Poema Podcast

Today I'm joined by author April Fiet, who talks to us about healthy and unhealthy rhythms of life, including harmful ones which have often pushed on us by toxic religion and capitalism. April shares, sometimes from from her own story, how we can leave these unhealthy rhythms behind, and find healthier rhythms to our lives which connect more us to spirit, and ourselves. She shows us how we can leave perfectionism behind, and how every moment can become sacred.

My friend K.J. Ramsey joins me to talk about her new book, 'The Lord is my Courage', The book and this conversation explore how we can discover courage and deeper spiritual connection as we step through faith deconstruction and into freedom from toxic religious systems & the spiritual abuse many of us experienced there. KJ tells us some of her own experiences of this journey, talking about the impact spiritual abuse toxic religion & leaving it behind can have on our mental and physical health, and relationships. She then shares how the creative process with this book & her own exploration of this Psalm both liberated, healed, and helped her find a new depth to her connection with the divine - and how it can do so for us.

Today on I'm honoured to be joined by my friend Jarred, who tells me his story of discovering his queer identity, and deconstruction, which led him into witchcraft and paganism.  He shares how this has transformed his life, relationships and spirituality, and some of the challenges he's faced along the way, including the response to his embrace of his true identity and leaving his Christian faith behind. He is both courageous, honest and compassionate in how he tells us his story and the sharing the wisdom he's learned. 

Today my beloved friend Kacey returns to the show, to bring us up to date with their story, including their coming out as non-binary and bi, and the impact this has had on them, their life and family, and how her partner supported them with this. Kacey and I explore the concept of identity and the constructs which can restrict us, and the impact of good embodiment work. And then move to explore how we can live free of those identities and live a healthy, thriving life where we can be fully ourselves. 

I'm honoured to welcome back my friend, author & activist (and now tik-tok star), Brandan Robertson today. In this episode we talk about his journey in the last year, becoming an advocate for LGBTQIA+ inclusion on Tik Tok & being featured in Rolling Stone. He also shares his lived experience of unlearning his white male privilege, doing anti-racist work and its role in his deconstruction and personal journey, and the importance of this for all white people. He uses the metaphor of Jesus laying his divinity aside as a metaphor for laying privilege permanently aside for the betterment and liberation of ourselves, and the world.

Today I'm joined by my friend Rhea, who shares their personal spiritual, creative and personal transformation. They share about how their deconstruction, healing and journey impacted their creativity.  Rhea also explores what true, authentic creativity looks like outside toxic systems of control and oppression, and beyond capitalist structures which demand results, numbers, money and approval. The answer is inspiring and liberating. 

In this episode joined by Natalie and Heather, to share the story of Natalie's transitioning to a trans woman, and the impact it had on her wife Heather and the family. They share about the challenges they've faced both within and outside their family, and how its impacted their spirituality and relationships.  We also talk about our shared love of Doctor Who, and in particular the concept of regeneration as a metaphor for both personal transformation and the process of transitioning. Natalie and Heather are courageous, wonderful people with a powerful story, its an honour to share their story today.

Today I welcome Molly Hale (@Mollyamourous) to the podcast. We had a great conversation about deconstruction, embodiment, polyamory, blended families, healthy sexuality and choosing yourself.  It was both a fun, inspiring and enlightening conversation, and Molly actually interviewed me at times which was really great! This was different to any other episode I've recorded in the best of ways. 

Today I'm joined by Meghan Crozier (@ThePursuingLife on twitter) who tells her story. She talks about her experiences in evangelicalism and what drove her to begin her deconstruction journey, and where it has taken her.  Meghan goes on to share just how this process has impacted different areas of her life, including her relationships, marriage, and work. She also talks about how it opened her eyes to oppressive and systemically racist systems & her own response to this revelation. She reveals just how much she has had to learn, unlearn or relearn as part of this journey, and how much bigger this work is than just a faith deconstruction or change of belief. 

I'm honoured to welcome Carly Button to my podcast today. Carly, with great tenderness and courage, shares her own story.  She speaks about moving to Canada as a child, her upbringing and worldview she was taught to believe, having to hide her nationality and identity. She then moves on to talk through her faith deconstruction, spiritual journey, embracing her native heritage and coming out. I'll let the story speak from itself. But I'm certain it will deeply move you, challenge, discomfort and inspire you. It was an honour to bear witness to Carly sharing her story.

Today writer and activist Jo Luehmann joins me to explore how indoctrination to oppressive systems can impact our behaviours and lead to different forms abuse, prejudice & racist behaviour. We discuss the roots of capitalism, going back to its colonial roots and links to archaic institutions in the UK and Europe, such the royal family. Jo shares how we can become so indoctrinated into these systems we often can't see how we're causing harm. Then they cover how to unlearn these systems and be teachable in healthy ways so we can actually help tear down these systems, heal ourselves and love others well.

This week, my friend April Kling Meyer joins me to discuss and explore how we can reclaim our authentic creativity from the control of capitalism and toxic systems.  We share our experiences of this and how we found creative freedom, and how to get more in tune with our intuition and authentic voice. April also shares about the power of journalling our dreams, and how this helps us connect with our deeper, truer selves, our spirituality and what we're here for.

