Be Mythical

This week's show is with Jeanne Catherine-Gray. Jeanne is deeply committed to transforming the landscape of contemporary psychology and its applications in the real world, Jeanne earned her MA in Psychological Well Being and is currently working on her Ph.D. in the Neuroscience of Psychological Experience. Jeanne has successfully built a community of practitioners and provides training programs for coaches and therapists. Her voracious intellectual curiosity and comfort with listening for insight are complemented by her capacity for action and genuine care for other human beings. Jeanne values a principle-based understanding that naturally improves listening and well being; increasing peace of mind, community satisfaction, and desirable outcomes. With twenty-four years of experience working with groups, Jeanne’s willingness to go straight to the heart of the problem, and not be afraid of anything, reaps great benefits at work, as a host on the radio show, Waking Up: The Neuroscience of Awareness and as a volunteer mediator & parent educator in Charlottesville, VA. In this week's show we're talking about Jeanne's transformation from trauma through PTSD to coming out the other side as someone who is now successfully helping others to overcome their challenges. What you'll learn from this episode: When we talk over and over about trauma it means we experience the trauma again - with all of the same feelings as we did during the original trauma. Realising that her thoughts aren't true is what made change happen in all areas of Jeanne's life - not as a practice but as a realisation that naturally occurred. Our brains are always changing, we can go back to an old way of thinking (or an 'old neighbourhood') but understanding that we can move to a new way of thinking (or a 'new neighbourhood') is a powerful choice that we have.

This week the tables are turned on Lian and she becomes the guest! Primal Happiness co-founder Jonathan Wilkinson is in the host's chair and guides Lian through the story of her life. She covered her early years living as a single parent family with her father, travelling Europe, her struggles with fitting in at school and work, and discovering the possible reason for those struggles. This show is packed with so many fascinating, inspiring, slightly weird :) and incredibly funny stories that I know you'll love. In fact, there was so much awesomeness that we had to make this a two part show so this is part 1 and part 2 will follow shortly. In part 2, Lian will share the surprising impact of losing her father, discovering what was really creating her feelings, and more. What you'll learn from this episode: I loved the example of how the universe always provides when you’re open and aligned to its flow. That’s something we have become so disconnected from in this modern world. And I appreciate for some that’s a hard thing to get your head around let alone believe, but it’s true. It’s only because of the domestication of the human animal that this law of nature has been hidden from view. Have a play with breaking free from your domestication and reclaim your alignment to nature’s great flow. I also wanted to highlight the power of the Socratic approach to learning that Lian’s father used with Lian and Lian subsequently uses with her children. This approach is around drawing the learning out from the student as opposed to pushing it onto them. In this world of google where we've been conditioned to crave instant answers, instant gratification without first taking a journey of exploration ourselves to arrive at the answer is stunting the growth of our consciousness and the collective consciousness of the world. If you have children or even young family members the next time they ask you something, instead of just giving them the answer maybe take the time to have a mini adventure with them and simply reply “I’m not sure... what do you think?” and see where that takes you. 😃 And lastly, Lian shared her story of being a misfit and the challenges that came from that. And how as she’s got older she’s become more accepting of who she is and that’s allowed her gifts to shine brighter. As ever, when we accept and embrace our uniqueness and the uniqueness in others, it has the power to do incredible things in the world.That’s the design of the system that’s the default setting, it’s just that we've lost touch with how to cultivate inspire and nurture the uniqueness in humans. We no longer celebrate people's unique gifts as we’ve been conditioned to turn inward in a never ending and soul destroying pursuit of the status quo. A world where we are all trying to be the same simply does not work! How can you celebrate and nurture your unique gifts and how can you do the same in others?

This week's show is a very different show to the norm, this week, we’ve got Jonathan Wilkinson, the co-founder of Primal Happiness on to tell you about his story. Next week he’ll be interviewing me - we thought it was long overdue for you the listener to get to know us both a little better first. It’s just the start of monthly Lian & Jonathan shows on a range of topics. This is all part of big changes afoot, there’s lots more cool things to come - I'll be telling you more about that at the end of the show. Unless you’re part of one of our programs you’re unlikely to be familiar with Jonathan - who’s actually the other half of Primal Happiness. He's actually the man behind the voice you just heard during the podcast intro at the beginning of the show. Jonathan's story is actually relevant to almost everyone living in today's modern world and acts as a cautionary tale of what can happen to us and our children if we continue living the kind of disconnected lives that are considered normal today. Whilst there's some pretty grim parts to Jonathan's story, I'll let you know in advance that it does have a happy ending. If you're anything like me you'll like to know going in that there's a happy ending! I really think it’s a must listen show for everyone who is interested in understanding more about the little known challenges of living in today’s modern world and how to live a happy and fulfilling life. What you'll learn from this episode: We typically think of trauma as an input of a traumatic event but there are so many people in the western world that are been brought up deeply traumatised by a lack of something, by a disconnection to something. There's been a normalisation of the 'trauma of lack'.  Almost all dis-ease be it mental or physical has disconnection at its root cause. Health is actually natural and normal! Jonathan recognised how he was lacking connection to several of the Primal Fundamentals - which is true for most of us living in this crazy modern world. We can remedy this disconnection and adapt... when we understand how. And that's where The Primal State Formula comes in!

