Making Meaning: Deep Conversations on Life, Purpose, and The Human Experience

We’ve all heard, “put your own oxygen mask on first,” and yet, we still all struggle to do so, and to make space for others to do so too. Choosing yourself sounds self-centered. So why does it allow us to step into service and reverence with so much more presence? Hakeem Bourne Mcfarlane is a speaker, coach, and storyteller focused on harnessing his story of resilience, honesty, and accountability...

Community has been a pressing need in the zeitgeist. But beyond the desire for human connection, there is a vast world of other-than-humans ready to connect and waiting for us to come home. Tigrilla Gardenia, B.M. M.S., Nature-Inspired Mentor, Certified Life Coach (ICF PCC), and World Ambassador for Plant Advocacy, empowers creative multipotentialites and nature-inspired professionals to confident...

Purpose and practicality rarely seem to work together in today’s world. But what if we could build our lives to support necessity, a baseline feeling of safety and security, and fulfill our deepest needs of fulfillment? It’s these questions of Purpose, passion, and Vocation that we dig into in today’s episode, and continually ask: how can I live more Coherently? A huge thank you to Florian Kemmeri...

In a world where meaning is a privilege, how do you create the life of your dreams from a place of safety, security, and empowerment? Pursuing Purpose is a privilege, one that every human being deserves access to, but feels like a rarer and rarer possibility. In our current economic and socio-political world where systemic factors prevent so many from building a life of Purpose, where do we go fro...

The time for your vision is now. So many of us feel the intuitive sense of Purpose seeded deep within us, but what does it look like to actually craft a life in alignment with our soul’s fulfillment? Cailen Ascher’s work is founded on the belief that soul-led women don’t just live their missions – they create movements. And the world needs you and your Purpose. Check Out Cailen Ascher’s Work: Free...

It's time to get unstuck! Christina Slaback is a life and business coach who helps people understand why they’re stuck, and what staying there is quietly costing them. With a background in psychology and business and over 15 years of leadership experience, she blends compassion with honest perspective to help clients outgrow patterns that once kept them safe but no longer fit. Her work is about cl...

Julie Brams IS your mother’s psychotherapist: Mother Gaia. An ANFT certified Forest Therapy Guide, meditation practitioner and teacher, and author of The Nature Embedded Mind, Brams works to help us all re-member our connection with nature and believes that through this sacred relationship, we can begin and deepen a restorative approach to environmental sustainability and social change. In our con...

Join host Reese Brown as she sits down with Dr. Trey McMahon to discuss the intersection of physical health, mental health, and how the nervous system is the key to unlocking your body’s spectrum of wellbeing. A huge thank you to Dr. Trey McMahon for his time, energy, and expertise during this episode! Follow Dr. Trey McMahon: https://www.instagram.com/chirotrey/ Work with Dr. Trey McMahon: https:...

What happens when you stop shrinking yourself to fit into spaces that were never built for you? Content Warning : 6:03-10:28 and 44:43-46:01 Discussion of self-harm and suicidal ideation In this episode of Making Meaning, Lydia Shock shares her journey through depression, suicidal ideation, self-acceptance, and radical healing, and how learning to take up space quite literally saved her life. Toge...

Unleashing your inner child just may be the most radical thing you can do in our current culture. Join host, Reese Brown as she sits down with comedian, creator, and political commentator Dave Neal to discuss his path as a gritty creator, passionate father and husband, and spiritual meaning maker. Neal discusses everything, from inner child work to politics to the deeply human need to live authent...

What happens when the “good girl” grows up, becomes a mother, and realizes the performance is killing her and hurting her family? In today’s episode of Making mMeaning, Reese Brown sits down with Diane Sorensen, former teacher, mother, coach, and host of Chaos to Connection, **to unravel the mother wound, the good girl archetype, and the generational patterns that silently shape our lives. Diane s...

What does it mean to make meaning in a world in the midst of radical transition and transformation? This mid-season check-in of Making meaning dives deep into what we should all consider as global citizens, hopeful activists, aware and conscious beings, and meaning makers. Host Reese Brown explores everything from Nietzsche’s “God is dead and we have killed Him” to human design, spiritual communit...

From surviving abuse to building a lasting marriage, raising a family, and becoming “Aya” to her grandkids, Shara’s story is one of hope, resilience, and divine redemption. Content Warning: 8:49 - 15:10 Childhood Abuse and Trauma In this deeply moving conversation, join host Reese Brown as she sits down with Shara Goswick to discuss faith in the face of trauma, feeling purpose since birth, and the...

