ESSENCEtial Conversations: Recent Episodes
with Lucca Hallex and Rebecca Mears
A radio series focusing on adventurous, innovative, and unusual souls, hosted by Lucca Hallex and Rebecca Mears.
Episode 267, Lucca and Rebecca with a Dose of Hope by with Lucca Hallex and Rebecca Mears
Stephanie Ostler is a Vancouver designer, teacher and entrepreneur. She is the owner/founder of Devil May Wear which makes ethical clothing and lingerie by hand in Vancouver. She is also a teacher at SFU for Make Change Studio, a business and design course based on textile sustainability. She is excited about creating change in the world through small business and sustainability in Vancouver.
Originally aired April 17, 2020
Matt Woodford is an audio producer and musician from Vancouver Island. It's been an interesting year of change for him and he has been working diligently to make himself aware of the potential energy which he stores. Recently he has been making attempts to unveil myself from the past constraints he has built, exploring the notion that he longer has to try, he can just be.
Originally aired on April 3, 2020
“GLOW is my life's work - my soul's calling. My story is far from linear. What I can generally say, is chocolate found me. It lured me - like the pied piper. This sacred plant is very much a part of a very personal journey of discovery, healing, death and re-birth. Cacao is my master teacher and so much more."
Julie Beyer is the Founder and Principal at GLOW Chocolate. She studied holistic nutrition at the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition, and holds a bachelor degree in Economics and International Relations from the University of British Columbia. Julie’s other passions include cooking (and eating the best of foods!), Vedic astrology, languages, yoga, and getting outside as much a possible in the Pacific Northwest rainforest.
Julie says her recipes are a co-creation with something bigger than her. She has zero training as a chocolatier, chef or anything related, and considers herself more of an entrepreneur, artist and alchemist. Her chocolates are created from divine inspiration, instinct and intuition.
Well if that doesn't sound like fertile territory for Lucca and Rebecca to explore, what DOES? We dig in - quite literally, to her chocolates - and to learn more of her non-linear story.
Cat Webb is a Catalyst and Resident Crossroad Community House Curatrix and they are opening their home to create a sober intergenerational queer community centre and event space catering to LGBTQ2SIA+ individuals and their extended networks of allies.
Lucca and Rebecca talk through what Cat's dreams are for the Crossroad Community House, and what fuels them!
Adina is a heart-led leader dedicated to empowering women, especially moms, to show up and be their best. She’s a clean beauty advocate and a Discover Your Sacred Gifts Guide. As a Founding Member, consultant and Executive Director at Beautycounter, she’s an award-winning sales leader, educator and champion of the clean beauty movement.
Adina is a business coach who supports women (and a few good men) to connect with their own unique sacred gifts and lean into life to feel more on purpose and fulfilled. She’s on a mission to help moms love themselves more so they can show up feeling empowered in their lives and create a ripple effect in their circles and beyond.
Lucca and Rebecca dive deep with Adina to learn more about her sacred gift training and how all aspects of her work feed into each other!
Ricky Castanedo Laredo is a Mexican-immigrant, living on Unceded Coast Salish territories. He is primarily an artist and graphic designer, but has been heavily involved in the Vancouver punk scene for close to 10 years, and plays in a bunch of local bands. He's also the art director of Discorder Magazine, based out of CiTR 101.9 FM, and is the music director at CJSF 90.1 FM!
Lucca and Rebecca love interviewing our CJSF contemporaries to see what brought them to community radio, and to explore all the facets of who they are. We take some time with Ricky, getting to know the man behind all the music at CJSF!
Jen Lang guides spiritually-conscious women in business to become compelling and confident communicators so they can connect with and grow their community.
She has two main focus-areas in her coaching business: Public Speaking & Communications and Reiki & Sound bowl therapy. Both lend themselves well to group and individual guidance and experiences and there is often over-lap with clients within these two main areas. Using her training in martial arts, Reiki, and opera singing, she works with the complete person in a method she is developing around embodied communication.
Currently she works with clients in a 1:1 or small group mastermind format around speaking, communication, spirituality, and presence.
Her life theme, in a few key words, would probably include “constantly curious”. She is a life-long learner, but that is closely connected to her curiosity and need to try many different things! She's also a great connector, so she is able to pull together her experiences to provide her clients with a variety of tools and experiences to support their growth and transformation.
This woman has travelled the globe and found herself and her crown: Lucca and Rebecca talk through the impetus behind her choices and what they led her to!
(Khenpo) Lobsang Tenzin is a multi-disciplined production artist, TV Creator and arts philosophy teacher. His sculptures, paintings and word posters can be found on film sets, in homes and offices around the world. He currently serves as an Executive Producer (Bhutan Projects) with the award winning film company Real by FAKE and where he is in pre-production on a Bhutanese feature film shooting next year and developing a VFX Editing outpost for the Kingdom. On sunny days Khenpo Lobsang can be found playing hooky from work by painting outside the postal depot on Vancouver's Commercial Drive. Apart from the above, Khenpo has a pole-poster campaign ongoing around Vancouver, created in partnership with his students and sponsored by The POSTER GUY
Marissa Wong is a Vancouver-based dance artist who has presented, hosted, and produced choreographic works in San Francisco, Montreal, Vancouver, and Ottawa, including at TEDxSoma and Dance in Vancouver. In 2015, she founded TWObigsteps collective, a platform where she continues to create, explore, and research alongside other inspiring artists. In addition to performance, Marissa engages in the community through workshop facilitation, teaching, and mentoring. Interested in sharing dialogue, she seeks growth through the language of movement, and expansion in a practice of continually challenging assumptions.
