This Human Experience with Allie Nunzi

Paul McCartney and John Lennon wrote a not-so-popular-for-The-Beatles song, “The End”, that so many people quote: “And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.”

If there is one thing we seem to be failing at as human beings these days, it is realizing our individual responsibility of having our words, actions, and inactions align with the kind of world we want to live in and communities we want to be a part of. If you want the world to be a certain way, then you are the one to act accordingly. Seems obvious that the world will reflect with you put out, right? It isn’t.

In this conversation, Allie connects with her dear friend and comedian Christian Correa. Comedians have a brilliant way of pointing out the total absurdity in the obvious… the stuff that the rest of us overlook. They also chat about the psychological constructs that shape our beliefs in politics, social issues, and “others”; having the courage to confront what is not working; and examining the microcosm of humanity that is our own communities.

There is a dismantling of the world in action now and a budding of a new world that we are designing together. As the dismantling of old constructs goes, it can be chaotic and confusing. As we navigate this new frontier, consider that your body is the instrument that has the ability to support you and be your guide — your inner GPS. Science informs us the function of the mind-body connection is a way to regulate ourselves and first, we must use inquiry as a tool to become aware of what’s actually going on with us. We must take a good hard look in the mirror. Without contemplating what’s shaping our language, values, beliefs, and actions, the world will shape it for us.

In this episode, you’ll hear a conversation with Goal Coach and Motivational Speaker Jacki Carr on the ways we can choose to use goal setting methodology in an incredibly practical way to create the kind of community and world we want to live in. Jacki reminds us that, “We are the designers, we are the editors — we are the becoming.”

With so much noise in the world — in our ears and on the screens we are holding in the palm of our hands — it’s often challenging to know what or who is worth listening to. So how do we know what’s worth our time, energy, and devotion?

As Allie sits down with Grey’s Anatomy actor, Devin Way in this episode, he invites us to do these three things — stop, see, and listen — as a means to cultivate discernment in our lives. In this tearful and joyful conversation, the two explore the ways in which we can be with people wholly as they are.

Children are tuned in. Perhaps it’s because they are closer to what we don’t understand or because they haven’t yet been conditioned to unlearn all the wisdom they arrived here with. If we slow down and listen, they have a lot to share with us about the natural world and the nature of what it means to be human.

In this episode, Allie interviews Global Motivator and Senior SoulCycle Instructor Danielle McCleerey and they dive into this topic. They discuss how they’ve allowed their toddlers to be their teachers; how parenting is simply the ushering in of someone else’s human experience in its full expression; and the ultimate welcome mat in life — listening.

How can we let people be as they are? How willing are we to let our children lead? What would happen if we asked better questions and did a better job of listening? These are all questions that will be answered in episode 9 of This Human Experience.

In the world of social media influencers selling you cool, Documentary Filmmaker and Serial Entrepreneur Desh Amila is out to revolutionize the ultimate cool — intelligent conversations.

Through his company This Is 42, Desh aims to advance humankind by bringing passionate people together to discuss intelligence in all of its diversity, exploring new horizons across art, science, culture, design, sports, and music. In 2018, he released his first documentary, Islam and the Future of Tolerance — which became the #1 iTunes download worldwide. He’s due to release his second documentary Better Left Unsaid about the current polarizing environment of politics.

In this episode, Allie and Desh discuss his journey from growing up in Sri Lanka and living through a civil war for over 2 decades to moving to Australia and becoming an entrepreneur, entertainer, and educator on a global scale; how progress has happened throughout history in 2 ways — violence & conversation — and why now is the time to lead societal change through civil dialogue; and the framework to have productive conversations with people and communities we fundamentally do not agree with.

Lucca Petrucci is back for part 2 of his conversation with Allie about faith, vocation — the calling on your life — and readiness.

We can be ready to leave for work in the morning — we can wake up, we can shower, we can brush our teeth, we can comb our hair, we can eat breakfast, and we can put our shoes on.

