Untangled | Stories About Untangling From Society's Giant Rule Book

Claire Dunn says her work as an environmental campaigner left her burnt out and disillusioned about humans relationship with the natural world. So she quit her job, left her partner of 5 years and her house by the ocean, extracting herself from modern life to live in the Australian bush. While Claire learnt many skills to live off the land, built a shelter with her bare hands, navigated encounters with the wild creatures of the forest, I think what touched me most was Claire’s internal journey. Claire says she was addicted to achieving, doing, striving and proving her worth and it was the forest that brought her back into the flow of her feminine. Claire eventually realised she was not there to just learn skills or to slow down – although that was part of it – but she was there to learn how to be a woman again. Claire’s book “My Year Without Matches: Escaping the City in search of the Wild”, is her memoir of this year-long forest retreat.   RESOURCES MENTIONED + My Year Without Matches: escaping the city in s

Terra Roam describes herself as a roamer, a traveller, a vagabond. For the last 30 years, Terra has trekked, sailed, snowshoed, skied, kayaked, cycled, hitch hiked, volunteered and worked through the most beautiful, dangerous and isolated parts of the world. Most recently she completed a 17,000km walk around Australia – being the first woman to do this alone and unaccompanied – raising awareness for mental health and suicide prevention, a cause that has personally impacted Terra in her own life. Throughout her pursuit of freedom, minimalism and discovery, Terra has embarked on a long journey of self-exploration, immersed herself in the healing qualities of nature and unlocked the power of the heart and mind to achieve her wildest dreams. A heads up: this story touches on suicide and sexual abuse, so please listen with care if you feel this may impact you.   RESOURCES MENTIONED + Sorrel Wilby + Tracks, Robyn Davidson + Wild, Cheryl Strayed   CONNECT WITH TERRA + Website: terraroams.earth + Blog: terraroamseart

Kate Nelson has been disposable plastic free for 10 years. You might also know Kate as the sparkly, magical Plastic Free Mermaid. Kate says she first learnt the damage plastic was doing to our marine eco-systems when she volunteered at the Ocean Futures Society. She learnt that plastics do not break down but rather break up into tiny microscopic toxic pieces which are then consumed by marine life and make their way up the food chain. Shocked and horrified by what she was learning, Kate has been advocating for and creating a plastic free revolution ever since. This is Kate’s story.    RESOURCES MENTIONED + Mermaid Retreats + Ocean Futures Society   CONNECT WITH KATE + Website: iquitplastics.com + Instagram: @plasticfreemermaid + Facebook: /plasticfreemermaid   OTHER WAYS TO ENJOY THIS PODCAST + Listen on Apple Podcasts+ Listen on Spotify + Listen on Stitcher Radio + Subscribe by email to get untangling stories delivered straight to your inbox   CONTRIBUTE TO THE CREATION OF UNTANGLED If my show has helped, ins

What would you do if your child told you they didn’t like school? What if they preferred to stay at home with you rather than go to the school ground? Most of us, I reckon, would explain that this is just the way life is and that everyone has to go to school. But not Susanne Kolff. When her daughter began to struggle at school, it prompted a change in the way Susanne looked at life. Taking the kids to school, going to work, rinse and repeat, day in and day out. Susanne began to ask herself: What is this life? Who tells me we have to live this way? Why do we live like this? Fast forward to today, Susanne, her husband and three young children now live a simple life in amongst a Bulgarian apple orchard, in a Mongolian yurt . And what about school? Susanne and her husband are unschooling their children or as Susanne calls it ‘life education’ – informal education where her children are encouraged to learn from their life experiences. This is Susanne Kolff’s untangling story.   CONNECT WITH SUSANNE  + Instagram: @k

Jordan Osmond became obsessed with documentaries in his late teens, struck by how they were having an impact on the world and how he lived his life. Wanting to create that same positive impact in the lives of others, yet not wanting to take on the exorbitant student loans of university, Jardan opted to teach himself how to use a camera and shoot stories by watching tutorials on YouTube. In 2015, with a small group of nine other people, Jordan moved onto a 20-acre property in Gippsland where he lived for a year documenting simple living, permaculture and natural building as a way to reduce our ecological footprint. The result was the feature-length documentary A Simpler Way: Crisis as Opportunity. This project set Jordan’s documentary career in motion. Over the last two years, Jordan has travelled New Zealand with his partner and fellow filmmaker Antoinette Wilson, creating their latest documentary Living the Change: Inspiring Stories for a Sustainable Future. Spattered in amongst Jordan’s passion for sharing