Lucca and Rebecca discuss the origins and aims of Marissa's collective, and see where her growing edge is!
How do you claim and create hope and joy for yourself? How do you navigate life when it is throwing curveballs at you, and regain charge of your emotions and perspective about it all?
Rebecca and Lucca talk about the signs and symptoms of when we're a bit lost, and what kinds of actions they find helpful in taking charge of their brainspace and what is controllable around them to facilitate greater ease of spirit, and an increase in joy.
First aired on November 15, 2019.
Mehrdad Rahbar was born in Iran, moved to Canada in his teens. He studied Architecture at McGill University. and specialized in Community Development and Affordable Housing. He is the founder and principal of Vernacular Group, a design and land development company in BC. Rahbar is also the recipient of a number of BC's design awards. With his company he has been involved in many affordable and innovative residential projects working with Canadian federal, provincial and local governments, and First Nations.
In addition, he is a celebrated artist who has installed two major public art sculptures. His most recent sculpture "When Women Rise" was installed at the UBC Campus in 2018. As a painter, his works have been exhibited in Canada and the United States.
Rahbar is also the Spokesperson for Phoenix Academy for Arts & Culture for Iran.
Lucca and Rebecca explore how Mehrdad thinks outside the box and calls for awakening!
First aired on November 8, 2019.
Jennifer Ellis is a Sacred Interface Explorer who collaborates with people through the art of Hypnotherapy to explore their inner world. She's always loved working with people whether it’s through my leadership in the corporate world, as a yoga and fitness teacher, massage practitioner or “Jennifer of all trades” in an environmental technologies start-up company. She sees and respects people’s capacity for growth as well as their limitations. She facilitates a change in perspective to bring a greater depth of understanding of your inherent self. She's done her own inner journeying, and continues to do so, whether purposefully or kicking and yelling along the way.
Rebecca and Lucca take some time to play and explore with Jennifer to see just what she kicks and yells about while she's on her inner adventures!
First aired on November 1, 2019.
Flora Gordon is an Art Director with a passion for visually expressing complex ideas. She has designed everything from magazines to museum exhibits. As a professionally certified member of the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada and holding a degree in Communication Design from Emily Carr University. Flora developed a plain language graphic design curriculum for Simon Fraser University that focuses on clear communication and readability through layout and typography.
Her obsession with advertising started in childhood, when Her father would point out clever ads to me. She buys more typefaces than shoes and her sketchbook is always within reach. Re-occurring themes in her work process include serendipity, intuition and magic.
Lucca and Rebecca talk with Flora Gordon about the creative genius behind the branding evolution of her clients!
First aired on October 18, 2019
What does the little voice in the back of your mind tell you is your 'optimal self'? Is it giving you a realistic and helpful picture of yourself, or your goals? What if that voice is interfering with you REALLY being your best self?
Lucca and Rebecca take stock of what the devil and angel on their shoulders keep speaking in their ears about what they should be doing, and why, and how to either shut that voice up or change the messaging so that they (and you!) can have the freedom to truly embrace your best self!
Amy Robichaud joined Dress for Success Vancouver as the Executive Director on April 1 2019. With a decade of experience, she has helped non-profit organizations advance their ideas, revenue and diversity goals through policy and practice. Amy has worked for and with charitable organizations in Toronto, Ottawa, Washington DC and Vancouver.
Amy owns a specialized Advancement Practice that uses a diversity and inclusion lens to guide organizations with their fund development strategy and operations, and communications including persuasion campaign planning and management. She is the former Director of Partnership & Engagement for Minerva BC, the cofounder of FundHer.ca, a speaker on mental health, intergeneration leadership, implicit bias, women in politics, leadership and civic engagement. She’s a regular contributor to the CBC, and has also appeared on CPAC, and german broadcaster ZDF. She is an Advisor and board member for Speech and Debate Canada and a member of the Banff Forum.
Amy’s passion for practical ways to harness the diversity dividend, create economic inclusion, opportunity and prosperity for all, inform everything she does.
Lucca and Rebecca explore that special passion and purpose, taking an explore around Amy's past and present to learn what makes this bright and shiny soul tick!
Connie is really good at solving healthcare issues for families and making things happen. She's quite fearless when going toe-to-toe with physicians or hospital management and the more intimidated 'her families' are, the more she seems to rise to the challenge. Our system is fragmented to the point of being shattered. She is able to help patients and families get the information they need in ways they can understand it and then get the best care possible.
Lucca and Rebecca take some time with Connie to understand what she is creating through Patient Pathways, what exactly is broken and why, and how she is at work to create some of the shifts needed.
Stories can be a gateway to developing relationship, a method of passing on history and wisdom, and are SO much more than just pleasant entertainment. Lucca and Rebecca talk about the power of stories in their personal lives, in their work, and in the cultures they have experienced. How stories build community, how they create rapport, how they teach with ease and gentleness the mores of families, societies, and sustainable relation with the world around us. Listen in and let us know your thoughts and favourite stories!
