Ciara Sherlock is a hard woman to put in a box, but she can be definitely described as someone who is deeply invested in helping people improve their relationships with themselves and the world around them. You might find her holding space for a woman becoming a mother, supporting a person through an altered state of consciousness or working with someone with pain or trauma manifesting physically. She weaves her knowledge and experience of bodywork, altered states of consciousness and shamanism (or spirituality) to create a holistic process that encompasses mind, body and spirit. In this podcast, I speak with Ciara about the importance of what is referred to as integration work after a psychedelic journey, in essence how we can derive meaning from the experience and how this meaning can help us in our everyday lives. We discuss what psychedelic integration can entail and what can happen if one moves from trip to trip without attempting to bring these experiences into the day-to-day. We also talk about the Women’s Circles that Ciara facilitates and the healing power of being held by a group of people as you reveal the layers of your soul (yes, that is a Kanye West lyric). But sincerely, I have benefitted hugely from men’s circles and it was lovely to hear Ciara describe similar uplifting shifts and deeper connections occurring for women too. I thoroughly enjoyed this chat as I moved from a tired man to a very engaged, excited child towards the end of the podcast. I have left a link to Ciara’s website if you would like to learn more about her and her work.

https://ciarasherlock.com/

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This week we chatted with Environmental activist Manuel Salazar who has been associated with the organisation Extinction Rebellion in Ireland since its inception in 2018. Extinction Rebellion is a global environmental movement, with the aim of using nonviolent civil disobedience to compel government action to avoid tipping points in the climate system, biodiversity loss, and the risk of social and ecological collapse. The media I consume often depict Extinction Rebellion as quite extreme and lacking a clear structure to achieve its aims. I invited Manuel on to talk about this and much more. For anyone frustrated at the lack of large-scale environmental response or who feels heavily judged by environmentalists for not living a carbon-conscious lifestyle – this is the podcast for you. This is a well-rounded chat with someone who deeply cares about the state of our planet and who is willing to sacrifice a lot to demonstrate this passion. If you want to learn more about Manuel and/or Extinction Rebellion, check out the links below. Thanks to Manuel for this time, all the best friends!

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Ronni Abergel is an author and founder of the Human Library Organization, where real people with real stories are on loan to readers instead of books. At the Human Library, people have the opportunity to talk with others who are often discriminated against to find out about their lives and to get a better idea of what’s it like to be them. A man who is deeply committed to facilitating communication and making our society a less judgemental place, Ronni started the Human Library at a festival in Denmark 20 years ago and it is now located in 85 countries across the world. This conversation covers a lot, including the collective intolerance of the intolerant, our lack of curiosity and the power of conversation. We also discuss the process of changing people’s opinions and perspectives on issues and how this usually takes an extended period of time. This serves as inspiration for having conversations with people we disagree strongly. We won’t change their mind immediately and vice versa but if there is curiosity and respect, greater understanding can be achieved. If you want to learn more about Ronni and The Human Library, check the link below in the show notes. Finally, thanks to Ronni for his time. Seb and I really enjoyed this. 

https://humanlibrary.org/

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Our guest this week is Dr Iseult Twamley, who is a Clinical Psychologist and Open Dialogue Trainer/Supervisor. She is Clinical Lead of the Irish Open Dialogue implementation in West Cork, which she initiated with a successful implementation grant. Since 2012 she and the team there have been implementing Open Dialogue as part of the Adult Mental Health Service. This project has been very well received by service users and families and described as “transformative” by staff involved. Put succinctly, Open Dialogue is an innovative, network-based approach to psychiatric care. It could well be a future model of care in Ireland and beyond in the coming years. We invited Iseult on to discuss Open Dialogue more thoroughly, how it came about, how does it work, who can it potentially help and much more. For anyone who has been frustrated by the mainstream medical model, this will be a very important listen. There are alternative approaches out there helping people with a wide array of conditions. I’ve left a link of Iseult’s bio below for those who want to learn more about her and open dialogue. I’ve also left the link for a great documentary about Open Dialogue for anyone interested. Thanks to Iseult for her time and thank you for listening!

https://dialoguerevolution.com/about-us/dr-iseult-twamley-bio/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDVhZHJagfQ&t=84s

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Sarri Gilman is a psychotherapist, author, and speaker and has over 35 years of experience as a marriage and family therapist. She also has decades of experience as a community worker starting organisations such as Cocoon House and One Childhood lasts a lifetime before deciding to focus totally on people's development. Her 2014 book ‘Transform Your Boundaries’ highlighted how acknowledging, setting and clearly articulating our boundaries can deepen our relationship with ourselves. Sarri is widely regarded as a leading world expert on boundaries so it was an absolute honour to have her own to talk about her area of expertise. So what exactly are boundaries? Sarri describes it simply as our yeses and our nos. What we feel comfortable doing and what we do not. So why are we talking about boundaries? Well, Sarri tells me that as a psychotherapist, she believes that boundaries are at the heart of why most people end up in therapy. These can be boundaries between ourselves and our partners, our parents or guardians, our jobs and even our use of technology. I have benefited hugely from Sarri’s work and I am delighted I can share this conversation with you.

