Aligned By Design with JJ.Acuña

By JJ.Acuña

Award winning Interior Designer, JJ.Acuña (that's me) speaks with Creatives, Leaders, and Spiritual Practitioners, from all walks of life living inspired lives, about their everyday strategies, mantras, and processes to achieve balance and alignment. It’s all about carving out a path to live well and hopefully live better each and every day. Brought to you by Archipelago Media. Copyright Archipelago Media Network 2022. Archipelago Limited (HK).

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S2 Ep.07 Black Art with Phillip Michael Collins, Founder of Good Black Art

Aligned By Design with JJ.AcuñaDec 12, 2022

00:00

52:24

S2 Ep.07 Black Art with Phillip Michael Collins, Founder of Good Black Art

Born and raised in Tennessee, studied in Brazil, worked in Europe, Asia and the Middle East for nearly 10 years, and now based in New York City, Phillip Michael Collins is a passionate collector, marketer and founder of Good Black Art. Good Black Art is a global platform centred around the most promising Black emerging artists which sells original artworks, creates press opportunities for artists and develops partnerships and exhibitions. Phillip's mission as an art entrepreneur is to be a mentor to artists and collectors through sharing his learnings of collecting art and highlighting untold Black narratives from around the world. goodblackart.com/ and Instagram @goodblackart
About The Podcast: Subscribe to our all-new podcast, Aligned By Design with JJ. Acuna - where Award-winning Interior Designer, JJ Acuna (that's me) speaks with Creatives, Leaders, and Spiritual Practitioners, from all walks of life living, inspired lives. We talk about everyday strategies, mantras, and processes to achieve balance and alignment. It’s all about carving out a path to live well and hopefully live better each and every day. Brought to you by Archipelago Media and available on Spotify, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Contact us on Instagram @jj.acuna.
Aligned By Design with JJ. Acuna is brought to you by Archipelago Media and copyright of Archipelago Media 2022, a division of Archipelago Limited (HK). Any rebroadcast, reproduction or other use of this podcast without the expressed written consent of Aligned By Design is strictly prohibited. This podcast is about opening broader ideas for personal spiritual alignment and does not offer blanket solutions for any specific individual. If you are in need of assistance for your physical or mental well-being, please seek out a registered medical practitioner in your area.
About Our Theme Music Composer: Olly Shelton is a Brighton-based composer, producer, and pianist specialising in ambient, electronic, and alternative music. He is half of the UK band PELA and works alongside a range of up-and-coming artists and established acts around the globe. Contact Olly on Instagram @o_s_music and on the WEB at www.ollysheltonmusic.com. Thanks!

Dec 12, 202252:24

S2 Ep.06 Herbal Medicine & Ethiopian Food with Helina Tesega, Founder of Eat Ethio

Helina Tesega is a UK-based food and culture curator, a nourishing and nurturing cook, a home schooling mother, and founder of Eat Ethio, a multilayered project that celebrates the culture of Ethiopia by merging the relationship between food, music and artistry. Follow Helina and Eat Ethio on Instagram @eatethio and log on to https://eatethio.com for more information about Ethiopian music, events, culture, and homewares.

About The Podcast: Subscribe to our all-new podcast, Aligned By Design with JJ. Acuna - where Award-winning Interior Designer, JJ Acuna (that's me) speaks with Creatives, Leaders, and Spiritual Practitioners, from all walks of life living, inspired lives. We talk about everyday strategies, mantras, and processes to achieve balance and alignment. It’s all about carving out a path to live well and hopefully live better each and every day. Brought to you by Archipelago Media and available on Spotify, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Contact us on Instagram @jj.acuna.

Aligned By Design with JJ. Acuna is brought to you by Archipelago Media and copyright of Archipelago Media 2022, a division of Archipelago Limited (HK). Any rebroadcast, reproduction or other use of this podcast without the expressed written consent of Aligned By Design is strictly prohibited. This podcast is about opening broader ideas for personal spiritual alignment and does not offer blanket solutions for any specific individual. If you are in need of assistance for your physical or mental well-being, please seek out a registered medical practitioner in your area.

About Our Theme Music Composer: Olly Shelton is a Brighton-based composer, producer, and pianist specialising in ambient, electronic, and alternative music. He is half of the UK band PELA and works alongside a range of up-and-coming artists and established acts around the globe. Contact Olly on Instagram @o_s_music and on the WEB at www.ollysheltonmusic.com. Thanks!

Oct 30, 202201:10:30

S2 Ep.05 Meditation with Suze Yalof Schwartz, Founder and CEO of the Unplug Meditation App

Suze Yalof Schwartz is the CEO and Founder of Unplug Meditation, the creator of the Unplug Meditation app, and the author of Unplug: A Simple Guide To Meditation for Busy Skeptics and Modern Soul Seekers. Suze's mission is to make meditation simple, powerful and interesting enough so that everyone will want to practice it and experience the benefits for themselves. Follow Her on IG @unpluggedmeditation and log on to http://www.unplug.com.

