Podcasts about exhale

Join Premium! Ready for an ad-free meditation experience? Join Premium now and get every episode from ALL of our podcasts completely ad-free now! Just a few clicks makes it easy for you to listen on your favorite podcast player.  Become a PREMIUM member today by going to -->⁠ ⁠⁠https://WomensMeditationNetwork.com/premium September is National Suicide Prevention Month…it's a time to remember the lives lost to suicide, acknowledge the millions more who have experienced suicidal thoughts, and the many individuals, families and communities that have been impacted by suicide. It is really important to me to provide some meditations for those who might need them, so I asked my good friend, who has been personally impacted by suicide, to write this week's meditations.  If you or someone you know could use it, please listen and share.  If you feel you need someone to talk with right now, you are not alone. In the U.S., you can call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. If you're elsewhere, please look online for a local crisis number, or text HOME to 741741 (Crisis Text Line). Find a quiet place where you feel safe to just be you. Let your eyes close gently. PAUSE… Take a soft breath in, filling your body with calm. Exhale slowly, feeling the weight of the day slide away. Pause here, in the soft rhythm of your breath. PAUSE… Let your hands rest loosely. Unclench your jaw. Soften the space between your eyes. Join our Premium Sleep for Women Channel on Apple Podcasts and get ALL 5 of our Sleep podcasts completely ad-free! Join Premium now on Apple here --> https://bit.ly/sleepforwomen  Join our Premium Meditation for Kids Channel on Apple Podcasts and get ALL 5 of our Kids podcasts completely ad-free! Join Premium now on Apple here → https://bit.ly/meditationforkidsapple Hey, I'm so glad you're taking the time to be with us today. My team and I are dedicated to making sure you have all the meditations you need throughout all the seasons of your life.  If there's a meditation you desire, but can't find, email us at Katie Krimitsos to make a request. We'd love to create what you want!  Namaste, Beautiful,

In today's episode, we have the pleasure to interview Samantha Woo, author of What Other Leadership Books Don't Tell You: How to Lead & Manage Highly-Emotional Employees.Samantha is a leadership coach, Certified Internal Family Systems (IFS) Therapist, and founder of the E.M.B.R.A.C.E.® method. She blends neuroscience, clinical therapy, and trauma-informed coaching to help tech leaders and executives navigate the people problems no one talks about.In this episode, you'll learn how trauma shows up at work—and why most leaders are unprepared for it, why emotional intelligence isn't something you teach with a slide deck, and what it really takes to support both high-performing and hypo-aroused employees in today's workplace.We hope you enjoy this incredible conversation with Samantha Woo.To Learn More about Samantha and buy her book visit: The Book: https://a.co/d/iJol27kWebsite/Socials: https://www.swnconsultingllc.com/https://www.instagram.com/samantha.s.woo/https://x.com/SWNconsultingChapters: 0:00 Intro1:22 Why people live unhappy for 90,000 hours in their lives3:07 Root causes of dissatisfaction at work5:22 The impact of remote & virtual work7:40 Empathy and recognizing not-work-related problems of your team11:37 Practical tips for leaders to keep your team happy13:05 Everybody's overwhelmed in some way18:19 Dealing with work-induced mental health problems21:54 The rise of problems in the modern workplace25:19 Talking about emotional intelligence & the EQ at work30:41 The adoption of AI & its impact in business decisions34:18 Exhale & step back to become more emotionally intelligent36:27 What makes a good leader (The Growth & Spiritual Mindset)41:02 Where to connect with Samantha and get the book41:44 We're all in this together________________________________________________Join the world's largest non-fiction Book community!https://www.instagram.com/bookthinkers/The purpose of this podcast is to connect you, the listener, with new books, new mentors, and new resources that will help you achieve more and live better. Each and every episode will feature one of the world's top authors so that you know each and every time you tune-in, there is something valuable to learn. If you have any recommendations for guests, please DM them to us on Instagram. (www.instagram.com/bookthinkers)If you enjoyed this show, please consider leaving a review. It takes less than 60-seconds of your time, and really makes a difference when I am trying to land new guests. For more BookThinkers content, check out our Instagram or our website.

In Psalm 34:18, we’re reminded that “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” But in seasons of heartbreak, unanswered prayers, or overwhelming busyness, God can sometimes feel distant. Cindi McMenamin shares how we can quiet the noise, draw near to God, and experience His presence as close and real as the air we breathe. ✨ Highlights Why God sometimes feels distant and how to reconnect with Him Four practical ways to experience God’s presence: Take a Divine Pause — slow down, breathe deeply, and be still (Psalm 46:10) Whisper His Name — use simple “breath prayers” like “Jesus, I need You” (Acts 4:12) Read His Word Aloud — Scripture is “living and active” and draws us closer (Hebrews 4:12) Start Praising Him — worship shifts our focus from ourselves to God’s goodness The promise of Jeremiah 29:13: when we seek Him with all our heart, we will find Him

Join Premium! Ready for an ad-free meditation experience? Join Premium now and get every episode from ALL of our podcasts completely ad-free now! Just a few clicks makes it easy for you to listen on your favorite podcast player.  Become a PREMIUM member today by going to --> https://WomensMeditationNetwork.com/premium Close your eyes, love.And take a long, deep breath in. Feel the air fill your lungs, stretching the edges of your ribs, expanding the space within you.Hold it for a moment, feeling its fullness, its presence.And then, let it go. Exhale completely, releasing all that feels tight, heavy, or small. PAUSE… Now, take another deep breath.But this time, as you inhale, imagine you are breathing in pure, open space.Breathe in the vastness of the sky, the endless horizon, the infinite beyond.And as you exhale, let go of any boundaries you have placed around yourself.Let go of the feeling of being contained, limited, or held back. PAUSE… You were never meant to be small.You were never meant to fit neatly inside the constraints of worry, expectation, or fear.You are expansive.You are limitless.You are the open sky. Join our Premium Sleep for Women Channel on Apple Podcasts and get ALL 5 of our Sleep podcasts completely ad-free! Join Premium now on Apple here --> https://bit.ly/sleepforwomen  Join our Premium Meditation for Kids Channel on Apple Podcasts and get ALL 5 of our Kids podcasts completely ad-free! Join Premium now on Apple here → https://bit.ly/meditationforkidsapple Hey, I'm so glad you're taking the time to be with us today. My team and I are dedicated to making sure you have all the meditations you need throughout all the seasons of your life.  If there's a meditation you desire, but can't find, email us at Katie Krimitsos to make a request. We'd love to create what you want!  Namaste, Beautiful,

Book your FREE 30 Minute Clarity Call with Jody now!   https://jody.as.me/womensmeditationnetworkclaritysession What is a Clarity Call? This is the first step to giving you the IMMEDIATE relief you crave and will help you to become "unstuck" as you walk the path towards a life of happiness, inner peace and fulfillment. During this call, we're going to explore your ideal life and vision for living the life that you desire. We'll talk about some of the challenges that are getting in your way, and I'll provide you with some practical tools to help you close the gap from where you are now, to your desired destination. Focus on the present moment, let go of any tension in your body, take a deep breath in. And out. Exhale fully.  PAUSE (5 SEC)... Repeat this a few more times.  PAUSE (10 SEC)... Imagine yourself standing tall, holding your head high and feeling confident in your own worth.  See yourself being treated with kindness and dignity by those around you. Join Premium! Ready for an ad-free meditation experience? Join Premium now and get every episode from ALL of our podcasts completely ad-free now! Just a few clicks makes it easy for you to listen on your favorite podcast player.  Become a PREMIUM member today by going to --> https://WomensMeditationNetwork.com/premium Join our Premium Sleep for Women Channel on Apple Podcasts and get ALL 5 of our Sleep podcasts completely ad-free! Join Premium now on Apple here --> https://bit.ly/sleepforwomen  Join our Premium Meditation for Kids Channel on Apple Podcasts and get ALL 5 of our Kids podcasts completely ad-free! Join Premium now on Apple here → https://bit.ly/meditationforkidsapple Hey, I'm so glad you're taking the time to be with us today. My team and I are dedicated to making sure you have all the meditations you need throughout all the seasons of your life.  If there's a meditation you desire, but can't find, email us at Katie Krimitsos to make a request. We'd love to create what you want!  Namaste, Beautiful,

Join Premium! Ready for an ad-free meditation experience? Join Premium now and get every episode from ALL of our podcasts completely ad-free now! Just a few clicks makes it easy for you to listen on your favorite podcast player.  Become a PREMIUM member today by going to --> https://WomensMeditationNetwork.com/premium Something's ruffled your feathers, Something's under your skin, Your heart is racing inside.  Your mind is spinning, With all the scenarios, You feel like you want to hide.  PAUSE… So take a deep breath in, And slow yourself down, There's something hidden underneath. Your ego is reacting, It feels threatened somehow. It's time to observe what's beneath. Let your breath come in, And bring you to the now, And remind you that you are okay. There's nothing to fear, And you are enough, It's simply a chance to survey. PAUSE… Let your body melt, And release the tension you feel, Exhale all the stress and the pain. Relax your face, Your arms and your legs, And see if you can calm down your brain. Join our Premium Sleep for Women Channel on Apple Podcasts and get ALL 5 of our Sleep podcasts completely ad-free! Join Premium now on Apple here --> https://bit.ly/sleepforwomen  Join our Premium Meditation for Kids Channel on Apple Podcasts and get ALL 5 of our Kids podcasts completely ad-free! Join Premium now on Apple here → https://bit.ly/meditationforkidsapple Hey, I'm so glad you're taking the time to be with us today. My team and I are dedicated to making sure you have all the meditations you need throughout all the seasons of your life.  If there's a meditation you desire, but can't find, email us at Katie Krimitsos to make a request. We'd love to create what you want!  Namaste, Beautiful,

"McElroy & Cubelic In The Morning" airs 7am-10am weekdays on WJOX-94.5!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Join Premium! Ready for an ad-free meditation experience? Join Premium now and get every episode from ALL of our podcasts completely ad-free now! Just a few clicks makes it easy for you to listen on your favorite podcast player.  Become a PREMIUM member today by going to --> https://WomensMeditationNetwork.com/premium Close your eyes, and take a slow, deep breath in.Feel the crisp morning air as it flows through your nose,Cool and invigorating, awakening something new inside of you.And now, release it.Exhale fully, letting go of the weight, the tension, the old energy. PAUSE… This breath is an invitation.A gentle opening.A doorway to fresh beginnings,Where nothing is fixed, and everything is possible. PAUSE… Breathe in again, feeling the expansion.As the air moves through you,Notice how it creates space—In your lungs, in your mind, in your heart.And as you exhale, soften.Let each breath out be a quiet clearing,Sweeping away yesterday's dust,Making room for something new. Join our Premium Sleep for Women Channel on Apple Podcasts and get ALL 5 of our Sleep podcasts completely ad-free! Join Premium now on Apple here --> https://bit.ly/sleepforwomen  Join our Premium Meditation for Kids Channel on Apple Podcasts and get ALL 5 of our Kids podcasts completely ad-free! Join Premium now on Apple here → https://bit.ly/meditationforkidsapple Hey, I'm so glad you're taking the time to be with us today. My team and I are dedicated to making sure you have all the meditations you need throughout all the seasons of your life.  If there's a meditation you desire, but can't find, email us at Katie Krimitsos to make a request. We'd love to create what you want!  Namaste, Beautiful,

Breath is so ordinary that we forget it is extraordinary. It comes unbidden, steady as a tide, unnoticed until something interrupts it. We know the sudden gasp of fear, the shallow rise and fall of exhaustion, the ragged breath when we are sick. Yet beneath all those moments lies the same truth: breath is life.In this episode of Creation's Paths, we began with the simple reminder that life in our breath is our life. Too often, spiritual traditions turn breath into something to control, to discipline, even to constrain. An effort at restraining life itself. But the practice we explored was not about constriction. It was about letting breath become prayer, letting the air itself speak the Name of the Divine.This is the kind of practice that first feels like a gentle breeze on a cool fall day: soft, refreshing, peaceful. But it doesn't stop there. Beneath that quiet surface, the practice deepens, grounding us like roots pushing into rich soil and rising like the charged air before a storm. Breath becomes both anchor and surge, weaving us into the great current of life.The practice begins with ancient names. Matthew Fox, in his teachings on Radical Prayer, pointed to a way of praying the Tetragrammaton, the four-letter Name of God, by shaping the mouth and throat as though speaking YHVH while breathing in and out. No vocal cords, no sound, only the rush of air forming sacred syllables. The Name itself becomes breath.Later, Rabbi Rami Shapiro deepened this understanding in Judaism Without Tribalism, distinguishing two ways we encounter the Divine: Yah, “I Am,” the inward presence; and Ehyeh, Being itself beyond us. Breath carries both: the inhale, “Yah,” turning us inward, centering us in selfhood; the exhale, “Ehyeh,” releasing us outward into community, creation, and relationship.Jewish tradition also speaks of two inclinations, the yetzer ha-ra (the self-directed impulse, sometimes mistranslated as “evil”) and the yetzer ha-tov (the communal or altruistic impulse, “good”). Breath, again, becomes the place of balance: the inhale honors the self's need for oxygen, life, renewal; the exhale honors the world's need for creativity and creation it's self. In this back-and-forth, the Name of God becomes the rhythm of our very existence.Layered upon these roots are Creation Spirituality's Four Paths: Positiva (awe and wonder), Negativa (letting go, emptiness), Creativa (birthing newness), Transformativa (healing and justice). Breath can move through these paths, each inhale and exhale carrying us through transformation, wonder, surrender, and creativity.What begins as simply saying the Name with breath grows quickly into a deep meditation on self and cosmos. Inhaling, we are filled, self affirmed, grounded, alive. Exhaling, we are emptied, poured out for others, surrendered into communion. It is the yesh and the ayin, fullness and emptiness.The practice reveals subtle truths: selfishness is not always evil, for inhaling is necessary to live. Selflessness is not always holy, for endless exhaling leaves us collapsed. We need both: the courage to take in life for ourselves and the generosity to release life for others. Brian put it plainly: if all we do is inhale, we faint; if all we do is exhale, we expire.There is also mystery here. Each breath can feel like the ocean becoming a drop and the drop returning to the ocean. Each cycle of fullness and emptiness is a miniature creation, a tide that carries both the particularity of the self and the vastness of the cosmos. Thich Nhat Hanh called mindfulness the greatest magic because it brings us into the only moment that exists, the present. In this practice, mindfulness and prayer merge, each breath becoming spell, prayer, offering.Breath touches everything. What I exhale becomes food for trees; what trees exhale becomes food for me. Breath connects species, people, and places into one vast circulatory system of life.Prayed in this way, breath also connects traditions. It holds the Jewish mystical sense of the Divine Name too holy to speak, yet spoken in every breath. It carries the Christian vision of the Spirit as breath or wind (ruach, pneuma), moving in and through all. It resonates with Buddhist mindfulness of breathing as doorway to presence. It sits comfortably in Druidry, which sees the breath of the wind as the breath of the world.Breath also connects the personal and the political. Our balance between inhale and exhale mirrors the balance between self and community, between individual needs and collective responsibilities. Too much inwardness leads to narcissism; too much outwardness leads to unthinking conformity. But when the two dance together, we breathe justice.The advanced practice Brian offered makes this even more explicit: inhaling as transformation, holding in awe, exhaling as surrender, holding in creativity. This rhythm trains us not only to pray but to live: taking in the world's wounds, holding them in wonder, releasing them in service, and pausing long enough to let new worlds gestate.So how do we embody this? Begin simply. Sit or lie down comfortably. Let your shoulders relax. Inhale, shaping your mouth as though saying “Yah.” Exhale, shaping your lips as though saying “Ehyeh.” Don't force sound, let the air itself be the word.Feel the rhythm: fullness and emptiness. Notice the peace, like a cool autumn breeze. Notice the grounding, like roots drinking deeply. Notice the rising energy, like the charged air before a storm. Let your awareness sharpen until you feel not just your lungs but the whole web of life breathing with you.Practice safely. Don't force breath-holds. Don't clench your throat. This is not a contest of endurance. It is prayer. Breathe naturally, gently, and if discomfort rises, release.In time, you may add the pauses. After an inhale, hold for awe. After an exhale, hold for creativity. Let the Four Paths shape your breath: becoming, beholding, surrendering, birthing. Let the cycle turn until it becomes second nature, until every breath becomes a liturgy of transformation.This is not meant to be lofty or distant. It can be morning centering, evening unwinding, or a quick re-grounding in the middle of the day. It can accompany your prayers, or it can be your prayer. What matters is that it keeps you alive to the presence of Spirit in and around you.For me, this practice begins as peace: a soft breath, like the wind through trees on a fall afternoon. That peace sinks into my bones as grounding, reminding me that life is not abstract but in this air, this body, this earth. Then, without warning, the peace turns electric, a rising surge like storm-air alive with possibility. Awareness sharpens. Connection hums. I feel the life of trees, the pulse of animals, the hush of stones, all tied together by breath.This practice reminds me that holiness is not locked in temples but carried in our lungs. Every inhale is the gift of being. Every exhale is the offering of self. Breath is the Name of the Holy One, spoken not with voice but with life.And so my prayer is simple: may we learn to notice our breath. May we let it carry us into peace, root us in life, and awaken us to the storm-charged presence of the Divine all around. May each breath we take be offering, communion, and blessing. Amen.Thanks for reading! This post is public so feel free to share it.Thank you for Tips / Donations: * https://ko-fi.com/cedorsett * https://patreon.com/cedorsett * https://cash.app/$CreationsPaths* Substack: https://www.creationspaths.com/New to The Seraphic Grove learn more For Educational Resource: https://wisdomscry.com Social Connections: * BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/creationspaths.com * Threads https://www.threads.net/@creationspaths * Instagram https://www.instagram.com/creationspaths/#christopagan #CreationSpirituality #breathprayer #mysticism #druidry #Brigid #breathwork #contemplation #sacredpractice #prayerChapters:00:00 Introduction: The Divine Breath01:07 Host Introductions01:16 Overview of Divine Breath Practice02:08 Matthew Fox's Radical Prayer Teaching04:34 Understanding Divine Connection: Internal and External15:08 Advanced Practice: Four Paths Breathing18:15 Safety Guidelines for Breath Work20:04 Closing Thoughts and Blessing Get full access to Creation's Paths at www.creationspaths.com/subscribe

