Spiritual Insights for Challenging Times

What if becoming more fully yourself isn’t about fixing or improving anything, but remembering who you truly are?

In this episode, Rev. Ellen Barron and Rev. Teresa Curry explore self-awareness as a path to spiritual awakening—learning to recognize the fears, old patterns, and conditioning that can disconnect us from our authentic, divine nature. Through compassion, self-realization, and a deeper awareness of what’...

How easy is it, when someone we care about is in distress, to become absorbed in the problem and start praying for precisely what we believe they need? Yet if prayer isn't really about our needs—since, as Jesus taught, God already knows what we need—then what does it mean to pray genuinely for another person?

To find out, join Rev. Ellen Barron and Rev. Maggie Alderman as they explore how we can move our focus from the ...

When life feels uncertain or overwhelming, where do you turn?

What if prayer isn’t about asking God to change what’s happening, but about changing us?

What if the peace, strength, and guidance you’ve been praying for are already within you?

Join Rev. Ellen Barron and Rev. Maggie Alderman as they explore a powerful way to pray—not from fear or the need to change what’s happening, but by awakening to the...

Acceptance is more than understanding - it's a way of living. In Part 2, Rev. Dr. Martha Creek returns to continue a deeper dive with Rev. Ellen Barron into the practice of allowing life to be as it is, without immediately trying to fix it, avoid it, or push it away. Discover how staying present with difficult emotions can become a doorway to wisdom, resilience, and inner peace. Through practical spiritual tools and compassionat...

What if the path to greater peace isn't resisting life, but meeting it with compassion?

In Part 1, Rev. Ellen Barron and guest Rev. Dr. Martha Creek explore the meaning of radical acceptance and why so much of our suffering comes from fighting what is already here.

Together we'll look at how accepting the present moment isn't giving up - it's creating the space for healing, clarity, and transformation.

You'll also discover simpl...

What if one of the most powerful ways to bring more peace into your life wasn't talking - but truly listening?

In this episode, Rev. Ellen Barron and guest Bettie Spurill explore the spiritual practice of active listening, sometimes called compassionate conversation. Discover why listening without judgment, criticism, or the need to fix someone can deepen understanding, heal relationships, and perhaps even change everything.

If ...

What if the greatest challenges in your life could become the doorway to your deepest spiritual growth?

In this personal episode, I share the journey that began over forty years ago when I entered a recovery program and unexpectedly discovered a spiritual path that transformed my life.

Through the practices of self-awareness, mindfulness, and meditation I found an inner strength that carried me through life's most difficult momen...

In Part 2, Rev. Ellen Barron and guest Rev. Annie Nelson continue their conversation inspired by The Power of Now, by Eckhart Tolle, moving beyond the idea of simply living in the present to exploring how presence becomes a doorway to spiritual awakening.

Together they discuss the observer within, the pain-body, stillness, and practical ways to move from reacting unconsciously to living from your deeper divine nature.

You'll also...

Rev. Ellen Barron and her guest, Rev. Therese Lee continue their conversation by exploring how we can move beyond simply serving life's changes and begin growing through them. Together, they share practical spiritual tools - including the transformative practice of journaling - to help us move from the constant stories of the mind to the wisdom of the heart.

Through self-compassion, honest reflection, and spiritual principles, t...

In this episode of Spiritual Insights for Challenging Times, Reverend Ellen Barron welcomes Reverend Therese Lee, a Unity minister and Grief Recovery Method specialist, for a heartfelt conversation about embracing change and opening the heart.

Together, they explore why change can feel so uncomfortable, especially when it comes through grief, loss, relationships, health, finances, or the uncertainty of the world around us. Rev. Ther...

In this opening conversation of Spiritual Insights for Challenging Times, Reverend Ellen Barron is joined by Rev. Annie for a thoughtful and uplifting discussion about finding spiritual grounding when life and the world feel heavy.

Together, they explore how faith, inner wisdom, perspective, and spiritual practice can help us move through uncertainty with more peace, courage, and hope.

This episode is Part 1 of a two-part conversatio...

Welcome to Spiritual Insights for Challenging Times, a podcast hosted by Reverend Ellen Barron. In this series, Ellen explores how spirituality, reflection, and meaningful conversation can help us stay grounded, hopeful, and connected during the uncertain times we are living in. Subscribe and join us for thoughtful conversations, spiritual encouragement, and insights to help you move through life with more peace, courage, and compa...