The Conscious Diva

Dr. Sweta Vikram is joining me in this episode of the Conscious Diva Podcast. Sweta is an Ayurvedic doctor and an international speaker. She has written multiple award-winning books and is a trusted source on health and wellness, frequently appearing on NBC. 

Today, we are chatting about her latest book, The Loss That Binds Us. It is the first book to use the principles of Ayurveda to heal grief. Sweta shares how Ayurveda and grief work together. She explains what grief is and how it shows up differently for everyone, which has a lot to do with our Ayurvedic constitution - our predisposed characteristics. 

Her book offers 108 practical tips to help navigate the multitude of emotions brought on by loss, as well as helping you identify what you are experiencing so you can acknowledge, understand, and accept.

This book is an invaluable resource for anyone navigating the challenging journey of healing after the loss of a loved one, a beloved pet, job loss, or a breakup. I hope you enjoy this episode on conscious grieving. 

HIGHLIGHTS:

• Sweta explains what Ayurveda is and its purpose.
• Sweta explains the doshas, Ayurvedic constitution/body types made up of the five elements: water, air, space, fire, and earth. 
• How Ayurveda and grief work together.
• How grief shows up differently for people.
• How we can use her 108 tips to support the five stages of grief.

ABOUT Sweta Srivastava Vikram: Featured by Asian Fusion as “One of the most influential Asians of our time,” is a best-selling author of 14 books, a mindfulness writing coach, a headstand-devotee, and a certified yoga & Ayurveda counselor who helps people lead creative, productive, and healthier lives. Born in India, Sweta spent her formative years between the Indian Himalayas, North Africa, and the United States collecting and sharing stories. She writes about women, multiculturalism, wellness, and identity. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, amongst other publications, across nine countries on three continents, is an award-winning writer and graduate of Columbia University. She lives in New York City with her husband and in her spare time, teaches yoga to female survivors of rape and domestic violence.  

Renowned Dream expert Theresa Cheung joins me in this episode of The Conscious Diva podcast.

We talk about…dreams! In her newly revised and updated The Dream Dictionary: Interpret the Secrets of Your Dreams, you will discover the secrets of your dreamlife. 

This is the best reference book on dream interpretation I have read in years. Her book helps you decipher what's possibly going on in your unconscious and offers insights to cross-reference how your dreams might impact your waking life.  

Theresa Cheung gives you everything you need to dream bigger and better. Whatever your dream symbol or experience, you will find a treasure trove of thousands of interpretations in her new Dream Dictionary.

Theresa has written over 150 books, and she is a regular media commentator on dream decoding, spirituality, the afterlife, astrology, and so much more. I hope you enjoy this deep dive into dream interpretation. 

HIGHLIGHTS:

• Learn how to discover the secrets of your dream life. And find out what dreamscaping is.

• What kind of dreamer are you? A daydreamer, an adventurer, or another type?

• How dream work can heal trauma by rescripting our past into a positive experience.

• How waking life might be a dream and our sleeping world reality. In the Hindu tradition, this is known as Lila, the play of life and Maya, the illusion.

• The classic teeth falling our dream - Why has this been a symbol for death?

• And I share one of my epic dreams.

About Theresa:

Theresa Cheung is a modern mystic and Sunday Times bestselling dreams, spiritual, and paranormal author. Since leaving King’s College, Cambridge University, with a degree in Theology and English, she has written numerous bestselling books and encyclopedias which have been translated into dozens of different languages. She has appeared regularly on ITV This Morning as their Dreams and spiritual expert as well as BBC Radio 2 with Claudia Winkleman, BBC Radio 4 Beyond Belief, BBC Radio 5 Live Sounds podcast Different with Nicky Campbell, Capital Radio with Ronan Kemp, Coast to Coast AM with George Noory, Gaia TV with Regina Meredith as well as appearances on Channel 4, ITV GMB, Today extra, Good Day Chicago, KTLA, This Morning Virginia, among others. She has appeared on celebrity podcasts such as Megan Trainer's Workin On It, Top 100 podcasts such as Sean Mike Kelly's Digital Social Hour and written many features or been quoted in publications such as Bustle, Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, InStyle, Heat, Refinery 29. Her mission and passion are to make spirituality and the paranormal more credible, engaging, and mainstream.

LINKS:

Joining me in this episode is Lama Rod Owens. Known as the Black Buddhist Southern Queen, he is a highly sought-after Buddhist minister, author, activist, and yoga instructor, an authorized Lama in the Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism, and an international influencer. He holds a Master of Divinity degree in Buddhist Studies from Harvard Divinity School, focusing on the intersection of social change, identity, and spiritual practice. He's an all-around amazing guy.

Here, we talk about his latest book, The New Saints: From Broken Hearts to Spiritual Warriors. Lama Rod has broken down some key aspects from the Buddhist traditions he has practiced and put them into his own words so the reader can tangibly apply these wisdom teachings. This is a jam packed episode not to be missed.

In this episode, we talk about:

• What it means to be a disruptor.
• How and why the struggle truly is real.

• Modern takes on the four yogas and the Four Immeasurables, in Buddhism that he calls the Four Sweet Liberations.

• We also talk about Mother Harriet Tubman as a saint, ancestor, a guide, and a guardian.
• We discuss unseen beings and Rod's personal relationship to spirits.
• Werk vs Work.
• Working with fire and wrathful deities.

