Joyce Manalo, founder of Kala Health and Wellness, is a Certified Health Coach who is an advocate for diabetes and mental health awareness. Formerly a Community Health Worker in Dallas, TX, Joyce has an important perspective on health inequities and with the recent Supreme Court's decision related to women's health, some important thoughts on the state of women's health in Texas. Here's her YouTube channel ! Bad news! The radio station's mechanism that records all the content failed halfway thro...
Jul 01, 2022•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 230
Today my guest is JenniferFraser, best-selling author and award-winning educator. Her online courses and workshops provide dynamic lessons in the impact neuroscience has on personal development and culture change. Her previous book, Teaching Bullies: Zero Tolerance on the Court or in the Classroom , explores what happens when the bully is a teacher or coach. Her new book, The Bullied Brain: Heal Your Scars and Restore Your Health , delves into how bullying affects the brain and how the brain can...
Jun 21, 2022•1 hr 49 min•Ep. 229
It's the second Monday of the month and you know what that means, "Spirituality and Politics" with Marielena Ferrer. She's joining us from Scotland today so we hear a bit about her trip and some of what she's observing related to the culture of spirituality and politics on the island of Lewis and Harris. Then we dig into the conversations we've been having and the thoughts we've been thinking related to the 2nd Amendment and gun regulations, and of course we end with a little moon talk consideri...
Jun 14, 2022•1 hr 47 min•Ep. 228
Today I get to speak with three members of the Holistic Health Community, Cornelia Wathen , Diana Seiler , and Alannah Henneberry . Since 2012 HHC has offered Community Holistic Healthcare days at the Marbletown Community Center, 3564 Main Street, Stone Ridge (Route 209), on the third Tuesday of each month, from 4:00–8:00 PM. Then in March 2020 they shifted to offer virtual sessions during the last week of each month. Now that they are back to in person, they continue this virtual offering an on...
Jun 06, 2022•1 hr 47 min•Ep. 227
Sarah Carlson is a health coach who was diagnosed with breast cancer in late 2020. What followed was a deep plunge into her health, genetics, nutrient levels and energetic and mental healing as she figured out the roadmap to wellness, vitality, and resilience that was individualized and informed by her unique genetics. At this point, the deep darkest night of the soul of her cancer journey is passed, and despite being stage 2A at time of her surgery, she just celebrated her one year anniversary ...
May 31, 2022•1 hr 50 min•Ep. 226
New York-based sound healing artist Lisa Marie Darling crafts meditational soundscapes to foster emotional and energetic reconnection. Through a cappella vocalization and experimental, looped melody formation, Lisa creates otherworldly compositions to aid in identifying and unlocking fossilized trauma and grief. To date, she has released three albums—Darling Lullabies (2014), Canciones De Cuna (2017), and Into The Deep (2022). Her latest album presents a guided journey through inner emotional la...
May 23, 2022•1 hr 48 min•Ep. 225
Today I am joined by Melissa Hewitt, Mirabai Trent, and Jenny Wonderling from Circle Creative Collective to talk about their upcoming happening, BLOOM , and their ongoing work to build on their commitment of connecting and inspiring diverse communities by sharing and preserving traditional crafts and skills. BLOOM: the Rebirth invites you to rediscover your dreams and your most joyous and authentic you. Step upon candlelit paths through interactive dreamscapes celebrating wonder and the fullness...
May 17, 2022•1 hr 48 min•Ep. 224
On this month's installment of Politics and Spirituality with Marielena Ferrer we go deep into birth and the many facets of this conversation including; immaculate conception, unwanted pregnancies, and rebirths. Here's the NPR article we referenced, and here's Tanaaz's Full Moon Lunar Eclipse report. Today’s show was engineered by Ian Seda of Radio Kingston . Our show music is from Shana Falana !!! Feel free to email me, say hello: she@iwantwhatshehas.org ** Please: SUBSCRIBE to the pod and leav...
May 10, 2022•1 hr 52 min•Ep. 223
Today I celebrate the life of Kia Abilay. She was a guest on the show September 21, 2021 when she talked about her book, The Gift of Listening: Cultivating Your Connection to Spirit . The part of her story we didn't get into in her interview was how she had been diagnosed with esophageal cancer and what she was doing to heal from it. Kia passed on November 22, 2021 and so today, on her birthday and the day of her Celebration of Life , I read from portions of her book in her honor. Then in the se...
