The Moth - The Power of Storytelling

Anxiety has been rising steadily for more than a decade in all populations, says mindfulness teacher Jennifer Cohen Harper. We see more and more kids struggling with it, she says, due in part to pandemic school closures/reopening, as well as the economic uncertainties so many have faced. Listen to Jenn's anecdotes about her own experience as a parent, how it's wise to make friends with anxiety instead of pushing it away, and how caregivers with anxiety can actually be the greatest support to kids. This episode is part of Season 4 of Omega’s award-winning podcast, Dropping In. Join us for intimate conversations with some of Omega's trailblazing spiritual teachers, thought leaders, and social visionaries, to explore the many ways to awaken the best in the human spirit. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Everyone has the right to heal, says Devi Brown, whose role as a well-being educator recently expanded to include leading diversity and inclusion at Chopra Global. In conversation with Omega digital media director Cali Alpert, Devi discusses how we experience trauma individually and culturally, her commitment to finding patches of joy within the challenges, and why the journey of self-study and self-discovery is so critical. Devi identifies ways to better serve the collective, through free and accessible well-being programs to support individuals, our community, and our planet. Ultimately, she says, all of us are here to remember who we really are, and to make peace with the discomfort of current times. This episode is part of Season 4 of Omega’s award-winning podcast, Dropping In. Join us for intimate conversations with some of Omega's trailblazing spiritual teachers, thought leaders, and social visionaries, to explore the many ways to awaken the best in the human spirit. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In conversation with Omega digital media director Cali Alpert, Pádraig Ó Tuama explores the shared sources of prayers and poetry, the multiple interpretations of language and how it changes over time, and how he likes to explore scáth —which means both shadow and shelter in Irish. Pádraig opens up about his upbringing and its challenges, and how children are yearning to look at things of serious meaning, such as life and death. He says when he felt alone as a child, poetry created a space for him to have conversations with himself on the page.  Ultimately, where great art and writing comes from, he says, is a mystery. Don't miss Pádraig's reading of his poem, "Let the Waters Swarm with a Swarm of Human Beings." This episode is part of Season 4 of Omega’s award-winning podcast, Dropping In. Join us for intimate conversations with some of Omega's trailblazing spiritual teachers, thought leaders, and social visionaries, to explore the many ways to awaken the best in the human spirit. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More Americans are turning to psychics than therapists these days, says renowned British psychic Lisa Williams. Because of that, she’s looking to raise the ethical and professional standards in an industry that is providing so much hope. Among the 101 messages Lisa delivered during the pandemic: We are in a time of change and now is the time to stand up for what you want. Listen to Lisa’s stories about how she is using her intuitive abilities in new ways to give families final messages when loved ones are transitioning to death. And hear about her path of pursuing a master’s degree in psychology and neuroscience to study how intuition works through the limbic system.  Lisa's parting message in this conversation with Omega digital media director Cali Alpert, is that as acceptance of mediumship grows, there is much more work to be done by mediums in the world. This episode is part of Season 4 of Omega’s award-winning podcast, Dropping In. Join us for intimate conversations with some of Omega's trailblazing spiritual teachers, thought leaders, and social visionaries, to explore the many ways to awaken the best in the human spirit. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Dan Millman was teaching a martial arts course at Oberlin College, he coined the phrase that now graces the cover of his spiritual classic, The Way of the Peaceful Warrior. In teaching the class and writing the book, Dan drew on leaders like Mahatma Ghandi and Martin Luther King Jr., well-known people who had a peaceful heart but, at times, needed to show a warrior spirit. Since then, he has come to see everyone as peaceful warriors in training, because we’re all seeking that sense of equanimity amidst the chaos. Dan talks with Omega digital media director Cali Alpert about the wisdom of his mentors, why he knew he needed to become a teacher, and some of the key lessons he's taught. This episode is part of Season 4 of Omega’s award-winning podcast, Dropping In. Join us for intimate conversations with some of Omega's trailblazing spiritual teachers, thought leaders, and social visionaries, to explore the many ways to awaken the best in the human spirit. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In conversation with Tracee Stanley, Dropping In host Cali Alpert asks, “Why has it become a badge of honor in our society to be tired?” Tracee says we can trace that belief back to the Industrial Age, when the dominant culture began to say, "If you’re not productive, you’re not valuable as a human being." Instead of carrying the trope of doing more, acquiring more, and being available 24 hours a day, Tracee is looking to celebrate the rituals of rest, sacred dreaming, and self-care. When we rest, we connect with our inner wisdom, she says, and we begin to listen to the whispers of our soul. This episode is part of Season 4 of Omega's award-winning podcast, Dropping In. Join us for intimate conversations with some of Omega's trailblazing spiritual teachers, thought leaders, and social visionaries, to explore the many ways to awaken the best in the human spirit. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the heels of the arduous and rewarding process of writing a book together, Gabor and Daniel talk with Cali Alpert, Omega's digital media director, about the only relationship where one partner is completely responsible for the other. “No relationship starts off so entirely unequal, moves toward equality, then back toward dependence, all the while demanding mutual respect,” Gabor says. Also, Daniel adds, there’s really no blueprint for how it’s supposed to be.  Sharing snippets from their own sometimes thorny relationship, the men discuss how, as adults, we have to negotiate unresolved hurts, misunderstandings, and issues that can come in the way of our natural connection.  Daniel reflects on how we all can get comfortable in “stuck” habits. Perhaps instead we can begin to wonder, he says, how else could this relationship be? This episode is part of Season 4 of Omega’s award-winning podcast, Dropping In. Join us for intimate conversations with some of Omega's trailblazing spiritual teachers, thought leaders, and social visionaries, to explore the many ways to awaken the best in the human spirit. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In conversation with Omega digital media director Cali Alpert, Xiye Bastida shares her view of climate justice and how it is different from environmentalism, her deep sense of gratitude for Mother Nature, and the meaning of reciprocity across Indigenous cultures worldwide. As she carries the wisdom of a new generation with her, she emphasizes connection—how we need to connect with our elders, and learn from our history, instead of blaming ancestors for the injustices and the extractive practices that have developed. Though we are living through a complex crisis, the best thing we can do is to connect with nature, so that we are committed to fiercely protect this treasure. This episode is part of Season 4 of Omega's award-winning podcast, Dropping In. Join us for intimate conversations with some of Omega's trailblazing spiritual teachers, thought leaders, and social visionaries, to explore the many ways to awaken the best in the human spirit. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We create beliefs at such a young age, says hypnotherapist Marisa Peer. Those beliefs become part of our identity, and they often impact our entire life, even affecting our physical reality. When Marisa invented the five steps of Rapid Transformational Therapy (RTT®), it was based on her knowledge that the mind does what it believes you want, based on the words you use. That’s why, she says, if you think better words, you have better outcomes.  In conversation with Omega digital media director Cali Alpert, Marisa shares how our mind tries to recreate what it knows and go toward what is familiar, but we can change that story. Human beings are wired to change, she says. This episode is part of Season 4 of Omega's award-winning podcast, Dropping In. Join us for intimate conversations with some of Omega's trailblazing spiritual teachers, thought leaders, and social visionaries, to explore the many ways to awaken the best in the human spirit. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kate Tellers and Theresa S. Thames share how the art of storytelling has animated their lives, and the lives of The Moth audiences from all walks of life, on this episode of Dropping In. They discuss how to become a great storyteller, the importance of listening, and how to build community through storytelling. The trio talks about how storytelling has the power to bring people together—even in divisive times—to find a place of commonality in the human experience.  Don’t miss the big reveal about Theresa and Kate’s most memorable moments with The Moth. This episode is part of Season 4 of Omega's award-winning podcast, Dropping In. Join us for intimate conversations with some of Omega's trailblazing spiritual teachers, thought leaders, and social visionaries to explore the many ways to awaken the best in the human spirit. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices