Human Amplified: Recent Episodes
Brandi Fleck
Welcome to the Human Amplified podcast, where we believe transforming ourselves can positively transform society. Your host, Brandi Fleck, has the honor of exploring the human condition with real people who bravely share their personal stories of adversity, healing, joy, and more. If you’re seeking empowerment, strength, and inspiration, listen in to engage and explore tough topics that help us humanize one another, understand ourselves better, spread love, and connect.
Dona Amelia, a renowned keynote speaker and executive coach, shares her inspiring journey from humble beginnings in Indonesia to leading Asia's largest executive peer network. We discuss the significance of resilience, authenticity, and connection in enhancing our human experience.
Dona also shares her personal story and the D-O-N-A method—Dreams, Opportunity, Never Give Up, and Action—that guides her through challenges. We dive into the art of high-impact communication, emphasizing empathy and storytelling as vital tools for building deeper relationships.
Dona reframes rejection as a pathway to growth and encourages listeners to embrace their vulnerabilities. This conversation offers valuable insights on navigating personal and professional landscapes to foster genuine connections and pursue dreams with unwavering belief.
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Singer-songwriter duo Patty Cakes (Patty Carasquillo) and Boomer Roe share their deeply personal journey into the Nashville music scene—proving that it’s never too late to follow your calling.
Patty, a single mom and lupus warrior, picked up the guitar at 41 and hasn’t looked back since. Boomer, a seasoned writer, joined forces with her to turn her poetry into emotionally rich songs that have already made waves at the Tennessee Songwriters Competition.
From building confidence and overcoming health challenges to quitting vaping for the love of music, this episode explores what it means to show up authentically—and win hearts doing it.
The episode closes with the exclusive debut performance of their song “Never Need You.”
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In this powerful and deeply personal episode of Human Amplified, I sit down with Dr. Megan Galaske, a holistic allopathic physician, musician, and sound healer, to explore how music and sound frequencies are more than just art—they’re medicine.
Dr. Galaske shares her transformation from a burnt-out, depressed pediatrician to a thriving, multi-dimensional healer. She explains how EDM, sound baths, vibrational frequencies, and neuroplasticity helped rewire her brain and heal her body, mind, and spirit plus how they can do the same for you.
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In this deeply moving episode, Brandi Fleck welcomes spiritual teacher, leadership development consultant, and trauma-informed coach Monica Moody to share her powerful journey of healing after a multiple myeloma diagnosis. What started as a divine calling to build a sacred space for Black women turned into a spiritual unraveling that led Monica to a new path of rest, surrender, and grace.
Monica talks about the emotional and physical toll of cancer treatment, the profound mindset shifts that followed, and the sacred tools that sustained her—breathwork, spiritual rest, and the unmerited favor of the universe.
This conversation explores the power of nervous system regulation, letting go of productivity as identity, and finding clarity through grace and alignment.
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Certified hypnotherapist and NLP practitioner Piper Niemann joins me to explore how our beliefs, habits, and subconscious mind shape the human experience.
From quitting smoking to uncovering karmic lessons through quantum healing, this episode sheds light on how we can use hypnotherapy to reclaim our health, identity, and purpose.
Piper shares her personal journey, the mechanics of trance work, why smoking is more about beliefs and muscle memory than nicotine, and how the subconscious can hold the key to deeper healing and transformation.
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Renowned psychotherapist, author, and inspirational speaker, Joan Childs joins us to explore the complex nature of love, hate, and human connection in modern relationships.
With over 47 years of experience, Joan dives deep into why so many couples struggle to stay together, the impact of unresolved childhood trauma on adult relationships, and how political divides are fracturing families and friendships.
Joan shares actionable insights on when relationships can be saved, when it’s time to let go, and the importance of free will, emotional maturity, and communication.
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Renowned psychotherapist, author, and inspirational speaker, Joan Childs joins us to explore the complex nature of love, hate, and human connection in modern relationships.
With over 47 years of experience, Joan dives deep into why so many couples struggle to stay together, the impact of unresolved childhood trauma on adult relationships, and how political divides are fracturing families and friendships.
Joan shares actionable insights on when relationships can be saved, when it’s time to let go, and the importance of free will, emotional maturity, and communication.
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Emerson Wright—law professor, legal realist, and co-host of the Talking Legal Ed podcast—returns to the show with a hard-hitting conversation on the rule of law, trans rights, and how the current U.S. administration is reshaping the legal landscape.
Brandi and Emerson unpack the chilling realities of today’s political and legal climate, from targeted executive orders and academic freedom under threat to the quiet erosion of civil liberties and legal protections. They explore how lawyers actually work behind the scenes to uphold society—and why now more than ever, everyday citizens need to pay attention and take action.
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What happens when a sitting president tests the limits of the Constitution? And what power does the average citizen really have when things feel out of control?
In this episode, Brandi Fleck speaks with historian and educator Grady Eades—Associate Professor of History at Volunteer State Community College and author of For the Good of the Program. They explore the foundations of American democracy, the three branches of government, and the loopholes that could allow a president to serve a third term. Spoiler: it’s legally murky, but not impossible.
You’ll also hear why the Founding Fathers never anticipated political parties, how executive orders can contradict constitutional law, and what might trigger a full-blown constitutional crisis.
This isn’t just a history class—it’s a wake-up call.
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Tia Coffey, a life coach, operations consultant, and mom of three, joins us for a powerful and vulnerable conversation on what it means to untangle your identity from high-control religion.
As a former evangelical Christian, Tia shares the deeply personal story of deconstructing her faith while navigating a toxic marriage, suicidal ideation, and the challenge of reclaiming her intuition, worth, and self-love.
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In this powerful episode, we sit down with Matt Anderson, a communications consultant, political strategist, and co-founder of Fortify Communications.
From college newspaper revolutionist to Tennessee political insider, Matt shares his unique perspective on where democracy stands today, the growing threats to civil rights, and how everyday citizens can reclaim power in the face of political aggression.
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In this episode of Human Amplified, we welcome Pat Embry, a longtime Nashville journalist who has held roles as an editor at the Nashville Banner and The Tennessean, director of the John Siegenthaler Chair of Excellence in First Amendment Studies at MTSU, and communications director for the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.
With nearly 50 years in journalism, Pat has witnessed the industry evolve from print to digital, seen media ownership impact editorial stances, and observed the growing difficulty in distinguishing truth from propaganda.
Pat reflects on his career and emphasizes the significance of responsible reporting and critical thinking in navigating today’s polarized media. Our conversation underscores the vital importance of a free press in shaping informed citizens and a resilient democracy.
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Today, we’re talking to guest Katie Jensen, of Franklin, TN. She’s first and foremost a mom and wife, but she’s also a NASM certified personal trainer, nutrition coach, and travel planner. With everything she does, she loves empowering people to find happiness and confidence through healthy lifestyles that feel good.
She’s here today to help us wind up Human Amplified season 5 with ways to incorporate more fun, laughter, and play into your life. Spoiler alert: a lot of this involves how you prioritize, approach, and look at your relationships with other people.
We talk about the importance of laughter and fun, changing what you can while accepting what you can’t, the importance of knowing you’re not alone, giving yourself permission to play, even when life is hard, how to create authentic bonds instead of trauma bonds, processing hard emotions while trying to remain positive, and staying motivated to keep moving forward.
This episode is really about finding the silver linings, purposefully changing your attitude no matter what your situation is, and being resilient.
Katie is not only great at this professionally, but she gets really honest with us about the realities of living with her daughter who was born with a traumatic brain injury and cerebral palsy, among other life-long diagnoses. Katie has five children all together.
So the conversation today comes from the lens of how much Katie loves and dedicates herself to her family and the lessons she’s learned from those experiences that translate into how she approaches happiness, joy, and having fun.
I’m so excited for the perspective-changing tips you’ll get from this episode — and hope that after you’ve listened, you can take life a little less seriously. Just what we need to end the season that has traversed the depths of identity and self realization.
Thanks for listening all season. Thanks for listening today. And, we’ll see you back in the podcast apps soon.
Now, let’s dive in.
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So, you guys probably know by now that I’m a firm believer in finding your own custom mix of healing modalities when you’re focusing on healing your trauma. There’s not one silver bullet at any given time, but many modalities, when combined, can create a winning strategy. Some modalities work for you while some won’t, and depending on where you are in healing and what you need to process and integrate, different modalities may be better suited at different times too. All that to say, I love trying and learning about different healing modalities and introducing them to you.
Now, PSYCH-K® isn’t necessarily new in the world, but it was new to me when today’s guest, Adelajda Child, came on the show. And it’s so interesting how it leverages different parts of the brain to create change in your life. It reminds me somewhat of the Two Mind Method that we featured in last weeks episode 123. So it’ll be interesting for you to hear the differences and decide if you want to try it.
Today’s guest, Adelajda Child, is a PSYCH-K® instructor, conducting workshops globally, helping individuals recognize and overcome their subconscious barriers to peace and success.
During our discussion, we really get into the technicalities about the difference between our subconscious mind and conscious mind, how to align them, and why beliefs — subconscious or conscious — are so powerful in our lives. We not only go in depth about what PSYCH-K® aims to do, but we talk about how to access the subconscious mind, what’s available to us when we do, how cognitive dissonance can set in, and where the struggle comes from. Then, we pivot into how to know what to consciously believe, in the era of misinformation that we’re living in and when to know if you should change your beliefs.
While we talk a lot about the hemispheres of the brain, getting them to work together, and how the subconscious mind creates our realities, ultimately, when you dig deeper, this episode is about decision making. Do you want to make decisions that impact your life with some of the information, or all of the information that could possibly be available to you — and also making sure you can trust that information before making decisions, leading to more peace in your life.
This is a really interesting topic and I know there are a lot of opinions out there about what goes into creating our realities, so let’s dive in. And let us know in the comments (of the show notes or on YouTube) what comes up for you as you listen.
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Today, we're talking to Kirby Fling. He’s a computer science guy turned trauma-informed relationship coach and Founder of his signature program, the Two Mind Method. He focuses on healing attachment wounds and preventing them in the first place. And while the topic at hand may seem heavy, this was such a fun conversation. You’ll walk away from it knowing how to approach relationships in healthier ways and how to take responsibility for your own emotions, beliefs, and actions in a way that's healing and safe to your inner child and therefore, your external relationships as well.
In today’s episode, we talk about how hypervigilance and intuition are connected, how to know if you can trust your intuition, the predictability of attachment wounds, how attachment impacts everything in life, how sleep and trauma play in, the five pillars of attachment, the enemies of healing, changing attachment styles, green and red flags in a relationship, and so much more.
Kirby is currently in Bali, Indonesia teaching what we’ll be talking about in today’s episode. He’ll be hosting a retreat on the beach in Bali in November — omg, doesn’t that sound amazing— and he also does 1 on 1 coaching in person and virtually.
I love the interviews, and I mean love, that turn into real conversations where the guest pauses to think and digs deep within themselves to find the real answer, and then we’re both thinking deeply and philosophically about the topic at hand. That’s when ish gets really real. Genuine. Authentic. Honest. This is one of those episodes. So, get ready to do some thinking and digging with us.
And a quick heads up: there was a tiny bit of lag on our call, so we do talk over one another a few times, which doesn’t normally happen here on Human Amplified — but its minimal.
So, let’s dive in.
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Today, we’re talking to Nashville-based yoga instructor, doula, and activist, Renee Watkins, about reconnecting to your body to make a real difference. And what does that actually mean?
It means using breath work, which is the common thread among all of Renee’s passions and pursuits, so you can find not only emotional healing for yourself, but also for your community.
It’s evident that Renee cares deeply about helping people and she starts with her local community here in Nashville. Through Renee’s yoga practice, she’s breaking down stereotypes and creating safe, inclusive spaces for Black and brown women. We get into all of that in this episode, plus we also talk about:
Why its important to be in tune with your body, what your body can tell you, how to start making a difference while protecting your peace, releasing anger, and breathing the correct way. And you might be surprised about what the right way is.
Then, we get into the topic of high birth mortality rates, especially for Black women, in the United States, what to do to minimize birth trauma and how it all fits together with Yoga, human advocacy, and teaching our kids what they really need to know so they can avoid some of the pitfalls we're seeing in our time.
We finish up the episode talking about sexuality and sensuality and dealing with repression of it. It’s all connected.
Throughout the episode, Renee gives us awesome expert advice and she mixes in personal stories too, so you’ll love getting to know her and her bright personality. Her Yoga practice, which is her primary focus right now, is called RW Yoga. She’s trained extensively in Vinyasa, Rocket, and Prenatal Yoga.
This episode does come with a trigger warning: About half way through, maybe a little before, we start talking about sex education with several hard truths and then move into the topic of birth trauma with real life examples. These are very important, critical conversations to have, but proceed with caution if these topics are triggering for you.
Now, let’s dive in.
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In the span of the six years I’ve known Courtenay, she’s completely transformed. She’s absolutely glowing, but it wasn’t an overnight, easy kind of change. It was a deep, healing journey, where she had to go within, choose to let go of many things, like alcohol for example, that had had a steady presence in her life up until the make or break moment. And not only did she have to learn how to feel her emotions again, but she decided to start listening to them.
With this episode, the hope is that if you’re on a healing or awakening journey yourself, that you take comfort in knowing you’re not alone and that you’re also inspired that it can be done. You can absolutely heal, find yourself, and live in a way that’s in complete alignment with that.
But who is Courtenay Rogers? She’s such a presence in the community of Franklin, TN not only from her previous political campaigns to her longstanding career in operations and logistics, but simply because she befriends and connects people. She’s also a Navy veteran who loves her family, friends, and now, herself too. Her life motto is “love always wins.”
We cover topics like making healing decisions in critical life moments, what healing is like, the difference between ego and self love, toxic positivity, letting go of desperation and control, trusting your intuition, and how to start loving yourself. And at the end, we have a quick little bonus discussion on what it’s been like for Courtenay to leave behind her political career as a result of embracing more authenticity in her life.
The amount of honesty and vulnerability Courtenay brings in this conversation is refreshing and can help us look within ourselves with the same intensity of love that she’s found. Let’s hear from her now.
Register for my FREE Self Healing the Root workshop to learn about your trauma responses and how to start changing them.
If you’re familiar with the Enneagram through pop culture, you might be using it as a personality test to gain more insight into what makes you tick and how you act. However, what’s so cool about what our guest, Micky ScottBey Jones, will share with us today is that it’s not just a personality test.
In fact, your personality is not fixed and the strategies you use to cope and interact in the world can be expanded upon and changed, if you want them to be.
So, today we’re talking all things Enneagram. Guest Micky ScottBey Jones is an Enneagram expert, coach, and facilitator.
In today’s episode, we’re covering topics like what the Enneagram actually is, the impact it can have, why people love it so much and it’s rise in popularity, how it helps you feel seen and see others, how bias fits in, practical ways you can apply Enneagram to your real life, and what to do with fear as it arises.
Now, of course, we get philosophical in this conversation and while discussing Enneagram, which can help you be in relationship to self and others better, we also dive deep into identifying what our responsibility to other human beings is. What are we really responsible for when we see another human being in their wholeness?
And, one of the most powerful parts of this episode, among the many, is when Micky shares part of her personal journey with Enneagram. She says, “The Enneagram helped me not hate myself.” That’s huge — there’s so much there.
It’s all packed into the next hour, so let’s get to it. And if you know your Enneagram type and your’e watching on YouTube, go ahead and tell us what it is in the comments.
Register for my FREE Self Healing the Root workshop to learn about your trauma responses and how to start changing them.
Today, we’re talking to Kourtney Brownlow who is a business mentor and gym owner here in Franklin, TN, right outside of Nashville. This episode is for you if you’re looking for ways to change your mindset, build resilience, and stay motivated toward your goals, whatever they may be, while still embracing the fact that you’re a human and sometimes have what we generally consider negative emotions.
Kourtney is personally and professionally equipped to talk about these topics because she practices what she preaches — she’s had to delve deep into mindset work when her journey into entrepreneurship began unexpectedly in 2014 when she opened a gym. The first 5 years she had no idea how to run a business and succeeded on sheer will and relationships.
In 2019, Kourtney made a pivotal decision to invest in her professional development by hiring her first business mentor. This decision transformed her business and led her to buy a second gym in 2021. In 2022 due to some life changes Kourtney sold her original gym but continues to run her personal training studio in Franklin, TN. Inspired by her own journey, Kourtney now pays it forward by mentoring other business owners, helping them unlock their full potential and achieve the life they envisioned when they first embarked on their entrepreneurial ventures.
Personally, Kourtney is a wife and mom to four beautiful children — one of whom is Deaf, and you’ll hear part of her personal story around learning this, how her mindset evolved, and what she’s done to grow with her son.
We also cover topics like the importance of mindset, how grief impacts mindset, the spectrum of mindsets available to you, healthy positivity versus toxic positivity, the point of negativity and what to do with it (and yes, it does have a point!), getting unstuck from negative cycles or patterns, where resilience fits in, welcoming challenges, and holding yourself accountable for achieving your real goals.
The next hour is packed with personal development and growth gems, so let’s dive in to get you moving.
Visit the complete show notes at https://humanamplified.com/episodes/119
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Today, we’re talking to Stephanie Dunn. She’s a United Methodist minister who served for about 15 years before transitioning careers to become a certified life coach. She opened her private coaching practice, Stephanie B. Dunn Coaching, a little over a year ago.
Now, before we go further in this introduction, here’s some context for our discussion that you’ll hear today.
We recorded this conversation in April of 2024, so it happened right as the United Methodist church opened it’s general conference to cover topics, yet again, like same-sex marriage and LGBTQIA+ clergy.
The Methodist church has had well-known internal fissures around these issues and NPR reports that up to 7600 congregations disaffiliated because they disliked that many of the churches didn’t enforce the ban on LGBTQIA+ marriage and clergy.
In a landslide vote at the end of April/beginning of May 2024, the Methodist church reversed it’s ban.
That's a sure win for recognizing the humanity of others.
All this is to say, that what you’ll hear Stephanie and I talk about today - primarily burnt out clergy - is another symptom of a larger problem that’s been going on for a while now.
That is, institutionally, things are changing for the church. Not only are congregations leaving, but attendance numbers have been down for ages (in many churches, not just the methodist church), and clergy women are leaving too.
That’s where Stephanie comes in. Once clergy herself, she now coaches clergy women and other helpers who are burnt out and looking for support, rest, self esteem, and ways to fit into an institution that wasn’t designed with them in mind.
