Speak LOUD

Today I’m joined by Nikisha Timms, a creative and empowered woman dedicated to sharing the light with others. Her movement, “The World Is a Better Place Because YOU Exist” is all about spreading love to those who need it most. She is a mother of 2 and an intuitive healer who is here to speak loud about her journey from the dark into the light. 

Choice Over Circumstance 

Nikisha grew up in an abusive home riddled with generational trauma. Both her parents were addicted to drugs, which sent Nikisha and her brother into foster care. She suffered from sexual abuse while in the system, along with other traumas.

From her childhood, Nikisha learned to be a product of her own choices, not her circumstances. Despite her struggles, she started to unpack her emotional baggage, so that she could fill that luggage with something better. 

Healing Generational Trauma

“By passing down generational trauma, you’re saying that the trauma that was done to you was okay,” Nikisha says. Her mother was sexually abused, and the traumas have persisted in Nikisha’s life and her son’s. 

Nikisha is now a mom of two boys and actively gives them tools to break the cycle. She’s adamant about giving her children a voice and leaning into trust. She also teaches her kids anatomical language, in order to accurately describe any possible abuse.

Making the World a Better Place 

“The World Is a Better Place Because YOU exist” started as a small, one-woman movement, with Nikisha putting sticky notes on 3 people’s cars every day. She started the movement in hopes of stopping even one person from committing suicide, and soon that movement rippled out to her close friends, and later an entire community.

Nikisha describes the process as passing the torch: spreading your light from one person to the next. Along with her movement, Nikisha provides abundance healing sessions and group workshops, where she gives others tools and coping mechanisms, helping them connect with their higher self.

Listen in to hear more about Nikisha’s energy work and intuition, her journey with weight loss, and what healing modalities she uses. 

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***Disclaimer: All content found on Speak Loud Podcast, including text, images, audio, or other formats were created for informational purposes only. Material contained on Speak Loud Podcast website, podcast, and social media postings are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard or delay seeking professional medical advice. Information on this podcast and guest comments, opinions, and content are solely for educational and entertainment purposes. Use of this information is at your own risk.** 

Kristen Donnelly has been on the TEDx stage four times as a speaker in the past year. She is an international empathy educator and a researcher with two decades of experience in helping people understand inclusivity benefits. In addition, she is an “unapologetic nerd for stories of change.” Kristen lives in Philadelphia, where she is surrounded by her pile of books and 

Why Being a Human is Hard

“Being a human is hard not because you’re bad at it, but because it is hard.” If we can listen to ourselves and understand ourselves and others better, we can make our human experience both fuller and richer. 

Empathy is About Understanding

“Empathy is a cognitive, mental framework where you decide at every moment that you can, to choose understanding instead of stereotypes.” Understanding can become a practice and a posture that you use to move through the world instead of ignoring what’s around you or becoming ignorant.

How to Make Your Life Better

“I’ve searched high and low for an instruction manual [on life] and have not found one,” says Kristen. But what she has found out about life is that life is better when we do it together. Since we are biologically wired to do life together, it only makes sense that community matters and makes our lives better.

Listen in discover why what matters about trauma is how it affects you as a person, how to respond when encountering others’ trauma, and how she put herself back together after a life-altering event happened within her small community.

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***Disclaimer: All content found on Speak Loud Podcast, including text, images, audio, or other formats were created for informational purposes only. Material contained on Speak Loud Podcast website, podcast, and social media postings are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard or delay seeking professional medical advice. Information on this podcast and guest comments, opinions, and content are solely for educational and entertainment purposes. Use of this information is at your own risk.** 

Scott Clover is a fantastic somatic body and intuitive healer who has helped hundreds of individuals remove the emotional blockages created by years of trauma and abuse. Scott uses his unique skill set to help others connect to their authentic energy to experience their life potential while removing the layers of negative emotional habits. Working with Scott gives his clients the ability to heal themselves through changing their body’s energy patterns. He works with clients in the US and worldwide, healing the Earth one person at a time. He is here to Speak Loud about why you need to listen more to your intuition.

What is Intuition?

Scott describes two basic types of intuition: animalistic - which describes that “gut” feeling we get about someone or an energetic situation and your third eye energy, your source energy. The latter type of intuition holds all information from the dawn of time, which a few people, such as Scott, can tap into. 

