Being Known Podcast (Being Known Podcast)
Explorez tous les épisodes de Being Known Podcast
| Date | Titre | Durée | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 22 Feb 2023 | S6E4: Right and Wrong: Being and Knowing…and Being | 00:42:52 | |
Welcome to season 6 episode 4 of Being Known Podcast. This season we are looking at The Beauty of Wisdom.
We often assume that wisdom is to be equated with knowing things. And indeed, knowing things is important. But only to the degree that it enables us to create beauty and goodness in the world, not least that of flourishing relationships.
Our challenge is that so often we are interested in acquiring knowledge because we are more concerned with being right than we are about being loving.
The horizontal domain of integration—that of the relationship between the right and left hemispheres of the brain—is the setting in which we learn that wisdom is so much more than knowing: it’s about being known. In this episode, Curt and Pepper will connect with their right and left brains—and with you—as we continue on this marvelous journey of becoming people of wisdom.
. . . . . Episode Links and References
. . . . . Special Thanks for our Season Sponsor - Hope Heals: Hope Heals Camp is a truly unique offering in the world. No other space in existence today invites families experiencing disabilities – of any age, with any diagnosis, from any place – to enjoy multi-day respite, a rich network of relationships, and access to world class Christ-centered resources, all free of charge.
The week-long camp experience empowers suffering people to embrace their “good/hard” stories by choosing to see the God-given purpose in their pain. And this season we are working to help five campers get to camp FREE. Learn more about partnering with Hope Heals Camp and donate HERE.
Learn more about our passion for Hope Heals with this short video.
. . . . . Stay connected:
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| 19 Jul 2023 | S7E6: Confessional Communities: The Later Seasons | 00:38:02 | |
Welcome to season 7 of Being Known Podcast were we are continually looking at what it means to be truly known. This season we are exploring confessional communities.
How do we end anything well—and especially those experiences that have become so significant in our growth? Moreover, how do we say goodbye well in a culture that gives us very few resources in knowing how to do that? Pepper and Curt explore how bringing a confessional community to close—either for an individual who is leaving, or for the entire group that is coming to an end—is itself an opportunity for greater growth and integration as we practice for the heaven and earth that is coming.
. . . . Episode Links and References
. . . . . Special Thanks for our Season Sponsor - Compassion International The world is currently facing a devastating global food crisis caused from numerous variables: the war in Ukraine, fertilizer shortages, effects of COVID-19, and extreme weather, just to name a few. Couple any of these with the fact that food prices are climbing, and hunger and malnutrition in vulnerable children intensify.
During this season of Being Known Podcast you can support Compassion International with a one time gift of $50 and you'll feed a family of five for a month. We are all part of a global community and hope you will consider giving.
. . . . . Stay connected:
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| 17 Aug 2021 | S2E10: We Didn’t Make This Up | 00:46:38 | |
Like all spiritual disciplines, when we attune to the eight domains of integration we introduced, transformation ensues. Not by might. Not by power. But by the Spirit of God.
You might think we’re kidding. Listen in as we explore the transpirational domain of the mind, and you’ll see that, even though the word—transpiration—is one that is made up, what it points to is far from make believe. | |||
| 15 Nov 2023 | S8E6: In the Service of Beauty | 00:40:05 | |
Pepper and Curt had the privilege of spending five days in El Salvador as part of a Compassion International team of visitors. Join us as we share about the extraordinarily durable beauty that is emerging in some of the hardest stories we could imagine—and how all of this is pointing to the emerging kingdom of God.
. . . . Episode Links and References
. . . . . Special Thanks for our Season Sponsor - Compassion International The world is currently facing a devastating global food crisis caused from numerous variables: the war in Ukraine, fertilizer shortages, effects of COVID-19, and extreme weather, just to name a few. Couple any of these with the fact that food prices are climbing, and hunger and malnutrition in vulnerable children intensify.
During this Being Known Podcast season, we invite you to join us in sponsoring a child with Compassion International. Just $43 a month provides a sponsored child with all their basic needs and the hope for a brighter future.
. . . . . Stay connected:
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| 29 Jun 2021 | S2E3: “And he formed the man from the dust of the earth…” | 00:54:17 | |
Dirt. Mud. Bodies. God began with bodies, and the vertical domain of the mind reminds us that if we aren’t paying attention to our body (that’s right, our body) there will be a great deal of life — not least our relationship with God and others — that we’ll miss.
Join our conversation as we awaken to why the triune brain is so much more than just three-part harmony. | |||
| 17 Apr 2024 | S9E4: A Wide Place to Stand | 00:42:25 | |
Welcome to Being Known Podcast. This season we are discussing Curt's latest book, The Deepest Place as we carefully cover each chapter to deepen your understanding of suffering and the formation of hope.
For Jesus followers, as we approach the topic of suffering, we can’t bypass the body. Fortunately, neither does Paul in Romans 5, or what we know from neuroscience. For indeed, the more we pay attention to how the body works, the more the texts of scripture make sense in our world, a world which has somehow over many centuries found a way to separate the body from the spirit in ways that they simply are not.
Come along this week as we learn how “grace in which we now stand” is no mere metaphor—and shapes our response to suffering in ways we might never imagine.
. . . . Episode Links and References
. . . . . Stay connected:
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| 30 Mar 2021 | S1E7: Emotion | 00:57:15 | |
What are you feeling, and where do you feel it? Join us as we discover why emotion is so critical to life — and regulating it is even more so. While we’re at it, we’ll also see why it’s so important to God. | |||
| 01 Feb 2023 | S6E1: The Beauty of Wisdom | 00:42:41 | |
Welcome to season 6 episode 1 of Being Known Podcast. This season we are looking at The Beauty of Wisdom as we address the following: What does it mean to be wise, and how does life at the intersection of interpersonal neurobiology and Christian spirituality—a life of being known—reveal how we can become people of wisdom in a world that so desperately needs it?
We would expect there to be no debate: wisdom is something everyone thinks is a good thing. Who would ever want to be more foolish by the end of the day? But we often seem to be more interested in being right than being wise; more often interested in acquiring information than wisdom.
. . . . . Episode Links and References
. . . . . Special Thanks for our Season Sponsor - Hope Heals: Hope Heals Camp is a truly unique offering in the world. No other space in existence today invites families experiencing disabilities – of any age, with any diagnosis, from any place – to enjoy multi-day respite, a rich network of relationships, and access to world class Christ-centered resources, all free of charge.
The week-long camp experience empowers suffering people to embrace their “good/hard” stories by choosing to see the God-given purpose in their pain. And this season we are working to help five campers get to camp FREE. Learn more about partnering with Hope Heals Camp and donate HERE.
Learn more about our passion for Hope Heals with this short video.
. . . . . Stay connected:
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| 14 Sep 2022 | S5E8: Our Healing Cloud of Witnesses | 00:47:58 | |
Welcome to season 5 episode 8 where this season we are bringing you personal stories and deep teaching into Curt’s book, The Soul of Shame. This week we are looking at chapter 7, “Our Healing Cloud of Witnesses”.
For shame to be healed and our lives recommissioned, we need more than good information so we can simply appropriate it on our own as individuals. In the same way that we were made as contingent, co-regulating people who, made in God’s image, require the presence of others for our healthy growth and development, we also need a community for the healing of our shame.
A community that can bear witness to our lives and provide guidance in the re-telling of our stories. Fortunately, we have a model for how to do that.
Join us as we examine what it means to live truly before a body of people who help us see Jesus seeing us more truly, so that we can see ourselves in the way.
Hebrews 12:1-2 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
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Thank you to our sponsor… Hope Heals! Hope Heals Camp is a truly unique offering in the world. No other space in existence today invites families experiencing disabilities – of any age, with any diagnosis, from any place – to enjoy multi-day respite, a rich network of relationships, and access to world class Christ-centered resources, all free of charge.
The week-long camp experience empowers suffering people to embrace their “good/hard” stories by choosing to see the God-given purpose in their pain.
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Episode Links and References
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Stay connected:
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| 28 Jun 2023 | S7E4: Confessional Communities: Getting Started | 00:32:37 | |
Welcome to season 7 of Being Known Podcast were we are continually looking at what it means to be truly known. This season we are exploring confessional communities.
This week, Pepper and Curt walk you through the early stages of starting a confessional community, the questions that might come up, and what is necessary to get yourself ready to be part of one.
. . . . Episode Links and References
. . . . . Special Thanks for our Season Sponsor - Compassion International The world is currently facing a devastating global food crisis caused from numerous variables: the war in Ukraine, fertilizer shortages, effects of COVID-19, and extreme weather, just to name a few. Couple any of these with the fact that food prices are climbing, and hunger and malnutrition in vulnerable children intensify.
During this season of Being Known Podcast you can support Compassion International with a one time gift of $50 and you'll feed a family of five for a month. We are all part of a global community and hope you will consider giving.
. . . . . Stay connected:
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| 28 Feb 2021 | S1E1: Being Known | 00:34:48 | |
Join host, Pepper Sweeney, and psychiatrist, Curt Thompson, MD, as we together awaken to the journey of being fully known. | |||
| 04 Sep 2024 | S10E9: Summer Spotlight - Just Faith | 00:34:41 | |
Welcome to season 10 of Being Known Podcast. This season we are taking a look back at where we have come over the last couple of years, to determine where we are headed in the future, and as a way to continue bringing you the best content for how to live a life being fully known.
Each week we are spotlighting one episode from a previous season (the best of the best, so to speak). This is just a sample of what that entire season was all about. We hope you have, or will, take the time to listen to all the episodes again.
This week we are looking at season 9 - The Deepest Place. If you pick up a book on suffering, you might hope it will tell you how you can learn to suffer less, or even not at all. That’s not what we’re doing here. Instead, we will discover that before we even get to suffering, we must, as Christians, begin long before that, just as Paul does in Romans 5. Who knew that to talk about suffering, it is first really important for us to get a handle on how our attachment to Jesus—through our attachment to the members of his Body and the Spirit?
In this episode you are invited to imagine how Paul’s words of faith and justification reflect our real-life attachment processes, and how that lays the foundation for our forming hope in the presence of suffering.
. . . . Episode Links and References
. . . . . Stay connected:
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| 27 Mar 2024 | S9E1: Into the Deepest Place | 00:37:16 | |
Welcome to Being Known Podcast. This season we are discussing Curt's latest book, The Deepest Place as we carefully cover each chapter to deepen your understanding of suffering and the formation of hope.
To be human is to suffer. To be transformed does not deliver us from it. In fact, a great deal of what we do in life is dedicated to avoiding so much of the suffering that inhabits our stories. I only want to read a book that tells me how I can suffer less, or even not at all. But that’s not how life works.
This week we begin to explore The Deepest Place, using Romans 5:1-5 and what we are learning from interpersonal neurobiology, and discover how the gospel helps us form durable hope, not by being fully delivered from suffering, but in and because of its very presence.
