Kate Nelson has been disposable plastic free for 10 years. You might also know Kate as the sparkly, magical Plastic Free Mermaid.

Kate says she first learnt the damage plastic was doing to our marine eco-systems when she volunteered at the Ocean Futures Society. She learnt that plastics do not break down but rather break up into tiny microscopic toxic pieces which are then consumed by marine life and make their way up the food chain.

Shocked and horrified by what she was learning, Kate has been advocating for and creating a plastic free revolution ever since.

This is Kate’s story. 

+ Mermaid Retreats
+ Ocean Futures Society

+ Website: iquitplastics.com
+ Instagram: @plasticfreemermaid
+ Facebook: /plasticfreemermaid

+ Listen on Apple Podcasts
+ Listen on Spotify
+ Listen on Stitcher Radio
+ Subscribe by email to get untangling stories delivered straight to your inbox

If my show has helped, inspired or spoken to you, it is with humble gratitude that I ask for your support through a small financial contribution. Each Untangled episode takes me about three days in total to produce. There is also a monthly outlay for hosting and software expenses. I am a one-woman show and I do and pay for everything myself. From as little as $1 a month, your support will help to cover the costs associated with producing and hosting the show. To make a contribution, head to the Patreon page here.

What would you do if your child told you they didn’t like school? What if they preferred to stay at home with you rather than go to the school ground?

Most of us, I reckon, would explain that this is just the way life is and that everyone has to go to school.

But not Susanne Kolff.

When her daughter began to struggle at school, it prompted a change in the way Susanne looked at life.

Taking the kids to school, going to work, rinse and repeat, day in and day out.

Susanne began to ask herself: What is this life? Who tells me we have to live this way? Why do we live like this?

Fast forward to today, Susanne, her husband and three young children now live a simple life in amongst a Bulgarian apple orchard, in a Mongolian yurt .

And what about school? Susanne and her husband are unschooling their children or as Susanne calls it ‘life education’ – informal education where her children are encouraged to learn from their life experiences.

This is Susanne Kolff’s untangling story.

+ Instagram: @kidsoffthegrid

+ Listen on Apple Podcasts
+ Listen on Spotify
+ Listen on Stitcher Radio
+ Subscribe by email to get untangling stories delivered straight to your inbox

If my show has helped, inspired or spoken to you, it is with humble gratitude that I ask for your support through a small financial contribution. Each Untangled episode takes me about three days in total to produce. There is also a monthly outlay for hosting and software expenses. I am a one-woman show and I do and pay for everything myself. From as little as $1 a month, your support will help to cover the costs associated with producing and hosting the show. To make a contribution, head to the Patreon page here.

Jordan Osmond became obsessed with documentaries in his late teens, struck by how they were having an impact on the world and how he lived his life.

Wanting to create that same positive impact in the lives of others, yet not wanting to take on the exorbitant student loans of university, Jardan opted to teach himself how to use a camera and shoot stories by watching tutorials on YouTube.

In 2015, with a small group of nine other people, Jordan moved onto a 20-acre property in Gippsland where he lived for a year documenting simple living, permaculture and natural building as a way to reduce our ecological footprint. The result was the feature-length documentary A Simpler Way: Crisis as Opportunity.

This project set Jordan’s documentary career in motion.

Over the last two years, Jordan has travelled New Zealand with his partner and fellow filmmaker Antoinette Wilson, creating their latest documentary Living the Change: Inspiring Stories for a Sustainable Future.

Spattered in amongst Jordan’s passion for sharing stories of simpler living, we also explore the crises facing our world today, why it’s important we share positive stories of change and how our reconnection to nature is essential to the healing of our planet.

