The Becoming Podcast | Season 3; Episode 5 | Lara Veleda Vesta on illness as initiation and earth connection, myth + ritual as support for transformative times

Hello, friend!  I'm delighted to share this month's Becoming Podcast episode with you.  In it, I interview artist and fellow wilderness quester Glenda Goodrich.  Glenda is an artist, art doula, SoulCollage® facilitator, writer, and convener of ceremony.  She brings together earth-based rituals, community gatherings, and creative expression in a search for new ways to show love for the Earth.  Here's some of what Glenda and I talk about in this episode: > How creativity can support us during rites of passage and times of transition in our lives > How Glenda embraced her own creativity in midlife after a powerful wilderness Quest experience, and how stepping into creativity can be a rite of passage unto itself > The call that the midlife transition offers us to live more authentically  > Glenda and I each share some powerful wilderness Quest stories, as well as some of the challenges entangled in embarking on the ritual of Quest > What it is to become your own spiritual authority, and how that can be a journey that is both grief-filled and beautiful  > What it means to create authentic, deeply meaningful ritual 

I'm really excited to share with you my interview with Megan Sheldon.   Megan and I connected through the magic of Instagram a few years ago, and we've recently enjoyed a couple of conversations sharing lots of professional and personal commonalities. Megan holds a tremendous amount of wisdom around grief work, ritual and ceremony, and I'm delighted to have her on the show.     Here's some of what Megan and I talk about in this episode: > How engaging with ritual called Megan early on in her life, as well as the origin story of the Be Ceremonial app. > Ritual and spirituality:  can you have one without the other?   > Many beautiful stories of rituals and ceremonies Megan has facilitated, including funerals, miscarriage and abortion rituals, rituals during illness, and many inspiring and touching others. > The permission we give ourselves – or don't – to grieve and ritualize seemingly invisible moments and turning points in our lives. > Thinking outside the box when it comes to ritual (and breaking a few rules along the way!). > The tender awkwardness of creating ritual for yourself, your family and your community, even when you're new to the practice yourself 

I'm delighted to share with you that The Becoming Podcast is back for its 6th season (wow!) and that I've got a full and rich lineup of guests to share with you this year!   The first is my dear friend Annie Bray. There were a lot of different titles I could have given this podcast and "Deep Conversation Between Two Brilliant Midlife Friends About The Complexity of Life" was right up there.   After we finished this interview, Annie and I chuckled that listening in would be a lot like being welcomed as an eavesdropper in the kind of conversation we might be having anyway, over a cup of tea by a roaring fire, if only we lived in the same city. Our conversation – and our whole friendship – just feels so human.  And so if that sounds like a dose of good medicine for you, I invite you to tune in.   Here's some of what Annie and I talk about in this episode: > The paradox that traversing times of radical transformation in your life is deeply dysregulating, but that  being able to regulate your nervous system is necessary to navigating these times with more ease. > How having a "regulated" nervous system has also been weaponized – particularly against women – and can be conflated with being well behaved or put together. > How our modern perspective of the nervous system is reflective of our culture's individualism, and how we've forgotten the importance of co-regulation with other humans, the more-than-human and the numinous. > How to show up anyway even when you aren't "regulated" or don't have capacity.  Annie and I share a tender moment about how I recently asked for her support, and what it means to hold each other through impossible times that, in the world we're living in, don't look to be getting any easier.

Hello beautiful ones!  I am so excited to share this month's interview with Lucy Jones with you.  I think it might be one of my favourite episodes ever:  our conversation was so rich and so full of the kinds of things I think we *really* need to be talking about when it comes to matrescence and motherhood.   I started following Lucy in the early days of writing her new book, Matrescence: On the Metamorphosis of Pregnancy, Childbirth and Motherhood.  I was totally captivated by the ecological lens she applied to the transition to motherhood.  It was so much like my own perpsective and experience that I felt I'd found a kindred spirit. Lucy's book is one of the first on the experience of matrescence, and it is a raw and riveting account of her own metamorphosis as well as a cultural critique about modern motherhood. As we near the close of registration for the 2023 Season of MotherSHIFT and The Village, I'm delighted to be able to share this conversation with the many of you who are also walking this path of matrescence and matrescence-support.   Here's some of what Lucy and I talk about in this episode: > The rarely spoken-of and yet increasingly common ecological awakening that so many new mothers have – and Lucy's personal experience of leaning into her relationship with the living world as she traversed her own matrescence. > The things no one ever fucking told us about motherhood, including the societal expectations of motherhood versus the realities so many of us face.  We talk about ideologies around birth and mothering and how they deny us the opportunity to feel "normal" in these richly complex and usually paradoxical experiences. > The absence of modern-day rite and ritual to support us through matrescence, and how we must engage in the act of culture creation in order to reclaim these. > How liberal feminism lets mothers down, and how motherhood revolutionizes our relationship with work (and capitalism). > The untapped power of matrescence to radicalize us and poise us to advocate for social change (the biggest FUCK YES of this whole episode!).   I loved this interview so much, and I hope you enjoy tuning in!

