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In this episode of Connection Matters, I’m joined by Aidan Young — musician, naturalist, mentor and son of nature connection pioneer Jon Young.

We explore what it really means to live a connected life, from Aidan’s unusual childhood immersed in wilderness awareness and unschooling, to the vibrant music community he later created for teenagers through monthly rock concerts and leadership programmes.

Our conversation moves beyond the idea that connection only happens in nature. We talk about the qualities that make any experience truly connective: presence, wonder, belonging, meaningful challenge, and being deeply met by others.

We also discuss the upcoming Nature Culture Connection Camp in Bedfordshire, the work of Connection First, and how ordinary people can bring more connection into their families, workplaces and communities without needing to become “experts”.

This episode is full of stories, reflections and practical inspiration for anyone longing for a more connected way of living

What makes an experience feel genuinely connective?

That question sits at the heart of this conversation with Aidan Young.

Aidan grew up surrounded by the world of wilderness awareness, mentoring and nature connection through the work of his father, Jon Young, whose books and teachings have deeply influenced my own path. But rather than simply inheriting a philosophy, Aidan has spent years exploring how those same principles can be lived through music, community, leadership and everyday relationships.

In this episode we talk about:

• Growing up immersed in nature connection and adult mentoring
• Unschooling, curiosity and learning through experience
• The parallels between music and nature
• Creating a “music village” where teenagers perform real rock concerts
• How leadership develops through belonging and contribution
• Why presence and wonder matter more than technique
• Supporting young people to feel seen, trusted and capable
• Bringing connection into modern life rather than escaping from it
• The upcoming Nature Culture Connection Camp in Bedfordshire
• The work of Connection First and their online programmes

One of the things I loved most about this conversation is that it reminds us that connection is not a niche activity reserved for retreats or forests. It can be woven into how we teach, parent, create art, run businesses, welcome people into a room, and relate to the world around us.

If this episode resonates, I’d love to hear your reflections.

Mentioned in this episodeConnection First

We also talk about the nature culture camp happening in the UK 5th-11th August. Come and join us.

Nature Connection Membership People Connection Programmes Tracking Our Roots in Nature (audio series) The 512 Project Nature Culture Connection Camp 5–11 August 2026, Clophill Centre, Bedfordshire Learn more about Leona and Connection Matters

Thank You for Listening!

I am so grateful to you for tuning into this episode of Connection Matters Podcast. This is my passion and where I share my hope for a better world. If you enjoyed what you heard, please consider subscribing, rating, and reviewing the podcast on your preferred platform. Your support helps us reach more listeners and spread the message of connection, healing and growth!

Stay Connected:

• Join the Community: Be part of our growing community by signing up for my newsletter here. You'll receive updates on new episodes, resources, and exclusive offers!
• Read the Blog for all the actionable tips, journal prompts and a deeper read of my thoughts and perspectives on connected self-leadership.
• Follow Me: Stay inspired and connected on social media: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn , Pintrest
• Connect with Me: Have thoughts or questions about the episode? I'd love to hear from you! Reach out at connection@leonajohnson.life. I always respond.
• Find out more about working with me here.

Upcoming Events:

• Don't miss out on upcoming workshops, courses, or events! Stay informed by visiting the website here for more details for details.

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Guest: Asa Baav — Love & Relationship Coach
Website: www.asabaav.com

In this episode Leona talks with Asa Baav about the hidden patterns that keep high-achieving women attracting unavailable love — and the inner work that changes everything.

They cover:

• Why the skills that make you successful at work can quietly sabotage your love life
• What secure attachment actually looks and feels like
• The power of saying no — and why it's the foundation of real intimacy
• Where conscious men actually are (and why you might be walking past them)
• How to begin shifting your patterns, whatever stage you're at

Read the full blog post here.

Connect with Asa:

• Free masterclass — Chosen: How to Attract Conscious Love: www.asabaav.com/chosen
• Attract Love programme: www.asabaav.com/attract-love

Thank You for Listening!

I am so grateful to you for tuning into this episode of Connection Matters Podcast. This is my passion and where I share my hope for a better world. If you enjoyed what you heard, please consider subscribing, rating, and reviewing the podcast on your preferred platform. Your support helps us reach more listeners and spread the message of connection, healing and growth!

Stay Connected:

• Join the Community: Be part of our growing community by signing up for my newsletter here. You'll receive updates on new episodes, resources, and exclusive offers!
• Read the Blog for all the actionable tips, journal prompts and a deeper read of my thoughts and perspectives on connected self-leadership.
• Follow Me: Stay inspired and connected on social media: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn , Pintrest
• Connect with Me: Have thoughts or questions about the episode? I'd love to hear from you! Reach out at connection@leonajohnson.life. I always respond.
• Find out more about working with me here.

Upcoming Events:

• Don't miss out on upcoming workshops, courses, or events! Stay informed by visiting the website here for more details for details.

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Guest BioDeborah Benham is a marine biologist, nature connection practitioner, and biomimicry educator based in Dorset, England. She works with Transition Network International supporting community-led action across 60+ countries and is co-creating the Living Systems Alliance—a collaboration bringing biomimicry, permaculture, and regenerative design to communities worldwide. Deborah lives in the UK's largest cohousing community and is passionate about helping people reconnect with nature, learn from living systems, and become positive keystone species in their ecosystems.

Resources MentionedDeborah's Work & Resources:

• Becoming Ecological Citizens Framework: www.deborahbenham.com
• Restoring Your Ecological Awareness Course (Biomimicry Institute)
• Living Systems Alliance (launching 2025)

Organisations & Networks:

• Transition Network International: www.transitionnetwork.org
• Biomimicry Institute & Ask Nature Database: www.asknature.org
• Permaculture Association (UK): www.permaculture.org.uk
• Global Ecovillage Network: www.ecovillage.org
• Learn Biomimicry: Self-guided courses and educator resources

Books & Influences:

• Rob Hopkins' work on imagination and transition
• Dr Lila June: Indigenous perspectives on regenerative human presence
• Janine Benyus: Biomimicry pioneer and founder
• John Young: Deep Nature Connection and 8 Shields model

Research:

• Zelensky et al. (2023): "Nature Connection as a Pathway to Personal and Planetary Health" (open access)

Media & Inspiration:

• Fix the News Newsletter: Weekly global good news stories
• Nature Culture Camp: Annual nature connection gathering (UK)

Connect with DeborahWebsite: www.deborahbenham.com
Email: Available via website

Connect with LeonaWebsite: www.leonajohnson.life
Instagram: @connection.matters.leona
Free Life Compass Assessment

Quotes to Share"I'm not depressed, I just haven't had any nature connection for the last few weeks." - Deborah Benham

"Nature doesn't have a bin. There is no waste. Everything becomes food for something else." - Deborah Benham

"We're not a plague. We're not a blight. We've just gone off course." - Deborah Benham

"That's how culture can arise from nature connection—not forced, not manufactured, but arising naturally when people have the opportunity to gather around the land they're stewarding together." - Deborah Benham

"What can I learn from nature today? Just open up your senses and really listen. Notice with curiosity. See what you come back with." - Deborah Benham

"We don't need to change everything. We just need to remember. And when we forget—because we will forget—we need to start again." - Leona Johnson

"Connection first. Design as nature. Do it together. That's how we create the culture that comes next." - Leona Johnson

Call to ActionTake Deborah's closing question on your next walk: What can I learn from nature today?

Then share what you discover—tag us on social media or leave a comment on the blog.

Want to go deeper?
🎁 Take the free Life Compass Assessment to see where you're thriving and where you're longing for more
🌿 Join us at Nature Quest Weekend for an immersive nature connection experience
💫 Explore the Life Compass Curriculum for 6 months of connected self-leadership

Thank You for Listening!

I am so grateful to you for tuning into this episode of Connection Matters Podcast. This is my passion and where I share my hope for a better world. If you enjoyed what you heard, please consider subscribing, rating, and reviewing the podcast on your preferred platform. Your support helps us reach more listeners and spread the message of connection, healing and growth!

Stay Connected:

• Join the Community: Be part of our growing community by signing up for my newsletter here. You'll receive updates on new episodes, resources, and exclusive offers!
• Read the Blog for all the actionable tips, journal prompts and a deeper read of my thoughts and perspectives on connected self-leadership.
• Follow Me: Stay inspired and connected on social media: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn , Pintrest
• Connect with Me: Have thoughts or questions about the episode? I'd love to hear from you! Reach out at connection@leonajohnson.life. I always respond.
• Find out more about working with me here.

Upcoming Events:

• Don't miss out on upcoming workshops, courses, or events! Stay informed by visiting the website here for more details for details.

View Details

Guest BioDeborah Benham is a marine biologist, nature connection practitioner, and biomimicry educator based in Dorset, England. She works with Transition Network International supporting community-led action across 60+ countries and is co-creating the Living Systems Alliance—a collaboration bringing biomimicry, permaculture, and regenerative design to communities worldwide. Deborah lives in the UK's largest cohousing community and is passionate about helping people reconnect with nature, learn from living systems, and become positive keystone species in their ecosystems.

Resources MentionedDeborah's Work & Resources:

• Becoming Ecological Citizens Framework: www.deborahbenham.com
• Living Systems Alliance
• Restoring Your Ecological Awareness Course (Biomimicry Institute)- AskNature Learning: Restoring Your Ecological Awareness: How Deep Reconnection Can Guide Nature-Based Wisdom and Solutions, will be facilitated by Dr. Deborah Benham an ecologist, accredited Biomimicry Educator, and global leader in regenerative community design, with nearly 30 years of experience across conservation, education, and community resilience.

Many people feel disconnected from nature and overwhelmed by the scale of the ecological, climate, and biodiversity crises. This course offers a different starting point: one rooted in deep nature reconnection as a source of empathy, belonging, and positive action.
Through simple, applied practices, participants strengthen their sensory and observational skills and begin building meaningful relationships with local places, species, and ecosystems. In doing so, they learn how living systems work and how humans can become a positive, regenerative force within them.

Deborah has offered the Connection Matters Podcast Listeners a 20% discount code: COURSE20.

Course details:

• Thursdays, March 5th, 12th, 19th, 26th | 11-12:30pm PT
• Recordings available
• No biomimicry experience required
• Registration Link: https://lnkd.in/gNVBhcQs
• Code: COURSE20

Organisations & Networks:

• Transition Network International: www.transitionnetwork.org
• Biomimicry Institute & Ask Nature Database: www.asknature.org
• Permaculture Association (UK): www.permaculture.org.uk
• Global Ecovillage Network: www.ecovillage.org
• Learn Biomimicry: Self-guided courses and educator resources

Books & Influences:

• Rob Hopkins' work on imagination and transition
• Dr Lila June: Indigenous perspectives on regenerative human presence
• Janine Benyus: Biomimicry pioneer and founder
• John Young: Deep Nature Connection and 8 Shields model

Research:

• Zelensky et al. (2023): "Nature Connection as a Pathway to Personal and Planetary Health" (open access)

Media & Inspiration:

• Fix the News Newsletter: Weekly global good news stories
• Nature Culture Camp: Annual nature connection gathering (UK)

Connect with DeborahWebsite: www.deborahbenham.com

LinkedIn- Deborah Benham
Email: Available via website

Connect with LeonaWebsite: www.leonajohnson.life
Instagram: @connection.matters.leona
Free Life Compass Assessment

Call to ActionTake Deborah's closing question on your next walk: What can I learn from nature today?

Then share what you discover—tag us on social media or leave a comment on the blog.

Want to go deeper?
📖 Read the full blog post with three practices you can start today
🎁 Take the free Life Compass Assessment to see where you're thriving and where you're longing for more
🌿 Join us at Nature Quest Weekend for an immersive nature connection experience- email dircetly for info
💫 Explore the Life Compass Curriculum for 6 months of connected self-leadership

Thank You for Listening!

I am so grateful to you for tuning into this episode of Connection Matters Podcast. This is my passion and where I share my hope for a better world. If you enjoyed what you heard, please consider subscribing, rating, and reviewing the podcast on your preferred platform. Your support helps us reach more listeners and spread the message of connection, healing and growth!

Stay Connected:

• Join the Community: Be part of our growing community by signing up for my newsletter here. You'll receive updates on new episodes, resources, and exclusive offers!
• Read the Blog for all the actionable tips, journal prompts and a deeper read of my thoughts and perspectives on connected self-leadership.
• Follow Me: Stay inspired and connected on social media: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn , Pintrest
• Connect with Me: Have thoughts or questions about the episode? I'd love to hear from you! Reach out at connection@leonajohnson.life. I always respond.
• Find out more about working with me here.

Upcoming Events:

• Don't miss out on upcoming workshops, courses, or events! Stay informed by visiting the website here for more details for details.

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Jo Bell is a trauma-informed coach who works with women ready to stop editing themselves and enter a new era of living unfiltered. She is the creator of Rise, her signature group experience, where women move from overthinking, people-pleasing and self-doubt into a deep trust in themselves, emotional steadiness and a life that feels like it fits.

Key Topics Explored

• The protective origins of your inner critic – Discover why that critical voice developed and how childhood conditioning shapes your self-talk
• The science of rewiring your brain – Learn how neuroplasticity proves you can create new patterns of self-compassion at any age
• Self-compassion as self-leadership – Understand why the strongest leaders aren't the harshest critics, and how choosing yourself creates ripples of change
• From self-doubt to self-trust – Explore practical approaches to transform your relationship with yourself and live more authentically

Links

📖 Read the complete blog post with practical takeaways.

📥 Access Jo Bell's free Sel -Talk script book here.

See Jo's offerings on her website here.

🌿 Join Designing A life Aligned with Your True North - FREE Masterclass with Leona Johnson

Thank You for Listening!

I am so grateful to you for tuning into this episode of Connection Matters Podcast. This is my passion and where I share my hope for a better world. If you enjoyed what you heard, please consider subscribing, rating, and reviewing the podcast on your preferred platform. Your support helps us reach more listeners and spread the message of connection, healing and growth!

Stay Connected:

• Join the Community: Be part of our growing community by signing up for my newsletter here. You'll receive updates on new episodes, resources, and exclusive offers!
• Read the Blog for all the actionable tips, journal prompts and a deeper read of my thoughts and perspectives on connected self-leadership.
• Follow Me: Stay inspired and connected on social media: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn , Pintrest
• Connect with Me: Have thoughts or questions about the episode? I'd love to hear from you! Reach out at connection@leonajohnson.life. I always respond.
• Find out more about working with me here.

Upcoming Events:

• Don't miss out on upcoming workshops, courses, or events! Stay informed by visiting the website here for more details for details.

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Over the past few weeks on the podcast, we’ve been talking about orienting. About wintering well. Slowing down. Consolidating.

That still matters.

But in this episode, I can feel a shift, and I wanted to follow it.

This conversation is about gathering.

Not the grand, impressive kind, but the small, ordinary, life-giving kind that quietly strengthens our web of connection before we need it to hold us.

In this episode, I explore:

Why so many people feel relationally under-nourished, even when they’re doing a lot of inner and personal growth work

How adult life leads to quiet drift rather than dramatic rupture, and why that matters

Simple, doable ways to create warmth, rhythm, and reliability in your relationships

A personal story about how my own world became narrower, and what helped widen it again

Why joy, laughter, and shared experience matter just as much as depth

Practical guidance on how to listen and reflect well in groups, without fixing, bypassing, or rushing to solve

At the heart of this episode is a simple truth:
we don’t strengthen our webs in crisis. We strengthen them before we need them.

Read the full blogThis episode is accompanied by a longer written reflection, which you can read here:

Free live masterclassIf this episode resonates, you might also like to join me for a free live masterclass:

Designing a Life Aligned with Your True North
Wednesday 11th February
10.30am UK time
Free, live

This masterclass is for people who’ve done a lot of inner work, but whose lives still feel a bit off. Not because anything is wrong with you, but because growth doesn’t automatically tell us how to live.

We’ll explore a grounded, wholistic approach to healing and leadership that honours heart, mind, body, and spirit. You’ll experience a simple practice to reconnect with your inner compass, alongside real examples from my work with people navigating change and transition.

👉 Register for free here:

Thank you for listening, and for the care you bring to how you live and relate.
And if this episode lands, consider sharing it with someone who might need it too.

Thank You for Listening!

I am so grateful to you for tuning into this episode of Connection Matters Podcast. This is my passion and where I share my hope for a better world. If you enjoyed what you heard, please consider subscribing, rating, and reviewing the podcast on your preferred platform. Your support helps us reach more listeners and spread the message of connection, healing and growth!

Stay Connected:

• Join the Community: Be part of our growing community by signing up for my newsletter here. You'll receive updates on new episodes, resources, and exclusive offers!
• Read the Blog for all the actionable tips, journal prompts and a deeper read of my thoughts and perspectives on connected self-leadership.
• Follow Me: Stay inspired and connected on social media: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn , Pintrest
• Connect with Me: Have thoughts or questions about the episode? I'd love to hear from you! Reach out at connection@leonajohnson.life. I always respond.
• Find out more about working with me here.

Upcoming Events:

• Don't miss out on upcoming workshops, courses, or events! Stay informed by visiting the website here for more details for details.

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It's mid-January, and somewhere between the first week and now, something shifted. Not collapse, not panic—just a low-grade fatigue and a wondering: "I thought this year would feel different by now."

In this episide; you'll hear about the three patterns that keep people stuck, the discipline of saying no to create meaningful yeses later, and practical ways to build rhythm before ambition.

This isn't about doing more. It's about inhabiting your life more fully.

In this episode:

• What consolidation actually means (and why we've forgotten it)
• The year I didn't know I was having—my journey through rupture to integration
• Why incomplete endings drain energy and how to end well
• Three practices for navigating January and February with intention
• Questions to help you discern where you're being called to consolidate

Links mentioned:

• Read the full blog post:
• Explore the Life Compass Curriculum:

Thank You for Listening!

I am so grateful to you for tuning into this episode of Connection Matters Podcast. This is my passion and where I share my hope for a better world. If you enjoyed what you heard, please consider subscribing, rating, and reviewing the podcast on your preferred platform. Your support helps us reach more listeners and spread the message of connection, healing and growth!

Stay Connected:

• Join the Community: Be part of our growing community by signing up for my newsletter here. You'll receive updates on new episodes, resources, and exclusive offers!
• Read the Blog for all the actionable tips, journal prompts and a deeper read of my thoughts and perspectives on connected self-leadership.
• Follow Me: Stay inspired and connected on social media: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn , Pintrest
• Connect with Me: Have thoughts or questions about the episode? I'd love to hear from you! Reach out at connection@leonajohnson.life. I always respond.
• Find out more about working with me here.

Upcoming Events:

• Don't miss out on upcoming workshops, courses, or events! Stay informed by visiting the website here for more details for details.

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January has a lot of opinions about how we're meant to begin the year — and most of them are loud, fast, and not especially kind to our nervous systems. But nature tells a very different story.

In this episode:

• Why January culture and January nature are telling us completely different things
• The relationship between winter and your nervous system
• Simple daily practices for letting nature guide your beginning (nothing fancy required)
• A powerful shift from "what do I want to make happen?" to "what wants me this season?"
• Why you're not behind — you're wintering

If you're longing for permission to begin this year differently — gently, in relationship with the season you're actually in — this episode is for you.

Mentioned in this episode: The Life Compass Curriculum & Community — now open for enrollment with special bonuses including a Spring Nature Quest weekend and a one-to-one deep dive. Details at connectionmatters.co.uk

Thank You for Listening!

I am so grateful to you for tuning into this episode of Connection Matters Podcast. This is my passion and where I share my hope for a better world. If you enjoyed what you heard, please consider subscribing, rating, and reviewing the podcast on your preferred platform. Your support helps us reach more listeners and spread the message of connection, healing and growth!

Stay Connected:

• Join the Community: Be part of our growing community by signing up for my newsletter here. You'll receive updates on new episodes, resources, and exclusive offers!
• Read the Blog for all the actionable tips, journal prompts and a deeper read of my thoughts and perspectives on connected self-leadership.
• Follow Me: Stay inspired and connected on social media: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn , Pintrest
• Connect with Me: Have thoughts or questions about the episode? I'd love to hear from you! Reach out at connection@leonajohnson.life. I always respond.
• Find out more about working with me here.

Upcoming Events:

• Don't miss out on upcoming workshops, courses, or events! Stay informed by visiting the website here for more details for details.

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In this episode, we explore:

• What orientation actually means (and why it works when resolutions don't)
• The three questions that help you orient your year: What am I releasing? What am I protecting? What am I committing to?
• Why choosing support before you're burnt out changes everything

Read the full blog post with complete insights and practices:

Mentioned in this episode:

• Opening the Year Ceremony - January 11th (online nature ceremony)
• Life Compass Curriculum - begins January again for the next cycle in January

Thank You for Listening!

