Dr. Sweta Vikram is joining me in this episode of the Conscious Diva Podcast. Sweta is an Ayurvedic doctor and an international speaker. She has written multiple award-winning books and is a trusted source on health and wellness, frequently appearing on NBC. 

Today, we are chatting about her latest book, The Loss That Binds Us. It is the first book to use the principles of Ayurveda to heal grief. Sweta shares how Ayurveda and grief work together. She explains what grief is and how it shows up differently for everyone, which has a lot to do with our Ayurvedic constitution - our predisposed characteristics. 

Her book offers 108 practical tips to help navigate the multitude of emotions brought on by loss, as well as helping you identify what you are experiencing so you can acknowledge, understand, and accept.

This book is an invaluable resource for anyone navigating the challenging journey of healing after the loss of a loved one, a beloved pet, job loss, or a breakup. I hope you enjoy this episode on conscious grieving. 

HIGHLIGHTS:

ABOUT Sweta Srivastava Vikram: Featured by Asian Fusion as “One of the most influential Asians of our time,” is a best-selling author of 14 books, a mindfulness writing coach, a headstand-devotee, and a certified yoga & Ayurveda counselor who helps people lead creative, productive, and healthier lives. Born in India, Sweta spent her formative years between the Indian Himalayas, North Africa, and the United States collecting and sharing stories. She writes about women, multiculturalism, wellness, and identity. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, amongst other publications, across nine countries on three continents, is an award-winning writer and graduate of Columbia University. She lives in New York City with her husband and in her spare time, teaches yoga to female survivors of rape and domestic violence.  

You can find her in these online spaces: X (@swetavikram), Instagram (@swetavikram), and Facebook http://www.facebook.com/Words.By.Sweta

Renowned Dream expert Theresa Cheung joins me in this episode of The Conscious Diva podcast.

We talk about…dreams! In her newly revised and updated The Dream Dictionary: Interpret the Secrets of Your Dreams, you will discover the secrets of your dreamlife. 

This is the best reference book on dream interpretation I have read in years. Her book helps you decipher what's possibly going on in your unconscious and offers insights to cross-reference how your dreams might impact your waking life.  

Theresa Cheung gives you everything you need to dream bigger and better. Whatever your dream symbol or experience, you will find a treasure trove of thousands of interpretations in her new Dream Dictionary.

Theresa has written over 150 books, and she is a regular media commentator on dream decoding, spirituality, the afterlife, astrology, and so much more. I hope you enjoy this deep dive into dream interpretation. 

HIGHLIGHTS:

About Theresa:

Theresa Cheung is a modern mystic and Sunday Times bestselling dreams, spiritual, and paranormal author. Since leaving King’s College, Cambridge University, with a degree in Theology and English, she has written numerous bestselling books and encyclopedias which have been translated into dozens of different languages. She has appeared regularly on ITV This Morning as their Dreams and spiritual expert as well as BBC Radio 2 with Claudia Winkleman, BBC Radio 4 Beyond Belief, BBC Radio 5 Live Sounds podcast Different with Nicky Campbell, Capital Radio with Ronan Kemp, Coast to Coast AM with George Noory, Gaia TV with Regina Meredith as well as appearances on Channel 4, ITV GMB, Today extra, Good Day Chicago, KTLA, This Morning Virginia, among others. She has appeared on celebrity podcasts such as Megan Trainer's Workin On It, Top 100 podcasts such as Sean Mike Kelly's Digital Social Hour and written many features or been quoted in publications such as Bustle, Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, InStyle, Heat, Refinery 29. Her mission and passion are to make spirituality and the paranormal more credible, engaging, and mainstream.

LINKS:

https://www.theresacheung.com

https://www.instagram.com/thetheresacheung/

Joining me in this episode is Lama Rod Owens. Known as the Black Buddhist Southern Queen, he is a highly sought-after Buddhist minister, author, activist, and yoga instructor, an authorized Lama in the Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism, and an international influencer. He holds a Master of Divinity degree in Buddhist Studies from Harvard Divinity School, focusing on the intersection of social change, identity, and spiritual practice. He's an all-around amazing guy.

