sometimes we have to go through the darkest nights to live into the lightest days.

emma was recovering from two serious health diagnoses when covid hit. within a month she was divorced, had closed her art store, and moved back in with her parents.

thus began a spiritual awakening that led to her getting sober, becoming a poet, finding buddhism and making art from the earth.

emma is a “queer contemplative artist, poet, teacher and facilitator connecting deeply with words, textiles, slow stitching … passionate about sharing the transformative healing powers that our imaginations hold, the gifts of slowing way down and the power of vulnerability and sensitivity to change our lives and this world.”

she is like a river that becomes an ocean: a gentle force, a quiet storm. emma thinks deep, asks big and reaches wide. she is a beautiful soul and i’m honored to be able to share her wisdom with you.

some of the things we talk about in this conversation are:

• her story of getting divorced, moving home and getting sober
• how her spiritual awakening radically transformed her art
• the risk of vulnerability and how it changed her business
• how emma changed her selling from “feeding capitalism” to meditation in action
• the power of imagination as medicine for deep healing
• emma’s art process of quiet contemplation, deep listening and sacred making

you can learn more about emma here

you can listen to past episodes and join us for illumine hour here

andrea is a wonder seeker.

she looks for it in the easy moments – a kiss, friends gathered together, traveling to other countries. and she looks for it in the hard moments – beset by anxiety, in the midst of divorce, struggling to stay afloat.

we talk about this – about turning towards the hard, making space for the all of it, in order to give wonder the breath and space to arise.

wonder is a habit, a skill, just like eating well, exercising, meditation or any other tool you use to stay sane and find your equilibrium. just like with any habit, it helps to have specific ways of cultivating it. in wonder seeker, andrea’s newest book, she offers 52 ways to discover wonder.

andrea is an artist, author and “a big believer in the transformative power of creativity.” she’s a photographer, author of an award-winning blog and several books including her latest one, “wonder seeker: 52 ways to wake up your creativity and find your joy,” teaches ecourses and retreats, and hosts the creative superheroes podcast.

may this conversation inspire you to go within: to the raw, wild, expanse of mystery that is 
your beating heart, vibrating body, pulsing life in order to go beyond to utter the sacred: your words, dance, painting, art.

you can find the show notes to this episode and all other episodes over at daphnecohn.com

meggan is a feminist theologian. she writes about mary magdalene and the divine feminine. one could listen to this conversation and think, initially, that it is about religion, christianity and what it means to be a woman in a male-dominated theology.

but it isn’t.

it’s about soul work and having the courage to sit still and listen for what’s true. it’s about battling the doubts and fears to put into the world the voice you came here to speak. it’s about making your thing no matter the forces against it. and being the lighthouse for others, the ones “made of the same fabric,” to find you.

it’s about bravery and heart, honesty and perseverance.

some things we talk about: 

• working through panic attacks and intense doubt to write the work meggan’s here to write
• the wisdom of the body and the power of living an embodied life
• knowing your worth while doing your soul work
• the deep need for the divine feminine
• doing the hard work of going in to give to the world the truth of who we are

may this conversation inspire you to go within: to the raw, wild, expanse of mystery that is 
your beating heart, vibrating body, pulsing life in order to go beyond to utter the sacred: your words, dance, painting, art.

you can listen to past episodes here

asia is a writer, teacher and medicine woman who runs her own online apothecary and offers courses on intuitive plant medicine, business as a spiritual journey and the pussy portal.  

when asia was a teenager she became ill with a chronic pain condition, vulvodinia. allopathic doctors told her there was no cure. they told her she would be in constant pain for the rest of her life unless they removed the nerve endings in her vulva. from somewhere deep inside asia heard a resounding “no.”

this was the beginning of asia coming to know the sound of her own voice and choosing to follow her own knowing.

this knowing led her into the woods. and the woods led her home.

some of the things we talk about in this conversation are: 

• how asia healed vulvodynia and lyme disease. twice.
• asia’s exact process for writing in co-creation with nature
• what to do when we feel like we don’t belong. and how to find belonging. 
• specific action steps to reignite your intuition and creativity through your pelvic bowl and 
• the importance of reciprocity with the earth and simple ways to practice it

you can listen to past BEYOND podcast episodes here. 

in the middle of my conversation with mariana, i broke down crying. i had to stop talking to gather myself, to find words again. it was, in part, in response to mariana’s words. but it was also in response to mariana herself.

mariana mae is an artist, visionary, founder of easy to breathe, unearth, and origen raíz, an “organization in alliance with Indigenous Nations of Mexico, Peru, and Guatemala, committed to amplifying the voice of cultural education, preservation and exchange.”

mariana has been working with clay since she was six and teaching pottery since 2013. she also guides women through ceremonial workshops to heal and strengthen their ancient, authentic, voices.

mariana’s work “highlights our ancestral, emotional wounds as tools, being in right relationship with the natural world, expressing our voice through song and cultivating creativity in celebration of the story we are here on earth to tell.”

mariana is a force of beauty, strength, and wisdom who is changing worlds by living true to her own.

some things we talk about: 

