In 2016, Amy Mcphie Allebest published her piece "Dear Mormon Man (https://mormondom.com/letter-to-a-mormon-man-8d251aa1f062),” which went viral during the #metoo movement, helping crack the foundation of deeply rooted inequalities within her church and worldwide. The feminist awakening started long ago, yet part of the issue we face in making progress as daughters of the patriarchy is that our vast repository of herstory isn’t shared widely, taught, or easily accessible. Still, Amy McPhie Allebest is changing all that with her podcast Breaking Down Patriarchy, An Essential Texts Bookclub (https://breakingdownpatriarchy.com/podcast/), which I believe is one of the most important podcasts of our time. Amy has always been drawn to asking the deeper questions that revealed the oppressive social systems at play in her university studies. Her questions always led her to more questions that piqued her interest in how these systems impacted women over time. Amy is no stranger to agitation and frustration about oppressive systems in her own life. When she found that she could not find a comprehensive women’s studies program, she decided to create one that would help her to illuminate her own struggle. So began an essential texts book club podcast where Amy invites her listeners and readers to tune in each week as she and one of her guests break down the patriarchy. Their conversations are about seminal feminist texts written over the ages that chronicle a deep, rich, and rewarding herstory highlighting the many remarkable ideas, observations, and work of female pioneers who are the foremothers of a most incredible movement to liberate, amplify, and celebrate the independent, sovereign and essential roles of women as co-equal partners in a world that has always sought to oppress and control them. This podcast is a project for the whole human family, and I urge all of us to tune in and become active listeners to this body of work that Amy has worked so hard to make available. It’s filled with incredible history, conversations, insights, and poignant and powerful revelations that offer alternative ways of imagining what might be possible if we were to succeed in joining hands with the men we love to build a more equitable system that benefits and liberates everyone from the oppressive and unjust systems that have dominated the world for the past 5,000 years. It’s just as important for men to listen in and participate in breaking down patriarchy because ultimately, men are still in power, and patriarchy harms everyone. It’s also deeply important because we love the men in our lives, and Patriarchy hurts the men we love as well as hurts women. We don’t actually know the true nature of women because she has always been subjugated. All human beings have both masculine and feminine energies, and all human beings benefit from cultivating both. Men are taught to be good men by being defenders of women, and while there is a lot of beauty in that, it can also be very condescending and limiting for the women in their lives. Listen in as we talk about her podcast responses from both women and men across the country, how Amy sees her role as she continues to steward this project, as well as what her vision for the future entails.

I loved my conversation with Akilah S. Richards and walked away with a much deeper understanding of the value of unschooling in America. Conventional schooling is deeply rooted in colonization, industrial progress, and control over our personal autonomy. Akilah is passionate about mindful partnerships and parenting. Since 2016 she has hosted Fare of the Free Child, a lifestyle and parenting podcast about the connection between liberation, learning, and parenting, particularly among Black, Non-Black Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities. Parents, educators, unschoolers, and entrepreneurs tune in weekly to connect about unschooling, deschooling, conscious parenting, and self-directedness. Discussions center around emotional wellness, learning and children, parenting, self-care, and self-love. The voice and work of this Jamaican-born, digital nomad have been featured on NPR, Forbes, NBC TV, Good Morning America’s blog, and in several literary and in-person spaces throughout the U.S., Jamaica, and South Africa. The TEDx Speaker, digital content writer, and facilitator’s highly-anticipated book Raising Free People: Unschooling as Liberation and Healing Work (PM Press), will be released in the Fall of 2020. “We can’t keep using tools of oppression and raise free people.” -Akilah Richards Unschooling is a life design choice but it’s also deeply linked to liberation and the idea of raising free people. Akilah’s children, Marley and Sage, had a consistent level of pushback when attending conventional school and at one point, Akilah and her partner Chris started to listen to what their children were saying. While the girls were accelerating academically, they were shrinking emotionally. They had stopped asking questions, which is a very “schoolish” thing. Akilah and Chris wanted their children to have agency and autonomy and the journey has revealed a tremendous tie into the work of liberation. Unschooling started as an experiment based on what Akilah and Chris knew was not working. This began a process of “mad question asking.” The way of the world is schooling - is our job as parents to acclimate our children to that? The idea of unschooling is to help your child create a trustful relationship to learning. The American Dream seems deeply entrenched in this idea of conventional education as the only way. Unschooling started as an experiment based on what Akilah and Chris knew was not working. When they left conventional education they discovered that there were many rewards - many freedoms with travel and finances that they had not previously recognized or been able to take advantage of. A lot of what we see as educational issues are really issues of human relationships. Unschooling creates an environment to question and unlearn. Questions are the path. Mad question asking brings us inward into the feminine - how do you want to feel? In our school system, children are rewarded when they comply. Parents worry about socialization, but socialization happens everywhere but school. All people are indoctrinated into the “system,” but when you walk around in a Black body there is another level of suppression of your personhood which is why creating safe environments for BIPOC children to learn and develop confident autonomy is so important. Unschooling isn’t just for rich people. The pandemic is offering us opportunities and parents are noticing a positive shift in their children. Covid is an opportunity to create a new normal in many ways including our relationship to education. Liberation comes with responsibility and accountability. It is time to decolonize our ideas of learning “The resistance is the roadmap, not a route to something else.”