MORE ABOUT LAMA ROAD OWENS

Lama Rod co-founded Bhumisparsha, a spiritual community with a mission of making tantra accessible and inclusive for North American practitioners. He’s also the co-founder of Dharma Queens, a series of conversations on Instagram Live with sister sadada, to help people get freer faster. His teachings center on freedom, self-expression, and radical self-care.

Joining me in the episode to discuss her new book - The Story is in Our Bones: How Worldviews and Climate Justice Can Remake a World in Crisis - is Osprey Orielle Lake, Founder and Executive Director of Women’s Earth & Climate Action Network, International, known as WECAN. 

In this hopeful book, Osprey asserts that the dominant worldview—described as capitalist, colonialist, patriarchal, and extractive—is the main culprit for environmental destruction. 

Osprey skillfully weaves history, mythology, anthropology, climate and earth science, sociology, and spirituality to illustrate the central message: Capitalism and colonialism have gotten us on this path of catastrophic climate change but, as she shares in her book, they can be tranformed. Osprey shows how people all over the world are rising to defend Earth. Her book includes the memory and knowledge of how we can live in balance with nature, which still lives on in Indigenous communities.

HIGHLIGHTS:

- Origin stories are Spiritual healing for our planet. 

- What is WECAN

- Explain the concept of “Mother Law”

- What is the LANDBACK movement?

- The dominant cultural worldview.

MORE ABOUT OSPREY:

This episode is all about awe and how we can use awe to heighten our awareness in only a few seconds. Joining me is author Jake Eagle to discuss his latest book, The Power of Awe.  Jake and his co-author Michael Amster, have developed a simple, clinically proven practice to reduce inflammation, stress, loneliness, and burnout while improving overall well-being. The method takes less than a minute. The authors call it “microdosing mindfulness”. 

With that, I invite you to experience a little bit of awe in your life today. If you felt inspired by this episode, please write a review and share this episode. Thanks for listening.

Highlights:

* What is the emotion of awe? 

* Why mindful practices feel challenging or inaccessible for some people.

* How the AWE practice is a shortcut to experiencing transcendence, turning ordinary moments into awe-inducing experiences within a matter of seconds.

* Understanding the 3LC: Heart consciousness. Spacious consciousness. Safety consciousness.  

* How can experiencing awe be a healing experience, and how can we use this technique in times of global crisis and chaos?

Websites:

I always feel like Christmas is a magical time of the year – but I never thought about why. Joining me is author and master herbalist Ellen Evert Hopman, who is sharing her latest magical book, The Sacred Herbs of Yule and Christmas: Remedies, Recipes, Magic, and Brews for the Winter Season.    

Ellen takes us on an around-the-world tour of ancient Christmas celebrations, Pagan Solstice customs, and magical seasonal plants. She also shares the origins of the Christmas tree, Santa Claus, holiday spirits, Yuletide animals, and why we honor the darkest days of the year. 

Plus, how to perform Winter Solstice divinations and make traditional foods and drinks. This is not just a Holiday book; it is a manual explaining the in-depth medicinal and magical properties of the many herbs and plants associated with the Christmas and Yuletide season, like Frankincense, Myrrh, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Hibiscus, Pine, and many more.

This episode is a mystical journey through this most magical time of year, I hope you enjoy the wonders of the winter season wherever you may be with an extra sprinkling of magic.  Thank you for listening. 

About Ellen:

Ellen is a master herbalist and lay homeopath who has been a Druidic initiate since 1984. She is a founding member of the Order of the White Oak, the Archdruidess and founder of Tribe of the Oak, a former professor at the Grey School of Wizardry, and a member of the Grey Council of Mages and Sages. She is the author of Celtic herbals and Druid novels, including Secret Medicines from Your Garden, The Sacred Herbs of Samhain, and Once Around the Sun: Stories, Crafts, and Recipes to Celebrate the Sacred Earth Year. She lives in Massachusetts.

Renowned Death Doula Anne-Marie Keppel joins me in this episode to discuss her new book, Death Nesting: The Heart-Centered Practices of a Death Doula.

Anne-Marie brings new-age spiritual aspects and practices to support the modern death doula. She founded Village Deathcare, whose inspiration and purpose is incorporating deathcare into the community.

Her book contains advice and experiences from various spiritual and religious traditions like Buddhism, Hinduism, Paganism, and Catholicism. It also includes support for people working as, or thinking about becoming a death doula, plus invaluable advice and mindfulness practices for contemplating your own mortality.

Anne-Marie explains:

• What exactly does a death doula do? Anne-Marie explains what the word doula means.
• Why talking about death is essential for vital people.
• Differences between Ancient and Modern Death Doulas.

• Mindfulness practices for contemplating your own mortality. And why it is important to do this.

• Death douling for our animals and pets.

Back on my show is the profound wisdom teacher Tracee Stanley. Tracee is gifted in weaving devotion and practice into daily life. Her latest book, The Luminous Self: Sacred Yogic Practices and Rituals to Remember Who You Are, guides the reader on a journey of inner exploration. There is so much yumminess in this radiant book. I mean, the book cover is glowing! 

In her latest book, Tracee offers meditations and rituals to self-inquiry practices designed to tap into a deeper understanding of yourself. All the spiritual tools in this book have been experienced by Tracee and helped her reclaim her own inherent power and wisdom, and they can do the same for you. 

Erik Jampa Andresson and I discuss our mystical experiences and practices in this mini-bonus episode. We rant about mantras and how specific mantras can be used as spells and, in fact have been used as spells in history. We also discuss the importance of ritual.

