Gratitude Blooming Podcast

Send us a textExplore the Gratitude Blooming theme of Perspective through the agapanthus flower and a conversation with author and co-founder of the Center for Wild Spirituality Victoria Loorz. She reminds us, as does the art, that what is unnamed is forgotten. We are invited to listen to the wilderness, which can be translated as the voice that speaks. When we listen first, then we can be in a healthier conversation. And it is important to know that this doesn’t have to be all serious. In fact, the more we play with these practices the faster they become our normal.We appreciate your support and help so we can bloom! Please take a moment to give us 5-stars and share a review.You can always email us at hello@gratitudeblooming.com. We want to hear from you!Check out the new Gratitude Blooming journaling notecards at www.gratitudeblooming.com.Learn more about our guest here:https://www.victorialoorz.com/--- Join us live on substack to participate in our monthly community practice: https://gratitudeblooming.substack.com Create an intentional practice or give meaningful gifts with the Gratitude Blooming card deck, notecards, candles and much much more at our shop at www.gratitudeblooming.com. Learn more about our co-hosts and special guest for Season 4: Co-host Belinda Liu | Hestia Retreat Centers Co-host Omar Brownson | Trickster's Guide to Immortality on Substack Special Guest Dr. Paul Wang | The Dao CenterIf you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to leave us a 5-star rating and review. Your feedback is valuable to us and helps us grow. Share your thoughts and comments by emailing us at hello@gratitudeblooming.com. We love hearing from our listeners!

Send us a textThis week we explore the theme of tenacity, represented by the dandelion, with artist and musician Radhika Vekaria. Even after a big life challenge, Radhika shares that the heart doesn’t need protecting. It’s protecting us. Hearts don’t break, only our expectations. She found we can always recharge the heart with love and breath. The digital artwork of the dandelion is juxtaposed against selected words from Charles Darwin, reflecting the unique relationship between nature and culture. Radhika is an artist delivering ancient eastern philosophies primarily through the medium of music. In her career, she has played on world stages with luminaries such as Prince and throughout Europe with many known artists and bands.  Despite being born in the UK, Radhika was deeply drawn to her African and Indian heritage.   Today she resides in America and throughout her work, whether teaching, speaking or creating, Radhika expresses through to the roots of the Vedic sciences, astrology and practices over 5000 years old.  She is a speaker for causes close to her heart, for sharing knowledge that enliven and encourage clearer choices, creating a world our deeper selves want to experience.  She is driven by the harmonic connection between humanity and the world around and says "Only in finding inner truth will we experience outer peace".We appreciate your support and help so we can bloom! Please take a moment to give us 5-stars and share a review.You can always email us at hello@gratitudeblooming.com. We want to hear from you!Check out the new Gratitude Blooming journaling notecards at www.gratitudeblooming.com.Learn more about our guest here:Site: www.radhikavekaria.comIG: iamradhikavTW: radhikavekaria--- Join us live on substack to participate in our monthly community practice: https://gratitudeblooming.substack.com Create an intentional practice or give meaningful gifts with the Gratitude Blooming card deck, notecards, candles and much much more at our shop at www.gratitudeblooming.com. Learn more about our co-hosts and special guest for Season 4: Co-host Belinda Liu | Hestia Retreat Centers Co-host Omar Brownson | Trickster's Guide to Immortality on Substack Special Guest Dr. Paul Wang | The Dao CenterIf you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to leave us a 5-star rating and review. Your feedback is valuable to us and helps us grow. Share your thoughts and comments by emailing us at hello@gratitudeblooming.com. We love hearing from our listeners!

Send us a textThis week’s podcast theme of discovery is expansive from the deeply personal to the full human experience. The digital artwork takes us beyond the day and into the night. The agave flower opens up to the cool light of the moon and pollinating bats. Balancing being a social entrepreneur and parent, Kabira Stokes joins us to share her unique story. She can trace her Quaker roots to the 1600s in Pennsylvania and Jewish immigrants from Poland, but also grew up in a Sufi Muslim community as a blond white woman. Activated by protesting the Iraq war and seeing the violence in Los Angeles, Kabira founded  Isidore Recycling to recycle electronic waste and hire formerly incarcerated workers. She learned that you don’t fight terror with terror. You don’t fight violence with violence. As a parent and human being, she sought to find empathy. To hear the call of crisis with compassion. To love through discomfort. We appreciate your support and help so we can bloom! Please take a moment to give us 5-stars and share a review.You can always email us at hello@gratitudeblooming.com. We want to hear from you!Check out the new Gratitude Blooming journaling notecards at www.gratitudeblooming.com.--- Join us live on substack to participate in our monthly community practice: https://gratitudeblooming.substack.com Create an intentional practice or give meaningful gifts with the Gratitude Blooming card deck, notecards, candles and much much more at our shop at www.gratitudeblooming.com. Learn more about our co-hosts and special guest for Season 4: Co-host Belinda Liu | Hestia Retreat Centers Co-host Omar Brownson | Trickster's Guide to Immortality on Substack Special Guest Dr. Paul Wang | The Dao CenterIf you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to leave us a 5-star rating and review. Your feedback is valuable to us and helps us grow. Share your thoughts and comments by emailing us at hello@gratitudeblooming.com. We love hearing from our listeners!

