Two Inconvenient Women

Having a 'gut feeling' about something is perhaps a familiar sensation to many, but what does this actually mean? When we 'trust our gut' what is it that we're listening to? And how are intuition and gut feeling connected?

In this episode we dive deep into the 'wider senses' of the human body and think about what sort of additional intelligence we can be drawing on in our daily lives. Gut instinct is a primal element in all of us, but can become quite 'rusty' or dormant when not used - just like any other sense. What is energising is how there are many things we can do to re-awaken our sense of being intuitive and start to welcome in a wider form of intelligence. We look at many elements of both why it might be dormant in many of us, what we can do to re-liven our senses and what exactly might be happening when we tap into a deeper form of consciousness.

In this episode we reference the following:

• The Neuroscience of trusting your gut - Dr Tara Swart (website / podcast)
• Talking about anxiety - Martha Beck & Sarah Wilson (podcast)
• Whole Intelligence - Malcolm Parlett (book)
• The brain-gut connection - John Hopkins Medicine (website)
• The Nettle Dress (film)
• Intuition and spirituality (article)
• Go with the gut - Joel Pearson (article)
• The Blind Men and the Elephant - fable (cartoon)

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A painful truth in our current cultures is how much we are all struggling with our mental and emotional wellbeing. This is especially true in young people who are facing an increasing amount of overwhelm in their lives in this VUCA* world (*volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous). And yet the ways of suffering and the ways of wellbeing are actually two sides of the same coin...

Holly and Rachel are just back from Europe's largest trauma, mental health and wellbeing conference hosted at Oxford University, under the title 'Healing our relational world'. Bringing together over 3000 educators, therapists, mental health practitioners and healers with world-renowned trauma and emotional health experts, the conference was an extraordinarily rich and deep insight and exploration of how to heal our connection with ourselves, each other and the wider world.

In this episode we dive deeply into some of the 'brokenness' of our world (our inner and outer worlds) bringing in our own decade of research along with learnings from the conference. We look at some of the patterns in human behaviours that connect all of these elements of brokenness to better understand how to notice them and how to heal. We explore the impact of early attachment on shaping our relationships and the profound ways of healing in ourselves, our communities and with the planet. We touch on how the ways to respond to the symptoms and root causes of disconnection are the same and explore the foundational routes to healing.

In this episode we reference the following:

• Dr Dan Siegel - professor (website)
• Dr Bessel van der Kolk - psychiatrist (website)
• Dr Richard Shwartz - therapist, author (website)
• Linda Thai - trauma therapist (website)
• Interpersonal Neurobiology - Dan Siegel (video)
• The Body Keeps The Score - Bessel van der Kolk (book / website)
• Internal Family Systems - Dr Richard Shwartz (website)

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This week, Holly and Rachel are 'on-tour' for the podcast, which was recorded live from underneath a fig tree in a beautiful quad at Exeter College in Oxford. The (slightly shorter this week) recording took place one lunchtime mid-way through Europe's largest trauma, mental health and wellbeing conference hosted at Oxford University, under the title 'Healing our relational world'. Bringing together over 3000 educators, therapists, mental health practitioners and healers with world-renowned trauma and emotional health experts, the conference was an extraordinarily rich and deep insight and exploration of how to heal our connection with ourselves, each other and the wider world.

In this short episode we touch on some of the live inquiries that we're both engaged with, think about some of the provocations and illuminations that are being shared about emotional health and wellbeing and dig into some of the tricky issues we're grappling with. This podcast serves as an introduction to some of the bigger inquiries we'll be diving into next week when back home.

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In many societies across the world, we find a dominant habit of record keeping as part of the daily focus. Paperwork, recording, data-capture, spreadsheets, documentation and report-writing have become a staple of many organisations across the world; whilst our education systems and business models are firmly structured around ‘capturing data’ - oftentimes valuing this data above all else.

We can see this same pattern playing out in our social lives, with a fixation on capturing and sharing our life experiences via smartphones and through social media often infiltrating our enjoyment and engagement of simply being in the moment. But what happens when the capturing of life becomes more important than the living of it?

