On the 95th episode of the What is a Good Life? podcast, I am delighted to introduce our guest, Madelaine Ley. Madelaine is a philosopher, spiritual ecologist, and contemplative artist. Her varied work includes lecturing at Delft University of Technology and Lassonde Engineering School in Canada on digital citizenship, responsible AI, intersectional approaches to tech, and robot-ethics; hosting Sacred Sessions, non-religious gatherings that blend philosophy, art, science, contemplative practice and collective reflection; writing and podcasting for Beauty in the Mire; and experimenting with contemplative art. She was named one of the “100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethics” by Lighthouse3 in 2022 and has been featured by the BBC, Leidsch Dagblad, Yes! Magazine, and Life Itself, as well as funded by The European Pavilion, Horizon 2020 and the Social Science Research Council of Canada.

In this glorious conversation, Madelaine shares how she is deepening her awareness of her embodied experience of life. We discuss how the birth of her daughter revealed an inner bravery, while also exploring the importance of embracing grief, along with the profound grounding and lessons she received from her spiritual mentor in embodying agenda-free presence and resisting the urge to fix or give advice.

This whole conversation is a wonderful invitation to pay attention to your felt experience of life and to recognise the wisdom our bodies can offer.

Subscribe for weekly episodes, every Tuesday, and check out my YouTube channel (link below) for full interviews and clips.

For further content and information check out the following:

Madelaine's Website: https://www.madelaineley.com/
Madelaine's Newsletter: https://madelaineley.substack.com/
Contemplative Art: https://liquidbecomings.eu/28th-september-in-utrecht-liquid-becomings-x-sonnenborgh-museum/

- For the What is a Good Life? podcast's YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/@whatisagoodlife/videos
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- My LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-mccartney-14b0161b4/

Contact me at mark@whatisagood.life if you'd like to explore your own lines of self-inquiry through 1-on-1 coaching, take part in my weekly free silent conversations, discuss experiences I create to stimulate greater trust, communication, and connection, amongst your leadership teams, or you simply want to get in touch.

00:00 Introduction
02:50 Intuition & living at the edges of our skin

08:10 Breakthroughs from motherhood and meltdowns

13:50 The significance of breakdowns and ruptures

16:35 Listening to energies that visit our bodies

22:08 The value of an awareness of death

27:05 The importance of embracing grief

32:20 Agenda free presence

37:55 The influence of a spiritual mentor

42:12 What is beyond measurement

45:07 The experience of silence

49:20 The feeling of bravery from childbirth

56:50 What is a good life for Madelaine?