Send us a textFlower: RedwoodBlood memory can be described by your ancestral and genetic connection to language, songs, spirituality, and teachings. Your ancestors are in you all the time and everything they experienced is in you. And you have an opportunity to heal and grow in each moment.  This week we are joined by Arella Trustman M.A, a member of the Walker River Paiute Tribe of Nevada who shares how we can move from victim to survivor to hero. It’s not always linear, but it is possible. The Gratitude Blooming theme of strength is represented by the redwood. The digital art bridges a whimsical interpretation of a redwood illuminated by a full moon with an owl sitting on a series of ascending triangles. Arella Trustman M.A received her Master’s degree from NYU in Psychology with a Clinical focus in May of 2021.  Her thesis, titled, "Healing Indigenous Historical Trauma: Perspectives of Resilience, Resistance, and Decolonization of Treatment” is an exhaustive review from the novel perspective of alternative and resilient responses to histories of oppression.  Her thesis proposed decolonization of mental health diagnosis and treatment with a strengths-based approach and integration of traditional healing practices.  Arella has shifted professionally into Web3 where she leverages her skills to build communities and educate individuals in the space about mental health.  On the side, Arella continues to do consulting work for Stewart Indian School in Carson City, NV and has contributed materials on Indigenous Historical Trauma for their cultural center and a 4th grade level mini-textbook on Nevada Native History for teachers. https://twitter.com/arella_ethhttps://www.instagram.com/uh_ray_luh/?hl=en--- Join us live on substack to participate in our monthly community practice: https://gratitudeblooming.substack.com Create an intentional practice or give meaningful gifts with the Gratitude Blooming card deck, notecards, candles and much much more at our shop at www.gratitudeblooming.com. Learn more about our co-hosts and special guest for Season 4: Co-host Belinda Liu | Hestia Retreat Centers Co-host Omar Brownson | Trickster's Guide to Immortality on Substack Special Guest Dr. Paul Wang | The Dao CenterIf you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to leave us a 5-star rating and review. Your feedback is valuable to us and helps us grow. Share your thoughts and comments by emailing us at hello@gratitudeblooming.com. We love hearing from our listeners!

Send us a textAfter receiving several requests to feature more from our conversation with Zeneca - Enjoy this episode featuring our full length conversation with @Zeneca33! Check out our recent episode on Friendship and our highlights from this conversation here:https://www.buzzsprout.com/1795496/10943052-want-emotional-freedom-the-stoic-secret-is-in-your-reactions-according-to-zeneca_33.mp3?download=trueCollect the Nasturtium NFT with its two pollinating bees and the theme of friendship as a reminder of who you appreciate in your life. It’s also a great way to support us sharing more gratitude in the world. Finally, in the meme spirit of web3, go touch some grass today! Twitter: https://twitter.com/Zeneca_33Newsletter: https://zeneca33.substack.com/Website: https://www.zenacademy.comYouTube: https://youtube.com/c/zenacademy333Discord: https://discord.gg/zenacademyFind encouragement to practice with the Gratitude Blooming cards in our metagarden community on discord: https://discord.gg/MeRrhxKax4We appreciate your support and help so we can bloom! Please take a moment to give us 5-stars and share a review. You can always email us at hello@gratitudeblooming.com. We want to hear from you! Check out the new Gratitude Blooming journaling notecards at www.gratitudeblooming.com.--- Join us live on substack to participate in our monthly community practice: https://gratitudeblooming.substack.com Create an intentional practice or give meaningful gifts with the Gratitude Blooming card deck, notecards, candles and much much more at our shop at www.gratitudeblooming.com. Learn more about our co-hosts and special guest for Season 4: Co-host Belinda Liu | Hestia Retreat Centers Co-host Omar Brownson | Trickster's Guide to Immortality on Substack Special Guest Dr. Paul Wang | The Dao CenterIf you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to leave us a 5-star rating and review. Your feedback is valuable to us and helps us grow. Share your thoughts and comments by emailing us at hello@gratitudeblooming.com. We love hearing from our listeners!