Sep 27, 202201:03:21

S2 Ep.04 The Tarot with Julia Rose Portela

Julia Rose Portela is an intuitive jack-of-all-trades, practicing tarot, astrology, hypnosis, and energy healings. She focuses on practical magic experiences where spirituality and reality collide. She prides herself on her integrity and ethics, meeting clients where they are and helping them transmute any patterns that are keeping them from living their best life! Follow her at @juliaroseportela (www.instagram.com/juliaroseportela) and make an appointment with Julia at www.juliaroseportela.com. Julia's podcast is "Stream of Consciousness" on Available on Google, Apple, and Spotify and all podcast platforms.
If you want to learn more about Tarot 101- log on to www.biddytarot.com
About The Podcast:
Subscribe to our all-new podcast, Aligned By Design with JJ. Acuna - where Award-winning Interior Designer, JJ Acuna (that's me) speaks with Creatives, Leaders, and Spiritual Practitioners, from all walks of life living, inspired lives. We talk about everyday strategies, mantras, and processes to achieve balance and alignment. It’s all about carving out a path to live well and hopefully live better each and every day. Brought to you by Archipelago Media and available on Spotify, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Contact us on Instagram @jj.acuna and @alignedbydesignwithjj.
Aligned By Design with JJ. Acuna is brought to you by Archipelago Media and copyright of Archipelago Media 2022, a division of Archipelago Limited (HK). Any rebroadcast, reproduction or other use of this podcast without the expressed written consent of Aligned By Design is strictly prohibited. This podcast is about opening broader ideas for personal spiritual alignment and does not offer blanket solutions for any specific individual. If you are in need of assistance for your physical or mental well-being, please seek out a registered medical practitioner in your area.
About Our Theme Music Composer, Olly Shelton:
Olly Shelton is a Brighton-based composer, producer, and pianist specialising in ambient, electronic, and alternative music. He is half of the UK band PELA and works alongside a range of up-and-coming artists and established acts around the globe. Contact Olly on Instagram @o_s_music and on the WEB at www.ollysheltonmusic.com.

Jul 31, 202201:18:32

S2 Ep.03 Pearls With Mirabel Rosar, Founder of ARAO

After a long career in Marketing, Mirabel Rosar decided to finally pursue her passion for jewellery. She founded ARAO (@thearaolife) in order to curate timeless, accessible, and versatile pieces with the Golden South Sea Pearl at its center. As the National Gem of the Philippines, this precious pearl represents the beauty of the country’s heritage, in which Mirabel takes pride in. Mirabel also has a great love for the ocean, and enjoys surfing with husband. This love inspired her to promote sustainability through ethical pearl farming that nurtures the oyster’s home- the sea- and keeps the environment and its ecosystem healthy. ARAO Jewellery aspires to share the beauty of the Golden South Sea Pearl to the rest of the world, and encourages men, women, and anyone really- to find the same beauty within. Rosar is holder of the GIA Pearl Certificate, the world’s foremost authority on diamonds, colored stones, and pearls, and this year she is also a Silver Medal recipient of the 2022 Expat Living Reader’s Choice Awards for her brand in Hong Kong. We welcome Mirabel Rosar of ARAO to the table. thearaolife.com/
About The Podcast:
Subscribe to our all-new podcast, Aligned By Design with JJ. Acuna - where Award-winning Interior Designer, JJ Acuna (that's me) speaks with Creatives, Leaders, and Spiritual Practitioners, from all walks of life living, inspired lives. We talk about everyday strategies, mantras, and processes to achieve balance and alignment. It’s all about carving out a path to live well and hopefully live better each and every day. Brought to you by Archipelago Media and available on Spotify, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Contact us on Instagram @jj.acuna and @alignedbydesignwithjj.
Aligned By Design with JJ. Acuna is brought to you by Archipelago Media and copyright of Archipelago Media 2022, a division of Archipelago Limited (HK). Any rebroadcast, reproduction or other use of this podcast without the expressed written consent of Aligned By Design is strictly prohibited. This podcast is about opening broader ideas for personal spiritual alignment and does not offer blanket solutions for any specific individual. If you are in need of assistance for your physical or mental well-being, please seek out a registered medical practitioner in your area.
About Our Theme Music Composer, Olly Shelton:
Olly Shelton is a Brighton-based composer, producer, and pianist specialising in ambient, electronic, and alternative music. He is half of the UK band PELA and works alongside a range of up-and-coming artists and established acts around the globe. Contact Olly on Instagram @o_s_music and on the WEB at www.ollysheltonmusic.com.

Mar 20, 202259:25

S2 Ep.02 Ink and Charity with Michell Lie

Our guest the Ink-brush Artist Michell Lie, was born in Hong Kong and was educated locally in a Catholic school and went on to a Jesuit school in the States to major in business, while minoring in illustration at the Academy of Art College in San Francisco. After pursuing a lifelong career in advertising and branding, in 2017 Michell begun teaching herself Chinese brush ink painting as something to pass the time while taking care of her ailing mother who had a stroke. Her interest in ink paintings morphed into a way to create a more philanthropic-based art practice. In this talk we also discuss her Christian life, the concept of prayer vs. meditation, and how one can become a more charitable person.
Michell Lie’s goal is to make art affordable, charitable and enjoyable, while raising funds for the city's senior folks; creating awareness amongst her social circle- that the importance of pursuing passion project alongside full time career is something worth dedicating lifelong.
A self taught artist- Michell's art brings about connection that leads to convergence. It's all about connecting the dots, bringing people together and creating impact through art. It should be noted that a major portion of the studio's revenue is donated to local Hong Kong charities that take care of the poor, the elderly, and the disadvantaged. 10% of all her art sales are always donated. To date, Michell’s studio has raised over $317,500 HKD. Michell looks forward to many more opportunities to create art, spread awareness, and help Hong Kong become a better City through charity. We welcome Michell Lie to the table. www.michelllie.com
About The Podcast:
Subscribe to our all-new podcast, Aligned By Design with JJ. Acuna - where Award-winning Interior Designer, JJ Acuna (that's me) speaks with Creatives, Leaders, and Spiritual Practitioners, from all walks of life living, inspired lives. We talk about everyday strategies, mantras, and processes to achieve balance and alignment. It’s all about carving out a path to live well and hopefully live better each and every day. Brought to you by Archipelago Media and available on Spotify, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Contact us on Instagram @jj.acuna and @alignedbydesignwithjj.
Aligned By Design with JJ. Acuna is brought to you by Archipelago Media and copyright of Archipelago Media 2022, a division of Archipelago Limited (HK). Any rebroadcast, reproduction or other use of this podcast without the expressed written consent of Aligned By Design is strictly prohibited. This podcast is about opening broader ideas for personal spiritual alignment and does not offer blanket solutions for any specific individual. If you are in need of assistance for your physical or mental well-being, please seek out a registered medical practitioner in your area.
About Our Theme Music Composer, Olly Shelton:
Olly Shelton is a Brighton-based composer, producer, and pianist specialising in ambient, electronic, and alternative music. He is half of the UK band PELA and works alongside a range of up-and-coming artists and established acts around the globe. Contact Olly on Instagram @o_s_music and on the WEB at www.ollysheltonmusic.com.