Stephanie has a unique perspective as an insider who left her traditional role but took on an adjacent support role that’s very much needed. So, whether you’re clergy, a church goer, or are simply interested in how society is changing in all the various ways with human will behind the change, this is an honest inside look at where clergy is going, what they’re doing, and what’s next for the church as an institution and fabric of communities, plus, how you can heal from burnout.
Let’s dive in.
Visit the complete show notes at https://humanamplified.com/episodes/118
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You’ll want to tune in today because we’re talking all things being seen, especially if you’ve ever felt like an outcast or like society just wasn’t built with you in mind. You have so many different parts of your identity that intersect, sometimes you may have to prioritize one over the other to feel safe, but that doesn't mean that the other parts go away. And this is exactly what today’s guest is an expert in navigating — in her own life and with clients — among many other things.
I’m pleased to introduce you to fellow Nashvillian, Aimee Sadler. She has a Masters in Social Work, is currently a masters candidate at Lipscomb University specializing in conflict management. She currently works as the manager of Community and Collective Impact at the Center for Nonprofit Management. She provides nonprofit consulting in DEI, cultural competency, cultural humility, and cultural understanding. She’s also a private practice clinician focusing on therapy for women of color and members of the LGBTQIA+ community. She’s also a mom, partner, and loves all things Disney. She’s won a plethora of awards, including but not limited to being recognized as one of Nashville Business Journal’s 40 Under 40, and serves as Vice President on the board of Nashville LAUNCH PAD, an organization offering safe and LGBTQIA+ affirming shelters and housing accommodations to unhoused young adults.
In this episode, we're covering things like what it means to be seen, why it’s important for people to feel seen, why people struggle with being seen, dealing with the fear that sometimes comes with the vulnerability of being seen, listening to your intuition, and confidently navigating the intersectionality you experience, even while breaking social norms safely. Amiee also get’s personal and tells us about her own experience with intersectionality.
Visit the complete show notes at https://humanamplified.com/episodes/117
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Now, y’all know this isn’t a political podcast. It’s a podcast about humanity. This podcast serves to unify each other and unify you with your own authenticity. We’ve always sought to humanize one another and therefore understand each other and ourselves better. And with that sometimes comes difficult and necessary conversations regarding the political arena, where policies shape our society and how we interact with it. No one is immune from it.
With that in mind, I’m extremely honored to be bringing you a conversation with local Nashville activist, blogger, commentator, columnist, community organizer, civic educator, and human rights advocate, Timothy Hughes. He oftentimes finds himself working at the intersection of public policy and social justice. He comes from a line of activists, community organizers, and educators who have sought to change the world.
As Timothy and I convened for our conversation, neo-nazis were protesting at the city council meeting in Nashville. This has become a somewhat common sight in the last several years here, where white supremacy has been allowed to flourish in our most basic levels of government —the tip of the spear — as Nashville representative Justin Jones has called it. There has been an ever increasing and louder presence as we’re leading up to presidential elections in 2024.
Speaking of, Timothy and I had decided to do this podcast episode together before the attempted assassination on former president Trump, but the conversation seems to have a special punctuation on it now — what is behind this type of political violence? It’s bigger and older than you might think.
Timothy shares insight into how our systems have evolved from a lens of exclusion and also a lens of prioritized inclusion — something which the neo-nazis of our day, just like the one’s in our grandparents’ day, want to extinguish.
So where do we want to go from here?
Stay tuned for not only a quick big-picture education and context, but also tactical advice for what you can do in your everyday life to change our political trajectory, which is really our human trajectory, even if you’re not a front lines activist.
Visit the complete show notes at https://humanamplified.com/episodes/116
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I love Hannah Bethel, today’s guest. She’s a singer-songwriter based in Nashville, TN, but she’s also a board certified hypnotherapist with the International Association of Counselors and Therapists, an Usui Tibetan Reiki Master, and Member of the International Association of Reiki Professionals. She’s a healer and owner of Hifi Healing, and y’all, she’s returning to the show in this episode to talk about BIG spiritual practices.
If you haven’t heard her first interview on the show, check out episode 93 where we talk about her journey with Lyme disease and how that impacted her music career.
But today, we traverse the topics of consciousness, accessing the subconscious, duality of the Universe, channeling, creativity, trance, the importance of embodiment to truly know something, reincarnation, transcendence and more.
We start out by talking about when’s the right time for someone to try hypnotherapy as part of their healing journey, what it means to process experiences, and the difference between pain and suffering. While we’re at it, what is the purpose of suffering anyways? Hannah pontificates on this and how it’s linked to the nature of the Universe. We then dive into different types of spiritual guidance and how spiritual teams tend to show up for clients in sessions with Hannah; what the common thread is between healing, spirituality, and even songwriting; and the importance of evolving in this life, and how past life regression can help with that.
Hannah tells us about her process, what past life regression is, and the importance of using past life regression responsibly to show up as our best selves in our present life, in our present families and communities.
She then gives us a really cool story about a memorable client past life regression and also one that she had herself.
We wrap up with the topic of when Christians come in for past life regressions and how they deal with any cognitive dissonance or fear that may arise around this type of therapeutic yet mystical work.
Now, this is a really cool conversation, and you’re in for a treat.
After we talked, we decided that Hannah would do a past life regression for me — I’d never had one before — and we recorded the entire thing. From her intake process to the entire 2 and a half hours of me being under.
She took me through some current life regression, then we dipped into a past life, and then we finished by talking with my spirit guides.
We’ll be bringing you a video of that from my perspective on Human Amplified’s YouTube channel next week. We also have a version of it from Hannah’s perspective in the works as well. The release date on that is TBD for now. I’ll let you know more on that when we know. But, the video from my perspective that’s coming out next week won’t be on the audio version of this podcast. It will only be on the Human Amplified YouTube channel. So, if you haven’t already, be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss it.
And without further ado, let’s talk to Hannah.
Visit the complete show notes at https://humanamplified.com/episodes/115
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Second-guessing your intuition is normal, especially in the south where there’s culturally a lot of fear around trusting your intuition… and we’ll go so far as to say trusting psychic hits that you get. Yes, you.
In this episode, we’re talking to Laura Stendel. She’s a licensed massage therapist here in Franklin, TN offering various forms of body work and energy work in her sessions. She owns Intuitive Bodywork TN, and she's known for incorporating her own intuition into her sessions and so today, we’re diving deep into that topic.
We cover things like how body work is inextricably linked to intuition for Laura, how this manifests in massage therapy sessions for her and her clients. She even gives us specific examples, which are really helpful.
Trigger Warning: As Laura shares one particular client story that she has permission to share, the topic of kidnapping and negative entities does come up for a few minutes around 15 or 20 minutes or so in. Listener discretion is advised.
But then we get into really tangible tips for how you can start to listen to your intuition and release fear around it so you can start trusting it again. Maybe you’ve been culturally conditioned to fear it or maybe you trusted it at one point but lost that connection to self through trauma. We address it all.
Laura also talks about psychic and intuitive experiences she had right around the time of the interview and she even dives in on one little hit that she got with me. Throughout the conversation, we use my own spiritual journey and experience of strengthening my intuitive abilities as an example for you.
Side note: If you haven't subscribed to my YouTube channel, Human Amplified, and this is a really interesting topic to you, feel free to go do that now. In addition to this podcast, you can follow my spiritual journey. Check out the “Going Woo with Brandi” playlist. I just started it, so the name might change eventually. But I've linked that for you here, in this video and in the description box if you’re watching and it’s linked in the show notes if you’re listening.
Now, for the last quarter of the interview, we focus on everything you need to know about chakras and tie that back into strengthening your own abilities to work with intuition and energy.
And last but not least, we end on Laura telling you what she thinks is the most important thing to remember when you’re growing, healing, taking care of yourself, and leaning into your own powerful abilities — I won’t spoil it, but I’ll give you a hint — it has to do with letting go of something you might be holding onto so tightly.
After we stopped recording, we talked on for almost an hour and both of us wished we had just kept recording. So, have no fear, I definitely think we’ll get Laura back on the show at some point to keep diving deep into these important, empowering, and life changing practices.
Visit the complete show notes at https://humanamplified.com/episodes/114
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Today, we’re talking to Nashvillian John M. Demarco. There are certain themes that have been flowing through John’s life and career lately: AI, Impermanence, making meaning, and business and career sustainability. And by all areas, I mean he explores these themes as a fiction writer, non-fiction writer, speaker, and coach. By the way, John is a professional certified coach, and he’s been coaching executives for 19 years. But the discussion we have is less about being an executive, and more about being a human in our ever-changing world.
What’s important to point out here is that our personal and professional lives aren’t really separate. We’re whole humans, and what goes on in one area of our life touches all other areas of our life.
Throughout this episode, we dive deeper into most of the themes that John and his client’s are experiencing, starting with managing expectations around impermanence — that is, the fact that nothing ever stays the same, and one day, we’re all going to die — and how that impacts our satisfaction and what that even means for how we’re separate from and connected to each other. We talk about how greed, selfishness, and delusions come about but also how we can choose a healthier way of being amid constant change to experience more joy and meaning instead.
Then, we explore what legacy is, why it’s important, and how we influence it.
Then, the episode takes a turn into considering mindfulness and tapping into a greater good.
And by “takes a turn,” I mean, the conversation starts out pretty cerebral and then morphs into what felt like an unprepared, real-time experience of mindfulness, presence, and spirituality. In the last third of the interview, I didn’t edit out long pauses as I normally would because I wanted you to experience what John was experiencing as he traversed the emotions that came with learning about himself as he answered big questions about why making meaning is important and what meaning even is. The emotion, on the surface, was subtle, but if you’re really paying attention, you’ll see there was nothing surface-level about this conversation. The emotion and thoughtfulness is palpable.
So let’s dive in!
Visit the complete show notes at https://humanamplified.com/episodes/113
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Amanda JP Brown is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker providing psychotherapy to individuals and couples. In addition to her work as a psychotherapist, Amanda is a Reiki Healer, bestselling Author and has been featured on several podcasts discussing the courage it takes to rebuild your life confidently, free from shame and self judgment.
Amanda is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker providing psychotherapy to individuals and couples. She understands how terrifying it can be to shine a light on your darkness as you journey toward healing and just how messy it can get as you begin to uncover the human you want to be.
In addition to her work as a psychotherapist and author, Amanda is a Reiki Healer and has been featured on several other podcasts discussing the courage it takes to rebuild your life confidently, free from shame and self judgment.
In her free time, Amanda loves spending time with her dog, Leroy, being creative, spending time with family/friends, listening to music and attending the ballet.
As a side note: I met Amanda through a mutual friend not too long ago, so I know her and how wonderful she is, and I know that she also loves to participate in ballet and makes a killer Brussels sprout dish, among other creative and adventurous pursuits.
So it’s no surprise to me that looking at ourselves and our romantic partnerships through a lens of curiosity rather than criticism is the defining undercurrent of this discussion, while specifically, we’re talking about marriage and divorce. We’re answering the big questions like how does early childhood impact the outcome of relationships, what generational trauma looks like in relationship, what’s at the root of compromising identity in relationships, and how do we even define marriage today — is it okay to make your own rules around it, how has society dictated the trajectory of the institution of marriage, and is it even still a valid institution in our modern society. Plus Amanda tells you what you need to know if you’re questioning your relationship.
In addition to her expertise in attachment, childhood and generational trauma, and shame and self worthiness issues, Amanda shares her own journey with marriage and divorce and what she did herself to heal.
I absolutely love this conversation and hope you do too. Let us know in the comments what resonates with you and how you define marriage.
Now, let’s dive in.
Visit the complete show notes at https://humanamplified.com/episodes/112
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Up to this point in season 5, we’ve talked quite a bit about theory and big-picture ideas around self realization and identity. In today’s episode, the same theme carries through, but we’re getting more practical and hands on to spark your creativity to put those self-love based concepts into action in your own life in a way that’s authentic to you.
Guest Christy Pruitt-Haynes is telling us all about her action-based approach to getting to know herself now after major relationships in her life have changed and she’s entering a new phase of what it means to be her.
She’s telling us all about her adventures with ABC solo dating. We’ll get into what that is in the episode, but first…
She embarked on the adventure of solo dating after she'd lost her best friend, went through a divorce, and her daughter and niece flew the nest. She realized that so much of her life revolved around others, and now that they’d made their exits in different ways, she was left with herself. So this discussion is all about what Christy chose to do with that realization.
In addition to talking about what ABC solo dating is and how Christy does it, we dive deep into the emotions involved with doing activities by yourself, especially if you’re a people person;, the beauty of being present with yourself; the importance of preference and knowing it’s okay to do what you like and what brings you joy without feeling guilty; absolving guilt; trusting the creative process; moving through grief that comes with change; and letting go.
Christy says “after a lot of hard work, personal reflection, and self-discovery… the only person I’m going to spend the rest of my life with is me so I better get to know and fall in love with her.”
That’s her focus now. And she’s sharing part of that story with you today.
At the end of the day, we have to be able to be alone with ourselves. I know it took me a long time to love my self enough to be able to do that — it can be a fun yet difficult task.
As you listen, I encourage you to think about what might work for you to grow your relationship with yourself. Are you able to be alone with yourself and what might be fun in that process?
Let us know in the comments what you think.
Now, let’s dive in.
Visit the complete show notes at https://humanamplified.com/episodes/111
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Today we’re talking to Tian Yuming. She’s a yoga teacher and trauma-informed certified life coach who immigrated to Singapore from China at an early age with her family. This immigration and the generational impact of the Chinese cultural revolution set the stage for the healing journey and expertise Yuming shares with us in this episode.
The most prominent thing I noticed about Yuming when we first met is the presence she brings to her interactions. It was so comforting and interesting to experience. This was what inspired us to collaborate on today’s discussion.
We talk about how self discovery is healing, how to create more space by anchoring into the present moment, what it means to hold space, how to hold space, the difference between holding space as a professional versus in a dynamic relationship, when to prioritize holding space for yourself versus another person, when and how to draw boundaries, how to extend grace to yourself even if you aren’t present, when it’s okay to think about the past and future, and letting go and moving on. This discussion is a spiritual exploration based on a foundation of trauma and somatic training, so you’re in for a treat where science meets spirituality. Yuming focuses on connecting mind, body, and spirit, and this discussion is an extension of that focus.
There are many fantastic take aways from today’s episode, but my absolute favorite is when Yuming says “Compassionate witnessing is where the healing takes place.” Be sure to let me know in the comments (on YouTube) what your favorite take away is too.
Now, let’s dive in.
Visit the complete show notes at https://humanamplified.com/episodes/110
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This episode is all about using spirituality as a practical tool in your life, thanks to today’s guest, Ashley B. Jones.
Ashley is a Transformation Coach and Healer based in Denver, Colorado who supports feelers and dreamers as they learn to embrace change and build inner security to transform their lives into one where anything is possible. She is known for her unique holistic approach that merges modern understandings of the mind and energy with ancient practices that remind us of the power of our inner knowing.
Not only is Ashley an intuitive healer, but she also has a degree in behavioral neuroscience.
We start out discussing how important intuition and discernment are, and you’ll find this is a theme throughout, combined with self worth and nurturing the relationship with all of your selves — and you heard that right — there’s more than one.
This episode is absolutely packed with good information — and the information is dense — we throw a lot of information at you in a short amount of time, so you may want to listen to this episode more than once. I’m still processing things we talked about. We discuss topics throughout like: making sense of where science and spirituality meet, what intuition is, what neuroscience is, how they work together, how to trust your intuition — from using your imagination to knowing when distortions are creeping in. We then dig into how to use your intuition when you rely heavily on logic, and how to address your own skepticism. Ashley also details her personal healing journey, gives us the run down on the 6 Clairs of psychic ability, what spirituality does to our brain, what’s in the unconscious, and the ethics to consider when relying on your intuition.
Then, for the grand finale of the episode, Ashley does a collective tarot reading. And to be honest with you, after the reading, she really dug in with me on how it applied to my own life. I loved doing that. At the time of the interview, not all of the reading sunk in or resonated while some of it did. But as I listened back to it while producing this episode, it hit me like a ton of feathers and I had even more insight into my fears around my creative projects now than I did then. I love it, and it’s so helpful.
So, when you get to that part, as Ashley says, take what resonates and leave what doesn’t. And whenever you listen to this episode, whether it’s your first or third time, is when you’re meant to hear it.
Trust the process. Trust your intuition. And, in the time since I interviewed Ashley and now, she’s put together a free workshop all about trusting yourself and listening to your intuition, so I’ve linked that down below in the show notes. Be sure to check it out.
And Here we go.
Visit the complete show notes at https://humanamplified.com/episodes/109
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Y’all, go ahead and grab your tissues now. Today we’re talking to Cheyenne England about her miraculous healing journey. In late October 2020, at 38 years old, Cheyenne was diagnosed with stage 4b high-grade serous epithelial ovarian cancer.
Cheyenne is not only a cancer survivor, but she’s a mother, daughter, sister, aunt, friend, and teacher. She’s been a teacher for 16 years in Tennessee, and she comes from a long line of strong women who have bravely fought cancer.
I’ll go ahead and tell you now that she is considered cancer free after six months which included debulking surgery and 6 rounds of chemo, followed by two years of a maintenance chemo pill. But with how her cancer had spread and her family history of cancer, the odds seemed stacked against her.
As you listen to Cheyenne’s story, you’ll travel the ups and downs of emotions right there with her as she details what she experienced, from having to trust and advocate for herself when she thought something may be wrong, to a quick movement through the healthcare system, surgery, chemo, and at the same time healing pieces of herself from her sister’s death from breast cancer in 2012. After Cheyenne tells her story, she details for us the mental and emotional aspects of the journey, how she handled them, and what the absolute most important things were that helped with the healing process. This episode is as much about mindset as it is about what actually happened. And as you listen, you’ll see how tiny things aligned in the right time to ensure Cheyenne is here with us today.
When you think about everything that had to come together in the way it did, it’s nothing short of a miracle.
Then and now, her greatest joy is her son, whom she has been blessed to travel with this year, celebrating life, and going on adventures before he starts school.
Heads up, you’ll hear Cheyenne’s dogs barking through some of this interview — they also totally wanted in on this inspiring episode! Let’s dive in.
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Do you ever just sit and listen to someone tell stories from their life? What a gift it is to be able to listen to such intimate memories that helped shape a person into who they are in this exact moment, with wisdom unmatched.
If you love doing that as much as I do, you’re in for a treat today — this is one of our ultimate storytelling episodes from a special person who has a rich tapestry of experience that can touch us all.
