The Inspiring Conversations Podcast

Zoe gave up her house and her teaching job as a linguist, to fully live her life as a dance. She lives where she works or where people welcome her. Traveling and speaking many languages seem to be part of that dance. As she doesn't have any thoughts about who she is and who she should be, she completely surrenders to the present moment. The present moment is her only permanent companion, her beloved traveling guide, and biggest inspiration in working with people.“It is my wish to inspire people to live their life in the light of the present moment, to transcend the level of the mind and its endless thoughts, and remember who they truly are.”Zoe mostly draws from her own direct spiritual experience. She is also inspired by Advaita Vedanta (non-duality), Sufism (the ultimate reality is Love) and Tantrism (masculine and feminine energy come together in oneness).  She writes articles in two Dutch magazines* and shares her inspiration in the newsletters you find on this website. In 2010 Zoe had her first opening. One night she woke up bursting out laughing.  ‘Living as God!' she said. She realized that believing her thoughts was her only problem.  ‘If I don't believe my thoughts, I become totally available for Life/God to live through this body …' The next morning she started writing and two weeks later she finished the book Living as God. It is still available in Dutch and in English.** Nobody's Dance seems to be the sequel to Living as God. “Back then there was a lot of mental clarity, now there is a much deeper experience of that reality that is Love.”“When we become unattached to our stories, past and future and other fantasies, we become transparent. We remember our true nature and become available for life to dance through us. Our life becomes a Nobody's Dance.”Zoe is a citizen of Belgium but the world is her home. Zoe offers private sessions in person when possible. She also works through online private sessions. The energy doesn't care about distance. She is fluent in Dutch, English and French, and also uses Italian and German to talk to people.For more information about Zoe, visit https://www.zoejoncheere.com

Lisa Piccirillo almost gave up on songwriting, but The Muse wouldn't let her. The inspiration for her latest record came to her as a vision: the silhouette of a woman, backlit by the sun, alongside the word RADIATE. Fueled by this idea and the desire to reclaim her creative identity, Lisa devoted herself to daily songwriting sessions at sunrise and the new record was born. An unapologetically loud follow-up to her mellow and folky 2008 debut (momentum), RADIATE chronicles Lisa's vast emotional landscape with her signature blend of vulnerable songwriting and powerhouse vocals. Find her at the links below and on all major streaming platforms.Website: https://www.lisapmusic.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisapiccirilloYou Tube: https://www.youtube.com/@lisapmusicRadiate Record: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/lisapiccirillo/radiate-2

DEBORAH EDEN TULL, founder of Mindful Living Revolution, teaches the integration of compassionate awareness into every aspect of our lives, bridging personal and collective awakening in an age of global change. She is an engaged Buddhist teacher, spiritual activist, author, eco-dharma educator, and facilitator of The Work That Reconnects, a field created by Buddhist scholar and eco-philosopher Joanna Macy for transforming our love and pain for our world into compassionate action. Eden teaches dharma intertwined with post-patriarchal thought and practices, resting upon a lived knowledge of our unity with the more than human world. She has practiced meditation for 30 years and  trained for seven and a half years as a Buddhist monk at the Zen Monastery Peace Center, a silent Zen monastery in the Sierra foothills. She has been teaching for over 20 years. Eden's teaching emphasizes relational presence, acknowledging the personal, interpersonal, intrapersonal, transpersonal, societal, ecological, mystical, and global impacts of embodied dharma. She has worked with a wide range of audiences, from dharma students and spiritual teachers to those practicing or teaching secular mindfulness, to concerned citizens, activists, leaders, and change agents, to parents, schools, inner city youth, nonprofits, corporations, and people who are incarcerated. Eden taught for many years with UCLA's Mindful Awareness Research Center, and has been collaborating with Nina Simons, co-founder of Bioneers since 2012, on the topics of Regenerative Leadership, Women's Leadership, and Sacred Activism. She is also a member of the national Eco-Dharma Advisory Committee of Buddhist teachers and leaders in the eco-dharma movement. Eden has a special gift for facilitating mindful inquiry and fierce compassion, and bridging personal, ancestral, and collective healing. Weaving dharma with her embodiment of animism, deep ecology, shadow work, somatic awareness, ancestral healing, and conscious movement/dance, she helps people release limiting beliefs and collective biases that have been passed down over generations. She draws upon her own experience of navigating loss, illness, and trauma, guiding people to embrace the mystery and celebrate the value and alchemy of light and darkness as teachers of love. Having lived in or taught about sustainable communities and organic gardening/permaculture for decades, Eden weaves the essential wisdom of nature into everything she teaches. She currently resides in the mountains of western North Carolina, originally Cherokee land, with her husband Mark. She offers retreats, workshops, and consultations nationally and internationally, integrating presence and partnership with nature. Eden feels that the most important aspect of being a teacher is continually being a student. She continually immerses herself in trainings and retreats, recognizing direct experience as our truest guide. She works closely with mentor Pam Weiss, author of A Bigger Sky: Awakening a Fierce Feminine Buddhism, to deepen her embodiment of Soto Zen Buddhism in the lineage of Suzuki Roshi.