. . . . Episode Links and References
. . . . . Stay connected:
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| 08 Mar 2023 | S6E6: The Story of Wisdom | 00:42:11 | |
Welcome to season 6 episode 6 of Being Known Podcast. This season we are looking at The Beauty of Wisdom.
The book of Proverbs portrays Wisdom as calling out in the streets. She, in effect, is telling her story, and asking us to join her. As it turns out, it is crucial in becoming people of wisdom that we not only understand the stories we tell about ourselves, but that we tell them wisely. And to do this, we need other trustworthy people in our lives who can help us do this. For it is in the very process of telling our stories that we knead wisdom into the dough of our lives.
In this episode, Pepper and Curt have the opportunity to continue to tell each other their stories, a telling that opens the door for wisdom to enter.
. . . . Episode Links and References
. . . . . Special Thanks for our Season Sponsor - Hope Heals: Hope Heals Camp is a truly unique offering in the world. No other space in existence today invites families experiencing disabilities – of any age, with any diagnosis, from any place – to enjoy multi-day respite, a rich network of relationships, and access to world class Christ-centered resources, all free of charge.
The week-long camp experience empowers suffering people to embrace their “good/hard” stories by choosing to see the God-given purpose in their pain. And this season we are working to help five campers get to camp FREE. Learn more about partnering with Hope Heals Camp and donate HERE.
Learn more about our passion for Hope Heals with this short video.
. . . . . Stay connected:
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| 18 May 2022 | S4E12 Wrap Q&A | 00:56:11 | |
Being Known Podcast normally ends our season with a wrap up episode highlighting each episode with one more nugget of wisdom. This season we mixed things up a bit and asked our listeners and followers what they wanted to know more about.
We received over 40 questions seeking additional wisdom on sexual trauma, generational trauma, trauma and the church and more.
A few of the questions asked include:
In Curt’s own words, “I thoroughly enjoyed this opportunity to end the season. It allowed us to be live action and real time. It offered us a glimpse of what people are learning and what they desire to learn more about.”
Sign up to access the Being Known Podcast applications, the weekly exercises that connect what you are learning to your life in a practical way. Scroll to the bottom of the page to sign up (not the pop-up).
As always, we invite you to stay connected with us via social media and YouTube: YouTube (where we post the unedited videos of each episode AND the post show conversations.)
Please subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode and we always welcome your reviews on Apple Podcasts.
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| 16 Mar 2023 | S6E7: Where Are You... And Where Are You Going? | 00:46:43 | |
Welcome to season 6 episode 7 of Being Known Podcast. This season we are looking at The Beauty of Wisdom.
It’s hard to know where we are going if we first do not know where we are. The integration of the domain of our state of mind is critical if wisdom is what we seek. For if we are not aware of the state that our mind occupies—knowing where we are—how will we be able to move in the path of wisdom?
Join us as Pepper and Curt discover how being known enables us to more consistently be aware of our states of mind, and so have greater access to the wisdom that is being offered to us there.
. . . . Episode Links and References
. . . . . Special Thanks for our Season Sponsor - Hope Heals: Hope Heals Camp is a truly unique offering in the world. No other space in existence today invites families experiencing disabilities – of any age, with any diagnosis, from any place – to enjoy multi-day respite, a rich network of relationships, and access to world class Christ-centered resources, all free of charge.
The week-long camp experience empowers suffering people to embrace their “good/hard” stories by choosing to see the God-given purpose in their pain. And this season we are working to help five campers get to camp FREE. Learn more about partnering with Hope Heals Camp and donate HERE.
Learn more about our passion for Hope Heals with this short video.
. . . . . Stay connected:
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| 29 Jan 2025 | S11E2: Navigating Fragility: Reimagining Connection Amidst Social Divides | 00:40:49 | |
In this episode of The Being Known Podcast, Curt Thompson, MD and Pepper Sweeney explore the increasing societal fragility and its impact on our ability to repair relational ruptures. They discuss how diminished resilience and imagination hinder our capacity to connect, drawing insights from biblical narratives and interpersonal neurobiology.
This conversation addresses the challenges posed by social divisions, the concept of "othering," and the importance of community in fostering healing and restoration.
They invite you, the listener, to reflect on your own experiences of rupture and repair, considering the role of faith and community in navigating these challenges.
Episode Links and References
. . . . . Stay connected:
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| 22 May 2024 | S9E9: Hope | 00:29:41 | |
Welcome to Being Known Podcast. This season we are discussing Curt's latest book, The Deepest Place as we carefully cover each chapter to deepen your understanding of suffering and the formation of hope.
Hope is one thing. Durable hope—that’s something different altogether. What is hope, after all? Is it something that merely happens to fall in our laps? Something that we can only hope to have?
The world of interpersonal neurobiology has some things to say about hope that are, well, very, very hopeful. And at the same time, shed light on where Paul is going, as he has come all the way from suffering, through perseverance and character to bring us to where we are.
Join the conversation this week as we walk together into the hope that is more than just a word. More than what we merely hope we will have. And we’re far more than hopeful that you will agree with us when you do.
. . . . Episode Links and References
. . . . . Stay connected:
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| 05 Jul 2023 | S7E5.1: Confessional Communities: Learning to Love Doing the Work | 00:23:31 | |
Welcome to season 7 of Being Known Podcast were we are continually looking at what it means to be truly known. This season we are exploring confessional communities.
Over the course of time that a confessional community gathers, many things will be learned, including the process of growing in your awareness of what the process is actually doing to provide the opportunity for growth that you are experiencing. Pepper and Curt talk about that process of what happens in a confessional community that actually fosters the integration and wholeness that we so long to experience, and the beauty and goodness that we so long to become.
. . . . Episode Links and References
. . . . . Special Thanks for our Season Sponsor - Compassion International The world is currently facing a devastating global food crisis caused from numerous variables: the war in Ukraine, fertilizer shortages, effects of COVID-19, and extreme weather, just to name a few. Couple any of these with the fact that food prices are climbing, and hunger and malnutrition in vulnerable children intensify.
During this season of Being Known Podcast you can support Compassion International with a one time gift of $50 and you'll feed a family of five for a month. We are all part of a global community and hope you will consider giving.
. . . . . Stay connected:
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| 14 Jun 2021 | S2E1: Be Ye Whole… Integration and the Symphony of New Creation | 00:55:54 | |
What does it mean to flourish — to be whole even as our Father in heaven is whole? How does becoming acquainted with the mind’s domains of integration help us get there? Join Pepper Sweeney and Curt Thompson, MD as they explore the notion of integration and why it matters so much — to everything. | |||
| 07 Sep 2022 | S5E7: Shame’s Remedy: Vulnerability | 00:48:53 | |
Welcome to season 5 episode 7 where this season we are bringing you personal stories and deep teaching into Curt’s book, The Soul of Shame. This week we are looking at chapter 6, “Shame’s Remedy: Vulnerability”.
Hiding and isolation are hallmarks of shame. Moreover, the very notion of exposing our shame is…shaming.
Who knew that the very thing that we are most fearful of—our shame being exposed—is the place we need to begin to discover shame’s healing, and to have our stories begin to be told more truly.
This week we talk about how, like so much of the rest of the story of the gospel, it is in our vulnerability—that very place in which our shame first took place and took shape—that lies the key to its regeneration..
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Thank you to our sponsor… Hope Heals! Hope Heals offers the Hope Heals Camp is a truly unique offering in the world. No other space in existence today invites families experiencing disabilities – of any age, with any diagnosis, from any place – to enjoy multi-day respite, a rich network of relationships, and access to world class Christ-centered resources, all free of charge.
The week-long camp experience empowers suffering people to embrace their “good/hard” stories by choosing to see the God-given purpose in their pain.
. . . . . Episode Links and References
. . . . . Stay connected:
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| 31 Jul 2024 | S10E4: Summer Spotlight - Family and Generational Trauma | 00:49:32 | |
Welcome to season 10 of Being Known Podcast. This season we are taking a look back at where we have come over the last couple of years, to determine where we are headed in the future, and as a way to continue bringing you the best content for how to live a life being fully known.
Each week we are spotlighting one episode from a previous season (the best of the best, so to speak). This is just a sample of what that entire season was all about. We hope you have, or will, take the time to listen to all the episodes again.
This week we are focusing on season 4 - Trauma. Despite our fierce commitment to individualism, trauma is far more likely to follow the way the mind has actually been made, rather than the way we have for the last several hundred years tried to pretend that it works. We would like to think that the trauma that we experience or perpetrate will only have effects on us or the ones upon whom we inflict it.
But that would not be true to the way the brain works. As we will discover, what happens in one generation doesn’t necessarily stay in that generation. Rather, it can have the tendency to travel down ancestral lines, leaving others to pay the price for events that occurred long before they were even born.
Join Pepper and Curt as we discover the steam that the train of trauma can gather over the course of generations—and what we can begin to do to stop it in its tracks.
Links and References
Scripture References
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| 10 Aug 2022 | S5E3: How Shame Targets the Mind | 00:31:40 | |
Welcome to season 5 episode 3 where this season we are bringing you personal stories and deep teaching into Curt’s book, The Soul of Shame. This week we are looking at chapter 2, How Shame Targets the Mind.
It has been said, “Keep your friends close. And keep your enemies closer.” If we want to know what evil is up to as it uses shame in its quest to devour us, the first thing to know is how the mind works—so that we will also know where and how evil is doing its dirty work.
In this episode, we review the fundamental features of the mind—such as the nine domains of integration, attention and emotion—and discover where and how shame, like the evil that is wielding it, parasitically uses the very way our minds work to undo us and all of God’s good creation in the process.
. . . . . Episode Links and References Being Known Podcast season 2 on the nine domains of integration and how the mind works.
. . . . . Stay connected:
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| 19 Mar 2025 | S11E9: Mastering the Art of Repair: Harnessing Timing, Tempo, and Time (Part 1) | 00:38:43 | |
In this episode, Curt and Pepper dive deep into the crucial first steps of becoming effective repairers in times of relational rupture. We begin with Genesis 3:15 and explore how we can anticipate, prepare, and engage in repair work before the storm hits. It's not about reacting to conflict—it's about preparing in advance to become proactive, mindful, and compassionate repairers of relationships. Through this reflective practice, we explore the timing, tempo, and deep awareness required to anticipate future ruptures with empathy and intention. This preemptive work is necessary to avoid reactive responses and instead cultivate intentional repair.
In the first of this two-part series, the team shares insights into how spiritual practices, like meditation and prayer, can center us before a rupture occurs. They focus on the importance of anticipating moments of tension, embracing vulnerability, and reflecting on how our internal and external worlds influence our approach to conflict. With both empathy and practical tools for co-regulation, they guide us on how we can actively prepare to heal relational ruptures when they inevitably arise. Tune in and take the first step toward mastering the art of preemptive repair.
* * * Episode Links and References
. . . . . Stay connected:
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| 18 Oct 2023 | S8E2: The Beauty of Awareness | 00:38:00 | |
In the path of oncoming beauty. Given that we are wired to pay attention to danger for the sake of protection, purposefully attuning to beauty can at times feel risky. But when we make it our intended purpose to create space for beauty, we find ourselves seeing any number of things that we didn’t before. Some of those things include our wounds that we have covered for longer than we know. But that only gives us the chance to imagine the emergence of beauty from parts of our lives that heretofore we could only imagine carnage.
