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What does it look like when healing happens in community, not just in therapy rooms, but in art spaces, breathwork circles, and family constellation workshops?

In this episode, I sit down with Melody Foley, president of the Hairpin Arts Center in Chicago, artist, educator, and one of the most systemic thinkers I've had the pleasure of talking with. Melody brings over 20 years of teaching, ecological art, yoga, breathwork, and family constellations together under one roof, and this conversation goes deep.

We get into the complexity of hierarchy in constellation work why it doesn't always sit comfortably, and what it means to honor those who came before us without bypassing the pain they passed down. We talk about how societal trauma famine, displacement, exclusion becomes personal trauma, and how that gets handed to our children like an unconscious gift. We explore what it means to heal not just as an individual, but as a system, and why the wound you carry might actually be the source of your greatest strength.

Melody shares her own journey from being the quiet, invisible observer in second grade, to leading a thriving arts and healing community that survived Covid and came out the other side with real roots. We talk about servant leadership, what it means to build without hierarchy, and why collective healing is not optional — it's the only way through.

This one hit differently. I hope it does for you too.

🎙️ About Melody Foley: Melody Foley is the president of the Hairpin Arts Center in Avondale, Chicago — a nonprofit community art center rooted in accessibility, interdisciplinary collaboration, and collective care, spanning six branches including visual arts, performance, tech, and healing arts. An artist and educator with a master's in education from Columbia College, her personal practice centers on upcycled, large-scale works exploring ecological and emotional meaning. She is currently developing a painting series on mother wounds and intergenerational trauma for a gallery exhibition. On the healing side, Melody brings over 25 years of yoga practice, alongside breathwork, meditation, family constellations, and sacred plant medicine — all grounded in the belief that healing happens most powerfully in community.

Connect with Melody: Instagram (Personal): https://www.instagram.com/smallestacorn/

Instagram (Hairpin): https://www.instagram.com/HairpinArtsCenter

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melody-foley

Website: https://www.hairpinartscenter.org

🔗 Find more from us:

Website: https://www.zuluone.org/

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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zuluonepodcast/?hl=en

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Substack: https://johnacosta.substack.com/

⚠️ Disclaimer: What you hear here is for reflection and learning — listen, take what helps, and seek professional support if needed.

🔔 Upcoming Family Constellation Workshops

📍 Illinois Upcoming Dates:

• April 19th
• May 20th
• June 13th
• August 22nd
• September 20th

Family Constellation Workshop: Breaking Generational Patterns with Alicia Acosta & Cindy Biggs 📍 Where: Hairpin Arts Center, 2810 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60618 ⏰

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In this episode of the Zulu One Podcast, I sit down with Daniel Kriesant to explore one of the most profound aspects of healing:

What happens when we stop resisting life, death, and the family system we come from?

At the beginning of this conversation, Daniel shares a deeply moving experience from a family constellation where, for the first time, he felt his mother walk beside him. After years of a challenged relationship, something shifted. And in that moment, it wasn’t just about his mother, it was about reconnecting to his entire lineage and the support that has always been there.

We explore how healing often begins with something simple, yet incredibly difficult:

Gratitude for life itself, regardless of the story we came from.

This conversation moves into deeper territory around death, presence, and what it means to truly hold space for another human being. Daniel shares his work as a death doula, where he sits with individuals at the end of life, not to fix or change anything, but to be fully present with them in their final moments.

One of the most powerful ideas in this episode is this:

The pathway to presence goes through your trauma.

We talk about:

• Healing the relationship with your parents
• Reconnecting with your ancestors
• Why trauma disconnects us from presence
• The role of family constellations in generational healing
• What happens at the end of life
• Why death is not something to fear, but something to understand
• The power of simply being present with another human being

Daniel Kriesant is a practitioner whose path has been shaped by a near-death experience at the age of 12, past life regression work, and deep spiritual inquiry. He is trained as a death doula and supports individuals and families through end-of-life transitions with presence, compassion, and grace.

His work is rooted in allowing, not fixing. In trusting the field, not controlling it.

About Our Guest

Over this last chapter of life, Daniel has gone through a deep process of shedding and transformation across multiple layers of his being. His journey includes near-death experiences, past life regression work, and a lifelong exploration of spiritual healing.

He is trained as a death doula through the Emberlight Center for Conscious Living and Dying, and currently supports individuals through end-of-life transitions. His work is deeply influenced by family constellations, where he has found a profound way to allow the field to guide healing, rather than forcing outcomes.

At the core of his approach is presence, trust, and honoring the natural unfolding of life and death.

Connect with Daniel

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soulcreations/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/dankriesant

Find more from us:

Website: https://www.zuluone.org/

Support the ZuluOne Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/892585/support

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zuluonepodcast/?hl=en

X: https://x.com/jaykaboomboom

Substack: https://johnacosta.substack.com/

🔔 Upcoming Family Constellation Workshops

📍 Illinois Upcoming Dates:

• March 28th
• April 19th
• May 20th
• June 13th
• August 22nd
• September 20th

Family Constellation Workshop: Breaking Generational Patterns with Alicia Acosta

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

In this episode of the Zulu One Podcast, we sit down with Svi Soudai, a systemic practitioner and facilitator of deep personal transformation, to explore one of the most powerful ideas in healing work:

What if the parts of yourself you think are “gone” were never actually lost?

At the beginning of the conversation, we explore how trauma and life experiences often cause us to disconnect from earlier versions of ourselves. Through inner child work, systemic constellations, and deep spiritual inquiry, the process of healing becomes about reintegrating the different archetypes and identities we left behind.

Svi describes the journey of seeing yourself like a set of Russian nesting dolls, where each stage of life contains a piece of your essence. When trauma, conditioning, or survival mechanisms cause separation, those parts remain hidden until they are consciously reclaimed.

Throughout the episode we dive into:

•Why trauma causes parts of the self to fragment

• How inner child work reconnects lost identities

• The role of systemic constellations in revealing hidden truth

• Why truth-tellers often disrupt systems around them

• The difference between reacting from trauma vs acting from agency

• Why personal responsibility is the key to real transformation

• How generational patterns and epigenetics shape our behavior

• Why healing yourself changes entire family systems

We also explore deeper ideas around truth, agency, forgiveness, justice, and why the healing journey requires the courage to face our own shadows.

At its core, this conversation is about one thing:

Taking radical responsibility for your life and integrating the parts of yourself that trauma forced you to abandon.

About Our Guest

Svi Soudai is a former business and tech professional who now facilitates deep personal and systemic work, helping individuals, couples, and businesses uncover hidden patterns and move through real change.

His approach blends somatic practices, systemic constellations, and deep inquiry to help people reconnect with their authentic self and transform generational patterns.

Connect with Svi

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/svisoudai/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/svi21/

Support the ZuluOne Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/892585/support

Find more from us:

Website: https://www.zuluone.org/

Substack: https://johnacosta.substack.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zuluonepodcast/?hl=en

X: https://x.com/jaykaboomboom

🔔 Upcoming Family Constellation Workshops 📍 Illinois Upcoming Dates:

• February 22nd.
• March 28th
• April 19th
• May 20th
• June 13th
• August 22nd
• September 20th

Family Constellation Workshop: Breaking Generational Patterns with Alicia Acosta & Cindy Biggs Where: Hairpin Arts Center, 2810 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60618 ⏰ 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM 💵 Cost: $100 📧 Email: cbiggs@zuluone.org 🔗 Register: https://www.zuluone.org/event-details...

Disclaimer: What you hear here is for reflection and learning, listen, take what helps, and seek professional support if needed

Support the show