From Strip Club to Sacred Work: Tantra, Menopause, and Desire with Maria Merloni

From Strip Club to Sacred Work: Tantra, Menopause, and Desire with Maria Merloni

What if everything you were taught about sex was designed to disconnect you from your own body? In this episode of The Intimacy Inquiry, Andrew Phipps sits down with Maria Merloni, psychotherapist, sex and relationship coach, and sacred spot massage practitioner, for one of the most honest and wide-ranging conversations the show has produced. Maria's story begins in a Catholic household where sex was never mentioned but nudity was ordinary. She became a nude model at university, then an exotic dancer, then a clinical social worker, and eventually a therapist specialising in sex, relationships, and somatic healing. Now 60, she says she is having the best sex of her life, a statement she backs up with both personal experience and clinical insight. The conversation moves across a remarkable amount of ground. Maria explains what men at strip clubs were really seeking when they broke down in front of her: not sex, but genuine connection, the same thing that brings people to dominatrices, OnlyFans creators, and therapists alike. She describes her journey toward what she calls her sacred work, including a course for women navigating perimenopause and post-menopause, built on the practice of self yoni massage, which she credits with eliminating her own vaginal dryness and restoring her libido after just a few weeks. Maria and Andrew explore why talk therapy so often fails to create real change, and how somatic techniques such as gentle reprocessing and EMDR work differently, rewiring the brain at a level where language cannot reach. Maria shares her own experience: years of unknowingly choosing partners with addiction issues, a pattern that only ended after she worked through the childhood trauma that was driving it. She explains how unhealed wounds do not disappear; they recruit new people to re-inflict them until something shifts at the cellular level. The pair dig into what tantra actually is, not the westernised caricature of exotic positions, but a philosophy that everything in the universe is sacred and connected, and that the deepest intimacy begins with presence. Maria describes simple practices, including eye gazing and synchronised breathing, that can transform a conversation or a sexual encounter in under two minutes. They also cover the psychology of erectile dysfunction, the real logistics of polyamory, why couples stop touching each other and what that costs them in oxytocin and closeness, and why redefining pleasure beyond a narrow heteronormative script opens up possibilities that many people close off prematurely, often in their forties or fifties, assuming their best years are behind them. This is a conversation for anyone who has ever felt that their desire was something to be managed or suppressed rather than understood and celebrated. Maria makes the case, calmly and from experience, that it is not too late. It may, in fact, be just beginning. Maria Merloni: mariamerloni.com [http://mariamerloni.com] Free five-minute guided yoni reconnection practice: mariamerloni.com/ritual Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and via RSS.

Jesus Christ Porn Star: Healing Sexual Shame Through Spiritual Erotic Art | Shoshanna Blanca

What happens when a feminist writer, therapist, and sex educator takes an ibogaine trip and emerges with a calling to bridge the sacred and the sensual? Shoshanna Blanca joins Andrew Phipps on The Intimacy Inquiry to share the story behind Jesus Christ Porn Star, a spiritual erotic performance art project on OnlyFans that blends singing, prayer, worship, vlogging, and explicit imagery to challenge the religiously rooted sexual shame that has shaped Western culture for centuries. Shoshanna traces the journey from her first psychedelic encounter with Jesus in 2021, through her research into feminist biblical scholarship, to the creation of projects including Church in Bed, Coming to God, Uncovering Eve, and The Second Cumming. Her latest book, Eve's Blessing: Uncovering the Lost Pleasure Behind Female Pain, reinterprets the story of Adam and Eve, arguing that the curses of Genesis were not divine punishments but prophetic descriptions of patriarchy and capitalism, already redeemed by the crucifixion and waiting to be claimed. In this rich and wide-ranging conversation, Andrew and Shoshanna explore the philosophical and theological case for treating the body as a sacred portal to the divine, the difference between spiritual erotic performance art and conventional pornography, the ethics of the sex work industry, and why so many content creators and performers also hold deep spiritual lives. They discuss the virgin/whore dichotomy, the outdated laws governing the therapy profession, the politics of psychedelic prohibition, and Shoshanna's belief that the Rapture is already unfolding online through cancel culture and collective awakening. Shoshanna also shares her vision of the Second Coming: not a single figure descending from the sky, but a collective awakening led by women reclaiming spiritual authority and embodying Christ consciousness through non-judgment, unconditional love, and body acceptance. And she outlines her most ambitious project yet: staging the Rapture on Pornhub as a space for radical emotional honesty and conflict resolution. Thought-provoking, theologically curious, and genuinely unlike anything else in your podcast feed. This episode contains mature themes and explicit discussion of sexuality and adult content creation. Intended for adult listeners.

She Films Her Real Sex Life, Loves Life As a Mom, and Holds Nothing Back | Michelena Rose | The Intimacy Inquiry

She films her real sex life, raises her kids, runs a spray tan and massage business, and just moved to Miami to build an empire. This is Michelena Rose, and she holds nothing back. In this episode of The Intimacy Inquiry, Andrew Phipps sits down with Michelena Rose, Playboy cover model and Playmate, international model, adult film star, licensed massage therapist, and sex and relationship coach. Based in Miami after building her brand in Myrtle Beach, Michelena films her actual sex life on her own terms, with zero compromise. She is also a mum, a business owner, and one of the most grounded, honest, and genuinely warm people you will hear on this show. This conversation goes exactly where you hope it does, and somewhere you probably did not expect. IN THIS EPISODE: * Why what you see on camera is exactly who she is off camera * How OnlyFans changed the power dynamic for women in adult content * Why your man is not subscribing to her for the sex (and what he actually needs) * Knives, swords, cacti, Roman candles: the shock and awe content explained * How to ask your partner for what you really want, without shame * Pegging: why more women should try being the one in control * Bisexuality, non-jealousy, and where she draws her personal line * What love means to her, and giving someone permission to break your heart * The conversation she already had with her son at age 10 * Her five to ten year vision: podcast, coaching, and taking the sex and relationship world by storm TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Introduction 01:30 What You See on Camera Is Exactly Who She Is 03:00 Filming Real Sex vs Performing: The Key Difference 04:30 Why She Never Considered Mainstream Studios 05:30 OnlyFans, Creator Control, and the Connection Economy 07:00 Why Her Fans Subscribe (and What Partners Miss at Home) 09:00 Social Media, Disconnection, and Making People Feel Alive 13:00 Growing Up Italian, Free-Spirited, and Body Confident 14:30 How Women React When They First Meet Her 17:00 What She Wants People to Feel Watching Her Work 19:30 Knives, Swords, Cacti, Roman Candles: Shock and Awe Explained 22:30 Every Object Is a First Time, Live on Camera 24:00 A Typical Day: 5AM Gym, Massages, Soccer, Dinner at 6 25:30 The Conversation With Her Son at Age 10 29:00 How to Ask Your Partner for What You Really Want 32:00 The Right Way to Bring Up Pegging 33:30 Why Pegging Is Empowering for Women 39:00 Partners on Camera: When Someone Was Not Comfortable 41:00 Bisexuality, Non-Jealousy, and Where She Draws the Line 42:00 What Love Really Means to Her 46:00 Giving Someone Permission to Break Your Heart 48:30 What People Misunderstand About Women in This Industry 51:00 Travelling Alone to Reset Her Mind 53:00 Her Vision: Miami, Podcast, Sex and Relationship Coaching ABOUT MICHELENA ROSE: Playboy cover model and Playmate. International model, adult film star, licensed massage therapist, sex and relationship coach. Owner of Get Naked and Glow. Based in Miami, FL. Website: itsmichelenarose.com [http://itsmichelenarose.com] ABOUT THE INTIMACY INQUIRY: Hosted by Andrew Phipps, exploring energy dynamics, authentic connection, and what intimacy really means. New episodes weekly. Subscribe on YouTube. Listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, search "The Intimacy Inquiry." Connect with Andrew on LinkedIn: Leave a review on Apple Podcasts if this episode moved you. #TheIntimacyInquiry #MichelenaRose #OnlyFans #AdultContentCreator #Intimacy #SexPositive #Pegging #BodyConfidence #SexAndRelationshipCoaching #PlayboyModel #WomenInAdultIndustry #KinkPositive #SexEducation #Podcast #MiamiCreator #SexualEmpowerment #OpenRelationships #ConsciousLiving #PodMatch

Obsession, Toxic Chemistry and the Mirror That Healed Him | Dr. Stephen Paul Edwards |

