Advertise on podcast: Hello Beautiful Souls

On empathy, belonging and returning to what naturally emerges within you. In this lightly edited TikTok live from the woods, Joel explores how empaths and highly sensitive people can move from receiving everyone's emotions to sending their own frequency. He shares the heart of his Emotional Evolution Theory, guides a meditation into the seat of your knowing and tells the story of his own living experiment with normal versus natural. He also names the only way to miss the mark: S.E.N., the socially enforced normal. For anyone who has spent years seeking permission to be who they already are. · · · In this episode: The sender and the receiver: empathy as a spectrum you can move along Life granted you permission with your very first breath Rejection or protection, and emotions as waves softening the edges of how you hold life A guided meditation with one question: What do I need to know today? Normal is common, natural is innate: the difference that changes how you live Do I want to belong to myself? S.E.N., the socially enforced normal, and growing within a hard environment · · · 🌴 Sacred Summer Camp with Joel and Dené Logan, Blue Spirit, Nosara, Costa Rica, May 29 to June 5, 2027: https://bluespiritcostarica.com/retreat/sacred-summer-camp/ 🤍 Beautiful Souls Community: registration for the Winter season opens Friday, November 27th at https://www.asoulcalledjoel.com/beautiful-souls-online-community-1 · · · Also mentioned: Antonio Porchia, Thich Nhat Hanh, Neale Donald Walsch's Conversations with God, Michael Bernard Beckwith and Joel's original song "The Tables Will Turn," on Spotify at https://open.spotify.com/track/6zpOoxmGv0JB9S2FKTTQtw If this work resonates, subscribing and leaving a quick review wherever you listen helps the show reach more beautiful souls. · · · Connect: @asoulcalledjoel on Instagram and TikTok Beautiful Souls Community: asoulcalledjoel.com Read along on Substack: https://asoulcalledjoel.substack.com/

On self-devotion, self-loyalty and why there is no hard part. You have been devoted before. To a person, a role, a version of yourself someone else approved of. In this morning conversation, Joel sits with what happens when that same devotion turns toward your own soul. Why breaking a codependent pattern starts with loyalty to yourself rather than distance from someone else. The difference between dirty pain that spirals and clean pain that transforms. And the full R.I.S.E. practice, the journaling framework he has been doing daily for over twenty years. For anyone who has been loyal to everyone but themselves, and for anyone who has been telling themselves the inner work is too hard to start. · · · In this episode: Why it is okay to feel lonely, and what changes when you stop treating loneliness as a problem to fix Self-devotion as the practice underneath breaking codependent patterns How dirty pain becomes clean pain The R.I.S.E. framework walked through in full: Release, Inquire, Self-Awareness and Empower Why there is no hard part, only the familiar and the unfamiliar Holding three stories around any experience: one that breaks, one that repairs, one that empowers · · · 🌿 Free live workshop: The Seat of Personal Power with Dené Logan, author of Sovereign Love. Moving from codependency to self-loyalty. Thursday, September 3rd, 6 p.m. Central / 4 p.m. Pacific. Register at https://app.paperbell.com/checkout/packages/231757 ✨ Free gift: A 30-minute guided journaling session, day one of the R.I.S.E. Journal Challenge. Find it at asoulcalledjoel.com under "Free Guided Journaling." 🤍 Beautiful Souls Community: the Fall season, The Practice of Self-Devotion, opens for registration September 4th at asoulcalledjoel.com · · · Also mentioned: Resmaa Menakem on dirty pain and clean pain, plus Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's "The Danger of a Single Story." If this work resonates, subscribing and leaving a quick review wherever you listen helps the show reach more beautiful souls. · · · Connect: @asoulcalledjoel on Instagram and TikTok Beautiful Souls Community: asoulcalledjoel.com Read along on Substack: https://asoulcalledjoel.substack.com/

On becoming your own home without abandoning your longing for love. On the third day of the R.I.S.E. Journal Challenge, a participant asked how to become their own best friend, the love of their life, while still feeling a partner void and the loneliness underneath it. In this recording of his answer, Joel responds without bypassing the ache. He looks at where loneliness really comes from, how we outsource our worth to other people, and the difference between reaching for a relationship out of scarcity and meeting one from wholeness. He draws on his poem I Am the Love of My Life, the work of couples therapist Dene Logan, and the quiet wisdom of a forest that thrives because nothing in it is asked to be everything. For anyone learning to be whole on their own, while still honoring the desire for love and deep connection. — In this episode: Why loneliness may be a messenger to get curious about, not a problem to overcome How our emotions are built from objective experience and the stories we tell around it Codependency and the unconscious ways we hand our power away The shift from reaching for a partner out of scarcity to meeting one from wholeness The myth that one person should meet every need, and what a forest teaches about community — 🌿 Join us: The Beautiful Souls Community summer registration is open now, and this season's theme is The Practice of Being Seen, the practice at the center of this episode. Come be seen and remember you were never meant to do this alone: https://www.asoulcalledjoel.com/beautiful-souls-online-community-1 ✨ Free gift: A 30-minute guided journaling session, Day 1 of the Rise Journal Challenge. Find it at asoulcalledjoel.com under "Free Guided Journaling." If this work resonates, subscribing and leaving a quick review wherever you listen helps the show reach more beautiful souls. — Connect: @asoulcalledjoel on Instagram and TikTok Beautiful Souls Community (summer registration, The Practice of Being Seen): https://www.asoulcalledjoel.com/beautiful-souls-online-community-1 Read along on Substack: https://asoulcalledjoel.substack.com/

Ten questions on inner work, holding others without losing yourself and trusting abundance. I sit with the questions you sent in: how to start meditating again when your nervous system has been hijacked, what to do with the pain of someone who hurt you, how to stay whole as a parent when your child is suffering, how to transmute anger about harm in the world and how to stop playing small. I also share my view on plant medicine, on healing as our capacity to hold suffering and on what Wu Wei taught me about abundance and ease. For anyone tending to their inner realm right now, or quietly sensing it's time to step out of the box they've been told to fit inside.   ✨ Free gift: A 30-minute guided journaling session, Day 1 of the Rise Journal Challenge. Find it at asoulcalledjoel.com under "Free Guided Journaling." 🌿 The Beautiful Souls Community summer season opens June 5th. Our theme is the practice of being seen. Join the waitlist for 15% off at https://www.asoulcalledjoel.com/beautiful-souls-online-community-1 📓 The Rise Journal Challenge runs live on TikTok June 3rd to June 9th. Sign up at https://www.asoulcalledjoel.com/offers/Cu58HMUa to join live or get the recordings. If this work resonates, subscribing and leaving a quick review wherever you listen helps the show reach more beautiful souls. Listen on the site: https://www.asoulcalledjoel.com/podcasts/emotional-evolution-with-joel-cross/episodes/2149209498 Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/8PJGJ6JNG3A Read along on Substack: https://asoulcalledjoel.substack.com/ Connect: @asoulcalledjoel on Instagram and TikTok Beautiful Souls Community: https://www.asoulcalledjoel.com/beautiful-souls-online-community-1

You sent the questions. I'm answering them. Across social media, beautiful souls sent in the full range. Lighter, everyday curiosities about my life. The story of how I got here. And the big-frame spiritual questions about what I'm rooted in now. About thirty questions in all, gathered into six clusters. In Part 1, I move through the first three: the lighter stuff, my journey, and the spiritual foundations. Part 2, with the inner work, the relational practice, and the conversation around money and self-trust, is on its way. — In this episode: The journey from New York to an RV to rural Arkansas Why I love wide open spaces, and what my Gene Keys say about that Birds, pancakes, jazz guitar, and the freshness of every sunrise How my heart is, right now, and what I mean when I say I feel successful Eight kids, a Southern Baptist preacher father, and the long road back to my voice Religious trauma, idiot compassion, and Neale Donald Walsch's question about the natural and the normal Whether bravery is bravery, or just the pursuit of joy on the other side of fear Curiosity, beginner's mind, non-attachment, and the difference between masculine rigidity and a more feminine integrity Why I don't believe in randomness or fate as fixed truths, and what I lean on instead Christianity and Christ consciousness, in one sentence Nature as the effortless aligner, and the reminder that we are also nature — References mentioned in this episode: Conversations with God by Neale Donald Walsch Living Buddha, Living Christ by Thich Nhat Hanh India.Arie ("Nature is the effortless aligner") Gene Keys, Enneagram type 9, astrocartography Bruce Lee ("Be like water") Guitarists named: Wes Montgomery, Joe Pass, George Benson, Grant Green, Biréli Lagrène — ✨ Free gift: A 30-minute guided journaling session, Day 1 of the R.I.S.E. Journal Challenge. Find it at asoulcalledjoel.com under "Free Guided Journaling." If this work resonates, subscribing and leaving a quick review wherever you listen helps the show reach more beautiful souls. — Episode page: https://www.asoulcalledjoel.com/podcasts/emotional-evolution-with-joel-cross/episodes/2149202357 Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/UDrqDg0CEZA Read along on Substack: https://asoulcalledjoel.substack.com/ — Connect: @asoulcalledjoel on Instagram and TikTok Beautiful Souls Community: asoulcalledjoel.com

