What True Spirituality Looks Like Beyond Religion | Shabana Serang

What True Spirituality Looks Like Beyond Religion | Shabana Serang

In this heartfelt Spiritual Ninja Podcast episode, Jonathan Hewitt speaks with Shabana Serang, known as The Mercy Queen, about growing up with a father who taught her that spirituality begins with love, mercy, and intention rather than judgment or labels.Shabana shares how conversations with her father shaped her understanding of faith, compassion, and human connection from an early age. She reflects on arriving at UC Berkeley, the pressure to fit into religious identities, and the realization that seeking acceptance from others led her away from her authentic self. Her journey is an honest reminder that true spirituality is not about becoming someone else, but returning to who you have always been.Together, Jonathan and Shabana explore forgiveness, discernment, mental health, trauma, purpose, and the balance between strength and compassion. They discuss how intention shapes our lives, why love should unite rather than divide us, and how healing begins by extending mercy not only to others, but also to ourselves.This is a soul-to-soul conversation about spiritual identity, authenticity, resilience, emotional healing, and the courage to live from the deepest truth within yourself.In this episode:Growing up with stories of Sufi saints and prophetic wisdomHow intention shapes a meaningful spiritual lifeFinding authenticity instead of seeking approvalFaith, identity, and belonging at UC BerkeleyThe balance between forgiveness and healthy boundariesMental health, depression, and learning to ask for helpThe influence of both parents on strength and compassionReligion, spirituality, and finding unity beyond labelsWhy mercy begins with yourself before it can be shared with othersLiving with purpose instead of external validationThe Spiritual Ninja Podcast is about awakening, healing, consciousness, courage, love, wisdom, and the practices that help us live with more peace, purpose, and connection.More about Shabana Serang (The Mercy Queen):YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheMercyQueen/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shabanamarkar/Mercy Mindset: https://mercymindset.com/about/Miracles 4 Mercy: https://miracles4mercy.com/Mercy Mediterranean: https://mercymediterranean.com/Luna’s Halal Taqueria: https://www.lunashalaltaqueria.com/More about Jonathan, Life Ki-do, and Spiritual Ninja:https://lifekido.com/family-life-skills/https://spiritualninjapodcast.com/#SpiritualNinjaPodcast#ShabanaSerang#TheMercyQueen#SpiritualJourney#SpiritualIdentity#Authenticity#MentalHealth#EmotionalHealing#Faith#PersonalGrowth#Forgiveness#SelfDiscovery#ConsciousLiving#IntentionalLiving

From PTSD to Spiritual Bodybuilder: A Veteran’s Healing Journey

In this powerful Spiritual Ninja Podcast episode, Jonathan Hewitt speaks with Vahum about his deeply personal journey from military service, combat trauma, PTSD, and emotional shutdown into bodywork, bodybuilding, spiritual awakening, surrender, and heart-centered healing. Vahum shares how serving in Iraq as part of the military bomb squad forced him to face death, fear, moral injury, and the deeper wounds he had carried long before combat. He opens up about medication, bodybuilding, somatic release, plant medicine experiences, emotional healing, surrender, and the long process of learning to feel again. This conversation explores the connection between the body, nervous system, trauma, empathy, masculinity, spirituality, and the courage it takes to live authentically. Together, Jonathan and Vahum reflect on what it means to become a “spiritual ninja” — someone who learns to navigate the inner world with honesty, love, wisdom, boundaries, courage, and connection. Vahum’s story is not just about trauma. It is about transformation. It is about learning that the body can become a doorway to healing, that surrender can lead to strength, and that opening the heart may be one of the most courageous paths a person can take. This episode explores PTSD, combat trauma, moral injury, somatic healing, bodybuilding as meditation, emotional release, the dark night of the soul, masculinity, vulnerability, empathy, boundaries, service, and the spiritual path of remembering the light within. The Spiritual Ninja Podcast is about awakening, healing, consciousness, courage, love, wisdom, and the practices that help us live with more peace, purpose, and connection. More about Vahum Vizakis https://www.spiritualbodybuilder.com/... [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbC1ab2RRNFRESVRjLXZZcmxYbTJ1N3pOMDdLQXxBQ3Jtc0tsZzlNOUhBQXBhUmhPNFdiVlpLRUZKTHlaSkVLQWI4ejVzZ3RWRUVsS2tWNndseS1fSlZXMVhyZHBuQzFuWlZXYmlLeG5aVExmSE4wX0hTT3RRNUN4Z2RWSFNJVkhCdEhHUmowaFI2YUZIWEZNOVRINA&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.spiritualbodybuilder.com%2Fabout&v=ZVNGNvsOrAM]More about Jonathan, Life KI-do, and Spiritual Ninjahttps://lifekido.com/family-life-skills/ [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbFBQaGVXbXg1VFpUVFRYUVh5VkNzVERhYTdnZ3xBQ3Jtc0ttTHFYWFEtMTRPMzFqQzItQWV5enNRNTRUeHMwb3NTOWJhd29QcVFUNGZmNVlqX0JLXzFvX24tTFhJVmZ2Smk3dWZLaklyYWhralMyQjBkLXBueGQ4bS16UVExQTFjMEdBOWRrVnlhc2d4NDBEd0NIdw&q=https%3A%2F%2Flifekido.com%2Ffamily-life-skills%2F&v=ZVNGNvsOrAM]https://spiritualninjapodcast.com/ [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbnN2QTBqdjVsQl9JZXZzVi14TVpPcUdDbGNRZ3xBQ3Jtc0tuMnkzY3F1ZERvX0FVMGVMYUdhdHNfM3k2UWp3MVI3b3p6Q3lSUHVPeHJGZF9seGJuamp0dElVX0x0blJibHJKdTYzZjNBN0tTRjFyV09zekpmOEU2QnNETFBxOE9WTlh2NmNfWWVJRDZMVkRnMlJxcw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fspiritualninjapodcast.com%2F&v=ZVNGNvsOrAM]