Who gets to define what is deemed beautiful? Why do we leave it to others to define what it means, and how can we change the toxic nature of our culture's obsession with beauty myths and lies? Beauty myths cause tremendous harm, from body shame to dysmorphia, from starving ourselves through diet culture, to spending thousands of dollars on fixing or altering our appearance - all the while feeling MISERABLE and unworthy. Sarah Grandinetti is changing all that. Allow yourself to perceive beauty from a new vantage point and why it’s so important that we begin claiming our own definition of beauty as a means of disrupting the trance that keeps us believing that we are less or lacking in any way. Sarah left the celebrity hairstylist biz after 15 years to change the conversation about beauty because she saw how deeply both women and men suffer at the hands of a standardized beauty. Learn about why Sarah started to teach people about consciousness through the conversation about beauty. Social media often projects the"perfect image" that gets broadcasted daily - how can we change this? We can actively bring change to the beauty industry by living our lives on FULL VOLUME and by giving ourselves permission to shine. What limits us from receiving our own beauty and knowing it? Listen as Sarah tells a heart-expanding story about her young daughter Talia and what Sarah learned from her about being BEAUTIFUL. Sarah Grandinetti is a wife, a mother of four, an international educator, and guide to greater consciousness. Her classes explore such topics as parenting, relationships, money, and more. Having recently left the Los Angeles celebrity salon she owned for 15 years, she has now dedicated herself to changing the conversation about beauty. Inspired by the book, Being You Changing the World, authored by her brother, Dr. Dain Heer, Sarah has created Being You Beauty, a class experience offering tools, insights, and conscious conversations designed to dismantle the overbearing beauty standards and reveal what is actually possible when you include you and your body in what you perceive as beauty. Being You Beauty is a worldwide movement, having just completed a 7-day social media challenge with thousands of participants. Being You Beauty asks the compelling question, “What have you defined as beauty that limits you from receiving your own beauty?” Beyond the trendy ad campaigns used to sell quick fixes, Sarah knows there is nothing to fix! She is on a mission to inspire us all to acknowledge the beauty we truly be and the gift that unique brand of beauty is to the world.

Ok, Listeners. Oh, my heart! This story is going to blow you away. Be prepared to have your mind and heart blown wide open and keep the tissues nearby, just in case. What happens when a couple goes from infertility to the conception of multiple eggs, has their own healthy baby, and then decides to donate the rest of their fertilized eggs so that they can be adopted by another family who is having trouble conceiving? Well, you are about to bear witness to the incredible story of two remarkable women who each gave birth independently to biological siblings. Discover the bonds these two families have built in solidarity for what’s possible when you want to conceive something you might not have ever believed you could. In this episode, you’ll meet Liz and Emma, both incredible, fun, articulate, and endearing. You’ll hear about their incredible individual stories and then how their lives were brought together through the miracle of social media. You’ll also hear the powerful love between two mothers who both hold a new vision for what it means to invite the village to raise and even help you conceive your children. Seriously, this story is just too incredible even to try to find the words for. Just listen! In this episode, Emma and Liz will share: What embryo adoption is and isn’t. How parenthood doesn’t begin just when the baby ends up in your arms - it starts when you make the decision to become a parent. How the infertility journey and the "new mom" journey undo and then reshape us. The bizarre and magical way Liz and Emma (and their families) became connected through embryo adoption If Liz ever questioned her decision to donate her embryos and why she chose to donate vs. discard or donate to science. Why Liz chose an open adoption vs. closed. How family and friends regard Liz's decision to donate. What are Liz's hopes for Blake, Edgar, and the other possible babies that may come in the future. How Emma discovered embryo adoption as an option. What helped move Emma through her infertility journey. How embryo adoption is similar and different than how Liz and Emma initially envisioned them to be. What people need to know about embryo adoption. The current struggles, conflicts, or shadow sides to embryo adoption. Emma shares what it’s like to be an embryo adoption mom. Emma shares what it was like seeing Liz and Peter’s profile for the first time and knowing they had picked her and her sweetheart as the babies' family. How tarot fits into Emma’s journey. How embryo adoption led Emma into creating tarot and oracle card art. Liz August is a Business & Tech Strategist who leads a virtual support team for entrepreneurs who hate figuring out all the technology and strategy it takes to have a successful online business. She does everything from website design to social media scheduling to online course creation. While Liz’s business is truly one of my saving graces, today, we are seeing the personal side of Liz as she talks to us about something very near and dear to her heart. Liz lives in Worcester, Massachusetts with her husband Peter, their four-year-old daughter, Blake, and their dog Porter. When she’s not being a tech goddess, she’s running Netflix marathons while guzzling Diet Cokes. p.s. Liz is also MY Business Manager and helps me produce this podcast. She handles various other tasks in my online business, and she’s amazing!!! I’ve been dying to have her tell this story on the podcast with Emma! Emma is a former social worker who’s taking time to live the mom adventure. She’s a runner, tarot reader, and budding artist. She’s in a fever of adding flowers, gold glitter, and moon imagery to any photo she finds. You can find her artwork and musings @unmadetarot on the Instagrams and the Pinterests. She lives in Pennsylvania with her sweetheart Vince, the adorable baby Edgar, the incorrigible Murphy Beagle, and the cuddly Minerva Cat.