+ A Simpler Way: Crisis as Opportunity
+ Living the Change: Inspiring Stories for a Sustainable Future
+ Michael Moore’s Bowling for Columbine
+ Robert Kenner’s Food Inc
+ Charles Eisenstein
+ The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know Is Possible, Charles Eisenstein
+ The Ascent of Humanity, Charles Eisenstein

+ Website: happenfilms.com | livingthechangefilm.com
+ YouTube: Happen Films
+ Instagram: @jordosmond
+ Twitter: @happenfilms
+ Facebook: /happenfilms

+ Listen on Apple Podcasts
+ Listen on Spotify
+ Listen on Stitcher Radio
+ Subscribe by email to get untangling stories delivered straight to your inbox

If my show has helped, inspired or spoken to you, it is with humble gratitude that I ask for your support through a small financial contribution. Each Untangled episode takes me about three days in total to produce. There is also a monthly outlay for hosting and software expenses. I am a one-woman show and I do and pay for everything myself. From as little as $1 a month, your support will help to cover the costs associated with producing and hosting the show. To make a contribution, head to the Patreon page here.

Vienda Maria has lived a very nomadic, transient life since her late teens. She’s actively designed a business and lifestyle that allows her to do what she loves – travel and follow her free-spirited heart.

After falling in love with her Canadian partner Julien, they agreed to try a different kind of lifestyle, returning to Julien’s home town in Canada. They purchased a house and life, from the outside, appeared almost perfect.

And yet, Vienda says, within a month of moving to Canada, her health started to decline. Insomnia, panic attacks in the middle of the night, hormonal imbalances and adrenal fatigue.

Confused as to why this was happening, having always been so healthy, Vienda did what most of us would do. She saw a naturopath, took supplements and changed her lifestyle so she could have more rest.

But she saw no improvement in her health.

It wasn’t until Vienda left for a trip to Mexico and her symptoms cleared up that she realised something else entirely was going on.

This is Vienda’s very graceful and vulnerable story of how she’s courageously navigated an untangling while in partnership.

+ Intuimethod – A 15-day interactive video course with a simple method for accessing, trusting and acting on your intuition while addressing the key obstacle that stops you from following your souls’ path. Use the code intui20 to receive a 20% discount.

+ Website: viendamaria.com
+ Facebook: /viendamaria8
+ Instagram: @viendamaria

+ Listen on Apple Podcasts
+ Listen on Spotify
+ Listen on Stitcher Radio
+ Subscribe by email to get untangling stories delivered straight to your inbox

If my show has helped, inspired or spoken to you, it is with humble gratitude that I ask for your support through a small financial contribution. Each Untangled episode takes me about three days in total to produce. There is also a monthly outlay for hosting and software expenses. I am a one-woman show and I do and pay for everything myself. From as little as $1 a month, your support will help to cover the costs associated with producing and hosting the show. To make a contribution, head to the Patreon page here.

Bionca Smith was living a very comfortable life. A successful entrepreneur, living in a Condo, with a fancy BMW. Yet, Bionca says she was living pay check to pay check, her son Carter was struggling in school and she was struggling to keep the household afloat.

And then, an innocent Facebook post changed the trajectory of Bionca’s life.

“One day I want to travel the world with my son.” Bionca wrote.

“What’s stopping you?” was the response.

This question set in motion a series of events.

In 30 days, Bionca gave notice on her apartment, pulled Carter out of school and sold or gaveaway everything she owed. She slipped the key to her unsold car under the doormat and flew out of the country.

Since then, Bionca and Carter have travelled the world and more recently they purchased a campervan.

Bionca home schools Carter and runs her coaching business and not for profit organisation – The Bully Barricade Foundation – all from the back of her van.

+ The Podcast School - 50% off sale. Use the code MAGICSALE on checkout. Sale ends April 12.
+ Girls Love Travel Facebook Group
+ Connections Academy
+ Bully Barricade Foundation: Facebook | Instagram

+ YouTube: Off The Grid With A Kid
+ Facebook: /smithbionca | /offthegridwithakid
+ Instagram: @bioncasmith | @offthegridwithakid

+ Listen on Apple Podcasts
+ Listen on Spotify
+ Listen on Stitcher Radio
+ Subscribe by email to get untangling stories delivered straight to your inbox

If my show has helped, inspired or spoken to you, it is with humble gratitude that I ask for your support through a small financial contribution. Each Untangled episode takes me about three days in total to produce. There is also a monthly outlay for hosting and software expenses. I am a one-woman show and I do and pay for everything myself. From as little as $1 a month, your support will help to cover the costs associated with producing and hosting the show. To make a contribution, head to the Patreon page here.

