200 episodes

Nick Onken is a fashion and lifestyle photographer for today’s top brands, performers, and game changers. On ONKEN radio (Formerly NION radio) Nick explores the body, mind and soul of the creative entrepreneur, bringing you inspiring and influential guests to help take your creativity, business, and life to the next level.

ONKEN radio Nick Onken

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Nick Onken is a fashion and lifestyle photographer for today’s top brands, performers, and game changers. On ONKEN radio (Formerly NION radio) Nick explores the body, mind and soul of the creative entrepreneur, bringing you inspiring and influential guests to help take your creativity, business, and life to the next level.

    221: 5 C’s of Self-Mastery

    221: 5 C’s of Self-Mastery

    “Your identity is a blank canvas for who you want to be.” - Nick Onken



    Today I share some of the identity alchemy that I have been working on and go into detail about what it means to master ourselves. These past few years I have been going through some major changes that I talk about.

    I have been doing some serious work to grow as a person and I've been searching for a partner who is on the same path. Identity alchemy and the five C's of self-mastery are helping me to get where I want to go. What do commitment, containers, and celebration have to do with becoming who are meant to be in this world? You can learn all of these things in your head, but if you’re not practicing them, they don’t get integrated into this vessel that we call our earthly body.

    In this episode, I define what self-mastery actually is and share a list of the five C’s that you can implement in your own life. I also explain how to use containers and introduce my upcoming Identity Alchemy course.



    You can Subscribe and Listen to the Podcast on Apple Podcasts. And please leave me a Rating and Review!





    “Self-mastery is something you have to care about.” - Nick Onken



    Some things we learn in this podcast:



    What does it mean to master oneself [3:37]

    What are the five C’s of self-mastery [5:23]

    How is Nick working towards mastering himself [7:05]

    What are containers [7:52]

    What is Nick’s Identity Alchemy course [12:33]



    The Five C's of Self-Mastery:



    Care and awareness

    Commitment

    Containers

    Consistency

    Celebration



    Links Mentioned:



    Listen to Onken Radio Episode 215: The Statistical Importance of Building Your Personal Brand with AJ Vaden

    Connect with Nick on Instagram

    • 15 min
    219: Activating Your Divine Creative Flow with Kaia Ra

    219: Activating Your Divine Creative Flow with Kaia Ra

    “I’m really interested in activating a collective sovereign awakening in this lifetime for humanity.” - Kaia Ra



    Hello, my friends! Welcome to another episode of Onken Radio (previously NION Radio), the podcast where we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. It’s my goal to help you take your divine creativity, business, and life to the next level. I’m so glad you’re joining me on this journey!



    Today, I’m excited about my special guest Kaia Ra, the author and channeler of The Sophia Code, a fantastic book on activating your higher self and consciousness through the works and knowledge of the ascended masters. I'm excited to talk about channeling divine creativity and getting out of the way for even more creativity to flow through you. 



    This podcast is all about consciousness, creativity, and exploring their intersection. Here’s a quick taste of what’s to come from my interview with Kaia Ra:

    “I discovered at an extremely early age that creativity is a state of mind. It's not about an artifact. It's not even about an action. It's about tuning into how your consciousness can download solutions in any moment, whether it's traumatic or blissful — and everything in between.” - Kaia Ra

    I’m excited to have her on the show to discuss her teachings, the various courses she offers, and even her activated pieces of jewelry she creates with the different ascended masters. As a multidisciplinary creative, I’m excited to share her wealth of knowledge and unlock the spiritual tools to tap into our divine creativity with you. 



    Let’s jump straight in!

    Who Is Kaia Ra?

    Kaia Ra started life in perhaps the most traumatic way: Human trafficking at an elite level. 



    She and other children were trafficked for their talents, psychic gifts, and creativity. So began a very painful journey of recovering from slavery to sovereignty of what divine creativity could be for her.

    “I believe a lot of compassion was generated along that healing journey for anyone that's ever struggled with creativity because I know what it's like to feel so painfully vulnerable in accepting the gifts of my own creativity and being seen in them. I believe that's a pretty universal feeling for a lot of people that have survived being on this planet. … The pain that I've personally experienced during creativity, I feel, is a universal pain that we're all collectively transmuting together.” - Kaia Ra

    Kaia Ra spent about seven years in seclusion and training with ceremonial elders during her thirties as part of her healing journey. She spent her time listening and getting hyper-focused on her mission. It was around ten years ago at Mount Shasta where she had a larger-than-life experience.

