My Innermission

This episode of My Innermission focuses on the amazing work of Gwen Gordon, whose work encompasses the power of play and unlocking the power of dreams. Gwen's work on helping to unlock the messages and magic of our unconscious lives, helps us make sense individually and collectively of transitions in our lives and our world. In our conversation we discuss:How does dreamwork work?Why are dream groups more helpful in helping us unlock the messages of our dreams?How can dreams help us make sense of the trauma and grief of this moment as we look forward?You can learn more about Gwen's work at gwengordonplay.comClick here for Gwen's book The Wonderful W

In this episode, I invited Anna Switzer, author of License to Learn, to return to the podcast and share thoughts on transition one year into the pandemic. I interviewed Anna a year ago when the pandemic first caused shutdowns. Now, a year later, we talk about how the pandemic and the learning from this past year has led us all to a transition opportunity. We revisit Anna's book and think more about how our known zones, learning zones, and panic zones have changed, and how to look to building resilience and recovery in order to unlock the Gift Zone and figure out what's next for us in the coming year. We discuss:How does transition change our zones?How has the past year led to collective transition?How can we unlock the Gift Zone from the lessons learned in the past year?If you want to learn more about Anna's work, you can find more information at her website annaswitzer.com

Big changes in life often make us focus on what we are giving up or gaining and then we want to jump right into what is next--but what lies in between? This week I highlight the transition process from William Bridges in his book Transitions: Making Sense of Life's Changes and focus on the neutral zone. In this episode I discuss:What is the neutral zone and why is it a necessary part of transitions?How do we step into the neutral zone with intention and not rush the process?Why is the neutral zone particularly important in this moment for ALL of us?If you want a tool to help process the transitions of the past year, check out the My Innermission journal here. 

What do want to be when you grow up? It's a question we ask kids all the time, but for many of us, we might have several different jobs or careers in our lifetime. In this episode, April Hattori from Yes2Next joins me to talk about her career transition which took her from New York to Las Vegas and from the field of communications into personal training and fitness. In this interview we discuss:What guides you in making a career transition?How can you begin the process of changing careers without making it an all or nothing approach?How can people take calculated risks when they shift careers?If you want to know more about Yes2Next, you can follow April and her mom on Youtube, Instagram, or through yes2next.com

When people in our lives experience cognitive changes and dementia, there are abundant transitions for the the loved one experiencing dementia as well as the caregiver. In this honest and real interview with Shoshawna Rainwater, with Rainwater Consulting, we talk about her experience working with families experiencing dementia, but also her personal experience caring for a loved one with dementia. We discuss: What is dementia and what are some of the stages of dementia? What are some of the guiding principles to care for someone experiencing dementia to maintain their dignity and humanity? How can care givers honor their own transition as they parent their parent with dementia? You can learn more about Shoshawna's work at https://rainwaterconsultingpdx.com/

Divorce. It's a hard subject and a transition that has so many complexities. On this episode, I talk with Heather Candelaria and Theresa Kleinlein with DIV/VY The Divorce Agency about the hard lessons they learned in their own divorces and how that helped them create their business to support people facing the financial, emotional, and custodial challenges of divorce. We discuss:What makes divorce such a multi-faceted challenging time and what are the common blindspots that people have when getting divorced?How can people collect information proactively to help them make proactive decisions that help support the process of divorce and life afterwards?How can people identify the opportunities of divorce and release the stigma around divorce when it is necessary?Learn more about DIV/VY The Divorce Agency here. Be sure to check out their podcast at Your Divorce Coaches, which is relaunching soon.

When we are in transition, we may think that we are merely changing jobs, or changing responsibilities, but we may not always stop to really consider how the roles we play shape how we see ourselves. We also might not examine how a change in one role may impact another role in our lives. In this podcast, I recap the strategies we have learned from interviews in the first part of Season 2, and then look ahead to examining the roles we play as part of our transition. I give examples of how leaving my job led me to ask hard questions about my role as wife, mother, daughter, and even about my responsibility in my role as an individual. In this podcast I discuss:How do we define success in the roles we play? What causes stress in the roles that we play?What are the connections between our definitions of success, our stress, and our roles?If we pause to consider our roles and how the choices we make in those roles impact us, we can either reframe our definitions of success to be more sustainable and more fulfilling, or we can identify what is working or not working in those roles to redefine our roles and how we fill them. If you want to do your own roles analysis, download a reflection guide here

When change happens it can feel challenging, complex, and overwhelming. But what happens if we can recognize the opportunity to just be in the moment of transition and explore our somatic reactions, our approaches to self-regulation, and really listen to ourselves for what comes next. In this interview with Dr. Felicia Lee, from Campana Leadership Group, we talk about her own change story, how just "getting through" doesn't always help you see the opportunity of change, and how to better appreciate the journey of your self. We discuss: How can transitions, even hard ones, can be opportunities?How can we use our somatic awareness and breath to let our bodies lead us through transition?How can we think about safety and belonging help us see our connections to ourselves and others more clearly?If you want to learn more about Felicia's work check out Campana Leadership Group or see her work on LinkedIn.

