(MiniSeries, Introduction) Practice Without Preaching: Creating a Family Spirituality with Ali Kirkpatrick

(Miniseries, Introduction) Practice Without Preaching: Creating a Family Spirituality with Ali Kirkpatrick

Ali Kirkpatrick is a writer, speaker, retreat leader, part-time university instructor and business owner. But if i was going to name her post in the world it would be as an ambassador of love.

Over the past couple of years my friendship with Ali has grown, and so has my awe and respect for her passion to cultivate tools, experiences and resources for families seeking to live out an authentic spirituality. In our conversation today, you will get a sense of who Ali Kirkpatrick is, her infectiously generous spirit, the thoughtful questions and embodied practices that form her spirituality, the path that lead her family to find another spiritual community, and the specific lessons she has learned from her kids and husband, and of course why I asked her to consider creating a miniseries for Contemplify specifically focused on family spirituality.

It is my distinct pleasure to share this conversation with Ali Kirkpatrick in this episode and then I’ll get out of the way as Ali takes the reins as host for the remaining 5 episodes of this miniseries called, Practice Without Preaching: Creating a Family Spirituality. The central beauty of this miniseries is that it holds the potential for you to reflect, question, celebrate and imagine how your family explores the spiritual terrain. Like all authentic explorations you might be challenged by what you discover…rest assured that Ali is a trustworthy guide and fellow traveler.

If there is interest to have Ali respond to any questions from the Contemplify community on the themes of Practice Without Preaching: Creating a Family Spirituality, Ali is open to doing a question and response episode on Contemplify. If so moved, you can email your questions for Ali to hello@contemplify.com.

Learn more about Ali’s work at alisonkirkpatrick.com and follow her on Instagram @alikirks.

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EPISODE SHOW NOTES

Resources by Ali Kirkpatrick

Resources Mentioned

People

  • Rainer Marie Rilke
  • Rumi
  • Hafiz
  • Mary Oliver
  • Richard Rohr
  • Thomas Merton
  • Carl Jung
  • Martha Beck
  • Eckhart Tolle
  • Shefali Tsabary
  • Anne Lamott
  • Bryan Stevenson
  • Fr. Greg Boyle

Drinks Pairings

Highlights

  • When you hear the word “contemplative”, how does that moniker relate to you?
  • What practices have you ritualized in your life?
  • What poem has been a part of your practice recently?
  • If someone were going to teach a class on the formation of Ali Kirkpatrick, what would be the 3 mandatory readings or works that formed you that would definitely be on that syllabus?
  • Tell me about your spiritual and philosophical roots and where you are finding your grounding now?
  • Why did it change?
  • What inflections points or moments shifted for you?
  • Let’s talk about what we’re doing here…why were you willing to do this?
  • What themes will you be jumping into in your ‘Practice without Preaching’ podcast miniseries on Contemplify?
  • How do you cultivate a complementary parenting style between partners, spouses, or co-parents?
  • What have you come to respect in your husband Tim as a parent that you maybe wouldn’t have recognized earlier in your marriage?
  • What’s been the most surprising lesson as a parent from your children?
  • What drink would you pair with this conversation?

 

Photo credit: Death to Stock Photo