Humans Dealing with Humans

Portia felt like her life was pretty normal, until it took a sharp turn in a very difficult direction when she went to prison on a real estate charge. While there she felt, well, imprisoned. But not just physically. She knew there was a way to free herself, mentally and emotionally, but she didn't know how. One day a courageous soul in Portia's treatment program shared a shockingly honest moral inventory with the group and Portia knew it was her way out. Turns out owning your past is the key to unlocking your future, but it's way easier said than done.

Two of our listeners who answered the social media call about hobbies had side hustles involving goats, yet had zero overlap in the services they provided. Who knew there were so many business possibilities with goat services?

Chad the veterinarian returns to the show, this time to tell us about his brand new side hustle, dog breeding. Being a vet already, Chad is uniquely qualified to perform all the procedures of breeding, which makes for some extremely interesting--and sometimes awkward--situations. This episode contains anatomical terminology and content that may be considered inappropriate for children.

Meet Linda, a 57 year old art teacher, and maker of things. She dreamed of a backyard farm in the suburbs, so she just went ahead and made it happen. Now Linda's life is full of alpacas, sheep, goats, shearing days, and spinning wheels. Learning all the stuff was a big job, but fuzzy hats, sweaters, and snuggles are completely worth it.

In the last of our Women Empowering Women series, we get to talk with Mariah. Mariah is a therapist specializing in women's mental health, and though her life hasn't turned out the way she'd hoped or planned, her understanding of resilience, flexibility, grief, loss and shared experience makes her a VALUABLE asset for women needing professional help in their mental health.

Humans have interests, passions, and pursuits as wide and varied as the humans themselves. Allow us to introduce Dave, a guy who's dedicated some serious time to interviewing people who have had Bigfoot encounters. Dave has spent time collecting stories, comparing similarities, and putting together entertaining and educational shows for his local communities, in order to give people an outlet to share and learn about these elusive creatures that are the stuff of human legend.

If you've never heard that a menstrual cycle can be a powerful tool to maximize a woman's natural capacity for getting stuff done, you're not alone. Most of us are told it's just a gross and inconvenient thing women have to get through, preferably quietly. Meredith Ashton Cohen, a certified holistic doula and menstrual expert, educates us on the better news: There's way more to the period than something to endure, and by supporting a woman's natural capacities in each stage of her cycle, it can be something we all benefit from. 

We all have unique gifts and talents. But what happens when our gifts are so unique they're misunderstood by others? How do we give ourselves permission to share our gifts when our gifts are met with suspicion? Welcome to Errin's world. She's had to deal with disbelief, suspicion, and flat-out rejection because of her talents, and, like the rest of us, learning to trust herself doesn't always come easy.

It's women's history month, AND international women's day. We're gonna take a few episodes to feature stories of Women Empowering Women. This week's guest is Janice. Like all humans, Janice has had trauma in her life she's had to face and overcome. What makes Janice so remarkable, though, is how she's turned that overcoming into a platform to help others, in an industry many would say is anti-feminist. Janice is living proof that lifting and empowering others can be done anywhere, and even if someone else sees it differently, your purpose doesn't need to carry one ounce of controversy.

We all experience friction in our relationships at home, at work, in our social circles. And SOMETIMES that friction shows up in patterns, returning over and over in similar ways. We find ourselves facing the same types of problems with different faces and different scenarios. We may not necessarily want to look too deeply at that, because in all those friction patterns, we're the constant in a sea of variables, so what would that mean about us? It means we're part of the problem. One of the biggest issues is the running narrative we're telling ourselves about the world and others in it. If we're playing out a storyline that isn't serving us, our deep-rooted-and-often-unhelpful beliefs about ourselves and others drive our emotions, thought-patterns, and behaviors in every single interaction. This week we welcome back Dr. Alli Mangrum as she points out the unhelpful stories we sometimes tell ourselves, and gives us ideas and tools to better let go of them. Enjoy!

Sheralyn was feeling pretty good--pretty settled. She had a great job, great house, great dog. So why would she leave for an undetermined amount of time on a completely undetermined route? No plan. Turns out, giving herself these walkabouts gave her more than just a few cool roadtrip stories. It gave her the time to build trust in her own intuition. And don't worry, she took the dog.

Welcome to our Valentine's episode! Buckle up: episode might feel UNCOMFY. Romantic love is not for the faint of heart. When you're talking about building a life together, we've got to understand each other--and ourselves-- DEEP to really make that work in a healthy way....which may come only after years of trying to make it work in unhealthy ways. Or maybe it's just me.

A college counselor tells Corinne the best she can hope for out of her University time is an MRS degree. Battling the insecurity and discouragement Corinne makes an astounding declaration: why should that idiot decide what I get to do in my life? Following both her heart and her mind, Corinne learned to navigate the muddy waters of pursuing your dreams while navigating relationships that allow the achievement of those dreams. Her unconventional outlook and methods of pursuit led her to orthodontics, becoming a naval officer, and competing all over the world as a pageant queen.

