See Jane Do, hosted by Elisa Parker

Rupa Marya of Rupa and the April Fishes speaks with Elisa Parker about their new Album, Growing Upward, social movements, and the integration of music and medicine.

If we were connected, what would you do now?  How do you feed each other's potential?  What are you inspired to do next?  How do I sustain this relationship or how do I even find the "perfect" relationship? Sonika Tinker and Christian Pedersen are the relationship whispers.  When they first met, years back, they knew there was a spark and connection but neither fit their "perfect mate" list.  They ignored the list (it took them about two years) and the rest is history.  Through their program, Love Works For You, they have supported hundreds if not thousands of individuals and couples to connect through love, both for themselves and each other. This is THE podcast to listen to around relationship. Who We Are We are a married couple, husband/wife team, who have devoted our lives to studying and teaching love and relationship, and we are still happy and in love after many years of being together (we walk our talk). Our clients say we are wise, experienced relationship master trainers and relationship experts – we like to think of ourselves as “relationship awesome-izers”. We are the co-owners of LoveWorks, a leading-edge transformational relationship training company, where we daily delight in empowering couples and singles to transform their relationships from stuck to soaring in a fun, positive, and practically useful way. The “Official” Bio This is the bio we are supposed to have on our website, so you can see that we actually are who we say we are, and that we do indeed have degrees, certifications, tons of practical experience and that we actually do make a profound difference for people’s relationships. Sonika Tinker, MSW, foundedLoveWorks in 1990. Sonika is a relationship specialist with over 35 years experience coaching singles and couples on the issues of relationship, communication, intimacy, sexuality, dating, law of attraction and personal transformation. In addition to her private coaching practice, she has designed and led hundreds of live trainings and workshops. Sonika is a Relationship Specialist, Certified NLP ProfessionalTM, Certified Enneagram Teacher, and author of Seize Your Opportunities: Living a Life Without Limits. She has received extensive training and education in communication, sexuality, personal growth and the law of attraction. These include, but are not limited to the Hendricks Institute, the Human Awareness Institute, the Enneagram Institute, Workshops in the Oral Tradition with Helen Palmer, Challenge Associates, Tony Robbins Research Institute, Landmark Education, The Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Sexuality, The Center for Stress Medicine, The Option Institute, The Institute for Creative Therapy, The Pacific Center, Awakening Shakti, The Institute for Ecstatic Living, SkydancingTantra, The Relationship Skills Center, and Abraham-Hicks. Sonika is an energetic, inspiring, educational coach, leader and speaker. She is recognized for her deep loving presence, her authentic, candid honesty, her laser insight, leading-edge content and practical tools for change. Sonika’s inspiring teaching & coaching includes humorous and moving stories and exercises designed to motivate and educate, all accompanied by a contagious laugh you’ll never forget! Christian Pedersen is originally from Denmark, but followed “love’s lead” and joined Sonika in Northern California when it became impossible to be apart from his “beloved” for months at a time. Christian is a relationship specialist and Certified Life Coach, and has led over 50 relationship trainings for hundreds of singles and couples on the issues of relationship, communication, intimacy, sexuality, dating, law of attraction and personal transformation. He has a private coaching practice teaching men how to create awesome, satisfying, powerful relationship, and how to “win with their women”. He has received extensive training and education in communication, sexuality, personal growth and the law of attraction. He is a proud graduate of the ManKind Project’s New Warrior Training Adventure and has studied with The Option Institute, SkydancingTantra, and The Relationship Skills Center. He takes special pleasure in guiding men to fuse the best of their masculine and feminine aspects, becoming truly “whole” men in the process! Christian is a gentle, loving, yet powerfully moving teacher. He is recognized for his deep loving presence, heart-felt presentations, his rampant appreciation of others, a playful sense of humor, insightful questions and thoughtful comments. He is remarkably comfortable with his own masculinity and vulnerability, able to be attentive, authentic, and respectfully non-invasive in his work, all the while, seeing the perfection of who people REALLY are. Sonika & Christian have developed a unique practical and positive approach to relationships. A “fun” alternative to traditional therapy, they have designed and teach a profoundly effective system for dealing with conflicts, re-creating your relationship, breathing fire into your sex-life, and freeingyou from a painful, stuck relationship experience.They believe very strongly that the process of improving your relationship should feel fun, light-hearted and intimate,STARTING NOW (not after years of digging through emotional garbage).  

