What does it mean to stay openhearted in a world that often feels overwhelming?

In this conversation, I sit down with my longtime friend and colleague, Karta Elise Allred, to explore belonging, grief, community, and the quiet practices that help us remain deeply connected—to ourselves, to one another, and to the living world around us.

Together, we reflect on what we’ve lost in our increasingly isolated culture, why our bodies need spaces to process collective grief, and how small acts of gathering, ritual, and kindness can become profound forms of leadership.

Whether you’re feeling hopeful, heartbroken, or simply longing for deeper connection, this conversation is an invitation to remember that we were never meant to navigate life alone.

In This Episode

• Why belonging is a fundamental human need

• The hidden costs of loneliness and hyper-individualism

• Processing grief through movement and community

• The role of ritual in cultivating connection

• Creating spaces where people can be fully witnessed

• How kindness becomes an act of leadership

Reflection

Where in your life are you longing for deeper belonging—and what is one invitation you could extend this week to create it?

Resources & Mentions

• Karta Elise Allred: LinkedIn, Instagram

• Josh Schrei

• Naropa University

• The Mythic Body

• The 360 Emergence

• The Emerald Podcast (hosted by Josh Schrei)

If this conversation sparked something in you, I’d love to hear from you.

📧 [email protected]

🌐 www.leadyourlovelife.com

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In this episode of Facets of Connection, Sarah Melissa Oswald explores why healthy relationships don’t simply happen—they are consciously led. Drawing from Relational Life Therapy, Gestalt Therapy and living-systems thinking, she explains the skills couples need in order to move beyond reactive patterns and build partnerships that grow stronger over time.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why most couples were never taught the skills of relational leadership

• The three phases couples move through as relationships develop and grow

• How reactive conflict patterns can be interrupted

• Why relationships behave like living systems

Facets of Connection explores the many dimensions of human connection—from romantic partnerships to leadership, community, and the inner relationship we have with ourselves.

If you’d like to explore Sarah’s work helping couples build thriving partnerships, visit LeadYourLoveLife.com.

You can also share reflections from this episode by sending a voice memo or email to [email protected].

Follow Facets of Connection wherever you listen to podcasts.

This conversation with Cynda Collins Arsenault explores the connections between personal experience, community, and global change. Cynda reflects on how her journey—rooted in her role as a mother and community-builder—has shaped her decades-long work in peace, inclusion, and female leadership. The discussion moves through themes of respectful relationships, the transformative power of grief, and the importance of inclusive communities. Cynda shares stories about creating networks of support for her daughter with disabilities, building organizations that foster peace on earth and in outer space, and highlighting the essential leadership strengths that women bring to collective action. Throughout the conversation, she encourages listeners to find meaning by engaging authentically with their own communities, caring for themselves, and supporting causes that resonate with their passions, all while embracing both the joys and vulnerabilities that come with connection.

Show Notes:

Secure World Foundation

Our Secure Future

Women Powering Change

Erin JC Arsenault

The Radiant Connection Lab

Lead Your Love Life

In conversation, Brett Goldstein reveals a refreshingly honest and relatable approach to both work and life—he and Sarah move fluidly between stories of vulnerability, reflections on personal growth, and practical wisdom cultivated from real mistakes and successes. Their dialogue uncovers how Brett’s leadership style is grounded in emotional openness and “human connection,” exploring how trust and authenticity ripple out from daily professional choices to transform family life, friendships, and even self-understanding. With humor, a bit of grit, and plenty of actionable insights, their exchange highlights that success isn’t measured in numbers, but in the quality of our relationships and our willingness to show up, learn together, and embrace imperfection along the way.​

Show notes:

Grow2Gold Podcast

In this powerful conversation, host Sarah Melissa Oswald speaks with Dr. Jae Sevelius—Senior Research Specialist at Relational Life Foundation and a nationally recognized psychologist—about the evolving research behind Relational Life Therapy (RLT). Together they explore how relationships heal us, the vision for making RLT an evidence-based, scalable modality, and the exciting intersection of relational work and psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. Jae shares how data, compassion, and authenticity can help transform not only therapy but culture itself.

Show Notes:

Connect with Dr.Jae Sevelius

In this powerful episode, host Sarah Melissa Oswald sits down with therapist and peace facilitator Chiddie Anyasodo to explore her remarkable journey from oil and gas engineer to relational healer. Drawing on her background in engineering systems and her training in Relational Life Therapy (RLT), Chiddie has pioneered a groundbreaking approach to conflict resolution, transforming age-old community tensions in Nigeria through the creation of the “Five Masquerades” metaphor.

Chiddie shares how she helped a village locked in a 19-year conflict find common ground, peace, and even laughter by translating complex relational dynamics into cultural stories that resonated deeply with her community. From navigating patriarchal structures to disarming resistance and shame, Chiddie demonstrates how relational skills can heal not just couples, but entire communities.

This conversation is both inspiring and practical, a glimpse into how systemic change begins with relational courage, creativity, and compassion.

Chiddie Anyasodo is a UK based psychotherapist, conflict-resolution specialist, and founder of Chotayah, working at the point where psychoanalytic depth meets community peacebuilding. 

She spent her early career in the high-stakes world of oil and gas with Schlumberger and Baker Hughes, leading real-time diagnostics and strategy across Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. This experience honed her eye for the hidden relational dynamics that drive systemic failure. Identifying a critical gap in research on African relationship dynamics, she began a Doctorate in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy at the University of Exeter. Alongside a thriving private practice, she serves in some of the UK’s most demanding clinical environments: within the NHS as a psychotherapist specialising in personality disorder and complex trauma, and as a therapist for a major UK local authority. 

