The Inspiring Conversations Podcast

Alexandra is on a mission to raise the vibration of our collective consciousness. As an Energy Healer and Spiritual Advisor, she uses the tools of psychedelic medicine and integration, mindfulness practices such as meditation and breathwork, and the metaphysical practice of Reiki to help heal the mind, body, and soul. Through her self-healing journey to overcome developmental trauma and anxiety, along with a profound spiritual transformation, she was prepared and called to be a channel of healing for others. She embraces clients with compassionate understanding to help them tap into their higher selves and live more fulfilled lives. Alexandra has worked with hundreds of clients in group and individual settings. Previously she was an Integration Guide at Mindbloom and the Director of Patient Experience at Wonder Sciences. She is double Reiki Master certified by the International Center for Reiki Training. Her other training includes a 400-hour mentorship with Shipibo Shamans, Fluence Introduction to Ketamine, Heart Coherence Healing, and Psychic and Medium Development. She is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Consciousness, Spirituality, and Transpersonal Psychology, and has a B.A. in journalism.In addition to her professional work, Alexandra is passionate about increasing access to holistic wellness and supporting BIPOC and marginalized communities. Her philanthropic endeavors include leading mindfulness workshops and leadership advising for Vista Del Mar, a non-profit providing trauma-informed care and mental health services to the most vulnerable children and families in Southern California. She believes that by healing ourselves and raising consciousness, we improve the wellbeing of the planet and all its inhabitants.To connect with Alexandra, visithealeralexandra.com @healeralexandra on IG 

Annie Ellicott is a jazz vocalist, songwriter and interdisciplinary artist. In recent years, she has expanded her creativity through acting, voice over, audio book narration, video production, album production, stagecraft, and performance art. Ellicott has acquired a substantial fan base from her voiceover work as both a character actor and narrator for Soundbooth Theater Audiobooks, and has toured the United States and Europe, performing both traditional jazz and original compositions. Ellicott's stage power arises from her sustained drive. A disciplined performer, Ellicott has performed some 300 shows in the past 5 years, before crowds as wide-ranging as the annual Outside Lands Festival in Golden Gate Park to Caveau de la Huchette in Paris. She's also a recurring guest vocalist with Jeff Goldblum and the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra at both The Rockwell Table and Stage in Los Angeles, as well as Feinstein's At The Nikko in San Francisco. Ellicott appeared with Goldblum and his ensemble in San Francisco at Sketch Fest 2016, 2017, 2018 and at the famed Glastonbury Festival in London in 2019.

Christine Marie is a Ceremonial Medicine Woman who specializes in holding safe and sacred spaces for healing and transformation through plant spirit facilitation, shamanic reiki healing, and spoken-word sound journeying. Additionally, she has a Bachelors in Nursing (BSN) and is a published author who has years of experience in helping men and women heal from C-PTSD, physical ailments, toxic relationships, and disempowerment.Two years into her nursing field, she realized the limitations that western medicine had to offer in treating the root cause of emotional and physical disease. As she began to heal herself through holistic modalities and plant medicine, she felt the call to bridge the gap between western and holistic health by opening up her own private practice.Her history in western medicine combined with her knowledge in alternative therapies offers you the experience of feeling safe and sovereign in your freedom of self-expression and healing.Christine Marie's personal survivorship from abuse, neglect and body violation deeply shifted when she started to reclaim her voice and power while working within non-ordinary states of consciousness. She has made it her life's mission to support you in discovering emotional, physical, and spiritual wholeness and well-being. www.christinemarieheals.comwww.instagram.com/christinemarieheals

The world has a lot wrong with it right now. There are serious injustices. We can't fix everything. But as Sean Lake's story proves, sometimes you look around and realize your moment has come, and you answer the call to step up and right a serious wrong.For Sean, that moment tragically came when his best friend Navy SEAL Glen Doherty was killed in action, defending the CIA Annex in the notorious Benghazi strike on 9/11/2012. Discovering a major inequity in the death benefits system, Sean sued the federal government, challenged the CIA, and ultimately succeeded in getting the agency to change its standards to offer its personnel like Glen a proper death benefit. In fact, because of Sean's work, the CIA not only changed the standard, they retroactively awarded death benefits to over fifty families.Today, Sean is a successful entrepreneur, a devoted husband and a loving father. As a former professional athlete, he maintains an impressively active lifestyle, engaging in snowboarding, cross-training and various athletic endeavors that few would dare attempt after the age of 50.https://www.bubsnaturals.com

