing her stress and exhaustion. 
This experience was a wake-up call for Mary, and us, singling an opportunity to rethink our approach to self-care. The truth is that materialistic forms of self-care, like facials and vacations, only provide a temporary relief. 
In this episode of Spiritual AF Sundays, we'll look at how we can reframe self-care as a tool to break away from hustle culture. We'll explore different ways to take care of ourselves, individually and as part of a collective.
0:00:00 Introduction0:01:50 Credits0:02:47 Greetings and Overview0:03:21 What is "Treat Yourself" Self-Care?0:05:19 The Reality of "Treat Yourself" Self Care"0:08:20 The Impact of "Treat Yourself" Self-Care on Marginalized Groups0:11:16 Breaking Away from Hustle Culture: The Basics of Self-Care0:14:40 Community Care0:16:56 Conclusion0:18:24 Call for Listener Feedback0:18:41 Future Episodes0:19:09 Closing Credits
 
Get the full show notes and transcription here.

Many of us, especially women, are often told that we can have a successful career, a fulfilling family life, and a great social life. We're told we can have it all, but the pressure of trying to do it all can be overwhelming! We become exhausted by constantly pushing ourselves to higher levels of performance. 
That's why it's essential to recognize that it's time to take a break and give ourselves the rest we need and deserve. 
In this episode of Spiritual AF Sundays, we'll explore what rest is. Is it different from inaction? Did you know that rest can be a political act? We'll explain more about that as well. We'll examine why taking a break can be mentally and physically beneficial. 
 
(0:00:00) Introduction(0:01:34) Credits(0:02:27) Greetings and Overview(0:03:15) What is Rest(0:06:05) The Difference Between Rest and Action(0:07:21) Rest is Resistance(0:08:27) The Benefits of Rest(0:11:19) How to Rest(0:13:22) Why Do We Take Action?(0:14:26) Conclusion(0:15:31) Future Episodes(0:16:00) Closing Credits
Get the full show notes and transcription here.

The tradition of New Years' resolutions has been around for almost four thousand years, and each year millions of people make resolutions in the spirit of self-improvement or to break free from bad habits. But are New Years' resolutions effective? What does establishing these resolutions say about our society and ourselves?
Today's episode explores the good, bad, and ugly of making New Year's resolutions. We'll look at the history of these traditions, review some exciting statistics about new years' resolutions, and explore the downsides of making such resolutions. We'll also teach you how to make heart-centered resolutions to set yourself up for success in 2023 - assuming you're ready to make such commitments!
(0:00:00) Introduction
(00:01:01) Opening Credits
(00:01:54) Greetings and Overview
(00:02:47) The Origin of New Years' Resolutions
(00:04:17) Do New Years' Resolutions Work?
(00:08:23) The Problem with New Years' Resolutions
(00:09:49) Making Heart-Centered Resolutions
(00:12:52) Call for Listener Feedback
(00:13:31) Future Episodes
(00:13:58) Closing Credits
Get the full show notes and transcription here.
Audio listeners can snag the slides here.

One of the arguments used to defend the legitimacy of a belief or practice is called the appeal to tradition.  This is a view that something must have existed for a long time to be valid. This stance comes up when examining faiths outside of the "mainstream culture," such as Wicca and modern forms of Paganism. However, does this argument of appealing to tradition hold up when looking at Christmas?
In this episode, we'll examine how the celebration of Christmas has changed from its earliest roots to its modern form.  What does the evolution of Christmas over the past nearly two millennia say when it comes to current attempts to revitalize earth-based religions? Is older necessarily better? And how much influence is okay before a belief system is seen as deviating too far from its core? 
Get the full show notes and transcription here.
Audio listeners can snag the slides here.

Over the past few years, artificial intelligence has made leaps and bounds in its abilities as it redefines how we interact with technology. Such things as robotics, machine learning, natural language processing, and big data are only a few ways that AI has been transforming virtually every industry out there. If your industry deals with any data, any type of trying to predict what people want, it likely uses AI.
As for common concerns regarding this emerging technology, it's usually apprehension around a couple of different things. Job security or the ability for people to continue making an income, privacy issues when it comes to that data, even copyrights when it comes to that. And then also accuracy regarding these data models, making decisions or predictions.
And these are all valid issues to consider. But perhaps the most thought-provoking question that AI raises today is how it changes our understanding of consciousness. So we're going beyond the practical concerns, starting to go philosophical. Will AI eventually have any autonomy? Will it have free will? Can we teach it to make moral decisions? And then flip to focus, what does AI's development say when it comes to traits that we initially thought were either uniquely human or unique to living beings, like creativity, innovation, complex decision-making, and empathy?
Get the full show notes and transcription here.
Audio listeners can snag the slides here.