Two Inconvenient Women

Singing is a deeply healing and cathartic experience for humans - mentally, emotionally, neurologically and spiritually. It is a primal quality we all possess, and something that has formed an innate and constant part of human culture since the dawn of our species. Singing is a birthright, yet many of us have been told that 'we can't sing'. We often mention singing on this podcast as both Holly and myself (Rachel) are members of our local choirs. Both of us have had very different routes into singing - and perhaps represent some of the different ways that singing has shaped - or absented itself - from our lives.In this week's episode we dive deeply into the many different ways that singing is good for us - from the way it makes us feel, to how it helps soothe our nervous systems, to how it helps forge our connection to others and the wider world. We explore some of the science of singing, the qualities of song in different cultures; the resonance of singing in harmony with others and dabble a little in the profound and extraordinary mystery and magic of where and how music shapes the entire universe.In this episode we reference the following:Wednesday Lunchtime Fun Choir (event / website)The Universal Frequency (website)How flowers talk to bees - David Attenborough (video)Harriet - biopic of Harriet Tubman (film trailer)Spirituals - protest, sacredness and song (website) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Belonging is the innate human desire to be part of something larger than us. It is primal - something that we all yearn for constantly and can find in different places and spaces across our lives. So were are the places that we can find and really feel a sense of belonging? And what happens when belonging means a sacrifice of our authenticity? In this week's episode of Two Inconvenient Women, we explore what it means to belong, some of the places that we all can - and often do - find a sense of belonging; what it means to belong to ourselves and how this sense of inner belonging helps shape our authenticity in the world, allowing us to feel even more of a sense of connection.In this conversation we reference the following:Dr Dan Siegel - Interpersonal Neurobiology (website)Brene Browne - Atlas of the Heart (Book)Martin Shaw - The Woman who became a Fox (video)Dr Stephen Porges - Polyvagal Theory (website)Groups & Gangs - ThoughtBox Curriculum (website page) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There has been a lot emerging in the media recently about countries making decisions to ban social media for under 16s. Australia has been leading the way in this movement, with many other countries now passing legislation through government and widening the public discourse. So why social media? Why 16? Why now?In this week's podcast we begin to untangle many of the complexities that living in an online world is having on our mental, physical, emotional spiritual and social health, in particular how it is influencing the development of children and young people. Drawing wisdom from the depth research of social psychologists such as Jonathan Haidt (whose infamous book The Anxious Generation is waking up millions to the 'disconnection epidemic') we wrangle with some of the questions, complexities, possibilities and opportunities of shifting ourselves away from the trappings of an online world and 'rewiring ourselves' back into healthier connections.In this episode we reference the following:The Anxious Generation - Jonathan Haidt (book)The Social Dilemma - Exposure Labs (Film / documentary)No rush to ban social media - Sonia Livingstone (LSE article)How a handful of technology companies control billions of minds - Tristan Harris (TED talk)Is Social Media making us less social? ThoughtBox (inquiries for 5-18 year olds) **COMING SOONDigital Literacy - Ditch The Label (Lesson resources 13-16 years)**We will be releasing our full Learning for Life resources for free in mid-February- keep an eye on the ThoughtBox website for more details: www.thoughtboxeducation.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Whilst many parts of the world experience a climate of winter, how many of us allow ourselves to 'winter' during this season? Or anytime? What does it mean to 'winter' - to follow nature's rhythms and allow things to slow down, to fall away, to be still, quiet. What does it mean to sit in the dark (literally and metaphorically) - how might this be allowing us to grow on a much deeper level? And what is happening in our cultures that prevents this? What does it mean to be living in a culture of 'perpetual summer' where slowness and quiet are not part of the status-quo?In this episode, we dive into the literal and metaphorical resonance of wintering; thinking about how the feeling in the atmosphere can give us clues for how to behave, discussing what some of the inner emotions around 'wintering' may bring up and exploring some of the different ways to tether more of our lives to living in