This episode explores the importance of connected self-leadership during times of transformation and uncertainty. We dive into why feeling fear is essential rather than something to push down, how contraction shows up when we're afraid, and why focusing only inward disconnects us from the interconnected web of life. I'll guide you through practical exercises for clarifying your values, crafting a personal vision grounded in everyday spirituality, and discovering your unique mission. Drawing on concepts from Joanna Macy's Great Turning and systems theory, we explore how breakdown precedes breakthrough, and why your individual vision contributes to collective transformation. This is for heart-centered entrepreneurs, conscious leaders, and anyone seeking personal growth through nature connection and community. Whether you're experiencing eco-anxiety, economic uncertainty, or simply feeling called to step into your highest potential, this episode offers tools for life coaching yourself through fear and into inspired action.

Ready to get clear on your own vision and values? Head over to my blog page at https://www.leonajohnson.life/blogpodcast to download your Vision & Values journal prompts. And if you're feeling called to go deeper, I'm currently offering free discovery calls to explore how the Life Compass Curriculum can support you in stepping into your highest potential. Sign up for my mailing list to stay connected and receive tools for connected self-leadership and everyday spirituality delivered straight to your inbox.

Thank You for Listening!

I am so grateful to you for tuning into this episode of Connection Matters Podcast. This is my passion and where I share my hope for a better world. If you enjoyed what you heard, please consider subscribing, rating, and reviewing the podcast on your preferred platform. Your support helps us reach more listeners and spread the message of connection, healing and growth!

Stay Connected:

• Join the Community: Be part of our growing community by signing up for my newsletter here. You'll receive updates on new episodes, resources, and exclusive offers!
• Join the Connection Matters Membership: Join at anytime. Monthly Live Calls. Connection, Coaching and Community. Click here for more info. 
• Follow Me: Stay inspired and connected on social media:  Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn , Pintrest
• Connect with Me: Have thoughts or questions about the episode? I'd love to hear from you! Reach out at [email protected]. I always respond.

Upcoming Events:

• Don't miss out on upcoming workshops, courses, or events! Stay informed by visiting the website here for more details for details.

Brief Overview:
In this episode of Connection Matters, Annette Knopp shares her transformative journey from restlessness and spiritual searching to embodied awakening and authentic connection. Together, we explore how to navigate inner wounds, avoid spiritual traps, and cultivate a life grounded in belonging, purpose, and meaning.

Key Themes & Topics:

• Recognising authentic spiritual guidance versus spiritual bypassing
• How early life experiences shape our seeking and patterns
• Staying with the dark nights of the soul as a path to growth
• The four pillars of true connection: belonging, purpose, transcendence, and narrative
• Integrating inner healing with spiritual practice to live fully human
• Relationships as mirrors for awakening and wholeness

Whether you’re exploring everyday spirituality, connected self-leadership, or simply seeking a more meaningful, embodied life, this conversation offers both wisdom and practical reflections for your own journey.

Call to Action:
If this episode resonates with you, head to my blog post for a deeper dive into Annette’s story, insights, and reflection prompts. You can also access a range of free resources to support your own journey toward alignment and connection here: https://pages.leonajohnson.life/true-north

Connect with Annette and pre-order her book here: https://www.annetteknopp.com/book

Thank You for Listening!

I am so grateful to you for tuning into this episode of Connection Matters Podcast. This is my passion and where I share my hope for a better world. If you enjoyed what you heard, please consider subscribing, rating, and reviewing the podcast on your preferred platform. Your support helps us reach more listeners and spread the message of connection, healing and growth!

Stay Connected:

• Join the Community: Be part of our growing community by signing up for my newsletter here. You'll receive updates on new episodes, resources, and exclusive offers!
• Join the Connection Matters Membership: Join at anytime. Monthly Live Calls. Connection, Coaching and Community. Click here for more info. 
• Follow Me: Stay inspired and connected on social media:  Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn , Pintrest
• Connect with Me: Have thoughts or questions about the episode? I'd love to hear from you! Reach out at [email protected]. I always respond.

Upcoming Events:

• Don't miss out on upcoming workshops, courses, or events! Stay informed by visiting the website here for more details for details.

Hugh shares his personal journey from emotional numbness to wholeness, revealing how patriarchal conditioning restricts men's emotional capacity while perpetuating cycles of trauma. We discover the quiet revolution of men choosing love over competition, the importance of men's groups in creating profound brotherhood, and why foundational healing work often needs to happen in same-gender spaces first. This conversation challenges us to move beyond victim-perpetrator narratives and recognize our shared humanity in the journey toward personal growth, heart-centered leadership, and spiritual connection.