Elisabeth Embry talks with Lauren Foundos, founder of Forte, and Britany Geautreau, Vice President of Investment Advisory Services at Clarity Capital LLC. Brittany is a Seattle native, who went on “life's adventure” to Southern California and worked in our Newport Beach office until 2016. That year, she moved back to her home state of Washington to head up our Pacific Northwest office. Brittany is Series 65 licensed and is an Investment Advisor Representative with Clarity Capital Partners. She is also licensed as a registered representative (Series 7) with Niagara International Capital Limited. Lauren left the world of buying and selling Treasuries and started a subscription based online workout company called Forte. Forte's goal is to make sure athletes love and crush each workout. Forte live streams boutique fitness studio classes for their members, as well as providing their classes on-demand. Key Takeaways: Britany Geautreau Interview: 3:32 Who Britany is and what her specialty is 4:15 Britany breaks down what a CFA and a CFP are 8:10 When you should use a financial firm rather than an online platform like E-trade 12:23  How people should be researching which firm is right for them, and some questions to ask to vet the firm 15:38 Your relationship with your financial advisor isn't just a one time meeting 19:56 The market is at an all time high, which means you need to ensure you're not too heavily invested in one particular stock Website: www.ClarityCapitalLLC.com "In this type of environment, don't be greedy. If you have this mentality of "oh I can't lose"...remember companies like AOL" Lauren Foundos Interview: 24:58 Lauren's target audience 27:36 What is Exhale? 29:32 Whether Lauren has unique content or just leveraging studios that are already in use 30:10 How to find the right classes for your personal style 32:01 Lauren's switch from treasurer broker to on-demand fitness guru 33:32 How Lauren was able to pursue her new venture while still having a W2 job 37:46 The importance of working out when you're feeling overwhelmed Website: www.Forte.fit "There's never the perfect time to do anything"     Follow Jason on TWITTER, INSTAGRAM & LINKEDIN Twitter.com/JasonHartmanROI Instagram.com/jasonhartman1/ Linkedin.com/in/jasonhartmaninvestor/ Call our Investment Counselors at: 1-800-HARTMAN (US) or visit: https://www.jasonhartman.com/ Free Class:  Easily get up to $250,000 in funding for real estate, business or anything else: http://JasonHartman.com/Fund CYA Protect Your Assets, Save Taxes & Estate Planning: http://JasonHartman.com/Protect Get wholesale real estate deals for investment or build a great business – Free Course: https://www.jasonhartman.com/deals Special Offer from Ron LeGrand: https://JasonHartman.com/Ron Free Mini-Book on Pandemic Investing: https://www.PandemicInvesting.com

This retreat has been born out of my own experience and journey from body burnout to thriving. For years, I thought the only way I could find the peace I craved was to burn it all down, close my business, walk away from everything, and start fresh. I know I'm not alone in this. So many ambitious women I work with are exhausted from constantly being on. Leading a business, showing up for clients, being there for family... and silently wondering: is this just what success is meant to feel like? What I've learned... you don't have to choose between leading a thriving business and having the space, stillness, and energy you crave.   That's why I created Exhale.   A 3 day retreat for women who are ready to step out of survival mode, reconnect with themselves, and reignite the creativity and clarity that fuels not just their life, but their business too.   In this episode, I'm sharing:

Most people wait for burnout, conflict, or disaster before ending something that's no longer in alignment. We've both done that in the past, pushing forward because things were “still going well,” even when a quiet inner voice was saying it was time to move on. But sometimes, the most life-giving move is to complete a chapter while there's still joy, ease, and connection in it. In this special final episode, we pull back the curtain on our decision to end the podcast, while it's still thriving. We explore why completion can be the most creative act of all. For us, it's been about endings without drama, the art of listening to our “inner advisor,” and the unexpected magic that unfolds when you step into the unknown with clarity and curiosity. We reflect on more than two years of deep, unfiltered dialogue, the guests who bared their hearts, and the body of work we've created together. We discuss how this podcast has captured many of our most important conversations, and why it now feels like a beautiful exhale, making space for what's next. Things You'll Learn In This Episode  -Why we end things while they're still thriving What does it take to step away from something good, without fear, doubt, or regret—and trust that it's time to move on? -How to listen to your “inner advisor” What's the difference between a passing whim and the deep clarity that tells you to take a new path? -The power of letting go before burnout Why stopping while you're energized can be the most generous, creative choice you make. -Stepping into the unknown with wonder How clarity, curiosity, and trust can make the next chapter even more vibrant than the last.       About Your Hosts Katie Hendricks, Ph.D., BC-DMT, is a pioneer in body intelligence and conscious loving with over 40 years of experience. Known internationally as a presenter and seminar leader, she focuses on authenticity, responsibility, and appreciation in conscious living. She co-authored 12 books, including best-sellers Conscious Loving and Conscious Loving Ever After, and she has appeared on over 500 radio and TV programs. Sophie Chiche is a seasoned coach and consultant who has worked with thousands of individuals and teams globally. With a focus on helping people live fully expressed lives, she guides clients and facilitates group sessions to remove obstacles and design meaningful lives. Sophie has developed unique methods, mindset shifts, and healing modalities to create lasting change.   Check out this episode on our website, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify and don't forget to leave a review if you like what you heard. Your review feeds the algorithm so the show reaches more people!

Qool DJ Marv Live at Dumbo House Brooklyn - August 17 2025 - Exhale   ---      https://www.sohohouse.com/en-us/houses/dumbo-house     +   Image by Janet Asante Sullivan :  https://janetasantesullivan.substack.com/p/danielle-mckinneys-art   ---      https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5gQLsodBsCys1_3Zbm83vg     https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/qool-dj-marv-aural-memoirs-and-buttamilk-archives/id269880758     https://music.apple.com/us/artist/qool-dj-marv/1558418894    https://bsky.app/profile/qooldjmarv.bsky.social     https://www.instagram.com/qooldjmarv/    https://qooldjmarv.bandcamp.com/album/sound-paths-v-1    https://tidal.com/browse/artist/23883666    https://www.mixcloud.com/qooldjmarv/    https://open.spotify.com/artist/48vhJ2d1hVaFHf6gqXeTm0?si=fWO0N456QeWRMWLUtqe4Yg    https://soundcloud.com/qooldjmarv    https://www.twitch.tv/qooldjmarv    https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/QoolDJMarvMusic 

Have you ever felt like you’re stuck in survivor mode — just trying to get through the day, pushing past your own needs, and wondering if joy will ever really come?So many women believe they must wait until they’re “healed enough” or “whole enough” before joy is possible. But friend, joy isn’t the end result of healing. Joy is part of the healing. In this episode, you’ll discover how neuroscience and Scripture show us that even the smallest joys — a laugh, a sweet moment, or something as simple as a s’more by the fire — can begin to rewire your heart from survival into belovedness. I’ll share a tender personal story of how God used a summer evening with my kids to show me it’s never too late for joy, and how choosing joy — even in the middle of tears — is a sacred step of healing. Key Takeaways:
 Why small joys help rewire your brain out of survival mode
 How “false safety mechanisms” from trauma silence your desires — and how to break free
 Why Jesus invites you to taste joy even before you’re fully healed
 A personal story of how a simple summer night with my boys became a moment of healing joy
 A practical soul care practice to take one small joy step this week Breath Prayer:
Inhale: Those who sow in tears Exhale: will reap with shouts of joy Scripture:
“Those who sow in tears will reap with shouts of joy.” Psalm 126:6 Join NEW Wellness Course: Breathe Joy with Jesus: Creating Happy Healthy Habits with God's Promises Register at mysoulcareschool.com → Take the FREE Soul Care Quiz at soulcarequiz.comGet your free personal wellness assessment and learn which area of wellness you need most. Connect with Bonnie: Bestselling Books by Bonnie:https://amzn.to/3NpVYQd Join the Soul Care Newsletter:https://thebonniegray.com/subscribe Watch Weekly YouTube Devotionals:https://youtube.com/thebonniegray Follow Bonnie on Instagram & Facebook:@thebonniegray Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Join Premium! Ready for an ad-free meditation experience? Join Premium now and get every episode from ALL of our podcasts completely ad-free now! Just a few clicks makes it easy for you to listen on your favorite podcast player.  Become a PREMIUM member today by going to --> https://WomensMeditationNetwork.com/premium Tonight's sleep meditation is a visualization of counting sheep.  Slow it all down,  As you settle into your bed.  PAUSE… Take a big, deep breath in,  Filling your belly with fresh air.  And then exhale, letting it all out, As you sink deeper into your bed.  PAUSE… Take another full breath in,  Collecting all the thoughts, the tasks, the worries,  And when you can't breathe in anymore,  Exhale,  And release all of it out. Join our Premium Sleep for Women Channel on Apple Podcasts and get ALL 5 of our Sleep podcasts completely ad-free! Join Premium now on Apple here --> https://bit.ly/sleepforwomen  Join our Premium Meditation for Kids Channel on Apple Podcasts and get ALL 5 of our Kids podcasts completely ad-free! Join Premium now on Apple here → https://bit.ly/meditationforkidsapple Hey, I'm so glad you're taking the time to be with us today. My team and I are dedicated to making sure you have all the meditations you need throughout all the seasons of your life.  If there's a meditation you desire, but can't find, email us at Katie Krimitsos to make a request. We'd love to create what you want!  Namaste, Beautiful,

SEND US A TEXT MESSAGE You're driven, passionate, and dedicated to growth. So why do you still feel disconnected from your body—and from your own peace? In this powerful conversation, we welcome Andria Winger, NASM-certified personal trainer and breathwork facilitator, to explore one of the most overlooked tools for transformation: your breath. From breaking free of numbing coping mechanisms to calming an overactive nervous system, Andrea shares how intentional breathing can release buried emotions, rewire your stress response, and open the door to creativity and clarity. You'll learn how to recognize when you're stuck in “stress mode,” reconnect to your authentic self, and use breath as a daily anchor for resilience. This isn't just another wellness trend. It's a practical, soul-deep approach you can use anywhere—whether you need to ground before a big meeting, shift out of overwhelm, or finally exhale years of holding it all together.

Join Premium! Ready for an ad-free meditation experience? Join Premium now and get every episode from ALL of our podcasts completely ad-free now! Just a few clicks makes it easy for you to listen on your favorite podcast player.  Become a PREMIUM member today by going to --> https://WomensMeditationNetwork.com/premium Sink into stillness,  And let your body rest.  You are held by the ground, supported by the unseen arms of the earth. PAUSE There is no rush now. No need to be anything but here. And breathing. PAUSE Let your breath arrive softly — like the first wind of spring. Inhale… gathering all the pieces of yourself. Exhale… slowly, slowly… letting go. Join our Premium Sleep for Women Channel on Apple Podcasts and get ALL 5 of our Sleep podcasts completely ad-free! Join Premium now on Apple here --> https://bit.ly/sleepforwomen  Join our Premium Meditation for Kids Channel on Apple Podcasts and get ALL 5 of our Kids podcasts completely ad-free! Join Premium now on Apple here → https://bit.ly/meditationforkidsapple Hey, I'm so glad you're taking the time to be with us today. My team and I are dedicated to making sure you have all the meditations you need throughout all the seasons of your life.  If there's a meditation you desire, but can't find, email us at Katie Krimitsos to make a request. We'd love to create what you want!  Namaste, Beautiful,

EP 228. From Forgiveness to Freedom — What to Do After You Let It GoYou've let it go… but now what?Here's the thing nobody tells you — forgiveness isn't the grand finale. It's not the closing credits. It's the opening scene to your next chapter. You've put down the heavy bag, but freedom? Freedom is when you stop circling the airport of your past and finally walk out into the world with your hands free and your heart light.In this episode, we're going deeper than “just let it go.” I'm showing you how to release the weight you've been carrying (because yes, forgiveness still leaves residue), create your own closure without waiting for their apology, stop reopening old wounds, and guard your peace like it's your most expensive possession — because in this season, it is.If you've ever wondered why you still feel heavy after forgiving, or how to stop slipping back into old patterns, this conversation is your game plan. By the end, you'll know exactly how to live like you've let it go, step into your Protect Your Peace Era, and choose you every single time.KEY TAKEAWAYS:Forgiveness is just the starting point for personal growth.Confidence is a decision you can embody right now.Main Character Energy is about owning your narrative.Closure is a choice you give yourself, not a gift from others.Protecting your peace is essential for lasting healing.Setting boundaries keeps your well-being intact.You are responsible for your happiness and peace.Letting go of old dreams can lead to new possibilities.Self-love is an ongoing journey, not a final destination.You are worth protecting at all costs.CHAPTERS00:00 – The Journey of Letting Go 04:34 – Finding Closure Within Yourself 08:57 – Protecting Your Healing 12:38 – Guarding Your Peace 18:39 – Embracing Your Freedom 21:39 – Empowerment Through Sharing and ConnectionTHE SELF-LOVE 2-STEP:1️⃣ Pause & BreatheStop whatever you're doing.Close your eyes.Inhale deeply through your nose for a count of 4.Hold for 4.Exhale slowly through your mouth for a count of 6.Repeat three times. This tells your nervous system: We are safe. We are here. We are not going back.2️⃣ Affirm Your Freedom Say out loud — yes, out loud: "I choose my peace over my past. I am free." Recognize: I honor my growth, and I'm not going back.Do this every time you feel yourself slipping into old patterns, and watch how your peace becomes your default, not your fight. Freedom isn't a one-time decision — it's a way of living.

Have you ever walked into a space and instantly felt lighter, calmer, or inspired — just because of what you saw? Beauty isn’t just decoration. Science shows that what surrounds you can change how you feel, help you break stress cycles, and even make new habits stick.Yet many Christian women hesitate to add beauty to their own lives — worrying it’s “selfish” or “unnecessary.” But friend, God designed beauty as a gift to restore your soul. It’s not extra. It’s essential.In this episode, you’ll discover how adding beauty into your space can renew your spirit and spark joy — inside and out. You’ll learn the neuroscience of why beauty matters, how visual cues can help you stick to life-giving rhythms, and a simple soul care practice to bring God’s peace and joy into your daily environment.I’ll also share a personal story of the surprising way adding color to my own bedroom has transformed my mornings — giving me a more peaceful start to the day and helping me connect more deeply with God.Key Takeaways:
 The neuroscience of how beauty lowers stress and boosts motivation
 Why visual cues are powerful triggers for building new habits
 How God uses beauty to reflect His care for you — it’s not “extra,” it’s essential
 A personal reflection on “clothing yourself with Christ” and embracing His beauty in your life 
 A practical soul care challenge to add one beauty cue to your environment this week Breath Prayer:
 Inhale: You make all things beautiful
 Exhale: in your time Scripture:
 “He has made everything beautiful in its time.”
 Eccl.3:11 Join NEW Wellness Course: Breathe Joy with Jesus: Creating Happy Healthy Habits with God's Promises Register at mysoulcareschool.com → Take the FREE Soul Care Quiz at soulcarequiz.comGet your free personal wellness assessment and learn which area of wellness you need most. Connect with Bonnie: Bestselling Books by Bonnie:https://amzn.to/3NpVYQd Join the Soul Care Newsletter:https://thebonniegray.com/subscribe Watch Weekly YouTube Devotionals:https://youtube.com/thebonniegray Follow Bonnie on Instagram & Facebook:@thebonniegray Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

You Don't Need More Self-Care—You Need a Regulated Nervous SystemIn this powerful third episode of Regulated Mama series, we go straight to the heart of mum rage—not as a character flaw, but as a biological nervous system response to chronic overload. If you've ever lost it over the fridge being left open or snapped when someone asks “What's for dinner?”, this episode is your invitation to release the guilt and understand what's really happening inside your body.What You'll Learn:Why self-care doesn't work when your body is stuck in survival modeWhat “mum rage” really is from a nervous system perspectiveThe truth about overstimulation and the invisible labor of modern motherhoodThe difference between self-care and self-regulationA powerful 30-second nervous system reset to use in moments of activationWho It's For:This episode is for sensitive, high-capacity women—especially expat mothers—who are tired of surface-level solutions and are ready for body-based tools that work in real life, not just in theory.Tools Shared:30-Second Somatic Reset: Pause. Shift. Press. Exhale. Orient. Name. (And shake it out.)Why you need to practice regulation in calm moments—not just the chaosHow to interrupt the guilt-anger-shame cycle with embodied awarenessQuote to Remember:"You don't need to be less angry—you need a body that knows how to process the overwhelm."Want to Practice This Live?

Join Premium! Ready for an ad-free meditation experience? Join Premium now and get every episode from ALL of our podcasts completely ad-free now! Just a few clicks makes it easy for you to listen on your favorite podcast player.  Become a PREMIUM member today by going to --> https://WomensMeditationNetwork.com/premium Tuck yourself in, Let your body go slack. Melt into your mattress, Let your mind lean back. LONG PAUSE... Relax your body now, And follow your breath. Inhale the quiet, Exhale the rest. LONG PAUSE... The day is behind you, The night is ahead. Let thoughts drift away, As you sink into bed. Join our Premium Sleep for Women Channel on Apple Podcasts and get ALL 5 of our Sleep podcasts completely ad-free! Join Premium now on Apple here --> https://bit.ly/sleepforwomen  Join our Premium Meditation for Kids Channel on Apple Podcasts and get ALL 5 of our Kids podcasts completely ad-free! Join Premium now on Apple here → https://bit.ly/meditationforkidsapple Hey, I'm so glad you're taking the time to be with us today. My team and I are dedicated to making sure you have all the meditations you need throughout all the seasons of your life.  If there's a meditation you desire, but can't find, email us at Katie Krimitsos to make a request. We'd love to create what you want!  Namaste, Beautiful,

Join Premium! Ready for an ad-free meditation experience? Join Premium now and get every episode from ALL of our podcasts completely ad-free now! Just a few clicks makes it easy for you to listen on your favorite podcast player.  Become a PREMIUM member today by going to --> https://WomensMeditationNetwork.com/premium Tuck yourself in, Let your body go slack. Melt into your mattress, Let your mind lean back. LONG PAUSE... Relax your body now, And follow your breath. Inhale the quiet, Exhale the rest. LONG PAUSE... The day is behind you, The night is ahead. Let thoughts drift away, As you sink into bed. Join our Premium Sleep for Women Channel on Apple Podcasts and get ALL 5 of our Sleep podcasts completely ad-free! Join Premium now on Apple here --> https://bit.ly/sleepforwomen  Join our Premium Meditation for Kids Channel on Apple Podcasts and get ALL 5 of our Kids podcasts completely ad-free! Join Premium now on Apple here → https://bit.ly/meditationforkidsapple Hey, I'm so glad you're taking the time to be with us today. My team and I are dedicated to making sure you have all the meditations you need throughout all the seasons of your life.  If there's a meditation you desire, but can't find, email us at Katie Krimitsos to make a request. We'd love to create what you want!  Namaste, Beautiful,

Today's Song of the Day is “Exhale” from Skullcrusher's album And Your Song is Like a Circle, out October 17.

Join Premium! Ready for an ad-free meditation experience? Join Premium now and get every episode from ALL of our podcasts completely ad-free now! Just a few clicks makes it easy for you to listen on your favorite podcast player.  Become a PREMIUM member today by going to --> https://WomensMeditationNetwork.com/premium Close your eyes tonight, And let it all go. Breathe out the day, And melt into the flow. Way high above you, Past the clouds and the moon, The stars sprinkle the night, And they shine just for you. So inhale deeply as you rest, And clear those thoughts away. Exhale fully as you melt, And let go of this day. PAUSE… Breathe… Release… Breathe… Relax… LONG PAUSE… Soon you start to float, Weightless among the stars. Embrace the warmth they give, And let them heal your scars. Join our Premium Sleep for Women Channel on Apple Podcasts and get ALL 5 of our Sleep podcasts completely ad-free! Join Premium now on Apple here --> https://bit.ly/sleepforwomen  Join our Premium Meditation for Kids Channel on Apple Podcasts and get ALL 5 of our Kids podcasts completely ad-free! Join Premium now on Apple here → https://bit.ly/meditationforkidsapple Hey, I'm so glad you're taking the time to be with us today. My team and I are dedicated to making sure you have all the meditations you need throughout all the seasons of your life.  If there's a meditation you desire, but can't find, email us at Katie Krimitsos to make a request. We'd love to create what you want!  Namaste, Beautiful,

Lisa Hurley is an Anthem award-winning activist and author of the new book, “Space To Exhale: A Handbook For Curating A Soft, Centered, Serene Life.” She is also the Founder of The Great Exhale, a serene virtual community focused on sisterhood and soft living, where Black women can relax, lay their burdens down—and exhale. Her advocacy converges at the nexus of self-care, community care, joy, and rest. During this episode, you will hear Lisa talk about: How she realized that she is autistic, and what her life is like as a Black, autistic woman How autistic burnout inspired her to write “Space to Exhale,” and the guidance she provides in her book The importance of having a community while taking care of yourself  “Life-Work Balance” vs “Work-Life Balance” What it means to prioritize “soft living” Find out more about Lisa and her book at SpaceToExhaleBook.com and follow Lisa on Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn. Watch the video of this interview on YouTube. Read the episode transcript. Follow the Beyond 6 Seconds podcast in your favorite podcast player. Subscribe to the FREE Beyond 6 Seconds newsletter for early access to new episodes. Support or sponsor this podcast at BuyMeACoffee.com/Beyond6Seconds! *Disclaimer: The views, guidance, opinions, and thoughts expressed in Beyond 6 Seconds episodes are solely mine and/or those of my guests, and do not necessarily represent those of my employer or other organizations. These episodes are for informational purposes only and do not substitute for professional medical advice. Consult a medical professional or healthcare provider if you are seeking medical advice, diagnoses, or treatment.*

Book your FREE 30 Minute Clarity Call with Jody now!   https://jody.as.me/womensmeditationnetworkclaritysession What is a Clarity Call? This is the first step to giving you the IMMEDIATE relief you crave and will help you to become "unstuck" as you walk the path towards a life of happiness, inner peace and fulfillment. During this call, we're going to explore your ideal life and vision for living the life that you desire. We'll talk about some of the challenges that are getting in your way, and I'll provide you with some practical tools to help you close the gap from where you are now, to your desired destination. You weren't meant to trade your joy for a paycheck. You were meant to live in alignment. To give your gifts. And be supported as you do. PAUSE (5 SEC)... Take a deep breath in... And exhale any doubt. Exhale the belief that it has to be hard, That money and passion can't go hand in hand. PAUSE (10 SEC)... Your gifts are valuable. Your joy is magnetic. When you create from the heart, You invite abundance in a way that feels natural. Join Premium! Ready for an ad-free meditation experience? Join Premium now and get every episode from ALL of our podcasts completely ad-free now! Just a few clicks makes it easy for you to listen on your favorite podcast player.  Become a PREMIUM member today by going to --> https://WomensMeditationNetwork.com/premium Join our Premium Sleep for Women Channel on Apple Podcasts and get ALL 5 of our Sleep podcasts completely ad-free! Join Premium now on Apple here --> https://bit.ly/sleepforwomen  Join our Premium Meditation for Kids Channel on Apple Podcasts and get ALL 5 of our Kids podcasts completely ad-free! Join Premium now on Apple here → https://bit.ly/meditationforkidsapple Hey, I'm so glad you're taking the time to be with us today. My team and I are dedicated to making sure you have all the meditations you need throughout all the seasons of your life.  If there's a meditation you desire, but can't find, email us at Katie Krimitsos to make a request. We'd love to create what you want!  Namaste, Beautiful,

Join Premium! Ready for an ad-free meditation experience? Join Premium now and get every episode from ALL of our podcasts completely ad-free now! Just a few clicks makes it easy for you to listen on your favorite podcast player.  Become a PREMIUM member today by going to --> https://WomensMeditationNetwork.com/premium Close your eyes. PAUSE Take a breath in… Slow and deep. PAUSE Feel the air fill your chest,your belly,your whole being. Join our Premium Sleep for Women Channel on Apple Podcasts and get ALL 5 of our Sleep podcasts completely ad-free! Join Premium now on Apple here --> https://bit.ly/sleepforwomen  Join our Premium Meditation for Kids Channel on Apple Podcasts and get ALL 5 of our Kids podcasts completely ad-free! Join Premium now on Apple here → https://bit.ly/meditationforkidsapple Hey, I'm so glad you're taking the time to be with us today. My team and I are dedicated to making sure you have all the meditations you need throughout all the seasons of your life.  If there's a meditation you desire, but can't find, email us at Katie Krimitsos to make a request. We'd love to create what you want!  Namaste, Beautiful,

Hey Intentional Wellness Warrior! If you're anything like me, you're used to doing. Solving problems, staying busy, holding it all together—because if you slow down, it feels like everything might fall apart. You may just lose CONTROL. But what if stillness wasn't weakness? What if stillness was actually strength—because it allows God to step in and fight for you? What if letting go of control was POWERFUL. This is for the high achiever, the fixer, the perfectionist, the one who's always hustling to keep it all in control. Verse: Exodus 14:14 " The Lord will fight for you, you need only to be still." Inhale: God fights for me, Exhale: so I can be still. Press play to join me in deep breathing and being still.  Shalom Shalom,  Xx, Shan  ……CONNECT……

Join Premium! Ready for an ad-free meditation experience? Join Premium now and get every episode from ALL of our podcasts completely ad-free now! Just a few clicks makes it easy for you to listen on your favorite podcast player.  Become a PREMIUM member today by going to --> https://WomensMeditationNetwork.com/premium Invite yourself to calm, And ease into your breath. See if you can let it, Reach into your depths. PAUSE Allow your shoulders to soften, Release what's swirling around. Clear all of it out, Exhale a soft, gentle sound. LONG PAUSE Now see if you can find, What doesn't quite align. Be honest with what's here, Breathe, release and clear. Join our Premium Sleep for Women Channel on Apple Podcasts and get ALL 5 of our Sleep podcasts completely ad-free! Join Premium now on Apple here --> https://bit.ly/sleepforwomen  Join our Premium Meditation for Kids Channel on Apple Podcasts and get ALL 5 of our Kids podcasts completely ad-free! Join Premium now on Apple here → https://bit.ly/meditationforkidsapple Hey, I'm so glad you're taking the time to be with us today. My team and I are dedicated to making sure you have all the meditations you need throughout all the seasons of your life.  If there's a meditation you desire, but can't find, email us at Katie Krimitsos to make a request. We'd love to create what you want!  Namaste, Beautiful,

Let's talk about something real…⁠ Fear. Doubt. Uncertainty.⁠ They have a sneaky way of showing up anytime we're considering a change, especially when it's tied to our careers or sense of purpose.⁠  Dr. Shawnté Elbert knows that feeling. When life threw her a curveball, she realized she had a choice: let fear run the show or practice something different.⁠  Her choice? Inhale faith. Exhale fear.⁠ It's not just a one-time thing. It's a practice and a mantra—a way of moving forward even when the next step feels unclear.  With honesty, humor, and heart, Shawnté shares how she navigated big life pivots, embraced uncertainty, and discovered the value of rewriting her story. Her path is a reminder that fear often signals growth, not failure.⁠ If you're standing at a crossroads, feeling unsure of what's next, this conversation will meet you right where you are and inspire you to take your next tiny, brave step forward.⁠

Pam Buchanan is the founder of Quantum Sense – a consulting agency for the new paradigm and is a pioneer in Soul Health innovations. With 40 years of self-optimization experience and a dynamic career spanning Silicon Valley,Deutsche Bank, and 15 years as a Managing Director at Nasdaq, Pam has sat in the boardrooms of visionaries like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg.  Pam's career has been at the forefront of innovations to the corporate mindset. Pam is now leading the next evolution with Soul Health. Soul Health is a new paradigm of well-being that goes beyond the physical and mental. Now, through her consulting agency Quantum Sense, Pam's bringing sensory-based solutions to empower individuals and organizations to thrive in today's world. In this episode you will hear:   Those with ears, let them hear.  Always love Ryan  Connect with PamWebsite: https://thequantumsense.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pam-buchanan/Connect with Always Better than YesterdayWebsite: https://abty.co.uk/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alwaysbetterthanyesterdayuk/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/abty/ Men's Group: https://abty.co.uk/akira   Join our mail list here for exclusive content here:https://abty.co.uk/contact   Sign up for our coaching here: https://abty.co.uk/coaching Thank you to our supporters Exhale Healthy Coffee.  Exhale is the first coffee to be sourced, roasted and lab tested specifically to maximise its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potency. An independent lab test showed one cup of Exhale coffee has the same antioxidant power as 1.8kg of blueberries or 55 oranges! Get £10 off your first bag when you visit https://exhalecoffee.com/abty Please email your questions and comments to podcast@abty.co.uk  #SoulHealth #QuantumSense #PamBuchanan

[2025 Addendum] Our third and final rerun which we're releasing for July, and third and final rerun celebrating the memory of Masters of VGM (“MoVGM”), and our third and final of my bids to drum up excitement for the “VGM Hall of Fame” (“HoF”)  series spearheaded by Alex “The Messenger” Messenger of “A VGM Journey” (https://terraplayer.com/shows/a-vgm-journey), Professor Tom from “Shujin Academy VGM Club” (https://terraplayer.com/shows/shujin-academy-vgm-club), and myself (as well as any other shows which have elected to join us in the time since my drafting this on July 2nd), we look, at last, to MoVGM's final year: 2024. The Theme of 2024's MoVGM was a focus on female and LGBTQIA+ (particularly trans) composers. And Nerd Noise Radio's contribution for this year was a Channel 1 featuring the soundtrack to the game Celeste, composed by the fabulous trans composer Lena Raine. The pride connection goes even deeper, though, as the game was written and designed by Maddie Thorson, who is also trans, and upon whom the [also also trans] protagonist, Madelaine is also based. From a production standpoint, this is going to be pretty close to on par with a 2025 production as it is using all the same recording hardware, and most of the same production techniques, but may not quite match the current crop due to my using less sophisticated monitoring headphones resulting in a final mix which might be a tad on the “hot” side. Either way, it's a showcase of great people making great music to a great game with a great message. So, we are quite pleased to present C1E86: “The Celeste Soundtrack” (originally released 06/15/2024). Enjoy ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Original Show Notes: Today's broadcast is C1E86 for Soundtrack Saturday, June 15th, 2024. Today's episode is our contributions to the annual VGM podcast scene group project, Masters of VGM (https://www.mastersofvgm.com/). Today's broadcast is the soundtrack to the game Celeste (Mutliplatform) - composed by Lena Raine!    Tracklist: Track# / Track / Timestamp    A1) Intro - 00:00:00  01) Prologue - 00:03:52  02) First Steps - 00:04:57  03) Resurrections - 00:08:31  04) Awake - 00:18:09  05) Postcard from Celeste Mountain - 00:20:34  06) Checking In - 00:22:02  07) Spirit of Hospitality - 00:29:05  08) Scattered and Lost - 00:30:45  09) Golden - 00:36:36  10) Anxiety - 00:45:00  11) Quiet and Falling - 00:46:50  12) In the Mirror - 00:54:13  13) Madeline and Theo - 01:03:43  14) Starjump - 01:06:50  15) Reflection - 01:08:59  16) Confronting Myself - 01:14:48  17) Little Goth - 01:18:50  18) Reach for the Summit - 01:21:46  19) Exhale - 01:32:48  20) Heart of the Mountain - 01:35:08  21) My Dearest Friends- 01:41:02  B1) Outro - 01:43:10    Music Block Runtime: 01:39:23, Total Episode Runtime: 01:49:48    Our Intro and Outro Music is Funky Radio, from Jet Grind Radio on the Sega Dreamcast, composed by BB Rights.    Produced using a nearly equal mix of Audacity and Ardour in Fedora Linux on an ASUS ROG Zephyrus 14 (2023) laptop with perhaps a little support from a Dell Latitude 7480 (also running Fedora Linux) or the Steam Deck (running Steam OS). Recorded with a Shure SM7B XLR dynamic microphone on a RØDE PSA1+ boom arm through a Cloudlifter and a Focusrite 4i4 XLR-to-USB interface!    You can also find all of our audio episodes on https://archive.org/details/@nerd_noise_radio as well as the occasional additional release only available there, such as remixes of previous releases and other content.    Our YouTube Channel, for the time being is in dormancy, but will be returning with content, hopefully, in 2022. Meanwhile, all the old stuff is still there, and can be found here:     https://www.youtube.com/user/NerdNoiseRadio    Occasional blogs and sometimes expanded show notes can be found here:    nerdnoiseradio.blogspot.com.    Nerd Noise Radio is also available on The Retro Junkies Network at www.theretrojunkies.com, and is a member of the VGM Podcast Fans community at     https://www.facebook.com/groups/VGMPodcastFans/    We are also a member of Podcasters of Des Moines at https://www.facebook.com/groups/1782895868426870/    Or, if you wish to connect with us directly, we have two groups of our own:     Nerd Noise Radio - Easy Mode: https://www.facebook.com/groups/276843385859797/ for sharing tracks, video game news, or just general videogame fandom.    Nerd Noise Radio - Expert Mode: https://www.facebook.com/groups/381475162016534/ for going deep into video game sound hardware, composer info, and/or music theory.    Or you can reach us by e-mail at nerd.noise.radio@gmail.com    You can also follow us on X (Twitter) at https://twitter.com/NerdNoiseRadio , Threads at https://www.threads.net/@nerdnoiseradio , Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/nerdnoiseradio?igsh=MWF4NjBpdGVxazUxYw== , Mastodon at https://universeodon.com/@NerdNoiseRadio , and BlueSky at  And we are also now on Spotify, TuneIn, Pandora, iHeartRadio, Vurbl, Amazon Music and Audible! There is technically a Discord channel, but we may or may not ever take it public!    Thanks for listening! Join us again in June (date TBD) for C2E18 (Channel 2, Episode 18) for a TBD-titled fous on music from Unreleased Games and in July for C1E87 (Channel 1, Episode 87): TwoFer Tuesday – vol. 10 – Tasty VGM and Talk on "Nerd n Noise Game Club", as well as Delicious VGM on "Noise from the Hearts of Nerds"! And wherever you are - Fly the N! 

Welcome back (or welcome for the first time!) to the Taylor Nardone Podcast! In this episode, we discuss what it means to find purpose in the middle- and why the process itself may be more powerful than the outcome. A sanctuary of hope, faith and becoming, The Taylor Nardone Podcast is a space of untapped potential. Join your guide, Taylor, a seasoned Speaker, Breakthrough Coach, and Performer, as he navigates the depths of the human experience in hopes of pointing us back home.Exhale: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3d1bURPJeeY&list=PLX6hZAZf2rAyisOLbUUeiyX9d7NaIRTnDJoin Taylor's Email List: https://elegant-bread-591.myflodesk.com/bks2quqdkhWORK WITH TAYLOR 1:1: https://stan.store/taylorryannardone/p/your-time-is-now SPEAKING INQUIRIES: https://www.taylorryannardone.com/contact"The best is yet to come."All music is licensed by Epidemic Sound.

Book your FREE 30 Minute Clarity Call with Jody now!   https://jody.as.me/womensmeditationnetworkclaritysession What is a Clarity Call? This is the first step to giving you the IMMEDIATE relief you crave and will help you to become "unstuck" as you walk the path towards a life of happiness, inner peace and fulfillment. During this call, we're going to explore your ideal life and vision for living the life that you desire. We'll talk about some of the challenges that are getting in your way, and I'll provide you with some practical tools to help you close the gap from where you are now, to your desired destination. Let yourself be here. Exactly as things are. No fixing. No changing. Just this. PAUSE (5 SEC)... Breathe in, And notice the tension you might be carrying. Exhale, And allow it to soften—just a little. PAUSE (10 SEC)... Peace doesn't mean you like everything. It means you stop arguing with what's already here. You let go of the mental tug-of-war, And rest in what is. Join Premium! Ready for an ad-free meditation experience? Join Premium now and get every episode from ALL of our podcasts completely ad-free now! Just a few clicks makes it easy for you to listen on your favorite podcast player.  Become a PREMIUM member today by going to --> https://WomensMeditationNetwork.com/premium Join our Premium Sleep for Women Channel on Apple Podcasts and get ALL 5 of our Sleep podcasts completely ad-free! Join Premium now on Apple here --> https://bit.ly/sleepforwomen  Join our Premium Meditation for Kids Channel on Apple Podcasts and get ALL 5 of our Kids podcasts completely ad-free! Join Premium now on Apple here → https://bit.ly/meditationforkidsapple Hey, I'm so glad you're taking the time to be with us today. My team and I are dedicated to making sure you have all the meditations you need throughout all the seasons of your life.  If there's a meditation you desire, but can't find, email us at Katie Krimitsos to make a request. We'd love to create what you want!  Namaste, Beautiful,

Join Premium! Ready for an ad-free meditation experience? Join Premium now and get every episode from ALL of our podcasts completely ad-free now! Just a few clicks makes it easy for you to listen on your favorite podcast player.  Become a PREMIUM member today by going to --> https://WomensMeditationNetwork.com/premium Close your eyes. Breathe in,Filling yourself with warmth.Exhale,Letting go of the invisible weights you've been carrying. PAUSE Your heart holds so much.Memories, wounds,Unspoken words,Unfelt grief. PAUSE But today,You don't have to hold it all. Join our Premium Sleep for Women Channel on Apple Podcasts and get ALL 5 of our Sleep podcasts completely ad-free! Join Premium now on Apple here --> https://bit.ly/sleepforwomen  Join our Premium Meditation for Kids Channel on Apple Podcasts and get ALL 5 of our Kids podcasts completely ad-free! Join Premium now on Apple here → https://bit.ly/meditationforkidsapple Hey, I'm so glad you're taking the time to be with us today. My team and I are dedicated to making sure you have all the meditations you need throughout all the seasons of your life.  If there's a meditation you desire, but can't find, email us at Katie Krimitsos to make a request. We'd love to create what you want!  Namaste, Beautiful,

Click here to Shop Affirmation Decks, Oracle Decks, and more! Use Promo code: RCPODCAST20 for 20% off your first order!   Today's Power Affirmation: When I slow down, I feel alive. In stillness, I learn how to fly.   Today's Oracle of Motivation: As you twirl in this experience and the fast-paced days tug your dress, remember that the race is not real. There is no competition. All that matters is that you, so beautiful in your sparkles, only hit the throttle in areas of life that call you to dance. Especially if it means naps by the river, sunsets on the hill, and bear hugs for daysss. Be still, caterpillar. Only in stillness will you learn how to fly. Inhale. Exhale. Jive! Neverland awaits!   Designed to Motivate Your Creative Maniac Mind The 60-Second Power Affirmations Podcast is designed to help you focus, affirm your visions, and harness the power within your creative maniac mind! Join us daily for a new 60-second power affirmation followed by a blast of oracle motivation from the Universe (+ a quick breathing meditation). It's time to take off your procrastination diaper and share your musings with the world!   For more musings, visit RageCreate.com     Leave a Review & Share! Apple Podcast reviews are one of THE most important factors for podcasts. If you enjoy the show, please take a second to leave the show a review on Apple Podcasts! Click this link: Leave a review on Apple Podcasts Hit “Listen on Apple Podcasts” on the left-hand side under the picture. Scroll down under “Ratings & Reviews” & click “Write A Review” Leave an honest review. You're awesome!  

Book your FREE 30 Minute Clarity Call with Jody now!   https://jody.as.me/womensmeditationnetworkclaritysession What is a Clarity Call? This is the first step to giving you the IMMEDIATE relief you crave and will help you to become "unstuck" as you walk the path towards a life of happiness, inner peace and fulfillment. During this call, we're going to explore your ideal life and vision for living the life that you desire. We'll talk about some of the challenges that are getting in your way, and I'll provide you with some practical tools to help you close the gap from where you are now, to your desired destination. Close your eyes, And begin to notice your breath. Not to change it— Just to observe. PAUSE (5 SEC)... Feel the inhale move in through your nose. Feel the exhale drift out slowly through your mouth. Again—inhale, gently… Exhale, slowly… PAUSE (10 SEC)... Let yourself soften into this rhythm. Let the breath move you. Let it open space inside your chest. Let it settle your nervous system. Join Premium! Ready for an ad-free meditation experience? Join Premium now and get every episode from ALL of our podcasts completely ad-free now! Just a few clicks makes it easy for you to listen on your favorite podcast player.  Become a PREMIUM member today by going to --> https://WomensMeditationNetwork.com/premium Join our Premium Sleep for Women Channel on Apple Podcasts and get ALL 5 of our Sleep podcasts completely ad-free! Join Premium now on Apple here --> https://bit.ly/sleepforwomen  Join our Premium Meditation for Kids Channel on Apple Podcasts and get ALL 5 of our Kids podcasts completely ad-free! Join Premium now on Apple here → https://bit.ly/meditationforkidsapple Hey, I'm so glad you're taking the time to be with us today. My team and I are dedicated to making sure you have all the meditations you need throughout all the seasons of your life.  If there's a meditation you desire, but can't find, email us at Katie Krimitsos to make a request. We'd love to create what you want!  Namaste, Beautiful,

Here we are: Summer has arrived, but you're wondering ... "Why don't I feel fantastic all the time?"Instead of feeling excitement for the summer months that you held as a child, you're feeling the heat - physically, mentally, and emotionally.Well, ladies, Ayurveda to the rescue!Today, on Episode 159 of the Habit Thrive Podcast, we're fighting that summer heat.We're thinking cooling, hydrating and light.We're managing our social media and news time by letting less in.We're letting go of the intense, hot workouts in favor of cooling swims or meditations.And we're practicing 2 cooling breaths.For Sheetali Breathing:Roll your tongue like a taco (or gently open your lips and breathe in through your teeth if that's more your style - or you're in public). Inhale cool air slowly. Exhale through your nose.Try this for 5–7 rounds. It truly feels like peppermint for your nervous system!For Left Nostril Breathing (Chandra Bhedana):Cover your right nostril by applying light pressure with your finger or thumb. Inhale and exhale through the left nostril. This technique is not only cooling, but super calming. It's great before bed or after a heated convo (or a heated workout).You might be wondering: Why do these breathing techniques work?Because your breath controls your inner thermostat. When you cool your breath, your nervous system gets the memo that you're safe, calm, and not on fire.Take a breath, take a break, give yourself some grace, and enjoy the summer vibes!Love,Lorrie xoxoxOn this Episode:Take the Dosha QuizLoving the show? Let's connect! Find me:Facebook: Women's Wellness Community: For women wanting to rock their “Me Now” YearsInstagram: @Habitguru365Website: lorriemickelson.comMemberVault: lorriemickelson.vipmembervault.comHabits, Mindfulness Routines & Self Care For Women 50 & BeyondLoving the show? Let's connect! Find me:Facebook: Women's Wellness Community: For women wanting to rock their “Me Now” YearsInstagram: @Habitguru365Website: lorriemickelson.comMemberVault: lorriemickelson.vipmembervault.comHabits, Mindfulness Routines & Self Care For Women 50 & Beyond

