The Sacred Speaks
Join depth psychotherapist and Jungian scholar, John Price, in an exploration of extraordinary stories and phenomena that lurk beneath the surface of normal and everyday life. Listen in as John interviews experts, dilettantes, sinners, and saints to explore their professional and personal perspective on the underlying purpose of the mysteries which lurk within the seemingly mundane nature of day-to-day life. John received his Master’s degree in clinical psychology and his Doctorate degree in Jungian psychology. He is in private practice and is also on the faculty of The Jung Center and The University of St. Thomas, both located in Houston, Texas. He lectures and teaches classes in subjects ranging from Parenting and Consciousness to Sex, Drugs and Rock & Roll. This podcast seeks to accept a challenge laid out by Carl Jung: to explore the universal human feelings of emotional incompleteness, spiritual curiosity and one’s related search for wholeness and meaning. Interviews commence with the belief that, by engaging in this exploration, we can learn more about the psyche, consciousness, spirituality, philosophy and the profound, though often hidden, meaning of the day-to-day lives we lead (or which will lead us, if we aren’t watchful).Come along as John follows people into bars, universities, places of worship, financial districts and the home. He finds each context equally able to provide a setting for this worthy search and also that, through this process, we have an opportunity to come to know each other and ourselves much more deeply.
The Sacred Speaks
120: Elise Loehnen - The Seven Deadly Sins and the Price Women Pay to be Good
In this episode of The Sacred Speaks, host Dr. John W. Price sits down with Elise Loehnen—writer, researcher, and author of On Our Best Behavior, a book that explores how the ancient moral framework of the seven deadly sins has been internalized by women, shaping their identities, relationships, and sense of worth.
This conversation is not just a review—it’s a ritual inquiry. Together, John and Elise explore:
The invisible “scripts” that define femininity in a patriarchal culture; How envy, pride, sloth, and other so-called “sins” reveal deeper spiritual truths; What Elise risked—and learned—by stepping out from her “invisibility cloak”; How patriarchal systems harm men as well, and the cost of emotional suppression; How men and women can co-create a future rooted in collaboration, not competition
The role of grief, longing, and sacred agency in personal and cultural awakening; Elise also shares behind-the-scenes insight into her writing process, her podcast Pulling the Thread, and her evolving work around binaries, individuation, and collective healing.
This episode is part of a broader arc on The Sacred Speaks focused on rebalancing the masculine and feminine within us and in our culture.
Join John for the upcoming live webinar:
Reframing Suffering – The Little Teachers
Explore anxiety, jealousy, and shame as sacred messengers
📅 Wednesday, May 14
https://www.drjohnwprice.com/littleteachers-event-2025
or see @thesacredspeaks on Instagram
👉 CONNECT WITH ELISE LOEHNEN:
Website: https://www.eliseloehnen.com/about
Check out Elise Loehnen’s powerful book:
On Our Best Behavior: The Seven Deadly Sins and the Price Women Pay to Be Good
https://www.amazon.com/Our-Best-Behavior-Seven-Deadly-ebook/dp/B0BN574QYK
Substack: https://eliseloehnen.substack.com/
Podcast: Pulling the Thread
🧭 CHAPTERS:
(00:00) Introduction and Guest Announcement
(00:12) Book Recommendation and Feminine Focus
(00:36) Upcoming Episodes and Personal Projects
(00:49) Cultural Excavation and Feminine Scripts
(03:30) Interview with Elise Loehnen Begins
(04:27) Exploring the Seven Deadly Sins
(06:00) Patriarchy and Cultural Conditioning
(16:54) Masculine and Feminine Archetypes
(20:04) Podcasting and Personal Growth
(25:33) Psychedelics and Personal Experiences
(41:25) Writing as a Transformative Process
(45:16) The 'Me' Story vs. The 'We' Story
(46:52) Individualism vs. Collectivism
(47:31) Individuation and Awakening
(48:36) The Matrix and Cultural Narratives
(50:24) Exploring Envy and Its Origins
(52:17) The Seven Deadly Sins and Their History
(56:45) Navigating Envy in Men and Women
(01:13:40) Patriarchy and Its Impact on Men
(01:19:26) Building a Bigger Tent for Everyone
(01:20:31) Final Thoughts and Closing Remarks
🎧 Interview begins at (03:30)
🔗 THE SACRED SPEAKS:
Website: http://www.thesacredspeaks.com
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