Take Back Your Mind Soul Medicine For a Fractured World with Dr. Liza Rankow
Today, Michael welcomes Dr. Liza Rankow, an interfaith minister, educator, activist, and author of Soul Medicine for a Fractured World: Healing Justice and the Path of Wholeness. For more than three decades, she has guided individuals and frontline changemakers in integrating deep spiritual practice with social transformation. A longtime student and steward of Howard Thurman's teachings, she helped produce The Living Wisdom of Howard Thurman audio collection and continues to explore how mysticism and justice are not separate callings—but one sacred breath expressed in two directions.
Conversation Highlights include:
-Growing up without organized religion yet surrounded by spiritual seeking shaped a life rooted in both mysticism and justice.
-A chance encounter with Howard Thurman's portrait at Morehouse College became the doorway into a lifelong spiritual lineage.
-Seeing this moment in history as a "portal" invites us to meet upheaval not only with fear, but with agency and possibility.
-Understanding the difference between self-care and soul care reminds us that while pampering relieves stress, soul care reconnects us to the larger life that sustains us.
-Recognizing that the medicine is often hidden inside our wounds reframes suffering as a potential teacher rather than a permanent sentence.
-Trusting that life moves in cycles of collapse and renewal helps us engage change without despair, knowing transformation rarely begins or ends with us.
-Redefining purpose as a quality of being—rather than a job title or achievement—brings clarity to how we live and serve.
-Seeing how cultural definitions of success can distort purpose invites a return to soul-led contribution over ego-driven accomplishment.
-Practicing three intentional breaths—receiving what we need, sending love to others, and extending healing to the world—creates embodied connection.
Next, in the closing meditation, Michael guides listeners into intentional gratitude, reminding us that the world we experience reflects the consciousness we cultivate.
🪷 Continue the conversation with Liza at https://www.lizarankow.org/ and on social media. Get a copy of her book, Soul Medicine for a Fractured World here: https://www.lizarankow.org/soulmedicine.
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