Enjoy! Please let me know if liked this episode by subscribing and writing a review. Thank you.

Follow me on IG @The_Conscious_Diva

For more info visit:

This is part 2 of my interview with Erik Jampa Andersson. In this fascinating interview, we continue to discuss his new book Unseen Beings: How We Forgot the World Is More Than Human.

In this episode, we get way more esoteric. Erik explains exactly who unseen beings are, and why we need to understand that we share the world with more than humans.

We talk about the Nagas - find out who these serpentine beings are. We discuss spirits and mantras, particularly how certain mantras are spells used in literal combat.

We both share a ton of Naga stories and experiences from the one Prashant Iyengar shared with about Patanjali to how the Nagas became guardians of the Chod founder’s tradition and many more.

Plus there’s a bonus episode right after this one on the importance of ritual and we dive much deeper into mantras are spells. 

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THIS EPISODE INCLUDE:

• Find out who the unseen beings are and why it matters that we learn to identify them.  

• The importance of Nature spirits and learning to understand who the serpentine Naga beings are.

• Critical connections between human health and environmental health.

• Erik shares the story of Machig Labdrön, the founder of the practice of chöd: Tibetan Buddhist Mahamudrā chöd lineages.

• Erik draws on traditional eco-philosophies and Buddhist wisdom, asking us to rethink the very nature of our existence on this incredible that we share planet.

Joining me in this episode is Tibetan Buddhist practitioner Erik Jampa Andersson. I’m talking to him about his new inspiring book, Unseen Beings: How We Forgot the World Is More Than Human.

Combining his extensive knowledge of spiritual traditions with his passion for ecology and environmentalism, his new book offers a revolutionary perspective on the climate catastrophe bridging history, philosophy, science, and religion. This is a phenomenal discussion on how we can apply the practices and perspectives of animism and mythology offering up new ways of seeing and thinking to learn to become more sensitive towards our beautiful, endangered planet. 

His book ponders the question: What will it truly take for humanity to change? This is a powerful episode. 

TOPICS INCLUDE: 

·       How and why we constructed a human-centric worldview 

·       The Anthropocene as a chronic disease

·       How humans are the center of everything. 

·       Amazing recent discoveries around non-human intelligence

·       How religious traditions have dealt with questions of nature, sentience, and ecology. 

·       Critical connections between human health and environmental health

And this jam-packed episode is only part 1! Unseen Beings is a seriously brilliant and well-researched book. I hope you love this episode and go read Erik’s book.

Visit the episode show page at www.TheConsciousDiva.com  for more information on everything we discuss.

LEARN ABOUT ERIK:

In this episode, the inspiring Mara Branscome returns to share her latest book Sage, Huntress, Lover, Queen: Access Your Power and Creativity through Sacred Female Archetypes.

The archetypes are the Maiden, Mother, Sage, Huntress, Lover, Mystic, and Queen. Mara explains each archetype’s beneficial qualities, its connections to the physical-emotional-mental body, and its shadow aspects. And she shares why connecting with these aspects can be an important tool for self-healing. 

HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:

• Archetypes are not stereotypes; they are codes, formulas, and patterns.
• Why it's important to identify with them or one.
• Mara breaks down the seven sacred female archetypes.
• She explains how journeying through the seven feminine archetypes helps us to rediscover our essential self.

• How can we use these key archetypes to understand shadow and light?
• Mara compares this new book to her previous book, Ritual as Remedy. 

ABOUT MARA:

Mara Branscombe is a mother, writer, yogi, artist, teacher, mindfulness leader, ceremonialist and spiritual coach. She is the author of “Ritual As Remedy: Embodied Practices For Soul Care.” Mara is passionate about weaving the art of mindfulness, self-care, creativity, mind–body practices, and earth-based rituals into her life and work, and she has been leading community ceremony since 2000.

Mara's website:

Have you ever thought about the healing power of birds? I love watching birds, but I had never thought of them as healing medicine until I met Tammah Watts.

Tammah is a licensed therapist, birding enthusiast, and the author of the new book from Hay House - Keep Looking Up! Your Guide to the Powerful Healing of Birdwatching. In her new book, Tammah shares not only the healing power birds offer us when we give ourselves permission to observe them as a source of wisdom, but she weaves her personal story of overcoming her physical, neurological, and mental health challenges. She also offers practical information, and journal prompts that activate connection to ourselves.

Tammah knew that she needed to seek and accept hope, love, and support to overcome her chronic pain and cultivate resilience. But she could not have predicted that a little yellow bird would put her on the path to healing by fostering a powerful connection with birds and the experience of birding.

We begin our conversation with the question: How is birding a spiritual practice? 

WE CHAT ABOUT:

• What makes birding a spiritual practice? 
• How Tammah won the Hay House writers competition with this beautiful book.
• Exploring the practice of birdwatching from the comfort of your own home and community 
• How birding increases your self-awareness, mindfulness, and concentration.
• Birds teach us acceptance and alignment with spirit.
• The conscious aspects of birding as humans and birds.

ABOUT TAMMAH WATTS:

Tammah Watts has served the community for over 35 years in managerial, clinical, and consulting roles for private, non-profit, community college, and public sectors. After suffering a neurological injury following a routine surgical procedure, she found herself unable to return to the work she loved. Yet her experience as a licensed marriage and family therapist, mother, wife, grandmother, daughter, sister, and friend has helped her to her book chronicles her own personal struggles to overcome physical, neurological, and mental health challenges through the powerful healing of birdwatching.

