The Syncreate Podcast: Empowering Creativity

The Rev. Dr. April Stace is Associate Professor of Practical Theology at The General Theological Seminary and serves as the rector of Church of the Epiphany in Trumansburg, New York. A practical theologian, priest, musician, and writer, her work explores the intersections of faith, culture, spirituality, and contemporary life. In addition to her academic and pastoral work, April is an accomplished harpist, composer, and recording artist. She has released seven albums as a solo musician and with her band, Harp 46. Her new album, Aphelion, released in October 2026. Her creative work draws on themes of spirituality, transformation, grief, joy, and...

Kristen D’Amato, PhD, is an author, speaker, musician, educator, and conscious leader. She’s the author of We Choose Love, a heart-centered guide to self-healing. With her abilities to psychically see and intuitively know information about people's health concerns, Kristen became a medical intuitive and energy healer two decades ago. She’s helped many relieve their symptoms without drugs and surgeries, inspiring empowerment in their healing journeys. 

Kristen completed her PhD in Mind-Body Medicine at Saybrook University, focusing on women’s sexual energy and healing. She is a 600 hour VITA-certified sex and relationship coach, trained energy medicine...

Following a successful career as a Hollywood visual effects designer and studio executive, Steven Puri pivoted to start The Sukha Company, a flow state platform that helps creative professionals work more effectively, more productively, and with more joy. As a studio executive at Dreamworks and 20th Century Fox, and producer on films from Die Hard 5 to The Wolverine, he learned how to inspire a broad range of teams. Our conversation includes insights from Steven’s experiences working with creative teams, as well as his entrepreneurial shift to becoming the Founder and CEO of Sukha, and the science and psychology of...

In a world of constant overstimulation, noise, and speed, what is the value of silence and stillness? In this episode, we explore how silence can become a refuge and a source of well-being. We also contemplate the power dynamics of silence, such as when we experience self-silencing or having silence imposed upon us. We also discuss the benefits of poetry and therapeutic writing for working with grief. 

Olga Lehmann, PhD, fondly nicknamed “The Silentist,” by colleagues, is a professor of psychology at Oslo New University College (ONH, Norway), and associate professor in counselling at the Norwegian University of Sc...

In this installment of our Creative Spark series, Charlotte  shares several anecdotes, including the story of a man she met while picking up a load of compost, who told her all about his pet pig, Cosmos. With her superpowers of listening and asking questions, Charlotte has a knack for drawing out people’s stories, which is always a source of creative inspiration. This episode, like the mini-episodes that preceded it, also includes insights from our book, Syncreate: A Guide to Navigating the Creative Process for Individuals, Teams, and Communities.

For our Creativity Pro-Tip, we...

Marco De Molina is Grammy Nominated film producer who has received international acclaim throughout his career at prestigious film festivals worldwide including the Festival de Cannes. He has been recognized for his striking visuals, unique storytelling, a keen eye for developing new talent, and his ability to maximize production value. Marco has produced countless music videos for chart-topping musicians in all genres from metal to pop. He has received numerous nominations and wins at the MTV VMAs, and UKMVAs, including a Grammy Nomination for Best Music Video for LIL NAS X “Montero (Call Me By Your Name.)” He the Co-F...

Storytelling is a huge part of the creative process, and we all carry many stories within us. In this episode of our Creative Spark Series, we explore how to find the stories in our own life experiences, and how to begin working with them. We also explore the healing power of telling our stories, and how our personal (and sometimes painful) experiences can speak to larger, more universal themes. This episode, like the mini-episodes that preceded it, also includes insights from our book, Syncreate: A Guide to Navigating the Creative Process for Individuals, Teams, and Communities.

What if you began each day outside, in nature, without technology, viewed your daily activities and connections as ways to increase the surface area of your serendipity, and spent Thursday evenings appreciating the sunset with friends? Welcome to Charles Cadbury’s world. A multi-award-winning technologist focusing on human-computer interaction and AI assistance, Charles is a creative entrepreneur who values the alchemy of connection. In this episode, we discuss the power of community and collaboration in innovation, as well as the vital importance of the creative journey itself. We also explore the creative potential of (and concerns around) emerging technologies su...

