Fran Caudron can be found at InHealTherapy.com or better yet, access free stuff (including self-hypnosis meditations) on her site: lnk.bio/InspiredHealingHypnotherapy

Welcome back to Hopenning — the place where hope is happening. In this powerful and heart‑opening conversation, Fran Caudron welcomes Matthew Kessi, author of The Wild Cure, nature‑connection mentor, retreat leader, and creator of the Kinship Questions framework.

Matthew shares how reconnecting with nature transformed his life after corporate burnout — and how it can help anyone who feels overwhelmed, disconnected, or exhausted by modern life.

This episode is filled with wisdom, grounded spirituality, and everyday tools that don’t cost money, don’t require special training, and don’t require “doing more.” Just… slowing down. Just… saying “yes.” Just… connecting with the natural world that’s already around you.

👉 Where to find Matthew Kessi: Website: https://kessiworld.com Book: https://thewildcurebook.com Mentorship & retreats: https://kessiworld.com

👉 Where to find Fran: Inspired Healing Hypnotherapy: https://inhealtherapy.com Link Hub: https://lnk.bio/InspiredHealingHypnotherapy

KEY MOMENTS:

1:58 — From Pig Farmer to Nature Guide Matthew’s surprising origin story — piglets, band class, and chess club.

8:53 — The Breaking Point Sleepless nights, a shamanic nudge, tile‑staring “meditation,” and losing his aviation career of 25 years.

13:29 — Turning Toward Nature Why nature succeeded where self‑help trends couldn’t — and how it filled “the empty hole.”

17:50 — The Kinship Questions

A simple, powerful framework to reconnect with the natural world (and yourself). 24:20 — How Nature Teaches Us to Slow Down “Touch a leaf, look at the horizon”—micro‑practices that shift everything.

32:19 — Mind, Heart & Spirit Alignment Using nature to resolve conflict, tap intuition, and find clarity.

44:10 — Practical Tools to Calm the Mind Cloud-watching, rock-carrying, tree‑line tracing… surprisingly effective nature hacks.

48:30 — The Paperclip Sign A touching story of grief, healing, and a mysterious message from the forest floor.

1:01:27 - Closing Thoughts - Fran shares an experience of using the Kinship Questions to help her with a relationship she is struggling through.

About Matthew: Matthew Kessi has always listened to the world a little differently. Raised on an Oregon dairy farm and shaped by travel through more than sixty countries, he learned early on that the Natural World holds wisdom we can return to at any time.

Learn more at kessiworld.com 🔸 Book: The Wild Cure — thewildcurebook.com https://thewildcurebook.com https://kessiworld.substack.com https://kessiworld.com Instagram: @kessiworld_ Facebook: @Kessiworld

How do you build confidence if you feel awkward, introverted, or stuck in your head? In this episode of Hopenning 2.0, Jeff Callahan—author of Confidence‑Maxxing—breaks down how social confidence is built through habits, not personality.

Jeff Callahan went from a severe stutter and painful shyness to coaching professionals on communication, confidence, and connection. He shares how to quiet your inner critic, stop overthinking conversations, and connect naturally—without faking who you are. Jeff Callahan knows exactly what it feels like to be socially awkward. He once had a stutter so intense he couldn’t say his own name. Today, he helps people build real confidence, improve communication skills, and connect naturally.

In this episode, you’ll learn: Why confidence is learned—not innate

How to stop overthinking conversations

What the “inner jerk” voice is and how to manage it

How introverts can build confidence without forcing extroversion

Simple daily habits that create social confidence

Jeff’s system has helped professionals at Google, Meta, Netflix, Microsoft, and beyond—yet it works just as powerfully for everyday conversations, friendships, and work meetings.

KEY MOMENTS:

09:40 - Expectations that get fulfilled allow you to believe, "What else can I achieve?" 11:00 - Why it's important to increase your "surface area" of acquaintances - 80% of your problems can be solved with knowing more people. 11:50 - How Meeting People Increases Luck; building interactions builds confidence - do this systematically in everyday experiences 12:26 - The Inner Critic (“Inner Jerk”) Explained 13:10 - How to Quiet Negative Self‑Talk and grow past your "comfort zone". 16:33 - Building Confidence Through Small Wins 24:07 - "IRL‑Maxing": finding the "Big 3" in social situations 25:50 - "People are nice, but you have to go first"

No one is better than you - by upping your people skills, you level the playing field with confidence!