Do you equate rest with sleep and vegging out? What is it that provides true rest for you? Lucca and Rebecca explore the idea of rest - what it means to them, how they find it, what counteracts it, what amplifies it - and why it is so very essential for balanced living.
Ciara is a queer visual artist and student studying sociology at SFU. They volunteer at CJSF as the summer outreach and programming assistant. They constantly strive to learn, and they are committed to bringing creativity and dedication to everything they do. They always do whatever they can to be present and supportive of all the people in their life.
Lucca and Rebecca have a chat with Ciara to help bring to the forefront one of the voices and personalities of the lovely folks at CJSF working behind the scenes!
Mark’s background as an educator and an athlete positions him to appreciate and explore the brain’s ability to change and recover after brain injury. His experiences with learning difficulties developed his interest in different learning profiles and helping students better understand the nature of their disabilities and their ability to overcome them. Mark has worked in education and cognitive rehabilitation since 2002. Having served as a teacher, administrator, Executive Director and CEO. With a background in human kinetics and educational leadership Mark has successfully paired his background in both of these areas into his role at ABI Wellness. Pairing his clinical experience in serving students with learning disabilities with his previous experience as the Co-founder and Executive Director of the Watson Centre for Brain Health, Mark has seen firsthand the overwhelmingly positive impact that strengthening specific neurological capacities can have on all aspects of a patient’s life. He is committed to working with patients so they can lead more fulfilled and independent lives. A frequent speaker on the topic of brain injury rehabilitation Mark has presented this work to: Public health agencies, BC Cancer Agency, The NHL Alumni Assoc., NFLPA Washington State among others. Mark also serves as a member of the integrated health advisory board at Kwantlen Polytechnic University.
Lucca and Rebecca are fascinated by this 'poised to explode' area of learning and research, and dig in deep with Mark to understand the potential and possibilities that he's been witnessing through his work!
Over her life, Mary Ann Saunders has moved through many, often overlapping, forms of gender expression and identity—boy, man, cross-dresser, queer straight, genderqueer, girl—before settling into womanhood (with a large dollop of non-binary femme) in her late 40s. She has rested comfortably there since.
Professionally, she’s an instructor at the University of British Columbia, teaching research culture, writing, children’s literature, and transgender studies, and has presented at academic conferences on topics as various as the ethical questions which arise when citing transgender scholars, and the entanglement of her own life story with mass-market children’s books and a sewing machine. She has a particular interest in how marginalized children are represented in children’s and young adult literature.
Mary Ann is on the advisory committees of two summer camps: CampOUT!, for queer, trans and Two-Spirit youth; and Queerest and Dearest, for queer Christian families. As “Camp Seamstress,” she has run sewing workshops during CampOUT!’s summer programming.
While a (mostly) life-long churchgoer and Anglican, Mary Ann’s true spiritual awakening came with her gender transition. These days she serves in a variety of roles at Vancouver’s Christ Church Cathedral, is working on developing feminist theologies of trans embodiment, and is beginning to share this emerging theological work with faith communities and academic audiences.
Married to her partner for almost 25 years, Mary Ann is a proud and happy Dad, a title (and role) she cherishes. She took up ballet at the age of 51 and dances badly but joyfully.
Lucca and Rebecca take some time with Mary Ann to explore her incredible journey of transformation and awakening, and see what gems she has discovered along the way!
How much of your time and energy goes into feeling or creating safety and security for yourself and your loved ones? Are you actually achieving the goal you are aiming for? What if what we think of as 'safe' and 'secure' isn't quite what we think it is? How do we determine what true safety and security looks like? And what if we simply CAN'T create safety or security - what then?
Hard questions that Lucca and Rebecca root around in to see where we find our own foundation stones and guiding principles. Listen in and see if you agree!
Dating and any romantic relationship that we might be in can be a minefield of problems. Lucca and Rebecca dig into a biggie: how can we get what you really want in a relationship? What DO you really want? Is what we think we want and what we need (that will be good and enjoyable) two different things? What is within our power to influence our search for a romantic power - and to better the relationships we're in?
After more than 30 years as an Advance Care Paramedic, Kerry is now working on health navigation, advocacy and disruption. She is disrupting the status quo with new innovation in coaching/teaching people on how to ask the tough questions in our fractured healthcare system, plan for their own health future, being an active collaborator with their health and creating new support systems for caregivers who are the unrecognized heros of health.
Lucca and Rebecca explore Kerry's journey both professional and personal, and hear stories of transformation!
For a decade, Diane worked for large ad agencies as a writer and broadcast producer honing her creative skills of writing and producing communications campaigns for print, radio, video, television, transit, direct mail and promotion. Later, as a Creative Director, she wrote and marketed television programs centred around the environment, alternative health and metaphysics that aired in California, New York and Canada. In the last twenty-five years, Diane has been the owner and Creative Director of her award-winning company Creative Wonders Communications where she works directly with clients to help them grow their companies through integrated creative communications.
Recently, Diane became a Reverend through CIMM (Centre for International Metaphysical Ministries) with a focus on the teaching of A Course in Miracles. Diane has offered spiritual study groups on the course for over 25 years. She will launch her first book this Fall entitled: Turn Your World Upside Down to Get Your Life Right Side Up: Reverse Thinking Based On A Course in Miracles. Then she will launch six online courses based on the book.