Speaking and Listening to Your Intuition

Scott says, the more we speak about intuition, the more stigma is taken away. Being guided by your intuition is one thing; bringing that into society is another level because many view intuition as strange and not the guardian angel that our intuition is meant to be for us.

How Does Energy Healing Work?

As an energy healer, Scott uses his intuition to see and sense energy patterns to heal them. He keeps his intuition honed and then puts out his “radar” when he’s working to sense the energy of his clients. With somatic healing, Scott helps his client find the emotional trauma in their mind and releases it so that the physical pain and discomfort felt by their trauma is set free for his clients. 

Listen in discover how the body chakras work, how you can utilize energy healing in your own life, and why you may have an emotional block that prevents you from using meditation for healing.

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***Disclaimer: All content found on Speak Loud Podcast, including text, images, audio, or other formats were created for informational purposes only. Material contained on Speak Loud Podcast website, podcast, and social media postings are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard or delay seeking professional medical advice. Information on this podcast and guest comments, opinions, and content are solely for educational and entertainment purposes. Use of this information is at your own risk.** 

Stephanie Martin is here to Speak Loud about the emotional and psychological abuse that comes with being inside a toxic relationship. She helps others move through toxic relationships to empower themselves to create a new life using her coaching, speaking, and writing. Her signature coaching program Liberated and Loved shows her clients how to cultivate self-love, self-worth, and self-trust. Stephanie is an Internationally Certified Life Coach, an introvert, world traveler, and adventure-lover. 

You Don’t Always Know You’re In an Abusive Relationship

Stephanie didn’t even realize that she was inside an abusive relationship when she fell into a whirlwind romance. Early on, she experienced extreme jealousy and insecurity from her partner to the extent that she had to delete all photos from her past, which showed her having positive experiences with female and male friends. 

Psychological Manipulation within Her Relationship

Her partner would psychologically manipulate Stephanie and tell her that images of her past would “hurt him,” She would delete the photos so as not to cause these feelings for her partner. When she would advocate for herself and voice her own opinions, they would be manipulated and used against her. Her boyfriend was so manipulative that he messaged Stephanie’s girlfriend and told her to take down pictures of Stephanie on a girl’s weekend they spent together. 

Waking Up From Her Toxic Relationship Right Before Stephanie was Married

With no one in her life supporting her relationship with her manipulative fiance, Stephanie decided to pull the plug on her wedding. Ten weeks before she was married, Stephanie realized she needed to break off the relationship. “It was an animalistic instinct that I had to leave,” says Stephanie. 

Listen in to discover how Stephanie broke off her relationship and moved out of their shared home, how she realized that calling off her wedding was a must, and how she reclaimed her life moving forward in her new life.

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***Disclaimer: All content found on Speak Loud Podcast, including text, images, audio, or other formats were created for informational purposes only. Material contained on Speak Loud Podcast website, podcast, and social media postings are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard or delay seeking professional medical advice. Information on this podcast and guest comments, opinions, and content are solely for educational and entertainment purposes. Use of this information is at your own risk.** 

Today I’m joined by John Callas: writer, director, and producer in the entertainment business. Some of John’s projects include feature films, trailers, documentaries, and music videos. He’s a published author who believes that everyone deserves happiness, and hopes to support other men through their own struggles with trauma. 

A Life Without Choices

John grew up with unresolved anger issues and his violent streak caused him to act out until his mother sent him to military school. Feeling abandoned and alone, he initiated countless fights. The one benefit the school gave him was self-discipline and structure.

After military school, the trauma continued, culminating in a suicide attempt when he was 15. By the time he was in college, John was struggling to figure out his life. When his roommate gave him the option of choosing which bed he wanted--the first time he had a choice in anything in a long time--his life started to go up. 

John Shares His Story with His New Book

“When the Rain Stops” is John’s memoir, consisting of his life’s struggles. While writing his book for 30 years, he looked at his life from another angle. He realized that there may be others who needed to hear his own story. 

John shares that talking about trauma, especially as a man, is not easy, but he hopes to convince other men that they’re not alone. “Go where the love is,” John says, encouraging trauma survivors to find the people who support them when they’re vulnerable. 

