Born in a small town in Arizona, Michael Shapiro was a highly sensitive and inquisitive child. When he was just three years old, his biological father mentioned the word God and he became fascinated, peppering his elder with big questions and contemplating the nature of spirit. His sensitivity placed him outside the norm of what was expected of young boys but also attuned him to the needs and feelings of others, establishing the foundation for the life of service he would eventually embrace. He became consumed by the world of skateboarding, competing professionally and mentoring young people who often also found respite from troubling circumstances on the halfpipes. He left a ten-year teaching career to help establish the Swappow PLUS  Foundation which, via skateboarding, works to provide opportunities and abilities to foster children in Arizona.

What I found most compelling in our conversation was how Michael, by following the call of his heart, stepped onto the path of continuous miracles. 

Michael is Executive Director of the Swappow PLUS Foundation which gives Arizona foster kids opportunities and abilities to thrive through skateboarding. As an avid skateboarder and coach for over thirty years, Michael founded and directed the Prescott YMCA skate park, taught team level gymnastics, and worked as a skate camp counselor. He was a public elementary school teacher for more than a decade, integrating both skateboarding and life skills into the school curriculum. He lives with his wife Robin, son Simeon, and dog Scout in Phoenix, Arizona.

http://www.swappowplus.org

Michael mentioned the following writers:

Henri Nouwen – (January 24, 1932 – September 21, 1996) was a Dutch Catholic priest, professor, writer and theologian. His interests were rooted primarily in psychology, pastoral ministry, spirituality, social justice and community. (Wikipedia)

Frederick Buechner - “Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery it is. In the boredom and pain of it, no less than in the excitement and gladness: touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it, because in the last analysis all moments are key moments, and life itself is grace.” From Now and Then: A Memoir of Vocation – Intimate Reflections on Faith, Seminary, Ministry, and Writing.

And course, his favorite song, Jesus Christ Superstar can be found here LINK

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Early on, Michelle Dunk became a perfectionist to manage what she calls her self-manufactured pressures and fears. When her father went into recovery when she was sixteen, he shared a perspective that became the key to her spiritual expansion and her eventual return to a biblical understanding of God. The perfectionism, however, didn’t just evaporate. It would prove to be her biggest challenge in many aspects of her life from partnership to parenting.

One of my favorite gems from this conversation was this: The story we tell ourselves about our regrets is that things should have, could have been different when the truth is that the past was never a problem. It was the experience you needed to get you to where you are now.

Michelle is a visionary entrepreneur, motivational speaker, author, and coach. She has worked with countless teens and adults, helping to transform the lives of each client in alignment with their unique God-given goals, dreams, and potential. She continues two decades of work balancing motherhood with an active commitment to motivation, healing, and mentoring through her non-profit work, entrepreneurial pursuits, and coaching.

https://www.visionarymentoringgroup.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-dunk-1b686319a

https://www.instagram.com/visionarymentor/

https://www.facebook.com/visionarymentor

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Brian grew up an Army brat, living around the world and in the U.S. until he was 13. His peripatetic childhood included a year in the late 60s attending a segregated school in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, a hasty exit from east Berlin just prior to the building of the wall, and a passage in Buenos Aires when the recently unexiled Juan Peron threatened to kill every American in Argentina. 

He has hung aluminum siding in Fairbanks, Alaska, washed dishes in the Sierras, guided white water rafting trips, bartended, worked as a paralegal, flew planes in the Navy, and spent three years in South America as a Peace Corps volunteer.

His resume also boasts a forty-year career in education as a teacher, school administrator, and now, for the non-profit Daraja Academy which offers a tuition-free boarding school education to the poorest young women in Kenya.

Brian has been a seeker throughout his life, and as he passed through middle age, the seeking turned inward, away from the outward explorations of his youth. This led to a deep study of shamanism, after which he realized he’d been having shamanic experiences his entire life--from potent dreams with animal guides to altered interludes in nature. He is now preparing to enter into another period of shamanic education and practice, ever-curious about where it will take him.

 During our talk, Brian talked about how impactful and uncommon it was to feel seen as a young man, his life of service, and the thread of cynicism that’s leading him into deeper inquiry. 

Brian’s path into shamanism has been through The Foundation of Shamanic Studies. LINK

He also mentioned a word I’d never heard before. This is a somewhat rare and exciting event for me! If you’re curious, you can find out more about mishigas here: LINK

Brian also mentioned a couple of books in our time together:

The World’s Religions by Huston Smith LINK

Quiet: The power of introverts in a world that can’t stop talking by Susan Cain LINK

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We open a brand new season with a conversation with Jenny Glick. Born to teen parents who themselves were atheist despite having roots in strong religious traditions, Jenny’s first spiritual memory was of Mother Mary standing at the foot of her bed veiling her from the dark energy her father later confirmed had taken up residence in her childhood home. Perhaps because of the “innocent neglect” of her youth, Jenny developed an internal barometer of the edge of risk and knew, as a high school graduate that her wild oats era was over. What followed, however, was a period of longing which caused her much suffering. Her greatest learning, and the teaching she now offers others, has been to understand how the deep desire for safety influences the unconscious decisions and shadows of our lives. 

With a string of achievements including MA, MSC, LMFT, and CST, Jenny is now a retired marriage-family-sex therapist and current writer, torchbearer, and change catalyst for women and couples. With over 25 years of experience guiding women and men to shift out of old, unfulfilling timelines, Jenny’s uncommon approach has been the answer for thousands of people who are ready for rich relationships and lives full of satisfaction, nourishment, and connection.

www.JennyGlick.com

Substack: https://substack.com/@relationshipwisdom

IG: https://www.instagram.com/jenny_glick/

SPECIAL OFFERING: 

Listeners can use code: THANKS50 for 50% off my Tune Into Yourself Audio Experience.

