Today the show begins with a conversation with Annette Simmons , a keynote speaker, consultant, and author of four books, including The Story Factor , which is listed in The 100 Best Business Books of All Time . She received a business degree from Louisiana State University, went on to spend ten years in Australia in international business, then received an M.Ed. from North Carolina State University, before founded Group Process Consulting in 1996. Her latest book is titled, Drinking from a Diff...
Nov 29, 2021•1 hr 48 min•Ep. 200
Francine Glasser is a Clinical Social Worker and Therapist who recently published a memoir, " Shards of Glass: A Kaleidoscopic Life's Memoir ," about her experiences as a child and how she took a path to healing from her difficult experiences. A bit about her book: Because her family constantly had to flee the repercussions of her father's gambling addiction, Francine Glasser was consigned to a childhood devoid of connection and marked by loss after loss of everything she cherished. Friends, rel...
Nov 23, 2021•1 hr 33 min•Ep. 199
Today I have the ultimate honor to share my conversation with June Millington , a Filipino American guitarist, songwriter, producer, educator, actress and writer. She was the co-founder and lead guitarist of the all-female rock band Fanny , which was active from 1970 to 1974. After leaving the band, June went in pursuit of her spiritual path, continued to make music, collaborate, act, write and is the co-founder and artistic director of the Institute for the Musical Arts (IMA) aka the "Magical Q...
Nov 15, 2021•1 hr 47 min•Ep. 198
It's the return of Marielena Ferrer and our monthly conversation inspired by Espiritualidad y Politica , which ponders ideas related to society's relationship with money, cultural integration, sustainable development, and participation in public life. The overarching message is that it is possible and necessary to marry the art of living (spirituality) with the art of coexisting (politics) to achieve peace. We talk about the practical implications of this and other related topics. Today we discu...
Nov 08, 2021•1 hr 49 min•Ep. 197
Today I have the honor of speaking with Shulamit Elson, and we begin the show hearing about her experience in losing her daughter to leukemia just over a year ago and how she moved through the tremendous grief of this experience. This flows into a conversation about Shulamit's own journey into finding her soul's purpose and the healing sounds that form the basis of her work today. She is the creator of MediSounds® Meditation , and the Director of MediSounds, as well as the founder of The Great O...
Nov 02, 2021•1 hr 48 min•Ep. 196
Today I wander into the Festival of Samhain and share some traditions or rituals that may inspire you. This includes a conversation and experiential practice to contemplate the lives of our ancestors based off of the book, My Grandmother's Hands by Resmaa Menakem . P.S. the show officially starts around minute 11, but I thought the superstition conversation with my colleagues was thematically appropriate to include! Here are the YouTubers who provided some of the information and rituals shared -...
Oct 27, 2021•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 195
Today I am talking sisterhood and politics with three fabulous women, but first up, I share an interview I did, BC (before Covid), of Mikayla Haggerty, Marlea Catoosa, Ruby Friedman from the Golden Fleece 4H Sheep Club Dutchess County. I met them 2 years ago while attending the Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck, NY. I wanted hot apple cider and they were selling it, which made me curious about what they were doing there and why. Tune in to find out! Then I share some of the astrological Full ...
Oct 19, 2021•1 hr 41 min•Ep. 194
Welcome to another installment of our monthly excursion into Politics and Spirituality with Marielena Ferrer, a socially engaged visual artist and art educator. She serves on the Kingston Arts Commission and Diversity Equity and Inclusion Task Force. Ferrer studied architecture at Central University of Venezuela and later earned a certificate of distinction in “Leadership and Empowerment” from Spain’s Polytechnic University of Valencia and a diploma in “Gender Leadership” through the EQUAL Trans...
Oct 14, 2021•1 hr 42 min•Ep. 193
Today I get to chat (and laugh) with Dr. Melissa Cioffi, PT, the owner of New Quest Physical Therapy , a mobile physical therapy practice specializing in pelvic health Mel Cioffi is a doctor of physical therapy who “frees active folx with vaginas from endless kegels and garbage exercises so they can get their damn lives back." She's participating in the O+ Festival offering a class, "Beyond Kegels," where you'll learn the basics of what the pelvic floor is, does, and how to condition yours beyon...
Oct 05, 2021•1 hr 40 min•Ep. 192
On today’s show I share my conversation with Therese Shechter, award-winning filmmaker and writer, and the founder of the feminist production company Trixie Films . Her work fuses humor, activism, and personal storytelling to disrupt what's considered most sacred about womanhood. She is a Canada Council for the Arts grantee for her documentary My So-Called Selfish Life which is having its World Premier this week at the Woodstock Film Festival . The film examines what it means to say no to mother...
