Your Soul Has a Plan, and it's written in your Akashic Records. Lisa Barnett shares the ancient wisdom of the Akashic Records to help humanity at this important time in history. Join me as I dive into a deeper understanding of soul contracts and the akashic records with Lisa Barnett, who also shares a prayer and does a collective Akashic Records reading for our listeners. Lisa brings a level of clarity and access to the Akashic Records with kindness, patience, and love. * What are the Akashic Records? * What is our Soul Plan, and why do we write one? * What does it mean when we talk about a person’s “Soul Purpose”? Does it really tell us why we’ve come to this life? * How do our past lives affect our present life? * What are Soul Contracts, and are they part of our soul plan? * Do our Soul Contracts with people end? Or are they for a whole life? * Do we have some relationships just to learn a lesson? * Some people feel they have nothing in common with their family of origin. What do the Masters of the Akashic Records say about that? * Can we retrieve valuable information from the past lives that will help us with our Life purpose? Lisa Barnett is the internationally recognized bestselling author of two Akashic Record books. She is also a speaker, teacher, and the Founder of Akashic Knowing School, where she teaches students around the world to access personal Soul wisdom and guidance to transform their lives. As an Akashic Record Reader and Teacher, she has more than twenty-five years of experience in the spiritual healing and Akashic field. She incorporates information from your Soul's Library, with energetic healing on a Soul level to help you break through blocks, clear pain, fear, and Karma, to create the Life Your Heart and Soul Desire.

How would your world change if you had an authentic, powerful connection to your body, to your soul, to the divine, and to others? These times represent an embossed invitation with each of our names on it to go deep within to know ourselves more fully. For most of our lives, we have been taught not to trust our bodies or our knowing. Therefore we learned to give our power to authorities such as educators, medical professionals, and those credentialed to “know better." Reclaiming our own inner authority seems to be the message of these times as we learn how to unplug from the matrix and reveal our personal truth as chaos continues to swirl around us. This means that we also have to face the inner shadows of our human mess to feel into the truth that can only be found through our bodies and merging with our own physicality. Hello Fear! There's an invitation to get intimate with the emotions and feelings that make us uncomfortable and learn to approach ourselves with love, compassion, and curiosity, and to befriend even the parts of ourselves that scare us. Listen in as Cherie and I talk about what we are craving at a soul level and how these times beckon us to look beneath the surface and soul dive into our own inherent wisdom to discover our divinity through our beautiful bodies. Cherie Burton is a mother of 6, author, international speaker, Women Seeking Wholeness podcast host, international business owner, and emotional restoration expert. She has worked in clinical mental health settings and now specializes in the science and spirituality of emotional healing and sensory integration, a "whole soul" approach. Cherie teaches the "new feminine leadership paradigm" – and has guided thousands of women worldwide to access their voices, creativity, power, and authenticity. At the age of 53 and only within the past three years, Cherie came to understand how important embodiment is to her soul's journey. Cherie was always taught that the body was a vehicle for temptation and to avoid her body at all costs. She was taught that a woman's body is something to be feared, subjugated, and controlled. Each person has the sovereign right to know themselves fully and to express themselves fully, even when their own truth isn’t aligned with yours. Yoga and her love of knowing the divine feminine led Cherie to embrace her body and its wisdom. Cherie shares personal stories of awakening and her love of helping to liberate women through the power of personal discernment, and to trust their bodies inherent knowing.

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.

Who or what is the sacred feminine, and why is her wisdom essential at this time in our collective evolution? Liz Childs Kelly is one of my favorite people, and while I have not known her long, she is someone that feels so familiar - as if I’ve always known her. I fell into an instant kinship with her after she interviewed me on her own podcast, Home To HER, which I highly recommend subscribing to. In this episode, we dish about her work with the sacred feminine and how the sacred feminine intersects with all things mysterious, Indigenous, natural, messy, and wild. She is everything and yet defies definition. In many ways, she is paradox itself! Enjoy our nuanced and delicious conversation and laugh along with us as we try to find the language to describe the sacred feminine. In addition, we share some personal stories about messy human “stuff” that’s coming up in our everyday lives and why these gritty conversations need more space and grace in honor of the sacred feminine. Liz shares her personal story of awakening to the sacred feminine and who she was before and who she was after. What does the word “sacred” mean when describing the feminine source? Hear how Liz has come to know her own experience with the sacred feminine and how it influences her work in the world. Listen in as we talk about God as a male and why we call “bull” on that. Liz realized that there were gaps in our spiritual experiences - especially the spiritual nature of childbirth. Why were women purposefully steered away from knowing her story? How can knowing our herstory and actual history help us reclaim the sacred feminine? What is the connection between the sacred feminine and the natural world? Learn about Liz's experience in mystery school. Why does life get so much better after uncovering the hidden wisdom of the sacred feminine? How can we reclaim our relationship with the sacred feminine? Join us to learn what we can do to seek and explore more of her in our lives. Liz Childs Kelly is a writer, Sacred Feminine researcher and educator, community builder, initiated priestess in the 13 Moons Lineage, and the host of the Home to Her podcast, which is dedicated to amplifying the voices of the Sacred Feminine. She is also the co-host of the Revelry series of online events, which invite women from around the world to participate in ecstatic, embodied celebrations of the gifts of each season, and she is an instructor in the social change platform Advaya's upcoming 12-week online course, The Call of the Wild Feminine. Liz is in the process of completing her first book, titled Home to Her: Reclaiming the Ancient Wisdom of the Sacred Feminine. She is a mother of two and currently lives in central Virginia, USA, on the ancestral lands of the Monacan people.

We’ve been taught to believe that myths are untrue, and yet, this indicates how atrophied our cultural mythic imagination is. As a result, myth has been relegated to consumer entertainment or dismissed as something irrelevant to us vs. as 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 properly 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 very powerful 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 or that we need to conquer nature or anything that threatens us. The medical establishment creates a narrative around “war” - such as terms like "front line 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 culture. 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 who have been working toward planetary system change. He is the host of The Mythic Masculine podcast and the founder of A Gathering of Stories.

Kristen is a soul mentor, intuitive business & conscious leadership guide, and the founder of Goddess Brand Co. & Goddess Talk Podcast. She helps feminine beings awaken to theirdivine nature so they can experience deep soul alignment and live a life that turns them on - on every level. Her secondary mission is to assist New Earth visionaries, healers, creatives, teachers, & lightworkers in activating their gifts, power, & mission so they can build sacred businesses that contribute to collective healing & ascension.

Poetry has always held a special place in my heart. I love Alix, and I’ve noticed that not only does she write gorgeous poems, she is also a beautiful and insightful speaker. Everything she says makes you want to write it down! In this episode, we dive into what it is to be polyamorous and how Alix writes poems in collaboration with her higher self. We also talk about creativity, spiritual wholeness, sobriety, imperfection, soul-retrieval, and most importantly, accepting ourselves entirely as we are: with all of our messy contradictions and identities. Rev. Alix Klingenberg is a photographer, spiritual director, and poet. She’s been writing essays and blogs (Highly Sensitive Extrovert) for several years, but only in the past year has begun to bring her poetry out of her journals and into the public. She self-published her first poetry collection, “Secrets and Stars,” in November of 2020. Alix also leads online creative arts courses and lives in MA with her family, 2 black cats, and a small dog named Cricket. Polyamorous means many loves. Alix wants us to examine our obsession with singular love and the many ways we suppress ourselves and limit ourselves. Everything forces us to separate and divide and choose a side but wisdom stands in the middle. Creativity is a rejection of the binary and being willing to explore and add and expand. We all already know how to write poetry. Every single person already knows how and we don't need to do anything except write it down and stop censoring ourselves. Poetry got a bad rap back then and now it is more mainstream and modern - many of us remember having poetry forced on us in school. Old poetry and odes and it was hard to relate to the language. Sometimes we have to re-evaluate and reject some of the traditional models of success, and find our own definition.

*There are no accidents. * As we awaken to our true work in the world, synchronicity becomes more frequent and intensely delightful. Synchronicity is how we know that we are exactly where we need to be and that we are “right on time” with the divine. It so happens that this idea of being “on time” is exactly the topic Sophie Strand writes about. Her piece, Catching The Feather, stopped me mid-Facebook scroll and took my breath away. Something in my body resonated at a cellular level, and I realized that she was speaking to a truth my body remembered. I’ve been on a quest these past few months to reacquaint myself with my inner wild. That free and innate part of myself that has been tamed and contained, that forgot how to listen to the natural rhythm of life and needs to pick up the drum beat and dance. To allow myself to howl in my loneliness and smell my way to my knowing and dare to open to my ancient wisdom and memory. The wild part of me that remembers who I was before I was domesticated and separated from my true mother, mother earth, and the sensorial ecstasy of being alive outside the confines of the patriarchy. Whenever I put my life and my intentions inside of my personal “Revelation Project,” I am always guided to the next human or experience, or tree, river, feather (ahem) I need to meet on my remarkable journey. My job is simply to trust that more will be revealed, and you know what? More always is. I’m honored to introduce you to Sophie Strand. Sophie has much to teach us about returning to our senses and trusting our original design. As deeply interconnected beings, we are always at choice to feel into the intelligence that surrounds us and is within us. She invites us to speak to the trees, listen deeply to what the rivers have to say, and embody the community of mycelium to know more about truth, healing, and reciprocity. To decenter ourselves is to return to the wonder of nature and to discover where true love lives. Thank you, Sophie, for your incredible work in the world! You are a revelation! Listen in to our conversation to hear more about: * During the pandemic, when time and structure began to melt and we had to restructure our lives, Sophie began catching feathers while on her walks. She believes they held messages. * Our linear minds have a way of thinking about ourselves and the world that surrounds us. For many of us, the concept of “time” can be reimagined and reinterpreted as it’s changed. * Life is always giving us messages and symbols and numbers. Specific animals also often hold medicine and messages for us if we are willing to be curious and open to those. * What if we were to re-wild our understanding of the divine and even Mary Magdalene and Jesus? How would that change our understanding or our relationship to what they symbolized and the message of love they wanted to plant within us? * Revisiting myths before the patriarchy co-opted them is also a fertile place to revisit ideas of masculine and feminine. * The Greek word pharmacon can mean medicine or poison. It means “powerful substance.” Myths are like that - they can be medicine or poison. * Patriarchy has been conflated with masculine, and masculine has been conflated with patriarchy. * We need to re-wild myths with ecology because they are rooted there. Sophie Strand is a writer based in the Hudson Valley who focuses on the intersection of spirituality, storytelling, and ecology. Her books of poetry include Love Song to a Blue God (Oread Press) and Those Other Flowers to Come (Dancing Girl Press) and The Approach (The Swan). She has recently finished a work of historical fiction that offers an eco-feminist revision of the gospels. Her book of essays, The Flowering Wand: Lunar Kings, Lichenized Lovers, Transspecies Magicians, and Rhizomatic Harpists Heal the Masculine, is forthcoming from Inner Traditions' imprint Sacred Planet. Follow her on Facebook or Instagram @cosmogyny.

Dancing with money and bringing play into your work life seem like pretty far-fetched ideas until you realize how powerful it is to start to shift away from the way we’ve always done things and to peer through the lens of the feminine to gain more clarity, insight, and enjoyment in how you market your business. Meet Julie Foucht. When she decided she needed to take her coaching business seriously, she hired a high-end coach and learned to ‘market like a man.’ Julie doubled, then tripled her income in less than a year, but felt drained, uninspired, and restless. Urged by Spirit, she embraced her essential ‘Womaness’ and birthed a new way, The Art of Feminine Marketing. Today, Julie teaches female coaches, teachers, and healers who are frustrated with traditional marketing how to build 6-figure businesses through the Art of Feminine Marketing. Julie’s clients report having a clearer vision of their divine purpose, greater passion for their work, the skills to be attracting the perfect clients, and are being paid well for their gifts. Julie received her coach certification in 2006 from The Coaches Training Institute. She has served on the boards of numerous non-profits and was named Woman of the Year by the Professional Women’s Network of the Monterey Peninsula in 2013. She is married to the love of her life, has four children, two stepchildren, two furry babies and seven spoiled grandchildren. *Listen to this episode to learn: * Why it’s so important for both men and women to draw from the energy of the feminine and bring it into our work life, especially now. The art of feminine marketing isn’t about the grind and the hustle. It’s about rhythm, pace, intuition, and sustainability. It’s about bringing logic and heart together to make business decisions. Why opening our feminine power centers is a big part of connecting to the intuitive side of our nature and to making money. How the scarcity mindset is at the heart of how we women feel about money and income and our ability to make it and feel great about it.

To be with D’vorah Grenn is to sit by the fire with the wise woman, and to deeply connect to and reveal the suppressed herstory of the sacred feminine. As a teacher and a scholar, she is a wealth of introspection, warmth and storytelling and I love both her brilliant mind, and her loving and playful heart. D’vorah and I travel to ancient and erotic places in this episode and reveal the layers of power contained within the uncensored and creative feminine life force to discuss what’s possible as more women awaken and step into our power. In addition to being a disciple of truth and divinity, D’vorah is also a lover of laughter and sisterhood, so I know you’ll love this episode and the revelations we share that include: Why Lilith is such an important archetype for women, and why her fire needs tending. Understanding that for thousands of years women have been silenced, erased, marginalized, and our opinions and preferences discounted, denigrated or mocked and why that has to change. D’vorah shares her personal story about her descent into her dark night and recounts her own reclamation and spiritual awakening. Contemporary thinkers have been redefining "sin" and re-visioning the erotic as a sacred life force. These concepts are so important for women to explore and embody. Why women feel deeply nourished by learning more about the sacred feminine, and how it fills an inner void when we reveal hidden stories about the feminine face of the divine. How religions have been part of fracturing our understanding of the divine feminine and suppressing the importance of her presence in our lives. The power of women’s circles and being witnessed, received and loved in our true expression by other women in sisterhood. Why Eden is a paradise, and not a prison, and how women can reclaim our power and our voices by leaning into the true mythologies and stories of the feminine, not the stories that were co-opted and shaped to fit a narrative intended to keep women oppressed and unrealized. The more conversations women have about our lives, our ideas, our philosophies, our experiences and our real feelings, the more unified and collaborative we can become and the better our world will be. D'vorah J. Grenn, Ph.D. & Kohenet/Priestess, is Founding Director, The Lilith Institute (1997). She Co-Directed the former Women's Spirituality MA Program at Institute of Transpersonal Psychology/Sofia University, and founded Mishkan Shekhinah, a movable sanctuary honoring the Sacred Feminine. An Adjunct Professor at Napa Valley College, D'vorah also serves as a spiritual mentor and guide. Her Talking To Goddess anthology includes sacred writings of 72 women from 25 traditions. Other publications include Lilith's Fire: Reclaiming Our Sacred Lifeforce; "The Kohanot: Keepers of the Flame" in Stepping into Ourselves: An Anthology of Writing on Priestesses; and the Jewish priestess and Lilith entries, Encyclopedia of Women in World Religions. Contact info: dvorah@lilithinstitute.com; @lilithinstitute on Instagram, or The Lilith Institute on Facebook.

When I experienced my first dark night of the soul in 2008, it would have been so helpful to know that what I was experiencing was a rite of passage and a descent that would assist me in my ascent into greater awareness and consciousness. What I was experiencing was a transition that had me face and heal my inner wounded maiden so that I could cross over into the mother archetype and change my life for the better. When I stumbled upon Sarah’s work, I felt so deeply seen and nourished. In addition to the fact that she helped me understand my journey at a deeper level, she is also a wealth of information, teachings, and stories about the goddess, the divine feminine, the heroine's journey. She also mentors women on their own paths. What I love the most about Sarah is her potent story-telling and her raw authenticity. I hope you love listening as much as I loved interviewing her. Sarah Durham Wilson is a women’s rites of passage leader and writer. She is the founder and creatrix of The MotherSpirit, which focuses on archetypal Mother work and resurrecting the rite of passage from Maiden to Mother. Sarah works with private clients and has taught courses and led retreats for hundreds of women over the past decade. She previously worked as an arts and music writer in New York City, writing for Rolling Stone, VH1, GQ, Vanity Fair, and Interview Magazines. In 2010, she launched the website DOITGIRL, which inspired women called to the work of the witch and priestess. She lives on Martha’s Vineyard with her daughter Avalon and her black cat, Odin. Listen in as we explore: * Heartbreak as a rite of passage. * Why do women keep choosing the same type of men again and again - especially abusive or narcissistic men? * If we were raised in a patriarchal house, did we ever truly experience what love is? * Why does it feel like a death when you are rejected or left behind? * What is “the wounded maiden,” and why is she so thirsty for love and validation from the outside world? * What does it mean for us that we live in a matricidal and misogynistic culture? * Why is nature so essential to the unbecoming process and untangling from the clutches of patriarchal conditioning? * Why learning to love and accept ourselves in our full self-expression and for our whole selves is the deepest and most authentic love we will ever know.

I have long believed that the most powerful, useful, and underutilized skill we have at our disposal is the skill of listening. If you want to help heal the world and create peace on earth - learn to listen! Meet Ximena. She’s brilliant, articulate, and passionate about helping others develop this powerful skill. We had such a rich conversation about how learning this skill can quite literally change everything for the better. Ximena Vengoechea is a user researcher, writer, and illustrator whose work on personal and professional development has been published in Inc., The Washington Post, Newsweek, and Huffington Post. She is the author of the new book, Listen Like You Mean It: Reclaiming the Lost Art of True Connection (from Portfolio Books/Penguin Random House). She is a contributor at Fast Company and The Muse and writes "Letters from Ximena," a newsletter on tech, culture, career, and creativity. She is best known for her project The Life Audit. An experienced manager, mentor, and researcher in the tech industry, Ximena previously worked at Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Twitter. In this episode: * Learn why listening is the key to intimacy and connection. * Why listening can be such a gift and such an act of generosity and love. * Why when people don’t feel heard, they often escalate their behavior and lash out. * Why listening is a “slow” skill and how to bring more peace into our lives by learning to do it. * There are layers to listening, and often if we are paying attention, we can hear other important things that get revealed when we truly listen. * How to protect yourself from being a listening martyr and getting listening fatigue. In other words, how can empaths protect themselves when they are deeply listening to others? * Learn how to listen with compassion without taking on the emotional energy of someone else. * Why awkward silence is such an important part of the listening skill set. * Conduct a relationship audit to determine where you have energy leaks.

As I continue down this path of creative expression through the podcast while also attending to my writing practice, I’ve met the most extraordinary people. This was one of those interviews that led to an expansive conversation about community and creativity, and I loved it so much. Meet Lori Snyder, the founder of The Writer's Happiness Movement. The movement is intended to create more joy, psychic space, and financial support for all writers so that they can do what they do - help make the world a better place by writing whatever it is they write about. As an author herself and a former marine biologist, Lori's book The Circus At The End of the Sea will be out on October 19, 2021 from Harper Collins. Lean in as we explore a conversation about imagining a new reality for the world's future by supporting those who can write it into being. It sometimes takes a village to birth something new and meaningful into the world. It’s important to be clear about who we are and what we are creating so that our creations can honor what is unique about what wants to be expressed vs. an imitation of what’s already out there. Creativity takes time, and it’s important that we learn how to stop being busy. “Time off” is exactly what we need in order to produce something amazing, and our culture does not support taking this time. We all need to create psychic space where we can create. “Enough” is an incredibly powerful word for many reasons - it creates space. If we are disassociating or have experienced trauma and have not processed it, we may have difficulty using our imaginative powers until we resolve and process those events. Imagination leads us to freedom from all bonds- so it’s critically important for us to get in touch with ours. The Writer's Happiness Movement is an idea that can change the world because it supports the writers who are reimagining the world in ways that are so needed. You can contribute to a vision you believe in by becoming part of the Writers Happiness Movement (https://writershappiness.com/financial-support/).

