In this rich conversation, Dr. Habib Boerger speaks with Dr. Andrew Dreitcer—professor of spirituality and spiritual formation, spiritual director, Presbyterian pastor, author, and longtime practitioner and teacher of contemplative spirituality.

Andrew shares his remarkable spiritual journey from a childhood shaped by Christianity and social justice, through a period of agnosticism and existential questioning, to a profound encounter with contemplative spirituality. His journey led him to the Taizé monastic community in France, where prayer became the heart of his spiritual life.

Together, Habib and Andrew explore what it means to experience God not as a limited or overly familiar image, but as the ground of being—a mysterious, expansive, and deeply intimate Divine presence permeating our lives and the world around us.

Andrew offers practical wisdom for bringing contemplative prayer into everyday life, especially when traditional spiritual routines don't fit the realities of work, family, parenting, and a busy schedule. He shares how walking the dog, swimming, rocking his children, exercising, and simply paying attention to the world can become forms of contemplative practice.

The conversation also explores the Jesus Prayer, Centering Prayer, Ignatian contemplation, compassion practice, chanting, remembrance, and Andrew's practice of “gazing”—looking at people, nature, architecture, and ordinary moments with wonder and openness to the mystery of the Divine.

Habib and Andrew discover beautiful resonances between Christian contemplative spirituality and Sufi practice, including the Sufi understanding of creation as a revelation of the Divine Names and the shared movement of prayer as a way of returning to Divine presence.

If you've ever wondered how to deepen your spiritual practice, bring contemplation into ordinary life, or discover God beyond the images and beliefs you've inherited, this conversation offers a welcoming place to begin.

In this episode, we explore:

• Andrew Dreitcer's journey from agnosticism to contemplative Christianity
• The Divine as the “ground of being”
• Moving from asking whether God exists to discerning Divine presence
• Contemplative prayer and spiritual formation
• The Jesus Prayer and Centering Prayer
• Ignatian contemplation and imaginative prayer
• Compassion practice
• Finding God in parenting, exercise, walking, and everyday activities
• The spiritual practice of gazing with wonder
• Christian and Sufi approaches to Divine presence
• Creation as a revelation of the Divine
• Prayer, remembrance, chanting, and transformation of the heart
• How contemplative spirituality can become part of everyday life

Support the show

To make an appointment with Dr. Habib, visit https://www.habibboerger.com/.

In this episode of Beyond Names, Dr. Habib Boerger welcomes Barbara McAfee, voice coach, author, speaker, performer, songwriter, and longtime teacher of authentic self-expression.

Barbara shares her remarkable spiritual journey—from Presbyterian Christianity and Lutheranism to Unitarian Universalism and an enduring love of the Sufi mystics Rumi and Hafiz. Along the way, she discovered that opening the voice could also mean opening the self: moving beyond fear, trauma, old stories, and the limitations we place on who we believe we are.

Together, Habib and Barbara explore the spiritual power of voice, sound, singing, and authentic expression. They talk about listening for the voice of God in our own voice, the "astonishing light" within each person, and the ways sound and chanting connect spiritual traditions across cultures.

Barbara also shares deeply moving stories about her father’s death, grief, and the unexpected spiritual awakening that came through being present at the end of his life. From there, the conversation opens into the sacred dimensions of sound, including the idea that creation itself is spoken, sung, or sounded into being.

The conversation then turns toward community singing, collective healing, leadership, resistance, and human connection. Barbara describes how singing can transform groups of strangers into a “living, breathing entity,” reminding us of our innate connection with one another.

And beneath it all is a powerful invitation: What is the story you carry about your own voice?

If you have ever felt afraid to speak, sing, create, lead, or fully express who you are, this conversation offers another possibility—that your voice may be more than a means of communication. It may be a doorway into healing, courage, community, and the astonishing light of your own being.

In this episode:

• Finding your authentic voice as a spiritual practice
• Rumi, Hafiz, and the connection between Sufism and sound
• Overcoming shame, stage fright, and fear of self-expression
• Grief, death, and unexpected spiritual awakening
• The sacred power of chanting, singing, and sound
• Voice, trauma, embodiment, and healing
• Community singing and collective connection
• Leadership without hierarchy
• Beauty as an innate human capacity
• Finding the courage to use your voice in service of what you love
• Reconnecting with the light within

Barbara McAfee is the author of Full Voice and Vocal Intelligence and has spent decades helping people discover greater freedom, authenticity, and possibility through their voices. Her work reminds us that when we transform our voice, our lives come along for the ride. To hear her song "Astonishing Light," visit https://barbaramcafee.bandcamp.com/track/astonishing-light.

Support the show

To make an appointment with Dr. Habib, visit https://www.habibboerger.com/.

What if, beneath all our fear, pain, confusion, and struggle, there is a deeper reality where there is only love?

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. John Wadude Laird, a physician, pioneer in integrative medicine, longtime Sufi practitioner, teacher, and co-founder of the University of Spiritual Healing and Sufism. For more than 40 years, Wadude’s spiritual path has been rooted in classical Sufism and the healing wisdom of the human heart.

Wadude shares the unexpected mystical experience in nature that changed the course of his spiritual life—a profound encounter with light and the realization that “there’s only love.” He recounts how seemingly random encounters and synchronicities gradually led him toward Sufism, and how his spiritual names, Qalbi and Wadude, became signposts pointing toward a life of love, surrender, and service.
We also explore the profound Sufi teachings of Jalal and Jamal—difficulty and beauty—and how illness, suffering, trauma, and hardship can become opportunities for love, healing, purification, and transformation.

Wadude shares a remarkable story of a kidney stone and a moment of surrender that became a “tasting” of the truth that Allah has power over all things. We talk about the danger of allowing trauma to become an identity, the challenge of maintaining faith during times of Jalal, and the spiritual practice of surrendering our need to control and understand everything.

Finally, we go deep into the levels and worlds of the heart. Wadude describes an extraordinary experience of moving from the chaotic surface of his heart into deeper levels of compassion, love, and ultimately the soul’s continual remembrance: la ilaha illallah—there is no god but God. He offers a beautiful reminder that beneath the fear, division, and turmoil of our ordinary experience, there is an inner light and a deeper place within us that we can return to through spiritual practice and remembrance.

This is a conversation about Sufism, spirituality, spiritual healing, mystical experience, surrender, trauma, suffering, the heart, remembrance, and divine love—and about learning to trust that even when we cannot see the larger picture, our lives may be unfolding within a deeper wisdom and love.

In this episode, we explore:

• The mystical experience of “there is only love”
• Spiritual awakening, and finding a spiritual path
• How synchronicities can reveal a deeper spiritual guidance
• Sufism and the wisdom of the heart
• Jalal and Jamal: difficulty and beauty
• Finding love, healing, and transformation in suffering
• Trauma, identity, and the danger of spiritualizing or judging our pain
• Complete prostration and surrender to Allah
• The difference between knowing about God and tasting spiritual truth
• The deeper levels and worlds of the heart
• Remembrance (dhikr) and la ilaha illallah
• Finding an inner place of love, compassion, safety, and hope
• Living from the deeper reality that there is only love

Support the show

To make an appointment with Dr. Habib, visit https://www.habibboerger.com/.

What happens when a spiritual practice becomes radically simple? What if meditation isn't about achieving enlightenment, joining a tradition, or having extraordinary experiences—but simply learning to be present?

In this episode of Beyond Names, Dr. Habib Boerger speaks with meditation guide and Marine veteran Mark Blacknell, whose extraordinary spiritual journey has taken him from a difficult working-class upbringing and military service through trauma, addiction, philosophy, activism, multiple religious and spiritual traditions, and ultimately to one of the simplest meditation practices imaginable: staring at a wall.

Mark shares how meditation first entered his life through Vipassana practice, how confronting his own trauma and making mental health a priority changed the course of his life, and how Zen eventually led him toward a practice stripped of hierarchy, spiritual performance, and expectation. His approach begins with just five minutes a day and invites people to discover meditation for themselves.

Our conversation also explores a deeper question: What do the world's spiritual traditions have in common? Mark and Dr. Habib reflect on compassion, interbeing, unity, the illusion of boundaries, and the possibility of recognizing the sacred connection shared by all life. Rather than focusing on what separates Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and other paths, they explore what can emerge when we listen for their common heart.

Mark also offers a challenging perspective on spiritual authority and the commercialization of spirituality. What happens when teachers or traditions claim ownership over spiritual truth? How can we cultivate an authentic practice without becoming dependent on someone else's idea of enlightenment?

At its heart, this episode is an invitation to slow down, sit still, cultivate compassion, and discover what is already present within us.

Whether you are experienced in meditation, skeptical of spirituality, recovering from a difficult chapter of life, or simply curious about finding a more grounded spiritual practice, this conversation offers a refreshingly simple place to begin.

In this episode, we explore:

• Mark Blacknell's journey from the Marines and trauma to meditation and spiritual practice
• Healing, mental health, and the courage to ask for help
• Vipassana, Zen, Kabbalistic meditation, and interspiritual exploration
• The radically simple “Stare at the Wall” meditation practice
• Why meditation doesn't require extraordinary experiences or expectations
• Compassion for ourselves and for all living beings
• Buddhism's concept of interbeing and the Sufi understanding of unity
• Spirituality beyond religious labels and boundaries
• The dangers of spiritual elitism and claims of enlightenment
• Making meditation accessible to people who might not otherwise have access to it
• How a simple daily practice can become a seed for transformation

Mark Blacknell is a meditation guide best known for his “Stare at the Wall” practice, a simple approach to stillness designed for ordinary people living ordinary lives. His work emphasizes accessibility, experimentation, compassion, and discovering meditation through direct experience.

Support the show

To make an appointment with Dr. Habib, visit https://www.habibboerger.com/.

In this episode of Beyond Names, Dr. Habib Boerger welcomes Nura Laird, a longtime student and teacher of Sufism, spiritual healing, peacemaking, and contemplative practice. Nura shares her remarkable spiritual journey—from growing up Jewish and discovering mysticism through Carl Jung, Alan Watts, and Teilhard de Chardin, to finding a deeper home in Sufism and Islam.

Together, Habib and Nura explore what it means to move beyond simply knowing spiritual truth intellectually to actually tasting and experiencing it. Nura reflects on tawhid, the Sufi understanding of Divine Unity, and how that understanding has gradually become an embodied experience of connection—with Allah, with other people, and with the whole human family. Her experience of Hajj offers a powerful illustration of seeing people across cultures, languages, and circumstances as brothers and sisters in one family.
Nura and Habib also explore one of the most challenging dimensions of spiritual life: learning to accept our own neediness and humanity rather than judging ourselves for falling short. Nura shares how recognizing unmet needs—and turning them toward Allah—can become an essential part of spiritual growth.

The conversation moves into the Sufi concepts of jamal and jalal—beauty and difficulty, expansion and contraction—and the possibility of discovering that both ease and hardship belong within the Divine journey. Rather than seeing difficult experiences as evidence that we have failed spiritually, Nura describes learning to recognize them as places where Allah is still present and holding us.

Finally, Nura connects Sufi spirituality with peacemaking, social justice, anti-racism, and compassionate action in a divided world. For her, unity does not mean agreeing with everyone or becoming passive about injustice. It means learning to hold difference, compassion, and committed action together.

This is a rich conversation about Sufism, spiritual awakening, Divine Unity, spiritual healing, prayer, human vulnerability, peacemaking, social justice, and the lifelong journey from understanding spiritual truth to actually experiencing it.

In this episode, we explore:

• Nura’s journey from Judaism and mysticism into Sufism and Islam
• The difference between knowing and tasting spiritual truth
• Tawhid and the Sufi experience of Divine Unity
• Why spiritual neediness can be a doorway rather than a weakness
• Moving beyond the “not good enough” spiritual mindset
• Jamal and jalal: ease and difficulty as part of the spiritual path
• Finding Allah’s presence in moments of fear, pain, and heartbreak
• Hajj and the experience of humanity as one family
• Sufism, peacemaking, social justice, and anti-racism
• How spirituality can become embodied action in a divided world

This episode is a beautiful conversation for anyone interested in Sufism, Islamic spirituality, mysticism, spiritual healing, contemplative practice, Divine Unity, peacemaking, or an inclusive spiritual path beyond religious boundaries.

Support the show

To make an appointment with Dr. Habib, visit https://www.habibboerger.com/.

What if your greatest struggle became the doorway to your deepest awakening?

In this episode, Dr. Habib Boerger sits down with integrative mental health expert and holistic healing practitioner Dr. Cristine Hull for a powerful conversation about addiction, spiritual transformation, meditation, and the search for higher consciousness.

Cristine shares her remarkable journey—from battling depression, anxiety, and substance abuse in her early years to experiencing a life-changing spiritual awakening that led her toward healing, psychology, Buddhism, and what she calls Quantum Wholeness Meditation.

Together, Habib and Cristine explore:

• Spiritual awakening and recovery from addiction
• Christianity, Buddhism, and the intersection of Eastern and Western spirituality
• Quantum consciousness, the unified field, and the zero-point field
• Meditation as a path to emotional healing and inner peace
• Trauma healing, mindfulness, and holistic mental health
• The relationship between ego, suffering, and non-duality
• Seven levels of consciousness and spiritual development
• How contemplative practices can transform relationships
• The role of silence, stillness, and presence on the spiritual path

Cristine also shares profound experiences that shaped her life, including an encounter with the Divine that freed her from addiction overnight, her studies in psychology and natural medicine, and a near-death experience that transformed her understanding of consciousness and reality.