    “All the physical reality melted down. I was [home] and went to sit on my couch to channel some stuff for a book I thought I was writing. The book got downloaded in that moment where I was taken into the light — and it was just light. I watched the physical house melt down, [and] I watched the atomic structure of reality dissolve. In that light, I was asked to channel The Sophia Code as a declaration of humanity, sovereign divinity given to us from the ascended masters.” - Kaia Ra

    Thus the Sophia Code® book, which became an international bestseller within four days of publishing and became a phenomenon in 32 countries, was born.   



    Her journey didn’t end there; while doing much healing around artistry, Kaia also started designing a jewelry line.



    Ascended master Isis told her she would create jewelry someday, which felt crazy because she had no idea how. After a trip up Mount Shasta, a holy mountain, Kaia Ra was contacted by her now business partner about jewelry work.



    The timing was incredible; years later, all their jewelry is hand carved in Bali, a country where channeling is a part of their culture.

    • 1 hr 11 min
    218: 11 Tools for Entrepreneurs

    218: 11 Tools for Entrepreneurs

    “How we feel, move, and be in life directly affects our business.”

    - Nick Onken



    Hey guys, welcome back to ONKEN RADIO (previously NION Radio), the podcast where we explore the creative entrepreneur's body, mind, and soul. It’s my goal to help you take your creativity, business, and life to the next level. I’m so glad you’re joining me on this journey!



    Today, instead of interviewing someone, I have decided to share 11 tools that I use as a creative entrepreneur to scale my business — and look after my mental health, too, as I’m my own boss! You might not have your own business yet, but what I’m sharing can help you start your journey and figure out how you can become an entrepreneur. 



    So wherever you are on your journey with entrepreneurship, I hope my 11 tools for entrepreneurs resonate and help you.



    Let’s get started!

    1. Personal Development

    I find personal development essential in the journey of entrepreneurship because how we feel and move in life directly affects our business. I've interviewed successful people like Scooter Braun, Usher, Donna Karan, AJ Vaden, and Gary Zukav to name a few — and the biggest thing for them is a growth mindset. 



    Personal development makes you a better human being and positively affects your business. That growth helps you weather storms — all the ups and downs and challenges that come with being your own boss as a creative entrepreneur. 



    Personal development can come in different ways from books to courses. Some examples of courses I’ve done are MITT, which is Mastery In Transformational Training, a a course geared explicitly toward emotional intelligence and leadership training. I was able to apply what I learned to my business and how I run it now. 



    I’ve also attended the ALA (Ascension Leadership Academy), run by my friends Brad and Jenna, which helped me develop a better and bigger space of possibility for my business and life. 



    Personal Development is one of the biggest keys, and the tools that I've acquired over the last few years while building my own business have helped me weather all the ups and downs.

    2. Morning Routine

    This tool is crucial to creating the best platform for personal development and productive days. Developing a healthy morning routine has been essential for me, especially as I’ve learned to create discipline to get the morning started right and to build healthy habits for my mental health.



    Creating a consistent morning practice or routine helps get the train on track for the rest of the day. 



    My morning routine starts as soon as I wake up, and I don’t check my phone (no messages, emails, or anything). I meditate for 20 minutes, followed by a gratitude practice for a couple of minutes before I move into my movement practice of working out. That usually takes about an hour, at least. 



    Some people like to journal as part of their morning practice, and there is no right or wrong way to do that — so try different things to find the right routine that works for you. 

    3. Meditation

    I practice Ziva meditation, taught by Emily Fletcher. Meditation teaches you to stay centered and keep inner peace for moments when chaos unfolds. I find it useful as a way to look after my mental health.



    It's a mantra-based meditation to de-stress the mind and remove the monkey chatter to balance me out. I can wake up with my mind starting to chatter constantly, and Ziva meditation helps me align myself, get the stress out of my body, and clear my mind. 



    I include the gratitude practice as part of the meditation practice. Gratitude shifts your emotional makeup and way of being, and we all have something to be grateful for — especially because we’re alive! Gratitude sets a wonderful vibration for the day ahead to ground me in what I have instead of foc...

    • 15 min
    217: Sex, Tantra, Polyamory, Gender Bending, Love, and Relational Communications with Meleza Morris

    217: Sex, Tantra, Polyamory, Gender Bending, Love, and Relational Communications with Meleza Morris

    “We can all be polyamorous.”

    - Meleza Morris



    Hey guys, welcome back to ONKEN RADIO (previously NION Radio), the podcast where we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. It’s my goal to help you take your creativity, business, and life to the next level. I’m so glad you’re joining me on this journey!