This is a space for the exploration of awakening, integration and embodiment, it's a space that supports a deepening of Self. I don't separate between spiritual or non-spiritual, all is included. It's just LIFE and exploring what it means to be human, what it means to be alive, what it means to suffer, and what it is to accept all into the embrace of our experience. Understanding what awakening is, what spirituality is and what they both are not – brings these lofty ideals of ‘enlightenment' back down to lived reality in each and every moment. Learning what it means to transcend and include all that we are, all that we experience, into the broader context of open-awareness.For me what I offer here isn't therapy and it's not about the acquisition of more knowledge. It's about the direct experience of Self using the tool of spiritual discussion & conversation (Satsang), and supported on a deeper level with Divine Light Transmissions. It's about a meeting of our shared humanity, and our shared divinity and as such I don't place myself higher than you, different than you, more than you. I don't claim to have all or even any of the answers. I'm here to support this conversation of “What is the nature of reality? What is the nature of Self?” as a mentor, a teacher, a guide, an energy healer, and a spiritual midwife of sorts – to walk hand in hand with you on this beautiful, messy journey of Self discovery, as Self meeting Self. To discover the light Being that we are at the heart of all existence.We are all figuring out life as best we can. A lot of the people I meet along the way are looking to others to give them answers. I encourage each and every one of you who happen upon this website to look into your own direct experience, use your discernment, listen to what others have to say and mark it against your own internal compass and intuition. Drop all your judgements about what you think you know and take a careful look, take a look prior to your assumptions, I encourage you to do so earnestly. See if whatever they (or I) are pointing to stands up to scrutiny, does it point back to your own truth? But don't take my word for it…. go looking for yourself!To connect with Imogen:Website: beyondimogen.comEmail: beyondimogen@gmail.comPodcast: endofseeking.substack.comYouTube: youtube.com/beyondimogenFacebook: facebook.com/beyondimogenInstagram: instagram.com/beyondimogen

I was born an artist and have been one my entire life. I am passionate about creating, exploring, and experiencing life and how it affects others. Life is a natural cycle and we have a chance to leave behind our story and our legacy. The first time in my life that my hands hit a brush, there was an explosion of emotions that manifested. There was this rush that I can't really put into words, but it's found in my art. Since then I have never put it down. Art is embedded into my life and the experience of life. I am on a journey that includes all of my children, my wife, and all of the interactions in life. My family travels the world with me and we get to experience a vast variety of people, cultures, and places. My children were born into art so it is a part of who they are. I love finding people who are authentic in what they believe, what they do, and question the world around them. The world is full of inspiration around us and we take the time to appreciate life, we can create something captivating. Life is a journey that is to be interpreted and experienced in oneself. Life is always moving like a river and evolving to the rocks around it. I have evolved into the place I am in life by following my path and embracing my soul. I get to take my life experiences and create art on my journey, and that I am thankful for.https://www.joshstoutgallery.com

Kai has a unique gift that allows her to transmit the energy of awakening to open and willing spiritual seekers. She was introduced to the kundalini shaktipat tradition in 1994 when she was 27 years old. Her kundalini was awakened by a shaktipat master and within a few months she was in full manifestation of the Divine Mother. She has since undergone a series of dramatic awakenings that have prepared her to work with others. As a result of working with her, many people report having dramatic life changes, spiritually and in their everyday lives. Read morehttps://www.kaishanti.comInstagram @angeloflightmeditation

Multimedia artist, Heyd Fontenot, is attracted to subjects possessed of discomforting or undefinable qualities. His drawn and painted portraits of unclothed subjects reveal the nuances of idiosyncratic expression and the delicacies of our humanness.  Fontenot's film and video work tends to narcotize and disorient. The artist renounces commonplace narrative conventions in an effort to destabilize, making way for individual epiphany and revelation.Borrowing themes and images from fraternal secret societies, rodeos, brothels, places of worship and interior design showrooms, Fontenot works with a rotating cast of actors and models to fabricate ceremonial dramas and consumer indoctrinations.  The artist slyly undermines all that is good and holy about middle-class respectability to reveal mythical America as both oppressive and alluring. His on-going video project Flaming Critters follows the adventures of a fictitious social club who dabble in Luciferianism.Fontenot's mid-career survey exhibition “The Very Queer Portraits of Heyd Fontenot,” traveled to the University of Maryland (College Park, Maryland), Rollins College (Winter Park, Florida), and Allegheny College (Meadville, Pennsylvania).  He is represented by Conduit Gallery in Dallas, Texas.

