Conversion stories often get reduced to neat headlines, but the road from New Age spirituality to historic Christianity is usually messy, humbling, and deeply human. In this conversation, Michaela Nikolaenko @MichaelaNikolaenko lays out a candid record of life inside tarot, yoga, psychedelics, and an adulterous relationship that spiraled into a series of demonic encounters. The scenes are visceral—faces morphing, oppressive presences, and a stark battle of wills that ended with a shaky, embarrassed prayer to Jesus. That plea wasn’t tidy, but it was decisive. What followed was a slow reconstruction: throwing out occult tools, breaking off a relationship that was corroding the soul, and letting Scripture set guardrails when fear of the dark felt nearer than hope. This is where the healing began: not with spectacle, but with obedience.

Her path to a church wasn’t linear. She tried a Catholic parish for holy water, sat with Mormon elders chasing answers about a “great mother,” and explored non-Christian traditions to avoid surrendering her favorite sins. None of it resolved the dread. A Protestant friend finally said, “Just come to church.” There she saw families, order, and women who would look her in the eyes and say the hard thing kindly: God isn’t sending you someone else’s spouse. Confession began informally in living rooms before it matured into sacrament. The Bible became less a slogan and more a survival guide. If she walked its way, the demonic stopped walking through her door.

Yet she still needed peace about Jesus himself. It arrived as a dream: a suffocating abyss like hell, then a burst of light warming her body, air in the lungs, the face of Christ breaking through. That experience wasn’t a lifestyle brand; it was rescue. Enter Orthodoxy, where the lives of the saints—Mary of Egypt, Moses the Black, Anthony the Great—normalized spiritual warfare and recovery. Reverence replaced adrenaline. The liturgy felt like work, sometimes literally painful, but that was the point. Worship isn’t entertainment; it is labor of love that shapes desire. Emotional highs faded; steadiness grew. The church calendar, fasts, and feasts became a map for ordinary holiness.

Practically, Michaela is now building resources for seekers leaving occult practices: short guides on tarot, moon rituals, psychedelics, and their spiritual costs through an Orthodox lens. The tone isn’t sneering. She respects the honest desire that drove her to search in the wrong places and insists that God used even that confusion to guide her home. She urges listeners to read the Apostolic Fathers—Ignatius, Polycarp, the Didache—and to use accessible summaries when primary texts feel dense. The goal isn’t trivia; it’s rootedness. Along the way, we pressed into real-life questions: navigating reverence without chasing constant “feels,” and simple dating wisdom for Orthodox men—groom, work, pursue, and be brave. The final word is simple and ancient: come and see. Online content can spark curiosity, but only a parish can teach you to breathe again.

Questions about Orthodoxy? Please check out our friends at Ghost of Byzantium Discord server: https://discord.gg/JDJDQw6tdh

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From Megachurch Disillusionment To Hope.

Josiah the inquirer sits down with Cloud of Witnesses, Mario Andrew and Jeremy Jeremiah.

A skull on a thumbnail, bells in the background, and a monk’s voice quoting Saint Isaac changed everything. Josiah didn’t set out to find ancient Christianity; he just needed something more honest than a forced smile and a quick fix. What he discovered was not an edgy aesthetic for its own sake, but a fearless way of naming reality: remember death, confront the passions, and be made new in Christ.

We trace the unlikely path from hardcore shows to holy tradition, exploring why Orthodoxy can feel “metal” without the nihilism. The conversation dives into Saint Paul’s call to be a living sacrifice, Saint Isaac’s searing inventory of the passions, and the strange relief that comes from a church that looks you in the eye and tells you the truth. Icons and martyrdom aren’t there to shock; they give shape to hope, showing lives that died to the world so that love could live. Along the way we talk Kat Von D, Holy Name, and the kind of inclusivity that rescues, not indulges—come as you are, but don’t expect to stay there.

