ashley river brant is a “multi-dimensional artist, writer, teacher and bridge between worlds.” she is a “spiritual alchemist with a vision of bringing more beauty to this planet […] a mystic sharing the teachings of the otherworlds, a channel for Mother Earth.”  her work is “about reconnecting you to your creative genius–the whole ecosystem of life swirling within you. guiding you home to your […] heart’s longings, burning desires, powerful intuition, and truth.” she is the author of tending to the sacred: rituals to connect with earth, spirit and self. in this conversation we talk about the four pillars of ritual and how we use them to create our own lifebuilding courage to follow the inklings buried withinleaving what you know for what you most long to explorethe power of pleasure and the consequences of not prioritizing ithow to create your intention and get back into (or stay) living a creative lifeconnect with ashley river brant:ashleyriverbrant.com@ashleyriverbrant on instagramconnect with daphne cohn:{within} community for artists, makers & writersjoin my email list to know about upcoming events, workshops and podcast episodesread my writing tuesdays and fridays herefollow all things daphne and {within} on instagram: @within.community

julia cameron has been changing lives all over the world since the artist’s way first came out in 1992. millions of people write morning pages and take artist dates - two of julia’s most well-known tools for finding your creativity and living out your truth.  since then julia has gone on to author more than forty books, plays and works of poetry.  she is commonly referred to as "the godmother" or "high priestess" of creativity. the artist's way has been translated into forty languages and sold over five million copies to date. in today’s conversation, julia and I explore the ideas and tools from her latest book, the listening path: the creative art of attention.some things julia and I talk about:on learning to listen after getting soberthe difference between listening with one’s intellect and with one’s hearthow to be obedient to what you hearauthentic listeningand the power of listening to remember who you are.may it inspire you to make your thing and change your world.for more interviews with artists and makers go to daphnecohn.com/podcasts

there are so many ways we are taught to make art, to create a business, to live a life. laura horn shows us that the most powerful way to do any of those things is to do them as yourself: to make art that feels good, to build a business in alignment with your strengths and to live in deep acceptance of who you are.after many years of fighting herself, laura  embarked on the slow and steady path of acceptance. as trite as it sounds, it changed everything.today laura is an abstract painter with a thriving online art business. thousands of creatives have taken her art courses, 135,000 follow her on instagram, her weekly podcast, “the laura horn art podcast” is loved by many, and her watercolor originals are almost always sold out.all because laura decided that the only person she needed to be was herself and the only art she needed to make was her own.some things we talk about:losing her mom to cancer when laura was 21 and her resulting struggle with anxietytrusting in ALL the nudges from the universeletting what feels good be the driver behind every piece of art and every business decisionher path to self-acceptance and the power of honestythe best business and art advice ever

when I first discovered valarie kaur, I cried. I cried watching her six-minute video that went viral and garnered over 40 million views. I cried reading her book “see no stranger: a memoir  & manifesto of revolutionary love,” and I cried in our conversation as she shared her wisdom, heart, passion and love.valarie is a seasoned civil rights activist and celebrated prophetic voice “at the forefront of progressive change.” she leads the revolutionary love project to “reclaim love as a force for justice in america.” she is a lawyer, filmmaker, and innovator who has been a regular tv commentator on MSNBC and contributor to CNN, NPR, PBS, the Hill, Huffington Post, and the Washington Post. she is the daughter of Sikh farmer’s from California’s hearltand and the author of “see no stranger.”this conversation is one of my favorites from the series, “art, activism and the great unknown.” may it move you as much as it did me.some things we talk about: hearing her first racial slurthe revolutionary power of lovethe voice of the little critic and the power of the wise womangrief as a way to know each otherdeep listening as an act of freedomthe need to listen and share our storiesand the labor of the revolutionyou can hear more interviews with brave and experimental artists here.you can follow all things BEYOND and my personal writing on instagram here.

