In this podcast I am speaking with Monica Parker about her wonderful book, The Power of Wonder.

The chances are that we have all experienced wonder at some time in our life, but have we ever stopped to think about it's impact?

Ultimately, wonder has the potential to make us kinder, more empathetic, more open, humbler and can even help us to improve both our mental and physical health.

Through our discussion, Monica reveals the wonder lifecycle i.e., the key states and stages we must go through to experience wonder. She also highlights the techniques we can adopt at each phase to more readily have wonder in our every day lives.

As Monica’s book title says, wonder is the extraordinary emotion that will change the way you live, learn and lead. Take a listen to bring more wonder to your life today!

This podcast reveals the power of art and it's potential to help us live a more creative, connected and healthy lifestyle.

Katherine Templar Lewis, (cognitive scientist, science communicator and founder of Kinda Studios), discusses neuroaesthetics, the science behind how humans respond to art.

We explore what happens in our brains and bodies when we engage with art and the impact these reactions can have.

We also consider what constitutes art and how we can more readily adopt "art time" in our lifestyle to realise its benefits.

Ultimately, art invites us to be more connected with ourselves, each other and the world around us.

Might this deeper sense of connection help to address some of the worlds biggest challenges?

Take a listen to find out…

In this podcast I explore the “Art of Creative Rebellion” with John S. Couch and JC Caldwell.

We discuss creativity from a spiritual, physical, emotional and intellectual point of view to help define what is a creative rebel and how can we unleash ours.

Ultimately, we consider that a “creative rebellion” is a gentle movement that can be stirred where we dare to awaken our innate creativity and curiosity.

Listen to this podcast to unlock your creativity and to curiously discover your bliss!

For more information, you can purchase a copy of John’s book, “The Art of Creative Rebellion” from Amazon and can also visit his website: https://www.john-couch.com/

This podcast explores how art, storytelling and nature can help both adults and children "rewild" their nascent creativity.

In a world where we are "always on", are we necessarily creating the space we need to just be and allow our thoughts to wonder?

The neural networks in our mind are a "secret garden" of creative opportunity as they create the potential for random connections to spark across our memories, experiences, knowledge and beliefs.

This is where the opportunity for ideas come from yet, if we don't give ourselves time to get lost in and express the wilderness of our mind, are we losing touch with our creative potential and confidence?

Human creativity is literally in our nature! It has been found that neuronal arbours and plants grow according to the operation of the same mathematical laws*. In addition, our brains also need to "weed, prune and fertilise" in order to flourish!

Pia discusses how getting back to nature can help us rewild our imagination so that we might be able to restore our natural creative capability and create conditions for it to grow and ultimately take care of itself.

*Reference: The Well Gardened Mind, Sue Stuart-Smith

For more information about Rewilding Britain, as mentioned in the show, please visit this website:

https://www.rewildingbritain.org.uk/why-rewild/what-is-rewilding/an-introduction-to-rewilding/defining-rewilding

In this podcast I am chatting with the team from Architecting Curiosity, an organization designed to help businesses and individuals live their most curious lives!

The friends behind Architecting Curiosity include, Pim Schachtschabel, Monica Canfield-Lenfest and Anthony Rocco.

During our conversation, we deep dive into Monica and Pim’s curious life journeys so far, as well as explore the principles of curiosity and how they fit into our every day lives.

Ultimately, through our discussion we reveal that curiosity is a superpower which is open to everyone!

For more information about my guests and to learn more please visit The Architecting Curiosity website: https://www.architectingcuriosity.com/

In this podcast I am chatting with experience designer, management consultant and entrepreneur, Anthony Rocco. 

The focus of our conversation is exploring the practice of curiosity and the value that living a more curious lifestyle can bring. We explore the ideas and impacts of living a more curious lifestyle including how curiosity can help us discover more about ourselves, connect more deeply with others, create cultures and unlock new opportunities.

For me, curiosity is at the heart of enabling us to think differently so I invite you to embrace an inquisitive mindset and tuck into this edition of the Natural Born Thinkers Podcast.

For more information, please visit: https://www.architectingcuriosity.com/

Note: This podcast was recorded in summer '21.

In this episode I talk to Shelley Carson, psychologist and lecturer at Harvard University and author of, “Your Creative Brain, Seven Steps to Maximize Imagination, Productivity, and Innovation in Your Life.”

Shelley's research centres around creativity neuroscience. Her book outlines the key network, processes and geography of the brain that are involved in creative thinking and also explains 7 key brainsets that we can engage to think creatively.

In summary, Shelley's book highlights that we are all wired to think differently. Each of us is blessed with a unique neural network that positions us to contribute creative ideas that no-one else can!

In this podcast, Shelley and I explore the creative brain and discuss how individuals can discover and build their nascent creative potential.

Please visit Shelley's website to learn more about her work and why not take "The Brainsets Quiz" to learn about your brain's creativity "hot spots"!

In this episode I talk to Cliff Goldmacher a songwriter, producer, educator and author based in the USA. Cliff has recently released his first printed book, "The Reason for the Rhymes", which explores how the art and practice of song-writing can help enhance our innovation capabilities

Cliff has over 20 years of experience in the music industry and has written over 1000 songs including a number 1 jazz hit for the artist Spencer and a track that was included in Keb Mo’s Grammy winning album, Oklahoma.  If anyone knows the art of songwriting and the lifelong gifts this practice can deliver, it’s Cliff!

We even go as far to write and perform a song on this podcast, to prove how each step of the song writing process sharpens your innovation skills and requires you to think differently about the challenges and / or opportunities you are facing.

My key takeaway from my time with Cliff is that, to pursue a more creative lifestyle you must have 3 key things:

1.    Practice i.e., a commitment to practicing the key skills needed for creativity

2.   Patience i.e., an ability to appreciate that good ideas take time and lots of them!

3.   Passion i.e., you need to be whole-heartedly committed to the dream you are chasing

Here is a link to Cliff's website