Tad Hargrave – Your host and facilitator:
Tad is a hippy who developed a knack for marketing (and then learned how to be a hippy again.) For almost a decade, he has been touring his marketing workshops around Canada, bringing refreshing and unorthodox ideas to conscious entrepreneurs and green businesses that help them grow their organizations and businesses (without selling their souls).
He does improv comedy semi-professionally, co-runs Edmonton’s progressive community building network TheLocalGood.ca, founded treetcarshows.com, indigodrinks.ca, socialyogiyeg.com, and the Jams program of yesworld.org. He speaks Scottish Gaelic and helps to run novascotiagaelsjam.com and is also a huge Doctor Who nerd.
Tad currently lives in Edmonton, Alberta (traditionally known, in the local indigenous language of the Cree, as Amiskwaciy (Beaver Hill) and later Amiskwaciwaskihegan (Beaver Hill House) and his ancestors come primarily from Scotland with some from the Ukraine as well. He is drawn to conversations around politics, history, ancestry, healing and how those all intersect.
You can learn more about Tad and his work at marketingforhippies.com and nichingspiral.com
Participants
Lisa Baker’s dream is to end homelessness, racism, and climate change (not necessarily in that order). She’s a marketing consultant for small businesses who works on saving the world as a side gig. She’d like to change that.
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Simon Berkowitz: I don’t have a current bio (hence the need for this program . . .) so here is a sort of bio created in the moment. More bringing you up to date. I have twenty years experience working with Acupuncture, CST, Massage, Hypnosis with additional trainings in Mindfulness and Meditation. Over the last 5 years training and working with a form of Dreamwork (we did a marketing session about it a few years back). It has taken a huge amount of work but I now feel that my niche is starting to get a little clearer. I am slowly but surely moving away from the physical style of work towards my own style of coaching. In the sales letter Tad used the image of deep roots. I have been working so long on this stuff that I feel they’re kind of almost poking out the other side of the earth. On a personal note the last few years have been very challenging. I had a break-up that was extremely long, drawn out and incredibly stressful. As is the way with these difficult experiences, and having done my best to work through it, I do feel like a different and truer person. My work has been continuing to develop but very slowly. As things have started to simplify in my life I have been setting myself up, creating space, to be able to really explore how to get this work out into the world next year, so the timing of the program could be very good for me.
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Pam Clark is all about truth and beauty. She believes your life is your art – that bravely living the full-expression of your truest self is not only beautiful, but also your greatest gift to the world. She has always been a seeker of truth, but as a recovering codependent-people-pleaser, has struggled with accessing it. It wasn’t until she connected the mental with the physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of being that she finally began to know her truth. Not only to express it, but also to use it as the most reliable, full-on navigation for life. Yoga and coaching brought all of these things together for her. She believes they can do this for you, too. Pam’s yoga classes infuse yoga practices with mind, body and life integration. Her private Satya Sessions blend body-based healing with masterful coaching. Her students and clients come to her to connect deeply with themselves and their own depth of wisdom, so they can navigate their lives with clarity and trust – and in doing so, reveal their innate beauty. Pam will challenge your preconceived notions, hold sacred space, guide you to wholeness, and witness your truth with compassion and grace. She is a certified life coach and yoga teacher with two RYT-200 certifications. She is on the faculty of Yoga Church Teacher Training and cohorts a weekly podcast dedicated to navigating life on and off the mat. Pam lives in Jericho with three incredible humans (her husband of many years and two teenagers,) a wise yellow lab and a delightful kitty – all of whom are her greatest teachers. Pam is an avid board-gamer and homeschooling advocate, with an eye for colour and an uncanny ability to manifest beauty. She loves cooking a (vegetarian) feast for exuberant eaters and deep thinkers, snow days and all things Pearl Jam. Connect with Pam at pamelanaudaclark.com
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Dana da Ponte: I use intuition, art, ceremony, and sisterhood to help women emotionally and spiritually nourish themselves. I lead local and online women’s circles to work with the magic of the moon and the wisdom of the Divine Mother. I specialize in the mother/daughter relationship and healing the Mother Wound. I’m a little bit hippie but a little bit preppy too, a book worm and word geek, a prairie girl with a trucker mouth and a woo woo channeler. I love A Course in Miracles and Osho’s Book of Secrets but I also love Star Trek and want to write my own sci-fi novel one day. I’m a smorgsborg of personalities. A true Gemini I guess.
