I first saw Ashanti and learned about the work he does in the documentary, 'The Mask You Live In'. It hit my deep, it moved me and it inspired me. More recently I participated in a workshop he facilitated titled, Taking Off The Mask.  

So, what are these masks?

In this episode we talk about what it means to take off the mask. We talk about what masks are – what's on the front of our mask and what's on the back of it. Ashanti shares a few examples of these too from people he's worked with, from teenagers through to adults in their fifties. What's hidden behind these masks are feelings we all share at some stage in our lives. 

One of the things I love about Ashanti is that he lives what he teaches, he walks the talk and goes first when it comes to being real, being vulnerable and in doing so he provides a safe place for others to be seen and heard. I think you'll feel that too when you listen to this conversation.

Amongst other things we talk about:

• What are the masks we wear
• What is wrong with our education system and how we can address it
• What can parents do to support kids at school and during this time of incessant uncertainty, fear and homeschooling
• The power of truly seeing another and what it means to be seen
• How we might address the crisis of masculinity that results in 90% of incarcerated people in the US being men

We merely scratch the surface of these and other important topics but I think you'll find this is an incredibly affirming conversation about how we can all connect more with the truth of who we truly are, so that we may connect more with each other.

Links mentioned in this episode:

Ever Forward Club Website

Ever Forward on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter

Join the 100K Masks Challenge and draw yours here for free

Ashanti Branch on Instagram

I've been excited to share this episode with you for some time. 

I met Tim when I first arrived in Nicaragua. I went out for a surf with only a few others in the water and there was Tim, having the time of his life, ripping into every wave, cheering on others, full of stoke. I didn't talk to him at that time however, it wasn't until a few days later that I actually met him.

I had found a baby opossum in a bucket of water outside our home, it was drowning and barely clinging on to life. John, who manages Casa Horizon suggested we take it down to a local guy who cares for animals, Tim.

Tim's home is a refuge for sick, injured, orphaned wildlife. It's a small part of the work he does but his dedication to all animals, his commitment and care for biodiversity is not just a philosophy, it's how he lives his life.

I realised that this was not just the guy from the surf, but it was he who is responsible for the turtle egg hatchery on the beach.

I knew we had to chat.

In this episode, amongst other things, we talk about:

• His early days and influences, including Punk music
• How a wise quote from his dad changed his focus to action
• How Vital Actions came about and the work it does to save endangered sea turtles
• How Vital Actions is reforesting local land and bringing back wildlife in Southern Nicaragua
• How the community is being supported and employed while saving turtles and reforesting
• How Vital Actions has managed to slow the turtle egg poaching trade, save eggs and keep locals employed

It's an inspiring conversation and a wake up call for anyone who cares about animals, the environment or social justice.

You can find out more about Vital Actions here, and become a patron. $10/month will keep this organisation afloat and saving turtles.

Please rate and review this episode, and subscribe here.

And if you enjoyed this episode, please share it - that would mean so much to me and the turtles.

Mikey

John not only wrote the book – Tales of a Modern Nomad, he is the modern nomad. He's also a modern renaissance man – working to bring more play, more creativity, more magic, more conscious connection , awareness, love and laughter into our lives.

I've been living next door to John for the past few weeks and he's full of surprises. He's a singer songwriter, a poet, a yoga and breathwork teacher and co-founder of Momentom Collective. He's spent the last 14 years travelling and sharing his experiences and lessons with others.

In this episode we discussed what it's like to travel the world and facilitate transformational experiences for people in some of the worlds' most inspiring and beautiful locations. We discussed creativity, connection, community and control, and I learned about conscious clowning.

Enjoy this episode, you'll be inspired to back your bags and cultivate some adventure of your own. Meanwhile, I'll be learning how to bring more sacred clowning into my life.

You can find John on Instagram at @johntearly

John's website is www. johnearly.ca

Tales of a Modern Nomad is here

Learn more about Momentom Collective here.

In this episode I share a couple of stories of how appreciation has changed my life. It's a powerful practice, one that is innate but one we may be out of practice in.

I'll show you what appreciation is and how to cultivate more of it in your life.

I shared a quote from John O'Donohue's interview with Krista Tippett on On Being, the link to that episode is here.

The link to the Tim Ferris podcast featuring Greg McKeown I mentioned is here.

You can follow me on Instagram here or contact me via email at [email protected]

In this episode we talk about the power of reflections and I share my experience of focusing on five questions over this past year.

It's typically something you might do at the start of the year or at significant milestones, like birthdays. My birthday is coming up and it's always a time of reflection for me. Some years it's a celebration, other years it's quite difficult.

When you look at where you were, where you are and where you want to be some inconvenient truths arise. And so, we deal with them. Reflecting at times like this is essential to give us perspective and hopefully, become more kind, compassionate and less judgemental with ourselves.

This past 12 months I've used five questions to guide my learning, growth and trajectory. In this episode I reflect on those questions as well as sharing some I have created for myself for the next year ahead - I've listed these below. The source of these questions is a couple of instagram posts from Yumi Sakugawa, I encourage you to check out her work @yumisakugawa.

