Unrefined Women: Recent Episodes
Unrefined Women
An ongoing dialogue between two sisters on the topics of spirituality, religious trauma, mental health, family dynamics, and feminism.
Hello all and welcome back again. Thank you so much for joining us.
Today’s episode focuses on two major current news events and manages to be both serious and lighthearted.
First off, we do need to put out a trigger warning as we start the episode by analyzing the Nashville school shooting which occurred on Monday, March 27th.
Delving into the sheer number of school shooting that occur in our country and the various policies that have been enacted through our history to both prevent and exacerbate the situation.
The second topic follows the Donald Trump indictment and the general absurdity surrounding it.
From people who think it’s a witch-hunt to the reaction of religious fanatics, all the way to Qanon and everything in between.
We hope you enjoy today’s somewhat sporadic tone as much as we did and we can’t wait to join you again for the next episode.
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Hello all and welcome back to the podcast, finally!
We apologize for the break but as I’m sure you are all acutely aware, life is crazy af.
We all had a plethora of personal issues to deal with but are back and ready to rock and roll.
Speaking of personal issues, today’s episode will detail a major life change for Agnes.
Her hopes, her fears and her journey as she settles into an uncertain future.
Per Agnes’ wishes, I will let her explain the rest in her own words, in the actual podcast.
But sufficed to say, we are just glad to back, glad you all are still here with us and as always, we hope you enjoy the show.
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Hello, all. Today we have a solo episode from Margaret in which she and her brother John, sit down, crack a brew and and reminisce on old times as they and other member of their family gather in the Chicago IL area for a reunion to celebrate their grandfathers 90th birthday.
Together, they touch on many topics from their childhood, including old friends and first crushes, John’s birth, mentors and good influences, revisiting one of their old churches and what “bad kids” they were there (although they all grew up to be good adults) and the infamous “naked man”.
We hope you enjoy this stroll down memory lane with us and are able to look back on fond memories from your own childhoods as you listen to ours.
As a final note, happy birthday to Margaret as well, as this episode will be airing the day before. And most importantly, Shiner Bock, totally open to that sponsorship deal. We’ll even accept payment in free beer, just sayin’.
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Welcome back, everyone and thank you for joining us once again.
Today’s episode focuses on shame and guilt. The definitions, the similarities, the differences and the many ways they affect our lives.
Through childhood, family, personal experiences, work culture, religion (obviously) and beyond, shame and guilt are powerful motivators for both good and bad.
So fasten your seatbelts and take a ride with us down shame and guilt lane as we attempt to unpack, heal and resolve our own experiences and hopefully help you all to better understand and deal with these issues in your own lives.
As always, thank you all for listening and being part of our wonderful little family, here on Unrefined Women.
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The girls are back! Both sisters will be participating in today’s episode for the first time in a long time.
And they’ve decided to make this a fun one by taking a critical look at some their own favorite romantic comedies and deconstructing some of the inherent problematic elements therein. Such as, obsession with the institution of marriage, body shaming and reinforcing negative toxic personality stereotypes. Some of the movies include 27 Dresses, Bride Wars and How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days, among others. Let us know if your favorite makes the list!
The girls also start with a quick holiday update on their lives and touch briefly on the Bechdel test.
We hope you enjoy this episode and remember that while the girls are pointing out some negative aspects of these movies, they do love them as well and it’s all meant to be taken in good fun.
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Hello friends and welcome to episode 52 of our amazing little podcast. As always, thank you so much for joining us.
Today’s episode will be Agnes solo, starting with a little “day in the life” and leading into her experience with attaining a college education.
Including taking a gap year (despite the advice of others), struggling to learn the ins and outs of financial aid, loans, enrollment, etc, juggling adulting and educating herself at the same time, and the ever prevalent conundrum of deciding who she is and what she wants to do with her life.
On behalf of myself and everyone listening, good luck Agnes!
And on behalf of us here at the podcast, thank you all again for being a part of our quirky community here at Unrefined Women.
Enjoy!
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Hello, friends and welcome to our 51st episode.
This is a solo episode from Agnes on the topic of sustainable habits.
Agnes details how building habits such as exercise, reading, vegan cooking and therapy have given her structure. She talks about the power of finishing a set goal and how it brings fulfillment to her life as well as being able to forgive herself for being human and not accomplishing every single task she sets for herself.