We've been taught to believe that myths are untrue, yet this indicates how atrophied our cultural mythic imagination is. As a result, myth has been relegated to consumer entertainment or dismissed as irrelevant to us vs. a potent way to more deeply understand ourselves in reciprocal relationships with others and the world. Ours is a fact-based, linear, logical, and control-based culture that doesn't allow much room to follow the deep longing to know ourselves, and yet the longing persists and will continue to persist until we answer its call. Perhaps this time in our human evolution represents a heightened collective calling - can we answer it? In this episode, Ian and I talk about where we are as a culture and Ian's hope for awakening men worldwide. Ian became fascinated by the mythic masculine archetype when he initially learned more about the feminine through his film work. Ian was estranged from his grandfather growing up, but he went with his uncle to clean out his grandfather's home and came across a stack of books after his death. On top was "Iron John" by Robert Bly, which piqued his curiosity. When young men are not correctly initiated into adulthood and society, they become men at the mercy of their ego and are suspended as "boy-men" in our culture. The Dominator Culture is a term coined by Riane Eisler, who wrote The Chalice and The Blade. Eisler positions the dominator model in contrast to the partnership model, a more egalitarian structure of society founded on mutual respect among its inhabitants. In dominator culture, men rule over women, whereas partnership culture values men and women equally. An awakened archetypical mother is a mighty force in the world. Women tend to enact violence against themselves and Men against others. The narratives we often create are that the world is out to get us, that we need to conquer nature or anything threatening. The medical establishment creates a narrative around "war" - such as terms like "frontline workers" or "losing the battle to cancer," and there is a consequence to thinking about nature in this way. Our colonized view of the world keeps us from reciprocally engaging with life. The solutions mind is a colonized mind. Ian MacKenzie is a new paradigm artist who lives on the Salish Sea with his partner and young son. For over ten years, he's been tracking the global emergence of new cultures. From the desert of Burning Man to the heart of Occupy Wall St, he has sought and amplified the voices of visionaries, artists, and activists working toward planetary system change. He hosts The Mythic Masculine podcast and is the founder of A Gathering of Stories.

Emotional labor is the exertion of energy for the purpose of addressing people’s feelings, making people comfortable, or living up to social expectations. It’s called “emotional labor” because it ends up using – and often draining – our emotional resources. Emotional labor was a feeling I knew well before I knew it was a thing! It’s such a relief to put language to something I could not previously articulate. I can recall many situations in past relationships, at work, or in family dynamics where I would end up deeply resenting putting in the the extra time when it came to doing the heavy lifting of emotional labor. "I’ll clean if you just tell me what to clean!” or all the boyfriends who could not be bothered to pay attention to what I was saying I needed so that I had to spell it out! How about the time my father took me to girl scouts and all the women in the room looked at him like he was a saint for doing something my mother had done a million times. How about at the office when I was expected to answer the door buzzer when we were all in the conference room in a meeting of piers? I mean, the examples go on and on and on and on… I loved this riveting conversation with Susan Hyatt and I know you’ll love her energy. We were both practically buzzing with resonance in all we were sharing together. In this episode we cover some major ground: Where can other women start examining the impact of invisible labor in our own lives? First step- start noticing! Why do we call emotional labor the 3rd shift? What is the overall impact of doing most of the emotional labor on women and how do the symptoms present? Hear about why Susan is so passionate about closing the gaps in gender roles with confidence leisure, wealth and more. Learn what steps you can take to close those gaps in your own life. Listen to how Susan started to gain clarity about how to get the men and kids around her to start taking up the emotional slack. The more we are honest about our struggles, the more we can help one another move through them. Staying indoctrinated into silence and shame keeps us there. Susan Hyatt is a Master Certified Life and Business Coach, and one of the world’s leading voices on mindset, motivation, and how to become an unstoppable woman. She's also a #1 bestselling author and TEDx speaker; founder of the University for Life Coach Training; and the founder of BARE, a trademarked process that helps women shed body image issues, stop dieting, and treat their bodies with love and respect—leading to huge mental and physical health breakthroughs.

“Maybe the journey isn’t so much about becoming anything. Maybe it’s about unbecoming everything that is not you so that you can discover, reveal, and embrace the truth of who you are.” "It’s “unbecoming" for a lady to sit like that, Monica” “Stop making faces like that! It’s unbecoming for a little lady and besides, your face might freeze!” Unbecoming is a term that has been used to manipulate and condition girls and women for generations. It’s part of the grooming process into the patriarchal trance of unworthiness that keeps us from revealing our true thoughts, feelings and self expression. Like an IV drip inserted at birth, micro dosing cultural messages such as these have kept us in the 4 P’s: performing, pretty, pleasing, and polite. The 4 P's condition us to abandon the truth within ourselves in exchange for love and belonging out there. As a result, many of us lose touch with who we truly are underneath all of the layers of the false self. As many of you know, this is my passion! Helping women reveal, heal and embrace their whole magnificent self. To me, helping women break free from the trance is the most rewarding work I can do in the world and my goal in life is to awaken as many unbecoming women as possible. In this episode join me as I dish with one of my favorite leading ladies, Libby Bunten. In this episode we dive more deeply into the process of unbecoming and revelations that come when we begin to unravel what we have been taught to believe vs. what is really true. We also talk about our own personal journey and how our awakening has impacted our outlook, vitality, creativity, relationships, and basically our whole existence. We also introduce the exciting news of our upcoming journey which will be available for 20 women this October which you might have guessed is called: UNBECOMING : A 6 month detox from trance to transformation to remember, reclaim, and integrate the TRUE YOU. (https://signup.jointherevelation.com/unbecoming) *( If you are interested we would love to welcome you to journey with us! Click the link to be added to the waiting list, and we will update you the moment we open registration this coming September) * In this episode Libby and I also address the sisterhood wound and why its part of the patriarchal trance. What is Unbecoming and why is it relevant for all women? Unbecoming is a process of revelation. How does “the inner child” come into the picture of unbecoming? What is it like to be with women who no longer gossip, strive to compete or fix you? Why is learning to receive (pleasure, gifts, help, compliments, opportunities) such a massive part of unbecoming? As women remember our inherent wholeness, we awaken from self harming behaviors and begin to attract the life that was meant for us. How does the sisterhood wound keep us in isolation? When a woman does not approve of herself it costs the world. Why is the sisterhood wound at the very heart of perpetuating patriarchy? How do we re-contextualize a positive way women can be together in community? Is it possible? Hear more about Libby’s awakening and how she came to recognize the trance in her own life. Monica shares her own experience of joining a group coaching circle for the first time and how it changed her life. Monica and Libby engage in other “extra” antics that you are sure to enjoy because it’s how we roll. Libby Bunten is an embodiment coach and Social Marketing professional whose passion is to strengthen the lives of women in her local community and beyond. Raised in a quintessential Maine coastal town, Libby always did “whatever it took” to make a living and get the job done. Before a career in social marketing, she did everything from manual labor to freelance writing. A brief stint in a toxic, patriarchal, corporate work environment propelled Libby to pursue an MS in Clinical Psychology which ultimately led to her work in feminist leadership development with like-minded, independent and irreverent women. She recently founded and launched her newest group coaching program, Self-Approval School, where women come together in Sisterhood in new ways to remember who they really are, break the bullshit rules, and learn to give themselves the stamp of Self-Approval. When she isn't cheering women on, you can find her traveling with her bagel slinging hunk, Paul, singing karaoke, or in deep surrender to the abyss that is the journey of healing.