In this episode of our Creative Spark Series, Melinda & Charlotte explore both the fears and the benefits of sharing our creative selves with family, friends, and the wider world. Many creatives feel misunderstood by those closest to us, such as family members who may not “get” or value our work, so we feel hesitant or resistant to share our creative ideas and expressions with them. However, we believe there’s a positive risk in sharing and allowing ourselves to be known in this way, because it can actually allow our loved ones to become interested and invested in our creati...

What either allows or prevents us from taking action on our creative ideas and bringing them into being? According to our guest Zorana Ivcevic Pringle, PhD, emotions and choice play a major role, including our fears about being judged, as well as both our sense of creative anxiety and identity. How we manage these emotions ultimately guides our creative freedom and efficacy. 

For our Creativity Pro-Tip, if you have more ideas than you can pursue at any given moment, we encourage you to practice what Zorana calls “idea stockpiling,” which involves finding a way to recor...

In this episode of our Creative Spark Series, Melinda & Charlotte discuss both the fears and rewards of putting your creative work out into the world, sharing examples from their own experiences with music, film, and writing. While sharing your creations can feel uncertain, vulnerable and risky, you’ll never know the potential benefits unless you try. This episode, like the mini-episodes that preceded it, also includes insights from our book, Syncreate: A Guide to Navigating the Creative Process for Individuals, Teams, and Communities.

For our Creativity Pro-Tip, we encourage you to put yourself ou...

If music is a language of emotions, mathematics is a language of the nature of reality. In this episode, jazz musician and mathematician Lawrence Udeigwe reveals how these two languages inform each other, and the lessons they hold for everyday life. We discuss his new album, Four Lemmas, and how he bridges the worlds of music and math in his creative, academic, and teaching work. Dr. Udeigwe is a Professor of Mathematics at Manhattan University and a Research Affiliate in Brain and Cognitive Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). His work integrates teaching and research, with a...

In this episode of our Creative Spark Series, Melinda & Charlotte explore the power of imagination, both as a driver of innovation and a pathway to liberation. If we want to play a role in shaping the future, we must use our imagination to envision possibilities, rather than simply letting politicians and tech leaders, who likely do not have our interests at heart, do it for us. This episode, like the mini-episodes that preceded it, also includes insights from our book, Syncreate: A Guide to Navigating the Creative Process for Individuals, Teams, and Communities.

For our <...

This episode explores the connections between anxiety, authenticity, and creativity, including the hidden gifts and messages of anxiety and their implications for personal development. Amanda Beck is an actress, writer, and doctor of humanistic psychology whose work lives at the intersection of creativity, anxiety, and the authentic self. She holds a PhD from Saybrook University with a specialization in Creativity Studies, where her dissertation explored the deep connections between anxiety, authenticity, and creative expression. Amanda’s research reframes anxiety not as a disorder to be eliminated, but as an alchemical signal pointing toward transformation and authentic becoming.

Fo...

In this episode of our Creative Spark Series, Melinda & Charlotte explore questions of power and agency, and how they connect with creativity and creative empowerment. We explore power dynamics, focusing on power with (collaboration), power to (personal empowerment), and power within (personal agency and efficacy). These ways of understanding our personal power (as opposed to the traditional hierarchical model of power over, or domination), can help us take positive, creative action to be of benefit to others and to the world, even when we may be feeling powerless. This episode, like the mini-episodes that preceded it, also includes insights...

Dr. Tamara Russell is a clinical psychologist, neuroscientist, martial artist and mindfulness trainer. She works as an academic and clinician, exploring the use of embodied mindfulness in the work of transformation and self-development. Tamara is involved in international collaborations looking at how mindfulness training changes the structure and function of the brain. She is the Director of the Mindfulness Centre of Excellence, London, an organization dedicated to the wider dissemination of mindfulness, with a particular focus on innovation in the delivery of mindfulness across a variety of sectors and populations. In this episode, we discuss the importance of play...

In this episode of our Creative Spark Series, Charlotte and Melinda discuss the vital role that artists play in helping to envision and shape the future with their creative work. In keeping with our recent episode on Creativity for the Common Good (Episode 112), we explore how artists can use their vision and problem-solving skills to help make the world a better place, from pioneering new innovations and fostering community to helping others see into the possible future (as with science fiction). This episode, like the mini-episodes that preceded it, also includes insights from our book, Syncreate: A Guide...