The Ashley Rivard Podcast

John Gray is the author of the most well-known and trusted relationship book of all time, Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus. USA Today listed his book as one of the top 10 most influential books of the last quarter-century. In hardcover, it was the #1 bestselling book of the 1990s. Dr. Gray’s books are translated into approximately 45 languages in more than 100 countries and continues to be a bestseller. Dr. Gray has written over 20 books. His most recent book is Beyond Mars and Venus.

John helps men and women better understand and respect their differences in both personal and professional relationships. His approach combines specific communication techniques with healthy, nutritional choices that create the brain and body chemistry for lasting health, happiness, and romance.

In this episode we discuss:

• Taboos around male and female relationships
• Why monogamy is the way to have true happiness
• How to have a deep connection with the opposite sex
• How a man releases negativity
• Why marriages fall apart
• What the cave concept is and how the rubber band effect works
• Why testosterone is produced in cave time for men and how women should view it
• How a woman can grow into her sensuality
• What biologically is needed for a man to feel desire and what is needed for a woman
• When and how testosterone goes up and down
• John’s time as a monk and what celibacy has taught him
• What men don’t know about great sex and successful relationships
• What is a soul mate versus a role mate

Connect with John:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Mars.Venus.John.Gray
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/marsvenus
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johngraymarsvenus_official/

Connect with Ashley:
Instagram: @ashleydrivard
Website: www.ashleyrivard.com

Steve Leder serves as the Senior Rabbi of Wilshire Boulevard Temple, a prestigious synagogue in Los Angeles with three campuses and 2,700 families.

In addition to his many duties at the Temple, Rabbi Leder is a regular contributor and guest on The Today Show, writes regularly for TIME,  Foxnews.com, Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper, contributed a chapter to Charles Barkley’s book Who’s Afraid of a Large Black Man?, and has published essays in Town and Country, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today and the Los Angeles Jewish Journal where his Torah commentaries were read weekly by over 50,000 people.  He has just released his 4th book, The Beauty of What Remains; How Our Greatest Fear Becomes Our Greatest Gift was published by Penguin Random House in January 2021. Newsweek Magazine twice named him one of the ten most influential rabbis in America but most important to Steve is being Betsy’s husband and Aaron and Hannah’s dad.  He is also a Jew who likes to fish.  Go figure.

In this episode we discuss:

• How his new book dives into the art of living learned through death
• Why anxiety is for the living and peace is for the dying
• How his father’s death changed his perspective on all things
• How this intense work has affected him
• What grief looks like
• Why tough conversations are imperative to healing
• How he has dealt with suicide in the Jewish community
• The struggle between Steve the son, Steve the Rabbi, and Steve the human
• What people should know who are grieving or going through a loss

Connect with Rabbi Steve:
Instagram @rabbisteveleder

Connect with Ashley:
Website: www.ashleyrivard.com
Instagram: @ashleydrivard

Steve Leder serves as the Senior Rabbi of Wilshire Boulevard Temple, a prestigious synagogue in Los Angeles with three campuses and 2,700 families.

In addition to his many duties at the Temple, Rabbi Leder is a regular contributor and guest on The Today Show, writes regularly for TIME,  Foxnews.com, Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper, contributed a chapter to Charles Barkley’s book Who’s Afraid of a Large Black Man?, and has published essays in Town and Country, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today and the Los Angeles Jewish Journal where his Torah commentaries were read weekly by over 50,000 people.  He has just released his 4th book, The Beauty of What Remains; How Our Greatest Fear Becomes Our Greatest Gift was published by Penguin Random House in January 2021. Newsweek Magazine twice named him one of the ten most influential rabbis in America but most important to Steve is being Betsy’s husband and Aaron and Hannah’s dad.  He is also a Jew who likes to fish.  Go figure.

In this episode we discuss:

• How his new book dives into the art of living learned through death
• Why anxiety is for the living and peace is for the dying
• How his father’s death changed his perspective on all things
• How this intense work has affected him
• What grief looks like
• Why tough conversations are imperative to healing
• How he has dealt with suicide in the Jewish community
• The struggle between Steve the son, Steve the Rabbi, and Steve the human
• What people should know who are grieving or going through a loss

Connect with Rabbi Steve:
Instagram @rabbisteveleder

Connect with Ashley:
Website: www.ashleyrivard.com
Instagram: @ashleydrivard

Creative his whole life. Depressed for part of it. Successful for most of it. And formerly down for throwing it all away. Paul Chamberlain emerged from years of physically and financially draining passion projects reckless, suicidal, and struggling as a husband, father, and creative. It was from a low point of separation from his family and virtual bankruptcy, that he recognized his story of victimization and chasing illusory overnight success was terminally toxic; especially for creatives. 

