Live Free Ride Free with Rupert Isaacson – Details, episodes & analysis

Rediscovering Joy and Authenticity Through Inner Journeys with Ralf Daab 

Ralf Daab, a renowned publisher from Germany, has spent decades working with some of the most prestigious art and design publishers, including Taschen. He later founded his own publishing house, where he curated over 300 titles on architecture, interior design, and fashion. However, life’s unexpected turns, including personal loss and professional challenges, led him on an inner journey of profound transformation. Through meditative practices, self-exploration, and therapeutic journeys, Ralf uncovered a deeper connection to his authentic self and the universal truths that bind us all.

In this episode of Live Free Ride Free, Rupert Isaacson sits down with Ralf to explore his transition from a fast-paced publishing career to a life of introspection and authentic living. They delve into Ralf’s transformative experiences with inner journeys, the power of MDMA therapy, and how rediscovering authenticity and love changed his perspective on life, relationships, and his purpose.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

Ralf’s Journey to Self-Discovery (Starts at 2:00) From growing up in post-war Cologne to building a career in publishing, Ralf’s early life was filled with ambition and success. Discover how pivotal life changes led him to seek deeper meaning.

The Power of Inner Journeys (Starts at 8:00) Learn how guided MDMA-assisted therapy opened Ralf’s subconscious, helping him rediscover joy, heal past wounds, and connect with his true self.

Balancing Professional Success with Authentic Living (Starts at 18:30) Ralf reflects on the challenges of balancing a high-profile career with personal well-being and how he’s shifting his focus to align with his authentic self.

Discovering Universal Love and Connection (Starts at 28:00) Ralf shares his profound realization that love is not just an emotion but a universal consciousness that permeates all life.

The Role of Community in Healing and Growth (Starts at 36:15) Find out how Ralf’s tribe of fellow seekers provided mutual support, love, and shared wisdom throughout his transformative journey.

Insights into Longevity and Purpose (Starts at 45:45) How embracing love, mindfulness, and authenticity can lead to a healthier, more purposeful life.

Memorable Moments from the Episode

• Ralf recounts his first MDMA journey and the feeling of his soul leaving his body to observe Earth from space (10:30).
• A touching story of finding a sense of community and unconditional love within his healing group (36:15).
• Ralf’s vision of his future self and how it inspires his daily life and work (48:20).
• Rupert and Ralf discuss the balance between beauty, ego, and authenticity in publishing (55:00).

Contact Ralf Daab

• 📘 Learn more about Ralf’s work and his book, Da Bist Du Wieder (Here You Are Again): https://amzn.to/49UGpKe
• 🌐 Website: https://www.myhol.shop/
• 📧 Email: service@myhol.shop

See All of Rupert’s Programs and Shows

• Website: https://rupertisaacson.com

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New Trails Learning Systems

• Website: https://ntls.co
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• YouTube: https://youtube.com/newtrailslearningsystems

Finding Balance: Technology, Racehorses, and Thrilling Stories with Victor Bahna

Victor Bahna is a tech industry veteran, thoroughbred racing enthusiast, and the author of the gripping new thriller, Heliacal Star. Based in Seattle, Victor has seamlessly blended his passions for technology and racehorses into a life filled with discovery, balance, and storytelling. In his debut novel, Heliacal Star, Victor explores the thrilling yet darker sides of the racing industry, creating a narrative that captivates and informs. In this episode, Victor shares his unique journey, insights into horse racing and the tech world, and lessons learned from the therapeutic bond with his retired racehorses.

About Heliacal Star
Heliacal Star is an exhilarating and emotional novel centered on the rich history and thrilling atmosphere of thoroughbred racing. It offers gripping moments of suspense that build at a great pace as the plot thickens, keeping readers on edge.
Learn More at https://victorbahna.com

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

• Victor’s Journey from Tech to Racehorses and Writing (Starts at 1:00) Victor discusses growing up in Long Island, his transition into the tech world, and how a passion for racehorses rekindled his creative pursuits.
• Life Lessons from the Track (Starts at 12:30) From his first experiences with racehorses to founding Royal Victory Thoroughbreds, Victor shares the challenges and joys of owning and breeding thoroughbreds.
• The Writing Process for Heliacal Star (Starts at 25:00) Victor dives into the inspirations for his novel, how he self-published it, and its message about reform in the racing industry.
• Balancing Tech Stress with the Healing Power of Retired Racehorses (Starts at 35:45) Victor reveals how working with retired racehorses has profoundly influenced his approach to leadership, emotional regulation, and personal growth.
• The Future of Horse Racing and Ethical Breeding (Starts at 50:15) A deep dive into Victor’s hopes for the racing industry, including reforms and the importance of giving racehorses meaningful lives beyond the track.

