Michelle Palasia is the first guest on Deep Currents for a very good reason.

Deep Currents is all about the stories that connect us and the wisdom that helps us remember who we are and what we are.

From my 12 years immersed in Rites of Passage work, I know how babies are born—including the mother's state, the birth itself, and the care of both mother and baby in the early years—shapes the rest of their lives. In the creation of life, the connection to the core of our Spirit is either nurtured or fractured. This connection is key to our capacity for wholeness, intimacy, relationships, joy, pleasure, and a sense of belonging.

The wounds we see in our hearts and humanity often stem from power structures that put self-interest above communal well-being. These structures are driven by those who seek personal gain at any cost. As an expression of this mindset, colonisation has caused deep fractures in our societies and cultures. When cultures are destroyed by invasion, theft, manipulation, and dominance, the sacred rites, traditions, and values that connect us to ourselves, each other, the natural world, and Life's greater intelligence are lost. As a result, people become disoriented and disconnected. The tradition of birth is one of those that has been lost.

In many Indigenous cultures, birth is a ceremony central to the mother's innate wisdom and her natural ability to bring her baby into the world, listen to her baby, and be the authority over her own body and birth. It represents a transition of death and rebirth, where the maiden is left behind, and a deep sense of power is activated. Growing a human without outsourcing decisions, having well-being and authority outside of herself, and birthing her baby undisturbed initiates the mother into this activation.

In This Episode We Talk About:

✹ The energetics and patterns of abusers, on a micro and macro level, in relationships, communities, cultures and countries.

✹ Michelle's path from the shadows of abuse in a relationship with her two children.✹ How she left one day with her beautiful sons, a bag of clothes prompted by a deep knowing that it was time.

✹ The reality of how incredibly challenging it is to leave a relationship where abuse is present, particularly if it has slowly increased over time.

✹ The birth of Michelle's sons, how she was silenced, and how she moved through this in menopause.

✹ Why Michelle chose to step away from supporting Birth in hospitals.

✹ The statistics of intervention in Birth and the consequence on Baby, Mother and family.

✹ Specific examples of disrespect, abuse, coercion and neglect of Mothers, partners and babies in the hospital system.

✹ Some reflection on colonisation and its role in systemic control of Mothers and women and the ripple effect on a person's capacity for wholeness.

✹ Freebirth and why Michelle chooses this path in her work with Birth.

✹ Michelle as a guest at Alchemy Rites October 3rd-6th 2024

Support for Women experiencing abuse:

⟶ International Helpline for Domestic Violence

Website: DomesticShelters.org
Description: While not a single global helpline, this resource provides a directory of domestic violence services worldwide, including crisis hotlines and support services in various countries.

⟶ The Global Network of Women's Shelters (GNWS)

Website: GNWS.org
Description: A network connecting various women's shelters and support services around the world. They provide information and resources on how to find help in different countries.

In Australia ⟶ 1800RESPECT

Website: 1800RESPECT.org.au
Phone: 1800 737 732
Description: Provides 24/7 support, information, and resources for people impacted by sexual assault, domestic or family violence.

⟶ Lifeline Australia

Website: Lifeline.org.au
Phone: 13 11 14
Description: Offers crisis support and suicide prevention services, including help for those experiencing domestic violence.

⟶ Safe Steps Family Violence Response Centre

Website: safesteps.org.au
Phone: 1800 015 188
Description: Provides 24/7 crisis support, emergency accommodation, and practical support for women and children experiencing family violence.