Deeper Intimacy

Amanda and Ava go into the layers they promised at the end of part one. This is the conversation about what actually happened when a business partnership, a friendship, and years of shared history all had to break apart at once.

They talk about the pattern underneath the partnership, the parent-child dynamic neither of them could see while they were in it, and the moment the decision to end it stopped being personal and became something the wider team could name from the outside. Ava speaks about what therapy uncovered about her own abandonment wound, and about a period of grief and loss she moved through in the middle of it all. Amanda speaks about the self-destructive patterns she had to walk away from to find her own ground again.

What emerges is not a story about who was right. It is a story about repair as a skill two people had to learn, about boundaries that only became visible once they had already been crossed, and about a relationship finding its way from lovers and business partners into something more like sisterhood.

If part one was the setup, this is the honesty underneath it.

Follow us on IG where we hang out most of the time:

@theamandabiccum

@intimatewithava

Tune into amanda's other offerings:

www.amandabiccum.com

www.thetempleofradiance.com

www.templevillage.com

Amanda sits down with her longtime friend and former business partner Ava for a conversation neither of them has had in public before. They built a company together, lived together, ran a community out of their own home, and eventually reached a place where everything had to come apart.

In this first of a two-part series, they trace it back. The dependency neither of them could name at the time. The drama triangle they didn't know they were standing in. The fear of being left, and the comfort of distance, playing out underneath every disagreement about money, structure, and space. They talk honestly about anger as one of the hardest emotions to work with, about the year they needed completely apart, and about what it actually took to trust each other again.

This is a conversation about repair. Not the tidy kind. The kind that requires two people willing to own their part, sit in the discomfort of what they see, and choose to come back to each other anyway.

Part two continues the story, going even deeper into what they each faced alone.

Follow Amanda on IG:

https://www.instagram.com/theamandabiccum/

Follow Ava on IG:

https://www.instagram.com/intimatewithava/https://www.instagram.com/intimatewithava/

Check out upcoming retreats and events:

https://www.thetempleofradiance.com/

Work 1:1 with Amanda:

https://www.amandabiccum.com/

Check out the Temple Village Bali Project:

https://templevillage.com/

Amanda and Sophie Claire sit on a fallen log in a forest outside Tilburg and talk about what it actually takes to stay embodied when life won't hold still. The conversation moves from the quiet of the trees into the last year and a half of Amanda living without a fixed home, into Sophie's daily anchors of altar, tea, and gardening, and into the bigger question both women keep circling back to: why we were never meant to do this alone. They talk about village life versus city loneliness, what AI can't replace, and the neuro-wellness vision behind Temple Village. The episode closes with practical guidance for anyone whose embodiment practice keeps slipping, and an invitation into both women's work.

Guest bio

Sophie Claire, known as Joy of Intimacy, is an Amsterdam-based facilitator holding space for intimacy and embodiment. She and Amanda have lived and practiced together on and off since meeting years ago, and the two return often to what they call temple life: shared ritual, shared silence, shared devotion, built into ordinary days.

Find us on the socials:

https://www.instagram.com/theamandabiccum/

https://www.instagram.com/joyofintimacy/

Interested in the Temple Village project?

www.templevillage.com

Twelve years in Tantra taught Amanda one thing the field doesn't say out loud enough: sacred sexuality was never the point. It was always the doorway.

In this conversation, Amanda sits down with Riihannon, a Nordic-lineage somatic psychotherapist whose own path runs through deep trauma work into a modality she built at the intersection of Tantra and nature. Together they name what's been quietly eroding trust in this work over the last four or five years. Practitioners without real training. Power misused and misunderstood. A name, Tantra, stretched thin by people using it for everything except what it was ever meant to hold.

This is a conversation about integrity in a field that badly needs more of it. Amanda and Riihannon talk about what trauma-informed facilitation actually requires, and where it tips into something that strips out agency and magic instead of protecting them. They talk about the stages people skip. Integration. Rewiring. The slow, unglamorous part of transformation that never makes it into a highlight reel.

And they talk about what no algorithm or AI model will ever replace: a room of real bodies, regulating each other's nervous systems just by being present together.

If you've felt the collective fatigue with surface-level leadership in this space, if you've wondered whether the depth you're craving is still out there and taught with real rigor, this one's for you.