balance with the rest of nature - from how we eat, sleep and act to simply being more in tune with our own needs and rhythms.We reference the following:Wintering - Katharine May (book)How Wintering Replenishes - On Being podcast with Katherine May (podcast)Reconnection Retreat - ThoughtBox (event) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When the world feels overwhelmingly complex, it is often hard to know where to put our energy; which 'crisis' to give our attention to as it were. You may have come across the term 'polycrisis' as it's fast becoming part of the public lexicon. It's not a particularly cheery term, but it is helpful in making sense of the many interconnected and overwhelming crises that we are facing in our lives. The polycrisis is characterised by feedback loops where one crisis exacerbates another, making simple, isolated solutions ineffective. Which is the greatest inconvenience we face when trying to address them. And yet diagnosing the crisis is the first step to addressing it - and this term is useful in doing just that. In this episode, we wrangle with the complexity of the times we're living in through the frame of the polycrisis; tapping into what we can appreciate from the framing of a 'metacrisis' at the same time, and how looking at changing our perspective on the world is a powerful way to focus on meeting the symptoms and addressing the root cause of a world in crisis. We reference the following during the conversation:Reconnection Retreat - ThoughtBox & Hawkwood College (in-person gathering)The Story of Triple WellBeing - Rachel Musson (free PDF)The Metacrisis is a crisis of meaning - Ernesto van Peborgh (article)Triple WellBeing Practitioner Course (online training course)Tasting the Pickle: Ten Flavours of Metacrisis and the Appetite for a New Civilisation - Jonathan Rowson (essay) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For many in the world - those following the Gregorian calendar - January 1st marks the beginning of a new year. Midst the celebrations, revelry and resolutions is often an unspoken expectation of 'newness'. Pressures exist to have "resolutions" that make us somehow a better, fitter, happier, healthier version of ourself. But to what extent do we need this? To what extent do we want this? And to what extent is now the time for 'a fresh new world' anyway?In this week's episode of Two Inconvenient Women, we explore some of the different cultural celebrations for new year, thinking about how they map to the seasons, nature's rhythms or stories that other influences. We discuss the difference between having resolutions and intentions and how one can be a real support and guide, whilst the other can often feel like a burden or self-inflicted prison. We unpack some of the ways that new year has been coopted by a consumer culture fixated on 'bigger, better, shinier' and what this may be doing to our sense of ease. We think about what it means to be a 'new you' and whether a process of growth and becoming is a wiser step into a new year, rather than setting ourselves a goal to arrive at which has ever-moving goalposts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Poem for a New YearBy Matt GoodfellowSomething’s moving in,I hear the weather in the wind,sense the tension of a sheep-fieldand the pilgrimage of fins. Something’s not the same,I taste the sap and feel the grain,hear the rolling of the rowanringing, singing in a change.Something’s set to start,there’s meadow-music in the darkand the clouds that shroud the mountainslowly, softly start to part. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're taking a break over the holidays and are not recording a new episode of Two Inconvenient Women today. Instead, we're sharing a gift - a whole range of stories of inspiring people from across the world working to create a healthier future for people and planet. From educators in Uganda focused on self-care in leadership to teachers challenging the mainstream to communities focused on nature connection at the heart of learning, our Triple WellBeing Fellows are ordinary people with extraordinary stories.Dive into the whole community and begin your listening journey: https://thoughtboxeducation.com/stories Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We begin each podcast episode with a moment of gratitude. But why so? Much more than a 'nice thing to do', the practice of gratitude is ancient - part of wisdom traditions across the world and deeply embedded into spiritual and religious practice. It is a way of strengthening our own sense of resilience and presence, finding meaning in the world and feeling more grounded, connected and present in the world. But what does it actually mean to be grateful and how can this practice shape the very structure of our brains?In this week's episode we explore the topic of gratitude, asking the question: Why is gratitude so powerful? In this episode we reference the following:Healing begins with gratitude - Joanna Macy (Article)Grateful