Human Awareness

A while back, I was at a workshop, and Jennifer DeRuff performed a spoken-word piece called Coming Home. It touched me pretty deeply - and I wasn’t alone. So I invited Jennifer to try something new on the podcast - instead of a full interview, I invited her to come and perform the piece into a microphone, so we could share it with the wider HAI community. So, who is Jennifer? Among many other things, Jennifer is a writer, a baker, and a magical sparkly being. After an extensive career as a professional pastry chef, she turned her attention towards her personal growth to discover the next chapter of her life. When she found HAI, she knew she'd found a home and new community. Her path led her to become an assistant in HAI workshops, and a life oriented towards service, helping others grow and heal. She also found healing with psychedelics, which has evolved into a new career working with sacred plant medicines as a Minister with the Congregation for Sacred Practices.

Today, we are thrilled to have a profound conversation with Marci Graham, on the topic of patriarchy and how it is everywhere around us. Marci is one of the HAI facilitators, bringing a unique perspective shaped by her personal journey and professional experiences. This episode promises to be an eye-opening exploration of patriarchy's pervasive influence in our lives, as we delve into her recent reflections sparked by an unexpected source – a movie. Marci's insights extend beyond the screen, touching on deeper issues of gender roles, societal expectations, and personal growth. Join us as we pick apart some of the complexities of the patriarchy with Marci, whose articulate and heartfelt observations challenge us, as always, to see the world - and ourselves - in a new light. This episode is not just a exploration; it's an invitation to introspection and change, as we navigate through the subtleties and overt manifestations of patriarchal influences in our everyday lives. "Being potent in my communication and in my way of loving is deeply entwined with my primary value of inquiry. Being in inquiry with myself and others is a process that challenges any need to be right," Marci says. "Currently the state of our culture has brought me to my knees as I witness the ongoing scourge of how the patriarchy has belittled and minimized women." "My path to facilitation has brought me face to face with tender vulnerability, opening hearts, every emotion, boundaries explored, respectful communication and powerful self knowledge. Witnessing and contributing to these human experiences has honed me," she concludes.

They say that there are only two things that are certain in life: Death and taxes. It turns out, you can dodge your taxes, but the other one is harder to avoid. In this episode, we get into a beautiful conversation with our guest Jaclyn Vouthouris, talking about finding solace in the setting of the sun, the changing of the seasons, and all things that die, change, and continue on the cycle once again. Jaclyn Vouthouris is a modern medicine woman with an MBA from MIT, bridging the sacred and the secular. After working in the worlds of finance and entrepreneurship for over a decade, she turned her attention to building a new business paradigm for this next era that harmonizes with the natural world and supports humanity’s reconnection to the web of life. She is passionate about working with intuitive entrepreneurs who are poised to create systemic change, given their enormous influence on what gets built, the quality of people's work lives, and the use of our physical resources. Jaclyn has trained in and continues to be a reverent student of Earth-based practices, rituals, and sacred ceremony, under the guidance of powerful medicine women, such as Marilu Shinn, Qiddist Ashé, Maura Sternberg, and Adya Cadden.

In this episode, we speak to psychologist and startup whisperer Kari Sulenes to figure out what it takes to bring your full self to work. What does it mean to be vulnerable, curious, and showing allyship? Kari is a co-founder of Pilea, an Integrative leadership coaching and organizational consulting collective that provides coaching to startups, VC funds, and accelerators. Pilea is an expression of Kari's passion to equip leaders everywhere with the tools necessary to transform our places of work from centers of stress into ones of healing and meaning. She holds a doctorate in clinical psychology and organizational behavior and primarily works with founders and their startups.