Here, we talk about his latest book, The New Saints: From Broken Hearts to Spiritual Warriors. Lama Rod has broken down some key aspects from the Buddhist traditions he has practiced and put them into his own words so the reader can tangibly apply these wisdom teachings. This is a jam packed episode not to be missed.

In this episode, we talk about:

MORE ABOUT LAMA ROAD OWENS

Lama Rod co-founded Bhumisparsha, a spiritual community with a mission of making tantra accessible and inclusive for North American practitioners. He’s also the co-founder of Dharma Queens, a series of conversations on Instagram Live with sister sadada, to help people get freer faster. His teachings center on freedom, self-expression, and radical self-care.

https://www.lamarod.com

The Spirit Underground Podcast with Lama Rod & Spring Washam

https://beherenownetwork.com/category/spirit-underground/

Joining me in the episode to discuss her new book - The Story is in Our Bones: How Worldviews and Climate Justice Can Remake a World in Crisis - is Osprey Orielle Lake, Founder and Executive Director of Women’s Earth & Climate Action Network, International, known as WECAN. 

In this hopeful book, Osprey asserts that the dominant worldview—described as capitalist, colonialist, patriarchal, and extractive—is the main culprit for environmental destruction. 

Osprey skillfully weaves history, mythology, anthropology, climate and earth science, sociology, and spirituality to illustrate the central message: Capitalism and colonialism have gotten us on this path of catastrophic climate change but, as she shares in her book, they can be tranformed. Osprey shows how people all over the world are rising to defend Earth. Her book includes the memory and knowledge of how we can live in balance with nature, which still lives on in Indigenous communities.

HIGHLIGHTS:

- Origin stories are Spiritual healing for our planet. 

- What is WECAN

- Explain the concept of “Mother Law”

- What is the LANDBACK movement?

- The dominant cultural worldview.

MORE ABOUT OSPREY:

http://www.ospreyoriellelake.info

https://www.wecaninternational.org/who-we-are

Osprey Orielle Lake is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN). She works nationally and internationally with grassroots and business leaders, policy-makers and scientists to promote resilient communities, foster a post-carbon energy future, while also addressing societal transformation. Osprey is Co-chair of International Advocacy for the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature and the visionary behind the International Women's Earth and Climate Summit, which brought together 100 women leaders from around the world to draft and implement a Women's Climate Action Agenda. She teaches WECAN’s international climate trainings and directs WECAN’s advocacy work in areas such as Women for Forests program, Rights of Nature and UN Forums. Osprey is the author of the award-winning book, Uprisings for the Earth: Reconnecting Culture with Nature. 

This episode is all about awe and how we can use awe to heighten our awareness in only a few seconds. Joining me is author Jake Eagle to discuss his latest book, The Power of Awe.  Jake and his co-author Michael Amster, have developed a simple, clinically proven practice to reduce inflammation, stress, loneliness, and burnout while improving overall well-being. The method takes less than a minute. The authors call it “microdosing mindfulness”. 

With that, I invite you to experience a little bit of awe in your life today. If you felt inspired by this episode, please write a review and share this episode. Thanks for listening.

Highlights:

* What is the emotion of awe? 

* Why mindful practices feel challenging or inaccessible for some people.

* How the AWE practice is a shortcut to experiencing transcendence, turning ordinary moments into awe-inducing experiences within a matter of seconds.

* Understanding the 3LC: Heart consciousness. Spacious consciousness. Safety consciousness.  

* How can experiencing awe be a healing experience, and how can we use this technique in times of global crisis and chaos?