Feb 20, 202201:14:02

S2 Ep.01 Sound Therapy with Shane Aspegren and ONDO

Shane Aspegren’s unique approach to a holistic sound practice combines his multifaceted background—as a contemporary artist, composer, and experimental musician—with training in therapeutic sound traditions alongside an ongoing research into modern wave science. As an artist, Shane’s work juxtaposes improvisational languages within carefully-crafted frameworks, frequently exploring a cross-discipline and non-dualistic perspective on such topics as consciousness, societal dynamics, and perception. He is largely known for his practices related to music and sound, which often play an integral part in his installations, images, videos, objects, and performances. Interested in the relational aesthetics of every form, he often prefers interactive methods of creation, as well as the practical application of those methods, such as his ongoing work with meditative and holistic practices—specifically the effects of sound and its effects on the minds and physical matter of various living beings. Aspegren received a BA in Film Studies from University of Nebraska. His work has been presented, commissioned, collected, and performed internationally. In 2014, after moving to Hong Kong, he co-founded the electro rock group The Berg Sans Nipple and Blood Wine or Honey. About ONDO: Since the early 2000s, Aspegren has explored various yogic practices, which led to a deep interest in meditation and the perceived experience of the human mind & body. After diving deeper into wave phenomena for a series of installations and performances, this eventually led to the development of ONDO, a natural bridge between his creative and holistic interests. Aspegren has training in Meridian Yoga Therapy, Integrated Vibrational Therapy, and is registered with Yoga Alliance as RYT-200. www.ondosound.com About The Podcast: Aligned By Design with JJ. Acuna - where Award-winning Interior Designer, JJ Acuna speaks with Creatives, Leaders, and Spiritual Practitioners, from all walks of life living, inspired lives. We talk about everyday strategies, mantras, and processes to achieve balance and alignment. It’s all about carving out a path to live well and hopefully live better each and every day. Brought to you by Archipelago Media and available wherever you get your podcast. Contact us on Instagram @alignedbydesignwithjj. Aligned By Design with JJ. Acuna is brought to you by Archipelago Media and copyright of Archipelago Media 2022, a division of Archipelago Limited (HK). Any rebroadcast, reproduction or other use of this podcast without the expressed written consent of Aligned By Design is strictly prohibited. This podcast is about opening broader ideas for personal spiritual alignment and does not offer blanket solutions for any specific individual. If you are in need of assistance for your physical or mental well-being, please seek out a registered medical practitioner in your area. About Our Theme Music Composer, Olly Shelton: Contact Olly on Instagram @o_s_music and on the WEB at www.ollysheltonmusic.com. Music In This Episode: 852hz via Daily Frequencies, Lockdown Recordings by Shane Aspegren / Ça Va Cheri by Shane Aspegren and Jerome Lorichon / Change The Shape by Berge Sans Nipple / Interconnectivity for Sudhee Liao by Shane Aspegren Read: The Overstory by Richard Powers / Electric Body, Electric Health by Eileen Day McKusick Download: Imaginal Pathways App

Jan 16, 202201:23:37

Ep.12 Spiritual Response Therapy (SRT) with Shirlyn Wright

“Spiritual Response Therapy (SRT) is a system of researching the subconscious mind and soul records to quickly find a release of the discordant, limiting ideas and replace them with loving, supportive ideas and beliefs. SRT provides an exacting, powerful, virtually painless and accurate way of changing the landscape of our inner and outer lives.” (Rev. Robert E. Detzler – Founder of SRT)
Shirlyn Wright is the Director of Secret of Bliss Limited (www.secretofbliss.net / IG @secret_of_bliss), a US and Hong Kong-based self-development company. She has worked with thousands of clients all over the world with the goal of teaching them the tools to discover, express, and be the best of who they are and create a lifestyle of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being.
Prior to her energy healing work, Shirlyn had a nine-year career in finance, business development, and academic administration. Shirlyn has held research, marketing, and liaison positions in international financial and educational bodies. She also served as a part-time lecturer of Finance at Roosevelt University in Chicago. Shirlyn also worked in Johannesburg, South Africa under the Institute of International Education (IIE) to help develop the country’s small and midsized business sectors.
Shirlyn was a student of Robert E. Detzler, founder of Spiritual Response Therapy (SRT) and Spiritual Restructuring (SpR). She has been a Certified SRT Consultant since 2002 and a Certified SRT Teacher since 2003. She served three terms as President of the Board of Directors of the Spiritual Response Association (SRA), an international organization with communities all over the world. In 2020, Shirlyn was approved by the SRA Board of Directors to be an Intensive Skills Class (ISC) Teacher.
Shirlyn travels the world teaching and has inspired and helped over a dozen students to become certified SRT Consultants and/or Teachers over the years. We welcome Shirlyn to the table!
About The Podcast:
Subscribe to our all-new podcast, Aligned By Design with JJ. Acuna - where Award-winning Interior Designer, JJ Acuna (that's me) speaks with Creatives, Leaders, and Spiritual Practitioners, from all walks of life living, inspired lives. We talk about everyday strategies, mantras, and processes to achieve balance and alignment. It’s all about carving out a path to live well and hopefully live better each and every day. Brought to you by Archipelago Media and available on Spotify, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Contact us on Instagram @jj.acuna and @alignedbydesignwithjj.
Aligned By Design with JJ. Acuna is brought to you by Archipelago Media and copyright of Archipelago Media 2021, a division of Archipelago Limited (HK). Any rebroadcast, reproduction or other use of this podcast without the expressed written consent of Aligned By Design is strictly prohibited. This podcast is about opening broader ideas for personal spiritual alignment and does not offer blanket solutions for any specific individual. If you are in need of assistance for your physical or mental well-being, please seek out a registered medical practitioner in your area.
About Our Theme Music Composer, Olly Shelton:
Olly Shelton is a Brighton-based composer, producer, and pianist specialising in ambient, electronic, and alternative music. He is half of the UK band PELA and works alongside a range of up-and-coming artists and established acts around the globe. Contact Olly on Instagram @o_s_music and on the WEB at www.ollysheltonmusic.com.

