With her unshakeable confidence and a voice like Lauren Bacall's, the Lauren featured on this episode belies her chronological age: eighty-two. Rev. Lauren McLaughlin is a Unity minister, spiritual teacher, and author whose work centers on gratitude, the shifts we experience in every decade of adulthood, and the necessity of slowing down to genuinely experience life. Among the nuggets she shares are:·      "Being an American is running up an elevator."·      "We want more and more and more, so we do more and more and more."·      "Slowing down opens us up to wonder."·      "Whatever we appreciate appreciates: it gets better."·      "Gratitude is realizing how well cared for we are." ·      "If you're not afraid, you can do almost anything in this world."·      "People ask what's the meaning of life. What's the meaning of your life?"Find out more about writer, speaker, animal advocate, and spiritual adventurer Victoria Moran www.victoriamoran.comLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jacqueline Whitmore didn't come from the upper crust, but she learned early that courtesy and caring opened doors and created opportunity. After paying some dues to corporate America, she set out to found the Protocol School of Palm, offering etiquette training not a Downton Abbey-style class system, but a contemporary refiguring of etiquette that seeks to incorporate "classy" into one's work life and personal dealings. Jacqueline's definition of etiquette is "the art of knowing how to treat other people," and in this episode she shows us how to do this with confidence and ease. Are the rules changing at a dizzying pace? They are. Is it common to feel, especially post-pandemic, that we're just not sure what's acceptable, online and off? Very common. But even so, says Jacqueline, we would all do well to follow this advice from one of her mentors: "Always take the high road, because the low road is really crowded."Jacqueline's website https://etiquetteexpert.comInstagram @jacquelinewhitmoreGet the book! Poised for Success: Mastering the Four Qualities That Distinguish Outstanding Professionals Victoria Moran Author, Speaker, Animal Advocate, Podcast Host, Spiritual AdventurerLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

They're such buzzwords: inflammation, anti-inflammatory...and yet few lay people know what they mean, even the millions suffering from arthritis, colitis, gingivitis, gastritis, and the numerous other conditions of obvious inflammation, not to mention the pathologies attributed to hidden inflammation, including heart disease, cancer, and abdominal obesity.Gastroenterologist and Columbia University Medical School instructor Shilpa Ravella, MD, seeks to change that with her new book The Silent Fire. A gifted storyteller, Ravella takes us on the journey that began for her when a healthy young friend was quickly rendered profoundly disabled by an autoimmune disease, all of which are believed to be inflammatory in origin. She then introduces us to the brilliant, often quirky, characters who first came to understand the confounding role inflammation plays in health -- for which it's vital -- and disease -- which it can incite or exacerbate. And she leaves us with delicious bits of information to take away and use today about food choices (there is a science-based anti-inflammatory diet, not necessarily the one we might find in a Google search), exercise (think more)Get the book- The Silent Fire by Shilpa Ravella, MDFind out more about host Victoria Moran Main Street Vegan Academy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Egli Colon Stephens is both a professor with a doctorate and a professional lifestyle model. She is also the author with her daughter Natalia Harris of Unbroken: A Mother-Daughter Journey of Resilience, Faith and Courage, detailing Natalia's battle with bone cancer as a teenager. Natalia survived -- sur-thrived as she called it -- and went on to fulfill her dreams of becoming a model, with gigs including NYC Fashion Week, Project Runway, and landing the December 2019 cover of Vogue Knitting. But just over two years ago, at the age of 24, Natalia passed away from a rare kidney cancer. Her mother, Egli, is now living for two, and doing that brilliantly. She is navigating life's greatest grief with a strong faith, a conviction to sharing Natalia's gifts with the world, and mourning in bright colors, rediscovering her childhood passion for roller-skating ("I call it roller-grieving"), using fashion as a distraction and a means of self-expression, and becoming an Instagram inspirer-influencer @iamnataliasmom.Unbroken: A Mother-Daughter Journey of Resilience, Faith and Courage - get the bookVictoria Moran - author, founder of Main Street Vegan Academy, podcast hostLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Finding the miraculous in the ordinary, dealing bravely (and realistically) with down times, growing older brilliantly, marking the Autumn Equinox, and other milestones of the wheel of the year, and creating simple rituals for daily life are the delicious ingredients of this week's episode. The guest is transformational vision coach, spiritual teacher, and motivational speaker Barbara Biziou. A fixture in the New York City spirituality space since the early 1990s, and known around the world, Biziou is committed to inspiring growth and positive change. She specializes in ancient rituals, readings, energy clearing, spiritual realignment, igniting intuition, manifesting purpose, and -- Renaissance woman that she is -- corporate wellness. And this is a delightfully personal conversation: Barbara and Victoria are longtime friends who invite you in for some highly spirited girl talk with lots of golden nuggets to take away.Personal transformation and vision coach- Barbara Biziou Find Victoria Moran on YouTube and visit her web site https://www.victoriamoran.com;  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ganesha, the elephant-headed god in the Hindu pantheon, is revered as the removal of obstacles, but in many Ganesha temples in India, particularly in the state of Kerala, birthplace of Sangita Iyer, live elephants are held, shackled as prisoners. In other instances, elephants are kept by entertainment entrepreneurs to perform in numerous festivals. To Iyer, this is enslavement of beings who really are godlike in their majesty, patience, and intelligence. Listen in to hear how "elephant people" inspired this former TV news reporter to found Voice for Asian Elephants Society, make the award-winning documentary, Gods in Shackles, and write the book Gods in Shackles, a recent number 1 bestseller on Amazon. You'll also learn what elephants are doing to stem climate change, and why the World Bank says that every elephant in the wild makes a $1.75 million lifetime contribution to planetary integrity through their role in carbon sequestration. Voice for Asian Elephants Society find out Sangita Iyer and how you can help Asian ElephantsGods in Shackles by Sangita IyerFind out about Victoria Moran and Main Street Vegan AcademyLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Does your dog or cat meditate with you? Interfaith minister and animal chaplain Sarah Bowen contends that other-than-human beings do this naturally and have spiritual lives every bit as rich as ours. Meet this fascinating woman, author of Spiritual Rebel and Sacred Sendoffs, as we discuss these ideas, along with Sarah's early life as a preacher's kid (she brought a mouse to church and quoted Bible verses as grounds for keeping him there), and her current outreach via the Compassion Consortium (spiritual center for animal advocates), the Compassion Consortium Animal Chaplaincy Training Program, and as a contributing writer for Spirituality and Health. Find out about Sarah Bowen, award winning spirituality author and animal chaplainVictoria Moran and Main Street Vegan AcademyLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Meditating gets you coolness points; praying, hmm, not so much. Agapi Stassinopoulos reinvents prayer for those who may question or avoid religion. And Agapi, author of Speaking With Spirit and workshop leader for Thrive Global, founded by her sister Arianna Huffington, is a total charmer. Find out more about Victoria Moran and Main Street Vegan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Scott Stoll, M.D., and heart attack survivor/thriver Dan Purjes discuss their new anthology, Disease Reversal Hope! And Peter Goldstein of wedidit.health shares how to reach those closest to us.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Jenkins, M.D., Ph.D., D.Sc., of the University of Toronto invented the “eco-Atkins diet,” a way to make plant-exclusive dining work for those with low-carb sensibilities.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices