This week on the show, I’m sharing my recent journey of initiation into the spiritual tradition of the Bwiti in Gabon, Africa.

What is the Bwiti?

Why Gabon?
Why did I choose to do this—and what did I gain from it?

All of these questions (and more) are answered in this episode. For 17 days, I stayed in village and underwent three initiatory ceremonies into the Bwiti tradition. Out of respect, many details remain held in my heart, but here I’ll paint the picture: the wisdom and lessons, the trials and tribulations, and the otherworldly moments in between.

Some Highlights:

- Lessons in community, passion, and living fully in the moment from my time with the Gabonese people

- Reflections on what is truly worthy of being held as precious in my life and spirituality

- Wisdom from my big iboga initiation ceremony, and how it has inspired me to move forward in my life

- A pivotal moment of choice: to descend into darkness, or to reclaim my source of radiance

This episode is both a glimpse into a sacred path and an invitation to reflect on your own journey of growth, resilience, and radiance.

If you’d like to connect with me, you can contact me here:

Instagram-

@schoolofwhispers

@__steef___

email-

[email protected]

If you would like to schedule an acupuncture appointment with me at my current clinic, Balance Point Acupuncture, you can either visit ⁠⁠www.balancepointacu.com⁠ ⁠or call 561-615-4535 to schedule your appointment today

DISCLAIMER: This podcast is presented for educational and exploratory purposes only. Published content is not intended to be used for diagnosing or treating any illness. Those responsible for this show disclaim responsibility for any possible adverse effects from the use of information presented by Stephanie or her guests.

This week’s episode is an interview with returning guest, Bonnie Biagioli. She’s a somatic breathwork practitioner, certified sound healer, Functional Medicine Health Coach, and yoga teacher who has dedicated years to deep personal work.

She shares her powerful journey of breast explant surgery after realizing her implants, which she had gotten over two decades ago, no longer resonated with who she had become. After making the decision to have the surgery, she realized they might have been contributing to health issues such as brain fog, heart palpitations, hair loss, and dark circles under her eyes.

She has felt profound changes since day one without them. Most transformative of all, Bonnie has experienced a shift in her heart space — breathing deeper, feeling lighter, and coming home to herself. This conversation is a raw and inspiring reminder of the remembering that comes from listening to your body and embracing it — scars and all.

Highlights

- Her experience growing up in a cult — and the courage it took to leave at 17

- What led her to choose breast implants

- How her body and energy transformed after explant surgery

- Her journey from seeking love, acceptance, and beauty externally to cultivating them from within

Connect with Bonnie:

https://www.withbonnie.com/

https://www.instagram.com/bonniebiagioli/

Related Episode:

Whispers of Trusting the Medicine with Bonnie #13

If you’d like to connect with Stephanie, you can find her here:

Instagram-

@schoolofwhispers

@__steef___/

email-

[email protected]

If you would like to schedule an acupuncture appointment with Stephanie at her current clinic, Balance Point Acupuncture, you can either visit ⁠www.balancepointacu.com⁠ or call 561-615-4535 to schedule your appointment today.

DISCLAIMER: This podcast is presented for educational and exploratory purposes only. Published content is not intended to be used for diagnosing or treating any illness. Those responsible for this show disclaim responsibility for any possible adverse effects from the use of information presented by Stephanie or her guests.

This week we have returning guest, Troy Valencia, on the show to share about his recent book: “Living Beyond the Mind: The End of Personal Suffering”.

Troy does a lot of things- he's an author, a dad, cofounder of Iboga retreat center, Root and Wisdom, and nonprofit, Sacred Roots Foundation, he's a spiritual teacher, mentor, and coach, and he's at the tail end of his doctoral program in clinical psychology.

Through Troy’s life experiences and studies, he realized that not only was suffering optional, but it was a product of the mind. In this book, he blends modern psychology, Indigenous wisdom, Eastern philosophy, and direct spiritual insight to help his reader break free from suffering at its root.

In a lot of ways, this interview is a continuation of Troy’s first interview on the show, #59 Whispers of Liberation from Suffering, so if you want more on this topic, click here.

Highlights from this Episode:

- An initiation experience in Africa with the Bwiti tradition that sparked the beginning of Living Beyond the Mind

- The ways in which modern psychology often falls short when it comes to helping people integrate spiritual experiences- brushing them off as depression or psychosis or other diagnoses

- An exploration of practices and principles such as “mind transcendence” and “the Middle Way”

- Troy’s perspective on parenting rooted in spiritual awareness

"Living Beyond the Mind: The End of Personal Suffering" on Amazon

If you’d like to work with Troy, you can find his information at ⁠www. rootandwisdom.com⁠  ⁠

You can also learn more about his non-profit at ⁠www.sacredrootsfoundation.com

If you’d like to connect with Troy on Instagram, you can find him ⁠@troyvalencia_ ⁠

If you’d like to connect with me, you can find me here:

Instagram-

@schoolofwhispers

@__steef___

email-

[email protected]

If you would like to schedule an acupuncture appointment with me, my current home office is called Balance Point Acupuncture. Visit ⁠www.balancepointacu.com⁠ or call 561-615-4535 to schedule your appointment today.

Tantra is an ancient tradition and tool for expansion and liberation. To break it down to its Sanskrit roots, "tan" means to stretch or expand, and "tra" translates to instrument or technique. While your host, Stephanie, is a very fresh student in this world, the practices and tools she's learned from her studies have had her wondering, "Why isn't everyone doing this??"

So on this episode Stephanie shares her walk into this tantric path, which unsurprisingly, started with a plant medicine ceremony, and launched her into the hardest breakup of her life. Practicing tantra has been the game changer, transforming her feelings of being a complete sad sack in this divorce into feeling like a thriving, radiant human.

Highlights from this episode:

- Stephanie's experience working on a 6- week course on left-handed tantric practices, called O-Bliss by Layla Martin, which has turned into a life-changing 6-month process

- Lessons on accessing turn on and radiance, regardless of what we’re moving through in life

- History of Goddess worship and the difference between a matrilineal society vs a matriarchal vs patriarchal society

- The left-handed path of tantra vs the right-handed path and why understanding this difference has helped Stephanie understand her own life

Show Notes:

Layla Martin and Mama Gena Podcast episode

O-Bliss Course by Layla Martin

Courses by Sally Kempton

Related Episode:

Whispers of Service and Iboga with Joaly Trinidad

If you’d like to connect with Stephanie, you can find her here:

Instagram-

@schoolofwhispers

@__steef___

[email protected]

DISCLAIMER: This podcast is presented for educational and exploratory purposes only. Published content is not intended to be used for diagnosing or treating any illness. Those responsible for this show disclaim responsibility for any possible adverse effects from the use of information presented by Stephanie or her guests.

This week's guest is Jonas Kilker, philosopher, actor, and avid student of spirituality and mysticism. Jonas' work and content, which you can find in the links below, go into rabbit holes that will have your questioning what you think you know about life and history.

This conversation between your host, Stephaine, a student of indigenous medicine, Goddess worship, and a spiritual woman of the 21st century, with Jonas, a Christian who questions everything, weaves through all sorts of topics which will leave you wishing there was a part 2.

Highlights from this episode:

- The difference between being religious and being spiritual

- The question of reincarnation and how it may be connected to our recurring dreams and daydreams

- spiritual concepts Jonas resonates with, which contradict traditional Christian beliefs

- The concept of blood memory

- How in 6 weeks of somatic coaching, Jonas completely eradicated debilitating pain

Connect with Jonas:

Instagram @jonaskilker

Youtube @jonaskilker

X @jonaskilker

If you’d like to connect with Stephanie, you can find her here:

Instagram-

@schoolofwhispers

@__steef___

email-

[email protected]

If you would like to schedule an acupuncture appointment with Stephanie at Balance Point Acupuncture, you can either visit ⁠www.balancepointacu.com⁠ or call 561-615-4535 to schedule your appointment today.

DISCLAIMER: This podcast is presented for educational and exploratory purposes only. Published content is not intended to be used for diagnosing or treating any illness. Those responsible for this show disclaim responsibility for any possible adverse effects from the use of information presented by Stephanie or her guests.

This week we’re diving into women’s cycles from your host, Stephanie’s, perspective. It’s one that’s shaped by her lived experience as a woman in Western society, her training in Chinese Medicine, and her ongoing curiosity and experimentation within the world of natural and holistic healing.

