When Grief Wakes Up Old Trauma - Ruthie Smith on Loss & Healing | Navigating

When Grief Wakes Up Old Trauma - Ruthie Smith on Loss & Healing | Navigating

What happens when grief doesn’t just break your heart — but brings old wounds back to the surface? In this deeply moving episode of Navigating, Anita interviews Ruthie Chamichian Smith, a certified grief educator and author, about grief, survival, caregiving, childhood conditioning, trauma, writing, rest, and becoming someone new after loss. Ruthie shares how the disappearance and death of her best friend Nancy changed the way she saw justice, life, and love. She also opens up about caring for her husband Mark through cancer, losing the identity she had built around marriage and work, and learning how to rest after years of being the one who held everything together. Together, Anita and Ruthie explore grief brain, why grief is different for everyone, how writing can help us process pain, and why “grief triggers old traumas” may be one of the most important clues in healing. If you’ve ever felt stuck, numb, exhausted, or unsure who you are after loss, this conversation is for you. Subscribe to Navigating for honest conversations about grief, healing, identity, resilience, and finding your way through a changing world. Chapters: 0:00 Welcome to Navigating 1:36 Women, caregiving, and losing yourself in roles 2:42 Ruthie’s Armenian upbringing 6:38 Learning your worth through your work 8:13 Childhood bullying and family dysfunction 9:21 School as a refuge 10:29 Meeting her husband Mark 14:00 People-pleasing patterns 16:37 The disappearance of Ruthie’s best friend Nancy 25:39 Why writing helps process grief 26:49 Mark’s cancer diagnosis 32:04 “Sustaining the unsustainable” 35:30 Grief brain and decision-making 40:10 What to do with a loved one’s belongings 44:14 The “Resting Warrior” 51:52 Becoming someone others may not recognize 53:28 Giving yourself permission to rest 54:50 Ruthie’s future grief workshops Follow Navigating here: ► YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@NavigatingPodcastChannel/featured?sub_confirmation=1 ► Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/navigating_podcast/ ► Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61574025256849 ► X | https://x.com/navigatingpod ► Apple | https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/navigating-with-anita-casalina/id1791736299 ► Spotify | https://open.spotify.com/show/5pZqPmDgAYlvtX7bByYPab #Healing #MentalHealth #PodcastClip

Jackie Elward Shares What Happens When You Don’t Back Down | Navigating

Jackie Elward immigrated from the Democratic Republic of Congo without speaking English. Today, she’s a former mayor, community leader, and candidate for California State Assembly - and her story is unlike anything you’ve heard. In this Navigating Season 2 debut episode, Jackie shares what it’s really like to come to America as an immigrant, the moment her son changed her life forever, why she believes democracy is more at stake than people think, and how her leadership helped reshape an entire city.  Chapters: 0:00 The Night Everything Changed 0:45 Meet Jackie Elward 1:30 From Congo to America 3:45 Growing Up Under Authoritarian Rule 5:00 Falling in Love Across Continents 7:30 Building a Life in America 12:30 Why She Believes in Conversation 16:30 Culture Shock 24:00 Why California Matters Right Now 32:30 The “Safe Team” That Changed a City 34:30 Why She Never Wanted to Enter Politics 42:30 The Night She Won 44:00 Her Warning About Democracy 54:00 Why She’s Running for State Assembly Follow Navigating here: ► YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@NavigatingPodcastChannel/featured?sub_confirmation=1 ► Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/navigating_podcast/ ► Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61574025256849 ► X | https://x.com/navigatingpod ► Apple | https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/navigating-with-anita-casalina/id1791736299 ► Spotify | https://open.spotify.com/show/5pZqPmDgAYlvtX7bByYPab #Politics #ImmigrantStory #California

How to Access Greater Wisdom from the Universe with Lisa Barnett - Episode 15 | Navigating Podcast

What if your soul has been recording every lifetime — and you can access it? In this episode of Navigating, host Anita Casalina sits down with internationally recognized author and spiritual healer Lisa Barnett to break down the Akashic Records in a grounded, practical way: what they are, who the Akashic “Masters” are, and how anyone can learn to access their own records. Lisa shares her personal journey (loss, healing, and spiritual awakening), explains how the Akashic field connects to the “quantum” idea of everything happening at once, and teaches her 5-step wisdom prayer system for opening, asking, receiving, and closing your records. We also explore the bigger question many people are feeling right now: Are we in a collective “cleanup” phase — and can choosing love actually raise the world’s vibration? Chapter Markers: 00:00 Welcome to Navigating 01:45 What Are the Akashic Records? 05:12 Who Are the Akashic Masters? 07:26 Lisa’s Childhood Awakening 12:24 Loss, Advertising & Losing Her Path 16:35 Illness That Changed Everything 25:10 Hearing the “Booming Voice” 31:41 Why the Records Were Pulled Away (Dark Ages) 33:12 Age of Aquarius & Humanity’s Shift 40:52 The 5-Step Method to Access Your Records 48:51 Earth’s “Cleanup Phase” & Collective Karma 59:16 Your Soul Has a Plan (Closing Message of Hope) Subscribe to our channel for more interesting interviews like this! https://www.youtube.com/@NavigatingPodcastChannel/featured?sub_confirmation=1 Become a member of our Patreon for more content! https://www.patreon.com/cw/NavigatingPodcast Follow the show on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61574025256849 Follow the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/navigating_podcast/ Follow the show on X: https://x.com/navigatingpod