A 4 a.m. transmission on what happens when we stop running from our biggest feelings. In this episode, Joel sits with the question of how we move through uncertainty. Why we keep trying to think our way out of emotions that want to be felt. The quiet trap of trading authenticity for belonging. And how the certainty we've been chasing isn't out there to be found, it's inside us, cultivated breath by breath. For anyone navigating heaviness right now, or quietly sensing that the path they've been walking isn't entirely their own. — In this episode: Why ninety percent of the time we move from emotion, not intellect How blind spots and standing firm keep us stuck Constructed paradigms and the cost of fitting yourself into a box that wasn't built for you The difference between intellectual and embodied understanding Becoming loyal and certain of your own truth — ✨ Free gift: A 30-minute guided journaling session, Day 1 of the Rise Journal Challenge. Find it at asoulcalledjoel.com under "Free Guided Journaling." If this work resonates, subscribing and leaving a quick review wherever you listen helps the show reach more beautiful souls. — Connect: @asoulcalledjoel on Instagram and TikTok Beautiful Souls Community: asoulcalledjoel.com Read along on Substack: https://asoulcalledjoel.substack.com/

Welcome to Emotional Evolution with Joel Cross — a new name for the direction Joel has been walking his entire life. In this premiere episode, Joel shares the origin of the Emotional Evolution theory: a knowing that arrived on a summer motorcycle ride over a decade ago. That we have reached a point in our collective development where we can choose to evolve at our own pace — and the foundation for that evolution is transforming our relationship with our emotions. Joel walks through the three pillars — Grounding, Healing, and Transformation — and the three levels of Emotional Evolution: personal freedom, social coherence, and collective evolution. He explores the Troxler effect and how our brains fill in emotional blind spots with old stories, and he shares a guided Soul Refinery practice to help you begin sitting with your emotions instead of running from them. This is not a rebrand. This is the moment the body of work gets its name. In This Episode The origin story behind the Emotional Evolution theory How people-pleasing patterns led Joel to discover his authentic self The Troxler effect: how your brain renders emotional habits invisible The three pillars of Emotional Evolution: Grounding, Healing, and Transformation The three levels: personal freedom, social coherence, and collective evolution Tonglen practice and the concept of mudita (empathetic joy) A guided Soul Refinery mini practice — seeing your emotions as waves refining your island shores The Kripalu retreat: Redefining Relationship with Dene Logan, May 17–21 Key Quotes “We’ve reached a point in our development where we can choose to evolve at our own pace and in our own way.” “Your emotions are not something to avoid. They are refining agents showing you where you are still not free.” “This is not a rebrand. This is honoring the core intention of all that I do.” “May all beings be free of suffering, and the root of all suffering. And may all beings know happiness, and the root of all happiness.” Links and Resources 7 Days of Stillness (free guided practice) Redefining Relationship retreat at Kripalu with Joel Cross and Dene Logan, May 17–21 Sovereign Love by Dene Logan “I Am the Love of My Life” poem by Joel Cross Beautiful Souls Community Listen on YouTube Subscribe on YouTube Subscribe on Apple Podcasts Subscribe on Spotify Referenced Practice: The Soul Refinery — a visualization where you see yourself as an island, and your emotions as waves smoothing the rough edges of the rocks on your shores. Detailed guided version included in the episode at 19:47. Referenced Poem: “I Am the Love of My Life” by Joel Cross

