The Open Nesters

[AMIR] Reflections on a past episode. A highly stimulating, kinky and sexy episode from Season 2 (Buckle and Strap On). In some ways I hope you missed this one and that we can reflect on it here. Then you can go back and listen to the whole thing… afterward. I excerpt my favorite points in my first solo episode in our three seasons of The Open Nesters. And I have to say it is really a pleasure to muse on.. kinky pleasure and pursuits.

As for the form of this ‘solo reflection episode’… we’re excited about it. So often we “go long” with our guests, delving into the depths of their world in great detail. Here we get to pick and choose from the episode and deliver what we think are new insights… after the fact. A little bit of reflection can go a long way.

Let us know what you think… and continue the conversation jump on our private Facebook group or send us a note at [email protected].

Tessa Krone is the engine behind and the face of The Open Nesters.

Tessa holds an MA in Consciousness Studies and is a speaker, coach, program, and journey facilitator & leader, author, and, of course, Podcaster.

Her offerings are based on her mission to help people open to their most self-expressed, loving selves. Tessa’s specialties include embodiment from all the senses and elements of our inner and outer lives, ranging from mindfulness, dance, play, and sensory exploration in nature. If she had one superpower, it would be to help people, especially as they age, to live more open-hearted lives.

Please email Tessa to make a connection. And visit her page here on the Open Nesters Website. If you like, please answer the question:

What do you need to OPEN your NEST? In your LIFE. In your BODY. In your SPIRIT. Do you need MORE…

[TESSA] We have Peg and Paul this week on The Open Nesters Podcast. As I listened to our work after doing the interview it was like eavesdropping on one of a million conversations that 60-something’s are having all over the world. I think the value here is to hear how others make their decisions and hedge, and bob and weave… and – basically… live.

To continue the conversation jump on our private Facebook group or send me a note at [email protected].

Tessa Krone is the engine behind and the face of The Open Nesters.

Tessa holds an MA in Consciousness Studies and is a speaker, coach, program, and journey facilitator & leader, author, and, of course, Podcaster.

Her offerings are based on her mission to help people open to their most self-expressed, loving selves. Tessa’s specialties include embodiment from all the senses and elements of our inner and outer lives, ranging from mindfulness, dance, play, and sensory exploration in nature. If she had one superpower, it would be to help people, especially as they age, to live more open-hearted lives.

Please email Tessa to make a connection. And visit her page here on the Open Nesters Website. If you like, please answer the question:

What do you need to OPEN your NEST? In your LIFE. In your BODY. In your SPIRIT. Do you need MORE…

[TESSA] This is an emotional episode. With the crisis in Israel and the passing of my father a few months ago, I really needed to speak with Kit Pappenheimer. You may remember, from season two, our conversation with Kit and her husband, Jeff: Love in the Third Third of Act III. If not you might revisit that one. We had a wide-ranging conversation about their past lives and their current relationship. We discussed Jeff’s fascinating business venture and Kit’s work during the pandemic with individuals facing big life-changing and life-ending challenges.

But for our conversation today, I really wanted to understand and process loss and grief. Our world is giving us so many grave instances that challenge our ability to get through the day that I hope this discussion helps those in need of some tools to deal with it all. And in the midst of our chat we spend some time on legacy. How we want to be remembered. And by whom.

Through the beauty of this podcast medium, you have the opportunity to listen in on our conversation and grow some in the process. I know I felt a lot better after speaking with Kit.

To continue the conversation jump on our private Facebook group or send me a note at [email protected].

I am dedicated to helping you focus on what really matters.

Are you ready to flirt with your mortality? To live more fully and consciously now— with the end in mind?

To examine your legacy and embrace your influence as an elder, to not only impact yourself but also contribute to a broader shift in societal perceptions of aging and end-of-life matters. This is my dream.

My 15 years as an educational executive, leadership coach, and volunteer caregiver for the Zen Hospice Project in San Francisco give me unique insight into the issues you may be facing as you age and as you take care of parents who are facing their own end-of-life challenges.

My passion and my calling is to help you recognize your influence, name and own your dreams, and create a conscious legacy.