I am so grateful to you for tuning into this episode of Connection Matters Podcast. This is my passion and where I share my hope for a better world. If you enjoyed what you heard, please consider subscribing, rating, and reviewing the podcast on your preferred platform. Your support helps us reach more listeners and spread the message of connection, healing and growth!

Stay Connected:

• Join the Community: Be part of our growing community by signing up for my newsletter here. You'll receive updates on new episodes, resources, and exclusive offers!
• Read the Blog for all the actionable tips, journal prompts and a deeper read of my thoughts and perspectives on connected self-leadership.
• Follow Me: Stay inspired and connected on social media: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn , Pintrest
• Connect with Me: Have thoughts or questions about the episode? I'd love to hear from you! Reach out at connection@leonajohnson.life. I always respond.
• Find out more about working with me here.

Upcoming Events:

• Don't miss out on upcoming workshops, courses, or events! Stay informed by visiting the website here for more details for details.

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What if the crossing from one year to the next isn't meant to be rushed through with resolutions and champagne, but honoured as a sacred threshold where transformation actually happens?

In this special New Year's Eve episode, I'm inviting you into something different—a ceremonial journey to honour the Year of the Snake (2025) and welcome the Year of the Horse (2026). This isn't your typical podcast episode. This is a guided threshold experience for anyone who feels the weight of what this past year asked of them and is ready to step into the new year with intention, clarity, and authentic purpose.

We explore why liminal spaces are where real transformation happens, how to witness your year without judgement, and the power of release ceremonies to let go of what you're no longer meant to carry. I share insights about working with the snake's teaching of descent and shedding, and how the horse is now calling us to rise, reclaim our direction, and move with bold action towards what our spirits have been longing for.

Drawing from my decade of ceremonial training and work as an ecotherapist and life coach, this episode offers a complete threshold practice—from witnessing what was, to releasing what's done, to calling in what's ready to be born. Whether you're a heart-centred entrepreneur, nature connection practitioner, or simply someone seeking everyday spirituality and connected self-leadership, this ceremonial journey is for you.

Ready to go deeper? Read the full blog post for expanded insights, written practices, and a blessing for the crossing. Visit https://www.leonajohnson.life/resources for free downloads including the Purpose Foundations guide to support your journey into 2026.

Thank You for Listening!

I am so grateful to you for tuning into this episode of Connection Matters Podcast. This is my passion and where I share my hope for a better world. If you enjoyed what you heard, please consider subscribing, rating, and reviewing the podcast on your preferred platform. Your support helps us reach more listeners and spread the message of connection, healing and growth!

Stay Connected:

• Join the Community: Be part of our growing community by signing up for my newsletter here. You'll receive updates on new episodes, resources, and exclusive offers!
• Read the Blog for all the actionable tips, journal prompts and a deeper read of my thoughts and perspectives on connected self-leadership.
• Follow Me: Stay inspired and connected on social media: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn , Pintrest
• Connect with Me: Have thoughts or questions about the episode? I'd love to hear from you! Reach out at connection@leonajohnson.life. I always respond.
• Find out more about working with me here.

Upcoming Events:

• Don't miss out on upcoming workshops, courses, or events! Stay informed by visiting the website here for more details for details.

View Details

Key Themes We Explore:

• The thread that's been there all along – What my children taught me about the essence that never changes, and how you can recognise yours (even when life has layered stories and trauma on top of it)
• Why growth doesn't always look like comfort – The question Mary Oliver asks that changes everything, and what it takes to rock the boat when life is ticking along just fine
• The surprising research about what actually predicts our happiness – And why we're not finding the support we need in the places we've been told to look
• What a client discovered on her personal fire quest – Sally's story of transformation and what became possible when she stopped doing it alone

Want the full depth? Head to the blog post where I share three tangible practices you can use at this threshold moment, the complete client story that will inspire you, and the research findings that explain why connection matters more than you think.

Resources Mentioned:* Purpose Foundations training (£27) – mentioned in the episode * One-to-one coaching (£97 introductory session) – details in the blog post

Call to Action:This threshold moment is asking something of you. The question is: are you ready to answer? Listen now, then dive into the blog for the full journey.

Thank You for Listening!

I am so grateful to you for tuning into this episode of Connection Matters Podcast. This is my passion and where I share my hope for a better world. If you enjoyed what you heard, please consider subscribing, rating, and reviewing the podcast on your preferred platform. Your support helps us reach more listeners and spread the message of connection, healing and growth!

Stay Connected:

• Join the Community: Be part of our growing community by signing up for my newsletter here. You'll receive updates on new episodes, resources, and exclusive offers!
• Read the Blog for all the actionable tips, journal prompts and a deeper read of my thoughts and perspectives on connected self-leadership.
• Follow Me: Stay inspired and connected on social media: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn , Pintrest
• Connect with Me: Have thoughts or questions about the episode? I'd love to hear from you! Reach out at connection@leonajohnson.life. I always respond.
• Find out more about working with me here.

Upcoming Events:

• Don't miss out on upcoming workshops, courses, or events! Stay informed by visiting the website here for more details for details.

View Details

In this deeply personal episode, I take you on the journey of a fire quest—an ancient ceremonial practice where you sit with fire through the night in prayer and reflection. You'll discover what fire teaches us about unwavering commitment, letting go of what no longer serves, and the courage it takes to stop playing small and step fully into your calling.

Key Themes and Topics:In this episode, we explore:

• What a fire quest actually is and why fire is one of the most powerful teachers available to us
• Three profound lessons that emerged from my night beside the flames about commitment, transformation, and stepping into your calling
• The raw truth about what happens when you confront your excuses in the firelight
• How ancient ceremonial practices inform modern connected self-leadership
• Honouring the legacy of those who open paths for us

If you've been holding back, dimming your light, or waiting for permission to step into your purpose, this episode will challenge and inspire you. Whether you're standing at a threshold or simply curious about what ceremony and nature connection can offer, you'll leave with a clearer sense of what it means to stop playing small.

Want to go deeper? Read the full blog post for three actionable practices to work with fire's wisdom this week, plus the complete story of my fire quest experience.

Call to Action:After listening, head to my website to read the full blog post with three actionable practices you can use to work with fire's wisdom this week. You'll also find free resources including guided meditations, connection practices, and insights to support your journey of connected self-leadership and everyday spirituality.

Thank You for Listening!

I am so grateful to you for tuning into this episode of Connection Matters Podcast. This is my passion and where I share my hope for a better world. If you enjoyed what you heard, please consider subscribing, rating, and reviewing the podcast on your preferred platform. Your support helps us reach more listeners and spread the message of connection, healing and growth!

Stay Connected:

• Join the Community: Be part of our growing community by signing up for my newsletter here. You'll receive updates on new episodes, resources, and exclusive offers!
• Read the Blog for all the actionable tips, journal prompts and a deeper read of my thoughts and perspectives on connected self-leadership.
• Follow Me: Stay inspired and connected on social media: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn , Pintrest
• Connect with Me: Have thoughts or questions about the episode? I'd love to hear from you! Reach out at connection@leonajohnson.life. I always respond.
• Find out more about working with me here.

Upcoming Events:

• Don't miss out on upcoming workshops, courses, or events! Stay informed by visiting the website here for more details for details.

View Details

Ever feel like you just can't be bothered? When even the things you love feel exhausting and the idea of change feels overwhelming? This episode reveals why that feeling isn't a character flaw, it's actually a sign that you're in the sacred space between who you've been and who you're becoming.

Key Themes & Topics:In this deeply honest conversation, we explore the patterns of transformation that show up for heart-centered entrepreneurs and anyone on a personal growth journey. You'll discover how to recognise when "I can't be bothered" is actually your intuition signaling that change is needed, and why autumn and winter amplify these feelings of resistance.

We dive into the compassionate practice of watching yourself avoid, without shame, and the powerful questions that create genuine shifts in perspective. Learn how to move from awareness into aligned action through connected self-leadership practices that honour your timing while preventing the kind of stuckness that leads to burnout.

This episode weaves together everyday spirituality, nature connection wisdom, and practical life coaching tools to help you navigate resistance with self-compassion. Whether you're avoiding a big decision, feeling disconnected from work you once loved, or sensing that something needs to change but can't quite name it—this conversation offers a framework for understanding what's happening and how to move through it.

Perfect for conscious entrepreneurs, spiritual seekers, and anyone who's ever felt stuck between knowing what needs to shift and actually making it happen.

Call to Action:Read the full blog post with additional insights and actionable practices at: www.leonajohnson.life/blog

Ready to get clear on your unique purpose and values? Download the Purpose Foundations guide and explore other free resources to support your transformation at: https://www.leonajohnson.life/resources

Thank You for Listening!

I am so grateful to you for tuning into this episode of Connection Matters Podcast. This is my passion and where I share my hope for a better world. If you enjoyed what you heard, please consider subscribing, rating, and reviewing the podcast on your preferred platform. Your support helps us reach more listeners and spread the message of connection, healing and growth!

Stay Connected:

• Join the Community: Be part of our growing community by signing up for my newsletter here. You'll receive updates on new episodes, resources, and exclusive offers!
• Read the Blog for all the actionable tips, journal prompts and a deeper read of my thoughts and perspectives on connected self-leadership.
• Follow Me: Stay inspired and connected on social media: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn , Pintrest
• Connect with Me: Have thoughts or questions about the episode? I'd love to hear from you! Reach out at connection@leonajohnson.life. I always respond.
• Find out more about working with me here.

Upcoming Events:

• Don't miss out on upcoming workshops, courses, or events! Stay informed by visiting the website here for more details for details.

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In this episode, we dive deep into the transformative power of grief work and ritual practices that reconnect us to our wild souls and the natural world. John shares his journey from investment banking to becoming a spiritual translator and grief ritualist, drawing on teachings from influential figures like Robert Bly, Michael Mead, Malodoma Some, and Martin Prechtel.

We explore why unexpressed grief manifests as exhaustion and addiction in our lives, and how traditional cultures understood that grief needs tending, witness, and community. You'll discover the practice of making offerings to the sun and other nature-based rituals that help us remember our reciprocal relationship with the Earth. We discuss the importance of rites of passage and meaningful initiation in a culture that lacks these essential markers of transition and belonging.

This conversation illuminates how men's work and emotional expression are reshaping masculinity, why storytelling and myth matter for cultural healing, and practical ways to integrate ceremonial practices into everyday life without falling into consumer spirituality. Whether you're navigating a transition, feeling disconnected from nature, or seeking deeper meaning in your daily life, this episode offers both wisdom and actionable practices for reconnecting with what matters most.

JOHNS COACHING WEBSITE

JOHNS GRIEF CEREMONIES WEBSITE

📍 If this conversation stirr something in you about clarifying your own direction (what truly matters, where you're going, and what you're here to do) my Purpose Foundations mini-course £27, might be exactly what you need. In under 90 minutes, you'll reconnect with your values, envision the world you want to help create, and define your unique mission. It's a structured process to uncover your own answers, designed for the thoughtful, heart-led person who's at a crossroads and craving clarity. Investment: £27

Thank You for Listening!

I am so grateful to you for tuning into this episode of Connection Matters Podcast. This is my passion and where I share my hope for a better world. If you enjoyed what you heard, please consider subscribing, rating, and reviewing the podcast on your preferred platform. Your support helps us reach more listeners and spread the message of connection, healing and growth!

Stay Connected:

• Join the Community: Be part of our growing community by signing up for my newsletter here. You'll receive updates on new episodes, resources, and exclusive offers!
• Read the Blog for all the actionable tips, journal prompts and a deeper read of my thoughts and perspectives on connected self-leadership.
• Follow Me: Stay inspired and connected on social media: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn , Pintrest
• Connect with Me: Have thoughts or questions about the episode? I'd love to hear from you! Reach out at connection@leonajohnson.life. I always respond.
• Find out more about working with me here.

Upcoming Events:

• Don't miss out on upcoming workshops, courses, or events! Stay informed by visiting the website here for more details for details.

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This episode explores the importance of connected self-leadership during times of transformation and uncertainty. We dive into why feeling fear is essential rather than something to push down, how contraction shows up when we're afraid, and why focusing only inward disconnects us from the interconnected web of life. I'll guide you through practical exercises for clarifying your values, crafting a personal vision grounded in everyday spirituality, and discovering your unique mission. Drawing on concepts from Joanna Macy's Great Turning and systems theory, we explore how breakdown precedes breakthrough, and why your individual vision contributes to collective transformation. This is for heart-centered entrepreneurs, conscious leaders, and anyone seeking personal growth through nature connection and community. Whether you're experiencing eco-anxiety, economic uncertainty, or simply feeling called to step into your highest potential, this episode offers tools for life coaching yourself through fear and into inspired action.

Call to Action:Ready to get clear on your own vision and values? Head over to my blog page at https://www.leonajohnson.life/blogpodcast to download your values, vision and mission prompts OR purchae my complete Purpose Foundations Course for £27 so that you can get crystal clear on your priorities, your vision for the world and your personal mission. Sign up for my mailing list to stay connected and receive tools for connected self-leadership and everyday spirituality delivered straight to your inbox.

Thank You for Listening!

I am so grateful to you for tuning into this episode of Connection Matters Podcast. This is my passion and where I share my hope for a better world. If you enjoyed what you heard, please consider subscribing, rating, and reviewing the podcast on your preferred platform. Your support helps us reach more listeners and spread the message of connection, healing and growth!

Stay Connected:

• Join the Community: Be part of our growing community by signing up for my newsletter here. You'll receive updates on new episodes, resources, and exclusive offers!
• Read the Blog for all the actionable tips, journal prompts and a deeper read of my thoughts and perspectives on connected self-leadership.
• Follow Me: Stay inspired and connected on social media: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn , Pintrest
• Connect with Me: Have thoughts or questions about the episode? I'd love to hear from you! Reach out at connection@leonajohnson.life. I always respond.
• Find out more about working with me here.

Upcoming Events:

• Don't miss out on upcoming workshops, courses, or events! Stay informed by visiting the website here for more details for details.

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Brief Overview:
In this episode of Connection Matters, Annette Knopp shares her transformative journey from restlessness and spiritual searching to embodied awakening and authentic connection. Together, we explore how to navigate inner wounds, avoid spiritual traps, and cultivate a life grounded in belonging, purpose, and meaning.

Key Themes & Topics:

• Recognising authentic spiritual guidance versus spiritual bypassing
• How early life experiences shape our seeking and patterns
• Staying with the dark nights of the soul as a path to growth
• The four pillars of true connection: belonging, purpose, transcendence, and narrative
• Integrating inner healing with spiritual practice to live fully human
• Relationships as mirrors for awakening and wholeness

Whether you’re exploring everyday spirituality, connected self-leadership, or simply seeking a more meaningful, embodied life, this conversation offers both wisdom and practical reflections for your own journey.

Call to Action:
If this episode resonates with you, head to my blog post for a deeper dive into Annette’s story, insights, and reflection prompts. You can also access a range of free resources to support your own journey toward alignment and connection here: https://pages.leonajohnson.life/true-north

Connect with Annette and pre-order her book here: https://www.annetteknopp.com/book

Thank You for Listening!

I am so grateful to you for tuning into this episode of Connection Matters Podcast. This is my passion and where I share my hope for a better world. If you enjoyed what you heard, please consider subscribing, rating, and reviewing the podcast on your preferred platform. Your support helps us reach more listeners and spread the message of connection, healing and growth!

Stay Connected:

• Join the Community: Be part of our growing community by signing up for my newsletter here. You'll receive updates on new episodes, resources, and exclusive offers!
• Join the Connection Matters Membership: Join at anytime. Monthly Live Calls. Connection, Coaching and Community. Click here for more info.
• Follow Me: Stay inspired and connected on social media: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn , Pintrest
• Connect with Me: Have thoughts or questions about the episode? I'd love to hear from you! Reach out at connection@leonajohnson.life. I always respond.

Upcoming Events:

• Don't miss out on upcoming workshops, courses, or events! Stay informed by visiting the website here for more details for details.

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Hugh shares his personal journey from emotional numbness to wholeness, revealing how patriarchal conditioning restricts men's emotional capacity while perpetuating cycles of trauma. We discover the quiet revolution of men choosing love over competition, the importance of men's groups in creating profound brotherhood, and why foundational healing work often needs to happen in same-gender spaces first. This conversation challenges us to move beyond victim-perpetrator narratives and recognize our shared humanity in the journey toward personal growth, heart-centered leadership, and spiritual connection.

In This Episode, We Explore:

• The Hidden Cost of Patriarchal Conditioning - How the same system that oppresses women also conditions men out of happiness, restricts their emotions, and creates widespread emotional numbness
• Hugh's Personal Transformation - From being able to feel only anger to developing the full spectrum of emotions, and what that journey of healing looks like in practice
• The Quiet Revolution - Why there's a growing movement of men choosing love and service over competition and aggression, and how this impacts families and communities
• Why Men Need Men First - The importance of same-gender healing spaces and how men's groups create profound brotherhood that supports authentic masculinity
• Moving Beyond Simple Narratives - How to shift from victim-perpetrator dynamics to seeing the complex humanity in everyone's healing journey
• The Ripple Effect of Healing - How one person's inner work creates waves of transformation that touch everyone around them
• Practical Pathways - Resources and approaches for men seeking healing community, from initiation work to ongoing men's groups

Key Insights:

• Men are "really deeply longing to serve the world" but often operate from survival mode due to restrictive conditioning
• The revolution toward love and service is "much quieter" but "really strong" and felt in families and communities
• Men doing healing work among other men first helps them access "the beauty and strength and love of my masculine"
• "The world of love is here for all of us" and starts with learning to love ourselves

About Hugh Newton: Hugh has been facilitating men's healing work for 28 years through organisations like the Mankind Project and his own Sovereign's Journey program. He works with men in their 40s and beyond, helping them move from survival mode to authentic service and love.

Resources Mentioned:

• The Mankind Project
• Sovereign's Journey (Hugh's 10-month program for men 40+)
• Journeyman (initiation work for teenage boys)
• Hugh's one-on-one mentoring for men

Connect with Hugh: https://www.thesovereignsjourney.co.uk

Ready to explore more? Read the full blog post on my website and join me for a FREE Masterclass: "Designing a Life Aligned with Your True North"

Thank You for Listening!

I am so grateful to you for tuning into this episode of Connection Matters Podcast. This is my passion and where I share my hope for a better world. If you enjoyed what you heard, please consider subscribing, rating, and reviewing the podcast on your preferred platform. Your support helps us reach more listeners and spread the message of connection, healing and growth!

Stay Connected:

• Join the Community: Be part of our growing community by signing up for my newsletter here. You'll receive updates on new episodes, resources, and exclusive offers!
• Join the Connection Matters Membership: Join at anytime. Monthly Live Calls. Connection, Coaching and Community. Click here for more info.
• Follow Me: Stay inspired and connected on social media: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn , Pintrest
• Connect with Me: Have thoughts or questions about the episode? I'd love to hear from you! Reach out at connection@leonajohnson.life. I always respond.

Upcoming Events:

• Don't miss out on upcoming workshops, courses, or events! Stay informed by visiting the website here for more details for details.

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In this episode, we explore what it really means to live authentically in a world full of expectations. I'll take you behind the scenes of my unconventional choices: why I converted a van and how it became my sanctuary during challenging times, why I've invested in coaches and mentors for over 14 years straight, and how I've never worked a full-time job in my entire career.

We dive deep into the courage required for connected self-leadership, the philosophy of "enough" versus endless accumulation, and why conscious choices aren't selfish - they're actually deeply generous. You'll discover practical ways to identify where you might be living from "shoulds" instead of authentic choice, and how to start designing a life that reflects your deepest values.

This isn't about copying my exact choices - it's about finding the courage to create your own version of conscious living. Perfect for heart-centred entrepreneurs, conscious parents, and anyone feeling successful on paper but sensing something's still missing.

Ready to dive deeper into conscious living?

Start with myFREE 15 Minute Video Guided Life Compass Assessment to discover exactly where you're thriving versus where you might be living reactively across 8 essential life areas.

Then join me for my free masterclass "Designing a Life Aligned to Your True North" on Wednesday, 6th August at 10:30am, where I'll share the exact framework for making aligned decisions from your whole self.

Read the full blog post on my website and explore all my free resources at https://www.leonajohnson.life/blogpodcast

Thank You for Listening!

I am so grateful to you for tuning into this episode of Connection Matters Podcast. This is my passion and where I share my hope for a better world. If you enjoyed what you heard, please consider subscribing, rating, and reviewing the podcast on your preferred platform. Your support helps us reach more listeners and spread the message of connection, healing and growth!