Sebastian Dienst is a coach, entrepreneur, and guide through the Great Turning. With over 15 years as a co-founder and two decades of training in diverse mind-body wisdom traditions, he blends analytical clarity with intuitive depth to help clients lead from a place of grounded self-awareness and bold vision.His forthcoming book explores the great phase shift humanity is undergoing - across AI, climate, money, and consciousness - and offers a path toward inner transformation and systemic renewal. He is also the creator of Luminosa, a ceremonial candle brand designed to evoke intention, presence, and the sacred in everyday life.Through all his work, Sebastian weaves together intellect, soul, and strategy to support those ready to rise to the occasion and actively participate in this extraordinary moment in history. In this episode you will hear:  00:00:00 Intro00:02:18 What gives you hope?00:07:53 The Fork in the Road00:14:24 The Power of Sacred Words00:15:39 The Importance of Initiation00:20:26 The Space Change Metaphor00:22:47 The History of Money00:28:02 Is the U.S. about to collapse?00:31:34 The Implosion of the Monetary System00:34:07 The Power of Taking Control of Your Life00:35:40 How to awaken your unique gift for the world00:37:25 The Sage Serves From the Reservoir of Self-Discovery00:41:31 AI00:54:21 How to contact Sebastian00:55:56 The non-negotiables for working with a client00:58:02 Sebastian's heartprintThose with ears, let them hear.  Always love Ryan Connect with SebastianWebsite: https://advancecoaching.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bastidienst/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/basti-dienst/Four Horsemen Article: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EouNR1y7QJ0IQN6liILPfWeLAgHF5AB70xVLQutzGvE/edit?tab=t.0 Connect with Always Better than YesterdayWebsite: https://abty.co.uk/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alwaysbetterthanyesterdayuk/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/abty/ Men's Group: https://abty.co.uk/akira  Join our mail list here for exclusive content here:https://abty.co.uk/contact   Sign up for our coaching here: https://abty.co.uk/coaching Thank you to our supporters Exhale Healthy Coffee.  Exhale is the first coffee to be sourced, roasted and lab tested specifically to maximise its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potency. An independent lab test showed one cup of Exhale coffee has the same antioxidant power as 1.8kg of blueberries or 55 oranges! Get £10 off your first bag when you visit https://exhalecoffee.com/abty Please email your questions and comments to podcast@abty.co.uk  #SebastianDienst #AI #Money #ClimateChange #NewEarth

In this gentle meditation, you'll be guided to anchor yourself in the present moment through mindful breathing. With each exhale, you'll be invited to release tension, stress, and lingering thoughts—creating space for stillness, clarity, and calm.Ideal for grounding yourself during a busy day or winding down in the evening, this practice helps you reconnect with your body, breath, and inner peace. p.s. have you ever wanted to learn how to create and lead your own meditations? Learn more about my Meditation Teacher Training and join the waitlist using the link below. Learn more: https://www.eileenrose.me/meditation-teacher-trainingEXPERIENCE MORE OF MY OFFERINGSGet Access to More of My MeditationsJoin My Course on Anxiety Relief - Chaos to CalmGet a Personalized Meditation Made Just for You (By Me)Work With Me 1 on 1 - Book a Virtual RetreatCONNECT WITH MEFollow Me on InstagramSubscribe on YouTubeMeditate with Me on InsightTimer

The co-hosts are taking on the weekend's hottest topics: The A-list guests and protests surrounding business mogul Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's wedding in Venice. Former Spice Girl Mel B pre-games her walk down the aisle with a blowout bachelorette! Arnold Schwarzenegger shares his feelings on son Patrick's ex, Miley Cyrus. Plus, “Real Housewives of Atlanta” star, Porsha Williams opens up about her “nightmare divorce” and her “Waiting to Exhale” moment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this classic episode, I discuss Porsha Williams' Waiting to Exhale photoshoot, why the new Golden Bachelor is raggedy, Craig Conover's latest lie, the cast of the new season of Perfect Match, a New Orleans inmate update, Kelli vs Brit on Real Housewives of Atlanta, Julia vs Guerdy on Real Housewives of Miami and more! ​​⁠⁠ACCESS AD FREE, EARLY, EXTENDED/BONUS AND VIDEO EPISODES BY BECOMING A PATRON HERE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Follow me on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Support the show⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠HERE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Everything You Didn't Know About Herbalism, we are joined by our long-time friend who weaves wisdom and passion into every aspect of his herbalism practice, Jesse “Wolf” Hardin. Join Tommy and Wolf as they explore the value of connecting back to the roots of our presence on Earth to disconnect from the chaos of our modern world. As always, we thank you for joining us on another botanical adventure and are so honored to have you tag along with us on this ride. Remember, we want to hear from you! Your questions, ideas, and who you want to hear from are an invaluable piece to our podcast. Email us at podcast@mountainroseherbs.com to let us know what solutions we should uncover next within the vast world of herbalism. Learn more about Wolf and the upcoming Good Medicine Confluence below! ⬇

Have you ever had a work situation that took you to your knees and required your faith that everything was going to be okay? I have. In one of my roles, my boss told me that I wasn't the right fit for the role and that I was going on the dreaded performance improvement plan or PIP for short. I was typically the person that was helping others improve their performance, not the employee that was told my performance wasn't measuring up to expectations.When my boss provided me that news, I felt like I left my body. I immediately felt fear. Questions like, “Am I going to be fired?” or “What do I do next if this doesn't work out?” started swirling over my head like storm clouds.The next year was a mad scramble to try to fit in the mold of what my boss wanted me to be while simultaneously looking for a better cultural fit in a new job. That time was fraught with fear and overworking. I didn't even see another choice – that I could have softened into surrender.My guest today, Dr. Shawnte Elbert, has faced her fair share of career struggles, but unlike my position of overdriving, Shawnte learned a concept that I love: inhale faith, exhale fear. In today's podcast, Shawnte gives me a beautiful masterclass in letting go of the need to control and leaning on something much greater: our faith. Before we get started, let me share more about Shawnte:Dr. Shawnté Elbert, EdD, MCHES, CWHC, is the founder and CEO of Elbert Innovative Dr. Shawnté Elbert is a nationally recognized leader in public health, health equity, and mental healthcare innovation. She is the Founder & Principal Consultant of Elbert Innovative Solutions (EIS), advising organizations on equity-driven leadership, workforce development, and systems change.Dr. Elbert is also the Regional Director and Director of Training and Development at Growth & Empowerment Mental Healthcare Services, LLC (G&E). She oversees comprehensive training for clinical and non-clinical staff and ensures that mental healthcare services are effective, culturally responsive, and equity-centered. She is also a co-founder of Sister WELLS Counseling, Coaching & Consulting, PLLC, alongside Dr. Charla Blumell and Dr. Sherrá Watkins. Sister WELLS is a collective of experienced wellness and leadership professionals dedicated to leadership development, holistic wellness, and guiding individuals toward authentic transformation. Rooted in their shared sisterhood and passion for equity-driven change, the practice brings a unique and deeply personal approach to leadership and well-being.