Tessa Krone is the engine behind and the face of The Open Nesters.

Tessa holds an MA in Consciousness Studies and is a speaker, coach, program, and journey facilitator & leader, author, and, of course, Podcaster.

Her offerings are based on her mission to help people open to their most self-expressed, loving selves. Tessa’s specialties include embodiment from all the senses and elements of our inner and outer lives, ranging from mindfulness, dance, play, and sensory exploration in nature. If she had one superpower, it would be to help people, especially as they age, to live more open-hearted lives.

Please email Tessa to make a connection. And visit her page here on the Open Nesters Website. If you like, please answer the question:

What do you need to OPEN your NEST? In your LIFE. In your BODY. In your SPIRIT. Do you need MORE…

[TESSA]  This episode is all about NOT trying to stay young. Because, if you think about it… none of us are going to stay young.

Rather this episode is about all that goes with aging. In fact, we spend a considerable amount of time talking about ageism. We take a hard look at the names we ascribe to ourselves and to others as we grow older. What about that comment we hear and may even use “You look so good for your age.” Hmmm… maybe that’s not actually the compliment that we may think it is.

We discuss dating outside of our age range. Good idea? Bad idea?

Should we strive to look, act, and earn like a younger person than we are?

We have two experts on this topic, a returning guest, Ashton Applewhite, and Kyrie Carpenter, who is very active in this space.

Through the beauty of this podcast medium, you have the opportunity to listen in on our conversation which I found to be so stimulating. To continue the conversation jump on our private Facebook group or send me a note at [email protected].

I didn’t set out to become a writer. I went into publishing because I loved to read and didn’t have any better ideas. I had a weakness for the kind of jokes that make you cringe and guffaw at the same time, my boss kept telling me to write them down, and the collection turned into the best-selling paperback of 1982. I was a clue on “Jeopardy” (“Who is the author of Truly Tasteless Jokes?” Answer: “Blanche Knott.”), and as Blanche made publishing history by occupying four of the fifteen spots on the New York Times bestseller list. I regret having written the books, but I wrote them.

My first serious book, Cutting Loose: Why Women Who End Their Marriages Do So Well, was published by HarperCollins in 1997. Ms.magazine called it “rocket fuel for launching new lives,” and it landed me on Phyllis Schlafly’s Eagle Forum enemies list. It also got me invited to join the board of the nascent Council on Contemporary Families, a group of distinguished family scholars. I belonged to the Artist’s Network of Refuse & Resist group that originated the anti-Iraq-invasion slogan and performance pieces titled “Our Grief is Not a Cry for War.” As a contributing editor of IEEE Spectrum magazine, I went to Laos to cover a village getting internet access via a bicycle-powered computer. I was on staff at the American Museum of Natural History for 17 years, where I wrote about everything under the Sun, quitting in 2017 to become a full-time activist.

The catalyst for Cutting Loose was puzzlement: why was our notion of women’s lives after divorce (visualize depressed dame on barstool) so different from the happy and energized reality? A similar question gave rise to This Chair Rocks: why is our view of late life so unrelievedly grim when the lived reality is so different? I began blogging about aging and ageism in 2007 and started speaking on the subject in July, 2012, which is also when I started the Yo, Is This Ageist? blog.

Tessa Krone is the engine behind and the face of The Open Nesters.

Tessa holds an MA in Consciousness Studies and is a speaker, coach, program, and journey facilitator & leader, author, and, of course, Podcaster.

Her offerings are based on her mission to help people open to their most self-expressed, loving selves. Tessa’s specialties include embodiment from all the senses and elements of our inner and outer lives, ranging from mindfulness, dance, play, and sensory exploration in nature. If she had one superpower, it would be to help people, especially as they age, to live more open-hearted lives.

Please email Tessa to make a connection. And visit her page here on the Open Nesters Website. If you like, please answer the question:

What do you need to OPEN your NEST? In your LIFE. In your BODY. In your SPIRIT. Do you need MORE…

[TESSA] We have an interesting experiential journey across a 50-minute interview with father and son, Adam and Isaac. Adam (the father) explains Cuddle Party and the importance of human touch. Isaac (the son) teaches us about nature through his adoption of the Japanese practice known as Forest Bathing.

