Next Stop...Isolation Station!

Rabbi Elyse Goldstein leads City Shul - a progressive Reform Synagogue in downtown Toronto -  and honours Isolation Station with a visit and a chat!  Rabbi Goldstein is an absolute dynamo - she's an educator, a public speaker, an activist, and a prolific writer...and has a lot to say on the topic of keeping your perspective during challenging times like we are currently experiencing!  We talk a lot about community, and gratitude, and resilience, and paying it forward, and how at the core of her perspective stands the powerful saying,  This Too Shall Pass.  Check out Rabbi Goldstein and City Shul at their website, cityshul.com!  Enjoy!

Celebrated chanteuse, Julie Michels, stops by the Station and shares her upbeat Covid-era perspective while delighting us with stories from her fascinating life as a world-class jazz singer!  Julie chats with J. Sean about a cornucopia of topics - from wanting to be an astronaut as a girl to being an AIDS-era counsellor in a hospital; from singing on a mountaintop with a First Nation shaman, to paying it forward for the lineup behind her at a highway tollbooth; and always the lesson circles back to  giving compassion, giving kindness, and giving of oneself without expectation.  Julie also shares how a terminal cancer diagnosis she received (and beat) as a 20-year-old majorly influenced her life perspective.  Take in some of Julie's fabulous vocal stylings at www.juliemichels.com!  Enjoy the chat!

Reverend Jeff Rock is the Senior Pastor at the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) in Toronto, and Isolation Station is honoured by his lively and loving visit! The MCC, whose roots are deep in the LGBTQ2+ community, has been serving up inclusion and community realness since 1973. Reverend Jeff and J. Sean chat about how community, self-love and the golden rule can be beautiful tools to help us through the challenges of pandemic life, and how it's okay to be a hot mess right now! Check out all the fabulous online goings-on at the MCC at mcctoronto.com, on their Youtube channel, via Facebook or Instagram! Enjoy!

For our first interview of 2021, we welcome Barbara Lamb and Jim McKinnon, both longtime students from the Toronto Zen Centre!  We chat about how their Zen meditation practice helped them through the very challenging year that was 2020, and how adopting a more Zen perspective can be a vital and beautiful addition to your self-care regimen!  For more Zen information and resources, check out the Toronto Zen Centre at torontozen.org.  Pull up a cushion and enjoy this calming conversation!

2020 is drawing to a close, so it's time for Isolation Station to look back and ponder the challenging year that put us in Isolation Station to begin with! J. Sean and Tyler review clips from all of our wonderful guests and chat about where we were at the beginning of the pandemic shut down in March, and where we're at now (perspective-wise) in our Christmas shutdown! Multitudinous thanks to our beautiful guests: Al Braatz, Christine Devine, Kelly Holiff, Greg Pember, Trevor Campbell, Julia McLellan & Mike Cox, Stephen Patterson, Andrew Prashad, Laura Mae Mason, David Warrack, Zoe Heath & Jake Simons, Caden Douglas & Michael Lomenda, Cameron Francis, & Jenni Burke! So much love to all of you from J. Sean and Tyler here at Isolation Station! We will be back with more chats from the Station in 2021! Keep smiling, keep wearing your mask, and keep safe!

That loving, performing powerhouse, Jenni Burke, visited us at the Station back in April 2020 for a Covid chat! Jenni's mirthful energy is contagious, even smack in the middle of a pandemic! She talks about the importance of self-compassion, and not putting yourself behind everybody else in your care regiment, and how much more equipped we are at helping others when we make sure we're ok first! (she recommends we watch Lisa Neff's TedTalk on self-compassion) Jenni's deep commitment to her spiritual path has prepared her for a satisfying (and often hilarious, of course!) Covid-era pep-talk! Enjoy!

Dynamo fitness trainer, instructor and motivator, Cameron Francis, spoke to us early in the Covid shutdown! He shares how he coped in the midst of moving to a new city (from Toronto to Calgary) to start a new job (as a Barry's Bootcamp fitness instructor in a new market) just as Covid was closing everything down. He explains how being forced to slow down made him consciously count his blessings, and how motivating others online kept him motivated throughout the early days of the pandemic. Cameron's positive, upbeat energy is contagious and his passion for encouraging others in their pursuit of wellness and fitness is inspiring! (Recorded May 15, 2020)  

All the way from sunny California, Caden Douglas and Michael Lomenda swung by the Station, back in early Covid times (early May of 2020), to talk about life in L.A. during the pandemic! In addition to being uber-talented performers and writers, they've also created their own business in L.A., called “Little Bull Productions.” We chatted about how their lives as artists prepared them for being able to pivot during this tricky time - and maintain their perspective on what's of value, both in the industry and in the world at large!! Check out their wonderful company at littlebullproductions.com!  

Zoe and Jake are the fabulous actors behind The Acting Center - an extremely successful acting school in Guelph. When Covid struck, Zoe and Jake had to think outside of the box to maintain their classes for their eager students. From our mutual isolation back in April 2020, we discussed how being forced to be more creative in keeping their classes together benefitted themselves and their students, artistically and emotionally. We talked about the importance for the kids in sustaining the sense of community they've developed at the school, and how important community had been in coping during this extended pause. We also chatted with Zoe about how her recent marathon training had prepared her for this unexpected interruption in the status quo. Jake and Zoe are two funny, compassionate gems - enjoy!  Check out their fabulous school at theactingcenter.ca!