There’s Strength in Being Vulnerable

John’s own experience as a father has been wildly different in comparison to his childhood. He explains that throughout his sons’ lives, he and his wife learned to focus more on listening than teaching. The key was not to hold children accountable for lesson that parents fail to teach, and to let kids see that they are also vulnerable and imperfect.

Listen in to hear John’s journey into the film industry, his proudest accomplishments, and what projects he’s working on next. 

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***Disclaimer: All content found on Speak Loud Podcast, including text, images, audio, or other formats were created for informational purposes only. Material contained on Speak Loud Podcast website, podcast, and social media postings are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard or delay seeking professional medical advice. Information on this podcast and guest comments, opinions, and content are solely for educational and entertainment purposes. Use of this information is at your own risk.** 

Today I’m joined by James Owen Roberts, a ParaOlympian athlete, entrepreneur, and Tedx speaker who is here to share his story of triumph and resilience. James is a fellow podcaster, with the “Mindset Athlete” podcast, as well as an author with more than 15 years experience in exercise and diet mindset. 

James comes from a stubborn family. When he was born with his disability, there was doubt surrounding how he would navigate an able-bodied world. Throughout his life, James learned how to “overcome the monkey bars” and participate in all the things his peers were able to do. Whenever someone told him no, he couldn’t, James responded with, “Watch me.”

In his early adulthood, James went unexpectedly from swimming to rowing as his main sport. He was hesitant to start something new, but a conversation with his mom pushed him to try. In her eyes, it was a win-win situation: either he’s good at it, or he’s not, which means he can try something else. James found the motto, “I don’t know for certain, but why focus on next year when we have now?” 

When people ask him how he was so successful, James explains that he learned to thrive off the competitive environment of athletes. The sporting environment encourages athletes to push others by pushing themselves. He took things one step at a time, climbing each rung of the ladder until he made it to the Paralympics. In spite of setbacks, he learned that there’s always room to look at the bigger picture. 

Despite his successes, James is no stranger to failure. His business experienced ups and downs as a result of his inexperience with running a business. But losing clients, transactions falling through, and not making any money taught James the valuable lessons he needed to not let it happen again. Whenever James struggles with motivation, he reminds himself that he’s not just showing up for himself--he’s showing up for his community, too, like a lighthouse: if there’s no light, other ships are going to hit the rocks. 

Now, James is a coach that focuses on mindset as much as on physical aesthetics. He believes that in order to change a person for the long-term, you have to change their habits, behaviors, and self-confidence. He chips away at underlying beliefs in order to teach clients that just because they may have failed at something, they’re not a failure, and motivation isn’t everything. 

James teaches his students to make the conscious choice to persevere rather than relying on motivation. Through this, he teaches resilience. James hopes that listeners will take away that if you want change, you have to make the choice. It’s no one else’s fault or responsibility. If you look at yourself in the mirror, and aren’t happy with it, James says that it’s your choice to make that change. 

Listen in to hear James’ journey to the paraolympics, his story with sports with a disability, and his experience with TedX. 

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***Disclaimer: All content found on Speak Loud Podcast, including text, images, audio, or other formats were created for informational purposes only. Material contained on Speak Loud Podcast website, podcast, and social media postings are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your qualified healthcare provider with any

Today I’m talking with Chana Mason, who coaches her clients in clarifying vision, shifting beliefs, and manifesting their dreams. Chana’s work turns complex ideas into easy, accessible tools for transformation. She’s an author, life coach, and businesswoman who challenges her students to question the beliefs that keep them locked in trauma. 

Chana was born in Bogota, Colombia. As a young child, she was unaware of just how dangerous a place it was, until--at 5 years old--multiple men broke into her house, held her mother at gunpoint, and threatened to kidnap her and her sisters. Within 48 hours, her family had fled to Miami, Florida, where Chana would grow up. 

What Chana didn’t realize was just how much trauma had been inflicted on her and her family. Chana’s trauma manifested in nightmares, hallucinations, and eventually anxiety and depression in her later years. It wasn’t until her 30s that she started to see a change, after years of therapy missing the mark. Chana moved to Israel to connect with her religion, but soon discovered the emotional baggage flying with her: “I’m not enough, God doesn’t love me enough.” She had to unlearn these beliefs, first.

