Episode Summary:

In this candid and illuminating conversation, Joshua and Adina sit down with Ann Russo, psychotherapist, educator, and founder of AMR Therapy, to explore the deep intersections of sexuality, spirituality, mental health, and social justice. Drawing from her own non-traditional upbringing and an MA in theology, Ann shares her pioneering work in religious trauma treatment and her passion for creating inclusive spaces for healing. Together, they unpack themes of liberation from spiritual abuse, embracing authentic identity, and navigating the complexities of intimacy and self-expression.

Topics Covered:

• Healing from religious trauma and spiritual abuse
• Queer identity, non-monogamy, and sexual empowerment
• Dismantling stigma at the intersection of sexuality and spirituality
• The importance of inclusive mental health care
• Creating space for authenticity and self-liberation
• How personal healing ripples into cultural transformation
• Building compassionate frameworks for clinicians and clients
• Reclaiming wholeness through education, advocacy, and community

Guest:

Ann Russo
Psychotherapist • Educator • Founder of AMR Therapy • Creator of the Religious Trauma Treatment Model

Ann Russo is a psychotherapist, educator, and founder of AMR Therapy. Raised in a diverse, non-traditional household, she brings lived expertise, radical compassion, and unapologetic education into every space she enters. With an MA in theology and deep roots in social justice, Ann specializes in religious trauma, queer identity, non-monogamy, sexual empowerment, and inclusive mental health. She developed the Religious Trauma Treatment Model to empower both clients and clinicians in the healing process.

Website: amrtherapy.com; annrusso.org

Resource Mentioned:

Sex at Dawn by Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jethá

Support the show

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it. If you enjoy the podcast, please rate and subscribe.

Adina Arden Cooper is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor who prefers to refer to herself as a Shadow Guide and Soul Healing Specialist. She helps highly sensitive creative visionaries heal trauma so they can not only survive this human experience but thrive in the expression of their greatest gifts. Adina has over 20 years of experience in education and mental health. She's also an artist, a seeker, a mother, and very curious person.

Visit Adina's website to find out more about her work
Follow Fire Bird Creative on Instagram

Joshua Zamrin is a nomadic soul guide, somatic life coach, and sacred purpose mentor, deeply immersed in the realms of embodiment, shamanic wisdom, and mythopoetic exploration. With a background in nervous system regulation, mindfulness, and compassionate communication, he weaves together ancient and modern practices to help others reconnect with their deepest truth. His work is rooted in rites of passage, initiation, and the sacred journey of becoming, drawing inspiration from indigenous traditions, soul-centered psychology, and the raw wisdom of nature.

@soulbodywholeness

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Episode Summary:

In this brave and expansive conversation, Adina sits down with Rev. DiAnna Ritola to explore her powerful journey from a life defined by external expectations to one rooted in intuition, embodiment, and spiritual authenticity. Together, they unpack themes of womanhood, self-care, spirituality, aging, and feminine empowerment through all life stages, including menstruation, motherhood, and menopause.

Topics Covered:

• Breaking free from prescribed roles and expectations
• Listening to the body’s signals and reclaiming joy
• Living in integrity with personal truth
• Religious imprints and the path to authentic spirituality
• The value of ritual and ceremony for honoring and celebrating life transitions
• Embracing menopausal wisdom, rage, and transformation
• Reimagining beauty, aging, and feminine identity
• Tapping into ancestral, communal, and natural wisdom

Guest:

DiAnna Ritola
Interfaith Minister • Dianic Wiccan Priestess • Somatic Healer • Spiritual Counselor• Author

Rev. DiAnna Ritola is an Interfaith Minister and a Dianic Wiccan priestess. She is the owner of True North Healing Sanctuary in Worthington, MA. There she hosts retreats and workshops, offers energy and somatic healing practices, virtual and in-person spiritual counseling for trauma, intimate relationships, and sexuality, and rituals to honor life events and passages. She is the author of the book, Mismatched Luggage: Unpacking Your Sexual Baggage for Your Spiritual Journey. DiAnna and her wife, Michele Fitzsimmons, split their time between Worthington and Flushing, Queens, NYC.

True North Healing Sanctuary is a place to find rest, rejuvenation, and spiritual counseling. Offering EMDR, plant medicine journeys, transpersonal counseling, Reiki and Jin Shin Jyutsu energy healing. Focusing on women's full-spectrum health and well-being with an emphasis on sexuality, relationships, and the way all our lives are impacted and informed by our hormonal cycles.

Website: DiAnnaRitola.com

Facebook: Rev. DiAnna Ritola

Instagram: @rev_di

Support the show

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it. If you enjoy the podcast, please rate and subscribe.

Adina Arden Cooper is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor who prefers to refer to herself as a Shadow Guide and Soul Healing Specialist. She helps highly sensitive creative visionaries heal trauma so they can not only survive this human experience but thrive in the expression of their greatest gifts. Adina has over 20 years of experience in education and mental health. She's also an artist, a seeker, a mother, and very curious person.

Visit Adina's website to find out more about her work
Follow Fire Bird Creative on Instagram

Joshua Zamrin is a nomadic soul guide, somatic life coach, and sacred purpose mentor, deeply immersed in the realms of embodiment, shamanic wisdom, and mythopoetic exploration. With a background in nervous system regulation, mindfulness, and compassionate communication, he weaves together ancient and modern practices to help others reconnect with their deepest truth. His work is rooted in rites of passage, initiation, and the sacred journey of becoming, drawing inspiration from indigenous traditions, soul-centered psychology, and the raw wisdom of nature.

@soulbodywholeness

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Episode Summary:
In this episode, Joshua sits down with intimacy and relationship coach Rachael Lioness for a deep conversation on embodied intimacy, conscious relationship, and erotic truth. Rachael shares her path and practice of helping individuals and couples break free from shame and societal conditioning around sexuality. She invites us to return to a grounded, sacred connection with our bodies, desires, and truth.

Together, they explore

• The true essence of tantra as a spiritual path
• How trauma and conditioning impact intimacy
• The role of embodiment and presence in cultivating sacred connection
• How to reclaim your erotic intelligence and deepen relational authenticity
• Tools for healing through love, shadow work, and somatic awareness.

Whether you're navigating relationship challenges, awakening your sensuality, or curious about the deeper dimensions of intimacy, this episode offers powerful insights and practical wisdom.

Guest Info:
Rachel Lioness
Intimacy, Conscious Relating, Sacred Sexuality, Erotic Liberation

Rachael is a Certified VITA Intimacy and Relationship Coach, trauma-informed Tantric Facilitator and Somatic Practitioner. She supports individuals and couples to build healthy, conscious partnerships through releasing shame and conditioning around intimacy and sexuality. She facilitates grounded, integrated awakening and transformation of mind, body, spirit, heart and sexuality to find your deepest truth and highest alignment. Rachael bridges science and spirituality/mysticism and professionalism/esoteric and earthly wisdom. She shares the medicine of Love, Truth and Erotic Liberation through online coaching and at international workshops, festivals and retreats.

Website: www.rachaellioness.com

Instagram: @rachael_lioness

Facebook: Rachael Lioness

Support the show

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it. If you enjoy the podcast, please rate and subscribe.

Adina Arden Cooper is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor who prefers to refer to herself as a Shadow Guide and Soul Healing Specialist. She helps highly sensitive creative visionaries heal trauma so they can not only survive this human experience but thrive in the expression of their greatest gifts. Adina has over 20 years of experience in education and mental health. She's also an artist, a seeker, a mother, and very curious person.

Visit Adina's website to find out more about her work
Follow Fire Bird Creative on Instagram

Joshua Zamrin is a nomadic soul guide, somatic life coach, and sacred purpose mentor, deeply immersed in the realms of embodiment, shamanic wisdom, and mythopoetic exploration. With a background in nervous system regulation, mindfulness, and compassionate communication, he weaves together ancient and modern practices to help others reconnect with their deepest truth. His work is rooted in rites of passage, initiation, and the sacred journey of becoming, drawing inspiration from indigenous traditions, soul-centered psychology, and the raw wisdom of nature.

@soulbodywholeness

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Episode Summary:

In this episode, Joshua and Adina sit down with life coach and author Jules Kuroda for a rich, heartfelt conversation about the deeper currents of human experience, personal development, and spiritual awakening.