In today’s episode Helen MacMillan shares her personal story and celebrates the birth of her new book “The Gift of Pain.” The first time someone suggested that pain could be a gift, I resisted with every fiber of my being, and yet, it took some time for me to recognize the deep wisdom it continues to teach us when we are willing to listen. And once we allow pain to come and sit at the table with us, and we listen and respond, the pain will usually leave us. In all cases, pain is a messenger a prophet and a gift, AND we must not learn to live with it. Listen in as Helen and I dive deep below the surface to interpret the wisdom of our pain: * Is pain necessary for growth? * What inspired your book “The Gift of Pain” * Why pain is is something we must NOT learn to live with. * Learn the 5 step process to shift your mental, emotional, and energetic state * How is pain currently serving you? * Some examples of Helens work with clients who are in pain and what it’s teaching them. Helen MacMillan is an author, life coach, healer and wise woman who facilitates the personal growth an integral to achieving your greatest potential and living your most joyful and fulfilling life. Through her 1:1 and group coaching programs, workshops and retreats, Helen equips her clients with healing that allows them to powerfully and authentically create success from the inside out, using their wisdom as their guide. Helen combines her strong intuitive gifts with the practical expertise and wisdom gained from building 3being married (twice) and raising 3 boys (while maintaining her sanity) to help her clients create a life of grace. Originally from Jamaica, Helen now resides in the USA with her husband Gary and their dog Sadie.

"As the old ways of ruling and operating crumble and we consciously co-create from our hearts and souls the new world we truly want to inhabit, we are called to also learn new ways of being, new habits that can hold and nurture this growth. As more of Who We Truly Are is called on line, we are served best when we learn how to work with our energy and consciousness, for this is where we will be creating from as we go forward. This is Energy Mastery - a concept and phrase that was given to me by my guides last year to encompass the new skills we must learn if we are to become the galactic citizens of light we came here to embody!" I just love Veronica Wirth - she’s a joy to talk to and so grounding and inspiring.! In this episode we talk about this incredible time in our collective evolution and why Veronica see’s it as the dissolution of the toxic matrix of patriarchy and the new emergence of a positive network forming by way of the feminine. Hear us talk about: * Energy Mastery * The Athena Matrix - what it is and how it’s impacting us. * The creative energy of chaos and how to navigate these challenging times * Why our emotions and fears are all getting stirred up and brought to the surface * 3D, 5D, & The Shuman Resonance * Sacred Goddess Energy and our role in anchoring it through our bodies * Why Athena - and her mythology is important right now for women and understanding ourselves * Why women’s circles are so powerful and healing * Cocreating the new earth Veronica is a shamanic practitioner, business visionary, and intuitive. She is also a Certified Sourced™ Leader, best-selling author, and founder of Evolvative™ and the Athena Matrix™. On a spiritual journey since her youth, she experienced powerful awakenings through her 20s and 30s. In January of 2000 she began receiving channeled guidance from her wise circle of guides and teachers. Kept private until a few years ago, Veronica now actively brings her mystical gifts forward to guide her work. Veronica brings insight into the future landscape of what a business and a brand can be at their highest level and what others can do to show up as soul-led leaders and innovators in this new territory. Drawing on her varied experience from both the business and mystical worlds, Veronica blends spiritual soul work, energy healing, and channeling, with her revolutionary approach to creating and expressing fully aligned brands and businesses.