What happens when desire becomes obsession, obsession becomes psychological warfare, and the whole thing turns out to be the mirror you needed all along? In this episode of The Intimacy Inquiry, Andrew Phipps sits down with Dr. Stephen Paul Edwards, PhD in Spiritual Counseling, international speaker, coach, and author of "The Venus Fly Trap: Sex, Lies, and Repercussions." Born in Blackpool, UK and now based in Florida, Stephen has spent decades helping people untangle the relational and sexual patterns that keep them looping through the same chaos. His memoir has been described as equal parts erotic, soul-stirring, and genuinely healing. This conversation goes deep: childhood trauma and gaslighting, running away from home eight times, electroconvulsive therapy at 16, four marriages, working with Tony Robbins, Deepak Chopra and Wayne Dyer, the relationship that became his mirror, shame, forgiveness, the sexual revolution, and why vulnerability is not a weakness. WHAT WE COVER: * Childhood gaslighting, control, and running away from home eight times * Electroconvulsive therapy at 16 and the shame that followed for years * How working with Tony Robbins, Deepak Chopra and Wayne Dyer shaped his path * Why he wrote "The Venus Fly Trap" and what radical honesty cost him * Why you don't have a relationship problem, you have a pattern problem * The letter to his parents he was told not to send (but mailed anyway) * Social media, pornography, and why growing up is harder now * The future of gender, androgyny, masculine and feminine energy * His vision: Netflix, stage shows, and a shame-free sexuality movement ABOUT DR. STEPHEN PAUL EDWARDS: PhD in Spiritual Counseling. International speaker, coach and author. Born in Blackpool, UK, based in Florida. Worked alongside Tony Robbins, Deepak Chopra and Wayne Dyer. Author of "The Venus Fly Trap: Sex, Lies, and Repercussions." Leading voice in Quantum Wealth and conscious living. Book and website: vft23.com [http://vft23.com] ABOUT THE INTIMACY INQUIRY: Hosted by Andrew Phipps, exploring energy dynamics, authentic connection, and what intimacy really means, with yourself, with others, and with life. New episodes weekly. Listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, search "The Intimacy Inquiry." If this episode moved you, please leave a review. It helps more people find the show. Dr. Edwards has created a unique link exclusively for you to access the complimentary first 3 chapters of The Venus Flytrap: Sex, Lies & Repercussion. . In addition, we’re including the link for the coaching and counselling sessions Dr. Edwards offers. Here is the Landing unique link for you: * https://bit.ly/48uidPv [https://bit.ly/48uidPv] Here is the Coaching unique link for you: * https://vft23.com/coaching-and-counselling/?utm_source=Andrew+Phipps&utm_medium=The+Intimacy+Inquiry&utm_campaign=Podcast+Interview+-+Andrew+Phipps [https://vft23.com/coaching-and-counselling/?utm_source=Andrew+Phipps&utm_medium=The+Intimacy+Inquiry&utm_campaign=Podcast+Interview+-+Andrew+Phipps] Discount Code: VFT23! #TheIntimacyInquiry #StephenPaulEdwards #VenusFlyTrap #ToxicRelationships #HealingTrauma #Intimacy #SpiritualHealing #VulnerabilityIsStrength #RelationshipPatterns #TonyRobbins #ShameFree #Forgiveness #MasculineAndFeminine #SexualRevolution #MindBodySpirit #Podcast

Listening to Desire: Dark Nights, Relationship Myths, and Pleasure-Based Intimacy

Listening to Desire: Dark Nights, Relationship Myths, and Pleasure-Based Intimacy with LiYana Silver A transformational coach and author of "Feminine Genius" LiYana Silver discusses how she helps clients—especially women—rebuild self-trust, body connection, and desire after heartbreak or divorce, and explains why many people can’t safely access what they truly want. She outlines three common relationship myths: the “myth of romance” (partner above all else), the “relationship escalator” (preset steps toward longevity), and the belief that love equals merging and self-erasure, particularly for women. The conversation reframes divorce as not inherently a failure and emphasizes validating devastation before moving through phases of transformation. LiYana describes couple work as identifying entrenched patterns rooted in wounds, doing individual healing, and learning communication skills, while also normalizing shifts in sexual spark over time. They explore pleasure practices, de-centering orgasm and penetration, creating safer erotic conversations, reconnecting to bodily yes/no signals, parenting amid social media and pornography through open dialogue, and her own self-care and future goals, including a forthcoming divorce-focused book. 00:00 Meet the Coach 00:43 What Do You Do 02:27 Finding What You Want 04:46 Three Relationship Myths 09:57 When It Falls Apart 15:28 Divorce Is Not Failure 16:24 Dark Night or The End 21:12 Being Yourself in Love 25:25 Raising Kids Online 29:47 Talking About Sex 31:08 Listening to Your Body 32:07 Body Truths and Intuition 34:53 Yes No Body Signals 41:26 Relationship Escalator Talks 46:05 Pleasure Practice and Shame 53:39 Beyond Performance Sex 57:36 Therapist Self Care 01:00:26 Future Vision and Closing http://liyanasilver.com/map [http://liyanasilver.com/map] https://www.facebook.com/liyana.silver [https://www.facebook.com/liyana.silver] https://www.instagram.com/liyana_silver/ [https://www.instagram.com/liyana_silver/] https://liyanasilver.substack.com/ [https://liyanasilver.substack.com/]