BEING RELEASED: Isaac had so much to say about himself being “released” by his father to go out and explore his world. And he recently “released” his son (at a relatively young age) to a European adventure, allowing him to have the experiences that he wants to have.

Laughing Tree Life (Isaac)

Adam had a lovely take on Open Nesting – where we empower our children, giving that power back, creating an environment where a person can discover their own power.

Note we interviewed Reid Mihalko, a mutual connection who also has vast experience with Cuddle Party (in fact he was one of the founders), in Season One – you should listen to that one.

You already know what to do. It isn’t a lack of knowing what path to take that keeps you blocked. It is all clutter that has accumulated on your path. Nature-Based Coaching can help you clear that clutter and reestablish your footing on the path to greater freedom, fulfilling love, and life’s purpose.

Tessa Krone is the engine behind and the face of The Open Nesters.

Tessa holds an MA in Consciousness Studies and is a speaker, coach, program, and journey facilitator & leader, author, and, of course, Podcaster.

Her offerings are based on her mission to help people open to their most self-expressed, loving selves. Tessa’s specialties include embodiment from all the senses and elements of our inner and outer lives, ranging from mindfulness, dance, play, and sensory exploration in nature. If she had one superpower, it would be to help people, especially as they age, to live more open-hearted lives.

Please email Tessa to make a connection. And visit her page here on the Open Nesters Website. If you like, please answer the question:

What do you need to OPEN your NEST? In your LIFE. In your BODY. In your SPIRIT. Do you need MORE…

[TESSA] It is Q&A Time with Amir. We’re going to cover a lot of ground in about 25 minutes so buckle your seatbelts.

I want to call this one “no holds barred” questioning. This is in some ways my chance to do an on-air Q&A with Amir… to tap into his thinking on ACT III of life. The topic is Late Bloomer’s Success.

It turns out Amir is indeed a late bloomer. From kissing, to sex to marriage to having children. Even business building – in a really meaningful way – a late bloomer. He makes a compelling case for the virtues of blooming late. In fact Amir in some ways out the “rules of finding success later in life” in his comments.

So push play to see how this “Amir on the spot” episode pans out.

Tessa Krone is the engine behind and the face of The Open Nesters.

Tessa holds an MA in Consciousness Studies and is a speaker, coach, program, and journey facilitator & leader, author, and, of course, Podcaster.

Her offerings are based on her mission to help people open to their most self-expressed, loving selves. Tessa’s specialties include embodiment from all the senses and elements of our inner and outer lives, ranging from mindfulness, dance, play, and sensory exploration in nature. If she had one superpower, it would be to help people, especially as they age, to live more open-hearted lives.

Please email Tessa to make a connection. And visit her page here on the Open Nesters Website. If you like, please answer the question:

What do you need to OPEN your NEST? In your LIFE. In your BODY. In your SPIRIT. Do you need MORE…

[TESSA] Our guest this week, Kim DeYoung, is the Choice coach, author of The Book of Choice and host of The Voice of Choice. Kim’s particular kind of genius is helping thoughtful people make intentional choices that allow them to live more examined lives. By making conscious choices, they become who they want to be.

Kim shares a number of stories about her children. I loved her interaction with her 24-year-old son (and his college buddies). They meet multiple times each year and check-in. It’s so beautiful. Kim has coined this phrase and idea… Choice Mapping. More about that here:

Whether you’re facing a mundane decision or standing before a pivotal crossroads, Choice Mapping provides a framework for exploring a meaningful choice in greater depth. Mapping empowers you to find your way from where you are to where you want to be.

Through mapping, you’ll gain the clarity and confidence to make the choice that aligns with the person you aspire to be, forging the path that matters to you. Mapping unlocks the possibility to chart your own course, enabling you to design a life that’s uniquely satisfying,  purposeful and thoughtful.

I treasure exploring the depth and nuance of other people’s choices. When clients, friends and family feel stuck, I remind them that they have immense power to shape their future by making conscious and proactive choices.