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I've been meeting so many amazing people that I had to return to the Alive & Kicking podcast to share them with you. See what we have in store for you!

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Please note: This interview contains depictions of violence and sexual abuse. Please listen with care for yourself and others.

This week's guest is BakeR Gendron, whose life took her from a small town in rural Indiana to Chicago, California and Phoenix where she served as a political activist supporting LGBTQ rights, leading a life which transcended labels. That journey took an abrupt turn toward the spiritual while tending to her dying partner as she began experiencing flashbacks of previously buried trauma. Decades of healing gave her the compassionate wisdom to serve others to develop the skills and insight to begin to heal themselves.

Intuitive reader, spiritual healer, coach and teacher, BakeR Gendron is the Director of Gateway Cottage Wellness Center in Sedona, Arizona. She has worked for decades, both privately and with groups, to empower clients to live life fully and joyously! Assisting to remove barriers to success, happiness and wellbeing, she facilitates holistic healing by integrating mind, body, and spirit. Through BakeR’s own healing journey, recovering from childhood trauma and abuse, she is inspired to teach others how to heal themselves, and to facilitate healthy change. She facilitates spiritual retreats and classes for people seeking to make major life changes and to connect with their own higher selves. 

Connect with BakeR here:
 https://www.gatewaycottagewellness.com/baker-gendron

 http://thepsychiccoach.net

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An existential crisis can throw the average adult into a state of uncertainty at best and inner turmoil at worst. Kay's next guest, John Schieke, was just six years old when he started to ponder the deepest questions. As a child, he was mentally and emotionally ill-equipped to handle these queries and barely had the vocabulary to describe what he was experiencing to others. The resulting alienation and stress made him vulnerable to the substance abuse that, by the age of 18, very nearly took his life. Now sober, John shares his ongoing journey from confusion to clarity and offers hope to young people struggling with similar challenges.

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In episode 41, Sarah Lindgren talks with Kay about how early trauma influenced so many of the decisions she made throughout her life. Until, that is, she became conscious of how healing can soothe the grooved patterns, opening her up to a life of greater freedom, self-compassion and wisdom. Now, she shares all that with others as a guide, teacher and leader.

Sarah is an Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher (200 E-RYT) working to empower students in public classes, workshops, and yoga retreats. She is also a Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Provider (YACEP) and offers one-on-one apprenticeship programs.  She teaches others how to nurture themselves through grounding and embodiment practices so they can begin to truly love the lives they live.

Sarah's path of profound self-realization began while first practicing yoga as an expectant mother. She began to dig deeply into the absence of self-love and empowerment within, to understand the body-mind-spirt connection and to find new routes to healing and wholeness. 

She has and continues to study with numerous internationally recognized teachers, completing advanced trainings including Yoga to Transform Trauma, all with the intent of meeting people where they are with greater knowledge and understanding of yoga practices and philosophy.  

Learn more and connect with Sarah here:

Website Sarah-Lindgren.com

Instagram:  108.Sarah 

Facebook:  Sarah.Lindgren.Yoga

Upcoming Retreat:  https://truenaturetravels.com/retreats/yoga-iceland-sarah/

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Please note: This episode contains descriptions of violence, sexual abuse, alcoholism and drug use.

In this episode of the podcast, Columbia native Catalina Osorio describes how her early life forged in her an "eat or be eaten" ethos that nearly destroyed her. She shares her journey out of the despair caused by a life of extreme violence and into the immediacy that grace grants everyone no matter what their circumstances. Her well-earned wisdom is a miracle beyond resiliency.

Catalina was born in Colombia in 1981 into a violent family, in a dangerous neighborhood in a turbulent time. She lived in continuous, extreme physical and emotional trauma, without noticing she was completely burying her past. Later, while living in Paris, after a night of heavy drinking, she was plunged into a situation that triggered a physical knowing that she had been raped. But because there was no clear evidence, there was no proof that a crime had been committed. Thus, she began to feel the terror of losing her mind. Her chaotic lifestyle continued until the responsibility, drugs, alcohol, sleeplessness and uncontrollably racing mind brought her body to severe illness and her mind to the breaking point. Depressed, suicidal and facing a possible hysterectomy to remove fibroid tumors, she heard a voice encouraging her to take a path of true healing rather than surgery.

Six years later, Catalina is living in peace and no longer allows her past to unconsciously run everything. She does not claim to be a teacher, to be enlightened or to know it all. She only knows that all of her pain has been created by a misunderstanding of what was happening. She believes we are powerful creators having a unique experience that is meant to add something to the divinely perfect tapestry of LIFE. 

You can connect with Catalina at [email protected] and her Facebook Page.

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In this episode of Alive & Kicking, Lisa Stokke talks with Kay about being parented, parenting adults and the unique challenges of mothering in the age of awakening.

As founder and Executive Director of Next 7, an organization that advocates for healthy food systems, Lisa has been working to bring awareness to the importance of organic and regenerative agriculture. Previously, inspired by the lack of clean food choices for her four children, she co-founded Food Democracy Now! She works with farmers, scientists and policy leaders around the world  to increase nutrient density in food and crops.

A 20-year passion for plant medicine led her to start Temple Tree Aromatics – a company that sources sustainably wildcrafted and organic botanical essential oils and functional blends.

She lives in Boulder, CO.

For more information about Lisa and her work, visit:

Next7.org
TempleTree.co
Bionutrientinstitute.org
Instagram: @Lisa_Stokke

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