Jessi Sands is a multidisciplinary artist who uses different mediums such as painting, ceramics, and mixed media to explore how the intersectionality of their multiracial identity influences their roles as an Indigenous parent, queer person, and land steward.Jessi grew up in Oklahoma on the Cherokee reservation and on their Mvskokereservation where they currently live in Tulsa, OK. They received their Associates of Arts Degree from Tulsa Community College in 2021. They received their Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree with minors in American Indian Studies, Pre-Art Therapy, and Art History from Oklahoma State University in 2024.While attending OSU they received several scholarships, the most notable being the Dana, Lisa, and Chris Tiger Scholarship and the Jackson Narcomey Rising Artist Scholarship.Currently, Jessi is working towards receiving their MA in Art Therapy/Counseling and Ecotherapy from Southwestern College and New Earth Institute in Santa Fe, New Mexico.Their career goal is to continue as a studio artist while creating spaces for healing as an art therapist.https://www.milkycreates.comInstagram @milky.creates 

Mark works with people to help them connect their inner and outer universe to uncover the wonder and awe of being in every moment.As an astrophysicist and Zen teacher and ordained Zen monk, he offers a unique method of embodied practice based on science and research, which will encourage people to find a deep connection with the cosmos.In 2019, he gave up his life of teaching courses and workshops in yoga, mindfulness and Zen to move with his wife to the island of St Helena in the South Atlantic for a two-year adventure that involved writing this bookIn his new book, Zen and the Art of Dealing with Difficult People, he stresses that by bringing awareness and kindness to these relationships will naturally shift them into something much broader and more inclusive. The result is a helpful book with a positive and helpful message: we can take a new perspective on the people who cause us pain.To learn more about Mark and his new book, Zen and the Art of Dealing with Difficult People, visithttps://markwestmoquette.co.uk

Born and raised in Salem, Massachusetts, Anne Bennett is an alternative singer/songwriter whose haunting, melancholic vocals soar over dark melodies concerning death, love, heaven and hell, and are often influenced by her days living in the infamous Witch City.Her music explores the deepest corners of the human experience, from the tender complexities of love to the inevitable reality of death, where she weaves melodies that echo with raw emotion and delicate intensity.Drawing inspiration from her personal battle with depression, Bennett's lyrics are a powerful reflection of vulnerability and resilience. Each song is an intimate journey into themes of heartache, longing, and the shadows we all face. Her voice, described as both captivating and otherworldly, effortlessly pulls listeners into a realm where beauty and sorrow coexist.Website: www.IAmAnneBennett.coInstagram: https://instagram.com/annebennettofficial

