Connected with Jen and Shannon

Humor is more than a good laugh. It’s one of the fastest ways to connect.In this episode of Connected with Jen and Shannon, former stand-up comedian, speaker coach, and Great Speech co-author César Cervantes joins us to explore the power of humor, storytelling, and authenticity.Why is it sometimes riskier NOT to try to connect?How can storytelling create meaningful change?And what does it really mean to show up as yourself?From finding your authentic voice to creating moments that move people, this conversation is about more than public speaking. It's about how we connect in everyday life.Because great communication isn't just about what we say. It's about what happens between us.#HumanConnection #Storytelling #Authenticity #PublicSpeaking #Humor #ConnectedWithJenAndShannon

We all need to belong. But what happens when belonging starts dividing us?We communicate to connect. We connect to relate. And we relate so that we can belong.But in this conversation, Jen and Shannon explore the other side of belonging: how our need for community can create in-groups and out-groups, reinforce echo chambers, and shape the meaning we make together.So how do we build communities that actually help us connect, grow, and flourish?Because we can do a lot of inner work on our own—but ultimately, we can’t HumanWell alone.Come join the conversation as we head into Season 3 of Connected with Jen & Shannon. What does healthy belonging look like to you?#ConnectedWithJenAndShannon #HumanWell #Belonging #Community #HumanConnection #RelationalSpace #Communication #EchoChambers

One year. Two seasons. Almost 5,000 of you. So much gratitude!Jen and Shannon are back together for an end-of-summer catch-up, looking back at what we’ve learned in our first year of Connected and ahead to what we’re curious about as Season 3 begins.What does it actually take to HumanWell in complicated times? We talk about rewriting the stories we tell about the future, embodiment, Zazen, self-awareness, deep listening, the magical third thing, and learning to do hard things before we feel 100% ready.Plus: Thriller Dance Club, shadow work in Wales, and the very real challenge of actually practicing all the things we spend so much time talking about.As we head into Season 3, we want to hear from you: What’s living rent-free in your head? How do you HumanWell through it? And what do you want us to explore next season?🧘 Explore Zazen & Zen LeadershipGinny Whitelaw Roshi + Institute for Zen Leadership:Institute for Zen Leadership resources🌿 Explore Shadow Work®: The Feminine JourneyInessa Golubova + ESSENSE Business School:Shadow Work®: The Feminine JourneyMusic licensed through Soundstripe.Code: PPNBXIMIMVITS5ZG#ConnectedWithJenAndShannon #HumanWell #Season3 #HumanConnection #Embodiment #Zazen #RelationalSpace #Podcast

What if the experiences we've been taught to dismiss are actually invitations to expand how we understand consciousness?In this episode of Connected with Jen and Shannon, we sit down with Kelly Chase, Writer, Researcher, creator of "Cosmosis" and host of the new podcast "Inquiry" for a conversation about anomalous experiences, consciousness, transformation, and the stories we tell ourselves about reality.Rather than asking whether anomalous experiences are "real," we explore a deeper question:What do they reveal about us?Topics include:Anomalous experiences and transformationConsciousness and the science of beliefWhy our models of reality sometimes breakHow narratives shape perceptionCuriosity as a practiceNoetic science and expanding consciousnessFinding truth at the edges of what we knowIf you've ever had an experience you couldn't explain—or found yourself questioning the assumptions you've always held—this conversation is for you.

What if the most important thing science can't measure is the very thing that makes us human?In this episode, we sit down with Matthew Segall— philosopher and associate professor at the California Institute of Integral Studies — to explore one of the most urgent questions of our time: how do we bring science and soul back together?Matt bridges the gap between the objective, measurable world of modern science and the deeply subjective inner world of the soul — and makes the case that we need both to truly understand what it means to be human, to be in relationship, and to live well on this planet.We explore:Why mapping the brain will never be the same as mapping consciousness — and what Carl Jung learned the hard wayThe "magical third thing" created in the relational space between people, and why meaning making is always a collective actHow fragmentation and collective trauma are breaking down our ability to connect — and why compassion (which literally means suffering together) may be the only way throughWhy the default human relationship with nature has always been animism — and how modernity got it exactly backwardsWhat it means to think of humans as the nervous system of GaiaWhy embodiment is divine want — and what the elves in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings can teach us about mortalityHow to make language feel less like a cage and more like a musical instrumentSimple practices — walking, writing, and Rudolf Steiner's nightly review — to help you live and reflect more intentionallyThis is a conversation for anyone who has ever felt the tension between what can be proven and what can be felt — and suspected that the truth lives somewhere in between.Midnight Desire Music Code: NBZXGUHOCLS2UMQJNow I'm Here Music Code: YGXO2ITZHM7OXVMRConversion Music Code: VWO55YXYGJLXYXZGAll music licensed through Soundstripe