We’re talking to Clif Doyal. He’s a Nashville music industry veteran who manages and promotes artists, he’s a musician himself, and he’s a returning guest from season 4.
Last time we met for the show, he talked about using music as a unifier during intense political times. But now, we’re taking an even more personal approach to his life’s experience — you get to see a different side of Clif. I say that, because we’re talking paranormal experiences, but actually, you see that it’s not such a different side. Clif brings his personality, love for entertainment through storytelling, and ability to make meaning and purpose to everything he does, and this is no different.
Today, you get to hear at least three different stories of Clif’s true, verified, and real experiences with ghosts and what we think was a demon, and then several more stories about the gentle spirits of passed on loved ones. We talk about the differences between those various types of entities as well.
You Might Also Like: Life After Death: The Difference Between Spirits and Ghosts and How They’re Tied to Our Humanity
As Clif says, the veil between worlds is thin.
So, grab a cozy blanket, your favorite drink, and settle in while Clif takes us with him to being on the farm with his mom as a kid, a prophetic recurring dream, a Franklin, TN civil war cemetery at the historic Carnton plantation, a creepy cow path in an Ozarks holler, a bedroom in a shotgun house haunted by an old miner, and the moments his mom and late wife came to him in spirit form.
You Might Also Like: True Ghost Stories Around the Fire
Visit the complete show notes at https://humanamplified.com/episodes/107
Brandi here. Did you know besides hosting this podcast that I’m also a Tennessee-based, original fine artist? You can shop my original paintings and sign up for first dibs at new original art at brandifleck.com. Your support would mean so much!
Today we’re talking to Emerson Wright. They go by Em. And y’all, this episode is worth a listen.
Through the lens of being a transgender law professor in Florida, we look at how bringing our whole selves to how we show up is healing and empowering, whether we do it individually or systemically. And staying connected to our humanness is how we make life and systems better. That’s huge, and that’s how we’ll change the justice system, which Em is part of, or any other system that you may be part of.
As we evolve, the systems we’ve created must also evolve to integrate who we really are. So we talk social, medical, and career transition, complete with failures and progresses, which if you look deeply here, is a microcosm of the bigger shift the justice system is experiencing. We talk how the public’s relationship with the law is strained, if law even still matters, and having hope in the face of fear.
But now, let me tell you about Em Wright.
They’re a law professor, fisherman, dog dad, and nerd. Their professional life has spanned from the dishwashing room at a Pizza Hut to conference rooms in city skyscrapers and everywhere between. A die-hard legal realist, Em finds hope and inspiration from their students and the members of our society who show up to make the hard decisions and do the hard work.
Full disclosure, Em and I were the best of friends for many years, starting in high school, through college, and for some time after. But this interview is the first time we’ve caught up in at least, I’d say, 15 years. And it was so good to reconnect.
Oh, and be sure to get to the end of this interview for a surprise paranormal story from Em.
Let’s dive in.
Visit the complete show notes at https://humanamplified.com/episodes/106
REGISTER for my FREE Self Healing the Root workshop here: https://www.brandifleckcoaching.com/self-healing-the-root-workshop
You’re in for a treat with this interview.
We start out by talking what it looks like when a man has healthy levels of testosterone and what it looks like if testosterone is low. You’ll see that the role testosterone plays is way bigger than we typically give it credit for. Then, Justin squashes the stigma around testosterone usage and what healthy masculinity really is.
Justin opens up about his own journey with low testosterone as well and how he went from a bunch of medications that didn’t feel right to actually addressing the root cause of his symptoms. We discuss what the multifaceted root of low t actually can be, most common symptoms, the role of support systems, how hard it is for men to make friends, what to do about it, proactive and preventative strategies to balance your hormones in the first place, and even what to know about lab numbers and their lack of standardization.
On the surface, you’ll walk away from this episode equipped to know if you should test for low T or not.
If you go deeper into the more subtle themes presented, you’ll start to wonder about why you and I have evolved the way we have, if we’re going in the right direction, and then hopefully you’ll start to question if getting to the root is a better route than treating symptoms. If we want to change our story, Justin and I agree that it’s a great idea to advocate for yourself, get to the root of what ails you, and go back to the basics when taking care of yourself so that your body can go back to balance and therefore change the trajectory of your evolution.
So, from the mind-blowing little known symptoms of low testosterone that are scattered throughout the entire discussion to the other end of spectrum where I feel like we’re all trying to figure out how to get access to the right types of holistic healthcare, let’s dig in.
Visit the complete show notes at https://humanamplified.com/episodes/105
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Stories...the stories we tell ourselves shape who we've been, who we are, and what we become. What you choose to do next either reinforces or changes your story. You have the power to choose where we go from here, as humans. So, welcome to the evolving story of what it means to be human through one beautiful and messy person at a time.
We’re back after a two-year break and we’re gonna dig deeper than ever into who we are, our place in the world, how to make it better, and what it all means.
I'm your host, Brandi Fleck. And this is Human Amplified.
So subscribe and I’ll see you soon.
Learn more at https://humanamplified.com/
We're talking to Yemi Penn. She's an engineer, author, documentary producer, speaker, and is currently pursuing her PhD around how trauma can be transformative.
She's a survivor herself who’s self awareness and growth is ongoing. She’s in the midst of transformation and change. So, it was the perfect time to dig really deep into topics like why life doesn’t have to be a struggle, what trauma is, how the aftermath of traumatic events can lead to struggle, and the huge question of what is the point of trauma?
Yemi then boldly and openly tells us about her own traumatic experience with specific examples of how it’s rippled out into her life. A loss of power and consent led to a minimization of her voice.
We explore how this became intertwined with personality, how she uses her voice now, the power of acknowledgement and awareness, some of the healing modalities Yemi has used in her own healing journey, and we even breach the topic of restorative justice and how punishment just isn’t working to stop perpetrators.
This episode may be hard to listen to for some of you, but I hope it inspires you to face any discomfort you may feel when you’re ready in order to embrace the sometimes messy inner work required to heal your own trauma.
We end the episode by considering the question, what would life look like without trauma. Yemi says she searched the depths of her soul to answer this question and the others throughout this vulnerable and informative interview.
I invite you now to imagine for yourself a life and a world without trauma. If we can do that, we can get there.
TRIGGER WARNING: We discuss child sexual abuse. Listener discretion is advised.
Let us know how the season has impacted you by leaving a rating and review on Google, Apple Podcasts, or Facebook.
For more resources from Human Amplified while the podcast is off season, follow us on socials, @humanamplified and explore humanamplified.com. There, you’ll find past podcast episodes, our blog, free downloads, merch and artwork in our shop, and you can sign up for emails from me, Brandi, so you don’t miss a thing.
When I look back at season 4, I see an evolution that parallels the evolution of the human spirit. We don’t have to be what we’ve always been. We can change. We can move forward. We can create a life, and by extension, a society, that works better for us. And that, my friend, is what it’s all about. We can’t change the past, but we can change the here, now, and future. When you’re ready, I’m here as a trauma-informed coach to hold space for you as you build awareness and heal trauma. Post-traumatic growth is possible. The inner work looks different for everybody, but together over time, we can practice regulating your nervous system, rerouting neural pathways, and reconnecting your body, mind, and spirit, so that you feel more peace and freedom to be your authentic and beautiful self. To get started, book your free discovery call with me now.
Today we’re talking to Sara Skillen. She’s a Certified Organizer Coach®, Certified Professional Organizer®, and is the founder of SkillSet Coaching & Organizing based in Nashville, TN.
You might remember Sara from her Human Amplified blog post that came out right before season 4 started. It’s called Embracing Life Order: Past, Present, and Future. Definitely check that out as she takes you through a fun little exercise for cleaning out your junk drawer.
In today’s episode, we dive deep into how setting up your space to work for you ripples out into how your time flows. We learn a bit about how Sara found her calling in organizing in the first place, which is an interesting winding journey through music, the legal field, and then into coaching, where the need to create safe spaces for those diagnosed with ADHD became clear.
That’s where ditching conventional methods of organizing came in for Sara and she leaves us with some tangible tips for how to take the first steps in organizing your space without becoming overwhelmed.
We discuss how to facilitate action, even when it’s tricky and dealing with clearing clutter in families or groups where individuals each have their own needs.
Spirituality and intuition is a big part of who Sara is, so we end by exploring how that ties in to the structure of life order.
Side Note: Guys — this is the second to last episode of season 4. Be sure to tune in next week for the season 4 finale of the Human Amplified podcast.
I first learned of Steve Davis in 2020 when he decided to do the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge for the first time. Two years ago, I documented his ride on socials because it was such an interesting journey. There’s more behind it than just getting on a motorcycle and going.
As you’ll hear today from Steve, there weren’t only physical and navigational challenges to overcome across 10,000 miles of American back roads, but by the end of his journey, he’d had a complete perspective shift about the importance of time and risk taking.
We start out the episode by digging deep into spirituality and faith quite a bit, but Steve admits this isn’t a topic that comes up in his everyday life often. But there’s an important wink from Steve’s late mom that ties into his faith that assists with taking on the Hoka Hey.
Then we shift into finding the fun in challenges and some of Steve’s personal story, including how he and his wife, Dawn Davis, fell in love and embarked on a dream of motorcycling together as recently as 2016.
Steve and Dawn Davis will be riding in the 2022 Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge starting on June 26. They’ll be launching and finishing from Sturgis, South Dakota.
Steve is returning rider #954. He completed the 2020 Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge in an impressive 12 days. His wife, Dawn Davis is new rider #1064. She’s the shortest person to ever attempt a Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge. If they successfully complete the challenge, they’ll be only the second couple to have ever completed the challenge on two separate bikes.
Steve is riding to raise money for the veteran non-profit called Angels Alive. They support veterans in integrating back into society and regaining their sense of community and purpose. We even reflect a bit on what veterans go through when they come home after deployment and why supporting them during that time matters.
Dawn is riding to raise funds for St. Jude Children’s Hospital to honor, as she puts it, “two very special angels who will be guiding their parents through this challenge.”
So what do you say?
Let’s help these riders meet their fundraising goals for these amazing charities.
DONATE:
Angels Alive Donation Link
Dawn’s St. Jude Donation Portal
Today we’re talking to entrepreneur, author, and public speaker, Octavian Pantis and his friend Captain Emil Dobrovolschi, who is a pilot, pilot instructor, and pilot examiner. They’re both based in Bucharest Romania in Europe. Octavian and Emil are co-authors of their book, Dark Cockpit.
In his spare time, Octavian loves to collect and study old maps. Emil spends time with his family and rides his Harley Davidson all over Romania with his wife.
We start out by connecting these interests to their leadership approaches and how it’s all related to keeping a big picture view of life as a way to manage change, no matter how big or small.
This episode is for you if you’re looking for creative ways to have a smoother life, even in times of loss or post trauma. Octavian and Emil explain techniques in being prepared (or being in control, as these leaders would call it); leadership, whether in your personal or professional life; and excellent communication.
Not only do they explain how each area works to create more ease and peace of mind, but they give us personal stories and examples from aviation to help illustrate the points.
At most, you’ll walk away from this episode thinking about what leadership means to you and how you can leverage techniques used by pilots to handle crises that are coming up at this late point in the pandemic — whatever that may look like for you. Perhaps that means making better informed decisions or educating yourself in an area you feel unsure about. Or maybe, it looks like perspective shifts to find what’s working amid the change.
At least, if you’re afraid to fly, you’ll realize how many safety preparations go into keeping a flight smooth and perhaps gain some confidence in air travel.
It was such a pleasure talking to these genuinely kind, caring, and insightful guys. Enjoy!
You are whole and capable no matter where you’re at and what you’re going through. Need help accessing that capability and the answers already within you? I’ve now opened several one on one trauma-informed coaching spots to do just that. Visit humanamplified.com/episodes/101 to schedule your free discovery call and learn if trauma-informed coaching with me (your host, Brandi), is for you.
Brandi and Ryan team up for a special episode reflecting on the journey creating the Human Amplified podcast has taken them on. Covering everything from personal growth resulting from guest stories to the benefits of artistic collaboration, it becomes apparent that connection and relationships are at the heart of Human Amplified. Listen to this episode to celebrate 100 episodes with us.
Then, visit the show notes at humanamplified.com/episodes/100 to comment and let us know how you’ve grown since first tuning in.
Today we’re talking to Alyssa Couture (also pronounced Couture, which is a french word for fashionable, custom clothing). Her name is only fitting as she’s a multi-faceted fashion designer and energy worker who now focuses on being an advocate for healthy fashion.
She says healthy fashion not only therapeutically supports the body, but it’s clothing that awakens the soul and spirit.
Alyssa is author of the book Healthy Fashion: The Deeper Truths, where she explains how we can go deeper into fashion as a holistic health practice that’s not only good for us, but is also good for the planet.
In today’s episode, we talk why humans are drawn to fashion, its many roles in our lives, and how, as an industry insider, Alyssa has observed humanity heading toward a healthier fashion already.
She breaks down for us all the ways in which fashion is connected to our holistic health, including our physical, spiritual, emotional, mental, and energetic bodies.
Then, we shift into learning about Alyssa’s background and life story, exploring everything from the influence of working on monasteries to how her spiritual awakening ties into the creation of her book.
If you love a little bit of mysticism combined with Jungian psychology, this episode is definitely for you.
We wrap up with advice for how you can start consuming healthier fashion, even while on a budget, and how as consumers, we can actively help shift the fashion industry to the healthier end of the spectrum.
While there’s plenty of tangible advice, you also get plenty of philosophical food for thought. The overarching take away you’ll leave this episode with is: all areas of our lives impact all other areas of our lives. Something as enjoyable as fashion (or perhaps as stressful as fashion, depending on who you are) is connected to what it means to be a human with and on planet Earth.
Your humanity isn’t up for debate. So as friends and family members are falling away from your life, triggered by a heated social media interaction or a toxic holiday gathering, what can you do?
That’s been the question for a while now in the age of political divide. So today, we’re talking to Clif Doyal, because lessons from his impressive life experience can apply to how we handle the discomfort, the sadness, the anger, and the grief that comes with the territory.
Our guest today, Clif Doyal, is a music industry veteran here in Nashville, TN with over 50 year's experience. He does publicity for and manages recording and performance artists with his companies, CDA Publicity & Marketing and the Clif Doyal Agency. He also represents fashion brands in his new boutique agency, ClifX Fashions.
Clif is uniquely qualified to share his experiences on the topic because his curiosity and love for music has taken him through seemingly contradictory experiences where he’s relied on shared humanity and common ground to connect.
We’re talking performing at Nixon’s inauguration as a young teenager while Viet Nam war protests were raging beside him; joining a racially diverse band in the late 70s and playing in rock n roll clubs where the racial tension was palpable; tour-managing artists at Trump’s welcome party in 2017; and then marching in the women’s march during the same trip.
We dive into the foundation his parents built that set him up to have these types of experiences, why he’d want to interact with people on both political “sides,” how his life is enriched from the experiences, but also what he does to deal with the social fall out. Through it all, he doesn’t compromise his ethics.
Aside from Clif’s engaging storytelling, if you take away anything from this episode, let it be these points:
-A strong understanding of shared humanity helps you be a compassionate and kind person.
-You’re not alone in these experiences of relationships changing or dissipating over a disagreement about human rights.
-Misinformation, toxic politics, and cancel culture do exist and impact our relationships through social media and news outlets.
-Music is a unifier. You can use it as such in your life.
-Common ground is the basis for relating to other humans.
-That’s how we start to heal the divide.
Want the world to change? Let’s go back to basics so you can have a strong foundation for being part of the change. To do this, download my free ebook, What It Means to Be Human. Visit humanamplified.com/episodes/098 to claim your copy now.
Get premium content and support the show on Patreon.
Today on the podcast, we’re hearing from Kass Thomas. She’s a communication expert, empowerment coach, and best-selling author. Her most recent book is called Dancing with Riches.
We had so much fun during this interview. Our hearts connected and a true philosophical exploration took place as Kass applied what she teaches and coaches to my questions.
This episode is all about accessing the limitless potential of who you are and the limitless potential of the experiences you can have if you’re open to them and even other people. Doing that is a major contribution to society and the world.
In other words, we talk about what your limitations really are, getting beyond them, how feeling good is a major contribution you make to those around you, and how inclusivity and exclusivity tie in to overcoming limitations so you can feel good.
We then go deep into how the universe works, with personal stories from Kass’s life about when the universe seemed to intervene because she included herself and others.
You’ll come away from this episode with an expanded perspective on:
-Connection
-Why it’s important to let your walls down
-What happens when you do
-And how the very nature of communication at it’s root fits in
At a minimum, this episode will get you thinking. At a maximum, you’ll come away from it encouraged to be more open in your life and start taking steps to reach the next level of your potential.
Want the world to change? Let’s go back to basics so you can have a strong foundation for being part of the change. To do this, download my free ebook, What It Means to Be Human. Visit humanamplified.com/episodes/097 to claim your copy now.
NATIONAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HOTLINE:
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence and it’s safe to do so, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233. Or you can text START to 88788.
This week on the show, we’re welcoming guest Shonda Pence. She’s a social worker, educator, devoted human advocate, and founder of the sober living program in Charleston, WV called Mending Fences.
Today though, we’re focusing on her personal experience of surviving and thriving after domestic violence, also known as intimate partner violence and domestic abuse.
I’ve known Shonda and pieces of her story for a while now and asked her to come on the podcast all the way back in season 1. She didn’t feel comfortable then, and that was absolutely okay. I bring this up because here we are in season 4, and Shonda reached out to say she was ready. So, it is an absolute honor to have her on the show and just goes to show that healing can happen after an abusive marriage or any trauma you’ve been through.
There is light at the other end of this tunnel.
Eventually, you’ll be able to talk about it. And when you do, it’ll help other people as it continues to help you.
So, listen on to hear Shonda bravely explain why it used to be hard to tell her story, why it’s important to speak out now, and what her life is like now in a healthy and loving marriage.
We then dive into how she even got into an abusive marriage in the first place and what it was like living in it. Shonda describes actual examples of physical and emotional abuse she endured and the complicated dynamics of trying to get help in a small town, the isolation she experienced, and how she finally got out.
We go into the emotions she experienced once the abusive relationship was over, ranging from peace to grief, which is important to to know is normal. And we explore how long it has taken her to recover.
We wrap up by talking about what we, as a society, should be asking instead of “why didn’t you leave?”