Aug 23, 202101:04:24

Ep.11 Transformation with Artist Isola Tong

Isola Tong (@isolatong IG) is a Filipina Chinese Artist and Architect currently practicing in Manila. She engages in the boundaries between nature and technology, human and nonhuman, center and margin, north and south epistemologies challenging binarism, revealing worlds within worlds, conveying the interconnections of science, aesthetics, and politics, through the lens of a "transpinay" from maritime South-East Asia. Her work spans across a variety of media portraying a divergence from anthropocentrism towards interconnected biologies. She graduated cum laude at the University of Santo Tomas with a Bachelor of Science degree in Architecture. She also studied and worked in Osaka, Japan for four years. She has shown and performed in Korea, Slovenia, Serbia, and the United Kingdom. She currently teaches architectural design, theory, and history at the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde School of Design and the Arts in Manila. She is an incoming graduate student at the UC Santa Cruz in California. We welcome Isola Tong to the table.
About The Podcast:
Subscribe to our all-new podcast, Aligned By Design with JJ. Acuna - where Award-winning Interior Designer, JJ Acuna (that's me) speaks with Creatives, Leaders, and Spiritual Practitioners, from all walks of life living, inspired lives. We talk about everyday strategies, mantras, and processes to achieve balance and alignment. It’s all about carving out a path to live well and hopefully live better each and every day. Brought to you by Archipelago Media and available on Spotify, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Contact us on Instagram @jj.acuna and @alignedbydesignwithjj.
Aligned By Design with JJ.Acuna is brought to you by Archipelago Media and copyright of Archipelago Media 2021, a division of Archipelago Limited (HK). Any rebroadcast, reproduction, or other use of this podcast without the expressed written consent of Aligned By Design is strictly prohibited. This podcast is about opening broader ideas for personal spiritual alignment and does not offer blanket solutions for any specific individual. If you are in need of assistance for your physical or mental well-being, please seek out a registered medical practitioner in your area.
About Our Theme Music Composer, Olly Shelton:
Olly Shelton is a Brighton-based composer, producer, and pianist specialising in ambient, electronic, and alternative music. He is half of the UK band PELA and works alongside a range of up-and-coming artists and established acts around the globe. Contact Olly on Instagram @o_s_music and on the WEB at www.ollysheltonmusic.com.

Jul 15, 202101:13:03

Ep.10 Akashic Reading with Simmy Ling

After feeling burnt out and lost in her contemporary art career, Simmy Ling (@simsimlingawakening IG) called it quits in 2016 and backpacked around the world - to search for the meaning of life. Her spiritual awakening started with a mind-blowing past-life regression session in Bali- moving her to her calling to help people liberate themselves from all limitations and live freely. Through her "in-sploration" with hypnosis, channeling and reading the Akashic Records, energy healing, and yoga, she successfully healed herself time and time again on a physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual level - and as a result, her reality shifted drastically. She is now inspired to share her self-healing experiences and teachings which are channeled from the Heart so that people can discover their true power and step into their life purpose. She firmly believes that everyone can access their inner wisdom and heal themselves. It is her true passion to share her experience, as well as share the overall techniques of the healing arts with her clients, students, and a much broader audience through social media. Simmy is the founder of SimSimLing Awakening Studio, an Akashic Records teacher & consultant, a certified Quantum Healing Hypnosis Technique®️ Level 2 practitioner, a Sekhem-Seichim-Reiki Master practitioner, a Psych-K®️ facilitator, and a Yoga Instructor. You can find her 1-on-1 services, group sessions, and courses on her website www.simsimling.one. Thank you to Kenloch for the use of his space. https://kenlochhealingspace.boutir.com/ About The Podcast: Subscribe to our all-new podcast, Aligned By Design with JJ. Acuna - where Award-winning Interior Designer, JJ Acuna (that's me) speaks with Creatives, Leaders, and Spiritual Practitioners, from all walks of life living, inspired lives. We talk about everyday strategies, mantras, and processes to achieve balance and alignment. It’s all about carving out a path to live well and hopefully live better each and every day. Brought to you by Archipelago Media and available on Spotify, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Contact us on Instagram @jj.acuna and @alignedbydesignwithjj. Aligned By Design with JJ.Acuna is brought to you by Archipelago Media and copyright of Archipelago Media 2021, a division of Archipelago Limited (HK). Any rebroadcast, reproduction or other use of this podcast without the expressed written consent of Aligned By Design is strictly prohibited. This podcast is about opening broader ideas for personal spiritual alignment and does not offer blanket solutions for any specific individual. If you are in need of assistance for your physical or mental well-being, please seek out a registered medical practitioner in your area. About Our Theme Music Composer, Olly Shelton: Olly Shelton is a Brighton-based composer, producer, and pianist specialising in ambient, electronic, and alternative music. He is half of the UK band PELA and works alongside a range of up-and-coming artists and established acts around the globe. Contact Olly on Instagram @o_s_music and on the WEB at www.ollysheltonmusic.com.