Stay Connected:

• Join the Community: Be part of our growing community by signing up for my newsletter here. You'll receive updates on new episodes, resources, and exclusive offers!
• Join the Connection Matters Membership: Join at anytime. Monthly Live Calls. Connection, Coaching and Community. Click here for more info.
• Follow Me: Stay inspired and connected on social media: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn , Pintrest
• Connect with Me: Have thoughts or questions about the episode? I'd love to hear from you! Reach out at connection@leonajohnson.life. I always respond.

Upcoming Events:

• Don't miss out on upcoming workshops, courses, or events! Stay informed by visiting the website here for more details for details.

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In this honest episode, I take you inside our family's summer experiment and share the practical wisdom I've learned about staying connected to yourself and your children when everything feels unstructured and intense.

Key Themes and Topics:We explore why self-care isn't selfish but essential for summer survival, how to create anchoring practices that ground you when routines disappear, and finding the sweet spot between structure and spontaneity that allows real connection to flourish. I share personal stories about navigating summer transitions, managing expectations, and what happens when you're spending more time together in less structured ways. You'll discover practical strategies for conscious parenting, connected self-leadership, and creating space for both yourself and your children to thrive during the long summer days. We also dive into the gift of boredom, releasing the myth of perfect summers, and how the way we parent creates ripples that extend far beyond our immediate family.

Call to Action:Ready to create your own summer survival plan?

Sign up for the 15 Minute Life Compass Assessment Here

Head to my website to read the full blog post and explore my free resources at https://www.leonajohnson.life/resources where you can take the Life Compass Assessment—a beautiful pause to recalibrate and get clear on where you are and where you want to go in all areas of your life.

Thank You for Listening!

I am so grateful to you for tuning into this episode of Connection Matters Podcast. This is my passion and where I share my hope for a better world. If you enjoyed what you heard, please consider subscribing, rating, and reviewing the podcast on your preferred platform. Your support helps us reach more listeners and spread the message of connection, healing and growth!

Stay Connected:

• Join the Community: Be part of our growing community by signing up for my newsletter here. You'll receive updates on new episodes, resources, and exclusive offers!
• Join the Connection Matters Membership: Join at anytime. Monthly Live Calls. Connection, Coaching and Community. Click here for more info.
• Follow Me: Stay inspired and connected on social media: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn , Pintrest
• Connect with Me: Have thoughts or questions about the episode? I'd love to hear from you! Reach out at connection@leonajohnson.life. I always respond.

Upcoming Events:

• Don't miss out on upcoming workshops, courses, or events! Stay informed by visiting the website here for more details for details.

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In this deeply moving episode, I share a story about my recent video call with Noorhan, a 25-year-old mother in Gaza, and explore how personal healing work and collective action are inseparably connected. We'll journey through the cost of speaking truth in today's world, the magic that happens when we gather in solidarity circles, and why your sensitivity isn't weakness—it's exactly what the world needs. Learn practical ways to stay present with collective trauma, find your authentic response to injustice, and join a community committed to connected action.

Please donate to Noor and her family using this link here.

This isn't about prescribed activism—it's about discovering your own path to integrity and resistance through deep self-leadership and heart-centered connection.

Follow Me on Facebook Or Instagram to find out about the Solidarity Session where we will come together to

Join the mailing list to find out first about the Solidarity Sessions to join a co-working session to take small actions together like writing letters to our representatives, sharing petitions, contacting the weapons manufacturers, design a personal cermeony or any other such action that you feel would be more meaningful done together.

Thank You for Listening!

I am so grateful to you for tuning into this episode of Connection Matters Podcast. This is my passion and where I share my hope for a better world. If you enjoyed what you heard, please consider subscribing, rating, and reviewing the podcast on your preferred platform. Your support helps us reach more listeners and spread the message of connection, healing and growth!

Stay Connected:

• Join the Community: Be part of our growing community by signing up for my newsletter here. You'll receive updates on new episodes, resources, and exclusive offers!
• Join the Connection Matters Membership: Join at anytime. Monthly Live Calls. Connection, Coaching and Community. Click here for more info.
• Follow Me: Stay inspired and connected on social media: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn , Pintrest
• Connect with Me: Have thoughts or questions about the episode? I'd love to hear from you! Reach out at connection@leonajohnson.life. I always respond.

Upcoming Events:

• Don't miss out on upcoming workshops, courses, or events! Stay informed by visiting the website here for more details for details.

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https://www.leonajohnson.life/blogpodcast/staying-awake-without-shutting-down

This isn't your typical Connection Matters episode, but it might be one of the most important conversations we'll have. I'm sharing how to navigate the collective trauma of witnessing genocide in real-time while staying connected to your own healing and capacity for meaningful action.

Key Themes and Topics:
We explore why witnessing collective trauma affects sensitive beings so deeply, practical ways to stay informed without drowning in despair, and sacred rituals for processing grief while maintaining hope. I share my personal experience working in Gaza, the historical context that helps us understand how we got here, and most importantly - how our individual healing work contributes to collective healing. We'll cover trauma-informed activism, the power of conscious connection over spiritual bypassing, and specific practices for staying grounded while bearing witness to injustice. This episode offers both the hard truths about what's happening in Palestine and concrete tools for transforming overwhelm into conscious action.

Call to Action:
If this episode resonated with you, please share it with others who need this message. Join me for our upcoming online circle for peace on July 13th, and visit my blog page at https://www.leonajohnson.life/staying-awake-without-shutting-down for all of the infomation I shared plus free tools to support your healing journey.
https://pages.leonajohnson.life/palestine-peace
Sign up for my mailing list to be the first to know about future gatherings and receive ongoing support for staying connected during difficult times.

Thank You for Listening!

I am so grateful to you for tuning into this episode of Connection Matters Podcast. This is my passion and where I share my hope for a better world. If you enjoyed what you heard, please consider subscribing, rating, and reviewing the podcast on your preferred platform. Your support helps us reach more listeners and spread the message of connection, healing and growth!

Stay Connected:

• Join the Community: Be part of our growing community by signing up for my newsletter here. You'll receive updates on new episodes, resources, and exclusive offers!
• Join the Connection Matters Membership: Join at anytime. Monthly Live Calls. Connection, Coaching and Community. Click here for more info.
• Follow Me: Stay inspired and connected on social media: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn , Pintrest
• Connect with Me: Have thoughts or questions about the episode? I'd love to hear from you! Reach out at connection@leonajohnson.life. I always respond.

Upcoming Events:

• Don't miss out on upcoming workshops, courses, or events! Stay informed by visiting the website here for more details for details.

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https://pages.leonajohnson.life/beyond-self-helpWhat does it look like to live in deep alignment, with nature, with purpose, and with your own inner compass? In this rich and nourishing conversation, Leona sits down with long-time friend, teacher, and collaborator Vicky Mateu, whose life’s work bridges spiritual ecology, parenting, nature connection, and embodied living.

Vicky brings a unique tapestry of training in emotional intelligence, oriental dietetics, grief tending, theatre, alternative education, and spiritual traditions. Her grounded yet luminous presence shines through in this conversation where she and Leona explore:

Living simply and sustainably while raising a family off-gridTrusting intuition and listening to life’s quiet invitationsFinding beauty in everyday moments as a spiritual practiceThe healing power of nature, stillness, and cyclical livingForest School, rites of passage, and soul-rooted facilitationFacing illness, challenge, and uncertainty with grace and trustReclaiming the forgotten wisdom of indigenous and ancestral ways

✨ Vicky is co-facilitator of both:

The Nature Quest, part of Leona’s year-long in-person Connection Matters Leadership ProgrammeThe Children, Nature and Spirituality weekend course, returning September 2025 in northern England.

This conversation is a gentle and powerful reminder that your body knows, the land speaks, and simplicity often holds the medicine we need most.

✨ Want to dive deeper?
Visit: www.leonajohnson.life/resources to explore more about the courses, podcast, and access free offerings.

And if you're ready to design a life aligned with your values, don’t miss Leona’s free masterclass:
"Beyond Self-Help: My Signature Life Compass Method to Transform Reactive or Scattered Living into Connected Self-Leadership."
👉 Watch it here

Thank You for Listening!

I am so grateful to you for tuning into this episode of Connection Matters Podcast. This is my passion and where I share my hope for a better world. If you enjoyed what you heard, please consider subscribing, rating, and reviewing the podcast on your preferred platform. Your support helps us reach more listeners and spread the message of connection, healing and growth!

Stay Connected:

• Join the Community: Be part of our growing community by signing up for my newsletter here. You'll receive updates on new episodes, resources, and exclusive offers!
• Join the Connection Matters Membership: Join at anytime. Monthly Live Calls. Connection, Coaching and Community. Click here for more info.
• Follow Me: Stay inspired and connected on social media: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn , Pintrest
• Connect with Me: Have thoughts or questions about the episode? I'd love to hear from you! Reach out at connection@leonajohnson.life. I always respond.

Upcoming Events:

• Don't miss out on upcoming workshops, courses, or events! Stay informed by visiting the website here for more details for details.

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Join me for an intimate exploration of how personal transformation creates ripples that touch every relationship, community, and space you enter. You'll discover practical tools for emotional awareness, authentic connection, and joyful learning that transform reactive patterns into connected self-leadership.

In this heart-centered episode, we dive deep into the interconnected web of personal growth, exploring how emotional resilience, meaningful relationships, and continuous learning support each other in beautiful, unexpected ways. I share the powerful RAIN practice for navigating difficult emotions, the art of deep listening that transforms relationships, and why approaching life with beginner's mind keeps us alive to possibility.

Through personal stories and practical wisdom, we explore how emotions serve as messengers rather than problems to solve, how authentic vulnerability creates the foundation for nourishing relationships, and why lifelong learning isn't about collecting credentials but about staying curious and open-hearted. You'll discover how your inner work becomes your greatest contribution to cultural healing and regenerative living.

Perfect for heart-led entrepreneurs, nature connection practitioners, conscious parents, and anyone seeking to move from scattered reactivity to purposeful, connected self-leadership.

Ready to transform reactive living into connected self-leadership? Join my FREE masterclass "Beyond Self-Help: The Life Compass Method for Transforming Reactive or Scattered Living into Connected Self-Leadership and discover the framework that's helping hundreds create lives of deeper meaning and authentic connection.

https://pages.leonajohnson.life/beyond-self-help

Thank You for Listening!

I am so grateful to you for tuning into this episode of Connection Matters Podcast. This is my passion and where I share my hope for a better world. If you enjoyed what you heard, please consider subscribing, rating, and reviewing the podcast on your preferred platform. Your support helps us reach more listeners and spread the message of connection, healing and growth!

Stay Connected:

• Join the Community: Be part of our growing community by signing up for my newsletter here. You'll receive updates on new episodes, resources, and exclusive offers!
• Join the Connection Matters Membership: Join at anytime. Monthly Live Calls. Connection, Coaching and Community. Click here for more info.
• Follow Me: Stay inspired and connected on social media: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn , Pintrest
• Connect with Me: Have thoughts or questions about the episode? I'd love to hear from you! Reach out at connection@leonajohnson.life. I always respond.

Upcoming Events:

• Don't miss out on upcoming workshops, courses, or events! Stay informed by visiting the website here for more details for details.

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In this inspiring episode, you'll learn how to design your own nature quest ceremony - whether you have four hours or four days - and discover how this ancient practice becomes a gateway to connected self-leadership and integrated living.

Join me as I share intimate stories from my own questing journey, including my transformative 40th birthday solo ceremony and facilitating wild women in the Spanish wilderness. We explore the art of asking powerful questions that invite real insight, how to prepare for and hold sacred space in nature, and the crucial integration practices that bring the gifts of the land into your daily life.

You'll discover why nature connection practices like questing become even more powerful when they're part of a complete framework for designing an authentic, aligned life. We dive deep into the difference between managing life reactively and creating it consciously, and how developing your personal compass through ecotherapy and everyday spirituality supports connected self-leadership in all areas of life.
Perfect for heart-centered entrepreneurs, conscious professionals, and anyone seeking to move beyond scattered living into integrated wholeness while staying connected to the web of life.

Ready to create your own nature quest ceremony?

Discover how this practice fits into a larger framework for conscious living by downloading my FREE masterclass "Beyond Self-Help: The Life Compass Method for transforming reactive or scattered living into Connected Self-Leadership.

https://pages.leonajohnson.life/beyond-self-help

[https://pages.leonajohnson.life/beyond-self-help]

Thank You for Listening!

I am so grateful to you for tuning into this episode of Connection Matters Podcast. This is my passion and where I share my hope for a better world. If you enjoyed what you heard, please consider subscribing, rating, and reviewing the podcast on your preferred platform. Your support helps us reach more listeners and spread the message of connection, healing and growth!

Stay Connected:

• Join the Community: Be part of our growing community by signing up for my newsletter here. You'll receive updates on new episodes, resources, and exclusive offers!
• Join the Connection Matters Membership: Join at anytime. Monthly Live Calls. Connection, Coaching and Community. Click here for more info.
• Follow Me: Stay inspired and connected on social media: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn , Pintrest
• Connect with Me: Have thoughts or questions about the episode? I'd love to hear from you! Reach out at connection@leonajohnson.life. I always respond.

Upcoming Events:

• Don't miss out on upcoming workshops, courses, or events! Stay informed by visiting the website here for more details for details.

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So many of us feel caught between two extremes—trying to enjoy the present moment while also feeling pressure to figure out the future. In this heartfelt and practical episode, I dive into the deeper reasons traditional goal-setting often leaves us feeling stuck or unfulfilled, and why cultivating a “Life Compass” rooted in your values and purpose can be far more empowering than rigid life plans.

We explore how vision and purpose are not the same—and how understanding both can help you feel more alive, focused, and connected to what truly matters. I share personal stories, spiritual insight, and practical tools you can use to begin designing a life that feels spacious, purposeful, and joyfully aligned.

🌀 Key Themes & Topics Discussed:
Why traditional life planning often leads to burnout or dissatisfaction

The difference between vision and purpose—and why you need both

The Life Compass model: a flexible, values-led way to navigate life

Balancing your sacred masculine and feminine energies in action

The importance of everyday spirituality and embodied practice

How to move forward when you’re stuck—even if you’ve done “all the right things”

Building resilience through connection with self, others, and the more-than-human world

Call to Action:
Feeling the pull to explore this more deeply? Read the related blog post on my website, and if you're ready to start creating your own Life Compass, sign up for my free:
https://www.leonajohnson.life/blogpodcast/finding-your-true-north-why-life-design-matters-more-than-life-planningLife Compass Snapshot Assessment

And if this episode speaks to you, consider joining the Life Compass Curriculum, my 6-month journey into embodied, values-led life design. We begin again in July and I’d love to welcome you into the community.

Thank You for Listening!

I am so grateful to you for tuning into this episode of Connection Matters Podcast. This is my passion and where I share my hope for a better world. If you enjoyed what you heard, please consider subscribing, rating, and reviewing the podcast on your preferred platform. Your support helps us reach more listeners and spread the message of connection, healing and growth!

Stay Connected:

• Join the Community: Be part of our growing community by signing up for my newsletter here. You'll receive updates on new episodes, resources, and exclusive offers!
• Join the Connection Matters Membership: Join at anytime. Monthly Live Calls. Connection, Coaching and Community. Click here for more info.
• Follow Me: Stay inspired and connected on social media: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn , Pintrest
• Connect with Me: Have thoughts or questions about the episode? I'd love to hear from you! Reach out at connection@leonajohnson.life. I always respond.

Upcoming Events:

• Don't miss out on upcoming workshops, courses, or events! Stay informed by visiting the website here for more details for details.

View Details

What You’ll Discover
Join Leona and herbalist Jane as they explore the inspiring journey from speech therapy to a soul-led life of plant medicine, self-trust, and deep nature connection. Discover how everyday herbs, intuitive practices, and simple living can support personal growth and healing.
Key Themes and Topics
Jane’s transition from speech therapist to herbalist and entrepreneur

Early inspirations and her grandmother’s rose garden

The medicinal and spiritual dimensions of herbalism

Creating and working with flower essences like “Rebirth” (dandelion)

Practical and intuitive approaches to herbal tea tasting

The healing power of common herbs like nettle

Navigating life transitions with authenticity and intuition

The beauty of simple living and trusting your unique path

This episode offers a soulful blend of storytelling, embodied wisdom, and inspiration for anyone navigating change or seeking deeper connection—with themselves, their work, or the natural world.
🌿 Call to Action
Feeling inspired to reconnect with your purpose or explore your own relationship with the plant world? Dive deeper by reading the full blog post that accompanies this episode and explore Leona’s free resources to support your journey of soul-led leadership and nature connection
Blog Post
https://www.leonajohnson.life/blogpodcast/rooted-in-healing-how-one-womans-herbal-journey-inspires-authentic-living.
Jane Christie
Jane is a qualified Herbalist with over 40 years of herbal experience. Her passion is in connecting deeply with nature, the wisdom of herbs, flowers and of the earth. She has 2 online herbal courses, offers herbal and flower essence talks and workshops. She handmakes herbal teas, tinctures, creams and flower essences that you can purchase on her website, spiralsoul.co.uk. She also offers 1:1 herbal consultations in person and online. She has created the first Irish complete flower essence kit for therapists and kinesiologists. Her aim is to offer rooted inspiration and true natural healing in a world that really needs it.

Connect WIth Jane on:
Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/spiralsoulapothecary/
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/jane.christie.10
Website
https://www.spiralsoul.co.uk/when-flower-essences-healed-my-broken-heart/

Thank You for Listening!

I am so grateful to you for tuning into this episode of Connection Matters Podcast. This is my passion and where I share my hope for a better world. If you enjoyed what you heard, please consider subscribing, rating, and reviewing the podcast on your preferred platform. Your support helps us reach more listeners and spread the message of connection, healing and growth!

Stay Connected:

• Join the Community: Be part of our growing community by signing up for my newsletter here. You'll receive updates on new episodes, resources, and exclusive offers!
• Join the Connection Matters Membership: Join at anytime. Monthly Live Calls. Connection, Coaching and Community. Click here for more info.
• Follow Me: Stay inspired and connected on social media: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn , Pintrest
• Connect with Me: Have thoughts or questions about the episode? I'd love to hear from you! Reach out at connection@leonajohnson.life. I always respond.

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In this heartfelt episode, I share my personal journey through breakdown and the four essential practices that became my lifelines, helping you build your own resilience toolkit for life's inevitable challenges.

Key Themes and Topics
Join me as I explore the counterintuitive wisdom that our most painful breakdowns often contain hidden gifts, if we have the courage to move through rather than around our pain. I'll guide you through four life-saving practices: anchoring in personal rituals that reconnect you to yourself, activating your web of human connection when you need it most, refocusing your energy in constructive ways, and creating intentional containers for feeling your emotions fully. Through personal stories and science-backed insights, you'll discover how these practices not only help you survive difficult times but potentially emerge stronger and more authentic than before.

Call to Action:

Ready to build your resilience toolkit? Complete the FREE 5 minute- Life Compass assessment snapshot here.

Get clear on where you are, where you want to be, and what simple steps you can take to create more balance and resilience in every area of your life. And for a limited time receieve the FULL COMPREHENSIVE LIFE COMPASS CURRICULUM FOR FREE when you join the Connection Matters Membership Hub, which already includes live calls, and a supportive community that understands the journey of healing and growth.

Thank You for Listening!

I am so grateful to you for tuning into this episode of Connection Matters Podcast. This is my passion and where I share my hope for a better world. If you enjoyed what you heard, please consider subscribing, rating, and reviewing the podcast on your preferred platform. Your support helps us reach more listeners and spread the message of connection, healing and growth!

Stay Connected:

• Join the Community: Be part of our growing community by signing up for my newsletter here. You'll receive updates on new episodes, resources, and exclusive offers!
• Join the Connection Matters Membership: Join at anytime. Monthly Live Calls. Connection, Coaching and Community. Click here for more info.
• Follow Me: Stay inspired and connected on social media: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn , Pintrest
• Connect with Me: Have thoughts or questions about the episode? I'd love to hear from you! Reach out at connection@leonajohnson.life. I always respond.

Upcoming Events:

• Don't miss out on upcoming workshops, courses, or events! Stay informed by visiting the website here for more details for details.

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In this soul-nourishing episode, I share personal stories and practical wisdom for anyone feeling alone in their passion for connection, nature, and spirituality. You'll discover four powerful approaches to honor your path while navigating relationships with loved ones who may not understand your practices or interests.