What if the most loving thing you could do for someone isn't fixing their pain, but trusting them to hold it? In this episode, Joel explores how people-pleasing patterns quietly reveal a deeper issue: an unspoken distrust in the capacity of others, and in ourselves. Drawing on the wisdom of Dan Siegel and Thich Nhat Hanh, this episode is a heartfelt reminder that when we stop trying to minimize life's inevitable waves and instead stand open within them, we reclaim our power, our sovereignty, and our belief in ourselves and in each other. asoulcalledjoel.com Redefining RelationshipA Meeting of the Masculine & Feminine with Dené Logan Join Dené Logan and Joel Cross for an intensive workshop where we'll work to catalyze a path forward — one rooted in mutual understanding, personal responsibility, and a higher vision for finding our way back to one another in community. May 17–21, 2026.  Click here to learn more!

In this episode, I explore how our biology shapes what we see, feel, and believe to be true. Using the Troxler Effect, a 19th-century discovery in visual perception, I show how our brains naturally fade out what stays still, and how that same mechanism plays out in our relationships, our emotions, and our sense of self. I also walk through neurological fill-in (the stories we create in our blind spots), the Zeigarnik Effect (why unfinished things keep looping in our minds), and saccade, a pilot training technique that holds a surprising key to seeing the whole picture. This is the foundation for what we are exploring together this spring inside the Beautiful Souls Community. The season is called The Architecture of Attention. Topics covered: the Troxler Effect and habituation, how conflict narrows our perception, neurological fill-in and the stories we tell, the Zeigarnik Effect and our need for completion, saccade as a metaphor for mindful awareness, Emotional Evolution Theory (three levels), and a preview of the spring BSC season.Mentioned: Sarah Lazar's meditation research at Harvard. Watch This Episode On YouTube! Join me this spring in the Beautiful Souls Community: Click here to learn more about the Beautiful Souls Community!Join the Community Monthly Membership!Join the Community Annuall Membership!

In this session, I'm offering a grounding practice for navigating the heightened collective energy we're experiencing—whether you're processing political transitions, astrological shifts into the fire horse year, or simply feeling the unsettled current moving through our shared consciousness. Together, we'll explore what authentic power truly means. Not the corrupted versions we often witness, but the pure expression that emerges from groundedness and loving awareness. We'll examine what's being activated within us, learn to recognize our survival responses, and discover pathways back to our center. The session includes an extended metta (loving-kindness) meditation, inviting us to connect with our inner wisdom and contemplate: How am I being called to support our collective evolution toward greater peace, harmony, and understanding? What We Explore Understanding what's being activated in the collective and within ourselves Maintaining regulation while staying present to world events Reclaiming authentic power from distorted expressions Recognizing algorithmic influence and cognitive dissonance Holding space for multiple truths without imposing our path on others Metta practice extending to all beings Remembering that our power is inherent and cannot be lost—only forgotten Resources Join Beautiful Souls Community Waitlist Dive Deeper The Heart of Authenticity Calm & Connected Find Your Chill Upcoming Retreat: Redefining Relationships Retreat with Dene Logan at Kripalu

Welcome back, beautiful souls! In this special episode, I'm sharing meditation #678 from the Beautiful Souls Community - a 27-minute guided journey entitled "Renewed Vision," inspired by Stephen Charleston's "Ladder to the Light." What to Expect This meditation includes: First 7 minutes: A reflective reading and heart-centered inquiry question Remaining 20 minutes: Guided meditation practice with live guitar accompaniment Listen Mindfully I encourage you to find a quiet space for this practice. Pull over if you're driving, or grab your journal and pen if you're at home. This meditation invites deep contemplation and presence. New Year Offerings While I'm honoring my inner guidance to not offer the traditional 30-day meditation challenge this January, I have three beautiful alternatives for those seeking to deepen their practice in 2025: RISE Journal Challenge My signature journaling framework focused on self-empowerment: Release through stream of consciousness writing Inquire with deep heart questions to your inner wisdom Self-awareness through mindfulness practice Empower yourself through conscious intention and affirmation All sessions are guided by me with live guitar, recorded on my land in rural Arkansas. Sign up for RISE Journal Challenge Calm & Connected A meditation journey from 2024 for those who want to rest in balance and emotional regulation rather than dive into doing. Perfect if you're feeling a sense of renewal but need to connect with yourself first. Explore Calm & Connected Heart of Authenticity A 30-day intensive for those ready to do the work of reclaiming authenticity: Daily 10-minute teachings on reclaiming your inner knowing and natural state 15-20 minutes of guided journaling or meditation Deep exploration of authentic self-expression Begin Heart of Authenticity About the Practice This meditation guides you through: Connecting with the wellspring of your deepest purpose Renewal through the metaphor of flowing water Reclaiming the vision that first set you on your path Illuminating your being with the flame of loving kindness Remembering who you truly are Whatever part of your journey you find yourself in - whether you're called to introspection through journaling, grounding through meditation, or diving deep into transformative work - there's an offering here to support you. The Beautiful Souls Community gathers daily at 7:30 AM Central for morning meditation. We approach our life circumstances through the lens of deep presence, compassion, and authentic power.