True Freedom Begins Within | Spiritual Ninja Reflection on America’s 250th

As America approaches its 250th anniversary of freedom, Jonathan reflects on the deeper spiritual meaning of freedom and the natural human impulse to be free. True freedom is not simply having unlimited choices on the outside. Without wisdom, freedom can easily become chaos. We can become controlled by every thought, emotion, reaction, fear, habit, or outside pressure. The Spiritual Ninja path begins from the inside out. In this solo reflection, Jonathan explores freedom through the body, breath, brain, emotions, and spirit. He looks at how the body can become rigid or fluid, how the breath can support inner openness, how the mind can become trapped in thought, how emotions can either be suppressed or expressed with awareness, and how spiritual freedom connects us to the miracle of life itself. True freedom with wisdom is not just about “me being free.” It naturally supports freedom, wisdom, connection, and well-being for everyone. As we celebrate freedom outwardly, this episode invites us to reflect inwardly: Are we nurturing true freedom with wisdom in ourselves, our families, our communities, and the world? The Spiritual Ninja path is about learning to live from inner freedom and express that freedom outwardly with love, clarity, courage, consciousness, and purpose.

Nursing from Love & Wisdom l Winston Miekle on Healing, Presence & The Power of Love

In this episode of The Spiritual Ninja Podcast, Jonathan Hewitt speaks with Winston Meikle about his spiritual journey, his lifelong work in nursing, and his vision for bringing more love, presence, and wisdom into healthcare. Winston shares how early experiences with meditation opened him to a deeper reality beyond the five senses, and how decades of nursing revealed moments of connection, healing, and transformation that could not be explained by technique alone. Together, Jonathan and Winston explore love-based nursing, fear-based conditioning, burnout, patient trust, consciousness, spiritual presence, and why true healing begins when we show up with our full humanity. This is a powerful conversation for nurses, healthcare professionals, caregivers, healers, teachers, parents, and anyone seeking to live and serve with more peace, purpose, compassion, and connection. MORE ABOUT JONATHAN HEWITT & LIFE KI-DOhttps://lifekido.com/ [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbFc1V09nRHpjcTRGX2lDcGpGYVJCVnpHbEc1d3xBQ3Jtc0ttRHo0SjhDWGpncW9SQXhHN3VjUnB1TV9xYVZSLXdRVGNLR1FCaVJCMFdxOHg5eUtNeGN3eEVKeE5FYm5sUmNuNFBVNk1FYXRHRFkxT0xXREJQQ2Y4WlozNGNwQ3hEeDdxQ2YwaHBGUWs2aV9yTkZnOA&q=https%3A%2F%2Flifekido.com%2F&v=_Mxe95gPxAI]Family Personal Developmenthttps://lifekido.com/family-life-skills/ [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbDhXM3dKQzRFcjR2NmdhVjFySUxLdlo0QjhSQXxBQ3Jtc0trc2o1T2ZiMkcxT2JQMVp6VjBDbWxTZVc0bnpleFNxZ1NxOWVPcWtDRWczM3h1UUdVUno4MVZZSXRBYmhwekZ5d1dUUlRrcE5SR05lSkhGXzVyYWdMYm9xT1Bxd21OT00wNG54LVVEN0RkdHVscEhqRQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Flifekido.com%2Ffamily-life-skills%2F&v=_Mxe95gPxAI]Spiritual Ninjahttps://spiritualninjapodcast.com/ [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbHVYX2R3aGVsM3hhV0FJaWUxSnFpZE1tSWhuUXxBQ3Jtc0tuNFp6UExfRWY1ZkVKVDNVWTI5NFVMbTZYMjVLZ1B3TF9GOG9WUTBQN3lHS0dJVTBlMWxLZ1dmVjNJb19sb3RYTlNjN2lQcXB4YUNzWXNFNHoyaE9TVHgxV3BmTG5HVUdtN3hLa1dGbWp1ZmlwZDQwdw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fspiritualninjapodcast.com%2F&v=_Mxe95gPxAI]MORE ABOUT WINSTON MIEKLEhttps://poweroflovetheory.com/about-t... [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbV9iZHJWTzdoSS1hNmtFdXV5TUhLbUJxQXlBd3xBQ3Jtc0tsMXJQYjViVXdyMUI1OFZaU3Rzcy1aaXRjVjdHUUxqdlJ5YkZhUzJLN0Jscm1nSl9iZmZxUEdXWkJ0WHpSTWhRa1BRa1JBM3ZFS2JuUnRMSVBiN1VpdDFFOFB4eVFXRUpQQ0FzakxiZTBPWF9QeTZHUQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fpoweroflovetheory.com%2Fabout-the-author%2F&v=_Mxe95gPxAI]

