Thrive With Morella: Recent Episodes
Morella Devost
We are all meant to thrive... but sometimes we feel like we're far from it. This podcast is about the tools and inspiration to help us thrive in every dimension of our lives. Featured guests cover a wide range of topics, from health & relationships, to parenting & money, to energy & spirituality.
Everybody deals with some level of trauma in their life. For some, trauma is severe enough to leave lasting effects, including post-traumatic stress.
Captain Dan Willis, retired Homicide Detective and SWAT Commander, as well as wellbeing coordinator and teacher, talks about the high levels of PTSD and trauma among first responders. He shares insights and tools from his book, Bulletproof Spirit:
- How trauma accumulates in small increments for first responders who are exposed to the worst of human nature, day in and day out…
- The telltale signs of trauma and PTSD…
- How trauma “crushes the spirit and “suffocates the heart”…
- The essential strategies to heal the broken spirit…
- How loved ones and peers can offer support to those living with trauma and PTSD…
For more on Captain Dan's work and his book: www.ThriveWithMorella.com/podcast/2019/10/23/e63-relieving-ptsd-depression-anxiety-amp-trauma
The importance of sharing our feelings & appreciation with those around us; What to say? The importance of specific appreciation; The ripple effect of gratitude; Teaching kids to appreciate genuinely...
What is integrative medicine; how it helps autoimmune conditions, fibromyalgia, cancer & more; Why food matters; What vital test most doctors don’t order; trauma and adverse childhood experiences manifesting in health issues…
How do you THRIVE in spite of a life-threatening diagnosis? Celeste tracked the lives of women living with HIV/AIDS: How they go from "dying from", to "living with", to "thriving despite"... reclaiming their story & their power...
What we can learn & how to thrive after miscarriages, infertility, blended families & divorce, mixed-race/mixed-culture families, teenage drug-addiction, raising a black child in LA & how to deal with the police... Her memoir: A Day On The Gold Line.
Using an allowance to teach kids about saving, smart spending & charity. How-to & how-not-to do an allowance. Saving for goals. Visualization. Budgeting & investing for teens & tweens.
She overcame severe childhood abuse, a religious cult, drug addiction, & found a path towards healing at a remote Catholic community. Her riveting memoir Wholly Unraveled powerfully connects us with the resilience of our own spirit.
An airforce+airline pilot turned therapist talks about the 10-day program he developed to resolve the fear of flying, panic attacks & anxiety. How to use oxytocin & the memories of a loved one to prevent anxiety from developing & even stopping it.
Award-winning poet & author shares her story of losing everything when her cabin burnt to ashes, what she learned, how it changed her relationships & why she says its our resistance that makes life hard not the events themselves...
Award-winning holistic nutritionist talks about why losing weight is about more than just eating less & exercising; no single diet is right for everyone; importance of taking inventory of thoughts & emotions, true self-care, manifesting & gratitude...
Yoga teacher, Reiki Master, & English teacher talks about the sisterhood she started in Goddess Gigs; the beauty of coming together with vulnerability, open hearts, curiosity, playfulness, sacredness; thoughts on forming intentional sisterhood.
The profound ways in which it transforms our lives -body, mind, heart & life path. Transforming judgment, self-criticism, comparison, & dissatisfaction. Learning to let be and let go. The dark night of the soul. Radical acceptance in relationships...
Lifelong meditator & teacher of history, economics, & humanities talks about the impact of bringing meditation into the fabric of learning. Building self-awarenes, wisdom, & reflection abilities. Book: Three Breaths & Begin.
1 NYTimes best-selling author tells the story of how a small act of kindness she did for 11 year-old boy changed the course of both their lives. How we all have the power to have this kind of impact on each other's lives. Book: And Invisible Thread.
Overcoming her son's suicide, losing all of her money in a Ponzi scheme, & healing herself from incapacitating back injuries. Belinda is a living example of the human ability to find joy after adversity. Shares Hawaiian Huna healing. Ho'Oponopono.
A mind-body practice incorporating breath, mindfulness & specific body movements to build greater self-awareness. Help for stress management, anxiety, emotional challenges; body healing; sports performance; goals; productivity; birth preparation, and more. Book: The Life-Changing Power of Sophrology, is available online.