Jun 23, 202101:03:16

Ep.09 The Art of Waves and Universal Form with Bennett Bossert

Bennett Bossert (IG @bennettbossert) is an artist/architect currently based in Minneapolis. After graduating with a master’s degree in architecture from Cornell University, Bennett spent four years living and working as an architect in Hong Kong. His wider travels have earned him a broad perspective and a network of friends and colleagues throughout the world.
As a precursor to his freehand abstract drawings, Bennett spent 10+ years developing the skill and craft of digital parametric design as an architect and artist. Parametric design is a method of coding relationships between different entities to create complex formal outcomes whereby a variation to one entity will cause an effect on all others. This enables many iterations of a design to be generated, and very often unexpected outcomes emerge. The results are akin to organic forms found in nature, as all of nature is governed by interconnected relationships and geometric principles. Breaking free from the computer, he now draws intuitively with ink and paints on paper or wood panels rather than using digital tools to create images. The theoretical and aesthetic pursuit of parametric design shows through. Bennett’s artwork is currently held in private collections in nine countries. We welcome Bennett Bossert to the table.
From Bennett: "As emotional beings, we tend to seek permanence and certainty. But there is no way of knowing what surprises good or bad tomorrow will bring. We begin each day without reliable knowledge of what will occur. This tension between intent and outcome, control and chaos, is what informs my drawings. Sometimes our expectations are exceeded and sometimes our hopes are shattered. But beauty can be found in all of it. After all, life is a series of peaks and valleys. Swells and swales. Highs and lows. Ebbs and flows. As the grounds shift beneath us, we adjust our balance and move forward.
My drawing process is natural and meditative. I revel in the balance between feeling like I can control the process and realizing I cannot. The results are reminiscent of rolling waves, eroded earth, molecular structures, or the vibrations of the cosmos. These works can be read at any scale."
About The Podcast:
Subscribe to our all-new podcast, Aligned By Design with JJ.Acuna - where Award-winning Interior Designer, JJ Acuna (that's me) speaks with Creatives, Leaders, and Spiritual Practitioners, from all walks of life living, inspired lives. We talk about everyday strategies, mantras, and processes to achieve balance and alignment. It’s all about carving out a path to live well and hopefully live better each and every day. Brought to you by Archipelago Media and available on Spotify, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Contact us on Instagram @alignedbydesignwithjj.
Aligned By Design with JJ.Acuna is brought to you by Archipelago Media and copyright of Archipelago Media 2021, a division of Archipelago Limited (HK). Any rebroadcast, reproduction or other use of this podcast without the expressed written consent of Aligned By Design is strictly prohibited. This podcast is about opening broader ideas for personal spiritual alignment and does not offer blanket solutions for any specific individual. If you are in need of assistance for your physical or mental well-being, please seek out a registered medical practitioner in your area.
About Our Theme Music Composer, Olly Shelton:
Olly Shelton is a Brighton-based composer, producer, and pianist specialising in ambient, electronic, and alternative music. He is half of the UK band PELA and works alongside a range of up-and-coming artists and established acts around the globe. Contact Olly on Instagram @o_s_music and on the WEB at www.ollysheltonmusic.com.

Jun 04, 202158:34

Ep.08 Abandoned Liminal Spaces with Daphne Mandel

Daphné MANDEL (IG @daphnemandel) - is an artist born in Lausanne, Switzerland to a French father and a Dutch mother and grew up in Paris. She credits her Dutch grandmother, a respected textile artist, Wilhelmina Fruytier, with instilling in her a deep appreciation of art and painting. Daphné studied architecture, landscape architecture, and urban planning in Versailles and graduated in 2000. She co-founded the Paris-based landscape architecture and urban planning firm Gilot&Mandel Paysage. She and her partner were named "Best Young Urban Planning and Landscape Architecture Professionals" by the French Ministry of Culture (2006). As a result, a number of public parks, city centres, cultural sites, and sports venues in France and abroad bear Daphne's touch. She found inspiration in her move to Hong Kong in 2008 to explore other means of creative and artistic expression. Hong Kong’s environment is quite one of a kind: it is a mash-up between an urban jungle and lush greenery. Using architectural rendering techniques permits Daphné to give a sense of ultra-realism to her works which contrasts with the more artisanal modes of expression, mirroring of Hong Kong’s urban aesthetic: the luxurious and polished juxtaposed with the untidied and derelict. Today we speak with Daphné about her field research on Hong Kong's abandoned sites. Her explorations of deserted places including villages, schools, theatres and cinemas, private villas, and mansions. Her new series 'Chimerical Villages' delves into the paradox of a city in constant change, with places that are left behind for years sometimes decades, and that seems to be frozen in time. The Series transcends these secluded sites and exacerbates the improbability of their landscapes. We welcome Daphne Mandel to the table. www.daphnemandel.com About The Podcast: Subscribe to our all-new podcast, Aligned By Design with JJ.Acuna - where Award-winning Interior Designer, JJ Acuna (that's me) speaks with Creatives, Leaders, and Spiritual Practitioners, from all walks of life living, inspired lives. We talk about everyday strategies, mantras, and processes to achieve balance and alignment. It’s all about carving out a path to live well and hopefully live better each and every day. Brought to you by Archipelago Media and available on Spotify, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Contact us on Instagram @jj.acuna and @alignedbydesignwithjj. Aligned By Design with JJ.Acuna is brought to you by Archipelago Media and copyright of Archipelago Media 2021, a division of Archipelago Limited (HK). Any rebroadcast, reproduction or other use of this podcast without the expressed written consent of Aligned By Design is strictly prohibited. This podcast is about opening broader ideas for personal spiritual alignment and does not offer blanket solutions for any specific individual. If you are in need of assistance for your physical or mental well-being, please seek out a registered medical practitioner in your area. About Our Theme Music Composer, Olly Shelton: Olly Shelton is a Brighton-based composer, producer, and pianist specialising in ambient, electronic, and alternative music. He is half of the UK band PELA and works alongside a range of up-and-coming artists and established acts around the globe. Contact Olly on Instagram @o_s_music and on the WEB at www.ollysheltonmusic.com.