Jonathan Robinson is a psychotherapist, best-selling author of ten books, and a professional speaker from Northern California. He has reached over 200 million people around the world with his practical methods, and his work has been translated into 47 languages. His work has appeared in Newsweek, USA TODAY, and the Los Angeles Times, as well as dozens of other publications. In addition, Mr. Robinson has made numerous appearances on the Oprah show and CNN, as well as other national TV talk shows. He has spent more than thirty years studying the most practical and powerful methods for personal and professional development.Mr. Robinson's first book, “The Experience of God,” included interviews with such notable people as the late Mother Teresa, the Dalai Lama, Deepak Chopra, and Dr. Wayne Dyer. Jonathan's second book, “The Little Book of Big Questions,” became a New York Times bestseller, as did his book “Communication Miracles for Couples.” Mr. Robinson's other books include: Instant Insight; Real Wealth; Shortcuts to Bliss; Shortcuts to Success, The Complete Idiots Guide to Awakening Your Spirituality, and Find Happiness Now.Jonathan speaks regularly to Fortune 500 companies such as Google, Microsoft, Dell, Bank of America, Coca-Cola, and FedEx/Kinko's. In his public talks and workshops, Jonathan is known for providing his audiences with powerful and immediately useful information in a fun and entertaining manner.To learn more about Jonathan and his work, visithttps://findinghappiness.comTo learn more about his latest book,  The Enlightenment Project: How I Went From Depressed to Blessed, and You Can Too, visithttps://www.netgalley.com/catalog/book/260334

JP Morrison Lans decided to grow up to be an artist while visiting the Carole Laroche Gallery in Santa Fe New Mexico when she was eleven years old. Five years later the Tulsa Artist Coalition supported this dream for her when she was accepted for her first solo exhibition. Since then she has earned her BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute, co-owner a gallery, had her work purchased for the permanent collection of the Bundaberg Regional Gallery in Queensland Australia where she lived for two years and created immersive art installations for AHHA Tulsa, the Living Arts New Genre Festival, and the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition.  Morrison Lans has shows her work with M.A. Doran Gallery, Tulsa; Heron Arts, San Francisco; Keep Contemporary, Santa Fe; and 19 Karen, Gold Coast, Australia. She has been a resident artist at SVA, NY., Truro Art Center, MA., Rockland Woods, WA., the Vermont Studio Center and Quarantine in Menorca, Spain. Morrison Lans is a member of the international artist collective Teleportal.Gallery and is an inaugural member of the NYC Crit Club's Canopy Program. She and her child can typically be found experimenting with encaustic and lego, respectively, from their home studio in Tulsa, Oklahoma.Statement:I explore the relationship of body and psyche by combining figurative realism, symbolic objects and intuitive abstraction. These collected elements are metaphors for my experience of womanhood, motherhood, love, loss, self-preservation, panic, desire, and knowing. Through layers of color pencil I create translucent skin. The addition of gouache and encaustic allows me to comb sheens and dimensional shapes around my drawing, forming membranes and isolated objects which express the subject's emotional escapades. Often I use orientation dissonance –the inversion of the figure– to symbolize circumspection, surrender, gestation, and metamorphosis. I render hands frequently, they represent intention and action, also the mouth, tongue and teeth as gateways between the inner self and outer world. Through taste and touch, we experience intimacy and desire. This anatomy creates boundaries while also being an entry point. My work invites you to experience this same push pull of entering and observing from a distance.