This past year I completed my 8-month rites of passage teacher training with Sarah Durham Wilson. It’s by far one of the most provocative and potent trainings I’ve ever done. It helped me truly understand the core wounds of women conditioned by patriarchy and how to assist women in healing those wounds. In this episode, I have the honor of introducing you to my teacher and her work and celebrating with her the publication of her first book with Sounds True: Maiden To Mother, Unlocking our Archetypical Journey into The Mature Feminine. When the goddess culture was stolen and buried, so were women’s rites of passage into our wild, intuitive femininity and maturity. With Maiden to Mother, Sarah Durham Wilson excavates these ancient rites, guiding us through a sacred and crucial initiation from the immature Maiden into the archetypal Mother. This powerful, safe, compassionate, full-bloom feminine life force exists within all of us. Becoming the Mother is every woman’s birthright—regardless of whether or not she raises children. The Mother is who we needed as children, who we were meant to be in this life, and who the world needs us to be now. Sarah teaches that while pre-patriarchal cultures honored women’s natural cycles, today’s society infantilizes women, idolizing youthful traits such as “pretty, pleasing, and polite” to keep us distracted and dependent. While a healthy version of the Maiden will always remain part of us, there comes a time when we must no longer let her wounds and immaturity guide our lives. We must step into our mature, feminine fullness. Through personal stories, rituals, teachings, and practices, Sarah helps women heal the Mother Wound and dismantle our internalized patriarchy with its false, constricting standards for the feminine so that we may live with authenticity and feast on the richness of life. “Midlife is not, as our culture proposes, where a woman’s power ends,” writes Wilson, “but where it really begins.” In this episode, Sarah and I talk about: Sarah’s diagnosis and her more recent understanding of how being undiagnosed has impacted her in her work. Sarah losing her Mother to Cancer when she was still a teen and how her Mother’s life and death shaped her work and healing. Activism as a potent medicine for what the world needs now, how she’s helping to dismantle racism through her work, and being a faithful ally to black, brown, and indigenous women, and the connection to the colonization and capitalistic trance of patriarchy. White feminism and white fragility and how they are related to “The Wounded Maiden” archetype. Why Climate Justice and Racial Justice are Married. Inner misogyny, its impact, and how it becomes internalized in both men and women. Making the rites of passage journey to the mature and why this is the work for all of us at this time.

This episode was very emotional for me and brought up many memories of my past experience with abuse. I am deeply moved by Shannon’s work and look forward to her upcoming documentary about domestic and emotional abuse called Trapped By Faith. Abuse in any situation is devastating, but marital abuse has its own elements of crazy-making. Combine this with confusing messages from your faith and it can be soul-crushing. Unfortunately, these messages are still commonplace, and even if your marriage is erosive and dangerous - religious dogma and church doctrine may keep you from leaving a situation that’s not healthy for you or your children. Emotional abuse is one of the hardest things for most women to identify, especially if the abuse resembles how you were raised and you mistook it for normal or for love. In this episode, we aim to discuss Shannon’s reason for making this film and to support other women in identifying toxic and abusive situations in their marriage and faith. How Shannon’s past shaped the way she works with women Learn some of the signs to know if you’re in an abusive marriage Hear about how Shannon was able to find the courage to leave Shannon talks about her business while being in an abusive marriage and how her business flourished after leaving You have the power within you to do ANYTHING you put your mind to and are more powerful and capable than you realize There is NEVER a good reason to stay in an abusive relationship, and there is always a way out Shannon Claire helps entrepreneurial women become unforgettable so they can build a thriving business and life they love without sacrifice. As a multi-passionate and seasoned entrepreneur of over 16 years, she is a sought-after international brand photographer, a mentor, and coach for entrepreneurial women transitioning to their next level of success. Shannon is a mom to 3 teens and a toddler and is soon-to-be-married. She is a beach lover, conversation starter, and eternal optimist.

I am thrilled to have my dear friend and colleague, Monette Chilson, back to talk about her new teaching platform WomanSpirit Reclamation and the power of circling with women to unlearn what we’ve been taught about the feminine. An excavator of sacred feminine lineage, Monette Chilson founded WomanSpirit Reclamation to support women in navigating their awakening from patriarchal indoctrination through online courses and community. She has written and spoken about the divine feminine for the past decade, authoring Sophia Rising: Awakening Your Sacred Wisdom Through Yoga and My Name is Lilith, in addition to editing Original Resistance: Reclaiming Lilith, Reclaiming Ourselves and developing its companion curriculum. Monette’s work has been featured in national magazines including Yoga Journal and Integral Yoga Magazine and the anthologies Yoga Wisdom and Whatever Works: Feminists of Faith Speak. Monette and I speak about why our inner wisdom—personified by Sophia—is essential for maintaining our centeredness when the world around us has gone mad—AND becoming conscious about our spiritual evolution without judging or shaming. Why was WomanSpirit Reclamation created? Why is representation so important for women? How Monette’s spiritual evolution impacted her work. Learn how Monette guides women to self-sovereignty. How has her spiritual life evolved since launching WomanSpirit. How can women from any religion, faith, or non-faith benefit from this work? Everyone has access to Sophia—their own inner wisdom. It is not reserved for hermits or monks. We are all mystics!

In this episode, I had the pleasure of welcoming back Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery to talk about anti-racism. In our first discussion, we explored her work in helping heal religious trauma, which is also intersectional to racism and a by-product of patriarchy. Today we dove into her book Dismantling Racism from the Inside Out, and how these times invite us to reckon with our internal bias and require us to untangle the lies of us and them, black or white, and other corrupt programs of patriarchy. Some of the topics we discussed included: * When did Terrlyn first encounter racism? * Understand micro-aggression and its impact. * What are implicit and unconscious biases, and how do they show up in our lives? * The murder of George Floyd became a catalyst for a new explosion of awakening to racism worldwide. * Racism is not a “trend.” * How can we activate this work in our lives and grow our capacity to dismantle racism? * Looking at our own internal “stuff” is hard and necessary * What is Sacred Intelligence, and how can we access it? Rev. Dr. (TLC) is the creator of Pastology, the cutting-edge field that focuses on the synergy between pastoring and psychology. She holds a Ph.D. from Hofstra University and a Masters of Divinity from Yale University. She calls herself a pastologist (licensed psychologist and ordained minister) and is a transformational leader, coach, speaker, author and retreat leader. Rev. Dr. TLC has a unique approach to healing, transformation, and manifestation. She places emphasis on the journey toward sacred intelligence: the ability to tap into one’s internal source in order to move toward intelligent choices. Those choices are intended to honor the Sacred and help the individual manifest their greatness, while simultaneously embracing the humanity of those around them. Rev. Dr. TLC works with highly influential and committed leaders who need spiritual, life, or career coaching as they transform the world by creating a legacy of service, prosperity, and greatness. She also provides coaching support for leaders to help them understand how their sphere of influence can help to change the status quo and to dismantle structures that have intentionally and unintentionally created racial disparities. Her coaching provides an opportunity for leaders to: create the right context for conversations on race and leadership development with their employees; discover how racism and unconscious bias influence their hiring practices, affect their clients and have a direct impact on the company’s financial goals; and understand how racism impacts employees, their work performance, and their feelings of safety in the work environment. Rev. Dr. TLC has a long history of working with institutions, organizations, and communities to bridge the racial divide and to promote racial equity. Rev. Dr. TLC is the host of Dismantle Racism with the Rev. Dr. TLC which airs on talkradio.nyc. She is the author of Dismantling Racism: Healing Separation From the Inside Out and Sacred Intelligence: The Essence of Sacred, Selfish & Shared Relationships. Rev. Dr. TLC is the pastor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Presbyterian Church in Springfield, MA.