• first contact with Orthodoxy through a stark video
• megachurch cynicism versus honest talk about death
• Saint Isaac the Syrian on the passions
• Scripture’s call to die to self
• icons, skulls, and martyrdom as truthful symbols
• baptizing subculture without baptizing sin
• real inclusivity as rescue and transformation
• providential friendships and cigar night community
• practical next steps toward catechesis
• lighthearted barber stories to close

What ultimately makes the search real is community: providential friendships, a cigar night, and a Clouded Witnesses feature that turned curiosity into courage. We share practical insights on taking first steps toward Orthodoxy, why asceticism answers modern anxiety, and how subculture can be baptized without baptizing sin. And yes, we close with a few unforgettable barber tales, because joy and humility are part of the medicine.

If you’re hungry for a faith that can hold sorrow and still make it sing, press play, share this with a friend, and tell us the moment that hit you hardest. Subscribe for more journeys, leave a review to help others find the show, and drop your questions—we’re listening.

Questions about Orthodoxy? Please check out our friends at Ghost of Byzantium Discord server: https://discord.gg/JDJDQw6tdh

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From Restless to Rooted: Joshua Williams on Calling, Repentance, and a Faith That Endures.

What happens when the map you drew for your life no longer fits the road God is actually giving you? In this continuation of our conversation with Joshua Williams, we trace a candid journey through disappointment, redirection, and the quiet practices that turn belief into a way of life. This isn’t highlight-reel faith; it’s the daily, hidden work of following Jesus when the feelings fade and the next step isn’t obvious.

In this episode you’ll hear about:

Calling vs. career: how God reshapes ambition into service and steadies the heart when doors close.

Repentance as renewal: not shame, but the rhythm that keeps love honest and hope alive.

Prayer that holds in storms: learning to pray Scripture when words run out.

Community and accountability: why “just me and Jesus” isn’t enough when you’re tired, tempted, or unsure.

Sacrament and Scripture together: how worship and the Word form a faith that lasts beyond trends.

Suffering without cynicism: carrying grief to Christ and finding courage to begin again.

Why listen: If you’re in a season of waiting, change, or quiet rebuilding, Joshua’s story offers both clarity and comfort—practical ways to keep moving with Jesus when you’re short on answers but rich in questions.

If this conversation encouraged you, subscribe, share it with a friend who needs steadying grace, and leave a quick review with the one practice—prayer, repentance, or community—you’re committing to this week.

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What if the road to Jesus runs through a guru? We sit down with Joshua to trace his unlikely path from a Romanian “enlightenment” school to Orthodox Christianity, and we ask the questions seekers rarely say aloud: Do mystical experiences prove truth, or do they force us to ask which spirit we’re listening to?

Joshua describes leaving the U.S. to “throw himself into the arms of the universe,” clinging to ideas like reincarnation and religious unity while resisting the moral claims of Christ. Inside a syncretic school that blended Hindu and Buddhist concepts, he encountered a compelling teacher, apparent clairvoyance, and a vision of reality where Brahman reigns as impersonal essence. That promise of unity felt expansive—until it demanded he treat personhood, love, and moral responsibility as illusions. We contrast that with the Orthodox claim that God is personal and tri-personal: the Trinity as eternal communion, love that exists before creation, and a God who is everywhere present yet distinct from creation. Rather than absorbing us into a faceless One, God calls us by name and invites real relationship.

Across the conversation, we map the turning points: irritation at the name of Jesus giving way to self-awareness, recognition of authentic Christian witness, and a rethinking of “science versus faith” that leaves shallow slogans behind. We explore discernment of spirits, why power isn’t proof, and how an impersonal metaphysics drifts toward quiet nihilism. Then we look at the Orthodox vision of personhood that grounds meaning: if we’re made in God’s image, our capacity for love is not a cosmic trick—it’s the point.

If you’ve chased enlightenment and still long for a face behind the light, this story will meet you where you are. Listen, share with a friend who’s wrestling with pantheism or syncretism, and leave a review to help others find the show. Subscribe for more conversations that take faith, reason, and experience seriously.

Questions about Orthodoxy? Please check out our friends at Ghost of Byzantium Discord server: https://discord.gg/JDJDQw6tdh

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