In January of 2017, Bethany’s father passed away, and she was tossed into the deepest, darkest well she’d ever imagined—without warning or ceremony. Something inside of her told her: “The only way out is to write.” She started with a gratitude journal to remind herself of all of the people she should be grateful for in her life. She realized, however, that grateful people didn’t feel the way she felt — angry, anxious, depressed, confused, disillusioned, desperate (to name a few of grief’s cohorts). Looking back, she realized that what she was actually doing was trying to avoid her grief. Like many of us, she didn’t know that gratitude and grief are not mutually exclusive. She learned that she couldn’t skip over the emotions that make her uncomfortable and recognized that there is a complicated cocktail of emotions swirling inside each of us that makes us feel alive. I talk to Bethany about the launch of her new book "Dipped In It," her odyssey into writing her book after the loss of her father, and the wisdom her emotions have brought to her life. Listen to her read a few excerpts and hear about how her daughters played a role in bringing her book to life. In this episode we talk about: * Postpartum depression & how this shared experience brought Bethany and I together after the birth of her daughter Ruby. * The cracking open that happened after her divorce and then the death of Bethany’s beloved father. * How the expression “Dipped In It” came to be and what it means to her. * Our tendency to want to skip over difficult emotions or spiritually bypass the ones that have the most to teach us. * Grief does not have an expiration date. There isn’t a specific time in which grief can be completed. It doesn’t work that way. * Why sharing our stories with others is so vitally important and why daring to go within ourselves to dip into our own well of grief is where we can find the greatest treasures. * How allowing ourselves to be where we are in our darkest human emotions is sometimes the greatest gift we can give ourselves. * How normal it is for us to want to look like we have it all handled, but how much it can hurt us when we don’t tell people that we are struggling. * Sometimes being a good friend is looking more closely at those around us and asking, “are you ok?” - because drowning doesn’t look like drowning, literally or metaphorically. * It’s ok for us to normalize not being ok. We can’t always be ok. That’s not how life works. * Grief and gratitude are not mutually exclusive. Our human emotions can exist within us simultaneously; all of it gets to belong.

Parenting can be so challenging, and it is the most incredible experience that I would not trade for anything. Sarah MacLaughlin and I met through Megan Jo Wilson’s Rockstar Camp. Her work is centered on being a Rockstar in the parenting world, helping parents connect at deeper relational levels with their children. She is truly a wealth of insight and resources. Sarah is also a social worker, parent educator, and author of another award-winning bestselling book, "What Not To Say: Tools for Talking With Young Children." Her new book, "Raising Humans With Heart: Not a How-To Manual," was written during the pandemic, when it seemed more important than ever for parents and children to have the tools and skills to communicate deeply and authentically. She works full-time as a writer, trainer, and content expert for ZERO TO THREE, a national nonprofit dedicated to ensuring that all babies and toddlers have a strong start in life. Sarah writes the Parenting Toolbox column for Portland, Maine's Parent & Family magazine and her writing has been featured online at The Huffington Post and The Good Men Project Truth exists mainly in paradoxes where situations can be both hard and soft, difficult and easy, and it’s great to remember to soften when we are finding ourselves in a polarizing place as parents with our children. When we are raising humans with heart, we have to remember to open our own and model what it looks like to be vulnerable and loving. It’s when we stop being in our heads and get into our hearts and speak to our children from the heart. Children learn more from who we are and what we model, not from what we say or teach. Get curious about your child's behavior. Get curious about your reaction to your child's behavior. Get curious about the story you're telling yourself about that dynamic because there are always multiple things going on at any given moment that can be revealed and that give us access to tenderness, compassion, and love. Do you know your ACE score? Aces Too High is an adverse childhood experiences quiz that can tell you a lot about your level of childhood trauma, even if you don’t think you have any- prepare to be surprised. The more we can learn to tune into ourselves and the unaddressed wounds we might still carry, the more we can effectively guide and nurture our children in a loving way. Practicing transparency and accountability with our children is key to raising humans with heart. Learn how to foster creativity, inclusivity, and community with your kids with an eye toward eliminating bias. Learn the #1 thing you can do when your very last nerve is shot and you want to center before you speak or act.

When I first heard the term “Patriarchy Stress Disorder,” I had a gestalt moment. In an instant, it seemed, I experienced a revelation of magnitude in which I could see the formerly invisible structure that I had existed within and that had impacted me for my entire life, but for which I had no name. Listen in as Dr. Valerie Rein exposes the system of oppression the majority of us have been impacted by, but few of us have a context or a name for. Hear for yourself why her work is being hailed as the most important work of our time. Dr. Valerie Rein has discovered Patriarchy Stress Disorder (PSD) and created the only science-backed system for helping women achieve their ultimate success, happiness, and fulfillment by healing the intergenerational trauma of oppression. She holds an EdM in Psychological Counseling from Columbia University and a PhD in Psychology from the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology. Her bestselling book, “Patriarchy Stress Disorder: The Invisible Inner Barrier to Women’s Happiness and Fulfillment” has been heralded by Amazon reviewers as "the most important body of literary work of our modern times" and "perhaps the most important book of the century for women." Her cutting-edge programs have helped thousands of women shift from survival to thriving and master the game of "How good can it get?" in their work and personal lives. PATRIARCHY STRESS DISORDER (PSD) is generational collective trauma or oppression that women have experienced in the patriarchy for thousands and thousands of years. It manifests in multiple ways but ultimately creates an invisible barrier to women’s ultimate success, happiness, and fulfillment. Most of us are socially conditioned to be “Good Girls,” “A Good Wife,” and “A Good Mother,” and as long as we live a life of compliance, we don’t experience a lot of friction. Most women are not in touch with our desires; we simply follow the tracks laid down by the Patriarchy in terms of what roles we can fill and how we can live. However, once we can see the invisible barrier, we begin the “jailbreak” journey, where we start to reach for our authentic desires and access our inner liberation. One of the most significant issues women face is not having role models of women living fully actualized lives who have stepped fully into their own sovereignty and feeling whole in all areas of their lives. Women may have mastered their lives in one area but still have trouble relaxing, being playful, or considering themselves successful. They can’t identify what’s wrong or what’s holding them back, and this is when the psychology of PSD really begins to get interesting because this oppression lives in our nervous systems, and it must be released and expelled. When women go from surviving to thriving, once this hidden system of oppression has been revealed, a daily practice and community are essential to keeping the work alive.

I met Kathy Karn through Seth Godin's digital writing program and we “virtually” fell in love. I became fascinated with her experience with Elephants and moved by her tender and compassionate heart. Kathy is a visual storyteller, a photographer and conservationist. After 30 plus years as a trauma therapist, she instinctively sought images that reflected resilience, beauty and wholeness, she's primarily a wildlife photographer, although international travel images and people compose half of her image archives, including the iconic animals of east Africa, particularly elephants who have profoundly impacted her work. Fueled with spirit she's attracted to the wisdom of indigenous cultures. She loves wandering off the beaten path and her camera allows her to focus on specific gestures, connection, or implied story. When she travels to make pictures, she pushes through her natural shyness seeking more. Differences and barriers melt away and curiosity and wonder reign. She hopes her images are a reminder that there is goodness and beauty in the world. She believes people and nature are inextricably linked. She's horrified by the degradation of the environment and the threat to our planet. Photography is a way of seeing. Which can teach and inspire people to care. When we care, we're more inclined to protect. If her stories and images inspire readers to take steps towards making the world a better place. She believes if we take care of nature, Nature will take care of us. When we save wild places, we save ourselves. When she’s not traveling, she's at home with her husband in London, Ontario, Canada, or on the shores of the Georgian bay, the sixth great lake. She's grateful for family and friends. They are the wind beneath her wings. Creativity is an essential daily practice and there is much to celebrate in her life. We all have a unique perspective to offer the world. When we don’t judge our contribution or compare it, we realize it’s relevant and important, and our own life's work can stand on its own. The divine choreography that led Kathy to the front lines of animal wildlife and led her to effortlessly find elephants who were often challenging for others to locate and experience. Why photography is her medium for fostering compassion and connection. Why animals have so much to teach us about our own humanity and the interconnectedness of life. Kathy shares how she gives herself permission to travel and pursue her passion while her husband supports her in doing this from his home base. How investing in “funding” your soul work gives you the biggest return on investment. Hear about “A room of One’s Own” a metaphor for traveling solo into new territories to be with your own wonder up close and personal. How conservation and climate change is a part of Kathy’s ongoing work. How she came to meet and love Big Tusker Tim and what elephants have taught her about grief and love and connection. Kathy shares about the loss of her own mother and how she came into the realization of her own grief. Why the loss of the Matriarch is such a profound event and rite of passage both for humans and elephants. Hear about the moment of Revelation that Kathy experiences as the veil between the animal world and the human world lifts and she catches a glimpse of what it means to honor and witness these profound moments of our lives through animal medicine.

Learning more about the wisdom of my menstrual cycle over the years has helped me so much. It’s hard to believe that in this day and age, modern women are still in the dark about the incredible, miraculous rhythmic cycles of the feminine. Understanding our cycles has so much to do with our creativity, spontaneity, energy, and fertility, while holding so many clues to our emotions, our access to healing, and clearing out that which no longer serves us. I love Taq’s work and now that I’ve had the chance to get to know her more deeply, I’m so moved by how she facilitates this work, not only with other women but how she honors this work in her own life. In this episode you’ll learn about: Tapping into our monthly cycle as weekly “seasons” helps us to know when to create, work and play, and when to rest and recover. The Sacred Womb and knowing our pelvic centers as energy centers. How colonization, patriarchy, and capitalism have played a part in keeping women from tapping into our agency and claiming our own sovereignty as divine feminine creators. Why “Self Care Down There” (https://imwithperiods.com/new-book) is such a wonderful gift for mothers and daughters. Understanding that every one of us is different and that there is not a “standard normal” for menstruation. Whatever your cycle is, is exactly the cycle for your body, and learning to trust that. How we are socialized to look at our menstrual cycles as an inconvenience instead of as access to incredible inherent wisdom. Why tapping into our “seasons” is the key to tapping into abundance and flow. Learn more about the “seasons” of our menstrual cycle as they relate to PCOS, Migraines, Heavy Bleeding, PMS, Menopause and more, and why it’s so important that we listen and trust the wisdom of our own bodies.

Join me for a conversation about Body Whispering with Dain Heer and our innate capability to heal from what ails us by learning to listen to the body's wisdom and discern our pain and disease from another. In this episode we cover: * Many of us have the innate gift of being empathic, which makes us natural facilitators of healing. * It’s important to be able to facilitate healing without taking on another’s pain as our own. * The greatest gift we can give another is to empower them with choice and to bring their own power to heal into their awareness. * “What are you dying to get out of?” and “Whose pain is this?” are questions to consider when we are dealing with chronic pain or terminal illness. * Learning to ask your body what it needs and listen to its answers. * Reacquainting ourselves with chaos as a form of awakening consciousness and activating opportunities for healing. * Fixed points of view are also “stuck” points of energy in the body that may create dis-ease. In the episode, I refer to the following story to illustrate how we tend to judge an experience. In this story, the experience shifts as the old farmer continues to suspend judgment to view the conditions from other perspectives: “There is a Taoist story of an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit. "Such bad luck," they said sympathetically. "Maybe," the farmer replied. The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses. "How wonderful," the neighbors exclaimed. "Maybe," replied the old man. The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy for his misfortune. "Maybe," answered the farmer. The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son's leg was broken, they passed him by. The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out. "Maybe," said the farmer.” Beginning his journey as a chiropractor, Dr. Dain Heer has been facilitating, exploring, and celebrating the magic of bodies for the last 30 years. Along his journey, he developed his signature energy work called the Energetic Synthesis of Being: a totally different way that invites a new level of awareness and energetic transformation with bodies which includes kindness, caring, and communion. Growing up, Dain had a lot of abuse in his life, but he never chose to be a victim. He learned very early on the power of real courage, choice, and resilience. He learned to transform life's challenges into a gift of strength, awareness and continue being in the question. Dain says judgment is the biggest killer on the planet, especially the judgment of ourselves. Based on his own life experience, he asks, "What if we could get out of the wrongness of ourselves and see every wrongness, the places where we judge ourselves the most, as a strongness? What would be possible then?" Reaching far beyond what people say with words, Dain looks at the energy of what is being presented and invites people to live without apology, no longer needing to hide their differences and unique capacities from the world. Body Whispering- A New Way of Seeing, Being & Healing is Dain's latest book. Learn more at www.bodywhispering.com. Keep up to date with @dainheer on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/dainheer/) and on Facebook @dainheer. (https://www.facebook.com/DrDainHeer) More at www.drainheer.com.

This episode is positively filled with wisdom and beauty. Goddess Calling - Healing Through Feminine Archetypes.

Listening to Dale Allen share her insights is like listening to a master storyteller at work. I’ve rarely experienced a woman so connected to her self-expression while so effortlessly integrated with her body.

While you can’t see her, you might be able to imagine her moving and flowing throughout this interview, connecting to all of us as we listen. She tells us of her discovery of the Goddess, about how she came to know the healing power of archetypes, and her belief that now is the time for us to remember the Divine Feminine.

In this episode, we discuss:

Why does the term GODDESS make some of us uncomfortable? What is our core wound, and why do we all have one? How can archetypes help us to heal? How is the GODDESS related to the Return of The Divine Feminine? How can we listen for the GODDESS CALLING? Why now? Why is the feminine the missing piece for what ails us as humans/society? Why a BREAKDOWN is needed for a BREAKTHROUGH. Why Women? Why reclaiming emotion is a critical piece of our inner peace.

Dale Allen was honored to present to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, her one-woman show, In Our Right Minds™, Guiding Women to Their Strength as Leaders, Leading Men to Strength Without Armor. The Vice President of the Commission invited her to return the following year for an encore. She has brought her talents to scores of audiences at universities, theaters, expos, and workshops across the U.S. and Canada and from Kauai to Dubai. Described as having the energy of “a Cape Canaveral lift-off,” she thoroughly engages and inspires her audience, ranging from highly educated corporate leaders to teenage girls seeking their place in the world.

Dale Allen is a veteran of corporate, commercial communications. Her extensive resume includes hundreds of voice-over, on-camera, and live presentation projects. Some of the most quality-conscious companies, such as BMW, Canon, and MasterCard, among others, have chosen her to represent their brands. Her energy and enthusiasm, sincerity, and strength infuse her presentations and impact audiences.

Dale's Opening Prayer:

“Our mother who art within us, each breath brings us to you. Thy wisdom come, thy will be done, as we honor your presence within us. Each day, you give us all that we need. Your abundance calls us to give and receive all that is loving and pleasurable. You are the courage that moves us to be true to ourselves, and we act with grace and power. We relax into your cycles of birth, growth, death, renewal out of the womb, the darkness, the void comes new life, where you are the mother of all things. Your body is the sacred earth and our bodies. Your love nurtures and unites us all now and forevermore."

Amen.

Kristi Frank is a rockstar. She’s warm, loving, fun, and incredibly smart. She is the founder of the documentary series “The Millionaire Within Her (https://millionairewithinher.com/trailer?sub4=4c9e385c9d27403eb86de2347a5ad328&sub5=44)” which was just released yesterday. I made space for this impromptu episode because once I heard what she was up to, I was super excited to amplify it. I share it with all of you so that together we can get her work out in the world in a bigger way because it’s all about our inner wealth as women. Kristi Frank, star of Season #1 of ‘The Apprentice,' is well known for helping entrepreneurs start and grow their online businesses. This business, health, and beauty guru has appeared on every major network TV show from ‘Oprah’ to ‘The View,' subsequently helping thousands of entrepreneurs transform their lives and businesses. Watch her in action here: Kristi on 'Oprah (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qR5Lu0Gy4do)' Listen to us discuss why women why now - why is the wealth of the world shifting to women? Hear about Kristi’s own story of finding her inner worth and what it took for her to finally “get it." It’s so important that we band together as sisters and realize that our worth needs to shine. This is the time to lift each other up when we're shining - together we can solve anything. Money's just an energy, money is just here to serve us. Women can use money as a conduit to change the world.

Have you ever noticed that ever since your business showed up in your life, so have your deepest fears and false beliefs stories and wounds buried deep in your subconscious as well? There's a reason for that. Our guest today, Gayle Nowak says that when you dare to listen to your wounded heart, you begin to heal and free yourself from the pain, fear and false belief that are keeping you stuck in your business. Gayle is a transformational retreat leader and founder of the story stylist and award winning expert positioning consultancy for speakers, authors and mission led entrepreneurs. She's passionate about creating experiences for messengers, healers, and entrepreneurial lightworkers that help them get real about how they truly feel so that they can find the message and story that best positions their magic. As a result, her clients clear their visibility blocks and show up powerfully. To speak and lead from a happy, loving heart Listen in and learn why our biggest mess is also our most powerful message and how Gayle discovered vulnerability as the source of strength for her clients. Our business’s success is often directly proportional to our willingness to do our healing work. Our wounded hearts hold a resonance for truth telling and that by revealing our true story, we directly attract the clients who are meant for us. Learn why getting out of your head and into your heart is the quickest path to showing up powerfully.

Diet culture, starving ourselves, food guilt, being at war with our shape, fat phobia, body shame. It’s a special kind of torture and what I’ve discovered is that no woman is immune to this hell. For plus-sized women, magnify the feelings of pain by 100 because of how our culture responds to those who don’t fit in, literally. Listen in as we talk about Sarah’s life growing up as a fat and happy child and what her uncle told her about her weight and her worth. Hear about how the fashion industry disregards plus-sized women and how much of the population that actually omits. Gain insight into how fat phobia is literally everywhere in our culture and why it’s so important that we start to recognize how we unconsciously perpetuate it. Fall in love with Sarah’s fierce rebellion as she shares a story about literally prying her braces off of her own teeth with a pair of pliers and why she was so hell bent to make everyone around her stop trying to make her conform to their standards of beauty. This woman is a beautiful force to be reckoned with, taking plus-sized to the mainstream without asking for permission. GO SARAH! Sarah Hamel-Smith aka @thecurvytrini is a New York based TEDx presenter, plus-sized model, storyteller and digital influencer represented by TRUE Model Management. She is the co-Founder of Plus Amplified, an organization dedicated to educating and empowering those who live in plus-sized bodies and serves as a catalyst for cultural and internal shifts towards size equity. After being body shamed for many years she decided to be one of the people who changes the way beauty is defined in society. Sarah has worked with several major fashion brands as a model, motivational speaker and influencer including Eloquii, Veronica Beard, Universal Standard and Tommy Hilfiger at Macy’s and has been featured as a model and writer in BTFL Magazine. Sarah has presented at NYU and NYWICI as a subject matter expert in influencer marketing and at FIT as an expert in Plus Size Fashion. Sarah has been featured on CBS News and Crain’s New York speaking out about the dangers of diet culture and has modeled on Good Morning America and as well as InStyle Magazine as a plus size style icon and featured on Billboards in Times Square for New York Fashion Week.

_I love books. _ I love books so much that sometimes my husband has to ask for me to stop bringing them all into our bed at night so that he can have a place to rest his weary head. I mean, the nerve! He really needs his own bed. Since I was a kid, my childhood dream has been to write a book, and now I’ve decided to make that plural because I am enjoying the writing process so much and have learned just how many stories I have inside me to share! This year I committed to seriously getting busy on this project and hired Bryna as my book coach. Bryna is a woman with a reputation for making transformational books, magical books, and for helping writers alchemize their wisdom into gold so that they can share their ideas with the world in the most impactful way. Listen to hear the most important things you need to know about choosing a book coach. You’ll love what she has to say about her revelations on doing this work and why the pandemic helped her revisit her love of helping others to get their big ideas out into the world. You’ll also hear about her passion for books written and edited from a place of integrity and why it’s so important that we keep writing quality books and putting impeccable work into the world. Bryna Haynes is the founder of The Author (r)Evolution and CEO of WorldChangers Media. A nationally-known book strategist, speaker, ghostwriter, and editor, she has helped hundreds of thought leaders, teachers, healers, and enlightened entrepreneurs deliver their messages and radically uplevel their expert status through best-selling, impact-driven books. Titles she claims in her spare time include: * faerie queen mama * self-reinvention savant * kirtan artist * LEGO castle designer * dragon tamer * luxury travel hacker * and connoisseur of kick-ass boots Learn more about Bryna and her work at www.theauthorrevolution.com (www.theauthorrevolution.com) or www.worldchangers.media (www.worldchangers.media).

