Joni Miller
@jonimillerphd.bsky.social
Spiritual wanderer and guide * Marylander and Michigander * Dog lover and cat lover in equal proportions
Ep 74: The Force of Love
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
Sometimes the most radical thing we can do is refuse to let fear shrink us. This reflection invites us to choose love, not because it’s easy, but because it’s what keeps us human.
#ChoosingLove #StayingHuman #LoveOverFear #growmorelove
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
Sometimes the most radical thing we can do is refuse to let fear shrink us. This reflection invites us to choose love, not because it’s easy, but because it’s what keeps us human.
#ChoosingLove #StayingHuman #LoveOverFear #growmorelove
Ep 74: The Force of Love
Choosing the direction that expands us
open.substack.com
December 18, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Ep 74: The Force of Love
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
Sometimes the most radical thing we can do is refuse to let fear shrink us. This reflection invites us to choose love, not because it’s easy, but because it’s what keeps us human.
#ChoosingLove #StayingHuman #LoveOverFear #growmorelove
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
Sometimes the most radical thing we can do is refuse to let fear shrink us. This reflection invites us to choose love, not because it’s easy, but because it’s what keeps us human.
#ChoosingLove #StayingHuman #LoveOverFear #growmorelove
Ep 73: The Games Being Played with Our Lives
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
When the powerful treat people like pieces on a board, remembering our connection becomes an act of resistance. History shows what can happen when ordinary people rise together.
Rising together with love.
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
When the powerful treat people like pieces on a board, remembering our connection becomes an act of resistance. History shows what can happen when ordinary people rise together.
Rising together with love.
Ep 73: The Games Being Played with Our Lives
How ordinary people reclaim power through courage and connection
open.substack.com
December 2, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Ep 73: The Games Being Played with Our Lives
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
When the powerful treat people like pieces on a board, remembering our connection becomes an act of resistance. History shows what can happen when ordinary people rise together.
Rising together with love.
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
When the powerful treat people like pieces on a board, remembering our connection becomes an act of resistance. History shows what can happen when ordinary people rise together.
Rising together with love.
Ep 72: Time Travel Gratitude
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Every generation inherits a moment that asks for courage. This is ours.
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
Every generation inherits a moment that asks for courage. This is ours.
Ep 72: Time Travel Gratitude
What nostalgia hides and gratitude helps us see
open.substack.com
November 25, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Ep 72: Time Travel Gratitude
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
Every generation inherits a moment that asks for courage. This is ours.
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
Every generation inherits a moment that asks for courage. This is ours.
Ep 71: Choosing Who Counts ... and Why It's Time to Choose Differently
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The myth of the “self-made” person has fueled a society suspicious of those who struggle. Some people’s hardships are dismissed as personal failure.
Who matters? Who is worthy of support?
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
The myth of the “self-made” person has fueled a society suspicious of those who struggle. Some people’s hardships are dismissed as personal failure.
Who matters? Who is worthy of support?
Ep 71: Choosing Who Counts ... and Why It's Time to Choose Differently
A culture build on suspicion can be rebuilt on care
open.substack.com
November 18, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Ep 71: Choosing Who Counts ... and Why It's Time to Choose Differently
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
The myth of the “self-made” person has fueled a society suspicious of those who struggle. Some people’s hardships are dismissed as personal failure.
Who matters? Who is worthy of support?
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
The myth of the “self-made” person has fueled a society suspicious of those who struggle. Some people’s hardships are dismissed as personal failure.
Who matters? Who is worthy of support?
Ep 69: The Future is Not Yet Written
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
We don’t need one hero — we need millions of us choosing love at the same time. Alone, none of us can shift the tide. Together, we are the tide.
#nokings #collectivehope #bluewave #growmorelove
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
We don’t need one hero — we need millions of us choosing love at the same time. Alone, none of us can shift the tide. Together, we are the tide.
#nokings #collectivehope #bluewave #growmorelove
Ep 69: The Future is Not Yet Written
From despair to possibility - together
open.substack.com
November 6, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Ep 69: The Future is Not Yet Written
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
We don’t need one hero — we need millions of us choosing love at the same time. Alone, none of us can shift the tide. Together, we are the tide.
#nokings #collectivehope #bluewave #growmorelove
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
We don’t need one hero — we need millions of us choosing love at the same time. Alone, none of us can shift the tide. Together, we are the tide.