Renowned menstrual educator Sinu Joseph joins me in this episode to discuss her fascinating book - Rtu Vidyā: Ancient Science behind Menstrual Practices. 

You might be wondering how menstruation is a spiritual topic? Sinu’s book takes a deep dive into explaining the scientific and logical reasons behind how spiritual practices impact female physiology. An understanding of the science behind menstrual practices can help women prevent menstrual difficulties, develop a positive attitude towards menstruation, and learn how to work in sync with nature’s cycles. This book was an eye-opening read, and I encourage you to listen with an open mind.  

In this episode we specifically talk about:

• Prana, and why entering temples and chanting mantras is a no, no during menstruation. 
• Sinu explains why there are no mantras women can chant during menstruation. I was very surprised by the answers, particularly on the breakdown on the chanting of Om 🕉, and the very specific ways women of menstruating age should pronounce Om: A-U-M vs O-M.
• The word Rtu is a Sankrit word that’s means both seasons and menstruation. Sinu explains how this is not a coincidence. 
• How prana (upward energetic force) and apana (downward energetic force) affects the female body when we practice mantra, yoga and athletic activities engaging against gravity like gymnastics, swimming or if you happen to be a female fighter pilot. These practices can lead to endometriosis.
• Interesting fact: Men have to spend many, many years practicing yoga and meditation to attain an equivalent amount of spiritual energy as a woman. What comes energetically and spiritually naturally to women simply by virtue of menstruating. 
• How your Ayurvedic dosha (the body’s constitution) affects the way you menstruate. And how lifestyle and diet also affect our periods.
• How a Western women might apply this ancient wisdom to living a modern life, particularly sportswomen.

When we live a mystical life anything is possible, especially being able to receive communication from spirits regardless of when they were in a living human form. In this episode of The Conscious Diva, I am talking to Spring Washam. Spring is a well-known spiritual teacher who was spontaneously contacted by Harriet Tubman to share her wisdom of living from the heart. I asked Spring who Harriet Tubman the mystic is, and why she is relevant today?

This conversation with acclaimed Buddhist teacher Spring Washam was profound. I am so thankful to Spring for her beautiful new book, “The Spirit of Harriet Tubman - AWAKENING FROM THE UNDERGROUND” - which is not a scholarly work or historical account of Harriet Tubman's life, but rather a work explaining a transmission of divine wisdom as a true awakened being. 

HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:

• Spring shares a historical snapshot of Harriet Tubmans' incredible achievements. 
• The Dharma of Harriet Taubman and the Underground railroad.
• Spring shares how Harriet is the right kind of Deity for our collective wound of racism.
• Harriet's message of living from our heart is shared as a practice of learning how to heal our ancestors by asking: Who am I, Who, am I really? 
• Freedom through consciousness – freeing ourselves from our mental prison and conditioning that shapes our lives and program us to believe non-truths about ourselves.
• I share how I felt this book was written by both Harriet and Spring, as well as a personal experience I had from reading “The Spirit of Harriet Tubman - AWAKENING FROM THE UNDERGROUND”. 
• Spring reads her "Prayer of Recognition and Gratitude" from her new book. 

Welcome back to Part 2 of Crystals with Nicholas Pearson. In this continuation of the previous episode, we dive into the properties of crystals, crystal grids, and Nicholas explains otherworldly crystals like moldavite, tektites, and amber.  Because who doesn’t love crystals and want to know more!? 

In this episode crystal expert and award winning author, Nicholas Pearson, chats about his latest book - Crystal Basics Pocket Encyclopedia: The Energetic, Healing, and Spiritual Power of 450 Gemstones. His book offers a quick-start guide for working with crystals and stones as well as a full-color A-to-Z compendium of 450 crystals, rocks, minerals, and fossils. Each entry features a color photo of the stone and defines its physical, psychological, and spiritual healing properties and its corresponding chakra, element, planet, and zodiac sign.

HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:

• Why is amber considered a crystal when it is a resin?
• Crystal formation type: Igneous, Sedimentary and Metamorphic - And how formation effects the way a crystal can be used for healing.
• We totally nerd out on otherworldly crystals – moldavite, tektites, and meteorites. 
• Nicholas shares his favourite stones and crystals. Emerald is one of them. He shares how Emerald has been a meaningful ally. 

RELATED LINKS:

Who doesn’t love crystals? I’ve personally never met a person that doesn’t like crystals. They are mesmerizing and attracting, but why? What is it about these crystalline creations that fascinate us? 

In this episode I speak to crystal expert and award winning author, Nicholas Pearson, about his latest book - Crystal Basics Pocket Encyclopedia: The Energetic, Healing, and Spiritual Power of 450 Gemstones. 

In this interview, Nicholas offers connections between mineral science and the metaphysics of crystal healing. Nicholas generously shares an incredible amount of information about crystals, so much so that it has been edited into two episodes. This is part one. 

In this extensive interview, we cover the basics of what crystals are, why crystals work, how to select stones, plus safe and effective methods for cleansing, charging and programing crystals. Whether you’re a seasoned crystal practitioner, a collector, a beginner or simply want to understand more about these sparkly beauties, this is the crystal episode for you.

This episode is about leveling up by figuring out what your missing element is. WTF? Yup, missing element. I love learning about different healing modalities, and I don’t know a lot about the Chinese Daoist/Taoist system, let alone what the five elements cycle is.  Which is why I spoke to Tisha Morris. Tisha is an entertainment attorney, feng shui expert, and the author of five books on the healing arts. Tisha explains how we each embody a primary element —water, wood, fire, earth, or metal - that defines our strengths. But what about our weaknesses? In this episode, we dive into her latest book: Missing Element Hidden Strength, to understand how we can activate our creative potential by improving our most challenging element. 