 we are born into a world heavy with shoulds, rights and wrongs. growing up in that world we forget that we have the power to change our world. we forget that just because people tell us what we should and shouldn’t do, we can imagine any way to be. and we can always choose our own way forward.elle luna is a designer, painter, writer, and author of “the crossroads of should and must” and co-author of “your story is your power” with susie herrick. she facilitates a global art movement, #The100DayProject, and has previously worked as a designer at IDEO and with teams on apps and websites, including Medium, Mailbox, and Uber.elle is here to remind us that who we are matters and that what we make is ours.some things we talk about: making real the thing you most long to see in the worldhow to transform your story from broken to beautifulthe role of imagining and curiosity in creating your lifethe phenomenon of the shadow artisthow to get to know your "shoulds" so they lead you to your "must" you can learn more about other brave and experimental artists here.and you can follow all things BEYOND and daphne cohn here. 

there are so many ways to be human. so many ways to look at what we have been given. so many ways to respond to a life. I turn to rob bell when I want to be a human filled with possibility, to look at what we have been given with joy, and to respond to life with wonder.rob is a master creator who talks, writes, and teaches you how to say the thing you’re dying to say and do the thing you’re dying to do. he is a speaker, podcaster and author of ten books including several new york times bestsellers and his most recent, “everything is spiritual.” his podcast – the robcast – was named by iTunes best of 2015. he’s been profiled in The New Yorker, toured with Oprah and in 2011, Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world.rob is one of my heroes. he takes the hard, he turns towards the pain, and transforms it into a beautiful gift for us all.some things we talk about: finding your joythe most brilliant response to fear. ever.  how to use your imagination to create the life you long to live the miracle of the universestepping into the mystery and dancing with the unknown 

in a time when covid physical distances us from one another, politics emotionally separates us, and an economy driven by individual success financially divides us, it can seem almost impossible to create what we most need to truly belong: community.mia birdsong, pathfinder, activist, storyteller and author of “How We Show Up: reclaiming family, friendship and community” has devoted her life to creating and cultivating community not just because it feels good but because we need it. we need it because we are human. because we are interdependent creatures who rely on one another to survive. we need it because it’s through shared wisdom and experience that we can save what is failing and create what we are imagining. and we need it because, as much as creativity is a solo act, it comes from our shared existence.mia has “a gift for making visible and leveraging the brilliance of everyday people so that our collective gifts reach larger spheres of influence, cultural and political change, and create wellbeing for everyone.”and in this conversation mia brings her experience as senior fellow of the Economic Security Project, founding co-director of Family Story, vice president of The Family Independence Initiative, speaker at conferences and universities around the country and her Ted talk (viewed over 1.7 million times), to show us how we can use community to chart a new path forward.some of what we talk about: the american dream, toxic individualism and the power of communitywhat we value and why we better change it. now. finding agency in spaciousness (and how to create more spaciousness in a busy life)looking to the marginalized for freedomand why you only have to do your partmay it inspire you to make your thing and change your world.  

morgan harper nichols offers her art daily to her 1.6+ million instagram followers, via her podcast and her book of poetry and art, “all along you were blooming” and through her many collaborations with companies like coach, adobe, live nation, aerie and more.in this conversation,  we talk about going from paycheck to paycheck to a business with employees, two books, multiple partnerships and a massive social media following, the role of intuition in her art and life, staying the course and how she keeps herself inspired, dealing with doubt, healing differences and how she defines success at this point in her career.you can listen to more conversations with brave and experimental artists and makers hereyou can follow the host, daphne cohn, on instagram

Poet and philosopher David Whyte delves into breaking surface conversations, humor as spiritual practice, body's role in art, being a 'real artist,' and vulnerability in creative work. Emphasizes deep listening, embracing silence, restoring childhood wonder, and exploring vulnerability for growth and authenticity.

 in this conversation with self-help pioneer and author of, "why bother: discover the desire for what’s next," jennifer louden talks about claiming your agency and knowing your work matters, how to know when to stop bothering and move on to something else? what to do when you don’t know what your desires are, how to keep choosing yourself over and over again and how to be vulnerable in your work and then share it with the world.