The intention of this episode is to offer a different way of understanding women’s cycles, to illuminate alternative paths for addressing gynecological imbalances, and to inspire a deeper reverence for the natural rhythms of the female body.

Episode Highlights:

- The source of our radiance as women

- A dive into female sex organ anatomy and why they’re considered extraordinary organs in Chinese medicine

- Learn how each phase of the menstrual cycle reflects the rhythms of yin and yang, the seasons, and times of day—offering insight into lifestyle shifts that support each stage

If this speaks to you, you can purchase my e-book, Whispers of Women’s Cycles from a Chinese Medicine Perspective, for just $10. Inside, you’ll find expanded teachings from the episode, guidance on identifying common patterns of imbalance, and food therapy suggestions tailored to each pattern.

To receive your copy, email [email protected] or send me a direct message on Instagram.

Instagram-

@schoolofwhispers

@__steef___

email-

[email protected]

If you would like to schedule an acupuncture appointment with Stephanie at Balance Point Acupuncture, you can either visit ⁠www.balancepointacu.com⁠ or call 561-615-4535 to schedule your appointment today.

DISCLAIMER: This podcast is presented for educational and exploratory purposes only. Published content is not intended to be used for diagnosing or treating any illness. Those responsible for this show disclaim responsibility for any possible adverse effects from the use of information presented by Stephanie or her guests.

This week's episode follows the path of Hope, who has formerly been on the show as Danika Gisvold. Last year, Hope left her career, left her home and community in Austin, deleted her social media, deleted all contacts in her phone, and started fresh in Oregon with her husband.

Doing this was not a rash decision, but a call from her heart when she allowed herself to be stripped back and humbled through plant medicine ceremonies and sitting back into silence.

This episode is about what happens when a soul fully follows the call to step into massive change with complete trust.

Episode Highlights:

- Why she changed her name from Danika to Hope and moved from her home and community in Austin

- The journey and lessons of being literally thrown in the mud and feeling her entire identity being scraped clean during a dieta in Peru

- Why Hope got off social media, and the shared experience of social media sucking our life force and reinforcing our egoic illusions

Related Episode:

Whispers of Owning Your Light (Language)

If you're reading this now, pause this episode, go outside, and take a moment to feel the sun and the fresh air. Take as much time as you need- close your eyes, take a few deep breaths, and listen.

DISCLAIMER: This podcast is presented for educational and exploratory purposes only. Published content is not intended to be used for diagnosing or treating any illness. Those responsible for this show disclaim responsibility for any possible adverse effects from the use of information presented by Stephanie or her guests.

This week is one of our favorite topics: food as medicine from a Chinese Medicine perspective. On this episode, your host, Stephanie, gets into the main patterns she sees in her clinical practice: Spleen Qi deficiency, Damp accumulation in the Middle Jiao/Middle Burner, Cold accumulation, Stomach Fire, Stomach Yin deficiency, Liver overacting Spleen, and a touch on Blood deficiency.

She also covers the following topics:

- how to decipher between pain due to Qi deficiency vs Qi stagnation

- how dampness forms in the body and how it can lead to substantial and nonsubstantial phlegm- which in turn can lead to a pattern of mental illness

- how to live and eat for your microbiome

and so much more.

Stephanie also answers the questions you've shared with her on Instagram!

If you're looking for an episode which gets into the foundations of food therapy, of Yin and Yang theory, and the Five Elements Theory, you can listen to episode #10: Whispers of the Energy of Our Food

Other related episodes:

10 Ways You're Hurting Your Health According to a Student of Chinese Medicine: part 1 and part 2

Whispers of Qi and Blood

Show Notes:

Healing with Whole Foods, Third Edition by Paul Pitchford

Mary Ruddick blog posts-

Gamma Waves: The Neuroelectric Alchemy of Grace

Galaxy of Good and Evil Bacteria: Navigating the Microbial Scales

Research on antibiotic use and mental illness-

Early life exposure to antibiotics and the risk of mood and anxiety disorders in children and adolescents: A population-based cohort study

Long-term antibiotic use during early life and risks to mental traits: an observational study and gene–environment-wide interaction study in UK Biobank cohort

Five Element Theory: https://www.tcmworld.org/what-is-tcm/five-elements/

If you’d like to connect with or work with Stephanie, you can find her here:

Instagram-

@schoolofwhispers

@__steef___

email-

[email protected]

If you would like to schedule an acupuncture appointment with Stephanie at Balance Point Acupuncture, you can either visit ⁠www.balancepointacu.com⁠ or call 561-615-4535 to schedule your appointment today.

