What does it mean to remain faithful while navigating injustice, distraction, social pressure, and the constant pull of the ego?

In this powerful episode of Beyond Names, Dr. Habib Boerger sits down with returning guest Abdul-Karim Pinckney — musical artist, former imam, and spiritual teacher — to explore the deeper meaning behind his single “Living in These Lands.”

Together, they reflect on:

• Maintaining orientation toward the Divine amid cultural chaos
• The tension between spirituality and religion
• Mercy, accountability, and radical self-honesty
• Social media, performance, and distraction
• Political polarization and remembering our shared humanity
• Presence vs. ego
• Why sincerity matters more than appearance

Abdul-Karim speaks candidly about lived experience, spiritual grounding, and the daily choice to “face God” — even when the world feels unstable.

This conversation is both contemplative and practical, inviting listeners to examine their own hearts while remembering that hardship need not close us — it can deepen us.

If you’ve ever wondered how to stay rooted in faith while living fully in today’s world, this episode is for you.

Support the show

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

Dr. Habib sits down with Zen teacher, author, and spiritual director Busshō Lahn for a deeply timely conversation about awakening, truth, and what it means to live from love in a world marked by suffering.

Raised within the Catholic tradition and later drawn into Zen practice, Busshō shares how a single spiritual seed can grow into a life of “multiple belongings.” Together, he and Dr. Habib explore the mystical heart shared across traditions — a place where differences soften and love becomes the center.

But this conversation moves beyond personal spirituality into urgent territory. As communities grapple with violence, fear, and collective grief, Busshō invites us into a challenging yet transformative question: Where is the war inside of me?

Rather than meeting fire with fire, he suggests that authentic spiritual practice calls us toward radical honesty — the courage to name our anger, face our wounds, and recognize even the shadow within ourselves. From that clarity emerges a love strong enough to say both yes to humanity and no to harm.

Listeners will discover:

• Why the goal of spiritual practice is to leave “nothing between you and love”
• How contemplation prepares us for compassionate action
• The hidden miracle within ordinary life
• What it means to awaken during times of societal upheaval
• How truth-telling becomes a path to freedom

This episode is an invitation — not to escape the world — but to meet it with a wiser, braver, more spacious heart.

If you’ve ever wondered how inner transformation can shape outer change, this conversation is for you.

Support the show

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

In this deeply moving conversation, Dr. Habib Boerger is joined by artist, spiritual companion, and grief tender Susannah Crolius for a wide-ranging exploration of spirituality as movement, unbinding, and belovedness.

Susannah shares her spiritual journey—from a childhood shaped by art and nature, through decades of institutional ministry, to leaving the church in search of a more authentic, embodied spiritual life rooted in creativity, wonder, and trust. Together, they reflect on shame and healing, art as a gateway to the sacred, the soul’s thread that runs through our lives, and what it means to live both tethered and free.

The conversation also touches tenderly on near-death experience, grief, trauma, and the practice of remembering our belovedness—even in seasons of darkness, loss, and uncertainty. This episode invites listeners into a spacious, honest exploration of spirituality beyond performance and institution, toward a life grounded in presence, compassion, and returning home to the true self.

Perfect for seekers, soulful misfits, creatives, and anyone longing for a spirituality that feels real, embodied, and alive.

Support the show

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