May 03, 2022•1 hr 42 min•Ep. 222
The content of today's show won't be uplifting, at least not most of it, but it's real and necessary information not to be ignored or forgotten. We will be talking about intimate partner violence or domestic violence and abuse so sensitive ears may want to avoid listening. My colleague Mariel Fiori shared this first story with me and covered it on her radio show which is in Spanish, but I'll link to it for those who are able to listen. It's a story about a 17 year old girl, Yesmi Lara, who was s...
Apr 26, 2022•1 hr 47 min•Ep. 221
Today I have the pleasure of speaking with Kaity Altu , Grant Manager, Child Care Connections at Family of Woodstock about the importance of investing in children. The NYS Office of Children and Family Services is offering a new grant opportunity to help open new child care programs in our region! The INVEST IN NEW YORK CHILD CARE DESERTS GRANT hopes to address child care deserts across our state by offering $100 million in funding to help build child care in the areas of New York with the least...
Apr 19, 2022•1 hr 37 min•Ep. 220
Back at it for another round of deep thoughts and wild talks with Mariaelena Ferrer. The second Monday of the month is inspired by the book, Espiritualidad y Politica, which was published 11 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 immigra...
Apr 12, 2022•1 hr 48 min•Ep. 219
Today's show is dedicated to Sexual Assault Awareness Month and an exploration of toxic masculinity. Inspired by the anger displayed at the Oscars and the Grammy awarded to Louis CK, I dig into some questions I have about the source of this behavior and the ways we can work together to prevent it. I share the following talks and words from others who've spoken on these subjects including lots of my own thoughts. Would love to hear yours. Tony Porter 's (A Call to Men) Ted Talk about the "Man Box...
Apr 05, 2022•1 hr 51 min•Ep. 218
Today, I approach the subject of abortion with a (somewhat) open mind. I appreciate the fact that this is a divisive topic, and my hope is to relieve some of the pressure on the subject so that we can address the practical issues that are related to reproductive care. As someone who believes that it should a person's choice whether or not they have a child, I am committed to taking action to maintain that choice, but I am open to listening to and understanding other's opinions. So in my attempt ...
Mar 29, 2022•1 hr 53 min•Ep. 217
Happy SPRING! Today it's me, some music, and talk of Spring vibes and Spring Cleaning. Here are the links to the Forever Conscious Spring Equinox and Aries Season readings. This episode was inspired by and based off of the spring cleaning tips and inspiration from NPR and The New Yorker . For those of you near Ulster County, you can take your electronics to the Ulster County Resource Recovery Center . They also link to the Repair Cafe and their upcoming community Spring Rummage Sale. Here's an o...
Mar 21, 2022•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 216
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...
Mar 15, 2022•1 hr 51 min•Ep. 215
Tara Sanders is currently the Director of Community Outreach and Public Relations at YWCA Ulster County . Long before that, she came to her yoga mat to explore and heal. Having a strong commitment to serving the community and advocating for underserved populations, she has taught students at a mental health advocacy agency, homeless youth, and developed a therapeutic yoga & mindfulness program for a domestic violence shelter in Upstate NY. Since 2017 she has been working with the Ulster Coun...
Mar 08, 2022•1 hr 45 min•Ep. 214
Caron Grossman is a Registered Nurse and Certified Transitional Life Coach. She has worked extensively with families, patients and health care providers in organ donation, critical care, health coaching and addiction. She has spent a great deal of time working with people in grief, end of life and other complex life transitions and living losses. Caron is an inspirational speaker who offers different perspectives on grief. Topics have ranged from Self Care for Healthcare Providers when Experienc...
Mar 01, 2022•1 hr 34 min•Ep. 213
Today I welcome Suz Slezak , mother and musician, to the show. For Suz harmonizing with another human being is a sacred act of sharing breath. This lifelong love of harmony is how she, as if by accident, fell into music as a career. Suz grew up TV-free on her family’s Virginia homestead, in an endless loop of fiddle-playing and singing led by her father, a Catholic seminary dropout, as she, her brothers and a gaggle of fellow homeschoolers traversed gravel roads in their beat-up station wagon en...
Feb 22, 2022•1 hr 49 min•Ep. 212
It's the second Mo(o)nday of the month which means Marielena Ferrer returns for another talk about Spirituality and Politics, the Valentine's Day edition. We stumble through the messy history of the day and talk about how we feel about it, debate a bit about how to handle the day if you don't have/want a romantic partner which brings us back to ways of celebrating the day, self-love, Galentine's, etc. regardless of your dating status. I then perform my annual ceremony to commit to oneself which ...
