Inside the Village

What if the revolution we need begins within us?

In this powerful conversation, Amanda Johnson sits down with Shaka Xolani, yoga teacher, somatic intuitive coach, energy worker, psychic, and author of the forthcoming book Revolution of a Yogi, to explore how an embodied spiritual practice can ripple outward into meaningful social change.

Shaka invites us to look beyond the modern Western understanding of yoga as simply a physical practice. Through yoga, breath, meditation, and consistent self-inquiry, we can learn to regulate our nervous systems, become more centered, and develop the capacity to meet a chaotic world without being swept away by it.

Together, Amanda and Shaka explore what it means to raise consciousness in a time of political polarization, conflict, and profound societal change. They discuss the relationship between personal transformation and collective transformation, the role of highly sensitive people in times of upheaval, and why our discomfort can sometimes be a signal that something in the world around us needs to change.

Shaka also shares her journey from London to Costa Rica, the creation of the Abhyasa School of Yoga, and her vision for immersive yoga teacher training rooted in deep practice, nature, and self-discovery.

This conversation also challenges our ideas about activism. What if meaningful change isn't only about what we do, but also about our capacity to pause, listen, receive, rest, and reconnect with what truly matters?

At its heart, this is an invitation to come back to ourselves—with compassion, awareness, breath, and love—and to trust that the way we show up in the world can become part of the change we hope to see.

In this episode, we explore:

• Yoga as a revolutionary practice
• The connection between nervous-system regulation and consciousness
• How inner transformation can ripple into collective change
• Activism, receptivity, rest, and the power of being
• Supporting highly sensitive people during times of chaos
• The deeper philosophy behind yoga beyond physical postures
• Shaka's journey from London to Costa Rica
• The Abhyasa School of Yoga and immersive teacher training
• Shaka's forthcoming book, Revolution of a Yogi
• Why coming back to love may be one of the most powerful practices of all

Learn more about Shaka and her work:

Follow her on Instagram: @skiesandflorahealing

Learn more about her school: https://www.theabhyasaschool.com/about

Explore Awaken Village Press: www.awakenvillagepress.com

Join the Authors' Village: www.awakenvillagepress.com/authors-village

What happens when the book you’re writing begins to write you?

In this special conversation from the Writing the World Forward Summit, Amanda Johnson—founder of Awaken Village Press and author of the Becoming trilogy—turns the tables and becomes the one answering the questions.

Amanda shares the deeply personal journey behind her forthcoming book, Becoming One: On Love, Union, and the Illusion of Separation, and what it has taught her about relationships, identity, trust, and the creative process itself.

She reflects on what it means to write from lived experience, to let life become the laboratory for a book, and to discover that the ending you thought you were writing toward may not be the ending life has in store.

Together, Amanda and Matt Sturm explore writing at the speed of trust, the paradox of being both alone and all one, and how our deepest wounds can become invitations to build the communities we long for.

At the heart of the conversation is a simple but powerful question:

What is the story that only you can tell—and what will it ask of you to write it?

If you're a writer, creator, or simply someone navigating the unfolding story of your own life, this conversation is an invitation to trust the process, listen more deeply, and remember that you don't have to walk the path alone.

Want to read a chapter from Amanda's forthcoming book and stay informed about its release this fall?

Get a free chapter + join the list for updates

You can also support Amanda and the wider Awaken Village Press ecosystem by contributing to help bring this book—and future stories—into the world.

Contribute to help bring this book into the world

Join the Authors’ Village: awakenvillagepress.com/authors-village

Awaken Village Press: awakenvillagepress.com

Follow Awaken Village Press: Instagram 

What happens when we stop asking whether we’re worthy of what we desire and begin to trust the desire itself?

In this conversation from the Writing the World Forward Summit, Amanda Johnson welcomes Amron Bevels back to Inside the Village for a deeper exploration of money, worth, desire, focus, and the invisible codes we carry about what we are allowed to receive.

Amron invites us to look beneath the surface of our beliefs about money and prosperity—to notice the places where sacrifice, self-denial, overgiving, and the need to be “good enough” may have quietly shaped the way we move through the world.

Together, Amanda and Amron explore what it means to put our resources behind something we believe in, why focus may be one of our most powerful forms of currency, and what can happen when we stop scattering our energy and begin choosing ourselves.

This conversation moves through spiritual mastery, prosperity, self-permission, generosity, the wisdom of desire, and the possibility of creating a life that feels deeply aligned and free.