The five questions I reflect upon are:

1. Who do you want to unbecome during a global pandemic?
2. What will you value and prioritise during a global pandemic?
3. How will you give and receive during a global pandemic
4. Whose vision of the future will you believe during a global pandemic?
5. Actively create, co-create, envison and build, desire something better than settling for what is already here

And the seven questions I'll be focussing on for this next year are:

1. What does your heart want you to know right now?
2. Who do you need to become in order to live your heart's greatest desires?
3. Who do you need to unbecome in order to live your heart's greatest desires
4. What will you value and prioritise? 
5. When faced with a decision, big or small, what would the person you desire to become do?
6. What must you release or stop doing in order for this becoming to be inevitable?
7. What step can you take now towards this becoming to be inevitable

If you have any comments or feedback I'd love to hear it - email me at [email protected] or message me on Instagram @mikey.ellis

Until next week, lotsa love.

Mikey

Trigger Warning – this episode includes a conversation about sexual assault, trauma, PTSD and post traumatic growth.

Eleanor contacted me a couple of months ago and said that there was something she'd like to share. I spoke with Eleanor on Episode 24 of this podcast where she shared some of her adventures.  

I've always been fascinated by what drives people to do extraordinary things and Eleanor has done plenty of extraordinary things. She has rowed 62 days from California  to Hawaii‬, is the first Australian woman to row the Pacific, she's cycled solo across Europe and is a 2 x world record holder.

I was curious to find out what it is she wanted to share. We didn't prep much for this conversation, I wanted it to be casual and on her terms. 

Eleanor opens up about her experience of trauma and how it affected her life in business, in adventures, personally and professionally. She talks about some of the processes and therapy that has helped and her post traumatic growth.

This is a very real and vulnerable conversation. Eleanor talks about sexual assault and the impact it's had on her life then and now. It's an incredibly powerful conversation, one which I was both grateful and humbled to share with Eleanor. It's also an incredibly inspiring conversation and it's a pleasure to witness someone who has found meaning and purpose and is so passionate about helping others. 
 
The list and marker areas of Post Traumatic Growth are:

1. Appreciation of Life
2. Relationships with Others
3. New Possibilities in Life
4. Spiritual Change
5. Personal Strength

I hope you too find some strength, some comfort and some inspiration here. 

Follow Eleanor on instagram here and you can contact her via her website here, including more information about her keynote, Post Traumatic Growth: Engineering Opportunity Through Adversity.

Eleanor mentioned EMDR therapy, here is the online resource to help get connected to an EMDR practitioner (in Australia).

• Gallup Strengths
• Enneagram
• Human Design
• Astrology

For the second half of this episode I'm joined by my partner, Katie Akbar, who reads astro charts and shares her insights into how we might use the planets to understand our place in the world a little better.

For more details and links to all the content shared on this episode, subscribe to the newsletter and we can pick up this conversation there.

I hope you enjoyed this one and if you'd like to see the video of us recording this episode, click here.

Cheers!

Mikey

Hey,

Firstly, thanks for listening. I appreciate you being here, sincerely.

This week we're talking about values and boundaries – both are essential if your transformation is going to be sustainable.

I mentioned plenty of resources in this episode, you can find these and more in the corresponding newsletter so make sure you're subscribed to that. 

If you're following along at home and doing your homework, I mentioned some journalling prompts which you can find below.  Simply write responses to the following:

1. What are your values?
2. Is your life and lifestyle reflective of these values?
3. And, simply answer this question - how confident and you to set boundaries and how clear are you in communicating them?

Let me know how you go with this content and what's resonating for you. I'm on Instagram at @mikey.ellis

Follow Kerrie Basha on Instagram here @bohomofo

*apologies for the echoey audio on this one, I was recording in the bathroom - the only place that wasn't too noisy. #travellingpodcasterlife.

Imagine you were to embark on a journey of transformation and you could only pack a few essentials to take with you – you can't afford to pack anything that's superfluous that would slow you down, only the essentials.  This is what I would pack. 

In this episode I share 8 x tools and 6 x techniques to support you.

We discuss these tools:

1. Vulnerability
2. Awareness
3. Kindness
4. Curiosity and a Sense of Wonder
5. Patience
6. Antifragility
7. The Unknown

And these techniques:

1. Meditation
2. Breathwork
3. Intention Setting
4. The Work (Byron Katie)
5. Truth v Love Comparison
6. Kylego

These are just a few practices that I have tried, tested and still use daily as I navigate through the shadowlands. I would not have journeyed so far, for as long or dived as deep had it not been for these supportive practices. I hope one of these resonates for you and if so – try it on. 

As always more details, links and resources in the Newsletter. I'll see you in there. 

Go easy on yourself, it's a jungle out there. 

Mikey

Are you ready to transform your job, your relationship, your life? 

Yes, no? 

We're never quite ready  enough, but perhaps it's time. 

Rather than start at week 1, like any journey of transformation we start where we are - week 0. Here and now. 

In this episode I discuss some of the core tenets of this program, it's philosophy, what to expect, who it's for and who it's not. 

You will find more details, all the links and resources mentioned in the corresponding newsletter.

Let's go, ready or not.