Inward/Outward

But first, (no) coffee. I used to have 4 cups of coffee a day. I used to think I NEEDED it. Even still, I'd find my mind racing in a vicious cycle of "can't sit still" and "so tired but I can't sleep." I had the pleasure of quarantining with functional health coach Ashlyn Showalter for 44 days. She told me about how giving up coffee helped to heal her health issues. In this episode, Ashlyn talks about our parasympathetic (rest) state and our sympathetic (fight or flight) state and why it is so important to design a life that puts us in our parasympathetic. It's our rest and recovery mode and by lowering our stress hormones, our body is able to tend to and repair other ailments that it normally wouldn't when our adrenals are constantly firing. Ashlyn got me off coffee and I can honestly say that I feel more relaxed, focused, and in tune with my body's needs way more. We forget how everything we do and consume is interconnected and with the past few months being an absolute global sh*t show, we need to do what we can to put our body in a more relaxed state.Of course, everybody is different and if you know that you're committed to your Cup O' Joe , you can find other ways to get into your parasympathetic state and achieve homeostasis. For me, that looks like: -morning journaling, meditations-daily walks (also thanks to Ashlyn)-baths-yoga-hiking and turning off my phone.Listen to the full episode for Ashlyn's amazing insights and advice on this topic and be sure to follow her on instagram for more health tips and tricks at @theashlyn show.

Last year, VCs gave out $85 billion in funding. Only 2.2% of this went to women. Less than 1% went to women of color.⁣⁣@themorganrmercer was in that less than 1%. In spite of racism and sexism, @themorganrmercer has raised $3.75 million for her company Vantage Point to date.⁣⁣Vantage Point leverages VR to train corporations in response to sexism, diversity inclusion, racism, implicit bias, micro-aggressions, and more. ⁣⁣In building her company (which is so desperately needed especially in this moment in time) Morgan has developed an incredible mindset to overcome these biases in Silicon Valley as she works to tackle this problem.⁣⁣Listen to the conversation for insights on how we can shift the VC/Startup culture to be one of empowerment, inclusion, and progress, and on how we can, on an individual level, do our part to help minority-owned startups get the funding and resources they deserve.⁣⁣Thank you @themorganrmercer for a wonderful discussion. Be sure to follow Morgan for more knowledge and insights on how to combat racism and bias, and also be a BOSS entrepreneur. Check out tryvantagepoint.com for more info on her company and all associated press about her amazing work!

It would take the average Black American family 228 years to accumulate the same amount of wealth as a white one. As we all examine the systematic racism and oppression that persists in America today and as we work toward change, the economic oppression of Black America must be understood and explored so we can all work to address this problem at its root.Economic injustice stems from things like redlining to credit scores to predatory lending with exorbitantly high interest rates. All of these things were designed to keep Black Americans in poverty, which subsequently led to poor pockets of neighborhoods that persisted through the decades, which had spillover effects of poor education systems in these areas and more policing. In today's episode, I talk with one of my best friends and biggest inspirations, Colette Bishogo about how these systems came into place and what we can do about it.Colette was the first girl from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to graduate Harvard. Afterward, she worked in finance at CitiBank. Colette is the founder of Money Tea, a blog, instagram, and YouTube channel that breaks down the current economic trends and helps women stay savvy with their personal finances. Check out Colette's YouTube channel for her full video on this topic.Instagram: the_money_teathemoneytea.com

Cracking the creative code during quarantine is easier than you think.Between working, resting, keeping up with our loved ones, and staying up to date on the pandemic, it can feel like there is little time left to actually marinate in and put out our creative projects.I’ve always admired my longtime friend @madamegandhi for her ability to seamlessly streamline the deep creative focus it takes to continue to hone her musical craft and put out new music, all the while being a thoughtful and active member of society (and a great friend). For those of you struggling to find balance during quarantine, @madamegandhi breaks down a framework to think about how to optimize creativity during this time while getting all of your other sh*t done!

