Debbie Philp

I slipped a piece of labradorite into my pocket after Jen and I finished recording this episode to go along with the nice buzz I had from doing bee breath along with her. We both have been finding ways to work with struggle and Jen’s way of making space is through music. She shares ways you can chanting and singing…

Mar 01

Episode 149: Nobody Said Leadership was Easy

I believe the world is best served when healers step up as leaders, but many of us who are drawn to the healing arts don’t feel safe speaking with the voice of a leader. I’ve been working on being courageous with my authentic expression of my bold, revolutionary ideas, with the help of my energetic shield. After I share some…

Feb 23

Episode 148: Pine Tree Riot

The last thing I expected to hear when Sheri Kurdakul, of Glitter Witch Gardens, shared about the eastern white pine was that it once caused a riot! You’ll hear about that plus the ecological, medicinal, and magical properties of this common but absolutely wonderful tree. Sheri starts us off with another of her herbal poems, which are always so good.…

Feb 17

Interfaith Ceremony with a Nature Theme

By Debbie Philp Handfastings, Interfaith and Nature-Based

This couple has Christian and Jewish backgrounds but are now members of a Unitarian Universalist congregation and have been exploring Buddhism. They wanted to make all their guests comfortable with the ceremony but to acknowledge their beliefs and their concern for the environment. Nature is the unifying theme for the songs and readings included in this twist on a traditional…

Feb 16

Winter Solstice Ceremony

By Debbie Philp A Magical Rite, Handfastings

A Wiccan bride and eclectic Pagan groom wed on the Winter Solstice at a Unitarian Universalist Congregation. They both prefer the Roman pantheon and wanted to acknowledge Saturnalia in the ceremony, which includes a handfasting and a unity candle lighting. Candles are included throughout the rite, symbolizing the return of the light. The seating for their 75 guests was in…

Feb 16

Episode 147: Embodying Love

Valentine’s Day turned my thoughts to love while I was also contemplating the web of life and making dream webs for an upcoming metaphysical expo. They all fit together, and I tried to explain how in this episode, although it was a challenge to do so. In the end, I fell back to a practice from Shamanic Reiki that I…

Feb 14

Loving the World into Balance: A Call for Climate Justice

Originally written in 2022 for my seminary capstone project, this talk was first presented in public to the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Glens Falls in Queensbury, New York, on August 13, 2023. Not long ago I watched a grey squirrel perched high on what seemed like a way-too-thin branch. The way it was bouncing and waving around made me nervous…

Feb 13

Broken Turtles: A Wildlife Rehabilitator’s Spiritual Journey

Presented on April 15, 2023 at a conference of the Interfaith Center for Action and Healing in Aurora, New York, themed "Faith, Spirituality, and Religion: How do they inform our care of creation?" The Dancing Turtle Rescue ambassador turtles accompanied me. I’d like to start with a story that isn’t about me, though, the story of Grey Owl. If you’ve…

Feb 13

The Hard Work of Standing Up

In my first presentation at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Glens Falls on March 13, 2022, I share my spiritual approach to overcoming the challenges of the pandemic and a back injury. As last summer began, I paid the final month’s rent on a lease on a building that had been empty since March of 2020 because of the pandemic,…

Feb 13

The Fallow Times: A Spiritual Ecology Approach to Samhain