We hope this insight can help give you the tools to bring structure, fulfillment and self forgiveness to your own life, in your own way.
Once again, thank you all for being a part of this journey with us & happy holidays to you all.
As a final note: Happy birthday Agnes!
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Hello everyone and welcome to our 50th episode!
This will be a solo episode from Margaret in which she explores her personal journey with therapy and in particular NARM (NeuroAffective Relational Model) therapy.
Margret discusses the difference between depression and sadness and how acknowledging her depression has allowed her to be present and explore other emotions in a more meaningful manner.
She delves into her childhood and how even children will, on a base psychological level, abandon parts of themselves for the purpose of adapting to their environment.
As an added bonus, Margaret shares her first completely original and self composed piece of music with you all (mixed and mastered by Shawn Baars).
Thank you all so much for joining us on this journey of self exploration, 50 episodes later, and we hope you enjoy!
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On today’s episode, we welcome back our good friend and fellow podcaster Lucy Boyland for a conversation on local politics, particularly in reference to the midterm elections. Though this episode will air after the midterms have passed, it was recorded beforehand.
Lucy and the girls have a conversation about the interconnectivity of religion and politics as well as other ways people identify politically and vote, such as generational belief systems.
As always, we stress the importance of compassion and understanding. We delve into how to speak respectfully with people with whom you do not share the same beliefs, and acknowledge that the only way to truly make progress is to work across party lines.
And just for fun, Lucy shares her barista knowledge on what are the tastiest fall coffee flavors.
We hope that today’s episode is informative and entertaining and we thank you all for your continued support in listening to our podcast.
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For today’s episode we are welcoming back our sister-in-law Nissa and her husband (who also happens to be our brother) Andrew Chione for another deep dive into environmental science and biology.
Andrew will share his story of going from cool older brother / party rocker to professional fish scientist, environmental activist and Native American flute enthusiast. Nissa details her work with the federal government to protect endangered species. And both delve into their love of nature, fishing and in particular, mushrooms.
We also discuss what you can do in your personal time to help the environment, shed some light on the contradictions of corporate environmentalism and consumerism and finish it off with some environmental myth busting.
Stick around till the end for an added bonus where Andrew lets us know how to learn which fish in your area are the least contaminated, sustainable to catch and hopefully most tasty to eat.
Sources:
Fish Watch
Inaturalist
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Special thanks to Walter Birdsong for the album cover, Margaret Raine for the podcast music, Andrew Chione for the Gratitude Prompt music, and Sean Butcher for editing and production.
On today’s episode we welcome back Jessica King for her third installment in our series.
This episode is focused on the 3 waves of feminism (or 4 depending on how you define it).
Including a wide variety of topics such as the start of the first wave all the way back in 1848 with the women’s suffrage movement, to the 1960s and 70s when the focus shifted to more personal topics such as work rights, reproductive rights and domestic violence, to where we are today with “intersectionality” and even how the internet is affecting feminism.
This episode also touches on the intrinsic nature of women’s rights and the anti-slavery / equal rights movement and how they historically have been aligned but at times were at odds with each other as well.
As well as a host of other related topics, including women in the tech industry, how medical practices, drug testing and safety precautions affect women differently and the fact that the Equal Rights Amendment still has not passed today.
For the men listening, don’t worry, this is not a man-bashing episode. We take time to acknowledge that both men and women have individual struggles that we face and don’t necessarily understand, how the patriarchy places unfair pressure and expectations on men as well, and we strongly push the mentality that lifting up anyone in our community lifts the community as a whole. We’re all in this together, people.
So if any of this sounds interesting to you, please join us for our forty seventh episode and learn with us about how we can lift each other up and create a society of true equality, justice and prosperity for all.
-Thank you and we hope you enjoy.
Sources:
Join our Patreon community here
Special thanks to Walter Birdsong for the album cover, Margaret Raine for the podcast music, Andrew Chione for the Gratitude Prompt music, and Sean Butcher for editing and production.