In This Episode, We Explore:

• The Hidden Cost of Patriarchal Conditioning - How the same system that oppresses women also conditions men out of happiness, restricts their emotions, and creates widespread emotional numbness
• Hugh's Personal Transformation - From being able to feel only anger to developing the full spectrum of emotions, and what that journey of healing looks like in practice
• The Quiet Revolution - Why there's a growing movement of men choosing love and service over competition and aggression, and how this impacts families and communities
• Why Men Need Men First - The importance of same-gender healing spaces and how men's groups create profound brotherhood that supports authentic masculinity
• Moving Beyond Simple Narratives - How to shift from victim-perpetrator dynamics to seeing the complex humanity in everyone's healing journey
• The Ripple Effect of Healing - How one person's inner work creates waves of transformation that touch everyone around them
• Practical Pathways - Resources and approaches for men seeking healing community, from initiation work to ongoing men's groups

Key Insights:

• Men are "really deeply longing to serve the world" but often operate from survival mode due to restrictive conditioning
• The revolution toward love and service is "much quieter" but "really strong" and felt in families and communities
• Men doing healing work among other men first helps them access "the beauty and strength and love of my masculine"
• "The world of love is here for all of us" and starts with learning to love ourselves

About Hugh Newton: Hugh has been facilitating men's healing work for 28 years through organisations like the Mankind Project and his own Sovereign's Journey program. He works with men in their 40s and beyond, helping them move from survival mode to authentic service and love.

Resources Mentioned:

• The Mankind Project
• Sovereign's Journey (Hugh's 10-month program for men 40+)
• Journeyman (initiation work for teenage boys)
• Hugh's one-on-one mentoring for men

Connect with Hugh: https://www.thesovereignsjourney.co.uk

Ready to explore more? Read the full blog post on my website and join me for a FREE Masterclass: "Designing a Life Aligned with Your True North"

Thank You for Listening!

I am so grateful to you for tuning into this episode of Connection Matters Podcast. This is my passion and where I share my hope for a better world. If you enjoyed what you heard, please consider subscribing, rating, and reviewing the podcast on your preferred platform. Your support helps us reach more listeners and spread the message of connection, healing and growth!

Stay Connected:

• Join the Community: Be part of our growing community by signing up for my newsletter here. You'll receive updates on new episodes, resources, and exclusive offers!
• Join the Connection Matters Membership: Join at anytime. Monthly Live Calls. Connection, Coaching and Community. Click here for more info. 
• Follow Me: Stay inspired and connected on social media:  Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn , Pintrest
• Connect with Me: Have thoughts or questions about the episode? I'd love to hear from you! Reach out at [email protected]. I always respond.

Upcoming Events:

• Don't miss out on upcoming workshops, courses, or events! Stay informed by visiting the website here for more details for details.

In this episode, we explore what it really means to live authentically in a world full of expectations. I'll take you behind the scenes of my unconventional choices: why I converted a van and how it became my sanctuary during challenging times, why I've invested in coaches and mentors for over 14 years straight, and how I've never worked a full-time job in my entire career.

We dive deep into the courage required for connected self-leadership, the philosophy of "enough" versus endless accumulation, and why conscious choices aren't selfish - they're actually deeply generous. You'll discover practical ways to identify where you might be living from "shoulds" instead of authentic choice, and how to start designing a life that reflects your deepest values.

This isn't about copying my exact choices - it's about finding the courage to create your own version of conscious living. Perfect for heart-centred entrepreneurs, conscious parents, and anyone feeling successful on paper but sensing something's still missing.

Ready to dive deeper into conscious living? 

Start with my FREE 15 Minute Video Guided Life Compass Assessment to discover exactly where you're thriving versus where you might be living reactively across 8 essential life areas. 

Then join me for my free masterclass "Designing a Life Aligned to Your True North" on Wednesday, 6th August at 10:30am, where I'll share the exact framework for making aligned decisions from your whole self.

Read the full blog post on my website and explore all my free resources at https://www.leonajohnson.life/blogpodcast

Thank You for Listening!

I am so grateful to you for tuning into this episode of Connection Matters Podcast. This is my passion and where I share my hope for a better world. If you enjoyed what you heard, please consider subscribing, rating, and reviewing the podcast on your preferred platform. Your support helps us reach more listeners and spread the message of connection, healing and growth!

