Wisdom Without The Guru

Regina Sayer
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Behind every pivot, loss, career shift, trauma or reinvention is a story. Wisdom Without the Guru grew from my belief that growth is something we live, not something we’re taught from a pedestal. Through grounded, real-world conversations, I explore how people rebuild, adapt, and rediscover purpose after trauma, change and conflict — in work, health, relationships, and identity. My guests are coaches, authors, healers, social workers, therapists and everyday people who’ve turned lived experience into practical insight. Together, we look at what awareness, authenticity, and being human really mean when life gets complex.

  1. 3h ago

    From Childhood Uncertainty to Psychology, Spirituality & Conscious Living with Michelle Wincell O’Leary

    Michelle Wincell O’Leary grew up surrounded by four strong women, but her childhood changed when her mother remarried and home became a place of harsh discipline, silence and uncertainty. In this episode, Michelle speaks about the absence and later death of her biological father, the intuitive experiences that accompanied her from childhood, and how psychology gave her a way to understand both herself and other people. She also shares how her career developed from frontline mental health work to creating collaborative healing environments—and why, after decades in the field, she eventually left her career, marriage and home to begin again. In this episode: Growing up with four maternal figures before family life changedLearning to stay quiet in a home where difficult experiences were not discussedDiscovering at 13 that her biological father had died by suicideDreams, intuition and spiritual experiences from childhood onwardsStudying psychology and working with people experiencing serious mental illnessThe emotional impact of therapeutic work and the importance of professional supportBuilding collaborative, nature-informed healing environmentsBringing psychology, spirituality and energy awareness togetherLeaving a long career, ending a marriage and choosing life on a boatLearning to recognise what belongs in your emotional and energetic spaceWriting about resilience, consciousness and moving beyond survivalA simple rose exercise for clearing the day and calling your energy backMichelle’s story raises questions about how childhood experiences remain with us, what it means to release what no longer belongs to us, and how consciously choosing change can open the way to a very different life. About: Michelle Wincell O'Leary is a best-selling author and transformational energetic guide and facilitator who helps people reconnect with their energy and clarity in everyday life.  As a licensed therapist and innovator of healing environments, she brings warmth and depth to both personalize and create conscious conversations and services.   Her best-selling debut, Resilience: Flow in the Present, shares a practical path to living with presence and intention. Her latest course, Your Energy, Your Way: Staying Steady, Even When Life Isn’t, invites participants into a grounded, real-world approach to conscious living—one step, one breath at a time.  She holds sacred space for others to remember who they are with each new step. Links to book and to connect: Linktree We'd love to hear from you 🥰. Support the show ✔️ Like, Comment & Subscribe ✔️ Share with someone who needs this message ✔️ Leave a review on your podcast app ✔️ Subscribe and support here or here ☕ 🙏  Follow us for video clips and more: Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube

  2. Jul 26

    Overachievement, Alcohol Recovery & Spiritual Healing with Taylor Caruthers

    Taylor Caruthers learned early that being average was not an option. Driven to achieve, participate and prove herself, she became a mother at 15 and entered adulthood carrying responsibilities most teenagers had never encountered. She continued to build a demanding life around motherhood, work and providing for her family. From the outside, Taylor remained capable and productive. Underneath, she had little connection to her own needs—and alcohol gradually became the way she quieted a constantly active mind. In this episode, Taylor speaks openly about: Becoming pregnant at 15 and returning to school as a motherBuilding a nursing and healthcare career while raising a large familyHow achievement, money and professional titles became measures of worthThe gradual progression from drinking after work to not wanting to be soberHiding alcoholism while continuing to function and care for othersLeaving for treatment in California and choosing to remain in recoveryDiscovering breathwork, Reiki and other spiritual practicesRecognising that overachievement can continue even after alcohol is removedRepresentation within recovery and spiritual communitiesLearning to care for herself as seriously as she cared for everyone elseTaylor’s story is ultimately about more than alcohol recovery. It is about recognising how determination, responsibility and the need to achieve can hide what is happening underneath. She reflects on learning to slow down, accept support and stop measuring her worth by how much she can carry or accomplish. Her experiences have also led to a desire to bring breathwork and other healing practices into marginalised and underserved communities, particularly where access, representation and trust may be limited. About: Taylor A. Caruthers is a SpirRatchual Guide + Exit Strategist who helps high-achieving women (especially WOC) exit systemic oppression and survival mode. She blends spirituality, strategy, and self-liberation to help women reclaim their power, peace, and purpose. Taylor empowers women to stop surviving the system and start bending it to their will. Connect at: Linktree We'd love to hear from you 🥰. Support the show ✔️ Like, Comment & Subscribe ✔️ Share with someone who needs this message ✔️ Leave a review on your podcast app ✔️ Subscribe and support here or here ☕ 🙏  Follow us for video clips and more: Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube

  3. Jul 17 ·  Bonus

    Mental Health Monster Books: Helping Children Express Emotions with Rachel Brown

    Returning guest Rachel Brown introduces her Mental Health Monster Series, a collection of children’s books and practical resources designed to help children recognise and express difficult emotions. Created after Rachel saw the stress experienced by children and parents during lockdown, the series uses colourful characters, stories and simple activities to give children another way to communicate when they cannot explain how they feel. In this episode, Rachel discusses: Why she created the Mental Health MonstersHow children can use colours to communicate emotionsActivities, affirmations and meditations included in the booksHow the accompanying monsters and activity cards can be usedSupporting children who feel worried, insecure or unable to express themselvesAdapting the materials for different ages and individual interestsPlans for further books, breathwork resources and use within schoolsRachel also reflects on how tools like these might have helped her manage some of the worry and pressure she experienced during her own childhood. The books are written primarily for children aged five to eleven, although many of the exercises can also be adapted for older children—and even adults. Links to Rachel’s books, resources and contact details can be found on her website listed in the link below. About: Rachel Brown empowers mums not just to raise conscious, confident children but to work with them through energetic and spiritual practices, along with coaching, to help them work through and overcome difficult emotions and limiting beliefs, and to heal from generational trauma. She also provides conscious parenting support. Her journey includes battling a chronic illness in childhood, finding solace in music, and navigating the complexities of parenting two teenage boys, one with dyslexia. With a background in pharmacy, holistic therapies, and primary education, she is passionate about helping families navigate emotional challenges and discover their fullest potential. Connect at: FB Group, IG, Website, Books We'd love to hear from you 🥰. Support the show ✔️ Like, Comment & Subscribe ✔️ Share with someone who needs this message ✔️ Leave a review on your podcast app ✔️ Subscribe and support here or here ☕ 🙏  Follow us for video clips and more: Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube

  4. Jul 16

    From Misdiagnosis and Career Changes to Conscious Parenting with Rachel Brown

    Rachel Brown’s life has involved more than one unexpected change of direction. From moving schools and struggling to find where she belonged, to living for years from puberty with unexplained health concerns, she often responded by working harder, keeping busy and trying to carry on. In this conversation, Rachel shares how those early experiences influenced her education, career choices, relationships and approach to motherhood. We discuss: Growing up as a sensitive and serious childMoving schools repeatedly and struggling to find where she belongedLiving with unanswered health questionsThe long process of being diagnosed with Cushing’s diseaseUsing schoolwork and music as ways to copeChanging direction through pharmacy, teaching and holistic therapiesExperiencing breakdowns during periods of intense stressIVF, motherhood and raising her two sonsLearning to recognise when her body needs restExploring holistic practices alongside medical careSupporting parents and children with emotions and stressRachel also reflects on achievement, self-worth and why learning to listen to herself has become increasingly important. Her story is a reminder that finally receiving an answer does not necessarily resolve everything—and that starting again can take many different forms. About: Rachel Brown empowers mums not just to raise conscious, confident children but to work with them through energetic and spiritual practices, along with coaching, to help them work through and overcome difficult emotions and limiting beliefs, and to heal from generational trauma. She also provides conscious parenting support. Her journey includes battling a chronic illness in childhood, finding solace in music, and navigating the complexities of parenting two teenage boys, one with dyslexia. With a background in pharmacy, holistic therapies, and primary education, she is passionate about helping families navigate emotional challenges and discover their fullest potential. Connect at: FB Group, IG, Website We'd love to hear from you 🥰. Support the show ✔️ Like, Comment & Subscribe ✔️ Share with someone who needs this message ✔️ Leave a review on your podcast app ✔️ Subscribe and support here or here ☕ 🙏  Follow us for video clips and more: Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube

  5. Jul 10

    Staying Small, Trauma & Questioning Normal with Debbie Harrell

    Debbie Harrell grew up learning that the safest way to move through life was to stay quiet, responsible and unnoticed. In a home marked by emotional abuse and instability, she found refuge in school, work, friendships and the private space of her bedroom. Those early lessons followed her into adulthood. Debbie began recognising familiar dynamics in her relationships, while continuing to rely on hard work, independence and being useful to others. A spontaneous move to Catalina Island eventually gave her something different: a close-knit community, a place to raise her children and a stronger sense of belonging. However, a succession of events placed enormous pressure on that stability - loss, health and surviving the Route 91 mass shooting in Las Vegas. At first, she continued doing what she had always done: working, caring for others and carrying on. It was only later, after meeting with a PTSD specialist and eventually taking medical leave, that she began to recognise how much trauma she had accumulated long before the shooting. In this candid and often humorous conversation, Debbie discusses: Growing up with emotional abuse and learning to stay smallFinding belonging and raising her children on Catalina IslandRepeated relationship dynamics and the effects of earlier experiencesLosing her mother and grieving what their relationship had never beenSerious health complications during what she calls her “year of suck”Surviving the Route 91 mass shooting and its lasting effectsLosing her cousin to alcohol addictionRecognising accumulated trauma and finally taking medical leaveRethinking work, productivity and identity during the pandemicMoving into coaching, podcasting and peer supportQuestioning accepted ideas of what is “normal”Using practical grounding tools for anxiety and negative self-talkDebbie’s story is not defined by one traumatic event. It is about accumulation: how childhood experiences, relationships, grief, health, work and sudden crisis can build upon one another, and how their impact may only become clear years later. It is also about community, humour and learning that continuing to function is not always the same as being well. About Debbie Harrell: Debbie Harrell is a resilience and intentional living expert. As founder of New World Normal, she helps values-driven women break free from self-doubt and “shoulds” to design aligned lives that inspire change in the world around them. Connect at: Podcast, FB Community, IG, Website We'd love to hear from you 🥰. Support the show ✔️ Like, Comment & Subscribe ✔️ Share with someone who needs this message ✔️ Leave a review on your podcast app ✔️ Subscribe and support here or here ☕ 🙏  Follow us for video clips and more: Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube

  6. Jul 5 ·  Bonus

    What to Know About Kundalini Reiki with Michelle Nermerich

    Returning guest Michelle Nermerich joins me for a special episode focused on Kundalini Reiki — how she came to it, how it differs from Usui Reiki, and why preparation matters when working with kundalini energy. Michelle, a certified holistic practitioner, shares her experience with Kundalini Reiki attunements, chakra balancing, crystalline Reiki, past-life Reiki, and the different ways she uses energy work in her practice. In this episode, we talk about: Michelle’s path into Kundalini Reikithe difference between Kundalini Reiki and Usui Reikiwhat can happen during a kundalini awakeningwhy preparation, grounding, and guidance mattercrystalline Reiki, chakra balancing, and hands-on energy workdistance attunements and learning Reiki onlinehow energy work can affect the body, emotions, and intuitionsimple ways to begin noticing energy in your own handsThis conversation is for listeners who are curious about Reiki, energy healing, or the different forms of spiritual practice available today. It offers a grounded look at Kundalini Reiki, including both the possibilities and the need for care and discernment when exploring it. About:  After a major accident and an abusive relationship, Michelle Nermerich turned her personal healing journey into a mission to empower others. As a certified holistic practitioner, she combines sound healing, Kundalini Reiki, mindset practices, and mindful movement to help clients overcome their own obstacles. Today, she is dedicated to guiding people toward deep personal growth, inner peace, and lasting transformation. Connect at:  IG,  FB, Website We'd love to hear from you 🥰. Support the show ✔️ Like, Comment & Subscribe ✔️ Share with someone who needs this message ✔️ Leave a review on your podcast app ✔️ Subscribe and support here or here ☕ 🙏  Follow us for video clips and more: Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube

  7. Jun 30

    Leaving Control and Reclaiming the Body through Holistic Healing | Michelle Nermerich

