Curito Connects

Jenn speaks to Australian based multi-disciplinary practitioner Darinka Maja. Darinka shares with us her personal story working through complex trauma and how her experience led her on the path of healing and how she found her way. From the loss of her mom shortly after her birth, to choosing to leave her dad at the age of 13, learning how to cope with social anxiety and more, Darinka hopes that her journey and offerings can help more people find insights, clarify and direction in their own life. (Recorded on January 22, 2024)

About Darinka:

Darinka - is a multi-disciplinary practitioner offering Vedic Astrology consultations & Wholistic Remedial Massage, aimed to facilitate alignment, harmony & clarity. In 2017, she completed Komilla Sutton's three-year foundation program in Jyotish and some additional advanced courses, and have given lectures at her international Fresh Talents of Jyotish conference. She has been practicing bodywork and massage for over 10 years. Her treatments blend and integrate Remedial, Deep Tissue, Myofascial release, Ka Huna & Lomi Lomi, Craniosacral Therapy and Abdominal Massage. Additionally, she completed 200 hours of yoga teacher training in India and 300 hours of Vedic counselling with Dr. David Frawley. Her offeringsare for individuals who are looking to gain greater insight, clarity & direction into their path & purpose in this life.

Episode Resources:

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Under a Vedic Sky Podcast

Darinka’s Spotify Music Playlist

Komila Sutton

The Alchemist

Power of Vulnerability by Brene Brown

The Greatness of Saturn by Robert Svoboda

Jenn speaks to Ariana Ost a jewelry designer, healer and founder of Ariana Ost. Born and raised in NYC, Ariana enjoyed growing up surrounded by museums and traveling with her father. Her love for fashion and design, history and old world atelier ultimately inspired her to get a degree in design from Parsons which led her to work for her father who ran a jewelry business in NYC. In 2009 she lost her mom to cancer and this experience led her on a deep-end healing journey. Ariana shares with us her journey and how she made sense of her grief, she is so passionate about healing the world through fashion forward aesthetics, motherhood, leaving a legacy and how these are elements that drives her to continue to build the business she started with her father in 2016. (Recorded on April 15, 2024)

About Arianna:

Ariana Ost is a design atelier based in New York City created by Ariana Ost and her father in 2016. The mission is to elevate the everyday by creating decorative objects infused with soul, conviction and healing energy. The companies purpose is to fill a whitespace in the wellness market for decor with a contemporary aesthetic and resonance with mindfulness.

Ariana loves working with her Father Jack and her Maltipoo dog named London at their dreamy Flatiron Studio in NYC. In addition to being a female entrepreneur, Ariana is also a wife to her husband Eric and mother to her precious daughter Aurelie, and charming son Julian.

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Dr Joe Dispenza

The Choice by Edith Eva Eger

Jenn talks to Austrian born now residing in Taiwan, Gabriele (Gabi) Seewald co-creator of AWOVEN - Journeys that Connect. From Austria to Taiwan and everything in between, Gabi shares with us how an accident during the birth of her daughter in 2010 damaged her nervous system that led her on this decade long healing journey and reconnecting with nature’s intelligence. What she learned during this process, how she embraced the changes and how she has taken this experience into her work and offerings she practices today in Taiwan and globally. (December 15, 2022)

About Gabriele:

Gabriele – short GABI (Taiwanese for coffee) is a ‘Weaver with the Web of Life’, a ‘Collaborator with Humans and Nature’ and one, who brings Light into the Worlds and Hearts through Education, Facilitation, Transformation. Connection, and Collaboration. She co-creates and co-facilitates retreats for self-healing and nature-connection and a founding member of AWOVEN – Journeys that Connect – the vehicle that Gabriele, Leiven and Carol are currently weaving together that will meet people, teams and groups to bring them on journeys that connect us back into our true places and purposes in the highly intelligent, benevolent and caring web of life that we all are part of.

Gabriele was born and raised in Austria and has lived in Beijing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Taipei since 2001. She is the mother of three wonderful human beings, the author of Taiwan. The hidden Jewel., published in her German mother tongue in 2018 and she holds a Master of Arts Degree in Intercultural Competencies. She is fluent in spoken Chinese, English and German. She is a permanent resident of Taiwan and a citizen of Earth and a vivid practitioner of Eastern & Western Tai Chi, Flow and Heart-to-Heart Dialogue.