May 29, 202101:04:34

Ep.07 Chinese Medicine with Jade Elizabeth Ouk

Melbourne-based Jade Elizabeth Ouk has lived quite a life already and her new life in Traditional Chinese Medicine is just about to ramp up. Now a mother of two healthy and happy sons, Jade’s former career spanned new audience development at the Melbourne Festival, Multicultural Arts Victoria, Monash University’s Arts faculty, Heide Museum of Modern Art in Melbourne, was in cultural public relations at Sutton PR and was Marketing Director with Osage Gallery and Osage Art Foundation in Hong Kong, when I met her. She is now learning to become a Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner as she finishes up her Bachelor Of Health Science in Chinese Medicine at the Southern School of Natural Therapies this year. Jade has lived a completely colourful life which will even get more colourful once she begins her practice in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Today we speak with Jade about TCM, the importance of TCM in health, and what we can do to take advantage of Traditional Chinese Medicine practices as a means of daily upkeep and sickness prevention to live healthier lives. We welcome Jade Ouk to the table.
Books To Read from Jade Ouk:

Nurtured by Love by Shinichi Suzuki.
The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat by Oliver Sacks, neurologist and his case histories

On "Yang Sheng" / Chinese Nourishment of Life tradition that includes diet and lifestyle recommendations:

Live Well Live Long by Peter Deadman
The Harvard Medical School Guide to Tai Chi by Peter M. Wayne with Mark L. Fuerst
Welcoming Food: Diet as Medicine for Home Cooks and Other Healers Book 1 and Book 2 by Andrew Sterman. "I love these books! It's like Andrew is at my home kitchen table explaining potentially complicated things about food, making everything simple. It's fascinating. This work will be very helpful for a lot of people." - Philip Glass, composer

For anybody who wishes to support someone post-birth:

Golden Month: Caring for the World's Mothers After Childbirth by Jenny Allison (outlines a holistic approach towards postnatal care that amalgamates the best practices from different cultures throughout the world)

On "the most lovable of all the great religious texts, funny, keen, kind, modest, indestructibly outrageous, and inexhaustibly refreshing" - Le Guin:

Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching by Ursula K. Le Guin.

"The type of work which the great Polish poet and Nobel laureate Wislawa Szymborska meant when she spoke of 'that rare miracle when translation stops being a translation and becomes ... a second original."... The whole of Lao Tzo: Tao Te Ching is well worth savouring - as much as for the ancient substance as for Le Guin's stylistic splendour." - Maria Popova, Brain Pickings
For Chinese medical practitioner use:

Fluid Physiology and Pathology in Traditional Chinese Medicine by Steven Clavey
Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica 3rd edition by Dan Bensky, Steven Clavey and Andrew Stoger
Secret Shaolin Formulas for the Treatment of External Injury new revised edition transmitted by Patriarch De Chan, translated by Zhang Ting-liang and Bob Flaws.

About The Podcast:
Subscribe to our all-new podcast, Aligned By Design with JJ.Acuna - where Award-winning Interior Designer, JJ Acuna (that's me) speaks with Creatives, Leaders, and Spiritual Practitioners, from all walks of life living, inspired lives. We talk about everyday strategies, mantras, and processes to achieve balance and alignment. It’s all about carving out a path to live well and hopefully live better each and every day. Brought to you by Archipelago Media and available on Spotify, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Contact us on Instagram @jj.acuna.

May 23, 202101:07:52

BONUS Ep.01 Our Theme Music with Composer, Olly Shelton

Hey friends- for today’s quick and bonus episode we interview the very awesome Brighton-based Olly Shelton, one half of the Pop-duo PELA, and the composer of the music for the Aligned By Design Podcast.
In today’s episode, Olly shares his story about his first musical instrument, a digital keyboard from his grandpa. He also shares his work as a composer, and what inspired him when he composed the music for our very own theme song- which we will play in full for the very first time. We welcome Olly Shelton to the table.
Olly Shelton is a Brighton-based composer, producer, and pianist specializing in ambient, electronic, and alternative music. He is half of the UK band PELA and works alongside a range of up-and-coming artists and established acts around the globe. Contact Olly on Instagram @o_s_music and on the WEB at www.ollysheltonmusic.com.
About The Show:
Subscribe to our all-new podcast, Aligned By Design with JJ.Acuna - where Award-winning Interior Designer, JJ Acuna (that's me) speaks with Creatives, Leaders, and Spiritual Practitioners, from all walks of life living, inspired lives. We talk about everyday strategies, mantras, and processes to achieve balance and alignment. It’s all about carving out a path to live well and hopefully live better each and every day. Brought to you by Archipelago Media and available on Spotify, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Contact JJ on Instagram @jj.acuna and contact the podcast on Instagram @alignedbydesignwithjj.
Aligned By Design with JJ.Acuna is brought to you by Archipelago Media and copyright of Archipelago Media 2021, a division of Archipelago Limited (HK). Any rebroadcast, reproduction or other use of this podcast without the expressed written consent of Aligned By Design is strictly prohibited. This podcast is about opening broader ideas for personal spiritual alignment and does not offer blanket solutions for any specific individual. If you are in need of assistance for your physical or mental well-being, please seek out a registered medical practitioner in your area.

