Seeking Peace in Turbulent Times

Eric Marquette

Welcome, everyone, to The House of Ravenbrook. I’m Eric Marquette, joined as always by Ruby Sturt. And, I mean, there’s just this odd energy in the air lately, isn’t there? Like, you’d think the tension would mellow out, but every time you look online or turn on the news—well, you know, it just feels like things are more polarized than ever over here and in the States.

Ruby Sturt

Yeah, absolutely. And it’s wild because, growing up in Australia, we always heard about divisions in America, but it feels next-level now, doesn’t it? The rhetoric is bonkers, especially when it’s about religion or politics. Like people aren’t even arguing, they’re just shouting past each other.

Eric Marquette

Right. And there’s something extra intense now about religious zealotry. I was reading the other day, and, actually, we talked about this in our Unity episode not too long ago: how zealots tend to draw really hard boundaries—us versus them, blessed versus damned. Liberal democracy, at least in theory, is meant to soften those lines and keep space for dissent. There’s this Brookings report, actually, that kind of spells it out—democracies, when they’re healthy, don’t go to war with each other and handle internal conflicts better by channeling dissent peacefully. But when those norms break down, you get all this friction.

Ruby Sturt

Yeah, and it’s funny you mention election nights, Eric, ’cause it brings me back to that feeling—like when you covered those in the UK, right? The heady mix of nerves and scepticism, and—hang on, what year was it you said you were in that newsroom with all the “red phone” drama?

Eric Marquette

Ah, that would’ve been 2010… or was it 2005? Oh, I always forget, but let’s go with 2010. Those nights were tense, but there was still this commitment to debate, to letting everyone have their say, even with sharp disagreements. That’s what’s really striking about the US now; it’s less about passionate disagreement and more about these hard splits where people stop listening altogether. It’s that “illusion of knowledge” Huxley talked about—folks convinced they’re right, and that’s that.

Ruby Sturt

Totally! The echo chambers are real. And it makes it so bloody hard to have actual dialogue or see any middle ground. So, today, I guess we’re digging into whether you can actually build peace from all this, right? Is there space for what people call “liberal wisdom” versus the sort of narrow fundamentalism you get from zealots?

Eric Marquette

Yeah, that’s exactly it. Liberal wisdom, at least the way I see it, is about keeping your mind open—embracing uncertainty and letting folks argue their case without branding them the enemy. In theory, liberal arts education was supposed to foster this. But—well, as we’re seeing, it’s not always easy to uphold in practice. Still, those values might just be the antidote to what’s fueling all this division.

Ruby Sturt

So, let’s shift gears just slightly—because for folks tuning in fresh, we should probably explain what this Ravenbrook Tradition actually is. It’s a bit of a wild card compared to old-school religion, yeah?

Eric Marquette

Exactly. So, Richard Ravenbrook started the tradition, and it’s really not dogmatic. It’s described as a “tapestry woven from various spiritual traditions”—so, rather than telling you what to believe or handing out commandments, it offers a scaffold to explore your own inner landscape and, well, your connection to whatever you call the divine. I love how Ravenbrook frames it: it’s a companion, not a replacement, for the rest of your spiritual journey.

Ruby Sturt

And it threw me at first. I grew up in a really traditional Aussie town—little bit of “if it’s not in the Bible, it’s just fairy tales” sort of vibe. So, to find a modern movement that says, “Hey, it’s okay if your path looks different,” that really spins your head around. There’s no rigid dogma to follow, no one-size-fits-all rules—just a core of personal power, ancestral wisdom, and this radically open attitude. It’s almost weirdly subversive if you’re used to the certainty-obsessed stuff from old churches.

Eric Marquette

Yeah, and that openness is probably why folks are so drawn to it, especially if they’ve been burned by religious exclusivity. We saw it in the responses to our episode “Awakening the Witch Within”—loads of people wrote in about finally feeling seen for who they are, not who someone else needs them to be. Ravenbrook’s whole thing is: true spirituality isn’t boxed in by one belief system. And honestly, that’s just so refreshing.

Ruby Sturt

And there’s something inviting about having a tradition that’ll sit alongside what you already practice. You don’t have to renounce your roots—it just helps you dig deeper, connect to land and ancestors, or, you know, add some magick if you want to. I mean, how often do you find a spiritual community where people say, “Try it your own way, then tell us how it went”?

Eric Marquette

Exactly. That spirit of pluralism—of not insisting on uniformity—it’s the polar opposite of what’s been making things so combative in American life. Instead of us all locking into our factions, the Ravenbrook way is to keep talking, keep exploring, keep the circle open. And if you think about it, that’s a pretty radical answer to the divisions we’re seeing everywhere.

Eric Marquette

Alright, so the thing everyone always asks is, “Sure, it sounds lovely, but can a spiritual tradition actually heal communities? Or is this just, you know, a private coping mechanism while the world stays on fire?” And I’ve heard stories—take the gatherings in Portland and Asheville, where they did Ravenbrook rituals focused on self-awareness and compassion. There were, I think, case studies where people came from wildly different backgrounds, and by the end, they’d shared experiences—actually listened, not just nodded politely and moved on.

Ruby Sturt

Yeah, and one thing that really stands out is how practical some of these tools are. There’s this exercise, for example, where you basically map your emotional reactions in the middle of group tension, then use a guided meditation to, I guess, transmute that knee-jerk defensiveness into curiosity. I heard one woman in Asheville say it was the first time in years she’d heard someone on the “other side” and not immediately wanted to run for the door. Like, it didn’t solve all her problems, but it cracked open a little space for empathy.

Eric Marquette

But, let’s be honest, it’s still an open question. I mean, is this just self-soothing, or can it scale? How many Portlands and Ashevilles would you need to really shift the collective mood?

Ruby Sturt

Yeah, I wonder that too. Like, these are mostly small circles—chosen families, sacred spaces. Meanwhile, the media and politicians are pouring petrol on division at scale. Can a few rituals really keep up against all that?

Eric Marquette

Well, the evidence—if we look at broader studies on liberal democracy and security—shows that channeling dissent in healthy, law-abiding ways really does make societies less violent and more stable over time. So, even if these magickal rituals seem niche, maybe they’re building habits and mindsets that matter. It reminds me of that bit in the Brookings report—democracies thrive if they empower civil society and keep decision-making open. Isn’t that, basically, what Ravenbrook is doing, just at a spiritual level?

Ruby Sturt

Maybe? I mean, if you think about what it means to really restrict the reach of zealotry—not by silencing people, but by making room for everyone’s experience—it’s kind of like creating a culture where difference isn’t freaky, it’s just part of the furniture. You look at Ravenbrook’s pluralism, and there’s this soft power to it. It’s less about storming the barricades, more about melting them.

Eric Marquette

And if that liberal, pluralistic spirit spreads—from ritual circles to neighbourhoods to public life—maybe we do inch closer to peace, bit by bit. No illusions about “solving” everything overnight, but like we said in our “Awakening Beyond Fear” episode, real change starts inside, in how we approach ourselves and each other. The point isn’t perfection; it’s process.

Ruby Sturt

Couldn’t have said it better. And hey, if nothing else, it beats shouting at each other online, right? Alright, that’s us for today! We’ll be back to dig deeper into more Ravenbrook practices next time. Eric, thanks for the wisdom—always a pleasure.

Eric Marquette

Cheers, Ruby! And cheers to all of you listening. Take care out there, keep your hearts open, and we’ll see you soon under the Ravenbrook sky. Goodbye!

Ruby Sturt

Catch ya next time! Bye, everyone!