About Dr. Nancy International philanthropist, skilled horsewoman, and trailblazer for women’s empowerment, Nancy D. O’Reilly, PsyD, believes women who support each other in abundance and joy are the key to equality. A successful author and educator, she recently completed a new book, In This Together: How Successful Women Support Each Other in Business and Life (Adams Media/Simon & Schuster, January 2019). Dr. Nancy founded Women Connect4Good, Inc., a social-profit [501(c)3] foundation that has provided support for many national and international charities. Her podcasts feature interviews with smart, amazing women, and her timely articles appear on popular national blogs. She previously authored Leading Women: 20 Influential Women Share Their Secrets to Leadership, Business, and Life and two other books. Dr. Nancy occasionally speaks to selected groups on women empowerment, self-confidence and the importance of women supporting other women.  Having earned numerous awards, Dr. Nancy was honored with other women, including Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, at the 2018 Canales Project in Washington DC. She serves on various boards of directors, and chairs the board for Take the Lead, Inc. whose mission is to prepare, develop, inspire and propel women to leadership parity across all sectors by 2025. She is a major supporter of the innovative program 50 Women Can Change the World––currently operating in media and entertainment, healthcare and finance––and the international work of Convoy of Hope. A licensed psychologist, she has long served on the governor-appointed Missouri Committee of Psychologists. She previously acted as the director of a large employee assistance program and as a nationally certified crisis team leader in New York City after the 9/11 attacks. She invites all people of good will to join her in reaching out to support women in the pursuit of equality, safety and success.

Elisa Parker spoke with YouTube personality and Millennial sex educator, Laci Green in this in depth interview during the Judge Kavanaugh hearings.  She discusses sex, safety, power, the benefits and challenges of being a YouTube sensation, what girls and boys should be aware of when it comes to sex, our bodies, value and worth.   Laci Green is a sex educator and YouTube personality from California. She created YouTube's most popular sex education series, Sex Plus, while studying at UC Berkeley. Sex Plus has well over 1M subscribers and 150M views. In addition to Sex Plus, Green has produced award-winning educational series for Discovery and MTV. Green has spoken at over 100 universities to promote healthy sexuality and served on the ACLU's Board of Directors for 3 years. She is currently in school to become an advanced practice clinician.

Audrey Denney is creating a Blue Wave in California's North State but the California District 1 candidate says "this election isn't just about turning a Red seat Blue, this isn't just about electing a new congresswoman. What we're doing is creating a movement of people who want something better in their communities...who believe in people first, that we are Americans before we are Democrats or Republicans." In a region that is often ignored in California politics and is considered the Red North, Denney is running against an incumbent, Representative La Malfa who is one of President Trump's biggest supporters.  La Malfa has held a secure seat in the last couple of years but Denney is proving to be a tough competitor and could bring the North State back to Blue. Audrey has never found a place she loves more than the North State. She is running for Congress because she believes that the people of the North State deserve better. They deserve a representative who will respect and listen to them and who will fight for their needs and concerns in Washington D.C. She believes that the job is not about partisan politics, but about bringing people together, and finding a way forward as a community, a region, and a nation. Audrey has proven time and again that she has the passion, the skills, the energy, and the strength of character to do just that. Audrey spent her childhood on her family’s farm and ranch in Central California, growing grapes and hay while raising cattle and horses. Her father was a Vietnam veteran and her mother was a leader in their church parish. Audrey learned to work hard and efficiently before and after school to accomplish all that needed to be done to keep the family business running smoothly through both prosperous and hard times. She developed a strong respect for land and natural resources, which she has carried with her throughout her education and career endeavors.

“My time is spent almost equally now between stand up and resistance…I do take pride in saying to women of all ages that this part (fighting for equality) isn’t over yet.  We have to jump higher, work harder and think of new imaginative ways to get in the side door or side window because the front door may not be open yet.”~ Kathy Griffin Kathy Griffin is the ultimate resistance sister.  She’s been leading the way for women in comedy for years and despite it all, never gives up and will never be quiet.  In this interview she talks about surviving and thriving in an industry that values youth, looks and men over talented women.  Kathy shares intimate stories about her mentors and icons, Joan Rivers and Gloria Steinem, her go to guy, Anderson Cooper, living next door to the Kardashians (a possible new babysitting gig for her mom, Maggie) and of course, her bizarre encounters with The Donald.  Unlike many of Kathy’s interviews where most of her stories are around fellow celebrity encounters, as she said following our conversation…”I went deep.”  It’s a side we don’t often hear from this incredibly talented and no holds bar comedian and best selling author.  No worries, there are still many laughs as she couples activism with comedy.