This week's show is with Michael McCaffrey. He began the invaluable practice of meditation and contemplation in 2010. He now speaks publicly on the many benefits of meditation as well as the misunderstandings and misconceptions that act as a block to developing a practice. He also offers meditation in workspaces and runs retreats in the UK. As I said on last week's show, meditation is something that I'm on a real personal journey with at the moment - I used to meditate years ago in the hope of calming my mind, and now when I have a calm mind much of the time, I'm interested in discovering whether I can still benefit from meditation and if so, how. I'm inviting you along for the ride with me. In this week's show, I certainly got what I wanted... Michael shared his incredibly inspiring journey of going from crack addiction to becoming a meditation teacher - and he shares the insights and obstacles he experienced along the way. What you'll learn from this episode: Addiction to something (not just drugs) is almost always a way of escaping some kind of suffering. It's not a choice. Instead of demonising sufferers, how can we offer some support and understanding? When we make the regular practice of sitting and noticing the thoughts - without distraction - we allow ourselves the powerful recognition of what's really going on for us. From that recognition of our true self, we can move from searching for escape to an acceptance of what's going on in the moment.

This week's show is with Alex Mill, a Zen Life Coach, facilitator, leadership trainer and public speaker. He spent nearly 14 years training in a Zen monastery and is now offering his years of experience to transform people’s lives and businesses through mindfulness, meditation and compassionate self-awareness practices. In this week's show Alex agreed to me throwing questions at him about all things meditation. This is something that I'm on a real personal journey with at the moment - I used to meditate years ago in the hope of calming my mind, and now when I have a calm mind much of the time, I'm interested in discovering whether I can still benefit from meditation and if so, how. I'm inviting you along for the ride with me. What you'll learn from this episode: The benefits of meditation are typically that you're more in the present, more focused, less lost in thought, more able to direct your attention. I loved what Alex said: we are either here or not here. Meditation gives the regular practice of noticing that your thoughts are not you and giving you access to the space of insights, peace and connection. Take time for yourself to remove the barriers to meditating: just take 5 minutes to sit and focus on the breath.

This week's show is with Victoria Kate. Victoria is the founder of Free2bme, the training for teachers and parents in mental health wellbeing for young people. Victoria is qualified as a Mind Calm trainer, NLP and Reiki Master and using her personal experience and expertise Victoria delivers self-development courses and one to ones for clients worldwide. Victoria is a single mum, writer and lover of life. She lives by the sea with her 10 year old son and enjoys watching sunsets, eating chocolate and travelling this wonderful world. She is writing a book based on rebuilding yourself after a relationship breakdown, how to thrive single parenting (including travelling with them) and then on to meeting Mr Right! She provides compelling insight, along with other single parents, that one of the most challenging lifestyles can help you wake up and find great peace, serenity and joy in your life. She also happens to be one of my very best and oldest friends! In this show we’re talking about what happens after a painful relationship break-up: life afterwards. We explored all kinds of aspects including making conscious choices, forgiveness and letting go, authenticity, human vs spirit, life as a single parent, and creating a whole-hearted relationship with your ex. What you'll learn from this episode: There's a time for grief and pain - allow yourself that time before you move forward into acceptance. The importance of spirituality - allowing the space for intuition and connecting to your higher self and something bigger than yourself. From there acceptance comes which is the foundation for making conscious choices - large and small. Holding a vision of what'd love life to look and feel like is what allows us to create a life that's in alignment with that vision.

This week's show is with Jaclyn Costello. Nothing is more satisfying to Jaclyn than helping people make breakthroughs to understand themselves more deeply. This is the heart of her role as a Spiritual Development Coach at GrowWithSoul.com. Jaclyn's background in spiritual guidance evolved over years of personal work, immersion in sacred, shamanic ceremonies, and one-on-one mentorships with respected teachers & guides. Jaclyn is also an Assistant Professor in the Honors College at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. As well, she is a writer of poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. Her work has been published in a variety of literary journals & magazines; she just finished her first novel. In this show we’re talking about the juicy topic of intuition. What it is, how we can listen to it, how we can get more of it showing up in our lives, and what we can do with what it tells us! In other words, how we can live our most congruent, aligned, and heart-centred lives. What you'll learn from this episode: We all have intuition and it's like a muscle that the more we use it, the stronger it gets. Find ways to get space for intuition into your life. It's a choice: Check out or check in. Nearly everything in life is a choice and we have such creative power when we're aware of the choices we're making. Sometimes our intuition tells us something we really don't like and are scared to act upon. It's helpful to remember that that tension is what something new can be created from.

