“Trying to control our thoughts is like trying to put a meteor out with a garden hose.” 

Kevin Janks

No doubt we’ve all heard about the transformative power of meditation, but is it possible to access that power when uncertainty, stress and living through a pandemic make it difficult to simply sit still and breathe? (I’m asking for a friend ;)

In today’s episode I’m joined by friend of the show, friend of the Slow Beginnings retreat and founder of Centred Meditation, Kevin Janks, and we have a wonderful chat about the power of meditation – particularly in challenging times. 

Meditation allows us to decompress from ‘fight or flight’ mode and as Kevin explains, the time investment doesn’t need to be excessive. (Research has found that meditating for as little as 12 minutes a day can have a substantial impact on our well-being and mental health over the course of just three weeks).

Over the past couple of months I’ve really found myself grappling with the issue of control within what is ultimately an uncontrollable situation, so Kevin and I dig in to that too. He shares how meditation can be used to shift our perception of control, and by doing so, release us from the stress of trying to manipulate circumstances we have no control over. (It’s really helpful, I promise!)

We also talk about the ways in which meditation allows us to accept our current circumstances – not in order to accept and give up, but in order to accept the way things are in that moment and move on.

There’s so much to be learnt from meditation, particularly during such stressful times, and this conversation with Kevin is full of tools and takeaways that will hopefully help you. I hope you enjoy it!

Head over to iTunes to subscribe to the show and play the episode.

Or you can listen to the show directly, simply by hitting the Play button above. Enjoy!

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Things to Check Out After Today’s Episode:

• Centred Meditation 
• Sign up for your free trial here
• Episode 135: The Simple Art of Meditation  
• Episode 149: How to Meditate

As always, thanks for listening!

“We could realise that what we thought was success, was just excess.”

As we begin to see some countries (like Australia) relax their pandemic restrictions and allow the general public back into society at varying levels, naturally our attention turns to what that new version of daily life might look like.

In this host-only chat, Ben and I discuss what we hope the ‘new normal’ might entail, whether we should simply be re-entering or re-booting society, and what each of us can do now in order to set that in motion. 

We also look at how Australia’s government is talking up a “snap back” to pre-virus ways of doing things, and how that seems to mean a re-entry to the old way of doing things and a return to old problems. Ben poses the question of what would happen if we instead rebooted back into society: rebooting the way we managed our finance, our view on the environment and even our values?

We have a juicy chat about what this means to us and our values, why we’ll spend the next couple of months reframing what success looks like and why we’re taking heart even amidst the pain and uncertainty. 

I also wanted to provide some journal/conversation prompts to help you question what our new normal might look like.

• Picture a brighter, better future post-Covid
  • What does it look like?
  • How do I feel when I imagine it?
  • What excites me about it?
  • What about it feels aligned with my values?
  • Let this vision settle in to my heart, let it permeate the discomfort and uncertainty. Believe that it’s possible.
• What specific experiences during isolation have I found positive?
  • What did they offer me that I want more of?
  • How can I make space for more of them post-lockdown?
• What about ‘normal life’ am I not looking forward to?
  • What of those things are in my control?
  • How can I minimise them in my life?
• Have my priorities changed as a result of lockdown?
  • What were they pre-Covid?
  • What are they now?
• Has my idea of success changed as a result of the pandemic?
  • What was it pre-Covid?
  • What is it now?
• Are there things in my life (worries, expectations, goals etc) that I can simply let go of in this new normal?
  • What are they?
  • How do I feel when I think about simply letting them go?
• What’s one thing I can do today that will bring this vision closer?

I found this a really challenging, hopeful, cathartic conversation to have, and it really stirred a curiosity in me. If we could envision a better, post-Covid world, what would it look like?

Head over to iTunes to subscribe to the show and play the episode.

Or you can listen to the show directly, simply by hitting the Play button above. Enjoy!

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Things to Check Out After Today’s Episode:

• Dumbo Feather Conversation with Damon Gameau
• Dumbo Feather Conversation with Arne Rubinstein
• Episode 91 – The Making of Men with Dr Arne Rubinstein

As always, thank you for listening.

“In a crisis it is natural to want to be with one another in a messy collective…but for people living alone at the moment that is not possible.”

Sarah Wilson

Lots of airtime has been given to the stress that parents and carers of young families are currently under, juggling working from home or job loss with remote schooling and caring for kids too young to understand why everything is different. Amongst all of that there has been little time given to the question of how people in single-person households are faring, so in today’s episode I sit down with friend of the show, Sarah Wilson, to talk loneliness during lockdown.

You may already know a little about Sarah – she’s a former journalist, TV presenter, activist and author of one of the best books about anxiety and depression I’ve ever read, First We Make the Beast Beautiful. With her incredible depth of knowledge on living with anxiety, Sarah shares not only how she’s personally finding lockdown, but also why she thinks anxiety has given her an advantage to coping with and exploring what these strange times might mean as we move forward.

We also discuss how COVID-19 will impact Australia in terms of social, and economic issues, and given the work Sarah has done as a climate activist over the past few years, also dig in to the relationship between the pandemic and climate crises. There’s a lot of commonalities at play in both of them, and Sarah and I both believe it’s important to have challenging, uncomfortable conversations about how we might be able to create a better normal on the other side. Sarah offers her typically thought-provoking, status-quo challenging insights and shares why we need to be both “slow and outraged” as we move forward. 

There’s no doubt that the road ahead will be difficult. Resilience is something we’re going to need a lot of. The question really is, how do we build that kind of resilience, not only in ourselves, our friends, our families, but also in our communities and cities at large?

Head over to iTunes to subscribe to the show and play the episode.

Or you can listen to the show directly, simply by hitting the Play button above. Enjoy!

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Things to Check Out After Today’s Episode:

• Sarah’s website – sarahwilson.com
• First We Make the Beast Beautiful by Sarah Wilson
• Episode 157 – Sarah Wilson on going slow and the power of a good flaner

As always, thank you for listening.

“[I realised] there is empowerment in discovering your Dosha and understanding your stress responses.”

Undoubtedly we are living in times of heightened stress. Uncertainty, fear, anxiety, living in close quarters, loneliness – they’re all stressful experiences and in some way or another, we’re all grappling with them as we live through the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Today’s guest, Ellen Carr, is a holistic coach and yoga teacher who believes that Ayurveda – the ancient sister science of yoga – offers us a way to learn how to identify our stress responses, and importantly, how we can begin to balance them out. 

Just a quick note: Before you dive in to today’s episode you might want to take a moment to take Ellen’s ‘Dosha Type’ quiz, which you can find over here. (This will all make more sense once you listen to the poggie, but for reference, I’m tri-doshic and Ben is pretty much a 50/50 split between Pitta and Kapha).

During the episode Ellen and I talk about Ayurveda, how it can help us live a more well-rounded life and why it’s so important to identify our stress responses, particularly in a time of high stress. We also discuss:

• What is a ‘dosha’ type and why is it an important part of Ayurveda?
• How to discover your dosha
• What happens if you’re split across two or even three dosha types 
• Some practical actions that will help calm your nervous system, no matter what your dosha 
• What are some of the more common stress responses? 
• How do we identify our stress responses and work to balance them out? 
• Why naming it can help in alleviating some of the stress we’re currently living with

It’s a really fascinating conversation on a topic I’ve never really explored before, always putting it in the ‘Intimidating’ basket, assuming I would never really understand it.

What I’ve discovered however is not intimidation but a real curiosity about Ayurveda, and particularly how seemingly simple changes to our day-to-day life can be so powerful in offering us peace and balance and understanding.

If you’re at all interested and curious about managing your stress during this time, I think you’ll take a lot away from my chat with Ellen. And if you want to dig a little deeper, take the test to better understand your mind, body and spirit, and see what you discover about yourself.

Enjoy! 

Head over to iTunes to subscribe to the show and play the episode.

Or you can listen to the show directly, simply by hitting the Play button above. Enjoy!

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Things to Check Out After Today’s Episode:

• Ellen’s website: being-change.com 
• Take the Dosha Test here 
• Connect with Ellen:
  • Instagram @being_change
  • Patreon 
  • Ellen’s podcast – Create Shift

As always, thank you for listening.

“In the current environment getting kids offline and in the outdoors learning should be a priority.”

Sarah Durack

Remote learning is one of the biggest changes many of us are facing as lockdowns and shelter-in-place orders continue, and after lots of conversations with other parents I know Ben and I aren’t alone in finding the transition challenging.

