Welcome to Belonging, a podcast that explores how to come home to yourself in the age of loneliness.

Hosted and guided by Becca Piastrelli, Belonging is a podcast and journey of courageous reconnection where we explore what it means to belong to the earth, to your self, to who and what you come from, and in community.

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Episode #90: Rites of Passage for All of Us

Episode #90: Rites of Passage for All of Us

I've gotten some questions from Belonging podcast listeners about rites of passage, especially if you've left a religion that previously offered a sense of rites of passage and ritual, or how to cultivate rites of passage when we don't have that religious or cultural...

Past Episodes:

Episode #89: How I don’t find balance in my daily life

Episode #89: How I don’t find balance in my daily life

In this episode of Belonging, I'm sharing what my life looks like now on the other side of birth for any of you who are wondering what life looks...

Episode #88: Returning to a relationship with the living world

Episode #88: Returning to a relationship with the living world

So many of us are desiring tools and methods to connect with the land we live on. In this episode of the Belonging podcast, I share ways that I'm...

Episode #87: On Mothering & Eco-Grief

Episode #87: On Mothering & Eco-Grief

In this episode of Belonging, I'm sharing the complicated thoughts and feelings I'm experiencing being a mother — choosing to bring a child into...

Episode #86: How I Pitched & Wrote a Book (+ had a baby at the same time)

Episode #86: How I Pitched & Wrote a Book (+ had a baby at the same time)

I've had many questions and curiosities about my book, the book writing process, and how I got my book published, so this episode of the Belonging...

Episode #85: Why I Took a Mama Sabbatical

Episode #85: Why I Took a Mama Sabbatical

I have slowly emerged from my cocoon here in this outward facing internet space after taking a much-needed and restorative three-month mama...

Episode #84: Layers of Liberation in the Web of Being with Kathryn Fink

Episode #84: Layers of Liberation in the Web of Being with Kathryn Fink

This episode of Belonging is a swapcast with Kathryn Fink of The Heart is a Cauldron. Kathryn believes in a world where each of us lives in deep...

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Follow me! @beccapiastrelli

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This Thursday with New Orleans-based bookshop @tubbyandcoos - I'll be going live to talk about all things Root & Ritual. Thursday, 12/9 at 4pm PT/7PM ET on Tubby & Coos' facebook and YouTube channels livestream. 📚

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It felt so good (and a tad silly and vulnerable) to have my first in-person book signing today at @californiasister. Some folks made the trek with babes and books in arms to say hi and it meant so much to me. Every little moment crystallizes this experience for me. I’m an author 🤯

Thank you @creatress_b for the snaps 📸

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"Connecting to the rhythms of your own body is a⠀powerful way to tune in to what your body needs to feel alive, safe, and vibrant. Honoring the fact that not all⠀women have the same physical experiences, the cyclical⠀nature of the feminine belongs to all of us, not just women who bleed. The noise of society tells us not to be cyclical, and that sends the message that we don’t belong in our natural ways, which is not true."⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Excerpt From “Root & Ritual: Timeless Ways to Connect with Land, Lineage, Community, and the Self” by Becca Piastrelli (rootandritualbook.com)⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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#rootandritual #rootandritualbook #selflove #cyclicalliving #cyclicalbody⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Illustration by Amy Grimes @hellogrimes

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Bay Area locals! I'll be live and in-person signing books at the gorgeous @californiasister store in Sebastopol this Saturday, Dec 4th from 12-2. Come stroll the Barlow for holiday gifts and stop in and say hi!

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"It is important to allow ourselves to wander within our daydreams of another way of being. Dreams where the earth reveals the spaces our souls crave, where ancient wisdom comes alive, and where we know, above all, that we belong. And yet often, even the most enchanting daydreams only illuminate the stark reality that so many of us are living in every day: We are lonely.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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We’re not built for the way things are today. While technology and modern life have evolved at a breakneck pace, from a genetic perspective, humans are largely the same creatures we were thousands of years ago.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Our bodies are still seduced by the rhythms of the land. Our hearts quietly plea for the village to support us through life’s rites of passage. Our spirits dance at the thought of circling around the hearth fires and telling our stories. Everything within us longs to know our place in the world. And yet, most of us are getting none of that."⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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- Excerpt from Root & Ritual: Timeless Ways to Connect to Land, Lineage, Community and the Self by Becca Piastrelli⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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photo credit: @sophiastudio.co⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
illustration: @hellogrimes

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I'm in my hometown paper!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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When the Marin Independent Journal called to interview me for their weekend edition about my book, I was grateful for the coverage and saw it posted it online. But I had no idea it would be a full page spread in print! My mom had it sitting on the kitchen counter when I came over for turkey leftovers last weekend and I was stunned to see it. I had to text @sophiastudio.co to show her how beautiful her photo of me looked in print. What a cool moment