Today she offers spiritual counselling, officiates ceremonies, teaches and speaks on helping people access their higher essence and their true creative nature to empower their lives. Her courses help people to choose love over fear in their relationships, careers, family and in the world. Diane’s heart’s desire is to become a spiritual thought leader and a lighthouse to the world.
Lucca and Rebecca take some time to discuss the evolution of Diane's life and work. Listen in to learn about A Course in Miracles and Creative Wonders Communications!
Susan is an enthused by life creative. Her 'Why' is to "help people live lives of courage in harmony with their values."
In 2013 Susan was diagnosed with PTSD and couldn't return to her healthcare position. She looked at her bucket list and the item that said 'quit work to write and paint full time' stood out. Then she asked herself, If I could do anything I wanted for work and if I wasn’t afraid to fail, what would I do? The answer was to heal herself, surround herself with a community of artists and create art. Within a few months she founded 100 Braid St Studios, now the largest co-working art studio outside of Vancouver. The studio is a non-traditional gallery business model and serves as an incubator for artists in transition or for established artists who wish to reach major career goals. Susan is a contemporary landscape artist, her work is held in private collections all over the world and she was recipient of the the Bernie Legge 2017 Artist of the Year Platinum Award. Susan spends time with family, her Braid St community and as much time as she can in nature - she divides her time between the ocean shore, walking and hiking in favourite spots in the lower mainland and plein air painting.
Lucca and Rebecca go back into the twists and turns of Susan's life and choices to see what guides and fuels her on her path.
We've all got a dark side. Have you explored yours, or is it too frightening to own? Lucca and Rebecca talk through what having a shadow side means, and how it can inform and uplift us.
The world is full of big hearted people who want to help out those around them. Sometimes the people we want to help aren't looking for help, or have actively rejected help. What do we do in a situation like this? Lucca and Rebecca talk through the motivations behind wanting to help others (and our own selves), and how to navigate the tension of wanting to make an impact vs. self autonomy.
The human race (and primarily modern western civilization) places great importance on being happy. If we aren't joyful or happy in our daily lives, we feel we are missing the boat. Lucca and Rebecca question this priority to see what we really mean - and whether this pursuit is helping or hindering us.
Cherie is a social impact investor that has a passion to see Vancouver end homelessness. She started her business over three years ago and is now learning about developments. She owns three companies, has 4 teenage kids, one husband, and lives in a community house with 2 other families - located between a brothel and a chicken factory. As a woman of faith, she believes we can partner with each other to see positive change in our world.
We take time with Cherie to understand why she's made the audacious choices she has, where she's aiming, and what she's learned along the way.
Do you ever feel like you've got bad luck? Like Murphy's Law personally has it in for you? Lucca and Rebecca tackle this feeling/belief and take it apart, seeing where its roots are, and where power and choice and new possibilities lie.
Brian's practice is about shining and sharing his light. Since childhood he has always been a seeker, questioning his reality and place within it. This propelled him into a biology degree and on to researching quantum physics and the resulting implications of a consciousness based view of the creation. Concurrent to this research he travelled extensively and was deeply impacted by travels to Africa where he first glimpsed the stillness of spiritual awakening.
Since returning from these quests in 2000, he has focused on stone sculpture as a vehicle for the symbolic expression of these realizations. As he continues to explore his inner landscape, it is his greatest gift and highest goal to share his most divine notions. Inspiring others to live more freely, love more deeply and show greater compassion for all life.
Lucca and Rebecca explore Brian's experiences, epiphanies, and current work.
Robin Eriksson hosts Rebecca Mears on Speak Up! to talk about the Blossom Co-Housing Project, a grassroots initiative by people who want to see change in the Vancouver rental market, and who have an idea that works. Listen in to learn how the myriad of empty homes combined with single parents or otherwise marginalized people and Airbnb equals new opportunities for housing and stability!
Madeleine Shaw is a Vancouver-based social entrepreneur best known as the co-founder of Lunapads, a multiple award-winning green ecommerce venture. She is the founder and Board Chair of United Girls of the World Society, the registered charity that produces G Day. Her latest project is Nestworks, a family-friendly shared workplace. She has received numerous distinctions for her work, including the 2017 EY Entrepreneur of the Year Special Citation for Social Entrepreneurship, the 2016 BMO Celebrating Women Innovation & Global Growth Award and the 2015 Vancouver Board of Trade Wendy MacDonald Award for Entrepreneurial Innovation. She is a graduate of Queen’s University, BCIT and the THNK School of Creative Leadership and blogs about her experiences and insights at www.lunagals.com.
This is Madeleine's second time joining Lucca and Rebecca on the show, and her work and life has evolved considerably since her first visit! Join in to learn about her latest projects!
There's an adage that goes "you can't fix a problem with the same mind that created it." When we find a deep rooted problem, then, how can we become deliberate about finding and creating a solution that will work - rather than just a band-aid for the symptoms?
Rebecca is about to launch a new project in Vancouver aimed at providing relief to the most vulnerable people impacted by the rental crisis in the city. Lucca and Rebecca take some time to talk strategy about problem solving in general, and then dive into the specifics of the Blossom Co-Housing Project.
