Stories from the Heart - The Weekly Service Podcast The Weekly Service

Michelle Morgan has spent years building a creative practice and career in art therapy, and she now works in something called clinical pastoral care - offering emotional and spiritual support to patients in two major Melbourne hospitals
Today Michelle shares stories of moments of showing up with people in hospital, and also for herself, through creativity. She sees creativity as a spiritual practice, and believes that it can help us all feel more connected with ourselves, with others, and something beyond.
This service was curated by Weekly Service member Sam Shaw. As part of her story Michelle shared some images of mandalas she created during of a year-long daily art practice. You can see some of these images at www.theweeklyservice.org/stories

Mash Quereshi is a Pakistani-born rapper and MC inspiring hope in people's hearts. Mash's early years were a lesson in impermanence as he moved between Pakistan and Australia, and changed schools often. When he was older he decided to  go abroad on his own terms, travelling to Vietnam to teach English, and it’s here that he sets today’s story, telling the tale of his paradoxical quest to capture - once and for all - the importance of change in his life.

Ornob Sheikh is an artist, musician and deep feeling human, who grew up in Bangladesh surrounded by a large supportive family. He is also one of our Bards for this season and his story today is interwoven with him playing his beautiful instrument, the Sarod.
It was only when Ornob moved to Melbourne in 2014 that he realized how rich in connection his childhood had been. He moved from Dhaka, rated one of the world’s least livable cities, to Melbourne which at the time held the top spot. While Melbourne has all the mod cons of life, including buses that come to a full stop to let passangers on – Ornob was not prepared for how lonely he felt. 
He realized that material privilege often comes with a cost, that of connection, and he became curious about how loneliness affects others, and what we can do to cultivate connections in the big smoke.

Harley Hefford is a drama teacher who today's curator Eike describes as the most creative person he knows. Harley talks about why he thinks everybody is innately creative, how play might be useful in darker times, and how he brings imagination into his daily life, and overcomes creative blocks. Join Harley in this exploration of imagination as a multi-tool.

Valerie Albrecht has spent a lifetime building bridges.

Trained as a speech pathologist, she began to feel that the Western medical model was missing a lot, and she set off to find out how she could really be of service to whole humans.

This journey took her to study yoga and other eastern healing arts, as well as learning from, and being of service to, Indigenous communities, and drawing on the power of storytelling to heal and connect us. Valerie is in conversation with Weekly Service member Katy Mixter.

 Uncle Peltherre Chris Tomlins is an Arrente elder who carries the message that “now is the time for all Australians to come together and begin the healing" - but first we need truth. Today he generously shares stories from his family, and talks about his yarning circles where non-Indigenous people can sit and listen to elders talk about the realities of colonisation, its ongoing impact and how we might come together and heal as a nation. 

The next yarning circle is planned for late September near Alice Springs.