In Presence We Trust: The Facilitation Podcast

"The abyss that we are so afraid of is actually our connection to the deep love that underlies everything." – Bruce Lyon
Bruce Lyon is a teacher, author and international facilitator who has spent over thirty years working in esoteric wisdom, the tantric arts, cosmology and universal spirituality. He is the founder of Shamballa School and Highden Temple, modern day mystery schools built to support human beings in remembering their essential embodied divinity, and the author of several books, including his newest, Our Dark Divinity.
His path has moved from marine biology to psychology to spiritual and esoteric study, and his work now centers on the yoga of relationship, humanity's collective initiation, and helping people live as fully, richly and freely as possible while empowering others to do the same.
In this episode, Bruce shares:
How he holds the polarity between the way of fire, intensity and initiation, and the way of water, surrender and trauma informed care, after three decades of transformational work
The trauma at the root of his own awakening at six years old, and how it shaped a lifetime of teaching through fire
His move into eldership, stepping back from leading Highden Temple into a more participant role
What he makes of the public scrutiny and cult accusations aimed at Highden Temple
The cosmology behind his new book Our Dark Divinity, and what he calls humanity's planetary initiation

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Connect with Bruce Shamballa School: shamballaschool.org Highden Temple: highdentemple.org Our Dark Divinity (book): Amazon
Connect with Rachel Rachel's Email List: subscribe Rachel's Website: rachelrickards.com The Field Facilitator Training: www.the-field.com
Find us on Instagram The Field Facilitator Training: instagram.com/thefieldfacilitation Rachel Rickards: instagram.com/rachel.rickards/
Our Cover Art was Designed by Oana Serbana Instagram: Oana_flowingart Etsy: Oana Flowing Art Etsy

"When I was a boy, what I longed for was the places that saw my soul, but they weren't there, so I helped create them." – Bruce Lyon  
Bruce Lyon is a mystic, author, and initiatory guide, and founder of Highden Temple in New Zealand. He has spent decades teaching around the world on eros, power, embodiment, and collective awakening.  His recent book Our Dark Divinity, co authored with Janine Ma-ree, explores the link between planetary initiation and the next expansion of the human psyche.  After decades of intensity and global teaching, Bruce entered a sabbatical and a period of deep reflection, turning inwards toward what he calls his initiation into eldership.  He has recently announced that he will return to facilitating at Highden in 2026, stepping back in from a different place inside himself.
 
In this episode, Bruce shares:
How he is exploring the razor's edge between nervous system safety and real initiation, and the ongoing question of how we hold water and fire together in the spaces we lead

His transition into eldership as he moves from a life shaped by fire and intensity into a deeper orientation toward presence and the path of water

His perspective on the controversies surrounding Highden Temple, the impact of visibility, and the importance of repair and staying human inside archetypal roles

His cosmology of planetary initiation and the evolutionary forces he tracks within the collective field

How he orients to the larger shift in consciousness unfolding on the planet and why personal initiation is inseparable from collective change

 
 
 
Connect with Bruce
Highden Temple: https://www.highdentemple.org/
 
Connect with Rachel
Rachel's Email List:
http://rachelrickards.myflodesk.com/subscribe
 
Rachel's Website:
https://www.rachelrickards.com/
 
The Field Facilitator Training:
https://www.the-field.com/
 
Find us on Instagram
The Field Facilitator Training
https://www.instagram.com/thefieldfacilitation
 
Rachel Rickards
https://www.instagram.com/rachel.rickards
Cover Art
Designed by Oana Serbana
Instagram: @oana_flowingart
Etsy: Oana Flowing Art

"You cannot have meaningful change and integration if you do not bring your nervous system with you." – Dr. Stacy Ellis
Dr. Stacy Ellis is a trauma-informed psychologist and group facilitator who bridges clinical rigor with deep, embodied transformation. With over fifteen years of clinical practice, a decade of ongoing group work, and training in modalities like EMDR, somatic therapies, TRE, IFS, breathwork and sound healing, she helps people reprogram childhood imprints in the nervous system so they can live as their authentic adult selves.
In her work, Stacy weaves science, insight and somatic practice to create spaces where inner child work, group healing and nervous system literacy come together. She has a particular gift for helping people understand why they are the way they are, and then offering real, embodied pathways toward wholeness.
In this episode, Stacy shares:
How her own journey from people-pleasing and caretaking into wholeness led her from conventional therapy into inner child and group work
The story of a four-day intensive that "updated" her nervous system and transformed her relationship with her mother
What actually happens inside well-held group containers, and why collective mirroring and co-regulation can create change that one-on-one work alone often cannot
How she designs inner child workshops to keep the nervous system online, weaving teaching, tools, play and ritual for real integration
Her working definitions of psychological safety and trauma-informed facilitation, and why they are about empowerment and depth, not coddling