After earning her University degree and working in public relations, Sandra Nomoto launched Conscious Public Relations Inc., a virtual communications firm, at the age of 25. Over the 10 years in business, Nomoto earned B Corporation® certification, and contributed to eWomenNetwork Vancouver earning the Best Social Media and Community Engagement Award in 2016. She also founded and grew the Vancouver Short Film Festival from 2005 to 2015. In addition to her new roles with cannabis and female empowerment companies, Nomoto is the author of The Only Public Relations Guide You’ll Ever Need, writes for her own blog and at Cold Tea Collective, and serves on the board of the Vancouver Mural Festival. She practices Transcendental Meditation daily, sells a line of bold journals, and has been a vegan since 2018.
Sandra's life theme in a few keywords are: writer, middle child, introvert, listener, and aspiring world traveller.
Lucca and Rebecca take some time with Sandra to explore where she's been, where she's going, and why!
Charlotte is a lifelong learner who has been teaching "something or the others" since 2nd grade. She has lived and is sharing her "Pillows to Pillars" (tear-soaked Pillows to Pillars of Strength) transformational journey through poetry writing, recordings, performances, and workshops. She is exploring the acronym STAR to explain what she does and to promote her new (Canada-US) business: Speaker-Teacher- Author who Revitalizes peoples stories or projects into written or digital media. Former Health Promotion officer for City of Toronto, Globe and Mail columnist - she crashed out after MVA and returned to the US for healing and Revitalization. She is now back in Canada and vivacious Vancouver.
Lucca and Rebecca find the threads through Sista C's varied work and projects, and are treated to a couple of spoken-word pieces original to her!
Lucca and Rebecca dive into what it takes to manage changing situations inside and outside of ourselves - and how to be strategic about learning to perceive situations and people differently.
Angela grew up the 7th of 11 children in Southern Indiana in the Worldwide Church of God, a doomsday apocalyptic church. After spending two years in Israel, she ultimately converted to Judaism. She wrote a memoir about my experience, "A River Could Be a Tree," and hopes that her words serve as a bridge of understanding between cultures and religions.
Rebecca grew up in the same Christian cult as Angela, and this conversation is a delightful exploration through territory that is familiar yet different... listen in as Lucca and Rebecca find out what influenced Angela's path and what she's creating now!
There's a concept that comes up in almost every conversation about deep things that Lucca and Rebecca have - and that's boundaries. Today they focus directly on exploring boundaries - their ins and outs, their whys and wherefores. They are intangible and sometimes inscrutable - but pulling back the layers can help us all to apply them more effectively and health-fully in our lives.
Sara is the owner and founder of the most badass period proof panty company - REVOL GIRL! Her life's purpose and pursuit are to provide and create EMPOWERING period proof underwear for everyone that menstruates. Gone are the days of staining your favourite jeans or nice sheets, Revol Girl always has you protected! On top of providing premium functional leak proof underwear (all handmade locally), Revol Girl (and Sara, to be specific!) is here to disrupt an archaic industry and create a community of support for all menstruators!
Sara chats with Lucca and Rebecca about the source of her passion, and the roots of her entrepreneurism!
Sharon Selby has been counselling children and teens for over twenty years, and she specializes in the treatment of anxiety. She combines a warm, and creative approach with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy to help children and teens regain their power from the worries and/or anxiety. She is the author of the children's book: Surfing the Worry Imp's Wave ~ Empowering Children ages 5-10yrs. to understand and overpower anxiety. She has written over 250 articles on her popular blog and is an active public speaker who has been featured on Breakfast Television, TEDx, St. John Ambulance, and many podcasts and magazines. Her goal is to allow more joy and less stress and angst into the lives of all the children and teens she has the pleasure of supporting on their journey.
Lucca and Rebecca chat with Sharon to learn how her focus on childhood anxiety came to be, and discuss her approach to alleviating this epidemic issue amongst our youth!
Jesse is the Public Affairs & Talk Coordinator at CJSF 90.1FM, where he helps others raise their voices and share their stories to the communities around them. He loves to train and help volunteers realize their creative vision, while building the station community through supporting and communicative relationships. Jesse is the co-host of Speak Up! and the Vancouver Mixtape, where he highlights local issues, ideas and art.
Lucca and Rebecca go exploring around what brought Jesse into radio, why he stays, and what he's creating here. It's always a treat for us to interview a fellow colleague from our station!
Every year Lucca does a Reading Circle where she psychically peeks ahead to what 2019 has in store for us. This episode we play the recording of Lucca's reading, and then discuss it!
The holidays are a time of joy - and stress. Time with family - and time to hibernate. Lucca and Rebecca talk through the tensions of the holiday season and discuss techniques for staying sane and holding boundaries while milking all the opportunities for joy and connection!
Lorie Corcuera is the Co-Founder and CEO at SPARK Creations & Company Inc., a training and development organization that inspires people and companies to create meaningful cultures and workplaces. Over the past 20 years, Lorie has cultivated her people and culture development, community relations, and leadership coaching experience as both a strategic and progressive senior human resources leader in the technology, interactive entertainment, retail, hospitality, manufacturing, professional services, and non-profit space. Lorie is passionate about elevating the life experience at work and cultivating a community that is igniting and enriching our human spirit. Through their SPARK Essentials Women's 2.5 Weekend Retreats and other various program, SPARK has supported over 2,500 women in our community. Lorie is a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC) with The Coaches Training Institute (CTI), an active mentor for Futurpreneur Canada, Dress for Success Vancouver, HR Tech Group, and Forum for Women Entrepreneurs, and Co-Founder of the social enterprise Enspire Foundation.
