This week our previous series on mental health intersects with our current theme on spirituality.  Shontae Cone, a mental health counselor, energy worker, and psychic, joins me to talk about bodywork, mental health, and healing. Some of Shontae’s specializations include women empowerment, biracial and multi-racial peoples, and highly sensitive people, or empaths. 

The spirituality theme we’ve been exploring has been so much fun for me because this is not my typical area of expertise. I hope you have been enjoying this series as well and equally enjoy this episode!

We cover:

• The importance of learning to feel our feelings (5:49)
• How to know the healing work you are doing is effective (13:31)
• Bodywork: what it is and why it matters (26:09)
• Shontae answers the question “What do you think about thought work?” (32:10)

http://andreaowen.com/465

Ana Verzone was on the show years ago and she is now back this week to talk about psychedelics and spirituality. We explore the differences between recreational use versus spiritual purposes, the science behind their use, and the benefits of gaining spiritual insight.

Ana Verzone is a Master Life Coach, Altered States Guide, and host of the Rebel Buddhist™ podcast. She is devoted to helping yogis and wanna-be Buddhas create an {unconventional} life of true freedom – inside and out.

We cover: 

• Why people seek psychedelics for spiritual or mental health (11:33)
• The difference between recreational use and intentional use (12:17)
• What qualifies someone to guide someone on psychedelic experiences (15:23)
• Integration is important following a psychedelic spiritual experience (19:57)
• Who psychedelics is appropriate for and some reasons that support their use (33:04)
• Ana answers, “Do you have to do the “hard work” to really get the benefit or spiritual insight?” (32:41)

http://andreaowen.com/464

I think like several events that happen throughout our lifetimes, the morning of June 24th, 2022 will be a day you remember where you were when you heard the news that the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. I was getting into a Lyft in Boulder, CO, headed to the airport when the breaking news notification popped up on my phone. I stared at it for several seconds as the Lyft driver tried to make small talk with me, my stomach roiling with the two cups of coffee I had just consumed. 

I recorded a minisode where I talk about how to walk through something like this when you might be feeling fear, rage, hopelessness, and uncertainty; plus seeing people online who seem like they're handling it so much better. 

Plus, I talk a little about WHY the topic of safe and legal abortion is so integral to women’s empowerment. 

http://andreaowen.com/463

This week Anna Stromquist and Kristina Wiltsee from This Spiritual Fix join me on the show. What caught my attention about their work, on TikTok, of course, is that they talk about primal wounds: abandonment, rejection, injustice and betrayal, and humiliation. I mean, who doesn’t struggle with those, right? I love their work and I am happy to share our conversation with you today.

In case you are new to Anna and Kristina, they are the hosts of the podcast This Spiritual Fix which within just four months of launching hit #2 on the Apple Podcasts Spiritual charts in the USA, and has hit  #1 in a handful of countries and top #100 in over fifty countries.

Some of the topics we discussed include:

• What spirituality mean to Anna and Kristina (7:26)
• We dive deep into the primal wounds: what they are and how to start and heal them: Abandonment, rejection, injustice, betrayal, and humiliation (11:13)

http://andreaowen.com/462

We are kicking off the spirituality and creativity theme of the podcast, whoop! Our first guest is Christina Dunbar, a storyteller, poet, producer, and a doula for women's voices. For the past decade, she's worked as a transformational catalyst, helping women heal voice and visibility wounds through storytelling, writing, and soul work.

In this episode, we have a conversation about sacred archetypes and how they manifest in the lives of women, the fear and vulnerability we feel when using our voice or displaying our creative endeavors, and owning the power of being a woman. Christina is one of my favorite people, especially to see her speak on stage. I really hope you enjoy our conversation.

Some of the topics we discuss include:

• The sacred prostitute archetype and how that archetype work in the life of a woman (7:58)
• Some of the sub archetypes of the good girl and how they come up in terms of visibility and vulnerability with our voice + art  (19:23)
• Fear around visibility vs. being witnessed (31:05)
• Shame that comes up for women around their body and sexuality and how that affects their voice and visibility (33:52)

http://andreaowen.com/461

Since we’re rounding out the theme of relationships, I’m hopping on a minisode talking about 

friendships! In this episode, I go over three common friendship scenarios/challenges as well as give you possible solutions. 

In this episode you’ll hear: 

• A simple (but sometimes vulnerable!) thing to do to make sure your friendships stay healthy. 
• What to do if you have a friend who doesn’t seem to open up as much as you do
• What to do if you have a friend that you’ve lost touch with 

If you haven’t already, make sure you check out the two episodes I recently aired with friendship experts Danielle Bayard Jackson and Shasta Nelson. As I mentioned before, our friendships with women are incredibly important, sometimes we have challenges in those relationships (which is normal!), and I always want to make sure you have some solutions. 

http://andreaowen.com/460