    Today, I’ve got an extra special guest for you to discuss elements from our sexuality that can help us build our Identity Alchemy. It’s essential to establish trust with your partners, and finding an expert to help us navigate the awkwardness that can surround sexuality, sex, tantra, polyamory, gender-bending, and love with meaningful relational communication is not that easy. That’s why today’s guest is an intimacy coordinator expert.



    I wanted to have her on the podcast because my own sexuality is currently something that I've been exploring. Here’s a taste of her wisdom:

    “There is a deeper psychological plane that is required to understand before being able to integrate many of the BDSM kink world or the tantra world, the sacred sexuality world, or just sex in general. If we are not understanding of our agency, of our sovereignty, it's very challenging to lead a life where we're gonna find happiness, in the way that can actually break down all of the little sticky parts that have stuck to us because of our early childhood development, because of our little-t and our big-T traumas.”

    - Meleza Morris

    Wherever we are along our journey to unpack our deepest loves or avoid overstepping the line of safety, communication is the key. That’s why I wanted to talk to Meleza today, and she speaks about how it’s all about creating the space to explore these things. 



    Let’s jump right in!

    Who Is Meleza Morris?

    Meleza Morris is a Certified Intimacy Coordinator for TV & Film, a devoted consultant in the Queer lifestyle community, and Sacred Sexuality Architect. Meleza is fluent in English and Spanish and can help others as a certified Health Coach, trauma-informed sex educator, facilitator, and kinkster. 



    Meleza is committed to being a part of a movement that helps to create impactful solutions — a Sexual and Consensual Awakening. They desire to connect through creative and pioneering conversations, lay pathways to defeat adversity with folks representing large demographics, and continually build bridges around gender, erotic empowerment, body positivity, consent, and cosmic evolution. 



    Meleza currently resides in Miami and travels for work frequently. They recently decided to ask clients to put the cash they wished to pay them inside something fun — one was a baby Yoda blanket — and although such a small shift, it creates excitement every time for her now because one of her love languages is gifts. Now, she gets more excited to see what people put the money into than she does to get paid!



    Meleza’s sexual awakening started at a very young age. They were always very curious about sexuality, so their Barbies were having sex. Meleza felt attracted to boys and girls and remembers their dad catching them naked with others in the closet.



    It was the first and only time their dad laid hands on them. Still, that experience shifted their whole life because that moment was when something curious and pleasurable became taboo, stigmatized, and something to be disciplined. Thus their journey started with constantly trying to decipher what's okay and what's not okay. 



    It wasn’t until they were 24 that Meleza embraced what they now know as polyamory. It was the first time they had heard the term polyamory. Still, they realized that throughout their relationships in their teenage years, yes, they were wholly invested in their boyfriend and loved them dearly, but they still wanted to have sex with other people. 

    “When I realized there is a community of people...

    • 1 hr 16 min
    216: Transformation Through Plant Medicine

    216: Transformation Through Plant Medicine

    “It takes courage to be able to do plant medicine.”

    - Nick Onken



    Welcome back for another episode of ONKEN RADIO (previously NION Radio), folks! Our purpose is simple: to help you explore the world from creativity, consciousness, and everything else in between to help you optimize your life to its fullest expression. 



    I am grateful to have you here to learn from yet another crazy experience in my journey.



    Today, I want to share about the plant medicine retreat that we recently concluded in Tulum, Mexico, called the Metamorph. It was the first time I ever co-hosted a retreat, which I did with my cosmic counterpart, E11even, while also experiencing a personal metamorphosis through the guided use of plant medicine. It was such a thrilling and surreal experience at the same time!



    This short retreat helped attendees transform who they were into the next version of themselves, which is the identity alchemy that I talk about a lot — connecting people with yourself by telling your story. The inner alchemy,  and the identity alchemy piece of it, is really who are you on the inside, and all these things, including plant medicine, are mere tools to help you go through that process of finding yourself.



    The metamorph plant medicine retreat we just did was a process to help us actualize more of who we were, and unleash who we're supposed to be in this world. The impact we’re meant to create sometimes gets hindered by all the negative stories we tell ourselves, so if we can free ourselves, that will make the most significant impact.



    Now that you have a little brief about today’s topic, I can’t wait to share my beautiful spiritual experience with you all. Plant medicine is a fantastic tool that helps us identify ourselves by working through past trauma if done under the watchful eyes of the right mentors and with the right intention. I hope this inspires you to get one step closer to transforming yourself into the best YOU!

    My Private Session: An Eye Opener

    Before the retreat began, I got a chance to do a private session that lasted for about 5 hours and was truly eye-opening. It started with a micro dosage of peyote, which helped me drop into my body, opening up the way for energy work. 