Memorable Moments from the Episode

• The transformative impact of riding and caring for retired racehorses on Victor’s approach to stress and relationships (36:00).
• How Heliacal Star highlights issues within the racing industry while honoring its legacy (26:30).
• Victor's humorous yet insightful story of his early foray into betting and racehorse ownership (10:15).
• The therapeutic lessons racehorses taught Victor, from de-escalation to building trust (38:45).

Contact Victor Bahna

🌐 Website: victorbahna.com
📖 Purchase Heliacal Star on Amazon

See All of Rupert's Programs and Shows

🌐 Rupert Isaacson

Follow Us

• Long Ride Home
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Have you ever gone looking for treasure. And found it? Like many who go looking for gold, the first clues came through offhand comments, snatches overheard conversations that somehow struck a resonance, a chord, in the gut. I had embarked upon a journey to the centre of the Old Masters tradition of dressage. At first, I didn't know that was what I was doing. My quest was to understand more about how to truly and softly collect a horse _ and not for the usual reasons. You see, I had stumbled into something; when riding with my then four-year-old autistic son Rowan I had noticed from the first ride that when the horse was more collected, he spoke more. Intrigued, I set out to find out why. Consulting with neuroscientists. it was explained to me that the soft rhythmic hip rocking experienced when riding a horse this way feels so good ( and we all know it does) because it causes the body to produce a hormone called oxytocin, which is in itself a sort of Holy Grail. >For it is the joy hormone. Its also the hormone of communication.

So, what has this to do with my guest for this fascinating podcast, Sofia Valenca? Well, realizing that I needed to know more about collection so as to be able to produce more oxytocin and therefore get more communication from my son and the other young autists with whom I was starting to work as part of what is now Horse Boy Method, I realized I needed to learn more about dressage. Now, anyone who knows anything about horses knows that dressage, real light dressage, is a complex and difficult skill to learn, and takes about 500 years or so. I didn't have 500 years, and I found the first dressage lessons I took unclear, unfocused even punitive, with the instructors barking orders but not really explaining how....

I consulted with dressage professionals I knew, What would you do if you were in y position, I asked, and needed to learn this impossible skill not in centuries or aons, but in as efficient and enjoyable a way as possible, Go ti Portugal they all said. Why, I asked? Because that is where they still use dressage for the original purpose of war, so they don't mess around. They teach you on schoolmaster horses that know all the fancy stuff, and at the same time teach you the in-hand work, where you learn it from the ground and also create a balanced horse underneath you that fully understand the work. that made sense, but wait, I said, Portugal isn't at war with anyone, right? No, it was explained to me, its about the mounted bullfight - Portuguese bullfighters don't try and kill the bull, as happens in Spain. Instead, they learn to dance around it on horseback. One doesn't want to bullfight of course, but to learn those martial arts skills with the horse, well, that's true dressage.

So down I went to Portugal and found this was indeed all true. I also began to hear, not just in Portugal but in the UK, the USA, France, elsewhere a certain name began to come up over and over again. Valenca.

The whole Valenca family - headed by Mastre Luis Valenca, his three daughters Sofia, Phillipa and Bea and now his granddaughter Ines are legends in the dressage world. Not bullfightes, but equestrian artists, the family is a  hidden treasure that many have heard of, but few have found. Which is strange because you couldn't find a nicer, more open, more approachable bunch. The first five days in their Picadoro (the small inside arena they use in Portugal) I learned more about horses and horsemanship than i had learned in years of lessons elsewhere. I also saw a family dedicated to joy, to art, to self expression and self actualization, who were dedicating their lives to helping others set their dreams free, Its no wonder that the family produces the incredible horses that perform the fantasy sequences in the massively successful equestrian theater spectacular Cavalluna, which tours Germany six months of the year. It's about turning dreams to reality. How do they do it? Well, listen to Sofia now. You may be into horses, you may not, but this family, which truly comprises one of Europe's national treasures, can teach as all a thing or two about the art of whispering one's dreams into being. Listen on.

Contact Sofia
https://valencaequestrianacademy.com
info@valencaequestrianacademy.com 

Find our other shows and programs:
https://rupertisaacson.com

 Living free and riding free - it's one thing to do it. It's another thing altogether to provide a whole universe that allows others to do it. Castle Leslie in Ireland is that place. A thousand acres and a castle, an equestrian tourism paradise, a place people go to disappear into the hills and forests of the border region, a research and learning site for climate and soil science, a treasure house of baroque and renaissance art that you can live in, the sort of place that rock stars go on honeymoon, and  special needs families can find healing in. Sammy Leslie has created that world - a sort of Hogwarts for the soul - from the ancient seat of the family of the same name.