    Certified Holistic Practitioner, Michelle Nermerich joins me from Canada to talk about identity, chronic pain, domestic abuse, and the healing practices that eventually became part of her work with others. Michelle’s story moves through several major turning points: growing up in a Catholic family with German heritage and being bullied because of that backgroundliving with undiagnosed dyslexia until the end of high schoolexperiencing childhood sexual assault and later having that experience validatedtraining in graphic design before a serious car accident changed what her body could managemoving into work as an aesthetician, then having to change direction again because of severe chemical allergiesspending 22 years in a relationship that began with love bombing and became controlling and abusiveliving with fibromyalgia, chronic pain, medication, brain fog and PTSDrebuilding through movement, strength training, breathwork, meditation, sound healing, tuning forks, Reiki and neurohealth practicesMichelle also talks about how she began exploring different tools first for herself, and how those practices now inform her work with clients through sound healing, breathwork, meditation, Reiki, chakra balancing massage, and holistic aesthetics. This conversation includes references to childhood sexual assault, domestic abuse, physical violence, suicidal thoughts, chronic pain, and alternative healing practices. Please listen with care and take what feels useful for you. This episode is not medical advice. It is a personal story about self-trust, rebuilding, and exploring different forms of support when life, health, and relationships force everything to change. About:  After a major accident and an abusive relationship, Michelle Nermerich turned her personal healing journey into a mission to empower others. As a certified holistic practitioner, she combines sound healing, Kundalini Reiki, mindset practices, and mindful movement to help clients overcome their own obstacles. Today, she is dedicated to guiding people toward deep personal growth, inner peace, and lasting transformation. Connect at:  IG,  FB, Website We'd love to hear from you 🥰. Support the show ✔️ Like, Comment & Subscribe ✔️ Share with someone who needs this message ✔️ Leave a review on your podcast app ✔️ Subscribe and support here or here ☕ 🙏  Follow us for video clips and more: Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube

  8. Jun 22

    From Grief and Infertility to Conscious Pregnancy with Ashley Holmes

    Ashley Holmes, a holistic fertility coach whose work grew out of her own experience with grief, unexplained infertility, motherhood, yoga, Ayurveda, and nervous system healing, joins me this week. Ashley grew up on a farm in a small Canadian town. After the sudden death of her older brother, her family life changed dramatically, and she later left Canada for New Zealand in search of a fresh start. That time abroad deepened her love of children and eventually led her to meet her husband. Years later, Ashley and her husband faced unexplained infertility. She shares what it was like to go through fertility testing, medication, emotional stress, and eventually become pregnant with twins. Ashley also talks about the practices that changed how she understood her body, thoughts, stress, and fertility. Through yoga, Ayurveda, meditation, Reiki, and trauma-informed work, she began to approach pregnancy in a more conscious and supported way. She later conceived her third child naturally, and those experiences now shape the way she supports women and couples navigating fertility challenges. This episode also looks at the loneliness many people feel while trying to conceive, why support is not always the same as advice, and how simply being listened to can make a real difference. We discuss: Ashley’s childhood in rural CanadaLosing her brother and carrying grief for yearsMoving to New Zealand and beginning againUnexplained infertility and fertility treatmentBecoming pregnant with twinsYoga, Ayurveda, Reiki, and trauma-informed supportConceiving her third child naturallyConscious pregnancy and nervous system supportThe loneliness of fertility strugglesHow friends and family can offer better supportYoga Nidra as a simple reset practiceAbout: Ashley Holmes is a Holistic Fertility Coach and spiritual guide who helps women reconnect with their inner wisdom to naturally conceive and heal. Drawing from Ayurveda, yoga philosophy, and energy medicine, she empowers clients to release limiting beliefs and embody wholeness. Her work is rooted in the understanding that true transformation begins from within - without needing to seek outside validation or authority. Connect at: FB, IG, FB Group, Website We'd love to hear from you 🥰. Support the show ✔️ Like, Comment & Subscribe ✔️ Share with someone who needs this message ✔️ Leave a review on your podcast app ✔️ Subscribe and support here or here ☕ 🙏  Follow us for video clips and more: Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube

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About

Behind every pivot, loss, career shift, trauma or reinvention is a story. Wisdom Without the Guru grew from my belief that growth is something we live, not something we’re taught from a pedestal. Through grounded, real-world conversations, I explore how people rebuild, adapt, and rediscover purpose after trauma, change and conflict — in work, health, relationships, and identity. My guests are coaches, authors, healers, social workers, therapists and everyday people who’ve turned lived experience into practical insight. Together, we look at what awareness, authenticity, and being human really mean when life gets complex.

Information

  • Creator
    Regina Sayer
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    66
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Wisdom Without The Guru
  • Show Website
    Wisdom Without The Guru