Oftentimes, close friends and family don’t realize what’s going on in these types of intimate partner abuse situations. If you suspect someone you love is going through a similar experience, this episode can help you recognize some of the signs and understand why your loved one may feel unsafe to talk or leave. If you are in the situation yourself, our hope is this will help you safely choose yourself when you can, whether that’s before, during, or after being abused.
TRIGGER WARNING: We discuss intimate partner abuse in detail, including gun violence and other specific instances of domestic violence. Listener discretion is advised.
Keep going in the direction of lasting, healing practice in your life with my online mini-course Momentum Restored. Enroll now: humanamplified.com/momentumrestoredcourse
Support the show on Patreon.
Today, we’re talking to Dr. John Demartini. He’s a human behavior expert, educator, international best-selling author, and founder of the Demartini Institute.
And get this, he’s a man who was born on Thanksgiving day and he works in gratitude to transform lives.
Dr. John Demartini is a returning guest to Human Amplified. He was featured on the blog this past summer. For a more foundational understanding of the gratitude topics discussed in today’s podcast episode, you may find it helpful to read his blog interview titled, “On the Way, Not in the Way.”
Today, however, we get straight to the point in answering the question: how can you love every experience you’ve had in life even when you’ve experienced trauma?
Dr. Demartini immediately and vividly details examples of how this is possible and what his (unidentified) clients have done to implement his advice in their specific difficult scenarios.
The answers involve big mindset shifts, understanding how deep gratitude works, and then being able to find gratitude in all of life, regardless of if you deem the experience to be, in Dr. Demartini’s words, terrible or terrific.
Dr. Demartini’s gratitude work seems to be taking people out of a victim mentality.
In this episode, we discuss topics like perception, the impact of becoming aware of the unconscious, why you may not see the benefit of a trauma, the benefits of gratitude, Dr. Demartini’s own personal gratitude journaling practice that he’s had for over 39 years, and cultural feelings around death and grief.
You’ll leave this episode with inspiration and empowerment. Specifically, you’ll get a lot of food for thought, actionable advice to explore your own perceptions around past trauma you’ve experienced, and tips for finding gratitude to help you move forward and rewrite your story.
TRIGGER WARNING: Real stories of healing from violent abductions and rape are discussed in detail. Listener discretion is advised.
Stay motivated, relax more, and strengthen your spirituality, all to keep going in the direction of authentic, lasting healing practices in your life. Enroll today in my online mini-course momentum restored at humanamplified.com/momentumrestoredcourse.
Listeners, if you’d like to see excerpts from Dr. John Demartini’s personal gratitude journal, where he scrolls through a volume of pages detailing a couple week’s worth of events and happenings he’s so grateful for, plus see other cuts we made two his interview, subscribe to The Good Seats on Human Amplified’s Patreon. There, you’ll receive a completely ad-free and unedited video of this interview that lasts about an hour and five minutes. Plus, you’ll get behind the scenes commentary for this week and each week of the podcast season when new episodes come out. To get The Good Seats, go to patreon.com/humanamplified.
Happy April listeners! This month on the podcast, we’re shifting from a theme of self care and body to the power of choice. And we have several guests lined up on this topic all month. First of which, I’m incredibly excited to introduce you to, Taylor Rochestie. He’s a professional basketball player, husband, dad, world traveler, best-selling author of the book A New 20/20 Vision, and today he’s talking to us all about choosing happiness and trusting the process of your life.
He appeared on our blog this past summer with some other amazing insight, so if you’re interested in hearing more about authenticity, embracing being the underdog, and gratitude read his blog interview titled, “Reprogramming Adversity.”
In this episode, Taylor really dives deep into how happiness is a choice, what he personally does to choose happiness, and how you can incorporate some of the same type of actions into your own life, from noticing the little details and finding the good to placing bets with your friends and family to add some excitement to a personal growth goal you may have.
We begin the conversation by following up with what Taylor’s been up to since we last spoke, move into a bit about Taylor’s book, and then he really gives you some actionable take aways with tips around gratitude and creating habits to build confidence. We finish up by talking about celebrating wins, the importance of accountability, and the roles of trust and even addiction when choosing a positive life path.
You’ll come away from this episode empowered, inspired, and will have next steps you can take to start choosing happiness more in your own life, even when bad things are happening in the world around you.
Quick note: We recorded this episode before the Winter Olympics took place and before Taylor started his latest basketball season in China. So, this will make sense after you listen, but just know, Taylor did make it to China.
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This week, we’re continuing with our focus on the human body by talking to Nashville singer-songwriter, Reiki master, and hypnotherapist, Hannah Bethel, about her journey with Lyme disease, adventures in nature, and her latest music.
First, we dig deep into Hannah’s adventurous spirit, specifics of solo hikes she took in Alaska and Sedona, AZ, challenging limiting beliefs, and later we circle back around to how that love for adventure carries over into what she loves about touring.
In between, we learn how Lyme disease set the stage for Hannah’s current music career, which was just taking off when she first became unwell. After a couple years of healing, Hannah was able to get back into making music coupled with her passion to help others come into health holistically.
I’ve oftentimes said music has healed me and held me together in some of the hardest times in my life, so it’s really interesting to look at how music and healing have intertwined in Hannah’s life.
Yes, we discuss the specifics of symptoms and getting a Lyme diagnosis to what test to take and what practitioners Hannah went to. She tells us how she learned to listen to her body.
But, the bigger lessons here are all about how every part of being human impacts every other part and that mindset and attitude are (no pun intended) instrumental in making progress.
So relax for the next hour as Hannah makes the connection for us between listening to your own body in healing and in making music — using the subtle queues to navigate decision making and the joys of vulnerability.
At the end of the episode, we also jump in with some details about Hannah’s newly released EP, a particularly vulnerable album, Until the Sun Comes Back Around, which you’ll definitely want to check out.
And guys, Hannah is having a record release show at 3rd & Lindsley in Nashville on Wed. April 6th, 2022. Get your tickets and go listen. It’ll be an amazing night out.
This episode is brought to you by my free Healing Priorities Workbook. Get it at: https://mailchi.mp/dbbcd037309e/healing-priorities-workbook.
I personally created this workbook to help you intentionally decide on and prioritize which part of your holistic health you need or want to work on first and then I give you tools to take action in the area you choose.
Access premium content and support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/humanamplified
This month, we’ve been focusing on themes of listening to your body, taking care of your body, and healing holistically. Several guests so far have even talked about how body dysmorphia, food restriction, and eating disorder fueled by traditional wellness activities have played into their lives.
That’s why I’m excited to introduce you to this week’s guest, Samantha Lander, or Sam for short. Not only does she have similar experiences, but she’s a St. Louis, MO-based single mom, personal trainer, and functional diagnostic nutritionist who DJs on the side. I don’t know if she would say this, but I would definitely say she’s not your traditional nutritionist.
Sam used functional nutrition to heal herself from allergies, food sensitivities, hormonal imbalances, and parasites. She’s also founder of See Fit where she coaches people back to optimal health when they just can’t quite put their finger on why they feel bad.
In this episode, we really explore Sam’s life and the events that contributed to her feeling so sick before she got into functional health. We talk about everything from drinking lake water as a kiddo to a meth addiction and doing time in a federal prison.
However, Sam mainly packs in actionable advice for how you can clean up your eating habits, heal your gut, and make healthier choices.
She gets deep into why most people feel bad regularly, what leaky gut is and how it happens, and what it actually feels like to feel good — something you may not even know you’re missing, even if you’re not sick.
You’ll come away from this episode knowing:
-How food sensitivities form
-How people get parasites and some ways to avoid them
-Tips for how to start healing your gut
-Tips for how to start eating clean at home and in restaurants - Sam lists the most common foods to avoid that cause inflammation
-And you’ll even find out how many times a day you should be pooping
This episode is brought to you by my free Healing Priorities Workbook. Get it at: https://mailchi.mp/dbbcd037309e/healing-priorities-workbook.
I personally created this workbook to help you intentionally decide on and prioritize which part of your holistic health you need or want to work on first and then I give you tools to take action in the area you choose.
Access premium content and support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/humanamplified
Today’s guest, Rebbecca Hulse, is a New Zealand-based professional dancer turned author, speaker, and creative business coach.
She’s all about embracing your inner rebel as fuel to move forward in a way that works for you. Once she started doing this in her own life, she says she ended up being 10-years a head of schedule in terms of achieving her dreams and she had to answer the question, “now what?”
Well that’s possible for you too.
I just love how personal Rebecca gets on today’s episode. By the end of the interview, she creates a space for you to truly let go of anything bothering you from the day, and gives you actionable steps for how to move forward after that.
Essentially, from this episode, you’ll be inspired and empowered to live on your own terms, strengthen you peace, listen to your body and own knowing, and to make space in your day for creativity.
How awesome is that!
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Use code BON15BRANDI for 15% off your purchase.
Visit the show notes at: https://humanamplified.com/episodes/091
A huge part of our human condition is going to work. Let’s face it — for most of us, we spend more time with our colleagues and co-workers than our families. But, what if we imagined a better way?
A non-traditional wellness company based in Nashville, Tenn. called TRILUNA, is doing just that. Co-founders and Co-CEOs Elizabeth Moore and Ashley Brooke James started TRILUNA after hustle culture literally made them sick.
Both Elizabeth and Ashley met while obtaining health coaching and yoga certifications after quitting their corporate jobs.
Now, you can often find them leading workshops, hosting festivals, speaking at conferences, and executing panels about the power of stress management and self-care to prevent burnout.
Typically, Ashley joins Elizabeth in these types of discussions, but we did record this episode during a particularly stressful point during the Omicron surge here in Tennessee. So, today on Human Amplified, you’ll be hearing from a solo Elizabeth Moore.
This episode is for you if hustle culture just isn’t cutting it anymore and you want to educate yourself on how to say no to it. In other words, if you’re going through the motions of the grind day in and day out and it’s detracting from your life — as it is for so many others as evidenced by The Great Resignation — listen in as guest Elizabeth Moore empowers us to renegotiate our relationship to wellness, failure, work, our work environment, and our co-workers.
She explains the impacts of chronic stress and burnout on our bodies and our communities, including our work communities.
From this episode, you’ll learn:
-What an unhealthy or sick environment is
-How to recognize stress in your body
-How to know when stress turns to burnout
-When to set boundaries around your times of diminished capacity to produce
-How to use vulnerability to change culture
-And, what the hard conversations are that need to occur so we can start shifting expectations around stress and burn out at work
TRIGGER WARNING: This episode does come with a trigger warning. To get the full context of why a non-traditional approach to wellness can be needed to foster healthier change, we discuss Elizabeth’s journey with body dysmorphia and an eating disorder in detail.
Support for this podcast comes from Bed of Nails. Use a Bed of Nails acupressure mat and pillow to reduce your stress. Shop our affiliate link today and use code BON15BRANDI for 15% off at check out.
Today we’re talking with hairstylist and aesthetician turned natural soap maker, Coco Kennell. She’s the founder of St. Louis, Missouri-based skincare company, Soap Life 360.
Coco Kennell is a resourceful DIYer who comes from a long line of problem solvers who’ve ingrained resourcefulness as a core value in her life. That resourcefulness led to the creation of her natural skincare products, which she formulates and makes mostly in her home lab.
Soap Life 360 is all about the natural soap, but it’s so much more than that. As Coco puts it, it’s also about starting a conversation around coming home to community violence while still learning how to love your neighbor.
In this episode, Coco details how her reaction to the civil unrest in Ferguson, MO, in 2014 led to soap-making in the first place - as a form of relief. She details the memory of this all too familiar instance of police brutality, and reveals a personal connection to that event that reopened childhood wounds all over again – it was personal pain layered beneath the pain in her community.
But, there was also inspiration when she looked closely - she saw wounded people taking care of one another. So with her ingredients and packaging, she infuses the characteristics of inspiring community personalities into her products. Then, she tops the product off with a fitting name designed to spark a conversation that bridges gaps between predominantly white and Black communities.
The interesting thing about this episode is, yes, we talk a little business, a little chemistry that goes into soap making, and why natural ingredients are so important for your skin. But we also talk about lessons of acceptance and family ties.
What stands out to me the most is when Coco describes how natural skin care allows your skin to be how it’s meant to be. What a beautiful symbol for undoing the societal conditioning around racism.
TRIGGER WARNING: This episode does come with a trigger warning due to the detailing of the murder of teen, Michael Brown, as Coco recalls it and she reflects on how this impacted her emotionally. Listener discretion is advised.
Support for this podcast comes from Bed of Nails. Visit humanamplified.com/episodes/089 for your 15% discount on Bed of Nails products and link to shop from to enhance your self care practice.
Brendon is an author, internationally-acclaimed speaker, and relationships expert who says he used to be an outcast always trying to fit in.
In today’s episode, we dig deep into that feeling, that so many of us have, and how Brendon was able to embrace his differences and stop trying to be what everyone else wanted him to be.
He describes his childhood, gets real and transparent about struggling with addiction and the outpouring of support that has comes with being real and raw, and also realizing the power that we all have from surviving traumatic pasts.
We also spend some time thinking about how to deal with the power dynamic and struggles that come with trying to influence or control others into being what you think they should be or vice versa.
The bottom line is, you’ll leave today’s episode with empowerment.
You’ll know that you have the power to:
-Fully embrace who you are, in all your differences that may not be considered “the norm”
-Know your own truth
-Make decisions to change things you don’t like about your life
-Recognize judgement from others for what it is - and you’ll have to listen to find out what it is
-Recognize judgement in yourself and what it feels like to take yourself away from being you, so you can stop doing that and start living more fully
-Embrace vulnerability
-And, you’ll come away from this episode knowing how to apply Brendon’s advice to big issues like coming out as lgbtq+ in complicated family situations and masking versus not masking or vaccinating versus not vaccinating.
As Brendon puts it, the world is changing. The future you want will not be based on the past version of you.
We did cut about ten minutes of content out of the original interview for our podcast episode. To access the unedited and uncut video with no ads + commentary on the making of this episode, grab The Good Seats tier or higher on the Human Amplified Patreon. Access to The Good Seats also comes with an Aftershow Pass.
This week, we’re talking to another brilliant musician, singer-songwriter, and all around badass rocker, Carrie Akre. She’s an intuitive life coach, podcaster, solo artist, and also has fronted the bands Hammerbox, Goodness, and The Rockfords with Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready.
In this episode, we’re unpacking societal conditioning around emotions, that when addressed, bring a relief and healing. From using your emotions to navigate making good decisions to using your intuition regularly to choose yourself, Carrie explains the importance of self compassion in alleviating insecurity, anxiety, and fear, which in turn, leads to a better life.
We also explore shadow bubbling up to be dealt with in the collective and in ourselves, and how that’s a good thing, even if it’s hard.
You’ll leave this episode knowing:
-What shadow work is and the importance of it
-How to start recognizing the truth and what resonates with you
-How to tell the difference between your intuition and your analytical mind or thoughts that you might confuse as your intuition
-How to strengthen trust in your intuition
-And most importantly, how to make decisions that are best for you, even when that results in hard emotions coming from other people
Support for this podcast comes from Human Amplified’s Backstage Pass on Patreon. Why would you want to hang out behind our stage? Well, it’s a brand new offering that’s really fun, so you’d be one of the first, but most importantly, you get to rock out behind the scenes with other people who feel just like you. We’re a little counterculture and we don’t always fit in. But, we’re good humans who want the world to be better. Backstage, we can figure out how to help it be, together. When you snag your Human Amplified Backstage Pass on Patreon, you get to hang out on monthly live calls to learn about what goes into making the show and how you could make a show or something like it. But also, we can talk about whatever you want.
In fact, in our last call, I answered the question why choose a podcast. I get asked this a lot. And, my answer was it was based on feeling. That’s the honest truth, even if it’s not the mainstream way to make business decisions. That’s intuition at work, my friend, which Carrie is about to really dive deep into in part two of her interview.
Backstage, you also get access to The Good Seats and Crowd Surfing, which are two other Patreon tiers that give you unedited and uncut video of each podcast episode, including the one today with Carrie Akre; special commentary on what went into making each episode; and VIP-only entry to our new and growing Discord server.
So let’s meet up backstage and figure out how we can be counterculture enough so that it becomes culture. Go to patreon.com/humanamplified and grab your backstage pass today.
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Abstract Serenity is a new online metaphysical shop based in El Paso, TX making healing crystals, ritual tools, oracle cards, and apothecary products simple to use. Embrace your journey and empower yourself.
Today’s guest is Nashville singer, songwriter, and pop artist, Jon Mullins, who is also a 2020 alum of the hit TV Show, The Voice. In the last couple of years up to now, he’s put out quite a few singles, including Better Man, Get to You, Survive, Hot Like Summer, and some amazing Christmas songs.
Speaking of Jon’s music, later in this episode, we dive into the emotion and vulnerability that went into creating the song “Better Man,” which he describes as the beginning of telling a story through his own artistry with his wife, Whitney, as inspiration and support. Not only does he sing just a bit for us, but Jon really opens up about how he initially was afraid to release the song. Doors just kept opening though, and “Better Man” became a life-changing experience.
Before that, we talk all about how Jon met and fell in love with Whitney, an accident she had early in their marriage, and how after the accident, their emotions and healing evolved as a couple with music as therapy and a healer. Jon takes us through how music went from being a healer to how it’s now the goal that he and Whitney have their eyes and hearts on together.
On a personal note, this has been one of the funnest conversations I’ve gotten to have.
Jon is such a down-to-Earth, genuinely nice guy who just shines his light wherever he goes. If you haven’t heard his music, be sure to check it out. If you have heard his music, listening to him talk about his life, his creative process, his love for his wife, and how they support each other will only make you love it even more.
Support for this podcast comes from Meg and Craig Relationship Coaching. Meg and Craig are igniting and empowering couples in love, intimacy, communication, parenting, balance, finances, conflict resolution, and empty nesting. Visit megandcraig.com to get started.
In this episode, we’re talking with Ron Karr — a highly-sought after public speaker, former president of the National Speakers Association, sales and leadership success consultant, and author of five books. His newest book is called The Velocity Mindset where he teaches us how to combine speed with direction to change our lives. Living in Florida by way of New Jersey, Ron is also a doting dad and loves to play golf.
Ron not only knows what it takes to improve sales and guides CEOs and large business groups, but his unique vantage point is so interesting because the root of sales success is relationships.
In this episode, Ron combines his professional expertise with lessons learned from his personal history of being the son of a Holocaust survivor and navigating that relational and generational trauma to help us improve our relationships through trust, dependability, transparency in communication, and service.