#nokings #collectivehope #bluewave #growmorelove
Ep 60: Cucumbers, Grapes, and the Stories We Tell About Fairness
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
We’re wired to resist unfairness, but politicians have learned to weaponize that instinct. Too often we end up angry at the vulnerable instead of questioning the systems that create the struggle.
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
We’re wired to resist unfairness, but politicians have learned to weaponize that instinct. Too often we end up angry at the vulnerable instead of questioning the systems that create the struggle.
Ep 60: Cucumbers, Grapes, and the Stories We Tell About Fairness
How the story of “waste, fraud, and abuse” blinds us to truth and love
open.substack.com
November 3, 2025 at 3:55 PM
Ep 60: Cucumbers, Grapes, and the Stories We Tell About Fairness
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
We’re wired to resist unfairness, but politicians have learned to weaponize that instinct. Too often we end up angry at the vulnerable instead of questioning the systems that create the struggle.
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
We’re wired to resist unfairness, but politicians have learned to weaponize that instinct. Too often we end up angry at the vulnerable instead of questioning the systems that create the struggle.
Ep 68: The Cost of Silence - and the Courage to Speak
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
Courage doesn’t always stand in front of tanks. Sometimes it simply refuses to stay silent.
When we choose love over fear, we make courage contagious.
#growmorelove #courageiscontagious #integrity
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
Courage doesn’t always stand in front of tanks. Sometimes it simply refuses to stay silent.
When we choose love over fear, we make courage contagious.
#growmorelove #courageiscontagious #integrity
Ep 68: The Cost of Silence - and the Courage to Speak
Choosing integrity over comfort and belonging
open.substack.com
October 28, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Ep 68: The Cost of Silence - and the Courage to Speak
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
Courage doesn’t always stand in front of tanks. Sometimes it simply refuses to stay silent.
When we choose love over fear, we make courage contagious.
#growmorelove #courageiscontagious #integrity
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
Courage doesn’t always stand in front of tanks. Sometimes it simply refuses to stay silent.
When we choose love over fear, we make courage contagious.
#growmorelove #courageiscontagious #integrity
Ep 67: Strange Bedfellows
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
The real revolution begins when we learn to welcome those who’ve changed their minds.
#GraceInAction, #DemocracyWithHeart, #BecomingBetterTogether
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
The real revolution begins when we learn to welcome those who’ve changed their minds.
#GraceInAction, #DemocracyWithHeart, #BecomingBetterTogether
Ep 67: Strange Bedfellows
“Misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows” - Shakespeare, The Tempest
open.substack.com
October 21, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Ep 67: Strange Bedfellows
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
The real revolution begins when we learn to welcome those who’ve changed their minds.
#GraceInAction, #DemocracyWithHeart, #BecomingBetterTogether
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
The real revolution begins when we learn to welcome those who’ve changed their minds.
#GraceInAction, #DemocracyWithHeart, #BecomingBetterTogether
substack.com/@jonimiller/...
The back of my No Kings sign says, “We’re fighting for you, too.” That’s what I'll say to anyone who gives us the finger or yells.
Because we are.
Democracy, at its best, is an act of love: a covenant to care for one another’s dignity, even when we disagree.
#nokings
The back of my No Kings sign says, “We’re fighting for you, too.” That’s what I'll say to anyone who gives us the finger or yells.
Because we are.
Democracy, at its best, is an act of love: a covenant to care for one another’s dignity, even when we disagree.
#nokings
Joni Miller, Ph.D. (@jonimiller)
The back of my No Kings sign says, “We’re fighting for you, too.” That’s what I said during the first No Kings Day to anyone who gave us the finger or yelled.
Because I am. Because we are.
Democracy...
substack.com
October 18, 2025 at 2:26 PM
substack.com/@jonimiller/...
The back of my No Kings sign says, “We’re fighting for you, too.” That’s what I'll say to anyone who gives us the finger or yells.
Because we are.
Democracy, at its best, is an act of love: a covenant to care for one another’s dignity, even when we disagree.
#nokings
The back of my No Kings sign says, “We’re fighting for you, too.” That’s what I'll say to anyone who gives us the finger or yells.
Because we are.
Democracy, at its best, is an act of love: a covenant to care for one another’s dignity, even when we disagree.
#nokings
Ep 40: Why I Still Love America (but I don't like her much right now)
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
I’m attending a No Kings protest. I hear some Republicans think that means I "hate America." Definitely not true.
