The Conscious Diva – Details, episodes & analysis

Joining me in this episode is wellness advocate and wilderness guide Sydney Williams. Sydney beckons to all those burdened with unspoken trauma, offering the wilderness as both metaphor and remedy for the soul in her new book, Hiking Your Feelings: Blazing a Trail to Self-Love.

This transformational book reveals how we can turn our pain into power. It's part inspirational memoir, part practical guide, Hiking Your Feelings offers a toolkit for unpacking your “trauma pack” the best version of yourself. 

I love this episode so much, and I enjoyed reading Sydney's book. I hope you do, too.

Please visit the show website at The Conscious Diva.com, ep 68, for more information about Sydney and her work as an author, speaker, and founder of Hiking My Feelings, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the healing power of nature. You can also follow me on Instagram at The Conscious Diva. Thank you for listening.

HIGHLIGHTS:

• Sydney reflects on her own journey from buried traumas and poor body image to acceptance, healthy coping mechanisms, and self-love.
• She talks about her struggle with grief and loss, sexual assault, poor body image, career stress, and the stigma of diabetes.
• 
  chooses love over fear and lift the invisible weight from your shoulders.

ABOUT SYDNEY:

Sydney Williams is an author, speaker, and the founder of Hiking My Feelings, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the healing power of nature. Her fifteen-year (and counting) career in communications has run the gamut from launching Oscar Mayer's social media channels and working with Fortune 500 brands to educating the public about the importance of stewardship and equitable access to recreational opportunities. Through it all, she centers empathetic storytelling and allows her curiosity and enthusiasm to lead the way.

Sydney has been featured on FOX5 San Diego, KPBS, San Diego Magazine, Huff Post, Psychology Today, U.S. News & World Report, and on the SXSW stage. She is also a certified Wilderness First Responder, an instructor at the Desert Institute at Joshua Tree National Park, an instructor at the Field Institute at Sequoia National Park, and a founding member of the Outdoorist Oath. Sydney has been nominated for Woman of the Year by San Diego Magazine.

LINKS:

https://hikingmyfeelings.org

IG: https://www.instagram.com/hikingmyfeelings/

Upgrade your breathing toolkit! Have you ever considered whether you are a mouth or nose breather? I know I didn't.

Joining me is my friend, breathwork guide, and meditation teacher Matteo Pistono. Matteo is the author of several books on meditation and spirituality. In his latest book, Breathe How You Want to Feel: Your Breathing Tool Kit for Better Health, Restorative Sleep, and Deeper Connection we discuss how "keeping it nasal" literally upgrades your nervous system so you can live your optimal life physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why we aren’t taught how to breathe correctly.
• Mouth breathing vs nose breathing 
• Nasal breathing and the vagus nerve 
• Tips to become a conscious breather. 
• We also discuss various pranayama practices as well as the Whim Hoff method and Holotropic breathing.
• And Matteo explains why thinking about our mortality allows us to live fully and die without regrets.

I hope you enjoy this episode and don’t forget to write a review and follow me on Instagram @The_Conscious_Diva

About Matteo:

https://www.matteopistono.com

IG: @matteopistono

Matteo Pistono is a writer, meditation teacher, and conscious breathing guide. He has authored numerous books including Meditation: Coming To Know Your Mind, Fearless in Tibet, and In The Shadow of the Buddha. He teaches concsious breathing and meditation to individuals and groups in-person as well as online. 

Matteo began his spiritual journey over 30 years ago while living in Nepal and Tibet. Informed by his study of Buddhism, Vedanta, and Hatha Yoga, extensive periods of solitary meditation, and pilgrimages across sacred Himalayan landscapes, Matteo offers an engaged approach to ancient wisdom traditions. Matteo maintains a daily yoga asana, pranayama, and meditation practice. Matteo earned a Masters in Indian Philosophy from the University of London, and his writings have appeared in The Washington Post, BBC, Buddhadharma, Tricycle, Men's Journal, Kyoto Journal, and HIMAL South Asia. Matteo and his wife surf and ride mountain bikes from their home in Southern California. 

Renowned Death Doula Anne-Marie Keppel joins me in this episode to discuss her new book, Death Nesting: The Heart-Centered Practices of a Death Doula.

Anne-Marie brings new-age spiritual aspects and practices to support the modern death doula. She founded Village Deathcare, whose inspiration and purpose is incorporating deathcare into the community.