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Connect with Stacy Stacy's Website: drstacyellis.com
Connect with Rachel
Rachel's Email List: subscribe
Rachel's Website: rachelrickards.com
The Field Facilitator Training: www.the-field.com
Find us on Instagram
The Field Facilitator Training: instagram.com/thefieldfacilitation
Rachel Rickards: instagram.com/rachel.rickards/
Our Cover Art was Designed by Oana Serbana
Instagram: Oana_flowingart
Etsy: Oana Flowing Art Etsy

"Treating people with just the smallest amount of dignity in a space where they're routinely gaslit and made feel small… it's amazing how people will respond." – Dave Booda
Dave Booda is a writer, musician and social entrepreneur. He is the co-founder of IntimacyFest and hosts the Darkness Experiment, a five day relational retreat in complete darkness. Over the last 15 years he has led more than 450 workshops on connection, touch and relationships, consulted for communities, festivals and companies, and published over 200 essays on boodaism.com. He also performs as his alter ego "Boodananda," a satirical spiritual sex shaman teaching about abuse and predator warning signs, and serves on the board of the Foundation for Intentional Community while living in rural San Diego, California.
Why the word "transformation" is so often misused in our industry and how overpromising can leave participants feeling more broken, not more whole
The difference between transformation, peak experience and community and what ethical containers for each actually require
How to design intense workshops as if participants were on a medicine journey, including pacing, aftercare and integration once they go home
Practical facilitation upgrades like real customer service, high touch pre event calls, end of retreat debriefs and asking the sharpest 10–20 percent of the group for honest feedback
His own growth edge around service, moving from "making rich people feel good" toward work that serves communities and people who would not normally access retreats

Tell us what you think about the podcast!https://podcastsurvey.paperform.co/ Connect with Dave
Dave's essay on ethical ecstacy: https://boodaism.com/lgat/
Website and writings: https://boodaism.com
Connect with Rachel
Rachel's Email List: http://rachelrickards.myflodesk.com/subscribe
Rachel's Website: https://rachelrickards.com/
The Field Facilitator Training: https://www.the-field.com/
Find us on Instagram
The Field Facilitator Training: https://www.instagram.com/thefieldfacilitation
Rachel Rickards: https://www.instagram.com/rachel.rickards/
Our Cover Art was Designed by Oana Serbana
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oana_flowingart
Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/OanaFlowingArt

"Embodiment is the subjective experience of the body. The body as subject, not object." – Mark Walsh

Mark Walsh has spent the last 20 years helping people get out of their heads and into their bodies, sometimes gracefully, sometimes not. He's the author of The Body in Coaching and Training and Embodied Meditation, hosts The Embodiment Coaching Podcast (3M+ downloads), and ran The Embodiment Conference with 1,000 teachers and 500,000 attendees. As founder of Embodiment Unlimited, he has trained over 2,000 coaches across 40+ countries.

In this episode, Mark shares:
What embodiment actually is beyond trends and why understanding the body as "subject" is central for facilitators

How embodiment helps us stay sane in a hypercognitive world

The four elements model of facilitation and how to cultivate real range boundaries presence and humor

What facilitators often get wrong about embodiment and the shadow side of our field around jealousy money and power

Why simple everyday practices like nature connection community breath and prayer matter more than intense state chasing


If you are interested in deeper study and certification with Mark through Embodiment Unlimited- Where you can train as an Embodiment Coach (ICF CCE) 6 months online fine out more HERE: https://rachelrickards--embodimentunlimited.thrivecart.com/cec-feb-2026-super-early-bird/
Connect with Mark
https://markwalsh.info/



Connect with Rachel
Rachel's Email List: http://rachelrickards.myflodesk.com/subscribe
Rachel's Website: https://rachelrickards.com/
The Field Facilitator Training: https://www.the-field.com/

Find us on Instagram
The Field Facilitator Training: https://www.instagram.com/thefieldfacilitation
Rachel Rickards: https://www.instagram.com/rachel.rickards/

Our Cover Art was Designed by Oana Serbana
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oana_flowingart
Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/OanaFlowingArt