In this episode:

• Amanda's twelve-year path through Tantra, Buddhism, Yoga, Sufism, and Taoism
• Riihannon's Nordic lineage and the modality she built from trauma work and nature
• Why Tantra's reputation has taken hits in recent years, and what integrity in this work actually looks like
• Trauma-informed facilitation versus trauma-focused facilitation, and why the difference matters
• The integration and rewiring phases most people never reach
• Why human connection stays irreplaceable, even in an AI-saturated world
• What's coming next: Amanda's facilitator training, Riihannon's tantric sexologist education, and the September retreats in Portugal

Timestamps:

03:37 — Amanda's twelve-year Tantra journey05:22 — Riihannon's Nordic lineage and somatic psychotherapy09:33 — Where Tantra gets misused and misunderstood11:14 — Why the field's reputation has taken hits14:55 — Integrity and containment in facilitation23:13 — The shift toward grounded, embodied teaching28:04 — Trauma-informed care without losing agency35:05 — The integration and rewiring phases people skip45:21 — Why human connection can't be automated47:08 — Long-term thinking and nervous system sustainability49:40 — Amanda's upcoming facilitator training50:19 — September retreats in Portugal, for men and women52:17 — Riihannon's 1.5-year tantric sexologist education

If this landed, we'd love to hear which part stayed with you.

Links mentioned in the show:

The Intiatress & Rites of Passage Training from Temple of Radiance: https://www.thetempleofradiance.com/Initiatress-Rite-of-Passage-events

Riihannon's upcoming program: https://www.humanevolutionaryacademy.com/tantric-sexology-2026

Podcast reference with Zach Bush: ⁠https://open.spotify.com/episode/6s1H6A6uYhnKU3a4uGhAQV?si=9511879aecc84425⁠

Find us on Instagram @theamandabiccum or @riihannon.wilde and share your reflections.

In this episode, Amanda and Rhiannon explore how embodiment, trauma release, and intuitive leadership create more authentic, sustainable businesses. They discuss Rhiannon’s armoring method for releasing stored tension, the power of trusting “death portals” in entrepreneurship, and why somatic intelligence is the essential antidote in an AI-driven world. This conversation is a powerful invitation to lead from your body, trust your intuition, and build a soul-led business rooted in nervous system health and deep feminine wisdom.

Connect with Amanda:

https://www.instagram.com/theamandabiccum/

Embodied Tantra Faciliator Program with @templeofradiace:

https://www.thetempleofradiance.com/embodied-tantra-facilitator-training-2026

Connect with Riihannon

- https://www.instagram.com/riihannon.wilde/

Work Intimately with Riihannon ( Embodied Leadership, De-armouring & Soul Business Expansion )

- www.riihannonwilde.com

- Soul Business mastermind 2026 ( Amanda, Riihannon, Saida ): https://www.thepleasuretemple.one/soulbusinessmastermind

Human Evolutionary Academy - Pro educations : https://www.humanevolutionaryacademy.com/

- 5 Day De-armouring Training June 2026 : https://www.humanevolutionaryacademy.com/surrender

- Tantric Sexology - 18 month Pro Education Sep 2026 : https://www.humanevolutionaryacademy.com/tantric-sexology-2026

- De-armouring Professional - Level 1 2027 : https://www.humanevolutionaryacademy.com/level-1-de-armouring

What if the way you’re using sex is actually keeping you from true intimacy? In this raw and revealing episode, Amanda explores how sexual energy can become a tool for avoidance: a way to numb, distract, or seek validation rather than deepen connection. Through her own embodied wisdom, she guides you to recognize when desire is rooted in avoidance and how to transmute it into authentic, heart-centered intimacy.

In this episode of The Deeper Intimacy Podcast, Amanda Biccum takes you into one of the most uncomfortable (and liberating) conversations around sexuality: how we unconsciously use sex to avoid deeper truth, vulnerability, and presence.

We live in a culture that glorifies desire but rarely teaches us how to meet it consciously. Amanda invites you to peel back the layers of your sexual patterns, to see where sex may have become an escape: from loneliness, emotional discomfort, or the ache of unmet needs.

You’ll explore:

• How to tell the difference between sex as connection and sex as avoidance

• The subtle ways we use pleasure to bypass pain

• What your patterns in intimacy reveal about your relationship to your own truth

• Why embodiment and awareness are the antidotes to unconscious sexual loops

• How to transform physical desire into a gateway for authentic emotional intimacy

Amanda doesn’t shame the impulse for connection, she honors it. And she reminds us that true intimacy begins when we stop running from ourselves.

This episode is a powerful reflection for anyone ready to reclaim their sexual energy as sacred, integrated, and deeply human.

Tune in, drop into your body, and let this conversation guide you back to the heart beneath the desire.

Resources:

IG Amanda: https://www.instagram.com/theamandabiccum/

IG Shiva: https://www.instagram.com/steve.shiva.official/

Truth-Based Relating Program: https://amanda-biccum.mykajabi.com/shiva-and-amanda

The Temple of Radiance Membership: https://www.thetempleofradiance.com/temple-of-radiance-membership

🎙️ Podcast Description

In this episode, Amanda Biccum opens the door to a deeper understanding of intimacy, one that goes far beyond what happens in the bedroom. Together, we explore intimacy as a way of relating, a practice of truth, and a way of being that brings more connection, depth, and authenticity into every part of life.