Hello beautiful ones!  I am so excited to share this month's interview with Heng Ou and Marisa Belger with you. They are the authors of The First Forty Days:  The Essential Art of Nourishing the New Mother, which was a groundbreaking book for so many new mothers and postpartum professionals.  To say I was delighted to be able to connect with these two amazing women is the understatement of the year!  Especially as we approach the launch of the 2023 Season of MotherSHIFT and The Village, this conversation is so rich and filled with wisdom for mamas and their support people alike.   Here's some of what Heng, Marisa and I talk about in this episode: > What is true now, for both Heng and Marisa, seven years after their bestselling book The First Forty Days was published.  We talk about what has changed and how, in some ways, we're only just beginning. >  What happens when we take the traditions of the first forty days and insert them into a capitalist, patriarchal, white supremacist culture – and how having the "perfect postpartum" is another myth that many mothers can become trapped in. > How we try to tame the wildness and unpredictability of pregnancy, birth and motherhood, and how to sit in the unknowns we face during these times. >  The intuition that new motherhood gives us access to, how "maternal instinct" has been weaponized against mothers, and how listening to your intuition doesn't necessarily mean you'll always get it right. >  What happens to mothers' sense of identity and self-worth when they find themselves dramatically slowing down in the first forty days. > How mothers' relationship with food and their bodies shifts and changes over the course of pregnancy, birth, postpartum and matrescence.   I loved this interview so much, and Heng and Marisa have an incredible wealth of wisdom to share.  I hope you enjoy tuning in!

Hello beautiful ones!  I am so excited to bring you this month's episode of The Becoming Podcast with Mimi Young. Mimi Young is a Taiwanese Canadian animist spirit medium and the founder of Ceremonie, an esoteric brand focused on conversations around greater intuition and creativity, animism, and realigning with our deeper purpose. Mimi works at the intersection of animism and wu shamanism, practical magick, tea kinship, and other Chinese mystic practices to communicate with the Unseen, offering private readings, education and mentorship, and made-to-order skin and aura care. Mimi has held space globally in her Mystery Mentorship program and retreats, as well as collaboratively with brands including Goop, Almost 30, Spirit House Collective, and Tokyo Smoke. She currently holds an online coven space, Homing Coven, open to all who desire to walk closely with the Seen and Unseen.  Here's some of what Mimi and I talk about in this episode: > Failure as a confrontation with death that ultimately makes us more human and divine >  How to suspend your disbelief and follow your intuition in a hyper-rational world >  Animism and working with tea as an ally > How we clutch exogenous sources of intuition like tarot and astrology when we're traversing the unknown, and what to do instead >  How the wisdom of the 5 Chinese Elements can support us to thrive in liminal space >  How motherhood sparked Mimi's intuition – and how this plays out for so many mothers >  The link between creativity and intuition, and the animacy and mystery of Creative Force And so much more.  This was such a rich and wide-reaching conversation, and Mimi is so incredibly well-spoken and wise.  We had fun, too, and laughed a lot!  I hope you enjoy getting to know Mimi as much as I did in this episode.

The Becoming Podcast has been on a short hiatus while I focus on writing my book, but oh what a comeback episode I have for you! This month, I spoke to Toko-pa Turner, who many of you may know as the unofficial patron saint of many of my circles and gatherings because of the sheer number of times I've quoted from the wisdom of her book, Belonging. Toko-pa is a Canadian author, teacher, and dreamworker. Blending the mystical teachings of Sufism in which she was raised with a Jungian approach to dreams, she founded The Dream School in 2001, from which thousands of students have graduated. She is the author of the award-winning book, Belonging: Remembering Ourselves Home, which explores the themes of exile and belonging through the lens of dreams, mythology, and nature. This book has resonated for readers worldwide, and has been translated into 10 different languages so far. Her work focuses on the relationship between psyche and nature, and how to follow our inner wisdom to meet with the social, psychological, and ecological challenges of our time. Here's some of what Toko-pa and I talk about in this episode: > The dream that changed Toko-pa's life, causing her to question her career and, ultimately, her identity > How we can court our dreams to support us during times of radical transformation – and the reasons so many of us have a hard time remembering and working with what shows up in our dreamscape > Toko-pa's perspective on the message of Belonging after the divisiveness our society has experienced in the years since it was published > What happened for both Toko-pa and I when we fell out of belonging from the ideologies of the "wellness world" > How to build community when you're under-resourced > "The Big Lie" when it comes to belonging, and how we can reclaim a sense of belonging to the greater family of things, as Mary Oliver so famously wrote

