What is Transcendiots?
The Swedenborg Foundation is proud to announce it will host Transcendiots, a bi-weekly, interview-style video exploration, on its YouTube channel. Co-hosts Cory Bradford-Watts and Colin Amato were inspired to start the video project while in ministry training at the Center for Swedenborgian Studies of the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. Motivated by the depth of religious backgrounds of others they crossed paths with at the school, they decided to turn on their cameras and start talking—talking to people with all different kinds of spiritual and life experiences. Now, a year later, they’re launching their first series of videos in partnership with us so others can witness the magic that happens when ideas of heart and mind are exchanged between diverse people in the midst of their personal evolutions.
Latest Episode:
New interviews premiere every other Thursday morning at 9:00 a.m. ET on YouTube. Subscribe to the Swedenborg Foundation YouTube channel to know when we post new episodes!
Pilot Episode: Transcendent Beginnings with Cory & Colin
Aired Thursday April 18, 2019
In this pilot episode of the Transcendiots webcast, filmed in spring 2018, Cory and Colin talk about what inspired the name of the show, what they hoped to achieve through the project when they started it, how spirituality, entertainment, and pop culture cross paths, and more! Listen as a podcast episode >
Previous Episodes:
View our entire Transcendiots playlist on YouTube
Creative Artists on Mindfulness, Meditation, & Motivation
Aired Thursday April 4, 2019
In this episode of the Transcendiots webcast, we talk with a divinely connected couple about how to approach life with creativity and authenticity. Watch and listen as Adriene (a college student and graphic designer/artist) and Isaac (a recent graduate, musician, and animator) discuss how they use the power of mindfulness to ensure their motivations are genuine—and combine that practice with meditation to stay mentally, emotionally, and spiritually grounded in their daily lives.
Science & Spirituality Q&A with Swedenborgian Scholar Dr. George Dole
Aired Thursday March 21, 2019
Filmed at the Fryeburg New Church Assembly Annual Meeting in August 2018. Guest host Roslyn Taylor asks Rev. Dr. George F. Dole about his newest book The Universe and I: Where Science & Spirituality Meet.
Swedenborgian & Psychologist Dr. Soni Werner on Spiritual Conflict Resolution
Aired Thursday March 7, 2019
Host Rev. Cory Bradford-Watts talks with Dr. Soni Werner, a retired professor of psychology and professional mediator, about how we can turn conflict into usefulness as we progress and regenerate from the physical world to the spiritual world.
Swedenborgian Professor Dr. Rebecca Esterson on Bible Interpretation, God, & Spiritual Communities
Aired Thursday February 21, 2019
Host Rev. Cory Bradford-Watts talks with Dr. Rebecca Esterson, a professor at the Center for Swedenborgian Studies, about traditional Christian interpretations of an angry Old Testament God and a loving New Testament God, and the benefits of reading the Bible as allegory as opposed to reading the Bible literally.
Swedenborgian Professor on Spiritual Ecology, the Divine in Nature, and Environmentalism
Aired Thursday February 7, 2019
Co-hosts Rev. Cory Bradford-Watts and Colin Amato talk with Dr. Devin Zuber, a professor at the Center for Swedenborgian Studies, about how combining science and spirituality has helped and can continue to help us conserve and preserve our earthly environment.
Swedenborgian John Gwynn on Gurdjieff, Esotericism, and Inner Work
Aired Thursday January 24, 2019
Host Rev. Cory Bradford-Watts talks with John Gwynn, a student of mystical spiritual teachers Emanuel Swedenborg and George Gurdjieff, about how their guiding philosophies on inner spiritual growth helped him work through his own suffering and alcoholism.
Rev. Junchol Lee on Being Buddhist, Taoist, and Swedenborgian
Aired Thursday January 10, 2019
Host Rev. Cory Bradford-Watts talks with Rev. Junchol Lee, pastor of the historic Swedenborgian Church of San Francisco, about how mystical experiences and an interfaith combination of Buddhism, Taoism, and Swedenborgianism have guided his spiritual journey.
Aaron Eaves on “Dungeons & Dragons,” Role Play Gaming, and Spiritual Experiences
Aired Thursday December 27, 2018
Host Rev. Cory Bradford-Watts talks with Aaron Eaves, a seminarian of the Unitarian Universalist tradition, about how the storytelling aspects of gaming and religion can help us experience God and grow spiritually.
George Dole on the Science and Spirituality Debate, Consciousness, and More
Aired Thursday December 13, 2018
Host Rev. Cory Bradford-Watts talks with Dr. George F. Dole about his newest book “The Universe and I: Where Science & Spirituality Meet.” Special guest: Roslyn Taylor.
People Involved
Rev. Cory Bradford-Watts is an ordained minister with the Swedenborgian Church of North America and a member of the Swedenborg Foundation board of directors. His current ministry includes leading and officiating the Swedenborgian Online Community—an affirming interfaith group that meets weekly to grow in love and wisdom online. Cory was exposed to many different religious traditions growing up, but had little personal belief in Divinity. Then, after experiencing a mystical near-death experience as a young adult, he started to sense the spiritual qualities of life and developed a belief in the Creator. He eventually found himself drawn to the pluralistic, Christian nature of Swedenborgianism, and answered the call to uplift others wherever they’re at, no matter their creed or culture.
Watch or Listen
Watch on YouTube on the Swedenborg Foundation channel
Listen as an audio-only podcast on Simplecast or your favorite podcast app