She is the creator of the “Five Masquerades,” a groundbreaking, culturally resonant translation of Relational Life Therapy’s losing strategies that changes behaviour without shame; in 2025 she helped catalyse a breakthrough de-escalation in a decades-long community conflict by pairing parity with accountability under a single, even code. Chiddie is the author of the forthcoming book The Festival of the Five Masquerades, anchors a growing curriculum, and is collaborating with the Relational Life Foundation to shape this work into trainable tools for couples, leaders, and communities worldwide.Show Notes: Scholarship application for RLT

Website: ⁠https://chotayah.com/⁠

LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/chidiebereanya/⁠

In this episode of Facets of Connection, host Sarah Melissa Oswald sits down with Iuri Melo to explore the urgent youth mental health crisis and the power of proactive solutions. 
Iuri is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with 20 years of experience and the proud father of five. He’s the co-founder of SchoolPulse, a nationwide student support service that delivers positivity, optimism, and growth mindset tools to students, parents, and faculty via text and email. After several teen suicides in his community, Iuri co-created SchoolPulse in 2017 to proactively support student well-being. He’s also the author of Mind Over Grey Matter and the teen best-seller Know Thy Selfie, and the developer of “Adventure Based Therapy.” With over 300 schools in 25+ states, Iuri’s mission to “bless the human family” is inspiring students every day through kindness, psychology, and powerful weekly videos.
Together, Sarah and Iuri dive into:

• Why positive relationships are the #1 protective factor for student well-being.
• How proactive, daily check-ins can prevent crises before they escalate.
• The role of positive psychology and growth mindset in helping teens thrive.
• How schools, parents, and communities can build stronger systems of support.

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This heartfelt conversation is filled with optimism, practical strategies, and a shared commitment to ending the epidemic of loneliness by fostering connection at home, in schools, and across communities.
​

• Learn More About School Pulse: 2 Minute Video
• All School Pulse Videos
• School Pulse: Most Comprehensive Mental Health Resource Page in the Country (for every school, parent, and student)
• Know Thy Selfie Book
• Mind Over Grey Matter Book
• Email Iuri at [email protected]

• Connection Compass
• Community Conversation Series
• RLT Relationship Skills Bootcamps
• Sliding Scale RLT 
• Relationship Revival Course

In this conversation, Sarah sits down with Kathi Burns, a best-selling author, board certified professional organizer, personal stylist & nationally recognized for her simple organizing & style solutions. She has also been featured on Good Morning America as a successful woman owned business. Sarah and Kathi explore how our relationship with our built and digital environments impacts our well-being, productivity, and connections with others. Kathi Burns is .Kathi shares her mission of helping people embrace change with less fear, whether through decluttering a kitchen counter, streamlining business systems, or reframing how we approach “piles” in our lives. Together, they discuss how organization reduces overwhelm, strengthens relationships, and creates space for joy, creativity, and resilience. This episode offers practical wisdom and inspiring insights for anyone seeking more ease in their life and relationships.Show Notes:

• Free Simplify Your Life Webinar on Sept 16th 
• Free Productivity Check list (Six Steps for Ultimate Productivity)
• Organized and Energized 
• Add Space to Your Life 
• How to Master Your Muck (book)

Resources:

• Community Conversation Series
• RLT Relationship Skills Bootcamps
• Sliding Scale RLT 
• Relationship Revival Course

In this heartfelt and thought-provoking conversation, RLT-certified coach Beverly Joy Ehrlich sits down with Sarah Melissa Oswald, Director of Relational Life Foundation, to explore what it means to foster intimacy through community. Their conversation illuminates the limitations of the nuclear family model and invites us to reimagine relationships as living systems—ever-evolving, interdependent, and rich with possibility. From Sarah’s personal journey of cultivating multifaceted relationships to practical insights on building meaningful connections, this episode is a powerful reminder that intimacy doesn’t begin and end with our romantic partners.
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Discover how community, diversity, and inclusive connection can create a more sustainable foundation for belonging and relational resilience—especially in a time of increasing speed, loneliness, and disconnection.Show Notes:Sarah Melissa Oswald’s private practice, Lead Your Love Life
Beverly Joy Ehrlich’ private practice
Carol Giligan 
Thomas Hübl
Priya Parker: The Art of Gathering
MatrixWorks: Living Systems in Groups
Jessica Fern – Polysecure: Attachment, Trauma and Consensual Nonmonogamy

Resources:

Community Conversation Series

RLT Relationship Skills Bootcamps

Sliding Scale RLT 

Relationship Revival Course

In this rich conversation, therapist, educator, and RLT mentor Caron Starobin, LCSW-C, joins us to explore the unique complexities—and deep potential—of neurodiverse relationships. Drawing on decades of experience, Caron shares how Relational Life Therapy (RLT) offers an empowering framework for supporting couples where one or both partners are neurodivergent. We discuss the intersections of trauma and neurodivergence, how ableism can show up in relationships, and the importance of breaking down communication to build true connection.
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Caron opens up about her path into this work, shaped by her own family history and a deep passion for helping people feel seen, heard, and less alone. Whether you're a practitioner, a partner in a neurodiverse relationship, or simply curious about how different brains relate in love, this episode offers insight, compassion, and real-world tools to bring more empathy and satisfaction into your relationships.
To dive deeper into Caron’s work or to explore her upcoming Relationship Bootcamp, visit www.starobincounseling.com.

Show Notes:Connect with Caron Starobin
No Ordinary Love Community Conversation 
RLT Feedback Wheel
Save Your Seat in Caron’s Relationship Bootcamp (October 10-11, Ashton Maryland)
RLT Certification