Living (website) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why don't we talk to our neighbours? This question is asked not to be provocative but more to reflect on what has shifted in our cultures to mean that we can inhabit the same space as people we don't quite know. For some cultures around the world, community and neighbourhoods remain a vital - and vitalising part of daily life, yet for many living in the culture of modernity, our move into hyper-individualism has been at the detriment of our community. We may not have ever met the person or people who live above, below or beside us - and we may not know anything about them - not even their name. In this week's episode we explore some of the changes across time that have led to the erosion of gathering spaces; the impact of a culture of fear and distrust on how we respond to strangers and some of the blocks, challenges and opportunities that surround us when it comes to finding connection with those in our neighbourhood.In this conversation we reference the following:Love Thy Neighbour - World Values Survey (PDF)Everyone wants a village but no-one wants to be a villager - Cassie McCure (article)36 questions - how to fall in love - New York Times (website) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Are you successful yet? When do you know you've "made it"? And - more importantly - is it a place that we actually want to be 'arriving'? Many of us are living in cultures that have a dominant story of success - often associated with wealth, prosperity, career-ladders and progress. Our mainstream education systems teach us how to jump through the hoops on the journey towards success, and our media is filled with advertising and stories of what success looks like (normally glossy, shiny and always slightly out of reach). But who gets to decide when we've become successful, and is it worth it?In this week's episode we explore the notion of success, thinking about what it means, who grants us the title and what the possibilities are to look beyond the mainstream story and carve out a different approach to life. We explore questions such as: What happens when we don't fit the story or mould of what success looks like? What might it mean to carve out our own version of 'success'? What can we learn from failure? And what if, rather than a destination we arrive at, success is simply a way of living well?In this episode we reference the following:Steve Cutts - illustrator, satirist (website) Life & Music - Alan Watts (cartoon) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Many people find themselves working within organisations or structures that don't necessarily practice the values that are being preached (or laminated, advertised or promoted). It can feel deeply uncomfortable when our actions are out of line with the values we hold within us, and yet it is often not our choice to have to at in ways that contradict our values. Bit what are values? Where do they come from, and how do we connect with the values that shape our lives so that we can align actions and intentions with integrity and authenticity.In this week's episode we explore the values that shape our lives, our cultural stories and the world we're living in; thinking about how to align with our own authentic self and some of the tools and practices we can tap into in order to help shape our lives through the direction of our inner 'north star'.In this episode we reference the following:Common Cause Foundation (website / organisation)Schwartz Values Map - Shalmon Shwartz (article)Rebecca Solnit - writer & activist (website)SMSC & British Values - Department for Education (website)Rutger Bregman on Veneer Theory - Big Think (video)Why you are not as selfish as you think - BBC Future (website) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The sustainability movement has been going since the 1950s, and ‘sustainability’ is now part of mainstream narrative, awareness and growing action. Yet when sustainability continues to be seen and introduced into organisations as an add-on rather than a process or foundation, how much change is it actually supporting? In this week’s episode we explore the inconvenience of sustainability, thinking about where positive change has been enabled, the impact of greenwashing; what some of the limitations may be and what opportunities are emerging for wider-level transformation when sustainable is understood as a ‘verb rather than a product. In this episode we reference the following:There You Go - Survival International (short cartoon)Earth In Mind - David Orr (book)Schumacher College - Education College & movement (website)Inside COP: Is The US Still In? - Outrage & Optimism (podcast)Indigenous protestors demand to be heard - Washington Post (news video)Earthshot Prize - Global mission & award (website) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What do you think of when you think of home? For some it's a building, for some it's a country, culture or identity. For