In this week’s episode of Two Inconvenient Women, Holly Everett and I explore the different ways that our cultures are encouraging an shift away from ‘living’ and experiencing life towards a fixation on reporting on it. We explore questions such as ‘When did the record of what we’re doing become more important than what we’re doing?’ ‘What is it that we’re trying to do with our obsession with capturing and recording?’ ‘Are we starting to rely – even trust – data more than our own lived experience?’

In this episode we reference the following:

·      Photography Life – When the photographer doesn’t shoot (article)

·      Engaging Iain McGilchrist: Ascetical practice, brain lateralization, and philosophy of mind (article)

·      How do you know? Psychology Today (article)

·      Bad Data - Peter Schryvers (book)

·      The Master and his Emissary – Ian McGilchrist (book)

·      RSA animation: The Divided Brain (video)

·      Alan Watts – Be Here Now (articles & podcast series)

·      Your Three brains – Centre for Health & Wellbeing (article)

·      Ofsted – Office for Standards in Education, UK (website)

·      “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid” - Albert Einstein (image)

·      The Blanchard bone (website) 

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“There's laundry to do and a genocide to stop…”

This first line of a short poem by Vinay Krishan hits hard, not least because it captures so powerfully the complex and confusing state we are finding ourselves in. How to we navigate the day to day process of living in the midst of so many overwhelming crisis all around us? How can we make sense of actions and unfoldings that literally cannot make sense? How do we stay sane in a world that feels like it’s falling apart?

In this week’s episode we explore the notion of cognitive dissonance and how to navigate the endless contradictions, hypocrisies and complexities of our current world. We explore what it means to ‘live through collapse’, why so many of our systems are falling apart; how we can sustain our own sense of groundedness and vitality and what it means to practice active hope and turn towards the light.

In this episode we reference the following:

• Outgrowing Modernity – panel discussion (video)
• What is cognitive dissonance? (video)
• ‘On imagination’: Vanessa Andreotti & Rob Hopkins (video)
• Joanna Macy – A wild love for the world (podcast)
• The Four Mountains - Decolonial Futures (article)
• Wild – Sarah Wilson (podcast)
• Two Loops Theory – Berkana Institute (PDF)
• The Rise & Fall of Civilisations – Meg Wheatley (article)
• There’s laundry to do and a genocide to stop – Vinay Krishnan (poem)

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This time of year often beckons us to go "back to work". For some it's the beginning of a new academic year. For others it's a return to work after an extended holiday or summer break. For others it's the time to begin a new cycle. But do we really want to be 'going back' and do we really want to be 'working' for a living?

In this week's podcast we inquire about the nature of work, and think about why so many of our lives have become centred around work - in particular 'going to work' - rather than about nurturing livelihood. We explore some of the significant shifts in our human evolution that led to this way of living; think about what it means to match purpose and passion with contributing to the larger whole; explore some of the limitations of life's focus being about contributing to the market economy and question the meaning of success.

In this episode we reference the following:

• Ikigai - a Japanese framework for thriving (Website / framework)
• Gross National Happiness - Bhutan's wellbeing index (website)
• Buen Vivir - a social philosophy (article)
• The Story of Triple WellBeing - ThoughtBox (PDF download)
• The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction - Ursula Le Guin ( short story PDF)
• On New Beginnings - John O'Donoghue (Podcast / poem)

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What is national pride all about and where does it stem from? Following a recent surge in the flying of the Union flag and St George's flag in parts of England this episode dives deeply into the meaning of national pride, the complexities and emotions it stirs up and the painful histories involved in the creation of nation states. From exploring a brief potted history of countries and colonialism to diving into some of the inherent human behaviours that stem from a need to belong, this episode is a chance to explore some of the behaviours, controversies and complexities that accompany flags and how we can move through some of these current challenges with a deeper sense of connection.