Mutual Aid Is Replacing Government Help with Sarah Cadorette - Episode 14 | Navigating

In this episode of Navigating, host Anita Casalina speaks with Sarah Cadorette, a coordinator at SF Bay Area Mutual Aid, about the powerful grassroots system quietly helping people survive rising rent, medical debt, job loss, and housing instability. As government programs shrink and economic pressure grows, mutual aid networks are stepping in — offering direct cash assistance, rent support, medical help, food, childcare, and community connection. Sarah explains: • What mutual aid really is (and how it’s different from charity) • How communities pool money to prevent eviction and homelessness • Why small grants can change lives • How unhoused families are being helped directly • The psychological cost of isolation and individualism in America • Why “radical trust” works better than bureaucracy • How hyper-local “pods” are rebuilding neighborhoods from the ground up This conversation explores poverty, wealth inequality, healthcare costs, housing insecurity, and why community-based support may be the future of survival in the United States. If you care about social change, economic justice, mental health, or how people actually get through hard times — this episode is for you. Chapters: 00:23 – Welcome + Why Mutual Aid Is Growing Now 01:31 – The Origins: Mutual Aid Has Always Existed 02:42 – Mutual Aid Basics: Everyone Gives, Everyone Needs 03:15 – Charity vs Solidarity (Key Difference) 04:20 – “Mutual Aid” vs Actual Mutual Aid (Churches, Disasters, Community) 06:24 – A Powerful Story: Her Mom at 110 + Mutual Aid in Real Life 08:18 – Why Relationships Are the Real Safety Net (Health + Stability) 10:36 – Sarah’s Background: Nonprofits, Adult Education, Immigrant Support 14:23 – Lending Circles: How Communities Pool Money to Survive 16:00 – Living Communally in India: Reforestation + Reverse Culture Shock 20:45 – America’s Individualism Problem (Shame, Welfare Stigma, Scarcity) 26:13 – “Recovering Martyr”: Why Movements Need Teams, Not Saviors 30:27 – The Real Goal: Help People Self-Organize Without Needing You 34:12 – Pods Explained: Hyper-Local Mutual Aid That Runs Itself 36:44 – How Bay Area Groups Collaborate (No “Recreating the Wheel”) 39:40 – Inside the Org: 174 Volunteers + What Coordinators Do 41:58 – Direct Cash Aid: Grants Up to $500 (Rent + Medical) + “Radical Trust” 44:29 – Unhoused Family Story: Clothing, Car Living, Funding a Deposit 46:35 – Why 501(c)(3) Status Changed Everything (Matching, Institutions) 48:14 – The Future: More Pods + Scaling Direct Financial Assistance 51:46 – Closing CTA: Subscribe + How to Find SF Mutual Aid Follow SF Bay Area Mutual Aid on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sfmutualaid Subscribe to our channel for more interesting interviews like this! https://www.youtube.com/@NavigatingPodcastChannel/featured?sub_confirmation=1 Become a member of our Patreon for more content! https://www.patreon.com/cw/NavigatingPodcast Follow the show on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61574025256849 Follow the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/navigating_podcast/ Follow the show on X: https://x.com/navigatingpod

Why Democrats Keep Losing with Kristoffer Ealy - Episode 13 | Navigating

In this long-form conversation, political scientist and analyst Kristoffer Ealy breaks down why the Democratic Party keeps losing ground — and why MAGA continues to gain power even when it appears chaotic or self-destructive. From Kamala Harris’s shortened 2024 runway, Democratic panic after the debate, and the failure of elite messaging, to the psychology of grievance politics, relative deprivation, and why “boogeyman narratives” work — this episode goes far beyond surface-level punditry. We explore: - Why MAGA voters are often voting exactly in their perceived self-interest - How Democrats misunderstand power, incumbency, and coalition-building - Why populism works — even when it oversimplifies reality - The danger of losing a shared baseline of truth in American politics - How sports, media personalities, and political performance all intersect - What Democrats must do differently if they want to win future elections - This isn’t a debate — it’s a systems-level analysis of how politics actually works in America. 🎧 Subscribe to the Navigating channel for more real conversations about politics, culture, power, and the human condition. Become a member of our newly launched Patreon and get early access to episodes like this and bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/cw/NavigatingPodcast Follow Kristoffer on Substack: https://substack.com/@professorealy Follow Kristoffer on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/KristofferMarquise Follow Kristoffer on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@kristoffermarquise Follow Kristoffer on X: https://x.com/KMEzDoesIt Chapters: 00:00 Meet Kristoffer Ealy: Political Scientist & Analyst 02:00 Growing Up in South Central LA & Leaving After the LA Riots 05:36 How Watching the News Sparked His Political Awareness 08:09 Evangelical Churches, Race, and Early Political Awakening 11:57 Voting Ralph Nader & Learning How Power Really Works 15:22 Discovering Political Science, Systems, and Psychology 22:30 Living With MS, Disability, and Navigating Academia 33:56 Why Kamala Harris Was Set Up to Fail in 2024 37:28 Panic, Incumbency, and the Democrats’ Media Meltdown 41:01 Populism, Messaging, and the Mandani Moment 44:59 Why Boogeyman Politics Works on Both Sides 49:00 Democrats, Truth, and the Collapse of a Shared Reality 55:22 Sports, Media Figures, and Leaving Your Lane 1:02:14 MAGA Identity, Losing as a Worldview, and What Comes Next