Hello everyone, and welcome to another episode of the Revelation Project Podcast. Today I am with Darla LeDoux, a transformational business coach, "recovering engineer," author of Shift The Field, and founder of Sourced. Sourced helps service-based entrepreneurs [coaches, consultants, creatives, healers, and therapists] to confidently market, sell, and deliver deep transformation while being guided by their uniquely Sourced mission. After following the formulas of other experts for years, all while downplaying her unique magic, Darla committed to doing business differently. She reclaimed her inner knowing (Sourced connection), and created the soul-led business that feels divinely right without suffering or struggle. She envisions a world in which all people access and live by their inner knowing, making it valid, valued, and visible in their most magical work. There are two types of energy. There is default energy, and then there's sourced energy. Default energy is all the rules we live by based on the past and trying to control the future. Sourced energy feels alive and aligned and is created from the present moment. We're at a place in our evolution as a society where people know that they're not really stuck. There's just something hidden from their view, so it’s our job as coaches to help them reveal what’s hidden. There are three stages to the anatomy of a transformation. When we are working with a client in this way, we trust that everything that’s showing up is conspiring for us to see our truth - that it all gets to belong there. The structure offered in this anatomy allows us to be more in our magic and to lean into our intuitive gift. The answers we seek are never going to come to us while we are safe inside of our comfort zone. The paradox is that we need to learn to validate ourselves but we can't do that until we've really been seen and witnessed through another's eyes.

This episode was very emotional and moving for me. I don’t know a woman who doesn’t have a negative relationship with her body, including me. There’s so much self-loathing about the skin we are in. Many women feel betrayed by their own bodies, and I don’t think we are aware that the more we self-loathe, the more the beauty industry wins. It’s tragic. This conversation with Nina is incredibly important and revealing. Nina Manolson is a Body-Peace® coach. She helps women end the war with food and body to feel truly at home in their bodies. Really at home. The kind of at home where you can run around naked and not worry about what is “good enough” or what others will think. The kind of good that allows you to feel ultimate freedom and body peace. Nina is also a Certified Psychology of Eating Teacher, Nationally Board Certified Holistic Health Coach, and Certified Body-Trust Guide. She helps her clients move past the deprivation-diet paradigm and into a compassionate and powerful way of eating and living, which creates profound, long-lasting change in and with their bodies. Nina works with individuals and groups and writes body poems – all in service of helping women create a respectful and nourishing relationship with their bodies. Learn more at: NinaManolson.com (https://NinaManolson.com) Our culture is the issue, and the beauty industry shows up a fatphobia and weight stigma. There's a way that we're actually not treated as well. When we live in a larger body, there's a way that we're not welcomed. The Patriarchy is a societal money-making machine that benefits off of our body shame, and it’s a 72 billion dollar industry. It’s important for us to unpack and divest from the diet culture to reclaim ourselves. There is no ideal size. When we come into a relationship of body peace, we come into a relationship with the incredible wealth of wisdom that our body holds. The messages from the media, and now social media, for our kids is brutal on their relationships with their bodies. Our body should not feel like a prison. We deserve a different reality in our relationship with our bodies and food. We do not have to stay in that prison.

I laughed through this whole episode. Kelsey Abbott is one of the most delightful and playful people I have met in a long time. In addition to being incredibly intelligent, Kelsey is so talented at communicating the impact of human design and how it can help us recalibrate our lives. I’m so excited to introduce you and know you’ll love her as much as I do. Kelsey Abbott is an intuitive Human Design Reader, a Certified Professional Coach, Instigator of Joy, and the Find Your Awesome podcast host. She helps spiritual adventurers remember who they are and why they're here so they can experience more ease, joy, flow, magic, and miracles. Kelsey believes that the universe wants us to be sparkly AF and that joy is our natural state. When Kelsey isn't playing in her business, she's bringing curiosity, play, and joy to triathlon, a sport she races as an elite amateur. Kelsey became a certified coach in 2014 and started the “Find your Awesome podcast” in 2017. She was initially very skeptical about Human Design until she began to look into it. How it described her own profile resonated deeply with her soul, so she kept going down the rabbit hole until getting certified. Kelsey is a 4/6 Manifesting Generator. Right Angle Cross: Penetration. She graduated college with a psychology degree, went on to get a graduate degree in marine mammal science, and studied marine mammals and conservation. She then moved from that career to be a science writer, taking scientific papers and making them accessible, fun, and funny for regular people. On the side, she was coaching, swimming, coaching triathletes, personal training, and then morphed all of this into professional coaching and Human Design. Human Design is like your blueprint for Earth School, and there are 5 types: Manifestor, Manifesting Generator, Generator, Projector, Reflector. Kelsey refers to "Reflector" types as "Disco Balls of Awesomeness." Reflectors, who are only 1% of the population, reflect and amplify the energy of others. If you have an open center, you will feel and amplify the energy of others in that center. If you have a defined center, you have your own energy in that center. Alexander the Great was a Manifestor. Manifestors are here to make things happen. Manifestors are super, super powerful. They have the biggest aura, the biggest energy of any energy type, which means that a Manifestor cannot sneak into a room. You feel it when a Manifestor comes into the room. Generator types are the only ones that have an endless reservoir of energy coming from the sacral center. We silly humans often think that we're on a planet covered with almost 8 billion different people, but really we are on a planet with one human shattered into 8 billion separate pieces, and those different pieces need to own and share their gifts, our gifts. When when we do, we all fit together like puzzle pieces, and then we rise. We are meant to rise together. And we need each other to rise.

I love that magical moment when I'm diving into depths of conversation on a topic I'm passionate about only to discoer kindship with a likeminded sister. Meeting Alexis was like hanging out with someone I've known forever. As seen in FOX, Thrive Global, Entertainment Tonight, and more, Alexis Artin is a leading Success Coach, international speaker, a writer trained in neuro-linguistic programming, and a master embodiment teacher—fully immersed in the DeMartini Method. Having spent the past two decades propelling people towards their personal and professional best, Alexis is a woman transforming women. After working with many A-list celebrities across the board, in television and film, Alexis transitioned her passion and skillset for fostering potential and obtaining results in the world of self-development and transformation. She worked side-by-side with many of the most revered thought leaders bringing personal growth to the global stage. Alexis was the driving force behind expanding one of the largest and most respected female empowerment companies, which inspired her to channel her expertise into creating a coaching practice serving clients worldwide. Alexis teaches others to embrace their knowing, connecting mind, body, heart, and soul. Her powerful coaching gives her clients true and lasting transformation from the inside out. An ICF-certified professional coach and Energy Leadership Master Practitioner, Alexis is also co-founder of FreeBody™ Practice and a hypnotherapist. In studying with Dr. John Demartini, one concept he teaches is the paradoxical nature of the soul and the body as complementary opposites. That the soul chose the body to have an embodied experience, but the body is like an animal operating at a base level. The goal is to integrate our “opposites,” our soul and body, by being present and in alignment with both, and tapping into and re-membering is a constant practice. Our bodies are designed to tell us when we are not in alignment - and once cued, we can reconnect. The breath is a tool, but the mind and the heart are the bridge between the body and the soul. They will align us, or they will throw us out of alignment. When we are very young most of our programming is set because when we don't have resources, we are powerless, and we are then thrust into a world where we have to live by the values of the people caring for us. Empowerment is about choice, period. Empowerment is about our ability to choose at any given moment. Awareness is our superpower. Habitual change happens in 21 days. It’s about where we've been asleep in our lives and where we want to awaken. It is being in the practice of the inquiry and at peace in our lives through the body.

Gah! I love this this woman because she's so unapologetically herself! Tune in as Nic and I talk about how "the trance" shows up for women in our career and in our self care. You might be suprised to learn that by being the "work hero", you are actually demonstrating how the trance of unworthiness can sneak up on us in the most unexpected ways. Nic Frick is a career coach, guiding women through the roller coaster of career transitions. Her holistic approach is a result of her commitment to discovering her own self-care practices and her career spanning tech, recruiting, customer service, and teaching yoga. Her programs integrate both career growth strategies and healing modalities to ensure work-life balance and sustainability for her clients. She believes that you can have your dream job if you trust your own authority, start with your why, and lead from your values. Nic prides herself on being the best hugger anyone has ever met. She is committed to dismantling white supremacy, feels happiest on a surfboard, loves sending handwritten letters, and starts getting ready for bed at 8:15 PM. Nic grew up in Wisconsin and has lived in Minnesota, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Peru. She is currently living with her hubby and daughter in San Francisco, California and they are obsessed with finding the tastiest food possible and avoiding winter as much as possible. In 2017, before becoming a mother, Nic decided to name it “The Year of Nicole” to explore what self-love was really about. She learned, healed, and acquired many tools she now uses in her work with women. Usually, women have to look at their careers in tandem with their self-care, because these are deeply connected. Self-care means investigating your thoughts. We have to nourish ourselves and then give to others from our overflow. Women have been taught the mentality of scarcity mindset through the patriarchy, but it’s important to invest in ourselves, now more than ever. Nurturing yourself can be taking a lunch break, which can mean a profound shift. Women invest 90% of their income in their family and their community while men invest 30%. Most women at work are facing burnout. “It’s going to be hard to find a job if I don’t have a job” is a cultural lie that keeps us stuck.

I love this conversation so much because it’s about the transformative power of singing and music for healing and attunement to ourselves and others. It’s about creating connections and daring to use the instrument of our bodies to bring our voices more fully into the world. How beautiful is that? Meet Carole Marie Downing, a coach, song leader, and facilitator passionate about creating resilience through challenging times. Her initial career was in nursing, working in areas of hospice and integrative medicine. She then shifted to coaching after receiving a master's degree in psychology, emphasizing consciousness, health, and healing. She utilizes both her professional background and personal experience to gently support clients to tune in to their capacity to thrive. After a loss and significant life transitions, her most recent work as a song leader and music guide encourages people to sing and learn music in a way that creates connection and cultivates the transformational act of bringing our voices fully into the world. Carole Marie lives in Portland, Oregon, and loves hot cups of tea. She enjoys making music out of everything life offers up and going barefoot in the sand. ** Carole believes we can use music as a way to create more connection and bring our voices to the world.** Attunement - If we were to look at an instrument that was out of tune, we wouldn't say that it was broken or hopeless; instead, we would tune it, and I feel this is the same with people. If life isn't going exactly as we would like, and we are out of sync with the world, it’s simply a request for re-attunement and noticing where we need to come back into alignment. We can look at our relationships with ourselves and others as being out of tune or in harmony. Initially, Carole experienced music as a way to heal from the grief of loss. Sometimes, life experiences can’t be captured in words, and only music can help us express and move through our pain. When we allow ourselves to feel that deeply, we become wise to the fact that there can even be other emotions felt while we are in pain, such as beauty and gratitude. Our culture influences whether we feel safe enough or confident enough to bring our voices into the world. Many people have this idea that they have to sound a certain way to sing, which is not true. It’s so important that more of us access our voices in this way and that we look at a chorus as a metaphor for our humanity. Sometimes there is disharmony, and this is always true; before we have harmony together, it’s a necessary part of the process.

Candice Hozza is an engaging, witty, and sought-after speaker. Her energetic message brings high performing and heart-centered entrepreneurs to the cutting edge of business support. Her techniques for thinking about, and aligning to, what your business actually wants will breathe new life into stuck and exhausted business owners to help them move from being stuck to being in flow. Once you get into flow, you can monetize your mission with ease. Candice knew she had the gift of knowing and communicating with the spiritual world from an early age, but she shut it down because it seemed to alarm people. She used to call herself “the queen of stuckness” because she was embarrassed about it and eventually knew she needed to pursue it. Until then she worked in a career that required her to be someone she was not. The Akashic are a database of your soul connected to divine source that catalog a record of everything. They are a space of infinite possibility. Candice taps into the Akashic records for business-women who want to understand what their business needs next. ` Every business has an energy and a voice, and we can access what it’s trying to tell us, and what it wants us to know. The “I AM” presence is the core essence of who you are.

I adored this interview and I’ve been geeking out on Human Deign now for weeks and can’t seem to get enough, and I have Robin Winn to thank! In addition to being a fabulous facilitator and coach Robin has written two amazing and relatable books on the subject of Human Design that make it so easy and enjoyable to understand this technology and apply it to your life. I highly recommend to anyone who has not yet heard of Human Design that you get your chart downloaded, which you can do in a matter of minutes as long as you know your birth time, date, and place. Then, once you know what you are, head on over to Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/revelationwoman/) and we can geek out, together! Robin Winn is a best-selling author of understanding your clients through human design, the breakthrough technology, and understanding the centers in human design, the facilitator's guide to transforming pain into possibility. Twenty-five years into her work as a licensed marriage and family therapist, she was introduced to human design as a way to more deeply understand herself and her clients, this transformational knowledge marked a turning point, opening a door of compassion and empowering her work in surprising and unexpected ways. Robin is a writer, speaker, transformational, coach, founder, and director of the training programs. Understanding yourself through human design and understanding your clients through human design. She lives on Maui with her wife yarrow. Hey Robin. Hey Monica. Thanks for having me. Oh, I'm so happy to have you. Human design is a terma up. I don't know if you're familiar with it, the word terma, but it's in Tibet and Buddhism. They said that certain information was hidden until the right time that people could understand it and use it. It was brought to us in 1989, relatively recently that it showed up as this fellow, this Canadian was off the coast of Spain came back. He was on a retreat, came back to his cabin and these light beings. Downloaded the information to him- for humanity, for the evolution of humanity. Most importantly, Human Design is for parents to parent their children because in human design, each person is a piece of a gigantic puzzle. And when you're living your piece, You bring what you're here to bring. You're happy. The world benefits. If you're trying to live somebody else's piece, it's kind of like a curse you're miserable. Human Design works with 64 hexagrams of the iching which is for those of you who aren't familiar, it's an ancient Chinese divination system that has 64 hexagrams each hexagram has six lines. In human design, it’s a curse not to love your unique puzzle piece- meaning, a self-imposed curse, like a tragedy. In human design, we have channels, open centers, and defined centers There are 5 types in Human Design: Reflector, Manifester, Projector, Manifesting Generator, Generator. Generators are the “worker bee’s of humanity” and if they have a defines sacral center they have the privilege of constant energy, unless they are doing something that isn’t aligned with who they are, then they burn out. We are designed to work together in unity and each of us has an important piece of the human puzzle. To be stronger as we come together to create a better world for all.

In this episode, Monica and Laura dive into the world of intuition and how our soul wisdom can read the signs that can lead us where we need to go. Laura Clark is one of those beautiful souls you meet along the way that gently nudges you to look more deeply at the signs that are always within our view if we dare to look, trust and believe in them. This interview was so fun because Laura and I love geeking out on signs. I loved sharing our intuitive hits with each other about the growth we’ve experienced as the mystery of our lives continually unfolds with grace, sass, and a whole lot of cosmic humor. Do you see signs in your life? After this episode, you’d likely start seeing them everywhere! You are welcome! Laura Clark teaches you how to access your inner knowing and align with your purpose to live your truth purposefully and passionately. Laura Clark is also a bestselling author, engaging speaker, and founder of the Wise Living Institute & Living Your truth Sisterhood. Laura champions others to awaken their purpose and inner wisdom, and to use them as a beacon in stepping confidently and courageously forward living one’s own truth. As a sassy and spiritual guru, Laura believes everyone can step forward to a fuller, more joyful, and abundant life. Show Notes: * Living your truth is really knowing yourself intimately - who you are, what your purpose is, and taking simple, and yet courageous steps forward, having that be your foundation. * Laura didn't have the picket fence or the two-car garage or the 3.1 children that everybody else told her that she was going to have in her life. She was following the path of others and wasn’t happy, which eventually led to depression. * When we are unbalanced it's because we are not allowing ourselves to follow our creative truths the way we want to, the way we are guided to. And so the depression came because she was ignoring what she really wanted to be doing, which forced Laura to start listening to her inner wisdom and guidance. * The golden thread of our life runs through each and every aspect of who we are and what we do. If you look for it, you’ll see it. * Sometimes we have to choose a path for ourselves that has no safety net so that we can’t retreat back into the comfort of what we knew. There’s wisdom in this. * If you are paying attention you can start to see the signs that can lead you in the direction you need to head in. * There are many different languages of listening. Sometimes signs are taps, subtle nuances, patterns, number sequences, animals showing up in our line of sight. * Signs can also come as cosmic 2x4s. If you are not listening and paying attention, they keep coming back with more and more force, to gain your attention. * Sometimes waiting is the answer and you just have to wait until more is revealed. * All of us have access to intuition, but like anything else, you have to practice and develop your relationship with it. * The 6 Truths Sassy & Spiritual Souls Must Understand to Grow & Glow

I met Ken almost a decade ago and felt an instant kinship with him. In addition to being a masterful coach, I admire his capacity as a human being to hold complexity and emotion, as well as his great dedication to working with Men toward greater emotional fluency. After the events at the Capitol on January 6th, I reached out to Ken seeking comfort and a deeper understanding of what I was witnessing. I felt helpless, triggered, and overwhelmed by the series of events that had unfolded that day and how we got there. Throughout this episode, I was mightily triggered. I’m grateful for Ken’s steady and compassionate response as we explored the underpinnings of what happened that day and what we can do to start to be part of the change we want to see in the world for the men in our country and our sons. Ken Mossman has specialized in working with men for almost two decades. With an international clientele from a wide variety of industries from finance, academia, and technology – to entrepreneurship and the arts, Ken’s focus is on helping men expand their emotional literacy, fluency, and flexibility so they can lead with presence and empathy. Ken is a Senior Faculty Member with CTI, the Co-Active Training Institute. In addition to his coaching and training work, he writes regularly, hosts the “Mojo for the Modern Man” podcast, and designs and leads intensive, deep programs for men. Show Notes: On January 6th, 2021, Ken's sister contacted him about the siege at the Capitol and the unfolding violence. Ken's reaction to what he saw on the news felt like a “gut punch" and included tension in his neck and jaw along with a sense of “there’s no surprise here” while simultaneously feeling the shock of what was happening. The roots of the events have a larger cultural context that we seem to be in denial about. "We are a nation of good and decent people” seems to be the refrain heard over and over again. Still, the truth is that our nation was built on wobbly legs of genocide, slavery, colonization, and brutality. Many of the images we saw that day are emblematic of toxic white male privilege and gross characterizations of “The Man Box” in cosplay. A population fed on a steady diet of misinformation and a toxic model of white male privilege and feelings of anger and invisibility created the Capitol events that day. One of the Trump administration hallmarks was this idea of “the enemy,” and his language and energy were often about "us or them.” Rage is a culmination of unexpressed anger, hopelessness, and invisibility. Many men in our country lack the relational and communication skills needed to break out of the “man box.” When it comes to raising our children, we need to be mindful of our internal dialog and catch ourselves as parents when we find ourselves triggered by our own unresolved “stuff.” We need to ask ourselves if we are modeling healthy behavior for our children regarding the full range of human emotion. We need to recognize that the language we have to raise boys falls short and creates an environment for rage.

No Judgment. Even the title of this episode makes me breathe easy. I loved my conversation with Dain and gained so much insight and enjoyment from listening to him talk. He spoke about the power of non-judgment and why it is vital to our wellbeing to clear judgment from our energetic centers so that we can stop suppressing our true nature and live a life of allowance. In this episode, he teaches us to uncreate the realities that no longer serve us. That all of the projections, expectations, separations, and rejections placed on us by ourselves or by anybody else keep us from being as weird and different as we are. He encourages us to let that go and create something new by accessing our conscious awareness. I have no doubt you will gain deep awareness just by listening to this episode. Meet Dr. Dain Heer: Dr. Dain Heer is an internationally renowned author, speaker, and facilitator of consciousness and change. For over 20 years, he has been inviting people to embrace their true greatness—people from every culture, country, age, and social strata. In his talks and workshops, he uses a unique set of tools and provides step-by-step energetic processes to get people out of the answers, conclusions, and judgments that are keeping them stuck in a cycle of no choice and no change – leading them into the moments of awe that have the power to change anything. For Dain, judgment is the biggest killer on the planet, especially the judgment of ourselves. Based on his own life experience, he asks, “what if we could get out of the wrongness of ourselves and see every wrongness, the places where we judge ourselves the most, as a strength? What would be possible then?” Show Notes: * One of the most seductive things in the world is when someone sees you with no judgment. And we keep looking for that from the outside world or hoping for it and very seldom receiving it. And yet we never looked to how can I be that person for myself? * Symptoms of the trance of unworthiness, perfectionism, and self-loathing are all based on judgment. * We live in a world where parents are taught that the right way to be a parent is to teach their kids to judge. The idea is to teach them to judge right from wrong and good from bad. * We've gotten away from asking questions. When we were kids with such curiosity about the world, most of us were made to feel wrong for asking way too many questions. * A definition for consciousness: “where everything and everyone exists, and no one and nothing is judged." * Access Consciousness is available in over 183 countries, and they have about 700 facilitators worldwide. * People are depressed, confused, overwhelmed, and don’t know how to ask the questions that get them started on their own journey. Teen Incidence of suicide is skyrocketing worldwide. * Beginning to function from a state of allowance will ease the suffering of many, many people. * People are either seekers: growth aware, or non-seeking: growth averse. * Laughter truly is the best medicine.