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Alysa Golden: For the past 25 years I have been counselling students, adults and everyone in between, developing transformational programs, facilitating groups, running popular theatre workshops, writing books, directing theatre, working at numerous businesses, studying and practicing spiritually, studying marketing and (most recently) platform business models, raising my 15 year old twins and being a partner to my husband who is an actor. There ya go. A bio in one sentence. Who says people are complicated?
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Sandi Loytomaki is an Indigenous and Integrative Medicine Practitioner, Colon Hydrotherapist and student of Classical Osteopathic Manual Therapy. With over 30 years of studying and training in human functional anatomy, performance and potential, she is continually amazed by the power of the body and the power of the totality of what we call the “human being.” Her western academic training is uniquely combined with traditional values and teachings. She lives in a world of spirit and physical realities – living the ways of her ancestors in an urban centre, while offering services in a variety of clinical and home settings. Her life has brought her experience serving people of all ages in the pursuit of conscious living practices and restoration of balance where imbalance exists. From social enterprise business pursuits, community endeavours, social justice advocacy, multicultural arts/music events, teaching people of all ages/cultures/traditions; to experiential learning pursuits with Elders, spiritual/religious traditions and living in various communities around the world – she brings a unique perspective to Unity and the human collective. Sandi knows the dynamic nature and potential of the human body/being inside out. A former high level athlete, Sandi recently, has also had a unique journey with restoration of balance in her own life – passing over from full organ failure, returning to a severely damaged body – and – using all the teachings, tools/skills and knowledge that has been shared with her to regain full vibrant health. Learning to walk, breathe, eat and see again; having two beautiful children; assisting many people transform their lives, these are considered some of her greatest accomplishments in, and contributions to, life. She is passionate about sharing teachings and experiences with others . . . assisting others to live their full potential.
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Kellita Maloof: Exuberant Showgirl Shaman and Carnaval Queen Kellita has taught and performed her signature carnaval showgirl dance for the last 16 years from San Francisco to New Orleans, Hollywood to Montreal, and Paris to Tokyo. She is a 5-time finalist at the Burlesque Hall of Fame, has been featured in burlesque festivals across North America, and headlined the Toronto, Windy City, and Texas Burlesque Festivals. Named Little Miss Aftershock for her outstanding shimmy shake at the Miss Exotic World pageant 2002, Kellita is also the proud recipient of 2 Golden Pastie Awards from the New York Burlesque Festival: Best Derriere 2004 and Most Sensual 2009. You can find Kellita in print in Dance Magazine, All That Glitters, Burlesque, and The New Bump n’ Grind; her film credits include Broad Daylight, Burlesque Assassins, and the recently premiered The Goddess Project. Kellita is a certified practitioner of Sonya Sophia-style EFT, Marin-style NLP, Systemic and Family Constellations, and InterPlay, all of which influence her work. An expert on expressing your truth and beauty through your body, Kellita delights in helping women rewire their bodies and minds to run at a delicious hum through her innovative dance and life practice called Showgirl Awakening. Showgirl Awakening unites body, mind, and heart through a combination of awareness, intention, full attention, love, and showgirl dance movement. Through accessing their Presence and Radiance via Showgirl Awakening, women have won awards, been invited to perform internationally, found dream homes, landed jobs, but most importantly dusted off the fountain of Self-Love that was hiding right in the centre of their very own shimmy. This year, Kellita’s been touring and catalyzing showgirl awakenings in Munich, Paris, Madrid, Hamburg, Berlin, Tampere, Stockholm, Stuttgart, San Francisco, Portland, and Denver.