Chana discovered the power of inquiry from a friend. Byron Katie’s book, “Loving What Is”, got passed from hand-to-hand of Chana’s friends, and soon they had a tight-knit, therapeutic circle of women who met weekly to apply the lessons they learned. This was the beginning of Chana’s coaching training--with her friends--and the beginning of a much happier life. 

To inquire is to ask questions, and inquiry is asking questions that make you think about your thinking. Chana says that we think so much we often don’t stop to consider our thoughts, and come to believe we are our thoughts. The faculty of thought, in Chana’s words, is meant to process things strategically, to be used rather than to use us. Inquiry allows us to uncover our underlying beliefs and question them. 

Chana’s technique of inquiry works by challenging clients’ thoughts with their opposite: rather than, ‘They should love me,’ for example, Chana suggests, ‘I should love me.’ This gives clients autonomy, as well as the ability to vocalize their needs. She teaches clients to replace belief with better beliefs, and in turn, get out of their own way. 

Chana explains that we have no control over others, or the world, and imposing our own beliefs on how things should be is fighting a losing battle. It’s a skill of accepting reality, in a way that allows students to unfreeze and meet life with curiosity and enjoyment, rather than with beliefs that underserve them and perpetuate their trauma.

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***Disclaimer: All content found on Speak Loud Podcast, including text, images, audio, or other formats were created for informational purposes only. Material contained on Speak Loud Podcast website, podcast, and social media postings are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard or delay seeking professional medical advice. Information on this podcast and guest comments, opinions, and content are solely for educational and entertainment purposes. Use of this information is at your own risk.**

Today I’m joined by Gabriel Shaw, who for more than 15 years has helped people heal as a paramedic, a kinesiologist, clinical exercise physiologist and Tai Chi instructor. Gabriel has led specialty workshops at events such as the Victoria Yoga Conference, Tai Chi Mountain Retreat, Burning Man and more. Today, Gabriel is here to speak loud about how he helps people through their trauma-healing with various modalities. 

Everyone stores trauma in their body. Gabriel specializes in using movement to heal. Oftentimes, trauma is locked away in our bodies and ignored. Healthcare practitioners especially are often overlooked in the trauma they take on in their fields. Careers in the medical field can have short lifespans because of the stress they induce, something Gabriel struggled with, himself. 

During his time as a paramedic, Gabriel put himself last, believing his trauma wasn’t ‘as bad’ as his patients’. One of his tools for healing was Tai Chi and Qi Gong, which let him tap into his body in order to release what was built up. Energy work helps cultivate the essential ‘you’ that may be buried. 

Tai Chi blends martial arts and Qi Gong in order to cultivate internal energy. Gabriel says the first step of Tai Chi is learning to relax, and access the places we’ve locked up to store stress. Trauma survivors--and their caregivers--may respond to trauma by locking it away in a certain part of their body. Tai Chi works to bring feeling back into those separated areas. 

‘Qi’ is a Chinese word meaning energy or breath, or, as Gabriel describes, “fire without fire.” He explains that people often get caught up with the mystical interpretation of Qi, when it can be boiled down to the physical sensation of living in your body. If you were to stop and just feel your body, you likely wouldn’t feel it in terms of muscle or bone structure, but rather a flow of sensations from one place to the next. Tai Chi and Qi Gong work to cultivate even more of that flow and connect the body’s energy. 

Gabriel explains that people often resist healing movement because of the focus it draws to places of discomfort. Movement is change, and humans often resist change. “You can’t rush your healing,” Gabriel says. After an injury, a patient may focus on getting back to where they were before, physically or mentally. That’s where we get into trouble, according to Gabriel, because that stagnation is what stops us from healing. 

Listen in to learn about Tai Chi and Qi Gong, intuitive movement as a healing modality, and Gabriel’s experience with kinesiology and wellness coaching. 

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***Disclaimer: All content found on Speak Loud Podcast, including text, images, audio, or other formats were created for informational purposes only. Material contained on Speak Loud Podcast website, podcast, and social media postings are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard or delay seeking professional medical advice. Information on this podcast and guest comments, opinions, and content are solely for educational and entertainment purposes. Use of this information is at your own risk.**

Today I’m joined by Michael Unbroken, creator of the Think Unbroken podcast and book. He has gone from homeless to hero, empowered more than 100,000 other survivors to be their own heroes, and spoken in 80 countries about generational trauma. Michael is on a mission to end generational trauma in his lifetime through information and education. 

