Stillness in the Storm Podcasts

Sarah and Jan open the series by setting the scene – a world of relentless external pressures, from global crises to personal hardship, that is driving rising levels of anxiety and leaving people struggling to find calm. They introduce the three inner systems – threat, doing, and soothing – explaining that the series is designed…

Sarah and Jan explore the first practical tool in the series – creating inner safety – beginning with how the body’s threat response can keep us trapped in fear through imagination and sensory triggers. They introduce the practice of building a personalised inner safe space through visualisation and sensory engagement, showing how this mental refuge…

Sarah and Jan explore the practice of being present – examining why fearful minds default to replaying the past or dreading the future, and how that avoidance of the present moment can itself become the problem. They make the counterintuitive case that simply observing discomfort, rather than fighting it, actually reduces pain and anxiety, and…

Sarah and Jan tackle the surprisingly difficult practice of self-compassion – exploring why, especially under pressure, we tend to criticise ourselves rather than offer kindness, and how that inner harshness actively makes things worse. Drawing on Sarah’s psychiatric experience, they make the case that deliberately nurturing the soothing system through gentle self-talk, touch, and awareness…

Sarah and Jan explore the practice of standing back from our own thoughts and feelings -introducing the resourceful “observing self” as a stable inner witness that is always available.  They walk through practical tools for creating distance from overwhelming thoughts and feelings, including naming emotions, reframing thoughts, and reality-testing. The dialogue makes the hopeful case…

Sarah and Jan explore how we can move out of a victim mindset and into genuine personal power, examining four key capacities that help us take ownership of our inner lives. Through warm, grounded conversation they show how forgiveness, hope, gratitude, and boundary-setting are not separate practices but interconnected expressions of self-sovereignty. Themes covered: Personal…

Jan and Sarah explore how meeting our emotional needs in healthy ways begins with connecting to our own inner resources – our values, strengths, and capacity for play – before reaching outward to others and the natural world. Through warm conversation and real-life illustrations, they show how even small movements toward connection can restore a…

Sarah and Jan take the series to its deepest point, exploring the idea that beneath our thoughts, feelings, and roles lies a spiritual self – a watching consciousness that is our truest identity. Through the practices of meditation and stillness, they show how reconnecting with this inner nature can bring lasting peace, dissolve negative core…

In this final audiocast, Sarah and Jan bring the series full circle by exploring resilience – not as imperviousness to hardship, but as the inner capacity to bend, recover, and even grow through adversity. They recap the seven spiritual tools introduced across the series, from inner safety and mindfulness to self-compassion and connection, framing them…