I’m thrilled to introduce you to Dr. Dorothy A. Martin- Neville, Ph.D., a powerful visionary, who is also a pioneer, mover, and risk-taker who is faith and humor-driven as well as committed to transformation and growth. Dr. Dorothy’s story is incredibly inspirational and you’ll connect immediately to the warmth and humor she exudes as she tells her story of resilience after growing up in an orphanage from birth till age 3 as an illegitimate daughter of an unwed mother in South Boston. Once she was adopted, she lived in a playpen on the outside porch until she was 6 years old so that her grandmother didn’t have to acknowledge her existence inside the house. Fast forward and Dr. Dorothy is the author of several books such as Real Women Change The World: Letting the Good Girl Die so the Real Women Can Live, where she shares the importance of emotional intelligence, mindset, mindfulness, and communication as imperative tools for women in leadership. She is also an international speaker, author, consultant/master coach, and frequent radio, podcast, and television guest is also Past-President of the National Speakers Association – CT and the founder of 4 companies. In this episode you’ll hear: Why do so many people choose to live in illusion- stuck in jobs that they hate or lives that don’t fulfill them. We stay in situations that deplete us because there is a payoff in staying. What is the story of “the victim” and how can you get out? Why stagnancy in your life will eventually make you sick What women’s leadership makes possible in the world. How Dorothy’s traumatic upbringing informed her life helped her become who she is today. What is the “risk” of transformation? Why women are uniquely suited for helping the world to unify in a global community. A psychotherapist, Dr. Dorothy was in practice for 25+ years. As a motivational speaker, Dr. Dorothy brought a history of living in an orphanage, being adopted and raised in the housing projects of South Boston in a violent alcoholic home. She later became a Catholic nun, an international airline stewardess, and so much more, showing that faith, humor, and passion make anything possible. Today, whether supporting individual clients in recognizing and living their Purpose or supporting CEOs in creating a culture of Purpose within their organization, Dr. Dorothy brings first-hand knowledge of the challenges facing those who want to live and work in a culture that feeds rather than drains them. In that light, Dorothy has supported highly successful women from all levels of success, from Park Ave, NYC to a small town in Maine. Consequently, patterns and similarities in leadership are readily understood as she brings extensive wisdom, knowledge, and experience to the table. Combining her recognition that mindset and communication skills set us apart, with her ability to make the complicated simple, Dr. Dorothy is someone to learn from whether as a speaker, trainer, coach, or consultant.

Meet Gina Clover. I adore her for sharing her mind and heart through her substack writing by challenging the dominant narrative in our culture around money, capitalism, and business as usual. Basically, she’s not buying it when it comes to consumer culture and the insidious ways that it undermines the fabric of our society. Join us as we take a deep dive into the disguised gift of a personal apocalypse and how it disrupts the trance as well as the mind virus that infects our culture with the toxic myths of scarcity. This episode will either piss you off or have you cheering, but either way - your response is welcome. Sometimes we have to get messy and real in order to reveal and heal what’s been ailing us. In this episode you’ll hear Gina’s exploration of Capitalism and how it’s intimately tied to other systems of oppression. Gina’s future vision and her invitation to co-create a better world. What is animism and how to distinguish it from spirituality + her endeavor to build a community where people can co-create a future, grieve the current reality, and honor what they most value. The story of her own personal apocalypse and what it taught her. Why she decided to call her substack “A Girl Has No Brand” Learn what “collapse-aware” rites of passage mean and how it applies to where we are now. Hear about what Gina describes as life’s invitations to radicalize. Why humor, collaboration, and community are the keys to the future. Gina is an animist witch and rites of passage guide who centers her work around anticapitalism and ecological re-enchantment. She offers radical presence and compassion to those who want to move into the seasonal reality of their lives in full awareness that the world as we’ve known it is disintegrating, bringing a collapse-aware approach to moving into maturity and relational leadership. She believes we break the spell of modernity by doing this work together. Gina is also a plant medicine integration guide who loves to help people bring animist enchantment into their lives. In the secular world, Gina holds an undergraduate degree in Critical Theory from NYU, as well as an MFA from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts in Writing for Film and Television, and is a professional writer. She currently lives in a 150-year-old Victorian Church in New York’s Hudson Valley, where she and her partner are creating a sanctuary called “Our Lady of the Apocalypse”, creating a community space for grief, skill-sharing, ritual, beauty, and unlearning, finding our way through the darkness together, awake in the burning forest of the world. The ways in which the intertwining of capitalism and spirituality is actually at the very heart of the climate crisis and ecocide – the ecological crisis is a deeply “spiritual” crisis arising from the intentional erasure and destruction of ancestral traditions and animist relationships to land and earth– erasure and destruction that was very explicitly in the service of colonial capitalism. So what is needed in the face of these crises is a spiritual response/atonement/reconciliation, but perversely, almost all of what passes for spirituality right now occurs in a deeply capitalist, neoliberal framework that neuters and sublimates all spiritual impulse back into the patterns of hyperindividualism, commodification, consumption, and the society of the spectacle, perpetuating the root causes of the crisis instead of offering a potentially vital response to it.

