In this very special episode of Lucid Cafe, I celebrate the long-awaited release of my new book, Raven’s Daughter: The Story Keeper. After years of dreaming, writing, and behind-the-scenes work, publication day is finally here.

Joining me is my brilliant and hilarious friend Claire Wheeler, who helps me unpack the story, themes, and inspiration behind the book. This is the first time I’m speaking about Raven’s Daughter out loud in any real depth, so it’s part book talk, part soul share — with a few meandering moments along the way.

We explore some of the book’s deeper currents, including our complicated relationship with deception, the influence of artificial intelligence, and our growing disconnection from the natural world. Though it’s a work of fiction, Raven’s Daughter offers an imaginative lens for reflecting on the challenges of our time.

In this conversation, Claire and Wendy discuss:

• The inspiration for Raven's Daughter
• Deception
• How do you know what's true?
• Terror management theory
• The three realities described in the book
• The story's shamanic influence

For more information about Raven's Daughter or to purchase a copy, visit Three Worlds Press

Listen to some absurd and unhelpful nonsense Inside the Box with Claire and Wendy podcast

BECOME YOUR OWN SHAMAN Introductory Online Course

Visit Wendy’s website to learn more about the the Harmonic Egg®

Lucid Cafe episodes by topic

Listen to Lucid Cafe on YouTube

In this episode, I sit down with the passionate Alanna Kaivalya to explore the lost — yet ever-present — power of the feminine. While modern women have more freedom than ever to shape our lives and careers, many of us still measure success through a masculine lens, chasing goals and strategies that don’t reflect our deepest desires.

This conversation is not about rejecting the masculine, but about reclaiming the feminine — the intuitive, connective, and compassionate energy that too often gets sidelined. Alanna, a bestselling author and spiritual teacher, shares insights from her new book The Way of the Satisfied Woman, a powerful guide for anyone seeking an alternative path to fulfillment.

Together, we discuss how embracing the feminine can liberate us from burnout, invite greater ease, and reconnect us with what matters most: meaningful relationships, inner peace, and authentic expression.

Alanna Kaivalya, PhD is a bestselling author, educator, thought leader, and expert on mythology, spirituality, psychology, and women’s empowerment. The author of Sacred Sound and Myths of the Asanas, she earned a doctorate in mythological studies with an emphasis in depth psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute and is the host of The Satisfied Woman podcast.

In this conversation, Alanna discusses:

• What defines femininity
• Why connecting with the femininity is more important than ever
• What models of satisfaction look like for the modern woman
• How women don't realize how minimized and oppressed they are
• The definition of "satisfaction"
• Her run-in with facebook
• Masculinity and feminity
• Curating your life
• Four keys to a satisfied life
• Relearning how to interact
• Trust
• The habit of apologizing

Visit Alanna's website
Listen to The Satisfied Woman podcast
________

Listen to some absurd and unhelpful nonsense Inside the Box with Claire and Wendy podcast

BECOME YOUR OWN SHAMAN Introductory Online Course

Visit Wendy’s website to learn more about the the Harmonic Egg®

Lucid Cafe episodes by topic

Listen to Lucid Cafe on YouTube

In this episode we explore the magic of writing and the power of telling your story. My guest Nancy Slonim Aronie wants you to know that writing is not an exclusive club, that everyone has a really good story to tell. And usually not just one. In her new book Seven Secrets to the Perfect Personal Essay she writes “Essay writing is personal. Sharing what you think about a certain topic is risky. Especially if what you think is not what everyone else thinks.”

Nancy Slonim Aronie is the founder of the Chilmark Writing Workshop on Martha’s Vineyard and the author of Memoir as Medicine and Writing from the Heart. A regular commentator for NPR’s All Things Considered, Aronie has taught at Harvard University and conducted writing workshops and lectures at Kripalu, Omega, Esalen, Rowe Conference Center, Wainwright House, and the Open Center in New York City.