Capitalism…the thing we all love to hate. But today’s episode is more about how to survive when we’re in a position of having no choice but to rely on the system of Capitalism for our basic survival. Agnes and Margaret share how focusing on personal choices within the workplace can provide a sense of acceptance and agency. They also discuss what quiet-quitting is, how it became trendy to “quiet-quit” your job this summer, and some of the arguments for and against quiet-quitting.
Sources:
Not Everyone Can Quiet Quit
The economics behind 'quiet quitting' — and what we should call it instead
Quiet Quitting Is a Fake Trend
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Special thanks to Walter Birdsong for the album cover, Margaret Raine for the podcast music, Andrew Chione for the Gratitude Prompt music, and Sean Butcher for editing and production.
Margaret shares with Agnes her thought process around finding balance in her life between work and rest. Over the last few weeks, she has started developing a method of identifying areas within her physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual being that feel either stuck or depleted from either too much input or output of data and energy. Additional information and to join in the conversation, subscribe to our Patreon!
Join our Patreon community here
Special thanks to Walter Birdsong for the album cover, Margaret Raine for the podcast music, Andrew Chione for the Gratitude Prompt music, and Sean Butcher for editing and production.
Agnes and Margaret dig into some questions about their own social anxiety including how childhood shaped their social experiences, current triggers, self confidence, and working through the discomfort.
Special thanks to Walter Birdsong for the album cover, Margaret Raine for the podcast music, Andrew Chione for the Gratitude Prompt music, and Sean Butcher for editing and production.
Agnes and Margaret are joined by their friend Joy Billette to discuss yoga, trauma healing, the grief and joy of the nomad lifestyle, and being a wild and untamed woman.
Joy is an international Sovereignty and Empowerment coach living her wildest life in the jungles of Costa Rica. She is obsessed with encouraging women to be their most uncultivated self, decolonizing their minds, and remembering the wisdom of their bodies through yoga, pranayama, and embodiment. She loves singing in the jungle, praying to the ocean, training Muy Thai, and riding her motorcycle.
She is incredibly passionate about helping women alchemize their stories and pain to find their purpose, and bringing them back to their wild, free nature. Her latest project, UNTAMED: a re-wilding experience , seeks to do just that through daily connection to the elements, sisterhood bonding, and implementing sacred living.
Though Academia was her original career path, she has found much deeper wisdom through cultural exploration, medicine work, and the journey within herself to uncover her Soul s Mission. She considers her greatest medicine to be her laughter, her joy, and the ability to listen with love.
Joy’s Links: Linktree
Special thanks to Walter Birdsong for the album cover, Margaret Raine for the podcast music, Andrew Chione for the Gratitude Prompt music, and Sean Butcher for editing and production.
Most religions have some fringe groups that fall into the culty category. Agnes and Margaret explore one such group that they were partially involved with called Society of Saint Pious the X, or SSPX. In this episode, the conversation ranges from explaining what SSPX is, how it started, some of it’s core ideologies, and personal stories of their experiences within the organization.
Special thanks to Walter Birdsong for the album cover, Margaret Raine for the podcast music, Andrew Chione for the Gratitude Prompt music, and Sean Butcher for editing and production.
Welcome back to the podcast after our July break! Going forward, we will be releasing episodes twice a month on Tuesdays instead of every Tuesday.
In today’s episode, Agnes and Margaret recap their journey with microdosing mushrooms over the past year, including exploration with dosages and the growth that has ensued.
Special thanks to Walter Birdsong for the album cover, Margaret Raine for the podcast music, Andrew Chione for the Gratitude Prompt music, and Sean Butcher for editing and production.
Welcome to episode 40 of the Unrefined Women Podcast! Before jumping into this week s episode, we have a special announcement: We will be taking a four-week break from posting episodes to focus on our very long "podcast to-do list" and pause to reflect on which direction we would like to steer this next chapter of the podcast. We look forward to continuing our journey on August 9, 2022. Please subscribe to our Patreon, as we will be posting bonus content and episodes throughout the month of July.
In today s raw and unplugged episode, Margaret takes the wheel (literally, actually) as she shares some of her struggles with avoidant attachment. The solo dialogue includes a quick recap on attachment theory, Margaret s lifelong struggle with avoidant attachment in her closest relationships, and how avoidant attachment is currently causing suffering and barriers to love and connection.
