What if religion was never meant to be the destination?
This episode goes somewhere tender. And somewhere true.
Lesley opens with the wound so many women carry quietly — the fracture that forms when the container meant to hold God becomes the thing standing between you and Him. When religion shifts from a doorway into relationship to a system of control, fear, guilt, and shame, it doesn't just hurt — it separates. And that separation can feel like losing God entirely.
But what if you never actually lost Him? What if the divide you've been carrying was never a crisis of faith — but an invitation to go deeper than the container and find the relationship that was always waiting underneath it?
This episode holds space for diversity. It is not a takedown of religion — it is an invitation beyond performance and into the kind of heart-to-heart relationship with God that no system can manufacture and no wound can permanently sever.
WHAT WE EXPLORE
· How religion can create distance from God rather than closeness — and why that is not your fault
· The difference between religion as a gift and religion as a cage
· Why the focus on behavior, fear, guilt, and shame is not the heart of the gospel
· What it looks like to move from religious performance into genuine relational intimacy with God
· Why spirituality is your birthright — and no wound, deconstruction, or distance can remove it
· The YHWH breath — the Hebrew name of God hidden in every breath you have ever taken
· A somatic visualization prayer to help you encounter divine love in your own body
SOMETHING TO SIT WITH
Where have you been hiding in your pain, carrying something you think disqualifies you from being seen? He already knows. And He came to find you there anyway.
THE YHWH BREATH
YHWH — the Hebrew name of God — is the sound of breath.
Yah on the inhale. Weh on the exhale.
Every breath you have ever taken has been the name of God. You have never once been outside His presence.
EPISODE CHAPTERS
00:00 When Religion Creates Distance from God
00:16 Respecting Diverse Beliefs — This Space Holds All of You
00:30 Control Versus Relationship — When Religion Becomes a Cage
00:55 Fear, Guilt, and Shame — and the Relational Intimacy We Were Made For
RESOURCES MENTIONED
Called to Courage — Lesley's book, being written in real time on Substack
FOLLOW THE BOOK IN REAL TIME
Called to Courage — on Substack
Five years. The seasons that broke me open. The breadcrumbs I almost missed. What I found on the other side of surrender. Free to follow. Most unfiltered version of this work.
thekindredjourney.substack.com · I saved you a seat.
COME FIND ME
Let's stay connected.
📩 hello@thekindredjourney.com
📖 Substack — thekindredjourney.substack.com
🎙 Spotify — The Kindred Journey Podcast
🎙 Apple Podcasts — The Kindred Journey Podcast
▶️ YouTube — The Kindred Journey
📷 Instagram — @lesley_the_kindred_journey
LEAVE A REVIEW
If this episode met you somewhere real, leaving a five star review helps more women find their way to this space — and that is part of the healing too.
Share this with the one woman in your life who has been hiding at the edges of faith — who hasn't found a space that felt safe enough to bring all of herself. That is exactly who this is for. 🤍
A NOTE ON THIS WORK
The Kindred Journey offers coaching, somatic practices, and educational content for personal growth and healing. Everything shared here is based on personal experience and is for informational and educational purposes only.
This is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Please consult a qualified healthcare provider for any medical concerns. You are responsible for your own wellbeing — and you are capable of it.
The Kindred Journey
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Apr 23 202625 mins