8. Ali Heppell - Birth, Death and Non-Psychedelic Altered States

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/