The Shakti School

Feminine Form Sacred Technology

self love

Ep. 247 Are Women’s Brains Different From Men’s?

This is a picture of Katie Silcox. The text reads, "Spirit Sessions: Find your true spiritual home with Katie Silcox."

Are female and male brains really that different? In this episode, Katie explores the science, psychology and Tantric wisdom behind feminine and masculine ways of perceiving, processing and responding to the world. Drawing on groundbreaking research, cultural myths and ancient spiritual teachings, she offers a nuanced discussion about the differences between genders and what they can teach us about creating healthier relationships.

Thank you to our friends at Banyan Botanicals for sponsoring this episode! Click here to learn more about Katie’s favorite Beauty Balm and to try it for yourself. Use the discount code KATIES15 for 15% off your first Banyan purchase!

In this episode about the differences between women's brains and men's, you’ll hear:

~ Chick here to join our newsletter and be notified about our upcoming FREE webinars!

~ Shakti and Shiva: feminine and masculine energies

~ Duality, polarity and the value of diversity

~ Insights from the work of Prof. Dr. Aiman Saab

~ Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus by John Gray

~ This American Life podcast

~ What neuroscience has revealed about men's and women's brains

~ The Tantric understanding of masculine and feminine differences

~ How women and men tend to perceive and interpret the world

~ The groundbreaking research of Prof. Dr. Daphna Joel 

~ University of Pennsylvania study on brain connectivity

~ Common myths and misconceptions about sex differences in the brain

~ Why do women and men tend to respond differently to emotional situations?

~ Finding greater understanding and connection across differences

~ The Sedona Method

Or Subscribe on iTunes

Check out these related episodes:

~ Ep. 210 The Drama Triangle: Why it’s Wrecking Your Relationships and How to End It

~ Ep. 199 Conscious Relationships and Modern Dating with Angelica Neri

Connect with Katie and The Shakti School:

~ Sign up for our free mini-course about Women’s Wisdom and Ayurveda!

~ Follow The Shakti School on Instagram and Facebook

~ Read Katie’s latest book, Glow-Worthy!

Help Us Spread Our Pod Wings!

I hope you loved today's discussion about men's and women's brains! If you'd like to support the pod, the most effective way you can help is to:

  1. Subscribe to the show by clicking “subscribe” in iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts
  2. Write us a review
  3. Share this episode with a friend right now!

It seems simple, but you’d be AMAZED to know how much it helps my little love project reach more people. Podcast app algorithms use ratings and reviews to determine what shows to suggest to others.

From my heart to yours,

Katie

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Ep. 246 Obsession, Love and Limerence: Moving from Fantasy to Freedom

This is a picture of Katie Silcox. The text reads, "Spirit Sessions: Find your true spiritual home with Katie Silcox."

Is it true love, unhealthy obsession or limerence? In this episode, Katie explores the psychology and ancient spiritual wisdom around limerence - a state of infatuation with a person or idea. Katie shares how dopamine, social media and the search for external validation often keep us caught in cycles of unfulfilled longing. Learn how to recognise the difference between limerence and genuine love so you can open to greater self-awareness, clarity and personal growth.

Thank you to our friends at Banyan Botanicals for sponsoring this episode! Click here to learn more about Katie’s favorite Beauty Balm and to try it for yourself. Use the discount code KATIES15 for 15% off your first Banyan purchase!

In this episode about limerence, you’ll hear:

~ Click here to join our Spirit Sessions Membership!

~ Why is everyone online talking about limerence right now?

~ What is limerence?

~ The difference between infatuation and love

~ What’s going on in the brain when we’re in a state of limerence?

~ The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer

~ Psychologist Dorothy Tennov 

~ How to tell if you’re in a limerence relationship

~ What do the ancient Buddhist and Tantric texts say on this topic?

~ The “hungry ghost”

~ Breadcrumbing

~ Anticipation vs. actual pleasure

~ How social media and advertisers use hypnosis

~ The Ayurvedic concept of Kāma

~ Making choices from a place of clarity

~ The deep spiritual opportunity limerence offers

Or Subscribe on iTunes

Check out these related episodes:

~ Ep. 142 360 Degree Love: It Ain’t All Sex, Bonbons and Roses

~ Ep. 131 Are You a Love Hustler?

Connect with Katie and The Shakti School:

~ Sign up for our free mini-course about Women’s Wisdom and Ayurveda!