Vienda Maria has lived a very nomadic, transient life since her late teens. She’s actively designed a business and lifestyle that allows her to do what she loves – travel and follow her free-spirited heart. After falling in love with her Canadian partner Julien, they agreed to try a different kind of lifestyle, returning to Julien’s home town in Canada. They purchased a house and life, from the outside, appeared almost perfect. And yet, Vienda says, within a month of moving to Canada, her health started to decline. Insomnia, panic attacks in the middle of the night, hormonal imbalances and adrenal fatigue. Confused as to why this was happening, having always been so healthy, Vienda did what most of us would do. She saw a naturopath, took supplements and changed her lifestyle so she could have more rest. But she saw no improvement in her health. It wasn’t until Vienda left for a trip to Mexico and her symptoms cleared up that she realised something else entirely was going on. This is Vienda’s very graceful and

Bionca Smith was living a very comfortable life. A successful entrepreneur, living in a Condo, with a fancy BMW. Yet, Bionca says she was living pay check to pay check, her son Carter was struggling in school and she was struggling to keep the household afloat. And then, an innocent Facebook post changed the trajectory of Bionca’s life. “One day I want to travel the world with my son.” Bionca wrote. “What’s stopping you?” was the response. This question set in motion a series of events. In 30 days, Bionca gave notice on her apartment, pulled Carter out of school and sold or gaveaway everything she owed. She slipped the key to her unsold car under the doormat and flew out of the country. Since then, Bionca and Carter have travelled the world and more recently they purchased a campervan. Bionca home schools Carter and runs her coaching business and not for profit organisation – The Bully Barricade Foundation – all from the back of her van.   RESOURCES MENTIONED + The Podcast School - 50% off sale. Use the code

The term wild woman has become a bit of a fad in the feminine spiritual uprising. But today I’m speaking with a true wild woman. Miriam Lancewood spent six years in the New Zealand wilderness with her husband Peter, hiking, exploring, hunting, gathering and living out of a tent. Miriam is also the author of the book Woman in the Wilderness where she shares the tales of her epic six year untangling. As you’ll hear, Miriam has no phone or laptop, so I consider myself pretty fortunate to speak with her and bring this interview to you.    RESOURCES MENTIONED + Woman in the Wilderness, Miriam Lancewood   CONNECT WITH MIRIAM LANCEWOOD + Website: miriamlancewood.wordpress.com   OTHER WAYS TO ENJOY THIS PODCAST + Listen on Apple Podcasts+ Listen on Spotify + Listen on Stitcher Radio  CONTRIBUTE TO THE CREATION OF UNTANGLED If my show has helped, inspired or spoken to you, it is with humble gratitude that I ask for your support through a small financial contribution. Each Untangled episode takes me about three days i

The influence of the capitalist system on our spirits: this was the theme of discussion I proposed to Lyla June when we began our interview. You see, Lyla June’s story is quite different from those we’ve heard previously. Believing that capitalism is the root of destruction of the earth and the people, she’s lived a series of life experiments, consciously weaving in and out of the capitalist system with an ultimate goal to change that very system. Life experiment number 1: She chooses not to be part of the capitalist system and for three years she practices what she calls “fearless generosity”, giving away her work and gifts, in a selfless act, for the betterment of her people. Life experiment number 2: she enters the corporate world, this time with the goal to change the system from the inside. Life experiment number 3: she decides to build her own system, returning to her traditional institutions and working with Diné peoples to create and sustain their own education systems free of white colonial fetters.

Back in 2012, Fenja Sepers traded her job and home in Amsterdam for a surfboard and a suitcase and the plan to have no plan. She figured that our understanding of life and the world is not generated through reasoning, but through experiencing, and so taking distance and breaking with the Western system was necessary to create a rupture in the way of thinking and open up to new ideas and worldviews. Fenja baptised her journey Navigate on Trust, taking on a life-experiment that embraces the age-old wisdom of uncertainty. In 5 years she travelled through many countries, experienced joy, beauty, loss, and insecurity, which led to some profound life lessons.   RESOURCES + Transition Coaching with Alana – if you’re ready to untangle from society’s giant rule book, move away from the mundane, smash out of the box and create your version of a meaningful life, this coaching might just be for you.   ABOUT FENJA Back in 2012, Fenja Sepers traded her job and home in Amsterdam for a surfboard and a suitcase and the plan t

Max Dashú is a teacher of global women’s history and cultural heritages. She’s the founder of the Suppressed Histories Archives which researches female spheres of power, mother-right cultures, patriarchy, the history of domination, and spiritual philosophies. Max has built an archive of over 30,000 slides and 130 legendary visual presentations, which bring to light female realities hidden from view. She has been sharing this research  for the last 48 years. This interview explores Max’s story from a young child with a fascination in Egyptian history to becoming an intelligent young woman who makes a bold choice to leave Harvard at the age of 19 and pursue her own independent research on the suppressed histories of women. I was fascinated by Max’s description of the landscape for women scholars in the late sixties / early seventies and her obvious courage to give up a pre-determined, safe path to follow a deeper, stronger, guiding inner pull. Perhaps Max is one of these rare beings who comes into our world alr