Jeff Callahan can be found here: www.BecomeMoreCompelling.com

📘 The book: Confidence‑Maxxing: How to Crush Awkwardness, Build Social Confidence, and Become Unforgettable 🗓️ Launches February 10, 2026

👉 Free preview & pre‑order: http://www.becomemorecompelling.com/book

🔗 Connect with Jeff Callahan

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/jeffcallahanbmc

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thejeffcallahan/

X: https://x.com/thejeffcallahan

Fran Caudron, the host of Hopenning 2.0, can be found at InHealTherapy.com or better yet, access free stuff (including self-hypnosis meditations) on her site: lnk.bio/InspiredHealingHypnotherapy

PLEASE like, subscribe, and comment to bring more HOPE into your life and the world! Fran Caudron can be found at InHealTherapy.com or better yet, access free stuff (including self-hypnosis meditations) on her site: lnk.bio/InspiredHealingHypnotherapy

What happens when a concussion isn't dealt with properly, and one goes back to their "regular" life without giving the brain time to heal?

My guest this week is Katherine ("Kat") Reilly, a Vancouver-based lawyer who recieved a wake-up call from the Universe after back-to-back concussions and one near-fatal medical event.

Her journey to recovery may be what you or someone you love needs to hear, in order to become, like Kat, more fully and truly alive.

Fran Matula Caudron interviews Katherine ("Kat") Riley, practicing lawyer of 20 years, and author of "Legally Zen," about her journey through concussion recovery and personal transformation.

Kat shared her experiences of suffering two concussions within 18 months and how they led to a major shift in her perspective on life and work.

Kat was born and raised in British Columbia, Canada. Her book, "Legally Zen" was released in October of 2025, to immediate acclaim.

To find out more about Kat, or to download her favourite meditations, breathwork practices and more - visit legallyzen.ca and download the free "Zen Extras" resource guide.

PLEASE like, subscribe, and comment to bring more HOPE into your life and the world!

Fran Caudron can be found at InHealTherapy.com or better yet, access free stuff (including self-hypnosis meditations) on her site: lnk.bio/InspiredHealingHypnotherapy

Allison Jeanette Briggs is a trauma therapist, writer, and founder of Being Real, PLLC, a Houston-based private practice where she helps clients move from survival to self-connection. She’s trained and certified in EMDR and Brainspotting, and her work explores how the body holds what words often can’t—and how healing begins when we stop performing goodness and start allowing what’s real to be seen.

On this week's episode of "Hopenning 2.0", Fran and Allison discuss:

How working as a child trauma therapist triggered her because of her dysfunctional childhood

Why healed PTSD is a super-power.

The power of vulnerability, and the freedom it brings.

Loving all of ourselves, the good and the bad.

Body-based therapy; EMDR as bilateral stimulation, Brainspotting and Gazespotting and why we need to feel to heal.

Mental health therapy still is not forefront in the minds of most people, until they hit bottom and why that is.

The trouble with praise, and learning how to "come home" to ourselves.

Allison is the author of the forthcoming book "On Being Real: Healing the Codependent Heart of a Woman", a hybrid memoir and self-help book coming in 2026 that weaves neuroscience, spirituality, and psychology with what she’s learned on her own journey of unlearning and coming home to authenticity.

Allison’s essays and insights have been featured in Tiny Buddha, Psychotherapy Networker, Executive Function Magazine, and Elephant Journal, and she’s been quoted as an expert in Verywell Mind and other media outlets. When she’s not writing or in session, Allison can often be found spending time with her boys, partner, or on TikTok—letting her inner child shine through humor, dance, and reflection. She believes that healing isn’t just about processing pain but also about reclaiming play—the part of us that still knows how to be weird, soft, and wonderfully alive. Allison can be found at: https://on-being-real.com/; https://substack.com/@onbeingreal; https://www.tiktok.com/@beingrealpllc

Please like, share, and subscribe to have more HOPE in your inbox!

Fran can be found at lnk.bio/InspiredHealingHypnotherapy

Susan E. Schwartz, Ph.D. trained in Zurich, Switzerland as a Jungian analyst. She appears on many podcasts and presents at numerous Jungian conferences and teaching programs in the USA and worldwide. Susan has articles in journals and chapters on Jungian analytical psychology. She has many published books and will have another in 2026.