Agnes shares her recent experiences at the Phoenix Arizona pro-choice protest following the reversal of Roe v. Wade.
Special thanks to Walter Birdsong for the album cover, Margaret Raine for the podcast music, Andrew Chione for the Gratitude Prompt music, and Sean Butcher for editing and production.
In this part two episode that continues the discussion about the recent Roe. v. Wade reversal controversy, Agnes and Margaret are joined by their cousin, Jessica King. The conversation unpacks the history of infanticide and abortion throughout the existence of the human species, how women have kept humans from going extinct through having autonomy over their bodies, and how the loss of community and “the village” has deteriorated our western culture and world.
Sources:
The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined by Steven Pinker
The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog by Dr. Bruce Perry and Maia Szalavitz
Special thanks to Walter Birdsong for the album cover, Margaret Raine for the podcast music, Andrew Chione for the Gratitude Prompt music, and Sean Butcher for editing and production.
Having been raised within the pro-life community, Agnes and Margaret share their thoughts on the recently leaked supreme court documents regarding the overturning of Roe v. Wade. This episode includes how their views of abortion have changed throughout their lives, and they talk about the history of how abortion became a political issue.
Sources:
Supreme Court has voted to overturn abortion rights, draft opinion shows - POLITICO
The Real Origins of the Religious Right - POLITICO Magazine
Abortion wasn’t always a partisan issue in Virginia | VPM
‘Historical accident’: how abortion came to focus white, evangelical anger | Abortion | The Guardian
Thomas Jefferson on whether the American Constitution is binding on those who were not born at the time it was signed and agreed to (1789)
Special thanks to Walter Birdsong for the album cover, Margaret Raine for the podcast music, Andrew Chione for the Gratitude Prompt music, and Sean Butcher for editing and production.
Welcome back to our podcast after our mental health week off! This week we are joined by our friend, Lucy Boyland, host of the podcast You're So Introverted. Lucy shares about her journey growing up as a Southern Baptist and how quarantine during the Covid-19 lockdown helped her to rediscover God outside her Christian community.
Lucy Boyland is a fellow podcaster and creator, as well as a college dropout and a local barista based in central Arkansas. She grew up in a Southern Baptist community but began her deconstruction process in the early days of 2020.
Instagram: @_lucymckenzie_
TikTok: lucyboyland
Podcast: You're So Introverted
Margaret takes the wheel in this solo episode where she shares how a recent encounter with a self-described “ascended master” caused her to reevaluate her thoughts on manifestation, especially on the ethics of manifestation and where it can cause harm.
Special thanks to Walter Birdsong for the album cover, Margaret Raine for the podcast music, Andrew Chione for the Gratitude Prompt music, and Sean Butcher for editing and production.
This week, Agnes takes on another solo episode as she expresses the struggles of working a full-time job while being a full-time college student. Agnes shares 6 helpful tips that she has found useful this past year so far that have helped her be productive without burnout. Although most of us are unable to escape the side effects of internalized Capitalism, it is also important for us to be able to complete the important tasks in our lives so that we are hopefully able to make life less stressful and enjoy our time off.
Agnes and Margaret dig into the research of how Christianity played a key role in the colonization of America by justifying the invasion of Africa and North America as part of God’s plan. Ministers and religious-political leaders misused sections of the Bible and church doctrine to promote ideas that enslaving humans from Africa and committing mass genocide against the Native American people was good and holy work.
Definitions:
Colonization - the action or process of settling among and establishing control over the indigenous people of an area.
Colonialism - the policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control over another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically.
Sources:
Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X Kendi
The Philosophy of Colonialism: Civilization, Christianity, and Commerce
Religion: Crash Course Sociology #39
Religion in Colonial America
First Encounters: Native Americans and Christians
Native American Religion in Early America
Special thanks to Walter Birdsong for the album cover, Margaret Raine for the podcast music, Andrew Chione for the Gratitude Prompt music, and Sean Butcher for editing and production.
Our friend Jeremiah Kuhns shares with us his journey of leaving Christianity and his career in Christian radio to embrace a life of nuance and pondering the hard questions. Not only does he honor what is true for him, but also for his children and their mother as they navigate the waters outside the confines of organized religion together.