https://www.sarrigilman.com/

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This week our guest is Lee Teresa Moore who is an advocate for raising awareness about dissociative disorders and complex PTSD. We are also joined by her lovely partner Paul. In this podcast, Lee discusses some of the major events in her life that now, can be viewed retrospectively as trauma resurfacing. As our previous guest Dr Mike Lloyd mentioned in our conversation a few months ago, some brains in a response to incredibly shocking and traumatic events can eradicate the event or events from conscious memory or create several personalities to help process the trauma. This episode hopes to shed light on what it is like for someone in this position, such as Lee who after decades of misdiagnosis was diagnosed with dissociative amnesia several years ago. We also hear from her partner, Paul on the challenges of this condition as someone on the outside looking in. This may be a difficult listen for some as harrowing events are mentioned. We thank you for your curiosity in learning more about dissociative disorders and we thank Lee and Paul for their time and kindness. @leemoorewales

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Milo O’Shea had a very significant impact on my development in my teenage years and beyond. He was a unique figure in my secondary school who never shied away from showing his students how he really felt. This wasn’t always pretty but it was human. This aspect of humanity is crucial to the growth of young people, in my opinion. Milo was one of the few teachers in my life that really demonstrated an interest in the student’s development, as a person – not just academically. I specifically remember him telling my class one day that it will be our attitude and perspective out there that will dictate our experience of life rather than the results of upcoming exams. As the years have passed by, these words have never veered too far away from my regular thought rotation. I wanted to record a conversation with him to talk about how he cultivated that perspective in himself, the need for deep internal questioning, how he views teaching, the power of music and poetry to evoke inspiration and much more. This was a special chat for me and I’m very grateful he agreed to come on. I’m very confident that anyone who has a fond memory of an early teacher or mentor will take something from this.

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Matthew Thompson is an entrepreneur, host of two podcasts, a father, a husband and a friend. You might remember our interview last year with Dr Steve Ilardi, who is the author of the mega-famous book “The Depression Cure, the 6 step programme to beat depression without drugs- Well, Dr Steve linked myself and Matt together and since then I’ve learned a lot from him. This is a long conversation but I truly believe there’s so much in it. In this podcast, we cover dopamine (Matt has recently interviewed Dopamine expert Dr Anna Lembke), what is in our control and what is not and how delineating this is huge for our mental health. We discuss non-violent communication. We also talk about the need for compassion and confrontation in our relationships and the lifelong work of learning the different combinations of the two we need for the situations we find ourselves in (yes, we allude to the recent Will Smith/ Chris Rick incident). Matt also emphasises the importance of creating a programme for ourselves to help our mental health and committing to the programme as much as we can. This man has come from some very dark lows of depression and addiction and it’s fantastic to see him doing so well but for everyone listening, including myself, we can only go one step at a time.

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Jill Vialet is the founder of Playworks, the leading American non-profit leveraging the power of safe, fun, and healthy play at school every day. Playworks creates a place for every kid on the playground to feel included, be active, and build valuable social and emotional skills. Playworks partners with schools, districts, and after-school programs to provide a service or mix of services including on-site coaches, professional training for school staff who support recess, and consultative partnerships. In this conversation, Jill informs us of the significance of play for children, adolescents and adults and its relationship to a more engaged, communicative society. I asked Jill on as I have been thinking about the lack of play and fun in our jam-packed lives. Jill speaks with a wise nuance and with a passion that is truly uplifting. I hope this podcast might encourage you to look at the less serious aspects of life such as play with more reverence and crucial to our personal and collective wellbeing. If you would like to learn more about Jill or the work of Playworks, please see the link below. Thanks a mill friends!

https://www.playworks.org/

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Our recent conversation with Valentina Auliso is not the easiest to concisely describe. Perhaps the best way is to indirectly start with the fact that myself and Seb see and experience the world quite differently. This can be difficult for both of us but I also think it helps us generate an intriguing conversation for a wider group of people. Seb is often sceptical of people who work in the world of things that can’t be measured whereas I am closer to a default ‘could be’ because of the experiences I’ve had that can’t be bluntly explained or measured. Enter Valentina, a woman who is incredibly passionate about the world of energetic healing. She combines her experience with yoga and chi kung, which is a Korean system using breathing, movement and meditation to aid mind, body and spirit. For those who question the sincerity of those working with an emphasis on the soul, this conversation is a pretty unique opportunity to hear dialogue between two people who see the world differently in a respectful and fruitful manner. To me, Valentina’s life is a testament to the strength of the heart and the soul in a world which can feel like an endless onslaught on everything and everyone we hold dear. A quote from WB Yeats comes to mind which is, 'The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.' Emerging from early family trauma, Valentina left home to study and to travel and like many of us had a deep desire to change the world. Somewhere along the way, she began deepening her own relationship with herself and laying down the foundations for her own healing. There’s a lot in here and I’m sure you’ll take something for this chat. Valentina holds private online classes to help people with a variety of challenges they may be experiencing and if you are attracted to Valentina’s perspective and how she speaks, please contact her using the link left below. Thanks to Valentina and thanks for listening, all the best!

https://healingpractices.eu/

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