Michael has lived a chaotic life. He was physically abused, molested, endured homelessness and poverty. In short, life was not pretty. Throughout childhood, Michael had two goals: survive, and become a Marine sniper in order to escape his current situation. While he succeeded with the first, a knee injury kept him from the second, and he was forced to find a new path. 

Michael thought the answer to all his problems was money. At 18, he made a goal of making 100k a year. He started off learning skills, and eventually landed a job making more than his original goal. But at 25, Michael was miserable. He was overweight, smoking, drinking, and cheating. After attempting suicide for the second time, Michael took a real look at himself in the mirror. At rock bottom, he told himself, no more excuses. Just results. 

Acknowledging the truth was Michael’s wakeup call. His entire life, he had been the victim, and rightfully so. While he wasn’t responsible for what he went through as a child, he had to accept the fact that he was now an adult. Instead of continuing to deflect blame, Michael decided to take accountability. 

Michael’s lifelong goal is to end generational trauma--in his lifetime. It may be an impossible goal, but that doesn’t stop him. He plans to foster children in the future, but until then, his actions are determined by the same goal. “Think Unbroken” is about overcoming the notion that survivors are broken and unable to change their lives. 

Michael hopes listeners will feel encouraged to seek the things they need to heal. Eventually, you have to take accountability for yourself, and acknowledge that you’re in control. The key is to trust yourself. By trusting himself, Michael was able to create the life he has now, from his career, to his fitness, to his relationships. “Life is happening for you, not to you,” he says. 

Listen in to hear about Michael’s process of writing a book, the research on generational trauma and DNA, and where Michael sees himself in the future. 

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***Disclaimer: All content found on Speak Loud Podcast, including text, images, audio, or other formats were created for informational purposes only. Material contained on Speak Loud Podcast website, podcast, and social media postings are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard or delay seeking professional medical advice. Information on this podcast and guest comments, opinions, and content are solely for educational and entertainment purposes. Use of this information is at your own risk.**

Today I’m joined by Josh Boone, a marketing advisor and fellow podcaster from “The Josh Boone Show”, where he has talks with some of the world’s most unique thinkers. On his show, Josh deconstructs society, psychology, and purpose, and hopes to share some of the things he’s learned and show that while he may still struggle with mental health, it doesn’t stop him from living his life. 

When asked about what modalities he uses, Josh says, “Everything.” He considers himself an optimizer, given his marketing background. He uses the concept of ‘split-testing’ to try different practices at the same time, testing what works and what doesn’t. Meditation, books, and supplements have been some of the most impactful. 

Josh emphasizes the importance of creating a buffer. Meditation helps separate himself from his thoughts. “Not my circus, not my monkeys,” Josh says. He’s also recently turned to functional medicine. Many people struggle with feelings of being ‘broken, when in reality a physiological deficiency--like magnesium, which correlates to high anxiety--may be the root cause. 

Catapult Creative was Josh’s seven-figure marketing company, where he pulled 100-hour work weeks. While the company was an outward success, Josh was ultimately unhappy. Upon reaching a breaking point, he asked himself, “What am I optimizing for?” The company wasn’t serving him and he needed a change in lifestyle. So, Josh packed up and started living on the road in an RV. 

After 3 weeks, despite feeling like he had everything he wanted, Josh felt even more miserable. He reflects that when dealing with trauma, you need to give yourself time to decompress, like a soldier coming home from war. He had only given it three weeks, so he decided to see it through. 

Two years later, Josh was finally feeling enlightened, but realizing that his life lacked purpose and connection. Moving back to Ohio, he started work again with the question, “What do I want to do?” He wanted to consult, work fewer hours, and do his podcast. But his enlightenment fell away once work began. Suddenly, he was right back where started--until the pandemic put everything on pause. 

In the last year, Josh learned to approach life as a surfer, rather than a pilot. The surfer doesn’t fight the wave, but moves symbiotically with it. The pilot has a destination in mind that he needs to reach no matter what. Josh shares that the practicing awareness in the day-to-day has improved his life little-by-little. “Pain is not something you should avoid,” Josh says, and hopes that his story will help others retake control of their own lives. 

Listen in to hear Josh’s take on toxic relationships, borderline personality disorder, and functional medicine modalities. 

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