Whether you're interested in spirituality, meditation, quantum healing, mindfulness, Christian mysticism, Buddhist teachings, or the science of consciousness, this conversation offers wisdom, compassion, and hope for anyone seeking a deeper connection with themselves and the Divine.

Listen as two spiritual seekers explore what it means to move beyond duality and discover the unity that lies beneath all things.

Support the show

To make an appointment with Dr. Habib, visit https://www.habibboerger.com/.

Spiritual seekers often ask: How do I know that I am loved by God? What do I do when I feel distant from the Divine? How are doubt, suffering, and longing part of the spiritual path?

In this deeply moving episode of Beyond Names: Spirituality for Anyone and Everyone, Dr. Habīb Boerger sits down with bestselling author A. Helwa (Secrets of Divine Love) for a conversation about Divine Love, spiritual awakening, surrender, remembrance, and the journey back to our true nature.

Drawing from Islamic spirituality and Sufi wisdom, A. Helwa shares her personal spiritual story—from experiencing the Kaaba as a child to discovering that love is not something we acquire, but something we remember. Together, Habīb and Helwa explore how spiritual doubt can become prayer, why suffering can open us to deeper wisdom, and how emptiness, neediness, and longing are sacred invitations back to God.

This episode offers profound encouragement for anyone who feels spiritually lost, disconnected, or uncertain. You do not need to have all the answers to walk the spiritual path. "I don't know" is itself a doorway to the Divine.

In this conversation, we explore:

• Divine Love and unconditional belonging
• Sufism and Islamic spirituality
• Spiritual doubt, faith, and surrender
• The practice of remembrance (dhikr)
• Healing through spiritual longing and prayer
• Finding God in suffering and uncertainty
• The meaning of fitra (our innate spiritual nature)
• Returning home to the heart
• Love as the foundation of spiritual awakening
• Why your brokenness may be sacred
• The relationship between longing and belonging
• How to trust the Divine when life feels difficult

Whether you call the Divine God, Allah, Spirit, Source, or simply Love, this conversation is an invitation to remember that you are already held, already beloved, and never separate from the One you seek.

Guest: A. Helwa, author of Secrets of Divine Love, From Darkness into Light, The Blessed Pomegranates, and the forthcoming Blue and the Lost Pearl.

If this conversation nourishes your heart, please like, subscribe, and share it with someone who may need the reminder that they are deeply loved.

Support the show

To make an appointment with Dr. Habib, visit https://www.habibboerger.com/.

Can spirituality transform the way we lead, work, and relate to one another?

In this deeply personal and inspiring conversation, Dr. Habīb Boerger sits down with Paul Werder, founder of Lionheart Consulting, leadership consultant, author of Business with Heart, and longtime faculty member at the University of Sufism.

Paul shares the extraordinary story of how an unexplained illness became the doorway to emotional healing, spiritual awakening, and a lifelong commitment to helping leaders lead from the heart rather than the ego. Along the way, he explores the role of emotional intelligence, authentic leadership, meditation, and the Sufi practice of remembrance (dhikr) in cultivating healthier organizations, deeper relationships, and more compassionate communities.

Together, Habīb and Paul explore:

• Why unresolved emotions can manifest physically
• The difference between ego-driven leadership and heart-centered leadership
• Emotional intelligence as a spiritual practice
• How remembrance (dhikr) opens the heart to peace and clarity
• Building trust, accountability, and healthy organizational culture
• Moving from separation to unity through compassion
• Why authentic spirituality belongs in everyday life—including the workplace
• Experiencing the Divine rather than merely believing in it

Whether you're a business leader, spiritual seeker, therapist, coach, nonprofit executive, or simply someone longing to live with greater peace, this conversation offers practical wisdom for bringing your whole heart into every part of your life.

If you've ever wondered how spirituality can make you a better leader—and a more compassionate human being—this episode is for you.

Topics: Spirituality • Emotional Healing • Sufism • Dhikr • Leadership • Emotional Intelligence • Mindfulness • Meditation • Authentic Leadership • Purpose • Heart-Centered Leadership • Business Ethics • Personal Growth • Conscious Leadership • Inner Peace • Spiritual Awakening

Support the show

To make an appointment with Dr. Habib, visit https://www.habibboerger.com/.