~ Follow The Shakti School on Instagram and Facebook

~ Read Katie’s latest book, Glow-Worthy!

Help Us Spread Our Pod Wings!

I hope you loved today's discussion about limerence, love, dopamine and social media. If you'd like to support the pod, the most effective way you can help is to:

  1. Subscribe to the show by clicking “subscribe” in iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts
  2. Write us a review
  3. Share this episode with a friend right now!

It seems simple, but you’d be AMAZED to know how much it helps my little love project reach more people. Podcast app algorithms use ratings and reviews to determine what shows to suggest to others.

From my heart to yours,

Katie

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Ep. 217 Ozempic: A Compassionate Ayurvedic Perspective

This is a picture of Katie Silcox. The text reads, "Spirit Sessions: Find your true spiritual home with Katie Silcox."

In this heartfelt episode, Katie opens up a compassionate, non-judgmental conversation about Ozempic and weight loss drugs through the lens of Ayurveda. With deep love and understanding for those on these medications, she explores how true healing comes from discernment and addressing the root causes of imbalance.

Katie shares powerful Ayurvedic insights on hunger and the sacred role of fat in the body, reminding us that our fat carries the wisdom of our lineage. Tune in for a warm, honest discussion that weaves together science, spirit and self-love.

Want more ancient wisdom to help you navigate modern life? Learn LIVE with Katie every month in our Spirit Sessions Membership! Click here to join for just $28 a month!

In this episode about Ozempic, you’ll hear:

~ An invitation to join our year-long Divine Feminine Ayurveda School

~ Short-term results vs. long-term health 

~ Addressing the root cause of obesity

~ The measurement of youth in Ayurveda

~ Side effects of Ozempic

~ Long-term effects of Ozempic on the body

~ How weight loss drugs affect our prakruti and vikruti

~ Developing a healthy metabolism

~ Why feeling hungry is important

~ How Ozempic hijacks our body’s innate intelligence

~ Personal stories from Katie’s time in India

~ Differing cultural beauty standards

~ The many roles of fat in the body

~ Fat as the Divine Mother

~ The relationship between fat, emotions and our ancestors

~ Why fat is sexy

~ Sign up for our free Women’s Wisdom and Ayurveda mini-course!

Other resources related to this episode:

~ Learn more about Ayurveda School

~ 2025 Chakra Yoga Nidra Workshop: Study with Katie and other luminary teachers this fall in the Bahamas!

~ 2026 Chakra Yoga Nidra Retreat: Deep dive into the chakras with Katie as your guide in the beautiful Bahamas in spring 2026!

~ Follow us on Instagram and Facebook

~ Katie’s latest book, Glow-Worthy

Or Subscribe on iTunes

Episodes related to today’s discussion about Ozempic:

~ Ep. 183 The Deep Spirituality of Agni

~ Ep. 213 Ayurveda For Weight Balancing

Learn more:

Help Us Spread Our Pod Wings!

Did you love this episode about the Ayurvedic perspective of Ozempic and other weight loss drugs? This show is a passion project that I produce for the love of sharing. If you love show and want a free and easy way to help it grow, the most effective way you can help is to:

  1. Subscribe to the show by clicking “subscribe” in iTunes
  2. Write us a review in iTunes
  3. Share this show with one friend right now!

It seems simple, but you’d be AMAZED to know how much it helps my little love project reach more people. iTunes’ algorithm uses ratings and reviews to know who to show our show to in their app.

Here’s the link to leave us reviews in iTunes.

From my heart to yours,

Katie

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Ep. 216 The Heart Chakra: Love, Courage and Goofball Energy

This is a picture of Katie Silcox. The text reads, "Spirit Sessions: Find your true spiritual home with Katie Silcox."

Living from the heart is one of the most courageous things we can do. A healthy heart chakra brings about grace, strength and impenetrable boundaries. In today’s episode, Katie shares ancient Tantric wisdom and modern scientific findings to help you understand the chakra system and tap into its immense power!

Do you want to be guided through energetic practices for clearing, opening and awakening the heart chakra? This episode is part of a recent live workshop taught by Katie in our Spirit Sessions membership. To watch the full workshop replay with guided meditations AND join us for a LIVE for the next chakra system workshop, click here to join for just $28 a month!