Spiritual guide and author, Shakti is known internationally as one of the most authentic and profound voices in contemporary spirituality. Presenting the message of Advaita and non-dual Tantra within a contemporary framework, Shakti offers, with compassion and great clarity, an inner technology for dissolving the contraction of suffering that traditionally accompanies each of our lives. Her invitation is to come to the space of inner peace and unconditional love which resides at the heart of us all.Her key teachings are the love for transcendence, or spiritual awakening, followed by its deep integration, into everyday living, so that each moment can be met as a precious opportunity for spiritual growth. Her students are left with the joy of an open heart and an authentic sense of freedom within the recognition of our being as one with everything.https://www.shakticaterinamaggi.com/

Branjae is the personification of Black American Music. She is an artist, activist, dancer, singer, and actress. She asks “why not” through her music, challenging listeners to embrace their authentic selves.  Her lyrical depth, energetic theatrical performances, and out of the box genre fluidity are as unique as the personas she embodies. Having previously performed at the legendary Apollo Theater,  BOK Center,  Cain's Ballroom and more, Branjae's fearless and energetic showcase, encourages elevated consciousness by connecting with her audiences for the soul purpose of creating unity and harmony. Born in the city of Motown and rooted in the city of The Gap Band, artist Branjae has established herself as a full-bodied, entertainer; singing, dancing, and acting her way into the hearts of audiences across the globe.Her voice has been likened to artists like Lauryn Hill, India Arie and Nina Simone; while her stage presence is influenced by Tina Turner, Michael Jackson, and Freddie Mercury. PREVIOUS SUPPORT INCLUDES LIZZO, THUNDERCAT, TANK AND THE BANGAS, BRIAN MCKNIGHT, THE YING YANG TWINS, FISHBONE, OHIO PLAYERS, RC AND THE GRITS, AND THE LATE WAYMAN TISDALEAccolades Include:WINNER - BEST FEMALE ARTISTBLACK WALL STREET MUSIC AWARDS3X WINNER - BEST FEMALE ARTIST, ARTIST OF THE YEAR,  RECORD OF THE YEARTULSA VYBEZ AWARDSWINNER - JIMMY LAFAVE SONG WRITING CONTESTNOMINEE - BEST MUSIC VIDEOINDEPENDENT MUSIC AWARDS5X NOMINEE - TULSA MUSIC AWARDSHer short film projects “Street Light” & “Free Facts” have gained International recognition including exclusive features for Billboard Magazine & AfroPunk; and screenings in TORONTO, MANCHESTER, PARIS, LONDON, AMSTERDAM, BERLIN, SYDNEY, MELBOURNE, NEW YORK, LOS ANGELES AND AUSTINTo connect with Branjae, visithttps://www.branjaemusic.comhttps://www.facebook.com/BranjaeMusic/https://www.instagram.com/branjaemusic/https://www.youtube.com/user/branjae

Grace Bubeck is a psychologist (MSc), philosopher (PhD), and certified massage therapist by work history and professional training. In 1999, she left a first career in academia at the London School of Economics to become a body-mind therapist in private practice and a personal development and meditation teacher. She offers in person therapy, counseling, and workshops, as well as online non-dual spiritual events and group programs.http://www.gracebubeck.com/about.html

Kjelshus Collins is an Oklahoma-born artist working in traditional printmaking and sculpture. Kjelshus attended Oklahoma State University earning a BFA and a BA in Art History. He spent much of his childhood with his parents selling their art around the country. Never one to focus on one art form, he often combines two different methods to create one piece, like printmaking with mold making to create a figurative piece in the form of a packaged toy. Kjelshus now lives in New Orleans and is working towards his MFA at  the University of New Orleans. 