Key Themes and TopicsExplore how to practice nature connection and everyday spirituality purely for yourself rather than trying to change others; learn strategies for finding and nurturing relationships with like-minded souls even when they're not in your immediate circle; discover how to become a culture creator who actively builds the community you wish existed; and understand why turning to the land itself can provide profound comfort when human connection falls short. This heart-centered guidance offers a framework for connected self-leadership that respects both your spiritual needs and your relationships with others who may be on different paths.

Call to ActionVisit my website for the companion blog post that dives deeper into these four approaches with additional stories and insights: [https://www.leonajohnson.life/blogpodcast/when-nobody-close-gets-your-connection-to-nature-and-spirituality-4-powerful-paths-forward]

For a limited time, access my Life Compass Curriculum FREE when you join the Connection Matters membership!

Explore my free resources page for additional support on your connection journey at leonajohnson.life/resources.

Thank You for Listening!

I am so grateful to you for tuning into this episode of Connection Matters Podcast. This is my passion and where I share my hope for a better world. If you enjoyed what you heard, please consider subscribing, rating, and reviewing the podcast on your preferred platform. Your support helps us reach more listeners and spread the message of connection, healing and growth!

Stay Connected:

• Join the Community: Be part of our growing community by signing up for my newsletter here. You'll receive updates on new episodes, resources, and exclusive offers!
• Join the Connection Matters Membership: Join at anytime. Monthly Live Calls. Connection, Coaching and Community. Click here for more info.
• Follow Me: Stay inspired and connected on social media: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn , Pintrest
• Connect with Me: Have thoughts or questions about the episode? I'd love to hear from you! Reach out at connection@leonajohnson.life. I always respond.

Upcoming Events:

• Don't miss out on upcoming workshops, courses, or events! Stay informed by visiting the website here for more details for details.

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We explore the four essential elements of sacred space - intention, connection, presence, and evolution - and I guide you through practical, heart-led ways to declutter, create meaningful rituals, and invite beauty into your home, no matter the size or stage of life you’re in.

Whether you're a soulful entrepreneur, a busy parent, or someone craving more everyday spirituality, this episode offers grounded inspiration and gentle practices to help you create space that nourishes your soul and supports your purpose.

Key topics include:

What sacred space really means (beyond crystals and cushions)

Simple rituals for clearing energetic clutter

How to create space that evolves with your life

Involving children or housemates in co-creating meaningful environments

How sacred space ripples into your relationships, work, and wellbeing

✨ You’ll walk away with ideas, journal prompts in the blog, and inspiration to begin creating—or deepening—the sacred spaces in your life.

🎁 Don’t forget to explore the related blog post

Thank You for Listening!

I am so grateful to you for tuning into this episode of Connection Matters Podcast. This is my passion and where I share my hope for a better world. If you enjoyed what you heard, please consider subscribing, rating, and reviewing the podcast on your preferred platform. Your support helps us reach more listeners and spread the message of connection, healing and growth!

Stay Connected:

• Join the Community: Be part of our growing community by signing up for my newsletter here. You'll receive updates on new episodes, resources, and exclusive offers!
• Join the Connection Matters Membership: Join at anytime. Monthly Live Calls. Connection, Coaching and Community. Click here for more info.
• Follow Me: Stay inspired and connected on social media: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn , Pintrest
• Connect with Me: Have thoughts or questions about the episode? I'd love to hear from you! Reach out at connection@leonajohnson.life. I always respond.

Upcoming Events:

• Don't miss out on upcoming workshops, courses, or events! Stay informed by visiting the website here for more details for details.

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Join me in exploring how simple intentional shifts can transform ordinary gatherings into powerful spaces of genuine connection and growth.

In this warm and engaging episode, we dive deep into the elements that make gatherings meaningful—whether in your home, community, or workplace. You'll learn how to create safety and structure, incorporate beauty and gratitude, and cultivate authentic sharing. Drawing from personal stories, everyday spirituality, and practical life coaching insights, I'll guide you step-by-step through hosting connective circles, family meals, or impactful work meetings. Whether you're a heart-centred entrepreneur, facilitator, or simply someone who longs for deeper community, this episode offers tangible tools and inspiration for your journey in connected self-leadership and ecotherapy.

For additional guidance and resources on creating meaningful gatherings, visit my website to explore the related blog and sign up for my mailing list to access your free guide and more soulful resources: www.leonajohnson.life/resources

FREE Peace, Empowerment and Cultural Emergence Workshop- 6th Mat, 6.30pm (BST) - https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/36xK4FcZRYSEWBaCm6Baqg#/registration

Thank You for Listening!

I am so grateful to you for tuning into this episode of Connection Matters Podcast. This is my passion and where I share my hope for a better world. If you enjoyed what you heard, please consider subscribing, rating, and reviewing the podcast on your preferred platform. Your support helps us reach more listeners and spread the message of connection, healing and growth!

Stay Connected:

• Join the Community: Be part of our growing community by signing up for my newsletter here. You'll receive updates on new episodes, resources, and exclusive offers!
• Join the Connection Matters Membership: Join at anytime. Monthly Live Calls. Connection, Coaching and Community. Click here for more info.
• Follow Me: Stay inspired and connected on social media: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn , Pintrest
• Connect with Me: Have thoughts or questions about the episode? I'd love to hear from you! Reach out at connection@leonajohnson.life. I always respond.

Upcoming Events:

• Don't miss out on upcoming workshops, courses, or events! Stay informed by visiting the website here for more details for details.

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Ever wondered what exactly "Cultural Emergence" means, and how it could make a tangible difference in your daily life? Join me, Leona Johnson, as we dive deeply into this powerful practice, exploring how intentional culture-making influences everything from our personal well-being to collective transformation. You'll learn about the essential role of vision, discover practical tools and principles for communicating authentically, and explore ways to embody this approach in everyday life and leadership. Together, we’ll imagine a culturally emergent day, discuss why shared language matters, and explore actionable frameworks—including the Design Web and the PEACE toolkit—to help you shape the life-enhancing culture you crave.

Warm, inspiring, and deeply practical, this episode offers you insights and reflections to support your journey toward connected self-leadership, everyday spirituality, and meaningful personal growth.

Call to Action:
✨ Ready to deepen your journey? Check out the full blog post for more insights and tools, and sign up for my mailing list to access free resources designed to support your path to Cultural Emergence and connected living.

Sign up to the FREE Peace, Empowerment and Cultural Emergence (PEACE) online workshop on 6th May at 6.30pm (BST).

Find out more about the in-person week long PEACE retreat that taking place in June this year here.

Thank You for Listening!

I am so grateful to you for tuning into this episode of Connection Matters Podcast. This is my passion and where I share my hope for a better world. If you enjoyed what you heard, please consider subscribing, rating, and reviewing the podcast on your preferred platform. Your support helps us reach more listeners and spread the message of connection, healing and growth!

Stay Connected:

• Join the Community: Be part of our growing community by signing up for my newsletter here. You'll receive updates on new episodes, resources, and exclusive offers!
• Join the Connection Matters Membership: Join at anytime. Monthly Live Calls. Connection, Coaching and Community. Click here for more info.
• Follow Me: Stay inspired and connected on social media: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn , Pintrest
• Connect with Me: Have thoughts or questions about the episode? I'd love to hear from you! Reach out at connection@leonajohnson.life. I always respond.

Upcoming Events:

• Don't miss out on upcoming workshops, courses, or events! Stay informed by visiting the website here for more details for details.

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This episode explores the transformative practice of connected self-leadership through journeying through the elements of presence and self-awareness as foundations for authentic leadership. Discover how to distinguish between the voice of fear and your inner wisdom, and learn how nature connection can strengthen your self-leadership practice. We explore the research behind mindful awareness, discuss how everyday choices become spiritual practice, and offer concrete strategies to integrate connected self-leadership into daily life. Perfect for heart-centered people, seeking everyday spirituality, and anyone ready to lead from the inside out rather than be guided by external expectations.

Ready to strengthen your inner compass?

Download a host of courses and free resources to continue your journey from my website. Click https://www.leonajohnson.life/resources to access these guides and join our community of conscious leaders cultivating deeper connection with themselves, others, and the natural world.

Thank You for Listening!

I am so grateful to you for tuning into this episode of Connection Matters Podcast. This is my passion and where I share my hope for a better world. If you enjoyed what you heard, please consider subscribing, rating, and reviewing the podcast on your preferred platform. Your support helps us reach more listeners and spread the message of connection, healing and growth!

Stay Connected:

• Join the Community: Be part of our growing community by signing up for my newsletter here. You'll receive updates on new episodes, resources, and exclusive offers!
• Join the Connection Matters Membership: Join at anytime. Monthly Live Calls. Connection, Coaching and Community. Click here for more info.
• Follow Me: Stay inspired and connected on social media: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn , Pintrest
• Connect with Me: Have thoughts or questions about the episode? I'd love to hear from you! Reach out at connection@leonajohnson.life. I always respond.

Upcoming Events:

• Don't miss out on upcoming workshops, courses, or events! Stay informed by visiting the website here for more details for details.

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Through storytelling, science, and practical wisdom, we’ll uncover:

✨ The unique lessons and energies each element offers
✨ Simple, everyday practices to integrate elemental connection into your life
✨ How tuning into the elements can bring clarity, balance, and renewal
✨ Why nature-based wisdom is essential for heart-centred living

By the end of this episode, you’ll have a fresh perspective on how these fundamental forces shape your personal journey and how to cultivate their presence in your daily life.

✨ Free Resource for You!
Want to dive deeper into elemental connection? Download my free Elemental Connection Guide with meditations, journaling prompts, and rituals for each element. Get it here: www.leonajohnson.life/resources

Thank You for Listening!

I am so grateful to you for tuning into this episode of Connection Matters Podcast. This is my passion and where I share my hope for a better world. If you enjoyed what you heard, please consider subscribing, rating, and reviewing the podcast on your preferred platform. Your support helps us reach more listeners and spread the message of connection, healing and growth!

Stay Connected:

• Join the Community: Be part of our growing community by signing up for my newsletter here. You'll receive updates on new episodes, resources, and exclusive offers!
• Join the Connection Matters Membership: Join at anytime. Monthly Live Calls. Connection, Coaching and Community. Click here for more info.
• Follow Me: Stay inspired and connected on social media: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn , Pintrest
• Connect with Me: Have thoughts or questions about the episode? I'd love to hear from you! Reach out at connection@leonajohnson.life. I always respond.

Upcoming Events:

• Don't miss out on upcoming workshops, courses, or events! Stay informed by visiting the website here for more details for details.

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By the end of this episode, you’ll walk away with fresh strategies to bring ease and clarity into even the busiest days.

Plus, don't miss the Flow with Nature: Daily Guide to Expanding Time and Focus . It's a FREE Nature-Based Time Management Guide to help you start a nature-connection practice that can reshape your days.

Check out the full write-up, blog post and show notes here.

Thank You for Listening!

I am so grateful to you for tuning into this episode of Connection Matters Podcast. This is my passion and where I share my hope for a better world. If you enjoyed what you heard, please consider subscribing, rating, and reviewing the podcast on your preferred platform. Your support helps us reach more listeners and spread the message of connection, healing and growth!

Stay Connected:

• Join the Community: Be part of our growing community by signing up for my newsletter here. You'll receive updates on new episodes, resources, and exclusive offers!
• Join the Connection Matters Membership: Join at anytime. Monthly Live Calls. Connection, Coaching and Community. Click here for more info.
• Follow Me: Stay inspired and connected on social media: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn , Pintrest
• Connect with Me: Have thoughts or questions about the episode? I'd love to hear from you! Reach out at connection@leonajohnson.life. I always respond.

Upcoming Events:

• Don't miss out on upcoming workshops, courses, or events! Stay informed by visiting the website here for more details for details.

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To dive deeper into these themes and explore detailed podcast notes inclduing more about Manda's new novel Any Human Power, check out my latest blog post here.

More about Manda Scott

Manda Scott is an award-winning novelist and host of the acclaimed Accidental Gods podcast. Best known for the Boudica: Dreaming series, her previous novels have been short-listed for the Orange Prize, the Edgar, Wilbur Smith and Saltire Awards and won the McIlvanney Prize. Her latest novel ANY HUMAN POWER is a Mytho-Political thriller which lays out a Thrutopian road map to a Flourishing future we’d be proud to leave to the generations that come after us. With degrees inveterinary medicine and a Masters in Regenerative Economics, Manda’s life is oriented towards creating radical new narratives that will pave the way to the total systemic change our culture and our world needs. Any Human Power is available for sale on Amazon. Readers can connect with Manda Scott on Facebook, Bluesky, Goodreads, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

To learn more, visit https://mandascott.co.uk/ and https://accidentalgods.life

Thank You for Listening!

I am so grateful to you for tuning into this episode of Connection Matters Podcast. This is my passion and where I share my hope for a better world. If you enjoyed what you heard, please consider subscribing, rating, and reviewing the podcast on your preferred platform. Your support helps us reach more listeners and spread the message of connection, healing and growth!

Stay Connected:

• Join the Community: Be part of our growing community by signing up for my newsletter here. You'll receive updates on new episodes, resources, and exclusive offers!
• Join the Connection Matters Membership: Join at anytime. Monthly Live Calls. Connection, Coaching and Community. Click here for more info.
• Follow Me: Stay inspired and connected on social media: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn , Pintrest
• Connect with Me: Have thoughts or questions about the episode? I'd love to hear from you! Reach out at connection@leonajohnson.life. I always respond.

Upcoming Events:

• Don't miss out on upcoming workshops, courses, or events! Stay informed by visiting the website here for more details for details.

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In this episode you’ll learn practical tools like journaling prompts, nature-based practices, and rituals for release—all designed to help you navigate and transform inherited patterns with compassion and intention. We also explore ways to tap into the strengths and wisdom of your lineage, turning ancestral connection into a source of healing.

Tune in for an inspiring conversation that invites you to reconnect with your roots and step into your fullest potential.

And don’t forget to check out our FREE DOWNLOADABLE.pdf that offers further guidance, practices, and journaling exercises. Download it now and begin your journey of transformation!

Thank You for Listening!

I am so grateful to you for tuning into this episode of Connection Matters Podcast. This is my passion and where I share my hope for a better world. If you enjoyed what you heard, please consider subscribing, rating, and reviewing the podcast on your preferred platform. Your support helps us reach more listeners and spread the message of connection, healing and growth!

Stay Connected:

• Join the Community: Be part of our growing community by signing up for my newsletter here. You'll receive updates on new episodes, resources, and exclusive offers!
• Join the Connection Matters Membership: Join at anytime. Monthly Live Calls. Connection, Coaching and Community. Click here for more info.
• Follow Me: Stay inspired and connected on social media: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn , Pintrest
• Connect with Me: Have thoughts or questions about the episode? I'd love to hear from you! Reach out at connection@leonajohnson.life. I always respond.

Upcoming Events:

• Don't miss out on upcoming workshops, courses, or events! Stay informed by visiting the website here for more details for details.

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To read more about the episode read the full blog post here.

• Jon Young’s personal journey into nature connection and cultural mentoring
• The influence of Indigenous communities like the Bushmen of the Kalahari
• The impact and legacy of Jon’s mentor, Tom Brown Jr., and his teachings on peace, love, joy, and purpose.
• The role of sensory integration and emotional regulation in human wellbeing
• Community gatherings as a pathway to building resilience and connection
• The five sacred questions of Cultural Emergence as tools for transformation
• Practical insights and tips for integrating nature connection into everyday life

Tune in to learn more about how to deepen your connection with yourself, your community, and the natural world, and find out how you can bring these transformative practices into your life.

Thank You for Listening!

I am so grateful to you for tuning into this episode of Connection Matters Podcast. This is my passion and where I share my hope for a better world. If you enjoyed what you heard, please consider subscribing, rating, and reviewing the podcast on your preferred platform. Your support helps us reach more listeners and spread the message of connection, healing and growth!

Stay Connected:

• Join the Community: Be part of our growing community by signing up for my newsletter here. You'll receive updates on new episodes, resources, and exclusive offers!
• Join the Connection Matters Membership: Join at anytime. Monthly Live Calls. Connection, Coaching and Community. Click here for more info.
• Follow Me: Stay inspired and connected on social media: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn , Pintrest
• Connect with Me: Have thoughts or questions about the episode? I'd love to hear from you! Reach out at connection@leonajohnson.life. I always respond.

Upcoming Events:

• Don't miss out on upcoming workshops, courses, or events! Stay informed by visiting the website here for more details for details.

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In this inspiring and enriching conversation Leona and Looby talk about the Model of The Eight Shields and how following the natural patterns of flow from daily and seasonal, to life stages and their corresponding energies, can create the optimum conditions for connection, healing and growth. Using this model powerful fields of connection and emergence can occur. They discuss how entering these environments where encouragement, authenticity, joy and deep connection are designed as part of the foundational premise, can completley reset our nervouse system and enable us to return to everyday life at home resourced with tools and the deeply embodied experience of healthy culture and community.

They discuss highlights from the PEACE (Peace, Empowerment and Cultural Emergence) programme that they run together as well as the amazing Art of Mentoring training camps that they have been part of and the Nature Culture Connection camp where they will be co-facilitaing in one of the guilds this August.

Is it possible to actually live the dream? Is it possible to be so in tune with the feelings in your body that you have another way of truly knowing? They believe so.

It is difficult not to be swept up into the field of passion and the beauty of the energy of collaboration between Leona and Looby.

Happy Listening.

Connect with Leona

Support us on Patreon

Work with Leona - Find Out More- One-to-one life coaching, Life Compass Quest online life desion programme and live in-person events

Connect with Leona on Instagram

Podcast Music by Ray Johnson

Guest Links

Find out more about Looby at Applewood Permaculture Centre here

And about Cultural Emergence here

BOOK ONTO THE PEACE COURSE HERE- 18th-23rd June 2024

BOOK ONTO THE NATURE CULTURE CONNECTION CAMP HERE - 4th-10th August 2024

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Things we talk about in this episode

• Working with Men, We can be vulnerable, i can thrive in relationships,
• Boarding school trauma
• Life in a monastery- Falling apart and putting self back together again
• Mens work- Andy’s man club- it's ok to speak.
• The Work- Folsom Prison-
• Vulnerability is a super power.
• By talking we give permission for others to talk.
• Initiation
• Robert Blye- manhood doesn’t happen by itself.
• Mankind Project- Charity- Rites of Passage- Online and in person. - Bill Couth- Founder
• 70-80 000 men have been initiated.
• A band of Brother’s- 18-24 year olds who’ve been in care or prison
• Journey Man- Rites of Passage.
• Explorer Scouts- depends on the leaders.
• Coyotes Guide- Jon Young.
• Robert Moore- Inititation.- Safe space, ritual elder, challenge or humiliation
• Initiation Cycle/process
• Crisis
• Grief Process
• Reintegration
• Where the wound is is where you will give back to society
• What can we do?
• King, warrior, magician, lover

Connect with Leona

Support us on Patreon

Leona Johnson -One-to-one connection mentoring with Leona plus online or in-person events

Connect with me on Instagram

Live Wild website

Live Wild Instagram

Podcast Music by Ray Johnson

Guest Links

http://www.piers-cross.com

Men’s circle

Videos on You tube- attachment trauma

Podcast An evolving man

Biography

I am a transformational coach specializing in working with men who feel stuck in their relationships. I also help men overcome and heal from trauma, boarding school issues, anxiety, depression, sleep problems, and live a happier and more fulfilled life.

I am also an artist, a poet and a musician.

I went to boarding school from ages 11-18. It was an exceptionally challenging time. I changed my name to Simon and then Ziggy Cross. I lost a friend to suicide, a teacher attempted to sexually abuse me and I tried to take my own life. On the surface I was a success. Underneath I was hurting.

I then trained in International Business at universities in France and London. I worked for several Fortune 500 companies in Paris and London.

In 1997, while in London, I started on an internal journey and started to study meditation and different self-healing paradigms.

In 2000, I suffered burnout through a combination of my father passing, and leaving my long-term relationship. Essentially, I became homeless for a few months. I eventually left London to work in Africa helping volunteers.

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Things we talk about in this episode

• How the mainstream medical establishment is opening to integrative medicine
• 5 Ways to wellbeing- New Economic Foundation
• Phil Hammond-What causes your health issues.
• CLANGERS Connect-Learning-Active-Noticing-Gratitude-Eating well-Resting-Sleeping
• Nature as a way to better health
• Green social prescribing
• Psychedelics- history
• Psychedelic assisted therapy
• Psychedelic well-being retreats

Connect with Leona

Support us on Patreon

Leona Johnson -One-to-one connection mentoring with Leona plus online or in-person events

Connect with me on Instagram

Live Wild website

Live Wild Instagram

Podcast Music by Ray Johnson

Biography and Links

Dr Duncan Still is a doctor, an educator and a group facilitator currently working across multiple sectors. As well as being a GP, he is an Integrative Doctor for both the National Centre for Integrative Medicine (a national body specialising in the delivery of integrative healthcare education and services) - https://ncim.org.uk/ - and for Penny Brohn UK (a charity which provides holistic support to anyone affected by cancer) https://www.pennybrohn.org.uk/

He has a particular interest in promoting nature as a way to health and is currently involved in a national project with NHS England and Natural England to help support GPs in bringing nature-based wellness into patients' lives.