The term wild woman has become a bit of a fad in the feminine spiritual uprising.

But today I’m speaking with a true wild woman.

Miriam Lancewood spent six years in the New Zealand wilderness with her husband Peter, hiking, exploring, hunting, gathering and living out of a tent.

Miriam is also the author of the book Woman in the Wilderness where she shares the tales of her epic six year untangling.

As you’ll hear, Miriam has no phone or laptop, so I consider myself pretty fortunate to speak with her and bring this interview to you.

+ Woman in the Wilderness, Miriam Lancewood

+ Website: miriamlancewood.wordpress.com

+ Listen on Apple Podcasts
+ Listen on Spotify
+ Listen on Stitcher Radio
 

If my show has helped, inspired or spoken to you, it is with humble gratitude that I ask for your support through a small financial contribution. Each Untangled episode takes me about three days in total to produce. There is also a monthly outlay for hosting and software expenses. I am a one-woman show and I do and pay for everything myself. From as little as $1 a month, your support will help to cover the costs associated with producing and hosting the show. To make a contribution, head to the Patreon page here.

The influence of the capitalist system on our spirits: this was the theme of discussion I proposed to Lyla June when we began our interview.

You see, Lyla June’s story is quite different from those we’ve heard previously. Believing that capitalism is the root of destruction of the earth and the people, she’s lived a series of life experiments, consciously weaving in and out of the capitalist system with an ultimate goal to change that very system.

Life experiment number 1: She chooses not to be part of the capitalist system and for three years she practices what she calls “fearless generosity”, giving away her work and gifts, in a selfless act, for the betterment of her people.

Life experiment number 2: she enters the corporate world, this time with the goal to change the system from the inside.

Life experiment number 3: she decides to build her own system, returning to her traditional institutions and working with Diné peoples to create and sustain their own education systems free of white colonial fetters.

In addition to Lyla’s very unique personal story, you’ll also hear her talk about:

+ The role indigenous cultures and traditions play in helping western societies rebuild social systems and models for a more sustainable world.

+ Putting women at the root to create stable societies

+ And stories highlighting the historical events and treatement of the Diné people.

Lyla June is a anthropologist, educator, musician, public speaker and internationally recognized performance poet. She was raised in Taos, New Mexico and is a descendant of Diné (Navajo) and Tsétsêhéstâhese (Cheyenne) lineages. She is a fellow with the Original Caretakers Initiative at the Center for Earth Ethics. She is a co-founder of The Taos Peace and Reconciliation Council, which works to heal intergenerational trauma and ethnic division in the northern New Mexico. She is a walker within the Nihigaal Bee Iiná Movement, and is the lead organizer of the Black Hill Unity Concert. She is the also the founder of Regeneration Festival, an annual celebration of children that has occurred in 13 countries around the world. Her most recent book is a poetic rendition of the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, entitled Lifting Hearts Off the Ground: Declaring Indigenous Rights in Poetry. Lyla graduated with honors from Stanford University in 2012 with a degree in Environmental Anthropology. She is currently pursuing graduate studies in American Indian Education at the University of New Mexico. Her current work involves working with Diné peoples to create and sustain their own traditional education systems free of colonial fetters.

Connect with Lyla June at:

+ Website: sodizin.net
+ Facebook: /lylajune
+ Instagram: @lylajune

If my podcasts have helped you, inspired you or spoken to you, I would be so grateful for your generous contribution. As a one-woman show, in which I do everything myself, your sponsorship – from as little as $1 a month – will help to cover the costs of producing and hosting Untangled plus, eventually with enough support, I hope to release additional episodes and create in-person live untangling events and workshops. This is my dream.