Today, thanks to love, grit, and a blend of traditional therapy, plant medicine, and holistic fitness, Paul lives a happy balanced life with his wife and two children. He is the co-founder of the Cerebral Itch Creative Agency, a boutique creative shop that specializes in brand design and social media strategy serving a roster of high-profile entertainment clients.  He is also the creator and host of the upcoming podcast, Smart Funny Tortured that engages with creatives on when they broke down, broke through, and how they now peacefully(ish) coexist 

In this episode we discuss:

• what caused his breakdown and how he moved forward
• why a job and financial stability would not be the solution after his breakdown
• why being creative can cause suffering
• why the old modality of business and creativity does not work and how the new modality will sustain you
• the difference between logo and branding
• how he works with people to help them understand how to operate and work from a healthy space
• what shame looked like for him and what makes him vulnerable
• what actions you can take to balance business and creativity

Connect with Paul:
Website- smartfunnytortured.com
Cerebralitch.com

Connect with Ashley:
Website- Ashleydrivard.com
Instagram: @ashleydrivard

Lisa is a world-renowned comedian and writer who shares her experience with sobriety and bipolar disorder. Her uncanny wit helped her get through the dark chapters of her life. 

In this episode we discuss:

• How comedy can defuse tense situations
• How trauma leads to addiction, and why the child-parent/caregiver relationships are crucial for healthy development
• What does spirituality have to do with stand up
• The solutions that saved her from the suffering associated with bipolar disorder and addictions
• How unhealed trauma trapped in the body can contribute to other psychological and physiological concerns
• Why woman, in particular, may consider standing on stage to embody their truth as “Pretty Funny Women”

Connect with Lisa:
Website: www.prettyfunnywomen.com
Instagram: @prettyfunnywomen

Connect with Ashley:
Instagram: @ashleydrivard
Website: www.ashleyrivard.com

Lisa is a world-renowned comedian and writer who shares her experience with sobriety and bipolar disorder. Her uncanny wit helped her get through the dark chapters of her life. 

In this episode we discuss:

• How comedy can defuse tense situations
• How trauma leads to addiction, and why the child-parent/caregiver relationships are crucial for healthy development
• What does spirituality have to do with stand up
• The solutions that saved her from the suffering associated with bipolar disorder and addictions
• How unhealed trauma trapped in the body can contribute to other psychological and physiological concerns
• Why woman, in particular, may consider standing on stage to embody their truth as “Pretty Funny Women”

Connect with Lisa:
Website: www.prettyfunnywomen.com
Instagram: @prettyfunnywomen

Connect with Ashley:
Instagram: @ashleydrivard
Website: www.ashleyrivard.com

Tina “Kat” Courtney, The AfterLife Coach, is a traditionally trained shaman and plant medicine guide with 15 years of experience working in altered spaces. Kat also works as a psychedelics integration coach, helping people make sense of transformative experiences and spiritual crises. She has the honor of working with people facing the reality and sacred truth about death. She is passionate about bringing joy and levity to shadow work, the expansion of consciousness, and death itself. 

In this episode we discuss:

• What is ayahuasca’s origin and what is it designed for
• Is ayahuasca a drug or a medicine?
• The difference between ayahuasca and western medicines
• What are the possibilities with plant medicines
• Who is the right and wrong candidate to drink ayahuasca
• Why having the right intention going into ceremony is important
• How to find a safe space to drink
• How to prepare for the ceremony
• What are the negative effects of ayahuasca
• Misconceptions of a shaman
• What is integration and why it may be more important than drinking ayahuasca itself

Connect with Kat:
website: http://www.afterlife.coach.
Instagram - @theafterlifecoach
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/afterlifecoach
Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/c/TinaKatCourtneyCoach

Connect with Ashley:
Website: ashleydrivard.com
Instagram: @ashleydrivard

Dr. Anna Salter received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Harvard University and was on the faculty of Dartmouth Medical Center for five years, where she served as director of a number of programs in the Department of Maternal and Child Health.  Salter lectures and consults throughout the US and abroad, and in 1997 won the Significant Achievement Award from the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers.  She is the author of Predators and seven other books.

