Between Two Worlds: Integrating Transformative Spiritual Experiences Tessa Cowley-Court

Simone Surgeoner grew up in Melbourne, Australia in the Jehovah's Witness religious community. After having children of her own, Simone began to question the religion's teachings, and eventually left secular religious life behind in her early thirties.

What followed was a complete re-build of life on her own terms, leading to a twenty year journey of self-discovery. Simone explored different takes on love and sexuality, alternative therapies, and even moved to the U.S. and spent many months in her beloved Mexico where she experienced transformative healing from both plant medicine and good old fashioned sunshine.

Simone speaks candidly about the unconventional decisions she bravely made as a mother and partner in order to stay true to her authentic self and follow the thread of curiosity that has propelled her through a fascinating life.

After overcoming some of the momentous challenges we discuss in the episode, Simone is now in a wonderful, happy place and loving her roles as a mother, therapist, mentor, passionate birth enthusiast and somewhat reluctant medicine woman. She insists that the arc of her story is a rainbow bridge, and the journey has been well worth it - so hopefully others in the messy middle can take some solace!

Content warning: suicide, intimate partner abuse.

You can get in touch with Simone and learn more about her work on her website:

https://saksana.com.au/

And you can now follow the podcast on Instagram too!

https://www.instagram.com/between.two.worlds.podcast/

Ali Heppell grew up in rural Victoria, Australia. Pursuing a career in speech pathology, she moved to the city in her twenties and enjoyed a few carefree years of dining out, dancing, and career building.



At twenty-four, her world was turned upside down when her mum called to tell her she had cancer. What followed was a deep immersion in grief, death, and transformation. Ali speaks candidly in this episode about moving back to her hometown to see out her mother's final month of life, and going through a powerful rite of passage that changed her forever.

 

Emerging from the loss of her mother, Ali found that old things didn't fit anymore. She took an extended break from work and explored a range of healing modalities - from meditation, to psychotherapy, journalling, running, and even weaving. Then, she embarked on a year of world travel with her now husband, which solidified the new sense of herself on the other side of transformative grief.

 

Upon returning, Ali's next portal involved transitioning into motherhood. We speak in this episode about the transformative portals of labour and birth, and her altered-state experience while giving birth to her second son. Who said you need psychedelics to experience oneness with the universe!

 

Ali now dedicates her life to motherhood, both in mothering her two boys, and working in mothercare. Ali offers doula support, women's circles, birth debriefing, mother blessings, and more.

 

Content warning: death/grief, sexual assault.

 

You can get in touch with Ali and learn about her work at: 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aliheppell_mothercare/

 

And you can now follow the podcast on Instagram too!

https://www.instagram.com/between.two.worlds.podcast/

Melissa Lambour is a vibrant, trail-blazing Guatemalan-American woman currently living and loving in Bali, Indonesia. She grew up watching her migrant parents work incredibly hard for the "American Dream", and found herself amassing degrees and credentials to make their sacrifice seem worthwhile. But there was something missing for Melissa, and her search for identity and meaning took her far away from her well-paid engineering career and marriage in the U.S., to where she finally landed in Ubud, Bali (finding new love basically on arrival!).

In this episode, Melissa shares her experience of exploring different aspects of herself including her sexuality, a shift to non-monogamy in her marriage, her racial identity, and a new career that literally had to be made up to fit her unique "Ikigai" or life purpose!

Melissa is an astro-geo guide, ayurveda and Reiki practitioner, and altogether wonderful human. You can learn more about her work at:

Instagram: cosmic.roadmap

Website: www.cosmicroadmap.com

Content warning: sexuality, racial identity.

Danielle Rateau is a radiant American beauty, currently living and working in a small fishing town near Seattle. She landed in the misty far north of the U.S. after years of global travels where she lived and worked among spiritual communities - from the ashrams of Australia to an ayahuasca retreat in Peru.


After struggling with an eating disorder and the breakdown of a relationship and career in her mid-twenties, Danielle sold everything and moved away in search of herself (or something like it!). The journey that unfolded from there took her through incredible experiences of growth and healing, from immersing herself in yogic philosophy, to women's circles, chanting and beyond.


We discuss all this, and much more, in Part 1 of our chat - check it out on Episode 4 if you haven't already. In Part 2 of our chat today, we delve more deeply into Danielle's work with the psychedelic plant medicine, ayahuasca, both personally and in support of others, which she did for a year while working at an ayahuasca retreat in Peru. We discuss both the beauty and the perils of working with this potent medicine! If you want a balanced view of working with ayahuasca from someone who has seen the good, the bad, and the ugly, this episode is not to be missed.


Content warning: eating disorders, suicide.


You can get in touch with Danielle and learn about her work at:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwpPahxoHh_NQZ_xbMiTo0w

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daniellerateau/

Michelle Gardiner is an Australian social impact entrepreneur currently exploring the concept of home in multiple locations around the world including Bali, Indonesia and the Mediterranean.

After marrying young and throwing herself into her social work career and life in the suburbs, Michelle started to have those uncomfortable nagging questions. Is this enough? Do I want more? Could I start all over again?

She summoned her courage and followed her intuition, building a new life in the city as a single woman-about-town. It was fun, and shiny, and there was lots of dancing... but eventually the questions came again. Is there more to life than travel and going out with friends? She noticed a growing spiritual curiosity.

Fast forward to a trip to Peru, ayahuasca visions, and a few more bold moves and she found herself stranded in Bali for the duration of the pandemic. During this time, Michelle not only faced her own dark night and identity crisis, but also built her incredible women's leadership business, Aspire, and launched her book series, 55 Faces. Through 55, she elevates the voices of women from all over the world and helps them tell their stories.

We discuss following your intuition and having the courage to re-invent yourself (more than once!) in this wide-ranging discussion. Please enjoy!

Content warning: fertility challenges, IVF.

You can get in touch with Michelle and learn more about her work at:

Website: https://www.theaspireseries.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theaspireseries/

Danielle Rateau is a radiant American beauty, currently living and working in Washington state, in a small fishing town near Seattle. She landed in the misty far north of the U.S. after years of global travels where she lived and worked among spiritual communities - from the ashrams of Australia to an ayahuasca retreat in Peru.
After struggling with an eating disorder and the breakdown of a relationship and career in her mid-twenties, Danielle sold everything and ran away in search of herself (or something like it!). The journey that unfolded from there took her through incredible experiences of growth and healing, from immersing herself in yogic philosophy, to women's circles, chanting and beyond.
We discuss all this, and much more, in Part 1 of our chat. We also skim the surface of her work with the psychedelic plant medicine, ayahuasca, which we delve into more in Part 2.
Content warning: eating disorders, the Voice referendum (Australia).
You can get in touch with Danielle and learn about her work at:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwpPahxoHh_NQZ_xbMiTo0w
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daniellerateau/