In this episode about the heart chakra, you’ll hear:

~ The message and wisdom of the heart

~ The biggest heart chakra = the most powerful person in the room

~ A review of the first, second and third chakras

~ Us/them consciousness vs. universal consciousness

~ How our experiences are processed through the chakra system

~ Why many people stuck in the first three chakras

~ The heart's electromagnetic field

~ Growing and strengthening your heart chakra

~ Coherent and incoherent heart fields

~ Sensing the heart field of others

~ Important scientific discoveries about the heart

~ Why our emotions affect our digestion

~ The heart as a primary nervous system organizer

~ The HeartMath Institute’s Inner Balance Coherence Plus

~ Image of the biomagnetic heart field that Katie references

~ How our magnetic fields influence each other

~ The connection between the heart chakra, the thymus gland and Shiva Rudra

~ Reigniting the thymus gland to improve immunity

~ How to know if you’re living from the heart

~ Why true forgiveness of self and others is an inside job

~ Sign up for our free Women’s Wisdom and Ayurveda mini-course!

Other resources related to this episode:

~ Learn more about Ayurveda School

~ 2025 Chakra Yoga Nidra Workshop: Study with Katie and other luminary teachers this fall in the Bahamas!

~ 2026 Chakra Yoga Nidra Retreat: Deep dive into the chakras with Katie as your guide in the beautiful Bahamas in spring 2026!

~ Follow us on Instagram and Facebook

~ Katie’s latest book, Glow-Worthy

Or Subscribe on iTunes

Episodes related to the heart chakra and energy work:

~ Ep. 154 Energy Medicine 101

~ Ep. 44 We All Need Self-Love Training Wheels

Learn more:

Help Us Spread Our Pod Wings!

Did you love learning about the heart chakra? This show is a passion project that I produce for the love of sharing. If you love show and want a free and easy way to help it grow, the most effective way you can help is to:

  1. Subscribe to the show by clicking “subscribe” in iTunes
  2. Write us a review in iTunes
  3. Share this show with one friend right now!

It seems simple, but you’d be AMAZED to know how much it helps my little love project reach more people. iTunes’ algorithm uses ratings and reviews to know who to show our show to in their app.

Here’s the link to leave us reviews in iTunes.

From my heart to yours,

Katie

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Ep. 28 The True Self VS. What-Had-Happened Was: Pra and Vikruti

A look at our True Nature, or Prakritu; and, our Separated-From-Our-True Nature-Self, or Vikruti.

In this episode I discuss:

~Our True Nature or True Self

~Everything begins on the subtle plane

~The Blueprint vs the Overlays (aka Samskaras)

~Yoga at its best is a dissolution

~Why I don’t like online quizzes

~Love as Listening

~Ayurveda as nothing to do with your dosha

~Freedom & Desire

~Authenticity

~Trying vs watching

~I’m in LOVE with Triphala and Shatavari by ApotheKary! They’re an Ayurvedic inspired apothecary that mixes small-batch potions.  Use discount code GHEESPOT10 to get a bottle from ApotheKary.co

Or Subscribe on iTunes

Learn more:

Shakti Ayurveda School

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HELP US SPREAD OUR POD WINGS

This show is a passion project that I produce for the love of sharing. If you enjoy this show and want a free and easy way to help it grow, the most effective way you can help is to:

  1. Subscribe to the show by clicking “subscribe” in iTunes
  2. Write us a review in iTunes
  3. Share this show with one friend right now!

It’s seems simple, but you’d be AMAZED to know how much it helps my little love project reach more people. iTunes’ algorithm uses ratings and reviews to know who to show our show to in their app.

Here’s the link to leave us reviews in iTunes.

From my heart to your screen,

Katie

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Ep. 09 Pulsing Fiery Devasting Love (Tantra Talks #2)

There are many misconceptions about Tantra. Through Tantric practices, we can experience pulsing, fiery, devastating love. However, Tantric wisdom is so much broader than just love for a partner. These practices help us fall in love with ourselves and our everyday lives!

This is Part 2 of our Tantra Talks! Listen to our other Tantra Talks below:

In this love-filled episode, Katie explores:

~ Devotion to Reality

~ Anthropomorphizing of physics

~ Mysticism in Tantra

~ Spanda, pulsation

~ Longing to be free, longing to know

~ The Creation Story

~ Yoga as a subtraction process

~ Giving from the heart

Or Subscribe on iTunes

Learn more:

Help us Spread our Podcast Wings

Are you feeling more in love with your life after today's Tantra Talk? This show is a passion project that I produce for the love of sharing. If you enjoy this show and want a free and easy way to help it grow, the most effective way you can help is to:

  1. Subscribe to the show by clicking “subscribe” in iTunes
  2. Write us a review in iTunes
  3. Share this show with one friend right now!