#nokings
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
I’m attending a No Kings protest. I hear some Republicans think that means I "hate America." Definitely not true.
#nokings
Ep 40: Why I Still Love America (but I don't like her much right now)
A Reflection on Grace, Grief, and the Courage to Keep Reaching for the Promise
open.substack.com
October 11, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Ep 40: Why I Still Love America (but I don't like her much right now)
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
I’m attending a No Kings protest. I hear some Republicans think that means I "hate America." Definitely not true.
#nokings
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
I’m attending a No Kings protest. I hear some Republicans think that means I "hate America." Definitely not true.
#nokings
Ep 66: Hitching Your Wagon to a Sinking Ship
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Some will go down with the ship just to avoid saying they were wrong. Integrity asks us to choose truth over pride. Freedom begins the moment we admit what’s sunk … and choose again with love.
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
Some will go down with the ship just to avoid saying they were wrong. Integrity asks us to choose truth over pride. Freedom begins the moment we admit what’s sunk … and choose again with love.
Ep 66: Hitching Your Wagon to a Sinking Ship
Choosing integrity over illusion
open.substack.com
October 7, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Ep 66: Hitching Your Wagon to a Sinking Ship
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
Some will go down with the ship just to avoid saying they were wrong. Integrity asks us to choose truth over pride. Freedom begins the moment we admit what’s sunk … and choose again with love.
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
Some will go down with the ship just to avoid saying they were wrong. Integrity asks us to choose truth over pride. Freedom begins the moment we admit what’s sunk … and choose again with love.
Ep 65: Let Gratitude Walk Beside Your Pain
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
The ground feels shaky.
Fear and hate are loud.
But gratitude steadies us – not by pretending everything is fine, but by reminding us that love still pulses through the cracks.
#growmorelove #spiritualgeography #gratitude
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
The ground feels shaky.
Fear and hate are loud.
But gratitude steadies us – not by pretending everything is fine, but by reminding us that love still pulses through the cracks.
#growmorelove #spiritualgeography #gratitude
Ep 65: Let Gratitude Walk Beside Your Pain
Feel First, then Reframe
open.substack.com
September 30, 2025 at 5:48 PM
Ep 65: Let Gratitude Walk Beside Your Pain
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
The ground feels shaky.
Fear and hate are loud.
But gratitude steadies us – not by pretending everything is fine, but by reminding us that love still pulses through the cracks.
#growmorelove #spiritualgeography #gratitude
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
The ground feels shaky.
Fear and hate are loud.
But gratitude steadies us – not by pretending everything is fine, but by reminding us that love still pulses through the cracks.
#growmorelove #spiritualgeography #gratitude
Ep 64: Confessions of a Hypocrite
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
I am a hypocrite, wrestling with my own judgment and anger when I so often speak about love.
What does it mean to keep choosing love when fear is loud and cruelty is cheered?
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
I am a hypocrite, wrestling with my own judgment and anger when I so often speak about love.
What does it mean to keep choosing love when fear is loud and cruelty is cheered?
Ep 64: Confessions of a Hypocrite
Wrestling with Fear, Reaching for Love
open.substack.com
September 23, 2025 at 2:51 PM
Ep 64: Confessions of a Hypocrite
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
I am a hypocrite, wrestling with my own judgment and anger when I so often speak about love.
What does it mean to keep choosing love when fear is loud and cruelty is cheered?
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
I am a hypocrite, wrestling with my own judgment and anger when I so often speak about love.
What does it mean to keep choosing love when fear is loud and cruelty is cheered?
Ep 63: In the Name of Religion
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
When faith becomes performance, love gets lost.
Online, it’s easy to perform: certainty over compassion. Some use the label Christian like armor, as if it shields from the hurt their words cause. Love is the point. Not the name badge.
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
When faith becomes performance, love gets lost.
Online, it’s easy to perform: certainty over compassion. Some use the label Christian like armor, as if it shields from the hurt their words cause. Love is the point. Not the name badge.
Ep 63: In the Name of Religion
When labels replace love
open.substack.com
September 18, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Ep 63: In the Name of Religion
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
When faith becomes performance, love gets lost.
Online, it’s easy to perform: certainty over compassion. Some use the label Christian like armor, as if it shields from the hurt their words cause. Love is the point. Not the name badge.
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
When faith becomes performance, love gets lost.