DISCLAIMER: This podcast is presented for educational and exploratory purposes only. Published content is not intended to be used for diagnosing or treating any illness. Those responsible for this show disclaim responsibility for any possible adverse effects from the use of information presented by Stephanie or her guests.

This week we have writer, photographer, mother, and certified life coach, Kristine Casart, on the show. She’s recently published a very important book called, the Unconventional Addict: A Guide to Healing, Transformation, and Living with Purpose”, which explores her own life’s journey of personal growth while inviting others to look deeply into their own lives, uncover hidden strengths, and live a life filled with meaning.

As they will discuss in depth on this episode, the “unconventional addict” is someone who doesn’t check off all the boxes of what we assume would be a “typical” addict. But, as you’ll soon learn through Kristine’s story, you don’t have to match the typical addict or hit a hard rock bottom to set yourself free of dysfunctional relationships with substances and people. Addiction is a symptom of something deeper happening within, and Kristine’s story and life’s work guide people to reconnect with themselves, break free from limitations, and ignite the spark within.

Highlights from this episode:

- How Kristine realized her dreams of becoming an author

- The development of her shadowy, reckless alter ego, Samantha, during moments of trauma and dissociation in childhood

- Kristine and Stephanie’s shared experiences with addiction to suffering

- Community resources for people ready for recovery and the loved ones involved

Connect with Kristine:

www.kristinecasart.com

Buy her book on Amazon: "The Unconventioned Addict: A Guide to Healing, Transformation, and Living with Purpose"

Her Instagram: kristinecasart

Resources:

Find AA Meetings

Find CODA (codependents anonymous) Meetings

Find Al-Anon (for loved ones) Meetings

Sober Mom Squad

We Are the Luckiest: Online Sober Support Group

If you’d like to connect with Stephanie, you can find her here:

Instagram-

@schoolofwhispers

@__steef___

email-

[email protected]

If you would like to schedule an acupuncture appointment with Stephanie at Balance Point Acupuncture, you can either visit ⁠www.balancepointacu.com⁠ or call 561-615-4535 to schedule your appointment today.

DISCLAIMER: This podcast is presented for educational and exploratory purposes only. Published content is not intended to be used for diagnosing or treating any illness. Those responsible for this show disclaim responsibility for any possible adverse effects from the use of information presented by Stephanie or her guests.

Welcome to season 4 of the podcast!

In this opening episode, your host, Stephanie, invites you into the raw and real terrain of her current season of life—one shaped deeply by the tender process of moving through a breakup.

If you’ve ever been there, you know: heartbreak isn't easy. With openness and vulnerability, Stephanie shares reflections on what this experience is teaching her—about love, loss, and returning to herself.

She then weaves in the timeless love story of Shiva and Shakti—an epic tale of cosmic connection, karma, devotion, heartbreak, and ultimately, the remembering of the true Self.

This episode is for anyone who's experienced heartbreak, navigated disconnection from their heart, or is currently in relationship- because the greatest love story of all time isn’t just between gods… it lives within each of us.

video: "The Greatest Love Story of Shiva and Shakti" on Youtube

Related Episodes:

Whispers of Admitting You Are Powerless

Whispers of Wisdom From My Recent Iboga Journey

Whispers of Saturn Returns and Vedic Astrology with Dr. Steve Moreau

Whispers of The Emotions You Don't Want to Feel: Moving from victim to creator

If you’d like to connect with Stephanie, you can find her here:

Instagram-

@schoolofwhispers

@__steef___

email-

[email protected]

If you would like to schedule an acupuncture appointment with Stephanie at Balance Point Acupuncture, you can either visit ⁠www.balancepointacu.com⁠ or call 561-615-4535 to schedule your appointment today.

DISCLAIMER: This podcast is presented for educational and exploratory purposes only. Published content is not intended to be used for diagnosing or treating any illness. Those responsible for this show disclaim responsibility for any possible adverse effects from the use of information presented by Stephanie or her guests.