Podcasts · Religion & Spirituality · Society & Culture

Back from the Borderline

Mollie Adler

300 episodes · Explicit

Back from the Borderline explores how human beings construct, inherit, interpret and sometimes misunderstand the ideas and beliefs through which they experience reality. Through depth psychology, religious history, Western esotericism and philosophy, I investigate how we come to believe what we believe, who influences those beliefs and how they affect the way we understand ourselves and the world.

More about the show

A lot of my work comes back to the relationship between consciousness, belief and power.

How do institutions influence what people consider true, and why do we sometimes defend explanations we’ve never seriously questioned? Following these questions has taken me into some pretty unexpected territory, from early Christianity and the Western occult tradition to Jungian psychology, artificial intelligence and anomalous experiences. I’m also drawn to the ways spiritual teachings change as they’re passed between generations, and how institutions can preserve extraordinary wisdom while sometimes interfering with the very spiritual development they were meant to encourage.

You’ll find conversations with scholars and independent researchers here, alongside long-form essays where I spend time with historical sources and competing interpretations. Some of the ideas I explore are controversial. Others have been debated for centuries, although most of us were never taught much about them. I don’t assume an institution is correct because it has authority, or that an unconventional theory is true because someone claims it was suppressed. I’m willing to reconsider my own conclusions as I learn, and I hope you’ll feel encouraged to do the same.

I started this podcast years ago while trying to understand my own mind. Those early investigations into psychological suffering gradually led me toward the philosophical and religious traditions through which people have understood consciousness and human experience for centuries. There’s quite an archive here now, and I’ve kept much of it available, including episodes that reflect ideas I’ve since reconsidered.

If you’re new, you can start wherever you like. There’s no need to go all the way back to the first episode.

Even the title has taken on a different meaning over the years. Back from the Borderline now speaks to the boundaries I keep finding myself investigating, between psychology and theology, science and spiritual experience, accepted knowledge and ideas that have been pushed aside. I hope this can be a place where we explore those questions together, develop our own judgment and consider how what we learn might change the way we live.

You can explore the full podcast archive, House of Cards, my ongoing Tarot series, and MOODS, my reflective intelligence app, at backfromtheborderline.com. Patreon members can also connect their membership to Spotify to listen to the complete archive there.

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Episodes page 3 of 6

  1. the emotional cost of always being available (why you’re drowning in unread messages)

    · 24 min · Explicit

    In a world where the day begins with blinking notifications and ends with unanswered messages, many of us are carrying an invisible weight. This episode examines the psychological and physiological cost of always being…

  2. you can’t domesticate venus: sex, power, and the archetypes running your life with dr. laurence hillman

    · 1 h 30 min · Explicit

    Psychological astrologer Dr. Laurence Hillman returns to the podcast for a rare, unfiltered conversation on desire, danger, and the archetypal forces that shape our lives beneath the surface. We dive deep into the myth…

  3. your whole childhood wasn’t bad: the danger of “all-trauma” narratives

    · 26 min · Explicit

    Many of us find healing through learning about trauma - especially childhood emotional neglect, dysfunctional family systems, and the lasting impact of parental misattunement. That language can bring relief,…

  4. disordered desire: performing connection, numbing pleasure, forgetting yourself

    · 1 h 45 min · Explicit

    Desire is meant to be a creative force. Something within us that fuels connection, expression, intimacy, and imagination. But for many of us, that force has been warped and inverted. That means instead of feeling…

  5. what they're hiding about your mind

    · 32 min · Explicit

    In this episode, we explore the deeper truths that may be hiding beneath the surface of today’s “Disclosure” discourse. While headlines focus on UFO sightings, UAP whistleblowers, and NHI (non-human intelligence), the…

  6. why psychiatry failed her: laura delano on misdiagnosis, medication, and coming back to life

    · 2 h 03 min · Explicit

    What is the cost of being a “good patient”? For Laura, it was nearly her life. Join me as I sit down with Laura Delano, author of the groundbreaking memoir Unshrunk: A Story of Psychiatric Treatment Resistance. A…

  7. the real reason you’re afraid of the devil (you’re possessed, and it looks nothing like the movies)

    · 38 min · Explicit

    This episode plunges into the most feared symbols in the Western imagination: Lilith, Lucifer, the Devil, the Serpent, and the Dragon, and asks what we’ve buried, projected, or misunderstood in our efforts to exile…

  8. the psychology of love island USA S7: why it broke the internet (and what it says about us)

    · 2 h 06 min · Explicit

    This is an in-depth psychological breakdown of Love Island USA Season 7, one of the most viral and culturally polarizing seasons in the franchise’s history. Drawing from attachment theory, nervous system insight, and…

  9. you’re NOT crazy, you’re remembering the real world.