I’m back with another dose of the enchanting Sophie Strand. Listen in as we dance in the magic of storytelling, ecology, revelation, and contemplation. Sophie is someone who understands the power of myth-making and storytelling. She honed her abilities when she learned she had a life-threatening disease and began to write as if her life depended on it. What she came to realize is that all of our lives depend on it. Unless we generate new myths to live into, we will surely stay fast asleep in the culture of make-believe, where we consume everything without implication or consequence. In this episode, Sophie and I continue where we left off. We meander into the wilderness where we make new connections, access revelations, and enchantment abounds- Join us! You won’t be bored! Why should we compost old stories? How can we understand disability, illness, and PTSD as a portal into greater ecological sensitivity? What is ecological storytelling, and how can we begin to weave more awareness into our stories and our lives? How does the story of Rabbi Yeshua teach us about ecological storytelling? How can we become more ecologically embodied? What does myth have to teach us about our specific locales? Sophie Strand is a writer based in the Hudson Valley who focuses on the intersection of spirituality, storytelling, and ecology. Her first book of essays, The Flowering Wand: Rewilding the Sacred Masculine, will be published by Inner Traditions in Fall 2022 and is available for pre-order. Her eco-feminist historical fiction reimagining of the gospels The Madonna Secret will also be published by Inner Traditions in Spring 2023. Subscribe to her newsletter at sophiestrand.substack.com. And follow her work on Instagram: @cosmogyny and at www.sophiestrand.com. Ecological Storytelling. Healing beyond hope and the human.

"I’m not the guy who has got it all figured out. During the Covid pandemic, I had the opportunity once again to face an inner and outer unraveling. For months at a time, I experienced a paralyzing despondency borne of the calamity I saw overtaking society: the very Age of Separation I had been proclaiming, for years, to be nearing an end. Instead, it was reaching new extremes. At the same time, my critiques of the social response to the pandemic brought intense criticism, denunciation, and canceling, including from people whom I’d considered to be deep, trusted allies. Maybe, I thought, it is I who has gone mad, not the world. This is the question, the doubt that paralyzed me. I tell the story of these years in my most recent book, The Coronation. I know that my books and other work come from a deep, inspired source, but that source is not me! It is more like I’m connecting to a field of knowledge or to a story that wants to be told. This knowledge is as much my teacher as it is anyone else’s. I’m kind of ordinary, compared to some of the amazing people I keep meeting. I’m just as much in the learning as anyone else, wandering as best I can toward “the more beautiful world my heart knows is possible,” encumbered by the programming and the wounds of our civilization." I always say that the Universe has a wonderful sense of humor, and if it’s true that we create our own reality, then I’m so glad my reality includes neighbors like Charles Eisenstein and his wife, Stella. I had been following Charles's work for a couple of years and more intensely when the pandemic happened because so much of what he was speaking about made so much sense to me. Then I saw him publicly denounced and canceled by the same community that once embraced and celebrated him, and I thought, surely I must be losing my mind. At the height of my despondency, I also suffered detox symptoms from recently having mercury removed from my mouth. A dear friend suggested I see a woman named Stella, who had recently moved to the area. I began seeing Stella at her home office, and we seemed to develop an effortless friendship in just a few sessions. While I knew she lived there with her husband and child, I was unaware for several more weeks that I was actually in the home of the very person whose work I was immersed in and sharing with as many people as I thought might listen. Amazing, right? I had sent my same friend who had referred me to Stella a recent essay from a series by Charles called The Coronation (https://charleseisenstein.org/essays/the-coronation/) , knowing she would appreciate his mind and heart. It wasn’t until I saw this friend a few days later that she alerted me to the synchronicity, revealing that I had been treated for the mercury detox by his wife! Flabbergasted, I returned to Stellas for an appointment and told her the story, only to have Charles walk through the door and extend his hand in a warm greeting. Mind. Blown. Well-played, Universe. Well-played. “We do not create our destiny; we participate in its unfolding. Synchronicity works as a catalyst toward the working out of that destiny.” -David Richo In this episode, you’ll get a glimpse of why I am such a fan of Charles and his work. In addition to being incredibly accessible, his revelations are filled with humanity, humility, and love. You’ll hear about this time in human civilization from another perspective as we shift and transform toward creating a new story. At this time, we are in what Charles calls “the space between stories,” and humanity has an opportunity to reimagine the world - the more beautiful world our hearts know is possible. Why our definition of progress has changed and where we are now. Gain deeper insight into the cultural stories we have been living in and why these are not sustainable. Listen as Charles explores the potential of “the unknowing” and invites us to embrace its opportunities for creating something new. What would it be to dare to imagine a new story based on beauty and serving life? Why we need to look closely at our money culture and remember what is sacred. The utility of masculine and feminine energies for what we are creating now. The emerging story of Interbeing. Cancel culture, mob mentality, and the curse of binary thinking and us vs. them. What it was like to be canceled by culture and how Charles processed it. Bringing back the gift economy and healing our relationship with money. Community over morality and morality as a tool of separation- how can we do better? How we disrupt the old story by revealing our truest and most vulnerable selves as we create the new story. *Charles Eisenstein is an American public speaker, author (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Eisenstein), and essayist. * His work covers a wide range of topics, including the history of human civilization, economics, spirituality, and the ecology movement. Key themes explored include anti-consumerism, interdependence, and how myth and narrative influence culture. According to Eisenstein, global culture is immersed in a destructive "story of separation," and one of the main goals of his work is to present an alternative "story of interbeing." Much of his work draws on ideas from Eastern philosophy and the spiritual teachings of various indigenous peoples. Eisenstein has been involved in the Occupy, New Economy, and permaculture movements. His new book is coming out this summer: The Coronation.