Feb 15, 2022•1 hr 48 min•Ep. 211
Inspired by an article written by today's guest, Aileen Weintraub, I begin the show reading " When Doctor's Downplay Women's Health Concerns " from the NY Times, and then on the live show we listen to Jennifer Brea's Ted Talk . You podcast folks can check out the <- link to her show or listen to the radio archive . Jennifer Brea was a PhD student at Harvard when, one night, she found she couldn't write her own name. Over the following months, while doctors insisted her condition was psychosom...
Feb 08, 2022•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 210
Happy New Moon, Lunar New Year, Imbolc and Black History Month! Today I am honored to welcome The Poet Gold , Artivist, Poet, Author, Teaching Artist and Radio Host, and Suprina , Sculpturist and Artivist. They are collaborators and the Executive Producers of the video " Say Their Names ," premiering February 1st at 7pm eastern. (Poet Gold and Suprina's interview starts around minute 36) Like so many Americans The Poet Gold @_poetgold_ and Suprina @suprinasculpture struggled to understand the in...
Jan 31, 2022•1 hr 41 min•Ep. 209
WELCOME TO SEASON 5!!!!! Today I have the privilege of speaking with Inno Powell, Founder of Abundance Farms. “Their mission is to get fresh organic produce into the homes of BIPOC families in and out of Ulster County, NY. There are so many people living in places where food apartheid plays a big part in our communities and we aren't even aware of it. We started growing out of public and private spaces in Kingston, NY for our first two seasons. By the end of the second season, we had reached abo...
Jan 25, 2022•1 hr 51 min•Ep. 208
It's a Full Moon and so we're doing a little Full Moon Release and Ritual on today's show. I share from the Forever Conscious Full Moon report and a little from Cory Nakasue's show, The Cosmic Dispatch . Then you can move your body for some physical release with a little (mostly) 80's dance party. Here's a link to the Playlist for today's show, or feel free to use your own inspiring music! This is followed by some reflecting and journaling, working with Kim Kran's Archetypes , The Tear, The Hear...
Jan 17, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 207
It's the return of our monthly conversation about Spirituality and Politics with Marielena Ferrer. Today we take inspiration from an episode of the Dan Harris Podcast 10% Happier about How You Help End Polarization and Inequality and Get Happier Too. It features Robert Putnam and Shaylan Romney Garrett who wrote the book, The Upswing: How America Came Together a Century Ago and How We Can Do It Again . Without having read the book, we discuss different elements mentioned on the podcast about the...
Jan 11, 2022•1 hr 52 min•Ep. 206
Nancy Graham serves on the board of Mohonk Consultations and the arts council of The Lace Mill, where they live in Midtown Kingston. They have worked or volunteered for numerous nonprofits related to social justice, alternative media, theatre, film, and writing. Poet/writer/visual artist under the name Nancy O. Graham; actor under the name Noa Graham. Her most recent theatre project was Orchid Receipt Service , starring Asia Kate Dillon, at Theater MITU580 in Brooklyn, pre-pandemic. Most recent ...
Jan 04, 2022•1 hr 50 min•Ep. 205
It's the return of Sari Botton and Carolita Johnson who were last guests on the same show back in April 2018 ! Sari Botton is a writer, editor and teacher living in Kingston, NY. She is the editor of the award-winning anthology Goodbye to All That: Writers on Loving and Leaving NY and its New York Times-Bestselling follow-up, Never Can Say Goodbye: Writers on Their Unshakable Love for NY. Sari publishes three newsletters: her newest endeavor Oldster Magazine , as well as Adventures in "Journalis...
Dec 28, 2021•1 hr 51 min•Ep. 204
Today I start out the show talking about Fair Pay for Home Care and the work of the Caring Majority Rising . They do such important work to raise awareness of the unfair labor practices for home care workers and also the impact the shortage of these workers has on those who need the care. There's a big push here in NY State to increase their wages amongst other initiatives, and I am asking you to help support them! Here's the latest and greatest for ways you can get involved! Call Governor Hochu...
Dec 21, 2021•1 hr 53 min•Ep. 203
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...
Dec 13, 2021•1 hr 48 min•Ep. 202
On today's show I share my very real conversation with Isis Benitez, a 22 year old woman who is struggling with loving her body for how it looks. She has struggled time and time again with thinking that she is “fat” (a term she uses). Benitez’s biggest struggle is when she tries to love herself so much but thinks her stomach is the problem. She sees herself as being a big girl, and therefore she made the Instagram account called @_im.worthy_ to help her in this process. She wants to be able to b...
Dec 08, 2021•1 hr 37 min•Ep. 201
