Occupation: Author and educator Interviewer: Berry Liberman Location: Southern Highlands, NSW Date: March 2023 A former midwife, Jane Hardwicke Collings works in the realm of women’s leadership, personal development and community-building through her

I have absolutely loved every brief and shining moment of editing Dumbo Feather these past 12 months. My connection with the magazine began in 2015, when, adoring the content, I offered my services as a proof reader. I wanted to honour the magazine b

Great leaders have the power to inspire people, create positive change and transform communities. They are visionaries who see the potential in others and motivate them to achieve their best. As the world grapples with complex problems such as climat

Occupation: Educator, social philosopher Interviewer: Berry Liberman Location: Wisconsin, USA Date: December 2022 Albert Einstein is quoted as saying “I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sti

I was 14 when Bad Religion arrived in my life. I was gifted their 2002 album, The Process of Belief, by my cool aunt. The record, all breakneck drums and supersonic guitars, featured songs that dismantled materialism, consumerism, capitalism, corpora

Hireup started for my sister Laura and me with our brother Shane. He had cerebral palsy and relied on support in all aspects of his life. Seeing the challenges that Shane faced in trying to find good, consistent support made us want to do something.

Occupation: Digital sustainability expert Interviewer: Kirsty de Garis Location: Montreal, Canada Date: January 2023 For an issue that explores the theme of hopeful leadership, Eliane Ubalijoro was recommended to me by a trusted friend whose worldvie

It was just after five a.m. on a crisp London morning in April 2020. Along with the rest of the world, the UK had recently implemented a lockdown (whatever that was) and the light of its capital was starting to dim more and more each day. Like everyo

We all know the dreamers. Those who love nothing more than to pause everything to ponder how the world could be different. They stretch our imaginations as they paint vivid descriptions of a renewed street, or city, or country, or even the whole worl

The wonder of modern neuroscience has caught up with ancient wisdom and now tells us that we each have three brains, or three centres of intelligence. The one we most often think about and pay attention to is the “head”, or our cognitive processing b

Occupation: Community leader Interviewer: Berry Liberman Location: Los Angeles Date: February 2023 Arriving in New York at the age of 15 from Guyana, Orland Bishop studied medicine as a young man, enamoured of science and its mysteries. Conscious fro

Occupation: Writer, director, producer, teacher Interviewer: Berry Liberman Location: Los Angeles Date: February 2023 Twenty-three years ago, I was a 21-year-old budding filmmaker, fresh out of the Victorian College of the Arts, with the feature film

Occupation: Cookbook author Interviewer: Kirsty de Garis Location: New York Date: September 2022 Around 10 years ago, in the inner suburbs of Sydney, Hetty McKinnon started to make salads in her home kitchen and deliver them by bicycle to local resid

The airport used to be a space of deep ritual. Find a coffee in the morning, a beer after 12 pm, and sit with a book, undisturbed and anonymous. On the flight, my mind would wander. A folder on my phone titled Plane Ponders is the guardian of many a

An aeon ago, at the start of my adult life, I dropped out of the science–law degree that I had chosen for no better reason than “having the marks” and entered a tumultuous period of existential and spiritual seeking. I had emerged from a miserable ad

Occupation: Inventor Interviewer: Kirsty de Garis Location: Byron Bay Date: August 2022 Saul Griffith is a scientist and inventor. He has built all manner of crazy machines and now he lobbies governments and big businesses as an advocate for clean en

I was a late bloomer in the unveiling of my sexuality. Growing up in small-town Western Australia, in a rather conservative Catholic family, the story of being gay was shrouded in suspicion and judgement, and somehow my body learned early on not to g

Genuine acts of kindness – no matter whether they are small or large – are a positive pathway to reach beyond our own ego. It feels good to be the giver, receiver, or witness to a no-strings-attached act of kindness. Kindness is action. It is a key p

We don't have native title here, but we didn't sign a treaty and there's no deed of sale. We created a border circle on 26 August 2019, a few kilometres east. Then on 26 August 2020, we set up a border ring inside a pastoral lease. We built a fire in

Occupation: Meditation teacher Interviewer: Berry Liberman Location: San Francisco Date: October 2022 This conversation was such a warm and tender walk through Sylvia Boorstein's incredible wisdom. I came into the conversation with a cold, feeling su

Occupation: Speaker, author, martial artist Interviewer: Jess Miller Location: Sydney Date: September 2022 Nadine Champion is not my friend. She is my teacher. I first met her 14 years ago, at Boxing Works in Sydney. Within the Boxing Works constella

Spring is my favourite season. I see hope, potential and regeneration everywhere I look. Baby animals are everywhere, chicks squawking from their nests. There is a Willy Wagtail outside my window with protective parents that sound the alarm every tim

My mum died suddenly in November 2019. It was a couple of months later that we went into lockdown, and I craved a connection with somebody who understood what I was going through. That led me to a support group called Motherless Daughters Australia,

Note: It's a criminal offence in Australia and many other countries to possess, manufacture or supply psilocybin and LSD. This essay is for education and entertainment purposes only and is not intended to encourage you to break the law. I've never be