• her relationship to the spirit of clay and how it guides her life
• choosing the unknown to follow the heart and spirit
• the decolonization and deconditioning of cultural programming
• choosing a more primitive life
• practical steps for slowing down and living your greater vision

may this conversation inspire you to go within: to the raw, wild, expanse of mystery that is 
your beating heart, vibrating body, pulsing life in order to go beyond to utter the sacred: your words, dance, painting, art.

you can find more episodes at daphnecohn.com

you can learn more about mariana at easytobreathe.com

jess scheer is a business strategist who supports “indigenous leaders and earth keepers with a powerful vision for the world to bring their message to the masses.”

in this conversation, jess speak about many things. about the unshakeable stability of the inner world and our connection to all things. how she began to experience a deep peace while following what she most longed for. but more than anything i was struck by our conversation around dreams: the ones of the day from which we create new worlds and the ones of the night that guide our life direction and intuitive action.

we talk about: 

• connecting to the invisible world where spirit lies
• how to deepen the connection to your roots, deep peace and inner freedom.
• what to do when you are being called to go against everything you know
• the power of day dreams to create the world you want to live into 
• how to tune into your night dreams as a source of spiritual guidance and intuitively-led action

you can learn listen to past episodes of BEYOND podcast here.

you can learn about jess here.

you can join the dream world program here and receive 10% off with the code BEYOND10 at checkout

ashley river brant is a “multi-dimensional artist, writer, teacher and bridge between worlds.” she is a “spiritual alchemist with a vision of bringing more beauty to this planet […] a mystic sharing the teachings of the otherworlds, a channel for Mother Earth.”  her work is “about reconnecting you to your creative genius–the whole ecosystem of life swirling within you. guiding you home to your […] heart’s longings, burning desires, powerful intuition, and truth.” she is the author of tending to the sacred: rituals to connect with earth, spirit and self.
 

in this conversation we talk about 

• the four pillars of ritual and how we use them to create our own life
• building courage to follow the inklings buried within
• leaving what you know for what you most long to explore
• the power of pleasure and the consequences of not prioritizing it
• how to create your intention and get back into (or stay) living a creative life

connect with ashley river brant:

ashleyriverbrant.com
@ashleyriverbrant on instagram

connect with daphne cohn:

{within} community for artists, makers & writers
join my email list to know about upcoming events, workshops and podcast episodes
read my writing tuesdays and fridays here
follow all things daphne and {within} on instagram: @within.community

julia cameron has been changing lives all over the world since the artist’s way first came out in 1992. millions of people write morning pages and take artist dates - two of julia’s most well-known tools for finding your creativity and living out your truth.  since then julia has gone on to author more than forty books, plays and works of poetry.  she is commonly referred to as "the godmother" or "high priestess" of creativity. the artist's way has been translated into forty languages and sold over five million copies to date. in today’s conversation, julia and I explore the ideas and tools from her latest book, the listening path: the creative art of attention.

some things julia and I talk about:

• on learning to listen after getting sober
• the difference between listening with one’s intellect and with one’s heart
• how to be obedient to what you hear
• authentic listening
• and the power of listening to remember who you are.

may it inspire you to make your thing and change your world.

for more interviews with artists and makers go to daphnecohn.com/podcasts

there are so many ways we are taught to make art, to create a business, to live a life. laura horn shows us that the most powerful way to do any of those things is to do them as yourself: to make art that feels good, to build a business in alignment with your strengths and to live in deep acceptance of who you are.

after many years of fighting herself, laura  embarked on the slow and steady path of acceptance. as trite as it sounds, it changed everything.

today laura is an abstract painter with a thriving online art business. thousands of creatives have taken her art courses, 135,000 follow her on instagram, her weekly podcast, “the laura horn art podcast” is loved by many, and her watercolor originals are almost always sold out.

all because laura decided that the only person she needed to be was herself and the only art she needed to make was her own.

some things we talk about:

• losing her mom to cancer when laura was 21 and her resulting struggle with anxiety
• trusting in ALL the nudges from the universe
• letting what feels good be the driver behind every piece of art and every business decision
• her path to self-acceptance and the power of honesty
• the best business and art advice ever

when I first discovered valarie kaur, I cried. I cried watching her six-minute video that went viral and garnered over 40 million views. I cried reading her book “see no stranger: a memoir  & manifesto of revolutionary love,” and I cried in our conversation as she shared her wisdom, heart, passion and love.

valarie is a seasoned civil rights activist and celebrated prophetic voice “at the forefront of progressive change.” she leads the revolutionary love project to “reclaim love as a force for justice in america.” she is a lawyer, filmmaker, and innovator who has been a regular tv commentator on MSNBC and contributor to CNN, NPR, PBS, the Hill, Huffington Post, and the Washington Post. she is the daughter of Sikh farmer’s from California’s hearltand and the author of “see no stranger.”

this conversation is one of my favorites from the series, “art, activism and the great unknown.” may it move you as much as it did me.

some things we talk about: 

• hearing her first racial slur
• the revolutionary power of love
• the voice of the little critic and the power of the wise woman
• grief as a way to know each other
• deep listening as an act of freedom
• the need to listen and share our stories
• and the labor of the revolution

you can hear more interviews with brave and experimental artists here.

you can follow all things BEYOND and my personal writing on instagram here.