In this episode, Nancy discusses:

• Creativity is its many forms
• The healing power of the personal essay
• The mystery and magic of writing
• How everyone is a writer
• Being vulnerable
• The importance of feeling safe when writing and sharing your writing
• Writing workshops

To learn more about Nancy and her workshops, please visit https://chilmarkwritingworkshop.com/

________

BECOME YOUR OWN SHAMAN Introductory Online Course

Visit Wendy’s website to learn more about the the Harmonic Egg®

“Gifts and Tools to Explore and Celebrate the Unseen Worlds” - The Lucid Path Boutique

Lucid Cafe episodes by topic

Listen to Lucid Cafe on YouTube

Does what goes around, really come back around? Do you reap what you sow? My guest Mordy Levine, who along with his coauthor, Lama Lhanang Rinpoche, recently released the book The Beginner’s Guide to Karma: How to Live with Less Negativity and More Peace. In this episode Mordy explains the role that the universal law of cause and effect, or karma, plays in our lives and how to use this understanding to create a positive path forward.

“Learning about karma will help us understand why we are experiencing this contentiousness so broadly and deeply,” write Rinpoche and Levine. “But more important, understanding karma will allow us reduce anger and division among ourselves, our community, our country, and the world.”

Lama Lhanang Rinpoche and Mordy Levine are the authors of The Beginner’s Guide to Karma. Lama Lhanang Rinpoche was born in the Amdo region of historic Tibet and received a traditional monastic education and later studied under several respected Tibetan lamas. Today, he teaches Vajrayana Buddhism at the Jigme Lingpa Center in San Diego, California. Mordy Levine is an entrepreneur, meditation teacher, and the president of the Jigme Lingpa Center. He also created the Meditation Pro Series, a meditation program designed to alleviate chronic health issues.

In this episode, Mordy discusses:

• The definition of karma
• What karma is and what it isn’t
• The three consequences
• Looking at motivation
• The connection between action and thought
• Meditation as a tool for awareness
• Escaping our own prisons
• What led him to practice Buddhism
• Managing frustration
• Heavy and light karma
• Sociopathy and psychopathy
• Buddha nature
• What care about karma?

The Jigme Lingpa Center website

Mordy’s website

________

BECOME YOUR OWN SHAMAN Introductory Online Course

Visit Wendy’s website to learn more about the the Harmonic Egg®

“Gifts and Tools to Explore and Celebrate the Unseen Worlds” - The Lucid Path Boutique

Lucid Cafe episodes by topic

Listen to Lucid Cafe on YouTube

This seems like one of the more important episodes I’ve released since the podcast started back in 2018. My guest Dr Janine Oliver is a clinical psychologist who has expertise in social media, reality TV, and critical thinking. In this episode we discuss her research, its implications and practical ways to take care of your amazingly resilient brain.

Janine is a Cognitive Psychologist and Licensed Clinical Social Worker who, in addition to working with clients in her Philadelphia area practice, offers professional presentations and specialized consulting regarding her research. She is also the author of the book The Anxiety Cure: Practical DRUG-FREE Ways to RE-WIRE Your Brain.

In this episode, Janine discusses:

• Her background and what inspired her research
• What critical thinking is
• Mirror neurons
• The impact of regular social media and reality TV exposure
• Neuroplasticity
• Cultural impact
• Real world examples of the impact
• Ages effected
• Stages of brain development
• Practical solutions
• Dopamine and human connection
• Boredom
• (And then wendy pretends she knows what she’s talking about re: consciousness!)

Janine’s website

________

BECOME YOUR OWN SHAMAN Introductory Online Course

Visit Wendy’s website to learn more about the the Harmonic Egg®

“Gifts and Tools to Explore and Celebrate the Unseen Worlds” - The Lucid Path Boutique

Lucid Cafe episodes by topic

Listen to Lucid Cafe on YouTube

Have you ever wanted to create change? Or unapologetically chase your dreams? Yet for some reason you stop before you ever get started? Do you ever feel stretched in so many different directions that it feels like you’ve lost your creative spark? My guest Becca Powers wants to empower you to unleash your potential and become everything you were meant to be. In this episode we discuss her new book A Return to Radiance: The POWER Method to Ignite Your Soul and Unleash Your Potential and the creative ways she helps people to get unstuck.

Becca has been referred to as the female Tony Robbins, is a renowned keynote speaker and the visionary Founder of Powers Peak Potential, a leading keynote and training company specializing in mindset mastery for high performers. From her humble beginnings as a minimum-wage Dollar Store employee to an award-winning, 20-year career as a Fortune 500 sales executive, Becca has perfected her expertise in empowering senior leaders and high-performance teams to unlock their full potential through her proprietary methodology, The POWER Method.

