The Self-Awareness and Self-Compassion Podcast

It's been a wonderful three years of creating and producing this podcast, but for now it's time for a break. I am so appreciative to all of you who have joined me for each episode, supported me on the journey and contributed to its success.I figured an appropriate topic for this last episode would be looking at how we decide when we are complete with a project, and how do we choose to part ways. It can be emotional, cathartic, and exciting all at the same time. What might you be able to accomplish next with the energy you free up from the old project?I wish for all of you to connect with your inner knowing, to be at peace with your decisions, and to move forward confidently in all that you tackle. May your 2024 be filled with delightful experiences, and may you always trust yourself to know what your next right step is. I'm cheering for you!  Support the showYour donations mean the world to me and allow me to continue to create content each week. I ❤️you and thank you from the bottom of my heart. leave an awesome review on Apple podcasts to help spread the word subscribe so you don't miss an episode wherever you stream your podcasts Thanks for listening!

It's important to refuel yourself regularly if you want to have the energy and inspiration to take care of others or make a huge impact on the world around you.It is often our most selfish hobbies and downtime that allows us to have the energy to serve others.This week we look at the signs and symptoms of overwhelm and explore ways we can provide more kindness and tenderness to ourselves to interrupt that trajectory.Restorative time sprinkled with praise and appreciation for ourselves creates so much hope, love, and desire to return to the outer world and give from our hearts.May you recognize all of your accomplishments and discoveries this year and pave the way for your future endeavors with grace and ease. Support the showYour donations mean the world to me and allow me to continue to create content each week. I ❤️you and thank you from the bottom of my heart. leave an awesome review on Apple podcasts to help spread the word subscribe so you don't miss an episode wherever you stream your podcasts Thanks for listening!

When life presents us with difficult situations, we often forget to pause and assess ourselves for all of the things we are capable of and offer. But when we do, we can bring so much more to the situation and give ourselves a lot more appreciation in the process.Last week I listened to Matt Khan giving a Loving Kindness Meditation and this podcast explores my takeaways from that transmission. I really enjoyed it!There are ways to address ourselves that give us a great deal of energy, love, and kindness as well as respect. There are ways we can undermine ourselves by unconsciously judging ourselves for the situations we find ourselves in and the way we may have dealt with things in the past.So this week, we contemplate how life might change if we addressed ourselves with great love and belief, and how to make a habit of thinking of ourselves that way. Support the showYour donations mean the world to me and allow me to continue to create content each week. I ❤️you and thank you from the bottom of my heart. leave an awesome review on Apple podcasts to help spread the word subscribe so you don't miss an episode wherever you stream your podcasts Thanks for listening!

When we're stretching for a goal, we often find ourselves procrastinating and not understanding why we aren't doing it.We can easily self-sabotage when working toward a goal by believing that it's not worth bothering to try because we have unreasonable expectations about timelines.One of the lies we tell ourselves is that we can start tomorrow, and we believe that somehow tomorrow we will feel better about it or it will be easier to start than it is right now – but that's not true. It will be just as hard tomorrow, we will have only succeeded in putting off what we could have started today.We think something outside of ourselves will make it easier to do something, but really it is through the action of doing a thing that makes future repetitions easier.When we know that, we can relieve ourselves of the expectation that it will feel better tomorrow or that it will be easier another time. This frees up more space to tackle the issue with the energy we have now.It is wonderful to nurture the thought that you can do hard things and that having some stress in your life is a good thing. Especially if the stress is from something you chose to do rather than something outside of your control.A great strategy to overcome procrastination is to allow yourself to consciously indulge in something restorative before tackling the goal – and then stick to your timeline and practice your goal for a short burst of time. This is more doable than dedicating an entire day or several hours to your project and can jumpstart your ability to begin.Setting our sights too high to reasonably accomplish also can derail us from starting.There is a lot of energy gained from building in praise for yourself for your efforts and rallying yourself and/or others to cheer you on and give positive feedback to you to sustain your efforts. Support the showYour donations mean the world to me and allow me to continue to create content each week. I ❤️you and thank you from the bottom of my heart. leave an awesome review on Apple podcasts to help spread the word subscribe so you don't miss an episode wherever you stream your podcasts Thanks for listening!

Sometimes we have feelings about the hobbies we choose to pursue, despite starting with all good intentions.Part of learning any new skill is coming to terms with being terrible at it in the beginning and facing our own frustration with this each time we show up to learn more.We can get through a lot of the initial frustration by focusing on curiosity or interest in the process of learning how to get past each obstacle.When we are kids, we have a large amount of this kind of curiosity and interest and it allows us to learn all kinds of new things before we give up, especially about topics that we find particularly interesting.It's okay to be frustrated and feel like we aren't getting anywhere. We don't need to see success every day or even every week – progress is happening and when we are in the process we might not be able to notice our own improvements.It can help to think of practicing new habits or hobbies as a ritual because at the beginning we don't know what to expect. We can create some safety and predictability by creating a simple ritual that gets you started and embarked on the journey.Accepting that the feeling we have at the beginning of learning a new skill is generally fraught with frustration as well as interest. It is what it is – and as you progress, your feelings may swing more toward accomplishment, pride, joy, and inspiration. It's OK to not be overwhelmed with inspiration at the beginning, that's just how it is at the beginning.Rest and sleep are super important when learning new skills, too. Without that rest and sleep, we don't consolidate the new information and skills – and with it, we accelerate our learning, which is amazing and so much fun!It's also helpful to have an idea of where you want to end up with each of your goals and come up with ways to move toward that result, with a timeline for evaluation.It also helps to consistently ask yourself for small amounts of time to practice instead of demanding hours of your time, which is harder to commit to in general and even more so when you're feeling frustrated or disappointed in your progress. Small chunks of time accumulate into big wins over time. Support the showYour donations mean the world to me and allow me to continue to create content each week. I ❤️you and thank you from the bottom of my heart. leave an awesome review on Apple podcasts to help spread the word subscribe so you don't miss an episode wherever you stream your podcasts Thanks for listening!

Friendships change throughout the course of our lives. As children, it seems like friendships are much easier to initiate than as adults. Friendships grow easily with shared experiences. When we are kids, we are put into the same environment and mutual situations as entire classrooms of peers, whereas in our adult lives, people live separate lives and have fewer shared experiences than they did when they were younger.As our experiences diverge, creating closer relationships becomes more challenging. This is why creating opportunities for shared experiences has such a huge impact on our friendships and intimate relationships. We become closer the more common experiences we share. It's why choosing to show up for each other is important – if we don't make the time to be together, even if it is virtually online at the same time – we stop having anything to talk about or agree upon. We no longer have shared memories.As adults, we are fortunate that we have had time to decide what we truly enjoy and want to spend time doing, and hopefully find others who equally appreciate the same activities we do. Once we are in charge of our lives, we are no longer at the whim of whatever after-school activity fits our parents' schedules or going to the class we were assigned to rather than where we wish we could go.The best relationships have withstood arguments and strife and overcome that together. The people who are there for us in our most difficult moments are the ones we have put time and love towards as well.Prioritizing friendships leads to a whole host of benefits that even resonate into our physical health. It's OK to inconvenience ourselves to spend time with others, because what we get back in return is so much more than the effort we put in. It's great to enjoy our relationships with each other and bring more joy into the world. What would bring you a lot of delight and joy, and who could you share that with today?  Support the showYour donations mean the world to me and allow me to continue to create content each week. I ❤️you and thank you from the bottom of my heart. leave an awesome review on Apple podcasts to help spread the word subscribe so you don't miss an episode wherever you stream your podcasts Thanks for listening!