Personal & planetary thriving depend on our rekindling our innate connection with nature. In this episode we explore the many health, emotional & productivity benefits of more time in nature. The difference between children exposed to nature & those who are not. Compassionate Conservation and how it produces dramatically different results. Nature as mentor to humans... and so much more.
What if BIGGER is NOT better? What if the answer to all of the stresses related to your home is to move to a smaller one? Pat Foreman, author of A Tiny Home to Call Your Own talks about the many advantages of living in not-so-big homes --energy efficiency, lower costs, less clutter, higher resale value, multiple use options, less cleaning, more time...
Natalie is a busy mom of three. She talks about her new book, Simple Acts: The Busy Family’s Guide to Giving Back, and shares:
- The many simple, at-home activities in which parents can engage children in order to instill an easy community service attitude
- What’s the right age to start teaching children about community service…
- The impact of volunteering and service on children; the life skills it builds; the lessons and conversations that emerge from it.
- The empowering and also healing effect of community service for both children and adults.
Grocery giants are shaping our food systems, the health of our farms, and the quality of our food. Food co-ops present a powerful avenue for consumers and producers to reclaim their power to shape the health of their communities, their food systems & personal health.
Jon Steinman, author of Grocery Story: The Promise of Food Co-ops in the Age of Grocery Giants, touches on:
- How a handful of giant grocers have shaped the continent’s food systems.
- The ways in which co-ops help ensure affordable food, as well as fair food pricing that ensures a sustainable, livable income for farmers.
- How food is inherently intertwined with physical health, community prosperity, and overall community health.
Jon’s book tour is taking him through Vermont this week, and he will be visiting co-ops all over the country in the next few months.
Zen teacher, CEO & author shares the seven practices he teaches leaders at Google, SAP, Kaiser & others. Mindfulness; the beginners' mind; experiencing the fullness of life; learning to listen; developing compassion for ourselves & others; interdependence; letting go, and so much more. Book: Seven Practices of a Mindful Leader - Lessons from Google and a Zen Monastery Kitchen
Founder of the Radiant Relief Pain Centers in Oregon shares their experiences with a new, powerful technology that can completely resolve chronic pain for most people. How the brain becomes locked in a pain response & how Scrambler Therapy rewires it to resolve the pain.
Nutritionist, author (The Keto-Paleo Kitchen) & blogger (The Nourished Caveman) shares insights on weight, complex hormone issues, the connection between emotions, trauma and hormones; as well as individualized nutrition, spirituality, self-love, processed foods & more.
Robert Kandell, author of Unhidden: A Book for Men & Those Confused by Them, shares how men can be the best expression of masculinity; how we collectively can raise boys to be men of integrity; how to gradually dismantle predatory behaviors in our culture by taking responsibility, naming abuse & overcoming victimization.
What the great philosophers say about food & healthy choices. How we can apply the philosophical method to make better food choices, debunk nutrition myths, & expose the dark secrets of the food industry. What we can learn from Rousseau, Thoreau, Nietzche & others about food.
Tapping into the wisdom inside us. How to listen to the various "languages" of the body & the profound difference it makes for our health & life. Noticing what strengthens us and what depletes us. Understanding how your body communicates & the various ways in which you can access its messages.
How plants help us reconnect with ourselves, our communities and the earth. The local, indigenous superfoods that are available in your neck of the woods right now. The interconnectedness between herbal medicine, social justice, and sustainability.
You are meant to master your mind-body connection so you can truly master your health, for life. We talk about 3 scientific fields that prove your mind is shaping your health, what the placebo effect demonstrates, & what are the keys to mastering the power of your mind to create health.
Dr Rushford talks about why allopathic medicine is not truly about health-care, what are the inherent flaws in this paradigm, and how we can shift the way in which we view our health in order to seek true paths towards optimal health.
What if we are meant for more? What if we are meant to have conscious, awakened relationships? Toni talks about how the practice of Mutual Awakening leads us to a new state of consciousness where life unfold with more ease & where our wounds and triggers no longer get activated. Being the leading edge of conscious evolution.
Lyme Disease can be complex, and while allopathic medicine only has antibiotics to treat it, Chinese Medicine with its different paradigm shows great success in helping even people with the most advanced cases of Lyme.