Lucca and Rebecca dig in with Lorie to discover what's changing in the corporate world of self-development, how Lorie got into what she's doing, and where she's going next!
Rina Liddle is an entrepreneur, educator and visual artist. She has taught a variety of social media, communication and critical theory courses at Emily Carr University, University Canada West and Brighton College since 2009. She has an MA in Photography and Urban Culture from Goldsmiths College, University of London, England and a BFA in General Visual Arts from Emily Carr University. Rina leads a team of 5 contractors and one employee at Liddleworks Indie Media and has helped over 60 clients obtain their business and organizational objectives through training and social media management. She has a passion for visual art and has shown her installation works – many of them utilizing digital and social media components – worldwide, most notably receiving a grant for the work “We Are Watching”, a commission from the City of Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Her research interests include: participatory practice; identity politics; online performance, especially online gender performance. Rina believes in supporting local communities, eco and social justice and the slow food movement. She spends her free time eating with family and friends. Her hobbies include meditation, yoga, cycling, growing things and knitting.
Lucca and Rebecca have an enjoyable wander-about with Rina to learn how she came to be where she is today!
Devon J Hall is a 35 year old writer living in British Columbia BC. She's worked as an advocate in the past for those living below the poverty line, and now helps to tell the stories, (namely herself) of women escaping abusive relationships.
Instead of waiting until women become victims, Devon is helping to celebrate the lives of those who survive, now, through her blog LoudMouthBrownGirl.
Lucca and Rebecca take some time with this fellow colleague from CJSF to see what she is creating now.
Kate Sutherland is founding faculty and executive coach with Simon Fraser University’s Certificate in Social Innovation, SFU's new certificate on Evaluation for Social Impact and Transformational Learning, and THNK School of Creative Leadership. An author, Kate’s third book is We Can Do This! 10 Tools to Unleash Our Collective Genius.
Kate has 30+ years experience in organizational and community development and on issues as diverse as food systems, recovery from substance abuse, local currencies, and newcomer settlement. Increasingly her primary focus has become capacity building for leaders and change makers, sharing what has been most helpful in her own work, and especially inner work approaches based in intention, perception, intuition and consciousness.
In this capacity building work, Kate is encouraging people from all walks of life to step up and out as "Facilitators for the Shift". This phrase is inspired by David Korten's naming of The Great Turning: how we are in the midst of a huge shift from an industrial growth society to a life sustaining civilization. She recently made digital copies of her latest book available for free as part of work to unleash our collective intelligence, collective wisdom and collective capacity.
Lucca and Rebecca check in with Kate to unpack what the "Shift" is, and how Kate's past rolls in to how she is engaging with the world today.
Deb Chaney is a contemporary abstract artist, speaker, & workshop facilitator. Recently named by Vancouver City Buzz and Culture Trip as one of the top 10 contemporary artists to watch in Vancouver, her artwork has been featured in Style At Home Magazine, The Georgia Strait, thrice on the homepage for Saatchi Online Gallery, in Rainmaker Films and on Telus TV. She teaches and speaks about the creative process and living an inspired empowered life. She stands for each of us being creative beings and aims to support others in their own process. Deb is a single mom to her teenage daughter. Her hobbies include hiking and playing guitar. Her mission is to serve others on their journey inward to connect to their joy and empowerment.
Lucca and Rebecca explore Deb's inspirations and passions, with the intention set to equip other artists and creative souls with resources and supports as they develop their craft.
Rhiannon Bennett is a Musqueam band member and was raised in her territory in what is now known as Ladner by her parents and grandparents. Rhiannon’s family instilled a strong sense of community in her and values of community service which lead to Rhiannon working with children, youth and families for over 20 years in a variety of roles ranging from dance, soccer, and teaching, community development. She is active in her community and volunteers her time on a variety of community organizations.
She is also very active within the BCNDP having served as President for Delta South’s Riding Association and served on the Women’s Rights Committee as well as founding the Aboriginal Commission which she now co-chairs.
Rhiannon is well known for asking the tough questions in a manner that encourages engagement and dialogue. The overarching themes of her work have been decolonization and reconciliation. Up until the birth of her daughter in 2016, she worked for the Musqueam Indian Band where she was the Family Outreach Worker. Rhiannon made history in 2014 when she was elected to the Delta School Board but was not re-elected in 2018. Rhiannon is passionately working towards creating a more equitable world for all people.
Lucca and Rebecca take time to follow the threads of Rhiannon's life through the generations past and present, to listen to and honour this powerful soul's transformative work!
Winston chased after fame, money and status believing that these things would make him “somebody” in this world. He reached for the stars, sat among them and eventually fell from grace. He's been told he's accomplished enough to fill multiple lifetimes if he were someone else, but he didn’t believe it, because he was a prisoner to the dysfunctional stories he created, lost in the land of illusion of his own design.
He walked alone through his own personal hell, numbing and slowly killing himself until one day he looked at his reflection in the mirror and admitted that he didn’t want to die. That is when he decided to start his journey towards healing himself, doing the work and picking up the pieces of his shattered life along the way.
