Enlighten: Uplift & Inspire

My guest today is Mary McCourt. Mary is an adventure guide in a Wilderness Therapy Program in Utah. I met Mary a couple of weeks ago in Utah when my dear friend, Elizabeth Van Meter hosted an Awards Night for an inspiring group of outdoor enthusiasts. I was drawn to Mary's calm, compassionate energy and knew she was the first person I personally met working as a guide in a Wilderness Therapy Program. Her own personal experience with outdoor adventure was so healing for her mental health that she re-directed her path from clinical nutritionist to becoming an adventure guide. A post from her Instagram sums up her work: "I have the wildest, weirdest, hardest, most rewarding job in the world. Feeling grateful for every moment on the trail." Check out the show notes for links to the program Mary works for and Mary's Instagram where you see incredible, breathtaking photos of the adventures she guides people through. Enjoy the podcast! Links: Aspiro Wilderness Therapy Program Mary's Instagram

This week I reflect on the things we carry, the energy of objects and how we charge our 'things' with memories, emotions, stories, both negatively and positively. We all have countless objects that have energy, meaning and rich stories infused with emotional charges. It's actually a spiritual practice to learn to be an observer to the meaning and emotional charge we project onto our objects. Questions bubble up for me as I pay attention to the things we carry. Can we honor the meaning we've projected onto the object? Can we carry the meaning without being weighed down by the things we carry? Can we honor the objects without being attached to them? How do we hold objects with grace and ease? How do we lighten our loads? How do we release and let go of our objects? May you explore these questions with curiosity and wonder. May you appreciate the things you carry and release them when they become too burdensome. May you find joy in exploring the things that you carry. May you love them, bless them and let them go! Enjoy the podcast!

My guest today is Marla McPherson. Marla is Conservationist, High School English Teacher, and River Runner. I had the pure pleasure of meeting Marla in Utah a couple of weeks ago when visiting my treasured friend and previous podcast guest, Elizabeth Van Meter (episode #113). Beneath Marla's current job titles, is an impressive, courageous, wise woman who has built her own house, lived off the grid, helped a friend start her own business: an outdoor wilderness leadership school for kids, discovered innovative ways to blend her love for teaching, adventure and wilderness, from Alaska to Argentina. Marla honors her humble partnership with nature and humanity, while embracing life's interruptions. Check out the Show Notes for links to some of the books, documentaries and the river company Marla referenced. Enjoy the podcast! Links: Mild To Wild Rafting & Jeep Tours DamNation documentary by Patagonia "Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the teaching of Plants" by Robin Wall Kimmerer "Siddharta" by Herman Hesse "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho "The Hero with A Thousand Faces" by Joseph Campbell

I'm trying something new today! This week's episode is a recording from a TikTok Live I did over the weekend. I wanted to be more spontaneous and offer a natural live interaction with some of my TikTok followers. I had been asked to explain what I mean when I call myself a psycho-spiritual therapist, so my Healing Angel poster and a snail help me address that here. I also felt led to end with a simple guided meditation. Delighted to join my podcast circle with my TikTok soul family. Check the show notes for a link to my TikTok account. Enjoy the podcast. Links: TikTok : @deborahadamy

While hiking through the ancient, majestic landscape of the southwest last week, we learned that Peter Fish, a dear friend of ours, died of a heart attack. We were shocked, distraught and so very sad. We walked a labyrinth in Peter's honor, we built cairns to pay tribute to Peter, we held him and his beloved Tracey Anarella in meditation and shared stories of my husband's 35 year friendship, recalling all the various musical projects with Peter. We are deeply grateful for the positive, healing impact Tracey had on Peter's life in the past 10 years, softening his intensity, expanding his heart and co-creating a tender, respectful relationship of true love. Which also included the added bonus of inviting Peter into the pride and joy of co-parenting Tracey's two fabulous kids. Peter Fish had been a guest on my podcast back in 2018 and holds a very special place in our hearts. Experiencing the death of one of my podcast guests is brand new for us. My husband and I decided to re-release the episode when Peter was my guest as a remembrance and tribute to him. So whether you heard it when it was first released or hearing it now for the first time, we invite all of you to get a glimpse of Peter's energy, his success as a musician and composer and the light he brought into our lives. We thank you Peter, we will miss you dearly, rest easy, dear friend, rest in deep peace. Links: IG: Tracey Anarella