Special thanks to Walter Birdsong for the album cover, Margaret Raine for the podcast music, Andrew Chione for the Gratitude Prompt music, and Sean Butcher for editing and production.
In this part 2 episode, Agnes and Margaret continue sharing some of the lighter stories and more fond memories of growing up within a large Catholic family in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. This week’s episode features the memories of celebrating Christmas within Catholic culture, recalling childhood wishes and dreams, and some of the ways we have committed to reconnecting with and healing our inner child.
Agnes and Margaret share some of the lighter stories and more fond memories of growing up within a large Catholic family in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. Starting with first memories, this first of a two-part episode shows that even in the midst of adversity and trauma, there can still be moments of love and joy.
Surprise surprise…it’s not a Tuesday but here we are with an announcement. Tune in for the details regarding our Patreon launch!
And please check us out on Patreon at Unrefined Women
Agnes and Margaret are joined by Harhit Mann, a 19-year-old artist and student at the University of Toronto, where she is currently majoring in philosophy & minoring in English. Over the past two years, IHarhit has started two thriving businesses, Ethereal Creations, featuring handmade crystal jewelry, and Nails by Harbit.
Harhit’s Instagram & Tiktok:
@3threalcreations
@nailsbyharhit
In this week’s solo episode, Margaret shares her recent struggle with an episode of depression, as well as some of the events that led to an unraveling, and what is working now to bring some sunshine back. Also, stay tuned for a life update…Las Vegas is soon to be in the rear-view mirror.
In this week's episode, Agnes embarks on a reflective journey throughout her childhood, up until her adult years with how social media has affected her perception of herself. From a young girl trying to fit in with the other girls at school, to being in high school and facing extreme criticism based on rumors, and to her recent years where she has faced chapters of struggles based on the opinions of others. Episode 26 is about identifying why we as a society spend quality time consumed with the pressure of having to be “good enough” for all of the people that we feel are closely watching our lives on the internet.
Last week was about finding passion from Agnes, and this week is about exhaustion from Margaret. In this solo episode, Margaret shares some of the struggle she’s experiencing currently with burnout from lifestyle shifts, work, and the collective fatigue after two years of a pandemic, social and civil unrest within the United States, and global tensions with the current violent invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
In episode 24, Agnes goes down a path in her solo episode where she is able to identify where her priorities and passions in life shifted. She unfolds the reality of finding motivation and passion in her career, education, and spirituality while being a young adult. It began with her taking time away from the business of the world and focusing on her deepest and truest self, which then lead her to finding her passion for political science and law, while learning the values of setting important goals for herself. This episode unpacks the rough circumstances that most young adults struggle within a fast-paced capitalistic system.
We love coming back to our spiritual roots and diving into this expansive topic. Today we check in with one another on a spiritual level and talk about the practices and rituals we’ve been implementing to help facilitate spiritual healing and growth. And part of that process has been reclaiming the practice of prayer to God, but outside the confides of religion. Agnes shares how even within religion, she was able to feel a connection to God, while for Margaret, it took leaving the fear-based system of organized Catholicism to actually have a relationship with the Divine. This nuanced conversation is for anyone who is still inside organized religion, folks whom have left, and anyone outside religion who is either practicing spirituality, or not.
This week we are joined by a TikTok friend, Chris (he/they) @uppercasenamed. We've been excited for Chris to join us in the conversation for a while, as he shares so much beautiful insight on TikTok regarding his deconstruction from Christianity and toxic masculinity culture. Chris brings his wisdom after leaving non-denominational Christianity and spending the last few years investigating his relationship with the patriarchy and divesting from misogyny and toxic masculinity. We are so touched by Chris’s story and beyond grateful for his authenticity and vulnerability.
Chris grew up in the Seattle Area and spent a lot of time in church and studying the Bible in his early teens and became a youth pastor. Chris left the church in his early thirties after more study led them to a place where he could not believe the practices and traditions that were happening there. He has committed to relearning to think for himself and has spent a lot of time studying the history of the Christian church as well as how it has affected American society. As Chris has dug into their own trauma Chris has been seeing the effects of toxic masculinity in his own life and learning how to address it within himself and the ones around him. Finally, Chris is a huge nerd and loves movies and cooking and reading.
