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Spirituality for Skeptics
Welcome to Spirituality for Skeptics
Nov 6, 2025
Welcome to Spirituality for Skeptics
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FULL TRANSCRIPT
0:00
Hello, my friends, and welcome to episode zero, the introduction to this show, Spirituality for Skeptics. I'm Nicole Spencer. I am your host, your facilitator, and I am so honored that you are listening to this.
0:17
And I think that it's important to give you some background and give you some context so that you can understand how this show came to be, what you can expect, and really just get a little bit of an idea behind the scenes, you know, again, how all of this came to be.
0:35
This idea has been sitting in me for almost a year at the time of this recording, and I wanna give you an idea of how I transitioned, because many people who are gonna listen to this have been former followers or clients of mine in my last business, and there are also gonna be a lot more people who have never heard of me before because we have the most amazing guests sharing their stories that are gonna bring their people into the show.
1:03
So let's go. Little bit of background. So I was raised personally without any religious or spiritual framework. This is something that didn't come to me really, I would say, until about my mid-30s.
1:16
So my first career, I was a high school English teacher and realized very quickly that that was not going to be my life or my career.
1:24
And after a few years of teaching, I decided to go on to get a master's degree, which I got in a pretty obscure area. I actually have a Masters of Arts in Holocaust and Genocide Studies, and yes, that is a real thing.
1:37
I got it up at Stockton College in New Jersey. And my goal with that was to go back into higher education.
1:43
I had this dream of becoming a professor, and then once I was in school, I was like, "Oh, I'd love to work for an NGO, or dream job, work for the United Nations."
1:54
Again, I'm gonna keep a very long story short, I met my ex-husband, who is still the most wonderful person, uh, while I was in graduate school, and kind of took off on a different direction.
2:04
He was a federal agent, and so part of that just meant that we were gonna have to move every three to five years and follow where his career pathway took us. So that first stop was to New York City.
2:15
So I'm in New York City, and I'm like, "Oh, my gosh, I can walk to the UN. Like I, I am here in its, in its shadow, and this is gonna be the dream." And, uh, it wasn't [laughs] 'cause they didn't hire me.
2:27
And essentially, I actually, I had a, a client, this is the next step, becoming a fitness coach, but I had a client who was, she worked for the UN in peacekeeping operations, and she basically told me no one would ever hire me for the type of work that I wanted to do, not by anything of my fault, but because of what they look for.
2:43
And it was actually, I'm super grateful that she told me that even though I was really disappointed at first.
2:47
So anyway, I'm thinking I'm gonna work for the UN, but in the meantime, I decided to get into personal training, and I got my yoga certification, and that w- that changed everything for me.
2:57
I so fell in love with fitness. It had been part of my life forever. I'd grown up as a dancer, and, you know, it just felt like a really natural transition. And again, it changed everything.
3:07
I found myself managing a luxury health club in New York City, and then as my ex-husband's job took us, we had to go to Georgia. So we moved to a town in southeast Georgia. I opened my own fitness studio.
3:20
I sold it three years and one month later, and even prior to selling that business, I had hired business coaches to help me run it. They had hired me. So there I am doing fitness business coaching.
3:32
That was great for a few years, then it wasn't.
3:34
I launched my own company, which I ran from the very end 2017, early 2018, uh, till, uh, the end of 2024, but I sold it prior to that, so I stayed in, on a long-term transition.
3:48
And I just wanna give that context to say, like this spirituality thing for people with me might just feel like it's kind of out of nowhere.
3:56
And one thing I've realized looking back is that it was a lot more integrated in the way I spoke and the content I created and the w- you know, the, the words that I use, the language, than I realized.
4:06
I think it was something that was kind of stirred up in my subconscious that I was able to really deep dive into through the years.
4:14
And now, since transitioning completely out of business coaching, leaving that space, and having a lot of just time to think and reflect and grow and learn, this is my calling. This is my pathway.
4:26
And it's funny because, as I mentioned, I was not raised with any religious or spiritual framework, and I've told this story about how I must have been four or five years old, and I remember my mom putting me to bed [laughs] one night, and I was thinking about dinosaurs and how dinosaurs used to be a thing, and now they're not.
4:44
And so I asked my mom what happened to the dinosaurs, and she said, "Oh, well, they died, and when you die, you turn to dust."
4:51
And then I started thinking that that was gonna happen to me one day, and it was absolutely terrifying, and [laughs] I remember crying myself to sleep multiple nights in a row, and I don't think my mom was trying to scare me at all.