Jules shares her unique journey—from working in refugee resettlement to entering the corporate world, and ultimately becoming a coach and author. We explore how seemingly disparate life chapters weave into a cohesive calling, and how trauma, identity, and cultural experience can all contribute to inner resilience and wisdom.

At the heart of the conversation is Jules’ book, The N8 Self, a groundbreaking framework for understanding our spiritual landscape as clearly as we might explore our thoughts or emotions. It’s a beautiful bridge for those interested in personal development, but feel turned off or disconnected from the language often used in spirituality or religion. This episode invites listeners to step into a more embodied and expansive sense of self- beyond limiting beliefs, emotional patterns, and external roles.

Topics Covered:

• How life’s unexpected detours often point to our deepest callings
• How working with trauma survivors transformed Jules’ view of peace and purpose
• How the corporate world can raise surprising soul-level questions
• What’s missing in most personal development models- and how Jules’ framework bridges that gap
• What The “N8 Self” is and how to connect with it through spiritual inquiry
• The 8 Principals of The N8 Self

Jules Kuroda is a "corporate hippie and wanderer" who's life's passion is helping people get past the ideas they have of themselves to unlock more fulfillment. She aims to bring more joy and understanding into the world. She serves as a guide to others on their journeys to cultivate more meaning and purpose in life.

Learn more at n8self.com

Follow Jules on Instagram @n8coach

Support the show

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it. If you enjoy the podcast, please rate and subscribe.

Adina Arden Cooper is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor who prefers to refer to herself as a Shadow Guide and Soul Healing Specialist. She helps highly sensitive creative visionaries heal trauma so they can not only survive this human experience but thrive in the expression of their greatest gifts. Adina has over 20 years of experience in education and mental health. She's also an artist, a seeker, a mother, and very curious person.

Visit Adina's website to find out more about her work
Follow Fire Bird Creative on Instagram

Joshua Zamrin is a nomadic soul guide, somatic life coach, and sacred purpose mentor, deeply immersed in the realms of embodiment, shamanic wisdom, and mythopoetic exploration. With a background in nervous system regulation, mindfulness, and compassionate communication, he weaves together ancient and modern practices to help others reconnect with their deepest truth. His work is rooted in rites of passage, initiation, and the sacred journey of becoming, drawing inspiration from indigenous traditions, soul-centered psychology, and the raw wisdom of nature.

@soulbodywholeness

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Episode Summary

In this deep and spiritually rich conversation, Joshua and Adina welcome Lindsay Sappington to the show. Lindsay is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Advanced Clinical Hypnotherapist, and certified breathwork therapist. Her trauma-informed approach and spiritual insight offer a unique perspective on healing complex emotional and psychological wounds. In this episode, they explore the therapeutic power of hypnotherapy, trauma healing, and spiritual integration, including Lindsay’s experiences with Internal Family Systems (IFS), ayahuasca, and working with entity attachments. Listen to hear Lindsay facilitate IFS with Joshua and Adina's strange childhood phobia.

Topics Covered

• Lindsay’s Journey: From occult interests to advanced clinical hypnotherapy
• Trauma Work & IFS: Hypnosis to Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy
• Treating Phobias: How trance states help resolve deep-seated fears
• Spirituality in Therapy: The soul's role in healing
• Unattached Burdens: What entity attachments are and how Lindsay works with them

Lindsay Sappington is a dedicated and spiritually attuned Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over 17 years of experience in clinical practice. In 2004, she began her training to become an Advanced Clinical Hypnotherapist and Certified Release Therapist (breath work) through The Wellness Institute in Issaquah, WA. She has been in higher levels of spiritual training since 2005 and brings this vibrational element into her practice with clients through past life regressions, soul retrieval, womb healing/clearing, and helping others deeply connect to their own Soul Essence. She also has other specialized training in Internal Family Systems, RoHun Therapies through Delphi University, Subtle Energy Systems, Mind/Body Healing, and other holistic healing modalities.

Connect with Lindsay

• Website: sacredheartmedicine.net
• Practice: Available for clients in North Carolina and elsewhere

Support the show

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it. If you enjoy the podcast, please rate and subscribe.