He also works with the Psychedelic Health Professionals' (PHP) Network as Academic Director and Retreat Facilitator. He is now mostly involved in their education work, designing/delivering courses for medical students, entry-level courses for members of the public and spearheading PHP's flagship educational offering: the 1-yr Psychedelic Facilitation Education Programme. For more info https://psychedelicnetwork.org.uk/

He is a lover of Nature and Food and tries to bring both together as often as possible through foraging and picnicking!

https://ncim.org.uk/

https://www.pennybrohn.org.uk/

https://psychedelicnetwork.org.uk/

View Details

Things we talk about in this episode

Many different ways to breath

Breath as a way to access pure presence and consciousness.

Many health and wellbeing benefits to breathing

The rise in awareness due to breathwork and technology and lockdown

A way to help us come back to our essence and connect to ourselves as natural beings, one with life.

Out of body experiences.

Creative collaborations of breath and music- drum and bass.

Trauma release.

The reality of living in a disconnected culture that doesn't teach us to feel connected to ourselves and our inner wisdom.

Water emersion and breath.

Weekly breath sessions online.

Connect with Leona

Support us on Patreon

Leona Johnson -One-to-one connection mentoring with Leona plus online or in-person events

Connect with me on Instagram

Live Wild website

Live Wild Instagram

Podcast Music by Ray Johnson

Guest Links

https://www.thesacredbreath.co.uk/about

Biography

Kerry has been connected with rebirthing breathwork since 1993 and is a certified practitioner with two different schools. She now focuses now on embodiment practices such as Internal Family Systems and Eugene Gendlin’s Focusing, using a trauma informed approach. Kerry is a trainer with AIR School of Breathwork and Alchemy of Breath, guiding & supporting students through deep personal processes to achieve a qualification in breathwork facilitation. She loves sharing the healing power of the breath with others, by holding retreats, weekly online group sessions, 1:1 sessions, and her deepest love, warm water rebirthing.

Kerry also co-founded and is the festival director of the UK’s first Breathwork Festival which is an annual event started in 2018, celebrating all kinds of breathwork. Kerry’s very grounded nature holds a very safe space for breather(s), holding them in their highest potential and being committed to the unfolding of each person’s own journey which of course is guided perfectly by our breath.

Kerry has recently been voted in as the National Representative for the UK with the International Breathwork Foundation, and is a practitioner member of the Global Professional Breathwork Association. She holds much gratitude for all her teachers along her path, but more so her Auntie Lynn Veitch who has been a breathwork practitioner for nearly 40 years.

Transforming unusual spaces into areas where arts can meet, inform and inspire people of all backgrounds, ages and cultures has been in Kerry’s calling from very early on. This passion for creating spaces for people to connect and inspire continued with work that sees Kerry producing an area of Glastonbury Festival for the last decade.

Kerry has also been fortunate to have experienced & trained in Focusing, EFT & Co-Active Coaching & TRE.

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Things we talk about in this episode

• Living at Earth worm- radical routes housing co-op.
• Humans as interdependent beings.
• Radical Routes- National Network of intentional communities.
• The importance of supportive Networks
• Mother Nature Project- International Project- Mother Nature Card Decks and Mother Nature Circles- Personal growth.
• A global need for gathering on circles for connection, healing and growth.
• Mother Nature Journey Course. Women coming together to learn and self-facilitate.
• Mother Nature Podcast.
• Mothers as Natural Leaders.
• Nature Connection at the heart
• Cultural Emergence Courses.
• Global Community and Shared values.
• Being on the land in Applewood - magical space.
• A CEED OF PEACE Personal Empowerment Programme.
• Applewood permaculture project

Links mentioned in this episode

Please support us on patreon here- www.patreon.com/connectionmatterspodcast

If you are interested in any of the projects I’m involved in or are interested in one-to-one mentoring with me or joining my online or in-person courses then click the links below for more information.

https://linktr.ee/connection.matters.leona

I love to connect with people on my personal instagram here

https://www.instagram.com/connection.matters.leona/

Our website is www.livewild.org.uk/connectionmatterspodcast

Connect with us on instagram https://www.instagram.com/livewilduk/

The music for this podcast is -Hermosa Dia by Ray Johnson

Ray Johnson

Emmas links

Courses

Leading Mother Nature Circles FREE Online Course With Emma & Looby starts 18th April

Mothers as Natural Leaders Course at Applewood with Looby & Emma 16th-17th September 2023

Mothers As Natural Leaders Course 2023 – Applewood Courses

A CEED of PEACE Course with Looby & Leona June 2023- June 2024

A CEED of PEACE Year Long Programme – Applewood Courses

PEACE - Peace Empowerment And Cultural Emergence Course 8th-13th August with Looby & Leona

Peace Course – Peace Empowerment And Cultural Emergence 2023 – Applewood Courses

ACE - Activating Cultural Emergence Course with Looby 30th June - 2nd July

Activating Cultural Emergence – ACE 2023 – Applewood Courses

Websites

Applewood Courses – Regenerating lifestyles, landscapes and livelihoods

https://cultural-emergence.com/

Mother Nature Homepage — Mother Nature

https://www.radicalroutes.org.uk/

Biography
Emma has had a varied career working for organisations supporting and creating community projects working for positive social and environmental change in the UK, including the Permaculture Association, a Women’s Centre and delivering Children and Young People's activities for borough councils. Since 2011 she has been living and working at Earthworm Housing Co-op, Herefordshire UK helping to develop their housing and land to be more environmentally sustainable where she also began her exciting mothering journey. In 2018 she joined Looby Macnamara working for Applewood Permaculture Centre. In her spare time Emma volunteers widely in her village , is on a learning journey of Cultural Emergence and is nourished by gardening, cooking vegan food and nature connection practices All these threads both manifest and feed Emma's continuing passion for creating community resilience to climate change and social inequality and bringing about positive social change

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• What is NVC?
• A consciousness, a mindset, way of being
• Compassion and connection
• Pactical tool- listening, open questions
• Clear and simple structure to help us communicate with curiosity and compassion
• Marshall Rosenburg talked about it as a spiritual practice
• A choice a way I live life
• Ahimsa- sanscrit- non-violence - a=absence of -violence
• NVC a tool of social change
• NVC being used in Bosnia, Palestine, Israel, Prisons, Rwanda.
• National group - nvc trainers for conflict within NVC community
• Restorative justice
• Conflict brings a message, not everyones needs are met, is natural and normal,
• NVC for Connection and change

Links mentioned in this episode

www.sarahludford.co.uk

www.nvc-uk.com

www.cnvc.org

PEACE (peace, empowerment and cultural emergence) Course - https://applewoodcourses.com/uk_courses/peace-retreat-2022/

The Art of Mentoring UK- https://artofmentoring.life/

Please support us on patreon here- www.patreon.com/connectionmatterspodcast

Join the connection matters podcast mailing list here.

I love to connect with people on my personal instagram here https://www.instagram.com/connection.matters.leona/

Our website is www.livewild.org.uk/connectionmatterspodcast

Connect with us on instagram https://www.instagram.com/livewilduk/

The music for this podcast is -Hermosa Dia by Ray Johnson https://www.soundcloud.com/visionray

Biography

Sarah is a certified trainer of Nonviolent Communication and works with individuals, families and organisations to increase compassion, understanding and connection.

Sarah was a founder member of the NVC UK Conflict Transformation Weave, and draws on her lived experience of co-creating a restorative system in a large cohousing project in the North of England. Website: www.sarahludford.co.uk

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Things we talk about in this episode

• Everyone has what it takes inside them to become a song sharer
• The realisation that everyone can sing including me
• Singing needs to be for everybody
• Vision for a world in which everybody sings
• What a singing circle is like
• The voice- X factor gives us the idea we are or not a singer
• The power of the effect on children
• Sense of unity thats created by groups
• Word magic in song
• Sue Heart- Baka Beyond- singing alive-complex rhythms
• No Baka person ever said I can’t sing
• Survival skills- singing
• Singing helps in rehab centres- activities in healing- mental health and wellbeing programmes
• Research on the benefits of singing
• Taking parts of songs and putting them together creates something unique.
• Would we survive without singing?
• Mental health crisis-
• Cali White- The burning times- witches - we keep ourself small
• Tamara Jade- Song

Links mentioned in this episode

To find out more about Singing Mamas click

https://www.singingmamaschoir.com/

To get more info on Live Wild Soul Sounds Singing in Nature Retreat click

https://www.livewild.org.uk/live-wild-soul-sounds-singing-retreat/

Please support us on patreon here- www.patreon.com/connectionmatterspodcast

I love to connect with people on my personal instagram here https://www.instagram.com/connection.matters.leona/

Our website is www.livewild.org.uk/connectionmatterspodcast

Connect with us on instagram https://www.instagram.com/livewilduk/

The music for this podcast is -Hermosa Dia by Ray Johnson https://www.soundcloud.com/visionray

Biography

Kate Valentine is founder and network director of Singing Mamas CIC

Kate is a registered nurse who has grown and developed the Singing Mamas movement for over a decade, reaching thousands of women. She is gifted in nurturing people, noticing the unique gifts in each woman, teasing them out, allowing people to feel their worth, find their voice and take their place as a leader.

Kates passion for singing and for songs continually deepens as the years roll on.. she feels that she is meerly scratching the surface of the treasures.. if the natural state of voices, songs and singing were woven into the fabric of our human experience.. we would recognise singing truly is for our survival.

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Things we talk about in this episode

• The Journey from disconnection to nature connection
• Pivotal moments of change and how they show up
• The Art of Mentoring
• Eight Shields Community a culture of nature connection
• Mentoring
• Conscious Eldering- James Stark- living from deep compassion and joy
• Our struggles to be human beings
• Regenerative Design in Nature Awareness RDNA
• Weaving Earth School
• Deep nature connection
• Cultural elements
• Rites of passage, Grief tending, Ancestors, Fire Quests
• How to be in relationship
• Integration
• Sacred Fire
• Jon Young
• Gratitude Ceremony
• Forest Therapy Guide Training
• People who have had a healing connection in nature and want to bring that to others.
• The long Journey of coming home to self
• The pain of living in a disconnected culture when you've had a vision of how things can be different
• Culture can shift in our life time

Links we mention in this episode

Information about all of my events is here

Please support us on patreon here-https://www.patreon.com/connectionmatterspodcast

To find out more about the yearlong deep nature connection and culture repair program Bringing it Home (based on the 8 shields model) visit here

You can also find out about the lighter touch 8 Shields course Ecological Homecoming here, which focuses on the core routines of deep nature connection that are mapped onto each of the 8 directions, also co-hosted by Sky and Peter.

For more resources on the 8 Shields there is a free video mini series you can sign up for here here, there are carousel images for each direction on instagram, and you can watch free sample videos of Jon Youngs/the 8 Shields Institute 512 project here

The training program Sky talks about its here- https://weavingearth.org/about-us/

https://www.facebook.com/WeavingEarth/community

Our website is https://www.livewild.org.uk/connectionmatterspodcast

I love to connect with people on my personal instagram here; https://www.instagram.com/connection.matters.leona/

Connect with us on instagram https://www.instagram.com/livewilduk/

The music for this podcast is -Hermosa Dia by Ray Johnson https://www.soundcloud.com/visionray

Biography

Sky- Maria Buitenhuis has extensive experience supporting people to deepen their connection to nature, including our own inner nature as part of the larger natural landscape. She is the co-founder of GIFT (Global Institute of Forest Therapy) and the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy. Aswell as designing and directing the organizations training programs, she has personally trained and mentored 100s of people to follow their passions of becoming forest therapy guides. She is currently the co-host for the Bringing it Home program, a yearlong journey of deep nature connection and culture repair based on the 8 Shields model.

As a nature connection guide, she draws on her trainings as a Work-That-Re-Connects (as founded by Joanna Macy) and an 8-Shields (a pan-cultural model for deep nature connection and cultural repair) facilitator as well as many other influences and her own on-going personal journey of remembering and embodying her most enlivened natural state of being, and continues to actively learn from indigenous cultures and wisdom-keepers,.
As a facilitator, her passion is to offer people the experience of 'coming home', that is remembering that as a human we are embedded in this complex and infinitely diverse web of life on our beautiful planet Earth. She is deeply moved and nourished by supporting and witnessing others having this embodied, innately human, experience of returning home to wholeness.

Within her nature connection work she also has a deep passion for supporting women's journeys of returning to the wisdom of their bodies through teaching fertility awareness/natural family planning and womb wellness.

Sky loves to get elemental! What makes her feel most vital is communing with the Earth in various ways, such as wild-crafting with her hands, tracking animals, wild swimming and sitting quietly and listening out on the land. She really enjoyed getting her Level 2 Track & Sign cybertracker evaluation with the San people in Namibia. She also loves to dance, to sing and catch songs, and reading and writing poetry.

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Links mentioned in this episode

Helpers Mentoring Society Links

https://www.helpersmentoringsociety.net/

https://www.instagram.com/helpersmentoring/

https://www.facebook.com/helpersmentor

https://helpersmentoringsociety.mykajabi.com/bisonproject

Our website is www.livewild.org.uk/connectionmatterspodcast

My personal instagram is https://www.instagram.com/connection.matters.leona/

Support us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/connectionmatterspodcast

Connect with us on instagram https://www.instagram.com/livewilduk/

The music for this podcast is -Hermosa Dia by Ray Johnson https://soundcloud.com/visionray

Biography

Salvatore has 30 years of mentoring and delivery of nature-based therapies and wellness practices. He has expert knowledge and experience in both ancient indigenous and modern therapies. His focus is on techniques which increase well-being for individuals, families, and communities. He has created a codified therapeutic method drawn from experiences and knowledge. Salvatore has designed and taught over sixteen courses based on this methodology and has presented these courses and seminars in 12 countries, to over 27 different cultures.Salvatore Gencarelle is the founder and current director of Helpers Mentoring Society, an international organization dedicated to supporting the revitalization of humanity’s relationship with hope and purpose, so that all life thrives.

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Things we talk about in this episode

• The Womens mysteries
• Jane Hardwick Collins- Moon Song
• Birth as a portal- rites of passage
• How we as women manifest things
• Blood mysteries
• Welcome at the thresholds.
• Women In Power- Predator within
• Wild Power
• Cycles of life
• Working with the current
• Honouring and recognising the potency to take time to process, dream, vision.
• Working with the energies
• Mothers and Daughters Initiations
• Wounded past
• Samsara tanner- Doula-grandmother
• The beauty of initiation
• Moon Lodge
• Menopause the mother of all reckonings
• Its anti-carcinogenic to have a hot flush! Di we know this is an essential process?
• Min mya- under the quandong tree- aboriginal wisdom
• Autumn women, harvest queen
• The red school- learning to work with the menstrualone cycle
• Take one's own being as a place of study

Links mentioned in this episode

• https://www.findingself.co.uk/
• https://janehardwickecollings.com/
• https://www.redschool.net/about
• https://www.consciousbirthing.co.uk/users/samsara-tanner
• Our website is www.livewild.org.uk/connectionmatterspodcast
• Connect with us on instagram https://www.instagram.com/livewilduk/
• My personal instagram is https://www.instagram.com/leona.connection.matters/
• The music for this podcast is -Hermosa Dia by Ray Johnson https://soundcloud.com/visionray

Biography

I am the mother of three lovely and very energetic children. I’m grateful to be living in a loving and supportive community where I find nourishment for my dreams and vision.

I am passionate about nourishing our connection to inner wisdom and natural energy. I have more than seventeen years experience as an acupuncturist which you can read about here - www.acupuncturesussex.co.uk.

This website is to share with you my path working with practices that serve the renewal of connection to life, inspired by my training with teachers from diverse contemporary and indigenous traditions. I am truly grateful for my years of study with Acupuncture, Traditional Chinese medicine and movement practices as a pathway to a lifelong interest in healing and an exploration into what that really means.

The first thread that took me from working exclusively with acupuncture and bodywork and beginning to explore honouring rites of passage and recognising the value of attending to our cycles was working with birth as a doula. This was a real doorway for me and a personal initiation into finding out more about my vision in life.

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Things we talk about in this episode

• Why are there certain groups who are not connected?
• Jon's story about family and connection observations
• Research project-
• Tom Brown jar- Apache teacher
• San Bushmen of the Kalihari- oldest Culture on the planet- the cradle of connected culture
• Common Elements of connection
• Gratitude Customs
• Connection Practices
• Creation of The Art of Mentoring
• Connection is a different pathway to cognitive development/learning
• 64 Cultural Elements of connection
• Ingwe- Master /Elder Acomba- Bushmen
• Jen Wolfe
• Embodied experiences
• Looby's way into People and Permaculture
• Is there enough of us?
• One person can do so much
• Small actions big outcomes
• Activating hope
• Cultural Emergence Effective Design (CEED)

Links mentioned in this episode

https://cultural-emergence.com/

https://www.jonyoung.online/

https://loobymacnamara.com/

https://applewoodcourses.com/

https://artofmentoring.life/

http://8shields.org/

Our website is www.livewild.org.uk/connectionmatterspodcast

Connect with us on instagram https://www.instagram.com/livewilduk/

My personal instagram is https://www.instagram.com/leona.connection.matters/

The music for this podcast is -Hermosa Dia by Ray Johnson

Ray Johnson

Biography

Jon Young
Jon Young is the founder of the 8 Shields Institute. He is an acknowledged expert on mentoring especially with respect to deep nature connection and culture. Jon was mentored himself by numerous Native Elders from traditional cultures of Europe, Africa and North America. He is also an inspirational storyteller who has been invited all over the planet to share his vision of a truly regenerative and peaceful world. Jon is author of What the Robin Knows, and co-author of Coyote's Guide to Connecting with Nature. .
www.8Shields.org

Looby Macnamara
Looby Macnamara is a pioneer of permaculture and co-founder of Cultural Emergence.
She is an author, facilitator, designer, gardener, mother. She has written 4 books; Cultural Emergence, People & Permaculture, 7 Ways to Think Differently and Strands of Infinity.
Looby has been deeply immersed in the permaculture movement since she came across it in 1999. She has been a trustee and chair of the Permaculture Association and is a senior diploma tutor. She has been teaching since 2002 and has run many courses including a dozen teacher trainings.
In 2016 Looby set up the Applewood Permaculture Centre with her family, where they run courses and grow food.
Looby is also part of the Mother Nature project - to support mothers in their process of personal transformation.

Jon and Looby

Jon and Looby have been collaborating since 2016. They have been working together to emerge new tools and wisdom with the Cultural Emergence toolkit. Looby also mentored the 8 Shields Institute in design. Jon and Looby have taught many courses together including Cultural Emergence Leadership Training, an online Cultural Emergence Design course and both the Activating Cultural Emergence (ACE) and Peace Empowerment And Cultural Emergence (PEACE) courses.

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Things we talk about in this episode

• How we are educated out of connection with the other than human world.
• The way language separates us
• Connective language
• Connective practices to deepen our relationships
• Relationships need to be tended
• Why we would want to open the channels of connection to plants and other beings
• Multi dimensional world
• St Johns Wort and traditional knowledge

Links mentioned in this episode

• http://klaudia.co.uk/
• www.patreon.com/connectionmatterspodcast
• Our website is www.livewild.org.uk/connectionmatterspodcast
• Connect with us on instagram https://www.instagram.com/livewilduk/
• My personal instagram is https://www.instagram.com/leona.connection.matters/
• The music for this podcast is -Hermosa Dia by Ray Johnson

Ray Johnson

Biography
Klaudia grew up at the edge of a village in the south of the Netherlands, considering the fields her playground. An urge to garden led to creating several small gardens around the house.

Doing a degree in Environmental Science after moving to the UK and having two daughters, brought things together and she realised she couldn’t think of anything better to do than work for the environment she loved and has continued to do ever since.

In addition to the degree, she did many trainings in the fields of business, permaculture, education & teaching, facilitation, management, sustainability skills and personal development.

She gathered many skills through training and practical experience: gardening, preserving, foraging, basketry, living willow structures, strawbale and cob building, bushcraft, herbal medicine and more.

Once she started on the permaculture path, she got hooked and also started teaching and consulting on permaculture. This led to a particular social permaculture interest.