    · 29 min · Explicit

    We’ve all had moments that totally flipped our idea of reality on its head. Maybe it was an image from a dream that stayed with you for weeks, a phrase that popped into your head out of nowhere that led you somewhere…

  10. why personality ISN'T a prison (unless you let it be)

    · 1 h 42 min · Explicit

    If you were to believe the dominant frameworks of modern psychology, psychiatry, and popular self-help, you might assume that personality is a fixed structure. An inherited configuration of traits, disorders, or…

  11. what you're calling a breakdown might be a dark baptism

    · 1 h 19 min · Explicit

    Some people call it a breakdown. Others call it trauma. But when you look closely, these moments often follow a pattern. These moments come at a threshold (whether it’s psychologically, spiritually, emotionally) and…

  12. let them cook: shadow work, shame, and the stew of self

    · 15 min · Explicit

    You’ve probably seen the phrase: let him cook. It gets used online when someone’s deep in a process that looks weird from the outside. Messy, maybe misguided… but people step back and give it space. The idea is simple:…

  13. dancing with the devil part 2: the return (how to grow the f*ck up and quit calling red flags soulmates)

    · 1 h 01 min · Explicit

    This is Part Two of a two-part series. In Part One, we talked about what it feels like to override your gut instinct and confuse danger with connection. We became conscious of the pattern, and I shared a story I’ve…

  14. motherhood as death ritual (a rite of passage for women with or without children)

    · 23 min · Explicit

    This episode is not just for mothers. It’s for any woman who has ever felt the pull to grow up — psychologically, spiritually, mythically — and wasn’t given a roadmap. Whether you have children or not, if you carry…

  15. dancing with the devil part 1: the descent (why you keep ignoring your gut instinct and mistaking danger for ‘chemistry’)

    · 1 h 11 min · Explicit

    Cassie Ventura recently testified against Sean “Diddy” Combs, and as the coverage picked up, so did the usual commentary. People are asking the same questions they always do: Why didn’t she leave? Why stay that long?…

  16. psychic hygiene in the age of AI

    · 27 min · Explicit

    If you’ve been feeling scattered, foggy, or emotionally off after using AI tools or spending time online, you’re not imagining it. There’s something happening under the surface of digital life that most people don’t…

  17. unlearning toxic shame through sacred speech (a guided journey)

    · 1 h 08 min · Explicit

    In this guided experience, you’ll walk through an original five-part rite designed to help you become aware of the inherited language that shapes your internal world. Together, we dismantle the phrases, metaphors, and…

  18. chatGPT told him he was god (what no one’s saying about AI and spiritual delusion)

    · 22 min · Explicit

    In recent weeks, headlines have begun to surface that feel pulled straight from dystopian fiction. One Rolling Stone article, published May 4th, 2025, claims that people are “losing loved ones to AI-fueled spiritual…

  19. are you emotionally feral?

    · 1 h 04 min · Explicit

    What happens when no one teaches you how to feel safe with other people? When no one shows you how to speak your needs, regulate your emotions, or come back together after a rupture? This episode introduces a phrase…

  20. why you reject the love you crave (emotional maturity, trauma, and learning to receive)

    · 17 min · Explicit

    You might think you’re just protecting your peace. You might say you have high standards now. That you’ve outgrown certain people. That if someone really cared, they’d just know how to love you right. But lately, have…

  21. healing the christian wound: empire, myth, and the pattern beneath it all

    · 1 h 22 min · Explicit

    There are wounds that don’t show up in diagnoses or clinical language. The kind that live in the silence after a question you weren’t supposed to ask. These are the questions that form when love is offered only through…