Louise is a researcher, coach & intuitive artist,  stone whisperer, and earth energy worker (PhD, MSc, PGDipCEIG, BA, INLPTA NLP, AAMET EFT,  VTCT, Reiki Master)She supports and empowers individuals and organisations to return to heart and reconnect to life. We do this by putting you back in the driving seat of your own life – guiding you to the wisdom and knowledge that resides your own heart, and giving you the confidence to bring forward this new understanding in everyday life.https://www.heartsenseresearch.co.uk

Leo Sidran is a multi instrumentalist musician, producer, arranger, composer, recording artist, and podcast host.The Third Story podcast features long-form interviews with creative people of all types.Their stories of discovery, loss, ambition, identity, improvisation, risk, and reward are deeply moving and compelling for all of us as we embark on our own creative journeys.He was born and raised in Madison, Wisconsin, which is sometimes referred to as 70 square miles surrounded by reality. His father, Ben Sidran, another multifaceted music man, provided my early musical sustenance. His mother, a weaver and travel agent, provided texture and safe passage.He got his start writing songs professionally as a teenager when the Steve Miller Band recorded four of his songs for their 1993 Wide River album. His father was working with Miller at the time, which is how he made the connection, but even then, at the ripe old age of 15, he was interested in production. So, Steve invited him to play keyboards, guitars and drums on the record. He co-produced the Academy Award Winning song, "Al Otro Lado Del Rio" from the film The Motorcycle Diaries with Jorge Drexler in 2005. After the Oscar win, he made a move to Brooklyn and not only started producing records for other artists, but also composing music for film and television commercials amassing a catalog of 100s of major TV ads for clients like Coca-Cola, Visa, Lincoln, McDonalds, Stella Artois, Ford, Garnier and over a dozen film scores for outlets such as ESPN 30 for 30, Discovery, IFC, Sundance, and PBS. As a drummer, he has played and recorded with jazz luminaries including Phil Woods, Howard Levy, David Fathead Newman, Clark Terry and Dave Grusin, and as an engineer he has worked with artists ranging from Snarky Puppy to Massive Attack.To learn more about Leo and his music and work, visit http://www.leosidran.comTo learn more about Leo's podcast, visithttp://www.third-story.com

Nicole Peltier has been teaching her eclectic, musically motivated, creative yoga classes for over 25 years to all ages and levels. Nicole draws a lively following of teens and young people who are inspired by her young, fresh attitude and easy to follow instruction. Being "mature" also makes Nicole an ideal teacher who inspires older students to let down their hair and rock without reservation.  Tulsa's first yoga studio was opened and operated for over 20 years by Nicole and her partner. She is considered, by many,  the OG of Yoga in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  She is wildly passionate, energetic and inspirational. She is a true motivator. She is known as a powerful leader within the yoga community. She offers exceptional yoga retreats. Raven Yoga Retreats encompass sacred spiritual practices, mindful living techniques, healing modalities, holistic health and yoga for beginners as well as seasoned practitioner in a tranquil environment. Her powerful delivery in yoga classes is called "an experience" by her students.  She focuses on the energy yoga arouses when combined with music which is part of how she connects the students to joy, movement and childlike freedom.  Also, since Nicole's discovery into her own recovery, she has developed her own 'Raven Yoga for Freedom', (Trademarked in 2016) which addresses the issue of addiction, fear and emotional blocks. Nicole also leads a non-denominational Sunday Yoga Service with gospel and worship that she calls "All Rise Yoga Service". Nicole studied at Mount Madonna Center in Santa Cruz in 2000, and has studied extensively to hone her craft.  She spent 2022 studying Shamanism with a local shaman and incorporates shamanic practices into her classes.  Nicole is a festival favorite presenting at Internationally renowned yoga festivals. Yoga on the Mountain (4 yrs), Fayetteville Yoga Fest (4 yrs), Telluride Yoga Fest (3 yrs), Yoga Farm Fest Shreveport (3 yrs), Wild West Yoga Fest (2 yrs.), Drishti Beats (2023), Little Rock Yoga Fest (2023), Serenity Fest - Durango (2022, 2023), OKC Yoga Fest (2018), I AM Yoga Fest (4 yrs), Big Om Yoga Fest (2 yrs). Nicole shines at yoga retreats being a top presenter at Big Om Retreat (13 seasons), Dazen Collective (8 retreats) & Connect & Evolve (4 retreats). She has several modules she offers for yoga teacher training. She teaches Cueing, Voice Control and Flow Tactics to budding new yoga instructors. She continues to travel all over the world hosting yoga classes, retreats and ceremonial offerings. 

Melissa Moore Ph.D. is the steward of North American Karuna training since 2014, and co-founded Karuna Europe in 1996. Melissa has her MA in Contemplative Psychotherapy from Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado, and her Ph.D. in Psychological Anthropology from the California Institute of Integral Studies.Melissa has been a student of Vajrayana Buddhism and Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche since 1979. She was the founding Director of the Felton Institute for Research and Training in San Francisco (2006–2016). She has been involved in community-based research for the most marginalized populations in California, trained front-line providers in mental health in evidence-based practices, and then researched the outcomes.Melissa is the Executive Director of Karuna Training and a lead faculty. She has taught Karuna Training in nine countries and in four states in the U.S. She lives in Denver with her dog and husband.Melissa recently published The Diamonds Within Us: Uncovering Brilliant Sanity Through Contemplative Psychology; find out more about the bookhere: https://thediamondswithinus.orgTo learn more about Melissa and about Karuna Training, visithttps://karunatraining.com

Dashama is a life and business strategist, happiness expert, author, speaker, media producer and teacher. She has practiced hatha yoga since childhood and is now one of a rising generation of young yoga instructors who incorporate life coaching skills in their teaching

Victoria Angel Heart M.Ed is a mindfulness meditation guide, sacred musician and intuitive channel. Her life's work is to be a conduit of love for people to realize themselves as love personified.

Ronald A. Alexander, PhD, MFT, SEP (Somatic Experiencing Practitioner) is a Creativity and Communication Consultant, and an Executive and Leadership Coach, with a private psychotherapy practice working with individuals, couples, families, and groups in Santa Monica, California. He is the Executive Director of the OpenMind® Training Institute, a leading-edge organization that offers personal and professional training programs in core creativity, mind-body therapies, transformational leadership, and mindfulness meditation. For more than forty-four years, Alexander has been a trainer of healthcare professionals in North America, as well as in Europe, Russia, Japan, China, and Australia. As a Mindfulness and Zen Buddhist practitioner, he specializes in utilizing mindfulness meditation in his professional and corporate work to help people transform their lives by accessing the mind states that open the portal to their core creativity.Alexander is a leading pioneer in the fields of Mindfulness Based Mind-Body Therapies, Gestalt Therapy, Somatic Experiencing, Ericksonian Mind-Body Therapies, Holistic Psychology, and Integrative and Behavioral Medicine. He is a long-time extension faculty member of the UCLA Departments of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Entertainment, a lecturer in the David Geffen School of Medicine, and an adjunct faculty member at Pacifica Graduate Institute and Pepperdine Universities. Alexander received his SEP Certificate from the Somatic Experiencing Trauma Institute in Boulder Colorado. He consulted with and received treatment from Milton H Erickson MD. He personally trained with Ernest Rossi and Steven Gilligan in Ericksonian Hypnotherapy as well as with Daniel P. Brown of the Harvard Medical Cambridge Hospital professional training's seminars in hypnosis and hypno-analysis. He trained with and was certified by the Los Angeles Gestalt Therapy Institute and with Erving and Miriam Polster PhD of the Gestalt Training Center of La Jolla. He also received training and supervision in Contemporary Gestalt and Family Therapies, Psychoanalytic Self-Psychology, Relational and Object Relations Therapies.Dr. Ronald Alexander, PhD is a leading Creativity and Communication Coach, International Clinical Trainer, Executive and Leadership Coach, with a private practice in Santa Monica, California. He is the originator of the OpenMind Training® Institute, a leading edge organization that offers personal and professional training programs in mindfulness based mind-body therapies, transformational leadership, and meditation. His unique method combines ancient wisdom teachings with Leadership Coaching and Core Creativity into a comprehensive integrated, behaviorally effective mind-body program. This system combines techniques that support strategies of personal, clinical, and corporate excellence and growth.Alexander's extensive training includes core creativity, conflict management, Gestalt therapy, leadership and organizational development, and vision and strategic planning. He pioneered the early values and vision-based models for current day leadership and professional coaching. He specializes in Mind-Body therapies and has been studying and teaching Mindfulness Meditation, Creative Visualization and Transpersonal Psychology since 1970. Alexander studied with and was influenced by noted leaders in these fields such as Ken Blanchard, Werner Erhard, Warren Bennis, Umberto Materana and Francesco Variela, and was one of the grandfathers of coaching along with Jim Rohn, Tony Robbins and Jack Canfield.To learn more about Dr. Ron and his work, visithttps://ronaldalexander.com

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.comFind Zoe's YouTube channel here.

Chris is a composer, guitarist, and producer from Tulsa, OK JFJO, COMBSY, Chris Combs Trio and more. Downbeat Critic's Poll "Rising Star" nominee 2022, 2023