What We're Carrying: A Healing Conversation on Personal and Collective Pain with Ning Tendo

How Healing Brings Consciousness Shifts Down To Earth

We are taking in more of the world right now than at any other point in history — and it's doing something to us. Not just overwhelm and fatigue, but something deeper and more alive. A new kind of social consciousness is bursting forward, trying to take root. What helps this new consciousness actually land, take form, and become something we can live from. In this episode, I explore how embodiment and healing are what bring consciousness shifts down to earth. How building our capacity to be with the heavy, complicated stuff that comes with having our eyes so open — the pain, the moral weight, the disorientation — is what helps this new consciousness actually stabilize and take form. I draw on Dr. Rae Johnson's reframe of embodiment as capacity rather than self-care, Dr. Renée Lertzman's work on the inner dimension of social change, and the parallels between personal awakening and what's happening at the collective level right now. Show notes: 0:00 — Welcome 1:45 — This month's theme: embodiment and consciousness shifts 2:19 — Why I'm doing this one differently 5:09 — What I mean by consciousness 9:22 — What's unique about our awareness right now 12:13 — Awakening comes with grief and cleanup 15:11 — The parallel at the collective level 18:50 — Where embodiment comes in 20:01 — The printing press, abolition, and media opening eyes in mass 24:56 — How many eyes need to open before things change? 26:40 — Dr. Renée Lertzman on the status quo approach to social change 28:46 — It's not about more seeing — it's about supporting what comes with seeing 33:34 — Defining embodiment — Dr. Rae Johnson's "Embodiment Is Not Self-Care" 36:34 — Why this feels like a modern need 38:12 — Bringing consciousness down to earth through healing 43:04 — Insights from trauma studies 44:36 — The aliveness and opportunity in all of this 46:07 — Why rushing to action misses the point 50:39 — Closing and invitation Subscribe to my Substack [wehealforall.substack.com] to get this directly in your inbox. Collective Healing Circles [https://wehealforall.as.me/?appointmentType=89190895] — Sunday's 6:30pm ET  My book, When the World Hurts [https://www.wehealforall.com/book]   Substack: wehealforall.substack.com Website: www.wehealforall.com IG: @wehealforall Youtube: @wehealforall Tiktok: @wehealforall FB: @wehealforall

From Certainty to Curiosity with Poet Fi Kahani

In this episode, I sit down with Fi Kahani — poet, digital nomad, and host of The Sound of Listening podcast — to talk about the practice of not knowing. Fi is someone whose worldview has been scrambled more than once, and instead of retreating, she's made that scramble a way of life. We get into what happened when people she respected came out as Trump voters, what it cost her when a close friendship couldn't survive their differences, and why she puts a disclaimer on her posts calling her own work "likely misinformation, propaganda, opinion, fluff and nonsense." This conversation covers a lot of terrain — from close relationships to the way we show up politically to pet hamsters. We talk about healing as what sustains activism, distress tolerance as a political skill, and what it actually takes to notice your own disgust toward an idea and get curious instead of shutting down. 0:00 Welcome   4:00 Fi's disclaimer: "This post is likely misinformation, disinformation, propaganda, opinion, fluff and nonsense"   6:30 The Yogananda quote — honoring and witnessing without judgment   9:00 Spiritual centrism and political nonduality   11:00 Fi's origin story and having her worldviews scrambled   14:30 Multiple realities and the limits of what we can actually know   15:00 A friendship that fell apart   17:00 Grief and letting things die so new things can come   21:00 Children are wired for justice   22:00 Healing sustains activism, not replaces it   25:00 Going within — the only landscape you can truly know   27:00 "You do not accept reality, so how could you ever accept love?"   31:00 Global shadow work   32:00 Helpful vs unhelpful thoughts   34:00 Noticing disgust toward an opposing idea and getting curious   36:00 Most people are walking the middle path of the extremes they know   39:00 Distress tolerance — from addiction therapy to politics   46:00 Unexpressed anger and the gift inside every emotion   49:00 The limitations of trying to change the world   51:30 Where to find Fi     Looking for community space for your practice of ‘not knowing?’ Join one of my upcoming collective healing Circles. Meditation, storytelling & resonance practice. Learn more here [https://www.wehealforall.com/circles].   This episode is part of my April series on not knowing being a hallmark feature of our times. Subscribe to my Substack [http://wehealforall.substack.com/] to get these directly in your inbox.   Connect with Fi Kahani: Instagram: @ [https://www.instagram.com/multidimensional.mama/]thesoundoflistening.podcast Substack: https://thesoundoflistening.substack.com/   Check out my book "When The World Hurts.”Read it here [https://www.amazon.com/When-World-Hurts-Worlds-Sense/dp/B0FVM5THQW/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3DFGLQQ9CVSCN&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.PCDPX6PBlj0qFWSJvvL7PpuHyZz0Kod-a-jQsUhN2piBCD-jBOMFpfd4BtJ3_Rv_a4WcjVt17rEP7eE1DR42NTg4VK69_6sIf4K1l811aDxwct5VWrJoXT193Qt0SrXXls6vChdi-DIEm8pilDFmQlA6IiZ8FLpFyA44lqasp88XXGnR_fY6xYPdaB2OCW3dxpBuNet0ZRcHmLFRTIQHI8vkEoe21cTRqqJNS_wyg00.s3-WuB27LQJGWGKldLymqpiFiyacTgmL7XsQEklv5RU&dib_tag=se&keywords=when+the+world+hurts&qid=1760893715&sprefix=,aps,101&sr=8-1].   Connect with Liz: Substack: wehealforall.substack.com Website: www.wehealforall.com IG: @wehealforall FB: @wehealforall Youtube: @wehealforall Tiktok: @wehealforall Subscribe to my Substack [wehealforall.substack.com] to get this directly in your inbox. Collective Healing Circles [https://wehealforall.as.me/?appointmentType=89190895] — Sunday's 6:30pm ET  My book, When the World Hurts [https://www.wehealforall.com/book]   Substack: wehealforall.substack.com Website: www.wehealforall.com IG: @wehealforall Youtube: @wehealforall Tiktok: @wehealforall FB: @wehealforall