Whether you’re interested in growing in your career or your personal relationships, from this episode, you’ll learn:
-How the mind and body are connected
-The importance of honoring your word
-Actionable steps for what to do when something comes up and you can’t honor your word
-The hormones of trust that lead to productive engagement
-How to know if you have a victim mentality
-How to get out of a victim mentality
-How to be the bigger person - the leader - to start changing outcomes in your life, especially when other people are involved
Support for this podcast comes from SmarterQueue. Scheduling social posts with SmarterQueue increases your efficiency and boosts your engagement, enabling you to have such a positive impact on your online relationships, which honestly, are real relationships, with real humans, that need to be nurtured. Click here sign up for a 30-day free trial, no strings attached.
In this episode, Amie packs information into every answer she gives us. We cover a ton of ground in what seems like a short amount of time, so you might want to take notes to go back and process the complexities of each topic in more depth after you initially listen.
Pay special attention to the parallels between Amie’s physical life and healing to her spiritual journey. These parallels she demonstrates between going home to her inner self and moving homes or physically going home from the hospital at a time she feared for her life show us how interconnected every aspect of our human existence really is.
From this episode, you’ll walk away knowing:
-How to start healing your inner child wounds
-How to lead with love in your life and open your heart more even if you’re wounded
-Exactly what a spiritual awakening looks and feels like, in all it’s different phases
-Ways to deal with the hard emotions, such as grief and fear, that come up during healing and/or awakening
-The importance of trusting your gut to make decisions
-What specific ego traps are and how to work through them
Support for this podcast comes from Abstract Serenity — a new online metaphysical shop, based in El Paso, TX, focused on making reputable crystals, ritual tools, oracle cards, and apothecary products accessible and simple to work with for the beginner who’s just starting to explore and may be unsure what to expect, where to start, or how this interest will even be received by friends and family. Embrace your journey and honor yourself today at abstractserenity.com.
In this powerful episode, Peggy starts out by very intimately and openly detailing a traumatic childhood event that ties into her realization of and reckoning with white privilege and how it's touched every aspect of her journey.
Then, we dive into:
How white privilege kept her out of the foster care system and changed the trajectory of her life
Implicit bias and how it plays out in the justice system
How learning real history would have changed the way she policed as a young street cop in Georgia
And her thoughts for how to reform the justice system
If you’re white, you’ll leave this episode with proof that you can evolve, the knowledge that it’s okay to admit that you’ve had a leg up even in hard times, and inspiration to grow your strength when you need it most in the face of racism and injustices. You’ll also have a better idea of what white privilege is and how you can start addressing it in your own life.
If you’re Black, I’m not sure what you’ll take away from this episode. Perhaps validation, if you need it for healing. Perhaps hope for change if you’re running low on that. But, maybe there are no take aways.
TRIGGER WARNING: This episode does come with a trigger warning and especially for our BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) listeners. We discuss in detail the topics of what it was like living in the Jim Crow south as a little white girl, a normal atmosphere of overt racism and covert racism, the integrating of public schools, domestic violence, gun violence, abuse, alcoholism, and resulting trauma. Listener discretion is advised.
Join in the discussion at patreon.com/humanamplified
In this episode, we talk about Kia’s focus on communications, community engagement, and philanthropy and how she supports and amplifies Black humanity. She teaches us the importance of knowing real history and uncovers why it may take a while to undo racism.
From this episode, you’ll understand why there’s a need to be better humans and take away actionable steps for how to be a better human. We dive deep into how fixing racism right-sizes other isms in our society too — in other words, how everyone is impacted by racism and benefits from fixing it — and how to be on the look out for the creation of new agents of harm.
We also explore the difference between charity and a new philanthropic model Kia envisions and is actively working toward.
As a self-described disruptor, Kia explains that comes with creating new ways of thinking, healing, and addressing collective trauma.
Among many other things, Kia is an award-winning director of her boutique communications and community engagement firm, MEPR Agency; founding director of the Nonprofit Equity Collaborative; and founder of the Black Philanthropy Initiative in Nashville, Tenn.
If you don’t already know me, or you want to get to know me a little better, I’d love to get to know you too! To start, here’s a little bit about me and why I’m here with Human Amplified:
Hi, I’m Brandi Fleck. I’m a storyteller, writer, artist, avid student of human nature, recognized communications and interviewing expert, and the found of Human Amplified
I care about you more than anything else and I’m here to help you more fully embrace your humanity so you an experience all the badass things about life regardless of what you’ve been through in your past.
I’ve been there, trying to heal from the hard times, and I know it’s possible.
So, let’s tell your story.
Let’s embrace it.
And then, let’s change it.
Because babe, that ripples out and changes the world.
For more information, visit humanamplified.com.
Original music by Ryan Sauls.
I’m your host, Brandi Fleck, and this is Human Amplified.
I hope you’re ready to ditch the small talk and get really human, because you just found the go-to podcast for thinkers who want to be better humans and rock out doing it.
We get there with soul-exposing personal stories + expert advice.
So, come hang out with us where you get to:
-Build your empathy muscle
-Hear about mind-blowing but also relatable experiences
-Learn more about yourself
-Heal from past trauma
-Be inspired to keep being a good human
-Feel seen and heard through the stories of others
-And get actionable steps to make the world a better place
Subscribe now on your favorite podcast platform and visit us at humanamplified.com.
Welcome to the season 3 finale of the Human Amplified podcast. Thank you so much for hanging out with us this season, which has been an amazing and heartfelt journey of inspired storytelling within the human condition.
Today, world-famous Hannah Mermaid joins us, in a down-to-Earth, get-to-know her-on-a-deeper-level discussion that was truly impactful in my life, and I know it will positively impact yours. She’s an underwater model and performance artist, speaker, teacher, and servant of the sea. Hannah brings so many interesting perspectives to help you open your mind to everything from going with the flow and how that helps her underwater to new ways of approaching activism.
We start out talking about Hannah Fraser’s life, her childhood, her supportive mom, where she’s from, and how she started making her own mermaid tails at an early age. Then we transition into how she transitioned into Hannah Mermaid - the first professional mermaid that paved the way for so many others, which is now a thriving and recognized career.
Hannah Mermaid gives you all the details about some of the most terrifying moments she’s experienced underwater, but also some of the most beautiful moments of embracing her femininity and self empowerment through art, fantasy, and iconography.
We dive deep into the differences between masculine and feminine power and Hannah’s history with activism. She describes how powerful the mermaid icon is and her lived experience of that power - from successful protests to transformation in other people’s lives who’ve reached out to her. Hannah Mermaid also describes how the oceans have evolved since she’s started her career and what that says about the state of humanity.
Although we were having this conversation on opposite ends of the country over a sometimes crackling internet connection at the height of COVID infections where Hannah was in L.A, I felt like we were old friends picking up where we left off, balancing laughter with seriousness and the give and take in between.
After listening, you’ll be inspired. And you’ll have food for thought on how to reach your own self empowerment in a way that works for you while enacting change. While you’re thinking about it, follow in Hannah Mermaid’s example - remember to take care of yourself and the importance of breathing.
This week’s guest is Dan Strelan. He’s a health coach and expert in nutritional medicine who lives in the beautiful Blue Mountains of Australia. He gathers his own spring water and showers in waterfalls. You really get to experience his calming, creative, and thoughtful personality in this interview as he leads us through a philosophical exploration of our own meaning making in life to the science behind ingesting worms to heal your gut. A journey he’s personally been on, in addition to his clients, to heal from gluten intolerance and sensitivity.
We start out this episode philosophizing about the meaning making humans imbue on all aspects of life. Dan takes us through different perspectives that he rates on a scale of effectiveness in helping us alleviate suffering. We spend a bit of time establishing the foundation of the entire discussion. That is, uncovering our true human nature is a life long self discovery process that includes physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing in order to thrive.
We explore how that wellbeing increases when we align ourselves with the natural cycles of our world - the Earth, the seasons - and recognize that we’re part of a living ecosystem. When that ecosystem flourishes, we do to. To the contrary, we also explore how our wellbeing can decrease when we’re out of alignment with the natural flow of Earth and how many of our societal systems and cultural conditionings have taken us away from our true nature.
As part of this human nature in alignment with nature discussion, Dan gives us tangible advice for awakening to our own truth, healing our gut through Helminths therapy (that is, ingesting a certain type of worm that restores our gut ecosystem), and for how creation plays a role in healing our bodies. We wrap up with exploring how the natural cycles of order and chaos in life parallel co-creating music - when you jam with other people, unprescribed, you experience cycles of order and chaos. When you trust the cycles and let go, you find the freedom of creative flow.
Ultimately, Dan says the starting point for healing our bodies is by truly listening to our emotions. Then, the hidden wisdom of our bodies emerges and we can truly grow.
Throughout this episode, Dan lists a host of informational resources, so feel free to check out the show notes for links to those and to learn how you can work with him.
On the surface, this episode is all about what it’s like to be a tattooer. Underneath, it’s about the intimacy of forming relationships, doing what you love amid challenges, setting boundaries, and providing a healing and body transformation while sharing in the pain of others.
Specifically, at the Golden Yeti Art Collective tattoo shop in Franklin, Tenn. tattooers not only get creative and take pride in their work, but they provide emotional support and as owner Jeff Barnard puts it, the last high five on the journey of beating cancer. Jeff and tattooer Caitlyn Campbell provide free areola tattoos every Friday for breast cancer survivors and they tell us all about why going to a tattoo shop for that job is better than letting a plastic surgeon do it.
Not only do we learn about that much needed and life changing service, but we really get to know Jeff and Caitlyn over the next hour.
We start out talking about everything from Jeff and Caitlyn’s differing backgrounds in art to the atmosphere of their safe and open floor plan and how COVID impacted business. After getting acquainted, we dive deep into the impact of being a heavily tattooed parent, what it’s like being a woman in a male dominated industry, and how to find respect.
We really do talk a lot of shop and get technical about what makes a good tattooer, what a good apprenticeship entails, and how tattoos going from taboo to mainstream across the generations has opened up the possibilities for amazing artwork, different styles, and top notch talent.
Jeff and Caitlyn also tell us about the most memorable (and heavy) tattoos they’ve ever done, from memorials to coverups.
This episode is fun and informative. I went into the interview super excited to learn everything I could about why Jeff and Caitlyn volunteer their time to help breast cancer survivors. But here’s the kicker - we wrap up learning about Jeff’s own cancer diagnosis and recovery that came at the beginning of this year. You won’t believe the circumstances surrounding how he found out, and you’ll be in awe at the 700-woman support system that came through as an inspiration and lifeline when Jeff needed it.
Before we dive in, this is your trigger warning. We discuss various areas of trauma, including sexual trauma, throughout this conversation. This content may cause distress to some listeners. In addition, we discuss adult topics with adult language, so make sure the kids aren’t around when you listen.
On the surface, this episode is about one woman’s story of gender transition. Underneath, it’s about the struggle to find comfort in your own body while dealing with the pain caused by cultural conditioning rooted in shame.
Today’s guest is Winter Breedlove. Winter is a friend from long ago - in our college days, we ate fried chicken, went to Nashville Pride, and worked on the college newspaper together. Now, Winter is currently on a cross-country trip to L.A. where she’ll pursue a more transgender-friendly life than what she’s found in Nashville, Tenn.
This interview took place before she left Nashville - a place she’s from, the place she left to pursue a career in New York, and the place she came back to to regroup after trauma unfolded. She tells us about when she decided to transition, what led up to that decision, the obstacles she’s faced for over two years while transitioning, but also the parts that are going well.
She admits her transgender narrative is not the “normal born this way,” story. So we spend the episode unpacking her own narrative and how she’s taken control over it to guide her life for the first time in her life. Winter controlling her own narrative looks like amazing healing from a lifetime of shame and what she refers to as programming.
We cover everything from instant gratification and perfectionism culture to being sent to conversion therapy as a child growing up in a conservative Christian home. We briefly look at the impacts of unrequited love, asexuality, and drugs to hormone therapy and what adequate transgender healthcare looks like.
On almost every topic we cover, you can apply Winter’s question of, how much is enough?
This episode is not only about LGBTQ+ rights and Winter’s lived experience, but it’s about empowerment and feeling good about who you are, what you’re doing, and being true to yourself, whatever that may look like. As humans, we confront barriers and must manage expectations of other humans, as Winter explains. The struggle often divides us, but can also bring us together in a shared understanding of what it means to be human - what it means to be ourself. And if we’re living in a way that’s untrue to ourself, how we can transform to live more authentically.
For the next hour with this episode, you’ll be immersed into the unique and loving perspective of intimacy expert and sex therapist, Dr. Miro Gudelsky. You may experience internal conflict. You may blush. Or, you may be completely unfazed by the topics that come up.
Either way you’ll gain eye opening insight into the real, human issues of sex workers. From nude models at art studios to the legal dominatrix down the street, sex workers are most likely someone you love and you don’t even know it.
Whether you’re a patron or staunchly against a career in the sex industry, Dr. Miro is worth listening to to break down stereotypes, learn from an expert about an area that’s highly taboo in our society, and experience the humanization of people who are regularly dehumanized.
The thing is, regardless of what your job is, you still need access to mental health care without being judged. And that’s the gap Dr. Miro fills.
We start out with her explaining what sex therapy involves, the methodologies she employs in her own practice, and a deep dive into who she primarily treats - she focuses on sex workers and their patrons, but sees other types of people too in a variety of genders and identities who all experience human issues.
One of the most important topics we discuss is why sex work is so taboo in our society but also why there’s such a demand for it. Then, we explore the age old debate between the sex industry and radical feminists, answering the question of empowerment versus demoralization.
Ultimately, this episode is worth a listen - when the kids aren’t around of course.
Dr. Miro is incredibly passionate about her career - I mean she loves her job - and gets really animated while she’s talking, which you’ll hear in our audio, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. You’re in for a treat.
This episode so perfectly embodies the personality of guest Oscar La Madrid. He’s a dad, husband, Marine veteran, and founder of Angels Alive, a nonprofit near Atlanta, GA that feeds, rehabilitates, and now aims to house veterans who are struggling to integrate into society.
We start out with Oscar talking about his own intensity, which leads us into his family’s immigration story - he came to America from Lima, Peru when he was 12. He details the poverty he worked his way up from and how that has fueled his desire for success in life. In seeing his own success and relying on his intensity, he’s found away to help facilitate success for others and explains why this is so important for veterans in crisis. This leads us into talking about his non-profit, Angels Alive - how it got started, how he channels himself into it, and how it’s evolved since inception.
Angels Alive partners with businesses to achieve the rehabilitation needs their veterans have, such as hot meals, clothing for job interviews, therapeutic activities such as farming and scuba diving, and they even partner with local law enforcement to diffuse situations where combat veterans need to be understood so a situation can deescalate.
In fact, I met Oscar because he was looking for a partner to tell the story of a veteran who rode in the Hoka Hey Motorcycle challenge in August of 2020 to raise money for Angels Alive. If you follow Human Amplified on Facebook and Instagram, you probably saw some of that inspirational story about rider 954, who comes up in our conversation.
The evolution of Angels Alive is really a manifestation of Oscar’s presence and intention coupled with his life experience because through all the services Angels Alive offers to give veterans a sense of purpose - contribution, community, and connection - Oscar has married his family values, including his love for cooking with his grandmother in Peru, to his own understanding of reintegrating into society after coming home from the Marines in 1992.
This episode is about turning mental and physical challenges into not only a full body transformation, but a whole human transformation and what made that transformation possible from the ground up.
Guest Dustin Rochester, a dad and healthcare IT consultant from Williamston, South Carolina, opens up about losing 130 pounds in a year - what it was like at his heaviest and what his wake up calls were - one personal and one professional - that sparked his motivation to change. Dustin tells us about how he had to get tough on himself and also gives us the exact tangible steps he took to lose the weight, start getting more physically active, and find and embrace an activity - Brazilian Jiu Jitsu - that is aligned with his passion. Specifically, we talk about the Keto diet, adapting a diet as physical needs change, and learning lessons about success through momentum, goals, and a healthy relationship with food and yourself.
We compare Dustin’s old self care routine to his new one that he’s grown into now and dive into how clear self worth has translated into a healthier lifestyle and better relationships.
This wasn’t an easy or fast journey for Dustin, which he’s still on in many ways. It took a lot of hard work, determination, and even soul searching. A key takeaway is that losing physical weight isn’t just about losing physical weight. For Dustin, it was also about managing stress, changing habits, and finding parts of himself and befriending those parts so what was on the inside could surface.
This episode is Nathan Peck’s story - Nathan is such an engaging and interesting guest - he’s a dad, husband, son, and nephew, but also a patient advocate, CEO, and patient of Cure VCP Disease, a nonprofit organization dedicated to organizing the patient population and scientists and bringing them together to make progress on treating and curing the disease.
We start out with Nathan explaining some of the science behind VCP disease, including mutations of a specific gene - the Valosin Containing Protein gene, hence the name, VCP disease.
This disease can manifest in one or a combination of ways, including muscle degradation, early onset bone disease, frontal temporal dementia, and ALS. This particular disease is commonly misdiagnosed as limb-girdle muscular dystrophy, myositis or other myopathies.
It’s an adult-onset disease that definitely runs in the family.
We talk about Nathan’s family being researched when he was growing up because of the prevalence of the disease in his family, the ethics of having children, the role of genetic testing, and the importance of getting your financial affairs in order before you get genetic testing.
Then Nathan gets really personal, opening up about what it physically feels like to have VCP disease, the mental toll of having the disease, and channelling those emotions into finding answers.
We talk about what the future looks like - for Nathan, it looks like everything from not being able to hold a pizza pan to being mindful of curbs when walking on the street - and the importance of human intervention in changing the future. It looks like grappling with losing independence. But it also looks like hope for others after Nathan. Perhaps Nathan too.
This episode not only educates you on a rare disease, but gives you an inside look at the thoughts, feelings, and efforts of a patient doing his best to advocate for himself and others.
If you or someone you know is struggling with symptoms including but not limited to abnormal muscle fatigue, bone pain, or memory issues, this episode is worth a listen. Of course, this episode is worth a listen anyways, because not only is it packed with resources and advice on being your own health advocate, but you’ll be inspired by Nathan’s passion, drive, energy, and business expertise, to start doing whatever it is you’ve been putting off.
You get perspective on tomorrow and the importance of taking opportunities that present in your life.
Today we’re talking with Mark Dant. He’s a dad (to a son named Ryan Dant), husband, and a volunteer board of directors chair at EveryLife Foundation in Washington D.C. as well as a volunteer Executive Director at The Ryan Foundation - both organizations exist to help families dealing with rare disease to have hope, empower their voices, and empower scientists to advance the treatments and cures for rare disease.
