DiscoverStories from the Heart - The Weekly Service Podcast
Stories from the Heart - The Weekly Service Podcast

Stories from the Heart - The Weekly Service Podcast

Author: The Weekly Service

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Stories from the Heart uncovers the unique tales we all have to tell about this human life, and how we might grow towards a truly thriving society - from a refugee's reflections on gratitude, to a mother's rejection of her ancestors' codes of secrecy, to a sperm donor's explorations of the many shapes and colours of family. These stories were originally told at The Weekly Service, a Melbourne-based community bringing connection, ritual, meaning, purpose & awe back into our lives.
14 Episodes
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Michelle Morgan has spent years building a creative practice and career in art therapy, and she now works in something called clinical pastoral care - offering emotional and spiritual support to patients in two major Melbourne hospitalsToday Michelle shares stories of moments of showing up with people in hospital, and also for herself, through creativity. She sees creativity as a spiritual practice, and believes that it can help us all feel more connected with ourselves, with others, and something beyond.This service was curated by Weekly Service member Sam Shaw. As part of her story Michelle shared some images of mandalas she created during of a year-long daily art practice. You can see some of these images at www.theweeklyservice.org/stories
Mash Quereshi is a Pakistani-born rapper and MC inspiring hope in people's hearts. Mash's early years were a lesson in impermanence as he moved between Pakistan and Australia, and changed schools often. When he was older he decided to  go abroad on his own terms, travelling to Vietnam to teach English, and it’s here that he sets today’s story, telling the tale of his paradoxical quest to capture - once and for all - the importance of change in his life.
Ornob Sheikh is an artist, musician and deep feeling human, who grew up in Bangladesh surrounded by a large supportive family. He is also one of our Bards for this season and his story today is interwoven with him playing his beautiful instrument, the Sarod.It was only when Ornob moved to Melbourne in 2014 that he realized how rich in connection his childhood had been. He moved from Dhaka, rated one of the world’s least livable cities, to Melbourne which at the time held the top spot. While Melbourne has all the mod cons of life, including buses that come to a full stop to let passangers on – Ornob was not prepared for how lonely he felt. He realized that material privilege often comes with a cost, that of connection, and he became curious about how loneliness affects others, and what we can do to cultivate connections in the big smoke.
Harley Hefford is a drama teacher who today's curator Eike describes as the most creative person he knows. Harley talks about why he thinks everybody is innately creative, how play might be useful in darker times, and how he brings imagination into his daily life, and overcomes creative blocks. Join Harley in this exploration of imagination as a multi-tool.
Valerie Albrecht has spent a lifetime building bridges.Trained as a speech pathologist, she began to feel that the Western medical model was missing a lot, and she set off to find out how she could really be of service to whole humans.This journey took her to study yoga and other eastern healing arts, as well as learning from, and being of service to, Indigenous communities, and drawing on the power of storytelling to heal and connect us. Valerie is in conversation with Weekly Service member Katy Mixter.
 Uncle Peltherre Chris Tomlins is an Arrente elder who carries the message that “now is the time for all Australians to come together and begin the healing" - but first we need truth. Today he generously shares stories from his family, and talks about his yarning circles where non-Indigenous people can sit and listen to elders talk about the realities of colonisation, its ongoing impact and how we might come together and heal as a nation. The next yarning circle is planned for late September near Alice Springs. 
Stacia Beazley is a trained holistic counsellor, facilitator, writer, mentor and all round feelings ninja. Today she’s talking about how reclaiming anger has been transformational in her life, and why she believes healthy anger is the medicine society needs right now. Starting with her childhood she maps out how the irresponsible use of anger caused her to cut off parts of herself to fit in, and how stepping into healthy anger allowed her to reclaim her power – not to dominate others or have power over them, but to be in power with, to use anger to build bridges instead of walls. Find out more here: https://www.theartofrelating.com.au/reclaiming-anger.html
Jon Osborne is interested in how the conversations we have create the world we live in. The language and stories we share often define what we think is possible. And if we feel stuck, perhaps there’s a missing conversation we need to have. In this service Jon speaks with Kirsty Moergelein, tracking everything from Jon’s cockney heritage, to dating stories, to pivotal life moments of stepping off the known track, to their shared love of ontological design, which Jon describes as the architecture of being.
Petrine McCrohan has spent 17 years working with Indigenous communities in the Kimberleys in Australia, and she has seen first-hand the damage that can be done when Non-Aboriginal people turn up in these communities with their own agendas and un-healed trauma. Today Petrine, who is a Caucasian woman, talks about her own healing journey, the evolution of her work, and what she’s learnt from collaborating closely with Indigenous social entrepreneurs. She is being interviewed by Weekly Service member Jarrah.
Today’s storyteller is New-Zealand based writer Jackson Payne. Jackson’s story is about the different colours and shapes of family, and in particular how a motorbike accident prompted him to become a sperm donor for his friends' kids. Starting with the story of his own father and unknown half-sister, through the different iterations of family he has helped create, Jackson weaves together personal stories that form rich a tapestry of kinship. 
Inbal has three boys who sometimes wear pants and sometimes wear dresses - and she feels pretty good about that. She's undoing oppressive cultural norms of secrecy by talking simply about the child abuse she braved as a teenager, and by creating a new culture in her own family. In her house there's only one rule – think for yourself. Inbal is a member of The Weekly Service and an inspiring human. With a strong will and a quiet smile on her face, she is stepping into her power and deconstructing unhelpful narratives - for herself and for others. Please note there is a content warning for this story, which will mention sex and child sex abuse.
Abe Nouk is a poet, a community educator, a mentor and a humble human being with an infectious sense of gratitude. In this podcast he talks about how he fled civil war in Sudan to come to Australia, and his journey to creativity and gratitude as a way of unravelling the numbness and trauma he grew up with. He talks about discovering how important it is to be 'available for life', and his daily appreciation of the lavish freedom of living in a peaceful country. He starts and ends by sharing some of his spoken word poetry. 
Matt Wicking is a musician, facilitator and writer and he’s also the current Bard for the weekly service, providing artistic contributions to this season.Today Matt steps into the role of storyteller, sharing not only some of his beautiful mythic songs, but also the stories behind them, which range from grappling with being a settler on stolen lands, to Matt’s experience of chronic fatigue syndrome, to an exploration of what it means to be grateful and optimistic in the midst of ecological crisis. 
Today’s storyteller is the proud, queer Indigenous youth leader and artist, Aretha Brown. Through sharing her own stories of going to school in Australia, the 19 year-old Gumbaynggirr woman makes a powerful case for decolonizing the country’s education system. She’s clear  - if Australian schools aren’t teaching Bla(c)k history then they're teaching White supremacy, and she links the lack of education about Aboriginal culture and history at her school, to a hate crime she experience two weeks before her year 12 exams. Aretha’s an amazing storyteller and artist, who made a big impact on all of us who heard her talk at The Weekly Service. She was the first female Prime Minister of the National Indigenous Youth Parliament and has had her artwork shown at the National Gallery of Victoria.Aretha produced a booklet for this talk called “Decolonizing Yo’Self – Questions for the Thoughtful Ally” with a series of questions to ask of yourself and your institutions. You can read it here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kilZJh9mDX8bJwrM6GE_8r7dN0x5zunU/view
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