Vironika Wilde is a poet, spoken word artist, award-winning author, nomad, feminist, cat fanatic, and activist. More than a poetry book, Love and Gaslight is a story. Divided into five chapters, it sparks with one woman's decision to leave an unhappy relationship. Her choice begins a painful unraveling. Poem by poem, she searches for lost innocence and unpalatable truth. Veronika is also a sexual assault survivor reclaiming her body. She is an immigrant climbing into the home-sized hole in her heart. She is an adult comforting her inner child. She is a woman questioning the social conditioning that governs her freedom. Love and Gaslight is raw, political, and transgressive. It's edgy, feminist, and relevant. Most importantly, it's honest. You will feel it. Whether it makes you feel sad, glad, or attacked, it will also make you feel brave enough to speak your truth. Show Notes: * Poetry can reveal truth and heal trauma. Vironika has been writing poetry since she was a child and after publishing two self-help books, she decided to dive more deeply into her poetry. * As a woman, your healing process comes up for you each month when you have your period. So once a month, when you're on the progesterone part of your cycle, it comes back and it gives you an opportunity to process whatever it is that hasn't been processed. * Toxic relationships are crazy making. * Vironika realized that she and her partner were recreating childhood traumas with each other. He was casting her into this role of his mother, and she was casting him into this role of her father, which tends to repeat itself over and over again until you learn to heal your inner child. * Vironika came from the former Soviet Union to Canada with her parents as immigrants. * Vironika had to learn to empty herself in her friendships with others in ways that would not re-traumatize herself. * It’s really important to find a friend that can hold space for you. * In the former Soviet Union there is a big culture of repression, so much so that many people have throat issues and thyroid issues that have to do with voice suppression. * Sometimes we are doing the right thing but with the wrong person. * Love and Gaslight is a collection of poems that share the process of healing.

Join us for this revealing conversation as Sandra Payne and I discuss our healthcare workers' well-being, especially our nurses. Sandra Payne is a Registered Nurse and the owner of Sandra Payne Holistic Wellness Coaching. She is also the founder of the Nurse Rx Coaching Program. To overcome her own struggle with burnout, depression, and anxiety, Sandra used a truly holistic healing approach that she refers to as her “Journey through the Canyon of Hope." She felt a passionate fire to guide other women on their own canyon journeys through coaching and healing, so she created the Nurse RX Program in which nurses learn and practice a host of skills and exercises to manage their own mental and emotional exhaustion through the combination of individual coaching and a powerful sisterhood of connection & support. Show Notes: * Before COVID, Sandra recognized that our essential workers, especially our nurses, are part of an unsustainable system that almost guarantees their burnout. * Sandra has endured the struggle of anxiety and depression that’s so common with nurses. * The root causes of her anxiety and depression stem from undue pressure on herself to continue being of service when she was already at max capacity. * Burnout and the overwhelming demands of women are leading us down a path to mental and emotional overwhelm. * Sandra takes nurses through different stages of awareness and healing through what she calls “The Canyon of Hope.” * Burnout is incredibly common for our essential workers and nurses. Ironically, a large percentage of nurses end up in a state of illness or chronic fatigue due to the way the medical and health care system operates. * Sandra catalogs the risk of not addressing the signs and symptoms of burnout. * What's the risk to us if we don't address our signs and symptoms early? * Sandra encourages women to find a support system or coaching circle of women to receive support and help.

As we age, we understand what age discrimination (also known as ageism) is all about. People face ageism and other intersecting forms of discrimination in many ways in our society. Women, by and large, are disproportionately impacted by ageism. From a young age, we are conditioned to believe that our value is tied to our youthful appearance and “marketability." As a result, the beauty and fashion industry perpetuate a narrative that keeps women in “the trance” of unworthiness. Policies and services must be adapted to reflect our changing population structures to ensure that everyone, young and old, has equitable access to services and entitlements. Yet, this is only part of the tragedy of the ageism story. Meet Kat Miller. Kat has an MA in spiritual psychology. For the past 35 years, she’s been counseling, teaching, and consulting. Her passion is using aging as a catalyst to breaking free from cultural conditioning and discovering truth and wisdom through our own direct experience. Kat also uses the medium of photography to express the inherent beauty of aging and impermanence. Show Notes: * Aging is a positive, natural, and beautiful process, but we’ve been enculturated to think otherwise. * Ageism happens when people face stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination based on their age. * Because of ageism, older people are excluded from jobs and social services. * It also increasingly underpins human rights violations such as elder abuse and financial exploitation. In many ways, ageism is the last socially accepted form of discrimination. * People that are aging are generally slowing down, and in our society, that is almost taboo. In terms of enjoyment of life, however, it’s actually a very positive thing. * As we get older, physiologically and emotionally, we are slowing down because and not quite so involved with performance anxiety that we've had throughout our younger years, which is very liberating. * There’s no such thing as good or bad when it comes to aging. We tend to hold others to a measurement based on whether they are “aging well” because they can still do yoga at age 102, and then we idolize that as somehow ideal or a “good” version of aging. * “Wow, you look amazing for your age" is an excellent example of ageism. * Ageism is like the last frontier of social change that’s truly got to shift if we want to change how we live our lives and love ourselves well. * Men are often considered “handsome” and sexually desirable well into their 50s, 60s, and 70s and are still considered for lead roles in movies. This is not so for women. * The U curve of happiness is a metric of how we start our lives happy and carefree, and in our 20s, 30s, and 40s, we become less so, but then into our 50’s and up the curve trends upward again.

Liz McCartney offers healing wisdom and knowledge to humanity through her gift as a spiritual channel. She is a master teacher of Reiki and combines meditation and pranic healing in her work with her clients. Her focus is on creating a synergistic connection to help her clients embrace the human experience through the divine being. Imagine a synergistic relationship to healing through the divine being within you - this is the work of Liz McCartney. Liz and I decided to riff on what is currently happening in our country and why it seems so much easier to blame, shame, numb, and deflect, and why it is so important that we start working on the unresolved and unhealed wounds within. We hope that this episode will normalize the human mess with some intersecting conversations that may reveal more awareness and even normalize the healing process. In this episode, we define "the mess” as something we either try to hide or won’t hold ourselves accountable for because we don’t want to look at our own shadows or unhealed wounds. We have a choice to make; we can choose to be willfully ignorant of the root causes of our disruption, of our disparity, and our needs to heal, but in doing so, we not only do great harm within ourselves, we're actually harming the collective energy and creating a bigger mess. Part of the journey of enlightenment and consciousness, however, requires us to overcome this struggle. Nobody really wants to talk about hard things. We tend to disassociate from difficult situations and to avoid challenging topics that make us feel vulnerable. We don’t often think of our ignorance as being willful, but as Liz mentions in this episode, it’s a choice to continue to choose suffering. Many of us are hiding a mess in our lives behind a prettier picture we show the world. Addiction, family dysfunction, and trauma are part of a perpetuated generational cycle if we don’t actively choose to break that cycle. If you have grown up this way, you may not have a healthy model for behaving differently, but we have access to healthy models these days if we seek them. Often we create enemies outside ourselves when the real war is the one we are having on the inside. Our refusal to look at ourselves as the original source of our own suffering is what contributes to many of the isms. When we talk about creating more unity in the world, we first have to look at our own unity within ourselves. If we are fractured inside, we must be accountable for healing ourselves. Qanon is perhaps an example of a movement of people who are hiding their own white supremacy, racism, sexism, unresolved rage, and fear, and are refusing personal accountability for the way things are in their own lives. Instead, they blame outside forces or direct their attention on fantastic distractions so that they don’t have to look at their own stuff. We are all in an ongoing state of healing, but we will not get anywhere unless we take inventory of our own personal mess and ask for help and support where we need it.

Rebecca Lyn Gold has been writing since the age of 6 when she found a floral cloth covered 5-year diary (with a lock and key) in her Christmas stocking. She is now an author, editor, writing coach and the founder of Yogic Writing-- a practice that utilizes the philosophies and disciplines of yoga, meditation and journaling for writers of all levels to break through resistance, uncover memories, and find story nuggets buried within. Her books include: "Till There Was You: An Adoption Expectancy Journal," "A Wizard Called Woz: a biography of Stephen Wozniak," "That's Why We're Here: Stories from passionate James Taylor fans," "How To Write It Funny" with author/humorist Amy Koko, and "A Friend Named Sunny Skies: A Memoir of Trauma, Healing, and the Music of James Taylor." She is currently writing: "From Your Mat to Your Memoir: Creating a yogic writing practice to find and write your life stories." Rebecca believes that writing is a spiritual practice, much like yoga or meditation. It takes courage to forge ahead, even when you have no idea where you are going. You step on the mat, you greet the page, you meet your resistance, and then you Let. It. Go. Rebecca has 3 children (who live in 3 different states-- although she tries not to take that personally), three grandchildren, and a 4th on the way. She lives with her husband Osvaldo and their dog Brownie in Providence, Rhode Island (for now). She leads workshops, retreats and online programs using Yogic Writing as a tool for women to find and write their life stories. Rebecca has a deep connection to the music of James Taylor due to a healing she experienced through his music, and would turn to music and storytelling as a way to comfort and connect to herself when she felt depressed or lonely. Rebecca was 13 when she experienced a traumatic event that forced her to keep secrets. it’s also when she discovered journaling as a tool to access her deeper feelings process her emotions, and taking back her power. Rebecca teaches her Yogic Writing Method that allows women to first connect to their body to access its deeper wisdom, and then to write from that deeper place. If 100 Women were surveyed and asked if their lives dream were to write a book that at least 85% would share the desire to tell their story through a book. Every woman has a story to tell, they just need to believe that their story is worth telling. Initially Rebecca was doing a lot of surface level writing until she discovered yoga and began combining the practices of Yoga and Writing, and what she found is that the two were beautifully suited to one another. Yogic writing helps women to break through to deeper levels of story-telling, and to stand in the center of their story as survivors and thrivers, vs, victims. Breath practices, prompts, and yoga poses are all part of her writing retreats given throughout her programs. Women who have experienced trauma ( and many of us have) are able to use this method because it’s gentle and self-guided, but also very effective at moving the stuck or trapped emotion through and helps women tap into deeper insights that come through in their writing. When the pandemic started, Rebecca and many others found solace and comfort when she created a group called “The Corona Chronicles” on facebook and each day she would write a prompt and the group members could share what they had written. From your mat to your memoir is a workshop Rebecca offers a few times a year, and she keeps it to a small and intimate group so that they can share their writings with each other and get the individualized attention to their writing.

Tabitha Lord is an accomplished author and is known for her science fiction series: HORIZON. She has received several independent book awards, including the Writer’s Digest Grand Prize in 2016. In addition to writing novels and short fiction, Tabitha is a partner and senior writer for Book Club Babble and managing editor for the Inkitt Writer’s Blog. Recently, she’s tried her hand at writing romantic suspense under the pen name Maggie Clare. Tabitha lives in Rhode Island with her husband, four kids, and lovable fur babies. Listen in today as we talk about changing careers at 40, vulnerability, storytelling, raising kids, climbing mountains, and doing things that are hard but worthwhile. Tabitha and Ray had only been dating for a few months when they found out they were expecting a baby. Tabitha had not yet reached her senior year in college, but they decided they wanted to try to make it work as parents, and once the baby was born, they decided to marry. Tabitha struggled with settling down, and while she loved being a mother, she did not yet embrace her role as a wife. After falling into an accidental career at her children’s school, at age 40, she decided that she wanted to become a writer. It wasn’t until Tabitha’s fourth child was about three years old that she really allowed herself to truly love her partner Ray. Until this time, she always felt herself “holding back.” Writing helped Tabitha explore and access a vulnerability she had not known in herself that gave her new insights and stirred new emotions. Her storytelling and writing gave her an outlet that opened doors into deeper relationships and experiences, and ultimately she began trusting herself in ways she had not formerly. Tabitha believes everyone has their own “art form” to discover, a creation process that they are uniquely suited to, and that part of life's challenge is to reveal it.

Truth Speaks is a Black, Non-Binary, Trans-Queer Woman with Southern roots. She relocated to the state of Maine in 2011 to be an Evangelist. Truth is a Black Lives Matter Activist, Feminist, Writer, Femme, and Artist. She also has a long history in the medical field in nursing, then shifted her focus in 2015 to her work in Antiracism. She uses her art to draw attention to issues surrounding white supremacy, police brutality, and anti-Black racism, focusing on Black women. Truth is always looking for opportunities to empower women and share her lived experiences and truth with the world. In this episode, we talk about Decolonizing the Mind and what it means to empower womxn by raising the awareness of unfamiliar intersections and conversations that other women like Truth encounter daily. Truth chose her name because she has been seeking her truth with all of her heart and has become aligned with that truth, especially since coming out. Truth feels liberated by giving herself permission to be who she is and to seek her truth, and speak her truth, no matter what. No one can write your narrative for you, and your personal truth does not have to align with anyone else’s. We are given these hidden scripts that dictate how we “should” live, love, and be, and these scripts can be incredibly harmful if you do not fit in a cultural box. Truth agrees with James Baldwin’s writings - that we can disagree with one another, but it’s not ok to harm one another for being different or for having a truth that’s not a cultural “norm." Truth was born into a male-gendered body, but this was not the essence of her spirit. Truth knew at a very early age who she was but felt that she could not be true to this due to her upbringing and what the church dictated. Truth's mother knew she was having a girl, and yet, she birthed a boy. It’s only in the past few years that Truth has felt like she can fully express who she is, and it’s made a tremendous difference in her health and her joy. Black Mamas Matter focuses on the disproportionate rates that black women die in pregnancy and childbirth and how black women are treated based on stereotypes that subject them to unnecessary trauma and pain. Truth is passionate about art, modeling, music, and self-expression based on activism around issues such as police brutality, disparities in health care, and the treatment of queer black and brown people. We are seeing a lot of activity in progressive areas, but Truth understands that this is not yet the case in many places. Truth wants to bring change to how Black and Brown Women are treated. She wants to create more spaces and have access to the same opportunities without being discriminated against. She also wants to help educate through her art, voice, and activism. Pose, Drag, and J-Sette are art forms that are growing and being celebrated. Silence is violence. Truth works to bring her voice to the many ways racism is covert and hidden and how it needs to be revealed. I loved this conversation with Truth. I will continue to follow and celebrate her beauty, grace, and fierce love for humanity and her incredible stand for making change happen in the world. Thank you for all you do as a cycle breaker, artist, and activist.

Coral Brown was one of our top podcast episodes of 2020, so I thought it fitting to invite her back at the close of what has been an incredibly challenging year for most of us. Today we talk about The Biology Of Belief and how our beliefs shape everything, including what we perceive, how we live and move in the world, and how our beliefs even biologically impact our health. I want to mention that being with Coral is also like sitting in a hub where you experience a whirlwind of connection points that simultaneously come together. I often leave our conversations feeling as though I have shifted on a cellular level. I feel more expansive, aware, and tuned-in to deeper wisdom about what’s happening in the world that, I am convinced more than ever, is happening not to us but for us. Coral Brown is known and loved in her local community and around the world. She is a mother, a dharma dweller, and a teacher of teachers. She is known for her integrative, lighthearted approach that fuses vinyasa yoga's vibrant, creative energy with her experience as a holistic counselor. Coral is a licensed mental health counselor and draws on twenty years of experience in yoga, philosophy, and holistic counseling to provide fertile, open space for the processes of healing and transformation. Coral’s teachings are fueled by the desire to reveal and cultivate the essence of our individual and collective dharma and instill it into every aspect of our being. Coral leads worldwide teacher trainings, retreats, and workshops. She is a regular contributor to Yoga Journal and has featured classes on YogaGirl.com. *Show Notes: * * Our belief system is shaped by our families, society, culture, education, and religion. * Awareness is the beginning of everything. * If you don’t believe it, you don’t perceive it. * We live in a dualistic world: right or wrong, heaven or hell, black or white, but there is a whole spectrum of experience and intelligence we miss when we perceive the world in this way. * We have been in a collective triggering of sorts, and many of us have lost friends and family members due to our beliefs. The higher your level of emotional intelligence and empathy, the more you can feel the collective pain. * Emotional Intelligence is just as important as intellectual intelligence and is more critical than ever as we navigate relationships and connection at a deeper level. * Often, we experience a contraction before an expansion, which is happening in our world right now. * Awareness of our beliefs is where our work is, and fealizing (feel + realizing) what we are feeling in each moment and choosing our response from a place of compassion for ourselves and others. * Conducting an inventory of beliefs is a great place to start noticing what your belief system is.

Hillary is a knitter, but not in the knitting of fabrics, more the knitting together of people and projects and possibilities. Hil and I met years ago by coming together on a digital marketing project. This experience snowballed into an epic friendship that, in many ways, feels like it spans many lifetimes. Our talks effortlessly flow, always feeling like 10 minutes but more often they end up being hours of deep conversation covering a myriad of topics. I find her endlessly fascinating because she’s a deep thinker with an endless well of insights. Though I feel like I’ve known Hil for lifetimes, we finally only met in person last November in NYC. She’s got the gift of bringing peace and perspective to every conversation and relationship I’ve seen her contribute to and this one is no different. Sit back and enjoy the levity and love that comes through in this beautiful woman’s expansive heart on a topic that so many of us struggle with - anxiety. Hillary Larson had a life that most people might dream of. After studying at the BBC and the Royal College of Art in London, she moved to New York and landed a dream job producing nationally syndicated radio shows. She interviewed celebrities from Bette Midler to Ozzy Osborne. She eventually moved back to the West Coast and found herself unexpectedly establishing a literacy program for gang kids, eventually working with both children and adults in the roughest parts of Portland. Her success was evident on the outside. But underneath, anxiety was ruling her life, sometimes preventing her from leaving her own home. Until one day, after a thirty-plus battle with anxiety, she heard the words that would eventually heal her. Show Notes: * Anxiety is currently a huge subject, we are in extraordinary times now for many reasons and anxiety is a topic we can all relate to. * Many people don't necessarily realize that the feelings that they have are anxiety. * Anxiety can take many forms. If someone had asked Hillary if she had experienced anxiety she would have probably said no, but a culmination of events that include the death of a loved one and a terrible car crash brought her anxiety into focus. * Anxiety can often feel like a terrible weakness, somehow a reflection “that you can't get your act together,” and many can suffer from it in chronic waves to the point of debilitation. * The pandemic has tapped into collective anxiety and it's forcing many of us to look more closely, * Sometimes anxiety can be a disguised gift that forces us to journey into the abyss to look more deeply and compassionately at what frightens us. * Anxiety brought Hillary on a search that led her to a book called “The Diamond in your Pocket,” and it taught her the value of being with what is without needing to fix or make it go away.