Where we get tripped up is when we think the concept of readiness is necessary when we’re being called to make a life shift, a switch, or big decision. Like there’s something that we need to do before we can do all that. The truth is there’s no amount of planning, training, or advice that will make us more ready for what we sense there is to do in our gut.

In today’s world, there’s a new way of leading and living, and it requires this intuitive action. In this chat, Lucca refers to his intuitive action as his pixie dust — the blend of merriment, life’s purpose, and the full acceptance of the total spectrum within and around us.

In this episode, Allie and Lucca talk about faith defined as belief in the unseen + committed action; how perfection is unconditional acceptance; and why our ordinary is the exact thing that makes us extraordinary.

There’s a great pandemic at play in the world today and it’s not just the very real novel Coronavirus — what we’re talking about is the plague of cynicism. This is what keeps people stuck in the fear of stepping out on faith, in resignation from creating a new way to live amongst one another, in the despair from not knowing if things will get any better, and in the disbelief that change can be ours if we choose it. It keeps us disconnected, discontented, and perpetuates a culture of dis-compassion.

We were meant for joy. It’s a health secret. We were meant to celebrate who we are and love one another.

This episode’s guest Lucca Petrucci, a Possibility and Marketing Strategist and the producer of this podcast, reminds us that within every person on the planet, there is, what he calls, the pixie dust — the magical things within that allow us to create our reality from our dreams.

All you have to do is believe and have faith. The truth is that you are ready now for a life of magic, grace, and joy. And first is the work of accepting life, and people, as is.

In part one of this conversation, Allie and Lucca talk about his journey from hiding in judgment and fear to stepping into his full brightness and coming out as a proud openly gay, Christian man; how unconditional acceptance trumps unconditional love; the importance of transforming your relationship to the word faith; and why the happiest place on earth is actually the place within.

Right now, we are amidst a social reckoning that’s been 100+ years in the making, and in this episode, Allie has called on one of her dear friends Ericka Jones to help us understand what’s even happening. Ericka is a Global Diversity and Inclusion Leader at Cargill — a global food corporation — and a modern day change leader and healer with more than 12 years of experience specific to diversity, equity and inclusion.

In this conversation, Allie and Ericka dive into how tenderness is the missing ingredient in our current attempt at societal progress — aka cancel culture — as well as intergenerational wisdom and what there’s to learn from Generation Z and our elders about racism and social injustice. They also discuss “the Amazon Effect” and how our desire for instant and rapid change isn’t actually changing anything at all.

Moments of discomfort are a form of self-confrontation; they give us great pause. What’s needed now is a transformation to our relationship with confrontation and disruption. When we are able to be with it- whether it’s getting called out or being agitated in some way- we can either use it as an excuse to shut down, run and hide and be righteous; or we can use it as grist for the mill or the sandpaper that refines our listening, awareness and wisdom. The uncomfortable moments often wake us up to a self-wisdom that may take decades to unfold or to even recognize and be grateful for their gold.

In this episode, you’ll hear a conversation with world renowned yoga teacher and former professional basketball Ryan Leier on the ways he has used really confronting circumstances in his own life- the death of a daughter, humility from falling off the pedestal and the journey of being a committed student- to learn and become stronger.

Wellness is a civil right, and long before we were looking at how people of color were unintentionally left out of the wellness community, Reverend Imani Olear was illuminating the fact that supposed healing environments were severely lacking access and subsequently were the cause for the very thing they were out to heal. Imani is a Luthern Pastor, a Spiritual Activist and Founder of Yoga 4 A Good Hood and Tru Yoga Rochester. She advocates for people to know what they may view as their deep brokenness may be, in fact, their deepest gift. Like she shares in this episode, “Your misery is your ministry and you can’t escape your calling.”

In this episode, Imani shares her journey from stripper and addict to pastor and yogi to beloved teacher. Allie and her talk through the significance of the analogy of breaking bread and how this simple act has the possibility to lead to world healing; how the world has forgotten about basic human rights; why they believe our greatest spiritual assignment is to love unconditionally; and how to live the “yes/and” life as opposed to the common default “either/or.”