It's Love Month! Love can motivate us to make seriously grand gestures. What would we do for love? WHAT WOULDN'T WE?? This week our guest is Elizabeth, a mother determined to make her daughter's dream--of having a merbaby--a reality. In treading that path, Elizabeth explores the unhelpful realm of home hair dye kits, the serious business of Doll Hospitals, and accidentally becomes embroiled in an international drug smuggling operation, all to make the wishes of a child come true. Love knows NO bounds.

Fay started as a comfortable stay-at-home-mom, went to school to become a nurse, ran her husband's company for several years, then went back to school again to become a licensed therapist. She reinvented her occupation three times during a time of life when most people would say, not only is it not necessary, It's also too late. But Fay listened to the inside voice. The one that said, there's more to do. Despite starting her last career change at almost 50, Fay went on to have a successful and decades-long private practice that contributed to the health and well-being of countless people, and served her EXACTLY when she needed it to. 

This week we hear more from Kevin. Before he ever faced the Vietnam war he faced loss on many levels. He and his twin sister were taken from their poor-but-loving family home in Greece and given away by the Greek government for adoption into the U.S., unbeknownst to his birth parents. Here they were adopted by a cruel and abusive man and raised to believe nobody wanted them. Later, Kevin reconnected with his Greek family in some miraculous ways that taught him love can be learned, healing is worth it, and it's never too late to feel like you belong.

In the second of 2021's Captain of My Soul series we meet Kevin. Trying to avoid going to Vietnam led Kevin straight to the shores of the war he hoped to evade. Then, a one in a billion shot injured him and ended the two career paths he'd ever pursued. It also led him to a surprising career path that made him explore parts of himself he never knew existed.

True control in one's life comes from understanding just what it is we ACTUALLY control. Meet Kimberlee and Alisha, two women who've gone through the wringer enough to know that control is meant for yourself only, and life's challenges can bring a whole lot of clarity. Kimberlee and Alisha host the podcast The Clarity Call, and have created a supportive community for parents of special needs children, or anyone who wants help balancing really heavy loads and their own well-being. Check them out wherever you listen to podcasts!

We're closing out Season 5 with our 100th episode! We caught up with several guests from previous seasons to get updates on where they are now and how things have gone for them since their interviews. Big thanks to all our guests, contributors, and listeners for making this show so rich and fascinating.

 Alli Mangrum, of Living Consciously, comes back to talk anxiety, emotional health, and resilience. She's got some great tools that can be put to use immediately, and some ways to bring yourself back from the worries of the future to what you can control, right here, right now.

Our listeners weigh in on things they're grateful for during a difficult year like 2020....they're even grateful for the difficulties of  2020.

We humans can spend an awful lot of time and energy trying to avoid hard things. But sometimes, we can't. Meet Serene, one mom who learned that having a child be "ok" did not necessarily mean she'd be spared the hard stuff to get there.

Lucas had an unusual New Year's resolution--make a music video. Trellany took the dream one step further, and made a wish when they finished the video: that the artist who's song they'd spoofed would see the video somehow, some way. Sometimes our weirdest goals open the coolest doors. And sometimes our wishes are granted.

SO, the story we had scheduled for this week was somehow DELETED from existence.....as if the interview had never occurred. I have no explanation for this except that I must have fallen victim to some mischievous sorcery. Then I remembered: I was cursed once by a dude who followed my friend and I home in Amsterdam. So, here's that story instead of the one he maybe stole with his curse.

Happy Halloween! This week our guests, Errin, Annie, Brandan, accompany Rachel on another ghost hunt in Denver. They visit 4 old buildings, follow clues, and unravel a mystery that helps not one, but two spirits trapped in a toxic cycle neither could get out of.

Another trip to Denver with not one, but three mediums. This week covers a haunted old building with kids, a creepy doctor's office, a territorial woman ghost and a skinny, spooky specter in a basement. Also, you get to meet Brandan, the Messenger Medium.

An upside-down Christmas tree used as a lamp, a bowl of dead skin in a sauna, estate sale walk-throughs and more. Just for funsies, an interview with Carlye, our realtor, discussing the wild ride that was our house hunt.

In the second installment of the Big Ask journey, we hear the conclusion of the Moving Miracle. Plot twists, difficult conversations, mistakes, and heartfelt resolutions make this one of my favorite stories and best experiences to date. Enjoy!

The first of a series of episodes telling the story of the "moving" part of my Big Ask miracle.  Hear where we ended up, and how we ended up there. Our Guest is our dear friend Rachel, who, oddly, turned out to be involved in some unexpected ways. 