I love talking about energy specifically about how it works and why. In this episode Oliver Niño, also known as “The Spiritual Activator,” explains how energy relates to manifestation and alignment. 

Do you know your Human Design? You might want to after listening. Joining me in this is episode is Human Design coach and money educator, Kelsey Abbott. We are chatting about - you guessed it - human design. Kelsey has a remarkable understanding of this system, as a result, she is able to see magic in someones chart and guide her clients to fulfillment. 

Her ability to explain the often complex Human Design system literary rolls off her tongue like she's describing the most amazing meal she's ever had, and why you should try it too! Kelsey seriously knows her stuff and can help lead you to your life purpose, and ultimately bring you joy. 

In this episode I chat to ceremonialist and spiritual coach, Mara Branscombe. You might be familiar with Mara from her yoga teacher offerings, but she’s also known for her ritual work which is what we talk about from her beautiful new book - Ritual as Remedy: Embodied Practices for Soul Care.

What I enjoyed about her book is how Mara invites us to explore our inner mystic through esoteric self-care practices. One of my personal favourite practices is working with the elements, so I wanted Mara to share why the elements are important to acknowledge inwardly and out. We also discuss how and why people are affected by the wind, and how we can use wind as an ally for inspiration.

Mara shares the difference between a ritual, a habit and a superstition, like when someone wears a good luck charm. You don’t have to be into dancing in the moonlight, or bathing in it for that matter to love this book, all you need is an open heart. I hope you love Mara as much as I do!

HIGHLIGHTS: 

- Mara talks about her background as an adventurer, Waldorf Education school teacher and dancer - all these combined experiences shine through in her new book. Mara also expands on the varied traditions she has experienced that allowed her to create a unique manual of practices.

- We talk about spiritual longing, what it is and what longing feels like, and what it means to ritualize healthy habits, and how do we do this?

- We discuss becoming the witness. A practice that is not as easy as it sounds.

ABOUT MARA:

Mara Branscombe is a mother, writer, yogi, artist, teacher, mindfulness leader, ceremonialist and spiritual coach. She is the author of “Ritual As Remedy: Embodied Practices For Soul Care.”  Mara is passionate about weaving the art of mindfulness, self-care, creativity, mind–body practices, and earth-based rituals into her life and work, and she has been leading community ceremony since 2000.

My guest in this episode is Mitch Horowitz, a PEN Award-winning historian considered an expert of alternative spirituality, he’s also known widely as the voice of esoterica ideas. Mitch and I first met when a few years ago I was producing a TV series called Open Minds. Mitch was a guest on the show and at the time he was coming on to discuss his book Occult America. Since then he’s written at least 20 more books! And has two news ones coming out this year - Day Dream Believer out this July, and Uncertain Places available in October. We chat about those books plus…Mitches film The Kybalion, which breaks down the 7 Hermetic principals. 

This episode is a thought-provoking discussion of the spiritual, the occult, the magickal, and the extra-sensory world with mentions of many, many people from Neville Goddard, a continued influence on Mitch as well as Émile Coué and, of all people, The Amazing Randi.

In this follow up episode of The Conscious Diva Podcast, my guest renowned Akashic Records practitioner, Rohini Moradi Sweeny continues to demystify the idea of Akashic records gatekeepers. Then we explore Rohini’s Persian Magi lineage, the Zoroastrian practice and discuss modern magic. And, Rohini and I get witchy as we share our own esoteric experiences when we explored our own records to learn about our spiritual lineage. 

TRIGGER WARNING! Please note there is a section of the interview where we talk about Magophonia, the practice of killing the Magi and how the slaughter was celebrated for many years as an annual holiday. 

HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:

• Rohini’s spiritual lineage and connection to the Persian Magi.
• We discuss the work of author Stephen Flowers and his books – Original Magic: The Rituals and Initiations of the Persian Magi and The Origins of the Tarot in the Mithraic and Hermetic Traditions.
• Consciousness and the forms it takes (good and bad).
• Zoroastrianism
• Witches, past life experiences and embodying spiritual memory in this life.
• Trees and reincarnation. 

TOPICS MENTIONED:

• The Mahabharata epic battle.
• Anandamayi Ma, her Haridwar ashram.
• Sorcery vs Magic 

Educational References: 

In this episode of The Conscious Diva, my guest Akashic Records practitioner Rohini Moradi Sweeny and I talk about so much - from the Akashic records to growing up in a Hare Krishna Ashram to how the tools of her Bhakti yoga upbringing came into their own when her baby daughter passed away from SIDS. This profound loss brought her back to her connection to Spirit and a remembrance awakened Rohini to her ability to access the Akashic records for healing, leading her to teacher people to do the same. Today, Rohini is internationally recognized as a teacher of the Akasha and spiritual explorer. Through her revolutionary approach to empowering spiritually curious individuals, Rohini guides her community through a wondrous journey inward so they can experience the awe of a limitless reality.

