slow inside

in this episode i share my stories: the stories that make up my song. stories that defy logic, go beyond rational thinking, and yet were the exact experiences i needed to understand my place on this earth and my work in this world. this is my most personal solocast. i hope you enjoy it.  you can listen to all past episodes with beautiful, amazing folks like lisa congdon, valarie kaur, david whyte, rob bell, michael franti, laura horn, and many more at daphnecohn.com

in some way i am changed by every interview but then there are the ones that uproot my knowing and shift the soil below me. this is one of those interviews.mandy is a poet, peace advocate and public speaker. her list of accolades and accomplishments is long. in brief (but hardly complete), mandy is the author of two collections of poetry, glenn gould’s chair and math, heaven, time, writer-in-residence at the philosophical research society, subject of a feature-length documentary, “peace piece: the immersive poems of mandy kahn,” and recipient of the 2018 shakespeare prize in poetry–other recipients include tom stoppard, ray bradbury and dana gioia.mandy has given readings around the world, collaborates to make works that combine poetry and classical music, and offers a free weekly online class on the nature of peace.mandy is a mystic and intuitive whose divine wisdom can truly change this world.some things we talked about:the world-altering power of peacemandy’s health breakdown and how it led to surrender, god and a life of miraclesher earliest experiences as a mysticwhat it looks like to live a life led by intuitionhope as a holy elevatormandy’s exact process for writing poetry and how she maintains her connection to creativitymay this conversation inspire you to go within: to the raw, wild, expanse of mystery that is 
your beating heart, vibrating body, pulsing life in order to go beyond to utter the sacred: your words, dance, painting, art.you can listen to past episodes at daphnecohn.com 

in this episode i talk about the hardest thing when crafting your own life, singing your own song: fear. as elizabeth gilbert says, "creativity is a path for the brave, but it is not a path for the fearless. bravery means doing something scary." i talk about the fear i live with every daythe truth of this journeyhow to let your life speakthe terror, and freedom, in being vulnerable andstaying close to the way we are madeyou can listen to previous episodes with amazing artists and makers at daphnecohn.com 

anna is an edge walker. dancing with the wild. beckoning towards the unknown. digging into the unchartered to open eyes, shift sands, and create new.  she is as wise as she is brave, as honest as she is strong. anna is a writer, creativity teacher and mother. she is the author of “the creative doer” and the founder of the creative doer community and ignite.anna writes “about writing, feminism, learning to say (holy) yes and (fuck) no, sisterhood, motherhood, and her quest to re-define the creative path.anna is a gift of a human and it is an honor to share her with you a second time on this podcast.may this conversation inspire you to go within: to the raw, wild, expanse of mystery that is 
your beating heart, vibrating body, pulsing life in order to go beyond to utter the sacred: your words, dance, painting, art.some things we talk about: the healing power of honesty and the vulnerability backlashgoing against the business advice to follow what’s truehow to simplify, slow down and tune inprioritizing inner work in order to do the outer workdealing with fear and broadening your capacity for discomfortdoing the work that you are here to do no matter whatfor all past episodes go to daphnecohn.com

in this episode i explore one of the most powerful questions i know: how do you use your creativity to craft a life that is yours? i talk about moving from domesticated adult to wild animal, going beyond your personal belief system, learning the language of your body, how to use your body as a tracking system to bring you home and specific strategies for singing your own song. you can listen to previous episodes with amazing artists and makers at daphnecohn.com

i first met carrie when i interviewed her for the podcast several years ago. her story of pain, loss and rebirth captivated me. her colorful paintings of flowers and women delighted me. her success as an artist intrigued me.then we became friends and i fell in love with her passion for creativity, her devotion to the creative spirit and her wild, fierce questioning, soul. despite carrie’s heat allergy, which can drain her physically and emotionally, carrie is all light, painting beauty into the world.carrie began painting after being diagnosed with a life-threatening heat allergy in 2009. “painting became a therapeutic practice and act of tenderness amidst the darkness. with time there was healing and the birth of my life as an artist.”today carrie is a full-time artist, art retreat facilitator at her hōm: house of miracles, in steilacoom, wa, and author of “the story of every flower,” “painted blossoms: creating expressive flowers with mixed media,” and the children’s book, “a flower in her heart.” she licenses her art for stationary, home decor, clothing and other lifestyle products.may this conversation inspire you to go within: to the raw, wild, expanse of mystery that is 
your beating heart, vibrating body, pulsing life in order to go beyond to utter the sacred: your words, dance, painting, art. SOME THINGS WE TALK ABOUT…what it means to be a devotee of creativityhow creativity awakens you to the most alive and empowered version of yourselftransforming your relationship to creativity from fear or doubt to trust, love and divine guidancewhat your art says about youhow destruction can be the most liberating part of the creative processmoney, charging for our work and success in artthe power of naming and using your creativity to create your worldlisten to all previous BEYOND episodes herejoin illumine herelearn about carrie here