In this episode we mention the following:

• Beyond Civilisation - Daniel Quinn (PDF non-fiction)
• The Danger of a Single Story - Chimamanda Adiche (TedTalk)
• Tamar Nafar - Palestinian rapper and journalist (website)
• Notes on Nationalism, George Orwell (Essay)
• Politics JOE - Is the St George’s Cross Racist? (Video)
• Is England Flag Flying Campaign Patriotism or Provocation? (News report)
• Belonging, Owen Eastwood (Book)
• ‘This is Our Flag… We are Proud British Muslims’ (News article)
• The Wheel of the Year, Fiona Cook (Book)

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A new season is upon many of us at this time of year. Summer shifting into Autumn, the beginning of a new school year, a new work cycle. Maybe just returning to work after a rest. In all of the excitement of 'beginning again' there often comes also a slight pause within us all, asking us "Am I wanting to keep doing this? Is this allowing me to be all I want to be?"

This week, Rachel shares a poem from John O'Donohue called 'For a New Beginning' inviting us to listen to that quiet voice deep within us. We look forward to being back together for Season 4 of Two Inconvenient Women next week.

For a New Beginning

by John O'Donohue

In out-of-the-way places of the heart,

Where your thoughts never think to wander,

This beginning has been quietly forming,

Waiting until you were ready to emerge.

For a long time it has watched your desire,

Feeling the emptiness growing inside you,

Noticing how you willed yourself on,

Still unable to leave what you had outgrown.

It watched you play with the seduction of safety

And the gray promises that sameness whispered,

Heard the waves of turmoil rise and relent,

Wondered would you always live like this.

Then the delight, when your courage kindled,

And out you stepped onto new ground,

Your eyes young again with energy and dream,

A path of plenitude opening before you.

Though your destination is not yet clear

You can trust the promise of this opening;

Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning

That is at one with your life's desire.

Awaken your spirit to adventure;

Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk;

Soon you will be home in a new rhythm,

For your soul senses the world that awaits you.

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Our August break continues here at ThoughtBox, so this week we're sharing a short collection of previous episodes where we dive into the nuance of environmental wellbeing and what it means to learn to care for our planet. Some of the highlights from our past three seasons are this mini-series are below:

• Season 1, Episode 4: Falling in love with the world
• Season 2, Episode 7 (Exploring the inconvenience of nature connection): Are we connecting with nature, or just using it?
• Season 3, Episode 4 (Exploring the inconvenience of trees): What can a tree teach us about relationships?
• Season 3, Episode 12 (Exploring the inconvenience of earth-care): Why is caring for the planet essential for all life to flourish?

If you'd like to join us for any of the Triple WellBeing opportunities mentioned in the podcast, you can find more information at:

• Triple WellBeing Introduction workshop: a free, one-hour session (Wednesday 27th August 2025, 1pm-2pm BST)
• Triple WellBeing Practitioner Course: a one-day, online workshop (Friday 26th September 2025, 10am-3pm BST)
• Transforming Education Retreat: a three-day residential programme (Monday 6th - Wednesday 8th October)

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Our August break continues here at ThoughtBox, so this week we're sharing a short collection of previous episodes where we dive into the nuance of social wellbeing and what it means to learn to care fully for our communities, both local and global. Holly also shares a poem by Rosemary Wahtola Trommer called 'Belonging'.

Some of the highlights from our past three seasons are this mini-series are below:

• Season 1, Episode 14 (Gathering): Why do we gather—and what are we losing when we don’t?
• Season 2, Episode 3 (Empathy): Is the modern world making us less human?
• Season 3, Episode 1 (EDI): How do we hold onto humanity when the law lets go?
• Season 3, Episode 11 (People-Care): What can happen when we look to find our shared humanity in others?

If you'd like to join us for any of the Triple WellBeing opportunities mentioned in the podcast, you can find more information at:

• Triple WellBeing Introduction workshop: a free, one-hour session (Wednesday 27th August 2025, 1pm-2pm BST)
• Triple WellBeing Practitioner Course: a one-day, online workshop (Friday 26th September 2025, 10am-3pm BST)
• Transforming Education Retreat: a three-day residential programme (Monday 6th - Wednesday 8th October)

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