John W. Price signed his record deal in blood. Then he became a single father with a crib beside his bed and no idea who to be.
How do you grow up, make a living, and become someone others can depend on without losing what makes you alive?
John’s path took him from touring musician to Jungian psychotherapist through unexpected fatherhood, sobriety, meditation, and a psychology class that moved him to tears. A student who had scraped by suddenly found himself earning straight A’s. He eventually earned a doctorate in Jungian psychology.
But the fire never went away.
In this episode of Personal Kosmology, we explore what happens when a life built around freedom and intensity meets the demands of caring for someone else. We talk about the people who helped John find his way, the therapist whose 90-day challenge became five years without alcohol, and the fear that becoming quieter might cost us our spark.
We also get into the difference between growing older and growing wiser, and what happens when we lack role models or rites of passage to guide us. Adulthood asks us to find our place within society. Elderhood asks us to go further: to challenge society and help it evolve. That takes discernment, responsibility, and enough of our original fire to question the world we have learned to inhabit.
IN THIS CONVERSATION
• Music, belonging, and the freedom to be yourself
• Unexpected single fatherhood and the end of an imagined future
• Sobriety and the power of someone who can challenge you
• Meditation, ambition, and the fear of losing your edge
• Discovering psychology after years of struggling in school
• Jung, spirituality, and the limits of certainty
• Therapy, authentic connection, and what it means to care
• Maturity, mentorship, and tending your fire
What part of yourself have you worked hardest to keep alive as you’ve grown up?
ABOUT JOHN
John W. Price, PhD, LPC, is a depth psychotherapist, musician, and host of The Sacred Speaks. He co-founded The Center for the Healing Arts and Sciences.
CONNECT WITH JOHN
Website: https://www.drjohnwprice.com/
The Sacred Speaks: https://www.youtube.com/c/thesacredspeaks
The Center for the Healing Arts and Sciences: https://www.thecenterforhas.com/
PERSONAL KOSMOLOGY
I’m Devin Martin, an executive life coach collecting the origin stories of seekers. By understanding how extraordinary people make sense of life, you’ll better understand how you make sense of your own.
Explore the show: https://personalkosmology.com/
Follow on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033NFLUJZEpM757VPosS9H
Subscribe for more conversations about how we become who we are, and who we might become next.
Personal Kosmology: Long-form conversations about the stories we live inside, one life at a time.