Patriarchy stress disorder, pandemic parenting, and creating a wildly successful and profitable business from a place of pleasure and desire - these topics are just the tip of the iceberg in this incredible episode with my esteemed guest, Sage Polaris. Many of you may already know that I am a lover of language, words, naming “it," synchronicity, and mysticism. I knew that the name “Sage” already intrigued me, and so of course I had to go digging below the surface, feeling into the deeper essence of what it means: Sage. noun * a profoundly wise person; a person famed for wisdom. * someone venerated for the possession of wisdom, judgment, and experience. adjective, sag·er, sag·est. * wise, judicious, or prudent: * sage advice. It did not take me long to recognize that Sage is aptly named, but then the name “Polaris” also had me Googling! Polaris: Also known as the North Star. Polaris lies nearly in a direct line with the Earth's rotational axis "above" the North Pole—the north celestial pole—Polaris stands almost motionless in the sky, and all the stars of the northern sky appear to rotate around it. I mean, can you stand it? Sage Polaris. Her name got me thinking about what it takes to be "sage." What I know about wisdom is that it's often gained by having faced tremendous trials, difficulty, and extreme challenges. There is a reason for instance, that Athena, Goddess of Wisdom, has the companion totem animal of the owl. An owl is a symbol of wisdom and is known to “cleave” through the darkness, able to view things from a higher perspective. I am loving the wisdom, perspective, and “Sage" offerings delivered in this episode. Listen in as we dive deeply into work, life, and love, and what Sage is doing to invite women to join her in seeking higher perspectives that bring more love and pleasure to our businesses and lives. I think you'll be amazed by what you hear. Thank you for your time, Sage! You are a gem! Sage Polaris has written high converting copy for more than 350 clients earning them millions of dollars. She helps personal brands and service providers sell more of their service or offer with the words on their website. She has worked with Chrisette Michele, James Wedmore, Rick Mulready, and Amber McCue. Basically, she makes money for the “internet famous” people we all look up to. *Show Notes: * * Sage has created her business by design, "If you share my values, I can work with you.” * Pandemic parenting + entrepreneurship has meant that Sage gets to show up authentically, sometimes with kids crawling all over her, while knowing that she's chosen to work with the clients who understand that this is part of where we all are in this moment. * Women are showing up for work differently, and not just during the pandemic. We have been evolving towards more work-life balance and honoring each other in this duality, of women who are out in the workforce and mothering at the same time and bringing that together in a way that feels supported. * Sage takes 4 months off each year, consistently doubles her revenues each year, and she does so unapologetically. * Sage writes “copy that converts” but really her job is to create “resonance” using language and words, and integrity to communicate the essence of her clients' offerings which she also calls "the sixth sense of copywriting." * Using this method, Sage has had upwards of 1.2, 5 million in revenues in a single launch for her clients. * All industries have a gritty and sleazy side, but if you are aware of your values aligning with your clients' values, it can be a magical marketing experience for both you and the customer. * Valerie Ryan is the author of the book, Patriarchy Stress Disorder and Sage has all of her students read it as a reminder that we are in a system that was built to oppress many people, particularly women, and that this is at the core of how we “work” and do life. * As women, we have to be aware of how we burn ourselves out because when we do that we can’t affect positive change in the world. * We have to pay attention to how we place conditions on ourselves as women, even withholding love from ourselves because we don’t realize that we’ve loved ourselves with conditions based on how we “perform” in our business.

My inner child met Angela’s inner child at a business event a year ago and we fell in love. When I found out that Angela’s passion is archiving women’s stories I became obsessed with learning more. As the family historian in my own life, I have always been curious about the absence of the female storyline. I’ve come to realize that this isn’t just a personal issue, but a global one, and that’s why Angela's work is so important. Until we learn our herstory, and that of minorities, we will never have an accurate or complete history. In today's episode, we discuss the trance of unworthiness and its relationship to archive-building and storytelling. Angela Todd is an archivist, historian, and activist. She has always been THAT girl: talking to wise elders in the grocery store; reading women's stories; asking her kid “where are the women on that Lego spaceship?”, always looking for the women, and seeking out their stories. Now she's on a mission to capture women's stories and to preserve them. Her work is shaped by the belief that every woman has a story worth saving, and that history needs the stories of women and other marginalized folks to even approach living up to its name.  Angela has a BA in women's studies, MA in literary and cultural theory, and did her PhD work in cultural studies. Show notes: * Women’s stories are usually relegated to the sidelines of history. * We don’t have World history or American history without women’s history.  * Many women don’t believe they have a story to tell, and this must change.  * Ordinary women have extraordinary stories.  * We always think someone else has the story or the beauty or the experience. * The facts of your life are so much more powerful when they are put in the context of a story.  * Our stories can be an inheritance, and our history is made more rich and complex and often illuminate great deeds done by those that might not have made it into the history books.  * Hurt people hurt people, but invisible people make more invisible people.  * There are structures in place that shape everything and the patriarchy is one of them.  * Famous people’s stories are very scripted and not usually helpful when it comes to authentic storytelling.  * In order to archive your story you need 3 things: your voice, your papers, your photographs.  * History is incomplete without the stories of women and minorities.  * Angela is often hired by daughters and many women are gaining a lot of healing by collecting parts of their family history.  * Keep your important papers, photos, recordings in a cardboard box and put them on a shelf in a closet. * Make a plan to share your archives and pass the information on to the historian in your family or an actual archive, repositories.  * Our colleges, universities, town records, church groups - we can find a place to pass along our archives and there are organizations that would like to preserve them.  

"In 2016, an estimated 1 out of 6 endangered runaways reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children were likely child sex trafficking victims. Of those, 86% were in the care of social services or foster care when they ran.” - Polaris Project  This episode was as incredibly emotional as it is deeply inspiring and important. I’m so grateful to Andrea Powell for honoring my request to create this episode on the subject of sexual exploitation and human trafficking in America. Not only is Andrea an incredible resource, but she’s also a beautiful human being with a fierce heart and a sharp mind. I have no doubt you will see what a powerful advocate she is for those she serves and why this issue is such an important one for all of us to become involved in solving. I urge everyone who comes across this episode to listen in and understand the ingredients that perpetuate this epidemic across multiple industries in America. My hope is that by listening we become empowered to help put an end to this practice once and for all. Note: While we did not discuss the QAnon conspiracy on this episode, Andrea has dispelled these myths repeatedly on other shows. For more information on this subject please contact her directly because it presents a dangerous distraction to the real issues of sexual exploitation and human trafficking. Those on the front lines of this epidemic are deeply perplexed by this complex and disturbing narrative. Andrea Powell is the co-founder of Karana Rising, a survivor-led nonprofit that dares to support survivors of human trafficking and sexual exploitation for life. With her team, she offers survivors a chance to lead in their lives while healing from their past. She is also the Director of Survivor Engagement at UNITAS and is the founder of FAIR Girls, an organization offering safe housing to young women survivors of human trafficking. Andrea is an author and artist; her work has been featured in the Washington Post, the New York Times, BCC, and NBC Think. She enjoys creating multimedia art and writing. Show Notes:  * Human trafficking at its core is about exploiting people’s vulnerabilities. * Our vulnerabilities at home are much deeper than most parents realize because of online apps and unregulated and insecure gaming. * The pandemic amplifies this vulnerability even more because so many kids are home, feeling lonely, and therefore vulnerable based on their hunger for connection and attention. * The vast majority of those trafficked are women and minorities. * Our society is disabled, not those who survive trafficking. * A trafficker's worse nightmare is an empowered kid. * Andrea’s goal is to see every woman feel valued and loved and to stop human trafficking. * Many women who are survivors of human trafficking have a continuum of trauma which also involves a continuum of healing. * Andrea also works with UNITAS and has written a parenting guide so that parents can know how to deal with threats as well as what to look for. * Roblox is an online gaming app with faulty security that endangers children to sextortion and Andrea wishes someone from the organization would respond to her outreach. * Andrea was afraid to start a non-profit for human trafficking but a wise woman said to her, “Even if you only help one person, your organization will have been worth building.” * “My Octopus Teacher” is a film that metaphorically represents the case of Tiffany Simpson to Andrea. Tiffany is a survivor of sex trafficking that was convicted to 17 years in prison and is still currently serving the sentence with seven years to go vs. the trafficker that exploited her. This shows how backward our laws are and how they perpetuate the cycle of exploitation. * People are conditioned to silo their experiences, and experiencing trauma is often at the heart of many mental health issues. * Money is a trauma source for many survivors of human trafficking. * Being trafficked is like a disappearing act because it happens slowly to many people who are already feeling invisible. Andrea shares that her job is to help human trafficking survivors reappear and reclaim their wholeness. * Online dating apps, online gaming, and insecure apps are all sources of exploitation. Ending human trafficking is an act of love. * The International Labour Organization estimates that there are 40.3 million victims of human trafficking globally. 81% of them are trapped in forced labor. 25% of them are children. 75% are women and girls. (Source: Polaris Project)

Today’s episode is with special guest Liz McCartney to talk about all things spiritual. We often come into our paths with the true elements of ourselves unknown. We feel adrift throughout our lives and seek relation within ourselves as human beings but have our true essence unknown. The often unanswered questions of our origin, path, and purpose can only be answered when we become connected to the Divinity in which we were created. Liz believes in a true connection to ourselves as human beings and our true Divine Being. She has been guided to create a synergistic approach to healing through the connection of our Divine being and our human existence. Through her connection to the Source of all Universal Life Force Energy and the higher dimensional beings of light, wisdom, and knowledge of the Fifth Dimension, offered with a gentle, warm, patient, kind, gracious, and unique presence, Liz brings you into the truest form of yourself through the synergy of your soul's beauty and healing. Liz offers healing wisdom and knowledge to humanity through her gift as a spiritual channel. She is a master teacher of Reiki and combines meditation and pranic healing in her work with her clients. Her focus is on creating a synergistic connection to assist her clients to embrace the human experience through the divine being. Imagine a synergistic connection to healing through the divine being within you - this is the work of Liz McCartney. Liz offers a full scope of energetic healing. Most healing modalities are singular in focus, instead of having a synergistic impact on the healing of mind, body, spirit. Liz helps her clients to bring them into connection with their own divine being and helps surface subconscious patterns and beliefs that might be impeding healing and growth. She helps clients answer: Why am I here? What is my purpose? We are a divine being in human form. Mythology and prehistory is a wonderful place for women to turn to create a context for their own journey. When we are created in divinity we are given many gifts, including our divine purpose and our spirit guides. When we do our own inner work, we release our lower energy and ascend in our conscious awareness. Men and Women have equal access to the masculine and feminine energies within and both are capable of moving and shifting in and out of those energies as needed for the relationship and our roles in raising families, careers, etc. We all experience stages in our lives where we feel a lack of grounding and fear, and our emotions and actions are not in alignment with each other. This is the result of an imbalance within our energetic body Liz uses intuitive healing, light, and messages she channels from the Source of all universal life force energy, higher dimensional beings, and ancestral lineage to discover and release any energetic, genetic, or hereditary imbalances found within the clients she works with. When we are able to restore the flow of energy that was once stagnant or blocked throughout our energy centers, we come into a synergistic connection between our divine and our energetic being.

This podcast brought me so much pleasure! Libby Bunten is a dear friend and colleague that keeps me thinking, daring and belly-laughing. Join us as we travel into the deep rupture of Libby’s personal awakening and into the world of radiant feminist leadership development. Libby’s infectious love of laughter, life and leadership is accessible and inspiring. As a highly accomplished independent consultant in the global online business world with Arbonne (https://www.arbonne.com/pws/libbybunten/tabs/home.aspx), Libby’s passion is 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. When she isn't cheering women on, you can find her traveling with her Hebrew Hunk, Paul, singing karaoke, or in deep surrender to the abyss that is the journey of healing. We are programmed not to take ownership of our innate gifts. The “art of bragging” comes from Mama Gena and is really about celebration and learning to create a culture of claiming our accomplishments and celebrating one another. Libby had experienced “The Mother Wound” first hand and found herself at a point in her life where she was seeking a way to reveal her true self. Libby came home from Mama Gena’s weekend experience and cried for a week, which is something Mama Gena calls a “rupture”. Trying to suppress your emotion is like trying to push a balloon underwater. Giving permission and space for our emotion creates a clearing, and if we do this work enough- the work of unbecoming, we can return to our original divine design. After completing a Mama Gena weekend, Libby enrolled in Rockstar Camp with Megan Jo Wilson and took her awareness and the work of unbecoming even higher. Social marketing is aligned with leadership development and often gets us way out of our comfort zone. It often confronts us with the level of independence it gives us, and calls us to be more responsible, visible, and engaged. Women are uniquely suited to do well in social marketing because it’s about relationships, community and authentic connection. Feminist leadership is about getting all voices at the table. Women are circling in ways that are creating a spiral of evolution, and helping each other ascend into a higher understanding of what we are capable of, and how we are all connected. Libby continues to build her thriving Arbonne community, and next on her bucket list is writing her book!

The Mother Wound. This is a subject that is near and dear to me because of my own experience healing this wound, and it’s a continual theme in my work as a co-active coach. Most often, women are unaware that they have a throbbing Mother wound waiting to be revealed and healed. Often the wound continues to cause problems in the lives of women because they don’t understand the source of their pain and if they do, they are taught not to talk about it. From a very early age, we are raised to reject the feminine. Our initial split is usually unconscious but begins with that which represents the feminine, our own mother. We are taught that an alternative to being “feminine” is to seek to emulate the masculine because it’s what we glorify in this culture, and so many women become lost, deeply yearning for the missing and rejected parts of herself. In a patriarchal culture, we are taught that to be feminine is weak, emotional, crazy, manipulative, and needy. Because our own mothers grew up inside the same patriarchal culture, they often exhibit symptoms of the wound and perpetuate it through their own fractured parenting, or pass it through the womb. They too are trapped between a rock and a hard place due to the fact that our society does not value their role in the family structure, nor do they value themselves, because, wound. In addition to the fact that we don’t celebrate the feminine in our culture, we also can’t speak of the fracture, because to speak ill of your mother is taboo. While we can poke fun through media, comedy, literature, and theatre, we are bound to a collective shame should we dare speak out against the women who birthed us into the world. Healing the Mother-Daughter split involves grieving the initial separation from or rejection of her, as well as the rejection of that part of ourselves, and then learning to honor the values that we've been cut off from as women - a reclaiming of our own feminine, and ultimately a reclamation and integration of both the feminine and the masculine. Join me in welcoming back Kerri Hummingbird, Soul Guide, here to talk to us about her latest book -Love is Fierce, Healing the Mother Wound (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B08KFPJZXG/revelationpro-20) Kerri Hummingbird inspires people to lead their lives wide awake with authenticity, passion, and purpose that positively impacts others. She catalyzes mind-shifts that transform life challenges into gifts of wisdom with her Reinvent Yourself programs for individual and group mentoring. She is the international best-selling author of The Second Wave: Transcending the Human Drama and the award-winning best-selling book Awakening To Me: One Woman’s Journey To Self Love which describes the early years of her spiritual awakening. She has served as a social activist, leader, and philanthropist for over three decades. Kerri is also the Founder of the Skills Not Pills Movement and Host of the Soul Nectar Show. Her latest book is available now on Amazon ((http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B08KFPJZXG/revelationpro-20))

When I was a kid, I developed a variety of sophisticated bedtime rituals to ensure that the monsters that lived beneath my bed wouldn't “get me." I was known to follow an elaborate sequence each night that included practically pole-vaulting into bed from the furthest point in my room I could muster, and this went on for years. I would often perform the rituals in a more “grown-up way” over time, even if I was sleeping at a friend's house. As I look back, while I know this was just a phase most kids go through, I had a preoccupation with scary subjects well into adulthood that would simultaneously pique my curiosity while activating a keen sense of dread. Maybe it had something to do with my upbringing, and what I now recognize as my hyper-vigilant inner child who rarely felt safe. Or maybe it’s something we all have and hide to some extent, not wanting to reveal the childish notion that there’s something out there coming for us. As I grew into adulthood and began the inner work of revealing and healing, I discovered that most monsters don’t live under beds, but in my head. Many of them are well known in my work as a coach by different names - such as shadow work, saboteurs, inner gremlins, distorted masculine, distorted feminine, and so on. Basically, the true monsters live as conjurings of our own deepest fears about ourselves, projected out into the world making it seem like an awfully scary, hostile, and unpredictable place. Most of my work is helping women especially reveal the shadows of the self that keep us running, or believing that we are not worthy, not enough, not lovable. Ironically, my name "Monica" became shortened to “Mon," “Mons," sometimes "Har-Monica," or "Momica," but “Monster” eventually became an affectionate nickname that stuck with many of my friends over the years. I decided that instead of a monologue, I wanted to record a series of Monsterlogues as a way to bring them out from our unconscious and into the light of the day, so we can all see them for who and what they really are. This first Monsterlogue is about the Sorry Monster that can’t stop apologizing because she has the audacity to exist in a world that trained her to believe she doesn’t have a right to take up space. I hope you enjoy it, and that you have your own revelations about your own “Sorry” Monster.

Monica Rodgers talks to Dr. Catherine Blackledge about the unsung power of the vagina. One of the greatest pieces of unconscious conditioning we have in western culture is that we do not teach our girls to name the source of her feminine power. If anything we are taught to call our genitals by colloquialisms such as Coochie, Privates, Down There, Front-Bottom - the list goes on. Those who were given a more "scientific" term were often taught to call it “vagina,” a sterile and clinical word that is also physiologically incorrect.   Worse, the majority of women are taught to call it nothing at all, and not to refer to it, look at it, or know it’s magic, and this had had a devastating impact.   Personally, I didn’t have the courage to look at my own vagina until I was in my 40s. In my world, it wasn’t something that was talked about growing up, and as far as I was concerned, there was some kind of disgust that permeated any reference to my nether region. How tragic to finally reach the age of almost 50 years old and recognize that it’s only just in the last few years that I have begun to reveal and heal my own inner misogyny. I use that word deliberately because it’s true, we live in a world that teaches a woman to hate herself, and to think less of herself based on her gender. I consider Dr. Catherine Blackledge a true visionary. To me, a visionary is someone who sees the missing link. They understand the fundamental missing piece, sometimes years and even decades before others catch on. Dr. Blackledge was inspired to write her book almost 17 years ago, and she has since become an internationally acclaimed author of the bestselling book, Raising The Skirt, The Unsung Power of the Vagina, which celebrates the beauty and power of the vagina and womanhood and reveals how the true extent of vaginal and female power has been forgotten, ignored and misrepresented. Raising The Skirt was originally published in 2003 as the story of V and has sold over 100,000 copies in 13 countries. Women describe it as their Bible and say it has saved their lives. Show notes: The term Anasyrma means "raising the skirts" or the showing of genitals, and this act of a woman exposing herself has many historical roots referring to a women’s innate power to ward off evil, defeat armies, or harness supernatural powers.  * In Gaelic and Greek mythology, groups of women raised their skirts en masse to defeat Irish sun god Cúchulain and Greek hero Bellerophon, respectively. Ancient and modern history relate how women deploy the raising the skirt gesture in protest and as a military tactic. Just over sixty years ago, in 1958, seven thousand women in west Cameroon, Africa raised their skirts in an incredible display of vaginal power to protest against government regulations changing for the worse the way the women farmed their land. The women won.  * The idea of the vagina as a passive vessel, a simple sheath to surround the penis, is one of science’s greatest misconceptions. We have to get past women being so undervalued in the world and help women know how powerful we are as not only the portal of life, but as a being who has an extraordinary amount of wisdom, power and influence. There is still a tremendous amount of misinformation out there and very little about the true anatomy of the vagina. The clitoris, for example, is a massive wishbone structure that is seated deeply into the pelvis, not simply a small nub at the top of the vagina. Catherine understood at an early age that the vagina was being misrepresented and set out to understand why and reveal a deeper truth. When Catherine initially told people she wanted to write about it, people could not even say the word, even her publishers.  Catherine believes the word Veranda should be brought back - it's an older term that was used for female genitalia, meaning "parts inspiring awe, respect or reverence." Catherine believes having a positive, respectful word for the vagina, which girls and women feel comfortable and confident using is a vital first step to female empowerment and being proud of what we have between our legs. Catherine discovered many wonderful scientific facts, such as men, also have a clitoris, it’s what causes the penis to become erect. Catherine shares her own personal story of becoming infertile due to an STD that went undetected when she was young. She believes that if there were not such a stigma around women’s sexuality that this could have been avoided. The Pink Pussy Hats worn in the Women’s March is a modern-day representation of Raising the Skirts.

This episode is near and dear to my heart because I get to interview one of my favorite people in the whole world: Linda Freedman. Linda is one of my biggest heroines because she taught me something really powerful about age - it doesn’t MATTER! She is also a model of generosity and compassion toward other human beings who need our help, and she dared to believe she could make a difference, and boy, did she. I had the opportunity to work with her a few years back and the project changed me. It had a profound impact on shaping my understanding of what it takes to make an impact, and that when you really desire to do something in service to others, nothing is impossible. Linda is the writer and producer of UNACCOMPANIED: Alone in America, a short film that shows what happens when unaccompanied children cross the US-Mexico border and appear in immigration court without a lawyer. The film has been viewed online by more than 50 million people in over 170 countries and won a special award at the Indie foreign film festival. After working as a documentary filmmaker for the last decade, Linda has shifted gears and is now writing instead of producing stories that she hopes will have the same impact as unaccompanied. She's completed the pilot for a limited TV series on unaccompanied children and a second pilot for a TV series about the trauma response work that she does. She lives in Portland, Oregon with Mateo, her yellow Labrador retriever, and recently discovered a new way to stay in shape - non-contact boxing. In recent years the number of unaccompanied immigrant children migrating to the United States has nearly tripled and they have no representation or legal counsel, leaving them vulnerable and alone. In mid-March 2014, Linda was sitting at her breakfast table reading The Oregonian. She came across a piece written by Anna Ciesielski, a young lawyer working for Immigration Counseling Service, who represents unaccompanied children from Central America in immigration proceedings. She described the situations these children face and the nature of her work with them, and it broke something in Linda. Under U.S. law, children arrested for entering the U.S. illegally have no right to a court-appointed lawyer. Although most children don’t speak or understand English, they have no access to interpreters. They don’t understand U.S. immigration laws; laws so complex, most adults aren’t able to comprehend them. Children have no way to contact, communicate with, or hire a lawyer. Linda spent months talking with and filming interviews with pro bono attorneys who had represented unaccompanied children. She attended immigration hearings and talked to anyone who had any experience working with unaccompanied kids. Because the Department of Justice does not allow recording devices in immigration hearings, it felt impossible to convey the story that needed to be told. Linda became so disheartened, she shelved the project for more than a year. Finally, a new approach took shape, film a reenactment of the children's circumstances in the most realistic way possible. With the help of an amazing team, we brought the vision to life. Over four years later, and with timing that was devastatingly appropriate, Linda was relieved to finally be sharing the story of unaccompanied children, the forgotten ones, who have no one to guide them, hold them, or serve them. Linda is now writing a pilot for a series she hopes will get picked up. Linda has a son with Mobius syndrome that she admires so much due to his mindset and resilience. Linda was born in 1940, making her 80 years old, and she never tires of learning and taking risks. Linda believes that the combination of curiosity, passion, and perseverance means that you can do anything Please donate here (https://www.unaccompaniedchildren.org/)!

