Conversations That Don't Suck

The podcast is taking an indefinite break, because the world is hard and weird and I need to hermit. I love you each. Listen for an explanation. I'll be back!

Sasha Raskin is on the podcast this week! Sasha and I met through the magic of Facebook (mild sarcasm, but also, amazing). In this episode, we discuss: - How she started her community A Beautiful Mess, her mental health journey, her experience checking herself into a mental hospital, paradoxes in emotions, the impact of vulnerability, the difference between real vulnerability and oversharing in leadership, and “safe spaces”.

Sasha Raskin is the Founder of A BEAUTIFUL MESS (ABM), a mental health organization that runs corporate talks and events to combat loneliness, depression and stigma. Before that, she was a Hollywood literary agent representing dozens of bestsellers across the globe and even briefly ran a tech company, all the while struggling with debilitating depression. She started ABM to be the resource she wished she had when she was struggling the most.

Additional links:

Check out the COLLECTIVE UNKNOWN here: www.collectiveunknown.com

Website: www.abeautifulmess.org

Facebook Group (private and confidential) https://www.facebook.com/groups/3261029013925953/

Subscribe to her email list here https://rb.gy/4kd1tr

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/abeautifulmess_org/

Follow Sasha’s Writing on Medium: https://blog.usejournal.com/@sashaalexraskin

DONATE: No one is turned away for lack of funds to our events so many people attend for free. Please support our mission financially. Tax Deductible Donations can be made here https://abeautifulmess.gvng.org/

You can book a free exploratory call here: https://calendly.com/sraskin/15min

My roommate, dear friend, and fellow connection lover Jordan is on the podcast this week. And we’re using Convers(ate) cards! Convers(ate) Conversation Cards spark conversation about an interesting and universal topic using a unique set of question prompts. I LOVE these cards and highly recommend checking them out. Shout out to Taylor at Convers(ate) for reaching out and for enlightening me to these amazing cards!

In this episode, we discuss: tattoos, relishing change vs resisting it, death and how memories last, responsibility in being free, how we understand the passing of time, the Backstreet Boys (always), and much more. I love doing these friendcasts and being able to hit record while having an amazing conversation with someone I love. Enjoy, y’all.

A bit about Jord: Jordan Edelheit believes in the power of a story and that conversations that change perspectives have the ability to change the world. She became a TEDx organizer nearly a decade ago and has spent the time since often at the intersection of storytelling and exploring ideas that are central to our humanness. Alongside a talented team of incarcerated men, she co-produced the first major TEDx event in a correctional facility, TEDxMarionCorrectional, using the TEDx platform to promote conversations on justice and social change. Always fascinated by the human experience, her work has now led her to be both a birth doula and working with the nonprofit You're Going to Die, launching a program in prisons centered around creative expression and conversations surrounding death and our shared mortality.

www.collectiveunknown.com

www.convers-ate.com

Episode 5 of 5 in the series on under-felt, under-appreciated, under-processed emotions. Sensitivity is a big one, y'all. It's one that most people think is bad, too much, too unpleasant... but I think it's a huge gift (like all five of the emotions I've talked about these last episodes!) In this episode, I get into what sensitivity is, why it's challenging, and how we can become more attuned and discerning sensitive beings. Enjoy!

As always, I love to hear your thoughts on these things. You can reach out to me via my website: www.kylasw.com

The Collective Unknown is now live! www.collectiveunknown.com

votesaveamerica.org

nextgenamerica.org

The Highly Sensitive Person by Dr. Elaine Aron

This is episode 4/5 of under-felt, under-appreciated, under-processed emotions. Heartbreak is my favorite thing to talk about, second to loneliness ;) and in this episode I dive into a few of the toughest experiences I've had with heartbreak, why I think it's so important to fully feel heartbreak, and how it expands our capacity for more love. This is a juicy one, and I hope y'all love it.

You can also listen to episode 11 where I share some poetry on an experience of heartbreak I had had at that time.

Check out my NEW PROJECT The Collective Unknown: www.collectiveunknown.com

This is episode 3 of 5 in a series on emotions that are often under-felt, under-appreciated, and under-processed. RAGE is a big one!! If you're not feeling rage this year, I'm not sure where you're living, but if you're anything like me, rage is a feeling that has followed you for more than a year. Especially for people socialized as women, rage is something we're rarely permissioned to experience, let alone actually embody or express. But there is SO MUCH WISDOM in rage, and in this episode I dive into some of my own experiences with it (just a lifetime or more), what we think rage is based on how it typically gets expressed (through aggression or violence), and how to move rage through the body in a healthy and clean way. Much love!

NEEDINESS - Does this word make your skin crawl the way that mine does?! This is part 2 of 5 in a series on difficult or under-processed emotions, and neediness is one of the most rejected feelings I've ever known, both in myself and others. I dive into what neediness is, the many ways it gets experienced, and what you can do to get more in touch with your neediness (and... dare I say... make friends with it?!)

I hope y'all love this one. It's fun to deep-dive into some tough emotions with you. As always, I'd love to hear what you think - about this episode, or about other emotions you'd like to hear about over the next 3 episodes.

www.theschooloflife.com

I'm lonely, you're lonely, we're all lonely.

I'm back with another solocast. For the next 5 weeks, I'll speak to 5 different challenging emotions/emotional experiences, my thoughts on them through my research with loneliness and connection, and a few vulnerable shares of my own experiences with them.

Y'all have been loving the solocasts, and I'd love to hear more of your feedback, thoughts, ideas, musings, questions. Much love!

Simone Humphrey and Signe Simon, the co-founders of LOVELINK, are on the pod this week! LOVELINK is a podcast, workshop series, and hosts other resources to help people connect more deeply to themselves and others. Simone Humphrey, PsyD, currently works at Therapists of New York, a private practice in midtown, Manhattan. She has a passion for developing creative and unconventional ways to promote mental health and wellbeing. Signe Simon, PhD, teaches graduate students and works with individuals, groups, and couples, and is committed to focusing on the healing power of relationships.

I LOVED this conversation. It was so nourishing to have such a candid emotional and intellectual conversation around the difficulties of communicating during sex and in relationship. Y’all will love this one. In this conversation, we discuss: the #1 issue they see in their offices as therapists, why people feel lonely in partnerships, how younger generations experience more rejection, “vulnerability”, sexual trends over generations, communication in sex, and tolerating awkwardness.

lovelink.co

https://www.instagram.com/lovelinkco/

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/dating-during-covid-psychotherapy-group-tickets-116363234567

Gary Ware is on the podcast this week! Gary Ware, the Founder of Breakthrough Play, is a sought-after Corporate Facilitator and Keynote Speaker with nearly a decade of experience as a performer in improv theatre. He assists teams with unlocking creativity, confidence, and sparks collaboration with experiential methods proven to drive peak performance.

Gary spent over a decade in the corporate world and originally pursued improv to master public speaking. He quickly discovered that combining improv and play could be a powerful solution to achieve various business challenges. Naturally, he created workshops for his team and other executives in his network to deepen relationships and improve creativity. Gary became obsessed on learning how to use play as a transformational tool and as a result, happily transitioned from marketing to pursue facilitation full time. Gary was also recently featured as one of the Top 100 HR influencers for 2020 by the Engagedly HR software platform.

In this conversation, we discuss: how to bring play into corporate environments, the science behind play, creating safety in facilitation settings, the broadening definition of games and play, the different play personalities, and the different paths to play.

https://www.breakthroughplay.com/playpersonalities