What if joy isn’t the goal of life, but the strategy for living? Join host Reese Brown as she sits down with Angel Reiki Master, Host of the Intuitive Wisdom Podcast, and Meaning Maker K. Margaret Solorio for a deeply grounding conversation that explores how to co-create with Spirit, distinguish anxiety from intuition, and raise your vibration through joy and surrender. Reese and K. Margaret also...

In a culture of disconnection, how do we live with Purpose? Our collective hunger for belonging can be directly linked to the violent rupture of place experienced through the human cycle of colonization and displacement. Join host Reese Brown as she sits down with author and Meaning Maker Elspeth Hay to discuss the connection between the trauma of Euro-American history, our connection to trees, an...

Join host Reese Brown as she sits down with Founder of The Alchemy of Breath, Author of Outer Chaos Inner Calm, and Meaning Maker Anthony Abbagnano to discuss the divinity of the breath and how we can use this gift to regulate our nervous system, come back to the present moment, and return home to ourselves. When we engage with the outer world from our inner breath, we learn to see everything as a...

Join host Reese Brown as she sits down with lawyer, philosopher, and meaning maker Carolyn Kraft to discuss the importance of nuanced and philosophically informed civil discourse, the necessity of vulnerability in a progressing society, how interrogating the complex layers and intersectional wrinkles in opinions and worldviews garners more empathy in conversation, and most importantly, how changin...

Join host Reese Brown as she sits down with author, coach, and Meaning Maker Jules Kuroda to discuss the innate quality of the human experience. Who are we really? And how should that inform the way we live our lives engaged in humanity during this iteration of selfhood? We cover the intersection of spirituality and science, the importance of developing your personal character, contributing to our...

Join host Reese Brown as she sits down with photographer, artist, Artistic Director of Knotted Lace, and Meaning Maker Loveth Heard! In this conversation, Reese and Loveth explore what it means to reclaim your humanity through rage, creativity, queerness, and neurodivergence. From breaking free of outdated expectations to building healing community through art and connection, this is a story about...

Join host Reese Brown as she sits down with Human Design Mentor, EFT Alchemist, International Speaker, and Business Coach Abigail Rebecca to discuss the importance of self-discovery, the impossible challenge of hustle culture, and the power of rest. We discuss Abby’s journey from being raised in a religious cult to becoming a Human Design Business Mentor and passionate spiritual Icon! Abigail’s st...

Join host Reese Brown as she sits down with Founder of Equus, writer of Flying Lead Change, and Meaning Maker Kelly Wendorf to discuss the nature freedom and its interconnectedness with spiritual presence, the difference between embracing the spiritual journey and using it as another avenue for shame and entitlement, and the self knowledge we obtain through maintaining curiosity. A huge thank you...

Join host Reese Brown as she sits down with Actor, Acting Coach, Meaning Maker, and her lifelong mentor, Cathryn Hartt! In this episode, Reese and Cathryn discuss acting, discovering spiritual truths through life and creative art, the intersection of justice and performance, and their relationship. A huge thank you to Cathryn for her time, energy, and openness during this episode! Content Warning:...

Join host Reese Brown as she takes a look back at the Meaning Makers and Meaning made during Season 3 of Making Meaning. A huge thank you to all of the guests of Season 3 of Making Meaning! To find all of the guests and their work, head to the Vod video description: https://youtu.be/jY9FLCoS8Qw Follow The Cohere Collective: https://www.instagram.com/thecoherecollective/ https://www.tiktok.com/@the...

Join host Reese Brown as she sits down with her parents, Paige and Mike Brown, to discuss meaning making in retirement, why they raised their kids with religion as non-religious people, the nuances of Justice as you age, and what “Love” actually means. A huge thank you to my wonderful Mom and Dad for their time, energy, and vulnerability during this episode, and for being my strongest supporters,...

Join host Reese Brown as she sits down with co-authors, speakers, teachers, activists, and meaning makers Beth Norcross and Leah Rampy to discuss the spiritual world that exists all around us, and their new book Discovering the Spiritual Wisdom of Trees. A huge thank you to Beth Norcross and Leah Rampy for their time, energy, and meaning making in today’s episode! Read The Spiritual Wisdom of Tree...