audible
When Kendra McMurry was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in 2015, a personal prayer for healing sparked an unexpected spiritual awakening. Personal development through daily meditation, journaling, and oracle and tarot cards gave McMurry a sense of purpose and became a lifeline while battling chronic illness.
“These spiritual practices have not only strengthened my faith, but also improved my intuitive psychic abilities and overall health and well-being,” she says.
McMurray isn’t alone when it comes to embracing spiritual practices as a form of self-care. In fact, studies show that Americans are turning to a variety of methods, including prayer, reading, art, time in nature, yoga, meditation, writing, ancestral work, tarot, fasting, protest, and more. Now, more than ever, with our nation and the world in crisis, people are seeking new ways to maintain their mental, physical, and emotional health.
Enter her best friends Paige Gilbert and William Sinclair Moore.
Gilbert and Moore’s friendship has long been rooted in a shared love of talking about all things mystical, so when they heard about the Audible podcast development program, they couldn’t pass up the chance to bring those conversations to the masses.
The duo, who have theater backgrounds, already host a weekly Instagram Live featuring healers seeking to uncover spirituality from a Black perspective, and the funded podcast (which they also provide development support for pre, during, and post-production) will give them the opportunity to expand their mission even further, reaching out specifically to communities like the Detroit neighborhood where they grew up.
“When we started our spiritual journey, we were always looking for people like us [Black, queer, Black women]”It’s not just about being a part of the community,” says Moore, who also feels this age group is too often left out of the mainstream conversation.
With odds of one in three thousand, Gilbert and Moore took the challenge — and they landed, and brought their program with them. Sage the House DownIn life.
Kelly Sullivan, program director and senior director of U.S. partner relations at Audible, was confident that Gilbert & Moore had hit the mark with their podcast application. “The authenticity, the spirit, the vibe, the energy…it all jumped off the virtual page,” Sullivan said. “The voice and the approach were unique, and I really loved the idea of occupying a space in a space that isn’t necessarily welcoming to Black and Brown people.”
For both Gilbert and Moore, a frequent topic in their discussions was how to help others understand that spirituality can complement religion and improve people’s well-being.
““When we think about practices like yoga, meditation, casting and candle magic, their origins can be traced back to our people,” Gilbert says, “William and I realised there was a lot of ‘magic’ in the church, like anointing with oil, praying, speaking in tongues and communion – all rituals that many of us with Christian backgrounds can attest to.”
Moore, who grew up in a Christian household, understands that the topics he covers on his podcast may conflict with religious beliefs, but he hopes listeners can find ways in which their spiritual practices can support their religiosity. Sage the House Down As a bridge between generations – facilitating deeper conversations about the interconnectedness of spirituality, religion and health across multiple generations.
“My mother is in her 60s and doesn’t necessarily believe in astrology or tarot or ancestor worship,” Moore said.After listening to the full episode, Moore’s mother, a devout Christian, praised the couple for being leaders and advocates of free thought and for promoting better health in the black community.
“She was so impressed with how open we were to other people’s knowledge and ways to support their wellbeing, and she said she was starting to think about things in a different way. My brain was like, Oh my God, because I’d had so many conversations with my parents about spirituality and nothing had really stuck with me… but something about this podcast resonated with them.”
While the podcast’s mission is to demystify spirituality and uplift Black spiritual healers, Gilbert and Moore have learned a lot about their own personal growth and healing.
“Prior to recording, I had just ended an 11-year relationship, so this episode of grief was healing in so many ways. I went into the studio with a broken heart, but left feeling like a part of me had been healed,” Moore says. “And when I think about experiences like this, I realize that everyone has been through something similar. Sage the House Down Making my personal experience universal.”
Gilbert’s favorite episodes, which also led to great personal growth, are being shared among many listeners based on the social media messages they’ve received.
“I learned a lot from the ancestor worship episode, especially about how to make an altar. It helped me deal with health issues that came up in my life, but I’ve recently realized they are similar to issues that many of the women in my family have had for generations,” she says. “It’s not just healing me, it’s healing them.”
Healing and wellness, whatever its form, is a lifelong journey, and their hope is that the show can support listeners on that journey.
“We want everyone to feel welcome in this space, but we really want to heal this area,” Moore says. “The east side of Detroit, Michigan, is our home, and we want to send healing energy to all the places that people feel are out of reach. We want to send tools. We want to send resources. We want to send people that they can listen to, that they can believe in, that they can trust, and we want to send people that we can trust. And we want to send those people into our community so they can grow, evolve, learn, and know that these practices are theirs.”
Gilbert added, “There’s a lot of spiritual components to healing, whether that’s meditation, sitting at the altar, running, cooking, drawing cards, etc. I just want people to have fun and believe in themselves.”
