The Next Right Thing

Every time I do a reader and listener survey, one of the themes that always seems to emerge is that of peace: it's what people are lacking and what they seem to most want. But what do we really mean when we say it? And is it possible to access peace in the midst of chaos? Let's talk about it. Listen in.

LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:

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• Join me in person on March 7, 2027
• Check out my conversation with Dr. Alison Cook

FIND EMILY ELSEWHERE:

• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Leave a review on Apple Podcasts
• Join The Soul Minimalist Substack
• Download the free discussion guide for How to Walk into a Room by visiting this page and clicking the button "Discussion Guide"
• Download the transcript

Today we hit a big milestone in the life of the podcast: 400 episodes! If you thought I would let this milestone pass without an announcement, you thought wrong my friend! Fun news loading in 3 2 1 . . . Listen in.

LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:

•

• Come to the celebration

FIND EMILY ELSEWHERE:

• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Leave a review on Apple Podcasts
• Join The Soul Minimalist Substack
• Download the free discussion guide for How to Walk into a Room by visiting this page and clicking the button "Discussion Guide"
• Download the transcript

It's time for my seasonal list of what's saving my life this autumn, with kind regards and a healthy hat-tip to Barbara Brown Taylor who asked it first. Listen in.

LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:

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• Ordinary Altars by Sarah Bessey
• Download The Quiet Collection

FIND EMILY ELSEWHERE:

• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Leave a review on Apple Podcasts
• Join The Soul Minimalist Substack
• Download the free discussion guide for How to Walk into a Room by visiting this page and clicking the button "Discussion Guide"
• Download the transcript

One of the spiritual practices I turn to often is journaling. It helps me process my thoughts, know what I think, and write what I know. But when I'm in the middle of a difficult time, particularly when I'm navigating through grief, I've discovered I have a more difficult time writing complete sentences. Over the years I've learned a few things that have helped me to not drop the practice of journaling altogether. I'd love to share them in case they are helpful for you too. Listen in.

LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:

•

• Grief resources

FIND EMILY ELSEWHERE:

• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Leave a review on Apple Podcasts
• Join The Soul Minimalist Substack
• Download the free discussion guide for How to Walk into a Room by visiting this page and clicking the button "Discussion Guide"
• Download the transcript

We're a few weeks into a new season which means there's a good chance you might be feeling overwhelmed and overstimulated. In today's episode I'd love to guide you through a simple 5 movement reset to help clear some space on the inside. Listen in.

LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:

•

• Simplify by Joshua Becker

FIND EMILY ELSEWHERE:

• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Leave a review on Apple Podcasts
• Join The Soul Minimalist Substack
• Download the free discussion guide for How to Walk into a Room by visiting this page and clicking the button "Discussion Guide"
• Download the transcript

Surprising to absolutely no one who has been here for five minutes, I submit that the way to begin considering what might be next for you is not by trying to see the future. Instead, it begins with looking to the past. But then what do you do with what you see? I submit you begin to look for arrows. If you are in a season of considering what might be next in your own life and need a bit of a starting point, this episode is for you. Listen in.

LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:

• How to Find and Follow Arrows workshop
• Order How to Walk into a Room

FIND EMILY ELSEWHERE:

• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Leave a review on Apple Podcasts
• Join The Soul Minimalist Substack
• Download the free discussion guide for How to Walk into a Room by visiting this page and clicking the button "Discussion Guide"
• Download the transcript

When it comes to spiritual practice, it helps me to remember that the goal is not to be good at spiritual practice. The goal is union with God, connection with each other, and love. I've been on a long path over the years of unlearning and relearning what spiritual practices are meant for and how to enter into it as a gift rather than a burden. Listen in.

LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:

• 365: The Spiritual Practice of Looking Up and Down
• Order How to Walk into a Room
• Scan the QR code in the back of How to Walk into a Room to claim your free Blessings for Hellos and Goodbyes (plus the downloadable workbook)

FIND EMILY ELSEWHERE:

• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Leave a review on Apple Podcasts
• Download The Quiet Collection app
• Join The Soul Minimalist Substack
• Order a How to Walk into a Room
• Download the free discussion guide for How to Walk into a Room by visiting this page and clicking the button "Discussion Guide"
• Download the transcript

How can we be consistent without falling into rigidity? Listen in.

LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:

• Learn more about Journal Club

FIND EMILY ELSEWHERE:

• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Leave a review on Apple Podcasts
• Download The Quiet Collection app
• Join The Soul Minimalist Substack
• Order a How to Walk into a Room
• Download the free discussion guide for How to Walk into a Room by visiting this page and clicking the button "Discussion Guide"
• Download the transcripts

After a long time off, welcome all the way back to the podcast. I'm glad to be here and I hope you are, too. We'll begin as we often do around here: by looking back, starting back in February when I discerned my word for this year would be HEAL. On this first episode of fall, I'll share the view from here, what healing means for me in this season, and how to know if healing is on the horizon. Listen in.

LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:

• Download grief resources
• Somehow: Thoughts on Love by Anne Lamott
• Order The Next Right Thing Guided Journal
• Download The Quiet Collection app
• Order a How to Walk into a Room
• Join The Soul Minimalist Substack

FIND EMILY ELSEWHERE:

• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Leave a review on Apple Podcasts
• Download The Quiet Collection app
• Join The Soul Minimalist Substack
• Order a How to Walk into a Room
• Download the free discussion guide for How to Walk into a Room by visiting this page and clicking the button "Discussion Guide"
• Download the transcript

It's the last week of Psalm Summer 2026, and I'll be reading three versions of Psalm 62. When this series is over, we'll have all the Psalms for you as a collection in The Quiet Collection app. Listen in.

LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:

• The Quiet Collection app
• Order The Next Right Thing Guided Journal
• Grab a copy of my book How to Walk into a Room
• Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman

It's week five of Psalm Summer, and I'll be reading three versions of Psalm 62. When this series is over, we'll have all the Psalms for you as a collection in The Quiet Collection app. Listen in.

LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:

• The Quiet Collection app
• Order The Next Right Thing Guided Journal
• Grab a copy of my book How to Walk into a Room
• Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman

It's week four of Psalm Summer, and I'll be reading three versions of Psalm 54. When this series is over, we'll have all the Psalms for you as a collection in The Quiet Collection app. Listen in.

LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:

• The Quiet Collection app
• Order The Next Right Thing Guided Journal
• Grab a copy of my book How to Walk into a Room
• Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman

It's week three of Psalm Summer, and I'll be reading three versions of Psalm 13. When this series is over, we'll have all the Psalms for you as a collection in The Quiet Collection app. Listen in.

LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:

• The Quiet Collection app
• Order The Next Right Thing Guided Journal
• Grab a copy of my book How to Walk into a Room
• Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman

It's week two of Psalm Summer, and I'll be reading three versions of Psalm 8. When this series is over, we'll have all the Psalms for you as a collection in The Quiet Collection app. Listen in.

LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:

• The Quiet Collection app
• Order The Next Right Thing Guided Journal
• Grab a copy of my book How to Walk into a Room
• Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman

It's the first week of Psalm Summer, and I'll be reading three versions of Psalm 3. When this series is over, we'll have all the Psalms for you as a collection in The Quiet Collection app. Listen in.

LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:

• The Quiet Collection app
• Order The Next Right Thing Guided Journal
• Grab a copy of my book How to Walk into a Room
• Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman

Today I'm joining in conversation with my friend James Bryan Smith to finally share something that's been in the works for over a year now.

Jim is the author of The Good and Beautiful book series. A founding member of Richard J. Foster's spiritual renewal ministry, Renovaré, Smith is an ordained United Methodist Church minister and has served in various capacities in local churches. He earned his MDiv at Yale and his DMin at Fuller and is a theology professor at Friends University in Wichita, Kansas, where he also serves as the director of the Apprentice Institute for Christian Spiritual Formation.