WE DISCUSS IN DETAIL:

• Growing up in a Hare Krishna community Rohini learned the lifelong tools of Bhakti. Her days were filled with meditation, chanting, yoga, and cleansing the body in an effort to grow as a spiritual being.
• She shares how she became anchored in the magic of life, rather than the fear of external circumstances despite the political turmoil caused by the Iran-Iraq war and the simultaneous Muslim revolution. Rohini remembers living in a state of joy and playfulness, even as bombs fell outside her father’s temple.
• Rohini shares how she tried ignoring her spiritual gifts, only later having the profound experience and loss of her baby daughter leading to the discovery of the Akash and her life’s purpose.
• Learning to trust. How this evolved from her lifelong practice. Magic really exists and that when we learn to trust so much in our lives can open up.

ABOUT ROHINI:

Rohini Moradi was born into a spiritually-driven life in Tehran, Iran where her father ran the only Hindu temple in the city during the Muslim revolution. During her childhood, her family traveled throughout India, devoted to a colorful yogic life.

In early 1989, a massive religious-military upheaval in Iran altered her life path. Her father’s temple was seized, and her family fled to the United States as refugees. This uprooting caused a massive personal shift in Rohini’s reality.

Where her life used to center on personal growth, Rohini’s transition to America caused a massive personal shift from a spiritually-oriented existence to a material-oriented one.

Read more about Rohini’s fascinating transformation process, and learn what Rohini offers on her website listed below.

REFERENCES/LINKS:

Have you heard of the Hara Dimension? Internationally respected energy medicine practitioner Amelia Vogler explains what the heck the Hara Dimension is and how it carries the wisdom of your soul between and through our lifetimes. Oooohhh. So cool. 

WE DISCUSS IN DETAIL:

Have you ever thought it might be possible to dream the life you want into existence? Meet Candice Rose Eastman, founder and Editor-in-Queen of the recently launched She Rose magazine. Candice knows a thing or two about making your dreams come true. She shares how she visioned her magazine into a reality during the pandemic through the use of psychedelics and intentional plant medicine. 

HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:

·  How She Rose Magazine was born as a direct result of going deep during the Pandemic.

·  Her honest sharing about her use of psychedelics and how through using intentional plant medicine, she has dreamed everything into being.

·  Her magical epiphany in Tulum about what to call herself for her magazine as Editor-in-Queen, instead of Editor-in-Chief.

·  Candice was originally a hair stylist, then became a life coach. She retired from hair after 21years to launch her own digital magazine - She Rose – for women to create the life of their dreams, women rising up and congratulating each other on their wins.

·  We talk about making dreams come true and how trust opens you up to the true flow of life.

·  Candice explains her mission statement - ‘SHE ROSE’ is an answer, a declaration and a power statement! And what it means to be a conscious publication. 

About She Rose - 'She Rose’ is a metaphorical reflection of a woman’s beauty and resilience. The magazine’s mission is to provide a platform that offers creative freedom, connection, growth and inspiration for all women. It collaborates with women from all places, backgrounds, creeds, political views, income levels, colors, religions, sexual orientations, ages, and more. Each issue offers breathtaking artwork, inspiration, heart-warming stories, profound advice, captivating gifts, and ancient wisdom to its readers. The women featured are purposefully chosen to remind the world to keep going in the direction of one's visions and that we are all connected.

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In this episode we talk about past lives and how by tapping into our previous lifetimes, we can learn to forgive, live from a place of compassion and heal ourselves to truly step into the life we want to design. Joining me to explain all of this is Spiritual Teacher and Lifestyle Design Coach Elizabeth Tripp. 

In this episode Chef Amber shares how her approach to food wasn’t always holistic. Amber was in a constant race to lose weight, leading to over 30 years of disordered eating and a very exhausting, unhappy life. Amber was also as a professional chef. Her body could no longer tolerate this way of being. 

I thoroughly enjoyed chatting to Chef Amber Caudle for this episode, and I love her no-nonsense approach to wholesome eating. Chef Amber openly shares her challenging journey with food, and how through her restaurant, The Source Café, which opened in 2012, Amber has been able to create a sumptuous take on natural, wholesome foods, infusing spirituality into her beautiful, rejuvenating and restorative, nutritious dishes.

In this episode we chat about how the fear of rest is the fear of meeting the higher Self. Sit with that statement for a moment. Meet Octavia Raheem, a beautiful storyteller and a profound guide teaching the importance of rest. For when we give ourselves permission to rest an opportunity to discover ourselves arises.  

Joining me in this episode is author, mentor, and yoga teacher Octavia Raheem. We talk about her new book: Pause Rest Be: Stillness Practices for Courage in Times of Change. A work of wisdom guiding us to rest. Octavia was living her everyday life like she was an ultra-marathon runner. Her desire to constantly be better and better, to do more, and never ask for help lead to life threatening burnout which revealed an awakening to the importance of rest. Her beautiful book honors the changes and spaces in life with purposeful rest and reflection. 

Human Design Coach Lindsey Means chats The Science of Your Uniqueness! 

Known as Human Design, this fascinating system shows you how to access your body’s consciousness as a decision-making tool, and ultimately, how to live as your true self. I like to think of it as a divine blueprint for living this present life. And I find it to be profound, precise and illuminating.  It was awesome to chat with Lindsey and have her share her knowledge and the vastness of this system. 

IN THIS EPISODE WE EXPLORE:

- What is Human Design and where, what, or who created it?

- What are the Human Design types and how these types are divine blueprints for living our purpose. 

- What is a strategy, and what if yours is "Wait to respond"?

- We discuss how Human Design describes your personality and soul imprints (conscious and unconscious), so you can learn to uncover your strengths, weaknesses, motivation, super powers and what you are here to do.

- And so much more! 

