Unconditioning Love
"Unconditioning Love" invites you on an insightful expedition led by your host, Lydia, delving deep into the transformational journey of deconstruction, unraveling the conditions we often put on love. Journey alongside us as we uncover tales of resilience, featuring candid conversations with members of the LGBTQ community, individuals who have discovered love after navigating narcissistic relationships, and courageous souls who have left high control religions. Together, let's peel back the layers of conditional love and make the world a better place for everyone one person at a time as we lean more into love without conditions.
Episodes
When a brown recluse spider bite landed Teal in the hospital for weeks, everything else came apart with it: her job, her friendships, her sense of autonomy, even her hair. She calls it the darkest period of her life, and the most transformative one.
In this episode, Teal shares how she learned what unconditional love is from her mom, her best friend, and her husband. She talks about the night a meditation told her &l...
What do you do when the place that once kept you safe no longer fits who you are becoming?
Rosemary was born in Connecticut and raised in the 2x2s, the same church I grew up in. She professed at 10 years old, standing up beside her younger sister at a convention. For years, meetings were her safe place: the one space where everything was quiet and she could speak and truly be listened to.
But slowly, she began to feel...
What if the hardest seasons of your life were part of a game your soul chose to play? And what if you could learn the rules?
This week on Unconditioning Love, Lidi talks with Ketty. Ketty was born in Paris to a family from Guadeloupe and raised by a single mother, who gave her an unusual gift: the freedom to choose her own path. She became a professional dancer and a marketing strategist. She spent ten years running ...
In this first video episode of Unconditioning Love, Lydia goes solo — her scheduled guest couldn't make it, so instead she opens up about what it means to be in the messy, uncomfortable middle of transformation.
Using the image of a caterpillar dissolving into goo before it can become a butterfly, Lydia talks about why "stuckness" isn't a life sentence — it's a phase. She shares what's coming up in her si...
For most of his life, Aaron knew God as a father figure far off in the sky — watching, judging, keeping score. That's the God you often inherit growing up in the 2x2s (also known as "the Truth," or "the church with no name").
In this episode, Aaron and I trace what happened when that image finally cracked open for both of us, and what came through it: God not as a distant patriarch but as energy, everywhere, in...
Episode summary
Kara grew up four generations deep in the 2x2 religious group — and she left. In this conversation, she takes us into what it was like to grow up in an environment where love had to be earned, where God was someone to fear rather than know, and where the words "I love you" were rarely spoken out loud. Kara shares the one bright exception in her memory — her great-aunt and uncle, deeply "in...
What if the thing you thought was loyalty was actually control?
In this solo episode of Unconditioning Love, Lidi shares years of consciously healing through one of her deepest limiting beliefs: I am worthy by how much I help people. She traces how that belief showed up as the rescuer — A.K.A. running into the fire to pull people out, whether anyone asked her to or not — and what it cost her to keep livin...
In this short reflection, Lydia explores how growing up in high-control religions taught many of us to live outside of ourselves, to mistrust our inner knowing, outsource authority, and disconnect from our own hearts.
She reflects on how hymns and teachings often functioned like subliminal messages, subtly training us to doubt our instincts and place trust in leadership, rules, and external voices rather than within ...
In this episode, I’m joined by Julie Jancius, host of the Angels and Awakening podcast, for a heartfelt conversation about faith, divine connection, and spiritual evolution. Julie shares her personal journey of growing up within the Catholic tradition and finding her own intimate relationship with the divine beyond religious structure.
Together, we reflect on how miracles are often quieter than we expec...
In this episode of Unconditioning Love, we wrap up the Tangled Up mini-series, where we have been exploring women’s experiences in the 2x2 religions and how leaving has transformed their relationship with identity and self-expression.
Yvette Hughes shares her journey of embracing her naturally curly hair within a culture of conformity. Growing up in South Africa’s coloured community during Apartheid, Yvet...
Unconditioning Love – Tangled Up (Episode 3)
In this episode of Tangled Up, we delve into an excerpt from Cherie Kropp’s life story and explore the profound impact of hair, traditions, and questioning authority within the 2x2 high control fellowship.
Cherie’s poignant reflections reveal the tension between blind adherence to tradition and the courage to choose compassion and truth ove...
Episode Summary:
In the second episode of the Tangled Up mini-season, we hear three powerful anonymous stories from women reflecting on their complex relationships with hair in fundamentalist religious environments. These stories reveal how hair became a symbol of conformity, control, and, eventually, liberation.
Each story brings a unique perspective on the emotional weight of hair, its connection to identity, an...
Welcome back to Unconditioning Love for the start of Season 2! We’re diving into the first installment of our special mini-series, “Tangled Up.” This series unpacks the profound connection between women, their hair, and faith communities.
In this episode, we begin with a fascinating share from a history teacher who provides critical context on Paul’s writings about women and hair in the Bible....
In today’s mini-episode, we’re bringing some lighthearted laughter to balance the heaviness of the current political climate. Get ready for a fun, nostalgic ride as I share two funny, embarrassing stories from my childhood years growing up in a religious community. From sleepwalking adventures at a convention to other unexpected, cringe-worthy moments, these stories might make you laugh out loud (and may...
In episode 23 of Unconditioning Love, Robert shares his story of faith, doubt, and ultimately, liberation. His family joined the 2x2 faith community when he was just two years old. Soon after they converted, his family began hosting a Wednesday night meeting, immersing them deeply in the church’s traditions. At age 13, Robert made his profession of faith.
As he started college to pursue a career as an E...
In this episode, Katie shares her transformative journey of breaking free from the constraints of the 2x2 religion deeply rooted in her family's history. As a third-generation member, Katie was raised with a strong sense of duty to the church's teachings, where love felt conditional, and fear was ever-present.
Katie’s questioning spirit emerged early in life when, at just six years old, her friends invi...
In episode 21 of Unconditioning Love, Casey shares his unique story of growing up in a rural area of Atlantic Canada, where his family’s deep roots in the 2x2 church shaped much of his upbringing. As a sixth-generation member on his mother’s side, with his great-great-grandfather being one of the founding workers in the region, the weight of tradition and expectation loomed large. Yet, Casey always felt ...
In this episode of "Unconditioning Love," Lydia sits down with Robert, who shares his journey of growing up as a third-generation member of the 2x2 high control religion, a highly sheltered upbringing within a strict religious environment. As a young adult, Robert began to question the core fundamental belief that attending this particular church was the only path to heaven. This internal conflict led him to leave t...
In this episode of "Unconditioning Love," we are joined by Tara, who bravely shares her story of growing up in a high control religion. Tara's parents began converting to this faith when she was six, which brought drastic changes to her life.
She went from celebrating holidays and wearing normal clothes to a life of handmade dresses, strict religious practices, and isolation from her extended family.
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Welcome to today's episode of "Unconditioning Love," where we dive deep into the transformative power of forgiveness. Today, we’re tackling a topic that’s both personal and profound: how forgiveness has been misused and how we can reclaim it for our own healing.
In my journey through the church, I witnessed forgiveness often being weaponized. It was used as an excuse to provide safe haven for perpetrators...
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