The song "It's a Whole New World" from the Disney movie Aladdin keeps wiggling its way into my mind these days. My beloved spiritual son, Joel Cross introduced me to TikTok last week and he and TikTok have truly opened me up to a whole new world!! From one who never opened a Facebook account and keeps her Instagram account at arms length, I have a lukewarm relationship with social media platforms. My account is to specifically promote my weekly podcast episodes. It took a couple of years to build 200 followers on Instagram and now in my 4th year of hosting this podcast, I have a whooping 337 followers! I dreamed of hiring a social media associate who could keep track of all these logistics in a more consistent way. Keeping up with social media can be daunting, discouraging and at times, quite overwhelming. I can't tell you how many times I toyed with the idea of letting it all go. Well that all changed last week when Joel came to visit. Joel opened a whole new world to me as he enthusiastically described TikTok as a meaningful forum for connecting, collaborating and co-creating. He re-ignited my TikTok account and within 5 days my followers grew from 2 to 900. Joel went all out to encourage his followers to help me get 1,000 followers, the minimum number needed to be a creator and go live. Joel predicted that I would have 1,000 followers by the time he arrived in NH. Sure enough, I called Joel 3 hours later and announced that I had 1,225 followers! I watched these numbers magically increase: on Monday I had 1,500, on Tuesday 1,800 and as I type this on Wednesday evening I have over 2,000 followers. I don't fully get it, but it is bizarre and wonderful! Joel graciously invited me into his soul family and this unique soul family has warmly welcomed me. My first week on TikTok not only has grown my listener ship by leaps and bounds, but I feel soul connected to people from all over the world. I celebrate this whole new world, this opportunity to cast my net wider to reach thousands of strangers who care about living from Spirit, living with integrity, treating each other with kindness and loving support. Heartfelt thanks to a-soul-called-Joel, his awesome Soul Family and the thousands of people now following me. Enjoy the podcast! ** I'll be taking off next Monday, Memorial Day. See you again in 2 weeks. ** Links: Deborah Adamy on TikTok Joel on TikTok Social Dilemma Joel's Enlighten Podcast Interview

My guest today is Joel Cross. Joel was one of my first guests when I launched the podcast in January of 2018 and he also wrote the beautiful theme song for my podcast "Shine Your Light". You can also find a longer version of the theme song on my website for those of you who want to download it for meditation or your yoga playlist. Joel is a beloved spiritual soul, who I both treasure and feel deeply grateful to have in my life. I know that his open-heart, self-reflection and clarity will inspire you. I am eager for all my listeners to hear the clear vision Joel has claimed for himself: to be a conduit of grounding, healing and transformation through music, poetry and meditation. Check out the show notes for links to Joel's website and his ever-growing TikTok soul family. Enjoy the podcast! Links: Joel on TikTok Joel on IG Joel's Web Site

Do you have a lot going on in your life? Do you feel like your schedule is overflowing with life's ups and downs? Welcome to the full catastrophe of life! Jon Kabat-Zinn titled his first book "Full Catastrophe of Living." He says the full catastrophe is "another way to speak of heart-fullness." Can you be present as you feel your way into your experience from moment to moment: the heartbreaking moments, the tender, sweet moments, the frightening moments and the joyful ones? Kabat-Zinn says that "It's the nature of the human condition to actually, encounter uncertainty, stress, pain, loss, grief, sadness and also a tremendous potential for joy, connection, love, affiliation. And all of that is the full catastrophe." It's not just the bad stuff. It's everything. And the question is, "Can we love it, can we live inside of it in ways that actually enliven us and allow us to be fully human?" I'll guide you for a few minutes to sit in silence and stillness. Be present to the full catastrophe in your life, in your week, in your day. Marvel at the richness of your daily experiences, the wonder, the contrast and the vitality. Tap into your genuine gratitude to be fully human. Honor and celebrate The Full Catastrophe of Life! Follow this link to Jon Kabat-Zinn's book "Full Catastrophe of Living." Enjoy the podcast!

I often bring a garbage bag with me on my Hook Mountain walks. I can't stand to see trash on the trails, so I feel compelled to do my part to clean up the garbage along the way. I unpack some associations and metaphors that come to mind while collecting garbage. Garbage collectors were important to Martin Luther King, Jr. and the civil rights movement. Garbage collectors have been critical in nationally exposing and highlighting the abuses, non-unionized, low-paying jobs and dangerous working conditions that too many people have suffered under. MLK brought the garbage collectors' plight into our consciousness, cared about them being treated with dignity and respect. Picking up and clearing garbage, has become a spiritual practice for me. It is a minuscule step in what truly needs to be done to address advocacy for our precious earth, but I feel cleansed, renewed and grateful for this simple measure to clean up garbage, outwardly and inwardly! May you be inspired to clean up your surroundings. May you treat nature with awe, reverence and wonder. May we learn multiple ways to be our planet's fierce advocate. Check out the show notes to listen and re-listen to the powerful words of Greta Thunberg for the bigger picture task at hand. Enjoy the podcast! Links: Greta Thunberg on YouTube Greta Thunberg on Instagram

According to the mystics, every human being has been assigned a guardian angel, regardless of your beliefs, culture, ethnicity or geography. That's right, a personal angel who is the gatekeeper of your soul. And then there are multiple angels who serve unique functions to heal, guide, protect and direct us. Do you allow angels to work with you and for you? Have you ever felt the presence of angels? I hosted 5 Archangels last week and palpably felt the presence of the angels before the Derek Chauvin verdict was announced. The emotions of this verdict are complex and there is much intense, important work ahead of us. I am so grateful that so many people this year rallied forces seen and unseen, individually and collectively to imagine accountability, to imagine healing, to imagine that one day we might manifest the possibility of restoration and true justice. The angels are present! Invite the angels into your home, your heart, your thoughts. The Archangels and all the angels are here to serve humanity and God knows humanity needs some serious serving! Check out the show notes for links to "The Weight of Bearing Witness" podcast as well as a link to AOC sharing her initial response after the Chauvin verdict. Enjoy the podcast! Links: "The Weight of Bearing Witness" podcast AOC Shares Her Thoughts