This episode is all things environmental protection, endangered species, climate change, and what it’s like to be a women in a male-dominated science field. Our guest is our very own sister-in-law, Nissa, and she shares her years of experiences and wisdom as a women fighting the good fight to protect our endangered species and our beautiful planet.
Nissa Rudh is an aquatic biologist with over ten years of experience in her field. She is a passionate outdoorsman and advocate for environmental preservation and protection. In her spare time, Nissa loves to explore Oregon's wildlands with her husband (Andrew Chione!) and their two rescue dogs. Her hobbies include amateur mycology (mushroom identification, foraging, and making mushroom spore prints as art), knitting, studying Norwegian, and soap making.
What better way to celebrate episode 20 than a laid-back and relaxed update on us and our lives. We share what has happened with us since episode 10 (thankfully not much) and how we’re hanging out, physically, mentally, and emotionally. On a lighter note, we dive into some hobbies and activities that have been bringing us some joy in the new year.
Finally, we unpack our current readings (one of us just read Twilight and the other one of us hates Twilight…can you guess who), music we’re dancing to, and our shows we’re binging.
Attachment theory is focused on the relationships and bonds between people, especially within the dynamics between parents and children’s and between romantic partners. Agnes and Margaret unpack what attachment theory is, including some of the early psychologists who developed it, and some of the most notables studies that demonstrate how profound and long lasting the affects of the parent/child relationship have within a person’s life.
When building on the work of John Bowlby, Mary Ainsworth conducted research in the 1970s and broke down the different attachment styles between parent and child as secure attachments, avoidant attachments, ambivalent attachments, and disorganized attachments. Agnes and Margaret discuss the descriptions of these attachment styles and how to identify which attachment styles one may have in life,
Listen on Spotify and Google Podcast:
Internalized capitalism - a topic that has become a frequent conversation for both Agnes and Margaret amongst each other and with others. While most folks know what capitalism is, internalized capitalism is a concept that is somewhat new to the mainstream. In this episode, Agnes and Margaret dig into what it is, why it sucks, and how they both suffer from it in their own personal lives. Get ready for some passionate venting….but right after the awkward start to the episode!
Sources:
Internalized Capitalism
7 Methods for Recovering From Internalized Capitalism
We are so grateful to have been joined in this delightful conversation with our friend Sarah Buino, therapist and founder of Head/Heart Therapy, Inc in Chicago and the host of her own amazing podcast, Conversations With a Wounded Healer. Oh, and did we mention, she is also a musician and singer. Talk about multi-talented!
Sarah brings her wisdom and unique perspective through the therapist lens of the ongoing mental health crisis that has come to the surface of our psyches and society alongside the Covid-19 pandemic. Not only do we talk therapy, but also how the systems of oppression and capitalism are negatively impacting so much many of us and leading to burnout. Finally, Sarah shares with us how her own spiritual journey and practices have helped her on her path to healing self while assisting in the healing of others. We hope you enjoy this conversation as much as we did.
Sarah Buino, LCSW, RDDP, CADC, CDWF, NMT is a speaker, teacher, therapist and the founder and president of Head/Heart Therapy, Inc. She’s a member of the adjunct faculty at Loyola University Chicago and a podcast host. Her podcast called Conversations With a Wounded Healer examines the role of one’s own healing while being a care-giving professional. Sarah finds joy and rest by playing with her 10-lb chihuahua mix named Batman.
This week’s episode of Unrefined Women features meditation teacher and intuitive astrologer, Ishtar Howell. We dive into some really interesting topics as Ishtar shares stories of his fascinating life, including his near death experience at a young age, his calling to become a monk, and then eventually a meditation teacher. Ishtar shares his beautiful presence and wisdom of the spiritual realms. We hope you enjoy this enlightening conversation as much as we did.
Ishtar (born Thomas Howell) is a meditation teacher, Ishaya monk, gardener, writer, and intuitive astrologer. A sense of himself as Presence was a pronounced feature of his life until about age 7. At age 13, he was in a car accident that took his mother’s life, and initiated an NDE that brought about a profound experience of Samadhi that in the subsequent months he experienced right along with an intense process of grieving. After the Presence faded, he longed to return, resulting in an energetic spiritual search. At 17 he began a regimen of meditation practices and ascetic disciplines that included waking to cold showers at 3 AM, fasting, and 6 hours of daily meditation practice. Longing to find his path, he encountered a practice known as the Ishayas’ Ascension, an effortless and deeply pleasurable form of meditation, which he quickly recognized as the ultimate path for which he’d been searching. Several months after learning Ascension, he found himself living on the Oregon coast in a monastic environment dedicated to the practice.