Depending on how you work best, you might prefer a schedule that is fairly rigid and has smaller bursts of scheduled activities, or you might thrive when you clock out multiple hours for work that fits a certain theme.When I feel like there isn't enough time to immerse in a subject, I avoid that activity like crazy. I can find all kinds of reasons to procrastinate when I feel like I will be interrupted when I get into something.There are other personality types that need the interruption or they won't stop working. You know who you are. So look at your schedule and build in alarms or interruptions that help you move on to other topics and activities. And if you need longer periods of time to get started in the first place, rearrange your schedule to give yourself bigger chunks of time so you can be productive.I find also that grouping tasks that use the same skillset and thought process helps increase productivity massively. It's why we have assembly lines – we excel at figuring out a process and then going on with it automatically. When we switch tasks constantly, it slows us way down and gets more intense and it is easy to lose our place and get distracted.Also, we tend to only schedule things that are chores or that we “have to” do. It's important to schedule activities that fill us back up and give us the energy to do the “have to's” in our lives. Restorative time is as important as productive time, so notice if your schedule is heavy in either direction and see if there's space to balance that out. Support the showYour donations mean the world to me and allow me to continue to create content each week. I ❤️you and thank you from the bottom of my heart. leave an awesome review on Apple podcasts to help spread the word subscribe so you don't miss an episode wherever you stream your podcasts Thanks for listening!

Our bright and large emotional reactions to small things stem from earlier situations that we're still dealing with emotionally.It's easy to roll with inconveniences when they are few and far between and we are otherwise happy, cared for, and well. When we are depleted emotionally and mentally, anything that impedes our progress in the day can set us off. When that happens, we resonate with our underlying unaddressed emotion. The inconvenience brings it to the surface.We can come to a more peaceful place more easily when we offer ourselves the praise and appreciation we feel are missing elsewhere in our lives.Getting enough kindness and positive interactions in a day than negative feedback in a ratio of 5 positive to 1 negative makes us more resilient and joyful overall.You can also set aside 90 seconds to truly sit with whatever negative emotion arises so that you complete the cycle and it no longer has as much control over you. When we get interrupted in feeling our feelings, either by ourselves or an outside event – we get stuck and repeat the feeling until it's over. And that can take a long time, even all day! So taking the break to move through a feeling is very much worth it, and it's something we haven't been taught and generally don't even consider to be possible. Support the showYour donations mean the world to me and allow me to continue to create content each week. I ❤️you and thank you from the bottom of my heart. leave an awesome review on Apple podcasts to help spread the word subscribe so you don't miss an episode wherever you stream your podcasts Thanks for listening!

How do you use technology? Do you feel it benefits you? This week I share my experience using fitness trackers and the ways it has both helped me and stressed me out. How was my life different when I could only use analog feedback like writing down my workouts and weighing myself on the scale each day? What is it like now when I have instantaneous and constant feedback for how my body is moving, resting, breathing and otherwise functioning?In a lot of ways, over time I became increasingly dependent on the numbers the tracker gives me. But instead of using it to improve my fitness, which is where I started out – eventually, I found I was judging myself for my numbers and feeling obsessed with looking at it while not changing a whole lot about how I live my life. Now I was living the same way but feeling worse about it than if I wasn't tracking.I ask myself now, can I trust my own perception of my health, body, and movement? Can I trust if I slept well or feel good even if I don't have a tracker telling me how good or bad the night was in terms of heart rate, oxygen levels, and REM sleep? There are benefits to tracking, and I am finding that I ought to use mine for the specific benefits that make me feel good about myself. I am letting go of the obsessive need to check the app and judge myself for how good or poorly I seem to be faring that day.Instead, I am choosing to assess how I feel for myself before checking, and if my feeling and the tracker's perception of the state of affairs differs, I am choosing to defer to my own feelings first and take the tracker's input as an advisor but not an authority over me. Take that, step goal! Support the showYour donations mean the world to me and allow me to continue to create content each week. I ❤️you and thank you from the bottom of my heart. leave an awesome review on Apple podcasts to help spread the word subscribe so you don't miss an episode wherever you stream your podcasts Thanks for listening!

What's the emotion that's sparked the most often by the sources of information and entertainment you consume or are exposed to?Having a big emotion sparked makes it more difficult for you to respond to situations, it instead elicits reactions from you.Some basic truths about what sparks emotional reactions in us can be helpful.When we watch something visually, full of music, fast cuts back and forth and fast pacing, it primes you to be on edge and more emotional. This makes you more receptive to whatever message they are pitching you.Reading slows us down, even though we recognize emotional words. But we do need to train ourselves to notice the frequency and flavor of the emotional words that are used so that we can recognize that the articles we are consuming aren't neutral – they have a stance and a message.Listening to information, we follow the cadence and emotional tone of the speaker or presenter. We are social animals and built to target in on other's emotions and stance and either to agree or disagree.We are in a never-ending onslaught of information these days, and it can really help to consciously choose times when we disconnect and allow for quiet and space to think and be present.Can we consciously curate what we consume to provide us with more opportunities for uplifting emotions? This is the space where we are able to solve more problems.Pain needs to be moved. It needs to be acknowledged and healed. But continually poking at our pain cannot give us the space or creative availability to show up as our better selves. For that to occur, we need to create a pause, provide ourselves with the circumstances that nurture us and soothe and inspire us. Support the showYour donations mean the world to me and allow me to continue to create content each week. I ❤️you and thank you from the bottom of my heart. leave an awesome review on Apple podcasts to help spread the word subscribe so you don't miss an episode wherever you stream your podcasts Thanks for listening!

How do you value your time? Is there a threshold of excellence you strive to achieve that holds you back from enjoying hobbies?Sometimes we compare ourselves to people who make their living doing the craft that we've made into our hobby. And when we do that, it can eventually stop us from showing up and having fun.Is there value in doing an activity for its own sake? Or does it always have to produce something or contribute to others? Sometimes there is joy in keeping a project or hobby to yourself. If it helps you to enjoy it more by reserving it for only yourself and possibly a few supportive people, then by all means, keep your secrets!We all deserve joy in life and to nourish ourselves and fuel up with something precious that inspires you and gives you life. Support the showYour donations mean the world to me and allow me to continue to create content each week. I ❤️you and thank you from the bottom of my heart. leave an awesome review on Apple podcasts to help spread the word subscribe so you don't miss an episode wherever you stream your podcasts Thanks for listening!