welcome to my first solocast. in this episode i talk about one of my greatest loves: questions. i share about hearing a voice that changed my life, how to ask big questions, why questions matter and how they bring us freedom. you can join me and artists, writers, makers from around the world every day, monday through friday, for illumine: a free sacred creativity hour. you can learn more here.you can learn about emerge, an embodied writing series, here. or {within}: a community for artists and makers here. and listen to all past episodes here. thank you for listening.  

sometimes we have to go through the darkest nights to live into the lightest days.emma was recovering from two serious health diagnoses when covid hit. within a month she was divorced, had closed her art store, and moved back in with her parents.thus began a spiritual awakening that led to her getting sober, becoming a poet, finding buddhism and making art from the earth.emma is a “queer contemplative artist, poet, teacher and facilitator connecting deeply with words, textiles, slow stitching … passionate about sharing the transformative healing powers that our imaginations hold, the gifts of slowing way down and the power of vulnerability and sensitivity to change our lives and this world.”she is like a river that becomes an ocean: a gentle force, a quiet storm. emma thinks deep, asks big and reaches wide. she is a beautiful soul and i’m honored to be able to share her wisdom with you.some of the things we talk about in this conversation are:her story of getting divorced, moving home and getting soberhow her spiritual awakening radically transformed her artthe risk of vulnerability and how it changed her businesshow emma changed her selling from “feeding capitalism” to meditation in actionthe power of imagination as medicine for deep healingemma’s art process of quiet contemplation, deep listening and sacred makingyou can learn more about emma hereyou can listen to past episodes and join us for illumine hour here

andrea is a wonder seeker.she looks for it in the easy moments – a kiss, friends gathered together, traveling to other countries. and she looks for it in the hard moments – beset by anxiety, in the midst of divorce, struggling to stay afloat.we talk about this – about turning towards the hard, making space for the all of it, in order to give wonder the breath and space to arise.wonder is a habit, a skill, just like eating well, exercising, meditation or any other tool you use to stay sane and find your equilibrium. just like with any habit, it helps to have specific ways of cultivating it. in wonder seeker, andrea’s newest book, she offers 52 ways to discover wonder.andrea is an artist, author and “a big believer in the transformative power of creativity.” she’s a photographer, author of an award-winning blog and several books including her latest one, “wonder seeker: 52 ways to wake up your creativity and find your joy,” teaches ecourses and retreats, and hosts the creative superheroes podcast.may this conversation inspire you to go within: to the raw, wild, expanse of mystery that is 
your beating heart, vibrating body, pulsing life in order to go beyond to utter the sacred: your words, dance, painting, art.you can find the show notes to this episode and all other episodes over at daphnecohn.com

meggan is a feminist theologian. she writes about mary magdalene and the divine feminine. one could listen to this conversation and think, initially, that it is about religion, christianity and what it means to be a woman in a male-dominated theology.but it isn’t.it’s about soul work and having the courage to sit still and listen for what’s true. it’s about battling the doubts and fears to put into the world the voice you came here to speak. it’s about making your thing no matter the forces against it. and being the lighthouse for others, the ones “made of the same fabric,” to find you.it’s about bravery and heart, honesty and perseverance.some things we talk about: working through panic attacks and intense doubt to write the work meggan’s here to writethe wisdom of the body and the power of living an embodied lifeknowing your worth while doing your soul workthe deep need for the divine femininedoing the hard work of going in to give to the world the truth of who we aremay this conversation inspire you to go within: to the raw, wild, expanse of mystery that is 
your beating heart, vibrating body, pulsing life in order to go beyond to utter the sacred: your words, dance, painting, art.you can listen to past episodes here