Listen in as Curt and Pepper explore what it means to awaken, become alert and attuned to beauty, and how that can chart a course for a new direction of renewal in our lives.
. . . . Episode Links and References
. . . . . Special Thanks for our Season Sponsor - Compassion International The world is currently facing a devastating global food crisis caused from numerous variables: the war in Ukraine, fertilizer shortages, effects of COVID-19, and extreme weather, just to name a few. Couple any of these with the fact that food prices are climbing, and hunger and malnutrition in vulnerable children intensify.
During this Being Known Podcast season, we invite you to join us in sponsoring a child with Compassion International. Just $43 a month provides a sponsored child with all their basic needs and the hope for a brighter future.
. . . . . Stay connected:
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| 10 Apr 2024 | S9E3: Declaration of War - and Peace | 00:43:41 | |
Welcome to Being Known Podcast. This season we are discussing Curt's latest book, The Deepest Place as we carefully cover each chapter to deepen your understanding of suffering and the formation of hope.
Although the bible doesn’t begin with violence, it gets there pretty quickly, beginning with a snake, then a brother killing his brother, and on and on it goes. And as it turns out, as much as we are at war in so many ways with so many others, we are more at war with God than anyone, and more at war with him than we know. Not that he’s at war with us. We just think he is.
It’s no surprise, then, to discover that our suffering is grounded more than we are aware of in the parts of us that still believe, like Adam before us, that God is out to kill us. This week we address the necessary task of identifying the parts of us that still believe we are at war with God—so that in making peace, we can begin to change the story we tell about our suffering.
. . . . Episode Links and References
. . . . . Stay connected:
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| 02 Apr 2025 | S11E11: Created for Connection: The Communal Nature of Healing | 00:38:38 | |
What does it mean to be human in a world where disconnection is not only common, but often woven into the very systems we live in? This episode opens the first of two episodes on rupture and repair in community, drawing deeply from Christian theology, neuroscience, and lived pastoral experience.
Grounded in the biblical assertion that we are made in the image of a communal God, the conversation reframes human identity as inherently relational—our sense of self does not exist in isolation but is shaped through connection with others. Through the lens of Genesis and the teachings of Jesus, brokenness is not treated as an individual shortcoming but as a shared human condition, one that requires collective healing and compassionate presence.
As the episode unfolds, it becomes clear that rupture—whether it shows up as conflict, trauma, or disconnection—is rarely contained to one moment or one relationship. Instead, it reverberates across families, institutions, and even digital spaces, often echoing through generations. With vivid stories from clinical settings and systemic reflections on cultural and organizational life, the conversation exposes how unresolved pain becomes embedded in the structures around us.
The episode also introduces a powerful theological and scientific counterpoint: healing, like trauma, is not confined. Drawing on the idea of "quantum relationality," the discussion explores how repair—when undertaken with intention, humility, and community—can ripple outward to transform entire environments. Whether in a parent-child bond, a broken workplace culture, or a fragmented congregation, the episode illustrates how repair work, especially when modeled on the loving, non-anxious presence of the Trinity, has the potential to restore what was lost. This episode sets the stage for episode 12, which will dive deeper into the Church’s unique role in this sacred, systemic work of repair.
Episode Links and References
. . . . . Stay connected:
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| 07 Aug 2024 | S10E5: Summer Spotlight - Our Problem with Shame | 00:46:01 | |
Welcome to season 10 of Being Known Podcast. This season we are taking a look back at where we have come over the last couple of years, to determine where we are headed in the future, and as a way to continue bringing you the best content for how to live a life being fully known.
Each week we are spotlighting one episode from a previous season (the best of the best, so to speak). This is just a sample of what that entire season was all about. We hope you have, or will, take the time to listen to all the episodes again.
This week we are focusing on season 5 - The Soul of Shame. It’s not enough to know what shame IS. We also have to know how and where it works. Our problem with shame is not just a sensation in which we feel bad. It’s about all the ways that it hijacks our mind, relationships, and mostly, the story in which we believe we’re living. Join us as we open up the hood and begin to look at the engine of this thing we call shame. You may be surprised to find that it’s so much more than a feeling.
Episode Links and References
. . . . . Stay connected:
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| 01 Nov 2023 | S8E4: As Beauty Makes Sense of Us | 00:42:35 | |
Once we sense beauty, we begin to tell a story about it. We make sense of it. We pay attention to it. We sometimes analyze it. But beauty often reveals things about us. In sensing things, we become aware of feelings and memories that before we were unaware of. In this way, we are enabled to tell our stories more truly. And all of this employs the horizontal domain of integration—the relationship between the right and left hemispheres of the brain. Listen in as Curt and Pepper explore how the differences between our right and our left enable beauty to assist us in making better sense of our lives.
. . . . Episode Links and References
. . . . . Special Thanks for our Season Sponsor - Compassion International The world is currently facing a devastating global food crisis caused from numerous variables: the war in Ukraine, fertilizer shortages, effects of COVID-19, and extreme weather, just to name a few. Couple any of these with the fact that food prices are climbing, and hunger and malnutrition in vulnerable children intensify.
During this Being Known Podcast season, we invite you to join us in sponsoring a child with Compassion International. Just $43 a month provides a sponsored child with all their basic needs and the hope for a brighter future.
. . . . . Stay connected:
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| 29 May 2024 | S9E10: Full Circle | 00:39:57 | |
Welcome to Being Known Podcast. This season we are discussing Curt's latest book, The Deepest Place as we carefully cover each chapter to deepen your understanding of suffering and the formation of hope.
We started this season on suffering with what necessarily must precede it if hope is what we want. And now that we are near the season’s conclusion, we find ourselves where we started.
Come hang out with us to discover how what we first thought would only be painful—our suffering—ultimately, because of Jesus and the way our brains and relationships are made to operate, leads to the joy that enables us to fearless encounter our suffering wherever it will emerge in our lives over the course of them. We can’t wait for you to be with us, and join us in all that God has in store.
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| 08 Nov 2023 | S8E5: Remembering Our Future Beauty | 00:47:22 | |
It is easy to be amazed, even astonished in the presence of beauty. But it is just as easy to forget it, given how easily distracted we are by so many things. If it is true that what we pay attention to, we remember; and what we remember becomes our anticipated future, then we don’t just recall beauty for the sake of itself, we do so in order to shape the futures of our lives that we anticipate. And this is as much true for the parts of our stories that are traumatized as those for which we have fond memories.
Listen in as Pepper and Curt wade into how committing beauty to memory doesn’t just remind us of a past we love; it transforms our past traumas into futures we would otherwise find hard to imagine.
. . . . Episode Links and References
. . . . . Special Thanks for our Season Sponsor - Compassion International The world is currently facing a devastating global food crisis caused from numerous variables: the war in Ukraine, fertilizer shortages, effects of COVID-19, and extreme weather, just to name a few. Couple any of these with the fact that food prices are climbing, and hunger and malnutrition in vulnerable children intensify.
During this Being Known Podcast season, we invite you to join us in sponsoring a child with Compassion International. Just $43 a month provides a sponsored child with all their basic needs and the hope for a brighter future.
. . . . . Stay connected:
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| 16 Apr 2025 | S11E13: Unseen Structures: Caste, Power, and Healing the Fractures Beneath Our Feet | 00:35:43 | |
We often shy away from conversations about race, caste, and power because of discomfort or fear of making mistakes—but this episode is an invitation to get in the game. Join us as we step into the complex and often unseen world of caste systems--which are more than race alone--as they manifest within American culture, exploring how deeply entrenched social structures and inherited hierarchies shape our interactions, identities, and sense of belonging.
Building on themes from our previous conversation about church wounding, we draw from poignant personal experience, historical context, and biblical reflection to invite listeners into a posture of curiosity and compassion. Rather than offering easy solutions, this conversation encourages each of us to examine where we are in the social power gradient and what it means to steward that position with intentionality and humility. It’s the beginning of the slow, sacred work of repair—relationally and structurally—so we can become the kind of people, and the kind of community, who create beauty and goodness together.
Episode Links and References
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| 19 Oct 2021 | S3E1: Desire: A People of Longing | 00:37:56 | |
We are people of desire. And it doesn’t take much or long to know that that’s true. Our relationships and, as it turns out, our brains tell us so.
But desire is a tricky thing, because as much as we know that it lies at the core of our being, it’s also something that has created no shortage of trouble for us—for as long as we have walked the planet. Just ask Adam and Eve.
What does it mean for us to long for all we long for, and how do we reconcile that the very thing that fuels the deepest longings we have is also the source of so much pain and brokenness?
Join Pepper and Curt as we kick off Season 3 of the Being Known Podcast, and as we begin the journey into The Soul of Desire, discovering just how much life is waiting for us—right in the center of what we may be more afraid of than anything. And just so you know—we’re longing for you to meet us there.
This episode is further discussion on chapter 1 of The Soul of Desire by Curt Thompson, MD. | |||
| 13 Apr 2022 | S4E7 Sexual Trauma | 00:48:48 | |
Welcome to Season 4 of Being Known Podcast where we are looking at trauma through the lens of hope and not fear. This week we are looking at the sensitive, hard and beautiful topic of sexual trauma.
What is it about sex that seems to make everything – especially trauma – so much more difficult? Moreover, how is sexual trauma so much more debilitating than some other forms of our topic? No matter how much we would like to wish otherwise, there is just no getting around the fact that few things shatter lives more than the events of trauma that surround our sexuality.
This week we wade into this sensitive – and beautiful – topic. It’s sensitive because it addresses the parts of what it means to be most fragile as human beings. And beautiful because it addresses those same parts from which our greatest vulnerability and generativity spring forth.
If your story is being told through the lens of sexual trauma, Jesus is at the ready to meet you to make sure you begin to tell your story very differently.
Links and References
Scripture References
You can now sign up to have access to Being Known Podcast applications, the weekly exercise that connects what you are learning to your life in a practical way. Scroll to the bottom of the page to sign up (not the pop-up).
As always, we invite you to stay connected with us via social media and YouTube: YouTube (where we post the unedited videos of each episodes AND the post show conversations.)
And of course, we invite you to subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode and welcome your reviews on Apple Podcasts.
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| 28 Aug 2024 | S10E8: Summer Spotlight - It's Time for Beauty | 00:37:01 | |
Welcome to season 10 of Being Known Podcast. This season we are taking a look back at where we have come over the last couple of years, to determine where we are headed in the future, and as a way to continue bringing you the best content for how to live a life being fully known.
Each week we are spotlighting one episode from a previous season (the best of the best, so to speak). This is just a sample of what that entire season was all about. We hope you have, or will, take the time to listen to all the episodes again.