 Yet this is not a story of an aristocrat inheriting and then repurposing the old estate with canny business acumen with a bit of altruism thrown in. Sammy Leslie did not inherit the estate. The illegitimate daughter of the Jewish mistress of the estate owner, whose hippy commune at the castle during the sixties and seventies provided fun and fantasy but little in the way of sustainable income, Sammy went to the local school, roamed the wilds of the estate, forged her own career as a riding teacher and hotel manager in the UK and further afield, and finally, when her father died, instead of inheriting the estate decided to buy it, piece by piece, with an entrepreneurial flair matched by a complete and total lack of capital. Yet she did it and created one of the world's most legendary heritage resort hotels. That would have been enough, but Sammy's deep love of the land, of the nature, of the paradisical estate led her to forest management, soil restoration and environmental activism and education.

 Everyone has struggles as they build their professional worlds - Sammy added cancer and MS to those - allowing them to inform her desire to make the estate not simply a playground for the rich and famous, or the ecologically minded, but also for those vulnerable people who would not normally have access to such a world. 

 How does one create such a universe, overcome such odds, both build and run an insanely complex business without burning out completely? How does one in fact cope with the inevitable burnouts that such an intense live free, ride free journey must entail?

 Well, a sense of humor helps. Sammy, as you will find out as you listen to this edition of Live Free Ride Free, is herself excellent craic, as they say in Ireland.

 There is much to learn from Sammy Leslie, much to be inspired by and laugh with. Best of all, once you're done listening to her incredible story, you can pack your bags and go experience the world she has created first hand. If you're looking for a place to live and ride free, Castle Leslie is it, and Sammy is its chatelaine.

Enjoy.

Links and books mentioned:
Dear Daughter Campaign
The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World - Michael Polland
Omnivorist Dilema
God is an octopus
https://amzn.to/3OUFFvE

Contact Sammy
Leslie Foundation lesliefoundation.ie
info@lesliefoundation.ie
Castleleslie.com

Find our other shows and programs:
https://rupertisaacson.com

Film Festivals are something one reads about all the time. We accept them as institutions that drive the movie business in the same way that we take for granted music festivals and literary and other arts festivals, as things that exist almost as geological features of the landscape. Or at least the cultural landscape. 

What many of us don’t know is that the festivals that come to accept as institutions in and onto themselves, were all started by someone with an idea. This includes such behemoth such as Sundance, which was the idea of the actor Robert Redford. The Cannes Film Festival, which was the brain child of a French man called Jean Zay, who with a couple of friends decided to set up, what has become to be the defining festival of the entire movie industry. 

The Lollapalooza Music Festival was the idea of musician Perry Farrel. The list goes on. 

I have often wondered what it takes to really get a festival off the ground and make it successful. Lisa Diersen, who conceived the Equus Film Festival – a niche festival, specializing in equestrian based subjects is one of the few people I know who has made a go of it. 

Starting with an idea based around one documentary – The Horse Boy – it quickly grew and has now become self-sustaining and a stand alone within the myriad of festivals out there. It’s boutique and it’s unique and it works. 

In this episode we talk to Lisa about how she conceived it, got it off the ground, and made a success of it and how she keeps the whole thing going. 

She is also a horse breeder and horse trainer and makes a go of that too. In terms of living free and riding free, Lisa is right up there. Let’s find out how this extraordinary lady does it. 

Films to check out

• Healing Horses
• Riding my way back – Robin Rosenwell
• The Mustang Discovery Ride Program
• Lady Long Rider https://www.endeofthetrail.com/ 
• Unbranded https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3020666/ 
• A Man A Mule America https://www.pbs.org/video/our-state-mule-rider 
• Return of the horse https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2076314/ 
• Equus Film Channel https://filmfestivalflix.com/festival/equus-2-2/
• Equus Film Festival http://www.equusfilmfestival.net/

Contact Lisa:

• Lisa@equusfilmfestival.net 

Find our other Programs and Shows:

• https://RupertIsaacson.com

Linda Tellington Jones is a true legend. In the horse world, in the world of human healing, in the world of dogs, in the world in general... TTouch, an easy, effective way of resetting the nervous system for animals and humans, is a global movement. Linda's 22 books on the subject have been translated into multiple languages and have sold uncounted copies. Those who have tried TTouch, whether for animals or humans, all report massive improvements in both physical and emotional conditions. Now in her 80s, Linda still travels the world teaching, inspiring, constantly developing new aspects to her method = and also learning, never resting on her laurels, always curious to know more.