    One of the mentors has extraordinary power to see this energy field and identify where trauma is blocking your myofascial tissues.



    She started by moving through my body, finding the blocks, and pushing that energy out, and was also able to tap into my guides and see who they are, which too was a unique experience. In the middle of it, she pulled me back, and we started talking about the things she found and asked me about what I had gone through in life. 



    Then she connected me to my guides: a white male puma, a female black hawk, a peacock, a female dragon, and a monk!



    It was crazy to have them articulated because I've definitely felt them come through in my life in the form of interactions or personality and character traits. So it was really resonant for me.



    We then did some more bodywork and finished with some Rapé, a tobacco-based shamanic snuff that is forcefully blown through the subject’s nose. In most cases, including mine, it causes the users to purge and helps release the toxins and dark energies that don’t serve you.

    It Takes Courage to Trigger Your Transformation

    Bravery is a tool to take you to your own place of self-expression on plant medicine journeys. We have all these traumas, and the dark and negative energy loops around us, the weight of which leads us into self-doubt, paving the way for fear and trauma. 



    Spiritual journeys like these are about breaking free from those constructs, but facing your demons is not easy.



    Only 5% of our brain is conscious, while 95% of our brain remains untapped,

    • 21 min
    215: The Statistical Importance of Building Your Personal Brand with AJ Vaden

    215: The Statistical Importance of Building Your Personal Brand with AJ Vaden

    “People are following people more than companies more than ever before.”

    - AJ Vaden



    Hey guys, welcome back to ONKEN RADIO (previously NION Radio), the podcast where we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. It’s my goal to help you take your creativity, business, and life to the next level. I’m so glad you’re joining me on this journey!



    Today, I’ve got an extra special guest for you to discuss critical elements that help us build our identity alchemy by focusing on building a solid personal brand. To do that these days, it’s essential to establish trust with your audience. 



    I met both AJ Vaden and her husband Rory through our mutual friend, Lewis Howes, who many of you might know from this podcast. Here’s a taste of some of her wisdom:

    “60% of Americans said the number one most important thing that dictates who I purchase from is testimonials. What do other people have to say [about] working with you? That is the cheapest, fastest thing you could do to grow your business. Testimonials are by far the most important thing.”

    - AJ Vaden

    I wanted to have AJ on the show to speak more about the strategies for building a personal brand. If you are interested in doing a personal brand photoshoot with me as I did with Rory and AJ, you can visit here to get more information and submit a form to see if we're a good fit. 



    But right now, let’s jump straight in!

    Who Is AJ Vaden?

    AJ Vaden started a company called a Brand Builders Group with her husband, Rory Vaden, and is an international speaker, million-dollar producer, and co-host of The Influential Personal Brand podcast. As a personal brand strategist, she challenges and inspires people to reinvent themselves as part of building and monetizing their personal brand. AJ has personally worked with thousands of individuals to help them focus their expertise, expand their reach, build their reputation, and brand the one thing no one else has — their name.



    Over the last ten years, she has been a part of the founding, launching, and building of a very successful 8-figure coaching business, a multi-million-dollar consulting business, and a 7-figure speaking business. Along with her company, Brand Builders Group, AJ was featured in a 3-page spread in Success Magazine on the impacts of personal branding and recently being named one of the Top 5 Personal Branding Speakers of 2019. 



    Her client roster includes working with top-level executives from organizations such as Bridgestone, Verizon Cellular Sales, Home Franchise Concepts, and DirecTV as well as working with well-known speakers, best-selling authors, entrepreneurs, and online influencers such as mega podcast host Lewis Howes and original “shark,” creator of the infomercial and serial entrepreneur, Kevin Harrington.



    AJ has taken 25 years of setbacks, successes, and tragedies and distilled them into simple yet powerful lessons that will help anyone become better than ever.

    What People Care About

    Brand Builders Group recently conducted a study in the United States using a third party, The Center for Generational Kinetics, which is free to download here. From their six months of gathering research, AJ shares the number one thing people highlighted as important when evaluating a personal image and brand.

    “The number one thing is: It's all about the authenticity of the human connection. One of the biggest things that we've learned and what we buy into is that people don't care much about what you sell and what you do — they care more about who you are. We've been doing these own studies with our own set of audiences, and we will post something about our study, a podcast, or some piece of original content, and it gets a third of the engagement of posting a video playing tee-ball with my two boys.”

    - AJ Vaden

    I wasn’t expecting to hear that.

    • 1 hr 2 min

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