08/31/2026
Divine masculinity doesn't look like anything — that's the answer Reverend Doctor Soni Cantrell-Smith gives, and it might be the most freeing thing you hear all year. In this episode of the New Thought Men's Podcast, host Eamon welcomes Soni — founding minister of the Center for Spiritual Living Lexington and spiritual leader of Centers for Spiritual Living (CSL) — for a wide-ranging conversation on gender, authenticity, and why the labels we inherit are far more fragile than we think.
Are you craving more deep, authentic conversations like this one in your life? Download our free guide to fostering deeper conversations and friendships: https://newthought.community/guide
Tired of carrying the weight alone as a conscious, spiritual man in a crazy world? Want more inspiration and tools to face career, financial and relationship challenges and create the life you want? Join us for our free, annual New Thought Men's Summit: https://newthoughtmens.community/summit
Soni and Eamon dig into how masculine and feminine roles are cultural constructs, not fixed truths — pointing to Ernest Holmes' own writing on the "intermediate s*x" and how history's gender norms (pink for men, wigs for barristers, kilts for warriors) have shifted more than most people realize. They also confront the harder edges of the conversation: why isolated young men are being radicalized online, why so many are drawn to rigid religious and political movements in search of belonging, and why authenticity — not conformity — is the real antidote. Soni closes with an announcement about "An Awakening Path," a new collaborative initiative uniting Centers for Spiritual Living, Unity, ANTN, and other New Thought organizations under one shared voice.
In this episode, you'll discover:
Why "Divine Masculinity" Doesn't Look Like Anything: Soni's answer to the show's final question, and what it means to move past gendered labels entirely
The Intermediate S*x: Ernest Holmes' 1926 writing on masculine and feminine as attributes within every person, not identities assigned by biology
The Radicalization Pipeline: How isolation, video games, and the search for belonging are pulling young men toward Christian nationalism and Pentecostalism at record rates
Living in the Mystery: Why humans crave certainty about identity — and why learning to sit with ambiguity is itself a spiritual practice
Your Purpose Is to Love Yourself: Soni's answer to the question she says she's asked most often
An Awakening Path: A first look at the new initiative uniting New Thought organizations into one collaborative movement
Find more from Rev. Dr. Soni Cantrell-Smith:
Centers for Spiritual Living, https://csl.org/
Episode Chapters
00:00 – Cold Open: "I Know What Your Purpose Is"
01:01 – Welcome & Introducing Rev. Dr. Soni Cantrell-Smith
02:12 – "The Divine Knows No Gender"
03:14 – Why Labeling Traits as "Masculine" or "Feminine" Is Problematic
07:17 – The Cost of Stuffing Emotions: From the Battlefield to Everyday Life
09:23 – Isolation, Video Games & the Radicalization of Young Men
12:00 – The Rise of Christian Nationalism and the Search for Belonging
16:16 – Ernest Holmes and the "Intermediate S*x" 17:03 – Transcending Labels Through Self-Acceptance
25:06 – A Story of Courage: Eamon's Dyslexia and Finding His Path
27:16 – "I Know What Your Purpose Is": Loving Yourself First
29:07 – Why Authenticity Feels Threatening to Some
33:29 – Living in the Mystery: Why We Crave Certainty
39:20 – The Origin of "Courage": From the French Word for Heart
44:07 – Introducing "An Awakening Path": Uniting New Thought Organizations
53:05 – Final Question: What Does Divine Masculinity Look Like Today?