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Buffy Maple: I was born in Dobbs Ferry, NY in 1946. Graduated Roosevelt School of Nursing in NYC. I worked as a psychiatric nurse for seven years – including Mass General Alcohol Research Unit, then Boston State Hospital’s Alcohol and Substance Abuse Unit, then their psychiatric ward for several years. I started seeking education in better alternatives for mental health patients and myself. I studied Family Systems Therapy, Reichian therapy, Psychodrama under Zerika Moreno, and other modalities. Me and five others created Boston State Hospital’s first outpatient unit. In the early seventies I made a radical life change and moved to LA, CA to immerse myself in The Center for Feeling Therapy. I was there for 9 years and learned many valuable lessons both positive and negative. It became very well known and its seven therapists were on the talk show circuit. Numerous books were written and I was highlighted in several. But fame and fortune were not beneficial and the Centre devolved into a cult. The good news is that we patients ended it ourselves in three days in 1980. A book was written about it and I was highlighted in that also. I took a completely different path in my career during this time frame also. As a nurse I loved my work with my patients dearly, but always had fear I might make a life harming mistake with medication or something else under pressure. I had (and still do) severe learning disorders caused I’m guessing in part to severe physical abuse and being struck by lightening at the age of 8. My brain works differently or not at all at many basic levels. Getting through nursing school was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I studied 5 hours to get B’s or C’s while seeing my classmates study for half an hour and get an A. So I knew with my learning disabilities it would be hard for me to maintain a job of any value. But on the positive side, my inability to function on so many levels in the mainstream world has given me many strengths such as perseverance, deep empathy, and most certainly the ability to think outside the box! I figured if I wasn’t a nurse and couldn’t get a regular job, that my best alternative would be to start my own business and thus have a boss that would see my value despite my handicaps – me! I was clueless as to what I could do or how to start a business. I networked with everyone and in every way I could think of for six months, till I settled on a person who had a small interior plant maintenance business and needed some free labor and a van. I offered both on the condition she made me her business partner. And voila – I now had half a business! We stayed together for 3 years and then I went on to start my own company Forever Green, which I ran for about 7 years. I took care of many famous clients and my company along with 6 others founded PIPA – the professional interior plant association for Los Angeles. My company was chosen to design and install the plants for LA’s Bi-Centennial Celebration. Due in part to the nature of my business (use of chemical treatments on plants) in combination with the flyover spraying with Malathion for the mediterranean fruit fly (a very controversial and much protested program at the time) I developed severe health issues and had to end my career. For the next thirty years I was unable to work at all. I was diagnosed with MCS (Environmental Illness), leaky gut syndrome, Fibromyalgia and Epstein Barr Virus. I include this in my bio because it gave me a different kind of business street-cred and the ability to speak from knowledge, personal experience, and credibility for working with clients in my business, which I hope to create during this program with Tad. Also during this thirty year period, I got involved in Re-evaluation Counselling – also known as “RC.” This is a modality that helps people with deep emotional expression of early hurts. I have taken leadership in various capacities within this organization and developed many powerful skill sets. I am well respected and often sought out as a counsellor. About 18 months ago I took the DNRS (Dynamic Neural Retraining System) and have dramatically improved my neurological responses to chemical exposures. I’ve gone from being bed ridden or barely functional most days and having to wear a respirator when in the wide world to being mask free and able to function at about a 70% level most of the time. It’s a work in process and I continue to improve weekly. During those 30 years of ill health I never gave up my desire to live fully in the world. I was diligent in trying different health modalities and improving my state of well being. I have inspired many who know me. As soon as my health began to return, my desire to help others with their health challenges became strong. So this is where I’m currently at – no business but a great desire to start one and I think I have good life experience to instil trust and credibility with my future clients.
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Sarah Marshank MEd. is the founder of Selfistry, an integrative theory and practice for mastering the art of being human. She is the author of the Being Selfish: My Journey for Escort to Monk to Grandmother. Based in Berkeley, CA, Sarah teaches and speaks internationally, facilitates on line courses, and works one-on one with individuals. Sarah’s embodied teaching and presence come from spending ten years in retreat. Her life’s purpose, articulated and expressed through Selfistry, integrates Eastern and Western philosophy and psychology with meditation and somatic practices. Find out more at selfistry.com.
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Karen McMullen: Two years ago I had created the success of my dreams. Live your Genius Inc., my business devoted to helping Leaders to discover and express their Genius, was bringing in an average of $15K monthly. I had an art-filled, cozy and beautifully decorated home in the Rocky Mountains, a great relationship, lots of free-time for skiing, and was networked with the most awesome, successful Leaders in the Transformational Leadership industry. I was considering scaling to the next level when I stopped and noticed that despite having achieved the outward “Success” I’d desired, and worked to achieve . . . I mostly just wanted to lie on the couch. I felt discontent, empty and drained! Why create more of the same? “Success” was BS. My dissatisfaction with the illusion of “Success” that I had been sold, and bought into, (and then sold to others) has lead me to a radical experiment with surrender, truth and freedom. I spent 2 years living mostly like a monk and learning rare tools to live truly and freely . . . without having to sacrifice to create financial security. (Don’t worry, you don’t have to live like a monk to get this!) It wasn’t all easy, or pleasant. Releasing my hard-won illusions was painful at times. I now live in central Mexico where I divide my time between a wild beach and magical hillside strawbale house on a permaculture orchard. I work with Leaders using Human Design and private 1-1 retreats in Mexico. I collaborate with Live your Genius Inc. to continue to offer The Genius Process to Business Owners and their teams. Life and business are simpler. I’m much more care-free.