Send us a textThis week’s Gratitude Blooming theme is trust represented by the Wildflower.  When times are tough, how do we trust enough to remain unmoving until the water clears itself?  Mario Jefferson’s story inspires us to create new personal narratives around trusting ourselves, each other, and the systems we exist in.As a black youth raised in the foster care system of the south, Mario witnessed life through failed family, community, religious and legal systems. Rather than being crushed by the violence and disillusionment of his upbringing, he found a way to maintain his sunny disposition on life.He traveled west to join the Occupy LA Movement, which became a critical turning point to leverage his natural gifts as a mediator, technologist and systems thinker in creating a new financial system we can all put our trust in, especially for his daughter and her future generations. Learn more about our guest here:https://mirror.xyz/supercompute.eth/Sl1Gs5xO6lCCn_CYbxIBFzu4MNE8O71Z_n4B7BLPLzkWe appreciate your support and help so we can bloom! Please take a moment to give us 5-stars and share a review.You can always email us at hello@gratitudeblooming.com. We want to hear from you!Check out the new Gratitude Blooming journaling notecards at www.gratitudeblooming.com.--- Join us live on substack to participate in our monthly community practice: https://gratitudeblooming.substack.com Create an intentional practice or give meaningful gifts with the Gratitude Blooming card deck, notecards, candles and much much more at our shop at www.gratitudeblooming.com. Learn more about our co-hosts and special guest for Season 4: Co-host Belinda Liu | Hestia Retreat Centers Co-host Omar Brownson | Trickster's Guide to Immortality on Substack Special Guest Dr. Paul Wang | The Dao CenterIf you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to leave us a 5-star rating and review. Your feedback is valuable to us and helps us grow. Share your thoughts and comments by emailing us at hello@gratitudeblooming.com. We love hearing from our listeners!

Send us a textThis week’s Gratitude Blooming theme is Sing represented by the Foxglove NFT. We hear a powerful story of what finding your voice truly sounds like from Melissa Lau, principal of Seachange Coaching. Through the power of singing in a foreign language, she unlocks her unique voice, her heritage and her purpose, including the science behind the transformation. Not only does Melissa focus on Mindful Leadership, but she has over a dozen years of business experience in the trenches — including consulting for Fortune 500 C-suite teams at McKinsey, and in senior leadership roles at top technology companies. Melissa believes that the key to leadership is to learn from nature.  Nature doesn't thrive in a mono-cropping culture.  All forms of diversity are welcome and necessary for thriving. Her education includes a MBA from Harvard Business School, a BA from Yale, and a CPCC from the Coaches Training Institute.Learn more about our guest here:seachangecoaching.comelissalau.substack.comCollect the Foxglove NFT with the bee burrowing into the flower. We appreciate your support and help so we can bloom! Please take a moment to give us 5-stars and share a review.You can always email us at hello@gratitudeblooming.com. We want to hear from you!Check out the new Gratitude Blooming journaling notecards at www.gratitudeblooming.com.--- Join us live on substack to participate in our monthly community practice: https://gratitudeblooming.substack.com Create an intentional practice or give meaningful gifts with the Gratitude Blooming card deck, notecards, candles and much much more at our shop at www.gratitudeblooming.com. Learn more about our co-hosts and special guest for Season 4: Co-host Belinda Liu | Hestia Retreat Centers Co-host Omar Brownson | Trickster's Guide to Immortality on Substack Special Guest Dr. Paul Wang | The Dao CenterIf you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to leave us a 5-star rating and review. Your feedback is valuable to us and helps us grow. Share your thoughts and comments by emailing us at hello@gratitudeblooming.com. We love hearing from our listeners!

Send us a textThis week’s Gratitude Blooming podcast theme is Joy & Presence, represented by the Indian Paintbrush NFT. We hear from the artists about the inspiration for the flowing relationship between the hummingbird and the flower.We then talk with energetic therapist Kitty Folmer (MSc) who studied Clinical Psychology at the University of Amsterdam. She wanted an alternative to medications for the depression she had experienced in her youth. After graduating, Kitty immersed herself in healing and regression therapy in her search for truth and the meaning of existence.She found healing by connecting to the earth and through intensive training at the Barbara Brennan School of Healing. Kitty has found community and web3 spaces like ZenAcademy as a way to change the world.Learn more about our guest here:www.kittyfolmer.comwww.art-is-alive.comCollect the Indian Paintbrush NFT with its dynamic hummingbird movements which are just beyond what is visible with the human eye.Find encouragement to practice with the Gratitude Blooming cards in our metagarden community on discord: https://discord.gg/MeRrhxKax4We appreciate your support and help so we can bloom! Please take a moment to give us 5-stars and share a review.You can always email us at hello@gratitudeblooming.com. We want to hear from you!Check out the new Gratitude Blooming journaling notecards at www.gratitudeblooming.com--- Join us live on substack to participate in our monthly community practice: https://gratitudeblooming.substack.com Create an intentional practice or give meaningful gifts with the Gratitude Blooming card deck, notecards, candles and much much more at our shop at www.gratitudeblooming.com. Learn more about our co-hosts and special guest for Season 4: Co-host Belinda Liu | Hestia Retreat Centers Co-host Omar Brownson | Trickster's Guide to Immortality on Substack Special Guest Dr. Paul Wang | The Dao CenterIf you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to leave us a 5-star rating and review. Your feedback is valuable to us and helps us grow. Share your thoughts and comments by emailing us at hello@gratitudeblooming.com. We love hearing from our listeners!