Welcome to the third episode of the 2023 season of the Becoming Podcast! On this month's show, I had the great pleasure of having a conversation with Day Schildkret.  I was first introduced to Day's work many years ago when a friend recommended I check out his book, Morning Altars.  Now, Day has written Hello Goodbye, a "recipe book" of rituals, that shares wisdom about how we can more meaningfully honour the hellos, goodbyes and other transitions in our lives.   Here’s some of what Day and I talked about in this episode: > Two massive catalyzing moments that Day experienced in one year, and the choice we have to make meaning of the threshold moments in our lives – or not. > The key components that need to be a part of every ritual in order for it to be successful. > The intangible, magical qualities of ritual and how we in our culture are inclined to "assassinate mystery with answers," rather than allowing the mystery of ritual to unfold. > The importance of having our rituals witnessed, and how to choose good witnesses. And those are just the highlights!  I hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as I enjoyed recording it!

Welcome to the second episode of the 2023 season of the Becoming Podcast! On today’s episode, I welcome Jennifer Garvey Berger, someone whose work I've been following for many years, and who I consider to be a valuable teacher of mine.  I was so excited to nerd out with her about all things adult development psychology, neuroscience and complexity theory.     Before we dive in, let me tell you a bit about Jennifer: The co-founder and CEO of Cultivating Leadership, Jennifer blends deep theoretical knowledge with a driving quest for practical ways to make leaders’ lives better. She coaches executives and executive teams, designs and teaches leadership programs. Jennifer has written three highly acclaimed books on leadership and complexity and how to grow the capacities we need for the world in which we live. She hopes her newly-released fourth book, Unleash Your Complexity Genius, will change your life. When she’s not working with clients and colleagues, you can find her in the French countryside, where she has bought a house with eleven friends who live in community and try to keep the dog from terrifying the cats.     Here’s some of what Jennifer and I talked about in this episode: > Jennifer's move to the south of France to a big house with eleven friends, and how re-defining and reclaiming community has grown her and challenged her. > A model of adult development psychology that I use to guide my work with clients and that Jennifer teaches so eloquently.  It's all about this amazing shift from allowing the opinions of others to define our lives to taking up the pen and authoring our own rules of engagement. > Jennifer's new book, Unleashing your Complexity Genius, all about how we can grow the capacity of our nervous systems to be more resourceful and resilient in the face of change and complexity. > The surprisingly simple ways to increase your short term, medium term and long term capacity during transformational times – and how these things are actually sources of tremendous pleasure and joy.   I hope you enjoy listening to this episode! 

Wow!  I can't believe we're on season 5 of this podcast!  That is 4 years and 36 joyful episodes I've had the pleasure of sharing with you! On today's episode, I welcome The Becoming Podcast's first repeat guest, my friend Mara Glatzel.  (You can listen to our first episode together here). If you don't already know Mara, she is an intuitive coach, writer, and podcast host. She is a needy human who helps other needy humans stop abandoning themselves and start reclaiming their humanity through embracing their needs and honoring their natural energy cycles.   Here's some of what Mara and I talked about in this episode: >  The publication of Mara's book – and a sneak preview into how she's attuning to her own energy + seasonal cycles as her February 28th launch date approaches.  Mara beautifully models how tending to your needs and celebrating your successes is an evolving endeavour that even the "masters" among us will always be ever-mastering. > Grappling with the tension being "professional" and also being a human and caring for humans with oh-so-very human needs, and how it's a political statement to show up just as we are. > How seeing others' humanity begins with seeing, validating and tending to our own humanity. > Radical self-responsibility:  the fact that you are the person most intimately familiar with your needs, and are therefore the only person who can really advocate for those needs to be met, by yourself or by those around you.  > And a little treat for you at the end!   I hope you enjoy listening to this episode!   I'm so delighted to shout Mara's work from the rooftops because I think it's the foundation to any life transformation made well.