Professional change can be as extreme as leaving a job or retiring from a career, but it also can be seemingly subtle like transitioning back from vacation, or transitioning between communicating with different people at work. This week I get to interview author Cheryl Benedict to discuss the phases of transition in our professional lives and how we can take time to really understand those changes, how they impact us, and how we can move through the in-between zone to arrive at transformation on the other side. Cheryl's new book The Wisdom of Transition outlines 8 different types of transition we may face in our professional lives, and provides strategies to help us navigate the change process. We discuss:What are the 8 types of transition that we may face in our professional lives?Why is having a "safe space" so important in navigating the transition process?How can we embrace, not reject, our emotions and recognize the lessons they are meant to teach us?Cheryl also offers Gems of Wisdom and a Change and Transition Model downloadable handout on her site.

How can we peel back the layers of who we are to get real and get vulnerable about ourselves, our needs, each other, and what we want out of life. Kate Greer, a Vulnerability Doula and Creatrix helps others cultivate their own vulnerability and find deeper connection with themselves, each other and the natural world. In our conversation we discuss:What is contagious vulnerability and why is it more important than ever in our world?How does a vulnerability doula support deeper vulnerability?How can we sit in vulnerable discomfort and still embrace joy?If you want to learn more about Kate's work, or to schedule a curious conversation with her, check out her website at https://www.contagiousvulnerability.com/

Welcome to 2021! As we kick off the new year, learning from last year, looking ahead to changes we seek to make, we often set resolutions or intentions for ourselves. But along with setting our goals, we have to honor the change process and start with our identity. What do we know about ourselves and our beliefs? If we use inquiry to lead us into self-reflection, we can start meeting our resolutions with greater clarity and self-awareness. Consider:How does your core identity (e.g. race, religion, language, ability, gender, age, class, sexual orientation) shape how you approach changing yourself and your habits?How does your family and cultural background shape how you approach changing yourself and your habits?How does your identity that you have grown through life experience shape how you approach changing yourself and your habits?Doing the work of unpacking our identity is an essential part of the change process. If we understand ourselves better, we are more likely to unearth faulty assumptions and limiting beliefs that can keep us creating lasting, deeper change.See the Loden-Rosener graphic here.

What has 2020 taught us about the complexities of our relationships and what have we learned about what self-care looks like? In this conversation with therapist Ben Lotstein, we discuss how we can approach change in our relationships and how we can make change in our individual lives that promotes greater balance, self-awareness, and intention in our lives. In our interview, we discuss:How can distance and self-care strengthen our relationships?What questions can we ask ourselves and how can we use our somatic sense to elevate our awareness to make change?What are the first steps we can take to create lasting and intentional change?Learn more about Ben's work here: https://www.northstartherapy.xyz/

Making a professional change is a common transition, but when Dinah Becton-Consuegra made her professional shift it was to center racial social activism to an even greater extent in her life. In this interview, Dinah explains why she felt compelled to take up racial social justice as her profession, not just a personal endeavor. She currently serves as the Chief of Staff and Learning at the Kapor Center. She also explains why all of us and how all of us can step into greater racial social activism. We talk about the importance of bringing greater social justice to the BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) community, the changes that white people can make in their daily lives to support greater social justice, and why this is the foundational issue for social change.We discuss: What does it mean to align your values with your activism? How can daily actions reflect our social justice activism?What are some ways that white people can support racial social justice while still ensuring that BIPOC people have their voices and leadership heard?Follow Dinah at https://twitter.com/dinahconpbl or learn more about the Kapor Center at https://www.kaporcenter.org/

Addressing addiction is a difficult but essential change for a healthier life, but what if you are a witness to a loved one's addiction? In this interview with Laura Cook Boldt, author of Unraveled: A Mother and Son Story of Addiction and Redemption, we discuss her own journey to sobriety and her experience as a mother witnessing her son's addiction and path to sobriety. Laura provides an honest, vulnerable, and at times, humorous look at what it means to come to terms with addiction and how we can help ourselves and others' in productive ways. We discuss: How can you take care of yourself and keep healthy boundaries when someone you know is facing addiction? What are essential questions to ask if you are wondering about your own tendencies towards addiction?What are some of the first steps that those facing addiction or living with an addict can take to step towards sobriety?You can read more about the book and order it here: https://unraveledthebook.com/

Sometimes we identify a need for change for our mental wellness, or to promote a healthier, happier life. But how do we take the first steps towards greater mental wellness? In this conversation with Dr. Nicole Marcione, who is a Gerontologist, Biokinesiologist, Body-Brain Longevity Advisor, and Pilates Instructor, she helps people reach greater mental wellness through her Four Pillars. We discuss:What are the Four Pillars of Mental Wellness and Longevity?What are high leverage practices to begin making change for greater health?Why, even in 2020, is it essential that we find ways to tend to our mental wellness.If you want to learn more about Dr. Nicole's work you can check out her website: integrativeaging.comTo get Dr. Nicole's offer of 30 tips for longevity in 30 days, go to this link and enter the code INNERMISSION.