In this episode, we go deep into jealousy and the story of Sumati, who went on a journey from deep, core-wound level jealousy and came out the other side teaching others how to manage their jealousies. For over twenty years, Sumati Sparks has been coaching people of all relationship configurations, gender expressions, sexual orientations and cultures to create successful consensual, ethical non-monogamous love and intimate connections. She is a no-nonsense wisewoman, a loving empath, a wounded healer and a powerful stand for love. Since 1984, she has been on a personal path of 12-step work and recovery, has studied directly and taught with many spiritual & relationship teachers including the great Indian saint "Ammachi" who gave her the name Sumati, Since 1997, she has been on her own transformational path of conscious consensual non-monogamy. You can learn more about Sumati and her open relationship and polyamory coaching at SumatiSparks.com (An earlier version of this podcast stopped abruptly after 17 minutes due to a technical snafu. That has now been resolved - our apologies for the mistake!)

For our third episode in season five, Julia joins us to talk about travel, building community, and how yoga of the mind helped her connect with the humans around her more deeply. Julia Tindall has been a community builder, teacher and traveler for the past 30 years. She taught yoga and tantra workshops at Harbin Hot Springs, Esalen and around the world up until Covid time, but now focuses on community building through travel. She takes small groups of like-minded people to exotic destinations such as Bali, Africa, Egypt and Argentina. Through amazing shared experiences, hearts open and deep connections are made. Originally English, Julia now lives in Sacramento CA and is the author of 5 books, one of which is the hilarious memoir, "Left at the Big White Pig." You can find Julia and her work at juliatindall.com

In this episode, we speak with Naomi, who works as a therapist, and believes that love isn’t nearly as big of a mystery as many of us seem to think. Naomi wrote a book, AffairyTales, about an intense period in her life when she lost her daughter and her husband in the span of a couple of weeks - and the work she has done to rebuild from there. She is a registered Psychotherapist and Clinical Supervisor in private practice in the Toronto area, and specifically focuses on Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), and holds a Masters of Science degree in Couple and Family Therapy Naomi is the founder of Emotional ICU - providing free resources to empower people to understand what is happening in their brains and bodies so they can make sense of their experience, and recognize what they need to cope and heal. You can find her online at Emotional ICU and Naomi Yano Psychotherapy , on Facebook at Emotional ICU and Naomi Yano Psychotherapy , and on Instagram at Emotional ICU

In this episode, we speak with Leah, who was eager to talk about radical self-acceptance, and the path she took to get there. Leah is passionate about guiding women to empower themselves to take a leadership role in their lives, speak their truth mindfully and with integrity in all situations, so they can get more of what they want! Leah Diamond is a Mindful Leadership and Meditation Teacher, a Public Speaking Coach, and Women's Empowerment Workshop facilitator. She helps anxious speakers feel confident & relaxed to speak the truth mindfully & with integrity. You can find Leah and her work on leahdiamond.com, or on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leahelisediamond Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leah.diamond and LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leahdiamond1/

Hello all! It's been a hot minute since we've done a Human Awareness episode, but guess what... We're baaaaack. This time, we're joined by one of the most freshly baked HAI facilitators, Tony Holmes, who came to talk to us on a Monday immediately after facilitating a Loving Yourself workshop for HAI. As you might expect, they are still glowing from the Room of Love, and the wonderful warmth of this episode shows that beautifully. We cover all sorts of beautiful topics, and Tony even leads us in a brief meditation, and an exploration of how to find the things that are blocking you in finding your path. We also talk about the 'value of the repaired human,' and why we are collectively feeling driven to 'do the work'. You can find out more about Tony's own work on TheLoveWarrior.com - or come attend a HAI workshop and spend some beautiful, dropped-in time with them!

