Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living Becca Piastrelli

In today’s episode, I am answering listener questions. Topics range from sharing my personal viewpoint on religion and spirituality, navigating different roles and jobs during my day and in my life and dive deep into circle-related questions too.
Tune in to hear more from me on:
The role religion and spirituality played during my upbringing and todayThe journey from my old-school DIY blogging days to my online work now, and how working with my hands was the pathway to exploring community and belongingNavigating different jobs and roles as a human being and practicing flexibilityKnowing when it’s time to let go and honoring the power of an ending when it comes to friendships - and also knowing when you’re witholding and taking responsibilityClaiming the term ‘circle’ and holding space for all peoplesHow circle needs to offer the opportunity for equality and the space for consent, also in the context of sharingResources + Links
Episode #125: Turning Circle Conflict into Deeper Intimacy With Ginny MuirEpisode #123: The Meaning of Time With Becca RichMy book, Root and Ritual: Timeless Ways to Connect to Land, Lineage, Community, and the SelfConnect with me on Instagram @beccapiastrelliTimestamps
[01:00] Do you practice any religions or spirituality?
[06:23] Your work used to be more focused on hands on elements and literal making. How do you still integrate that into your day to day life?
[11:24] How do you juggle/hold all of your different jobs and roles? Both big picture and like a “day in the life” type thing.
[14:55] How to know when to let a friendship go or how do you do it?
[18:23] Is it possible to start a successful circle with non-circley friends?
[22:05] Does it always have to be everyone shares? Other prompts for shyer or younger?

In today’s episode, I am joined by my friend Amelia Hruby. Amelia is a feminist author, educator, podcaster and founder of Softer Sounds podcast studio (who used to edit this podcast too!). I brought her onto the podcast today specifically because of her amazing podcast ‘Off the Grid’, which is a podcast for small business owners who want to leave social media without losing their clients.
Even if you don’t identify as a small business owner - there’s something about what Amelia shares about leaving social media in this episode that transcends it all and will leave you feeling inspired to explore your virtual presence.
Amelia opens up about the impact that leaving social media has had on her life and makes the beautiful connection between her patterns of anxious attachment and how that showed up in her virtual presence too.
Tune in to hear more from us on:
The loneliness that can arrive when leaving social mediaThe struggle of finding community outside of the virtual landscape and finding a sense of belonging without itThe need of being seen in this day and ageHow personal and emotional well-being can be so attached and influenced by our online presenceHow our seasonal and hormonal cycles can impact our relationship with social mediaHow the platforms are designed to lead us down a path of misinformation, toxic algorithms and capitalismResources + Links
Amelia Hruby’s podcast ‘Off the Grid’, her website AmeliaHruby.com and her podcasting studio Softer SoundsAmelia’s membership ‘The Interweb’, dedicated to support small business owners move their business off of social mediaThe Off the Grid episode with Nicole Antoinette: ‘How much is Enough: Money & Social Media’ membership ‘interweb’My book, Root and Ritual: Timeless Ways to Connect to Land, Lineage, Community, and the SelfConnect with me on Instagram @beccapiastrelliTimestamps
[0:00] Introduction [11:01] The Decision to Leave Social Media [13:16] Anxious Attachment to the Online Sphere [16:37] Life after Leaving Social Media [19:56] Creativity in Business w/o Social Media [20:56] Loneliness and Virtual Community [24:34] Running a Business outside of Social Media [27:27] Finding Community outside of Social Media [29:00] The Need to Feel Seen [36:44] Curation Online [40:40] Aggravation of Wounds of Belonging by Social Media [48:36] The Harmful Ways the Algorithm Preys Upon Vulnerabilities [52:46] The Impact of Culture and the Joy of the Internet [53:41] Bringing Intention, Awareness and Agency to the Virtual Landscape [54:16] Choosing a Different Path and Finding Liberation [54:55] Main Takeaways [56:36] Amelia’s Work and Offerings

It takes a deep initiation of need for care to get you to shed the layers of hyper individualism and show up as the village. In today’s episode, I get fired up about why the ones who are showing up and arriving on the doorstep with the soup are often the caregivers with a limited capacity themselves. I talk about my own journey with asking for and receiving support, experiencing the power of circle and council and navigating anger and cynicism along the way.
Tune in to hear more from me on:
– Caregivers with less capacity being the ones who show up
How it takes a deep initiation of need, usually having a child or experiencing a major loss or illness, to get you to this placeReleasing the fog of hyper individualismHow we need to replenish as keepers of the wellResisting the urge to become cynicalWeaving yourself into the missionResources + Links
Find out more about BEHELD, an intimate council of space holdersMy book, Root and Ritual: Timeless Ways to Connect to Land, Lineage, Community, and the SelfConnect with me on Instagram @beccapiastrelliTimestamps
[0:00] Introduction
[5:41] Initiation into Caregiving and Kinkeeping
[7:35] The Myth of Hyper Individualism
[8:36] Those Who Show Up for the Village are the Ones with the Least Capacity
[9:56] The Bottomless Pit of Need
[12:12] Creating Community and Circle
[16:48] Replenishing Yourself as Keeper of the Well
[18:26] Navigating Cynicism and Anger when Feeling Unsupported
[20:52] Weaving Yourself into the Mission
[21:20] Beheld Council Invitation
[23:05] Next Episode Preview

