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In this the final episode of three with Stephen Armytage, he discusses what it means to live a rich and purposeful life. Stephen explains that his goal in sharing this course, and his overall mission, is to leave the world in a better shape than he found it. He reveals the secret to achieving this is coming from a place of abundance and connection.

Stephen believes that living a rich and purposeful life means being the best husband, father, son, and community member possible, together with acknowledging the enrichment that this creates.

Stephen discusses the common misconception that people who have a good start in life don't struggle and are happy. He says that everyone starts somewhere, and we all have different starting places. He understands that some people don't believe they have the power, permission, or deserve to live this way. Stephen emphasises that improving yourself is possible, regardless of your starting point.

To learn more about how to live an abundant and fulfilling life retreat, beginning May 31st, 2023, head to LARPL to register or sign up to the mailing list to hear about future events. You may also want to check out Gymea Eco Retreat, the stunning spot in Northern NSW where Stephen is holding the retreat. I'll be attending and hope to see you there for what promises to be a powerful and transformative five-day experience.

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In episode two of Beaming Green, we learn about the next chapter in Stephen Armytage's journey towards Living a Rich and Purposeful Life (LARPL). Stephen shares what brought on his self-described 'spectacular midlife crisis', which was a growing discomfort about the direction in which the world was heading, particularly around how humans were treating the earth.

While working in high-level government consulting, Stephen talks about his need to explore further, or dig deeper into himself to feel his own authenticity. This led him to embark on his own version of the hero's journey to become a sustainable man, father, husband, and community member, which involved spending six months traveling around Australia with his wife and two kids, living in a small camper trailer. On this trip he connected more deeply with his family and learned how to live an abundant, enriched life with minimal impact on the environment.

This prompted his decision to move to Northern NSW and some of the challenges and choices he and his family needed to make to be more sustainably authentic.

Stephen reveals how from that space he and his family manifested the perfect place to live and work at Gymea Eco Retreat where they were able to further develop and explore their connectivity with the land, themselves and their wonderful community.

We also delve a little deeper into his passion for LARPL and what to expect at his upcoming retreat starting on the 31st of May 2023.

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Are you ready to to live a rich and purposeful life?

In this episode of the podcast, I sit down with Stephen Armytage to discuss his upcoming program, Living a Rich and Purposeful Life. Stephen has spent the last 15 years developing a universal approach to helping people live a fulfilling and thriving life. During the conversation, Stephen shares his personal journey of hitting rock bottom and how it led him to reinvent his life.  He also discusses how COVID-19 has presented an opportunity for deep reflection and how his program can help people move into a new phase of their lives.  Living a Rich and Purposeful Life is a four-night retreat, aimed at those who feel disconnected and are asking questions like "Is this all life's about?"

The program is designed to assist people in living a rich and purposeful life, which for Stephen, is a thriving life.  We also delve into the importance of taking purposeful steps towards the kind of life you want to live, and how his program can help people do just that.

The episode concludes with Stephen sharing a snippet of how his program came about and how he has evolved over the years.  We delve deep in a three part interview that will provide you with an insight into how he got to where he is now.

If you're feeling a little off-color or disconnected, then this episode is a must-listen. It's a great opportunity to learn about how you can start living a more purposeful and fulfilling life.  For more information about the upcoming retreat visit. https://larpl.com.au/

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Educating our children and making them aware of how to live their lives sustainably is no mean feat.  In this episode, I speak with Katie Norman about her business called the Sustainable Schools Network (SSN).
Katie is the chief steward for the organisation that has been in operation for almost two years. The SSN philosophy on Education for Sustainability (EfS) is to engage in an ongoing reciprocal dialogue that explores playful possibilities in our collective educational spaces.  As much as this is an inward, and at times, personal journey for us all, it is very much about creating a shared path and a shared vision that engages curiosity, critical thinking and creative expression.  Although they started this organisation with a focus on sustainability, the more they lived the experience of sustainability, the more they realised that sustainability is about learning.

In this interview, we discuss how:

• the Sustainable Schools Network came about
• sustainability requires a whole-of-school approach that involves everyone from the kids to the teachers, school staff and parents
• the journal that they produce quarterly to educate students on a wide array of subjects around sustainability is becoming a great success and a useful tool
• this program is available to all schools throughout Australia
• children can influence change, not just for themselves, but for the people around them, including their parents
• schools that engage with this program and educate children about sustainability has a ripple effect, with  9,100 schools throughout Australia using it, shaping our future leaders
•  change starts with us as individuals
•  sustainability wasn't included in curriculum for student teachers as part of their core subjects.