many it's a feeling. Whilst there can be no universal agreement on what home means to us, there is interesting resonance between home and feelings of safety, belonging and sanctuary. Understanding that feeling safe sits as one of our most basic needs as humans helps to elevate deep compassion and empathy for any experiencing homelessness or seeking refuge and asylum; a growing pattern right across our world as ever-more people are forced to leave their 'homes' in search of safety.In this week's episode of Two Inconvenient Women, we explore the meaning of home in many different guises, exploring some of the commonalities and biases that exist within us and reflecting on how and where we can satisfy the feeling of home in our daily lives.In this episode we reference the following:Home - Warsan Shire (poem)Where Children Sleep - James Mollison (video)What does Home mean to you? - Soul Pancake (video)Second a day video - Save the Children (video)"From the Shark's Mouth to the Deep, Dark Jungle" - Holly Everett (blog)Calais Jungle Ethiopian and Eritraean Church (photo)The Hope Trust - Community Non-Profit (website)"A charity is giving people money to stop homelessness - and it says it's working" - BBC News (article) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

AI technologies are becoming increasingly intertwined with our everyday lives. From healthcare, transportation and manufacturing to education, we are already in an entangled web of connection with AI being increasingly used by individuals and organisations, often without conscious awareness. Whilst we can see AI as being a really supportive tool to address so many of the challenges of modernity, to what extent is it actually robbing us of our humanity?This conversation is tricky, emotive and deeply complex. Whilst there are so many positive shifts and evolutions that AI can support us with and lots to appreciate, many of the downsides and dangers are only just being realised with the potential threats of generative AI and a super-intelligence beginning to come to life. We are choosing to open a very complex can of worms in this conversation and begin to dance through some of the conflicting feelings, possibilities and questions that arise when thinking about the past, present and future of AI.In this episode we reference the following:AI: What could go wrong? The Weekly Show - Jon Stewart, Geoffry Hinton (podcast video)AI 2027 - D Kokotajlo, S Alexander, T Larsen, E Lifland, R Dean (Website)Teenagers and AI relationships - Guardian Newspaper (article)Burnout from Humans - Aiden Cinnamon Tea & Dorothy Ladybugboss (ebook)Wayfarers and Monk & Robot - Becky Chambers (novel series)AI & Happiness - Mo Gowdat (website)Healing through ChatGPT? Insights from Research into Real-Life Experiences of AI Therapy - Steve Siddals (research)We Could Win the Climate Fight…Thanks to AI | Life With Machines (ep.12) - Gavin McCormick and Baratunde Thurston (podcast video)AI: how can we control an alien intelligence? - Yuval Noah Harari and Stephen Fry (interview)AI, Machine Learning, Deep Learning and Generative AI Explained - IBM (video) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week is half term for UK schools and we've taken time away from the 'day to day' work at ThoughtBox for a reading week - a week to really dive deep into some of the ideas that we're both currently exploring. In this episode we share some of the insights, explorations, wonderings and reflections from what we're currently learning about.In this episode we reference a large number of texts and ideas we've been exploring over the past months:His Dark Materials & The Book of Dust, Philip Pulman (novel trilogies)The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House - Audre Lorde (essays)Personality, Wholeness and Connection - Dan Siegel (lecture and book)The Story of Triple WellBeing - Rachel Musson (e-book)Rumsfield Matrix (website)Keys to the Enneagram - A H Almaas (book)Wuthering Heights - Emily Brontë (novel) Never Split the Difference - Chris Voss (book)The Life Impossible - Matt Haig (novel)The Listening Book - R Ticic, E Kuschner, B Ecker (book)Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu, trans.Ursula K. Le Guin (spiritual text)How to do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy - Jenny Odell (book and talk)Earth in Mind - David Orr (book)Homegoing - Yaa Gyasi (novel) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on the podcast Rachel is off with the flu and so Holly is joined by guest inconvenient woman Sandy Glanfield, Immersive Experience Curator at Reboot the Future, to discuss the theme of naïvety.In this episode we explore questions around metrics of success, and how naivety plays an important role in bringing creativity, openness, relationship and curiosity to challenges we face. From its etymological roots of belonging to nature and innateness, to its modern association with foolishness - join us as we weave through questions around fear of failure, elderhood, reframing biases and celebrating our own unique ‘genius’. During this episode, we mention:Let’s Reboot the Future (podcast series)Assembly by Peter Burke (Sculpture Installation)We Could Win the Climate Fight…Thanks to AI | Gavin McCormick (Life with Machines, ep.12) (podcast episode)The Dunning Kruger Effect (graph)The Joy of Being Naïve | Chris Jones | TEDxPCL (TEDx Talk) Empathy Action Immersive Experiences (workshop)Sam Crosby (speaker and facilitator)Sending lots of love and a big hug to Rachel who is currently off with the flu - hopefully she'll be back with us next week! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Having a 'gut feeling' about something is perhaps a familiar sensation to many, but what does this actually mean? When we 'trust our gut' what is it that we're listening to? And how are intuition and gut feeling connected?In this episode we dive deep into the 'wider senses' of the human body and think about what sort of additional intelligence we can be drawing on in our daily lives. Gut instinct is a primal element in all of us, but can become quite 'rusty' or dormant when not used - just like any other sense. What is energising is how there are many things we can do to re-awaken our sense of being intuitive and start to welcome in a wider form of intelligence. We look at many elements of both why it might be dormant in many of us, what we can do to re-liven our senses and what exactly might be happening when we tap into a deeper form of consciousness.In this episode we reference the following:The Neuroscience of trusting your gut - Dr Tara Swart (website / podcast) Talking about anxiety - Martha Beck & Sarah Wilson (podcast)Whole Intelligence - Malcolm Parlett (book)The brain-gut connection - John Hopkins Medicine (website)The Nettle Dress (film)Intuition and spirituality (article)Go with the gut - Joel Pearson (article)The Blind Men and the Elephant - fable (cartoon) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A painful truth in our current cultures is how much we are all struggling with our mental and emotional wellbeing. This is especially true in young people who are facing an increasing amount of overwhelm in their lives in this VUCA* world (*volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous). And yet the ways of suffering and the ways of wellbeing are actually two sides of the same coin...Holly and Rachel are just back from Europe's largest trauma, mental health and wellbeing conference hosted at Oxford University, under the title 'Healing our relational world'. Bringing together over 3000 educators, therapists, mental health practitioners and healers with world-renowned trauma and emotional health experts, the conference was an extraordinarily rich and deep insight and exploration of how to heal our connection with ourselves, each other and the wider world.In this episode we dive deeply into some of the 'brokenness' of our world (our inner and outer worlds) bringing in our own decade of research along with learnings from the conference. We look at some of the patterns in human behaviours that connect all of these elements of brokenness to better understand how to notice them and how to heal. We explore the impact of early attachment on shaping our relationships and the profound ways of healing in ourselves, our communities and with the planet. We touch on how the ways to respond to the symptoms and root causes of disconnection are the same and explore the foundational routes to healing.In this episode we reference the following:Dr Dan Siegel - professor (website)Dr Bessel van der Kolk - psychiatrist (website)Dr Richard Shwartz - therapist, author (website)Linda Thai - trauma therapist (website)Interpersonal Neurobiology - Dan Siegel (video)The Body Keeps The Score - Bessel van der Kolk (book / website)Internal Family Systems - Dr Richard Shwartz (website) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Holly and Rachel are 'on-tour' for the podcast, which was recorded live from underneath a fig tree in a beautiful quad at Exeter College in Oxford. The (slightly shorter this week) recording took place one lunchtime mid-way through Europe's largest trauma, mental health and wellbeing conference hosted at Oxford University, under the title 'Healing our relational world'. Bringing together over 3000 educators, therapists, mental health practitioners and healers with world-renowned trauma and emotional health experts, the conference was an extraordinarily rich and deep insight and exploration of how to heal our connection with ourselves, each other and the wider world.In this short episode we touch on some of the live inquiries that we're both engaged with, think about some of the provocations and illuminations that are being shared about emotional health and wellbeing and dig into some of the tricky issues we're grappling with. This podcast serves as an introduction to some of the bigger inquiries we'll be diving into next week when back home. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.