Her book contains advice and experiences from various spiritual and religious traditions like Buddhism, Hinduism, Paganism, and Catholicism. It also includes support for people working as, or thinking about becoming a death doula, plus invaluable advice and mindfulness practices for contemplating your own mortality.

Anne-Marie explains:

• What exactly does a death doula do? Anne-Marie explains what the word doula means.
• Why talking about death is essential for vital people.
• Differences between Ancient and Modern Death Doulas.

• Mindfulness practices for contemplating your own mortality. And why it is important to do this.

• Death douling for our animals and pets.

If you loved this episode, please subscribe to my podcast, write a review and follow me on Instagram. You can find me online at tatyannawright.com and theconsciousdiva.com 

You can also find everything we discuss in this episode on the show page notes. 

Thank you very much for listening. Let me know what you think. I’d love to hear from you.  

More about Anne-Marie Keppel:

https://www.annemariekeppel.com

BIO:

Anne-Marie Keppel is the founder of Village Deathcare 501c3 whose inspiration and purpose is incorporating deathcare into the community. Of Irish Celtic and Finnish Sámi (indigenous Finno-Ugric) roots, she draws from her work as a death doula, a nurse assistant, a life-long meditator, Reiki Master Teacher and mother of three. She is a certified Feeding Your Demons facilitator, Life Cycle Celebrant (certificate in funerals) and trained Home Funeral Guide. Anne-Marie has passed the National Home Funeral Alliance proficiency test and regularly supports families through Family Directed funerals, home burial and green burial. 

Back on my show is the profound wisdom teacher Tracee Stanley. Tracee is gifted in weaving devotion and practice into daily life. Her latest book, The Luminous Self: Sacred Yogic Practices and Rituals to Remember Who You Are, guides the reader on a journey of inner exploration. There is so much yumminess in this radiant book. I mean, the book cover is glowing! 

In her latest book, Tracee offers meditations and rituals to self-inquiry practices designed to tap into a deeper understanding of yourself. All the spiritual tools in this book have been experienced by Tracee and helped her reclaim her own inherent power and wisdom, and they can do the same for you. 

And for a limited time, listeners can take 30% off the book when you preorder at ⁠Shambhala.com⁠ with the code LUM30. - When you purchase the book, you can sign up for a free special live event with Tracee - called The Luminous Self Book Club.  

Practicing with Tracee is a not to be missed opportunity to amplify the transformative tools in this book. This 4-week live virtual experience begins on Tuesday, October 10. Find out more about this experience in the episode. I’ve signed up for it.

You can also listen to my interview with Tracee about her best-selling book Radiant Rest: Yoga Nidra for Deep Relaxation and Awakened Clarity. It is Ep.23.

MORE ABOUT TRACEE

⁠https://www.traceestanley.com/⁠

⁠https://www.instagram.com/tracee_stanley/⁠

⁠https://www.shambhala.com/the-luminous-self.html⁠t.

Erik Jampa Andresson and I discuss our mystical experiences and practices in this mini-bonus episode. We rant about mantras and how specific mantras can be used as spells and, in fact have been used as spells in history. We also discuss the importance of ritual.

Enjoy! Please let me know if liked this episode by subscribing and writing a review. Thank you.

Follow me on IG @The_Conscious_Diva

For more info visit:

https://www.theconsciousdiva.com/

This is part 2 of my interview with Erik Jampa Andersson. In this fascinating interview, we continue to discuss his new book Unseen Beings: How We Forgot the World Is More Than Human.

In this episode, we get way more esoteric. Erik explains exactly who unseen beings are, and why we need to understand that we share the world with more than humans.

We talk about the Nagas - find out who these serpentine beings are. We discuss spirits and mantras, particularly how certain mantras are spells used in literal combat.

We both share a ton of Naga stories and experiences from the one Prashant Iyengar shared with about Patanjali to how the Nagas became guardians of the Chod founder’s tradition and many more.

Plus there’s a bonus episode right after this one on the importance of ritual and we dive much deeper into mantras are spells. 

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THIS EPISODE INCLUDE:

• Find out who the unseen beings are and why it matters that we learn to identify them.  

• The importance of Nature spirits and learning to understand who the serpentine Naga beings are.

• Critical connections between human health and environmental health.

• Erik shares the story of Machig Labdrön, the founder of the practice of chöd: Tibetan Buddhist Mahamudrā chöd lineages.