Akasha J. Smith, PhD is the founder of School of Awakening which offers The Professional Intuitive Healer Certification Program and Transformational Retreats in Bali and Costa Rica. She's been Teaching,  facilitating Intuitive Healing sessions, Transpersonal Counseling and Past Life Regressions for people around the world for more than 20 years. She also offers Akashic Records Readings and Channeled Awakening Transmissions.One of her favorite parts about the work is watching people's hearts, bodies, minds and souls open to the connection and lives they've been so deeply longing for. When someone is ready and really shows up, true healing simply happens. With that can come a freedom unlike anything else that is absolutely beautiful to witness…another human shining.Akasha's Soul Purpose is to Help People Remember and Be Who they Truly Are. She does this through teaching, healing and creative expression. She is Deeply Passionate about Teaching Intuitive People, even if they Doubt their Abilities, how to Become Professional Healers, Heal Themselves and Awaken. Akasha has taught everything from Human Development Psychology to Creativity Enhancement and Dance to How to Connect with your Spirit Guides.She taught Mindfulness Meditation in Naropa University's Graduate Transpersonal and Contemplative Psychology Counseling Programs. Akasha researched Passionate Engagement for her Doctorate in East West Psychology at The California Institute of Integral Studies. She has a Masters Degree in Psychology from The Institute of Transpersonal Psychology with specializations in Teaching, Education & Research and Creative Expression. Akasha graduated from Naropa University with a Bachelor's degree in Contemplative Psychology and minors in Traditional Eastern and Healing Arts and Improvisational Dance. She also trained in The Clairvoyant Program at Psychic Horizons Institute and The Colorado School of Transpersonal Counseling and Hypnotherapy where she became an internationally certified hypnotherapist. She completed her yoga teacher training in Rishikesh, India and has studied traditional dance in Bali, Thailand, Hawaii and Spain.Akasha is a best-selling contributing author of Activate Your Life and just finished contributing to a 2nd book on Awakening Experiences and their impact on daily life. She was the co-author of a Transformation from Trauma study which was published in the peer-reviewed academic journal, The International Journal of Transpersonal Psychology.When Akasha isn't helping people Become Counselors and Healers and Leading Retreats, she's Creating Lightcode Art, Writing Poetry or Traveling the World Solo studying Dance, Healing and Yoga. https://www.schoolofawakenedliving.com/

I sat down at Artspace at Untitled for an incredibly deep and meaningful conversation with the members of the OKC based fusion band Local Man Ruins Everything: Jay Gleason, Byron "Chopz" Collins, Eric Harris, and Adam Ledbetter.It is one of those conversations that totally captures the essence of a group of musicians creating and expressing at higher level of Consciousness

IG: @EliciaWallsFacebook: Elicia WallsTikTok: @Journeytosamadhillc

Instagram:@etheric_angel @astral.state.of.mind.111

Sharla is a multi-instrumentalist, singer/songwriter, producer, and transformational sound healer. Raised in a musical family, she began playing violin at 8, writing her own music by 14, and experienced a profound activation at 19 that instantly unlocked her ability to play piano. Over the years, Sharla has expanded her talents to include guitar, hammered dulcimer, and music production, crafting deeply evocative compositions that awaken the Spirit within and inspire listeners to connect to Love.I am beyond grateful for my incredible family of four boys. Each of them bring their own unique light: my youngest is a kind soul with a love for football, my 16-year-old is an exceptionally gifted pianist with plans to join the Air Force, and our two older boys are finding their way as young adults, carving out their own paths and enjoying life.My husband and I share a deep love for music and God—he's also a songwriter and musician, and together we dream of retiring him from his corporate role so we can fully devote ourselves to writing, singing, traveling, and sharing our callings with the world. They are my biggest supporters, and I couldn't be more proud to call them mine

To connect with Jessica, visithttps://www.thebroodalist.comInstagram@thebroodalistbreath@thebroodalist.com