Welcome back to 'Don't Cut Your Own Bangs!'    In this lively and heartfelt episode, Danielle Ireland chats with Ashlyn Thompson from the Parent Empowerment Network. Ashlyn shares her journey from growing her nonprofit organization to the emotional rollercoaster of her daughter's complex medical journey.    Get ready to explore how pain can be an unexpected teacher, the magic of community support, and why tapping into creativity can be your secret weapon against anxiety. Filled with laughs, valuable insights, and touching moments, this episode is a treasure trove of wisdom and joy. Tune in and enjoy the ride!   00:00 Introduction and Guest Overview 00:20 Ashlyn Thompson's Journey and Nonprofit Growth 01:10 The Importance of Community and Support 01:37 Embracing Big Feelings and Finding Joy 02:52 Welcoming Ashlyn Back and Discussing Growth 05:44 Navigating Pain and Empowerment 09:51 The Power of Perspective and Decision Making 14:27 Balancing Life and Nonprofit Work 21:21 The Role of Pain as a Teacher 30:48 Finding Comfort in Movement and Nature 33:09 Returning to Basics 33:35 Reflecting on Past Decisions 35:20 The Role of Pain and Fear 38:20 Parent Empowerment Network 44:25 Creativity as a Lifeline 49:21 Embracing Emotions 53:07 Don't Cut Your Own Bangs Moment 01:01:20 Conclusion and Resources   Ashlyn Thompson interview links Ashlyn Thompson, a passionate advocate and storyteller, is co-founder of the Parent Empowerment Network, a nonprofit providing emotional and mental health support to parents navigating pediatric medical complexities. She also co-hosts theEmpowered by Hope podcast, which equips parents with practical tools, resources, and a strong sense of community—delivered with a heavy dose of humor and hope to empower them as their child's best advocate. Ashlyn's fire for advocacy was ignited by her daughter Emery, who was born with bladder exstrophy. After Emery nearly died following a major surgery at just seven weeks old, Ashlyn became a fierce voice for patient safety. Unwilling to accept the limitations of domestic medical care, she discovered a surgical option in the U.K. that wasn't available in the U.S. at the time. In early 2023, Emery became the first American to undergo this procedure—and thanks to Ashlyn's relentless advocacy, that surgery is now available in America. When she's not advocating or recording podcasts, Ashlyn moonlights as a budding driveway chalk artist, chaos coordinator for her spirited family, and an avid nature lover. Chocolate is her daily vitamin, ADHD is her superpower, spiders and small talk are her sworn enemies, and she firmly believes laughter and boldness are two of a parent's greatest tools.   Parent Empowerment Network:  The Parent Empowerment Network exists to support, encourage, and educate parents of children with medical complexities—empowering them with community, knowledge, and confidence to be their child's fiercest advocate. www.ParentEmpowermentNetwork.org Empowered by Hope podcast on all major podcast streaming platforms: https://parentempowermentnetwork.org/podcast/   Social Media:  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Parent-Empowerment-Network/100083218456295/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/parentempowermentnetwork/   She is Charlotte book by co-founder, Emily Whiting:https://parentempowermentnetwork.org/she-is-charlotte-book/ DANIELLE IRELAND, LCSW I greatly appreciate your support and engagement as part of the Don't Cut Your Own Bangs community. Feel free to reach out with questions, comments, or anything you'd like to share. You can connect with me at any of the links below.   Website: https://danielleireland.com/   The Treasured Journal: https://danielleireland.com/journal   Substack: https://danielleireland.substack.com/   Blog: https://danielleireland.com/blog/   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danielleireland_lcsw   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/danielleireland.LCSW   Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@danielleireland8218/featured “Don't Cut Your Own Bangs” is about creating a community around, and familiarity with, the messy middle—that uncertain and often chaotic and uncomfortable time in the middle of a process or journey. The messy middle is replete with ambiguity and challenges, but it's also where the hard and rewarding work happens.   Transcript [00:00:00] Danielle: Hello. Hello, this is Danielle Ireland and you are watching or listening to Don't Cut Your Own Bangs. I am so excited to be back in the interview seat. We've done some solo cast. It's been a blast. But Ashlyn Thompson is here with me today, and we just wrapped an incredible conversation. Ashlyn came on as a guest to talk about her work with Charlotte's Hope Foundation a couple of years ago. [00:00:26] She was about ready to embark right in the interview we were, she was. Days away from embarking on a trip to the UK for her daughter having a surgery with the only surgeon in the world who performed the specific type of surgery that her daughter needed. Her daughter's made a full recovery. It's a beautiful story we're gonna get into in this episode, but what I'm truly, if you could imagine even beyond that beautiful story, what I'm so excited to introduce to you and to that I was so grateful to witness and learn from. [00:00:53] Is that Ashlyn has grown her nonprofit organization, not no money in organization, but yes, a nonprofit organization that at the time, two years ago when we last checked in with her, was called Charlotte's Hope Foundation. It has grown. It's expanded, and it's evolved, and it's now the Parent Empowerment Network. [00:01:10] She and her co-founder also have a podcast for that same work, and what I love about the work that they do. They create community connection space and resources for parents and families raising children or any provider helping a child navigate medical complexities. And that sounds like such a hard and heavy and challenging topic. [00:01:33] And it is. But what Ashlyn embodies is. The work that I really wanted to bring to this season and this new phase of don't cut your own bangs, which I want big feelings to feel less scary. I want approaching them to feel possible. And then with that in mind, wherever possible, as much as possible, finding lightness, levity, and joy. [00:01:54] However we can do it. And I'm telling you, in this episode we did that. We accomplished that. We talk about important things, we talk about heavy things, and Ashland is vulnerable in a way that is inviting. But also something we can all learn from. And through the specificity of her life experience and what she's learned, there are universal nuggets that we can all find value in. [00:02:17] I know I did, and this was such a beautiful place to share, and we laughed. We had joy, we smiled . I hope that this topic invites you and encourages you to lean in and tune in because there are so many great nuggets of this. Thank you for being here, and I can't wait for you to sit back, relax, and enjoy. [00:02:38] Ashlyn Thompson [00:02:39] Hi. Yes, I know. Big jumps for both of us. I know. I feel like we're, it does feel like a lifetime ago. It I mean, in many ways it is. It's like we're, I mean, I'm still, me and all the key players are still playing. Right. But it does feel like a different life in a way. And I, with that in mind, I just wanna officially welcome you back. [00:02:55] Yes. Welcome. Ashlyn Thompson. Oh, thank. Don't cut your own bangs. I am so excited that you're here for many reasons, but the thing I'm most excited about is I think that. Building something or starting something creates a certain amount of effort and energy. Sustaining something, growing with it, breathing new life into it, that's a different part of a different element of a creative process. [00:03:17] And that's something I think specifically I'm really excited to talk to you about because you're parent Empowerment Network, which has it, it exists to support, encourage and educate parents and caregivers of children with medical complexities. And that was, it already was in existence when we, right, when we recorded the first time. [00:03:34] But it has grown. Grown. I went to a gala, people, she's throwing a gala fundraiser for her for her network. And so, I mean, I wanna hear about all the twists and all the developments of that, but more specifically the context I wanna provide for us and for this conversation. The thing that I'm really excited about, , and why I feel really passionate about bringing this to video. [00:03:57] Is that I want to help make big feelings feel less scary. Yeah. And I want to make, approaching them feel possible. And then with that in mind as much and as often as possible, laugh as much as possible. Amen. And so, right? So like, you are swimming in the trenches with people and even in your own life with people who are holding and making space for heavy things. [00:04:23] Yes. And yet there is a bright smile on your face. There's a twinkle in your eye. You laugh and you smile. And I wanna, and I don't know how to articulate what that is, but I want to, I wanna, that's something I wanna make space for in this conversation too. So it's important and it's big and it's emotional for sure, but also like, let's allow levity too. [00:04:42] Absolutely. I am so excited to be continuing our conversation, and I'm also really happy to know that. The person who's sitting here with you today is very much a different person from two years ago. And I feel like I have gone through multiple versions of myself just in the past two years. And that's one of the things that I truly celebrate about, not just the journey of parent empowerment network, but I think just growing and evolving as a human spirit, experiencing this life is recognizing that I say this phrase to only certain people, but I act, I feel compelled to share it now. [00:05:26] I feel like I have died a thousand times. And greeted so many versions of myself. But every time I rise into that extroversion and realize who I am, I like that person more and more. And. I feel like one of my greatest accomplishments just this past year has been truly settling into a, knowing a deep belief that life is meant to grow through, not go through. [00:05:58] And that change, that pivot of how I see the next big thing that comes up has been such a grounding force for me and has really helped me feel like I'm actually sitting in the driver's seat of my car. I don't know what I'm going to pass as I'm on this highway. In life. And sometimes life yanks me off on an exit I didn't plan. [00:06:23] And those exit ramps are typically the next lesson. But I'm grateful to be at a point where I can now see the next really hard thing emerging and not wanna hit reverse. Wow. Wow. Not that I like it all the time. No, God. But I can appreciate that this isn't out to crush me. This isn't here to take me down like I used to feel. [00:06:53] , Wow. There's a lot to unpack there for. Thank you so much for sharing that, but also not going in reverse. I wanna make a mental note, not going in reverse. The next version of me, I like better, and this is not here to crush me. Right. The, there's something, I got chills. I got full body chills when you, the la with the last thing that you said, because when I'm working with clients, there is this element and this is something. [00:07:18] I promise I'll come back to that original point there. There's an element of the work that I do where, and I'm sure you get this in your own way too, with like hearing stories from families who are holding really hard and heavy things. I think when I meet people for the first time, a common response is, wow, I don't know how you do what you do, or I don't know how you listen to that all day. [00:07:36] Or Oh man, and I think, yes, sure. There, there are certainly days and clients or moments where those stories are making space for people's big, heavy, painful experiences. Right. Is can be a lot at times. Far less anymore. But I think more than anything the va like, I feel so lucky to have the experience a hundred maybe even thousands of times over hurt people's pain. [00:08:03] And I know what pain sounds like. Yes. And there are different types and one thing that I absolutely believe to be true is that our pain is not personal. Our story is personal, right? But pain is not personal. And the events of our life, even things that happen to us, it's, there's it's almost shifting out of a, and I hope I can say this within the context that, that is heard with love. [00:08:27] But shifting out of a victim mentality right into it. Because being victimized or being stricken with grief or holding something hard like that is absolutely real. And also knowing that this is happening to me, but this is not gosh, what are the words I'm trying to find. It, what I'm hearing is you recognize how hard this is. [00:08:51] Whatever that insert blank. I recognize how hard this is, and I'm not going to make this pain so precious that I don't also see it as temporary. Yes, exactly. But there's something, so I think there's something really powerful and there's so much nuance to that because I certainly don't want to, people can be victimized, but the victim mentality is one of, in my professional experience it's one of the more challenging headspace to, for someone to walk out of. [00:09:21] Agree. It's really hard. Exactly. It shrinks your world. So, so much. That's well said. And we experience that very often. We really fo I mean we say all the time, you know, we are non diagnosis specific, non prognosis specific with the families that we work with, and we focus on the parents or the parent role, which could be performed by a sibling, a grandparent, a friend, an adopt, a lot of different people, but. [00:09:51] What we really found early in our journey and what helped us evolve into parent empowerment network was that recognition that, like you pointed out, pain is not it's not customized to your experience. The feeling, the emotional and physical experience relationship with pain is common through all of us, and it actually is a way that we can connect with each other when we recognize that. [00:10:18] When we stop comparing one another's pains. Now, don't get me wrong, if your kid got a bump on the head versus your kid needs a, you know, brain surgery. Right. Those are different. Yes. Very different. Yes. But most of the time we're not dealing with that. And what we have found is that when somebody is in that victim mentality, which is understandable, I think that's a, very important aspect to acknowledge when you're feeling like a victim, why is this happening to me? Or why is this happening to my child? Because I'll be the first to say, it's never okay when your child is hurting or sick or in harm's way or worse. I will never be okay with it. But when we say stuck in a victim mentality, our ability to problem solve goes from about here to here. [00:11:08] Yeah. And then your child is really the one who suffers. And I hate, it's a hard truth. But we have to face that truth because when we can help a parent start to find glimmers of hope, start to see that there's a way to build on quality of life rather than cure. Then you start to see this new version emerge where they are truly, you know, empowered advocates for their child. [00:11:45] There's something that I heard in what you said too, that a lot of times when I'm working with clients who are maybe knee deep in anxiety or depression, for example. I think why can be a powerful question, but I think a misplaced why is a really exactly damaging question. Like, why me? Why them? [00:12:02] Why this, why now? Because those are questions you can't answer that only lead to a defeating answer. Exactly. And usually another question or shame, but what I'm hearing a lot in when you. When you can kind of broaden your focus and sort of release that constriction from why you then can open yourself up to a different type of question. [00:12:23] How can I, exactly. How can I get through today? How can I get through this moment? What is needed most of me now? What do I need now? Right. And those types of the what and the how. Who do I need to show up for? Is it me? Right. Is it them? Who do I need to ask for help? Who has information that I need? [00:12:43] Those types of questions don't eliminate the pain, but it broadens the scope Yes. Of, of your field of vision. And I know that though, like, 'cause you are here in many ways. Oh, I hope it's okay to use this term. But I hope that you're here as an expert and you're also the executive Hope director of of the power impairment network. [00:13:05] And I think a lot of times. What we would imagine as the worst possible case scenario. Like the worst thing we could imagine would be something happening to our kids. This has been your lived experience. This has been your business partner's lived experience. And for, even though you have a podcast as well, where you really create a space and content and a community that helps people with that very specific set of circumstances, that Right. [00:13:33] I would imagine it's like. The best and worst club to be a part of. So we always say, we're so sorry you're in this club. Yes. But we're so glad you found us. Yes. Like it's the yes, we're really sorry, but at the same time, like, welcome home, welcome. And so I think a lot of the, a lot of the people who tune in to don't cut your own bang, I don't know how many would have this specific life experience. [00:13:57] Right. And if you do, oh my gosh, what a gorgeous resource you have in Ashlyn. Oh, thank you. And the Parent empowerment network and their podcast. But I do think that even in something like this, in within the specificity of everything you're saying, there is such a broad truth that I think we can all access and find value in. [00:14:16] And, yeah. So just thank you for all of that. And I want to, okay. I wanna shift a little bit to the growth of the parent Empowerment network. Right. Because, so when I originally started this podcast, what I was, what I really motivated me, one was I was terrified of becoming a therapist and having worked as a creative, and I just wanted to surround myself with other people who, who were building things, right? So that I could sort of sneak in my own needy questions. Like, how did you do it? How did you figure it out? What happened when you were scared? Like, what happened when your computer crashed? Oh my gosh. And you went from newly building something to, you have really grown. [00:14:53] Yes. You have really grown. And I wanna know having experienced the, you know, the gala that Right. That you that you threw that was so lovely. I wanna know . What led to the growth over the last two years? Because you're still momming, you're still life. Yeah. Your daughter is still being you. [00:15:08] I mean, like your life is still life and Yes. Life is still lifeing. How, in the midst of your lifeing, how have you also continued to grow this? And I really wanna know like what fueled your fire. And just tell me more about that story please. Yes, absolutely. So at the beginning of this, you know, when we started talking, you were very talking about how I'm sitting here smiling and I mean, I am fully, I am genuinely full of joy in this moment. [00:15:35] And I think I know actually that comes from being in something like we have with Parent Empowerment Network, which has been truly its own huge like business, right? We are called a nonprofit, but let me tell you, I mean, it is straight up business. [00:15:57] Is what it is in a lot of ways, and. That's the worst possible name for a tax category. It totally is. Because it's so confusing. Nonprofit doesn't mean no money. Right. Exactly. It's so confusing. We do not exist for free. Is great an idea as that sounds. I want that to be the slogan for every nonprofit. [00:16:16] I just, 'cause we don't exist for free. Right. You know the whole, you get what you pay for. It's, yeah. That's a whole other conversation. We're not gonna spend too much time there today. We should have a part two then. There we go. I'm okay with that. All right. So for that, what I think the biggest lesson that has. [00:16:33] Emerged from this journey just since we were, you know, you and I were talking a couple years ago when we were actually still called Charlotte's Hope Foundation. Yes. Which was our initial name. Yes. Because we had an idea for something that was this big at the beginning. And the name Charlotte's Hope Foundation fit that in theory. [00:16:52] But the thing I'm most proud of my, of Emily Whiting, who's my co-founder, fellow mom, fellow sister, fellow savior, at times the best thing we have done is allowed ourselves permission to grow and shrink as needed. And that's what we've done throughout this journey. It has not been a step process. [00:17:15] There have been countless times where we have grown two or three steps, been bigger, you know, working with international teams of surgeons, pulling together collaborations that have never been done, and then. There have been times where we have pulled back and we haven't released an episode for six weeks. [00:17:33] We have had maybe two or three social posts because our lives were on fire or just demanded all our attention, but it didn't mean we had to stop. I need to, oh my gosh. I don't know how many of you listening or watching can relate to that. I, there is a relationship I have with the expansion and contraction of output where if I'm not putting something out, producing something, making something that it really does a number on my sense of self worth. Right. And self esteem. And that is something that I'm still actively healing and repairing, because I definitely know the facts. I know. The really bumper stickery, self helpy sounding talk. [00:18:26] And I believe it. It's not that I, I don't hear it and think like, yeah. Right. It's just that there's a more practiced version of me, right. That has just had more at bats operating in a certain way. And then life in many ways rewards you for that. In theory. In theory. And I don't mean the like the laurels, like you get the the kudos pat on the back accolades but there is a cost, right? [00:18:47] There is a cost. And I think, in the I this past year I wrote a children's book called Wrestling a Walrus. And this the act of writing this book was something that I didn't realize that in the contraction, or even like in the I love the visual of the caterpillar becoming the butterfly. [00:19:09] 'Cause there's a two week process where the caterpillar is literally, we talk about the messy middle in this podcast and think, thank you Brene Brown, wherever you are for creating language and context for us for this very conversation. 'cause so much of this is inspired by that, but that gooey, mushy middle where it's not a butterfly, it's literally goo and it's Exactly, and it, and, but in that place, there is magic happening there. [00:19:33] Even if it, even though it looks like a pile of shit, right. Like, it's, there's magic happening there. I'll say the impetus or the inspiration, the. It was tough moments with my daughter, moments where I didn't feel like I was doing anything. Right. It like hitting the wrecking ball of, you know, being a parent of a toddler and a parent of an infant like that was, there's not enough grace in any space to help you go through that without serious, you know, support. [00:20:02] There were, I had some victim mentality at that point in time, even, and all things can be true at once. But all of that was what I experienced before I had the idea to write the book. And had I not had that experience, I wouldn't have been able to do that. Exactly. I don't think it would've been the same. [00:20:16] And [00:20:16] , and I promise this whole podcast isn't an ad for the book, but like, I really believe in this damn book and I love it so much. And I love that you talk about that expansion and contraction for yourself. And that you doesn't, it doesn't mean you have to stop. 'cause I think a big reason why I maybe avoided picking up the torch again and doing this podcast like I left it for so long, or I abandoned it for so long, or can I still do it right? [00:20:41] Like all of that stuff. And then yeah it. Yeah. Doubt doesn't mean you're done. No. And taking a pause doesn't mean you're stopping forever. But yeah. I mean, you can't just exhale forever. You can't just output like you eventually have to breathe in. Exactly. And that relationship is very necessary. [00:21:00] And so, I mean, everything you're saying is exactly what I need. Thank you. Thank you. You're welcome. You're welcome. And it, that lesson doesn't come easily. Nope. But I think another element of that, you know, building off of what you were just talking about, pain and discomfort and naturally shying away from it. [00:21:21] I challenge anybody in life to just take a moment to consider pain as a potential teacher, as a professor, rather than pain as an enemy, or pain as a destroyer. Right. If you ask yourself. Why does this feel painful? Because how many times do we all experience in our life something that really gets under our skin, but whether it's a spouse or it's a friend or a coworker and they seem totally unfazed by it, [00:21:56] and that used to be something that bothered me. I was kinda like what's, am I ever sensitive? Or like, what is my thing? And I grew up always hearing, not necessarily even from my parents, but I feel like. Teacher schools and saved by the bell commercials about find what you love in life and you'll never work a day in your life. [00:22:16] And that was great in theory, but I'm a very eclectic person. Yep. I love a lot. And all I was getting was a lot of burnout. That's also like saying like, love your kids and you'll never have a hard day with them in your life. You're like, no bs. No. I love my kids. But like, you know, oh my gosh, kids are the greatest, hardest thing of life. [00:22:33] Right. Right. But I think the same is true. Like , I never stopped loving this. Right. But I don't always have control over the life around. Right. But it's a, I think allowing things to be a part of you, not all of you, is really important. Yeah. And I think it's so easy to define ourselves by that output. [00:22:53] For me and Emily, the word is often it's impact. Are we actually making an impact? And the thing that helped us. Become okay with hitting the pause button when we needed to, and not officially throwing in the towel. Don't get me wrong, there were conversations about it, but we were always very honest with each other and we held each other accountable that if you are feeling like this is not jiving with your life, if it's not jiving with you personally, or it's not good for your family at this moment, let's hit the pause button and talk about it. [00:23:26] But realizing that if we only help each other while working on this, Emily and I, that's helping our kids, that's helping our families. And there's a domino effect from that goes from that. And if that's all we ever do, what's bad about that? You said something that I, it still stuck with me and it will probably be the title of this episode. [00:23:49] Pain is a Professor. Yes, it is. And I wanna go back to that because something that I talk about in my sessions a lot is that your emotions never lie to you. Now your thoughts are very different. Yes. Your thoughts can go a, now granted, we need to think critical thinking is important. [00:24:04] We probably need more critical thinking, but thoughts happen to us all day, every day, constantly. Right. I don't remember what the statistic is. I think we have roughly like eight thoughts a minute, something like that. I'm surprised it's not . Maybe that's just a DH adhd. And that could be too, like, yeah, there, maybe there's a spectrum. [00:24:18] Maybe it's eight to 80 thoughts a minute. Give or take. Give or take a hundred. But so thoughts happen to us now. We can certainly consciously choose what to focus on and what we think. But thinking happens, the emotions are in response to what we're thinking and believing. Exactly. And they never lie. [00:24:35] Right. And I But something you said like pain as a professor. And I like the thought that emotions are energy in motion. Yes. And they always have something for you to learn. There's something for every emotion. There is something it wants you to know. Right. And when you're not feeling good are we have more pain receptors in our body, unfortunately. [00:24:55] We have more pain receptors in our body than we do pleasure receptors. Like, and so when pain is activated, it just has a firmer grip. There's something that Martha Beck talks about that I love. It's called the, I think she calls it the Viper in the box of puppies. So if you were to imagine like, and enough said, right. [00:25:10] Done. You get it. But you hand, if I handed you a box full of like 15 adorable, gorgeous little puppies, I mean, it's, they're the most abundant, silly, loving, fuzzy source of love, safety, pleasure. I could really go for that right now. I mean, would it, that should be a, I'm hoping there's one hiding around somewhere. [00:25:28] We have a surprise for you, but if I were to then put a Viper in or a cobra in your box of puppies. All you're gonna see is the threat. Exactly. All you're gonna see is the threat. And I think in life, it's like we pop mo most of us more often than not, are probably living in lives with a lot of puppies. [00:25:48] But the viper, the threat is what consumes Oh yeah. So much energy and attention and shifting your focus from one to the other is easier said than done. And I wanna talk to you specifically about how you have found meaning or, and I, when I say success, I don't mean it in like a bullet point sense, but right. [00:26:12] Where you have found access to, you know, the viper, you know, or the cobra, you know, the box of puppies. Right. How you access that. I can certainly share how I have, but my emotions, I. I've learned in time. I don't always know exactly what they're telling me in the beginning, but I trust them enough to know that it's something. [00:26:36] And so the first place I try to access, if I'm not dissociating or avoiding, is to sit with it. Yeah. So usually it's like, I'm I'll just dissociate in my fantasy book or rewatching parks and recreation for the MPH teeth bajillion time. You know, it's just always a Sure bet. Yeah. It's just, it's hard for, life can only be so hard with Leslie Nope and little Sebastian, you know? [00:26:57] So anyway. But I wanna know where you find yourself in that shift. Yeah. Yeah. So you've got my head's like turning, I'm also still picturing puppies to be honest. That's okay. So I actually, I feel like I wanna give an example of something that I experienced last year, so two years ago. [00:27:11] It's crazy to think two years ago I went on this crazy journey to England. I went to London to take my daughter, who was not quite two years old yet to have a surgery over there for her ultra rare condition that was not available in the States. And I had talked to everybody in the States, of course, that had any knowledge about it and all they could tell me was, we don't really know anything about it. [00:27:35] We don't do it here. Kind of you're on your own, go for it. Or don't, we can't say that we would support you. All that matters is I went for it. And fortunately it did end up being the right decision, but I also knew that it could not be the right decision. And what I found on that experience was that I was originally desperate for picking the right way in life to move forward, that I could not make a decision. [00:28:06] I could not possibly move forward unless I was a hundred percent sure. But guess what? Life isn't real big on giving you a guarantee. Yeah. Guarantees with anything. And I think where I, that's where I started to learn that I don't have to have the answers to move forward. I can be looking at that box and I can see, oh my gosh, this could go terribly wrong. [00:28:34] But I think living with a hopeful mindset is something that allows me to keep my eye on that viper and then still interact with the puppies over here. My eye is still trained on it, but what I found is a peace in making my decision. And it was a, that feeling, that gut feeling. You know, it, I, it doesn't matter what you've gone through in life. [00:28:58] I can't believe that there's anybody out there who hasn't just had that. I call it just that knowing in your gut, it's