Online, it’s easy to perform: certainty over compassion. Some use the label Christian like armor, as if it shields from the hurt their words cause. Love is the point. Not the name badge.
Ep 62: Five Hundred Years of Disagreement (and Counting)
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
Faith thrives in diversity, not control. Certainty comforts some and devastates others—so what happens when it’s written into law?
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
Faith thrives in diversity, not control. Certainty comforts some and devastates others—so what happens when it’s written into law?
Ep 62: Five Hundred Years of Disagreement (and Counting)
Why Ten Commandments Laws Won’t Solve the Mystery of Faith
open.substack.com
September 9, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Ep 62: Five Hundred Years of Disagreement (and Counting)
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
Faith thrives in diversity, not control. Certainty comforts some and devastates others—so what happens when it’s written into law?
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
Faith thrives in diversity, not control. Certainty comforts some and devastates others—so what happens when it’s written into law?
Ep 61: "Thoughts and Prayers"
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
‘Thoughts and prayers’ -- words we hear after every tragedy. But what do they really mean, and can prayer ever move us beyond words into action?
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
‘Thoughts and prayers’ -- words we hear after every tragedy. But what do they really mean, and can prayer ever move us beyond words into action?
Ep 61: "Thoughts and Prayers"
When empathy becomes action
open.substack.com
September 2, 2025 at 10:43 PM
Ep 61: "Thoughts and Prayers"
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
‘Thoughts and prayers’ -- words we hear after every tragedy. But what do they really mean, and can prayer ever move us beyond words into action?
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
‘Thoughts and prayers’ -- words we hear after every tragedy. But what do they really mean, and can prayer ever move us beyond words into action?
Ep 60: Cucumbers, Grapes, and the Stories We Tell About Fairness
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
‘Waste, fraud, and abuse.’ We’ve heard the phrase for decades, but what happens when that story collides with lived experience? This episode explores why fairness resonates so deeply in us.
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
‘Waste, fraud, and abuse.’ We’ve heard the phrase for decades, but what happens when that story collides with lived experience? This episode explores why fairness resonates so deeply in us.
Ep 60: Cucumbers, Grapes, and the Stories We Tell About Fairness
How the story of “waste, fraud, and abuse” blinds us to truth and love
open.substack.com
August 26, 2025 at 1:14 PM
Ep 60: Cucumbers, Grapes, and the Stories We Tell About Fairness
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
‘Waste, fraud, and abuse.’ We’ve heard the phrase for decades, but what happens when that story collides with lived experience? This episode explores why fairness resonates so deeply in us.
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
‘Waste, fraud, and abuse.’ We’ve heard the phrase for decades, but what happens when that story collides with lived experience? This episode explores why fairness resonates so deeply in us.
Ep 59: Why Some Think the Emperor is Wearing Clothes
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
Illusions may feel safe and they’re everywhere. But clinging to them costs us more than facing the truth ever will. Be the brave voice that speaks out, breaking the fog of illusion for others.
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
Illusions may feel safe and they’re everywhere. But clinging to them costs us more than facing the truth ever will. Be the brave voice that speaks out, breaking the fog of illusion for others.
Ep 59: Why Some Think the Emperor is Wearing Clothes
When Illusions Crumble, Courage Sets Us Free
open.substack.com
August 19, 2025 at 2:23 PM
Ep 59: Why Some Think the Emperor is Wearing Clothes
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
Illusions may feel safe and they’re everywhere. But clinging to them costs us more than facing the truth ever will. Be the brave voice that speaks out, breaking the fog of illusion for others.
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
Illusions may feel safe and they’re everywhere. But clinging to them costs us more than facing the truth ever will. Be the brave voice that speaks out, breaking the fog of illusion for others.
Ep 58: Where's My Flying Car?
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
Where's the world of inclusion I was promised? Oh ... and where's my flying car?
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
Where's the world of inclusion I was promised? Oh ... and where's my flying car?
Ep 58: Where's My Flying Car?
Boldly Go Toward a Future Where Everyone Belongs
open.substack.com
August 12, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Ep 58: Where's My Flying Car?
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
Where's the world of inclusion I was promised? Oh ... and where's my flying car?
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
Where's the world of inclusion I was promised? Oh ... and where's my flying car?
Ep 57: I Still Don't Understand Evangelism
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
Federal employees can encourage co-workers to “re-think” their religious beliefs? Yikes. This has been one of the things I have been (1) repelled by and (2) really curious about since I was a teenager. Hear my story below.
