ABOUT THIS LIFE

Some people get stuck reenacting the same painful dynamics for years. What if the pain you keep suppressing is actually the key to healing it?
 
Ben Oofana reveals a radically different path to recovery, one built on Native American apprenticeship, Taoist internal arts, and learning how to let trauma move through the body instead of staying trapped there.
 
Ann-Marie and Ben immediately move to the heart of the trauma: from leaving home as a teenager to training under Horace Dalkai, one of the last traditional doctors of the Kiowa tribe, to years of intensive vision quests, sweat lodges, and ceremonial work that shaped his understanding of medicine. Ben also shares how later training in Xing Yi Quan, Bagua Zhang, Tai Chi, and Qigong gave him a second toolkit for working with emotion, energy, and physical distress.
 
In this episode, you'll discover:
💢why intellectual insight alone often fails to heal trauma
💢how meditation method Ben uses to digest grief, rage, abandonment, and fear works
💢how unresolved wounds can show up as relationship patterns, digestive issues, heart problems, and emotional flooding
💢how indigenous healing traditions and modern psychotherapy complement each other If you've ever felt like you understand your pain but still can't move through it, this episode offers a new framework for healing that is practical, spiritual, and deeply human.
 
Essential listening for anyone navigating trauma, heartbreak, or the search for a more embodied way to heal. Ben's Contact Info: benoofana.com teachmetomeditate.com breakupfirstaid.com  
 
 / @benoofana   #AboutThisLifePodcast #Transformation #MindsetShift #PersonalGrowth #nativeamericanhealing #SelfImprovement #PersonalDevelopment #EmotionalHealing
 

The shows that reflect your lived experience --from the warmth of Queen Sugar to the lasting impact of The Cosby Show and A Different World - are an invitation to consider the cultural touchstones that capture a moment in your life.
In this episode, Ann-Mare reveals how her experiences across both a predominantly white institution (PWI) and a Historically Black College/University (HBCU) can deepen your understanding of identity, belonging, friendship, and transformation.
In this episode, we explore
culture, language, environment, and community that influences identity
Black television shows and the stories that stay with us
friend groups that can endure differences, conflict, and changing seasons
Which one of these topics would you like to know more about? Share in the COMMENTS. 
#AboutThisLifePodcast #ADifferentWorld #HowardUniversity Alumni #ADifferent World #HillmanCollege #Transformation

Flowers, trauma, and the mind game keeping high achievers stuck - Steve Barton breaks down why so many people chase success and still feel empty, and how to finally get back to the part of you that already feels enough. Ann-Marie sits down with executive coach Steve Barton for a conversation that moves from the flower shop to the subconscious, from tulips to unconditional self-worth. What starts with a playful look at flowers quickly turns into a powerful framework for understanding why we attach meaning to pain, why we repeat old patterns, and why the stories we tell ourselves can quietly run our lives. You’ll discover:
Why Steve says flowers are a mirror of personality, identity, and emotional wiring
How the “game of ten” helps you shift from fear, self-doubt, guilt, and shame into awareness
-Why “I am enough, I do enough, I have enough” is more than a mantra - it’s a reset This episode matters because the same patterns that keep you overthinking, people-pleasing, or chasing the next milestone can also keep you disconnected from peace, love, and clarity. If you’re ready to stop living from survival mode and start leading from awareness, this conversation will hit home.
#stevebartoncoaching #AboutThisLifePodcast #Transformation #MindsetShift #PersonalGrowth #LifeChange #Inspiration #SelfImprovement #PersonalDevelopment #EmotionalHealing

What does it mean to become a poet?
In this episode, Ann-Marie sits down with Poet Laureate Tatiana Figueroa Ramirez to explore what it truly means to become a poet -- not just the craft, but the calling. We talk about the power of writing in both English and Spanish, and why holding onto both languages is an act of preservation as much as expression.
Tatiana shares her perspective on 
why poets have a responsibility to pass down their craft to the next generation,
how to honor ancestors and culture through the written and spoken word, and
why access to poetry is important for humanity.
This conversation is about lineage, language, literacy, and the sacred work of keeping our stories alive. 
 