Researching my own ancestry opened my eyes to some patterns that seemed to emerge several times that surprised me. I feel like I have a deeper understanding of how money moves and flows through generations, the frequency with which people travel, and the general trials and tribulations of wars, diseases, and famines that strike all over the world and throughout all families' histories.I was able to see how names and ideas about people get rewritten by those who write them – how often a name was changed each time it was noted, how people were erased or renationalized or forced into different religions over and over again throughout time.Knowing my family's personal history makes me feel a bit more grounded in time today. I feel like I have an appreciation for history that I haven't had before – but my interest is smaller in a way. My focus on events that my ancestors were directly involved in feels more meaningful than reading about events that happened continents away and centuries ago where nobody in my family ever walked or breathed. I can feel the influence of my ancestors now – maybe that's just imagined, but it feels somehow like home, and history, and ambition, and maybe even peace. Support the showYour donations mean the world to me and allow me to continue to create content each week. I ❤️you and thank you from the bottom of my heart. leave an awesome review on Apple podcasts to help spread the word subscribe so you don't miss an episode wherever you stream your podcasts Thanks for listening!

This time of year is about a quieter execution of goals. The exuberance of the Spring and Summer have come to an end, and while that brings with it a sense of loss and listlessness – there is something wonderful about flowing into a slower pace of being.There is a rhythm to life, and right now it wants to slow down and allow inertia to complete your projects and to accomplish things for you. What if it is okay to pull your foot off of the acceleration pedal and allow yourself to roll towards your goals rather than racing to a finish line? What if you focus for now on nourishment and restoration?Passing through seasons of accomplishment and recuperation allows you to flow with more ease, accept the inevitable stops and slow-downs that occur along the way, and take advantage of the times when you have a ton of energy and ability to work hard. What a relief to know that you don't have to work hard or push to the height of your abilities all the time! Support the showYour donations mean the world to me and allow me to continue to create content each week. I ❤️you and thank you from the bottom of my heart. leave an awesome review on Apple podcasts to help spread the word subscribe so you don't miss an episode wherever you stream your podcasts Thanks for listening!

What is reasonable to accomplish in only three months or 13 weeks? As the end of the year approaches and panic sets in that we haven't gotten everything done off of our lists of goals for the year, the kindest thing we can do is look back at what we DID accomplish. Believing that there is some way to do everything on your list in such a short amount of time when it already proved rather difficult if not impossible over the last 9 months is damaging and painful. But we can reframe and reassess where we are at and where we want to go, and choose meaningful small actions that further us along without adding more stress to already stressful situations.What is the pace or emotional flavor of the future you want to experience? If you took away the concerns or thoughts you have about what you need to do to have that, what would it be? And could you choose to experience more of that starting right now? Support the showYour donations mean the world to me and allow me to continue to create content each week. I ❤️you and thank you from the bottom of my heart. leave an awesome review on Apple podcasts to help spread the word subscribe so you don't miss an episode wherever you stream your podcasts Thanks for listening!

Technology is always changing and disrupting industries. But the shift into using artificial intelligence on the scale that is being offered today seems deeper than any other shift that came before. Perhaps that is because this is the moment I am living through. I'm concerned that the source material will continue to feed on itself and the less we can screen or trust the sources of our information and creations. There's a massive lack of quality control or regulation here. And morally I feel like it is devoid, and at the same time I recognize that this is already happening and being used and there's not much I personally can do to change that.The positive that comes from acknowledging my personal gut reaction to AI is that I want to create more in-person, tactile and interactive experiences in my physical day-to-day life. This slows me down and reminds me to bring my friends and family closer into my day-to-day life. It makes me motivated to put safeguards in place not only for the way I interact with technology now but also to advocate for regulations that could allow me to trust the sources of news and gossip that continually seem to devolve and divide us.Be aware of how much you are being sold something with every article and piece of entertainment you consume. It's through awareness that we can make the choice to turn away from consumption and towards contentment and presence in our own lives. I want to be present and the star of my own life, not an incidental character in someone else's larger-than-life movie. Support the showYour donations mean the world to me and allow me to continue to create content each week. I ❤️you and thank you from the bottom of my heart. leave an awesome review on Apple podcasts to help spread the word subscribe so you don't miss an episode wherever you stream your podcasts Thanks for listening!

Knowing that you have agency in your life and have the capability of making choices rather than having life imposed on you, allows you to choose your experiences and defines who you are. The power we have as individuals is to choose the flavor of the experiences we have by filtering them through our particular lens.Asking how you want to experience events in your life is a calming question that allows you to show up the way you want to rather than the way you might if you are reacting automatically.The more present we can be in the moment, the more options are available to us emotionally and creatively. Our actions when taken from a place of presence are more effective and have a more positive impact when we can take small, mindful steps in our interactions. Support the showYour donations mean the world to me and allow me to continue to create content each week. I ❤️you and thank you from the bottom of my heart. leave an awesome review on Apple podcasts to help spread the word subscribe so you don't miss an episode wherever you stream your podcasts Thanks for listening!

I tend to discount small actions as if I only get a little done it's not enough. But, I don't need to get everything done all at once, and what I'm capable of doing and showing up for is enough. Each day will be different, and it's OK that sometimes you get lots done, and sometimes just waking up and getting through the day is all we can do. The smallest action makes a huge difference in our trajectory. And yet we seem to believe that we must always make huge leaps and strides towards our goals. The reality is that we arrive as a result of many steps and convergent circumstances. What if our purpose is not in the accomplishment but in the enjoyment of the process of becoming? Support the showYour donations mean the world to me and allow me to continue to create content each week. I ❤️you and thank you from the bottom of my heart. leave an awesome review on Apple podcasts to help spread the word subscribe so you don't miss an episode wherever you stream your podcasts Thanks for listening!

What can we do when our mood has tanked and we're in a loop of doom? This week's podcast talks about depression, negative thoughts, and anxiety and recognizing the flow of emotion and thoughts so that we can head ourselves toward calmer waters.We all experience low points. Returning to a place of empowerment asks us to consider what we've been holding on to, and if there might be something more helpful to guide us out of our funk.  Support the showYour donations mean the world to me and allow me to continue to create content each week. I ❤️you and thank you from the bottom of my heart. leave an awesome review on Apple podcasts to help spread the word subscribe so you don't miss an episode wherever you stream your podcasts Thanks for listening!

A chronic symptom of the culture we are in is that we want to consume more, do more, and be more all the time. Our expectation is that self-growth is the most positive thing in the world for us, but in the pursuit of having everything already done to perfection, we wear ourselves out and feel awful.We should always ask of any thought or belief that we have, is this true? And is this thought or belief serving me well?It's so easy to mindlessly pursue more, and it makes me personally feel tired, disappointed, and ragged. Self-criticism like that doesn't serve us at all.This week's episode will help you slow down and feel better about the natural pace that serves you best. Support the showYour donations mean the world to me and allow me to continue to create content each week. I ❤️you and thank you from the bottom of my heart. leave an awesome review on Apple podcasts to help spread the word subscribe so you don't miss an episode wherever you stream your podcasts Thanks for listening!