5:01
It's just kind of what she believes, and so that's what she told me. But to say I had no religious upbringing or framework is a bit of an understatement.
5:09
I would say I didn't really realize that even, you know, Christmas or, uh, Easter were religious holidays until I was in college. And I grew up in Asheville, North Carolina.
5:20
My family's from New York, Long Island, so I was born up there, a little bit raised up there, but mostly raised in North Carolina. So I was raised in the South and still had no idea what was going on.
5:30
And I think as I started to learn and grow as an adult, and I was exposed to more and more things, there was just something about religion specifically that was off-putting to me.
5:41
I was never completely closed to it, but this idea of fear and judgment as being kind of the, the core components in a way, it was just, uh, very off-putting to me, this whole idea that, like, you had to behave a certain way and believe certain things and get in line, and you were loved unconditionally, but also, like, deeply punished.
5:59
I remember hearing a George Carlin skit about that years ago, and it really resonated with me.
6:04
Again, I was never completely closed off to it, but I just wasn't that interested for some of the reasons that I shared and also just, like, having other things going on in my life.
6:12
And so I, for years, I think I equated spirituality with religion.
6:17
I didn't really know that there was a difference, and it's so interesting to look back on this journey now 'cause I'm like, "How could I have just not known so much?" But it's true, I didn't.
6:25
And it's, again, a little bit weird because I always believed in things like ghosts.
6:29
[laughs] And when I was introduced to the idea of past lives, it felt true to me, and a lot of what I believe in, and also a lot of what I'm skeptical of, which is why I created this show, it just felt inherently true.
6:43
But of course, all of this stuff is, you know, mostly things that we are unable to prove, right?
6:49
And so I would say that's where really that skepticism lens comes from because I'm someone who deeply wants truth and knowing, and I've just kinda come to ac- accept that in this realm, I'm never gonna quite get that.
7:03
But by asking people questions, and examining their stories, and looking at things through a very skeptical lens, and asking people the questions that I would want asked or get answers to, it's gonna really, hopefully, help not just me, but you continue to develop, continue to deepen that belief system.
7:20
So if you can approach this show with open-minded curiosity, I think it's going to be incredibly beneficial to you, and you are going to learn so much.
7:29
And so as I was saying, I stumbled into spirituality really after years of personal development work, you know, really focusing on business, and growth mindset, and things like that.
7:39
It was kind of like that next step, and I would say I would credit mentors who spoke spiritual language as that more of like a transitional gateway from personal development to spiritual work.
7:52
And interestingly enough, when I look back, I was speaking the language, but it must have just been really subconscious for me.
7:58
It's kind of like I was always meant to be on this pathway, but I had no idea when, where, how, or why until I did, right? And it's like I feel like I always knew that truth.
8:09
It's interesting how things manifest, isn't it? And so again, it all comes down to truth. That's why I wanted to create this show. I'm still seeking that truth. I'm still defining my belief system.
8:21
I am absolutely a believer in so much of what you're gonna hear spoken about on the show, and I still look at everything through a critical and skeptical lens.
8:30
And I think that open-minded skeptical curiosity is the ideal way for us to be, especially around something like spirituality, where no matter how much we wanna believe what we believe is true, we can never know for certain in many of those arenas, right?
8:47
There's no way any of us can know what happens after we die for certain, no matter how much we feel like we know, right? We are going to be shown that at that moment of transition.
8:58
I created this show, Spirituality for Skeptics, so I can facilitate conversations that allow me to learn and continue formulating my beliefs alongside you, the listener. This is a co-creation. I am not the teacher.
9:12
I am not the guru. I can absolutely share pieces of my journey. I can share my beliefs.
9:16
I can share the things I've been educated on, but I am here to learn and grow with you, and I think that's a beautiful collaboration that we get to have. It's not about dogma either.
9:26
This is really gonna benefit people who are open-minded and curious, and in that ever-learning, ever-growing constant exploration as we are all ultimately seeking the meaning of life and what it means to be human.
9:40
And my goal is not to convince anyone of anything. It's not to pull people out of certain belief systems and put them into others.
9:47
It is to facilitate whatever comes through for you based on the lessons and the conversations that we're having.
9:54
The format of this show is really about storytelling, so I'm gonna be facilitating conversations with people from a huge array of backgrounds from scientists to mediums to people who have done completely different types of work and then gotten into their spirituality, more similar to my story, and everything in between, energy workers.