At the heart of it all is a simple invitation:

Choose yourself.

You are your own best investment.

Amron Bevels works at the intersection of spiritual mastery, prosperity, and self-permission. A physician, mentor, and author, she brings together her scientific background with a spiritual and intuitive lens to support women in reclaiming their inner authority, sharpening their spiritual mastery, and creating lives that feel rich, aligned, and free.

She is the co-author of The Priestess Transmissions and the author of the forthcoming Light Codes of Money.

Connect with Amron:
🌐 amronbevels.com
📱 Instagram: @amronbevelsmd

📖 Get your copy of Light Codes of Money: Order on Amazon

🌿 Join the Authors’ Village: awakenvillagepress.com/authors-village

📚 Awaken Village Press: awakenvillagepress.com

📱 Follow Awaken Village Press: Instagram

Chapters

00:00 — Welcome to Inside the Village
02:46 — Meeting Amron Bevels
03:20 — Becoming a Match to What You Desire
06:55 — The Invisible Codes Around Money & Worth
11:48 — Putting Your Resources Behind Your Vision
13:46 — Focus Is Our Limitless Currency
17:41 — Desire, Doubt & the Permission to Receive
20:30 — Money Wants to Be in Motion
21:39 — Generosity Is Joy in Motion
26:10 — Trusting Your Own Discernment
30:24 — Choose Yourself: The Shift That Changes Everything
33:07 — Holding the Vision & Bringing Books Into the World
34:44 — Closing Invitation to the Authors’ Village

What if the greatest challenge facing humanity isn't simply environmental, technological, or political—but a crisis of disconnection?

In this opening conversation of Writing the World Forward, Amanda Johnson sits down with physician, educator, and regenerative systems thinker Dr. Zach Bush to explore the stories shaping our world and the deeper narratives that determine how we relate to ourselves, one another, and the living Earth.

Together, they reflect on storytelling as a vehicle for wisdom rather than entertainment, the difference between authentic feeling and emotional abstraction, and why our future depends on remembering our place within nature rather than apart from it.

Dr. Bush also offers a compelling preview of his forthcoming book, Biological Elegance, sharing why he views artificial intelligence as "abstract intelligence"—a mirror reflecting humanity back to itself—and how this moment in history may be an invitation into what he calls a Biological Renaissance.

Throughout the conversation, Amanda and Zach explore what it means to write a new story for humanity—one rooted not in fear or scarcity, but in connection, regeneration, and belonging.

Follow Zach for ongoing reflections and updates:

📸 Instagram: @zachbushmd

📖 Get a copy of his latest book, Biological Elegance:

→ Biological Elegance

🌱 Join the movement

Contribute to our Emerging Voices fundraising campaign:
www.awakenvillagepress.com/contribute

Learn more about our Emerging Voices projects:
www.awakenvillagepress.com/projects

Interested in becoming part of our community? Join the Authors' Village:
www.awakenvillagepress.com/authors-village

Chapters

00:00 – Welcome to Inside the Village and the Writing the World Forward Summit

02:57 – Why story is both humanity's greatest gift and greatest responsibility

11:59 – Writing from authentic experience instead of emotional formulas

17:05 – Biological Elegance and why AI is better understood as "abstract intelligence"

28:07 – The deeper story beneath today's environmental, health, and cultural crises

31:10 – Origin: reclaiming humanity's relationship with nature

35:52 – Practical ways to reconnect with the living world in everyday life

37:45 – Glyphosate, the microbiome, and humanity's growing disconnection from nature

46:08 – Why children give Zach hope for humanity's future

49:15 – Rewild, Origin, and stepping into a new story together

52:29 – Closing reflections and ways to support emerging voices 

Inside the Village: 

This podcast is an open conversation about creativity, community, and what becomes possible when we stop trying to build everything alone.

In this episode, Amanda Johnson, Clinton Brown, and Matt Sturm explore the power of collective creation through the lens of Awaken Village Press' first-ever Writing the World Forward Summit. Together, they discuss why emerging voices matter, how regenerative publishing challenges traditional industry models, and what happens when authors, readers, and supporters become active participants in bringing meaningful books into the world.

The conversation dives into the courage required to ask for support, the importance of creating spaces where new ideas can emerge, and why community-centered publishing may offer a more sustainable path forward for both creators and culture itself.

From funding creative projects to reimagining how stories are shared, this episode is an invitation to consider what becomes possible when we embrace the truth that we are stronger together.