Imagine 15 people to a tent, in a contained square mile, indefinitely quarantined, with limited food, drinking water, and space. ⁣⁣For refugees living at Moria, the largest refugee camp in Europe, this is a reality.⁣ Moria is located on the Greek island of Lesvos and refugees can spend up to 2 years here waiting to enter Europe (all of this after an often long and dangerous journey fleeing violence in their home country).⁣I met Ali Shams Eddin when I worked with @movementonthegroundofficial this winter break at the refugee camp. I was blown away by the “camp to campus” model of the organization and how it empowers refugees to help maintain the camps. In fact, that is how Ali came to work with the NGO, first coming to Lesvos, Greece as a refugee fleeing violence in Syria.⁣⁣With 20,000 people at Moria and limited resources and volunteers, we are reminded that being able to socially distance and safely quarantine is a luxury. The most marginalized and vulnerable populations will suffer the most from the virus, and it’s spillover effects into shutting down other areas of life.⁣⁣As Ali points out, refugees have been forced to “shelter in place” long before coronavirus and now is a time to come together and show solidarity to the people around the world who need our help and support the most.⁣⁣Please consider donating to @movementonthegroundofficial to help with their efforts. They continue to work on the frontlines of this crisis and provide critical services to the residents of Moria Camp. movementontheground.com

How would you re-construct your world view if you spent the first 20 years of your life growing up isolated from the outside world in a cult?⁣⁣I first met my friend Angel, @whatisangeldoing , at a yoga teacher training 3 years ago. A few months into our friendship, she told me the incredible story of how she left a cult when she was 20 and spent the subsequent 10 years healing her trauma and becoming a seasoned yoga instructor and movement specialist. ⁣⁣Angel turned to stoicism, an ancient Greek philosophy that posits the only thing in one's control is one's emotions and responses to the outside world, to develop her own tool kit to come back to herself during times of crisis. ⁣⁣In today's episode, I talk with Angel about how she was able to heal, rid herself of her self-limiting beliefs that had been indoctrinated since birth, and how we can all use these toolkits to come back to our baseline during these uncertain times. ⁣⁣Check out Angel's page @whatisangeldoing for her 'Cult Story Time' where she shares dark humor (and very informative!) stories from her time in the cult and for updates on her upcoming release of her resilience training workshops, which can also be found at angeldesantis.com.

What happens when your city is on lockdown and you don't have enough money to provide food for your family?⁣⁣My dear friend Dashni Morad , @dashnimoradofficial , gives us a snapshot of what life is like for people halfway across the world in Erbil, Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The city of Erbil went on lockdown after 4 cases of coronavirus. ⁣⁣While the government has taken great measures to keep people safe, the fall out has been disastrous for the people of the war-torn region already living in poverty. ⁣⁣On this episode, Dashni talks about her work with the Barzani Foundation, helping provide services for people affected by the lockdown in Erbil, and we also discuss some of the personal revelations she has had being on her own in Erbil and how it's transformed her relationships with herself. ⁣⁣I hope you all enjoy and if you feel called to help support the situation in Erbil, please consider donating to the @barzanifoundation, http://www.bcf.krd/english/.

When I read Judy Jiao's Instagram story about traveling back to China and quarantining in Shanghai, I was mind blown. I read her story a few weeks ago, when the US had just started taking coronavirus seriously.Judy’s umpteenth hour journey from the time she de-boarded the plane to the time she made it back to her apartment in Shanghai and the level of organization in place to monitor her quarantine made me wonder if something like this was feasible in the US.Thanks to my friend and former classmate, Judy Jiao, for sharing her story! ✨

@iamadamrobinson let me in on the quickest way to transform your energy and manifest the life you want. The Great Game has been a game-changer since.@iamadamrobinson is a NY Times best-selling author, co-founded the Princeton Review, is a global financial market wizard, and a creator of all things magic.Now, when we are more physically isolated than ever, the Great Game is even more important than ever. Watch this episode to find out how you can start your own Great Game and find your greatest joy through creating delight and surprise for others. For more information on Adam Robinson and his upcoming books, head to https://iamadamrobinson.com/

⁣I discovered the perfect recipe for growth when I was a teenager but I didn't know it at the time.I started running marathons when I was 16 to see how far I could push my limits and around the same time also started working in places around the world, immersing myself in cultures completely different than my own. I loved seeing what level of personal transformation was possible for 'Meredith' and also seeing how much I could expand my current world view from learning other people's stories. ⁣⁣In this period of cocooning, where we are both more alone than ever and more virtually connected than ever, I wanted to return to my own growth recipe and share what I'm learning with you. ⁣⁣Because of this, I'm starting an IGTV and podcast series, INWARD/OUTWARD interviewing friends on inner journeys of personal transformation and outer dispatches from friends around the globe that shed light on different perspectives.⁣⁣I believe if we use this time to connect to ourselves and learn from others, we can emerge more centered in our own energy and more united in the collective energy that knows no borders.⁣