  22. the death of celebrity culture is here (and why it's good for your mental health)

    · 34 min · Explicit

    Katy Perry kissed the ground after spending a mere three minutes in space. The headlines framed it as some kind of feminist milestone. The internet didn’t agree. In this episode, we trace the unraveling of a cultural…

  23. emotional alchemy: a guide for when everything falls apart

    · 1 h 53 min · Explicit

    This episode is spoken map for the ones unraveling, awakening, and becoming, one threshold at a time. You might be here because you’re exhausted by everything you’ve tried. Maybe you’ve done the therapy, read the…

  24. how to surrender to the mystery and let go your need for certainty

    · 16 min

    We’ve been taught to search for answers. Constantly trying to understand the world, to control it, to make sense of the chaos. But what if the search for certainty is actually keeping us stuck? What if the key to…

  25. what does AI believe? (the hidden soul inside the machine)

    · 1 h 00 min · Explicit

    When we talk about artificial intelligence, the focus is usually on headlines: Will it take our jobs? Can it be trusted? Is it dangerous? But what if we’ve been asking the wrong questions? A new study analyzed over…

  26. nobody's watching. nobody cares. you're free now.

    · 11 min · Explicit

    It feels like you’re living under surveillance. Every post. Every text. Every word. Measured, reviewed, obsessively rechecked. You shrink yourself to fit inside other people’s comfort zones. You twist your truth until…

  27. communication mastery series part 3: stop people pleasing, start owning your space

    · 1 h 09 min · Explicit

    In today’s episode, we’re peeling back the layers of the boundary-setting conversation, and doing it differently than you’ve heard before. We’ll explore the pitfalls of cut-off culture — this idea that you should sever…

  28. healing in a world that won't heal

    · 25 min · Explicit

    You’ve been carrying someone else’s burden. The weight of their healing, their progress, their transformation. You’ve believed that if you just try hard enough, they’ll “get it” just like you did. If you could just…

  29. communication mastery series part 2: the stoic art of emotional control

    · 1 h 13 min · Explicit

    Welcome to Part 2 of our Communication Mastery Series. In this episode, we’re diving into something powerful and timeless: Stoicism. This philosophy isn’t just for philosophers or ancient thinkers. It’s an emotional…

  30. i miss who i was before the internet knew me

    · 23 min · Explicit

    The internet never felt exactly safe, but it did used to feel like freedom. A wild, unstructured frontier. A portal you stepped through to escape family, teachers, and society, diving headfirst into a chaotic unknown.…

  31. communication mastery series part 1: command your voice, command your life

    · 1 h 39 min · Explicit

    The way you communicate will either open doors or shut them. It’s time you start mastering it. You’ve been talking your whole life, but what if your words are failing you? What if your communication is costing you…

  32. you're sleepwalking: it's time to wake up to what's ACTUALLY real

    · 25 min · Explicit

    You’ve been sleepwalking. Moving through your days as if reality is fixed, inevitable, and happening TO you. You’ve felt hijacked by the comments, opinions, and energies of others, as though your peace and power are at…

  33. why you crave chaos in love

    · 1 h 05 min · Explicit

    Why does love feel most real when it hurts? When the tension, the pull, the rupture are the only things that makes you feel alive? If you’ve ever found yourself confusing emotional chaos for connection, this one’s for…

  34. the demons you bury are the lessons you need to learn

    · 20 min

    The same problems keep showing up in your life, don’t they? The same struggles, the same emotional triggers, the same conflicts that feel like they’re stalking you no matter where you go. What if they weren’t random?…

  35. how the energy you carry is secretly controlling your life

    · 1 h 24 min · Explicit

    You think you’re moving through life as yourself, but something is running beneath the surface. A frequency, a pattern, a program that shapes everything around you. It’s invisible to the naked eye - and even your…

  36. you say you've changed — so why does your life look the same?