Sep 27, 2021•1 hr 27 min•Ep. 191
On the show today I get to speak with Kia Abilay an Akashic Records Teacher and Certified Healing Touch Practitioner, Energy & Intuitive Communicator and a One Spirit Minister. For many years she worked as a practitioner in the Wellness Center at Omega but for the past year has been working on a book sharing stories from her work and lessons about the gift of listening. The book is titled The Gift of Listening, Cultivating Your Connection with Spirit and is due to be released on October 20, ...
Sep 21, 2021•1 hr 42 min•Ep. 190
It's the second Moon-Day of the month and the return of Marielena Ferrer ! She was a contributor to the book Espiritualidad y Politica which was published 10 years ago, and we're using that book to seed conversations relating to spirituality and politics. Marielena is the Executive Director of Humanamente — a diversity and inclusion consulting organization, Chair of the Athena Network New York — a psychosocial support network in the area of social services, health, and specifically in mental hea...
Sep 14, 2021•1 hr 43 min•Ep. 189
New Moon Blessings to you! Today, I take us through a New Moon Ceremony where we get to open ourselves up to the healing power of Forgiveness and then with that new shift in energy, step out of our boxes and into our magical selves. The great awakener Uranus guiding us to get weird. Gather your ceremonial items, water, journal and find a comfy space for this special show. Here's the playlist I used to get us into the mood in the first hour. Today’s show was engineered by Ian Seda of Radio Kingst...
Sep 06, 2021•53 min•Ep. 188
Today's guest is the very inspiring Anyssa Lucena . She helps women climbers gain confidence by teaching them how to overcome self-limiting beliefs, get stronger and live an empowered life through climbing. As a former rock climber, when I heard about Anyssa and her work, my curiosity led me to her website where I learned more about her background, and her story was so inspiring that I wanted to invite her on the show. Due to her schedule, we recorded our conversation last week, and I play that ...
Aug 31, 2021•1 hr 37 min•Ep. 187
Jayla Kai grew up in Woodstock, a town synonymous with the pureness of music. It evokes a togetherness where the community has each other’s back and the culture is almost symptomatic of its people (Dylan, Bowie, Van Morrison, Levon Helm). Kai cites a handful of local musicians who have served as key mentors to her. Kieran Hebden (Four Tet), is one of these key mentors who has inspired and encouraged her. Kai's Debut EP, Epitome, is out now following the release of her crunching single Apple Tree...
Aug 24, 2021•1 hr 41 min•Ep. 186
Today I speak with Elizabeth Gross, an herbalist, bodyworker, meditation and yoga instructor, and end-of-life doula based in the Mid Hudson Valley of NY. Her mission through Selkie Medicinals is to provide optimal comfort and care to people experiencing major life transitions related to birth, sex or dying. Her services include prenatal Thai Yoga herbal bodywork, sexual health focused herbal consultations with a specialty in hpv and cervical dysplasia, and end-of-life doula care focused on abort...
Aug 16, 2021•1 hr 48 min•Ep. 185
Back at it for another round of deep thoughts and wild talks with Mariaelena. The second Monday of the month is inspired by the book, Espiritualidad y Politica, which was published 10 years ago, of which Mariaelena was a contributor. She is also the Executive Director of Humanamente — a diversity and inclusion consulting organization, Chair of the Athena Network New York — a psychosocial support network in the area of social services, health, and specifically in mental health, for immigrants exp...
Aug 10, 2021•1 hr 40 min•Ep. 184
Today's guest is the profoundly talented Nina Isabelle . She is a process based artist working with perception, action, language, and phenomena. Her practice is a method to sort and solve the inconsistencies of language, memory, and form, and she makes paintings, drawings, photographs, video, sculpture, sound, performance and writing as inquiry into how sensory perception functions as the impetus for action, reaction, response, and choice making in art and life. Her work has been presented at Th...
Aug 03, 2021•1 hr 44 min•Ep. 183
Today I share my conversation with my niece Eva Mae Widmann. She's 12 years old, doesn't consider herself an expert in any way, but I ask her some questions about how she does the things in life that she enjoys, as well as how she motivates herself to do the things she doesn't enjoy. We cover crafts, cooking, sports, the ukelele and self care. Everyone's got something to share with one another no matter age or status. For me, that's the beauty of today's show. Thanks Eva! Here's Brightside's hac...
Jul 26, 2021•1 hr 27 min•Ep. 182
Juliet Rania is the founder of The Source , a wellness community in Woodstock, New York. She has been an apprentice of Alessandra Belloni for the past two decades in the Southern Italian Black Virgin tradition and the shamanic healing path of the Tarantella. She is a spiritual representative of Shaykha Fariha Fatima of the Jerrahi Sufi lineage and has taught on Sufism at various venues throughout New York at venues including the U.N. General Assembly, Barnard College, Cathedral St. John the Divi...