In this episode Becca discusses:

• What the word radiance means to her
• Un-potential
• Her early exposure to living a radiant life
• How she lost her radiance
• The five pillars of The Power Method
• Finding ways to both survive and live your radiance
• Looking to your early life for clues
• Selfishness
• Meaning making
• How finding meaning can deepen your connections with others
• Finding your purpose
• The importance of values
• Activating your personal power

Becca’s website: https://www.beccapowers.com/

________

BECOME YOUR OWN SHAMAN Introductory Online Course

Visit Wendy’s website to learn more about the the Harmonic Egg®

“Gifts and Tools to Explore and Celebrate the Unseen Worlds” - The Lucid Path Boutique

Lucid Cafe episodes by topic

Listen to Lucid Cafe on YouTube

With all the external noise vying for our attention these days, it’s easy to forget that we have access to a wealth of wisdom within each of us and beyond. My guest Happy Ali shares easy techniques that work on every level of intuition starting with hunches, precognition, and dream analysis and building to direct communication with a multidimensional level of intelligence that is always available. Happy’s clear explanations and insightful guidance, combined with inspiring true stories from his own and others’ direct experiences, demystifies the intuitive process and makes it accessible to all.

Happy Ali is the author of The Intuition Bible: How and Why to Tap Into Your Inner Wisdom. With a BA degree in psychology from UCLA, he is a prophetic dreamer, certified master NLP practitioner, certified master clinical hypnotherapist, and host of the Happy Insights podcast. Happy’s spiritual journey began in 1995 when he dedicated his life to the exploration of metaphysical disciplines after a near-death experience inspired a dramatic awakening.

In this episode, Happy discusses:

• What intuition is
• Differentiating between true intuitive guidance and wishful thinking
• The benefits of not always getting it right
• Acceptance
• His prophetic dream experiences
• The evolutionary challenge of accessing intuition
• The “yes” or “no” technique
• How your agenda can get in the way
• Inner world
• Group coaching and online courses he offers

Happy’s website

________

BECOME YOUR OWN SHAMAN Introductory Online Course

Visit Wendy’s website to learn more about the the Harmonic Egg®

“Gifts and Tools to Explore and Celebrate the Unseen Worlds” - The Lucid Path Boutique

Lucid Cafe episodes by topic

Listen to Lucid Cafe on YouTube

This episode might surprise you. I had no idea until I spoke with my guest Bruce Fertman that the way we’ve unconsciously learned to walk is actually doing us a disservice. In fact, most of us are making it harder than it needs to be. In this episode we discuss Bruce and his coauthor Michael J. Gelb’s new book Walking Well: A New Approach for Experiencing Comfort and Vitality in Every Step; a helpful guide that’s chock full of secrets, advice, and guidance on walking with pleasure, power, poise, and peace.

Bruce Fertman brings sixty years of study as a movement artist and educator to his work, having trained in gymnastics, modern dance, ballet, contact improvisation, the Alexander Technique, tai chi chuan, aikido, chanoyu (Japanese tea ceremony), Argentine tango, and kyudo (Zen archery). For the past thirty years Fertman has taught in Europe, Asia, and the Americas helping people experience the interconnectedness of physical and spiritual life.

In this episode Bruce discusses:

• How walking can be more than exercise
• Walking as a metaphor
• “Sleep walking” your way through life
• How walking can help you increase your awareness of your body
• Developing a new relationship with your body
• Walking and breathing
• Walking for inspiration
• Myths about walking
• Walking for vitality
• Tips on how to walk well
• Walking with “bear” feet
• Walking shoulder to shoulder
• Walking for transformation
• The connection between sitting, standing and walking

Bruce and Michael’s website: Walking Well

________

BECOME YOUR OWN SHAMAN Introductory Online Course: Learn More

Visit Wendy’s website to learn more about the Harmonic Egg® / Ellipse®

“Gifts and Tools to Explore and Celebrate the Unseen Worlds” - The Lucid Path Boutique

Lucid Cafe episodes by topic

Listen to Lucid Cafe on YouTube