This Radically Alive Women Edgecast conversation between Julia Neumann and Ellen Appleton explores “mother graduation,” the transition from actively mothering children to relating to them as independent adults.

Ellen describes her deep identification with motherhood, including two wanted pregnancies, and speaks to the innate wisdom, love, and intensity she experienced as a mother. The discussion highlights how motherhood is often undervalued by society and how lack of support for pregnant women and mothers can contribute to generational trauma. Ellen shares that parenting involves repeated separations and describes the particular pain of letting her son enter manhood without clear, emotionally supportive models of masculinity, including her anger at patriarchal systems that encourage men to shut down feelings.

She explains that mother graduation does not mean abandoning children, but completing the separation, cutting energetic ties, and shifting into being an elder—standing behind adult offspring rather than in front of them.

Ellen details her own year-plus process involving emotional healing, grieving, and group work with other mothers, with a ceremony as a culminating celebration. She notes improvements in her relationship with her son, discusses her request for her adult children to call her “Ellen” rather than “mom,” and reflects on reclaiming her identity and energy beyond motherhood to give back to the wider community.

Ellen offers initial guidance for mothers with children 18+ to make graduation a conscious topic, clearly hand responsibility back to their children, allow different timing for different children, and seek support, including coaching.

*We’re passionate about bringing these conversations to you and would love your help to keep them going. Please consider supporting us by making a one-time contribution through ⁠www.radicallyalivewomen.com/invest, or joining our membership with a monthly subscription at ⁠https://www.radicallyalivewomen.com/edgecast/edgecast-membership-sign-up/.

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Your support makes all the difference in continuing this work. Thank you!*

For more information:

Contact Ellen Appleton

On Mother Graduation

Shalane Hopkins went on an extraordinary adventure: she walked the 3,000-kilometer Te Araroa trail in New Zealand in 2010, just before its official opening, and came through Christchurch around the time of the earthquake.

In this honest conversation with Julia Neumann, Shalane shares her experiences, motivations, and what led her to stay in New Zealand and become a Kiwi citizen. The conversation delves into Shalane's personal growth journey, discussing her transformation from a people pleaser to someone who embraces her courage and authenticity. She talks about the importance of intuition, overcoming obstacles, and the lessons she learned while writing her book, 'One Step at a Time,' which chronicles her trail journey and is set for release on 10 February 2026.

The episode touches on themes of resilience, personal empowerment, intergenerational healing, seeking support, and how life's challenges can lead to profound self-discovery.

If you enjoyed this conversation or have other feedback for us, please email to: radicallyalivewomen@gmail.com.

*We’re passionate about bringing these conversations to you and ask for your help to keep them going. Please consider supporting us by making a one-time contribution through ⁠www.radicallyalivewomen.com/invest, or joining our membership with a monthly subscription at ⁠https://www.radicallyalivewomen.com/edgecast/edgecast-membership-sign-up/.

You can follow us on your favourite podcast platform and leave a rating to help others discover these conversations too!

Your support makes all the difference in continuing this work. Thank you!*

For more information:

Shalane Hopkins, shalanehopkins.com

Te Araroa Trail, newzealand.com/nz/feature/te-araroa-trail/

Julia Neumann, julia-neumann.com

Radically Alive Women, radicallyalivewomen.com

Yael Deckelbaum is a platinum award-winning Israeli/Canadian singer songwriter and an activist for peace, and especially well known for her song “Prayer Of The Mothers”, written in 2016 to support the Women Wage Peace Movement: a song for the movement of Palestinian and Israeli mothers walking together for change and peace. You hear its tune at the beginning of the episode. Shared by millions, it inspired and keeps inspiring women across the globe to get together and take action.

This episode is a powerful and deep conversation between Yael Deckelbaum and Julia Neumann. Yael talks with vulnerability about her journey in the last 10 years since she wrote Prayer Of The Mothers, and how she went inwards to peel deep layers on what it means to be a woman. She shares her inner quest about the meaning of peace, and how she discovered that peace is an idea that cannot exist without people looking inwards and healing their core wounds.