By Elisa Parker The legacy of Lily Tomlin: “I’m more than happy to know that there was a kid named Elisa who regaled her younger siblings with Edith Ann stories.  That’s as much as anything can be.” ~Lily Tomlin   We’ve all had our childhood heroes whether it was Superman, Wonder Woman or Evel Knievel (speaking from a child of the 70s).  Mine was Lily Tomlin.  As a young girl I would tell stories as Edith Ann (one of Lily’s most famous characters) to my younger brothers and sister in the back of our station wagon.  Through Lily’s work I was introduced to the art of imitation and comedy.  She also inspired one of my first moments of activism for women.  As an eight year old girl the film 9-5 left quite the impression on me.  I decided (in my 4th grade kind of way) to make copies of the 9-5 lyrics and hand them out to every kid in my school.  I was determined to spread the story of everyday women in the workforce, women who were taking matters into their own hands. In a successful career that spans over forty years Lily Tomlin has served as a power figure for women in the media.  She has received numerous awards including six Emmys, one Tony, one Grammy, two Peabody Awards and most recently she and partner Jane Wagner were honored with a star on the Palm Springs Walk of Fame.  In addition to being an American icon she is an activist who puts her passion into action for women’s rights and animal protection.  Tomlin can be found on the website for women www.wowowow.com and participates with other celebrities to create an on-line community which is run by women for women.  She is also narrating the HBO documentary, An Apology to Elephants. My connection with Lily Tomlin came full circle as I recently interviewed her as part of See Jane Do.  Within the 60 minutes of our conversation Lily shared her greatest memories around her personal idols (like Lucille Ball and Ruth Draper) and fellow co-stars like Jane Fonda, Meryl Streep, Candice Bergen, Eve Ensler and Dolly Parton.  She talks about the War on Women and her response to Rush Limbagh’s attack on Sarah Fluke (as told through Ernestine).  We discussed what the movie 9-5 would look like now in 2012 and her current projects like a new Edith Ann game app and a TV pilot where she plays Reba McIntire’s mother.  I’m not sure my sense of connection to Lily Tomlin is because she exudes a sense of wonderment in characters like Edith Ann, the sassiness of Ernestine or the strength and wit of Violet in 9-5.  Perhaps it’s just because Lily Tomlin is the real deal.  She truly lives out her passion and as an award winning comedian and actress she’s obviously doing something right.  

“I think we all felt the power of the Women’s March which happened everywhere.  We were out on the street and now we bring this conversation to where the change needs to happen; in companies, schools, government and local communities.” ~Tiffany Shlain, Let it Ripple & 50/50

“Taking action doesn’t just mean tweeting, it doesn’t mean just creating a Facebook post, it has to be more than that.  We have to get from behind our computer screens and get out and be a part of our communities and make a difference.  The first things that popped into my head was we should do a march on Washington on Inauguration weekend.” ~Bob Bland, Women’s March co-organizer

“There is work to be done and you don’t need to live a lukewarm life.  The world needs all of us, both men and women…we need to recognize the ways that we are not whole and have the courage to do the work to get there.”~Oscar Perez, PhD

“The most important things that impact everyday life happen at the local level and we as women are well positioned to really get activated and engaged in a way that we haven’t been before.  For a lot of women because of our upbringing and how we’ve been cultured, we have a natural resistance to power because historically power has been used over us and against us.  We as women can shift the way that power is used, we can gain power and we can use power to help others.“ ~ Kimberly Ellis, Director, California Emerge and Candidate for CA, Chair of the Democratic Party

“We’re not here to be perfect.  We’re here to expand ourselves and continually learn.“ ~Torie Henderson, Life Coach for Moms and Daughters

“I feel like STEM gets a bad rap, like it’s all equations and typing stuff up.  For me it’s about understanding the world and being able to solve these problems that everyone has and it’s so great to have everyone’s perspective.  That’s why we need more women in STEM because right now it’s very male dominated, so we’re only getting their perspective on how to make the world a better place.“ ~Kara Christensen, 17yrs old

“Some legal battles may have been won but acceptance is the biggest battle and the more we can highlight that the closer we are to achieving it” ~Caroline & Laurie Hart When love and commitment just isn’t enough and prejudice is given a voice of authority.

“To sing the truth of your heart is powerful medicine” ~Maniko How did seven women, all who considered themselves non-singers, move from fear of expressing their voice to recording an album and performing a live concert?  Maniko, founder of Temple of Song, shares their music, personal stories and the techniques we can all use to self-express through song.

