We mistake ourselves for the stories we've been told and the ones we keep telling. But what if those stories are too small to contain who we really are? A conversation about discovering that the more we open our hearts to the world, the less we actually know about anything—and how this not knowing might be exactly where freedom lives. What happens when we stop trying to figure everything out and instead give ourselves fully to the mystery of being human?

This week’s conversation is hosted, as always, by Lizzie Winn and Justin Wise of Thirdspace.

Episode Overview
00:00 Introduction and Context Setting
06:26 Exploring Rilke's 'Widening Circles'
12:16 The Journey of Discovery
18:53 Embracing Uncertainty and Complexity
24:10 Faithfulness in the Face of Not Knowing
30:30 Invitation to Community and Practice

Here’s our source for this week:

Widening Circles

I live my life in widening circles
that reach out across the world.
I may not complete this last one
but I give myself to it.
I circle around God, around the primordial tower.
I’ve been circling for thousands of years
and I still don’t know: am I a falcon,
a storm, or a great song?

Rainer Maria Rilke
Translated by Joanna Macy

Photo by Alan Mersom on Unsplash

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Join Us Live in 2025

Turning Towards Life Live Season 1, from September 2025
We also have the launch of our Turning Towards Life live programme which is going to run in six month seasons from September. It's going to be in person on Zoom once a month. We're very excited about it. A chance to expand beyond the bounds of a podcast into forming a community of learning and practice. You can register your interest for Season 1 of Turning Towards Life Live here.

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About Turning Towards Life
Turning Towards Life, a week-by-week conversation inviting us deeply into our lives, is a live 30 minute conversation hosted by Justin Wise and Lizzie Winn of Thirdspace. Find us on FaceBook to watch live and join in the lively conversation on this episode. You can find videos of every episode, and more about the project on the Turning Towards Life website, and you can also watch and listen on Instagram, YouTube, and as a podcast on Apple, Google, Amazon Music and Spotify.

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Keywords
widening circles, spiritual unknowing, faithful presence, identity stories, cultural certainty, mysterious reality, spiritual practice, contemplative conversation, human complexity, sacred listening, deepening awareness, creative response, genuine unknowing, expanding compassion, spiritual freedom, mystical faithfulness, embodied wisdom, relational depth, authentic encounter, philosophical openness, contemplative dialogue, life-giving practice, spiritual attention, transformative conversation, primordial mystery

People Mentioned
Rainer Maria Rilke (poet who wrote "Widening Circles")
Joanna Macy (translator of the Rilke poem)
Maya Angelou (poet, mentioned from previous week's episode - "Phenomenal Women")
Richard Rorty (philosopher, pragmatism)
James Hollis (Jungian writer)

409: A Falcon, a Storm, or a Great Song?