Want to go deeper and be part of what we’re building?

Register for the summit: www.awakenvillagepress.com/summit  

Contribute to the fundraising campaign ($50 or more gets you access to all 20 recorded sessions): www.awakenvillagepress.com/contribute

Learn more about our emerging voices: www.awakenvillagepress.com/projects  

Join our Authors’ Village: www.awakenvillagepress.com/authors-village

Follow Awaken Village Press on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/awakenvillagepress/

Chapters:

00:00 Welcome & Stronger Together

02:22 Why We Created the Writing the World Forward Summit

05:58 Reimagining the Publishing Process

09:07 Why Authors Shouldn't Build Alone

11:23 The Challenge of Asking for Support

18:44 A New Model for Funding Creative Work

24:57 What It Feels Like to Be Supported Before a Book Exists

28:52 The Voices Traditional Publishing Often Misses

32:42 Inspiration, Emerging Ideas & Cultural Change

34:33 Signal Over Noise in a Distracted World

40:36 Final Reflections on Community & Culture

In this deeply honest and expansive conversation, Amanda Johnson sits down with writer and guide Megan “Mira” Lathrop to explore money, self-trust, embodiment, and what it means to stand at the threshold of personal transformation.

Together, they unpack the hidden emotional and nervous system patterns that shape our relationship with money, intimacy, creativity, and self-worth. Mira shares insights from her own journey through corporate finance, identity shifts, and spiritual transformation, while offering a radically compassionate perspective on shame, scarcity, feminine embodiment, and receiving.

This episode explores what happens when we stop organizing our lives around fear, external validation, and survival, and begin creating from a place of truth, aliveness, and deep self-trust.

Amanda and Mira also dive into:

• The connection between money, desire, and vulnerability
• Why so many women struggle to receive fully
• The illusion of external security
• Nervous system patterns around overgiving and self-sacrifice
• Embodiment, intimacy, and creative power
• What it means to become the “author” of your own life
• How shame dissolves through honest conversation and community

At the heart of this conversation is a powerful reminder: there is nothing wrong with you.

If you’ve ever questioned your worth, struggled with money, felt disconnected from your voice, or found yourself standing between who you were and who you’re becoming, this episode is for you.

Want to go deeper and be part of what we’re building?

🎟️ Register for the Summit: www.awakenvillagepress.com/summit

Join our Authors’ Village: www.awakenvillagepress.com/authors-village

Follow Awaken Village Press on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/awakenvillagepress/

Follow Megan “Mira” Lathrop on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/miramegslathrop/

Learn more about the work she does in the world: http://finanseer.com

00:00 Welcome to Inside the Village
01:34 What It Means to Stand at the Threshold
05:27 Overgiving, Identity, and Self-Abandonment
11:10 Creating Your Own Signal
14:39 Feminine Embodiment and Authorship
20:44 Letting Go of the Illusion of Security
23:27 Desire, Longing, and Receiving
31:35 Embodiment, Vulnerability, and Money
45:30 Aliveness, Shame, and Healing Through Conversation
52:25 Standing at the Edge of Transformation

This episode of Inside the Village steps into one of the most pressing and complex conversations of our time: the rise of AI and what it means for creativity, authorship, and the human experience.

We explore a central question: What makes a human voice truly irreplaceable? As AI becomes increasingly capable of generating content, ideas, and even entire manuscripts, we examine where it can support the creative process and where it risks bypassing it entirely.

Through an honest and nuanced conversation, we dive into the tension between efficiency and authenticity, the difference between generated language and lived experience, and the subtle ways we can feel when something is no longer fully human. We also explore how AI is shaping the way we think, write, and express ourselves, and what happens when we rely on it before fully developing our own voice.

This episode opens up deeper philosophical questions about intelligence itself. Is intelligence uniquely human?

What can we learn from nature, collective systems, and emerging technologies? And how might this moment invite us to reconnect with what is most essential about being human?

We also reflect on how AI can be used as a tool for growth. It can challenge our thinking, refine our ideas, and support our creative process, while still asking us to remain in the seat of the creator.

At its core, this podcast is about honest conversations. Expansive, sometimes uncomfortable, but always real. It’s a space for creatives, writers, and thinkers navigating what it means to create, express, and evolve in a rapidly changing world.

If you’ve been questioning your relationship with AI, your creative process, or what it means to truly use your voice, this conversation is for you.

Want to go deeper and be part of what we’re building?