How to ground yourself in these shaky times

Grounding… have you heard of it? My guess is that you have. Maybe in the form of a practice, like a grounding meditation. Or maybe more as a quality: being grounded in how you move about the world. Grounding is so important for the times we live in. But as much as I see it espoused and thrown around (including by yours truly), I don’t see a lot of deep dives breaking down exactly what it is and why it’s needed. So that’s what I’ll do here. Because this month’s theme — the one I’m meditating on and exploring all month — is about the lack of groundedness these times offer us. How the earth beneath our feet is shifting and sliding so much that the majority of us, especially those of us who are paying attention to what’s happening politically, socially, culturally, environmentally, genuinely find ourselves in some version of not knowing these days— what to fully think, who to completely trust, or where we totally fit in. And while that comes with real challenges, it is also laced with opportunity: to use the tide of confusion we’re swimming in to get clearer about what we can root down into, what is unshakable even when everything else trembles, and what we want to carry forward as we co-create the world around us. Below I dig into what grounding is and what we’re culturally up against that makes it so hard. I then offer tips and techniques for your personal practice organized into four buckets: * Grounding practices for in the moment (times when you’re overwhelmed or disoriented), * Practices that help you get to know what grounding feels like for you, * Spiritual or energetic grounding practices, and * Practices that support you to ground into your values.   This is a free preview of the guided meditation. To listen to the full thing, become a paid subscriber through my Substack. You can try out a free 7-day trial [https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us/articles/360059868332-How-do-I-redeem-a-free-trial-on-Substack] to get a taste of it. Substack: wehealforall.substack.com Website: www.wehealforall.com IG: @we_heal_for_all FB: @wehealforall Subscribe to my Substack [wehealforall.substack.com] to get this directly in your inbox. Collective Healing Circles [https://wehealforall.as.me/?appointmentType=89190895] — Sunday's 6:30pm ET  My book, When the World Hurts [https://www.wehealforall.com/book]   Substack: wehealforall.substack.com Website: www.wehealforall.com IG: @wehealforall Youtube: @wehealforall Tiktok: @wehealforall FB: @wehealforall

When Not Knowing Is the Most Honest Place To Be

Our fast-paced, ever-changing world can leave so many of us internally scrambled — without stable footing, unsure of where we stand or where we belong. Maybe that looks like pulling back because you don't think you know enough to participate. Or maybe it looks like the ground shifting under a worldview you've held for years, rocking your sense of self and who your people are. Either way, not knowing is an honest and intelligent response to what's going on these days. It doesn't disqualify you from participating. It means you actually already are. In this episode, I share the story of Ruby, an art teacher whose world got turned upside down when she first really opened her eyes to the reality of racism — and how she came looking for answers but found something much deeper. I explore why we cling to certainty (hint: it's not just about being right — it's about belonging), what grounded flexibility looks like in practice, and why what most of us need right now isn't more information — it's a container.   Timestamps: 0:00 – Welcome + what's coming this month on "not knowing" 3:30 – Ruby's story: wanting answers in the aftermath of George Floyd's murder 6:30 – Why not knowing leaves so many of us stuck 7:30 – Why we cling to certainty — and what it really gives us 9:00 – Not knowing as a hallmark feature of paying attention 10:00 – Grounded flexibility: staying rooted while open to change 11:30 – Living your principles in the gray areas 14:00 – Building our capacity for complexity 15:00 – Why we need containers, not more information 16:00 – What Ruby actually found   Links: Subscribe to my Substack to get this directly in your inbox. Collective Healing Circle [https://wehealforall.as.me/?appointmentType=89190895] — Sunday, April 19 at 6:30 PM ET Free 20-min Resiliency Boost session. Grab a spot here [https://wehealforall.as.me/schedule/5cb46bc2/appointment/90990679/calendar/13553366?appointmentTypeIds[]=90990679]. My book, When the World Hurts [https://www.wehealforall.com/book]   Substack: wehealforall.substack.com Website: www.wehealforall.com IG: @wehealforall Youtube: @wehealforall Tiktok: @wehealforall FB: @wehealforall Subscribe to my Substack [wehealforall.substack.com] to get this directly in your inbox. Collective Healing Circles [https://wehealforall.as.me/?appointmentType=89190895] — Sunday's 6:30pm ET  My book, When the World Hurts [https://www.wehealforall.com/book]   Substack: wehealforall.substack.com Website: www.wehealforall.com IG: @wehealforall Youtube: @wehealforall Tiktok: @wehealforall FB: @wehealforall