a physical experience and that is something. That has helped me move forward in life. Because here's the thing, guys, nobody can ever stay truly still. And that's where a lot of our pain and discomfort comes from, is fighting moving forward without certainty. [00:29:23] Oh, let's pause right there. Oh my gosh. So there's something that Dr. Becky Kennedy who she has the good, she wrote the book Good Inside, and she's got her own beautiful podcast and work and content. She does. She really she focuses on kids, but she's really working on parents relationship with their inner child and by extension their parenting. [00:29:43] But she talks about something called, I've called it the Gap, but she calls it the learning space. So with kids, most of their frustration, tension and meltdowns happen between meeting a moment or. A moment arising and knowing how to meet the moment. And that learning space is usually the gap in knowing or understanding of this is what's arisen and I don't know how to meet this moment. [00:30:04] Right? And then if their context or their ability to meet it, if the moment exceeds their ability that's usually when there's a lot of pain or big feelings. Right. And I think with adults, that's usually where I see self-doubt, rumination anxiety, self-destructive tendencies. [00:30:23] Come in and you're right. You're, I love that you said we're never really still, I mean, one that's just true based on science and physics. We're never still that's actually one of the, like, there's like two necessary components, maybe three to being a living, being or a living entity. [00:30:36] I think, what is it? Movement, cell division, reproduction, and, I don't know, something else. Hey, anyone here pop off in the comments if you're a science boss, please gold star for you. Please. But but yeah, we're never truly still. And so even when you feel stagnant and stuck and even hearing you say that I'm actually processing in real time, one of the things that I have done that I, I discovered by accident, but probably because my body knew better than my mind did. [00:31:04] I would, it often does. I would take my feelings on walks. I would, I talked about that movement is essential if you are literally feeling stuck. I tell, that's what I tell everybody. Anytime they're spiraling. Which it's understandable. Go for a walk. Even if it is five minutes, walk up and down your stairs. [00:31:22] Or at the least one of my favorite things thank you Instagram reels for sucking up so much of my life at times in the hospital, but sometimes, but it's, sometimes it's, it is the perfect escape. It's okay to let the pressure off of ourselves. But there was this one that I saw it was this therapist who was like in her seventies and she was in Ireland and she's walking around in like this, you know, the quintessential Ireland landscape. [00:31:47] And she said, I tell all of my clients when you have a problem or a worry or something that's making you feel like you need to hurry, walk outside where you can see the sky and look up. Because the moment you remove a ceiling from your view, from your your line of sight, your mind opens with it. [00:32:08] And possibilities grow. And I have experienced that so often. And you think about it where you, when you're in a confined space. It only adds to those feelings of I'm stuck or I'm out of options, or I can't deal with this. But when you go outside and the world is just showing you how big it is and how small you are, there's actually a ton of comfort in that. [00:32:35] There's, I've also read and heard that there's something about the way that our eyes sort of gently move and follow and track side to side. Yeah. The movement around us that activates a similar calming sensation that our body experiences in REM sleep. Because if you're tracking a bird or tracking a squirrel, or just simply seeing like the trees and movement, track your kids. [00:32:55] Right. That'll keep you, your eyes all over the place. Girl. But like, 'cause right now we're facing a computer screen and we're in, we're under lights. Like, it's a very I mean, it's a lovely container, but it's a sterile container by comparison of being outside. And I Right. I do think that sometimes, like, like Lifeing. [00:33:11] It can be hard, and I never wanna oversimplify holding the challenges and moving through the challenges. Right. And yet I think sometimes when something feels overly, when something feels complex and impossible, it's almo. I, my instinct is to abandon the basics. And that is always the place to start. [00:33:32] That's always the place to start, is to go back to the basics. [00:33:35] Knowing what you know now what. Do you think the version of you, I wrote down three years ago, but I wanna go back to two years ago bef, like as you were navigating all the travel plans and the decision to go to the UK for your daughter's surgery, what do you think that version of Ashlyn needed to hear or needed to know? [00:33:55] And then the follow up question to that, after you answers, do you think she would've believed you? [00:33:59] It's really funny that you're asking this question because I actually had a conversation yesterday with a neighbor's daughter who is a film student, and this question has actually been going through my mind a lot lately about, I wonder where my life would be if I'd known this in my early thirties, if I'd known, or if I had known this in my twenties. [00:34:23] And I kept kind of going backwards like, I didn't know this then. Oh maybe if I'd known this. And I kept just, like I said, looking back and then what I realized is. It's so important that I didn't know those things because I had to experience them with the challenges. I had to climb the mountains for the first time to really understand the importance of gaining those skills for myself. So I actually think that Ashlyn, a couple years ago, I may have wanted to hear, I, what I wanted to hear was, you're making the right decision. I wanted to be validated by doctors, by people who I typically refer to as the ones who have the alphabet after their name. [00:35:06] Can somebody please just tell me, check, you know, you're making the right choice. Or this is what I would do if it were my child. And I wanted it so desperately that I, it did almost prevent me from going. But I am blessed that because of other experiences before that, right where pain had started to evolve into a guide for my life, a way of understanding what is most important to me. [00:35:37] It clarifies a lot. Exactly. Because often, you know, pain and fear are often about things we can't control, right? And what it showed me was that I don't need guaranteed outcomes to be able to sleep at night. I know that if I don't give it everything, including the kitchen sink, I won't be able to sleep at night. [00:36:03] I won't be able to look at Emery when she's an adult and tell her. We tried absolutely everything we could to give you the best quality of life, and that's what I needed to be able to give her. In order for me to feel good about the mom I am. And that's what was most important to me at that time. [00:36:23] So it sounds like maybe you trust in your ability to meet the moment enough that you don't think you would've gone back and told yourself anything? No, I think, and that's something that, like I said, I'd been thinking about a lot, like how many times if I'd only known this, if I if I'd only held my boundaries or if, or you know, these standards or, you know, all the things I could have done differently. [00:36:48] But as I said at the beginning of this, I feel like I have lived a thousand lives and become. A thousand new versions of myself, but you don't become your next self without going through something that carves away at you to reveal it. We don't grow through the easy no we stay stagnant. And besides small talk, my biggest fear in life is staying stagnant. [00:37:20] God, can we just let go of small talk? Oh my gosh. We all have a weather app and we all know the traffic patterns at this point. Like, do you know what's so funny about the weather app? I'm gonna use it every day. I treat my husband like the weather app, and we have an Alexa, like in, literally, like, I'll ask him what the temperature is and he'll be like. [00:37:41] Alexa. I just, oh my goodness. It's like those basic the basic like things of moving through life. I don't know why. It's like I've, I have this like faux that's of publicist. I'm like, I don't know what I'm, so what's the weather? I can't look out the window. I can't ask my own Alexa. [00:37:56] I always think, I think it's, I think it's more like, I think it's fair to acknowledge those as high. There's higher priorities that take up front of mind space. That's right. That's right. Things' so focused on the big things. Right? Yes. It's okay. We're not meant to like, you know, and I think that's another, that's one point I feel really compelled to bring up in this conversation based on all these things we've talked about, you know? [00:38:20] Yes. thank you for the chance to share what Parent Empowerment Network does, and the Empowered By Hope podcast is about addressing the real hard, the messy like, because as far as we're concerned, like once you get the news, your child is not okay. You're living in the messy middle from there on out. [00:38:36] And it can make you, or it can break you. And we're there to tell everybody, we promise this will make you. Even with worst case scenario, and that's a bold statement, but, you know, but it's one you've lived and I exactly. And I've seen countless others live, right? But I think it's so important that everybody, you know, I guess my dream would be if everybody could just realize we are not meant to carry pain and hardship and struggle by ourselves. [00:39:07] That's really what Parent Empowerment Network does. That's really what our podcast does, is it directly says to everybody who gets a chance to interact with us or who we have the honor to meet with. It just says, Hey, you are not expected to hold this alone. You know, put some of that on our plate. [00:39:24] Let's hold it together because it'll be better for everybody. It's not just you is like, again, that's what frees you from a victim mentality. You are not the only one who's ever experienced this. Right. You are not the only one who has suffered this way. And in by no means it's not to minimize. [00:39:40] Right. Exactly. It's not belittling it, it's not, it's definitely not dismissing it. But it's meant to serve as a lighthouse. Right. Our stories are unique. Yes, of course. And so that's, and I think that's what is endlessly, I will never be bored having an in-depth. Not small talk with the love of God, but like, I will never I will be endlessly fascinated by other people. [00:40:01] Because the stories are unique. Yeah. But there is a common thread that we can all see ourselves in or relate to. That, it's so enriching. Yeah. It's almost like, maybe because it's spring and, but I'm thinking it's like the pain is like the compost. Yeah. Something has to die in rotten decay in order to nurture something new. To grow. Yep. Exactly. And I, and that pain serves as fur. It's fertilizing the new, the next round of growth. Right. Yeah. It's not making anything vanish or destroying it, it's just, but it has to break down to build back up. I think that's why mosaics are my favorite type of art. [00:40:39] Yeah. I have such a strong connection to any piece that I see that's made up of a mosaic. And I remember that coming true for me when my dad had his massive stroke and. You know, he was completely debilitated, couldn't speak for himself, couldn't move his own body. He lived like that almost two years. But I remember getting really close to a couple key therapists in his life. [00:41:04] And I remember just after he passed, I got them both a small gift. It was these little mosaic art pieces for them. And I said, when I saw those, I knew that this was the right thing because you didn't see my dad as a destroyed person. You saw him as for the broken pieces. He was that to be put back, to be put together into something that was new and beautiful on its own. [00:41:33] And that's what I feel like pain has the ability to do for all of us. It's okay. And I to acknowledge that you are broken. But it's also just as important to acknowledge that you can be remade into something. You, the old you is gone. You know, when we go through something awful hard, unimaginable it's really easy to think that I will feel this way forever. There is a finality that we attach to painful experiences and it takes often somebody from the outside to gently help us realize that's not reality. I often, when I'm in that transition and I'm not aware or I'm just not ready to admit there are either, there's usually it's I there's usually things I wanna carry along with me. [00:42:28] Yep. It's like. Like an old dingy snugly blanket or like a stuffed animal that like has like holes worn in and like an eyes popped off. It's just but I when I've gone through those transitions, it's saying goodbye to maybe friendships that aren't serving me. [00:42:42] Yep. Or titles, roles levels of output expectations, stories, ways of being and the way, and to go back to pain as a professor, which is going to be the title. That it's only when I try to take the old way of being or the old relationship that is no longer serving into my new now reality. [00:43:04] When it feels anything other than good. Yeah. That's information exactly that it's showing me something and. That curiosity over constriction can also for me look like curiosity over criticism. And because that criticism is usually either dialed inward, what's wrong with me? Right. Or what's wrong with them? [00:43:25] Versus , what is happening Exactly. What's going on? What is this showing me? And I would say probably saying goodbye to relationships or friendships has probably been the hardest. Yeah. The hard, because there is this idea that I'm like if I like it, and it's like in a possessive way. [00:43:42] It's, if I like you forever. And I, and of course that is true. I mean, it, there's nobody who's been in my life that's added value that I don't appreciate. Right. But but I think that the shedding. Yeah. It's like I, I want the next thing, but I also don't wanna let the old thing go. [00:43:56] Right. And so it's, I think I've spent a lot of time and energy trying to like, pull that thing with me. Whatever it is and whatever that stage. But I think that there's when you can fully embrace, 'cause what I'm hearing from you is when you can fully embrace I am different now. [00:44:11] Yep. This is different. This mosaic. I'm not, I may not be able to carry water like I was as a vase. Right. But I'm gonna look really great as this. Yeah. And the other thing I wanna shift to before, before I get to your, don't cut your own bangs question. What I wanna ask you, you've mentioned art a couple of different times. [00:44:28] And this is to, to reference Dr. Martha Beck again. She has done a lot of incredible work in the last couple years where a way to. Step out of anxiety is not to try to access calm. 'cause we talked about going for a walk, right? So, because as much as I love these big conversations, it can be sometimes like, what is something tangible I can actually hold onto? [00:44:53] So walking with something we talked about community and connection with something else we talked about, but Art, I wanna talk about that for a moment because that is what my book was for me. Yeah. It was I created something that only that felt like it was to serve me. The process of interacting with that idea was so delightful and so delicious and so fun that I was like, I feel like I'm just the luckiest person that like this is, oh wow, I get to play with this thing. [00:45:21] Yeah. And it wants to play with me. And I don't feel that all the time. Like sometimes it's origami or doodling or coloring with my daughter. But to go back to Dr. Martha Beck's work that the opposite of anxiety is not calm, it's creativity. Oh, I love that. And you have by default really spoken through, like just healing through creating. [00:45:43] Oh, absolutely. And also there's something about, 'cause calm, there's something about calm that like, we must be still, and granted I love meditation, but like, I must be still, I must be calm. But when you are holding something that is buzzing and shaking or heavy or hot, like just some emotions are hot, like you, it's like you wanna move it through your hands or your words or your body and make something, right. [00:46:06] And you made me, she made me this bracelet before we started this episode. So like, it feels like you have a relationship with creativity too. A hundred percent. Creativity is a lifeline. And I feel like, and the most chaotic moments of my life have been the least I'm my least creative and I think it's a really. [00:46:29] Valuable, tangible thing for anybody to take from this conversation is if you are feeling out of control, lean into something as simple as I'm obsessed with those adult, you know, like the coloring books. Yes. You know, for adults to have like tons of different like lines all over the place that you have to be like really specific to keep the marker in there. [00:46:51] It can't, I do get a little bugged when it like bleeds over to the next section, but, , it's okay. I know I'm working through my, , my stressors at that moment. But yes, giving yourself a creative outlet, it's like taking a big drink of water after you've been exercising and you are so parched. [00:47:07] And I also agree that , calm sounds great in theory, but for me I feel like the more important, like the word that's become more important or I'm better able to. Absorb is the idea of am I grounded? Are my feet touching the ground? I can still have a lot going on, but when I'm like rising higher, you know, off the ground, 'cause like, I'm like a bird at this point, just flapping my arms so fast, right. [00:47:35] That I'm actually taking flight. I'm not in my best head space, but when I can just take a moment to literally just ground myself, make sure that my feet are, whether it's in the grass or sit down like this. And a conversation with a friend, somebody who really knows you is a great moment for that. [00:47:53] It's a great way to remind you who you are is somebody else. Sometimes I talk all the time about the value of when you can connect with somebody who feels with you, not just for you. Oh my gosh. It makes the world so much lighter and goodness. I mean, huh. That's probably if I could have answered the question I asked you a little bit ago, what's something that you could have if I could have told my former therapist self, like when I very when I first started, you're there to hold space for people to feel and feel with them. [00:48:23] Right. Exactly. You're not there. It's sacred. Yeah. It's there's nothing, one, it's like, there's nothing I can tell someone who's deeply in pain that they're actually gonna No. , That's, the words are just like, right. It's just noise. Yeah. And not to take anything. I'm sure I have clients who have been impacted by words. [00:48:40] But having a safe space to feel your feelings free of judgment. Is one of the reasons why I love journaling so much, but also doing that in communion Yeah. With another human right who expects nothing of you. I love Elizabeth Gilbert has language I love, like there's no precious outcome. [00:48:57] Like I can, that I can sit and have space with you or I can make plans with you or be, and there's no precious outcome. You don't have to perform for me. Right. You don't have to be anything for me. Like we can just be that is what a gift. Yes, that is. I just want to, this conversation has inspired way too many thoughts, but in the best way. [00:49:15] But something that hit me and then I think we could absolutely move on to Yeah. This the cut your bangs question. But what I've realized even in our conversation is that logic is not loud . our emotions are loud and they get louder and louder. The more we. Push them back the more we ignore them. [00:49:36] Think of your kids until they, when they need your attention. Because they deserve your attention. They do. The best thing we can do is acknowledge those emotions and just, even if it's as simple as, it's totally understandable. I feel this way right now. That is such a freeing sentence. Of course, I feel this way right now. [00:49:58] That was some serious shit that I just went through. Yeah . of course, I feel, and it doesn't have to make sense when those feelings hit the timing a lot of times feelings for me, I've found won't hit until I'm in a safe space much further down the road. Yes. And it's like being T-boned, like yes, totally out of the blue. [00:50:19] But that's also what happens to kids when they have tantrums. Ah, yeah. They'll hold. And then when they're finally either home at the end of the day or something, when the container is so full and they're finally in a place where they feel safe, they'll erupt over an orange peel not being peeled correctly. [00:50:32] Or , or a banana not being peeled correctly. Oh gosh. And it's not that, don't even start me on string cheese. God. Oh God. Parenting is fun. The best, but No, but you're right. Sometimes, I think that's probably why I cry almost with like every movie and TV show I watch. [00:50:47] Yeah. Because the emotions are just always right there and I just need a place to let it trickle out. Right. And that's okay. And I think, but just not judging ourselves for feelings. And then I think once we give that space or the feelings, the sooner we can do that, the sooner that logic, you know, like you, you mentioned multiple times, I know this, then you give logic. [00:51:13] The space that it needs to speak to you in a calm and quiet manner that you can actually trust. And that's where I think that those gut feelings truly come from. Those inner knowings are, when you've allowed space for the emotions first, given them their due. So then the logic can start to talk to you because it's never going to yell for your attention. [00:51:35] No. And I think we want it to, but that's not the way it works. And that's okay. A lot of times things make sense in hindsight, oh gosh, hindsight's 2020. Always. South Park has a great episode. If people if you have just like a dark sense of humor and you wanna laugh at, there's a character called Captain Hindsight and it's really funny. [00:51:54] . So yeah, a lot of times things don't make sense until we're. A little bit more removed from them. Yep. And some what I have found to be helpful, I've noticed you using your hands. Yeah. And I find when I am, when my mind is really active and I need it to stop or slow down or I just i'll sometimes even throw my hands up. Yeah. And I'll say, and even saying. I'm feeling something and just to myself in my kitchen. 'cause I'm almost always , because I work from home, I'm either like in my office or in my kitchen, like I'm feeling something. As soon as you did that, it's gonna show on video. [00:52:25] I like saw from the corner of my eye myself, naturally going, whew. Yeah. Just sound like inhale. Exhale. Yes. It's like something is being felt. Something's happening. I don't know what it is, but something's happening. And I think, in a lot of ways too, like that's how we have these internal smoke signals. [00:52:42] Yeah. And it's the same way, like your smoke detector in your house doesn't know the difference between burnt toast and something on fire, right? But it will beep when it senses. Yeah. When it senses something. And so my body is like sensing something. Is this a threat? [00:52:56] Are we safe? Yes, we're safe. Oh, we're likely. We just needed water. We're just dehydrated. Uhhuh. Or we just, yeah. So any number of things. But that was so good. Thank you. And yes, I would love, love, love to know your don't cut your own bang moment. And for anybody who is new to the podcast, 'cause I think there are some new people here. [00:53:15] Thank you for being here. Don't cut Your own bang moment is a moment where you went all in on something like cutting your own bangs, you grabbed some scissors, you watched a YouTube video, you're like, I got this. And you go, and then, oh no, this wasn't what I thought it would be. But the value in a don't Cut Your own Bang moment is not only that we can share in the silliness of humanity and mistakes, but also like maybe we learn something from it. [00:53:42] So, Ashlyn? Yes. I would love to hear your Don't cut your own bang moment. Oh my goodness. I think that there's probably a plethora of them. Oh, of course. And, let's see here. I'm even, I tried to have one prepared, and then I got excited about the rest of our conversation. Oh my gosh. Don't worry. So, okay I'll share one. [00:53:58] So what's a good, don't a good, oh. I invited my husband to record a podcast with me because I thought it would just be, , fun to bring him back on. And what I realized was I didn't prepare him for it at all. I just set up lights and set up a camera and asked him to sit. And he was so, visibly like he was trying, he was sitting, he was trying. [00:54:23] But I could just tell, again, something's happening. And I could tell he was a little uncomfortable and a little stiff. And I kept, because our eyes look out. My first assumption is, what's wrong out there? And I was like, what are you okay? What's wrong? And he he was , I don't really know what I'm supposed to be doing. [00:54:41] And then I was like. Oh, no, it was snip the bangs. I didn't provide any context. I didn't give him any preparation for what we'd be talking about, why we'd be talking like he had no context. And the whole setup is different, uhhuh. And it was such a humbling, settling moment of context. [00:55:04] It's I'm writing something right now about this idea of play. I'm a freedom loving, freedom seeking play hungry, greedy person right now. I want more play. I could never get enough. But what makes play feel fun and safe is to understand the context. Yeah. , There's rules in a game. [00:55:20] Otherwise, what is it? And I, my first instinct is to buck. Rules. I don't like ingredient lists. I don't like recipes. I just wanna feel my way through it. But, if you wanna make a beautiful croissant, you can't just feel your way through that. There's a very exacting way to do it. And so, it, it was such a one, I'm endlessly grateful for him and his patients with me. [00:55:40] I'm grateful that , our dynamics not new, so he probably knew what was going on, but just did yeah he's pretty sweet that way. But I, it was such a refresher that , if I wanna create a space and container to play safely with people Yeah. I need to give them the context. Absolutely. And it doesn't matter how long I've known someone, how well I know someone. [00:55:59] I laughed at myself because I, the part of the reason why it feels funny to me, but in like a humbling way. I thought the problem was him for like the first 15 minutes. I was like, what dude? Relax. I was like, what? Is he doing it right? [00:56:12] Yeah. like come on. And I was like. Oh no. Context. Zero. Oh my goodness. So that was a great one. Thank you. Okay, I'm gonna do mine in like short seconds because this one just hap this that inspired me perfectly. So my 8-year-old son and I are both going to the same therapist right now. [00:56:30] I'm a believer everybody should have at least an annual checkup with a therapist, but that's a great endorsement. Everyone should have an you annual checkup. You welcome, reach out to Danielle, she's fantastic. If you live in Indiana, by all means. If not, we'll help you find someone. Yes. And also order the book. [00:56:44] Yes, order the book. Get resting the wall risk. Get treasured. Yes. But go on please. So anyway one, one of the things that my I, the reason I love the person we're working with is because she's the first therapist I've worked with when it comes to, with my kids, she actually tells me what I can work on rather than just , you're doing the best you can and like you just love 'em. [00:57:03] And like, yes, I know, but that is not helping me. And so one of the things that got pointed out to me. Was so Cole , has very low frustration tolerance, like more so than is necessarily healthy for an 8-year-old. And of course with all the trauma with our his sister, our journey, it's understandable. [00:57:22] So we're working on that. What she kindly pointed out to me was, okay, we could work on his, but do you also realize that your tolerance for acceptable emotions is about this big? Oh, she's , therapist, be therapist Uhhuh. She's , but there's like a whole lot more emo like, she's , it's like a whole rainbow. [00:57:42] We need a whole arc for acceptable emotions. She's so you need to stop making it your responsibility to control which emotions he experiences. And it's up to you to provide the solid ground for him no matter which emotion comes up for him. And I will say that has changed my parenting in the last week. [00:58:04] More than maybe anything has like faster than anything. Because all of a sudden I'm like, of course it's acceptable that his sister just made him extremely mad. Of course it's understandable that he's jealous or sad or excited or whatever the feeling is, but it also doesn't define him as right or wrong, what emotions he's experiencing in that moment. [00:58:28] And the big thing was the realization that every emotion he experiences is not a direct reflection of who I am as a parent. No. Because that was what I needed to let go of that any emotion that is considered negative that my child has doesn't mean. That I'm doing a bad job as a parent. Oh my God. [00:58:49] That is one. What a beautiful. Don't cut. Thank you. With Dr. Sarah. Yes. Thank you, Dr. Sarah. You'd be therapizing all up in that session. That was so good. And it's the, that to me is a great example that hard truths can always be delivered with kindness. Yeah. But I think the big important thing there is you had the right context. [00:59:12] Exactly. You went to her for that information. Right. It wasn't like someone on the street. But the thing that we can't give someone what we don't have. Exactly. And I actually think that what you just said, if there was ever an endorsement for what. Self-care actually is not the commoditized, right. [00:59:29] Faux sense of, I'm gonna create a problem and I'm going to prescribe collagen. Did you know that the reason why, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah is these things that you need to buy and, oh, my program for blah, blah, blah, blah. And I'm gonna, I have all that stuff. I'm not I'm wanna, I wanna keep it in perspective. [00:59:45] I am drinking the same Kool-Aid 'cause I'm getting sent the same algorithm ads that we're all getting sent. Like I'm doing colostrum now. I don't even know. Like, I just, because I was like, my gut might grow up I own, but anyway but I think self-care and the best possible context is when you nurture. [01:00:03] And heal yourself. It becomes the medicine. Yes. Yes. And the offering for the other people in your life that you love most. It's like as you increase your own palette of what you're able to allow yourself to experience, you're then also able to see it in your son and give it to him. That is so beautiful and it's hard. [01:00:26] Sometimes, but it's some God that a well timed, articulated loving truth like that can change your life. Yeah. That is amazing. Thank you. I don't know, we can't top that. That was good. We're good. That was real good. Ashlyn Thompson, thank you so much for coming back and we're going to have you back. [01:00:43] You have to come back. Yes. And you're coming over to Empowered by Hope very soon. I would love that so much. And Yes. And so all of the ways, if you or anyone you know in your life has been impacted by a little one with complex me complex medical issues and you want some support, you want some information, you want some resources. [01:01:01] The link in the show notes will have every way that you can connect with Ashlyn, her business partner, and what was formally Charlotte's Hope Foundation, what is now the Parent Empowerment Network. Pick up all the books, all the resources, everything I talked about too for my stuff is also in there. [01:01:16] But , it's all linked for you there. So I hope that you get what you need and. Thanks so much, . Oh my gosh. [01:01:21] If you've ever wanted to pick up journaling,

