A five-time lifetime achievement award recipient, Mike Hoolboom and I speak about making films, zen, motherhood, Judy Rebick, and our internal barriers to creativity. This episode explores the question of 'how to work' as a creative being.Mike is a Canadian Filmmaker. 100+ film/vids. 20 features. 89 awards, 20 international retrospectives. 5-lifeti…

This is a short episode that focuses on learning how to develop a practice of caring for oneself, learning how to relate and connect to oneself and learning how to engage in this process of listening to ourselves. Emerset gives a helpful explanation of this process and what this looks like in his own life of practicing and engaging in mindfulness a…

Jay Tropianskaia, Registered Psychotherapist, Director of Training and the Senior Faculty of the Gestalt Institute of Toronto, Canada, has practiced as a Gestalt psychotherapist for the past 28 years. In this special interview, we speak about the process of feeling more alive and present with the world around us.We also speak about the current stat…

“Why do we have writing as human beings? It’s to express, to communicate and to design other future possibilities”. C.K.Celeste Kirsh is a former middle school teacher. She's the host of the most excellent podcast called Teaching Tomorrow (https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/teaching-tomorrow-podcast/id1433809331), and she is a first-year Ph.D. s…

Carmelinda Di Manno ( www.carmelindadimanno.com ) speaks about her path to yoga and rituals of self-care. She's a practitioner of Emotional Freedom Technique and is a conscious DJ having taught and practiced all around the world. In this episode, we speak about practices that support anxiety and movement of energy.Note: It is ok to not have a pract…

Emerset Farquharson speaks about the body and the mind and how the body and the mind support each other. We are talking about the body and the mind working with each other rather than two parts fighting against each other. In this candid interview, Emerset shares his journey to this new perspective. This short episode is the inspiration for this se…

Dr. Sechaba Maape is a returning guest lecturer on this podcast season. He is the founder of https://www.afreetekture.com/, a ‘parallel design practice’. Dr Maape established Afreetekture as an alternative experimental practice aimed at producing architecture and other designs based on the philosophical and theoretical framework derived from his 10…

This podcast season is about presence and the many ways we can come into a fuller connection with ourselves and our communities. How do we experience presence? What are the practices that allow us to reconnect with ourselves? Why are we buzzing so much? Why is it so difficult for us to be present? And what kind of patterns are we creating from this…

Dr. Sechaba Maape is an architect and senior lecturer at the Wits School of Architecture and Planning. After completing his Master of Architecture (professional degree) he went on to undertake a PhD in architecture. His thesis explored people/place relationships, ritual and climate change adaptation among pre historic indigenous communities in Kuru…

We are told that practicing paying attention can change our lives.An interesting question can be what ways are we more grounded and open to change as a a result of being aware.Music by Ronin ImperialProduction and editing by Emerset Farquharson.Visit us www.bigtreemind.comBy Lana Lontos

Mike started making films in the 1980s as a daily practice. He is a five-time lifetime achievement award recipient. Mike Hoolboom, discusses his journey to making films and what he has learned along the way about praise, encouragement and feedback. Available on all podcast platforms: www.lanalontos.com/podcastThis interview was recorded in Toronto …

In this episode, Lana and Paul talk about what it means to have a daily practice and how we find ourselves in places of resistance. Paul Lara has been meditating for twenty years and has had a Tai Chi, Qi Gong and Reiki practice for over 15 years. He talks about his days of study in Japan and how his practice has changed since starting a family. Av…

In this episode of the BigTreeMind podcast, Paul Lara and Lana talk about their practices and what it means to be a better human. We also talk about the wise use of sexual energy, student-teacher dynamics and intimacy. Available on all podcast platforms: www.lanalontos.com/podcastThis episode would not be possible without the support of Fitzroy Fac…

This episode takes a slower and more detailed pace in discussing the relational approach to therapy, and communication. Tony Greco, a former faculty member at Gestalt Institute of Toronto, and a long time therapist, shares tips on skills we need to be good therapists and why communication can feel so hard and confusing. Lana Lontos shares her perso…

Season 1 | Episode 1: The BigTreeMind podcast series serves as a source of information and inspiration to those of us that wish to do our work with integrity and purpose and wish to leave a positive impact. A young leader in Toronto, Kiana Rookz Eastmond of Sandbox studios, talks about what it takes to make it in the music industry. We discuss some…