Websites:

https://thepowerofawe.com/practices/

https://liveconscious.com

About the authors:

Jake Eagle, LPC, is a psychotherapist, mindfulness instructor, fellow member trainer of the International Association of Neuro‑Linguistic Programming, and cofounder of Live Conscious. After thirty years in private practice, Jake now works part-time as a meta-therapist, working with people who want to go beyond the bounds of traditional therapy. Together, he and his wife, Hannah, lead life-changing small group retreats at awe-inspiring locations around the world.

Michael Amster, MD, is a physician and faculty member at Touro School of Medicine. With twenty years as a pain management specialist, he is currently the founding director of the pain management department at Santa Cruz Community Health. A practitioner of meditation for over thirty years, he is also a certified yoga and meditation teacher. He splits his time between clinical work, research on awe, teaching mindfulness, and leading awe-inspiring retreats around the world.

I always feel like Christmas is a magical time of the year – but I never thought about why. Joining me is author and master herbalist Ellen Evert Hopman, who is sharing her latest magical book, The Sacred Herbs of Yule and Christmas: Remedies, Recipes, Magic, and Brews for the Winter Season.    

Ellen takes us on an around-the-world tour of ancient Christmas celebrations, Pagan Solstice customs, and magical seasonal plants. She also shares the origins of the Christmas tree, Santa Claus, holiday spirits, Yuletide animals, and why we honor the darkest days of the year. 

Plus, how to perform Winter Solstice divinations and make traditional foods and drinks. This is not just a Holiday book; it is a manual explaining the in-depth medicinal and magical properties of the many herbs and plants associated with the Christmas and Yuletide season, like Frankincense, Myrrh, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Hibiscus, Pine, and many more.

This episode is a mystical journey through this most magical time of year, I hope you enjoy the wonders of the winter season wherever you may be with an extra sprinkling of magic.  Thank you for listening. 

About Ellen:

Ellen is a master herbalist and lay homeopath who has been a Druidic initiate since 1984. She is a founding member of the Order of the White Oak, the Archdruidess and founder of Tribe of the Oak, a former professor at the Grey School of Wizardry, and a member of the Grey Council of Mages and Sages. She is the author of Celtic herbals and Druid novels, including Secret Medicines from Your Garden, The Sacred Herbs of Samhain, and Once Around the Sun: Stories, Crafts, and Recipes to Celebrate the Sacred Earth Year. She lives in Massachusetts.

https://elleneverthopman.com

Renowned Death Doula Anne-Marie Keppel joins me in this episode to discuss her new book, Death Nesting: The Heart-Centered Practices of a Death Doula.

Anne-Marie brings new-age spiritual aspects and practices to support the modern death doula. She founded Village Deathcare, whose inspiration and purpose is incorporating deathcare into the community.

Her book contains advice and experiences from various spiritual and religious traditions like Buddhism, Hinduism, Paganism, and Catholicism. It also includes support for people working as, or thinking about becoming a death doula, plus invaluable advice and mindfulness practices for contemplating your own mortality.

Anne-Marie explains:

If you loved this episode, please subscribe to my podcast, write a review and follow me on Instagram. You can find me online at tatyannawright.com and theconsciousdiva.com 

You can also find everything we discuss in this episode on the show page notes. 

Thank you very much for listening. Let me know what you think. I’d love to hear from you.  

More about Anne-Marie Keppel:

https://www.annemariekeppel.com

BIO:

Anne-Marie Keppel is the founder of Village Deathcare 501c3 whose inspiration and purpose is incorporating deathcare into the community. Of Irish Celtic and Finnish Sámi (indigenous Finno-Ugric) roots, she draws from her work as a death doula, a nurse assistant, a life-long meditator, Reiki Master Teacher and mother of three. She is a certified Feeding Your Demons facilitator, Life Cycle Celebrant (certificate in funerals) and trained Home Funeral Guide. Anne-Marie has passed the National Home Funeral Alliance proficiency test and regularly supports families through Family Directed funerals, home burial and green burial. 