Utilizing my Choice Mapping process, I engage in deep dive conversations with people of all ages and stages who are eager to discern what may be holding them back from doing what they want to do, as well as keen to draw inspiration from past choices to guide their future.

With my attentive and compassionate listening skills, combined with my intuitive inquiry style, I guide people through an individualized self-discovery process, unlocking their innate wisdom, to make empowered personal, professional and relationship choices.

While engaging in deep-dive conversations, both privately and in groups, I offer a fresh perspective and new insights, revealing aspects of a choice that may have escaped attention.

Tessa Krone is the engine behind and the face of The Open Nesters.

Tessa holds an MA in Consciousness Studies and is a speaker, coach, program, and journey facilitator & leader, author, and, of course, Podcaster.

Her offerings are based on her mission to help people open to their most self-expressed, loving selves. Tessa’s specialties include embodiment from all the senses and elements of our inner and outer lives, ranging from mindfulness, dance, play, and sensory exploration in nature. If she had one superpower, it would be to help people, especially as they age, to live more open-hearted lives.

Please email Tessa to make a connection. And visit her page here on the Open Nesters Website. If you like, please answer the question:

What do you need to OPEN your NEST? In your LIFE. In your BODY. In your SPIRIT. Do you need MORE…

[TESSA] It’s like bringing the band together – in this case for the first time on the air. Tessa, Amir… and Mr. PJ. PJ Ewing has been a part of our podcast troop since the beginning. We have learned so much about how to build our show to the success that it is together. We feed off one another. The concept that captures what we do is “cross-pollination.” I have a theme idea, Amir validates and expands on it, PJ visualizes it and helps us fill it out a bit. We build separately. We build together.

So it is great fun to have PJ on the show as a guest.

And after all these years of working together… I found out some new things about PJ. I attribute these discoveries to the medium itself. A broadcast. A podcast… oftentimes acts like a truth serum. It brings out secrets, revelations, and surprises. As you will hear, PJ felt comfortable in sharing some intimate facts about his own darkness and challenges a few years back.

I’ll leave it up to you to listen to our chat. And share your comments as you like on our Facebook page or even join our private group. PJ is a part of the conversation in each of those forums.

Lester the Nightfly Radio

A show about music. Yes. More specifically – A show about music we don’t already know. Our favorites from high school? Maybe once is a while. Somebody else’s discoveries… songs that drive them crazy, spin in their heads 24/7, make them happy… absolutely.

More than 125 episodes of musical explorations that you can hear now at PJ’s website.

Tessa Krone is the engine behind and the face of The Open Nesters.

Tessa holds an MA in Consciousness Studies and is a speaker, coach, program, and journey facilitator & leader, author, and, of course, Podcaster.

Her offerings are based on her mission to help people open to their most self-expressed, loving selves. Tessa’s specialties include embodiment from all the senses and elements of our inner and outer lives, ranging from mindfulness, dance, play, and sensory exploration in nature. If she had one superpower, it would be to help people, especially as they age, to live more open-hearted lives.

Please email Tessa to make a connection. And visit her page here on the Open Nesters Website. If you like, please answer the question:

What do you need to OPEN your NEST? In your LIFE. In your BODY. In your SPIRIT. Do you need MORE…

[TESSA] Courage… friend of the podcast… courage!!!

These two, Jeremy Crane and Marni Batista, are just like you. They want a lot out of life. They know that there are risks to making big decisions. They are not “made of money.”

What defines them is that they have this little thing called courage. Plus they are not afraid to dream big. But what does that mean in real life?

For Marni and Jeremy, it meant divorce. Dating. Selling a home. Buying an RV. Living across the USA. Living overseas. Making a home for themselves and their children wherever they happen to be. Mistakes? Sure. Plenty. A perfect happy life – no – not always… of course.

Institute for Living Courageously

But living… REALLY living!! Yes yes yes.

Our admiration and big kudos to these two people. Once you listen I am sure you will be as inspired as Amir and I are about the life that is available to us all – if we too can find the courage to go get it!

The Institute for Living Courageously is the preeminent, research-based transformational personal development company for successful women who want to create fulfilling and meaningful lives on their terms without sacrificing the success they have worked so hard to achieve.