This week we are focusing on season 8 - In the Path of Oncoming Beauty. There’s nothing quite like an encounter with beauty to remind us that we are temporal—and, temporary—creatures. Who hasn’t wanted the gorgeous sunset to just go on and on and on? Who has listened to Rachmaninoff’s All-Night Vigil, and not desired it to go on indefinitely?
Beauty is like that. It transports us into states of timelessness that remind us that we were made, not for this world—but for the world that is coming.
Join us as we look back at this last episode season 8 and be reminded of what it means that God has placed eternity in our hearts, and that putting ourselves in the path of oncoming beauty is the beginning of the time for which there will be no end.
. . . . Episode Links and References
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| 30 Mar 2022 | S4E5 Trauma and the Body: “Then the Lord God Formed the Man…” | 00:54:16 | |
Welcome to Season 4 of Being Known Podcast where we are looking at trauma through the lens of hope and not fear.
This week we connect trauma and the brain. To the great surprise of many, our bodies are how our minds most often and most powerfully let us in on reality. As we like to say in the business, first we sense, and only then do we make sense of what we sense.
But what if our “sensing” mechanism, the body, has been the very thing that has encountered so much physical, sexual, or emotional bludgeoning? Those who have experienced trauma often perceive that their bodies have been violated, and in some twisted ways have also betrayed them. Then their bodies go on to keep the bad work of continual betrayal.
In this way, trauma becomes something that our bodies themselves remember in ways that we are often unaware of. What are we to do?
Today, we pull back the curtain on how the body can be wounded, but also how we can begin to take the first steps toward inviting that same body to become the very source of our healing, long before we are able to imagine in our thinking minds.
Scripture References
Links and References
You can now sign up to have access to Being Known Podcast applications, the weekly exercise that connects what you are learning to your life in a practical way. Scroll to the bottom of the page to sign up (not the pop-up).
As always, we invite you to stay connected with us via social media and YouTube: YouTube (where we post the unedited videos of each episodes AND the post show conversation.)
And of course, we invite you to subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode and welcome your reviews on Apple Podcasts.
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| 25 Jan 2023 | BKP LIVE - Oct. 27, 2022 | 01:09:34 | |
As part of the Connections Conference 2022 hosted by The Center for Being Known, Curt, Pepper and Amy sat down for a live podcast recording to talk all things friendship, favorites and being known.
Learn more about The Center for Being Known at www.thedbk.org
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| 13 Apr 2021 | S1E9: Wrap | 00:53:20 | |
Join us as we recap this first season of Being Known Podcast — and all the new words Pepper has learned. | |||
| 06 Dec 2023 | S8E9: The State of Beauty | 00:47:12 | |
So much of what shapes our perceived distress or joy in life is related to how we transition from one state of mind to another. Our willingness to place ourselves in the path of oncoming beauty does many things, not least slowing our pace in life, such that we become much more aware of when and how we are making a transition from one to another state of mind.
This slowing of our pace makes it possible for us to be aware of so much more that is going on in that very transition—and respond to it in the ways we want to, even if those states are distressing.
Listen in as Pepper and Curt explore how our willingness to practice encountering beauty can help us regulate our affect, and so strengthen our transitions from one state of mind to another—and thereby see the potential for the creation of beauty in situations that would otherwise leave us unable to do so.
. . . . Episode Links and References
. . . . . Special Thanks for our Season Sponsor - Compassion International The world is currently facing a devastating global food crisis caused from numerous variables: the war in Ukraine, fertilizer shortages, effects of COVID-19, and extreme weather, just to name a few. Couple any of these with the fact that food prices are climbing, and hunger and malnutrition in vulnerable children intensify.
During this Being Known Podcast season, we invite you to join us in sponsoring a child with Compassion International. Just $43 a month provides a sponsored child with all their basic needs and the hope for a brighter future.
. . . . . Stay connected:
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| 16 Nov 2021 | S3E5: Confessional Communities: Telling Our Stories More Truly | 00:46:30 | |
Trauma, shame and their healing, at their heart, take place in the context of intimate human relationships. How does participation in a confessional community create space for the healing we are seeking to emerge?
In this episode, Pepper and Curt explore these ideas and more, inviting you to begin to imagine how being part of a vulnerable community not only makes possible the healing and vocational recommissioning we are hungering and thirsting for, but does so in a manner that simultaneously grounds and strengthens our formation as spiritual creatures like few other practices do.
Listen in as we discover how confession is about so much more than sin, and what happens when men and women, together—that’s right, we’re going to talk about sex!—commit themselves to creating and curating beauty, rather than devouring it. Moreover, we’ll see how this takes place, surprisingly, in the very presence of their trauma and shame, and not in their absence.
This episode is further discussion on chapter 5 of The Soul of Desire by Curt Thompson, MD. | |||
| 29 Nov 2023 | S8E8: Surprised by Beauty | 00:41:20 | |
During Curt and Pepper’s recent trip to El Salvador, they each found themselves surprised by beauty in various ways. Surprise can lead to any number of emotional reactions, depending on what, exactly, it is that surprises us. When it is beauty that is doing the surprising, we are opened to joy, goodness and even greater beauty than we would expect out of life.
Join Pepper and Curt as they explore surprising stories of beauty, and along the way introduce you to Shaun Groves, a pastor and Compassion International ambassador, whose compelling story of his own surprise with beauty has had him involved with the ministry since 2005.
. . . . Episode Links and References
. . . . . Special Thanks for our Season Sponsor - Compassion International The world is currently facing a devastating global food crisis caused from numerous variables: the war in Ukraine, fertilizer shortages, effects of COVID-19, and extreme weather, just to name a few. Couple any of these with the fact that food prices are climbing, and hunger and malnutrition in vulnerable children intensify.
During this Being Known Podcast season, we invite you to join us in sponsoring a child with Compassion International. Just $43 a month provides a sponsored child with all their basic needs and the hope for a brighter future.
. . . . . Stay connected:
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| 03 Aug 2021 | S2E8: Life Would Be So Much Easier… | 00:51:58 | |
Life would be so much easier if... …if it weren’t for… people. Or would it?
As it turns out, our minds depend far more on the minds of others than we may know. But once we do know, we’ll see why it’s not good for any of us to be alone, and why loving our enemies as much as our friends isn’t just a noble idea pulled off the pages of an ancient religious text.
In this episode, come explore with us the interpersonal domain of integration, and see why we so desperately need each other if flourishing is what we seek. | |||
| 26 Feb 2025 | S11E6: The Power of “No”: Brain Science, the Biblical Narrative, and Limit-Setting Ruptures | 00:29:20 | |
Saying "no" can feel uncomfortable, but it is a crucial part of growth, both for ourselves and in our relationships. In this episode, we explore the concept of limit-setting ruptures—those moments where boundaries create tension, discomfort, and even distance, but ultimately lead to maturity and deeper connection. Drawing from psychology, neuroscience, and biblical narratives, we discuss how setting limits helps shape our character, why it's necessary for personal and spiritual development, and how it teaches us emotional regulation. Whether you're a parent setting boundaries for your child, someone navigating addiction recovery, or simply trying to manage your daily commitments, this episode will provide insights into how embracing limits can lead to greater freedom and fulfillment.
We discuss how the brain undergoes "pruning" to refine skills, how children develop emotional regulation through parental boundaries, and how even Jesus modeled the power of necessary separations. We’ll also tackle the emotional impact of limit-setting, from the pain of telling a parent they can no longer drive to the discomfort of quitting unhealthy behaviors. If you want to learn how to set limits in a way that fosters growth, self-control, and deeper relationships, this episode is for you.
Episode Links and References
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| 24 Apr 2024 | S9E5: Glory | 00:30:21 | |
Welcome to Being Known Podcast. This season we are discussing Curt's latest book, The Deepest Place as we carefully cover each chapter to deepen your understanding of suffering and the formation of hope.
Who would ever imagine that glory and suffering would have anything to do with each other? As it turns out, a great deal. So much so, in fact, that when we consider a particular aspect of God’s glory (one that we rarely do), we see how, when we take it seriously, it utterly transforms and prepares us for the suffering we will inevitably encounter. But we can’t encounter it alone. It requires community.
This week you are invited to draw close to God’s glory, even as we draw close to our suffering.
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| 12 Apr 2023 | BONUS: Bottom Left Drawer: The Beauty and Wisdom of ”Getting Your Ducks in a Row” | 00:35:51 | |
BONUS!! This week Curt and Pepper are joined by our very own Amy Cella, producer of BKP and creator of Bottom Left Drawer (BLD). Together, we discuss the beauty and wisdom of being prepared for various seasons of our life.
Bottom Left Drawer is all about getting your ducks in a row, so you’re good to go. But what does that mean? Amy shares about BLD and the process of getting your affairs in order, whether that be crafting a will, securing vital documents or getting intentional about the relationships in your life. In this episode we discuss the nine segments of BLD, share some fun stories and get real about the beauty and wisdom being prepared.
Amy also has a Bottom Left Drawer Podcast where she shares tips and tricks for preparedness, as well as a FREE Bottom Left Drawer Starter Kit.
Follow Amy on IG @amycella
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| 24 Jul 2024 | S10E3: Summer Spotlight - Trauma and Shame: People of Grief | 00:48:21 | |
Welcome to season 10 of Being Known Podcast. This season we are taking a look back at where we have come over the last couple of years, to determine where we are headed in the future, and as a way to continue bringing you the best content for how to live a life being fully known.
Each week we are spotlighting one episode from a previous season (the best of the best, so to speak). This is just a sample of what that entire season was all about. We hope you have, or will, take the time to listen to all the episodes again.
This week we are focusing on season 3 - The Soul of Desire. It takes very little to see that if longing and beauty go hand in hand, then trauma and shame are more than willing to make sure that none of that ever lasts, and in some cases makes sure no handshake ever happens. For truly, as sure as we are people of desire, we are people of grief. From our brains to the rest of our bodies, from our inner lives to our relational realities, our grief so fills our minds that we hardly notice that so much of life’s work consists of managing our grief, looking for trouble so we can head it off before it finds us. Given the brokenness and pain that seem so ubiquitous, no wonder we mostly see ourselves as problems to solve rather than beauty waiting to be revealed. Join Pepper and Curt as we unflinchingly name our grief—without forgetting that we were made for so much more.
Episode Links and References
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| 05 Feb 2025 | S11E3: Unrepaired Ruptures: Trauma, Memory, and the Call to Restoration | 00:37:55 | |
Trauma is more than a single event—it is the accumulation of unrepaired ruptures that we carry in our bodies and souls. In this episode, we explore how these ruptures—whether from minor conflicts or deeply wounding experiences—shape our lives and relationships.
Drawing from biblical stories and contemporary examples, we discuss the ways our unresolved pain influences our decisions, interactions, and sense of self. From the silent grief of barrenness in the lives of the matriarchs to modern challenges like road rage and smartphone dependency, we examine the pervasive impact of ruptures.
With thoughtful insights, we point to the hope of repair and the courage it takes to face the cost of healing. This week, Curt and Pepper invite you to reflect on your own journey and consider how God's redemptive work transforms even the most broken parts of our stories.