In this episode we discuss:

• What drives people to sexually abuse children and the signs to look out for when spotting a predator
• The misconception of predators and pedophiles
• Why sex offenders perpetuate the narrative “ I was a victim when I was young”
• How she treats serial killers
• How the perspective on pedophilia differs culturally around the world
• Advice for parents with young kids and why parents need to be actively involved in their children’s lives
• What is a deviant arousal pattern
• What are the modalities that are being used today to treat predators and is there a cure
• How the internet supports and perpetuates predators
• What the common theme is with incest offenders

Connect with Anna:
www.annasalter.com

Connect with Ashley:
Website: www.ashleyrivard.com
Instagram: @ashleydrivard

Elana Horwich is a speaker, chef, and author of Meal and a Spiel: How to Be a Badass in the Kitchen, a cookbook that uses humor and wisdom to teach intuitive cooking. Born to parents who defrosted Lean Cuisine for dinner, Elana taught herself to cook because the kitchen was the only place in the house her mother couldn’t find her. In her 20’s she had an epiphany that took her to Italy for 5 years. There, she worked in bars, fell in and out of love, ate her way through the peninsula, and garnered life experiences she would one day write about. While devouring every aspect of local culture, she learned to cook from an Italian mamma in a Tuscan villa. A former high school history teacher and comedienne, Elana started the Meal and a Spiel cooking school to empower people across the country to cook passionately with confidence, intuition, and love. She has a B.A. from Brown University and a Masters from Middlebury College in Florence, both in Jewish Italian Studies. She has been featured in Real Simple, Huffington Post, and GoodDayLA. Her ultimate dream is to live in a world where everyone shares love with one another through cooking.

In this episode we discuss:

• How “doing nothing” gave her the direction she needed

• How her OCD complex presented itself and how cooking healed it

• How to connect with your food

• How she shifted her relationship with food, from shame to love

• How she learned to love her body through cooking

• How psychedelics guided her onto her path

Connect with Elana:
Instagram: @elanahorwich
Website:  www.elanahorwich.com

Connect with Ashley:
Instagram: @ashleydrivard
Website: www.ashleyrivard.com

Jasvinder is a survivor of a forced marriage.  She is the founder of Karma Nirvana, a national award-winning charity that supports both men and women affected by honour-based abuse and forced marriages. 

She is a highly acclaimed international speaker and an expert advisor to the courts in matters of child, civil and criminal proceedings, is a chair of domestic homicide reviews and was instrumental in ensuring that all UK police forces are required to improve their understanding of honour-based abuse and forced marriage by inspections conducted by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary. 

Her memoir ‘Shame’ was a Times Top 10 Bestseller and described in the House of Lords as a ‘political weapon’. Jasvinder is recognized as bringing the issue of forced marriage into the public domain and Prime Minister David Cameron stated that her work ‘turned my head on the issue of forced marriage’. Her work is recognized as being pivotal to the creation of a specific UK forced marriage criminal offense in 2014. Her successful claim of sexual harassment against a peer in the House of Lords was the first in its 479 year history and has already led to an increase in reporting and resulted in significant changes in the House of Lords policy and practice including greater debates and reforms, resulting in a House of Lords independent inquiry into sexual harassment and bullying. 

She has received numerous awards including the prestigious Woman of the Year 2007. She was made an Honorary Doctor of the University of Derby in 2008. She was awarded The Pride of Britain Award in 2009 and was named Cosmopolitan Ultimate Woman of the Year in 2010. In 2011 she was listed in the Guardian's top 100 Most Inspirational Women in the World and in 2012 received the Global Punjabi Award. She was awarded Commander of the British Empire in 2013 in recognition of her outstanding contribution for the victims of forced marriage and honour-based abuse and in 2014 was awarded Legal Campaigner of the Year. Jasvinder is also listed as an entry in the 2016 edition of the book Who’s Who and in the same year received the International Woman Award for human rights from the Italian media. In 2018 she was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Law by De Montfort University, Leicester, Woman of the Year by Leeds City Council and in 2019 she was awarded the Robert Burns Humanitarian of the Year Award and also the Sikh Woman of Substance Award.

In this episode we discuss:

• The difference between forced and arranged marriages
•  What the consequences were for Jasvinder running away at 15 years old and standing up to her mom by not going along with a forced marriage
•  Why women have no say in who they marry
•  What is an honour system, how it works, and why it’s more important than loving and doing what’s best for your child
•  What a caste system is 
•  What her life looked like after her family disowned her
•  How guilt, shame, isolation plagued her, and how her sister’s suicide was the turning point to her positive transformation
•  When Jasvinder knew she made the right decision to run away
•  Her life now as a campaigner and advocate to ending forced marriage
•  What are the solutions to ending forced marriage and honour abuse

Connect with Jasvinder:
Website: www.jasvindersanghera.com
Nonprofit: www.karmanirvana.org.uk
Twitter: @Jas_Sanghera_KN

Connect with Ashley:
Website: www.ashleyrivard.com
Instagram: @ashleydrivard