Adina Arden Cooper is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor who prefers to refer to herself as a Shadow Guide and Soul Healing Specialist. She helps highly sensitive creative visionaries heal trauma so they can not only survive this human experience but thrive in the expression of their greatest gifts. Adina has over 20 years of experience in education and mental health. She's also an artist, a seeker, a mother, and very curious person.

Visit Adina's website to find out more about her work
Follow Fire Bird Creative on Instagram

Joshua Zamrin is a nomadic soul guide, somatic life coach, and sacred purpose mentor, deeply immersed in the realms of embodiment, shamanic wisdom, and mythopoetic exploration. With a background in nervous system regulation, mindfulness, and compassionate communication, he weaves together ancient and modern practices to help others reconnect with their deepest truth. His work is rooted in rites of passage, initiation, and the sacred journey of becoming, drawing inspiration from indigenous traditions, soul-centered psychology, and the raw wisdom of nature.

@soulbodywholeness

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Episode Summary:

In this heartfelt and deeply personal conversation, Adina and Joshua chat with Clare Duplace, Grief Tender, End of Life Doula, Mentor, Trainer and Storykeeper. Clare shares her journey through grief following the loss of her mother, revealing the cultural illiteracy many face around death and emotional pain. Together, they explore how grief can be a profound teacher. They reflect on the importance of presence and permission, the value of ritual and ceremony, and the power of simply being with grief—without rushing to fix or explain it.

Key Topics Covered:

• The absence of grief literacy in modern culture
• How grief can lead to emotional and spiritual growth
• The importance of presence over platitudes
• Reflections on suicide, family dynamics, and ancestral healing
• Navigating anticipatory grief and guilt
• Indigenous and nature-based approaches to mourning
• The transformative potential of personal and communal grief practices

Connect with Clare:

The Center for Conscious Living and Dying

Resources:

• The Wild Edge of Sorrow by Francis Weller
• Companioning the Bereaved by Alan Wolfelt
• Bearing the Unbearable by Joanne Cacciatore
• The Grieving Brain and the Grieving Body by Mary Francis O'Conner
• Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation Through Anger by Lama Rod Owens
• The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche

This episode is for anyone navigating grief—whether recent or distant, personal or collective. It's also for those who support others in loss, and anyone curious about how grief can become a bridge between generations, cultures, and inner transformation.

Support the show

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it. If you enjoy the podcast, please rate and subscribe.

Adina Arden Cooper is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor who prefers to refer to herself as a Shadow Guide and Soul Healing Specialist. She helps highly sensitive creative visionaries heal trauma so they can not only survive this human experience but thrive in the expression of their greatest gifts. Adina has over 20 years of experience in education and mental health. She's also an artist, a seeker, a mother, and very curious person.

Visit Adina's website to find out more about her work
Follow Fire Bird Creative on Instagram

Joshua Zamrin is a nomadic soul guide, somatic life coach, and sacred purpose mentor, deeply immersed in the realms of embodiment, shamanic wisdom, and mythopoetic exploration. With a background in nervous system regulation, mindfulness, and compassionate communication, he weaves together ancient and modern practices to help others reconnect with their deepest truth. His work is rooted in rites of passage, initiation, and the sacred journey of becoming, drawing inspiration from indigenous traditions, soul-centered psychology, and the raw wisdom of nature.

@soulbodywholeness

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Episode Summary:

In this soulful and inspiring conversation, Adina welcomes Roberta Anderson, a professional home organizer and Feng Shui consultant, to explore the deep connection between our inner worlds and the spaces we inhabit.

Topics Covered:

• Roberta’s Organizing Journey: From "messy person" to Registered Nurse to entrepreneur
• Astrology + Organizing: Using astrological insights to tailor organizing styles to the individual
• Home as a Mirror: How our living spaces reflect our subconscious and emotional patterns
• Feng Shui Foundations: The energy of the land, the significance of the front door, and intuitive home assessments
• Neurodivergence and Gentle Systems: Why shame-free, compassionate approaches matter in organizing
• Tools & Techniques: The Pomodoro method, energetic cleansing, and mindfulness practices
• Creating Sacred Space: Designing for rest, intimacy, and connection with nature
• Dream Work: How to create space that nourishes dreams and promotes restful sleep
• Energy Hygiene Tips: Clearing corners, calming chaos, and setting energetic boundaries at home

Resources & Mentions:

• Pomodoro Technique
• Feng Shui
• KonMari Method

Connect with Roberta:

• Instagram: thehomewitch
• Website: organizefengshui.com
• Virtual and In Person Sessions: Available by appointment

Support the show

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it. If you enjoy the podcast, please rate and subscribe.