We all have been aware or experienced disruptive life events--and 2020 has been a collective disruptive life event for many of us. How can we better meet the grief and trauma of disruptive life events? How can we support each other as others experience them? This week I got the chance to speak with Workplace Empathy Advocate, Liesel Mertes about her own experience with loss and how she supports organizations in considering their own practices around empathy. In our conversation we'll discuss:What defines a disruptive life event and what is helpful in supporting someone through a disruptive life event?What are our emotional avatars and how can we use them to understand how we support, or do not support, people going through grief or traumatic change?What can we offer each other in this collective moment of disruptive life events?If you want to learn more about Liesel's work visit:lieselmertes.comHandle with Care podcast

When we are contemplating taking a risk or making a change, our fear about the financial risks can hold us back. But what would it mean if we could unpack our relationship with money to find the root of our fear, so we can step into change with greater confidence? In this conversation with financial coach LeAndra Foster we explore how her own journey in understanding her relationship with money led to her own professional growth and helped her identify tools to help others.We'll discuss:Why is money too often associated with our sense of self worth?How can we use curiosity to dissect the root of our financial fears?How can considering the "worst case scenario" lead us to greater success?If you want to learn more about LeAndra's work visit:https://www.elanlyfe.com/

Halloween is just around the corner and as a nod to the holiday of costumes, I wanted to focus on Imposter syndrome, that pesky notion that we aren't good enough, aren't unique enough, or aren't qualified enough to do something. Often this imposter syndrome holds us back from taking risks or stepping into new challenges with confidence.On today's show, I talk about combating Imposter Syndrome by creating an Alter Ego. Using techniques and approaches from my own leadership work and Todd Herman's book, The Alter Ego Effect: The Power of Secret Identities to Transform Your Life, I explore what an alter ego is, how to create your alter ego, and how to use your alter ego to silence your inner critic.

We use the phrase, "stepping outside our comfort zone" to describe challenging and new experiences. Being outside our comfort zone can help us grow, but only if we are ready to step into the unknown. In this conversation with author Anna Switzer, we'll discuss her own Innermission that pushed her outside her comfort zone, and how we can embrace the discomfort that comes with self-awareness and new experiences.We'll discuss:What do we need to move outside our comfort zone in a productive way?How do the variables of time and space help us step outside our comfort zone?How can we give ourselves License to Learn more about ourselves and explore new experiences?If you want to know more about Anna's new book and to learn more visit: annaswitzer.com

Most people know physical fitness and nutrition are essential for health, but what if we considered how to approach food as medicine and fitness as training for the rest of our lives. In this interview with Cassye Delphy, owner of 43fitness, we discuss how fitness and nutrition have changed Cassye's life, as well as how she helps others live healthier, more active lives. We'll discuss:What does it mean to train for life?How does our overall fitness support our emotional, social, and mental health as we age?How can listening to our bodies guide our nutrition choices?If you want to know more about Cassye's work or see her links to wellness resources, visit: 43fitness.com

The Enneagram is a map to the drivers and the focus areas in your life. In this interview with Cyndi Gueswel, a coach and consultant with Only to Grow, she explains how the Enneagram can promote greater self-awareness and clarity to our shadow sides and what we are striving for. She also explains what a powerful resource the Enneagram can be to promote greater compassion between people and teams. We'll discuss:What is the Enneagram and how is it used?How do people figure out their type on the Enneagram?How does the Enneagram help people with their self-awareness?If you want to know more about Cyndi's work or see her links to Enneagram resources, visit: onlytogrow.com

Before I jump into interviews with other folks who have been through their own change process, this episode is a self-reflection on my own change process, what I learned and what strategies I learned. If the goal of My Innermission is honest conversation about how challenging change can be, but how we can learn more about ourselves and move into the second act of life, then it is time to tell the behind-the-scenes of My Innermission.

What is an Innermission? It is a chance to be intentional in a moment of change--to reflect, to question, and to sit in the discomfort as you figure out what's next. This introduction to the podcast helps define the idea behind My Innermission, how it has changed, and how it hopes to support others who are experiencing change in their lives. Whether you are facing personal, professional, relationship, physical, or the multitude of change that surrounds us in 2020, this podcast provides honest conversation, relatable stories, and applicable strategies to help others move through the change process in their own lives.