Soul Portals: Exploring Psychospiritual Horizons

In this episode of Soul Portals, we expand the standard view of cancer care to include new approaches derived from integral psychology models. Our guest, Georgia Efremova, is a pioneer in the field of holistically informed cancer care, bringing psychospiritual support and consciousness skills to the discipline of psycho-oncology. She also works with communities nurturing social cohesion and belonging as essential aspects of global healing as well as personal restorative paths. Based on her own lived experience and research, Georgia believes deep intentional healing requires broader support and conditions than current clinical modalities provide. Her practice is grounded in healing circles and assisted by several complementary modalities. Join us to explore how illness can serve as an initiation to personal and collective healing, by recovering and meeting deep emotional, psychological, and spiritual needs.Georgia Efremova Website | gergina.org/ | healingcirclesglobal.org/This Podcast is sponsored by Onlinevents 

11/14/24 • 57:59

Our October guest, Gary Lachman, has extensively researched the (secret) history of consciousness – what we take for granted when facing psychotherapy clients – that most of us have a self-referenced inner life to explore in relation to outer circumstances. Yet our present state of self-awareness has fascinating pre-rational antecedents and post-rational potential coming into view on the evolutionary horizon. The inner world of persons is unfathomable based solely on psychobiology and a strictly clinical or scientific point of view. There are radically different modes of being in the world which came before us and will come afterwards. We will delve into all this in what is bound to be an intriguing episode of Soul Portals.Gary Lachman Website: www.gary-lachman.com/ This Podcast is sponsored by Onlinevents 

10/10/24 • 58:56

In a culture that has marginalized its indigenous origins, we are seeing the return of the ‘medicine man’ (and woman). Our September guest is one of these, experienced with plant medicine as a catalyst for the psychospiritual journey. His own journey serves as a model for recovering the meaning of our personal lives, as collectively rooted in ancestral wisdom. “In the West, you may feel successful if you are famous, rich, or good-looking. But aboriginal people do not feel completely successful until their relationships are in order, until their community is well.” – Arnold Mindell (The Shaman’s Body). Michael is dedicated to that wellness in his role seeding soul growth, serving spiritual awakening, and elevating the collective.Books:The Way of the Shamanhttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/691034.The_Way_of_the_ShamanThe Four Agreementshttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6596.The_Four_AgreementsPower vs Forcehttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19795.Power_vs_ForceA Course in Miracleshttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/173673.A_Course_in_MiraclesMichael VandenbergWebsite | https://highvibemike.com/Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/highvibemike/HighVibeMike Community Portal | https://nas.io/highvibemikeThis Podcast is sponsored by Onlinevents 

9/12/24 • 60:28

Our July guest is a family doctor with a special interest in counselling. A person-centred approach in his own practice formed the foundation for teaching medical students and supervising counsellors. He views patients as persons first and listens closely for the often-inspiring life stories embedded in clinical case histories. By valuing the many elements of what is life-giving for a person, physicians and other helping professionals are not limited to seeing patients through the lens of diagnosis or chronic medical conditions.Case histories are reframed as life stories having re-motivational value. In John’s own words from the InnerView Guidance textbook, “People come to doctors with life stories, cultural contexts, generational legacies, and strengths of character, all of which make clinical diagnosis just one part of the complete picture.” Dr. Yaphe is a forerunner in the de-pathologizing approach applied to medical settings, which includes ‘what the soul wants’ and its expression in art, myth, religion, spirituality, and the universal quest for meaning.Books:Applications of a Psychospiritual Model in The Helping Professions: Principles of InnerView Guidance by Cedric Speyer & John Yaphehttps://www.innerviewguidance.com/textbookCase Studies in Spiritual Coaching: A Survey Across Life, Wellness, and Work Domains by DeeAnna Merz Nagel, Madison Leigh Akridge (this book has several chapters by Cedric Speyer, John Yaphe & DeeAnna Nagel)https://www.ccthomas.com/details.cfm?P_ISBN13=9780398094201Courses based on a psychospiritual approach and featuring the aforementioned books: https://www.innerviewguidance.com/course-1This Podcast is sponsored by Onlinevents 

7/12/24 • 58:09

Our June guest brings a wide array of holistic practices to the realm of mental health. She is on a mission is to inspire the complete empowerment of persons in body-mind-spirit. To do so, Laura guides clients through all phases of core-level, soul-aligned healing, allowing their full potential to be achieved, both personally and professionally. Her personal journey and vocational path have led to a comprehensive book series covering holistic, alternative approaches to mental health, truly enriching the collective.As a leader in the holistic field, Laura rounded up healers of all kinds for Volume 2 of the series. In Laura’s own words, "You are meant to acknowledge both the dark and light aspects of who you are, witnessing without judgment, and welcoming all forms of energy moving through you with understanding and patience. Ultimately, disease is the culmination of several iterations of dismissing or trying to get rid of things we perceive as negative or uncomfortable. This book [and podcast episode] is here to change that narrative."Website: https://www.theakashictherapist.com/ Book: Holistic Mental Health: Calm, Clear, and In Control for the Rest of Your Life, Volume 2This Podcast is sponsored by Onlinevents