In recent years she’s been involved with Extinction Rebellion, mostly focussing on regenerative cultures and deepening her curiosity for ceremony, herbal medicine and plant connection.

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Links mentioned in this episode

• https://www.globalsocialleaders.com/
• www.future-foundations.co.uk

• gslfest #gslgoals #smallactions #bigimpact

• Our website is www.livewild.org.uk/connectionmatterspodcast
• Connect with us on instagram https://www.instagram.com/livewilduk/
• My personal instagram is https://www.instagram.com/leona.connection.matters/
• The music for this podcast is -Hermosa Dia by Ray Johnson https://soundcloud.com/visionray

Biography

Future Foundations’ mission is to inspire young people to achieve their full potential and become leaders in their lives and within society. Our vision is a society where all organisations are led by socially conscious people, with every young person making the transition into adulthood with the foundations they need for their future.

Amy is a proactive person motivated by the desire to empower people to be able to develop the capacity and control over the direction of their lives. This lead to her studying for a Masters in Social Anthropology and the impact of different influences on how we construct meaning in our lives. Amy works to build the capacity of young people and communities here in the UK and overseas.

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Things we talk about in this episode

• The benefits of meditation for the different stages and ages of your family
• How and when to introduce meditation to kids
• The number one tool to come into the present moment and build mental and emotional wellbeing
• Discover how to respond versus react so you can become more present and engaged with your children
• The five parts to emotional overwhelm and triggers and how to unravel them so your needs get met and you take others off the hook
• How to build a safe emotional container and discover the gift in the centre of your difficult feelings

Links mentioned in this episode

Support us on Patreon- www.patreon.com/connectionmatterspodcast

Contact Keli- https://TheOtherSideofAverage.com

Keli's YouTube channel

Keli on Facebook

Our website is www.livewild.org.uk/connectionmatterspodcast

Connect with us on instagram https://www.instagram.com/livewilduk/

My personal instagram is https://www.instagram.com/leona.connection.matters/

Email Leona at practise- connectionmatterspodcast@livewild.org.uk

The music for this podcast is -Hermosa Dia by Ray Johnson

Ray Johnson

Biography

Keli is no stranger to mind, body and spirit awareness. She first started practising transcendent meditation at the age of six, when her mother took her to learn Transcendental Meditation® (TM®), she was re-certified at 25. Keli is a Chopra Center certified Transcendent Meditation (PSM®) instructor, Forgiveness Coach and Breathwork Practitioner.

Keli was recently featured as a guest speaker for The Embodiment Conference where I shared how meditation supports families and relationships to move closer to true fulfilment and happiness. Her commitment to maintaining her practice has allowed her to raise 3 beautiful children with mindfulness, overcome limiting self-concepts, heal her body of disease, accomplish pain-free childbirth and experience unity consciousness, yet Keli will be the first to attest that the practice is the path,fulfilment not the achievements.

Keli’s goal as a transformational coach is to help aware souls learn and master the three most essential tools that help align you with your soul’s purpose — your essential nature and the truest expression of yourself — all whilst healing and transcending past resentments and stories that have kept you stuck and in pain. It is then that you experience the miracles and fulfillment of life in every moment (especially during life’s inevitable obstacles). Keli is passionate about coaching women, youth and families all over the globe to feel confident, empowered and strong in the way they live their lives.

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Things we talk about in this episode

• How such words of clarity and insight come through
• Where the journey to a more spiritual perspective began
• Seeking connection and meaning
• Ingspacka- community- a place of seekers, healing, inspiring journeys, singing together sense of home.
• I’m not weird any more, people who are similar to me
• Finding a place where I was inspired welcome, home, a place personal discovery
• The feeling of coming back to ‘real life’ after feeling being in a connected community- feeling challenged by parents, society, everything
• The journey of coming home to self
• When the Songs started to come
• First song- Shedding skins
• The awakening journey
• Personal practices
• Life as a sensitive person
• Creating ceremony to manifest.- beauty-offerings- listening- gratitude
• The power of physically planting a seed and watering it.
• Trusting that all the forces are working in our favour
• The importance of putting the energy into what we create.
• Giving humility respect joy-
• If it is it in my highest good
• Devotee of the goddess
• Nordic folklore nordic shamanism - connected to the land
• Bringing our gifts to the world is a responsibility

Fia's music tracks in this episode

Shedding Skins - Made of Stars

Time for Greatness- Waterfall of Wisdom

Pheonix- Waterfall of Wisdom

Links mentioned in this episode

• Support us on Patreon - www.patreon.com/connectionmatterspodcast
• Our website is www.livewild.org.uk/connectionmatterspodcast
• Connect with us on instagram https://www.instagram.com/livewilduk/
• My personal instagram is https://www.instagram.com/leona.connection.matters/
• The music for this podcast is -Hermosa Dia by Ray Johnson https://soundcloud.com/visionray
• THIS IS FIA INTRO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_GoHtN66bM
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0MqfYdygGLnHjhmXc9yDeH
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/fiasmusicofficial
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thisisfiamusic
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisisfiamusic/
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisisfiamusic?source=h5_m
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnwes0uIL9yIobUL5Jo6Aew
• Website: https://fiasmusicofficial.com/
• The spiritual healing centre Fia mentions in the podcast- https://www.angsbacka.com/

Biography

Based in the countryside north of Stockholm, Fia Forsström (known mononymously as Fia) is a folk pop singer/songwriter who with her inspirational lyrics, empowering songs, and catchy melodies quickly enchanted hearts all over world with the release of her solo debut ”Made of Stars” in 2016 which was crowdfunded together with her fans. Building a solid platform through social media and word of mouth, Fia took her place as one of the leading voices on the motivational music scene with ”Legacy of Light” (2017) and ”Waterfall of Wisdom” (2019), both of them recorded and released with the help of her loving listeners.

Fia was born in 1994 in Kista, Sweden. She began playing the oboe and writing songs at the age of 10. During her teenage years she picked up the guitar and piano being part of different ensembles while attending the music program at Westerlundska High School. She released her solo debut ”Made of Stars” in 2016 independently with the support of fans, and in 2017 Fia garnered even more widespread acclaim with the follow up ”Legacy of Light”. At this point Fia was a known name in the personal development community and her star continued to rise with ”Waterfall of Wisdom” released in 2019 which wrapped up the acoustic album trilogy.

In 2020, her music was featured in a meditation app developed by the University of California Santa Barbara Center for Mindfulness and Human Potential, bringing her songs to high school students all over the US.

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Things we talk about in this episode

• Activating Cultural Emergence
• Eight Shields and Jon Young
• People and Permaculture
• Challenge and Awaken
• Connection Practices
• Move and invigorate
• There is no bin
• Disrupting patterns
• Challenge our conditioning to shift mindset.
• Designing for life from consciousness
• Who is this work for?
• What are the practical applications of it and outcomes when people start moving to this way of thinking and being?

Links mentioned in this episode

https://loobymacnamara.com

https://applewoodcourses.com/

https://cultural-emergence.com/

Support us by going to www.patreon.com/connectionmatterspodcast

Our website is www.livewild.org.uk/connectionmatterspodcast

Connect with us on instagram https://www.instagram.com/livewilduk/

My personal instagram is https://www.instagram.com/leona.connection.matters/

The music for this podcast is -Hermosa Dia by Ray Johnson https://soundcloud.com/visionray

Biography

I am a permaculture teacher, designer and writer. Permaculture came into my life in 1999 and awakened in me a creative life force. I have found it to be full of inspiration, magic and common sense. Permaculture has allowed me to meander on my own path supported by like-minded people, a sense of purpose and a belief that together we are bringing about positive change in the world.

One of the beauties of permaculture is that we can all use it in unique ways to enhance what we are doing already and to take us in new directions. To guide people in doing this I have written a book People & Permaculture which is the first permaculture book to look at how we can use the principles and design of permaculture in all aspects of life. The book emphasises how focusing on caring and designing for people can lead to greater and more effective planet care and repair.

In 2014 I published my second book 7 Ways to Think Differently. A concise and potent guide to shifting our personal and cultural thinking patterns towards more healthy regenerative ones.

I live in Herefordshire with my partner and two daughters. We have a stunning 20-acre smallholding – Applewood permaculture centre which is an education and demonstration centre. Most of my courses are run here. We have indoor accommodation and teaching spaces, as well as many diverse habitats including orchard, pasture, woodland, lake, gardens. Our home is also home to an abundance of birds including ravens and a parliament of owls that talk across the valley.

Since 2016 I have been working closely with Jon Young (founder of 8 Shields Institue) on the Cultural Emergence Project – finding news ways to facilitate cultural change. I have just released my latest book Cultural Emergence (available from https://cultural-emergence.com/)

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Things we talk about in this episode

• Remembering our ancestors and the rich tapestry that has gone before us.
• What practices support us when times are hard.
• How do people manage to uphold dignity and connection in times of extreme hardship
• Jordan hall, Jaimie Wheal -Self-organising networks
• Jem Bendel- We are in Climate crisis
• What is resiliency and how do we create it and maintain it in self and in society
• What is generosity of spirit
• Powerlessness, separation and scarcity- Miki Kashtan- Non-Violent Communication
• Gratitude
• Embracing power, leadership, integrity and opportunity NOW
• To be the right person, in the right place, at the right time
• I am the hollow bone
• Daniel Smatenburger- Rebel Wisdom- The first generation with the capacity for species self extinction
• Rivalry is the problem- we need cooperation, compassion.
• Politics- Same bus different driver- We need a new bus.
• We are facing extinctions
• How do we find our personal sovereignty
• Be more pirate - How to be more pirate
• Accidental God programme

Links mentioned in this episode

Manda's Website - https://mandascott.co.uk/

Manda's Podcast and Programme - https://accidentalgods.life/

Deep Adaptation Link- https://jembendell.com/

Reference to Jotrdan Hall and Jamie Wheal - https://medium.com/deep-code/situational-assessment-right-now-7d9856b562f5

Rebel Wisdom- Excellent Podcast - Daniel Schmachtenberger - https://rebelwisdom.co.uk/12-film-content/sensemaking-series/585-making-sense-of-sensemaking-daniel-schmachtenberger-jamie-wheal-jordan-hall

Song link- FIA- Shedding skins - https://open.spotify.com/track/7KRXr3joGNEmGy5jBM5hlY?si=UAOPwP7yRO604N7vJc0W0g

Our website is www.livewild.org.uk/connectionmatterspodcast

Connect with us on instagram https://www.instagram.com/livewilduk/

My personal instagram is https://www.instagram.com/leona.connection.matters/

The music for this podcast is -Hermosa Dia by Ray Johnson https://soundcloud.com/visionray

Biography

Born and raised in Scotland - and still a Scot at heart - Manda has been, variously, a veterinary surgeon, veterinary anaesthetist, acupuncturist (people and animals), crime writer, columnist, blogger, economist - and author. In between, she teaches shamanic dreaming, creative writing and concept-based dog training.

Poem Shared in the Intro

A blessing for Leaders- John O'Donohue

May you have the grace and wisdom

To act kindly, learning

To distinguish between what is

Personal and what is not

May you be hospitable to criticism.

May you never put yourself at the centre of things.

May you act not from arrogance but out of service.

May you work on yourself,

Building and refining the ways of the mind.

May you learn to cultivate the art of presence

In order to engage with those who meet you.

When someone fails or disappoints you,

May the graciousness with which you engage

Be their stairway to renewal and refinement.

May you treasure the gifts of the mind

Through reading and creative thinking

So that you continue as a servant of the frontier

Where the new will draw its enrichment of the old,

And you never become a functionary.

May you know the wisdom of deep listening

The healing of wholesome words,

The encouragement of the appreciative gaze,

The decorum of held dignity,

The springtime edge of the bleak question.

May you have a mind that loves frontiers

So that you can evoke the bright fields

That lie beyond the view of the regular eye.

May you have good friends

To mirror your blind spots.

May leadership be for you

A true adventure of growth.

John O'Donohue

View Details

Things we talk about in this episode

• How practices make a difference
• Breath embodiment, shamanism,
• How have practices changed during lockdown
• Life- No accidents, no blame, be with what is and let the wind blow through you and
• Many Paths to connection and relationship
• Products of our ancestors beliefs and world views
• How we stay in a space of non duality and connection
• The importance of presence and integrity
• Being present with self
• Those who look outside ........., those who look inside awaken
• Accepting all the parts of ourselves
• Forgiving ourselves
• What is breathwork
• Trauma and welcoming home the fragmented parts of ourselves
• Does this thought or action make me feel good, does it contribute to the whole
• We choose - Contraction and fear or openness and love

Links mentioned in this episode

www.patreon.com/connectionmatterspodcast

http://stephmagenta.com

www.facebook.com/integrativebreath

or www.instagram.com/integrativebreath

email: lifealchemytherapies@gmail.com

Our website is www.livewild.org.uk/connectionmatterspodcast

Connect with us on instagram https://www.instagram.com/livewilduk/

My personal instagram is https://www.instagram.com/leona.connection.matters/

The music for this podcast is -Hermosa Dia by Ray Johnson https://soundcloud.com/visionray

Biography

Steph Magenta is Breathwork Facilitator and Teacher, licensed bodywork therapist and qualified shamanic practitioner. She has a background in research and development in relation to addiction and substance misuse.

Her work has a strong focus on healing trauma using a wide range of somatic modalities, which she uses to guide each person or group she works with, to rediscover a strong sense of wellbeing and purpose in life. Her knowledge of detox and health is supported with over 20 years of running her own juice bars and healing centres.

A mother of three grown up children, Steph is committed to raising healthy human beings who value conscious communication and integral ways of living. She has worked extensively with plant medicines, shamanism and the breath to create lifelong healing for herself and her clients.

Steph’s practice upholds an embodied, grounded, and accessible approach to health and longevity. She has journeyed long and hard through many aspects of sexual and personal expression to return to the true wisdom of the heart.

Steph is an international retreats and events leader, one to one and group work facilitator; currently based in Glastonbury, UK.

View Details

Things we talk about in this episode

• The value of experiencing community and nature connection as a young adult
• USA- Interlocken- centre for experiential education
• Finding connection and healing. From lost teen to purposeful adult.
• Louise Chawla - Research on Significant life experiences
• Positive, meaningful and memorable experiences being a catalyst for change
• The importance of enthusiastic and significant adult mentors
• Collaboration as a driver for connection and community
• Having support/accountability but also autonomy
• The joy of writing childrens stories

Links mentioned in this episode

https://www.webekids.net/

www.patreon.com/connectionmatterspodcast

Our website is www.livewild.org.uk/connectionmatterspodcast

Connect with us on instagram https://www.instagram.com/livewilduk/

My personal instagram is https://www.instagram.com/leona.connection.matters/

The music for this podcast is -Hermosa Dia by Ray Johnson https://soundcloud.com/visionray

Biography

Danny lives happily in the North of England with his partner and daughter. He spent a lot of his early adulthood living and working at a centre of Experiential Education in the USA where he discovered the power of community living, nature connection and experiential Education. Danny studied Outdoor and Environmental Education at Liverpool University and founded the Outdoor Education Project CommuniTree, directing it up until spring 2020. When Covid hit Danny and his partner Annie started a nature-based wellbeing project called We Be Kids and are currently working on this to bring free nature-based online resources to children and families to help them build connections and boost wellbeing. Danny is also a children's author, storyteller, poet, spoon carver, birdwatcher, ultra-marathon runner and homeschool Dad.

View Details

Things we talk about in this episode

• Importance of politics in the whole of the idea of nature connection
• The journey from the indoors to the outdoors
• Last child in the woods
• The Collaboration of Outdoor Play Therapists conference
• Animal assisted therapy
• Children who show us the way.risk-averse
• Lessons from nature
• Ways to understand transitions and work through them
• Benefits of Risk
• Sanitisation of childhood - risk averse society
• When children roamed free
• Solitary play is important
• Children as teachers

Links mentioned in this episode

The collaboration of Outdoor Play Therapists https://cooptuk.com/

Email- cooptuk@gmail.com

Our website is www.livewild.org.uk/connectionmatterspodcast

Connect with us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/livewilduk/

My personal Instagram is https://www.instagram.com/leona.connection.matters/

The music for this podcast is -Hermosa Dia by Ray Johnson https://soundcloud.com/visionray

Biography

Ali Chown is a Play Therapist, Supervisor, Trainer and qualified and experienced Specialist Teacher for children and young people with complex BESD.

As a Play Therapist, Ali has worked with children and young people with complex behaviour, emotional and social needs (BESD), those who have experienced early childhood trauma and loss and have attachment difficulties and pupils with autism, language and communication and other complex special needs.

She is an experienced trainer and supervisor and has presented on ‘working in nature’ at the BAPT Annual Conference and Romanian Institute for Play and Drama Therapy and lectured on trauma and learning to teachers from the MYME Mobile Education Project in Myanmar (Burma).

Ali is one of the pioneers of play therapy in the outdoors. She has published two books, Play Therapy in the Outdoors (Kingsley, 2014) and The Practical Guide to Play Therapy in the Outdoors (Routledge, 2017). Ali also has two chapters in the forthcoming International Handbook or Play Therapy to be published this autumn. She is the director of Phoenix Play and the co-founder of COOPT which she now facilitates. Ali lives in Dorset where she loves being outdoors, connected to nature with sea swimming, just ‘being’ on the beach, walking, camping and gardening.

View Details

Things we talk about in this episode

• Connection to our lineage and ancestors
• How to live a more intentional life
• Choosing how we want to feel and that energy we want to create rather than being fixed on specific ideas
• The importance of being able to notice and name your needs and longings
• How we can evolve from the paradigm of right and wrong into a culture of curiosity and everyone's needs matter.
• No one changes their mind just because you tell them they are wrong or they should
• Knowing thet there are many others changing the way they think and act brings hope
• The importance of surrounding yourself with good people and positive news
• How good coaching and mentoring can accelerate your personal growth exponentially

Books mentioned in this episode
A guide to the good life- William B Irvine
https://www.williambirvine.com/books

Links mentioned in this episode
https://bethcreedon.co.uk/
Support us on Patreon- www.patreon.com/connectionmatterspodcast

Our website is www.livewild.org.uk/connectionmatterspodcast

Connect with us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/livewilduk/

My personal Instagram is https://www.instagram.com/leona.connection.matters/

The music for this podcast is -Hermosa Dia by Ray Johnson https://soundcloud.com/visionray

Biography

Beth worked in sustainable food for over a decade before starting and then selling an organic veg box delivery business with her husband.
She has been coaching professionally since 2009 and loves being part of the hugely inspiring conversation around connection, powerful communication and deep gratitude for all that life brings.
She has now created The Self Coach Experience. She teaches freedom seekers how to coach themselves, and enjoy their minds and lives.

Beth has coached hundreds of people over thousands of hours.

She coaches 1:1 and leads a three-month program called Mindcraft.

View Details

Things we talk about in this episode

• How do we create a nature connected culture
• Way of nature UK
• Free to learn- Peter grey
• The Visionaries- an organisation that creates nurturing school communities that support young people into healthy adulthood
• The way of council
• Adrian's old life living in London working towards having a porsh
• Engineering a village where he now lives in Tuscany
• Give up house and modern comforts for a simpler life
• Adventures
• Healthy community activities -Mens Groups, Womens groups, 5rhythms dancing, work sharing, community school
• The beauty of community the gifts of help, support
• The Net metaphor - everyone in community holds the net - when we need it the net can catch us and everyone else can hold it until you are well and able again.
• Need for digital detox
• Alternative primary school
• Mac Mcarthy The children fire
• More together than alone - Mark
• The riches and wealth to be found in the simple life

Books mentioned in this episode

• More Together than Alone- Mark Nepo
• Free To Learn - Peter Grey
• The Children Fire - MacCartney

Links mentioned in this episode

• https://www.evolvewellnesscentre.com
• http://wayofnature.co.uk
• https://thevisionaries.org.uk
• www.patreon.com/connectionmatterspodcast
• Our website is www.livewild.org.uk/connectionmatterspodcast
• Connect with us on instagram https://www.instagram.com/livewilduk/
• My personal instagram is https://www.instagram.com/leona.connection.matters/
• The music for this podcast is -Hermosa Dia by Ray Johnson https://soundcloud.com/visionray

Biography

Adrian Kowal – Adrian lives off-grid in southern Tuscany, Italy, where he is growing an intentional community. He is the co-founder of Way of Nature UK and is impassioned by the alchemical reaction of combining deep relaxation processes with Rites of Passage nature connection practices. He has trained and assisted in facilitating programmes with John P. Milton, and has been leading wilderness programmes for 7 years. Adrian is also a co-founder of The Visionaries, an organisation that creates nurturing school communities that support young people into healthy adulthood. Adrian co-founded and runs Evolve, a centre for growth and wellbeing in London, for 10 years and has deep knowledge of both urban and nature-based wellness practices.