The ashram life brought about a rapid acceleration of growth, leading to ever more consistent experiences of Silence, in closed eyed meditation practice, while cooking in the community’s café, doing service work, and planting gardens. After going through a 6-month intensive Teacher Training program, that involved around 12 hours of closed eyed meditation a day, he began teaching classes around the world, and living in various regional meditation centers around the world. Seeming, miracles, wild manifestations, witness consciousness, and celestial perception were frequent occurrences, as Awareness slowly but surely saturated more and more of life.
In 2008, he left his monastic organization and then took an extended break from meditation teaching. The years lived outside the semi cloistered environment of the ashram were often challenging, but ultimately led to a more deeply anchored Presence. Subtle barriers fell, opening to the experience of the world as the Self. This process continues to unfold and expand.
Ishtar teaches meditation and serves as a spiritual guide, helping people cultivate Awareness and relax into Presence as a lived experience. Since 2015 he has also been working as an Intuitive and an Astrologer, with a primary focus on helping people align more completely with their soul’s purpose.
More information can be found at these websites: www.ascension-meditation.com and www.awakenedlightastrology.com
This short story which is read aloud by Margaret recounts one of her spiritual experiences while microdosing mushrooms while in nature. A written copy of her story has been published on the website blog here as Mushrooms in Nature.
It has been a minute since we dove into this topic, but we’re back to talk about religious trauma. On the menu are the inhibiting expectations and cultural norms around what folks can wear, do, and how they can move through the world based on the body they were born with. Agnes and Margaret share their experiences growing up as Catholic girls regarding what they could and couldn’t wear, and how traditional gender roles were forced onto them in an effort to guide them into the Catholic women paths of either housewife or nun.
You guyyys…this is Margaret writing up this week’s show notes, but today’s episode is a solo episode by my dear sister, Agnes. By the way, she just turned 20 years old, so lets show her some birthday love. And I am blown away by the gorgeous and raw authenticity on this episode as she speaks about her struggles with rejection and imposter syndrome. It just broke my heart to hear about how the news of our grandma passing away a few years ago was broken to her, and how that became the start of a whole domino effect of a very difficult time in her life that has left a long lasting imprint.
If you too struggle with the fear of rejection, have been rejected before by people, communities, spaces, institutions, and systems, and/or, struggle with that awful feeling of not being worthy of having a voice or being acknowledged, this episode is for you.
Did we just make up the term “educational trauma?” Well, we made it up, but surely others have created it too. Anyways, in this week’s episode we dive into our trauma around how we were educated in homeschool, Catholic school, and college, as well as the messages we got around worthiness of being in spaces or worthiness of having access to knowledge.
Agnes shares how not having any additional hobbies or sports outside school found her seeking validation from others through grades. Margaret shares how not having the financial means to always afford university tuition have made her feel unwelcome and not worthy of obtaining a degree.
In this solo episode, Margaret unpacks the grief that she’s been experiencing this holiday season, including some of the triggers she has identified, memories that have accompanied them, and how accepting grief is helping her to move through it and actually experience meaningful joy during a time that can often resurface sadness and trauma for folks.
We made it to Episode 10! Yay! This shorter episode is a mini celebration of our accomplishments so far with launching the Unrefined Women Podcast, reflections on the process, and updates on what is to come.
Thank you, and we love and appreciate you all!
Today, we are joined by our dear cousin, Jessica, to discuss the power of microdosing mushrooms. Jessica is completing her degree in Information Technology, she is a student of life and relationships, and she has a passion for mushrooms. On this episode, we all share our unique experiences microdosing mushrooms, the path that led us here, and how mushrooms have helped each of us on our mental health and spiritual journeys, changing behaviors and establishing healthier ones, physical health, and practicing healthy relationships with others.
Can positivity be toxic? When is being overly positive just as dangerous as being negative? Where is the balance point?
