Becoming Whole – The podcast

You can listen to the podcast here: Acast

The “Becoming Whole ­– The Art of Inner Transformation” podcast is hosted by

Karima Eames, a holistic therapist, author and passionate seeker of truth.

Her passion is to make this world a better place. 

For the past 34 years, she has been working with people on inner transformation. 

She has taken her learnings and written a new book

“Becoming Whole – The Art of Inner Transformation”. 

This book is packed with tried and tested tools and stories. 

And now in this podcast, she will invite clients and friends to share

how they have applied these tools to transform their lives.

Episode 1: Introduction 

In this episode, I will talk a bit about myself, my background and my path.

I will give an overview of the tools in the book and the purpose of this podcast.

Episode 2: My guest today is Dean

In this episode, I am talking to Dean, a business owner from Sydney in his mid-forties.

He has worked with me for many years and he will share his insights

on honesty in therapy and listening to inner guidance.

Episode 3: My guest today is Helen Padarin

https://helenpadarin.com

Helen is an award-winning naturopath and nutritionist with 20 years of clinical experience.

She is a published author, public speaker and an advocate for empowering

individuals, families and organisations to find joy in living and being well.  

Helen’s personal and professional journey has been intimately intertwined

as much of her own personal journey has been what has guided her professional career,

and likewise, she learns so much from her patients and clients. 

She is passionate about bringing awareness to the connection between physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellbeing.  

Above all, she values a sense of curiosity, compassion and adventure in her own personal journey

as well as encouraging those values in others for their own journeys.  

Much of Helen’s clinical practice centres around reconnection to self, each other and nature

to achieve renewed states of wellbeing.

I have known Helen for about 18 years.

From being a client in the early days, she has become a close and trusted friend.

We had a great conversation including the following topics:

• healthy boundaries

• transforming hatred into stillness

• putting the mind into the passenger seat   

• the body and emotions are an antenna

• repa(i)renting the inner child

• her personal description of states of true nature

Her tip for the listener:

Shaking to release tension

Episode 4: My guest today is Kylie Hennessy

https://balanceyogaglebe.com.a...

Kylie has had a lifelong passion for healing and science.

After completing studies in biochemistry and chemistry, she was led to explore

Eastern approaches to healing including yoga and meditation, Taoism, shiatsu and Chinese medicine.

She is a yoga teacher, yoga therapist and teacher trainer with special interests in women’s health and trauma recovery.

I have known Kylie for more than 2 decades. 

She has become a close friend of mine and I lovingly call her a "walking heart". 

A cute moment in our conversation was her recalling the question she asked her mum as a child:

'When will you teach me my magical powers?'

We covered a vast range of topics in our rich conversation including:

• The importance of maps for the inner world

• The body doesn’t lie

• Qualities of the heart like acceptance, compassion, unconditional love and patience are key to healing

• The difference between ‘thinking about a feeling’ or ‘feeling a feeling’

• Wounds arise when we are ready for them

• Exquisite peace can be found in the core of a terrifying black hole

• The compass of joy as a tool of inner guidance

• Harmony is an intrinsic element of true nature

• Alchemy is real in the inner world

Her tip for the listener:

Cultivate the heart through kindness

Episode 5 on being an emotional alpha male

My guest today is Andrew Robertson

https://twentysixgroup.com.au

Andrew is a 53-year-old father and businessman.

He is an ex-rugby league player and bodybuilder who has been confused all his life

with being an emotional alpha male.

Andrew is the typical gladiator/footballer’s build.

When people see Andrew, they wouldn’t think of him as someone who sits on a therapist’s couch

sharing his emotions and being vulnerable.

I hope his interview will inspire other men to do inner work.

Here are the themes we covered:

• His background as a strong alpha male taught him: ’you have the size, you must be tough and rough’,

yet he discovered it is a strength not wanting to fight

• Learning to sit with discomfort and pain

• The mind needs to slow down

• His emotions show up in the body in the form of tensions and tightness

• Discrimination between real and artificial/mind created emotions

• Excruciating pain transforming into peace when he hugged his 10-year-old inner child for the first time

• Finding contentment in the heart of emptiness and loneliness

• High energy and clarity as aspects of true nature

• Learning to be comfortable in addressing something uncomfortable

His tip for the listener:

Go and get your emotional self in order if you want to find balance.