This week's episode explores how I inadvertently self-sabotaged myself while pursuing my sewing goals and how I got back on track.Sometimes despite our best intentions, we overwhelm ourselves and not only tank our progress on the new thing but sap our energy everywhere else, too!Listen to today's podcast if you need inspiration on uncomplicating your projects, clearing your space, and tapping back into your passion again. Support the showYour donations mean the world to me and allow me to continue to create content each week. I ❤️you and thank you from the bottom of my heart. leave an awesome review on Apple podcasts to help spread the word subscribe so you don't miss an episode wherever you stream your podcasts Thanks for listening!

Where do you look for confirmation that you're on the right track in life? We sometimes wait for the feedback we get from the world to be positive to keep moving forward on a project, and we find negative feedback stops us or makes us question everything. When we try to do new things or are in the process of growing, the feedback we get from our own bodies is generally scary, uncomfortable, and unsure. But that doesn't mean that we are on the wrong path. Support the showYour donations mean the world to me and allow me to continue to create content each week. I ❤️you and thank you from the bottom of my heart. leave an awesome review on Apple podcasts to help spread the word subscribe so you don't miss an episode wherever you stream your podcasts Thanks for listening!

What is it about a company's values that attract the right customers? This week I'm sharing a moment of recognition I had when a mentor shared his story of how he eventually became the center of his brand. When hiring, others ought to supplement your values and help you bring your vision to life, but not fundamentally alter the vision and values that you had at the outset.Determining the core values of a business is deeply related to the core values of the person building the business. We need to get clear on our values so that we can embody and communicate those ideas and values all the way down through the company's layers and attract the best employees and customers possible. Support the showYour donations mean the world to me and allow me to continue to create content each week. I ❤️you and thank you from the bottom of my heart. leave an awesome review on Apple podcasts to help spread the word subscribe so you don't miss an episode wherever you stream your podcasts Thanks for listening!

Mental and physical exertion both take a lot of energy, but we often forget how much learning costs our energy reserves.Back in 2008, I went to the first Illustration Master Class for a week in June, and it upleveled my artwork forever.Being in that environment was inspiring and kept my brain working hard not only during that week but for the following two weeks, too. I would close my eyes and still be processing ideas and practicing new techniques in my mind. My dreams were filled with these processes, and all of that made me ravenous!Mental exertion takes a lot of physical effort in our brains, but until I experienced that week, this reality hadn't even occurred to me. Creating new neural connections takes an enormous amount of energy.One way to take advantage of all the hard work your mind does when learning a new skill is to surround yourself with others who are equally excited about the topic you're learning about. There is something energetically strong about immersing yourself in an environment with others who possess the attitude and skill you desire, and who are able to see you and hold you as one of them. This helps you recreate your identity more quickly because you have that image reflected back to you by a community of others who have gone on the journey with you. It's also super motivating. Support the showYour donations mean the world to me and allow me to continue to create content each week. I ❤️you and thank you from the bottom of my heart. leave an awesome review on Apple podcasts to help spread the word subscribe so you don't miss an episode wherever you stream your podcasts Thanks for listening!

It's good to take down some notes on where you are now before you start any kind of self-improvement journey. This year I want to maximize my health so I decided it would be a good idea to get some kind of a record in place to set a baseline of my current health and fitness. This way I can check back in over the years and find out if I've managed to maintain my bone density, where my fat distribution moves over the years, and lets me know where I am doing well and where I have room for adjustment.I chose to get a DEXA scan to record this information, and it was an interesting experience. It didn't take very long, only about ten minutes. Some of that was just strapping my legs together and making sure my arms were next to my body while I laid on the scanning bed.You can schedule a DEXA scan without a doctor's recommendation now, but there aren't a lot of places that provide this service outside of an insurance system. I had to drive an hour away, but I consider the knowledge worth the effort to acquire.Remember that making progress checks with yourself is important because our mind tends not to notice our gains and only focuses on the next goal post – and we often move our goal posts over time as our gains become a new normal.By checking in and noticing all the positive changes, you can keep your negative self-talk in check and celebrate how far you've come. Support the showYour donations mean the world to me and allow me to continue to create content each week. I ❤️you and thank you from the bottom of my heart. leave an awesome review on Apple podcasts to help spread the word subscribe so you don't miss an episode wherever you stream your podcasts Thanks for listening!

How do you use your body and mind? Do you think about them as two separate parts of you? Do you appreciate one half more than the other?Recovering from the wildfire smoke has revitalized my commitment to caring for my body. I've added in some new self-care and movement routines that disrupted my usual patterns in interesting ways.I recently heard a quote that said that it's hard to change your habits and make them stick when shifting your body image if you only use your body to move your head from place to place. That really opened my mind and had me questioning how I use my body and if I've forgotten how to engage with it for joy and pleasure and not just as a transportation device. Support the showYour donations mean the world to me and allow me to continue to create content each week. I ❤️you and thank you from the bottom of my heart. leave an awesome review on Apple podcasts to help spread the word subscribe so you don't miss an episode wherever you stream your podcasts Thanks for listening!

What does it mean to have your independence as an individual? What do you personally believe that freedom means to you and for you?I notice the difference in what one perceives as freedom vs the intention of the enforcer of rules or boundaries the most when I observe my daughter. Often when my intention is to set her up for the most freedom and ability to negotiate a happy and prosperous future, she feels in the moment that I am mean and controlling her whole life.It made me wonder how often our perception in the moment is lacking wider perspective. It also reminds me that the constraints I deal with make it easier for me to make decisions most of the time even if only through limiting my options.I also observe that we feel the most free when we have control over how we move through our days. If we can decide what order we'll tackle our chores, we feel better than simply being forced to do them, whether they were going to happen anyway or not.Giving ourselves a framework that keeps us on track towards our own goals with enough space to make mistakes and adjust is the goal.Without guidelines we get overwhelmed and everything seems like too much. We get lost and can't make decisions because there is too much possibility.And when there are too few options for personalization and choice, we get cranky and feel trapped, and this is also undesirable. Support the showYour donations mean the world to me and allow me to continue to create content each week. I ❤️you and thank you from the bottom of my heart. leave an awesome review on Apple podcasts to help spread the word subscribe so you don't miss an episode wherever you stream your podcasts Thanks for listening!