So when I received an email from today’s guest offering her time and expertise to speak about exactly this topic, I jumped at the chance. After all, this season of the podcast is all about bringing you good, relevant, and above all, helpful conversations as often as I can. Hopefully today’s episode fits the bill on all counts – particularly for any parents or guardians struggling with remote learning.

Today’s guest is Sarah Durack, is a high-school science teacher from an independent school in Sydney, who also has a background in tutoring. Sarah’s school has been using remote learning for a number of weeks and brings with her a whole heap of incredibly helpful, practical tips on how we can make this learning-from-home experience a little less stressful for everyone.

The tips and suggestions Sarah offers apply to kids of all ages, but I also know there are a lot of parents of older high school students who have specific concerns about their kids’ schooling. Considering my kids are still in primary school I wanted to dig in to some of the ways parents can support their older kids at the moment so Sarah and I delve in to that at the beginning of the episode. 

Sarah also offers some advice on how to best advocate for your kids if they are struggling under the current learning conditions, as well as how to make some of the learning (which for many students is almost 100% digital and online at the moment) more analogue.

Lastly, I wanted to find out how local communities can come together and offer help and show support to teachers during this tough time, and Sarah has some really lovely practical ideas to share.

Head over to iTunes to subscribe to the show and play the episode.

Or you can listen to the show directly, simply by hitting the Play button above. Enjoy!

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Things to Check Out After Today’s Episode:

• The Slow Beginnings Retreat is now open for registration! We kick things off on Sunday April 26 and if you’d like to know more or want to secure your spot, head over here.
• Some helpful links Sarah shared with me after our chat:
  • Letter from a school principal to parents
  • Forget old screen ‘time’ rules during coronavirus. Here’s what you should focus on instead – The Conversation
  • A list of things to do during lockdown – suggested by a school principal
• Sponge Education – an online support initiative for teachers and tutors working all over the world

As always, thank you for listening.

“Learn one new skill, something that will help you not be so reliant on the system.”

Robyn Rosenfeldt

It’s been a helluva a start to the year for all of us, and for many Australians, we’ve found ourselves living through the double-whammy of the devastating summer bushfire season, followed closely by the global Covid-19 pandemic.

It’s been interesting to see so many people using this time of upheaval to start thinking about community and its role in helping us navigate times of crisis, and today’s guest has so much to share on exactly that topic. Robyn Rosenfeldt is a permaculture expert, the editor and creator of Pip Magazine, and an all-round, stand-out friend of the show, and in today’s episode we have a fantastic conversation centred on the importance of coming together in difficult times.

Robyn talks about the devastation of the summer bushfires and how that crisis highlighted the issue of food security in her community, before sharing the similar impact the Covid-19 crisis is now having on local supermarket shelves. She also introduces us to the three pillars of permaculture – earth care, people care and a fair share – and speaks about what they each look like in daily life, and how everyone of us can harness them to create stronger communities – not only now, but also as we move forward in to whatever the ‘new normal’ will be.

We also have a chat about a topic I know many of you are curious about: how to live a values-aligned life while also raising independent-minded children. This includes Robyn’s thoughts on how to best pick your battles and why compromise is an important tool for everyone to have in their toolbox (a lesson I’m learning with increasing frequency as our kids get older!)

Finally Robyn and I talk about the rising instances of eco-anxiety in both adults and kids alike, and how we can move through it with grace and humanity in tact.

It’s a really wonderful chat that I’ve found myself referring back to a lot over the past few weeks and I hope you enjoy it!

Head over to iTunes to subscribe to the show and play the episode.

Or you can listen to the show directly, simply by hitting the Play button above. Enjoy!

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Things to Check Out After Today’s Episode:

• The Slow Beginnings Retreat is now open for registration! We kick things off on Sunday April 26 and if you’d like to know more or want to secure your spot, head over here.
• Episode 189 of the podcast: Permaculture (it’s more than just gardening!) with Robyn Rosenfeldt
• Pip Magazine
• Pip Magazine Podcast

As always, thank you for listening.

“The brain in a positive state is 31% more productive than a brain in a stressed, neutral or negative state.”