• Erik draws on traditional eco-philosophies and Buddhist wisdom, asking us to rethink the very nature of our existence on this incredible that we share planet.

If you loved this episode, please subscribe to my podcast, write a review, and follow me on Instagram. You can find me online at tatyannawright.com and theconsciousdiva.com

MORE ABOUT ERIK:

Erik Jampa Andersson, founder and director of Shrimala, is a London-based practitioner, teacher, and scholar of Tibetan Medicine (Sowa Rigpa), Tibetan Buddhism, and Environmental History.  He is a graduate of the Shang Shung Institute School of Tibetan Medicine and is currently finishing an MA in History at Goldsmiths University. He is the author of Unseen Beings: How We Forgot the World is More than Human (Hay House, May 2023).

A Buddhist practitioner since 2005 (at the age of 14), Erik found an early home in the Tibetan tradition under the close guidance of Lama Tsultrim Allione, founder of Tara Mandala retreat center in Colorado, and has studied with an array of teachers from Tibet and the Himalayas. While pursuing a degree in religious studies at Naropa University, he was inspired to change course and enrol in a five-year Tibetan Medicine program at the Shang Shung Institute, in which he was trained extensively under notable senior physicians including Dr. Phuntsog Wangmo, Dr. Namgyal Tsering, Dr. Nyima Tsering, and other Sowa Rigpa experts in America and Asia.

RELATED LINKS:

https://www.shrimala.com/about

https://www.erikjampa.com

https://www.taramandala.org/blog/erik-jampa-dec-2022

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/erikjampa/

Joining me in this episode is Tibetan Buddhist practitioner Erik Jampa Andersson. I’m talking to him about his new inspiring book, Unseen Beings: How We Forgot the World Is More Than Human.

Combining his extensive knowledge of spiritual traditions with his passion for ecology and environmentalism, his new book offers a revolutionary perspective on the climate catastrophe bridging history, philosophy, science, and religion. This is a phenomenal discussion on how we can apply the practices and perspectives of animism and mythology offering up new ways of seeing and thinking to learn to become more sensitive towards our beautiful, endangered planet. 

His book ponders the question: What will it truly take for humanity to change? This is a powerful episode. 

TOPICS INCLUDE: 

·       How and why we constructed a human-centric worldview 

·       The Anthropocene as a chronic disease

·       How humans are the center of everything. 

·       Amazing recent discoveries around non-human intelligence

·       How religious traditions have dealt with questions of nature, sentience, and ecology. 

·       Critical connections between human health and environmental health

And this jam-packed episode is only part 1! Unseen Beings is a seriously brilliant and well-researched book. I hope you love this episode and go read Erik’s book.

Visit the episode show page at www.TheConsciousDiva.com  for more information on everything we discuss.

LEARN ABOUT ERIK:

https://www.shrimala.com/about

https://www.taramandala.org/blog/erik-jampa-dec-2022

https://www.sorig.net

In this episode, the inspiring Mara Branscome returns to share her latest book Sage, Huntress, Lover, Queen: Access Your Power and Creativity through Sacred Female Archetypes.

The archetypes are the Maiden, Mother, Sage, Huntress, Lover, Mystic, and Queen. Mara explains each archetype’s beneficial qualities, its connections to the physical-emotional-mental body, and its shadow aspects. And she shares why connecting with these aspects can be an important tool for self-healing. 

HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:

• Archetypes are not stereotypes; they are codes, formulas, and patterns.
• Why it's important to identify with them or one.
• Mara breaks down the seven sacred female archetypes.
• She explains how journeying through the seven feminine archetypes helps us to rediscover our essential self.

• How can we use these key archetypes to understand shadow and light?
• Mara compares this new book to her previous book, Ritual as Remedy. 

ABOUT MARA:

Mara Branscombe is a mother, writer, yogi, artist, teacher, mindfulness leader, ceremonialist and spiritual coach. She is the author of “Ritual As Remedy: Embodied Practices For Soul Care.” Mara is passionate about weaving the art of mindfulness, self-care, creativity, mind–body practices, and earth-based rituals into her life and work, and she has been leading community ceremony since 2000.

Mara's website:

https://marabranscombe.com

https://www.femininearchetypesbook.com

Have you ever thought about the healing power of birds? I love watching birds, but I had never thought of them as healing medicine until I met Tammah Watts.

