#65: Exploring The Heart of the Labyrinth with Nicole Schwab

In this show, we talk with Nicole about her book ‘The Heart of the Labyrinth’ about a woman who takes a journey to rediscover her lost connection with Mother Earth and the sacred feminine. We find it what motivated her to write the book, how she created the conditions in which it could be written and the impact she hopes the book will have on those who read it.

Nicole is author of The Heart of the Labyrinth, an evocative spiritual parable, which gives voice to her engagement on behalf of a world that values and honors the sacred feminine and is rooted in our connection to the Earth as a living being. Facilitator and social entrepreneur, Nicole co-founded a number of non-profit organizations active in the environmental and gender fields, including EDGE Certified Foundation, a global label certifying organizations for closing the gender gap in the workplace. Nicole blogs on the nature of reality and is on the Advisory Boards of Treesisters and The WellBeing Project.

Find out more about Nicole and her work

Website: www.nicoleschwab.com

Get the book on Amazon: www.amazon.com/Heart-Labyrinth-Nicole-Schwab/dp/1910559008

Facebook: NicoleSchwabAuthor

#60: Seasonal living and self-care with Madeleine Forbes

https://soundcloud.com/change-making-women/60-seasonal-living-and-self-care-with-madeleine-forbes

This week Ziada and Mary Ann talk with Madeleine Forbes one of Mary Ann’s collaborators in www.jijaze.com about her life in Portugal, her own project www.theseasonedyear.com and why she believes that leaving seasonally is a choice that can sustain and nourish us all.

Madeleine Forbes is a writer and content creator who loves finding the right words and conveying powerful messages clearly and effectively. Four years ago she moved from the UK to Portugal four years ago to try to live a lower impact, more sustainable life on a little off-grid smallholding. It’s a work in progress, but she loves the challenge this brings. She now balances farm life with her business as a freelance copywriter helping small online businesses grow their impact through their writing. As you’ll hear in the show she also runs a website called The Seasoned Year all about slowing down and connecting to the seasons to help us live saner, more sustainable lives.

Connect with Madeleine and her work:

The Seasoned Year: www.theseasonedyear.com

Work with Madeleine: www.madeleineforbes.com

#50: Sex After Trauma (& why it makes a difference) with Rachael Maddox

This week Ziada and Mary Ann talk with Rachael Maddox a trauma resolution educator, coach and guide about how she supports people to heal from sexual trauma in their lives, the new book she is currently writing and raising funding for and why healing our trauma is such important work in the world right now.

Rachael Maddox is a trauma resolution educator, coach and guide who’s helped hundreds of women and men resolve their sexual trauma and reclaim their pleasure, power and wholeness.

In her first book, SECRET BAD GIRL, Rachael tells the story of her return to wildness, sensuality, health and embodied safety after a decade living under the trauma spell.

Her next book, SEX AFTER TRAUMA, publishes fall 2018, and is written to help people navigate life between the sheets after they’ve been through the worst of it.

On a fierce mission to help as many women as possible who’ve experienced trauma, Rachael offers one-on-one support, groups, articles and courses for women who are ready to dance hard with life.

Connect with Rachael

Her Website: rachaelmaddox.com

Crowdfunder for her new book which we discuss in the show Sex After Trauma: bit.ly/sexaftertraumabook

Instagram: @rachaelmaddox

Facebook: facebook.com/rachaelmaddoxcoaching

#49: Shadow Work – Creating Change from the inside out with Liz Remande-Guyard

This week Ziada talks to Liz Remande-Guyard and Mary Ann about their work as Shadow Work Coaches and Liz’s work as a Shadow Work Facilitator. We explore what Shadow Work is, why they have found it helpful in their own lives and what you might experience if you decide to give it a try!

Liz Remande-Guyard is a certified one-to-one Shadow work coach and certified group facilitator working in Brighton, UK. She works in English and French.

Having always been interested in what our bodies hold of our personal history, Liz originally started by studying and practising Dance Movement Therapy: a way to use movement to access trauma held in our body, and to find ways to release it.

She has been working in the field of personal development for the last 20 years, supporting at-risk and very challenging young people, managing year-long therapeutic programmes with them, including training their mentors and holding group sessions. Liz then founded and was a director of her own training consultancy for 10 years, delivering training courses in the field of youth and community for both young people and youth professionals. She has extensive skills in coaching, supervision and training trainers and a long standing experience in holding both groups and individuals in a very safe way.

Through Shadow Work, Liz is now working deeper with what has always been her passion and belief: supporting people on their journey to heal deeply buried wounds from the past. She knows, from her own path, how powerful this can be. In the Shadow Work approach she has found the most shame free, non-judgemental and most accepting medium, where some of the most complex, embarrassing and difficult issues can be explored and more wholeness can be found.

She has 3 children, and has experienced how transformative Shadow Work can be in supporting us to break the cycle of patterns inherited from our own parents, and have more of a chance to be the parents we want to be.

As well as being the Co-host of the Podcast and Director of Jijaze Mary Ann is also a certified one-to-one Shadow Work Coach working in both English and KiSwahili in London and virtually.