Our guest, Ella, confesses to rigging the homecoming election in high school, which was technically wrong, and very against the rules, but was done with the greatest of intentions.

September is Suicide Awareness month. Our Guest, Jessie, has a unique story about a near miss with her sister. Through a timely intervention, Jessie was able to care for and protect her sister, and learn some things about her own self care along the way. If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal ideation, please reach out to someone today.

Our guest, Rebecca, tells of a time in Turkey where the Turkish massage her travel book bragged about was, in reality, nothing like what was described. 

Jaron and Graham do some exploring near their very own city only to have everything go wrong. Somehow they manage to stumble on several hidden gems, and find kindness in a very unexpected place.

Sometimes you only get to visit a country while you're traveling, but these two women got to experience different cultures on a deeper and more intimate level. The unexpected experiences they had might make you want to have your own immersive travel adventure. Enjoy!

This month kicks off Season 5 with travel-related stories! Our guest this week, Justin,  experienced one of the scariest things anyone can experience while traveling. A surgical procedure in a very sensitive area...in a third world country. Enjoy!

Unexpected and major changes occur in all our lives. Our Guest, Bob, talks about the time one big shift happened for him. It was painful. It was embarrassing. It also ended up sparing his life.

Coincidental involvement in a police chase, two stolen MP jeeps, and impersonating an umpire in a high-visibility military training exercise. Unbelievable stories come out when Rachel's friends answer the request: Tell me something about yourself that sounds made up, but is 100% true .

More from Rachel's friends around the country. Kate, a professional hustler with several jobs finds herself completely professionally undone in a matter of twelve hours. Benny is able to evacuate Manhattan, but not before witnessing the city more desolate than it's ever been.

Rachel calls a couple friends to see how they're dealing with the pandemic in their corners of the world. Jes on Kauai experiences a complete tourism shut down, and Lieke in the Netherlands dealt with a major outbreak near her town and casual social distancing that didn't help their small country keep much distance at all.

Meet Ally. Once upon a time she suffered from such debilitating levels of anxiety it overcame her physically. When she finally succumbed to it, a fascinating thing happened: she found peace in learning what she could and couldn't control. She researched, learned and trained and became an energy therapist and meditation coach. Her insights and techniques have helped many humans over the years, and are especially relevant in our current world situation. Find her at Living Consciously on Facebook and Instagram and feel free to replay this episode as many times as you need to get a handle on handling your own anxiety, whatever level it may be :-) 

There's a lot of uncertainty and big changes in the world right now. Leave it all behind for a sec. What would you do if you could have one perfect day? Our guests, TC and Laurel tell of the perfect days of their pasts. One was a surprise getaway for a day with loved ones. One was a peaceful day alone exploring a charming island town, complete with the coolest ending ever. What would a perfect day look like for you?

Experience is the very best teacher. Enjoy some of our listener's best life lessons, as well as two stories from our guest, Crystal.

Think it's impossible to have a baby without knowing you were pregnant in the first place? Our guest, Mayat, tells the story of her cryptic pregnancy, and answers all my HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN questions.

Mariah, a therapist from 4healingcenter.org, talks mental health: trauma, anxiety, even simple emotional discomfort. She gives practical tools and advice and invites anyone to come try one of the many therapy options to make life healthier for all.

It's a presidential election year and thoughts, opinions, and feelings about candidates and the state of our nation are everywhere. Presidents affect us all differently. Here's a look at which presidents have impacted our guests, and why.

Words can be very romantic: A sassy and heartfelt proposal acceptance. A passionate long-distance profession of love, and a surprisingly scandalous family love story found in 100 year old letters in a safe. Our letters tell a lot about us, and that which we hold most dear.

Actions speak, especially when what we're saying without words is, "I love you." Hear how two different husbands and a whole lot of people from our social media thread showed their love, without saying much at all.

Chelsie, A victim of domestic abuse and brain cancer survivor, has had to walk a very difficult path. This single mother, left with almost nothing, builds a life of safety for herself and her children, and learned there are always people in your corner, and humans can do amazingly hard things.

Author Trent Reedy tells about his journey to becoming the thing he's always wanted to be: a professional writer. His journey included embracing supposed setbacks, believing in your dream even when no one else does, and accepting the tedium, hard work, and rollercoaster of emotions it takes to really live his dreams.

Meet Crystal, a mother who went from perpetual people-pleasing to intuitive parenting. Through some tough situations with a very special daughter, Crystal learned that giving her authentic self as a mother required the sacrifice of worrying how other people felt about how she handled her children.

in the first of our  Season 4 Captain of My Soul stories, a sexual abuse victim faces the pain of the past when her childhood home burns down. Author and victim advocate, Wendy Jessen, tells us the truth about what it takes to heal.