We spend so much time seeking an intimate relationship with a significant other, but rarely stop to think about what it really takes to have a successful one, and if we really want one. Meet Simone Milasas and Brendon Watt, Authors of Relationship, Are You Sure You Want One? Enjoy this candid, straight-talking, no-sugar coating relationship conversation and learn more about how Brendon and Simone help people to ask for what they truly desire, kicking the fairy tale romance to the curb. What is Relationships Done Different (www.relationshipsdonedifferent.com)? You should choose relationship from choice not a necessity! We want to see more kindness in relationships of all sorts. With your partner, kids, parents, and most importantly yourself! What if we could empower each other to be as great as we can be? A relationship shouldn’t be about fixing someone! It should be about creating 20 times more together than apart! What creates a great relationship? What are 3 things that will destroy any relationship? Why do people play hard to get? Do you believe in fairy tales and happily ever after? You talk a lot about “choice.” Why do you suggest to choose for you? Even in a relationship? What are the biggest relationship traps? If you are not happy, leave!

Join me on this week's episode as I talk to master story-teller and re-emerging pandemic parent, Melanie Deziel, about all the things. What does becoming a new mother, abruptly moving from a 600 square ft apartment, and launching a new book have in common? These are just a few of the unexpected adventures Melanie shares in this episode. Melanie is a keynote speaker, an award-winning branded content creator, and a lifelong storyteller on a mission to share the power of compelling and credible content with others. She is the founder and chief content officer of Storyfuel, which teaches marketers, publishers, creators, and companies of all sizes how to tell better brand stories. She is also the author of The Content Fuel Framework, How to Generate Unlimited Story Ideas. Melanie and her husband found themselves in a 600 square ft. apartment with a new baby and everyone suddenly working at home. They made a list of all the things that were important to them and surprisingly, Raleigh, North Carolina topped the list, so they moved during the pandemic to have more space and be closer to nature. The pandemic made them realize the importance of having a home that would support their wellbeing and minimize their stress levels. Melanie studied journalism at a time when journalism was really changing and there were no jobs for a new graduate, so she found a home in marketing and started using her story-telling skills for brands that needed her skillset. We are living in a remarkable world where we are all content creators. Many marketers think of content only as a way to alert people about our new products or a new sale. It's very transactional. Content can actually be so much more powerful when they're telling transformative stories about the lives they're changing or the customers they've served. Every content piece that you've either created or consumed was made up of two things: a focus and a format. High school students and college students are doing incredible special effects work, amazing video editing, creating music and so much more. The creativity, skills, and the technology they are learning at such a young age is incredible. Digital has democratized all these incredible skills for this whole generation.

In today's episode, I introduce you to Bryna Haynes and we talk about the science of creating our reality, the dangers of wishful thinking, and why the world won’t change unless we change. Bryna Haynes is an inspirational speaker, philosopher, waymaker, retreat leader, coach, and award-winning, best-selling author. She is the founder of Choose Your Evolution and the creator of the Quantum Evolution® system. Bryna helps conscious entrepreneurs, changemakers, leaders, and influencers navigate growth and change so they can step into their biggest vision in the most intentional ways possible. Quantum Evolution came out of the research Bryna was conducting about the intersection of what we're learning in the field of quantum science, neuroscience, and spirituality. Energies like love, the law of attraction, and manifestation are not just coexisting, but actually very much intertwined. The term “Quantum Evolution” is using our knowledge of the universe and the way that the universe operates in this space of potential and possibility and harnessing that to understand how we inhabit our space of reality. It is also how we leverage that knowledge to create the change in our reality that we're looking for. Women are ready and open to be the change that the world needs right now. We have such big missions and such a huge desire to see, create, and inhabit a better world. In the world of subatomic particles, everything exists in a state of potential and possibility. We used to think that electrons revolved around the nucleus of an atom, like planets around the sun and the solar system, but that's actually not true. Subatomic particles don’t actually exist in a state of possibility and potential until they are observed. It’s not just about thinking better thought or about feeling better feelings. Real manifestation is about choosing a new way of being and giving ourselves tangible evidence that it’s possible by changing how we show up in the world. The system that Bryna trademarked as “Quantum Evolution” is really just about giving our subconscious mind more and more little bits of evidence that what we want is possible and true. We are waiting on the world to change, as the saying goes, and we don't need to wait for the world to change. In fact, our reality will not change until we do.

Why has Western medicine so persistently focused on men when observing health conditions that affect both men and women? Dr. Alyson McGregor is a physician, researcher, writer, and advocate for women's health. She is the Director for the Division of Sex and Gender in Emergency Medicine for the Department of Emergency Medicine at Alpert Medical School of Brown University. She is a TED speaker with over 1.6M views and recently published her book "Sex Matters: How male-centric medicine endangers women's health and what we can do about it." Men and women are different and modern medicine has not recognized or accommodated for that. We need to do better. Western medicine has largely ignored women and women’s health. In the medical world, we are sorely behind in our understanding of women’s health. When Alyson started to express her interest in women’s health, she was often mistaken as being interested in gynecology or obstetrics, and yet women present differently than men in so many areas. We have a system-wide problem because doctors learn about male pattern disease. Western medicine was built entirely on male physiology. Not only are we not discovering the classic conditions of women but many of the additional issues women face such as autoimmune disorders have not been studied. We need to have a new model of disease. Right now we are at ground zero of understanding how man and women are different in the medical world. Ambien was prescribed for women for over 20 years at double the dose and women were getting into accidents and unable to function based on the assumed way women metabolize the medicine based on how it works for men. Alyson has created a collaborative network of knowledge so that professionals can share data on women and discuss the issues that women face. NIH is the flagship for US funding for clinical trials. Alyson believes that doctors and physicians want to do the right thing now that this issue has been revealed. Alyson encourages women to take ownership of the accuracy of their health records and feel empowered to ask lots of questions. Look at your physician as a well-informed consultant on your health and feel free to bring an advocate with you, especially if you are ill or in pain.

Jeannie Spiro is my business coach and an incredible resource and support for the many successful female entrepreneurs in my life. I invited her on the show to share more about her work in the world and how she views the role of Women in business - especially now as we are no longer doing “business as usual." Listen in as Jeannie offers a perspective for women who are running heart-centered businesses in these changing times, and what the world wants now. Jeannie is a business strategist specializing in helping women, coaches, visionaries, and experts create a lifestyle business with more ease, income, and impact. Using her burnout to bliss method she helps them create a business model, revenue, streams, and sales funnels that allow them to achieve multiple six or seven-figure lifestyle businesses. After achieving multiple six-figure businesses, Jeannie hit extreme burnout. She repeated the same patterns again and again until she finally decided to break the cycle by redesigning her entire business. Within weeks of her redesign, Jeannie doubled her income by working half the time. As a result, she's taken her exact process and now helps other women design monetize, and grow a highly profitable business that complements their lives. There's so much hustle and grind that goes into building a business, and there's a lot in achieving six figures, that by the time some people get the six figures they're sort of out of love with their business and they're overwhelmed and exhausted. I'm seeing that this is a time for women to step in and really take ownership of the space, the entrepreneurial space, but doing it in a way that is coming from both the masculine and feminine side. There's a balance to it. We are no longer doing business as usual, and there is a way to run a business that harnesses the masculine and feminine energy in a new way that serves. Women are becoming more creative in the design of their business, so that can blend with the lifestyle that they want to have. The pandemic forced us to shift into a whole new way of doing business. Every year you want to try to work with your coach to help you develop a new area of your business. Women need to look at what they are doing to refuel their energy because it’s in the receiving and the recharging that we are able to work more strategically and serve a broader audience. When women have “full cup syndrome” nothing new can be born. Covid has given many of us the opportunity to ask: what do I really want to be doing? And how do I want to be serving? * How do I want to be making money and how do I want to be living as a business owner? Sometimes the secret to success and making a million dollars is learning to put your feet in the sand.

*Remembering who we really are can take a while, especially when you’ve been raised in a society that has created impossible and distorted standards of beauty. * Often by the time we are in grade school, we find ourselves becoming self-critical and lost in comparison and self-criticism. We are too much: too fast, too slow, too thin too fat, too short too round, too this or too that. Eventually, we forget who we really were before the world tried to change us into something we are not. Andrea Mosley is the woman behind the brand Beautiful Soul. There was a time she did not know how beautiful she was, and she spent most of her days allowing everyone but herself to decide who she was and what she should be. After a lifetime of starts and stops, Andrea pursued a master’s degree in psychology which also led her to the world of metaphysics. Since her awakening, Andrea has made it her life’s mission to help women, in particular, remember their beauty. Listen in as we explore what makes us beautiful and how to shift from our external understanding into a personalized internal understanding that moves us confidently into our deeper knowing. * Women with beautiful souls can attract unhealthy relationships, particularly narcissists. * Remembering who you are is an ongoing process and practice. * What makes a soul beautiful is the light and the height of our lived experience. The beautiful joys as well as the low points. * We are not just one-dimensional beings - we have to allow ourselves to be it all. We can simultaneously integrate all the parts of who we are while giving ourselves grace and compassion and love for all of it. * Disrupting disempowering and negative narratives takes a level of vigilance and noticing, but also self-love and compassion. * How we define beauty has everything to do with our ability to see ourselves as beautiful. * What we mean when we say someone is beautiful inside and out. * Don’t miss and dismiss and bypass the parts of us that perhaps don’t meet the conventional standards of beauty. * Beauty is found in the mess of the human experience. * In the mess we see our gifts, our character, our gifts of knowing who we are. * Beauty encompasses and includes a wide arc of definitions - both the wild and the holy. * Ascended Masters are wonderful teachers.

I heard Lynne Twist speak for the first time approximately eight years ago and have been a huge fan of her work ever since. Her ability to capture the essence of what matters most in life is deeply moving and inspiring. In fact, what I distinctly remember from that day is that every cell in my body was resonating with energy that coursed through my body and made what felt like an indelible impression on my soul. When I returned home, I dove more deeply into her work. I discovered that while tiny in physical presence, she has always been mighty in vision and capability. For more than forty years she has been a recognized global visionary dedicated to alleviating poverty, ending world hunger, and supporting social justice and environmental sustainability. Her breadth of knowledge and experience has led her to profound insights about the social tapestry of the world and the historical landscape of the times we are living in, especially now as we continue our journey into what she calls “The Sophia Century," which is defined as the time in our history when the feminine archetype returns, awakening women and men to transform the world. Lynne Twist is a global pro activist, speaker, and author of the best-selling book, The Soul of Money: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Life. She is the co-founder of the Pachamama Alliance, a social profit organization that is an alliance between indigenous people of the Amazon Rainforest and conscious, committed people in the modern world, for the sustainability of life. Lynne has shared her passion on stage with some of today’s top thought leaders, including Oprah Winfrey, The Dalai Lama, Jane Goodall, and Desmond Tutu. Sara Vetter is the Business Development Director of the Soul of Money Institute (SOMI) and is a coach, consultant, workshop leader, keynote speaker, and strategist. She is also the Major Gift Fundraiser for the Pachamama Alliance. Sara has had experience in advertising, marketing, and sales with the Disney Channel and several magazines including LA Magazine. She has been coaching, consulting, and leading workshops with Lynne Twist for more than seven years. Sara is an experienced SOMI facilitator of workshops, fundraisers, journeys, and retreats. She also leads several of the Pachamama Alliance Transformational Educational programs. Sara has held a leadership role with the Nobel Women's Initiative, co-led delegations to Dharamsala, India, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Liberia. As the major gift fundraiser for the Pachamama Alliance, Sara has led and participated in more than nineteen delegations and immersion trips to the Amazon Rainforest. She has raised millions of dollars for the Pachamama Alliance and the Nobel Women's Initiative and is a consummate fundraiser. What if this is not the darkness of the tomb, but the darkness of the womb?’ Watch Valarie Kaur’s speech, link below. Show Notes: This is a time of deep rupture, but also tremendous wisdom. The 20th Century was dominated by war or the fear of war. We are experiencing a breakdown of governance and the rule of law globally that has been dominating and surpassing for centuries. We are experiencing a revealing (revelation) of the many systems of colonization, white supremacy, racism, and the systematic abuse of other human beings. The Soul of Money Institute has been working in the realms of economy and ecology with the goal of guiding our human family back into remembering our connection to mother nature and in building sustainability. The masculine energy of economy and feminine energy of ecology need to work together in harmony and find a way to integrate and work together. We need both the innovation and the production of the masculine energy but we need that energy to be tempered with the nurturing and the flow of the feminine - such as the elements of fire and water. The pandemic is a portal into the change we need to reflect, reveal, regenerate, renew, recreate. This is a magical time where we invite the feminine back into our awareness. This is also a time to trust nature and witness the regenerative power of our environment and see it as proof of what’s possible. The Kichwa People use the word Pachamama which means the earth, the sky, the universe, and all time. Lynne had an awakening experience through a shamanic ceremony and a vision and communication that connected her to an indigenous tribe called the Achuar people. The Soul of Money and The Pachamama Alliance have both been an integral part of connecting to the wisdom of the indigenous people and bringing it to the modern world so that we can transform our ways. The Remarkable Women’s Journey is a program offered by The Soul of Money Institute through a six-month journey and part of that is traveling into the Amazon Rain Forest learning how they can be of service to the world in a bigger way. If you are a woman, your role is way more vital than you have known before. Your job at this time in history is to own that and tune into what is calling you forward and to do it with full permission and passion. You are wanted, needed, and you are important to the future of the planet, not as a burden, but as an honor. This time in our history is happening for us, not to us.

If damaging our environment were made an actual crime at the international level, then corporations, private interest groups, and individuals could be held accountable. We would therefore drastically reduce the incidence of mass damage and destruction of ecosystems that is currently taking place globally. Jojo calls this harm ecocide and right now, in most of the world, it is legally permitted. But it’s possible to change the rules and it’s high time we did. Listen in as Jojo and I talk about her work to make the destruction and plundering of nature an international crime at the International Criminal Court. With degrees from Oxford and London Universities and a background in communication, entrepreneurship, and on-the-ground environmental activism, Jojo Mehta has a unique reputation for “getting things done,” and likes nothing better than working to unusual parameters. She is a natural leader as well as a compelling public speaker and advocate. Alongside barrister and legal pioneer the late Polly Higgins, Jojo co-founded the Stop Ecocide campaign in 2017 to support the establishment of ecocide as a crime at the International Criminal Court. Since Polly’s death in 2019 she has co-ordinated the growing international team engaged in this highly focused mission and is Chair of the Board of the Stop Ecocide Foundation (https://www.stopecocide.earth/) in the Netherlands, which now manages the campaign. Jojo is a key spokeswoman for Stop Ecocide and has contributed to law conferences, environmental summits, festivals, and climate rallies as well as podcasts, interviews, and articles for publications and broadcasters ranging from Extinction Rebellion to the BBC World Service and from the Ecologist to the New York Times. Show Notes: * Jojo's team works with international criminal lawyers, researchers, and diplomats to amend International Criminal Law. * Greta Thunberg was awarded the first Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity and donates €100K to the Stop Ecocide Foundation. * ECOCIDE, committed over decades, has created the climate and ecological emergency that we now face. * The biggest combined threat to biodiversity and climate on the planet is deforestation (https://e360.yale.edu/features/how-deforestation-affecting-global-water-cycles-climate-change), especially of tropical rainforests that harbor the richest ecosystems and actively moderate the global climate. * Jojo first recognized her personal desire to get involved at a deeper level when she realized that even her 5-year-old daughter could feel the devastating impact of pollution, deforestation, and fracking. She decided to get involved in a deeper way, which led to meeting Polly Higgins. * Climate and ecological emergency is the result of many years of these harmful industrial activities. Most of the risks have been known for decades by the companies choosing to continue these practices. The responsibility lies with decisions made at the top of industry, finance, and government. * As citizens, we can and must take responsibility for what we eat and buy, but ordinary citizens do not make those high-level investment and policy decisions. Ordinary citizens cannot, therefore, be blamed for ecocide.

Alyssa describes herself as a walking paradox so I found myself feeling right at home in our very progressive discussion with a surprise “ending." It also happened to be National Orgasm Day, so, there’s that. You're welcome. Alyssa Neill is a holistic Registered Dietitian, Certified Life Coach, in-training Quantum Alignment Human Design Analyst, and a Nourishment Evangelist, who deeply enjoys exploring all the avenues of nourishment, including & especially (!) those that are culturally taboo. She works with clients one on one in her private practice and hosts groups, intensives, and retreats. Alyssa loves nothing more than creation, expression, learning, and connecting. She climbs, dances, hikes, and adores being anywhere outside. Alyssa is a Human Design G-Center Authority Projector, a Cancer Sun, Pisces Moon, and Capricorn Rising. While she appreciates all of these ways to define who she might be in relation to you, she also loathes when people try to define her. This episode covers: Reclaiming How We Nourish. Nourishment guided by the body's wisdom. Stripping away the externalized authority and conditioning (e.g. "you should look like this," "you must eat less," "be smaller here," "bigger here," "bad foods," "be neat," "chew quieter," "don't fart," "that's inappropriate," "masturbation is a sin," "not ladylike," etc.) and reacquainting ourselves with our Selves and our Senses. Nourishment guided by our Individualized Inner Authority & Senses (via sensation). Less socially acceptable modalities/avenues of nourishment: creative expression, sexuality, sensuality, being int the body, intimacy, etc. Why? Well, great damn question. Our life-soul trajectories are often so externalized. We don't trust ourselves because we have been taught not to. We have been taught to live within the very specific, often very comfortable structure of existence, and while it has worked well for some, for many of us it a) causes dis-ease if we try to ignore our soul-purpose by overriding internal signaling b) leads us to numbing out c) puts our power outside of ourselves (i.e. consumerism, judgment culture, shame-guilt as drivers), which in turn paralyzes us d) causes massive amounts of confusion, pressure, and tension Shownotes: Alyssa was the one who would bring up uncomfortable conversations at the dinner table. She didn’t realize that she was pushing the envelope. Stories that reveal Alyssa’s humanity. Alyssa’s work in the world is to meet Women where they are and begin the conversation about nourishment, and all avenues of nourishment including menstruation, food, emotional health, sexual health, allowing sensation and pleasure. Norms don’t resonate with Alyssa. Western society has conditioned us to be separate from our nourishment. Alyssa remembers being an adolescent and becoming very self-conscious due to development at an early age. We’ve been conditioned to think of sex as predatory vs. a natural part of coming into our sexual essence. An experience with disordered eating became a catalyst for Alyssa to recognize her disconnection from her body and her radiance. Disorder creates disease - because it makes us separate from the truth of who we are. Sensation (sensuality) is a huge part of nourishment. Our bodies are super organisms working synergistically - even our microbiome responds to what we are feeling. When we are in our senses we are not overthinking. Alyssa works with clients to help them reframe the narratives they might have around food, body, and everything. When we are caring for ourselves we glow with radiance.

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.”