Send us a textThis week’s theme is HOPE represented by the Azalea flower NFT. With recovery advocate Aaron Marks, we explore the biological and emotional impact of substance use. This knowledge comes from his own 17 years in recovery. He asks a very simple question to make addiction clear: If you were very thirsty or hungry, what would you do to fix that? He is a leader in the space as the Co-founder of Misfit Robots, an NFT project building out Mental Health as a Service in Web3, President of the Board at a non profit treatment center, the Chair of the Prevention and Education Subcommittee for the US Attorney’s Opioid Task Force, a public speaker, and fierce advocate for reducing the stigma surrounding mental health and substance use disorder. To keep the lights on he works in blockchain/crypto payments as the Transaction Services Sales Director at Circle.Twitter: https://twitter.com/AfromCLE and @misfitrobotsLinkedIn: https://LinkedIn.com/in/aarondmarksCollect the Azalea NFT with its vibrant feeling of hope, even when life is its most challenging.Find encouragement to practice with the Gratitude Blooming cards in our metagarden community on discord: https://discord.gg/MeRrhxKax4We appreciate your support and help so we can bloom! Please take a moment to give us 5-stars and share a review. You can always email us at hello@gratitudeblooming.com. We want to hear from you! Check out the new Gratitude Blooming journaling notecards at www.gratitudeblooming.com.--- Join us live on substack to participate in our monthly community practice: https://gratitudeblooming.substack.com Create an intentional practice or give meaningful gifts with the Gratitude Blooming card deck, notecards, candles and much much more at our shop at www.gratitudeblooming.com. Learn more about our co-hosts and special guest for Season 4: Co-host Belinda Liu | Hestia Retreat Centers Co-host Omar Brownson | Trickster's Guide to Immortality on Substack Special Guest Dr. Paul Wang | The Dao CenterIf you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to leave us a 5-star rating and review. Your feedback is valuable to us and helps us grow. Share your thoughts and comments by emailing us at hello@gratitudeblooming.com. We love hearing from our listeners!

Send us a textEmotional freedom is learning you can’t control the world, but you can control how you react to it. We explore in this wide-ranging conversation with stoic-inspired NFT leader @Zeneca_33 how he overcame his depression, his relationship to alcohol, dropping out of law school to become one the driving forces in the world of NFTs and web3. One key inspiration (and namesake for his online handle) is from Seneca, a stoic philosopher from 2000 years ago, who said, “Difficulties strengthen the mind, as labor does the body.”   Another key inspiration for @Zeneca_33 relates to the Gratitude Blooming theme of Friendship, represented by the nasturtium. He gives credit to the “unending conversation” he has with his best friend for helping him be where and who he is today. Collect the Nasturtium NFT with its two pollinating bees and the theme of friendship as a reminder of who you appreciate in your life. It’s also a great way to support us sharing more gratitude in the world. Finally, in the meme spirit of web3, go touch some grass today! Twitter: https://twitter.com/Zeneca_33Newsletter: https://zeneca33.substack.com/Website: https://www.zenacademy.comYouTube: https://youtube.com/c/zenacademy333Discord: https://discord.gg/zenacademyFind encouragement to practice with the Gratitude Blooming cards in our metagarden community on discord: https://discord.gg/MeRrhxKax4We appreciate your support and help so we can bloom! Please take a moment to give us 5-stars and share a review. You can always email us at hello@gratitudeblooming.com. We want to hear from you! Check out the new Gratitude Blooming journaling notecards at www.gratitudeblooming.com.--- Join us live on substack to participate in our monthly community practice: https://gratitudeblooming.substack.com Create an intentional practice or give meaningful gifts with the Gratitude Blooming card deck, notecards, candles and much much more at our shop at www.gratitudeblooming.com. Learn more about our co-hosts and special guest for Season 4: Co-host Belinda Liu | Hestia Retreat Centers Co-host Omar Brownson | Trickster's Guide to Immortality on Substack Special Guest Dr. Paul Wang | The Dao CenterIf you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to leave us a 5-star rating and review. Your feedback is valuable to us and helps us grow. Share your thoughts and comments by emailing us at hello@gratitudeblooming.com. We love hearing from our listeners!