Her website is www.susanschwartzphd.com.

In this episode of "Hopenning 2.0" Fran and Susan discuss:

00:00 - Hope lies in awareness of how your father affected your emotional health and development, and uncovering the layers.

8:30 - What happens when there is an emotionally absent father?

10:35 - Issues with food, body image, bulimia, anorexia, body dysmorphia, and body enhancements: age, life course and choosing direction.

Why "Daddy's Girl" isn't necessarily a good way to describe a daughter's relationship with her father.

25:30 - How to properly grieve the dead father in the life of a young girl

28:50 - The pattern repeats itself in choosing the husband or partner

46:50 - Advice to the mothers or fathers going through a separation and divorce, or soon-to-be parents.

Susan can be found at www.susanschwartzphd.com

Susan's book "The Absent Father Effect on Daughters" can be found at https://www.amazon.com/Absent-Father-...

Fran can be found at lnk.bio/InspiredHealingHypnotherapy

Kerisma Vere is the founder of Towards Wellness Coaching, a writer, and a passionate advocate for sustainable change. Kerisma blends compassion, strategy, and creativity to help others walk their own path toward lasting transformation.

Her own path has taught her that change, healing, & growth are rarely linear. She has deep insight into many of the struggles some of us face and continues to shape the perspective she brings to both her coaching and writing. She recently released her new book, "The Light Switch Myth".

00:00 Welcome and Introduction

5:30 - How being bullied at home and out-of-home led to self harm, self-loathing, drugs and alcohol

11:46 - Unrealistic thinking, national recognition, a marriage, and broken relasionships

20:38 -After 14 years of sobriety, "All I could do was pay the rent".

23:20 - Breakthrough after the break-down.

24:56 - What is the "Light Switch Myth" and building a plan that actually works.

26:00 - "Small steps build success and confidence that high expectations can't".

34:00 - The staircase and rainbow

41:52 - A different gratitude practice

48:00 - Coaching vs Therapy vs Counselling - which will work, and why Kerisma believes in the hybrid version.

56:48 - "Hope is resilient. Blackness does not mean it is over - just keep breathing."

Kerisma Vere can be found at: linktr.ee/KerismaVere

Jane Musgrave

Please like, comment and subscribe if you appreciate the sparking of hope in your life!

Jenn Baljko (Bal-co) is a Mindful Writing Mentor, Creativity Kindler, and Joy Journeying companion who helps midlife and beyond-midlife women reclaim their creative superpowers.

This author and former journalist walked sixteen thousand kilometers from Bangkok to Barcelona and believes every path, pause, and pivot carries the seed of hope and renewal. In this epidsode of "Hopenning", Fran and Jenn discuss:

- Menopause as a Right of Passage, and her new course, "Write Through the Pause" now on Eventbrite at 20% off for "Hopenning" fans.

Through her work at "Always On My Way" and the soulful gatherings she hosts at Cal Martí, her guesthouse in Catalonia, Jenn inspires women to rekindle their inner fire through journaling, meditative storytelling, and intuitive movement.

She reminds us that midlife isn’t an ending, it’s a beginning—and that when one woman reclaims her light, the world shines brighter.

Find Jenn Baljko's book here: https://a.co/d/7FkHSIV The In Between - Journeying from Fear to Courage Visit alwaysonmyway.com to learn about "Mindful Writing Mentoring" program and upcoming events.

Access a free mini-masterclass about fear and courage at alwaysonmyway.com/the-in-between-book

Facebook: facebook.com/groups/fierceawakenedwoman

Instagram: @jennbaljko @bangkokbarcelonaonfoot

Start a book-related conversation in your community.

Invite us to speak at your event. Bring the "Bangkok Barcelona On Foot" documentary to your organization. Lluís and Jenn are available for virtual and in-person events (depending on the location and timing).

Contact: jenniferbaljko.com/documentary

Jennifer Baljko has a free mini-masterclass about fear and courage, available here: alwaysonmyway.com/the-in-between-book and a 20% discount on her master class "Write Through the ‘Pause" online workshops embedded in this link until Nov 11.

http://www.eventbrite.com/e/1666670449179/...

As well as another freebie! "In Creative Cahoots: Take Your Seat and Create" which is a Free 2-hour co-working calls on Zoom on the third Thursday of every month. Sign up here for the Zoom link. https://alwaysonmyway.com/coworking