Learn to be comfortable with being vulnerable and dealing with the things that upset you the most.

That’s how you learn to live a more content and happy life.

Episode 6 on being in healthy control of our lives

My guest today is Alice 

She is in her early 40’s, a mum to two very active young boys, a nutritionist and a yogi.

She enjoys a regular meditation practice, connecting with nature,

meaningful conversation and cooking healthy and nutritious meals.

She has done work with me for a long time.

Here are some of the valuable insights she shares:

• Her ‘Aha’ moment: I am in charge of my emotions and my physical state

• The physical body gives us so many clues and it shows us the way

• Love, joy, contentment & peace are qualities of the heart

• Anger transforming into vibrancy

• Letting go into an inner hole that feels like quicksand

• Trusting our intuition

• Being whole means being fully present

• This work is available to anyone

Her tip for the listener:

Start meditating (showing up and checking in with yourself) 5 to 10 mins a day

Episode 7 on self-love, needs and being true to herself

My guest today is Allison Swintz

She has been a client of mine for 3 1/2 years.

After a difficult childhood in the USA, she has created a beautiful life for herself

with a loving husband, family, and community in New Zealand.

She is excited about true connection with people,

rock climbing, skiing, camping, hiking, as well as art and architecture.

After being involved in a life-threatening rock-climbing accident she started her inner work.

She has since learned to take care of herself on a holistic level.

At the beginning of the podcast, Allison shared with me that she hopes to make a difference for someone listening.

Please let us know if that is the case. 

Here are some of the topics we covered:

• Her direct experience of transforming disappointment into pure aliveness

• Healing the relationship with her mum after 5 years of disconnection

• She has learnt to be comfortable in her own skin

• When her heart is open, she experiences self-love, awareness of her needs and more connection with people she cares about

• Healing the inner child supports better relationships in the present time

• Insecurity dissolves with knowing herself better

• Inner guidance as listening to the signals in her body

• True nature always feels good, loving, supportive and nurturing to her

Her tip for the listener:

If you have trouble understanding your needs and desires, I’d like to encourage you to take out two pieces of paper.

On one page, write down everything you like…

I like ice cream, sleeping in, walks down by the river, bubble baths and so on. 

Then on a separate piece of paper write all the things you don’t like…

I don’t like spicy food, being cold, scary movies or modern art.

And I’d encourage you to fill the paper.

If you’re like me, you may come to the end of the page feeling better connected with yourself.

And you may learn a few things about yourself too. 

Episode 8 on acceptance and the “Emotions toolbox”

My guest today is Prue

She is 44 years old and has a 9-year-old son. 

Five years ago, in a time of turmoil and spurred by a deep knowing that there was more to explore, to know, to feel

but not knowing how to unlock it all, she travelled to Pune, India after reading about the Osho Meditation Resort in a magazine. She went with no experience of meditation or knowledge of who Osho was, purely feeling a deep pull to go.

That experience sparked a divergent path exploring consciousness, sensuality, conscious relating,

conscious parenting, and loving wholeheartedly.

In this podcast, I am starting to introduce resources that are not mentioned in the book.

I had this vision for a while to create a forum for anybody in my community to share valuable tools they found.

Prue is introducing the “Emotions traffic light toolbox” for parents and those that relate with young people

at the end of this podcast. 

Prue hopes that it will help other families as it has hers.

 Here are some of the highlights in our conversation:

• Finding calm and peace at the bottom of her “inner ocean”

• Her experience of anger transforming into strength

• After learning to let go of old patterns, she found her right partner

• She mentions 3 of her key learnings:

– Acceptance of what is

– ‘Look at yourself with loving, compassionate and tender eyes’

–  ‘If you have eyes to see, be aware of what you say to whom and when’

• Connecting with the heart has amplified all of her feelings

• A desolate inner landscape became a spring wonderland through acceptance 

Her tip for the listener: 

The emotions traffic light toolbox normalises emotions for the whole family.