It took many years but he eventually got out of hell, walked out of his prison and now lives a life with purpose aligned with spirit, body and mind. The lessons and tests he experienced along his journey are where his insight, empathy, compassion and understanding are forged from. He now listens to people’s stories, feels their joy and pain and helps them craft new stories which more truly reflect who they are and serve them. For those who wish to share their story, he provides multiple platforms and the support for them to do so, and through this transformative process they elevate and empower themselves while inspiring others.
Lucca and Rebecca connect with Winston to learn firsthand about his journeys in body and mind and career, and bear witness to the changing of this story architect's stories.
Patrice Mousseau, a member of the Fort William First Nation, had a successful career as radio and television host, news anchor, and journalist. She became a conscious entrepreneur when her daughter developed eczema and needed help, crafting business and purpose together while raising her daughter as a single mom.
Now, Patrice is the owner/creator of Satya Organics Inc., providing NPN approved, certified USDA organic products to serve those with skin conditions, who those want a legitimate alternative to steroid products. Her company has grown and flourished since we last had Patrice on air. Lucca and Rebecca check in to see how this dynamic woman is doing and what she's creating now!
Oooohhhh ANGER. What's it all about? What can we do with it?
It's been showing up for Lucca and Rebecca lately, so instead of just feeling it, they're dissecting it. Join in to learn what they do to cope with it, to learn from it, to understand it, and to apply it for good.
April Bellia is an entrepreneur with a baking background. Her professional career started over 20 years ago as a dessert chef and wedding cake designer, under the namesake April Cakes. Her next company, Granola Girl was founded in 2008 and later incorporated in 2011. The company now services over 250 grocery stores in Western Canada. April is a wife and mother of 3 teenagers, so she understands the importance of providing good and healthy food for families and young people. Her granola is made with high quality, natural and organic ingredients. April is known locally to be the face for the conscious entrepreneur that is making an impact. Her energy is contagious and the mission behind her product is compelling – to encourage young girls and women to believe that they are enough, as their beautiful natural selves.
April is also a co-founder of Serendipity Tea Party and Good in the Hood, heart-based networking events. In 2017, April launched the Granola Girl Foundation, a fundraising platform to provide scholarships for youth in the areas of girl empowerment and entrepreneurship. Since 2015, April has been serving her community as an intuitive coach and start-up business consultant. She is passionate about finding spirit, freedom, truth, and love in all the work that she does.
Lucca and Rebecca dig in with this delicious cereal entrepreneur, to find the common threads that run through all her creations and endeavours!
The world has felt like it's on a bit of a rollercoaster for the last long while, and Lucca and Rebecca have been feeling it not only on the societal level, but the personal level. In today's episode we take time to dig under the sources of the chaos, and what we can learn from previous times of chaos in our personal and world history. How might this actually be serving us? How can we ride this rollercoaster without getting thrown off?
Camellia invites people to land deeply within themselves and their divinity using Yoga, Yoga Nidra and Reiki. She loves people up and creates a safe, playful, welcoming space for their healing and awakening. Camellia believes that compassion, kindness and love are essential to living a delicious life.
Lucca and Rebecca connect with Camellia to learn how and why she has been drawn to several "quiet healing" modalities - what they do for her, and what she witnesses they do for others.
When everything feels pushed to the limits (and beyond), how do you cope?
Lucca and Rebecca spend time talking about personal overwhelm, societal overwhelm, and what a person can do to manage themselves and continue to contribute to the healing of the world closeby and farther away.
Perhaps you might not expect the key descriptive words of the owner and director of a funeral home to be sunny, laughter, optimistic, effervescent, compassionate, quirky, thoughtful, courageous - but they describe this one to a T! Wendy Rée has lived fully since her birth and childhood years in small-town Ontario, and her life and work experiences have contributed greatly to her focus on being able to have a “heart-centred” career, which she has found in funeral service.
Wendy came to funeral service after being moved by the care and professionalism she experienced at her grandmother’s death and funeral. She sees a strong correlation between the gentle approach of natural parenting and natural death care, a practice of embracing and celebrating the subtleties of individuals, making Wendy a natural fit with the KORU Cremation | Burial | Ceremony philosophy of funeral practice. She believes in families being fully involved in all death care decisions and thoughtfully provides ways to empower them to do so. Some of the ways Wendy has contributed to this has been through hosting a home funeral practicum and participating in and successfully completing the Sacred Passages Death Doula training.
Lucca and Rebecca dive in, asking questions expected and unexpected for someone with a profession many folks wonder about!
Tara Leduc is a peacemaker, speaker, healer and bestselling author. Making peace and spirituality accessible to "normal women", she walks the line between the soulful and the silly.
She is most fired up these days about teaching the art and science of manifestation in her Be a Money Manifesting Machine Masterclasses - how to bring in cash using grit, grace and magic. They're online, so you can attend from anywhere.
Tara Leduc is a peacemaker, speaker, healer and bestselling author. Making peace and spirituality accessible to "normal women", she walks the line between the soulful and the silly. Always on the go experiencing life to the maximum and finding new ways to lift up her fellow humans, build connections, and increase inner peace - Tara is the Chief Enthusiasm Officer of Peace - and a favourite guest on our show!
Lucca and Rebecca check in with Tara about how her work has evolved over the last year, and what her latest adventures are!