Breaking the misconceptions that make it hard to forgive. Why forgiveness has nothing to do with the other person & everything to do with freeing ourselves. The steps/process to arrive at forgiveness.
Best-selling author Bruce Lipton, PhD shares the scientific proof (and the good news) that we each have the power to create optimal health for ourselves, as well as planetary thriving. Breaking down the myths that keep us disempowered.
A loved & respected high school principal talks about helping teenagers thrive, connecting them to their own gifts, roles, and purpose. Transformational learning & personalized learning.
Instead of overbooking kids in every extracurricular activity, there's ONE thing that is a greater predictor of their success in life. We discuss how popular parenting strategies may be stressing kids & undermining their ability to thrive later in life.
Finding the proper, wise expression of anger to take constructive action towards creating more harmony, respect & peace in our worlds. The difference between anger underscored by fear, vs. anger underscored by Truth.
Chef Suzanne talks about what creates exquisite food: How to have more fun in the kitchen; Some basic skills to be a better cook; How to develop the skill for creating extraordinary flavor; The difference between farm-to-table cooking vs. grocery store ingredients.
What is the constructive, appropriate use for anger? What is your anger asking you to do? Anger as the force for change and growth, and what happens when we stifle anger.
What's the effect on your life of living IN purpose? Is purpose only about your job? Or is there more? Melani is a master of being in the flow of the purpose of each moment in her life. She shares how ease, flow and joy are the hallmarks of a life lived IN our purpose.
Ryan Montbleau shares his insights on finding balance and wellbeing when life is in constant motion, as is the norm in the life of a musician. Music, meditation, water, home, family...
Death and laughter are not two words that we often string together, but Jen teaches how laughter, is a therapeutic tool not just for life, but for navigating death & loss. She touches on Laughter Yoga, hew own stories of loss, her insights on death & her workshop “Laughing Matters”
What if money can be just as spiritual as going to church? And what if your money issues are really faith issues? Karen presents the 3 core money myths that keep people stuck and a set of keys or practices to overcome them.
How Biofield Tuning detects and shifts things such as depression, bipolar, emotional patterns such as hate and shame, the effect of hate on the heart, autoimmune conditions, and more.
The immediate and direct effect of using sound frequencies to produce healing in the body. How biofield tuning can detect & shift different energy blocks, emotional patterns, and health issues.
Strategies for cultivating both peace & razor focus through the most intense of challenges. Your work and life as your spiritual practice, the power of silence, integrity, happiness first, & so much more.
Are you having fun every day? Are your workouts fun? Master Groove trainer, Heather Winia shares fun ideas, insights & tips to help you add more joy, more play and more grooving into your everyday life.
With her personal cancer story & experience as an acupuncturist, Brooke Moen presents a unique perspective on the ways in which our western culture fosters cancer. Powerful insights into treatment & prevention, and why "fighting" cancer might be the wrong attitude. Why she calls cancer "the great calling". Her answers will surprise you.
Sunny Joy McMillan lived through 12 years in a high-conflict divorce but was able to create a wonderful, healed, close friendship with her ex. She talks about the teachings in her book Unhitched: How to unstick your bad marriage, and how to know whether it's time to stay or go. During our conversation we touched on:
- The difference between the small self that is hurt and resentful, vs. the Wise Authentic Self that knows your truth.
- How to move towards a clear knowing of what is right for you at any point in time
- "The Ugly Dirty Letter" and "The Cosmic Rewrite"
- What your marriage can teach you about you, and finding the blessing even in the worst of marriages
Go to this page to get a free copy of Sunny's book, Unhitched: Unstick Your Bad Marriage.
What if breaking up and divorce don't have to be painful? What if you could move through separating from your partner with grace and wholeness? Hannah Caterino talks about the steps in the Conscious Uncoupling work by best-selling author Katherine Woodward Thomas.
Aja presents how all human beings have capacities beyond those we typically recognize and utilize. She tells her story of awakening to the multidimensional aspects of herself and how we can all do the same... through some key practices. She speaks of how this opening enables us to heal more easily and create lives with greater joy and peace. You can reach her through her website: MultidimensionalU.com
After dealing with anxiety, depression, pain and other health issues for over 25 years, in 2004 Tanya Penny was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. She now considers herself 100% healed.
She tells us about the deeper work that is necessary for profound healing. We talked about how challenging it is to consider self-acceptance when dealing with health issues that we really want to overcome and what are some of the core practices that Tanya engaged in to heal herself, which she now teaches to her clients.
To learn more about Tanya, you can reach her through her website.
Access Tanya's free gift: You can download Tanya's Starter Kit here
What if you can create the healthy relationship with money you want (and need) to have? What if it doesn't have to be scary or hard? What if you could heal the money shame, guilt and pain around your money story... and what if that healing is actually necessary to have the financial reality you want? Financial therapist, coach and author Bari Tessler answers these questions and more. You can find her book, The Art of Money on Amazon.
Modern mystic and coach, Cora Poage speaks about the simple practices that can help us all navigate and emerge whole from the "dark night of the soul" that many people come to, at one point or another in their lives. What is the dark night of the soul and how do we climb our way out? You can find Cora at www.CoraPoage.com
Is your office supporting or hindering your best work? In this episode we talk about simple changes to your workspace so you feel surrounded with the qualities that bring out your brilliance, your best work and career success.
Judith walks us through simple steps to help us figure out the smallest of changes we can make that will produce big results in how our space works for us.
She talks about 3 magical things that happen when you create a space that is beautiful to you, and how when we our current spaces resemble the spaces of our childhood, we typically repeat patterns from our childhood/our family.
Are your money stories helping or hurting you? Have you even payed attention to your money story? What if you could start telling a different story? Colin Ryan brings his stand-up comedy and storytelling skills to teach people about personal finances, and create new, more successfully money stories. He talks about shame and secrecy around money. Colin's new book, A Comedic Guide to Money, helps parents have productive conversations with their kids.
What if a single drop of your blood can tell you everything you need to know about your health? Dr. Travis Elliott tells us about his experience with Bio-Resonance Analysis (BAH) as a Naturopath and Functional Medicine Doctor. BAH addresses the physiological, mental, emotional and energetic aspects of health, and allows a practitioner to create a customized treatment for EACH patient.
Dr. Elliott talked about treating issues related to immunity, digestion, hormones, autoimmune conditions, skin, and more.
What is the "good girl" archetype and how does it affect your life? Perfectionism and people-pleasing only harm your relationships.
Relationships, sexuality, and communications coach, Marcia Baczynski tells us about the Good Girl archetype and the problems it creates. She also presents women with strategies for implementing boundaries, eliminate tolerations, learning to say no and to ask for what they want.
Access Marcia's downloads at: https://www.thrivewithmorella.com/podcast/2018/4/25/e07-stop-being-a-good-girl-and-get-what-you-want
Are you unconsciously a glass half-empty person? Therapist & life coach Nicole Weiss talks about learning to spot and begin to shift negative thoughts that keep you from achieving and doing the things you want. She presents the concept of thinking "possible" rather than thinking positive, and why affirmations can be too big of a jump.
Personal trainer and coach, Dave Smith, talks about the downside of popular high-intensity workouts (HIIT), and presents an alternate approach to fitness and weight loss that he calls Low Intensity Fat Loss, combining high and low intensity activities. Dave shares strategies and examples, as well as the option to get his LIFL program.
Stella Orange talks about writing as a powerful tool to discover our voice, our inner landscapes, and unleash the hero that lives within each of us. The power of viewing our own lives through the lens of the hero’s journey. Writing as a self-care practice.
Parenting coach & author Randi Rubenstein joins us to talk about her extraordinary parenting strategies, stories from her own experiences with her kids, her clients' breakthroughs in parenting, and ideas for effective communication with kids of all ages.
Coach & author Taraleigh Weathers shares some of her wonderful strategies and tips to bring the magic of live music into our everyday lives... such as "getting high" (on good vibes), slaying the time & energy vampires, making magic normal, and more.
What if you're meant to thrive in every area of your life? Let me tell you why I'm certain you are meant to thrive, and why I decided to create this podcast. What does it mean to thrive body, mind, heart and spirit?
You can find more about me, my journey and my work on my website: www.ThriveWithMorella.com
And you can find all of the podcast episodes along with my guests' resources also at www.ThriveWithMorella.com/Podcast