Unwind and release the day with this gentle 16-minute body scan meditation combined with metta (loving kindness) practice. Recorded live at Lake Siskiyou in Mount Shasta, California, this meditation guides your awareness through each part of your body, softening tension without judgment, then expanding pure love and kindness from your heart center outward. Perfect for evening rest, this practice invites you to let go of conditions placed on your happiness and remember your inherent wholeness and worth. No processing, no reprocessing—just presence, breath, and the liberating power of love.   asoulcalledjoel.com

In this Q&A session following Day 5 of my Rise Journal Challenge, I dive deep into questions about self-discovery, healing, and authentic living. I share my thoughts on everything from finding the right questions to ask yourself to navigating triggers and creating healthy boundaries. Ready to Go Deeper? Join My Beautiful Souls Community I'm opening registration for my Beautiful Souls Community for fall, and I'd love to have you join us! This is where I host daily meditations and we explore themes that support authentic living. What We'll Explore This Fall: Authentic Identity & Self-Discovery Relationships & Connection Inner Wisdom Development What You Get: Daily live meditations with me (7:30 AM Central) Weekly somatic practices, guided journaling, and sound baths Saturday sharing circles where we can connect and process together Access to my archive of 1000+ meditations and workshops Our private social network for ongoing support Registration Details: Open now through Friday, September 19th Limited to 50 new members only Monthly and annual membership options available Join the Beautiful Souls Community →

In this intimate Q&A session following Day 2 of the Rise Journal Challenge, I share the deeply personal story behind creating the R.I.S.E. journaling practice - from a college heartbreak that left me sleepless for months to discovering the transformative power of putting pen to paper at 3 AM.I dive deep into the philosophy of "still calm knowing," share practical approaches to emotional regulation, and explore how mindfulness can become a natural part of your daily routine. In this conversation, I explore topics ranging from reality construction and victim consciousness to the Tibetan Buddhist practice of Tonglen, all while answering questions from participants about healing, courage, and finding authentic purpose.Whether you're new to journaling or seeking to deepen your self-awareness practice, this episode offers insights into using mindful attention and intention as tools for personal transformation.   Join the Rise Journal Challenge Experience the transformative power of guided journaling Sign up here Get Your Rise Journal Available now on Amazon and Barnes & Noble Beautiful Souls Community Join our mindfulness community for ongoing support and connection Learn more Creative Essence Retreat Join me in Northern California for an immersive experience in nature Reserve your space

This episode is an edited version of a TikTok live stream that took place on August 31, 2025. In this episode, I address an 18-year-old who is feeling misunderstood and share my philosophy on navigating life's transitions through mindfulness and inner wisdom. I explore the concept that we are all "dynamic processes" constantly evolving, rather than static beings locked into fixed identities or paths. Key topics I cover include: Learning to listen to your inner compass rather than seeking external validation My three pillars of personal growth: grounding, healing, and transformation Understanding healing as the capacity to hold suffering with compassion Breaking free from codependent patterns and victim consciousness The power of surrendering to uncertainty and embracing being "wrong" My personal journey from musician to spiritual guide through intuitive surrender I re-introduce my RISE journaling practice (Release, Inquiry, Self-awareness, Empowerment) and invite listeners to join my upcoming journaling challenge. The episode weaves together practical wisdom about mindfulness, meditation, and finding authentic alignment with your soul's calling. Links: Join my RISE Journal Challenge Purchase the RISE Journal on Amazon Connect with the Beautiful Souls Community My Website