Rabbi Dan Ain: Modern Judaism, God & the Freedom to Create

Rabbi Dan joins Jonathan Hewitt on The Spiritual Ninja Podcast for a deep heart-to-heart conversation about Judaism, God, love, creativity, service, and the courage to live your unique spiritual path. Rabbi Dan shares how early childhood questions about death and existence opened a lifelong spiritual search. He reflects on growing up in Jewish tradition, studying philosophy, experiencing 9/11 in Manhattan, and feeling called to become a rabbi so he could serve others in moments of deep need. Together, Jonathan and Rabbi Dan explore the essence beneath religious tradition, including Martin Buber’s I-Thou relationship, the divine image as the creative spark within every person, the 613 commandments, and the Jewish phrase Na’aseh V’Nishma — “we will do and we will hear.” This conversation also touches on AI, social media, parenting, uncertainty, criticism, community, and what it means to live from love rather than fear. At its heart, this episode is about discovering God, love, and purpose through relationship, action, creativity, and the courage to be fully yourself. MORE ABOUT RABBI DANhttps://moontowerminyan.org/ [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqa2ZOSVIzWmU2UWxQNEgzMGpJV0NSeFpRQzN5QXxBQ3Jtc0trbS1PRWpUNFpVX3VIUmk2dXZiRzhiUS1fcVlXTWVlazVBaF83QVhENURVMHRLcG5Ma1hNU05yVDJjVW92eEFXdGZKZGF1NTJjSUpuZHItYUljc2NiNXBEN1VqNHJmR195RHY0VWhVQ0JDTGV6VTNQWQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fmoontowerminyan.org%2F&v=LQ6fo4dvcdg]MORE ABOUT JONATHAN HEWITT & LIFE KI-DOhttps://lifekido.com/ [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqa09HWGlvSDF5UDh3WnM4Z0VUREJIeXZUYXR6QXxBQ3Jtc0trYWlNaXhXUWxmSk9XQjdNa0VKbTBVMG5IUllJbnZGbUdLN0taSHRRYnBWdUxPbURDRkZfZmhaQWZ2ZGxTRlJkanhobVhjUFJkSXZHY2tUOUNydkZGbE9LVlFZYUEyS2tBaWxSbVYwWHh4SUhmU3N5UQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Flifekido.com%2F&v=LQ6fo4dvcdg]Family Personal Developmenthttps://lifekido.com/family-life-skills/ [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbTZzblhGZ0JrSm9IcVVlX2ZGUW9CRkt5U2FkUXxBQ3Jtc0tudHYwdWI3ekdpRkhtNmRGSkMybV84LVFmZ0hKWUhsOGEtWEIzZUlkSkRTSTlhOERvR3JDT3dWcXRsSEdYcmNnZ0llT1dYUXFIanQxR29sbU80cmZUdzhxOUY4RGUxLXRmTFJicUVfVGtFX1B6ODhwdw&q=https%3A%2F%2Flifekido.com%2Ffamily-life-skills%2F&v=LQ6fo4dvcdg]Spiritual Ninjahttps://spiritualninjapodcast.com/ [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbnZqSXVPaFdNUm9TOV96TTF3QXFwUnVBaDQtUXxBQ3Jtc0ttMG9wSGhFTDI0S0NKeTk0UURVTzl5UzkxTGJWUUREZ3k0emdQYjBfMU50aERXaFpnajZEcXRMd29HVzNkOVk3TDZNR2liVTR1U0hQVHhabDBncmFFNjRFdlQ2LXJBWl9nU3lyc25ycWFEQ2JuS19Raw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fspiritualninjapodcast.com%2F&v=LQ6fo4dvcdg]