Both Liz and Mary Ann, as well as other Coaches and Facilitators can be contacted via www.shadowwork.eu

Find out more about Shadow Work: www.shadowwork.eu

#34: Getting in touch with how we feel in our bodies (and much much more) with Janelle Hardy

This week we talk to Janelle Hardy about the importance of our life stories, how getting in touch with how we feel in our bodies can help us transform our lives and the lessons she has learnt as an apprentice carpenter.

Janelle teaches memoir-writing as transformational work – awakening creativity through creative writing, embodiment prompts and exploration through fairytales. She is an artist in the ways she finds solace, discovery and truth are through her writing, dance and painting. A severe case of curiosity and wanderlust drives her and her insatiable urge to create motivates her. Raising a child on her own grounds her. Most of all, she is seeking answers for the unknown – the mysteries of the unknowable and that spurs on her explorations. Creative expression, in all it’s forms, keeps her clear and helps her to share what she does do, it is her driving force.
She says that life bursts her heart each day.

Connect with and find out more about Janelle and her work:

Website: www.janellehardy.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/janellehardybodylove/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janellehardy/

Instagram:@janellehardyart 

An article about what Janelle has learnt from being an apprentice carpenter that we discuss during the show: http://www.janellehardy.com/building-a-house-becoming-whole/

#26: Processing trauma with Gwynn Raimondi

This week Mary Ann talks to Gwynn Raimondi, a an electrical engineer turned therapist about trauma and how we process it. Gwynn shares how she works not only with her clients own lived experiences of trauma but also both cultural and intergenerational trauma and we discuss why this kind of work is so closely connected to our desire for Social Justice

Gwynn Raimondi, MA, LMFTA is a licensed marriage and family therapist associate in the state of Washington. She specialises in processing trauma (specific traumatic acute or chronic experiences, intergenerational trauma, and cultural relational trauma) and grief with women (CIS, Transgender, AFAB non-binary and gender queer) in small groups, both in-person and online, as well as individually. She writes about how the individual and collective, self and social, and personal and political are related and interconnected on her blog as well as on Facebook. She is also a homeschooling mom of two, has the mouth of a drunken sailor, and enjoys burning down our patriarchal culture every way she can.

Contact Gwynn:
Website: http://gwynnraimondi.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gwynn.raimondi
https://www.facebook.com/GwynnRaimondiMA
Instagram @gwynnraimondi
Twitter @gwynnraimondi
YouTube Chanel

#25: Listening and storytelling with Elinor Predota

In this podcast we talk to Elinor Predota about story telling, being a pagan and why listening matters so much when you want to both tell stories and work for social justice.

Elinor is a storyteller, singer, Priestess, Interfaith Minister, thinker, activist and artist. She’s also a spoonie, a Marxist and intersectional feminist, a mystic, a Witch, a geek, and an out and proud, queer bisexual dyke.

She lives in the hills of southern Scotland with her partner and their big, fluffy dog, Mischa. Much of the time, she can be found knitting or crocheting, watching Star Trek or My Little Pony, baking gluten free goodies, singing to the land and its spirits, and cuddling with her pack.

She is constantly fascinated by uncovering what is, and discovering and creating what could be. Her work with others involves the creation and telling of stories; one to one work; retreats, classes and workshops; and the magic of ritual and ceremony.

All of what Elinor does is rooted in the practice of deep presence and listening, creating a welcoming space in which all feelings, all perspectives, all identities, all responses and reactions — whether expected or unexpected, pleasant or challenging — may find a home, and where experiences and lives may be transformed. This is her small contribution to the liberation of all beings.

Connect with Elinor
Website: http://elinorpredota.com/
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/PriestessElinor

#20: Peaceful Parenting: A conversation with Julika von Stackelberg-Addo

This week we talk to Julika von Stackelberg , a parenting educator based in New York working with the Cornell Co-operative Extension about how she discovered the peaceful parenting approach that she now promotes, what it entails, how it has challenged her and the  parents she works with and why she thinks that changing our approach to parenting could, in the long run, change the world.

Julika von Stackelberg-Addo is a Parenting & Family Life Educator at Cornell Cooperative Extension. She has an international background and has worked with parents one-on-one, in groups and as a workshop leader, teaching parenting skills and helping families integrate their unique values into their lives.

Julika’s background also includes raising funds and awareness to help end violence against women. She lives in New York, USA with her husband and their three children ages 11, 9 and 5. She loves books (mostly audio), binges on podcasts, loves the outdoors and hopes to run a Ragnar Race one day.

Best way to reach here is via email jv426@cornell.edu

Follow Julika on Facebook where she shares lots of useful resources about parenting peacefully:

Or Find her on Instagram

Here are some links to some of her favorite podcasts about parenting:

http://www.joyfulcourage.com/podcast/

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/leadingedgeparenting (it’s an “older” one, but has excellent content)

Parenting Books Julika recommends:

The Conscious Parent by Dr. Shefali Tsabary – general parenting approach

Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids by Dr. Laura Markham – general parenting approach, great for parents of young children. This author also has a great blog http://www.ahaparenting.com/peaceful-parent-happy-kids

Any book by Dr. Dan Siegel http://www.drdansiegel.com/books_and_more/ Parents of kids of all ages

Queen Bees and Wannabees by Rosalin Wisman – excellent book on understanding ‘girl world’ and helping girls navigate the tween and teen years

#13: Music & Change: An interview with Eleanor Brown

On this episode of Change Making Women we interview Eleanor Brown, the singer and songwriter who both wrote and performed our theme song.