I really enjoyed this interview with Katie and am sure that you will too.

Links
Sustainable Schools Network
Facebook
Linkedin

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In this week’s episode I am excited to welcome guest presenter Andia Cally. Together, we interview Hermione Elliot, who shares her wisdom and wealth of experience and knowledge on a subject that eventually impacts us all—death. Based in the UK, Hermione is an End of Life Doula and the Director of Living Well, Dying Well, an organisation that pioneered (and continues to offer) the only certified end of life training in the UK, since 2009.

It was a rich and very rewarding conversation. Hermione’s compassion, experience and insight around the importance of preparing for, and creating, a positive end-of-life experience was humbling.

We touched on many topics, including that:

• the role of a End of Life Doula is to create a calm, comforting, safe and loving space to help the dying person and their family let go
• death itself is brief and much of their work is around supporting the preparation for death and what comes after
• for the dying it is often important to tie up loose ends and let go of attachments to things and people
• every death is unique and often reflects how a person has lived
• end of life can be harder for the ones being left behind than the one dying
• we can rehearse for death by regularly ‘stopping to listen to the whispering of [our] soul’ rather than waiting for deathbed regrets
• death is a human, rather than a medical event, which is why hospitals and institutions don’t do death well
• the end of life is treated differently in various cultures
• death and permanent brain injury can affect people at any age, so it’s worth creating an advanced health care directive a.s.a.p
• Covid-19 has made people more aware of the importance of having loved ones with you as you die
• every person that does their training is doing a public service as they normalise and expand the conversation around death
• including children in the conversations and experiences of death will help them to face the inevitable in the future
• healing rituals, like washing the body of a loved one, or bringing them home for a few days can be very healing.

Death is a challenging topic for many of us, including me. I hope that like me, you find this interview enriching and feel reassured that it is possible to die well.

Bio of Hermione Elliot

After a career in nursing, midwifery, palliative care, training, health coaching and mentorship, Hermione brought all her interests and experience together to develop the End of Life Doula Training in 2009.  She established Living Well, Dying Well as a not-for-profit organisation to further this work.  She is passionate about engaging with people from all walks of life, encouraging them to become more informed and confident about being with death and dying – recognising it not as something to be feared, but as a natural and normal part of life.

Links to training and information

Home | Living Well Dying Well – End of Life Doula Training (lwdwtraining.uk)

Home End of Life Doula UK – Death Doula in the community (eol-doula.uk)

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To mark Plastic Free July, we go a little deeper and look at waste and recycling in New South Wales, Australia and beyond.  I speak with Justin Bonsey who works in the waste industry. 

Justin is the Strategic Lead of Resource Recovery at the Southern Regional Organisation of Councils (SSROC), overseeing regional projects on infrastructure planning, waste data, regulatory reform and circular economy markets and has a long history working in various waste and recovery sectors.

Justin isn't one to stand still and is passionate about finding waste solutions, having co-founded Responsible Runners and Responsible Cafes.

In this interview, Justin speaks about how:

• helping a friend in Northern Thailand sparked his interest in how to live more sustainably
• his experience of seeing a lot of waste while running on Bondi Beach gave him the idea for Responsible Runners, encouraging runners and walkers to pick up any litter they see on Sydney's beaches
• he campaigned with Boomerang Alliance to introduce the container refund scheme in NSW
• the impact of banning exported plastic waste and tyre waste to South East Asia meant local authorities had to find another, more sustainable solution
• in NSW glass is being recycled and used for building roads
• consumers not knowing what is and isn't recyclable can contaminate a whole truckload of waste
• the Responsible Cafes movement grew from 800—5000 cafes in a couple of months after the ABC's War on Waste aired.

I really enjoyed the discussion with Justin and was grateful that he gave some of his time and shared his considerable expertise on a Sunday, proving how committed he is to reducing our waste consumption.

Bio of Justin Bonsey

Justin Bonsey is Strategic Lead, Resource Recovery at the Southern Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (SSROC), overseeing regional projects on infrastructure planning, waste data, regulatory reform, and circular economy markets. Formerly a Boomerang Alliance campaigner for container deposits and bans on single-use plastics, he co-founded sustainability initiatives Responsible Cafes and Responsible Runners to address litter and marine debris, and help businesses improve their sustainability practices.