And this week's show is with Robin Charbit, one of the founders of Insight Principles. Although Robin is a chemical engineer by training, he has spent most of his 35 year career in the world of business, first as a the leader of one of Exxon’s large international businesses based in Europe, and then as the Director of a consulting practice in Boston, Massachusetts. About 16 years ago, he came across the work of Syd Banks and saw it as the missing element in the world of business. That led him to found Insight Management Partners, to explore how to bring this understanding into business. About 10 years ago, he met Ken Manning and they joined forces to create Insight Principles. In this show we’re talking about getting anything done at work or in life without bother or stress. We all have had moments where we surprise ourselves, we leap that tall building without effort, we solve that issue with ease, or we just see what to do without apparently having to think too much about it. Most people agree when you say this to them. Most people also agree that this is a fleeting occurrence. Robin explains what this phenomenon is, where it lives, and how to have more of it. The interesting thing is there is nothing to do when you know where to look. What you'll learn from this episode: There's an alternative to the bother and stress of today's busy lives and it's to live from an understanding of what allows us to access insight, ease and peace. Remember a time when you were at peace on the inside. Psychologically peaceful. Try to remember what qualities were present in you at that time: Open, at ease, settled down. Were you doing them or did those qualities just show up? If they just showed up, where did they come from? Inside or innate. Not something to get - something to connect to. How to connect to that space? The more we understand how the system works the less we get caught up in thought and have access to that space.

This week's show is with Kelly Noonan Gores, Director and Executive Producer of the documentary HEAL, Kelly Noonan Gores had spent 20 years in front of the camera before deciding to turn her attention to filmmaking. In 2012, Gores launched Elevative Entertainment, an independent production company based in Beverly Hills, and transitioned into a career of writing and producing. However, Gores’ time in front of the camera continued as she starred in and was the executive producer for the award winning films Beneath (2013) and Take a Seat (2011). Gores also produced the feature film Tooken (2015), a spoof of the Taken Franchise. She considers her latest project HEAL, her greatest passion and life’s work as it shares the powerful message that it is never too late for the body to heal. A combination of the books “Biology of Belief” by Bruce Lipton and “Dying to be Me” by Anita Moorjani, inspired and taught Gores that we are not victims of genes and biology but through our thoughts and beliefs we can recover and heal. As a seeker of truth, Gores and her team have a passion for creative, consciousness raising projects. After taking a class at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York City, Gores learned how food effects our health and how no one way diet, toxin release method, etc. works for every person in the same way. Gores’ inspiration for the documentary HEAL stems from a collection of attending classes and conferences, reading and sharing her knowledge with others. Gores is a Los Angeles native, soccer player and has been practicing yoga and meditation for 8 years. In today’s show we spoke about the power of our thoughts when it comes to healing. Kelly's film reveals that we have more control over our health and life than we have been taught to believe. It features interviews with Deepak Chopra, Bruce Lipton, Marianne Williamson, Michael Beckwith, Gregg Braden, Anita Moorjani and other leading scientists, teachers and experts on the mind-body connection, who describe and highlight the relationship between spirituality and science. It turns out that we are not victims of our family genes, but truly have the power to heal virtually any “dis-ease” through our thoughts, beliefs, perceptions and emotions. I’d love to know what YOU think about this week's show. Let’s carry on the conversation… please leave a comment below. What you'll learn from this episode: The possibilities of the human mind and body are something we're only just starting to uncover but the examples in HEAL show that we're only limited by our beliefs. The placebo effect actually creates the same chemical response as the drug it's controlling for. There's an incredible opportunity to better understand and exploit this effect. The way we think about about something can have a greater impact on how it affects us than the actual properties of that thing. For example, whether we see our food as harmful or nourishing can affect whether it harms or nourishes us. Happiness is a great indicator of whether we're in alignment

This week's show is with Shiv, who is a motivational speaker on self awareness and consciousnesses. His message emphasises Self Love as a means to inner awakening and deep meditation.  Shiv believes that being our true self is what the journey of life is all about. Life is to be lived without any delusions stated in words from past experiences. True self cannot be stated in words but lived as an experience. Shiv refrains from attaching himself to any definable label, be it of status, gender, religion, nation or any other description that would define and therefore limit. All that he is, is. In today’s show we spoke about judgement - why we judge, how it affects us, and what's possible on the other side of judgement. What you'll learn from this episode: We're born completely pure and without judgements and then start gathering judgements about ourselves and others - often starting with our gender. We judge others in order to know ourself but it's a limited version of ourself - it's not our true self. The first step to letting go of judgement is recognising that you can. Just observe your thoughts and notice that it's not the real you who is talking. Observe and be a witness. Surrender to yourself and you will become who you really are. As Shiv said "Tension is who you want to be, relaxing is who you are."