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| 10 Jul 2024 | S10E1: Summer Spotlight - Being Known | 00:38:23 | |
Welcome to season 10 of Being Known Podcast. This season we are taking a look back at where we have come over the last couple of years, to determine where we are headed in the future, and as a way to continue bringing you the best content for how to live a life being fully known.
Each week we are spotlighting one episode from a previous season (the best of the best, so to speak). This is just a sample of what that entire season was all about. We hope you have, or will, take the time to listen to all the episodes again.
Let’s start at the very beginning. Join host Pepper Sweeney and psychiatrist Curt Thompson as, together, we awaken to the journey of being fully known.
Episode Links and References
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| 26 Mar 2025 | S11E10: Mastering the Art of Repair: Harnessing Timing, Tempo, and Time (Part 2) | 00:38:24 | |
This week is part 2 of our series on Timing, Tempo, and Time where we step into the nuanced terrain of what it actually takes to begin the work of repair. Whether we're the ones who caused harm, were impacted by it, or are caught in a mutual fracture, repair requires initiative—and initiative often requires courage.
We explore how clarity about our role, our responsibility, and our relational context shapes how we move first (or why we hesitate to). But repair isn’t just about the decision to start—it’s also about the pace we keep. Some fractures can begin mending in a single moment; others need months of faithful return.
This episode invites us to consider the rhythm of healing, the emotional resistance that can surface, and why repair is not a performance to rush but a process to honor. When we learn to initiate repair at a sustainable tempo, we become people who actively resist disintegration—and participate in the restoration of what’s been broken.
Episode Links and References
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| 25 Oct 2023 | S8E3: The Sense of Beauty | 00:48:27 | |
First, we sense. And then we make sense of what we sense. Beauty is not first something we think about. It is first something we behold with our senses. And our senses necessarily involve our bodies. For indeed, even when we imagine beauty in our mind, we use our brains to do so. This follows the sequence of creation in Genesis 2 when God first formed a body, and then breathed life into it.
Join Pepper and Curt as they explore the role of the body in encountering beauty, and how paying attention to the vertical domain of integration leads to greater awareness of beauty in our world, and in ourselves.
. . . . Episode Links and References
. . . . . Special Thanks for our Season Sponsor - Compassion International The world is currently facing a devastating global food crisis caused from numerous variables: the war in Ukraine, fertilizer shortages, effects of COVID-19, and extreme weather, just to name a few. Couple any of these with the fact that food prices are climbing, and hunger and malnutrition in vulnerable children intensify.
During this Being Known Podcast season, we invite you to join us in sponsoring a child with Compassion International. Just $43 a month provides a sponsored child with all their basic needs and the hope for a brighter future.
. . . . . Stay connected:
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| 23 Nov 2021 | S3E6: Imagine That: Looking at What We Don’t Yet See | 00:39:46 | |
The emergence of beauty and goodness in our world requires that we first imagine it to be so. But trauma and shame shatter and atrophy our imagination, leaving us fearful of imagining, let alone naming the beauty and goodness we long for. For new creation to dawn, it must be led by our willingness to imagine a world we cannot yet see.
Moreover, once we catch our first glimpse of a newly imagined future, making it more permanent requires lots of practice. And that practice requires perseverance, because if we want our imagination to wire for beauty and goodness, we much repeatedly fire it to do so.
Join Curt and Pepper as we imagine with you what beauty and goodness can become, and how the people who take the stage in the biblical narrative know exactly how hard it is to imagine a world that they have never seen before.
This episode is further discussion on chapter 6 of The Soul of Desire by Curt Thompson, MD. | |||
| 17 Jul 2024 | S10E2: Summer Spotlight - What's Your Story? | 01:04:11 | |
Welcome to season 10 of Being Known Podcast. This season we are taking a look back at where we have come over the last couple of years, to determine where we are headed in the future, and as a way to continue bringing you the best content for how to live a life being fully known.
Each week we are spotlighting one episode from a previous season (the best of the best, so to speak). This is just a sample of what that entire season was all about. We hope you have, or will, take the time to listen to all the episodes again.
This week we are focusing on season 2 - The Domains of the Brain. Storytellers. That’s what we are, and we can’t get away from it. But just how truly do we tell them? It turns out that, just as important as the story you tell, is how you tell it. And that makes all the difference. Join us as we explore the narrative domain of integration, and discover the interpersonal neurobiology of attachment. We can assure you: After you’ve listened in, you’ll have quite a story to tell.
Episode Links and References
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| 22 Mar 2023 | S6E8: The Wisdom of Many Advisers | 00:46:33 | |
Welcome to season 6 episode 8 of Being Known Podcast. This season we are looking at The Beauty of Wisdom.
We live in a world that has trained us to believe that we each live in our own personal silo. But this flies in the face of what neuroscience tells us about the interconnectivity of our minds. So much of our anxiety—and our lack of wisdom—stems from our trying to live against the current of how God has created our minds to function. We think we need to be able to live life on our own, and we seek knowledge so that we can do just that. But wisdom tells us that we were not made for silos, we were made for each other.
Curt and Pepper have learned just how true this is, and invite you to join us as we explore the wisdom of having many advisers by whom we are deeply known.
. . . . Episode Links and References
. . . . . Special Thanks for our Season Sponsor - Hope Heals: Hope Heals Camp is a truly unique offering in the world. No other space in existence today invites families experiencing disabilities – of any age, with any diagnosis, from any place – to enjoy multi-day respite, a rich network of relationships, and access to world class Christ-centered resources, all free of charge.
The week-long camp experience empowers suffering people to embrace their “good/hard” stories by choosing to see the God-given purpose in their pain. And this season we are working to help five campers get to camp FREE. Learn more about partnering with Hope Heals Camp and donate HERE.
Learn more about our passion for Hope Heals with this short video.
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| 21 Sep 2022 | S5E9: Redeeming Shame in Our Nurturing Communities | 00:50:55 | |
Welcome to season 5 episode 9 where this season we are bringing you personal stories and deep teaching into Curt’s book, The Soul of Shame. This week we are looking at chapter 8, “Redeeming Shame in Our Nurturing Communities”.
Shame doesn’t just appear out of nowhere. Shame begins in the earliest communities in which we dwell. It is to those communities we now turn to see how shame emerges there – but also what we can to retell the stories of those communities: our families, our churches, and schools.
Listen in as we get to the bottom of the places where our stories begin, and begin to reimagine how God can transform them on the way to doing the same for the larger communities in which we live.
. . . . . Thank you to our sponsors
. . . . . Episode Links and References
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| 26 Jul 2023 | S7E7: End of Season Q&A | 00:35:59 | |
Thank you for joining us this season to learn about confessional communities. In this final season episode, Curt, Pepper and Amy answer listener questions to draw you closer to finding and creating your own community.
. . . . Episode Links and References
. . . . . Special Thanks for our Season Sponsor - Compassion International The world is currently facing a devastating global food crisis caused from numerous variables: the war in Ukraine, fertilizer shortages, effects of COVID-19, and extreme weather, just to name a few. Couple any of these with the fact that food prices are climbing, and hunger and malnutrition in vulnerable children intensify.
During this season of Being Known Podcast you can support Compassion International with a one time gift of $50 and you'll feed a family of five for a month. We are all part of a global community and hope you will consider giving.
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| 07 Apr 2021 | S1E8: Neuroplasticity | 01:05:44 | |
Learn what it means for our minds to be renewed. Literally. And how our brains can change along the way. Best of all, discover that we don’t have to be left with the stories we have told ourselves. | |||
| 09 Mar 2022 | S4E2 Definitions: Encountering Trauma | 00:45:16 | |
Welcome to Season 4 of Being Known Podcast where we are looking at trauma through the lens of hope and not fear.
This week, Curt and Pepper look at the questions:
This much we know: although many of us are able to avoid awareness of trauma, no one avoids it altogether. It touches us as individuals and as systems, including those places we seek and expect to find refuge from it, such as our families and churches. Eventually, it extends to entire cultures where with our violence we resort to systematic cultural brutality and the support of building an empire. Fortunately for us, the Bible is no stranger to trauma, and neither is Jesus. In fact, it is his example to which we will turn over and over to discover what it means to turn our attention toward, rather than away from trauma, for it not only to be healed, but for us to be recommissioned to create beauty in its very midst. This episode lays the groundwork for knowing not just what trauma is, but what it begins to look like when we move from being its victims to becoming its victors.
Links and References:
We invite you to stay connected with us via social media and YouTube:
As always, we invite you to subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode and welcome your reviews on Apple Podcasts.
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| 28 Sep 2022 | S5E10: Renewing Vocational Creativity | 00:48:19 | |
Welcome to season 5 episode 10 where this season we are bringing you personal stories and deep teaching into Curt’s book, The Soul of Shame. This week we are looking at chapter 9, “Renewing Vocational Creativity”.
Human beings were made in God’s image in order that we might create and curate beauty and goodness in the world, not least through all of our acts of work, whether we are paid for it or not. But evil finds any and all of that creativity to be anathema.
No wonder then, that evil has no intention of using shame merely to make us feel bad. Mostly, it wields it to devour the beauty and goodness that God has had in mind for us to co-create with him from before the foundation of the world.
This week we discover how the healing of shame was, in God’s mind, never just about making us feel better about ourselves, but rather about our joining him in the new creation that is here and is surely coming.
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Thank you to our sponsors Hon’s Honey - Hon's Honey is a social enterprise dedicated to giving dignity and purpose to women survivors of trauma. They believe in healing, second chances and new chapters, and so do we. Use code BEINGKNOWN to receive 20% off your order. Hope Heals - Hope Heals Camp is a truly unique offering in the world. No other space in existence today invites families experiencing disabilities – of any age, with any diagnosis, from any place – to enjoy multi-day respite, a rich network of relationships, and access to world class Christ-centered resources, all free of charge.
The week-long camp experience empowers suffering people to embrace their “good/hard” stories by choosing to see the God-given purpose in their pain.
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Episode Links and References
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Stay connected:
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| 06 Apr 2022 | S4E6 Trauma and Shame: Self-Perpetuation | 00:45:31 | |
Welcome to Season 4 of Being Known Podcast where we are looking at trauma through the lens of hope and not fear.
This week we connect trauma and shame.
Of all the things trauma can do, its capacity for self-perpetuation is unmatched. And at the core of that experience is our neurophysiological encounter with shame. Be it the way we sense the world, or the story we tell about what we are sensing, evil will want to use shame to strengthen the experience of isolation that we feel in response to traumatic events.
But God has no intention of leaving us in shame’s wake, and with the coming of Jesus – not least his own experience of trauma and the shame it carried – we have a model for how shame can be addressed as our trauma is healed.
Listen as we discover how connection dispels shame, making it possible for us to imagine and live into life that is beyond our wounds.
Links and References
Scripture References
You can now sign up to have access to Being Known Podcast applications, the weekly exercise that connects what you are learning to your life in a practical way. Scroll to the bottom of the page to sign up (not the pop-up).
