​Little Gatherings are free, 90-minute Zoom events hosted by Katie Elliott.  

 

You can expect to find a warm welcome and a gentle space in which to listen, ask questions and chat with people from all over the world. 


RECENT GATHERINGS

Guests: ALEX OH AND NIKOLAY BORISOV

Topic: SOCIAL JOURNALLING

 

What is 'social journalling' and how can it help us to create deeper and more meaningful connections both with ourselves and others?

 

Alex and Nikolay are the founders of Ohlay, a culture consultancy and social journalling studio based in Los Angeles. Their work explores the intersection of people development, design thinking, and social healing to guide people to live and work with greater personal passion and camaraderie.

 

(Jump straight to Little Challenge at 27.23)

Guest: TEJU RAVILOCHAN

Topic: BEYOND MASLOW'S HIERARCHY

 

Is self-actualisation simply the beginning of our journey into living a meaningful, connected life?

 

I met Teju via an article he wrote entitled Could the Blackfoot Wisdom that Inspired Maslow Guide Us Now? Intrigued, I asked if he would join us to talk about what he'd learned in writing the piece - and how this relates to the work he's developing at GatherFor, an organisation which helps people to form neighbourhood safety nets to support each other like a family would.

 

(Jump straight to Little Challenge at 28.41)

Guest: STEPHEN JENKINSON

Topic: ORPHAN WISDOM

 

How can preparing for death help us to live a more meaningful life? A conversation with Stephen Jenkinson - subject of the film, Griefwalker, author of Die Wise: A Manifesto for Sanity and Soul and former director of palliative care at Mount Sinai Hospital of Toronto.

 

Stephen describes himself as 'a worker, author, storyteller, culture activist, and founder of Orphan Wisdom.

 

(Jump straight to Little Challenge at 39.19)

Guest: DARRYL EDWARDS

Topic: PRIMAL PLAY

 

Want to move more but not keen on conventional approaches to exercise?

 

Darryl Edwards is a physical activity, health and play researcher and the founder of the Primal Play Method, which fuses the science of evolutionary biology with exercise physiology and play psychology. His TED talk Why working out isn't working out has now been viewed over a million times.

 

(Jump straight to Little Challenge at 40:54)

Guest: ERIN LAVERONE AND SAMUEL SALZER

Topic: EXPLORING HABITS

 

Erin and Samuel from Habit Coach Pro share simple ideas of ways to form healthy new habits (and get rid of not-so-healthy old ones!)

 

Samuel Salzer is a habit expert, behavioural designer and author of Nudging in Practice - How to Make It Easy to Do The Right Thing. Erin Laverone is an expert nutrition, health, and fitness coach who has developed effective methods to help people make "healthy" the default choice.

 

(Oops. I forgot to ask them for a Little Challenge!)

Guest: YASMIN MARRERO

Topic: CREATING BRAVE SPACES

 

How can we create not just safe spaces in which to come together, but brave, empathic spaces, where we face discomfort in order to grow? A conversation about welcome, comfort and courage with Yasmin Marrero, whose work challenges the idea that self discovery and fulfilment are reserved for those with higher levels of privilege and resources.

 

(Jump straight to Little Challenge at 28:52)

Guest: SOPHIE STEPHENSON

Topic: TRANSFORMATIVE LISTENING

 

How can we improve the quality of our thinking - and what role does listening play in the process?  Sophie Stephenson is a practitioner and teacher of the Time to Think method created by Nancy Kline, who observed that the quality of our thinking depends upon the quality of another person’s attention when listening to us. 

 

(Jump straight to Little Challenge at 27:20)

Guest: GARY HIRSCH

Topic: MORE JOY, LESS FEAR

 

What are the benefits of making a 'Worry List'? Why might we want to encourage others to steal our best ideas? How might embracing the idea of letting go help us to become less afraid and more joyful?

 

Gary is the founder of Botjoy, a global art movement designed to spread joy, courage, love and gratitude throughout the world.

 

(Jump straight to Little Challenge at 23:17)

Guest: NICOLA BROWN

Topic: NURTURING WHOLENESS

 

What does whole health look like? In her work as a behavioural scientist and the founder of digital wellbeing platform and community, Kokoro, Nicola Brown helps people to create their own unique recipes for health encompassing not just the physical but the psychological, financial and spiritual too.

 

(Jump straight to Little Challenge at 32:35)

Guest: KATHRYN CHAPMAN

Topic: SEE YOURSELF DIFFERENTLY

 

 

Can we learn to see ourselves with more self-compassion, understanding and acceptance? A conversation about Kathryn's work using portrait photography to help people transform their relationship with themselves.

 

(Jump straight to Little Challenge at 27:36)

Guest: JOHN-PAUL FLINTOFF

Topic: PERMISSION TO CREATE

 

What is the relationship between creativity and mental health? Where does the idea of the 'tortured artist' come from, and what impact does it have on us? John-Paul is a prolific artist, writer and performer who has spoken openly about his experience of a mental health crisis. Expect a friendly - and frank - conversation.

 

(Jump straight to Little Challenge at 27:20)

 

Guest: CLAUDIA M. GOLD, MD

Topic: THE POWER OF DISCORD

 

We might think that perfect harmony is the defining characteristic of healthy relationships, but the truth is that human interactions are complicated and confusing. According to the authors of The Power of Discord, psychologist Ed Tronick and paediatrician Claudia Gold, messiness is not only OK, it is crucial to our social and emotional development. 

 

(Jump straight to Little Challenge at 20:30)

Guest: ROBERT POYNTON

Topic: DANCING WITH THE UNKNOWN

 

Why are humans so desperate for certainty - and what happens when we stop resisting the unknown and dance with it instead? Rob’s work with complexity and improvisation has led him to believe in playing around with things (and people) rather than trying to control them.  

 

(Jump straight to Little Challenge at 25:22)

Guest: STEVE CHAPMAN

Topic: THE ART OF CREATIVE RESILIENCE

 

What does it mean to be a creative human being? A conversation about weirdness and wonder with Steve Chapman, an artist, writer, speaker, consultant and coach who explores creativity and the human condition. Steve's projects include the Sound of Silence podcast, the Spongleheim Gallery and Instagram phenomenon, 'What the February'.

 

(Jump straight to Little Challenge at 26:54)