Stay Connected:

• Join the Community: Be part of our growing community by signing up for my newsletter here. You'll receive updates on new episodes, resources, and exclusive offers!
• Join the Connection Matters Membership: Join at anytime. Monthly Live Calls. Connection, Coaching and Community. Click here for more info. 
• Follow Me: Stay inspired and connected on social media:  Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn , Pintrest
• Connect with Me: Have thoughts or questions about the episode? I'd love to hear from you! Reach out at [email protected]. I always respond.

Upcoming Events:

• Don't miss out on upcoming workshops, courses, or events! Stay informed by visiting the website here for more details for details.

In this honest episode, I take you inside our family's summer experiment and share the practical wisdom I've learned about staying connected to yourself and your children when everything feels unstructured and intense.

We explore why self-care isn't selfish but essential for summer survival, how to create anchoring practices that ground you when routines disappear, and finding the sweet spot between structure and spontaneity that allows real connection to flourish. I share personal stories about navigating summer transitions, managing expectations, and what happens when you're spending more time together in less structured ways. You'll discover practical strategies for conscious parenting, connected self-leadership, and creating space for both yourself and your children to thrive during the long summer days. We also dive into the gift of boredom, releasing the myth of perfect summers, and how the way we parent creates ripples that extend far beyond our immediate family.

Ready to create your own summer survival plan?

Sign up for the 15 Minute Life Compass Assessment Here

 Head to my website to read the full blog post and explore my free resources at https://www.leonajohnson.life/resources where you can take the Life Compass Assessment—a beautiful pause to recalibrate and get clear on where you are and where you want to go in all areas of your life.

Thank You for Listening!

I am so grateful to you for tuning into this episode of Connection Matters Podcast. This is my passion and where I share my hope for a better world. If you enjoyed what you heard, please consider subscribing, rating, and reviewing the podcast on your preferred platform. Your support helps us reach more listeners and spread the message of connection, healing and growth!

Stay Connected:

• Join the Community: Be part of our growing community by signing up for my newsletter here. You'll receive updates on new episodes, resources, and exclusive offers!
• Join the Connection Matters Membership: Join at anytime. Monthly Live Calls. Connection, Coaching and Community. Click here for more info. 
• Follow Me: Stay inspired and connected on social media:  Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn , Pintrest
• Connect with Me: Have thoughts or questions about the episode? I'd love to hear from you! Reach out at [email protected]. I always respond.

Upcoming Events:

• Don't miss out on upcoming workshops, courses, or events! Stay informed by visiting the website here for more details for details.

In this deeply moving episode, I share a story about my recent video call with Noorhan, a 25-year-old mother in Gaza, and explore how personal healing work and collective action are inseparably connected. We'll journey through the cost of speaking truth in today's world, the magic that happens when we gather in solidarity circles, and why your sensitivity isn't weakness—it's exactly what the world needs. Learn practical ways to stay present with collective trauma, find your authentic response to injustice, and join a community committed to connected action. 

Please donate to Noor and her family using this link here. 

This isn't about prescribed activism—it's about discovering your own path to integrity and resistance through deep self-leadership and heart-centered connection.

Follow Me on Facebook Or Instagram to find out about the Solidarity Session where we will come together to 

Join the mailing list to find out first about the Solidarity Sessions to join a co-working session to take small actions together like writing letters to our representatives, sharing petitions, contacting  the weapons manufacturers, design a personal cermeony or any other such action that you feel would be more meaningful done together. 

Thank You for Listening!

I am so grateful to you for tuning into this episode of Connection Matters Podcast. This is my passion and where I share my hope for a better world. If you enjoyed what you heard, please consider subscribing, rating, and reviewing the podcast on your preferred platform. Your support helps us reach more listeners and spread the message of connection, healing and growth!

Stay Connected:

• Join the Community: Be part of our growing community by signing up for my newsletter here. You'll receive updates on new episodes, resources, and exclusive offers!
• Join the Connection Matters Membership: Join at anytime. Monthly Live Calls. Connection, Coaching and Community. Click here for more info. 
• Follow Me: Stay inspired and connected on social media:  Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn , Pintrest
• Connect with Me: Have thoughts or questions about the episode? I'd love to hear from you! Reach out at [email protected]. I always respond.

Upcoming Events:

• Don't miss out on upcoming workshops, courses, or events! Stay informed by visiting the website here for more details for details.

https://www.leonajohnson.life/blogpodcast/staying-awake-without-shutting-down

This isn't your typical Connection Matters episode, but it might be one of the most important conversations we'll have. I'm sharing how to navigate the collective trauma of witnessing genocide in real-time while staying connected to your own healing and capacity for meaningful action.