6/13/24 • 58:30

This month we welcome Ruth Saphir as our guest, who as a professional musician, songwriter, and seasoned music therapist, has delved deeply into the healing qualities of her art form. We all know what a favourite song can evoke, the way it resonates in our hearts and touches our souls. Like the tradition of the Aboriginal songlines, which provide inherited guidance for travellers to reach their destinations, Ruth helps clients hear the harmonies within and then attune to outer circumstances accordingly. We will explore how her own psychospiritual sensitivity to music is transmitted for the therapeutic benefit of others.“I listen deeply to the inner ear located above my navel, located at my heart centre, located as a shell around my torso - so many unseen ways of listening. I delve into that navel ear, the big elephant ear, large enough to receive words and melodies. Notes and lyrics sparkle like the stillness of a clear lake. The river flows in me. The music is me.” ~ Ruth SaphirWebsite: https://www.ruthsaphir.com/This Podcast is sponsored by Onlinevents 

5/11/24 • 54:37

With the Jewish holiday of Passover pending, we welcome Arthur Kurzweil as our guest, who as an author, educator, mentor, and publisher has inspired many to explore the profound moral roots and numinous mystical truths of Jewish tradition. In this episode of Soul Portals, we explore the story of Passover as analogous to the personal transformational journey from inordinate ego attachments to the summons of true interior freedom. What does the ancient story of a people’s liberation and destiny say about our own story of expansive soul growth?In Hebrew, Egypt is called Mitzrayim. According to the text on Jewish mysticism, the Zohar, the name is derived from m’tzarim, meaning narrow straits. We all know what it’s like to live in our own mitzrayim, in contracted states of dysfunctional patterns, repetition compulsions, and addictive escapes. Those forms of psychospiritual slavery offer the familiarity of recycled suffering. Yet like the Jews reluctantly led out of Egypt by the promise of a redemptive and spiritually fulfilled life, a client in therapy for example, holds the hope of possibilities beyond self-imposed constraints. Even under the most severe circumstances, in times of unrelenting hardship and spiritual darkness, there is something in the holy human spirit that seeks the way of “mastering circumstances, instead of being mastered by them” (Rabbi Sholom Brodt, OBM).Website | https://arthurkurzweil.com/Books:On the Road with Rabbi Steinsaltz: 25 Years of Pre-Dawn Car Trips, Mind-Blowing Encounters, and Inspiring Conversations with a Man of WisdomThe Torah for Dummies Kabbalah for DummiesThis Podcast is sponsored by Onlinevents 

4/21/24 • 56:56

Writing coach and spiritual guide Gay Edelman helps clients ‘compose themselves’ in writing. When imaginative touchstones are elicited and shared, it is a wonderful opportunity to move from dry clinical ground to the fertile soil of soul work. In this episode Gay describes how she is a midwife for the soul, by fostering the cross-fertilization of writing and spiritual self-awareness. Therapeutic insight will always have its place in coaching, counselling, and spiritual guidance. However, elements usually associated with literary creativity can make the difference between a clinical case history and a vibrant life story. It is often idioms, metaphors, analogies, and archetypes, which serve to make healing sessions of all kinds truly life-giving, and the writing process itself a journey of soul growth. This is how Gay works with the whole person, by allowing dynamics of the writing process and explorations on the spiritual journey, to converge. Are you in the helping professions? Pay a small fee and receive CPD (clock hour certificate) for this event:  https://www.courses-onlinevents.co.uk/courses/writing-as-spiritual-practiceGuidelines for Stuck Writers offered freely with proper attribution to Gay Edelman: https://deeannamerznagel.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Edelman.Guidelines-for-Stuck-Writers.pdfWriting tips: coachgay.com  Inspirational blog: gayedelman.comProject Write Now: https://projectwritenow.org/  Books: The Hungry Ghost: How I ditched 100 pounds and came fully aliveCase Studies in Spiritual Coaching: A Survey Across Life, Wellness, and Work DomainsThis Podcast is sponsored by Onlinevents 

3/15/24 • 55:10

With February’s episode of Soul Portals taking place on Valentine’s Day, we look closely at what makes love a psychospiritual practice.Our guests Nico Canon, relationship coach and best-selling author of Grace (2023), with his wife Anastasiia Tumanova, share how their deeply intentional intimate relating is a catalyst for personal transformation.If romance is about being recognized in our essence, the new paradigm of evolutionary love is about the soul work and skillful means it takes to be portals of full presence for each other (both as window and mirror). As someone once quipped, that allows us “to bring more self to the party."Episode ResourcesBook: GRACE: A Practical, NO-BULLSH*T journey from Pain to PurposeNicolas Canon website: https://nicocanon.com/Instagram: http://instagram.com/nicocanon_/Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/nicolas.canon.garayYouTube: Nico Canon https://www.youtube.com/@AyahuascaRetreatAre you in the helping professions? Pay a small fee and receive CPD (clock hour certificate) for this event:  Practicing Conscious Companionship (courses-onlinevents.co.uk)Produced By https://www.onlinevents.co.uk

2/15/24 • 56:04

In this inaugural episode of Soul Portals, we are in round table conversation with guests Michelo Delmonte and Maeve Halpin, authors of Evolution and Consciousness: From a Barren Rocky Earth to Artists, Philosophers, Meditators and Psychotherapists. As the title suggests, Delmonte and Halpin’s book has a wide scope, encompassing both humankind’s evolutionary journey and its parallel in the layered stages of individual development. We approach that big picture theme by inviting Michelo and Maeve to share how it’s been  ‘a path with heart’ for themselves, dovetailing with their professional practices. In this episode we also touch upon how mindful and meditative practices can complement psychotherapy. The depth and breadth of the research our guests have done has profound implications for the healing arts and all consciousness-raising art forms and practices.To order the book: https://maeve-halpin.com/books/Produced By https://www.onlinevents.co.ukAre you in the helping professions? Pay a small fee and receive CPD (clock hour certificate) for this event:  Practicing Conscious Companionship (courses-onlinevents.co.uk)

1/13/24 • 48:39