Join our Authors’ Village: www.awakenvillagepress.com/authors-village

Follow Awaken Village Press on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/awakenvillagepress/

Visit our website to learn more: https://www.awakenvillagepress.com/

Chapters:

00:00 Welcome + Framing the AI Conversation

07:11 What Makes a Human Voice Irreplaceable?

17:28 Finding Your Voice vs Mimicking Others

22:23 AI and the Creative Process

33:16 Humane and Regenerative Relationship with AI

47:29 What Becomes More Valuable About Being Human?

50:11 Rethinking Intelligence (Human, Machine, Nature)

This episode of Inside the Village explores a question many creatives quietly carry: Am I building something meaningful—or just something visible?

Through an honest and expansive conversation, we dive into the tension between impact and metrics, the pull of virality versus the slow work of creating something that truly lasts. From the perspective of authors, creators, and builders, we reflect on what it means to show up for the work without always seeing immediate results—and how to stay grounded in purpose when feedback loops are delayed or invisible.

We explore the deeper layers of creative work: writing as a process of self-discovery, the role of intuition in creation, and the challenge of trusting that what we’re building matters—even when all we can see are the “bricks.” This conversation also opens up a broader reflection on culture itself—how it’s shaped, how it evolves, and how creatives play a role in redefining it.

From slow burns and regenerative systems to gardens, ecosystems, and the long arc of meaningful work, this episode invites you to reconsider how you measure success—and what you’re truly here to build.

At its core, this podcast is about honest conversations—expansive, sometimes uncomfortable, but always real. It’s a space for creatives, writers, and thinkers who are choosing depth over speed, and meaning over metrics.

If you’ve ever questioned the impact of your work, or felt caught between creating for visibility and creating for truth—you’re not alone in it.

Want to go deeper and be part of what we’re building?

Join our Authors’ Village: www.awakenvillagepress.com/authors-village

Follow Awaken Village Press on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/awakenvillagepress/

Visit our website to learn more: https://www.awakenvillagepress.com/

Chapters:
00:00 Welcome + The Creative Dilemma
02:39 Impact vs Visibility in Creative Work
11:12 Measuring Success Beyond Metrics
18:41 The Slow Burn vs Virality
31:33 Staying Motivated in Long-Term Work
42:59 Slow Work in Publishing + Regenerative Models

This episode of Inside the Village: At the Threshold is an honest, unfiltered conversation about the creative process—specifically what it means to write, edit, and evolve through the journey of bringing a book into the world.

We explore the emotional and psychological layers of editing a manuscript: the vulnerability of having your work seen, the tension between your voice and outside feedback, and the challenge of revisiting past versions of yourself through your writing. This conversation opens up the reality that a book is not just a finished product, but a snapshot of who you were at a moment in time.

Together, we reflect on the role of editors as thought partners, the importance of alignment and challenge in the creative process, and the deeper transformation that happens as authors learn to trust their intuition while receiving feedback. We also touch on bigger questions around creativity, identity, and what it means to create something meaningful in an ever-evolving world.

At its core, this podcast is about honest conversations—expansive, sometimes uncomfortable, but always real. It’s a space for creatives, writers, and thinkers who are reimagining how we create, share, and grow.

If you’ve ever questioned your work, your voice, or your path as a creator—you’re not alone in it.

Want to go deeper and be part of what we’re building?

Join our Authors’ Village: www.awakenvillagepress.com/authors-village

Follow Awaken Village Press on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/awakenvillagepress/

Visit our website to learn more: https://www.awakenvillagepress.com/

This podcast is an open conversation about rethinking how we live, create, and build in today’s world.

We explore the purpose behind what we do—questioning current systems, challenging traditional business models, and imagining new ways of working that are sustainable, meaningful, and regenerative.

From the way humanity interacts with the planet to how creatives and creators can build differently, this space dives into regenerative models that prioritize long-term impact over short-term gain. We talk about community-based publishing, the “village” model of creation, and what it means to be part of an ecosystem rather than just an individual.

At its core, this podcast is about honest conversations—expansive, sometimes uncomfortable, but always real. It’s a place for divergent thinking, cultural creation, and reimagining business and society as a whole.

If you’re looking to think deeper, create differently, and be part of something more intentional—you’re in the right place.


Want to go deeper and be part of what we’re building?

Join our Authors’ Village: www.awakenvillagepress.com/authors-village

Follow Awaken Village Press on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/awakenvillagepress/
Visit our website Awaken Village Press to learn more: https://www.awakenvillagepress.com/