As always, we invite you to stay connected with us via social media and YouTube: YouTube (where we post the unedited videos of each episodes AND the post show conversations.)
And of course, we invite you to subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode and welcome your reviews on Apple Podcasts. | |||
| 07 Dec 2021 | S3E8: Gaze | 00:38:34 | |
It requires little effort to gaze upon a brilliant sunset. But what about our trauma? What about the parts of us that we hate the most? Who wants even to glance at that, let alone gaze upon it?
But as we will see (no pun intended), it is when we take the time, by dwelling, to look upon our wounds in the presence of others—and do so long enough to fully take them in—that we begin to experience what new creation not only looks like, but what it feels like in our bodies as our souls are renewed.
This episode is further discussion on chapter 8 of The Soul of Desire by Curt Thompson, MD.
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| 05 Apr 2023 | S6E10: End of Season Q&A | 00:36:58 | |
We've come to the end of our season on the Beauty of Wisdom. In this end of season episode we review our conversations, answer your questions, and pull it all together.
. . . . . Thank you to our season sponsor - Hope Heals Hope Heals - Hope Heals Camp is a truly unique offering in the world. No other space in existence today invites families experiencing disabilities – of any age, with any diagnosis, from any place – to enjoy multi-day respite, a rich network of relationships, and access to world class Christ-centered resources, all free of charge. . . . . .
Episode Links and References
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Stay connected:
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| 14 Jun 2023 | S7E2: Confessional Communities: A Community of Formation | 00:32:46 | |
Welcome to season 7 of Being Known Podcast were we are continually looking at what it means to be truly known. This season we are exploring confessional communities.
We are continually being formed by something. The question is always, BY WHAT? If we want to become more like Jesus, there is no question that this does not happen magically. It takes work—the hard work of submitting to those formational realities that are most likely to do that.
Confessional communities have the potential to form us into truer versions of ourselves, precisely because we are not doing it alone, but in the context of a community whose center is Jesus that is empowered by the work of the Spirit—who is taking advantage of our willingness to vulnerably open our lives to each other.
Pepper and Curt explore what it means to be formed into our best versions of Jesus—and how the confessional community enables that to take place.
. . . . Episode Links and References
. . . . . Special Thanks for our Season Sponsor - Compassion International The world is currently facing a devastating global food crisis caused from numerous variables: the war in Ukraine, fertilizer shortages, effects of COVID-19, and extreme weather, just to name a few. Couple any of these with the fact that food prices are climbing, and hunger and malnutrition in vulnerable children intensify.
During this season of Being Known Podcast you can support Compassion International with a one time gift of $50 and you'll feed a family of five for a month. We are all part of a global community and hope you will consider giving.
. . . . . Stay connected:
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| 15 Feb 2023 | S6E3: The Wisdom of the Body: Beginning at the Beginning | 00:48:07 | |
Welcome to season 6 episode 3 of Being Known Podcast. This season we are looking at The Beauty of Wisdom.
God creates mankind in a particular sequence, as Genesis tells us. He begins with mud, into which he breathes his breath. And so we too, in order to become people of wisdom, people who are deeply known, must be present first to our bodies.
What are they telling us? And how do we then make sense of what we are sensing? How do we act with our bodies in such a way that wisdom is acquired?
We discover even more when we read how Paul considers the body of Jesus to be a collection of all of his followers together. This is the work of the vertical domain of integration. Pepper and Curt begin at the beginning of being present to what wisdom has to teach us.
. . . . . Episode Links and References
. . . . . Special Thanks for our Season Sponsor - Hope Heals: Hope Heals Camp is a truly unique offering in the world. No other space in existence today invites families experiencing disabilities – of any age, with any diagnosis, from any place – to enjoy multi-day respite, a rich network of relationships, and access to world class Christ-centered resources, all free of charge.
The week-long camp experience empowers suffering people to embrace their “good/hard” stories by choosing to see the God-given purpose in their pain. And this season we are working to help five campers get to camp FREE. Learn more about partnering with Hope Heals Camp and donate HERE.
Learn more about our passion for Hope Heals with this short video.
. . . . . Stay connected:
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| 02 Nov 2021 | S3E3: Beauty: Becoming What We Create | 00:43:38 | |
It’s one thing to consider that beauty is what we might discover, or something we long to create. But what happens when we clue in to the fact that there’s even more?
What happens when we are made aware that beauty isn’t just something we want to create—it’s something we were destined from the beginning to become? For as it turns out, to bear and restore God’s image necessarily includes bearing God’s beauty. Who knew that when God looks upon us, beauty is what he sees?
Join Curt and Pepper they explore how our imaginations are reborn and our minds are renewed when we consider the destiny for which we were truly made.
This episode is further discussion on chapter 3 of The Soul of Desire by Curt Thompson, MD. | |||
| 05 Oct 2022 | S5E11: End of Season Q&A | 00:41:22 | |
We've come to the end of our season where we talked in-depth with personal stories as it related to Curt's book, The Soul of Shame.
In this end of season episode we review our conversations, answer your questions, and pull it all together. We won’t be ashamed if we don’t answer all your questions, though we know we wish we could.
. . . . .
Thank you to our sponsors Hon’s Honey - Hon's Honey is a social enterprise dedicated to giving dignity and purpose to women survivors of trauma. They believe in healing, second chances and new chapters, and so do we. Use code BEINGKNOWN to receive 20% off your order. Hope Heals - Hope Heals Camp is a truly unique offering in the world. No other space in existence today invites families experiencing disabilities – of any age, with any diagnosis, from any place – to enjoy multi-day respite, a rich network of relationships, and access to world class Christ-centered resources, all free of charge.
. . . . .
Episode Links and References
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Stay connected:
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| 04 May 2022 | S4E10 Healing Trauma: The Power of Presence | 00:52:02 | |
Welcome to Season 4 of Being Known Podcast where we are looking at trauma through the lens of hope and not fear. This week we talk on how we can begin to heal from trauma.
If there is anything we know about trauma, it’s that it depends on disintegration and isolation to do its dirty work. And if there’s anything we know about its healing, it’s that the presence of others is the beginning of integration, which leads to the creation of beauty and goodness in the face of painfully broken stories.
But it’s tricky: for the very thing we need the most – the presence of loving relationships – is often the context in which our traumas are initially taking place.
This week we talk about how we can begin to practice the presence of God and of others – the presence that we need despite our error that it is something we won’t be able to survive.
Links and References
Scripture References
Sign up to access the Being Known Podcast applications, the weekly exercises that connect what you are learning to your life in a practical way. Scroll to the bottom of the page to sign up (not the pop-up).
As always, we invite you to stay connected with us via social media and YouTube: YouTube (where we post the unedited videos of each episode AND the post show conversations.)
Please subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode and we always welcome your reviews on Apple Podcasts. | |||
| 08 May 2024 | S9E7: Perseverance | 00:38:06 | |
Welcome to Being Known Podcast. This season we are discussing Curt's latest book, The Deepest Place as we carefully cover each chapter to deepen your understanding of suffering and the formation of hope.
Who hasn’t felt like giving up when the going got, not only tough, but tough for a really long time. We love the idea of what perseverance can ultimately lead to; we would often rather arrive at what we want without having to persevere. Because to be sure: perseverance is not easy. But as we have said on this podcast before, the brain can do a lot of really hard things for a long time, as long as it doesn’t have to do it by itself.
Tune in to hear Pepper persevere in having to be in conversation with Curt yet one more time, and discover again what it means to SNAG the brain while we form durable hope in the process.
. . . . Episode Links and References
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| 12 Feb 2025 | S11E4: Ruptures and Repairs: The Neurobiology of Resilience and Relational Growth | 00:43:35 | |
Growth is often born from disruption, and in this episode, we explore how ruptures—whether in relationships, routines, or neural pathways—create opportunities for expansion and integration. We examine the physiological parallels of growth, from bone density to neuroplasticity, and dive deep into the critical role of repair in relationships.
Drawing on longitudinal studies of shy children and the biblical perspective on stress, we illustrate how intentional engagement and attunement pave the way for personal and communal transformation. Curt and Pepper offer person examples to illustrate how the stress of transition, from toddler tantrums to adolescent resistance, can be a gateway to deeper resilience and connection.
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| 11 Oct 2023 | S8E1: In the Path of Oncoming Beauty | 00:44:46 | |
In the path of oncoming beauty. Sure, we have talked about this notion over many seasons of The Being Known Podcast. But of what practical value is it?
Join Pepper and Curt as they answer with a resounding, “No!” Instead, journey with them into the deeper recesses of what it means, exactly, to place yourself in the path of oncoming beauty, and discover how God’s resounding “Yes!” to beauty begins where we can’t see it, and ends with the new creation that is surely coming.
. . . . Episode Links and References
. . . . . Special Thanks for our Season Sponsor - Compassion International The world is currently facing a devastating global food crisis caused from numerous variables: the war in Ukraine, fertilizer shortages, effects of COVID-19, and extreme weather, just to name a few. Couple any of these with the fact that food prices are climbing, and hunger and malnutrition in vulnerable children intensify.
During this Being Known Podcast season, we invite you to join us in sponsoring a child with Compassion International. Just $43 a month provides a sponsored child with all their basic needs and the hope for a brighter future.
. . . . . Stay connected:
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| 11 May 2022 | S4E11 Healing Trauma: The Wholeness of Integration | 00:49:12 | |
Welcome to Season 4 of Being Known Podcast where we are looking at trauma through the lens of hope and not fear. This week we talk on how we can begin to heal from trauma with a look at the wholeness of integration.
We were made to create beauty and goodness in the world. But evil has other plans, and wields trauma as a way to devour us before that goodness and beauty can be realized.
But - God had other plans beyond those of evil – plans that evil never saw coming, and still doesn’t. For indeed, God’s intention is not to ignore trauma, but wade right into it and right up to it, allowing himself to be subjected to its worst possible form. And so, despite the traumatic execution by crucifixion of a prisoner from a backwater village of a now non-existent ancient empire on a non-descript Friday – we call that Friday Good because God has come not merely to be with us in our trauma, but to transform them, bringing us to wholeness, to beauty and goodness, in ways we could never imagine.
Join us as we, together, imagine Jesus coming to find us in the bomb craters that make up the story of our lives – and as we then tell a new story of beauty and goodness that will transform our minds, and change our brains along the way.
Links, References and Resources
Scripture References
Sign up to access the Being Known Podcast applications, the weekly exercises that connect what you are learning to your life in a practical way. Scroll to the bottom of the page to sign up (not the pop-up).
As always, we invite you to stay connected with us via social media and YouTube: YouTube (where we post the unedited videos of each episode AND the post show conversations.)
Please subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode and we always welcome your reviews on Apple Podcasts.
| |||
| 17 Aug 2022 | S5E4: Joy, Shame and the Brain | 00:44:51 | |
Welcome to season 5 episode 4 where this season we are bringing you personal stories and deep teaching into Curt’s book, The Soul of Shame. This week we are looking at chapter 3, “Joy, Shame and the Brain”.
