Fresh Aesthetic

Mental health is a hot topic at the moment and for very good reason. We live in a system that correlates success with owning more things,   achieving more at work, having as much screen time as possible and maintaining a poor work-personal balance. This is not sustainable as evidenced through a huge spike in anxiety and depression in recent years. Couple this with COVID-19 disruptions and you have a recipe for constantly rising levels of stress and anxiety. These can also lead to burnout, which can be a painful and debilitating experience. In this episode we look at our own journeys through mental health issues and share some tips for a more fulfilled and peaceful life. 

Links: 

Correlates  of symptoms of anxiety and depression and mental wellbeing associated  with COVID-19: a cross-sectional study of UK-based respondents

This week I have Chelsea Cullen on the show talking about veganism and plant-based diets. Join us as we discuss how to approach these lifestyles without feeling overwhelmed at the thought of the effort it would take to shift to eating foods not derived from animals and other animal products. We also discuss creativity and the balance between achieving goals and avoiding a poor work/rest balance.

For anyone interested in the studies referenced in the show, here are the links: 

Which Diet Has the Least Environmental Impact on Our Planet? A Systematic Review of Vegan, Vegetarian and Omnivorous Diets

Dietary greenhouse gas emissions of meat-eaters, fish-eaters, vegetarians and vegans in the UK

Climate Change and Food Systems

Quantifying Carbon Footprint Reduction Opportunities for U.S. Households and Communities

To connect with Chelsea, check out these links: 

@chelseamaecullen on Instagram

Lean With Plants

The Enneagram has been one of the greatest tools in my journey towards self-discovery. This episode is all about diving into what the Enneagram is all about and how it can be an excellent guide into beginning shadow work. "Shadow" is a term used by Carl Jung to describe the parts of our personalities that we actively and unconsciously suppress from a young age as a means of survival. Personality as a whole can also be called our "false self" (another Carl Jung term) as it is a story we tell the world about who we are in order to gain love and acceptance. If any of this sounds intriguing to you then by all means, come along for the ride!

Resources cited in the episode:

How can Jodi Foster say: “It was the same way when I walked on the campus at Yale. I thought everybody would find out, and they’d take the Oscar back. They’d come to my house, knocking on the door, ‘Excuse me, we meant to give that to someone else. That was going to Meryl Streep.’ “ Meanwhile, Meryl Streep can say, “You think, ‘Why would anyone want to see me again in a movie? And I don’t know how to act anyway, so why am I doing this?’ ” Probably because of imposter syndrome and the way we all seem to face this feeling of complete inadequacy, no matter what we try to do to mitigate it. Join us this week as we dive into some of the ways we’ve experienced this in our lives and how, if left unchecked, it can stop you from doing anything. 

The title of this episode, along with much of the content, is inspired by Hillary McBride's work, and more specifically, her new book: The Wisdom of Your Body. McBride's work centres primarily around embodiment and the practice of coming home to our bodies. Join us in this episode as we share stories and experiences from our journeys of feeling intense shame about our bodies and how this tool of embodiment feels like a journey of healing and wholeness. A journey home.

This week I'm joined by Luke Tattersall to discuss what it takes to reprogram our brains and build new habits. Often the idea of building a habit or changing deep programming in our brains feels difficult or even impossible, but the tools in this episode make it seem like the easiest thing in the world.

Check out Luke's Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/luketattersallnz/. If you liked the things he had to say, make sure to give him a follow and share his work to extend its reach. 

This week’s episode is incredibly pertinent to the times we find ourselves in. Disagreement is rampant at the moment, but perhaps even more significantly, so are severed relationships and burnt bridges as a direct result of strong emotional reactions to that dissonance. I hope you can find some sense amongst the confusion and some enjoyment from the discourse. Love is the way forward and our heart is to share connection through honesty with our listeners

Perfectionism is the silent killer of creativity. Sometimes we can throw art away because it doesn’t fit a preconceived idea of what perfection should look like. Or even worse, we might not even start something for fear of doing it imperfectly. If you’re plagued by crippling anxiety of messing things up or letting people down for being less than perfect, this episode is for you! ⚡️

The hardest times in our lives seem to be the ones of the most use for developing character. Or as Richard Rohr says, "if you don't transform your suffering, you'll transmit it". Whatever suffering you have endured in your own life, we hope this episode leaves you comforted in the fact that you are not alone. 

Public humiliation can feel a lot like a form of death. Join us this week as we discuss the pains of failing in public, the true self false self paradigm, and why our ego builds an image of ourselves that doesn't actually exist.

Content warning: brief discussion on pedophilia, Hitler and concentration camps from around 26:55 - 32:40.