But who is Linda Tellington Jones? How did she go from a farm girl in far northern Alberta and the Northwest Territories to becoming one of the leading horsewomen in the world, to becoming one of the most sought=after neuro-reprogramming mentors in the world? What exactly is TTouch and how did it develop into one of the leading healing modalities currently in use today?

The journey takes us from Canada to California to Germany via Russian gypsy horse whisperers, through mentorship under the legendary Moshe Feldenkrais, to struggles with her own health and happiness, and how Linda has had to learn to use the techniques for her own conditions of Hashimoto's Syndrome, Long COVID and brain fog  = forcing her to rise to the maxim of 'physician heal thyself'.

Linda is candid = how what some people would regard as failed marriages and abuse were transformed into opportunities to open her mind and heart to ever widening possibilities. How the power of love and forgiveness =including that most elusive of Holy Grails = self-forgiveness, lies at the center of self-actualization. 

Any time spent with Linda Tellington -Jones is inspirational, educational, enlightening. Join us to hear her story and learn how her journey can benefit our own.

Books mentioned: 

•  Strike a long trot Legendary Horsewoman Linda Tellington-Jones  https://amzn.to/3qDVIEH 
•  Training and Retraining Horses the Tellington Way: Starting Right or Starting Over with Enlightened Methods and Hands-On Techniques https://amzn.to/45YJmad 
•  getting in ttouch with your dog  https://amzn.to/3J9Pgvo 
•  TTouch for Healthcare: The Healthcare Professional's Guide to Tellington TTouch Paperback https://amzn.to/3X1p4sB 
•  Man on his nature Sharrinton https://amzn.to/3P3C6E2 
•  Emotional Intelligence book Daniel Goleman https://amzn.to/43D4a5F 
•  the code of authentic living cellular wisdom https://amzn.to/43Oi6tm 
•  The Biology of Belief 10th Anniversary Edition: Unleashing the Power of Consciousness, Matter & Miracles  Bruce Lipton https://amzn.to/3Jbj7DT 
•  Spontaneous Evolution: Our Positive Future and a Way to Get There From Here Dr. Bruce Lipton https://amzn.to/3JavYWL 
•  The Divine Matrix: Bridging Time, Space, Miracles, and Belief  Gregg Braden https://amzn.to/3oXZHeJ 

Find Linda:

•  Learn TTouch: https://learn.ttouch.ca/ 
•  TTouch Zooms https://learn.ttouch.ca/product-category/interactive/ 

Quotes from Linda’s podcast:

• I wanted to have the horse have as good a time with me as I was having with him.
• Feel your perfection through my hands
• And, one of the reasons that our, our horses were so good is the fact that I never allowed a person to ride a horse unless they liked the horse. And if they didn't like that horse, they would not get on them. Because horses know when you don't like them and they want to work for you/

Find our other Programs and Shows:

• https://RupertIsaacson.com

 John Mitchinson is a true man of mystery. 

You may have been hanging out with him for years and don't know it. Many of you out there have been watching TV, reading books, discovering stories that John Mitchinson has created, or published, or influenced, or written...without his name being on them. 

Have you watched the hilarious, clever, cult BBC Show QI (which stands for Quite Interesting), presented by the redoubtable Steven Fry and now in its bazillionth season? Well, chances are John Mitchinson wrote every word that delighted you. He also conceived the show in a magical pub in a magical village in the most magical part of the English countryside - the part that Tolkien used as his inspiration for the Shire, CS Lewis for Narnia, and Lewis Carroll for the Wonderland and the world Through the Looking Glass. 

If you've become engrossed in the QI books.. John wrote them. 

If you've read any of the great foreign classics like the Master and Margarita (often touted as the best book ever written), or By Night Under the Stone Bride, or if you've ever discovered the great American writers Raymond Carver,or Richard Ford in a UK edition - John published them. 

If you've ever been in London or Oxford or a dozen other English cities and bought a book at Waterstones..it was John who helped grow that company into the household name it is today. If you've encountered the cutting edge story telling platform of best sellers created through the crowdfunding site Unbound...well, that´s John.

The power of Story - that´s what John is about, and he´s made millions of lives richer for it. But his own story begins very humbly - in working class Sunderland, the ship building, coal mining, economically dying town in Britain's Northumberland, where the love of a grandfather and the wandering of the locals hills and riverbanks, and the strange industrial margins of city and country, where legends old and new meet in a twilight zone of their own.