Are you able to walk into a room and immediately feel the mood? Do other people easily tell you their burdens? If so, you probably have empathic abilities. Join us in this episode as Gurds Hundal shares the gifts of the empath as well as her own story of revelation: Gurds realizes her empathic abilities and helps us recognize our own. What it’s like growing up as a highly sensitive child. The health issues she discovered and how she reclaimed her power and her health. Learn practices Gurds uses to help her stay grounded as an empath, and clear her own energetic field. Gurds love and passion for helping other women reveal and claim their empathic gifts as a superpower. Gurds Hundal is a dynamic voice for the modern generation of highly sensitive women. She’s an Empowerment Coach and Self-Healing Expert whose mission is to empower women back to their inner light. She’s the creator of Trust Your Inner Light and Rise Up Sister coaching programs that help women go from energetically drained to emotionally, physically, financially, and spiritually liberated. She is the host of the Inner Light Project Podcast and the author of Educo: 52 Quotes For Leading A Better Life.

What if being yourself was your only job? How would that change your reality? These are the kinds of questions and explorations we ventured into for illumination in this gentle yet powerful conversation with my guest Venus Castleberg. In addition to the fact that Venus is an accomplished coach, author, and workshop facilitator for Access Consciousness, she is also in her own continual process of evolution and involution. The only relationship we need to develop is the one with ourselves. When we have a healthy relationship with ourselves, all others are just an enhancement to our lives. If everyone realized the person they have been looking for was themselves, I believe there would not be so many heartbreaks and strained relationships out there. In this episode she shares: The moment her life changed based on an accident that shattered her arm. Revealing the beauty of that opportunity to change. "You are the one you have been looking for” - that if we feel something missing in our lives, it’s actually us that’s missing. When we go through difficult experiences, the question to ask is, “what is the beauty happening underneath this challenge? What if choosing joy, ease and play could change your entire reality? Venus shares her experience of living in a castle in Italy and sleeping under a duvet threaded in gold while eating on fine china and crystal and how this expanded her vision of what’s possible in her own life. What if our pursuit of wealth was about creating a bigger impact on how we can then increase our capacity to serve others? In other words, what if it wasn’t about acquisition but about being able to make a bigger difference? Venus Castleberg is the author of the bestseller Here to Forever: Finally Free to Be Me, a story that explores looking for love in all the wrong places. Written with a beautiful vulnerability, clarity, and a welcoming light-heartedness, Here to Forever gives readers a glimpse into her own journey of joy and destruction, asking them to consider the possibility that love can be filled with ease and fulfillment. From a belief system that she was flawed and broken to discovering how to like herself, Venus delivers the tools and processes that others can apply to create something greater. Venus Castleberg is a seasoned entrepreneur, coach, and joyful possibility devotee. She is a holistic healthcare practitioner with over 20 years of studying and practicing a range of modalities. Venus has developed an impressive track record, renowned for her compassion, clarity of vision, and joyful approach to life and business. You can learn more about Venus at venuscastleberg.com and follow her on Facebook @venuscastleberg and Instagram venus_castleberg.

David Strickel is an amazing person with a well-defined ability to channel. We talk about the development of his TYA (Trust Your Abundance) Practice and how it came to be. In this interview, I was able to speak directly to the Stream of David, and it was a fascinating discussion. I think you will enjoy David and my conversation with The Stream. We discuss what channeling is. We talk about David’s unique ability and how he initially hid it What is a spiritual awakening? We discuss the Law of Attraction and Universal Laws What is the TYA Practice, and how it was created We spoke about how his life was transformed. What are abundance blocks? From early childhood, David received what he refers to as guidance from Source. He developed a deep understanding of universal laws during his teenage years and used these teachings to overcome enormous obstacles. He developed an ability to share this guidance for the benefit of others and has created a simple set of tools that profoundly transformed every aspect of his life, delivering a life of joy, clarity, and abundance. These tools have become The TYA PracticeTM. Through his bestselling book, radio show, podcast, and online training programs, he has helped transform the lives of those seeking a new way all around the globe. TYA stands for Trust Your Abundance. This lifestyle empowers students to manifest abundance in all areas of their lives: love, wellness, Source connection, and finances. The TYA Practice has produced proven results, including miraculous healings, improved relationships, new businesses, endless flow of wealth, and more. But by far, the most amazing results with TYA are the awakening of many experiences by adopting this practice as a lifestyle. We now have hundreds of testimonials from those who continue to transform their lives on a daily basis. Viewers and listeners revel in David’s genuine warmth, patience, and deep understanding of universal law. First encounters with David and his channeled messages are met with instantaneous serendipity, and many describe their experience as life-changing. Your viewers and listeners will learn about their eternal nature and the true meaning of life, walking away forever changed from the insights of The Stream.