Key Themes and Topics:
We explore why witnessing collective trauma affects sensitive beings so deeply, practical ways to stay informed without drowning in despair, and sacred rituals for processing grief while maintaining hope. I share my personal experience working in Gaza, the historical context that helps us understand how we got here, and most importantly - how our individual healing work contributes to collective healing. We'll cover trauma-informed activism, the power of conscious connection over spiritual bypassing, and specific practices for staying grounded while bearing witness to injustice. This episode offers both the hard truths about what's happening in Palestine and concrete tools for transforming overwhelm into conscious action.

Call to Action:
If this episode resonated with you, please share it with others who need this message. Join me for our upcoming online circle for peace on July 13th, and visit my blog page at https://www.leonajohnson.life/staying-awake-without-shutting-down for all of the infomation I shared plus free tools to support your healing journey.
https://pages.leonajohnson.life/palestine-peace
Sign up for my mailing list to be the first to know about future gatherings and receive ongoing support for staying connected during difficult times.

Thank You for Listening!

I am so grateful to you for tuning into this episode of Connection Matters Podcast. This is my passion and where I share my hope for a better world. If you enjoyed what you heard, please consider subscribing, rating, and reviewing the podcast on your preferred platform. Your support helps us reach more listeners and spread the message of connection, healing and growth!

Stay Connected:

• Join the Community: Be part of our growing community by signing up for my newsletter here. You'll receive updates on new episodes, resources, and exclusive offers!
• Join the Connection Matters Membership: Join at anytime. Monthly Live Calls. Connection, Coaching and Community. Click here for more info. 
• Follow Me: Stay inspired and connected on social media:  Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn , Pintrest
• Connect with Me: Have thoughts or questions about the episode? I'd love to hear from you! Reach out at [email protected]. I always respond.

Upcoming Events:

• Don't miss out on upcoming workshops, courses, or events! Stay informed by visiting the website here for more details for details.

https://pages.leonajohnson.life/beyond-self-helpWhat does it look like to live in deep alignment, with nature, with purpose, and with your own inner compass? In this rich and nourishing conversation, Leona sits down with long-time friend, teacher, and collaborator Vicky Mateu, whose life’s work bridges spiritual ecology, parenting, nature connection, and embodied living.

Vicky brings a unique tapestry of training in emotional intelligence, oriental dietetics, grief tending, theatre, alternative education, and spiritual traditions. Her grounded yet luminous presence shines through in this conversation where she and Leona explore:

Living simply and sustainably while raising a family off-gridTrusting intuition and listening to life’s quiet invitationsFinding beauty in everyday moments as a spiritual practiceThe healing power of nature, stillness, and cyclical livingForest School, rites of passage, and soul-rooted facilitationFacing illness, challenge, and uncertainty with grace and trustReclaiming the forgotten wisdom of indigenous and ancestral ways

✨ Vicky is co-facilitator of both:

The Nature Quest, part of Leona’s year-long in-person Connection Matters Leadership ProgrammeThe Children, Nature and Spirituality weekend course, returning September 2025 in northern England.

This conversation is a gentle and powerful reminder that your body knows, the land speaks, and simplicity often holds the medicine we need most.

✨ Want to dive deeper?
Visit: www.leonajohnson.life/resources to explore more about the courses, podcast, and access free offerings.

And if you're ready to design a life aligned with your values, don’t miss Leona’s free masterclass:
"Beyond Self-Help: My Signature Life Compass Method to Transform Reactive or Scattered Living into Connected Self-Leadership."
👉 Watch it here

Thank You for Listening!

I am so grateful to you for tuning into this episode of Connection Matters Podcast. This is my passion and where I share my hope for a better world. If you enjoyed what you heard, please consider subscribing, rating, and reviewing the podcast on your preferred platform. Your support helps us reach more listeners and spread the message of connection, healing and growth!

Stay Connected:

• Join the Community: Be part of our growing community by signing up for my newsletter here. You'll receive updates on new episodes, resources, and exclusive offers!
• Join the Connection Matters Membership: Join at anytime. Monthly Live Calls. Connection, Coaching and Community. Click here for more info. 
• Follow Me: Stay inspired and connected on social media:  Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn , Pintrest
• Connect with Me: Have thoughts or questions about the episode? I'd love to hear from you! Reach out at [email protected]. I always respond.

Upcoming Events:

• Don't miss out on upcoming workshops, courses, or events! Stay informed by visiting the website here for more details for details.