You’ll hear about the subtle ways we build or block intimacy in daily interactions, how unspoken truths create distance in relationships, and what it takes to cultivate vulnerability that leads to real closeness. Amanda shares practices and reflections that invite you to soften, open, and meet yourself and others from a more embodied, heart-centered place.

Whether you’re single or in partnership, this conversation will help you reimagine intimacy not just as physical closeness, but as a pathway to greater love, freedom, and presence in all your relationships.

Resources:

IG Amanda: https://www.instagram.com/theamandabiccum/

IG Shiva: https://www.instagram.com/steve.shiva.official/

Truth Based Relating Program: https://amanda-biccum.mykajabi.com/shiva-and-amanda

The Temple of Radiance Membership: https://www.thetempleofradiance.com/temple-of-radiance-membership

The Initiatress Training: https://www.thetempleofradiance.com/events

After a soulful pause, Amanda Biccum returns to the mic with a powerful episode featuring sexuality and relationship coach Thorhildur — a woman who has navigated nearly two decades of marriage, motherhood, and the evolution into conscious polyamory.

In this intimate and eye-opening conversation, Thor shares her journey from postpartum disconnection and relationship struggle to personal sovereignty, erotic awakening, and creating deeply fulfilling partnerships — including her current dynamic with a husband and boyfriend.

🔹 Key Moments Inside:

– The turning point that led Thor to choose individual therapy over couples counseling

– How “State of the Union” meetings and personal hobbies rebuilt her marriage post-children

– Discovering open marriage, navigating fears, and embracing polyamory with heart

– Gender dynamics, emotional intimacy, and redefining what partnership means

– Real-life time management between partners, parenting, and purpose

– Powerful advice for anyone considering stepping into non-monogamy

Whether you’re curious about open relationships or longing for deeper intimacy within your current dynamic, this episode is a raw, practical, and soulful guide to what’s possible when you lead with truth, vision, and self-love.

💌 Tune in now, and don’t forget to send your questions for part two with Thor, happening later this season.

Check out Thorhildur's upcoming course on Polyamory:

https://www.tickettailor.com/events/sovereigntycoachthorhildur/1668018

Follow her on IG here:

https://www.instagram.com/sundurogsaman

Get on the waitlist for Shiva and Amanda's Truth-Based Relating (launching this FALL)

https://amanda-biccum.mykajabi.com/shiva-and-amanda

In the latest episode of 'Deeper Intimacy,' hosts Amanda and Steve Shiva delve into the profound theme of women's desire to be claimed in relationships, exploring how empowered women are increasingly seeking meaningful connections over casual encounters. The discussion examines the contrasting individualistic nature of men versus the communal tendencies of women, highlighting the intricate dynamics within tantra and yoga communities, where men face the challenge of asserting themselves respectfully. As they share personal experiences and the importance of clear communication, the hosts emphasize the role of masculine energy in providing safety, allowing women to embrace their femininity. The episode concludes with actionable advice for both women and men on nurturing their respective energies while inviting listeners to engage and provide feedback, fostering a deeper conversation around intimacy and relationships.

Connect with us:

INSTA: Amanda Biccum

INSTA: Steve Shiva

Websites:

Amanda's events, coaching & offerings:

www.amandabiccum.com

www.thetempleofradiance.com

Shiva's events & coaching:

www.notorioushearts.com

Overview

In the latest episode of the "Deeper Intimacy Podcast," hosts Shiva and Amanda share a candid exploration of the concept of "mothering" within relationships, recorded in a relaxed bathtub setting. They differentiate between care and mothering, emphasizing its implications on relationship dynamics, particularly in heteronormative contexts. The discussion spans defining mothering, the responsibilities of both partners, and effective communication strategies to address concerns without falling into mothering behaviors. Listeners are encouraged to reflect on their own experiences, consider how awareness and responsibility play vital roles in relationships, and are invited to engage with upcoming resources and courses aimed at fostering deeper intimacy. The episode concludes with actionable takeaways for listeners, including personal reflections and opportunities to engage further with the podcast community.

Connect with us on IG:

🪄 INSTA : ⁠⁠@theamandabiccum⁠⁠

🪄 INSTA : @⁠⁠steve.shiva.notorioushearts⁠⁠

Or see our offerings on our WEBSITE:

⁠⁠www.amandabiccum.com⁠⁠

⁠⁠www.notorioushearts.com/⁠⁠

Join the waitlist for Truth Based Relating our program launching 2025 ⁠⁠here⁠⁠.