July’s Podcast is a conversation with Hypnotherapist & Story Healer Vicki Rebecca. The conversation explores the importance of language and of the stories that come to inform our sense of ourself and our world. Vicki work in neurolinguistics has meant she has been clued into the power of language for some time. She’s also working towards publishing a autobiography that I know is part of a powerful movement towards clearing trauma in the feminine psyche. I hope you enjoy listening as much as I enjoyed recording it. 

Vicki trains in the core skills of personal and spiritual growth including various means of relaxation and mind mastery.  Her Hypnosis and Neuro Linguistic Programming practice has included retreats all over the world including Egypt, India, Turkey, the sacred sites of Scotland and more and is supported by her extensive background in health promotion, fitness training, yoga and meditation practice. Vicki has professional qualifications to trainer level in psychotherapy, advanced clinical hypnosis and Neuro Linguistic Programming (UKCP accredited psychotherapist, trainer, and supervisor; and Society of NLP trainer). Vicki is also a Sekhem Master and has been fascinated by the mysteries and esoteric study her whole life.

This month’s podcast introduces Maja Metlicar. Maja – Your Uniqueness Activates Your Greatest Joy (majametlicar.com).

Maja has inspired many women to re-connect with their body, their purpose and their Joy. She does not describe herself as an expert in trauma, and yet she offers great insight, practices and a map to open many keys along the way.

In our podcast, we spoke about:

• Maja’s experience of being rejected as a child; feeling unsafe in her body and her journey of connecting back into it
• How Maja discovered and explored the ways in which states or qualities can be activated within us, as well as then practised
• How our personal work is always the first step towards collective and cultural change.

This month’s podcast introduces Madelanne Rust D’Eye who offers Body Informed Leadership courses and trainings, which you can check out at www.bodyintelligence.ca . Originally from Canada, we are lucky to have her living here in Scotland.  I love the way that Madelanne speaks so beautifully and blends science and sensuality in her approach and explanations. We have a webinar from her for our Grow Free Community Media Club this month, and both this and our podcast conversation brought deeper insights for me. 

In our podcast, we spoke about:

• what trauma is and how it affects us, especially how it impacts our ability to connect with ourselves, others, and out world.
• Madelanne’s personal journey within this field 
• what a somatic approach is and explored the idea and sense of ‘somatic safety’
• how collective or cultural trauma extends from and relates to personal trauma. 

Please do share these podcasts with others. By sharing vulnerability, we move beyond it and closer together – into community.  

This month’s podcast dives deeper into COMMUNITY, my experience of feeling outside, of preventing myself joining in and more recently opening, softening, leaning into and creating it.  I also introduce a new podcast guest, Julia Morten from The Haven in Stonehaven in Aberdeenshire, who tells about their perspective of community and how they have been strengthening it there.  Deborah Armstrong from Episode 3 also pops into to give some more indigenous perspective to our conversation.  

This month’s theme, in preparation for embracing more of what our community space has to offer, has been Navigating the Potential & Pitfalls of the Digital World. Like real life and Grow Free, it’s all about awareness and attention. In this month’s podcast episode, a few of the community members explore with me what they find to be the pros and cons of social media, online formats and a life with devices.  There are pros and cons to everything – let's maximise the benefits and be wise about the potential harms.  

Episode 8 - Being with Vulnerability to Move Beyond It.

In this episode I explore by myself some conversations we have had in the Grow Free Community over the past couple of months.   Our focus has been on ways to communicate that allow us to listen and connect more deeply with each other, rather than react unconsciously to our perceived differences and various perspectives.

I discuss vulnerability and how being able to stay with the experience of it is important to finding helpful ways to communicate and to respond to the realities and transitions of life. When we don't acknowledge it we keep defend anything we perceive to be threatening it. 

The Political is Personal & The Personal Political with Jon Cree, A Director of The Forest School Association UK. 