It's important to remember that when we found a business, we are the captain, and the business thrives best when we build the business around our values and vision.While hiring people can certainly expand our creation and their priorities and values can contribute to the success of the endeavor – ultimately, we need to steer the ship and attract the right connections, clients, and employees.The values that have been with me through all my business endeavors are Transformation, Curiosity, Empathy, and Community.When we become aware of the way we operate in the world, the values that motivate us and spark our passion, and give them a place to express and thrive, we feel better. Our lives feel full of meaning. When we are able to communicate our goals and values clearly, we draw to us the right support, experiences, and opportunities to grow.When we look to others to inform us of how our vision should unfold, it can feel like the right thing to do. We definitely want outside eyes and perspectives to help us understand the world and inform how we approach obstacles and opportunities.But, if we take those insights and mistakenly believe that someone else's vision and values are the guiding principles of our own actions, we undermine the spark that gives our businesses or brands life in the first place.We need to remember what lights us up, the vision we have for how we relate to the world, and the message our particular brand or product brings to our customers.Ultimately, a business needs its founder to be the voice of the endeavor, and the guiding hand to its development. By embracing this reality we afford our employees and customers MORE opportunities to appreciate our unique voice and perspective, not less. A muddled vision is no vision at all, and it is hard to gain momentum or rally anyone around a cause when there are too many. Support the showYour donations mean the world to me and allow me to continue to create content each week. I ❤️you and thank you from the bottom of my heart. leave an awesome review on Apple podcasts to help spread the word subscribe so you don't miss an episode wherever you stream your podcasts Thanks for listening!

There are events that happen only once a year, or only in a certain season. And if you're like me, you don't want to miss out on all of the opportunities that the season provides.But, there is only ever so much energy available to us to put into all these activities.We need to be mindful of how much effort we are putting out so that we don't find ourselves in complete collapse, ill, or in the worst mood during our best time of the year.It's Ok to follow our inner wise woman who knows that we burn out after 5 hours of loud parties, and plan accordingly. And it's OK and even necessary to make space for recovery and better yet, prevention – when it comes to loud noises and overstimulation.Preplanning and recognizing who we are as individuals allow us to participate in the way that feels best for who we actually are and not who we wish we were. Then we get to have way more fun!What are the memories we want to build, and what opportunities are available to us that we can take advantage of?What are the sacrifices we are willing to make in order to participate?How will we make space for our comfort and enjoyment, as well as recovery and recuperation after expending lots of energy?It's great to ask yourself frequently in these busy moments, “What do I need now?”Make space for yourself in your plans, and plan for yourself to be in all your activities in the way that you enjoy.Let's all make awesome memories this season! Support the showYour donations mean the world to me and allow me to continue to create content each week. I ❤️you and thank you from the bottom of my heart. leave an awesome review on Apple podcasts to help spread the word subscribe so you don't miss an episode wherever you stream your podcasts Thanks for listening!

Today I want to share an adventure I'm taking with my family to an organization that I absolutely adore. Wildlife diversity and wolves in particular have a big place in my heart.From the time I was a little girl, I wanted to study wolves and contribute to wildlife conservation.As I grew up I realized that working with animals in person probably wasn't going to be viable because I am allergic to almost everything in nature – but being able to support conservation and education in this way is magical.We're going on an overnight sleepover where we get to cap off a night of movies, presentations, and observing wolves by camping out in tents just meters from the enclosures. You fall asleep to wolf howls and owl hoots, then wake up to howling, too. It's incredible!Getting to know animals, especially wild animals, as individuals makes it so much easier for us to want to protect them and make space for them in the world. The mission of the Wolf Conservation Center of NY is one of preservation and reintroduction. And they haven't missed that people need to make connections with animals and feel their importance personally in order to support the cause.I highly recommend supporting any organization that speaks to your heart. And if you also love wolves and believe that predators have a place in our country and in the web of life, check out the WCC and maybe symbolically adopt a wolf.You can visit them at nywolf.orgI would love to see wolves reclaim their place in wild spaces all over the country in my lifetime. And together, we can make that more possible. Support the showYour donations mean the world to me and allow me to continue to create content each week. I ❤️you and thank you from the bottom of my heart. leave an awesome review on Apple podcasts to help spread the word subscribe so you don't miss an episode wherever you stream your podcasts Thanks for listening!

Allergy season caught me out this year, and I have had to make peace with a reality that I really didn't want to be true. This week's podcast is about accommodating our reality even when we deeply prefer not to experience what's happening.Having asthma and needing to deal with it made me aware that sometimes I choose to ignore clear negative symptoms and ongoing setbacks because I stubbornly had in my head that I shouldn't have this problem.I figured I'd overcome it in the past and now I liked to think of myself as an allergy-free person or an asthma-free person.It sounds ridiculous, but honestly, I really had a mental block that was getting in the way of seeking help that was readily available and effective. Many of us have mental and emotional blocks like this, and they prevent us from taking helpful action on our own behalf.Sometimes, we need to mourn for ourselves that we aren't perfect, and allow that even if we've made huge strides forward already, that doesn't guarantee that negative experiences or situations won't arise again.Only when we can see plainly what is currently happening and stop telling ourselves the story of why it shouldn't be happening are we able to move forward taking effective action.In my case, I needed to suck it up and get back on medication I didn't really want to be taking, but that absolutely has increased the quality of my daily life.A great question we can ask ourselves is, “How can I still create the quality of experience I want to have?” Support the showYour donations mean the world to me and allow me to continue to create content each week. I ❤️you and thank you from the bottom of my heart. leave an awesome review on Apple podcasts to help spread the word subscribe so you don't miss an episode wherever you stream your podcasts Thanks for listening!

Whenever we say yes to too many things, we have to rearrange our energy to accommodate the activities we've taken on board. Somewhere, something has to be sacrificed – and we have feelings about that.Taking care of ourselves means having reasonable expectations about what is possible at any given time, and realizing that not everything is going to go according to plan or be perfect.Even though we want to do it all, and we believe that it is all possible, the reality is that we can't have it all at the same time.Prioritizing where we will put our attention and focus, and making space for energy-building restoration is essential. No, you won't get to do everything and feel amazing about every single thing.That's not generally how energy and feelings work. But you will be able to show up and do what matters most to you, and when you have chosen that consciously, you can relax and allow yourself the downtime to show up well for the next big activity or commitment. Support the showYour donations mean the world to me and allow me to continue to create content each week. I ❤️you and thank you from the bottom of my heart. leave an awesome review on Apple podcasts to help spread the word subscribe so you don't miss an episode wherever you stream your podcasts Thanks for listening!

Mothering and nurturing is showing up for another person no matter what, whether you have a lot to give or not. What does this concept look like when we apply it not only to child raising, but also to ourselves, our goals and our dreams?When we are at our worst, feeling the least motivated and the moodiest, it is when we need the most nurturing, love and appreciation. Only through giving ourselves a chance to recuperate from stress and expending energy will we accumulate enough energy to keep going and do all the things we want with our life.Taking care of ourselves is about choosing what thing we use our energy on in each moment. When we run out of energy to keep going, that is when we need to replenish - not just to keep going doing annoying things we didn't want to do anyway – but so that we reach a point where we feel nice, we feel full and capable of desiring action again. If you're constantly resistant to doing anything, then you're burnt out and need a restorative pause that lasts longer than you're comfortable with more than ever!Giving yourself what you need, and even if what you need is to stop entirely and do nothing for a few days, the returns on that are so much more than you anticipate. Your life is like a garden that needs tending. Energy doesn't come from nowhere. You have to take some back in order to give some. Support the showYour donations mean the world to me and allow me to continue to create content each week. I ❤️you and thank you from the bottom of my heart. leave an awesome review on Apple podcasts to help spread the word subscribe so you don't miss an episode wherever you stream your podcasts Thanks for listening!