#AboutThisLifepodcast
#BecomingEnoughBecomingYou
#PoetLaureate
#DC Scores
#poetryheals
#TatianaFigueroaRamirez
 

“Poetry heals because it gives shape to what feels too big or too messy for ordinary conversation. When you write down the ache, the joy, the confusion — you’re not just describing the feeling anymore, you’re holding it up to a mirror long enough to understand it. That distance is where healing starts.There’s also something sacred about rhythm and image doing the work language alone can’t. A poem can hold contradiction— grief and gratitude in the same breath — without needing to resolve it. And when you read it aloud, or share it with someone else, you’re saying: this was true for me, and maybe it’s true for you too. That’s the moment isolation breaks, and connection begins.In this episode, Ann-Marie reads one poem from her newly released book, “It Soon Come - Poems and Letters in Becoming Enough” and the truth underneath it. She shares the story of why it needed to be written — because sometimes the only way through is to say it out loud.“I am enough. So are you.”

In this episode of About This Life, Ann-Marie sits down with longtime friend — educator, literacy leader, and author Marilyn Barber for an inspiring conversation about identity, healing, and the power of owning your story.
The two women share wisdom about what it means to be enough. Marilyn’s book, ‘A Journey of Sacrifice and Determination,’ reflects on growing up during the Civil Rights era, studying classical music at Peabody Preparatory, and the experiences that shaped her life.
Ann-Marie’s book, ‘It Soon Come- Poems and Letters on Becoming Enough,’ is a raw, unflinching and tender account of moving from courage into joy, from joy into self-love.
Together, Ann-Marie and Marilyn explore what it means to move from feeling invisible to truly seeing yourself. They discuss inner-child healing, journaling, racism, resilience, creativity, becoming enough, and why our stories deserve to be heard.
This conversation is for anyone who has spent years proving their worth, caring for everyone else, or wondering whether their story really matters.
✨ Your story matters.✨ Your voice deserves to be heard.✨ Becoming who you are is a journey worth sharing.
Subscribe and join the About This Life community as we continue changing our lives—one day at a time.
#EmotionalHealing  #PoemsforHealing #BlackWomenWrite #WritingtoHeal #LetterstoInnerChild  #BlackWomenJournal #PeabodyPrepatory #SelfLove

She lost her home—but never lost herself.
In this powerful episode of About This Life, Rebecca Phoenix Vaughn shares her extraordinary journey through hardship, homelessness, grief, purpose, poetry, and the unshakable belief that you can keep rising—even when life brings you to your knees.
From being told to “get a real job” to becoming an award-winning poet and living proof that your gift can make room for you, Rebecca reminds us:
Your circumstances are not your identity.Your past is not the end of your story.And if you’re still here, you can still rise.
This is a conversation about resilience, faith, passion, healing, and becoming the person you were always meant to be.
Watch until the end—and remember: you are still becoming.
❤️ Save-the-Date:  September 8thSee a copy of Rebecca’s poem printed in Ann-Marie’s book.
♥️ Like, subscribe and share with other poets. 
#StorytellingChallenge #BlackWomenWhoWrite #SelfPublishedAuthor#InnerChildHealing #SelfLoveJourney#Homelessness #HealingThroughWriting

What if the greatest gift you can give your children isn’t money—but the belief that they can become extraordinary?
Raise Extraordinary Children with Nathaniel A. Turner
This powerful conversation explores breaking generational cycles, raising children with purpose, dreaming beyond limitations, and creating opportunities for the next generation to thrive. Sometimes, changing a child’s future starts with one adult deciding to believe in what’s possible.
In this episode, listen to 💫 how men can connect to their children 💫 how families can raise their own children”supaman” or “superwoman”💫 how letter writing is a powerful tool in shaping family legacy 
As the school year begins, share this message with teachers, counselors, and parents. 
#Parenting #fatherhood #strongblackfathers #GenerationalHealing #BreakTheCycle #RaisingBlackChildren #FamilyLegacy #ChildDevelopment #LettersHeal #SchoolCounselors #PodMatch