It’s simple, but you’d be AMAZED to know how much it helps my little love project reach more people. iTunes’ algorithm uses ratings and reviews to know who to show our show to in their app.

Here’s the link to leave us reviews in iTunes.

From my heart to your screen,

Katie

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Vitality Like A Goddess

The first days of January are associated with the Nativity of Inanna, Pagan Goddess of Sumer (later she appears as Ishtar in Babylon & Asherah in the Levant)

Inanna is a goddess of love, beauty, fertility and war. Graced with a stream of lovers, including the ill-fated Dumuzi, she is cognate to Venus. The celebration of her nativity is done with good food, good sex, and warmth.

This celebration aligns with the Ayurvedic concept of OJAS, one of the three subtle forces in our body. Think of OJAS as the container that holds your abundant energy. It is the ultimate energy reserve of the body and mind. It is the purest essence of Kapha, and physically, it is related to reproductive, hormonal, and cerebrospinal fluids.

Today, in solitary ritual, pay attention to Inanna’s role as mediator of the changing themes of a woman's life, and how we might revitalize and nourish our OJAS, which can be easily depleted this time of year by running around instead of taking it easy and practicing pratyahara, as nature does.

Cultivate OJAS with a short meditation:

Close your eyes.

Take a few deep breaths. Relax for a minute, allowing your breath to deepen and smooth out.

Now slowly start to draw your attention away from your thoughts, emotions or aches, and drop it down into your belly, holding it there until you feel sensation. Then, slowly, bring your awareness into your heart.

Remember a moment in your life when you felt very deep love. Maybe it was a time when you let yourself be totally vulnerable. When you add love to your point of focus, it builds your OJAS.

Bring that moment fully to mind and notice where you feel the sensation of love in your body. Allow this sensation to move, to expand and permeate every cell of your being. When you grow the feeling of love inside your body, you boost the power that enables you to remain strong and wise in the face of heartache, disease and change.

Relax into this loving container, watching how, over and over again, you will gain and lose the feeling, and how you can refocus and experience your inherent enduring, sustaining power.

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Self-Love? How About We Start With SELF-LIKE

The biggest epidemic we face right now is the sickness of our lack of loving ourselves. I hear about it all the time in my line of work. And as I read the millionth blog post about self-love, I take pause. I think a much better place to start is self-like. You can’t fall in love until you fall in like.

Last week, a gorgeous, talented, 20-something woman asked me if I thought she was beautiful. She felt so ugly. Fat. She asked me if I thought she’d ever make something of herself. If I believed in her…I looked at her, mouth-agape. How is the beauty butterfly not landing on this child’s heart? How is the beyond-obviousness of her beauty escaping her?

But I know why.

Inside all of us lives a tiny little wounded bunny. The proverbial Inner child.

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This stuff is so real. Until we actively begin to engage with this creature….like it, snuggle it, ask it what it needs,

get to know it, can we ever hope to truly love it and integrate it. There is so much talk in the spiritual world on transcending. Just get over it. But you can’t get over it until you’ve gone through it. Felt it. Healed it through an intimacy that combines the Love Witness with the Wounded One. That love session creates the alchemical fuel needed to burn and rise.

Self-love can be defined by how capacious we are at actually liking our funny, quirky, silly little inner child. Self-love happens when we know where she/he got hurt, and we remain SUPER gentle with those places (without letting them run the show).

When I was little I would hide peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in my piano bench. I used to hate that little kid and would get mad as she showed up in me as an adult. Why can’t “hide peanut butter sandwich girl just go away!?” I did not like her. In fact, I hated her.

My first step towards healing was a full-on shamanic love fest with her. I had to SEE her. See her geeky glasses, her braces, her chubby fingers, her broken heart that longed to be comforted and understood. I had to be with the fact that she needed soothing. She was a little girl. And she wasn’t getting that soothing from the people that she wanted it from the most. Ergo, peanut butter.

Today I can honestly share that I like that chubby girl. She has mad piano playing skills. She still eats peanut butter. She’s not perfect. She’s emotional. And I like that about her. I’ve worked hard to keep her alive in a world that so often destroys innocence.

Beloved friend – what parts of yourself have you kicked out of your own heart?

Join us in Ayurveda School. I’ll teach you how to fall in like with these unintegrated spaces. And who knows, maybe even fall in love…

~Katie

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