Yael and Julia open up on:

• what it means to be a woman;

• women’s true leadership, from a place of love, vulnerability and connection with spirit, but without suppressing fear and denying their humanity;

• the key things for the women's revolution to happen, including women tapping into their own spiritual power;

• how women’s language is inclusive for all life and very different to patriarchal language that is based on and creates war;

• how women’s voices have been censured for generations and the importance of women connecting with their true voice.

Yael shares how she uses singing and praying as a tool to speak her truth and encourages all women to connect with their true voice. She believes that change will be possible if women can speak in a real way. Besides using the voice, she shares other paths for transformation and healing and suggests reaching out to other wise women, like Marlee Wolf, the founder of Sovereign Ground Institute: sovereigngroundinstitute.com

* We’re passionate about bringing these conversations to you and would love your help to keep them going. Please consider supporting us by making a one-time contribution through ⁠www.radicallyalivewomen.com/invest, or joining our membership with a monthly subscription at ⁠https://www.radicallyalivewomen.com/edgecast/edgecast-membership-sign-up/.

You can follow us on your favourite podcast platform and leave a rating to help others discover these conversations too!

Your support makes all the difference in continuing this work. Thank you! *

Music: Prayer of the Mothers, by Yael Deckelbaum

Women of the World Unite, album by Yael Deckelbaum

Marlee Wolf, ⁠sovereigngroundinstitute.com⁠

Julia Neumann, julia-neumann.com

Radically Alive Women, radicallyalivewomen.com

Nicola Hearn is a woman that walks the edge between mainstream culture, activism, and advocacy for societal change. With a background in technology, she was the heart behind Third Space Canteen, a social enterprise promoting food culture.

In July 2025, one of her Instagram reels went viral in which she calls out greed and profit-orientation and calls in collaboration for societal change.

Listen in for a radically alive, authentic and vulnerable conversation with Julia Neumann, in which Nicola shares about her journey of self-discovery and activism. Nicola speaks about her experiences with patriarchy, capitalism, and the unique struggles women face in these environments. She emphasizes the importance of collaboration, authenticity, and mutual support, as well as the need for systemic change to create a more equitable society and to ensure a better future for our children. Nicola also offers practical advice for women looking to find and speak their own truths.

*We’re passionate about bringing these conversations to you and appreciate your help to keep them going. Please consider supporting us by making a one-time contribution through ⁠www.radicallyalivewomen.com/invest, or joining our membership with a monthly subscription at www.radicallyalivewomen.com/edgecast/edgecast-membership-sign-up.

You can follow us on your favourite podcast platform and leave a rating to help others discover these conversations too!

Your support makes all the difference in continuing this work. Thank you!*

00:00 Introduction and Welcome

00:11 Discovering Nicola Hearn

03:08 Challenging Capitalism and Patriarchy

03:40 Personal Pain and Misogyny

05:58 The Need for Societal Change

07:08 Finding a New Path

11:08 Internalized Patriarchy

19:02 Inspiration and Collaboration

25:42 Understanding Your Role in a Team

26:59 The Power of Collective Change

27:31 The Rise of Feminine Energy

28:32 Struggles and Societal Pressures

29:35 The Turning Point: Speaking Out

34:41 Harnessing Anger for Change

38:44 Envisioning a Better World

43:22 Practical Advice for Personal Growth

Further information:

Nicola Hearn on Instagram,

www.instagram.com/we_are_all_winners/

Third Space Canteen,

www.instagram.com/thirdspacecanteen/

Radically Alive Women website,

www.radicallyalivewomen.com

Julia Neumann

www.julia-neumann.com

Melissa McGregor is the creatress of Nature School in Mangawhai, in the North Island of New Zealand.

This conversation dives into the personal inspirations that led to this creation. We also talk about what has evolved over the years and the current results of bringing feelings work into the mix.

Melissa is passionate about encouraging others to get started. If this is something you are thinking about, please get in touch!

"Nature School family support continues to unfold. Melissa's next step is to make irresistable offers of extraordinary parent evenings and listening spaces for parents at drop-off. These offers have come about as parents have asked for more information and support in learning the feeling and communication skills that their children are taking home - four feeling check-ins, completion loops, asking clearly for what they want, saying No and Yes and speaking up without taking responsibility for others' feelings. Melissa has been sharing the legends of children's learning with the parents for over a year. Now it's the parents turn. Exciting."