Join me for an intimate exploration of how personal transformation creates ripples that touch every relationship, community, and space you enter. You'll discover practical tools for emotional awareness, authentic connection, and joyful learning that transform reactive patterns into connected self-leadership.

In this heart-centered episode, we dive deep into the interconnected web of personal growth, exploring how emotional resilience, meaningful relationships, and continuous learning support each other in beautiful, unexpected ways. I share the powerful RAIN practice for navigating difficult emotions, the art of deep listening that transforms relationships, and why approaching life with beginner's mind keeps us alive to possibility.

Through personal stories and practical wisdom, we explore how emotions serve as messengers rather than problems to solve, how authentic vulnerability creates the foundation for nourishing relationships, and why lifelong learning isn't about collecting credentials but about staying curious and open-hearted. You'll discover how your inner work becomes your greatest contribution to cultural healing and regenerative living.

Perfect for heart-led entrepreneurs, nature connection practitioners, conscious parents, and anyone seeking to move from scattered reactivity to purposeful, connected self-leadership.

Ready to transform reactive living into connected self-leadership? Join my FREE masterclass "Beyond Self-Help: The Life Compass Method for Transforming Reactive or Scattered Living into Connected Self-Leadership and discover the framework that's helping hundreds create lives of deeper meaning and authentic connection.

https://pages.leonajohnson.life/beyond-self-help

Thank You for Listening!

I am so grateful to you for tuning into this episode of Connection Matters Podcast. This is my passion and where I share my hope for a better world. If you enjoyed what you heard, please consider subscribing, rating, and reviewing the podcast on your preferred platform. Your support helps us reach more listeners and spread the message of connection, healing and growth!

Stay Connected:

• Join the Community: Be part of our growing community by signing up for my newsletter here. You'll receive updates on new episodes, resources, and exclusive offers!
• Join the Connection Matters Membership: Join at anytime. Monthly Live Calls. Connection, Coaching and Community. Click here for more info. 
• Follow Me: Stay inspired and connected on social media:  Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn , Pintrest
• Connect with Me: Have thoughts or questions about the episode? I'd love to hear from you! Reach out at [email protected]. I always respond.

Upcoming Events:

• Don't miss out on upcoming workshops, courses, or events! Stay informed by visiting the website here for more details for details.

In this inspiring episode, you'll learn how to design your own nature quest ceremony - whether you have four hours or four days - and discover how this ancient practice becomes a gateway to connected self-leadership and integrated living.

Join me as I share intimate stories from my own questing journey, including my transformative 40th birthday solo ceremony and facilitating wild women in the Spanish wilderness. We explore the art of asking powerful questions that invite real insight, how to prepare for and hold sacred space in nature, and the crucial integration practices that bring the gifts of the land into your daily life.

You'll discover why nature connection practices like questing become even more powerful when they're part of a complete framework for designing an authentic, aligned life. We dive deep into the difference between managing life reactively and creating it consciously, and how developing your personal compass through ecotherapy and everyday spirituality supports connected self-leadership in all areas of life.
Perfect for heart-centered entrepreneurs, conscious professionals, and anyone seeking to move beyond scattered living into integrated wholeness while staying connected to the web of life.

Ready to create your own nature quest ceremony?

Discover how this practice fits into a larger framework for conscious living by downloading my FREE masterclass "Beyond Self-Help: The Life Compass Method for transforming reactive or scattered living into Connected Self-Leadership.

https://pages.leonajohnson.life/beyond-self-help

[https://pages.leonajohnson.life/beyond-self-help]

Thank You for Listening!

I am so grateful to you for tuning into this episode of Connection Matters Podcast. This is my passion and where I share my hope for a better world. If you enjoyed what you heard, please consider subscribing, rating, and reviewing the podcast on your preferred platform. Your support helps us reach more listeners and spread the message of connection, healing and growth!

Stay Connected:

• Join the Community: Be part of our growing community by signing up for my newsletter here. You'll receive updates on new episodes, resources, and exclusive offers!
• Join the Connection Matters Membership: Join at anytime. Monthly Live Calls. Connection, Coaching and Community. Click here for more info. 
• Follow Me: Stay inspired and connected on social media:  Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn , Pintrest
• Connect with Me: Have thoughts or questions about the episode? I'd love to hear from you! Reach out at [email protected]. I always respond.

Upcoming Events:

• Don't miss out on upcoming workshops, courses, or events! Stay informed by visiting the website here for more details for details.