Whenever anyone tells us something to do, we have pushback against that idea to see if they really mean it, and also to reinforce what we're doing instead of changing. It happens even when we ask ourselves to do something different. Instead of telling ourselves to do something, we should let ourselves opt in. We change much easier when we are able to believe we are choosing to do an action rather than forced to do an action or reluctantly complying with a protocol.Is there something that I have been putting off, that I could help myself to do by imagining how nice it will be to have the result of it being done? Getting that feeling of having the result makes you naturally more motivated and ready to take action.Once you agree that your desired action is a great idea, it makes it harder to not do it.Getting over the hump of not wanting to spend your day doing something you don't think you'll enjoy can be helped by noticing if there's something you're currently doing that isn't bringing you a lot of joy or accomplishment, and asking if you could use that time to try the new thing. If you want to stop playing on your phone, for instance, and want to get your laundry done – you can use the impulse to play on your phone as the reminder to pick up the laundry basket and just put the laundry in already! This way it's harder to argue with yourself about getting started, and you'll likely still have time for your phone later anyway.

When our goal is too broad or vague, it's too difficult for our brains to get on board and make it happen. Our bodies don't know what we want them to do. Making decisions that could get us closer to the goal becomes super difficult because we have no real sense of what succeeding at the goal looks like.The first challenge is recognizing why you haven't already changed.The next challenge is figuring out how you can maintain whatever rewards you are currently getting from staying the same and converting it into a new action or way of being that gets you closer to your goal.You can use your imagination to wonder about who you would be if you already had the thing you want to have, or already succeeded in completing the goal. Then, you notice the difference between how that future version of yourself does things and how you currently do them.It's so important to be specific about what you should be doing instead of what you already do. It isn't even an option to change what you do until you know what the new action is.You should also look out for the thoughts and motivations that you think you will feel when you change or are taking a different action. Most of the time, we don't feel great about a new action while we are in the day-to-day grind. The rewarding feelings come way later, in hindsight and reflection. Or at least that is the case for me!When making your roadmap, half of the battle is confronting our thoughts and feelings and knowing that it's OK to have thoughts and feelings and choose consciously which way to go with our decisions. Knowing what it's like to make a different choice makes choosing that choice way easier. You know what you are going to object to and what it will sound like or feel like, and you will set up in advance a way to make it easier for you to make the choice you'd prefer.Try to make your steps small and simple, easy to track, and not too demanding of your energy or willpower. If you accumulate many small nearly effortless steps, you will get to your destination SO MUCH FASTER and more permanently than you will otherwise. Support the showYour donations mean the world to me and allow me to continue to create content each week. I ❤️you and thank you from the bottom of my heart. leave an awesome review on Apple podcasts to help spread the word subscribe so you don't miss an episode wherever you stream your podcasts Thanks for listening!

As an adult, I need to remind myself that I am getting better at things and improving in my life, but as a kid, we believe in ourselves as a matter of course.We need to let go of perfection and embrace ourselves as being on a journey in order to receive the delight of believing we are getting better in every way every day. If we believe we are done, or that we've already figured out how to be and that we're great at it, it doesn't leave room for us to try, make mistakes, and improve.We gain a lot from getting positive feedback for our actions, but as we get older, we lose a lot of that positive chorus. We can provide it for ourselves, though, and I believe that showering ourselves with praise for what we've done well provides a huge amount of motivation and reward.  Support the showYour donations mean the world to me and allow me to continue to create content each week. I ❤️you and thank you from the bottom of my heart. leave an awesome review on Apple podcasts to help spread the word subscribe so you don't miss an episode wherever you stream your podcasts Thanks for listening!

Ever notice how freakin' busy life gets this time of year? As the sun is up more often I have a lot more desire to be out and about and do things I want to do. And, so does the rest of my family and the rest of the world, and sometimes their schedules and needs get in the way of my own.This episode is about dealing with the frustration of conflicting needs, schedules, and desires when we feel limited by time.We talk about clarifying expectations, discovering where you have conflicting purposes with others and with yourself, and how to release the tension that arises when trying to please everyone at your own expense. Support the showYour donations mean the world to me and allow me to continue to create content each week. I ❤️you and thank you from the bottom of my heart. leave an awesome review on Apple podcasts to help spread the word subscribe so you don't miss an episode wherever you stream your podcasts Thanks for listening!

How can you raise your expectations for what is possible in your life? This week I come at the subject from a different angle and ask you, what are you tolerating in your life?Where are the places where you can raise the bar on what you allow to keep happening in your life and expect things to go better?I share my journey of wanting to become someone who isn't attached to my phone and the process of separating from it consciously.Where are you allowing yourself to keep doing the old thing you're ready to give up? What benefit is this old action giving you? Is there a better thing you could replace that activity with that gives you the same benefit?Without being deliberate about what we want to experience and what we no longer want to do, it is so easy to be a bit of a zombie and do the same thing you always have. As always, adding in something you would prefer to do is often easier to get a change rolling than going straight for cutting things out of your day.We also need to consider where we write off the possibility of change for us because we don't think a small change is big enough. But small changes add up! Support the showYour donations mean the world to me and allow me to continue to create content each week. I ❤️you and thank you from the bottom of my heart. leave an awesome review on Apple podcasts to help spread the word subscribe so you don't miss an episode wherever you stream your podcasts Thanks for listening!

In life we tend to lean towards the side of action – but there is a necessity for rest and quiet and stillness. When we are faced with moments of rest, a break, or vacations, we find it difficult to dwell in the quiet.This episode explores what to expect when we take a break and attempt to recuperate from burnout and hard work. It turns out, this is a difficult experience for most of us! And that's OK. You will survive, and it is still worth doing, even if we fill up our time as quickly as possible so that we are still doing things even when we are supposed to be having a break.There are ways we can shake things up and reset our routines quickly.If you are feeling stressed out about the change in routine and afraid of what might not be happening or what is happening while you are away – is it possible to fill your time with experiences and activities that let you wonder?Wonderment and curiosity, especially for discovering new experiences you enjoy – are an excellent path towards refilling your cup.  Support the showYour donations mean the world to me and allow me to continue to create content each week. I ❤️you and thank you from the bottom of my heart. leave an awesome review on Apple podcasts to help spread the word subscribe so you don't miss an episode wherever you stream your podcasts Thanks for listening!

This year I am working on upgrading my expectations of myself and what is possible for me, and it's something I want for everyone in the world. It takes some deeper awareness of where I have beliefs that cause me to struggle, and some deeper kindness towards myself to overcome these limitations.Learn how to recognize the patterns and feelings that lurk below your awareness and help them get on board with a higher level of positive experiences in this talk about upgrading your belief in yourself and what is possible.From using sticky notes to make a record of your signs of success, to noticing your cringe-worthy feelings and deciding to love them instead of believe them – you'll leave this episode with some practical how-tos, and some great questions to ask yourself as you level up every area of your life. Support the showYour donations mean the world to me and allow me to continue to create content each week. I ❤️you and thank you from the bottom of my heart. leave an awesome review on Apple podcasts to help spread the word subscribe so you don't miss an episode wherever you stream your podcasts Thanks for listening!