We are back with Kate's last episode for a while! Recorded on the very last day of her tenure as HAI's marketing director, we reflect on how much we've grown and changed over these past four seasons of podcasts. Worry ye not, though, dear listener: Kate is going on her honeymoon and taking a break after completing her therapy degree, but Haje is continuing to carry the torch for the rest of Season 4... And a little birdie told us that Kate may be back as a guest host in the near future. How utterly delightful! Enjoy the episode, and be well <3

Join us for a rich and stimulating conversation about what our guest, Carolyn Arnold, calls her “dating experiment.” She takes us through her process of setting up the experiment, and we get a peek into the valuable lessons she learned as she set out to date 50 different people after she had turned 50 years old. Kate and Haje also share some of their dating experiences and we explore what it would be like to shift the focus of dating and our assumed goals. Carolyn Lee Arnold drew upon her thirty years as a social science researcher and ten years as a relationship workshop assistant with the Human Awareness Institute to create the dating project in Fifty First Dates after Fifty, which is the title of her first book. Carolyn lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her partner, one of her fifty dates. For more information, including dating resources, visit CarolynLeeArnold.com.

When Leah first showed people her podcast, one of her early listeners gasped - but good girls don't talk about sex! - and, of course, that became the name of her podcast. She hastens to add that the podcast isn't just good girls - and, in fact, not just girls, either. She joined us on the Human Awareness podcast for a most delightful episode talking about body image, emotional pressure, and how she went from being frozen stiff with fear at the thought of someone seeing her body naked - to finding herself in spaces where nudity was normal and okay. Leah Carey is a sex and intimacy coach and host of the podcast “Good Girls Talk About Sex.” She works with people eager to explore new avenues of their sexuality and fulfill their greatest desires, like: diving back into the dating pool after a long time away, having first-time queer experiences, investigating consensual non-monogamy, or learning how to communicate about kink. Leah's superpower is radical empathy. When you work with her, she reflects your true sexual nature back to you without judgment, so you can see yourself without shame.

In our season finale for season 3, your hosts Kate and Haje end up talking about loving brightly, healing shame, the power of new relationship energy (NRE), and the nature of boundaries and how they can be held with kindness. We also talk about showing up for people who need us while not being fully resourced ourselves, and how it's possible to communicate through situations like that with grace, while still leaving some space for yourself to show up authentically and in integrity. It's a sweet, free-wheeling conversation about a number of topics - and we hope it will give you a lot to think about along the way! After this episode, Human Awareness will be taking a little break, but we will lovingly return to your ears by ways of a podcasting app near you in the new year. Happy holidays and have a very peaceful rest of the year! 🤟

In this episode, we talk with Sarah Belzile about the joys of reconnecting with nature in a deeper sense than you might be used to - what happens when we open our heart to the deeply erotic within ourselves - and the natural world around us? Sarah Belzile is passionate about the exploration of pleasure as a spiritual practice and loves to facilitate eco-erotic experiences. She has served as an administrator and associate faculty for the Body Electric School, one of the country’s oldest and most trusted names in erotic education. She is also a Women’s Temple Facilitator, Professional Cuddlist, Certified Cuddle Party Facilitator, Akhanda yoga teacher, founder of the Red River Gorge Popup Ashram, and a teacher of NVC, Non-Violent Communication. She is an avid rock climber and lives in her natural habitat, the moss, and ferns of the Red River Gorge. You can learn more about her work at SarahBelzile.com. Sign up for her newsletter and you will receive the password for the “erotic playground” section of her site where you will find an eco erotic self-pleasure practice, among other treats.

When Patricia was diagnosed with cancer, she found ways of processing her grief and recovery with art - and soon made it her life's mission to help others do the same. In this episode, she talks with Kate and Haje about how creativity, the healing process, and how all forms of art can be used to shift the experience of one's journey with cancer, pain, and illness. Patricia is a publisher, author, artist and leadership coach recognized for her ability to engage people in their healing process. Her signature program Create to Heal is taught in hospitals and cancer centers across the country, as well as in domestic violence shelters worldwide. Also a survivor, Patricia works with patients, providers and medical school students on the art and practice of mindfulness, gratitude and compassion. She is the CEO and founder of the Women with Wings foundation - and you can learn more about Patricia and her work on their website, and on Patricia's own site at PatriciaVarga.com.