Adina Arden Cooper is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor who prefers to refer to herself as a Shadow Guide and Soul Healing Specialist. She helps highly sensitive creative visionaries heal trauma so they can not only survive this human experience but thrive in the expression of their greatest gifts. Adina has over 20 years of experience in education and mental health. She's also an artist, a seeker, a mother, and very curious person.

Visit Adina's website to find out more about her work
Follow Fire Bird Creative on Instagram

Joshua Zamrin is a nomadic soul guide, somatic life coach, and sacred purpose mentor, deeply immersed in the realms of embodiment, shamanic wisdom, and mythopoetic exploration. With a background in nervous system regulation, mindfulness, and compassionate communication, he weaves together ancient and modern practices to help others reconnect with their deepest truth. His work is rooted in rites of passage, initiation, and the sacred journey of becoming, drawing inspiration from indigenous traditions, soul-centered psychology, and the raw wisdom of nature.

@soulbodywholeness

...

Episode Summary:

In this grounded and heartfelt conversation, Joshua welcomes Julian Bermudez—trauma-informed guide and integration therapist. Together they explore the deeper dimensions of healing, embodiment, and soulful living.

Topics Discussed:

• Authenticity and Adaptation: How survival strategies formed in childhood often lead to spiritual disconnection later in life.
• Trauma-Informed Presence: Julian shares how attunement, co-regulation, and slowness are central to his work with clients.
• Deconstructing Performance: A conversation on how striving and self-improvement can become barriers to real healing.
• The Body as Portal: Using somatic awareness to come back into truth and connection.
• Integration and Wholeness: Supporting others to metabolize experience and trust their own wisdom.
• Poetry and Soul Language: Touching on the power of poetry as a way to name the ineffable, including references to John O’Donohue.
• Real Ritual: The value of simple, intentional practices rooted in presence rather than production.

Resources Mentioned:

• To Bless the Space Between Us by John O’Donohue
• The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

Julian Bermudez is a therapist, guide, and companion on the path of healing. He works closely with people navigating trauma, identity, and the integration of psychedelic experiences—helping them reconnect with the deep, unshakable truth of who they are. His work is not conventional. It doesn’t revolve around diagnoses or protocols. Instead, it’s rooted in presence, deep listening, and the belief that healing is a return to our natural state of being: connected, present, and whole. Through somatic work, meditation, and honest self-inquiry, Julian helps people soften the survival patterns that once protected them—but now keep them stuck. He offers a grounded, intuitive approach that bridges modern therapeutic insight with timeless human wisdom. His mission is simple: to preserve and nurture the human experience. In a world that often pulls us away from our aliveness, Julian helps clients come back to themselves, to each other, and to the world around them. His work isn’t just about feeling better—it’s about recovering

Support the show

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it. If you enjoy the podcast, please rate and subscribe.

Adina Arden Cooper is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor who prefers to refer to herself as a Shadow Guide and Soul Healing Specialist. She helps highly sensitive creative visionaries heal trauma so they can not only survive this human experience but thrive in the expression of their greatest gifts. Adina has over 20 years of experience in education and mental health. She's also an artist, a seeker, a mother, and very curious person.

Visit Adina's website to find out more about her work
Follow Fire Bird Creative on Instagram

Joshua Zamrin is a nomadic soul guide, somatic life coach, and sacred purpose mentor, deeply immersed in the realms of embodiment, shamanic wisdom, and mythopoetic exploration. With a background in nervous system regulation, mindfulness, and compassionate communication, he weaves together ancient and modern practices to help others reconnect with their deepest truth. His work is rooted in rites of passage, initiation, and the sacred journey of becoming, drawing inspiration from indigenous traditions, soul-centered psychology, and the raw wisdom of nature.

@soulbodywholeness

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