We were made for joy. The bible and our greatest literature attest to this. But not only this: research in attachment reflects that joyful human relationships are the key to our well-being. No wonder, then, that shame targets our experience of joy as its first priority in disintegrating us, disconnecting us from ourselves and each other. This week we examine why joy is so important to practice—yep, you read that right: practice—and how shame will do anything it can to rob us of as much of it as it can.
. . . . . Episode Links and References
. . . . . Thank you to our sponsor! Hon’s Honey: Hon's Honey is a social enterprise dedicated to giving dignity and purpose to women survivors of trauma. They believe in healing, second chances and new chapters, and so do we. Use code BEINGKNOWN to receive 20% off your order. . . . . . Stay connected:
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| 01 Mar 2023 | S6E5: Wisdom of the Ages: Remembering our Future | 00:44:36 | |
Welcome to season 6 episode 5 of Being Known Podcast. This season we are looking at The Beauty of Wisdom.
The memory domain of integration is not only about the past, it’s about the future. The future we are remembering. And indeed, becoming wise has everything to do with how you make sense of your past, something you are doing every moment of your life, even if you are not aware of it.
For if we are to be wise as we approach our future, we must be aware of how our past is shaping us as much as any new information we accumulate along the way. Curt and Pepper explore how our own memory—and the memory of those who have gone before us—enable us to be more deeply known, and people of greater wisdom as a result.
. . . . . Episode Links and References
. . . . . Special Thanks for our Season Sponsor - Hope Heals: Hope Heals Camp is a truly unique offering in the world. No other space in existence today invites families experiencing disabilities – of any age, with any diagnosis, from any place – to enjoy multi-day respite, a rich network of relationships, and access to world class Christ-centered resources, all free of charge.
The week-long camp experience empowers suffering people to embrace their “good/hard” stories by choosing to see the God-given purpose in their pain. And this season we are working to help five campers get to camp FREE. Learn more about partnering with Hope Heals Camp and donate HERE.
Learn more about our passion for Hope Heals with this short video.
. . . . . Stay connected:
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| 12 Jul 2023 | S7E5.2: Confessional Communities: Learning to Love Doing the Work | 00:27:48 | |
Welcome to season 7 of Being Known Podcast were we are continually looking at what it means to be truly known. This season we are exploring confessional communities.
This week we are continuing the conversation we started last week to "love doing the work"
Over the course of time that a confessional community gathers, many things will be learned, including the process of growing in your awareness of what the process is actually doing to provide the opportunity for growth that you are experiencing. Pepper and Curt talk about that process of what happens in a confessional community that actually fosters the integration and wholeness that we so long to experience, and the beauty and goodness that we so long to become.
. . . . Episode Links and References
. . . . . Special Thanks for our Season Sponsor - Compassion International The world is currently facing a devastating global food crisis caused from numerous variables: the war in Ukraine, fertilizer shortages, effects of COVID-19, and extreme weather, just to name a few. Couple any of these with the fact that food prices are climbing, and hunger and malnutrition in vulnerable children intensify.
During this season of Being Known Podcast you can support Compassion International with a one time gift of $50 and you'll feed a family of five for a month. We are all part of a global community and hope you will consider giving.
. . . . . Stay connected:
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| 22 Jan 2025 | S11E1: Rupture and Repair: Rediscovering Connection and Hope | 00:48:01 | |
In this powerful live episode of the Being Known Podcast, Dr. Curt Thompson, Amy Cella, and Pepper Sweeney dive into the theme of "rupture and repair." This entire season we are exploring how brokenness impacts our relationships, imagination, and sense of self. Through stories, neuroscience, and biblical reflections, we'll discuss how repairing even small ruptures can lead to greater resilience, beauty, and connection. Join the conversation on naming our longings, addressing unresolved pain, and embracing the transformative work of healing in community. This episode kicks off a season dedicated to helping us imagine—and incarnate—a future of hope and wholeness.
. . . . . Stay connected:
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| 03 Apr 2024 | S9E2: Just Faith | 00:33:10 | |
Welcome to Being Known Podcast. This season we are discussing Curt's latest book, The Deepest Place as we carefully cover each chapter to deepen your understanding of suffering and the formation of hope.
If you pick up a book on suffering, you might hope it will tell you how you can learn to suffer less, or even not at all. That’s not what we’re doing here. Instead, we will discover that before we even get to suffering, we must, as Christians, begin long before that, just as Paul does in Romans 5. Who knew that to talk about suffering, it is first really important for us to get a handle on how our attachment to Jesus—through our attachment to the members of his Body and the Spirit?
In this episode you are invited to imagine how Paul’s words of faith and justification reflect our real-life attachment processes, and how that lays the foundation for our forming hope in the presence of suffering.
. . . . Episode Links and References
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| 10 Aug 2021 | S2E9: It’s Only a Matter of Time | 00:49:13 | |
We humans, as far as we can tell, are the only creatures to occupy a temporal domain of mental activity — the perceived awareness of our past and our future, and most importantly, that we will die. How does our awareness of time shape our mind, for good or for ill, and how does that awareness potentially prime us to be agents of beauty and goodness on the earth?
Join Pepper Sweeney and Curt Thompson, MD as we explore the notion of time — and we try not to lose track of it in the process. | |||
| 30 Jul 2021 | S2E7: Your Mind’s State of Affairs | 00:48:36 | |
Who knew that what state of mind you’re in really does, scientifically, refer to more than New York.
Join us as we discover the state domain of integration, and learn that it’s not only important to be aware of which state we’re in, but why so much of our troubles — and the potential for beauty and goodness — is to be found in moving from one state to another. And we don’t mean moving to Pennsylvania. | |||
| 21 Jul 2021 | S2E6: What’s Your Story? | 01:00:37 | |
Storytellers. That’s what we are, and we can’t get away from it. But just how truly do we tell them?
It turns out that, just as important as the story you tell, is how you tell it. And that makes all the difference.
Join us as we explore the narrative domain of integration, and discover the interpersonal neurobiology of attachment. We can assure you: After you’ve listened in, you’ll have quite a story to tell. | |||
| 14 Dec 2021 | S3E9: Inquire | 00:53:30 | |
First, we dwell. Then we gaze. But eventually, these states of mind lead to our inquiring, asking questions with curiosity and without condemnation.
We live in a world that rarely creates space for such inquiries. But we will see that the questions we explore in this episode are the ones that God has already asked of us—and will continue to ask as he enables us to collaborate with him in creating and becoming the beauty and goodness that he has imagined before the foundation of the world.
This episode is further discussion on chapter 9 of The Soul of Desire by Curt Thompson, MD. | |||
| 24 Aug 2021 | S2E11: That’s a Wrap | 00:59:44 | |
Join Pepper and Curt as we recapitulate Season 2 of the Being Known Podcast. And, no, “recapitulate” isn’t one of the domains of integration. But if we come up with another one, that’s what we’ll name it. The domain of recapitulation. | |||
| 05 Mar 2025 | S11E7: From Creation to Collapse: Healing Toxic Ruptures Before They Devour You | 00:40:27 | |
Toxic ruptures don’t just happen in a single moment of conflict—they are built over time through miscommunication, emotional wounds, and the silent grip of shame. Whether it’s an argument that lingers long after words have been spoken, a past hurt that keeps replaying in our minds, or a pattern of avoidance that slowly erodes trust, these ruptures are reinforced by both our interactions and our inner world.
In this episode, we dive deep into how toxic ruptures are created, not just between people, but within our own brains. We’ll explore the neuroscience behind why conflict feels overwhelming, how our nervous system’s response can make repair more difficult, and why shame keeps us stuck in cycles of blame, avoidance, or emotional withdrawal. You’ll learn how unprocessed shame distorts our perception of others, fuels resentment, and makes us more likely to repeat the same destructive patterns in relationships.
Most importantly, we’ll uncover practical strategies to stop toxic ruptures before they spiral out of control. From rewiring our emotional responses and breaking free from rumination to approaching difficult conversations with presence and repair, this episode will help you shift from unconscious creation to intentional healing. If you’ve ever felt trapped in recurring conflict or emotional disconnection, this is your guide to understanding the deeper layers of toxic ruptures—and finally learning how to heal them.
* * * Episode Links and References
. . . . . Stay connected:
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| 24 Aug 2022 | S5E5: The Story of Shame You Are Living | 00:44:18 | |
Welcome to season 5 episode 5 where this season we are bringing you personal stories and deep teaching into Curt’s book, The Soul of Shame. This week we are looking at chapter 4, “The Story of Shame You Are Living”.
We’re all storytellers. Unlike any other living creature, humans are the only animals that tell stories in the way we do.
It is in those stories that our shame takes up residence, with all of the mechanics we have learned about so far, and begins to tell a story that leads to our destruction. Hence, it’s not enough to know about the mechanics of how shame works. We also need to know where in our stories shame first inserted itself.
SO… which story does each of us believe we are living? The answers we discover may surprise you, and will also begin to pave the way toward freedom from the straitjacket in which shame has bound us.
. . . . . Episode Links and References
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| 16 Mar 2021 | S1E5: Anthropology and Plausibility Structures | 00:41:48 | |
What does it mean to be human, and who decides the answer to that question? Listen to find out why those questions are so important, and how “…standing at the crossroads and asking for the ancient paths — where the good way lies…” can help us answer them — even if there are a lot of syllables in this episode’s title. | |||
| 22 Jun 2021 | S2E2: Are You Paying Attention? | 00:39:45 | |
Awake. Alert. Attuned.
Join Pepper Sweeney and Curt Thompson, MD as they start at the beginning, exploring the domain of consciousness, and discovering why paying attention to what you’re paying attention to matters so much. Because if you don’t begin with consciousness, there won’t be as much to your ending as you would like. | |||
| 10 Mar 2021 | S1E4: Story | 00:38:41 | |
One thing that makes us uniquely human is that we are storytellers. But in what story do you believe you are living? Believe us, how you answer that question changes everything. | |||
| 19 Feb 2025 | S11E5: The Foundation of Resilience: How Small Disruptions Build Stronger Connections | 00:26:45 | |
Human connection is at the core of our well-being, but what happens in our brains when we bond, experience conflict, or work to repair a relationship? In this episode, Curt and Pepper unpack the fascinating neuroscience behind our need for connection, explaining how our brains are wired for relationships and why moments of rupture—whether small misunderstandings or significant emotional breaks—can feel so distressing.
By exploring the science of attachment, listeners will learn how early childhood experiences shape our ability to trust, communicate, and reconnect after conflict. Dr. Thompson dives into how relationships influence brain development, how unresolved ruptures can lead to long-term emotional patterns, and why the process of repair is essential for strengthening bonds. Whether in romantic relationships, friendships, or family dynamics, understanding this rhythm of disconnection and reconnection can help us navigate conflict with greater confidence, foster deeper emotional intimacy, and build lasting resilience.