Episode Resources:

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Awoven

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Wild Rhythms, Deb Matlock: Sacred Nature Connection

Song of Sophia - Living School of Divine Nature, Eliza Maora

School of Sacred Earth Wisdom, Vasama Gaul

Earth: The Art of Peace - Balance over Conflict in Sun Tzu’s The Art of War by Philip Dunn

Jenn speaks to Taiwan based British photographer Duncan Longden! Originally from Oxfordshire, Duncan has spent his career working in various roles we dive into the challenges that he encountered taking that leap of faith to quit his job in the UK to move to Taiwan, restart a new life out here as a photographer, and the challenges and obstacles he faced in both his professional and personal life and why it is important to seek support and find tools to cultivate a healthy mindset and be able to learn to pivot each time you are faced with challenges. (Recorded on August 17, 2023)

About Duncan:

Duncan is a commercial photographer/videographer from the UK now based and working out of Taiwan. He has spent many years involved in the industry and has great experience having worked with all kinds of clients from individuals all the way through to some of the worlds largest brands. Living in Taiwan enables him great access throughout Asia.

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Joe Rogan

Casual Criminalist

Jenn speaks to Christine Chien (CC), founder of 10m Souls (千萬靈魂 ). A successful founder of a multimillion dollar real estate firm, CC has since found meaning in touching thousands of souls: people and animals through her recently published book and work she is doing through 10m Souls. She shares her life journey and how liberating oneself from conditional experiences to living in unconditional quantum happiness and how this is what she hopes to empower others to do! (Recorded on May 15, 2023)

About Christine:

Christine Chien is an entrepreneur, author, life coach, and spiritual practitioner. Born and raised in Taipei, she studied abroad in Vancouver and is a graduate of the University of British Columbia. Her recent book, 我活著我的人生嗎, can be found at bookstores throughout Taiwan.

Episode Resources:

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10msouls Podcast

John Butcher

Essentialism by Greg McKeown

The Surrender Experiment

The Untethered Soul

Bhagavad Gita Chinese Translation

Tao Te Ching in Chinese

Gaia

The Bhagavad Gita

Jenn speaks with American freelance journalist based in Taipei, Kaitlin Menza. From the East Coast of the US living the life of travel, dining, exploring and sharing it as a writer and former editor at Teen Vogue, Glamour, and Seventeen to finding love, getting pregnant, moving to a new country and becoming an expat, Kaitlin shares how she has navigated these major life changes and continues to share all the wonderful things life and the world has to offer through her writing! (Recorded on February 15, 2024)

About Kaitlin:

Kaitlin Menza is an American magazine writer who most often covers culture, style, and women's issues. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Vanity Fair, the Guardian, Esquire, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, The Cut, and many more. Past articles of hers have been nominated for a National Magazine Award, and selected for the Best American Food Writing anthology. In 2022, after over a decade in New York, she moved to Taiwan with her husband, Chef Kevin Rose, and in 2023 they welcomed their first child. She writes about the experience of emigrating in her Substack, Two Paragraphs from Taiwan.

Episode Resources:

Website

Substack

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The Artist Way

Longform Podcat

Jenn speaks to entrepreneur & founder of the dating app DOWN, Colin Hodge. Colin is an entrepreneur, startup advisor and investor, he shares with us the lessons learned when experiencing the loss of a loved one. At 19, Colin lost his mom to cancer and from this he has gone on to integrate what he learned into his life pursuits. (Recorded on November 24, 2023)

About Colin:

Colin Hodge is an entrepreneur, startup advisor, and investor. He’s led growth teams and companies totaling over 100m users globally. He currently is co-owner of DOWN, a top 20 dating app in the US with millions in annual revenue. Colin also co-founded the Snowball Community in Taiwan to help regular consumers have an impact on human rights & freedoms in Asia. Also in Taiwan, he was Chief Growth Officer at 17Live, the top live-streaming app, leading data-driven growth initiatives, global expansion, and marketing efforts for millions of users, later launching the app as CEO of the US division. Colin arrived in Asia after selling DOWN that now boasts over 13m users worldwide, which he was lucky enough to re-acquire in 2018. Colin is also a product growth & entrepreneurship speaker, with experience at SXSW, Business Insider's Conference, Glimpse Social Media Conference, and The Colbert Report. He writes about startups & the dating industry, and has plans to launch his debut book.

