Welcome to Compassiviste Dialogues. I'm Ali, your host, and my mission with this podcast is to shed light on critical social and environmental issues worldwide, exploring avenues for positive change.

In this conversation, Anette Nilsson shares her journey of self-discovery, healing, and resilience. She discusses the early signs of toxic love, the impact of illness on her life, and the importance of connecting with oneself.

Through her experiences, she emphasizes the significance of acceptance, compassion, and the distinction between belonging and merely staying in a place. Annette also explores the role of spirituality and nature in her healing process, ultimately defining home as an internal state of being connected to one's true self. In this conversation, the speakers explore the themes of compassion, spirituality, and personal transformation.

They discuss the importance of understanding one's connection to the universe and the feminine force of compassion that guides us. The concept of 'soul happy' is introduced as a state of authentic living, emphasizing the need for individuals to reclaim their joy and connection to themselves.

The dialogue also touches on the role of education in fostering compassion and the necessity of personal accountability in creating a better world. The speakers reflect on their journeys of finding God and the impact of privilege on the path to soul happiness, ultimately advocating for a compassionate approach to life and society.

ABOUT GUEST:

Anette Nilsson is a self-led entrepreneur and former tech consultant turned full-time writer, the guest has walked a hard-won healing path. After confronting severe Crohn’s disease and the fallout of an unhealthy lifestyle, they discovered the deep link between physical recovery and what they call “soul happiness”—and the role that soul unhappiness can play in illness. Drawing on nutritional, spiritual, and self-development practices, they now share practical tools, resources, and grounded wisdom to help others move from depletion to wholeness. Writing has long been their metier and compass, carrying them through setbacks to become an empowered author and soulful storyteller committed to helping people live more authentic, happier, and balanced lives.

KEY NOTES:

• What Anette wishes she knew before marrying a toxic/narcissistic partner: how they spot “easy prey” and how they hook you (and switch when they sense you pulling away). • How shame can keep someone stuck and isolated and why reclaiming power matters. • “Don’t blame the narcissist” (not to protect them to take your power back and stop repeating the pattern). • Why social media can normalize narcissistic behaviors and amplify narcissistic tendencies. • Illness as a wake-up call: Crohn’s, autoimmune symptoms, and how Anita links healing to truth, trauma, and emotional roots. • “Home” as an internal state: the difference between belonging vs. staying somewhere. • “Viking resilience,” acceptance, and why self-compassion matters more than numb stoicism.

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 The Journey Begins: Leaving Denmark for Canada 07:06 Recognizing the Signs of Toxic Love 13:57 The Impact of Illness on Healing and Family Secrets 25:54 Viking Resilience: Embracing Acceptance and Compassion 39:01 Defining Home: Belonging vs. Staying 50:55 Spiritual Awakening: Connecting to the Self 01:09:57 The Feminine Force of Compassion 01:12:02 Understanding Soul Happy 01:17:36 Faith vs. Knowing God 01:24:02 The Journey to Finding God 01:32:37 The Power of Personal Transformation 01:39:29 The Role of Catastrophe in Connection 01:49:56 Privilege and the Path to Soul Happy 01:56:55 Revamping Education for Compassion 02:05:32 The Future of Humanity and Connection

THINGS MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST:

Anette Nilsson's Memoir: https://www.anettenilssonauthor.com/

TO LEARN MORE AND STAY CONNECTED:

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Welcome to Compassiviste Dialogues. I'm Ali, your host, and my mission with this podcast is to shed light on critical social and environmental issues worldwide, exploring avenues for positive change.

Today I’m joined by Dr. Zabina Bhasin (Dr. Zee) a Cornell-trained child & adolescent psychiatrist, global youth advocate, and Forbes Next 1000 entrepreneur. She’s the founder of Listen to the Kidz, and she argues that listening isn’t a “soft skill”; it’s infrastructure and that every school should teach it as core curriculum.

In this episode, we dive into why kids don’t trust adults (and how to earn that trust back), what it means to teach listening like math, and why Dr. Zee doesn’t chase virality she chases durability in her work with young people and systems change.

ABOUT GUEST:

Dr. Zabina “Dr. Zee” Bhasin is a Cornell-educated child psychiatrist and founder of In KidZ, an edtech advancing multicultural education and children’s emotional wellness. A Forbes NEXT 1000 honoree featured by Good Morning America and Today Parents, she’s been recognized as Champion of Diversity & Inclusion at the Toy of the Year Awards and was a 2023 Women in Toys Social Impact nominee.

Dr. Zee serves on the boards of The Toy Association and United Sikhs and advises Concordia. She leads Listen to the KidZ and KidZ for Democracy; her book Listen to the Kids is forthcoming.

KEY NOTES:

Why Kids Don’t Trust Adults: What’s driving the breakdown and why it matters now. Raising vs. Guiding: The mindset shift that changes how adults show up for kids. Durability > Virality: Staying focused on impact instead of noise, branding, and trends. The “Listening Class” Solution: Why communication skills should be a core school subject. Listening as Infrastructure: Making trust, dialogue, and social harmony teachable at scale.