ABOUT LINDSEY:

Lindsey Means specializes in helping people use the tools of Human Design to heal themselves. She also teaches how to apply what you’ve learned to grow your business more consciously. Learn more:

Magic and transformation are two of my favourite topics! It was a pleasure talking with professional astrologer, healer, and psychic medium Rachel Lang about her new book, Modern Day Magic: 8 Simple Rules to Realize Your Power & Shape Your Life. Rachel combines the healing tools of energy work, clairvoyance, and her knowledge of astrology to enable readers to trust their own communion with Spirit, and magic, in a user-friendly manual. When we learn how to harness our own magic as a tool to transform ourselves, life opens up in a completely new way. Did I mention I love this book! 

What does skateboarding have to do with spirituality? In this episode, the mystic and creative artist known as Deep compare the spiritual parallels of skateboarding, meditation and mysticism. 

Best selling author-yogi David Richards joins me to chat about the parallels of yoga and poetry, and his latest book The Lighthouse Keeper. David is an ex-marine, who grew up in the military. He discovered yoga serendipitously leading him on a transformational journey of self-discovery. 

In this episode, we talk about:

- Awakening to his own awareness in his first yoga class.

- How Yoga and Poetry are similar.

- Realizing each one of us has a life purpose and surrendering to the life that awaits us. 

- His story of growing up in the military, and later transitioning from the military and being a Marine to living a yogic life.

- The importance of creating a sacred space. 

More about David:

David Richards is a firewalker, yoga teacher, life strategist, and corporate executive. He is the author of the No. 1 international bestselling book Whiskey and Yoga: Find Your Purpose. He spent his early childhood living in various parts of the United States and three years living on the island of Okinawa, Japan. After graduating university with a degree in English, he was commissioned an officer in the Marines. He served fifteen years on active duty before deciding to break out from the path his father and brother had followed in making the military a career and left the Marines to pursue life as a civilian.

He is a champion of inclusion and diversity in the workplace and honorably served his country as an officer in the Marines during Operation Desert Storm and Operation Restore Hope. He received a bachelor's degree in English from Penn State University and earned two master's degrees from Marine Corps University.

In this truly inspiring episode, #TravelCanHeal advocate Jackie Roby shares how she identified the missing piece in wellness & healing travel to create her company, Inspired Journey Consulting and use her superpowers for good as a gift to support transformational travel.

Jackie is dedicated to wellness, healing, and transformational tourism, and she shares how travel doesn’t become truly transformational until you have taken time for deep reflection. Having experienced trauma personally she looks for ways to thrive and live life without shame so others can start, or continue their healing journey supported by experts while rejuvenating in a space outside of your four walls.

TOPICS DISCUSSED:

• The difference between Transformational Travel and Medical Tourism.
  
• Her brands Inspired Journey Consulting and the message of #TravelCanHeal.
  
• The conscious evolution in travel and tourism.
  
• Meeting people where they are at in order to support healing.
  
• Pravassa, an in home and inward tailored experience.
  
• Personal revelations Jackie experienced while on her own transformational travel journey.
  

ABOUT JACKIE:

Jackie is truly living an authentic life of Seva dedicated to being of service so others can experience healing through the modality of a travel experience. Through her company Inspired Journey Consulting Jackie provides sales strategies and social media amplifying to wellness, healing, and transformational travel businesses. Working through a lens of inclusion to highlight the marginalized voices & create change within. Her companies vision is to create a world where marginalized people feel empowered to be their authentic selves. Where traveling is a tool for inclusion, and to grow emotional intelligence, healing, & self-care for a kinder humanity.

Through a message of #TravelCanHeal, IJC's vision is to empower marginalized people to be their authentic selves; make traveling a tool for inclusion; enhance cultural wellness in the travel industry; and grow emotional intelligence, healing, and self-care for a kinder humanity.

REFERENCES:

In this totally expansive interview with one of my favorite people, Yogi Amandeep Singh - we talk about the sound of the Cosmos, Naad yoga and Amandeep explains his lineage dating back to the origin of the Solar Dynasty — the Mother of all Yogic traditions.

Through this tradition, Amandeep illuminates esoteric, powerful, secret teachings into revelation. He is an authority on yogic science and history and openly shares his deep, practical wisdom from the living traditions of Udasin & Nirmalley Sikh Sages. Delve deeply into rarely experienced esoteric yogic traditions and teachings. Wa He Gu Ru! 

In under an hour we manage to talk about:

·  The Solar Dynasty and the many great lineages that were born from this.

·  The history of Jap Ji (Meditation of the Soul/Self) and the journey of sound.

·  The story of Guru Nanak and the meaning of Ek Ong Kar

·  Naad yoga – the primordial sounds explained in the most Cosmic way.

·  The difference between Jap Ji Sahib (Guru Nanak) and Jaap Sahib (Guru Gobind Singh)

·  Hiraṇyagarbha: the unmanifested Cosmic Womb

-  A full explanation is given to the question: What is mantra?

·  The Elements – the amazing elements and their sounds. 

·  The significance of the mantra Aham Brahmasmi. 

·  A special Wa He Gu Ru practice is shared. The practice and mantra of the Five Elements.

Conscious Dating. How is that a thing? My guest Amy Nobile, founder of Love, Amy explains how she marries the technology of modern-day dating with a holistic view of human-to-human energy and connection. And it's brilliant. 