10:15
I cannot wait for you to hear what we have rolled out. We've got some pretty exciting and big-name guests as well coming onto the show. It's gonna be amazing. And so
10:25
I'm gonna facilitate those conversations with this huge array of people so that they can share their process of awakening, if that pertains, how they work through or how they've overcome their own skepticism, skepticism that other people might, you know, give them around their own work, and where all of that has landed them in their current belief systems.
10:47
For me, hearing stories of other people has been the most powerful part of my spiritual journey, of my growth, and really understanding and starting to tap into what else could be beyond what we're able to see.
11:03
And I am just so excited for you guys to dive into this with me. The conversations are incredible. I consider myself to be an absolute seeker, and if that feels aligned to you, then you are definitely in the right place.
11:18
The mission behind this show is not only helping people develop belief systems, overcome skepticism... Whatever, whatever comes through for you is exactly what it's meant to. But the mission of this show is generosity.
11:31
Generosity is one of my personal core values. I hope to be incredibly generous to people by putting out the content of this show on podcast platforms, on YouTube for free.
11:43
You can also find me over on Substack, and that's where I'm consistently posting content, sharing stories, publishing articles, creating extras. So go to Substack.
11:54
You can find us on social media, on Instagram, on TikTok, Spirituality for Skeptics. All of these things are meant to be generously giving to you, right?
12:06
And as the show grows and as it builds, as it becomes monetized- What I wanna do with that is simply give, right?
12:13
I want to use what comes from this show to help people, whether it's individuals, whether it's organizations, hopefully some of our listeners.
12:23
There would be nothing that would make me more proud than to create an environment with this show that you can't wait to listen to, that you want to share with everybody that you know, that you want to share our content on social media so that we can monetize this and truly give.
12:41
That's what this is about, okay?
12:43
I did all the money-making stuff building my last company, selling my last company, and now this is my season to contribute and to give in ways that are even more extraordinary than the things that I've done before, and that's what gets me so excited about this, okay?
12:58
I will say my biggest fear with this show and putting myself out there in this way is judgment, it's criticism, it's hate. I've experienced those things to a certain extent in my other business.
13:12
You know, when we would run Facebook ads, and people who didn't know me would leave nasty comments and call me a fraud and, you know, o- oftentimes the comments were actually more about how I look and things like that, you know, but just people who want to give you that misdirected hate.
13:29
So I know now that I'm talking about things like spirituality, religion, things that are... people are very, uh, sensitive to, I fully, fully expect that that's going to come forward.
13:40
I'm also a very loving, sensitive person, and although m- my skin is much thicker than it was before I ever ran businesses, I still feel those things very much, right?
13:51
I'm very human in that regard, and so I'm just being vulnerable and transparent. I know those things will come. I hope it's less than [laughs] I hope it's as minimal as possible, but I'm just gonna throw it out there.
14:04
I am authentic and transparent in everything that I do and that I say, and so when I'm feeling it, I'm gonna share it with you guys.
14:11
I aim to bring you these conversations with amazing people with an array of backgrounds in either spiritual or spiritual adjacent spaces so I can ask them the questions that you, the curious listener, would want to ask them, okay?
14:26
So friends, make sure that you go subscribe to Spirituality for Skeptics over on YouTube and your favorite podcast platform, and make sure if you love the show, you not only follow us but also leave us a review.
14:39
It will make my day. It will make my world. You're why I'm doing this.
14:44
And again, you can find me over on Instagram, TikTok, and Substack, where I dive deeper into personal storylines and topics meant to stir your curiosity, and I'll even be answering requests, replying to questions that you guys have as an audience.
15:00
And we're gonna work together to seek truth, to seek certainty in an uncertain world, right? And ultimately, we're gonna work together to answer the question: What does it mean to be human?
15:14
And also the question: What is this all for? I am so excited. I am so honored that you are here with me in this new chapter in my life. I feel like it's been a lifetime coming, yet it also came out of nowhere.
15:29
This came together very quickly. It was, like, almost divine how I met the people who are my producers and editors, and meeting them in that divine timing is what spurred me to create this at the time that I did.
15:44
And now that I'm in it, I was hesitant, I was scared, you know, all the things when you're starting something new.
15:50
But now that I'm in it, I know it's exactly where I'm supposed to be, and I know that it's going to reach the people it's meant to reach.
15:57
And if that's you and you come on this journey, your world won't be the same, and I feel very confident saying that. So this is who I am. This is why we're here. Let's go on this journey together.
16:08
[outro music]
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