Stephanie is the owner and designer of Vancouver based Devil May Wear, a clothing and lingerie company. She loves her work, and her distress at consumption habits leads her to want to teach people to make better decisions for their bodies, their bank accounts and the world. She believes most people don't know who they are, what they really want or what they are actually doing here.
Stephanie believes sustainable and smart shopping can be more fun, and is launching new projects to help people get in touch with themselves to find their way to the right, sustainable, life decisions that are both easy and rewarding, bringing us more in harmony with each other and the world.
Lucca and Rebecca explore Stephanie's work ethics and how they developed, and discover many stories about how Stephanie's determined approach to doing fashion differently has had impacts beyond her expectations.
Chastity Davis is a mixed heritage woman of First Nations and European descent. She is a proud member of the Tla’amin Nation, located in Powell River just off the beautiful Sunshine Coast of BC. Chastity strives to keep her sacred First Nations culture, traditions, and values incorporated into her modern day life. She feels it is her life purpose to facilitate the building of bridges between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people and has dedicated her professional and personal life to do so.
Chastity is sole proprietor to her own consulting business, Chastity Davis Consulting and has been a successful entrepreneur for 8+ years. She is the Chair of the Ministers Advisory Council on Aboriginal Women, Chair of Vancouver Symphony Orchestra’s Indigenous Council, and past director for the Minerva Foundation. Chastity co-founded the Professional Aboriginal Women’s Network and is currently serving as Co-Chair for this important network.
Chastity is also a Registered Yoga Teacher; Chastity weaves in Indigenous knowledge with the ancient wisdom of yoga and brings her practice to Indigenous and non-Indigenous women across BC. She has spoken at several international, national, and local events on the importance of building bridges between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.
Lucca and Rebecca get to know what has helped this extraordinary human become and do what she does in an inspiring hour of sharing!
We've got a big streak of community-building and love for community in us. Today we talk about some of the bumps of community: when collaboration is desired, but elusive; when compromise seems only to make everyone dissatisfied; when forward movement seems to be at the cost of someone else. How do we navigate the complexities of what being in community looks like?
Melanie Phillips stumbled and fell before finding the strength to rise back up again. Having walked through chronic illness and extraordinary loss, Melanie embraces ayurveda, yoga and intuitive medicine as a primary means of how we can all re-emerge from darkness. As a 18 year full time yoga teacher and member of the National Ayurvedic Medical Association - Melanie created The Madhuri Method, a method that effectively treats symptoms and diseases of the mind, body, and emotions leading to a truer relationship to joy, acceptance and personal empowerment. She believes that laughter is the best medicine.
She works with clients one-to-one online, does Ayurvedic Yoga training for teachers,and offers retreats, workshops, and an online Inner Empowerment Mentorship program. All of her offerings are rooted in guiding her clients back to remembering their wholeness, love, and worth.
Lucca and Rebecca talk about the formative and transformative experiences of Melanie's life, and discuss the background behind her latest book, "Living After Loss: A Soulful Guide to Freedom".
Leigh’s love and passion for horses was kindled when she was five years old. Her Dad took her to visit a friend’s ponies and from that day forward, horses were a part of her life. If she wasn’t dreaming of horses, she was drawing them, riding or collecting them.
As an adult, Leigh’s passion for animals continued. While her career took her into the corporate world, her home was on acreage with dogs, a donkey, and horses she adopted over the years. Leigh honed her business skills, first in law firms as a paralegal, then as an Assistant Corporate Secretary for an energy company and finally for a governance consulting business. Over the years, there were some major personal changes in her life and Leigh gradually retreated into herself and shut down her emotions. As she spent more time with her horses and became grounded Leigh started to ‘feel’ life again, with renewed mental and physical energy.
In 2016 she came across a program to become a facilitator in Facilitated Equine Experiential Learning®. Becoming a FEEL Practitioner was a life-changing journey that allowed Leigh to partner with her horses and fully develop her intuitive skills and compassion.
Lucca and Rebecca discuss the sweeping changes in Leigh's life that caused such dramatic change, and hear wonderful stories of the wisdom of horses and how they have impacted the healing of many individuals.
Sue Dumais is a Global Impact Visionary Leader answering the call to heal the world. She is a best-selling author, international speaker, a divine leader of light leaders, a sacred guide, gifted intuitive healer, a miracle weaver and a global voice of HOPE and inspiration for the “Heart YES Movement.”
In 2014, she received the WOW Spirit Success and Soul Award. Sue also established the Heart Led Living Foundation, which provides emotional and financial support to women and girls in Kenya.
Her most recent book is called “Stand UP Stand OUT Stand STRONG ~ A 30 Day Guide to Navigate Life When the SHIFT Hits the Fan”. Sue brings the gifts of insight, awareness, and self-empowerment creating a shift in consciousness from head to heart. Her unique approach fosters deep healing and a profound awakening as she guides others to hear, answer, and trust the highest calling of their heart. Sue is passionate about illuminating the path for others as they discover, embrace, and embody their heart YES.
Lucca and Rebecca talk through the experiences and learning that Sue went through to spark her choices and lead her down this path.
In honour of National Indigenous People's Day, Lucca and Rebecca use the hour to honour and highlight the tenacity, vibrancy, and strengths of the First Nations and Inuit of this land.