Jon Cree describes himself as ‘just another bloke’ at the beginning of this podcast.  And he is.  But he is a bloke that I would like to hear more from.  Our conversation inspired some of the Spirit of Dialogue Sessions and helped bring me back to earth with it.  Coming back to earth and into my body is something that I have had to work on a lot.  Jon on the other hand, seems to me to be someone who has kept himself grounded and open throughout his life through his connection with nature.  

I met Jon on an Engaging Children in Permaculture course. (Well worth looking into if you have any interest in our natural and social world).  He has worked in outdoor education for around 30 years, much of which with traumatized young people.  He has recognized and campaigned for the importance of giving children and ourselves time in nature, doing the things we do when we connect with it as our home and fundamental resource.  Like Anneke in last month’s episode, he has stayed curious.  I was struck straight away by how engaged he is with contemporary perspectives on what it is to be a conscious being in a human body. 
 
He is soft.  He attributes his softness to the soothing ability of nature, and to his Aunty Jean.  He works with nature and storytelling in various ways inspired by his mum.  In our conversation he shares very openly in ways that are illuminating and heart-opening, and that make clear that even the biggest arenas are made up of personal interactions. 

I have been planning how to facilitate opportunities for safe and open dialogue around current issues.  Dialogue that supports us to explore various perspectives, perhaps ones that we haven’t considered or been aware of or ones that we were pretty sure were flawed or just wrong.  Dialogue that moves us closer to 'others' that might hold one a perspective different to our own in a way that actually deepens our understanding. 

This kind of dialogue feels like something that is important personally and collectively.  It is what I discuss with Anneke Sips in this month’s podcast.  When I think of Anneke I think of these qualities: listening, connection and coming together (I could throw in curious and compassion too).  Anneke works in psychiatry and Yoga Therapy.  Having been frustrated as an 18 year old at not being listened to when she suggested bringing Yoga into the hospital where she worked, she now teaches a Yoga training for medical professionals and is called upon to integrate Yoga into healthcare settings in The Netherlands.  

Anneke also speaks about what it is to navigate rather than react through our lives; how to keep an eye out for dangers, recognise milestones and develop your toolkit.  She is someone who has helped me at pivotal points in my journey and helped me to bring some of the clarity to the Fight Flight Freeze & Me Course that I offer.   

Our conversation has inspired us to work together in opening up dialogue within our communities.  It’s well worth a listen.  Please also get in touch with either of us if you would like to be part of our Spirit of Dialogue project.

As usual, get me on [email protected].
Contact Anneke on [email protected]
Or follow her at www.instagram.com/annekesips

Grow Free with Emma B Podcast Episode 5 - Permaculture: Threat, Risk & Feeling Safe.

This episode explores how feeling safe may be a necessary foundation for us to live sustainably on this planet.  I am joined by Jon Cree, Director of The Forest School Association (FSA) in the UK and Lina Kusaite, an illustrator and outdoor practitioner in Belguim.

Permaculture is a beautiful, nature-led approach to living.  The principles of permaculture draw from the wisdom of nature and indigenous cultures around the world.  The more I learned about Permaculture and trauma, it became obvious to me that in order to live by these principles we need to be able to feel safe, relax, pause and live by the rhythm of the universe.

Both Jon Cree and the FSA have done an amazing amount of work to understand how we work, how trauma affects us and the important role that being in nature has for our wellbeing.  You can find out more about the FAS here.  You can read a little about Jon and contact him here.

Lina Kusaite developed and runs a beautiful programme of workshops, called The Plant Kingdom, designed to connect children and young people with their environment.  She also develops illustrations and works with people as an art and creative consciousness coach.  You can find out more about Lina and her work here. 

Episode 4 Grow Free with Emma B Podcast is live from the AiR Show.

Aberdeen in Recovery (AiR) is an charity to promote and support recovery from addiction.  I am on their Board of Trustees and I was a guest on this episode.  We spoke about the Fight, Flight, Freeze & Me course that I was about to deliver to their members.  You can find out more about AiR here.