Support this work: We’re passionate about bringing these conversations to you and would love your help to keep them going. Please consider supporting us with a one-time contribution at ⁠⁠www.radicallyalivewomen.com/invest⁠⁠, or by joining our membership community with a monthly subscription at ⁠⁠www.radicallyalivewomen.com/membership⁠⁠.

You can also follow us on your favourite podcast platform and leave a rating to help others discover these conversations. Your support makes all the difference — thank you!

More information:

Melissa McGregor: mangawhai.nature@gmail.com

Hannah Abouzahrah: https://hannahabouzahrah.wixsite.com/possibilitycoach

Birgit Frank has been researching money for over two decades and brings a fresh and playful energy into a topic that is as hidden from everyday conversations as is initmate relating. And yet - it is our relationship we have with and towards money that enables change how we allow money to flow.

In this episode Birgit shares with us the concept of the Money Being - a community tool which brings connection and if applied to life through feminine qualitites it provides for enough resources for everybody.

Support this work: We’re passionate about bringing these conversations to you and would love your help to keep them going. Please consider supporting us with a one-time contribution at ⁠www.radicallyalivewomen.com/invest⁠, or by joining our membership community with a monthly subscription at ⁠www.radicallyalivewomen.com/membership⁠.

You can also follow us on your favourite podcast platform and leave a rating to help others discover these conversations. Your support makes all the difference — thank you!

More information:

Birgit Frank - www.rolfer.in

Annika Korsten - www.annikakorsten.org

In this episode of Radically Alive Women Edgecast, Charlotte Chalkley speaks of her journey and the creation of the "Orchard" project at SOMOS on Tenerife. SOMOS is an Archan Invention Centre, for people to go from survival to creation, to discover who they are and their purpose.

The Orchard project is rooted in the principles of being over doing, and aims to reconnect with Gaia through conscious feelings and presence. Charlotte shares her experiences with spaceholding in a feminine way and the transformational power of deeply listening to the earth before moving into action. She emphasises the value of emotional healing and listening to Gaia's wisdom.

The conversation concludes with insights on how listeners can begin their own journey of connecting with nature and being guided by their innate impulses.

More information:

SOMOS land, https://somos.land/

Radically Alive Women, www.radicallyalivewomen.com

Julia Neumann, www.julia-neumann.com

⁠Veit Lindau is a grounded visionary, idealistic business punk, and psycho-social reformer who defies all boxes. With over three decades as a renowned German coach, trainer, mentor, and author, Veit’s work is a wake-up call to those who sense that the rehearsals are over, personally and collectively.

In this rich conversation with Julia Neumann, sparked by his new book “Stunde der Wahrheit” (Moment of Truth, out November 2025), Veit speaks about the miracle of life, consciousness, and the art of walking the razor’s edge between light and darkness within ourselves.

He explores what it means to be truly alive today, the importance of repeatedly questioning the existing, and recognising the miracle within each of us. Veit also reflects on preparing oneself spiritually for future challenges, integrating masculine and feminine qualities, embracing chaos, and the potential for a conscious human evolution.

Through personal anecdotes and deep insights, he invites listeners to reconnect with their intrinsic cosmic intuition and spirituality.

Themes include: dancing with death, living prayer, stillness and feeling, male and female qualities, burnout, tenderness, and the potential of humanity in times of challenge.

“If humanity wants to have a chance, female qualities will save our ass.” — Veit Lindau

Support this work:
We’re passionate about bringing these conversations to you and would love your help to keep them going. Please consider supporting us with a one-time contribution at www.radicallyalivewomen.com/invest, or by joining our membership community with a monthly subscription at www.radicallyalivewomen.com/membership.

You can also follow us on your favourite podcast platform and leave a rating to help others discover these conversations. Your support makes all the difference — thank you!

More information:

Veit Lindau, ⁠https://veitlindau.com⁠

More on Veit's new book "Stunde der Wahrheit" (Moment of Truth, in German), ⁠www.homodea.com/now⁠

Veit's courses and community, ⁠www.nova.homodea.com⁠

Radically Alive Women, www.radicallyalivewomen.com

Julia Neumann, www.julia-neumann.com