Conscious dating is dating with intentionality, self-love, self-awareness, and mindfulness - recognizing, who we are, what we need, and being aware of our thoughts and behavioral patterns throughout the dating process. Sound hard? Amy works with people to help them understand blocks, energy and what makes a lasting relationship. Her clients range in age from 25 to 75, and are of various genders and sexual orientations across the country. She founded her high-end dating concierge service out of the desire to help others find true authentic love. 

We talk about:

• Her unique process guided by her own trust in Spirit. 
• How Covid has affected dating.
• Teaching people how to sext and how to flirt. 
• Spiritually hacking the online dating apps

More about Amy: Amy is also a best-selling, Oprah featured co-author of four books, all designed to support and inspire women at various stages of their lives.  ASH + AMES, a luxury jewelry brand she co-founded, made by female artisans and sold by women ambassadors around the globe with the mission of giving back to developing countries and empowering women everywhere.

Amy’s website:

Claim the path back to your authentic self. In this interview with Acharya Shunya, an award-winning author and internationally renowned spiritual teacher of Advaita, Yoga and Ayurveda, we talk about creating shifts in consciousness - releasing the tendencies and imprints that have become our value systems guiding us throughout our life. Shunya’s new book Sovereign Self teaches us how to become the Majesty of our own divine selves, offering steps we can take to release our conditioned value systems.

Some of the ancient Vedic concepts we discuss are:  

Vasanas – subconscious tendancies

Samskaras – psycological imprints

Samsara – the cycles of life repeating

We also explore:

·  The meaning of her name: Acharya Shunya.

·  What belonging to a spiritual lineage means and represents.

·  Shunya teaches how to connect with our truth and our light within.

·  Her new book Sovereign Self:

·  Exploring the truth of who we are.

More about Acharya Shunya: 

Acharya Shunya is an award-winning scholar of Advaita and a classically-trained master of Yoga and Ayurveda. She is also the first female head of her 2,000-year-old Indian spiritual lineage. She has dedicated her life to educating and sharing Vedic knowledge for the spiritual uplifting of all beings. She is the President of The Awakened Self Foundation with its international headquarters in California and founder of the spiritual and philanthropic non-profitVedika Global. Her top rated Shadow to Self podcast, award-winning Alchemy with Ayurveda program, and her signature offerings currently unfolding on the theme of Sovereign Life are creating shifts in consciousness and improving health. Acharya Shunya is the author of best-selling book Ayurveda Lifestyle Wisdom: A Complete Prescription to Optimize Your Health, Prevent Disease, Live with Vitality and Joy

Internationally renowned yoga Nidra teacher Tracee Stanley chats about her new book Radiant Rest, which I consider a toolbox of necessities for our time. Tracee explains what exactly yoga nidra is, the differences between restorative yoga and yoga nidra and how a Sankalpa can be “written” into the subconscious during the state of yoga nidra, and so much more. This is a jam-packed episode.

Yoga offers so many wonderful ways to transform our lives and live our fullest potential. The asana practice is one way, rituals another, but have you ever considered rest? Rest, through the practice of yoga Nidra offers personal insights buried deep in our subconscious. Profoundly beneficial, it can be experienced by anyone with no prior yoga knowledge. 

TOPICS DISCUSSED:

·  We break down the Sanskrit word Nidra.

·  Tracee was a high-level executive in the film industry and shares how she was able to bring balance and calm into her life with the practices talked about in this episode.

·  The hypnagogic and hypnapocic state – The transitional states of consciousness between wakefulness and sleep.

·  The Goddess Nidra and a wonderful mythology story as relevant today as ever.

·  How yoga nidra can help with Shadow work.

·  What is a Sankalpa?

LA based public relations powerhouse Mona Loring has guided and developed some of Hollywood’s hottest stars through her firm MLC PR, to award nominations and wins for the Emmys, Golden Globes, and Oscars, yet with all her successes she felt something was missing.

Mona tuned into her connection to Spirit, something she had rejected for a long time. Her openness to listen to this guidance resulted in launching a second PR firm called Conscious Living PR, working with clients to raise awareness for a better world. It also put her on the path as energy healer and psychic medium.

In this episode Mona shares how her connection to Spirit brought more meaning into her professional and personal life, and how she is able to run two successful firms while also working as a healer, lead workshops and host her own podcast. 

Some episode highlights include:

·  What is conscious Hollywood? 

·  Living a spiritually conscious life while running a mainstream business

·  Balancing careers - as healer and trailblazing PR powerhouse

·  Allowing Spirit to enter

Links:

Anne Biging is co-founder and CEO of Healing Hotels of the World. Growing up in post war Germany Anne developed a strong sense that healing can indeed happen, and that life should not be filled with fear and depression. Drawing on her past, Anne uses the current pandemic as a facilitator for the shifting of things. For in the collective turmoil lies a chance for new learnings and new beginnings. If we accept the challenge of adapting to the new circumstances instead of giving into the fear of the unknown, there is so much potential for growth and new-found strength. Strength you never knew you had.

Naturally curious and with the consciousness that there is more in this world that meets the eye, Anne learned about health and well-being through the study of yoga, meditation, ancient Indian scriptures and several healing modalities.
After traveling the world as a journalist and book author, she successfully established her career in international tourism destination marketing and hotel consulting and is now the co-founder of Healing Hotels of the World and the Healing Summit.

Healing Hotels of the World is the only global preeminent brand uniting the best and most advanced hotels and resorts in the field of holistic health under one umbrella. In 2019 Anne was been named ‘Woman of the Decade in Business & Leadership’ at the Women’s Economic Forum (WEF).