Mark didn’t start out in the rare disease world.
In fact, he’s retired from a 32-year police officer career where he was the police chief in Carrolton, Texas. In this episode, we really explore how Mark dealt with a pivotal moment in not only his life, but also his wife’s and son’s lives - that is, when Ryan was diagnosed with Mucopolysaccharidosis type 1, also known as MPS 1 - a rare disease with no treatment at the time.
We hardly talk about the actual disease, but focus on the emotions Mark and his wife have been through, including sadness, grief, terror, hope, and even happiness - from the moment Ryan was diagnosed in the early 90s to today. Those emotions propelled Mark forward to find funding and a scientist - Dr. Emil Kakkis - who could and did create the treatment Ryan Dant is on today, along with so many others with MPS.
This not only took courage and willpower, but emotional growth to transition from excelling at law enforcement to learning about science and the non-profit world from the ground up when libraries and books were the the primary research methods.
Before we dive into today’s episode, it’s best if you know the complete backstory for context. So, during the interview, I invite you to watch The Ryan Dant Story on 60 Minutes with Mark. It’s about 15 minutes long and you can find the link to it in the show notes at humanamplified.com/episodes/073.
Here at Human Amplified, listening to Mark look back over his memories was an honor - an emotional ride where I related as being a parent. Being able to see myself there with him and Jeanne lying on the floor next to Ryan’s bed, listening to him breathe - in grief, and then taking action in hope. So many of us can empathize with that.
This episode will bring you to tears more than once - tears of empathy in knowing how hard grief is and how having a child is like wearing your heart outside of your chest, and then tears of joy when you hear of the power held by a group of people on a mission to change the future.
Get ready to hear about an amazing chain of events that will blow your mind and inspire you to do what others say can’t be done.
Trigger warning: We do talk for a few minutes about abuse, trauma, being in the throes of addiction, and strong, graphic impulses that arose from suppressing strong negative emotions. This could be disturbing to some listeners.
This week, we’re featuring guest Kevin Clark. He’s author of the book The New Prophet and is a Certified Substance Abuse Counselor and trauma specialist.
On the surface, this episode is about addiction and recovery. Underneath, It’s about how suppressing emotions leads to poor health, self destructive behaviors, and how spiritual awakening was a turning point. Kevin explains that at one point in his own active addiction, it felt like he was losing his soul and needed to get back to it. He then walks us through the tangible steps he took while being incarcerated to heal and change his path in life. To summarize, the three major points in Kevin’s recovery are letting go, having a safe support system, and having a desire to change.
We also talk about the social conditioning that led to emotional suppression in the first place for Kevin - trying to avoid feeling weak as a sensitive person - and how he grappled with strong emotions through his childhood, into his addiction, and into his recovery. In recovery, he started learning how to sit with his negative emotions and just be - be present as a human being, not a human doing, as he says - a sentiment other Human Amplified guests have expressed difficulty with too.
Kevin gets real about the gamut of emotions he’s felt and can deal with now, including sadness, fear, shame, numbing pain, denial, and vulnerability. But also, he talks about empathy, letting go of control, overwhelming gratitude, and the importance of being open and flexible to new possibilities.
Kevin has hope that we’ll be a more emotionally evolved humanity in the future and wants to see that.
Ultimately, Kevin is an amazing example of embracing emotions he used to fear, so he could have a different, healthier life path helping others, being with his family, and skateboarding. What’s really impressive is that when Kevin was at his most lost, he dared to think maybe everything he knew was wrong, and accepted help.
That’s bravery, strength, and an emotional evolution if I’ve ever seen one.
Today, guest Mike Hutchinson (Hutch) passionately explores the topic of masculinity and emotions, such as rage, as a follow up to telling his adoption story in the previous episode 70, where we explored how certain familial relationships have impacted his identity and life path.
After listening, head over to humanamplified.com/episodes/071 and let us know what your experience of masculinity is in the comments.
HIGHLIGHTS
-Being sensitive and crying easily as a child
-Being raised in southern masculinity
-Emotional maturity can look different in different people
-The differences in men and women’s tear ducts
-The role of abandonment
-Fighting in middle school
-Accessing rage quickly in a self protection situation
-The safety of intellectualism
-Ability to identify emotions
-Healthy masculinity and normal male behavior versus toxic masculinity
-The church’s role in shaping masculinity
-Being in a masculinity crisis in society
-How to create healthy masculinity
-Men’s rights
I really think learning from adoptees about how they form connections with nonbiological parents is a good way to learn about human connection in general - the impacts of having it, not having it, and how to form it, even in possible trying circumstances while navigating trauma and strong, negative emotions.
That’s why we’re talking to adoptee Mike Hutchinson today. He’s a preacher, husband, son, avid reader, podcast host, and returning guest to Human Amplified.
On the surface of this episode, Hutch takes us through his closed adoption story and what it was like meeting his biological family.
Underneath, we really explore the interconnectedness of relationships, the impact of relationships on identity and emotions, and how they influence other relationships and life path choices.
Through this, we specifically discuss fear, struggling with rejection, bullying, finding ways to connect when differences are aplenty and in the absence of a biological connection, healing from abandonment, fork in the road moments where snap judgements have to be made, and the importance of your support system.
Through all this, several interesting points jump out at me:
Issues around fear and rejection seem to have rippled out from one defining moment Hutch had when he was 5 years old which sparked the realization that he was given away by someone. This pivotal moment demonstrates the power of our words in relationships.
One theme that arises throughout is how masculinity and femininity plays a role in those connections - at least the connections in Hutch’s life and his experience of adoption and maintaining relationships.
A subtle yet important take away from this episode is the importance of timing. Timing is everything. See if you can catch how timing helped Hutch’s success in reuniting with his biological family AND how he met his wife.
I alway enjoy hearing Hutch’s personality come through in his storytelling. He laughs a lot while we talk and is generous with immersive details. So, I know you’ll enjoy it too.
Each week here, you get personal glimpses into the personalities of each guest on the Human Amplified podcast, but this week’s conversation with Heather Burwell is particularly intimate.
In this episode, we go with the flow of Heather’s creative mind to discover where grief meets authenticity for her.
In other words, we explore the ins and outs of her journey through grief, which she’s realized is really her journey through life in general. We also unearth how authenticity fits in, especially for Heather, who’s religious upbringing taught her to hide who she is.
Together, we really get into how inauthenticity in human life, caused by a fear of being seen and heard, can keep you from recognizing grief for what it is, which in turn causes damage and more heartache. But we also talk about the peace and calm that comes with fully embracing what’s going on in your life and around you.
That’s where Heather finds herself in the present - embracing what’s real and fulfilling to her.
Heather’s not only a Nashville-based author, singer, and actress, but she’s a chaplain having graduated from Vanderbilt’s Divinity school in 2020. Her outreach focuses on being a positive vessel without judgement. In her chaplaincy work, Heather contemplates where God is or isn’t with people. You’re definitely in for a treat because we have a clip of an original song Heather beautifully sings on the same topic.
Plus, based on Heather’s personal experience of being widowed with a 4-year-old about 7 or 8 years ago, she’s written a book called Grief Doesn’t Do Math - it’ll be hitting shelves this spring. She reads an excerpt of what she was feeling in active grief and we talk about what prompted her to address certain areas about grief that she does in the book.
We dive deeper as Heather describes how to recognize grief and gives examples of how she’s processed through it while also supporting her son through his grief journey.
Then, we take a fun and unexpected turn into her love story and how that’s going today.
You’ll definitely walk away from this episode empowered to be yourself, empowered to embrace reality, no matter how scary it is, and you’ll have food for thought about how to recognize and process loss in your life, whether big or small.
On the surface, this episode is all about parent-child relationships that grow and blossom into mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationships. However, that discussion is the vehicle to get at what’s underneath nurturing your important relationships through the emotional baggage that accumulates through the change of life and then surfaces in those relationships.
By natural design, life is full of change, and that means our relationships are also full of change because relationships are a focal point of human existence. Change can cause bliss and pain and a number of emotions in between. As humans, our ability or inability to process emotions about change in our lives causes emotional baggage and we take that with us into our present moment. We all do it.
This episode is important because it comes at a time when we’ve been in constant transition for a year and there might be more accumulation of baggage there than you’re used to.
That’s why Meg Smidt, a certified life and business coach who’s been at it for a decade is on the show this week.
This episode is a gold mine of advice not only based on over a decade of her coaching experience but is also based on her personal life experience. She really digs deep into her own story with transitioning from a successful retail career into being a mom to five nearly overnight and blending into a life and family she loves. As we go through Meg’s wisdom, she and I span the spectrum of emotions as we crack up laughing and quietly nearly cry.
That’s because we talked about everything from recognizing baggage and nurturing our loved ones through their own, but also how you know when it’s time to let go.
Meg’s tangible tips that she sprinkles like confetti throughout are just as wide-ranging - she gives advice on how to accept your loved ones for who they truly are, letting go of control, leading with honor in complex interactions, having fun in commonality, having consistency, setting boundaries, navigating change, and the importance of reflecting, feeling grief, and growing through what you’re going through.
In fact, Meg gives away so many gems that you can start applying to your life, we decided to give you this free Nurturing Relationships through Emotional Baggage Tip Sheet to download and take with you well after this episode is over. Go ahead and grab it from the show notes. You’ll be glad you did.
On the surface, this episode is about getting clean and sober. Underneath, it’s about the impacts of addiction on relationships, romantic, platonic, familial. More importantly, even, it’s about how your relationship with yourself and your ability to deal with a toxic past can lead you to addiction and codependency and how healing yourself can lead to a different, better life.
Guest Katrina Lelli takes us through her downward spiral into alcoholism, being arrested twice, and testing relationships. Then, she got to her turning point - her mother in law got her to an AA meeting under the promise of going out for a hamburger. She gained hope, and started her journey to recovery.
Now, Katrina has been sober for 10 years and counting. That is such an amazing accomplishment.
Not only do we talk about before recovery, getting help, and what Katrina does in recovery now, but we explore how her relationships have improved with her kids, husband, and even her step daughter’s bio mom.
Katrina tells us why her path evolved the way it did and how she climbed out of what seemed like a never ending cycle she didn’t when she didn’t even know where or how to start. Her self awareness and willingness to go back to the past to feel and heal wounds has been part of her success and now she helps other moms in sobriety do the same.
This episode is part 2 of a 2-part series where we explore Aly and Ed Rosenberger’s, what I think is, a coparenting anomaly, because they do it so well. So, if you haven’t listened to part 1 yet, check out episode 65.
Today in part 2, Ed explains from his perspective how he and his ex wife and her significant other work together as a team to coparent and why it’s so important that they do.
Much like Aly’s side of the story, Ed says communication is one of the main ingredients for success. Respect and consistency across homes is also a priority for this coparenting trio.
We really dive deep into how Ed supports their son as a father and how he nurtures and protects their son’s ability to grow, whether in sports, school, or with his relationship with his soon to be step father. We talk about everything from the initial transition of the divorce to setting ground rules for discipline and how Ed’s friendship with Ryan, Aly’s fiance, has grown.
Ed gets really personal and talks about what he expects from a future partner of his own and what he envisions for the future of this group’s peaceful coparenting relationship.
Note: When we recorded part 1, Ed was deployed. Several months passed between Aly’s and Ed’s interviews - we waited for Ed to be home before we recorded. So if you notice any discrepancies in details, such as their living arrangements, for example, it’s due to the passage of time.
Also, near the end of the interview, our internet connection got spotty, so the sound goes in and out for a few seconds. This discussion is too good not to share though, so please hang in there with us.
February is here and romance is in the air with Valentine’s Day around the corner - a fun day for some, a dreaded day for others. But, what happens if the romance dissolves and kids are involved?
First, you probably question everything you thought about marriage or long-term partnerships and second, you have to navigate working together with someone who you just can’t work with. Or can you?
Our guest today finds herself in this very real and not uncommon scenario where divorce was the last thing she and her ex-husband expected, but they ended up needing to work out what decoupling would look like and how to best support their son in the process.
This episode is part 1 of a 2 part series where we explore Aly and Ed Rosenberger’s, what I think is, a coparenting anomaly, because they do it so well.
Today, in part 1, Aly explains from her perspective how she, her ex husband, and her now significant other work together to put the kids first in a peaceful coparenting arrangement that hinges on prioritizing the kids, trust, and communication. Aly doesn’t deny the difficulties they’ve encountered, but the way she’s fought to keep a cohesive unit is admirable and may we all aspire to this level of commitment and maturity if the time comes or if it has already come.
Aly gives us details - she tells us how she navigates relationship areas such as setting priorities, trust, follow through, communication, respect, jealousy, compromise, disagreements, boundary setting, bonding, and all while ensuring her son’s needs are at the front and center.
Since a big part of coparenting can involve divorce as the catalyst, we also dive into how Aly dealt with that relationship change and helped her son transition through it. She also opens up about including her significant other in the picture and what that looks like for coparenting.
Next week, we’ll hear from Ed, Aly’s ex husband and their son’s biological father, who commits to and follows through with this same arrangement.
An important note about today’s story is, if you find yourself navigating coparenting, it may not look exactly like Aly and Ed, but it is possible to coparent peacefully in a way that works for you and your family.
If a large part of being human involves an importance on relationships because we so deeply need connection to thrive, what happens when one of the most important relationships in a human life is purposefully absent?
In this episode, Mal shows us the answer to this question by so eloquently and clearly connecting the dots in his own life and journey with abandonment - he shows us how the initial trauma event evolves and plays out in negative cycles as well as how to turn those patterns around and love yourself.
On the surface, this episode is about dealing with complex parental relationships and the far reaching impact they have. But, underneath, we really dig deep into what it looks like to choose self destruction when your self worth is tied to the love or lack of love you receive from a parent, especially when you equate love and caring with presence. Then, we explore the turning point when Mal realized he could keep going down the path of self destruction, or he could choose to start healing, mentally and physically.
So many times in our society, we consider things that come up, such as health issues or events that happen to us, for example, to all be disparate entities, ignoring how one stepping stone leads to another - cause and effect - because the bigger picture isn’t always immediately clear as life unfolds in front of us. When we look back with hindsight, we can then see how intertwined each event was and how each culminates into your present moment.
Mal so generously presents this hindsight view to us, so we can see a holistic experience, or in other words, the bigger picture of how cause and effect played out in his life. And not only does it become clear how Mal’s life events fit together, but he even expresses how necessary each stepping stone was. He says, “For better or worse, the path I’ve ended up going down, the ups the downs, the dips, the valleys, have been necessary in some way.”
On the surface, this episode is about mental health and how childhood abuse can lead to destructive and unhealthy anger, anxiety, depression, and even attempted suicide. While it sounds heavy, and this is your trigger warning just in case visiting these subjects is too difficult for you, I want to emphasize that this episode is uplifting - Robin Land, host of the View from the Carnival podcast, doesn’t shy away from talking about who he once was and how he got to his happy life today.
Below the surface, this episode is all about the journey and embracing the good and bad that got you to where you are today. It’s about dealing with the tough circumstances and emotions to learn and grow and paying attention to those relationships and seeds of encouragement that help along your path. It’s about self awareness, reflection, and finding healthy coping mechanisms. It’s about gratitude, healing, and recovery.
Robin takes us through engaging details about how anger used to manifest in his life versus how it manifests now, a year-long psychiatric hospital stay that hurt more than helped back in the 90s, and the ah-ha moment that was the ground-zero point for recovery.
And even though Robin thinks it’s important to talk about who you are and acknowledge how you got to where you are today, he thinks listening is a gift you can give others while they tell their stories. He gives his best advice for planting the seed that may help someone turn their life around, like the gift that was given to him.
Not only is Robin a great example of harnessing difficult life circumstances to choose a positive path going forward, but his personality shines through - listening to him is a blast. You feel like you’re right there in the memories with him.
This episode is Erica Hines’ firsthand account of what happened when the FBI, DEA, and one other unidentified law enforcement agency erroneously descended on her apartment around 7:15 am on September 10, 2020.
She tells us every detail she can remember from the time she was awakened by officers yelling and banging on her door, to thinking she was going to die, to them miraculously leaving. She describes one thing she did to ensure people would believe her story after the fact. And her quick thinking did come in handy.
Now that we’re several months out from the incident, Erica is still experiencing mental health impacts. It affects her every day while she has to work toward staying calm and trying to remain untriggered while working and living in a space that makes the event replay in her head.
She says, “to this day, I hear these men yelling at me.”
So, it wasn’t easy for Erica to tell this story. But, her story is her quest for justice.
Erica found an attorney to take on the case, but explains there are so many cases like this, many go unheard and people drop them.
This begs the question - how can we stop this from happening?
Before we jump into Erica’s traumatic experience, at the beginning of the episode, we spend some time getting to know her as a human - a fellow human who brings invaluable joy and beauty into the world. We wrap up with defining justice and Erica’s hopes for the future and our society - one that right now is marred.
I implore you to listen closely, think about what Erica is saying and what it all means, and think about what happened as if it happened to you. The defeat. Helplessness. Anxiety.
Erica is a graphic designer and crafter known for her creativity, layout, environmental design, and ability to curate beautiful custom gifts. She’s smart, driven, and puts her heart and soul into everything she does. She loves to play video games in her spare time, is a self-described blerd, and is inspired by childhood memories of the holidays.
She grew up in Memphis, Tenn. in a single-parent home with support from both parents and an artistic ability that runs in her family. She credits her mom for her strong work ethic.
Erica currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia and is trying to heal and move on from the lasting impacts of the erroneous raid.
On the surface, this episode is all about realizing your strengths and using them to their fullest potential. Underneath, it’s all about a foundational self awareness so you can have relationships, connect, and interact with the world in a productive, fulfilling way.
You get expert insight into using positive psychology to minimize the effects of negativity and keep a realistic perspective of your life and the grand scheme of things. Not only does Corey explain concepts like cognitive dissonance and negativity bias, but he tells us how to discover our top strengths and then gives examples of how to identify when you’re using a strength for good or bad so you can make changes. He gives personal examples from his own life, candidly opening up about about going through anxiety, panic attacks, and depersonalization, and how he recognized what was happening and got help.
Corey also explains the concepts of bottom strengths, shadow strengths, strength blindness, and hot button strengths.
Then, Corey takes us through his journey of working at an inner city school after growing up in rural Kentucky. Using self awareness, an interesting confession and brave admission is that because the culture and atmosphere was different, it made him nervous. As humans, when we’re outside of our normal element, we do get nervous, and that’s okay. The part that’s so important to realize is that opening your mind to new experiences enables you to grow. Your worldview can then expand.