View Details

Things we talk about in this episode

• Journey into Nature Connection
• Thomas Schorr-Kon- Trackways
• Wilderness Awareness School
• The Art of Mentoring
• The power of long term mentoring
• The Forest School Associations- Nature Premium Campaign
• FSC- Forest School Camps
• Red Squirrel Resources

Links mentioned in this episode

www.patreon.com/connectionmatterspodcast

https://redsquirrelresources.co.uk

http://www.cultivating-curiosity.co.uk

https://www.naturepremium.org

https://www.trackways.co.uk/home

Our website is www.livewild.org.uk/connectionmatterspodcast

Connect with us on instagram https://www.instagram.com/livewilduk/

My personal instagram is https://www.instagram.com/leona.connection.matters/

The music for this podcast is -Hermosa Dia by Ray Johnson https://soundcloud.com/visionray

Biography

Victoria has facilitated nature connection worldwide and brings her experience of working with the 8-shields model of regenerative design connecting people to themselves, to nature and to one another since 2006. Having been introduced to wilderness philosophy and survival skills at 12 years old, a passion for nature was ignited. With deep nature connection and mentoring being an ongoing thread throughout her teens, Victoria was lucky enough to do a variety of immersion trainings both in the UK and the USA.

“Through ancient scout experiences as a teenager, I was able to expand into my less dominant senses with extended blindfold drumstalks of over an hour moving towards the sound, feel into the edges of my awareness through stealth movement missions and become aware of how I could connect to source through a variety of practices including sweat lodges, sense meditations and the simple yet profound ‘sit spot’.”

In her early 20s she founded Cultivating Curiosity and developed long term nature connection mentoring programmes for both children and adults in Sussex. A few areas of particular interest are: the power of gratitude; natural fire lighting and conscious fire tending; and the role of questions and stories in pedagogy.

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Books Mentioned in this episode

The Gift of Fear by Gavin De Becker

Signs by Laura Lynne Jackson

Untamed by Glennon Doyle

Links mentioned in this episode

• https://marthahunthandler.com/
• Our website is www.livewild.org.uk/connectionmatterspodcast
• Connect with us on instagram https://www.instagram.com/livewilduk/
• My personal instagram is https://www.instagram.com/leona.connection.matters/
• The music for this podcast is -Hermosa Dia by Ray Johnson https://soundcloud.com/visionray

Biography

I see magic at work everywhere around me. I don’t believe in coincidences, only co-incidents: things that you hear, see or feel that help remind your soul of its path. I appreciate the phrase, “Grow or Wilt.” I think that’s what we’re all here for – to continually expand our hearts and minds as we navigate our way through the plethora of experiences we are presented with for this purpose.

Raised in Northern Illinois, I began to see wolves in my dreams from a very early age. Always a nature girl, I spent my free time either swimming in a lake near my house or roaming around in the Enchanted Forrest near my home. It was here I first heard nature speaking to me; asking for my help while promising guidance in this endeavor. After earning a degree in environmental conservation at UC Boulder, I worked as an environmental consultant in D.C., San Francisco and Los Angeles.

With my adult children now grown and flown, I’m able to focus on pursing those passions that most pull my heartstrings: wolves and writing. I spend weekdays in Tribeca, New York and weekends near the wolves in South Salem, New York. My first novel, “Winter of the Wolf,” will be published by Greenleaf in July, 2020.

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Things we talk about in this episode

• The Sandy Hook Tragedy and Scarletts experience of losing her son.
• Forgiveness is a choice then a process
• The Choose Love Movement
• Why do we need a Social and Emotional Learning programme in Schools
• PTSD and Post Traumatic Growth
• The courageous Rwandan Genocide orphans who reached out to the brother of Jesse Lewis to give him the strength to move forwards
• Healing from Trauma
• Corona Virus Pandemic and the social and emotional consequences for society
• The FREE choose love programme.

Links mentioned in this episode

www.patreon.com/connectionmatterspodcast

https://chooselovemovement.org/

Our website is www.livewild.org.uk/connectionmatterspodcast

Connect with us on instagram https://www.instagram.com/livewilduk/

My personal instagram is https://www.instagram.com/leona.connection.matters/

The music for this podcast is -Hermosa Dia by Ray Johnson https://soundcloud.com/visionray

Biography

Scarlett Lewis founded the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement after her son was murdered in the Sandy Hook tragedy in December 2012. After his death, Scarlett became part of the solution to the issues in today’s society. Through Choose Love, Scarlett became an advocate for social and emotional learning (SEL) and character development that teaches children how to manage their emotions, feel connected, and have healthy relationships. Choose Love offers a no cost, comprehensive SEL program

that empowers educators and teaches children how to handle adversity, have courageous conversations, and respond with love. The program has been downloaded in all 50 states and 100 countries, serving nearly 2 million children.

To help children and adults deal with the stress and challenges of the Coronavirus, Choose Love created a variety of new, free resources; and specifically, to support students and educators as they navigate the new normal of hybrid learning, Choose Love created Choosing Love in Our Brave New World, a back-to-school reintegration unit for Pre school through to the HighSchool and beyond.

View Details

Things we talk about in this episode

• Talbarou a French retreat centre in France
• Nature Culture- An Introduction to the Art of Mentoring and the Eight Shields
• Earth Culture- An introduction to Permaculture
• Similarities between Eight Shields and Permaculture
• Differences between Eight Shields and Permaculture
• The nature connected earth based cultures that inspired the origins of both Eight Shields and Permaculture - Both Models were designed from watching the patterns of nature, what works, and how do humans interact well and then designing by those patterns
• Tree Protesting, activism, studying, exploring.
• Starting an Eco-Village
• Steward Community Woodland Eco-Village
• Art of Mentoring
• Peters first experience of Eight Shields and memories of having his heart blown open by singing and story telling and being held in grief and acceptance.
• How do these models translate in everyday modern life? How are Permaculture and the Eight Shields Model being used in real life.
• What elements are being brought into the mainstream and transforming our way of being? Grief, Gratitude,
• Positive stories of the world and being in it. An antidote to the negative media coverage that we see day in day out
• Marine Permaculture, Local community owned solar networks
• Parenting inspired by Eight Shields
• Young generations being inspired by Eight Shields and bringing it into their lives.
• Elders being inspired by Permaculture and excited about learning and making the connection

Links mentioned in this episode

Support us on Patreon

http://8shields.org/

https://www.livingincircles.com/

http://artofmentoring.life/

The film 2040

Our website is www.livewild.org.uk/connectionmatterspodcast

Connect with us on instagram https://www.instagram.com/livewilduk/

My personal instagram is https://www.instagram.com/leona.connection.matters/

The music for this podcast is -Hermosa Dia by Ray Johnson https://soundcloud.com/visionray

Biography

I support people, groups and organisations, bringing them more into their power and creativity by using Permaculture and 8 Shields Institute design principles.

I teach and convene 8 Shields Introduction weekends around the UK and Europe, I am one of the lead organisers of the UK ‘Art of Mentoring’ Camp, and along with my partner Rebecca Card i run the ‘Bringing it Home’ 8 Shields yearlong training

I also teach Permaculture Design Courses, People Permaculture courses and bespoke Permaculture trainings.

I support people individually as well, with ongoing mentoring relationships in person or on regular calls.

I love singing and music, and i have self recorded 2 albums of acoustic songs. I enjoy running in the woods and moors, wild swimming and visiting new places.

I am deeply grateful for my hobbit-cottage home on a Dartmoor farm and my partner Rebecca who i share it with, and for all the wildlife that lives around us, weaving through our lives in delightful and surprising ways.

View Details

Things we talk about in this episode

• It is possible to have a business that has a mission that is much more than making money
• Asking great questions to get better results
• In some instances, as humans, as communities, we are further away from each other than we’ve ever been
• What are the patterns of how a healthy natural system flows and what can we learn from this?
• Joanna Macy describes this moment in human history as 'Exquisite'. We are in the Great Turning.
• Presence and connection as way to living well
• Mindfulness - The moment you begin to practice breathing mindfully in and out, you have the energy of a mother, to cradle and embrace the baby - Thich Nat Han
• Acting from the heart- kindness -is key
• Martin Luther King - Power without love is reckless and abusive, and love without power is sentimental and anemic
• Trying to create a culture that is not combative but still strong
• Transactional analysis - meeting at 3 different levels - adult, child, parent
• Nature connection, protection, heart love at the adult level
• Connecting as adults - self each other and nature
• Kate Raworths- Donut Economics - revolutionary way of looking at economics
• Three forms of knowledge need to occur - thinking - being/sensing - connecting ideas, knowledge with confidence
• How do we teach resilience, connection and a capacity to see the bigger system?
• Christiana Figueres- Paris agreement
• We’re doing too much in silo’s isolation
• We need to do more to support people to work in systems with nature
• How does a healthy natural system work and what can we learn from it?
• 3 forms of knowledge

Links mentioned in this episode

Support us on Patreon

Andres' links

https://bio-leadership.org/

https://andresroberts.com/

http://wayofnature.co.uk/

Andres' TED talk

Kate Raworth - Donut Economics

Christiana Figueres - Paris Climate Change Agreement

Our website is www.livewild.org.uk/connectionmatterspodcast

Connect with us on instagram https://www.instagram.com/livewilduk/

My personal instagram is https://www.instagram.com/leona.connection.matters/

The music for this podcast is -Hermosa Dia by Ray Johnson https://soundcloud.com/visionray

Biography

I support new forms of human progress by working with the principles of living systems and the wisdom of nature.

The aim of The Bio-Leadership Project, founded in 2016, is to support more generative, adaptive and responsible human systems by working in partnership with the systems we are part of.

Alongside the Bio-Leadership Project, I am co-founder of Way of Nature UK, which is about hosting deeply transformative experiences in nature. At the heart of the Way of Nature process is the practice of going on a ‘quest’ alone into the wild – a process that I take much care and respect in guiding for others.

I have worked and learnt with elders and teachers from around the world, as well as first class partners in organisational learning and development. Today I work with people and institutions such as Patagonia, the World Benchmarking Alliance and the Amani Institute, and many wonderful individuals working to support new forms of progress towards a safe, long-lasting and inspiring future for all people and all planet.

I believe that our lives and human structures have become desperately disconnected from our natural systems, and that we are at an important point in history, where we might choose to realign.

I believe that to grow whole worlds, we must start as whole selves.

View Details

Things we talk about in this episode

• The rise of the field of nature connection and Forest School
• The internet as a forum to reach more people even in nature connection work
• Family camps as a way of creating connection and community
• The importance of holistic play and learning for all ages
• The benefits of risk taking and play for children as they grow
• The Eight shields model of nature connection and its application in holding events and gatherings
• The power and importance in holding connective gatherings
• Thomas Schorr-kon - bushcraft and earth wisdom holder
• Jon Young - Nature connection leader
• Children need nature
• Storytelling and its power to inspire and create
• Creating our own new stories
• Telling the positive stories in the world right now
• All types of learning can happen in the outdoors
• Barriers for teachers in taking children outside
• Finding belonging in connection to a place and outdoor setting
• Chris’s new book I love my world

This episodes giveaway- A free copy of Chris's new book-I love my world. To enter this draw please leave a comment on the Patreon sight about something you enjoyed about this episode.

Go to www.patreon.com/connectionmatterspodcast

Links mentioned in this episode

www.wholeland.org.uk

www.natureconnection.co.uk

www.naturalmusicians.co.uk

www.patreon.com/connectionmatterspodcast

Our website is www.livewild.org.uk/connectionmatterspodcast

Connect with us on instagram https://www.instagram.com/livewilduk/

My personal instagram is https://www.instagram.com/leona.connection.matters/

The music for this podcast is -Hermosa Dia by Ray Johnson https://soundcloud.com/visionray

Biography

Chris is a leading inspiration in the field of nature connection and environmental education for families and schools in the UK and increasingly worldwide online. He is musical and playful too. He has many things in his teaching bundle including a degree in environmental science and a natural talent for working with groups of people, telling stories, sharing bushcraft skills, foraging, creating environmental art and playing the didgeridoo too. He wrote his first book, “I Love my World”, in 2009, reprinted in full colour in 2020 and has now created "absolutely incredible" CPD and nature connection courses online at www.natureconnection.co.uk. He also a husband and dad, lives in Devon and loves swimming, surfing and climbing trees barefoot. Chris is founder of www.wholeland.org.uk

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Links mentioned in this episode

www.patreon.com/connectionmatterspodcast

https://www.souland.org/

Our website is www.livewild.org.uk/connectionmatterspodcast

Connect with us on instagram https://www.instagram.com/livewilduk/

My personal instagram is https://www.instagram.com/leona.connection.matters/

The music for this podcast is -Hermosa Dia by Ray Johnson https://soundcloud.com/visionray

Biography

WHO AM I? Partly mycelium, partly raven, partly bee and partly river...
​
I am called Azul Valerie Thome (Her- She) ~ a weaver of chrysalis and an active visionary for: SOULand: Making the World of our Longing.
SOULand offers ensouling courses, mentoring, rituals, ceremonies and apprenticeship to engage and support the Passaging, the maturing and the homecoming back to Earth for our species.

I am a designer of soulful rituals, an eARTh artist, a sacred activist and a mentor devoted to restoring humanity back to a deep and honourable relationship with the visible, the invisible and with our living Earth.

I share wisdom teachings centered around maturing as humans, grief ritual, women’s rites of passage, Earth-informed art, and life cairn dedications for honouring extinct species.

I am a TreeSister who lives in a little wooden cabin on the edge of the wood in Devon, England, part of my response to my full engagement with Earth Wisdom Tenders, Extinction Rebellion, Deep Adaptation and the Work that Reconnects. In deep love and wild grief with Life

Influenced by my primary guides and mentors (Joanna Macy, Francis Weller and Sobonfu Some) as well as my own deep listening to darkness, mycelium, the Earth and the Waters.

In the past I have cultivated Earth-connected leadership and youth programs, reverently showcased folk art at my Dartmouth shop, and coordinated a diverse community coalition to reforest the oak groves surrounding the River Dart in 2002.

I hold a master’s degree in Ecological Design from Schumacher College: “the eARTh of Collective Grief as if Life and Death really Matters”.

I am the mother of a strong, devoted and dedicated young man, Roman, who lives in America. My father lives in Lebanon, my sister and brother in Paris.