A couple of weeks back, my partner Clayton and I took an adventure in Walter the Campervan to the Sunshine Coast in Queensland Australia. Frances Murray, her partner Tyler and her two young children Olive and Jude, welcomed us onto their newly established permaculture farm in the Noosa Hinterland region for a look around and a chat about the choice to live a simple life. This interview was recorded in Franny’s tiny off-grid house, nestled in the living area on comfy arm chairs, surrounded by the sound of birds, in one direction overlooking the tree tops running along their natural creek and in the other direction their vegetable garden. There is so much we cover in this interview but as I delved into Franny’s untangling journey, these were the highlights for me: + Contemplating the inevitability of death as an inspiration for chasing your dreams. + Redefining success based on how much joy and love you experience in your day (not by how much money you earn, things you acquire or your job title). + Following th

Laura Storm knew from a very young age that her passion was in the realm of environmental sustainability. Her entire career has been focused on creating transformation to more sustainable societies. She’s rubbed shoulders with people like Richard Branson and Arnold Schwarzenegger and worked on projects and organisations such as the Copenhagen Climate Council, the World Business Summit on Climate Change, Project Green Light and Sustainia. Laura says her life was incredibly busy, yet this was her passion work, she loved it and she wanted to see change happen in this world. So she worked, a lot. In 2015 something happened that would change the trajectory of Laura’s life. Innocently playing with her daughter on her bed one afternoon, Laura fell and hit her head. This blow to the head caused a minor traumatic brain injury. Unable to do anything – no TV, radio, reading, computer, even the sound of her daughter running around was unbearable – Laura was forced into a dark, deep silence. And this dark, deep silence wo

Dani Gallagher is the folk herbalist behind Roaming Soul Apothecary, a collective of wildcrafted plant medicine. Dani says her untangling began in her late teens when she became sick with a mysterious illness. Passed around from doctor to doctor to doctor for over a year, nobody could tell Dani what was wrong. It was an encounter with an herbalist in Dani’s local town who introduced her to the world of plant medicine and helped Dani to slowly begin to heal. Listen in as Dani and I explore: + The story of leaving her job, joining a local community farm and remembering her connection to nature. + Her newest project – The Wild Grown Bus – where Dani is converting an old school bus into a full time tiny house and apothecary. + How Dani began to break down inner walls to hear and feel her true self. + How fear of the unknown can stop us from connecting to who we truly are and what we truly desire. + Monetary sacrifice in the Untangling journey.   RESOURCES + Ignite: Podcasting for Changemakers – the doors to Ignit

Ten years ago, Candy Royalle says she was ‘dying inside’. Using recreational drugs, working in a job she hated, ridden with anxiety and completely disassociated from herself. Candy says she was hiding herself from her family and, well, from herself. She had deeply buried the truth of who she was. In this interview, Candy and I explore: + The mental breakdown she had to have to rebuild herself from a space of truth. + How she found the courage to step out of the corporate world and take steps towards becoming an artist. + How she financially supported herself for two years without an income while she developed herself creatively. + Becoming resiliently vulnerable by breaking down our own self-imposed walls and armour. + The brokenness of our current system. Why so many of us feel like we don’t ‘fit in.’   RESOURCES + Candy’s Patreon page if you’d like to donate and support her work.   OTHER USEFUL RESOURCES + How to learn the language of your soul – download your free audio gift. + Join the Untangled Community

At the age of 28, Erfan Daliri finds himself living in his parent's garage. He's divorced, has sold everything he owns  and he's about to undertake a very conscious journey of untangle-ment. In this interview Erfan and I explore: + The series of events that lead him to this point in his life. + How he navigated dark periods of anxiety and depression. + Erfan's great fear of being alone and how he worked with and released this fear. + Why developing our emotional core strength is essential for navigating periods of difficulty. + Learning to turn inwards, rather than looking outside of ourselves or to others for answers. + Healing our planet by balancing the masculine and feminine within all of us.  Plus so much more. Seriously, one of my most favourite discussions to date.  RESOURCES + Paper Planes - Erfan's recently release album  + How to learn the language of your soul - free audio gift ABOUT ERFAN  Erfan Daliri is an internationally toured spoken word artist with a background in engineering, a Graduate Dip

In this episode we’re getting untangled with Chris Sitka, lesbian elder and feminist activist. We adventure into: + Her story of coming out as a lesbian in the seventies when the consequences and risks of doing so were high. + How she found the courage to walk her soul path, even when it meant exposing herself to harassment and violence. + Why she believes that wearing a bra, makeup, heels or dressing “feminine” constricts the spirit. + The importance of learning to love and accept yourself exactly as you are. + Her theory on the spiritual purpose of the incarnation of lesbians through ancient cultures to today and the link between the soul and lesbianism. + Patriarchy as a brief part of human history and the archaeological theories that explore periods when women and women’s bodies were highly respected and worshipped. + Why women today are being called to stand in their full power as service to the healing of our planet. This is a really interesting exploration of not just lesbian rights but also women’s ri