So, Corey’s worldview expanded and is expanding.
Not only is he a great example, but he gives you tangible advice you can apply to your life and you’ll recognize how some of these strengths are playing out in your own life.
Susan Ruth is an accomplished singer/songwriter, writer, artist, podcaster, and film writer with presence in Nashville and Los Angeles.
From her story, you get inspiration to be yourself, know yourself, and to have necessary difficult conversations with others. You also get storytelling medicine from Susan as she recounts a time when discouragement with humanity was interrupted by what she calls a “kiss from God.” You’ll not only hear about her reminder that there’s more beauty in the world than darkness, but you’ll learn about Susan’s courageous, creative life where taking leaps rather than shrinking in fear is the norm. Some of Susan’s leaps involve being a singer/songwriter in Nashville and Los Angeles, but also being seen and heard in poetry, art, film writing, podcasting, and more.
Susan say’s she started her podcast because she needed a way she could somehow show humanity that we’re all connected. But, I think she does that in everything she does through self awareness and her innate understanding of human nature. She got there through lifetimes of growth.
I’m your host, Brandi Fleck, and this is Human Amplified.
We’re on a mission to revamp society by amplifying your humanity.
We tell highly personal, experiential stories sprinkled with expert advice to uncover humanity at its most raw and messy, yet beautiful. We challenge you to dig deep, crack open, and spark your inner badass.
If you’re looking for connection, improved relationships, and understanding, but are tired of the small talk, you’re in the right place.
This is your starting point to get real about life and be the person you want to be so the world can be what you want it to be.
Dude - that feels good, yeah?
So come hang out with us.
Subscribe on your podcast platform of choice and learn more at humanamplified.com.
We’re on a mission to revamp society by amplifying your humanity.
THE WAY SOCIETY & (COUNTER) CULTURE IS...STARTS WITH YOU.
Yes, the messy, but also the beautiful parts.
So grab your cuppa Joe and settle in.
We’re gonna dig deep into our humanity to get real and raw about who we are and why. What we uncover will challenge you, but then it’ll spark your inner badass to blaze that next trail, so your moxie can rub off on the world.
Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and check out the new website at humanamplified.com.
I’m going to be flying solo to talk to you about the 6 helpful habits to finding your purpose. This is a lesson in using introspection to nurture a relationship with yourself through 6 habits that are tools, which will help you reconnect with your true core self and values. Once you reconnect in that way, finding your purpose in life becomes much easier, leading to more positive experiences and fulfillment in many areas of your life.
Season 2 of the On Being Human podcast wraps up after running in parallel with natural disasters, the COVID-19 pandemic, and civil unrest. Host, Brandi Fleck, and Sound Engineer, Ryan Sauls reflect on the impact, the making of the music that underscored people's powerful stories, and how the voices were the most important part.
We reflect on the highlights of the season, shout out to all the amazing guests and assistance along the way, and describe the difference between pre-COVID-19 episodes and post-COVID-19 episodes.
Listeners, come back between now and season 3 for so many goodies!
Our guest is Belinda Harvey, of Los Angeles, Calif. She’s an IT sales executive with more than 30 years at the same fortune 100 company. She’s a thoughtful and proactive leader.
She’s not only a daughter, sister, mom, and girlfriend, but she’s been reinvigorated as an activist for Black lives because the year 2020 has been an emotional ride in uncovering existing systemic racism that the country and world had perhaps gotten complacent about.
Belinda describes her present emotions, her experiences growing up in a rough neighborhood in LA, which led to her first experiences with the police, she tells us how she got out, her family history of activism (her grandfather was president of the NAACP and so much more!), and what its like raising a Black son in our world and being a Black woman in corporate America. She tells us what it’s been like protesting - and we even have a special clip from one of the L.A. protests where she led a cathartic chant.
From this episode, you’ll get powerful insight into the types of systemic racism that exist in corporate America, our society, and the toll its taken on the Black community, including the toll of code switching because of the societal pressure to suppress natural, cultural, Black human nature. Belinda and I discuss abusive patterns in our government and society that need to change, so you can start taking action too. And, not least of all, you’ll get inspiration and hope because of the positive changes that are already happening.
Despite the overwhelm, Belinda is excited for what’s to come.
Wendy Yates of Frisco, Colorado by way of Honolulu, HI is truly a creative spirit. She’s an entrepreneur, CEO of Abigail-Elise Design Studio; Well Fit Human - a lifestyle design retreat program; and a real estate development platform. She loves traveling - especially to the local spots, contributing to local economies in communities she visits . She loves connecting with other humans. She values wellness, personal growth, the environment and making a valuable impact.
In this episode, we really dive into how Wendy determined her purpose in life and forged her path in the world.
She says everything that exists, exists by design - and I’d have to agree - from nature to human communities and lives.
Wendy tells us about her process of marrying her joy to her life purpose in a way that can be the biggest force for good in the world, but also discusses how she helps her design clients go down a path of self discovery.
She tells us how her creative process works and what’s she’s learned from working with different human personalities.
Then, we get to know more about Wendy personally. Wendy opens up about fears she faced when determining what her path in life would be and the steps she took in getting to where she is today, even when certain moves were hard to make. She also tells us why an early experience with poverty in the country Turkey, has influenced her drive toward service in communities she travels to.
From this episode, you’ll learn that less is more when designing your home and life. You’ll also learn that the foundation of your life at home impacts how you go out and interact with the world. Not only does your home base act as a reflection of your own personality and how you’ll meet others where they’re at, your home or business property interacts with the community and even the economy.
That’s for you individually, but, on a big-picture scale, you’ll see that you can pursue entrepreneurial dreams while still being philanthropic. And you can be successful even if being of service. Wendy’s inspirational message is that you can be more than one thing and you can do these things more than one at a time.
Today’s guest, Lori Reising, is the founder of The Raw and Wild Hearts Podcast, Awakening Your Life Force Retreats and Beginning Within Therapy. She has been in therapeutic practice since 2001, providing trauma-informed bodywork, pelvic floor therapy, pain management, hypnotherapy for wellness, childbirth education, therapeutic bodywork for fertility, pregnancy and postpartum and newborn CranioSacral Therapy.
She studied under and assisted world-renowned visionary John F. Barnes since 2001. She presented her well-received workshop Get To Know Your Pelvic Floor at the Annual HypnoBirthing® Conclave in San Antonio, Texas in 2018. She offers online wellness consultations and birthing education, which allows her to work with people worldwide. Lori also offers a unique retreat opportunity in several locations per year.
By combining a safe space to connect with others on a path of discovery where we peel back the strongholds of trauma held in the body, along with pelvic floor education, self-care techniques, dynamic flow exercise class and surfing lessons she has created an utterly transformative week that will take your life in directions you may not have ever thought possible!
Through her podcast she provides an invitation to her Wild Heart Revolution, which is one of destroying this culture rooted in fear to uncover the unconditional love and divinity we are meant to thrive in.
Her mission is to explore the vast expanse of humanity by embracing all that we are and all the ways we can live in our full and divine selves. She is currently working on her no holds barred book on childbirth to help return it to its true roots, which is the access point to gentler and healthier communities.
In this episode, we explore Lori’s life - she tells us about the impact of her closed adoption, her loving parents, meeting her biological mother for the first time, and how an abandonment wound has played out in her life - everything from dealing with relationships, losing her own biological children, losing her health, losing her marriage, and starting over in life after experiencing those crushing losses. Through Lori’s experience, she’s now able to use empathy to help others through birthing and creating their families.
You’ll learn it’s okay to embrace the wild part of your soul. You’ll see that depression and suicidal thoughts can still coexist with a great life. You’ll learn about the amazingness of nurture, but also about the incredible power of biological connection, and the impact of bonding with your environment when you’re in the womb and after.
We talk about rising out of years worth of grief and resulting physical issues to begin thriving again. Lori had to make a massive change if she wanted to save herself. And she did.
Our guest, Mike Hutchinson, affectionately known as Hutch, is a student of Christian reformed theology and host of the True Presbyterian podcast. He lives in Chattanooga, Tenn. with his wife by way of South Carolina. He’s been through seminary and is studying to become ordained later this year.
Last week, we heard part 1 of a 2-part series, where our guest, Hutch, really gave us a scholarly foundation for understanding faith. If you missed it, go back and listen when you get a chance, as there is historical and theological context around some of the concepts we discuss in part 2.
So, this week, in part 2, we discuss the biblical support for faith and how that plays into the definition of faith, why people rely on faith during hard times, whether the Puritans were really sexually repressed, loving your neighbor, and then we get personal.
Hutch opens up about being human himself - suffering from bipolar disorder, when he’s had faith and when he hasn’t had faith, and how infertility impacts himself and his marriage. He even briefly touches on suicide, adoption, and rage. But Hutch also opens up about a time in his life when he only had faith to rely on.
From this episode, you’ll learn how to have faith, that suffering is a normal part of the human condition, it’s okay to be human, you’ll learn about the relationship between faith and action. You’ll also get motivation to keep trying in life even when faith is in short supply.
Our guest, Mike Hutchinson, affectionately known as Hutch, is a student of Christian reformed theology and host of the True Presbyterian podcast. He lives in Chattanooga, Tenn. with his wife by way of South Carolina. He’s been through seminary and is studying to become ordained later this year.
This is part 1 of a 2-part series where Hutch really dives deep to explore what faith is from different perspectives including that of the theologian, pastor, the secularist, and himself personally. In Part 1, we focus on a historical and scholarly foundation and in part 2, we get more personal and introspective. Overall, we explore what faith is, how it can be elusive at times, how to have it, why it’s important, and how it shapes the human condition and society.
To be more specific, in part 1 today, we get to know Hutch’s journey into becoming a pastor; what seminary was like; the difference between religion and spirituality; the types of non-Christian and Christian faith; a light history of reformed Presbyterians; what “reformed” means; and deep, technical definitions of faith, based on an explanation of doctrine.
We wrap up Part 1 with Hutch making the argument that you can’t make a distinction between secularity and spirituality. Ooh, I can’t wait to hear what you guys think about it.
But, from this episode, you’ll learn that defining terms and having the context of history is really important in understanding faith from a Christian theological perspective. Underneath the scholarly discussion, you’ll learn that we have a primary purpose in life, according to Christian doctrine and through Hutch’s example. And, in the show notes, you’ll get an impressive list of reading if you wish to study further.
We talk to Sarah Gates of Nashville, Tennessee who is a technical writer for a living, but more importantly is a lifelong learner, free spirit, investigator, observer, adventurer, and survivor of spiritual abuse.
I love talking to Sarah. While listening, picture her energetically waving her hands as she talks. She’s such a fun, insightful personality with lessons to share. Typically, Sarah prides herself on being the comic relief for a group, but we do get really serious.
We discuss the importance of personal values, integrity, and expressing your authentic self. Then, we go on to not only explore what spiritual abuse is in all forms, but Sarah really opens up about her own experience of spiritual abuse ranging from the foundation being laid as a child to how it manifested through adolescence and into adulthood. Sarah talks about the feelings that arose, what trauma-bonding means within a community, and what it was like letting go and getting out, even including estrangement.
You’ll learn how to recognize spiritual abuse as a form of control and manipulation; the difference between spirituality and religion; and if you’re going through something similar to what Sarah describes, she tells you how to get out of the toxic situation. Our sincere hope is that through Sarah’s story, you’ll find the strength to escape spiritual abuse too.
Remembering and consistently thinking back to our core truths will help guide us through the muck, hurt, chaos, and pain to make lasting change for the highest good of all involved. Remember the truth no matter what information overload is thrown your way.
Here are some core truths to hold onto during this time to cut through the chaos and keep your eye on the goal:
-Black lives matter.
-One life lost is one too many.
-Only what you give power has power.
-Change starts with you, on the inside, regardless of the external.
-In a system, change also starts on the inside.
As white people, we can choose to be allies, secure in knowing that we can fight racism without knowing what it’s like to be black, but knowing what it’s like to be human. We can be secure in knowing that we were born into a society that promotes certain ways of being, but that we can recognize when that way of being is wrong and change it. We do this by listening and paying attention.
And, while the change starts inside of each one of us, the goal is not about us as allies. It’s about our fellow black humans.
We can recognize what racism is, what whiteness is, and we can be self aware to know when the impacts and effects of each are intruding in the way we do things. We’ve been living our entire lives through a legacy left by those before us, not recognizing our own roles in perpetuating that gruesome legacy. Even if we’re not directly the white people who created systemic racism, we can stop it.
Greg Tilton of New Orleans, Louisiana narrowly escaped distracted driving. By that, I mean that he was in a car accident that the healthcare workers thought should have killed him. He walked away with an injured arm, the need for physical therapy, and a lot to think about.
Greg is a husband, new dad, and a podcaster and cinematographer.
He opens up about an idyllic childhood and having a great life. He was living his life when tragedy struck, and luckily walked away mostly unscathed. So what happens when you experience such an accident? Does it change your life? Does it make you closer to God? Greg genuinely tells us about being in shock, how it impacted him over time, and how he’s moved on - sort of nonchalantly and happy go lucky, completely aligned with Greg’s excellent personality.
From this episode, you’ll get insight into how time helps us overcome fears produced by trauma, that miracles do exist, and that it’s okay to be happy even if you’ve been through some crazy events, and last but not least, you’ll learn about the importance of putting your phone down while you’re driving.
Michelle Liter of Spring Hill, Tennessee has written and illustrated a children’s book encompassing the values of imagination, hand making, frugality, and being resourceful.
Michelle is a mom and wife with a background in fine arts and graphic design.
We start out talking about spending time in cemeteries as a child and different cultures. Then, Michelle continues to open up about her life, being a lifelong artist, and her first experience with fine art. She tells us about the journey art has taken her on, and how art combined with being a mother and raising her own family has all culminated in her recent project - writing, illustrating, and starting the process of publishing a children’s book, available on Amazon starting in August 2020.
From this episode, you’ll get inspiration to be creative, inspiration to start that project you’ve been meaning to do while incorporating your true passions, and you’ll receive a thoughtful perspective to consider about our consumer-driven culture.
Neal Thompson of Franklin Tennessee is a family man who loves God. He’s a CBD enthusiast who runs CBDiscipline - an educational Facebook group. He has professional and personal experience with CBD and researches it regularly.
In this episode, you’ll learn what CBD is, how it works, and the benefits of it. We explore the societal stigma of cannabis, so you can learn why you should move past any stigma to receive the amazing healing properties of CBD. Neal also tells you how to select CBD from reputable labs, ensuring you choose the highest quality CBD and avoid being taken advantage of since its unregulated.
Neal emphasizes the importance of taking care of yourself. That’s what this is all about.
Laurah Jurca, originally from Roanoke, Virginia and now hailing from Washington DC after spending many years in Knoxville Tennessee, is a teacher, historic reenactor, and a long-time friend.
I had been trying to get Laurah to come on the show since 2018 as she’s such an interesting and fun person. I truly am sorry we ended up landing on the topic of today’s episode, even though it’s important, and my heart goes out to Laurah. I love you lady.
Laurah is a new widow who also lost her mom about two weeks after her husband in 2019. Laurah is experiencing a crushing compounded grief that she opens up about as part of her healing and in hopes that it will help someone going through a similar grieving process. I truly admire Laurah for sharing her sacred story with us today.
In this episode, Laurah talks about her relationships with her loved ones in the physical world - where they were at and where they were going before they ended in the physical world. She then describes the emotions she’s grappling with, from guilt to love and also how she’s coming into her own and trying to heal and manage.
You’ll get insight into the grieving process, how you may help a friend who’s grieving or perhaps realize you’re not alone in your own strong emotions. You can realize that a person next to you could be going through the same thing and deserves grace. You also get a chance to practice respect and empathy for a fellow human dealing with so much.
For more information, visit onbeinghumanpodcast.com/episodes/045.
Valerie Moss of Calgary, Alberta Canada is a podcaster, hosting Valerie’s Variety Podcast. She’s an audiobook narrator for books you can find on Audible, and a wife and mom. She’s many amazing things, but what Valerie is not is a paramedic or healthcare worker. However, she’s saved a life anyways… while on her honeymoon… while wearing a string bikini. Hmm… what happened so that the stars aligned that the circumstances were what they were?
In this episode, you’re getting a truly heartfelt retelling of the time Valerie saved a life, and all the emotion that goes with it. By talking to Valerie, I learned that a person’s experience of certain events may be completely different than what you’d imagine, having never been in the other person’s shoes.
What you will get from listening to Valerie’s story is little glimpse into the heart of a fellow human. Every bit closer you get to each heart on Earth, the closer you get to understanding why we are the way we are and how we’re all connected.
Josh and Tiffanny Thomason of Portsmouth, Virginia are returning guests from episodes 7 and 8 of season 1. They are married, navigating their relationship, and also navigating Tiffanny’s journey with rare disease and the co-existing conditions and impacts that come with that. Last season, we discussed Cushing’s disease, diagnoses, treatments, and more.
This season, we discuss how their idea of being human has evolved, the difficulties of having multiple rare diseases, and how Josh getting an injury changed he and Tiffanny’s relationship dynamic. Tiffanny explains what it means to have rare diseases managed. The couple also very personally open up publicly, for the first time, about the prospect of having children.
You get insight into adaptability, flexibility with evolving plans, how to take incremental progress as wins, and how advocacy work contributes to your own healing.
The On Being Human Podcast supports neuroendocrine tumor research, also known as NET research, and you can too. Tune in to learn how to join a virtual concert benefitting NET research, “Music to Ignite NET Research.” Don’t miss it on April 29, 2020 at 7 pm EDT/6 pm CDT.
The virtual concert features Jocelyn Oldham, a musician from Richmond, VA. On Being Human’s very own Ryan Sauls will also make a musical appearance.
Lynnette Henderson of Smyrna, Tennessee has been a traveler, student, teacher, and trail blazer for most of her life.
She was an early childhood educator and a teacher of teachers before getting her PhD in special education and neuroscience. Lynnette has been an avid researcher for a living, and pioneered programs around communication in children, autism, stress in parents of children with autism, and employment of people with disabilities. Lynnette has had a busy and amazing career while also being a mother and wife. But her career was halted by a cerebrospinal fluid leak, also known as a CFS leak.
Lynnette opens up about what its like living with her CFS leaks caused by Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, which also results in depression. She tells us about diagnosis and the ups and downs of trial and error treatments. She also tells us about the impact on her daily activities, personal relationships, and her outlook on life.