In today’s episode, I am joined by my dear friend Ginny Muir to talk about the longing for deep intimacy, the importance of healing in relationships, navigating rupture and repair in community and circle specifically. Ginny is an incredible spaceholder, medicine woman, witch, tantrika and so much more. Specifically, she has an incredible way of supporting relational conflict.
Rupture and repair is an innate way of being in community, and yet to so many of us this is absolutely terrifying. In this conversation, Ginny shows her amazing skills at supporting others through navigating conflict and we give real-life examples as to how we navigated conflict in circle before - and the tools that helped us work though it.
Tune in to hear more from us on:
How deep intimacy requires healing in relationships and a willingness to navigate conflictHow rupture and repair are essential for fostering deeper intimacy and growthHow conflict in friendship should be approached with the same openness and willingness to repair as conflict in romantic relationshipExamples of circle technologies, how they can help navigate moments of rupture and create a safe space for healingResources + Links
Find Ginny Muir on Instagram @ginnymuirFind out more about BEHELD, an intimate council of space holdersMy book, Root and Ritual: Timeless Ways to Connect to Land, Lineage, Community, and the SelfConnect with me on Instagram @beccapiastrelliTimestamps
[00:00]  Introducing Ginny Muir
[07:25] Longing for Deep Intimacy
[09:45] Healing in Relationships
[11:33] Wounds and Attachment
[14:29] The Process of Rupture and Repair
[15:55] Conflict in Friendship vs Romantic Relationships
[19:55] Embracing Polarity and Diversity in All Relationships
[24:37] Triggers as an Opportunity for Self Love
[25:51] Turning Conflict into Deeper Intimacy
[27:07] Navigating conflict through the Lens of the Nervous System
[28:11] Rupture and Repair in a Retreat
[38:29] Finding Safety in Circle
[41:35] Consciously created circles and communities
[43:05] The experience of Holding Space and Trusting the Unfolding of Ceremony
[46:40] Using Circle Technologies
[52:49] Learning from Experienced Teachers
[54:32] Receiving Support through Microdosing 🍄
[56:17] Journey to Scotland & Reconnecting with the Earth Ways on the Ancestral Land

A year ago, I almost completely gave up on my work. Emerging from the early years of motherhood and feeling my creative spark again, I felt motivated to get back into the deeper aspects of my sacred work.
So, in a flash of creative impulse, I announced a new program to the world in the place we announce things these days: on Instagram. It was received mostly with a good deal of excitement and interest, and…it was also received with some intense criticism - primarily in the form of snarky comments and DMs from complete strangers who were making a lot of assumptions about me. Assumptions without curiosity. Assumptions wrapped in judgment. Over a period of 72 hours, I received wave after wave of comments that felt challenging to hold on my own.
In this episode, I tell the story of grief, shame and how being in sacred council helped me heal and grow through this experience.
Tune in to hear more from me on:
The grief of feeling misunderstood and shamed in a parasocial format, which left me raw and confused.The divine timing of an in-person retreat with an intimate council of women space holders, and the cacao ceremony that held me at my most vulnerable.Emerging lighter and less bothered and leaving that retreat weekend with a renewed vision in the purpose and power of this work I do.Everything I learned from that rupture and the gratitude I feel now for what happened.The one thing that had me not throw in the towel and heal from this experience: being held in a sacred council.My own council BEHELD which is now open for enrollment again.Resources + Links
Find out more about BEHELD, an intimate council of space holdersMy book, Root and Ritual: Timeless Ways to Connect to Land, Lineage, Community, and the SelfConnect with me on Instagram @beccapiastrelliTimestamps
[0:00] Introduction [2:45] Sharing the story of almost giving up my sacred work after receiving criticism [9:23] The divine timing of an in-person retreat weekend [9:50] Unfurling during the cacao ceremony [12:06] The power of sacred councils [15:31] Continuing despite challenges and feeling tender [16:02] The offering it all started with and hosting it again [17:16] Join BEHELD - a sacred council for space holders

In today’s episode, I am joined by Becca Rich - a trauma-sensitive, certified holistic coach with a background in engineering and mindfulness, who teaches Holistic Time Management. In today’s episode, she shares with us her wisdom on the meaning of time, the role of control, how we can honor the cyclical nature of our bodies within our digital calendars and so much more. She also coaches me on the part that grief plays in experiencing loss of time and freedom, especially with having a child.
Tune in to hear more from us on:
The perspective on time that it is everything and that it is short but it is longTime anxiety and feelings of grief at the loss of time freedom with having childrenFinding satisfaction at the end of the day and embracing a digital calendar liberation practiceHow to deal with overcommitment and overwhelmThe importance of respecting our natural cycles and working with our bodies, minds, and spirits instead of forcing them into a rigid structureResources + Links
Becca Rich’s podcast Not Too Productive + website TheHolisticTimeCoach.com + Instagram @theholistictimecoachBecca’s Course: Digital Calendars for HumansBlogpost: A practical guide to applying your human design type to your scheduleBlogpost: Top 10 ADHD Time Management ToolsStephanie Burg’s episode on the Belonging Podcast #21 ‘Opting out of Linear Time’ and the book It’s About Time by Leslie KeenanNick North’s Instagram @wethenorthsMy book, Root and Ritual: Timeless Ways to Connect to Land, Lineage, Community, and the SelfConnect with me on Instagram @beccapiastrelliTimestamps
[00:00] Introducing Becca Rich and her work
[07:40] Understanding & shifting our relationship with the concept of time
[11:54] Navigating time in different life seasons
[19:08] Finding satisfaction at the end of the day
[20:50] Chasing productivity and overcoming disappointment
[28:48] Embracing a digital calendar liberation practice
[35:44] Creating a weekly template
[37:45] Calibrating the calendar with menstrual cycle
[42:45] Dealing with overcommitment and overwhelm
[44:55] Respecting the cycle
[45:53] Different Levels of time privilege
[46:23] Divesting from productivity hustle culture
[47:10] Healing ancestral stories for the future
[49:37] Life is short, but life is also long
[50:00] The spiritual component of time
[50:19] The simplicity of taking a breath