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I've gotten some questions from Belonging podcast listeners about rites of passage, especially if you've left a religion that previously offered a sense of rites of passage and ritual, or how to cultivate rites of passage when we don't have that religious or cultural foundation. This is something I've touched on before on the Belonging podcast, and in today's episode, I'm sharing my thoughts now after going through a major rite of passage myself.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I share how I'm fulfilling my need for ritual and community witnessing around pretty important things that are happening in my life, what to do when you're feeling a lack of rites of passage in your life, using social media as a way to be witnessed in the midst of a transformation, the three elements of a rite of passage, and creating a ritual for a past rite of passage that didn't get recognition at the time.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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To give it a listen, search "Belonging" wherever you listen to podcasts, or click the link in my bio.

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To the beloved boutique plant/craft/witchy/herb/clothing shop owners (and those of us who frequent and love them):

I am on a mission to get my book, Root & Ritual: Timeless Ways to Connect with Land, Lineage, Community and the Self in as many magical corner shops as possible. Because I know that they are the shops that support us seekers in finding and cultivating the meaningful community we are yearning for (and fill our lives with beauty and wonder).

I would love to support shop buyers in getting this gorgeous book in store as soon as possible. Please tag your favorite store in the comments below (and shop owners - DM me!) so I can send over the info to order directly from Macmillan Publishers. I got you!

photo credit: @sophiastudio.co

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This is one of my favorite illustrations @hellogrimes created from reading the words I wrote for Root & Ritual. It was important to me that this book felt like a thing of precious beauty. The colors, the textures, the spacing of my words with the rituals and recipes and journal prompts - all of it intentionally designed for you to soak this book in slowly. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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How many of us read entire books in a week and forget what we read a few weeks later? *sheepishly raises hand*⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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We are living in a time when there is so much information coming at us from all angles. Our attention spans are short and our desire for instant gratification is higher than ever. In order for this book to walk its talk, it was designed to be savored by your cells and read with joyful slowness. Because these topics are deep and important and cannot all be digested all at once.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Know someone who could use a joyfully slow winter read? Consider gifting them a copy of Root & Ritual this holiday season 🍄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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photo credit: @sophiastudio.co

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No matter your religious affiliation or stance on the winter holidays, gift giving is a well woven custom in our culture.⠀
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As someone who has had both the experience of being super obsessed with giving and receiving a lot of gifts and also being totally fed up with the over consumerist, environmentally destructive, and financially irresponsible nature of what how we’re told to do holiday gift giving, it’s been very helpful to connect with the origins of this long-held custom and remember how our ancestors approached it.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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This concept of stopping work to honor the darkest time of year (the winter solstice) and celebrate with your community has roots in cultures all over the world. I can only speak from the perspective of my own lineage - as a women of European descent who has done research and worked with my ancestral origins of Old Europe.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Take yourself back to a time when electricity and central heating weren't a thing, and pastoral living meant you were deeply connected to the rhythms and cycles of the land. Winter was a time when life was harder. It was cold and dark and surviving until spring was the highest priority.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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It was from that place of cold winter darkness that giving gifts was truly an act of goodwill for your community. These gifts were usually ones of necessity - some extra food from a bountiful harvest, some clothing to keep you warm, spices or herbs to nourish you through the long night of winter. It was an opportunity to ensure your neighbor thrived through the winter season, so gifts would be items like candles to ensure they had enough light, extra wool or knit items of clothing to keep them warm, food that you grew an abundance of during harvest to help fill their pantry, wood to burn in their hearthfire, or folk medicines and remedies to keep them healthy and avoid sickness. The root of winter holiday gift giving truly is caring for the wellbeing of your community. May we remember.

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"When you carry a quiet pain around the unknown stories of who your ancestors were, what they did, or what they were subjected to, avoidance is a common instinctual response. But when you acknowledge the complexities of humanity and all of the stories that have led us to where we are in a way that is safe for you, it becomes easier to take ownership of your place among all things. We are all able to write new stories—our stories— when we do not ignore the past."⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Excerpt From “Root & Ritual: Timeless Ways to Connect with Land, Lineage, Community, and the Self” by Becca Piastrelli (rootandritualbook.com)⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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#rootandritual #rootandritualbook #ancestralconnection #ancestralhealing⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Illustration by Amy Grimes @hellogrimes

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The Root & Ritual virtual book tour is making its next stop on instagram live with @nishamoodley tomorrow, Nov 24th at 1pm PT/4pm ET. Join us as we go deep on ritual, community care, and motherhood in these times. 🌙