My full basket of wisdom teachings: eARTh, Grief Composting Circles, WomBelt, Black Tent Council , One on One mentoring , Returning to Earth What was Stolen , Life Cairn, Earth Wisdom Tenders while following the message from the Water.
~~~~~~~~~
I was born in the 1960’s in Beirut to a French Mother and a Lebanese Father.

Always with a finger or ten into the beautiful and sacred animist ways which are based on the knowledge that all natural things on our Earth have an interconnected ecological Soul.

From participation in the start of the Transition Movement to the London urban food growing scene, seed banks and reforestation projects, whatever vision I activate and initiate is sourced in our animate world, deep ecology, soul imagination and deep transformation.

Past ventures include:
FOOD from the SKY
London Freedom Seed Bank
Embercombe

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Things we talk about in this episode

• Connection work in all the many fields is ultimately the same thing
• Science, spiritual and soul
• Tuning into our bodies to allow our capacity for pleasure
• Connection to our self is is a devotional act to yourself
• Connection to our body comes first and is the foundation
• The benefits of understanding the pleasure scale
• Healing from cancer through natural methods, connection, joy.
• The issues with living with a constantly stimulated sympathetic nervous system
• Benefits and pitfalls of our regular routine and structure and why
• Self- resourcing instead of reaching for unhealthy habits
• The human need for physical touch
• Having an approach of curiosity with our bodies
• The benefits of creating time to nourish ourselves and cultivate a strong relationship to our bodies
• Why turning towards our struggles and blockages in arted way can be groundbreaking and revolutionary.
• Trauma associated with lack of touch
• Our fear of rejection and being different
• The power of personal sovereignty
• How can we give ourselves permission to be happy, have needs, be heard and make choices that make us different
• Not saying no does not mean I am saying yes
• Body work as a way to access suppressed fear, anger to release trauma
• Letting go of past trauma as a way to accessed increased capacity for pleasure
• Suppressed trauma leading to ill physical or mental health
• Facing up to our reality with awareness, bravery and compassion we can open up to a fuller life
• The amazing world outside of our programmed response to attack and defend

Links mentioned in this episode

Podcast Patreon - www.patreon.com/connectionmatterspodcast

Jems website link: www.jemayres.co.uk

Jems facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/jemayrescoaching/

Jems You Tube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBuEEIsC1MxhtmTWkP9IKzw?view_as=subscriber

Our website is www.livewild.org.uk/connectionmatterspodcast

Connect with us on instagram https://www.instagram.com/livewilduk/

My personal instagram is https://www.instagram.com/leona.connection.matters/

The music for this podcast is -Hermosa Dia by Ray Johnson https://soundcloud.com/visionray

Biography

Jem Ayres: Orgasmic Embodiment Coach.

Jem is a certified Sex Geek - A Sexological Bodyworker, Tantra practitioner and teacher. She is the Founder of Orgasmic Embodiment, and regularly leads workshops, retreats and hosts talks on conscious sexuality.

She has over 10 years’ experience in the field of self-development through the body.

Jem now preaches what she likes to call ‘Sexual Self-Development’ and those who have met her know she walks the walk.

Overcoming stage 4 cancer became her focus for a while, and through this process she embraced and worked with the healing power of orgasm.

Multi-talented and creative she is passionate about helping people to connect with themselves through the body, fine-tuning into the subtleties of our life force, using sexual energy to fuel all areas of life.

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Things we talk about in this episode

• Only through filling up with joy can we be generous
• medicine wheel teachings - seeded Native American teachings
• Spirituality comes through the natural world
• Earth based spiritual trainings for women
• Martine Prechtel- Guatamala, Vermont
• Initiation - meeting with the natural world- understanding of the source of all life
• Ecopsychology
• Relationships between beings and the land and people
• Indigenous, Earthbased, deep connection with the power of life, spirituality
• Grief, broken heartedness, betrayal
• Sadness and longing and sorrow
• The grief muscle
• Why do we need an earth based connection
• How we’ve forgotten our connection to the land
• Connection is vital for us to survive
• How quickly we can regain our connection to the land
• Rites of passage - enacting with honour a movement from one stage to another
• Menopause as a rite of passage
• Steps and purpose of a rite of passage - to feed life, feed the village/community, initiate the young
• Young people today- Anxious and entitled
• Service to life
• The power of stories
• Sowing the seeds for a future beyond ourselves
• Those who can do ceremony should be doing ceremony right now
• What is an elder and true mentor
• The power of beauty is to be tempered by the wisdom of the Elder
• Everything we do in life is to prepare us to be great elders

Links mentioned in this episode

Support the podcast at www.patreon.com/connectionmatterspodcast

Annies website http://www.hartwell.eu.com/

https://www.martinprechtel.com/

https://www.ecopsychology.org.uk

https://www.circleofliferediscovery.com/

Our website is www.livewild.org.uk/connectionmatterspodcast

Connect with us on instagram https://www.instagram.com/livewilduk/

My personal instagram is https://www.instagram.com/leona.connection.matters/

Facebook page- leona.connection.matters

The music for this podcast is -Hermosa Dia by Ray Johnson https://soundcloud.com/visionray

Biography

ANNIE SPENCER, a ceremonialist and workshop leader with an Oxford MA and a diploma in Humanistic Psychology, has been running groups and trainings for over 25 years. Having been apprenticed in a Native American tradition and studied Guatemalan Mayan teachings, Annie weaves these with the traditions of her land Britain. As a teacher, Annie opens pathways for others – illuminating their life’s journeys. Her primary interest is the renewal of ancient ceremonial forms for creating a path of beauty upon Grandmother Earth. www.hartwell.eu.com

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Things we talk about in this episode

• Gratitude for technology that allows us to connect and create
• Womens and mens circle - connecting and unifying
• The power of transforming space through dance
• Music is a leveller
• Music as a way of bringing community, social justice, togetherness
• How can we bring accessibility to music and creativity?
• Music as medicine
• Voice work - vibrational expression or our essence
• Natural Voice Network
• The value in diversity and openness
• Learning to respond - understanding where we are and what is needed
• Finding the genius in everyone
• Healthy community is inclusive and also celebrates peoples individuality
• Power of ceremony to connect
• Between polarisation - what is between the rejection of spiritual practice and cynical use of ritual and ceremony disguised as religion
• The value of communal spaces
• Polarisation of views relies too much on there being definitive right and wrong.
• Everyone wants a tribe - communities of acceptance, shared core values and belief systems but can this limit our curiosity and growth
• Attachment to our ideas can be limiting
• The power of accepting that we don’t know the answers
• Elemental connections- Water as a healer, water flows, responds, changes form, how can we learn from water?
• Surrender and letting go of attachments
• The opportunity to imagine that we really have the opportunity to create something different
• Inequality of lockdown experience
• Random acts of kindness
• The shadow - and the light - All the aspects of humanity being exposed in lockdow
• Privilege related to conscious community
• Healing power of creativity, grounding and getting our hands in the ground
• Gratitude for the simple things in life - simplicity over too much doing
• Connecting to the sacredness of life in the smallest of everyday things

Links mentioned in this episode

Join our community and support us on Patreon here; www.patreon.com/connectionmatterspodcast

Damien's links

https://www.facebook.com/caulbearers/

https://www.facebook.com/soulsoundsmcr/

https://www.facebook.com/musicasmedicinemanchester/

https://www.facebook.com/theorderoflove23/

https://www.facebook.com/damien.mahoney.3

https://www.instagram.com/caulbearers/

Our website is www.livewild.org.uk/connectionmatterspodcast

Connect with us on instagram https://www.instagram.com/livewilduk/

My personal instagram is https://www.instagram.com/leona.connection.matters/

The music for this podcast is -Hermosa Dia by Ray Johnson https://soundcloud.com/visionray

Biography

Damien is a vocalist, percussionist and producer based in Manchester with a passion for community and collaborative projects.

He is the writer and co-lead singer with Caulbearers, an 8 piece Manchester ensemble creating archaic funk fables and soul migrations. Described as ‘roots music from the rainy city’, and ‘psychedelic soul with poetic, social observation’ an album of their material is due to be released later in 2020.

He is the curator of 'Music As Medicine', a live music event started in 2016 aiming to bring communities together through the healing power of sound and music, performance and dancing, drawing on world influences and encouraging collaboration and improvisation between artists.

Passionate about the healing power of sound, Damien regularly provides live music for therapeutic events including meditation, dance, breathwork and yoga sessions, retreats and ceremonies. This work includes the live improvisation trio, The Order Of Love.

Damien is a trained Natural Voice Practitioner and has facilitated communal singing groups in a variety of scenarios from his regular ‘Soul Sounds’ sessions and nature retreats to specialised work with lung health patients, social workers and prisoners. He is part of a collaborative project to bring music and voice work for staff & patients into a Manchester hospice in 2020.

Damien has performed, produced and recorded music in many styles. His creative output and collaborations span from funk, soul, and reggae, through acid house, balearic dub to Indian and Afro beat influences. Commercial releases range from remixing a major R+B artist for EMI through to underground DIY collective projects, with international compilations and radio documentary soundtracks along the way.

He has over 20 years experience in the film + TV industry and lecturers as a freelancer on a BA Hons course for Manchester Film School.

View Details

Things we talk about in this episode

• The Art of Mentoring
• Cultural Healing
• The power and magic in catching storie
• The Eight Shields Model for nature connection
• The Village- the many elements of the Art of Mentoring that make a well held and healthy, safe and happy gathering
• Grief Ceremony - a place to be witnessed, supported and to release whatever needs to move -
• Dominant Culture not connected, with natural cycles, nature, fullness of emotions
• Modern phobia’s- nature, death, difficult and strong emotions
• When we are in a safe place in a strong container, a well held space, grief naturally arises. The experience can really deepen.
• When we give time to REALLY thinking about ancestral pain, displacement, colonisation, witch hunts, the grief arises with force.
• Trauma held from ancestral lineages
• Macro- Cultural grief, history, climate
  Micro- trauma, personal grief
• Grief work, stepping stone to addressing trauma
• Things we expected but did not receive- elders, welcoming,
• The awakening- realisations from COVID-19
• Lessons from the return to simplicity- community, family, natur
• What would a culture that tends to its grief well look like? How do we tend to grief well?
• Be the change that you wish to see in the world
• Modelling and tending our own grief leads to a more authentic way of living, leads to love.
• Is Grief tending morbid and depressing?
• The good feeling that comes from tending grief- warmth, love, belonging, togetherness, beauty
• Stuckness and depressions is a sickness that comes when we cannot express our grief in a healthy way.
• Lost Connections - book
• Grief is intimate, connection, authentic, openness
• How do we tend to our own grief
  Build relationships- to an anchor, a person, being that can listen to our story
  Connection to the elements and other beings
  Water-transmuter of grief
  Trees, special places, the earth
• The earth can take the grief, rage, despair and compost it.
• Offering grief in service to life- with the intention for healing
• Grief is not self indulgent, selfish, grief is needed.
• Creating points and places of connection to life-
• Stephen Jenkinson- No need to fetishise death.
• Nature based human development
• Facets of wholeness- sub personalities
• Transitional Threshold work

Links mentioned in this episode

Become a Patron!

Support us here www.patreon.com/connectionmatterspodcast

https://naturewisdom.life/

https://www.martinprechtel.com/

Sulustu - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHlBJGM-XyQ

http://8shields.org/

https://www.jonyoung.online/

https://thelostconnections.com/

https://orphanwisdom.com/

https://naturewisdom.life/

Our website is www.livewild.org.uk/connectionmatterspodcast

Connect with us on instagram https://www.instagram.com/livewilduk/

My personal instagram is https://www.instagram.com/leona.connection.matters/

The music for this podcast is -Hermosa Dia by Ray Johnson https://soundcloud.com/visionray

Support us here www.patreon.com/connectionmatterspodcast

Biography

I work as a Guide, Facilitator and Ceremonialist of Nature~based Wisdom, Cultural Healing and Soul Initiation. I’m a Wilderness Rites of Passage Guide and Cultural Mentor supporting people to re~member Wholeness as part of the collective initiation I believe is needed at this time and as part of the journey towards knowing our belonging to the earth and the earth community.

I am also a qualified and experienced Yoga teacher, Meditation Instructor and Somatic Movement facilitator. My encounters with the other-than-human world and tracking the journey of soul inspire me to write creatively. I have trained in the ways of Apache Scout and Shaman, Grandfather Stalking Wolf, and I’m involved with the 8 Shields UK as a Village Builder, organising and facilitating 8 Shields programs.

I believe in the power of ceremony, community and sitting in circle for deep healing and authentic connection. My passion is in re~membering Wholeness and finding creative ways to explore that. My joy is in tending the hearth, the garden, being with the birds. the land and spending time nurturing deeply fulfilling friendships.

View Details

Things we talk about in this episode

• Sal's journey into working with the Lakota Sioux traditions.
• Gratitude to the ancestors including, Godfrey Chipps, the woptika lineage and all those who have held onto the traditional teachings.
• The decision of the native elders to pass their traditional teachings out to the world because the world needs it
• People are suffering because of the disconnection sickness of our times
• Disregard for all of life in the way that we live
• Black lives matter, protests and riots
• Humans have been holding a foot on the neck of all of creation for a long time in the way we live
• Racism and discrimination and all the violence exhibited on this planet are a symptom of the root cause that is disconnection
• Spiritual healing as a way to transcend
• Humans taking responsibility for their deep learning, ancestral healing and leading the way forwards

Links mentioned in this episode
https://www.helpersmentoringsociety.net/

https://www.facebook.com/helpersmentor

Our website is www.livewild.org.uk/connectionmatterspodcast

Connect with us on instagram https://www.instagram.com/livewilduk/

My personal instagram is https://www.instagram.com/leona.connection.matters/

The music for this podcast is -Hermosa Dia by Ray Johnson https://soundcloud.com/visionray

Support the podcast at; www.patreon.com/connectionmatterspodcast

Biography

Salvatore Gencarelle is the founder and director of the Helpers Mentoring Society, an organization dedicated to supporting the return to purpose and hope for humanity, so all life thrives. For three decades, Salvatore has been a bridge between traditional cultural practices and the modern world.His experience includes intense initiations and mentoring, requiring both dedication and sacrifice, under the direct supervision of a Native American healer. During this 17 years initiation he worked as a ceremonial guide, creator and singer. Salvatore has written a book about his learning journey - A Man Among the Helpers.

Salvatore Gencarelle is now a carrier of multiple indigenous lineages and wisdoms from around the world. His immersion into lineages of deep healing has also helped him to better understand the universal aspects of connection and healing that reach across cultures and time.

Salvatore is also an artist, photographer, freelance writer, a musician, and a former Paramedic of 17 years. He has worked as a healer in both the indigenous and the modern world. He currently offers online universal teachings and travels around the world teaching and helping others learn from his experience. Offerings include personal re-connection immersion journeys, yearlong connection facilitator training, quests, personal and organization consultation, and teaching on the tools of re-connection.

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Things we talk about in this episode

• Gratitude for natures power to restore
• Happiness and wellbeing
• Dan’s early experience of noticing nature
• Biophilia - we all have a natural love of life and the living world; the affinity of human beings for other life forms
• The importance of adults mentoring children in nature
• The importance for nature connection for mental health
• The beauty and miracle of nature
• Kamana naturalist training programThe benefits of nature connection, recreation and education.
• Connection first and then the knowledge and desire for the details come naturally
• The benefits of mentoring through working with passions and edges
• 'The art of mentoring' and the eight shields.
• The long term benefits of long term mentoring from childhood.
• Nature connection as a gateway to healing and belonging

Links mentioned in this episode

Dan's website including 1:1 mentoring with Dan

www.danpuplett.co.uk

Kamana Naturalist Training Programme

https://wildernessawareness.org/adult-programs/kamana

FSC Guide to British Bird Tracks and Signs by Dan Puplett

www.field-studies-council.org/shop/publications/bird-tracks-and-signs/

Facebook

www.facebook.com/danpuplettnature

Instagram

www.instagram.com/danpuplettnature/

Our website

www.livewild.org.uk/connectionmatterspodcast

Connect with us on instagram

https://www.instagram.com/livewilduk/

My personal instagram

https://www.instagram.com/leona.connection.matters/

The music for this podcast is -Hermosa Dia by Ray Johnson

https://soundcloud.com/visionray

Support us on patreon

https://www.patreon.com/connectionmatterspodcast

Biography

Dan Puplett is a naturalist, conservationist and nature educator (and lifelong biophile). He is a certified tracker and teaches a range of naturalist skills including wildlife tracking, bird language, botany and nature connection. Dan mentors people of all ages, from Forest School kids to professional ecologists. He is also a Kamana Naturalist Training Programme instructor and an Associate Tutor for the Field Studies Council. He worked for rewilding charity Trees for Life for over a decade and continues his involvement with this project. Dan sometimes drools when he sees good tracks.

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Links mentioned in this episode

www.jewelswingfield.com


https://www.facebook.com/JewelsAtEarthHeart/


https://soundcloud.com/user-463286773

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPjqoUgAMejgm9XQpSo7VRA

Our website is www.livewild.org.uk/connectionmatterspodcast

Connect with us on instagram https://www.instagram.com/livewilduk/

My personal instagram is https://www.instagram.com/leona.connection.matters/

The music for this podcast is -Hermosa Dia by Ray Johnson https://soundcloud.com/visionray

To support us please join us on patreon- https://www.patreon.com/connectionmatterspodcast

Biography

With over 25 years’ experience supporting thousands of people to make profound shifts in their lives, I bring a rare wealth of experience, wisdom and skills. Because of this, I am able to meet the wild edges of transformation both personally and collectively – I know the landscapes that lie on the other side of such a shift.

I enjoy working with the edges of life and the aliveness of the places in us we fear to meet. I am devoted to bringing these places out of exile and back into the realm of love. I have been a spiritual seeker since childhood and asked those deep questions about life: why we are here. Since I was a small child I have been a seer and I have developed this ability over my life in supporting others to get to the heart of their blocks and move through them. I passionately believe that our own personal journey is the most powerful gift we can bring to others. This is the foundation from which I facilitate my work as it continues to grow.

I have been inspired and supported for over twenty years by many teachers, both human and non-human. From each of these I have received a piece of the tapestry to my evolution, and guidance on how to live more as a sacred and respectful being on earth.

This journey has taught me that our own personal journeys are the most useful gift that we can bring to each other, in alignment with the biggest clearest love, and this is the foundation from which I facilitate my work, and from which I continue to grow and learn.

As a result, my work is well known to be unique, and is widely recognised for its earthy approach to the evolution of humanity. It is inspired by the indigenous traditions and teachings of the land around me, embedded in an intuitive connection with its nature and our ancestral pathways. My work aims to bring sacredness to the ordinary.”

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Things we talk about in this episode

• Gratitude for purpose and meaning
• Mistakes as learning opportunities
• Personal fears, being made wrong, public speaking as an edge
• Public speaking leading to admiration OR blame and criticism neither of which are desirable
• How well do we know ourselves
• Bright Sky as a living organism
• -Bridging professional business skills with spiritual community
• -Bringing people together- nourishing ourselves and others who have visions that resonate
• -Meaningful connection through shared purpose
• The magic of numbers- energetically polishing spirit given instructions
• Collective prayers, global shifts and new realities
• Bright Sky not spending time in opposition to things but trying to move the energy forwards
• Original seeds of Bright Sky born from despair
• Covid -19 as a gateway for compassion
• Learning to be with what has the most energy and be curiou
• Learning to be with it and allow it to transform
• Learning to let go of fixed ideas and trust in the mystery
• The importance of sharing with our feelings and being authentic and open
• The importance of listening to each other and to spirit
• Not listening can be an act of violence
• Fear can force us into rushing to create solutions before we’ve actually really listened.
• Changing the focus of business from profit to benefiting all life
• Purpose of community which is supported by the business.

Links mentioned in this episode

https://brightsky.community/

https://www.facebook.com/brightskycommunity

Our website is www.livewild.org.uk/connectionmatterspodcast

Connect with us on instagram https://www.instagram.com/livewilduk/

My personal instagram is https://www.instagram.com/leona.connection.matters/

The music for this podcast is -Hermosa Dia by Ray Johnson https://soundcloud.com/visionray

Support us at Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/connectionmatterspodcast

Biography

I was born in Holland and have been living in the UK since 2012. I am the proud father of Daniel, who is one of the BrightSky Partners as well!

I have a background in business as well as therapy, personal growth and community. BrightSky bridges both worlds, at a time when this is more needed than ever.

I feel so excited to be part of BrightSky and I feel so blessed with all that it is bringing into my life. The phrase “Meaningful Connection through Shared Purpose” resonates so much for me, and through that my work has become my medicine.

What excites me the most is the impact we can make when we come together and gather behind a collective purpose. Through building bridges and sharing resources we can manifest our individual and collective dreams!

With Love and Gratitude, Bart

View Details

Things we talk about in this episode

• The nuance and subtlety of good quality Forest School Provision
• Growth in popularity of Forest SChool
• Modern nature starved lives and the ability to recalibrate in the outdoors
• The power of presence and time in nature
• Benefits of nature connection
• Being in nature is not 'normal' for everyone
• Humans are physiologically designed to feel good in nature
• Science reinforcing what we already know about the value of nature connection
• Forest School and nature connection as an antidote to a sterile disconnected way of life
• Community connection during lockdown
• We don't know what the future holds but nature connectors have been preparing for years to get back in touch with the earth
• Physician heal thyself- how we can resource ourselves during the pandemic
• Outdoor learning as a way forwards after this crisis.
• History shows there was a rise in outdoor schools after previous epidemics
• Hope for a more nature connected future

Links mentioned in this episode

www.stompingground.org.uk

www.forestschoolassociation.org

www.kindlingplayandtraining.co.uk

Find Kindling on facebook and twitter or find ideas and inspiration on the blog

Our website is www.livewild.org.uk/connectionmatterspodcast

Connect with us on instagram https://www.instagram.com/livewilduk/

My personal instagram is https://www.instagram.com/leona.connection.matters/

The music for this podcast is -Hermosa Dia by Ray Johnson https://soundcloud.com/visionray

Support us at Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/connectionmatterspodcast

Biography

Lily is a Forest School trainer and practitioner through Kindling; kindlingplayandtraining.co.uk. She currently chairs the Forest School Association; www.forestschoolassociation.org and works with local communities through Stomping Ground; www.stompingground.org.uk

Lily's work centres around the creating communities for learning and connecting nature. Her background in playwork and designed crafts means she brings a playful and creative approach to all she does.

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Things we talk about in this episode

• Permaculture as having moral and ethical grounding as well as ecological
• Permaculture being rooted in appreciation of indigenous wisdom as well as in innovation of science and technology.
• Permaculture as a living evolving dynamic process of working with nature to find ways of meeting our many different needs practically and otherwise.
• Permaculture works at both an individual and personal level as well as at a societal level.
• Andy shares about the many applications of permaculture across the spectrum of society.
• Examples include food production and community agriculture, transition towns, reconomy, energy projects, and transport solutions with some specific examples.
• The know how is there to create the new systems that we need.
• The move from profit before planet to a people and planet before profit model.
• Now is the time to reinvent a new story. Now is the time to adapt and redesign.
• Covid 19 as another wake up call (on top of floods and drought last year)
• Covid 19 as exposing the structural and societal inequality across the board.
• We all have agency and personal sovereignty, acting from within first and having strong ethical foundations. Choosing our project area and acting on it as thinking about it.
• Support the change makers already out there. Who is already innovating, who is already creating alternatives. How can we make connections to build on what is there.

Links in this episode

Main UK Permaculture sites

https://www.permaculture.org.uk/

https://scotland.permaculture.org.uk/

https://wales.permaculture.org.uk/

http://childreninpermaculture.com/

Permanent-Culture innovation and alternatives

https://www.joannamacy.net/

https://www.solidarityeconomy.coop/

https://transitionnetwork.org/

https://www.reconomy.com/

https://www.solhaven.co.uk/

https://www.kateraworth.com/ - Donut Economics

Support us at Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/connectionmatterspodcast

Andy’s Biography

Andy Goldring is Chief Executive of the Permaculture Association, a post he has held since 1999. Significant achievements include the sustained development of the Permaculture Association and its capacity to deliver its aims, development of a national demonstration network with over 120 Centres across England and Scotland, a Diploma scheme supporting over 400 apprentices, an active and growing research programme, hosting of dialogue to take permaculture forwards internationally and a shift towards a more eco-entrepreneurial direction for the Association.

Andy lives in Leeds with his family and believes that doing is as important as thinking, so cycles to work, has an allotment, passes on his skills and knowledge through regular local permaculture courses, and is involved in a range of practical initiatives.

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Things we talk about in this episode-----------------------------------------------------------------

• Gratitude as a supportive practice
• The gifts of lockdown
• How addiction masks the crisis of disconnection
• The healing magic of nature
• The freedom in embracing our creativity and courage to explore
• Embracing online community as a way of finding connection when our busy modern lives don’t support it in real time
• The danger of polarisation and the importance of stepping outside of our communities of interest to hear different views and perspectives
• Ways to give and receive difficult feedback
• The hope that lockdown will help us value and create a more connected, slower paced and present state of being in the world

Links mentioned in this episodeSara shares her adventures on her blog and Instagram under Me & Orla, and through her podcast Hashtag Authentic.

Sara's website is - www.meandorla.co.uk

Sara and Jen Carrington's podcast - https://www.lettersfromahopefulcreative.com/

You can find her on instagram here - Instagram.com/me_and_orla

And the podcast is here -https://meandorla.co.uk/category/podcast/

Sara and Jen Carrington's podcast - https://www.lettersfromahopefulcreative.com/

Our website is www.livewild.org.uk/connectionmatterspodcast

Connect with us on instagram https://www.instagram.com/livewilduk/

My personal instagram is https://www.instagram.com/leona.connection.matters/

The music for this podcast is -Hermosa Dia by Ray Johnson https://soundcloud.com/visionray

Support us at Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/connectionmatterspodcast

Sara’s BiographySara Tasker is a writer, photographer and coach living in the Yorkshire hills.

A lifelong lover of photography, she switched to using her iPhone & Instagram to document her daily life whilst pregnant with her first child and stuck at home with a chronic health condition. Within six months, she’d attracted over 40k followers, and now runs a multi-six-figure business helping other creatives and small business owners use social media to build connection, confidence and community online.
She shares her adventures on her blog and Instagram under Me & Orla, and through her podcast Hashtag Authentic.

meandorla.co.uk
Instagram.com/me_and_orla
https://meandorla.co.uk/category/podcast/

Attachments

View Details

https://www.livewild.org.uk/connectionmatterspodcast

Music by Ray Johnson https://soundcloud.com/visionray

Follow Live Wild and all we get up to here

https://www.instagram.com/livewilduk/

And connect to my personal instagram here

https://www.instagram.com/leona.connection.matters/