Bridge to Branches Podcast

In Episode 3 of Season 2, Ariel and Alix interview Dominika, a visionary of our time who believes that trauma is a necessary brain alteration. Dominika says that even though we try to shield ourselves and our loved ones from trauma, our brain is the ultimate “pentium”—in other words, it is able to process our trauma at top notch speed, and it does indeed help us in some way, regardless of our own will and our own ability to heal. Dominika is an intuitive and brilliant crochet artist and designer with two business lines, which she talks about in this episode. She lives in New Orleans.

In Episode 3 of our second season, Alix and Ariel have a long distance conversation with Lauren Swartz, an Astrologer, and (then) soon-to-be mama! Lauren discusses how piecing together her identity, in part through learning about her astrological placements and studying Astrology has helped her find much peace within her life. Lauren has made sense of her mind’s workings and her emotional reactions to stressors by learning about herself from an Astrological standpoint, and she is building a small self-run business through helping others via specialized natal chart readings as well. We also discuss self-advocacy in terms of psychotropic medications in this episode (including their usage during pregnancy), and reconciling their use with living a healthy, “pure” lifestyle. To book an astrology reading with Lauren, find her at www.AstroByLo.com!

In the second episode of Season 2, Alix and Ariel interview the talented Jevon Reynolds (he/him/his). Despite a mental health diagnosis, Jevon navigates the world with an engineering mind applied to music. Jevon’s music touches on the complexities of love, human emotion, and self-discovery. In this episode, he speaks candidly of his experiences with Anxiety and Bipolar II Disorder, and how he has worked with these maladies. Stay tuned until after the exchange for a special performance of a song Jevon calls “Try”.

In a triumphant return to the podcast world, Alix and Ariel team up to host Season 2—beginning with a rich conversation with Marta Styczen (she/her/hers), a world traveler and Intuitive Guide & Meditation Facilitator. In this episode, Marta speaks of her Slavic ancestry and how she connects it with the way she views her mental health, and “alternative” versus “traditional” healing (because what does that even mean?). She also speaks of the mental health system in Germany, where she currently resides, and how she was able to heal her own mental health ailments.

After a brief hiatus, Alix and Ariel return victoriously to discuss, process, and connect the dots from the podcast’s first season. This episode takes you on a psychological journey through the subtle undertones of the first nine episodes through a reflective dialogue on universal truths about the healing of the mind. This episode marks the end of the first season, and the beginning of the next phase of the Bridge to Branches saga. Stay tuned as the conversation advances, and remember how powerful your truth is...along with your human right to be fully and freely yourself. NOTE: This episode was recorded in Spring 2020.

In Episode 9, Alix and Ariel co-host, conversing with Rachel Mundus (she/her/hers). Rachel talks of her struggles with academics early on in life and how a seed of self-doubt was planted in her mind because of the impact of that challenge. She discusses her traumatic brain injury, her long road to recovery, and how she subsequently chose to transform her academic challenges through that potentially debilitating physical and mental experience. Through her healing journey, Rachel was able to seek out her dream—the path to dental school, where she is today, bringing all forms of wellness to the people.

In Episode 8, Alix interviews Chicago-based Phillip Petersen (he/him/his), an activist who advocates for cannabis legalization, and who was once diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder and ADD. Phil is opinionated, and is a skeptic of the traditional model of Psychology; he has experience with being prescribed the gamut of meds (and instead, at one time, turned to illicit drugs for healing). He talks about his experience with modern day prohibition and gives the lowdown on the effects of medications—those that are legal, and those that are not. NOTE: This episode was recorded prior to the Coronavirus pandemic.

This is one of the first episodes we recorded for the podcast, and it veers from the typical or conventional look into mental health. Alix talks with James Wolf Irawe Mendoza (he/him/his), an Indigenous sage and truth-seeking extrasensory being. He talks about healing in terms of shamanic methods, and the ways in which Western cultural healing modalities are only a band-aid, and also how to work with your mind in ways that might benefit you—the person seeking healing—in a more holistic way. NOTE: This episode was recorded prior to the Coronavirus pandemic.

In Episode 6, Alix interviews Kevin Recinos (they/them/theirs), whose own mental health journey led them to a role providing mental health services for homeless folks in the Los Angeles area. Kevin and Alix discuss the nuances of vulnerability, the problem with substituting spirituality for mental health, and the dangers of getting therapeutic information from, yes, the internet. NOTE: This episode was recorded prior to the Coronavirus pandemic.

In Episode 5, Alix talks with Colorado-based psychotherapist Craig Salerno (he/him/his) about his perspective on the relationship we take on with our mind through being human, the place where Zen Buddhism and psychotherapy connect (in that we are innately whole), and the ways in which ketamine-assisted psychotherapy assists in healing. NOTE: This episode was recorded prior to the Coronavirus pandemic.