TOPICS WE DISCUSS IN THIS EPISODE

    • How Eleanor got started writing music at a young age
    • Where she draws her song writing inspiration from
    • The link between personal transformation and making a difference in the world
    • Eleanors passion for connection to and the protection of the natural world
    • We also get an amazing LIVE performance of Eleanor’s song ‘A Call to Stand’

Some Quotes from the show:

‘If we stand for ourselves and make changes in ourselves then thats really the only authentic way that we can make change in the world’
‘We can’t make a difference in the world unless we are giving from a place of fullness in ourselves’
‘The songs are putting voice, or a form, to a process that people are going through’

‘This theme of transformation is very prevalent in many of my songs’

Connect with Eleanor:

Support Eleanor who is Crowdfunding for her next album: https://igg.me/at/eleanorbrownmusic

#8: Red Tents and other Womens’ Circles – A conversation with Aisha Hannibal

TOPICS WE DISCUSS IN THIS EPISODE

  • Mary Ann talks to Aisha Hannibal about their work together establishing the Red Tent Directory and how it has organically grown and now lists almost 100 Red Tent Circles for women across Europe.
  • What’s special about red tents and other women’s circles?
  • They talk about what they have learnt in the process about sustainable growth and leadership,
  • What is important to them about attending Red Tents and other women’s circles
  • How Red Tents and circles differ from other forms of women group.

Some quotes from the show:

‘When people say how are you? we rarely answer honestly.’

‘We often don’t know how we really are until we slow down’

‘We sensed there was a need for the directory and that got validated in the process’

‘Whenever I find something that I really enjoy my next thought is, everyone should have this’

‘We started off with five listings and I remember thinking oh blimey we have only got a few and we are going to have to launch with what we have got..we just kind of went with it’

‘We didn’t have a clear plan or targets set but the whole point was I thought people will find us’

‘Actually it’s this network of women coming together all over the world’

‘We’ve tried to work as much we can in a way that reflects the concept of red tents so to not to completely wind ourselves up and exhaust ourselves with all the things we have got to do on the Red Tent Directory but to be very mindful of how much time we have got to put into this, it’s a voluntary project, and not the main thing that any of us do and do it in a way that is about staying connected to yourself, giving yourself time to rest, giving yourself time to stay connected to what your own needs are and then also to the needs of women around you, that’s been a really interesting journey for me.’

‘I think it’s looking at female leadership and saying, can we do it in a way that doesn’t lead to burnout?’

‘We are a vehicle with lots of happy people on the vehicle waving flags and and throwing flowers out’

‘I love that red tents can happen anywhere and that anyone can start one’

‘The toolkit is really about saying, yes you!’

‘We are giving voice to that way of being, that women can be a real force of support and encouragement for each other. I wanna see that voice more in the world and in the media which is where we see this cat fighting and other view of women’

‘There is something quite counter cultural about it even though red tents can be quite simple’

‘There’s is something quite counter cultural about really allowing it to be a meeting of women that’s not any of those kinds of judgemental or commitment kinds of interaction and really being clear about that and having a really clear structure that every women gets to share for a specific period of time. We are not interrupting or giving our take on it or any of the things that we might normally do that we might do in our work places and familial or in our everyday lives’

‘Just in that simple act of sharing and letting it be what it is. It’s like switching on a different way of being, it’s ok for her to be her and you to be you and to support each other in that’

‘It sounds simple and yet it’s a real call out to a different way of being I think’

‘You also realise that you’re not alone in this’

‘What would be different in the world if there was more of this kind of space?’

‘I’ve learnt how to communicate better because actually listening is a real skill that I think a lot of people could do with having an opportunity to practice a bit more’

‘When you really listen and you’re not thinking about what you have to say you can really just sit back there and I think empathy comes from a place where you have compassion for another person and whatever they’re saying you can hear it and you have a sense of what that might be like for them and for me the more empathy we have, women are 51% of the world you know the more empathy that we can share with each other about what’s happened, what people are experiencing on a day to day basis you know I think that fosters peace you know the compassion that can come from really listening is really powerful’

‘I think of this work as a critical component of how we change things in the world. There is something about women coming together in ways that we’ve not being doing because our culture has pushed us away from each other that feels like a little seed of something and it feels like the ripple effects of that can make a difference not just for the women that show up but the people around them, their families, the other women they know.’

‘I feel like there is something really transformative about this simple act, that is more than it appears’

‘If you are a change maker in the world, we need to make sure that we rest and take time to do that and time to be quiet and I think that red tents really offer that’

‘For change to be sustainable and long lasting radical self care is essential’

More information about Red Tents:

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