May 14, 202126:12

Ep.06 Digital Art Spaces with Jennifer C Ellis and AORA Gallery

Jennifer C Ellis is a curator, patron and serial entrepreneur who over the last decade, from London to Hong Kong, has built businesses, projects and connections across the public and private sectors. Her work is a collaboration between artists, institutions, curators, critics and collectors. Jenn is the founder of curatorial, production, and strategy consultancy Apsara Studio. In addition she runs the non-profit the Young Collectors Collective, and hosts the YouTube channel Art Bites and podcast Between Two Curators. In June 2020 she co-launched AORA with Benni Allan, a virtual art space, members platform and curated e-shop that combines art, architecture and music to instil a sense of calm, wellbeing and discovery. Driven by alternative approaches to exhibition-making and funding, Jenn is sensitive to artists, space and context and has worked with leading organisations including Edouard Malingue Gallery, Lehmann Maupin, Hayward Gallery, Liverpool Biennial, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, amongst others.

Her projects and work have appeared in the Evening Standard, Frame Magazine, Wallpaper, Modern House, Art Review, etc. Dedicated to supporting an evolving art community, Jenn collects contemporary art, lectures at Sotheby’s Institute, mentors, and sits on the committees of Chisenhale Gallery and Artangel. In 2018 Jenn was appointed a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. Jenn holds a Law degree from King’s College London and a History of Art degree from the University of Cambridge. Contact Jenn Ellis on Instagram @jenncellis. Follow AORA on Instagram @aoraspace and log on to www.aoraspace.com to check out all the latest programmes and exhibitions.

About The Show:

Subscribe to our all-new podcast, Aligned By Design with JJ.Acuna - where Award-winning Interior Designer, JJ Acuna (that's me) speaks with Creatives, Leaders, and Spiritual Practitioners, from all walks of life living, inspired lives. We talk about everyday strategies, mantras, and processes to achieve balance and alignment. It’s all about carving out a path to live well and hopefully live better each and every day. Brought to you by Archipelago Media and available on Spotify, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Contact JJ on Instagram @jj.acuna and contact the podcast on Instagram @alignedbydesignwithjj.

Aligned By Design with JJ.Acuna is brought to you by Archipelago Media and copyright of Archipelago Media 2021, a division of Archipelago Limited (HK). Any rebroadcast, reproduction or other use of this podcast without the expressed written consent of Aligned By Design is strictly prohibited. This podcast is about opening broader ideas for personal spiritual alignment and does not offer blanket solutions for any specific individual. If you are in need of assistance for your physical or mental well-being, please seek out a registered medical practitioner in your area.

About Our Theme Music Composer, Olly Shelton:

Olly Shelton is a Brighton-based composer, producer, and pianist specializing in ambient, electronic, and alternative music. He is half of the UK band PELA and works alongside a range of up-and-coming artists and established acts around the globe. Contact Olly on Instagram @o_s_music and on the WEB at www.ollysheltonmusic.com.

May 02, 202101:05:24

Ep.05 Crystal Collecting with Joyce Tsang

Born and raised in New Jersey and a self-proclaimed true moon child, meaning a Libra Sun, Cancer Moon, and Cancer Rising, Joyce Tsang, founder of Shop Stone and Star, moved to Hong Kong by way of Los Angeles and Ohio. Always being a bit of a non-conformist and living a bit off the beaten path, Joyce was always encouraged to follow her heart, and believes everything happens for a reason.

Having experience in multiple industries from IT consulting in finance, merchandising for a high street fashion label, to promoting parties in Hollywood, and even event photography through photobooths she invented- it was a trip to Sedona in 2017 for her sister’s “spa-chelorette celebration”, which jumpstarted this reconnection and remembering of her Self. Crystals, Cards, and Astrology all began to fall quickly into place in her own spiritual journey— though it began with a single stone.

Stone & Star (IG @shopstoneandstar) was founded to share the beauty and wonders of crystals and the cosmos, which, according to Joyce, can become allies in our own journeys of healing, finding inner peace, and happiness. On her Instagram Joyce shares tips on how to listen and tune into the stones’ own inner wisdom and energies, a kind of work that Joyce hopes to create a bridge between these stones and crystals and those wanting to work with the stones to reclaim and reconnect with their personal power, gifts, and natural talents - so that we as individuals may live more aligned lives with our Selves and our true life path. We welcome Joyce Tsang to the table.

About The Show:

About Our Theme Music Composer, Olly Shelton:

Apr 23, 202101:14:33

Ep.04 Hong Kong and Sacred Geometry with Artist Peter Yuill

Peter Yuill was born in 1984 in Ottawa, Canada. He graduated from Sheridan College in Toronto, Canada with a BAA in Illustration in 2009. Currently, he lives and works in Hong Kong, SAR. Peter works in deeply complex geometric abstraction. His work is an exploration of the philosophical and existential desire to understand the meaning of existence through mathematical and geometric purity. His work is a combination of highly technical and complex ink drawing and painting on paper. His obsession with doing all the work by hand and being deeply involved in every aspect of making the art speaks to the deeply meditative and spiritual connection Peter has with the process of making each piece. Peter has exhibited around North America and Hong Kong. Recent exhibitions include Equinox at Jonathan Levine Projects, New York; Alignment at Gallery HZ, Hong Kong; The Absurdity of Meaning at Kong Art Space, Hong Kong; Hidden Streets at Pearl Lam Galleries, Hong Kong SOHO; as well as the massive group exhibition The 14th Factory in Los Angeles, California, in 2017. Follow Peter Yuill on Instagram @peteryuill.