Tammah is a licensed therapist, birding enthusiast, and the author of the new book from Hay House - Keep Looking Up! Your Guide to the Powerful Healing of Birdwatching. In her new book, Tammah shares not only the healing power birds offer us when we give ourselves permission to observe them as a source of wisdom, but she weaves her personal story of overcoming her physical, neurological, and mental health challenges. She also offers practical information, and journal prompts that activate connection to ourselves.

Tammah knew that she needed to seek and accept hope, love, and support to overcome her chronic pain and cultivate resilience. But she could not have predicted that a little yellow bird would put her on the path to healing by fostering a powerful connection with birds and the experience of birding.

We begin our conversation with the question: How is birding a spiritual practice? 

WE CHAT ABOUT:

• What makes birding a spiritual practice? 
• How Tammah won the Hay House writers competition with this beautiful book.
• Exploring the practice of birdwatching from the comfort of your own home and community 
• How birding increases your self-awareness, mindfulness, and concentration.
• Birds teach us acceptance and alignment with spirit.
• The conscious aspects of birding as humans and birds.

ABOUT TAMMAH WATTS:

Tammah Watts has served the community for over 35 years in managerial, clinical, and consulting roles for private, non-profit, community college, and public sectors. After suffering a neurological injury following a routine surgical procedure, she found herself unable to return to the work she loved. Yet her experience as a licensed marriage and family therapist, mother, wife, grandmother, daughter, sister, and friend has helped her to her book chronicles her own personal struggles to overcome physical, neurological, and mental health challenges through the powerful healing of birdwatching.

Website: https://www.tammahwatts.com/

Resources: https://www.tammahwatts.com/resources

Renowned menstrual educator Sinu Joseph joins me in this episode to discuss her fascinating book - Rtu Vidyā: Ancient Science behind Menstrual Practices. 

You might be wondering how menstruation is a spiritual topic? Sinu’s book takes a deep dive into explaining the scientific and logical reasons behind how spiritual practices impact female physiology. An understanding of the science behind menstrual practices can help women prevent menstrual difficulties, develop a positive attitude towards menstruation, and learn how to work in sync with nature’s cycles. This book was an eye-opening read, and I encourage you to listen with an open mind.  

In this episode we specifically talk about:

• Prana, and why entering temples and chanting mantras is a no, no during menstruation. 
• Sinu explains why there are no mantras women can chant during menstruation. I was very surprised by the answers, particularly on the breakdown on the chanting of Om 🕉, and the very specific ways women of menstruating age should pronounce Om: A-U-M vs O-M.
• The word Rtu is a Sankrit word that’s means both seasons and menstruation. Sinu explains how this is not a coincidence. 
• How prana (upward energetic force) and apana (downward energetic force) affects the female body when we practice mantra, yoga and athletic activities engaging against gravity like gymnastics, swimming or if you happen to be a female fighter pilot. These practices can lead to endometriosis.
• Interesting fact: Men have to spend many, many years practicing yoga and meditation to attain an equivalent amount of spiritual energy as a woman. What comes energetically and spiritually naturally to women simply by virtue of menstruating. 
• How your Ayurvedic dosha (the body’s constitution) affects the way you menstruate. And how lifestyle and diet also affect our periods.
• How a Western women might apply this ancient wisdom to living a modern life, particularly sportswomen.

This episode mentions several Sankrit words that may not be familiar. Please visit the episode show page at TheConsciousDiva.com for a mini glossary of words, explanations and information on everything discussed. Ep. #51 Sinu Joseph.

About Sinu: Sinu Joseph is a menstrual educator, an author, a three-time TEDx speaker and one of the pioneers of the menstrual health movement in India. Her work on menstruation has been unique in its efforts of unearthing the ancient science behind native menstrual practices and bringing forth a narrative which is the Bharatiya perspective (an important dharma, and collective action, culture, or faith) on menstruation. She is the cofounder and Managing Trustee of Mythri Speaks, and also works with The Forward Foundation.

She started her work in the developmental space as a part time volunteer in 2009, and gradually took up leadership roles on various issues such as healthcare, women’s health & safety, action-research on native sciences and culture, rural development and urban civic issues such as waste management and lake rejuvenation. She completed B.E. Instrumentation Technology, from M.S. Ramaiah Institute of Technology in the year 2005

Website:

https://www.mythrispeaks.org

https://cisindus.org/course/rtu-vidya/ - Rtu Vidya course