Episode Links and References
. . . . . Stay connected:
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| 03 Aug 2022 | S5E2: Our Problem with Shame | 00:45:16 | |
Welcome to season 5 episode 2 where this season we are bringing you personal stories and deep teaching into Curt’s book, The Soul of Shame. This week we are looking at chapter 1, Our Problem with Shame.
It’s not enough to know what shame IS. We also have to know how and where it works. Our problem with shame is not just a sensation in which we feel bad. It’s about all the ways that it hijacks our mind, relationships, and mostly, the story in which we believe we’re living.
. . . . .
Thank you to our sponsor! Hon’s Honey: Hon's Honey is a social enterprise dedicated to giving dignity and purpose to women survivors of trauma. They believe in healing, second chances and new chapters, and so do we. Use code BEINGKNOWN to receive 20% off your order.
. . . . . Stay connected:
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| 28 Feb 2021 | S1E3: Vulnerability | 00:49:58 | |
To be vulnerable is not first something we choose. It is something we are. In this episode, we explore how our vulnerability opens the door for hope, healing and creativity. | |||
| 27 Jul 2022 | S5E1: The Story That Shame is Trying to Tell | 00:32:24 | |
Welcome to season 5 episode 1 where this season we are bringing you personal stories and deep teaching into Curt’s book, The Soul of Shame. This week we are looking at the introduction section, The Story That Shame is Trying to Tell.
What is it about shame? Why is it that it just doesn’t seem to go away?
Moreover, what makes it so destructive? Is it its mechanics? Or is it because it gets so intimately tangled up in our stories? Not only that, but is shame always bad for us? To top it off, how does evil figure into the way shame becomes so much sand in the gears of our relationships, in both small moments and even in the public arena?
Together we’ll discover that the more we know about this topic—and how evil wants to use it to devour us—the more able we will be to overcome evil with goodness and beauty.
Episode Links and References
Sign up to access the Being Known Podcast applications, the weekly exercises that connect what you are learning to your life in a practical way.
As always, we invite you to stay connected with us via social media and YouTube: YouTube (where we post the unedited videos of each episode AND the post show conversations.)
Please subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode and we always welcome your reviews on Apple Podcasts. | |||
| 01 May 2024 | S9E6: Suffering: The Story of the Present Age | 00:31:06 | |
Welcome to Being Known Podcast. This season we are discussing Curt's latest book, The Deepest Place as we carefully cover each chapter to deepen your understanding of suffering and the formation of hope.
Finally, we’re here. We’ve reached the topic that this series is about. It’s just that, now that we’ve arrived, we don’t want to be here. Nobody wants to suffer. We want less of it, or none of it at all, not just some tired old story of how to grin and bear it.
The good news is that, there are some things we can learn about suffering from what we know of the brain and relationships, things that, once we are aware of them, begin to shed even brighter light on the hope that we are durably forming on our journey through this part of Paul’s letter.
This week we talk about why we suffer, and how we can begin to reframe it in our first steps toward suffering differently.
. . . . Episode Links and References
. . . . . Stay connected:
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| 29 Mar 2023 | S6E9: Eternity in Their Hearts | 00:45:58 | |
Welcome to season 6 episode 9 of Being Known Podcast. This season we are looking at The Beauty of Wisdom.
Shame doesn’t just appear out of nowhere. Shame begins in the earliest communities in which we dwell. It is to those communities we now turn to see how shame emerges there—but also what we can do to retell the stories of those communities: our families, our churches and schools. Listen in as we get to the bottom of the places where our stories begin, and begin to reimagine how God can transform them on the way to doing the same for the larger communities in which we live.
. . . . Episode Links and References
. . . . . Special Thanks for our Season Sponsor - Hope Heals: Hope Heals Camp is a truly unique offering in the world. No other space in existence today invites families experiencing disabilities – of any age, with any diagnosis, from any place – to enjoy multi-day respite, a rich network of relationships, and access to world class Christ-centered resources, all free of charge.
The week-long camp experience empowers suffering people to embrace their “good/hard” stories by choosing to see the God-given purpose in their pain. And this season we are working to help five campers get to camp FREE. Learn more about partnering with Hope Heals Camp and donate HERE.
Learn more about our passion for Hope Heals with this short video.
. . . . . Stay connected:
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| 20 Apr 2022 | S4E8 Family and Generational Trauma | 00:45:57 | |
Welcome to Season 4 of Being Known Podcast where we are looking at trauma through the lens of hope and not fear. This week we are talking families!
Despite our fierce commitment to individualism, trauma is far more likely to follow the way the mind has actually been made, rather than the way we have for the last several hundred years tried to pretend that it works. We would like to think that the trauma that we experience or perpetrate will only have effects on us or the ones upon whom we inflict it.
But that would not be true to the way the brain works. As we will discover, what happens in one generation doesn’t necessarily stay in that generation. Rather, it can have the tendency to travel down ancestral lines, leaving others to pay the price for events that occurred long before they were even born.
Join Pepper and Curt as we discover the steam that the train of trauma can gather over the course of generations—and what we can begin to do to stop it in its tracks.
Links and References
Scripture References
Sign up to access the Being Known Podcast applications, the weekly exercises that connect what you are learning to your life in a practical way. Scroll to the bottom of the page to sign up (not the pop-up).
As always, we invite you to stay connected with us via social media and YouTube: YouTube (where we post the unedited videos of each episodes AND the post show conversations.)
Please subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode and we always welcome your reviews on Apple Podcasts. | |||
| 21 Aug 2024 | S10E7: Summer Spotlight - Forming Outposts of Beauty and Goodness | 00:29:38 | |
Welcome to season 10 of Being Known Podcast. This season we are taking a look back at where we have come over the last couple of years, to determine where we are headed in the future, and as a way to continue bringing you the best content for how to live a life being fully known.
Each week we are spotlighting one episode from a previous season (the best of the best, so to speak). This is just a sample of what that entire season was all about. We hope you have, or will, take the time to listen to all the episodes again.
This week we are focusing on season 7 - Confessional Communities. We have shared a great deal about confessional communities over the last several seasons on Being Known Podcast. We thought we would take this opportunity to dive in and take a closer look at their purpose and how they operate. Although the best way to discover these things is to actually participate in a confessional community, however, we hope this season gets you a little closer to what it means—and what it takes—to be part of one.
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| 23 Mar 2021 | S1E6: The Mind | 00:38:46 | |
What is the mind? And if we answer that, what does a flourishing mind look like? And if we answer that, what does it mean to love God with all of it? | |||
| 21 Dec 2021 | S3E10: Practicing For Heaven: A People of Beauty | 00:28:51 | |
What happens when we faithfully practice dwelling, gazing and inquiring within the confessional community—within the house of the Lord? As it turns out, nothing short of the emergence of beauty and goodness within the community itself, the very place where the hard work of hope is done.
Goodness and beauty that then spills out into every other domain of life that the members of the community occupy. Furthermore, the very hard work that happens in the community—unlike Las Vegas—does not stay in the community, but extends through the lives of the participants to become the artistry of new creation wherever their footfalls land, be be that in their family, their place and form of occupation, their friendships and their churches.
Join Pepper and Curt to find out what glimpsing into heaven might be like—God’s heaven that is already here and is surely coming.
This episode is further discussion on chapter 10 of The Soul of Desire by Curt Thompson, MD. | |||
| 09 Apr 2025 | S11E12: From Eden to the Church: Healing Rupture in Faith Communities | 00:41:59 | |
In this episode, we trace the journey of repair from the biblical story of Eden to the present-day church. We begin by looking at the rupture in Eden, the first human failure, which sets the stage for the entire narrative of repair in the Bible. The church, we argue, serves as the modern-day extension of God's original plan for renewal, where heaven and earth collide, and where God's work of restoration continues. Yet, this place of healing is also where significant ruptures can occur, often leaving members hurt and disillusioned.
The conversation highlights the delicate balance between idealism and realism when it comes to the church's role in repairing relational fractures. The church, like any human system, is not immune to dysfunction, but it is also the place where God's mission of restoration is most powerfully present. We discuss how leaders in the church must navigate the complexities of repair, creating spaces of safety and vulnerability while also confronting their own wounds. This episode offers listeners a deeper understanding of how spiritual growth and relational healing are inextricably linked, both for individuals and the community as a whole.
* * * Episode Links and References
Artistic Offerings to Reflect On
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| 27 Dec 2021 | S3E11: Season 3 Wrap | 00:27:47 | |
Curt and Pepper spend time spotlighting each episode of Being Known Podcast season 3 which is based on Curt's book, The Soul of Desire.
Video version available on our YouTube channel!
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| 09 Nov 2021 | S3E4: Trauma and Shame: People of Grief | 00:44:47 | |
It takes very little to see that if longing and beauty go hand in hand, then trauma and shame are more than willing to make sure that none of that ever lasts, and in some cases makes sure no handshake ever happens. For truly, as sure as we are people of desire, we are people of grief.
From our brains to the rest of our bodies, from our inner lives to our relational realities, our grief so fills our minds that we hardly notice that so much of life’s work consists of managing our grief, looking for trouble so we can head it off before it finds us. Given the brokenness and pain that seem so ubiquitous, no wonder we mostly see ourselves as problems to solve rather than beauty waiting to be revealed.
Join Pepper and Curt as we unflinchingly name our grief—without forgetting that we were made for so much more.
This episode is further discussion on chapter 4 of The Soul of Desire by Curt Thompson, MD. | |||
| 06 Jul 2021 | S2E4: You’re Right. You’re Left. And In That Order. | 00:42:07 | |
Who’s in charge here? As it turns out, the way the right and left hemispheres of the brain work says a lot about how we answer that question. Be assured, that’ a question we need to answer — whether we know it or not.
Listen in as Pepper and Curt introduce the horizontal domain of the mind, and why, as it turns out, it really is important for the right hand to know what the left hand is doing. | |||
| 01 Mar 2022 | S4E1 Trauma: Creating Beauty in the Bomb Craters of our Lives | 00:41:05 | |
Welcome to Season 4 of Being Known Podcast where we are looking at trauma through the lens of hope and not fear. Description: There are few places you go these days without being made aware that there is a thing called trauma. It has begun to take up residence in the collective social consciousness—and it’s really of little surprise that it has. From the pandemic to racial injustice to political rancor to sexual abuse in what we have assumed to be trustworthy institutions to state-sponsored violence—we are more aware of it than ever. But awareness alone isn’t enough to stop it, as is patently obvious. In this season, we want to offer hope to our listeners. Hope for those who know what trauma is up close and personal, as well as for those who may have little to no idea that they have encountered it, let alone that others have. And that hope is ultimately to be found in Jesus, who appears to have made it his mission to redeem trauma wherever he finds it. Part of that redemptive process includes our telling the story of trauma as truly as we can—so that evil doesn’t get to have the last word. Each episode in this season will relate to an area of trauma, including:
Links and References:
We invite you to stay connected with us via social media and YouTube: YouTube (where we post the unedited videos of each episodes)
As always, we invite you to subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode and welcome your reviews on Apple Podcasts. | |||