What Happens When We Remove Art from Healing?In this episode, Shannon and Jen sit down with Nishi Joshi —Global Arts in Medicine Fellow, movement psychotherapist, social emotional learning educator, and president of the Indian Association of Dance Movement Therapy — to explore what’s lost when healthcare systems strip away the arts in favor of outcomes, productivity, and certainty.Nishi makes a compelling case that the arts aren’t a supplement to care — they’re foundational to it. Long before modern medicine, communities processed grief, built belonging, and made meaning through movement, music, ritual, and symbol. When we remove that, she argues, we don’t just lose creativity — we lose dignity, connection, and the relational space where real healing happens.The conversation digs into why the arts can feel threatening to systems built on standardization, how creative expression shifts the power dynamic between practitioner and patient, and why making something — anything — is one of the most radical acts available to us in chaotic times.Nishi also shares her experience with the Global Arts in Medicine Fellowship, where she and Jen first connected, and the collaborative project that grew out of it: the Global Arts for Peace initiative, now uniting more than 20 professionals across the world in using the arts to engage communities around themes of peace.Whether you’re a healthcare practitioner, a creative, or someone who has forgotten they are one — this episode is an invitation to remember.

In a world facing rising loneliness, burnout, and disconnection, what if healing requires more than medicine alone?In this episode of Connected with Jen & Shannon, we sit down with interdisciplinary researcher and artist Alex Rodriguez to explore the emerging world of social prescribing — a growing movement where doctors and healthcare systems are beginning to prescribe art, creativity, nature, and human connection as part of wellbeing.Together, we explore:why loneliness has become a public health crisishow creativity impacts mental health and the nervous systemwhy art may be more essential to healing than we realizethe role of social cohesion, meaning-making, and connection in wellbeinghow “peace,” healing, and community may actually be practices we learn togetherThis conversation lives at the intersection of science and soul, logic and intuition, individual healing and collective wellbeing.Because maybe art isn’t “extra.”Maybe it’s part of what makes us human.

Most people think authenticity is something you either have… or you don’t.But what if it’s something you build?In this episode, we explore authenticity through the lens of communication, presence, and awareness—and challenge the idea that it starts from within.Is authenticity shaped by our inner world…or built through how we show up, act, and connect with others?Featuring a powerful mother-daughter duo:Laurie Schloff — executive communication coach, author, and industry leader whose work has been featured on Oprah, The Today Show, Cosmopolitan, and The Wall Street JournalHava Horowitz — Harvard Business School educator, actor, and communication coach who helps individuals connect body, voice, and storyTogether, we explore:How confidence and authenticity are built through behavior and feedbackWhy presence is often a physiological—not just mental—shiftThe role of the body and nervous system in communication under pressureHow storytelling shapes identity—and how identity shapes how we show upWhy conflict, tension, and even discomfort may be essential to real connectionAlong the way, a deeper idea emerges:Authenticity isn’t just something you feel.It’s something you practice—in real time, in relationship.Because in the end, communication isn’t just about what you say.It’s about how you show up—with awareness, intention, and the willingness to grow.

What if the most important signals in your life… aren’t logical?In this episode of Connected with Jen and Shannon, we sit down with Dr. Ginny Whitelaw—a former NASA scientist, Zen master, and leadership expert—to explore the space between logic and intuition… science and soul—and what becomes possible when we learn to listen beyond words.Because what if your body isn’t just reacting to the world—but actually sensing it through resonance?This conversation dives into the idea that we’re not separate individuals operating in isolation…we’re part of a field of connection and consciousness.And your body?It’s your antenna.We explore:Resonance as the hidden force behind connection and human behaviorThe relationship between science and soul—and why it’s not either/orHow intuition and logic can work together, not in oppositionWhy the body often knows before the mind can explainHow leadership is the practice of turning energy into things that matterThe role of deep listening, presence, and awareness in navigating complexityWhat it means to live and lead from a place of connection and consciousnessThis isn’t about choosing sides—logic or intuition, science or soul.It’s about integration.Because the leaders who will navigate what’s next…are the ones who can sense, listen, and respond—not just analyze.If you’ve ever felt something you couldn’t explain…or knew something before you could prove it…You’re already experiencing resonance.🎧 Listen in and explore what it means to live, lead, and connect—on a deeper level.

Most people think they’re stuck because they don’t know what to do.But what if that’s not the problem?In this episode, we explore a deeper truth:you don’t lack intuition… you just don’t trust it.We’re joined by leadership coach Karen Sigalas to unpack what self-trust really is—and why it’s the foundation for how we lead, decide, and show up in uncertain moments.Together, we dive into:Why self-trust has nothing to do with being rightHow self-awareness without self-compassion turns into self-judgmentThe science behind “intuition” (and why it’s not as woo as you think)What it actually looks like to build trust with yourself—day by dayHow self-trust changes the way we lead, connect, and navigate uncertaintyThis conversation lives at the intersection of logic and intuition, science and lived experience—and invites you to rethink how you relate to your own inner knowing.Because the real shift isn’t finding the right answer…It’s trusting yourself enough to move forward without one.🎧 If you’ve ever second-guessed yourself, overanalyzed a decision, or waited for certainty before taking action—this one’s for you.