From there to being a lost boy adrift in New Zealand after his family emigrated, to being back in an England that he never quite fitted into, yet whose stories he felt in his bones...Join as on a fascinating adventure into self actualization through the power of Story, and meet one of the world´s gentlest, most brilliant, most charming, and funniest Minds. Once you meet John Mitchinson, your life is forever enriched.

Books mentioned:
So Long See You Tomorrow William Maxwell
Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable

Find John:

https://www.backlisted.fm/ 
https://unbound.com/ 
www.patreon.com/backlisted 

Find our other Programs and Shows:
https://RupertIsaacson.com

If there is someone who typifies what it means to quite literally Live Free and Ride Free, it is online equestrian and nervous system celebrity Jane Pike. 

Born in Australia, and growing up first on woolly ponies in Tasmania, then on the Australian show pony circuit, Jane has taken a circuitous route through many branches of life, all of which culminated into her Confident Rider and Joy Ride Programs, which help uncounted numbers of people around the world to achieve functionality in their bodies and brains, whether in the saddle or in their daily lives. 

Currently living on a beautiful part of the coast of New Zealand’s south island, Jane trains her horses, homeschools her boys and helps the world from her computer – achieving the self-actualization that many of us aspire to. 

It wasn’t always like this however.

A decades long journey, through the athletic and therapeutic forms of Yoga – studying under and then teaching for some of the great masters in India; post-tsunami human rights work in Sri Lanka; some ‘lost years’ in which she had to rely on pure faith and finally a deep study of the autonomic nervous system and how it effects everything we do and much of what we think, have build up a store of wisdom we can all benefit from. 

Parallel with all this Jane has continued to work as a horse professional and general seeker of the equine mysteries. 

In this interview she leads us through her story of how she achieved her current independence and includes some really practical tips on how online businesses are build as well as sharing many of her insights both scientific and esoteric that have created the Confident Rider and Joy Ride online worlds.

Join us for a fascinating and liberating ride.

You can find Jane at confidentrider.online or drop her a line at jane@confidentrider.online 

Like always, find out more about our shows and programs at the links below:

• Equine Assisted World Podcast
• New Trails Learning Systems
• Long Ride Home

A legend and ueber-influencer in the horsemanship community, in the years since COVID Warwick Schiller has become much much more. In addition to creating one of the first and most successful online libraries of horse training videos, Warwick’s Journey On Podcast exceeded a million downloads quite a while ago and is on it’s way to stratospheric heights. 

In addition Warwick’s activities of late have expanded far beyond the horse world. His own personal pilgrimage to find his own inner emotional healing after years of shut down (his words) has lead him to explore the healing art in all their many forms. 

From bravely dreading the world of psychedelic hallucinogens under the guidance of professionals, he has also explored the synaptic confluences of neuro science and emotion. His explorations into the shamanic and inspirational spheres run parallel with all this, and he makes the whole thing accessible to the general public for free. 

Warwick still runs horse training clinics all over the world and his Journey On Summits – conferences that bring people from all these diverse worlds together – often sell out hours after tickets go online. 

How has Warwick done it?

To say that this is a self-actualized life is an understatement. Both in term of economic and personal fulfillment – not to mention public service. 

Join us as we pick Warwick’s brain, find out the journey he took to put all this together and what we can learn from him as he goes forward to the next level. 

To find Warwick online check out the following links:

• Journey On Podcast
• Online Training Library

Like always, find out more about our shows and programs at the links below:

• Equine Assisted World Podcast
• New Trails Learning Systems
• Long Ride Home

Sir Tim Smit is a legend. Knighted for his ecological and economic contribution not just to Great Britain, but the international community at large. Sir Tim is famous for having founded Cornwall's Lost Gardens of Heligan, and the Eden Project in which the public can visit working rain forests under glass domes and truly learn the importance of ecology and how it effects their daily lives, while at the same time being entertained and contributing to the economies of otherwise depressed areas.

What many people don't know is that the Eden Projects are now going global with locations around the world and that Sir Tim is at the cutting edge of how governments and economies are finding real solutions for the changing climactic times in which we live.

What is also little known about Sir Tim is how he came from a strange mix of Dutch working class and British Bohemian gentry, navigated his way into the music industry, became successful as a producer and then gave it all up when he discovered a door in a wall that led to a forgotten magical kingdom in Cornwall, that no one had thought worth bothering with for century. It's a story of faith, business savvy, common sense and vision that has lessons for us all as we navigate our own doorways into the hidden kingdoms of our lives.

Join us as we adventure into the unknown. And remember to subscribe and share.