One of the interesting points about Lynnette’s story is that she admits to relying on external validation through her career for fulfillment, and she’s had to recalibrate and relearn what it means to be human now with less productivity and more being in the moment as she is, while on a journey to improve her health and help others in the process.
You’ll learn about the importance of education, blazing your own trail, but also the importance of health as your foundation and being your own healthcare advocate. Plus, it’s okay to embrace the “being” portion of our human existence.
Andy Littlefield of Smyrna, Tenn. is a returning guest from the finale of last season - Season 1 - of the On Being Human podcast. He is a marine veteran who helps other veterans in his spare time, loves his family, and also works in the surgical supply industry. Andy is an essential employee amidst the lock down orders of the COVID-19 pandemic.
We discuss what it’s like being an essential employee - everything from how Andy sanitizes at work to how it impacts his family. We discuss supplies, helping others in need. We discuss Andy’s opinions and insights into how the government is handling the crisis, how the public is handling the crisis, and why it makes sense to bring the military in to help.
You get strength to do the right thing - sanitize, help others if you can safely from a distance and share supplies, because we’re all in this together. You get insight into what it’s like being an essential employee and the feelings that come along with that.
Plus, with Andy’s military service, you also get insight into how veterans are equipped to deal with what we’re all going through right now and also how how social isolation may be impacting veterans, the public at large, and what issues we may want to deal with once we’re able to emerge from difficult yet necessary measures to stay safe.
Andy is part of the Irreverent Warriors organization. One of their main points in the season 1 finale was the issue of veteran suicide and PTSD. Andy and the Irreverent Warriors, plus other veteran organizations, are still here to help, even during this time of social distancing and lock downs, and we list many online resources in the show notes.
Andy also tells us how we can help, if the desire strikes, and gives us an update on the Irreverent Warriors’ Silkies Hike initiatives that have been postponed, but are still going strong in planning.
Last week’s guest detailed trauma stemming from being unseen and staying small in the world. This week, we transition into a story of empowerment through being seen - performing on stage in the circus arts. By circus arts, we’re talking aerial acrobatics, hula hopping, cyr wheel, and burlesque dancing.
Kristen Teffeteller, known on stage as Kinetic Kristen, of Nashville TN is a 4 foot 11 inch wild child who just loves her job - she affectionately describes it as playing with toys.
It’s not all about the strip tease, but Kristen tells us how she decided to go for it, plus the importance of movement, expressing yourself, and listening to your body.
You get empowerment to love your body, to have control over your own body, know that its okay to be seen, and an understanding that your physical health is tied to your mental health and ability to relate to the world around you. Movement is important to the human condition, but most importantly, “do the damn thing!”
Plus, you’ll find links to help support Kristen in this time of social distancing and also Nashville’s own Alley Cat Cabaret, that have both taken a double hit from the early-March Nashville, Tenn. tornado and now COVID-19.
This week’s episode is one of the most intimate storytelling episodes we’ve done. Guest, Erin Grace, is a healer, traveler, blogger and the face behind Story Bones, an online resource for recognizing your trauma and healing it.
Erin hails from New South Wales Australia.
From her heart, Erin tells us about a life of being unseen and the excruciating pain it caused. She talks about the trauma resulting from becoming enmeshed in close relationships causing your identify to become unclear. Erin talks about symptoms of trauma from her own personal experience, such as dissociation, anxiety, and depression, but also tells us how she started to heal, continues to heal, and how she helps others through energy healing and spiritual healing.
You get insight into recognizing and stopping destructive behaviors that you might engage in - if you’re not sure where those behaviors come from or how to stop these patterns, Erin gives you advice for how to surrender and stop running from the pain. You’ll also learn how to start listening to yourself, tapping into your own intuition, calling on universal energy for healing, and how to change the stories you’ve believed about yourself throughout your life and past lives so you can step into your own power.
Subscribe and leave us a rating and review. Find this episode and all the links Erin mentions at www.onbeinghumanpodcast.com/episodes/039.
Connect with us on Facebook: @OnBeingHumanPodcast.
Sherry Spivey, originally from Florida and now hailing from rural Tenn has been an artist her entire life and has been in the screen printing business since the 80s.
She’s a self-described pragmatic artist who lives an eclectic life. She chooses to put her artwork on t-shirts because everyone wears t-shirts and they bring joy to people’s lives. People treasure the art on t-shirts as self expression. In this episode, Sherry talks about what her creative process is like, what it’s like being in business with her husband, and she also opens up about living with type 1 diabetes.
You’ll definitely love gleaning inspiration from Sherry’s creative process and hearing that that little bit of t-shirt nostalgia you indulge in is a-okay.
Subscribe to the On Being Human podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Help us out by leaving a rating and review. You can also find this episode at onbeinghumanpodcast.com/episodes/038, where you’ll find links Sherry mentions throughout this episode.
Want more love? Visit onbeinghumanpodcast.com and sign up with your name and email address and I’ll send you a free gift - it’s a personal mantra that I use daily. And I promise, no spam whatsoever, just one little mantra with a big impact. You can also join in the conversation with us on Facebook - that’s @OnBeingHumanPodcast.
Now, let’s hear from Sherry and dive into how she’s spreading joy, being her true self, and living her life.
This week’s guest, Ben Minnis, sees human faces in the abstract. Ben is an early childhood educator turned sculptor from Eugene, OR. He now runs huMinnist sculpture. His heavy focus on material languages for young children has inspired how he approaches his art - he has a dialogue with the clay until the conversation ends.
You’ll learn from Ben the importance of living in the moment and losing inhibitions around the myriad of ways to learn and experience meaning in life. As we grow into adulthood, learning and expressing through movement, poetry, or music, for example, is conditioned out of us as we focus on excelling at reading, writing, and arithmetic. While those forms of education are important, it’s also important, as Ben says, to “be the ant.”
Be present in the moment and focus on the task at hand to unburden yourself from human trappings.
It’s possible to process our experiences through outlets with materials from the Earth, such as clay, and to find peace with letting your creative inner world be exposed. Ben tells us how he has done this in his past.
The limits we place on ourselves are oftentimes man made through societal pressure, which we can release and expand beyond if we let ourselves. This is one way art contributes to the improvement of our lives - it helps us think and process our experiences as the meaning of those experiences evolves.
Ben’s clay sculptures evolve in much the same way as our human experiences and represents them in a unique and thought-provoking way.
In this episode, I reflect on what I learned from guests during season 1 of the On Being Human podcast and talk about what’s in store for the upcoming season 2.
This episode sets the tone for the season as we’ll still be exploring complicated human experiences, but also ways to heal through art, writing, reading, music, dance, and more. We continue to explore what makes us unique as humans.
The differences among us are interesting, but the similarities are even more interesting. Listen to get inspiration. Listen to get a big picture. Listen to get a variety of powerful perspectives. Listen to get the chills.
Visit www.onbeinghumanpodcast.com/episodes/036.
Ryan Sauls and Brandi Fleck answered relationship questions submitted by listeners - this is the unedited, full length recording. They recorded this episode at 6 am in their closet on a Monday before work. There’s a huge surprise at the end that they didn’t air with the original episode. Can you guess what it is?
For more episodes, go to onbeinghumanpodcast.com. Season 2 will be here in March 2020. Until then, thanks for listening you guys! Enjoy.
For in-depth details, highlights, and links, check out the show notes at www.onbeinghumanpodcast.com/episodes/034.
Find the podcast on Facebook: @OnBeingHumanPodcast.
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) so you get the latest episode delivered weekly.
Love what you hear? Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, telling me what you love most about the show. This helps others find the show too! Thanks for visiting today!
For in-depth details, highlights, and links, check out the show notes at www.onbeinghumanpodcast.com/episodes/033.
Find the podcast on Facebook: @OnBeingHumanPodcast.
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) so you get the latest episode delivered weekly.
Love what you hear? Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, telling me what you love most about the show. This helps others find the show too! Thanks for visiting today!
For in-depth details, highlights, and links, check out the show notes at www.onbeinghumanpodcast.com/episodes/032.
Find the podcast on Facebook: @OnBeingHumanPodcast.
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) so you get the latest episode delivered weekly.
Love what you hear? Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, telling me what you love most about the show. This helps others find the show too! Thanks for visiting today!
For in-depth details, highlights, and links, check out the show notes at www.onbeinghumanpodcast.com/episodes/031.
Find the podcast on Facebook: @OnBeingHumanPodcast.
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) so you get the latest episode delivered weekly.
Love what you hear? Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, telling me what you love most about the show. This helps others find the show too! Thanks for visiting today!
For in-depth details, highlights, and links, check out the show notes at www.onbeinghumanpodcast.com/episodes/030.
Find the podcast on Facebook: @OnBeingHumanPodcast.
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) so you get the latest episode delivered weekly.
Love what you hear? Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, telling me what you love most about the show. This helps others find the show too! Thanks for visiting today!
For in-depth details, highlights, and links, check out the show notes at www.onbeinghumanpodcast.com/episodes/029.
Find the podcast on Facebook: @OnBeingHumanPodcast.
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) so you get the latest episode delivered weekly.
Love what you hear? Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, telling me what you love most about the show. This helps others find the show too! Thanks for visiting today!
For in-depth details, highlights, and links, check out the show notes at www.onbeinghumanpodcast.com/episodes/028.
Find the podcast on Facebook: @OnBeingHumanPodcast.
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) so you get the latest episode delivered weekly.
Love what you hear? Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, telling me what you love most about the show. This helps others find the show too! Thanks for visiting today!
For in-depth details, highlights, and links, check out the show notes at www.onbeinghumanpodcast.com/episodes/027.
Find the podcast on Facebook: @OnBeingHumanPodcast.
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) so you get the latest episode delivered weekly.
Love what you hear? Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, telling me what you love most about the show. This helps others find the show too! Thanks for visiting today!
For in-depth details, highlights, and links, check out the show notes at www.onbeinghumanpodcast.com/episodes/026.
Find the podcast on Facebook: @OnBeingHumanPodcast.
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) so you get the latest episode delivered weekly.
Love what you hear? Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, telling me what you love most about the show. This helps others find the show too! Thanks for visiting today!
For in-depth details, highlights, and links, check out the show notes at www.onbeinghumanpodcast.com/episodes/025.
Find the podcast on Facebook: @OnBeingHumanPodcast.
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) so you get the latest episode delivered weekly.
Love what you hear? Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, telling me what you love most about the show. This helps others find the show too! Thanks for visiting today!
For in-depth details, highlights, and links, check out the show notes at www.onbeinghumanpodcast.com/episodes/024.
Find the podcast on Facebook: @OnBeingHumanPodcast.
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) so you get the latest episode delivered weekly.
Love what you hear? Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, telling me what you love most about the show. This helps others find the show too! Thanks for visiting today!
For in-depth details, highlights, and links, check out the show notes at www.onbeinghumanpodcast.com/episodes/023.
Find the podcast on Facebook: @OnBeingHumanPodcast.
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) so you get the latest episode delivered weekly.
Love what you hear? Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, telling me what you love most about the show. This helps others find the show too! Thanks for visiting today!
For in-depth details, highlights, and links, check out the show notes at www.onbeinghumanpodcast.com/episodes/022.
Find the podcast on Facebook: @OnBeingHumanPodcast.
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) so you get the latest episode delivered weekly.
Love what you hear? Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, telling me what you love most about the show. This helps others find the show too! Thanks for visiting today!
For in-depth details, highlights, and links, check out the show notes at www.onbeinghumanpodcast.com/episodes/021.
Find the podcast on Facebook: @OnBeingHumanPodcast.
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) so you get the latest episode delivered weekly.
Love what you hear? Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, telling me what you love most about the show. This helps others find the show too! Thanks for visiting today!
For in-depth details, highlights, and links, check out the show notes at www.onbeinghumanpodcast.com/episodes/020.
Find the podcast on Facebook: @OnBeingHumanPodcast.
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) so you get the latest episode delivered weekly.
Love what you hear? Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, telling me what you love most about the show. This helps others find the show too! Thanks for visiting today!
For in-depth details, highlights, and links, check out the show notes at www.onbeinghumanpodcast.com/episodes/019.
Find the podcast on Facebook: @OnBeingHumanPodcast.
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) so you get the latest episode delivered weekly.
Love what you hear? Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, telling me what you love most about the show. This helps others find the show too! Thanks for visiting today!
For in-depth details, highlights, and links, check out the show notes at www.onbeinghumanpodcast.com/episodes/018.
Find the podcast on Facebook: @OnBeingHumanPodcast.
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) so you get the latest episode delivered weekly.
Love what you hear? Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, telling me what you love most about the show. This helps others find the show too! Thanks for visiting today!
For in-depth details, highlights, and links, check out the show notes at www.onbeinghumanpodcast.com/episodes/017.
Find the podcast on Facebook: @OnBeingHumanPodcast.
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) so you get the latest episode delivered weekly.
Love what you hear? Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, telling me what you love most about the show. This helps others find the show too! Thanks for visiting today!
For in-depth details, highlights, and links, check out the show notes at www.onbeinghumanpodcast.com/episodes/016.
Find the podcast on Facebook: @OnBeingHumanPodcast.
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) so you get the latest episode delivered weekly.
Love what you hear? Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, telling me what you love most about the show. This helps others find the show too! Thanks for visiting today!
For in-depth details, highlights, and links, check out the show notes at www.onbeinghumanpodcast.com/episodes/015.
Find the podcast on Facebook: @OnBeingHumanPodcast.
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) so you get the latest episode delivered weekly.
Love what you hear? Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, telling me what you love most about the show. This helps others find the show too! Thanks for visiting today!
For in-depth details, highlights, and links, check out the show notes at www.onbeinghumanpodcast.com/episodes/014.
Find the podcast on Facebook: @OnBeingHumanPodcast.
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) so you get the latest episode delivered weekly.
Love what you hear? Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, telling me what you love most about the show. This helps others find the show too! Thanks for visiting today!
For in-depth details, highlights, and links, check out the show notes at www.onbeinghumanpodcast.com/episodes/012.
Find the podcast on Facebook: @OnBeingHumanPodcast.
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) so you get the latest episode delivered weekly.
Love what you hear? Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, telling me what you love most about the show. This helps others find the show too! Thanks for visiting today!
For in-depth details, highlights, and links, check out the show notes at www.onbeinghumanpodcast.com/episodes/011.
Find the podcast on Facebook: @OnBeingHumanPodcast.
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) so you get the latest episode delivered weekly.
Love what you hear? Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, telling me what you love most about the show. This helps others find the show too! Thanks for visiting today!
For in-depth details, highlights, and links, check out the show notes at www.onbeinghumanpodcast.com/episodes/010.
Find the podcast on Facebook: @OnBeingHumanPodcast.
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) so you get the latest episode delivered weekly.
Love what you hear? Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, telling me what you love most about the show. This helps others find the show too! Thanks for visiting today!
For in-depth details, highlights, and links, check out the show notes at www.onbeinghumanpodcast.com/episodes/009.
Find the podcast on Facebook: @OnBeingHumanPodcast.
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) so you get the latest episode delivered weekly.
Love what you hear? Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, telling me what you love most about the show. This helps others find the show too! Thanks for visiting today!
For in-depth details, highlights, and links, check out the show notes at www.onbeinghumanpodcast.com/episodes/008.
Find the podcast on Facebook: @OnBeingHumanPodcast.
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) so you get the latest episode delivered weekly.
Love what you hear? Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, telling me what you love most about the show. This helps others find the show too! Thanks for visiting today!
For in-depth details, highlights, and links, check out the show notes at www.onbeinghumanpodcast.com/episodes/007.
Find the podcast on Facebook: @OnBeingHumanPodcast.
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) so you get the latest episode delivered weekly.
Love what you hear? Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, telling me what you love most about the show. This helps others find the show too! Thanks for visiting today!
For in-depth details, highlights, and links, check out the show notes at www.onbeinghumanpodcast.com/episodes/006.
Find the podcast on Facebook: @OnBeingHumanPodcast.
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) so you get the latest episode delivered weekly.
Love what you hear? Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, telling me what you love most about the show. This helps others find the show too! Thanks for visiting today!
For in-depth details, highlights, and links, check out the show notes at www.onbeinghumanpodcast.com/episodes/005.
Find the podcast on Facebook: @OnBeingHumanPodcast.
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) so you get the latest episode delivered weekly.
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For in-depth details, highlights, and links, check out the show notes at www.onbeinghumanpodcast.com/episodes/004.
Find the podcast on Facebook: @OnBeingHumanPodcast.
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In this episode, James Ruzinok opens up about the winding path that led him to his current spiritual practice as a life coach and Reiki master. Plus, James shares tips on how to manifest the life you want while finding the answers within.
In this candid conversation, James Ruzinok recalls going through two divorces and two careers before realizing what was missing in life and that he needed to change something. After putting in the work, he found the third career and a third marriage that is loving, supportive, and inspires him to live in balance and harmony with his true life purpose - helping you to live in harmony with your true life purpose.
Tune in to see how James reflected, evolved, and obtained skills to live a fulfilling life in love and the pursuit of happiness and live his true soul purpose.
For in-depth details, highlights, and links, check out the show notes at www.onbeinghumanpodcast.com/episodes/003.
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Thanks for listening.
In this episode, Sean Doss opens up about serious traumatic events occurring to him throughout childhood that had lasting impact until adulthood.
In this candid conversation, Sean Doss explains how he harnessed experiences with molestation, suicide attempts, and a resulting mental breakdown to turn a dream into reality. Sean used his experience to open Doss Survival Training, where he teaches people how to be in the present moment, recognize patterns, and step back to think before acting - all lessons that apply in a physical or mental and emotional survival scenario.
Tune in to see how Sean survived and the skills he obtained to live a fulfilling life while making sense of and coping with unthinkable acts over which he had no control.
For in-depth details, highlights, and links, check out the show notes at www.onbeinghumanpodcast.com/episodes/002.
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In this first episode, I open up about childhood emotional abuse leading to an abrupt move across states to safety; how that abuse prompted me to justify smoking; quitting smoking; and cycles of healing. I recount the climax of domestic violence that led to the end of the 9-year relationship responsible for the trauma.
In this candid solo episode, I tell you why I started the podcast and explore how my own experiences of being safe from abuse and quitting smoking help me have faith we can transform ourselves and therefore transform society. I use comparisons between a chemical reaction - incomplete combustion - and the toxic effects of living life without enough fulfillment and meaningfulness.
Tune in to see how repeating patterns in the universe make the comparison possible and the lesson I learned about combating hurtful actions with love.
For in-depth details, highlights, and links, check out the show notes at www.onbeinghumanpodcast.com/episodes/001.
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