Master musician, composer, conductor, writer, producer, entertainer, and irrepressible charmer David Warrack joined us at the Station in early Covid, while still hunkering down at home, to bombard us with his boundless energy and good humour! We quizzed David on his amazing buoyancy, and how it had been sustaining him during the pandemic. We discussed coping strategies, and how tapping into your creativity can be a welcome distraction and a bonafide blessing during this extended interlude. David's endless compassion and relentless eagerness to be of cheerful service make him the perfect mood-lifter if you're ever feeling a bit bluesy!

Today, we're sharing with you the capital-D-lightful Laura Mae Nason, when she swung by the Station for a catch-up during the early days of isolating at home! She told us about how she and her hubby, Gerrad, explained Covid to their 4-year-old, and what she was learning from him about playfulness in return. We talked about using this extended coffee-break to enjoy your own company, and how expressing your creative urge for creativity's sake keeps boredom at bay! Laura Mae's beautiful outlook, her drive to stay creative, and her commitment to rolling with the punches are all welcome messages to savour at any time!  Since we chatted, Laura Mae and the fabulous Robin Calvert have been building their beautiful apparel company, called Wheat + Sea Collective. Check out their website, wheatandseacollective.com.

We recently had a very inspiring chat with a man of multitudinous talents - Mr. Andrew Prashad! In this episode, Andrew talks about how he's been keeping his beautiful perspective amidst the trials of Covid time (especially while juggling 3 kids!). We also ask after his gorgeous son, 5-year-old Ezra (who has struggled with Spina Bifida since birth), and how Andrew has kept so positive with the ups and downs of Ezra's ongoing health challenges. We also get the chance to ask Andrew about the frank and compassionate video he recently released about white privilege, and how he maintains his equilibrium while coming up against it. Andrew generously shares with us how leading by example, with love and kindness, is the best strategy for creating a more loving world.

Steve Patterson drops by the Station for a check-in! We ask him how he, his wife Robin, and his two boys are fairing with all the isolatin', and what Steve has learned about parenting during the days of Covid. We talk about going easy on yourself when you (inevitably) get frustrated and how accepting the fact that you can't control everything can be a huge stress-reliever. Steve's compassion, relentless self-honesty, and goofy sense of humour are things we can all use right now!

Isolation Station lit up today with a visit from sustainability power-couple Julia McLellan and Mike Cox! Mike and Julia tell us how they've been adjusting to life in isolation, and how their zero-waste lifestyle prepared them for this very time! They also share how for all of us, living in harmony with each other and the Earth is the way to cope right now and the way to move forward into the future! And as two people who harmonize beautifully with whatever they do, with wherever they go and with whomever they're with - the example they set is a much-needed tonic for all of us!

This episode, we have a fun chat with the very witty, clever and downright delightful Mr. Trevor Campbell. Trevor has had many adventures working in many cities around the world - we're interested in how he's learned to cope with living in close quarters and dealing with feelings of isolation along the way; and how his travelin' experiences may have prepared him for our current challenges. Trevor shares how he works diligently at making whatever space he's landed in at the moment a place that he can love and be creative in. As is always the case with Trevor, we find lots of laughs in the moments we all share together at the Station!

Yoga dynamo Greg Pember drops into the Station to spread his signature positivity and centred wisdom. We chat about Greg's primary strategy for overcoming the current stress - getting back to his body and back to the present moment. He shares his own struggles with the shutdown, and how committing to a practice of wellness and self-kindness will help get you out of your head and alleviate your stress! Greg's beautiful, naturally joyful energy works just like a tonic on everyone in Isolation Station!  

The exquisite Kelly Holiff joins Tyler and J. Sean at the Station for a Covid confab!  We chat about re-visiting priorities, and why she's always determinedly armed with a smile and a kind word when she ventures out (even with stressed-out folks in socially-distanced-lineups).  Kelly's insight, candour, compassion, and fabulous sense of humour always makes for a delightful discussion!  

What a delight and a comfort to have Christine Devine as part of the Covid conversation! She just happens to be the Wellness Specialist at Michael Garron Hospital in Toronto, so she knows a thing or two about delivering practical advice on coping in a crisis!  She also shares many beautiful reflections on approaching stressful situations (not-to-mention stressed-out people) with compassion, empathy and kindness.  Plus, she's a hoot to boot!  

For our very first guest, we welcome the relentlessly loving Al Braatz. Al speaks candidly about his Covid-time ups and downs and what he's doing to maintain his extraordinary buoyancy (TRIGGER WARNING: some topics may include loving yourself and your neighbour)

Welcome to Isolation Station!  Some days it feels like maybe it's the last stop, but really we're only changing trains!  In the meantime, since we're on the platform, we figure we may as well get our bearings in this time of Covid!  We chat about what spurred us on to commit to this podcast, and how we're hoping our collection of cyber-conversations with some beautiful people will give us all a little much-needed perspective for this most unusual chapter in our global lives!