Jenna Arnold was first mentioned to me by a dear friend over ten years ago. She called me one night soon after meeting Jenna in New York City. “This woman is a force of nature and you HAVE to meet her!" I recall her saying. Fast forward, and while I have been following her on social media for several years, I recently noticed that she was publishing an important book about race. I asked for a copy, devoured it, and felt deeply excited about its content. I loved it because Jenna doesn’t try to simplify or dumb down what’s happening in the world and why. In it, she calls out middle-class white women to recognize where we unconsciously keep the systems of oppression in place and why. She further argues that if we were to awaken to our power and our willingness to be with difficult truths, we could quite literally change the future for all human beings. Jenna asserts that white women benefit from the very systems that oppress us, and we use our voting power to keep these systems in place because we won’t face where we have been complicit in the oppression of ourselves and others, and where our inaction has determined the current trajectory of this country. This is such an important book, and a powerful conversation- please listen in- I’d love to hear your thoughts. Jenna Arnold is the author of Raising Our Hands, an educator, social entrepreneur, activist, and mother who lives in New York City with her husband and two children. Jenna was one of the National Organizers of the Women’s March in 2017 and Oprah named her as one of her “100 Awakened Leaders who are using their voice and talent to elevate humanity." For her work as the co-founder of ORGANIZE—an organization focused on ending the waitlist for organ transplants in the US, Jenna was named one of Inc Magazine's "20 Most Disruptive Innovators" and the New York Times called it one of "the biggest ideas in social change." Jenna created the hit TV show on MTV, 'Exiled!' which took spoiled American teenagers to live with indigenous cultures around the world, and while at the United Nations, Jenna created multi-platform programming for MTV and Showtime with A-list celebrities like Jay-Z and Angelina Jolie. Jenna sits on the board of the Sesame Workshop Leadership Council and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Her first book, Raising Our Hands, is about how white women can stop avoiding hard conversations, start accepting responsibility, and find their place on the new frontlines (published June 2020). Jenna Arnold's grandmother was one of 90 who contracted COVID-19 in her nursing home and is only one of two who survived. Mindset is so powerful and important when it comes to what we are facing in the world at the moment. All oars in the water - we all need to put our oars in, and row in the same direction. The title of Raising Our Hands was so difficult to get to, and yet, so obvious. It symbolizes the way Jenna wants white women to remember that we all need to raise our hands and be counted when it comes to being antiracist and volunteering ourselves for hard conversations, truths, and paradoxes. "I’m guilty, but I’m also willing to learn." That the constant contradictions of who we are, the raising our hand emoji is a great way for us to relate to all the ways in which we need to make ourselves available to be with the truth of what is, in all of it’s complexity. We need to learn how to allow paradoxes to stand together and hold “the sacred AND." There is a genocide in this country that we do not talk about. Abraham Lincoln is the victor and therefore he got to tell the story however he wanted. We have to be careful throughout history of who gets to tell the story. When marginalized people are systematically abused, ignored, enslaved, and destroyed, they don’t get to tell a story anyone is willing to hear because it’s not a story of “victory,” yet these are the voices that need to be centered when it comes to telling history. Middle class and above American white women need to sit down and be quiet AND stand up and roar. Middle class white American women have to say, "I’m willing to show up and be messy and imperfect." We spend more money on our prisons than our schools. The data related to the demographics of white women was not adding up to the psychology of American white women in the voting booths. Jenna formed listening circles of women around the country and for four years she asked them questions to have conversations that would give her insight into this paradox that had white women voting for someone that wasn’t aligned with their values. Our systems are broken, not our humanity. There are 480 sources in the book Raising Our Hands - the information Jenna included is well researched. There are billions of dollars lost in wages to the gender pay gap. There are exactly zero pronouns referencing “her” or “she” in the Constitution. What we have to be willing to be with is the ALL of this big mess. We have to be willing to see what’s not working and see how we have been complicit in allowing it to happen. We have to be willing to see that we have been the direct beneficiary of things that have been built off the backs of others. We have a desperation of qualifying ourselves instead of realizing that no matter what we have biases, and we have to move out of the binary and back into “the grace of grey." Perfectionism is the achilles heel of the country and white women are responsible for holding it up AND, we might not have known how bad the disease of perfectionism is, but it’s getting in the way of us making change happen. “There is blood on the hands of voters who voted Trump into office.” The founding fathers hated each other, they did not get along and they purposefully excluded women because they were too powerful. This isn’t going to be easy but we all need to put our oars in the water and row in the same direction. We need to be willing to be with hard truths and use our voices and our voting power to change the status quo that’s currently killing all of us.

Rachel Dunham is often referred to as a creatrix, and while the term itself refers to a powerful female creator, I believe that a creatrix is also a woman who is gifted with intuition and the ability to tap into that which we cannot see in order to bring ideas and essence into form and energy. I was lucky enough to have worked with Rachel to create the branding for The Revelation Project, and was astonished when she revealed it to me. It’s a mark with multiple meanings that so captured the many angles of what The Revelation Project is. My logo is of two faces looking at one another, their outline creating a butterfly. The butterfly is a symbol of transformation; a story that is near and dear to my heart. The two faces represent self-love and the power of witnessing other women. Witnessing, or truly seeing another, and celebrating each other, are two very important elements to every interaction I have with all the women I serve through The Revelation Project. Rachel created an image that represents not only me but the many women the project serves as well as our power, our purpose, and our ability to become the most beautiful version of our true selves. Listen in as Rachel and I talk about mothering, female entrepreneurship during covid, business as a form of self-expression, the evolution of a brand, the importance of investing in your business, the energetics of branding, The Desire Deck that she is creating, and the mark she wants to leave on the world. *Show notes: * We use our businesses as a form of self-expression. Women charge a lot for their services but yet are not willing to put money into their own business and brand. Rachel believes that the best place to start with branding is within, at the core of who you are, and how you want to connect to the people you serve. Rachel created a journal to do the initial emotional branding work of who you are to help you get the clarity you need to begin. When we begin the process of starting a business, the first questions we need to ask are: How do we want to serve? How do we want to be known in the world? A brand is so much more than a mark, it is also an energetic vibration. If your brand and your message are created in alignment with the truth of the energy behind it, it’s going to resonate for others and attract them if they need your product or service. We are not our business. We inform our business, but it’s important that we not “be” our business. The Desire Deck (https://yourbrandtherapy.com/desire-deck-coming-soon/) is about helping women manifest their dreams.

Margaret Klein Salamon, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist turned climate warrior whose work helps people to face the deeply frightening and painful truths of the climate emergency and to transform their despair into effective action. She is the founder and executive director of The Climate Mobilization (https://www.theclimatemobilization.org), which advocates an all-hands-on-deck, whole society mobilization to protect humanity and the living world from climate catastrophe. Her book, Facing the Climate Emergency: How to Transform Yourself with Climate Truth, is a radical self-help guide for the climate emergency (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0865719411/revelationpro-20). I heard about Margaret through Humanity Rising (https://humanityrising.org) and reached out for an interview when I heard her talk about the emotional disconnect we humans have in facing the climate crisis. I became deeply curious about the root cause of this and wanted to dive more deeply into revealing the answers. When I read her book, I was struck by one of the first paragraphs: “Inside all of us, a battle rages. It’s the battle between knowing and not knowing, between fully facing the truth — emotionally, as well as intellectually — and shrinking from it. We sense we’re in a climate emergency and mass extinction event, but we have a deep-seated psychological instinct to defend against that knowledge. The pain is shouting at us: “Everything is dying!” Somewhere inside, we know that humanity and the natural world are in peril. Indeed, we feel the horrors of civilizational collapse and the sixth mass extinction of species, in our bodies. Our minds attempt to shield us from this pain — we avoid, distract, deny, and numb ourselves. But these defenses work only temporarily: When we fail to process our emotions and mourn our losses, the pain takes on tremendous power. It follows us around like a shadow, and we become increasingly desperate to avoid what we know.” I often talk about our social training ground and our society’s obsession with avoiding our emotions. I’m struck by the parallels between our stunted ability to process our suppressed emotion and our inability to truly feel what’s happening to our planet. But I love Margaret’s attitude in this excerpt: “We — humanity — are putting together a team of heroes to cancel the apocalypse, to protect ourselves and the natural world from catastrophic collapse. You might not realize it, but you are on the roster. Your jersey is sitting in your locker. We need to figure out your position and get you into (emotional) shape. The first step is to show up to practice. We are waiting for you.” In Facing The Climate Crisis, Margaret also surfaces the teachings of Fromm, who postulated that the only reason people would not rise against the possibility of worldwide nuclear destruction was that they were already experiencing devastating destruction, internally. This validates my deeper knowing around our own unconscious self-loathing - the idea that it is unconscious makes me even more motivated to help us realize that the very symptoms we think are normal are actually not, and are, in fact, unhealthy and very destructive. There are so many symptoms of self-loathing. The very idea that any of us would not feel a measure of panic and deep grief at the reality we are facing is in itself a testament to how disconnected from our true nature we are. It also shows a deep disconnect from love and respect for ourselves and for others. Margaret shares the bottom line: “To solve the climate and ecological emergency, we must transform our destructive economy into a regenerative one, and we must do it at emergency speed. We don’t just need zero emissions in every sector; we need huge carbon drawdown projects that restore ecosystems and the soil. We need permaculture and food localization; we need an end to mass consumerism and endless growth; we need to give back half the Earth to nature to restore biodiversity, and we need to create a society based on protecting and healing humanity and the natural world. This means transforming not only our energy, agricultural, transportation, and industrial systems — it means transforming ourselves” I would add that the path to transforming ourselves is the path inward to loving ourselves.

I’m thrilled to Introduce Coral Brown, who is known and loved in her local community and around the world. Coral is a mother, a dharma dweller, and a teacher of teachers. She is known for her integrative, lighthearted approach that fuses the energetic, creative energy of vinyasa yoga with her experience as a holistic counselor. Coral is a licensed mental health counselor and draws on twenty years of experience in yoga, philosophy, and holistic counseling to provide fertile, open space for the processes of healing and transformation. Coral’s teachings are fueled by the desire to reveal and cultivate the essence of our individual and collective dharma and instill it into every aspect of our being. Coral leads worldwide teacher trainings, retreats, and workshops. She is a regular contributor to Yoga Journal and has featured classes on YogaGirl.com. (https://www.yogagirl.com) Listen in as we talk about yoga philosophy, chakras, the nine faces of the Goddess, Hindu mythology, our basic human needs, the principals of Shakti Shiva, and what’s happening in the world now, and so much more. In this episode, Coral shares more about her extensive studies in philosophy and yoga which have allowed her to access a layer of healing that goes beyond traditional methods. She explains that she was “blessed with depression,” and how this experience helped her to more deeply understand and embrace her own dharma. Coral shares her own dharma statement (statement of purpose) reflecting the values she holds: Truth, Compassion, Reverence, Commitment, Considerate, Ethical, Generous, Service, Respectful, Humility, Resilience, Perseverance, Mindful, Integrity, Loyal, Purposeful, Empathy, Faith. “I strive to mindfully live in alignment with my authentic self and to risk discomfort if it serves my personal evolution. In dealings with others, I will act with integrity and goodwill. I will be graceful, fair, conscious, and truthful. I will tenaciously continue to develop my skills and use them with humble confidence to raise the collective consciousness toward healing, fortifying, and integrating body, mind, and spirit. I will live what I love.” As a licensed holistic counselor, Coral is interested in supporting and enhancing the mind, body, and spirit of each client. She holds space and provides guidance and support that leads to personal transformation and integration. She believes that while this process takes courage, it can be lifesaving and life-changing. Her ideal client is someone who is ready to take the risk to fully embrace their strengths and their vulnerabilities in order to live a meaningful life. Aurobindo: "If there is to be a future, it will wear the crown of feminine design.” Show Notes: * The Search for MEaning + Dharma and Shraddha - the understanding of our purpose. * Shiva/Shakti and the integration of the masculine and the feminine. * Mythos - the story of the people. * The shadow side of our human experience can be integrated, healed, and whole when we can look at our imperfections objectively and give ourselves permission to embrace all aspects of our Self. * The nine nights of the Goddess which include both masculine and feminine principals. * Using the Gods and Goddesses as archetypes to understand aspects of the self. * The Long Bag We Drag * The Meeting of East and West * Yoga as a practice to integrate the masculine and feminine within us. * Start where you are. * Yoga helps us tap into our parasympathetic brain where we can regulate and relax, where we feel safe, effective, inspired. * Resources and Reference from Coral PDF (https://www.dropbox.com/s/fdgimpwwjerzkaq/Resources%20and%20References.pdf?dl=0)

Meet Tracie Jae, founder of The Quiet Rebel and 100 Voices- A Dialog on Race and Culture. Tracie is all about creating opportunities for conversations that shake things up, in the best way possible. 100 voices is about creating a space for authentic and grace filled conversations that makes space for the awkward and the messy, but also follow a format that uses the power of questions to invite people to listen to each other. Her goal is to facilitate conversations that help others access personal transformation as it relates to dismantling racism. Using conversation as an instrument of change, especially now that the world has “cracked open”. Join us as we explore Tracie’s vision for what’s possible when we dare to create brave spaces for necessary conversations that might be messy and hurtful, but also revealing and healing! Listen in as she shares about her calling to dive more deeply into curiosity and asking questions as instruments of change and how asking questions and listening have become the pillars to her life’s work. Learn why we must create brave space vs. safe space for women and men to have conversations about race and privilege and why she blows bubbles as a self-management tool when she is having difficult conversions, and what they remind her to do. Laugh along with us as we talk about relationships, marriage, small talk and the situations in life that force us to self- examine. We can do things differently, and shake things up if we dare to have conversations that are difficult, awkward and messy. Disrupting the status quo does not have to be loud or destructive in the negative sense, sometimes it’s the quiet that makes all the difference-the listening. Talking about race might be triggering, but it does not have to be mean. We can be vulnerable and brave and come out on the other side but we have to be willing and we have to want to do that When we believe in our minds that we are entering a safe space, we believe that we can’t get hurt. However if we go into a brave space we realize we can get hurt and recover Beliefs about race both conscious and unconscious are formed within our families of origin, and so this is where the work begins. Many women who have attended the 100 Voices event have started to show up differently and have become activated positively by seeing their own privilege and how it has impacted their lives and how it’s different for others who have not had the same advantages. There are important questions at the heart of understanding ourselves, and most of us have failed to ask them.” - Tracie Jae More about Tracie: Tracie Jae believes the world can be a better place if we focus on human to human interactions. As the Lead Rebel of the Quiet Rebel brand, she creates space for authentic, grace-filled conversations about the things that matter most. Her signature event, 100 Voices, invites participants into dialogue about race and culture. 100 Voices and events based on its framework, offer a guided conversation that welcomes self- examination and a window into our humanity through other’s lived experience. Tracie is mom to 3 adult daughters and counts them as her greatest joys.

Have you ever felt that you came here to be of service or had a deep curiosity to know more about your purpose, or suspected that you are part of something bigger? Then you may be part of The Second Wave.

While we can often think that change on the planet, and in human evolution, is up to someone else, this book explores why we each play a role in making change happen and birthing the new world. Especially now when we are all feeling so much fear and division. This book is about trusting what’s happening, knowing we are exactly where we need to be, and allowing ourselves to be compassionate, loving and vulnerable- even in the darkest, messy moments.

Listen in as Kerri and I dive into the mess of the human experience and talk about self love, sovereignty, soul contracts, 5th dimension conversations, self-judgement, current world issues, division, fear, and the many way’s we have to reveal, feel and heal, what is coming to the surface so that we can expand and transform into a more loving and just world, together.

I loved my interview with Kerri, because I love her honestly, her grit, and her down to earth way of explaining and exploring spiritual concepts that can otherwise feel out of reach. I hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as I enjoyed recording it.

Kerri Hummingbird, Soul Guide, inspires people to lead their lives wide awake with an authenticity, passion and purpose that positively impacts others. She catalyzes mind-shifts that transform life challenges into gifts of wisdom with her Reinvent Yourself programs for individual and group mentoring. She is the international best-selling author of “The Second Wave: Transcending the Human Drama” and the award-winning best-selling book “Awakening To Me: One Woman’s Journey To Self Love” which describes the early years of her spiritual awakening. She has served as a social activist, leader, and philanthropist for over three decades. She is the Founder of the Skills Not Pills Movement and Host of Soul Nectar Show.

• Sovereign means : the truth already. It’s the idea that we are whole and complete, with all the tools we need within. • We come to earth to have an experience of forgetting who we really are and all that we are capable of. • Your soul is designed so that you can have the fullest experience you wanted to have on earth. • We all have a unique thumbprint, which is symbolic of the unique being that you are.

What do systemic racism and religious wounding have in common? Both are very damaging to our souls if we don’t reveal and heal them.

Listen in as Terrlyn and I talk about the importance of taking the time to investigate our own traditions and beliefs. We discuss how all must examine and reveal where unconscious bias and disempowering interpretations might be getting in the way of tapping into the true spirit of our divine nature as well as how we can all relate to one another as members of a larger spiritual community where everyone gets to belong.

Dr. Terrlyn L. Curry Avery is a pastologist, spiritual leader, author, and TEDx speaker. She is the creator of pastology, the dynamic approach to transformation that focuses on the synergy between spirituality and the human psyche. She helps transformational leaders stay grounded in their faith, values, and purpose by providing both spiritual and psychological support as they manifest their own greatness and help others to do the same. Dr. Curry Avery helps leaders recognize and understand how ingrained disruptive and damaging messages from various religions may impact their finances, decision-making, careers, and personal self-image. She holds a Ph.D. from Hofstra University and a MDiv. from Yale University. She is the author of Sacred Intelligence: The Essence of Sacred, Selfish and Shared Relationships and was the previous host of her own Public Access Show.  

Enjoy this rich discussion of the patriarchy, giving up your power, religious trauma, understanding how race and religion can separate us if we are not mindful and aware, and what might be possible if we were to give ourselves permission to reimagine and broaden our perspective on the sacred.

Show Notes:

We need to be able to look at religion and the divine through a number of different perspectives and stay open and stay curious, and give each other the freedom to have our own experience. Language can segregate unless we put the stories of the Bible into context. If we were to look at each other as spiritual beings we would not be in such division. Many of us have hidden religious wounds that can keep us feeling unworthy, undeserving, and in shame.

Stephanie is the founder of Lioness, a coaching consultancy dedicated to helping powerful women lead and live from a place of pleasure, power, and purpose. As a leadership and sexuality coach, she empowers women to awaken that seductive, magnetic place inside themselves so they can lead their business and lives from a place of inner strength and ease. Stephanie has a unique ability to flex between feminine flow and concrete masculine structures. She gives women permission to remove their armor and explore the more sensitive, sensual, and intuitive parts of themselves while also taking daring action towards their desires.  

Stephanie has a corporate background in talent strategy, culture change, and leadership development, working with Fortune 100 companies such as IBM, TDAmeritrade, and MetLife. She is also an expert in the feminine arts and is a graduate of The School for Womanly Arts, a certified Tantra & Sexuality Coach, Co-Active Leadership Coach, Femme! Teacher and KAP facilitator. She’s worked with hundreds of creative and talented women in over 20 countries to reclaim and honor their voice and power within.  

Sensuality is about knowing the nuances of your body and allowing your body to feel what it feels.  Women are uniquely designed to intuit the world through our senses. So many women feel like they should put themselves last and put everything and everyone before them. Coming home to "I MATTER” is a pivotal coming home point for women.  You have permission to be all of you. Erotic intelligence is getting really clear on your desires and pleasure. In order to get to pleasure we have to allow ourselves to be in our most primal nature to receive, be vulnerable.  The leadership of the future is strong and compassionate, nurturing and powerful. The “messy" feminine is where we can hear the sacred voice within us. Women can hold grief and joy at the same time- our emotional capacity and range are remarkable. To celebrate and honor all of our emotions in the body is to be fully embodied. “I’m raising a son who can experience what a woman who is full of herself looks like.” 

Meet my dear friend Vanessa Ryerse. She is an entrepreneur, an ordained pastor a working artist, and a mother. I first learned of Vanessa when I heard her on Rob Bell’s Podcast The Robcast a couple of years ago and I knew I had to reach out and know her more deeply.

It turns out, she’s my people, and our initial conversation actually sparked a desire in me to begin my own podcast. Vanessa helped me realize that I wanted to give women who are doing powerful work in the world a bigger platform to share their ideas, revelations and work. She’s talented, open-hearted, rebellious, and thinks about things deeply - with her heart.

When Vanessa talks you want to lean in and listen real close so you don’t miss something magical. She’s always making beautiful things and she’s always integrating and building bridges for herself and for others between the human and the divine.