Back on my show is the profound wisdom teacher Tracee Stanley. Tracee is gifted in weaving devotion and practice into daily life. Her latest book, The Luminous Self: Sacred Yogic Practices and Rituals to Remember Who You Are, guides the reader on a journey of inner exploration. There is so much yumminess in this radiant book. I mean, the book cover is glowing! 

In her latest book, Tracee offers meditations and rituals to self-inquiry practices designed to tap into a deeper understanding of yourself. All the spiritual tools in this book have been experienced by Tracee and helped her reclaim her own inherent power and wisdom, and they can do the same for you. 

And for a limited time, listeners can take 30% off the book when you preorder at ⁠Shambhala.com⁠ with the code LUM30. - When you purchase the book, you can sign up for a free special live event with Tracee - called The Luminous Self Book Club.  

Practicing with Tracee is a not to be missed opportunity to amplify the transformative tools in this book. This 4-week live virtual experience begins on Tuesday, October 10. Find out more about this experience in the episode. I’ve signed up for it.

You can also listen to my interview with Tracee about her best-selling book Radiant Rest: Yoga Nidra for Deep Relaxation and Awakened Clarity. It is Ep.23.

MORE ABOUT TRACEE

⁠https://www.traceestanley.com/⁠

⁠https://www.instagram.com/tracee_stanley/⁠

⁠https://www.shambhala.com/the-luminous-self.html⁠t.

Erik Jampa Andresson and I discuss our mystical experiences and practices in this mini-bonus episode. We rant about mantras and how specific mantras can be used as spells and, in fact have been used as spells in history. We also discuss the importance of ritual.

Enjoy! Please let me know if liked this episode by subscribing and writing a review. Thank you.

Follow me on IG @The_Conscious_Diva

For more info visit:

https://www.theconsciousdiva.com/

This is part 2 of my interview with Erik Jampa Andersson. In this fascinating interview, we continue to discuss his new book Unseen Beings: How We Forgot the World Is More Than Human.

In this episode, we get way more esoteric. Erik explains exactly who unseen beings are, and why we need to understand that we share the world with more than humans.

We talk about the Nagas - find out who these serpentine beings are. We discuss spirits and mantras, particularly how certain mantras are spells used in literal combat.

We both share a ton of Naga stories and experiences from the one Prashant Iyengar shared with about Patanjali to how the Nagas became guardians of the Chod founder’s tradition and many more.

Plus there’s a bonus episode right after this one on the importance of ritual and we dive much deeper into mantras are spells. 

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THIS EPISODE INCLUDE:

If you loved this episode, please subscribe to my podcast, write a review, and follow me on Instagram. You can find me online at tatyannawright.com and theconsciousdiva.com

MORE ABOUT ERIK:

Erik Jampa Andersson, founder and director of Shrimala, is a London-based practitioner, teacher, and scholar of Tibetan Medicine (Sowa Rigpa), Tibetan Buddhism, and Environmental History.  He is a graduate of the Shang Shung Institute School of Tibetan Medicine and is currently finishing an MA in History at Goldsmiths University. He is the author of Unseen Beings: How We Forgot the World is More than Human (Hay House, May 2023).

A Buddhist practitioner since 2005 (at the age of 14), Erik found an early home in the Tibetan tradition under the close guidance of Lama Tsultrim Allione, founder of Tara Mandala retreat center in Colorado, and has studied with an array of teachers from Tibet and the Himalayas. While pursuing a degree in religious studies at Naropa University, he was inspired to change course and enrol in a five-year Tibetan Medicine program at the Shang Shung Institute, in which he was trained extensively under notable senior physicians including Dr. Phuntsog Wangmo, Dr. Namgyal Tsering, Dr. Nyima Tsering, and other Sowa Rigpa experts in America and Asia.

RELATED LINKS:

https://www.shrimala.com/about

https://www.erikjampa.com

https://www.taramandala.org/blog/erik-jampa-dec-2022

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/erikjampa/