There’s a special kind of bravery associated with knowing what you want - and then daring to ask for it. In this episode, Haje interviews Marcia, about the wants and needs of humans, and how to dig deeper into the likes and wants lurking inside us. Marcia is an internationally recognized speaker, writer, coach, and expert on sexual communication, relationships, and women’s empowerment. Her primary mission is to help women and the people who love them to overcome shame and get in touch with what they truly want — romantically, sexually, and relationally — even if it’s off the beaten path. As co-founder of Cuddle Party, Marcia has helped tens of thousands of people to speak up for the kind of touch they want, say No unapologetically, and foster more connected, affectionate relationships. Her popular virtual course, “The Good Girl Recovery Program,” helps women to break out of the roles that keep them small and unsatisfied, and move into being more of who they are in all areas of their lives. You can find out more about Marcia and her work at askingforwhatyouwant.com

"I've always been told I give great hugs, and I really wanted to share them with people.” Dr. Yoni Alkan explores the beauty of hugs, cuddles, and other forms of non-sexual touch. On this episode of Human Awareness, we talk about Cuddle Party®, being a Cuddlist®, and the importance of sharing touch with other human beings. We all may recognize the value of affection - but what if we lived in a world where it was more readily given and received? We explore this idea and more on this particularly cozy episode. Dr. Yoni Alkan is a sexual educator and a sexual consultant with a Doctorate in Human Sexuality and a Masters in Conflict Resolution and Mediation, he is also a professional one-on-one cuddler with Cuddlist and a Certified Cuddle Party Facilitator in San Francisco. Yoni is a TED speaker at TEDxSoMa 2019, and the author of The Book of Cuddles which is an instructional on cuddling that teaches how to better your touch. He is also the creator of Elements of Sexuality; a playful, geeky, and educational site about the elements that contribute to our sexuality.

Is there a space for being ‘real’ in the world of Instagram and the endless hunt for dopamine hits in the world of Social Media? In this episode, Kate talks with Sarah Yates Mora about the highs and lows of being a heart-open human being in the universe of influencers, internet trolls, and endless distractions. They talk about how to tame the “dragon mom” inside, and how to find an authentic connection in a rapidly evolving digital world. Sarah Yates Mora is a photographer, interior designer, and artist who creates beauty with everything she touches. Her authenticity and stunning imagery has drawn over 35 thousand followers. Her work is inspired by earth tones and a connection to nature, and her philosophy is rooted in speaking honestly and from the heart. You can find Sarah on Instagram at @SarahYatesMora

Can aging deliver us from the limitations of youth? Does sex and intimacy really get better with time? In this rich and fun conversation, Laurie presents her lifetime evolution towards more free and enjoyable sex – but also, how she learned to enjoy aging. Spoiler-alert: they go hand in hand. Laurie has a Masters degree in Education and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Sociology. Her career includes over thirty years as a corporate change consultant, individual empowerment coach and international seminar leader. As a speaker and facilitator, Laurie has taught transformational workshops since 1978 covering topics like how to heal the body, releasing past emotional trauma, stopping the aging process, and reducing stress. You can learn more on LaurieHandlers.com

In this episode, Kate and Haje interview Arielle Brown. Reducing this episode to ‘phone sex’ is like saying that a three-Michellin-star meal is about ‘absorbing nutrients’ - what was meant to be a Valentines-themed guide to how to make erotic connection happen from a distance turned into something far deeper - and far yummier - than we would have dared hope for. We think you’re going to love this one… Arielle is a teacher of intimacy, sexuality, and embodied communication. She supports individuals, couples, and groups to embody and express their deepest truths and desires, so they can access more freedom, pleasure and genuine fuflillment in their lives and intimate relationships. She currently resides on the Big Island of Hawaii, offers her services through private in-person retreats, virtual one-on-one containers, and community offerings rooted in ritual and connection. Learn more at www.ariellebrown.com.