Season 6 coming in hot! (I told you it wouldn’t be long before we were back in your ears). After some feedback and lots of questions about slow living in the time of Covid-19, Ben and I decided to bring the new season forward.

The way we see it, there are so many ways slow living can help as we all adjust to the weirdness of isolation and we want to be able to share them with you now, when they’re most relevant. In a nutshell, this season will be less about the pandemic itself and more about how we can use slow living to live well in these strange times. So if it’s health advice or epidemiology you’re after, this probably isn’t the podcast for you. If, however, you want to know how to find pockets of slow amidst the noise, you’re in the right place.

Which brings me to today’s wonderful guest, Louise Miller, a productivity coach who doesn’t believe in productivity for productivity’s sake (she’s speaking my language already).

We have a wonderful chat about the ins and outs of working from home, and Louise shares lots of super-practical tools and strategies for those of you who might be very new to the remote working scene.  

Louise also shares her insights on: 

• The importance of grace and compassion right now as we all navigate this new reality
• Why creating ‘Ta Da’ lists instead of ‘To Do’ lists is one powerful way of finding satisfaction in our work efforts – particularly on those days where we feel we’re not doing enough
• Why the loss of your commute might be affecting you more than you think 
• How installing a buffer in to your daily rhythm can help create that all-important grace and compassion amidst the stress and worry
• Why ‘slow productivity’ gets such a bad rap and why she’s such a big fan of it anyway

Enjoy!

Head over to iTunes to subscribe to the show and play the episode.

Or you can listen to the show directly, simply by hitting the Play button above. Enjoy!

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Things to Check Out After Today’s Episode:

• The Slow Beginnings Retreat is now open for registration! We kick things off on Sunday April 26 and if you’d like to know more or want to secure your spot, head over here.
• Louise’s website: bettylouonline.com
• Connect with Louise:
  • LinkedIn
  • Instagram

As always, thank you for listening.

“Soften into screen time and manage your expectations around it.”

And just like that, the end of Season 5 is upon us. 

In today’s hostful episode, Ben and I spend some time answering the most common pandemic-related questions as asked by you, as well as tackling some lighter topics to try and provide some much-needed balance to not only this episode but also, if I’m being honest, our own headspaces. 

It’s undoubtedly been an incredibly difficult few weeks for everyone, with many more challenges and dark days ahead. To round out this season, Ben and I talk through the various ways we’re trying to use the tools in our slow living toolbox to navigate some of these hard days, and try to offer some suggestions for how you might want to adapt some of them in to your own life. 

I put the call-out for listener questions on Instagram last week and, as usual, y’all delivered. Some of the questions we try to answer in this week’s poggie include:

• How are you managing remote schooling while also trying to work from home? 
• Do you think slow living is helping during lockdown? And if so do you think it will have a positive effect in the future? 
• What did you learn about schooling and spending a lot of time together while travelling? And has any of that been helpful during lockdown? 
• How to create rhythms for working or studying at home, for those who’ve never done it before? 
• What good new recipes have you tried lately? 
• What’s bringing you joy right now? 
• What are you listening to/watching/reading right now? 

We end the show with a brief update of what you can expect from Season 6 (which will be in your ears shortly – we’ve decided not to take a break between seasons in light of the current situation and all of the excellent guest interviews I have coming up which may offer some help) as well as what to expect from the next round of the Slow Beginnings Online Retreat, which starts on April 26. 

Enjoy!

Head over to iTunes to subscribe to the show and play the episode.

Or you can listen to the show directly, simply by hitting the Play button above. Enjoy!

——

Things to Check Out After Today’s Episode:

• The Slow Beginnings Retreat is now open for registration! We kick things off on Sunday April 26 and if you’d like to know more or want to secure your spot, head over here.
• Nerdist Podcast – Hostful episodes  
• Parks and Rec – Little Sebastian  
• Lunchtime drawing class – Mo Willems  
• PE with Joe 
• Melbourne Zoo Livestreams  
• Eggplant Schnitzel recipe
• Minimalist Baker Blackbean Meatball recipe
• The Stone Soup Brocolli Soup (I just added zucchini and spinach and adjusted water and seasoning as needed)
• Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness
• Bajillion Dollar Properties
• It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
• Ru Paul’s Drag Race  
• Uncut Gems
• Disney Plus 
• Scrublands by Chris Hammer
• Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed 
• The Testaments by Margaret Atwood

As always, thank you for listening.