Marni Battista is the founder of The Institute for Living Courageously and Dating with Dignity. Having been married for 17 years, divorced, happily married and living life on her terms, Marni understands what it feels like to be afraid to unlock the truth of what your heart and soul truly longs for.

Through her own journey to create life on her terms, Marni felt called to create a process to shorten the journey for other women suffering from the inability to design the life they truly love in a way that feels emotionally safe and fulfilling. She discovered, in fact, that creating this process was truly the mission of her soul and purpose.

Tessa Krone is the engine behind and the face of The Open Nesters.

Tessa holds an MA in Consciousness Studies and is a speaker, coach, program, and journey facilitator & leader, author, and, of course, Podcaster.

Her offerings are based on her mission to help people open to their most self-expressed, loving selves. Tessa’s specialties include embodiment from all the senses and elements of our inner and outer lives, ranging from mindfulness, dance, play, and sensory exploration in nature. If she had one superpower, it would be to help people, especially as they age, to live more open-hearted lives.

Please email Tessa to make a connection. And visit her page here on the Open Nesters Website. If you like, please answer the question:

What do you need to OPEN your NEST? In your LIFE. In your BODY. In your SPIRIT. Do you need MORE…

[TESSA] The wisdom of silence. It brings so much to mind. When you consider that word what do you think about? Yoga? A pause in your day? A morning ritual? The times in between? Contemplation.

As it turns out silence is a thing you can practice. It can help you become more familiar with your own self. A means of feeling your body and looking at your mind. Just the act of inhaling and exhaling has a space in between… a pause… a silence. Try it right now – see that space in between?

Edi does not speak in generalities in this podcast episode. In fact, we do a silence exercise to start. Edi is so articulate: she is able to take us through the thinking behind the yoga practice that she teaches… you may feel like you are inside one of Edi’s sessions in this conversation. So – yes – it’s really great!

Leaving you with these words – prior to listening to our conversation about the wisdom of silence.

Edi Pasalis on Linkedin

Edi Pasalis at Kripalu

Before stepping into the lead faculty role at Kripalu, Edi Pasalis spent a decade on the Kripalu Leadership team as the Director of the Kripalu Institute for Extraordinary Living where she helped birth RISE™, Kripalu’s evidence-based initiative to create more people-centered, emotionally intelligent workplaces. She oversaw the mindful resilience training of thousands of educators, health and human services providers, law enforcement personnel, business leaders, and middle and high school students.

Outcomes of this work have been published in the Journal of Workplace Behavioral Health and the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine and have been presented at the Worksite Wellness Council of MA, American Academy of Management, the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine & Healthcare, the Embodied Positive Psychology Conference, and the Symposium on Yoga Research.

Edi has been learning, growing, and serving through yoga for over 25 years. She holds certificates in Kripalu Yoga and Positive Psychology and master’s degrees from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business and Harvard Divinity School, and is a student of the Presencing Institute for awareness-based systems change. Edi is amazed by the power of practice, and is particularly interested in how yoga helps people connect to shared aliveness and embody greater wellbeing for ourselves, our communities, and the planet.

You can read some of Edi’s written work at the links below.

The great yogis, knowing all things are interconnected, have always applied the wisdom of yoga to the world around them.

READ THE ARTICLE

Do you feel overwhelmed by the scope of challenges facing us right now?

READ THE ARTICLE

Embodying Happiness: The Positive Power of Yoga

READ THE ARTICLE

Tessa Krone is the engine behind and the face of The Open Nesters.

Tessa holds an MA in Consciousness Studies and is a speaker, coach, program, and journey facilitator & leader, author, and, of course, Podcaster.

Her offerings are based on her mission to help people open to their most self-expressed, loving selves. Tessa’s specialties include embodiment from all the senses and elements of our inner and outer lives, ranging from mindfulness, dance, play, and sensory exploration in nature. If she had one superpower, it would be to help people, especially as they age, to live more open-hearted lives.

Please email Tessa to make a connection. And visit her page here on the Open Nesters Website. If you like, please answer the question:

What do you need to OPEN your NEST? In your LIFE. In your BODY. In your SPIRIT. Do you need MORE…