It’s a straightforward system to identify emotions and be able to support yourself and each other

to transition to the “green zone” where we are happy, calm, focused and loving.

https://thephysicaleducator.com/shop/emotions-toolbox/

Episode 9 on being highly sensitive and true friendship

My guest today is Lisa

Lisa is a Professional Coach and Facilitator in her mid-forties.

She specialises in working with leaders and teams, developing Emotional Intelligence, improved communication skills

and psychological safety in the workplace. She is also a coach trainer and mentor.

Lisa loves quality time with family and friends, keeping fit and well,

spending time outdoors and her creative pursuits include dance, music and writing.

She has been committed to personal development since 1998.

I met Lisa in late 2002 as a client.

About 2008 we made a conscious decision to end the therapeutic relationship and give our friendship a go.

She has now been my best friend for over a decade.

Here are some of the highlights from our conversation:

• Ongoing health and emotional issues and a strong inner critic motivated her to do the inner work

• She made peace with being vulnerable despite being conditioned to be tough

and learnt to accept being a ‘Highly Sensitive Person’

• Her key learnings:

– There will be peaks and valleys as long as we live

– I am not my mind; I am way more than just the mind

– I can be strong and sensitive at the same time

• She has become an ally for herself, not just for family and friends

• Learning to be with and allowing the entire spectrum of emotions

• Some of her experiences of true nature are deep listening from the heart,

empathy, joy and powerful inner aliveness

She has 2 tips for the listener:

• Phone a friend and ask: ‘How are you really?’ Be with, listen and hold space for each other

• Free-style dancing to shake off stress

The Highly Sensitive Person website: https://hsperson.com

Episode 10 on overcoming childhood trauma and fear

 My guest today is Aurora Kerr

She is 55 years old, has worked as a social worker specializing in grief and loss during the HIV/AIDS pandemic,

as a life coach, social activist, retreat owner, fundraiser, volunteer and travel agent.

Her passions are travel, nature, meditation and personal growth, and advocating for empathy and refugee rights.

Aurora is an emerging writer of fiction, after a long career of helping others as a therapist.

She now combines her love of working with people with her vivid imagination and love of characters and books.

She lives between Melbourne and Byron Bay. 

We have known each other for about 20 years.

Here are some of her valuable and meaningful insights:

• She has overcome childhood trauma and fear through doing the work and has reconnected with her light

• All trauma is addressable with bravery and focus

• The heart is essential – to be heart-centred rather than mind-centred is the transformation

• She learnt to set healthy boundaries and protect herself in the right way

• She has always been in awe of who she was and understood her light and her intuition from a very young age

• “Never give up” as crucial guidance

• Examples of her experience of true nature are strength, expansion, ancientness and feeling at home

• Fear is worse than what you are fearing

• “Use your courage to face what you are fearing and know that your true nature is waiting for you on the other side”

She has 3 tips for the listener:

• Share this book with your therapist

• Worst and best exercise ( pg. 57 in my book)

• Be curious about yourself. YOU are unique and there is no one like you.

Episode 11 on direct experience being the best teacher

 My guest today is Anthony Hughes

He is 42 years old, a full-time musician, singer, songwriter, DJ and MC.

He used to own a bar and has an environmental science degree.

He is a passionate surfer and recently got married.

Anthony has been a client of mine for about 15 years. 

He can be very funny and always makes me laugh in his sessions.

Here are some of the themes we covered:

• His curiosity got him to start the inner work

• Anxiety is the messenger of repressed material

• How he feels about something can be very different from what he thinks about it

• Connecting with the physical body is the way in for him

• He learnt to feel emotions in stages, first pain, then anger and eventually fear

• He compares the wounded inner child with an ‘ingrown hair follicle’

• “Underneath that sadness and the abandoned feeling was complete and utter joy and enveloping white light”

His tip for the listener:

“Allow whatever is there and take responsibility for what you are attracting and your reactions to things”