Jul 19, 2021•1 hr 40 min•Ep. 181
Back at it for another round of deep thoughts and wild talks with Mariaelena and special guest Ulster County Sheriff Juan Figueroa. The second Monday of the month is inspired by the book, Espiritualidad y Politica, which was published 10 years ago, of which Mariaelena was a contributor. She is also the Executive Director of Humanamente — a diversity and inclusion consulting organization, Chair of the Athena Network New York — a psychosocial support network in the area of social services, health,...
Jul 12, 2021•1 hr 40 min•Ep. 180
Following up on my first annual "freedom" themed show , this year, I return to the book, You Are Now Less Dumb , to continue sharing about different cognitive biases we all likely have. Last year I touched on "Narrative Bias" (you are a being capable of logic and reason who falls short of that ideal in predictable ways) and "The Backfire Effect" (when your deepest convictions are challenged by contradictory evidence, your beliefs get stronger). This year I turn to "The No True Scotsman Fallacy" ...
Jul 05, 2021•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 179
Sonita Alizadeh was born in Herat, Afghanistan under the reign of the Taliban regime. Her family walked hundreds of miles to Iran in the rain and snow to escape. She grew up an impoverished, undocumented, refugee street child in Tehran. Without official papers, she could not attend school until a local non-governmental organization offered assistance; they provided a basic education to undocumented, refugee Afghan children. At the age of ten, she was sold into forced marriage, but the contract f...
Jun 29, 2021•1 hr 34 min•Ep. 178
Iya Rev. DeShannon Barnes-Bowens , M.S. (Iyanifa Iwalewa Ifasalewa Fasina), is the founder of ILERA Counseling & Education Services, and works as a psychotherapist, professional development trainer, and spiritual counselor. Through ILERA, she offers workshops and programs focusing on: sexuality and spirituality, sexual abuse, vicarious trauma and wellness. Iya DeShannon received a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Missouri - St. Louis, and a Master’s degree in Counseling...
Jun 21, 2021•1 hr 31 min•Ep. 177
Back at it for another round of deep thoughts and wild talks with Mariaelena. The second Monday of the month is inspired by the book, Espiritualidad y Politica, which was published 10 years ago, of which Mariaelena was a contributor. She is also the Executive Director of Humanamente — a diversity and inclusion consulting organization, Chair of the Athena Network New York — a psychosocial support network in the area of social services, health, and specifically in mental health, for immigrants exp...
Jun 15, 2021•1 hr 44 min•Ep. 176
Shalini Pahwa has 20+ years of leadership experience and is currently the QA & Test Competency Leader for the US Client Innovation Centers at IBM. She manages a team ranging from test managers and automation SMEs (subject matter experts) to brand new associates, delivering full testing services to clients across industries. Shalini Pahwa is passionate about diversity and inclusion initiatives at workplaces and led IBM’s first Neurodiversity program and continues to support it as it expands g...
Jun 08, 2021•1 hr 41 min•Ep. 175
Hello and Happy Memorial Day! Today I spend some time honoring those who've served and set the stage for thinking of a better way of resolving conflict. First part is really stepping into the Chrysalis so that we can re-emerge as something new, a society with a greater balance between the feminine and the masculine, but first I offer some thoughts on the patriarchal nature of war and the military including an analysis of the language used that is unsurprisingly phallic in nature. In honor of the...
May 31, 2021•1 hr 35 min•Ep. 174
Kat Hunt is an artist and mystic who has been working in the the unseen realms for the past decade. She received her Akashic Records training and certifications from Christina Cross, longtime apprentice to Linda Howe. She is a founder of Moon Church, the feminist spiritual collective, and led women’s rejuvenation circles at Bushwick's Otion Front Studio. Before shifting her focus to art and service, Kat worked as a strategist and consultant for big and small companies, including the United Natio...
May 24, 2021•1 hr 44 min•Ep. 173
Ella Ray is a Kingston NY-based performer who completed her debut full-length album, Hum to Your Heart , released in August of 2019. Her self-generated genre blends her background in Eastern European acapella arrangements with the beauty of Cat Power and the heartache of Mazzy Star. Her preternatural voice sings over innovative acoustic chord structure as she details her romantic and sexual trials with painful memories of her past, vocalizing a strength which is tangible in her transformative mu...
May 17, 2021•1 hr 44 min•Ep. 172
It's the second Moonday of the month and that means, the return of Marielena Ferrer-Harrington! She was a contributor to the book Espiritualidad y Politica which was published 10 years ago, and she feels it's time to start revisiting these subjects from today's lens. Mariaelena is the Executive Director of Humanamente — a diversity and inclusion consulting organization, Chair of the Athena Network New York — a psychosocial support network in the area of social services, health, and specifically ...
May 10, 2021•1 hr 39 min•Ep. 171
