Tree-Huggers, Secret Mantras, and the God-in-Your-Gut Debate

Sisters Kimberly and Michelle finally pick a fight (lovingly) about spirituality. It’s hard, because they agree on almost everything else. They start with childhood: basically raised at a mainstream Protestant church, like it was a second address.

Then: 1970s Bay Area spiritual weirdness (said with affection). They were surrounded by new age books, including Dianetics, which they later realize could’ve gone very sideways. They remember learning Transcendental Meditation before age 10. Secret mantra drama. Spoiler: the “secret” was "Ing."

They reminisce about dad-led guided meditations: sinking through a rainbow, building lifelong “safe places,” and a waterfall visualization for poison oak misery. Dad also trained as a hypnotherapist and used it for allergies and more ...