Links:
Responsible Runners Facebook
Responsible Cafe's
Justin Bonsey Interview Transcript

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This month we celebrate Plastic Free July, an important initiative that Rebecca Prince-Ruiz (the founder of the Plastic Free Foundation) started in Australia with the help of a small local government team in 2011. In this episode, I speak with Nikki Beckinsale about her business Plastic Free Alternatives, which promotes the idea that if we all take small sustainable steps, collectively, we can make a big positive impact. Plastic Free Alternatives offers a range of products that 'do not harm the planet or our bodies'.

During the interview Nikki and I chat about her personal journey towards plastic reduction and how:

• the film A Plastic Ocean, along with the amount of waste her family of five was generating, inspired her to make personal changes around their waste management and eventually led to offering more sustainable alternatives to the public through Plastic Free Alternatives, a business she started with her Mum
• her and her Mum trialled every product they sell on their site so customers can be assured they work
• we can start with changing one behaviour in Plastic Free July, such as having a plastic-free kids party
• micro plastics are appearing in our soils and our foods 
• she regularly shares recipes on her blog for DIY cleaning products that are really effective in cleaning toilets, washing clothes and cleaning surfaces
• returning to some of the things our grandparents used, like soap savers, can better support the planet
• part of the problem is seeing ourselves as separate from nature
• it can sometimes take a while to transition to some sustainable products, like shampoo bars, but that it's worth persisting when you think about the amount of plastic saved.

SPECIAL OFFER FOR JULY
We are running a competition for Plastic Free July - go to Beaming Green for the details 

In honour of Plastic Free July here are some little known facts about plastic:

• Since the 1950s, around 8.3 billion tons of plastic have been produced worldwide.
• In some parts of the world, using plastic is already illegal.
• 73% of beach litter worldwide is plastic.
• A million plastic bottles are bought around the world every minute.
• Worldwide, about 2 million plastic bags are used every minute.
• 90% of plastic polluting our oceans is carried by just 10 rivers.
• Plastic is killing more than 1.1 million seabirds and. animals every year.
• The average person eats 70,000 microplastics annually
• The average time that a plastic bag is used for is … 12 minutes.
• Over the past 50 years, world plastic production has doubled.

I really enjoyed this very important discussion with Nikki and believe we all can do something to make a difference in our purchasing decisions and behaviours to help reduce our consumption of plastic.  Remembering that there is no AWAY when it comes to plastic.

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In this episode I speak with Matthew Harris about his first book, The Way of the Courageous Vulnerable – How to Find Meaning and Purpose From the 7 Stages of the Hero’s Journey in your daily life. The book centres on the hero's journey, the underlying template in stories from all around the world, as a way for people to understand and achieve their purpose in life.

"The book brings a hopeful message, enabling one to more easily bear and even value the hard times.  It is an approach that teaches patience, humility and the 'long view'. Matthew explains the steps in detail and shows how they have applied in his own life, which has involved a journey often marked by depression, illness and poverty. This enables the reader to see how the stages can apply in their own lives. The book includes exercises and questions at the end of each chapter to help you apply the'journey' to your own life." (Review by H Smart)

The hero's journey is a subject I'm really passionate about and I enjoyed hearing Matthew's take on:

• the creative process of writing this book from a place of vulnerability, initially expressed in a collection of his personal Facebook posts
• how he transformed obstacles, like depression, into opportunities and inspiration for the hero's journey and the book
• the unsung everyday heroes, like his Mum, who have inspired him
• the importance of eldership acknowledgement culturally in Australia and the role elders can play in holding space for young people
• the feminine version of the hero's journey, as something more internal and how both genders experience the masculine and feminine expressions of the hero's journey
• Matthew's future plans for workshops, seminars and retreats on this topic.

I really enjoyed my discussion with Matthew, and I hope you enjoy this interview and reading his new book.

The book is available: www.courageousjourney.com.au  or via Amazon for E -book

Go to Beaming Green to see more info about the author.

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RiverTracks is a new Northern Rivers venture, inspired by the very successful BackTrack program that Bernie Shakeshaft created in Armidale, New South Wales to keep young boys 'alive, out of jail and get them back on track'.

Like BackTrack, RiverTracks will take an innovative approach to working with young people, 13-16 years giving them the skills and support so they can reach their full potential and have a positive impact in the communities they live in.

Despite limited government funding (5%), BackTrack is recognised across Australia and has an 87 per cent success rate of participants gaining full-time employment, training or education. The Tweed Valley community members who have established RiverTracks want to emulate the same community sponsored model to support their new program for young men.