In today’s episode of Unrefined Women, we dive into a topic that we have been itching to unpack, especially in this day and age of “positive vibes only.” While having a positive mindset in the face of adversity can be beneficial, there does become a point where positivity becomes a tool to avoid our own inner work and the discomfort that comes with that. Join us in discovering what toxic positivity is, how we can determine if our positive mindset is healthy or avoidant, and some of the things we should not be positive about in our current society and culture.
“I have anxiety about talking about anxiety” - Agnes
…such a fitting start to this episode. Agnes and Margaret jump right into describing how anxiety manifests for them both physically and mentally, as well as triggers and methods of coping. Margaret brings the facts and research on the types of anxiety (turns out “anxiety” is an umbrella term for several different types of anxiety) and how anxiety can be either genetic or environmental…or both!
This episode was totally spontaneous and unplanned. In fact, we initially logged on to record a totally different episode, but apparently this was a conversation that we needed to have, and we hope you all resonate as well.
Decisions, decisions, decisions. Agnes and Margaret dive into how challenging decisions can be, especially when we become caught in the wheel of weighing right or wrong. Both women share how they approach decisions, and how those approaches either induce or calm anxiety. Turns out, one of them believes its possible to make a “wrong” decision in life, and one of them does not. Can you guess who believes what?
Finally, Agnes and Margaret expand the conversation into how they view society, culture, and the world. In a third dimension where we are all often caught in the binds of black and white thinking, how can we take a more complex approach and avoid the trap of viewing things as only right or wrong?
Did you know that God had a wife? We sure didn’t, and we suspect many other folks don’t either. This week on Unrefined Women, our dear friend Margie comes on the podcast as our very first guest to share her research intro Asherah, consort of Yahweh, fertility goddess, and Earth Mother.
Margie is an artist, professional heretic, loud feminist, queer femme, and a progressive AF witch. To connect with Margie, check out her thriving communities, i.margie.nation, on Instagram and TikTok:
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@i.margie.nation?
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/i.margie.nation/
Agnes and Margaret continue their discussion of growing up as girls within a strict Catholic community resulted in years of religious trauma during their formative years, particularly around their bodies and sexuality.
This week's topics include sexual abuse within the Catholic church, homophonic culture, and how strict fasting rules in religion have been found to promote eating disorders.
Agnes shares the moment during her adolescence when she realized she was bisexual and struggling to reckon with her realization within a homophobic culture. Margaret tells the story of when she was publicly shamed in church by a priest over her clothing.
Sources:
https://www.elonnewsnetwork.com/article/2021/04/churches-religious-entities-help-religious-trauma
https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.ajp.2012.12111457
https://www.themeadows.com/blog/religious-trauma/
As Agnes and Margaret discover, growing up as girls within a strict Catholic community resulted in years of religious trauma during their formative years, particularly around their bodies and sexuality. Margaret shares an intense and vulnerable experience from early childhood that has continued to negatively affect the relationship with her own body, and Agnes shares when she first learned how being bisexual was not permitted in their culture.
Agnes and Margaret unpack the role of sisterhood and how it pertains to each of them being the oldest and seventh child. While the term “sisterhood” sounds simple on the surface, they learn pretty quickly that everyone has a different definition and relationship to the word.
Talking about the role of sisters branches into the dynamic between mother and daughter. Agnes and Margaret make some interesting discoveries about how their placement in the line of siblings affected their attachment styles with their mother and how that dynamic played out during a collectively traumatic moment in their childhood.
Welcome to Unrefined Women Podcast! In our first episode we dig into the topic of spiritual awakenings and discuss the following questions:
What are spiritual awakenings?
How do they affect people's lives and how have they affected our own lives?
What are some of the myths around what a spiritual awakening is actually like for most people?
Finally, what is trendy spirituality and how has social media both supported but also confused many people on the topic of spirituality?
Welcome to Unrefined Women Podcast, an ongoing dialogue between two sisters on the topics of spirituality, religious trauma, mental health, family dynamics, and feminism.
We will be launching our podcast on October 19, 2021.
In the meantime, please listen to our introduction episode to meet your co-hosts, Agnes and Margaret. We look forward to sharing, learning, and connecting with you all!