There is a tipping point that we rarely notice – and it's when we have put in so much good effort, love, and energy, that those vibes have an automatic return and snowball.When we zoom out and give our lives an honest assessment and look for where we have improved, we have a chance to see this law of exponential returns. What we are currently receiving and experiencing is a valid and honest reflection of what we put out and the level that we've been playing at up until now.What's so cool about this is that we can choose to amplify our vibes consciously.We can choose to put out more kindness, more wonder, and more patience, and we inevitably will reach a tipping point where the world begins to serve us lots of kindness, wonder, and patience.We can choose to create more value wherever we are and expect to see positive returns on that because it's a law of the universe. We don't even have to force anything to happen – it just will!No matter what you work on, at some point you will see a leap forward where things just suddenly are easier. It's easy to miss them when they come, but celebrating these tiny wins is what keeps us going. So don't forget to celebrate the small stuff! Support the showYour donations mean the world to me and allow me to continue to create content each week. I ❤️you and thank you from the bottom of my heart. leave an awesome review on Apple podcasts to help spread the word subscribe so you don't miss an episode wherever you stream your podcasts Thanks for listening!

Being masterful with our time doesn't happen without planning and deliberate actions. We must plan for what we want to happen, and we have to make space for what we want to happen.We think about the actions we need to take and the resources, but we fail to consider the space we need to allow our dreams to grow, to become real, and to become our truth.Getting to know what's truly important to you and connecting with your values is central to not only manifesting your dreams but creating a life experience that you enjoy.We must decide which of our many ideas is the most important. We all have a difficult time deciding! But if we stick with one idea long enough, spend some time with it, ask it what it needs, and then give it the space and resources it needs to grow – it can bloom!To truly live a life where you've mastered your time, you need to start with creating space. You have to deliberately create blocks of time that are open, so that you can let your ideas grow into them. You need space to catch up on the backlog of crap that was forgotten last week, space to fill back up your tank with creative action, space to connect with loved ones and to get inspired. And you need space to have the option to follow through and act on your next great idea.Without leaving space for all of this, none of it can happen. So it's one of those paradoxes that in order to get a lot done, you need to leave space – emptiness – for it to manifest.Being masterful with your time means being deliberate about what you make time for. It means being ruthless with what you release yourself from. It takes courage. And it is so worth it! Support the showYour donations mean the world to me and allow me to continue to create content each week. I ❤️you and thank you from the bottom of my heart. leave an awesome review on Apple podcasts to help spread the word subscribe so you don't miss an episode wherever you stream your podcasts Thanks for listening!

Right around this time of year, we start to feel the hustling energy, and we can begin to take advantage of the momentum of people doing stuff around us to start putting our own projects into action and manifestation.It's a good time to assess how you've spent the winter – did you spend it accumulating thoughts and feelings that serve you well, or did you knock yourself down? When you get a sense of what's worked well and what isn't working for you, then you can consciously choose to move toward more positive ideas, people, places, and habits.Part of unjamming your life is looking at the tendencies you have – what behaviors keep playing out – and what would they need to be instead if you wanted a different outcome than what you have today?The first step to any breakthrough is awareness of what's already happening, paired with the motivation and knowledge of what to do next.When there's a thing you want to be, you need to set yourself to believe that you are – even if you currently only are capable of a very small portion of what you one day will be able to do.Starting where you are and keeping your demands of yourself small enough to be in alignment with what you can do and want to choose to do now is important and will allow you to gradually increase your belief and desire to keep going for more. Support the showYour donations mean the world to me and allow me to continue to create content each week. I ❤️you and thank you from the bottom of my heart. leave an awesome review on Apple podcasts to help spread the word subscribe so you don't miss an episode wherever you stream your podcasts Thanks for listening!

Connection and community are so important to our well-being and ability to thrive.Even though there are times when I desire to be a hermit and only drink tea, read books, and have a cat on my lap – this need for quiet is balanced by a need to get feedback and love from others, and I can't do that on my own.Recognizing my need for community, this year I decided to actively foster one instead of waiting for it to come to me.  And it feels excellent to take the reins and decide what kinds of gatherings I want to experience, and who I'd love to have be there.The simple act of choosing to participate actively has created a sense of agency, responsibility, and pride that wasn't there before. Now my social life isn't happening to me, but for me and because of me. I feel a greater sense of belonging, and that is lovely to experience.Even as I set up opportunities for gatherings, I have to remind myself that the point is to spend time with people I care about, not to create a perfect day. Sometimes our desire for perfection can get in the way of all the fun, but if we notice the perfection monster arising, we can gently set it down and decide to just be present, available to enjoy the people we care about, and spend some time doing activities we love. Support the showYour donations mean the world to me and allow me to continue to create content each week. I ❤️you and thank you from the bottom of my heart. leave an awesome review on Apple podcasts to help spread the word subscribe so you don't miss an episode wherever you stream your podcasts Thanks for listening!

Thanks to Iskra, my very first paid subscription podcast supporter! I appreciate you and am so happy you're here.This week we explore why we do and don't do things. Do we move toward accomplishment, or away from punishment, disappointment or discomfort?How can we approach our ambitions in a way that honors these two warring desires within us?We explore the ways our beliefs about the world can get in the way of moving toward our dreams, and create more space for us to receive good things in the world.When we notice the moment that we put on the brakes and limit how much we are willing to commit to an outcome, or how hard we want to push for that outcome, it illuminates where our most limiting beliefs are and gives us the opportunity to deconstruct them.Humans tend to approach the same point of failure repeatedly, become confused as to why things aren't working, and find themselves too tired to figure it out. It leads to us returning to the same projects and big ambitions using the same actions and finding ourselves stuck at the same place on repeat, which leads to despair and frustration.Surrounding ourselves with people who have achieved or are achieving the same goals as us is so helpful in overcoming our confusion, fears, and setbacks.We can also tap into the innate wisdom of our body to learn why we stop ourselves from moving forward, and discover the best times for us to push ahead. Support the showYour donations mean the world to me and allow me to continue to create content each week. I ❤️you and thank you from the bottom of my heart. leave an awesome review on Apple podcasts to help spread the word subscribe so you don't miss an episode wherever you stream your podcasts Thanks for listening!

The end of January is a time of seeking comfort and coziness and resisting work and effort. Or at least that's how it is for me!It feels like a great time to get cozy, enjoy hot beverages, sleep as much as possible, and avoid working hard. Despite a belief that I ought to be productive all the time and always push forward in my business and my life in general, my body and mind are begging me for quiet and respite.There is a natural cycle in life that flows from creativity, production, and great activity, assessment and gathering, and finally rest and recuperation. It's OK to embrace the resting season fully.It is also true that there are times when it is legitimately more difficult to coordinate efforts and do activities. When life is more unpredictable it naturally encourages us to step back and focus more inward. Snow and ice have a natural ability to slow us down and force us to slow down.When we get upset, it highlights an area where we feel we aren't getting what we need. Our cranky side has a lot of wisdom for us if we listen to its underlying message. When we give ourselves what we need, we more easily move into a flow where we have more to offer. This is why it is so important to allow ourselves periods of rest and nourishment, as well as periods of activity, accomplishments, and providing for others. Support the showYour donations mean the world to me and allow me to continue to create content each week. I ❤️you and thank you from the bottom of my heart. leave an awesome review on Apple podcasts to help spread the word subscribe so you don't miss an episode wherever you stream your podcasts Thanks for listening!