To make a contribution, head to the Patreon page here.

If you love this podcast, I would be so grateful if you would take a couple of moments, head over to Apple Podcasts and leave a rating and review + subscribe to the podcast while you’re there.

You can subscribe to Untangled so you never miss an episode.

+ Click here to subscribe on Apple Podcasts
+ Click here to subscribe on Stitcher
+ Click here to subscribe on SoundCloud

Back in 2012, Fenja Sepers traded her job and home in Amsterdam for a surfboard and a suitcase and the plan to have no plan. She figured that our understanding of life and the world is not generated through reasoning, but through experiencing, and so taking distance and breaking with the Western system was necessary to create a rupture in the way of thinking and open up to new ideas and worldviews. Fenja baptised her journey Navigate on Trust, taking on a life-experiment that embraces the age-old wisdom of uncertainty. In 5 years she travelled through many countries, experienced joy, beauty, loss, and insecurity, which led to some profound life lessons.

+ Transition Coaching with Alana – if you’re ready to untangle from society’s giant rule book, move away from the mundane, smash out of the box and create your version of a meaningful life, this coaching might just be for you.

Back in 2012, Fenja Sepers traded her job and home in Amsterdam for a surfboard and a suitcase and the plan to have no plan. She figured that our understanding of life and the world is not generated through reasoning, but through experiencing, and so taking distance and breaking with the Western system was necessary to create a rupture in the way of thinking and open up to new ideas and worldviews. Fenja baptised her journey Navigate on Trust, taking on a life-experiment that embraces the age-old wisdom of uncertainty. In 5 years she travelled through many countries, experienced joy, beauty, loss, and insecurity, which led to some profound life lessons.

Connect with Fenja at:

+ Website: navigateontrust.com
+ Instagram: /navigateontrust

If my podcasts have helped you, inspired you or spoken to you, I would be so grateful for your generous contribution. As a one-woman show, in which I do everything myself, your sponsorship – from as little as $1 a month – will help to cover the costs of producing and hosting Untangled plus, eventually with enough support, I hope to release additional episodes and create in-person live untangling events and workshops. This is my dream.

To make a contribution, head to the Patreon page here.

If you love this podcast, I would be so grateful if you would take a couple of moments, head over to iTunes and leave a rating and review + subscribe to the podcast while you’re there.

You can subscribe to Untangled so you never miss an episode.

+ Click here to subscribe on iTunes
+ Click here to subscribe on Stitcher
+ Click here to subscribe on SoundCloud

Max Dashú is a teacher of global women’s history and cultural heritages. She’s the founder of the Suppressed Histories Archives which researches female spheres of power, mother-right cultures, patriarchy, the history of domination, and spiritual philosophies.

Max has built an archive of over 30,000 slides and 130 legendary visual presentations, which bring to light female realities hidden from view. She has been sharing this research  for the last 48 years.

This interview explores Max’s story from a young child with a fascination in Egyptian history to becoming an intelligent young woman who makes a bold choice to leave Harvard at the age of 19 and pursue her own independent research on the suppressed histories of women.

I was fascinated by Max’s description of the landscape for women scholars in the late sixties / early seventies and her obvious courage to give up a pre-determined, safe path to follow a deeper, stronger, guiding inner pull.

Perhaps Max is one of these rare beings who comes into our world already untangled, with the purpose to show us what we’ve all been overlooking.

This is a rich discussion about women’s histories, untangling from the patriarchy and one woman’s journey to seek out the truth.

+ Deasophy Colouring Book - Find out more about Max’s Goddess Colouring book here.

+ Transition Coaching with Alana

+ Join the Untangled Community Facebook group – a movement of women supporting each other to follow the inner pull, move away from the mundane and embark on a search for something more.