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 - Episode trailer 01:27 - Intro 03:12 Meet Dr. Zee + her mission 04:22 Childhood: moving from India to California 05:43 Identity, belonging, and becoming “American” 08:59 Community, culture, and early leadership lessons 11:04 Dyslexia, shame, and finding her voice 14:03 Why she chose medicine + child psychiatry 17:40 The start of Listen to the KidZ 22:58 Who society ignores (and why that matters) 24:27 Impact vs noise: “durability, not virality” 28:10 The “communicative conversation” (how to really listen) 30:17 What changes when adults listen (anxiety → collaboration) 31:14 Listening without an agenda (and the social media trap) 33:34 “Kids don’t trust adults” + generational blame 35:58 Showing kids democracy at home (rules + digital contracts) 38:32 Adult kids: staying connected without control 48:57 Stop raising kids, start guiding 51:04 ADHD, passions, and parenting for adaptability 56:13 Language as a compass (the “right turn” analogy) 57:47 Kidz for Democracy: youth voice + civic engagement 01:01:27 The ABC Dialog: bridging gun-control polarization 01:04:55 The ROI of listening (why systems don’t change) 01:07:09 First action: a listening class in every school 01:10:03 How to support Dr. Zee + Outro

THINGS MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST:

- Listen to the KidZ: https://listentothekidz.com/ - Dr. Zee (official): https://www.dr-zee.com/ - In KidZ: https://www.inkidzco.com/ - Kidz for Democracy event page: https://kidzfordemocracy.rsvpify.com/ - Concordia profile (Dr. Zee): https://concordia.net/community/dr-zabina-bhasin/

Organizations referenced: - The Toy Association: https://www.toyassociation.org/ - UNITED SIKHS: https://unitedsikhs.org/ - NRA: https://home.nra.org/ - Jubilee Media: https://www.jubileemedia.com/

Schools/education referenced: - ABC Unified School District: https://www.abcusd.us/ - Whitney High School: https://www.whitneyhs.us/ - CSULB (Long Beach): https://www.csulb.edu/ - Cornell University: https://www.cornell.edu/

Pop-culture reference: - Billy Joel – “We Didn’t Start the Fire” (official): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFTLKWw542g - Fall Out Boy – “We Didn’t Start the Fire” (lyric video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LkVKCWL0U4

TO LEARN MORE AND STAY CONNECTED:

🌐 Visit our website: https://compassivistedialogues.com/ 🎧 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6qt8cYHeIcDmDV8zPKNxMw 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/compassiviste-dialogues/id1735926709

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Welcome to Compassiviste Dialogues. I'm Ali, your host, and my mission with this podcast is to shed light on critical social and environmental issues worldwide, exploring avenues for positive change.

Today I’m joined by Barbara Wiseman, co-founder and president of the Earth Organization. With over 40 years of experience in humanitarian and environmental leadership, Barbara has led transformative water access projects, developed oil spill cleanup technologies now used in 70+ countries, and rescued wildlife on a global scale.

In this episode, we dive into what it truly means to create lasting ecological and social impact. Barbara shares her philosophy of cooperative ecology, a science-based methodology for solving problems that honors people, wildlife, and the planet. She also reflects on her decades of experience, revealing how community, accountability, and practical action can create meaningful, measurable change.

ABOUT GUEST:

Barbara Wiseman co-founded The Earth Organization in 2003 with Dr. Lawrence Anthony, becoming its International President and heading up its global initiatives. She has 30 years management consulting, public relations, and international pioneer project management experience. As just one example, seven years ago, in looking for solutions to the largest global environmental situations, she came across a relatively unknown science of water that provided the foundation for a potential body of knowledge to locate sustainable water resources in drought-prone regions.

She brought together a team of scientists to validate, document, codify and expand the science, identifying and allying the top experts in the field. Her purpose was to build alliances to advance and implement TEO’s environmental solutions to regions in dire need of water resources and to ensure that this science is broadly implemented for the benefit of humankind and all life. The work of this team resulted in the Deep Seated Water Technology now being implemented around the world.

KEY NOTES:

Lessons from a Lifetime of Environmental Leadership: Insights from Barbara’s 40+ years of pioneering work. Designing Human Systems Inspired by Nature: How ecological principles guide sustainable solutions. Why Interdependence Matters: Understanding the connections between communities, economies, and ecosystems. From Ideas to Action: How small contributions and community-led solutions can drive real transformation.

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 - Intro 03:47 - Lessons From 40 Years of Environmental Work 15:13 - Building Human Systems Guided by Nature 27:07 - Interdependence Is the Point 34:37 - The Theater of Activism 42:13 - Personal Duty in a World Humans Have Unbalanced 54:13 - Who Pays for Environmental Purity? 57:25 - Why Community‑Led Solutions Actually Work 01:02:33 - One Experience That Never Left Barbara 01:11:08 - If You Had The Power 01:14:50 - From Talk to Execution 01:18:01 - Ten Dollars at a Time: How Communities Fund Real Change 01:31:05 - How You Can Support Barbara’s Cause 01:35:24 - Outro

THINGS MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST:

The Earth Organization (TEO) - https://theearthorganization.org/ Cooperative Ecology - https://theearthorganization.org/what-is-cooperative-ecology/ Lawrence Anthony Founder of The Earth Organization - https://theearthorganization.org/our-founder/ TEO Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheEarthOrg TEO Twitter: https://x.com/TheEarthOrg TEO Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theearthorganization/ TEO Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/theearthorganiz/

TO LEARN MORE AND STAY CONNECTED:

🌐 Visit our website: https://compassivistedialogues.com/ 🎧 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6qt8cYHeIcDmDV8zPKNxMw 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/compassiviste-dialogues/id1735926709

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Tune in, follow, and embark on this insightful journey with us. Your vision's transformation begins now. 🚀🌟