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
Federal employees can encourage co-workers to “re-think” their religious beliefs? Yikes. This has been one of the things I have been (1) repelled by and (2) really curious about since I was a teenager. Hear my story below.
Ep 57: I Still Don't Understand Evangelism
Love shouldn't require a sales pitch
open.substack.com
August 5, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Ep 57: I Still Don't Understand Evangelism
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
Federal employees can encourage co-workers to “re-think” their religious beliefs? Yikes. This has been one of the things I have been (1) repelled by and (2) really curious about since I was a teenager. Hear my story below.
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
Federal employees can encourage co-workers to “re-think” their religious beliefs? Yikes. This has been one of the things I have been (1) repelled by and (2) really curious about since I was a teenager. Hear my story below.
Ep 56: Women Are So Scary
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
Women are so scary. We’ve locked away too much wisdom in the name of fear—fear of "disruptive" women, of change, of truth. What happens when we stop tightening the grip... and start opening the door?
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
Women are so scary. We’ve locked away too much wisdom in the name of fear—fear of "disruptive" women, of change, of truth. What happens when we stop tightening the grip... and start opening the door?
Ep 56: Women Are So Scary
Making space for wisdom that doesn't fit the script
open.substack.com
July 29, 2025 at 2:03 PM
Ep 56: Women Are So Scary
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
Women are so scary. We’ve locked away too much wisdom in the name of fear—fear of "disruptive" women, of change, of truth. What happens when we stop tightening the grip... and start opening the door?
open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
Women are so scary. We’ve locked away too much wisdom in the name of fear—fear of "disruptive" women, of change, of truth. What happens when we stop tightening the grip... and start opening the door?
Ep 55: Fool's Gold open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
Our culture perpetuates that we are “never enough” - not powerful enough, not rich enough, not "manly" enough. But beneath the noise we can find the real motivation and the real solution.
Not fool’s gold. The gold of Love.
Our culture perpetuates that we are “never enough” - not powerful enough, not rich enough, not "manly" enough. But beneath the noise we can find the real motivation and the real solution.
Not fool’s gold. The gold of Love.
Ep 55: Fool's Gold
When money, power, and belonging can't meet the deeper need
open.substack.com
July 22, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Ep 55: Fool's Gold open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
Our culture perpetuates that we are “never enough” - not powerful enough, not rich enough, not "manly" enough. But beneath the noise we can find the real motivation and the real solution.
Not fool’s gold. The gold of Love.
Our culture perpetuates that we are “never enough” - not powerful enough, not rich enough, not "manly" enough. But beneath the noise we can find the real motivation and the real solution.
Not fool’s gold. The gold of Love.
Ep 54: This is not How the Story Has to End open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
Maybe it’s not the world that changes first; maybe we need to change before anything else can happen.
Maybe it’s not the world that changes first; maybe we need to change before anything else can happen.
Ep 54: This is not How the Story Has to End
Choosing compassion when the world feels cruel
open.substack.com
July 15, 2025 at 6:31 PM
Ep 54: This is not How the Story Has to End open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
Maybe it’s not the world that changes first; maybe we need to change before anything else can happen.
Maybe it’s not the world that changes first; maybe we need to change before anything else can happen.
Ep 53: "I Told You So! Why Didn't You Listen to Me!?!" open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
It’s hard to resist saying “I told you so” when the ruin proves you right. Even in the wreckage there's another choice: lay down pride, soften our hearts, and invite in those who failed to heed those warnings.
It’s hard to resist saying “I told you so” when the ruin proves you right. Even in the wreckage there's another choice: lay down pride, soften our hearts, and invite in those who failed to heed those warnings.
Ep 53: "I Told You So! Why Didn't You Listen to Me!?!"
On being right, facing the wreckage, and building a more loving world ... together
open.substack.com
July 8, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Ep 53: "I Told You So! Why Didn't You Listen to Me!?!" open.substack.com/pub/jonimill...
It’s hard to resist saying “I told you so” when the ruin proves you right. Even in the wreckage there's another choice: lay down pride, soften our hearts, and invite in those who failed to heed those warnings.
It’s hard to resist saying “I told you so” when the ruin proves you right. Even in the wreckage there's another choice: lay down pride, soften our hearts, and invite in those who failed to heed those warnings.