Max Dashú teaches global women’s history and cultural heritages. In 1970 she founded the Suppressed Histories Archives to research female spheres of power, mother-right cultures, patriarchy the history of domination, and spiritual philosophies. She has built an archive of over 30,000 slides and 130 legendary visual presentations, which bring to light female realities hidden from view—from ancient iconography to leaders, medicine women and rebels. Her work bridges the gap between academia and grassroots education, and foregrounds Indigenous women passed over by standard histories. Dashu has published two acclaimed dvds: Women’s Power in Global Perspective (2008) and Woman Shaman: the Ancients (2013), and a poster series of female spiritual heritages. Her book Witches and Pagans: Women in European Folk Religion, 700-1100, was published in 2016. Her new Deasophy Coloring Book, featuring 49 goddesses from around the world, comes out in October 2017.

Connect with Max at:
+ Website: suppressedhistories.net
+ Facebook: /suppressed-histories-archives

If my podcasts have helped you, inspired you or spoken to you, I would be so grateful for your generous contribution. As a one-woman show, in which I do everything myself, your sponsorship – from as little as $1 a month – will help to cover the costs of producing and hosting Untangled plus, eventually with enough support, I hope to release additional episodes and create in-person live untangling events and workshops. This is my dream.

To make a contribution, head to the Patreon page here.

If you love this podcast, I would be so grateful if you would take a couple of moments, head over to iTunes and leave a rating and review + subscribe to the podcast while you’re there.

You can subscribe to Untangled so you never miss an episode.

+ Click here to subscribe on iTunes
+ Click here to subscribe on Stitcher
+ Click here to subscribe on SoundCloud

A couple of weeks back, my partner Clayton and I took an adventure in Walter the Campervan to the Sunshine Coast in Queensland Australia. Frances Murray, her partner Tyler and her two young children Olive and Jude, welcomed us onto their newly established permaculture farm in the Noosa Hinterland region for a look around and a chat about the choice to live a simple life.

This interview was recorded in Franny’s tiny off-grid house, nestled in the living area on comfy arm chairs, surrounded by the sound of birds, in one direction overlooking the tree tops running along their natural creek and in the other direction their vegetable garden.

There is so much we cover in this interview but as I delved into Franny’s untangling journey, these were the highlights for me:

+ Contemplating the inevitability of death as an inspiration for chasing your dreams.

+ Redefining success based on how much joy and love you experience in your day (not by how much money you earn, things you acquire or your job title).

+ Following the inner pull, above all else (even when it means leaving your safe job, moving to a vacant block with two young children, and living without running water, electricity or a home for months at one the hottest times of the year).

Franny shares the real truth of their story, the why behind what they do and powerful insights to get you thinking differently about the way we humans ‘do life’.

After we finished recording this interview, Franny explained to me the costs associated with this style of living and I was shocked to realise how affordable it can be, if done in the right way.

If you’re interested, Franny has generously provided facts and figures of the cost to create and live this kind of lifestyle. You can find this information in the show notes at alanahelbig.com/untangled34

+ Ignite: Podcasting for Changemakers – doors are now open.

+ Join the Untangled Community Facebook group – a movement of women supporting each other to follow the inner pull, move away from the mundane and embark on a search for something more.

Connect with Franny and follow along with her simple-living experiment over on Instagram at @thesimpleexperiment

If my podcasts have helped you, inspired you or spoken to you, I would be so grateful for your generous contribution. As a one-woman show, in which I do everything myself, your sponsorship – from as little as $1 a month – will help to cover the costs of producing and hosting Untangled plus, eventually with enough support, I hope to release additional episodes and create in-person live untangling events and workshops. This is my dream.

To make a contribution, head to the Patreon page here.

If you love this podcast, I would be so grateful if you would take a couple of moments, head over to iTunes and leave a rating and review + subscribe to the podcast while you’re there.

You can subscribe to Untangled so you never miss an episode.

+ Click here to subscribe on iTunes
+ Click here to subscribe on Stitcher
+ Click here to subscribe on SoundCloud