What We're Carrying: A Healing Conversation on Personal and Collective Pain with Ning Tendo

In this episode, I sit down with my dear friend Ning Nintendo — grief specialist, dream yogi, and founder of Multidimensional Mama — whose work helps name deeper layers often held in pain that conventional ways of thinking about emotions often miss. Together we explore the ancestral, intergenerational, and historical dimensions of what so many of us are feeling from the world these days, and ways to work with those layers for our own spiritual health and roles we’re meant to play in the world. This is a conversation about collective grief and collective pain, yes, but it's also about what becomes possible when we stop trying to carry it all alone. Ning shares about how her work with bereaved mothers has taught her about the layers beneath our personal stories — archetypal, ancestral, spiritual. We get into what grounded spirituality looks like in practice; how to tell if what you're feeling is yours or something tied to the collective, how to sit with collective rage without being consumed by it, and why healing in community isn't just nice to have but necessary. If you've been looking for ways to better understand what you’re experiencing these days, grab a cup of tea and join us.   0:00 Welcome and introduction 3:50 The bigness of grief — beyond conventional frameworks 11:00 How collective fields amplify personal pain 17:00 The dark night of the soul at a national level 22:30 How to know when it's collective 32:00 Multidimensional Mama — reclaiming ancient wisdom 35:30 Holding both — opportunity and injustice 38:30 Grounded spirituality and working with rage 44:30 Compassion without erasing accountability 46:00 Why we need collective healing spaces right now 50:00 Spiritual boundaries in healing work 1:00:00 Finding where you fit 1:07:00 Invisible allies and the practice of surrender 1:09:30 Where to find Ning   Join me for community space to collectively heal. If you're looking for a community space to practice these tools in, I have an online collective healing Circle coming up this month. Join and learn more here [https://www.wehealforall.com/circles].   This episode is part of my March series on how personal and collective pain get entangled. I have a guided meditation practice for paid subscribers, followed by more tools and conversations on this theme. Subscribe to my Substack [http://wehealforall.substack.com/] to get these directly in your inbox.   Connect with Ning Tendo: Instagram: @multidimensional.mama [https://www.instagram.com/multidimensional.mama/] Website: https://www.multidimensionalmama.com/   My book "When The World Hurts" is available on Kindle for free for the next month. Read it here [https://www.amazon.com/When-World-Hurts-Worlds-Sense/dp/B0FVM5THQW/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3DFGLQQ9CVSCN&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.PCDPX6PBlj0qFWSJvvL7PpuHyZz0Kod-a-jQsUhN2piBCD-jBOMFpfd4BtJ3_Rv_a4WcjVt17rEP7eE1DR42NTg4VK69_6sIf4K1l811aDxwct5VWrJoXT193Qt0SrXXls6vChdi-DIEm8pilDFmQlA6IiZ8FLpFyA44lqasp88XXGnR_fY6xYPdaB2OCW3dxpBuNet0ZRcHmLFRTIQHI8vkEoe21cTRqqJNS_wyg00.s3-WuB27LQJGWGKldLymqpiFiyacTgmL7XsQEklv5RU&dib_tag=se&keywords=when+the+world+hurts&qid=1760893715&sprefix=,aps,101&sr=8-1].   Connect with Liz: Substack: wehealforall.substack.com Website: www.wehealforall.com IG: @wehealforall FB: @wehealforall Youtube: @wehealforall Subscribe to my Substack [wehealforall.substack.com] to get this directly in your inbox. Collective Healing Circles [https://wehealforall.as.me/?appointmentType=89190895] — Sunday's 6:30pm ET  My book, When the World Hurts [https://www.wehealforall.com/book]   Substack: wehealforall.substack.com Website: www.wehealforall.com IG: @wehealforall Youtube: @wehealforall Tiktok: @wehealforall FB: @wehealforall