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Elizabeth Scholtz: I was born in Edmonton to German/Austrian parents in the 1970s. My family moved to Stony Plain when I was a teenager and I very quickly got a job working for the local shoemaker. I worked there (summers, holidays, and weekends) for the next 19 years serving customers and hand-sewing leather. I loved every moment of my job (except for the swathers and the hockey equipment. They’re just nasty). While all this was happening, I earned my Undergraduate from the University of Alberta and later moved to Vienna to continue my musical studies. Upon returning home, I established a private teaching studio and accompanied (ahem! collaborated) with both students and colleagues. Over the next 15 years, I managed to study with some of the most important musicians in Europe and North America. Then my life changed. In November of 2009 my daughter got sick with the Flu. She was 18 months old. After a long and sleepless night, I brought her to the Grey Nuns Hospital, thinking naïvely they would help her. After waiting over 12 hours in Emergency, she was finally admitted and spent the next 5 days fighting for her life because of the appalling quality of care she received. My opinion of the medical profession changed forever. I asked for for guidance, strength, and courage to follow the path of forgiveness and healing. That path led me to Pure Homeopathy. I was accepted into the Canadian Academy of Homeopathy in September 2011 and am currently in the Fellowship program. Normally, the Academy only allows board-certified physicians, nurses, and other health-care professionals into their program, but they made a very rare exception in my case. I am a fanatical sock knitter, although I have been known to knit sweaters too. I love beautiful things. I want to pilgrimage to see all Chagall’s stained glass windows. In fact, my dream is to have stained glass windows in my office (someday . . .). My favourite opera is Wozzeck (surprised?). I think David Cronenberg is a Canadian treasure. I love listening to people’s stories, and my highest ambition is to remain in perpetual awe of our innate capacity to heal.
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Katharina Zuleger: Born in Munich, Germany 1962 (German native speaker, so my grammar and spelling mistakes are my free giveaway for you!) I studied ecology, worked in forest decline research, and environmental projects. I wanted to save the world. But I went through some serious disillusionments about what was possible at that time. Then I decided to do something that is just fun and became an interior designer and Feng Shui consultant. (I always had a deep love for beauty and colour and collected wallpaper books in kindergarten) I built Feng Shui houses, consulted private people and all sorts of companies on how to be happier and more successful in their rooms. I earned a lot of money and had lots of fun. I really understood the principle of creating something (houses or consultations) which were precious, beautiful, sustainable and soulful. During this time, I discovered that I am an energy tracker. I do this all the time. With people, with forests, with houses, with businesses, with streets, with events. At the same time, I did a lot of training in the therapeutic field, bodywork, meditation, energy work. I was always curious about becoming more fully self realized and self-expressed. I had tons of talents and interests. But I could feel that on a very deep personal level I was holding back. There was a self-doubt, the fear about my spiritual coming out and the fear of betraying my family. I always wrote a lot of stuff (blogs, books, articles) but for a long time my words felt lifeless. They couldn’t travel, connect and have impact. I didn’t have a clue how to overcome this obstacle. Finding my voice was my heroes journey which taught me so much about personal power, my loyalty to my family and the art of separation. I always knew that there would be a time where the focus of my work would shift again and where I would work more directly with the power-issues that keep us from finding our voice. I thought that I was a seasoned entrepreneur (I also had an eco-fashion-label for some years which taught me everything about how not to start a business and how to forgive myself all those investments.) But starting this mentoring business has been a bumpy journey. I did a lot of business trainings, programs and seminar. And I had a lot of sober moments looking at the dark side of copywriting, persuasion, selling, and the whole online world. I had at least 20 moments where I thought about giving up on the idea to run a mentoring business for visionaries. But I can’t drop or stop it. I just know I must follow through. This is the deepest gift I have to share with the world. The interesting thing is, that my love for ecology also had a renaissance and it shows up in the project and people I work with and work for.