“It is a profound act of courage to live a life of love.” ~Julie Butterfly Hill “Love yourself in every way you can think of and know how amazing your are.” ~Annette Dunklin In this interview featuring the extraordinary Julia Butterfly Hill and Annette Dunklin we discuss: Recovering from some of our greatest oppressions How Lyme Disease and a major car accident have yet again transformed Julia’s life Showing up as your authentic self How to stay true to yourself when you’re putting yourself out there (activism, social media etc) How Radical Replenishment empowers people to see themselves as agents of change by The power of play, love and loving yourself

“Go inside and trust your own heart and your intuition.  You are as strong as you will ever need to be in this moment.” ~Lore Ross, Medium & Healer From corporate to psychic, Lore Ross, medium & channel shares important insights and messages for you for 2016.  Plus, how she took a leap of faith to share her gifts & talents and yes even an ancient language that is healing the world.

“You’re enough, it doesn’t matter where you came from or your current circumstances…you are equipped to live the life you were meant to live and you’re equipped for abundance.  It’s just a matter of allowing it into your life.” ~Heather Bischoff, founder of Dragonfly Direction About Heather: Who said you had to prove your worth to anyone but yourself? That’s a question I ask clients and continue to ask myself. When I was a little girl, I most wanted to be seen for who I really was. I wanted to explore my curiosity and reach for the stars. Through no fault of their own, my parents didn’t understand. I was often left feeling invisible.  But inside I knew I had tremendous value to share with the world.  Can you relate? My truth was revealed when realizing that my purpose is to use leadership development to help people see who they are at the core of their being, without any societal labels, titles, or expectations. If everyone took the opportunity to fully explore their options, they no doubt would live a fully satisfying life.  Living life to the fullest provides a path to truly expressing your unique value to the world. Let’s begin an adventure together to uncover your true self, with nothing to prove to anyone but you, and to own that you are complete and perfectly equipped to live a life of purpose and passion, on your own terms My Story I’m an ordinary girl from New Jersey where my parents, who were in their early 20’s, living on love. Our home was in the projects, government subsidized housing.  My brother and I didn’t understand that we were poor.  We were happy kids who loved, played outside and did what kids do. My parents worked hard to make sure we had everything we needed. My parents were able to get us out of the projects by the time we were to start school, and moved us across the bridge to Pennsylvania, where I essentially grew up. It was a happy childhood, filled with laughter and lots of good memories. But life took a turn when I hit my tween years… This was when I was introduced to sexual abuse.  First time was by an uncle, followed by a date rape a few years later, and then a guy who decided it was best to take all of his anger out on me. This unfortunate chain of events was due, in part, to the fact that I was totally lost and desperately searching for someone to love me for me. Long story short, I became pregnant at 16. Being a teen mom was not the end of the world for me.  Having a son at that young age saved my life.  That’s when I decided I didn’t want to be a statistic. I wanted more than what society deemed I should be based on the circumstances of my life. I had dreams and desires that I wanted to see come to fruition. Not only for me, but for my newborn son. And that’s really where my story begins. Soon after giving birth, I married a man who remains the greatest gift and the love of my life. (That’s a story for another time!) He raised my son and gave me a daughter to complete our family. While there have been ups and downs since then, I’ve come a long way in self-discovery, in my spirituality, my womanhood, and humanness. The journey that led me here is why I’m so passionate about helping others. I celebrate people, especially those who, from the outside in, everything looks perfect. But if you were to ask, quite often this person just wants to be heard, understood, and not judged. I get it, because I’ve been there. My journey has lead me to work various roles in the corporate world. I’ve worked in horrible environments with ineffective leaders and I’ve had the privilege of working in amazing collective environmets with some of the very best leaders. Which is why understanding mind set and corporate culture are also very important to me. After all, we spend so much of our life working. Creating work environments that allow the best of people; utilizing strengths and working smarter rather than harder, is an absolute joy. It’s an honor to work with so many amazing people, hear their stories, and help them finally find themselves. Understanding that you are enough and don’t have to prove anything to anyone but yourself is powerful. I love sharing how to be whole and live a life filled with celebration, adventure and passion. My mission:  helping women, help women. Well, that is the cliff notes version of my story. Thanks for your time. I welcome the opportunity to share my experiences and expertise with you through my consulting programs.  Contact me at Heather@dragonflydirection.com for a free 20-minute session. Now go do something fun! www.dragonflydirection.com