    · 20 min

    You tell yourself you’ve grown. That you’ve done the work. That you’ve broken the cycle. So why does everything still feel the same? Why do the same frustrations, the same dynamics, the same patterns keep showing up,…

  37. the truth about healing: you’ll never be who you were

    · 53 min · Explicit

    They taught you to fear your scars. To see them as proof of failure. To believe that if you could just erase the marks, you could go back. Back to before, back to whole, back to some untouched version of yourself. But…

  38. what you lose when you share too much

    · 20 min

    You’ve been taught that vulnerability is the path to intimacy. That the more you reveal, the closer you become. But does sharing everything really bring you closer? Or does it just leave you more exposed, more drained,…

  39. why limerence FEELS like love, but isn't

    · 1 h 23 min · Explicit

    Ever found yourself trapped in a cycle of longing, obsession, and emotional chaos? A constant craving for validation, attention, or affection from someone who never quite gives you what you need? If this feels…

  40. will AI set you free or control your mind? (psychiatry, mental health, and the machine age)

    · 2 h 15 min · Explicit

    AI isn’t coming for your job. It’s coming for your mind. Psychiatry and artificial intelligence are merging faster than anyone is paying attention to. Not to help people, not to bring depth or insight into the human…

  41. what stories are you telling yourself about your suffering?

    · 26 min · Explicit

    It’s time to get real about the stories you tell yourself and how they shape your emotional, mental, and spiritual well-being. If you've ever felt trapped in an endless loop of self-help content, desperately searching…

  42. dysfunctional family roles – part 5: hidden agendas (the peacemaker/mediator and narcissistic traits) [preview]

    · 45 min · Explicit

    Welcome back to our deep dive into the heart of dysfunctional family dynamics. This is the final episode of our series where each segment builds upon the last, further unraveling the complex roles that shape not just…

  43. mind unveiled part 6: the individuation process as spiritual ascent (integrating outer psychology, personality types, and the mystical qabalah)

    · 1 h 06 min · Explicit

    Have you ever wondered what it truly means to become your most authentic self? To integrate all aspects of your being—both conscious and unconscious—and embark on a profound journey of self-realization? Welcome to the…

  44. dysfunctional family roles – part 4: avoidance strategies (the mascot/clown and the lost child/rebel) [preview]

    · 24 min · Explicit

    Welcome back to our deep dive into the complexities of dysfunctional family dynamics. You're tuning into Episode 4 of our series, where each segment builds on the last, further unraveling the roles that shape not just…

  45. mind unveiled part 5: the shadow (working with your dark side)

    · 43 min · Explicit

    Do you ever feel like there's a part of yourself that you can't quite grasp? A hidden side that influences your thoughts and actions in ways you don't fully understand? Welcome to Episode 5 of our 'Mind Unveiled'…

  46. dysfunctional family roles – part 3: responsibilities and escape (the parentified child and the addict) [preview]

    · 40 min · Explicit

    Welcome back to our exploration into the heart of dysfunctional family dynamics. This is Episode 3 of our series, where we continue to unravel the complex roles that not only shape family life but also deeply influence…

  47. mind unveiled part 4: the psyche as a living reality (exploring consciousness and the collective unconscious)

    · 1 h 24 min · Explicit

    Have you ever wondered about the hidden depths of your mind? Curious about what lies beneath your conscious thoughts and how it all shapes your reality? Welcome to Episode 4 of our 'Mind Unveiled' series. In this…

  48. dysfunctional family roles – part 2: the extremes of family focus (the golden child and the scapegoat) [preview]

    · 41 min · Explicit

    Welcome back to our deep dive into the heart of dysfunctional family dynamics. This is Episode 2 of our series, where each segment builds upon the last, unraveling the complex roles that shape not just family life but…

  49. mind unveiled part 3: unmasking the soul image (the false self, archetypes, the anima and animus)

    · 1 h 32 min · Explicit

    Do you feel like you’re playing a role, always adjusting who you are to fit in? What if there’s a deeper, truer version of you just beneath the surface, waiting to be revealed? In Episode 3 of the ‘Mind Unveiled’…

  50. dysfunctional family roles – part 1: decoding the dynamics of dysfunction [preview]

    · 35 min · Explicit

    Every family has its secrets—those untold stories that shape us in ways we don't always see. What hidden roles within your family have shaped you? Are there patterns you're living out without even realizing it?…

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