Essence is no newcomer to the herbal world, in fact she made her first foray into herbalism at a young age, having been introduced to a plethora of herbs and plants by her grandmother. Little did she know then that those moments would lead to a passion being ignited in her to one day birth her own brand. Her newest endeavor, UnEarthed Botanicals is a culmination of the impact that both of her grandmother's lives had on hers. One offering the knowledge and love for alternative health options, and the other, a focused interest in the gynecological field, and all things women's health. Shamika has spent many years cultivating and improving her own health holistically, and has continually sought to sharpen her knowledge in the area of women's healthcare. She's attended college to become a gynecologist, but in her last year at university she came to the startling realization that the industry she was about to begin working in was operating from a completely different philosophy, and standard of care that she believed in, and so months away from graduating, she left and began to pursue her desire to help people in a more natural and less harmful way. She began to arm herself with knowledge on how to care for the person as a whole, and not merely by symptoms, and symptom suppression, but how it is that she could bring about wholeness in the total woman. This led her down the path of studying a myriad of systems and therapeutic practices to effectively address the many challenges that may face women in their body. Over the years, she has worked with many women in various capacities, not limited to, birth work, post partum care, fertility, fibroids, endometriosis, ovarian cyst, and other health complications. Essence has found it a great pleasure to have assisted so many women in her work as a holistic health advocate, and she looks forward to assisting you on your health journey as well. Blessings.www.unearthedbotanicals.com

Happy Is Here is not only the name of my practice, but it is a reality I would like to help create for you. As your Trauma Informed Coach, my priority is to a safe, compassionate, empowering space where you can explore and work through your experiences at your own pace. You will find that my approach is grounded in empathy and respect. I will support you in discovering your inner strength and resilience. Thank you for trusting me. Let's get happy together!Happy Is Here LLC918-509-0002hereisherellc@gmail.comCushing, OK. 74023

"On my journey, I've discovered that Healing is the highest form of human love.” – Earth Love is grounded in fully embodying the abundance of Love while supporting others on a path to connecting with their Inner Healer.Engaged in a deep spiritual and healing practice of her own, her aspirations are firmly rooted in serving others with a deep sense of compassion, aiming to uplift the collective consciousness. A practitioner and student of the yogic philosophy for 7 years, she studied traditional Hatha Yoga in Thailand with the school of Yoga Samaadhi, obtaining a 500 hour RYT Certification.She continues to practice and study multiple yoga styles regularly. Earth's most recent training is in Integrative Breathwork where she had the privilege of learning from the esteemed Millana Snow.Integrative Breathwork is a healing modality that aims to return us to experiencing who we truly are. A practice that allows the releasing of layers & stories that keep us from embodying our true nature and authentic Self.Earth is also actively studying Holotropic breathwork with the Stan Grof Transpersonal Training school, The Energy Codes by Dr. Sue Morter, and trauma informed care. She is currently a digital nomad, traveling full time since 2019 and has lived in 4 different countries.connect2earth.love@gmail.comInstagram: @__earth_love

Yolanda Neals-Kindred, now known spiritually as Oriola Esuleke, is a Holistic Healing Curator, Author, and Social Entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience. She started her career under the tutelage of Iyanla Vanzant and has since made significant strides in holistic healing and community empowerment. As MhoganiPearl, she co-authored "Dear Yvette: Shattered Fairytales," reflecting her journey of self-love and overcoming childhood abuse. Yolanda's efforts in addressing trauma and ACES (Adverse Childhood Experiences) gained national recognition during the Obama Administration.Known for her honest and relatable approach, she has become an inspiration, especially in urban communities. Facing challenges as a military veteran, including sexual trauma, homelessness and single parenthood, she founded The Kindred Healing Center in Atlanta, a wellness center serving urban and veteran communities.Yolanda is dedicated to creating sacred healing spaces and promoting holistic healthcare for personal development and professional empowerment.Oriola is married to Dr. Rhonda Kindred and they share 2 adult children and 4 grandchildren. They are also proud owners of The Kindred Healing Center which is a 6,000 sq ft wellness center in the City of Atlanta.You can learn more about The Kindred Healing Center at www.KindredHealingCenter.com or by calling 470-771-0563.

Bhogananda lives a full spiritual life and her goal is to completely know God in all facets in manifestation.She is the co founder of Shakti Ananda Academy, a spiritual online school for women - www.shaktianandacademy.com She also offers one-to-one coaching sessions for women and couples, yoga classes, tantra workshops, tantric massage courses and women circles all over the world.https://www.bhogananda.com/https://www.instagram.com/bhoganandabhogananda@protonmail.com