RiverTracks will begin its local offering with a program that will run 1-2 days per week targeting disengaged young men in the Murwillumbah area. the program will connect them to a safe, supportive and inclusive community of mentors and peers who offer opportunities, including animal therapy, practical education and work skills development. The program will partner with training providers and focus on collaborative relationship building with participants to co-create the program.

In this interview I speak with a member of the RiverTracks team Roland Fraval, who talks about how:

• the idea for the local project came about after local youth worker and co-founder, Ahri Tallon found out about the BackTrack program from a young fellow in living in residential care who said it was the best thing he'd ever done
• the program is an early intervention program targeting young people that have disengaged from school and who are at risk of entering the juvenile justice system
• one in four young people are dealing with a mental health issue and one in five are disengaged from school in some way and 28,000 are homeless or sleeping rough
• successful the BackTrack venture has been, reducing severe psychological distress by half in young participants, reducing suicide ideation by 40%, resulting in a 70% drop in school suspensions and increasing school attendances by 66% and lowering drug use
• beneficial animal training and therapy has been in the BackTrack program with dogs and how the local arm will use equine therapy to create similar outcomes
• they want to ground the project within the local community and have already attracted support and interest from many local community members and some high-profile local businesses, including the Scouts, the Rural Fire Service, the Surf Lifesaving club, as well as the Murwillumbah bike shop
• the program aims to be a social enterprise that creates real-world opportunities for young people to do things that interest them and make money in the process
• the program will start with young men 13-16 and expand out to other age groups and girls once it gets more established
• you can contribute to their fundraiser or through donating your time to skills like grant writing, cooking, mentoring etc.

Visit RiverTracks website for more information.

To contribute financially or in kind to their fundraiser to get RiverTracks started click link here

Be inspired by the success of the BackTrack project through this inspiring documentary about the program https://backtrackboys.com.

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I heard Karen Lee Downes in an online interview a few months ago where she shared some of the work that her organisation — the Flourish Initiative, together with and Femme Q, were doing around bridging the gap between the masculine and feminine energies in the workplace.  This subject appealed to me because I believe there needs to be more of a balance between the masculine and feminine in many spheres, especially around our current paradigm of plundering and pillaging people and the planet to make a profit.

In this episode, I speak with Karen about the work her and her partners are doing to bridge the gender gap and how we can create a better world for future generations and the planet.

During the interview we speak about her experience:

• working in Bangladesh and India in the Hunger Project for women
• being a student of Anthroposophy (works of Rudolf Steiner)
• starting out in Australia and how her and her sister set up a multimillion dollar essential oil business (In Essence) with distribution in five countries
• working in the UK with some of the biggest male-dominated mining organisations to create conscious-leadership programs
• taking 1,600 leaders from a leading airline to uncover a collective experience of "burn out"
• with her father that inspired her to do the work she does.

We covered a great deal more during the interview. If you have the inclination and are able to travel, I highly recommend the Femme Q course. If you can't travel, you can do it online as well.

Bio - 

Karen Downes - Social entrepreneur, Spiritual Activist, Business Consultant and Facilitator (Australia / UK / Costa Rica)
Currently projects Costa Rica |  Lead for Deep Collaboration | FemmeQ

Over her 35-year career Karen has built successful companies, supported civil society organisations to transform entrenched cultural norms, worked with global business leaders, designing and delivering culture change and development programmes around the world.  Karen began her career as an alternative healthcare practitioner and  a student of Anthroposophy.  Over the course of time she has translated spiritual practices, principles of healing and systemic change into everyday life and business.  Back in the 80s & 90s she built a multi-million dollar business in alternative health care, from kitchen table-top to a exporting training programmes and product to 5 countries.  At the same time working on the ground in India and Bangladesh to transform the subjugation and marginalisation of women, seen as the key to end the chronic persistence of hunger. In 2002 she moved to London, developing and leading transformational programmes and retreats. She is the founder of The Flourish Initiative a consulting and advisory service to business, co-founder of FemmeQ: Feminine Intelligence, is a member of Gender Equality in Catalyst2030 and Lead for Deep Collaboration in Bounce Beyond. Her commitment is to catalyse the necessary shift from the current system of domination to partnership and to embed the feminine principle that has been missing, into all aspects of leadership, to create a flourishing future for all.

Websites:
https://www.theflourishinitiative.com
https://femmeq.org
https://www.costaricaregenerativa.org