Vanessa pastors at her start up: Vintage Fellowship in Fayetteville with her husband Rob. They have four children, biological and adopted, ranging from college to preschool. She sells in two Etsy shops: one for vintage home decor and clothing, The Classic Butterfly, and another featuring her broken china mosaic art, The Mosaic Butterfly.

Listen in as we talk about her new sermon series, her own understanding of Patriarchy, her religious trauma, how she’s shifting the narrative of gender hierarchy with progressive theology and so much more.

Karen Anderson is leading the conversation about healing the generational wounds between mothers and daughters and using this challenging relationship as an opportunity and a catalyst for growth, leadership, wisdom, and creativity. Karen challenges the current patriarchal definitions of these energies and notes that for millennia, women have been burnt at the stake (literally and metaphorically) when we wield our emotions, power, and creativity intentionally. She acknowledges the many women in our maternal lineages that have suffered mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically as a result of the unexpressed emotion, the unused power, and the untapped creativity within them. Karen hopes to disrupt these generational patterns through a project she calls The Motherlode.

In it, she will be highlighting twenty creative women who have learned from their difficult relationship to their mothers, specifically around power, emotion, and creativity, and how to alchemize these energies in service to their leadership, relationships, and work, and why it matters.

Listen in as Karen and I unpack the importance of revealing and healing these generational wounds and why they are such a rich source of insight for our leadership with other women. If you would like to participate in The Mother Lode, simply visit Karen’s website.

Karen is the author of several books, most notably:

Difficult Mothers, Adult Daughters - A Guide For Separation, Liberation, & Inspiration (https://www.amazon.com/Difficult-Mothers-Adult-Daughters-Inspiration-ebook/dp/B0779DB2C4/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&qid=1523640452&sr=8-2&keywords=difficult+mothers+adult+daughters&linkCode=ll1&tag=revelationpro-20&linkId=ba3c143b4af046dd50d0eb7da825b5a7) The Difficult Mother-Daughter Relationship Journal - A Guide For Revealing & Healing Toxic Generational Patterns (https://www.amazon.com/Difficult-Mother-Daughter-Relationship-Journal-Generational-ebook/dp/B07TS81PW5/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=The+Difficult+Mother-Daughter+Relationship+Journal:+A+Guide+For+Revealing+&+Healing+Toxic+Generational&qid=1589904590&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=revelationpro-20&linkId=ff9d250d5f44a5b5f7e8bd262306c1b7) “From the time you were born, and even when you were in the womb, your relationship with your mother served as a blueprint for your relationship with yourself. Your mother’s beliefs were the basis for your own. You learned to treat yourself the way your mother treated herself, and the way she treated you. This is generally an unconscious process.” ~ Difficult Mothers, Adult Daughters: A Guide For Separation, Liberation & Inspiration Show notes: * The term “motherlode“ refers to the source of gold from which small nuggets originated, a principal source or supply. * Sometimes women are left out of the conversation about the divine feminine if they don’t identify with terms like ”goddess." * Our relationships with our mothers can serve as a blueprint for our relationships with ourselves. * Many of us have been our mothers’ “student” for decades and may have been handed beliefs and values about our bodies, identity sexuality, gender, etc. * A deeper examination of what our mothers taught us about emotion, power, and creativity can be a valuable source of insight and revelation as it relates to our own personal leadership. * If women are to have more say in the world, more of us need to understand and teach, directly and explicitly, and by consciously modeling the true nature of emotion, power, and creativity, not the current patriarchal definitions. * Many of us have been taught that emotion is weak vs. a powerful source of energy to summon.

As a licensed mental health counselor and certified life coach, Jessica Martin embraces the concept of the collective wisdom and draws from her expertise in holistic health while also tapping into her intuition to help her clients heal, integrate and balance. Jess uses tools of mindfulness, art, and somatic understanding and she can often be found delivering workshops, classes, public speaking, or hiking with her dogs.

We are the stories we tell ourselves and the cumulative stories we are told about ourselves. At some point, we may find that our stories form an identity that limits and constrains who we want to be. As women, we can find the challenge compounded by inferred gender roles that are not aligned with what we may envision for our own lives. As COVID–19 continues to challenge us to innovate, women, in particular, are stepping up, finding new opportunities, and collaborating in ways that serve the collective whole while also stretching us to imagine a new future that’s distinctly different from the hectic and unconscious way we have been living.  

Listen in as Jess Martin and I discuss the evolving story of identity and how we can reimagine what’s possible by choosing which parts of our story we wish to keep, transform, or create from scratch. We also cover a wide range of subjects including naked rock climbing, Instagram celebrities, Divine Feminine girl-crushing, and the neurobiology of trees. As usual, there is a fair amount of irreverence and swearing. I sure hope you enjoy the show.

Show notes:

Identity needs to be fluid and adaptable. Women are congregating in circles of belonging and disrupting the narratives that keep us in isolation and competition. Going back to normal isn’t an option - normal was not working. COVID–19 is forcing us to see the inanity of our culture, and the hectic and unconscious ways we have been living. One strong woman can shift the narrative and help every woman around her heal. Trees are a powerful metaphor for the divine feminine.

Catherine Avery is the founder of Productivity By Design. Catherine empowers busy professionals who struggle with brain fog to conquer their daily tasks, paperwork, and productivity. A former queen of clutter, recovering Type-A Wall Streeter, and cancer survivor, she implements proven strategies that get you on a more productive and profitable track. Combining her design sense with streamlined systems and business acumen, she helps her clients master their time, space, and information. Catherine didn’t expect the intense chemo brain after recovering from breast cancer and it led her to find her passion in developing a business dedicated to helping women organize their lives. Catherine shares about 2 bouts of depression 10 years apart from each other and how different they both were. People have different brains, and different ways of learning. ADD and ADHD carry a lot of shame. What is depression and how does it show up? Belongings are often attached to emotion and memories. How many of us have a childhood box that we keep for reasons we don’t understand? When it comes to clearing the clutter - If you are in doubt, don’t throw it out. When we are ready to let go, don’t throw it all away. Family stories and archives do matter, and yet, it’s good to curate certain pieces vs. keep it all. Many entrepreneurs work from home and don’t fit into the rhythm of daily corporate life. Sometimes if you don’t feel like doing the thing, you should listen to that as your body saying “I need to rest”. She realized that she couldn’t do everything the same way she had and that if wanted to do cancer well, even evrything else had to go. The hardest part of having cancer was learning how to receive. While most women are great at giving a lot of us don’t know how to receive - compliments, help, attention, love.

Nicole Majik is someone who walks into a room and makes you think: "Who is that cool chick? I have to know her!" In addition to being incredibly intelligent, she's also warm, soft spoken and welcoming. She brings a grounded optimism to her work in the filed of energy and helps to demystify cosmic concepts for application in our everyday lives. With a diverse background in Biology/Chemistry, and a Masters Degree in Metaphysics, Nicole Majik has a diverse skill set to assist women to transform from where they are currently, to where they want to be, using her unique process: The Alchemy of Transformation. "There is always something that we go through that we think is the worst thing, but if you fast forward and look back, you’ll see that this supposed negative experience helped shape you, and assist you to remove the people or situations that were not serving you." - Nicole Majik Nicole works with leaders, entrepreneurs, and executives who feel stuck or discouraged, yet know that there is more in this world for them than their current situation has to offer, she helps them alchemize their own experiences in life into gifts they can use to assist themselves and others. Chakra clearing, working with the auric field, and transmuting energy into its highest and best use are just some of her many gifts. *Check out Nicoles amazing offerings on her website including her next online workshop FORK THIS, BEND THAT! "Forkbending is more than just a “stunt”. It is about learning techniques that allow you to access the quantum field and energetically alter physical material substance. This shows how energy work can directly affect physical substance….the techniques used can be greatly effective in healing. Some have been used to move bones instantaneously into proper alignment!" She maintains a 100% success rate working with her students. "Energy is very real and it’s very influential, so we have to be responsible for what we project on others." - Nicole Majik

What if you could learn how to raise your voice, trust your power, and overcome your deepest fears? Meet Megan Jo Wilson, the founder of Rockstar Camp.

Megan Jo is someone I deeply admire because she is taking the world by the balls and shifting the narrative about what it means to be a woman. In addition to being a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach, and a leader of world leaders, she is also an entrepreneur that is committed to supporting women to claim their voices and step into their personal leadership.

Megan Jo is HOT, feisty, tender, funny, bold and honest. She's not afraid to say it like it is and does not suffer fools gladly. She's been a tremendous teacher and I consider her a dear friend.

My prediction is that she will one day grace the covers of popular magazines as someone women want to celebrate and emulate. She stands for every woman to BE exactly who she is, living life out loud and without apology.

Megan Jo is also an author of two best-selling books: Who The Fuck Am I To Be A Coach and Who The Fuck Am I To Be A Rockstar. She is the founder of Rockstar Camp, an experimental learning program for women who are ready to step out from behind the curtain to start rocking their business and their lives.

Any Links Mentioned:

* Book: Who The Fuck Am I To Be A Coach is a warrior's guide to building a successful coaching business from the inside out. * Book: Who The Fuck Am I To Be A Rockstar is about sharing our voices in the world. * Mama Gena has been a huge influence on Megan Jo and her work and helped her to see the invisible forces at play for women. * The Politics of Love by Marianne Williamson * Megan Jo Wilson on Facebook: * Megan Jo Wilson on Instagram

Duann Kier is a psychic channeler, hypnotist, ordained minister, spiritual teacher and performer of sacred ceremonies. Her most recent book is Return of the Divine Feminine, Rise of the Divine Masculine: And the Men Who Are Calling for Her Return.

She is a former Christian fundamentalist with a Master of Religious Education degree from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is also the author of Fundamen-Talisman: Resurrecting the Fundamentals of Relationship from the Fundamentalism of Religion. It has been referred to as a handbook for recovering Christian fundamentalists.

Her life and work motto are,** “lightening up enlightenment!”**

Links Mentioned Connect with Duann Kier: • Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/duann.kier) • Website (http://www.duannkier.com/") • Books (https://www.duannkier.com/books.html) • Metaphysical Mississippi (metaphysicalmississippi.com)

Monette Chilson, author of Original Resistance: Reclaiming Lilith, Reclaiming Ourselves, My Name is Lilith, and Sophia Rising: Awakening Your Sacred Wisdom Through Yoga, writes about God in the feminine and the feminine in God.

She speaks to groups big and small, in both lecture and workshop settings. She’s written for publications including Yoga Journal, Integral Yoga Magazine, and Elephant Journal and has contributed to numerous anthologies, most recently Yoga Wisdom: Warrior Tales Inspiring You On & Off the Mat and Whatever Works: Feminists of Faith Speak.

Monette was awarded an Illumination Book Award gold medal, as well as the Hoffer Small Press and First Horizon Awards.

Show Notes: • Monette grew up in a Southern Baptist church and was raised to know a punishing God. • Who is Lilith? Lilith was kicked out of the Garden of Eden - she was there before Eve. • Lilith is a mythological first woman in the world. She is an archetype who is also a historical figure in the Bible that came before Eve. • Lilith was kicked out of the garden because she wasn't interested in being dominated. She used her voice and said, "I am a full person." • Monette started messaging to children so that they can integrate the feminine divine as young children vs. having to grow up the way we did, trying to undo the damage of omission. • If we can't see our feminine selves in God, it's impossible to see God in ourselves, so you have to start by reclaiming. • Original Resistance, Reclaiming Lilith, Reclaiming Ourselves is a collected anthology with contributions from 45 women all over the world who resonated with the archetype of Lilith. • It's so important for women to have stories, and see ourselves reflected in strong characters and heroines. • Women were not given the full story. We were told stories that were exclusively told through the male lens, and it's even more damaging when it's told in a religious context because it keeps you from connecting from that vital divine feminine part of ourselves. • Pronoun analysis in the Bible shows an exaggerated use of "his" vs. "hers." This is significant. If a woman cannot see "hers" then she cannot claim what is hers. • It's never been ok that we, as women, have been omitted from history as whole human beings. • Everything that we have been told has been told through the lens of men. • In the Bible, "Sophia" means wisdom which conjures up the embodiment of the feminine divine, but it was never honored as this. • Monette has been on a search for the feminine divine and has run into wall after wall as she has struggled to find what she was looking for. * In many churches and religions, the female is subordinated to the man and it makes a real relationship nearly impossible. * The Roofless Church in New Harmony, Indiana was where Monette accessed her freedom to stop searching and see that the universe was her "church". * Language is so important. Calling your God "she" is a beautiful way to integrate or retrain ourselves as women if we want to relate to her that way. Yoga is a great playground to practice the embodiment of the masculine and the feminine and integrate the two energies . Links Mentioned: * Monette Chilson Twitter * Monette Chilson Instagram * Monette Chilson Website * Monette Chilson Books

Trista Hendren is the creator of The Girl God series and a Certified Women’s Empowerment Coach with Imagine a Woman International.

Trista grew up Christian and studied the Bible very closely. She attended college but was not taken seriously as a theologian. Trista has also identified as an atheist and Muslim for periods of her life before developing her own sense of spirituality.

She authored a book The Girl God after her daughter called out the fact that God is usually depicted as male. After the book's success, Trista created the series which now totals 25 books.

Show Notes: • Finding divinity within yourself. • How we tend to categorize and isolate people because of their spirituality. • Spirituality is totally separate from religion. • Women's circles of today and their origins as discussed in the Bible. • The importance of self-love for women. • Learning how to be with all of the changes of motherhood. • Changing your narrative through reframing. • The wisdom in the female body and menstruation as a sacred time. • How maltreatment of Mother Earth is a symptom of the patriarchy. • Religion and money are some of the biggest ways to suppress women. • Getting really intentional with what we want.

Links Mentioned: • The Red Tent by Anita Diamant • Find A Women's Circle website and app • Monette Chilson's Lilith Circle Guide • Trista Hendren Facebook • Instagram • Girl God Books

In this episode join me for an interview with Lisa Medley. Lisa believes that as we create more love in the body, we create more love in the world.

Lisa serves as a Sustainable Wellbeing Lifestyle and Body Relationship Mentor. She has over 20 years’ experience in the healing arts, expressive therapy, life and wellness coaching, therapeutic massage and bodywork, somatics, energy medicine, and conscious movement & dance.

Lisa has experienced a divine connection all of her life. She is a Unitarian Universalist preacher’s kid, currently studies all kinds of spirituality, and creates her lifestyle to be in “integrity with her soul.” She is the creator of Beloved Your Body™ - a lifestyle program that empowers clients to cultivate a positive relationship with their body for sustainable wellbeing. Lisa believes that the body acts as a bridge to celebrate our divine humanity.

 

Any Links Mentioned:

• Soulistic Arts

You are in for a special treat today in hearing from one of the most compassionate and dedicated women I've had the pleasure of knowing. In this episode I interview Kim Fuller, the founder of BORN to RISE a movement that brings forth the feminine energy of compassion, empathy, courage and expansion through community, story sharing and creativity. Her mission is to amplify our personal stories so that we can inspire, educate and empower each other to be the greatest versions of ourselves and t co-create a culture of love and acceptance for ALL. Join us as she shares her own story about meeting the Dali Lama, adopting her son, what it took to finally love herself.

Any Links Mentioned:

• Rhode Island School of Design

• Child & Family RI \| Home

• Finding: The story of a young boy who becomes his adoptive mothers's greatest spiritual teacher

• Shifting Your Lens | Kim Fuller | TEDxNewBedford

• Kim Fuller Photography

• P.A.U.S.E Coaching

• Born to Rise

• Born to Rise Facebook

• Born to Ruse Instagram

• Kim Fuller - Born to Rise and the Power of Personal Story

Self-forgiveness is courageous work that requires us to answer the call to go within and reckon with the parts of ourselves that might feel unworthy.

"The greatest gift we can give our children is modeling self-forgiveness for our imperfect selves." - Monica Rodgers.

https://www.jointherevelation.com/blog/14

Mark Greene writes, speaks, coaches and consults on the challenges men face when raised in man box culture. He helps men create a healthier vision of masculine culture and identity.

"We have to meet men and boys where they are and teach them that conversation is where we solve problems." - Mark Greene.

Learn more about this episode at https://www.jointherevelation.com/blog/13

Self-loathing is its own special kind of trauma. Listen as I recall a story of finding self-forgiveness in the epicenter of a huge "parent fail" with my daughter.

“It’s an inside job before we can take it to the outside. It’s the internal reckoning” - Andrea Willets.

Learn more about this episode at https://www.jointherevelation.com/blog/12

Join us in this episode as we talk about the power of witness and why it's important that we hold space for each other as friends, family members, and fellow human beings. Learn how something so simple can have a profound impact on making someone feel seen and known.

“In being present, you're not only being present for yourself, you're being present for someone else too.” - Monica Rodgers.

Learn more about this episode jointherevelation.com/11

How Andrea Willets harnessed the power of self love and makes her unapologetic presence in the world.

"Vulnerability became my greatest strength." - Andrea Willets.

Learn more about this at www.jointherevelation.com/10

Andrea talks about the female apologizing personality types, what we might be covering up by saying "sorry", the guidelines for a proper apology, and more.

"This overuse of 'I'm sorry' is the replacement for the real conversation." - Andrea Willets.

Learn more about this episode at jointherevelation.com/09

Vanessa was raised inside the purity culture in a fundamentalist Evangelical church community. Her journey has transformed understanding about the power of Women and the need for our voices and leadership inside of churches and beyond.

“The divine is in you.” - Vanessa Ryerse.

Learn more at jointherevelation.com/08

We talk about love languages and how we give and receive love. We talk about love for friends, romantic love, the fluidity and energy of love and much more.

"When one person is growing and the other one isn't, is it sustainable? I would argue yes." - Monica Rodgers.

Learn more about this episode at jointherevelation.com/07

In this episode , we continue with our discussion on soul-diving and what is required for us to dive into the unknown and live below the surface of our lives. We talk about reframing and reinterpreting our tension and suffering as invitations and access points to discover personal truth.

"The magic happens outside of the comfort zone." - Monica Rodgers.

Learn more about this episode at jointherevelation.com/06

Today's episode is about revealing spirit. We talk about the religious and spiritual backgrounds that we grew up with, and the necessity of recognizing when it's time to reclaim our own sense of spirituality as adults. What type of religious background did you grow up with and how has it transformed in your own spiritual formation?

This episode is about exploring spirituality, how ego gets in the way, finding an access point to the divine, and how definitions of race and gender often separate us from seeing the bigger picture and the path to LOVE.

"It is really about starting to have a relationship with life that bypasses the ego." - Monica Rodgers.

Learn more about this episode of The Revelation Project with Monica Rodgers and Andrea Willets at www.jointherevelation.com/05

Boundaries are at the heart of self love. When we set up healthy boundaries we are respecting ourselves and showing everyone else how to be in relationship with you.

"It is not selfish actually, it is about restoring the integrity that's meant to be there in order for us to serve ourselves so that we can serve others." - Monica Rodgers.

Learn more about this episode at jointherevelation.com/04

The training ground is another way to talk about how we were all socialized when we were kids. Does what we learned during that time help us be our best selves?

“Often as humans, we need to belong. We want to belong. We want to be loved. We want to know that we're enough and that we're worthy. And that all is influenced by The Training Ground.” - Monica Rodgers.

Learn more about this episode of The Revelation Project with Monica Rodgers and Andrea Willets at www.jointherevelation.com/03

Today on the show, our co-host Monica will be talking about her recent "vulnerability hangover." She describes her dismay when it dawns on her that she wont be able to hide as much now that the podcast is live. She struggles to honor all the parts of herself in the face of overexposure, and shares what came up for her in this podcast launch and how her "mess became her message." 

We talk about why knowing your truth is important, what you can learn from difficult situations, how to show up authentically and much more.

"How do I show up authentically with all of me? And be able to share all of me without offending someone along the way?" - Monica Rodgers.

Learn more about this episode of The Revelation Project with Monica Rodgers and Andrea Willets at www.jointherevelation.com/02

Welcome to The Revelation Project Podcast. For our very first episode of The Revelation Project, enjoy Andrea Interviewing Monica about her darkest days before the dawn, and where The Revelation Project began. We also talk about why loneliness is so difficult, how to heal from difficult situations, spiritual work and much more. 

“Oftentimes we're the instrument in somebodies healing but we don't realize it.” - Monica Rogers.

Learn more about this episode of The Revelation Project (http://www.jointherevelation.com/01) .