Let's talk about pride, doing what feels true to your soul, and putting boundaries into place to help you live with the highest personal integrity.When we are young, it's so easy to declare how awesome we are and how well we did something. And as we get older, it becomes harder to praise ourselves for our accomplishments or the way we handle situations. I believe there is something nourishing to be found in acknowledging how well we try, and how well we rise to the occasions of our lives.When we act in our lives in a way that honors our deeply held values, we are acting with integrity. When it starts to unravel is when we make concessions with our values in order to placate others or honor other people's values.In this episode, I share my struggles with standing up for myself, battling mean thoughts about those who I feel have done me wrong, and how I'm stepping into greater alignment with the me I want to be, who is less judgmental, and more willing to receive a resolution when in conflict.It's not perfect, but through examining my thought and emotional process as I go through conflict, I find myself more connected to my personal integrity, and more willing to relax and receive the results of my actions and efforts. Support the showYour donations mean the world to me and allow me to continue to create content each week. I ❤️you and thank you from the bottom of my heart. leave an awesome review on Apple podcasts to help spread the word subscribe so you don't miss an episode wherever you stream your podcasts Thanks for listening!

Thriving doesn't mean only feeling happy and awesome all the time. To truly thrive, we need to connect with our values, understand what we care about the most, and show up with integrity to face our lives and the situations in our lives in alignment with those values.We can thrive in our lives even when things suck. A sense of pride and accomplishment arises when we feel we've handled our circumstances well, especially under adversity. Thriving is accepting all of things that come with being ourselves and showing up as well as we can. Support the showYour donations mean the world to me and allow me to continue to create content each week. I ❤️you and thank you from the bottom of my heart. leave an awesome review on Apple podcasts to help spread the word subscribe so you don't miss an episode wherever you stream your podcasts Thanks for listening!

The winter season calls us to slow down and relax, to recuperate from the hard work of the previous year, and to dream for a while before the activity of the Spring. Yet most of us are panicky in this season worrying over what we haven't yet accomplished and comparing ourselves to a standard that is unobtainable.It is a good time to listen to your body, allow yourself a break, recalibrate and recenter yourself and give yourself all the nurturing, love, and kindness you crave. You will become capable of so much more from that space of being nurtured! And that, too, will manifest in its season. Support the showYour donations mean the world to me and allow me to continue to create content each week. I ❤️you and thank you from the bottom of my heart. leave an awesome review on Apple podcasts to help spread the word subscribe so you don't miss an episode wherever you stream your podcasts Thanks for listening!

I love the actual physical act of dreaming, but I also am a fan of consciously dreaming up new ideas and new thoughts about how I might be if I tried out something new.By thinking about how I might feel or act if I already had what I think I want now, it lets me understand if there's a deeper need underneath my desires, or if I already have a lot of what I want.Conscious dreaming also lets me figure out how to amplify the feelings I want to have more of and attract more of that into my daily experience. It doesn't happen haphazardly, it happens with conscious effort and making myself aware of opportunities and thoughts as they arise.Daydreaming always felt so much more important than adults told me when I was a kid, and now I think many adults like me resonate with vision-boarding our ideas to make them a reality. It's what our species is built to do – we LOVE to dream!And it turns out, dreaming serves a big purpose, to help us come up with the ways we will achieve our goals, merge with the feelings we want to create more of, and have fun along the way.What are you dreaming about this year? I hope it is fun! Be easy with yourself as you take the small steps towards making it a reality - slower is faster! Support the showYour donations mean the world to me and allow me to continue to create content each week. I ❤️you and thank you from the bottom of my heart. leave an awesome review on Apple podcasts to help spread the word subscribe so you don't miss an episode wherever you stream your podcasts Thanks for listening!

Inspiration to me means something that is exciting and possible and makes me feel motivated to do my best and attempt to create an experience in my life, even if I haven't had success in that area before.One of the most inspiring things for me is hearing someone sing a song that speaks to a universal emotion – the big ones like sorrow and grief, or love, or wonder. I cry when I see someone sharing something beautiful like that because it resonates so deeply with what I hold to be important and true.I believe we all find inspiration from the things that most resonate with our values and best desires for our lives.When we witness an event or the success of another that aligns with what we hold important and dear to our soul, it allows us to dream even larger, to inhale deeply, and to add that experience to the language of our hearts.In times of slowing down, when we can consume books, binge Netflix series, and listen to the podcasts we cherish, I believe it is a time of building up our ideas and forming our next steps for how we want to show up in the world.It's why I think it's important that we choose what we consume carefully so that we constructively lead ourselves towards inspirations and ideas that help us live a happier and more joyful life.If you find yourself taking in too much darkness, it can end up derailing your efforts and keep you stuck.May you find the beauty in whatever it is you are experiencing, and connect with creations that inspire you to live your happiest and best version of yourself. Support the showYour donations mean the world to me and allow me to continue to create content each week. I ❤️you and thank you from the bottom of my heart. leave an awesome review on Apple podcasts to help spread the word subscribe so you don't miss an episode wherever you stream your podcasts Thanks for listening!

In the winter colder months, most of us want more pampering, to feel that we belong, and to have the time and space to rest. I am a hibernating type of animal, and I very much want peace and respite at this time of year. After weeks of celebrating and connecting with my friends and family – another key desire of mine! – I partake in a large amount of quietude. Tea, a cat on my lap, and a good book is all I really want.Nature calls us to retreat when it is colder and food is less scarce, and humanity often doesn't want to align with that demand. But when we do, there is a great nourishment that seeps into our hearts.Humans complicate desire and want to quantify everything – to judge what's best, to judge how well we are measuring up against what we believe everyone else is doing and experiencing and having. We can't quite believe that life could really be as simple as relaxing and enjoying the moment. We have been taught to fear that if we take a break we'll be judged, or that the world will suddenly stop working so we prod ourselves on endlessly.I'd suggest that we are allowed and called to release ourselves from all the desires for MORE at this time of year, and to indulge the desires for rest, recuperation and dreaming. It's a great time of year for dreaming and planning, and not necessarily a time for tackling huge and arduous goals. Let that be for the Spring!For now, rest, my friends, and indulge your deep human desires for comfort, love, and connection. A time and season for every purpose, yes? Support the showYour donations mean the world to me and allow me to continue to create content each week. I ❤️you and thank you from the bottom of my heart. leave an awesome review on Apple podcasts to help spread the word subscribe so you don't miss an episode wherever you stream your podcasts Thanks for listening!