About a year ago he called me up with an idea for a way to serve writers. That's where our conversation today begins.

Even if you aren't a writer, our conversation will, I hope, shed light on how ideas become reality, how sometimes a good idea takes a decade to grow, and the beauty of collaboration, patience, and moving at a human pace. I hope you'll listen in.

LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:

• Learn more about the Formation Writers Guild
• The Good and Beautiful Series by James Bryan Smith
• Apprentice Institute for Christian Spiritual Formation
• Renovaré

FIND EMILY ELSEWHERE:

• Leave a review on Apple Podcasts
• Download The Quiet Collection app
• Join The Soul Minimalist Substack
• Order a How to Walk into a Room
• Download the free discussion guide for How to Walk into a Room by visiting this page and clicking the button "Discussion Guide"

It's the last episode of our regular season but don't worry - we may pop in with a bonus episode in the next few weeks and we'll definitely be back in late June to begin Psalm Summer.

Before I sign off, I want to leave you with the heart of why I do what I do here and what I believe is the most important thing to remember when we have decisions to make. Listen in.

LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:

• Inner Compass: An Invitation to Ignatian Spirituality by Margaret Silf
• Order The Next Right Thing Guided Journal
• Download The Quiet Collection app
• Order a How to Walk into a Room
• Join The Soul Minimalist Substack

FIND EMILY ELSEWHERE:

• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Leave a review on Apple Podcasts
• Download The Quiet Collection app
• Join The Soul Minimalist Substack
• Order a How to Walk into a Room
• Download the free discussion guide for How to Walk into a Room by visiting this page and clicking the button "Discussion Guide"
• Download the transcript

There are a lot of reasons to feel pulled in many directions this time of year which is why I'm delightfully surprised by the invitation I've been sensing to slow down and the surprising source from which it comes. Listen in.

LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:

• "They Orbited the Moon, But I Keep Coming Back to the Crew." by Priya Parker

FIND EMILY ELSEWHERE:

• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Leave a review on Apple Podcasts
• Download The Quiet Collection app
• Join The Soul Minimalist Substack
• Order a How to Walk into a Room
• Download the free discussion guide for How to Walk into a Room by visiting this page and clicking the button "Discussion Guide"
• Download the transcript

April is my birthday month so every year I like to dedicate one episode to birthdays in general - maybe something you can come back to when your birthday rolls around. Of course birthdays are a time for celebration, for treating ourselves, for toasting to another year of life. They are also a good time for personal reflection. If you are someone for whom reflection does not come naturally, you may wonder why do it at all: We can't change the past so what's the point of looking back? What are the real benefits of reflecting on your life? I'm so glad you asked. Listen in.

LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:

• Purchase The Birthday Collection
• Episode 272: A Soul Minimalist's Guide to Your Birthday
• Episode 365: A Birthday Reflection for When You're Not Sure How to Celebrate
• How We Think by John Dewey
• Journal Club Check-In
• Get the monthly letter

FIND EMILY ELSEWHERE:

• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Leave a review on Apple Podcasts
• Download The Quiet Collection app
• Join The Soul Minimalist Substack
• Order a How to Walk into a Room
• Download the free discussion guide for How to Walk into a Room by visiting this page and clicking the button "Discussion Guide"

Some seasons we're more aware of the ways we need our lives to be saved. For me it's always good to keep a list and pay attention to the small and big things that are saving me. It's been especially good for me this month. Maybe in hearing the things on my list you'll be inspired to make and share your own. Listen in.

LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:

• Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
• Joyful, Anyway by Kate Bowler

FIND EMILY ELSEWHERE:

• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Leave a review on Apple Podcasts
• Download The Quiet Collection app
• Join The Soul Minimalist Substack
• Order a How to Walk into a Room
• Download the free discussion guide for How to Walk into a Room by visiting this page and clicking the button "Discussion Guide"
• Download the transcript