“What we need now more than anything is more compassion and grace.”

Season 5 has thus far been a pandemic-free zone (mostly because all episodes previous to this one were recorded before the world turned topsy-turvy) but that changes today. 

After having a couple of weeks to process some of the changes in our own lives and the world at large, Ben and I spend the first half of this week’s episode chatting about where we’re at right now, and the huge shifts in pace and productivity that have happened. Ben shares the impact the crisis has had on his business while I talk a little about trying to work around home-school responsibilities, heightened anxiety and a new normal. 

There is no doubt that slow living has given us a lot of tools over the years, many of which have been helpful in the first weeks of the pandemic and lockdown, so we dig a little in to what they are and how they’ve been helping. We also discuss:

• The impact the crisis has had on Ben’s business
• Working from home while also trying to keep on top of home-schooling responsibilities 
• What’s helping us the most right now
• Why limiting inputs of news and social media is so important
• How we’re allowing ourselves to ‘feel all the feelings’ 
• Why single-tasking has become more important than ever

The second half of the episode resumes normal transmission with the final catch-up with a guest from Season 4. And honestly, what a way to finish! I catch-up with Elisa who shares some of the changes she’s implemented in her days, before going on to shed some light on one of her biggest ongoing challenges.

One of Elisa’s children has medically-complex needs and working out how to apply intentional living to those additional requirements is something she and I discuss in-depth. Through all of this Elisa reminded me of the power of resilience, and the strength in being able to encompass the messiness of life and the warrior of motherhood – and everything in between.  

Enjoy!

Head over to iTunes to subscribe to the show and play the episode.

Or you can listen to the show directly, simply by hitting the Play button above. Enjoy!

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Things to Check Out After Today’s Episode:

• Season 4 Episode 7: Busy and slow – can they co-exist?

As always, thank you for listening.

“The roots of self-care was born in underserved communities that recognised that no-one else was going to care for them.”

Today’s episode is another one we recorded PP (pre-pandemic – more on that below), but just like last week’s chat about technology, it’s a pretty timely conversation. Ben and I dive deep in to self-care, a movement that’s been commodified and stripped of its true intention over recent years, but that is going to prove incredibly powerful for all of us over the coming months of uncertainty and challenge.

Slow living and self-care have kind of become synonymous in the mainstream, featuring a lot on Instagram and in books and blogs and magazines. There is undoubtedly a lot of crossover between the two, but there is also a lot of consumerism and privilege tied up in the modern-day vision of self-care. We kick today’s show off with my thoughts on that, as well as a brief look at the roots of the self-care movement and why it has very little to do with face masks.

Ben and I then talk about what we each think self-care is, how it applies in our lives and why it’s so important. We also talk about:

• The origins of self-care as a movement and how society defines self-care now
• What it means to advocate for yourself
• How we each manage self-care
• Where the words ‘want’ versus ‘need’ fit into self-care
• How important exercise is within our own self-care
• The enemies of self-care
• What self-care looks like for us in practical terms

The second half of the episode features our Season 4 friend of the show, Amy, and we follow up on her waste-reduction efforts in beautiful rural Maine. Amy shares how she’s taken on board a lot of the changes and experiments we discussed in our last chat, including some composting ideas (and what she learnt attending a composting conference!), and the ways she’s finding balance between working from home and spending time with her family. 

I really hope you enjoy this episode, as I think there’s a lot in it that will be helpful in our current challenges.

Also just wanted to let you know that following lots of listener requests, the final couple of episodes of Season 5 will feature more discussion about the Coronavirus pandemic as well as a lot of practical talk about home schooling, working from home and managing anxiety amidst massive disruptions to normal life. We’re also working on a few other projects, as well as Season 6, which I hope will bring some more light and practical advice to your ears over the coming weeks and months.

Head over to iTunes to subscribe to the show and play the episode.

Or you can listen to the show directly, simply by hitting the Play button above. Enjoy!

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Things to Check Out After Today’s Episode:

• Season 4 Episode 6: The imperfect reality of low-waste living
• The History of Self-Care – Slate
• Gippsland Unwrapped

As always, thank you for listening.