Episode Resources:

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Cindy Gallop

Savage Love Podcast

Jenn speaks to Taiwanese entrepreneur, founder of Anchor Taiwan Elisa Chiu! Anchor Taiwan is a platform focusing on innovation ecosystem building for cross-border collaboration, strategic partnership/marketing/investing and tech scouting. Elisa has over the years like many founders, failed and accomplished in all aspects of her life. We dive into conversing about pedal to lead in which Elisa’s journey to cycling a few years ago gave her a whole new perspective about herself, her work, Taiwan and more. (Recorded on November 13, 2023)

About Elisa:

Elisa Chiu is the founder of Anchor Taiwan, a platform focusing on innovation ecosystem building for cross-border collaboration, strategic partnership/marketing/investing and tech scouting with previous clients/partners/speakers from Google, AWS, Foxconn, MediaTek, NVIDIA, DIGITIMES, Infineon and many more from 15+ countries.

As a dedicated ecosystem builder and partner with leading executives, investors and entrepreneurs, Elisa has a unique vantage point and network around the future of mobility, sustainability, and cross-industry opportunities.

She is a highly sought-after speaker for tech conferences at Stanford University, The Economist, APEC O2O Summit, Arm Tech Symposia and many more. Elisa sits on the Advisory Committee of MIH, an open EV platform initiated by Foxconn, the Strategic Advisory Council of Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, and Taiwan-Hong Kong Economic and Cultural Co-operation Council (THEC).Elisa was awarded 40 Under 40 as a Woman in Tech and a Gen.T X Credit Suisse Social ImpactAwardee. She is a global citizen (70+ countries), a builder at heart, a student of life, a failed war zone photojournalist and a cyclist.

Episode Resources:

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Anchor IG

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YouTube

Jenn speaks to Ohio born, Taiwan based Marcus Aurelius Maurice, aka DJ Marcus Aurelius. From Ohio to Taiwan, DJ Marcus shares with us how his philosophy in life is that “everything will be alright” and what prompted him to have this mindset, it started with a life changing experience backpacking from Cairo to Capetown! Buckle up for some animated storytelling from DJ Marcus as he dives into his young days in Milwaukee, navigating life in Taiwan in the early 2000s, how he started and shaped his career as a DJ in Taiwan and all the fun projects he has created and continues to create today for the DJ industry in Taiwan, Asia and around the world. (Recorded on May 17, 2023)

About Marcus:

Two-time Taiwan Red Bull 3Style finalist and all around party rocker.

All of life is in need of the right rhythm. For more than two decades, DJ Marcus Aurelius has been a curator in search of impeccable music played at the right times to squeeze the most enjoyment out of every event. Whether it is the grimiest dancehall show packed into a sweaty basement, a comfortably mainstream club filled with bottle poppers and fly ladies, or a private event with celebrities and VIPs in suits, Marcus’ mission is to please the masses and hardcore heads, as well as skillfully mix in surprises that people talk about afterwards. DJ Marcus Aurelius’ style is perfectly askew and he thrives to make order out of chaos.

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Mixmag

Lifted Asia

Devils Pool Zambia

DJ Jazzy Jeff

Skratch Bastid

De La Soul

Jenn speaks to Filipino American entertainment star Roxanne Barcelo. Born and raised in Fairfax, Virginia, Roxanna moved back to the Philippines when she was 13 and serendipitously started her singing and acting career in the Philippines. Today, she resides in Taiwan with her husband and 2 sweet boys where she shares with us the importance of adapting to the many life transitions one encounters. How her life path has led her from being a successful singer and actress, to seeking her authentic self after her late father passed in 2019 and mom this past January. From soul searching, finding the love of her life, moving countries, self-mastery and pursuing your dreams, are all themes we touch upon. (Recorded on October 26, 2023)

About Roxanne:

Born and raised in Fairfax, Virginia, Roxanne began singing at the age of 8. Growing up, she enjoyed singing Disney, broadway, pop ballads, standards, and soft jazz music. At 10 years old, she won the Regency Singing Competition in Virginia, was 1st runner-up at the Metropop Star Search in the Philippines at 13, and recently came in 2nd runner-up in Tawag Ng Tanghalan in the Philippines. She also finished AB Communication Arts, workshops under the best directors in the Philippines, and has received classical and pop vocal training with Lionel Guico.

Roxanne was a recording artist under Universal Records, releasing tracks such as Perfect Love, Kung Alam Mo Lang, and Answer The Phone. As a participant in the 6th Elements National Singing Songwriting Camp she underwent a myriad of training programs. She also pursued a career acting in television shows, theater musicals and movies. She became a dynamic host for live events, children’s shows, and lifestyle shows. She now lives and works in Taiwan, pursuing her career in acting and in music as a singer and songwriter.

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Marisa Peer

The Tipping Point

Outliers

Sheena Vera Cruz

Dr Maya Angelou “I Am Human”

Dr Maya Angelou “Still I Rise”

Dr Maya Angelou “Forgiveness Liberates Us”