Today I'm honoured to be joined by my friend Ali, who tells us their story. They share about exploring and discovering their true gender identity and how this journey intertwined with faith deconstruction, discovering witchery, and being autistic. It's a powerful and inspiring story. Ali has such courage and this a story we all need to hear. (Oh, and we both love Taylor Swift and Ali makes Taylor Swift memes so this obviously that came up...)

I'm honoured today to be joined by author, activist and musician Andre Henry. In this episode we talk about his new book, "All The White Friends I Couldn't Keep".  Andre talks about the power dynamics of systemic racism and it's origins, in particularly discussing the oppressive systems of the British empire, which was built on the breaking of black bodies. He also challenges the cultural assumptions we make which are often impacted by racial cultural conditioning, and the type of change we need, and how it can be achieved.  This episode is discomforting in an absolutely necessary sense, and a must listen.  *Please note, we had some technical issues with the recording so my track runs over Andre's on occasion - this is a tech issue which I couldn't resolve but I hope the spirit of the conversation comes through.

Today I'm joined by Mandy Capehart, a trauma-aware licenced grief coach, who shares her own experiences of grief, the lessons she learned and how we can have a healthy relationship with our grief.  Mandy shares different practices she's found for helping her process grief and how she helps others to do the same. She makes the point we are different, all manifest our grief in unique ways, so the ways we process it will always be unique for each of us - and all of them belong. Mandy also discusses how griefing ties in with the experience of faith deconstruction and our unique spiritual journeys - and how she experienced this herself.

My dear friends Tina Olsen and Trace Bell return to the podcast today, and Trace asks both myself and Tina to share our stories of grief and loss. We then explore this in the context of a fresh understanding of human consciousness, of our bodies living in our consciousness, and consciousness continuing after physical death. Both Tina and myself have some transcendent experiences to share with the consciousness of family members who have passed. We share little incidents from their lives and what seem random stories from our lives and from experiences with movies we've seen since which suggest there is more going on with our consciousness than just our bodies. We also talk about the science which could suggest this might be true. Trace adds his own perspective as someone exploring and learning about consciousness, and getting to know the consciousness of someone who has passed. This is a fascinating conversation which opens up a lot of questions and possibilities..I'd encourage you as you listen to open you

Amanda Held Opelt returns to the show this week, to discuss her new book 'A Hole in the World', and talk about her journey discovering and exploring rituals of grief.  Using some examples, Amanda demonstrates the importance of having rituals around grief and mourning, and how these can aid the process of healing. We also discuss the damage which has and can be done to us individually and as a society, when we don't practice any kind of grief ritual or practice which engages with our grief and trauma.  Finally, Amanda gives some examples of rituals she's found helpful and how we can begin to create our own practices which can help the healing process. ***** Amanda's upcoming book, 'A Hole in the World: Finding Hope in Rituals of Grief and Healing', can be pre-ordered now at all online booksellers.

This week Dr Jill A. Harrington, DSW, LCSW, psychologist and author, joins me to discuss grief as explored in the context of superhero stories. She is the co-author and editor of the book 'Superhero Grief'. In this episode we explore various experiences and responses to grief as we see in the stories of several superheroes - in particular Batman, a character who suffered violent trauma and grief. We talk about how she's used various superhero stories in her research into the psychology of grief, attachment, and grief responses, and different ways we grieve. We also explore the concept of duality, and the background of the creation of Superman, and how in many ways this was a response to the grief experiences his creators and collective grieving and trauma Jews experienced in the 1930s and 1940s.  With the recent release of 'The Batman', about this character who experienced grief, and in a world experiencing a collective grief and trauma, this conversation feels more relevant than ever.  

Today my friend MJ Weissenberger joins me to tell her story. MJ's is a powerful story of learning how to process grief of losing a parent, as well as recovering from abuse and trauma in the process of deconstruction. We hear this story and then explore how this tied in with her personal and spiritual deconstruction, where this journey has taken her, and how this impacted her life, relationships, and understanding of the world we live in. MJ's story is powerful and I felt great solidarity as I bore witness to it. 

I'm honoured to welcome back author, speaker therapist and podcaster Dr Hillary McBride Phd to the podcast today.  In this episode we talk about embodiment, and 'the wisdom of our bodies'. Hillary talks about how through trauma, grief and messages from toxic systems, we can become disconnected from our bodies. She shares how part of our transformation journey always has to be learning how to listen to our bodies, and the different ways our bodies communicates with us & we can learn to listen to them. Dr McBride shares how systems like capitalism and evangelicalism directly impact our bodies, and how deconstructing those systems is key to having a healthy relationship with our bodies, and how our relationship with our bodies inherently political. Hillary has so much wisdom and understanding on embodiment, mental/emotional health and how we heal. This is a powerful episode.  *** Dr McBride's book 'The Wisdom of Your Body' is available to buy at all online booksellers now!