Welcome to the Commune podcast. My name is Jeff Krasnow.

As we enter into our sixth year of the Commune podcast, we are republishing some of our most popular interviews with teachers who now have full-length courses on Commion.

So this interview was originally recorded in 2023 with Reverend Michael B. Beckwith.

And Michael is the founder and spiritual director of the Agape International Spiritual Center, a transdenominational

multicultural community based in Los Angeles. And if you live in L.A. or if you're just

visiting, I really just can't recommend enough the experience of going to Agape on a Sunday morning.

And Michael Sermons are nothing short of transformational.

He has some uncanny ability to channel some greater spirit.

His eyes kind of roll back into his head,

and he becomes a conduit for something greater.

And the congregation here, if you can really call it that, is such an eclectic

group of diverse spiritual orphans, if you will. Plus, there's often live music and guest

speakers. When I went for the first time, I thought to myself, this is really what church was

meant to be, full of inspiration and laughter and connection.

So check it out.

So in March of 2020, Commune released a course with Michael called Meditations for Life's

Challenges.

Now, when we recorded it, little did we know that we'd be facing the unprecedented fear, anxiety, and

social isolation of COVID-19.

Michael's program was a buoy in the choppy seas of early lockdown for so many people,

and of course it remains highly useful today.

So in our discussion, Michael and I explore many of life's challenges

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