When We Are Lost

When We Are Lost

Author: Kent Dobson February 19, 2024 Duration: 39:58
I'd like to explore the possibilities, the postures, and the terrain, of feeling lost, a certain kind of lostness.  Rather than being prescriptive, I hope to just describe a little of what it's like, and a few hints and guesses from the poets and mystics, that I hope you'll find meaningful, and possibly helpful.  Enjoy.

Kent Dobson hosts Hints and Guesses, a space where curiosity meets the profound questions that quietly shape our lives. This isn't about delivering easy answers or rigid doctrines. Instead, each episode unfolds as a thoughtful exploration, weaving together threads from ancient sacred texts, the wisdom of the natural world, and the raw material of our everyday experiences in culture and society. You'll hear conversations that treat doubt not as an enemy of faith, but as a necessary companion on a genuine spiritual path. The terrain covered is vast and deeply human-from love and soul to mortality and what lies beyond-all approached with a sense of openness and reverence for the mystery. The Hints and Guesses podcast creates room for reflection, inviting you to slow down and consider the subtle whispers of meaning that often get lost in the noise. It’s for anyone who finds themselves pondering the bigger picture, regardless of where they stand on religion, seeking a honest and nuanced dialogue about what it means to live a connected and examined life.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Hints and Guesses
Podcast Episodes
In a Locked Room with Six Big Ideas [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:14
This episode explores Robert Bly's poem, One Source of Bad Information, how I got my Enneagram number wrong for 20 years, and a little of how ended up back in the church. Special thanks to may Patrons who keep this podca…
Examen, AI and 3 Kinds of People [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:49
It's the time of year to do a like searching spiritual inventory, a Great Annual Examen. This requires discernment, a word that's not all that common anymore. I also want to talk a little about AI and about becoming the…
Maybe you need a Blessing [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:09
Happy Thanksgiving! Here are a few thoughts on blessing, pilgrimage, monastic creativity, and the new dark age. Wishing you all many blessings. May the road rise to meet you. Enjoy!
Shadow and the Prophetic Imagination [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:51
The ancient prophets were something like the first shadow detectors, and had the courage to externalize their vision of the world. What ever happened to such prophetic imagination? Are there any lessons we can metabolize…
Covenant with Limit [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:13
I'm borrowing this phrase "covenant with limit" from Martin Shaw. Perhaps it's time to reconsider how freedom is actually found. In this episode, I discuss briefly Wendell Berry's poem Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberatio…
Nature, Nurture, Unanswered Ancestral Questions [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:04
What if we inherit not only biological material but existential and spiritual questions from our ancestors? What's ours to carry that's been handed to us? I've been wrestling with these questions for a while now, and som…
Letter to the Lost [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:58
"We have to know the darkness to be able to search for the light," according to Henri Nouwen. And he goes on to claim that we need lostness, in the search for meaning. With so much disorder, lostness, darkness, denial an…
Hell is Endless Autobiography [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:21
In an age obsessed with "knowing oneself," how do we not get stuck in endless autobiography and self-absorption? At its best, a healthy spiritual and religious life helps free us from the cul-de-sac of narcissistic feedb…
The Christ Symbol: Part 7 - Authority and Resurrection [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:36:22
Here's the final episode of The Christ Symbol. This episode is about Authority and Resurrection (stage 6 and 7). What does real authority look like? What does it mean for a "grain of wheat to go into the ground and die?"…