About The Show:

About Our Theme Music Composer, Olly Shelton:

Apr 15, 202101:15:17

Ep.03 Feng Shui with Thierry Chow

Feng Shui runs in the family for our guest Thierry Chow. Since 2011, Thierry has been apprenticing under her father, Mr. Chow Hon Ming, one of Hong Kong’s most respected Feng Shui masters. With a BAA major in illustration from Sheridan College in Toronto, Canada, Thierry finds unique and inspiring ways to combine her iconic style and creativity with tried and trusted Feng Shui family recipes. Thierry has written and illustrated a book “Love & Fate” published by et press (Hong Kong Economic Times) in Chinese and has appeared as a Feng Shui consultant on numerous television and radio programs including Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown, Season 11. She’s been featured in publications including Vogue Hong Kong, LA Times, WWD, CNN Travel, and the June 2019 cover of American Way Magazine, 2020 March Cover of Tatler Magazine. She was also selected by Tatler Magazine to be on their Generation T list 2018, and selected by Prestige Magazine for their 40 under 40 in 2018. Thierry has collaborated with major brands like Kenzo, Lane Crawford, Maison Michel, Max & Co, and Soho House as a Feng Shui expert at various events.

Thierry is the founder of Go Lucky, a contemporary feng shui concept that combines enduring feng shui traditions with the energy and innovation of modern design. Go Lucky is a creative expression of how feng shui encompasses both the emotional and the physical and can be used in all aspects of design, including interiors and fashion. Through her practice, Thierry seeks to show that feng shui is not about magic or superstition – it is a creative and fun approach to interpreting and understanding our environment and how it influences us. From our sense of happiness and fulfillment to the quality of our personal and professional relationships, feng shui is about respecting what our environment provides and how we can use the potential of our surroundings to bring deeper meaning to all aspects of our lives. Contact Thierry on the WEB at www.thierrygolucky.com and on Instagram @thierrychow.

About The Show:

Subscribe to our all-new podcast, Aligned By Design with JJ.Acuna - where Award-winning Interior Designer, JJ Acuna (that's me) speaks with Creatives, Leaders, and Spiritual Practitioners, from all walks of life living, inspired lives. We talk about everyday strategies, mantras, and processes to achieve balance and alignment. It’s all about carving out a path to live well and hopefully live better each and every day. Brought to you by Archipelago Media and available on Spotify, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Contact us on Instagram @jj.acuna and @alignedbydesignwithjj.

About Our Theme Music Composer, Olly Shelton:

Apr 06, 202101:06:47

Ep.02 Leadership and Manifestation with Michael Kelley

Michael Kelley is currently the Senior Vice President of International Commercial Licensing at Ralph Lauren. Michael has forged his path as a sales associate to global fashion executive in Ralph Lauren since the 90s, and before that starting as a Sales Associate at Polo in the late 80s. As his responsibilities have grown in breadth and complexity, after moving from New York to Tokyo with the Company, and most recently Hong Kong to London, Michael has stayed true to himself, remaining grounded and authentic throughout his whole life experience. For episode 2, Michael will share his secrets to professional and spiritual fulfillment. And we’ll hear how he has managed to create balance and success amid the ever-changing and fast-paced world of fashion. Contact Michael on Instagram @michael_e_kelley.

About the Show:

Subscribe to our all-new podcast, Aligned By Design with JJ.Acuna - where Award-winning Interior Designer, JJ Acuna (that's me) speaks with Creatives, Leaders, and Spiritual Practitioners, from all walks of life living, inspired lives. We talk about everyday strategies, mantras, and processes to achieve balance and alignment. It’s all about carving out a path to live well and hopefully live better each and every day. Brought to you by Archipelago Media and available on Spotify, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Contact us on Instagram @jj.acuna and @alignedbydesignwithjj.

About Our Theme Music Composer, Olly Shelton:

Apr 04, 202101:03:40

Ep.01 Shamanism with Johannes Pong

One of the best-known personalities in Hong Kong media, globe-trotting polyglot travel and food writer Johannes Pong made his most daunting journey into Core Shamanism during the summer of 2019. He completed the advanced courses necessary for holistic healing and emerged as a healer shortly after Halloween 2019. Find out about journeying, Power Animal retrievals, remote healing for soul portion loss, and how Core Shamanism can harness spiritual and physical well-being for grounding and empowerment. Note- Shamanism is neither a belief system nor a religion, but an operational methodology for healing. Core Shamanism is the underlying protocol and transcultural principles of shamanic practice, which allows practitioners to reach altered states of consciousness to perceive and interact with other dimensions of life. Contact Johannes on Instagram @johannespong.

About the Show:

Subscribe to our all-new podcast, Aligned By Design with JJ.Acuna - where award-winning Interior Designer, JJ.Acuna (that's me) speaks with Creatives, Leaders, and Spiritual Practitioners, from all walks of life living, inspired lives. We talk about everyday strategies, mantras, and processes to achieve balance and alignment. It’s all about carving out a path to live well and hopefully live better each and every day. Brought to you by Archipelago Media and available on Spotify, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Contact us on Instagram @jj.acuna and @alignedbydesignwithjj

About Our Theme Music Composer, Olly Shelton:

Apr 02, 202101:06:14