Welcome to another breath prayer episode, in the Breathe & Be Still series. Let's breathe and be still and know that He is Lord and you are safe, known, loved by Him. So often in your life, you are the rock. You are other's rock. They rely on you for strength, support, encouragement, love, help. You love to serve and you are dependable. BUT, you can not carry all of your cares and all the cares of everyone else too! Your patients, clients, friends, children, spouse, family....That's too much of a load to carry. The Lord wants to carry them and He is the only one able. Verse: Psalm 55:22 Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; Get in a comfortable position, can do this anywhere at any time. but closing eyes is a good way to focus, unless driving. Inhale.... deep breath.....expand chest and lungs... each one taking deeper... Exhale...breathe out audibly... let all the muscles and tension relax Speak out, on the inhale and exhale for 3 min : Inhale: Lord, I cast my cares on you Exhale: you will sustain me  Caregiver, if your load is heavy, let's unload your stress together on a free stress assessment call—a customized, personalized session where we'll uncover:

There's a standout star on Duchess Meghan’s latest long-form interview, but surprise... it's not Megs. Enter one Emma Grede: Skims co-founder, Shark Tank guest judge, and the new archetype of the modern girl boss. While Meghan’s business advice is a little on the fluffy side, Emma’s empire—from shapewear to podcasts to philanthropic pledges—has Mia exhausted. Meanwhile, Holly is bringing Etsy witches back with a dark update. What happens when your Etsy witch dies mid-spell? It happened and the buyer of this magical intervention isn't happy. Plus, someone returns from therapy with two anxiety hacks that might just change your life... or at least put your performance anxiety on hiatus for a while. And the debate about a debate: Why are South Australian high schools debating the legitimacy of 'Tradwives'? Jessie's extensive debate career (ages 13-16), has prepared her for this moment. Support independent women's media What To Listen To Next: Listen to our latest episode: The Books That Changed Our Lives Listen: Indy Clinton, A Private Investigator & The Anonymous Women Running Scared Listen: The Test Everyone In Hollywood Wants You To Do Listen: The 36 Questions We All Need To Ask Listen: Tampons, Tarot & The Rise Of Magical Thinking Listen: Bonnie Blue's Glass Box Stunt & Blake Lively's Vindication Listen: Jessie & The Inside Scoop On The Project's Cancellation Listen: LITTLE TREAT: The Money Pushover & A Woman Named Karen Listen to Parenting Out Loud: The Death Of The Dining Table & 'Outdated' Schooling Connect your subscription to Apple Podcasts Watch Mamamia Out Loud: Mamamia Out Loud on YouTube What to read: Emma Grede cold-called Kris Jenner with an idea. Now she's worth $600 million. Meet the real brains behind the success of every big Kardashian business. Tradwives, 'femcels' and dating strategists: Meet the women rejecting feminism. Meghan Markle's new era screams 'tradwife'. The truth is very different. The A-list actress who called out Meghan Markle has quietly deleted the evidence. HOLLY WAINWRIGHT: 'How you feel about Meghan's new "shop" tells me one thing about you.' Meghan Markle writes a letter every night. They won't be opened for years. After visiting Ballerina Farm, Megan knows what we don't understand about Hannah Neeleman. THE END BITS: Mamamia studios are styled with furniture from Fenton and Fenton GET IN TOUCH: Feedback? We’re listening. Send us an email at outloud@mamamia.com.au Share your story, feedback, or dilemma! Send us a voice message. Join our Facebook group Mamamia Outlouders to talk about the show. Follow us on Instagram @mamamiaoutloud and on Tiktok @mamamiaoutloud Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.Become a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Join Premium! Ready for an ad-free meditation experience? Join Premium now and get every episode from ALL of our podcasts completely ad-free now! Just a few clicks makes it easy for you to listen on your favorite podcast player.  Become a PREMIUM member today by going to --> https://WomensMeditationNetwork.com/premium Feel the bed beneath you, Holding you oh so sweet. Allow yourself to melt, And swim within the sheets. PAUSE... Let the rhythm of your breath, Bring you here and now. Feel the tingles of presence, It's sure to calm somehow. PAUSE... Exhale slowly, and release, All that weighs you down. As you let go, you'll find peace, From thoughts that linger ‘round. Join our Premium Sleep for Women Channel on Apple Podcasts and get ALL 5 of our Sleep podcasts completely ad-free! Join Premium now on Apple here --> https://bit.ly/sleepforwomen  Join our Premium Meditation for Kids Channel on Apple Podcasts and get ALL 5 of our Kids podcasts completely ad-free! Join Premium now on Apple here → https://bit.ly/meditationforkidsapple Hey, I'm so glad you're taking the time to be with us today. My team and I are dedicated to making sure you have all the meditations you need throughout all the seasons of your life.  If there's a meditation you desire, but can't find, email us at Katie Krimitsos to make a request. We'd love to create what you want!  Namaste, Beautiful,

Today we're taking it back to a particularly vulnerable conversation on sex. P.S.: We're taking a short break! Join the Patreon community for a brand new episode every Thursday night: patreon.com HOSTS: Joe Hegyes & Andrew Muscarella EDITOR: Kenzie Edmondson FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM: @goodchildrenpod @joehegyes @andrewmuscarella FOLLOW US ON TIKTOK: @goodchildrenpod @bequietjoe @andrew_musky